#legit was going to fucking burn mary

[redstrewn]

im fr so weak to fictional men w deceptively soft exteriors like that shit makes me go fucking crazy

[your-old-sins-tournament]

12 YEAR OLD OCS; SIDE B

Flamepaw [Silvia Flowers] (he/him)

Flamepaw is a warrior cats OC, a Thunderclan cat who got abused by his mentor and died to a badger. As a Starclan cat he was revived (by Starclan) to protect this new apprentice who was going to be abused by the same mentor, her name was Bramblepaw (who I actually made earlier, but she has an okay-ish story in another time its sorta mundane). They fell in love and after some moons when theyre made warriors, they have a kit named Faithkit, which, for some reason, Starclan didn't like, because Starclan *loves* making arbitrary rules about romance, and he's banished, but not before his (dead) mom gives him and his family these crystals that let them turn into my "original species" called Drattus (theyre just dragon cats. theyre cats with dragon wings.)

And that is the end of this goobers story, he goes on to leave the clans and find a Drattus colony somewhere idk, he was my sona for awhile! He's goofy but I love him, and I hold him very near and dear to my heart. I have faith he can murder all the mary/gary sues in his path with his dragon cat abilities >:)

Description

A picture of Flamepaw, an orange cat with a lighter muzzle and paws. He has a white tailtip, amber eyes, and dark gold ears. He has a string with a purple crystal around his neck.

Alana [@octonine] (she/her)

She's a girl that lives in a small village in an ice mountain and has fire powers linked to her emotions (specifically anger). And she's really scared of her powers because they could literally destroy the village. Basically inverted Elsa from Frozen.

Honestly I still like this character and I'll probably use her in a story someday but "the sin" here is that, like most OCs made by 12-year-olds (in my case literally 12), she has a really fucking angsty backstory.

The story I was gonna put her in (long abandoned idea) is that she was one of 6 people from different universes that were chosen to stop an evil force or something (I legit don't remember), so her backstory is what happened in that mountain in her universe, and I had three ideas:

1- She had hidden her powers from the townsfolk really well until she... accidentally hurts her sister... and the village discovers her powers... and she's chased by a mob out of the moun- it's basically Frozen if Arendelle was on a mountain, nothing really original.

2- Everyone was aware of her powers but she was still scared of them, until she accidentally KILLS her sister, and the village becomes scared of her (but without the angry mob part), so she flees from the village and tries to survive by herself... in a forest (we have no idea why 12y me wanted to see this poor girl suffer because of her fire powers so much, like why??)

3- She accidentally... burns down her village... to the ground... and only she survives... (THE FUCK 12-YEAR-OLD ME, WHY?? WHAT DID SHE DO TO YOU TO DESERVE THIS??) We've been toning down on the traumatic backstories since then (and stopped torturing our OCs, goddess I'm scared of 12y me).

[arttrampbelle]

Vent ahead long txt

My personal thoughts lately on the new mk "1" mk new game.

*sigh* i have never been so disappointed in my life

If anyone remotely think mk1/11.5/12. Whatever that fucking thing wants to call itself. The new mk game.

If anyone remotely thinks its gonna be good.

.....

They aren't a mortal kombat fan.

They don't have any standards.

They are blind and are consumers of hype.

They probably are a fucking reddit guy.

They don't care about the integrity of the lore,story,characters,and 30 fucking years of the series trying to get it right (but failing to do so because of greed and the incompetence of higher ups/boon)

They legit are new to this shit and dont listen to older fans when we say "THIS IS BAD,DO NOT FUCKING WASTE YOUR MONEY!"

Like if people are saying 11 was better. And that wasn't even by much. Thats how you know your game sucks.

Because despite my gripes with 11. At least the characters dont look like cookie cut outs. And at least the game has replayability. Ignore the pre battle dialogue and a majority of the storymode outside of aftermath. (And some things within because oof)

Then 11 isn't that bad. Trim the gristle and you're good.

But mk "1" ?! Nah fuck that.

Oh yeah and btw boon

YOUR NEW LIU KANG SUCK ASSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

🖕🏻💯

Not my liu kang. Because my liu kang aint stupid to fuck things up eith god powers nor take or keep god powers.

I could go on.

Milly? Yeah making her half tarkatan side a "disease"?! Yeah totally not low key racist.

Making raiden a poor helpless waif, you need to have bitch god liu kang "save" ? Yeah totally not a fucking savior complex n bias as shit there boon. Yeah doing a switcheroo isn't gonna make us like the game nor your mary sue liu kang either boon.

The crimes,absolute crimes against sub zero n scorpion?! NEED I FUCKING SAY MORE?!

Oh but kenshi is back n johnny has a van damne skin. Oooo big whoop. Like kenshi is cool but he's not that important. And giving us a skin alt costume is not enough.

You cant switch off this dumb gimmick of kameos and tag assists. You have characters be not balanced at all. Like you have supposedly a pre order for shang.....

But ive yet to see gameplay nor a thing for him. He already looks ass af. Downgraded af from what we got in 11 by a fucking looooong shot.

Shang tsung looks like a wish brand knock off dollar store lo pan. And im sorry. That's not shang tsung. Especially if you so called to hype him up to be a big bad. Its pathetic and laughable.

Especially when we got such a fucking boss ass,shang tsung. MODELED AND VOICED BY THE MYTH,THE MAN,THE LEGEND HIMSELF CARY HIROYUKI TAGAWA!!!!

You seriously gonna downgrade shang tsung for ....that fortnite looking shang tsung?!!!

Come on man!

Like shippers aside. I feel everyone (cept a few gum in their ears people) here can agree. Mk "1" is gonna suck.

And i hope it burns. And i hope people trash it. Im here for it.

Idgaf. I feel it neeeeed heavy heavy heavy backlash.

Boycott it if you need.

I love mortal kombat. I love its characters n ACTUAL lore too much to see it being treated like this.

So if it needs to die to be reborn

So be it.

Ok end vent.

[televisionboy]

dating michelle mallon headcanons

i'm literally in love with Michelle but the first time i wrote for her, it got deleted so this is part 2. i'm drinking the best coffee in the world while writing this (it's frozen with chocolate and lavender hints)

meeting her when you're a study abroad student in Ireland

her thinking your accent is weird, and that you're another friend for her to bully over accents

although like this is different because she genuinely didn't like James but everyone can tell she's legit in love with you

it comes as a shock for her when she realizes because she's horny for men as we know

she takes you to that little cafe where Katya kissed James

lets say it is during that episode

making fun of Jenny Joyce for literally tying a rope around a poor guy's wrists like a leash

she's very forward with guys because she thought she was straight her whole life but she's super shy with you

so she does flirt with Artem

but is legit attached to your side at that party

she takes you to Finolas (is that how u spell her name?? u get the idea)

you complain that the food is a tad greasy and she gets all butthurt because that's the best food in all of Derry

smoking after school

and before school

doing drugs with her, getting high, her getting you drunk, ma mary being concerned because michelle isn't exactly the best influence

she gets super annoyed when you side with James

James having a puppy dog crush on you and also following you around

Michelle literally pulls him aside and goes "i swear to fucking god, leave her alone. go back to liking men"

poor james

after they all burned down Finolas house and got banned from her restaurant, you either help her steal food from there or you will make her get on a plane and go with you to America for the summer

showing her "american" fast food like burger king, starbucks, mcdonalds

she thinks it's heavenly and different

not to be nsfw on main but i will be

she's an amazing kisser

she has to beg you to try new sex poses or fantasies

roleplay is weird for her but she would try anything new for you

i mean she's a teen so as long as its sexual

she's also a dog person but cannot stand cats

so when you do introduce her to your familys cat, Dusty, she's like "i'll murder you don't crawl in my lap and purr"

she spikes everything with alcohol so at family reunions you have to keep taking the punch away from your mother

she literally makes her coffee spiked with gin and the first morning after you 2 moved in together, it was a strong good morning

if you don't drink, she teases you and calls you boring and a plain jane but she will cuss out anyone else who teases you

it's the nicest version of "i can cuss you out but nobody else can"

besides, her cussing out is always loving.micmic

[greensaplinggrace]

What Is There To Celebrate About the Darkling? (Part 2)

1 2 3 4

He’s a musician. He plays the fiddle.

He’s the darkness to Alina’s light. He’s steeped in yin and yang symbolism. His banner is the eclipse.

The Starless Saint is a badass title.

Him and Alina are soulmates.

He’s eternal. He’s tragic. He has a vast and complex history that we can’t even begin to unravel, but one that would be so incredibly interesting to learn about.

He’s wicked smart. Very intelligent. A great tactician.

He sits as an equal with his men and treats his soldiers well.

He has a complex relationship with the Otkazat’sya. He doesn’t hate them as most would assume, and in fact trusts quite a few with his life and the lives of the Grisha

That entire scene in Demon in the Woods where Sylvi keeps asking to play with his shadows and he smiles while he makes shapes and lets her have fun with them.

His title is the Darkling, which is honestly just kind of pathetic and makes me think of tiny fluffy shadows. So whenever people refer to him as the Darkling I think of him as a baby shadow and that’s entirely Leigh Bardugo’s fault.

He’s a murderer and he looks sexy doing it.

Do I agree with him killing all of those ambassadors? No. Do I think it was funny? Yes. Did I hate the ambassadors with a burning passion? Also yes. Was I cheering when they died? Quite possibly.

Dumbass didn’t tell Alina about Marie or the Conductor, so every time he mentions how he’s doing this for her she literally has no idea wtf he’s talking about.

“Fine, make me your villain.”

Gave Alina the most elaborate and plush tent in the universe even though she was his prisoner.

The way he says “Mal” when they first meet like a scorned lover surprised to see his ex at a ball.

“Where is the boy? I have my Summoner. I want my tracker too.”

The way he kisses Alina in episode five like a man starved.

How surprised and enamored he is after she kisses him for the first time

“I used to come here as a child” he said, like a liar

His hair is perfect and beautiful.

He looks stunning even when he’s crawling out of the fold like a bat with rabies.

His face scars.

His entire bromance with Ivan.

“Ivan? My kefta!” Bro do you not have legs? Why is Ivan dressing you?

Literal walking disaster of an ancient being.

“I bEg YoUr PaRdOn?”

When the Little Palace is called quaint and he looks as if he’s about to commit a murder.

“After a long moment he said, ‘Aleksander.” A little laugh escaped me. He arched a brow, a smile tugging at his lips. ‘What?’ ‘It’s just so…common.’ Such an ordinary name, held by kings and peasants alike. I’d known two Aleksanders at Keramzin alone, three in the First Army. One of them had died on the Fold. His smile deepened and he cocked his head to the side. It almost hurt to see him this way. ‘Will you say it?’ he asked.”

He talks about how amazing Alina is and how much she matters constantly.

He can speak multiple languages.

Every time he uses the merzost is something to be celebrated because it legit just looks like porn.

“’Alina’s blade wrapped in my shadows and your blood.’ The Darkling’s voice was thoughtful, like he was remembering a favorite recipe.”

He’s very protective. He’s a protector.

He created the Little Palace.

Him looking absolutely feral in that entire fight scene with Mal in the fold. Also never really realized how long his legs were until I saw him get flipped on his ass.

Ben Barnes saying moya tsaritsa.

The mental bond with Alina only works when they’re both thinking about each other. Alina sees him when she’s kissing Mal.

He makes so many innuendos about his relationship with Alina for someone who barely even got past first base.

Gets reverse uno’d to shit and back by Alina when trying to seduce her. Catches feelings like an amateur. Tragically unable to think about literally anything else anymore.

Have I mentioned that he’s whipped as shit yet? Because he is.

The dramatic coat billow when he enters the stag scene like a classic fantasy villain. Only man on the planet who doesn’t need words to say “I’m the bad guy.”

He lets Mal get healed.

Wears all black even though his favorite color is every single other one on the planet.

Gives zero fucks about Mal escaping for someone who felt so threatened by the guy literally two seconds ago.

“I’m not going to kill you, Mal. I don’t need to. Time will do it for me.” Me, who knows how this is going to end: yeah it sure will buddy.

The way he wraps his legs around Alina in the name scene.

He created the fold.

He loved Luda and he loved Annika (as a friend) and he loved Alina. His feelings for them all were genuine and all encompassing, and that’s not talked about nearly enough.

He defends Annika and Sylvi from Lev.

He embodies the “that’s my wife” meme.

Height difference.

The way he speaks so softly. Idk if its my issues with men yelling, but the Darkling being soft-spoken was what made me really appreciate his character from the start.

But also, him pulling the knife out of his chest and screaming “it will take more than this!” 🥵

He’s bisexual as fuck.

He’s here, he’s queer, and he’s ready to murder an entire city.

Him going absolutely apeshit when Alina disappears. Convinced she’s been kidnapped.

He makes shadows go snip.

Alina loves him (despite the warning signs).

Oh, what’s that? It’s a tracker! *gets tackled over the edge of a skiff*

Unkillable. Will come back to life just to fuck with you. Gives zero shits about the way reality should work.

Would sell Alina’s and his own soul to the devil for a corn chip. But sike! He’s actually the devil. So now he’s got two souls and a corn chip.

He’s just plain amazing. 💖

[redrosewhiterose]

BE episode 6 and 7 live commentary. I'm finally caught up!

- This show has a lot of animal violence that serves no purpose and at this point is just weird

- Yeah the interrogation scene wasn't it. There was no sense of danger at any point

- "I fucking hate to see it" me too Robert, me too

- That scene was so good that I actually immediately played it again, I LOVE the angst. Officialy on board of this ship

- "I wish to take my cunting bath" Edward is actually the greatest character in the entire show

- They truly are taking their sweet time to chop off Seymour's head. Get on with it already!

- Edward being startled when Elizabeth entered the room because he is still traumatized by Seymour breaking into his room, crying when she hugged him, calling his dog "brave little Arrow"... He is truly just a kid I want to cover him with a blanket and give him hot chocolate

- Mary being all "I told you so" to Elizabeth is not only historically inaccurate is legit upsetting, I don't know what they are trying to do with it

- Amy Robstart is here!

- "I will see your child is taking care of" oh they remembered that Mary Seymour exists

- Richard the servant out there doing the Lord's work

- Not the rebellion being crushed off camera

- Robert going all ???!!! when Elizabeth hugged him!!

All in all I enjoyed this episode mainly because FINALLY the Seymour thing is over and I won't have to stress over it again, but God they really fucked it up badly. Edward is legit a well written and complex character and I'm ready to defend him of the unavoidable "he is just like Joffrey" comparisons (the damage that GoT has made to pop history...). Also Romola Garai continues to still the show whenever she is on the screen.

EPISODE 7

- That fire looked so fake why did they showed it so much?

- Robert is so whipped for Elizabeth lol

- "You will burn for this"... Anya why

- Not Somerset saying that Thomas Seymour died because of Elizabeth... Sir he was executed over dozens of treason charges

- Wait why isn't Jane married to Guildford already? In which year are we?

- What the actual fuck is Elizabeth and Jane's scene Anya why???

- Why Mary is being so mean to Elizabeth?? Once again: Anya why???

- That being said it's been a while since I don't praise Romola Garai so mandatory comment on how good of an actress she is

- The "I love you" is something that can be SO personal. Screaming, crying, throwing up etc etc

- Oh no Edward caught the Victorian Lady Disease

And I'm finally up to date! This episode was one of my least liked, despite some amazing performances (namely Romola, despite some of her scenes being very... not great) and the soul crushing "I love you" scene (despite the absolutely unnecessary mention of Thomas Seymour). But I thought the storylines were all over the place, and all the characters were being petty towards each other for no reason at all. Subtext was found dead, with Mary almost straight up announcing she is going to burn protestants whenever she can and Elizabeth literally explaning out loud her character arc to the other characters. Also, I'm I really meant to believe that the Danes were simply... unaware that Elizabeth was Anne Boleyn's daughter?? Did they thought that she was manifested into existence??? I'm not even sure how to score this episode, it was just very messy.

[reddeadreference]

Blog Progress Update (Travel Blog Style 🤔#15)

Didn't realize the vampire was a one stab you dead kinda guy… it wouldn't let me use photo mode so I have to run a few feet but DAMN HE FAST so he got me. And now he's gone..

Worked on a lot of posts so I'm ready to play a lot to get more photos. Gotta spend a lot a time in camp.

Went "hunting" with Pearson. Mary-Beth asked Pearson about Kieran and I'm not gonna cry I'm not gonna cry I'm not gonna-

Getting some Camp Life photos. 

Ya know a while back someone in the fandom complained about people portraying Javier as a smooth ladies man just because he's Hispanic… BRUH the number of times I've seen him sit by Tilly to smoke, play his guitar around the girls/next to them, ask how they are (like asking Karen about her drinking, not like the usual greeting stuff). I'm not saying that makes him a ladies man.. but he clearly cares about them. Idk if that makes him "smooth" with women but it's not like there 0 evidence of him interacting with the camp girls in a friendly/nice manner. 

Call it dumb but I am putting this mission off so much and I legit don't want to do it because of how it's gonna hurt Mary-Beth… (which makes me feel like an ass cause I didn't care as much about how Karen would feel… but also I wasn't as attached to Sean as I am Kieran… and to be fair.. Karen didn't SEE Sean… Mary-Beth is the one to SEE and say "it's Kieran!" That just makes it so much worse….

Fuck I don't wanna do it…

Okay pipe for Dutch (even tho he doesn't deserve it… I just found Molly talking to herself at the end of the pier… damn you Dutch for messing her up this badly) 

Then…  then I will go the mission that shall not be named

Hang on… I can rustle cattle with Uncle??? This is something I know for a fact I've never done before. (I never spent much time in chapter 4 honestly)

So Kieran has been missing since after Jack's party… yet somehow… he donated $6.59 to camp? Game… don't play with my emotions like this…

Finally go to bring Dutch his damn pipe… and he's asleep half under his bed. He's been stuck standing in front of the damn thing for days and now that I actually want to interact he's sleeping.. it's almost 8am WAKE UP DUTCH.

It's 4:30am real time I need to get this damn mission over with and I want to give you this damn pipe first!

*Makes Arthur sleep til noon*

DAMN IT DUTCH

*Makes Arthur sleep til morning*

I stg if he's not up… FUCKING DAMN IT

It's not my fault you waited a fuckin week before sleeping! Get up so I can give you a gift!

Dutch… Dutch I'm gonna burn your book… fuck it you're getting it after you bonk your damn brain

Time for pain.

I'm Not Okay (I promise) … nope MCR reference didn't help..

[xoperidottea]

Oh, also, for my fellow writers who might mix up major season plots/key events:

S1 - “Dad’s on a hunting trip and hasn’t been home in a few days”; Jess dies; introduction to the series; we get to see Dean have sex ;); meet Bobby

S2 - John Winchester dies; Harvelle’s Roadhouse; “gifted children”; Sam dies; Dean makes his deal; demons unleashed

S3 - meet Ruby; holy shit demons; Croatoan; meet Chuck; trying to find Lilith; meet Bela Talbot; oh wait nvmd, she’s going to hell; Dean goes to hell

S4 - “I raised you from perdition”; incoming some of the biggest man-angst; holy shit angels; demon blood!Sam; Sam fucks a demon, Dean fucks and angel (Anna, not Cas); Sam kills Lilith; Winchesters kill Ruby; hello Satan

S5 - Michael and Lucifer vessels; holy fuck so much angst between brotherr; angels v. demons; 4 horsemen; meet Jody Mills; meet Crowley; Harvelles die; demons suck and have been stalking Sam forever; Sam jumps into the pit with Lucifer; oh and Adam; Dean goes to Lisa and Ben

S6 - Soulless!Sam; Eve, Mother of All; Crowley and Cas team-up; Lisa and Dean officially end things; legit, Dean has Cas wipe her’s and Ben’s memories; “I am your god now”; Sam’s broken :’(

S7 - Sam’s really broken; Leviathans; Cas dead?; Sam goes crazy; Bobby dies; Cas has amnesia! And then goes crazy; meet Charlie <3; meet Kevin; meet Garth; Sam gets married and divorced in less than a week; demon tablet; “apparently standing next to exploding Dick gets your ass sent to Purgatory”

S8 - Dean’s back!; Sam hit a dog, and Amelia sucks; Cas is back?; meet Benny; the Bunker and MoL; Abaddon; angel and demon tablets; trials!Sam; meet a living douchebag Metatron; oh shit the angels have fallen

S9 - Gadreel!Sam; Kevin dies; Dean MoC; Garth is a werewolf; meet Donna; meet Alex; more Abaddon; oh wait, Dean killed Abaddon; Angel War between Cas and Metatron; Metatron kills Dean

S10 - demon!Dean; MoC; Book of the Damned; meet Rowena; Crowley addicted to human blood; 1st blade; Dean v. Cain; meet Claire (again); Charlie dies :’(; Dean kills death; unleash the darkness

S11 - Billy the Reaper; god’s sister wants to bone Dean; meet Eileen Leahy; Casifer; Chuck is God; God and his sister have issues; hi Mary!

S12 - introducing the British MoL; Mary has a hard time adjusting (being dead for 30+ yrs will do that); Dean is essentially an angsty teen; oh fuck Mary was working for the BMoL; Lucifer baby; poor Kelly Kline; Lucifer possessed the President; Sam and Dean go on a field trip to Federal prison; meet the Banes twins; Claire is a werewolf for 1 episode; Cas dies; Crowley dies; Eileen dies; Mick Davies dies (didn’t we just meet him?); Mind-control Mary; Ketch kills Toni Bevell; Mary kills Ketch; Mary and Lucifer in apocalypse world

S13 - Dean really hates Jack; Jack has superpowers, holy shit; apocalypse world; lots of nonsense with Lucifer; Cas is back!; fuck Jack is human; fuck here’s Michael; Michael!Dean

S14 - more Michael!Dean; Michael wants to take over the world; Dean has Michael trapped in his noggin; Dean’s brilliant idea to live at the bottom of the ocean; Jack keeps burning off his soul; Jack kills Michael; the apocalypse world survivors are killed; Jack kills Nick (that dude played by Satan); Jack accidentally kills Mary; why tf is Chuck here?; Chuck is a grade-A dickbag and the end is now

S15 - shit got really confusing and really messy really quick; like holy fuck Chuck wipes out everybody; Rowena dies; oh wiat, she’s queen of hell now!; lots of scrambling and trying to sort this shit out; Eileen is back from the dead; Saileen <3; Chuck wipes out all his alternate universes in the biggest temper tantrum ever seen; the empty and Billy team up briefly; the empty is pissed and looks like Meg; everyone is hopeless and depressed; the Winchesters get very unlucky; Chuck does a thanos snap on everyone except Team Free Will; “still beautiful, still Dean Winchester”; they pull an ATLA and Jack absorbs Chuck’s power; Jack is God now!; Dean gets a dog; WHAT DO YOU MEAN DEAN DIES!?; everything sucks and I hate it >:(

[ashleyfanfic]

Ranking the Bridgerton Books

I've read all but one at least twice now, so I'm gonna give my ranking. 1. Romancing Mister Bridgerton - Colin and Penelope since the first time I saw them interact in the show, but their dynamic in the book I like just as much. You get snippets of them being around each other in the first books, but there is a pivotal scene in An Offer From A Gentleman that hurt me into my soul and I have never felt for someone as much as I felt for Penelope in that moment. And then in their book, you can see their friendship grow because as long as he's known her, it's taken him so long to see what everyone else already did. Penelope is amazing, even if she is hiding things from him. The scene in the carriage, but specifically their first time and Colin thinking that he wanted to make love to her in front of a mirror one day so she could see what he saw...lord. Also, Lady Danbury is phenomenal in this book. 2. This was really hard for me to decide which one I liked more, and the truth is, I actually read one of these books more than twice and that was The Viscount Who Loved Me. If you know anything about me, you know that I am a huge fan of Enemies to Lovers, and boy does this deliver on that. I love Kate. She's a whole lotta spitfire and just says things to Anthony that NO ONE else would say because she's adamant that her sister could do better. But then things shift and she sees him differently. The storm scene in the library cemented my love for Anthony Bridgerton. The "Oh Kate" KILLED ME. Dead. The Pall Mall game, which, I'm gonna be honest, if they don't give to us I will be FURIOUS! That shit was legit funny. But then there's the bee, the gazebo, Colin pissing off his brother. And the love story between Kate and Anthony and how these two idiots find love in one another is just *chef's kiss* 3. This was really hard because I loved this book so much. When He Was Wicked is the spiciest of all the books in my opinion. And it's because we start with Francesca being married. You don't see her wedding or courtship to her husband, John, in the other books, you just learn that she was married. And her relationship seems to be a good one. They love and care for each other. But that's not the story that's actually being told. We meet Michael Sterling (and if he's not played by Richard Madden I'll fucking burn the world down), a rogue, rake, an altogether scandalous man, and the cousin and close confidant of both John and Francesca. There's already a flirtation with Michael and Franny before John dies, but Michael would never act on it. Then he dies and both of their worlds are turned upside down. But it's when Michael returns from India and the two are being sought after by others that they're teetering on the edge of something. Michael knows his feelings but doesn't think he can betray his cousin like that, and Franny is just afraid of her feelings for Michael all together. But then there's their first kiss, and then Michael riding to fucking Scotland to seduce her into being his wife, which she doesn't agree to do right off. But the creme de la creme of this book, aside from Franny finally realizing her feelings, is the scene in the cabin when they get stuck in the rain. It's one of the women taking her sexual agency and fucking using it, and Michael is a more than willing participant. That scene was fucking hot. They also have a beautiful Epilogue if you want to read it.

4. To Sir Phillip With Love is a strange one for me. I love that Phillip and his weirdness appeals to Eloise, who I don't think would ever be content with an ordinary man. I could also see someone like Eloise being courted in such an unusual way as letters. What kind of puts me off about this is Phillip's treatment of his children. I get that he eventually catches a clue as to what's going on with them, but through most of the book, he doesn't even bother trying to be close to them. The best part of this book are 1) the brothers Bridgerton storming into their home and trying to pummel Phillip all while Eloise fights them for her man, and 2) the scene at My Cottage where Philip seduces Eloise.

5. While I think this book is the most unoriginal in terms of beginning and end, it's not a bad book throughout the middle. And I'm talking about An Offer From A Gentleman. This series actually shows that Step parents/Siblings aren't all bad, take a look at the Viscount and you get nothing but love between Mary, Kate, and Edwina. But this book goes with the wicked stepmother. Of course it does, it's ripping off Cinderella. The first chapter with the ball had me uninterested and it felt like a slog to get through, but once we get away from the Cinderella aspects and get to Sophie and Ben's actual story, I'm more into it. UNTIL Benedict decides that he's going to wear Sophie down about becoming his mistress. From book to show, Benedict is the most different in my opinion. I can't imagine that guy ever doing what book Ben does to Sophie. When he finally realizes who Sophie is, it's cathartic really. Because on the one had, she's known who he is the entire time, even knew he was looking for her, and said nothing about it. I do love Violet in this book. I love their scenes at My Cottage and I love the idea of a Colin Firth type scene for our Benedict, but the rest of it left me very underwhelmed.

6. It's In His Kiss was cute enough, but my problem with this one is that Hyacinth is in all of the other books as a pesky younger sister, a girl if you will. So, it's really difficult for me to wrap my head around her being a grown woman at this time. And it would take a special man to handle her. Gareth is that man. I love the scenes with Lady Danbury. She shines everywhere she goes, though. I don't know, I just didn't feel this one and I guess it's because seeing Hyacinth grown is weird to me.

7. The Duke and I. If you've seen the show you've read the book, I feel. This book had so much promise until THAT scene. Like, I get it, you're mad about being lied to, but the man was drunk and Daphne took advantage of that. It caused him to start stuttering again, it was so damaging. And she wasn't sorry. I guess that's my real gripe. She wasn't apologetic about what she did. This is the only book I read once.

8. On the Way to the Wedding felt like a lesser version of the Viscount. Gregory wanting Hermione, but having to go through Lucy to get to her... I read this story before and it was done much better. Not that I dislike Gregory or Lucy. I don't. I just don't find either of them as compelling as Anthony or Kate. I don't have a lot of thoughts about this one because once I hit the wedding I was like "I just want to be done with it already". Maybe it was burnout. I don't know. Perhaps if I start with this one instead of saving it for last I'll have a better opinion.

[deans-haunted-baby]

Lately I can’t stop thinking about Adam, like I’m legit crushed over what this show did to him. I know Supernatural was never perfect but the way it treated this character was so damn vicious, condescending and nasty; no different than a high school bully picking on an injured elementary schooler.

He never stood a chance. The thing is I don’t know what it was that made me latch onto Adam so strongly for over a decade. Maybe I could just sympathize and easily relate to his situation of being discarded and forgotten by family members. Or maybe I saw potential in this character and couldn’t fathom why no one else on that writing staff and the SPN fandom couldn’t.

I want you to take a second and absorb these pertinent facts about Adam Milligan that this show put forward. This is not anti-anything this is all the truth so bare with me:

He was the illegitimate youngest child of hunter John Winchester; a man who treated his older sons Sam and Dean like soldiers on his platoon.

Adam only saw his bio dad ONCE A YEAR and it was only to take him to ball games not to train him so that he could protect himself and his mother from (supernatural) threats.

He never knew the existence of his older brothers nor did they know about him because John deliberately ripped those pages out of his journal. Essentially trying to erase any evidence of Adam and Kate.

Because Adam grew up having no clue what was out there or about the “family business”  he and his mother suffered VIOLENT PRE-MATURE DEATHS at the hands of ghouls which Adam STILL REMEMBERS long after being murdered.

Oh and John failed to kill those ghouls, providing them the golden opportunity of impersonating him and his mother so they could kill John and his half-brothers.

Adam was only an 18 year old pre-med studying medicine. Probably wanted to follow in his mother’s footsteps in helping people as she was a nurse.

Because Kate worked nights as a single mother, Adam had to grow up being his own parent at times; cooking his own meals and putting himself to bed.

Adam was ironically born on September 29th (1990) which is also known as Michaelmas aka the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. A potential storyline that could’ve gone somewhere but didn’t.

Adam is also by birthright a Men of Letters legacy though his brothers fail to mention that 10 years later.

The last thing Adam was doing while he was in Heaven, designed to look like his Prom, he was kissing a girl Kristen McGee; whom we’ll never know about or if he’ll ever see again.

Adam was ripped out of Heaven against his will by the angels to be used and manipulated as their backup device in the Apocalypse because Sam and Dean refused to comply with their demands.

After being resurrected, Adam was then recovered, kidnapped and held hostage by TFW (Sam, Dean, Bobby and Castiel) where they all took turns mouthing off at this angsty teenager about why he should trust a bunch of complete strangers over those who made him promises.

Adam only wanted to work with the angels in order to stop Lucifer and return to his mother. Highlighting that this character had a sense of justice, responsibility, cared about doing the right thing but also had his own reasons for wanting to save the world.

Sam tried to emotionally manipulate Adam with excuses for why their dad never told him about his family. And actually had the gall to say that him and Dean would’ve looked for him had they’d known he existed so they could be a family. Forgive me if I just laugh at this for a moment 🤣

Zachariah was able to get into Adam’s head because he knew how vulnerable he was. Telling him that trusting the Winchesters would only let him down which *SPOILER ALERT* turned out to be true.

Zachariah tortured Adam for hours before the Winchesters arrived to save him. And Dean was only willing to submit to the angel when Sam was just briefly tortured.

One of the last things Dean says to Adam in 5x18 after he was shocked to see his half-brothers come to his rescue was “Cause you’re family”. Again I have to...🤣🤣

At the moment of their escape, Dean doesn’t even help Adam (WHO’D BEEN INJURDED AND TORTURED) out of the room nor does he care about ushering him to safety. Dean just grabs Sam and hurries out the door. So much for being part of the family.

The last thing Adam screams before before being possessed by Michael was “Dean, help!” and then he hears Dean say “Just hold on!”

Adam, not being Michael’s true vessel yet born from the powerful Winchester bloodline, was able to look directly at the archangel’s true form without his eyes burning out. And this is NEVER explained why.

Dean mentions Adam only a total of THREE TIMES after this happens in 5x19, 5x22 and 6x11 while Castiel mentions it to Sam in 5x21. And Sam, WHO’D BEEN THE MAIN EMOTIONAL MANIPULATOR, just doesn’t give a shit to remember him.

Castiel threw a Molotov cocktail at Michael (who was using Adam’s body) to briefly cast him out which Adam probably felt in excruciating detail based on what Michael says in 15x08.

Sam, possessed by Lucifer, pushed himself and his innocent half-brother possessed by Michael into the cage for all eternity.

Castiel somehow managed to pull Sam out of the cage but decided to leave Adam behind.

After Dean bargains with Death to get Sam’s soul and Adam out of the cage. Only to get just Sam’s soul and leave Adam to his fate. The issue is never brought up again between the Winchesters.

Adam sits a prisoner in a cage with an archangel for 10 years our time but thousands of years Hell time.

Michael most likely protected Adam from some of the horrors in Hell which is why he was able to keep his sanity.

Sam and Dean went to Hell to talk to Lucifer in the cage but continue to ignore Adam’s existence and don’t bother releasing him yet they let Lucifer escape.

Dean also went back to Hell to retrieve Bobby’s soul so he could go to Heaven and again doesn’t even bother with Adam.

Season 10 for Supernatural’s 200th episode, Sam and Dean were reminded by SPN fans putting on a musical that Adam was still in the cage yet THEY NEVER DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.

Mary Winchester STILL doesn’t know about Adam even though she was reunited with John during the 300th episode. He’s never mentioned during their big family get-together. I guess he never counted.

Adam and Michael are finally set free of Hell only because Chuck threw a giant hissy fit at the Winchesters and opened all the gateways.

The first thing Adam wanted to do as a free man in 15x08 was not seeking revenge on his brothers for abandoning him, but to eat some diner food, change his clothes and get a “little job”

After years of imprisonment, Adam actually befriended the Prince of Heaven aka the one friend he has/the only other person besides his mother who actually gave a damn about him.

TFW trapped, kidnapped and imprisoned Adam and Michael at the bunker in order to force them to help against Chuck.

And Adam, though still angry, hurt and worn out over the situation; chose to help his brothers when there was NOTHING in it for him and successfully convinced Michael to do the same.

Despite how his brothers treated him, Adam STILL believed in their best and vouched that they “always try to do the right thing”

Adam went to Hell a cranky, sassy, angsty, naïve teenager and returned a kinder, wiser, more patient, humble and rational-thinking man who still managed to smile and laugh after enduring centuries of pain.

Dean gives Adam his much due apology for not saving him but Sam doesn’t. In fact Sam doesn’t even bring him up the next time the Winchesters see each other.

Adam’s last words on this show are to Dean and they’re “Since when do we get what we deserve?” and “Good luck” 🤓

Chuck Thanos-snapped Adam’s soul out of existence OFF-SCREEN yet Michael somehow remained in his body.

Adam was 90% of Michael’s impulse control hence why he was so dark in his last appearance without Adam because that’s the only way I can cope with that disgusting character assassination in 15x19

Jack supposedly revived Adam along with everyone else after becoming the new God. BUT his current status now reads “Unknown” instead of “Alive” so what the fuck am I suppose to think now?!

Sam and Dean didn’t even think about checking in on Adam to make sure he was okay before they hit the road on their last solo bro-outing.

If Adam really is alive then he’s doomed to a miserable, lonely existence without his best friend (who’s now dead). Broke, homeless, jobless; his brothers STILL DON’T GIVE A RAT’S ASS after he’d helped them in good faith. He’s legally deceased thanks to the ghouls. And he gets to look forward to demon city the moment he dies cause guess where he’s ending up?

No one remembers him even after he’d returned in 15x08

The car and the dog are more important to the Winchesters than their innocent half-brother.

Okay I realize I just unloaded a whole mountain of salt but this is the full outline of Adam’s tragic story on Supernatural. These writers never cared about him and why? What did he do to deserve this gross treatment from the show’s protagonists or just in general? Why was he even introduced if this was going to be the outcome of it all? I don’t know what’s worse leaving him in Hell (cause at least he had Michael for company) or bringing him back and not knowing what became of him after. It’s insufferable 😣 I just want everyone to know that the showrunners and writers may not care about him BUT I DO.

[feiwel]

Hello!! what happened in the spn series finale???? the posts circulating at the moment arent really telling except for that it was allegedly worse than GoT (hard to believe tbh). but you seem to be an expert so what happened???

Hey there!

Get strapped in bc this is a wild fucking ride.

Sam and Dean fight a monster of the week (which turns out to be vamps wearing clown masks) and in the ensuing fight, Dean gets fucking IMPALED in the back by a NAIL and basically spends the next ten minutes (which could’ve been used to call an ambulance but I guess the fuck not) doing a long ass monologue about how Sam shouldn’t bring him back and this was always how it was always going to end for him. It’s a long and painful death. He dies in Sam’s arms.

By this time, I believe we were about 35 mins into the episode so I started to realize that “Holy shit, they’re not gonna bring him back. This is it.” Sam burns Dean’s body and mourns before answering a call to kill a werewolf or something in Austin. The rest of the episode is Dean entering Heaven where he’s greeted by Bobby who tells him that Rufus and his wife Aretha are down the road (who gives a shit???) and so are John and Mary (yeah, that abusive father). Bobby also says that Cas helped Jack build this new type of heaven, implying that Cas got out of the Empty but we never hear from him or see him again. No “Oh, he’s inside” or “He’ll be along shortly,” absolutely nothing. It’s the end of Castiel’s character. Dean then decides that he’s going to “take a drive.”

Sam eventually gets that white picket fence life, has a son named Dean (with a random woman who’s watching them from a distance and is blurry so we can’t even confirm if it’s Sam’s girlfriend, Eileen, reducing this woman to just a fucking incubator for the Son of Sam Winchester™). Sam dies at an old age in legit what looks to be an at-home type of hospice care with his son holding his hand. He wakes up in Heaven where he’s reunited with Dean. The camera pans away and that’s the ending.

And that’s what you missed on Glee.

I apologize for my language but-- 

1.) I’m angry at this character assassination of Dean by reducing him back once more to a soldier who’s only fate is to die while hunting and forgo any chance of a normal, apple pie life.

2.) I’m angry at the disrespect given to Misha Collins after the fact that he arguably kept this show going for as long as it did

3.) I’m angry at the disrespect given to Shoshannah Stern by either straight-up replacing her, ignoring the fate of her character and/or reducing her simply to an incubator.

4.) I’m angry that the whole “family don’t end in blood” did end in blood and tossed aside all of the relationships that the brothers made with other characters throughout the last fifteen seasons and decided to resort back to a toxic, codependent relationship between Sam and Dean.

5.) I’m angry that they set up everything so goddamn well and tied up nearly all loose ends to get us ready for an amazing series finale only to spit on us and give us the ending we would’ve gotten if we had stopped watching at the pilot:

Sam living a white picket fence life, and Dean dying on a hunt.

[evolsinner]

⊱┊10

"really?" i stare at kayrem rhetorically. "driving and texting at the same time?"

"gotta keep up," he replies, eyes glued on his phone screen.

"keep up with what? dad?" i scoff, looking away.

"call it whatever you want," he finally stuffs his phone into one of his trouser pockets.

“you his little slave, his bitch,” i laugh.

“shut the fuck up, slut!”

"so, what now, hm?! you're back in the family now? it's gonna be fucking fantastic. we'll just act like i want to be back there and everything's back to normal, right?"

he licks his lips, pissed, "you know, marie, if you weren't such a pessimistic bitch, you'd see it's not all that bad."

"yeah right, cut me some slack."

"the hell are you doing?" kayrem suddenly scowls.

"what, me? i'm doing nothing. just~"

he sighs, "hand it over," and clenches his jaw.

no.

"fucking hand it over now!"

"don't touch me!"

"give me the goddamn phone, marie!"

"s~stop it! you're hurting me!"

he reaches over, torn between needing to look at the road and getting the mobile phone off me. the car swerves in uncontrollable waves whilst we struggle in this tug of war game. the people in their cars behind us blow their horns like it's the end of the world.

"kayrem! ouch! you asshole!"

he regains control of the car and successfully snatches the phone out of my grip before stuffing it inside his trouser pocket away from me. he exhales frustratedly and leans his elbow on the window ledge with his fingers scrunching up his hair in a fistful.

"you can take me back right now..." i try from desperation now. "we can forget this ever happened."

he breaks into a small grin, "ahh the waterworks again. although water, it never works on me."

"isaac doesn't have to know and~"

"isaac, isaac, isaac! that's all that fucking comes out of your slutty little mouth!" he lashes out.

"he's my fiancè!"

"fian..?" kayrem's voice trails off as his scan drifts to my hand.

i curl my fingers up and out of his view, though he's already seen it.

“hahahahah, omg, ahahaha. wow… cupcake, he's really got you all loved up, hasn't he?"

i look out my window, refusing to appear weak. if i focus on the outside, i won't have to focus on what's on the inside.

the warm afternoon is gradually transforming into a bluey evening. i'm not supposed to be here, i think to myself. nowhere close to being here. all this time i was worried that isaac would leave me, i never thought that i'd be the one to leave him…

-ˋˏ ༻🥂༺ ˎˊ-

"we'll spend a night here and be back on the road first thing at dawn," kayrem parks in front of a crappy motel.

"wait, kayrem."

he halts from opening his door and faces me, "what, not as good as your grand a night stay?"

those eyes of his... it's like looking at a forest fire, one that gets crazier and crazier every second. our parents used to fight a lot back when we were children. kayrem and i, we took comfort in each other. innocent comfort. it felt safe. safe and okay.

b~but that’s all it was… for real!

i remove my seatbelt and step across to him. i separate my legs and sit on top of him. "i miss it too, y'know?" my hands slowly begin unbuckling his belt, cautiously reaching closer to his back.

he squints into my pupils as if he's tryna figure out my game. and he does, pretty darn fast, might i say. he scoffs, giving a conceited slash angry smile before overtaking my hands and reaching for the weapon lodged into his belt behind his back.

i pause, downhearted that my goal has gone to literal shit in just a matter of seconds. he removes the ammo and holds the two pieces in front of my face like 'ta~da'. then he places both of the items on the dash.

i gulp, trying to play it cool, trying to play it like that wasn’t what i was going for. “i missed it a lot," and i slip his entire belt off.

he shifts in his seat, his breaths fastening per minute. the heat radiating off from him liquefies me into one of those trees in his wild forest fire. his hands seize my thighs and they feel hot to the touch, almost like a burning sensation.

"if i'm being totally honest…" i undo his zipper, leaning closer to his ear, "…is that i've never stopped thinking about it.”

he relaxes in my hold, finally losing touch with his attentiveness. with my spare hand, i reach elsewhere, and due to my duplicity, all his focus remains on the one thing that i want it to. i lightly graze my fingers along his length, feeling it awaken to my touch. a soft groan slips out of kayrem's mouth and he tilts his head up, closing his eyes.

i've almost got it...

fuck! his hand grips my wrist immensely hard as he comes back into awareness. "sneaky, little, bitch," he seethes between breaths before pulling my cell phone out of his pocket. "going for this, huh?"

i quickly reach for it, but he swoops it back in time. so i go for it again and he swoops it to the other side.

"just give me my phone back," i tear up.

"why, so you can call him?"

"give it back!"

"no."

"give it!"

"nope."

"just fucking give~"

next thing i know, i'm frozen in time. the walls that i have built against my brother for leaving me alone for years on end lights up into yellow and orange flames. i am preserved, yet i'm burning. a pair of lips have crushed into my mine. tongue to tongue, i can't seem to find my way out of this forest fire.

my brother is kissing me!

he is legit kissing me!

a..again…

to shock to even recede, i let him take control of me. i allow him to. he deepens the kiss and i rest my hand on the side of his neck. there's something he's searching for in me via this act and i think he's found it: the reciprocation. and now i'm totally fucking fucked. he, at last, eases out of the kiss at his own will.

"next time, don't try to play me like that," he words between gritted teeth. "got it?"

i nod.

he redoes the gun, then points it at me, motioning for me to get the fuck out.

[lady-griffin]

Things Got Crazy at a Slumber Party...

I would just like to say the title of this episode is so misleading…nothing crazy happened. False Advertising!

Eat the Rich

Seeing Anne’s room made me want to talk to her and urge her to revolt against the rich and distribute their wealth.

Spare Katarina, but rise up and revolt.

When I first saw her room, I legit thought Katarina was going to be surprised by Anne’s room and maybe (somehow by the end of the episode) was going to redecorate it and upgrade it for Anne…but nope. That idea quickly faded the second it went into my head.

Revolt against the aristocrats, Anne. 

Spare Katarina, but rise up and fight.

Eat the rich!

No, but in all seriousness, sometimes I have problems with anime (stories in general) where the affluent and opulent wealth of characters is just the background and it’s never going to be address in all seriousness. Particularly when they show that not everyone is as wealthy…

Why show Anne’s room to be like, if you’re never going to actually talk about it nor resolve the wealth gap. Why show her room to be depressing looking? Why not just give her a nice room? It doesn’t have to be Katarina’s room’s level of finery, but something.

That aside, let’s continue onward to the rest of the episode.

Katarina running off to tell everyone (and to thank them) for her making it to the second year, was adorable. Katarina throughout this episode was so goddamn precious.

LOOK AT HER!

LOOK AT HER!

JUST LOOK AT HER!

I just…Katarina must be protected at all costs. She is the best girl that ever existed.

I love this beautiful, bisexual-mess of an idiot. She’s perfection.

I’m still mad at Anne for denying Katarina’s original PJ choices. How dare you Anne! How dare you deprive me of that. How dare you!

I’m going to discuss the episode in more detail further down, so we’re going to get into some spoiler territory (I guess?). So, you’ve been warned.

Potential Spoilers Below

--

Anne’s view on each of the character’s feelings for Katarina was fantastic.

Geordo’s Feelings 

While we didn’t actually get to see it, which was disappointing, Anne being scared of Geordo for initially telling Katarina that her scar was gone was hilarious. I am disappointed we haven’t seen Geordo at his true level of horrifying, but still…

Just his eyes narrowing may have cut a few years off of Anne’s life alone.

Keith’s Feelings

Poor Keith. Again, I don’t ship them, but still you still gotta feel bad for him.

What is the purpose of others thinking you’re good-looking, if the one person you want doesn’t?

I love Keith and his mother. They’re hilarious.

Alan’s Feelings

OMG Alan, how have you not figured it out, yet. You’re playing the violin for vegetation at the request of Katarina…I just.

Alan sweetheart, you are in love with this woman.

I do like how he actually did it for Katarina. That’s so fucking funny.

But also, just look at this face, how could he not.

It’s a good thing Katarina doesn’t want any actual political power or anything like that, she would be unstoppable.

Mary’s Feelings

Mary is several levels above everyone else. No comparison. 

She is subtly convincing Katarina that Katarina won’t do well as a Princess-Consort and has already figured out a way for them to leave and probably already has a manor set up by the sea, with a field already to go for the two of them (and Anne).

Mary is a bit scary in all honesty.

Nicol’s Feelings

Nicol’s cute smile was just adorable. Nicol x Katarina aren’t really one of my main ships, but I do love the contrast between these two.

Katarina this bright and bubbly ball of energy and sunshine and Nicol, a stoic statue who has trouble expressing himself, but can’t help but smile when he’s in Katarina’s presence.

Sophia’s Feelings

Sophia wanting Katarina to get with Nicol, even though she also loves Katarina is everything. Her listing off her brother’s good qualities (at random times) is hilarious to me. Always has been.

Sophia is just so damn cute.

Maria’s Feelings

Maria is giving Katarina all the treats. Smart Lady! She may have come late into the race for Katarina’s heart, but she’s playing to win.

In general, I like how we got quick snippets of everyone’s feelings for Katarina. I also love how the anime, legit just says the girls are in love with Katarina. I’ll always appreciate that.

--

Anne and Katarina

Anne’s POV in this episode was just everything. I’m so glad the anime adapted it from the Light Novel, seeing as the Manga just ignored it. I’m so very happy.

When she lifted up her sleeve to reveal the burn marks, I gasped.

I wasn’t sure if the Anime was going to actually include that part (the Manga did skip over it), so I’m very happy the anime chose to include Anne’s full backstory. 

It makes me sad, but it’s good angst.

It’s not the same as the Light Novel, but Anne’s backstory and her relationship with Katarina was everything. That little montage of Anne and Katarina… my heart can’t handle such cuteness.

Also, I genuinely really love how when Katarina asked Anne’s father to not take Anne away, she had a bit of a bratty vibe to her. Very similar to Katarina before she regained her memories.

Even though she has her memories, Katarina is still a kid. And I just love that.

Anne refusing her father’s order. Mwah!

I really appreciate how the anime changed that scene from the Light Novel to Anne standing up for herself and actually speaking up.

Well Done! Good Choice!

Also, Luigi Claes stepping in to talk to the Baron himself was just nice to see. 

It was great seeing him being intimidating and such. While Katarina sees him as her dopey, doting father, there is more to him.

In the LN, it’s made clear that he learned about the man Anne’s father wanted to marry her off to and was not happy with that and came to Anne’s defense. 

But I also just like how a part of it, is probably because Katarina wanted Anne to stay with her (and Anne wanted the same thing) and Luigi can’t deny his daughter anything.

Luigi Claes doing the right thing (because it’s the right thing) but also, because he’s the kind of father, who will give his daughter anything. There’s a reason why OG Katarina was so spoiled. 

The fact that Katarina knew Anne would come into her room in the middle of the night to put her covers back on her, was just so sweet. 

Because Anne probably thought Katarina never knew she even did that, but of course Katarina knew.

Katarina giving gifts to Anne and being the first person to ever give her a birthday present…I swear I’m not crying, you’re crying.

I LOVE THESE TWO!

I guess while it’s never stated, I presume all the other stuff in the box were gifts from Katarina or objects related to a fond memory Anne has of Katarina.

Which gives me a headcanon.

Headcanon – Everyone has kept all the gifts they’ve ever received from Katarina as well as certain items they associate with a specific time or event they shared with Katarina.

We know from the Light Novels, that Keith has kept all the birthday presents he’s ever received from Katarina. And I thought it was said he kept the remnants of the door Katarina broke down, but I couldn’t confirm that. But now that’s a headcanon of mine as well.

More specifically, I now have the headcanon that either Geordo or Alan kept the snake toy that Katarina first threw at Geordo all those years ago. 

Probably Alan, as that memory is 100% positive one for him. While for Geordo, that memory probably mixed at best.

There is something cute about Geordo being scared of that toy, telling on Katarina and getting her in trouble, but nonetheless keeping that dreaded fake snake.

Anne and Katarina and their whole relationship was just everything. They were truly and absolutely the highlight of this episode. My heart was ready to burst.

--

Sleepover

Overall, it was very cute. It was nice seeing the girl’s hang out and be in their pajamas. 

Katarina saving Anne from the girls’ question about marriage, was just very nice and does show Katarina is not as dense as we may think. She’s aware.

I will say, though, it was a bit lacking in comparison to the bonus Manga chapter in Vol. 5 (LN).

Particularly in regards to Mary. I mean just look at Mary in the Light Novel for comparison. It almost feels like a different scene. 

Also, while I did realize this last week. 

Sophia’s wish in romance and how over-the-top, pure fantasy, based on romance novels her ideas actually are, really makes her fantasy in last week’s episode (I became Engulfed by Desire) feel way more off. 

And just not accurate to Sophia’s character.

You’re telling me that Nicol in his amplified fantasy is basically Tuxedo Mask jumping around Venice with Katarina, but Sophia’s amplified fantasy is just her being in her family’s library with Katarina.

I call bullshit.

Sophia’s desire book fantasy, should’ve been the most crazy and over top thing ever. 100%. And this episode confirms that.

Both Maria and Katarina wanting to cook for their partner is very lovely and shows their compatibility.

I am a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to see the boys’ sleepover, but Nicol’s eyes sparkling when he heard that the sleepover would include boy’s talk was just too precious.

His thoughts are definitely much more innocent in comparison to what Sophia was thinking when she heard about Boy’s Talk…I love Sophia.

--

Geordo and Katarina

I was really looking forward to seeing Ch.17.5 be adapted to the anime, but unfortunately, I was thoroughly disappointed by it.

It was much less sweet, cute and funny then it was in the Manga. Seeing the scene in the anime just made me want to read the Manga chapter again. 

Seriously, you don’t have to read the whole Manga (you should though), but do yourself a favor and read Ch. 17.5. It’s amazing!

Just look at this dork

This was a golden opportunity for the anime, to really show Geordo’s feelings and relationship with Katarina from his perspective. And just endear the audience to him. 

They completely dropped the ball.

I feel like the anime doesn’t understand or even like Geordo’s character. He seems less dynamic, engaging and interesting in the anime. And the aspects that make very endearing and heartfelt, are basically taken out.

He hardly comes across as the leading male…which is disappointing for me, since I really love Geordo and Geordo x Katarina.

I am very disappointed with the treatment of Geordo. The anime is doing a disservice to him, in my opinion. Especially in comparison to Alan who the anime has added extra moments for.

I do appreciate those extra Alan moments, but I would appreciate them a lot more if it didn’t feel like Geordo was being left out. 

Nonetheless, Geordo’s face when he saw everyone else and when saw that they all got Katarina gardening shears as well was fantastic!

--

Katarina Speaks Two Languages Headcanon

I mean this episode basically confirmed that. With Katarina writing the letter to Geordo, but writing everyone’s name in Kanji (?) on their gardening uniforms.

While we do have Keith’s and Duchess Claes’ signs not being written in the country’s language, that’s more for comedy sake as those signs don’t exist in reality.

But did anyone in the Harem wonder, why Katarina wrote their names in an entirely different language? I just love the idea of everyone being shocked to learn that Katarina can speak and write fluently in two languages.

--

Conclusion

I overall enjoyed this episode. 

Some scenes I found a bit lacking (or more than a bit) in comparison to what they were based off of from the Manga or Light Novel. I will say I liked how this episode did take its material from the Light Novels and the bonus chapter in the Manga, as well as adding their own bits and pieces.

It was well done.

I’m definitely salty over how wrong they got Ch. 17.5. I just…at times it feels like the anime gets the core of certain scenes and characters (without doing the exact same thing from the LN or Manga or adding their own scenes) just right, but for Geordo they just seem to miss the mark.

Also, the material from Ch. 17.5 just felt like it was added onto the end, it didn’t really go with the rest of the episode…

And in relation to that, Mary being subdued in the sleepover scene was disappointing as well.

I understand there are budgets and restrictions, so I’m hoping they’re saving it for the last three episodes.

Anne and Katarina were the clear highlight of this episode. Without them being the focus of the episode, I would’ve found it less enjoyable, even with all the cute and precious moments we got to see.

But overall, a lovely episode with so many precious moments and it gave me so many feels in regards to Anne and her relationship with Katarina. So many!

[themattress]

Holy Shit!

https://imgur.com/gallery/WKkli

https://imgur.com/gallery/j9OQylb

Beyond the proof that the guy who uploaded this is involved with Bad Robot that he provided at the end of his second post, these definitely seem legit because the first post was in 2018, before The Rise of Skywalker came out, yet the treatment contains some blatant concepts that ended up finding there way into that movie that I have a hard time believing anyone but J.J himself could have come up with (plus, the rest of the plot is very J.J-like, as I’ll get into.)

So these definitely seem to be the discarded Episode VIII and IX treatments. Thoughts?

- Luke’s reasons for coming to Ahch-To definitely seem more in line with TFA than in TLJ, seeing as if he wanted to just “go there to die” he wouldn’t have left a freaking map to the place behind, plus it seemed off that someone disillusioned with the Jedi ways would go to the site of the first Jedi Temple to begin with. His portrayal also matches what we saw at the end of TFA (seeming to be in mourning for Han), and fits the “kind but sad” description from the script. And far from cutting himself off from the Force, Luke has been influencing it from afar as part of his grand plan, explaining Rey’s vision when she touched his lightsaber.

- Luke has a wife and kids! Sadly for EU fans, the wife is not Mara Jade.

- It was Luke’s influence via the Force that explained the things Rey could do that fans deemed her a Mary Sue for, plus some other things that weren’t so routinely noted such as the remarkable coincidence that she and Finn just happened to run into Han and Chewie right after obtaining the Millennium Falcon. Not sure how well this would have gone down...

- Saccrum, Snoke’s home planet, is literally Exogol. Secret ancient Sith planet that is nigh impenetrable to all non-Sith, site of the final battle and (as we’ll soon learn) where Snoke is repeatedly cloned and where Palpatine is resurrected by Sith alchemists...it’s fucking Exogol.

- I recall concept art for Kylo Ren’s partly metallic face floating around.

- Dathan Naut seems cool, but she never really amounts to much.

- So it seems J.J Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan’s vision for the Sequel Trilogy always seemed to boil down to “All the generations of Jedi vs. all the generations of Sith reaching a climactic battle, with Skywalker vs. Palpatine at the heart of it, and the Palpatine who becomes a Skywalker as the key to victory.” That idea was always where they were going.

- Jedi/Sith Holocrons were always gonna be a thing, which is why Rebels worked them in.

- Live-action Ahsoka was also always an objective, it seems, and I bet the way they wrote her out in Rebels’ “Twilight of the Apprentice” was to potentially serve as a lead-in for her appearance in the Sequel Trilogy. But because that never came to pass, they brought her back toward the end of the series and set her on the new trajectory that she’s currently on. Honestly, I think that’s for the better, Ahsoka wouldn’t have really fit in the main film series.

- Not big on this Cfi-Xi character, she mainly seems to be here to “no homo” C-3PO. And her main role relating to the Sith Planet ended up played just fine by C-3PO in TROS anyway.

- BB-8 had the kind of fake-out death they ended up giving to Chewie.

- Wow, so Hux was supposed to die in Episode VIII and Phasma in Episode IX originally. Funny how that got totally flipped backward in the versions we actually ended up getting.

- OK, this “family time” that Rey’s getting is precious. It’s sad we didn’t get to see this.

- Hoo boy, “this is the bad ass Luke Skywalker we’ve been waiting for!” Really? Et tu, J.J and Kasdan? In light of the recent showing by Luke in The Mandalorian, I again question why this portrayal of the character is so widely beloved by fans when it has little to no basis in the OT.

- Rey vs. Kylo Ren in a raging ocean backdrop; here in Episode VIII rather than IX. Similarly, it’s a duel that Kylo clearly has in the bag, but a fluke in the Force allows Rey to survive, although I much prefer the fluke we got to the one this treatment proposes because....

- Goddamn it, J.J. You’re doing the time travel / time paradox shit again? Were Lost, Fringe and Star Trek not enough for you to explore that concept in? This is the biggest part of these treatment drafts that rubs me the wrong way, it’s just so needlessly convoluted and cliche.

- Also, yet another Mystery Box in Luke’s severed hand on Saccrum.

- No Jedi Leia in that flashback? Yeah, I can see why Kathleen Kennedy rejected this.

- Btw, Rian Johnson wasn’t the only one who was going to turn Luke into an asshole failure, it seems. Making this highly risky plan with Ben and not letting his parents know about it? Dick! 

- Snoke is the one who destroys Luke’s academy, not Kylo Ren. And he does so as he is dying; another clue-in that there’s more to Snoke than it seems given that he’s still around.

- Lando would have been in Episode IX anyway, albeit still running Cloud City.

- The idea for this Episode IX is that the Skywalkers are a Jedi dynasty that long predated Anakin (Shmi being a descendant of it), and the Palpatines were their Sith enemies. Sheev Palpatine also would have died his first death generations ago and was being constantly resurrected via clone bodies made on Saccrum ever since, so the one that Anakin killed wasn’t the original; Palpatine can’t be stopped unless Saccrum is destroyed. While not as convoluted as the time paradox shit, I appreciate the simpler route they ended up taking.

- J.J and Kasdan always wanted Rey’s father to be a defective Palpatine clone.

- There was never a planned origin for Snoke in these treatments; wherever he came from the bottom line was that Palpatine brought him onto his side by promising to share his key to immortality (constant cloned bodies made on Sacccrum) with him. Again, this ended up being simplified into Snoke just being a whole-sale creation of Palpatine’s from the very beginning.

- Since these are treatments, the “love” part of the dynamic between Rey and Kylo Ren is highly underdeveloped and would likely have been fleshed out in screenwriting. The end result, with the deprogramming vision of Rey and Darth Vader, sounds pretty effective though, but I think I much prefer the Leia death / vision of Han version that we ended up with.

- LOL, the “droid way of making love”. I want to see this idea repurposed someday.

- That’s an interesting twist on Alderaan, although it really doesn’t amount to anything given that the planet Leia grew up on and called home still got destroyed by the Death Star.

- “Magic blood”, another J.J-ism. Again, I much prefer the simpler version TROS gave us.

- The climax’s structure is basically the same as in TROS, with Rey (and others) heading to the Sith planet from Ahch-To and then Leia’s Resistance forces going there from their base, with Rey and Ben facing Palpatine. The biggest differences is that we also have Luke vs. Snoke and Finn vs. Phasma battles going on, in addition to a Jedi vs. Sith ground battle.

- Yeah, I don’t really care for how Phasma’s death is handled: making her hideously scarred and treating her sympathetically don’t sit right with me. Rian Johnson did it better, IMO.

- No red stormtroopers here, but there are red Tie Fighters.

- Ben still gives his life to save Rey, albeit in a less literal manner.

- Palpatine still wants Rey to ascend to the Sith throne and rule by his side. Also: “he loves the smell of burning hair, it reminds him of home”!? Wow, that’s dark in what it’s implying...

- OK, so while not a Jedi, Leia is the Big Damn Hero in the end. That makes sense.

- WTF? Rey straight-up kills Palpatine with Sith lightning!? Yeah, that definitely wasn’t ever gong to fly with Lucasfilm, since it totally contradicts ROTJ’s message! It was inevitable that we’d end up with the more correct “Rey deflects Palpatine’s own Sith lightning back at him”.

- “Rey Skywalker” is the end point for the story here as well, but it ending on Tatooine is so much more emotional than ending it on Alderaan Prime, a place that only just now exists.

My final impression is that we probably could have had the best version of the Sequel Trilogy possible IF the right corrections were made when adapting these treatments into real screenplays, such as axing the more convoluted and pointlessly fanservice-y elements and making different choices for a few of the characters (Rey, Kylo Ren, C-3PO, Phasma, etc...also something more substantial for Poe since they clearly had no idea what to do with him). However, it was also an impossibility for it to ever happen due to many different factors, the biggest of which being Carrie Fisher’s passing in 2016. So as it stands, I am still satisfied with the version we got and am especially happy that J.J returned for TROS to provide the end of the Skywalker Saga with some of his original (mercifully fine-tuned and simplified) ideas.

[kpopfanfictrash]

ladyartemesia said: I can’t believe you brought From Justin to Kelly into this 🤣😂 fabulous as always! So delightful.

@ladyartemesia​ LOL! Vi, thank you so much for enjoying this reference haha thank you for reading!

remmykinsff said: I knew it!!! I mean.. this was great. He man spreads when he drives. That's going to live in my head rent free now. I really liked the little talk in the car, how she didn't realize they were close and not really wanting to leave. Okay, Noelle (I hope that's the right spelling) IS. BEST. GIRL. That's it. Now, Finn... Boy you in trouuuuble. How she didn't dump your selfish ass.. Really. He didn't go to many of her performances because they were getting to be the same...  DUDE. Lemme explain something to you. Very simple. You're not there because it's Boring, or the same over and over.. or to watch other people. You are there for HER. it doesn't matter if her performance is 3mins or 2 hours.. you are there to support her. Period. The fact that she couldn't find a single time that Finn's name came up or they all hung out as a group.. speaks volumes. I am loving the banter between them.. Jimin got nervous about her having a boyfriend 🤭

@remmykinsff​ ahhh I’m so glad you enjoyed their car ride! & you’re totally right -- Noelle, best girl!! Thank you so much for reading, babe :)

kay-marie-123 said: Late night car talk (even though it’s because of Finn being the worst boyfriend ever), sneaking peeks (and getting caught lol) Jimin clearly has feelings and is subconsciously (or maybe even consciously?) distancing. Yn is suppressing feelings. I love this. I’m so glad they’re finally talking to each other and beginning to feel more comfortable with each other outside of dancing. As always such a great chapter with great developmental dialogue. Loved the banter about the cardigan in the club 🤣

@kay-marie-123​ thank you so much!! I’m very glad you enjoyed the dialogue and their banter in the car!!

theflowerbangtan said: @kpopfanfictrash This series is SO FUN TO READ. I love the characterizations and the setting. And goddamn that tension is building up in such a beautifully agonizing way. I loved "get over yourself and just touch my thigh" 🤣

@theflowerbangtan​ THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY! I’m so glad you enjoyed that line haha and the overall characterizations and tension-building! Thank you!!

kitty-queen-13 said: Oooh Y/N felt a spark! I’m really enjoying the development of her relationship with Jimin. They’re both shy and feisty at the same time.

@kitty-queen-13 THANK YOU! I’m so glad you’re enjoying!

bowchuckle said: legit this is my fav series 💜 the slow burn is so good, i never comment on any tumblr posts but i love it so much i had to say it

@bowchuckle THANK YOU FOR COMMENTING! I’m so very glad you’re enjoying the series, babe and that you appreciate the slow burn!!

lenaboyce said: I absolutely died at the girls night sleepover description as a boys porno fantasy. Absolutely hilarious!

@lenaboyce​ LOL! I’m so, so glad you enjoyed that line! haha thank you!

sugamonster22 said: OOP what’s in your box YN 👀 lol this ch was so good! I’m glad Finn at least knew he hella fucked up. I loved how YN and Jimin learned a little more about each other on the car ride back. And I find it cute and funny that after hearing she has a bf, Jimin was hesitant to touch YN during class 😂 Noelle was as hilarious and spunky as always! Can’t wait to see what happens next!

@sugamonster22​ ahh, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the series, babe! I hope you enjoy the next chapter :))

linpiclover said: THIS WAS SO GOOOODDDD

@linpiclover​ THANK YOU!

[takaraphoenix]

Hi! What are your thoughts about OUAT.

That’s a complex, layered answer because my feelings for OUaT are very complex. The short of it is that, obsession and love level wise, this was my Shadowhunters before Shadowhunters existed as a show. I completely loved and adored this show, I watched every episode as soon as it came out, with a single-minded focus (as in: normally, when watching TV, I use the show as a background noise to my writing. There is only a select handful of TV shows that ever managed to get my full, undivided attention of me turning all else off to only focus on the show).

I love OUaT to bits and pieces. However, much like Shadowhunters, it was far from a flawless show. Very, very, very far. Seriously, it’s an absolute mess in many aspects but damn do I love it.

It appeals to many of the things I love. For one, classic Disney movies. For another, fairy tales - but the very specific niche genre of fairy tale crossovers, which is just... my biggest weakness, possibly. Thirdly, characters you can get invested in and love to bits and pieces.And fourth, shipping.

This is one of the incredibly small, tiny pool of shows where I absolutely adore the canon ships, not just in a “daw it’s cute enough” way that makes me accept that it is The Canon Ship That’s Happening, but in a way that has me actively invested in and rooting for those absolute dumbasses. And. Not just one ship, usually it’s like “huh I am surprisingly invested in this one ship”, but - Rumpel/Belle, Hook/Emma, David/Snow?? Yes, please, inject it into my veins.

Though also just as attached to my non-canon ships - REGINA/EMMA FOR LIFE, Ruby/Snow, Hook/David. And that duality of being really invested in the non-canon ships but still absolutely loving the canon ships? That is... completely and entirely unique to OUaT for me. Never happened outside this show.

I adore that this show did one of the things that I complained Descendants didn’t - it respects Snow White, the very first Disney princess, and puts her front and center. Never-ever made sense to me that Descendants just went “uuuh we at random picked Belle to rule all the kingdoms because I dunno the head writer loves Beauty and the Beast the most”... Snow White was Disney’s very first and I do think she deserves more respect.

The things they did with her! They made her an actual active heroine. Not a little girl hiding out in the woods. They explored possibilities and turned her into a total badass, who never lost the main qualities of Disney’s Snow White though. Her nurturing, loving, gentle soul. That is what I adore about her, because very often when trying to portray strong female characters, media removes their softness, makes them hardened to make them a badass.

Regina and Emma have such a brilliant canon dynamic - even beyond the fanon ship. The way they mended and grew together and became friends. The growth, the softness, the shared custody. I love them.

And with both Regina and Rumpel, I love the day they gradually progressed from “main antagonist from season 1″ to “part of the family”. This show is a found family feast.

It wasn’t flawless. It had some pacing issues, in my opinion. Like the Peter Pan arc was too long. They went hiking for like 12 episodes. That one still sticks with me as having bored me. And I also do think it was a huge mistake to make Peter Pan, one of Disney’s heroes a villain. He was a great villain and his actor absolutely killed it, don’t get me wrong, but in the context of Disney canon, it was a bit jarring.

The same is to be said about Arthur. Don’t take King Arthur, of all people, and turn him into a jackass. That didn’t sit right with me and I think that could, and should, have been handled differently.

As a huge fan of Wizard of Oz canon, I have mixed feelings about Zelina. She was kind of a joke most of the time, her raping Robin was not good at all (beeecause that’s what it is when you shapeshift into the person the other one loves and then have sex with them under pretense to get yourself pregnant), but in the end it - and her - fit relatively well into all of this.

Was completely wasted for the entire Frozen arc, but even I, someone who loathes that movie with a burning passion, genuinely enjoyed the way the show was trying to fix it? Answer all the unanswered question the movie left and actually tie it into the Snow Queen fairy tale? Like, that was a feast and I love that they did that. Also Ingrid was hot and checked all my boxes so there’s that.

In the same way, I adore what they did with Ursula. That they took the scraped canon of Ursula being Triton’s sister and worked with that and that they in the end decided to redeem her too - though I am still very disappointed that we never got to see Ursula actually interact with Ariel at all. That’d have been so interesting. (Also, I admit, they went really overkill with having three Ursulas. Regina pretending to be Ursula, Ursula the ancient golden statue goddess and the actual Ursula, daughter of Poseidon).

I love Hades. I love Greg Germann’s take on Hades. He absolutely killed it. The whole underworld story was incredibly awesome to me personally - though I know others didn’t like that half-season as much. But I really dug that.

I think that it started to fizz out after that though and that after the underworld storyline, they probably should have drawn it to a close, because... after everything, after five whole seasons of watching redemption and working hard to make up for the things you did in the past, they really just decided “and now Regina is gonna physically split off her Evil Queen”... and made that Evil Queen the villain. That felt insanely repetitive of season 1 and like a set-back for Regina.

(The second half of that season didn’t go better because honestly that whole nonsense with “not only is Rumpel the son of Peter Pan, nope, now we bring in his mom the Evil Fairy”, featuring the very overused trope of “baby is magically aged up to be a character who can contribute to the plot”... Not the best.)

Also I refuse to acknowledge the existence of that reboot season. It’s bullshit is what it is. The show had the perfect ending. And then they immediately slapped a reboot onto it... why? If they had taken their time, wait ten years until nostalgia for the show kicks in and the actors all need work again, and do a proper “now Henry goes through shit”, that’d have actually been interesting, but... the moment I saw “so... we keep half the main cast, break up some OTPs, don’t age the adults up but age Henry up and also there is now a second Cinderella”, I knew that’s not gonna be good.

Seriously, the second Cinderella is what really fucked it over for me. What I loved about OUaT was that it gave very specific rules to its universe.

The Author documents the tales. The Author gives them their spin. But they are still the same tale. Be that the Brothers Grimm, who documented Cinderella, or then Walt Disney, it was still Cinderella, from the Enchanted Forest. Their stories were simply written down.

That they then, in the reboot season, went “well, actually There Are Many Cinderellas!!” completely contradicts the previously established rules of this world? Because yes, the concept very similar to Cinderella actually exists in many cultures - and that was the cool thing of OUaT’s take, because pressumably that is because the Author was in said culture at said time and documented the tale, as is the Author’s job.

Especially since it was so... unnecessary? I mean, they gave Rapunzel one half-assed episode in the past, they never tackled Gold Mary, they could have shown what became of Hänsel and Gretel now also grown up, etc. There were other unused characters that could have been brought in instead of throwing the rules out of the window.

But moving on from that; I love that they didn’t limit themselves to Disney movies - that they did prominently put Red Riding Hood (my favorite fairy tale character) in there, that they worked with mythology as well as books.

One thing they absolutely fucked up was their spin-off though. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. They made that. They decided that, out of everything touched upon in the series, Alice’s tale should get a spin-off... and then they didn’t use any of the actual characters?

Alice herself never got an appearance in OUaT, not prior or after the spin-off (only very much later in the reboot season, with a different Alice)

They had the Queen of Hearts on OUaT, but they didn’t use her as the main antagonist, or at least a huge deal, on Wonderland

They had the freaking Mad Hatter on OUaT, but he doesn’t even have a single cameo on Wonderland

And don’t give me “Seb Stan was too busy!”, because... even then, they could have recast. The Mad Hatter is kind of a big part of Alice in Wonderland, but... they ignored the majority of what is important in AiW in general, so there is that

They named the Red Queen Anastasia and very heavily implied that yes, the Anastasia who was the stepsister of Cinderella - but when OUaT’s original Cinderella got her stepsisters introduced, they suddenly had entirely different names than the Disney stepsisters and of course it wasn’t the same actress either

They introduced Jafar (for some reason) in Wonderland. And then recast him when Aladdin was tackled on OUaT and never addressed any of the things that happened on Wonderland, especially not how Jafar was the son of the sultan which would technically make him Jasmine’s brother

It was nearly dumb to move Will Scarlet to OUaT after the spin-off was axed, because at that point they legit just ignored Wonderland as a whole so this acknowledgment felt very off. But then it’s Michael Socha and I love him so I ain’t gonna complain about that.

So yes, I have mild issues with how they made a spin-off that had basically no inpact on the show, despite many elements that should have crossed over and carried significance in both shows.

Lastly, because we’re on the topic of spin-offs, I still would absolutely kill for a spin-off about Mulan, Merida and Ruby. Those three, exploring the Enchanting Forest together, training together, being gay together, it was the best thing. Which does force me to mention the gay. Because... Mulan was canonically in love with Aurora and when they set her up to find Ruby and journey with her, it came really off as them trying to make Mulan/Ruby happen. Then they introduce Merida, a very famously single princess, and you start to wonder. But in the end, it’s Ruby who ends up with Dorothy, aka two characters not associated with Disney. And it makes you wonder. (It doesn’t. We all know Disney is hugely homophobic. We all know OUaT most likely had some Disney executive yelling at them for even implying one of their characters may be gay. So they backtracked to give the wlw storyline to two characters that weren’t Disney property.)

Ah, I don’t like ending things on a negative note so one last positive - as weirdly as the Dark Swan arc was handled at parts, I absolutely love that Emma’s name being Swan really did pay off in making her the Swan Princess in the end and giving a nudge to Swan Lake with the Dark Swan. That was such a cool pay-off of something as small as a last name.

So, to sum it up, there’s some flaws in the writing, some things I wish would have been explored more, but overall good gods do I love and adore this TV show.