#love the angst potential of this episode tbh

[calliopechild]

I don’t usually comment on posts, but this one...yeah. YEAH.

We know from later episodes that Leo thinks his brothers are better than him, and he’s clearly hesitant to be vulnerable/show his insecurities around them. But this shows that even with that, it never occurs to him that any of them would hurt him on purpose. Leo doubts himself, but never his brothers.

And given that, how much did this hurt? Not physically, but emotionally? Leo’s awful humor and dad jokes and puns are part of what he’s made himself into as The Face Man(TM). This is the role he’s crafted for himself to try and be useful to his family in the only way he thinks he can, and the sense of humor he genuinely enjoys (and shares with April), so it is a part of him. Donnie’s gift outright says that that role is unwanted.

Also, I imagine this all must have hurt worse when Leo saw his brothers’ gifts. Because Mikey’s and Raph’s are both condescending in different ways, but they aren’t actively, physically harmful. Mikey’s gift underestimates his abilities and judgment and “protects” him when he doesn’t need it, but at its core it is just meant to keep him safe (even if it does so by taking away his ability to act, which is...obviously problematic and dangerous in the kind of high-intensity situations they’re usually in that require immediate reactions). Raph’s is cruel in judging his planning abilities, and definitely runs the risk of being a distraction at a pivotal moment, but it’s not physically harmful at all. (And unlike Leo and Mikey’s, seems to actually assume Raph can learn when offered “advice.”)

But Leo’s. Of all the brothers, Donnie designed Leo’s gift to not just change him, but to hurt him in order to do so. And maybe it was a voltage error, maybe Donnie intended it to just be the equivalent to a static shock or one of those joke hand buzzers, but the point still remains: Donnie was willing to use pain to change Leo.

How do you get past that?

According to the Rise book: Ninja Power, during the episode Donnie’s Gifts, the first time Leo gets shocked by the collar Donnie made him, Leo thinks the shock was caused by a malfunction & I’m not sure why but for some reason I find that kind of sad

Leo: What was that?

The fact that Leo knew that the collar had shocked him as soon as he felt the first shock but assumed that the shock was just a malfunction & it took until the second shock for Leo to realise that the collar was shocking him on purpose is kind of sad to me.

Leo had realised that the collar had shocked him from the first shock but his first thought isn’t ‘Donnie gave me a shock collar’ its ‘oh Donnie’s gift shocked me on accident’

[maxiewolfe]

I loved the little bits we got of the triad in this new episode, like all of them hanging out together in different scenes, also looking all cool together, the boys walking behind audrey? loved that! my fave scene tho was that when they're leaving after audrey confronts her dad where Aki is like we should go and he literally pulls audrey and max away from that asshole and he looks back to Audrey's dad all protective of them??? 😭 can I have a thousand more scenes like that one please?

[sepublic]

In the storyboards for Thanks to Them, Hunter was originally going to see only Belos in the reflection, and cut his hair because of the resemblance. Caleb was later included; My best guess is that in this episode, we already had Luz worrying about her similarities to Belos, and it happens again in the finale. But she has no knowledge/connection to Caleb… Whereas Hunter does, so somebody has to worry about being similar to Caleb between these two! Hence, the addition of Caleb’s reflection, to emphasize Hunter’s clone angst to set up the resolution to that storyline.

And it makes sense because while Hunter knows he defied Belos’ genocide by choosing to question it… Knowing you’re a clone of somebody else is a different existential crisis in its own right that he can’t talk to anyone about, except maybe Vee if she’s also a clone? And so there’s the worry about Caleb being a more informing force for Hunter than Belos could ever hope to be, because Hunter knows from Amity that people can break away from the ones they were raised by. And yes she was related to Odalia, but she was also related to Alador and isn’t an outright clone so um. Yeah.

And tbh I kinda see his storyline in the next episode as also exploring a potential similarity to Belos for Hunter? In his prickliness over the loss of a loved one (perceived on Philip’s end), being unresponsive and bitter to someone trying their best to help. But unlike Belos with the Grimwalkers (one of whom was Hunter), Hunter gets over his bitterness to accept and appreciate Willow’s kindness, and even makes it about her pain too. And Hunter actually had a loved one taken away from him!

[zhuoyichenpretty]

Ep 27 Commentary

Again, a little hastily thrown together, but there's a bit of meta in there! Somewhere...If you squint...

Spoilers under the cut:

Lmao I did not make it five minutes into this episode without crying.

I'm not sure if this is the consensus but tbh I'm doubly glad for PSJ's character in the way her relationship with WX sort of throws off the conventional tropes WX's character toes the line of falling into and instead develops a narrative that is squarely their own. It's important to me how much she personally centers WX (and WX returns the favor, bringing PSJ back into the fold every time I worry she's being sidelined). The way she turns to WX in this opening scene, it's distinctive that PSJ grieves for her, alongside her own angst over their friends' apparent sacrifices. And I like the contrast of their gazes, her anger as Ying Long laughs at them, and WX's deadened stare.

In PSJ's presence, WX's words become more than a self-loathing lamentation (which, also, very understandable, if I were her I'd have snapped by this point too) or a monologue to a seemingly uncaring ancient audience; it's a burden shared between two people. And actually, it's a burden that PSJ grabs hold of from WX and forces her to share. That slap was crazy work tbh, the force of it, but ultimately how much more it looked like it hurt PSJ to deliver than WX to receive. And the way WX first looks back up at her after the slap is so painfully vulnerable and young. Something about the tilt of her head and the line of her brow. We don't get a direct shot of it in that specific moment (another thing kept private between characters!) but just from WX's profile, her gaze is so expressive in its hopelessness, its despondency. In the immediate aftermath of the sacrificial freezing, I would wager PSJ is the only thing WX looks at and can actually see.

And while I'm sure PSJ would grieve deeply on her own over losing ZYC and ZYZ, those tears, that sob she lets out, and the way she holds WX imo all very specifically seem to be her heart bleeding for the woman she loves. Such subtext, plus the preceding wordless and purely physical scene of the suicide attempt and slap, is to me altogether kind of uncommon for female characters in this style of drama to be afforded (at least the ones I've seen) so it does make a difference to me that we have that here. All in all, I love the rashness they are allowed, the respective impulsivity that we're offered because they have each other to ultimately fall against.

Gotta love how obviously PSJ is sick of Ying Long's shit. Also PSJ always the master of wasting zero time like thank you girl I do want to see what's in that box.

What do you mean ZYC has preemptively given WX back the gift of comfort after grief and loss, the assurance that it will pass? That he's kept the flowers all this time and has thought through his own potential demise with such clarity and has prepared for soothing the grief of those who will be left behind before he's even gone, precisely because he's been in that very position? I really truly can't with ZYC. I've hardly seen a modern male protagonist with a heart so full of this particular brand of intensely sensitive, complex, attentive, and careful love, and so freely given, too.

Also CDL (Wen Xiao's actress) coming up with new ways to cry is honestly impressive with how many crying scenes the show puts her through. Her sobbing as she explains the flowers to PSJ is so raw to me. I really think she excels at these extreme line deliveries.

Bingyi!!! Also Ying Long your completely unfettered adoration for Bingyi is showing through your gaze man stand upppp (but also I get it).

The barest hint of a smile in Bingyi's expression as he recounts Ying Long fighting alongside him. This man is in looooove.

I like that they put reverb in Ying Long's voice for the consistency with present-day Ying Long but I also kind of wish they did that for Bingyi's voice.

Ying Long I know you died for the sake of the world and all but the fact that you made Bingyi cry like that.....twice.......and he kept your soul and your dragon bone in his own clan's tomb............oh how he must have mourned you..................Bingyi I would treat you right just saying

Oh god the Bingyi clan's tender-heartedness. Literally one of my favorite traits in a fictional man thank youuuuuu.

That paralleling of scenes when ZYC comes back from the future and we get to see him and ZYZ as Ying Long and Bingyi staring at each other wowowoww the soulmatism is insane. There's so much affection in ZYC's voice and gaze.

Headcanon that ZYC sucks at math because there's five of you/?? wb YING LEI heLLO?

Yes!!! The triumphant OST music as they're brought back!! That shit hits so hard, I really gotta appreciate the soundtrack once again. And oof the first moment ZYZ is unfrozen and just looks at ZYC and then the fact that when ZYC fully turns around and they meet eyes the literal lyrics say, "I've found you" twice, once for each of them. what in the ROMANCE wow

The queer panning!!! On PSJ and ZYC my two belovedssss ouch. But yeah the camera could not be clearer on who's watching whom and pining for and yearning over whom. Maybe a pan to ZYC alone would be ambiguous but both PSJ and ZYC? Gay.

Ying Long dragon bone pulsing like a video game objective to get their attention during the emotional reunion makes me giggle ngl

Oh god the mpreg joke. I've come across this scene so many times by now but I literally cannot sit through it without biting my fist I cannot believe this made it to the final cut lmfaooooo

Also given how many transitions this drama is missing in terms of scene-to-scene flow and continuity, I really love that we get to watch them walk away and pick up the flowers and the box and PSJ her bow and arrows.

The way ZYC waits up for WX after her convo with Bai Yan. His concern for her re: Princess Longyu and the flashback to when they were young...her implication that he's one of the sources of light in her life and how we know she's the same for him...this is the platonic m/f bond of the year for me I think. He loves her so so much!!! And that's her mf bestie!!!!

I devolved into just reactions by the end there I'm sorry!! But I'm running out of time so that's a wrap!

[sadiejulius]

my take on the love next door episode 8 reveal

As painful as it sounds, it often takes a rather devastating turn of events to give someone a reality check on how they're living their life. I know most people were hoping the writer would just depict seokryu's career burnout. But the writer chose to include cancer and a major procedure as a part of her medical history (with a lot of foreshadowing tbh), and i'm on board with this reveal serving as the potential trigger to seokryu quitting her job, breaking off her engagement, and eventually returning home to reset her life. My guess is that what happened at the end of the episode is a complication of her gastrectomy (as a result of eating the popcorn) rather than a relapse. But this is an ongoing drama so we just have to wait and see before jumping to conclusions.

I'm perfectly aware that not everyone likes every single kdrama trope. Whether you're a veteran watcher or a new one, it's important to consider that any trope/cliche is fair game regardless of the promo material. But when they're executed well and there is a proper balance of humor, angst, fluff, and a sprinkle of social commentary, then that means the writer has succeeded in tugging the heartstrings of the audience.

Since this drama features a triggering topic, it's totally valid to put it on hold or even drop it completely. As for me, i'm going to be patient and trust my intuition that the writer will handle this with the utmost care and sensitivity.

[qoldenskies]

i genuinely adore the way that anatawa hitorijanai/the third part of the finale brings back the little motif with leo falling and raph jumping to save him in bug busters because it was such an important moment that really propelled raph along in his own abilities (although i personally interpret mystic powers as being more related to the individual and their emotions, while ninpo is more about. yknow. the family and their trust with each other since its hereditary, i see it as separate. post for later) but i always find it SO WEIRD that it's treated as like. a trust fall. because leo falling was not a trust fall. it was the opposite, actually.

is it representative of raph putting himself aside for the sake of his family? oh yeah. i do believe its a point that marks a turning point in the way he perceives the role of the oldest and leader, which is why i like the parallel because he puts the same into his younger brothers' hands. but was it really an act of trust? hell no! raph spent the entire episode NOT TRUSTING LEO. they were put in that exact position because raph cared a lot about being right just as much as leo did, and draxum dropped leo because raph didn't listen to him!!

leo pushed and bitched and begged pretty much that entire episode to be listened to, and raph never truly gave him the floor because he was expecting him from the get-go to be cynical and selfish. and even though leo can be those things at times, it didnt mean he wasnt a voice worth not listening to. and that did nearly get him killed! joke aside, leo shouting about his last words meant he really, really did not actually expect raph to do something like that, and raph jumped in a blind, panicked act of desperation for leo's sake. i think learning he SHOULD trust him from that point was something that should've been clarified, or they should've left the parallel more implicit tbh.

but you know what IS an excellent parallel to bug busters? the movie! their roles are reversed! raph has well learned the importance of taking things seriously and is loudly pushing for caution, and leo is pushing him away and shrugging it off like he's just being too pessimistic, its pretty much a HERE COMES THE FUN POLICE WEEWOO. which i think is like, the equivalent to raph's "she's a nice spider lady, why are you being so negative, do you just want to prove me wrong? you're up to something"

and i think a big reason raph is so loud about the lesson he's trying to pound into leo's skull is because of the exact lesson he learned in bug busters, because he definitely does actually see a lot of himself in leo (i do love when people play around with raph going "oh god did i teach him that" about some of leo's more self-destructive behavior btw, that's good A team angst) and i dont think he wants leadership back at all. he's perfectly fine with splitting the load, because they already have been The Big Brothers from the start and leo's been his second in command and cheerleader a lot before. but leo in his eyes is being vindictive and refusing to take this seriously, and i'm sure for raph it hits a little close to home! projection moment

this was honestly just me trying to say that i think the perfect leo/raph roof moment parallel should be their fight when raph is krang-ified, leo telling raph to go save donnie and mikey, and then him leaping into the prison dimension, just like raph leapt for him, because there was no other choice in order to save lives. it's the exact same type of move, bonus points with how leo points it out, "hero moves are your style".

(also potential parallel if you choose to interpret raph's tears as he jumps off the roof as overwhelming guilt because he suddenly realizes that his own choices brought them to this point, because like.... leo crying in the prison dimension..... same thing)

point is, love the raph trust fall in the third part of the finale. but i think the point of him catching leo was that he didn't trust him, and i think it wouldve been better to the finale trust fall more about how he's grown from the behavior that put them there back in bug busters.

OH AND AND AND this is compounded in by the B team moment RIGHT AFTER THAT with donnie and mikey, because that is an ACTUAL example of two brothers that genuinely, earnestly trust each other. donnie tells mikey to let go intentionally and mikey doesn't hesitate, because he knows donnie will always be there to catch him and he trusts him wholeheartedly. the difference is jarring and most likely intentional.

[the-gayest-show]

The Haunting of Wells House/Best of Luck Review/Analysis

NEW EPISODES AGAIN YIPPEE YIPPEE YIPPEE

The Haunting of Wells House:

I love a fun episode to get my mind off the angst of Operation Birthday Take back!

The gag of this being a paranormal TV show were so great! So many minor things I loved like the "Paranormal Pursuit" show title they keep saying. Literally cracked me up the way they were saying it.

I also adore the interview gags, you cannot tell me this ain't so fitting for both of them!

"My local paper called my performance of Ebenezer Scrooge 'Not as bad as it could've been'" 😭

Her expression is golden.

Also the reference to that one painting from Cosmo and Wanda was a nice touch (I mean they already had The Scream up there before this)

(The original is called American Gothic, I had no idea! I knew the art piece generally but didn't know the name till I googled and it and suddenly boom that's the name. AND it's from the 1930s! Ain't that cool stuff!)

Jorgan reappearance! We haven't seen you in like. A bit. I'm pretty sure not since the fairy testing thing but I could be wrong. "Father Jorgan" I love how Wanda and Cosmo literally summon him for the sole purpose of "exorcising" a ghost fairy. Funniest shit on Earth fr. Bro was NOT built for the "Father" role. HE LITERALLY GETS "DA RULES" OUT INSTEAD OF A BIBLE IM CRYINNGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Also why does bro just have like so many cassette tapes? Are they all cursed? Are more fairies trapped in tapes or something? And it's a LARGE collection. WHY DO YOU HAVE THAT MANY TAPES JORGAN WH-

Overall, this episode was fun as hell and I ADORED Hazel and her dad's dynamic together. Tbh it's so cute! Hazel is so enthusiastic about hunting for the apartment ghost with her dad it's so wholesome 🥺 I honestly love the father/daughter duo sm an episodic adventure episode is so nice. Also the TV segment thing was awesome af, enjoyed that a lot. I feel like it's probably in reference to Buzzfeed Unsolved or something.

Best of Luck:

Ohhhhh boy, Dev is back again! And it is NOT looking good! I found this episode to be kinda heartbreaking for many reasons. This entire episode essentially revolves around Dev wanting to make "rule breaking" wishes (eg. win the tournament and that t-shirt) but Peri (being normal about Da Rules) tells him he can't (because he can't) and Dev and Peri have a little fight in which Peri seems to quit. I find that looking back, he might've been crying?

Bro's got tears rolling down his face and everything!

And then he gets replaced with Minecraft Steve Foop Irep, who retains the cube shape he was born in (is this a glimpse into a potential timeline where Peri would've been a sphere?), and really hates his name change unlike his normal fairy counterpart.

HE SAYS HE'S MORE ATTRACTIVE 😭 If only he knew that Peri was a Tumblr sexy man and he.... isn't.

Anyway, Dev literally uses the anti-fairy powers of not giving a fuck about the rules to essentially wish his way into winning the stupid prize, while giving Hazel bad luck (which she manages to get past using good luck charms) and making her lose the tournament.

-

Important thing, let's talk about that scene after Dev wins. He's expecting Hazel to be upset about losing, like... really upset. When she's not that upset and takes losing normally, he lashes out at her.

He WANTS her to react like how he's been reacting to the thought of losing the competition. I think this is still a reaction to his dad being neglectful at the party (and he very likely hasn't stopped being absentee since then). He's projecting his own emotions, and rejecting Hazel's attempts to be nice.

"I don't need your caring and understanding, Hinkle!" (This is also a sign of Dev's detachment from Hazel, since he reverts back to the "everything but calling her Hazel" bit)

He's more happier with physical things rather than emotional. He seems to avoid the emotional wishes, likely a coping mechanism for the neglect, opting to use the rule free wishes of Irep to wish for money, love from some classmate (who he's never been shown to love back in any way before this), to be the King of America (bro really invented monarchy for a monarchy-less country. Crazy.).

And then he literally wishes for Cosmo and Wanda to be nothing! To kill them essentially! I think that's driven by Dev's idea that having two fairies is better than one (a concept I remember being battled on with Remy Buxaplenty and his one fairy), even if it isn't and they're all still bound to the same rules, and by some motivation to get back at Hazel, likely another projection of his feelings.

Just before the mini battle ends, Dev exclaims that he's "finally going to get everything [he's] ever wanted" and that they're ruining it for him. I think, deep down, Dev really wants his dad's affection. I've mentioned this before in the review I did for the Take back episode, but he seemed so devastated about the lack of attention from his father then and even way back from scavenger hunt episode when Dev and Hazel first bonded with each other. Personally, I think Dev was likely going to use Irep (and his ability to basically with whatever, in Dev's eyes) to wish his father could be different. I think that was the real goal, and all the physical stuff was for show and very surface level wishing.

Dev's rejection of Hazel eventually gets to Hazel herself, where she chucks the shirt at him and says "Fine! Take the dumb shirt! I hope it was worth it." Hazel is probably very much done with Dev for the time being, because she tried to reach out to him but she could see he doesn't want any of it.

Let's spawn in the question of Peri. Peri technically should act as a father figure or some kind of parental figure in this case, but he's defo been screwed over by the council for giving him this boy with issues and seems to resent him for constantly not listening when Peri says that some things are against the rules, which is why he temporarily takes a break. I know someone on a discord server pointed out that Peri isn't really bonded with Dev yet, and that really rings true.

You can see this when Peri pretty much ignores his godkid in favour of his parents (which I guess contextually could be described as just being wrapped up in convo, but knowing his track record it's likely the former). THE KID WAS SITTING RIGHT THERE! SAD! Peri, to me at least, doesn't seem like he's emotionally equipped for the job of truly being there for Dev. Cosmo and Wanda seemed way better at this in OG FOP, where they constantly looked out for Timmy, even if he was a bit of a brat at times. But Peri really does care, even a little, as evidenced by the fact that he was jealously watching over Dev while he was gone. He wanted him to call Peri back. I wonder if Peri will figure out how to adjust to being a more parental figures than he hoped, because for now it seems he's thinking about this more as a job than an actual child he has to take care of. I hope he'll improve that aspect of himself, especially concerning the finale.

-

NOW ON TO THINGS I NOTICED!

AYOOOOOO FLIPPED GENDER ROLES OF THE KNITTING AND READING NEWSPAPER LETS GOOOOOOOOO

It's also kinda weird to me that they sorta fly up and come out of the box at Hazel's school after this. It gave me the vibes of "we're living inside the box" but they aren't? Wasn't that their home? Anyways.

I said it once and will say it again: Irep is built like Minecraft Steve. You can't change my mind.

Mr Guzman is so happy at the new nickname lol. He's got that 😎 expression.

JORGAN YOU ARE BACK AGAIN. DOUBLE WHAMMY RETURN. TWO EPISODES IN ROW, KEEP UP THAT STREAK DAWG!

I guess there's a fairy HR too? And I thought the DMV was bad enough. Placing my bets on a fairy godparent union now.

Overall this episode had a lot for me to ponder on and now I wonder what Dev's gonna do with the information about anti-fairies he's gonna collect (how the fuck are the o-pears gonna know shit about this anyway). One of the episodes is Irep and Dev taking over fairy world, so I guess minecraft Steve is gonna make a reappearance, plus Dev will likely try to take over Fairy World with the same vulnerable-ish state he's in. I LOVE the plot thickening! FUCK YEAH BITCHES WE GETTING LORE

[aceofheartzzz]

My (death wish) opinions on ships pt. 1

⚠️THIS IS MY OPINION, PLEASE DO NOT ATTACK OR HARASS ME! RESPECT MINE AND I’LL RESPECT YOURS!⚠️

Okay now that the warnings placed I’ll get on with it.

Nuzi

I. Frickin’. Love. This. Ship.

These two are perfect for each other in every way and dear god they need therapy asap but it’s okay because they have each other and after episode 8 they’re both gonna be screwed but they’re so cute and I am so normal about them-

Vuzi

This ships nice. I like good ol’ doomed yuri/enemies to lovers, this ship has grown on me greatly tbh because of the potential comfort they could give each other in an aftermath au, I also love how they bicker and “Intermission” showed that beautifully.

envy

Okay I’m just gonna say it, I see them more as platonic friends than romantic. NOW BEFORE YOU COME AT ME WITH YOUR PITCHFORKS! I wanna say that while I don’t ship present envy, manor envy is plain adorable and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of it.

Vizzy

This is also one of my top ships, as they give off the most lesbian vibes I have ever seen and their relationship is hilarious and adorable. I wish we saw more and I hope we see more of their interactions because most of their interactions made me genuinely laugh.

VHad

Honestly, like envy I see them more a platonic, mainly because Thad gives me Aro/ace vibes and a friend and I headcannon that they have Mario cart nights and I will stand by it forever.

ThUzi

Similarly to V x Thad I see them as a platonic pair, though it is growing on me a little and I can see them as having a bit of a queer platonic relationship especially in an athermath au.

JUzi

I don’t really like this ship, it just doesn’t sit right with me. Good on you if you ship it though.

OilRose

Can some tell me how people got Oilrose as a ship name for J and V? Like I’m genuinely curious. Anyways, this is a classic and I’m okay with it, is nice but due to the lack of interactions between the two I don’t really ship it.

Khori

A solid ship, love it. It’s great for heart wrenching angst when you need it and I hope they get reunited because I want to see them talk to each other again.

PurpleMalice

Doomed/ toxic yuri. This ship grew on me after episode 6(I think) and when I listened to Curses by the crane wives I kinda just went “Whoa… this is so Nori x Alice singing together core.” So yeah :)

Yeva x Nori (idk the ship name)

Honestly I see them as siblings. They looked too similar to not be related in my opinion, might write some Yeva angst about Yeva dealing with Nori’s death since I headcannon Yeva died after Nori and took it upon herself to look after Uzi while she was grieving.

Gonna make a part 2 later

[pidges-lost-robot]

My favourite Klance trope in the world is never leaned into enough which is the whole keith not realising Lance and "Taylor" (tbh I'm not big on the Taylor specific part tbh I like the thing of Lance being called Leandro but choosing to go by Lance cause 1. He's trying to do what he thinks will have him fit in and 2. Hates when people try to pronounce it super weird but whatever shush its not the point) are the same person and I love it cause like firstly it implies on some level that Keith has already met Lance/is vaguely aware of his existence but just as Leandro but secondly that gives the initial rivalry to awkward friends to dating the potential for depth and also funny shenanigans.

Like fucking Lance thinking cause met years earlier and got along fine then that he and Keith are kinda friends and then Keith "pretends not to know who he is" (a.k.a Lance forgot when he met Keith he was still going by Leandro and Keith is just actually kinda faceblind and has a hard time recognising people, especially if its been a couple years) and so the rivalry begins cause what an asshole, and then they meet Shiro and once again Keith is speaking to him like they've never met before (a.k.a before Lance.says who he is again, as far as Keith knew, this was the first time they were meeting each other) that's genuinely kind of funny

But also depth cause this isn't just Lance making up a rivalry with a person, this is a person Lance thought for a second was his friend who seemingly twice now has forgotten him and that he spent nearly a year constantly being compared to/picked on about (look ik in canon its one comment but as a person who's primary bullies were teachers, this is my projecting onto Lance era I'm sorry ik it's angst but shut up) and it zones right in at the bullseye of Lance's major insecurities that he's not interesting, worthwhile or worth the time.

Meanwhile for Keith, he didn't really acknowledge being faceblind since being with the team, so for him, twice now some asshole has just had a problem with him for no reason which just hits dead centre of his insecurities, that no matter what he does he'll be hated for things that he can't control and once again people will decide who he is before they even know him.

See, I got a balance for funny and sadness

Also it'd just be really funny to me if the games how episode happened earlier and Keith's round was he had to draw people from memory by name for the team to guess and the whole team bar Lance having hope for a brief second before he reminds everyone that Keith is faceblind he has no idea from faces what people look like. Though it ends up working out well cause Keith tries to use context clues for the name and doesn't draw the people, but objects and scenery relayed to them or memories of things they did

[straykittenidk]

MY FAVORITE RCP EPISODES AND WHY

(MY OPINION!!)

1- "Save Helly" The best episode in my opinion. We had worried rescue team + ANGST AND FLUFF + POLI??? I loved Poli in this episode a lot. He's not really my favorite but he gave me strong older brother vibes especially when he was helping Helly. Considering that the show is for preschoolers, this episode was genuinely so good? Tbh I just wish Jin would have showed up more. I would've loved to see her more worried for Helly since she's always yelling at him and stuff, but I'm still happy with what we got.

2- "Thank you, Roy". THIS EPISODE. I LOVED ROY HERE SO MUCH. THE ANGST, THE FLUFF, THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT I'M OBSESSED. This is why the rescue team focused episodes are the best, because there are so many things you can do with them and their dynamic. I love the lesson it gives to kids, aka that you should always take care of yourself and stuff. And I also love how it sort of showed that the rescue team aren't all indestructible and can get hurt on the job. I don't really have much to say on it other than the fact that it was amazing and made me love Roy as a character even more.

3- "Amber's training". THIS EPISODE HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL. I love Amber sm she's my comfort character, my mother, my pookie bear, and I love episodes where she's the main focus. I loved how we got to see her vulnerable side and more of her personality and struggles in this episode. SHE JUST WANTED TO BE AS STRONG AS THE OTHERS AND PUSHED HERSELF TOO MUCH AAAAA. And I also loved the angst at the beginning and when she fell off that cliff and how she got hurt, and Jin and the others were worried, however the next part of the episode was kinda disappointing. She just got up like nothing happened and went to look at some infected trees. I really wanted her to get a more serious injury, so the others would need to take care of the doctor instead of the other way around and it would be such a cute plot. It would teach kids that you don't need to push yourself just because you don't succeed the first time, everyone learns on their own pace and Amber should've just trained slowly and not stress too much since she just ended up hurting herself badly, and honestly I'm so mad they didn't add that. (But fanfiction exists, maybe I should rewrite this ep with this plot?)

4- "Let's be honest" MORE HELLY ANGST. I loved how Roy went in to save Helly when he was in that fire and he was so worried and FUCKK ROY WAS SUCH AN OLDER BROTHER HERE AND HE TOOK THE BLAME WHEN JIN WAS MAD And then Helly got overwhelmed with all the fighting and flew away... So yeah it was a bit angsty and I love that.

5- "Helly's Birthday". Yet another Helly angst. This was definitely my favorite S1 episode. The plot was simple but really cute, I felt so bad for Helly, like imagine the people you care about the most forgetting your birthday, especially since Helly is most definitely a kid, or at least way younger than the others. THOSE ARE HIS PARENTS‼️But I can also sort of understand the rescue team. Considering all the shit the town puts them through, they were probably stressed and busy, especially Jin, so they just forgot. Still they apologized and all ended well (although I would've loved more angst)

6- "Poli's secret" I loved this episode because we learned something more about Poli and it's his FEAR! I love that he's afraid of caterpillars, giving him a silly fear like that was a good move and it gave the character more personality. Also the way the others teased him at the end was fun, I love how they're so comfortable with each other to joke around and tease each other too.

7- "Bicycle safety (traffic safety with Poli)" alright pls hear me out on this one... The traffic safety series is my guilty pleasure, like it's not good but I still enjoy it for some reason, (not as much as daily life safety with amber but I still like it) and this episode was super cute to me. Like we have this girl who can't ride a bike and Poli sees her struggling, stops patrolling and just teaches her how to ride a bike. she didn't even ask him to, he just decided to help her out of his own free will and I thought it was so cute and fluffy. Poli was so dad here. I really wish we could see more children like this instead of always seeing Kevin and doughy (or whatever his name is) since tbh I tolerated them at first but I don't really like them...

[shrinkthisviolet]

Talk Shop Tuesday: Do you have an episode you've been especially excited to add a Morgan to?

YESSSS I love this question!! Here’s some off the top of my head:

1x17 (Barry tries to bench Morgan because of [redacted for spoilers], but Morgan ofc doesn’t listen because Iris and Henry are both in danger and Barry can’t focus on both of them. Results in some tension between them too, esp on Barry’s end (and tbh I get why))

1x19 (I’ve discussed why here :D ✨Bates-induced angst/whump✨)

1x23 (the Morgan vs Eowells confrontation in the finale…oooh it’s gonna be SO GOOD)

2x13-2x14 (I’ve been more and more tempted lately to have Morgan tag along to rescue Jesse, and!! I’m so excited!! Especially because she and E2 Barry would hit it off, and that’s so fun to think about)

Not a specific episode count, but…Morgan & Jesse’s roommates arc. I know it’s post-2x16, but beyond that, the details are currently fuzzy 😅

2x16 (the Trajectory episode!! Still nailing down some details, but I’m excited 💞 Eliza survives this episode ofc, and she even gets to chew Tina out a little. And Morgan shows her first big sister compassion 🥺 also also, a little backstory modification for Eliza regarding how she got her powers, sticking closer to the comics, and no split personality (and I’ve mentioned before that like the comics, she’s a WOC in my AU!))

2x17 (Barry travels back to 1x11!! So excited to write him interacting with s1 Team Flash…and especially s1 Morgan. Oh the dramatic irony. Oh the fury he’d feel, and the helplessness—the red flags are neon signs to him now, and it’s pissing him off that he can’t act on his impulse to protect her from Eowells. But Barry also knows that as unhinged as Eowells is…he’ll do anything to save/protect Morgan (for selfish reasons ofc, but still). And Morgan happens to be in danger back home…)

2x18 (the episode where Barry almost catches Zoom, but then Zoom gets Barry to give up his speed…hmm I see some ✨interesting✨ potential here)

2x20 (Barry dying (sorta)?? Morgan having to watch?? Morgan getting pissed at Harry, but also at herself because she and Barry were fighting for a little while before this and never got to resolve things?? And the catharsis is gonna be so sweet and intense too, y’all aren’t ready 🥰)

2x22 (Morgan does something that Barry cherishes forever 💞 also…someone’s powers are sparked 👀)

s3 (in general. I have a whole grand plan for how I’m rewriting s3…and especially how I’m rewriting Savitar. And his dynamic with Morgan…I’m so excited to write it :D)

s4, Crisis X, I forget the episode number (so…listen, I still have to figure out what fixes I’m making to this disaster of a Crisis (Stein won’t be dying, but that’s all I’m sure of rn). What I do know, though, is that Barry and Morgan, and Wally and Iris, will have a brother-sister dance at the Westallen wedding (Wallinda will probably dance at least once there too), and it’ll be great 🥰 and possibly a Morgan and Jesse power swap that happens an episode prior and lasts throughout this crossover, though I still have to iron out those details 😅)

5x18 (this is the s5 backstory episode and…really this is just my way of saying I have a storyline planned out for this future version of Morgan that I’m very excited to share 👀 tho it’ll be revealed in a different way than the show. Events of s5 will be shuffled around a bit)

s6 Crisis (will involve Thawne ofc, and parts of the og 2024 Crisis. It’ll be a fusion of sorts. May also involve the return of someone unexpected…👀 and it’ll also be…quite the emotional rollercoaster for poor Morgan. Also, this is roughly where the AU’s finale is gonna be, so ofc I’m excited for this!)

talk shop tuesday!

Taglist (send an ask or DM to be added or removed):

@arrthurpendragon @ocappreciationtag @raith-way @vexic929 @ironverseocs

@thechaoticfanartist @goldheartedchaoticdisaster @negative-speedforce @starstruckpurpledragon @angst-is-love-angst-is-life

[leffee]

memes part, like, 4

I heard about something like this happening, might be wrong

This is how the first episode went right? (It's probably all the pets telling her this tbh)

I can't draw :/

I remember there being an episode where Russell keeps stabbing everyone with his quills

Just my opinion btw

I have nothing to add to this

I'd throw him out the window too tbh

It's not Pepper, I'm sorry (or at keast not a healthy one)

This happens a lot (yeah more things about my Pepper fic)

That first meme is just... yeah. I remember fighting demons not to say anything about that when I was commenting on your liveblogging on the episode when Vinnie went missing but it seems you already know, so yeah, you will see later but you are very right. I even wrote a whole post recently about how much it hurts me. Angst potential though :')

About that second meme, you know what? In hindsight Blythe probably thinks of it as one of the best days of her life, so yipee?

Brooo, brooo, same, I would so love to be able to draw. I swear I would be drawing Vinnie covered in blood so much :3 and just Vinnie in general, but alas :///

Mmm there is indeed an episode like that in your future :)

More angsty headcanons? I have plenty! The easiest one? Make them suicidal on top of everything else.

I can't believe Pepper bit her friends. Just kidding, I can. Let me guess, that's where her (one episode only) sharp teeth come in? Maybe not... but a bite is a bite

[nebulouscoffee]

b'elanna torres for the character ask game?

B'lorbo!! Thank you for picking her <3

one aspect about them i love

So B'Elanna's got this very specific brand of angst I find enormously compelling, she's literally a walking collection of contradictions- like she craves stability, but also feels threatened by it; she seeks out families and organisations because she wants to feel accepted, but also sabotages her chances so that no one can let her down again; she both suppresses and hides behind her Klingon side; she enjoys feeling good both physically and mentally but only really feels right when she's in pain; she deeply respects and resents both technology and tradition; she's so confident in her abilities yet struggles to view herself as "working" correctly as a person; she sees herself as two "halves" and too much yet still somehow not whole- ugh there's so much going on! And nothing makes me latch onto a character faster than desperate attempts at masking an inability to handle change lmao. In other news, I will be founding the Cries Like A Baby While Watching 'Extreme Risk' Club, who wants to join me :D

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

She's kind. She is literally KIND. I don't blame people for being left with the opposite impression, because the script keeps telling us she's aggressive and perpetually in a bad mood and difficult to be around, but like- EVERYTHING we see points to nearly the exact opposite! I'm not saying she doesn't have flaws. It's just that- well, from what we see of her, these just aren't her flaws. She is open and open-minded. She is social, she's literally FUNNY, she's very easy to both work and get along with, she actively devotes time to helping her friends (like?? in 'Real Life' she agrees to have dinner with the EMH's holo-family and even gets invested in them and offers him honest feedback. How many people would do this? If she really had no patience, she just wouldn't!) Tbh on the show B'Elanna is consistently compassionate as hell; there is not a SINGLE time someone asks her for help that she refuses- and I'm including more than one occasion where she was literally kidnapped ('Flesh and Blood') or forced to by circumstances ('Muse'), but still chose to go above and beyond for those in need anyway. Also, that episode where she uncovers a genocide through those telepathic dreams? Literally would not have hit as hard with any other character, for precisely this reason! She cares about people, she's deeply passionate about justice- and imo, she's actually extremely forgiving. Her friends matter to her so much, and after a lifetime of feeling repeatedly abandoned, she treats the people she's got very, very well

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character

Her hair is naturally curly! She started straightening it when she was very young, because she didn't want to look like her mom (the mildly wavy version we sometimes see is simply her not having the time or inclination to keep up the straightening properly). The S6 Curls were a result of her thinking of her mother a lot leading up to 'Barge of the Dead', and they sort of represent a lil self-acceptance arc? And because I want good things for her, I see the straight hair from S7 as merely a style choice, no longer a compulsion :)

one character i love seeing them interact with

Chakotay! They have such a complex, loaded, intimate, weirdly undefinable bond that I find very interesting. I also notice it's a recurring motif that whenever something's going on with either of them, it's the other who usually comes through with the correct insights after several others fail to. It's sweet!

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more

I definitely crave more interactions with both Seven and Harry, but I'm going to say Kes- simply because they didn't really interact at all, and there was so much potential there! When I think of all the conversations they could've had- their complex experiences with self-determination- with rage, and living with it, and being considered scary and violent for things beyond their control- with parents, with conformity-based romance, or ageing, or spirituality, or what sort of pranks they should play on the EMH-

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character

She and Janeway have a book club. You cannot convince me those two aren't constantly exchanging the nerdiest, most physics-and-mathematics-heavy sci-fi on the regular, right alongside the quadrant's most melodramatic romance novels. In fact? I bet Janeway was inspired to make that one Irish hologram dude after reading a few too many of those lol

[ardentpoop]

What r ur thoughts on Kaia Nieves? Honestly her characters death probably affected me more than any other characters death. I think its partially bcuz her characters arc was so unabashedly racist and unnecessarily violent. But i also think that her character couldve been so much more so im curious to know what u think...

-@xyberangelzparadise

I loved her introduction, her powers, and her potential for a friendship (or enemyship) with jack who was wrestling with his own powers when they met. the “bad place” alter ego plot didn’t do much for me but it could have been interesting if the s13 writing team knew what they were doing with their characters overall. this is one of those seasons that could have been great if there weren’t far too many disparate plot threads competing for attention and a lack of any sustained focus on the characters - especially jack and his individual relationships with the members of tfw after he’d just been added to the show.

specific complaints about kaia’s writing:

that scene where dean yells at her and pulls a gun on her is absolutely horrible to watch and should have been treated with more narrative weight if they were gonna include it at all. ghastly look as usual by writers who couldn’t have seriously pondered the implications of the racial dynamics they were portraying if you paid them to do it.

I appreciate that they were trying to give the audience a tiny crumb of wlw with kaia and claire but to be frank we really didn’t get enough of them together for it to feel impactful, and on top of that it fucking stinks that they sacrificed kaia to generate angst/revenge-plot fodder for claire in “wayward sisters.” claire really is a dean mirror huh 🤪 (disclaimer for other readers who might stumble upon this post: I am not talking about d*stiel even a little bit - for all intents and purposes it doesn’t exist to me)

I remember that they briefly bring her back in s15 but truly they did not do Nearly a good enough job of integrating her into the plot in a meaningful way so by that point it feels…. tangential. as did many other characters’ appearances in the final seasons due to the extremely scattered writing.

overall I enjoyed the setup for jody taking in alex + claire + patience + kaia but I wanted more from it thematically. it was so obvious to many viewers that the writers were belatedly trying to correct the show’s notorious track record of misogyny, but that problem ran Far Far too deep for them to be able to fix it by simply adding more female side characters to the already-overflowing cast. alex’s intro episode and patience’s intro episode are two of my favorites in the late(r) seasons, but beyond their introductions we just do not see any of these characters focused on for long - besides (arguably) claire who got more screentime than any of the other girls.

and back to kaia as an individual character: I would’ve liked for the writers to have explored her as a jack foil. tbfh I wouldn’t have shunted jack off to apocalypse world so soon after his introduction; I would have kept him in the bunker with samndean and maybe cas. but if they were gonna go the AW route I think kaia should’ve been transported there with jack and it could’ve been her instead of mary who fought with him through that landscape. on top of the two of them getting to develop a relationship built on teamwork and embracing/refining their powers, this way jack could’ve used kaia’s dreamwalking abilities to try to communicate with sam, dean, AND cas if he wanted to. could’ve pulled out some interesting insights about the characters and their converging relationships that way. I would’ve mostly/entirely nixed the “dark kaia” plot tbh and focused her future appearances on her interactions with claire, alex, and patience - in a world where they were all recurring guest stars in MOTW episodes so the audience had a chance to get properly attached to them as characters.

sorry for how rambly that got lmao feel free to share your thoughts with me in the comments/tags if any of this sparked your interest :)

[gayleviticus]

8 years after watching the TV ending of FMA 03 for the first time, I finally watched Conqueror of Shamballa for the first time. Tbh I was a little scared of what I’d find – fma 03 was a super special series to me back in 2015, but rewatching it the TV ending felt way more inconclusive and unsatisfying than I remembered.

I knew what would happen in Shamballa from years of scrounging through tv tropes entries and Wikipedia plot summaries, but I didn’t know what it would feel like in practice. I needed something that fulfilled the melancholy, dark, emotional, but hopeful promise of the series. I needed angst and loss and sadness, but not grim-darkness and cruelty just for the sake of it.

Thankfully, I enjoyed Shamballa on the whole. Now, to be sure, it’s undeniably very, very messy. Unlike, say, End of Evangelion or Madoka Rebellion it doesn’t feel like a movie except perhaps towards the end; the new characters introduced like Alfons, Noa, and Eckhart are more interesting thematically than because they’re afforded any particular depth, and the plot mechanics aren’t especially well-crafted (but granted this has always been the case for 03).

It feels like there’s also a ton of incredibly character dynamics they could milk but just don’t have room for – how did it feel for Ed to live with someone who looked so much like his baby brother but just wasn’t the same person? How did Winry feel being left behind forever by her best friends after being locked out of the loop for so long? How did Al losing his memories of the past 5 years and embarking on a quest to bring Ed back shape his relationship with everyone else in Amestris? Did Ed feel guilty that Al ended up throwing his whole life in Amestris away to come be with him on earth? There’s just so many possibilities this movie throws out that could have been explored, and emotional beats (like the brothers reuniting!!) that aren’t used to their full potential.

These are all pretty noticeable flaws. But I also kindve think… it doesn’t matter that much? Don’t get me wrong, I would’ve loved to see an actual proper 13-episode second season fleshing out Shamballa’s boatload of cool ideas, but I think there’s something just as captivating about the huge range of possibilities the movie can’t possibly hope to contain. There are plenty of stories I’ve experienced that do an objectively better job of fleshing out their characters, but it's like… well, you’ve already exhausted their depths. There’s not much left to mine. 03 + Shamballa might not use its characters to their maximum potential, but I think it’s impressive it creates such a firm foundation for its characters that they have that kindve potential in the first place?

(On that note this just makes me curse the fact the 03verse in general has been so neglected by FMA fans even more, bc it just feels like its begging so much for fans to plug these gaps and analyse and dissect and headcanon these characters? But anyway)

Something I was a little torn about at first was the ending – it was more satisfying than TV 03’s awkward mix of open-ended sadness with sickeningly saccharine optimism, but I couldn’t help but feel this awkward sense of hollowness. It was tragedy on the brink of cartharsis, but not quite there. I wanted to cry and mourn everything the Elrics had lost, I wanted angst and conflict between the two of them, I wanted to experience the weight of everything they’ve gone through.

But after thinking about it, I realised that the thing about Shamballa is that it’s not about pain, as such, but specifically ache, and loss.

Doomsday, a Doctor Who episode that aired about a year after Shamballa, is a similar tragedy of people separated forever across parallel world. But it’s a very different type of pain – it’s sharp, acute, sudden. It’s having someone you loved so much so deeply snatched out of your life with no warning, no buildup, barely any chance to say goodbye.

Superficially, Shamballa is similar. In the chaos of Eckhart’s invasion Ed and Al disappear forever into the other side of the gate. But I think it’s very different in that the Elrics aren’t really leaving a specific person behind?

Of course, there’s Winry, and obviously it must hurt for her to lose her best friends since childhood so suddenly. But even then, her life goes on. She loved them so much, and she’ll always remember them – but she’s not a widow sitting at home mourning the death of her husband in the war. She has friends, she has family, she has her career as an automail engineer. Life goes on for Winry. It hurts, but it’ll go on.

Aside from her – well, Izumi’s gone. Rose was friends with Al but didn’t really know Ed. Mustang’s crew clearly care for the boys, but I think for the most part their relationship in 03 is relatively professional. In the end what the boys are cutting off isn’t any individual person in particular, but their past.

And so what Shamballa is about isn’t the sharp, shocking pain of losing a loved one, but the dull, heavy ache of grieving your past. As Ed says at the end, Earth is their world now – not Amestris. They’ve resigned themselves to losing their past, to leaving behind the childhood world of miraculous alchemy and friends and carving a path in the here and now.

It’s the pain of mourning a past that can’t come back, the people you once loved who just aren’t in your life anymore, the innocent childhood you’ll never be able to reclaim. The brothers who once tried to reclaim their stolen innocence through resurrecting their mother have made their peace with living in the here and now – and though they’ve finally found happiness, and paid the price for their original sin, they’ll never forget everything it took to get to this point.

It circles back to what Ed told Rose all the way back at the beginning. Stand up and walk on your own two legs. Keep moving forward. Fight against tragedy, but remember that you cannot rewrite your own past.

The Thule Society and Noa mistook Amestris for Shamballa – a perfect world, a homeland – in their longing for heaven. But no such promised land exists. There’s only the here and now. The Elrics give up their longing for something they never had, accepting heaven is lost, and find their home in themselves.

[thestrangeillusion]

Nine people you'd like to get to know better

Thank you for tagging me @petraplatypuspan, this was a lot of fun! 🧡 🧡 🧡

3 ships

Kim Khimhant Theerapanyakun/ Porchay Pichaya Kittisawat (KinnPorsche: The Series) aka my current obsession and the one ship that I am so crazy about that I have to write thousands and thousands of words of fanfic about them

Even Bech Næsheim/Isak Valtersen (Skam Norway) aka my absolute favourite ship of all time, no one could ever replace them in my heart

Derek Hale/Isaac Lahey/Stiles Stilinski (Teen Wolf) – this one was harder to choose because no ship comes even close to the two above, but this is one of my favourite OT3 pairings. They have a wonderful potential for angst, which I love in fic (and Teen Wolf fics are definitely a lot better than anything canon ever churned out, sorry not sorry Mr. Jeff Davis)

First ship

Ooof, I honestly don’t even know, probably Fred and Sprotte from the Wilde Hühner films when I was like 10? But the first ship I truly shipped and started reading fanfic for (still on ff.net, I think??) was probably Lexie/Mark from Grey’s Anatomy when I was 13 or so years old – also shout-out to that show for making me learn English cause I couldn’t wait for the German dub to come out to watch the new episodes, so megavideo in English with English subtitles (if I was lucky) it was…

My first actual fandom was probably Skam, although I had dipped my toes into the Drarry and 1D fandoms before (mostly just for reading really amazing fics rather than a deep love for the source material or the real people in question).

Last song

I’m listening to music while writing this out and the song currently playing is the Chinese version of Fade by Jeff Satur (to no one’s surprise to anyone who’s ever read my Kinnporsche fics and my shameless use of his lyrics for my titles…). I really love this song, especially the Chinese version, because I find it incredibly soothing.

Currently reading

Mostly just fics tbh. I’ve been trying to read “Fix the System, Not the Women” by Laura Bates for ages now (and it’s a pretty short book), but it’s very hard to get through because it just makes you very angry and discusses very heavy subject matters.

Last movie

I honestly can’t remember. It was definitely a good while ago.

Currently Craving

Something to eat, either a meal with loads of vegetables or paprika crisps, cause I skipped dinner. A hug from my mama (I will see her next week though, so yay!). A magical fix to not being so tired anymore that doesn’t involve having to force myself to fall asleep.

Tagging @dummerjan, @imogenegomi, @ae-azile, @mightymightygnomepriest, @crumchycow,

@snickerdoodlles, @fiddlepickdouglas, @mousydentist, @salamander89

Obviously no pressure if you don’t want to or don’t have the time to do it though!