#might rewatch the whole thing again tomorrow

[ozymoron]

look, gordon! a rope! we can use these to get out of p- HELP ME, GORDON!

[theranilord]

This is the first fan fic I've written since the 90s, but Stobotnik has me full tilt. Waiting for Sonic 3 I rewatched Sonic 2 and Wade's ease at rolling up to the Mean Bean and that whole scene put this idea into my head... what if Stone wasn't just waiting on the Doctor?

-----

The first month without the doctor had been spent sitting alone in his trailer, surrounded by bandits, searching the continent for any trace of Ivo Robotnik. Then the world. Then the milky way.

Nothing.

Stone found nothing.

The second month had been spent setting up a secret base in his last known location.

Green Hills, Montana.

It was easy enough for someone as skilled in deception as Agent Stone. Forge some signatures, flash some documents and no one questioned how quickly he had the Mean Bean coffee shop ready for "business". Stone was always a diligent worker and his focus was renowned. It was why he fit so well with Robotnik, to the dismay of many.

However, there was one thing Stone had not prepared for, and as he began closing up shop his problem came rolling into view.

"Hey! Catch you at a bad time?" Wade Whipple walked in. The wannabe Sheriff of this backwater cesspool had begun to get on Stone's last nerve. If he had two brain cells to rub together Stone would think Wade was stalking him.

"Actually, yes." Stone said rolling his eyes as he turned to grab a broom. "I'm closing." He grabbed a small dustpan and waved it with the most sarcastic smile he could muster. Ivo would be proud. At least Stone hoped he would be.

"Oh. Right. Yeah, cause you don't live here." Wade said with a self deprecating smile. Silence fell and Stone was certain the deputy had gotten the point.. until he spoke again. "You're coffee is just so good. Like, it flows in your veins." Wade laughed at his own joke then made it worse when he kept talking. "Not like I think you're made if coffee, but you're just wow with it. Like, did you go to school to make it? Some kinda secret coffee school? It's very... wow." He finished quietly, suddenly aware of former Agent Stone staring at him with an empty face.

"No. I practice." Stone dumped the dustpan into the trashcan and set it down in it's proper place beside the broom holder. Doctor Robotnik would appreciate the order and cleanliness. "What can I do for you, Deputy Whipple?" Stone asked refusing to contain his impatience. Formal titles were good at that with most people, but once again these simple social cues were lost on Wade.

"Well, I've seen you around lately and I wondered if.. you want a tour? Like, being new in town? I can show you the ropes around here. I'm kinda important." Wade gave a small laugh, and Stone had to admit that under different circumstances he might find it charming, but he and his heart belonged to Robotnik.

Suddenly an idea popped into his head and he slowly smiled his most charming smile at the bumbling man before him. "Why, Deputy, I'd love to see your quaint little town. I bet there are so many places to see." Stone began advancing on Wade slowly. "Secrets to learn. I bet you know everything about this..." Stone stopped in front of him "...adorable..." he put a hand on Wade's chest "...little..." they locked eyes "...town."

Wade's heart skipped a beat and he felt his stomach begin to twist into knots. He let out a loud nervous laugh, scaring himself. "Pssh, yeah. I... I..." Looking into the baristas eyes he suddenly lost all words and just began nodding.

Stone gave a large and undeniably fake smile as he took Wade's arm in his. "Good. Good. Why don't you meet me here tomorrow night at 8pm. You can show me all your secrets." As Stone led Wade to the door, Wade began laughing nervously.

"Yeah, I can. Do that, yes. We will. Tomorrow?" He repeated, his mouth feeling dry.

"Tomorrow. Goodnight..." Stone leaned forward and Wade followed his example, closing his eyes and puckering his mouth for a kiss in a rather unseemly manner. "Wade." Stone said seductively, closing the door in Wade's still puckered face. The lock clicked and the blinds fell, breaking Stone's spell on the other man.

"Goodnight..." Wade walked over to his new scooter and began rolling away.

Inside, Agent Stone began pulling up the files on the blue menace and his would-be family. Maybe, this stupid little one horse town could be useful after all...

[superpowered-dirt]

i never post on here but i have so much in my head about twd: the ones who live i honestly feel like i might explode.

i know all anyone really wants to talk about from episode 2 is That Part of their reunion (which is fair, don't ask me how many times I rewatched it), but now, the part that keeps playing over and over again in my head is this tiny bit:

and i just need to say, danai and andy are so insanely talented bc this clip?? this clip—short as it is, with not a world of dialogue—says SO much about where our two characters are at.

first, rick. i watch this clip and i think holy shit, yeah, that is a broken man. andy does a masterful job at displaying through his eyes and the way he carries himself the extent of the psychological damage and anguish within rick, not to mention the guilt he carries. you can see the gears turning in his head as he reminds himself how he basically gave up on her. how he gave up on himself. how he told himself that he was done, he was never seeing her again, and let himself fold into the CRM. i think it's safe to say he hates himself for his choice to move on. he's utterly crushed by it. like look at him, he can't even meet her eyes!!

and michonne? she sees it. once the euphoria of I Found You has begun to wear off and she lets herself really take him in, she immediately clocks that this is not the same rick that "died" on the bridge. not the rick that led alexandria. not the rick that got them out of terminus. and definitely not the rick that stood up to the saviors. in fact, the last time she saw this version of him, it was right after the first time they ever lost to negan, and that horrifies her, because if that rick is back, then something truly terrible has happened. the look on her face in the clip says a million things, but most loudly, she's wondering, understandably and devastatingly, "my love, what have they done to you?"

the final clue for her that her rick is gone, at least for now, is their next interaction. since forever, both of their instincts anytime they've been told that something bad is coming their way have been to either hoof it for the safety of their family or stand back to back and dispatch the threat. it's the panic in his voice, the sheer desperation as he pleads with her to stand down instead and hide herself after she suggests they go that tells her she has no idea what he's been through or what she's in for now that she's in the shit with him. and even now, if the trailer for E03 has been any indication, she still fails to grasp the danger they're both in. i know what people online have been saying, but she's not being careless, this is michonne we're talking about, she just doesn't understand how careful she really has to be. and then throw jadis and her bitch ass bowl cut into the mix and suddenly a whole new threat looms over alexandria and the commonwealth that ultimately all comes back on rick too? the guilt he now has to face for not only dragging his wife into his mess, but through jadis, also his daughter and all his friends?? and if he finds out now that he has a son too, then there's even more guilt??????

i could go on for hours but i won't. all i'll say is that we're definitely in for such an emotional ride tomorrow. and really there's no one else i trust more than andy and danai to deliver that for us.

[clonedchaos]

GUYS GUYS GUYSSSS IM LOSING MY MINNNNDDDD TRANSFORMERS ONE WAS SO GOOODDDD THIS IS LEGIT ME RN:

Okay, but seriously though, I really enjoyed it and want to make plans to see it again. So if you haven’t already, I highly recommend the film. It’s criminally underrated in terms of the box office, so go show it the love it so rightfully deserves!!! 🥰

Anywho, if you want to hear nonsensical spoilers, feel free to read below the cut.

Childhood me would never think I’d be somewhat shipping Optimus and Megatron but like… yeah I understand what y’all are getting at in your tumblr posts. (Fr though, their friendship was so sweet. D-16’s betrayal really did hurt. And it’s been a while since I’ve seen such a well done relationship like that in the media. They’re just two silly lads who genuinely cared about one another and yet got driven apart by vengeance.)

Every single time Bee said “Badassatron” I’m sobbing— He’s such a goober. Bumblebee was always my favorite as a kid, so I have a soft spot for him (even if Orion and D16 were my favorites in this film). “KNIFE HANDS” he’s a safety hazard. (Also him being slightly insane and making inanimate objects his friends to talk to and being self-aware that they’re fake— I AM STEVE?!)

Sentinel essentially saying “Nu-uh” to D-16 when he was rambling about his plans.

Why did they keep saying miner? 😭

Starscream is such a neeerddd per usual. Dang he’s simping for Megatron (I’m kidding y’all, I miss poking fun at the silly plane man)

Trion basically adopted these tiny 4 robots and yes it is canon 💯 (Bro shouldn’t have died, I wanted silly dad shenanigans 😭)

Orion- “Hey Darkwing, my finger can transform”. Meanwhile D16: *knocks Orion the heck out and then proceeds to get punched by Darkwing* My favorite part of the movie ngl

I am very Bumblebee core tbh. He’s just a silly little guy. A silly guy with knife hands.

Bee saying his dream was to work for the government had the theater and I howling (this was a very fun theater experience actually, loved the vibes)

The boys are just casually scared of Elita. Girlboss 💅 (Also I love that her and Arachnid had a fight. I vaguely remember them having a fight/maybe rivalry? In Transformers Prime. Speaking of which, I need to rewatch that. Its been years and I never finished it)

I’m sorry but the whole “Starscream” namesake and then D-16 damaging his vocal cords is obvious irony but still. Nice touch.

”Why did you gag him?” “He wouldn’t stop talking.” “Even when he was unconscious?” “ESPECIALLY WHEN HE WAS UNCONSCIOUS!” Bee’s certified yapper moment

Orion’s whole arc and relationship with D-16 is sad when you pair it with how they are in other iterations. Like, the reason Orion/Optimus would’ve been a stickler for the rules and order was because he was afraid of losing someone again like he lost D-16. (I can’t remember if their backstory is the same all across the board, its been a while since I brushed up on transformers stuff)

The animation was genuinely very pretty. I love the little magic sand particles and the way Megatron’s eyes have a glow trail as specific examples.

The child in me kept kicking my legs and screaming at the references. The mask! Roll out! When D got his signature arm gun I internally lost it. And Chris Hemsworth’s voice at the end of the film was a really really good Optimus voice.

“Is it… getting closer?” Meanwhile Bee: *running away for his life* (both him and Orion running at the start of the film absolutely took me out)

Okay I might do a follow up to this tomorrow, it’s late and I have work in the morning. I’ll think on some more things I want to add as well as some headcanons! Stay tuned!

[bellofthemeadow]

Blended Heart and Bitter Brews | part 1/?

Masterlist

Summary: Your life was boring, hoping for your big break, you were stuck at Starbucks for what felt like forever. The hot metalhead that just came through your door might just be the amount of shit-stirring fun you've been looking for. (2.4K)

A/N: Hey everyone, first time venturing into the Stranger Things fandom. I know I am late to the party lol, but I was off TUMBLR when the show came out and I've just recently started rewatching it and I had the need to write a series on everyone's favourite metalhead! Hope you all enjoy it and lmy what you think  😊

Warning: Swearing, suggestive language, reference to bratting and brat taming (18+)

Working at Starbucks isn’t the most glamorous job in the world. It wouldn’t even make the top 500 hundred in your opinion. The hours were long, the pay was mediocre at best, and you didn’t even want to think about the tips.

After 3 years on the job, you came to the very scientific conclusion that there was a direct correlation between your empty tip jar and the ungodly amount of Frappuccino you’d have to do on a given day. To the point: right now it was just shy of 2 pm, and you had been making so many of those blended abominations that the front of your apron looked like a unicorn and a leprechaun had an orgy on it. And your tip jar was empty. Go figure.

Starbucks was supposed to be a temporary gig, something to keep the cash flowing between college and your big break. Unfortunately, there was no big break in sight, no producers had called you back because, your sound was “too 80s, but like the wrong 80s” so you were still there serving tweens their daily fix of sugar. You wanted to ram your head on the counter, maybe you should dye your hair platinum and get into pop. Maybe then someone would sign you since the whole metal vibe just wasn’t doing it for anyone. You sighed, just 1 hour and then you’d be free. At least for today, until you’d have to do it all again tomorrow. To avoid having a mental breakdown in the middle of the coffee shop, you distracted yourself by mentally running through the list of things you had to do when you got home:

Go grocery shopping. Nah you were positive you still had fruit loops; Grocery could wait.

Go over your demo. AGAIN

Therapy Oh yeah you couldn’t afford that. Maybe a good crying session to end the night.

Go grocery shopping. Nah you were positive you still had fruit loops; Grocery could wait.  GET BEN & JERRY

Yeah, that should do it.

As you were mentally ticking things off, you heard the shrill voice of a girl at the counter order, “I wanna Venti Caramel Frappuccino with extra whip and a blended cake pop inside. Oh, and with Skim milk!” Of course. Fuck that!

You groaned and pushed your way to the till where the newly hired 19-year-old was taking the order, “Swap with me.” You made sure that your tone left no place for arguments. “Ehhh, I’m taking an order.” Looks like new girl didn’t get the tone memo, “I’ll take the orders from now on, you go work the bar.”

“But I am in the middle of tak…” “Ok look, that’s great, hard-worker is such a good look for you. But I think I’m not making myself clear here; You are going to swap the bar with Me because if I have to make another fucking Frappuccino, I will set this place on fire with everyone inside! Capish?”

Silence.

Suddenly a loud guffaw reverberated from somewhere towards the end of the already long line. Your coworker and the girl at the till looked horrified. But your monumental side-eye was the last nail into the proverbial coffin because Emma didn’t try to argue with you and instead, scurried over to the coffee bar.

Victory.

You turned toward the girl and plastered the fakest smile you could on your face “And what did you say you wanted?” The girl looked like she was going to puke on your counter “… I’ll have a grande latte… Is iced, ok?”

You smiled broadly “One grande ice latte coming right up, did you want skim milk with that?” “Oh no, no. Just regular is fine,” She stuttered.

“Great just gonna need to add your name and that’ll be 4.00 $.” “… Its Josie.” Sacharine smile plastered on your face, “Great Josie, you can go and wait by the bar over there.” You dismissively pointed in the general direction of the farthest end of the bar, “I can take whoever’s next!”

For the next couple of minutes, your other customers were rather accommodating, ordering black coffees and lattes with no mod for once.  “All right next!” You passed down the cup for a “Grande Americano for Josh” toward Emma who was still doing her best to avoid any form of eye contact. You snorted a bit, to say that Emma might be a bit oversensitive was an understatement, maybe you’d apologized after your shift… Maybe.

You turned your eyes to the new customer in line and you couldn’t help but raise a brow at the yummy stud that just stepped up to your till.  You licked your lips appreciatively; the guy must be around your age, with shaggy brown hair, big brown puppy eyes and plush lips you wanted to snap between your teeth. The guy was totally your type too, you spotted how his slightly ripped 1991 “Wherever We May Roam” Metallica tour t-shirt was hiking up his belly revealing a toned stomach. But what really made you salivate was the sight of his numerous tats that decorated both his arms. You could also peek at some hiding under his collar.  Yummy.  

You gave him your best sultry smile, leaned forward, showcasing the unfortunate non-existence of your cleavage as it was all covered by your apron, and coyly purred, "And what can I get you today, handsome?"

Hot dude seemed happy with your flirting as he responded with a reciprocating smile before leaning forward. You were so close that you could almost trace the tattoos (were those bats?!) decorating his forearms. He hummed as though contemplating it, then offered you a sultry smile. You were more than happy to respond with your best fuck-me eyes.

Suddenly his sexy smile transformed into a wide shit-eating grin before he boomed loudly, “I’ll have a Venti Caramel Frappuccino, extra drizzle, extra caramel and extra whipped cream.”

Time stopped. Crickets chirping. Jaw Dropped

What in the actual fuck?!

You jerked your head back and grumbled. Displeasure etched on your face. Hot dude wasn’t so hot anymore as you reluctantly entered the order into the cash register. "Whatshisface" still wore that irritating grin as he leaned forward even further, granting you a clear view of his sharp collarbones. He began to toy with some of the chocolate-covered coffee beans next to your cash register. "You touch it, you buy it," you grumbled.

His Cheshire cat-like grin grew even larger, if that was even possible, and he let out a loud tut. “Aw sweetheart, you don’t have to get all bratty on me. Come on, I know under that little metal act you got goin’ on, you wanna be a good girl for me.” He finished with a little wink that made you want to shove the napkin holder on his stupid handsome face.

“That’ll be 9.85 $” Grin gone. Whatshisface looked completely flabbergasted, “9.85$?!? In what world do you live in that you think its ok to charge so much for a cup of coffee!?” He loudly gasped, affronted.

You flashed your most charming smile and fluttered your eyelashes innocently, much to your delight, you noticed the tips of his ears beginning to blush. In a syrupy tone, you purred “Well sir the caramel, the extra drizzle AND the extra whipped are all extra charges. But I understand if that’s too expensive for you, perhaps you could move over and explore other parts of the menu that are more… within your means.”

Hook, line, and sinker

Hot dude turned an even deeper shade of red and began to rummage through the bag he was carrying, all the while muttering less-than-flattering expletives under his breath. You were fairly certain you heard him mutter a rather pointed “disrespectful little brat,” which senta delicious shiver straight to your core.

You were feeling quite triumphant and began tapping your manicured finger on the counter, a gesture that seemed to further irritate him. After a minute, he forcefully slid a crumpled $20 bill your way, bringing a smug grin to your face. After making a show of counting his change, you grabbed the venti cup and the black Sharpie. “And can I have your name for that?”

“…Eddie.” You slowly captured the cap of the Sharpie between your teeth and started writing his name on the side of the plastic cup. You added a wide smiley next to it for good measure.  You triumphantly noticed that Eddie gaze hadn't wavered from your mouth, as if entranced by the sight of the cap being gripped by your teeth. Maybe he was imagining something else between your lips, you snicker to yourself.

After sliding the cup over to Emma, who appeared as though she had just witnessed a car crash, before hurrying over to start his drink, you coquettishly cooed at him, “Well Eddie,” you made sure to enunciate every word as you tasted how his name felt in your mouth. “I hope you enjoy your… expensive drink, Tip jar is right here.” You gestured with your impeccably black manicured nail towards the nearly empty box "Don't you think I deserve it? After all, I’ve been such a gooood girl for you and did everything you wanted?" You batted your eyelashes, ensuring to add ample emphasis to drive your point home.

As for Eddie, well he looked like he was about to suffocate. Red and blotchy all over, you could also spot some sweat gathering on his forehead. You almost started to pity the poor guy when he tried to stutter out a response to your teasing. Almost.

 In the end, Eddie dropped a couple of ones in the small glass before making his way toward the end of the bar. You also noticed how he had a slightly slouched gait—probably because you'd turn his attempt at embarrassing you on him. He finally stopped in front of where Emma was making his sugared monstrosity. As you were taking the next order, you could feel Eddie’s gaze burning your body. So, you made sure to give him a good show, laughing extra hard at the lame jokes from the college boy you were serving. Bending down a bit too low to grab an extra roll of receipt paper giving him a good view of your shapely ass, drawing large hearts on every cup and flirtatiously referring to every guy in your line with endearments like "sugar" or "handsome."

“A VENTI CARAMEL FRAPPUCINNO WITH EXTRA CARAMEL, EXTRA DRIZZLE AND EXTRA WHIP FOR EATDICK!!!”

“Jesus Christ, no need to scream in my ears like that.” Eddie, looking mortified, snatched his drink before sitting down at one of the empty tables. One of the only ones with a perfect view of the counter. You gleefully observed how Eddie nearly spat out his drink after taking the first sip, probably dying a little bit inside at the taste of the artificial sweeteners that must invaded his mouth.  Quite the smooth move, jackass.

You looked at the time, as your other coworker Jenson joined you behind the bar to relieve you of your minimum wage duties, “I’ll just make myself a drink and then I’m outta here!” You whoop, Jenson acquiesced with a shrugging smile before taking over the till. You shuffle toward the bar area and snicker as you start to make yourself an extra special drink.

“Hey Jenson, can you do something for me real quick after I leave?”

Eddie is grudgingly drinking the caramel monstrosity he ordered. His own fault really, he’s always been a black coffee kind of guy. When he was younger, he started to order it black because it fitted his whole metal vibe; “Black like my soul,” he’d ordered with a wink to the old-timey dinner waitress back in Hawkins. But now that he moved to Indianapolis to chase his music dreams, he realized that he couldn't enjoy coffee unless it was as bitter as the disappointment that people had in him.

While he wasn't usually a Starbucks person, he had stayed up until 4 am this morning after playing a gig downtown. And to top it off, he had to be at work on the dock by 6 am, leaving him with barely any time to sleep in between. At this point, he would have traded his soul for a coffee. So, when he spotted the Starbucks on his way home, he just had to stop. Mindlessly scrolling on his phone for any notifications of Corroded Coffin, you took him right out of his zombie-like trance when you shrieked about setting the place on fire. He hadn’t been able to stifle his laughter at your words. To top it off, you were hot, as fiery as the arson you threatened everyone with. So, when he reached the till and saw that his attraction was completely reciprocated, he couldn't help but tease you a bit.

He just hadn’t banked on you being such a brat. Now he was sitting alone with an almost inedible caramel concoction of his own making, swimming in the bitter disappointment of having made a fool of himself in front of you. As he was simmering in his annoyance, a cup of steaming Americano was placed in front of him. He raised his head fast and looked at the sheepish expression of a lanky guy with a freckled face, “I didn’t order that…”

“Eh, well she made it for you. Told me to give it to you after she left.”

Eddie’s head snapped back to the bar where you had disappeared. A bitter taste of disappointment coated his mouth as he realized he hadn’t even gotten your number, “Thanks, man.” The guy gave him a sharp nod in response before making his way back to the till where a line was slowly forming again.

Eddie took a deep breath, inhaling the tangy smell of the black coffee. Exactly what he needed.  As he was about to take a sip, black writing on the side of the cup got his attention.

Hey hot stuff, You looked like you wanted to put me back in my place back there 😉 I’d like to see you try, call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx -Little brat

A huge grin broke out on Eddie’s face as he took a sip of his coffee, letting the bitter liquid burn down his throat.

Today turned out to be pretty metal after all.

Part 2: The Phone Call

[maxphilippa]

The Misinterpretation of Taco's and Mic's relationship. [An toxic "friendship" analysis.]

Today I bring another analysis that yes, was an option on the pool I made, and I do know that other option won, but I'll do that post once I feel like it (most likely tomorrow since I find it rather easy to do). But today I will be talking about one of the most sugarcoated relationships in the fandom, and that is Taco's and Mic's relationship.

And before you read this and get angry at me: it is not my problem if you view them in a different way, this is an analysis, nothing more, and this is what I realized meanwhile rewatching S2 again and again as time paases. I am not asking for opinions if you will come as aggressive towards it and I apologize if this comes as mean, but I am very tired of how some people might act whenever someone shares a different point of view.

However, in this post we'll be discussing topics such as: manipulation, self esteem issues, and such. If any of these topics are complicated for you, just a heads up as well.

Alright. Let's start with the basics.

Their first interaction(s).

Okay, for starters, their first interaction was already started with a left foot, with Taco reading Mic's dairy out loud and pointing out the entries in which Mic felt the most vulnerable as a whole, let's take in count the fact that Mic was already struggling a lot with everything and how her own team leader was treating her, so hearing someone list all of her insecurities outloud in a careless tone was certainly not the thing that she needed in such an complicated emotional moment.

She was, in fact, so stressed and felt basically worthless, that she started crying just from hearing that, since it does count as "making fun of her struggles" in a way.

She's obviously affected by this, again, this is THEIR FIRST CANON INTERACTION.

And Mic is obviously hurt by this, her voice even breaking a bit.

And she quickly takes an defensive stance the moments she sees Taco as well. Of course she would, she was in an emotional moment and she just touched sensitive topics for her.

And here we go, my favorite part! Taco belittling Mic and making fun of her! (It is not my favorite, if you can't tell, I hate it.)

Okay, so as we can get from their first interaction, what Taco does is essentially use a mix of flattery and making fun of Mic so Mic would listen to her. Taco tells Mic that she's bold and that her playing method is diverse, but however, what she needs is direction on what she does after all. Again, she says this as she then insults Mic again, and basically tells her that she would be nothing without her help, and makes her doubt herself as well.

Let alone that Taco's intentions are pretty clear ever since they first interact, her main interest being half of Mic's gainings if Mic won the challenge thanks to her. Taco clarifies that it is for bussiness matters, nothing more. And she makes sure that Mic has doubts over her decision.

So if you realize she still continues the flattery + making fun of Mic as a person, and then, Taco ends up telling her "well, but that's your choice"

That's.

That's an manipulation tactic.

To make the person feel guilty over the things they did and reconsider their own choices. The cherry on the top is that after Taco crosses Mic's boundaries, tells her that she is PATHETIC (and that's an strong word), she ends up telling her that she can be much more.

You would thing that things could get better? Answer is no.

Let's take a look to Mic as an character. She's selfless. In Brian's own words, Mic goes under the radar always, but she always wants to make things fair for everyone as much as she can.

So she felt guilty and uncomfortable over the whole first interaction Taco and her had.

She is uncomfortable and doesn't know what to do after this whole interaction, and you can realize this by the way she talks and shows herself to others, she's clearly stressed enough.

Mic didn't want to be alone after what happened with Taco, and Nickel telling her "especially you, Mic, you're kind of an wildcard" was something that made Mic angry as well.

She didn't want to be alone after that happened.

When Fan and Mic are talking about Spoiled Lemon "A Party" song, Mic says "So everything he does is decided by someone else? Nice message", and that's foreshadowing to what Taco does to Mic shortly after.

When it comes to the words of gaining, even Mic shows her distaste at Taco's words. She's not having it and she's tired. And yes, I do know that the scene plays it out as an small joke, but Mic still says it.

And in their next interaction- the first thing Taco does is insult Mic and basically tell her again that she needs her.

So. You guys can see an small pattern here. But that's somewhat obvious, after all, Taco herself said that she likes to mess with people.

The Line At Spoiled Lemon's Concert falling on them.

"She made me feel like I needed her."

Taco's manipulation towards Microphone happened. Taco made Microphone feel like she needed her in order to succeed in the game, despite Mic trying to have her own voice, this also goes down to their final interaction on the show, Mic finally breaking up their contact.

Because Taco hurted her in ways that are profound. Mic never needed her to begin with.

Pushing Mic's boundaries.

Let's begin with an small fact. Mic started to trust in Taco because Taco actually did help her on the maze and their small interaction at SL's show shows it. However, just because Mic considers Taco an associate now, a friend even, doesn't mean that Taco's behaviour goes on a better direction. Even though she... "stops" belittling Mic at times, she still uses flattery for Mic to stay next to her side. Because that's the main thing with Mic.

She gets attached to those who show that they care for her. She got attached to Soap, and even got somewhat invested on Cheesy after seeing how her opinion actually mattered a lot for her.

Taco made Mic think that she needed her, and that's explicit, though Mic even questions it.

"But it can't be manipulation if she's conscious of it"

It can be. But the thing is that Mic started trusting Taco. That's why the tactics seem to be not there, but Mic's discomfort and uncertainty remains despite everything.

Taco pushes Mic's boundaries and gets angry when Mic "threw away" her gift (the taser), but just as Mic was TRYING TO EXPLAIN HERSELF (imagine explaining yourself to someone as to why you couldn't hurt someone that has ultimately helped you, that's not healthy), Taco quickly does flattery again, and that reassures Mic that she's doing something good.

Taco is telling Mic what she wants to hear.

The thing is that Taco is doing to Mic what she did to Pickle.

It isn't downright explicit until Ep 14 + once you rewatch those scenes after what Mic says, but you can tell in a way. Taco accomodates her working style according to Mic's personality and behaviour.

Because Taco later on does take a friend-lier approach, but that is because Mic considered Taco a friend, and if acting like a friend is what would make Mic stay, then so be it. Kind of like what she did to Pickle, she acted as his best friend until the very end, and when she failed to get what she wanted, she said stuff to him that marked him forever.

Now she knows what and what not to do to make sure that her plan goes well.

Mic is sensitive and naturally has an heart of gold. So she has to adapt herself to that. Taco becomes softer, yes, but she's still manipulating Mic during it.

And let's not forget a very VERY important fact about them too, and it's how Knife was the one that reached out/noticed that something was wrong.

Knife, Pickle's best friend.

Knife, who has seen how Taco hurted Pickle on the past and saw how she admitted that she was just playing around and everything.

Knife, who saw the damage that Taco did.

Yes, Knife was the main factor on Mic's growth alongside Taco, but the thing is that Knife was there to make Mic realize that Taco was using her.

And now, that means something too. Knife is part of Taco's past. Let's not forget the fact that Mic knows little to nothing about it, but after what Knife tells her about Pickle, she reconsiders her choices for a brief minute. But Mic defends Taco. Because Taco finally has what she wanted: Mic believes in her, therefore, she won't leave her side. Mic defends Taco despite everything because she genuinely thinks that she's changing and found it nice when Taco admitted that she wasn't being completely honest.

But let's also talk over the fact that Taco has been constantly pushing Mic to hurt/let her friends get hurt in many ways, and meanwhile Mic managed to make it up for the Balloon situation, Mic straight up stopped everything just to save Knife and tried as much as she could to get him on their side.

It gets so bad to the point where even after she tells Knife that Taco's changing and if he doesn't want to join them, that he could at least not say anything, but Knife gets emotionally vulnerable with her.

And that's something she didn't exactly expect.

Hearing Knife mention how Trophy manipulated him, when they're talking about Taco, made Mic think too much again.

In fact, Mic is sad + stressed after what Knife told her.

Then yes, on the next episode, Mic does joke about what Knife told her, but we know that she really wouldn't do that at all- she wants to think that Taco is her friend, and jokes around like you would do with one, but even then Taco did drop her after Mic said it.

Which is ironic, because Mic dropped Taco first before Taco could do a Pickle again.

Episode 14.

The ep 14 has many Mic and Knife interactions and shows the down fall of her friendship with Taco, but let's talk about the Knife scenes first before getting to the fall of their friendship.

Knife reaches out once again and tells Mic to stop doing that to herself- to have some dignity, that is, because Mic can do better, but Mic once again decides to defend Taco because... Taco's her friend, right? She has a voice here, no one is shutting her down, no one is dragging her...

Right?

The timing of what Taco is doing to MePad as Mic speaks is intentional as well. It is what Taco has been doing to Mic since the start.

Literally. She literally shut Mic down by touching her voice button the first time they met. Like. It's right there.

Again, Microphone's body language whenever she's with Taco is rather awkward, and of course she's not a big fan of the fact that Taco harmed one of her hosts to do something. Mic has always been trying to do things without hurting others directly, so Taco being able to hurt someone is something that she doesn't like.

Also, adding to the fact that Mic wanted Taco to promise that she wouldn't hurt anybody once they go to save Fan, and yet decided to believe Taco when she said "not necessary, teamwork prevails".

But of course, as all things... the wolf in sheeping's clothing will eventually show it's true self.

She got herself INFRONT of an species she doesn't know, TO PROTECT THEM, instead of trusting Taco

AND THAT SAYS A LOT AS WELL.

It's not only because Mic realized the truth, but because she puts everyone else first before her own person, she's too selfless and didn't even question trying to protect The Shimmer, she just did because she wouldn't get behind what Taco did any longer.

And now, with the end of their friendship...

"See? This is what happens when you listen to me, Mic. Delectable, isn't it?

Finally, a taste of recognition, finally, I can finally-"

It's the realization sinking in.

It's Mic finally realizing that Knife was right.

That Taco was using her the same way she used Pickle.

The same way she used her once best friend.

She never had a friend in Taco.

And Mic even says it- it just proves my point again of "Taco accomodating herself in order to maintain Mic by her side", MIC HERSELF SAYS IT.

"Making him feel like he was doing what he wanted? Like he was heard? I thought I gained a friend. Turns out? I gained nothing."

And when Taco says "surely it couldn't have been nothing-" is her denial- because she couldn't just mess up like she did with Pickle, right?

But she did. She was alone, again.

And Mic shows it via turning her gain down.

Which is a nice call back to Taco saying "it's your game, you have so much to gain", Mic has nothing to gain after that.

Mic's Elimination and The End Of Her Character arc.

This part is the most explicit one when it comes to how toxic their friendship actually was.

How Mic started doubting about herself, how she started explaining that she didn't make the best choices, how she felt guilty over that.

Goddamit, even Mic says "I heard it so often... that I never heard myself.", when referring to the voice in her head.

The realization of Taco's true self was so bad that Mic started having an identity crisis and started doubting if everything she did was because she wanted.

And it's not even doubting either, she affirms that.

And the aftermath is complicated since Mic is still having troubles accepting it. She still cares for Taco because she thought of her as a friend, yes, but she knows that what Taco did wasn't okay and how badly she hurted her.

But Dios mio, Knife even says that Mic looks relieved after cutting ties with Taco because she is. She no longer has to be around someone who lied to her, who made her feel like she was special when it was all just sugarcoated lies.

And she warns Knife about Taco afterwards. Mic wanted a friend, and she might have lost Taco, but she knew what to do thanks to Knife. He was the friend she needed the most.

Of course then Taco shows up and seems to have regrets as well. Do I think that she regrets it? Yes, in a way, the same way she regrets what she did to Pickle, but saying sorry won't fix anything either.

Microphone doesn't want to know anything about her, the same way Pickle does.

After all, that's why she left the show and decided to start over.

And with that, I'm done.

[eriexplosion]

I might be able to finish tonight so I'm doing The Summit. We're getting closer to The Episode.

I haven't rewatched this episode since it aired so this should be interesting knowing the ending of it.

I'm curious about Echo's contact specifically that apparently knows what Hemlock is doing but doesn't know where Hemlock's base is.

The thing is that I didn't realize at the time obviously but this whole thing is a complete side mission, it doesn't need to happen in order to move the plot. They don't manage to complete the mission, so it didn't need to happen to find Mt Tantiss, it literally is a two episode side trip dedicated entirely to dropping Tech off a tram car and injuring Omega, so the whole 'there had to be consequences!' simply doesn't hold up to me.

Also I just don't think we're going to validate Hunter's opinion that they simply shouldn't go

Love how aggressively NOTHING gets resolved by this moment with Phee and Tech. If they had spoken to each other about their feelings and decided that they felt something and wanted to explore it when he gets back that is evidence that he would be doomed immediately.

"Don't run off with any pirates or smugglers while you're gone" come on this feels like the most heavy handed foreshadowing ever. But the way that they had a full bit to... NOT resolve the narrative line they started with him is insane to me.

Also still remembering how much people lost it over this extremely tame scene because no one can just be normal about Phee.

"Just like old times" Wrecker it's been probably a couple months not 5 years

Every part of Eriadu that we actually see the ground of is covered in trees, so it's probably similar wherever Tech landed - notable mostly because we saw that Hunter slowed down significantly when he fell due to the tree cover.

This is I think our only glimpse through the clouds and most of what's directly underneath them is obscured by... more clouds. Looks rockier down there but they could have some further trees down there.

"We must be precise" *EVERYONE LOOKS AT WRECKER* I love when some of the most devastating plots have the funniest moments.

Love to see them infiltrate when they know there are no clone troopers because suddenly they begin to MURDER INTENTLY.

GOD I HATE HEMLOCK. HATE. THE WAY HE TALKS ABOUT CLONES.

I admit it is a little harder to watch this episode knowing all they accomplish is tossing Tech off a tram car.

LOVE ECHO'S IDEA OF A DIVERSION and also Wrecker stomping that poor mouse droid

Saw time!

One thing I find interesting is in Aftermath the only two that Saw talks with directly are Hunter and Tech, and here Saw only encounters the two of them. I really am growing more and more attached to the idea that Saw somehow found and got a hold of Tech, leading to Hemlock only finding the glasses. Saw challenges their viewpoints, but Tech could challenge him back I think.

Interesting that Saw's view is 'sacrifices are necessary for the greater good' too given what Tech does shortly after. Literally I want to see Saw and Tech throw things back and forth without the imminent risk of death or capture.

Human shield is fine but again, can't show Tech's body, because kids, sure.

We do see Saw blow the place from the shuttle but I don't think we see where the shuttle goes from there, not in this episode at least.

It's getting late so I guess I'm actually doing Plan 99 right after work tomorrow, which is probably a good thing I do need to sleep tonight.

[aprillikesthings]

GOOD MORNING (afternoon actually) time for more she-ra

(I actually started this episode last night lol but wasn't able to finish it)

s5 ep3 corridors

oh this episodes starts with the intro instead of an open. okay.

nnnoooooo

Not only do Catra's ears do a little twitch but it makes a really adorable noise????

Also I just looked at my fic to make sure I mention that Catra's eyes glow a little and got distracted rereading my own porn lolol but yes I did already edit that into a scene

man I feel sad for both of them here. they're both just little kids--with like, zero good role models :(

poor babies

anyway, nice segue

oh those lights are explosions. oh. :(

would you like some heavy-handed but appropriate symbolism

but also the clones are basically stalking her every move, and she runs into the clone that's actually Hordak

I wanted to get a screenshot of her smoothing down her hair and accidentally got whatever this is lol

but yeah Hordak is like "I don't know what you're talking about. anyway go away."

LOL

The ship shuts down and stops in space which is really funny because THAT'S NOT HOW SPACE WORKS unless you're fighting the gravity of a nearby planet or star or something you should maintain your speed forever

but whatever, fantasy universe, plot, etc.

awwwww Catra and Glimmer are talking again. Their banter is so easy to read as flirtatious, too.

It is a struggle not to screenshot every single facial expression they make during this scene.

...Also, I should read my friend's Glitra fics.

THEY'RE SO CUTE

Glimmer mentions specifically raiding the kitchen for cake enough times that I'm 99% sure I subconsciously remembered it when I wrote that short fic that includes it considering I wrote/posted it before I got to any of the mentions of it in my re-watch.

She even mentions eating it with her hands and here I thought it might be weird that I put it in the story lolol

I forgot entire huge portions of plot but remembered Glimmer likes to sneak into the kitchen to eat cake with her hands.

(they're talking about sleepovers)

UGH THIS SCENE IS SO GOOD also the look on Catra's face while she talks about Adora during happier times 🥺

SHIT Daci came upstairs okay I gotta finish this tomorrow

it is now tomorrow :D

don't mind me gonna rewatch this whole scene because it's so painfully sweet

OH ALSO one of the things that's good to note for myself later (re: character stuff) is that Catra is still a little shit here. She opens the conversation by taunting Glimmer about her failed attempts at escape, and when Glimmer pushes back she initially starts to leave.

So yeah. She's always still a bit of a brat.

ALSO I want to note that part of the reason they're willing to tolerate each other at all is that, at this point in the plot, they've both done Pretty Bad Shit. Whether it's the same amount of bad shit is a matter of debate, but Glimmer feels horribly guilty for trying to use the Heart of Etheria and allowing Horde Prime to find them--she's even the reason Catra is on the ship. So they're sort of equals at this point. I don't think Glimmer would be friendly to Catra to quite the same extent if she didn't have that hanging over her. I could be wrong though.

But also yeah they're still very similar people.

look at how soft she is ;_;

but yeah Glimmer's talking here, and oof, look at Catra

do you also have some regrets bb

;_;

and then she gets up and walks off without a word to Glimmer

lol the claws on the wall, absent-mindedly. I know why she's doing that--the urge to leave a mark, however minor--"I was here"--to be even the tiniest thorn in the side of an enemy that unfathomably powerful.

another allusion to Christianity

they went for (synthesized) Gregorian chanting here instead of the organ

oh no it's that fucked-up baptism thing D:

(true story: a lot of churches are willing to baptize you more than once, especially if they're weirdoes and don't think other churches' baptisms count. The Episcopal Church, like most mainline protestant denominations, won't re-baptize you--if your previous baptism was done with the Trinitarian formula ("Father, Son, and Holy Spirit") it counts. This actually gets tricky if you were baptized as a Mormon, because they do use the Trinitarian formula, but they mean entirely different things by it! In some parts of the country you'll get rebaptized, in others you won't. Sometimes they'll do what's called a conditional baptism, where they literally say "If you are not baptized, [name], I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Like. They insert a "just in case" clause. They also do this for people who just do not know if they were baptized--like if you can't ask your parents whether you were baptized as a baby because they're dead/no-contact. Anyway I was seven when I got baptized, so I remember it, which is nice; but I did text my mom about it when I was about to get confirmed and it turned out she'd kept my baptismal certificate all these years?!)

I don't know if they were going for The Meme this time--I don't think so? it's just a good way to frame this scene? --but I cannot unsee it

oof it must hurt to admit that, but also, it must be a bit of a relief to actually GENUINELY NOT KNOW and be unable to give away anything

"And yet you seek to protect her" dude has her number that's a fact

oh god he tells her to get info from Glimmer D:

"If I could tell you where Adora is I would! She's my enemy! I want her gone!" oh baby you're so convinced

at this point in the plot I'm not entirely sure he's wrong, but of course he misunderstands why it's a bad thing and the solution to it

(I get that a sprinkle of water on your head is a totally valid baptism but also I think more mainline churches should have full-immersion options bc I just think it makes sense from a symbolism standpoint. I know some mainline churches will allow you to do it if you're an adult getting baptized. Depends on the church/clergy.)

ANYWAY real glad that baptismal fonts/pools aren't electrified

And yes bringing Catra there was a threat

And Catra brings Glimmer cake

aww

hm

she could have stood looming over Glimmer here. Instead she's literally on her knees and holding Glimmer's other hand. She doesn't want to intimidate Glimmer into giving her information. She wants Glimmer to kNOW.

Glimmer drops the cake.

I'm gonna chew my fingers off aaaaugh

I'VE HIT THE IMAGE LIMIT i knew I would and I'm only halfway through the episode hold on

[just-an-enby-lemon]

I'm rewatching the end of TMA before TMAGP comes out tomorrow and I have a lot of thoughts about the interdimentional trolley problem:

The thing is I always belived Jon was right - I even consider the fact that there is more stories to be told in this multiverse it's another proof things got worse because of them - but I used to think the others were wrong for the right reasons and Jon was right for the wrong. And while I understand everyone's reasoning rewatching it I think I was wrong.

I had convinced myself that Jon just wanted to end the world via killing everyone because he was suicidal and wanting to martyr himself. And as I was watching the debate. Understanding that both yeah Jon no one is going to hear you when you're being a lil' bitch about it (his "you just wanna stab Jonah" was low and bs and he knew it) and also everyone's motivations, how Melanie and Georgie just did so much to protect people and still lost them in the end, Basira's lonley pilgramage into the domains watching everyone's suffering and Martin's hope. And like Martin dismissing Jon EVERY SINGLE TIME with the whole "you're just suicidal" argument (in softer ways but still) almost convinced me again. But than Jon sayed: "so we are going to just hope for the best then" and it clicked to me.

For four whole seasons Jon has just been lying to himself hoping for the best: that he would prove he deserved his promotion and everything would be okay, that he could just ignore Prentiss and the worms and pretend to be a skeptical and the supernatural wouldn't attack him, that if he discovered who killed Gertrude every tension in the Archives would resolve itself and everyone could be friends, that if he broke the tabble he would kill the NotThem and if he killed the NotThem Sasha might be back, that they were actually doing all that for a good cause, that if they stopped the Unknowing everything would be fine, that he was not really turning into a monster, that he could just stop taking live statements after the first one and all would be okay, that after the bullet Melanie would forgive him, that if he survived rescuing Daisy he would show he was usefull and Basira would forgive him, that if he stopped the Black Sun, that if he rescued Martin from the Lonely, that if he just Knew more, discovered more, that if... And he was wrong every single time. He was just gaining trauma and turning it into bad decisions rinse and repeat in the hope that this would be the one thing that would solve everything and it ended the world.

So he hears: "If we send the fears alway probably it won't be really that bad, the thousands of universes won't really end and this broken traumatized universe will heal and everything will be fine, we just need to do this one thing." And is it a surprise he is skepticall?

I get Jon more. That's more than being a martyr is wanting to take the actual hard decisions and deal with the consequences instead of just hoping for the best one more time.

I get everyone more. I understand why they choose it. The want to fix things. Like I totally think Jon is right but also if I was on the debate I would vote to send the fears away, I would go to every reason on the book for it. And like don't get me wrong Jon is doing it because he is suicidal and because he just doesn't want more guilt (wich is weird because for me is a guilt either way scenario) but as everything is more complex.

Also I think that while they would have made the same decision the characthers we know would be a bit happier in the finale if both everyone wasn't so obviously against even hearing Jon even less considering his points from the start and Jon wasn't being an unsurferable asshole defending his points, like he got into defensive attack mode so quickly and like I get it, it's frustrating to not be heard but also holy shit he was such an asshole. Like they where still at least humoring him until he started just accusing everyone all the fucking time. I love Jon but he is a really hard person to talk to because he will go for the personal shit and the "you're evil actually" the moment you challenge his beliefs. But them if this bitches could do a healthy comunication they wouldn't even be there so what's new.

[cryptidsurveys]

Friday, July 26th, 2024.

Do you ever worry about your future? (i.e.: college, marriage, kids, etc) I try not to dwell on it too much because it feels so daunting and hopeless, but yes, I do have a lot of fears about my future (finances, independence, living situation, deaths of loved ones, general survival…). I lost most of my teens and 20s to what I guess could be considered pretty severe mental illness, so I'm waaay behind where I should be for someone my age. It's only been over the past year or so that I feel like I've made real progress toward getting it together.

Does your family use coasters? Is anyone in your family excessively tidy? I use folded paper towels for drinks at my computer desk, but otherwise, no. Also, no one is excessively tidy, but I do try to keep things reasonably neat.

What’s your least favorite chore to do around the house? Do you have to do this often? Probably anything involving dusting. Idk why. It's not like I don't do the same damn thing at the animal shelter, and a whole heck of a lot more of it.

If you went to your mom/dad or whoever you live with and said “hey, I’ll clean the whole house if you give me 20 bucks” would they go for it? Would you raise the price? My dad and I share our incomes and expenses, so there wouldn't really be any point to that.

Are you usually late, early or right on time? Early.

If you wrote a journal entry about your last date, what would it say? Hmm.

On a scale of 1 to 5 how organized are you? Maybe 2-3.

Name a movie you can watch over and over again and not be bored with? I'm actually not the type of person to repeatedly rewatch movies. Once I know what's going to happen, no matter how much I might love a film, it just makes me feel somewhat bored and restless.

Do you wear pajamas to places other than at your house? Sometimes shopping. They aren't like pajama pajamas, though; it's usually something like sweatpants and a hoodie.

Do you take showers in the morning or at night more? I take them in the mornings, then again when I get home from the shelter.

What is the wallpaper on your cellphone? It's a photo of a dark and cloudy sunrise from yeeears ago.

Do you still have your tonsils? I do.

What is the worst thing someone has ever done to you? Idk.

Have you ever gone nude/streaked in public? No.

Do you snore? Steal the covers? Roll around in your sleep? I've never been told that I snore. Idk if I steal the covers. And my sleep style could be compared to a rotisserie chicken.

Why aren’t you with the person you love? I'm not in love with anyone.

Could you go out in public looking like you do now? Aside from the hoodie, which I put on when I got home, I just returned from a fundraising event for the shelter. You know how I was saying I was socially/emotionally worn out in the last survey? Well, I feel rather rejuvenated now. It was a really nice time. :') Also, maybe I'm too hard on myself when it comes to feeling like I don't belong. Like, there was a speech honoring staff, volunteers, sponsors, etc, and when it got to the staff part, I was clapping for some workers nearby and Marissa was like, "don't clap for me like you don't work here too!" ;D I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow. I'm too tired/lazy to bother with that now.

Do you like the rain? Yesss.

What is your mom listed under in your phone? Mom.

Do you like going to the dentist? No.

Are you afraid of speaking to large audiences? Yeah.

Are you afraid to tell the truth sometimes? Yeah, or to say what I really think/feel. It'd be honest, but probably not productive.

What’s one quality about yourself that you feel sets you back but also helps you? People-pleasing. I feel like it leads to people really liking me in a superficial way, but never really knowing me because I'm just sort of one-dimensional in that regard. I'm always happy/trying to make others happy, refraining from saying anything too real, deep, or controversial, etc. I'm starting to see how it keeps people at a distance and how it's probably part of the reason I have trouble truly connecting with others, but then I'm afraid that if I let my real personality show through, people wouldn't like that either. At least if I remain a people-pleaser, I can blame my defense mechanism. But if I let my guard down and people don't like me, well then what do I do…?!

Was anyone who had been in your company today in a bad mood? Maybe slightly.

The last time you felt sick what exactly was wrong? Migraine.

What did you do today? I was at the animal shelter from around 7am-12pm. Got home, showered, had lunch, took a survey, passed the time with some trash YouTube, had a snack at some point, and went to the event mentioned above.

[slut-jpeg]

btvs rewatch

season 1 episode 1: welcome to the hellmouth

(to everyone who doesn’t care about my notes on my buffy rewatch I will be tagging them all as “max rewatches buffy”)

• I like this intro guys voice, I know he gets replaced by giles but this guys so… idk. campy??

• xander never skateboards again after this episode (at least not on screen)

• I always forget about jesse. so does everyone on the show

• willow is autistic and I love her

• thinking about the differences between this and the original pilot

• oh giles, could you tone it down just a bit?

• “hey aphrodisia!!!”

• I feel like “how did he die” is a normal question. “were there any marks?”maybe not so much.

• “this is sunnydale. how bad of an evil can there be” oh buffy babygirl you have no idea

• that velvet suit jacket on angel is definitely a choice. just can’t tell what kind of choice

• willows whole “I can’t talk when I’m around boys I like” thing could really be explained as comphet if we were reading into it. which I am. (but I also just think she’s like under the queer umbrella possibly bi)

• “seize the moment because tomorrow you might be dead” isn’t very groundbreaking my love (and the phrase carpe diem isn’t very memorable for buffy clearly)

• cordy says “or its at least chronic fatigue syndrome. nobody cool has epstein barr anymore” I think that’s because everyone has it at some point

• I cringe every time I watch the scene of buffy accidentally confronting cordelia with a stake “god. what is your childhood trauma?” “excuse me I have to call everyone I have ever met right now”

• buffy saying she wants to “have some friends maybe a dog” and god I’m so glad she didn’t get a dog

[ultimateloserboy]

Why do you hate people calling dhmis a time loop?

I always saw it as an easy way to describe what we know happens: it is always either June 19th or 20th, and any changes made the previous day are undone, including death, injuries, and new memories.

Does calling it a time loop change anything that I missed? /gen

hi i just wanna say that i don’t actually HATE anyone that believes this, sure it makes me angry, but theres nothing wrong with it! believe what you want! my opinions are not law, but i would like to explain why this theory makes no sense to me as someone with a hyperfix (and maybe special interest) on this show and series as a whole

the reason i personally hate this theory is because it literally doesnt make any sense if you think about it for more than a second. its an easy-way-out explanation if that makes sense. ive rewatched both the show and the webseries and i can say firmly that neither of them work as a time loop. ESPECIALLY the tv series, because they have specific holidays on specific days (like computer day) and even mention “tomorrow” in the same episode. if every day was the same day colin would be there every day for computer day, but hes not. in the death episode its mentioned that the news papers change every day. in the very first episode of the tv series the first thing the main three mention is that they stayed up all night talking. that wouldn’t work in a time loop. not to mention how time loops imply the same thing over and over. since when is anything in dhmis the EXACT same? similar format does not count. time loops are very specific, and work in a very specific way, the fact people have thought dhmis is a time loop for this long is genuinely surprising to me. like it just makes no sense?? the only thing that even remotely suggests this is the calendar and the calendar is JUST A CALENDAR. the calendar itself is just a prop, and june 19th/20th is just a placeholder date to keep things mysterious. sure its mentioned often and might be important but only in a metaphoric way. in a LITERAL sense the calendar never actually mattered, its a shame people still think it does.

and no, nothing in dont hug me im scared is undone. deaths are not undone, the puppets are simply replaced. everything still happened, its simply forgotten by the main three and cleaned up by lesley. even with the original series the main three remember the days and songs before. duck hasnt done this in the tv series but in the webseries and in a qna with the characters he freaks out when time is mentioned, and red guy catches on when someone references the computer episode. nothing in this world is re-set, only forgotten and cleaned up with hints left behind.

i like to think of it less literally. i like to think that the reason the date is the same is because despite the fact that time is moving forward, these characters are never moving with it. time goes on but they do not. their memories are deteriorating behind them and the world refuses to let them change as people. so it might not really be june at all, but to the characters nothing has changed. so the date is more symbolic to me, more metaphorical. this is only my belief tho, theres many interpretations, but i feel like the time loop theory is such an overrated interpretation yaknow?

yet again, no actual hatred just a very passionate neurodivergent opinion about my hyperfix LMAO

[softsky-daily]

1/2/2024

I had to be up early which sucked but I will admit the sky looked really pretty this morning.

Positive thing: I had a fun Discord call with a friend, and I managed to find the 逃げ恥 OST to buy and download on my phone.

Work actually wasn't that bad besides the whole walking up the stairs thing. My coworker was there but left me alone mostly, and I had leftover spaghetti that my roommate friends made which was a nice lunch.

I was rewatching the 逃げ恥 special today and I'd only watched it once before with Japanese subtitles, so this time I had English on and I was stunned at one particular line I missed. There's talk of naming a baby, and the parents decide to try and find a gender-neutral name, and reason that "they might change their gender when they're older." Maybe I just don't watch enough shows, but I feel like it was such a casually progressive line that was so deeply considerate in a way so many other shows aren't, especially ones that aren't particularly LGBT focused. I was really touched hearing it properly.

Besides that, I'm eager to have the soundtrack on my phone because I think the score is one of the other reasons I really enjoyed watching it. There's a track that uses an accordion (or something like it, I'm not good at discerning instruments) that is so cozy and light and I think it'll really brighten my morning commute.

I almost forgot - I went to my usual boba place but they were unfortunately out of matcha. I got this fruit tea instead that I think had lychee, peach, and mango. It was really good but I was craving matcha so maybe I'll try again somewhere else tomorrow.

[spinsterennui]

I was tagged by the lovely @archetypewriter ❤️❤️❤️ Thank you so much for thinking of me darling!!! Fair warning, though: you’ve asked *an English lit grad student* to answer questions in a written format. I hope you’ve learned your lesson lol. In my defense, I can’t help being verbose; it’s my nature!!! 😂😭

Tag 9 people you want to get to know better!!!

Last song: XTC “Respectable Street”

Last show: Burn Notice

Currently watching: I always have the tv on in the background bc it reduces anxiety for me, but I’m not necessarily watching; it’s like white noise. The shows I’m actually watching are: Burn Notice, trying to finally finish Lucifer (the second half of season 6), and I’m going to try to get to Lucky Hank either today or tomorrow, despite my having a severe issue with large beards due to traumatic childhood parent issues. I honestly can’t decide if it’s a good thing that Bob has such a terrible beard in this show or not 😭 Like the fact that he’s playing an English professor might have been too indulgent for me without the off-putting facial hair lol.

Currently reading: Unfortunately I don’t read much for pleasure at the moment. A lot of this has to do with being so behind in my dissertation, which causes me to feel like I shouldn’t/can’t read anything that isn’t research; consequently, I end up just not reading. That said, I have been reading bits of Bob’s book A Load of Hooey, which is hilarious and ridiculous but is also easy to pick up and put down because it has a lot of very short parts. Books closer to my research: Killer Apes, Naked Apes & Just Plain Nasty People: The Misuse and Abuse of Science in Political Discourse by professor emeritus of anthropology at St. Lawrence University Richard J. Perry (a history and critique of biological determinism that is written for a non-academic audience — I highly recommend it) and, a more theory-based text, The Age of Scientific Sexism: How Evolutionary Psychology Promotes Gender Profiling and Fans the Battle of the Sexes by feminist/queer theorist and Distinguished Professor of critical theory and gender/sexuality studies at University of Toronto Mari Ruti (also fantastic albeit a bit dated as it’s from 2015 — Ruti has a very interesting writing style, but this book can be challenging for someone unfamiliar with theory and/or reading heavily academic texts).

Current obsession: I mean all apologies for being interminably repetitious, but Burn Notice (as well as Jeffrey Donovan in Burn Notice because a) he’s an incredible actor and b) he is seriously fucking hot in this role). I’m actually rewatching (yes AGAIN), but mainly because I realized that I hadn’t really been paying attention to seasons 1-2 during the rewatch.

When Better Call Saul ended I wasn’t really ready to invest in a totally new show (except for a couple of shorter ones), because it left me a tad despondent I suppose. I’d watched it from day one, back in 2015, after we’d binged Breaking Bad. So I saw that Burn Notice was streaming and thought “low stakes rewatch” because even though I watched the whole series when it originally aired, it ended back in like 2013 I think, and I’d honestly forgotten how good it is. Despite its flaws, it is such an entertaining and satisfying show. It has an incredibly strong and unique female character, and the way Michael and Fiona’s relationship develops (or re-develops) is fun and frustrating and emotionally rewarding at once. They’re both deeply flawed, deeply traumatized characters who love each other more than they love themselves, and slowly they both grow to realize that they can bring out the good in each other while helping to mitigate the bad. They save other people, that’s the sort of formula of the show beyond the burned spy part, but they also save each other, in more ways than one.

I really love shows that, at their core, turn out to be about something more substantial than what appears on the surface, particularly if that something is love in some form. When a show surreptitiously sneaks in a message about love, that show tends to stick with me so much longer and affect me so much more deeply. Better Call Saul, The X-Files, The Americans (admittedly in a fucked up way), The Glory, Lucifer, Leverage (which reminds me that I still need to watch the new one), or even Bates Motel (or ​Buffy/Angel in some ways) all, to one extent or another, have an underlying narrative of love (not just romantic, although that’s a fave for me), as well as related themes of identity (and what it means — like both what you choose and what others assign to you and how that affects your ability to be a fulfilled human), trauma and the aftermath, and family (both blood and found). These themes are quite overt in some of the shows I mentioned and less so in others, but in my opinion the threads run through them all. However, in Burn Notice they each are incorporated into the story incredibly well, which is a big part of what makes the show so compelling for me.

Okay, essay over!!!!! All apologies 😫 Anyway here’s a photo of a special birdie friend on my mantle (the spots are blacked out for privacy bc they are photos of my nephews) ❤️

I’m not going to tag nine people but I am tagging @veyzus @yellowginghamdream @tahiri-veyla @darkskywishes (though I haven’t seen them in a while so I hope all is well) and @nissameta1782 (I always feel weird tagging unless I know someone pretty well, which is weird bc I love being tagged by people I’ve never talked to before lol . . . go figure). Please don’t feel pressured!!! Ignore if you want ❤️

[malepresentingleg]

My School President: last episode - some thoughts (with spoilers, with no order)

First of all- idk what to do with my life anymore now that it's over FUCK.

It was SUCH a good finale to SUCH a good series, simply 😘👌

The first scene with Tinn's mom confronting him and then seeing how fucking terrified he is and taking a step back because of this? boy did I cry. Best mom award to you my lady (you can start a collection).

The side by side with Gun's mom just broke my fucking heart. Their phone call, Gun being so understanding. Everything was just perfect!!!

The talk between Tinn's parents just. Wreck my heart why don't you?

Them secretly dating and flirting all the time and only poor Por was oblivious? 10/10, amazing. (Also I love how from "the prom is tomorrow" from last episode we now got a whole era of secretly officially boyfriends sldksalskdas )

Jealous Gun comeback! + some wlw mlm solidarity with a gay lesbian fake couple.

Was their first kiss really that casual?? it was cute af and Gun was so sneaky to turn his head like that damn. Ik it was just some pecks but it was very very cute.

This episodes shows why you shouldn't ship irl people god this is 😬😬😬 even when things did work out it was soooo yuck.

Did love the friends group teasing thought- that's definitely allowed and some might say even required. And literally everyone knew except Por 😭😭😂😂 ("Sound and I don't keep secrets"!!! I screamed).

But Por not revealing a secret relationship with Tiw? Them not even "getting together"???? 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡 that's me, they did us DIRTY.

Phat crying in singleness was so fucking funny, Phat, I feel you 🤘😔

Gun using the "pinch your nose so you don't cry technique" in the fucking rain, they sure do know how to make US cry amirite ha haha 😭😭😭

Ok but we can all agree Jorn is literally in love with Tinn which is why he was so hurt and mad, but also why he punched the homophobic teacher?

Speaking of that, I'm very glad Jorn did but DAMN did I want Tinn to.

Once again, best mom reward to Tinn's mom 😭🥺

The homophobia was so gross but also I'm glad for the way they addressed it in the series, but also that it wasn't the whole focus of the episode like we might have feared, and we did get a lot of fluff :')

UGh all the fan service during prom was so weird and yucky for me, not a fan😬

The hashtag they keep talking about actually says "my boyfriend* is the school president" in case you were wondering.

*it's a gender-neutral term like "partner", but it's used like boyfriend/girlfriend in English and not as marked as "partner" might be

The dinner at Tinn's immediately made me think of Bad Buddy 😭

It was so cute and so perfectly awkward, I love Tinn's dad so much (way to throw your son under the bus ksdjfskdfhs) and again, best mom reward to give here :') it was so awkward but she clearly tried her best and she died a little when Gun called her mom 😂

The final scene was so sweet, and it was all very fitting for a high school series, which is what this is!

I LOVE how in the end, this is a series about FRIENDSHIP and they gave that the proper focus and screentime

In conclusion, I'm gonna spend my time rewatching this again and again until My Skyy 2 :')

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Re-Watch of Nebraska

@wdway:

I put on Nebraska tonight. I haven't watched the whole thing I'll probably try to do that tomorrow. I zip through to where they're mentioning different locations. I'm leaving out a few sentences in the conversation I was going primarily for mentioning states/places.

In Still when Daryl pees in the corner it's such a call back to this episode when Tony pees in the corner. They were connecting Daryl in that scene with someone really disgusting. I think Gimple wanted the call back so that people would go back and watch Nebraska again. There are definitely other callbacks but I'll talk about them after I've watched all of the episode. Tarah thanks for bringing this episode up I think it's definitely something we should rewatch. Along with all the other episodes in the series, haha.

@galadrieljones:

Love this episode. I love how all these little location things especially are coming back. Its also the episode when Beth is catatonic, like the beginnings of her first major arc.

On this note, I went back and watched a little of “Gone” tonight, Fear 7.16. I totally forgot that Morgan is just straight up in Louisiana when all that stuff goes down.

I couldn’t watch the whole thing, only up to about when Madison walks off with Mo. But I was super curious about the walkers buried up to their necks. We see this same exact thing with Rick far away, all the way over at the Delaware River. ?? It’s weird. The guys who are doing this, they try to do it to Morgan.

They are NOT CRM. Or, they’re not with Madison. They are a rebel group of some sort, made up of people who have had their kids stolen. In the episode, as they’re preparing to bury Morgan, Morgan asks, “Why are you doing this?” to which one of them answers, “So every other shithead can see what happens when they come here and steal our kids from us.” They’re wearing burlap sacks over their heads.

We know, too, that the woman in the house that Morgan meets isn’t actually pregnant. She’s a honeypot, trying to lure the “egg” snatchers, aka Madison, by broadcasting bait over the radio and spamming pregnancy tests. It’s definitely an operation they’ve done many times in the past, given the number of people that are buried on the beach.

So like, we have to deduce that this is some sort of widespread insurrection, right? A coordinated rebellion? People having their kids stolen all around the east coast, down into the gulf of Mexico. In the finale coda, when Rick is discovered by the CRM helicopter, he angrily kills one of the buried walkers with his Silas tool thingy. So…maybe it’s Rick? Who’s coordinating the rebels fighting the kidnappers?

Just speculation ofc. In the end though, he smiles. Just like Beth. Why do they do that? What do they know?

Further, I was wondering about why Rick might be “valuable.” Perhaps the CRM saw him as a potential threat in the wild and wanted him in check. Maybe they thought they could flip him, first put him in menial jobs, like Silas in the culling fields, to wear him down. I was thinking, too, about Jadis and her relationship to Negan and Maggie. Just so much to learn.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Love all the discussion! It's amazing that they've actively used all those places in fairly major arcs. Places they simply mentioned in passing in S2. I love it!