#or am neutral on a beloved episode. or neutral on a neutral episode. any such combo really.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 24 thoughts

this episode was quite spooky. because cannibalism is real. but something about scully about to get her head chopped off and boiled seemed more outlandish than all the aliens and the guy that kills people with his shadow or even lizard man eugene tooms!

which is strange. because those things are pretty outlandish! maybe its because it was so much scarier than even evil lizard men.

let’s jump in:

so this is an episode involving more meat. did we need more meat, after the earlier meat processing content in s2 episode 10? many are saying no. but not chris carter!

we begin at a dirt road at night. in the state of arkansas. we have an older man and a younger woman named paula in a car, which is not suspicious at all! /s

oh and now the old man choking? is this natural or did she induce it with some poison. i mean maybe he deserved it, if she did. he takes some pills, so I’m guessing it is due to natural causes. now she beckons him out to the woods. 

into the woods. she says he has to catch her. is she luring him into a Bigfoot trap? we have yet to really see Bigfoot, and maybe he’s hungry. although Bigfoot is more Pacific Northwest than Arkansas, i think.

author's note: we tested negative for bigfoot in this episode :(

oh! this man tripped and is now surrounded by people with flashlights and very cool masks. get axe murdered, fucker.

back in DC! aforementioned fucker has been gone for 10 weeks and scully thinks the higher ups are sending them on a wild goose chase. “i’m not questioning the legitimacy of the case, just their motives in assigning it to us” <- damn, very well spoken by a rightfully suspicious woman

oh, but at the scene, someone saw a fire. and mulder says the fire is “supposed to be the spirits of massacred Indians” OH...

(mentally i was like, please do not be another scary Indigenous story episode. and we did in fact get that. sighs deeply. we can make things scary without making Indigenous people the scary ones! or using the trauma of genocide as a setting for spooky time! well, i'm sure you, dear reader, know that, so i shall not preach to the choir, but i will point out that these thoughts were going through my mind)

“these are only legends, mulder”, says a dismissive scully. and why is her hair looking excellent today. I mean not that it isn’t usually but damn. shoutout to the hair and makeup team.

the place on the side of the road where he went missing had a big fire! could be a bonfire, both parties thought. until mulder remembered a documentary he saw in college...

(hehehehe mulder spent college watching documentaries <3)

! MULDER LORE REVEAL ! wow it's been a while since i've gotten to format some text like that. he watched a documentary about an insane asylum in college and it gave him nightmares.

(and this may not be super relevant to his character, but to ME, it is, so i shall note it <3)

he's got the VHS from the doc all loaded up, and presses play on a guy rambling about a fire demon!! who was found in the same spot as the fire mark!!! dun dun dunnn 

(love the implication that he either purchased his own copy of the documentary that gave him nightmares in college, or had to go rent it from the video store. both are wonderful possibilities)

cut to arkansas. mulder is on the scene holding a plastic fork from the ground. wearing his silly sunglasses. lmaooo idk why they make me laugh. what a serious gentleman.

sheriff arrives at the scene. he says the witch’s peg to ward off spirits is normal there and also that the fire mark comes from illegal trash burning. and, as an American i am aware of how Americans love an illegal trash burn. but still. suspicious.

sheriff says the missing man george was chasing women out of town. lovely sounding fellow /s

wife questioning time!! he left her years ago. oh, but tea: the day before he went missing he was going to cite major health violations in the chicken plant! hmm... a cause for murder?

mulder gives the wife his phone number. also mulder is also looking very good today. but that is an evil voice in my head that ought to be silenced.

noooo, it's chicken plant time. no thank you ma’am, i would be out in the car <3

paula from the woods at work in the plant!!! taking mystery pills. seemingly in pain??

chicken cutting cam. oh, this is not for me! 

the agents chat with the manager, who says george was trying to shut them down. and while clocked in, paula is sweating. she just gasped in front of a whole bunch of chickens and some guy with very blue eyes. she sees a human head on the chicken stand and picks it up and throws it off. shoutout to this fake decapitated head and my best friends in the prop department for making such a funny creation.

(but of course, it was a hallucination, and she really just threw a poor chicken on the floor!!! his sacrifice was in vain... gone but not forgotten)

mulder is inspecting the chicken gutting operation and i've said it before and i'll say it again: he is braver than me. 

ohh, more chicken drama: george was filing a lawsuit about “line hypnosis” and it was dismissed before he vanished! he deserved to win. is there a meat processing union? there ought to be. but he was the only one citing bad health practices, the other 3 workers said it was fine... sooo what’s the truth…

“what’s that” asks mulder, who then gets shown the feed processor, and asks “chickens feed on chickens?” <- heartbreaking realization. many of us remember where we were when learning this information. i'm sure it will stick with him forever. and i'm frankly surprised he didn't know already.

NAURRR THE SLUDGE AND BLOOD nasty nasty evil

OH plot twist: paula is holding the manager with a knife to his throat… scully telling everyone to calm down. personally i would be not calm. she said “don’t get excited” but me? experiencing an active hostage situation at my place of work? i would be excited

NOOO the sheriff shot her and she fell into the feed conveyor belt processing… thing. sheriff i KNOW you are covering something up. you will not hide from me.

SHE GETS GULPED INTO THE FEED BELT THINGY GAGGG it’s giving the jungle by upton sinclair that caused many american 8th graders to confront the corruption of the meat industry

paula had gone to the doctor about headaches… like george!!! doctor had assumed the condition was stress induced. and they did have similar symptoms. 

treated them both with codine… ain’t that a bit strong?? this man doesn't seem to be a very good doctor, tbh. i mean i don't think the guy that works at the chicken plant to sew back on fingers needs to be an expert in everything but like. codine for headaches? umm girl.

mr. chaco of chaco’s chicken was paula’s grandfather… if i was a grandfather rich off of chicken money, my grandkids would not be working the processing line, let me tell u that much!

back to the agents: these two should not be looking as good as they do in a chicken processing plant. they had to really step it up today to compensate for the horrors of the set.

chicken man lives in a mansion. further evidence of corruption. paula, i would not have had you working in such conditions if i was your grandfather. there has been a deep wrong here, i can see already.

and he’s got a big hat and is feeding his chicken corn. not other chickens, like the feed he makes in his plant... seems he is aware of the ethical issues implied in his business. also, mulder with those weird ass glasses. 

cacho is going on about the subject of chickens. and how he built this town. he sure is taking an awful lot of credit for creating a town, pretty sure that's a team effort mr. chaco. he's also going on about how he thought george was trying to tear him down. 

AUTOPSY TIME!! rare degenerative disorder in da brain of paula. and scully has only seen it one other time back in med school because you can only really find it in an autopsy. nice work, doctor! <- i just typed “nice worm 🪱” so we'll let that stay for the added sense of whimsy it provides

but despite looking like a young girl fresh out of high school, paula was born in '48?! she was 47 years old. allegedly. this is not adding up. so they go on a quest to find her birth certificate and see what the truth is.

debrief in the car. so: odds are not great that she and george had the same very rare disease

during this discussion, our duo are run off the road by a chicken truck!!!! no! oh... he drove them into a river. mulder has shifted into rescue mode as the river is red with chicken gore. i feel someone might be distracting them and trying to get the body… (this was actually not the case i was just overly suspicious)

but more chicken drama: the driver had the same symptoms as george and paula! how can this be?!

“i just came up with a sick theory, mulder” (grabs her shoulder) “ooh, I’m listening” LMAOOOO this is sososo funny to me. yeah tell me ur sick theories scully you have my full attention.

GAG!! because it is both gross and shocking. her theory: what if someone put george’s body in the feed grinder, and then since it’s a prion disease, a chicken ate it, and someone ate a chicken, and it spread to the humans!!!! AHHHH! well that would be an epidemic, because they ship chickens out across the country… she glances knowingly, implying things could be very bad 

the river is filled with bird gore from the plant BLECH... who allows this??!! please say there are some modern regulations in place to prevent this being done irl.

mulder says he wants it dragged, thinking that maybe george is in there. and the sheriff is hesitant to do this. once again, i’m onto you, sheriff. i mean, a river full of chicken gore: it would be a good place to put a dead body.

and bam! a body is found. or rather. many many many bones. many bodies. and they are still going. damn.

so, we have a ton of bones. scully can put them into 9 distinct skeletons, one of which is in fact george. i love that she can do that, put the bones into distinct skeletons. she knows it's geroge from a pin in his femur!

“all of them share one, strange detail though” “well, they seem to have lost their heads” “… well, besides that” <- LMAOOOO idk why this was so funny to me... he really thought he picked up on something but he did Not.

here's the linking detail: all the bones are smooth and buffed like they have been polished. ??? who is polishing bones? it sure isn't me, i'll tell you that much. 

george’s wife is at the scene, learning her husband's body has been found, and she is sobbing. and the sheriff says “we’ll take care of you” now what does THAT mean? because it's not really sounding like the welcoming words of a man who is going to guide his neighbor through tragedy, and instead like there is something bigger at play here...

back at the plant, the doctor is mentioning another guy coming down “with the symptoms”…. omg. so this IS a known thing from the inside. mr. chaco knows but he isn’t doing anything about it!!!!! chicken dramaaaa goes crazy 

scully at the scene of all the bones, carrying a bucket of chicken. lmao. she is braver than me, for i would have gone vegan the first moment i set foot in chicken processing land.

mulder does some digging: 87 people have disappeared in the area in 50 years! that seems... a lot? and he thinks the same person or persons were responsible. he thinks they were EATEN!! boiled in a pot.

“they used similar evidence to prove cannibalism among on the Anasazi tribe of New Mexico” okay: 1. why do you know that 2. need to look into these allegations for myself and 3. Anasazi… that is the title of the next episode!!! what could this mean!! another cannibalism episode?!

scully is very sad to say that paula could have gotten sick from eating george :( girl I’m not convinced the chicken is clean put it down NOW 

cannibalism = eternal life? follow for more crazy mulder theories!

she puts aside the chicken……. good!

mr. chaco says “he’ll handle it” and george's wife doris arrives, saying she “can’t keep lying”… she says “she did it” (!!)

OH????? she... killed her husband? that is a bold thing to admit to.

“we’re gonna take good care of you”, says mr. chaco, which raises the question: are they a cannibal cult???? is that what he means when he mentions that he “built this town”???

now what the hell is going on. <- an interjection i stand by

mulder and scully are going to the courthouse to look at the papers and all the birth records are burnt!! doris calls mulder and says he’s afraid mr. chaco will kill her… they split up…. nooooo i hate splitting up!!! i watched so much scooby doo as a kid!

GASP! a guy in a mask like we saw at the very beginning of the episode is in doris' home!!! drumbeat playing while she screams…. overall, this is very not good, i wrote, referring to the use of Indigenous imagery for this murder, and also doris being murdered in the first place

scully at the scene of the murder ft. big ass flashlight. she gets in through the side door. gun: out. trench coat: open. looks: served. diagnosis: baby girl that could kill me, and i am respectful of the fact that she has this power yet refrains from using it on me.

mulder at mr. chaco’s house. mr. chaco has some… stuff in his home. including photos with Indigenous people and also bones. having human bones in your house, and especially on display, is not a good sign of ethics in play. and a skull. Oh! it says the skull is from a tribe in New Guinea... why tf does he have that. put it back???

at the back of chaco's parlor, we see a mysterious door. mulder is busting it open.

LORD ALMIGHTY, I DID NOT THINK THERE WOULD BE HEADS INSIDE??? HELLO???

so that must be where all of the heads that mulder noticed were missing have gone. they're sewn up sort of like shrunken heads. very spooky. once again, pour one out for the props department for such a creation.

noooo chaco is in the house with scully, who was investigating the call of doris. NOOOO HE KNOCKED HER OUT!!! this seriously needs to stop happening like i'm worried about the brain damage she is experiencing.

back to mulder cam. goodness. all of these heads. 

in a field now. doctor is serving some soup. to a bunch of people. who are eating around a big bonfire. do NOT tell me scully is in that meal....

she is not. YET! but he is bringing her over to be roasted. and they ate doris! chaco is yelling about turning on each other and how they were only supposed to eat outsiders. girl you shouldn't be eating anybody last time i checked. 

man in the mask shows up with an axe. and chaco is decapitated in front of scully. who is put into the decapitation thingy next. GIRL THIS IS FUCKED UP!!!

mulder on the scene, just in time. he shoots the dude in the mask.

“you alright?” he asks, brushing her hair back after lifting her out of the decapitation machine. my good friend, i would venture to guess that she is not quite alright at the moment!!! this will take an awful lot of unpacking!!!

sigh. but the tenderness of the near death experience. coming back to life in someone's arms. yeah i'll romanticize that.

TEA!!! the sheriff was the one under the mask!!!!!! i knew he was up to no good.

wrap up: chicken place shut down. unclear how many citizens of the town ate people. 27 have become ill with prion disease. chaco’s plane was shot down in 1947, and he spent 7 months with a cannibalistic tribe, and also he was born in 1902, so he was 93 at his death- so the cannibalism really WAS extending life. and we see some more feed being scooped to the chickens as scully says his remains have yet to be found. end scene.

HUH???? what in da hell. so what are we thinking kids…?

well, i'll tell you something: turns out i am afraid of cannibal cults, no matter how outlandish they seem! i guess when you get a villain or evil situation of the week show like this, you WILL learn exactly what kind of fear pushes your buttons. i can imagine almost nothing scarier than being led to the slaughter like scully was. seems a purposeful commentary on the meat industry, especially when taken in with the other meat episode this season.

so, if i were scully, i do think i would need to take a week or so off. but she is just built different than i am.

some things bugged me here. first of all, like i mentioned, you don't need to throw in Indigenous people to make a scary story. like is the thought of a bunch of arkansas cannibals not horrific enough? the scary was there!

second, i have not been doing a kidnapping count, but i feel that scully is getting the rough of the deal here. i believe in gender equality when it comes to characters being kidnapped. like, an even 1:1 ratio. why are we denying mulder his damsel in distress arc? does anyone think about how he would feel? how nice it would be to see scully burst in with a gun and shoot the fellow that was about to cannibalize him?

still, it is rare an episode actually spooks me, so i must give credit where it is due. even if it felt a little outlandish, your girl was frightened! scully needs a vacation now. i also thoroughly laughed at the sick theories line and his funny sunglasses.

it's funny to note, but i like the episodes that are either very silly and light hearted, or incredibly angsty the best. and that may seem contradictory, but you cannot tell me that one breath and humbug may be on opposite ends of the tone spectrum, but they are both objectively Perfect. i'll have to think more on why they are the best in my opinion, but i think honestly i would watch these two read the dictionary.

[lurkingshan]

10 Things I Love About 3 Will Be Free

I am very late on this one, I know it! But this week I finally sat down with @wen-kexing-apologist and binged the whole thing, and had a grand ol’ time doing it. @waitmyturtles the verdict is two enthusiastic thumbs up. This was such a fun romp, and here are a few of the things I loved most about it:

SHIN MY BELOVED

Guess who has a new blorbo!! In hindsight it is absolutely absurd that it took a Tay Tawan girlie like me so long to watch this show, because Shin is an instant entry on the all-time fav characters list. I love his sad gay ass. He’s sensitive, he’s lonely, he’s repressed, he’s far too susceptible to Stockholm syndrome, and I would protect him with my life.

Mae

A working class trans character with an actual plot?! Thank you for your endless gifts, P’Jojo. Sure, my girl Mae made some questionable choices (just a little light murder!), but listen, I support her, in the words of @wen-kexing-apologist, embracing her feminine rage. And in the end, she figured out exactly the right target for her rage and lived her best life.

Miw

A Survivor. Gets shit done. Absolutely will kill a man if he forces her hand. Loyal to her boyfriends even when it would probably be smarter to ditch them. Also, she so pretty.

Neo’s tanks and crop tops

I never claimed not to be shallow.

Neo and Shin’s backstory

Episode 5 was my favorite of the show and the moment it really clicked for me. I loved getting a glimpse of Shin’s lonely and dejected teen years (I just wanna talk, Ken 🔪🔪🔪). I loved that the basis of Neo and Shin’s relationship and initial attraction was the way they played together. Shin laughed more in his few days with Neo than he probably had in the several years preceding them. I loved that Neo gave him his first kiss and that Shin treasured those memories so dearly.

The Worst Criminals Of All Time

Truly remarkable these three are still alive by the end of the show. Their ideas were half-baked and their execution was severely lacking. They never had a plan they thought all the way through and they never had a single scheme that went off without a hitch. Luckily, the bad guys chasing them were also thoroughly incompetent, so it all evened out. The only smart person in this show was Miw’s mom, who knew the only prudent move was to stay the hell out of this mess.

Miw and Shin’s friendship

I just love that these two developed their own bond, even though they’re not into each other the same way they’re both into Neo. They both risked their lives to save the other. They tease and joke with each other. Shin literally wanted to bring his new bestie home to live with him. They’re adorable.

This weird little guy

Toptap. My guy. What are you doing here and why are you being so strange? Are you good, are you bad, are you chaotic neutral? Who can tell! Certainly not me. But I enjoyed every moment your weird ass was on the screen.

There's a polyamorous relationship, and it’s depicted onscreen!

Okay, here’s the part where I admit my expectations for the poly romance in this show were a liiiiiiilttle off base. I must gently rib the fandom for leading me to believe this show would have any actual sex in it (or really a focus on romance at all) and once again recite to myself a universal truth: gifs removed from context are so misleading. At the same time, I also must acknowledge how groundbreaking it was at the time to depict polyamory at all. I would have loved a bit more time spent on the actual relationship dynamics and the emotional complexities of this triad they formed, but I recognize that’s not really what this show was about and appreciate they included a polycule in the first place. Now that it’s 2023 and he’s been give a lot more freedom, I look forward to Jojo’s further exploration of sexy polycules in Only Friends.

Against all odds, these crazy kids got their happy ending

When this show started I did not see any way for them to come out of this in good shape. I was going to be happy if they simply survived. But not only did they survive, they are thriving! Shin has inherited his dad’s legitimate business and discovered he looks hot in a deep V. Neo and Miw are living that beach life they deserve. Everyone loves each other and everyone is at peace. A+, 10/10, would watch again.

[nono-bunny]

Heya! Just wondering, since Netflix Geeked Week will probably show a trailer for the live-action Avatar on Thursday, I want to ask a few things:

Are you excited for it?

What do you think they'll keep, cut, and expand in this live-action of ATLA - Book One: Water (Season 1)?

Since Bryke are not on the project now, do you have a good feeling that this live-action could be a lot better than what they come up with at Avatar Studios?

(By the way, were these "Braving the Elements" episodes recent from your last posts? And were Bryke really acting like complete stooges in them? :O )

Hi, thank you for the lovely ask!

I've been completely ignoring the huge Geeked Week banner so I have no idea what's up with that or that it's possible we're getting a trailer soon, so that's cool information to have lol

1. I honestly can't say I'm excited for the live action. The last Netflix live action for a beloved childhood franchise of mine was such a dumpster fire because they focused on being edgy and dark and abandoned the source material for the worse, so like? Past experience has made me extremely cautious in regards to live action adaptions coming from them. In general I am not a fan of this trend- the Disney ones are shit, and I only really find myself watching and enjoying the (sometimes shitty, but like, in a fun way) J-drama adaptions of old shoujo manga as I don't really fuck with any other genre nowadays. Anime has a long history with shitty adaptions for action shows, and as action is inherent to ATLA after all, even if it's not technically an anime, I know that's gonna be a hurdle they'll have to clear- just having good effects and fight scenes. It's not MY personal focus as I do find charm in shitty effects (I do like J-dramas after all!) but honestly that is probably what's gonna make or break the initial hype for the show imo. Rn I'm honestly just... So neutral about it to the point where it surprises me (I'm. Very much not a neutral person usually lol) and I think it's just a matter of like.... Being burned AND pleasantly surprised by ATLA stuff before so I'm kinda hedging my bets until I know which way it's gonna go for me. Honestly I can very realistically see me LOVING it, but the other option is that it's bad and that's kinda what I'm preparing for rn ig? I can't imagine I'll be too upset if it's just... Bad or unsatisfactory given that I already spend way too much energy on the shit the OG did wrong lol, if the LA follows suit with those I think I'll just kinda... Ignore it lol. Idk, A LOT of mixed feelings

2. I... Really can't even begin to imagine what they choose to do with the reduced time frame, but I know I for sure have my own thoughts on what I WISH they would! Mainly I want NO Kataang, if there's Kataang I'm not gonna even bother with it tbh unless it's completely one sided (which it was in the original, yet we still know how THAT turned out)... I obviously want endgame Zutara, but I'm not hard pressed on it tbh- it would be funny as fuck for it to happen after Bryke left over creative differences though! I REALLY want the Blue Spirit to stay, I really DON'T want The Great Divide (no way it's staying in though so we're probably safe on that front), and overall I kinda just? Want Aang to be more sympathetic- him being irresponsible in the original show only makes sense until a certain point, and I want an Aang that shows an ability to grow from early on. Aang's an awful, awful Avatar, and I truly want him NOT to be one here- honestly, a good way to get around some of his early issues would be to borrow a bit from Korra and twist his love for slacking off into an enthusiasm for all four cultures (rather than just their rideable animals), which I feel like he was CLOSE to having... But as usual with him it was all tell and no show- I wanna see him having friends in all four nations, I wanna see him being multi cultural even before he gets freezed, I wanna see him embrace all four bendings and cultures rather than fixating on air, I wanna see him fail and take responsibility... But I also still want to see him being a kid, because that's crucial, and while the original show never allowed him to grow up, I also don't want him to be immediately seen as and treated as wise and powerful- I want him to struggle with what it means being an Avatar who knows about it at such a young age, I want to see him meaningfully interact with his past incarnations, I want him to ACTUALLY find a balance! I think I maybe just... Want a whole new main character still named Aang tbh, because I DON'T like who he is in the original show, but I do like who he could've been! I REALLY don't want the show to be intentionally edgy- if it goes into any dark topics, they should be ones already raised in the original. I want some more light shed on how the North Pole and Pakku's sexism never went away, I want the show to acknowledge that the monks didn't go down without putting up a hell of a fight, I want to know what the fuck Zhao was doing to get promoted like that despite his constant failures on screen, I want to really dive deep into Aang and Bumi's relationship and maybe how Aang failed him on a personal level (he's literally the only one who would've missed Aang, not the Avatar for all this time) and how he mourned him for years, I want Aang to contend with and realize that he's in a war and how he's FOR SURE killed people and will have to again even before Koizilla (he kills so many people in The Northern Air Temple!!)... I could honestly kinda do with an abridged version of some of the Gaang's travels, like, a lot of them are neat but only matter tangentially or from a world/character building perspective and can be dropped/merged/replaced pretty safely tbh. For example, Haru doesn't really need to exist tbh, what Imprisoned does for Katara can and maybe even SHOULD change gears to focus more on her rather than this random guy who only ever shows up once more to get laughed at because he has a lame mustache. The Fortuneteller should be dropped or altered severely because its message doesn't hold up under scrutiny. Yue should be a bigger presence and be more of an established character. Jet should maybe get his role expanded. Suki should be more of a presence throughout. There are a lot of ways to make the first season better tbh, and also it NEEDS to change to fit with the new timeframe so? Yeah I hope they do a good job at separating the wheat from the chaff because god knows the original show did not know how to do that.

3. I'm honestly pretty confident in saying that Avatar Studios will never ever make anything good, or at the very least, anything that I'll like, but as to what the lack of Bryke means for the LA? Honestly, it's all up to the people working on it- Bryke being bullheaded and bad writers isn't exclusive to them, and if the staff is made up of writers that lean too heavily on the source material or drift too far from it that could honestly sink the whole show. Of course I'm happy they're not on board given their awful track record, but like... I know nothing about any of the people working on it in their stead, so a lack of Bryke doesn't necessarily equate to good writing (it certainly does leave out THEIR bad writing though!!)

Braving the Elements is soon gonna start reviewing the third season of ATLA, and it started in 2021 so everything there is very recent! And yeah, every time Bryke are on they prove themselves to be assholes all over again, they keep topping themselves somehow istg!

I feel that this isn't my most eloquent post but tbh I'm quite sick rn so this is the best I can do atm, hopefully I managed to answer properly anyway?

[cybertron-after-dark]

❤️, 💜, and 🤍 for the tf ask game!

Favorite Autobot changes on a day to day basis but right now it's gotta be tfa prowl. First time I saw him I thought he was a punkass loser. By the last episode I was bawling my fucking eyes out. He was so sweet and I love how much he loved Earth. I genuinely feel like we didn't see enough of him back when he was a draft dodging (based), headstrong jerk bc it would have made every relapse he had hit even harder. Also I'm a little obsessed with his voice. Can't beat Jeff Bennett.

Favorite Decepticon has to be Blitzwing, also tfa. The second he opened his mouth I KNEW he had to be the closest thing transformers had to a Tumblr sexyman (i was right lmao). I adore him, we are both mentally ill and extremely funny about it 💖 We were absolutely ROBBED of the episode What a Tangled Web We Weave, i NEED to see his beef with blackarachnia beyond him dunking on her in the first episode. Tbh I wish we could see more of the tfa Decepticons all together in general, they are all so cringefail 💜🖤💜

I know I already did fave obscure character but I'm gonna do favorite neutral too bc when else am I gonna get the chance to talk about BEAST WARS DINOBOT, MY BELOVED 💖💖💖💖💖 I know he's not TECHNICALLY neutral but he should count the way he switches sides every five minutes. He's so fucking silly, he wants you to think he's a serious warrior sooooo bad but he is not, he's a grumpy shakespeare/history nerd with a sword collection and a vore fetish he does not bother to hide. He is a doofus who revels in any praise ever. And then he had to go and sacrifice himself. Rigged.

Fun fact: I watched beast wars right after tfa to forget the pain of prowl dying, immediately thought dinobot was a starscream knockoff, got attached, genuinely loved him, and then he died too. Because life is pain, apparently.

[chaotic-tired-bastard]

Hello beloved mutual @nunaco!!! You keep on talking abt the colours of the dragons and the connection to their riders through that and it is just. so fascinating. So I've decided I'm going to dissect that!! The Fire Nation draws many elements from Eastern culture, largely Chinese and Japanese culture, so I'm going to talk abt Western (for a base to work off of, as I am American and would like to see if Western culture had any influence), Chinese, and Japanese colour meanings!! In this context, Western means American interpretations & culture. Also, fair warning, Sozin's parts are longer than Roku's because Sozin is a very convoluted character and he's my Special Little Boy™. Everything is beneath the cut!

This is going to be done alphabetically, so we're going to start with China- Roku first and then Sozin. In Chinese culture, red means/represents yang energy ("active" energy), fire, good fortune, vitality, long life, happiness, success, and is also closely associated with marriage! We can see an obvious thing that is applicable to Roku right off the bat: fire, as he was born and raised in the Fire Nation. The only other thing that would be obvious would be long life, as Roku lived to be 70. Hilariously enough, there are quite a few things that aren't as applicable to Roku, such as success and good fortune, for reasons of the Eruption scene and what happened with Sozin after his death. The marriage part is somewhat applicable, since he did get married to Ta Min (our queen❤). We're going to... ignore... the secondary meaning of vitality and focus on its primary meaning—that being "the state of being strong and active"—and its connection with yang energy. Yang energy is the "active" principle, and is represented by the white colour in the Yinyang symbol, which also symbolises the moon (Tui) in Episodes 19-20 "The Siege of the North 1/2". Roku's thing was that he was active, but not where it was desperately needed. He tried to maintain his neutrality, but in doing that he ignored the warning signs in the Fire Nation, from Sozin, until the warning signs were warning sirens and blaring right in his face. He acted far too late in every circumstance with the Fire Nation. He was too late to prevent the colonies in the Earth Kingdom from being established, and he was far too late to stop Fire Lord Sozin from starting the 100 Year War and slaughtering the Air Nomads.

Now, onto Sozin!! In Chinese culture, blue is interchangeable with green, as they shared a single character (青, qīng). Blue means/represents health, prosperity, harmony, spring, immortality, and advancement. There is one thing that doesn't fit with Sozin's character, and that would be spring, but the rest can be applied in multiple ways. Health can be applied to Sozin's character, as he lived to be 102 years old and had Azulon when he was 82, which would be very... unlikely for anyone to be able to do, to say the least. Prosperity and advancement can both be applied, as Sozin said in his proposal to Roku that the Fire Nation was experiencing a time of astounding good fortune and wealth, presumably because of his management or just good fortune. Advancement can also be attributed to him because of the industrial boom that the Fire Nation experienced with the beginning of the war and during it—we can see the Fire Nation with coal-based technology several times throughout the series, something that seemingly none of the rest of the nations have, including: Azula's train-car-thing in Book 2, Episode 8 "The Chase"; the drill used by the Fire Nation to break through Ba Sing Se's outer walls in Book 2, Episode 13 "The Drill"; and the tanks seen throughout the seasons, notably in Book 1, Episode 17 "The Northern Air Temple", Episodes 19-20 "The Siege of the North 1/2", and in Book 3, Episodes 10-11 "The Day of Black Sun Pt. 1 & 2". Immortality can also be applied to him in a way, as his legacy lived on through the 100 Year War,  since he started the war and committed so many atrocities (namely the Air Nomad Genocide), and the naming of Sozin's Comet. Harmony is probably the most accurate trait to associate with Sozin- harmony plays an important part in his actions and character, tipping the balance unevenly both in the world and the Avatar. Sozin's actions against the Air Nomads tipped the world out of balance, as well as him starting the 100 Year War, but also because of his personal relationship with Avatar Roku, he tipped the balance of the world in his favour ever so slightly, as Roku would be less harsh with him than others due to their shared history. This could be turned into a paper in of itself, but this is supposed to be about the colour symbolism, so that will have to wait.

In Japanese culture, Red means/represents strength, passion, self-sacrifice, and blood. For Roku, many of these meanings can be applied. Strength and self-sacrifice are both applicable hand-in-hand, as being the Avatar grants one insurmountable and unbelievable power, but you would also sacrifice your own life for the world and protecting those within it regardless of any feelings you may have. This is also interesting because Roku couldn't bring himself to fully sacrifice all of himself and his personal life; he had the clear opening to kill Sozin, who he had been friends with for years, and prevent the 100 Year War from starting and the Genocide of the Air Nomads, but he didn't. He couldn't bring himself to sacrifice Sozin's life for the good of the world, even when he explicitly went against Roku's warnings, and because of this the world suffered. Blood could be applicable in Roku's case as both the blood he could have prevented from being spilled if he had acted sooner, and the blood-brother-like bond that he is shown having with Sozin, though the depth of their relationship is often speculated to have run deeper than just brotherly love by many. Passion is the only thing that can only loosely fit with Roku's character. We do not see him acting very strongly in any emotion throughout the show except for the one scene in Book 3, Episode 6 "The Avatar and the Fire Lord",  when he attacks Sozin after confronting him about the Fire Nation colony that had been established in the Earth Kingdom against his direct warnings, and the scene at the end when Sozin leaves Roku to die at the hands of the volcano. Aside from those scenes, there are not many with Roku acting on or showing any explicit passionate emotion, like extreme love or anger.

In Japanese culture, the character for Blue also used to mean both green and blue, though nowadays blue stayed ao (青), the original character for both green and blue, and green is now referred to with the character midori (緑). Blue means/represents coolness, passivity, and fidelity. At first glance, passivity and coolness do not apply to Sozin's character at all, considering his confident, straightforward behaviour in his youth that we see in Book 3, Episode 6 "The Avatar and the Fire Lord", alongside his extreme rage when Roku ends their relationship to the point where he actually attempts to kill him in an inferno-type fire-blast. However, it is applicable when it is taken into account Sozin's plan of action for the war. He waits patiently and accepts it when Roku threatens his life- he redraws his forces from the Earth Kingdom and gives up the colonies that he had put there. He waits for Roku to die one way or another, as Sozin does not have the power to face up against Roku's Avatar Powers, and the Volcano erupting on his island was the perfect way to get rid of him without having to directly confront him, even if he didn't initially know it. After Roku's death, he waits for the comet, renamed "Sozin's Comet" later, and uses its power to kick off the war by genociding the Air Nomads in an attempt to kill the Avatar and prevent him from stopping the Fire Nation's assault against the other nations. Now, fidelity with Sozin's character was what was going to be saved for last because it's so fascinating and interesting as to how that fits in with Sozin's character. According to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, fidelity means "strict and continuing faithfulness to an obligation, trust, or duty." Despite Sozin having a deep connection with Roku, being friends from when they were young, he demonstrates almost no faithfulness to him outside of when they were young. When Roku gives Sozin a somewhat warning on his wedding about his ideas to expand the Fire Nation, it's not an explicit order so Sozin goes ahead. However, when Roku flat-out tells him to not continue expanding and establishing colonies, he doesn't. This is most likely because of the death threat that went with this order, not because of their connection from when they were young, but either way could be argued so I'm including it (I personally believe that it was a mixture of both reasons). However, after all their time apart, when Roku's island starts suffering from volcanic eruptions, Sozin is there and ready to help. Because of Sozin's assistance, they manage the second eruption and prevent deadly repercussions from hitting the rest of the world. It takes Roku on his knees, begging for help, for him to realise that with Roku dead, his plans for expanding the Fire Nation would be free to proceed. Thus, fidelity fits with Sozin's character as both something that he has and also lacks, something that comes instinctually to him but also something that he will ignore and refuse when it benefits him and his plans.

Wahoo, now finally onto the Western colour meanings with Roku!!! Red in Western culture largely means/represents love, passion, excitement, desire, heat, aggression, danger, fire, blood, violence, and urgency. The things that go along with Roku’s character would be love (his love for his wife uwu (and maybe Sozin??)), heat bcs he’s from the Fire Nation and the first thing that he bent (that we know of) was fire, desire because his desire to both be a good Avatar and friend to Sozin conflicted to the point where Roku basically doomed the world because he still wanted to show Sozin mercy due to their past connection. Finally, danger because he is literally the Avatar, one of the most dangerous things in their entire world—the Avatar has god-like power and abilities, you'd be crazy to not think the Avatar to be dangerous. The things that would be strange and/or unlableable would be excitement, as excitement is an emotion and could be used sometimes, while at other times it is unusable. It's like soggy or wet—it could be used sometimes, but not all the time. The things that I would say don’t fit with his character would be aggression, urgency, and violence, as Roku was known to be a very unaggressive/nonviolent Avatar and did not handle the Sozin Situation™ urgently enough to stop his imperialist expansionist ideas from running rampant and being inflicted upon the world.

And finally, at the end of this long analysis, we get to Sozin and how blue is interpreted in Western culture. Blue in Western culture usually means/represents authority, calmness/tranquillity, loyalty, masculinity, sadness, safety/security, and trust. The traits that go along with Sozin the best would be authority and calmness/tranquillity. He's the Fire Lord, since birth he had been trained to exude authority and regalness—it is literally his job to be authoritative. Calmness/tranquillity also is a big part of his character, as even though he is upset with Roku over the rejection of his plan to expand the Fire Nation, he doesn't confront him further about it, choosing to spend his time preparing to invade anyway. Roku and Sozin were still close friends at that point—at no point does it say that their friendship changed, faltered, or drifted after Sozin's proposal—so they must have been communicating frequently enough for them to still be good friends up to that moment. My point is, Sozin must have been able to keep his cool about the whole invasion thing well enough to hide it from Roku as long as he did. The only traits that I can't really pin down as a yae or nae for his character would be safety/security and masculinity. Now, to the ~juicy~ stuff! The traits that interact in interesting ways with Sozin's character would be loyalty, sadness, and trust. The loyalty and trust traits interact with him interestingly for the same reason—they used to be there, but faded away. Sozin used to be someone that Roku could trust, someone who was as loyal to him as he was to Sozin, but due to their positions and ideals they couldn't count on each other anymore. Sadness as a trait regarding Sozin, as I see it, is purely symbolic. It's about the sadness of his relationship with Roku deteriorating, the sadness of two close friends drifting apart/being torn apart by their choices and actions and mindsets. It's about the sadness that comes with seeing them betray each other, Roku "betraying" Sozin in a way in Book 3, Episode 6 "The Avatar and the Fire Lord" by rejecting his proposal, and Sozin betraying Roku by not only ignoring his orders on the expansion of the Fire Nation into the Earth Kingdom, but also leaving him on his island alone, choking on poisonous gas as his home comes down around him.

In conclusion, I believe that the meanings behind Roku and Sozin's dragons seem to be evenly influenced by both Eastern and Western cultural meanings. If I had to pick, though, I'd say the Japanese cultural interpretation of the colour red fits best with Roku's character, and the Western cultural interpretation of the colour Blue fits best with Sozin's character. There are so many other cultures that influenced the Fire Nation's design, but I wanted to keep this short-ish and within my ability, so I went with the two most prevalent influences that I could see, as well as including a Western viewpoint. I did my best to provide an unbiased opinion, which is kind of necessary when dealing with Sozin's character, and I apologise if I did not do so.

Could this also be the animators/designers wanting contrasting colours, blue vs red? Yeah, but ~colour analysis~

I hope you enjoyed reading this, and if you have any arguing/conflicting points I'd be happy to hear them! Just please don't call me a dumbass or be mean, because I am a sensitive sensitive little guy who WILL cry 🥺😞

Works Cited

"Color in Chinese Culture." Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_in_Chinese_culture. Accessed 16 July 2023.

"Color Meanings in Japan." Color Meanings, www.color-meanings.com/color-meanings-japan/. Accessed 16 July 2023.

"Color Symbolism in Chinese Culture: What Do the Traditional Colors Mean?" Color Meanings, www.color-meanings.com/color-symbolism-in-chinese-culture-what-do-traditional-chinese-colors-mean/. Accessed 16 July 2023.

"Color Symbolism in Different Cultures Around the World." Color Meanings, Jacob Oleson, www.color-meanings.com/color-symbolism-different-cultures/. Accessed 14 Sept. 2023.

El Shazly, Islam. "Colors Representations in Different Cultures." Globalization Partners International, 29 June 2022, www.globalizationpartners.com/2022/06/29/colors-representations-in-different-cultures/. Accessed 14 Sept. 2023.

"Fidelity Definition." Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fidelity. Accessed 4 Aug. 2023.

Geeraert, Amélie. "Japanese Colors and Their Symbolism." Kokoro, 15 June 2020, kokoro-jp.com/culture/298/. Accessed 3 Aug. 2023.

"How Color Is Perceived by Different Cultures." Eriksen Translations, 3 Feb. 2020, eriksen.com/marketing/color_culture/. Accessed 14 Sept. 2023.

"List of Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes." Wikipedia, 18 June 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Avatar:_The_Last_Airbender_episodes#Book_One:_Water_(2005). Accessed 3 Aug. 2023.

Svensson, Charlie. "The Meaning of Different Colors in Chinese Culture." That's Mandarin, 23 Apr. 2021, www.thatsmandarin.com/guest-blogs-media/the-meaning-of-different-colors-in-chinese-culture/. Accessed 16 July 2023.

"WESTERN Color Symbolism Chart." Putahaton, putahatondotcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/western-color-symbolism-chart.pdf. Accessed 16 July 2023.

"Yin and Yang." Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang. Accessed 16 July 2023.

[melishade]

Oh my God, that deleted scene makes me think of how Pixis would react to Elita-1.

Previous Episode of the Beloved Timeline

Pixis would be so jealous, and so proud that Optimus managed to bag a woman like that. So proud.

So after Optimus and Elita have a really good cry session and hug at the fact that both of them are alive, they begin to talk about what exactly happened with each other and how they ended up here on this planet. Elita explains how the crew saved her life after she went into stasis lock, but the Decepticons attacked the ship with scraplets, causing the ship to crash land. But the ship fell apart and flung her into the water, sparing her the fate of getting eaten alive. But instead of going back to save the people on the neutral ship, she ran, and she had been running and surviving on this world for twenty years.

Optimus is absolutely devastated at the fact that Elita was all alone, and it's very apparent the horror and guilt is etched in his face. Elita has to prompt him to tell his side of the story, and Optimus explained what happened during the war, how he got the Matrix, fleeing the planet and ending up on Earth where the war continued. He tells her how the Autobots did win the war and how he had to sacrifice himself in order to ensure that the Well could create new life.

"So, I could very well be talking to a spirit right now?" Elita tried to tease, but Optimus could see the guilt and shame in her optics, trying to cover up her pain.

And both end up apologizing at the same time, which startles them both. They explain why they're apologizing. Optimus is apologizing for letting his anger get the better of him in that moment. For not realizing that she was in stasis lock and going into a fit of rage instead of grabbing her and taking her to safety. She wouldn't have been left alone, and it was his fault. Elita retorts by saying that he was grieving in that moment, and to know that she was loved like that made her spark happy. But Elita still has to apologize for not coming back. Not finding a way back to the war and back to Optimus. She had been scraping by to survive instead of putting her life on the line for the Autobot cause. Now to know that the war was over and that she didn't really do anything to stop it, on top of that, somehow managing to survive while so many more noble had fallen? Oh, it fills her with such shame and grief. Optimus has to tell her 'no'. It wasn't her fault. She couldn't have been able to control what had happened and how. She did what she had to do to survive. It happens in war. Maybe it was the part of him that was so happy to see her, but Elita is not feeling any better. 20 years of guilt doesn't go away.

"Optimus...I...I'm not the same person I was when we last saw each other," Elita proclaimed.

Optimus was stunned at the statement, but Elita merely chuckled at his confusion.

"I mean, look at me." Elita gestured to her faded armor, "I look like scrap. I haven't been able to talk to someone in 20 orbital periods. I'm...damaged."

"...I am not the same mech you once knew either," Optimus proclaimed, "The war has taken its toll on me. To lead and to guide has been...mentally draining."

Elita couldn't help but smile bitterly at that, the survivor's guilt eating at her.

"But...I cannot wait to learn about you all over again," Optimus declared with a small smile.

Elita stared at Optimus in surprise before she began to laugh, and her laughing caused Optimus to chuckle. Somehow them laughing together, ease the pain in their sparks just a little.

Meanwhile, the Survey Corps are still freaking the fuck out. Because WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT'S OPTIMUS' GIRLFRIEND?! Hanji demands to know why in the fuck Levi knew about this shit! And Levi explains that he knew after Levi's squad died because Optimus wanted to empathize with him. Also, how the fuck does Mikasa know?!

"Bonding?" Mikasa guessed, wiping her mouth of the water she choked on.

"So Optimus tells the two of you about his long lost love, but not me?!" Hanji exclaimed, "I am insulted!"

"Hanji, that's not even the point right now!" Levi reminded.

"It is very much so!" Hanji declared.

"Optimus has a girlfriend," Jean could only mutter, "I never expected someone like him to get...anyone. He just seems so quiet?"

"So does that mean that Optimus has had sex?" Sasha raised her hand.

"Sasha, what the fuck?!" Eren yelled, "That's not something I need to hear right now!"

"It's a simple question!" Sasha retorted.

"It's a gross question!" Eren declared.

"It is a valid question!" Hanji agreed, "Did Optimus get laid and how does it work?!"

Eren could only scream and cover his ears, trying to block out the mental image that was trying to form.

Everyone is just going through it, and it is something that takes up hours of conversation. The military heads do get wind of this because of the commotion it initially caused, but they don't know that Elita is Optimus' love. Out of respect, the Survey Corps will keep that under wraps, but they are certain someone heard it with all the commotion they created.

Optimus eventually does have to leave Elita for the time being to allow her to recover and to explain his absence. He tells the military that Elita is a high ranking Autobot that was considered deceased during the war and that the neutral ship that they found was the one that she was on before she got stranded on the island. He omits the fact that the two are in a relationship, which the Survey Corps are relieved about because they made the right call about keeping their mouths shut. When they hear the fact that she's been on this world for 20 years, they are understandably frustrated because she could've help, but Optimus says that she tried to come to the walls and was immediately met with cannon fire. So they all come the the conclusion that Rod must've covered it up. Optimus explains that for now, she needs to rest and recover and she will be caught up to speed about what their current situation is.

The military accepts this. The Survey Corps do not. Once the meeting is over, Optimus is immediately pulled aside in a makeshift classroom and the Survey Corps immediately sit down in anticipation for a god damn explanation.

Optimus took a deep breath. "You are allowed to ask questions."

Everyone's hand immediately shot up.

"None of which are inappropriate," Optimus declared.

Half of the hands went down. Optimus stared at Hanji as she kept her hand raised with a tight expression, tapping her foot on the floor.

"Hanji-,"

"Dear Optimus Prime," Hanji began with an innocent smile, "It's me. C'mon. You know my shit's gonna be inappropriate."

Honestly, Optimus should've expected this reaction.

Ymir and Historia kind of come into the middle of this, ready to give their own demands, but the bomb is dropped on them that Optimus has a significant other that's alive and is here right now. The two decide to politely sit and listen in, trying to process what the hell is going on.

(So it's gonna be just a little bit more before Elita is introduced to the Survey Corps because she just needs a moment of rest right now. And the Survey Corps are trying so hard to comprehend. But it's gonna be a while before other people find out too.)

[thatgirlonstage]

Book Collage 2023

Collage of all the books I’ve read in 2023! This has been a fun little pet project for me for the past few months; I just really enjoy seeing all the covers together and playing around with organizing them in a way that looks cool. What’s included: all books (regardless of format), short stories, graphic novels, art books, VNs/multimedia novels, and poetry that I completed reading in 2023 (would include zines or plays as well except I don’t think I read any, at least not cover to cover). What’s not included: individual news/nonfiction articles, fanfiction (mostly bc it’s so much harder to track — I’m considering altering this next year if I do this again), individual chapters of ongoing serials (eg every new Black Butler chapter or Wayne Family Adventures episode from this year), works shared with me by friends that are not available to the general public, anything that was not archived in my Goodreads list that I forgot about before I decided to do this lol. Yes I did spend the last week figuring out what short things I had saved to read that I could use to fill in any holes.

NB: This is a value-neutral collection of things I read this year, not a rec list. Some of these are beloved favorites I am rereading for the tenth time. Some of them are new-to-me books that I absolutely loathed. Feel free to ask my opinion if you’d like to know what I thought of a specific book.

Thanks again to @fluffyblue-multifandommess for recommending software to make this with!!

ID/Book list below the cut

First Row: Black Butler Artworks 1 by Toboso Yana | The Cain Saga: Series 1: forgotten juliet by Yuki Kaori | Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite: Volume 1 by Chomoran | The Worth Saga: Once upon a Marquess by Courtney Milan | Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite: Volume 2 by Chomoran | The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin | The Worth Saga: After the Wedding by Courtney Milan | Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen | Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite: Volume 5 by Chomoran | The Worth Saga: The Devil Comes Courting by Courtney Milan | Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite: Volume 6 by Chomoran | The Cain Saga: Series 4: the seal of the red ram, part 2 by Yuki Kaori | Black Butler Artworks 2 by Toboso Yana

Second Row: The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red by Martha Wells | The Cain Saga: Volume 2: the sound of a boy hatching by Yuki Kaori | The Murderbot Diaries: Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells | Saga: Volume 10 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples | Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite: Volume 3 by Chomoran | The Adventure Zone: Petals to the Metal by Clint, Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy and Carey Pietsch | Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite: Volume 4 by Chomoran | Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook, Ko Hyung-Ju, and Ryan Estrada | The Murderbot Diaries: Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory by Martha Wells | The Cain Saga: Series 4: the seal of the red ram, part 1 by Yuki Kaori | The Murderbot Diaries: Network Effect by Martha Wells

Third Row: Tracking Song by Gene Wolfe | The Murderbot Diaries: The Future of Work: Compulsory by Martha Wells | Salt Magic, Skin Magic by Lee Welch | The Murderbot Diaries: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells | The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited by Clint, Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy and Carey Pietsch | The Murderbot Diaries: Exit Strategy by Martha Wells | Earthsea: The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin | The Cain Saga: Series 3: kafka by Yuki Kaori | Earthsea: The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin | The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Volume One by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu | The Adventure Zone: Crystal Kingdom by Clint, Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy and Carey Pietsch | The Murderbot Diaries: Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells | Sketchbook Number 1 by Zack Morrison | The Murderbot Diaries: System Collapse by Martha Wells | This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Fourth Row: Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 9 by Bisco Hatori | Inner Demons: The Art of Michelle Fus by Michelle Fus | The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins by Clint, Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy and Carey Pietsch | The Sawbones Book: The Horrifying, Hilarious Road to Modern Medicine by Dr. Sydnee and Justin McElroy | The Last Binding: A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske | Radiance: The Necromancer’s Light by Tavia Lark | Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao | Fence: Volume Three by C.S Pacat | The Green Bone Saga: Jade War by Fonda Lee | Perilous Courts: Prince and Assassin by Tavia Lark | Doomsday Books: The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J Charles | As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride by Cary Elwes | The Adventure Zone: The Eleventh Hour by Clint, Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy and Carey Pietsch | Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 18 by Bisco Hatori

Fifth Row: The Witcher: Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 10 by Bisco Hatori | Dark Rise Book 2: Dark Heir by C.S Pacat | Dear Senthuran by Akwaeke Emezi | The Last Binding: A Restless Truth by Freya Marske | Radiance: The Paladin’s Shadow by Tavia Lark | Fence: Volume Two by C.S Pacat | Fence: Volume One by C.S Pacat | Fence: Volume Four: Rivals by C.S Pacat | Perilous Courts: Prince in Disguise by Tavia Lark | Doomsday Books: If He Had His Legs We’d Be In So Much Trouble by K.J Charles | Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree | The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 17 by Bisco Hatori | InCryptid: Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire

Sixth Row: Whyborne & Griffin: Balefire by Jordan L. Hawk | A Charm of Magpies: The Magpie Lord by K.J Charles | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 11 by Bisco Hatori | Crush by Richard Siken | The Last Binding: A Power Unbound by Freya Marske | Radiance: The Sword-Witch’s Heart by Tavia Lark | Spitfire by Maya Kern | Fence: Volume Five: Rise by C.S Pacat | The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen | Perilous Courts: Prince and Pawn by Tavia Lark | Doomsday Books: A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by K.J Charles | The Wandering Inn: Volume One by PirateAba | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 16 by Bisco Hatori | Montague Siblings: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee | Six of Crows Book 2: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Seventh Row: Feminine Pursuits: The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite | Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (trans. Simon Armitage, perf. Bill Wallis) | Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (trans. Brian Stone) | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 12 by Bisco Hatori | 17776: an American football story by Jon Bois | Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud | Soul of Sovereignty: Prelude by gigidigi | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 15 by Bisco Hatori | Gentle Art: The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by K.J Charles | Gentle Art: A Thief in the Night by K.J Charles | Gentle Art: A Rose by Any Name by K.J Charles

Eighth Row: Nimona by [ND] Stevenson | A Safe Place to Land by boneturtle | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 13 by Bisco Hatori | The Enigma of Amigara Fault by Junji Ito | The Sandman: Volume 7: Brief Lives by Neil Gaiman | A Mutual Interest by Alec J. Marsh | The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book by Neil Gaiman | The Sentence by Lousie Erdrich | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 14 by Bisco Hatori | We All Need To Get By by Lyn Weaver | Always Human: Love and Gravity by Ari North

Ninth Row: Black Butler Artworks 4 by Toboso Yana | Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition: Volume 5 by Ohkubo Atsushi | Memento Mori: Madison Square Murders by C.S Poe | Baal’s Heart: Caged: Love and Treachery on the High Seas by Bey Deckard | Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition: Volume 6 by Ohkubo Atsushi | Sugar & Vice: Liar City by Allie Therin | Memento Mori: Subway Slayings by C.S Poe | Roaring Twenties Magic: Once a Rogue by Allie Therin | Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition: Volume 7 by Ohkubo Atsushi | Reforged by Seth Haddon | Memento Mori: Broadway Butchery by C.S Poe | Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition: Volume 8 by Ohkubo Atsushi | Black Butler Artworks 3 by Toboso Yana

[neutrallyobsessed]

EPISODE 5!!!!!!!!!! JOANFUCIUS TIME!!!!

WHAT THE FUCK BROOO

ajajajaaa but srsly the guy really stomped all over my joanpher but its aight, im a very talented artist, canon CANNOT stop me uwu~

OH SHIT IT IS FAKE DATING! I KNEW IT! I was right! Like I am! All the Time! Now, Joan you gotta kiss Topher on the lips and with tong-

oh so it was actually the valentines dance..... well, they could still go to space, thatd be neat i love space!

ok that was an excellent reference!

OH THERE SHE IS! AND I AM SO SCARED!!! :DDDD

honestly, this is the best subversion of this trope i've ever seen~~

Oh and there, she, is~~ cunty skunky poo~~ teehee :3c

TRY AND CATCH ME BITCH!

~L o v e r s~

oh shit they're just fucking at school with great animation and all, but ey i love me some massive yet realistic fantastical frozen time traveler age gap romance so good for them

hmm so i guess that beach coast is the new docks of thinking, right? GOOD because I FUCKING LOVE THE BEACH I LOOOOVE BEACHES!! BEACH>>>>>ANY OTHER DESTINATION Speaking of loving thing, where the fUCK is my beloved?? its been like 15 mins and he hasnt appeared yet... im getting uneasy tbhhhh

omg flipflop x america's funniest videos ship! thats so beautiful!!!

see?? SEE???? I WROTE THAT! I WROTE ABOUT JOAN WANTING TO BE HER INDIE LONELY GOTH GIRL SELF AGAIN and you know exactly which guy you should be with when you wanna be yourself like that again so wheRE THE FUCK IS-

OH NO THE CONTRACT!!

hmmm seems like Harriet and Malcom arent as compatible as they thought~~ also loving Harriet's new hairstyle♥!!

YOU SOUND LIKE A CUCK BRO there's a lot of cucking in this show in general lol, what is this? Naoki Urasawa's Monster? ahhaha speaking of, Inspector Lunge didn't appear much despite being this sort of protag/antag but when he did I got so happy!!! so um WHERE IS HE :)))))))))

oh so it FINE when you kill an old lady but when JOAN-

goddamn, why does JFK's counciousness bleed? WHY do they BLEED? Nevermind, Devil!JFK is the only survivor eh? eheheheheh OHOHOHOHOHOHHH

Awww that was pretty lovely ngl ^^

OHHHHH THE GIG IS UP, but what will happend next~~? And yeah, that's my neutral philosophy in a nutshell Things arent either good or bad, they just are~~

OH NEVERMIND THE GIG IS UP CAUSE NOW IT'S REAL!!!!!

RATING: 0/10 LIKE THE AMOUNT OF SCREETIME TOPHER GOT IN THIS EPISODE WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[meggie-moo]

I have a bunch of ideas for the character thing so please feel free to just pick one or a couple if you don’t want to do all of them:) /gen

Death the Kid from Soul Eater

Greed from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

Gengar from Pokémon

Cecil from Welcome to Night Vale

Guzma from Pokémon

Apollo Justice from Ace Attorney

Duke Venomania from The Evillious Chronicles

Cardan from The Folk of the Air Series (The Cruel Prince book series)

Saruhiko Fushimi from K Project

Bill Cypher from Gravity Falls

L from Deathnote

Mettaton from Undertale

Ik that’s a lot, please don’t pressure yourself to respond to all of them! /gen /lh

-🦕

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! :D i really do appreciate these so much!! i’m not very familiar with half of them, but i will do my best!! (i will probably not answer some questions though, just due to not knowing, lol!) (also for the sake of easiness, i’ll put in parenthesis wether i know it or not! :) ) /gen

Death the kid:

I HAD LIKE THE BIGGEST SOUL EATER PHASE WHEN I WAS YOUNGER!! :D this is like incredibly exciting, just because i love this piece of media a lot! :)

first impression: OKAY, so i heard a lot about him, due to my friend in middle school liking him a lot, so my first impression was that he was like very silly, but in a good way. like he takes things too seriously, and it usually ends up becoming comic relief material

impression now: HES THE!! HES THE GUY!! i love him, he is in fact silly. i think that despite his nature of taking things very seriously, he does know when to just have fun. i think he puts a lot of pressure on himself due to his father. i really enjoyed his character development, and all of his moments :)

favorite moment: the whole excalibur episode was so funny from what i recall. like i forced my father to watch it with me LMAO. also the scene where he passes out in the blackstar and soul fight, because they accidentally gave him a haircut

idea for a story: hmm idk :0 make him go to therapy for his clear ocd 🦧

unpopular opinion: i’m not sure i have one, so i’ll just state a pretty standard opinion, and it’s that i really wish they kept it closer to the manga. because they really skip a lot of his, and especially blackstar’s character development :(

favorite relationship: very basic, but i love his friendship with patty and liz :) his friendships with blackstar, and maka are also really great :D

favorite headcanon: this is so random, but when i was a child my sister, and i had a joke that he really liked shampoo?? it has stuck with me for years

********

Greed:

i haven’t watched fmab in years, and admittedly watched like the last 20 episodes with the flu, so my memory is indeed rough, but i also REALLY loved this show. i stand by it being really really good!!! :D

first impression: i was really neutral about him! like there were WAYYY worse homunculi in the series lol!

impression now: he puts on such a big act, but like he grows so much, he’s a softie at his core :(

favorite moment: LIKE I THINK ITS HIS FINAL SCENE INSTEAD OF LING?? i loved all of their interactions sm. but like that final moment really stuck in my head visually

idea for a story: JUST LET HIM BE HAPPY

unpopular opinion: i don’t think i have one!

favorite relationship: his and ling’s friendship! :)

favorite headcanon: N/A :(

*******

Gengar:

i haven’t kept up with newer pokémon lore, but i watched a video >:)

first impression: i love gengar as a pokémon!!! also i am bias because the color purple is so beloved

impression now: he deserves all the good things :(

favorite moment: just any when he’s playing a fun little trick :)

idea for a story: N/A

unpopular opinion: N/A

favorite relationship: i guess it would have to be his and ash’s friendship 😭 since i don’t know much else 😭

favorite headcanon: N/A

********

(skipping Cecil, because i looked up stuff from welcome to night vale, and it looks really fun, so i’m going to listen to it while drawing! :) )

Guzma (unfamiliar):

first impression: when i saw him, i thought of the evil dude from world girl, and then i googled the evil dude from world girl, and realized they look nothing alike, they just have white hair and goggles 😭 but he gives off fun side villain vibes, like pathetic but in a fun way (kinda like team rocket), his name also gives me poison type user

impression now: HE IS A GOOFY SIDE VILLAIN, he honestly seems like so much fun

favorite moment: idea for a story: N/A

unpopular opinion: N/A

favorite relationship: him and his team, i love how supportive they seem in the clips i watched :) like i love when characters support their cringe fail (affectionate) boss <3

favorite headcanon: N/A

*********

(skipping apollo also, because i feel like one day playing ace attorney :D)

*********

Duke Venomania (unfamiliar):

OKAY OKAY, so i looked up the music video, and also watched one of those “_____ poorly explained” videos, so i’m sorry if i get things wrong :( but i love vocaloid, and this was so cool to watch!!!

first impression: slut (i never use this word in a derogatory manner, it is primarily a positive character trait) >:)

impression now: *still* a slut, but also i feel really bad for him. his actions were horrible, but like his family really set him up for that. his brother turning mean for no reason was so uncool :(

favorite moment: N/A

idea for a story: N/A

unpopular opinion: N/A

favorite relationship: idk :( because they all fell through terribly in the end :(

favorite headcanon: N/A

********

Cardan:

I LOVE THE FOLK OF THE AIR SERIES, LIKE ITS SO MUCH FUN AHHH!! i remember being really skeptical about it, but then i binge read the whole series in like three days, lol!!! i was just talking about it with a friend last night! :)

first impression: HES MEAN, this is unsurprising seeing the title of said book. BUT, his opening segment is so mean, like he just ripped off someone’s wings?? like he’s never that mean for the rest of the series, it’s so uncalled for LMAOO 😭

impression now: I LOVE HIM, he’s a cat that fell into a pool, he’s pathetic, he’s so unserious, i would say he tries his best, but he really doesn’t. and i love that for him

favorite moment: when he exiled jude, and then when she came back, he was like, “my wife is come!!! :)))” because in his eyes it was just a prank 😭😭

idea for a story: i want him in the human world, and i want it to be funny

unpopular opinion: i don’t mind the tail LMAO

favorite relationship: romantically, definitely Jude (the beloved <3) obviously, lol! friendship wise also probably jude 😭 though i find his relationship with Nicasia really interesting :)

favorite headcanon: he can’t cook, but he would try to, just because jude banned him from the castle kitchen (he almost burns down the castle)

********

(i’m also skipping the K project one, because i remember seeing that anime everywhere when i was younger, and really wanting to watch it, but i never did, and now you’ve reminded me of it, and now i’m going to actually watch it this time, lol! /gen)

*********

Bill Cypher:

I LOVE/LOVED GRAVITY FALLS SM, i don’t remember much of the lore, but gosh this show took up so much of my brain for so long!!!!

first impression: dorito looking guy 🤨

impression now: he’s a staple in tumblr history, he’s silly and goofy, and still looks like a dorito

favorite moment: i don’t remember :(

idea for a story: N/A

unpopular opinion: i never found him hot, though idk how unpopular that is anymore LMAO

favorite relationship: N/A

favorite headcanon: N/A

*******

L:

THE BELOVED!!! i watched the first half of death note in middle school, but my father spoiled what happened to L, and i literally quit, and i think that’s so valid. but last year my friend got really into it, and she very much dragged me down with them. i rewatched it and GOSHHH, it’s such a good show, i plan on buying the all in one manga one day :)

first impression: there was something about him, that when my 11yo self saw this man, i was like “he is my favorite.” and he was

impression now: i rewatched it, I STICK BY THAT STATEMENT, there are of course other characters that i love dearly now (Misa, Rem, Mello), but L is *the* death note guy, i love him so much still :)

favorite moment: when he hands that guy the strawberry LOL

idea for a story: my friend and i created a whole twitter au, and i’m so attached to it, it’s literally so funny, we’re comedic geniuses /lh

unpopular opinion: i’m not a lawlight shipper :( (though i totally see where people are coming from!!)

favorite relationship: my friend and i made a misa/matsuda/L friend group trio, and they are canon to me. they might not be besties in canon, but to me and my friend they are a dynamic trio, and that’s how it is <3

favorite headcanon: he’s asexual!!

*********

Mettaton (kinda familiar, kinda not 🤨):

i only watched the markipliar let’s play of undertale, but i really really liked it’s vibes, maybe one day i’ll actually play it lol!! but i don’t think i ever finished it, so i don’t remember much about mettaton, but i had a friend who loved him!!

first impression: silly little computer guy!!

impression now: iconic, incredible

favorite moment: N/A

idea for a story: N/A

unpopular opinion: N/A

favorite relationship: N/A

favorite headcanon: N/A

(sorry my memory just isn’t working rn 😔)

thank you so much for the ask!!! this was so much fun, and i’m sorry i didn’t know more of them!! :D but ty for also giving me some cool media to try out as well!! :D

[thealmightyemprex]

MI movie retrospective:Mission Impossible

Mission Impossible is one of the most beloved action franchises ....And I havent seen any of them .Like I have seen bits and pieces on TV ,and with this first one I knew some spoilers ,but I am going into this series blind .I did consider watching a few episodes of the TV Show....But halfway through an episode I felt that wasnt really necesarry

In this 1996 film Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise),a agent for the IMF ends up the survivor of a mission gone wrong and is suspected of being a mole ,thus seeks to find the real mole

I liked it...But just liked it .Unfortunately ...I knew whoi the mole was ,it was spoiled for me ,and usually spoilers dont bother me but honestly this one kind of impacted how I viewed the film ,and without saying who it is ,I didnt like the villain .I'll also say two of the key actors,Tom Cruise and Jon Voight are actors are performers I am neutral on ,and considering Cruise is playing the lead and Voight is playing the TV shows lead Jim Phelps who is Ethans mentor.....I was so underwhelmed by them .Maybe its due to how big of a star he is in hindsight but I feel Cruise was kind of the worng fir for an anonymous spy who was "Trained to be a ghost" and is intially treated as just one of an ensamble .Also I am of two minds on the final action scene cause on one hand in 1996 I imagine it was thrilling ,but the effects havent held up great.I also didnt give a damn about Claire who hads kind of a will they wont they with Ethan

OK I know I am coming across as grumpy ,I actually did like a lot in this movie.Brian De Palmas direction is glorious,very strange giving a good sense of tension and unease.The two best scenes are of course the scene where Ethan has to break into a computer room while being suspended from the cieling ,but the scene I loved was right after the job went bad,Ethan meets with his supperior in a cafe,and he starts putting together that it was a mole hunt and they think he is a mole,the camera work is stunning .The supporting cast is FRIGGIN brillaint,I am excited that Ving Rhymes is a regular for these movies cause as the hacker Luther he was a scene stealer .Jean Reno is always a plus,Henry Czerny is nice and weasilly,and Emilo Estvez is solid in his brief screen time .BEst cast member has to be Vanessa Redgrave as an ARMS DEALER ,she is just such a perfect yet outside the box choice ,and she has a charisma that makes me wish she was the main villain cause of the villains she is my favorite .Danny Elfmans score also rocks

Overals its a good thriller but I am surprised it has gone on to be a mega franchise.NOt a favorite,but its good,do reccomend

@ariel-seagull-wings @amalthea9 @angelixgutz @the-blue-fairie @themousefromfantasyland @marquisedemasque @princesssarisa @filmcityworld1 @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @scarletblumburtonofeastlondon

[enchantingpainterunknown]

ZEROBASEONE 🥀

Silly & Sweet

"Why don't you like me hyung?" I question him, my voice wobbling.

Ricky & Jiwoong (platonic)

Brain dump fanfic.

Ricky's POV

I sat down beside Hao hyung, excited for our 1st appearance as ZB1. Our former mentors show up as our hosts today as it's the last ep of boys planet, or you can say a commentary episode as well.

The filming starts and I'm smiling throughout the happiness of finally debuting still rushing in my veins. During the ep, the topic of love killa comes up and Gunwook points out Jiwoong hyung taking my position, I call him out, "our beloved Jiwoong hyung". He chuckles and raises his hand but doesn't make any eye contact with me. I've admired him since the first ep of boys planet. And even though he said that he finds me cool, he barely talks to me. Whereas with Hanbin hyung he's affectionate and sweet.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, cause despite my best efforts of getting close with him, we've barely had a conversation longer than a minute. He keeps count on the amount of times he and Hao hyung have talked and wants to get to know him more. He even calls everyone by a nickname or at least an affectionate -ah, like 'Hao-ah'. But calls me just, Ricky. I wonder why?

When the filming is finished, we head to our cars to go back to our dorm. I ask to sit with Jiwoong hyung, to which our manager agrees. Before I can sit next to the elder Hao hyung sits in the middle, Hanbin hyung gets in the front. " You left the kids alone?" Jiwoong hyung asks raising an eyebrow. "Taerae's there" Hanbin hyung replies. "Yeah, kids", the temporary leader says and everyone chuckles in good humor. The hyungs start up a conversation among themselves and me being me can't seem to involve myself in their conversation and sit there looking out the window, occasionally adding my input when included.

I actually get along with everyone in the group but am not particularly close with anyone except my yueha members. When we reach our dorm there's already food waiting for us (courtesy of our lovely manager). We all sit around the dining table and start on our food. I see Hao and Hanbin hyung whispering to each other. Gyuvin is feeding Yujin who makes an annoyed face but everyone knows that he loves being babied. Taerae and Gunwook are debating about something. While Jiwoong hyung is probably making some dad jokes to Matthew hyung who is rolling is eyes fondly at him. Somehow today he feels a bit lonely.

After dinner they all head to their rooms, I share mine with Yujin and Gyuvin who immediately fall asleep as soon as the light's out. But I just can't seem to sleep at all. After a while I look at my phone to see it's 1 am, so I head to the kitchen maybe a small cup of warm milk might help. I get a cup, pour some milk in and put it in the microwave then take a seat at our dining table. I'm so lost in my thoughts that I don't even notice Jiwoong hyung approaching me until I hear, "Ricky?". His voice makes me jump a little and I look at him surprised. "Why are you up?" He asks. "Ju-just couldn't sleep" I mumble out.

The microwave beebs and before I can get up, Jiwoong hyung takes out the mug and places it infront of me, pating my head before he himself sits down with a chair in front of me with his glass of water. The sweet gesture makes my eyes tear up. I look at him and his neutral expression morphs into a frown, "Ricky?" He says and at the sound of my name, tears start rolling down my cheeks. "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" He asks.

"Why don't you like me hyung?" I question him, my voice wobbling. "Uh! Who told you that?" He questions me, still frowning. "You don't! We barely talk, you call everyone by a nickname and are affectionate but with me it's neither!" I burst out embarrassingly, crying more and look at my lap in anger and frustration. Probably due to my lack of sleep. "Ricky-ah" his hyung calls him sweetly, "Look at me". I look up into his warm honey eyes. "I'm sorry for making you feel that way. When we met in the camp, you were so serious and formal so I thought you wouldn't have liked me being so casual and close with you. You know your hyung can be a bit dumb at times. So please forgive me dìdì" his sweet hyung says surprising him and he chuckles. "Where'd you learn that from?" I ask. "Our centre ofcourse but am I forgiven?" He replies. I nod my head shyly.

"Can I hug you?" He asks and I give him a small smile to which he takes me in his warm embrace. I put my head on the curve of his neck. One of his hands softly squeezes my nape -like he does to Matthew- and I bask in his affection. I pull away after a long few minutes. "Aigo you're all puffy and red. You think you can sleep?" He says kindly, wiping my tears. I nod in affirmative. We then head to sleep (after reheating the milk and drinking it) in our rooms.

"Thank you hyung" I whisper. He rubs my head before wishing me a good night. I head to bed with a warm heart and belly.

Done.

Tell me how you liked it. I tried to portray their personalities as nicely as I could. Don't think it was that good though.

Also I don't like to romantically ship real people but love platonic ships. So if you want me to write any platonic fic of certain members then tell me, I'd love to write them.

M<3

[paranormaltheatrekid]

002 for my girl ms. holloway or for my beloved rose stratford

Why not both

Miss Holloway

how I feel about this character: the most normal way possible/j

all the people I ship her with: Duke, Webby, and Sheila. Also maybe Wilbur. I feel like they all have interesting dynamics.

non romantic otp: I was inclined to say Hannah or Rose, but I think I’m going to go with Brenda.

my unpopular opinion: there is no way that she was alive in npmd. Her being their guidance counselor is fun, but there is no way she’d let that shit happen. That’s a Wilbur timeline.

one thing I wish would happen: BACKSTORY REVEAL

my otp: yeah it’s holloweane. My sillies.

I don’t have a cross over ship. If you have any pls share.

a headcanon: Miss Retro’s does karaoke nights. And she always sings ofc.

Rose

my feelings: AHHHHHHH in a very positive way

people I ship her with: john, anna, and margaret.

Non romantic otp: her and Samuel. They Stratford twins are the best duo ever change my mind.

I don’t think I have an unpopular opinion. I just haven’t really seen anything I disagree with yet.

One thing I wish would happen: I think should explore space. And kiss John.

my otp: paperstars. Wow I really am a canon ship girlie(gender neutral)

I also don’t have a cross over ship.

I headcanon that she and Samuel had spent a night apart before episode four. UGH I CANT WAIT FOR EPISODE FOUR

[raeofgayshine]

ok so i love mercedes and i like brittany

i love tina's style and artie's singing is so good

everyone else i'm p neutral about so far!

so the song sam auditioned with, billionaire? most of the songs they do i don't know but i actually know that one!! it's by gym class heroes and i know it bc patrick from fall out boy sang it with them at a show they did

also they did the only exception from paramore which was v exciting bc i did not expect to hear any music i like in this show alsksls

Mercedes is fucking amazing, and her friendship with Kurt is genuinely on of my favorites. Ever since that “Bust Your Windows” moment and the episode ending with her apologizing to Kurt and being so chill about his coming out, ugh just sold on them. She’s a good fucking character.

Brittany is very sweet, and as the show goes on she gets so much development to her character which obvi we love to see.

Also yeah Tina has an amazing style, and Kevin Mchale (Artie’s actor) has such a good good voice you’re so right.

The one thing Glee had going for it I guess was that it did tackle a lot of songs, sometimes just because they were popular, but some characters do tend to have actual styles they lean into which is cool. They definitely tried to do different stuff but some songs were a lot better done than others.

I actually like quite a large amount of the music from Glee, but see my sister hates it because I often will hear a song and go “Oh! That was on Glee” and it’s the only place I know it from. Like “The Only Exception”? I still think I’ve only heard the Glee version of it, and I like it but maybe it’s just because I have associations with it. For some characters, like with Kurt and Blaine, I prefer their versions of songs just because I really love their voices (And singing voices are a Big Thing for me). And some I just can’t bother to look up the real version. So many of my playlists are scattered with Glee songs including my Christmas one and my sister hates it so much.

Jonathan Groff my beloved <3. Whatever I feel about Jesse, he sang some good songs.

Also so sorry for rambling but you watching Glee is reawakening my hyperfixation and I might have said this already? Idk but I’m tempted to start rewatching not the whole show but my favorite parts (because clips easier for brain to focus on) just because I am not consumed with thoughts of them. It’s just,,, such a show that has everything I could ever love and by that I mean such a stupidly abundant amount of music and characters I can so easily get attached to

[huskymaine]

Unpopular opinion : kakairu ship is overrated

strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree

I am not actively ship it, but I can see the appeal of this ship. They got shy-shy in their conversation about Naruto, Kakashi’s ‘tough way’ and Iruka’s ‘soft way’ at handling Team 7’s Chuunin Exam, Iruka protected a kid and the Kakashi came and strongly grabbed the Pain’s hand from Iruka, those scenes are indeed very alluring and potentially create many romantic fluff and domestic scenarios. Because of that, I don’t think this ship is a crack ship despite the little amount of canon basis compared to other Kakashi ships like KakaObi, KakaGai, and even KakaYama. Also since KakaObi, KakaGai, and KakaYama are fully developed only on part 2 (KakaGai got some development on part 1 too and KakaObi was hinted) making KakaIru has the advantage of an early start. It’s really not weird or surprising that KakaIru has the most contents among Kakashi ships.

But I am admittedly very, veeerrryyyyy picky when it comes to consuming KakaIru contents like fics or fancomics. Why? Because I just love Kakashi’s canon story and characterization so much while in my opinion some KakaIru contents overrate the impact Iruka has on Kakashi and vice versa to the point that it massively deviated from their canon version.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to be a picky person in the sea of KakaIru contents and find one from the million KakaIru content that was ‘clicked’ for me haha. Very often I stopped reading KakaIru fics halfway because I just feel disagree downright annoyed with Kakashi’s (also Iruka’s) characterization as the story goes. So sometimes I filtered out KakaIru tag when I am in the mood to read fics or fancomics. Sorry.

I mean like, Iruka and Kakashi are acquaintance at best, stranger at worst. And truthfully, there’s nothing wrong with that. Romantic story between two acquaintances and even strangers are valid especially when they have common interest, in KakaIru’s case namely Naruto. But, sometimes its shippers try to push Iruka and Kakashi to be each other’s “one and only” too hard, and that resulted in a complete erasure of other people that was already in Kakashi and Iruka’s lives. For example, I read a fic that portrays Kakashi didn’t have any real friend before he met Iruka. That truly left a bad taste on my mouth because Gai is the realest friend you can ever get and there’s nothing fake in Kakashi’s friendship with Asuma and Kurenai. Or the description that “Iruka is the only one who can touch and melt Kakashi’s cold heart”. Uh, canonly Obito holds that role and then kinda bit Team 7. In canon when Kakashi and Iruka met and talk on the first time, Kakashi is already a quite warm person (see Kakashi’s conversation with Inari). Also those who portray Iruka as the only one who can surprise Kakashi, say hello to Kakashi’s beloved Most Unpredictable Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja (PLATONICALLY).

Then in Iruka’s case, I know that a filler episode made Kakashi to be the one who convince Iruka to accept Naruto, but on Chapter 1, it’s wholly Iruka’s effort to sacrifice his life for Naruto and acknowledge his existence. To give the credit to Kakashi for the sake of romantic story is quite bit....unsettling for me. Also about Iruka’s grief for his parents. You can hate Hiruzen all you want, but the one who told Iruka that he was not alone after his parents’ death is Hiruzen, not and never Kakashi. Lastly, indeed Iruka was dramatically saved by Kakashi from Pain and maybe also in other fillers episodes, but he was still a trained ninja. Him tearfully praying “Kakashi-san (or usually “Kashi”, when the fic is already at the point of calling nickname), please save me!” every time he encounters danger is a huge disservice for him, don’t you think?

Not to mention KakaIru contents that completely strayed from canon like secret ANBU Iruka or Popular Sex God Kakashi...

So yeah, while I understand the appeal of this ship and think there’s nothing wrong the fact that it was the most popular Kakashi ship, I was a bit saddened by the fact that majority of those huge number of shipper contents have a very little care of canon characterization to the point that it feel for me like I don’t read a story about Kakashi and Iruka, but a story about two strangers that were named Kakashi and Iruka. I know that it can’t be helped for them to go hard on headcanon land since KakaIru has a very little canon basis but still...

(Or someone can pretty please recommend me KakaIru fics and/or doujins that have Kakashi and Iruka in character?)

[rrasado]

Yo! If that's okay could i request the brothers (or some of the of your choice) reacting to a teen mc who already has a pact with a demon long before coming to the Devildom and this demon is pretty much their (very protective) guardian/caretaker? Like, the demon is really sweet and gentle with MC and babies them constantly but they're wary of the brothers (Nothing romantic, just platonic hcs!) Feel free to ignore if i'm bothering you!

Congrats on the 400 followers!!💞

Who’s The Guardian?

On another episode of “why didn’t I see this in my inbox before-“ but this is such a cute request.

I...haven’t played OMSWD in half a year ;-;. I never got past lesson 40 so, sorry in advanced for the OOC-

When you already have a pact

Lucifer

...is caught off guard, big time.

He probably skimmed through your files and records but not once did the thought of a seemingly innocent teenager already having a pact with a demon prior the exchange program crossed his mind.

That’s coming from someone who overthinks a lot.

As the so called right hand man of the young lord himself, he’ll want to conduct a thorough investigation on whoever this demon is. He can’t risk sullying the honor of Diavolo because of some minor slip up.

Under the guise of a friendly get together he asks MC to invite their demon pact mate over for a nice afternoon tea. Harmless correct? Well that -less becomes -ful when the demon immediate smothers their favorite human with such rare affections he didn’t knew demons were capable of.

He’ll attempt to be discreet about his intentions but, it seems the demon is more vocal about their displeasure of finding out that their dear human is living with seven of the most powerful demons in hell. So lucifer would blatantly put on a facade to keep the dignity of the council and the prince at peace. But if it were up to him...

“We all care for the human’s well being yes? A little cooperation is to be called for”

Mammon

...Feels betrayed. And disappointed

He...wasn’t MC’s first- oh god the others are laughing at him as we speak aren’t they.

Would probably try to not so discreetly compare himself to the demon, arms crossed™️

Is that why MC was so fast in making a pact with him? Like no fear whatsoever because they’ve already done this before? Now he feels dumber than before

It all ultimately ends with..the demon and mammon trying to out do each other when it comes to spoiling Mc whether material wise or affection, of course mammon is at a disadvantage given how much he denies his concern for not being Mc’s first.

But in the end, if anything bad no matter how small happens to the two demon’s beloved human, they’d probably set aside their differences and hunt down the source. It’s a whole other story if the source was mammon-

“Oi the human also has a pact with me Ya got that!”

Leviathan

...is both amazed and disdained.

On one hand- HOLY SHI- YOU’RE YOUNGER THAN MOST SUMMONERS AND YOU ALREADY HAVE A PACT? THAT’S SO SHOUNEN-

And on the other hand- wow...you’re such a normie for being able to pull in other races, what in the name of damned friendship is this-

But that disdain turns to envy, whether envying you or the demon sometimes it’s interchangeable- because he wished he was also that cared for. Being able to be brought gifts or being protective over- it’s the otome dream he’s secretly wanted.

But once he realizes that the demon just genuinely cares for MC, for whatever reason- he seems to understand along the way, maybe he to wishes to protect one of the few people that willingly put up with him with a wild smile. Teen mutuality huh.

He might even invite their demon pact mate over for a game or two- heck if things go well they three might even become a triumvirate. Overall he’ll learn to get along with them but...it’ll take a good while djdndnbd.

“H-hey...ya sure you wanna hang out with someone as yucky as me? Ah- wait I have games for three here somewhere.”

Satan

...Is highly intrigued suffice it to say.

The guy was highly enthralled when you managed to even make a pact with him through hard work and it seems there was a much farther history as to why.

Unlike the first born however, he’d be actually successful in hiding his true intentions when he decided to investigate whoever demon managed to wind up with the young human in the first place.

Those detective novels did him good Huh-

On a more serious note. He’d actually be encouraging to a certain extent until the demon directs their threats to him. Like how dare this lowly bastard make a point to the Avatar sin of Wrath- oh it was for MC’s sake...hard pass-

At one point he’s probably the closest to this demon in terms of peace next to Beelzebub since he’s the most serene of the brothers. Overall neutral to them unless the demon gives him a reason to.

“It’s nice to see the human having someone to lean on to...I wonder what would happen if that support were to suddenly collapse”

Asmodeus

...is sappy to the brim

Look at the lovely human already catching demons with finesse! Proud wine aunt moment™️. And the fact that it was prior to the program? Damn the kid has more potential than he thought.

At first the demon themself is gonna- Ehe carry MC away everytime asmo ties coming in but. With a little nudge and convincing they’d probably stay to listen to Asmo.

Trust me when I say these three will go shopping every weekend once everyone is comfortable with each other. And for what it’s worth they might even get matching outfits.

Asmo would probably try and nitpick how MC even managed to wind up in a pact with a demon without knowledge of the Devildom in the first place but at the same time he thinks it adds to the younger’s charm

These three end up being the child the mom and wine aunt dynamic and y’all can’t convince me otherwise.

“Ehh~? Oh don’t look so weary it’s bad for your face darling~”

Beelzebub

...For some reason happy.

Is this why MC managed to make a pact with his brothers so easily in so little time? Is this why the teen never seems to be bothered by any of his brothers’ threats? Overall he’s happy that you have experience.

He remembers something oddly like this...but in his case he didn’t had experience prior the fall wow way to go at angsting this am I right-

Because unlike him, a being millennia old was so confused of what’s in store for hell after the fall but he had no choice but to grit his teeth and bare the fear.

And someone so young managed to get a taste of a fraction of that experience but here was MC...laughing without a care whilst this other demon places a protective arm in front of them as they interrogate beel- oh wait they were talking to him-

Food as peace offering? You bet, thankfully they did settle with food and unlike first impressions- the demon actually is the most sensible to beel seeing as he was one of the few who...didn’t actively attempt to kill their human- in fact, the demon is probably the one to inform Beel of what demon food the young teen can actually eat and what they prefer.

“I see...ah, would you maybe wanna join us? Food always tastes better when shared”

Belphegor

...could care less until they talk about the whole time universe killing thing-

Ohhh boy- belphie run I’m telling you run- no beel won’t defend you on this one in fact I think I see mammon running with the demon but belphie run boy run-

In all seriousness him and the demon will take the longest to get into terms. Heck not even Mc’s convincing has effect, because the demon really really doesn’t like the avatar of sloth for good reason.

Depending on how the demon even winded up with MC. Belphie would also not like the demon.

That...is until something actually bad happens to MC-

The demon might blindly pin it on belphie but the thing is- he’s also panicking because if he and his brothers were there and the demon was there- wHO TF IS WITH THE TEENAGER-

He...didnt want to have what he did to MC happen again. Let him be the last one to harm the spunky human. I even considered him and the demon to never actually get along no matter how long of a time but...again it all depends on the Hows and Whys.

“I...Care for them as much as you do. Just- Tsk... I don’t need you to believe me.”

[aelaer]

Completely irrelevant to your upcoming fic, but I'm curious about your thoughts on Wanda as the Scarlet Witch, and her expected appearance on MoM? It's a frequent topic of discussion revolving around the Dr Strange fandom or the MCU fandom in general, so, any thoughts? It's sort of a... 'sensitive' and 'controversial' (?) topic to touch so you don't need to delve into details if you don't want to.

It's all good! I like random asks that get me thinking.

For anyone who's newer to my little slice of internet, I am heavy in the camp of a tag I borrowed from AO3 writer Gwendolyn Stacy (xxgwenstacyxx here on Tumblr, but we're not mutuals so I don't want to tag her and be bothering her). Anyway, the tag is "In This Fic We Love And Cherish All Canon Characters". I stand very heavily by that tag. I don't use Civil War Team Iron Man/Captain America tags, and don't write fics with one side focused on. I don't click on them to read anymore either, haven't for a couple years. I refuse to read "not Team Cap Friendly" and all of their iterations, and I don't enjoy fics that use characters as an author avatar to voice opinions as opposed to maintaining their own agency with their own unique opinions. I can go on and on an on about this, but you didn't ask about that so I'm gonna stop that tangent.

With all that said, Wanda isn't a favorite character of mine. She's *not* a disliked character--I think the only MCU character I actively dislike and would have a hard time to write about objectively is Thaddeus Ross, so I'm lucky my faves also don't like him--but not a favorite either. I think she was a character long, long given the short stick in terms of character growth and development in the MCU and, like Natasha, should have had her own solo thing long ago. But I suspect that if Disney+ did not exist, a lot of characters who deserved more light would not have gotten it (or continue to not get it).

I think the Doctor Strange movie should be focused mostly on Stephen (obviously), but that a side focus of other magic users 100% makes sense, so her inclusion in the film itself is perfectly logical to me. I'd prefer her to have equal or less screentime than Wong, but I'm not sure it's gonna go down like that. I feel the same way about America Chavez, but I'm also super biased towards Wong as being one of the greatest people ever. Like, I'm pretty sure I like him more than Tony at this point of time. Sorry Tony :P

Regarding Wanda being more powerful than Stephen: This is how it is in the comics, so it's not a big deal to me. It's not like power is the equivalent of skill, and I think Stephen is more skilled than Wanda. Wanda's a bomb; Stephen's a sniper rifle. Both have their purpose.

Regarding Wanda being the possible Big Bad: Had a big conversation on Discord this weekend about this, and I honestly think that if she is the antagonist in this film and not, say, being corrupted by the Darkhold One Ring of Power-style, then it will make the last couple episodes of her series and the growth she experienced there entirely pointless. I strongly feel she has to have that redemption arc and, if she is the antagonist, it either has to be a variant version or due to corruption from the Darkhold that she manages to break out of before the ending.

The big, big reason I believe this *must* happen is because Wanda being a villainous character is inspired by a series of comics, written in the 21st century, that are *filled* with problematic tropes and misogyny. While it's nice to let a story stand on its own without thinking about what influenced it, I don't necessarily think we have that luxury with a history such as this. To read more about how a once-beloved Avenger was ruined by one comic book writer, check out this fantastic article.

Overall, I am rooting for Wanda to continue to be developed to a strong 3D character with all the complexities of a traumatized human being. But I think she needs to swing to chaotic-good/neutral-good/neutral-neutral and cannot be wholly selfish for her show's finale to work. The MCU's done sympathetic villains before like Loki, but that may be more on Tom Hiddleston's acting rather than the script he was given to work with. I don't know if Elizabeth Olsen can pull off the same thing if Wanda starts slaughtering people. I'd rather not see it happen, anyway.

Honestly, I'd just like for Stephen and Wanda to be friends. Is it so much to ask to have superheroes who are supposed to be "good guys" stop fighting each other? Civil War was, objectively (and not thinking of fandom consequences), a very good film, but I don't want to do it every 5 years either.