#people are being especially mean about season 3 when comparing it to season 4 which HAS NOT EVEN COME OUT YET

[vocallywritten]

Why must we compare seasons of Bridgerton like one of them is "better" than the others. It's literally just down to personal preference and who you ship.

[annepi-blog]

Save Dead Boy Detectives

Hey friends,

I’m hoping you can spare a minute to help out. Please take a second to sign the petition at the end of this post to help save Dead Boy Detectives!

Now, you might be thinking, “Why should I care? I didn’t even watch it.”

Well, this isn't just about one show. Dead Boy Detectives is far from the first series Netflix has canceled, and we’re especially frustrated because this is part of a growing trend. LGBTQ+ inclusive series like this one are often axed after just one or two seasons, leaving fans heartbroken and hesitant to start new shows in the future. It’s become a sort of “throwaway culture” where unique, diverse stories just… disappear. And that’s honestly so disheartening for those of us who connect with these characters.

Fans are especially angry because Dead Boy Detectives is highly praised by both audiences and critics. The viewership numbers were solid and comparable to first seasons of shows like Emily in Paris or Heartstopper, which are now going into their third or fourth seasons. So it’s hard to understand why this show is being cut when it clearly resonated with people and had the potential to go the distance.

That’s why it would mean so much if you showed a little solidarity and stood against this trend with us.

And of course, it would be amazing if you gave the show a chance. Even though a second season may not happen, the storylines in season one are mostly wrapped up, so you can still enjoy the ride without feeling like you’re left hanging.

One of the best parts of Dead Boy Detectives is how diverse the cast is. For once, 3 of the 4 main characters aren’t white, and this level of representation has meant the world to many fans. There is also a high proportion of badass women in the series.

Plus, the story is packed with important themes like abuse, bullying, grief, finding and accepting yourself, and of course, the beauty of found family and friendship. Wrapped up in horror, detective stories, and genuine comedy-drama, Dead Boy Detectives strikes a balance that makes it both fun and heartfelt.

And the LGBTQIA+ representation! We've got a canonical gay Edwardian ghost, a gay human-crow familiar, a lesbian butcher, a sapphic librarian, and even a pansexual shape-shifting cat king.

So please, sign the petition, and maybe check out the show. It would mean the world to all of us in the fandom.

[devildomwriter]

Satan Birthday Special 100 Fun Facts

1. Satan was born from a combination of Lucifer’s intense wrath and him tearing off his wings, this gave Satan flesh for a body

2. Physically, Satan is the youngest but he is ranked fourth as he is fourth strongest of the seven brothers

3. Satan often fears he is nothing but a lesser copy of Lucifer

4. Satan’s wrath was so out of control after his birth his brothers did anything they could to stop his rages, including tying him in chains and stuffing him in a locker, knocking him out, or holding him underwater until he passed out

5. When Satan discovered cats he burst into Levi’s room demanding to know more about this

6. Satan believes Leviathan is mature in the way he focuses on other people’s opinions

7. Satan has always been a demon and accepting wrath as part of who he was so he did not struggle with his sin like his brothers did

8. Satan treasures the first things his brothers ever gave him

9. Satan’s tail is spiky and you can be injured touching it if you aren’t careful

10. Satan gets angriest over petty inconveniences

11. Simeon believes that Satan always only wearing one sleeve of his jackets is his way of rebelling

12. Satan has a tendency to overthink things

13. Satan does his best to avoid arguing with his brothers even when they annoy him

14. Satan is compared to a cat by his brothers due to his tendency to show up in completely random places when you least expect

15. Satan has connections in almost every industry as he’s easily able to socialize and make friends

16. Satan claims his books are organized in a way he understands

17. Once Satan’s books collapsed on him and he stayed there for several days relaxing

18. Satan enjoys the fine arts and likes going to art museums

19. Satan enjoys theatre and the opera

20. Satan easily gets his hands on rare and cursed objects to the point it impresses Lucifer

21. Satan has successfully cursed Lucifer several times. The worst of them being when he transferred his pain from Solomon’s cooking to Lucifer.

22. Satan originally looks down on manga but changes his mind after reading a bunch of manga Levi switched out in his room as a prank

23. Satan loves watching dramas and mysteries, especially Mid-Fall Murders

24. Due to watching crime shows regularly Satan believed that when dining in the human world you tell the waitress you’d like “the usual” and they’ll know what you mean

25. Although originally Satan complains he’s never beat Diavolo in chess, it’s implied he finally beats him in season 3

26. Satan has a major inferiority complex when it comes to Lucifer which causes him to often doubt himself

27. Satan is subscribed to Monthly Devil Architect’s Digest

28. Satan was once cursed to see everything as cats, he wasn’t the least bit bothered

29. Satan gifted Lucifer a scarf that was cursed to grow eternally

30. Satan doesn’t seem to realize how terrifying his anger is when he is visibly confused as to why his brothers are hiding

31. Satan has hoarded cats in the past and is no longer allowed to have any

32. Satan feeds a local cat he has named Sir Cat

33. Satan gives MC instructions on feeding many of the cats who come by serenity manor

34. When attempting to turn Simeon’s cafe into a cat cafe he “borrowed” a bunch of cats from witches. He was distressed when they were all returned to their owners.

35. Satan once fell asleep with a cat in public and ended up covered in Hell Zakura petals. Solomon thought it was cute.

36. Satan cursed a pizza deliverer for putting pineapple on their pizza

37. Satan desires to be on the receiving end of a loving headbutt by a cat in full force

38. Satan checks cat blogs before he goes to bed as they give him energy for the next day

39. Satan has to be told to stop using cat stickies as he puts them everywhere

40. Satan covered his and Belphegor’s laptops in cat stickers

41. Satan enjoys classical music, symphonies, and Ska music

42. Satan prefers food chunkier than smooth because it has more bite to it

43. Satan enjoys the bitterness of Dark chocolate

44. Satan has said his type is someone he can have a mutual understanding with when it comes to anger

45. Satan has had things thrown at his head multiple times in the game, some of these items include a pillow, a piece of trash, and a pile of pancakes

46. Satan hates baby talk, more specifically when Asmodeus uses it

47. Satan has inherited some of Lucifer’s memories and emotions

48. When Satan was cursed to stay close to Lucifer he would just stare and growl at Lucifer from the corner of the room

49. Satan’s antagonistic behavior towards Lucifer is somewhat compulsive as even he wishes he didn’t dedicate so much time to Lucifer but cannot stop himself

50. Satan let’s Belphegor sleep on his lap even though it annoys him

51. Satan learned how to read ancient human text from Solomon

52. Satan considers Mephistopheles an ally since they both dislike Lucifer

53. In a love survey on B’s Log Satan says he wants to “bind and monopolize” his lover and is the active one pursuing love

54. Satan cherishes relationship anniversaries and special dates of remembrance

55. In a relationship with obstacles, Satan chooses to face the difficulties with passion

56. When it comes to a lover, Satan said he would get jealous easily

57. Satan originally did not understand humans and assumed they’d all be fine receiving expensive items and gems as gifts and was angry when MC did not

58. Satan has ranked his favorite cat positions as stalk-straight tail, slow blink, making biscuits, head butting, and bellyflops

59. Satan secretly dislikes Green Peas

60. Satan is annoyed by the RAD Newpsaper Club account and has the notifications for it turned off

61. Satan says he tends to sleep on his stomach to avoid being hit in the face when his books randomly come avalanching down on him

62. Satan starts all his baths by washing his left arm

63. Satan’s daily activity is petting a cat

64. Satan’s dream is to have a cat

65. On sleepless nights, Satan calls MC because he finds their voice soothing

66. Satan’s motto is “Wisdom is the treasure of all generations.”

67. Satan’s rage emits so much energy it’s too much for humans to handle and can shake buildings and break things without getting near them

68. Satan sends cursed chain mail to Lucifer daily

69. When Mammon could only speak cat, Satan was called to help and he spent the day happily playing with cat toys with Mammon

70. Satan became enraged with Raphael when he was compared to Lucifer

71. Satan is very knowledgeable when it comes to the constellations and the specific stars among them

72. Satan believes Easter is the perfect excuse to throw eggs at Lucifer

73. Satan looks forward to fall as he believes it’s the best season for reading

74. Satan has trouble eating something if it looks like a cat

75. Satan always has a bag of cat treats with him wherever he goes

76. Satan seems to remember exactly where he left off in a book when he falls asleep reading. In an interview with B’s Log he says “Yesterday I was in the mood for The Complete Book of Cat's Paws, but I fell asleep on the Havana Brown page, around line no. 27.”

77. Satan sometimes hums the theme song to mid fall murders

78. Satan’s compliments often sound more like insults

79. Satan originally took Levi to be a nobody with no powers.

80. Satan once used Diavolo as a hostage

81. When Satan wanted to get MC a gift he offered to kill someone for them

82. Satan enjoys a railroad building mobile app

83. In the baseball game in the anime, Satan’s team lost 0 to 666 but Satan still claims it’s the game where he trumped Lucifer

84. Satan owns a book that can enter the memories of whoever first opens it

85. Satan built a life like snow sculpture of Lucifer out of spite, knowing Lucifer would feel uncomfortable

86. Satan once decorated the backyard with cat towers hoping it’d become a cat colony

87. Satan is the secretary of the RAD student council

88. Satan is the one who introduced the idea of second-hand/used bookstores to the Devildom.

89. Satan has a collection of priceless jewels that are rare in both the human world and Devildom. It’s not stated how he got his hands on them but he is alluded to being very wealthy by Leviathan

90. Believing they were lost deep in the forest, Satan initiated sex with MC but they were immediately after found by Beelzebub

91. Satan said if he was in a horror movie he’d be the silent killer “helping” the detectives and frame Lucifer for all the murders

92. Satan once got into a fight with Beelzebub over who liked Devilcat most

93. Satan once went to a riddle event with Solomon and MC

94. Satan bribed Barbatos with rare tea to let him go to the human world alone

95. In an interview with B’s Log he said his everyday small happiness is gaining new knowledge

96. Something Satan believes is absolutely not allowed in front of him is disrespecting cats and is quoted saying “Dare to make disrespectful remarks about cats in front of me. I’ll **** and **** your ****.” — B’s log

97. Satan’s three rules for his daily life are — Read books, play with cats, and make time for yourself

98. When asked if he prefers mature or child-like people, he states he prefers mature people and then immediately references Simeon

99. Satan is skilled with cooking stews and enjoys working with the variety of spices and herbs Barbatos gives him

100. Satan believes his composure makes him “cool” and that he only “very, very occasionally” loses his temper

[a-confused-spoon]

Jinx's haircut: how Powder and Ekko's story comes full circle

Hi! So, it appears Jinx will be cutting her hair short in season 2 (which is cool as fuck), and I’ve been seeing a lot of discussion on it, so I wanted to share my two cents 😊

I might refer to Jinx and Powder as if they are different ideantities, but I'm aware that's not how that works; it's just an easier way to express myself. Also english isn't my first language, so apologies for any possible wiritng mistake (this is a bit of a mess 😅)

* deep breath in *

As it has already been pointed out, this choice must have a deeper reason other than esthetic (I've been seeing the phrase "hair holds memories" used a lot), and what's even more interesting is that her new look resembles a lot how she used to look like as a kid; a bit bizarre, given how the entirety of season 1 showed us how Powder and Jinx's coexistence only brings the girl pain. As a matter of fact, the finale makes it clear to us that even she sees these two sides of herself as mutually exclusive.

So why and how exactly would this happen now?

What I keep going back to is the idea that maybe, just maybe, this has to do with her possibly "taking the lead" in Zaun; whether she actively becomes a leader or if she just "leads by example" (therefore passively), it doesn't change the fact that for better or worse she will be depicted as a leading revolutionary figure.

And fair enough: she singlehandedly killed half of the Council, the people who hold decisional power and have contributed to the misery on the other side of the river. After Vender's failed attempt on the bridge and Silco's focus on his own business dealings with Piltover among everything else he did, Jinx's attack on the city - something she does to ultimately solidify her identity as Jinx - opens a door that the Undercity was waiting to be opened for decades.

Here's the thing:

Being Jinx doesn't just mean acting on unbridled rage and being a menace to society; it means being feared by most, if not all, with the only possible exceptions being those who also accepted their inner monster. To put it in Singed's words, "If you take this path, they will despise you".

Being Jinx fundamentally implies loneliness.

Silco was consistently reminding her this: "I am your family; everyone else betrays us" / "Everyone betrays us Jinx! Vander! Her! They will never understand, it's only us".

In the official clip 'Enemy of my enemy' we find out that he only saw her cry twice, the two scenes we also witness as an audience, meaning he didn't see her cry once during the timeskip, and I'm sure it's safe to say that she most definitely did cry a lot given how she goes from episode 3 Powder (scared, couldn't grasp the concept of killing someone, heartbroken by the nickname jinx) to episode 4 Powder (a beast, kills in cold blood, has taken Jinx as her actual name)... it must've been an ugly transition, and it definitely didn't happen overnight; if Silco, who was the closest person she had all that time, didn't see it, then I think it speaks a lot on how alone Jinx really was in her darkest times.

For all the love he had for her, he reinforced this idea of isolation as an unescapable consequence of the right path, and I think this is also reflected in the lair that (supposedly) he found for her, especially when you compare it to the Firelights’ one:

The Firelights (this is important for later) are all about community and sharing joy as well as struggle and pain; they live in a place of healing, filled with life, without a roof so the sunlight can reach them during the day, and at nights living bugs that shine a light of their own fill up the hideout.

Jinx's place is diametrically opposed to this: it’s dark and looks cold, it's completely made of metal, the roof’s blocking any natural light and it hangs above an abyss with no bottom to be seen; the only company she consistently has are the puppets of her dead brothers and the only living thing that knows his way in is the only one that can understand, the only one she can rely on - aka Silco himself.

However, as Jinx herself knows, this may have worked for him, but it wasn't working for her for the longest time: she never stopped yearning for affection, love, friendship- that part of her never really went away; it was only being suppressed, suffocated, maybe unintentionally, and I strongly believe that it only worsen her trauma, and it's one of the things that made her spiral so bad into her depression, to the point of hallucinating.

I think that Silco's line in the baptism scene is particularly relevant here: "You need to let Powder die, so the fear of pain will no longer control you", where the fear of pain would refer to the fear of being on her own, of always failing and disappointing others, of being weak and never satisfying the desires, expectations, hopes that Powder carried within her to be “a valuable member of the team”.

If she lets Powder die (which again, she does in the final episode of season 1), this is no longer a problem: if she doesn't do teams, because teams don't want a jinx to begin with, that fear can't get to her; if she's a solo player, a self-sufficient loose cannon, she won't need to rely on anyone but herself because she's strong on her own and does not need the support of others.

If her power lays in the monster she is, the one everyone condemns her for being, then that childhood wish of hers just isn't a realistic option.

...but then this happens.

We know from the teaser trailer that in the operation Caitlyn's leading, 'finding Jinx' and 'neutralize any agent still loyal to Silco' are separate objectives. Which makes sense, since as far as they know Silco was the leader of a group of people, and now that he's gone Jinx is an individual under her own agency and her own agency alone. If initially she fights by herself, for herself because she can and fuck Piltover, then it all falls in line with what I stated so far.

But then we hear Sevika, who has hated Jinx's guts and who Jinx has hated back since day one, telling her to get the people together, to unite the Undercity as one because she can do that. Mind you, the girl has lived in Zaun all her life, she knows damn well that the end of Piltover is something the entire Undercity has been waiting for (“Imagine what the whole of the Lances could do!” from episode 2); yet despite this she needs to be openly told what is going on, that she’s not sizing the opportunity she’s created. She isn't, cause... her? Leading? A group of people? No. Not after the last time she tried to help, and most importantly, not after everything she learned under Silco.

Jinx can't fathom the idea of herself as a part of a part of a team. How can she? She literally just came to terms with isolation as ever present- and now, for some reason, the people of the city, who always either ran away from her or wanted her gone, are dying their hair blue in her image, trusting her, following her, painting murals of her as the bringer of revolution.

She isn't taking power forcibly like Silco did; she's just doing her thing, her Jinx thing, and Zaun, on its own, is choosing her as the leading figure.

Imagine how frustrating it must be for Jinx to look back and realize that Silco, her father- who has loved her, forgiven her, raised her, called her perfect, defended her, was there for her, saved her, guided her- was wrong, and put her in a condition of never ending existential pain when she could’ve had it differently the entire time; imagine how confusing it must be for her to look back and realize that it never mattered whether or not others understood her, 'cause she wasn't as unlovable or unforgivable as she thought herself to be in the first place, that Silco and Vi were never her only options.

Imagine how painful it must be for her to look back and realize that for all this time she could’ve had friends and be accepted and be trusted and rely on others because she never HAD to be alone.

...keeping this in mind, let's talk about Ekko and the missing flashback from episode 7 for a moment.

Admittedly we don’t have a lot of information, other than it took place not too long after the events of episode 3 (then again, to be fair, we don’t know a lot about their relationship as enemies as well: it’s all between the lines; I surely have my own opinions of how they feel about each other being on the enemy side, but I don’t believe it’s super relevant here). What’s for sure about this flashback is that it was a defining moment in both Ekko and Powder’s journey, especially for the latter. Someone surely died, and it 100% was Powder’s fault. It could be both the result of her very first crisis or her first intentional murder; in both cases it results in her deciding for herself to align with Silco as opposed to her best friend.

The way I like to see it is that, since the trauma was still very fresh, she might have been too scared of the idea of fighting alongside others after what happened last time, and she pushed herself to kill someone on purpose just to push Ekko away and prove a point (Silco’s point). I love the idea of the tragic irony of Ekko being the one person Powder managed to really save, and Powder being the one person Ekko couldn’t.

Personal headcanons aside though, the last part is the most important one here: Ekko couldn’t save Powder from Silco, and by extension everything he represents.

I’d like to point out that one of the most tragic aspects of the two becoming enemies (to me) is that, throughout those years, they reciprocally were the only living person the other shared a past with (well, Vi too, but she was in prison the entire time).

Silco not only takes over by force, he also marks as his all the places of said past: the Last Drop, Vi and Powder’s house… one line that always stuck with me from episode 7 is when Ekko tells Vi “All that’s left is Jinx, and she belongs to Silco”.

Not with Silco; to Silco. As if she too a piece of the past he turned into his property.

It’s like he understands that while yes, Powder made the decision by herself, that she wants to stay with Silco, he also knows that the man is the one to blame for... well, all of it; the kid was there when Silco showed up unprovoked at Benzo’s place, he knows things went downhill from there.

Ekko knows that he is the bigger problem and the bigger enemy. Even Vi, without knowing a thing about the past few years, can tell Silco put some shit into her sister’s head; Ekko can probably guess the same, difference being that Ekko has the responsibility of keeping other people safe, and he can’t risk it all for someone that, while possibly manipulated, ultimately isn’t collaborative. Ekko can’t jeopardize all he’s built and done for his former best friend, no matter how much it hurts him to be her enemy.

Back to season 2.

Like the entire fandom has already pointed out, there’s a 99.9% chance there will be an alliance between them and Jinx, especially when looking at Ekko’s new outfit.

Of course, this will not be immediate: my guess is that while Jinx works alone at the very start Ekko will be with Heimerdinger and following the arrest of the Firelights we see in the trailer maybe there’s a split. And even after Jinx takes charge so to speak, and possibly frees them, among others, from Stillwater, it’s possible there will be (and there should be) stages in the alliance: initial distrust, potential fight within the community- like yeah, let’s not forget what Jinx did to these people.

Even if they do go ahead with it, it is probably out of necessity more than anything else, with not one but two military forces against the whole of the Underground. It’s not like they’d be the most ecstatic faction about it, and the same goes for Ekko, which is why the new look will probably come in later.

But exactly like he could see Powder for a brief second on the bridge clearly enough for him to stop himself from beating her, he will, most definitely, see her again through Jinx's inner turmoil... that, and she also can’t keep her shit together when it comes to what she's feeling, the girl really is an open book.

And yeah, the situation would be pretty emotionally disorienting: she's being as Jinx as ever, but people like her now, which is something she used to want as Powder, who is supposed to be dead, and they're willingly following her like they willingly followed Vander and there's murals of her with him, though she's pursuing what aligns more with Silco's dream, but also turns out Silco was wrong about Powder, who might still be alive deep down- the whole thing is a big big mess.

Despite everything that I said about him, it’s not like Jinx would start to resent Silco. She could never, not after his last words to her. They mean the world to her, he means too much to her, and let’s not forget she probably hear his voice now too, along Mylo’s and Claggor’s; it might even be a calming voice to her, one she’s happy to hear even if she knows he’s not real… which makes it all worse and more painful to deal with.

In this scene from the trailer, it seems like Ekko’s talking to her (some have pointed out the blue hair out of focus). Since this is still the look in season, at this point in time Ekko (and the rest of the Firelights) are not truly committed to this alliance with Jinx, and vice versa, Jinx is still figuring out how to deal with all this unexpected appreciation.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Jinx’s way of dealing with inner conflicts, especially ones that deal with the memories of the past, is that it often leads to disaster. This is a bit of a long shot, but what if the reason Ekko’s so beat up Is because she unintentionally sabotaged one of their own attacks on Piltover? Or perhaps they were caught up in a tough situation because of something she did or didn’t do? My point is that if he really is talking with her while in this condition, she probably is in a similar one.

Regardless, they are on the same side, and they are having a conversation. This is very likely the first time they reach out for each other since the day she chose to not go with him.

And I think it’s believable that of all the people she now has beside her, she’d talk to Ekko: he has this leader stuff already figured out. He has and still is taking care of people and keeping them safe better than she ever will, and on top of that, he still is the only one in Zaun (again, aside from Vi) who has known her since before she was Jinx, and he spared her on the bridge. He’s the perfect person to open up to.

And, get this, not only Ekko understands the pressure of taking the lead: he knows what it means to look back at someone you were fond of and feeling the pain of being wronged by them. He knows what it’s like to look back at old memories of someone you trusted and wonder if all those moments together really were what you thought they were, he knows what it’s like to wish it could all go back like it was, just so that candid version of them you have in your mind can still be true, present and untainted by the ugliness that now ruins all those precious moments.

He knows, 'cause he went through it with her... and now he can finally reach her.

Ekko may have not been able to save her from Silco then, but he can save her from Silco now.

And since he has built a community that grieved together, went through pain and joy together, he simply does what he’s always done with the Firelights. Sharing.

He tells with her what has worked for him: “Sometimes, taking a leap forward means leaving a few things behind”- in the Franch dub he says “leaving a part of oneself behind”- meaning it doesn’t have to be all or nothing: she has the power to choose what to kiss goodbye and what can stay…

…and then she cuts her hair.

I think it’s important to note how these two moments are very similar in setting. I kid you not, the first time I watched the trailer I was convinced this was a scene where Jinx was burning Silco’s body after she killed him- which frankly could still be the case. I’ve also seen discussions being made for the little girl we see in the trailer being burned here, or Sevika, but I don’t think it’s either. Jinx is completely desensitized to death, even when Silco died her makeup isn’t this ruined. My guess is that this is something much deeper:

Jinx never properly grieved the past. Ever. So, maybe, she’s burning the part of herself she’s leaving behind. The hair she cut.

The hair Silco used to braid for her.

These two scenes parallel each other because “nothing ever stays dead”, but Silco must stay dead, for her own sake. For her own happiness: she is leaving him behind for good.

Only after this moment we get the new look for Ekko: he can work with this new Jinx, the one that now knows she can work within a team, even to the point of committing to the outfit (lol).

If in season 1 Jinx accepted her identity as it was defined by Silco, in season 2 she's re-inventing it under her own conditions: she gets to choose what "being Jinx" may or may not include. And it will always include a little bit of Powder.

Thanks for reading! 💚💙

[forestleavescat]

Took time to think on Moominvalley S4. it still feels bad

I’ve thought about Moominvalley season 4. Seen other people respond to it. I still don’t feel great. There was a great journey from S1-3. But this season sorta fell off. It felt like character development disappeared. And I’ve seen people say it wasn’t queerbaiting and I disagree. I mean, you gotta trust that a lot of people have dealt with it before. We know what it is. And the argument that snufmin never had a chance isn’t true. I was starved for moomin content between seasons and listened to the team discuss moominvalley. There were podcasts where they would chuckle and say that they were a little in love. They know the fanbase. The argument that it would never happen because they never stray from the original story isn’t true. Each version makes changes. And I don’t think that people can argue that they wouldn’t stray from the source material when the finale was what it was. They completely turned that story on its head. I wanted to come back to the topic because I decided to rewatch the earlier seasons. I saw some of the ‘it’s not queerbaiting. They were never more than friends’ posts and I started to think that it was true. That I read too much into it. And then I watched The Spring Tune. And just. no ??? Ain’t no way there wasn’t anything going on there. And previous iterations usually had some level of pining while not committing to a romantic development. There were 100% moments, but it wasn’t like moominvalley. If you don’t care for the ship. That’s fine. If you liked the final season that’s great. But don’t tell fans that they can’t be upset about how this was handled. Don’t tell them ‘well you set yourself up for disappointment’ or ‘did you really think that would happen.’ It’s like you’re telling people who are disappointed in this happening that they were just delusional about it?? A lot of people, whether new to the community or not find a sense of belonging in queer media. It’s something welcoming and friendly. Especially if you’re either trying to figure out your identity or find comfort in media that embraces similar identities. Maybe it’s fans that grew up with it and found a sense of comfort with the close and romantically ambiguous relationship between snufkin and moomin and when you start to watch moominvalley it really does seem like there’s a chance compared to other iterations. The creators seem to support this. They acknowledge it outright. It seems more possible than ever. Or you’re just getting into the moomins. The way this show explores their relationship early on is something that really did help people with their identities. And when a show seems like it’s heading there and then pulls back completely in the final season it sucks. And it makes it so much worse when people say ‘well duh, of course it wouldn’t have happened.’ And moominvalley felt even worse. Because the creators outright acknowledged it on multiple occasions while older examples of queerbaiting didn’t. The creators wrote what seemed to be gay ships but dropped it after securing money and views. But the team didn’t wink and nudge the way this team did. And just look at the Lonely Mountains. That episode was not only the largest step towards it being canon but it didn’t finish what it set up. Snufkin never did finish that chat that got interrupted. Which made it seem like something they’d likely save for the last season. If season 4 handled them exactly like season 3 without their relationship going farther that would still be an improvement. They lose all of that subtle ‘what are we’ closeness. You gotta know moomin fans live throughout the world. Shows that are explicit with that tend to get censored overseas. But it’s easier to get past that when there’s an implicit thing that other members of the lgbtq community would pick up. Then America in a time where laws are censoring gay stuff. I feel like it’s important to consider how important queer media is and to observe past instances of queerbaiting and why that’s as harmful as it is.

S4 felt like the July 1st of moominvalley to me. Just ‘okay we’re done no more gay’

[coraniaid]

Reverse Unpopular Opinion: Season Four of BtVS

[Reverse unpopular opinion meme.]

I’ve been (very, very slowly) rewatching Season 4 on and off all year (and occasionally writing Tumblr posts complaining about this very process about the episodes I’ve been watching), and I think it’s fair to say that this is definitely not the best way to enjoy any season of television.  

That being said, I feel I’d be lying at this point if I pretended this was my absolute favorite season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  In hindsight, the show was in a strange transitory place this year: having lost some of the grounding framework that the high school setting gave the first three seasons of the show – as well as having suddenly lost some of its actors and writers to the new Angel spin-off – and not yet having quite figured out what it was going to do instead.  One can imagine some alternate reality where the show ended up taking a very different direction after this season.

That being said, here are five things I like a lot about Season 4, with as few caveats as I can manage:

I think the opening four episodes of this season – The Freshman, Living Conditions, The Harsh Light Of Day, Fear Itself – are as strong as, if not stronger than, the first four episodes of any other season of the show.  Every other season has at least one dodgy episode in this opening block – in fact Season 3, my favorite season of them all, manages to have two of them! – but where is the bad episode here?  The Freshman is a criminally underrated season opener.  Living Conditions is a fun character episode and a great showcase for SMG to act in ways she doesn’t normally get to on this show.  Fear Itself is the best Halloween episode the show ever did and it’s not even especially close.  The Harsh Light Of Day is my least favorite of the four, for reasons I guess it would be against the spirit of the game to go into, but I certainly wouldn’t say it was a bad episode by any means.  Perhaps none of these episodes would trouble my personal top ten, but they are four very solid episodes nonetheless.

While Anya had of course appeared in a handful of Season 3 episodes, I think Season 4 is the point where Emma Caulfield really makes the role her own.  This season’s version of the character – a blunt-speaking outsider whose romantic struggles are often deliberately contrasted with Buffy’s own [in the aforementioned The Harsh Light Of Day, for example] and who is inexplicably attracted to Xander Harris – could easily have come across as a fairly lazy attempt to replace Cordelia Chase, and I think it’s largely to Caulfield’s credit that she doesn’t.  Anya feels very much like her own person this season, and an increasingly integral member of the group.  It’s a performance that retroactively redefines the character: of course this is who Anya is.  Of course she always acted this way. It's only when you back and rewatch The Wish or Doppelgangland that you realize she didn't. And I think it’s pretty obvious, for example, that when people [e.g. people like me] go back to write Season 3 fanfiction where Anya features more heavily than in canon they [again, meaning me] invariably end up writing the Season 4 version of the character instead.  Anyanka might have appeared for the first time in Season 3, but Anya belongs to Season 4.

I really like how important to the show Willow has become at this point and how much of this season is all about her.  Just go back and look at the first season, in which Willow is arguably the member of the Core Four the writers cared least about – when she existed mainly to nurse a sad unrequited crush on Xander and to be good with computers when the plot required someone to be – and then compare that to this season, where she is Buffy’s best friend and roommate, unambiguously the second most important Scooby, and the center of a – genuinely pretty groundbreaking for the time – .season long subplot about coming out as a lesbian.  And of course Amber Benson is great as Tara too.  I’ve criticized the character of Oz for being very transparently written just to be Willow’s Nice Supportive Boyfriend and never becoming much more than that, and on paper you could level the same sort of charge at Tara.  And sure, obviously she was written to be Willow’s girlfriend and it’s impossible to seriously pretend otherwise.  But I think Tara manages to become a more rounded character than Oz very quickly. Even in this season, when she doesn’t yet have much connection to the others (she will, later, go on to become a key member of the group and a friend of Buffy's in ways I don’t think Oz was) she feels a little more complex than he did.

Faith is in this season!  I don’t just mean in the two parter This Year’s Girl / Who Are You? either. Of course, both of these episodes are great: the scene in the church in Who Are You? In which Faith (in Buffy’s body) breaks down while fighting Buffy (in Faith’s body), -- screaming repeatedly at her own reflection that she’s “nothing”, “disgusting”, and a "murderous bitch" -- is one of my favorites in the whole show.  But Faith feels like a real presence in the show even in the episodes she’s not actually in herself.  Unlike Kendra or Jenny in previous seasons, or even Cordelia the season, the other characters still talk about her and remember she existed when it’s appropriate that they do so (and in a way that they won’t really do again until … well, until Faith comes back in Season 7’s Dirty Girls).

Finally, Restless is possibly the best episode the show ever did, and certainly one of its most creative.  Willow’s dream sequence in particular is fantastically well done. I think this might be my favorite single act in all of Buffy.  Why this all works for me – apart from the fact that the show now has years of history to fall back on and reference – is that it’s an example of the show being utterly unafraid to play to its strengths.  Characterisation, dream sequences, dialogue, foreshadowing, oddly striking visuals, random moments of comedy … these – rather than tightly written plots or rigorously consistent world-building or anything that requires a working knowledge of world history or how the US military functions or what capitalism actually is – are the show’s strengths.  So Restless embraces all of these elements, and just doesn’t bother with anything else.  And the result is a season finale that – by virtue of not really being a season finale at all, at least according to the usual rules – is not quite like any other season finale the show ever did.  Which is, on reflection, a pretty fitting end to Season 4, a season of the show not quite like any of the others. 

[bingiessm]

OKAY More Bridgerton season 3 trailer thoughts, these are both sort of random, partially analysis, partially conspiracy-y. The second part is more direct analysis of two shots in the trailer though.

Okay, so because of this trailer, I don't know for sure if Benedict's season will be season 4--or, at least, I am curious as to how they will bring about his romance this season to set up season 4 after so little inkling as to his romance. Francesca dominates this trailer in terms of romance--literally the first shot in this trailer of anyone in the Bridgerton family is of Francesca--not even Colin, who's season it is.

The spotlight is also completely on her and--as we see in this trailer--a spotlight means quite a lot in terms of romance. (ex: Penelope and Debling dancing with the spotlight just on her, and the Cupid/Psyche spotlight on the dance floor, etc.)

Benedict is not featured romantically at all. Actually, he is not seen in the second part of the trailer, which is when there is a shift to romance. Also in almost all promos, he is not seen in a romantic light, but rather a playful one as compared to Francesca, who is debuting and dancing with suitors, etc. Could they be hiding this for the actual season? Oh, for sure, I definitely think so. But, also considering how seasons are going and the balance they might want to have with their Bridgerton leads, they might not want to do 3 seasons in a row with the Bridgerton brothers as the main leads? Just a thought, though.

Francesca's story just might end up being the foil to Colin/Penelope's story this season, which would be interesting. I also wonder how that will develop if Benedict is the lead for Season 4. We have to wait and see.

---------

SECOND THOUGHT: You did not need this shot of this actress in this edit--it is a choice to have her here.

This is a sort of longer shot--these two are a whole 4 seconds. That might not seem like a lot of time, but for two shots with minimal movement--two close up/OTS (over the shoulder) shots--within a less than 3 minute trailer, that is a lot of time.

I have seen some people online argue that they wanted to show that this wasn't Penelope and that they are trying to show him being more of a "charmer" as he returns from his trip to highlight his glow-up--as this section of the trailer does. This is true, BUT you already had her in the frame in that first shot and she is clearly not Penelope. It would have been enough to just have him kiss her hand if you wanted to demonstrate this. Maybe they want to show that he doesn't charm everyone--he isn't the typical "rake"--and just wanted to focus on one woman? Sure. But, they could have had a wider shot--they could have included others that weren't marriage-able women, like this character's family. Instead, they have a whole frame dominated by one actress who we do not know--a reverse of the first shot that keeps the focus on THEIR dynamic, THEIR faces, not on Colin's relationship with women in general.

The audio for this sequence is also just the music for these full 4 seconds. It is a choice to not have dialogue. When you don't have dialogue, the audience pays more attention to what they have available--the visuals. This draws direct attention to these two.

Listen, I am not saying 100% that she is going to be a huge part of this season, BUT I don't think she'll just be a one-off, maybe slightly more featured. I could be wrong, but everything is a choice in film and especially when releasing a trailer for a series, you are deliberate in what you do and do not show.

One other note, the next audio that comes up is Benedict talking about Colin's "sturdiness," which immediately associates the two. Yes, this is to focus on Colin's change, but hey it's there and we all are looking for hints as to who Benedict's love interest will be.

Okay, second Bridgerton ramble done, thank you! Also, who is this actress? She is beautiful!

[cocogum]

There’s something off about Yugo now.

‼️ SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4 ‼️

LEAVE AT THE WARNING IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE FIRST FOUR EPISODES.

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Way before 2024 hit, when Tot was still teasing us with some snippets of Season 4 on Twitter, there was a time when one of his tweets made some people think about what he meant.

The specific tweet was made on the 10th of January of 2023 at 5:10 AM which showed a small scene of Yugo once said that THIS scene in particular was going to change Yugo forever

Here’s the full translation:

“Season 4 of Wakfu is going well my friends…Here’s a small snippet of Yugo that makes me want to cry. 🥲”

We didn’t know at the time what he could’ve meant by that or what that specific scene that saddened him was even about.

But now that Wakfu Season 4 is out, we were able to watch that same scene that happened in episode 3.

And omg it makes perfect sense now.

In his tweet where he addressed his feelings for the scene, Tot specified that this moment would be the last time we see Yugo, the last scene before saying goodbye.

Some people, back when the tweet was still recent, thought Tot might have been implying that Yugo would actually die or possibly gain his adult form through this scene where he’s surrounded by his mother’s blue hues.

But now that we’ve watched the actual episode where this same scene Tot was talking about took place, we can all finally confirm that neither of those two things happened.

Because what happened ended up being far worse than that.

Yes, what’s worse than Yugo dying or growing up to an alarming speed is nothing compared to what actually happened :

Yugo’s mindset changed.

When Yugo met the Eliatrope goddess for the first time (in this life at least), he explicitly told her that he does not know her, therefore, he cannot sympathize with what she’s saying to him. Yugo could see how she was crying when she told him, Nora, and Qilby she missed them as well as her other children and that she promises them she wouldn’t be away from them any longer.

Yugo doesn’t react to this, only Nora and Qilby truly understand the power behind her words.

But as soon as the Eliatrope goddess puts Yugo to rest for a while, the moment he wakes up was as if he changed his mind completely.

He claims that his mother is the purest of the pure and that she’s so perfect that she can’t express any negative emotions. Keep this in mind for later.

He truly believes what he’s saying and cannot fathom the fact that she may be imperfect in some ways.

His mind did a complete 360 to the point where he immediately joins the Eliatrope goddess, Nora, and Qilby’s cause. He changed his mind so quickly that even Nora noticed and brought it up.

When the assembly began, Yugo was proud of showing up first to welcome his mother and he proudly stated her arrival to the rulers. He had even told Joris that he insisted on being as forward as possible to the rulers and to welcome his mother appropriately.

Now, remember when I stated that Yugo does not believe that the Eliatrope goddess can express any negative emotions?

Well, it turns out he was wrong.

Not even a full hour passed, and the Eliatrope goddess was already in a full confrontation with one of the rulers, the queen of Bonta, Astra. When someone, especially a higher being, is claimed to be a pure being with no flaws, it usually means that they cannot even fathom the idea of expressing a negative emotion or struggling to keep it in.

But the reason why this scene was just so important to focus on was because THIS is supposed to be the goddess of love, the goddess that represents purity (no wonder people were beings suspicious of her. How are you gonna be called the embodiment of ‘love’ and yet express something that is out of your agenda?)

So the reason why we need to focus on this moment, is because the goddess hesitated.

This is what makes Yugo’s claims about her being perfect completely wrong.

And since his declarations were very much flawed, his current way of thinking can only mean one thing :

Something has gone wrong.

From what we’ve been able to witness from his slumber, Yugo was able to see how he and his siblings were created by their mother, how their original planet came to be, how their mother got thrown aside, banished by the other gods and ended up in the Necroworld, and how she got saved by Nora and Efrim.

To us, this sequence must’ve probably lasted for about three minutes or so but to Yugo, this moment lasted far longer than that. He must’ve seen the details, heard a lot of recrimination from the other gods, and seen his mother’s suffering from being cast aside. All of this pain and suffering that she must’ve felt was what made Yugo side with her and her cause.

But as much as his sudden want to be closer to her makes sense, it doesn’t mean that Yugo’s portrayal of his mother is true. Anyone can tell that the Eliatrope goddess had broken a very important major rule: DO NOT use a planet for yourself. She had betrayed the trust of the other gods without any explanation other than wanting to have children and making a world for herself.

Yugo saw it all and yet he did not think that she made a mistake. He does not care if she went against the other gods (creating a world for herself), he does not care if she wants to monitor the world (she has told this in front of all the authorities of the world), he does not care if she wants to infuse vigilantism (again, she told this in front of the leaders of the world), and he does not care if all the commanders of the world do not side with her ideas (he deliberately chose to follow her as soon as she left the assembly).

But it seems like even when he was not, at the time, sleeping under her energy, he didn’t care if people with bad intentions got paralyzed for some undetermined amount of time as punishment (he was watching Nora and Adamaï fight the rogues). That could have been an early hint that he would do much more than just stand aside and not say anything in matters like these but rather silently do what his mother wishes to do.

Since he embraces everything that she is, he embraces everything that she wants to do or has done.

Another thing I should mention is the fact that ever since he woke up, he started calling the Eliatrope goddess “mother”, implying that he now felt completely comfortable with knowing and understanding that she was truly his creator, mother.

As you can see, every time he addresses her, it’s always by calling her his mother, which is factually true, but again, he has just met her and is already completely enamoured by her. His admiration and respect towards her makes sense because he has seen everything that she’s been through while sleeping.

The problem is that even when he considers her perfect, he doesn’t seem to understand that the people around her (besides Nora and Qilby) DO NOT agree with her plans.

Yugo does not understand why Adamaï left because his intuition was telling him that something was very wrong about all of this (even though Yugo wasn’t too convinced by the Eliatrope goddess, he was still taking a neutral side at the time. Even though he didn’t completely understand his mother at that moment, this still counts as an event where Yugo did not think about the Eliatrope goddess’s ways even when his brother told him something was off. Also, if Yugo did see his mother’s suffering at that moment, he would have still most likely sided with her.)

Yugo also does not understand what the leaders are trying to say and how right they are (even though they have mistreated the Eliatrope goddess in the process). One of them, the queen of Bonta, makes very good points that the goddess should have answered and explained.

But instead of taking a moment to think about it or try to at least think about how the rulers are feeling right now, Yugo simply leaves them and goes right back to the goddess.

This is a very surprising decision of his because Yugo has lived his entire life in the World of Twelve. He has not only lived here but has met a lot of different people, gone through life and death for them, saved numerous victims and fought off enemies for them, and did all that in the same world where he is currently turning his back to the very rulers of it.

Tot wasn’t wrong when he said Yugo wouldn’t be the same.

And we’re starting to see it.

It’s becoming more obvious and I’m sure that at some point, there could be another fight between Yugo and Adamaï happening, or perhaps even a misunderstanding.

[aspoonofsugar]

I think one of the reason they didn’t go down that road for Vi and Jinx ending is because if Vi would have let go on Jinx in a healthy and active way and finally considered her as a person some fans would have feel like Vi betrays Jinx and kind of favorided Caitlyn over her. More and more people these days just can’t understand complexity and realism. As soon as their expectations aren’t meet they riot.

Hello anon,

I don't think this is the case to be honest... especially because Vi chooses to stay with Cait before the final battle. She chooses to stay and fight with Cait, rather than look for Jinx. This isn't wrong btw, as they are fighting to save the whole city.

In general, I don't think the fandom would have reacted negatively to Vi letting Jinx go, especially if it was framed as both sisters still loving each other and finding closure. Moreover, Caitvi is one of the most popular ships in the fandom, so an ending where Vi ends up with Cait would definitely not been welcomed negatively imo. I also don't see why "letting Jinx go after mending their relationship" should be worse than "being so stupid Jinx ends up (fake-)dying because of it".

I think the issue lies rather in the idea of redemption and what redemption arcs are. They wanted to give Jinx one, but were scared people would not accpet it. So, in season 2 they had Jinx:

Do very little wrong - her only terrorist attack is in act 1 and it is framed as an answer to Piltover's act of poisoning Zaun's air. Moreover, it is presented as a last desperate act of a suicidal person and Jinx is not even the one who activates the mechanism. Sevika does, while Jinx tells her not to.

Be more stable and develop more positive relationships. Compared to her character in season 1, who is lonely and lashes out against everyone, Jinx is now shown to care about others more healthily. She is trying to mend her bonds after all.

Have a positive impact on the plot: she unifies Zaun, seeks Vi out to save Vander, saves Cait, saves Vi, accepts her punishment and lets herself be arrested, joins the fight to save the world, saves Vi and Cait again.

However, they were still scared all of this would not have been enough (spoiler, it was), so they went with the most selfless thing a person can do: sacrifice their life for another person. Hence they framed Jinx's last action on screen as a sacrifice. She is wrong and bad, so she has to sacrifice herself in favor of Vi, who is right and good to gain the "redeemed-character approval mark". This is a very common trope in redemption arcs. Even if the character survives, the act of a selfish or bad person being ready to die proves they are now good. For example, Zuko sacrifices himself for Katara in the climax of book 3. Catra sacrifices herself for Adora twice in the last season. It is a quick and effective way to show how selfless hence good the character is.

The problem is that when it comes to Jinx, this trope is both repetitive and unfitting.

It is repetitive because Jinx does sacrifice herself for Vi at the beginning of act 3. Cait says Jinx only thought about saving Vi and let herself be arrested without resistance. Basically she saved Vi, even if she knew she would end up arrested as a consequence. Even before this, she acts selflessly in ep 4, when she stays behind to fight Vander and let Sevika and Isha escape. She even calls herself "a big fat hero" for this.

It is unfitting because Jinx is struggling with suicidal idealization. She is shown willing to die the whole season. By definition a suicidal person wanting to die is not "a selfless act", but it is actually rather selfish. This does not mean the person is bad or anything, but rather she is stuck in her own head, which means she fails to realize how her death might negatively impact others. As a result, Jinx's final sacrifice can't work as an act of selfless love, but it inevitably becomes a suicide in framing (yeah, even if she survives by the end). Basically suicidal arc and selfless sacrifice very rarely go well together... except in some rare cases (see, Erwin's death in snk and Penny's death in RWBY, even if I don't think the last one is really framed as a suicide).

So, I don't really think Jinx's "selfless act" works and it actually depowers what should have been her healing arc. As for Vi's arc, I agree with this other anon's opinion:

Hi! Completely agree with you about the fact that it would have been far more interesting to have Jinx taking herself the decision to leave and Vi to let go of her and to focuses to her own life and happiness she'll build with Caitlyn. Actually, because of that scene, many people think Jinx had no choice but to fake her death so that Vi could move on; like it was the only way because if Jinx was still alive to Vi then Vi would continually chase after her. But this doesn't make sense because just like you said Vi's entire arc is about moving on and embrace the future and not be stuck in the past. Vi should have let her sister go in an active way to conclude her arc

Hello anon,

thank you for your thoughts! I don't have anything to add to this, but let me just say a child show actually managed to convey the message you are describing:

Rapunzel and Cassandra of Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure are two sisters, who get into a huge fight, make up and eventually let go of each other. In particular:

Cassandra spirals into a villain arc, but she keeps being loved by Rapunzel, which saves her. However, by the end she still decides to leave because she needs to figure out who she herself is. Moreover, she kept feeling inferior to Rapunzel because of their different social standings. Basically staying together with Rapunzel as her lady in waiting was something detrimental to her and her own happiness, despite her love for Raps.

Rapunzel initially wants Cass to come back to her, so that things could be how they used to be. However, she eventually accepts Cass needs to leave her to truly be happier. Moreover, thanks to her relationship with Cass, Raps is now grown up enough to start a new life together with Eugene by marrying him and becoming a full fledged queen to her people.

I think it is a good ending, which really lets every character be happy and conveys an important message. Sometimes no matter how much you love a person, they need to take a different path in life from yours and that is okay.

Thank you for the asks anons!

[buckybarnesss]

Something that frustrates me is that Theo can full transform into a wolf and it’s never talked about. Like how is it a big enlightenment thing for the Hales and then the evil 17 year old test tube were-creature can just do it casually and he doesn’t even USE IT FOR ANYTHING

lol fucking theo.

okay.

here we go.

i can understand how this would be frustrating and yeah it kind of is but the thing about theo is that narratively he's a derek mirror.

especially for scott and stiles.

read more because i had thoughts on this subject.

for the two of them, derek has always been there. it started with the three of them and for the type of shit they dealt with on a regular basis derek being there was comforting. even when they were actively being deeply annoyed by him because derek was safe to them in so many ways that i think that like a lot of teenagers they took for granted that he'd always be around because it's derek.

than he wasn't.

and argent left too.

it's the moment where the paradigm shifts and says "you're on your own kids".

it really pulled a rug out from under the two of them.

derek's departure at the end of season 4 in smoke and mirrors was so significant but also understated. i think people really do dismiss the amount of growth that occurred in the derek and scott relationship. fandom gets so hung up on their antagonism in seasons 1 and 2 they don't look much deeper for why they were like that and sort of ignore that season 3 spends a lot of time showing them moving away from that.

stiles and derek are more difficult to parse for some. their relationship whether you ship it or not is mostly in subtext. stiles is fucking attached by season 4.

stiles fears change. it's a huge part of his season 5 and 6a arcs. it terrifies him to lose people he cares about or have his relationship with them change.

i think it's important to remember that in smoke and mirrors, derek is all but dying in front of stiles. he's bleeding out. it doesn't look good. no one knows the dumbass is gonna evolve or whatever werewolf magic he pulled out his ass. he is dying and his last words to stiles are to go save scott.

this is after a season of where derek's been messed with magically by kate, where he's been losing his werewolf powers and lydia predicted his death.

when derek's lying there bleeding out stiles hesitates. twice.

he gets more focus than peter or braeden does in this moment. the focus is derek and stiles. we get like six close up shots of stiles being deeply affected by this and by affected i mean fucked up.

sure, derek doesn't end up actually dying but he leaves with braeden. we have no idea if they've really spoken all that much in the in-between.

stiles's face as they watch derek and argent leave does not give the vibe that he has had closure.

derek being unable to give stiles a proper goodbye is a whole other post.

it's really significant that derek leaving unmoors stiles emotionally even months later and that scott recognizes it. we are shown stiles getting sentimental and gooey over the initials d.h for a reason in creatures of the night. he misses derek.

why all this background when this post is about theo? it's because derek's absence in season 5 is glaring and tangible. it's an unsaid thing that theo is able to take advantage of.

it's a compare and contrast but sort of in opposite directions for stiles and scott.

both derek and theo grew up in beacon hills but left for a period of time before returning.

derek is immediately recognized by stiles and theo is recognized by scott.

both are accused of killing their sister. derek didn't kill laura but theo did kill tara.

derek is a born werewolf who earns his full shift which is an inherited rare gift whereas theo is a chimera artificially created by the dread doctors.

derek rejects the influence of peter and duecalion whereas theo is a tool of the dread doctors.

derek's desperation in building a pack and losing them versus theo's desperation to build a pack and killing them himself using deucalion's teachings about taking power.

derek wanting to kill lydia because he thought she was the kanima versus theo wanting lydia because he wanted her knowledge and she was the key to the hellhound

scott wanting to trust theo is an obvious course correction of how he mistrusted derek in the beginning and how he misses the connection he had with derek.

scott's just desperate for something to work out.

stiles's mistrust of theo is in contrast of how he trusted derek despite scott's insistence that derek wasn't trust worthy.

it also highlights that stiles's is on edge. he cannot afford to trust someone. not again. he cannot let another person close.

which brings us to parasomnia and the benefit of a doubt conversation.

there's a lot happening with stiles and scott during season 5. there's nogitsune fall out, them growing up and the pain that comes with it but also how stiles's behavior is increasingly paranoid and irritable. it's why theo is able to take such advantage.

but i think on some level scott misunderstands that stiles never really distrusted derek the same way he did.

stiles: "yes. okay? we followed him out here. what do you want me to say? that i'm a stalker? huh? that i'm crazy? totally paranoid? none of this is new information!" scott: "now you're gonna try to at least give him the benefit of the doubt?" stiles: "i give people benefit of the doubt! i've given a lot of benefit to a lot of people." scott: "like derek? ...kira? ...liam?"

i can not post scott's face when he's about to bring up derek to stiles.

scott may not know all the details, he may not understand them but what he does understand is derek leaving has stiles fucked up and bringing him up is going to poke at sore spot. bringing up derek was his entire point. adding kira and liam weren't the important part of this segment of conversation. i don't even think stiles ever mistrusted kira prior to when she begins to lose control of her fox.

scott is trying to appeal to stiles's derek feels and stiles just ends up super mad about it.

so to me in the end, a lot of scott and stiles's whole theo issue was really about derek.

(here's how i can make everything about derek hale lol).

theo being able to shift really was only to compare him to derek lol and who knows if he can even still accomplish this after he was returned from hell. he kind of went back to factory settings. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

tl;dr season 5 theo is derek-lite.

[stevesaxetogrind]

Truly those calling it “bad writing” that Robin and Vickie share similarities doesn’t make sense. She’s not been given enough time to be more than just a love interest, but we do have some info about her:

1. Molly Ringwald inspo, giving us shorthand about being kind of a quirky gal. Hat! Visually, she’s similar to Robin, but that’s not a bad thing because literally similar interests draw people together. She is also skirts vs Robin’s trousers. Femme/Soft Butch! You’re telling me Vickie would wear a tie? Lies.

2. Likes goofy jokes, namely Steve’s joke about Muppet Tammy. Which, Robin doesn’t laugh at Steve’s jokes that much- she dismisses them, but it means Vickie has a bit of a jocular sense of humour.

3. Vickie also likes Steve’s brand of movies, not Robin’s- which is pretty fucking funny. Again, this is not making Vickie similar to Robin, but to things shared with Robin’s Platonic Soulmate. Like, bro movies? Stupid lil jokes? I predict Steve and Vickie having a dad joke competition next season & torturing Robin with how corny they are. People like to talk about the similarities to Robin, but not the similarities to Steve! That’s kind of clever drawing Vickie closer to one of Robin’s favourite people, at least superficially.

4. Talks a lot when one on one, but Vickie wasn’t nervous/flustered in the band scene, so we can infer in more crowded spaces she acts differently/subdued - as like she was in the War Zone. This is unlike Robin who does actually ramble in group scenes, like freaking out over the thing in El’s leg, the rabies bit, or generally a lot of Season 4 where she looses her “cool girl” archetype from Season 3 in favour of chaos. Vickie seems more like she would quietly panic, as opposed to Eddie, Argyle, and Steve who all loudly go WHAT THE FUCK. Which is going to be interesting to see as the whole town is now thrown into an open gate downtown Hawkins probably releasing demogorgons every other hour like it’s Pacific Rim up in this bitch.

5. Meaningful look with Robin in the War Zone- not “oh hi band friend!” A scared/caught/dismayed look that she was there. So there is a connection, and she broke up with her boyfriend after that connection. Anything more is speculation, but the way she wasn’t looking at Robin when she gave the “he doesn’t like Fast Times” reason lets the audience draw points and maybe she felt trapped? Like it was just an excuse to pursue a different interest? Obviously because music is playing indicating a romantic relationship. We don’t have much to compare Robin with on this one, but around Keith she still had more confidence and bullshittery trying to convince him to hire Steve when Keith assumed they were a thing.

6. Vickie also doesn’t seem jealous. Robin is jealous. She was livid at Steve for being the object of Tammy’s affections, but Vickie hasn’t seemed to even look twice at Steve- even as Robin looked over at him while she and Vickie had her last scene.

For such a short amount of time in the season, I think that we have a good foundation for similarities and differences to Robin. Also, once again, it’s not a crime to avoid “opposites attract” tropes. Having similarities is good! Like, the amount of couples I know that are essentially the same archetype of queer person is not even close to zero. Especially when it comes to older queer couples who got together in the 80s/90s, they kind of morph into being one granola bar of a human being. Kind of similar with straight people when they genuinely like one another.

I hope they flesh Vickie out, but like, we’ve gotten a similar amount of screen time for Mr Clarke but no one is mad he is “one dimensional” when he is just, some exposition science guy. He’s a stock and standard teacher, has a girlfriend, and kind of goes along with explaining shit without questioning why a lot. But folks love Mr Clarke. Is it because Mr Clarke isn’t getting in the way of your ship?

I never thought I would see the day there were some true blue f/f ship wars, but bruh, Robin’s love life isn’t an A Plot so give the writers some slack. They’re human, not the devil. None of you were gleeks and it shows so fucking much. None of you lived through “angry lesbians on the internet don’t want me dating you”.

Personally I’m looking forward to Robin and Vickie getting together and maybe hopefully kicking monster butt together- or at least, Robin getting a nice little badass moment defending her gal.

[leffee]

Could you rank "The Main 7 pets" from greatest to least based on their relationships with Vinnie in the show? That is, from the pet who has the best relationship with Vinnie to the pet who has the least close relationship with him.

Ok, so who has the closest relationship with Vinnie starting from the most:

Sunil - and no one's surprised. I mean they are best friends canonically and especially after season 1 they are so often shown together that it even bothers me sometimes because as much as I love those two I crave other Vinnie interactions, you know? Anyway, yeah Sunil is the closest to him, even if the little shit talks behind Vinnie's back sometimes. They're adorable together, especially when hugs and Sunil picks Vinnie up. Adorbs.

Penny - man those two are so fucking cute together can you blame me for shipping them? She is so affectionate and only with her Vinnie seems to be so comfortable when it comes to physical touch, I am not okay. All their interactions in "Two Pets for Two Pests" are absolutely golden and so cute, mostly the ones at the beginning. And also the first two names that came to Blythe's head together were Vinnie and Penny, huh? Damn, she ships them too. Actually, I need this, omw to watch those first scenes

[approximately 5 minutes later]

The progression of Vinnie jumping to her, Penny hugging him and then them so naturally changing their position to holding hands??? I am so normal about them. Don't even get me started on their interactions in the episode when they thought Penny was in the day camp for the last time. They love each other, real!

3. Russell - Russell is just kinda close to everybody in similar amount, huh? But him and Vinnie sure have their moments together, it mostly includes all the boys' moments so Sunil too they're three often shown doing things together and being kinda apart from the girls in certain episodes. Plus the moments when Russell is just like "Vinnie u stupid lemme explain cause I'm smarter-" or something like that :). Mostly the three boys together moments are here though.

4. Pepper - hmm, they are still pretty close I would say and to me at least Pepper in the most similar to Vinnie personality-wise, no, not Minka, Pepper. They are both just little shits together and I think that's great :). But she does bully him and hits him with that rubber chicken so idk about all that now. Still, she was the one who hugged him after he returned when being lost at that dumpster plus

pls neither of them might wanna look cute but... they just are (but also look at Penny and Sunil squishing in the background naaaw).

5. Minka - surprising since they're quite similar but it's not really Minka or Vinnie's fault. They're not thaat close because of the fact that Minka is the main pet with least screentime, focus, episodes dedicated to her, etc. Seriously, she is underrated by the creators who didn't give her a lot of time. The most they got together was in this one short "OOOOMg" or however many O's and M's it had, you know what I mean. And they were great there together but that's not a lot compared to what they could have had. Probably doesn't help that as much as I like this short there is one aspect that I roll my eyes at - Vinnie's hyperactivity in this one which is like... no. To me this was so out of nowhere, I get where that image of him being like that comes from but genuinely I don't think he ever did anything to be seen as hyperactive especially when compred to others. Idk, maybe it's just me cause lots of people seemed to be completely fine and even happy with that but I just don't see it, he's nowhere near as energetic as he was presented in this short. Anyway, his and Minka's interactions were still great.

6. Zoe - really they have barely any interactions as in with just them two. The most we got was in "Big Feathered Parade" and that's about it, perhaps that's the reason why those two together are my guilty pleasure so to the end Zoe goes. They would have such a girl-failure and girl-boss relationship I just know it and i crave it.

[skitariiposting]

Okay, I've just finished watching episode 1 of Marvel's hit TV show Secret Invasion, and I've gotta say: eh. Especially coming off of binge watching all of adventure time and experiencing it all over again, then immediately watching AI Builds again and suffering another mental overload despite it being one of my favorite pieces of media ever. Heck, even if I have to compare it to another Marvel thing; Loki season 2 was way better. I really should have watched something bad before watching this, I'm coming down off of the "Rewatching AI Builds and fucking crying myself to sleep, again" high, but here we are.

This show feels especially "the writer strike, struck." Given that I haven't heard anybody really talk about this show at all, good or bad, I will be undertaking the task of relaying things I enjoy and/or find annoying.

Spoilers, obviously.

1. Look, say what you will about AI stuff, trust me when I say I'm pissed with it possibly taking my job eventually too, but for once it felt like it was used for a stylistic choice as opposed to just trying to rob people of a job.

The intro is obviously made with AI. However, I feel like they're trying to use it to make it feel alien and foreign, something inhuman or unearthly, and it works. It's visually interesting. However, I just wish we could get something like that without having to rely on this shitty AI stuff to do it. Imagine how cool it'd be if it wasn't for the immoral and outright theft involved with sourcing for AI.

2. The main plot is wacky, goofy, and utterly silly sauce. "Oh damn this giant catastrophe that effected literally half of all life all at the same time and made a bunch of people disappear made Nick disappear, that means he's totally not going to honor his deal with us because he's disappeared, time to terrorists!" I hope that the plot gets more fleshed out or something, but off to a bad start in episode 1.

3. Nick feels both simultaneously great and awful at the same time. He's still cocky and charismatic, which is something I love about his character. However, he feels like he's dumb. He's not the same Nick Fury from Avengers and Winter Soldier, and I don't like that. Sam Jackson's putting in a lot of the footwork here to keep the character from falling completely flat; line delivery is on point as always with Sam, but it feels like the writers are just dishing out some crappy plot stuff he's having to work with.

4. They set off three dirty bombs in a square full of people, with all three protagonists within range of it, and yet its a gunshot that almost kills one of them, not the bombs nor the "dirty" part of it, which I feel like they kinda forgot about. These are supposed to be radioactive for a reason: skrull are immune to radiation according to 30 minutes ago in the episode. As I've not seen any spoilers or anything plot related to this show (since nobody has really had anything to say about it at all, good or bad) I am forced to make the super easy prediction that there will be a big reveal where Nick is actually a Skrull.

I will continue with the show now and bring updates as I go.

[glitterpensupremacy]

Time for the problematic Queen!

Chloe MTS

As usual:

1. General Info

2. Personality

3. Key Relationships

4. Character Growth

Edit: I’m so sorry guys I forgot the “read more” 😭

1. General Info

It’s probably pretty obvious by now, but this will be a Chloe-demption Miraculous story. I don’t blame people who don’t really like that or her in general, but that’s the story you’re gonna get here. (Granted, this Chloe will be a bit easier to make a better person than the original, for reasons I’ll go over soon.)

2. Personality

Chloe Bourgeois seems like the typical rich girl: self-centered, superficial, vain, spoiled, not very good at listening to others, melodramatic, mostly mean to other people, and used to getting what she wants.

That being said, there’s a bit more to her than that. Her lack of self control and immaturity is mainly the result of having a father who would hand her whatever she wanted to keep her busy. Similarly, her mother is only interested in the “exceptional”, so Chloe often strives to be more like her. The fact that neither parent really tried to raise her is why she’s so infantile and prone to ridiculing others to feel better about herself.

A different side of Chloe tends to come out around her loved ones. She’s somewhat overbearing and clingy, but will shower those close to her (especially family) in gifts, pet names, and affection. Compared to OG Chloe, (and most other fan made takes on her), she’s a lot softer and more naive (dare I say a little cute). Every once in a while she lets the confident facade drop, becoming quieter and being genuine about how she feels.

3. Key Relationships

Marinette: As I’ve mentioned in the Marinette MTS post, Chloe and Marinette have a friends-to-enemies storyline in the first season. Basically, Chloe’s constant need for attention and favors was too emotionally draining for Marinette, so she broke things off between them, which Chloe does not take well. At all. After spending the larger part of season two trying to antagonize her, Chloe finally understands why Marinette left and leaves her alone. Things are still pretty tense between them, but they can exist in the same room without blowing up (and if Chloe sometimes still misses her ex-best friend? Well she doesn’t! Don’t be ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!!!)

Adrien: Chloe and Adrien are also childhood friends, (only they’ve known each other practically since birth while Marinette and Chloe met in their early school years) with Chloe actually being the one to introduce the two. At first, Chloe’s glad that her precious “Mari-roon” and “Adrikins” are getting along; when he decides to keep being Marinette’s friend after she stops hanging out with Chloe, she’s a little less enthused. Adrien also plays a more active role in helping Chloe become a better person, as he’s one of the people with the most knowledge of why she is the way that she is, as well as her better qualities (that and Chloe is determined not to lose him like she lost Marinette, even if she isn’t consciously aware of this yet). It also probably goes without saying that her feelings for Adrien aren’t ever really romantic like in the OG show.

Zoe: Chloe adores her darling baby sister, and tends to bring her wherever she goes. She initially tries to help her younger sister understand how the world issupposed” to work, but when that backfires (due to that pesky traitor Dupain-Cheng and her new friends) she has to remain content with simply showing Zoe off and doing what she can to help her sister succeed in her ambitions. (Due to being more of a people and family pleaser, Zoe doesn’t really do much in Chloe’s redemption, but she is one of the characters who can occasionally get her to play nice.)

Alya: These two don’t really know each other very well at first. To Chloe, Alya’s just the blogger girl who doesn’t properly appreciate the perfect Ladybug! When they interact more often due to being in the same class, things aren’t much better, seeing as their opposite ideals and personalities clash (hardworking vs lazy, integrity vs self-indulgence, etc). They do have to team up against a common enemy though (that being Lila), as well as share the struggles of being the only two superheroes with public identities. By the end of season two, Chloe and Alya become hero partners. (Despite sometimes being annoyed at what a “goody two shoes” Rena can be, Queen Bee can admit that she’s pretty smart, and secretly considers her to be a better hero than she is.)

Other key dynamics include: her parents, Ladybug (and Chat Noir to an extent), Kim, and Sabrina.

4. Character Growth

A lot of Chloe’s development is about learning to care about others and not resort to making other people’s lives more difficult just because she’s unhappy about something. This is mainly through how she interacts with acquaintances (not being as insulting or harming the rest of the class through her schemes) and her friends (learning how to be a good friend is a major part of her character arc). Another aspect of this how she matures.

MTS Chloe’s stunted growth is generally attributed to the lack of involvement that both parents have had throughout her childhood. While she doesn’t completely grow up (which makes sense, seeing as she is still very much a child), she does learn to occasionally think things through beyond the obvious and take certain issues more seriously.

Her familial relationships also factor into this development. She both grows in relation to her family (trying to be a good big sister for Zoe and eventually realizing that Audrey is a terrible mother/person and standing up to her), and inspiring them to change as well (seeing Chloe work to improve herself is one of the motivations for Zoe wanting to be more honest with others, Andre also acknowledges that he’s been a selfish and irresponsible father and works to become a better parent for Chloe and Zoe).

Conclusion

Alright, that’s the general rundown for Chloe. The more whimsical vibes that she has might be a bit disappointing for people who prefer a tougher, sassier mean girl type of Chloe, but hopefully she’s still likable in her own regard.

Up next will be Alya (who will also have an akuma design posted around the same time I have her character notes ready, so keep your eyes peeled if that kinda thing interests you)

[theghostofashton]

grief week

thank you @lonestar-s5countdown @bonheur-cafe @corsage @reyesstrand for the tags!!

1. Which character death in 911 Lone Star hit you the hardest?

gabriel's, for sure. i was in denial that they would actually kill him all the way up until they did it. i don't think it's fully sunk in yet. it probably won't until s5 starts and they reference it and i'll have to face it head on lol. ik it was the very point of the storyline but thinking about everything carlos lost in losing his dad, the potential of their relationship.... it was a lot, especially within the context of the end of s4. really excited to see what they do with this in s5!

also, as many have said, the astronaut call from 1x10 hit me really hard. every time i rewatch, i know it's coming, but it still ruins me.

2. What is your favorite grief-related moment in the show?

i think the carlos owen conversation in 4x18 is probably my favorite. what owen says about not letting obsession ruin his life, him giving carlos knowledge he probably wished someone would have given him when he was grieving his brother, his old crew, etc is just...it's really beautifully done, especially as we've watched owen grapple with the consequences of the way he handled his grief

i also love the 126 getting together to pay tribute to tim at the end of 2x07, and tommy asking tk if he'd be interested in going to the grief group with her. the scene where she asks him is so sweet and i love how much care these characters have for each other, her knowing how that group's helped her and wanting to share that with tk.

3. Do you think there will be a character death in season 5? If so, any guesses about who it might be?

i really really hope not lol the only one i can think of enzo, that's why he's showing up to texas out of nowhere

4. Which living character's death would destroy you the most?

any of them tbh. they're all so close, such a tight-knit family, that losing any of them would mean not only grieving that character but also watching the rest of them be destroyed over it and that would be so awful

5. Which character's childhood trauma do you think was most significant in shaping them?

feels like a cop out to say this but truly all of them? i don't like comparing trauma because things that are "objectively" the worst may affect someone less than someone else being more affected by something that may not have been objectively bad.

but things like owen having such a hero complex because of all the people he wasn't able to save (his brother, his old crew, etc), marjan being such a fierce and loyal friend and placing so much value in that due to losing a dear friend at a young age, judd losing a friend as well and sort of losing himself in the way the aftermath played out, tk dealing with the fallout of his parents' divorce, the way 9/11 changed everything for their family, paul being so atuned to the details of a situation so he could watch out for anything that could harm him, developing that sense of threat assessment, as he figured out his identity, mateo being forever changed by losing a cousin he was so close with, nancy dealing with how to move forward after losing tim in such a horrifying, tragic way, carlos signing himself up for a life he didn't want and struggled to be okay with because he was so affected by the way his parents reacted to him coming out.... it's hard to truly say because i think they've all been so impacted by what they been through, it's impossible to separate that from who they are

leaving an open tag bc i'm very late to this!

[helixtheman]

Why Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Post-Dark Signer Arc Deserves More Respect

Let's be real here WE DON'T WANT ANYMORE LIES ABOUT 5D'S

The Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Post-Dark Signer arc often gets an undeserved bad reputation compared to the more dramatic Dark Signer arc. However, it's important to recognize that the latter half of 5D's didn't "suck" but rather expanded the story's world, explored new themes, and deepened character development. Contrary to what some might say, the Post-Dark Signer arc of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's doesn’t just hold up—it surpasses many other Yu-Gi-Oh! arcs. In fact, it’s far superior to widely praised seasons like GX Seasons 3 and 4, Zexal II, or even newer entries like VRAINS, Sevens, and Go Rush. To take it a step further, it stands as a stronger narrative than classics like Battle City or Millennium World from the original series.

To make it clear, it wasn’t a production problem—it was either cult-like fan opinions or real issues that made people dislike it. It’s just that lazy people forget what every Yu-Gi-Oh! anime is known for.

For example, GX is often mentioned as being worse than 5D's because, when you look at it, GX relies too much on Judai (Jaden) to save the day. This makes it hard to understand what others mean when they praise it, especially since GX is the most experimental Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. Its production took place during a time when the internet wasn’t even mainstream.

In fact, GX came out 20 years ago and was praised back then, but why do people ignore the fact that it was more flawed than good? GX is full of filler and feels like a typical Saturday morning cartoon. Despite liking GX, I’ve never said it was my favorite.

Or take Zexal, for example—people dislike it because of its animation, but that’s just a bias they have. Did I mention that Zexal only exists because 5D’s busted its ass? Meanwhile, Zexal didn’t do much other than promote its flashy animation over the actual quality of the show.

During Season 3, 5D’s gave its characters the most justice, which upset some fans because it didn’t follow the same formula or try to market itself as a mainstream anime. In fact, 5D’s is the least controversial Yu-Gi-Oh! series when it comes to sexism and toxic masculinity. It broke the mold by being more grounded and contained rather than self-centered, unlike GX and Zexal, which alienated their audiences and did no justice to their characters.

5D’s introduced Yliaster, who are often criticized for being underutilized, though there’s a reason for this. Yliaster had more personality than the so-called Dark Signers, and the writers took the time to make characters like Placido and Lester likable. People don’t give them enough credit. Z-One, for instance, is one of the best antagonists in the franchise—a character with depth and purpose—unlike many other villains, who are either underdeveloped or just plain bad.

That said, 5D’s wasn’t perfect. It suffered from lazy writing at times, especially during both the first and second halves, which led to some missed opportunities.

Now, let’s talk about Zexal. Do Zexal fans ever admit that the show was mostly bad because it relied too much on its stellar animation instead of explaining its context? This is why so many 5D’s fans left the community. Those Zexal fanboys just couldn’t shut up about Zexal and its so-called acclaim and “influence” on the fandom.

To be clear, Zexal II was the most boring Yu-Gi-Oh! series. People tend to overlook this or refuse to see it for what it was. Zexal II was nothing but a satire of itself, and it never had the potential to fit into the modern era.

Hell, Zexal II was so regarded as a "S-tier" Yu-Gi-Oh! anime that it ended up getting a season split and became a total joke by the end. It had way too many villains, the plot went nowhere, and it was clear that Kazuki Takahashi’s writer, Shin Yoshida, was burned out from writing stories that were basically just satires of shounen tropes.

I don’t even want to get into all the reasons why Zexal failed—that’s a topic for another day.

Anyway, that is all I got to say for today.