#rewatch thoughts & rambles

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

MDZS x Firefly AU: A ragtag crew.

[queerguard]

Neve's "the world's not fair on a good day," hits hard. It's so good because Neve feels so soft and vulnerable in this moment. I rewatched this scene recently, and it is so good as a scene that acknowledges Rook's growing feelings for her.

On one layer, there's the captured wisp, captured Rook parallel. I love this part of the scene because she immediately lets the wisp go. Why??? Because it's futile. Just like her trying to hold onto things she can't control. Her letting go of the wisp, is her letting go of her desire to keep things to herself. She's finally ready to let a little chaos into her life by being honest with Rook.

But what's more interesting to me is that she, at every turn, gives Rook the chance to leave. She doesn't want a captured Rook. She can't even bear to keep a mischievous wisp trapped for her sake. That's why it's so good when Rook, at every turn, answers her with a reaffirmation of their commitment to her.

Neve's vulnerability is also so heartfelt in this scene. When she closes her eyes and braces herself for what she's about to say—“What can we ask for?”—it feels like she’s asking for Rook to steady her. To keep her rooted when she feels like she’s being swept away by the storm of her own emotions: her frustration, her loss through Brom, her desire to keep Rook safe, her worry for those who’ve gone missing, and being confronted by her own inadequacies.

I know Rook can answer differently, but I still love the polite/blue!Rook response because it’s the most vulnerable to me. (Granted, different voice actors may have done the inflection here differently, but damn does Bryony Corrigan deliver. Holy hell.)

“Good things happen, Neve.” The way Rook speaks her name like they’re afraid to break this moment, this closeness that Neve allows. Woof.

That’s when my Rook knew there could be no one else.

[peraltiagoicons]

Sometimes I randomly remember “whatta man” plays over the first scene where Buck sees Eddie and that’s SO GAY especially when you remember that this scene is from Buck’s POV of seeing Eddie

[memen18-m5r3]

hello surviving centricide fandom...I bring you some wacky food

(i'm also animating a small portion of Centricide 3.5 but since I can't tell how much more time it's gonna take I'll show you some sneak peeks! :3)

((since I'm a certified yapper, I added some additional info + translations to all the images descriptions! not sure if it qualifies as ID so feel free to add upon it if necessary))

[that-nerd-who-writes-fanfiction]

The exact moment that Merlin tells Arthur he’s going to be a good king for the first time, Arthur looks like this.

That boy never had a word of praise growing up, he’s way too surprised by someone believing in him even after he “failed”/got injured.

Also, just that face on his face whenever he’s looking at Merlin.

It’s usually only there in softer moments in season 1. Like in episode two where Arthur believed Merlin about the snake shield, or in episode four where Merlin drank poison and Arthur defied his father and risked his life to save him, even against Gaius’ advice, Merlin’s uncle, because of how dangerous it was. Or the Lancelot episode. Or the Ealdor episode. Or the unicorn episode. You get the idea.

There’s a lot of these moments, but this one is kinda where I pinpoint Arthur realising how much Merlin means to him.

Also because in season 2, Arthur goes back to picking on Merlin and trying to keep him at arms length. I think he got scared of his feelings towards Merlin - whatever you want to say they are, romantic, platonic, or otherwise - and tried to distance them. Cedric showing up was just convenient with the timing before the whole Sigan thing. It gave Arthur a chance to panic, push Merlin away, and then reaffirm his fears until later on in season 2.

This scene is also the reason why Merlin not joining Cedric/Sigan with the whole “It doesn’t matter how Arthur treats me, he’s a good man” thing makes sense. This is the last time they interact in season 1 and it wraps up everything they’ve been through up until this point really well.

I can go more into how and why the timeline of season 1 and 2 are really important to how the show was going to progress if people want that. The character development in BBC Merlin is brilliant. It’s not as good as atla but not even its own live action could compete so that’s fine. Honestly, I think Merlin is as heartbreaking as it is because it’s more believable than a happy ever after, because of how things were set up in the first two seasons.

Anyway, I just feel like I’m rambling though so I’ll leave this here before the coherency leaves entirely.

[raijin-tribe]

I truly believe that the Raijinshuu is still one of the STRONGEST teams in Fairy Tail; even if they rarely get a chance to show it. (A Ramble~)

For the record, I adore Hiro Mashima. He's a creative soul and wonderful writer with drive I could only dream of. But nobody, not even the man himself, could convince me that he had any idea what to do with the Raijinshuu after their debut.

According to the Volume 13 Afterword, Mashima created the team on a whim along with the entire plot for the Battle of Fairy Tail. He wanted to create an arc centered around Laxus, and things like the Harvest Festival/Fantasia and the ideas for the Raijinshuu just came to him naturally for this arc. We actually almost had a different arc entirely—which means that Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow almost didn't exist... at least not in the way we know them today.

They served their purpose in the BoFT. And what happens after that? They are nerfed and sidelined unlike ANY other character. Yeah, a ton of characters get overshadowed and nerfed as the series goes on, but I wholeheartedly think the Raijinshuu has it the worst. The last time they're given any sort of justice is on Tenrou Island when they fight Rustyrose (but I'll ramble about that more in another post!)

Despite being a part of Team Tenrou, they are the only three that are CONSTANTLY left out. And over the course of the series, are pushed back into total background characters to having their characters and dynamic assassinated in the 100YQ. Considered nothing more than 'Laxus' Cheerleaders/yes-men.' Even in the newer Fairy Tail games they are COMPLETELY left out aside from a mention or two. (Not even DLC!! Like, WTH?!?!) I refuse to believe they are THAT expendable. (I've mentioned it before, but they are also some of the few Fairy Tail/Team Tenrou members with ABSOLUTELY NO backstory!)

Okay, I may be over exaggerating a bit... or not enough tbh! It's been a while since I rewatched/reread the series so I'm just going off what I remember. But I know that these are amazing and underrated characters who are so unique in design and magic abilities.... a uniqueness that I sadly believe is their biggest downfall.

I don't think Mashima knows how to write their magic (especially their eye magic) without defeating the enemy too quickly or overshadowing the main cast. (Don't forget that this is the same team that defeated a DARK GUILD in just a few attacks—where Freed didn't even lift a finger, might I add!!) This is why every big enemy they face has been immune to their eye magic in one way or another. Either by wearing glasses or being ANYTHING but human. (Rustyrose, Tempester, Wall Eehto... just to name the main ones.)

The Raijinshuu never get the chance to play to their strengths before they're sidelined... over and over again.

Look, from a writing standpoint—I get it. Really. Their magic is super OP if used in the right way. And it's not much of a story if the heros win too easily, if there isn't any conflict, stakes, or a challenge for the characters to overcome. Especially coming from characters who aren't even part of the main cast. It would be way too easy if Evergreen just turned the enemy to stone before the battle even began... Or if Bickslow took control of their soul.... Or not even mentioning Freed having the power to trap and straight up kill with his magic. But I feel like there is a better way to go about writing it then just pushing the Raijinshuu to the side every arc or knocking them down at every opprotunity.

Even before the BoFT, they had to be pretty remarkable to impress Laxus—especially young Laxus—so I seriously doubt they just gave up trying to improve themselves once they became more involved in the guild or even post-timeskip. If anything, they would've had to train and work even harder to catch up with that seven year gap. No cheats like gaining access to their second-origin though Ultear's magic. Just pure training and dedication.

I truly believe, or pretty much headcanon at this point, that they are always training and pushing themselves to be stronger. That they're always improving their magic and have new spells we'll never get to see. That they still want to live up to their name as Laxus' bodyguards. They just seem weaker as the series goes on because they're not the main characters. Plain and simple. Besides, you can't have already OP characters be even more over-powered. They don't get any cool fights or power-ups because they're irrelevant as far as the story goes. (As much as I hate to say it.) It doesn't really matter how strong they are as long as it's painfully obvious that Team Natsu is stronger. (Their fight with Gray in the 100YQ is still complete bullshit though.)

It sucks, but I don't think it'll ever change at this point—probably only get worse as they are used for gags, character fodder, or just plain forgotten about in place of more screen time for romantic pairings.

[cuddytism]

I think it’s interesting how often Wilson and Cuddy bring up House’s misery and how he makes himself and the people around him miserable, as if they aren't also miserable as well. The difference is that House is very outwardly miserable and makes no attempt to hide it.

This is the throughline with House, Wilson, and Cuddy; That they are all on a pretty similar level of misery, they just deal with it differently. Though they all throw themselves into work, and ruin their relationships with anyone outside of it. That, at least, seems to be something they have in common.

House, the outwardly miserable, deals by making a joke of everything, focusing his mind on puzzles, and, most obviously, his substance abuse.

Wilson, the inwardly miserable, deals by losing himself in his infidelity and his screwed-up friendship with House, putting on a mask of patience and virtue for his patients and staff.

Cuddy, the thinly-veiled miserable, deals by losing herself in her job, her sarcasm, and her also screwed-up friendship with House. Her mask is not as strong as Wilson’s, but she’s trying very hard to keep it up, even if everyone can see through it.

They're all messed up and miserable, just different in the way they show and cope with it. It's like the other two use bringing up House's persistence on his own misery as a defense mechanism to hide theirs.

Someone get these people to a shrink.

[starheirxero]

Tbh as much as I enjoy and understand the "KC as Bloodmoon's dad" thing, when u look a lil closer: KC seemed to have a slight theme of using family bonds as a means of control tbh.....

Like, my personal reading of KC for a while has been like. KC loves to lie.

KC prattled on and on to Moon about how they're brothers now, how they can rely on one another–and while, yes, Moon did call bullshit–KC still notably then turned around a few episodes later to ask Eclipse to find a way to "break" Moon.

KC promised Bloodmoon all of this glory, endless blood and food for his best sons, but ultimately didn't care when they died. This is later reaffirmed when BM v2 seeks KC out and he finally gives up the act, acting nonchalant and cold to the twins.

Eclipse was really the only one who didn't cave to this because he's already a very distant person. He didn't fall for promises of control or dominance, he didn't fall for being KC's "son", all he did was play the same game back at him and conspire while he wasn't looking.

KC can be read as a real manipulative guy, and that is just. so deeply fun to me <3

[saltpepperbeard]

a mirror/parallel of the snake snack beard scene but it’s ed being grumpy and frowning over something, and stede being like “oh you’ve…you’ve got a little bit of a frown there. here, i’ll get it” and reaching with a hand to softly stroke his fingers through ed’s short beard/caress his cheek until he “gets” the frown away

[cloudbends]

After about a week of pacing in circles in complete insanity and awe of the storytelling and characters writing in this update and in amphoreus's story as a whole, I managed to sort some of my thoughts in regards to this story's beautiful approach to metanarratives, the implementation and subversion of the classic tragedy, and specifically the emphasis on the indomitable human spirit.

From a writing perspective, it would be very easy to have phainon completely lose himself after 33 million cycles. To go down a corrupted path because of, and in spite of, what he initially believed in. This is exactly the perspective lygus embodies - the perspective of an enjoyer of tragedies, someone who ravenously devours the suffering of others as his form of relishing in destruction . But the beautiful thing about phainon's character and his story is that he subverts these narrative expectations, embodied by lygus and experienced by us as an audience - he refuses to give in to a tragic faith. He goes down a horrific path but refuses to lose sight of himself and his goal, etching - or probably scorching - what set him on his journey deep into his heart. With every cycle he completes, starting with the four-millionth cycle, he has to live with the harrowing reality of remembering the losses of every single one of his comrades as he stands by and watches, along with the horrifying guilt of being in charge of those deaths as khaslana. But for this precise reason, he won't let this story, this prophecy, this program, to unfold as planned, as expected, or as hard-coded. And that's what makes him phainon, the ideal tragic hero - and never an antagonist.

This spin on the chosen hero is a classical device often used, but i find its execution very compelling - where phainon inflicts on himself the fate of a sacrifice. Through the most painful way possible, phainon managed to wrestle lygus for control of the story - and reshapes its meaning, passing the torch on to the trailblazer. He's essentially tied to his narrative role by his own self, while completely redefining it in his own hands. phainon's character manages, in a single patch, to reframe the entire narrative we've seen so far in what is an excellent play at foreshadowing and subversion, hence completely redefining the meaning of the prophecy by his own acts of agency against the mechanism he's stuck in. The prophecy foretells that the world will get reshaped by kephale's memories, And phainon both proves this fact true and also subverts its original meaning on a groundbreaking level, and for all the most terrible of reasons. Phainon quite literally continuously reshapes the world through his memories by resetting the story constantly. Revisiting his memories constantly. His memories are the only thing preventing his crumbling world from destruction and the horrific entity of irontomb from unleashing. Those memories, however, are always riddled with his trauma, fury, loss, and his own bloodstained hands. Through his own terrible self-inflicted loop, phainon reframes the narrative on both a textual and meta-textual level.

It's so ironic and so self contradictory, and that's the reason it works so well. The more phainon destroys, the more his guilt accumulates and grounds him to his original, utterly selfless cause, despite seemingly betraying it at every turn. and that's a testament of just how much he was meant for this horrific role - despite seeing himself as unworthy, having stained his hands for the sake of what is effectively a futile endeavor of stalling - the only reason he's pushing himself forward to such extremes is because his hate is fueled by his intense love of others and complete disregard of himself - quite literally parting ways with his hero within every cycle to let go of the hesitation that could cause him to waver. Its such an awful paradox. The selfless hero abandons his heroism in order to become an even more selfless hero through acts of destruction. To save others, he must forsake his self, and for that end he has to retain his core of selflessness which defines him as a hero. And that goal drives him both opposite to his ideals and also proves his ideals more than anything ever could. As hyacine says - he has never lived for himself, and with this self-inflicted timeloop, he's doomed himself to never be able to live for himself, making his line in the trailer which he aims at aglaea terribly ironic - "it wouldn't be bad to live for yourself".

This sort of oxymoron plays on phainons painful and honestly brilliantly executed duality between frailty and durability. He's incredibly empathetic, emotionally frail, honest and genuine. and it's precisely that sensitivity that turns into the fuel of rage - it's the essence of the destruction he embodies, because it is first of all fueled by his love. It allows him to endure. As we see in the animated short's end, in essence, phainon is somehow that same little dreamy eyed boy who wanted to protect everyone around him.

It's why I think it is honestly so much more satisfying that phainon hasn't gone through a proper corruption arc. His power lies in being able to retain that spark of idealism and core of selflessness at the service of those he loves, however faint and regardless of how much he must burn himself to keep it alive. In this way he truly embodies the indomitable human spirit. But in the name of selflessness. He's changed so much and yet as he says: he endured. He's still phainon. And that's so much more satisfying than the alternative.

That's the central thesis amphoreus's story has embodied until now - about how tragedies are impactful only insofar as they are meaningful. and lives gain meaning from within these tragedies - in the face of the futility embodied by the destruction, persistence turns into agency, and finally, changes the story from within.

[luck-of-the-drawings]

so REVENGE, HUH? or justice, if that makes you feel better. it tastes the same when cooked just right. 'I REALLY WANTED A BROTHER.' such a shame to burn a bridge you so desperately wanted to keep, especially when it wasnt even you who started the fire. especially when you hope that not a single fragment of that bridge ever washes ashore.[MAY IT ROT FAR FROM MY SIGHTS] an unfortunate loss! atleast he has his friends.

[ohnoitstuesdayagain]

Jack would've loved spending hours making everyone in the bunker in the Sims and then going around and showing them off to the people he made

[kalicocal]

guess who still hasn't rewatched season two yet 😃

[only-lonely-www]

So basically ATLA brain rot has hit me like a truck

[aieroartstudios]

Life goes on and on and on and on

[cuddytism]

What makes me really sad about Stacy's departure from the show (and the fact that she never comes back) is that she's kinda. Cuddy's only friend.

Something about the fact that this is kind of the only time we ever see Cuddy having a friend outside of House/Wilson. At this point in the series, she isn't even really depicted as being very close with those two yet either. But her and Stacy confide in each other. Her conversations with Stacy in Humpty Dumpty are some of the first in the entire series in which we see Cuddy open up about her personal life and feelings.

I think it’s easy to write their friendship off as ‘the two women that hate House teaming up’ but it isn’t really like that. Stacy seems to genuinely care about and understand Cuddy, to an extent. More than anyone else we're shown up to this point. And Cuddy seems to enjoy Stacy as a person and seek out her company. The two of them go to each other when they can’t really go to anyone else. And it isn’t just for work and it isn’t just about House. It’s really sweet.

After Stacy leaves, Cuddy doesn’t really have anyone else like this, whom she can confide in and looks out for her. She gets a bit of this in her relationship with House once the IVF storyline starts, and with Wilson starting in season 3. But they aren't quite the same. House will always end up using her weaknesses against her, and Wilson will always be more loyal to House than he ever is to Cuddy.

After this, she really only has her own self to look out for her. It’s really sad. I know that loneliness is a huge part of her character, but I really wish they gave her some sort of person outside of herself and her strange relationships with House and Wilson to confide in. I think it would have made her a lot less sad of a character in the later seasons.