#rewatching stephen's universe

[namielles]

yeah this show is great drama and has fun interpersonal dynamics (to a point) but it really loses me on the actual plot. I can't take this ronaldo guilting steven into letting him racefake episode seriously when it's this transparent that these people spend too much time online. I'm losing steam real quick before even getting into the space eps

[scarletttries]

NSFW Headcanon Request: Steven Grant (Moon Knight)

Steven Grant + Sex Tape: (prompt list here)

(part two of these 'recording' headcanons)

- After the heart-warming success of his first accidental intimate recording with you, Stephen would find himself revisiting that tape over and over again. Any time you have to leave him for a weekend alone, out comes his little camcorder so he can eagerly relive that special night and try his best to make up for missing your touch that night.

- But as much as he loves that precious gift you left him, he can't help but want to make a new one, something you both create together and maybe even equally could enjoy together on another night. He wouldn't be able to ask out right though, instead he'll drop a dozen tiny hints, mostly about how much he loved that first tape, and how incredibly beautiful you look when he's making you feel good, and how much he loves you, and loves having that precious memory documented to relive over and over.

- You'd of course give in to his less than subtle suggestions pretty quickly, his response to your video just the sweetest thing you could have imagined, and feeling so safe with Steven that you don't have a single worry about that footage going anywhere, or looking less than perfect, or anything like that because you know that man respects and worships every cell of your being.

- You pick a date for your very special date night, picking out a new set of lingerie for the occasion (and because it's so fun to surprise Steven with something new and watch his little brain immediately melt down to a mumbling mess.) By the time you get to his flat there's more candles lit than in a cathedral, and he's spent a week's pay of a very special bottle of wine that you once got as a present and so generously shared with him, on a night you two passed giggling sweet nothings to each other.

- After a glass of that sweet thoughtful gesture you two find yourselves all hands again, so giddy with excitement as you stumble towards the bed that you almost forget to turn on the camera, Steven reluctantly pulling himself away from your lips just long enough to oh so kindly ask,

"Love, are you sure you're alright with this? We don't have to if you're worried at all, I'm just so grateful that I even have one video of you. Or that I get to do this with you at all." You cut him off before he can start monologuing about what a privilege it is to be in your life in any role, the lovestruck man staring at you with stars in his eyes, so in awe of everything about you.

- You suitably reassure him that you feel just as lucky to love him, and finally you start the camera filming, pulling him towards you until you're confident he's framed in the shot, slowly moving your lips to his neck. As you lick and kiss your way along his throat, drawing soft strangled sighs from the nervous boy, your fingers trace down his shirt and start pulling it at his buttons one by one, until finally you can push it off his shoulders and reveal his broad chest to you and the camera. You can't stop yourself from running your hands over his muscles, looking forward to rewatching this moment and stopping Steven from folding inwards or hiding himself from the camera. You can tell he's still up in his head a bit, not as passionately exploring your form like it holds the secrets to the universe the way he usually does.

- Trying to draw his focus, you tip him back on to bed and climb on top of him, pulling your dress over your head and giving him a full view of the special outfit you had on underneath. His jaw drops and his eyes practically shoot out of his head as he starts excitedly babbling about how 'truly perfect you look' and how 'every colour seems to have been made for you', and suddenly his stage fright is forgotten and he's pulling you back in for a kiss as his fingertips trace along the lacy fabric, before slipping underneath your panties and rubbing slow circles against your clit. You find your hips moving in time with his rhythm, the excitement of knowing Steven would be able to watch this moment again enough to heighten the sensations. As your temperature starts to rise and your thighs start to twitch you make a point to arch your back and gasp out his name for the camera, immediately earning a groan from Steven as he starts to buck against your hips.

- You pull his fingers out of you with a whimper, and make quick work of undoing his belt and sliding his pants down his legs until his manhood springs free, letting you take a long slow lick of him that has Steven panting and begging for more. As you slip your lingerie to the side, mounting his lap and hovering just above his leaking tip, you notice his eyes drift behind you, the red blinking light pulling him back to reality from his throws of passion.

- Less than pleased that Steven is able to look anywhere but up adoringly at you, you slam your hips down against his, taking his full length in one breath and clenching down on him at the deliciously full feeling of having him buried inside of you. Right on cue his turns his attention back to you, gazing up at you in shock as you cup his face in your hands and state very clearly in your most seductive pur,

"Now Steven, the least you can do is keep your eyes on me."

"I'm sorry love, I just remembered about the - but it doesn't matter, I promise, I only want to look at you." Taking mercy on him, you start to roll your hips, before you finish your negotiations,

"That's good to hear, because any time you look at that camera, I'm going to stop moving." You pause your riding in emphasis as his gaze turns pleading, nodding quickly and begging you to move, promising to be good as you go back to sliding your hips against him, drawing out louder and louder groans that start to fill the room around you. You watch as his eyes trace along your content face, your bouncing chest, your wiggling hips, and finally your glistening entrance where he can see himself glide in and out of you, your own excitement dripping onto him with each thrust. It's almost too much to take and he feels his climax quickly approaching, his fingers returning to strum against your clit as he tries to hold off his release. Then his eyes dart behind you for a split second and suddenly his building pleasure starts to drop as you still your hips, desperate apologies falling from his lips in a plea.

"I'm sorry love, I didn't mean to, please keep going, you feel so incredible..." His core is aching with the tension bubbling inside it, so close to release and having no choice but to let you sit there on his throbbing erection until you see fit to forgive him. Luckily for him it's very hard to act mad at those puppy dog eyes, and when his touch feels so good between your thighs you know you won't be able to hold off much longer either.

- "I just need you to keep those beautiful eyes on me okay Steven?" You sound merciful, and he lets out a sigh of relief, until you add "and definitely don't let them close."

He's about to ask what you mean when suddenly you start bouncing on him with every ounce of strength in your thighs, riding him faster and harder as you feel him start to tense beneath you. He keeps his eyes firmly locked on yours, mouth hanging open in sheer ecstasy as he watches the confident smile on your face start to fall into an o as you get closer and closer the edge. He works you with his fingers, holding back his own climax and praising you as you climb higher and higher, finally crying out his name as your wall clench around him, your whole body shaking with the overwhelming release as pleasure washed over you. Steven is right behind you, his hips lifting up off the bed as he erupts inside you, legs trembling and hands clutching at your waist, making sure you can't possibly climb off of him.

- You collapse against his chest, resolved to spending a little longer with him deep inside you, Steven's arms only coiling around you tighter as he presses soft kisses to your forehead and pants out that he loves you so bloody much.

- It takes a little while for either of you to get up to turn off the camera, Steven finally volunteering to leave the bed, only to grab the camera of its stand, step back towards you, aiming the lens at your satisfied face before letting it drift down your spent body, stopping when he sees his own load drip out of from between your legs and feeling himself start twitching with excitement again. The last sound the camera picks up is Steven mumbling quietly to himself, "how did I ever get this lucky?"

[hard-core-super-star]

Hiya, may I request something for Kate bishop.

(Peter could be rs cousin or something.) Reader (who is spiderwoman and dating Kate), Kate and Yelena help Peter Parker (T. Holland) with the villains from the other earth's and as a result green goblin ends up killing aunt May and she seeks out revenge for may and almost kills green goblin but Yelena and kate stop her. (Oh, and Peter is the only one who is forgotten)

no such thing as good grief [K.Bishop]

pairing: kate bishop x parker!reader

summary: you always knew being a superhero came with a long list of dangers but it turns out you weren't quite ready to deal with someone else suffering for your mistakes.

warnings: major character death; heavy mentions of blood + injuries + grief; a huge serving of angst with a side of hurt/comfort, a dash of humor, and a sprinkle of plot; weird descriptions of fight scenes

wordcount: 3.2k

a/n: i probably should have rewatched no way home for this but shhh. any inconsistencies are just part of this other timeline because i said so and the MCU timeline is incredibly messy anyway. i very clearly got way too attached and wrote way too much but whoops, hope you enjoy <3 [also yes, may is R's mom in this but somewhere along the way, i resorted to just calling her 'may' instead 'mom' because I didn't want it to get too repetitive]

* * * * * * *

Nobody ever said being an Avenger was easy.

Especially now that most members are either dead, retired, off-world, or just simply unreachable. Nobody wanted to address the fact that the safety of planet Earth now rests solely in the hands of a bunch of college students and a Russian ex-assassin.

Of course, there’s still Dr. Strange and his merry band of sorcerers, including Wong, but it seems the only thing that man can successfully protect is his massive ego. It’s harsh, sure, but that doesn’t make it any less true. 

Although, maybe you’re just bitter that Stephen’s soft spot for your cousin ultimately got you tangled in a mess you had no business being in. 

A crack in the multiverse is bad enough but it being caused by one of Stephen's failed spells is even worse.

And of course, Peter's seniority when it comes to being part of a superpowered team means when he calls, you answer. There’s also the fact that he’s family and your mom would absolutely lecture you if you ignored him…again.

You really wanted to sit this one out but there was no way your girlfriend was going to let you. You tried all the tricks you knew to convince her but ultimately, her and Yelena ended up dragging you out of your apartment to help Peter fix his multiversal disaster.

“So, your plan to defeat these villains is to…not defeat them?” You question. “In what universe does that make sense?”

“Don’t be a jerk, y/n/n,” Kate mumbles.

You playfully roll your eyes at the archer’s words, biting back a comment about how rare it is to see her actually attempting to focus on forming a plan. She’s gotten a lot better at not rushing into situations but old habits die hard.

“Actually, it’s May’s plan,” Peter says. “I know it’s unconventional but I think it could work. We’re the good guys, right?”

Yelena shoots you a look but you just shrug in response. Fighting with him will only lead to more problems that you’re not sure you’re qualified to solve. Actually, none of you are qualified for any of this.

Webs, arrows, and strong punches are not going to get you out of this one.

You swallow down your hesitation and give Peter a small nod. “Right. What do you need us to do?”

Step 1, according to your annoying Spider-Cousin, is to pick up a few materials for him while he takes the misplaced villains to Happy’s condo. You don’t love the idea of being an errand girl but you already agreed to help and there’s no way Kate will let you take your words back.

Her loyalty is as admirable as it is annoying. But at least you get to spend time driving around New York with your two favorite people. And by driving you really mean sitting in the backseat with Kate while Yelena complains about how much harder it is to drive a car than a motorcycle.

Step 1 takes about an hour to complete and it’s not until you’re all heading to Happy’s place that your girlfriend decides to question you and your lack of trust in Peter’s plan.

“Since when are you so cynical?” She asks, her arm loosely wrapped around your waist.

“Me?” The question catches you off-guard and you turn your face away from the car window to look at her instead. “I'm not the one shooting arrows through people’s limbs.”

“It’s not like I’m killing people.”

“Neither am I,” you reply with a shrug. “I'm just saying to send them back to their universe.”

“So they can die,” she says, her tone making her statement sound more like a question than anything else.

“Well…yeah.”

It sounds brutal when said out loud but it’s the logical choice. Keeping them in your universe isn’t an option and there’s no telling what kind of damage Peter’s plan will have on those other timelines.

“And you don’t think that’s cruel?”

“Should I?” You look away from Kate’s eyes before you get distracted from the conversation at hand due to the puppy-dog look they’ve been carrying the past few minutes. “Yelena, you wanna help me out here?”

“You’re gonna get the heartless Russian assassin to help you prove your point?” She asks with a chuckle.

“Ex-assasin,” the blonde corrects her. “And I am not heartless. But y/n is right. What is that stupid saying? Something about a circus?”

“Not my circus, not my monkeys.”

“Exactly.”

“Okay, so if you’re so against this plan why did you agree to it?” Kate finally asks the million-dollar question.

The answer is a lot more complicated than one would think and you’re not in the mood to explain why the plan being your mom’s idea means so much to you. So, you take a page out of the archer’s book and reply with a stupid joke instead.

“You think May would have been fine with me letting Peter run around on his own?”

Yelena’s reply is just as witty as yours. “I am only here because someone has to babysit you while y/n babysits Spider-Boy.”

“You guys are jerks.” There are notes of humor in her voice that she tries to wipe away with an overdramatic pout.

You chuckle and lean in to kiss her, ignoring Yelena’s complaints about how annoyingly in love you two are.

The moment is a welcome respite from a chaotic and difficult situation.

A situation that only gets worse with every minute that goes by.

The three of you finally arrive at Happy’s condo and are led inside by your overly chipper cousin. You try to ignore the way the hairs on the back of your neck stand up at the mere sight of the supervillains scattered all around the living room.

You’re probably just being paranoid. That’s what you tell yourself until Peter lets it slip that he’s not the only person watching over the time-scattered villains.

You grab a hold of his arm and lead him away from Kate and Yelena, more for his sake than yours if you’re being honest. “What do you mean my mom is here? Why the hell would you bring her into this mess?

“I didn’t do anything!” He responds. “She wanted to help. You know how she is.”

If you had a nickel every time he used that excuse you’d be as rich as your girlfriend.

“This is different, Pete! It’s not just her bringing us snacks while we fix our web shooters, this is serious.”

“Which is exactly why she should be here. We need all the help we can get to do this. You have no problem with Kate being here, why is May different?”

It takes you a second to be able to reply, your brain not fully computing his audacity to make such a flippant comparison. “Because she’s not a superhero, you dimwit! She’s the only family I have left, I am not letting her get hurt because you convinced her to help us.”

“First of all, ouch. Second of all, relax. She can take care of herself.”

All you can really do is groan since it’s obvious no amount of arguing will get him to change his mind and help you convince May to go home. There’s also the fact that she probably wouldn’t listen to you even if you managed to get Peter on your side.

“Fine. Just tell me what to do so we can wrap up this shitshow.”

You ignore his very obvious sigh of relief and focus on lending the helping hand you promised earlier. Help that makes you ignore your growing unease and leaves you unprepared for the violent turn things take.

You’re not even sure how it happens.

One second you and Kate are arguing about how Sandman’s powers even work while Yelena and May help administer Dr. Ock’s cure and the next you’re watching Green Goblin turn the rest of the misplaced villains against all of you.

Your one and only thought is on getting your mom out of here unscathed but it quickly becomes clear you won’t be able to just swing her to safety. There’s no plan, or even time to think things through, there’s only a tense atmosphere and an inkling that things won’t go well no matter what you do.

Green Goblin’s taunts ring in your ears right as Electro blasts Dr. Ock out the window. Kate shoots you a look you can’t ignore and you hold on to the silent promise that she’ll be okay without you.

You dive out the window without a second thought, barely managing to shed your hoodie and reveal the Spider Suit hidden beneath your clothes. (Peter can keep all his fancy little upgrades, nothing beats the classic suit in your opinion)

You manage to help Dr. Ock before he slams into the ground with equal parts teamwork and a staggering amount of webs.

He assures you he’s fine once you manage to get onto a nearby roof, not so subtly doing his best to get rid of a few webs that are stuck to his clothes. You shoot him an apologetic smile before jumping off the roof and swinging back to the now blacked-out building.

You ignore the swarm of cop cars and news vans that litter the front of the building and impulsively divide to crash through a window into the lobby, figuring it’ll be faster to find May and your team this way.

You jump onto your feet after your literal crash landing only to find Kate and Peter in the middle of fighting Green Goblin. A part of you screams to run and find your mom but then Osborn kicks Kate’s bow out of her hand and your body reacts faster than your mind can even comprehend.

“Hey, asshole!” You shoot a web at his leg and yank him backward. “Get your hands off of her.”

He stumbles but doesn’t fall the way you anticipated. Instead, he turns to look at you, that chilling smirk still plastered on his face. “What is it with you Parkers and your savior complex?”

Your first instinct is to run at him but you catch the archer’s look as she runs to help a badly injured Peter. If it’s a distraction she needs, that’s exactly what you’ll provide.

“It’s part of our charming personality.”

You shrug and shoot at him again, managing to pull his focus toward the barrage of webs you send his way.

You expect to keep him occupied until Peter and Kate catch their breath but instead, May rushes out of the stairway, a bleeding Yelena trailing behind her, and she injects the so-called cure into the back of Osborn’s neck.

The cure doesn’t work. All it does is send the Green Goblin into a fit of rage.

You urge May to run in between Osborn’s taunts directed mainly at you and Peter. She doesn’t listen and you’re too distracted to notice the deadly glider that hovers just outside the window.

By the time Kate warns you it’s too late.

The blast it creates when it crashes in sends you flying onto the ground. All the air gets knocked out of your lungs from the impact but you don’t get time to lay there and recover.

You somehow manage to get back onto your feet right as Osborn sends a bomb flying your way. You just barely manage to web it and throw it to the side before it goes off, sending bits of debris raining down onto all of you.

There’s the distinct sound of Kate’s boots running toward you, Yelena’s Russian curse words, and a part of you that tells you to go check on May. There’s no chance in hell that you’re letting Green Goblin get away though so you swallow down your pain from aching joints and bleeding cuts and run after him.

You arrive outside just in time to watch him throw another bomb that you’re too slow to stop.

The explosion throws you back onto the ground and you groan as you land on a piece of glass. You’re breathless and bleeding and it’s only then that the guilt crashes into you at once.

This time, your attempt to stand is far less balanced and you stumble onto a familiar frame. “Hey, hey, easy. There’s no rush, babe.”

You happily accept Kate’s embrace, the familiarity of her comforting touch soothing some of your pain. “You okay?”

“Yeah, nothing some band-aids and a nap won’t fix.”

Hearing the usual humor in her tone brings you back to reality…which brings your mind back to your mom and the way you so recklessly rushed outside without knowing if she was injured. “How about Peter and May? They okay?”

Your girlfriend’s silence never means anything good and in this context, it makes your heart drop to your stomach in an instant. You’re about to question her again when Yelena’s voice stops you.

“We need to get out of here before the cops arrive…again.”

You push your injured body away from Kate’s, searching for the answer you don’t want to hear. “Kate…”

“I’m sorry.” She avoids your eyes as she responds. “Peter tried but it was already too late. She’s gone, y/n.”

You don’t hear anything she says after that.

It’s strange the way the world slows to a stop around you while your overwhelmed brain tries to process the Earth-shattering information. Strange how a second ago everything seemed to make sense and now you’re left gasping for breath, reaching for answers you know don’t matter.

The how, the why, the what. None of that matters. 

May is dead.

And there’s nothing you could have done to stop it despite the powers, and the gadgets, and the hours of training.

You didn’t even get to say goodbye before she-

“y/n, it’s not your fault.”

“Listen to Kate Bishop, she’s finally right for once.”

“Hey!”

Their attempt to comfort you turns into chaotic bickering but you don’t pay attention to their words. You can’t think about anything except the gaping hole in your chest that had once been full of May’s knowing looks and thoughtful words.

Kate’s right.

It’s not your fault. Or May’s. Or even Peter’s. There’s only one man to blame for this. 

And you’re sure as hell going to make him regret his choice to mess with your family.

“y/n.” Kate’s voice manages to cut through the hate-filled fog that’s starting to cover your mind. “y/n, don’t.”

You don’t listen to her words, you don’t even take in the way she so easily knows what you’re thinking, you just do what you’ve always done: keep moving.

You successfully escape your girlfriend’s embrace and start running. You’re not sure where you’re going or how you’re going to find him but the plan will come later. Right now, you just need to do something before the grief consumes you.

Kate yells after you but there’s no way she’ll be able to chase after you. Especially once you start swinging from building to building.

The hours pass by in between blurs of rain, tears, and the occasional wall you end up crashing into. Your phone blows up with missed calls and countless texts but you don’t care.

The entire world could crash and burn without you for all you care. The light within your own world has already been extinguished. 

Your search ends up leading you right to the Statue of Liberty where you’re not at all surprised to find a chaotic battle going on. Maybe you should have checked your phone to get caught up with the plan but that doesn’t matter.

What does matter is that you’ve finally found what you’ve been looking for. And your mind is dead-set on your objective.

You ignore the rest of the fights going on, including the look of pain and relief on Kate’s face once she sees you swing past her, and hone in on Peter.

You're still bleeding and there's a sharp pain in your leg you can't ignore but your injuries don't matter. All that matters is avenging May.

You land next to Peter without a word, the venom in your eyes saying more than your voice could. You're both fighting for the same thing but you have no doubt he's still pulling his punches.

Something you have no intention of doing.

“Well, well, well, look who decided to join the fun,” Green Goblin taunts. “Too tired of running after your dead parents?”

“Shut your mouth,” you reply as you step toward him. “You don't know what you're talking about.”

That only makes him laugh. “Trust me, pain makes you stronger. You'll see, all I have to do is take away your pretty little girlfriend next and you'll understand.”

There's no hesitation left in your body once you hear those words.

You lunge forward, tackling Osborn to the ground. That stupid smirk doesn't leave his face even while you rain down punches on him.

“Come on! Is that all you can do? What's the point of two Spider-Idiots if one is too weak to fight?”

You know he's only taunting you. Trying to push your buttons and get you to break. Too bad that's exactly what you want to do.

Every time he pushes you back, you kick him back twice as hard. You stumble and get punched in the face enough times to make your ears ring but you don't dare stop.

You don't even think.

You just punch and punch and punch until Osborn’s on the ground, his witty mouth finally silent.

Seeing him like this only serves to remind you of what you've lost, of the pain that's taken hold of your every thought and move. You lift your hand to shoot a web at his forgotten glider when a voice stops you dead in your tracks.

“y/n?”

The mere sound of your name coming out of Kate’s mouth in that desperate tone is enough to make your breath catch in your throat. You already know what she's going to say so you speak up first. “I have to.”

“No, you don't. You've done enough, okay? You can walk away.”

You look down at your hands, at the bloody mess you've left behind, and the tears start falling before you can stop them.

The hand that pulls you up doesn't belong to the archer but it's full of an understanding only Yelena could be capable of. “Go on, Spider-Boy and I got this.”

You nod, too numb and overwhelmed to fully accept the weight of what you've done. Of what you almost did.

“Kate?” You call out as you finally turn around to face her.

“I’m right here.” She greets you with the same soft look and warm smile you fell in love with, nothing but compassion in her gaze.

You all but collapse into her waiting arms, your shoulders slumped as you finally give in to the all-consuming grief that lingers in every breath you take.

The sounds of the chaos around you fades into nothingness.

All you can hear is Kate's soft reassurances and the steady beat of her heart. You don't need anything else than that right now. Despite how strong the urge for revenge had been.

You just need your girlfriend…and a long nap.

Peter watches the scene with a small, albeit sad, smile on his face. There's a weight on his chest that even fixing his mistakes won't take away.

But at least he knows you won't be alone. The spell will make you and everyone else he loves forget about him but at least you'll still have Kate.

It'll be hard but he has no doubt you'll be able to rebuild and find the light inside of yourself that May always believed was there. Flickering underneath all the pain of your past.

Now you and Kate can shine together.

Without him and the chaos he unnecessarily brought into your life.

[fernsnailz]

February 2024 Review Roundup

well i sure did watch some stuff and read one book this month

the things i finished this month reminded me that for every incredible piece of art i find myself enjoying, i end up watching some Hot Garbage immediately after to balance things out again. idk why i do this.

i have quite a bit to say about both the things i enjoyed and the things that brought me physical pain this month, so there is um. a lot under the cut. any previous desire for brevity i had in january has been completely thrown out the window as i use these roundups as an outlet to gush about things i like and complain about things i didn't. fair warning, if you open the readmore you will be scrolling for a while. enjoy i guess

House of Leaves

does any other book out there have the balls to write a completely fake interview with stephen king

House of Leaves is a novel you gotta throw around a little bit. It feels really weird that my copy is still in the pristine state I bought it in - It seems like it should have water damage and smell like mildew with its pages falling out and spine cracked into pieces. Getting the full story from this book requires flipping back and forth, turning it around, searching for answers. All things considered it’s not that difficult of a read, but its format still allows you to feel like you’re discovering every hidden piece for yourself, and I really liked that interactivity. I was engaged pretty much the whole way through.

I don’t really think I’ll be able to revisit this book anytime soon though. It’s difficult for me to format what else I’d like to say about it because to be honest, it caught me off guard and disturbed me on a fairly personal level. There’s a relief I feel when I remember that I don’t actually know what was going on with the house - maybe that was intentional on the book’s behalf, maybe I just didn’t look hard enough for answers. I don’t know. But the implication that something divine was down there was enough of an answer for me. The book's good. read it if you want a spooooooky time or if you never want to look at a hallway the same way again

Doctor Who (Series 1-4) (rewatch)

ok so this is a fuckload of doctor who to cover so i’m gonna give some thoughts on a few of the characters and my favorite + least favorite episodes

9th doctor: My favorite butch lesbian. Christopher Eccleston truly embodies the concept of The Doctor so, so well: otherworldly guy who knows too much, genuinely cares about life across the universe, and also has a bit of deep, unresolved rage. His moments of joy and careless fun stick with me the most, he absolutely radiates with life and brings so much to this character.

Rose: I first watched Doctor Who when I was in middle school, and I didn’t like Rose that much back then. And guys. I have bad news. I'm still not really much of a Rose fan

I definitely understood her more this watch through - that desire for adventure and some sort of control over her life, emotions so strong that she’s willing to throw near everything away. That’s just what being 19 is like sometimes. I think Rose is a very compelling character who just happens to frustrate me a bit. And that’s kinda the point, her co-dependent relationship with the Doctor is doomed to fail and it's meant to hurt. Ultimately, I think when I first watched the show I was too young to understand Rose, and now I’m just too old to relate to her.

Captain Jack: Jack is my favorite character. I fucking love this guy. Dude has the worst luck in the whole universe and still cannot be stopped. Legendary. Every episode with him is a goddamn delight because he has so much chemistry with every single cast member. No notes 10/10 i love my problematic bisexual king

10th doctor: About four episodes into David Tennant’s run I realized that he dresses like a Hazbin Hotel character and it made me very sad. Still, there’s a reason this guy inspired every middle schooler to buy a pair of converse in 2008. He has style, he has depth, he’s got the sauce. It’s genuinely terrifying to see his anger, I like that a lot of 10’s run is about his denial of godhood and power over life in the universe, something that the rest of the time lords desired. idk i like my sad pathetic little weasel but he's also a huge fucking asshole sometimes which sucks. especially when it's directed at Martha.

Martha: Martha I am so sorry for what this show put you through. Martha was my favorite companion when I first watched the show, and I still have a huge soft spot for her. Her ability to hold her own and navigate foreign worlds using her own intelligence absolutely rules, and her drive forward is unbreakable. But the show seems to put her down at every possible opportunity, most notably with how 10 treats her. Her struggles and wants are constantly ignored, and she's often treated as a rebound from Rose. And I like that she eventually chooses to end it by not traveling with 10 anymore, but it hurts because it feels like she was never given the same chance or care that Rose and Donna were. This era of Doctor Who really doesn’t treat its black companions well because Mickey goes through something similar - both Martha and Mickey are characters designed to be ignored or left behind, and it sucks.

Donna: Donna Noble is one of the greatest fictional characters to ever exist. Despite seemingly living a fairly average life and working a fairly average job, Donna reflects the idea that no one is truly "average" and every single person is brimming with personality, life, and love. I love that her relationship with 10 is purely platonic, personally their friendship feels like it has a lot more depth than either of the romance-oriented relationships 10 had with Rose and Martha. 10 and Donna bounce off of each other so well and it's delightful, Donna brings so much humor and life to every world she's taken to and it's incredible. I wish her and Captain Jack could have interacted more.

My favorite episode: The Runaway Bride is hard to not choose as my favorite. I have a blast every time I watch this episode and it’s such a good introduction for Donna. Also the Tardis car chase kills me, I love when it cuts to the kids in the back of another car clapping and cheering. I was also surprised by the episode Midnight - it’s dreadful to watch and I kinda loved it. So much spirals out of control when shit hits the fan, even though no one has any idea what they’re trying to fight against. Really interesting exploration as to how fear can drive people apart.

My least favorite episode: It’s Love & Monsters. I wish I liked this episode - stories that follow regular ass people living in this world are often some of the best episodes in the series (Weeping Angels and all that). And this episode definitely has some of that. It’s honestly really touching to see this group of nerds get together and enjoy life in the first part of the episode. I think the antagonist of “guy who absorbs people” ends up dragging down any charm this story had because he just. eats all of the interesting characters. But despite me disliking this episode, I honestly have a deep respect for it - it’s fucking crazy. It ends with the main guy telling us about his sex life with his girlfriend who is now stuck in a piece of concrete. Where else are you going to get a story like this. It fucking sucks and that’s hilarious

oh also the production design: GODDDDDD I FUCKING LOVE THE PRODUCTION DESIGN AND SETS ON THIS SHOW. I love how dirty and rundown a lot of the spaceship sets look with wires and lights scattered everywhere. And a number of alien designs also go CRAZY with the prosthetics - I keep thinking about the Hath from The Doctor’s Daughter and how every head prosthetic had liquid inside it that could bubble. Absolutely crazy. I also love the moments where you can clearly see they did not have that much time and just had to throw something together or pain a bald cap green. Jank is the nature of sci-fi production design and I dearly love and miss that Doctor Who jank.

Rebuild of Evangelion

Last year after finishing the original Evangelion series + End of Evangelion, I remember going through the Evangelion tumblr tag and being very confused by the number of slice of life/found family-esque fanworks of the cast. It left me puzzled and thinking “...did we even watch the same thing??”

APPARENTLY NOT

[spoiler warning here because these movies are very good and i give the best parts away. if you want to watch these movies then DO IT NOW!!!!!!!!]

I honestly never expected a world where these characters got a happy ending. I so, so badly wish I could see 3.0 and 3.0+1.0 in theaters - these movies are stunning. I know I say things “go crazy” a lot, but man. They go fucking CRAZY.

While I have a few issues with how the first two movies adapted the original show, I do think the changes they made better serve the story this rebuild is trying to tell. For example, my favorite episode in the original Eva series is episode 18, where Toji is chosen to pilot Unit 03. It’s absolutely terrifying because Shinji doesn’t know who 03’s pilot is, yet he’s forced to be inside Unit 01 as it tears 03 apart. His resolve not to kill anyone despite not even knowing who’s in danger is an aspect of that episode I love and speaks to Shinji's inherent humanity, and when he learns Toji was in there it hurts even more. The rebuild movies change Unit 03’s pilot to Auska, and Shinji knows she’s in there from the start. I think this choice works for the movies and is still an effective emotional beat, but personally I still prefer the version where Shinji had no idea who was in there. That lack of knowledge is infinitely more terrifying to me.

I really like what these movies did with some of the angel designs though. The sixth angel (the fuckin. blue diamond cube thing) works really well in 3D/CG animation. The way the thing warps and moves is otherly and terrifying - and it’s just a fucking cube. I’ve always really loved how the Eva series approaches angel designs and the divine - despite the alien-like designs, there’s often something extremely familiar about them. They’re often reminiscent of an animal, a machine, or a human. This is also how they approached the anti-universe in these movies, I loved how it takes the form of various locations from the series and turns them into a movie set. It’s deeply familiar, but ultimately just an illusion of familiarity like the angels and the divine.

Also I gotta say. I fucking love Mari. I think she’s hilarious. She first meets Shinji by accidentally parachuting into him and then immediately starts crawling on all fours to sniff him. This girl also introduces “Beast Mode” where the Eva pilots can go wild turn their mechs into a fucking. superpowered beast of some sort. And also she defeats a whole army by using the Eiffel Tower as a spear. She’s such an absurd character and I honestly kinda love it. The only thing I knew about these movies before watching them was this gif of her Backing That Shit Up and she truly lives up to the insane nature of this shot.

My favorite section of these movies is definitely the first part of 3.0+1.0 where the pilots are basically just living a domestic life in a small town - it’s truly beautiful. The growth that Rei’s copy goes through here is fantastic, I love stories about seemingly emotionless beings learning how to live. And right after she dies, we get the shot that absolutely broke me the first time I saw it:

This shit. The way you can just barely tell he’s been crying from the red around his eyes. They don't talk about it, they barely linger on it, but it's allowed just enough time to punch you in the gut. I don’t know why this shot got me as hard as it did but goddamn. jesus christ. i want to throw up

There’s some goofy shit in these movies. The infinite synch rate. Misato’s stupidass hat and sunglasses. Some goofy ass 3D animation that doesn’t age super well. The rainbow that shows up every time an angel dies. But these things really didn’t take me out of the core of these films, and there’s so much genuine emotion and beauty in this series that had me absolutely hooked - especially in the last two films. They go crazy. My favorite line is 100% “The only thing a son can do for his father is pat him on the shoulder… or kill him.” and man. ain’t that what Evangelion is all about. i love these movies

High School Musical 3

kinda slaps just a little bit

High School Musical 3 starts with a finale number. The last high school basketball game of Troy Bolton’s life - and it goes kinda hard. The classic pep band brass that’s essential to so many High School Musical numbers returns, and the constant theme of two feuding cheer teams in the background? Genius. This is truly art. I love listening to Now or Never without visuals because in the middle Troy just starts coughing and gagging seemingly out of nowhere

Unfortunately, starting the movie at such a high point means that the rest of the runtime doesn’t quite match up to it. The story lags and meanders quite a bit, but part of me kinda appreciates that - it’s their last semester of high school, which is always a time of confusion and turmoil. However, I do have a pitch for how they could have countered the constant falling action this movie seems to go through:

The Wildcats should have lost their last game at the beginning of the movie.

What if the game is instead the inciting incident that leads Troy and his besties through their tumultuous last semester? Troy is still torn between basketball and theater, but his identity would be even further challenged here - is winning and success all that matters for him, or is it the love of sport and performance that keeps him going? idk whatever this movie came out 16 years ago i can’t be out here writing AUs for it jgnfsgfnjdksg

Some miscellaneous thoughts about this movie that i don’t care about formatting into larger paragraphs:

Ryan and Sharpay’s number (I Want It All) slaps as usual. The part where Ryan shouts “MADISON SQUARE GARDEN!!!!!!!” makes me so happy every time i hear it

The production design and sets go absolutely fucking crazy. I still have no idea how they pulled off the spinning hallway in Scream.

One of the classic staples of HSM is Chad’s shirts. Most of them are fairly silly and like something you would expect to find in the walmart clearance section. However, there’s one shirt he has in this movie that confused the hell out of me. It’s this one:

What the FUCK does Greenster mean. Is it just a combination of Green and Monster?? Why??? What green monster are we talking about here????? Where the fuck did this shirt come from?????????

Avatar The Last Airbender (2024)

There’s really only one word I can think of to describe what this show is like: sauceless. No flavor. No depth. No character. No sauce. This show is honestly so fucking boring and seems to fundamentally misunderstand what the appeal of the original Avatar series is - not necessarily because things are changed or removed from the original, but because nothing of substance is added in return. 

Most of the characters are mere echoes of their original counterparts when compared to their source material. Sokka is reduced to a guy who wants to fight good, Katara’s stubborn and confrontational nature is very rarely utilized, and Aang’s mischievous antics and love of fun is sorely missing. One of the major reasons for the dull interpretations seems to be the directing - While I have faith that most of these actors are trying their best (especially since a number of them are kids/young adults), the direction seems to be incredibly lackluster and takes away nearly every cast member’s stage presence or personality. There’s a number of reaction shots of the main trio that just look like this: 😐😐😐 as if they were just told to “look concerned” at the events unfolding before them. And these issues are apparent in the majority of the performances - for example, General Zhao talks like he’s in a board meeting up until the last episode, and it’s an incredibly flat performance. He talks somewhat monotone in the original series as well, but this live-action take on the character often meanders with his dialogue and lacks that sharp, terrifying quality that I think this character needs. Uncle Iroh also feels incredibly stiff in this adaptation, and it’s a goddamn crime that they took away the cunty little outfit and chains he was originally wearing when he gets captured by earthbenders. wait who said that

Credit where credit is due, there’s a few cast members that seem to be giving their best. It’s clear that Aang’s actor enjoys the role and does pretty well despite the lackluster direction and dialogue he’s given. On top of that, I think Zuko’s actor is honestly the best part of the show. His take on Zuko leans much more into teenage tendencies and sarcasm, which, although it can be silly, is a welcome take of the character in my opinion and pretty fun to watch. There’s this one line he has at the beginning of episode 2 where, in an incredibly whiny tone of voice, he goes “He RAN! The ultimate warrior! He’s a Coward :((((“ and the read is so. fucking funny

The case of bad direction isn’t limited to the performances, however. It’s also stunningly apparent in how everything is shot. Despite being in a widescreen format, most shots are incredibly centered - you could crop the entire runtime into a 4:3 frame and you wouldn’t be cutting out much of anything. I’ve seen some speculation that this was an intentional choice to make things more adaptable or readable for TikTok/phone video, but honestly I think that’s a dumb take. I think the issue stems from a lack of creativity and thoughtless composition. Keeping everything staged in the center can make shots feel disjointed, lacking much depth, or completely empty. It’s a boring way to shoot and indicates that the show lacks any unique vision at all.

Overall, this show doesn't really seem to understand what makes Avatar interesting in the first place. It's more interested in spectacle and action than the characters' relationships, emotions, and mistakes. I try not to compare it too much to the original since it's allowed to take liberties with its adaptation, but very few of its changes add much to the end result or give it a unique voice. It's just sauceless and boring.

Some YouTube videos i liked in February:

💥 My House.WAD - Inside Doom's Most Terrifying Mod (some supplemental House of Leaves material for ya) 💥 Martha Jones Deserved Better (this video explains how Doctor Who did Martha dirty better than i ever could) 💥 bringing JUSTICE to the worst garfield game 💥 Selling Kids for Clout: The Downfall of Family Channels

And that’s my roundup for February! Thank you for reading, I promise there are no more reviews left to scroll through below this goodbye. Nope, nothing else I watched this month. Bye!

…ok is everyone gone. phew, i’m glad no one noticed i pulled an hbomberguy and hid the largest part of this post under a false ending. Anyway holy shit i need to talk about hazbin hotel

Hazbin Hotel

well i didn’t like it

Hazbin Hotel is a weird, fascinating mess of a show. Every episode left me wondering what creative decisions (or lack thereof) led to the sequence of images I just watched. There’s been a lot of discussion of this show recently and I’m not interested in covering every critique I have, but there’s a few things that I'd like to talk about somewhat in-depth.

Hell is real and it's just Red Chicago

The setting of Hell is kinda boring in this show.

Let me try to put this into perspective. Aside from the hotel, here’s a list of the locations we see in Hell:

A boardroom

A video store

Vox’s evil lair (it has cyber sharks which is kinda cool)

Various streets

Another boardroom

A BDSM club

Carmilla’s house (it’s gray and has. balconies?)

A porn studio

A bar

Another bar

A town square (full of cannibals)

None of these locations really take on any sort of otherworldly form besides some vague demonic imagery scattered throughout (and the cannibals. i guess. whatever). In short, Hazbin Hotel’s setting resembles Chicago more than it does Hell.

I can see a world where that’s intentional. Perhaps making Hell resemble a modern city could be used as a thematic tool or point of relatability? But Hazbin doesn’t really do anything like that - since the characters rarely ever interact with their environments, these locations end up seeming like they lack creativity, like they’re just cardboard sets where characters go to swear. They all start to blend together after a while - every street feels the same, every boardroom fades into the background, and every bar feels like a google image search result for the word “club.” This world feels stunningly empty despite the busy designs and colors. Even though the backgrounds are painted and designed fairly well, nothing of substance is ever really added to them through the story.

However, a few musical numbers take effort to break away from these settings. This felt like a weight off of my shoulders whenever it happened, it was nice to see some interesting setpieces and backgrounds that weren’t red. I liked the bombastic and over-the-top broadway lights in Loser and the glowing alternate world in Charlie and Lucifer’s song. But these moments are few and crowded by the dull locations in Hell - or worse, the Hotel itself.

Despite being the namesake of the show, the actual Hazbin Hotel is… lifeless. Which, yeah, it’s a hotel where dead people go in the afterlife, but it’s missing any sort of personality or history besides “it’s old and falling apart.” I expected the hotel to be full of secrets - like maybe some hidden passages or rooms, or mysterious cabinets full of rotted meats, or old valuables hidden under the rugs by the previous owners. Something for the cast to explore and discover, and as they get closer to each other they also start to understand the hotel more. Alastor seems very intent on keeping the physical hotel standing for some reason, but I never really understood why. There’s nothing there. And that nothingness is fully realized when at the end of the show, they just rebuild the entire hotel to be grand and beautiful - an emotional beat that didn’t hit me at all because I never felt like I knew the hotel in the first place. Despite rebuilding it from the ground up, it will feel just as empty.

3 SHOTS THAT DRIVE ME CRAZY

I was truly baffled at how some of these scenes are timed and put together. Multiple sequences left me feeling nauseous and dazed - the camera moves like it’s being swung on the end of a rope, and there’s so many misplaced or meaningless cuts scattered through these episodes.

There’s a sequence of three shots in the first episode that I want to dissect. I will fully admit that I'm breaching nitpicking territory here, but the shot composition issues in this show are pretty rampant and my analysis here is just a hyper-specific look at a single part of that larger problem. Hopefully you can also use it as a quick storyboarding lesson too idk

First, we see Adam teasing Charlie.

Then, it cuts straight to this shot:

A few things here. 

Shot 2 is just closer on the characters, which is not a great idea to cut to after the previous waist-up shot. On top of being a jarring jump cut, there is no purpose for this new shot. All the information we see here (Adam laughs, Charlie fake laughs) could have just been conveyed in the previous shot.

Despite the characters being in the same position as the last shot, the background changes. This straight up just feels like an error. I think the idea is supposed to be that the camera is at a different angle, but the position of the characters does not convey that. It looks like reality changes behind them.

And if that’s not enough, this is the shot we get immediately after those two:

In this shot, the residents of the hotel sit on the couch as Vaggie walks into the shot, framing them between her legs. But there’s something… off.

Vaggie either looks like she’s floating or she’s three stories tall. Quick storyboard lesson as to why:

The main problem with this shot is that the perspective of the background doesn’t match up with where Vaggie is placed. The couch is framed as if the camera were above it, but Vaggie is framed like the camera is floor-level below her. I’ve traced the shot and added a perspective grid to hopefully better illustrate this:

Do you see what I mean? If the camera WAS actually on the floor like Vaggie’s position in the shot suggests, the composition would look more like this:

Notice how much closer the floor grid is to the bottom of the frame and how you can see the underside of the couch.

And to be fair, this is probably what the original storyboard for this shot looked like! Personally I think something went wrong in the compositing stage - this might be a couch background from another shot that was reused here to save time, or whoever approved this shot just let the error slide since the shot is so short (i've been there. sometimes you let the jank slide). Most animated shows will have some poorly framed shots and continuity errors because mistakes are bound to happen, but two egregious ones right next to each other like this is. pretty bad. It's so noticeable from a directing perspective.

Here’s the thing: these three shots happen in the span of like 10 seconds. Most viewers probably wouldn’t notice these issues, and that's fine. But even though these errors are quick, they stack upon each other so fast that even if you can’t pinpoint exactly what’s wrong, something still feels wrong. There’s so many other moments where the show breaks extremely basic shot composition, continuity, and staging rules - for example, the second musical number of the show breaks the 180 rule like four times for no good reason. The whole show feels like a dizzy, nauseating mess because the shots rarely feel like they form anything cohesive.

MY ROOMMATE TOLD ME TO GO TO BED SO HERE ARE SOME FINAL THOUGHTS

Here’s a rundown on some other thoughts that I don’t care to format into larger sections:

The show seems to lack much to say about sin and redemption other than “redemption good.” like sure, but what are they being redeemed from? Is heaven truly the place they deserve to go after being redeemed, even though it’s shown to be unjust? Are there sins that are too great to be redeemed from, or others that shouldn't be considered sins at all? I asked myself a number of questions like this, but never got many answers from Hazbin.

This show has a bad relationship with kink and sex. Both are mostly used as a punchline or a form of control. I didn’t like it. Perhaps the reason Hazbin never really comments on the nature of sin is because it needs you to consider sex and kink sinful or otherly for these jokes to hit.

Some of the animation is crazy good. I will praise any animator that even attempts to make these character designs move. A number of extremely talented people worked on this show, a few of the musical sequences in particular have some incredible movement.

Alastor is a very boring character. It’s wild that most of the side characters in this show only exist to talk about how much they like or hate Alastor, he mostly just stands to the side of some shots or kills random nameless goons. I expected him to have a much larger role in the story, but he just gets his ass kicked in the final episode and then crawls back to the hotel.

Episode 4 is the most cohesive, and i think Angel is the best character in the show. Unfortunately, the fact that Hazbin takes so much effort to show Angel’s misery left me… concerned? None of the other characters get treated as poorly as Angel by the narrative. There’s a few smaller explorations of trauma, but nothing remotely compares to what Angel is put through on-screen. This isn’t to say that I think the whole cast needs to be extremely traumatized and constantly miserable, but rather that I find it concerning that the only character subjected to incredibly graphic abuse and torture (that we see or hear about) is the gay sex worker. Which sucks, because I think the concept of hypersexuality resulted from sexual abuse is an important topic worthy of discussing in adult media. I just think they tried to execute this theme without much critical thought beforehand.

I think the voice cast does a fantastic job for the most part. Keith David is way too good for Husk.

I really liked the one shot where Charlie opens her phone and we see that she has a contact for every individual egg minion.

I was very brave and got through this whole review without talking about my new least favorite character of all time, Vox. here’s what I think of him:

The overall vision and end result of Hazbin Hotel is just mediocre. While I don’t know what led to the messy state this show ended up in, my guess is that it was probably the result of inadequate direction, sloppy writing, and lacking creative support from the studios involved. Because of this, please understand that I have no desire or intention to put down any individual artists that worked on this show - I hope it's clear that most of my criticisms are directed at the larger vision these artists were given to execute and/or the lack of creative support they received while working on this show.

I also don’t really have much desire to participate in any further Hazbin discussion or discourse because it has wasted enough of my time already and I want to be free of this curse. please spare my inbox from hazbin hotel discourse. please. i'm begging.

You want to know what the most fucked up thing about this is though? Despite everything I said about Hazbin, Avatar the Last Airbender 2024 is still the worst show I watched this month. I would take Hazbin over Avatar 2024 literally any day.

well if you got this far. thanks for reading. also sorry you read all that. whelp alright back into my hole i go bye bye

[soufflegirl]

Tag 9 people you want to know better - thank you for the tag @enigmaticxbee 💗

Currently reading: 11.22.63 by Stephen King. It's my first King's, I'm ~ 30% in and I'm enjoying it so far!

Last song: Sparks Fly by Taylor Swift

Currently watching: nothing at the moment because I'm still processing the five months immersion in The X-Files universe. I'm rewatching random episodes to cope with the emptiness and waiting to be in the mood to watch something else again.

Current fic: I'm reading snakebitten by onpaperfirst - I love being in a "new old" fandom because there is so much to read!

Next on my watchlist: I haven't watched the second season of Good Omens yet, so maybe I'll watch that. Or Our Flag Means Death, that has been on my watchlist forever.

Current obsession: someone took every single thought in my brain and replaced it with txf. It's a (beautiful) curse and I see no way out.

No pressure tag @badlucksav @alwaysleadstoyou @tsaritsa @littlewitchbee 🫶🏻

[jinxquickfoot]

I'm rewatching Infinity War and I want to address one of the key criticisms I hear of it which is: Steve: We don't trade lives, Vision. Also Steve: *takes the fight to Wakanda where a lot of Wakandans die* First point - even if they had destroyed the Stone when Vision first suggests it, the army would have no way of knowing that. They would have come for it anyway. Or even if they did know it was gone, Thanos surely would have sent them to Earth anyway for vengeance. Point is - Earth is getting attacked either way. Wakanda has the best defenses and weaponry in the world. Not to mention that Steve didn't just rock up and start fighting and force everyone else to get on board - T'Challa agreed to make the stand against Thanos there, even knowing the risks to his people.

Second - it's a thematically sound choice. Throughout the entire movie, we see that the good guys aren't willing to sacrifice love for the big picture. Loki won't let Thor die, Wanda and Team Cap won't let Vision sacrifice himself, Gamora can't bear to see Nebula tortured. The only person who is willing to make that personal sacrifice for 'the greater good' is Thanos. He thinks big picture only. The ends totally justify the means. What does one small life matter if he's saving the universe, even if that person is someone he 'loves'? And then we get Stephen and Tony. Even after declaring that he will let Tony or Peter die before handing over the Time Stone, Stephen realizes the value of one life - Tony's life - because it's the one life that will make all the difference in the end. Yes, it's important to keep the end goals and the greater good in mind, but we can't do that by bringing untold harm and suffering to individuals. The Avengers win because they're not Thanos.

[khruschevshoe]

WEDDING OF RIVER SONG RANT INCOMING

Listen, I have nothing smart to say about this one. I'm trying to rewatch the Wedding of River Song and I literally keep stopping every thirty seconds to (OUT LOUD, mind you) shout at the screen "That's so. Fucking. Stupid. Stephen!" and then, in the moments I'm not commenting on how absolutely convoluted and full of plot holes it all is (how is the Doctor's death a fixed point when it never was before? Why does the world collapse like this? From where in River Song's plotline is the version of her in the astronaut suit stolen from? How is time collapsing and stopping at the same time? etc.) or how contrived it is that Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart's death is the one thing that makes the Doctor start running (I can feel you trying to make me think you're clever, Steve, and it's not working, because you only throw around beloved characters from previous eras when you want to distract me from your bad writing- I saw what you were doing with the holograms in Let's Kill Hitler), I'm rolling my eyes or being very sorely tempted to chuck my phone at the wall for just how sexist it all is. "Hell in high heels." The idea that alloromantic, heterosexual "sexy" love is the only thing that can save the universe. The fact that Amy can't remember Rory, her caring, nurse husband and instead only remembers a more stereotypically-masculine version of her husband (I am in your WALLS, Steve, why does every episode you write with them make them way more "traditional"/conservative than their one-offs do, no, I have not forgiven you for the Doctor asking "permission" in A Good Man Goes to War and Let's Kill Hitler).

By the way, did we EVER get an explanation as for why Silence Will Fall? Like, three seasons of build up and SILENCE NEVER FELL? (Why was there never any consequences for your writing, Steve?) Was the silence the cracks? Did the silence cause the cracks? Is silence falling supposed to just be the Doctor literally genociding the Silence (in which case Trenzalore has nothing to do with it) or is it supposed to be a metaphor? Or a literal deafening in volume? Will Steven Moffat ever listen for his crimes?

There were never any consequences for all of this "clever" build up and the Church of the Silence and gah, I want to poke it with a stick but if I poke it with a stick Moffat's Season 6 house of cards is going to collapse because not only is easily toppleable by the gentlest of breezes, it actively has cards missing.

[rankirakira]

WARNING SCOTT PILGRIM TAKES OFF SPOILERS

U have been warned so...

Aaaa I binged watch the Scott Pilgrim Takes Off anime in one day instead of doing college homework lol. I have no one to talk to about the Scott Pilgrim anime 😭 so here i info dumping and ranting it.

I read comics and watched the movie in highschool and i also played the game on my Switch. Gosh it's an amazing adaptation and it reference all of them in the anime. Also, the anime feels like a what if or alternate universe imo. I feel like it's better to watch the live action or read the graphic novel or played the video game first imo to understand the easter eggs and references.

Bcs I am so happy that Anamanaguchi came back from the Scott Pigrim game and aaaa there was the game soundtrack in the anime.

Also the ending and the plotline of Ramona being more responsible and facing her exes reminds me of Ramona's ending in the Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World video game. So I'm happy the anime took this route

Things I love in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off ❤️:

The animation and music ❤️❤️❤️

Scott and Ramona realize their mistakes in their past love relationships

Scott and Ramona dynamic is more cuter imo

Scene of Ramona dying her hair

League of Evil Exes interactions aka Gordon and Luke being besties

The unexpected character dynamics, for example, I didn't expect one sided Todd x Wallace 👀

Gayer scenes ( More Wallace and More Roxie)

So many Lucas Lee (He's my fav also I am a Chris Evans so I am bias)

Love how meta and self referential the anime is bcs they reference the original source and other adaptations

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost cameo

The Director Edgar Wright aka Edgar Wrong spoof

Epilogue and Side character developments basically the exes having good endings like Matthew Patel's musical career and Buff barista Lucas

Is the Musical a sign that we might get a Scott Pilgrim musical???

Sparks✨️✨️✨️

Things I wish was in the Scott Pilgrim Takes Off aka me being nitpicking sorry 😭

Hoping that Todd moves on from Wallace bcs the Wallace Heart tattoo is a red flag

Surprised there was no Wallace and Lucas interactions or Wallace's crush on Lucas scenes like the original

No Stephen's boyfriend, Joseph 😭 orStephen Stills being gay scene

Was hoping for a timeskip that Kim and Knives (as a college student) became a couple. Love the duet they had tho❤️

Hopefully there is a season 2 or spin-off perhaps. Overall, I am very satisfied and I would love to rewatch Scott Pilgrim Takes Off over and over again. I love it❤️❤️❤️ Sorry for the long rant. I have no one to talk to about it

[terristarstrike]

What's The Schmooze on Terri Starstrike?:

Set in an alternate retro-futuristic 2005, imagined through the eyes of the 1960s, filled with holograms, highly-advanced robotics, touch-free technology, and a midcentury aesthetic, we follow three best friends - Terrina, Bailynn, and Jack - as they navigate teenage high school life in the beachside Californian town of Westshore. Terrina is the artistically-inclined team leader who dreams of becoming a part of another world beyond her home planet of El-Doe, but still figuring out who she is as a Human-Jotuzon hybrid, Bailynn, Terri’s madly-in-love girlfriend, is a smart, ambitious straight-A student and a hybrid who was born and raised in the human world, and Jack, Terri’s childhood friend from El-Doe, is an enthusiastic and flamboyant genius who’s learning to be more open about his personal interests, while protecting the girls’ secrets from disapproving peers. The three Jotuzons, who are normally giant, are experiencing the highs and lows of human life on human level while figuring out a way to bring the worlds of humans and Jotuzons back together.

Terrina Ave-Lo (She/Her)

The star of our show, the groovy Afro-Latina fashionista from a distant planet who was born as a Human-Jotuzon hybrid. She felt like a misfit amongst the perfect Jotuzons, gorgeous 60-foot-tall giants who are hailed as the most marvelous creatures in the universe, but on Earth, she became proud of her size-shifting gene, giving her the ability to shrink to human level and interact with the Earthlings. Terrina is a proud half-Puerto Rican lesbian who’s learning to live with her long lost dad, the world-famous media mogul Max Raymond. She vows to know why her mother, Empress Genn, wanted her to be a half-human hybrid, but until she finds her answer, she’s determined to bridge the broken gap between Jotuzons and humans. Terri is a girl of many things - She’s the school’s sharp-witted queen bee, a popular cheerleader, and a female quarterback. She loves to paint (though very messily), she’s a songbird with a beautiful singing voice, and she’s the teen model sensation that Westshore is going crazy over. Never misses an episode of That’s So Raven or American Idol. Her small, solid friend group, consisting of her childhood friend Jack and her girlfriend Bailynn, means the entire world to her and she remains fiercely devoted to the two of them.

Bailynn Lo-Shanta (She/Her)

Bailynn Lo-Shanta, formerly known as Bailey Wilson, has been widely regarded as the smartest kid in Westshore: a straight-A student with spelling bee championships and science fair medals to her name, but she’s also known for her strange, weird interests in the unknown. After meeting her current girlfriend Terrina Ave-Lo, she discovered a huge secret about her heritage: she’s actually a half-human Jotuzon! Ever since that day, she has remained as the super-smart, sizeshifting giant who’s passionately in love with the most awesome girlfriend in the galaxy. Bailynn acts as the calculated voice of reason for her trio, but she never loses her fangirl passion for the world beyond. Deeply devoted to her deceased father, Dr. Irwin Wilson, always keeping his Paranormal Journal close to her heart. Unabashedly worships Stephen Hawking, as much as she loves Mary J. Blige. Stays up past midnight to rewatch episodes of the Twilight Zone. She has a sweet tooth for chocolate chip pancakes and root beer floats, and believes in the superstitions of voodoo dolls and tarot cards.

Jack El-Benn (He/They)

Jack El-Benn is a proud transgender Jotuzon and a deeply passionate studier of the Earth Humans. Fascinated by their artifacts and their technology, he followed Terrina to Earth to deep deeper into their world. They’re a very energetic giant who can be easily distracted by shiny objects, but they’re always there to help his most-trusted friends, Terrina and Bailynn. Jack uses his Jotu-Bracelet to shrink to human size and interact with his human friends. Their fashion style often fluctuates from nerdy and preppy to fabulously flamboyant. He is a passionate theatre kid and a proud member of the school’s drama club, who is always taking hour-long makeup sessions to sing the Wicked and Hairspray albums. Crazily in love with *NSYNC and their music.

Khadija Saleh (She/Her)

Khadija Saleh is the Palestinian-Egyptian student body president at Westshore High, and Bailynn’s closest friend. A proud Arab girl and a future archeologist with a strong intuition, she serves as the voice of logic for her friends, while also studying Westshore’s connection to unexplained phenomena. No matter what the odds are, she has always believed in peaceful co-existence between Jotuzons and humans, and is advocating for Terrina’s master plan to interrogate the school. Khadija is fascinated with the ancient artifacts that the giant Jotuzons left behind, and wants to study their ancient language and culture with Terri’s help. Deeply rooted to her ancestral homeland in Palestine. She loves to organize the school dances, enjoying watching local drag races, and is most likely to quote Beyoncé at her graduation ceremony.

Izzy Scott (They/Them)

Social misfit Izzy Scott, born of mixed Filipino, Hawaiian, and Korean descent, is a nonbinary autistic daredevil who strives to break the restrictive gender norms of Westshore. Having grown up in San Francisco, they’re a scrawny, wisecracking enby and a member of the school’s soccer team who is the closest to Terri in personality. They may seem aloof sometimes with their eyes glued to their phone and their ears in their headphones, but don’t cross them though, they might just hit you with a sassy insult. They like cracking bad pun jokes, watching episode reruns of the Simpsons, and watching old commercials from the 80s.

Kiko Ka-Lilo (She/Her)

Kiko Ka-Lilo is a rare Mertilian-Jotuzon hybrid who was born to a black mother and a Japanese-Hawaiian father. Once a part of Kemba’s popular girl clique on El-Doe, Kiko is a shy and meek wallflower who’s learning to stand on her two feet, as she becomes one of the Jotuzons integrated into Westshore High School. She looks to Terri as a hero who helped her embrace her own hybrid identity. She can transform into her Mertilian form whenever she’s submerged in water, and is capable of sizeshifting from Jotuzon size to human size. Kiko loves writing her own poetry, searching through shipwrecks, and wants to prove her worth as the school’s first Jotuzon on the volleyball team. She often tagalongs with the Giant Trio on their adventures.

Sprite De La Rosa (She/Her)

Sprite De La Rosa is a Mertilian of Haitian and Dominican descent who was washed up to the shores of Westshore during a hurricane. Now residing in the local pool, she has a never ending thirst for adventure and exploring the world around her. Helplessly romantic, she falls head over fins for Izzy Sanchez and is starting to question if she’s really in love with them. Sprite juggles her love for acting and volleyball with her passion for reading books in the school library. She is tight-knit friends with her volleyball partner Kiko, who she often calls her “aquatic sea friend.” Her fashion style is always connected to the tropical vibes of the sea. Posts videos of herself on social media singing with her harmonious siren-like voice. As a Mertilian, she can talk to sea creatures, and her legs transform into a luscious mermaid tail when she’s in the water.

Cassandra “Candy” Levi (She/Her)

Cassandra “Candy” Levi is a Jewish theatre kid and an anxious drama queen who’s always setting plans for her future. Like Bailynn, she is deeply invested in Westshore’s connection to mystery phenomena and devotes her entire life’s work to figuring out the truth. Candy might be the biggest klutz in the group, but she’s also the most passionate actress and a member of the school’s drama club. Candy and Khadija always bond over their different religious experiences, and they work together to decode the secrets of their hometown. She and Jack also form a deep friendship over their love for musical theatre and dogs. She lives with her married mothers and her pet dog Licorice in a downtown apartment and firmly believes that her lesbian identity runs in the family. Emotionally attached to Avril Lavigne’s music, as well as jelly donuts that remind her of her mothers’ sufganiyot. 

So what's the schmooze on Terri Starstrike? There's so much more to discover in the town of Westshore, California, so follow us for more fun!

[autumngravity]

During my most recent Puppet History drought rewatching of Ruining History, I got to thinking and couldn't turn it off, so I present to you:

In the alternate universe where Ruining History was actually Puppet History - Who Would Be the Puppet Musical Guest?

Was Ben Franklin in a Smooching Cult?: Either Medmenham Abbey Castle or the Baboon that was dressed as a demon.

The Bizzare Life of Johnny Appleseed: It would either be the stack of multiple hats Johnny would wear or a barrel of Applejack made from one of the apple trees he planted.

The Most Insane Battle History: Pretty obviously Alesia with the double circumvallation around it but if I had to choose something else it would be the gladius sword or the turtle shield tank.

The True Story of the Pirate Queen: Either the pieces of a broken egg shell or the mannequin Anne painted red and dismantled.

That Time Britain Burned Down the White House: It would either be the on fire/burned up White House, the frame that the portrait of Washington was in, the stollen print press Cs, a spared piece of patent paper, or one of the tornados that spawned from the assumed hurricane.

The Deceitful Imposter King of Persia: The bow and arrow that Cambyses used to kill Prexasbis' kid and threaten Croesus or the fake Smerdis' severed ears.

Three Hilariously Terrible Popes: I think it would be a trio. For Benedict: The rope that was going to be used to assassinate him. For Alexander: One of the church offices he sold or the chestnuts that were used at the banquet. And for Stephen: Formosus' severed fingers.

The Adorable Bear that Served in WWII: It would be either be Corporal Wojtek himself, one of Wojteks cigarettes, the sack Wojtek was first brought to the soilders in, Michael, or a ammo shell that Wojtek helped load.

The Horrifying Shipwreck that Inspired Moby Dick: Either be the whale themself, the essex, one/multiple of the tortoises they took from the Galapagos, or the straws they drew to determine who would be eaten.

[namielles]

oh malachite. I'd think more about that situation if there weren't a war going on. I like her design a lot at least

lapis. she should get to kill some people bc I feel bad for her. but there is a war going on. iirc she was a terraformer?? like girl you were committing major war crimes and potential extinction. you know why they're scared of you.

where's that white elf discussion picture when I need it

where's that "lapis I NEED cock" image when I need it

[irondadfics]

Hi there! I was wondering, do you guys know of any NWH fics where Tony is alive (and still Peter’s father figure) and gets to meet the other Peters? I’ve been rewatching lately and I’ve just thought that sort of fic would be so cool (partially bc of Andrew’s comment on what his Peter would think of Tony) even if I don’t know if it exists. Thanks in advance!

could either of these be close to what you are looking for?

The Multiverse of Peter by inkinmyheartandonthepage

“So, was I supposed to learn that multiverses exists when one opened up over the statue of liberty or were you planning on telling me that one day?” Tony asked, leveling Doctor Stephen Strange with a glare. “If I had it my way, nobody would know about them,” Stephen grumbled, his red cloak bristling behind him. OR Tony forgot just how capable Peter was as he watched three of them work together to take down villains from another universe.

scene is in Chapter 6

with great power, there must also come great responsibility by burningfudge

The Avengers watch their future. A Spider-Man: No Way Home + Venom: Let There Be Carnage post-credits watch-it fic.

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

Just had a realisation that I’d like to share: I don’t have any drive to rewatch any of the new marvel movies and I feel like that says something about them.

I constantly rewatch all the avengers movies, cap movies .. etc, but I’ve not even considered rewatching MoM or NWH or even the new guardians movie (I know it’s new but that didn’t stop me with Avatar:WoW), It’s like I don’t care about them, there’s nothing memorable to laugh at, they’re just one watch and nothing else, as if there’s nothing new to see once you’ve finished it the first time.

I’ve come to realise that with the old movies there’s new things you can discover in a rewatch, even if you watch it a hundred times there’s still details you can miss or dialogue you can find another meaning inside, with the new releases there’s none of that, it’s like everything needs to be explained to you constantly + the dialogue is so bland there’s nothing else you can take from it besides the base meaning (not to mention the fact that the acting hardly seems to fit what’s being said anymore).

That's probably the biggest risk of expanding the MCU universe to so many movies and series and specials, etc. Many times it seems the entire point of one movie is to sell the next product, and I know Feige hates this word but it seems like they're putting out content, not telling stories.

I feel like in the past we learned new things about the main characters but these days they mostly wait for things to happen to them. It's like watching a movie where the story could happen to anyone else and it still would work. Replace Scott with any other character in Quantumania... does it change anything? Take Stephen out of MoM... does anything change? Do we learn anything new about Thor in L&T?

You need Steve and Bucky in TWS. Scott and Hope and Hank are essential for Ant-Man &The Wasp. CW only works (well it doesn't, but you know what I mean) because the rift is in the Avengers team.

Dunno, the way I see it we care about those stories because the characters are there. Now they're the excuse to get people to care about the stories... they did a 180 and I'm not sure it's working for some of us.

It's probably worth mentioning though that we have seen the conclusion of the first 3 phases so it's easier to go back to the old movies and draw parallels between certain words and actions and tie them to what happened afterwards. It's what people are doing now with Rocket post-Vol 3. But of course, this can only be done when the stories are so well-crafted that they have a coherent ending. You can't watch L&T and draw any parallels, if anything you can only see how blatant Thor's character regression is...

[marvelmadam08]

In rewatching the MCU (yes, I'm still doing that), I've reached Infinity War.

But I wanna focus on this little cinnamon roll right here.

When I got to the part when Tony deems Peter an Avenger, and he's so happy, and then that was the moment the universe started whooping his ass.

Hear me out:

He gets turned to dust. (My and my niece were in shambles!)

Then he comes back, and it's 5 years later! And he had to go fight the same mf...

Immediately after, Tony dies.

A few months later, Mysterio shows up and does more emotional, psychological, and physical distress!! (Bridge scene still slaps.)

And just when he thinks he can have a moment of peace, Mysterio leaks his identity and then dies dipped...

Now, (because neither Peter or Stephen, thought to go over the terms and conditions of the spell.), there are multiple villans from different dimensions coming to throw hands with Peter!

Then Norman/Green Goblin kills his aunt. (All he wanted to do was go to college and take MJ on a date.)

And then the final fucking blow, everybody he knows and loves forgot he ever existed...

I just went-

Someone go give him a hug and a blanket.

[baronessblixen]

Frasier episode roundup! :DDD

Mel's a reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal stinker, huh. Niles picks all the bad ones, and Frasier picks (and leaps from) all the good ones.

LOVE Ferguson; and will always love Ferguson. One of my favorite S8 episodes.

Donny got engaged and married? So soon...? Uh oh. This smells like a rebound.

Roz and Frasier and Roz's ex Luke... within two seconds I wanted to get away from that dude; but I guess flattery will always catch (in this case desperate) people.

Mary's back! Sometimes I do and don't like her... but this episode was a x2 speed type of watch. (Just saw Stephen King as a call-in? Huh.)

I love Frasier's Harvard mentor. Love him, love him, love him. He needs to be in many more episodes. Wearing Roz's robe? The actor killed those scenes.

Frederick turning into a gamer shouldn't be as surprising as it was. I wonder if maybe Marty's genes skipped a generation. >:D

x2 speed on the car and Dalmatian episode; but it wasn't all that bad. (There really isn't an all-bad Frasier episode, though.)

The chaos trying to prevent the Shakespearean scifi actor from getting onstage was quite amusing. In similar scenarios, I'm usually annoyed or frustrated that things won't work out; but him quite literally crawling to the chair won me over.

The two parallel universes episode was intriguing-- two people meant to be, getting together regardless, awww-- and Bernadette Peters was a guest caller???? I gotta rewatch her segment.

Kenny! I liked him... then he got a wandering eye; and now I don't respect him. His wife was really nice, though. Liked her a whole lot.

Niles wins the basketball competition only to join Frasier in making a fool of himself. C'est la vie.

John Glenn going off on an alien rant while Roz and Frasier are bickering is just... so good.

x2 speed for the rich widow. I expected better of you, Martin. You should have known two women in the dark always ends in disaster, especially when Frasier flubbed it so badly last(?) season.

Martin shaming his sons in front of their wine club. I'm not sorry for them. >:)))

Daphne's back! And what a touching look into her and Niles's psyche. Him blurting out his problems with her, her taking it wrong, then both "having at" each other was freeing even for me.

Also, whichever episode had Niles struggling with Daphne's sleeping habits was gold.

Niles deciding to let Daphne keep her psychic opinion of herself was also sweet, awwwww.

FRASIER, WHY'D YA RUIN A GOOD THING WITH CLAIRE. (Also... she can do better. Also: it didn't seem like you two really meshed.) FRASIER, WHY ARE YOU SABOTAGING YOURSELF WITH LANA.

Lana's son was a fun character, though.

The finale was x2; but the rest of the arc was juicy, SO I finished it. XDD Fascinating little dig into Frasier's psychology. Intrigued to see what he does-- more likely doesn't-- with these revelations.

Overall: leagues better than the season where everyone at the station lost their jobs; but not the besssssst, either.

I had a good time, regardless. :DDDD

Glad you had a good time! This really shows me that I don't watch season 8 often cause most of these didn't even ring a bell 😂 it's definitely not my favorite season.

How do you watch an episode on double speed? I'm not sure I could follow the episode 😂

In my opinion, season 9 has better episodes.

[foxqueen-katarian]

My Life In Movies: The Guardian 1990 6.5/10

So I said a few months ago that I was going to undertake the arduous task of watching every movie released since my birth*, and this will be the first installment of my recording my thoughts about each film. So, right out the gate the first movie is Universal Pictures' Horror/Drama The Guardian, Directed by William Friedkin, Produced by Joe Wizan, and Written by Stephen Volk, Dan Greenburg, and William Friedkin. It stars Carey Lowell, Dwier Brown, and Jenny Seagrove. It grossed $16.1M and has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 25% (Audience Score of 32%). I don't have high hopes that I'm going to like this, Horror is not my genre and while the synopsis makes it sound like a solid concept I don't trust it's going to translate.

Oh boy was this movie interesting. As a reminder this movie can out in early 1990, so special effects, were limited to what could be done practically. There are a few quick cuts that are laughable by today's standards, but for the era it was made it's pretty solid. Overall I think it was an acceptable film, I would say there's not much (to me) that translates as 'horror'. There are two 'chase' scenes, and the final fifteen minutes of the movie that lean into the genre but don't fully commit to it. It was a much more enjoyable watch than I was expecting. I will say I spent the entire movie waiting for the moment where I was supposed to see the villain as the villain, and it never quite got there, which may be more indicative of my feeling about having children and how I'd actually probably be okay with it if a hot British druid showed up and took my baby away to sacrifice them to a tree, than the actually writing. True to concept: 4/5 - It stayed true to the overall concept, without any weird twists coming out of left field. Enjoyability: 4/5 - It was fun, very kitsch, it's not a movie everyone is going to enjoy but I had fun with it.

Rewatchability: 2/5 - I'm not going to go out of my way to rewatch it and unless someone else actively did want to watch it I'd probably skip it.

Cinematography: 3/5 - There's some weird cuts, and some interesting decisions made for how some scenes were filmed (there are at least two scenes from an infants POV shot with a fish bowl lens).

Overall: 6.5/10