#sick and fucking twisted about a show i know the whole plot of

[perfectmanisperfect]

literally knew about blood and cheese and i hate team green to my dying breath but that was so fucked up im sick a bit fuck oh gods

[alchemist-shizun]

I've come to the realization that I've known about mdzs for about 4 months and so far I've been juggling in my head 3 different songxuexiao fic ideas (ones actually not ship fic only about post canon song lan and inner turmoil which we love) and SOMEHOW all of them involve little kids to a certain degree, either raising them or having a group of little ducklings following u everywhere u go.

This is a first and a pattern I wasn't expecting but I guess I'm welcoming it!

[tlou-reid]

How You Get the Girl ❆ Pope Heyward

☃︎SUMMARY: pope doesn't know how to end conversations correctly and it puts his relationship on the line.

☃︎WARNINGS: angst, kinda short, kiara is rude in this lmao, i was very uninspired so this is not that great

☃︎swiftmas masterlist!

.｡❅⋆⍋∞｡∞⍋⋆❅｡.

Stand there like a ghost, shaking from the rain.

You knew who it was before you even opened the door. The pounds on your door were loud, but not aggressive. Pope had texted you, asking if it was okay if he came by to talk. You didn’t answer, but you knew he would come anyway.

You were mad, that much was obvious. Not the silly kind of mad you’d get when Pope stuck his spoon into your frozen yogurt or the loving kind of mad you’d get when JJ made him do something stupid and you worried about him. No, you were the kind of mad that had both of you questioning whether or not you were still dating.

It had been two days since you last spoke to him. Friday night, standing at the party, beer in your hand, and JJ begging you to walk away. You couldn’t remember when he had joined the conversation, but him pulling you away was the only thing that kept you from slapping Kiara right across her kooky fucking face.

You hadn’t heard the full story or the full conversation between Pope and Kiara, but you were mad the second you heard commenting on the dress you were in, telling Pope that you’d really decided to show off tonight. You knew she was hesitant to accept you, but you didn’t think she was actively plotting against your relationship with Pope. He’d already told you about their history, but it seemed like there were feelings still lingering.

While Kiara had been the one to stab the dagger into you, Pope was the one who twisted when he let out a sigh, mumbling a “yeah”, before trying to change the topic. He didn’t stick up for you, didn’t defend you from Kiara’s baseless accusations that you were trying to impress other people. Instead, he agreed and moved on. Anything to please her, you thought.

Since this was the little bit of the conversation you had heard before you blew up on them, you had spent the whole weekend overthinking and coming up with other hurtful things they could’ve been saying about you. You’d convinced yourself they were true, which led you to avoid the entire Pogue friend group all weekend.

So now, here Pope was, hoping he could patch up your wounds and go back to the happy relationship you’d been in. He stood in the cold rain, the chill from the coming outer banks winter was nipping at him, making his face pale and his nose gain a pink hue.

She’ll open up the door, and say are you insane?

“Are you insane?” You asked when you fully opened the door, ushering him inside. No matter how mad you were at him, you didn’t want him to get sick. You still loved him after all. He stepped in quickly, seeking both the warmth your house provided and to be closer to you.

“Y/N,” he was out of breath as if he had run here. “I’m sorry for whatever you think you heard, but I promise I wasn’t saying anything bad about you.” He was talking fast like he didn’t think he’d have time to get everything he wanted to say out. “I would never, ever say anything bad about you or believe anything anyone else says.”

“Pope, I heard you agree with her.” You rolled your eyes, crossed your arms over your chest, and took a step away from him. He knew you were being defensive. He could only imagine how much hearing that interaction must’ve hurt your feelings. All Pope wanted to do was go back and tell Kiara to stop, to walk away from the conversation entirely, to get up and go dance with you instead of listening to her. But he couldn’t. So, here he was, trying his hardest to get you to listen.

Say it’s been a long six months and you were too afraid to tell her what you want.

“No!” He exclaimed, growing frustrated with his inability to find the right words to say. “Y/N, please,” he was growing desperate, tired of the space between you two. “I just wanted her to shut up! I don’t know what’s going on with her! I wanted her to stop talking and I wanted to go dance with you, but I’m stupid and I didn’t.” Pope looked crazed, eyes wide and arms flailing to emphasize his points.

“You didn’t defend me!” You exasperated. Your voice cracked as you basically yelled at him. You wanted him to see how bad he hurt you. Kiara, you could deal with. She was just a girl who was friends with your boyfriend. But, Pope was your everything.

“I know,” Pope’s voice was gentler now, “I know. I should’ve. I should’ve told her that you can dress however you want. That you could’ve shown up in a trash bag, or even naked, and I still would’ve shown you off. I don’t care what people think or see or feel about you. I should’ve told her that but I didn’t and I’m so sorry.” At this point, Pope’s eyes were beginning to fill with tears.

“She’s gonna keep doing this,” You informed, cocking your hip to the side. If he was going to allow her to, there was no point in this conversation. His words were sweet and calmed your overthinking, but you needed change to happen.

“I won’t let her,” Pope sighs out, taking a step closer to you. He relaxed a bit when you didn’t step away from him. “I’ll tell her to stop and that I’m not going to talk to her if she doesn’t.” You could tell by his face how serious he was. His dark eyes were boring into yours.

He took another step towards you, “Please, don’t let this be the end of his. I’ve had a wonderful six months with you.” You held eye contact for a moment, before taking quick steps to wrap your arms around his waist. He didn’t waste any time pulling you close to him. “I’m sorry,” he breathed into the top of your head.

You nodded, letting the tears fall onto his shirt. He pressed a kiss to the top of your head. When you pulled away, he kept his hands on your waist. Pope pulled in for a kiss. You couldn’t stop the words from leaving your mouth as you pulled away, “I love you.”

He smiled as you uttered the three words he’d been waiting for the first time. He’d already said them, but it was taking you just a bit longer. He wasn’t too worried about it, as he could see the way you loved him in the things you did.

“I love you, too.”

And that’s how it works, that’s how you get the girl.

[yujeong]

Okk. I don't want to compare or anything but I don't get the people who's getting mad on Korn Tonkla scenes saying they had more screen time? Or shit. I mean tbh, I am understanding the plot of the series better because of the two of them because they are somehow related to all of the events. And Tonkla's situation is...... he somehow senses the other timeline which I think is an important role. And also, Korn! Like what you've said he knows Dome is dead, and at the same time he's with his brother who ’saved’ Dome. Both of the characters are pivotal in the series.

Also, I think that they are more talked about because a Bas and Fuaiz couple was not expected in the series, and at the same time their plot line is really good as well as the build up of their characters. And I've seen more & more people are falling in love with Fuaiz & Bas (as an actor) in this series.

But somehow, I get them because the main couple is GreatTyme but why does it feel like they are becoming more of a side couple. Also saw people saying that their ’plot line’ or how they were introduced to eo /wasn't it./

Thank you for giving me the incentive to speak about this issue, anon. I'm going to do it now because the new episode will come out in a few hours and hopefully I won't have to do this ever again - which I honestly doubt but anyway. Since I haven't seen this type of discourse pop up on Tumblr (thank GOD), I'd like to inform everyone that over on Twitter, there have been massive complaints about Tonkla, aka Fuaiz, getting more screentime than the main characters, aka JesBible, to the point of people tagging BOC in posts and demanding they give them more scenes with TymeGreat - as if BOC can just pull footage they haven't filmed out of their ass or something. It got so bad that Sammon herself saw them and AGREED with these people, further explaining how it was important for some plot elements to be explored now, in order for the rest of the series to make sense. Now, with all due respect to her position as a screenwriter: she's factually wrong here. Someone on Twitter actually sat down and counted the minutes each character is on screen and came out with these results:

It's not in English, but I believe the results are clear: Tonkla doesn't even come close to Great's screentime. He's a little closer to Tyme's, but the main character is Great, so he's the one we should be looking at. Also, in case it hasn't been fucking obvious, Tonkla is an essential character in 4 Minutes, which is why we're getting many scenes with him. The reason I mentioned the actors is pretty self-explanatory - people are mad their favourite actors are shown a specific amount of time, giving space to other plot lines and characters, instead of being there for the whole episode, as if the point of 4 Minutes is the romance between Tyme and Great and nothing else. Meanwhile, Bible himself was laughing and clapping and enjoying the flashback scene between Korn and Tonkla when they had their first time, because Bible wanted to be part of a good production, which he is and he recognizes it. But no, God forbid we get more context over KornTonkla, which is one of the most important relationships in the show, which guides Tonkla's actions, which moves the fucking PLOT of the SHOW. I could give the benefit of the doubt to people being upset Tonkla was shown for not even half of episode 4, but I won't, and the reason for that is because I'm sick and fucking tired of people getting their panties in a twist because a character who loves getting fucked is actually getting fucked in almost every episode. Good for him honestly, even if it's making him worse. (I've already ranted about this whole thing here, I'm not going to repeat myself) I don't know how your social media feeds are like anon, but mine are flooded with BibleJes + GreatTyme content and I rarely see anything about KornTonkla or Bas and Fuaiz or anything of the sort, so I can't agree with you that they're more talked about than the main actors/characters. (That's not the case on Tumblr though: I have a very varied feed + my lovely anon asks which give me the chance to talk about my boys and I'm thankful for that.) And I'm sorry, anon, but I'm going to have to disagree with you in the end: Great and Tyme do NOT feel like the side couple at all. They are and they feel very much like the main couple and they've had multiple scenes together in every single episode so far (at the hospital, in Great's garage, at the park, at the university, at the arcade, inside Great's car, at the rooftop of the hospital, at the warehouse, inside the tent etc). We've gotten plenty of fucking content for them AND also BOC has made sure to give Bible and Jes the chance to do a million interviews together + magazine photoshoots, with only half of the show being done, so fans have zero fucking reason to complain about anything. That's all. Rant over.

[sylvies-chen]

okay I’ve refrained from posting my thoughts on the ted lasso finale until now in the interest of making sure they’re expressed properly so that people understand how correct my opinions actually are. but I’m here and I’m queer and LET’S DO IT FOLKS:

TED LASSO FINALE THOUGHTS

THE GOOD:

Nate!! Nate was a timid, sweet note in this episode. It was such a gentle little reintegration of his character back into the team and seeing him get a secure happy ending after all that time of insecurity was the part of the episode that provided the MOST payoff. Seeing Nick Mohammed’s post about Nate and his family life and understanding how much he put into that character was so beautiful to see too. I adore actors who very publicly (and in a nerdy way) love their craft!

His conversation with Ted also made me cry like I have never cried before.

COLIN KISSED HIS FELLA AFTER A WIN!! Ugh such a beautiful payoff and full circle moment for him, I was truly squealing with joy <3

The team’s rendition of So Long, Farewell had me GIGGLINGGG oh my god, I’m a die hard Sound of Music fan so I loved it! I would have maybe liked a little more emotion from Ted, I felt like his reaction was kind of… meh? meek? but other than that the song itself was FANTASTIC.

Obviously I love that they won the game, duh

They also had a lot of really amazing and thoughtful callbacks in this episode, like Keeley’s parallel to her entrance in the pilot was great, Ted’s bbq sauce mantra, Nate leaping into Ted’s arms, the ussie guy, the winning play being the play from season 1. All of those little moments showed a strong attention to detail I truly loved.

I love that Rupert made HIMSELF unlikeable in the end. Rebecca didn’t need to ruin his life; she stopped caring and soon saw he was doing a perfectly fine job of doing it himself. Karma truly is Rebecca Welton’s boyfriend!! Or is it?

Jake the motherfucking client seducer over here turning out to be a total dud like yesss!! I don’t want Ted and Michele back together by any means but fuck that guy lol, glad to see she and Henry were getting sick of him

BELIEVE. 😭

Which leads me to…

THE BAD:

I know you all know I ship Tedbecca, but this is truly not coming from a shipper standpoint when I say that that first scene of them was absolute BAIT. It was pretty disappointing because I know Ted Lasso’s been prone to red herrings and fakeouts every now and then but I didn’t take it as a show that would truly bait their fans with something like that??

I don’t care if I’m biased, I don’t care if the writers were trying to be avant-garde with their ending for rebecca, I’ll say what I’m about to say a million times: writing off 1 of your 2 most main characters into a happy ending with a man whose name the audience doesn’t even know is literally never a good writing decision. I think this should be obvious.

I have no hate to Boat Guy, Rebecca’s whole thing with him was basically the plot of Before Sunrise + Before Sunset (all hail Richard Lanklater) if someone watched those movies and then tried condensing them into fifteen accumulated minutes of television

Keeley, Roy, Jamie… they did you three so fucking dirty my babes. Keeley you especially. I’m beyond disappointed, bordering on genuinely hurt, by how much they screwed up Keeley and all of her adjacent storylines this season.

I loved RoyKeeley so much in seasons 1 and 2, they had such a sweetness and a magic to them. There were so many elements like that to season 1 and 2 that I feel the writers gave up on in the name of growth or… honestly, at this point, I don’t know why they did this. Roy was a little insecure in seasons 1 and 2, but I never felt like he was needy. It felt so cruel to have shown us RoyKeeley in all of these moments of such stability, such healthiness, and such genuine love for so long and then rip it away for some version of Roy Kent that felt hollow, twisted, and who just Did Not Get It. It makes me so sad.

It makes me sad for Jamie too. Him falling for Keeley again was like the last thing I needed to see from his character. There’s so much else they could have done with him, and instead they took that beautiful moment of him being accountable and respectful with Keeley and the tape, and they turned it into something ugly: they had him weaponize it as a bargaining chip against Roy.

I don’t understand why they thought having our favs engaged in this very sexist outdated convo with such possessive language in the name of comedy was a good idea. I get it was poking fun at them but it was the kind of fun that shouldn’t have to be poked at by now. They’re not these men, I don’t recognize this version of them. It’s such a regression.

speaking of weird and uncomfortable shit being played off for laughs… beard and jane got married! ted wasn’t even there! she shredded his passport to keep him in captivity! how creepy! (see the joke is that they’re crazy and do toxic things to each other. you’re supposed to laugh.)

[bluejay0715]

I love the potential this movie had, but the actual thing drives me off the wall

[TW: Discussion of gr**ming]

Honestly, the whole Nerissa twist itself isn't even what gets me. It's how they did it, and why they did it.

An adult pretending to be a teenager isn't an inherently bad plot, but it is incredibly dark, especially for a kid's movie. To be honest, doing something like that would be incredibly hit or miss, and in this case, it was very hard miss.

The way they went about the twist was just... terrible, and the reasons why they did it are just outright ridiculous. First of all, they did it because they didn't like people shipping Ruby and Chelsea, which like ????? Why does a big studio like you even care? Yeah Ruby already has a love interest but the ocean wlw literally didn't hurt anyone. If it really bothered you that much then you could've come out and politely asked them to stop! They also apparently did it because in the original plot, Agatha had killed Nerissa and Chelsea wanted to avenge her (since they were actually separate characters in the storyboards), but they didn't want Agatha to have blood on her hands... really? She fought in a damn war, she probably has blood on her hands regardless. And besides, them changing it so Chelsea and Nerissa are the same person not only fucked up Chelsea's character, but now Agatha's! It's just... Ugh.

Now, like I said earlier, the Nerissa twist isn't inherently bad. If it had been portrayed better, it could've been a damn good metaphor for predators online! But you can tell they were lazy about it, and that they only went through with it to get people to stop shipping Chelby. Because first of all, there are absolutely no hints to Nerissa being the big bad until the twist comes up, and I know we love twist villains, but there needs to be at least a little more foreshadowing! Make Nerissa more antagonistic and predatory and in the first half of the movie! Then it doesn't look like the whole Chelsea = Nerissa thing wasn't pulled right out of DreamWorks' ass! Another thing is the whole Nerissa being an adult in disguise ISN'T EVEN ADDRESSED AFTERWARDS! IT'S HANDLED LIKE A STEREOTYPICAL BETRAYAL! As someone who's been gr**med, I find this incredibly insulting. When you realize you've been gr**med, you feel sick and dirty, like your insides are squirming around... at least in my experience. If they wanted to make Chelsea an adult, they should've considered the gr**ming factor and the impact it would have on Ruby, but no. Ruby is just completely fine after getting over the initial betrayal and doesn't even bring up the whole pretending to be a teen thing in the final battle, which isn't realistic at all.

*Sigh*

This movie could've been great, DreamWorks. If you had just put more effort into the Nerissa twist, had the other mermaids make a not as antagonistic cameo just to show that not all mermaids are evil, and have a moment where Agatha expresses remorse or guilt for lives she took in the war. Or, alternatively, just kept Chelsea and Nerissa separate characters in the first place (which is what I would've preferred honestly). If they had just let the movie cook a little longer...

But unfortunately, we got stuck with a half baked movie that trips over itself and its message, while also literally having literal gr**ming in the movie that never even gets addressed. Ugh. Just ugh.

[cakerybakery]

It’s kind of too bad I never got to used the bit about Abel and God being in a relationship in the Consent series.

I think I’m going to have to edit Ready? Cause I feel I’m a better writer now so maybe I’ll be able to add more Abel. Although the story is more about wrapping up what happened with Cain and of course discussing if they’re ready to have kids, after all

“ “Coming back here wasn’t the only choice God gave me. I had him make some modifications to my body.” Adam grinned like the cat that ate the canary, “want to find them?” ”

I think adding Abel and Cain stuff as B plots and characters to Gal Pals makes more sense. Eve moving down to hell (not falling she’s still a winner) to help Lilith navigate being a single hot lady as roommates/friends with benefits and not realizing that Lilith has been in love with her since Eden.

Adam and Lucifer are side characters, someone the ladies go to for advice. Namely Eve when she realizes Lilith loves her and needs someone to talk to since she’s been a single hot grandma for thousands of years and isn’t sure about her feelings or if she wants to be in a relationship again so she shows up to talk to a heavily pregnant Adam.

I still love this bit from Ready?

-

Oh god. He could picture it. All the fantasies he didn’t share with Adam. He was going to look so fucking hot. Lucifer licked his lips. He could in theory get Adam pregnant every year. He probably shouldn’t. Just, birthday wise, that would be too much. Not to mention diapers, feedings, all the actual work of childcare he hadn’t needed to do in two hundred some years. But he could, in theory, do it.

“You okay? Getting a little nervous here.”

“Daddy it going to turn his sexy little succubus into one hot mama.” He licked Adam’s neck in excitement.

Adam kicked Lucifer back, “okay first of all, this deep voice, daddy, baby, sexy little succubus, hot mama stuff, keep it up. But, BUT, while I want kids again, NOT YET! Kids are a lot of fucking work. Babies are a lot of fucking work. And I know a lot of it will fall on me. God is a sadistic little bitch, so I get the feeling you’re going to get your stupid fucking milking cow fantasy.”

Lucifer’s mind wandered at the thought of Adam soft chest plumping up. Of Adam being heavy with their-

“Hey! Focus, you horny bastard.” Adam crossed his arms in front of his chest. It was hard to tell his he was more red from embarrassment or anger. “I want time with just you. I’ve been here like two months. And I want more alone time with you than a year. Like, a century. And no back to back kids. I know what goes on in your sick and twisted mind, pervert.”

Okay, Adam called him out with that one. But still, Lucifer was a patient man. They had eternity, if Adam wanted to wait a hundred years or a thousand years or another ten thousand years, Lucifer could wait.

“But we can practice in the meantime, hmm baby?” Lucifer pulled Adam’s ass to the edge of the bed. “We can wait until you’re ready.” Lucifer sunk to his knees and took Adam whole. Bobbing up and down, twisting his tongue around the head, and fondling Adam’s balls. He pulled off Adam dick, “I can’t wait to eat you out for the first time. You think your recovery time is good now? Wait until I can coax an orgasm from you again and again. Over and over.” He licked Adam’s new seam and was rewarded with a moan. He sat up a little to see Adam’s face.

He hands covered his face but the patches Lucifer could see burned a bright red. He was biting his lip so hard Lucifer feared he was going to bite right through. Adam was holding back.

“You’re reconsidering centuries right now, aren’t you.”

Adam hit him with a pillow, “shut up!”

God made Adam for two things, to lead and to breed. Adam may have developed a distaste for leading after all these years, but Adam was practically a puddle in his hands begging to be bred.

[byersfanclub]

call it controversial, I'm speaking my mind and if you don’t agree with me then so be it, atp idc what ppl may think about my opinion on this matter but as someone who views mike wheeler as a closeted gay person, meaning mlm, he is a boy who likes other boys and that’s it then I’m also someone who believes mike has never had actual romantic feelings for el at ANY point in the show. I don’t sit around and harass people who believe otherwise. 

mike is not even the FIRST person to show el kindness once she escaped the lab, it’s benny hammond. mike is the second person to truly show el some kindness and basic human decency by allowing her into his home and getting her clean, dry clothes. it’s something I hope anyone would do for anyone in that sort of situation BUT don’t forget it’s also mike’s idea to “send her back to pennhurst or wherever she came from” and comes up with the plan on the spot right then and there to have her go out the back door and knock on the front door and his mom will figure out what to do. they never had any plans on keeping el around until they found out she knew who will was, that he was alive and that she had fucking superpowers. I get kinda sick of ppl trying to twist this around. this is factual, it’s not some anti-m1leve3n thing ppl made up, it is canon. to say mike never wanted to get rid of el at first is just a straight up lie, his main priority was finding will, but he wasn’t going to be an asshole and leave a girl outside in the pouring rain.  

all mike cares about in s1 is finding will. I find it odd that some ppl don’t believe this, whether you think he could have grew a crush on el or not. he literally starts to disassociate, begs to help look for him, sneaks out of his home at night, bikes home and sobs into his moms arms when he thinks will is dead, is outright RUDE to el afterwards until she proves that will is still alive. 

both Lucas and Nancy say things that try to allude to mike liking el, which literally has nothing to fucking do with the plot of s1 AT ALL and they literally have no scenes that I can genuinely go back and look at and be like “aww that's so cute and romantic, I hope they’ll kiss and end up together” 

their kiss was never scripted and it wasn’t even meant to happen, it was something millie suggested and its funny that they chose to do it right after she asks if mike will be like her fucking BROTHER and he goes “no, well, I guess it’s sort of the same” like my brother in christ in what world is a date/boyfriend the same as a brother? he’s not stupid, even 12 year olds know the difference between a brother and a boyfriend. I genuinely think it’s because mike has never CARED about that sort of thing before, because he’s just a kid who wants to play games with his friends, uninterested in girls and dating in general. 

so, when I say that mike unintentionally uses el as his “beard” it’s not meant to be insulting towards el, because el is also using mike to try and be a normal girl. they are both just trying to be normal when both of them know they AREN’T. 

el is the first girl not immediately grossed out by mike, it’s because she doesn’t view him as anything other than a person, she’s not thinking about him romantically at all, she’s a 12 yr old girl that just escaped being in a scientific lab her whole life, romance isn’t going to be on the forefront of her mind, she probably doesn’t even know wtf romantic love even is. you think they’re showing Casablanca in the Hawkins national lab? I don’t think so. 

s2 shows mikes lack of interest in girls even more, and ppl using the reasoning that its because he “loves el” like idk how to tell you this, he knew her FOR ONE WEEK and she barely spoke the entire time and mike was focused on will all of s1. be so for real. really. his lack of interest in girls comes in the form of things more subtle like the dragons lair scene, which has mike and will off to the side, blank faced as dustin and lucas sort of duel for princess daphne. then there’s more upfront moments like mike being completely uninterested in max, while even will seems to be at least a little curious about her (ofc not romantically like dustin and lucas) 

don't even get me started on mikes monologue to will in s2 being 10x more romantic than mike’s “love confession” monologue in s4 which fell flat on 90% of the audience (on purpose, I see u duffers)

the snowball scene isn’t meant to be a romantic scene for m1lev3n but it gets interpreted as one because of they way they film it, and it’s literally done that way ON PURPOSE. they are tricking you, me, the entire audience into believing mike is so upset because el isn’t there. but his reactions to will getting asked to dance and afterwards (with dustin also being upset over Lucas and max) are clear. then they show us Nancy asking dustin to dance along with el showing up to the snowball to dance with mike? 

The ending of s2 solidified mike using el as a cover for his queerness, to be normal, because he was aware that he was DIFFERENT. this is why m1lev3n is so insufferable to people in s3 because its written to be insufferable. they don’t want you to like it. to finally see mike and el as a couple? it’s annoying, ppl don’t like it, the characters themselves are over it and even el herself. 

then there’s will and mikes fight scene which is 10x more breakup coded than m1lev3ns ACTUAL breakup? bro had mike sobbing and throwing up as he biked across town in the pouring rain to apologize, meanwhile all mike did was eat Doritos and burp while complaining abt el breaking up with him, calling her a different species and such. he didn’t actually care deep down, it was more annoying and frustrating that she broke up with him than emotional because he didn’t love her romantically, he’s just mad that he lost his cover that keeps him appearing as normal as possible. 

the ending of s3 solidifies to me that el is ALSO using mike to be and feel normal, because they’d been broken up for months at this point and she suddenly feels the need to kiss him and tell him she loves him too? while mike literally tries to avoid remembering the shit he said earlier in the season, because he didn’t mean it and if he did, he wouldn’t have acted the way he fucking did in s4. BFFR. el only wanted mike back because she lost hopper. 

hoppers letter is meant to be familiar love between el and hopper and it’s meant to allude to the growing romantic tension between mike and will as well, in stranger things, there’s double, triple, quadruple meanings to everything and this is one of them. mike KNOWS he does not love el, he knows this in s2, he knows this during s3, he knows this coming into s4. mike is desperate to not lose her as his cover because as much as mike is “himself” back in Hawkins, he still can’t stop thinking about will because Hawkins isn’t the same without him. he knows he’s thinking about will too much, that he worries about el so much because he’s unable to face his true feelings that he has for will and not her and mike believes that el genuinely loves him (she doesn’t). 

this brings me to believe their official split is going to be a lot more mutual than ppl believe. el has come to terms that her and mike are over during nina, I believe el suspects/knows that mike is gay/likes will. their sbp talk paralleling jack and joey from Dawsons creek is almost too spot on for it not to mean something, especially to know will still pining and jealous over them right after it. 

in conclusion, im tired of pretending I ever thought mike and el were ever a cute ship, they weren’t. there was no spark between them for me and many others. it was like they were being forced into my face and I think the duffers did this with so much intention. not only did they straightbait robin and steve so well, but them “shoving” a straight ship into our face in the way mainstreams shows get criticized by homophobes for gay ships. it’s no wonder one of their favorite shows is Dawsons creek. 

mike wheeler is gay and never liked el. el hopper got caught up in mike’s internal conflict and also latched onto him for a sense of security and to feel like a normal teenage girl. 

fin. 

[the2020haikyuuphase]

miwalisa headcanons

miwa definetly had alisa on her pinterest board or her inspiration wall before she actually met her LOL

didn't meet through their brothers. i like to think alisa's usual makeup artist called in sick before a shoot one day and sent miwa as a stand-in for them

miwa showing alisa her damn inspo board and alisa wanting to change her original look to something that aligns more with miwa's vision. artist and muse fr.

they go for coffee and then slowly become friends. they both have similar interests and get along very quickly. don't realise the other has a brother in volleyball until, like, their third meet-up. then it's like... DUH! how did they not realise their brothers are from volleyball clubs??? and from nekoma and karasuno?? the biggest rivals, no less..

surmised they probably sat very close to each other in their game during spring nationals because alisa remembers seeing saeko sit close to her and akane, and miwa was sitting with saeko.

find it hilarious

alisa forcing lev to get his hair and makeup done by miwa too. he's always resistant but half-hearted about it. tobio gets embarrassed asf it's so tickling to miwa

they have the relationship where they believe they just really really REALLY like each other as normal friends. yknow... nothing gay going over here. we just have a lot of similar interests! and yknow she's definetly not gay anyways. not that i was thinking about it!! but just look at her... she's so pretty i bet she already has like three boyfriends on a consistent rotating roster. she doesn't want me. which idk why i thought that or anything because we're only good girl friends!! not girlfriends— girl friends!

anyway. gay as hell. miwa hates all the men alisa shows her on her dating app for validation. alisa defends them when miwa calls them trolls but she's secretly dissatisfied with all of them too.

miwa takes alisa on unofficial boba dates and its always the highlight of each others week. but remember! just as friends!!

the trope where someone is doing the makeup of someone else and they’re so close to kissing and the tension goes crazy. but plot twist its alisa trying to do miwa’s makeup for once

miwa’s more beautiful than all the other models alisa works with. according to her.

they get together when one of them can’t hold it in anymore (probably alisa) and bursts into confused gay tears about it that eventually lead to an intense but needed makeout sesh

they’re both shell shocked the other is gay and into them even though it was so painfully obvious to everyone around them including their damn brothers, which is how you know they were disgustingly in love

actually tobio thought they were dating the entire time and had to be sat down one day

also they think the other is out of their league even though both are the most beautiful women to walk this earth

THE black cat gf and golden retriever gf

alisa calls her milaya

alisa also will dirty talk to miwa in public in russian cuz she knows she’ll get away with it (lord help lev if he has the misfortune of being there at the time)

miwa has to be fired from doing alisa’s hair and makeup eventually because it always leads to both alisa’s hair and makeup getting absolutely ruined when they eventually aggressively make out halfway through the process

VERY popular couple. theyre so beautiful together. people love attractive couples and the last guy alisa dated looked like a cave dweller so miwa is an immensely appreciated upgrade

they are definitely the type to get married and have the most glamorous wedding ceremony ever. and an even more glamorous honeymoon

lev and tobio brother in laws era 💀

miwa’s meh about having kids but i can see alisa wanting to be a mother. she’d probs have a surrogate too, she wants the whole package deal

beautiful fucking babies it goes without saying

tobio tries to Project Volleyball his nephew/niece. i can see him having a similar relationship to them as oikawa and takeru. the child is raised by miwa so you know they're gangster asf.

they're wayyyy too aesthetic they probably own the most loveliest house you’ve ever seen in your life. like they are really living the dream with each other. sometimes they think its too good to be true. how many others wake up dreaming?

[thelindenpapers]

I actually wound up liking "The Woman King" as a movie way, WAY better than 300.

It is beautiful cinematically, it touches on some things and addresses some things that are good…

But please don't get it twisted, because that was NOT a historical movie. ^^;;; We know that.

The sunrises were beautiful, but I do not perceive it as a society that I wish to return to.

Because it does envision a world in which most of the hierarchies that plague us now, are still in place.

If you pay attention to the beginning, they're pretty adamant about showing this.

A lot of what is depicted seems like an attempt to say, "Look! This society in Africa was just as good as white people's, because, see: we had money, and patriarchy, and rich people, and kings, and war, too! That's what makes a civilization!"

For me, that whole attempt misses the plot on what it means to be a human.

There's a fundamental thing that I think that we miss when folks say, "Well, but look: white people are right, because they have all the money and all the power. They're "winning"!"

…Sure, that's winning….

If you enjoy being hated by your kids and having to down twelve Zoloft and two bottles of wine and step on the necks of fifty different people before breakfast, just to be able to stand being yourself for five fucking minutes… :/

Let's not pretend that these "winning" rich people and monarchs and oligarchs have healthy relationships with themselves, much less their families, much less anyone else.

The image of happiness that they project is often just that: a very carefully (and desperately) maintained IMAGE.

Even more basic than that: It's winning if you're a virus.

If you are an unselfaware gorilla, who lives in a troupe rather than a society, and your only idea of a "good" life is about domination and control. About who can you manipulate, who can you threaten, who can you hit over the head with a stick and gain power, for the sole purpose of just having power.

That is an ape troupe's idea of winning.

The kind of "winning" where scientists start to study you to try and figure out what's wrong with you.

We are apes, and descended from apes -- but we're not in an ape troupe...or really, we're not supposed to be.

We are HUMANS.

Humans are a KIND of ape, but we became different for a reason.

The fossil record shows a point, hundreds of thousands of years back in history, where the strongest apes -- the ones who were using violence and strength and threats to control and lord it over the other members of their community -- started dropping like flies.

Because one of the weaker apes had invented the blow gun.

And one of the other weaker apes knew how to make poison.

And all the other weaker apes agreed, "yeah, you know what, this guy is a fucking asshole, he needs to go!"

This happened multiple times across the populations of our ape ancestors, at roughly the same time frame in human evolution.

…And afterwards?

After our ancestors ended these strongest apes?

That's when our ape ancestors began to evolve at an EXPONENTIAL rate.

That's when we started to live by collaboration, consent, community, and trying to continually make conditions better for each other; instead of constantly trying to hoard and compete and get over on one another…that's when we started to have each other's backs on the regular.

After our ape ancestors sent their tyrants into the dirt; THAT'S when you start to see extremely complex language and tool-making and art and architecture EXPLODE across human culture: opening up all kinds of different options for life and for living.

All the things that make us FULLY human -- not just apes -- all these things resulted from us looking at nature's 'Might Makes Right', 'Red in Tooth and Claw', types of "winning", and saying to each other, "I'M SO SICK OF THIS SHIT!"

Nature is beautiful, yes. It birthed us. We need to cohabit with it sustainably and respectfully in order to live.

Yet, becoming human was an ancestral act of REVOLUTION.

It is relatively only very, very recently in the span of human existence when folk whose only loyalty is to capitalism and the made-up concept of whiteness, have swept across the world and RE-reframed the concept of "winning" according to fucking ape-brained bullshit that humanity had gotten rid of LONG ago.

They're doing it in ways that hurt not just everyone else, but themselves, too.

They are literally murdering the global ecosystem to do it.

And it disturbs me how many people have accepted that return to an absolute trash concept of "winning", instead of seeing it for what it is: NOT "the way humans just are"; but a regression, back into semi-conscious and ultimately suicidal ape-troupe mentality.

[dappledpaintbrush]

If it becomes more than a dream, what do you think a Super Paper Mario movie would be like?

Please write down everything you have to say, it doesn't matter if it's a 100 page essay I would like to read it.

When I finally get not only yapping permission, but also yapping endorsement

I think about the SPM movie a LOT. Not because I think it’s going to happen but because I’m insane. I also think it works better as a show, but I always must migrate to thinking of it as a movie lol. I talk a lot I’m gonna divide my thoughts into sections (Again, I’m turning off reblogs because reblogging an ask gets rid of the read-more, I’m sorry!! It’s for the best LMAO)

Rating:

I would LOVE if they addressed it like the FNAF movie. I remember people talking about how “oh it’s gonna be for kids because it’s a kid’s franchise and they’re gonna make more money if they made it for kids” but they made it PG-13 and. Everything was fine. They made a shit ton of money and everything was fine. Point is, I think SPM would work best as a PG-13 movie. And yeah it sounds like that one clip of SpongeBob and Patrick screaming in terror on a baby rollercoaster, but SPM does have elements that would be Difficult to put in a movie format and still make it rated PG. With the game, it can be passed off as cartoon mischief and thus be E for everyone, sure, but in a movie? I don’t see it. And let me clarify- I know they could make the hypothetical SPM movie be rated PG and still have its original plot, but I believe that is only if they cut down on a lot of things and make it very goofy and overall remove the heart of the story. But do I think it would be fucking PEAK as a PG-13 movie? Hell yeah. They could have a lot more leg-room to truly pay homage to the game, which is known as one of Mario’s darker stories for a good reason.

But do I believe they would make it PG-13? No. Definitely PG. Again, I know this is a Mario game and it’s not some super evil sick twisted story oh my god cover your eyes little timmy blah blah blah, but STILL. Pulling off some of its core scenes on the big screen where there’s SO much more detail in the animation and the voice acting etc etc etc would be hard to accomplish without making said scenes less impactful or even shallow. And if you still think I’m being dramatic, the mario movie is rated PG. The Mario movie. And all Mario did was get punched and got a bruise on his eye. I’m sure if there was a storyboard scene of him, Luigi, Bowser, and Peach getting set on fire and going to the afterlife, it would have been SCRAPPED. OR, it would have absolutely no emotion other than “erm… THAT just happened!” Take your pick.

All in all, if it were to happen, the SPM movie will lose some things. Nintendo would NEVER allow Mario to be in an PG-13 movie. It’s unfortunate :(

Speaking of the Afterlife:

Nintendo will have to cut out the Underwhere, Overthere, Grambi, and maybe even Luvbi and Bonechill. OR, completely revamp that whole thing to make it as religiously ambiguous as possible. No fucking doubt about it. At ALL. I can already see the change.org petition run by a Christian mother screaming at Nintendo for blaspheming God and making a joke out of heaven and hell “which are very real and you’re teaching kids it’s some silly fake thing in a fake Mario movie BUT NO PEOPLE HAS TO KNOW THEY WILL BURN FOREVER IF THEY DONT OBEY!!!” (Note: just in case it wasn’t obvious, I am mocking the Christian mother in the quotation marks). I’m surprised Nintendo even got away with it in the first place, ESPECIALLY regarding Luvbi and Bonechill. I put “maybe” regarding those two because it’s likely 2 and 2 won’t be put together about who inspired their characters, but at the same time. It probably will. Yeah it definitely will

Bonechill is directly inspired by Satan, and Luvbi makes indirect references to Jesus. Regarding Bonechill, to quote from his Wiki:

“Tippi's tattle says that Bonechill may have once been a Nimbi, which is supported by the fact that he has feathered wings on his back. This fits into the overall motif of The Underwhere and The Overthere, which draw heavily from both Ancient Greek mythology and the Christian religion. In particular, the concept of a fallen angel (Nimbi) is inspired by the Biblical story of Lucifer, who became the devil after betraying God. Furthermore, in Dante's Inferno (of the epic Italian poem, the Divine Comedy), Lucifer (now known as Satan) is depicted as a giant, six-winged beast imprisoned in ice in the deepest circle of Hell. This is all paralleled by how Bonechill has six wings, was imprisoned deep below the Underwhere, and is a self-styled "master of the cold dark" who uses ice breath to attack and is "something of an evil celebrity in certain circles of the Underwhere". Similarly, his being released during an apocalyptic event (the emergence of The Void) may be derived from the Book of Revelation, where Satan escapes from hell and he and his army are battled and defeated in heaven.”

Do you see that shit. Do you think Nintendo would risk doing this in a movie, let alone ever again in any game?The backlash would be INSANE. And they could easily call Luvbi a blasphemous mockery of Jesus because she sacrificed herself to save the world, AND CAME BACK LATER😭😭😭😭😭

Anyways, yeah. In the SPM movie, that whole chapter of the game is what’s going to be changed the most. It likely will be solely based off Greek mythology with no Christian themes involved. Or even LESS than that if they’re too scared. God I wish they weren’t. That chapter is one of my favorites in the whole game (mostly bc it’s crazy to me how Nintendo didn’t chicken out of making it), and it sucks so bad to know it’ll likely be almost nonexistent if the SPM movie were to happen.

Run-Time:

This game is. Long.

In my perfect world, I like to think of it as one big grand movie and it’s the longest animated movie ever made and it’s animated by Dreamworks in the style of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and it has 5/5 stars and critics are crying and screaming of joy and everybody who clowned on this game has personally showed up to my door to apologize for their wrongdoing and beg for my forgiveness. But unfortunately we can’t have everything we want

I don’t think they will cut out any of the dimensions, I just think that most side plots will be rushed through like a montage :/ It’s why I think it will work best as a series. Every episode could be dedicated to a Dimensional Door. But that also means it’ll likely have less of a budget which sucks

Blumiere and Dimentio:

Something will have to change.

First of all, Blumiere. I don’t exactly know HOW, but they will have to change about his story. The game itself has already gotten criticized for “romanticizing a toxic relationship” between Blumiere and Timpani, and that criticism will be MAGNIFIED with a blockbuster film. Again, I don’t know how the will do it, but they’ll have to adjust that plot to please the masses more than likely. It fucking sucks. But this is modern Nintendo. They are going to go the safest route possible.

That’s not the only thing regarding Blumiere that will have change. Yk how the game also gets criticized for giving Blumiere a happy ending but not Dimentio despite the fact that, regardless of their motivations, they both tried to kill everyone? That criticism will also be magnified with the release of a movie. They’ll have to modify the story to make Blumiere’s actions significantly less evil than Dimentio’s, which could be accomplished through making it so that Blumiere is mind-controlled by the Dark Prognosticus. OR, they’ll have to give Dimentio a happy ending too, whether that be he survives and changes his ways (BOOOOO🍅🍅🍅), or he also gets the “he’s alive somewhere” treatment like Blumiere and Timpani did. However, in order to accomplish that successfully with an audience of five years olds, they’ll have to directly talk about Dimentio’s own tragic backstory with as much weight as they do Blumiere’s. And l. Don’t see that happening. It would be absolutely CRAZY if it did and I would probably pass out in the theatre if we got to see the Pixl Creator, but yeah, it’s unlikely.

Mr. L:

Some good news! I see them making Mr. L recognizable

They probably won’t.

BUT THEY LIKELY WILL

In the first movie, Mario and Luigi’s bond was shown in ways they have rarely done before. Their love and care for one another is clearly shown, not just “that’s my brother Luigi wahoo!” or something. I mean come on, think of the hug scene. And you mean to tell me in the 2nd or 3rd or idk movie, Mario can’t recognize him with a blindfold on? Be serious

In a game, yeah haha funny gag, but in a movie, it’ll be met with more annoyance than anything and it’ll be really disingenuous, and it already does get that criticism in the game where it’s arguably “more acceptable.”

Conclusion:

There’s a lot more that can be discussed, but this is all I’ve put a significant lot of thought into about what I think the SPM movie would be like if I thought about it realistically. Basically, if it’s gonna truly be an SPM movie, Nintendo’s gonna have to grow a backbone. But even then, I still think it would be a great movie, especially in the eyes of those who haven’t played the game and thus don’t have the same “ARGHH BUT YOU FORGOT FLIP-FOLK NUMBER FORTY TWO” mentality that I have LMAO. And even THEN, I still think it would be a great movie. Nintendo will just have to be reaaaally careful to adapt to the limitations (that they put on themselves 💀) and still make it a movie about Super Paper Mario.

[scaly-freaks]

so wait wait wait

larys tells aegon that aemond been plotting against him

alysmond confirmed

alys showing amara visions with "the king is dead long live the king", encouraging her distrust and dislike of aemond

amara gets a note with "the king is dead long live the king"

the strongs and aemond are scheming. but amara discovering them was def a surprise for both alys and aemond. and why the hell were they sleeping together on her bed???????? i mean i guess they knew she was with aegon but why take that risk if they didn't want to be found?

idk aemond has been weird about amara for a while now.

“Why don’t you like her, Aemond?” Aegon asks, deceptively affable. “I’ve always wondered. Did she do something to you? It feels…personal.”

"Make me laugh, the way you did my brother." - from the dream

i know that alys told her that the dream wasn't real and it was influenced by her dislike of aemond, but considering the note she just got with "the king is dead long live the king" i'm not so sure anymore.

why did aemond care so much when he heard aegon wanted to make her his queen? if he is plotting against his brother, marrying amara would def weaken aegon's claim in the eyes of the nobility. also amara did end up keeping her end of their bargain. she got him baela's pardon. his dislike of amara makes no sense.

i mean aemond wants everything aegon has, but it feels sinister. very on brand with alysmond creepy vibes.

sorry for the long ask. i've been enjoying your fic so much!!! praying that aemond won't do something creepy to amara next chapter :(

thank you so much! sorry if the ask is too long :( <3

Gonna be a spoiler-y kind of answer *-* Or not, depending on how the plot of the chapter changes, because I am quite impulsive with it.

I won't answer the bit about the king is dead because that would become an actual spoiler.

Alys and Aemond in Amara's bed...honestly they're both the kind of people who don't give a fuck. Aemond definitely has a weird thing about his future sister-in-law though so it probably turned him on fucking another woman in the same place Amara sleeps every night. There's a very twisted thread between them that isn't pleasant at all, but isn't so easily ignored either. He's always had a thing for anything Aegon "has." He used to flirt with Cassandra to piss Aegon off, but it turns into something entirely different with Amara because I think he knows and is jealous that something is working out for Aegon and isn't for him (his marriage to Rhaena is not happy and they'll probably never fall in love which is why I didn't tag the ship).

With the Saera Targaryen lie, and the Dornish nobility (Hellholt and their 20000 strong army of men) Amara is a political and symbolic asset if anything. It's going to bolster Aegon's claim, because he just sidestepped the pitfalls of choosing another nobleman's daughter from the rest of Westeros and tipping the scales of government in their favour. The Ullers answer to the Martells, so they won't be vying for small council positions any time soon - they're just content knowing Jaehaera is of their blood and will have a dragon, so naturally, that's an alliance they can call upon. And plus the whole Cinderella story of oh, she was a noble all along is just irresistible to bards, so I imagine they'll be singing the tale all over Westeros and getting people used to the idea that a woman can climb the ladder that quickly and with such a strange backstory.

I think what it boils down to is that Aemond is extremely creepy (just like his brother, but because he's more intense, it's more obvious) and he's got a sick fascination with Amara that isn't going to lead anywhere good if he doesn't put a lid on it. That whole adage about little boys pulling the pigtails of little girls (and in his case, it's sexually assaulting the crush in question...she hasn't forgotten the sword incident, and she kept his hair in case she needs to curse him). It's very much enemies, but Aemond would willingly fuck her just to fuck her rather than to get back at Aegon which should say something about the growing obsession. Amara wouldn't want to, and in that vision she had, she didn't have a choice.

Deliberately not mentioning Alys's involvement as there's stuff to be unveiled in the next chapter but it's safe to say she isn't as creepy as Aemond (and her reasons for having sex with him....well, wait and see)

[kennyomegasweave]

Playboyy Finale Reaction

I am just sitting in my bed staring off at my wall in utter silence.

Under the cut are my live thoughts during this finale and you can see me descend into insanity.

Oh poor Phop is in hella debt? Baby. 

FIRST, SOONG DOESN'T WANT TO BE YOUR SUGAR BABY. But also Soong. Baby. Just let yourself be a sugar baby. He's younger than you anyway. "I don't want to sit around and do nothing and still live an expensive life." Okay Soong that's admirable but like. Couldn't be me. 

Okay, if Nont and Prom think someone's gonna bust in the door, maybe don't stand in the doorway? Also. Yes Nont, finally get your dad involved. There's no need for your friends to be doing all this. Your dad is rich and connected.

"No one has issues with me like you do." Captain, my favorite boy, Puen isn't the one that's been an asshole here. I'm sorry though, are we gonna get Captain having some character growth in the last two episodes after being the absolute worst? Oh baby. 

TUTOR. SOONG. NO. First. Oh. He's really gonna fuck up his relationship over this huh. Goddammit First. Baby you can't just make appointments to beat up men sexually when you feel bad. That's not what we do love.

NUTH. My boy. NO.

Aww Nont is like this was not the fucking plan. Has a single plan of Nont's gone well? Because I don't think anything's gone like he wanted this entire show.  

Oh shit wait. Damn. Is Nuth gonna go down for Nant's murder now??? Holy shit. Can someone please go find Phop cause he is just sobbing alone in their shitty apartment.

Hey Keen! My love! Just sitting on the couch like you belong. Glad you're here to campaign for Nuth. That's my boy. My two boys.

I kinda feel like Nont should have brought Prom as backup for this scene. Cause everyone else has their man (except Porsche because Jump said he didn’t want to hang out with these losers I guess?) and he's just standing there like 🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️.

Well. My dear sweet mentally unwell child is in prison. So. I mean. I guess that's that. FOR FIVE YEARS??? HE'S GONNA DO FIVE YEARS??? OH MY FUCKING GOD. 

Jump and Porsche are cute. But Nuth is gonna be in prison for five years and Phop is a baby in hella debt and I'm just like.

I mean, lick that dick Porsche, but what does that mean to me right now. When Nuth is IN PRISON for FIVE YEARS. 

....is Phop OD'ing??? What in the fuck is going on??? Like is he really fucking dying right now??? Alone??? In his fucking bathroom while his man is in prison??? 

Welp. I think the baby just fucking OD'd alone in his bathroom while his man is in prison so like. When I tell you. There's 13 minutes left in this show and I'm done. I AM DONE.

At this point I am so angry that I'm not even reacting. Like. This show really just wanted to hurt my fucking feelings and did. Unless they do some surprise twist? I'm sick. This is SICK.

What the fuck is that painting??? Am I supposed to recognize who that is??? Cause Zouey's art is shit and I don't. What the fuck is going on here. I've long since realized I'm too dumb for the plot so like I just need someone to tell me if Phop is alive cause I don't think he is. And I need to know. I NEED TO KNOW.

I'M STILL ABSOLUTELY FURIOUS ABOUT PHOP BUT THEY JUST BUSTED OUT SOME BONKERS ASS SHIT WITH FIVE MINUTES LEFT WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON. 

Umm okay so it just ended??? I'm guessing they cliffhangered it for a second season? But these shows RARELY ever get a second season??? Oh this was an entire waste of my fucking time. I'm not even mad. I'm actually laughing. lol

WAIT IS THIS WHOLE THING NUTH'S SCREENPLAY??? DID PHOP KILL NANT??? What the shit is happening here??? Again, I'm not even mad now. I'm in awe of this. lol

Well, that certainly happened. Alright then. I don't even know what to say at this point.

[leconcombrerit]

I keep putting off watching recent episodes of DFF not because I don't like it but because I'm legit scared. I just watch spoilers. No further emotional involvement for now.

I put a lot of faith in this show and I'm slowly starting to think that maybe I should try and snatch it back while I still can. Although "think" might be a bit of a stretch. It's more of a survival instinct at that point.

Look, I don't care what trajectory it takes for most plot points and characters and ships and twists. Whatever is fine, it's done a good job so far, I'm in for the ride. There's just one thing I want -okay, maybe one and a half.

And it's for Non to have a good ending, preferably New as well.

And no, "everyone including them gets a bad ending" isn't a valid alternative for me. My love for these characters themselves put aside, it's the message and symbol that matter to me. I'm weary of the usual way characters like them are treated. Mentally and emotionally exhausted. I think I saw some Until Dawn comparisons at some point, and what happened in Until Dawn is exactly what I fear will happen in DFF too. Because it usually does.

Non, who's mentally ill and kept rolling with the punches over and over again, and New, who lived through trauma after trauma since his brother's disappearance, would traditionally snap (Non's aborted attack during his breakdown, New's whole story arc) and die.

It doesn't have to depict them as villains ; it can be a soft, sad and respectful tale of how people get abused and cornered and go too far as a result. So far they lose sight of themselves. But how many stories have you seen where they get a good ending ? The opportunity to heal and live ? Not many. Redemption and peace can only be achieved through death. It may be "realistic", but I find it very funny that media defaults to realism about this specific matter almost all the time.

What's worse, Phee and Jin are presented (so far, I'm still holding my breath) as the more "morally right" characters. Those you could see getting a good ending more easily.

And if Non, and preferably New, don't get a good ending, Phee and Jin absolutely musn't get one either.

They both have their flaws, sure, but how many times have we been shown that Jin is the least horrible person in this friend group, if not a downright good one at heart ? He's painted in a different light, always singled out. And Phee ? He's selfless, he's not a murderer, he's brave, he's kind, he regrets, he forgives, you get it (unless my theory of choice is right, but I'll go with what is explicitly told here). They both display values that everyone else lack.

But they got it served on a plate in comparison with the others. Those values and principles were developed in an environement that let them grow. We don't know much about their financial situation, but we haven't seen them struggle -unlike Non, New, and Tee's families. Phee talks to his dad and goes to him for help ; what about Por, who gets abused and is visibly scared of his father ? What about Non and New's relationship to their parents ? What about Tee's sick father and criminal uncle ? Where's the support system ? What about Fluke, always on his guard, entrenched in the sidelines, too scared to even allow himself to even think ? I'm leaving out Top (who I think represents gratuitous, unassuming evil) and White (who doesn't fit in the same equation for now) here, they give me nothing to work with so far.

Most of them don't have the strenght to walk the "right" path. They lived through shit much harder than Phee (who, by the way, chose to be with Non knowing, or even because, he was riddled with issues, and for whom Non's fate didn't break other parts of his life) or Jin (who seemed to live in his cute bubble before shit went down with Non, unaware even of his friends' true colors). They get a boost from the start and an easier middle, so of fucking course they'd be better armed to fight for a better end. Non was fucked from start to finish. He didn't stand a chance. New didn't stand a chance. Por, Tee and Fluke probably did, but not those two.

And it's not fair. Life isn't fair either, sure, but I can't help but repeat myself : it's fiction. And if even fiction tells you that if you're too damaged, and/or if you stumbled on a bad path while running away from what kept hurting you on the righteous one, then the only peace and redemption you can hope for is death, then I don't want it. Give me hope, not another "bittersweet" catharsis where it's always the same ones getting the bitterness and the same ones getting the sweetness. I don't want to be told I can be forgiven, I want to be told I can win and heal.

On a sidenote, I'm more lenient when it happens in fantasy settings. The events that lead to the character's ultimate fall and broken mind (sometimes rebuilt completely crooked) are far removed from reality. Your whole family was killed, you fought so many wars, truly horrible things, you name it. But in DFF the trauma is painfully rooted in reality. Many viewers, me included, had trouble watching Non's bullying. His breakdown, his loneliness. This is why I'm so demanding with the show. And as the end is closing in, I get scared.

HOWEVER I still have hope. A lot of elements I noticed could point to and ending I could accept. And, you know. It's not like going along with the trope I described is bad. It can be perfectly executed. It's a fine direction to take. Hell, I used to live for this narrative as a teen. It's just not for me anymore, I guess.

... Well, it was supposed to be a short post, apologies for the long rant, but I needed it off my chest.

[cardiac-agreste]

WIP Game

Yesterday I RBd a thing where you list your WIPs, then people send you asks about specific ones, and you share a little. @bohemianrhapsody711 asked about these:

Into the Bugverse

I am SUPER excited about this idea, but it's in very early stages (no actual snippets to share, just some disjointed points I'll fill in right now). It is, as you might guess, a riff on Into the Spiderverse. A bit of crack taken seriously where the multiverse is all the fics on Ao3.

We begin with a universe in which Marinette is navigating not to disappointing her parents, who want her to learn the family trade.

Chat Noir, who fought alone most of his life before Marinette was recruited (think of this as kind of a plot divergent Hey, Ribbons by childoflightningg aka @peggiecarter aka @annaethchase), has died (he was Felix Agreste). She's all alone as LB now. The whole of Paris mourns him.

She also meets the new kid, Adrien, and a new Chat Noir shows up. Suddenly, pulled through the "bugverse" into her own world is an older Marinette from another fanwork, possibly Semantitheft's L'Oublie Marinette. They bond while fighting the big bad (imagine a vibe kind of like @leviaana's wonderful comic about Minibug, the jaded older LB who still loves her younger self).

At a low moment for them, other Marinettes get pulled into her world, all from other fanfics. Maybe

a paranoid @buggachat BEAU Marinette or mistrustful one from @wackus-bonkus-maximus One Does Not Love Breathing

Maybe a Marinette from a Coffee Shop AU like Allez savoir pourqois by Yilena who has no powers but is still smart

Or possibly a blog AU like Chat Noir's Miraculous Award for Truly Magical Food by @mommadon. Non-magic Marinette will receive a miraculous as a temp hero!

Marinette from a fic where she's pregnant as fuck but still fighting (the one I'm thinking of it's kind of a twist she gets pregnant later on, so I won't mention it).

Definitely Marinette from Ghost in the Machine by @jheqiawrites alongside her AI companion Adrien.

Possibly an akumatized Marinette

lip service to the MariBat fandom with a very well-capitalized MARINETTE (see what I did there?) from Miraculous LadyBat by BoxTops

a princess or knight Marinette like from A Royal Pain by jheqia and @sing-in-me-oh-muse

At some point in the fighting, we find out that Adrien died young in this universe and Papillon and Peahen are the enemies, and they're trying to get the miraculous to wish him back to life.

The Adrien in this universe is actually from a universe where Marinette/Ladybug is dead, and OMG, Marinette, he's Chat Noir!!!! Possibly from Hamburger Ladybug by @raspberrycatapult or from Last Wishes by @kasienda

Blah blah save the world, everyone returns to their universes. Hint at sequel that brings in other fanfics' Ladybug versions! Do we get a transdimentional love story?? Who knows? I DO!! (I don't.)

I think there's something of an ethical issue for me about using other people's Marinettes for my story, but I think if it's crack it's more OK (it's somewhat like parody) than if I were creating spinoffs with the same tone. BC to be honest, I suspect none of the BNFs would ever see a message from me asking permission. Better to beg forgiveness, right?

Miraculous: Bachelorette Edition

Alya, sick of watching Marinette flounder into her 20s, unable to confess to Adrien, submits her friend in secret as a potential Bachelorette for a reality TV show where many men vie for her hand. Through the magic of crack, a bunch of guys from the show end up contestants: Adrien (his father made him), Luka (he's pan so why not?), Nathaniel (STILL IN DENIAL about his feelings for Marc), Theo the sculptor with the bad soul patch, etc. Oh, and much to Ladybug's annoyance, Chat Noir is also a contestant?!

All of Paris is begging for Pajamagirl x Adrien Agreste

This is going through revisions in my head, but the initial kernel that is actually written down in my WIPs is

Ladybug falls in a crowded area and unconscious, de-transforms. Someone takes their camera out. "Don't you fucking take that picture. Hawkmoth can't know who she is!" Some teen girl "Is that Pajama Girl? Annette, I think that's Pajama Girl!" "OMG Charlotte, you're right! "Wait, didn't Adrien say in an interview that his celebrity crush is Ladybug?" "Dude didn't I see that Chat Noir took her on a date to Andre's?" Marinette wakes up surrounded by people, freaks out. "Don't worry girl, we're not gonna tell anyone, and no one took any pictures. Your secret's safe. Later that day, Annette and Charlotte get #adrienshoulddatepajamagirl trending on social media. Gabriel, who turns out to have been full of SHIT when he told Marinette that he determines what the public wants, pressures Adrien to date his Very Good Friend for the brand.

[iwonderwh0]

I love Kara as a character and her acting is amazing, and I love and mad respect all the Kara stans who are able to expand on her character and put it into another light to tell why exactly her story is great and why they like it (and consequently making others like it). You’re doing amazing work with the little DC actually had written for Kara.

But BOY DO I HATE the sentiment that you can’t dislike her story, or if you do dislike it, you must be sexist, no other reason.

Listen, I like women, I love children characters . And precisely because I like them, I’m not a fan of the stories when female/children characters are only there to be respectively “a mother/romantic or sexual interest/in trouble to be saved” or “someone’s kid to protect/sacrifice for/love” and I don’t think this requires an explanation as to why I really much not a fan

This “you are sexist and wrong if you dislike Kara’s story” makes me mad enough to want to elaborate on why this is a bad take and not true, as there are completely valid reasons to dislike her (or anyone else’s) story

So, skip if it makes you upset

I dislike and at times absolutely hate Kara’s storyline and want to skip it because

Concentration camps. FUCK this shit, name me ONE person who likes that fucking chapter. It’s distasteful, ugly, makes me feel sick, and yes, I wish it never fucking existed. If you like this chapter and defend the existence of it — that’s concerning. I don’t like it not because I hate women or jews or something but precisely because I DON’T. On my first play through it almost made me abandon the game completely, because I hated everything about this fucking chapter.

I dislike stories where female character is just constantly escaping being abused. All the time, with no breaks. It’s just absolutely fucking exhausting! It makes me stressed with no reward as the abuse just continues on and on. It doesn’t give time for a character to just breathe and show them being a person, not just an abstract idea of “a woman in trouble”

The whole “Kara knew all along” twist. I hate it. SO much. I hate how it poisons the whole Kara’s character if you think about it in retrospective. What does it say us about Kara’s character? All those times she suggested food or let Alice freeze instead of disabling her thermo-sensitivity? It makes her from a caring loving guardian into a borderline sadist, like what the fuck were they (writers) thinking? And it could have bee such a good story if Kara genuinely didn’t know and found that out much much earlier in the story. So much lost potential to explore it from Alice’s side either. All the anxiety and longing and confusion. All of it got compromised for the sake of a shitty plot twist.

I dislike when characters aren’t given space to be defined through their characteristic individual properties as characters, not just through their roles for the narrative. “Mother” and “daughter”. Constantly trying to just stay alive. Excuse me, but trauma porn about female characters and kids is not my cup of tea. Is it sexist to hate this trope? Is it sexist if I want mother&daughter characters to have something about themselves that isn’t about those roles?

I dislike parent/child plotlines in general. It’s a personal preference. The same way I don’t like and avoid stories about war atrocities, mass pandemics, nuclear weapons, terminal diseases, etc. They are fucking heavy and a little too real, ok? I love fiction for the escape from reality, but those are the opposite of the escape, they make me too depressed and anxious about the state of the world, something I don’t need fiction to do for me because reality does it already. And parent/child thing? I find it hard to relate from either ends for personal reasons. Not everyone like parent/child stories and you can’t accuse people of being wrong for having personal preferences. If someone said that they hate Connor’s story because they are sick of cops, and in general police characters and detective dramas you’d say that’s a valid reason to hate it. It’s a personal preference. But with Kara’s story it’s suddenly not a personal preference to hate those tropes but sexism. Um??? I don’t like torture of women and children in fiction by the hands if some male characters. I don’t like when they constantly have those male abusers in their story and can’t even get a proper revenge before falling into another cycle of abuse, it never gets to the satisfaction of being finally free or taking revenge, it doesn’t even give time to explore how this character is coping with this traumatic experience and learning to live free of it because they are instantly thrown into another one. Not fun. Not for me. Is it sexist? Really? I think this writing in itself is sexist, and I have all the reasons to dislike it.