#specifically the episodes of him interacting with a teenage girl

[houseshousewife]

Watching House, you just have to accept that sometimes the writers will make him act gross and slightly out of character.

1; because of the times, and 2; likely because the writers have their own weird fetish about it 🙄🙄

[pepstarvanmoon]

I hope this doesn’t come off as me nitpicking Milkvan interactions, but these lines just come off as odd to me.

In the show, leading up to the store scene, nothing Mike says or does regarding Max comes off as particularly jealous to me.

He gets upset with Max for taking El to the mall (not Max giving him a segway into complimenting her new style (which he does later), and he just gets mad at her instead lmao.)

He spends the beginning of the following episode pitying himself with Lucas enabling it.

“What did I do wrong?” - LIED, plain and simple. He acknowledged that before they went to the mall! El gave him a chance to explain yourself and he DIDN’T. Teenagers, man.

“Then I should be with my species more” - I guess implies spending more time with Max and her having no desire to get back with him. Mike is pissed about the spying (rightfully, imo), and obviously frustrated that him explaining himself didn’t lead to El forgiving him.

Max and El spending too much time in the bathroom, “they’re conspiring against me” - confused as to how he reached this conclusion given what we’ve seen. It’s like he just HAS to say something about it, nevermind El getting her shit tossed last episode. Listen to Will and worry about something else.

Bro is lowkey more mad about being single (and therefore ambiguously straight in Mike logic) than about El and Max being friends.

When he admits that he was jealous and wanted El “all to himself,” it sounds more like an excuse than an explanation.

We know what jealousy looks like in Stranger Things.

If anything, this “jealousy” is more closely aligned to how Dustin described Lucas’ jealousy of Mike and El’s relationship in season one.

I even tried to make an argument for Mike wanting El to himself minus the jealousy, but throughout the season it kinda fell flat.

Showing up late to movie nights (more than once) to hang out with El longer.

Ditching Dustin (the day of his return) and the others to spend more time together before El’s '4PM curfew' (a lie, ofc)

Maybe switch “conspiring” for excluding? Then you could argue he felt left out, like he’s not the closest to El anymore. However, the responses to his “conspiring” accusations were 100% negative.

(This could also play into how he felt getting stuck in the back of the car with Will, but that ventures outside the point of this post)

None of these are considered good things if Dustin, Lucas, and Will’s annoyance are considered, and Max going from “it’s romantic” to high-fiving El after she dumps Mike… yeah.

You can certainly say he’s frustrated. He’s never been in a relationship and therefore has never been broken up with, but Mike explains it like the reason he’s acting irrationally is because he’s 'never felt like this before'? But besides the whole ’Nana’ thing, that’s not really true?

Stupid stuff being 1) lying about his Nana being sick, 2) claiming girls are a different species.

Angry, sure. Jealous? Wanting her to yourself? Don’t make me laugh.

It’s all a bit hypocritical to me, too. So El can’t have ONE day out with Max, but Mike can run off with the rest of their friends while she’s stuck in Hopper’s cabin. Okay.

And, in this specific case, I don’t really buy the “she’s hiding from the government” excuse because it clearly wasn’t that big of a deal for El to have gone out that day. Mike’s concerns were brushed off, and there were no scenes with Hopper reinforcing that (we had our fill in S2 ig).

(I personally think they didn’t want any interruptions to that Elmax scene because it demonstrates how little El knows herself, and being cooped up by Hopper and Mike, though it’s sweet that they want to protect her, isn’t helping her developmental growth.)

Like damn if you really feel that strongly about it, you all could’ve had a movie night in the cabin, but Mike can’t balance his relationship and his friendships, and STILL can’t now!

Well, at least you got that part right.

(Post pretty much ends here. Rest of it is me rambling)

All of this relationship bullshit skydives out of Mike’s mind when Will gets upset btw. UNTIL he mentions girls, then Mike gets defensive.

That whole part of the rain fight gets to me, like Mike truly believes that this is a staple part of his life, getting a girlfriend and abandoning his interests. He can’t date El and play DnD, and if he’s dumped, his priority becomes getting her back instead of reflecting on what happened.

He proves he didn’t have a firm grasp on the situation when he victimizes himself, and when he actually admits to lying it doesn’t matter at that point. El already knows and DOESN’T CARE.

He’s really not confident. Lucas got a one-on-one, mirroring Mike and El’s, scene with Will to apologize, because the relationship drama is no longer important to him in that moment.

(I didn’t think Lumax broke up, but Will said in ep 3 that they both got dumped? Lucas seemed a lot less bothered, and by the time they got to the hospital scene they seemed fine lol. Lumax ‘breakups’ aren’t really taken as seriously anyway with the whole “five times” thing)

Funny how both apologies go unacknowledged because what’s done is done. They don’t care anymore (for Will, I don’t believe that for a second but yk) and there are bigger things to focus on.

It's brought back up in the hospital, but MIKE is the one who doesn’t care that much until El uses her powers on the vending machine as an “olive branch" (in Lucas' opinion, anyway).

I feel like there’s a lot to say about Mike and taking initiative versus when he has to be told to do something, but more on that another time.

[chaifootsteps]

I've heard numerous times in the critical spaces that the voice actors say kids should watch hazbin. I didn't see any proof of that and I'm curious now where or when did they say it but if it's true I'm starting to feel the actors are really confused about the show. They are being friendly and actively participate in cons but I know it's their job, and something tells me they can't grasp what hazbin hotel exactly is about

They had so many interviews in the span of a few months but the show only had 8 episodes and when I watched some I noticed they talked about certain moments, some lines and that's pretty much it. Now I don't blame the crew and viv, I know it's bound to be this way because the first season ended so quickly

I've seen criticals call them out for stuff they said on twitter, Amir being called creepy and Joel being called out for agreeing valentino is bubbles coded but I think they weren't being malicious and don't deserve to be called evil. It sounds more like they're trying to appeal to young audience but they don't know what to say and how to behave.

vox's va generally stays away from social media and when he interacted with hh fans that one time he assumed the fanbase consists of teenagers ("what are you now, sixteen?"), he seemed uncomfortable hearing what hh fans say about him and seemed very closed off and I can't blame him

All of this is my assumption and I could be wrong so take this with a grain of salt

Vox's VA has always been fine when it comes to this, as have most of the HH actors. I know Blake's made it pretty clear how he feels about kids at HH panels. It was Erika and Amir specifically who encouraged kids to watch the show, and while I can't find Erika's at the moment, I do have Amir's

(For the record, it's not about them posing with this little girl and being kind to her at a convention. They specifically took to Twitter to defend the mother, and the idea of children watching this show.)

[heloflor]

Some info on how I view Cosmo and Wanda’s family lives, more specifically how they grew up and how the two of them meeting went, because again I’m obsessed with Cosmo being so powerful which brought some ideas for his upbringing and meeting with Wanda, which also brought some ideas for Wanda, and I didn’t want to clutter my baby fairies ban and magic abilities posts with it. So here is it now (6.5k words below):

TRIGGER WARNING: Talks of a character basically having depression for the Cosmo section with one sentence implying suicide idealization.

I’m going to start with Wanda since it’s much shorter.

First off, about her mom’s whereabouts, considering her dad is a mafia boss I’m going to go with her having been killed by one of Big Daddy’s enemies, likely when the girls were teenagers since Wanda complains about how their mom always liked Blonda more in “Blondas Have More Fun!” meaning they grew up with her, but at the same time I like the idea of her dying when her daughters are still pretty young (yeah very happy way to start a post, it gets worse in the Cosmo section).

Speaking of the mom liking Blonda more, I could see a situation of Big Daddy being closer to Wanda while his wife is closer to Blonda, though I don’t know if it’s just a question of the girls being more similar to the respective parent thus causing this closeness or if it’s one parent favoring a twin and the other parent deciding to favor the other one to “compensate”. And if it’s the second case, not sure which parent started it.

On that note I could see Wanda working for her father’s company before deciding to become a godparent, like for a while she didn’t know what to do with her life so she helped her dad. She didn’t do any mafia-related stuff tho, she was more of an employee/manager for his cleaning service. Big Daddy was supportive of her pursuing something she feels fits her more (fairies are immortal so it’s not like he needs to have a successor, granted there’s always the chance of him being assassinated).

Meanwhile Blonda doesn’t feel the same closeness to her father so she’d rather pursue her own goals, which I could see as related to their mom in some way. Like the mom probably wasn’t a star but might have been working within the show-business industry, and Blonda got an interest in acting from her and her career was launched through her mother’s connections. Oh and even if they’re not that close, Big Daddy is also supportive of Blonda’s dreams. Mafia or not, he loves his daughters.

More things that could be said about them, maybe after his wife’s passing Big Daddy became more protective of his daughters, thus leading to have some of his higher employees keep an eye on them during their late teens, which could explain Wanda being familiar with some of them in “Big Wanda”. At the same time though he might not want to involve his girls too much into his business so he might instead ask the guys to keep their distance in order to keep his daughters safe.

And speaking of men protecting women, I could see Big Daddy have a bit of a toxic view of what a man is supposed to be like, view that he gave to his daughters growing up hence why Wanda dated a macho guy like Juandissimo before realizing she just wasn’t as into him as she thought she would be.

Note that I don’t think Juandissimo was a toxic boyfriend or anything like that. Looking back at his episodes, he’s definitely very self-centered and dramatic which is probably why Wanda got tired of him, but he has a genuinely caring side (the whole thing with him going back to Remy in particular). He does need to get the goddamn hint post-breakup though. Just move on and go date Cupid my dude. He can match your dramatics.

Last thing about Juandissimo while I’m at it, in his debut episode he seems low-key scared of Cosmo during their first interaction (at least I don’t think he was acting), so I like to think that sometime after Cosmo and Wanda started dating, Juandissimo heard about it, challenged Cosmo to a duel or something, Cosmo at first didn’t want to bc he didn’t want to go to jail but Juandissimo was able to provoke him into it, Cosmo starts the duel holding back but eventually gets angry enough to let loose. Juandissimo has been afraid of him ever since, now fully aware of the raw power these noodle arms hold.

Giving one last headcanon for Wanda, since both her and Cosmo seem to know how to fight but I don’t particularly like the idea of fairy godparents undergoing military training during their studies; I’m more into Wanda mentioning “four years at the fairy academy” in “Abra-catastrophe”, meaning those are more “regular” studies. It’s especially funny when considering if you start at 18 you become a fully-fledged godparents at 22, which checks out with Peri if he aged at the same speed as humans.

(For those asking “Operation Birthday Takeback” has Cosmo mention Vicky hurting kids “since 2001” while one of the creators confirmed New Wish took place in 2024. Plus in “Abra-catastrophe” it’s been one year since Timmy had his fairies, and “Fairly Oddbaby” takes place three seasons later. So if Timmy got his fairies in 2001, Poof/Peri was born in 2002 meaning he’d be 22 in 2024, which would check out with him going to fairy academy for four years starting at 18, at least if that’s how the academy works. Though there’s also the possibility that 2001 is when Vicky first got hired by the Turners, meaning Timmy got his fairies in 2002 and Peri is actually 21, born in 2003.)

At the same time, we know Cosmo went to military school at some point which justifies his ability to fight. So for Wanda, I’m simply going with the idea of her father giving her some self-defense training, especially given his profession. Wouldn’t want to lose his daughters the same way he did his wife.

Not sure which would be the better fighter between Cosmo and Wanda though, since I could see Big Daddy take it pretty seriously (thinking of “Most Wanted Wish” and how good Wanda is at the competition; also funny to think about how her, Cosmo and Jorgen are the last three standing when again taking the idea of godparents not having mandatory military training, meaning those three were possibly the ones with the best self-defense training). Big Daddy could even teach her some backhanded/dirty tricks that would make her more unpredictable.

Meanwhile Cosmo is Cosmo and we know he struggles to focus sometimes, but at the same time he’d have gone through a lot more training in an environment made for it. Plus he’s op as hell. So I guess which one is stronger depends on the type of fight, more specifically on whether it relies on magic or wits.

Now moving onto the Cosmo stuff, and long story short since his birth things were a mess. From his destructive nature from birth, his terrible two, Anti-Cosmo’s birth and quick rise to power, all of which led to the baby ban. On top of that, as mentioned in my baby ban post I see Cosmo as the first op fairy in a very long time, meaning his strength was a complete surprise to everyone. And with how destructive his magic is, it wasn’t a good one.

All of this would be the main reason why Mama Cosma is so protective and overbearing. Between the destruction and the baby ban, she would constantly be criticized for giving birth to Cosmo (huge fan of T4T Coswan, which means the whole “male fairies carry the baby” isn’t actually true). Hell maybe the Fairy Council tried to take him away like Jorgen does to Poof in “Fairly Oddbaby”, which would make her even more protective.

The loss of her husband wouldn’t help either. Like I could definitely see their relationship as not being exactly healthy given the kind of person Mama Cosma is (imagine Papa Cosma as one of those parents who know their spouse is a piece of shit but they try to excuse this behavior, thus enabling it), but losing him would still be a shock, especially with two kids to raise, one of which is a walking apocalypse.

On that note the way I see it, when Papa Cosma was turned into a fly, his wife ended up more focused on getting the wand back than she was in making sure her husband was still in her sights. So by the time she got Cosmo under control, she had no idea where he was. And while there would definitely be a search party, and I’m not even sure if he’ll ever be considered dead or “just” missing, ultimately the man was never seen again.

But yeah all of this led Mama Cosma to become overprotective of Cosmo, which in turn led her to neglect Schnozmo who started acting out for attention, quickly becoming a thief. And since he still wasn’t getting anything from his mom, he kept doing it until it eventually led him onto the path to become a con artist.

Now I was wondering a bit about the age difference between the two brothers as I want them to grow under the same roof for the above-mentioned headcanon of Schnozmo being neglected, but also looking at the show Schnozmo doesn’t really have anything against Cosmo, so I could see him be mature enough to realize his mom’s the problem (granted the show takes place thousands of years later so they had more than enough time to talk things out). Also with fairies being immortal, who knows what the “usual” age difference between siblings is.

So ultimately I’m going with them being about 12-13 years apart, on top of adult fairies usually staying quite a while at their parents’ home since again they’re immortal. Like at minimum a fairy would spend the first 50 years of their life living with their parents, probably longer. Peri in New Wish is an exception due to growing up as the only child in a society of adults and feeling babied by everyone (Jorgen, who is literally his boss, calls him “Peri-Weri” in “Lost in Fairy World”, like his fucking boss is babying him). So he encouraged his parents to take their vacation soon after he became an adult and quickly got his own place as well, both in an attempt to prove himself as a responsible adult.

Going back on topic, the way I see it Cosmo and Schnozmo started off very shaky. First off due to their father’s death which I’m sure Schnozmo did not take well, and it probably took a long time for him to forgive his brother for it, that is if he ever forgave him (I could see him still hold that resentment, he just doesn’t voice it).

Then you have the usual “siblings mess with each other” shenanigans which he can’t really do since his brother doesn’t even need a wand to use his magic due to how powerful he is, so good luck messing with him. I could actually see some scenarios of older teen Schnozmo allowing Cosmo to come with him meet his friends (or Mama Cosma is like “take your brother with you I need a break!”) but only if he does cool stuff with his magic for them. It would probably usually not end well, tho not in an “almost destroyed Fairy World” kind of way thankfully.

Oh and it goes without saying that whenever the two of them argue or mess with each other, Mama Cosma sides with Cosmo, which would only make Schnozmo angry and resentful. In general Schnozmo and Mama Cosma would have a very bad relationship. Given how Mama Cosma is, Schnozmo was likely already closer to his dad, but once Cosmo got in the picture and Papa Cosma was gone, it became a mess. Like I could definitely see instances of Mama Cosma being tired and stressed from watching over a baby Cosmo and taking it out on her older son, constantly ignoring his problems and needs because “can’t you see how exhausted I am having to deal with your dysfunctional brother?!”

And who knows maybe she would have considered kicking him out at some point but decided against it to hide the fact her family’s been breaking apart (keeping up appearances in front of other fairies). On that note I do think Schnozmo would go no-contact with his mom once he moves out, only popping back up in her life if he needs something. Not sure how often she’d accept though.

Going back to the brothers, I think what would change Schnozmo's view would be Cosmo’s teenage years in which his struggles with his magic would become much more obvious, making Schnozmo realize how much of a mess his brother actually is and how much he cares for Cosmo deep down, not wanting to lose him. Now ultimately a lot of their adult relationship have to do with Schnozmo using Cosmo’s kindness and naivete against him, but even then I think he’ll come through if Cosmo needs him.

And speaking of Cosmo’s teen years, Cosmo did not have a good time at school, in any grade. The adults in his life (both in and out of school) either hate him for the destruction he causes + the baby ban or fear him for his powers. His classmates wouldn’t be better, mainly being cautious about him even if he didn’t do anything (their parents would warn them to be careful around him) or some fairies would bully him until he strikes back and then play the victim, getting Cosmo in trouble since “you’re the strongest here you need to be careful!”

His intelligence would also be something he’d get picked on for, with some adults really not helping by calling him a waste of potential, talking about how powerful he is and “how much of a shame it is that so much power was given to someone so stupid who can’t use it properly”.

On that note, I honestly think Cosmo has some sort of learning disability. I mean, in his own words in “Apartnership!” the first Mama Cosma episode, “I’m not smart. Big words confuse me. I have the attention span of a rodent.” and we do see him struggle on several occasions with not understanding words in the og show. Also in “Lost and Founder’s Day” from New Wish he struggles with the spelling of a word, and in “Operation Birthday Takeback” isn’t explicitly told what Dale is doing and figures it out like 30 seconds after Wanda and Peri, with Wanda even making a comment about it (while swooning which is very cute!).

So yeah, while I see him as a prodigy when it comes to using magic (in “This is Your Wish” we see him be able to do incredible things as a kid and he’s clearly doing them on purpose without breaking a sweat), he definitely has a learning disability when it comes to academic stuff, especially when it comes to words from the looks of it.

Tbh you could make a very strong case for Cosmo being neurodivergent, especially adding in the several instances of characters telling him to focus in the og show or just the fact his main issue with magic is the way he understand wishes or the things that come through his brain. Again, in “This is Your Wish” he knows exactly what he’s doing, his train of thought is just different than what’s expected on top of him not realizing the danger of the things he creates.

Also I can’t remember the episode but I saw a scene with him and Wanda talking followed by Wanda and Timmy, and while these two talk Cosmo is just staring off into the distance, completely immobile except for the usual “fairy hovering”, seemingly zoned out. And unlike other instances of him doing that I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a joke in that scene.

So yeah, this man’s probably neurodivergent hence him using his magic in an “unconventional” way, on top of having a learning disability that causes him to struggle with words and be slow to process some information if it’s not explicitly said to him. And when you have those struggles paired with the ability to bend reality to your will by accident, it’s hard.

Another thing about school which would be eerie for him is the fact that he’d start first grade in a school full of fairies, and by the end of middle-school there’s only a single grade left since he’s the last fairy born. So the last year of school he would walk through empty halls and classrooms, meeting teachers who constantly worry about finding new jobs what with the school clearly about to close. This would probably be something that he wouldn’t be picked up for but is still a constant reminder that he’s the reason fairies can’t have kids anymore.

By the way small word about ages but the way I see it the second youngest fairy before Cosmo would be between a week and a few months older (depend if the Fairy World population is in the thousands or the millions), so there are fairies around Cosmo’s age.

And since I’m at it I’ve seen screenshots from an episode showing him and Cupid being in high school together, and I also headcanon him and Wanda as having a bit of an age gap, for example Cosmo being 93 and Wanda 132 years old when they met, something along those lines. So in my headcanon Cosmo and Wanda didn’t go to school together but Cosmo and Cupid did. Also Wanda and Juandissimo were high-school sweethearts, meaning they’re around the same age (tbh I wouldn’t be surprised if the episode showing Cosmo and Cupid also had Wanda at their school but even if that’s the case I’m choosing to ignore it here).

Getting into Cosmo’s teen years, it was though. The bullying and feelings of inadequacy were starting to pile up, along with him fully realizing what “you accidentally killed your father, destroyed Fairy World and probably killed a few fairies doing so, and even though you were a baby at that time who had no idea what he was doing we still think it’s your fault we can’t have babies anymore” truly means. Like the sheer weight of such information must be devastating. Add to it the mess that are teenage hormones and you get someone in a very bad mental space.

Now to give some explanation about my headcanons for magical backup since I’m about to mention it a few times, in “Fairy For a Day” from New Wish, the music fairy makes a comment saying “keep granting each other wishes”, something like that.

So my idea is that magical backup is something every single fairy can suffer from if they don’t use magic to help others for an extended period of time. I would say “if they don’t use magic period other than stuff like teleportation, floating and shape-shifting (aka anything they can do without wands)” but in that case I feel like magical backup wouldn’t be an issue in the slightest. So yeah instead we’re going with them having to help others, especially since in “OddPirates” Wanda wishes to Poof at some point to help him learn, showing fairies can wish to other fairies.

All this to say fairies help each other out in small ways, and if they don’t they fucking die. And considering Cosmo and Wanda seem almost unable to refuse granting their godchildren wishes (at least in the og show, in New Wish you almost never have the “wand deflating” thing because they know beforehand they can’t grant those wishes), on top of scenes like the one in “Apartnership!” when Timmy says “I wish” and dozens of fairies show up, I could see it as fairies being able to refuse wishing for another fairy but being completely unable to do so when a miserable human child does, for reasons I’m too lazy to figure out (probably something about their society needing humans to function to some extent thus having fairies evolve in a way that they need to help humans).

Also I have no idea if magical backup would spread quicker if a fairy has more magic. I guess it’s worth pointing out that for both instances of Cosmo and Wanda getting it, Cosmo was first and it evolved quicker, but then again Wanda wasn’t too far behind. So idk, maybe it does?

Going back to Cosmo, during his teenage years and early adulthood, he would very often suffer the early symptoms of magical backup (confetti + vomiting the way I see it), sometimes worse, due to him refusing to use his magic in fear of hurting other people. In some instances he might even make comments about how Fairy World would be better off without him. Btw this is basically when I see Schnozmo realize just how terrible his brother feels and start being nicer to him. But yeah, Cosmo was in a very bad place as a teen, which continued in early adulthood.

(Side note but him having magical backup so many times could explain him not taking it too seriously at first in the og show, with him pretending to have it for a few seconds to mess with Wanda.)

And throughout all of this Mama Cosma was supportive, telling him there was nothing wrong with him and the others were messing with him and that he should use his magic in small ways if only to keep himself safe...until she didn’t and sent him to boot camp as soon as he was of age.

I like to think that this is when Cosmo started detaching himself from his mom. Just seeing her go overnight from “I love you just the way you are” to “everybody else was right and I’ve been thinking of you as a problem since your birth, I just didn’t want to deal with making you sad” would be a massive betrayal in his eyes.

Note that I believe Mama Cosma sending him to military training is actually a good thing, and pretty much the one good thing that woman did in the show. Given how much destruction we see Cosmo cause, and since as far as we know there aren’t exactly places that could provide the help he needs, a place with strict rules and monitored by potentially very powerful fairies could be the second-best thing to teach him what not to use his magic for.

Btw if you’re wondering I think the best thing for Cosmo would be to have a place where he can use his magic in whatever way he wants without putting anyone or anything at risk. More on that later actually. Second best would be to give him a wand restricting his magic but also I don’t think it would feel good to have something blocking what is supposed to feel natural for you, so it might not be a good solution actually…

In any case, having Mama Cosma reveal she’s been unhappy with her son’s powers this whole time, meaning she’s been lying to him this whole time, would hurt a lot, causing Cosmo to start drawing away from her. On top of that he was now almost an adult so it was also natural for him to seek some independence, even while still living under her roof.

Now onto Cosmo and Wanda’s early relationship (no idea how to make a transition here).

First off, I’m going with the backstory in which the two of them met at a diner, except neither of them were teenagers in my version. As mentioned before Cosmo would be in his late 90s and Wanda around early 130s.

And since I don’t think I mention it anywhere else in this post, I’m going with the headcanon of Cosmo being 10 000 years old during the og show, with him and Wanda being married for 9 895 years as of “Apartnership!” (that’s the number, right?). Which is also why Cosmo is in his late 90s when meeting Wanda, since it means he’d be 105 when they get married (or around that age if you consider that Cosmo is probably not exactly 10 000 years old in the show, rather something like 10 014 for example).

Cosmo would land himself a job as a waiter since he doesn’t need to use magic for it. He’d even let his wand home to further reassure his boss that he’s not doing any magic. He and Wanda meet when Wanda and Blonda come to the place to hang out. Wanda realizes he’s cute and finds herself surprised by it since as mentioned before she was raised with a toxic view of what a man is supposed to be like.

(More specifically I could see Blonda as being the one pointing him out and he accidentally spills a drink on her or something, causing Wanda to be like “oh you’re right sis I like him”.)

Wanda would convince him to go out with her, intrigued by that shy boyfailure trying his best, and during that hangout Cosmo would be pretty closed off, not using any magic partly because he didn’t bring his wand, offhandedly mentioning he got magical backup dozens of times, and by the end of it he’d be like “you’re very smart and pretty and spending time with you was very fun but it’s probably best if we don’t see each other again”.

After the “date” Wanda would talk about it to Blonda who’d probably mock her sister for scaring the guy away. Big Daddy would overhear some of the conversation and recognize Cosmo’s name as the infamous last fairy born whose terrible two almost caused the apocalypse. Wanda and Blonda would be flabbergasted because “dad that guy’s a complete wimp, what do you mean he’s one of the strongest fairies?!” and Wanda would quickly catch onto the fact that this sweet guy is considered a menace, goes around without a wand and has magical backup on the regular, all of which are not good signs.

She’d manage to convince Cosmo to meet her to talk and would just ask him if he’s okay, if he needs someone to talk to. And I could see Cosmo being very taken aback by it, like when he shows up Wanda says she knows about him being the last baby born so he’d immediately assume she’s here to tell him to stay away from her. But no she’s just worried for him and wants to offer some comfort. And with Cosmo at that point having lost trust in his mom, the only person he thought was in his corner, he’d open up to Wanda.

So the two of them would start spending time together, as friends since Cosmo clearly isn’t in the proper state to think about dating right now, though I like to think Wanda was pursuing him a little, if only making him know she’d be interested. But anyways Wanda would quickly catch onto the fact Cosmo never has his wand when they’re together and whenever she suggests he uses hers because it worries her to see him never do magic, he’d refuse, saying it’s safer that way.

Then one day while hanging out Cosmo gets the early signs of magical backup and Wanda doesn’t know what worries her most, seeing him have it or how calm he is about it, which shows how used to it he is. Doesn’t help that he’d insist she brings him home rather than have him use her wand to get rid of it immediately before it gets worse.

That would be the last straw for Wanda who would go to the people her dad works with (her “uncles”) to ask if they know any place where one could use their magic in possibly destructive ways without consequences. And one of them would tell her about the Hocus Poconos, a place where goes all the un-granted wishes from human children. As a result the place is pretty chaotic to begin with and nobody cares what happens to those wishes so it’s fully unsupervised.

So Wanda would waste no time telling Cosmo about that place, convincing him to bring his wand this time around, and after a lot of hesitation and some small wishes he’d start getting more comfortable and unleash his powers, growing visibly more confident. And dumb small note but seeing Cosmo in his element and visibly confident in himself is when Wanda sees him go from cute to hot.

In any case Cosmo would be incredibly grateful and start coming to the Hocus Poconos regularly on his own, feeling a sense of freedom in being able to unleash as much magic as he can while also finding himself loving kids’ imagination, which eventually leads him onto the path to become a godparent.

For Wanda, it’s after seeing Cosmo get better that she realizes how much she enjoys helping others and offer companionship and could see it become her profession. Also maybe the fact the Fairy Council wouldn’t be too keen on letting Cosmo on earth without supervision could influence it as well (meanwhile everyone would think they’re allowed to work together due to being a couple), but then again I don’t want it to be a “she chose this work solely for Cosmo” type of situation.

Same with her helping him with his confidence btw, hence me saying he’d go back to Hocus Poconos on his own. While Cosmo would definitely gush about Wanda saving his life, she didn’t “fix” him or anything like that. She was someone he could talk about his problems to and offered suggestions for things she thought could help him, but he still was the one who had to follow through on his own. And whenever Wanda had issues of her own, he’d return the favor, being there to comfort and help her.

And about him saying Wanda saved his life, after a while of using his magic more and more often, he’d think about how, if he hadn’t met someone like her to encourage him to use his magic without being afraid, he’d probably have either died of magical backup or from its side effects from having it too often. At the same time I’m not going to say “him thinking this is why he fell in love with Wanda” because again I don’t want to fall into the trap of a character “fixing” another or putting them on a pedestal.

Back on topic, having a place to spend his magic would do wonders for Cosmo’s self-esteem, giving him space to try new things, make mistakes or even just create a black hole or two if he feels like it. That doesn’t mean he’d suddenly be completely fine, he’d still feel self-conscious about people hating him for his magic (and tbh just looking at the og show Cosmo comes off as deeply insecure at times, so yeah he’s not suddenly all happy), but it would definitely put him into a better mental state.

Also, feeling more confident he’d start to reciprocate Wanda’s flirting, pursuing her back. And yeah as a result it would be one of those relationships where you significant other is also your best friend.

As for the “speed” of their relationship, I could see the transition from friends to lovers as being a bit slow due to them wanting to make sure this is truly what they both want and not just Cosmo lashing onto the first person he trusts, plus Wanda’s family life is dangerous so she wants Cosmo to make sure he knows what he’s getting himself into. But once their relationship gets serious there’s no stopping it.

And speaking of stopping it, Mama Cosma would notice that her son isn’t having magical backup anymore, causing him to tell her it’s thanks to a girl he’s into, even invite Wanda to dinner so she can meet his mom. Mama Cosma would not be happy about it and would be incredibly passive-aggressive during their meeting, with Wanda keeping the visit short as a result and Cosmo being pretty unhappy seeing how insistent his mom is that he shouldn’t date anyone.

On that note Mama Cosma could be another reason why they took it slow at first, Wanda made it clear she wasn’t having any “mamma’s boy” bullshit. It’s a bit more complicated during the events of the og show since it’s been a long time since Cosmo saw his mom and he believes (and promises to Wanda it’s the case) that his mom’s just being a bit protective due to how long it’s been. Then one day it turns out she was being verbally abusive when babysitting Peri and Cosmo cut contact again and profusely apologized to Wanda for letting his mom talk so much shit about her.

But yeah Cosmo would probably have many fights with his mom about it, Mama Cosma claiming it’s only a matter of time before Cosmo does something to scare Wanda away with his magic and how she’s the only one who can watch over him, while Cosmo is throwing in her face the fact she sent him to military school while Wanda loves him the way he is and is trying to help him in a much more constructive way.

I could actually see those arguments as a bit of a surprise to Mama Cosma because not only does Cosmo find his mom intimidating meaning he usually doesn’t speak out against her, but in general Mama Cosma would be used to getting her way, especially with him. The fact Cosmo is much more powerful than her would also bother her because she can’t just force him to go to his room or anything else. And if he does something to leave the conversation, she can’t stop him. So yeah those arguments wouldn’t be pretty.

And eventually, when Cosmo has to make the choice, he decides to chose Wanda, eloping in secret and never having any contact with his mom, at least until the events of the og show. There would likely be times when he deeply misses her but he remembers why he left home and that’s enough to keep him away.

For Wanda, she never straight up told her father that her and Cosmo were dating, she made it sound like they were nothing more than friends and if anything she works with Cosmo to “supervise” him (in Big Daddy’s first appearance we learn Wanda writes him letters so the two are still in touch). Big Daddy still wouldn’t be too happy about it tho, especially later on during the og show when he learns that they are a couple.

His issues with it are that 1. Cosmo isn’t exactly the height of masculinity so Big Daddy can’t help but look down on him for not being manly enough (I actually like to think this is why he believed Wanda’s lie that they weren’t a couple; he couldn’t conceive the possibility of Wanda dating such a guy) and 2. He remembers Cosmo’s Terrible Two very well and is worried about him hurting Wanda with his magic. Especially since him being a mafia boss means his daughter already got a target on her back, he doesn’t want her to be in even more risk.

(Note that Wanda was already a late teen/adult when Cosmo’s terrible two happened, so she at least heard of it and saw some of the consequences, but she likely didn’t see the worst of it; like maybe Big Daddy lives pretty far from the city center of Fairy World and had his daughters stay home during Cosmo’s terrible two while he was forced to continue working, hence seeing more than his girls)

(And if it needs to be said Big Daddy’s issues with Cosmo not being masculine enough have nothing to do with transphobia. Big Daddy would be fully accepting of Wanda and possibly Blonda (if they’re identical twins) being trans women and couldn’t care less about what Cosmo has in his pants. His problem is that Cosmo isn’t muscular, cries easily, is a bit of a cowards, and likes to wear stereotypically feminine clothing sometimes, none of which is related to Cosmo being trans.)

Ultimately he’s not as openly hostile as Mama Cosma but he definitely acts like Cosmo isn’t here when seeing him. And whenever Wanda comes to visit her dad, he doesn’t mention Wanda’s love life in any way and brushes it off quickly if Wanda does, or he shifts the conversation towards his grandson instead once Peri’s born. Note that I see Wanda as visiting her father without Cosmo, mainly for Cosmo’s safety because mafia.

Oh and Cosmo never met the guy before the og show but he did know who he was from hearing about him from Wanda + possibly knowing his company’s name. Wanda would have also warned him about the mafia part hence why Cosmo is so nervous and visibly scared of the guy in the show. He might not be the brightest bulb but he understands the danger this man brings with him.

Finishing this post with a few words about Poof/Peri, when Cosmo was pregnant he would have had some worries over how powerful the kid would end up being, wishing to protect his baby from the emotional mess he went through. And while the kid is more powerful than average, Cosmo was infinitely relieved to see Peri remains much weaker than him.

That’s not to say it’s all sunshine and rainbows, again I go further into it in the baby ban post but the short version is that the Fairy Council is keeping an eye on Peri on account of being Cosmo’s son, including giving him a wand that reduces his magic despite him technically not needing it.

Cosmo isn’t the biggest fan of that wand but he’d rather have this than Peri going through hell for being too powerful. Meanwhile Wanda’s getting tired of Fairy World punching down on her boys. On that note once fairies realized the baby ban wasn’t going away anytime soon and started to hate on the Fairywinkle-Cosmas, Coswan quickly decided they’d move out of Fairy World once Peri’s old enough to take care of himself, hence the 10 000 years vacation followed by them “moving” to the human world.

(Note that they would invite Peri to their vacation + send him postcards + look for him after coming back, it’s just that Peri refused to go so he could have some time for himself + turned off the wand location thing, probably also left a message at home saying he found a job and is doing fine, hence why they weren’t too worried for him)

That being said (the wand restriction thing) I could definitely see Peri at some point hurting someone at spellementary school (which would be before he got his wand change) and deciding not to use his magic anymore, leading to him and Cosmo having a heart-to-heart about their magics.

Tbh this could also be a reason why Peri seems closer to Cosmo, maybe they bonded over being deemed too powerful. That being said Cosmo wouldn’t tell his son the extent of his situation, not wanting to worry him. Especially since he’d be doing much better now and is genuinely happy so there’s no point dwelling on the bad parts of his past.

[the-cookie-of-doom]

My entire day is just. Studying child development. And I don't like it (it's complicated) but it's making me really want to write a kid!fic?

Look, watching that one episode of Ingredients Did Something To Me, okay??

After some youthful indiscretions when he's a teenager, Kim get's a girl pregnant. Korn finds out and makes the problem go away. Kim might not find out at all, until years later, when the girl - now a woman - presents him with a toddler and tells him it's his. And Kim is shocked to hell, but if nothing else, he's loyal to his family, and holy shit this child is his family.

Or maybe Korn deals with the problem in a different way. He's not averse to raising bodyguards, Kim says as much himself. He could easily take care of the mother (either paying her off, attic-wifing her, or killing her), with the intention of raising his grandson to be the next heir after Kinn. He knows the chances of getting a child out of Kinn are slim to none. Now he won't have to worry about that. He has a grandchild that he can raise in his own image, in secret.

This is going to get long so I'm going to continue under a cut

However it happens, Kim eventually finds out, and like hell he's going to let anyone keep him from his child. It will take him a while to get used to the idea, to lean into fatherhood, but he's not going to let his own father raise his child to be a killer. Kim sees a chance to break his generational trauma and he takes it with both hands and runs.

Kim has no idea how to be a father. He didn't have a good role model. He know show he's raised, and he knows he won't be the same, so he just. Tries to do the opposite of whatever he went through as a kid. (He's probably the overly-permissive type, but that won't be a problem until later.)

Kim also doesn't have time to be a father. He's in his last year of university, he has a career to manage. Korn of course offers to help - with Kinn running the family now, he can play the part of doting grandpa, but Kim refuses. Hires a nanny (maybe the one that took care of him as a child, the only one he trusts with his own) to help him figure this all out.

The official story, as far as WiK goes, to protect his clean image, is that the toddler is his baby brother. WiK is seen as the sweet, doting older brother when they're seen in public together (which he tries to make sure isn't often, but he's not going to raise his kid in a box, fuck that). It melts the hearts of all his fans, and no one knows he was a teen parent, a terrible role model, someone to scorn.

At some point in their interactions, Kim lets it slip that he has two brothers, and Chay is confused. He knows about the toddler, but Kim mentioned two older brothers? So doesn't that mean he has three?

Eventually Kim introduces Chay to his kid, and Chay isn't stupid. He was raised by his own brother, he knows what that looks like, and it's not what he sees now. His suspicions are confirmed the first time Kim lets him into his apartment. He tries to hide all of the baby things, but Chay snoops a little bit. Finds a child's room behind a door that should have been locked. He confronts Kim, very gently, with the truth. He doesn't judge. He sad that Kim feels the need to hide, even from him, but he understands.

He also thinks the image of Kim with his son is so much cuter than the idea of him with a baby brother.

Kim lets himself be a little reckless, lets Chay spend more time with him and his son, and it hurts how easily Chay takes to him. Like they're a little family of their own. But it's not real.

The first time Kim lets - no, specifically asks - Chay to babysit, because he has no one else, his nanny is sick, and there's no one else he trusts with his son (which is a shock for both of them on it's own), leads to a dramatic shift in their relationship. Kim can't keep pretending this is just a friendship of convenience. He trusts Chay, maybe more than he should, but he can't deny it.

It's going to make the breakup so much harder, because his son is old enough to love Chay, to miss him, to ask where he is when he stops coming over, and Kim doesn't have a good enough answer. Is barely holding himself together, without the added pain of consoling his heartbroken child, crying for Chay to come home while Kim has to keep himself from doing the same.

TBH, the kid is probably how they reconcile. Next time SomethingTM happens and Kim doesn't have anyone to watch him, his first instinct is to call Chay. But he's not allowed to do that anymore. So he drops the boy off with Uncle Tankhun (and is barely able to make him leave that horrible house with his child inside, but Khun is fierce, he'll protect him) and at some point Chay comes to see Khun, and finds him playing with the kid who missed Chay so much, and he knows he should leave, but when he tries the kid cries until he throws up (it's gross, but it's also sweet, but it's also so, so heartbreaking) and Chay just. Can't. Kim might hate him for it, but he can't break that little baby's heart all over again.

After, both Tankhun and the kid demand regular visits. (Khun knows exactly what he's doing. Yeah he loves his nephew, the kid is in that excited dress-up stage and lets Khun treat him like a little doll, but he also thinks Kim is an idiot and needs to start talking to Chay again, and if this is what happens, then so be it).

Little kiddo excited tells Chay about anything and everything, and then does the same to Kim, telling him about his day, all the fun things he did with Uncle Khun and Uncle Chay, and. It hurts. Kim was not at all prepared for how much it hurts.

It continues this way for a while, with the kid an unintentional carrier pigeon between Kim and Chay, sharing aspects of their lives to each other. They never cross paths because Chay always makes sure he's not there when Kim drops him off or picks him up.

Until one day he is. Kim was late (his latest mission was particularly bloody, he had to take extra time to get himself cleaned up and put back together, he won't let his son be exposed to this part of his life) and his son is inconsolable. Chay is trying his best. Just got him to sleep in his lap when Kim finally drags himself, looking fierce until his eyes fall on his son in the arms of the man he loves, and he softens, and Chay sees it, and. They really need to talk.

But kiddo is still sleeping, and Kim doesn't want to wake him up just yet, so he just. Sits down. Looking at him because he can't look at Chay, and Chay tells him how worried kiddo was (doesn't say how worried he was, too), and how he's been fussy all night. Kim lets it slip how much kiddo missed Chay/looks forward to seeing him now (doesn't say how much he missed Chay, and always hopes for a glimpse of him, always disappointed when he isn't there)

They have a lot to work through, but it's impossible to fight with the kiddo sleeping in Chay's lap, so they're forced to be adults about it. Talking quietly, with Kim admitting to things he never thought he'd be able to say out loud. Does say how much he missed Chay, and how he never should have left Chay alone, and how he never should have let Chay think he never loved him, because he did, so much he saw a future with Chay that scared him, and he ran, because he couldn't bear it if Chay left him first, better to break his own heart

Chay forgives him. They don't get together immediately because forgiveness isn't the same as acceptance, and they still have things they need to work through. But he stops avoiding Kim, and sometimes Kim calls him instead of Khun when he needs an impromptu baby sitter, and slowly, that little family that Kim never let himself dream about starts to take form in front of his eyes, and he wonders how he could have ever let himself run away from this.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Loki S2 Pre-E6 Thoughts

So I know that this is totally random content to give to y'all this morning, but I wanted to post up my thoughts about the series before its final episode airs tomorrow. I have, in the past, talked about my thoughts on S1 and how I really did like it until the last 5 minutes of Episode 6 and how out-of-nowhere-forced the Sylvie/Loki kiss felt (I was physically cringing about it).

Given how S1 ended, I was a bit wary about S2, but decided to watch it anyway, and holy hell I think Season Two is KNOCKING it out of the park. I'm loving it as much as I loved Moon Knight, and it's right up there now in my top 5. The episodes are SO cinematically beautiful, well written and flow nicely, the characters are all so charming, and the Mobius/Loki relationship is being built up so much that it COULD lead to more or canonization in the final episode. During the past 5 weeks, I've been lurking on the meta spaces for Loki on Twitter and Tumblr, and wow the nostalgia I feel for it, it SO reminds me of the hey-day of my Johnlock meta-ing before S4.

I think my only gripe right now with this season is that they wasted Sophia DiMartino... her character Sylvie feels like such a... filler character (like they just put her in there because she was in the first season and they didn't know what to do with her this season)? But I think ALSO she's meant to be a counter-mirror to Loki, to show that he ISN'T like her anymore, that he grew and changed for the better with the positive influences in his life, and unlike her he doesn't WANT to be alone and such. And they're REALLY making her so unlikeable this season for me... I'm glad that it's looking like they're pretty much not going the Sylvie/Loki route (and I honestly don't see how people who ship it think it will canonically turn around at this point), but the showrunners are having her have every interaction between her and Loki rather hostile, demoralizing, or toxic. And rather that, they're countering it by showing a more positive alternative for Loki with Mobius as his potential romantic partner. Which is fantastic because I've shipped Lokius since Mobius came on the screen in S1, LOL. I just think they could have done that in S2 without making Sylvie an unlikeable character (like have her be a cheerleader for them instead?) I dunno. It's a shame because I did like her in S1. Don't like her at all in S2. She's so MEAN to EVERYONE. To Mobius especially, like CHILL girl, let a man stress-eat, JEEZ.

And here's the rant I actually wanted to write this post about because I didn't want to clutter up other people's threads with it: So, every week, I usually watch breakdowns and review videos so I can understand the characters and their comic counter parts a bit better, and usually the breakdowns are really good because they show the nods to comic-canon things and such. But OMG these past two weeks, I had to stop watching the reviews because LITERALLY all of them ship Sylvie/Loki and are trying SO hard to prove that it's canon when the past few weeks it's only been more and more likely that it's not happening.

NONE of Big Name Reviewers (NRS and SC specifically, if ya know you know) acknowledged AT ALL the RIDICULOUS amount of romantic tropes and dopey staring that Episodes 4 and 5 had (Loki watches Mobius through a window the first time he finds him, and the second time before going to talk to Mobius again Loki LITERALLY groomed himself and then stutters like a lovesick teenager. It was very rom-com; and they're skirting around the fact that all the empty places in the TVA that Loki kept slipping to were ALL places that Loki tshared time with Mobius in... I CAN GO ON FOREVER HERE, AND AND AND that Loki is constantly panicking if he can't find Mobius). LIKE. NONE OF THE REVIEWERS, who literally break down all the episodes and point out shit like All That for het-ships, just won't acknowledge any of it!! They glossed over both Loki's and Sylvie's bisexuality confirmations in S1, and only briefly mentioned their genderfluidity in the comics and in actual mythology. I usually watch the breakdowns because I'm not familiar with comic lore so I find it interesting to learn about those backstories, as well as little details they find, but they've been dropping the ball ALL season, and EVERY one of them mention EVERY single breakdown that Loki just wants to get back to "his one true love Sylvie!!", like what are you smoking?!?!? I was getting SO FRUSTRATED because they skipped over LARGE chunks of E5, especially, just pointing out the surface level stuff instead. I literally turned it off after all that.

THAT ALL SAID, since episode one it's been clear that Sylvie wants NOTHING to do with Loki – she just wants to live a quiet simple life. Then when shit goes bad, she blames Loki for all the problems SHE caused, shits on Mobius every chance she gets, and then in that bar scene when Loki's bearing his soul to her, telling her that he wants his friends back and DOESN'T want to be alone, she basically is like "tough titties" and leaves him ALONE, showing she's not a friend at all.

But the reviewers literally just gloss over all of this. ANYWAY.

Ugh, sorry about that, that's been eating at me for like 3 weeks and last week's reviews finally just pissed me off so much because even casually watching the show I could see all this shit. I only REALLY started believing Lokius could happen after Episode 4 aired, and then Episode 5 had me reeling.

I am DYING to write meta about every episode as it comes out... I just feel that other people are writing better stuff than I could, and much faster than I have time for, and really it's nice to be on the reader side of things for a change. I just... don't want to add in my own two cents to their posts because I'd feel I'm intruding, is all.

I have lots of hope about where Episode 6 will go... like I'm feeling pretty good about them canonizing Lokius... However... I'm not gonna be disappointed if it doesn't get canonized simply because this is Disney and I am REALLY not thinking they're going to explore Loki's comic-canon genderfluidity and sexuality on a surface level.

Good thing I eat subtext for breakfast LOL. I lived through BBC Sherlock, hahah. BUT... can I get a third ship canonized in one year??? Is it wishful thinking? Oh, for sure. I hope so. I would be so happy if Disney even ACKNOWLEDGED that they love each other But I'm not expecting it. I'll be happy with another hug at least, or a forehead touch or hand holding. I'm a simple gal.

Honestly though, I do inevitably want the last episode to have Loki as the ruler with his friends, because they built up to this for 12 episodes, I DON'T want an unhappy ending for the sake of a twist or whatever. Truly let him be the Loki Who Remains (a callback to Episode One) as the Keeper of Time with Bea, O.B., Casey, and Mobius at his side <3

I LOVE the character development of Loki in this series, too. I legit didn't really care for Loki all that much in the MCU, but this series did the same to him for me that FatWS did to Bucky for me: Make me want to see MORE of them and their adventures with their new friends.

Anyway, thanks for reading and indulging me, I mostly just needed to get that rant out about reviewers and wtf people still think Sy!ki is happening. Feel free to discuss in the notes, I plan on posting a reblog with final thoughts after it airs on Thursday <3

[serialadoptersbracket]

Round 2, Match 59: Fukuzawa Yukichi vs. Optimus Prime

Submitted kids:

Fukuzawa Yukichi: The entire detective agency (in order of acquisition— Ranpo, Yosano, Kunikida, Dazai, the Tanizaki siblings, Kenji, Atsushi, Kyoka)

Optimus Prime: Bumblebee, then depending on continuity, Cliffjumper, Smokescreen, Arcee, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, the Aerialbots, Sari Sumdac, Jack Darby, Miko Nakadai, Raf Esquivel, and possibly others

Propaganda under the cut!

Fukuzawa Yukichi:

1. “At about 32 he used to be an bodyguard for hire who only works alone then he met this 14 year old (Ranpo) who had no parents and was kicked out of the police academy. He ended up feeding him (I think Ranpo was homeless at this point not 100% sure tho. He is also a genius estimated iq as high as 200) and said he would help him free of charge (bodyguard) if he called. He ended up getting called and investigated something with him. Ranpo saw the world very plainly and cried to Fukuzawa about how scary it is. Fukuzawa helped Ranpo realize that not everyone is pretending not to know things they literally don't know what he does (big issue with Ranpo partly what he was crying about too i think. They have an entire episode (i think it's the first one in the 4th season) devoted to their backstory together which is black, white, and gray when it's from Ranpo's perspective until Fukuzawa helps him realize this and it turns colored. Fukuzawa ends up deciding he wants to create a detective agency (working with others!) with Ranpo not yet tho we still have one more kid first. Later when Fukuzawa's doing a bodyguard job he along with Ranpo end up rescuing a girl (Yosano!) from the man he was guarding (future mafia boss currently a doctor). Yosano ends up becoming a doctor for the detective agency when it's created. After it's created he ends up taking in another 14 year old (Kenji).

He also loves cats and has shoujo anime-esque cherry blossom flashbacks with his old childhood friend who asked him if he wanted to go to fight in war with him, Fukuzawa denied his request. They also have a like 15 min soft-lighting conversation while watching their memories of their childhood together in the latest ep.”

2. “This man literally created a whole detective agency for this one really smart boy (Ranpo) and taught him that he wasn't the one in the wrong but everyone else when he couldn't understand people. Then, he saves Yosano from the trauma this other guy was inflicting on her and brings her to the Agency. The Agency basically becomes the place where all his kids are. His special ability lets those in the Agency control their abilities so Atsushi and Kyouka don't have to be afraid of their out of control abilities anymore. He cares so much for all of them and during the Cannibalism arc when his life is literally on the line, they do everything in their power to save him.”

3. “My guy just CANNOT stop adopting kids. He went from lone wolf assassin to Dad of Many. His first (adopted) child, Ranpo, basically forced him to adopt him (he was like “I’m a teenager with no family or home. You GOTTA adopt me. Because I say so.”) From there he kept accidentally adopting every orphan he came across. Honestly the detective agency is more like a glorified orphanage except they let their kids carry guns.”

4. “A former Goverment assassin who stopped once he realized he was starting to enjoy killing people, Fukuzawa is looking for a job when he bumps into Ranpo, a genius capable of figuring out any mystery, who can’t understand how the world works. Taking Ranpo under his wing Fukuzawa tries a white lie that Ranpo has a special ability and manages to let Ranpo interact with the world without fear for the first time in years since he can know understand the problem wasn’t everyone acting like they couldn’t figure out things but that no one was as smart as him. They found the Armed Detective Agency specifically to use Ranpo’s abilities to help people and to have jobs.

He then saves Yosano from Mori, his ex something who after using her special ability to heal any injury as long as the person is about to die during the War, wanted to use it take control of their local mafia. Instead Fukuzawa and Ranpo rescue her and let her recover from her trauma and come into herself.

He then goes on to provide a place for Kunikida to fulfill his ideals, Dazai a place to do good after his own past in the mafia, Kenji a place to help people, Tanizaki and Naomi (siblings that don’t seem to have any guardians) work to support them, and Atsushi a place to work on his own trauma by protecting people. Fukuzawa later let’s Kyouka, another defection from the mafia, stay and work at the agency so she can help people and not have to kill them anymore. The entire Armed Detective Agency live in dorms that Fukuzawa provided. He also is very protective, putting everything on the line to help members of the Agency escape any danger he knows of. Like when Atsushi is kidnapped he bribes Ranpo to find him and sends Kunikida to rescue him. He sees any danger to the agency and its members as something for him to stop.”

Optimus Prime:

“#VOTE OPTIMUS HE'S THE DAD OF ALL TIME AND HAS ISSUES”

[indigo--montoya]

recently watched descendants with my little sister and it was about what I expected, but now that I've seen it I have Opinions about how it could have been, so here's how I would write it.

First off, the VK's arcs barely exist in the movie. Carlos probably has the most growth shown- he's clearly afraid of his mother and we see him confront the lies he grew up believing. They should all have moments like that, of both fear and discovery. I can see what they were going for, but it really needed to go farther. I also have some more specific arc ideas. Sidenote, it also could've made an excellent show, a school show with an overarching plot and smaller episodic plots to allow more time and attention to character development, especially with the number of major characters. I prefer that for this actually.

(Timeline note: the timeline is much less crunched. Instead of everything happening in like a week, the coronation is at/near the end of the semester or school year. It's probably right before a break. This gives them more time to actually start to relax and learn how to be teenagers.)

(Politics note: Opinions are split on the VKs coming to Auradon. Instead of Ben being the only one in favor of the idea, he actually has some support. His parents have their doubts, but FG is a staunch supporter of the idea, believes that people are capable of change and children shouldn't be punished for their parents' mistakes, etc. Some students, teachers, and other denizens of Auradon are also in the VKs' corner, while others are vehemently opposed to them. It is a matter of great debate. Audrey specifically isn't happy about it but is trying to put on her supportive girlfriend face and pretend she thinks it's great.)

(Additional note: instead of Ben's coronation, it's his coming-of-age ceremony. For it to be celebrated, he needs to have a successful Proclamation, so the VKs have a reason to at least make it look like his attempt to reform them is working. If it doesn't look like it's working the ceremony can't happen)

Mal: starts as a mini-Maleficent trying only to be like her mom. Isolated, no real friendships, bullies other kids. Her only strong relationship is with her abusive mom, who she looks up to as the ideal person. She's very angry. Covers it up with a smile in Auradon, but meets Audrey blow for blow. At first, Audrey has the advantage due to her popularity. Mal uses her magic to become popular quickly, but that popularity doesn't last. As the show goes on, Mal forms genuine friendships with the other VKs and with Auradon kids and lets go of her rivalry with Audrey. By the end of the season she becomes popular because people genuinely like her. Has gay tension with every girl she interacts with. Gets a girlfriend in a later season (probably Evie or Audrey. or both). Mal in particular forms a positive relationship with the Fairy Godmother- FG becomes a mentor/role model/parental figure to her, a positive influence who helps her figure out who she is, the polar opposite of Maleficent. Look goes from mini-Maleficent in black and purple leather (clearly Maleficent's hand-me-downs) with horns and long purple hair, always put together, to punk with baggy cargo pants, tshirts, a denim jacket with studs and patches, short, firetruck-red hair, and messy eyeliner.

Evie: at the beginning of the season she barely moves her face. She's been taught not to do anything that could cause wrinkles, so her facial expressions are minimal to nonexistent. She's also always been torn down by her mom, for being too pretty or not pretty enough or both at once. Has been doing all the household chores since she was young because obviously her mom isn't going to. Mal doesn't bother bullying her because she just doesn't react. They're on relatively civil terms, but not close. Evie isn't very outgoing, but usually has someone hanging around because they have a crush on her. Has thought friendships were genuine only for her "friends" to abandon her because she didn't want to date/sleep with them. Doesn't believe anyone actually wants to be friends with her. Somewhat hypersexual. Self-esteem issues out the wazoo (but that's all of them). At Auradon, she starts to make friends, freaks at least one (either Doug or Audrey) out by offering to make out with them. Friend goes wtf no, no offense I'm not into you, she's like why do you talk to me then, conversation happens etcetera. Starts to gain confidence and self-esteem, has a few meaningful friendships but is still pretty introverted. Also starts to be more expressive. By the end of the movie she's much more expressive, more trusting, and has learned how to form meaningful connections and also how boundaries work. Bi and ace. Probably starts dating Mal (and Audrey?) in a later season. Look goes from polished, princessy dresses in pastel blues and yellows (think Snow White but a little to the left) and straightened hair to elaborate goth, in black, burgundy, and deep purple, with chunky boots and jewelry and curly hair.

Jay: starts very self-centered and greedy, largely due to scarcity. There isn't enough to go around on the Isle, so he makes sure there's enough for him. His relationship with his father is less subservient- each VK demonstrates a different primary panic/trauma response, and his is fight (Carlos has flight, Evie has freeze, and Mal has fawn)- and more antagonistic. He doesn't live with his dad, he lives on the streets (he ran away), doesn't have as much pent-up anger as Mal so he's not as much of a bully, but he does get in fights with some regularity. He and Mal have a sort of grudging respect for each other born of many scraps where they were pretty evenly matched. In Jay's world, self-sufficiency is necessary for survival. Jay is the only one looking out for Jay, so he'd better do a damn good job at it and prioritize himself over other people. Is the first one to suggest not stealing the wand, since he already got away from his dad with some success and so believes it's possible more than the others do. He's also more emotionally distant from his parent than they are. He goes from forced independence to community, learns about teamwork, etcetera. Becomes a tourney star pretty similar to in canon, coach becomes a mentor/role model/parental figure to him. Look goes from a bunch of layers that don't go together and are often ripped (think, this homeless kid is wearing his whole closet so his clothes don't get stolen) to clean teal/other shades of blue, white, and gold. Wears his tourney jersey a lot.

Carlos: starts off cowardly, always does what his mom says. Like Evie, he's the one doing the chores in his house. Tries to avoid his house because it contains his mom, but doesn't have any other safe spaces because other kids on the Isle (including Mal) bully him (he's an easy target, and satisfying to go after because he's very reactive). Sometimes he goes over to Evie's- she doesn't pick on him, and they have a positive, though not close, relationship. he's also trans (his mom straight up didn't notice when he started dressing more masculine) but not out to many people. The official summoning uses his deadname, as do all the Auradon people initially (there's a running gag where something always obscures the deadname for the audience). Evie is the only person he's told. His arc is primarily about gaining confidence. He starts off uncertain in everything he does, glad he's away from his mom but clinging to the lies she told him. He's the only VK to enter a romantic relationship in the first movie/season, with Ben. He's pretty underweight at the beginning, whether due to scarcity, an eating disorder, or both. Look goes from black, white, and occasionally red (think mainly Cruella's castoffs, often modified to obscure his body more) to colorful ensembles and generally as few neutral colors as possible. Likes blue, green, and orange.

Roommate pairs: Ben volunteered to room with Jay. He also got Audrey to agree to room with one of the VKs, but when she realizes she's in the same room as Mal she immediately marches down the hall and makes Carlos switch rooms with her. So Evie is with Audrey and Mal and Carlos are together (rooming with his former bully is not at all bad for Carlos' mental health, no sirree. He's doing great, he's fine, everything's fine.)(Mal is also just peachy having to confront the consequences of her actions and the fact that she's living with someone who fears her almost the same way she fears her mother. It's so great for her self esteem and sense of self)(They do eventually become close friends. Mal doesn't apologize for a while bc she's emotionally constipated but she stops bullying Carlos, defends him from bullies, and proves herself to be a trustworthy friend. It's rough at first though. He sneaks out the window to sleep on the roof the first few nights, till he gets caught).

Ben breaks up with Audrey early in the semester due to her antagonism towards the VKs. She then befriends Evie, at first just to prove to him that she's not being "cruel" or "a bully" but then because what the fuck Evie that's not normal and someone has to teach you how things are supposed to work (you, a gorgeous girl in high school, should be worshipped, not propositioned, come on Evie I'm friends with you and I'm only friends with the best).

Ben checks in on all the VKs regularly to make sure they're adjusting well and making friends. Because of this, he's the first one to notice how the visit to the Isle affects them and talks to FG about it. She makes it a point to tell them soon afterwards that they are always welcome to stay in Auradon over breaks and celebrate holidays with her family. Ben is the first to notice a lot of issues, actually. He feels that it's his responsibility as the reason they're all there to help them adjust.

The call with their parents happens halfway through the semester, for a family day or holiday of some kind. It sets all of them back as they are forced to grapple with the difference in treatment between the mentors they've all found and their parents. I honestly like the idea of it being a trip home instead. Their parents push them about the wand, which they've all kind of forgotten about, and they bullshit a plan to explain (they did enough research on the security around the wand and planning early on to make it sound believable). The trip home makes their parents and pasts feel inescapable- Mal starts a fight about them not having tried for the wand already, Evie shuts down and stops talking for a little while (someone breaks her out of it within a couple days, haven't decided who), Jay pushes back at Mal ("it's not like we want to anyway! why do we have to? maybe we don't do it!!"), and Carlos fully disappears for like a day.

The love potion happens after the call, and Mal makes it but they plan for Carlos to be the one who Ben falls for. At this point all the VKs know Carlos has a crush on Ben but only Evie knows he's a guy. He does come out to Mal and Jay not long before the big fight ("if we die, I want you to know I'm a guy!" "chill. I might kill your mom").

They all agree to not steal the wand before Ben's coming-of-age ceremony

The big fight involves all four parents and the friends the VKs have made. They don't face their own parents, they face each other's, and they have help eventually. Maybe it starts off with everyone else frozen, and at first their own parents are beating them soundly, but then Mal manages to break the spell on a few of the people they care about most and they switch targets. Evie and Lonnie use mirrors to reflect Maleficent's spells (eventually turning her into a dog), Jay and Audrey take on the Evil Queen, Carlos and Doug trick Jafar into a trap, and Mal and Ben are getting ready to straight up murder Cruella when dog!Maleficent appears and Cruella bolts.

At the end, after the climax and after Carlos knows Ben is no longer ensorcelled but likes "her" anyway, he asks, "Would you still like me if I was a guy?" Ben is like, "darling, getting to know you over the past few months has been my favorite part of my life. It would not make the slightest difference" and Carlos is like "okay cool. Well I am" and tells Ben his name and Ben is like "babe that's great thanks for telling me" and then they kiss. Fairy Godmother gives him magic top surgery. Everything is great.

[liliesforeveryfandom]

Since you asked... what do you think of the popular Zutara thought that the war wasn't what made Katara say no to Aang, given her shown willingness with Jet? I saw an interesting post refuting that, and I was curious for your thoughts.

I know I'm like 2 years late to answering this, so sorry.

But I definitely think it's true. I don't doubt that Katara was actually worried about how the war was gonna end, but I get the impression that was a general anxiety for her and not a specific reason to delay a relationship with Aang.

The fact that the EIP episode makes Katara and Aang face the question of where they stand romantically by teasing their dynamic as mother and child is where I think they both got uncomfortable. Deep down, I believe Katara knew that she coddled Aang like a mother would but considering the fact that acknowledging that truth would hurt Aang's feelings, she probably doubled down and came up with an excuse. Obviously, this is Katara's prerogative and she doesn't need any reason to not date Aang, but her interactions with Jet also show that being in the middle of a century-long conflict isn't gonna stop her from being a regular teenage girl falling in love.

What I find most interesting is how Katara's crush on Jet is portrayed as purely physical and a lovesick infatuation while Aang'd id portrayed as genuine, despite him failing in love at first sight with Katara. While yes Jet turned out to be a "bad guy" that Katara detested, she actually had it the hard way and get her heart broken first to learn to not fall in love so easily. But with Aang, he never has to even face rejection.

[jaggedwolf]

pll rewatch 2x04

The Great Gatsby billboard staring at them from above after they get an A text!! Conveniently in this sketchy location for the girls to maybe wonder if there’s a camera in that eye. Okay, maybe they didn’t wonder, but I sure did

Everyone did a solo session with Dr. Sullivan before Hanna does this episode, hmm. Emily might’ve talked about moving to Texas, Aria about her parents cheating or blustering on about something else, but I bet Spencer showed up, brought her homework, and said nothing.

When her mom stops her in school, Aria immediately assumes Ella wants feedback on her teaching. I’m starting to enjoy when Aria is like this to her mom because my opinion of Ella as a parent has sunk compared to my memory of her.

When Caleb makes fun of Lucas’s room being filled with toys, Hanna immediately defends them as collectibles. Hanna probably does get it, given her own 1001 handbags and shoes.

Wren sucks more every time he shows up, he is passing out drugs to his ex-fiance and should lose his medical license.

Sullivan: “I’ve talked with a lot of young people about loss” Maybe Sullivan specializes in teenagers, with a focus on grief. Give the Liars’ parents a half-point for finding a relevant therapist.

Hanna is guarded about saying that a combination of guilt, anger, and fear is what she feels about Ali - so far, the girls haven’t really discussed with each other the experience of being friends with Ali. They gesture to it, like with Spencer pointing out Emily’s easy acquiescence to Ali, but they do not expose their own vulnerability in depth to each other

And I think Hanna would be the least likely to do so with the others

Aria is forced to endure sports and I am forced to endure too many shots of shirtless dudes (in a Philly November? Wear a a shirt!)

At least Aria gets rewarded with getting to ogle Jason. That man’s biceps are gigantic and I did not recall this about Jason

Omg there’s more Emily/Samara scenes at swimming meets. RIP Paige hope you’re oblivious to this

Doubt she is, because Pam Fields is yelling DANBY all over the stands and you know Nick McCullers is going “see if you got anchor you would’ve gotten a guaranteed offer too and not mere interest”.

Nick McCullers exposing the letter lie after doing some digging would’ve been so funny and so bad and both Paige and Emily would have wanted to melt off the face of the planet

Spencer wishes she could sleep over at Aria’s :( Last time she wanted Emily to stay over. Someone be a nice non-threatening sleepover buddy for Spence already :(

Pam is extremely charmed by Samara, who talks about the challenges of glue guns and the delights of crafting (with her mom). Samara gives good parent.

Generally speaking I spent very little time contemplating Samara back in the day, but I appreciate the way she functions in the context of Emily and Pam’s mending relationship 

Samara does all do this before a second date though, which, wild. Wild as well is Emily telling her the letter is fake. The unearned guilt must be eating at her.

So, Hanna in 2x04. It is specifically helping Lucas with his Danielle date and him thanking her that drives her back to Sullivan’s office. With every Liar, there’s the damage that Alison does to the girl and there’s the girl’s complicity in Alison’s cruelty, and somehow it is Lucas saying he no longer sees the latter in Hanna that drives Hanna to fully reject the former. As I said above, I don’t think any of the other liars have gotten as far as Hanna does this episode in extricating Alison from herself. Hanna’s the only liar whose present version we’ve seen interact with Alison so far, and there’s no regression to her flashback behaviour. 

All of the liars felt chosen by Alison, and all of them had an angle Alison was working. The way Alison comes at Emily and Hanna, I think, is that both girls are experiencing adolescence as their bodies betraying them. But where I don’t think Emily’s personality was wildly different pre-Alison, for Hanna I always get stuck on Mona’s anecdote of Hanna as a child bowing after a successful backflip, even when covered in vomit. A kid happy to get attention, fond of some showmanship, in contrast to the more muted one in the flashbacks. That isn’t all Alison - female adolescence in general gets some credit - but it’s hard to separate it from Alison. 

Hanna’s imaginary Alison suggests Hanna is scared of the liars moving on from her. I don’t think this is (as of yet) a fear we’ve seen any of the others express, and it’s a fear that has no basis in the current liar dynamics, so that’s interesting. I do read Hanna as the most guarded in S1 about the gang getting back together. I like that her conclusion here is that this has nothing to do with the liars or Alison (or Ashley, or Caleb, or Mona, or god forbid her dad), that she has herself and always will. Am reminded of a different blonde teenager who replied to “Take all that away...and what's left?” with “Me.”

I thought she was wearing a robe when Lucas came by her house in the morning and I was so thrown that she was wearing the same outfit at Sullivan’s till I realized it was a regular top

Why is Aria so pissy about Mike not playing basketball? The audience knows it’s bad vibes but girl, your parents pay zero attention to what y’all do after school, that’s how you have so many hours to waste in Fitz’s apartment or hang out with your friends you are banned from seeing. Do you want to rock this boat. 

Emily wants to call Garrett when they all shadow Melissa and Wren. I STG Emily it worked out with Toby but not all sketchy-seeming men are worth your trust. Glad Aria is a “No” on calling Garrett

As the four liars approach the abandoned barn (1) Emily would like take a photo, to prove to the cops they are honest kids (2) Hanna would settle for not getting murdered (3) Aria wonders if Ian has a gun, because “he’s a bad guy” (4) Spencer is laser-focused on Melissa

Yeah, that tracks.

Best A message of the episode: NOSY BITCHES DIE, painted in red across the wall in Sullivan's office

[littleragondin]

Wednesday is here again, we all know what it means…

Absolute Zero Day!

Last week left us with Suansoon realizing how big of an impact him being in his own past might have on his future, while teen Ongsa was diving head first into his crush on Soon.

- Those tickets are dated March 5th, which means there are only 9 days between Suansoon and Ongsa’s first meeting and Soon’s birthday/Ongsa asking him out.

- Immediately feeling crushed by Suansoon's breakdown looking at that picture of him and Ongsa.

- I really like Ongsa’s little friend group. They are adorable, supportive, they feel like teens. The little documentary of the show said they were new characters created for the show (if I’m not mistaken), and I think it’s a good addition. It’s good to see him interact with peers and it emphasizes the contrast with Suansoon’s grief-fueled loneliness.

- I, too, would preen in delight if Sine complimented me, I feel you Soon. So she was just kindly housing him while he found his footing? Incredibly generous … but at least we now know where the money for Suansoon’s rent is going to come from.

- Soon saying that Ongsa’s doesn’t like coffee that much right after we see Ongsa discuss the fact that he doesn’t know anything about Soon? Loved it. Very efficient way to remind us where they both stand in their respective timeline.

- Oooh our first real big slip about time travel! Also it does something to me that he mentions the last movie he watched with adult!Ongsa ngl.

- I checked what the “My girl” (แฟนฉัน) movie was about and … well. Fitting, it seems. It follows themes of memories and nostalgia that blend perfectly with the show.

- AH YES!! I loved how, in episode 1, every time we see them watching a movie, Suansoon looks at the screen and Ongsa looks at Suansoon so you BET I noticed how this time, Suansoon is the one looking at teen!Ongsa watching the screen. I live for parallels.

- Oh, the way Soon panics and rushes away to hide when Ongsa’s parents come visit broke my heart a little. And the “we will meet eventually”?? he gained a full family when he got with Ongsa, uh...

- Okay that cut from teen!Ongsa laughing as he leans into his mother to her asleep at his hospital bed? Brutal, painful, sad. Please don’t do this to me again (I say knowing full well that’s what I signed up for)

- “You’re missing someone and that person isn’t me.” Oh boy… I like how forward Ongsa is. Like, couldn’t be me but he knows what he wants and he will reach for it. I am quietly impressed by that.

- I also liked the little ring scene, I may read too much into it but… the ring didn’t fit just like the way teen!Ongsa liking him does not fit adult!Suansoon. Still, it finds its place with Soon's bracelet, with that memory of their teenage love. Because that's what all of it is for adult!Soon, in the end. An extended sort of memory, and he finds comfort in it, of course, there is a lot to cherish here, but ultimately that's not what he really wants.

- Unsurprisingly loved the shoot with Ongsa’s hands holding the two tickets as evidence of Soon’s rejection, calling back directly to last week ending shot. Did I say I like parallels?

- “I won’t apologize, because I did it on purpose.” I was taken by surprise ngl. Tho i felt for Soon because like... Ongsa is kissing him, except it's not the Ongsa he loves right now, not like this, but it's still him. Also, that tear when he doesn't push him away for the second kiss? b y e

- That final scene had me googling smartphone apparition and distribution because I can't for the life of me date their widespread distribution - so as comparison point, the iPhone came out late June 2007 in the US (about 8 months before the show) so I do assume that specific kind of smartphone is unusual enough to justify their reactions.

Unsure of where we're being taken next week but I will be there.

I still really like Suansoon. Do I think he should have removed himself sooner/more seriously to protect what he had? Yeah, sure. But I'm not the one working through time traveling, and the grief he is carrying. I can understand that it's hard to refuse the obvious comfort he gets from spending time with teen!Ongsa, and that he gets touched and nostalgic when the boy gets all cute with him. Also I said it last week but I am just delighted by Teng Kanist and the melancholic softness he plays. Just works for me, hooks my heart and I'd forgive everything.

I still don’t think the video shop grandpa is aware of what is happening with Soon and time travel, but I do like that in the preview we see Soon still seeking him for help because it seems like it’s something he did for a long time (in ep.1 already he was saying the man had been here for all his important moments).

That said, at this point I brought my ticket for the “teen!Ongsa knew who teen!Suansoon was/would become when he meets him at the cinema” train. That would explain the tears at the lake, why he would keep going to the movies hoping to see him, and how deep the feeling seems to run when he tells him that he misses him when they meet in the video shop. Now my question is, in that case, how would that fit into their present life? Does it mean that adult!Ongsa has always been aware of his lover traveling back in time? How much is Suansoon going to tell him, is he going to be aware that he’ll get caught in a life threatening accident?? (Is that why he looked SO sad when they watched the movie the day before the accident??)

Now to be patient until next Wednesday ...

[inconsistentlywrittensoul]

Lie to Me thoughts:

Drusilla: "My dear boy's gone all away, hasn't he? To her... The girl. The slayer." Writers, could you stop foreshadowing things you couldn't possibly know about for five minutes?

Another older romantic interest turns out to be untrustworthy. Writers, could you stop intentionally mirroring the Angel/Angelus arc for five minutes?

Ooh, it's The Most Important Character In The Buffyverse.

It's surprisingly nice to see Willow and Angel have a scene together. It might be the most open Angel's been with anybody so far - he talks to her about the century he spent doing basically nothing, and he manages to not mysteriously disappear for the whole conversation. I think it's that he's not trying to impress her - they're just friendly, and it's nice. (Aside from the moment of 'No, don't invite him in, that's going to be bad later in the season!')

(Honestly, it's always funs to see romantic interests outside their designated pairing. Tara's rare but oddly meaningful interactions with Buffy stand out, as do Spike's friendships with Joyce and Dawn. It's one reason Spike becomes way less fun in the last couple of seasons - he interacts way less with the non-Buffy castmembers.)

And we get an Angel/Xander/Willow teamup at the club. It's fun, though the treatment of The Most Important Character comes across a little weird - kind of hippie-bashing, though it doesn't land when her naivety relates specifically to a evil soulless monsters that doesn't actually exist.

And now Angel's actually communicating with Buffy! Yeah, he lied to her earlier, and what he's communicating about is the time he tortured a girl to insanity and then turned her into a vampire, but still, this is a big step forward for him. This episode is the closest Angel's come to being a functional person so far.

(Which also comes with him being undercut in the club by the vampire poser dressing just like him - it's a very Angel joke, and this feels much more like the Angel of Angel than the old Angel we saw in 'Angel'.)

That said, Angel asking if Buffy loves him, and her saying she does (albeit without trust) feels weird - they're barely in a relationship at this point? Kind of illustrates the immaturity of both characters. (Which, fair enough - she's a teenager, and he's a complete disaster. Though he is becoming less disaster-like by the episode - things are definitely looking up for this guy.)

The last scene with Giles is nice - the speech is iconic for a reason - and kind of mirrors Reptile Boy, with him giving her support that's less paternalistic but more paternal than his past Watcher-y role. With Halloween as last episode and The Dark Age as the next, these four episodes all have an underlying arc about Buffy's developing relationship with Giles; and there's kind of an ABAB structure, where this ep rhymes with Reptile Boy, and Dark Age rhymes with Halloween, in dealing with the Ripper of it all.

[near-dareis-mai]

Hi! I'm the anon who asked about Moirane and Siuan and I'm crying so much, I never expected you would be so incredibly awesome and kind with your reply. I was honestly shocked by it and I literally have no words to thank you for all the time and effort that must have taken. I was expecting a short and simple "They interact two more times and never see each other again" or something like that at most but you went so far with it and it seriously means the world to me. I also absolutely loved your funny comments, you had me laughing in many parts.

And yeah, that's actually why I couldn't find anything explicit about what happened to them, I didn't exactly know what to look for, their wiki pages barely mention their relationship to each other outside of New Spring and I've seen some tumblr posts but they're not specific. Some mentioned Moiraine dying, Siaun dying, them never speaking again but implying it ended on bad terms or that they just never cared about each other again after their last meeting so I was just getting more and more confused, that's why you even including moments when they thought about each other even after believing the other was death meant everything to me.

And you were right, learning more about it made me happy because of the knowledge and because of the affirmation that even after everything they still thought about each other and how this entire series basically started because of them (which makes it worse that they didn't have a proper culmination regarding that) but it also made me so sad and even more mad.

One of the things that surprised the most was what happened to Siaun, I've read many fans say that while they don't care about Thom that much, they do love Garrett and his relationship with Siaun so imagine my surprise when I read that he was an old man infatuated with his "almost teenage slave". How can anyine love that? There is no context or excuse that would make that entire relationship better in my eyes, I'm so shocked. And the way she changed I just can't believe it. Of course so far my take of Siaun comes from Sophie's interpretation so I can't, in no way, imagine that woman that I met in episode 6 behaving like you just described. It's so absolutely awful and wrong, he created an entire different character and said it was Siaun! I'm absolutely shocked.

And Moiraine's story got no better either. I knew she and Siaun weren't really gonna have a happy ending, definitely not together, but I had NO IDEA the Lan/Moiraine beautiful platonic relationship would also be ruined. Again, I just know them from what I've seen on the show so I can't even begin to comprehend a world were Moiraine is believed dead for a long time, then comes back and her and Lan don't try to at least fix their relationship. I know the Warder thing is complicated but I always liked to believed that their love for each other was more than just the bond, that they really loved and cared about each other as friends, so I'm really sad about that just being destroyed.

I'm really sad that Siuan had the opposite of character growth for the most part and then had an awful ending that wasn't even an important part of the story and that Moiraine ended without the people she loved the most, with a guy that didn't respect her. That was also shocking, I can't believe the Moiraine I got to know would not only marry a man intimidated or threatened by her power but that she would tell him she would renounce her power for him. I just can't imagine that ever coming out of her mouth. I know she changed and suffered and stuff but it doesn't make sense.

I'm not from the USA and finding the books is a bit hard here but I found a way to buy New Spring online so I got that one and I will definitely read it! The little bits you wrote about it had me squealing and hugging my pillow because of the cuteness and gayness and just knowing that it focuses on my two best girls and Lan made me instantly get it. I will just try and pretend their ending was different though lol I know fans of book series hate changes, I get that in a way but hopefully some things do change in the show because I'm just no ready to accept some of the things I just read.

I know the story was never about Moiraine and Siuan, but knowing that they were meant to know each other, all thins that they accomplished together, both of them hearing that prophecy and starting this mission together, basically the whole plot of the book, for that to not have a real ending. Just using them to start the engine but then not having a good resolution about it? And I don't even mean a happy ending, but something!

There are so many more things I could say and I have so many opinions about this and I'm still in awe that you took the time to do this but I'm not gonna make this longer than it needs to be and bore you even more, you already did too much for me and I will absolutely treasure everything you wrote and I will save it so I can read it many more times.

Thank you so much for everything, I hope you have the nicest of days!

Spoilers for the entire Wheel of Time book series

You're quite welcome. I hope you enjoy New Spring! However, I feel dutybound to warn you that there's triggering content in the book.

(TW for grooming: In New Spring, Lan has interactions with a woman who basically groomed him when he was a child. The narrative tries to pass it off as a Malkieri cultural thing, but. It. Is. Grooming. So go in forewarned.)

I've read many fans say that while they don't care about Thom that much, they do love Garrett and his relationship with Siaun so imagine my surprise when I read that he was an old man infatuated with his "almost teenage slave". How can anyine love that?

(I hate defending Gareth Bryne but i feel honourbound to clarify: he only thinks Siuan is ~18 when he begins to chase her down. When he finds her and realizes who she really is - the deposed Amyrlin - he realizes she's 42 years old, and is still utterly infatuated with her, so it becomes un-creepy at that point. Again, I HATE having to defend this man but he's meeting the very low bar here.)

I presume it's easier for some people to find Gareth/Siuan romantic than Thom/Moiraine because if you're not thinking too hard about it, the barebones of Gareth/Siuan fits certain romantic tropes that were popular in the 90s and early 2000s (a highly decorated lord/general falling in love with a commonborn fisherman's daughter when she's lost all her power, a highly ambitious woman finding that what she actually values is romantic love above all else, the whole servant-master dynamic, etc). Everyone can ship whatever they want, but I will never see eye-to-eye with people who find it romantic, and I personally want to beat Gareth Bryne to death with my bare hands for what his introduction into the narrative does to Siuan's arc and personality.

Of course so far my take of Siaun comes from Sophie's interpretation

IMO Sophie is a perfect Siuan, I really can't see anyone else in that role anymore and I feel like she really gets across the complex and seemingly contradictory facets that make up Siuan's personality in the books perfectly - and she's why I hate Siuan's character deterioration in the later books even more now than before I watched the show, because imagine Sophie!Siuan putting up with any of that, LMAO.

but I had NO IDEA the Lan/Moiraine beautiful platonic relationship would also be ruined

Yeah. Sorry. i don't have even snippets to comfort with you here but the good news is the show most likely won't treat their relationship as something to be discarded by the wayside. IIRC, Rafe Judkins - the WoT showrunner - got a huge binder from amazon of fans' opinions on what they want improved from the books to the show, and one of those was fans asking for a proper resolution/interactions for them. so like. have hope.

Enjoy New Spring!

[regheart]

so lately i've been obsessed with witch please i've never in my life listened to a podcast this often or this fast

that being said, this episode specifically and the one about structuralism were very satisfying to me because it's part of what i study so i was familiar with the theory

the whole point of barty crouch jr bring a good teacher (whatever that means in this context) because he's a good performer is top notch. his character is ridiculously nerfed and essentially a plot device so he has skills no one else has and it's absurd he would be this competent considering that he was arrested as teenager and spent over ten years of his life forbidden of social interaction under the imperius curse

but anyway

and maybe that played a role on deceiving dumbledore, the performance of a professor would also be a new moody persona for him, so that might have excused a few unexpected behaviors on moody/barty

i just want to add two points to the discussion in the podcast 1) the plan takes that long because barty crouch jr is motived 50% by resurrecting voldemort and 50% by pissing off his dad 2) the special attention he pays to neville is ultimately for the sake of the plan but it's also such a perverse cruelty, the fact that he tortured that boy's parents to insanity, tortures a spider in front of him, and approaches him under a fake identity and with underlying intentions

[ngalu]

~On this episode of Ngalu rants~

I LOVE how a lot of put-downs for shit people like are always "tHe MajOrITy oF faNS arE (Insert further description) gUrlS".

Like- no. I FUCKING hate this copy-paste argument that's used in every fucking fandom I go to like it's a be-all-end-all statement when it doesn't mean shit.

First of all, there is nothing wrong with girls liking things. LET GIRLS LIKE THINGS. So, what if a certain piece of media has a fan base of mostly girls? Does a fan base with a majority of girls somehow make it invalid? Stupid? Not worth while? NO!

This put down is so fucking misogynistic with the implication that because something is mostly an interest of girls, it's somehow less valuable and worthwhile to interact with and enjoy, so anyone that is also interested is therefore stupid/obssessed for liking the same thing. (I see this SO often, and the people that say it are always so proud of themselves for their little 'gotcha moment' like they did something)

Second of all, straight people including straight girls are free to enjoy queer media and ships too. I know, ✨SHOCKING✨.

What also ticked me off about this redditor though is that, on top of their bullshit misogynistic argument, they called everyone else that might enjoy this ship outliers because every other demographic, that isn't a straight girl, enjoying queer stories and romances is impossible to comprehend. I would LOVE to see how they worked that out. I wanna see their PowerPoint presentation outlining every other demographic, that is not a straight girl, as an exception proving the rule SO bad.

Thirdly, gen z girls? That's so specific of a demographic that now I NEED to see that PowerPoint presentation (I'm assuming it has a pie chart, I love pie charts).

In all seriousness though, referring to gen z as teenagers at this point is ridiculous - the oldest of us is almost 30. The label cannot practically be used interchangeably in that way, when the oldest is (at time of writing) 27 and the youngest is 12 - that's way too big of an age gap to refer to an entire generation as "teenagers".

Furthermore, the targeted ridicule of teenage girls is SO FUCKING GROSS AND OLD. You can circle back to the first point for this one, but it's such a common cultural phenomenon to automatically hate anything young girls show interest in (whether that's music, movies, food, make up, and ships of fictional characters!) that you can base a whole discussion of its on it. And in fact, people HAVE - the number of articles that are out there describing this topic in detail is baffling and sad.

Fourthly, there's one more thing about the comment that I wanna talk about: "straight gen z girls who just want Will to get who he wants".

With how specific this comment is (and spoken with such confidence too) I want to assume that there is a specific person they had in mind when they wrote that. It's the only explanation I can think of.

Even if a Byler shipper did just want Byler to happen because they like Will and they want him to be happy with the boy he likes in the show, that's fine. Like- it doesn't hurt anyone, it doesn't really affect anyone except for one or two people that will get annoyed with that opinion, because that's just another way of enjoying a ship (it's really not that serious). But to project that on to an entire fandom is a bit much, I'm looking at you ClemandLee- dick for brains- fanatic.

Anyway, thanks for coming to my Ted talk *wiggle dances off stage*

......

Bonus rant:

Where the fuck in their asshole did they pull that statistic out of?? How the fuck did they collect the data to definitively say with full confidence that a majority of Byler shippers are "straight gen z girls who just want Will to get who he wants"? That is SO fucking specific like- how long did it take them to research that???

Did they have a survey? Questionnaires? Interviews? Did they set up a website or something so they could collect all this data? How the fuck are Byler shippers supposed to obssessed if that's somehow the case???

went to check out the st reddit 😭😭😭

umm WHAT?????

hey guys, are all of us bylers straight gen z girls???? AM I a straight gen z girl????? are most of us bylers little kids who are overly obsessed weirdos????

BREAKING NEWS: stranger things redditors can't fathom the fact that queer people like queer ships as well as representation and bylers can come in different ages and sexualities!!! 😱😱😱

[skippy-reads]

Episode #2:

The Honeys • Ryan La Sala

Final Rating: 8.5/10

This is NOT a spoiler free review!

Disclaimer: Citations will be blurry, but im trying to be steadier handed when taking these. Tangents, if theyre here, will be in pink.

Woof, this summer has been rough for me. I'm so glad that this book managed to find me on this particular summer. It was a welcome breath of fresh air and humor, compelling story and excellent prose. The only reason this isn't a 10/10 is beause I'm just not all that fond of books for teens or stories where theyre the main characters, BUT I gave it an extra half point for being so darn good in spite of it.

So lets get into what made me give this my highest rating so far!

Our story hits the ground running, as chapter one begins with our main character, Mars, being attacked by his twin sister, Caroline, who tries to kill him in his sleep with various stuff around his room. Wow, what a way to start! Caroline ultimately dies in Mars' fight for his life, being crushed underneath him as they both fall from the second story indoor staircase of their big ass manor.

From there, we piece together who Caroline is over the course of her funeral, and learn more about Mars' parents, his upbringing, and his relationship with his sister.

Carolines funeral is attended by a strange group of girls that Mars immediately recongnizes as The Honeys, a group of all girls who attend an upper class summer camp every year called Apsen. Caroline was grouped with these girls and attended Aspen yearly, though later we learn that she attended in the winter too. Mars doesn't attend Aspen, and the story about why is drip fed to you over the course of the book at an excellent pace. Each time I learned a new detail, it slapped me across the face and genuinely turned the previous plot points on their heads from the added context.

At Caroline's funeral, he's forced to lie about her own injuries to save face for his politician mother, as well as the circumstances regarding their twin's death. Mars knows that it wasn't brain cancer, but what else could it be? When Mars meets again with the Honeys at the funeral, strange things quickly start to happen around them. He resolves that to find out what happened to his sister, he'll need to go back to Aspen, and so our plot begins!

Marshall Matthias III

No story is truly good without a good protagonist, and Mars is GREAT. I don't even know where to begin, really.

They're genderfluid, gay, into math and numbers, pragmatic, and driven. When we first meet Mars, it's immdiately after a massively traumatic event, the loss of a treasured sister, and she's understandably not at her highest point. Most of what we learn about Mars' character is through dialouge, how she talks to people and navigates situations.

I wish i grabbed pictures of my top ten funniest Mars moments. He is HILARIOUS, extremely quick witted, sometimes a little awkward, but confident. The book is generally very entertaining, but Mars brings something really specific to the table in the way she interacts with the other teenagers shes forced to live with. I like that shes a fighter, isn't above throwing punches if punches are due. I like that when she knows she's right, she stands the fuck up and talks. Near the end point of the book, it's not about exposing Aspen's corruption, greed, and transphobia, it's about being left alone so she can figure out what the fuck happened to her sister. Sure, once the seedy underbelly of the hive is discovered, his priorities shift, but by that point, the story has fallen into such chaos that it's not really up to her what's important anymore.

The Honeys

Technically, theyre our antagonists at the beginning and for most of the book. Sure, Mars really likes them, but he only really admires them because they represent something he isn't (a pretty girl. There's a reason im going to be favoring she/her pronouns for Mars).

Maybe it's just because I'm jaded like that, but I'm not so easily offput by girls being girls, even if they're weird. The book really wants you to think they're creepy though. After we know what they look like, sort of, and can assume they wear the fem equalvilant of Mars' camp outfit, the only thing left to describe is the eery way the girls interact with each other.

They travel in packs, either holding hands or linked by the pinkies. Once, during a campfire gathering with everyone, Mars describes them as difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins, as their legs are crossed over each other in a line.

The leader, Bria, was sweet to Mars at the funeral and invited him back to Aspen personally. I don't quite remember if they invite Mars to Cabin H specifically, their HQ, or if she just assumes that there's an invite to the cabin, but she goes either way and is welcomed with open arms. As soon as they recongnize Mars, all the girls treat her like she's one of the girls. They're the nicest and most accepting of Mars' gender that we've seen, maybe even in Mars' whole life.

I was struggling to feel any sort of negative emotion towards them at all! They're being nice to Mars! She gets support, someone to listen to her. A big point at the beginning with the funeral was the utter lack of actual warmth in the Matthias household. With parents who view children as extensions of themselves, representatives of their skills as parents and leaders. Her parents werent UNsupportive, per se, but they definitely resented her for 'choosing' to be trans+gay rather than behave like a good man should.

As a result, Caroline was the unwilling golden child. Her and Mars strayed apart, Caroline sought refuge in Aspen and the Honeys while Mars found comfort in the solitude.

The Trans Rep

It's excellent. You may have already seen from the above citations what I'm about to say, but either way, I'm talking about it.

Mars being genderfluid would be one thing, but she's not just generfluid, she's transfemme. I think, too often, we have trans/nonbinary representation that plays it too safe. Nonbinary characters are robots, aliens, characters who "dont care" about gender, "don't care" about how you refer to them. Mars herself even calls herself fluid, and says her pronouns are 'any' at two points in the book.

But the above screenshots provide more than enough contrary evidence that Mars not only experiences dysphoria but has a really specific idea of her gender presentation. She didn't want to shave her head, she did it as a sacrifice, to prove to her parents that she didn't care about discarding feminity.

She's never happy to be associated with masculinity, but RELISHES any oppurunity to express feminity. She layers on lipgloss as a point of defiance when she beats all the boys at fencing, further has to stand her ground when said boys prove to be sore losers and try to make it her problem.

The transphobia is perfect, what a weird sentence to type but what I mean is that I believe that Mars is visibly transgender, and that the we're seeing an accurate represenation of how the world reacts to her. She has to litereally fight to have bare minimum respect as a person. I was on the edge of my seat during those chapters, and could feel the ostrisization Mars was experiencing. I felt the same frustration as Wyatt and other camp staff tell her that she "just needs to give the 'other' guys" a chance, even though THEY are the ones not making space for HER.

Halfway through the book, I just wanted Mars to blackmail the camp organizer into letting her stay with the Honeys, and we actually get that!

Final Thoughts

Overall, The Honey's is an impeccably written horror. The prose slaps, the plot slaps, the protagonist slaps, the ending is amazing, exactly what I wanted from it. I strongly recommend this book to anyone wanting a good suspenseful horror novel with good trans representation!