#that does not mean that the SPECIFIC changes that tv show went for make it BETTER

[la-pheacienne]

my new fav common argument used by Tumblr's Absolute Authorities of George Martin's Work (towards the end of a debate when they don't have any actual arguments left) is that "Fire and Blood is bad". it's bAd u guyz! what are we even fighting about? oh you thought we were having a genuine debate about whether the tv show is a faithful adaptation of the source material and the implications of the different perspectives for the characters, premise, lore and overall message of the story? well fuck you we're not doing that because guess what, the source material is BAD anyway and the 98494 receipts you just gave us are useless now because we just moved the goalposts and you're a loser for even engaging with the source material to begin with lmaooo

[throwawayhero]

hii!! could u please do headcannons for katsuki in a relationship with a trans man reader?? Tysm!!

Of course lovely! And thank you so much for sending in a request! Please feel free to correct any mistakes that I make, but I'll try my best! I wasn't exactly sure how to make the hc's specifically relationship orientated, so it's sort of a thin line sorry! c/w; afab, lgbtqia+, course language, menstruation, no quirks mentioned

He honestly had no clue you were trans when the two of you met for the first time. He had no reason to. And tbh, he didn't give a fuck when you told him. He sort of just.. shrugged and moved on? Nothing more, nothing less. But if you weren't already out when you met him and you realised how you truly felt a bit into the friendship.. he still didn't give a fuck! He accepted you, obviously, and he 'encouraged' you, in his own way, to test things out.

"Okay? Fuck does that have to do with me?"

He especially liked helping you pick out clothes. When asked to go with you to go clothes shopping, he would complain and tell you to get someone else to go with you.. but he would still grab his keys and rush you out the door (: (That's why your style is majorly inspired by his.)

When you told him what your new name was, he immediately said that it was better than your other "shitty ass" name. He also changed your contact name as soon as he could.

When you got your first masc hair cut you didn't tell him beforehand, so when you bumped into him and surprised him with it he stared at it for a good minute with a frown before saying that it looked better than the "rats nest" you had before. Bonus points if you did any form of bleaching and/or dyeing it, he says it makes you look less boring.

"At least now you look like you actually have a personality."

If he catches someone calling/referring to you by your deadname, whether it was intentional or not, he's onto their ass IMMEDIATLEY and he is NOT polite about it. He will sass them tf up.

"Who's that? Oh, you mean ****, right?" "Come again?" / "Excuse you?" / "Pardon?"

Kinda had no idea what binders were before you told him what they were used for. Insisted you got ones with cool designs and called you boring for getting solid colour ones only.

Genuinely became so much more involved with the LGBTQIA+ community because of you. His first Mardi Gras was a night he will literally never forget, for both good and bad reasons. If you dare MENTION a feather boa, he'll start having flashbacks.

He doesn't put that much thought into his sexuality. He's just the type of person to not gaf, yk? Call him what you want, he wasn't gonna sit there and confirm or deny. He just knew that he had been attracted to girls and guys his whole life, regardless of the extra stuff.

When you got your period for the first time around him he was pretty neutral about it. When you mentioned the dysphoria it gave you he did try his best to console you, but it just ended up making you laugh. He really did try to keep you distracted, even if he struggled exponentially. He let you use his Netflix to watch a movie/TV show while you hung out. ACTUALLY understood that cramps hurt like a bitch and gave you pain relief and snacks.

"Jeans cannot be comfortable for you right now, ya masochist."

Went with you to every T-shot appointment. He wasn't obvious about it but he always made sure that his hand was there for you to hold if you got paranoid about the needle hurting. Noticed the effects quicker than everyone else and claimed that he "won" at being the most supportive.

"You guys suck at this."

He helped you save up for top & bottom surgery and surprised you with the rest of the money you needed on a random Tuesday night. He'd never admit it but he "almost" teared up at the sight of how happy you were that night. And you'll pretend like you never saw the tear roll down his cheek.

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

I read GRRM’s interview regarding book vs show canon and I thought the way he was approaching an adaptation of his own story, and fiction as a whole, was very interesting. I do wonder though - does the concept of having a separate show canon kind of become like a cop-out? Because in that case, any TV/film adaptation can just decide to change the plot as they see fit and go “oh, well, that’s our canon, the book is a different canon.” Doesn’t it cease to be an adaptation after a point, or at least become a loose one? In the HotD context, a lot of the changes being made I actually quite like because I can see them fitting in the canon, because there’s nothing suggesting otherwise.

But say, Sansa marrying Ramsay (or, alternatively, the moment that show was dead to me) we can say with absolute certainty did not take place and will almost definitely never take place. D&D knew that too but they went ahead with it anyway; it’s not quite like the Scarlett example where it makes no difference to the story because this change does. I feel like the whole point of adapting written words into something visual loses some of its sanctity if we just accept TV changes a whole separate canon, as opposed to simply a change made by the writers (good change or bad change is up to personal opinion).

I have followed your blog for almost a decade so I’m really curious to hear your thoughts on the subject.

GRRM's "Scarlett example" -- his question of "how many children did Scarlett O'Hara have?", because in the book Gone With the Wind she had three, one with each of her three husbands, whereas in the movie she only had one -- has been his go-to when asked about the difference between book and show canon since at least 2012. Or to quote him from 2015,

How many children did Scarlett O’Hara have? Three, in the novel. One, in the movie. None, in real life: she was a fictional character, she never existed. The show is the show, the books are the books; two different tellings of the same story.

This is IMO one of the most sensible ways for an author to look at adaptations of their work (even if I have gotten rather tired of GRRM using the Scarlett example specifically, pick something different George, we've seen it before lol). There is book canon and there is show canon. They are different parallel universes. They're separate canons because they contain changes made by the writers, and also because the very process of moving from the written word to visual media must involve some kind of change.

And this applies to all adaptations. That's why I brought up X-Men comics vs the Fox X-Men movies vs the X-Men cartoon (original 90s and 2024's '97). For example, there's 4 different versions of the Dark Phoenix Saga between those canons, at the very least. Wait, sorry lol, I forgot the Ultimate canon version. And the various in-comics alternate universe versions. And god knows when they finally bring the X-Men into the MCU they'll probably do yet another DPS there too. And that's only one of many storylines that are radically different between the various canons.

Or look at the various Interviews with the Vampire. Is the new tv show "not an adaptation" because its Claudia is a teenager rather than 5 years old as in the book or portrayed by an 11 year old as in the movie, thus resulting in extremely different relationships and a reshaped plot? (Among many other changes?) No. IWTV has book canon, movie canon, and show canon.

And I can't speak that well about Transformers since it's not a major fandom of mine, but go take a look at their various continuities if you want some more perspective about just how very far the meaning of "adaptation" can stretch.

Or hell, look at Stephen King, where among his many many many adaptations, some of which just barely resemble the original text, the only one he sued to have his name removed from was The Lawnmower Man, because they literally used an entirely different story and just slapped his title on it.

And then there's the movie Adaptation, which is a wildly meta-adaptation of the non-fiction book The Orchard Thief (it's a story about the process of adapting that book and involves a fictional version of the writer, the screenplay writer, and an entirely invented screenplay writer's twin brother)... and it was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for multiple film awards (and won a few times), and the original writer even said it kept to the book's themes.

Suffice it to say, HOTD has a long, long, long way to go before it could ever "cease to be an adaptation after a point". Changing the timeline to make Alicent and Rhaenyra the same age, or doing Blood & Cheese differently, do not even compare to what some book-to-visual media "loose adaptations" have done. Even GOT, as wildly terrible as their non-book storylines could be, both their changes to the text and after they had no actual text to work with, never became a "loose adaptation". Certainly it became a less than faithful adaptation -- and let's be real, it always was unfaithful for both themes and the essential elements of so many characters -- but it also always was a remarkably accurate adaptation of the whole span of Westeros (in geography and breadth of characters) and the general (not specific) book plot. (Consider previous attempts at adaptation that GRRM rejected, such as a single 2 hour movie, or eliminating Jon and Dany for being "irrelevant", or only making a Jon movie with none of the other storylines, etc.) Which is why, when GOT was different (and awful) it was such a betrayal, like a zombie or evil alien wearing the skin of your best friend or beloved child, and worse, that this twisted lookalike was the only version millions and millions of viewers ever saw and believed to be true.

But again, this just underlines what GRRM has said. "The show is the show, the books are the books." There is book canon and there is show canon. They are separate things. Parallel universes -- very close parallels, often touching in many places, but sometimes they're quite different. Sometimes the differences in adaptation enhance the themes of the original canon; sometimes the author may even consider certain adapted characters (Shae, King Viserys, Helaena) to be better than his original canon; sometimes you know there's only those tricky NDAs (and payments of lots of money) that prevent him from expressing his disappointment in more ways than dropping the Sansa TWOW preview chapter only days before the release of GOT S5. But perhaps if we're lucky, maybe one day we'll have yet another parallel canon to compare to the others.

[lizardkingeliot]

Just gonna pop this full quote from Rolin here for anyone who might need to see it today:

"When I read the novel, it was very clear that this was a romance, and we wanted to tackle it in a big way: overflowing passion, big fights and big reconciliations. A relationship like that may not be the best thing for you in life, but sometimes you just can't control yourself, and that's what happens to Louis and Lestat." Will the show respect the structure of the books, in which Louis disappears and Lestat comes to the fore? "We want to focus on the relationship between the two" replies the showrunner. "That does not mean that they will be together in every scene of every chapter, but when the second season arrives you will have a clearer idea of what will happen to Louis, and even more so in the third, when we adapt The Vampire Lestat. We will keep the spirit of the novels and their emotional arcs, but their plots are built in a very different way than what a TV series asks for. Besides, who would want to get rid of an actor like Jacob Anderson?"

(source)

I understand being worried reading a quote from the showrunner in which he implies Louis and Lestat might not really reconcile for 8 more seasons, but the entire show thus far has focused on Louis and Lestat. They restructured so many things in season 2 to be about Louis and Lestat. The entire trial was about their love! The tower scene ended up being Lestat getting metaphorically broken by losing Louis instead. Dreamstat! Even the Armand and Louis relationship ended up being about Louis and Lestat in the end. Jacob and Sam are co-leads. They will continue to be co-leads. Their chemistry is legendary. The show has never given us any reason to believe they're suddenly going to squander that.

Rolin has said he specifically went in the AMC offices asking to write a love story. Obviously none of us can see into the future and predict how the story is going to unfold, but I'm personally choosing to trust where they're headed with it. This team is so good and they have not let us down thus far in my opinion. Sam has implied they have the whole arc plotted out, and I can't see any reason why they would suddenly change their minds. It might end up taking a different shape than we imagine. We might not get everything we want. Louis and Lestat are always going to have a chaotic and insane dynamic as long as the show is airing. But that insane, chaotic dynamic is the heart of the show. That's what makes it so compelling!

And also, just as a side note, please remember Louis and Lestat do reunite as lovers near the end of TVL. Louis is there for the rockstar era. He and Lestat smooch backstage! Why on earth would the show choose to not give us that turned up to eleven like they do with everything else?

Now let's all just take some nice deep breaths and enjoy our hiatus yeah? Season 3 is happening! We have so much to look forward to! 💖

[ineffablelunatics]

The Good Place and Crowley

A while ago, someone sent an ask to Gaiman. It went as follows, “In the book, ‘Golden Girls’ was Crowley’s favorite TV show. Is that slo TV Crowley’s favorite or does he have a current TV show that he prefers?” He answered, “I think he’d love the ‘The Good Place.’”

The Good Place is one of my favorite shows. I completely understand why Crowley would like it. It has some of the best debates of the philosophy and ethics of modern day society including the afterlife. It argues that people should not be defined as good and bad. It shows that people can improve. It tells us why and how they improve.

There’s two things about Crowley that really connect him to these thoughts. 1. Crowley does not like to be defined as good(or nice). Though we haven’t really seen that include bad, I would assume that it would be the similar thought. It also might have something to do with Aziraphale saying those things specifically, but that’s another post. 2. That people are not defined by what happened to them, and that means that anyone can improve.

Crowley fell from Heaven. He fell from grace which made him demon which means that for all intents and purposes, he should be evil. But he isn’t. Crowley doesn’t ever really commit truly evil acts. Any truly evil act that Hell thinks Crowley committed, humans committed. Crowley just took the credit. Crowley likes the thought that people can change. In Hell, he sees tons of people who are awful, but he also sees people who just made some mistakes. He sees demons who are like him who don’t find joy in treating people terribly. He’s seen angels causing harm happily, but others giving away joy like lollipops.

Those two things are fundamental in the show, The Good Place. I would argue Good Omens as well. If Adam had always been treated like he was evil, he probably would have never had friends who he genuinely cared about so much so that their fear pulled him out of his power drunken state. If Aziraphale had assumed the snake was evil(if he even saw him lol), then smited him, where would Crowley and humanity be? The demon with the imagination burned to ash and humanity living with almost decision-less whilst tucked neatly within Eden’s walls. If people couldn’t improve then Shadwell would have never been able to put aside his fears and foolishness so that he could love Madame Tracy and show it. Gabriel and Beelzebub would still be planning Armageddon 2.0 if they hadn’t moved on and fell in love instead.

The Good Place reminds us of the things time and time again. Each of the four main characters get reset, and every time, in the right circumstances, they always become better people. They are also never really defined as good and bad either. At times, others try to define Eleanor as a bad person, but every time, she reminds them that, yes, maybe, she shouldn’t be in the Good Place, but at the very least, she should be in her very own Middle Place. Every time, Chidi teaches her how to become a better person(which only works, because she wants to be one) and in the process, he becomes one too. Just like Gabriel and Beelzebub.

This was way longer than I expected it to be, but here are some quotes from The Good Place and where I think they would fit into Good Omens whether that be place and time or people and relationships.

“Sometimes, when you’re feeling helpless, the secret is to help someone else. Get out of your own head. Trust me. The next time someone asks for help, say yes.” This feels like the whole of S2, specially Aziraphale with Jim and then Maggie

“If you have bills to pay and shit to deal with you don;t have time or energy to become a better person.”  The Resurrectionists in 1827 with Elspeth and Wee Morag

“If there were an answer I could give you to how the universe works, it wouldn’t;t be special. It would just be machinery fulfilling its cosmic design. It would just be a big, dumb food processor. But since nothing seems to make sense, when find something or someone that does, it’s euphoria.” All the couples in GO, but that quote right there seems to be how Crowley and Aziraphale has been holding on for so long

“I guess all I can do is embrace the pandemonium find happiness in the unique insanity of being here, now.” Nina specially during The Ball

“People improve when they get external love and support. How can we hold it against them when they don’t?” Beelzebub and Gabriel

“We have no plan. No one’s coming to save us. So... I’m going to do it.” Aziraphale(specifically him at the end of S2 in my opinion)but also just everybody in S1 with Anathema, Agnus, the Them, Aziraphale and Crowley, just all trying their best

“If soulmates do exist, they’re not found. They’re made. People meet. They get a good feeling, and they get to work building a relationship.” All the couples, but especially Aziraphale and Crowley with the Agreement, they were working on their relationship before they knew they were even working on their relationship

“What matters isn’t if people are good or bad. What matters is if people are trying to be better today than they were yesterday. You asked me where my hope comes from? That’s my answer.” Crowley, because deep down, at the end of the line, we know that he’s an optimist

*reminder that all of this is my opinion, if there’s anymore quotes you would like to add, please do, some of the information might be incorrect

[confirmeddead]

Here are my ramblings regarding the Interview With The Vampire Season 2 finale

This will be broken down into 3 sections:

Overall episode plot thoughts, character thoughts, and season 3 setup.

The way the episode was set up was fantastic. I went into it thinking I’d know what to expect. Paris Louis destroying the coven, Daniel uncovering Armand’s plotting, Loustat reunion.

I couldn’t be happier with how it all unfolded. The parallels with Louis and Paul, the fight between him and Santiago, Lestat in Magnus’ tower. I was absolutely enthralled with everything in Paris- it was so exciting.

When I tell you my palms were clammy when we go back to Dubai? I was a little confused (due to my excitement), did Daniel bring up those questions or were those planted by the Talamasca? I know the Talamasca gave him the real script but I was hoping Daniel did the extra legwork. This actually made me very excited for the Talamasca show (good job, AMC and IWTV writers) because of Rashid, RJ, and freaking Sam!

I really want to know what happened after Louis left Dubai with Armand and Daniel, but I’ll save those thoughts for later.

The NOLA reunion was everything I could have hoped for. I audibly laughed at Louis’ driver because it reminded me of my NOLA trip in 2023- the people of New Orleans are so charismatic and talkative! And the night tour? I didn’t attend one but I thought it was adorable seeing Louis attend one.

The actual Lestat/Louis reunion was fantastic. The young vampire taking him rats like in the book? Siri? Sam’s acting? I was taken aback with how different Lestat was and I think that was a peek at the “real” Lestat. A little more subtle with his movements, still charming, and brutally honest. This was the only part in the episode that made me cry, specifically when they talked about Claudia. Grief wasn’t something I had to face ‘til last year so I found my brain comparing the two.

The rest of the episode is a blur and I could probably make a whole post regarding that ending. I’m really curious what other DM fans thought… but I’ll say this one thing:

Louis saying Armand turned Daniel out of spite was a punch to the stomach. I actually yelled “Out of spite??” At my tv. Louis’ words, yes, but that paired with Daniel’s “asshole” comments on Armand made me collapse. I need to know more… and am praying those are just Louis’ words, nothing more, and there’s a lot more to the story.

Characters-

Louis: Oh Louis! My gosh, I was hurting for him real bad. Like I said, the Paul correlations were aplenty. The mad ramblings in the mausoleum, the actual acting on Jacob’s part (makes me wonder if he went back to 1x01 and copied Paul), the imaginings. I love how the episode ended with Louis calling for all those vampires to come to him because I totally (think I) know where the writers are going. Lestat’s gonna have that to have that performance ready earlier than expected!

Lestat: Ugh, I could not get enough of him this episode. Definitely Sam’s best episode (for me). The facial acting in Magnus’ tower, Louis pointing out the shackles, etc. Can’t wait for that to be revisited in season 3 both in the 18th century and 40s Paris. Again I really thought Sam’s acting in NOLA was a standout. The subtle changes to his character were so in my face (in the best way). Can’t wait for next season!

Armand: So… lot’s of thoughts. It was very interesting that they changed it that he had intentions of killing Louis. Does it make sense? Technically speaking, yes. I understand the reasoning that he wasn’t going to throw away a coven for someone whose heart was with another. All that being said… how does the viewer, who is already villainizing Armand, come out of this just not hating him completely? Killing his daughter and fledgling AND wanting to kill him?

Look, I know we the book readers have Anne’s writing telling us how she felt- she never saw these vampires as villains. I mean everyone says it, but it does kind of hurt seeing not one but two storylines regarding Armand changed so drastically. But I’ll let the tale seduce me, sorry. (Really, I will!)

Armand wanted and saved Louis out of selfish reasons. Armand turned Daniel out of love. Both changed, from our perspective. But the turning of Daniel is still up in the air, all we have is Louis’ words “out of spite”- oof.

Daniel: Like I said before in the plot analysis, I’m really hoping Daniel did a lot of the heavy lifting when it came to Armand’s plotting because he’s a Pulitzer Prize winner! Anyway, the ending… what to say?

I’ll admit it- I was wrong. So many people guessed it would happen but I didn’t think it made any sense. And can I say it? It didn’t make any sense. Technically speaking, the reveal was fantastic! But otherwise I just can’t help but think it was all a bit too much. “Out of spite” keeps ringing in my head in the worst way. I know they were Louis’ words, I know, but if they change this one thing about Armand I might scream. I want to let the tale seduce me but with them having changed what happened in Paris, it scares me to think of what they might have changed with Armand and Daniel.

So let me take the “tale seducing” out of here for a second, please.

Armand, after 500 years, turning someone out of spite is character assassination. I’m sorry!!! And you know what? Lemme call bullshit. I think he turned him because he really finds him fascinating now and, I don’t know, was seeing his own life flash before him and wanted someone to call his own. And do we think Armand would leave his only fledgling alone? Daniel was thriving! He’s confident, he’s happy, he’s strong! If Daniel resented him for it, truly, he’d be miserable- but he isn’t. And I’ve read a few takes regarding this and I think it can make a lot of sense if we really look at who Armand is as a person.

And since I’m always wrong and hope the writers prove me otherwise, I don’t think the Chase is gonna happen- in the 70s/80s or post-Dubai. I think it’ll be changed to Armand “chasing” Daniel’s love.

I just really need something more that will tell me this is all gonna be okay akksdjjd

Others: Superb acting by Ben Daniels my gosh! Rashid totally being body-swapped or working for the Talamasca made me so happy- I’ve loved Bally this season and hope to see him again. Them making Sam’s character a DJ was so funny- will he be performing with Lestat? His opener? LMAO

Season 3 setup-

I’m both excited and a little disappointed for their setups for season 3. Louis calling the vampires to him was badass and I think will lead Lestat to break out of his NOLA “stupor” and burst onto the music scene and draw everyone to him instead.

With Louis’ words to Daniel regarding a second book, I would say I don’t think Daniel would take his advice and not make a second book but that’s not who Daniel is. I think he’ll hear that and say yes to Lestat and interview him for his book.

So who did they leave out in regards to a season 3 setup? Armand. Yes, we know he turned Daniel but we didn’t even see him? Hear from him? Anything? Maybe it’s asking too much but it bothered me that they left it as “he turned Daniel out of spite” and that’s it.

[mochiimiiki]

| Saeran Choi Headcanons |

{GE Saeran x mc}

Warnings: spoilers for Saeran/ Ray route and after ending, sevens real name, some parts slightly suggestive (will be marker) so feel free to ignore those bits

A/N: the amount of pain and angst this man specifically has gone through is unbearable, out of all of the RFA members him and seven had it worst (my opinion). Anyways some happy hc because i think he deserves to be happy

- - -

After everything was resolved between Saeran and Saeyoung (which mind you took a while) the three of you decided to move and leave behind Saeyoung’s bunker, a place you had called home for the last six months

the reason for this choice was quite simple; a reminder of what was.

the twins didn’t need a reminder of everything that had happened over the course of time anymore than they needed the unpleasant memories. So they left.

The house which saeran and you moved to is a beautiful cottage, with a small farm attached. Saeran spends most of his days attending to the livestock and garden he grows, don’t worry though he definitely doesn’t neglect you (whether saeyoung came or not is up to you)

Saeran spends his days down in the dirt, very literally. As he’s all hands and knees and very much determined the best plants are grown from intense love and care

other than gardening and farming Saeran’s other past times are reading. He doesn’t have a particularly favourite genre but loves a good book with a happy ending. He reads all the books he can possibly get his hands on, very much including children books and fantasy novels. He was deprived of imagination when he was small so now he allows himself to indulge in it as he’s free to do

Saeran spends as much time with Saeyoung as he does his garden. This is mostly because Saeyoung is always around helping out on the farm, trying after years of being seperated to bond with his brother. Saeran deeply appreciates Saeyoung doing this as he knows being outside is something out of a comfort zone for Saeyoung (with unpleasant memories still always fresh Saeyoung feels safest behind a desk and screen).

Saeran is actually afraid of the dark so hopefully you don’t mind but he keeps a little nightlight by his bed side, it’s actually a cat and can change all sort of colours. It was invented by Saeyoung no doubt. Saeran treasures it with his whole heart.

Everytime you and Saeran go shopping he always collects a little toy, his inner child never had so much as a teddy bear so when he sees something he likes he gets it. Of course he asks you if he even should or if that’s silly, but naturally you insist that it’ll help heal his inner child.

Everytime Saeran sees you he gives you a kiss. On the forehead, cheek, neck, shoulder or lips it really doesn’t matter. He feels like giving you a kiss each time you see one another. It grounds him, reminds him that even though he has nightmares this, with you, is real.

Which means he ends up kissing you very often; you’re watching tv and he comes in from the garden. A kiss. You’re making dinner together and you go to the toilet, come back, a kiss. it doesn’t matter how much time apart you’ve spent. He just has to give you a kiss.

Now as mentioned before he does get nightmares and unfortunately they’re quite often, gently shake him awake if you hear him crying out in his sleep and murmur that it’ll be okay. He’ll hold you without saying anything until he drifts off again. Over time they fade away as he heals.

{suggestive} each time the two of you make love, and yes it’s 100% love making, saeran makes it his duty to tend to you. Running a soft, warm cloth over your body as you come down from your high. fixing your sweaty hair out of your face before heading off to fetch you some water and maybe a snack if you’re hungry. He treasures you and shows you that every way possible.

ofc u should give him aftercare everyone once in awhile (after you do he’ll not stop kissing ur face <3)

Saeran is a very tactile person. He went so long without physical touch that now he has yours he won’t let it go, ever. Has a hand on you, hovering about you or grabbing you every time he’s around. It’s probably another form of grounding for him, especially in crowded places where he feels very out of place and anxious.

Saeran 100% has hands on you everytime you kiss as well. and i mean everytime.

Work wise neither you nor saeran probably need to work as saeyoung has a lot of money and sold multiple cars to give saeran money. (he confirms at one point the gathering of cars was for his family)

However, Saeran never got to experience normal work and pay and so he does in fact work for awhile. He stays on with Jumin even after Jumin got elected and worked as part of a security team for a few months. But when you guys moved to the cottage/ farm he quit his job to focus on his life with you and Saeyoung. He just wanted a little bit of normalcy to feel complete.

One thing that doesn’t sit right with him no matter how much time has gone by is being out and about in a normal shop with normal people. It just never feels quite normal. He will of course insist on coming with you anytime you want to go shopping but other than that he doesn’t express any interest in exploring things like the cinema or public pools. Public places with so many people make him uncomfortable, especially with the way he’s recognised now because of the debacle with his dad.

His sanctuary is being in your arms, chatting with Saeyoung and your little farm together. (farmer Saeran brainrot)

Saeran devotes everything he has to you, that fact does not change no matter how much time passes. Every choice he makes is with you in mind, despite the fact you trying to dissuade him in order for him to form his own choices. But they are still his own decisions that he was free to make, he didn’t decide these things because he felt indebted to you but rather because he simply adores you and that was what he wanted to do to show you.

[the-other-art-blog]

What do you think about the theories going around that they might announce Benedict to be bi by the end of this season? His character has always had queer undertones and the show runners have talked about making more stories with lgbtq inclusivity. As much as I love Sophie, I really don’t think they’re going to include a female lead next season

My short answer is: I've heard the rumors and even if they announce Ben as bi, he's still marrying Sophie. They already skipped Ben season, they're not going to change his story completely.

My long (really long) answer is:

I truly believe that Benedict wasn't supposed to be anything but straight. People saw him hanging out with ONE gay man, who was very much in love with another gay man, and decided he must be gay or bi too. It didn't matter that he went right to a threesome with 2 women. That storyline was merely to show Benedict how difficult life could be for some people and to stop being so judgmental and hypocritical. In the end, it was about SOPHIE BECKETT.

Bton team must have decided to keep Benedict's future open so as not to cause problems with the side of the fandom and press who would call them for supposedly queerbaiting. They consciously decided to pair him up with a woman in s2 and his poem was about a woman (another foreshadowing for SOPHIE BECKETT).

With Jess as the new showrunner, I think she decided to address Ben's sexuality and open a door for bisexuality to appease some people.

Let me just say that a lot of Benophies including me have embraced the idea of bisexual Ben, you just have to read fanfiction to see that. I am just concerned that certain people will be nasty to Sophie because they want Ben to marry a man.

I also don't think that a show whose main audience is women would erase a female lead. That would just be absolutely stupid.

They might experiment with secondary characters, but not the leads.

I'M TALKING POSSIBLE SPOILERS NOW!!!!!

I have heard about a threesome between Tilley, Benedict, and a man name Paul Suarez(?) We saw him in the trailer.

I've heard various versions. It seems Lady Tilley arranges the meeting, but I'm unsure if Ben agrees. Some people say he declines the offer. So, even if he is attracted to men, which he has never indicated in any shape or form, she is not ready to go physical. This is fine, bisexuality doesn't mean you MUST sleep with both sexes.

And honestly, if he does it, I wouldn't blame him. That man is gorgeous.

But again, it's pretty obvious that this is just to appease people. But really they are setting everything up for Benophie. There have been direct references to events from that book:

Violet moving out of Bridgerton house

Benedict losing his art

Benedict being an asshole to debutantes

All the mentions of Benedict excellent dancing skills

She's coming. SOPHIE BECKETT is coming.

Even more, they won't change canon couples because this is a business decision. The books are being republished with a tv tie-in cover. Let's say that Ben gets a male love interest, how would they do that cover? Are they going to bring a random woman to pose for him? It's the same for the other books, and some of them are too specific in the titles. Philip is going to be Eloise's husband in the show because the book is called To SIR PHILIP with Love, same for When HE Was Wicked, and It's in HIS Kiss.

[ladysomething]

Hello there lovely human 💛

I’m kind of going around my favorite writers and ask them for advice and insights about their process (so I can collect it all like a hoarder). I hope you mind sharing some wisdom with us 🥺

So what I just don't understand is how you can post as you write while maintaining this level of awesomeness in your writing. Without writing yourself into a corner and keeping consistency. And it is awesome, the first time I read "You and me, we got a big reputation" I stayed up till 4 in the morning to finish it and it left me full of emotion and hollow at the same time (the same way as when you finish a great TV show or a good book or an awesome video game leaves you feeling, like something beautiful just ended and you can never experience it again. The kind of hollow that leaves you wondering what to do with your life now, that your world has changed, where your chest is empty and full at same time).

Anyway, how do you approach your ideas? Do you have the whole fic plotted out before sitting down for the first chapter? Do you write in order? Does it always go the way you plotted it in the beginning? How long did it take you to plot out "Where you go I go"? Or "You and me, we got a big reputation"?

Anything you want to share about your process would be appreciated 💛

I'm trying to put into words my first actually long fic ever and I know it will be better if I post it after it is all finished, but it is also easier to keep up the momentum if you have readers on your side.

hi!!!

firstly, thank you for the love on big reputations. I'm coming up on a year since I posted the first one shot in the don't blame me series, and I'm feeling some type of way about that.

secondly ... man oh man. I'm gonna go question by question here, but I'm gonna put it below the cut because I know I'm gonna ramble.

well the first thing is that I'm not posting as a write, not really. I'm three chapters ahead, which for me is what I need to make sure I don't write myself into a corner. I'm far enough ahead that I can keep control of the narrative. some people like be further ahead, others don't need to be ahead at all, but that's about the appropriate distance for me, I've found.

it depends on the fic! wygig is pretty much entirely plotted out, yeah. big reputations was not. I had a general idea about where it started, how it was ending, and what I wanted to happen in the middle, but specific scenes weren't planned - not like wygig. GMTF I had specific scenes in my head that I wanted to write, but more I had specific emotions I was trying to capture, and I built the plot around that. in my original manuscript, I had the three acts planned out, the main plot points per act, and then felt it out as I went (which ended up meaning I had a serious pacing problem that is still unresolved, hence why it's still sitting in my drafts lmao). so yeah, it depends on the story.

I write in order these days, but I didn't used to. I've just found that, for me, writing in order means that it forces me to keep writing, because I HAVE to go through all the boring scenes to get to the fun scenes. I use it as motivation, but that doesn't work for everyone! it certainly means that sometimes, by the time I get to the fun scene, I've forgotten what I had planned for it, so I have to build it all up again lmao.

no it doesn't always go the way I plotted! characters often do things I hadn't planned for them to do - sometimes good, sometimes bad. I've been going very rogue recently with wygig, as @saiyanwitcher can attest to. she's had to reel me back in quite a lot recently haha.

oh god, it took @saiyanwitcher and I probably .. I'd say we worked on plotting wygig for a solid month before I started writing - BUT the major caveat here is that I was writing the brocedes fic while we were plotting it out. so I refused to start writing wygig until I finished that, which meant we spent more time on plotting than I usually would. and then we revisit plot points as I get closer to writing them - see what can be kept, what needs to be deleted, what needs to be changed to fit the rogue elements I've inevitably introduced lmao

as I said, I didn't really plot big reputations out like I did with wygig, so that didn't really take any time at all! haha

as advice for putting together your first long fic ... what I'll say is this. I've been writing for almost 15 years at this point. I didn't even realise that I was coming up with a way to write that works best for me until I'd already done it.

I realised I needed people to give feedback as I go. I need to have written a lot in advance, before I start posting anything, so that I know I can finish it under my own steam and that my interest will continue. I need to listen to my mind when I get bored, and take a few days break from writing - but I can't go more than a week without touching a fic, otherwise I won't go back.

they're all things you'll learn along the way!

I also think you should try not to compare yourself to others. if you try to match what other people are doing, you'll never finish, because you'll end up disappointed in one way or another. it's easier said than done, for sure, but if it's your first, give yourself some slack and take everything as a learning experience!

and remember, above all else, to write for yourself. if your always writing for yourself, writing what YOU want to see, the motivation is easier to find.

[traceofexistence]

I was looking again, at the quotes of that tweet with the views of thai GL this year, and the pressed idiots who can't stomach that blank got no1

so one of them said that "blank glorifies grooming" and we really need to talk about the use of words again

let's make something clear first: if you haven't watched the series, then shut the fuck up, because you don't know what you are talking about. you just parrot what you heard from others who haven't watched.

grooming is a serious accusation and a real life thing that happens and harms mostly kids, teens, and to lesser extent very young adults

be mindful when you use words that affect real life people. using the word in a way that stretches the meaning so far that it ends up meaning nothing, it harms the people who went through that situation. such words need to maintain their specific and strong meaning.

now on to the blank the series

the TV show made a conscious decision to change some stuff from the book. they fixed stuff they didnt break them.

Khun Nueng, the 36 year old woman, who is not emotionally mature when it comes to romance, due to the fact that she never had a relationship before(only one night stands) she also grew up as a royalty, who was restricted from showing emotions, which is typical for her societal status. all through the show other character mention how "she never cared about anyone before"

Khun Nueng doesn't pursue the younger woman, it's the other way around. for the entirety of s1, which spams for almost a year. she's been trying to keep the younger woman at arms length. we can see that she's falling for her, but she never initiates anything, in fact it is a whole painful plot line with the younger one always complaining that Khun Nueng never fights for them, that she's the one who always trying on her own.

another factor, is that Khun Nueng, an older, richer, higher in the societal scale (she's a literal royalty), more experienced in life, already gone through higher education, and so many more factors that would put the younger one in a disadvantage, Khun Nueng never uses any of those factors against Anueng.

she has only used that power of hers for the benefit of Anueng, for example tutoring her so she could get in the best university. another example is how much she would use her superiority against Chet's homophobia. Chet is scared shitless of Khun Nueng, he is not angry that she left him at the altar, because he knows he can only benefit from being with her again. he doesn't dare to displease Khun Nueng, and she knows that and uses it, for Anueng's benefit.

when he interrogates poor Yui, Khun Nueng despite working against her own happiness, she approves of Anueng and Yui being a couple, and tells Chet that, and that there is nothing wrong with two girls dating, and that he should accept his daughter.

When eventually the cat is out of the bag, and hell breaks loose, Khun Nueng goes against, again her own heart, because she believes Anueng needs her family, so she puts herself second (of course that is false, and she realizes that, and she finally stands her ground and fights for them) but she never EVER trying to do anything that would benefit her over Anueng.

Khun Nueng genuinely cares about Anueng's well being

another example of that is, when she tells the mom that the grandma, beats Anueng with a stick

she's even wiling to vilify her own self in the eyes of Anueng, so her girl can have a calm family life.

I dont know how anyone in their right minds can call that grooming, but here we are. a groomer would try to isolate the younger person from those close to them (in this case Anueng's family) but Khun Nueng not only doesn't do that, she does the opposite, in times going against Anueng's will to make time for her parents.

as for Anueng, a 20 soon to turn 21 year old, who falls head over heels for this older woman, who she admires very much and aspires to live her life freely like her. she's someone who have lived a sheltered life has no friends, and in Khun Nueng she finds not only the love of her life, but a person who cares about her.

she's the one putting a label on their relationship since day one, she's the one pushing the boundaries every time, she's the one initiating everything.

her emotional intelligence is so high that she understands Khun Nueng in a deeper level than anyone has done before.

I'm really tired of people judging media without consuming them.

that is even worst than media illiteracy

because at least with media illiteracy, you watched the damn thing, you are just too up your ass to get what it tries to say

[theycallmebecca]

For your Autumn prompts- a character (I’m thinking Frank or Curtis would be fun!) of your choosing doesn’t “get” the magic of Autumn/Fall- but after participating in a typical Autumn activity (Fall Festival/haunted house/carving pumpkins/apple picking/a scare crow making contest/scary movie marathon) they get it and it’s a cute fluffy ending 🥺🧡

If this drabble had a theme song it would be Taylor Swift's Anti-Hero, specifically the line 'Hi, I'm the problem, it's me' because I literally started writing this drabble the day I got this request back on the 18th and the ending eluded me until today...

Never the less, I have prevailed! And I bring you some Frank Adler grumpiness.

Title: New Traditions

Pairing: Frank Adler x reader

Rating: PG

Warnings: n/a

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is not to be reposted, used or translated without my permission.

Usage Disclaimer: This work is for fans only. This author does not give permission for it to be shared, spoken of, referred to in any public manner (podcast, tv, online, etc.) that wants to either make a celebrity uncomfortable, mock fan fiction/fandom in any way, or the author themselves. Requests can be made, but it is unlikely the author will change their mind. If no response is given to a request then the answer is a solid no, not interested and the work cannot be shared, spoken of or even referred to, regardless of the manner or context. 

"What do you mean you think fall is overrated?” You stared at your boyfriend in shock.

“The colors are nice, I guess,” Frank Adler replied with a shrug. “But I don’t get the fuss.”

You blinked and shook your head in disbelief. You opened your mouth to remind him that he’d grown up in fucking New England, one of the most picturesque places in the entire fucking world to experience fall and then shut it when you remembered why the two of you were even in New England in October.

Mary’s monthly weekend with her grandmother.

You bit your tongue to keep from saying anything about Frank’s mother and tried to mask your face, but you could see Frank’s lips twitch as he tried to fight smiling himself.

“It’s ok, you can call her a bitch if you want to,” Frank said with a grin. “I’ve said worse. To her face.”

“I will not stoop to her level,” you said, pulling your shoulders back. “I’m just glad I’m part of yours and Mary’s lives now and can help you both experience the parts of life that were kept from you.”

“Like what?” Frank asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

“Experiencing fall the way it’s fucking meant to be spent!” you exclaimed, throwing your hands up. “Pumpkin patches, hayrides, corn mazes, just everything that makes fall fun!”

Frank gave you a look that said he wasn’t convinced.

“Trust me, by the time I’m done showing you and Mary everything you’ve missed, you’ll be begging me to show you more and, not only that, but making a huge weekend of it every single year,”  you promised.

With Mary busy with her grandmother for the weekend, you and Frank went to a local haunted house and then watched a couple scary movies. While he refused to admit he was enjoying himself, you could tell that he was.

By the time you guys were back in Florida, Mary was on board for experiencing a true fall and you knew that would seal the deal for Frank. If there was anything that made your grumpy boyfriend happy, it was seeing his niece enjoying her childhood, something that both he and her mother had missed out on.

You spent the week planning a weekend full of fall-related fun for the three of you, some of which you shared with Frank and Mary, but other parts you decided to keep as a surprise.

When the weekend finally arrived, the three of you got up early and headed out for the first day of fun. You’d found a farm not too far away that had an actual pumpkin patch as well as hayrides, a corn maze, and a farm store.

Just as you had expected, it was an instant hit for Mary. It was a harder sell for your grumpy boyfriend, but, eventually, even he was enjoying himself, though you weren’t sure if it was because he’d gotten into the fall celebration or if it was just because he was happy that Mary was happy.

By the end of that first day, you knew that you’d just stated a new, annual, family tradition.

[shegeekery]

Splintered — Chapter 3

Chapters: 3/5 Fandom: Doctor Who, Loki TV series (crossover) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: N/A, but I plan to keep it as friendly to both Lokius and Sylkie as I can. Characters: The Doctor, Ruby Sunday, Mobius, Ouroboros, B-15, Casey (Sylvie coming in later) Summary: The Doctor and Ruby find themselves in a strange universe where the timelines are controlled by the God of Mischief. Is it any surprise that the TVA needs help from a Time Lord?

Chapter Index: Chapter 1: I Have a Bad Feeling About This — Length: 2906 words Chapter 2: Ghost Squirrel — Length: 2738 words Chapter 3: Splintered (this post) — Length: 2852 words Chapter 4: Getting the Band Back Together — Length: 2496 words Chapter 5: Intervention — Length: 2496 words

B-15 and Ruby surveyed the destruction around them. Papers were strewn all over the floor, with chairs overturned, folders shredded, coffee cups shattered, and someone’s lunch splattered all over a computer console. A handful of office workers tried to set things to rights, mournfully sorting through papers and wiping down the desks.

“So it just came in here, caused this mess, and then left?” B-15 asked a young woman in a brown vest and thick glasses.

“Um, yeah, except it just sort of appeared in the middle of the room,” the worker replied. “And then it disappeared again. I saw a guy in the elevator do something like that a while back, but this wasn’t quite as…gross.”

“Was anybody hurt?” Ruby asked her.

��No, but I lost an entire day’s worth of work.”

B-15 sighed. “Alright. Thanks Brenda. We’re looking into it.” Brenda went back to cleaning up.

“So it’s still not attacking people. That’s something, at least,” Ruby said. “What she said about the man in the elevator…could that be related?”

“I think she was talking about Loki, when he was timeslipping,” B-15 answered. “That was pretty disturbing, but nothing like what people are describing here.” Her TemPad beeped and she glanced at the screen. “The techs have some residual energy readings consistent with magic use, but the dampeners are making it difficult to get anything more specific.”

“And turning them off would be a bad idea, yeah?” Ruby asked.

B-15 nodded. “If this is some sort of attack, we don’t want to make it easier for whoever’s doing this.”

Ruby paused, then said, “Okay, I’m just putting this out there… Could Loki be doing this? I mean, this qualifies as mischief, right?”

“Well, I suppose he could — he’s outside of the TVA and he has that kind of power — but I’m not convinced he would.” B-15 gestured at the mess around them. “This is just mindless chaos. He usually did things for a reason, and I can’t think of any reason he’d want to attack the TVA.” Her expression darkened. “Besides, if he’s had a change of heart, I hate to say it, but he probably wouldn’t go out of his way to avoid hurting people.”

Ruby’s eyes widened. “He was that bad?” B-15 nodded. “Okay, next question… Does this have something to do with what’s happening to the branches?”

“A lot of strange things have been happening lately. First, branches start getting cut off at the root. Second, a ghost squirrel is wreaking havoc all over the place. And third,” she looked pointedly at Ruby, “two strangers show up in a blue box, claiming to be from another universe. I don’t like coincidences.”

“I swear to you, the Doctor and I don’t have anything to do with this. We’re just trying to help.”

“I’m inclined to believe you, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t keep my mind open to all possibilities.”

Ruby nodded. “Of course. I understand. So, what now?”

“Maybe your friend can get us some more useful information about what’s happening at the roots. At least then we might have some idea if it’s connected to the squirrel.” B-15 chuckled and shook her head. “The things I hear myself saying these days. Working here used to be so much simpler. I mean…evil, but simpler.” ----------------------------------------------------------------

“Alright, that’s the last of them,” the Doctor said as he climbed out from under the Tardis console. “Let’s fire her up and go visit your friend in the tree.”

“Can we do that?” Mobius asked excitedly. “Actually go talk to him?”

“Oh, sorry, I meant that figuratively. I don’t know if it’s even possible to get to him. My guess is he’s in the densest part of the trunk — we probably can’t fly through there without damaging the timelines, and it would be too risky to try to materialize inside of it. That much chronon radiation would confuse the Tardis sensors.”

“Oh, right, of course.” Mobius tried to hide his disappointment, but the Doctor took note and silently resolved to keep an eye out for any opportunity to engineer a reunion.

The Doctor pulled a lever on the console. The Tardis groaned as it dematerialized, and Mobius looked around nervously. “Is it supposed to sound like that?”

“My favorite sound in the universe,” the Doctor replied, grinning. “Any universe.”

After a few moments, the groaning stopped, only to start right back up. “Short hop,” the Doctor said as the groaning died down again. He flicked a switch on the console and Yggdrasil appeared on the wall screen.

Mobius stared at the image on the monitor, his expression unreadable. The Doctor left him to his thoughts as he brought them closer, heading toward the roots of Yggdrasil. The bright ‘foliage’ at the top disappeared from view as the darker, murky underside filled the screen. Formless dark clouds drifted in the space between the thick roots, which were further apart than the branches above. The Doctor was able to pilot them through the roots to position the Tardis directly below the center of the tree. The view on the screen panned slowly around.

“So what are we looking for?” Mobius asked.

“Not a clue, mate. This is brand new territory for me.  Basically, we’re looking for anything that could endanger the branches.”

“Right. Got it.”

They continued watching. Everything seemed still and peaceful.

“Hard to believe we’re looking at the beginning of everything,” Mobius said. “Everything that ever existed or will exist, in any timeline. It all starts here. At least, that’s what they told us at the briefing after— what was that?”

“What was what?”

“I thought I saw something move. Can you move the camera back a bit?”

The Doctor turned a knob and the view panned in the opposite direction.

“There! Did you see it? Like a flash of green. Behind that cloud.”

“Yeah. I saw it. Let’s take a closer look.” The Doctor used the sonic to zoom in on the image. An elongated strand of green emerged from the darkness of the cloud, twisting and moving between the roots of Yggdrasil, wrapping itself around them. The Doctor moved to the console viewscreen and typed a series of commands. “Whatever it is, it’s pure energy, but the sensors can’t determine what kind.”

“Pretty sure I can tell you that. It looks exactly like Loki’s magic.”

“I’m going to get closer, see if we can get more detail.” The Doctor piloted the Tardis toward the anomaly until it filled the screen. At one end of the glowing strand, they could make out a distinctly snake-like head.

“You think that’s what’s damaging the roots?” Mobius asked.

“It doesn’t seem to be doing anything at the moment,” the Doctor answered. “But this is ringing a bell. I need to check the Tardis database, but…”

He typed in another command and scanned the results. “Right, of course!” he yelled excitedly, startling his companion. “It’s Nidhogg, the serpent that gnaws at the base of the World Tree!” He knocked his own head a couple of times with the flat of his hand. “I should have thought of that. Granted, it’s been ages since I visited the Norse. I’m getting old.”

Mobius laughed. “Old? Pfft. What are you, twenty-five, thirty? Talk to me when you hit fifty, pal.”

“I’m older than I look. As are you, I suspect.”

“Got me there.”

“Wait,” the Doctor said, stepping back and staring into space, hands raised in front of him. “No!” He turned around. “Yes, of course, that’s it!” He turned back, punched the air, and pointed at Mobius. “Ratatoskr!”

“Excuse me?” Mobius backed away a little, clearly worried that his life was now in the hands of a madman.

“The squirrel. Don’t you see? The squirrel is Ratatoskr. It runs around the tree, talking to an eagle at the top, then back down to the roots where it talks to Nidhogg. It delivers messages between the two, but it’s mischievous so it lies about what the other said, just to aggravate them.”

“Okay, so does the eagle have a weird name too?”

“Probably, but nobody knows what it is.”

“Right. So what now?”

“Now, we check out the top of the tree. Bet you anything we find our nameless eagle up there.”

Mobius shrugged. “Sure, why not?” He seemed anything but convinced. He watched the wall screen as they moved out from under the tree, followed the trunk up, then navigated around the edges of the branches.

“It really is beautiful, isn’t it?” Mobius said quietly.

“Breathtaking.” When they reached the top, the Doctor added, “I’m scanning for the same energy signature we got from the serpent, but the whole tree is giving off some amount of it — which makes sense if Loki is the source. Just need to look for a spot where it’s more concentrated. There!” He changed the view on the wall screen and zoomed in on an area at the very top of the tree.

Eventually, they could make out a greenish blob that slowly resolved into the shape of an eagle, perched on the top-most branch and staring out into the empty nothingness.

“So what does the eagle do?” Mobius asked.

“Nothing much, at least according to the mythology. It just keeps watch over the tree.”

Some movement caught their attention and they watched as another greenish blob moved close to the eagle. When it stopped, they could make out a distinct squirrel-shape. “Jackpot!” the Doctor yelled, startling Mobius once again.

After a few moments, the squirrel began to scurry back down into the tree. The Doctor frantically typed in some more commands.

“What are you doing?”

“Locking onto the squirrel’s signature. We need to follow it and see what it does. We can’t get into the branches there, but we should be able to catch up with it when it reaches the trunk.”

They eventually spotted the squirrel on the trunk of the tree and followed it all the way down into the roots, where it stopped next to the serpent. Again, the squirrel paused for a few moments, then scurried off again and vanished. Probably making another visit to the TVA, the Doctor thought. Nidhogg, meanwhile, began to thrash wildly and wrapped itself tightly around one of the roots. The magical serpent began to gnaw its way through the root.

“It’s killing it!” Mobius exclaimed. “Can’t you stop it?”

The Doctor shook his head sadly. “Nothing I can do, Mobius. The Tardis isn’t equipped for that sort of thing, and I’d probably just cause more damage if I tried.”

They watched helplessly as the serpent gnawed through the root entirely, causing both ends to darken and wither.

Mobius sighed. “Well, now we know what’s happening to the roots.”

“Yeah.”

“And there’s nothing we can do?”

The Doctor thought for a moment, then said, “Tell me more about your friend. You know him better than anyone, right? What motivates him? What makes him tick?”

“Whew, it’s complicated. He’s complicated. That could take all day.”

“If you had to sum him up briefly?”

“Well, I—“

The phone on the console rang and the Doctor punched a button next to it. “Ruby! How are things at the TVA?”

Ruby’s voice came out of the console speaker. “Not much to report. A lot of messes, but nobody’s been hurt. They still think it’s magic—”

“Yeah, we just confirmed that.”

“You saw it at the tree too?”

“Yep, along with a couple of its mates.”

“Did you find out what’s happening to the roots?”

“Yes,” the Doctor answered, nodding to Mobius. “We’re heading back your way shortly. Much to discuss. Take care, babes. See ya soon.”

“Bye for now!” Ruby answered, and the call disconnected.

The Doctor turned to Mobius. “So you were saying? About Loki?”

Mobius shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t even know where to start.”

“Let me ask you this, then. Do you know if he was prone to self-deception?”

Mobius burst out laughing. “If I were a psychologist, I could write a book on that topic alone and make a fortune. I mean, Loki lied to everyone, all the time, but especially to himself.”

“Go on.”

“He actually had the nerve to accuse me of doing that. I mean, okay, he was right, but still… “ Mobius checked himself and continued. “Anyway, yeah. He had a really hard time being honest with himself, especially about what he really wanted. He was getting better, though.”

The Doctor smiled. “It probably didn’t hurt that he had a good friend helping him, someone who really knew him and cared about him.”

“Well, it wasn’t just me. Sylvie probably had a lot to do with it too.”

“Friends can make all the difference. Believe me, I know.”

Mobius nodded.

“Did he used to spend a lot of time alone?” the Doctor asked.

“He did, but that was part of the self-deception, I think. He’d been told over and over that he deserved to be alone, would always be alone, and I guess he eventually believed it. So he would do everything he could to push people away before they could push him away. But he didn’t really want to be alone.”

“And then,” the Doctor mused, “just when he’d found a group of friends who didn’t push him away, he sentenced himself to an eternity of solitary confinement, for their sake.” He shook his head. “And they used to call me the Lonely God.”

“Right. Yeah.” Mobius swallowed hard. “So, what are you getting at, exactly?”

“I have a hunch. Total solitude isn’t healthy for anyone. Probably not even a god. We all need friends, or family, to keep us from spiraling. Help us see what’s important, what’s real and what isn’t.”

“And?”

“So what if your friend is struggling, all alone in there? He did this,” the Doctor gestured at the image of Yggdrasil on the wall screen, “for the noblest of reasons, holding your entire multiverse together, but maybe he’s finding it harder to hold himself together. I think maybe his psyche is splintered.”

“Splintered?”

“The eagle, the squirrel, and the serpent are clearly coming from him, his magic. What if the eagle is his best self, keeping the multiverse safe? And the serpent represents his darker, destructive impulses. And the squirrel, well, that has ‘mischief’ written all over it — especially with what it’s been doing at the TVA — but it’s also self-deception. It’s him unconsciously lying to himself, so that the serpent is undermining everything he set out to do.”

Mobius blew out a breath. “That makes sense, but if that’s the case, what can we do?”

“We have to come up with some way to communicate with him. Help him pull himself back together. Problem is, I scanned the tree while we were exploring. There’s no way I can get to him in the Tardis.”

“Damn.”

“If we just had a way to use the branches — or better yet, the roots — to talk with him… I don’t know how we’d manage that, though. A timeline isn’t like a wire you can just send signals through, and going into the timelines, well, it would just filter through as noise. And even if he heard it, it would only be one-way.”

Mobius stared unhappily at the image on the screen. A dark cloud slowly moved across, temporarily obscuring the view, and his expression brightened. “Wait… I think there might be a way to contact him!”

“What’s that?”

“Sylvie. She has this ability to enchant people, or creatures, to read their memories, or control them. Maybe she could use it to send and receive messages through the roots.”

The Doctor looked skeptical. “Enchant an entire timeline? I’m not keen on that idea, even if it’s possible.”

Mobius shook his head. “Not that. I don’t know exactly how it works, but she managed to enchant a giant cloud monster once, so maybe things don’t have to be solidly connected. If she could just use the timelines to touch Loki’s mind, maybe it could work.”

“Would she do it? From what B-15 told us, she doesn’t want to work with the TVA.”

“Pretty sure she’d do it for Loki. And the multiverse. This whole thing, bringing back free will, was her glorious purpose long before Loki entered into it.”

“Glorious purpose?”

“It’s, um, a Loki thing. They’re all convinced that they’re ’burdened with glorious purpose’.” Glancing at the wall screen, Mobius added. “Some of them are more right than others.”

He paused for a moment and seemed to deflate. “There’s just one problem with the idea. Enchantment requires physical contact. She’d have to actually touch one of the roots, and she told us she doesn’t have the ability to do that. She couldn’t understand why Loki could, but if Casey and O.B. are right about him being unmoored from time and space, maybe that explains it.”

The Doctor smiled. “I think I can help with that.”

“Good, good. We’d better get back to the TVA. The council will want to know what’s happening — and somebody will need to talk to Sylvie.” Go to the next chapter

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

I've been reading your story and its really good! I love the idea of the elemental compass, its much better than the confusing mess in the TV show!

As for the elemental stuff introduced in Dragons Rising, maybe Elemental Masters are just powered by residual Source Dragon energy leftover from the creation of the realms? And maybe the FSM was just the first one to learn how to harness that power?

That could explain elements outside the compass and in other realms and how new elements were created during the merge, others learned from watching the FSM control the elements and went on to create elements themselves?

Hello!! Glad to hear your enjoying the stories! (and the Elemental Compass, haha). And I like your ideas too; they've got some merit to them!!

And...this probably isn't the answer you expected, but if there was ever a soapbox for my general thoughts on this, here it is:

It's interesting, because at first the insinuation was that new Elemental Powers popped up *because* of The Merge (like with Geo and definitely Euphrasia), which I could get behind easily enough, but now later episodes make the claim that there's always been other elements in other realms outside Ninjago (such as Zeatrix's Shockwave being in Imperium's royal family for generations, and the Tournament of Sources Pre-Merge apparently changing realm-locations every time its held so EMs from all realms have a chance to participate) so...now how are we to know which elements fall under which umbrella? And do we just sweep then all as 'Outliers'? Do we count them as a fresh set of Derivatives? Do they count as their own rank of something? And do they even need to be added to the current compass at all—maybe they should just get their own (albeit much less fancy and meaningful :V), or just not have one at all?

And as the Compass was devised by the FSM himself with 'his own' elements, maybe the others realms don't even have something like that, for they don't have as many elements, or their elements aren't connected in any specific/meaningful way, or they'd have an equivalent but entirely different system? Point is, we (or, I, at least) don't have enough info to properly make that call, but it's fascinating to think about!

(I know I attempted a possible solution with 'The Merged" Compass...but we all know that was just wishful thinking even back then lmao)

On one hand, 'extra' elements existing in other realms already does somewhat fit my lore, giving the Guardians' origins and the whole thing I had/have planned with The First Realm (y'know, the place where all this stuff supposedly originally originated??), so maybe it just turns out there were some elements that the FSM didn't come across (whether because he just missed them or maybe they didn't exist yet!), and thus he wasn't able to manifest them into Ninjago (and, I mean, there's already the Outlier Elements he never mastered; what's a few dozen more?)

And I did manage to cover my bases on this scenario with this line from Wu in the first book:

"There are aspects of the world as we know it that remain unseen to an untrained eye," Wu continues. "The sounds we hear, the time that passes quietly by, the forms we choose to take with others, the shadows that follow us, the gravity that keeps us chained to the ground, even our very own thoughts, and perhaps even some that have missed my own radar…but few can compare to the elements you four possess."

...but on the other hand, when you start mixing in the Source Dragons lore, it gets messy (mainly because we STILL don't have the complete story on that yet other than ~all elements came from them~ which, again, is not fully elaborated: because, if this is true, then which elements come from which dragon, if that's how it works? Would 'artificial' elements like Amber and [Redacted] count as well? WAS there more than one (er, two?) bearer(s) of the Element of Life, and if the Source Dragon of Life was to be believed, then what other elements possibly came from them too? Is the way the Source Dragons brought about the elements something more symbolic rather than literal?)

We just don't know that stuff yet! And it might be a long while before we have the full set of 'rules' that will allow us to sort this out!

But because DR is a) just getting started and b) not something we can look at with hindsight like the rest of Ninjago, we're not going to be able to find a "perfect solution" to all this just yet. We don't know what's a 'missed opportunity' vs 'something that's still in the works; we don't know what'll be explained later on vs "what's there is all we're going to get"! And for a still-airing and on-going series, I don't want to assume either way, and want to freely give them the benefit of the doubt without imposing assumptions/expectations that have a chance of ruining my watching enjoyment. (I may joke about Surface Tension and have a few natural gripes with some plot things, but despite what it """means"""" for my au, DR so far has been very, very good for what it's setting out to do! But, I suppose that's slightly off topic—)

One of the points of Legacyverse was to take all the information we had up to Crystalized perhaps not my initial plan, but the change was quick and easy enough and streamline it–and I was able to do that because the series was finished, with no fear of anything suddenly being changed or retconned again, and to provide explanations for the things that fell through the cracks, and that's why 'canon' Legacyverse is going to end where it will. And anything even remotely associated with DR that I do is just 'what ifs', 'speculations', and just for fun (or to get the Jesse-related brainworms out of my head), but none of it ever going to have a concrete impact on the main story itself.

So that's why I don't even see a need to change the Compass. If anything, we could just get away with saying that they're Ninjago's Elements, created via the Source Dragons (maybe) but then disciplined and distributed throughout the realm via the FSM, who would've still been the first the master them (...with exception of the Outliers, which while not mastered by the FSM, are still present in/seemingly originated within Ninjago).

It's just, I know there's recency bias with the new stuff (and that there'll probably always will be from now on), and it's a lot of fun to speculate where-and-how all the new stuff could potentially fit in, along with how my characters (or versions of the characters) would react to everything, (and I'm not trying to be a killjoy by saying the following, just putting out my own personal feelings on the matter) but trying to lock something in concretely when it can get immediately contradicted is...less fun, for me at least.

I'd rather watch all this play out before trying to go "Ahaha! THAT'S how this is going to work now!" *three episodes later* "Oh, nevermind, we gotta switch it to THIS because of THAT-" *two more episodes* "...well now that just goes against everything-" *one more episode* "...and that's something new entirely. Okay."

It could turn out that any of these new elements or even older ones could be suddenly taken away or have different functioning rules or have a whole new replacement or have a new explanation for how their powers function or be inherited via different ways or they really did come straight from the Merge and/or residual power of the Source Dragons or just will never be seen again in a way that matters beyond the tournament, and then all our work WOULD BE FOR WHAT—?!

With the finished series, there was actual, concrete stuff to base speculations on and extrapolate from! But trying to do it here and now with DR (in the sense of applying it to my AU, NOT in general) is like trying to make a tower bigger by taking bricks from its bottom—it's going to go nowhere, no new sustainable progress is actually being made, and its going to crumble in the process! And if it miraculously doesn't crumble, then some force of nature can easily come along and knock it over anyway :V

That, for me, is an exhausting way to try do theories and whatnot jhgfdghfdsa. I just wanna watch and enjoy this new, only semi-related show without having to constantly fret about what this means for my meager fanfic ghfdfgds (...like trying to give Cole a boyfriend, all our attempts to fit in things could be undone or complicated with naught but a single line of dialogue!!!)

...Or, maybe being Elemental just wasn't as serious as we all always thought, and that's why something like the Compass never existed in the show to begin with :d

[variousqueerthings]

now haaaving watched the next three episodes of Cobra Kai

Pros:

while the going was good with Sam and Tory it sure was good. I do kinda like that their thing isn't related to boys anymore (not that it ever really was, but now it definitely isn't) (instead it's related to the plot psychologically torturing Tory beyond any other character) + Mary Mouser and Peyton List have chemistry out the ceiling. is that a saying? out the chimney. through the roof. out the window. defenestrated chemistry

I quite liked a lot of the training stuff as a general

I also quite liked Devon's plotline -- I like that she was ruthless in that way, she takes the lessons she learns at face-value + she's not great at Peopleing, I liked that (although... let's look at the cons...)

liked the Demetri and Hawk narrative, they were brought a little more to the fore and it was a realistic break that follows up on some threads I fully thought they'd just... forgotten. lol

okay this was actually in the earlier eps, but I like that the show had Chozen go "uh fuck you, Miyagi-do is a super important cultural space and you can't just come waltzing in and demand it fits your specifications" (altho it is a shame I feel like Johnny respects Chozen more than Daniel... this down in my cons generally about Johnny)

Cons below, but I will say I will say! there's nothing super unexpected down there. I am chill about this show, I'm just. noting it. I'm watching the show as wholly braindead, while thinking about what a non-wholly-braindead show could look like

Cons:

Gender Reveal Party. at least it was over with quick

Okay so like. the elephant in the room (shockingly not the fact that Johnny is having a baby and is woefully terrible at parenting) -- Miyagi's deep dark secret. I think it's not even like. That tarnishing, that's not exactly its issue. it's that it's such an incredibly boring idea compared to his actual backstory, which I'm trying to remember rn if the TV-show ever properly mentioned (not the Okinawa part of it, but the internment camp). There's really no need to create this drama, other than it seems like the writers can't quite figure out what to do with Daniel and don't understand what made Miyagi an interesting, flawed character to begin with and why Daniel might struggle with having him on a pedestal. That being said, I'm mostly just. meh. this might as well happen. Miyagi punched some guy in the face, stole something expensive, fled America for a bit to avoid the cops (?) and fought in the karate killer tournament I guess

I've gotta be honest withya. I just. no longer enjoy Cobra Kai's Johnny. he just ain't it anymore. he was increasingly not it as the seasons went on, but he is simply a merry-go-round of being a dick who is also never going to change, and it being ok by the plot at this point because he needs to fulfill some idea of masculinity and clash with Daniel. there were a fair few moments I could go on and on about buuuut. I'm chill about it. Fanfic Johnny: blows u a kiss. Show!Johnny: it's not on sight, but certainly it's a wide berth. u kinda suck as a person. you're like the dad that someone doesn't ever bring their friends round to see, because he's not a nice guy and it's embarrassing and they know he'll never change and so you drift apart over the years

which -- the show is still trying to make claims about Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do as Equal, while also showing that every kid who went through Cobra Kai (including Johnny) is Fucked Up. Kenny is traumatised and doesn't trust anyone. Devon is fucked up and doesn't know how to be with people. Tory is... my sweet angel who does nothing wrong ever. Hawk and Demetri's break started here. and it's like. Johnny you were a part of this! Take one accountability pls, ever

similar to many things related to Show!Johnny a lot of the kids dramas came outta nooowhere. I can buy Demetri and Hawk's, I actually think that worked (see above), but Robby getting at Miguel for needing the win more? I mean. Yeah? the stakes are higher? be a bro about it? clam down? help your guy get into university? what's the problem here? similarly Sam's "I've just got to prove myself for... reasons." it's a struggle with balancing stakes I think

Chozen is still in love with Kumiko I guess *siiiiiiiiigh*

There's just. everything with Kreese taking over Korean Cobra Kai further eroding the whole idea of the original movie, in tandem with the Miyagi-plotline, we're just off on a whole other journey at this point vs earlier seasons where it was like. "got the spirit." the spirit has left the building. there's definitely a sense of either "we think we can do Better than the original" or "we completely missed the point of the original in the first place." a mix of both I imagine

I noticed how Carmen and Amanda appeared almost only to push the Johnny and Daniel into their arcs. there are things one can do with it ofc, one can build on the crumbs. Carmen questions how Miguel and Robby might be at odds with one another if having to fight -- and they sort of are, and it's the thread again of Carmen bringing up Very Reasonable Concerns, Johnny waving them off and... then she's right, but nothing happens. I think Carmen deserves compensation at this point. vs Amanda who gets one neat bit with the hospital calling her to reveal that Tory's mother has died (suggesting she's continued to support Tory between seaosns), but otherwise she's like "oh look a Miyagi Mystery. Daniel are you thinking about the Miyagi Mystery again? how do you feel about the Miyagi Mystery?"

I'd say they did my boy Kenny dirty, but I'm waiting to see where they go with all of thiiiis. but they did. that was really really cruel and the show doesn't always know what it's saying about bullying and Kenny has been hurt more than most by other characters (including Anthony who didn't do that to him, but does laugh about it... my guy...)

they really do have Tory in a whole other narrative, she's got a thousand yard stare!!!!!!

Mike Barnes homophobia moment (Twice). Me @ the writers: listen, I know "cream puff" is a thing that was iconically yelled in the first movie, but I think your including it here says so much about how you're all about referencing Cool Moments without caring at all about like. the plot of the original film/s. like a big example of everything this show is

[thismagicintheair]

I have feelings and they are currently all about #Chenford

I want to start by saying that I am so thankful and grateful for such an incredible Season 5.  I have to admit I was not here for it from the start.  I am one of those viewers who was scrolling through Tim Tok one day and for whatever reason my FYP ended up with quite a bit of Rookie and Chenford scenes mainly from 5x01 and the apartment scene got me instantly hooked.  I immediately closed the app, googled the show, found that the entire series was on Hulu and dived head first into the greatest binge watch of my life.  Yes I started the show mainly and specifically for #Chenford ( I thought I was going to get them from the start only to find out the romantic aspect of Tim & Lucy didn’t start until Season 5) but stayed because it quickly became such a comfort show.  I sat day after day enjoying and continuing my binge watch of the show to be quickly caught up all the way throughout season 5 so I can become a live viewer for when the show returned after the winter break in January!

Sometimes I wish I was a viewer from the very beginning so I could have been there from the start to watch the natural progression of Tim and Lucy throughout the 5 years/5 seasons instead of bingeing their entirety in 2 months.  I have to give props to all of the OG fans who did that- you knew that #Chenford were coming from miles away and to sit through one of the best slow burns of TV over the course of 5 years deserves all the trophies in the world!

With all of that being said, I am just a viewer like everyone else, so my opinion/ thoughts really hold nothing, but I do want to express them or else they will stay bottled in and I will literally explode.

I have absolutely loved the progression of #Chenford not only in Season 5, but of them throughout the whole series.  I could cover how they evolved season by season, but I mainly want to focus on the ending of Season 4 and all of Season 5.  Alexi/the writers were right in waiting so long to make #Chenford into a romantic relationship.  I truly don’t think it would have been as successful and meaningful if they dove head first into the romantic side of them after hearing thats what the fans wanted.  I think one of the main reasons they have been so successful in the romantic side of the relationship in season 5 is because of everything that they went through seasons 1-4 being friends.  They truly learned everything about each other, the good the bad and the ugly.  

4x21 and 4x22 are the episode that changed it all for them in terms of feelings.  The turning point for Lucy in 4x21 was watching Tim fake propose to Ashley; her reaction wouldn’t have been so visceral if Tim was only a friend.  I think it was evident at that point that he meant much, much more to her.  The turning point for Tim was in 4x22 after their practice kiss.  It was like a bolt of lighting crashing over him watching him realize just how much more Lucy means to him.

Which brings us to Season 5.  Not only did Season 5 give us some of the best storylines and writing but of course if gave us what we all have been waiting for, #Chenford. Season 5 started off with a bang; the writers knew exactly what they were doing coming back from a summer hiatus with 5x01. I think over the course of 5x01 to 5x07 they knew themselves that they had feelings for the other, but I don’t think either of them realized that their feelings were mutual.  Which leads us to one of the best episodes of the entire series, 5x08, “The Collar”. This episode changed the entire course of their relationship.  I am thankful the writers made Chris come on so strong to Lucy with pushing for house hunting because it made Lucy take a step back and made her actually sit and think on her feelings for not only Chris but Tim as well.  Does she feel for Chris what she knows she’s been feeling for Tim for quite some time? No, and the answer is evident throughout the entire episode.  She was dismissive and cold towards Chris where as she was open and honest with Tim and lets not forget to mention that it was all talked about in the shop which was a big no-no for Tim in the start of their friendship. After Tim’s, “Lucy, you deserve someone who is worth the effort” and Lucy’s, “He’s great, he’s just not…” I think it clicked for the both of them with their “Oh” moment.  In that shop after those words were spoken, they just knew.  When they sat down in the precinct parking lot and admitted their feelings to each other (which we all watched 536 times) was a long time coming. I also think the events of the day helped push them too that conversation, not truly living and being honest with themselves until they are honest with each other.  Who would’ve thought the Tim we watched in Season 1 would be the same Tim we just watched take a big, deep breathe and ask Lucy out to dinner.  It was all in, now or nothing.  Lucy’s quick ‘yes’ followed by immediate hesitation in no way reflects her feelings for Tim.  It’s literally her wanting to be a decent human and wanted to do things the right way and break things off with Chris so she can go into a proper relationship with Tim the right way. All I can think about is each of their smiles as I am typing this up!!!

Fast forward to after the break with the back half of Season 5 and we get all of #Chenford’s first: first date, first kisses, first time all within a 3 span episode and they were some of the best episodes we could have gotten.  But then the momentum shifts between them and it is noticeable it is a shift that was necessary.  Being an avid Twitter user, especially on #TheRookie Twitter, it was talked about; a lot.  “Why aren’t we getting more #Chenford kisses?”, “Why do Tim and Lucy barely hold hands?”, “Why aren’t they in every scene of every new episode?” only a few of hundreds of other tweets made about the progression of Tim & Lucy’s relationship. The main issue for a lot of fans being why we don’t get to see on screen between Tim & Lucy what we saw on screen between Lucy and Nolan.  The relationship between John and Lucy was never meant to last, so they did with that as they pleased.  Tim & Lucy are meant to last. As much as we LOVE having relationship #Chenford on our screen, I think a lot of the fans have forgotten that this isn’t the “Tim and Lucy show”.  To its core, it is about John Nolan, yes it did veer away from him being the main focus in later seasons but there are more characters to see and storylines to tell than that only of Tim and Lucy.  

What we saw of #Chenford in Season 5B was that of a real relationship.  We watched them at work, we watched them off- duty, we watched them with Tamara and with their co-workers.  We watched them be in a romantic relationship.  I personally couldn’t have asked for anything more.  I would take the conversations that they had between each other over a kiss any day.  We have never seen Tim be so open and vulnerable with anyone in this show, ever.  But here is is telling Lucy that if he looses her, his pain and everything that he went through (assuming with Isabel) will all be for nothing (screams internally)!!!!!!!!!!!  Give me the raw, the deep, the vulnerability, the openness!!! Just like in any relationship in the real world, it won’t work if there is no communication.  Why have #Chenford worked so well romantically, because every next big step they take, there is open communication continually between them.  At the end of the day, we have no control over what has happened with the story progression of Tim and Lucy and we still won’t have any control over it for Season 6.  The only thing that we can have is gratefulness.  We could still be in the pining era of #Chenford, as great as that was I will gladly take full blown relationship era of them every chance that I get.

With a brand new renewed Season 6, I can’t wait to see what S6 will have in store for not only every character but of course for #Chenford.  It will be the first season where we will start with Tim & Lucy being in an already established, loving relationship.  That’s not to say the entirety of S6 should only be rainbows and butterflies between them because that would be 100% unrealistic.  I fully expect for more ups and downs, or in better terms: angst, to come our way regarding our favorite on screen couple, but I don’t think anything will be the breaking point for them.  But I also do think that our expectations of what we want to see on our screens wont be high either as the newness of #Chenford won’t be the main focus anymore, nor should it be.  And I say that in the best way possible. Who knows how Season 6 will start, or even when it will start (Support Our Writers!!), but I will be seated happily waiting for it! In the meantime, a summer re-watch of #TheRookie will commence while also reading some of the best fan-fiction ever written!

The Rookie has easily become one of my favorite shows with Tim and Lucy being one of the best on screen relationships I have ever watched.  I truly am so thankful for Tik Tok which brought me into one of the best, most welcoming fandoms I have ever been a part of!

[doctor-badadvice]

Let's talk about Fast Forward for a bit.

Specifically I want to talk about the main theme of that season: why? Why did the art style deteriorate so much? Why did the writing get so bad? Why did this come out before season 5 but also supposedly happens after season 5 and at the same time only occasionally acknowledges its events? Why is there a kid now? Why am I watching this when I only really care about maybe three episodes at best?

Because I was bored. But let's go with order.

I'm going to say it now, I'm still going to claim there is no season 6 in Ba Sing Se. But at the same time, it isn't all that bad actually?

Here's the thing. FF was inevitable for many reasons. TMNT, with its aliens and magic, has the potential to go on forever. However, at some point "turtle fatigue" will set in. In the 80s, this happened around season 7 which yeah, it's about 150 episodes in. For the 2003 show it happens around season 5 but this doesn't mean the higher-ups will try stupid changes to bring back the old glory.

Moreover, the show brought it upon itself. The main culprits, so to speak, are the writing's insistence on portraying consequences as much as possible (see: Leo's scarred shell for instance), as well as season 4 with its funny gory shift (see: that one episode where Baxter watches his own body fall apart which wow).

So it isn't unexpected that the higher-ups and especially the toy maker went "Kids, could you lighten up a little?" and messed up everything that was good about the show.

So this is basically why I don’t like FF. Five seasons are a long commitment. You have to sit through the ninja tribunal arc which is boring as hell, then have to be really patient and accept that there are just dragons now for some reason. Then FF comes up and it has nothing of what you previously enjoyed. The style is different, too flat and kinda clunky and ugly in some spots, nothing that happened before matters and now Cody is there.

Remember networks, kids don't want to watch other kids go on adventures in their place and it doesn't get better with age. But you do you.

So I despised FF but after rewatching the season on its own, I have to make amends in some spots.

The general impression when you watch FF on its own, without the better stuff still fresh in mind and with something to do during the dull parts, is that of good background noise.

It takes many steps backwards. The turtles are suddenly less competent at fighting where it's convenient, their personalities are more one dimensional depending on the plot and they're kinda shitty to each other for no reason. They really suffer from that serial effect where the reset button is hit as soon as the credits roll. They used to go out to murder the Shredder knowing they might die and now it's "Today Mikey really wants a new video game and next episode we're going to a fancy party with the kid dressed in the dumbest suits ever and a silly happens :)"

Splinter also gets sidetracked a lot and he's more there to occasionally call the turtles whippersnappers but again, there isn't much of a reason for him to step in anymore.

And this brings me to the villains. I feel like the turtles only work as well as their villains. They work when they're getting into a fight with a local street gang, or trying to kick an alien empire out of the planet before everyone dies. They work when the Shredder actually does something meaningful and generally speaking are going against someone actually dangerous.

The first five seasons had Shredder, the Foot, Hun, the Triceratons and Bishop. FF has an annoying wrestler whose main priority is property damage, a gang of netrunners who I wish got up to more interesting things than scalping and quoting the Matrix, literal evil twins from the tv trope literal evil twins, and the idiots in charge.

The idiots in charge are of course beloved uncle Darius and Sh'Okanabo.

These two really are something. Darius is essentially that guy from the first Iron Man movie. He's the acting CEO because the owner is a literal child. He smiles and preaches big keeping up the facade of benevolent company of the shiny Earth utopia but he has a dark secret which is that he's making guns and a mecha suit for himself and Cody takes several episodes to realize this for some reason.

You'd think Darius would stop being a threat the moment his dark deeds are uncovered since his whole thing is "evil capitalist guy is evil". But no, he's gonna go higher, he's going to ally with Shittibobo because he needs new genetically modified minions he can badmouth while fucking around all day in his sewers loft and we don't even get the payoff of Darius realizing that he's being fucked over by an alien during the Day of Awakening.

Plus because of how afraid FF is to explore anything heavier than Mikey insisting they go out to achieve explosive diarrhea from questionable junk food, even the fact that Darius is an abusive father figure for Cody has no real importance because Cody is only allowed to look sad on screen for five seconds. Remove Darius and the overall season arc remains the same.

What about the other guy? Well, Sushibooboo is the supposed big bad of the season. He's an alien who wants to kill life on Earth to steal resources. He's something beloved President Bishop goes out of his way to personally murder. But the only thing he achieves is to confirm that he's just offensively stupid.

Sh'Okanabo is supposedly an alien boogeyman who's so evil he just can't be real, right? Unfortunately, he's the literal cause of his own demise.

Since the turtles are more than content with babysitting Cody and going around complaining about historical accuracies like that one Futurama episode, they don't know who Sh'Okanabo is and after talking to Bishop they don't care to find out. Great. This means he can operate in the dark, grow his eggs and prepare to kill everyone, right? No way. In pure Sasalele style, he goes out of his way to attack the turtles, tell them what he’s up to and scare them enough to start to actively prepare to fight him.

And on top of that he wastes time to build a time machine because somehow Shredder had to return for one episode which in turn almost fucks up his plan entirely since his ship almost explodes.

So I still don't like FF because of the way the writing plummeted. A lot of stuff happens because it's convenient and often falls back into exquisitely 90s/2000s tropes (see: the obviously evil guy gets away with evil deeds because the parents/cops/people with power are blind and children are stupid, that one car race episode which is a repeat of the previous car race episode from earlier in the show, a female character who's only there to be a love interest and is allowed to be smart and cute because Cody likes them smart and cute, just to name a few). The turtles get dumber depending on the episode and there are some attempts at comedy like Starlee's shitty family that give out levels of second hand embarrassment not seen since Star Trek TNG.

But I don't hate this season entirely either. FF is just very mid and it makes me think that it could have worked as a standalone show for a while because you can watch it more or less. I'm just this isn't what we got in place of the actual show because it wouldn’t have lasted.

Still I did enjoy some things:

Torbin Zixx is fun. He has some interesting tricks, even though 60% of them only work because the turtles are written especially stupid in his episodes. Plus he steals Bishop's space shuttle which is glorious

I ended up liking Sterling a little towards the end. I still feel like his humor is a sanitized version of Baxter's but I like that he collects clips of the turtles getting hurt to watch to calm down and that he's actually always ready to throw hands

President Bishop is so stupid, yet brilliant (and I'm going to talk about him in a separate post because the worldbuilding is really something and I have OPINIONS)

Raph commenting that power armors are so last season while fighting Darius made me chuckle even though I won't tolerate this supersuit slander

This moment: