#that was one of my least favorite scenes they've ever put in this show. one of the most frustrating to me for sure.

[queencvbra]

okay I'm gonna talk about That Scene (the Tory & Sam fight that ended with her leaving). and I'm gonna be potentially ranty bc I have been thinking about this A Lot over the past few months and idr if I've said anything about it before on the dash. but I have so, so many problems with that scene and the argument the writers are trying to make here.

listen. I love Johnny to death okay? But he was wrong as hell about letting Tory fight, from every angle. I get the writers wanted the approach of "fighting through the pain" but this? This was not that. It was another form of Cobra Kai's whole "channel your anger and make it your power" thing which is just unhealthy. It has a historical basis, too; the whole idea of Cobra Kai since the first Karate Kid movie is that it is a western corruption of the traditional values of karate, and the most direct display of that is the fact that Cobra Kai karate is NOT karate at all, it's Tang Soo Do, and it was just called karate because karate was a marketable term in that time period, no respect given to the actual art other than how it could be turned into profit.

It's all based on an old mindset that largely cropped in the martial arts scene after western militaries (largely the United States) started incorporating various east asian martial arts techniques into their military training. That part of the show where they have Kreese learn Tang Soo Do while stationed in Korea is somewhat accurate (minus the dramatic special ops shit obviously), and my own family has actual experience with this, as this is actually how my uncle's father learned Taekwondo in the first place; he was stationed in Korea during the Vietnam war and taught martial arts. In a lot of cases these "hardass" (sarcastic) military guys would come home and take that "karate" and completely commercialize it, stripping away all of the actual ideology behind it to replace it with western militaristic ideals. Which of course fostered extremely toxic environments when the point of these martial arts was always supposed to be balance and discipline, not just an outlet to beat the shit out of people when you're angry, and that's why that mentality is present and still exists to this day, because it became *that* prevalent. This is literally the basis of Cobra Kai and part of the writers' thesis in this show was supposed to be deconstructing that, yet it seems they keep backpedaling and making it seem "cool" when they need it to be because it appeals to a certain demographic.

And yes, this stuff being in the show and reflected in a positive way DOES affect what people will do in real life, and there is empirical evidence to support that. Seeing martial arts on screen is enough to inspire people. There was a spike in the popularity of martial arts after the original Karate Kid movies. There was a spike in popularity after Bruce Lee became a star in the west. There is currently a spike now because of things like Cobra Kai and the UFC becoming so popular. But not everyone comes in with a healthy, learning mindset, and that happens a lot more when the *unhealthy* mindset is advertised and encouraged on screen instead of challenged. My uncle has kicked students out before because it was easy to tell that all they wanted to do was beat people up and try to mimic their favorite MMA stars. I think Stingray is genuinely the perfect caricature of that phenomenon irl and the writers really cooked when they wrote him, because there really are people who act like that, who want to learn martial arts to feel "cool" and "powerful" for all the wrong reasons.

And I think, from the standpoint of the writing itself, it's a detriment and unfair to Johnny's character that even after all this time, he still hasn't unlearned this mindset and is actively advocating for it when the whole point over the course of this show was supposed to be showing that this is a horrible and unhealthy mindset; it's clear they regressed him to that again just to put him into conflict with Daniel once more and sow more dissent into the group again and give Tory a reason to walk out. In a martial arts setting, you should never take out your anger on another person, and a sensei especially should never allow or advocate for that to happen. I don't care if this is just a show, this is such a stupid argument to make from a writer's perspective and also potentially harmful for any impressionable dumbasses who think they can just go learn martial arts so they can enact their violent fantasies on others as an anger outlet. Mutual trust is such an important thing to have with anyone you spar, and these people join with the intent to purposefully abuse that trust so they can feel like they're a bunch of tough guys. Focus is such an important aspect in martial arts training and discipline, too, and if your head is clouded (especially by that much anger) you are more likely to not only hurt your sparring partner / opponent but also yourself. Allowing that would have been pure negligence and unhealthy for those students in more ways than one.

Because what would have happened if they let Tory fight Sam like that? Nothing good. It wouldn't have helped her. It wouldn't have made her feel better. Her mom fucking died. That much grief and anger and sadness is not something you can just punch away. Sure, if you're angry and you show up to class upset, you can take it to the bag and let out some steam, but that is NOT the same thing as directing that towards another person. She would have hurt Sam. (She was already hurting Sam and they were barely into the match!) Worst case scenario, she could have potentially *killed* Sam. Do you know how easy it is to critically injure or even kill someone by accident? You could put out an eye, break a jaw, give them a concussion, hell you could even get brain damage from something like getting choked out for too long. This is why you train for *safety* first, and everything else is secondary. That's always been my problem with how much shit gets allowed in the show. And I don't mean Johnny's silly OSHA violations. Like, it's goofy, it's funny to see on television, I don't mind *that*, but after so many seasons it's kind of a nuisance to see when it gets taken THIS far, beyond the jokes and funny scenarios and into something serious where the same mindset carries over.

Ultimately, from the standpoint of what actually would have been the right thing to do in that situation, this is not a "different perspectives" thing. There is *no* argument to make here, and the writers trying to pull the same "well they both have a point" bullshit again is wrong, because no they fucking don't, and I'm tired of this being the basis of every single conflict between Johnny and Daniel in the series. Sometimes things ARE just black and white. And also, purely from the perspective of Tory's character development and arc? She doesn't need yet another person telling her to hold on to her anger and center her karate around those emotions. She needs someone to show her that it's okay to let it go.

[babyangelsky]

My Favorite Expressions in Love Sea Ep. 7

On a personal level this week has been a very mixed bag but I know that if nothing else got me, this show got me. It's gonna come in clutch for me every time, spider bites and potential hauntings be damned.

I. Love. It. Here.

Will I ever not take psychic damage from the expression Tongrak makes when Mahasamut tells him that he cares about him? The answer is no. It's wonderful and devastating every time.

"How would you rate me out of 10?" Mahasamut asks while Tongrak's face plots teasing and mischief.

Opening a safe shouldn't look so much like staring down the gallows but here we are. Not being able to see how Tongrak's hands were shaking in a screenshot is a blessing.

The panic and terror on this man's face when he saw the read receipt on his phone is something I never want to see again. My hatred for Rak's piece of shit sperm donor is murderous and profound. How actually fucking dare he put this look on his child's face I'm going to kill him with my bare hands.

Peat's acting is so genuinely good that it hurts me. Tongrak was trembling so much that he was struggling to put the phone away and when he gets back to his room, he practically tries to crawl into Mahasamut's skin to hide and feel safe. Look at him, he looks so tiny and scared and I want to cry.

Let us take a break from the sad with this supremely horny shot of Mook unzipping Vivi's dress. Everyone say thank you.

And pour one out for our girl, as is now a weekly custom. Vivi my girly is dying CONFESS TO HER AND MAKE OUT ABOUT IT.

"I'm not going to the event! >:(" Yes you are, mi alma, look at your face when Mook threatens to quit.

Not pictured: One (1) resigned sigh

The grumpiest kitten in the whole venue.

Tongrak: *complaining* Mahasamut: *heart eyes*

My favorite moment of the face journey Tongrak goes on when he realizes just how good Mahasamut looks and that he will be Perceived and decides to mess up his hair about it. The grumpy kitten is a jealous jellyfish.

It's the fact that Tongrak looks surprised that his fans like his books and have consumed his entire body of work. I'M GOING TO SOB.

The smile is polite and professional but the eyes are sparkly. He genuinely enjoys interacting with his fans.

The proud husband smile means everything to me.

THE LOOK OF ABSOLUTE LOATHING AND DISGUST! INCREDIBLE PHENOMENAL OUTSTANDING.

IF YA'LL THINK I'M NOT GONNA MAKE A SEPARATE POST ABOUT HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS MAN YOU'RE SO FUCKING WRONG

If I have to have this demonic nasty hell witch on my screen, at least I get to watch her face make this expression after Tongrak calls her out for imitating him because he got it right on the money and she knows it.

Tongrak and the visceral hatred in his eyes said play me another waltz I'm tired of dancing to this one.

God love you, but you look so tired.

This entire scene was more brutal to watch than the fight outside of Tongrak's house. It was obvious that something more was going on from how calmly he was speaking and how non-responsive he became toward the end of it, but look at his hands. Look at how tightly they're clenched. Maintaining his composure while Prin stuck that knife in his wounds and twisted it as viciously as she could cost him, and it would be obvious even if we hadn't already seen them fight.

Tongrak, you're my fighter. He still looks tired because he is, but he also looks like the imperious ice prince he's had to be to survive. Then the utterly dismissive way he turns and walks out and cuts eye contact?

We can barely see Nouel's smile but it's so clearly saying "bruh that's cringe".

He's not just my fighter. He's Mahasamut's fighter, too.

Do ya'll remember how Tongrak was acting when he first brought Mahasamut to live with him and Vivi was teasing him?

Look how far they've come.

I can't quite articulate how, but the way they look at each other has changed, and I don't just mean because they're being lovey in front of Vivi and Mook. There's this undercurrent of sweetness that wasn't there before, even in private. That scene way back in episode 3 where Tongrak told Mahasamut to ask him to stay on the island which had so much softness and fondness to it did not have that same something that's now present.

I'm gonna leave ya'll with that and then go take more screenshots so I can properly scream about Mahasamut. And let me know if you wanna be tagged in these weekly writeups!

[mischas]

What do you think were the biggest missed opportunities when it came to the OC?

Lol my favorite topic (this is not at all exhaustive)

Not letting Marissa verbalize and process her trauma 1000% forever and ever amen. The show learns by the end of s1 that they can keep hurting her without much recompense. Oliver holds a gun to her head and bamboozles grown ass adults yet she shoulders all of the blame in the aftermath. Christ. Her father MOVES AWAY TO BE A BETTER PARENT BC HE CANT STOP SLEEPING WITH HIS EX? Please. How anyone came up with that and thought that was good writing I will never know. Marissa's SA'ed and nearly r**** by her boyfriend's brother and never says the words out loud or processes it because the shooting looms larger. Disgusting. Back in s1 Luke is more apologetic of his affair than Marissa's own mother is and HE'S the one who has to leave town? which leads me to

Getting rid of Luke made no sense. Instead of making Luke/Julie happen they should've had Luke/Marissa 2.0 happen. There was so much there to mine. Sometimes the show acts like they were a nothing relationship and other times like 109 we see they have deep-rooted love/fondness. Rushing RM (though they're my loves) after their 101-108 slow burn shot them in the foot since they were so uncreative later on. But then again TPTB were so reliant on the actors' mirrored personal lives that I'm convinced if they'd put RM off to s2 they would've butchered them thanks to the irl breakup. (This is still so insane)

Getting rid of Anna also made no sense. She was liked by the gen pop, she had good chemistry with everyone! What a damn waste

Seth/Marissa friendship!!!! It is so cute to think Seth is the one boy in Marissa's life that isn't falling all over her. They share the same music tastes, they have the same favorite book, they grew up privileged + depressed, they're neighbors, they're dating each other's besties, their families have a storied closeness, they've dated the same person, etc. It is SO insane how little they actually interact.

Not exploring the Jimmy/Kirsten dynamic more. I rewatched the pilot a few months ago and the hints to their history are so compelling. I remember thinking their tension was good enough to last several seasons. Cutting that out to uphold the sanctity of SK in s1 ended up being for nothing since s2 messed with SK even worse! So why!

Never utilizing Alan Dale well enough. Not only do they kill him for no reason, his death literally does nothing but give us an iconic coda and funeral scene. That's literally it. Having Caleb around while Kirsten goes to rehab is so much more compelling than having her go after he's died. And making us watch Caleb/Lindsay/Ryan for what seems like half a season is so unbelievably boring and ridiculous. Why are we supposed to care. This is taking away from Kirsten/Caleb material! which brings me to

Never giving Kelly Rowan much to do. What a goddamn waste. She absolutely kills her late s2 arc but then she leaves rehab two minutes into 301 and the Charlotte storyline mostly revolves around Julie. Jesus. People talk about the favoritism going on on that set with the younger actors (as they 1000% should and we should do it more), but there was some serious shit going on with elevating Melinda constantly and shafting Tate/Peter/Kelly forever. Especially Kelly. At least she was there and not essentially let go like Tate was (and Tate was a ~big name~ regular from the pilot!). But you can tell Kelly's got some feelings about how the show went for her and her screentime/importance.

Not cutting the Johnny storyline two minutes into filming 304. They had to know Mischa/Ryan D had no chemistry. We're supposed to believe Marissa's having some sort of emotional affair but there is absolutely nothing showing that to us. It's everyone telling Marissa she's got feelings for him, and Mischa doing her job well enough to convince us it's sketchy/complicated, but they have one (1) conversation in 306 that's mostly about Johnny's father or uncle that no one cares about. which brings me to

WE DONT CARE ABOUT GUEST STARS. stop spending so much valuable time on them. we just wanna see our s1 babes being cute and supporting one another that's literally it

[lunabug2004]

Let's Talk About 'The Trainee' (So Far) **SPOILERS**

I was really enjoying this show at the beginning. And I wouldn't necessarily say I'm not enjoying it at all, but it's been quite frustrating to watch.

First of all, I hate cheating, I hate cheaters. Period. There's never an excuse for it. BahMee very quickly became my least favorite character because of this. And I'm not saying Tae was perfect in the relationship, because he wasn't, but BahMee should've communicated that she wasn't happy or that she was confused before she went and pulled that. On their anniversary, too! I also don't like how the show seemed to want us to be on BahMee's side. I will never think Tae deserved to be cheated on. Never. Tae didn't even get mad, either. Pah did, but not Tae. Better person than me tbh (not that I'd ever be in a romantic relationship but still). Even more, he wanted to get back with her! Crazy! At least he succeeded I guess? But poor Judy just had to used as the trial run for BahMee to "realize what she still wanted" or wtv. Again, Judy is a much better person than me for being so understanding about it all. Not to mention, the WLW baiting??? The one good thing to come from this plot was that I gained some respect for Pah. Pah was such a great friend during all this. I completely understand his behavior towards BahMee after being with Tae when he caught the kiss as well as while Tae was upset. I don't know why he supported Tae and BahMee getting back together, tho. I guess he just wanted his bestie to be happy again.

Second, what's with the main lead feeling like a side couple? They are very much the couple I'm rooting for the most. Maybe it's just because I'm an OffGun stan, but this is supposed to be their series, so it just feels like their screentime is nowhere near what it should be. Based on the preview for next week, it seems they'll be getting some more, at least. So maybe this point will be fixed. But for now, Jane & Ryan definitely deserve way more screentime than they've been getting.

Sorry if this feels kinda all over the place, I just had to rant a little. I know a lot of people are also not happy with the direction of the TaeBahMee storyline, so I'm also sorry if you've seen this 1000 times already 😂. It got so bad with them, I put any scenes with Judy and BahMee on 2x speed. (Nothing against Judy, just the cheating aspect made me so uncomfy watching their scenes). I'm watching the show for literally every other character but BahMee at this point, but she's been quite the center of attention recently, so I just wanna get back to Jane and Ryan!

[ghuletteintraining]

Hi, it’s been a long time since I’ve been in the Avatar fandom and I was trying to get my friend into them! I remembered you being one of my fav blogs since you wrote Chiaroscuro. Long story short— has there ever been some kind of lore masterposts for Avatar? I can find bajillions of Ghost lore posts but I’m having trouble finding anything for Avatar or at the very least for the Avatar Country era. Thank you for basically being a pillar in the fandom for so many years!

Hi, welcome back to Avatar Country!

First of all ... a pillar in the fandom?!?!? I am SHOOK with the honor, thank YOU for those kind words!!! I am but a humble servant to our king and his royal circle, I live to serve. (And by serve, I mean reblog everything Avatar-related so that my obsession can be everyone's problem...)

As for your question ... I'm thinking the reason you aren't finding anything is because there isn't anything out there. Unlike Ghost, Avatar isn't really a lore-based or lore-focused band. Avatar Country was the closest they've ever come to having official lore, and really that was only for that specific era. Even Feathers and Flesh wasn't lore about the band -- it was a fable brought to life with music. At this point, they bring out the royal costuming when they perform AC songs at shows, but it's usually only for one (sometimes two) songs.

The only thing I can come up with to offer as "lore" would be Legend of Avatar Country: A Metal Odyssey, the movie (featuring the three videos that they also put out for the album's singles) that the boys made with the help of a Kickstarter campaign, and it's so much fun! (There are a few elements in the videos that inspired @girlwiththepapatattoo and I as we developed our vision of the Chiaroscuro version of Avatar Country, but since the movie came out after most of our beast was written, it almost felt like WE inspired THEM.) It's available on Youtube and I'm pretty sure it's also available on avatarcountry.com. Speaking of avatarcountry.com, that's a great place to check out the boys' behind-the-scenes stuff, the play-throughs with Tim and Kungen, and little clips of them being the ridiculous dorks I love and adore. It's not lore in the traditional sense, but the history of the band and how Avatar has evolved over the years is just as fantastically rich as anything they could have invented. If you aren't already a part of it, you can join in at any time (I THINK you can set up a free account by filling out a "tourist visa" that lets you check out everything on the site, but don't quote me on that. Otherwise, becoming a citizen costs about $30.)

OH, almost forgot! There is The Making of Avatar Country, the book that they wrote/published through the Kickstarter campaign, available to purchase on avatarcountry.com. It. Is. FABULOUS. The photography alone makes it worth the cost. Again, not lore in the traditional sense, but seeing how Avatar Country was brought to life is *chef's kiss*. 10000/10 highly recommend.

And (shameless plug alert), you know, you can always re-read the beast in all its many parts ... lore abounds there. =)

Hey, look at that, I babbled once again and wrote a small novel instead of a normal-size response. *ahem* Hope this helped, and thanks so much for the ask! Always here for more asks if you have them ... as you can see, I love talking about my favorite Swedes!

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

HIII I KNOW. A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ANNIHILATION. PERIPHERALLY. ive seen like part of it but i do NOT remember much. except that its one of the prettiest movies ive ever seen. that being said im so eyes emoji abt ur au..... r there any specific scenes frm the movie ur thinking about?? how would the character dynamics differ from either canon?? etc etc etc!!!

GOD I FUCKING LOOOOOVE ANNIHILATION. ONE OF MY TOP 5 FAVORITE MOVIES OF ALL TIME EVER. yes yes yes yes yes OK. so this is. all encompassing crossover jrwi au which means I'm pulling characters from different campaigns. which. usually im not a huge fan of but i think i pulled it off rlly well in a limited sense here bc i have very specific reasoning behind why i put each character where. u will know at least two of them and they WILL cause you psychic damage so trust me when i say the other ones will too. putting this under a cut bc im gonna ramble

BASICALLYYYYY it's gonna follow the plot of the movie pretty closely just with slightly altered character dynamics + each of their reasons for going into the shimmer. so each person on the Current Team has lost someone on a previous expedition, and basically all of them are trying to find answers for what happened to their loved ones.

im gonna talk mainly about the ones you know because youll understand where I'm coming from the best with them but just know I am OBSESSED w the roles I have put gillion and chip in here. god I miss riptide every day .

DAKOTA COLE AS ANYA. Anya is the retired paramedic !! she's the one that. hold everything. gets killed by the fucked up bear. smile. that was just a fun little coincidence for me . ORIGINALLY I was dead set on having the pd representative be william bc im biased and I love him but after rewatching the movie I just think dakota fits in anyas place so perfectly. she's the most outgoing of the group, she's the one that initially invites Lena to join their team (also side note there is a pre-existing dynamic between dakota and chip because they've had MULTIPLE interactions in various what if crossover episodes and their dynamic is one of my favorite things ever). she's also the most aggressive. she's the first one to snap into action mode after finding the body in the pool, she's the one to take josie away from it and has a very protective stance over josie for the rest of the time after that (this is going to be relevant i am gonna talk about josie next) . once the group starts arguing about whether they want to continue further into the shimmer, anya shifts into a VERY black and white mentality, pinning ventress as The Bad Guy immediately for wanting to continue. and then when Lena shows some hesitancy over what she wants to do, anya snaps into a "youre either with me or against me" mindset. she also has this growing sense of paranoia ever since they find the tape of what appears to be the previous crew killing each other, and after she learns Lena is lying to them about her connection with Kane she goes way overboard with tying them to chairs and threatening to kill them. while i don't think dakota would necessarily go that far I DID say this to jonesy when we were rewatching the movie together so. bfu connecting two dots meme

anyway i think dakota is in the shimmer looking for william AND vyncent. parallels to the "dakota leaves for 10 months without telling them" which is why the three of them would be separated in the first place. william somehow finds out about the southern reach and his draw toward a mystery is what causes him to join the first expedition. vyncent goes with him because he can sense it's dangerous (and basically a suicide mission) and doesn't want william to go alone. I have. ideas. for what happens to them in the shimmer but they are vague at best right now and even then. dakota never finds out what happens to them before he's killed by the bear. the bear uses their voices to draw him out btw. smile. he dies protecting thr rest of the group even immediately after his paranoid breakdown.

OK THAT GOT LONG. OOPS. ONTO THE SECOND ONE

SHILO AS JOSIE. ohhhhh josie radek one of my favorite characters in media of all time. God I love her so much. anyway she's the only one of the current expedition with no previous combat training, so she's often seen by the rest of them as someone who needs to be protected. if I'm remembering correctly she's also the youngest. (in this. au. dakota would be older than shilo. feels better in my mind. none of them would be Kids they'd all be adults at this point but I'd put shilo in early 20s and dakota maybe in mid 20s. so . still young.) shilo is in the shimmer looking for his twin brother who went missing. somehow he was able to track down the southern reach and find out emizel was part of a previous expedition, and desperately wants to get him back. he's the one with the LEAST amount of knowledge going into the shimmer. he doesn't realize it's a suicide mission. he just wants his brother back. anyway when they get to the first outpost they find the remnants of the first team's base of operations, with names on a guard patrol rotation and leftover weapons and. a video camera. with a tape in a plastic bag labeled "for those who follow". josie is the one holding the camera when they watch it. the tape shows members of the previous party in the abandoned pool, one guy tied to a chair while the others cut open his abdomen to show his intestines moving around like snakes or worms. in the movie, the guy who cuts him open is Kane, Lena's husband. the rest of the party doesn't know her connection to kane, and she knows now if she tells them they won't trust her (and is proven correct by this when anya eventually finds out her connection) ANYWAY I'm going off track. sorry this is my favorite scene in the whole movie I get distracted. ANYWAY so when they see this, josie is the most immediately horrified by it because she's the only one who hasn't seen anything as gruesome as that before. for shilo. well. he gets to see the one being cut open is emizel. and then later when they get to the pool and find the body still there (again. josie is the one to find this. she's also the one who reaches down into the old dirty water and accidentally picks up the knife. which was still left in the same place they saw it be dropped in the tape) corpse plastered to the wall by all kinds of multicolored fungus and lichen, I think shilo doesn't immediately break down, he doesn't really. process it right away. I mean it's completely unrecognizable. it's not until he accidentally picks up the knife that it all clicks into place in his mind and he realizes "that thing right there used to be my fucking brother" and completely shuts down. runs out of the complex, dakota has to chase him down because they all know its dangerous to go anywhere alone, etc. after this he loses any sense of purpose, the only reason he came into the shimmer in the first place was to get emizel back and now seeing what happened I think he just gets. hopeless. which is the beginning of the end for him . i haven't decided if his exact death is the same as josies but i want it to be peaceful in the same sort of way. "imagine dying frightened and in pain and having that be the only part of you which survives... i wouldnt like that at all" "ventress wants to face it.. you want to fight it... im not sure i want either of those things...." josie radek i am in love with you. anyway. annihilation pool scene for you because I love this image more than anything

[docholligay]

So I'm going to assume that we've all seen Madoka, and if we haven't well, I don't actually suggest beginning on episode 9, because you'll be missing some crucial details.

One of the things I really appreciate about this show, and I think it shows really well in this scene, is the way the art really works to serve the emotions of whatever's going on in the moment. I think that's definitely true of the witches' labyrinths, which I will talk about even though I think that's pretty easy picking, but I think that's also true here.

Because what they've done is remove a lot of the heavy linework that goes into the 'normal' moments, making the whole thing look more sketchy, more emotional, more like Sayaka is falling apart, which she absolutely is here. The whole thing feels much more raw bewcause they've left the art more 'raw'. Everything feels unfinished because it is falling away bit by bit. They do this with a number of closeups in the show, especially in emotional moments, but I think that final shot of Sayaka alive is the most 'removed' we ever see.

I don't care overmuch for Sayaka, she's probably my least favorite character and I do agree that her wish was such a fucking waste. But! I love that! I think, if you are going to write a story about teenage girls exchanging, essentially, their humanity for a wish, you have to allow for the idea that their wishes are fucking stupid sometimes. ANd it puts us into that mush, doesn't it? That we see all the time on the internet! Where teenagers are either completely responsible human beings who can decide anything they want for themselves or they are uwu babychildren who should be held accountable for nothing. Of course Sayaka made a stupid choice, a choice to make a boy happy, and should she ever have had the right? Let's even say she doesn't become a witch, let's say she just has to fight.

Where do we decide that she does not have the right to turn in her future for her present? What age, and what circumstances? I don't have an answer for that, but I do love that amidst the serious reasons for making wishes, the noble and the desperate, we have Sayaka's fuck-stupid wish as a way of reminding us that not all of these girls had 'good' reasons, according to adults sitting here watching this, but to them it mattered.

And while I'm sitting here thinking Sayaka is an idiot--and I do--how significantly different is it from Homura's wish, who I'm giving a complete pass to because doomed lesbians in a timeloop are cool and sexy? This moment, and Sayaka herself, force us to examine a lot of ideas about this that say, Mami's death did not.

[windowscrazyerror]

Crosspost from twittar here's my thoughts on what I liked and disliked about the ii finale. Spoilers obviously

GOOD SHIT:

At least my wife was there for a little bit and he was sexy

Also he got to punch mephone in the face like 3 times. I think that's my favorite part I wish the whole episode was literally just him beating the shit out of mephone and nothing else

Knife (and possibly mepad) permadeath was kind of a bold move tbh I'll give them that. I was afraid of them going full blast "everyone lives and is happy forever" on the ending so I'm glad they didn't

Mephone acknowledging that he's kinda fucked up and the fact the contestants don't all just instantly forgive him and act like he did nothing wrong ever in his life. That's another thing I was afraid of

Also I Guess 4S being there again was kind of cool although I didnt especially enjoy the scenes with him at least he was there

BAD SHIT:

BOX. The last minute twist of "btw they've all been casually dragging around this literal corpse the entire time" was so bizarre it felt like something some fan would come up with as an edgy creepypasta ass theory that no one actually likes. I don't think anyone out there was thinking "oh boy I hope they devote a large chunk of the finale to focusing on fucking box of all characters"

Also the fact everyone's been misgendering her this whole time?? Yes I saw what brian said about it representing that no one really knew her as a person or w/e but it still feels like a really weird choice to me. Now we have not one but two characters who are misgendered for most of the show. Awesome

Obviously I did not enjoy my wife dying. Like I guess I can't complain about this too much bc he's the villain it was very unlikely he Wasn't going to die but still. Especially considering the specific way he died it was just weird and stupid and felt like nothing more than wanting to play into the unfunny joke the fans have been making over and over for the past however many years

I wish they had done anything more with him than just making him Generic Evil Villain Guy Who Kills People. Idk how to put into words what I would've wanted instead but the little bit of screentime we get from him in this ep is very underwhelming. Can we just remove all of box's scenes and replace them with some insight into cobs' backstory or some more interesting dialogue/interactions with mephone/Literally Anything Else Please

As funny as the Meeple Sword is it's also kind of odd. This is a nitpick but I feel like it'd make more sense for it to be a gun or smth more high tech than just a box cutter with the meeple logo on it unless there's some specific reason for that that I'm missing

Why did suitcase try to get mephone to eat a piece of his not-really-dad's burnt corpse. I know it was a joke but like what the fuck man. Why did she do that.

I feel like there's more things I'm forgetting but I'm too tired to write anymore I'll add on to this later if I feel like it

[stellarspecter]

20 questions for writers

i was tagged by @devondespresso and @spicysix! thanks guys!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

68! oh shit my next fic is my 69th i gotta finish that smut fic STAT

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

191,966. crazy

3. What fandoms do you write for?

most recently, stranger things, but i've also written a lot for julie and the phantoms and be more chill. and then various other oneshots for random stuff

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Befriend the Bully - Nerdy Prudes Must Die, 868 kudos (and 3rd most kudos'ed fic in the hatchetfield fandom???)

Saint Frost - Rise of the Guardians, 593 kudos

Me Too - Percy Jackson & the Olympians, 392 kudos

Hopefully - Be More Chill, 286 kudos

All This Feeling Second Best, It's Got Me by the Throat - Julie and the Phantoms, 249 kudos

most of those are pretty old so it makes sense that they've had the time to accumulate kudos, but that means they were also written when i was in high school so it's kind of like 😬

5. Do you respond to comments?

i used to more, now i don't really unless they said something that i specifically want to comment on. i just kind of forget or don't have anything to say lmao

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

probably my troped round 1 fic, you look like you've just seen a monster (is that what i look like to you?). usually i like to have a happy ending but i wrote this in like two days the week of my first breakup. so uh yeah couldn't really think of happy ending for that one.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

pretty much anything else lmao. i love to write fluff and cuddles and shit like that so just go read any other of my fics

8. Do you get hate on fics?

the only hate on fics i can remember ever getting was back in my bmc days when i wrote meremine and someone was mad bc michael is gay and didn't like that i put him in a throuple with a woman. but like other than that clown behavior no not really lmao

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i have one (1) smut fic published and it is on a different account because i was so scared of jatp fandom being mean lmao. luckily i only got nice comments on it so i will share that you can go read it here. i mean it was probably kind of obvious that it was me because there are only so many ppl into that rarepair? but idk jatp mutuals lmk who you thought it was lsdfksjf

i have been trying to write steddie smut recently, i have a wip that i'm working on that i will hopefully finish soon. if anyone would like to beta that lmk lol 👀 it is pretty kinky i will say lol but like. that's steddie for ya

10. Do you write crossovers?

not really. i'm more likely to just make an au of something for whichever fandom i'm currently obsessed with

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i don't think so? ppl would be welcome to do so tho

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

no. co-brainstormed and went crazy in the dms about it tho? oh yeah

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

evidence shows it to be steddie, at least for now. i'm a big multishipper so a better question would more be "what do i find myself most often in the mood for?" and the answer would still be steddie sldkfjs

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

vampire chrissy fic i want to do right by you i fear i may not.... i signed it up for the wip big bang tho so hopefully i do actually get it done

16. What are your writing strengths?

dialogue! i love writing dialogue. screenwriting is awesome because it's just dialogue.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

hrmm action scenes. repetitive prose. actually sitting down and plotting something cohesively

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

nothing against it but i'm only fluent in english so i'd consult someone else who actually speaks that language

19. First fandom you wrote for?

doctor who in middle school :) i wrote my fics in my little writing notebook and some of them are even on ao3 lol

20. Favorite fic you've written?

like i said earlier with the favorite ship question, this is tough to answer because i feel like it comes down to more what am i in the mood for most often. i'm pretty proud of my trans steve fic as well as aro bi reggie, both of them because i spent a long time trying to make sure i doing the representation right and i think i did a good job. also that sad bobby polycurve fic from the kudos question, i put a lot of myself in it and i feel very proud of how it came out.

no-pressure tagging: @wr0temyway0ut @zazujoy @sunsetcurvecuddles @chickwiththepurpleguitar @weneedglitter

@queenofthequillandink @jughead-is-canonically-aroace @innytoes @floating-in-the-blue @invisibleraven

and anyone else who wants to do it!

[chirpsythismorning]

If Will is a lab kid, do you think he's always meant to be one, or is it one of those things that they decided to go with post-season 1?

I'm sort of undecided right now? Part of me thinks, yes definitely! Then another part of me thinks, maybe not?

It's kind of the equivalent to byler for me rn, where yes, there are several instances in s1 that I read as foreshadowing Mike not being straight and/or even simply liking Will. Though, I can't say for certain if that was their original intention (unless they admit it themselves eventually) because we know from what they've said in the past, they thought s1 could end up being a standalone. And so if s1 ended the way it did, without returning, then presumably byler wouldn't have been endgame (at least not blatantly in canon).

However, they also have said that while producing s1, Netflix wanted more background for the inter-workings of the greater story, so that if they did hypothetically continue there would be a plan. And so stuff like Eleven originally dying at the end of s1, might have been the permanent ending had they simply not returned for a s2. And yet they still ended s1 on a note that made her death open-ended, had they been given the opportunity to return.

So I do think generally speaking there could be a lot of details in s1 that were put there with the hope (or consideration at least) that the story could go further. And both byler endgame and twelvegate/willel twins sort of fits into that for me.

Though for the sake of this ask, there are definitely certain pieces of evidence from s1 that make me genuinely consider twelvegate as something they could have planned from the beginning. And not only that, but I think a lot of what happens in s1 ties into what goes on in the following seasons. So I feel fairly confident saying I think it might have indeed been a plan from the start.

One major thing I've been fixated on as of recent, is this consistent focus on Will's arms/wrists throughout the series. It's as if they're either very obnoxiously obstructing our view of his arm/wrists (usually his left arm w/ his watch), or they are showing them off blatantly in the frame (usually his right arm).

I think that this consistent detail, in tandem with the theme of time being central (Will's watch) as well as the references to the tattoo on El's left wrist/alleged birthmark on Will's right arm, makes a lot of these observations interesting as a whole, to say the least...

Within the first 5 minutes of being introduced to Will, he's sporting his iconic red/yellow vest and his watch. Within the first 5 minutes of being introduced to El, she's sporting the yellow Benny's burgers t-shirt, and not only that, but the red and yellow ketchup being the most eye catching colors in most of these shots takes my brain straight to Will (and El?). The shot of Benny with his watch in the frame is a nice touch, and us getting a close up of El's tattoo directly where Will's tattoo would presumably be (under his watch), is interesting, but it's even more interesting in the context of what's to come.

As of now, this is believed to be the first scene featuring the infamous birthday mug in Mike's basement, and it's a scene where Mike gives El his watch to wear on her left arm (over her tattoo), so that she can keep track of time.

This is the most unnecessary detail ever. I'm not even going to delve into it bc it's sort of ridiculous. Why even have Joyce say this, only to cut her off? Why?

This is probably my favorite example out of all of these, and it's because it was after getting an ask about this scene in particular, that I realized this is actually really suspicious. For one, it's the first time we're ever seeing Will w/out his watch in the series. It's a flashback that Joyce has while at Will's funeral. What we can presume based on the other flashbacks from s1, with Will at Castle Byers and then in Jonathan's room listening to music, with him wearing his watch in both of those, is that he was presumably not wearing his watch in the fireball flashback bc he was at an age where he didn't have it yet. So this is likely the youngest Will Byers we have seen in the show, pre-June 1982 at the latest (that's when Poltergeist was in theaters). But that's not even the interesting part. What's interesting is how in most of these shots, specifically OTS, they block out Will's left arm, while in contrast broadcasting his right arm in the frame. Weird how the first time they showed Will without his watch in the series, and they're making a point to block it out...? And the intense shadow in that third shot on his right arm also has me side eyeing...

Jumping to the end of s1, they make a point to show El returning Mike's watch before she gets into the salt bath to find Will. She removes it from her right arm, only for Mike to take it and put it back on his left arm. I wouldn't normally read too much into this, but when we've got time trickery/loop, Mike always running late, and Will might be a lab kid allegations all in the mix, how can I not read into this?

What then follows is El going into the void to find Will. Now's the time they make a point to show us the inside of Will's right arm/wrist, AKA the same arm that Joyce said had a birthmark? Almost like they want to confirm something they planted in our heads in the first place? And yet nothing is there, or so it seems..? I have to ask again, Why? What is the point of all of this? (+ reminder that Mike was missing from all of the reaction shots for this scene, which is odd...)

And yet it gets weirder. At the end of s1, when Will is rescued and reuniting with the party, they decide to also clue us in on the state of Will's left arm (he coughs and so he has no choice but to lift it up and put it on display... yeah... okay), the same arm they didn't let us see at the start of the season, but are now showing us AFTER Will's time in the upside down... Whatever I guess..

At the end of s1, during the epilogue, they give us a close up of Will's arms in long sleeves, which we have been lead to believe up this point now are both birthmark-less (tattoo-less if that's something someone was looking for...). And so okay. Cool. I can't say for certain why they still feel the need to show off his arms so blatantly like this (I do however have a guess...).

Onto s2!

These two images above are more so notable mentions to start of s2 than major examples. It gets pretty crazy going forward, but I felt the need to mention a couple examples like these bc they're simple and cute. The first one is cute bc there's so little of the main party in the frame as it is, and so making Will at the forefront with his little wrist out? Noted. And the next one is even more simple, and yet I love it bc of that detail of the letters spelling out "TICK" in the background...

This one is quite difficult to catch, but after rewatching and really trying to pay attention, I realized that what's being emphasized here is not only both of Will's arms, first his right then his left, but also in contrast, the doctor attending to him's wrists are on full display in both shots...

This is another notable mention, just because I think in general Will's love for drawing is something that makes these sort of shots very easy to overlook. Because they fit so well with the outright narrative, you don't have to read into it to appreciate it. However, looking at all these moments together, makes it hard for me to overlook.

And here we have another favorite, because this is after one of the most confusing scenes in the entire series, with which no fan has even come close to understanding yet. What I am referring to are the scenes at the Byers at the end of 2x01, where the phone rings and they don't answer it (Will is missing from these shots for some reason), followed by a scene at the lab with the lights flickering, then followed by Will waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. They give us this really dramatic shot of his wrists again, literally flipping them over to show off that there's nothing there... Why even go all out with this unless they assume that we are looking? And why even humor a reminder? Why make it a constant throughout the show, if there's nothing to it?

This is another notable mention because I think it's really peculiar how he kind of drags his left (watch) arm out the door, causing it to be doused in shadow for most of that shot. Though the next morning they show it off again. This may very well still seem not that suspicious yet, but trust me, this isn't even the most incriminating.

This is believed to be the second time we are seeing the infamous happy birthday mug, only this time it's in a scene with Mike and Will. I think what makes this scene so much better to me now, is how right Mike was without even realizing. The truth is, El would understand exactly what Will is going through. I initially tried to look into this scene from the context of arms/wrists and came up short. Though now, looking at it and typing this, I do think it's interesting they were presumably given the direction to cross their wrists over for that last shot... It could just be a coincidence, but a pretty insane one considering.

Just another iconic drawing shot with Will's arm dominating the frame.

This one is interesting bc it's the first time we're officially introduced to Will's feeling in his neck (head?), which if you'll note, he reaches to touch with his arm(s).

NOW THEY'RE JUST LAUGHING AT US!

Fair warning, it's about to get real.

Also s/out to @shippingfangirl013 who supports my Twelvegate obsession. We've been going back and forth for months rewatching. And I kid you not, every rewatch we're finding new evidence that support our theories (delusion?). She introduced me to a lot of these examples of Will's wrists being emphasized after we talked about the complexities of the tattoo debacle, leading us down a massive rabbit hole. Though these ones below are what probably take the cake, because they are just...

Well would you look at that. An extremely incriminating shot focusing entirely on Will's left arm dominating the frame more than ever before, and cast in a remarkably intense shadow, also with lacerations from the rope that was tying him up over his wrist(s). It means nothing...

Onto s3!

Also hard to spot this, but the final shot of the previous scene emphasizing El's left arm (wrist), where her tattoo is, along with her bracelet, sort of parallels the shots of Will in the following scene, which also emphasizes Will's left arm (wrist), where his watch is...

If you'll notice, each time Will has reached for his neck up to this point, he's always used his left arm.

That is until the scene at Castle Byers, which is when Will suddenly starts a new trend of using his right arm to reach for his neck instead, also ironically the same scene that Will says He's back...

This VERY much intrigues me in the context of the theory that Will was in part either possessed or at least guided in some way by Vecna to encourage the party to go to the hospital, where their ill-fate awaited them. Also somewhere they probably wouldn't have gone if it wasn't for Will bringing the idea up himself. There's already been analysis on this elsewhere, but the basics is that those scenes at Heather's house and the hospital, leading up to the lights flickering, and Will's blocking in all those shots/his literal shadow, is odd... (also I might be totally crazy, but these shots at the pool/hospital almost look like Will does have a birthmark on his right arm, arguably near the wrist tattoo zone... It doesn't look like Will/Noah has ever had a mole/birthmark in any of the shots focusing on his right arm in the show previously up to this point, which I just find that to be kind of confusing in the context of the speculation about a birthmark on his right arm in 1x03 by Joyce, despite that being debunked in the finale? Idk, maybe it's a new one? Idk. I'm just gonna try not to think about it too much or my brain might explode.).

Next, that first one is almost funny to me, because why does Will even need to be in the frame at all here? Arguably he doesn't need to be, but instead of just letting this be a shot of El and Max, they make a point to have Will's right arm placed directly in the middle of the shot (less the middle, more so following rule of thirds. Which is even more incriminating tbh)...

Not suspicious at all. Totally normal stuff going on here. In fact, look away entirely. It's probably a complete waste of your time...

ANYWAYS onto s4!

The wonder twins are now officially twinning-up after 3 seasons of subtle build-up. The yellow and red making a reappearance reminding us this is very much the same as it's always been, whether we (or they themselves) realize it or not. Both of their left wrists sporting some type of accessory, while also mirroring each other, is borderline spooky.

AGAIN, the unrelenting urge these Duffers have to make Will and El mirror each other...? Pretty remarkable if you ask me. Something is definitely going on here. Oh and here's a quick focus on Will's right arm during his fight with Mike... Idk doesn't look like any birthmarks in sight to me...

I bet you didn't see this coming, aka the van scene is twelvegate evidence???? I mean not on the surface, no. However, in the grand scheme of things, yes. It follows an interesting trend this show has had of focusing on Will's arms in a way that feels like they're hinting at something, while simultaneously keeping the truth just out of our reach.

And we're back to our regularly scheduled programming. You'll notice here at the end of s4, that Will is following the same late s3 trend of reaching with his right arm to touch his neck. I don't know what to make of the pattern they're going with there, but I do think it's interesting that there is a pattern at all in regards to which arm he uses. Am I scared about the implications that come with that? That this could mean Will ends s4 not entirely himself, at risk of being pushed to do things by Vecna, just like fans predict he was mid s3...?Absolutely.

It's fair to say I think this could have definitely been a plan since the beginning. Arguably, it fits quite well with David's consistent insistence that the ending of the show is beautiful, going all the way back to interviews he did to promote s2.

I do think it's possible this could have been a plot line they planned on exploring and maybe even revealing in s2, but once they realized what it a hit it was and that they would have to go another 2-3 seasons beyond that, then they presumably had to stretch it all out to make those revelations exciting for the end instead. And so Will taking a back seat to the greater plot for s3-4 makes a lot more sense to me, knowing they are arguably saving the most exciting and thought out ideas for last, which we know in large part all connects to Will...

[hello-nichya-here]

After returning from his banishment, Zuko develops a hobby of watching Azula sleep and jerk off thinking all the things he could do to her. One day, he sneaks into her room, thinking she was asleep and instead finds her:

1) Awake, waiting for him, knowing exactly what he's doing.

2) Having a threesome with Mai and Ty Lee.

3) Making put with some random dude who she sneaked in through the window, who apparently is her boyfriend and looks suspiciously like him but without a scar.

What a pervy, bad, dirty little Zuzu. Thinking such impure things while his innocent baby sister is sleeping like the little angel she is. How shameful! XD

Azula Waiting For Him

This is, personally, my favorite. Zuko, the dumbass, thinking he's being so sneaky and nobody knows anything about his nightly visits to Azula and all the scenarious his dirty, dirty mind can come up with... and then, of course, he discovers Azula knows. She has known for a long time.

He is ashamed, nervous, scared of the consequences... and hopeful. After all, if she wanted to ruin his life with this, or at least make him stop, she would have done so the very first time she realized what he was up to. But she didn't, and with the way she's looking at him, even someone as awkward and dense as Zuko can figure out why.

Azula is gonna hold this against him forever, taunt him about how pathetic and creepy what he was doing was, and just generally be even more of a brat than usual. It won't matter to him one bit, because at last he's getting what he's always wanted, and there's no way having Azula be all clingy and possessive as they have sex could ever NOT be worth whatever consequence follows it.

Threesome

At first, Zuko is just shocked at the scene playing out in front of him. Then, he's angry. Azula is HIS sister, why do Mai and Ty Lee get to sleep with her first - or sleep with her at all when he has never said that's okay with him?

...Plus, he likes Mai too. Why did Azula have to steal her?

Then he notices the girls smirking at him and undressing him with their eyes and he suddenly remembers "Oh right, this is incredibly hot and I am a lucky bastard."

Needless to say, the threesome turns into a foursome.

Discount Zuko

There's no time for shock, confusion, or even anger. Zuko isn't even processing what he is doing. He's not thinking "Azula is mine!" or "Who the hell is this guy alone with my sister without anybody knowing!" He's not thinking at all. He is not being possessive, or even an over-protective but well-meaning older brother.

He just sees this guy making out with his sister and something in him snaps. There's just the horrible feeling in his very soul that this is WRONG and this nobody needs to go, NOW!

So, he tries to throw the poor son of a bitch out the window. He can barely even register what's going on around him. It takes him a minute to process that Azula managed to free her boyfriend who ran away screaming, not even caring about being caught anymore, just running for his life.

Boyfriend. His sister has a boyfriend. Who the hell gave her permission to do something like that?

No guard dares to approach even as they hear the two siblings screaming at each other. They're NOT feeling like dying today.

Zuko keeps freaking out, berating Azula, and DEMANDING to know how far she has gone with that rando. When she finally admits all they've done is kiss, Zuko looks like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders and she thinks she can finally go to sleep now and sulk about her brother just scared away the ONE guy that wasn't afraid of her.

Then Zuko kisses her. No warning, no nothing. He just wraps his arms around Azula and kisses her lips, cheeks, chin, neck, shoulders, colarbone...

She knows she's supposed to be mad at him because of something, but she cannot remember what. She can't remember Zuko ever showing her this much love, not even when they were super close as children, and she just can't resist it.

[xythlia]

Hi Kita 💜 I've seen other people doing this since the year is ending so what were some of your favorite fics you read this year??

omg yes there's so many incredible works I read this year but since I lost the ability to edit asks on here these are just the ones off the top of my head rn! I hope everyone has a wonderful new years eve and finds tons of inspiration next year <3

Tuesdays by @elusivemoon

io is beyond talented and deserves so much recognition this coming year for being one of the best writers on the app! Tuesdays feels like if satoru never became the annoyingly adorable character we know because in ios setting there's no curses, instead he's endearingly sweet and this is a wonderfully written peek into what that version of his life would look like

The taste of your lips by @staryukis

everyone say ty logan for giving us desperate kiss starved satoru <3 I've thought about this at least twice a week ever since I first read it, logan has such a way with description and setup everything plays out so smoothly like a movie in your head plus satoru is adorable in this I love it sm :3

Driving you crazy by @aestrayla

angi's writing is absolutely magical, I couldn't believe this was their first time writing smut because it's just an absolutely perfect portrayal of mammon and impatient needy reader is one of my absolute favorites to find

Sleepy sins by @another-lost-mc

JEALOUS BELPHIE JEALOUS BELPHIE plus the primal kink??? jes has hands down the best grasp on every brothers personality out of anyone in the fandom but this belphie fic is one of my all time favorites, however if I could link the entire masterlist I would because everything they've written is phenomenal!

Angel of small death & the codeine scene by @marble-anime

this reawakened my blood kink SO BAD if you've followed me for a while you know alucard is one of my all time favorite characters and when I found this going thru the hellsing tags my eyes nearly popped out of my head

Know it all by @elusivemoon

io on here twice because if I could link everything they've written I would but we'd be here forever ajdhsksbak it shows immense talent to take a character and put them in a setting like the grecian pantheon and have it be so seamless it's like they always existed there

Intimacy by @vixstarria

A beautiful glimpse into Astarions struggle with sex and intimacy and it also captures in a really gorgeous way the struggle of both parties when navigating something like that with a partner. Especially how Astarion wants a sexual relationship with tav but just doesn't know how to get through to that point, just makes me go insane every time I think about it

Yandere satoru by @yandere-daydreams

I think this one is brilliant because someone with satorus background would feel inherently entitled to nearly everything even if they can "do the right thing" most of the time, including the reader because someone raised wealthy and with power usually struggles with that line of thought. The way he blames reader? ough absolutely delicious

[forestcat222]

all Targaryens survive incorrect quotes.

btw in this au Jon's name is Aemon not Aegon.

Viserys: Why isn’t the statue smirking at me? Rhaenys: It isn’t smirking at anyone, they’re all just imagining it. Viserys: Three of us saw it, Rhaenys. How do you explain that? Rhaenys: *points at Aegon* Sleep deprivation. *points at Aemon* Paranoia. *points at Daenerys* Delusional personality disorder.

Viserys: Where's Rhaenys, Aegon, and Aemon? Daenerys: They're playing hide and seek. Viserys: Where? Daenerys: I don't think you get how this game works.

Viserys: What did you guys get in your yearbook? Rhaenys: 'Prettiest Smile' Aegon: 'Nicest Personality' Aemon: 'Most likely to start a bar fight' Daenerys: 'Least likely to start a bar fight, but most likely to win one'

Viserys: Good responses for being stabbed with a knife? Rhaenys: Rude. Aegon: That’s fair. Aemon: Not again. Daenerys: Are you going to want this back?

Viserys: What’s something you guys are better than Rhaenys at? Aegon: Mario Kart. Aemon: Yeah, video games. Daenerys: Emotional vulnerability.

Viserys: Good morning. Rhaenys: Good morning. Aegon: Good morning. Aemon: You all sound like robots, try spicing it up a bit. Daenerys: MORNING MOTHERFUCKERS

Viserys: What does 'take out' mean? Rhaenys: Food. Aegon: Dating Aemon: Murder Daenerys: IT CAN MEAN ALL THREE IF YOU'RE NOT A COWARD.

Viserys: Imagine if someone handed you a box full of all the items you have lost throughout your life Rhaenys: Self-esteem, haven't seen you in years! Aegon: Oh wow, my childhood innocence! Thank you for finding this! Aemon: I knew I lost that potential somewhere! Daenerys: My moral code, is that you? Viserys: Viserys: I was just gonna show you this cool trunk my mother left me but do you guys need a hug?

Viserys: We need more help. Maybe I should call my friends. Rhaenys: ... Your what? Viserys: My friends. Aegon: Are they saying “friends”? Aemon: I think they're being sarcastic. Daenerys: No, no, no, this is delirium, they've cracked from being awake all night. Hey, Viserys! All of your friends are in this room. Viserys: I have other friends! You asked me to make new friends, I made new friends! It was a task. I complete tasks.

Viserys: Bridge the generation gap by combining old and new slang into one! Rhaenys: Tubular AF! Aegon: Mood to the max! Aemon, annoyed: Groovy, I hate it. Daenerys, just as annoyed: If she breathes, she’s a square.

Viserys: You're a loose cannon, Rhaenys. Rhaenys: No, I'm not. I'm a cannon maybe, but a loose cannon? Is that what you think of me? Aegon: I think you play by your own rules. Aemon: No way, they think rules were made to be broken. Viserys: Those are all attributes of a loose cannon. Rhaenys: No, I'm just a reckless renegade. Daenerys is a loose cannon. Daenerys: *smashes a chair*

Viserys: Favorite horror movie? Rhaenys: It Aegon: Saw Aemon: Annabelle Daenerys: High School Musical. after watching it I spent all my middle school years terrified that the entire school would start singing something and I’d be the only one who didn’t know the lyrics

Viserys: Nothing in life is free. Rhaenys: Love is free! Aegon: Adventure is free. Aemon: Knowledge is free. Daenerys: Everything is free if you take it without paying.

Viserys: You really put aside everything and came all this way for me? How did you even get here so fast? Rhaenys: Several traffic violations. Aegon: Three counts of resisting arrest. Aemon: Roughly thirteen cans of energy drinks. Daenerys: Also, that’s not our car.

Viserys: If there's going to be a big dramatic scene, wait until I get back. Rhaenys: Of course. I can't flip this table by myself.

Viserys: You know, not every problem can be solved with a sword. Rhaenys: That's why I carry two swords.

Viserys: Is letting someone win at chess sapiosexual bottoming Rhaenys: Does anyone in this godforsaken group ever think before they speak

Daenerys: Here’s a fun Christmas idea. We hang mistletoe, but instead of kissing, you have to FIGHT whoever else is under it. Aemon: Daenerys no. Aegon: Mistlefoe. Aemon: Please stop encouraging them.

Daenerys: Sometimes I drink milk straight out of the container. Aemon: The cow??? Daenerys: What? Aegon: Aemon, W H Y?

Daenerys: Hey Aemon, Aemon: Yes? Daenerys: Can a person breathe inside a washing machine while it’s on? Aemon: Aemon: Where’s Aegon?

Jon Connington: While I’m gone, Aemon, you’re in charge. Aemon: Yes!!! Jon Connington, whispering: Aegon, you’re secretly in charge. Aegon: Obviously.

Jon Connington: You know those things will kill you, right? Rhaenys, pouring another glass of whiskey: That’s the point. Aegon, smoking a cigarette: We’re trying to speed up the process. Aemon: *Nods while eating raw cookie dough*

Aegon: Hah! 69! You know what that means? Rhaenys: What? Jon Connington: That you're a child. Aemon: HOW'D YOU GUESS MY IQ!?

Aemon: Is stabbing someone immoral? Rhaenys: Not if they consent to it. Aegon: Depends who you’re stabbing. Jon Connington: YES?!?

Jon Connington: Listen, I can explain... Rhaenys: You’re making $500,000 and you’re only gonna pay me $30,000? Aegon: You’re getting 30 grand? I’m getting $1,000! Aemon: You guys are getting paid?

Jon Connington: You are now one day closer to eating your next plate of nachos. Rhaenys: That's the most hopeful thing I've ever heard. Aegon: But what if I die tomorrow and never eat any nachos? Aemon: Then tomorrow is nacho lucky day.

[mooncaps]

^ My initial reaction to the events of The Giggle.

I'm trying not to be too thrown by the absurdity of it, because really the whole show is absurd. The idea of a time traveling phone box that's bigger on the inside and an alien that can regenerate so new actors can play the same character is pretty ridiculous. I'm just used to it because the show's been doing it for 60 years, I've been watching the show for 16 years, and I had an understanding that those concepts were part of it.

Bi-generation isn't really any more absurd; it's just new. So I'm trying not to get too stuck on that.

And I like David Tennant, Ten was my favorite Doctor, so I don't mind the idea of the door being open for him. I'm not entirely clear on whether we'll be seeing any more of him on screen, or if he's just getting his happy ending, but it feels like a big thing to introduce if he's just going to be shelved. (At the very least, they've left open room for Big Finish to tell stories.) Much as I like him, if Tennant occasionally pops up, then I think it will feel a bit like stunt-casting and pandering, even if I'm the one being pandered to.

Ever since Power of the Doctor, I've been hoping that Tennant's return would be setting up a tie-in to Tom Baker's cameo in Day of the Doctor. With his retirement starting, maybe he'll go on to revisit some more old favorite faces and become a curator. I'd be down for that as an interesting story. Though I worry that it, or any other storyline they do with the bi-generation, could distract from Ncuti's introduction and establishing his presence as The Doctor.

I'm left to wonder if they're not confident that fans will stick around for Ncuti so they want to keep people on the hook for David. I'm also not sure how I feel about giving Ncuti the unconventional introduction. Maybe it'll prove to be the right fit for him. I guess time will tell on that front.

One thing about these specials is that they didn't feel much like events to me. Day of the Doctor, Power of the Doctor, and even Journey's End felt more like special events. These three mostly just felt like regular episodes. The Giggle came closest to feeling like an event. Although the regeneration (bi-generation) felt like an underwhelming moment, narratively. And we all know RTD and Murray Gold are capable of delivering emotionally resonant scenes. I feel like Ncuti's very sudden introduction so far lacks weight compared to most of the others. None of the new Doctors ever get much in their first scene, but they come in as part of a big emotional moment. I don't think I like that Ncuti didn't really get that. Hopefully his first proper story can give him more of a chance to make an impact. That's always where a new Doctor really gets to establish theirself.

And I guess we sort of got the new Doctor in the old Doctor's outfit this time. Though I find it frustrating that RTD is fine with having Ncuti run around in his underpants, but felt like putting David in Jodie's outfit would've been "taking the mickey."

I probably need more time to sit with the new ideas and get used to them. I'm someone who very much enjoyed the Timeless Child story (and wished they did more with it,) so I know I can get into new concepts shaking up the lore, but this seems like it's gonna take a bit more time for me to adjust to.

[starshard17]

Hello! I saw you reblog a post about wanting more tumblr asks from me so here I am sending you one!

Im not part of the trolls fandom but i really like seeing it on my dash because of you, so what are your favorite trolls ships :0?

AAAAH OKAY OKAY

Putting everything under read more cause this gonna take a bit

Starting with the main ship of course we have Broppy! The two main characters of the franchise, Branch and Poppy 🩵🩷

These two are a classic. I don't know any trolls fan who doesn't ship them. Their story is followed throughout each of the movies and the holiday specials and it is so beautiful watching their growth with each other. What I love about the show is that it focuses more on the friendship aspect of Branch and Poppy as opposed to the romance which is covered in the movies

Next ship I'd like to talk about is Breek 🩵💜 Branch and Creek

Now if you know nothing about trolls, Creek isn't exactly a good guy. Yes he was a villain in the first movie but! In the first show, Trolls the Beat goes on, he's seen to be at least a little better as he tries to integrate back into Troll society.

This is Creek when he first tries to reenter the village. He looks Bad. I want to point out that his colors are fading here! This was a main plot point of the first movie. When trolls are sad, depressed even, they start to lose their color!

Branch knows the feeling very well, I'm sure you know the classic meme "because _____ killed my grandma!" Yea Branch's grandma dying is what caused him to lose color 😔 and he's been without color for YEARS

So naturally the thought process is that Branch understands Creek and what he's going through. So ignoring how the beginning of that episode actually plays out, I like to think that Branch actually spends a lot of time with Creek getting him used to being back in the village and helps him get his colors back 💜

Moving on from that, if we look at Branch and Creek's actual relationship throughout the show even though they're shown to not like each other at all they spend a ton of time together!! There's even an episode that showcases all the times they fight with each other, often times alone! Which leaves us to question why they're alone together in the first place?

In that episode they also get their hair tied together by Poppy, leading them to look as though they've become the best friends in the world and acting like the queerest trolls on the planet I swear 😭

They even almost got "married" in this ep. Yea.

Last Breek point I'd like to point out is in a later episode when Creek makes an excuse as to why he didn't provide the fondue for a fondue party

Before Creek arrives to the party everyone's trying to figure why Creek isn't there which leads to this amazing scene where Branch perfectly imitates what Creek is going to say as the start of his excuse for not providing for the party

And yes while very funny is just goes to show how well Branch knows Creek like. Okay Branch I see you 🤨

So while they are painted to hate each other, they do know each other very well! Like better than you'd think. And they spend a surprising amount time together. Honestly Branch puts so much of himself into hating Creek it's almost like an obsession, and it's the same with Creek annoying Branch

Like if you didn't like Branch would you be this touchy with him? I don't think so Creek. Also the only times Creek ever sings in the show is when it's about Branch. And they have a very gay song together 💜🩵

Next ship! My friend has very kindly dubbed this rarepair Glitter Dads 😌🩵💛

This ship is Guy Diamond and Sky Toronto

Where do I even start with them?

My friend and I were watching the show together and started shipping these two as a joke before we got onto the episode showcased in the above screenshot where Poppy attempts to "friend match" them

The friend matching ends up not going well and they get in this big fight even singing a song battle (killer song btw)

Poppy breaks up the fight, admits to what she was doing and the two of them start to walk away before being like "we did make excellent music together-"

And they end up singing a softer, sweeter version of their duet and just like that they become friends all on their own without Poppy's pushing

This of course leads to the intricate analyzation of their characters and what it would be like if they got together XD

Guy Diamond is Glitter Troll of the Year, most famous glitter troll in all of Troll village. He's the life of the party, attends just about every party in town and always makes himself the center of attention

Meanwhile Sky Toronto is the owner of the party factory. He makes every party supply in town, runs his fun business every day with minimal rest time. The queen herself said Sky Toronto has the hardest most important job in Troll village. Even more important than her being queen!

Put that together and you've got the most popular power couple in all of troll village

I will avoid going into more details because I will be stuck ranting about them forever but I would like to point out that Guy Diamond does eventually become a dad, so it is fun imagining what Sky would be like as a fellow dad with Guy to their son Tiny Diamond

Next ship I like is Bappy, Barb and Poppy 🩷❤️

I don't have a lot to say about them other than I think they'd be cute and nothing wrong with some lesbian troll <33

Which this leads me to Breekappy, which is the ship of Branch, Creek, Poppy and Barb

Although I don't see them all as being romantic with each other 🤔 I see it as Branch and Creek being romantic, Poppy and Barb being romantic, and Poppy and Branch being romantic while the remaining pairs are all platonic

Onto some ships I don't have much to say about

Bridget and Gristle, the two bergens who fall in love in the first movie and are married by the third 🩷💚

Clay and Viva, co-owners of the putt putt golf trolls area. I think they're super cute, maybe more platonic than romantic but hey 💚💛

Bruce and Brandy. They're married with 13 kids, kinda feels like a given that you should ship them but also they're just so cute with each other, how could I not 🧡💜

Veneer and Floyd. This one is more platonic. I just think it'd be sweet if after Veneer had his mini redemption arc if he and Floyd were able to become friends after 🩷💚

Satin and Ripley. They were shown interacting in one episode of the show but they were really sweet and I would've enjoyed seeing more of them 🩷💙

Smidge and Milton. In the show Smidge was paired with the gentle critternarian Milton Moss. They are the sweetest couple I have ever seen and I really wish their relationship was explored more because they are just the cutest! 🩷💛

If there are any more I have I can't think of them now, but thank you for asking!

Sorry I got a little carried away, I just love trolls XP

[therealbrigeedarocks]

Star Trek: ToS Animated

it uh

it sure fucking existed

i can say at least the alien and ship designs were allowed to be more creative but it also meant their budget was $1.37 and a crumpled tissue

finally watched echo and xmen 97 as a palette cleanser before i move onto tng

i had to sit my ass down, put on captions, and actually pay attention to echo because of all the sign language (i usually just let shows play in the background) and i was glad for it. easily one of my favorite marvel shows and if i had to give a list it would be in my top 5 (ms marvel still gets the #1 spot -BEST JERSEY GIRL- if and only if they ever rectify what they've done to my beloved damage control and make the comedy series it should've always been). not sure if it the magical native trope is better or worse in the context of a universe full of aliens, celestials, and metahumans/mutants

i enjoyed xmen 97 even if i had nitpicks (why did jubilee revert back to her original yellow coat/shorts style when she had a way different style by the og finale, why are they surprised magneto took over the xmen it was a literal thing in the og finale, etc) but can brush most of them off as almost 20 years between shows and needing to refresh minds while making a new story. i think they did well emulating the style and using other versions of their costumes (black suit/crown storm FOR LIFE BAYBEE), even if some of them were briefer than expected (punk storm needed more than one scene god fucking damnit)

...the fact i had more to say about the other 2 shows says a lot about tos animated, huh?