#that was the exact same fucking thing as the other live action shows

[luminescentturtle]

lmao do you guys remember when star wars was good

[bloodbenderz]

there was a lot of mistakes made in the live action but the worst one without reservation was that the creators did not understand patriarchy and they did not understand women's liberation outside of an american context ( or any context if we're being honest )

it's easy to see on a surface level how that fucked up katara's whole character how she wasn't allowed to have her character defining moments how she wasn't allowed to be angry or even excited or impulsive but i think it doesn't really become clear how deeply wrong the show's conception of gender & patriarchy is (and the implications for the political landscape of the show) until you get into how they destroyed sokka's character too

sokka's whole Complex is born of patriarchy. i'm not trying to do men's rights advocacy here but in my experience when a people is under constant threat, constant assault, constant violence (much of which is gendered) and the traditional "protectors" or "providers" of that people are men, the masculine role becomes protecting women and children. i am not saying this is a good thing or a bad thing but it is true the narrative of violent resistance is overwhelmingly about men. to be a man in a time & place like this means fighting to protect your women, & to die for them is honorable. that is where sokka gets this idea that he has to be a warrior & he has to fight & if necessary die for katara & the rest of the tribe. it's about duty. everyone has a part to play, a role to fill

everyone including women! which is the other half of this. the duty of women is to keep up the home, to maintain a country worth fighting & dying for, to raise children so that the community can have a future. it becomes especially obvious in the context of the show when you see how the nwt lives & in specific how yue lives and dies.

many women participate in patriarchy. many colonized women participate in patriarchy. most of my family comes from or still lives in a country completely devastated by colonialism & its aftereffects & many women in my family believe wholeheartedly in the idea that everyone in the house has a role to play. it's not because these women are stupid or they hate themselves. but when you grow up believing that men & women are fundamentally different, and seeing that women are in specific danger because of their gender, it actually makes a lot of sense to expect the men in your family to protect you, and to raise your sons that way.

in practice that means that men aren't really expected to do anything around the house, especially when there's no actual danger. my aunt literally 2 days ago told me this lol like she doesn't make her sons do anything bc she wants to let their lives be easy before they have to go out into the world & take care of their wives & children.

what does women's liberation look like when an entire community is under threat? colonized women have been dealing with this question as long as colonialism has existed. the writers of this show don't even pretend to understand the question, much less to formulate a thoughtful response to it. they just say oh, well, katara, yue, & suki are all the exact same type of liberated girlboss for whom patriarchy is no significant obstacle.

which brings us back to sokka lol. sokka, at the beginning of the show, has completely subscribed to patriarchy, has integrated it into his sense of self. he has a lot of flaws, but he also has a lot of really good traits. his bravery, sense of honor, loyalty, work ethic, selflessness, all of this came from him striving to be a good man. he would die to protect katara, because she's his sister. he also has her wash his socks & mend his clothes, because she's his sister. even after he meets suki, humbles himself, & expands his view of the role a woman can play, he doesn't completely disengage from patriarchy. at the end of the day he believes in his soul that a good man's duty is to fight & if necessary die for his people, & that's exactly his plan. this is a very real psychic burden. pre-aang, it's also largely fictional & completely ridiculous. we're SUPPOSED to think it's ridiculous. he's spending his time training babies & working on his little watchtower. the swt hasn't been attacked since their mother was killed because it has been completely stripped of all value or danger it once held for the fire nation, & everybody knows this. there is very little "men's work" left, aside from hunting & fishing, which is so damaging to sokka's self image he resorts to toddler bootcamp to feel useful. the contradiction here is comical. it's also completely devastating. that's supposed to be the fucking POINTTTT like colonialism & patriarchy convinces this young boy he needs to be a soldier & die for his family. & you know what he does? He acts like a young boy about it. they didn't just leave this unexplored in the remake they completely changed the circumstances to 1. make sokka incompetent for some reason 2. make his "preparations" seem less ridiculous. Which ruins the whole character. Possibly the whole show.

all this makes the writing of katara & the other women infinitely more offensive to me. katara is a good character because she believes in revolution. she wants to liberate her people from imperialism, & she wants to liberate women from colonial gendered violence, traditional patriarchy in her own culture, & the complicated ways those things interact. it is LITERALLY the first thing you're supposed to learn about her. she's the PERFECT vehicle to address the question of women's liberation under colonialism. one of the things i was most looking forward to seeing in this show was how labor is distributed in a place where almost everything that needs to get done is "women's work" & how it affects katara & sokka's day to day relationship when their lives weren't at risk constantly. what actually are her responsibilities every day, & how do they compare to sokka's? how does her grandmother enforce these traditions with katara & sokka, & how is that informed by her own experiences in the nwt? what does patriarchy look like in a tribe made up of mostly women & children? it's so important to who katara is & what she believes! but why bother exploring any of that when u could instead make her a shein model who has nothing in common with the source material except her hairstyle lol.

yue is actually even worse to me bc yue is supposed to be sokka's counterpart. she's supposed to show you how destructive it is for women specifically to internalize this gendered duty so completely. it sucks for sokka, but he is a man & thus his prescribed role gives him some agency. yue's role affords her no agency whatsoever, & this is the POINT. to make her someone who's allowed to break things off with her fiance if she likes, who sneaks off to do what she wants when she's feeling stressed, whose will is respected as a monarch, like what is even the point of yue anymore? in the original the whole reason she was even allowed to spend time with sokka was because her father knew she was with a trustworthy boy. her story completely loses all significance when the dimension of patriarchy is removed from it. the crux of her whole story is that she is not just a princess but the literal & spiritual representation of the motherland. that's what women are supposed to represent during wartime, at the cost of their own sense of self. in order to fulfill her duty to her people she gives her life to them in every single way that matters.

it's just so unbelievably frustrating (and WRONG) that the only types of characters for these writers are "soulless misogynistic fuck" and "liberated american-style feminist." there's no nuance at all! they don't bother exploring how real love manifests in patriarchal communities, & how patriarchy defines the limits of that love. or how for so many of these people their idea of goodness, morality, & honor is gendered. or how imperialism affects not just individuals but entire cultures & their conceptions of gender. but why do any actual work when you could completely change sokka & katara's general demeanors, their entire personalities, & their roles in the tribe so you can dodge any & all nuance

Anyways. in conclusion. it was bad

[alotofrandomfangirling]

Roronoa Zoro NSFW Alphabet (Netflix live action)

Warnings: smut 🫠 and cursing (18+ / minors dni)

A/n: i can't stop writing for this man please help okay so i had a bunch of smut headcanons for live action Zoro so i thought it would be better to fit them in a NSFW Alphabet ajdlajakaj it's the first time i write any kind of smut so please forgive me for any mistakes 😅 (i also didn't check the grammar because i was too embarassed to copy and paste it on google translate lmao sorry about that too ajskajskaj) female reader is adult and everything is consensual 🙏🏻 i hope you like it!!

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Zoro is very gentle after sex, he likes to hold you close and kiss your forehead as you both fall asleep together.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He is a boob guy. He loves your boobs, staring at, squeezing and sucking on them. He also likes kissing the valley between them.

And for himself he likes his chest and arms. He is super proud of how much you love to roam your hands on his chest and arms to feel his strong muscles.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

He licks every drop of your cum when he makes you climax with his tongue on your pussy (we know he has strong teeth, so i'm guessing his tongue works well too 👀). And it's freaking hot when he wipes his mouth after that and goes kiss you with the same hunger he showed before.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He loves when you nibble on his ear.

You've recently gotten obsessed with the three earrings on his left ear and you want to suck on them all the time. He acts annoyed when you do it, but deep down he loves it, it makes him feel all tingly inside.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Zoro wasn't very experienced when you met, but, after all this time together, you've done it so many times that now he already knows by heart the exact spots he has to hit to take you to complete bliss.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

He loves when you're on top of him. Watching your beautiful face from below, your boobs moving up and down, grabbing your ass... it's like poetry for him.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Well, Zoro doesn't smile much in his normal activities, so the same applies to while having sex ajskajakaj he's usually more serious cause he takes being with you and pleasing you very seriously.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Well, he's nearly a pirate so don't expect much ajdkajskaj but if you ask him he'll take care of it, cause he will honestly do anything for you.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

It may be surprising, but he is so romantic. The thing is your relationship is very based on love and trust, so sex for you is really an intimate moment for you to share your deepest feelings with each other. He makes sure to show you how much he loves you by taking care of you and pleasing you the best way he can.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

He jerks off thinking about fucking you from behind with you wearing a mini skirt Nami had lent you one day. Zoro was never the same after he saw you in that lmaooo the sight stuck to his mind so he often remembers it 👀

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Okay so hear me out: Zoro with a praise kink. Boy's had a rough past, so he appreciates every little act of kindness you do for him. He loves when you praise him and whisper sweet things in his ear, for how good he is or how nice he is doing. You can literally feel how much he enjoys that.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Your shared room at the Going Merry. The rush of having to be silent so that the other straw hats won't hear you turns him on even more.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Your voice. He loves listening to you moaning and telling him how good he makes you feel, it's like music to his ears.

(In fact, anytime you're feeling mischievous and want to mess with his mind, you just use that sweet voice that you know will drive him crazy)

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Degradation. Or hurting. Not at all. You were the best thing that ever happened to Zoro and he made sure to let you know that, so he wasn't going to call you names or any of that. Sex was also a very intimate and special moment between you two so he enjoyed you both exchanging only nice stuff.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

He loves a good blowjob. Hell, he loves how good your mouth feels on his dick.

You love to see how he melts under your touch while you're sucking him off. He looks so pleased and makes such pretty noises moaning your name you want to keep going just to keep listening to that.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

It depends. Zoro usually takes his time in pleasing both of you. But when he's a bit frustrated or angry and wants to release himself, he gets a bit rough, but never hurting you.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

He prefers the real thing, but whenever one of you is feeling needy, sure, he'll do quickies.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Zoro is a simple man: he gets to fuck you, he is happy. So usually risking and trying new things only happens when the idea comes from you (and you sure have good ideas very often *wink wink*).

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

Several rounds. Your man's stamina is on point ajdkajskaj

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Zoro doesn't really like toys. He says just the both of you are enough to "feel really good". i mean are there even sex toys in the op universe i'll be in debt in this one ajskajakja

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He likes to go straight to the point so he doesn't tease much, except when he wants you to beg for it so he can hear that sweet sex voice of yours that he loves so much.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

He's not very loud, but he grunts a lot (and it's delicious for you to hear). He also frequently lets slip curse words in your ear when he's fucking you because he can't take all the pleasure.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

That time you were at Kaya's and he showed up wearing that suit? You could barely concentrate on dinner for how aroused you were seeing him in those clothes. He looked so. freaking. hot.

The second dinner was over and everyone went to sleep you pushed him to your bedroom and had him take his pants off so you could ride him like there was no tomorrow (suit still on of course cause you liked it ajdkajskaj).

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

Let's just say those jokes about his fourth sword are actually true.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Zoro is horny for you all the time lol of course he understands there's a right time for everything but whenever he has the chance he wants to be with you.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

It doesn't take much for him to fall asleep. He'll do the job, feel good and then fall asleep for how tired he feels (but not before kissing your forehead and praising you for all that you did together 😉).

Template

[rainbow-sunshine-unicorn]

"While what Violet said was through a haze of grief and trauma, what Anthony heard, at a very vulnerable moment, was that his mother would rather die for her husband than live for her children. And it’s very hard to not take that sort of thing personally."

YES YES EXACTLY like I have all the empathy in the world for Violet as a mom with postpartum depression and just a depressed person in general when Edmund died but at the same time you just told your oldest flat out you have no reason to live for WHEN YOU HAVE EIGHT FUCKING KIDS AND ONE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. She just told her son they aren't her air and there is NOTHING left for her in this realm like... that SCARS A PERSON.

dont get me wrong I still enjoy Violet as a character no one is all good all bad but... I would assume that even if Anthony and Violet's relationship becomes less fraught Idk if he would ever get over that no matter how fulfilling his life is now

I think it’s super interesting how Violet is a very loving mother who obviously wants the world for her children yet is a flawed parent in many ways. It shows you that flawed mothers are not necessarily just those who are like Portia but also those like Violet, who are “good” people.

Not that I think Portia and Violet are the exact same, but it’s an interesting juxtaposition, because you may think that both of them are on opposite ends of the parenting spectrum but the closer you look, the more you see, that both of their actions are motivated by wanting to do what’s best for their children and that it is this that lies at the core of a lot of their bigger mistakes as mothers.

Also, I think that her relationship with Anthony was fundamentally changed by him witnessing her raw grief. Though I think the other children, besides Gregory, Hyacinth and perhaps Francesca, were aware of her grief and absence from their lives, and it impacted them in different ways, for example, Daphne singing to Eloise over Violet’s cries, none of them truly felt the weight of it like Anthony. And I think this altered the relationship not only from Anthony’s perspective but from Violet’s perspective.

This character study perfectly articulates exactly what I mean. It summarises Anthony’s character and motivations in such a succinct way, I believe everyone should watch it!!

But throughout season 1, we see her treat him as though he’s Edmund’s replacement falling short rather than her son while simultaneously wanting him to treat her like an authority figure. She demands he arrange something for Daphne with a friend like his father would have, then later, berates him to renege when she considers Simon a better match. Yes Anthony does many things wrong, but he is navigating it from a very lonely place of extreme pressure and absolutely no one to turn to for guidance.

She waffles like this throughout season 2 as well, like insisting that she knows what he wants deep down while also accusing him of thrusting his responsibility upon his siblings, which is simply not true, considering Colin doesn’t even seem to understand the importance of balancing accounts. It’s only in the very last episode of season 2 that she seems to realise how much she has hurt Anthony but even then she apologises for the hurting him while she was grieving and not the way she has treated him subsequently.

I’m going to be honest, I don’t think Anthony will ever go back to being Violet’s oldest child rather than the half limbo state that they are in where he’s the head of the household and she’s his mother but also part of his household. And this is not because of a lack of love on either of their parts or because they are too different. Which is the tragedy of their relationship.

Anyways this is already too long, but Anthony’s last experience of unconditional parental love was when his father died, because the moment he did, in certain ways, he lost that from his mother.

I truly believe that the next time he experiences such unconditional love and affection is from Kate, who sees him at his worst, witnesses him make every mistake and still equally matches his feelings, his love and devotion and desire.

[captainpulisic]

said im fine but it wasnt true - m. mount

hearing cruel summer live changes you as a person. wc: 3.3k gif creds to owner

it had meant to be a summer fling, nothing more. from the very beginning, it was mutually decided upon that it was just two good friends hooking up- something none of your other friends would ever find out about. it wasn’t anything serious, so why involve other people?

that’s what you kept telling yourself, anyway.

you had been positive you could keep the sex as meaningless and detached as possible. you thought it’d be enough to have mason when he’d give himself to you and not a minute more. who cared that your heart beat embarrassingly fast when you’d catch his stare during a night out with friends, knowing you’d certainly be leaving with him. that most nights, after a long fuck, he’d practically beg you to stay the night, not wanting to sleep without you. it wasn’t of any importance that this situationship- if that’s what it could be called- had you constantly questioning the line between ‘just sex’ and the outline of a real relationship. I mean, how many mornings can you wake up to him peppering your face with kisses and shy smiles before you could consider him more than just a fuck buddy?

it was all so confusing for your heart and you brain. did you want more? did he? and why did the idea of the answers being ‘yes’ make you weak at the knees? wasn’t this the exact thing you both agreed couldn’t happen, the one rule you had made?

you were screwed.

yet, every doubt and worry you had over your predicament would temporarily vanish when you’d tap on his door. he’d greet you with a shy smile and a soft glint in his eyes. it was all too soft. as soon as you stepped foot inside, his fingers were everywhere. on your cheeks, your jaw, and down your shoulders. they’d end up traveling up and down your sides until they settled on your waist. quickly, his body would be pressed up against yours, a hot mouth marking up the side of your neck.

he was everywhere. you felt him everywhere. the way he was on you, it was as if he couldn’t bear the idea of having you in proximity and not be touching you. and there were no complaints on your part.

he continued to kiss you, messily and heatedly. and you kissed him back until you were both repeating each other's name, as if they were sacred prayers. like usual, there was a messy, abandoned trail of clothes left in the hallway. and just like usual, it led to masons bedroom where you could be found laid together in bed. blissfully, spent and content.

as he left soft kisses on your collarbone and jaw, he continued to whisper how lovely you were. he’d talk nonsense about how these were the best ways to spend his nights, that there's nowhere he’d rather be.

boy, did that make your heart do somersaults. you’re sure your face was crimson as he continued the soft praises.

it’s just sex.

it’s just sex.

it’s just sex.

all you could do to save face was scoff, “calm down, it’s just sex.”

yes, you reaffirmed yourself. you both begin to get up, ready to go find where you had thrown your shirts not so long ago. if I keep saying it, maybe i'll even end up believing it.

“no it’s not,” mason deadpans. he pauses all movement and for some reason, you feel obligated to mirror his actions. this is it, you feel yourself buzz with anticipation. he’ll say it’s not just sex for him, either. you want to look at him straight on, ready to tell him you’ve been feeling the same way for awhile. and with the way his eyes won’t leave yours, you can practically hear the words wanting to leave his mouth. you’re tempted to just kiss him and let that show him you’ve been aching for more than just these secret hookups. suddenly the corner of his lip turns upward, “it’s award winning sex.”

oh.

it was at that moment you realized it was in fact not just sex. not for you, at least.

and the next moment is when you realized you couldn’t keep up this little game, anymore. a part of you knew you could continue giving yourself to mason whenever he called, only taking what he’d let you have. you’d settle for it because having some of him in the dark hours would be better than nothing at all. and when you realized how pathetic that sounded, you knew what you had to do. there had to be some self respect.

this all had happened two weeks ago. that next morning, you had swatted away masons roaming hands and dodged the kisses he was trying to leave along your face. you mumbled some half hearted excuses about your unusual rush to leave and avoided his sad stare as you hastily dressed yourself. when you got his usual text the following night, begging you to come over, you figured it was as best time as any to rip off the band aid. it was a simple, short text saying these late night reach outs and quick fucks weren’t what you wanted anymore.

i hope you can understand where i’m coming from, you had typed. lets go back to just being friends, yeah?

you felt ill as soon as you hit send.

you felt even worse when he spent two whole minutes typing, just for the bubble to disappear and not a single reply come back. the following days were radio silence on his part. you hadn’t known this absence would make you feel as lonely and as sad as you were.

this is what has led you to your current crisis. getting shitfaced in some downtown pub, drinking until you can forget who has you there. staring at the third empty glass in front of you, your mind swirled with bittersweet memories of mason.

“we just don’t get it,” one of your friends frowned at you. you’re sure she means well but it’s hard to care too much when you can’t even recall her name at the moment. looking at the group of friends who’d practically forced you out of your bed and to come out, their eyes were full of concern and sympathy. “you never even told us you were seeing someone.”

“I-”, you begin but instantly stop. your words are starting to get all jumbled up in your mouth and the world around you is slowing down. it takes you a moment to breathe and organize your thoughts.

where’s mason?

all you want is mason.

why isn’t he here?

why didn’t he want you the way you wanted him?

another friend prods, “was it that serious?”

you felt the tears welling up in your eyes. all you could do is give a slight shake to your head. you try to smile but you’re sure you’ll start crying if you force it.

no, you kept thinking. I loved him and wanted him but all he wanted was sex. it was anything but serious.

there was only one way to get this idiotic brain to shut up. reaching out to chug the remainder of your drink, your frown gets deeper when you remember the cup is empty. standing up from the too crowded table, you let out a slurred, “‘m just gonna get one more.”

yet,as soon as you rise, your legs feel less sturdy than usual and the room has a slight haze to it. another concerned friend holds out their arm for support, worry growing more evident on her face.

“are you sure?” she sighs. lightly tugging on your arm, she tries to guide you to sit back down. “you’ve had enough, no?”

“no,” you practically whine. this is the only way to get your mind off of mason and these people have the audacity to deny you it. still standing, you try to get free of her grasp and tug towards the direction of the bar. it’s half cry and half whisper, “just one more.”

“maybe we should get you home?” another friend, wearing an even more sympathetic expression (if possible) chimes in. “lets call it a night, yeah?”

“no!” you protest, once again. “you guys don’t have to cut your night short because of me.”

the table erupts with their assurance of them not minding and that they’ll gladly drop everything to take you home. you know they mean well but it just adds even more guilt and weight to your heavy heart.

“I mean it,” you straighten yourself up as much as you can. you offer a small smile and wave them off. pulling out your phone, you’re able to somewhat make out the apps icons. cluelessly swiping at your phone, “i’ll order an uber and you guys can stay.”

it takes a few more minutes of convincing and protest, but nonetheless, they oblige to your request. after hugs and promises that you’ll soon get over your mystery man, two of them help you stumble outside and wait for your ride.

when your assigned car arrives and your friends triple check that the license plate is a match, final hugs and words of consolation are given. once in the car and speeding down the empty streets, it takes a great deal of effort not to puke and not to cry.

instead of thinking about how badly you want to spill your guts, you think of the boy whose absence feels like a dull stab at the heart. that’s what's been occupying your thoughts for the past weeks, anyway. if we’re being honest, he was the sole person in your thoughts. him and the beautiful summer you had shared together. if you closed your eyes, you could see it all so clearly.

you could recall the trip to his house like the back of your hand. you knew the paveway of trees that greet you as soon as you turn onto his street, the shiny gate blocking entryway to his house. blindfolded, you could locate the flower pot where he hid his spare keys. you’d use them almost every time you’d sneak away into his house and arms.

wait.

feeling the car park, you’re snapped out of your daydreams and look out towards the window.

it’s not that you could just recall all of those stupid details, which you’ve proven you could. it was that you were watching it all unfold outside of the car's window. you were smackdab in the middle of it, parked right in front of his house.

“hey,” you mumble in a panic. tapping on the window, towards the direction of masons house. with the fear setting in, your tears are ready to make their comeback. you feel like a child, helpless and scared. your voice wavers with a small sob, “this is not my house.”

the poor uber driver looks as confused as you. shaking his head, he surrenders his hands up. “I just brought you to the address you gave me.”

“I did not- '', you begin to argue. grabbing your phone, you squint at the screen, ready to show him how you had put your own address. and how it definitely wasn’t this one. and how he was going to have to explain what type of sick joke he was playing on you by bringing you here. yet, after a long struggle to find the fucking app, all words leave your mouth when you see masons address as the destination.

oh, force of habit.

all summer, during your little flings with mason, it had become second nature to get a lift to his house. it came more naturally to give directions to his house than to your own. it felt more like home, too.

“alright, you can leave me here.” you’re not sure if the alcohol is giving you the courage to face him or if you just really want to see his stupidly beautiful face- or if you’ve officially gone insane, but you find yourself unbuckling your seatbelt.

“ma’am are you sure?” the driver's gaze shifts between you and the enormous house looming over you both. you’re sure you must look insane with your tear filled eyes and inebriated state. you went from being terrified of where you were to shaking with anticipation. he offers a small smile, unsure how to proceed. “I can take you somewhere else if this was an error, I could go back to where I picked you up.”

“no,” you interject. “it’s fine, i’m fine, thank you.”

“really, it’s no problem-”

you wave him off, trying to appear as sober as you could possibly seem. opening the car door, “I was just confused. this is my friends house, silly me to not recognize it.”

he eyes you suspiciously but nevertheless nods as you get off. you try your best not to to wobble as you wave goodbye and walk away. but it’s not until you make your way through the familiar garden gate that you see the headlights pull off.

with that, you’re left standing alone in front of masons house. theres a small ache in your chest as you see the entire house is dark, not one ray of light peeking through any window.

what if he's not even home?

what if he's the one sneaking into someone else's house now?

you feel like you're going to throw up all over again. and it’s not because of the three vodka cokes you’d had.

that's it. you have to get into the house and find him and tell him…well, you don’t know what yet, but you have to say something.

the sensible you would figure that knocking or even calling him would be the best way to go, but clearly you’re not the most sensible person tonight.

standing in the middle of the garden, you take a breath and yell his name to the endless mirage of windows. within a minute, a light turns on and a window on the second floor shimmies open. it’s dark and far but you can slightly make out masons confused face.

“y/n?” you could see him squint down at you. “is that you-”

“I know this doesn’t make sense and what we had is over but for whatever it’s worth,” you cut him off, your mouth moving at its own volition. you pause, unable to believe that you’re finally going to say it. you have to choke down a sob before you scream, “i’m in love with you.”

you can see mason freeze. it's barely a shout when he says, “what?”

did he really not hear you or does he just like torturing you now?

“I love you, idiot.” you shout, again. there it is. all your emotions and feelings laid out in front of him. there's no use in trying to stop the tears so you just let them stream down your flushed face. once more, “i’m so in love with you and maybe that’s the worst thing, or the last thing, you wanna hear from me but it’s true.”

it all happens so fast. if you’d blinked, you would’ve missed it. the window mason was leaning out of, was left deserted without him saying anything back to you. you’re stood frozen, unsure of what to do. was your confession so horrible that he retreated back to his room, waiting for you to get the hint and leave? as you debate this, the side door, leading to the garden where you stand, bursts open.

he’s breathless, and an image of him running down the stairs flashes in your mind.

in just a few, short steps, he’s standing directly in front of you. his eyes are wide, slightly crazed. he hesitates as he merely whispers, “what did you say?”

“I love you and you don’t even care.” looking up at him, you try to blink away the tears. you’re sure you look a blubbering mess, and embarrassingly enough, there might be some snot. “you don’t care but it doesn’t matter. I needed to tell you that i’m so stupidly in love with you and you don’t even care. ”

“I do care.” his hands reach to hold your face but you swat them away.

“you don’t,” you begin to take a step back. what are you even doing? was this a love confession or a chance to tell him off? maybe, a bit of both? it’s just too confusing. pointing an accusatory finger at him, “if you cared, you’d have had the decency to reach out.”

he tries to interject but you just keep going. crying harder than before, “when our little hookups ended, a part of me hoped it would make you realize that you couldn’t bear the thought of not being together. that you would come back to me and tell me it all meant more to you. why didn’t you come back to me? why didn’t I deserve a fucking text back? it might’ve been just sex for you, but to me it meant everything.”

“that’s what you think?” mason scoffs, which only infuriates you more. it’s not until you really look at him that you see the same tears pool in his eyes. it’s when you see that he looks just as broken as you do. “I tortured my brain for days, trying to find the right words, to get you to understand that it wasn’t just sex for me.”

you squint your eyes at him, causing him to sigh. he continues, “okay, maybe I thought it was at first but then I read your text and it nearly broke me. at first, I thought I was just embarrassed that I got dumped over text but then I realized I was miserable at the thought of not having you anymore.”

you let out a defeated sigh, “but you never texted me back.”

“y/n,” it’s a sad smile, as you finally give in and let his hands cup your face. “I’ve typed and deleted a hundred texts, telling you I love you. but what if I said the wrong things and you'd leave again? I don't think i'd survive it. I don’t think i’d survive being forever known as the idiot who let you get away.”

you want to scold yourself for the way your heart flutters, “you really love me?”

his thumbs are stroking under your eyes, wiping away any tears that’ve overstayed their welcome. he’s giving you that smile, that boyish smile you fell in love with. that bastard, he’s always known how to get you weak in the knees. he says it so softly, “i love you, yes of course I love you. i've loved you since we started whatever this is, maybe even before then. i’m sure I fell in love with you the moment we met.”

instead of answering him, you shush him by pulling him down to meet your lips. it’s a kiss filled with ‘i love you’s and ‘i'm sorry's and ‘please, stay’s. you don’t even realize when mason has taken your hand, leading you inside the house and up the staircase. yet, as he leads you to the bedroom where you spent countless summer nights, you feel utterly happy.

you continue to interrupt the kisses with, “say it again.”

and not once does mason deny you with his, “I love you.”

leaving a delicate kiss on his jaw, you whisper against his neck, “i’ll never get tired of hearing it.”

mason returns a kiss to your forehead, mirroring your lovesick smile. leaning close to your ear, “lucky for you pretty girl, i’ll never get tired of saying it.”

you loved mason, unashamedly and quite pathetically. and you’d continue to do so for the rest of your life, if he let you.

feedback is appreciated, please :)

[sandyferal]

I genuinely think Tootie’s behavior towards Timmy would improve dramatically like. The second Vicky moves out of the family house. It’s clear that Vicky is severely inhibiting Tootie’s ability to have friends, much less have them come over and spend time with her. And it feels likely that the main reason her crush turned into an obsession is because Timmy had shown himself to be the only person willing to be nice to her. It doesn’t justify the way she acted, but let’s be real it’s not like she has good role models to teach her better.

I feel like once Vicky isn’t around to ruin her social life she’ll be able to have other friends over and like, have someone around to seek comfort in that isn’t her crush. She could actually start growing as a person. Which could happen as soon as like, 1-3 years after the events of the show?

I also really like the idea that even if she isn’t obsessed with Timmy, that Crimson Chin doll he gave her holds a special place in her heart because like. As a sentimental person I gotta be real something like that would never not be sweet to me. I’d thinking about it for years.

And I like to think because of that she eventually got into comics and began to obsess over those instead. Maybe Crimson Chin wasn’t her thing! But she seems to enjoy fantasies and I think it would be so fun to see her find her own interests. If we’re getting into specifics, I get the vibes that she would be into comics following heroes like Superman, or when villainesses get their own comics like Harley or Poison Ivy. Obviously not those exact characters but those are the vibes I get. Not to say I don’t think she wouldn’t still have girly interests and love romance and stuff but man.

Additionally. I fucking hate Tootie from the live action movies. They glorify her as hot and morally perfect while simultaneously treating how she was as a child as weird and ugly. Man people grow up and sometimes get less weird but like some people are just dorks. Tootie is a dork. Keep her as an overenthusiastic, emotional, glasses-wearing, strong-willed dork. You cowards. Women don’t need to be “perfect” to be accepted and loved.

If Tootie and Timmy did eventually get together, personally I think it would be good if Timmy just. Didn’t see her for a while. She gets more into spending time with actual friends, and doesn’t talk to Timmy as much until they meet up again a couple years later at an afterschool comic club/comic con, or something of that sort. I think she deserves to be her own person before she actually ends up with anyone.

And while I normally don’t like “ships” (I say that in quotes bc I don’t particularly feel compelled to ship these children at all) that involves a party who clearly isn’t interested… they’re also. Children. It’s not that serious. They really shouldn’t be together at this age anyway, and they probably will change as they get older.

It doesn’t feel that big of a deal to imagine Tootie and Timmy might be together as adults despite their current dynamic, because the main issues are:

a) Tootie doesn’t respect boundaries and is emotionally unstable, which are both likely caused by isolation, lack of good role models, and being too young to understand things. Very likely she grows out of it.

b) Timmy not liking her. Which, in the context of the early episodes about her, is actually something you could debate?

To clarify, he obviously isn’t interested in a romantic relationship most of the time, but at the same time he clearly has some care for her. The argument could be made that it is because of his fairies influencing him, yes, or it’s just pity. But like. There are episodes where he legit just does something because he wants her to be happy. And he indicates he doesn’t really dislike her or hate spending time with her. He, at least in theory, is actually willing to spend time with her. (“I would’ve gone to her dumb party if she’d invited me.”) That’s not even mentioning how he. Like. Just straight up chose to stick himself with a love arrow because he wanted to enjoy spending a Valentine’s Day with her. Which is a whole thing that could be analyzed but not the point.

If anything his actions point to a young boy who at the moment, only feels attraction through the lense of someone being “pretty” instead of someone they can genuinely get along with. He sees Tootie as weird and embodying the qualities boys find “icky” in girls. It would make sense if he grew out of that.

Although at the end of the day I don’t really care who these kids end up with, I JUST want Tootie to be able to have a happy and healthy social life/relationship with a partner when she grows up, and I hate the idea of completely stripping away her “not pretty” qualities before she’s allowed to have that. She’s a fucking lovely little girl who deserves to be herself, and to be weird, and to be happy. That’s my fucking daughter!!! I love her so much!!!

[bubba-luz]

What do you think about the One Piece live action show?

(I just suffered through most of it with my sibling and I actually shed a tear or two)

At first I really loved it! But then as the weeks went by the honeymoon phase was over and I started noticing things and thinking about things. Safe to say I’m not really a fan of the LA anymore. It could have been worse honestly with the track record of Netflix and live action adaptations in general [the wigs oh god the wigs]. Also on the topic of adaptation I’d say OPLA is more of an interpretation of the original manga than it is a one on one adaptation.

I think the cast is great, they do look the part. But the characterizations of the LA is well…not the manga one. I had forgotten what happened in the EB arc at that time, but I started rewatching the anime and the changes are even more jarring. In the LA, Luffy isn’t as confident as he is in the manga, he clearly shows doubt in his abilities and sometimes needs someone else to help him up and get his head on straight. I think the only true time that happens in the manga us when Jinbē has to tell him to get himself together after losing Ace and his crew, most of the time Luffy doesn’t really need to ponder and go “oh gosh what should I do here?😣” he mostly just does things without thinking or improvises mid-battle.

Zoro. Zoro Zoro Zoro. Roronoa Zoro. Why are you not a complete loser? OPLA Zoro is what men in the fandom think Zoro is, a stoic no nonsense cool guy who fights with swords. He’s just so emo. But he’s not. The concept alone of fighting with a sword in your mouth and calling it three sword style is ridiculous itself. This is pre-timeskip too, Zoro is always goofy, but he was even more silly when he was 19, this is the same man who tried to cut off his own legs and started posing when he realized he wasn’t getting out. Why was he so serious all the time. Also the Kunia story did not hit as well as in the manga, like I really didn’t give a fuck 😭.

Oh Nami…Nami…To me Nami felt a bit…mean to me? And yes even before Arlong Park she chastises the boys, but it never feels like genuine dislike. I really think LA Nami wanted to leave their asses 😭. There was no whimsicalness in her heart, TOO MUCH ANGST in this one. And why on Earth would they change her storyline with the Village, the townspeople know Nami is only working for Arlong to buy back their Village, the LA approach of them not knowing was completely unnecessary conflict😭.

Usopp was done dirty, I know Syrup Village isn’t a lot of people’s favorite arc but it was Usopp’s arc. So tell me why he does nothing the whole time! And why is Zoro’s back story in the middle of USOPP’S arc. They even took his little kid crew…

rip Merry.

Sanji…ooohohohohoh Sanji. Sanji. SANJI. What do you mean the eyebrows wouldn’t work because they’re “too silly” you’re main character is a rubber man and the other fights with three swords what do you mean TOO SILLY. You had a man with cat whiskers fuck you. Tiny swirls would’ve worked. Why was he obsessed with oregano 😭 The showrunner said they toned down his pervertedness and made him more flirty but it just felt…uncomfortable. Like Nami was genuinely UNCOMFORTABLE. They did the exact opposite of what they tried to do. Baratie Sanji was already a flirt, in his little pathetic “step on me mommy” Sanji way, and Nami used that to her advantage she wasn’t uncomfortable in the manga. The Don Krieg pirates were taken out, so we don’t get Gin and Sanji’s kindness on full display. Sanji doesn’t even WITNESS Zoro fight Mihawk which is what made him want to go set out to find the All Blue in the first place. Why don’t Zeff and Sanji have genuine chemistry😭. Sanji throwing a tantrum at Zeff was soooooo funny, literally what was that, it happened so suddenly 😭. My friend told me the showrunner said his fave arc was Baratie but he only ever talks about MIHAWK 😭, it’s SANJI’s arc bro.

And also the showrunner thinks the romance dawn trio are the main characters when…they’re not😭? Maybe before Usopp joined, but after?…no all the strawhats are the main characters hello. Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, Jinbē. I don’t have high hopes for S2, and I probably won’t watch it either.

Edit: OPLA Sanji feels like a heterosexual man. He only tops women and doesn’t fuck or get fucked by men.

[justmenoworries]

"You just hate that Catra got a redemption arc!"

Wrong.

I hate that Catra got a bad redemption arc. Where everyone is just suddenly cool with her because she gave a very unconvincing and very unspecific apololgy. Once.

S1-4 actually did a good job of setting it up. It's made clear multiple times that, yes, while Catra did have a shitty childhood and most of her issues can be chalked up to Shadow Weaver being a horrible mother, it still doesn't mean she's automatically in the right. Both the narrative and the characters contiuously call Catra out on her actions and on her insistence that everything bad she does is actually someone else's fault. Adora literally gets a whole-ass speech in the s3 finale where she tells Catra that, no, the bad things Catra has done and does aren't on Adora, or Hordak, or even Shadow Weaver - it's on Catra. It's always been on Catra. She doesn't get to pretend to be a victim. She made her choice. And she has to live with that. S4 has Double Trouble repeat those exact same points word for word.

S5 is where Stevenson completely fumbled it. Because starting with s5, Catra is suddenly absolved of the most important thing in a redemption arc: Taking accountability.

"But Celty," I hear you say, "Catra does take accountability! She apologizes to the people she's hurt! She says she's working on her anger issues!"

Yeah, one measly "uwu I'm sowwy" isn't enough to make up for, let's see: kidnapping, torture, attemtped murder, actual murder, attemtpted genocide, actual genocide and years upon years of physical and emotional abuse.

Two characters in the cast react to Catra suddenly showing up in Camp Good Guy like they should: Frosta and Netossa. And both are immediately convinced that Catra is actually nice now, because Adora said so and so all is forgiven. No need for Catra to actually work to earn these people's trust. No reason to elaborate on how complicated Catra's sheer presence must make everything, because how are the Princesses supposed to feel about suddenly having to work with the ex-leader of the Horde? The woman who took an active part in attacking and destroying their kingdoms?

Other SPOP crits have pointed this out, but it's very convenient that both Scorpia and Mermista, two people Catra has hurt in a far more personal manner, (the destruction of Salineas and the continued abuse toward Scorpia) are chipped and therefor absent from the Good Guy team once Catra and the Best Friend Squad return to Etheria. Once again, Catra is absolved of having to put any work into redeeming herself. Even when everyone unites in the finale, Catra doesn't get to apologize to Scorpia because Scorpia forgets all her character development from s4 and just hugs Catra like nothing bad ever happened between them. Mermista meanwhile is stuck making a joke about Hordak just being let off the hook for war crimes, which is doubly ironic because Catra is right fucking there being portrayed as an uwu poor kitty-cat. We don't get to see how Mermista feels about the woman who destroyed her homeland suddenly being acquitted because she's She-Ra's girlfriend now. Let's not even start with the non-reaction Entrapta has to seeing Catra again. Catra, who Entrapta genuinely believed was her friend, and who not only had her shipped off to Beast Island and, in her mind, certain death, but also let Hordak, who Entrapta had a bond with, believe that Entrapta betrayed and abandoned him. Gentle reminder that Entrapta was so heartbroken about the fact that she really was abandoned on Beast Island by everyone that she started to succumb to the signal in an instant and would have actually died if Bow hadn't snapped her out of it with her hyperfixation. Gentle reminder that Entrapta is capable of holding a grudge, as in s3 she calls Adora out for seemingly having left her behind in the Fright Zone. But because it's Catra, suddenly Entrapta magically doesn't mind having to tend to the woman who shocked her unconscious and had her shipped off to a violent death.

Oh and let's not forget the elephant in the room: Not once, in the entirety of s5 does Catra ever take responsibility for killing Angella. Glimmer suddenly forgets all about Catra being the one who indirectly murdered Angella. She doesn't bring it up once and instead is slowly browbeaten into making nice with Catra through solitary confinement. The Glimmer/Catra friendship in s5 is so forced and so out of nowhere. Bow also forgets that Catra kidnapped him and his best friend/love interest to the Fright Zone and that because of her, Glimmer was suffering from her powers going haywire for quite a while, which, may I remind you, left her with spasms painful enough to have her writhing on the floor unable to move. What is Bow's reaction to Catra when she joins the team? To gush about how cute her sneeze is. I hate it here.

As for the whole "she's working on herself" - no she isn't.

S5 Catra is the exact same person as s1-3 Catra. Only now she gets away with her bs because the writers decided she's a good guy now.

S5 Catra is still a violent, self-serving, abusive asshole. She still blames others for her fuck-ups, still resorts to verbal and physical abuse to deal with her emotions, still would rather have the entire world destroyed than have Adora's world not revolve solely around her. Honestly, Catra saying that she always loved Adora is laughable, because like an episode earlier she left Adora in the woods, crying her eyes out and begging for Catra to stay, during possibly the hardest time of Adora's life. "But she came back!1!!" She came back after, once again, making Adora feel like absolute shit for trying to save people. Not to mention one of the reasons Adora was so deadset on stopping Horde Prime, even at the cost of her own life, was that Catra literally begged her to. Catra told Adora that if Horde Prime wasn't stopped, they'd all be looking toward a fate worse than death. Then suddenly towards the finale, Catra changes her tune and whines that Adora has decided to take the Heart, making it out like Adora just loves playing hero, when the show literally spells it out that Adora is the only one who can do this. Everyone else would literally die if they took the Heart. Adora/She-Ra is the last hope Etheria, no, the universe has at this point. Again, that's not just in Adora's head, that's something the plot itself confirms over and over again. But we're still supposed to side with Catra when she pushes Adora into the dirt and victim-blames her.

[imgibbon]

On the Zelda Timeline

First of all.... fuck the Historia lol. It's just. Wrong. It ignores in-game statements, manuals, interviews where developers stated their intent, the works. That timeline is full of it lol.

But anyway, listen, the Zelda timeline isn't "complicated" or "obtuse" and each game is NOT "just a retelling of the same legend"

Damn near every game in the franchise that's been released is very clear about where it lies with relation to at least one other game.

from the top:

The Legend of Zelda (LoZ) - the first one, we're starting here.

The Adventure of Link (AoL) - a direct sequel LoZ, featuring the same Link.

A Link to the Past (LttP) - a prequel to LoZ, from "before Hyrule was a unified kingdom".

Link's Awakening (LA) - a sequel to LttP, featuring the same Link.

Ocarina of Time (OoT) - a prequel to LttP, portraying events from its backstory.

Majora's Mask (MM) - a direct sequel to OoT, following the same Link.

Oracle of Seasons (OoS) and Oracle of Ages (OoA) go one after the other in either order, but take place in between LttP and LA. This is stated Developer Intent as per interviews, and why they open with Link approaching the Triforce from the end of LttP and ending the linked campaign with Link on the boat from the beginning of LA. I'm going to list Seasons first and Ages second just because that's their sku order.

so at this point the timeline is very straightforward and looks thusly: OoT, MM -> LttP, OoS/OoA, LA -> LoZ, AoL

now, continuing on...

Four Swords (FS) comes out attached to an expanded port of Link to the Past which has new content. Said new content includes a temple dedicated to FS', er, Four Sword, which has been corrupted and is in Ganon's hands. FS is said to take place prior to LttP and is "potentially the earliest in the timeline", but exact placement is unclear at time of release.

The Wind Waker (WW) - this presents our first (and only) timeline split. It explicitly takes place after the future of OoT where the final boss fight against Ganon took place, the Hero of Time disappearing afterwards (because Link then travelled into the past and experienced the events of MM) At this time we do not know which timeline split off from OoT that LttP, and everything after it, follows on from.

Four Swords Adventures (FSA) - a direct sequel to FS, featuring the same Link & Zelda, and firmly takes place between OoT and LttP (and by extension, means FS does as well). Stated Developer Intent was to better portray events from LttP's backstory and explain how the Four Sword wound up in Ganon's control. It also, for the first time, shows the rise of a new incarnation of Ganon, firmly splitting the OoT Ganon and LttP Ganon as separate beings.

The Minish Cap (MC) - Very firmly the earliest chronological game at the time of its release. Just, comes before everything else in the list at present.

Twilight Princess (TP) - takes place after OoT, but on the MM side of the split, carrying over characters and plotlines from MM and the ending of OoT where Link went back to being a child and warned the kingdom of Ganon's actions. Also sets up stuff for FSA and LttP. This firmly establishes that LttP takes place on the MM half of the timeline split.

so, to take a look at things now, timeline looks like this: MC -> OoT {timeline splits} - OoT, MM -> TP -> FS, FSA -> LttP, OoS/OoA, LA -> LoZ, AoL - OoT -> WW

coincidentally, the next couple of releases would be WW split games heh

Phantom Hourglass (PH) - a direct sequel to WW, featuring the same Link & Zelda

Spirit Tracks (ST) - a sequel to Phantom Hourglass, taking place a few generations later

Skyward Sword (SS) - the new earliest chronological game in the timeline, taking place before even MC

A Link Between Worlds (LBW) - sequel to LttP taking place some generations later but with some returning long-lived characters

Hyrule Warriors (HW) - officially "non-canon", but it takes place some time after TP, Ganon's spirit having been sealed away and the next incarnation not able to be born until he breaks free, so prior to FSA.

Tri Force Heroes (TFH) - a direct sequel to LBW featuring the same Link.

so the timeline looks thus at this point in time: SS -> MC -> OoT {timeline splits} - OoT, MM -> TP -> HW -> FS, FSA -> LttP, OoS/OoA, LA -> LBW, TFH -> LoZ, AoL - OoT -> WW, PH -> ST

Hyrule Warriors Legends - an expansion of HW that adds a new story which sees the WW branch of the timeline, from WW through ST, being pulled in to the TP one. Again, "non-canon", but this serves as a convenient spot to point at if one wanted to argue that the two timelines converged again at some point

Why is that convenient? Well, because the next release was

Breath of the Wild (BotW) - references events of OoT, and takes place 10,000 years after the last time "The Calamity" Ganon ravaged the lands of Hyrule. Also seems to reference, among other things, events of both TP and WW, which would suggest that it takes place after both of them at once, which is contradictory... unless the timelines merged back into one at some point.

But really, this is where Nintendo makes a clean break. BotW is either its own standalone thing, or it takes place so far out from prior entries that putting it on a timeline doesn't matter. For reference, that timescale irl is equivalent of looking at when the Ice Age was wrapping up with respect to present day.

From here on out things are less defined, if at all, with relation to pre-BotW games, and are more just in a BotW aesthetic if they're not placed relative to BotW itself.

Cadence of Hyrule (CoH) - another "non-canon" entry, and a crossover one at that. No stated placement, but, the game features a young Ganon who doesn't have the Triforce of Power who grows up, turns into his big beast form, and ravages Hyrule before being defeated, which conveniently is the backstory for the original LoZ, so one could arguably put it prior to it but after LBW, making it the origin story of the Ganon who appears in the original Famicom games.

Age of Calamity (AoC) - yet another "non-canon" entry, but is seemingly a prequel to BotW that branches a new timeline split (lol) by way of actually being a sequel to BotW via the use of time travel.

Tears of the Kingdom (TotK) - a direct sequel to BotW that, surprise, involves time travel that involves possibly overwriting large swathes of Hyrule's history, back to and possibly even including OoT, if you subscribe to BotW being in the same timeline continuity as prior entries. I don't really want to think about the implications of that lol.

anyway, so the timeline either looks like this: SS -> MC -> OoT {timeline splits} - OoT, MM -> TP -> HW -> FS, FSA -> LttP, OoS/OoA, LA -> LBW, TFH -> CoH -> LoZ, AoL - OoT -> WW, PH -> ST {unconnected} BotW, AoC, TotK

or, if you believe in timeline unification, this: SS -> MC -> OoT {timeline splits} - OoT, MM -> TP -> HW - OoT -> WW, PH -> ST -> HW {timeline merges} FS, FSA -> LttP, OoS/OoA, LA -> LBW, TFH -> CoH -> LoZ, AoL -> -> -> BotW, AoC, TotK

Echoes of Wisdom (EoW) comes out in just under three weeks. We have no idea when it will take place. Does it really matter where? No, of course not. None of this really does, but the developers working on the games clearly put a lot of time and effort into these sorts of things and I think it's neat to acknowledge that work and be able to lay everything out like this.

Anyway yeah thanks for coming to my TED Talk

[tossawary]

Oh, the live-action "Avatar: The Last Airbender" show is really not good, huh? I've only seen the first episode so far and that was painful. It's not even bad in a fun way, it's just noticeably poor quality all around, especially in direct comparison with the original cartoon. The original cartoon is not flawless, but it did its initial introductions to its characters and worldbuilding pretty well, I thought, and this remake is like a direct example of how to deliver the same exposition in the clunkiest way possible.

I know why they made this show (money) (no taste), but I don't understand why they didn't just try to adapt the Kyoshi novels or something? (Have not read them. Mean to eventually. I don't think they would have done a good job adapting them, honestly.) You would still have the same built-in Avatar audience and wouldn't have to start from scratch, but you would be doing something somewhat new and not as many people would have read the books to know what you're fucking up. This is just sad and disappointing so far.

I don't recommend it unless you want to get tipsy with friends and dunk on it, I guess. Or maybe if you're interested in studying television writing, using this example of two shows trying to accomplish the exact same things, with one doing it pretty well and the other being pretty clumsy.

[slutterhaus]

.peace

AN: I love this trigger-happy bastard man, I love angst, I have no excuse. CWs: Character death, heavily implied suicide, mentions of blood, mentions of human sacrifice, mentions of Caligura, angst (no comfort) Other: Second Person POV, you and Pav kinda have a blossoming romance that's cut short. милый means darling in this context. Under read more because it's more than 100 words. Word Count: 805

Your fingertips were slick and slimy, the blood on your hands feeling sticky as it started to dry all the while the patches that stained your wrists and bits of your forearm were long forgotten. It was quiet on the train, save for Pav’s breathing, which came out in small, ragged puffs as the bandages that covered the large wound along his chest and abdomen slowly stopped needing to be changed as often. He was in pain, you knew this, and no amount of painkillers given to him by your shaking hands could help his body, much less his mind.

“And you call yourself that old one’s follower.” An airy chuckle escaped him. “Didn’t you eat people for rituals? Now you can’t handle a little blood on your hands?” 

“Sacrificed. Never ate.” You bit back. “And it’s…”

“Different?” He interjected.

“Complicated.” You corrected, taking the damp cloth you had brought back from one of the passenger carriages’ washrooms storage and wiping the sweat from his forehead. “Those people had brought me pain, I just returned the favor.” 

Silence overtook the two of you once again, making the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. It was like he sensed your worry, and in his bastardly ways, he tried to comfort you. “You know… maybe you and I aren’t so different after all.” This earned him a glare of daggers his way from you. “We are nothing alike, Lieutenant. You let your need for revenge corrupt you. You–”

“Turned into the exact same thing I wanted to destroy. I know.” He cut you off again, though his tone seemed somewhat distant, as if he was just voicing his thoughts and not just directly answering you. “And for what? Now look at me; bleeding out on a damn couch. It’s ironic how fitting this end is for me, left to die like a dog without mercy, just like the lack of it I showed others.” 

“Pav…” You didn’t know how to make things better for his passing, the only thing coming to mind was not leaving him alone. Nothing excused his actions, the crimes he committed against innocent lives being monstrous and vile, yet maybe he was right. Maybe revenge also clouded your judgment. 

And maybe… just maybe… this festival, even though you weren’t a contestant, was also your punishment. Perhaps he was also keeping you company during your final moments. That mobster didn’t seem too pleased when you pushed him down a flight of stairs back in the city. And between two creeps, you would take Pav any day, but he wasn’t in any condition to come to your rescue if your club slipped from your bloodied hands. 

“My mom would’ve liked you.”

His words made your attention snap back towards him. “What?”

Pav chuckled, this time hard enough for him to wince and hiss from the pain. “You heard me.” He began. “This whole dying thing… life flashing before your eyes… Thought back to when I wasn’t such a complete fucking bastard, before He took my actual life away… мама would’ve like you.”

A sad smile tugged at your lips as you reached to wipe his forehead again, the now dark red stained cloth bringing as much comfort as a priest coming to a patient’s deathbed. “Going soft on me, Lieute–”

“Pav… Pavel, please.” He corrected. “My family wouldn’t like that to be how I go to meet them. I’ve always been snarky and got under people’s skin… so consider yourself lucky to see this side of me.” His breathing seemed to get slower, and every once in a while his words slurred. He was tired, you both knew it. “Maybe if it was any of the others, I’d be snappier… Guess I like ‘ya a little too much.” His face held a pained snicker, but you knew he was being at least somewhat genuine. “I’m tired, милый.”

You nodded, scooting closer from your place on the floor, tongue swirling the capsule underneath it. “Do you think I’ll get to meet them?” You asked, receiving a shake of the head as an answer. “As much as I’d like to believe we’ll see them… we’re not going to a place with pearly white gates. Not us.” He added, bringing a bloody, nearly limp hand to brush against your back. 

“Anything is better than here.” You argued, earning one last chuckle from Pav. “I suppose it is.” He agreed.

True to those words, the train door opened, the bone-saw wielding festival contestant finding the two of you peacefully asleep, away from the horrors that awaited you had you chosen to stay. And whether or not the two of you escaped the Gods or ended up in a void, nobody knew. Maybe you and Pav were somewhere much worse, but for now… so was everyone in Prehevil. 

[lizzzybooo]

Ugh here's my hot take for today since I saw too many blitz defense squad posts lately (don't get me wrong I love him dearly) completely villainizing Stolas and making a complex, nuanced relationship very creepy and one sided.

The discussion about how Stolas abused his power towards Blitz, while is very serious and important, makes no sense to me when you make Blitz a complete victim of the situation, with no power whatsoever.

Blitz is doing the exact same thing (and honestly, arguably worse, because he knows exactly what he's doing) to Moxxie (and sometimes also Millie). First episodes we literally see him threaten Moxxie with SA, saying he would fuck him and his wife if he messes up again. And stuff like that keeps happening- he's their boss, he's invasive, abusive, demeaning, harassing them and so on.

Now, I have no problem with people claiming that's the humor of the show, because that's true (love it or hate it) but it loses it's point for me when Stolas is held accountable to every wrong word and action (even those for the sake of humor) and Blitz is somehow ok to act the way he does towards other people. because true, he can't act like that towards Stolas because there really is a power imbalance between them, but he doesn't hesitate to use the same power the minute he has it on people under him.

And to say Stolas always made it overly sexual and was always abusing his power in that way is also so strange to me- we literally see how at their first meeting as adults Blitz broke into Stolas's palace to steal, which you won't convince me is an ok thing even if Stolas is rich! He didn't try to steal money to live he tried to steal a powerful magical book, that is illegal for Stolas to give him, that Stolas actually needs to do his job too, (or something like that that truthfully is not explored enough.) You can't claim he couldn't have thought of a different business plan. He figured he could steal from Stolas and he used that to his advantage, I'm sorry but that's not a Robin hood situation of stealing from the rich to feed the poor.

and when he saw Stolas show interest in him he automatically used it and came on to him very strongly, even though Stolas very clearly told him to stop (even if later on he wanted very much to continue). How is that not SA as well?

And I'm not claiming Blitz is the villain in any way! All those things have humor in them as well as some seriously problematic things that needs addressing, the same way as Stolas's behavior- which the show does very well and in a very nuanced way for the both of them! but I just can't understand how people completely ignore all that and just say that Stolas is wrong in everything and is to blame.

In the words of the great Fizzarolli- sounds like you just hate him for being a prince

[hello-nichya-here]

The dude who tried (and sometimes succeeded) in trying to win over women that were married/about to be married not once, not twice, but FIVE FUCKING TIMES!

I'm sorry but TED DID WHAT?!

Yup, you read it right. Ted Mosby, the guy that the writers were constantly trying to push as the perfect, most romantic lead in the whole world, apparently has a very serious homewrecking kink.

The first time was in season one, with Ted going to a matchmaker, and finding out that the only woman he'd be a good match with already went out with a guy that was slightly less ideal (according to the computer) and is engaged to him. Ted then finds out she's a doctor, goes to her place of work, and tries to convince her he is her soulmate, not her fiance - who she'll be marrying VERY soon.

Ted doesn't know this woman. Literally the only information he has is "She went on a matchmaker and her profile was a lot like his." That's it. That is all the excuse he needs to try to sabotage someone's wedding. This is also one of the few times in which we are supposed to be laughing at him, instead of wanting him to get the girl. Well, I think that was the intention, but God knows I stopped expecting common sense from this show a LONG time ago.

The second time homewrecking Ted is seen is during season 3. He decides to "live like Barney" (because OBVIOUSLY Ted would neeeever decide to do something like this on his own, please ignore the previous exemple, and the next three) and hooks up with a married woman during a party, and feels exactly zero shame or guilt over it until Marshall talks some sense into him. This is the LAST time in which we'll see that kind of behavior from Ted be treated as explicitly wrong by the show - even though his actions will only get worse.

Homewrecking Ted comes back in season 6, when he falls for Zoey, a married woman. A married woman he is constantly spending time with even though EVERYONE is warning him that this isn't going to end well as they all can see that what they have isn't just friendship. All except Zoey's husband, who thinks Ted is a great guy - in fact, when Zoey leaves him, the poor guy comes to the bastard for comfort, because he thought Ted was his friend.

Ted is 100% in the wrong, but the show thinks that his search for "The One" justifies everything plus they technically didn't become an item before Zoey made up her mind about who she wanted, so it's totally okay that she left her husband for him - after all, she could have maybe possibly been the woman of Ted's dreams, so who cares if she was the love of someone else's, her husband's, life.

The fourth time is at the end of season seven, when he falls back in love with his ex, Victoria, even though she will be getting married soon. The two of them almost hook up, but decide against it... for a little while. On the wedding day, Victoria wants to leave her fiance at the altar, and Ted is tempted to be with her, but he decides to do the right thing and take her to the church where the wedding will happen... and then changes his mind while driving, because once again, who cares about the other completely innocent dude when Ted needs to find "The One" - he is the ONLY person who deserves someone who loves him, right?

The show tries to remedy that by having Ted demand Victoria leave her would-be-husband a letter explaining why she wouldn't marry him because that's what Stella did with him. Guess what? That doesn't mean shit, he's still doing something horrible. A "I stole your future wife, man, sorry. But I made her write you a letter" doesn't fix a goddamn thing.

Oh, but the groom left too! Because turns out Victoria was NOT the right woman for him! That totally excuses Ted's behavior right? OF COURSE NOT! He didn't even know that when he decided to be with Victoria. As far as he knew, that dude was going to be left utterly heartbroken in the exact same way he himself once was - and he still thought he was justified in what he was doing.

And now we reach the big one. Season 8. Ted and Victory break up because, this whole time, during the years in which Ted has been pulling this kind of bullshit, he was actually NOT thinking that the doctor, or Zoey, or Victoria were "The One", as his true love was Robin all along, and SHE is the one he knew he'd always come back to - THEN WHY THE FUCK DID HE TRY, AND SOMETIMES SUCCEED, IN RUINING OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES?

And how does he handle the fact that the supposed love of his life is actually not interested in him, wants to marry someone else, and that someone else happens to be a friend of his that has REPEATEDLY asked Ted for his blessing to pursue Robin?

Well, you see, he sulks about how Robin should leave Barney for him. Because, you know, he loves her more, saw her first, dated her first, is the better man, found a locket she had buried years ago, dramaticly held her hand while it was raining and whatever excuse the writers can come up with to pretend Ted is only trying to sabotage his friend's wedding because "It's true love!" and not at all because he is a selfish, entitled asshole who has a habit of doing that.

In fact, on the morning of her wedding, Ted STILL wants to profess his supposed love for Robin, only to get shut down again AS SHE OBVIOUSLY MADE HER CHOICE VERY CLEAR A LONG TIME AGO.

Oh, but the writers want more drama and have her suddenly get cold feet and ask Ted why shouldn't she be with the guy who loves her so much. And what does Ted, the guy who has been sulking about losing her for months and stabbed Barney in the back by telling his bride he loves her and wants her to give him another chance, say as a response?

"The truth is I don't love you like that anymore. And you don't love me, you love Barney"

Yeah, we know that, asshole. We've known that for a while. And apparently so did you this entire time, YET YOU STILL TRIED TO STEAL HER FROM BARNEY MERE HOURS AGO! WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS?

Simple: because Ted is in love with the idea of love, and will project romantic feelings onto anything that breathes and has a pulse, and will go to absurd lengths to win over the (temporary) object of his affection, even if it means destroying people's lives - and in fact, that drastic consequence often doesn't even register as a factor in his mind.

And what do the writers of How I Met Your Mother do with this obvious character flaw? They use it to claim Ted is a true romantic, a SYMPATHETIC lead, the nicest of all nice guys, and eventually reward him by letting him have BOTH the actual perfect woman for him (Tracy) and also the woman that could not have been more wrong for him, yet that he was obsessed with for TWENTY FIVE YEARS, aka Robin.

Fuck this show.

[weedle-testaburger]

before i forget them, i feel like documenting The Dumbest Things In Joker 2 (imho)

the arkham guards whistle when the saints go marching in during the first couple of scenes, so why do the inmates adopt it as an anthem rather than any of the songs arthur and lee were singing?

speaking of lee, a) why do they insist on calling her that instead of harley or harleen and b) it was dumb af that they made her an inmate at arkham instead of a psychotherapist there

i can't believe suicide squad (2016) genuinely gets more right about the joker and harley's relationship than this did. i mean ffs arthur says he can't live without harley, the joker sees her as disposable

the musical numbers are a basically random mix of actually happening and in arthur's head and they're the exact same level of absurd

harvey dent's case for the prosecution is that arthur is sane and should be executed. he has an entire lifetime of psychiatric disturbances and your argument hinges on trying to prove he doesn't have did specifically, there's plenty of other mental health conditions that could make him unable to understand his actions

also arthur is interred in arkham asylum FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE, it's in the name harvey!

arthur does a tv interview with this prominent journalist where he snaps at arthur and arthur launches into a musical number. if he was just throwing larry king snark at arthur it'd be a bit far-fetched but as is it's just absurd

the jury are insanely ott. they literally cheer arthur when he fires his lawyer in the middle of the case (which is, you know, also absurd) and they never address why the fuck the judge didn't call a mistrial, they just say he reluctantly went with it

once he returns to court as joker, he basically pulls the chewbacca defence about a decade early. as i joked to my friend after the movie, 'if the personality don't fit, you must acquit'

you know that infamous interview where zack snyder said 'if i directed a batman movie i'd have him get raped in prison'? they literally did that. how did the last 15 years of everyone dunking on snyder for being an idiotic edgelord in that interview not get through to you people

this forms a big part of the catalyst for arthur deciding to abandon the joker persona and admit his guilt. which kinda implies the arkham guards helped bring him to justice by doing it? i may generally hate when media incorporates rape but at least writers usually know to depict it as a bad thing

while the verdict is read out, arthur's laughing tic starts up and someone from the jury jumps up and tackles him. WHAT FUCKING JURY WOULD EVER BE ALLOWED TO DO THAT EVER

after the car bomb they have a shot of harvey dent showing one side of his face got scarred because of course they had to indicate he'll be two-face even though we know they're never doing a sequel to this trash

arthur literally survives the courthouse being bombed by his supporters and somehow isn't sent straight to the electric chair after he gets recaptured despite being found guilty on all charges

instead, they send him back to arkham and have one of the other inmates he's been friends with stab him (with a reprise of the 'get what you fucking deserve' thing) and kill him like that

i think the implication is arthur fleck is basically like jerome and jeremiah valeska from gotham where he's meant to be an inspiration to the eventual Real Joker. and in that case where the fuck does that leave harley?

[seyfertgalaxy]

Collector rant again :p except im sleep deprived

The fact that the collector knows the draining spell would kill people is so,, out there. but its also so fucked up because he also believes that people, mortals, are like toys. i think this mindset of his started with Belos. because whenever the archivists took the baby titans from collector all those years ago, i dont doubt he tried to get them back since he did that with Luz as well. so he knows, to a degree, that you cant just snap your fingers and have everything be all rainbowy and cheery again.

but then, he met philip. and philip likely explained everything to the collector in order to get what he wanted in a more efficient way. one of those things being grimwalkers! clones.

That's probably when it started. i think after the third or fourth grimwalker, Collector made this connection that mortals are similar to toys you can just break and then "fix." Because it's the same exact person! hey! didn't he just disappear? and now he's back?? good as new? wow!!

and after so many years of this, it's likely ingrained in his mind. he pulls the head off of his doll, and then it's back on. That's his example and his understanding.

He doesn't even see the grimwalkers as people after a while. he calls them "those things" and finds amusement in Belos hurting them and lashing out at them. but at least he has the basic understanding that they're mortals, living beings. and i also think that's why he was so angry with Lilith whenever she called King her nephew. Belos called the grimwalkers his nephews, and then he would hurt them and make them disappear. while, to Collector, he did fix them eventually. It was a cycle. a cycle that he didn't want King to go through because King is the last titan and Collector's "best friend."

and because he couldn't make the other baby titans come back, he probably figured that King was the same way. so he wasn't gonna risk anything with his new friend.

and with mortals, he's shown to be careless and even reckless. in Watching and Dreaming, whenever he's showing Luz, Eda, and King his favorite games, they're all very dangerous. maybe not for him, because he can shift his size and control the games with his power, but to them! to them, its dangerous.

Pacman: he literally "ate" Luz and could have badly injured her.

Marbles: he was huge and flicking them around! that's harmful. especially whenever King ran underneath Collector's foot to make them fall, that could have ended very differently for King. for example, if the "marble" he was in wasn't very strong, the impact of Collector stepping on it could have busted it open and—you probably get where im going with that.

jenga: do i even need to explain why this is dangerous? giant blocks. small mortals.

whenever he figures out that they aren't enjoying his games and they're actually angry with him, because they keep messing them up, he gets upset then gets rid of the games and retreats to go cry alone. its like he didn't even register that these games were hurting them or could even kill them. especially since his intention was to Wow them with these games and be their friend.

i think they're just "naturally scary." because a few times, their expression and tone is almost contradicting their intentions. for such: asking for grudgy buddies, talking about tag in Kings Tide, and the "Let me show you some of my favorite games" line.

its a bit of a complicated situation because he needs to be around mortals to improve and grow, but he also doesn't understand anything about them. bit of a personal take here; i didn't like the ending they had for the collector. he'll either be alone, or with some shitty space gods. at least its implied that he visits every so often or holds some contact with King and possibly the others. anyways-

to close this off because i keep getting distracted, he doesn't truly grasp death or the gravity of ANY of his actions. he knows people die, but he also assumes you just fix them and they come back. (that makes me wonder what he thought about the baby titans "disappearing" at first).

like this scene here: he didn't understand that Luz was dead until later on. whenever he says "she's really gone". he also tells Eda(and King)that he doesn't want anyone else to go missing and that he's sorry for everything. "Missing", not Dead. because he doesn't understand yet.

and he likely still doesn't understand what happened because Luz came back in a completely different form/look, much like how the grimwalkers did. dissappearing but coming back later on with a slightly altered appearance. but i think he has some sort of idea of death still since he couldn't "fix" Luz and was heavily reminding himself of the archivists

[coffinbrotherr]

Istg I keep seeing videos in my recommend that have either Andrew or Ashley sprites in the thumbnail and it's always in the lines of "shock storytelling is BAD" or "this needs to STOP" (I'm not providing examples as to not install a witchhunt but if youve seen them, you know EXACTLY who im talking about.) and I dont...I don't get why? Like, ok genuinely I'm having an actual hard time understanding why because being disturbed and being made uncomfortable is quite literally the definition of horror, so why is it a problem now.

To I guess throw my hat into the ring, I'd like to explain why i personally think incest integral to Tcoaal not only because I'm just fucking tired of seeing people not like the game just because of that aspect and I'm not knocking those people because of it because people can not like things for specific reasons, for example I am not one for horror involving teeth or the mouth so I tend to ignore horror media that prominently use those as setpieces. I'm mainly talking about people that bash it without actually playing it and people that see it at surface level and just make a Baseless assumption because to me and obviously a lot of other people as it still has great reviews, Tcoaal is wonderfully written and that IS thanks to its incest themes.

We see that throughout the game, Ashley obviously loves her brother, not only in the romantic sense but also in the power dynamic. While some aspects have yet to be revealed about thier relationship as we still only have two chapters, Ashley obviously manipulates Andrew and has since they were little as evident by the hide and seek flashback. It's incredibly obvious that Ashley likes control over people and since she doesn't really have anyone else that's closer to her, she uses Andrew exclusively as he's always been there with her figuratively and literally. While this behavior definitely comes from a sense of loneliness and fear of losing the one person that tolerates her as not even thier own parents wanted to stay around them let alone her, I think it also comes down to enjoying the control. Genuinely think about the story of the game for a sec, could you imagine being in that exact situation we see the siblings in. The closest thing we can even relate it to is covid, and we could at least still leave the house to an extent and have things sent to us that we wanted. Imagine going through all that not being able to leave, literally having the bare minimum of food being dropped off to you and being FORCED to stay inside not with a slap on the wrist but with active threats of death even though you know other people get to freely live outside peacefully. Not only is that terrifying but it gives a lot more insight to Ashley's character as she's literally stuck in a place she cannot control in an unfounded situation that is positively awful, but she does have one thing she can control, she has one person she can make exclusively hers and make him do whatever she wants through manipulation and the connection with love. The same goes for Andrew as we know Andrew was at least a bit more popular with people to the point where he even had a girlfriend (Julia) and to have literally all that stripped away from him is tragic, however for him there's one more person he can interact with, one person that cares about him and truly does love him in a way only they can share. It's a beautifully horrific way of telling a story because on the outside, it just looks like "oh hah hah, that's the incest cannibalism game" but if you actually played it you would see not only is the writing genuinely funny but also incredibly smart with its subtle meaning and player interpretation. It's NOT glorifying incest, it is actively showing an incredibly toxic relationship that was made through the circumstances and actions taken with both characters and to say it's just "shock storytelling" or "it's just trying to glorify incest" is just wrong, it's using the incest to further the narrative and that's why I personally find this game to be my favorite work of horror.

But that was just my interpretation, I'd love to hear your guy's views on it because I'd love to further the discussion and potentially add to my analysis as this was just something I wrote at 12:30 AM in bed. I could go on and on about my personal analysis but a lot of it would just be me being genuinely pretty annoyed with the games detractors and overall just make for a poor reading experience.