#the rage THE RAGE i feel when i think about classic who ending with my favourite classic doctor

[witchofthemidlands]

everytime i watch anything that has paul mcgann in it i always sit there afterwards thinking what a fucking tragedy it was that he never got seasons as the doctor.

[thatshadowcomic]

tbh there's a scene thats so clear in my head, just gotta iron out the details:

Sonic is sent off to find Shadow, claiming he can talk to shadow and get this mess sorted out (were still in classic style btw).

At the cave:

Maria lay sick in a makeshift bed, hidden in a dark cavern with a hole at the top, moss hanging down. There was some kind of battle, after Eggman attack Knothole, and Shadow/Gerlad/Maria were spotted, assumed to be in cahoots with Eggman. Sonic doesn't think they would have done something so brutal and this its a misunderstanding. He wants to hear Shadow's side, but all he finds is maria, laying sick, pale and seemingly in a coma. Maybe he find shadow by her bedside instead? Shadow spin dashes him/tries to chase him off, but sonic warns him that maria needs the royal's help. that she's seriously sick. Shadow wants nothing to do with them, convinced they'll jail them both for their relation to Eggman and Gerald. By this point, Gerald's been captured and will likely be sentenced to treason/death.

"You might not want my help, shadow... but she needs it..."

"I was created to help her, just go away!"

"I'm your friend, shadow, Im not going anywhere."

"I didnt have friends before, I don;t need them now...!"

"Well sucks for you, doesn't it--"

Maria tenses up, likely in pain, stopping them from fighting. Shadow moves to help heal her, but his powers are depleted after whatever fight went on, so he struggles to help as Maria slowly fades away. He begins to tear up, desperately pushing himself, but he doesn't have any energy left. I feel like she'd apologize, maybe this is where the promise scene occurs?

"Shadow..." He looks up, surprised she's awake again,

"I'm sorry I broke my promise...I couldn't support you like I said..." She smiles.

Obviously he could care less, telling her it's okay, "But Please promise me Shadow... promise to protect this planet for me... That you'll appreciate everything it has to offer..."

"M...Maria?" The moment of clarity makes shadow's stomach drop.

"Shadow, you gotta let me take her!"

"Promise me... you'll bring hope to all of Mobius..."

As her eyes close, Shadow panics and breaths heavy, like right before you start to cry kinda breathing. "Sonic...!" He abruptly turns, desperately crying out,

"if youre really my friend-- p-please! Please help her...!"

Sonic doesn't argue with him about joining, instead quietly nodding and taking maria back to the castle.

At the castle:

Sonic brings maria and tries to convince Sally's father, who's shocked,

"Are you insane?! That monster will already be desperate and full of rage when he realizes we captured his creator! Why would you bring her here?!"

"He's gonna be pretty desperate and angry if anything happens to 'er too!"

Sally joins and says something like "He trusts Sonic, maybe this is a perfect time to establish a line of trust with us, get him on our side before Eggman gets to him!"

The king reluctantly agrees, having her taken back. He decides to give Shadow space for now and formulate a plan, avoiding pressuring him... or so he tells Sonic and Sally.

That night, at the cave:

Shadow lays in the makeshift bed, noting the dried blood. He curls up in a ball, tense, all alone for the first time. He has to trust sonic... Sonic knows he wouldn't hurt people...right? He hears a sound and thinks sonic finally returned, but it's guards, who used sonic's communication device to track where sonic went. He tries to escape, but his powers are too low to warp away and they over power him. He tries to explain he never hurt anyone, that he was trying to help. The scene ends with Shadow Crying out for Maria, for help. Sonic would return after a day or two, not finding Shadow, no matter where he looked... He would have assumed Shadow went back into hiding considering Eggman seemed to know nothing about him... In reality, the King couldn't kill him, so they held him up, deep under the castle with specially made shackles/capsule. They wouldn't connect for years... maybe 8 or 10?

I can't decide if he'd be awake or not, maybe partly awake? Like he wakes up years later, after they stop maintaining his capsule? Myabe once Chaos is defeated, that energy passes by him and he escapes? Myabe Eggman finds him like SA2?

Maybe after Perfect Chaos is defeated, all that energy passes through Shadow, reinvigorating/awakening him. I have such a clear visual of sonic and shadow meeting again as he rips the castle apart...

based on this:

[arceus-insanity]

Why Did Teen & Tween Girls Love Creepypastas so Much?

The creepypasta fandom was my first fandom, it introduced me to fandom when I was 13 and every once in a blue moon, I check in on it. But why was it so popular amongst young girls? Part of it is that the line between ‘canon’ and fandom was made of tissue paper with a ton of holes. It allowed a feeling of engagement and belonging as anyone could add to the lore, and there was a possibility of your story or character taking off.

But after seeing the endless anti-writing advice of WhY dOeS eVeRy ViLlIaN nEeD tO bE cOmPlEx! No Tragic villains! We only want evil for the sake of being evil! I’ve been thinking about how all the creepypastas have sympathetic backstories, more of the creepypasta characters have tragic backstories than murderers.

Now I’m all for evil characters who are just asshats like Jack Horner (Dreamworks Puss in Boots 2), or the classic Disney villains, but so many spout this ‘advice’ without getting into why evil for the sake of being evil villains are good, or the pitfalls of tragic or complex villains, hence why I’m calling it anti-writing advice.

So why did tragic creepypasta characters work so well?

For starters and addressing one of the most dissed aspects, is the story quality, while with anyone writing or adding to the fandom quality varied to extreme degrees, most of them including one of the most well-known (Jeff the Killer 2011) was shit. These stories weren’t popular because they were well written, they were popular because they were engaging. They are like campfire stories, their value wasn’t based on quality but on the ideas they had. 

Now Teen girls and tweens are shamed for everything (See all the criticism Turning Red got for being ‘cringey’), they are dealing with the lack of respect a child gets and the expectations of an adult (to simplify). It’s also a common age for us to be discovering the darker elements of the world, assuming we haven’t experienced them ourselves yet. Many are dealing with bullies, or dealing with being catcalled or worse (a lot of the girl creepypasta’s were sexually assaulted, or betrayed by their partners). But I think a huge part of it is these characters let us live out our rage through them (to an extreme) (I recommend watching this short video on what I’m talking about, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2Ea8fwetA8). One of the criticisms I’ve seen for Encanto is how peacefully the movie has Mirabel treat Alma after everything. Part of that was to allow viewers to live out the idyllic ending that many people who relate to Mirabel in her mistreatment by her family and community where their (for lack of a better word) abusers realize they were wrong and change. The group levelling this criticism or writing and/ or reading many of the fics on ao3 want to enjoy the other confronting your abuser fantasy, the revenge route, whether that be violent or not.

Jeff the Killer; Woods (2011) Vs Hodek (2008)

Now him and Slenderman being the most famous creepypasta’s out there, Jeff’s story is known for how shit it is. The famous 2011 Woods version isn’t going to win any rewards for its writing, but it’s not the original, so why is it the famous one, especially as I heard the OG was better, or at least more realistic? Well, I read the original, watched the video, the wiki and the official DeviantArt summary for it, and wondered how the Hell is this better written or more realistic, maybe by a molecule. It was harder to follow along how Jeff Hodek became a killer. But more than that, he was boring and what could have made him a ‘relatable’ (read understandable or even interesting) character was only in the summary and didn’t have any focus on it.

Meanwhile Woods, in the main confrontations in his story, didn’t start them. First, it was some violent kids going after him and his brother and not being prepared for someone who could and would fight back, albeit very violently. This is followed by the adults (his parents and the police) only listening to one side of the story and refusing to do any further investigation, which Liu purposely takes the blame for getting taken to juvie. His mom forces him to attend some random little kid's birthday party so she can fit in even after the prior events, where those bullies then show up to attack him again. Jeff wins again but arrives at the hospital with his signature white skin. And when he gets home and ends up killing his parents, it's after his mom says “get the gun”, after finding him mutilating himself in the bathroom, not call the doctor, or authorities, kill him that's the call. The only time he starts an incident is at the end of the story, and the start which takes place after so he’s on the run in this, and how far the violence goes isn't shown in those instances. Is this some badly written power fantasy bullshit, yes, but it’s interesting, it’s engaging, and Jeff can be used as a way to vent rage with a needed amount of distance

Eyeless Jack: Everyone Gets Backstories

Eyeless Jack is a perfect example of how every popular creepypasta character had a tragic past because he did not come with one. In his original story, he’s just a scary monster who breaks into someone’s home, steals an organ and the next night kills someone in that house. There are some interesting aspects, such as his surgical knowledge and the evidence that Eyeless Jack eats people, but most he seems to be a cross between a slasher and a monster. Then someone else gave him a backstory. It had him as a medical student that a cult sacrificed to some god turning him into Eyeless Jack. And for the most part everyone accepted that as Jack’s backstory, to the point his wiki had to include it

Carrying This over to The League of Villains (My Hero Academia)

Now years after the fact and a couple of fandoms later, I finally give in and read My Hero Academia. Now the fan content that pushed me into the series were major Midoriya fans and of Class 1A. And the Fics I first sought out reflected this, but it did not stay that way. I ended up becoming a massive fan of the League of Villains, and my opinion of Deku, 1A, the Heroes, and their supporters soured more and more over time. I found that the LoV weren’t the system failing but working exactly as intended, as not only were we shown the humanity (& backstories) of the League, but the ‘heroes’ constantly making disturbing decisions and doubling down.

A huge part of why I got into the series was because the early arcs seemed to present themselves as not just being a hero story but a story that challenged the toxic elements of not just its society but others as well. But as it went on not only did the protagonists fail to live up to that, but so much of the later arcs reframe the beginning arcs for the worse. The League however delivered on what drew me to this series, there were other elements, like the smaller cast allowed there to be some actual focus & development on the characters in the short moments we got with them.

While we were constantly with the heroes, we were constantly being introduced to new characters, and focusing on the supposed ‘greatness’ of an abusive monster, and spoiled abusive brat. The solutions the hero side showed were painfully superficial, avoided dealing with any of the root issues caused by their ‘wonderful’ hero society, doubling down to hell & back and more often than not just plain stupid & ignorant.

Why I Can’t Like the ‘Good’ Victims

Part of what inspired this post was another post (It’s been months since I saw it so this isn’t an exact quote) saying that Dabi (Touya Todoroki and one of the main members of the League) was the rage of eldest daughter syndrome. Not Fuyumi, his younger sister by less than a year, and very blatantly parentified, Dabi.

Why? For starters, while Fuyumi’s intro page says she resents her abusive father, her actions paint a very different story. In practice, she’s the most eager to be a loving daughter, and constantly supports him, even against her younger brother Natsuo who doesn’t want to forgive him.

Rei is even worse for this, telling Fuyumi and Natsuo that she forgives the man who abused her to the point of a mental breakdown the first time we meet her, because he sent her a flower. And is seen at the end pushing his wheelchair around, so his caretaker.

Did I forget to mention that Touya was believed dead, at age 13, as the result of that thing’s ‘parenting’, read abuse and grooming

I want to like them, there are so many characters in this series that I want to like but I just can’t force myself to after reading this series. Because as a blatant of an example(s) the Todoroki family is, they aren’t unique.

This whole series demands that everyone be good victims, and shows that a good victim must not only be silent on their mistreatment, never act out in even the slightest way, but should support their abuser, the reward of which is going back to the same circumstances that enabled this to begin with.

[cyanide-sippy-cup]

Finally watched Caped Crusader and I have ✨thoughts✨.

Oswalda is straight up iconic. Loved every scene with her. I actually laughed out loud when the dude goes "Thorne got you to kill the wrong son?" and she responds "Not that!" I'd let her lock me in a suitcase and throw me in the sea. She gets a gold star ⭐

I like that we get to see Selina's origin. I like the classic suit. That's kinda it though. A bit sad that Bruce didn't feel any connection with her. Just not a huge fan of her character here. She doesn't feel like Selina (a problem most of this show faces tbh).

I was loving the Harley stuff. The bit with Renee was so cute, and I love that she really was passionate about helping Bruce move past his trauma. I really like that she's Barbara's friend. Was really upset at the fakeout death but at least she was just joshin. The villain stuff felt like fetishes which like okay. I guess Bruce needed to put in something to replace BruceBabs. Anyway, that's the final dig towards him. As much as this Harley episode wasn't my favorite, a promise is a promise. Although I do gotta ask, WHY CAN'T RENEE CATCH A BREAK IN HER LOVE LIFE >:(((

No fucking way the moral of episode 7 was "the system is totally not screwed, it's just a few bad apples and also a criminal is a criminal and should be jailed". Barbara literally says the system sucks cause the cops can do what they want and get in anyone's pockets and then nearly gets killed by a cop and then they end it with "actually, I think you do"?! I mean yeah that specific guy deserved prison but ending it on that note of Barbara feeling betrayed and confused on her morals tells a very not-so-delightful message. Glad the show backtracks on all that immediately but it's still weird and definitely could've used some revising to fit in with the rest.

Onomatopeia was awesome though. I remember people claiming his shtick couldn't work when he appeared in Superman and Lois. They said that it only worked in comics and would be too silly out loud. Happy to report that they're wrong.

I feel like I'm the only one who was excited to see Waylon but that's okay cause I got enough excitement for everyone. Love to see my mans kicking the shit out of potential perverts. You go, Waylon!

Dick, Jason, Steph, and Carrie. Definitely an interesting combination. But it's also so nice to see a Jason who grew up in a different environment and is therefore adorable with no rage in his heart. As opposed to Carrie who was ready to kick some ass. The ending to episode 8 really understood Batman, what with him saying he can't leave her there, carrying her and shielding her under the cape, and then asking about her later.

The Harvey bit is kinda cool but 1, I've always been iffy on the shotty DID stuff and 2, I think they coulda gone further. Just watch The Long Halloween for a better Two Face plot.

I like Harvey helping that guy get his stuffed animal back. That was a nice small character moment. If we had more stuff like that and Bruce being unable to confess his emotions to Alfred, I think this whole thing would be better. This one made up for episode 7's little message by having Barbara tell Harvey that it's not so cut and dry and that he deserves help too. I'm glad they went back to that after the whole "sometimes things are black and white" bit. Batman is about helping people just as much as Superman is and I feel like sending a message that "nope, bad is bad and he should just punch people" doesn't fit the entire thesis of Batman.

This finale really encapsulates how this show doesn't quite understand the character of Batman. It may be comic-accurate for him to be an asshole and put on the voice randomly, treat Alfred like crap, and randomly break character with stuff like "don't start growing a conscience now, Dent" but as I said it goes against the whole thesis. This is more along the lines of the Nolan films with the "Bruce Wayne is the mask" bit. And we all know how I feel about those films.

And then it ends on a boring cliffhanger with the boss guy and then a shitty Joker teaser. Boo.

In short, this show is good but it's not anything special. I do really like the classic Batman aesthetic, but that's pretty much it. It doesn't really understand the characters like MAWS and WFA, the overarching plot is kind of uninteresting and it doesn't feel like we're building up to something great. I feel like this show really wanted to use the episodic style to take a look at all these different elements of Gotham's world with references to existing characters and aspects. But whereas MAWS smoothly slid those into its narrative and setting, this just kinda feels like a villain of the week show instead of working towards this grand narrative. And that can be a good thing, I mean I'm a Scooby Doo fan for crying out loud, but in this scenario, it just doesn't work that exceptionally. If it gets a season 2, I'll probably watch it. But this isn't something I'd be excitedly waiting to see new episodes of.

[sunnyxdani]

kenlee: a 4 part analysis

Analyzing one of my favorite ships that I have very suddenly grown very hyperfixated on. Lee and Kenny are partners in crime, frenemies, a variety of things to each other based on what the player decides. Season 1 is notorious for none of your choices impacting anything because there’s only 1 ending no matter what. Yet, genuinely one of the only examples of your choices actually mattering is through Lee's relationship with Kenny. Their dynamic is given more attention and effort and detail than anything else in the game, even more than Lee and Clementines (as far as how it can differ based on how you play). There are also countless tender moments, looks, and words shared between the two that I’ve grown to interpret as more than friendly the more I’ve replayed the game. However, this analysis will break down more tangible moments throughout the game.

Part 1: What Lee and Kenny’s Dynamic is

Lee and Kenny are the classic but tragic “never got to tell them how I felt” trope. Due to many factors, their feelings for each other were something that they only had themselves to rely on and carry the burden of. This even resulted in tension in resentment towards one another. From the overwhelming apocalyptic state of the world, to Kenny having a wife and kid, to the both of them most likely not being comfortable exploring their sexuality– so many odds were stacked against them. Ultimately, they were in a predicament where they could’ve confronted their feelings for each other if they were given more time. But, the two men only knew each other for a handful of months before their separation.

While most of the obstacles that got in the two’s way were external, Lee and Kenny, Kenny in particular, also got in their own way very often. One of the main ongoing plot points within season 1 is that Kenny and Lilly both have a different way of leading and Lee is stuck in the middle. Along with this, Lee is generally put in a lot of difficult situations with Kenny, as Kenny sees him as his right hand man and takes it very personally whenever Lee disagrees with him on something. Now, what I’m about to say next is my own opinion and anyone reading is allowed to disagree but, I personally think that the version of Lee and Kenny’s relationship that’s the least accurate is the one where Lee agrees with every single one of Kenny’s actions and has Kenny as an immovable pillar of support. This is because I’ve always interpreted the most canon version of Lee to be the one who tries his best to take the moral high ground, which Kenny arguably doesn’t always do. So, as off-balanced and unhealthy as their relationship turns out when Lee sticks to these morals, I do think it’s important to what Kenny and Lee’s true and honest dynamic is— after all, they’re foils to one another.

Something that’s important to address is how much Kenny cares what Lee thinks— more specifically, what Lee thinks of Kenny. This is something that Kenny has shown time and time again to agonize over. As far as the first season goes, generally anyone could disagree with Kenny and he would feel more inclined to brush it off and carry on because he knew that, to him, he was right— except for when it comes to Lee. Whenever Lee expresses disagreement or disapproval in something that Kenny is doing, Kenny is beside himself. He rages at Lee, tries to convince him to see things his way, holds a grudge towards him, and overall gives the other man a very emotionally heated response. My belief is that Lee is someone Kenny admires and looks up to to a degree. Because of this, whenever him and Lee differ on something, it forces Kenny to self-reflect and reevaluate his own actions and values, which Kenny isn’t comfortable with doing. Furthermore, he’s also convinced himself that Lee thinks less of him as a person everytime the two don’t see eye to eye on something, which Kenny could not bear. To cope with all of this, he tries to bring himself to hate Lee instead.

So, how do Lee and his feelings play into this? The way I see it, Lee is the only person who sees the hurt behind Kenny’s actions, the good intention behind Kenny’s actions, and can understand the man even when he doesn’t agree with him— the only one besides Katjaa, of course, which isn’t for nothing. As someone who was on his way to jail for murder a day before meeting Kenny, he understands expressing anger through aggression, feeling betrayed by someone you love, making mistakes that can’t be undone, etc. better than anyone. And while he’s not proud of those things, he came out of the situation feeling as though he has no right to judge anybody, so he doesn’t dare judge Kenny. That being said, he hopes and tries to assist Kenny in working past his demons the way that Lee was able to. He sees the great traits within Kenny— his ability to lead, his passion for what he believes in, his diehard efforts to protect his family— and believes that those things are capable of defining him instead of the bad. (long story short he thinks he can fix him y’all sorry)

Part 2: How Their Interactions Mirror one of Two People in a Relationship

This next section is going to be dedicated to a variety of examples that showcase my point that Kenny and Lee’s relationship was written a lot more intimately and a lot less “bro” like than there’s any excuse for. These are all instances that fail to add up completely unless you switch the perspective from platonic to romantic.

What I believe to be the strongest example of this is when Lee finally faces the stranger in the season 1 finale. The stranger asks Lee, “Have you ever hurt somebody that you care about?” and it prompts three options for the player to choose from. The first option is his wife, and the second option is Clementine who is essentially a daughter to Lee. These options make complete sense, especially since this question is followed by the stranger sharing how he hurt and lost his children and wife. The third option, however, is Kenny. This option sticks out like a sore thumb to me because it just doesn’t really fit quite right as the placeholder “friend” option. If Kenny was Lee’s childhood friend, or even college friend, or any context where they had a long standing history with each other that started before the apocalypse, I don’t think I would’ve bat an eye to it. It’s like how if (I don’t watch the show so if this ends up making no sense forgive me) Rick gave Shane as an answer, I wouldn’t have questioned it. Lee and Kenny only knew each other for around 5 months, though. Additionally, the only things Lee did to “hurt” Kenny was by personally hurting his feelings whenever he had a differing opinion as him. The way that Lee speaks about the entire situation in hindsight just feels a lot deeper and much more nuanced than a friendship.

Additionally, when the crew are all stuck in the attic together, Lee is having a conversation with Christa and Omid where he reveals who he’d like to take care of Clementine if he didn’t make it. The options are either Christa and Omid themselves, Kenny, or to find a different family to take care of Clementine. Kenny’s always been my favorite character, so the first couple of times I played this game I chose him based solely on bias. As I got older, though, the option of Kenny once again felt out of place for me. Lee is capable of choosing between a healthy stable young adult couple with good heads on their shoulders who want to raise a kid anyway… or Kenny. It’s not an even comparison at all– unless Kenny was Lee’s partner, then asking Kenny to look after Clementine in his absence would make perfect sense.

This one has been pointed out various times by shippers, but I’m going to mention it anyway because I think The Walking Dead Game’s writers are brilliant and that very little of their dialogue can be brushed off as an ‘accident’ or ‘coincidence.’ Throughout the game, only three people refer to Kenny with the nickname ‘Ken’: Katjaa, Sarita, and Lee. Do I think TWDG writers added this with the purpose of hinting at Lee and Kenny having a romantic relationship? No. However, I do think this was done intentionally to emphasize the level of closeness between the two, and I find it interesting that they went about it by giving Lee a habit that only Kenny’s wife and Kenny’s girlfriend could share with him. In other words, it feels like these two characters were coded without the game even realizing what they were doing– not like I’m complaining.

Part 3: How They’re More to Each Other Than They Are to Their Canon Love Interests

I’ve given examples of when the story has treated Lee as though he’s equal to Katjaa and Sarita in Kenny’s eyes. However, there is also evidence of Lee being held closer to Kenny than Katjaa or Sarita– same goes for Lee, as there’s an argument to be made that he held Kenny in a deeper regard than he did Carley. I want to preface this by saying, I am not here to pit Kenny and Katjaa against each other and don’t think it’s necessary to advocate for this ship. I myself love Katjaa as a character, and I also know and believe that Kenny loved Katjaa deeply. Sarita is a different story, and I could go on my whole tangent about how she was only put in the story as a plot device to drive a wedge between Kenny and Clementine, but I won’t. I’m also a fan of Lee and Carley as a ship, and a big multishipper in general, so please do not misunderstand this as me invalidating any other pairing.

When Carley (who canonically was Lee’s hinted at or potential love interest) was shot in the face right in front of Lee, he was considerably okay. All of his energy was put into disciplining Lily, but as far as Carley’s death itself, he didn’t really give much of a reaction. He had watched so much death at the point that it seemed like he was starting to get somewhat desensitized to it. When Kenny “died”, however– because remember, he never actually saw it, but just the mere thought of Kenny dying had Lee torn up in a way we hadn’t seen throughout the entire game. He took a beat to kneel over, exclaimed and cursed to himself, and was incredibly somber from that point on. There are even dialogue options for him to get snappy at Omid and Christa about the matter right after, making it abundantly clear how sore he’s left from it.

Kenny, on the other hand, mentioned, reminisced about, or blatantly said that he missed Lee on multiple occasions. He had only really mentioned Katjaa once in season 2 (from what I can recall), and one could argue that it was out of respect for Sarita, which is fair. This brings me back to what I touched on earlier about Sarita, which is that I feel she’s a placeholder– for both the story and for Kenny. He seemed excited to be with someone again, to have someone to hold at night, and to have the void of loneliness filled more than he seemed connected to Sarita as a person (hence him saying “I won’t be left alone again” as Sarita was dying–felt like the reminder of his past trauma was what was hurting him in the moment if anything). He, in my opinion, genuinely had the most connection or a dynamic that feels the most like a relationship on paper with Lee than any other character in the game.

Part 4: What Made Their Parting so Tragic/Their ‘Confession’

Seeing the scene for yourselves is a lot easier and much more effective than me trying to explain how it went, so refresh your memory with the video linked below:

If I had to pinpoint a part of the game that felt like an admission of feelings between the two, I’d say it was the moment during their separation, which is painful enough in itself. The few words that were exchanged by them in that moment, as well as the context of Kenny sacrificing himself and Lee fighting to convince him not to, felt like they were conveying everything they were feeling but couldn’t bring themselves to say directly. Along with this, Kenny let go of his complex towards Lee in that moment. He finally stopped feeling threatened and belittled by Lee’s unwavering goodness and, in Carley’s words, took a page from his book. That’s the silver lining of this moment– Kenny finally made a decision that he wouldn’t live in regret about.

Lee, on the other hand, died thinking that Kenny was dead. My best friend pointed out how, in Lee’s final moments, he probably thought about how he’d get to see Kenny again, not knowing that Kenny was perfectly fine. That just about broke my heart. What’s even more heartbreaking, though, is what would’ve been going through Kenny’s mind if Lee had cut his arm off. He disappears with the possibility of Lee still being alive hanging over him, agonizing over not being able to find him again– especially by the time he met up with Walter, Matthew and Sarita, as he probably encountered or heard stories about people who survived bites by cutting off their limbs by then. Once he reunited with Clementine and saw that Lee wasn’t with her, he was then forced to face his death.

In conclusion, I interpret Lee and Kenny to without a doubt have feelings for each other, but I believe they never got an opportunity to act on them. Their love story ends with Lee dead, and Kenny left agonizing over what could’ve been. It’s not a happy story at all, but that’s what makes it so good… and if there are any modern AU fics of them out there please send them my way because I am in misery. Again, this is all simply my opinion and I do not care enough to argue about it, though I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts! Even differing ones given that you’re being respectful :)

[crustaceousfaggot]

"I came here as a stranger, as a stranger I leave again."

The Terror (2018) + Winterreise (Franz Schubert, text by Wilhelm Müller)

English Translations by Michèle Lester

Context & thoughts below the cut:

I think Winterreise works really well alongside The Terror. Beyond the base similarity of "going on a long doomed journey through the cold" I just think the vibes match up really well. I first made the connection when I was listening to No. 23, where the singer witnesses a morning sun dog and compares the two false suns to the eyes of the woman he'll never see again:

Winterreise (or The Winter Journey) is a song cycle for tenor and piano written by Franz Schubert in 1828, set to the work of German poet Wilhelm Müller. It's loosely narrative in nature, and follows a man who is cast out from his village after the death of his lover. He embarks on a meandering, directionless journey through the frozen wilderness, commenting on the things he sees and feels. The end of the song cycle is vague, and the wanderer's fate is left uncertain.

I didn't include this one in the main post because I think the connection between the poem and Crozier is just one step too far removed for it to make sense in a post without context, but I wanted to mention it here somewhere because it really just feels like a perfect match.

Looking past just the text, the music of Winterreise is some of my favourite ever written for the human voice. It's bleak, it's haunting, it's Schubert at his best. There's this pervading sense of hopelessness through the entire work - sometimes raging and desperate, sometimes cold and listless, sometimes interrupted by moments of joy and light before falling again into desolation. Rarely has a piece of music left me feeling so hollow inside. The Terror left me feeling the same way.

If you're at all interested in classical music, I cannot recommend enough that you give this a listen. I'd recommend the Peter Pears recording, or the Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau recording if you don't vibe with Pears' voice (I wouldn't blame you, he's got this sort of ghostly wail-like quality to his sound that can be very jarring.) There's also a 1968 video of Pears and his partner (composer and pianist Benjamin Britten) performing and discussing the music, which is absolutely worth a watch if you want to see two old gay men talk about music for 10 minutes.

Anyways, this is all to say that being into classical music does not free you from Blorbo Song Disease. If anything it just makes it more embarrassing. I can't just make a character playlist and call it a day, I have to make pretentious and long-winded Tumblr posts that would make my Song Interpretation professor claw her hair out.

[unovaascollectionoftrinkets]

sneak peak at a fic i'm writing !

inspired by the fact that I just want to write something where Katsuki has piercings and every freaking time I start to write one... somehow the piercings get removed... or I just don't know how to add them without saying

HEY UA! BAKUGO KATSUKI HAS piercings.

and thats not the exact ~vibe~ i'm going for.

so this is my attempt so far. (it doesnt even get to the part where they are mentioned, smh)

i give most of my fics 'code names' while writing them and then decide on the name at the end, so for now this is: pierce. obvi somethings will probably be changed when i'm done with the fic.

enjoy :)

The slam of a door reverberated through the entire dorm, shaking walls and rattling picture frames. 

Every head in the common room turned toward the source, but they didn’t need to see who it was to know. Only one member of Class 1-A possessed the strength—and sheer rage—to shake the whole damn building.

Kirishima glanced up from the couch, a knowing smirk already forming. 

“Mido, looks like you’re up,” he said, his voice laced with amused sympathy.

Izuku let out a groan that was equal parts exhaustion and resignation, dragging a hand down his face. 

Ever since he and Katsuki had worked out their… extensive history and rekindled a somewhat volatile but undeniable friendship, the rest of Class 1-A had taken to calling him the “Katsuki Whisperer.” 

The nickname stuck like super glue. 

And while Izuku secretly found a strange pride in his ability to calm the explosive blonde, it also meant he got stuck with handling him whenever the grenade went live.

Case in point: Katsuki had apparently gone nuclear. Again.

“I dunno, Kiri,” Izuku muttered. “I don’t think I can do much this time.”

“You’ve got the magic touch!” Mina chirped from across the room, grinning over her can of soda. “Just give him that voice. You know, the soft one.”

“Yeah, the calming one,” Kirishima added, his grin widening.

Izuku groaned again, louder this time. He could already feel the heat rising to his face.

The faint but unmistakable sound of blaring music began filtering down the hallway, growing louder with each passing second. Izuku’s shoulders tensed as he recognized the song.

“♫ EVERYTHING IS FUCKED, EVERYBODY SUCKS. YOU DON’T KNOW WHY, BUT YOU WANNA JUSTIFY RIPPIN’ SOMEONE’S HEAD OFF ♫”

“Yeah… definitely not going up there,” Izuku shouted over the sudden blast of Break Stuff.

“Oh, come on, Mido! He wouldn’t actually rip your head off!” Kirishima said, though his words lacked any real conviction.

“♫ NO HUMAN CONTACT, AND IF YOU INTERACT, YOUR LIFE IS ON CONTRACT ♫”

“Not helping!” Izuku snapped.

“♫ YOUR BEST BET IS TO STAY AWAY, MOTHERFUCKER! ♫”

The chorus hit like an explosion, and Izuku couldn’t help but cringe. 

If that song was playing, Katsuki was definitely in a mood. There wasn’t a chance in hell anyone was talking him down—not without risking life, limb, and possibly the structural integrity of Heights Alliance.

“Come on!” Mina pressed. She cupped her hands around her mouth and affected a dramatic falsetto. “Just hit him with the classic Hey, Kacchan~ If you don’t explode Heights Alliance, I’ll give you a big fat wet ki—”

Blackwhip shot out of Izuku faster than a lightning bolt, clamping over Mina’s mouth before she could finish.

“Don’t even say it!” Izuku yelped, his face and ears turning a mortified shade of pink. He shot a glare at the fifth user in his head. Thanks for the reflexes, really.

Mina pried the tendrils off her mouth, laughing so hard she had to grip the couch for balance. “Oh, come on, you’re blushing! That’s adorable! You know it works.”

“It’s not—it’s not like that!” Izuku stammered, his voice rising an octave as he flailed his arms in protest. “And even if it was—which it isn’t—it wouldn’t work this time.”

“Why not?” Kirishima asked, looking genuinely puzzled. “You’re the Katsuki Whisperer, man! What could he be that mad about?”

Izuku sighed heavily, glancing toward the stairwell. He could tell them, but… nah. 

Some truths were better kept under wraps. Especially because he didn’t want Katsuki to find out he was the one who let the cat out of the bag.

[inamagicalhallucination]

atsushi akutagawa lucy and junichiro road trip thing that i sometimes think about

okay

atsushi and junichiro are talking about how much theyd wanna go on a vacation, ya know things have been happening and its getting tired

anyway they're talking as they head to the cafe where lucy is and lucy's like "ive always wanted to go on a road trip" and atsushi and junichiro are like thats genius

anyway so they rent a car and pack their bags and atsushi wants to invite someone else but he doesn't wanna make things awkward for junichiro and lucy, who dont know that person that well

but obviously his besties would know him well so they plan for a fourth person anyway and end up contacting somehow gin to ask where her brother would like to visit (to add on to their map) and if she could invite him for them and gin's like my brothers not gonna do that so ill just send u a bag with his stuff and ask chuuya to request some time off on his behalf

and on the day theyre leaving, junichiro and lucy tell atsushi that akutagawa is gonna join them too and atsushi is ecstatic

"you really asked him??"

"well... no"

akutagawa, wandering around, wondering why his stuff is missing, gin is laughing at him, and chuuya requested time off for him and a car pulls up next to him and junichiro lucy and atsushi are like "get in loser we're going on a road trip"

and when he's like "what? no." they just kidnap him anyway

the first person who drives is junichiro - someone honks at him and yells at him in road rage and he bursts into tears

the second person who drives is akutagawa, it's only atsushi's holding on to him that stops him from murdering the person who cut in front of him

the third person is atsushi

atsushi doesn't cry or get angry becuz he's been taught by kunikida and dazai

atsushi however is taught by kunikida and dazai and he is a combination of their driving skills so in short terms: he's horrible

he drives so fast akutagawa uses rashomon to keep himself, junichiro and lucy in the car

when he parks junichiro has to bolt out to throw up

lucy isn't even moving thats how horrific his driving is

anyway

lucy on the other hand is a really good driver but she's not used to driving on the left side

anyway

horrific driving from all four aside

whoever's upfront chooses the music and they all change their seats frequentally

akutagawa listens to classical music becuz idk goth vampire

junichiro listens to top 40s becuz its an easy choice

lucy listens to american music becuz she's american idk

atsushi listens to a horrific combination of all that and also whatever anyone in the agency has sent him

they switch seats pretty often so everyone gets a chance to sit with everyone

junichiro and atsushi on the front is filled with them happily exchanging stories meanwhile akutagawa and lucy in the back talk shit about atsushi being oblivious

akutagawa and lucy in the front is them yelling and cursing the other drivers junichiro and atsushi in the back is quietly looking out the window, relaxing

junichiro and akutagawa in the front is talking about what songs they wanna listen to and other such conversation and lucy and atsushi in the back is happily talking about how theyd never have gotten to this before -> trauma dumping

junichiro and akutagawa in the back is awkward silence and lucy and atsushi in the front is screaming songs at the top of their lungs

akutagawa and atsushi together front or back make lucy and junichiro feel like the third wheels

//

anytime akutagawa gets sulky they scream songs on the top of their lungs into his ear to annoy him

anyway its all of them having fun being silly and teasing each other

[ben-drowned-me]

hi! could you write some general hc for Jeff and Toby? Also could you talk about more about your canon plsss?

✧.* gen jeff and toby headcanons

-aaa of course !! i love jeff and toby so much

for my canon, I like to think that i just kind of make the characters more real. For most of their original canon stories, or for the fanon versions of them, their characters are made to be just killing machines with a little bit of angst and the story of whatever caused it. I base them off my favourite versions of their stories (or combine), but i give them flaws and little quirks that make them into an actual character rather than a person. I also try to write in how they are all traumatized people because thats usually brushed off. I wouldn't mind going into more detail if you'd like :3

jeff the killer

 incredibly close with liu before everything went down, now he just feels guilty being around him

hardcore metal and punk fan. Screeching Weasel, Benighted, To The Grave. stuff like that

Has night terrors. Rooms with Ben because he's the only one who can calm him down when he awakes. 

Soft spot for animals (usually prefers cats but doesn't say anything to Smile)

Grew up in a very strict catholic family

Is the self-proclaimed "white boy" of the mansion but is hispanic

Pushes his emotions away until something really triggers him

When he finally gets triggered, it does not end well

Full breakdowns. Rage, Depression. He goes through all of it in the span of like 2 days. 

Everyone gives him space except Ben

No mirrors in his room. Avoids ones outside

phantom pain from the burns 

he looks absolutely atrocious. Probably the worst of all the creeps but to be fair he went through severe body trauma

For a grown man, he's on the skinner side 

still really fucking strong though

Can't sleep without noise. One of the reasons he rooms with Ben so much bc hes loud

Messy room. Does not clean, does not know where anything is

only really uses the top of his face to show emotion because he's scared of re-opening his mouth scars

He would spend hundreds of dollars at bath and body works but all the scents he picks up would clash so badly

the kind of guy to say no when someone asks for something but then get 3 of it

listens to british rap unironically

toby rogers

mentioned before, but hates waffles. Any classic breakfast food he dislikes but those are the worst

a collector. His room is filled with small little trinkets he's picked up. Has a rock or button collection

Probably the worst of the creeps emotionally

Was raised in a pretty toxic environment.. Never learned how to manage his emotions. Has too many of them and they change too often so he kind of just. explodes

Usually extreme rage or goes nonverbal

is autistic idc

very ! bad ! ptsd

nervous around male authoritative figures

initially refused to eat at the dinner table since it was a requirement of his fathers, but is getting better at it

soft spot for kids, will let sally dress him up and do his makeup

religious guilt though he was never religious

finds EJ to be very good company, he enjoys the atmosphere

speaking of EJ, he taught Toby a lot of medical care since he's not always available

sleeps on the floor pretty often

kind of an asshole sometimes

master of sarcasm tbh

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Weekend all :) First off sorry I forgot to thank everyone last ep. My Chris rage was immense so it knocked me off kilter haha So thank you all for reading ❤️ We’ve hit another fav on my list. The dance alone makes this episode amazing. It’s also the things leading up to it that are also great. This definitely has the why aren’t you together moment? Excited to cover their iconic dance. Let’s get going.

4x18 Backstabbers

We begin with Tim telling Lucy they're not riding together. That she's with Nolan and he's with Aaron today. I love Lucy’s little nose scrunch. Clearly not happy she has to ride with someone else for her shift. Riding with Nolan wasn’t on her list of things she wanted to do today and it shows. I can't get over her dislike of being separated from him for the day. I do love her sassy reply though. Can’t let him know not riding with him bums her out.

Also we all know he would rather be riding with her as well. But you know neither of them can admit as such. Because god forbid we do that eh? So they bury their feelings in their banter per usual. Definitely got that old married couple energy going on here. The sassy eyebrow pump she does is so cute. Tim is gonna miss her we all know it haha We also get that Tall/Smol shot I love so much as well. Always happy to get one of those.

They pass Webb on their way to the kit room. He tells Tim what a good job he did on the Stewart case. Lucy is smiling then putting things together. Saying isn’t she the one who solved it? The one who made the connection? Also that she got punched in the face while arresting him...

Tim cutely says ‘You’re jealous.’ Clearly amused by this reaction of her's. Then goes on a classic Tim rant. Asking if that’s why she does this job? For high fives from Webb? We all know that’s not what she’s asking for here Timothy. Lucy tells him it would be nice to have some recognition. It is part of the reason she took being his side. Amongst other reasons….

He then does what he thinks she wants and it backfires. Pretty badly. This isn’t what she meant by recognition. I do love him winking at her while he’s explaining it to Webb. Saying how he couldn’t have solved it without her. All it does it make Tim look even better. Because Webb just continues to praise Tim. He can't possibly think that's what she wanted LOL Now it looks like he is being selfless and sharing credit.

Lucy’s reaction is hilarious when he asks her if she feels better? Cleary not Timothy... She is still pissed because this is after the fact. She wanted the recognition when the case happened. Not after when Tim’s name was already the arresting officer. It's not the same thing. Oh my love you aren’t getting what’s she’s throwing down right now ha Her body language and facial expression expressing her discontent with him.

Aaron joins them and makes the worst decision he could. Kissing Tim’s ass. Idk why he would think this was a good idea. Especially after riding with the female version of Tim LOL Tim is straight forward with Aaron. Tells him to not kiss ass and set up the shop. He turns to Lucy looking for advice. Wisdom of any kind. She is the Tim dictionary after all. No one better to go to about this man.

Unfortunately she is too caught up in own thing to dispense anything helpful. Just goes off on a rant about credit. How he shouldn't let Tim just steal it from him. Poor Aaron is like 'uhhh but I’m a rookie…so that is not helpful at all' ha I love her pout and restlessness as the scene ends. Lucy is so salty and needs to vent. Aaron is not your guy for that sadly.

We catch up to Lucy full on ranting to Nolan about Tim. Telling him it’s not even about the recognition. I mean…it kinda is ha She continues on saying how every single case file has Tim’s name on it. How she’s the one filing all the reports for it. She asks Nolan how she’s supposed to take on more responsibility if no one knows what she’s capable of? Nolan being the dope he is tries to get factual on her. *sigh* John this is why you are just friends LOL You clueless dope.

Asking her 'Wasn’t riding with Tim her idea?' Lucy says yes cause he takes on all the high profile cases. Which is huge for her. Nolan adds in that she is seeing a down side to that now? She nods and he continues to put his foot in his mouth cause Nolan. Saying she should just get reassigned then. Tim would understand. (I don’t know he would...) Also that's not what she wants at all. She was upset they weren't riding for one day together. So there's no way she's walking away from being his aide.

Nolan is being such a man right now. Trying to solve her problems when she just wants to vent. To hear ‘yeah that sucks .’ Or ‘Tim should give you credit’ I love her calling him out on it. Like listen John you are here to listen not problem solve haha Luckily he does as such and repeats back that Tim is the "worst" (I mean he’s not she just stupid frustrated with her work hubby ha). Lucy’s cute little smile after he does is adorable. Like good boy Nolan. ha

We flit back to Tim and Aaron. He tells Tim he’s ready for any test he wants to throw his way. Tim says that’s why he’s not going to. That Harper is a great T.O. (Look how far we’ve come since s2. My heart.) He’s been on the job long enough he doesn't need them. He lets Aaron know today isn’t about if he will make it. It’s about what kind of officer he will become when he does.

Aaron asks Tim how they’re gonna find that out? Tim says by figuring out his superpower. He starts to list everyone���s. He’s spot on for Harper and of course for his girl. I mean her empathy is one of her biggest strengths. She is very good at adapting to any situation. I mean her biggest adaption was Tim at first. Hehe It is her superpower no doubt.

He then says Nolan talks a lot LMAO Aaron isn’t disagreeing….I love Tim’s answer to his follow up question. That if he doesn’t have one he’ll be Smitty Haha Aaron looking nervous and feeling like this is still a Tim test somehow…I mean it is. Just a character based one. Which is pretty damn important to Tim Bradford. So...you should be nervous. lol

This next portion for Tim and Aaron is hilarious. They’re called to a guy magnet fishing. He tells them he found something strange. It’s a sword. Aaron mentions a murder that involved decapitation recently. Tim tells the man they’ll need to take it. He looks bummed but says at least he can get money on something else.

Aaron panics and levels Tim. Knocks him to the ground immediately. Poor Tim and his back issues. I have those now it hurts to watch him tackle him to the ground like that. Tim makes a crack saying 'Clearly being able to identify fake grenades is not his super power.' LOL Aaron makes a face and we see Tim’s back covered in goose crap hahaha Oh Aaron is bombing left and right.

They're back in the shop and Tim is eating his potential super powers for breakfast. Kudos to Aaron for suggesting more and more though. Except Tim is destroying every single of one of them…It’s so funny to watch. I mean it’s not funny for poor Aaron LOL Just more proof no challenges him like Lucy. Truly no one can match what she brings to their dynamic. You know Tim feels it when she’s absent. So he is just mowing down Aaron in the process haha poor guy. I do love Aaron though. He’s such a goober and it shows through out the rest of this season and into the next. He was a great addition to the cast.

Tim and Aaron respond to domestic call. This man just got paroled and wants to see his son. His ex is fighting him saying he can't be anywhere near them. Tim takes the man's ID to run him and Aaron asks to talk to the man. He does a good job calming him down with his own experience. Tells him I’m sure he’s dreamt of this moment for years.

He’s also sure this wasn’t how he expected it to go down. That he needs to remember it’s been years for them. They've been living their lives while he was gone. So they might not be ready but someday they might. Gives him his card and the number for James if he needs it. They can help him get back on his feet when he's ready for it. Tim walks up and tells him good job. Finally got one right. Yay Aaron.

Tim walks up to Aaron at the wedding reception to discuss his super power. Wanting to make sure he knows what it is. He's been searching for their entire time together. Tim tells him that it’s experience with being incarcerated. Clearly he has a connection to those that have been in prison. That empathy and compassion is what he can build his career on. Gah I love when he’s in teaching mode. Fine af. *fans self* Teach away sexy. This scene ends with funny bit about the park moment haha I enjoyed them together a lot.

This next moment is an all time fav of mine. Tim surprising Lucy not once but twice with his actions. First off by bringing up that dance he 'owes' her from 3x14. You know Tim kinda made the first move with her more than once before they were together. 3x14 being one and this being another. He’s the one to bring the dance back up. A dance I’m sure she never expected him to bring back up. We all know he wanted to dance with her and this was his sly way of doing that. So he uses the guise of saying it's still owed to her.

Tim ‘I don’t do weddings’ Bradford wants to dance with his girl. This is his way of getting that but still being himself about it. Acting like he has to do this. When I’m sure that dance has been on his mind on and off since that moment happened. We see right through you Timothy but it's ok hehe The absolute sass from Lucy is on par for her. Always toe to toe with him. She too is excited he’s cashing this in. You can tell she is happy he remembered this dance. A debt was owed hehe Tim making a face but you know he loves it. She is his equal in so many ways but especially for banter. Tells him like it is and he keeps coming back for more.

Ahhh these two idiots in love. Looks at this man when she takes his hand. That is his full blown Lucy smile. That 'I’m a goner for this woman and would do anything for her.' smile. She is the only one who brings that out in him. He’s so love with her at this point you’d have to be blind not to see it. He lights up when she takes his hand and makes a classic Lucy expression at him. You could power a city with that smile of his. The way they walk onto the dance floor you'd think they were each others date to this party.

Harper’s daughter earlier said she liked her mom with James. Noting that ‘You’re happy when you’re around him.’ These two are never happier than when they are around each other. Their true self’s come out and they are radiating joy. Look at those two above. They are carefree and light as a feather in this moment. Projecting heart eyes as far as the eye can see. You’re never gonna see them be this way with their current SO’s. They don’t bring out the best in them. Anyone around them can see they’re gone for one another. Except them….

Tim is heart eyes galore for his girl from the minute they hit the dance floor. Lucy is flying pretty high herself. Look at the way she is looking at him in that first gif. Transparent as ever at hiding her feelings for him. Tim starts off with the thing he knows is bugging her. He didn’t spend the day with her but he knows her. Knows it ate at her all day long. He also knows it's something he needs to rectify.

Lucy has simmered down at this point about it. It’s evident in her reply to him. Tim forges forward anyways. I do want to note the eye contact between these two. It never breaks as they speak to each other. It's so intimate. I love him gesticulating his fingers around her hand. Re-wrapping them around hers as he explains himself. It's a cute fidgety thing he does while trying to get what he needs to say out. It's the little things I love so much .

He starts out STRONG complimenting her. Not only complimenting her but saying she is in the top 5 he’s ever trained.(Psst. She was the best one.) No better praise she could receive in this moment than that. Lucy being Lucy has to make a joke. She craves his praise but also can’t handle it at the same time. I feel that girl I’m the same way. Tim is looking down at her with massive heart eyes might I add. Saying he wants her to have a successful career.

He wants to support her career the way she’s always supported his. No hesitation and putting her first. Look at the way she is beaming up at him when he says this. The way she's searching his face as he speaks. Gah how do these two not know they’re in love? Honestly. She looks so enamored with him as he’s talking. Their smiles and heart eyes are so loud. They’re screaming how they feel to the entire party.

Tim shocks her even further with his next set of comments. Lucy is already on cloud 9 as is. He’s asked her to dance, he’s complimented her in the best way and said he wants her career to be successful. She is in serious shock when he tells her he’s listing her on all future reports as the arresting officer. Lucy is in awe of this man right now. Not only for doing this but for how he’s grown. As a person and as a sergeant.

For him to step aside like this and give her the glory. To put her career ahead of his so she can succeed. The way she says ‘But you’re senior officer.’ Reminds me of her in 5x12 being in the same amount of disbelief replying ‘But that’s a desk job….’ Lucy can’t believe what he’s giving her and putting aside. He finishes it off with his version of I love you at this point. Saying she deserves to be recognized. What he's also saying is she deserves to be recognized by him. He's so damn soft in the delivery of his words. His body language also as relaxed as we've ever seen it.

The way he looks at her while he says this. Be still my heart. Screaming his feelings in this moment without realizing. Showing Lucy he hears her and has done something about it. That he cares, wants her to be a success, and that he’s putting her first just like she always has done for him. Lucy is sassy in her retort because she can be. (Ain’t no one else talking to this man the way she does) She is looking up at him with the same amount of affection he's shooting her way. Telling him 'You’re right I do. Thank you.' haha Look at her. She’s saying I love you right back in this moment. *sigh* These two.

Everything about this moment makes me squee. The non stop romantic looks they’re throwing each others way. The way they’re gazing into each other eyes the entire time. Forgetting everyone else there and the fact that they can see this love fest. Then comes the cutest most carefree part. Look at the smiles on these two! They’re so gone for each other at this point. I imagine this would be similar to how they’ll dance at Nolan’s wedding. With a little more closeness and kisses ha

Seriously though. Have we ever seen Tim this happy and relaxed? Only when he’s with her. It’s oozing out of him in S4. The laughing, the smiles, Lucy complimenting his moves. That glorious smile of his when she does. Be more in love you two. If someone just saw these gifs no context. They’d think they were a couple in love having the time of their lives on the dance floor. It’s hard to believe they were dating other people at this point. I mean look at this scene. They look so damn happy together. Truly just enjoying one another’s company.

Lucy is beaming with happiness when he spins her around. How he leans into her as he spins her around. Her laughter as she leans into him after he does. My heart is gonna implode from the cuteness everyone haha There’s a reason it’s one of my all time fav moments. It’s so sweet Imma get diabetic. Such a good episode I cannot. One of my favs of the season. For this moment alone right here. *sigh* I love them. Moments like this I knew were cementing them for s5. Slow burn at its finest.

~~~~

Side notes- non Chenford

James and Nyla ❤️

Grey, Wes and James making the video while Silas critiques them is hilarious. Makes me laugh everytime cause they’re so bad LOL

Thank you again to everyone. You all are the best for your continued support. The likes, comments and reblogs are everything to me see you all in 4x19 :)

[dailydegurechaff]

challenge: hollow knight bug tanya

vessel tanya

my thoughts got long. warning under the read more for Hollow Knight spoilers.

ok listen listen, while i have you i need to implant an idea here

This oversimplifies both character’s motivations and stories a bit but like. do you see what im cooking. the vibes are THERE

like. Being X wants to bring Salaryman to his lowest to see if that suffering will make him a believer. Salaryman's values revolve entirely around his autonomy & free will. so an au where being x reincarnates Salaryman/Tanya into Hallownest as a Vessel, a creature that is meant to have no agency and is generally very doomed

so we'd see HK AU!Tanya (Bugurechaff if you will) trying to survive in this new world, but also slowly learning the lore of this world and what's happened to it. and I think over time, as she discovers who the Radiance is/was, she'd probably realize the similarities between Radiance and Being X and go "Hey wait a damn minute." My thought is she'd have a classic Tanya Misunderstanding Moment and misconstrue the two of them as one entity. Whether this fills her with vengeful rage and she takes it upon herself to destroy the Radiance, thinking Rad is Being X, I'm not sure. I could potentially see it.

some other vague ideas

Tanya's whole shtick is that she wants to achieve a comfortable, safe life where she's free to do whatever she wants. I genuinely believe that after somehow escaping the Birthplace, fighting through the ruins of Hallownest, and eventually coming across the town of Dirtmouth, she'd gladly end her adventure there. Think about it. Dirtmouth is safe, nothing really substantial goes on up there. There's no point for her to go back into the depths if she can just live peacefully there without any problems. There is nothing to stop her from doing this. Like, does she need the Geo to buy a house? No point, the whole town is virtually abandoned, just pick a house and live in it. Elderbug actually says this about Iselda moving in.

I think the point I’m trying to get at here is that if the story will let her, Tanya would probably get complacent. Which means that we'd probably need to find a reason to force her to act if we want her story to go farther than just 'makes it to Dirtmouth, the end' Do you think she'd get bored eventually? What is there to do? As said previously, nothing really goes on there, and there are very few permanent residents.

One way I feel like Tanya could be pushed is in regards to her social motivations. Like. I feel like she needs to be seen as a respected, productive member of society in order to feel fulfilled. I don't think she could get that in Dirtmouth, so the question is: Is this desire enough to overcome her desire for safety?

I think motivating Tanya to get moving and back to exploring (and therefore learning about Hallownest & by extension the Radiance) could be more easily accomplished by giving her companions who drag her outside of her comfort zone. So like. Let's drag more YS characters into HK.

In my head I have the mental image of tiny little vessel Tanya rescuing some other travelers on her way to find a safe place to settle. These travelers being Bug!203rd Battalion (Visha, Weiss, Koenig, Neumann). And she just absolutely destroys whatever was endangering them. And they're so impressed by her they just end up following her like lost puppies.

And like. Vessels can't speak. So she can't just tell them to go away and leave her alone. So she has an entourage now, who at least can help her fight. They also probably tell her about Dirtmouth, and they travel as a group to bring her there.

Maybe after she makes it clear she'd like to live peacefully in Dirtmouth, they end up leaving her. Only to return later when she's gotten restless, new party member in tow (Grantz!), who she helps to train and such.

Also also, Vessels being unable to speak definitely creates problems for both Tanya and the narrative. It has the possibility for hilarity with the good old Tanya Misunderstandings that YS is so good for, but also it creates problems with getting her to interact with people. There would have to be a LOT of charades, characters conveniently bringing up information to her, or conveniently guessing what she's trying to get at, which i feel would be hard to do naturally.

You could perhaps solve this with her meeting someone who can teach her to write or sign? Like Lemm or Quirrel. I think it'd be cute to see Relic Seeker Assistant Tanya with Lemm for a little while. I doubt she'd have an interest in the relics, but he'd probably give her a lot of insight into Hallownest history.

the Type 95 is definitely a charm in this universe. In HK canon, we're told charms are created by a bug's dying wish or something to that effect, so my first thought was that it would be a charm made by HK AU!Schugel's death that Tanya ends up getting her hands on, and then Being X blesses it... But then we also see in HK canon that Leg Eater is able to make his own charms, albeit fragile/easily breakable ones.

so my concept is this: Bug!Schugel creates his own fragile charm. I'm thinking the effect would probably be something revolving around converting infection to usable Soul/Mana (akin to the canon Type 95's Mana fixation thing). So, wandering inventor Schugel, looking for an assistant comes across Dirtmouth! Vessel!Tanya, who's hanging around (probably bored out of her mind and desperately needing to do SOMETHING productive) sees this invention and think it might be useful for the world, happens to have nothing better to do, and gets roped into this. Naturally something goes wrong, and before it fails horribly and disastrously, Being X steps in and blesses the charm. This makes the effect work, but using it also causes the wearer to become more susceptible to mental corruption/infection.

Also, I think that it also needs to become permanently unequippable (Like Void Heart) so Tanya can't get rid of it. Also also, the charm needs to have some insane cheesy name after Being X alters it. Everlasting Blessing. Immortal Prayer. Idk. But it needs to be something Tanya would hate.

I think the Silver Wings Assault Badge could also be a charm. I'm not sure what it's effect might be, but maybe something like the monarch wings, but its powered by Soul. She's an aerial mage. She needs to fly. Also it needs a cheesy charm name too. Fluttering Soul. Wings of Argent. etc. you get what I'm going for.

The Pale King is described a lot as being pure white and gleaming. Vessels, as his offspring, do look a bit similar to him. I think somewhere within this concept, you could have Tanya gain the White Silver nickname based on her appearance. Her mask/head is pale white like PK and when she uses Soul she shines like silver? idk i think it could work. Someone (203rd member perhaps?) sees her fighting and bestows the nickname on her and it gets shortened to just Silver or something

(Before this, since Vessels cant speak so she can't tell anyone what to call her, she gets called "Little One" by Elderbug. She hates it.)

if you couldn't tell, i've thought about this a lot. i invite you all to think about it with me. if you have ideas. please. share them. especially if its about other YS characters and how to fit them into HK universe. also especially if its about how HK characters would interact with her. Is the Knight/Ghost running around in the AU? How do they feel meeting a fellow sibling like this? What about Hornet?

[katboykirby]

Autistic Beel is very real to me personally, as an autistic person (special interest, not very expressionate, etc). I also very much agree with the Satan and Levi headcanons too.

Oh this is interesting because I don't think I've heard about an autistic! Beel HC before? Usually (in my experience anyway) it's autistic! Levi and very very occasionally autistic! Satan

Now, full disclosure that I'm not autistic myself, so any information I'm familiar with comes from research + the experiences of my irl partner, who got his autism diagnosis as an adult. (I do have ADHD and I know that there's some relation/overlap there, but I'd still trust the words and experiences of actual autistic people over my own)

And I can definitely see some aspects of autism in Beel! Like you said, he doesn't tend to show much of any particularly strong emotions, at least not openly or on the surface - he tends to keep a fairly flat expression (and his usual frown could be interpreted as the classic neurodivergent "resting bitch face" aha) and his voice clips reflect this as well - he's definitely not as affective as say, Mammon or Asmo! Beel is a lot more quiet than his brothers, on average. He's not really very emotive or expressive outside of specific or extreme situations. Although, I don't tend to go for the romantic options with him or read his personal Devilgram stories all that often (since I'm a Satanfucker) but I'm aware that he's usually more emotive in romantic moments with MC, or when things get tense/dramatic with his family.

Speaking of which, something that we do occasionally see is Beel losing his temper and becoming very angry - to the point that he loses control of himself and goes on rampages. The most significant examples of this in the main story would be Lessons 4 and 5 of the original game, when he flies into a rage over some custard and ends up destroying half of MC's room; and the whole plotline in Nightbringer revolving around Beel's rampage at the royal castle that almost resulted in Diavolo having to lock him up because of how much destruction he caused. I know that "autism rage" is pretty negatively stereotyped (unfairly so, in my opinion) but anger is definitely a real struggle for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

The whole food thing is definitely interesting in this context as well (and I assume this is what you meant by "special interest?" Lmk if I'm wrong) because Beel is the complete opposite of the common autism stereotypes when it comes to food! We often see the idea of autistic individuals having a very limited scope of foods that they actually enjoy, because things like texture, flavour, and sensation are all very different and experienced in a different way than neurotypicals. Autistic individuals are stereotyped as "picky eaters" because it's common for them to have very specific "safe foods" and/or not enjoy very many exotic or strong flavours. Beel definitely does not have a problem with this, lmao. And we know that his love/obsession with all foods isn't something that came about just when he was made the Avatar of Gluttony, since he was a big food lover as an angel as well (though his eating habits, admittedly, weren't as extreme back then.) Interestingly, a lot of research shows that people with autism are more likely to struggle with binge eating disorder, which has some intriguing implications for Beelzebub 👀

It's entirely possible that exercise & working out and/or sports like Fangol could be special interests for him as well! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that Beel has mentioned or alluded to feeling restless if he doesn't get at least one workout in every day, like he doesn't feel that his day is "complete" if he hasn't done his exercise routines. This could suggest that he experiences the common autism symptoms around adherence to routines and inflexibility when it comes to changing up his usual habits and activities 🤔

This reply has actually become pretty long, so I'll just stop myself here before I get carried away even further 😅

Overall, I think that there's definitely merit to autistic! Beel HCs, and I'm sure that people who are actually autistic and/or are big fans of Beel himself (and who would have read far more of his in-game content than I have, like his Devilgrams) would be able to go into even more detail than I have!

[tomlinsonandtits]

I want to talk about Liam's funeral for a bit, and by extension, celebrity funerals in general. Over the last few days, we have seen hd view of, not only the casket of a person who died, but also of his absolutely broken, grieving parents, his former bandmates who were basically like brothers, the mother of his child, all high definition photos of humans mourning, even live streams to millions of people around the world. All of this seems to have been presented to us like it's a new season of kuwtk or the latest reality tv fad.

When fans raise questions and rage on about how fucked up this seemingly harmless trend is, we are met with responses which range from "the family allowed the paps to be there" to "this is normal for celebrity funerals, stop being dramatic". Some even go so far as to sit with metaphorical popcorn over a "boy band reuniting" and "how hot the boys look". At this point, it all feels awfully and supremely dystopian for my neurodivergent brain to even attempt to comprehend. This is the world we live in. Where a famous person is either a god or a lecherous demon and either way must accept that he has no right to privacy or normalcy whatsoever. Even when he is dead, he deserves no humanity. Apparently, "this is how the world of entertainment industries work"

let's rewind a bit.

A 31 year old man died in the worst way possible, a little over a month ago. Prior to his death, he was bullied relentlessly, online and offline, pretty much his whole life. This was justified, after the band ended, because he was "cringe" and a "failure" and "wealthy and white" and therefore was completely deserving of being mocked and shamed for sometimes just existing and being proud of his work as part of the biggest band in the world.

Eventually came allegations of abuse, as it so often does, in the form of a fictional novel, for some reason. Now, you may be thinking, did we question the honesty of these allegations and question why the law enforcement wasn't being involved and why the allegations were being presented as a novel? No, dear reader, that's not what people did. Instead, now people had a ready made reason to justify the bullying that had been carried out for years prior. No one actually bothered to look into the situation further. It has been declared, the things in a fiction book must all be as true as the bible. So people carried on. And a few days passed and suddenly, tmz announced the news of said person's departure by, and yes I am being completely factual here, by publishing the photos of a dead man's body for millions and millions of people. And yes, this is also how the family of the deceased man was informed.

I want you to sit for a minute with all this summarised information. I want you to sit with it. A horrible tragedy occurs. Someone dies. And the family finds out from the tabloids. The tabloids. And it's completely normal because he was famous. Just imagine that for a second.

Dehumanisation. That is what this is and that is what this has always been. We justify this dehumanisation by such classics as "there are others who have it worse" and "famous people are rich and privileged and therefore deserve it". When these naysayers are questioned as to how dehumanising the rich and privileged can actually be of any use to the underprivileged, we are met with resounding silence. It's almost like it was never actually about addressing societal class inequalities or holding the uber wealthy accountable. Who knew. When asked, what purpose does filming louis, zayn, niall and harry have, as they mourn a deeply personal loss, other than entertainment value, we are once again met with resounding silence.

Fun fact, the media houses placed a bounty for getting a photo of all 4 together. Additionally, it becomes increasingly clear, the price for getting the paparazzi to not film a 7 year old boy grieving his FATHER, is to thrust cameras at the face of 4 grieving men, who have had all their rights to privacy taken from them since they were barely entering adulthood. This is the price of fame, apparently. This is normal, we are told. This is how celebrity funerals are.

And it's apparently my disordered, neurodivergent brain that is the problem. For saying, hey, maybe this is not how we are supposed to be. Maybe this isn't normal. Maybe you all have completely lost the plot. Maybe we are completely fucked as a human race if we continue to ignore how dystopian and evil we have become. Maybe we should open our fucking eyes. But hey, the more plausible explanation is, maybe I have become too "radicalised".

I don't know what else to say. I don't know what else to do. I don't know.

[oswildin]

that's why I loved the loki series, I'm sick of all the hate that it gets just because loki is different. It's called character growth people! I mean I love all versions of loki. He was awesome in the movies but I also loved him in the show and the finale really made him one of the top 5 best mcu character for me.

Don’t get me wrong, the show isn’t at all perfect, but nothing is! I do feel it could’ve done with 8 episodes per season to really show the progression more of Loki’s character, deal and address some of his past trauma and accepting his true heritage etc (which I suppose they touch on or it is implied, but for the sake of plot they did kinda brush it aside). It did feel a little quick to happen, but again he was just plucked from his timeline and shown his whole life, so I suppose the reality set in pretty quick for him.

I think a lot of people cling onto Avengers!Loki (like I get it, trust me haha) a little too much, when realistically he was wearing a mask (I also am not a ‘Loki was mind controlled’ truther. He knew what he was doing and why he did it. I think the circumstances and possible slight influence of the mind stone just egged him on though). He was extremely angry and hurt during the end of Thor and in Avengers, hell even the beginning of Dark World. He even says it himself:

“Trust my rage.”

I suppose in the series, S1 Loki is just so defeated in a way because he realises that ‘nothing matters’, because it is all set out for him. Loki was never evil, did he do bad things? Yes, but he was not evil.

“No one good is ever truly good, and no one bad is ever truly bad.”

The people in the series around him help him grow, realise his potential beyond the expectations and limitations himself and others had put on him. Classic!Loki helps him realise he is more powerful than he realised, Kid!Loki makes him realise he could’ve actually been capable of killing his own brother, Sylvie gives him motivation to be better, to fight for something that matters and Mobius makes Loki see he can be whatever he wants to be, he doesn’t always need masks and illusions.

S2 Loki feels he has something worth protecting, a chosen family if you will. He knows he can’t go back to his timeline, and he failed to protect his mother, he failed being worthy in the eyes of his father, and he failed to see how Thor truly did care for him on the sacred timeline. So now… He’s determined to change that. We still see glimpses of the many facets of his character, S2 EP2 with his ability to be the Loki/God of Mischief people expect, S2 EP 5 with his selfishness and of course the finale where he reaches his ‘full potential’ so to speak.

‘Sentiment is a weakness’ has always been something Loki said or thought he believed… When in reality, sentiment drove all of his actions in the films. And that is mirrored in the series too.

Loki didn’t just suddenly become ‘soft’, it was always there, he just convinced himself that he wasn’t the same as his brother because he wasn’t like his brother… But if you strip everything back, the truth is he is just a ‘scared little boy’, as Mobius put it, who in the past latched onto what he knows best - chaos and mischief.

I cannot comment on the reasons people hate the show when it comes to the complexity of Norse mythology being used for his character, I am not well versed in it enough. I also enjoyed the Sylvie and Loki storyline - especially the complexity of S2 and their clashes. And I also enjoy Mobius and Loki’s bond and how they both helped one another grow. I don’t care about ships particularly, and I certainly don’t let it affect my opinion on the show because of that reason. Plus, I do love Sylvie as a character.

But as a MCU Loki fan, who has grown up with him since Thor1/Avengers, I think the show just expanded upon the character we finally got to see more of in Ragnarok/Infinity War. Tom even said himself that Loki has variety, he ‘plays all the keys’… Loki is never going to be one thing. And I love that about him, it’s what makes him interesting.

I could really go on and on but uh… I better not. Sorry, the special interest was really special interesting here lmao. 💚

Edit: would like to add that people who dislike the show for whatever reasons are entitled to dislike it, just as I’m entitled to enjoy it!

[snowbirds-and-snakelets]

i’ve had the idea for a snowjanus fic in my mind recently. basically pliny sr (pup’s dad) and strabo plinth are negotiating an arranged marriage between their sons, because strabo thinks it will help his family assimilate into the capitol and be less ostracised and harrington sr really wants that munitions business because he wants to expand past the navy or something. they haven’t actually solidified anything and are still in the process of working it out and deciding whether or not it’s something they should do, and pliny sr asks pup to talk to sejanus to test the waters if you will. this is the first pup hears about the idea and sejanus currently has no clue about it.

so pup reluctantly asks coriolanus if he can introduce them, and snow is actually fuming over it but he doesn’t show it and tells him it’d probably be better if pup went up to sejanus himself. the plan is that he does it tomorrow, and snow would tell sejanus about it today so he didn’t freak out when pup randomly starts talking possible marriage to him. he’s mostly trying to buy time to sort himself out and push down his feelings. he talks to sejanus about it, silently seething and vindicated when sejanus doesn’t seem all that happy about the idea. they brainstorm ways to get out of it and come up with nothing, so they say goodbye and prepare to meet tomorrow.

there are two ways this goes: one, things don’t go well but none of the three know how to convince the adults not to go through with it. coriolanus is actually going insane and is constantly at the end of his fuse from what he refuses to call jealousy but definitely is, and comes up with the desperate brilliant idea to try and convince strabo not to wed his son off to the harringtons by dating sejanus instead, because if he really wants an in with the capitol, snow’s the way to go. he justifies this because of the plinth fortune and (if we’re going by movie canon) will probably help get him the plinth prize. two, coriolanus has no idea how it goes until pup storms over to him and complains about him ‘keeping secrets’ and ‘why didn’t you just tell me you he was taken?’ and ‘that was so embarrassing why not just say he’s your boyfriend?’. snow is so confused and pup walks away, and when corio and sejanus talk later sej apologises, explaining that he panicked and said it couldn’t work because he was already dating someone. unfortunately, as the only person who talks to him willingly is coriolanus, it was very easy for pup to draw the conclusion that snowjanus real. coriolanus decides that the best course of action is to roll with it, at least until there’s no more chance of the adults going through with the engagement. this is definitely 100% so he can use sejanus for money and get more snacks from his ma not at all because he wants to date him no sir.

either way they’re both fake dating now and have to deal with the epic highs and lows of rich kid highschool as well as the backlash from their classmates. snow is still desperately clinging onto his ‘hatred’ of sejanus by pretending his feelings for sejanus have absolutely nothing to do with the situation, whilst also warring against his pure rage at pup. pup has done nothing and is pretty glad the marriage didn’t work out but you can bet that snow will never get over it because he’s a possessive bastard. classic fake dating shenanigans ensue, as well as the ‘i love them but they can only love me as an act’ angst, requited love but it takes snow a long, long, long time to admit that. would probably be pre-tbosas because it’s harder to think about this occurring alongside the 10th games.

[idkaguyorsomething]

favourite doctor who episode? (idk why I'm asking, still. have fun ranting about your favourite episode if you want to)

what an ask, there are so many incredibly episodes across all the eras that are outstanding in all these different ways, with so many characters i adore who all manage to stand out despite the lengthy history of this show. but when you asked, there was one standalone episode that came to mind immediately. so sorry to all those other ones, but for today we're going to discuss one episode (it's gonna be a long one):

dalek. nostalgia definitely plays a strong part in my choice here, especially since i saw it for the first time at a pretty impressionable point in my life. but hey, it wasn't always even my favorite episode with the a dalek in it (shout-out to asylum of the daleks), it all kinda shifted for my on my rewatch of the revival last year.

starting with my most obvious bias, NINE EPISODE <3 !!! i think a lot of us can agree that this episode has got a standout performance from christopher eccleston, one which undeniably carries so much of the episode as he channels his rage and pain into the character of the doctor. being pretty fresh off the time war, this is just about the first time where we get to see exactly how hurt the whole experience left the doctor, and it gives us just a hint of how utterly terrifying he was during a period where he lost everything. it's not just an episode where we get to see an iconic classic villain, it's one that's essential to fleshing out the doctor's character for newcomers and his development for classic fans.

speaking of iconic villains, oh my gosh the dalek itself in this episode is fucking terrifying. nostalgia is definitely playing a factor here again, but this is honestly one of the first times i remember being legitimately terrified by a tv show. we have exactly one alien to face off against here, and it's gunning down people left and right. this story does such a good job of establishing the menace of the daleks (among other things, we'll get to that later) and basically obliterating any of the jokes you could've come up with about how goofy it looks or other tone killers, it's a perfect reintroduction to the daleks. even when they reappear in larger numbers and act less effectively than in this episode, i can't help but think back to all the damage that a single dalek was able to do in this episode and think "ah fuck". if you don't know what a dalek is going into the episode, you're going to shit your pants by the end, and if you do know, then the buildup before the reveal and first confrontation is going to have you on the edge of your seat before it pays off spectacularly. top-tier tension.

the bunker is a pretty brilliant choice of a setting as well, since having it be on earth instead of a spaceship helps reinforce the feeling that the doctor and the dalek are very much alone in the universe. there's other places out there that we've visited, sure, but now they're both trapped underground in this dingy backwater planet, cut off from their respective cultures that don't even exist anymore and the wide open world.

it's a smaller thing, but i also love to hate on the villain of van statten here. he's such a puffed-up wannabe who thinks that his money can get him anything or out of any situation, and in an age of dunking on all these techbro ceos who make increasingly dumbass choices that screw over tons of people, his character has aged surprisingly well. fuck this idiot, i bet he'd have been one of the first to buy in on nfts or kiss elon musk's ass if he'd still had his fortune by the end of the episode. (also adam is here but i don't think we're actually meant to dislike him in this episode, so let's just pretend that he doesn't exist)

okay but this episode really gives us a lot of interesting stuff about rose as well. personally i think the world war three/boom town episodes do this the best, but this might just be season 1 rose at her most unhinged. she touches a spooky sad trash can alien, it starts killing everything, then at the end she discourages the doctor from destroying it despite the fact that it's clearly suicidal. we get to see the extent that her compassion for all things reaches, and how it can be a flaw as much as a virtue for her. i'm not saying she or the doctor were entirely right while the other was entirely wrong, but their opposite stances on what to do with the dalek at the end is the lynchpin of the climax, and the way she snaps him into revealing his trauma is a perfect demonstration of why he keeps around companions. (though bringing adam on board the tardis was 100% a stupid decision, okay that's the last time i'll mention him)

but then we have the dalek itself. and i think the most impressive thing about this entire episode is how it legitimately manages to instill a sense of tragedy in the dalek's existence even though it is demonstrably a complete monster. it's another really fascinating parallel to the doctor that the titular dalek becomes infected by humanity as a means of coping post-time war, and this completely emotionally annihilates it. unlike the doctor, who committed some... morally dubious actions but was still relatively fresh off the boat when humans started rubbing off on him, this dalek has committed atrocity after atrocity after atrocity, the only thing that a dalek can know how to do. so those human emotions rubbing off on it and shifting its nature so that it becomes aware that there are other things to do, and what it has done is indisputably wrong is kinda perfect karma. and from its perspective, the dalek is experiencing the most horrifying fate that a dalek could experience. the implications of what it's going through, of having the very foundations of its self shifted in a way that is fundamentally incompatible with what it has known all its life, to the point where clinging on to its old hatred and self destructing before this change can progress any further, has just stuck with me for ages. when you read into how it's a foil to the doctor, and remember that the doctor has changed so much over the ages, especially during the time war, it gives you insight into both characters. it's tragic and fascinating and there are so many ways that you can read into it.

(here's a picture of iris wildthyme just to break up all the text)

anyways, dalek is a really well-written, incredibly tense, magnificently acted self-contained episode that still manages to tie into an be essential to the overarching narrative. i thought about it so much that i started writing a fanfic what-if about it. if you made it to the end of this post have a cookie.