#there's also the whole thing with him actually acting in the opera episode. and his improving on the elevator

[pamesjatterson]

my favorite detail in Milo murphys law has gotta be Milo consistently being a theatre kid. this one goes out to "the same way you grease lightning!" and the "who's Alexander Hamilton?" bits

[illusioncanthurtme--art]

im curious, why do you like fiddlestan?

i like them in theory (all the pain potential, jeez!) but i feel like i'm missing something very obvious

Oh boy, you’re about to open pandoras box with this one -

I’ve liked fiddlestan for a LONG time, almost a decade now, (EXHIBIT A!!!), and honestly, I’ll admit that the ship is mostly based on speculation. So maybe you’re not missing something obvious, maybe I’m just delusional. I can’t speak for everyone, all I can do is explain why I like it: because it’s deeply rooted in several layers of irony. 

It’s ironic because fiddleford spent the better part of a YEAR dealing with fords nonsense. (And I KNOW, it’s not all bad, but really, especially if you read journal 3, that poor man was put through a LOT. He was definitely taken advantage of, at LEAST a little.) And after grappling with the acceptance that your longtime friend and unrequited love will never return your feelings, having lost the man to some crazy otherworldly nightmare machine, who shows up?? But his TWIN BROTHER who’s HUMBLE and KIND and TEN TIMES MORE DOWN TO EARTH?? It’s ironic, because they don’t know each other, yet they both have years of history with the same person who’s wronged them, and, they can make out about it!! THEY CAN FUCK TO SPITE HIM!! Stan stole his brothers name (and committed multiple crimes under said name), stole his house, and stole his research partner!! And… it's ironic because it’s Grunkle Stan and old man Mcgucket. That needs no elaboration.

(these are all my personal takes/headcanons! Like I said, this ship is based solely on interpretation, so I’m sure a lot of fiddlestanners like fiddauthor too. There’s like a billion different ways to interpret this ship.)

Also -

Their personalities are surprisingly similar when you stop and think about it!! You put those two in the same room, and they’d come up with some highly devilish scams together. They both have moral codes that are a little… ambiguous. And… I can’t believe I’m gonna pull this out as *canon fiddlestan documentation* but these are the kind of crumbs we’re working with here: MABELS DREAM IN THE SOCK OPERA CREDITS!!!! Although it’s not something that actually happened, and it’s just a reference to statler and waldorf, they are IN CHARACTER!! I think this is how they would actually act together if they were friends!! Just two old dudes, hanging out together watching tv, making fun of whatever they’re watching. If you’re in the room, you might get roasted too. Just a couple of old farts. It makes me so happy to think about. 

No fiddlestan rundown post would be complete without the fandoms EXTREME STRAW GRASP at Old Goldie and the Flame Retardant Raccoon. Soos calls mcgucket a “prospector guy,” amongst the other obvious comparisons you can make between fiddleford and goldie. Goldie is something stan used to like a long time ago, but he’s all old and fucked up now, best to throw him away and forget about it. BUT, as it turns out, there’s still good in that old thing after all. SO LETS GET MARRIED IN VEGAS!!!! It’s an extreme stretch, but… It’s a fiddlestan trope that they, at some point, have a crazy night of fun+romance in vegas together.  And I personally like to think that they return when they’re older+happy and tie the knot for reals. The raccoon speaks for itself - it’s one of the ways you can compare stan to a raccoon. And of course, mcgucket's raccoon wife. 

This is where it starts to get a little angsty, and if you “get all the pain potential” then you may have already given this some thought - but why does stan treat fiddleford the way he does if they used to love each other? The whole “UGH, this guy” comment in land before swine, looking all uncomfortable around him in fight fighters, choosing the spot furthest from where mcgucket lotions himself at the pool, and the “possum breath” comment in the last episode (and fiddleford actually has the mental clarity to look perturbed after he says it). Stan is hurt!!! He’s upset!! If they used to be a Thing after the portal incident, something must have happened between them for fiddlefords mental illness to get the better of him, and for him to choose to erase both stan and ford from his memories. I, personally, think that it was deep rooted internal homophobia (being raised in the south, that runs deep), and being scared for getting too close to stan. They were getting too comfortable, and that scared him. What about his family? And tate? His son can never meet stan. He can never let his wife know. And all the paranormal fuckery incidents leading up to this that already weakened his mental state, the portal incident, already having zapped his brain a few times, would have sent him over the edge. So I’m thinking they would have gotten into a fight of some kind, and fiddleford would have stormed off. Thus leaving stan having to live in a town with the person he USED to love, who doesn’t remember him at all!!! What!!!!! That sucks!!!! Only upside to fiddlefords memory erasure is that it makes it easier for stan to pretend nothing ever happened. But it’s still not easy. Also, if word ever got out that old man mcgucket used to be his boyfriend, he would never be able to live it down. So he compensates by being an ass towards him. Fuck. 

But then!! If fiddleford has the chance to heal!!! (say… maybe… when the twins are on the stan o war II) then stan would come back to gravity falls and see fiddleford looking like the person he knew thirty years ago!!!! WHAT!?!?! CAN’T RUN FROM YOUR PAST FOREVER, CAN YOU!?!?! And you KNOW fiddleford would remember what happened with stan. How long can stan keep himself in denial?? And now we’re opening up the can of worms: how the FUCK does this information reach ford?? That your brother used to canoodle with your research partner and might STILL BE?? That has so much potential too. 

Ok I wasn’t expecting to write those last two paragraphs but it’s A BIG PART OF WHY I LOVE FIDDLESTAN!!! It’s a crazy fucking rollercoaster ride!!! This thing has so many angles!!! And that’s just MY fiddlestan interpretation - I’ve seen a lot of different takes on the sort of story that would transpire between these two. But no matter what you’re cooking, It’s always a LOT. 

There’s probably so so much I didn’t touch on here. If anyone else wants to throw in their two cents as to why they like fiddlestan, please, add something!!!

[impsandstars]

Some thoughts on Stolas's growth from the early days vs. Mastermind

I recently saw on twitter someone bring up the parallels between the interaction between Stolas and Blitz in truth seekers and their interaction during the court scene. The tone and Stolas’s demeanor is very similar but with one crucial difference. In mastermind Stolas was putting on an act, pretending to be this elitist, bigoted Goetia, and although I don’t believe Stolas has ever felt or been at the same level as Andrealphus in his distaste and seeing imps as lesser beings, the Stolas in truth seekers feels like a different person. So I wanted to go back to the beginning, now that we have this arc of the book coming to a close and see how Stolas has changed.

The Stolas we meet in season 1 episode 1 is utterly infatuated with Blitz. Blitz (from The Circus episode) was this rugged, no nonsense, pleasure seeking, suave motherfucker that swept Stolas off his feet. Who showed him, for possibly the first time in his life, what real, mutual, consensual pleasure with a man was like and he was hooked. Blitz was also someone that Stolas chose himself, and we also know now how devastatingly lonely Stolas has been.

The man, literally the morning after their first meeting after 25 years, finally finally had the nerve to be like ‘that’s the sound of a fucking divorce!’ to the wife he hates. (I cheer every time. The absolute relief and crazed laughter after he just realized what he had done)

Look at what that lizard did to the man just after one night, no wonder Stolas reached out wanting to keep Blitz in his life.

And so the natural conclusion he came to was to find a way to get the imp back, and to do so permanently, or at least for as long as possible. So was born their transaction. I personally don’t believe Stolas set this up with the understanding of the power dynamic issue. I think it’s a problem that it never crossed his mind, and I’m not saying he gets a pass, but I do understand where it came from. He had a problem: I want to have sex with Blitz more, I don't want to feel so lonely, I want to see more of the man that sparked something to life in me and so he came up with a solution that he felt made the most sense. He gets what he wants and Blitz is able to continue his work. I also have always been intrigued if the main reason Stolas didn’t immediately go get his book back when he realized it was lost was because he wanted it to be a reason to get Blitz back into his life. Which can be romantic….and a bit manipulative too (‘I’ve allowed you to use my book even though it is illegal so do me this favor.’ Oh no Stolas.). There wouldn’t be growth if he didn’t start out with things that needed to be addressed.

As stated by others many times, both of these idiots (affectionate) placed the other on a pedestal (“Where is my knight in shining armor”). Seeing what they wanted to see on a surface level and not really going any deeper. Blitz to Stolas was just this embodiment of freedom and choice, an idea (a prince come to save me), rather than Stolas looking at Blitz as a whole person. We see this in the way that he talks to Blitz in the Loo Loo Land and the Harvest Moon Festival. He pays Blitz to essentially have the chance to flirt with him all day and when Blitz says things like, “save it bitch I’m working,” and “this is work and work only…not here to satisfy your perverted bird needs,” I don’t think Stolas is actually paying attention to his tone or his words and is just like, ‘oooo blitzy is being flirty, hard to get, pushing me away but wanting me.’ Remember this guy lives and breathes soap operas and romance novels which idealize actual relationships and so is reading it how he wants it to be perceived, not how it actually is. Blitz sees this as a job he has to do and Stolas sees this as an opportunity to spend time together. In the Harvest Moon Festival Stolas’s comments of “that sexy one there” and “my darling Blitzyyyyy”, again have negative reactions from Blitz of embarrassment which Stolas seems to not really be aware of, or again reads it as him being “cute”.

It’s not great but personally I do not read it as Stolas intentionally ignoring the way Blitz is responding, I think he is just reacting to everything Blitz does with some very rose tinted glasses.

I believe over time though, after spending time with Blitz during their full moon meetings and on other occasions where they were together, I think Stolas’s feelings began to grow slowly into something real when he allowed himself to actually notice who Blitz was as a person (and realized that he liked these things about him). 

Maybe Blitz wore horse boxers and Stolas got to see them every time he took his pants off, charmed by this little detail. He would see the picture of Loona, Moxxie and Millie as his phone background, realizing that they weren’t just colleagues to him but closer. They would probably talk about random things after they finished for the night. Stolas asking him how his day was and Blitz going into a tangent about their latest client. Blitz would flirt and make corny jokes that would have Stolas rolling over in laughter. Blitz was eager to try new things in the bedroom with him and would (speculating here) clean him up after a long session, hands gentle, eyes averted.

Unfortunately he still didn’t see that the transactional relationship was an issue and was something that was preventing Blitz from seeing what was forming between them as anything different. It kept them together, kept them seeing each other, and Stolas wished to keep that for as long as he could. 

You see more distinctly a change in Stolas at Ozzie’s. He isn’t parading Blitz around, flirting shamelessly with him or making overly sexual comments; he thinks this is a real date. An encounter that people do to get to know each other better, to spend time with someone that they like. His view and feelings for Blitz have changed into something a little more real. He asks about his day, trying to make this suddenly awkward situation better, genuinely wanting to take this seriously. 

Then we get Blitz’s admission and a much needed reality check from Stolas that the consequence of setting this whole thing up without thinking of the implications it had had was coming to fruition. Blitz is setting up a boundary (‘don’t read into this more, it’s only about the book’).

And what does Stolas not do? He doesn’t agree with Blitz that yea this is just transactional, or wave it off as Blitz being ‘cute’ again, or that the only reason they’re still doing this is because he just wants Blitz to fuck him. Because at one point in time it absolutely was. But now? Stolas doesn’t see it that way anymore. (He had heart eyes when he realized Blitz was asking him on a date and put on his best outfit. The boy was falling for him).

So Stolas, seeing, finally, the impact this whole situation has had on Blitz, he goes out of his way to end it, and not only that, but end it in a way that ensures Blitz can still do his job, which Stolas knows is important to not only him but his family. Because he sees Blitz now. Sees the importance of getting Blitz’s side to all of this, because he had assumed they were both on the same page. Episode 1 Stolas I don’t think would be as quick to try to end things if he had been confronted. Again not vindictively, not because he believes Blitz should be happy he gets to fuck a Goetic prince, but because he wanted it so bad. Needed it even.

Seeing Stars and Western Energy are these somewhat weird middle grounds between Ozzie’s and Oops because Stolas goes back to shameless flirting and not really seeing Blitz’s discomfort when he was about to perform on Tv in the former. But in Western Energy his texting to Blitz in the hospital, I feel, does show some of his growth. He knows they are on rocky ground and so gives Blitz the choice to come see him or not. He wants comfort after what has happened to him. He wants to see the person who makes him feel better. 

And, we do get confirmation from Blitz at the start of Full Moon that Stolas hasn’t had them doing their transaction since the night of Ozzie’s (so for a few months?), which means Stolas is taking Blitz feelings about this seriously and having a nice long look at his own side to all of this. He is trying to show Blitz that he now means more to him than just the sex. 

In Full Moon we get a Stolas who is apologetic (although doesn’t actually say sorry :/), explaining (as best he can my poor boy) that he doesn’t want this to continue. Blitz is free now from the tether that Stolas tied around them to keep him in his life. (If you love me let me goooo). He’s being (for the most part since he is kind of doing the 'if you love me you'll say' test) selfless here, allowing Blitz the chance to make up his own mind about being with Stolas (a choice he really didn’t give him in episode 1. Like Stolas, my dude, you called Blitz to set this whole thing up in the middle of being chased and shot at and we know you know that because of the bubble. Yikes, not good there. Blitz probably would have said yes though no matter what the situation he was in because he had a family to take care of). Yes it wasn’t perfect. Stolas still made the decision himself to end it and give Blitz a crystal without prefacing it with some more context, but his intentions were good. ‘I care for you and didn’t realize that what we were doing was being understood differently by the both of us so have this choice now that I didn't give you in the beginning.’

And then we have Mastermind. This is it. The one action that many a romance is built on, ‘I would do anything, even sacrifice myself, to make sure you are safe and alive.’ There is so much complexity to mastermind and Stolas’s actions here but the main one in terms of Stolas’s growth is an understanding (maybe not an entire understanding but one more than he had before) of the class issue inherent in Hell. Episode 1 Stolas would be flabbergasted by it. Stolas plays into it in this episode, acknowledging the power it has to influence the elite lining the courtroom to save Blitz’s life. 

I feel such maturity from Stolas. Going back and watching him in Loo Loo Land is like seeing a completely different person. He is naive and juvenile in the way he talks and presents himself that is so drastically different from the ‘master of my fate’ that we get in Mastermind. 

And it’s beautiful because we’re not done yet. Stolas is a baby bird just thrust into new circumstances with a Blitz fully now on board with the idea of them. Stolas is going to experience a world he has only recently started to understand and I can’t wait for his future growth because it will bring him and Blitz together with a better understanding of each other.

[sageandred]

Before last week, I'd have said--Please tell me people are not this serious or dense about a fictional TV show--but I know too well now.

911 has ALWAYS been a melodramatic soap-opera (also "a possibly supernatural comedic-drama" 🤣 Would this be much better?). I don't know where people got this idea that it wasn't. Pilot episode, season 1- Firecaptain was in confessional with guilt and a dark past not yet revealed to us, Athena was dealing with (at least) emotional infidelity and her 14-year marriage ending. Later on we find out Abby has a sick mom who she's caring for, May attempts to commit su!c!de (and her fate is up in the air), Hen cheats on her wife, Chimney crashes his car and gets rebar through his skull (were you certain he would survive when you watched it live?), Maddie gets kidnapped by her husband, Buck has a It's a Wonderful Life coma-episode, Hen kills a girl in a car crash, Eddie gets shot and goes into a coma (were you certain he would live here?), Athena and Bobby get stuck on a cruise ship in a storm where a 9 year old is her saving grace, and so much more. The point about people dying....Did y'all get a secret promise from Tim that no one would die? Where did he say that?!

I was curious so I did a quick Google search--

It's almost like people asked for it so much that they actually delivered.

Also, let's clear this up- “I don’t think the characters are unkillable. There have been a few times when they’ve come close to actually dying. I just don’t want to kill any of them,” Minear told TheWrap in a recent interview. “One day when it does happen, it’s going to be a sad day for me.” -Tim Minear interview March 28, 2024

"He just said he would stay with Athena if he could" *as a way to relate it to him staying with Athena through death and where he was buried..... The 911 fandom has a huge problem with taking things literally.

Athena burying Bobby "home" is a metaphor! LA became his home, and he was actually happy with Athena; her burying him out of an act of selflessness was symbolic for his character send-off to his "first home." A tribute, in a sense

I think a lot of you guys also underestimate how various ideas are pitched in the writers room ahead of time. It's not a whim-"let's kill Bobby instead at the drop of a hat, shooting episode 15"-rarely if ever. There could've been various arcs carried out to lay the groundwork...if they were juggling between 2 characters for who to kill.

"And look, I had considered other possible deaths, but when I was breaking this story and saw that this could be a truly epic goodbye for a character, I just figured it should be the character who’s going to affect every character’s story on the show. And that’s Bobby, and Bobby’s character. It made a certain amount of sense for the arc of his character and that he came here for redemption and that he came here with a death wish, really. And then his whole story is about how he no longer has a death wish." -Tim Minear (he literally says "when I was breaking this story" aka in the writers room... as he was crafting their arcs!)

You might not like it, but it's done; quit arguing in people's comment sections.

(also, you guys can't try and make this about the ship war, because one's for Buddie and one's Bucktommy. Logic and common sense are lost on both sides.)

[devilsrecreation]

Since the ep is INSPIRED by POTO, I’mma point out the similarities and differences

Similarities/references to POTO:

-There are obvious parodies of the characters in the book/musical. Neema’s obviously the Phantom, Paka kinda has Christine’s role, Nne and Tano are kinda like Madame Giry, and there’s an herbivore with Carlotta’s role. Maybe a wild ass

-Neema pulls very similar stunts Erik pulls, mainly sabotaging performances. But he also has a secret lair in a water cave that he takes Kiburi’s float and Paka

-The Grasslands has a tradition called the “kupiga mpira”, meaning “masquerade ball” where everyone dresses up in costumes. Neema crashes the party lol

-Like Christine, Paka is a (rookie) performer and has a relationship with the Phantom

-I guess you could say both Erik and Neema had a hard life (granted, Neema’s past wasn’t as bad as Erik’s but still) that somehow affected their reputation

-He put Paka to sleep with a soothing melody (AKA he recreates “Music of the Night”)

-“[Why would anyone want to date a strange individual who’s killed people? That just sounds like a toxic relationship.]”-Neema at one point

-The reptiles like to refer to Neema as an “angel of music”

-Tamka brings up “the point of no return”

-Like Erik, Neema kills someone

-One of the reasons he sabotages a show is that a certain spot isn’t left for him. It’s HIS spot, no one else’s

-Neema and Erik both get exposed

-Both phantoms get affection at the end

-Neema’s point of no return is to either quit this double life thing and go back to being in Kiburi’s float or stick to being a phantom and leave his only family permanently. Although Tamka/Nduli think Neema’s gonna give THEM a choice to either join him or he’ll kill everybody, to which Kiburi shuts it down cuz that makes zero sense

Differences:

-There is no operatic singing in the episode. It has singing (the Grasslands are a musical place) but not actual opera. Also there’s no Raoul nor Persian

-While Erik loves/is obsessed with Christine, Neema is aromantic and has no interest in anyone

-Neema does not wear a mask that covers his face (except during the masquerade scene)

-Like I said before, everything between them is platonic and healthy. Though Neema DOES have a soft spot for her. If anything, they’d be QPP’s

-Erik and Neema haunt their respective places for different reasons. Erik does it cuz of his passion for opera and obsession for Christine. Neema honestly just likes the music. The hero thing just comes with it.

-Two things: it was completely platonic and Neema hummed the song since he’s mute and can’t sing. It’s more of a lullaby than a romantic ballad

-Neema isn’t jealous nor possessive. The most he does when he sees Paka with someone else is make sure they don’t hurt her. He’s more protective if anything

-my guy is not a teacher. He’s never taught anyone anything (except maybe how to stand up for yourself)

-As much as I love the scene, it ain’t happening with Neema and Paka. Way too sexual for them (and the episode fic) 😭

-Unlike Erik he killed someone cuz he was hungry, not to sabotage the show. Though everybody else seems to think differently

-He doesn’t kill anyone cuz of it, although he does cause a monkey to interrupt it by scaring him

-While Erik’s face gets exposed during an opera in front of everyone, Neema’s confronted by Kiburi’s float and basically gets exposed then

-Erik gets a kiss while Neema and Paka share a hug and a head pat :)

-Neema’s ending is veeeeeeery different from Erik’s. Neema doesn’t die like in the book nor does he completely quit being a phantom and not see Paka again. He goes back with his float in the end, but he continues to be a Phantom hero in the Grasslands.

There’s a reason Neema kept up the whole “Phantom” act and it kinda has something to do with his past. Neema was raised by strict, but somewhat supportive parents as a hatchling. He never learned to actually talk but his parents convinced him that being quiet was a good thing. “Silence is golden” they’d always say. “Just do as you’re told and they’ll like you”. It was like that for a while until the day he saved that lizard. Being referred to as a “hero” awakened something in him that day. He likes being some mysterious heroic entity, he likes playing with the Grasslanders and telling them what to do, he likes keeping animals on their toes, he likes the music the Grasslands have.

He likes being his own animal.

He’s been following and obeying his leaders all his life. Don’t get him wrong, he doesn’t necessarily mind it and he loves his friends, but it just feels nice to be someone now that he’s found his passion.

Nne and Tano found out when they got hungry and wanted to try something different rather than a mole rat or trying to eat animals from the Pridelands. They soon found themselves in the Grasslands and just so happened to spot Paka walking around. Just as they cornered her, Neema came out of nowhere, gave Paka a chance to run away, and began to attack the pair…until they recognized him like “Hey wait a minute…we know you! You’re one of the crocodiles in Kiburi’s float! What’re you doing here?”. It took a bit, but the pair finally figured out that Neema was a phantom and decide to join him. They never let anyone know since (until Kiburi basically forced them to tell where Neema was going).

Ever since Paka heard about this supposed phantom saving one of her lizard friends, her sleep schedule has been out of whack (seeing how black-footed cats are nocturnal) and she’s been obsessed with seeing it for herself. It only grew when Neema saved her and she went from wanting to see him to wanting to get to know him. Luckily, Neema took interest in the little feline due to her personality and shared love for music and began watching over her. He’s even led her to his water cave (where he hummed her his lullaby) and their friendship grew from there. She doesn’t really understand him so they communicate by yes or no questions until Kiburi comes along. Same with Nne and Tano.

Unrelated, but I just realized a pattern with my headcanons for Kiburi’s float: I gave them all desires

Kiburi wants to be good enough to make his dad proud like he promised

Tamka wants to be seen as more than just one thing (which is an idiot). He wants to pursue his passion and show he’s capable of doing things

Neema wants to feel like somebody. Like I said, he’s been a follower for way too long and he wants to find himself

Nduli wants everything to stay the same. He’s lost so much due to change and he doesn’t want to lose anything or anybody else, so he clings to his loved ones in hopes they won’t let go

Wakali wants to be taken seriously since her young age and albinism causes other animals to underestimate her

Even Makuu wants to show everyone that he’s changed his ways and wants to leave a legacy. It was the same thing with Pua, although nowadays he just wants to live his best life

Ucheshi got what she wanted in that Udugu episode I have-she got her big brother back :)

[renee-minkowskis-therapist]

Finally watching the recording of the W359 liveshow, and:

I find it so funny that for the liveshow, they needed a time in the chronology when A) as many of the characters were together as possible, B) they all generally liked each other, and C) nothing too life-threatening was going on, and all they could come up with was 5 minutes during episode 26.

Zach Valenti's expressive little hand gestures are everything.

COMMANDER HILBERT.

The looks Minkowski gives Eiffel are exactly how I imagined them. She's so over it.

"I'm taking one of my frequent holidays away from the station," Hera says as she plops herself down a few feet away from the other two.

ZACH VALENTI MOVING BACK AND FORTH ON DIFFERENT SIDES OF EMMA SHERR-ZIARKO TO BE EIFFEL AND HILBERT-

He's running back and forth while they argue. This is great.

(loud noises that a space station probably shouldn't be making)

No one storms in like Isabel Lovelace.

Oh, you guys were NOT kidding about the Minlace shit. Lovelace pushing Eiffel out of the way so she can stand close enough to Minkowski to kiss her... the yuri is real.

Eiffel crossing over to where Hera is standing to talk to her...my heart.

They're both staring Eiffel down from either side as they lecture him.

And now Minkowski is pushing Eiffel out of the way to get closer to Lovelace. Sir, you are third-wheeling some badass lesbians right now, and I hope you know that.

Eiffel talking to himself (recording) vs. Eiffel talking to himself (tin can voice) vs. Eiffel talking to himself (Hilbert)

The fact that when Eiffel programs recordings of himself to talk to, they're arguing with him... really says something about his entire mindset.

LOVELACE, YOU ARE MY WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD.

Minkowski's so dramatic. She should have been onstage.

"Doctor", he says, referring to the blank space where he stands when he delivers his other set of lines.

Cecilia-Lynn Jacobs does an *excellent* job acting out Lovelace's sheer... Lovelace-ness.

Every time Minkowski and Lovelace give Eiffel twin disapproving looks, I gain two years back onto my life.

Minkowski's little giggle when Lovelace tells Eiffel off, and that smile she has going... this is the moment when she fell in love with her, I swear.

Seriously, her smirk is my everything. Emma Sherr-Ziarko deserves all the awards.

MINKOWSKI ACTING OUT THE RECORDINGS--

"SHUT UP, HILBERT." (Valenti sadly retreats to his Eiffel spot)

Lovelace looks *very* much like she's about to kiss Minkowski to shut her up. S4 is when I started shipping them, but their dynamic in S2 is also top-tier,

Minkowski walking off slowly in exasperation...

THE BOOK.

"Well, all right, I do." Renee Minkowski, I would do anything you asked without a moment's hesitation.

Her singing voice is SO musical theater. Seriously, she deserved to play Christine in Phantom of the Opera or something.

New headcanon: Eiffel wasn't joking and actually has a fuckload of DND dice on him at all times.

Aw, Eiffel has so much faith in Minkowski. He trusts her so much.

Minkowski's Lovelace impression scaring the shit out of Eiffel is funny on SO many levels.

Hera looks almost offended by this whole thing.

"Eiffel does bad Hilbert impression" will always be funny no matter how many times it happens.

Why does Eiffel's Minkowski voice sound like a Muppet-

I am not immune to Minkowski and Lovelace finishing each other's sentences. In S2 it mostly only happens when they're yelling at Eiffel, but still.

"The captain and I need a moment to... come up with some creative disciplinary action." Is that what the kids are calling it these days? (If I ever write that Minlace fic, I'm totally using that.)

Cutter is even more terrifying when you can see his face.

Minkowski is SO done. She cannot deal with one more thing today. Neither can Lovelace, honestly.

Minkowski and Cutter interacting will never not be the funniest shit ever to me, because they are on OPPOSITE ends to the "very literal" to "speaks entirely in niceties and metaphors" spectrum. The communication between Eiffel and the aliens was easier.

Minkowski's military face -

Ohhh, I don't like the way Cutter looks at Hera one bit.

The way the entire audience cringes when Cutter says "if I wanted the station to just stay in orbit, the Hephaestus would be run by a real person." Hera IS a real person, you motherfucker.

(aggressive Memoria flashbacks)

Cutter, you SHIT. Go get fucked.

(even more aggressive Memoria flashbacks)

(I need to relisten to Memoria)

(I will probably ruin my entire day and possibly my entire week if I relisten to Memoria)

My poor sweet Hera. She deserves the world.

So does Minkowski.

Eiffel, you poor idiot-- Even Cutter looks tired.

Cutter quoting Pryce and Carter is so funny considering he wrote the damn book.

Don't you dare touch him, Marcus Cutter. Stay far away from my communications officer.

Eiffel, you goddamn idiot. I love you but Jesus Christ.

The bit where Eiffel puts his head down in the corner and then stumbles back out to the girls --

"It's like we were there!" Isabel Sofia Lovelace, never change.

When Cutter laughs, my heartbeat shoots UP.

The girls' looks at the moment can best be described as "God save me from Doug Eiffel", "hopefully Cutter doesn't follow through on that threat to decomission me" and "of course he fucked everything up", respectively.

Minkowski almost looks proud of her moron now. Lovelace still looks over it.

Minkowski putting her hand on Eiffel's back- they're my awful friends and I love them.

(disgruntled Russian growl)

Lovelace patting Eiffel on the shoulder while telling him he did a good job is delightful.

Aww, Minkowski and Eiffel friendship moment!

Utter darkness. That was a great use of my hour. Highly recommend.

[lunar-inkclipse]

Hello Lunar, I can’t sleep because Murdle Falls won’t let me rest easy, have some random thoughts plus one super long one at the end :P

-Fun mental image of either Jake or Olivia accidentally calling Irratino “Uncle Irratino” at some point, realizing what they just said and trying to apologize, and Irratino being like “it’s fine, call me that if you want ^^” Hey, it’s not like he’s biologically related to his supposed “nephew” anyway :P (side note, could you imagine how Logico felt when Julius called him “uncle” for the first time :P)

-You mentioned a while back that you wanted someone to call Logico “Sixer” but didn’t know who. Well, here’s my thought: it starting out as an insult. I’m imagining Indigo (because of course it’s him :P) noticing Logico has six fingers and just bursting into laughter and loudly pointing them out for everyone in the vicinity to hear and see, and throwing in a mocking “Sixer” at the end. Which, naturally, is extremely humiliating for poor Logico (who’s probably self-conscious about his fingers; I imagine he keeps his hands in his pockets a lot to hide them) and extremely embarrassing for Olivia, who’s just watched her dad childishly bully someone she knows. But eventually, as Logico grows less self-conscious about himself, he kinda appropriates “Sixer” for himself, as a fun nickname instead of an insult? Does that make sense?

-(Side-note, in my head, the episode where that happens is the episode immediately before Dreamscaperers, AKA the one where Irratino torments Indigo through the mindscape. Make of that what you will :P)

-Silly one: Dipper has a crush on Wendy through most of the series. Julius, in Murdle Jr., has a crush on Coral. Do you see where I am coming from. (Granted, they’re the same age and also too young for proper romance, so it wouldn’t be exactly the same, but it would be similar :P)

-OKAY OKAY here’s the long one: Sock Opera. Wherein Bill tricks Dipper into making a deal with him, allowing him to possess Dipper’s body and nearly get his hands on the journal. Could be a similar plot to that: one of the kids gets into a major bind and needs help, and the dream demon they’ve been crossing paths with shows up and offers a deal…only it isn’t Irratino. It’s Amethyst.

Why is she doing this? I dunno. Dream demons gotta get their kicks in somehow. Or maybe there are plot reasons. How is she doing this? Well, Bill in canon can’t really affect anything outside the dreamscape without possession or the Rift. You can actually infer through that that the supposed “emergency” with the computer time limit wasn’t happening; Dipper fell asleep while he was working and Bill messed with his dream to make him think it was happening. Who is she doing this to? Probably either Jake or Julius. Amethyst promised Indigo that Olivia wouldn’t be hurt, and, more to the point, she’d have to perfectly act as Olivia to Olivia’s father, who also already knows Amethyst. Yeah, that’s a recipe for disaster :P (I guess you could have Logico be the possession victim, but that opens up a whole other can of worms :P)

Anyway, uh, the victim thinks this is the same dream demon as the last few times—in their defense, if they’re like Dipper in this episode, they’re probably extremely sleep-deprived and won’t be able to tell the difference between two extremely similar purple triangles—Amethyst goes with it and is like “my dear, I know we’ve had our differences, but perhaps I can help?” Victim takes the deal, gets possessed, shenanigans ensue, eventually the non-possessed members of the squad manage to exorcise her and save the day, you know the drill.

Unfortunately, I’m still not done—some time after Not What He Seems and all those related reveals, the possession victim corners Irratino alone and demands to know what the hell the events of Sock Opera were about (they didn’t bring it up during the initial confrontation because, well, there were other things to worry about). And Irratino is just confused—he’d never possess anyone, why would he even need to? And after some brief back-and-forth, the victim realizes Irratino sincerely has no clue what they’re talking about, and decides to simply drop it; it was probably some random spirit taking Irratino’s form to mess with them, and besides, they probably got rid of it for good back in Sock Opera. (Oh, you sweet summer child)

-Okay one last, like, post-script: near the end of the “fixing the portal” arc (so right before Weirdmageddon), Olivia works out her dad knows, and has known, a lot more about Gravity Falls’s weirdness than anyone thought, and directly confronts him about it (she isn’t angry, she won’t be angry this time, everyone was angry at Irratino and look where that got them). And Indigo, because she is his daughter, confesses about Gravity Falls, and the deal their ancestors made years ago, and that deal trickling down to them, and the dream demon he’s been speaking to— “Wait. Dream demon?” “Uh…yeah. Some kinda…purple triangle with three-eyed glasses? Lot nicer than the one in the nightmares—” “There’s another dream demon?!” “Olivia, you’re scaring me, what’s going on?” “There’s…another…oh cra—”

Aaaaaand portal opens, Amethyst comes through, cue Weirdmageddon :P (you know how the Northwests have a bunker? And how the canon gang got separated during Weirdmageddon and had to find their way back to each other? The reason Olivia gets separated is because her dad basically threw her into the bunker the second the sky started vomiting eldritch horrors and she’s been there ever since the apocalypse started :P)

Aaaaaand that was my extremely long ask. Murdle does not let me rest easy. Neither does Gravity Falls :P

Heya Lily!! Murdle Falls really is one of the ultimate brainworms, it was just a goofy crossover AU and it's been taking over. (Case in point, I have an almost 5k draft about Irratino and the Axolotl i've been working on. help me)

- Okay that is so adorable omg- Like, it's a total slip of the tongue, the same as calling your teacher "Mom", just a quick "Bye,Julius! By, Uncle Tino!" There's a total moment of awkwardness (especially in Olivia's case, because her dad kinda hates Irratino and would not be happy she called him "uncle"), but Irratino just laughs and is like "Feel free to call me uncle, I don't mind!" Secretly, he's actually quite touched. He really does always crave family and connection.

As for Julius calling Logico uncle the first time, poor Logico just short circuits for a moment. Yeah, it makes logical sense- He's Irratino's partner (A fact he's occasionally still blindsided by), Julius is Irratino's nephew, therefore Logico is Julius's uncle and Julius is Logico's nephew. Sure, yeah, that all adds up. He still short circuits, Julius is like "Sorry, I can just keep calling you Logico-" and Logico is like "No, no! Uh, it's totally fine, kiddo. Yeah. You're my nephew now, after all." Irratino may or may not tease Logico for being a big old sap under that grumpy exterior for a week about it (like he hasn't been doing that forever).

- Okay you're absolutely cooking with the idea of Indigo calling Logico "Sixer" as a demeaning nickname. Logico is absolutely self conscious about having twelve fingers instead of ten and would keep them in his pockets whenever possible. So, Indigo, being the CEO of hating as well as TekTopia, would zero in on that as an insecurity, make a scene, and leave Logico rather humiliated. Olivia is also incredibly humiliated her dad is acting more immature than even she would, and she's the child here. And Logico now has a new dread with anything dealing with TekCo.

Though, I can imagine when Jake and Julius hear the nickname (Probably because Logico went to drop them off to play with Olivia or something?) and Indigo is like "SIxer! What an unpleasant surprise." Jake, however, thinks "Sixer" is the coolest possible nickname and says Logico should use it more often. And, hey, as he grows more secure, he realizes it actually does go hard. Plus, it's very gratifying to see Indigo and just say "Sixer, here to investigate" without a hint of shame and watch him huff because his nickname is no longer insulting.

(Also, the reveal of the origins of "Sixer" happening right before Dreamscaperers would be so interesting- Irratino hears about what happened as they're chatting over dinner and in his head is just like "that's it, we're sending him nightmares to make him nicer")

- I absolutely see where you're coming from!! Ngl I've toyed around with the idea of Coral being kinda like the Wendy equivalent in this AU, where she hangs out at the institute sometimes and Julius has a bit of a crush on her. It'd be a cute side plot for them to go out for ice cream or something, especially with Logico and Irratino's relationship being, well, complicated at times. - OOOH I really like the Sock Opera plot!! As for plot reasons, it might have something to do with wanting to get early access/information to whatever portal Irratino's got going on his basement, or maybe Indigo's pissed off about having his head invaded and wants payback somehow, or maybe she's just bored.

As for my candidate for the possession, I feel like Julius would probably be the one to make a deal? He's the most inclined to believe in otherworldly forces between him and Jake, he's less stubborn and therefore more willing to accept supernatural help, and she can probably adapt to his personality a bit easier than Jake's. Olivia is absolutely off limits, as Indigo has her contractually bound to leave his daughter alone. What's keeping him up so late? Not too certain, tbch? But he's sleep deprived, panicked, and, well, how bad can it be? (spoiler alert, very bad)

Also, Irratino's nephew being the one possessed adds in extra drama, too. That's his nephew that's in danger here, after all. And if he happens to figure out that a Dream Demon is responsible, there's an extra layer of fear Irratino can't shake. He knows he's not the only dream demon out there, sure, but there's only one he's heard about multiple times, and she's...No, it's best not to think about it. MORIARTY would have no interest in this backwater prison planet, after all. Because that's all Earth is to his ilk, an inescapable, normal prison. Plus, when Julius gets back to normal, Irratino is suddenly adding a few more magical protections around the house.

Also, the confrontation between Julius and Irratino? Julius would be extra hurt because he thinks his family- or, well, are they family? Not really, Irratino's not even human much less a relative- and Irratino is confused as hell at first. Even if he wanted to possess people, which he doesn't, he'd have nothing to gain from it. At least things get cleared up, and Julius can write it off as some poltergeist or other taking Irratino's form to seem more intimidating, and Irratino is inclined to agree. It makes no sense anything else would be interested in this place, anyways.

- That post script goes so incredibly hard omg- Like, Olivia has just put the pieces together and realizes she needs to talk to her dad about it. She stays calm, just talks to him by herself- no big, angry, group confrontations like with Irratino. And Indigo just sighs and confesses that yes, there are things going on here that he tried to keep from her. He just wanted to protect her, but maybe ignorance isn't bliss anymore and she's safer knowing what truly lies underneath the surface of Gravity Falls.

And the realization there are two dream demons is definitely intense as hell- Olivia just is like "Oh. Oh no. There's...there's two different inter dimensional, borderline all powerful, beings with their sights set on this town. And both of them know us personally. We're screwed." And then the skies open up and hellfire rains down. And hey, INdigo may be one of the guys of all time, but he's absolutely gonna try and keep Olivia safe

Thank you so much for the ask, and sorry to make you wait on the response!! ^_^

[porcupine-girl]

Did you enjoy Yibo's NYE performances?

Sure, we were all psyched for him to perform Observer, but did you like the surprise duet he did earlier in the show?

If so, I am here to tell you about the guy he was singing with - because Yibo loves him, and so should you!

That! Is Da Zhangwei!

He wrote that song! He was one of Yibo's cohosts on Tiantian Xiang Shang (also known by the terrible translation Day Day Up), and you know Yibo's TTXS cohosts were his family. His big brothers. It's how he got his reputation as a ge collector.

This is DZW's other NYE performance, which is a bit more representative of his usual aesthetic:

If you like either of those songs/performances, read on to learn more about why you should definitely be paying attention to this guy.

(Sorry most of these videos don't have English subs. But most are music so at least you can find the lyrics online.)

First off, DZW didn't just write this song and then perform it with Yibo (and give Han-ge a shoutout afterward). He then posted this video, basically shouting "I wrote this song because I miss my TTXS bros!" (The lyric being repeated here is "I will miss you")

I mean, I don't know for a fact that he wrote it about them. But I do know that he literally DID write a song about Yibo once. This is a thing he has done before. It's called Cool Guy:

But the fact that he and Yibo are on each other's lists of favorite people is only the beginning, and definitely not why I became obsessed with him.

Da Zhangwei fun facts:

You'll find him on English-language sites like Spotify and iTunes under his English stage name, Wowkie Da. People also often refer to him as DLS or Da-Laoshi, showing how respected he is in the music industry.

He started a band (花兒樂隊, The Flowers), wrote all the music for said band, and had his first hit, 静止 (Static), in 1999 - when he was 16 years old. Like all his music, it's catchy as fuck. (To go back to Yibo for just a second, I'm guessing they bonded over having to deal with fame from a really young age.)

(Yes, the guy sticking his tongue out at the camera up there is 40 years old.)

Da Zhangwei is actually a stage name, too. His real name is Zhang Wei (so you'll occasionally find him as Wowkie Zhang), but that's such a common name that when he started his career he started going by "Big Zhangwei" - which is hilarious given that he was a scrawny teenager.

He continued to write pretty much all the band's music for the next decade. (Here's a whole concert from probably 2007ish). Then when they broke up in 2009 he started his solo career, also writing all his own music.

静止 was an angsty teenage anthem, but since then his aesthetic, both songwriting-wise and visually, has tended toward upbeat and cute.

I think it's safe to say he's leaned into this even more since going solo. Some of his recent hits: 撒花/Scatter Flowers, 一个Nice, 满怀可爱所向披靡 / Full of Cuteness and Invincible, and 万物盛开法则 / Law of All Things Blooming, from above.

However, don't be fooled! This just means that when he writes something sad, it's absolutely heartbreaking. Examples include 永远唱不完的歌/The Song That Doesn't End (above) and 我的深情就是个笑话/My Affection Is Just A Joke.

In addition to hosting TTXS, he has become a staple on all sorts of variety shows, both for music and comedy.

I found him via Season 3 of Our Song, where some of his accomplishments included creating a mashup of 12 different songs, from traditional Chinese folk music and opera to his own 撒花, and turning "your team will do 3 songs" into an entire 3-act musical (link is to the whole episode, since the 3 songs are alternating with the other team, but the other team is AMAZING with people you should get to know too). ETA I forgot about this compilation I did of clips from some of his Our Song performances!

He got to meet the Rolling Stones earlier this year! There's a translator but he's so excited he keeps breaking in while she's trying to ask his questions. His English is really good (if heavily accented), and he has a tendency to throw it in completely unnecessarily to both his performances and random conversation.

He's been on this show for a few seasons called Who's the Murderer? - basically, the same cast plays out a different murder mystery improv each episode. I haven't watched it yet but I've been meaning to - the latest season is on YT with English subs.

His birthday is the day after mine.

Want to see more? His tag is not very busy, but I try to reblog most things to @da-zhangwei. Feel free to contact me by any standard Tumblr method if you want more links!

Tagging people who said they'd be open to getting pulled into my Cpop fandoms, even though I don't have the edited Our Song episodes yet (consider this a preview): @json-derulo @poetry-protest-pornography @emmajanereading @percy-persephone @nuttysaladtree @thelima-aka-chickwriter @writergamermom @oneringtorulethem @trickybonmot @lovebird17 @erza155hasleftthebuilding

[jarenka]

Opera poser for @dreaminghour (tbh I suck at graphic design so it's more like an illustration)

I was thinking what I should draw for this request and if I need to come up with full new opera plot. No, I already have one! Actually in post-ROTJ au fic there should be (I don't know if I include it in the final version of the fic) an episode featuring one of the Anakin's favourite opera.

It calls "Celia" after the main character, and i thing you will easily recognise which real opera inspired me.

Here is the plot.

Celia is a canteen owner on a planet in the Outer Rim. She has a lover, captain Liim, who was military officer on his own planet before he met Celia and fell in love with her. He left military, moved to Celia's planet a bought a cargo ship to become a regular cargo ship captain on local inter-sector routes so he can see her regularly.

Once captain Liim starts to suspects that Celia is gradually losing interest in him. Celia sings and dances for him to show her affection, but captain Liim is still suspicious and jealous. Meanwhile Celia is introduced by her friends to Jasen Taal, emerging racing star. He is beautiful and charming, he flirts with her and promise to visit her canteen.

Couple of weeks later after winning another race Jasen Taal celebrates his victory in Celia's canteen. Captain Liim should be working, but he doesn't take orders from his clients and refuse to leave planet. He is jealous, he is afraid that Celia would cheat him when he is away. His crew is very unhappy about it, if captain Liim continues to act this way, they won't get their money next month and their regular clients will find another carriers.

Captain Liim visits Celia's canteen in the middle of celebration, he sees Jasen Taal flirting with Celia, and she doesn't stop him. Jasen Taal claims that he is completely mesmerized by Celia, he never saw a woman more charming than her. After the whole bottle of Corellian whiskey, in the end of the evening, captain Liim starts a terrible scandal, accusing Celia of cheating. He calls her slut in front of her employers and late guests. Celia is really mad. She says that captain Liim is a terrible person and she doesn't want to see him. Canteen's security guard kicks him out.

Next couple of weeks captain Liim drinks and tries to meet Celia to beg her for forgiveness. People are gossiping about him. And also he hears gossips that Celia is dating Jasen Taal now. He doesn't want to believe it.

One day captain Liim is able to find Celia in her home alone. Big annual race is coming, all the town is festive, and everyone is sure that Jasen Taal will win this race. Celia is going there too, but captain Liim doesn't know about it yet. He begs her to forgive him, he wants to be with her again. He tries to talk her into marrying him and stay with him on his ship. They will travel together. Celia finds his proposal utterly ridiculous and mocks him. Captain Liim accuses her of cheating again, Celia says that it's not his business. She doesn't want him. Captain Liim begs her to give him another chance. They were lovers for years and he thinks that deep down Celia still loves him. Celia doesn't love him anymore. They start to quarrel, Celia tries to get from her house but captain Liim blocks her way. She says that the race starts soon and she wants to see it.

"You wants to see you new lover!", accuses her captain Liim. She says that it's true, Jasen Taal is her lover now, and captain Liim should leave her alone because she loves another man. When he tries to claim her as his woman, Celia laughs in his face and says that she is her own woman and doesn't belong to any man. She tries to get past captain Liim again, but in his rage he violently pushes her away and trows her on the ground. She hits her head and when captain Liim, horrified by his own violence, reaches her, she is already dead.

So, Anakin watched this opera more then once in his youth, it's one of his favourite, it has really beautiful music and a lot of passion just like he loves. If he ever associated himself with anyone in this opera, it was Jasen Taal, charming racer. Also in Galaxy Opera House he was usually played by the actor who looked a lot like Anakin. He kinda despised captain Liim. When Anakin found out about Clovis, he mentally compared him with captain Liim.

He hasn't seen any operas when he was Vader, but later on Carati, he found a good recording of this opera from one of the local opera houses. At first he was a bit hesitant. The scenery was pretty simplistic, he usually didn't like this kind of staging. But when Celia appeared on a scene with her first aria Anakin was completely mesmerized by her. Actress had a beautiful deep voice and irresistible charm, it was very easy to understand how both captain Liim and Jasen Taal lost their minds over her. Anakin watched this pretty long opera in one sitting, but towards the end he became more and more uncomfortable. And when captain Liim killed Celia, Anakin was like: "Oh shit that's me. I was like that too".

[wackpedion]

atcually im sending more characters i wanna see u talk abt them tell me abt stan or fiddleford or bill for the ask game

OKOK I JUST ANSWERED FOR FIDDLEFORD OKOKOKOKOKOKOK im so excited i love them. okok ok OK OK ok so from this ask game:

STAN

favorite thing about them

How he loves the kids soso much ouhho vh oh o my ghod Not What He Seems tear my heart out rn. like theyre his world its so... ouhgkhjhbjh........ makes me ill. the way he loves his family as a whole is SO important to me like like like like he values his family so much theyre his world the way he spent 30 years getting ford back GOD dont remind me of of the portal incident i cant hhhrrrr

least favorite thing about them

I suppose how stubborn he is with Ford but like, idk i get it man. hes been thro alot and the two are on rocky ground up until the end so ofc hes gonna act like that and hes not gonna be all that emotionally mature about it.

favorite line

goddd he has so many good lines hes so funny. "Soos, would it be wrong to punch a child?"

brOTP

fiddleford mcgucket i need them to be friends u dont understand. i need this so badly

OTP

ermmm No One ? ive seen some stanbill which i find funny but im not all that invested in it

nOTP

pinecest 👍

random headcanon

As kids he and Ford would often do the twin switcharoo as a fun kid prank, they thought it was the funniest coolest thing but they were actually very easy to tell apart past a first glance because they weren't all that good at lying and pretending (yet)

unpopular opinion

ig its only loosely stan related but roadside attraction should NOT have been aa episode with focus on stan WHERE IS FORD. THE EPISODE BEFORE THE BIG ONE THAT KICKS OFF WEIRDMAGEDDON AND THERES NO FORD!?!?!? kmsing kmsing but you already know how ifeel about it i told you all about it I Miss Ford. I miss my wife tails.

song i associate with them

LUSH BY MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE "everything i touch falls apart and i am left with nothingg everything i touch it turns to total garbage and i cant with and i dont know whyyyy!!!!" like like his insecurity about being the total screwup of the family, his many many failed businesses, the fact he broke fords project and also ended up pushing him into the portal, juistghfhbvhjhbb

favorite picture of them

i like him with his sailing outfit esp the the beanie its cute :3 and EEEE THE BROTHERSSSS <333333

BILL

favorite thing about them

whatever the fuck he has going on ford jesus christ what the fuck who let them get away twith this hello. hello. i cant elaborate cuz id just end up talking about billford forever but fjesuffucking christ

least favorite thing about them

Honestly sock opera didn't make much sense, like he wanted to destroy the laptop and journal cuz dipper was getting "too close", but the journal was needed to operate the portal which was what he Needed and Wanted. my best guess as to why he did that is cuz he didn't want them to find and go off the warnings Ford wrote esp in invisible ink but i dunno. perhaps its that the journals (esp journal 3) wrote of a way to destroy him, im guessing, since ford tosses them to dipper in weirdmageddon saying theres a way to destroy bill, but still. odd. Still my favourite episode tho!!!!

favorite line

"Fordsy, nobody else really gets you, do they? Without me, you'll always feel unseen, surrounded by dolts who don't recognize your full potential. You've always felt alone in a crowd, haven't you? Who else will give you this feeling again? Even if you got rid of me, you'd miss me. Admit it, you'd miss me."

"Reality is an illusion the universe is a hologram buy gold BYEEEEE"

"BY THE WAY IM SENDING SOMEONE TO STEAL YOUR EYES. THATS NOT A JOKE. I HAVE A FRIEND WHO WILL STEAL YOUR EYES."

"I have some children I need to TURN INTO CORPSES"

also. just his "Yello!" gag in the dreamscaperers. its so sutpid i love it

honestly UGHH hes so quotable i love like every one of his lines everytime hes on screen its a joy. any episode is a good episode with bill. hes such a good villain

brOTP

None reaally? I guess I would've loved more antics with the henchmaniacs, like that one deleted scene, I found them pretty funny

OTP

BILLFORD DO UE VEN HAVE TO ASK HHHHHGHH

nOTP

None I think, i guess fiddleford and bill but i said that already and tbh im mostly indifferent to it

random headcanon

iii havent fully cvuaght up on all the code and lore cracking of TBOB but from what ive picked up he had to take medicine as a kid which affected his eyesight? so my hc is that he has some lasting damage with his vision from that

unpopular opinion

yes the book of bill gave us bill euclydia dimension lore but no that doesnt ruin his character sure his backstory is sad but like. its not his focal point. it gives him depth and an explanation its GOOD. hes still the villain whos evil because! who does whatever he wants! for fun! a sad backstory and a charming villain whos motivation is Fun can coexist its not the end of the world

also this is directed at like One thing i saw on twt but He Would Fucking Not listen to msi oh my god he canonically hates synthesized music i hate you

song i associate with them

GOD i have a few ermm.... theyre like billford related tho so. hope thats cool. the one ive been obsessed with is New Invention by I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME its SO GFUCKING THEM DUDE ITS SO THEM LISTEN TO IT. NOW!!!!!!!!!!!! pls

favorite picture of them

every picture but ig if i had to choose him playing faggot piano for ford is up there

[ayushipop]

marry my husband review/ramble (with spoilers):

i watched this drama over a weird span of time—first 2 episodes on a long flight, put it down and didn't pick it up again until ~4 months later, finished the rest over the span of a week

characters and plot:

the first 50-75% of the show was decently grounded in reality and really enjoyable. obviously we root for jiwon on principle, but just the premise of living your life again to make it better and take control of your narrative is delivered so well through her. im always a sucker for seeing a character convinced that misery is all they're destined for live a happier life than they could've ever imagined <3

jihyuck was so unrealistically green flag but i have no complaints, i love that his priorities (jiwon's happiness, jiwon's safety, jiwon jiwon jiwon) never wavered not even once. they had good chemistry, even some cute banter that i wish there was a little more of. but their deeper talks and connection were very satisfying to watch develop. 2 of my favorite lines from him (paraphrased): "if my life was novel and you threw it on a table, it would fall open to your page" and "i'm your father's allowance, so use me however you like" CRAZY!!!! generally i also wish there had been more of them actually being together and flirting, more ML expressiveness pleaseee!

the side characters were a great time too—huiyeon my beloved <33 jihyucks college friends were good comedic relief, the mean girl squad redemption was 👌👌, yang's arc was at times frustrating but i was rooting for her and seeing her deal with jiwon's fate but with a loving community around her to overcome it instead of suffering alone like jiwon had to was so heartwarming. sumin was so insane, i have to commend her actress. ive seen the sentiment that she was acting circles around much of the cast and i really agree. her villainous behavior was so unhinged but over-the-top in a way that still worked, and realistic to that specific cruelty that manipulative women are capable of. and in contrast..

no offense to the actress but yura was just. So Insufferable on screen. my main complaint during episodes 12-14 were that it feels like im watching the Bad People Do Bad People Things Show and it dragged so much at times—but even then, there were ways to make it enjoyable! minhwan and sumin's evil mutually-assured-destruction fight they were locked in was actually so fun to watch. the intensity of sumin and jiwon's exchanges, especially the post-crash confrontation, had me glued to the screen. so honestly it was mostly yura that was the problem, she just felt so stereotypical and straight out of a soap opera. the soapiness of the later episodes really got me, though i know there were hints of it before (i.e. sumin's pregnancy announcement). i do appreciate that she escalated the stakes by giving sumin and minhwan more information, access, and reasons for conflict, to kind of level the playing field between 2 broke people and a whole ass chaebol with jiwon + basically psychic knowledge of the future

not hating entirely on the soapiness of it all though! there were plenty of twists and turns that had me gagged, and even the ones i predicted i cheered watching play out! jiwon did a little too much at times with her (earned) smugness in sumin and minhwan's faces, but i'll cut her some slack given that she was killed murdered dead by these people.

wish there was more eunho and huiyeon! when we finally got some focus on them it felt like watching a completely different drama in the context of all the crazy shit going down, when i know they would've felt more in place in the more-grounded first half of the show.

honorable mention to mr lee our very nonchalant chalant-asf king. sureee this is all business for you buddy

ost thoughts:

my standard for memorable kdrama osts is only really based on 3 that have stuck out to me: homecha (excellent), her private life (delightful), and so i married the anti fan (absolutely dogshit in a way that's almost charming). this one didn't make an impression on me, but as established, the bar is high.

overall:

8/10 a good time! made me consider picking up the webtoon again. i don't think i would rewatch it on my own, but would with someone seeing it for the first time, the reveals and twists and theorizing are really fun to engage in & i would definitely recommend 🎬

[hazelcephalopod]

Alright so. I’ve had the experience of When Calls the Heart (Hallmark) bc my mom is watching it. Here’s my thoughts so far.

1- Idk if this show has a historical consultant. But if so whosever it’s is seems to have a policy of “show up when I want and say what I want”.

2- the most based take this show has had in 12? seasons is “Pinkerton’s suck”.

3- Every time something interesting almost happens it is over in moments.

4- a woman had chicken pox (it’s roughly 1912) and looked stunning the whole time.

5- truly. Plz. Let these people act! I’m falling asleep.

6- shout out to the first couple episodes of season 1 where things are actually happening, people get to act, and it feels like a better consultant is on set.

7- Did I mention that the historical accuracy is not very good? It’s not, but admittedly most of it is just ok the cusp of “that’s too early or skirting the edge or too early”. No wonder peoples view of the past is so skewed. That said it has started to get better, I can only assume whoever their consultant is care more about this or the upcoming era.

8- this series is based on a Christian book series. I find it very funny that despite this they have struggled to keep a pastor.

9- the cast history is hilarious. Here are the reasons—

A) the love interest character (a mounty) from the books, his actor wanted to leave so they just killed him and had no idea what to do with the main characters romance plot. So they just gave her two love interests and a baby. She has somehow convinced herself that she wants the lightly shady salon owner -btw I was so excited for him to be shadier but no, not really- and not the new mounty she’s clearly in love with. Also the new Mounties niece-daughter (adoption) has been shipping them since they met and adopted Mc as her new mom by force. Including only inviting her uncle/dad and MC to her adoption hearing.

b) remember that California college scandle a few years ago? The mom actress from that was one of the best actors and characters on the show. Bc of it they cut her out and removed her scenes abruptly and just did a voice over that she left. Oh this also meant the child actor playing her adopted son had to be cut. Poor kid. Also her character had like 3-5 love interests Thru the show.

c) the intermittent villain -whose villainy is frankly, deeply boring- is bacially main cast. He keep becoming good only to be a villain again. He’s sorta the bad boy more old pathetic wet man with high blood pressure faced with mortality. Possibly most interesting character on the show. I think he used to be in soap operas. For the first few seasons whenever I saw him I thought he was a different person. He was previous female characters (above) love interest and rival.

d) the sheriff used to be a mounty. He’s also the town judge -no training for that besides mounty, and also hates lawyers- and almost mayor. He hates all new things. He owned a cafe with the kicked off character (above) and was also her love interest, and also of course the above guys rival -they have sorta become friends since then. his actor used to play a major villain in at least one soap opera. (Aside I’ve decided rn to start shipping the old men)

10- the MC best friend had to leave -as she was the one written off due to the actress personal scandal- so they had to make the quirky mild problem character her new best friend. New best friend used to be MC dead husbands fiancé before they broke up bc it was not ever happening. She is the only character who speaks with a North Atlantic accent Bc she was a NY actress before moving back to the Canadian rockies(? Wherever they are), the actress kills it tbh -she was also the one who looked immaculate despite having chicken pox as an adult.

12. The costuming is spotty. Beginning? Excellent. Middle? Looks like it came from the macys catalogue of the current year. Recently? Slightly better depending on character. Tbh for a bit I thought maybe the actors were supplying their own costumes, so it really boiled down to how much each actor cared and how good at cosplay they were.

[wieniawskis]

Rewatching the episode while typing this out since I have A Lot of thoughts

First of all, honestly thought Lakia noped out at the end of last episode, funny mental image but would destroy the tone for this episode

art maybe??

the split second shot from behind lakia, honestly can't imagine what was going through his head after the reveal maybe komel, him just standing watching this whole confrontation while processing the new info is just ugh

And hanto's whole 'you are part of stomach too' scene and the accusation is just gah I died a little actually, honestly like I feel really awful for both of them, on one hand hanto has been knocked unconscious by vlan the whole time shouma was with the guy, woke up with no context what happened saw gavv working together with the granute that he thought was gonna kill him, the other granute they fought, turns out to be the crazy lady with the scythe that kicked his ass and, revealed that he was stomach's youngest brother poor dude did not have any time to process the information of course he lashes out

on the other hand, shouma accused as being part of his siblings operation immediately jumped to lakia's defence and not his own is probably not the worst thing he could have said, but definitely not the best, like shouma my guy hanto is mainly focusing on you and not lakia

Hanto basically storming off

Ok, the gochizous meeting eachother is cute ngl

lakia: yeah okay then to shouma's backstory is great, honestly a relief after the whole cough cough

But yeah, that tracks lakia is generally a chill guy, whether or not how he's feeling when with stomach is another case, and they did just raid a stomach base also shouma is probably feeling better after talking to him

Also that big block of text ask I sent you about lakia acting indifferent towards hanto being potentially accurate feels very validating

I'll be honest, when hanto accused suga and almost jumped him I laughed, didn't know why until I rewatched the ep. Hanto you're absolutely right suga does know and is lying straight to your face and actively doing far worse things than keeping this specific secret from you, suga telling hanto that shouma was knowingly working with vlam the guy behind the mass disapearance was the moment i realize that suga was trying to destroy hanto's relationship with shouma

Also, I'd like to point out the small smirk right before the camera pans over to the computer, after he made hanto doubt shouma even more is buh

That face nyelv makes, after hearing about lage9's brother makes me feel satisfied, I bet you he was dreading the million different ways lage could potentially expose him as the one who equipped the jellyfish with pudding powers to his sibling

Honestly impressed with nyelv poker face, shouma sure as hell needed that more than him

aww, I was curious what a macaron might do, gochizou's are adorable, worried for shouma

No episode you can't make me think they're the same person, I've seen the raw previews before this (read: condescending voice)

"YEAH HANTO GET THAT JOURNALIST BRAIN WORKING AND HEAR IT STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURC- wait what" - stupid idiot forgot the last episode preview

Since this ask is getting pretty long I'll be doing this :)

(Part 1 of 2)

NO YEAH, the way lakia just slid out of frame in the previous episode made me assume that he left, but no he was just watching from afar like it was some soap opera drama 😭

the whole confrontation scene broke me tbh. the way shouma was trying to explain but didn't manage to do so before hanto left... but i can't blame him because he's just been inundated with new information left and right, so he's bound to land on some wrong conclusions

shouma definitely fanned the flames by defending lakia, but seeing the last two episodes, i can't really blame him for that, either. although it definitely wasn't the best thing to say at that moment

my god the gochizos were so cute and i love how puppy-like shouma's were like vs how cool and suave lakia's ones were

suga is #1 suspicious but it's so hard to tell when he's being genuine or false, so everything ends up feeling fake 💀

nyelv... someone wrote that he reacted like a guy who's shocked when his Very straight boytoy left him... it's an accurate description ngl.

the secondary rider cooling down and thinking with a rational mind is honestly refreshing and i love hanto for that.

thanks for the ask, anon!

[fanfic-inator795]

I've talked a lot on here about my favorite characters, but what about some of my LEAST favorite characters?

Honestly, I don't have too many characters that I just hate with a burning passion or anything like that... but there are def characters that truly get under my skin. So let's have some fun and rant for a bit, shall we? Starting with least hated to most:

Sadie Miller (Steven Universe): Gonna be honest, a big reason why I dislike this character is because of her voice. No disrespect to Kate Micucci, but MAN her voice is just so grating to me personally (tbf, I feel the same way about Greg Cipes). As for the character herself, she's just incredibly whiny and annoying imo. I couldn't really relate to her frustrations with her mother, and that whole mess with her and Lars was just... yeah. Still can't really overlook the whole Stranded Island incident. Say what you will about how terrible Lars can be, but at least Lars can be funny and interesting sometimes. I just don't care for Sadie at all.

Mo Morrison (Lightyear): Laying out my biases here, I really don't like Lightyear in general, it's a very frustrating and agitating film to me personally, I could honestly rant about that movie for hours. But beyond the story/plot issues, Mo is just a very annoying character to me. They try SO hard to push him to be the comedy relief, and it just does not work. Then, when they try to push him as the team screw-up, they push too hard and just make him frustrating to watch since he literally can't do anything right and doesn't get a win until the payoff with the stupid spacesuit pen. Literally every scene with him just ends up making me go "goddamn it, Mo, why are you even here??"

Mr. Herriman (Foster's Home): As a kid who was a big fan of Frankie growing up, it shouldn't be surprising just how much I hate this rabbit. I think what really gets me is how callous and unfair he can be, with stuff like "Imposters Home for uh Make-em-up Pals", "Crime After Crime" and "Setting a President" showing him at his absolute worst. An all-around VERY frustrating and unsympathetic character to me, worse so than Bloo or any of the show's actual villains. Honestly, it makes me sad that we don't get to see more of his softer side - i.e. the life-long friendship he has with Madame Foster/the stuff that makes Madame Foster love him - as that easily could have saved his character. But for the most part, he just comes off as a huge jerk.

Stickler (The Cuphead Show): Similarly to Herriman, I think I just get incredibly annoyed with characters who put rules and procedure above everything else. What makes Stickler worse though is the voice they gave him, as while it's kinda funny in his first couple appearances, by season 3 I'm cringing just as much as Devil does whenever he pops up. They also amp up his jerkiness and pushiness in the later episodes - and while I get WHY they need to, given how distracted Devil gets, it's still a tad annoying imo.

Dr. Owen Hunt (Grey's Anatomy): Literally my least favorite character EVER. This guy... he really is just the WORST. And yes, I know there are in-universe reasons for how he acts, but when he continues being a shitty person to his wives and others, I stop caring about those reasons. He's a huge hypocrite on most things, has a 'my way is always right'/'My way or the highway' mentality, and he's just such a baby whenever he doesn't get his way or when he has to face consequences. YES, I KNOW, on Grey's pretty much everyone is a shitty person in some way because it's a dramatic medical soap opera and they need drama, but Owen really does just get under my skin the most with how stubborn and 'holier than thou' he acts a lot of the time.

...That being said, if any of my followers actually like these characters, no disrespect to you. In fact, I'd love to know WHY you like these characters, as perhaps I can get a new perspective on them.

[mikuni14]

Laws of Attraction Ep 5

I had a short city break (I ate a lot of yummy food and saw 3 cats, one was very talkative, so of course it was great). That's why after returning I had to catch up quickly and watch LoA, the BMF final ep and the first ep of Only Friends right away.

LoA did not disappoint again and provided the best entertainment. I liked everything:

how we get glimpses of Charn as Tinn's future boyfriend, the way he's sulky and whiny, high maintenance, unpredictable (the bed scene when Charn, after weeks of heavy flirting and openly proposing sex, when it might finally happen, he just falls asleep lol)

again, the show takes all the possible corny themes and tropes of romance/soap opera/action series and makes great use of them in a way that I always like and doesn't give a second hand embarassment, BECAUSE:

unforced, truly romantic scenes that brings blushes and pure joy

cheap special effects 👌, exaggerated action scenes and fighting scenes 👌, Charn schemining against Vit and then the sequence of events when we see him doing it 👌, the death of the villain crushed by the bookshelf 👌👌 - WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE HERE

"you can do anything to me", a sentence that always works for me because it's both hot and a lovely proof of trust, obviously appears in this excellent series, it's surprisingly said by Tinn, which is actually great

in general, Tinn accepting everything that happens between him and Charn, accepting Charn and his flirting, just taking it in without hesitation, without hiding from Charn and his own needs, him being so confident and flirting back, being so wonderfully open to Charn - I just can't, both of them are awesome 🤩

I love how the drama intertwines serious scenes and conversations with complete fuckery 😄 We have Tinn and Charn having one of their famous arguments about morality, justice, existence in society, or Charn in one of his crazy tirades about power and money being called out by Rose, there are touching scenes of Tinn and Grandma remembering Tonkhao... and then there are scenes of Tinn and Charn just being themselves and ridiculous and the most fake fire ever. This series is gold

talking about Tonkhao, I really like that the series constantly reminds us of her and that she is treated with respect as a victim. Very often the victim in crime dramas is just "a tool" for the plot, is treated instrumentally, not like a once-living person, which never fails to annoy me. Fortunately, Tonkhao is still remembered in LoA, and the scene with Tinn remembering her and guarding her memory was very touching

I really like Charn's relationship with Rose, they act like real siblings, with all the silly and petty fights, but Rose also has no problem reprimanding Charn, popping his little bubbles of self-satisfaction and also worrying about him, especially in the scenes where Charn is triggered by his traumatic memories

I know Charn is a dick, but as someone who is interested in politics, I have to say that he's sort of right about not wanting to bring the senator to justice. I mean, how many politicians do you know who actually went to jail for the criminal things they did?

Tanthai must be going crazy in his head and his heart. Until now he was an abused kid who relieved his traumas by drinking, partying and being an annoying brat, now he is starting to be dragged down by a string of innocent people being killed and it's sort of about him and it's obvious how badly it affects him. Thee, who is desperately trying to make everything as it was before, must finally gets his shit together, because Tanthai simply won't last long like this

I'm offended because there seems to be a lot of stuff going on off-screen, like an almost-kiss in Tinn's room and a whole-ass date! I want to see it! The public has a right to know! 😤

LoA is so good. And am I seeing right 👀?Is the next episode a traditional "going to the beach/tree planting" episode? Woohoo! 🥳

[the-ace-with-spades]

I've had mixed feelings about this season of 9-1-1...

Some of the issues about this season are, I'm pretty sure, caused by how short it is and the pacing being messed up for a lot of plotlines there.

The first two episodes felt overstretched to me, like the whole cruise bit could have been fit in two episodes instead of three - the third cruise ep was better but that's because it was oversaturated with characters and side plots and you couldn't compress that much of it. The first two just felt very slow and had put a lot of boring exposure on Lola and Norman that didn't really parallel the struggles Athena and Bobby had that well in my mind. 9-1-1 was always really heavy on narrative parallels in episodes (rescued people's dilemmas paralleled the crew's personal problems and guided them to have a look inwards into their own lives - it's quite common in procedural dramas and serves well if done with heart) but this time it feels very disconnected and mismatched.

Buck's arc was mostly good, very in character and paced in a way that didn't feel very rushed - stuff happened fast but it still felt realistic and natural. I do think it could've been done more in depth and show Buck's thought process more in some occasions but it wasn't bad.

I didn't like the wedding episodes as much as I thought I would (Jennifer and Kenneth were brilliant acting wise tho). I have a big problem with how Maddie's relationship with her and Buck's parents is treated in the show (mostly I don't think 'the united front' was really there as much as the writers tried to push but that's a typical depiction of 'parents are always going to be your parents no matter how shitty and deserve countless second chances' that you see in media and never like) but the idea of a huge wedding for Maddie and Chim seemed so out of character for them and the hospital wedding was also less private and romantic than what I'd imagine for them. I didn't like the bachelor party bit, it seemed very pointless to me and took some time from Chim's story that could give it a better pacing. Not to mention the depiction of encephalitis was very jarring as someone who actually had treated patients with encephalitis...

Eddie's arcs are... well, a bit ridiculous this season. Marisol has zero depth from the beginning, adding that whole almost a nun background didn't make it better. It might be just me, but in the scenes where Eddie is alone (not with another main cast member) he almost seems to be lacking personality?? Like his behaviour feels like a plot device more than something that matches what we could see of him beforehand?? The Catholic guilt took the worst turn possible with the whole nun bit, there's so many ways you could show Catholic guilt without making it about something as shallow and impersonal as having sex with an ex almost nun. It's literally not related that much to what Eddie's Catholic guilt (that is implied to have existed for years in him) would relate.

Kim is a whole other thing. Not an affair but still feels like an affair. The most unrealistic, farfetched way to deal with guilt and resentment for your dead wife ever. People don't just meet doppelgangers of their dead wife and decide to use them to deal with their issues and said doppelgangers don't just agree to it and find it normal. It's just some messed up way to push Eddie into that direction faster but it's just taking away the complexity of Eddie's feelings about Shannon and pushing it into a couple of short scenes that seem like they were taken out of a bad soap opera.

Mara's story line is...ugh. Look, foster kids in TV are my pet peeve. Especially troubled foster kids and the way people treat them and how people treating them is portrayed. Karen wanting her rehomed the minute she showed troubled behavior took away a lot from her for me, even if she retracted later, this just shouldn't be the first instinct of a foster parent and should not show. The way how they portrayed the whole investigation of Mara's past also pissed me off - this is not how it'd look in real life, so many of the foster parents just don't know what happened to the kid and have to work on figuring it out with the kid, on earning their trust by putting actual work into the relationship than just playing a detective and finding out how they got 'messed up'. Denny is literally having the most empathy out of all of them and that's just so bad. The way Mara magically opened up in such short notice and seems to be now an angelic child that trusts Hen and Karen completely is also something so jarring.

Involving a councilwoman into it all felt like such an overinflated way to stir trouble again. The realistic problems foster parents and adoption parents face are much more mundane than a whole ass politician suddenly deciding to run a vendetta on Hen. Hen and Karen are lesbians and black, Hen works a demanding job with long hours. CPS could get fussy about such a small thing as a teacher that is not the most tolerant reporting them for late pickups or forgotten lunches or even someone from social services Mara isn't making enough progress fast enough. The adoption judge themselves could be biased towards them and make the process difficult. There's so many ways it could have been done without involving the councilwoman and the incidents Hen's been either cleared off charges or acted with the protocol. That is, in my opinion, a cheap way to make it a conflict that is relying, emotionally, on hating the villain only (the councilwoman) and not showcasing the real struggles Karen and Hen could actually have, which would take time to expose in plot.

I did like Bobby's episode(s). A lot. Amir, as a character, is well rounded as well, it's just that any time other characters interact with him, they just seem to be acting so illogical and out of character - this is mostly about Maddie and Athena, I can understand why Bobby would act the way he does. I think Bobby is by far one of the best explored characters in the show and they didn't mess it up this season like they've done with the rest - the rest feels actually a bit two dimensional almost.

On another note, this season feels like a drama rather than procedural drama. I barely remember any rescues and emergencies and the ones that happened were really short and uncomplicated and brought almost nothing into the episodes.