#this season had me screaming into the void and also at the screen

[skysyzygy]

I finished our flag means death season two finally

And I was trying to articulate to a friend how the show, besides being just a really, really good show, does amazing queer representation and how a show about pirates will always contain some element of the queer experience in like being othered from society and whatnot, and I couldn’t quite figure out how to say it

But I think what Izzy says to the prince about what being a pirate is sums it up pretty well:

“It’s about belonging to something when the world has told you you’re nothin’. It’s about finding the family to kill for when yours are long dead. It’s about letting go of ego for something larger.

The crew.”

And of course this is for sure intentional and definitely been pointed out before and maybe I’m being a little dramatic about it or something but it is such a good line,

I enjoy this show so much you guys

[melbatron5000]

Reality is . . . off

Here's me, screaming into the void. I've got no theory, only Clues.

Reality seems to be acting strangely in Season 2 of Good Omens. Mostly around Aziraphale. My examples:

This season seems to be from Aziraphale's point of view, and all the colors and lighting seem to be very bright and vibrant.

The note from Maggie -- another post on Tumblr (damned if I can find it now) pointed out that she puts her phone down right as Aziraphale comes into her shop for the first time. She seems to be texting him, but the text message arrives to his door as a note in the mail slot because that's how he expects to receive correspondences.

Changing the Bentley into Our Car -- and in the flashback to 1941 that happens after the trip to Edinburgh in the show, the Bently is still a four-door. He changed it and then made it so it always was that way. (There's a line in the book about someone being powerful enough to change something and then make it so it always was that way -- something that's repeated about the Book of Life, too. Hmm . . .) No wonder Crowley just opens up the back door to put his plants in, it's always had a back door at that point! And please don't @ me with the Bently is not a Clue -- the change happens right in scene, on screen. That was not a "they hoped no one would notice" moment. And yes, I know they weren't able to use Mary for the second season. They got a reasonable look-alike, and then changed that car into a four-door. For why??

The Bentley following him when he parks it. People have said, "Oh, yes, the Bentley is sentient, of course!" But it hasn't done anything to show that until after Aziraphale drives it. And don't @ me with the Queen -- the gag in the book says that any album left in a car for more than a fortnight transmogrifies into The Best of Queen. It's not the Bentley doing that, it's just a fact of Queen. (Can confirm.)

Aziraphale is terrible at magic. But somehow, when he really needs to make a trick work, he does it. Oh, yeah, babe? You just put that photo right up your sleeve slick as that? Hm.

That 25 Lazarii miracle. Neither of them expected that. Yet there it was.

The whole ball. He wasn't casting miracles, reality was just -- conforming itself to what he wanted.

Now my point is . . . I don't know. My observation is that reality seems to be following Aziraphale's wishes, and I don't think he even realizes that it shouldn't be. Not entirely. Or is it that he knows reality is re-shaping itself around him, and he's enjoying it?

Reality is not warping around Crowley in the same way, and Crowley seems to be able to feel something's wrong. Coming in waves, like a hangover.

Now, I have heard it said that Neil has also pointed out that our angel and demon warp reality just by existing. Okay, actually makes sense. How could an occult and celestial being not mess with reality without even realizing they're doing it?

Am I chewing on a nothing burger?

Is Aziraphale turned up somehow?

What is going on.

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

Okay, I've finally collected my post-rewatch thoughts on the CX clones, and have two major points. Allow me to state in advance that, while my thoughts are... mixed (to say the least), this is NOT intended to bash the show's creative teams.

First, let's tackle the subject of CX2.

Let's make one thing perfectly clear: there were clear indicators that CX2 could be Tech. I went into season 3 NOT wanting CX2 to be Tech, AT ALL, so the fact that I left "Point of No Return" thinking chances were high that a Tech-X reveal was coming really says something. Even rewatching with the understanding that CX2 was apparently intended to be a shadow of Crosshair (per Jen Corbett), the Tech parallels couldn't be ignored. Others have spelled out exhaustive lists of the parallels; for me personally, the things that stood out and STILL read as Tech-coded to me are: 1) the dude moves like Tech, 2) looks like Tech with all his gadgetry/pouches that also link directly to his ship (Crosshair never had pouches nor is he ever shown to be the primary pilot, of course he has some level of flight training but he even gives the flying reins over to Omega), 3) there are at least four instances where he sounds just like Tech to me (Tech says "Who are you?" twice with the same cadence in season 1, so the fact that CX2 uses the same exact speech pattern... well, let's just say if I had a nickel for every time...), and 4) some of his word choices are precisely what Tech would say (it might be cliche by now but I am telling you, CX2 dropped the word "Domicile" and that was THE moment that I squinted at my screen and literally said out loud "Tech, is that you?" [insert Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme]).

Thing is, there are also several times where CX2 sounds like Crosshair to me, and most of the time he sounds like a reg under the distortion. In terms of sniping skills, he really is more on par with Crosshair compared to Tech (precise though Tech may be), and all regs seem to have some level of the other physical/weapons skills CX2 possesses.

My point? During my rewatch, all these details ended up coming across even more strongly to me as purposeful misdirection to ramp up speculation and interest. Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using red herrings. It was actually really fun to speculate and even joke over whether CX2 was Cody or Soup Clone or Dogma (back when we were young and naive and thought the CX's might actually be redeemed). What I personally DON'T care for in the slightest is the trick of not only allowing the fate of a fan-favorite character to be left ambiguous all season long (and some would even argue it remains so now) but ALSO including several prominent hints that make said character (who is supposed to be dead) a red herring, especially considering that some of the fanbase (including me) was truly hoping for a comeback for the character for various reasons. And now, part of me is glad that CX2 wasn't specifically revealed to be Tech after Hunter skewered him, but I'm still screaming into the void over the fact that they didn't even bother to make THAT point crystal clear!

(I'm not going to touch on the gaslighting that has occurred within the fandom (cough Reddit cough) over the CX2=Tech evidence. That's on the fans, not the creative team, especially since I know the creatives are very limited in what they can talk about and how they can word things.)

As it stands now, frustrating though it is that Tech was used as a red herring, and much as I think there might have been some odd rewrites regarding this plot point, I'm taking the firm stance that the CX2 we saw skewered was NOT Tech. If Tech comes back, I want him to either have been living with amnesia or been kept in stasis somewhere on Tantiss. Preferably amnesia, with Omega or Echo finding him and bringing him home.

Second, my thoughts on the CXs as a whole.

I... am not sure what the overall point of them was supposed to be, besides being cool-looking baddies (and we already had plenty of those). Prove how awful the Empire is (as if that point hasn't already been made abundantly clear)? Prove how awful Hemlock is? Prove that Hemlock can do even worse to clones than even Palpatine was able to do? But if we're talking about how awful Hemlock's experiments are and the absolute horror the clones go through, why are we ultimately supposed to be glad/relieved that the CXs all die (including via suicide chip and assassination by fellow operative) and the CX-Batch are defeated in a boss fight? And it gets even muddier since the little characterization we have for the CXs is all over the place.

Let's take CX2 as an example again: he is a big meanie, a bigger meanie than CX1 who tried to kill our favorite senators Singh and Chuchi. He disobeys Wolffe. He kills CX1. He gets Nemik and other clones killed. He tries to drown Crosshair. He tortures Cid (mixed feelings on whether that actually makes him a meanie...) He obeys Hemlock's order to get the kid or else... But then he disregards the order to terminate the other Batchers if they get in the way (HE SHOOTS HIS OWN PILOT INSTEAD OF HUNTER), only targets the citizens' "means of escape," is borderline civil to Shep, and actually heeds Omega's plea to leave Pabu alone. So maybe he's not as much of a meanie...? (If he's supposed to be a brainwashed Imperial shadow of Crosshair, may I remind you that Imperial Crosshair murdered civilians and a member of his own team when they proved the slightest bit refractory and/or didn't have the intel he wanted.) But then he chops off Crosshair's hand. And after that - well, doesn't matter much anymore if he's a meanie or not. Apparently everything he did meant he was irredeemable.

Maybe we're just supposed to root for the "regular" CXs. It's the regular CXs Rex talks to when he offers help and a way back to the clones he manages to capture. But we only meet two of these "regular" shadows and hear of others alluded to, and these shadows die before we really get to know them. So maybe we're not supposed to have had enough time to care about these shadows after all. Maybe Rex's line is meant to illustrate how far gone they are (except CX2 kills CX1 before that plot point can really be explored), or to illustrate Rex's stance on wanting to help any and all clones (as if this had to be clarified any further).

And then... Well, there's not much to say about the CX-Batch. They have super cool character designs. The one CX-Batcher getting unhelmeted is admittedly the one and only solid bit of in-show proof I have that CX2 was a regular clone. They are evil and killing people left and right and must be put down. I guess they're meant to be shadows of what the Bad Batch might have been had they joined the Empire, but I can't help but see the message as: if the Empire tortures and experiments on you long and hard enough against your will, you're irredeemable, which is kinda odd in a show which has choice as a main theme (I mean, come on, we start with clones who were born to be soldiers with no choice in the matter, to ending with Omega choosing to be a soldier of her own free will after other clones had the choice to stop being soldiers). Maybe if it was clear that the CXs had volunteered to become CXs, the message would be different.

In conclusion: to say that my thoughts on the CXs are complicated is an understatement. Frankly I would have no trouble overlooking the confusing handling of the CXs if the show had just handled Tech's death better rather than allowing him to become inextricably linked with the CXs (even if only in speculation/theory). Despite this, I still love the show (including season 3) and still applaud the overall brilliance of the creative teams.

[psychicsolanum]

TUA S4 SPOILERS

I have so many thoughts after finishing it.

yet I feel so empty lmao.

I'm gonna put my disorganised rambles under a read more if anyone is interested and/or wants to scream with me about it

umbrella academy is one of, if not, my favourite show ever made for its storytelling and unique art direction yes, but mainly its characters and their dynamic, like everyone who loves this show.

i love the fluffy sibling relationships and how their trauma affects how they live and behave with one another. everything is built off of the characters!! it's never revolved around love interests unless it made sense and I really loved that. patch (mostly), dave, ray, lila and even Delores tied into the main cast's arcs and pushed the plot forward in a way that I thought was really satisfying and didn't take away too much from the family dynamics that the show focuses on.

so why did they choose these random romantic relationships this season to focus on? I thought the twist about Ben's death was actually great and unexpected personally, (and i loved seeing the kids go out on a mission; i always wanted more flashbacks to their childhood) but to boil it down to a virus that made him fall in love with someone he just met? that's so boring and so unlike anything they've done before imo!

also what happened to sloane lmao. I know basically nothing about behind the scenes stuff but what was the point of having her and Luther get together last season if they had no plans, I'm guessing they must have and the actress didn't come back?

and I feel like hargreeves' grand plan that caused everything in this show to happen feels so anticlimactic now. I mean I guess it literally meant nothing now. this feels like life is strange all over again but worse lol.

Klaus! thank god he exists in this series. what a breath of fresh air any time he was on screen. i never thought i'd be so relieved they threw him into another side quest lmao thank god he wasnt burdened by the main plot too much. I don't mean to say I'm completely happy with what they did with him, they started this arc of like, not letting his powers define him and finish his transformation that he's been continuously going through since s1, but because the show ends with everyone killing themselves it just kind of fizzles out? still love him and his careless whimsy, i thought the way he got his powers back and the scene following it was really good. as always wish they explored it moreeeeeee ughhhhh. Omg they never did anything more with the void or God either. I loved that stuff :(((((((((((

I cant even think about the five and lila stuff without getting mad so I'm just gonna say: fuck you for that. what the fuck were you thinking. why. why. why. in my head five is aroace and moves on with his life, maybe takes up golfing idk. who cares. anything else. HE LITERALLY SAID "I WANNA FUCKING KILL HIM" ABOUT DIEGO IN THE LAST EPISODE?!?!?!?!? and he hid the way home to her children from her for months???? I like the very end of the plotline where it explained founder five, very Loki, but that could have been accomplished without the 7 year romance...............

I think the 6 year time jump reallllyyyyy did not help this season at all. it just led to all the conflict with Allison being resolved instantly and her only story being the one klaus is living with. also wtf was going on with her powers why did they just give her telekinesis thats way more boring than her rumours! I like the tiny bits we got with klaus and allison but it was so short! with the time jump we missed so much development, most of them feel like completely different characters for no real reason. the only thing we know about luther is that he became a stripper, and viktor owns a bar in canada i guess??? these guys were most of the main plot in season 1 and they were so one dimentional this season. i feel like we barely got to get to know Claire or Diego and lilas kids which would be fine if the rest of the plot going on with the other characters was good and engaging, which i felt it wasn't. I don't even know the kids names apart from Grace, which is very cute ill give them that.

The show ended with the main cast doing a group suicide. ceasing to exist. none of them getting to heal.

I'm sorry I don't want to be a hater and I really do hope that some people loved this season but im just so sad lol. i liked the first couple eps and I really love these characters, judging by twitter I'm not alone in my disappointment though lmao. what was the potential s5 gonna look like?!?!?

I loved klaus and Allison a lot and we got little snippets of greatness, I want a spinoff of them now!!!!!!!

I'm excited to hear other people's opinions, maybe I'll see other perspectives and feel a little better haha.

klaus 4ever 🖤☂️🖤

[merrycrisis-if]

my live reaction to chapter 4 Qiu's route was so completely unhinged, the amount of times i would switch between staring into the void willing myself not to cry and wordlessly screaming and cursing at my screen was insane

i love how the first and last ''serious'' kiss between Qiu and MC had almost the same 'The kiss is hungry, and raw, and more honest than…' part

the goodbye scene broke me so bad even though i chose the kiss option i was internalizing the fuck you option

another of my favorite parts is when we could yell back at Qiu's mom in Mandarin, like making sure she completely knows and understands (small bug report in this scene Qiu's mom refers to m!Qiu as her daughter)

(also since a couple of us here seem to be fans of Taylor Swift x Merry Crisis i would to recommend 'the 1' and ''tis the damn season' for more vibes)

HAHAH hope you're no longer staring into the void by now, but I'm so glad you enjoyed the update.

i love how the first and last ''serious'' kiss between Qiu and MC had almost the same 'The kiss is hungry, and raw, and more honest than…' part

Oh no this sounds like a mistake more than anything hahaha. Did I repeat my lines? 😮🫣🤦‍♀️

even though i chose the kiss option i was internalizing the fuck you option

Lol I think the "love-hate" feeling is very valid with Qiu. Like, "I hate that I'm letting myself do this with you all over again" is definitely a vibe I wanted to allow readers to feel all through the reunion.

Ah, I love that you enjoyed that little option to yell at Qiu's mom in Mandarin! A thing that I personally am proud of is that you can only pick that option if you said you were semi-decent at Mandarin earlier.

Ooh, great song recs. Taylor Swift is definitely a whole merry crisis mood.

P.S. I think I fixed the m!MC "daughter" mention, but let me know if it's still problematic.

[jaskierx]

Honestly, I really admire (and am thankful for) the way you manage and handle those back and forth with some Izzy stans, I don't think I have the mental strength to entertain them myself.

I wasn't part of the fandom after season 1 aired, I watched it without engaging much and then kind of waited for season 2 to come out, so I had no idea such a divide had happened between Izzy stans and the rest of the fandom (glad I was oblivious to it ngl). All I know is that I hated Izzy’s guts and wanted him to get his just desert.

So yeah, I wasn’t a fan and I struggled forgiving him when season 2 started because the show was trying so hard to make him sympathetic (which I honestly couldn’t give two shits about at first, I wanted revenge), plus you’re right, Izzy got way too much screen time (which gave Izzy stans ammunitions to say “SEE!! Main character!!!”), but I did end up warming up to him by the time he died. I can even say I genuinely liked him.

BUT the journey to that point was sooo conflicting because some Izzy stans were also doing the absolute most in the main tag, painting Izzy as this angel who never did anything wrong and was terrorized by the monster Ed, and I was like????? Did season 1 happen??? Did I dream the whole season??? Did I watch a version from an alternate universe??? I was BAFFLED. I don't know who is that Izzy they're talking about, but it's not the one on my screen, that's for sure.

Then, Izzy died and the hardcore stans lost their shit (you know what I'm talking about) and they have seriously soured me to Izzy again. I want to like the character we had on screen, and I want to like his redemption arc. He was a great antagonist even if I hated him, and we owed him so much for all the shit he pulled in season 1, but the OTT takes and behaviors from stans I’ve seen have made me give up on him, which sucks. Maybe I’ll feel better about him in a few months, but right now, I can’t stand him, and I’ve blocked his tag everywhere (ao3 included, because, truly, fuck fanon Izzy, fuck him).

Hope it’s not too draining for you though, just writing this felt like screaming into the void, so I can’t imagine dealing with this on the daily. Take care!

hi anon i'm so glad you sent this bc i felt very similarly about izzy in s2. i didn't find him sympathetic at all. i didn't give a single shit that he was suffering from ed being in his kraken era bc he's the entire reason ed ended up like that in the first place. izzy was reaping what he sowed. seeing ed feeling so miserable broke my fucking heart and i can't stand any bullshit takes about 'izzy was protecting the crew from ed's abuse' or 'edizzy invented love confirmed' or whatever other nonsense his stans chose to take away from episodes 1-3.

i truly do not see izzy as a victim. i truly do not see ed as an abuser. sometimes i will start reading a post in the ofmd tag that refers to an 'abuser' and a 'victim' and i get halfway through the post and realise that the op has a completely opposite view of who is who than i do.

and as s2 progressed i just felt worse and worse about it like he was getting so much screentime and popping up all over the place and he'd absorbed a load of traits (from other characters that i'd have rather seen more of) bc the writers had to speedrun making him semi-likeable. i still haven't done a proper rewatch since the finale aired and i'm pretty sure i'll feel different watching it knowing he dies in ep8, but when eps 6-7 dropped i fucking hated every scene he was in and felt like he ruined some otherwise really lovely ed/stede moments like their breakfast in bed. izzy being cheered on for wearing drag and singing - the exact acts that caused him to threaten ed - feels exactly like the very common queer experience of seeing the homophobic kid who bullied you for being queer getting loads of support when they come out themselves.

and the takes that were coming out of the canyon at this time were absolutely wild, especially in relation to ed. people absolutely baying for blood, wanting to see him suffer, wanting his relationship with stede to suffer, wanting him to have to crawl across broken glass to repair his relationship with the crew, all while treating izzy as a protagonist who never did anything wrong.

so ngl i was delighted when he died. but mostly i was relieved that it was going to be over. i walked out of my circus tent with my clown makeup on believing that the canyon would yell for a bit and then slowly quiet down as people who claimed they'd be leaving the fandom if izzy died made good on their promise and fucked off.

and if anything they've got louder and more unhinged and are out here reinventing tjlc and harassing the writers and churning out the most rancid racist posts and writing obituaries that caused multiple people on twt to mistakenly think Actual Human Person con o'neill had died.

and on one hand i'm kind of glad that more people know what they're like now but god i really do feel for any izzy fans who have had their enjoyment of him ruined by the canyon. i really do think it's not the character that's polarising, it's the fandom response, in that most people who come in liking izzy end up either aligning with the canyon or getting so fucking fed up of the canyon that they don't like him anymore. and both of those are a shame tbh because he is very well acted and well written, especially in s1, and i wish i could've enjoyed his scenes and felt the emotional payoff of his death

anyway. sorry for writing you 1 billion words. ily ❤️

[froggie-100]

My name is Ava grace, I was born in a small down located outside of London. On December 1st 2001 I started getting these weird gifts that were always wrapped up like a present. Once I’d opened it it would reveal a VHS tape each time. The VHS tape would always say “MAPLE&FREINDS” with the box cover art for the slip, then it would say the VHS tape name on it. I’m 9 and never heard of it before I decided to go up to the attic to see if we had a VHS player since I remembered my mom having one at some point. Once I found it I would sit down on the floor and play the tape. It would be glitchy but I could make out the characters and already knew their names, there was Maple the strawberry dog: a humanoid light yellow dog in a strawberry costume with stubby legs and arms. Luna the orange black cat: a humanoid black cat in an orange costume with stubby arms and legs. Bon bon the peach bunny: a light yellow humanoid bunny in a peach costume with stubby legs and arms. Beary the pear bear: a humanoid brown grizzly bear in a pear costume with stubby legs and arms. Alan apple pig: a pink humanoid pig in an apple costume with stubby legs and arms. Their personality was that maple was the sweet and caring one, Alan was the out of pocket and weirdly never paying attention or saying random stuff and also always cared about food, Luna was the dark and moody one, bearly was the brave and daredevil one, and bon bon was the shy one. The VHS tapes I got was “the adventure!” “Meet maple” “rainy days” “storms” “sleep” “bon bons garden” “the beach” “Halloween” “Easter” “vacation” “school” “the house” “alans cooking!” The last two were weirdly very disturbing…. “The house” was very kinda glitchy but you could still make it out, stadic behind the dialogue, and was set in a weird glitchy house. You saw almost all of the house but not the kitchen… the kitchen door way was pitch black and blurry, the only thing you could see was a silhouettes of a cat… then “Alan’s cooking!” Was weird and terrifying… it was distorted&extremely glitchy. You could hear the character’s screaming in the background every so often… then at the end it showed the remains of bon bon… her body was distorted and decomposing, you could see her organs.. as if it was an actual dead body… then as the days passed i didn’t get any more tapes! Finally! It was over I thought, but I was so wrong… on Christmas Eve it was about 3:30 pm, I had just got off of school when I saw another present on my door step… my heart immediately sank.. I picked it up but it had a note on it but i brought it inside anyways… I was still in my pink shirt and jeans, my brown hair messy from P.E. The tape was called “Christmas” I finally read the note and it says the following, “live and laugh, till the day, snow falls, cheer and joy is coming, it’s the holiday season, but soon, a life will be thrown away, into a void of disappear, and taken on a new form within a simple kids show” I felt uneasy and as if someone was watching me, but I played the tape anyways.. it opened up with its opening theme but Christmas addition. As the tape went on and on, it ended with screaming then the screen went black. The words appeared on the screen as following “live and laugh, till the day, snow falls, cheer and joy is coming, it’s the holiday season, but soon, a life will be thrown away, into a void of disappear, and taken on a new form within a simple kids show” it was the same thing!? But it had something else along with it.. “and that life shall be yours Ava” I felt scared and uncomfortable, I felt eyes on me.. then the scene went back to normal but it was in the living room with a tall slender purple cat with pitch black eyes and a pitch black smile and it was sitting on the couch, it’s limbs were longer than anything, you could almost see it’s skeleton, it had on a yellow and orange floral t-shirt, and it was staring directly onto the camera. It played the credits and it stopped. I called my girlfriend on my phone and told her everything! She said she would meet me outside of my house and we could hang out to help calm-

[onyxisnotuniqueenough]

long rant (+question) about jonathan from stranger things

disclaimer : NO ZIONISM OR ZIONIST-APOLOGIZING HERE. this show has been in my life since it came out and carried me through middle school and high school. i still love it to this day, especially s1 and s2 (i don't have that same attachment to s3 and s4 idk why. i didn't love them, didn't cry, nothing). i have been watching reactions to s1 lately and i love seeing people speculate about the demogorgon and the plot (you know by now how much i love watching reactions to my favorite shows). I was reminded of a few feelings i've had for a while now. i DON'T encourage you to watch it on netflix- no money for schnappers- and tbh i've never watched it on netflix because i never really had a subscription. despite everything, it's full of nostalgia for me and holds a special place in my heart, and you have to admit it is an amazing show (s1 and s2 only. s3 and s4 are fan-service and the scope is too big and the characters lost a lot of their charm)

ok! disclaimer over!

i have a genuine question

i know that jonathan taking pictures of that gathering at steve's back in season 1 was a plot device to get evidence for the demogorgon, and so that nancy sees it, but other than that : what the hell is his justification?

he didn't go into the woods with the INTENTION to stalk on steve, nancy, barb, etc. he went there to.......take pictures of the ground? looking for some kind of hint or footprints??

like what???

the pictures displayed on screen aren't pictures of anything. you'd think he'd go with a flashlight or something to FIND SOMETHING and have his camera ready IF he did -- but he just went there with his camera and started clicking away. to me that doesn't make sense.

also, after he heard the scream and realized it was just carol, why did he take pictures? in that short time he can't have thought "i am capturing the essence of being a teenager having fun cause that's like artistic" or something. he can't have thought "i am keeping these cause i'm so unpopular and i wish i was there and i'm gonna take dozen of pictures of these people that don't like me just so i can fantasize about being a normal teenager"

dude you were in the woods at night alone, taking some kind of risk to be honest, searching for your missing kid brother. that can't be on your mind. it would've made so much more sense if he dismissed it after he realized what the scream was, and maybe came back after he heard a strange noise coming from the pool area, when barb was sitting on the thing.

and he's TAKING PICTURES because it's unusual

and barb and the group HAPPEN to be on the pictures-- so it still seems strange to nicole (?), and she still snitches to steve inc.

steve still breaks the camera, nancy picks up the ripped photos, etc etc.

that way! jonathan is not just a creep!

what do you think? do you know what the duffers were doing?

long ranty sidenote : i think jonathan is very underrated in s1, and the writers dismiss him completely in later seasons - until they just completely write him off to focus on his goofy comic relief friend.

charlie heaton is a great actor and i think about the funeral-related fight he had with joyce a lot.

jonathan has a cool passion (photography) that is USEFUL to monster/paranormal/scary plot. so he is a great plot device in that regard. he also acts as a mentor and a great big brother figure for will, who needs an understanding and caring male figure in his life to fill his father's void. so he's also very plot-relevant in that way when will is the center of the story.

but otherwise - there's a few things i want to say about his character that i feel are important and often underappreciated details about him

he's a relatable loser who's bullied at school. maybe that's not interesting on it's own, but he is unique in the set of characters because unlike mike, lucas, dustin and will, who are bullied losers that DO have each other, he is a true loner. and that aspect of him is not handled in a "boohoo pick me" way.

his dad fucking sucks ("you're getting stronger", he struggles with his tie at the funeral, he looked in THE TRUNK OF HIS DAD'S CAR FOR WILL! i don't see enough people pointing that out. the fact that it's a possibility blows my mind)

he's forced to take on the "man of the house" role for his family, forcing him to take night shifts, drive his brother around, take care of his brother's funeral alone, take care of his mother, etc. it's a heavy responsibility and it drives him further away from "normal teenagehood" cause he doesn't have much time to think about himself, and he doesn't have anyone to reassure him, to take care of him like he takes care of his mom or brother. no nancy doesn't. count. argyle doesn't count either they had nothing in common and he was just there for comic relief

he is dealing with a 22 year old charlie heaton's receding hairline! i feel bad for him! and then the writers decided to cover it up with A BOWLCUT for s3 and s4 i was so so :( like cover it up with anything else. get a toupet and stick with the season 2 hair.

i wish the duffer brothers didn't throw a blunt at him in season 4 and run with that. they could've talked about hsi relationship to drugs in a different, more meaningful way.

also sidenote if i was attracted to charlie heaton i would 100% be attracted to jonathan. except for that hairline. maybe we could get him a trip to turkey or something and then i could read fanfics about him.

[ninjadudettekira]

This art piece made me scream into the fucking void omfg, this was brutal. 77 layers and a lot of folders on Ibis Paint X. Hopefully I didn’t miss any mistakes cause I did when I showed this to Discord, and while I was posting this I almost forgot to unhide Ben’s pillow. 

In one of the Ben 10 Discord’s I’m in, someone was like “Hey I’m working on a Ben 10 character mixtape and was tempted to add Brutal by Olivia Rodrigo for Ben just for these lines.” And I was like “Yo I’m tempted to draw that!” And here we are 4 days later. (In app time says like 16 hours and 18 minutes lmao.)  More details about the drawing under the cut cause, boy oh boy does Allie have a lot to talk about with this piece.

I used a lot of screenshots from the show as a reference in order to draw how I saw this in my head. The second one was actually a reference to Young Justice episode Misplaced where Billy saw Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad on the TVs from the store he was walking past. “I feel like no one wants me” I was originally just going to do only Azmuth and Ben, but I wanted to do a three thing and I ended up going with Julie since their relationship in UA was rocky. (I also debated using Grandpa Max over her, but I couldn’t think of a time where Max was like that.) Also fun fact everytime I kept writing “feel” I did “fell” and took me so long to get it right. I was gonna go with a school background, but I couldn’t get it right so I went with what I did. Y’all know how when your life is a mess everyone seems like a shadow to you and everything around you is fuzzy? That’s what I was going for there. Also the fact that people want Ben for his aliens, not himself.  “And I hate the way that I’m perceived” For the news report I did use the screenshot of that pose itself because I honestly couldn’t get it right when trying to freehanded it nor did I want to straight up trace it cause of how I had the TV screens. Figured there was no harm in using the screenshot itself for it. Just like “feel”, I had a tough time writing “perceived” correctly, I kept doing “pre-” over “per-”. Listen pretty sure I’m dyslexic so bare with me, English is hard. “I only have two real friends” Despite the fact that Kevin and Gwen are in their Season 3 Alien Force outfits, this takes place in UA. I went with those outfits for that lyric simply because I wanted to lmao. (And I guess cause it makes more sense cause before Vilgax came back the trio was having a good time? It makes sense I swear.) 

“And lately, I’m a nervous wreck” I was originally using a photo of Danny from Danny Phantom as a reference cause he’s been a nervous wreck in some episodes, and I couldn’t remember Ben ever being nervous like how I wanted to draw him to do a reference. But Danny just ended up being thrown out the window when that wasn’t working out, ended up doing what I did though.  I was originally gonna color the floor, but I was playing around with brushes on Ibis and that happened. I kept it cause it worked for what I was going for lol. 

Also just a FYI, my DeviantArt is Kira Sema so that’s why my watermark in the panels say that over my actual name/username here. I’m trying to keep my newer artwork with a consistent watermark that leads somewhere if someone were to look up the name. (Despite the fact I’m still very backlogged on uploading old/current artwork to my DA.) 

[isca-tide]

6x05 aka me screaming into the void as I press play aka you know it's such a shame that season 6 only had 4 episodes but yep I don't see any more episodes here oh well... aka let's get this over with Lucy you liar, gift giving is absolutely his love language. I mean so is terse nods. The man just uses all the languages and then some. God they're so sweet and in love. The looks they have for each other. The smiles. Oh god their last kiss got interrupted. TIM COMMUNICATE. PLEASE. TIM. USE YOUR WORDS. NO DON'T. TIIIIM. It begins. Aaron no, don't. Aaron back away. I'm just going to yell at the screen this entire episode. Tim you pick up the phone right now and call your wife she is worried sick. Tim talk to someone please. Excuse me while I reach into the past and shake some sense into this fictional man and the people who wrote him this way. Is the LAFD the only ambulance service in this show? I'm trying to remember the last time an actual ambulance servic showed up to a scene. But maybe that's actually pretty common. I know they do have FD paramedics and they probably end up at a lot of scenes in a large area. Oh god she's wearing his shirt. TIMOTHY YOU CALL YOUR WIFE I SWEAR TO GOD. She's trying so much to give him space. To let him come to her. To be supportive. God this is going to hurt to watch again and in episode format. Tim please just change the show in this instance and call her back. Please. Go home. Go to your wife and rally your family to help you. Greer don't do this to him. Don't drag him back down. Let him live his new life. You have a family too. Don't do this. Ray really is psychotic. Who cuts a sandwich in half like that? You cut it in triangles. Sandwiches taste better in triangles. Also use a cutting board or a plate. I mean can't they just report that he's alive? Say 'hey, we thought this guy was dead but turns out he's alive, weird' and just not get justice for the rest of it? He'd still get punished for going MIA and faking his own death. They might not be able to get him on the stuff they lied about in the report, but they could still get him put away for a bit? Agggh I want to shake this entire show into a different reality. Wesley, he tries so hard. Wrangling a bunch of toddlers with guns at this point. Lucy and Aaron friendship. My heart. Stop taking these things away from Lucy please for the love of god. Greer, fuck off. Tim's moral compass, my heart. But also fuck you, Greer. You started all this and then you bailed and left Tim to pick up the pieces. You know he wouldn't be able to just leave it. Ugh, Monica. I do not have the energy for you right now. Lucy. TIM PLEASE TELL HER. But honestly yes, I completely 100% stand by Lucy in this response. I know we all wanted her to push him to tell her, to draw him into a hug and cuddle him and tell him it's okay, but what he's doing is not okay. He can't ghost her and lie to her and then come back and expect to curl up on the sofa. Anything less than that would be a discredit to her and insulting to her. He is the one who should be telling Lucy what's going on. Nolan, come on. We all know you're not there if she needs you. I do feel for Bailey so much right now. I know she agreed to it but honestly, yes. I work with kids, I look after kids professionally, I love my nieces but I am petrified of losing a child or being solely responsible for them. Which, given my job at the moment isn't the best but yeah. Luna, ultimate station mum/grandma. Please work your magic on Lucy. She needs a good mother figure. Oh Lucy. Part of me wants her to go searching. To try calling. To find him and push him into telling her. But it's not fair to her to have to do that. Tim please just call her. Please go home to your wife and daughter. Sidenote, Tamara and Lucy are just the cutest. Why would you also take that away from Lucy? Can you not let this woman have anything, show?! I do feel bad for Nolan and Bailey, but they were getting waaay to ahead of themselves with this.

[angryschnauzer]

Imagine you're Henry's neighbour, you've heard his conquests, have to admit you're a little jealous as they all sound happy. But it make you wonder if they are faking it.

You chat to friend on the phone whilst in the garden, not realising he can hear you.

The knock on your door later that evening was unexpected but when you see your hot neighbour there you have no idea why.

Until he offers to show you just why those other women were so happy

Okay so i decided to continue my PE Teacher Henry series with this one, previous parts below:

Thigh Riding,  Jingle My Bells , An Epic Quickie

Warnings: Fluff, a little bit of Angst, talk of breakups, young idiots in love.

The Boy Next Door

The sun was shining and the sounds of late summer could be heard as the four of you settled on dining chairs that had been pulled out onto the ramshackle patio so you could celebrate moving into the shared house for your last year of Uni and doing Post-Graduate for teaching. Opening a chilled bottle of Echo Falls Rose Zinfandel, Marie sloshed it into the four waiting glasses, handing on to each of you;

“Here’s to just one more year of Uni, then we can be set free onto the world of teaching education rather than being taught!”

The four of you had all done your degree’s together, and by the end of your 3rd year you had moved into a shared house to save on halls of residence costs. When you’d all decided to attend the same Uni for your Post Graduates qualification it was the easy choice to decide to rent together, and you’d manage to snag a gorgeous multi level Victorian town house to rent for the year. The landlord had admitted a few things needed to be updated, but it was a short walk from campus so in exchange for a reduction in rent you’d found the perfect place. 

By the time the 3rd bottle of Zinfandel was opened you were all pleasantly merry, and from the advantage point of the raised patio where the garden dipped away as it went downhill you could see the road that ran alongside the house next door that yours was connected to. The corner house had looked a lot more appealing, but the rent had been considerably higher, so the compromise was that you’d rented the one away from the street corner. Just at that moment another Removals Truck pulled up alongside the corner house, and you could hear various cars park behind it, the sound of young male voices easily heard. It was obvious you had a group of male students living next door.

-

Three weeks into term and you were sat at the desk in your room, glaring at the wall in front of you. No matter how hard you tried to concentrate on how to teach fronted adverbials, the screams of the woman obviously on the verge on an orgasm from the guys house next door just reminded you of your lack of love life. With a sigh you set your pencil down and headed downstairs, away from the obvious now orgasming woman.

“Oh hey Hunny, thought you were catching up on some English Lit stuff?” Marie smiled as she poked at an egg she was attempting to fry on the small electric cooker.

“I was… until there was another screamer next door”

“Oh… another one?” she winced, knowing that from the 2nd day the guys next door had moved in, the one that was in the room next to you had been able to bed a different girl about every three nights or so.

You grabbed a glass of water and stepped outside, letting the sunshine warm your face. Opening your Motorolla Flip Phone you scrolled through your texts, smiling as you saw messages from last years classmates, checking in on how everyone was doing. You were vaguely aware of Marie coming outside, setting a plate down on the patio wall and the click of her lighter as she lit a Royals cigarette.

“You still miss him, don’t you?” she asked.

Pulling your gaze up to her, your eyes immediately growing wet. Nodding you swallowed the lump in your throat. Wrapping your arms around your body you looked out over the garden;

“I know… it’s stupid. Its been two years, and it was a mutual decision to part ways, but Henry was my first, you know? He was my first everything. We got together when we were sixteen, we made it through our A-Levels together, we even managed a year doing long distance when we didn’t get into the same Uni…”

“What about that dude… Chris? Didn’t you two have a thing a while back”

You let out a laugh;

“He loves his politics too much to commit to a relationship. If i had to listen to one more rant about Tony Blair whilst we tried to go out for dinner i would have screamed…��

You looked at Marie who was now halfway through her fried egg sandwich whilst her cigarette sat smouldering in the petunias that had mostly gone over for the season, and she gave you the ‘sad puppy eyes’ as she chewed. You let out a grunt of frustration;

“FUCK! I just want to not feel like this anymore! I’ve spent two years moping over Henry-fucking-Cavill, i just want to be able to get on with my post graduate and move on with my life without being constantly reminded of his skills every time i try to do any work in my room!”

-

Henry smiled and waved as Monica, no Michelle, no… wait… whoever made their way down the front steps of the house, closing the door with a sigh of relief. 

“Another one dude?”

Looking at where Anthony was coming down the stairs he nodded;

“Yup. Sorry about the noise” 

He followed his housemate through to the kitchen, switching the kettle on. He was now used to Henry’s conquests screaming the house down, but it was still fun to taunt Henry about the noise they would make;

“So, this was was faking it again?”

Henry looked at him in mock-shock;

“I can assure you none of them fake it”

Chucking teabags into two mugs Anthony chuckled;

“I know man. But i also know you’re still trying to fill the void she left. Its been two years man”

“Yeah, but she’s long gone, i’m her past, i’d only drag her down. She’s probably got some hot politics graduate about to propose to her. She wouldn’t want some dumb physical education ass like me anymore”

Handing him the strong cup of tea Anthony nodded;

“Whatever man, but i still think you should message her, you haven’t spoken in two years and you’re still hung up on her, one last try, huh?”

Heading out to the garden Henry sat on the patio wall and lit a cigarette. He’d sworn he’d never smoke again, what with being a physical education student, but there were still times when he buckled to his nerves and stresses. Lighting up he inhaled deeply, enjoying the quiet of the garden before he heard his neighbours come out onto the patio next door. Through the trellis covered in a thick layer of ivy he could hear everything, as although it did a great job at giving visual privacy, the clear voices of the young women next door carried easily through the greenery.

Ten minutes later Henry almost knocked Anthony over as he bolted up the stairs;

“Sorry man, got something to do… gotta get my Blackberry”

-

The next morning you were on your way to class when your phone chimed, looking at the screen you felt your blood run hot then cold at the name on the display;

“What does he want?” you muttered to yourself, before with a sigh you pushed the phone back into your bag, deciding to look at it later once you had finished your class. The last thing you needed to get your mind off of Henry was a text from him.

-

Making your way out to the patio, you threw your bag onto the sofa and smiled as you saw the rest of the girls already out enjoying the last of the days sunshine;

“Heeeyyyyy there she is” Janelle called, sipping from a bottle of Becks

“Is there any more of those? I need a drink”

Handing you a bottle Marie smiled as you smashed the cap off using the top brick of the wall, sipping the tart bubbles of Lager you let out a sigh;

“Henry texted me today”

The three girls went quiet before Jo spoke;

“What did he say?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t read it. I’m trying to get over him, the last thing i need is getting my hopes up. He’s hundreds of miles away, no doubt doing something super sporty that only makes him look even better, probably coaching kids rugby or something. He’s not gonna want some boring English teacher wannabe like me”

At the mere mention of the word ‘Wannabe’ the others broke into a poor rendition of the Spice Girls song, unaware of the silent frustration happening the other side of the ivy trellis.

-

After one beer you’d excused yourself, deciding to take advantage of the quiet to get some coursework done, thankful that your room neighbour on the other side of the wall wasn’t entertaining any female guests again, but you had no idea how long that would last so the sooner you got some work done the better. With your bedroom window open you got back to work, getting in a full hour before your phone chimed again with another text. Glancing at the little screen on the front you scowled, another text from Henry.

Setting the phone down you went back to your work, frowning as you struggled to concentrate, until five minutes later your phone chimed again, your eyes going wide when you saw it was yet another text from Henry;

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT?!” you yelled at your phone.

“A REPLY!”

You sat at your desk, surely your ears were now playing tricks on you, you could have sworn you’d heard Henry’s voice. With a sigh you set your pencil down and opened your phone, reading the messages;

Received 8.46am: Hi. I know its been a long time but i’d love to call you at some point. Would be good to hear your voice. Hen. x

Received 4.55pm: Miss you. Can I call you? Hen. x

The phone beeped whilst you held it, another text coming in;

Received 4.59pm:

Look outside.

Glancing at your window you moved to it and looked out, before a voice so familiar it sent chills down your spine shouted out;

“Down here!”

-

Janelle shouted out as you flew down the stairs, Jo and Marie both staring at the blur you made as you ran past the lounge and out the front door, letting it swing on its hinges;

“Where is she going so fast?”

The three girls stood at the window and smiled as they wanted to run into Henry’s arms;

“Into her future Husband’s embrace” Marie sighed, the three watching as the young lovers fell back into each other's arms.

“Wait, is he the ‘loud’ one?” Jo asked to no-one in particular

“Unfortunately… i spoke to one of the other guys - Anthony - last week, he apologised for his housemates noises”

“Oh well… guess she can get us some ear plugs then”

[deckerswheeler]

let’s break this down, shall we?

**disclaimer!! this is not meant to be an attack on this person! i am only going to be counterclaiming their points or explaining why they are incorrect. i do not mean any harm in this post**

1. “mike/el and mike/will do not parallel each other” this is incorrect. mileven and byler have been paralleled throughout the seasons. for example, when el is stuck in the void and the upside down, the camera zooms in on her and pans out as she screams for mike. the same thing happens when will is in the upside down on halloween after the bullies push him over. it has the same camera angles, same type of music, and the same idea. they both call for mike.

2. byler has groundwork. from season one episode one they have been seen as closer than the other boys. they spent almost the entirety of season two together. the crazy together scene, hand holding scene, and shed scene alone should set their relationship apart from their relationships with the other members of the party. neither mike nor will act that way with dustin, max, or lucas. mike literally said asking will to be his friend was the best thing he’s ever done. if their season two relationship doesn’t show you how much groundwork they have, i don’t know what else will.

3. how are byler shippers “blindly ignorant to how writing works”?? sorry, but last time i checked, stranger things isn’t just a base level “you get what you see” type of show. the duffers have clarified many times that they don’t write at the surface level. everything they do has a purpose. that means minute details that seem like meaningless, second-long clips, could be symbols or easter eggs. many mileven shippers, (not all but a lot), only tend to see what is put in front of them. when in reality, that’s not what stranger things is. if you aren’t reading between the lines or taking note of small details while watching, key aspects of the show could fly over your head.

4. this one is almost laughable. mileven has most definitely NOT been set up as romantic since episode one. first of all, mike and el didn’t even properly meet until episode two. and even then, mike was ready and willing to report her to social services! the only reason why he kept her for so long was because once he found out about her powers, he knew there was a chance of finding will again. he called her a weapon halfway through the first season, i don’t think that’s very romantic. yes, they became close friends early on, but there was not ANY romantic coding until the episode with their first kiss!! obviously mike developed a crush on el, she’s the first girl that ever gave him attention. not only that, but he was living through the trauma of maybe losing his closest friend forever! he was projecting those feelings onto el, while el literally thought they would be like siblings until mike kissed her-- she had no clue it was even romantic.

5. saying mike and will have zero romantic subtext is just plain bullshit. i stated a lot of it in point 2, but there is so much more. in season 3 for example, mike basically outs will during their fight. (some people like to claim that mike was referring to will’s immaturity, but there are so many other ways they could’ve phrased that. like i already stated, the duffers claim nothing they do is accidental, so why would they make that line so vague? it was referring to will being gay. along with all of will’s other gay coding throughout the series, i.e. lonnie calling him the f slur, troy and his friends calling him q***r and a fairy as well as making fun of him for being gay, hopper acting grossed out by will being gay and asking joyce “is he?”) then, mike tries to apologize and travels all around hawkins in the pouring rain!! just to find will. and don’t even get me started on the “not possible” scene... if y’all don’t see the CLEAR flirting in that scene,,,,,, i got news for you lol

6. saying that byler shippers just like “fetishizing handsome white boys” is absolutely disgusting and a gross generalization. i assure you that that is NOT the reason why we ship byler. it’s more or less because we are sick of seeing solely straight couples rushed into a relationship on little to no foundation or build-up and honestly makes no sense when you think about it (cough cough mileven), when there is a relationship with 10x more development right there that isn’t canon simply because it is not heterosexual. we also ship byler because it is a breath of fresh air to see young gay/bi characters and a healthy mlm relationship, if byler became canon it would make thousands of kids so happy who just want to see themselves on the screen! aside from that, we ship byler because of the countless hints, coding, potential, etc, the show has provided.

7. finally, telling us we need to “use a brain cell,” calling us delusional, saying we’re “bending the narrative,” is just mean. there was no reason to make personal attacks towards the people who ship byler. i see people shipping mileven every day and i am not calling them delusional or stupid because they choose to ship it. people are free to interpret the show however they like and ship whatever they want. if anything, you’re the one who is denying canon by acting like mike and will have no foundation or meaningful relationship. also, we’re not “pretending it’s inevitable”??? no one knows how the duffers are going to write the show. mileven could be canon now, and break up later. byler could happen in season 4-5, and it might not. no one knows, so the fact that you felt the need to bash byler shippers for their own opinion and interpretation of the show is pretty sad.

**again... i respect all ships, and i am not trying to attack this person. if i seem harsh it’s because they were SOOO disrespectful in their post towards byler shippers. i know not all mileven shippers are like this, but i wanted to clear up some of this one’s points and share my point of view. i also don’t agree with their behavior and how they addressed people with a different view than them, so i couldn’t let it go.**

[kaypeace21]

Stranger things is about mental health & trauma- deal with it!

I’ve seen a lot of people claim anyone who mentioned this topic immediately be gaslit and told they’re “just crazy” and “rudely projecting their own issues on to the characters.’ Like- no you don’t have to believe my  Will DID/Lonnie theory ( I could be wrong). But to claim one of the show’s central themes isn’t about mental health/trauma (screams either complete lack of lit comprehension or denial cause you have your own negative biases towards such people). So let’s just go into what’s literal text-not subtext/symbolism. Just the super blatant stuff.  RIGHT IN THE SHOW!

S1

-We have El when she first appears on screen  asked by Benny if her parents starved and hurt her and if that’s why she ran away. Benny then calls CPS to say El “may have been ab*sed or something.” After this Lucas says there is “seriously something wrong with her-wrong in the head. She’s probably from the NUT-HOUSE in curly county.penthurst” We also see El  cannonically has PTSD-all of s1 she’ll see something benign (a cat, a coke commercial, a closet) and is triggered to see a traumatic flashback. That’s literally ptsd.  There’s also hints throughout the seasons she’s developmentally behind in both language, telling time etc (neglect like El’s irl can cause an intellectual disability-analysis on El/that subject here).The real pethurst in pensylvannia (not the one in stranger things/ Curly county)  closed in 1986-  it was a facility for people and mostly  kids with intellectual disabilities (it wasn’t technically a psych facility like the one in st)-but it was infamous for it’s abuse of these intellectually disabled patients kept there. We also have Brenner be a ab*sive psychiatrist.

- Hopper after suffering from the loss of his daughter. Is popping pills like candy, drinking and smoking constantly. He later says he used to hallucinate and forgot what was real -seeing and hearing sarah and says if he didn’t confront the pain he’d “fall down a black hole he couldn’t get out of.” NO... subtext here about what the void represents nope.

- Both mothers (Terry & Joyce) are dismissed as being mentally ill and simply grieving the loss of their kids . But both end up being right about the supernatural.

- “Terry pretends Jane is real. i mean it’s all make believe. you know the doctors all say it’s a coping mechanism.”

- While with Joyce the whole town pre s1 already questioned her mental health. Jonathan says “She used to have anxiety problems (pre s1).” And Jonathan, Hopper, and Lonnie all assume she’s hallucinating: talking to Will via lights, seeing a man without a face, saying Will’s body is fake -due to grief. Plus Lonnie mentions the fact Joyce’s aunt Darlene also used to hallucinate as a possible reason  (terry’s aunt also had mental health issues mentioned in s2 by Becky). Lonnie even says everything Joyce is seeing  is “all in her head.”  Hopper and Jon both say she needs to sleep and accept reality and Lonnie says she needs to see a “shrink”.  Hopper “i’m not saying that you’re crazy”. Joyce : “no, you are.” Joyce also says to Lonnie “Stop looking at me like that... like everyone else like i’m out of my damn mind.” Hopper also says about Joyce she’s “on the edge”. Callahan says in response , “she’s been on the edge for a while now” (referring to her mental health- even before Will’s dissappearance)”. While Lonnie says Jonathan is “feeding into her hallucinations ... you’re going to push her right over the edge.” In s2 Hopper says “ I think everyone is on edge- you, me, Will most of all. (when talking about Will’s ptsd/trauma)” 

- in s1 They claim Will just “fell” over the edge of the quarry’s cliff. Later the only other queer coded character (Mike) jumps off the quarry cliff (where Will’s body was found) cause the homophobic troy forced him too jump. Troy even says earlier dead-Will is “flying with all the other fairies all happy and gay” (to Mike). And Troy says to Hopper El made Mike “fly” after jumping off the cliff. Friendship saved him from jumping off the edge metaphorically ( and he’ll prob eventually be happy and gay too).

s2/3

-Will is seeing a therapist . And we are told he has ptsd and will experience the anniversary effect, personality changes,nightmares, having episodes, etc. And things “will get worse before they get better”.  Mike also asks if what Will is seeing is “real or like the doctors say all in your head?” And Will continues to see hallucinations of the mf/upsidedown that only he can see initially.

-Hopper also agrees with owens mentioning how he knew guys with ptsd . joyce : “it’s not like he’s describing a nightmare. He talks about them like they’re real.” Hopper: “Yeah, because they’re not nightmares they’re flashbacks.I think he’s right about trauma.I think everyone is on edge (bringing that s1 ref back), Me you, Will, most of all.Nothing’s gonna go back to the way that it was. But it’ll get better.In time.”

-Nancy suffers from survivor’s guilt and drunkingly says she killed Barb. Jonathan says like Nancy he has “a weight that you that carry all the time . i feel it too.” (cough depression). He also says he tries to be there for Will but says about Will “he’s not the same. maybe things can’t go back to the way they were. (mirroring Hopper’s words earlier that season)”

-Jonathan said in s1 Joyce had “anxiety issues” than Nancy says in s3 “you really are your mother’s son... you worry too much.” Then we see him look worried after the comment.

- in s2, Axel & a scientist both call El and Will “schizos” because of their powers. In s3 mrs driscoll isn’t believed about the supernatural cause she’s schizophrenic-but like Joyce/Terry was right.

- Kali saves a woman named Dottie (a british slang term for crazy)  from a mental hospital and then compares herself and El to dottie. saying her non-powered gang is “Like us ...outsiders... society discarded them.”  In graphitti we even see the title “obedlam” a british poem about discarding the mentally ill and leaving them homeless.  El before this sees a mentally ill man screaming “we’re all dead!” Kali’s friend says to El, after this encounter they were “dead all of us” until kali “saved them here” (points to head) “and here” (points to heart). Pointing to the theme of love and friendship helping those with such issues. Similar to the cliff analogy.

-The cycle of ab*se. Max in s2 says she’s afraid of becoming like Billy (her ab*ser). We see Billy mimic his ab*ser neil and inflict pain on max. In s3 we see the roots of his behavior are linked to mimicking Neil- Neil in a flashback says  about baseball “what are you scared?”  “ did i raise a p*ssy for a son”. So young Billy later in a fight says to a boy “ what are you scared to fight me? fight me p*ssy. (as he beats the boy)” Deflecting his anger of his father on to someone else. In s3, We see as a kid he used to say to Neil “don’t hurt her” (his mom)-specifically after  Neil backhand slaps her -but we later see possessed Billy backhand slap Max (just like neil).  The resentment to his mother leaving - festered into how he views women and max negatively . And his attraction to mrs wheeler prob is linked to him subconsciously missing his mother. Max in s2 even says  he can’t take it out on her mother so he does so to her instead (we even have Billy hallucinate hurting mrs wheeler).We see in s2 the cycle of abuse is there- Billy mimics Neil, and then Max mimics Billy. Billy harrasses Max and yells “SAY IT!” (mimicking Neil).  Max like Billy later  yells “SAY IT” and uses a bat /violence to stand up for herself against Billy- which earlier she said she was trying to combat … explaining she can be angry like Billy sometimes but she never wants to be like him (her nickname symbolizing this: aka ‘mad max’).  Billy’s last dying words were an apology to Max- for becoming her neil. And we hopefully will see Max break this cycle.

- Will says his now memories (that he describes like dreams) are “growing “, “spreading “,and “killing”. While Kali says they need to face their father and (as Brenner) says El has to confront her “wound” or else it’ll “grow”, “spread” and “eventually it’ll kill her.” Kali says she used to be like El . She used to bottle her pain away and it “spread.” But she then says  “I confronted my pain and I finally began to heal (from those wounds).” We also see with jonathan and nancy when describing “shared trauma” zoom in onto the scars on their hands. The wound heeled into a scar so to speak.

S2 & 3 ENDINGS

both have Hopper do a speech that delves into dealing with trauma/depression but still finding good along the way.

-s2 Hopper outside the snowball: “how are you holding up? Yeah, that feeling never goes away. It is true what they say, you know. Everyday it does get easier.”

-s3 Hopper monolouge : “ Feelings jesus. For so long, i’d forgotten what those even were. I’ve been stuck in one place,in a cave you might say , a deep dark cave (cough s2 supernatural cave). For the first time in a long time, i started to feel things again. I started to feel happy. Life... yeah sometimes it’s painful .sometimes it’s sad, and sometimes it’s suprising... happy.. And when life hurts you, because it will .remember the hurt . The hurt is good. It means you’re out of that cave.”

BUT YES- St has nothing to do with mental health/trauma, we’re just “crazy” and “projecting”. It’s not like some of ya’ll  act pompous when you just have a bias and get pissy at the idea of relating to characters you “other” as “crazy” or “damaged” irl or anything (so attack people for pointing it out). Or (benefit of the doubt) you are just like.... oblivious... or just a kid who doesn’t know better XD

[amispnrewatch]

SPN 1x06 “Skin”

Okay, I’m gonna try to type while I watch this time instead of forgetting this blog exists until the episode is almost over.

You can tell the footage for the previously on segment was saved on a VHS copy instead of the original film that the show was shot with because even in the HD iTunes version I have it looks low quality as fuck. And jumpy in the way that brings me back to my teens watching the WB all the damn time.

I love this song. WTF is this song. Shazam says “Good Deal” by Mommy and Daddy. I… have no comment, except that it sounds like everything I was listening to in college at the time this shit was airing.

Aaaaand not!Dean turns around to face the SWAT team after obviously torturing some woman. THAT is a cold open.

I wanna know what that car is in the background. It’s pretty. Maybe a convertible Impala? They have similar grills. This is not at all important.

Also, I love that with these higher definition versions of the episodes you can see that Sam’s email is lawboy and whatever dot com and that people in the fandom have started calling him Law Boy. It’s hilarious.

DEAN: Well, what exactly do you tell ‘em? You know, about where you’ve been, what you’ve been doin’?

SAM: I tell ‘em I’m on a road trip with my big brother. I tell ‘em I needed some time off after Jess.

DEAN: Oh, so you lie to ‘em.

SAM: No. I just don’t tell ‘em….everything.

DEAN: Yeah, that’s called lying. I mean, hey, man, I get it, tellin’ the truth is far worse.

SAM: So, what am I supposed to do, just cut everybody out of my life? (DEAN shrugs.) You’re serious?

DEAN: Look, it sucks, but in a job like this, you can’t get close to people, period.

Aaaaand now I have Dean and Cassie feelings again and we haven’t even gotten to her episode yet.

SAM: No, man, I know Zack. He’s no killer.

DEAN: Well, maybe you know Zack as well as he knows you.

Aaaaaand now I have Dean and Lee feelings and we’re nowhere near Lee’s episode in season 15.

YOU JUST BLEW THROUGH A STOP SIGN DEAN WTF.

Little Becky. Oi with the reusing of names.

Of course Sam made friends with a bunch of rich kids while he was at college in a desperate attempt to try to be normal.

SAM: You know, maybe we could see the crime scene. Zack’s house.

DEAN: We could.

REBECCA: Why? I mean, what could you do?

SAM: Well, me, not much. But Dean’s a cop. (DEAN laughs.)

DEAN: Detective, actually.

I love that Dean was like “how dare you call me that.”

Okay, after a bit of research, I totally want to take a day trip to Bisbee, Arizona, but it’s already in the 90s here in the desert and it’s not even May so that trip is going to have to wait until… winter or something. There is no way in hell I’m going deeper into the desert when the weather gets hotter.

It’s a historic mining town tourist trap looking place now which is exactly the kind of shit I love.

SAM: Bec, look, I know Zack didn’t do this. Now, we have to find a way to prove that he’s innocent.

I mean, not technically, technically you would 1) NOT FUCK WITH A MURDER INVESTIGATION YOU’RE NOT LEGALLY INVOLVED IN BECAUSE ANYTHING YOU FIND WOULD BE INADMISSABLE IN COURT 2) find evidence to provide a reasonable doubt for the jury that he did commit the crime. You know, like a lawyer would need to do, Law Boy.

DEAN: I just don’t think this is our kind of problem.

When I made my husband watch this show with me (he’s seen it all at least once now over the years) this is the recurring thing that drove him crazy.

You guys can’t even go in through the back door? Or shut the front door behind you? Really?

REBECCA: (tearfully) Well, there’s no sign of a break-in. They say that Emily let her attacker in.

Yeah, that doesn’t even really mean that she knew her attacker. Just that it was someone she let her guard down around or got in some other way. See: The Son of Sam and Nightstalker, etc.

Love the pinup magnet on the fridge. I’d throw shade at that, but I have a pinup magnet on my fridge too so… pot kettle and all that.

Okay, both people in the next couple are gorgeous.

And oh wow those special effects changing eyes… wow.

This poor couple. I feel so bad for them in this episode.

How… how are the police gonna explain the way he was able to beat himself over the head with a bat??? I…

I love that 5:30 in the morning on TV is clearly like… 10 AM.

Okay, this is a really unrelated point, but the graffiti on the dumpster here reminds me of the Teen Wolf fandoms use of the name Void!Stiles when Stiles Stilinski was possessed by a Nogitsune… I just spent way too long digging through YouTube and my Tumblr tags from back when those episodes were airing looking for a few specific videos and couldn’t find them. The TL;DR reason I bring it up here is goofball, bi-coded main character guy getting possessed by an entity set on destroying the people he loves. SOUNDS LIKE THIS EPISODE AND A WHOLE LOT OF SPN RIGHT. I love that all these monster hunting shows call out to each other.

This scene haunts me years later and I don’t even WATCH Teen Wolf. I just watched the fandom on Tumblr collectively lose it’s shit then tripped down a Hale Pack fanfiction rabbit hole.

ANYWAY

Back to Supernatural, a show that also treated its fan base, cast, and characters like garbage! Huzzah!

DEAN: Well, there’s another way to go—down. (They look down and notice a manhole.)

I’m gonna be mature and ignore the double entendre there…

But I love that Dean thinks of the world in 3D. Which sounds like a dumb statement to make, but this is honestly a good example of that in action.

SAM: I bet this runs right by Zack’s house, too.

Really Sam, sewers run by houses? SO WEIRD. I WOULD HAVE NEVER GUESSED.

DEAN: You know, I just had a sick thought. When the shapeshifter changes shape—maybe it sheds.

SAM: That is sick. (DEAN puts the bloody pile back on the ground.)

Guys, there is a WHOLE ASS EAR in that pile of yuck you’re looking at. I think it’s pretty safe to assume the shapeshifter indeed sheds its skin like a snake. A much… gooier snake.

Sam’s friend is rightfully pissed at him for fucking with the crime scene.

This is before the pearl gripped guns?! Wow. I never noticed that before.

Also, this whole episode gives me feelings.

++++

Cool. Tumblr mobile ate a whole section of my notes on this when it crashed for NO APPARENT REASON. Love that.

It always boggles my mind that actors can trust the people they’re working with enough to let people “tie” ropes around their neck or put them in actually dangerous positions in a scene.

SHAPESHIFTER: He’s sure got issues with you. You got to go to college. He had to stay home. I mean, I had to stay home. With Dad. You don’t think I had dreams of my own? But Dad needed me. Where the hell were you?

SAM: Where is my brother? (The shapeshifter leans in close to SAM.)

SHAPESHIFTER: I am your brother. See, deep down, I’m just jealous. You got friends. You could have a life. Me? I know I’m a freak. And sooner or later, everybody’s gonna leave me. (He backs away.)

SAM: What are you talkin’ about?

SHAPESHIFTER: You left. Hell, I did everything Dad asked me to, and he ditched me, too. No explanation, nothin’, just poof. Left me with your sorry ass. But, still, this life? It’s not without its perks. (He laughs.) I meet the nicest people. Like little Becky. You know, Dean would bang her if he had the chance. Let’s see what happens. (He smiles and covers SAM with a sheet.)

This exchange is just… so much. So many feelings. And I will forever (unless we magically get a fix-it fic mini season someday…) be SO MAD that none of this got resolved in that pointless, trash heap of a finale.

REBECCA: Okay, so, this thing—it can make itself look like anybody?

SHAPESHIFTER: That’s right. (She chuckles.)

REBECCA: Well, what is it, like a genetic freak? (The shapeshifter laughs.)

SHAPESHIFTER: Maybe. Evolution is about mutation, right? So, maybe this thing was born human but was different. Hideous and hated. Until he learned to become someone else. (REBECCA looks around, uncomfortable. The shapeshifter’s eyes glint silver, and he smiles.)

It always amazes me how much of this show is a pile of accidental queer allegories parading around in an ill-fitting toxic masculinity suit.

Vulcan mind meld! I love nerd!Dean. Also, I’m rewatching Star Trek: TOS with my husband, because that is what my life amounts to these days, rewatching comfort TV and flailing over the bits I love.

This post does a better job than I can do of pairing up screen caps with the dialogue of this next scene. SIX EPISODES IN. They’re dumping all of this character depth SIX EPISODES IN. FUCK THIS SHOW FOR NOT EMBRACING ITSELF.

Okay, I love that he screams back in her face after he threw the phone. It’s not something to laugh at because the situation is horrifying, but I can’t help laughing at it every time.

AND THE WAY THEY CUT THESE SCENES. Going from him winding his hand back to backslap her directly to him dropping the chains on the table to show how hard he must have hit her without actually making the actors hit each other. Good job editing department!

I… don’t understand the shifter’s motivation for killing people. If he can take over people’s identities without killing them, why kill them? Is it just because he’s a homicidal, rapist piece of shit? Cause that’s all it seems like.

How did the SWAT team even know she was being attacked? Why can the snipers aim no better than Storm Troopers?

Ugh, these kind of transformation body horror scenes are exactly why werewolf stories have never really appealed to me much. Like, I could do without watching your ribs move and teeth fall out, dude.

BUT.

THIS FUCKING SCENE.

I looked up the song that’s playing over shapeshifter!Dean being caught by the SWAT team and then going through the grotesque transformation. (And as far as I know, the iTunes version has the original music from the episodes.)

It’s a song called “Mary” by The Death Riders

Who's your mother, who's your mother here boy // Who's your mother, whos your mommy dear // Who's your father, who's your father here boy // Who's your father, who's your daddy dear

Silently screaming // Where everyone knows // Daddy's always watchin' // Where everywhere - everywhere I go

I don't wanna be a freak show pretty boy anymore // I don't wanna be a full time slave // I don't wanna be your midnight cowboy anymore // I just want to be Mary

This is… a fascinating choice. Here are the rest of the lyrics. The song as a whole has a weird incesty kinda vibe to it? Kinda like when SPN tries to straight-wash itself and misses the mark wildly. (Like Dean’s male siren episode.)

The midnight cowboy line reminded me of 12x11 and the bull riding scene with “Broomstick Cowboy” by Bobby Goldsboro playing over it

Dream on, little Broomstick Cowboy, // Dream while you can; // Of big green frogs, // And puppy dogs, // And castles in the sand.

For, all too soon you'll awaken; // Your toys will all be gone. // Your broomstick horse will ride away, // To find another home. // And you'll have grown into a man, // With cowboys of your own. // And then you'll have to go to war, // To try and save your home.

And then you'll have to learn to hate; // You'll have to learn to kill. // It's always been that way, my son; // I guess it always will.

Because, you know, why not add tons of feelings into the lyrics, right?

Props to the people who can embrace their rewatches and reclamations of the show with ease. Because every episode seems to remind me of how hollow and tragic Dean’s ending was and I just… struggle all over again.

Anyway, back to the episode so I can move on with my day.

REPORTER: An anonymous tip led police to a home in the Central West End, where a S.W.A.T team discovered a local woman bound and gagged. Her attacker, a white male, approximately twenty-four to thirty years of age, was discovered hiding in her home. (A sketch of DEAN appears on the screen.)

DEAN: Man! That’s not even a good picture. (SAM looks around cautiously.)

SAM: It’s good enough. (He walks away.)

DEAN: Man! (He follows SAM.)

(CUT TO: Alley. DEAN and SAM are walking. DEAN steps into a puddle.)

DEAN: Ugh, come on.

I love that we get two tiny little back-to-back vanity moments for Dean here. One commenting on the sketch artist rendition of him being broadcasted on the news and the other tripping in the puddle. There is literally someone running around the city trying to kill people while wearing Dean’s face, but Dean is still concerned with how he looks appears to others. He’s still concerned with keeping up his own performance. The shifter left him with just a t-shirt, so he doesn’t even have his usual comfort layers on and at any moment someone could spot him and call the police or try to kill him for assaulting Sam’s friend. His life is wildly out of control in that moment and the only thing he can try to focus on is his appearance (something semi-controllable) and finding the shifter before any of that other shit can happen.

One day I want to put together a like top 10 episodes focusing on / explaining each TFW character from the series. Like the kind of list you could show someone who’s never seen the show, but has OPINIONS about the characters (or who hasn’t seen the whole show and seen the growth they went through… you know, like the people responsible for the travesty of 15x20). This episode would be on that list. I’m not sure how I could manage to make a list of only 10 episodes to understand Dean Winchester by, but eh.

SAM: What are you gonna do to me?

SHAPESHIFTER: Oh, I’m not gonna do anything. Dean will, though.

SAM: They’ll never catch him.

SHAPESHIFTER: Oh, doesn’t matter. Murder in the first of his own brother? He’ll be hunted the rest of his life. (He picks up a sharp knife and examines it.)

Speaking of season 15 in general, this right here. This was Chuck’s villain story arc thesis statement. AND THEY DROPPED THE GODDAMN BALL WITH IT. I think that’s the thing that honestly pisses me off the most these days (about 5 1/2 months from when the finale aired) is that they tried making the whole thing a tragedy but did such an awful job with it that it just ended up like a deflating condom balloon at a dive bar concert. Disappointing and gross. The finale for season 14 set them up SO FUCKING WELL and it just… didn’t get there.

Becky’s parents are gonna be pissed at how torn up their house is after all this shit…

And you’re not shooting him when you first see him strangling Sam because…?????

I like that he took the necklace back. Also, is this kinda Dean death number .5 of the show? Like it wasn’t him but it was also kinda him. Eh.

At least they left the windshield on Baby this time. Reflections are better than tearing her apart.

[drkineildwicks]

So a buddy of mine hooked me up and now I can watch Arcane...

So far I’m up to Episode 4 so NO SPOILERS!!!

Anywho excuse me a minute while I discuss this....

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

*inhale*

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

OH GOSH IT’S SO PRETTY OvO/

I want to live here I’m sorry

Also

What really put this on my radar was people in the BH6 tag comparing Silco and Obake and THEY ARE 100% RIGHT

This is the same man right down to the lighting and AESTHETIC and level of cold pettiness

these two are cousins you can’t change my mind

So yes I have a type so sue me

Also the art and writing is *chef’s kiss*

Other shows: we will take three years on this one plot point and never get anywhere

Arcane: Buckle up kiddies--see that graffiti we just went by at 75 MPH?  Remember it it’s gonna be important later

I mean I’m doing my best to savor and not burn through it all but I’m probably going to have to go back and watch it again because MMMMM

Like I was worried because I was never into League of Legends that I wouldn’t understand any of it but the writing and worldbuilding just work so WELL

First episode does a bang-up job of introducing everything and getting you invested

AND THEN

Like my buddy says: “Episode one: welcome to Arcane!  Episode three: Welcome to the REAL Arcane!  Enjoy your heartbreak” :’)

HOW DARE YOU

In other news I made the mistake of getting attached

Also AESTHETIC

They have HOVERBOARDS that make me think that someone on the team played Sonic Riders

And excuse me a minute but I must get this off my chest:

SOFT VILLAIN DAD SOFT VILLAIN DAD SOFT VILLAIN DAD--

Also this girl is TOTALLY healthily processing her trauma, NOT

But yes the writing and art and worldbuilding and characterization just mesh so WELL

I think the last show I watched that came close was Gravity Falls and I still haven’t finished that one

Mostly because it’s on the TiVo and I almost never get the big TV to myself oops

I’m waiting for Arcane to be like BH6: the Series, honestly: burn through the season and then never bring myself to watch the finale D:

I’m still in denial about “Countdown to Catastrophe” don’t at me

But let’s discuss this for a second because writing nerd wants to

This had to take a long time to boil everything down so every single part meshed together it takes talent to do this

Like

I’m inarticulate right now I’m currently just yelling into the void (and screaming at my buddy on Discord because OH GOSH)

But every little thing, dialogue, art, some little toy, some comment--they all mesh together and build up so it tells a story but COMPACTLY

Like

It doesn’t treat the viewers like idiots

You legitimately have NO IDEA how important this is and how stinking REFRESHING it is I swear

There’s no twist for twist’s sake, it all comes from some aspect, be it world politics or individual characterization

You can be watching this and guessing and when it goes together you’re nodding and going I get it instead of staring at the screen going wut

Looking at you Ducktales

But uhhhh this is getting long so maybe more screaming later

But on an instance of tight storytelling that also builds up--evil dude and the eye-thing

Which also is a case of characterization meeting intrigue because it gets the viewer asking questions and staying tuned

But I also want to scream about this specifically because uh...OHOWOWOWOW

Me Episode one: I wonder what that’s for

Me Episode four: OHHHHHHOWOWOWOW

Seriously that made me wince so hard all my organs retreated into my ribcage Mr. Silco sir please WHY would you do that I am pretty sure the cornea is not made to be poked like that

That eyeball should be a festering bubbling socket full of pus what the what

Also this man is a level of petty I can only dream of seriously

So...uh yeah I’m hooked and invested and taking everything not to just go through the whole thing thank you discord buddy for hooking me up and if I could pay the Arcane people independently of Netflix I would but I can’t so arr

[zumpietoo]

Yeah, I mean look before this season Aries I had wishful hoped they would have Bughead reunite, but I also thought Betty would realize she cheated and treated Jughead like crap, instead what we got was Betty being more of a bitch and instead of realizing she cheated and broke his heart we got a “I’ve wanted to have sex with you since high school” to Archie. That happened Betty stans. She was dating Jughead in high school and yet she wanted to screw Archie during that time?

Exactly----and, gross as it is to admit this:

Turns out Barfie DID have its own gross, disgusting, sleazy "build up" after all.....as Jughead/then BH stans, we just didn't entirely want to see it, because it meant we were, in fact, shipping Jughead with an icky bitch who didn't appreciate him and, deep inside, WAS vastly moar interested in being a power couple with a (very) dumb jock, even if it was as his second choice/sidepiece.

And it turns out, Jughead deserved better all along, so it's nice to see him getting that finally....

The show's had plenty of opportunity for Slizzy to recognize what she did and is and be better, but it chooses to NOT have her do so.....also tells me everything we need to know here and the direction it's headed.

It's weird to me, as well, that we now get (as a way of continuing to ignore canon) "you think it's gonna last???? Everybody's a 'placeholder'!!!"----except, again, it's a teevee show and regardless, doesn't change what's currently canon.

Plus, again, given how bad things are between Cole and Lili these days (and how PP keeps making shit worse), I truly wouldn't rule out that BH never ARE reconciled/at the last second, offscreen, etc.....

Oh or....by split screen. Which would be even moar hilarious.

In any event, they can endlessly insist their version is true, blah, blah, blah, no chemistry for Jabi, blah, blah, blah Jug's a fatty loser, etc....but it A) won't be true and B) won't change canon.

In the end, they're perhaps 20 bitter fangurls (yes, Locky's there, too) screaming into the void with impotent rage over having not gotten their way.

I await their next "strategic move"/announcement: how they now "feel sorry" for us, cause THEY have fanfic to indulge in