#this show changed my brain chemistry at age 13

[kodabeardraws]

This pretty boy has been on my mind for 3 months now, I cannot stop doodling and sketching him omfg. I've been in the fandom since 2018 but I'm like seriously fixated again lmfao.

[dramalets]

2024 watch list part 5

The Rebound - This is a fun pulp but not a lot more. It didn’t really seem to know what it wanted to be and suffered for that in the end. The ending is ass. 3/5

HIStory 4: Close to you - Trope city. I enjoyed the non brother husband pairing in this and also the friendship between the three elder leads was a lot of fun. This really comes with so many TWs though so be careful before you watch. 3/5 (13/8/24)

Ossan’s Love - You will like this or you won’t and I don’t think there’s an in between. Fortunately I loved this. It’s not a taxing watch but it does manage to pack character depth and heart into every inch of story. Haruta is a gentle soul with zero like skills and Maki is a mature but troubled younger counter. It’s very Japanese and you’ll like that or you won’t but I think it’s worth a go. 4/5 (14/8/24)

This love doesn’t have long beans - If you like Pon & Sailub then this is very enjoyable. But if you don’t know them then it’s mostly a paper thin plot and some sex. A good brain off fluff watch or if you’re looking for Mame style horny but without the trauma and rape. 3/5 (23/8/24)

We Best Love: Fighting Mr 2nd - Like with the first one I just found it fine. The chemistry of the leads is very good and they sell the show really. Zero idea what that nonsense with the second couple and their various MH disorders was. I’m really not a fan of slapping disorders onto characters in place of actually giving them development. 3/5 (26/8/24)

4Minutes - I was glued to this right from the start. It’s a BoC production so it’s beautiful to look at and the acting is high quality. This’ll be a fantastic binge watch for anyone looking for an excellently acted, well done sorta sci-fi. I’d have given this a five but I thought some stuff felt very rushed and we could have either done with a ten episode block or less time spent on one characters 4minute t/l. 4/5 (13/9/24)

The Trainee - Much like, another recent OffGun show, Cooking Crush this show was much more about its characters, and their personal development and progress, than it was about the romance of the two leads. For the most part I enjoyed this but it also felt like it didn’t quite stick the landing. I’m a big proponent of slice of life style stories this wasn’t really quite that but it also wasn’t a heavily plotted rom-com style story either. This was really just about community, self-esteem and personal growth. The cast in this were all round incredible and the intern friend group were absurdly easy to love. 3/5 (15/9/24)

Sunset X Vibes - Let’s be real; you watch this for MosBank and that’s exactly what you get. MosBank. This isn’t 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 as forgettable as Big Dragon but it’s close. The first half is fun and then it realises it’s run out of plot and just sort of doesn’t know where it’s going and adds some great kissing. The sub couples are sort of fun. But they were so sporadic in characterisation that they were sort of impossible to fully enjoy for anything but nice kissing. As with Big Dragon this was fine and I enjoyed it but I can’t really tell you anything much about it apart from MosBank. 2 ½/5 (15/9/24) (Also there’s heavily implied mpreg in the special episode. So that’ll be enough for this show to live on in fanfic.)

To My Star - I’m very hit or miss on KBL. Often it veers to melodramatic for me. This definitely is maudlin and a little depressing but it isn’t over dramatic so is a more tolerable kind of melo for me. Overall I did enjoy this, its leads were absorbing and enjoyable to watch. I do think a little more could have been done to establish them falling for one another as it did feel a little quick. 3 ½/5 (18/9/24)

Mr Mitsuya’s planned feeding - Just lovely. Couldn’t have come from anywhere but Japan and it’s beautiful for that. Carefully examines age, status and how hopes, dreams and wants shift as those things change. You’ll be okay with the age gap or you won’t, there isn’t anything predatory here it’s just a sweet age gap romance. 4/5 (22/9/24)

The On1y One - Absolutely perfect slow burn. Examines the fleeting nature of youth whilst serving us an achingly sweet, slow burn love between two young boys. Don’t watch this if you don’t enjoy slow but do watch this if you enjoy excellently crafted characters and beautiful cinematography. 4/5 (25/9/24)

You are my lover friend - This is a thirty episode het friends to lovers cdrama and I loved every bloody second. This wasn’t bogged down with stupid dramas,to stop ML & FL getting together, instead it was just a realistic look at all the reasons it’s very hard to go from very best friends to lovers. All the side cast were excellent there was a clear overarching plot weaved into the romance. I just loved it. 5/5 (6/10/24)

[causetheturtle]

Thoughts while rewatching season 3 of Riverdale:

1. K why did Alice’s farm style slay so hard? Like she looked so great

2. Love how Archie is literally in this prison FOR FUCKING MURDER and still nobody is scared of him - they saw this man in his nice little shoes his rich girlfriend gave him and were like “yeah this man is ducking useless”

3. VERONICA STOP BUYING YOUR BOYFRIEND NICE THINGS WHILE HE’S IN PRISON! He’s just gonna get this shit stolen your dad was in jail how do you not know how a prison works?

4. It’s so sad that the normies got hold of the “epic highs and lows of high school football” line because it really is such a perfect Archie line - this man is naive and kind hearted enough to believe a game of football is all that’s needed to fix the structurally broken prison system but if you haven’t watched the show and don’t know anything about Archie then it’s obviously gonna seem ridiculous

5. Riverdale relationship drama is so funny cause it’s like “Betty had a stress related seizure due her mother and sister joining a cult and didn’t tell Jughead” or “Veronica isn’t sure of the best way to help Archie through his time in prison”

6. Kevin asking Moose if he’s embarrassed by him of course he is Kevin have you met yourself? Your literally the worst

7. Organising a musical number and cheerleading routine for her boyfriend while he plays a game of football in prison is actually the most normal reaction Veronica Lodge has ever had to any situation ever

8. Realising I talk about Riverdale the same way all of the G&G players talk about G&G

9. Imagine being an adult in Riverdale and hearing that a new bar opened up under Pop’s and going for a night out to check it out but you get there and it’s just a load of teenagers doing musical numbers and drinking mocktails

10. Why is FP’s immediate reaction to any situation ever to just grab his son’s face and yell at him? Begging for this man to have a normal non-abusive reaction to something just one time

11. Will never stop thinking about the Midnight Club. It was the first episode of Riverdale I really watched and it’s still one of my favourites. Like the way all of the parents tried so hard and came so close to breaking their moulds and forging their own paths but they never did and just fell into exactly what the world and the people around them wanted to be AND how their kids are all in the same situation now? The narrative, the cycles, the generational trauma! This episode has everything

12. Knowing now that Sheriff Keller actually WAS into guys the whole time and it was just that he didn’t want to be with Moose’s dad makes the whole situation so much funnier

13. The idea that they were all booking out the bunker for certain nights a week is so funny - like did they have physical a schedule? Who kept the schedule? Did it just sit in like the offices of the Blue and Gold?

14. I fucking love Archie and Josie together and have fully convinced myself that Josie is somehow California Women

15. It needs to be studied what exactly the Heathers episode did to my brain because that one episode of TV completely rewired my brain chemistry and changed the trajectory of my life

16. It’s so sad that the happiest Polly ever got to be was when she was part of a cult. It’s also sad how much everyone’s farm fashion went off cause they all looked so good during that era

17. It’s actually a miracle it took so long for Fangs to actually die there were so many attempts on his life

18. God Veronica running multiple businesses at age 16 and none of the Riverdale adults batting an eye and just respecting her as a business women will never not be funny to me

19. The plot twist that Alice was actually working undercover to take down the farm actually makes her being so awful to Betty make less sense. Sure, she was doing it for the greater good I guess but like she didn’t have to give away her college money or sell their fucking house leaving Betty with the options of homelessness or moving to a cult to get it done

20. FP maybe if you need to get your teenage son to regularly come and help you with your job as sheriff then you shouldn’t be doing it? Although on the other hand Jughead would’ve gone to those crime scenes anyway so like maybe it’s a good thing FP was there as adult supervision

21. GOD the cult break out and scavenger quest are such amazing finales for this season. Everyone nearly dies about ten times, Kevin and Fangs no longer have kidneys, the core four staggering through the woods in formal wear close to death together, Cheryl and Toni coming to save them all with the power of gangs and bows and arrows, it had literally everything you could want!

22. Love how Hal Cooper is canonically one of the worst serial killers ever and every woman he’s been with tells him this to his face

[hollow-keys]

1, 4, 9, 11 for the dr who asks!

1: Who is your favourite Doctor?

It's currently 2! I love the exaggerated physicality of Patrick Troughton's performance, his sense of justice and how much he loves his companions. Also good* companions really elevate a Doctor, and Two and Jamie work really well together.

*Good as in, compliments each other well. Not necessarily the quality of the companion as a standalone character. This is also the case for 12, another of my faves, who works really well with Clara and Bill.

This may change once I've gone through my Classic Who watch/revisted NuWho.

4. What's your favourite story?

Ugh, that's difficult, and I absolutely can't pick one.

I need to rewatch these now I'm an adult but for NuWho, Blink, Heaven Sent, Turn Left and World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls. The last two rewired my brain chemistry at a young age.

As for Classic Who, Planet of Giants, The Rescue, The Celestial Toymaker and The War Games. The last one literally made me sob, and I rarely cry.

9. Who is your favourite Classic Who companion?

Again, can't pick one. But so far, Jamie, Susan and Ian. I'm starting Three's era and I like Liz, she might make it high on this list at some point.

11. Show a picture of your favourite Doctor outfit

I haven't got to his era yet but Paul McGann serves.

Also 13 looked great in 12's suit and I kinda wish she kept something like it (tho I ofc like her fit).

Link to ask game

[suhmayzooka]

Sano trio for the ask game please?? 👀✨

YAYY!!! my boys<3<3<3

rin:

1: sexuality headcanon gay gay homosexual gay gay. also, i learned about what transgender was due to some trans rin headcanons/fanfics/meta i read during the height of the fandom, so trans man rin is also something that's been in the back of my mind 2: otp sourin >>>>> permanently changed my brain chemistry and ideal of relationship; rinrei is so much funnn i swear; and ofc sano trio as a whole!! 3: brotp rin & haru--while i don't think of them romantically, their relationship is the cornerstone of the whole story and i love how they're always pushing each other to go further rin & nagisa--such an underrated relationship but in the original book rin teaches nagisa to swim and nagisa from then on really looked up to rin as an older mentor. i love them because they're so unexpected as a friendship, but they really have a deep bond that i wish was more present in the show (besides a few "rin-rin!") rin & makoto--SUCH an important relationship for both of them!!!!! they're the real complements of each other, i think, rin is fiery and passionate and sharp and makoto is grounded and doting and UGHHHH 4: notp when i was younger i'd say rin x haru, less due to the actual relationship and more due to the way SOME fans treated me at the tender age of like 13.... i don't dislike them enough to say they're my notp, but i guess yeah, they're my notp 5: first headcanon that pops into my head he's a thirty seconds to mars stan (bc of that one shirt he wore that looked like the 30stm triangle...) fuck jared leto and everything but i think rin learned english partially through music. he's also a swiftie 6: favorite line from this character oh god.... "PERFECT BODY" 7: one way in which I relate to this character every way he's my blorbo whom i project onto ever since i was in middle school . um. who said that i think i really connected to both his emotional crybaby ways (i cry at conflict), his hopeless romantic nature, and his insecurities, feeling like you're meant to do something but you hit a wall and just.,. can't. 8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character his fashion.......i'm sorry but........ i cannot defend you ....... 9. cinnamon roll or problematic fave? LOL depends on who you ask! he's a cinnamon roll who looks like he can kill you

sousuke:

1: sexuality headcanon: also gay but at the same time, i don't think he really cares much for romance outside of his immediate partner, you know? so i guess somewhere on the demi spectrum 2: otp sourin, again, and soukisu, and basically the whole sano trio. oooh special mentions to soumako and souharu, for no real canon reason aside from them having some really good fan artists and writers 3: brotp sousuke & nitori & momo; he's a good mentor to them, and they have so much respect for him (while knowing how to have fun). sousuke & gou--after rin left for australia, i imagine him and gou spending more time together. bonding over rin lol there was that scene where he gave her his jacket during the water gun fight that always gets me 4: notp hmm. don't really have one? maybe sousuke x gou? i really can't think of him viewing her as anything other than his sister 5: first headcanon that pops into my head that he likes opera, and this is ENTIRELY due to an old fic @testosterogna wrote that i read back in my youth and i SOMEHOW actually forgot i read it in a fic and thought it was canon. 6: favorite line from this character "because i knew you would cry" (ಥ﹏ಥ) 7: one way in which I relate to this character we're both stoic and monotone and come across as aloof/cold. he probably has a touch of the 'tism like haruka does. oh and i'm terrible at directions kajsdhaskljdh 8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character when he found haru and backed him into the wall like "don't u DARE hurt my man again >:(" and haru was like :| you dUMBASS WHY DID YOU HIDE YOUR STUPID INJURY ??? DO NOT DESTROY YOUR CAREER FOR LOVE!!!! IDIOT (ಥ﹏ಥ) 9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? looks like he could kill you, doesn't care enough to try

kisumi

1: sexuality headcanon this is one i'm actually 10000% assured of, unlike the other two above where i was just like 'yeah probably' this is something i actually dedicated a LOT of time to thinking about and even starting a fic years ago: he's asexual. i don't remember WHAT i read all those years ago, but i found some asexual kismui hcs and it just clicked. i can't imagine him any other way. i think he's also demi or grayromantic; his 'relationships' are closer to QPR than, i suppose, traditional 'romance.' he's sex-favorable to neutral, but it's not something he really craves and he doesn't feel sexual attraction. he's still a massive flirt and a gossip and loves to know about/mess with his friends' love lives 2: otp sano trio!!! asakisu too, and hiyokisu could be fun. 3: brotp kisumi & makoto. "JOIN THE BASKETBALL CLUB!!!!!!" 4: notp kisumi x most people 5: first headcanon that pops into my head well, the first one is that he's ace, the second is that he's a plant lover, which is less headcanon than it is me extrapolating from some official art 6: favorite line from this character probably everything he says to haru. OHH and when he casually is like "oooh sousuke didn't tell you about his super plot-relevant secret? oooh too bad. anyway i'm out!" 7: one way in which I relate to this character me having ace kisumi was 100% me projecting when i was younger and ID as asexual, but i relate to the love/protectiveness he feels over his younger brother 8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character the way he tried to get everyone to join his basketball team </3 baby you're in the wrong anime you missed the casting calls for kuroko i'm sorry 9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? sinnamon roll :3

character ask game

[hell-ama-official]

If a demon at 18 looks 6 years old, should they be treated like a 6-year-old or like an 18-year-old?

This question shows a clear lack of understanding of both demonic aging and demonic societal structures and isn't worth my time, but I suppose I'll answer it this once, just for the record, so that I can refer any further stupid questions back to this post. But for that we need to get a bit into the esoteric matters of magic-to-physique correlations.

As you may be aware, unlike humans, for whom a body and a soul are two separate entities, a demon's body is but a vessel manifested by the soul. Demons have less physicality than humans, and need to use special measures to interact with the human realm.

A demon's body exists in between physical and mental planes, and as it may manifest itself quite similarly to what we tend to call "God's image" (DNA-carrying cellular organism), chtonian and infernal beings are, as much as divine beings, only "images"; refractions of the true soul manifested into being. This allows for a higher degree of manipulation of one's own body than possible by even physical beings that possess magic, as the soul controls the body, not vice versa.

Aging in demons is one of "soul-brain backflow processes", which are a subgroup of psychological processes happening in the soul that affect the body, as contrary to regular soul-body connections which are triggered by physical changes in brain chemistry. In layman's terms, the growth hormone is only produced when the growth is appropriate to the age that the soul is.

It is expected that one age at the regular rate as experience accumulates until around 35 years of physical age when a personality settles, neuroplasticity lowers, and the aging process slows down, but high stress situations, neurodiversity, traumatic injuries to either soul or body, and unusual lifestyles can lead to wild discrepancies in growth before that point.

A demon has to pass a maturity age to be considered an adult, which is taken no earlier than 18 years of age, but a demon will be refused audition if they immediately and obviously appear to be a child.

Of course, the one-sided backflow has its issues: if a demon suffers a severe personality change or goes through something that strongly affects their soul, their body may start growing with them to accommodate that change without their mental age advancing far enough to catch up. This isn't typically considered an issue unless the discrepancy is vast, in which case it comes under mental disability; it's not that different from how infantile humanoid beings that experience linear growth would be treated. In the most severe of cases, a demon's form can be reverted to a child-like appearance with a spell and held in that state until it can be lifted, but that isn't a typical practice, as the society is not very accepting of these kinds of situations.

As concerning other forms, if a demon has them, their age will typically correspond to the maturity stage of the demon's body, with the exception of short-lived forms. If a demon's alternate form is an insect, they will be able to transform into its mature stage from the get-go.

Socially:

The first milestone in aging happens when they reach 10 years of age, which is when a demon's soul grows strong enough to leave Hell for prolonged periods of time. The second is at 13 years of age, when a demon is considered to have passed childhood and no longer has to be coddled. It's not at all similar to human teenagehood passage rights, which include hormones, sweaty armpits, trying out cussing, and crude drawings of reproductive organs. Instead, it means you're treated as an inexperienced yet reasonable individual, responsible for your own actions. Although there are typically still copious amounts of crudely drawn reproductive organs.

The third is passing the maturity test, which, as I mentioned, requires at least 18 years of age, whereas the subject passes a test of thinking patterns, as well as gets a full brain scan. If both are passed, a brief soul inspection allows them to receive their proper registration. It is voluntary until 35 years, but generally has no downsides.

At 35 or higher, a demon is considered settled. They will remain that way for a long time. If by this point a demon has refused to pass a maturity test, it becomes obligatory, in case their family wants to kick the slacker out already.

At appearance of 70 or higher, a demon is considered an elder. Demons rarely reach the stage of looking old enough without severe traumatic experiences, but some have reached it at over a thousand years of age. There are also honorary elders, which are demons carrying angelic blood who aren't capable of aging past their youthful looks. The most obvious example is our, ahem, Great and Luminous Ruler, the Bane of Heavens, the Beast, etc, etc, etc.

The theoretical soul decay happens at around 10'000 years of age, which is when the faults that reincarnation is supposed to wipe away will accumulate enough to tear the soul apart.

So, the answer to your question is: typically, a demon with a high discrepancy between their factual age and appearance should be respected in accordance to their appearance, but their rights still correspond to the amount of years lived. A ten-year-old looking sixteen would not be allowed to drive a motorbike, for example.

[ashslaysworld]

Legally Blonde (2001)

One of my favourite movies that has absolutely changed my brain chemistry has to be Legally Blonde. I remember the first time that I ever watched it I was 13 years old and I had just found it on Netflix. People who know me know that if there’s two things that I love most in the world, it’s pink and love. I always thought that Reese Witherspoon is one of the most beautiful women in the world, and Elle Wood’s journey into independence and being an amazing lawyer was so inspiring to me, especially considering how into debate I was, and how impressionable I was as well. 

Legally Blonde is based off of a novel written by Amanda Brown, which was written from her own perspective as a woman who was super into fashion in the law program at Stanford. The movie was considered a box office success, making 133 million dollars more than the initial budget of 18 million. The makers of the film tried to make the movie consumable for young women, especially considering at the time women who were considered beautiful almost never had roles where they were smart, driven and talented. 

The producers enlisted the help of Reese Witherspoon, who was already somewhat known in the industry to captivate the attention of the public, and a movie that was based off of a woman’s real experience in a field that was predominantly male-driven was interesting and refreshing. At this time, a lot of movies which featured women as the main character had begun to show, Starting with Clueless in 1995, The Princess Diaries in 2001, and Mean Girls in 2004. 

I feel as though a lot of men were opposed to watching the film as it doesn’t suit the general masculine and male content that a lot of men are interested in. I believe that it is rooted within the idea that men are not allowed to enjoy certain types of movies due to how girly and women-centred the movies are. 

In 2001, around the same time the movie was released, the Netherlands had legalised same-sex marriage. Even though in the United States same-sex marriage was not legal, the movie brings up a gay couple who speaks in court. Not in a negative way, but normalising the existence of same-sex couples everywhere.

The movie was conventional in the sense that a beautiful woman was pining after a beautiful man, with a love story to die for, however, instead of finding her happily ever after with the person she altered her life for, she found her own happiness in her career and love in someone who really loved and cared for her beyond appearance.

When I first watched the movie, I hadn't really thought about the possible negative repercussions of perpetuating a woman as just a "dumb blonde", and upon watching the movie you will find that it has far more depth than just that, from the relatably heartbreaking moment when Elle realised that she had been broken up with because Warner simply didn't think she was able to match his level of success in the future, however, in popularised clips you will mostly really see the moments where she displays those stereotypes.

Female empowerment is very important in this day and age. "Girlhood" and being there for other women is extremely important and Elle Woods is able to handle it with grace and poise, even if she has to work with her ex boyfriend's new fiancé, Vivian.

After watching the movie again, I found that I had a new-found respect for Elle and her dedication to her studies. When I watched the movie the first (til eighth) time, the idea of college was just so far away that I didn't really think about the academic rigor that she had to go through to not just graduate from college as a fashion major, but to be the valedictorian of her graduating class in Harvard Law School is nothing less than impressive.

While I was reading the more recent reviews about the movie, I found that people tended to be very critical of the movie, saying that Elle was simply not realistic, however, that's exactly the stereotype that Elle Woods was trying to break. Just because someone is beautiful and dresses in pink simply does not mean that she is unable to do what a man in plain clothes can do. In fact, I believe that it is far more unlikely for someone to know whether a red dress is actually made of "low viscosity rayon with a half loop top stitching on the hem" or if you're simply being fooled.

[local-crying-boy]

Thank you so much for all the votes <3 I'm so glad I can yap about this silly character I made.

[QUICK WARNING: this is long asf + not proof read]

= I also make a lot of Avengers references because I grew up on both of these franchises, forgive me =

So… my Mutant OC that has come in many forms throughout my obsession with the X-men, then was ultimately left to fizzle out and die from lack of attention when I inevitably got into the Avengers side of the MCU.

I mean just look at how my oc (originally called Y/n because that was a huge thing for me back in 2020/2021) was back then

Clearly I was desperately wanting this oc to be not clearly human (hence the wings, wolf and elf ears). This was like BEGINNING of me drawing and obsessing over making so called PoVs for my favourite films. So, in my 11 year old brain, I started to work on this 'Y/n' and gave it an actually name (then completely forgot about it until I watched Deadpool and Wolverine).

Now, do I remember the name I originally gave 'Y/n' after I decided it wasn't going to be called 'Y/n'? NO! of course not. I mean, in reality, this 'OC' had COMPLETELY changed when I revisited it. The OC isn't even a female anymore, and it become more of a 'persona' or based off of myself, which, to be honest, defeats the entire point of an Original CHARACTER. But, hey, ho, it is what it is.

So, let me start the actual ramble over this character:

His name is Nicolas Jasper (not the most creative last name, I'll admit). He is twenty-five years old and he's the most British character (I've decided) who is an x-men.

I haven't actually decided what his hero name is yet because, well, I don't want to give him a shitty cringy one by accident, so I've left it for whenever I actually decide to brainstorm some ideas.

His Mutation

Nicolas has an 'animalistic' mutation of sorts, he's got small horns, ones that goats have and he has a tail too. He's got retractable claws, but his nails look relatively normal (almost like sabretooth, but Nicolas hasn't sharpened them), while also having more sharper teeth than before his mutation developed.

Now, with his claws, they work the same as cat claws do. So, when Nicolas developed his mutation, he gained the function of dorsal elastic ligaments, which is similar to how cat's are able to retract and protract their claws when needed.

So this is a diagram of a cat's paw, clearly. Therefore, my OC had developed similar functions in his hands that allow him to do the same as a cat!

And, one downfall of Nicolas' mutation was that part of his brain chemistry/instincts altered. So, obviously, humans don't act wild and overly aggressive to the point of murder. However, due to Nicolas' 'animalistic' mutation, he started to slowly act more like a wild animal.

I originally grew inspiration for the 'wild animal' aspect of the mutation from Bruce Banner and The Hulk, because Hulk acts so aggressive and attacks and destroys (or, at least, he did). Banner had to learn how to control his anger so that Hulk wouldn't show up and be all aggressive. So, I wanted to do something similar with my OC.

Of course, though, Nicolas doesn't have some alter ego that comes out when faced with a dangerous situation or when faced with heightened emotions. Which just means that Nicolas just goes absolutely, simply feral when he first developed his mutation and got pissed.

His backstory:

Nicolas originally had a pretty normal family: a mother, a father and he had two siblings - a sister and a brother. He did, however, grow up with parents who didn't exactly like mutants, so he grew up with ideals in his head that mutants were horrible and monsters, things that were unnatural and not to be trusted.

Because mutants gain their, well, mutations throughout the years of puberty, Nicolas started to gain his mutation around the ages of 13-14. Obviously it was clear with the horns and the tail, his parents had started to get a little bit colder towards him and it got worse as his mutation progressed more and more. This whole 'parents-starting-to-neglect-him' thing slowly led to his emotions starting to get more out of hand, so you can thank his parents for his overly angry anger issues.

Around his two siblings, however, they really didn't mind the whole mutant thing and the three of them were able to have a lot of fun with Nicolas' newfound abilities. His two siblings were actually a large part of the reason that Nicolas didn't immediately become hateful towards his mutation, since they actually showed him that some people liked the fact that he had these abnormal developments in his youth.

However, after three years (so when he was sixteen) of this neglect from his parents and his instincts starting to become much more 'animalistic', he finally snapped and, basically, acted as a wild animal.

[Little ramble - feel free to skip, it was just me explaining the whole 'wild animal' idea]

Now, I know what your thinking, "A wild animal? That's stupid, boy, what the hell were you thinking?"

Now, now, hear me out, yeah? Let me talk you though my insane, weird thought process.

I was trying to think about some animals that are just, I guess, naturally aggressive because I wanted this sense of Nicolas going 'feral' and almost 'merciless' when he has heightened emotions. Initially, my mind went to animals like wolves, hippopotamuses, sharks and crocodiles.

However, Nicolas only comes into this aggressiveness when provoked or overwhelmed and whatnot. So my mind went to Chihuahuas (which I thought was spelt 'Chiwawas') because you see so many videos of Chihuahuas being aggressive, but that is only when they are feeling threatened! (Guys, they aren't actually aggressive!! They just feel threatened when they act like that most of the time!!!)

So the idea expanded.

Nicolas final straw to 'snapping' is when his parents started to get loud and extremely aggressive. And, because Nicolas has seen how his parents have spoken about and to mutants, he started to get afraid about how loud they were.

His parents had seen how he and his two siblings had been messing about with some of Nicolas' abilities, and they HATED the fact that they had been doing it ever since Nicolas' mutation started developing.

His parents were starting to get closer and closer to him, becoming louder and louder until this sort of 'instinct' that he developed finally kicked in.

Call back to me getting inspiration from Bruce Banner and the Hulk (if you read that), just like how Banner blacks out when switching to the Hulk, Nicolas blacks out when he goes 'feral' or 'wild'. Which means that Nicolas only remembers bits and pieces to when he initially snapped.

All he remembers is swinging for his father, claws out, his mother screaming in fear and his two siblings behind him as they tried to grab his arms. After that, nothing. Completely empty. He remembers... absolutely nothing.

Meeting the X-men:

Time skip to three years later, Nicolas still being in a sorts of 'blind rage', Charles Xavier - using Cerebro - was able to find Nicolas.

Prior to Xavier looking for Nicolas, everyone thought that the series of attacks that were appearing were simply animal attacks. Everyone who survived was able to describe a creature who was too quick to see and some sort of snarling noise. Which meant that Charles Xavier didn't think twice about looking for a possible mutant. However, the attacks were too frequent and the victims were all describing the same 'animal'.

After the second year of these 'animal attacks', Charles Xavier wanted to get rid of the suspicion of this 'animal' being a mutant. Although, he did believe that the chances were slim and that, if it was actually a mutant, they would be hard to reason with if they were going around attacking hikers out in the woods.

However, Xavier, obviously, was correct in his suspicions and himself and some other one (I don't know the others aren't really SUPER relevant). They first tried to talk Nicolas down from his 'feral' episode, but it didn't have much affect.

Nicolas had immediately tried to attack the X-men, and so one of the others (not Charles Xavier) had to give Nicolas a sharp blow to the head and knock him out. Similarly to how Natasha Romanoff knocked out Clint Barton to stop Loki having control over him.

When Nicolas came to, he was back in the mansion. Everyone was on very high guard, just in case this was just how Nicolas acted. However, Charles was able to look into Nicolas' head and see that he really had no memory of those three years during his 'feral' episode.

Similarly to Logan (which wasn't actually on purpose), Nicolas asked Xavier to help him retrieve those years of memories that he lost. But, alas, even Xavier wasn't able to help all that much.

brief yap about Nicolas in the films:

In my mind, Nicolas was introduced to the X-men around the same time as Jean and Scott (which was DEFIENTLY NOT because I wanted him to interact with Logan shhhh it definitely was).

However, because I am so bad at inserting my own characters into films half the time, Nicolas really isn't in many of the scenes. Or, at least, he isn't yet, mostly because I haven't EVEN thought about inserting him into the films yet. I've mostly been thinking about his character as a whole.

Though, because I am so INSANELY in love with Logan, I may, perchance, add in a small unrequited love type trope. Only because I love making my characters suffer about small things after giving them trauma.

So, yeah! That's my yap for those of you who actually wanted to hear about it. Once again, thank you for voting in the poll about whether or not you wanted to hear about Nicolas, I appreciate it very much!

I’m currently huperfixating on x-men because I watched Deadpool and wolverine like a week ago and now am working on consuming ALL x-men content RELIGIOUSLY. Like, I LOVED the x-men as a kid, then clung onto the Avengers for dear fucking life. However, the film has resurrected my obsession and I’m already working on a mutant oc.

I’ve got such a good background for said oc and it literally is making tweak that I don’t have anyone to talk about it to.

Question is: does anyone actually wanna hear about this shit?

[foppishaplomb]

i feel like such an old man in HS fandom. everyone my age has moved on but i never will. I remember hussie said once they never showed it to their parents because the teen drama would be incomprehensible to anyone past a certain age and that he was near that age and she was writing it, but i remember so vividly being that age and seeing those stories as their peers. the HS cast would be 26 now (I'm 28) and I feel like having been a kid of a similar age in the same time period really adds a layer that's part of what keeps me coming back.

It's the nostalgia I guess but I also genuinely think Homestuck is worth reading if you can get into it, no caveats. Even if you're much older than 13 or 16. even if it didn't rewrite your brain chemistry over a decade ago like it did mine. Homestuck is going to be taught in history classes one day. It changed the face of the internet and I could go on forever about how it does things you'll never see in any other piece of media, both good and bad.

I got off track but I feel so lonely in my Homestuck fandom. I feel like everyone knows a different, personal version of the characters and I don't know how to share mine. I should try to post my headcanons sometimes I guess. In all my fandoms, really. Nobody can talk to me about things I don't say.

[ofpd]

🦚, 💙, 🏳️‍🌈 for the ask game?

🦚 - are there any queer books/shows/etc. that you would suggest?

yes. see: my blog. but here are a couple suggestions that i don't blog about much. brokeback mountain changed my brain chemistry & made me feel sick for days. the gay and wondrous life of caleb gallo is such a fun little youtube series clearly made by people who love each other. falsettos meant so much to me when i was 14/15 (when i somehow still considered myself an ally....) and it definitely holds up. i just listened to it again actually.

💙 - when you first learned about the queer community, did you immediately realize ‘that’s me!’ or did you consider yourself a ‘really good ally’ for some time?

oh i absolutely did not realize at first lmao. i've always known that gay people existed but i do actually remember the first time i learned about trans people at some point in elementary school (i was in the room when my mom was watching some tv show and i was like “wait is that person a man or a woman” and she explained it to me), and i remember my reaction was to be like . hm if i feel any type of way about that i should repress it 👍. i considered myself at some point between ‘really good ally,’ ‘questioning,’ and ‘ok yeah im gay’ between ages like 13–15, and then i've consistently identified as some sort of queer since. before that i didn't even consider that i could be queer.

🏳️‍🌈 - do you enjoy the colors of your preferred flag? do you incorporate it into your outfits, decor, etc.?

i love the bi flag a lot but no i don't incorporate it into outfits. bi earrings sound nice though...

ask game

[dangermousie]

2020 End of Year Post - cdrama edition

This is only going to cover cdramas that aired in 2020; if I had to make a post about all the cdramas I watched this year, I would still be doing it in three months...

Overall it’s been a fairly decent cdrama year (certainly better than the very lacklustre kdrama year.) It’s no miracle that 2019 was (so many excellent dramas!) but overall pretty solid.

DRAMAS WATCHED

(In order of liking from least to most as opposed to pure quality; I am including if I’ve seen enough to make up my mind; yes I realize that’s inaccurate, but that’s my list)

44 The Legend of Jing Yan - the worst cdrama I have seen this year, and possibly the worst drama of 2020, period. The hero and heroine were both uncharismatic, incapable of acting and saddled with such shrilly moronic characters, the only suspense was how they haven’t both perished long since from forgetting to breathe. Nor was anyone in the rest of the cast much better; the screenplay was written by a lower mammal and the cinematography was the best a third-rate wedding cinematographer could offer. Stay the HELL away from this one.

43 Unicorn Girl - the only unicorn about this bland yet irritating piece of pap was the fact that I was supposed to believe the leads are hockey players.

42 Autumn Cicada - I like spy stories, Allen Ren, and Republican Era settings. I can tune out Communist propaganda with the best of them. Yet, the propaganda ate the story to such a degree that there was nothing left; pre magic change Pinocchio was less wooden then this narrative.

41 You Complete Me - no you do not.

40 Skate into Love - the only positive thing I can say about this is that at least it’s better than Unicorn Girl, if for no other reason that only one of them is supposed to be a hockey player.

39 Irreplaceable Love - how do you make a story about fake siblings with a mad mother falling for each other boring? I don’t know, ask the makers of this.

38 Eternal Love Rain - I hate to rain on their parade, but these two actors cannot act, have about as much chemistry as a piece of bread, and are trapped in a story perfect for entertaining the mental abilities of the leads of Jin Yan.

37 For Married Doctoress - ummmm, you could do worse I guess. It only made me break out in mild hives. The sadistic ending did make me laugh though.

36 Dance of the Sky Empire - why you get Xu Kai and waste him in this insipid mess of a story is beyond me.

35 Love Designer - it’s inoffensive except to my sense of entertainment. There is nothing wrong with it but oh God is it bland.

34 Love a Lifetime - It felt like a lifetime watching this, but I didn’t love it. The story is incoherent, the actors have no chemistry and it’s all an epic waste of time.

33 Love is Sweet - so sweet it gave me diabetes. I like Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu, but there is literally no plot. I don’t need to sink into a plotless morass to watch pretty people engage in PG-rated make-outs. I am an adult with access to stronger stuff if I am thus inclined, though to be fair they could get x-rated and I still wouldn’t be able to sit through so many episodes of plotlessness for that.

32 Fake Princess - I love Zhao Yi Qin, but the guy needs to pick better projects. The female lead in this one has the voice and personality that can strip paint but the story is also doing nobody any favors.

31 The Changan Youth - I lost my brain checking this out. I had to go and read a dense treatise on medieval coinage or Mayan farming to try to recover it.

30 My Dear Destiny - kinda cheesy fun. It honestly shouldn’t be as low except it really feels like community theater.

29 Handsome Siblings - why is the Nic Tse version so good and this one so bad? True mystery for the ages. Chen Zhe Yuan is the sole reason this isn’t lower, because that kid tries SO HARD to make this drama bearable and almost succeeds. I can’t wait to see him in Sha Po Lang which actually will give him something to do.

28 In a Class of Her Own - see my comment on The Changan Youth. But at least Song Weilong is gorgeous to look at.

27 General’s Lady - inoffensive, pretty and so utterly pointless.

26 The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion - those two leading actors are a no go to me but at least they considerately acted with each other instead of ruining two dramas for me. It’s very pretty though.

25 Jiu Liu Overlord - it’s a mess and I bailed, but I placed it this high merely due to the fact that Lai Yi finally gets a leading role and he’s sexy as fuck and I am shallow. Whoever styled Bai Lu should never work again except at a circus, however.

24 Cross Fire - not my genre and Luhan will always look too much like my cousin for comfort, but it’s a surprisingly gripping and dark drama. I liked it!

23 God of Lost Fantasy - if you want to watch a mediocre wuxia/xianxia, this is not a bad choice. Probably better than Legend of Fei actually, because at least it doesn’t have an A-list cast to waste and gives us Sheng Yilun himbo and shirtless.

22 Renascence - the insane cuts (it went from 70 eps to 36!!!) made a fairly cheesy story into a total mess. But I had a good time until I finally bailed mainly because of the male lead (Chen Zhe Yuan yet again carrying a not-good 2020 drama on his shoulders; the guy should be nicknamed Atlas) and the insane but in a fun way story. The female lead (both the character and the actress) were not up to par but oh well.

21 Legend of Fei - only this high because objectively there is nothing I disliked it. But there is nothing I liked either. The most uninspired drama on the list. If you could eat cardboard, this is what it would taste like.

20 Ever Night 2 - compared to EN1, it’s a waste of film. On its own merits, it’s not very good (the cast replacements are uniformly inferior and Dylan Wang is so wrong for Ning Que I cannot even put it into words; the script is useless.) But it had some parts I loved so very VERY much (all the shippy stuff was perfection) so I don’t feel too bitter.

19 Castle in the Sky 2 - a lovely if not too complex fairy tale. It is inferior to its prequel because it doesn’t have Zhang Ruo Yun who elevated it, but it’s still a solid bit of fun.

18 The Great Ruler - it’s very high fantasy, very pretty, and surprisingly involving.

17 (tie) Legend of Two Sisters in the Chaos - the secondary couple steals the show but the rest is not too bad if not too involving.

17 Legend of Awakening - a solid bit of fun with a seriously BDSM streak (theme this year apparently - but come on, the lead’s powers only activate when he’s in extreme pain!) It’s a bit generic and the costuming is done by a blind person, not to mention the OTP is a NOTP, but the rest of relationships (romantic and platonic) are wonderful (I live for the found siblings story in this one) and I like most of the characters.

16 Consummation - a rare modern cdrama I liked; a sweet coming of age story (and love story) even if wrapped in a pretty weird virtual reality concept.

15 Oops the King is in Love - this is how you do a low budget, sweet, silly piece of fluff. Our heroine pretends to be a eunuch and crosses paths with a powerless young king and they are adorable, even more so than the drama.

14 Song of Glory - pretty solid, though draggy and I didn’t love the toothpaste filter. But A+ cast, excellent leading couple chemistry, Li Qin being a BAMF and a leading man (Qin Hao) who is actually an adult.

13 And the Winner is love - objectively kind of a mess (and the heroine has the brainpower of a gnat), but the OTP chemistry is excellent and Luo Yunxi fighting and flirting with a fan as finally a leading man is worth the price of admission.

12 Miss S - snazzy and snappy and stylish and whatever else starts with S.

11 Eternal Love of Dream - I don’t know if it would work for you as well if you weren’t a hardcore shipper for this OTP in Three Lives but I was and this was such a darling, wonderful, shippy delight; plus I love this type of high fantasy.

10 (tie) Maiden Holmes - solid and sweet and a wonderful OTP. Proves that functional doesn’t have to mean boring. If you watch one cross-dressing drama this year make it this one.

10 Qin Dynasty Epic - srs bsns history epic. I am not far into it but it’s so good and smart and visually stunning (if you love battles, this one is for you.)

9 Love Lasts Two Minds - I adored this so much more than I should objectively have, but it’s so beautiful (and no I am not just referring to Alan Yu’s face) and the OTP has wonderful chemistry and the story is solid, and the whole trope of her memory being wiped but falling for him all over again while he’s constantly and utterly devoted is a fave; plus he’s in pain and semi-dyng for most of it so sluuuurp (happy ending, don’t worry)

8 To Love - yes, a modern drama is this high! But it involves intensity, tragedy, genuine adults and sexiness that is Lin Gengxin. And there is an actual plot and darkness OMG!

7 Legend of Xiao Chuo - so beautiful, so fun, so full of gorgeousness of Shawn Dou. Plus, Liao is a rare setting for a cdrama and there are a lot of characters and stories I liked a LOT. Less ship content than I wanted but more than I expected.

6 The Romance of Tiger and Rose - so so delightful. I was literally laughing out loud. I have no idea if it will work as well if one isn’t a seasoned watcher of period cdrama/reader of web novels, with bonus for watching/reading Goodbye My Princess, but it was a complete delight for me (and yes, I shipped for real, as well. Best of both worlds.)

5 Twisted Fate of Love - Jin Han gets a leading period drama role! And he’s enjoying it to the hilt, excellent as a smart, twisty bastard who is also charming and so madly in love with heroine. Sun Yi is beautiful and tough and her chemistry with JH is on fire, the story never drags, and it’s so twisty and fun and just awesome.

4 Love In Between - the most underrated drama on this list. It has no big names or big budget, but it’s wuxia that’s clever, driven, tragic, hopeful and so beautifully shot. Three separate (amazing) OTPs, a leading man who is so not typical (a doctor who cannot fight and who never acquires this ability) and who is intense and smart and damaged, a heroine who puts her quest ahead of her emotions, an unhealthy degree of involvement by yours truly. This is a drama Fei should have been.

3 Love and Redemption - such a lovely, addictive, utterly romantic fairy tale. I was obsessed with it for a reason. All the tropes you love and some you didn’t know you did, a star-crossed OTP to the nth power (and a secondary OTP I hardcore love), a twisty yet coherent plot, some insane chemistry and so much whump and hurt/comfort they must have bought blood packets in bulk.

2 Go Ahead - yes, I can’t believe it either. A contemporary slice of life cdrama made it this high on my list. But the way it feels so real, the found family perfection, the characters I love and loathe, the perfect cherry of a wonderful OTP that hits my narrative kinks on top, and just a perfect storm of loveliness all around with this one.

1 The Wolf - is that any surprise to anyone who’s checked out this tumblr for the last couple of months? Tragic, intense and gorgeous; so romantic and angsty and passionate it made me lose my mind (though some of it was gone the moment the camera panned to Darren Wang) - all my favorite tropes and then some; this is a drama that may not be perfect but it is 100% and then beyond perfect for ME.

FAVORITE DRAMA

The Wolf - I have seen objectively better cdramas; even this year. But it has been literal years since I have been this hardcore obsessed, this utterly pleased, this emotionally catered to and devastated at once. A beautiful dark fairy tale that manages to own me despite the storytelling gaps due to censorship, it took me for one of the biggest emotional roller coaster rides of my drama watching career. Visually gorgeous, poetic, intense, and so romantic it took my breath away, this is not just my favorite cdrama of 2020, it’s my favorite drama this year period, and the one cdrama this year to make it into my permanent Top 10 cdramas list.

WORST DRAMA

Legend of Jin Yan - see my write up for it for why as I refuse to waste more time on this stupid mess.

FAVORITE MALE CHARACTER

Wolfie, The Wolf - he is such a haunted, tormented, complex, dark mess; loving and violent, severely damaged and with a hidden yearning softness, longing and aloof. And the amount of charisma and sheer masculine sex appeal Darren Wang brings to the role is insane and not something I see much of in a cdrama. Plus, that character arc with its rapid fall and slow painful redemption is A++++

Runner Up:  Sifeng, Love and Redemption - has a male lead ever loved more utterly and selflessly, suffered more thoroughly and beautifully, and managed to have such chemistry with both his leading lady and his leading man (that his leading lady temporarily turned into) at once? The answer is no.

Almost made the cut - Feng Xi, Twisted Fate of Love, Han Shuo, The Romance of Tiger and Rose, Qing Ci, Love in Between.

FAVORITE FEMALE CHARACTER

Xiao Qian, The Romance of Tiger and Rose - so funny, so much the reason this drama was such a delight. I adore her beyond words.

NEEDS TO BE MURDERED

Murder Daddy, The Wolf - I am sad the censors robbed us of seeing him die on screen. He was fully human but nonetheless managed to be the worst monster in a drama full of literal ones.

Ling Xiao’s Mom, Go Ahead - I hate her so much I don’t want to look up her name. She abused the kid, the disappeared and came back to abuse him some more. I mean she literally gave her child mental health issues. She is the WORST.

FAVORITE SHIP

Xing’er x Wolfie, The Wolf - are you kidding me? Who else could it ever be for me? They destroyed each other and saved each other, sworn enemies and childhood lovers, soulmates and epic messes, they couldn’t live with or without each other. The longing, the passion, the intensity, the angst, the epicness. LIKE THERE ARE NO WORDS!!!!

FAVORITE SECONDARY OTP

Si Yuan, Shen Manqing, Love in Between - I loved them as much and often more than the main OTP. So much angst and passion and a happy ending! She is a seeming sect darling (except the sect is horrible and also sexist so her only worth is as a marriage candidate) and he’s an information broker who is actually one of the members of a destroyed sect that’s blamed for the massacre of her family. That chemistry and yearning is insane. The scene where she touches his face when he’s unconscious was in serious running for my favorite scene of 2020.

NOTP

Legend of Awakening - I have never seen a couple that didn’t just have no chemistry but exhibited actual revulsion towards each other before watching Chen Feiyu and Cheng Xiao try to act as lovers in this one. It was almost entertaining to be honest.

FAVORITE SCENE

It’s a tie and both are from The Wolf. One is a sequence where Wolfie marches to the walls alone, seeking death at Xing’er’s hands and the whole sequence with the battle and rescue follows. The other is the intercut between Xing’er going to her wedding and Wolfie going to his execution, and the auto-da-fe being intercut with her wedding.

BIGGEST CRUSH

Wolfie, The Wolf - Ummm have you seen this tumblr lately, it’s basically a drool shrine to the man.

BEST SCENE STEALER CHARACTER

Yelü Yansage, The Legend of Xiao Chuo - I have loved this actor since The Myth and he continued to competently steal every scene he was in.

NEEDS A SEQUEL

To Love - come out of the coma, dammit!!!!!!!

NEEDS A DIRECTOR’S CUT

The Wolf - duh. It started out as 59 eps and got cut to 49. I reaiize some stuff is never gonna get put in due to censorship, but some of the stuff that got cut got for time reasons because they were deluded and hoping to get a TV broadcast so ep count had to be under 50. I mean I doubt the censors would care if they kept scenes of Wolfie building her a swing or whatever. I really really want a director’s cut the way Goodbye My Princess did even if like with GMP it’s only three extra eps. Hell, I will take extra three minutes, as long as those three minutes are Darren Wang shirtless or with a sword. Ahem.

NEEDS SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

The Song of Glory - it’s a fairly solid drama but honestly it didn’t need to be as long as it was and kind of got draggy and I got lost interest. (I could have gotten snarky and said all the dramas I didn’t like needed scissors taken to them in their entirety but decided to play nice.)

TOO MANY SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

There are a number of dramas I could complain about with regard to this (hi there, darling The Wolf!) but this award goes to Renascence - poor Renascence was never going to be a masterpiece, but it had the potential to be a bit of good cheesy fun until it had its run time cut by more than half and became an incoherent piece of insanity.

TROPE THAT NEEDS TO DIE

Dumb shrill innocent heroine who can’t tie her shoes - see basically all the cdramas I didn’t like this year.

FAVORITE TROPE WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF

Male lead torture - I mean it’s always open season on that in cdramas, but between Love and Redemption, The Wolf, Love Lasts Two Minds, Love in Between and so on, it was a banner year!

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Legend of Fei - what a waste of that cast; what a waste of our finite time on this Earth. What a waste of my intelligence to hope for something better and stick with it for a dozen eps. I have had stale wonderbread that had more personality than this drama.There is absolutely nothing that stands out about this drama in any way,  from half-dimensional characters, to actors who are sleepwalking, to a plot that moves at the speed of an arthritic snail, to uninspired cinematography and direction, to lack of any chemistry between anyone in the cast. If paint-by-numbers was done by a group of particularly linear robots, it might come across the same way as this drama.

BIGGEST GOOD SURPRISE

The Wolf - honestly, I did not expect it to come out AT ALL EVER let alone to become my favorite drama of 2020. I was not familiar with the leading man (hahah), I liked Li Qin but wasn’t yet obsessed with her, and Xiao Zhan was excellent in The Untamed but I was hardly going to follow him from drama to drama (and I don’t do SLS any way.) And the trailer was enjoyable but unlike seemingly everyone, I didn’t think it was going to be some epic masterpiece. And then it came out and while it wasn’t objectively an epic masterpiece, it pulled out all the favorite tropes, shippy and narrative kinks from the deepest darkest recesses of my id. And I fell harder than I have in years. 

2020 DRAMAS I HAVEN’T SEEN THAT I MOST WANT TO WATCH

None. Covid Year gave me PLENTY of time

BEST NON-2020 DRAMA I’VE WATCHED IN 2020

Novoland Eagle Flag and Joy of Life - they are in my Top 10 dramas from anywhere now. They are quite different except being smart and giving me protagonists to obsess over.

ETA: Also The Untamed because @idlewilds3 pointed out I actually watched it in 2020 even though I didn’t think so because this hellyear has lasted about three decades.

MOST ANTICIPATED IN 2021

I am gonna limit it to dozen and leaving out ones that aren’t necesarily supposed to air next year (Joy of Life 2, Love in Flames of War, Novoland Princess from Plateau.)

Monarch Industry, Novoland Pearl Eclipse, Silk Washing Stream, Dream of Changan, Sword Snow Stride, Wu Xing Shi Jia, Ancient Love Poetry, Immortality, The Long Ballad, Mirror Twin Cities, The Imperial Age, Fall In Love

[youremyboy]

a few people tagged me in this (like last week sorry rip im slow at these) but!! here it isssss!! @shatlass @gingerandcelery @whatthefuckisasweep thank you for the tags :D

3 ships: jamir obvi. and hardshine forever and ever they are everything to me. and uh. i wasn’t gonna do two naddpod ones but i really wanna say duck team polycule. OH or the miraculous lovesquare <3<3 i basically exclusively only like ships where if someone asks ���do you ship x?” i have to respond with “uh. it’s complicated”

first ship: i honestly really dont know i don’t remember. probably some disney channel bullshit. i remember on tumblr before i was anything else i was an ace attorney blog so maybe wrightworth but i was like 13 which just feels like there must have been something earlier. OH WAIT ACTUALLY i was super super hype on house of anubis at like age 10 and i shipped amber and alfie. and also nina and fabian kinda but they were also kinda boring to me lmao. still feels like there’s probably something earlier but thats truly all ive got i think

last song: i saw a poll about animatic songs that had youre gonna go far kid on it and i was like oh man, i havent heard that song in forever, i fuckin love that song. so ive had that on repeat now for like two days lol

last movie: i got a dvd copy of die hard 4 from a charity shop for 75p and i watched that. I LOVE YOU DIE HARD 4💖💖💖💖

currently reading: im rereading ari and dante bcs of the movie lmao. its still good but also i read it when i was 17 and absolutely going through the worst period of my life and it changed my brain chemistry forever so it mostly just makes me think about being 17

currently watching: already started my fantasy high rewatch in preparation for junior year agshdjdjfjsjs. but also ive been working my way through ted lasso and have enjoyed it well enough. ALSO also im super obsessed with play it by ear right now show of all time EVER easily the best show on dropout right now and im including d20 in that. fight me about it. play it by ear season 2 has gotta be my favourite season of any show of all time it starts to strong and every single episode just gets better and better. this is my play it by ear pitch if you have dropout and you haven’t watched it WATCH IT IMMEDIATELY ITS SO FUCKING GOOD

currently consuming: i think this is supposed to be about food but because it didnt fit anywhere else im gonna say that im listening to the new naddpod episode rn. i love dungeon court :D its so good and so funny. but also im drinking a pepsi. yummy delicous pepsi max the beverage of ever. <3

currently craving: omg a pumpkin spice chai tea latte. it’s getting chilly now and my reservations about being basic go entirely out the window during pumpkin spice season. ive not had one yet this year i dont even know that theyre out yet it just feels right

tag 9 people: ill be honest i think all the people i would tag have either already done this or already been tagged lmao. if you see this consider yourself tagged?? unless you dont want to be. in which case dont. <3

9 people you would like to get to know better

tysm for the tag @alexmey-does-an-arts!

1. 3 ships; bowuigi, metadede, heavy/medic(I forget the name lol)

2. first ever ship; alphyne

3. last song; Ghost Cowboys by Louie Zong

4. last movie; Midsommar. That was…something

5. currently reading; Dante and Aristotle discover the secrets of the universe. Pretty fire

6. currently watching; JCS criminal psychology

7. currently consuming; nothing

8. currently craving; Iced Cream. About to go get it. I know there’s mind chip in my freezer (:

9 people to tag; @littlegreenwyvy, @garf-official, @d1nosaurpower, @tractor-inside-joke-fucker, @junkydoodlez, @seacrown, @neldu-nak, @darkcanid19, @stormyykat

[ifbrd]

Not Sugar-Coated, ToBecky Critique from a ToBecky Shipper

Let’s talk about Tobecky and it’s toxicity! And for once, let’s not hold back! I think what I’m gonna do for this post is focus on the dynamic they have in the show, mostly criticizing my own misogyny but calling out the fandom in general as well, as I’ve seen other’s do these same things. Later I will reblog it on the Word Up blog and continue my thoughts on the ship and how it affected Word Up.

The first thing I will say is that I am a Tobecky shipper, ever since Tobey’s first shorts when it was revealed he had a crush on WordGirl. I started watching this show as a kid, I would have been 9 or 10 when it started airing on PBS. If I were to get into this show today, however, I don’t think I would be shipping tobecky, because as an adult I can recognize its toxicity which I didn’t have the proper knowledge or understanding to do back in the day. And I think the real reason I still ship today is purely nostalgic. Though I won’t deny that their dynamic is interesting and that likely affects my shipping brain too.

As a kid, I think I shipped it because, well it seemed inevitable. It seemed like the only endgame option. How many romcoms start with a girl liking one boy, only to realize later she should be with a different guy, usually an underdog the audience is supposed to root for. How many romance stories start with the two not liking each other, ranging anywhere from minor annoyances for each other to full-blown enemies, only to later understand it was all a guise to hide their true feelings. It seemed obvious that Becky/WordGirl would end up with not Scoops, whom she had a crush on, but instead Tobey, the underdog she always was fighting or arguing with. Factor in Tobey’s crush, my very underdeveloped ability to think critically, and the fact that the writers in early seasons seemed to really take the time to focus on the potential chemistry between these two (their interactions in “Department Store Tobey” and both of them having a good time together in “Have You Seen the Remote?” etc) and it seemed there was only one boy for Becky to logically end up with.

The first time I can recall really questioning this ship, I mean really questioning it, was sometime in probably my sophomore or freshman year? Maybe my junior year? I recall my health teacher teaching us about healthy vs unhealthy relationships. In this unit, I realized several of my favorite ships across various fandoms were unhealthy but that’s a whole other topic. At one point I remember him giving his two cents about the phrase “opposites attract” when being applied to romance. He said this can be true, but only if the two are “opposites” in personality, and not “opposites” in values. If a couple’s values, their morals, don’t align, they probably aren’t going to make it. And in all honesty, I think Tobey and Becky have the worst possible combination for this.

They have very similar personalities, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it can make it easier for them to encourage their negative traits instead of helping them overcome them. The traits they both share like pridefulness, attention-seeking, and being a bit obsessive, have the potential to be the traits they bring out in each other. The best counter-argument for this is the fact that Becky is willing to and would call Tobey out for everything wrong or ridiculous he does, and try to help him. But that doesn’t matter if Tobey is not willing to listen to her when she calls him out, or accept her help when she offers it and he needs it. And it’s especially worthless if he’s not willing to help her back.

Meanwhile, the biggest weakness for this ship is their opposite values. Their morals couldn’t be more apart from each other. Get these two together for long periods of time and a morality war would easily ensue. And then combined with if their similar personalities do end up bringing the worst in each other, then any relationship they could have would be disastrous.

The worst issues with their pairing all go back to Tobey. I love Tobey as a character, don’t get me wrong, but we need to be honest, and please excuse the language--Tobey is a piece of shit! He is disrespectful to everyone around him, except his mother, and that’s only because he’s scared of her He thinks he’s better than everyone else and has no issues expressing that opinion, even going as far as to try to define words for WordGirl. He goes as far as to belittle her in “Tobey or Consequences” criticizing her word choice. He has been shown on multiple occasions to lose his mind when he doesn’t get exactly what he wants and will do anything to get it, without regard for others’ property, feelings or safety. He’s manipulative as seen in “Tobey Goes Good” and “Have You Seen the Remote.” He’s unwilling to take responsibility for his actions, as demonstrated when he attacks the candy factory for making candy because he got a cavity, instead of realizing that he should have taken better care of his teeth.

And worst of all, despite what he and the audience often believe, he clearly doesn’t give a single shit about WordGirl. If he cared about her he would have acknowledged her disinterest, if he cared about her, he wouldn’t have tried to force Becky into admitting she’s WordGirl in “By Jove, You’ve Wrecked My Robot.” If he cared about her, he wouldn’t have pretended to be good or trick her into spending time with him or forced her to read poems about him. In the Halloween special he thought Violet was WordGirl just because she was wearing a WordGirl costume, failing to acknowledge that Violet is blonde and white and WordGirl is clearly not.

The episode “WordBot” makes it very clear what kind of relationship Tobey wants from WordGirl--and it’s not a relationship. It’s a dynamic where she simply showers him with never-ending adoration and does whatever he wants. Tobey cares about one person and one person only and it’s not WordGirl, it’s himself.

And I’m not even counting “Go Gadget Go” in any of this! That episode put him in such a bad light that most fans pretend it doesn’t exist because his behavior is so inexcusable. And yet even without that episode, we have plenty of toxicity coming from Tobey’s end.

I once saw someone say they hate the tobecky ship because the argument for it often is that Becky will be willing to put up with Tobey when they’re older. First of all, if that’s your argument in tobecky’s favor you need to go take a good hard look at yourself. Becky putting up with Tobey’s messed up behavior is essentially hoping she ends up in a horrible, toxic, unhealthy, relationship that would be borderline abusive if she didn’t stand against him. Secondly, while I don’t deny the existence of this argument, (I once read a fanfic where the two were married but still a hero and villain who battled regularly) I disagree with the idea that this argument is most often used to justify the ship. Instead, the most common argument to justify it is the idea that Tobey has it in him to change. This is certainly a better argument, as Tobey changing is really the only hope for this ship.

But I think it’s really easy for us, myself included, to struggle with the line between finding evidence that Tobey could change vs excusing his actions; the line between finding an explanation for his behavior vs finding an excuse for him. It’s a very easy line to accidentally cross without realizing it. And it really says something when, as discussed in another post, we are not giving other villains like Victoria--who have more of an “excuse” --the same treatment. It’s incredibly misogynistic.

I’m not going to try to argue that Tobey doesn’t have the capability to be good, of course, he does. We can see this in the cute note he leaves in Becky’s backpack in “Trustworthy Tobey” and in the very last moments in the Thanksgiving special, and of course in our favorite example, “It’s Your Party and I’ll Cry if I Want to.” I’m also not saying that Tobey’s actions and psychology aren’t the product of the environment and circumstances he faces daily. Of course having no father figure present, a single mother who is always working, and no friends is going to affect a child. What I want to question is when is Tobey responsible for his own life, choices, and actions? Maybe not now at age 10-11, but what about when he’s 13? 16? 18? 21? 40? Where do we draw that line? I also don’t want to discourage looking for the good in people and characters and thinking critically about how their past and psychology is affecting their actions. I want to encourage that in all characters, not just the boy who happens to have a crush.

And while it’s nice to speculate that Tobey will follow a better path in the future, not so much for tobecky as much as for the betterment of Tobey himself, we need to realize that it’s just speculation. We have no canon proof of where his story goes post-WordGirl. He has his moments of hope but overall this kid has a terrible track record. When it comes to others, Tobey makes terrible choices. And that’s exactly what “going good” will be--a choice--his choice.

I also want to take a moment to talk about something @fromtheplanethexagon said in this amazing post you should totally read because it’s great. They commented on how very few people when writing tobecky fanfics takes the time to explore her perspective of their feelings for each other. Where her feelings originate and why she would like him. This is something I am absolutely guilty of and will be paying attention to in the future. After reading that passage from their post I thought for a while why Becky would like Tobey, and I honestly struggled with it a bit, which shouldn’t be happening if I’m trying to write a healthy tobecky story. That’s all I’ll say on this for now because beyond this I would use Word Up as an example, so I’ll save that for later.

The older I get the more I realized how toxic this ship is. Heck, who knows what I’ll realize about it in the future when I’m even more mature. In the past I’ve tried to convince myself it’s okay I ship it because I never shipped Tobey with WordGirl, I shipped him with Becky. I know they are the same person, but Tobey doesn’t know that, and the dynamics between him and each of her egos are very different. The dynamic between Tobey and WordGirl reminds me of Gideon and Mabel from Gravity Falls. Meanwhile the one between Tobey and Becky reminds me more of the one between Jimmy and Cindy from The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron. That’s better right? Even if just a little bit? Well no, not really, because we all know darn well if Tobey fell for Becky instead of WordGirl he would treat Becky exactly the same as he treats WordGirl. He would ultimately have the same “WordBot esc” expectations. If anything he might try to treat her worse. With WordGirl there is a clear power balance, and while it’s still technically there with Becky, Tobey doesn’t know it’s still there and might try to use that to his advantage.

And to conclude I’d like to add to @fromtheplanethexagon above-mentioned post (here’s the link again, seriously, read it!). Regarding their final thoughts that it’s fine to explore the ship, and it’s fine to explore the unhealthy parts of the ship. But we need to be careful to not glorify the toxicity of the potential pairing.

[autolenaphilia]

Granada Holmes (series review)

The 1984-1994 Granada series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations, starring Jeremy Brett as Holmes are regarded by fans as a milestone among the many adaptations of Sherlock Holmes that were made. Brett is said to be “the definitive Holmes”. And I would largely agree with that, despite it not being my favourite version, and it having some flaws and weak episodes, especially as the series went on.

The first thing that set this show apart is that it went back to the original stories and adapted those. Now, it isn’t the first version to do so, as some people (including Brett, apparently) claim. The 1920s silent film series with Eille Norwood was fairly canon accurate, and the 1960s BBC tv series with Douglas Wilmer and Peter Cushing also followed the canon. There is also the 1979-1986 Soviet Russian series with Vasily Livanov. And on radio you have more canonical dramatizations, such as the British John Gielgud 1950s series and the BBC Carleton Hobbs series from the 50s and 60s. People have an unfortunate tendency to ignore radio in favour of screen adaptations.

Still, it must be granted that Granada at its best is probably the supreme screen adaptation of the canon. The production values and acting are far superior to what the 60s BBC tv series had.

Jeremy Brett was a revolution in Holmes performances. The previous era defining Holmes, Basil Rathbone, as great as he was, made Holmes into too much of a straightforward hero. Brett brought back the eccentricities (including the drug use), the nervous energy and the character’s general moodiness and emotionality that was there in the text.

Holmes in the Granada series was ultimately on the side of good and a benevolent figure (if occasionally rude), but fictional justice perhaps had never an odder champion. He did everything from sitting weirdly, jumping over couches to taking drugs. Holmes felt neurodiverse, and indeed Brett used his own experiences with bipolar disorder in the performance.  And it was true to canon, in a way we seldom had seen on screen before.

Jeremy Brett’s performance as Holmes is extremely influential and often imitated by later screen adaptations, but has never been surpassed. The portrayal of Holmes in BBC Sherlock and the movies with Robert Downey Jr. is clearly inspired by Brett’s nervy eccentric genius Holmes, but ends up a bad parody. Holmes in the Granada series can like his canon counterpart occasionally be rude or careless towards other, but it was lapses, not a general trend. They seemed to be caused by an eccentric brain on another wavelength from the people around him, rather than any malevolence. Holmes in BBC Sherlock is a male nerd wish-fulfilment fantasy, where the character’s eccentric genius are allowed to excuse any crimes.

At its height, Brett’s Holmes is an awe-inspiring performance, with the actor pouring everything of his skill and energy into it. You could criticize it as melodramatic over-acting, but it makes for great viewing and fits the man who said “I never can resist a touch of the dramatic”.

The Granada series gets much credit for rehabilitating the role of Watson. Both of the actors playing him depicted as very much intelligent and capable. It is somewhat overstated of course, the turning away from the comedic figure Nigel Bruce portrayed started already with Andre Morell’s Watson in the 1959 Hammer Hound of the Baskervilles. Still, the Watson depicted by the Granada series is still one of the show’s chief draws.

The series had a switch in the actors playing Watson, with David Burke portraying him in the first two seasons of 13 episodes  and The Empty House featuring Holmes return to a Watson portrayed by Edward Hardwicke. And honestly it is hard to choose between them, because they are both great and there is a consistency in the writing that makes them feel like the same basic character. 

Burke’s Watson comes across as younger and more energetic of the two actors and has perhaps the better comedic dynamic with Holmes. He is perhaps my pick, as despite his actual age while playing the part, he feels closer to the young Watson of the canon.

But that is no serious slight against Hardwicke’s performance, which is still first-rate. Hardwicke’s Watson feels older, despite the difference in age between the actors being but a few years. The performance is also defined by an effortless charm and warmth, giving Watson an avuncular aura. But Watson is not at all infirm and is still an intelligent medical man and an experienced soldier, ever ready with his revolver.

An interesting change from the Canonical stories is that Watson never gets married and moves out of Baker Street. The Sign of the Four features Mary Morstan, but at the end she walks out of the story without any romance between her and Doctor Watson. The reason this was done, is that it simplifies the set-up of the stories. With Watson in 221B, he is always on hand to join Holmes. No need for a scene at the beginning of Holmes taking Watson away from wife and practice. Also it saves them keeping track of when Watson was married or not, something that Conan Doyle himself got into a serious continuity tangle about.

As producer Michael Cox (quoted in David Stuart Davies’s book Starring Sherlock Holmes)  noted, Conan Doyle himself probably regretted marrying off Watson, considering The Empty House has Watson suffering from a “sad bereavement” and then moving back in with Holmes. So it is a very much acceptable deviation from canon.

It also frees the writers to focus on the most important relationship in the canon: the friendship between Holmes and Watson. The canon has been called “a textbook of friendship” by Christopher Morley, and the chemistry and relationship between Holmes and Watson is vitally important to any adaptation. And that aspect of the stories is wonderfully conveyed here, with both actors playing Watson working together with Brett as Holmes well to convey the odd but close friendship between the two men.

Rosalie Williams plays Mrs. Hudson, and she is excellent in the role. The Granada series has a lot of little scenes of Mrs. Hudson added into the canonical cases, and they work excellently, giving her more of a presence. Many of them are comedic, making jokes about how a difficult and eccentric lodger Holmes is, but there is a clear undercurrent of affection throughout their interactions.

The recurring cast members include Charles Gray as Mycroft Holmes and Colin Jeavons as Inspector Lestrade.

 Gray as Mycroft is close to ideal, fitting the character of the overweight, lazy and intelligent canon character perfectly. He was such a good fit for the role that he had actually earlier played the part in the film adaptation of The Seven-Per-Cent Solution.

Jeavons fit the part of Lestrade and his acting is superb, capable of showing the full extent of Lestrade’s character, having both smug over-confidence at times, yet also having genuine respect and affection for Holmes.

The acting skills of the actors playing characters who only appear in one episode is also generally very high. And that is part of the general high quality of execution the show had for most of its run. The period sets and the directing was of a similar high standard. The music by Patrick Gowers is excellent, and I suggest any fan take a listen to this Youtube playlist of his soundtrack.

The scripts are quite excellent, for the most part sticking close to the Conan Doyle stories. Of course there are always infidelities here and there, and sometimes the episode would go on non-canonical tangents.

Usually it was to make the story work better on screen. For example, the villains in The Greek Interpreter escape from Holmes and Watson, ending up being killed “off-screen” as it were. So the Granada version of the same tale has a non-canonical ending of Holmes, Watson and Mycroft confronting the villains on a train, something that works rather well. Another example is The Musgrave Ritual which entirely ditches the original story’s framing device of Holmes telling Watson the story of an early case of his. In the Granada version Watson is with Holmes on this case, and it works better that way.

And with all of these elements working together, for most of its run, the Granada series is perhaps the definitive screen adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. The first four seasons of 50 minute episodes, which were broadcast under the titles of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Return of Sherlock Holmes from 1984-1988 plus the feature length adaptation of The Sign of Four are pretty much all great. It went from strength to strength, consistently making very well-made adaptations of the canon.

The Sign of Four is probably a good pick for Granada’s peak, due to its epic nature. And it is definitely the best of the five feature-length films they did. Outside of leaving out any romance between John and Mary, the film is faithful to the book, although it goes too far in that direction in keeping in the racism of the story. But it also has all of the book’s virtues as a story too, and fine acting from Brett, Hardwicke, and John Thaw as Jonathan Small make for an enjoyable viewing experience.

There was however a decline in the series later years. The lynchpin of the series was Jeremy Brett, and his health began to seriously fail him by 1987, leading to his death in 199 (my source of information on Brett’s health decline and general behind the scenes things is mostly Davies’s book Starring Sherlock Holmes) Once lean and looking remarkably like the Sidney Paget illustrations of Holmes, his conflicting medications for his heart problems and bipolar disorder caused him to retain water and bloat, causing him to no longer look like the lean figure he once was. His looks wasn’t really the problem, what was however was that his health problems drained him of the energy that he once was able to put it into his performance, creating through no fault of his own a more lethargic and weaker Holmes.

There was also a growing lack of care shown towards the series by Granada itself. The budgets began to shrink by 1988, and while the series looked good for the most part, it did impact the show.

Probably the first disappointing episode is the double-length adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles from 1988. You would expect the Granada series, with their excellent leads and excellent track record up to this point, to create the definitive version of this often-filmed story, but it just isn’t. It isn’t bad, but it is ultimately mediocre in a way that is hard to pinpoint. My guess is that the direction and cinematography doesn’t manage to create the suspense the story needs, resulting in a slow-paced and slightly boring experience.

It also ends up show-casing the problems the show would now begin to have, with the production crew not having the money to do location shooting on Dartmoor and Brett obviously showing the signs of his failing health.

The Hound film was followed by a season of six 50-minute length episodes, called The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes. And these were mostly fine, considering the circumstances. The budget had been reduced compared to earlier seasons and you could tell the writers sometimes lacked a first-rate canonical story to adapt.

There were one or two weaker episodes, but those were due to the original story being weak. For example, the season ended with a faithful adaptation of The Creeping Man and it is as good and well-made a tv adaptation you could ever hope to make with such a bizarre plot. The result is of course pure camp, but so is the original story. When the show had a good Conan Doyle story to adapt, like The Boscombe Valley Mystery, The Problem of Thor Bridge or The Illustrious Client, the results are indeed up to the standards of its past.

The real nadir of the series came later, however, when in 1992-93 the series decided to do three double-length episodes. Granada wanted the Holmes series to copy the success of Inspector Morse and its 100 minute tv film format. The problem was the show would still adapt Conan Doyle’s short stories into a format that was far too long for them. So the scriptwriters had to pad the stories out with their own inventions.

This sort of worked for the first film of these three films, The Master Blackmailer. It was based on Charles Augustus Milverton, which is one of the shortest stories in the canon, but one of the most rich in dramatic potential. Writer Jeremy Paul’s script decided to show in detail what is merely mentioned in the story, such as Milverton blackmailing people and Holmes courting Milverton’s maid in order to gain access to his home. The end result works, it is somewhat slow-paced but is ultimately coherent and at its best feels like you are watching the backstory to the canonical events.

The same can’t be said for the second and third of these films, The Last Vampyre and The Eligible Bachelor. The Last Vampyre is an almost completely incoherent non-adaptation of The Sussex Vampire, where elements from the canonical story probably make up less than 5% of the resulting film. There is an attempt to create intrigue and suspense around the original character Stockton, but the film is so vague about what he is and what threat he poses that the resulting film makes no sense.

The Eligible Bachelor is a similar adaptation of The Noble Bachelor, where the canonical story elements that remain is entirely subsided by a new bizarre plot where Lord St. Simon is now a ruthless Bluebeard-like villain. It is slightly better than The Last Vampyre, simply because the villain here poses an identifiable and somewhat coherent threat. Still, the film has to pad things out with bizarre subplots, like Holmes having prophetic dreams, which ultimately doesn’t lead anywhere.

Wisely, the series returned to the 50 minute format for the last season of six episodes, which aired in 1994, under the name of “he Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. It was with this season Jeremy Brett’s health problems and the lower budgets really began to seriously affect the show. Brett was in a bad state at this point, and the description of the production in Davies’s book makes for sad reading.

During the filming of one episode in this season, The Three Gables, he had to use a wheelchair between takes and supplementary oxygen to ease his breathing. His performance is naturally lacking in the energy he once had, but the fact it is a performance at all is testament to his commitment. The Three Gables is actually one of the better episodes of this season, as it actually manages to improve on one of the weakest stories in the canon.

Edward Hardwicke was unavailable to film The Golden Pince-nez, and they couldn’t re-schedule the shooting dates (which I suspect was a budget issue). So the writer wrote out Watson and replaced him in the role of Sherlock’s assistant with Mycroft, since Charles Gray was available. The result is well-made otherwise, with guest stars Frank Finlay and Anna Carteret giving great performances, but the lack of Watson is sorely felt. It is fun to see Charles Gray’s Mycroft again, but it feels contrary to his character to accompany his brother like this.

And before he could film The Mazarin Stone,  Brett’s health gave out on him and he was hospitalized. Again Charles Gray was called in by the producer to play Mycroft as a substitute. It is nice to see Mycroft for a fourth time, but Mycroft doing this doesn’t feel true to his character. And this episode is one of the weakest in the series, due to the script. Not that I blame the scriptwriter too much, The Mazarin Stone is one of the worst stories in the canon. The efforts to improve on the story by combining it with another weak story  The Three Garridebs don’t at all manage to rescue it.

However, there are still some rather good episodes in this season . The Red Circle is good and The last ever episode of the series, The Cardboard box manages to close out the series on a good if dark note.

Jeremy Brett died in 1995 due to heart failure, ending all hope of any future series.

I might have delved too much on the series failures in this essay. Because all of that is outweighed by the consistent high quality the series managed to achieve in the first four seasons, and with a few failures, still managed to sometimes achieve again in the later ones. Those adaptations are perhaps the peak of Holmes on screen.

It is not my favourite adaptation, that is the BBC radio drama versions made starring Clive Merrison as Holmes from 1989 to 2010. Those were just as consistently good, with Merrison and Williams/Sachs as Holmes and Watson being on the same general level as Brett and Burke/Hardwicke as performances. In fact, the BBC version is more consistent, never going off the rails as the Granada version sometimes, and it actually managed to achieve the goal Brett had hoped for: adapting every canonical story.

Still that doesn’t take away from Granada’s great achievement in adapting the Holmes stories with such quality. It is an achievement that later movie and tv adaptations haven’t been able to surpass.

[talvenhenki]

I was tagged by @toboestar eons ago, finally doing this thingy :P

THE LAST…

1. Drink: water, just now

2. Phone call: a group call w my friends E and R

3. Text message: to @matthewgreywolf about spiky baby lizards

4. song you listened to: Ilaria Graziano’s I do

5. Time you cried: No idea tbh

6. Time you’ve dated someone: Never :^)

7. Time you’ve kissed someone and regretted it: 8-10 years ago; can’t remember the exact date anymore

8. time you’ve been cheated on: nope

9. Time you lost someone special: lost my grandfather when I was 18 & great-grandmother when I was 14

10. time you’ve been depressed: this week

11. time you’ve gotten drunk and thrown up: I am allergic so I do not drink

FAVORITE COLORS

12. Moss green

13. Prussian blue

14. lavender

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU

15. Made new friends: yeah!

16. fallen out of love: nah

17. laughed until you cried: not cried-cried but got tears in me eyes

18. found out someone was talking about you: hmm hopefully not

19. Met someone who changed you: I’ve barely met anyone irl

20. found out who your friends are: nah

21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: nope

GENERAL

22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: Almost all

23. do you have any pets: not yet, my flatmate does

24. do you wanna change your name: Already did :^)

25. what did you do for your last birthday? Went to an amusement park w my aunt & her fiancé

26. what time did you wake up: around 10

27. what were you doing at midnight last night: getting to bed

28. Name something you can’t wait for: the end of the frickin’ pandemic!

29. when was the last time you saw your mom: last saturday

30. what are you listening to right now: Ilaria Graziano’s I do, as linked above

31. Have you ever talked to a person named tom: yup, there was one in my philosophy class

32. something that is getting on your nerves: the headache I’m sporting

33. most visited website: tumblr or ao3

34. hair color: Brown

35. do you have a crush on someone: atm no

36. Long or short hair: shoulder-length that I’m growing out

37. what do you like about yourself: I am v Zen™

38. Piercings: 2 on left ear, 4 on right

39: blood type: no idea man

40: nickname: Orion or Mars :^)

41. relationship status: solo

42. zodiac: Leo

43. pronouns: they/them

44. favorite tv show: Star Trek!!

45. tattoos: not yet

46. Right or left handed: right

47. surgery: nope

48. Sport: I like swimming & I’ll go back to fencing once the pandemic has calmed down/I get the vaccine

49: Holiday: I like May Day

50. pair of trainers: nah

51. eating: I want some okonomiyaki

52. drinking: mead :^)

53: im about to: boil some pasta once I’m done w this

54: waiting for: a sign

55: want: a hug

56: Get married: maybe, but only if the other person understands what a handful I am

57: career: your local Headache™

58: hugs or kisses: hugs!

59: lips or eyes: eeeeeeyes?

60: shorter or taller: don’t care, really, both have perks

61: older or younger: abt the same age?

62. Nice arms or nice stomach: as long as they’re comfy w their body, I don’t really care much

63. Hook up or relationship: relationship

64: troublemaker or hesitant: I v much am hesitant

65: kissed a stranger: nope

66: drank hard liquor: nope

67: lost glasses or contacts: my glasses have a life of their own

68: turned someone down: yea

69: sex on the first date: ew no

70: broken someone’s heart: hopefully not

71: had your heart broken: not that I remember

72: been arrested: nope

73: cried when someone died: brain has not yet fully computed those I think

74: fallen for a friend: mmmmmmaybe

DO YOU BELIEVE IN…

75: Yourself: depends on the context, really

76: miracles: At this economy? We’d really need one

77: love at first sight: no, more like recognition at first sight

78: kiss on the first date: depends on the chemistry I think

79: angels: my French teaching assistant at the Uni was a literal angel tbh

OTHER

80: current best friend’s name: IDK??? I’m always so unsure who I get to call my best friend?? I have so many amazing ones

81: eye color: it’s a mystery!

82: favorite movie: Cloud Atlas

83: Favorite music genre: classical & whatever is going on w Cécile Corbel

84: favorite item of clothing: sweaters

85: favorite friends character: I gave up w that series years ago

I’m a criminal & I’ll only tag @erdariel to suffer like I did to give us insights and witty remarks :D

[ayameakuma]

Hi, guys!

So, this is one of my many ideas for fanfics (seriously, they are breeding like rabbits inside my head) and I need your opinion on whether you would like to read something like this (it helps me decide if the fanfic idea is worth it or not when friends or other people give their thoughts on it).

Fair warning: This idea may trigger some people because it involves breaking 2 ships from 2 different fandoms that people like very much from what I have seen. I DO NOT INTENT TO START SOME SHIPPING WAR HERE. If this annoys you or you just don't like it, be polite about it, ok? I cannot control what my anime/cartoon infested brain cooks up for a new fanfic. (GOD KNOWS I have TRIED to control them)

Either way, here is a brief explanation of the idea and some explanation on why I chose the pairing(s):

First off, this is a crossover between Miraculous Ladybug and Soul Eater. Marinette, who at the beginning of the story is a 13 years old girl, is the only daughter of Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng. Sabine is a Meister - who is very proficient in wielding a variety of weapons - and Tom is her multi-form weapon. The Cheng Clan is - or better said was - very famous in the world for their weapon wielding abilities and for their assassination capabilities, which some even say that were on par with the Star Clan's.

Marinette, however, was kept away from the weapon/meister world by her parents because they wished she would be able to live the normal life they couldn't. But, that did not last long. Around her 10th birthday, Marinette started exhibiting Meister-like skills, and not normal ones either (you can't convince me that the only ones that show the signs of belonging to one of the side of the spectrum are just the weapon, the meisters must also have like early signs of Awakening as a meister too, right?): heightened sense for danger, her body moving on its own when she feels unsafe/sees someone in need of help, and, the strangest one yet, possessing knowledge of how to use a certain object as a weapon in situations that need such expertise (like, knowing how to and where to wound a wolf with just a throw of a sharp rock/a stab of a pocket knife, in order to protect a classmate of hers). These skills brought her more bad than good. For showing such dangerous skills, she was bullied, called weird or even accused of being a "killer in becoming" (kids are stupid and cruel, let's just leave it at that).

Two years pass, during which her signs of awakening as a Meister become more pronounced. Marinette, who never complained about the bullying to her parents, has had enough and tells them what the kids in her school put her through. Hearing this, Tom and Sabine make their decision and, at the age of 12, Marinette Dupain-Cheng becomes one of the newest students at DWMA.

Here, she meets Adrien Agreste, the son of Gabriel Agreste. Adrien is still a model here and is a weapon. His father, Gabriel, was known as one of DWMA most talented students as a Meister and currently is a top fashion designer, his dream of becoming the Meister that made the next Death Scythe now unattainable due to the premature death of his partner and wife, Emily.

Marinette falls for Adrien, who was LITERALLY the first person - besides her parents - that treated Marinette like a human being and not a ticking bomb in the last 2 years. She decides to become the best Meister she can be and become Adrien's pair and possibly his significant other along the way. Her first female friend in Death City, Alya, supports her with all her might and tried helps Marinette get Adrien's attention. The two are also helped by Nino, Adrien's first friend at DWMA, and Alya's Weapon Partner.

One year later, she finally gathers up her courage to ask him to become a meister-weapon pair with her. Things should go smoothly from here on, right? Wrong. Adrien refuses her and, unknowingly, breaks her heart. Depressed, she ends up crying and questioning her worth over the next week, loosing more and more sleep.

A few days after, she ends up being incredibly late for one class that will have the students make pairs for a "pretend fight" as not only to help them with their partnership (for those who already have partners chosen), but also to observe their performance in a more controlled environment before sending them out to collect the Kishin souls.

Along her there is another student who end up just as late as she is, that student being Soul "Eater" Evans. The two, who never really spoke before (besides the morning greetings or just small insignificant chats) are now put to fight as a Meister-Weapon Pair for this only class.

Durring the class, however, something unexpected happened, and, now, by Lord Death's word, the two have to give their partnership a chance by becoming temporary partners for the rest of the school year. Will Marinette and Soul's partnership end up being a success or an utter failure?

ALRIGHT! So, the above is a short summary of like the first 2 chapters, maybe. And as you can see I already changed a LOT of things from the original setting of Soul Eater. (I have nothing planned on how to input the kwami here but... I WILL come up with something, hopefully) Why? Don't ask me. I have zero ideea how this became a thing in my brain and maybe I will have a more clear idea as to why over time. For now, let's leave that as "it just works and that is it".

Now, as you read I have put Marinette and Soul as a (temporary) Meister and Weapon pair, but their relationship before this arrangement is more inspired from my own life. I basically was in the same class for 1 year with this boy, and, besides the group project and greetings, we have never talked at all. One day we just start talking because we were bored and that boy basically became one of my best friends in like 5 minutes. It is this muted chemistry that only clicks for you once you actually interact with that person in a non-official setting or just happens over the course of the debate of one subject that you both like.

Also, yes, I think that Soul and Marinette will be a good romantic (or maybe platonic) couple too. And since, Soul becomes Marinette's weapon, Adrien becomes Maka's.

Now, to explain why these two Meister-Weapon pairs work:

1.Soul and Marinette (Sonette - the name of the ship - given by my best friend who told me I should post this here)

Due to being bullied, Marinette is very shy in general and the only time she becomes more assertive is during battle, even though the confidence/assertiveness dosen't last long. Remember this is a world in which Mari never got to be Ladybug, and because of this, here she is more meek and dosen't know her own value, nor does she have any self-confidence acquired due to responsibilities such as superheroing or being class president. She also didn't have a lot of friends in school before DWMA, a fact that may end up creating situations in which she is very much overwhelmed because someone did a very nice gesture towards her or she may even end up taking blame for thing that were not her fault at all. As such, someone like Soul, who is confident, could balance out Mari very well, besides the fact that LITTLE MARI NEEDS SUPPORT, GODDAMN IT. She needs someone to reamind her she has worth and get her out of her comfort zone in order to give her a push in a better direction. (In other words: Marinette Protection Squad Assemble!)

As for Soul... well, Soul is stubborn. I think that it will do him well to have someone he needs to look after since it will show Soul's gentle side more. Besides this, Soul is still the same Soul we know and love. Personally, I think that these little changes in a character while still maintaining the canon personality can actually make them seem more alive and it makes character development moments more significant in comparison to the original because we see a new side of that character that the canon did not delve into too much.

2. Maka and Adrien

Look, I love Maka and Soul's dynamics and the same can be said about Mari and Adrien's (if only blondie had a back bone *me being salty about the Lila phases*).

But you can't really say that Maka isn't reckless or that Adrien is not a spineless coward most of the time (hate you too, Gabriel, since it is your fault for this).

Why I think they are good for each other?

Well, Maka could learn to be more attentive towards other people and less reckless. Seriously, there is a fine line between courage and recklessness, and Maka seems to need to learn how to discern between the two. Adrien could be good for this since, in this fanfic, he is more or less naive af and needs to be guided by someone other than his father. Maka, in trying to help Adrien, ends up helping herself to some extent and due to Adrien's stained relationship with his father maybe she will even give her own father, Spirit, a chance to mend their own relationship. (It is just a possibility that I could see after pairing them up)

As for Adrien? Well, in this fanfic idea, at least until Maka gets into his mind, Adrien is not better than a doll for his father to play with. Gabriel controls everything than happens in his life. And since here he is not Chat Noir, the only little escape he has is the school, but even that is conditioned by his grades: "If you do not continue to have exemplary results in your school work, then I see no need for you to continue going there." - Gabriel, at some point in the story probably

His father even chose his own partner based on the level of soul compatibility they have together. Basically, Adrien has no voice of his own.

Maka could help him, simply put because she is reckless. Without Soul there, Maka needs to be told what is a good idea and what isn't, even more so when she is not capable of seeing the answer herself. And so, Adrien has to take a stand and say things with his own mouth. He will end up finding his own voice because he has Maka there. (I low key believe if Marinette was his partner, she will have a lots of problems trying to get Adrien to disagree with her, mainly due to her shyness and feelings for Adrien, but that is just me)

Maka and Adrien even have a similar house situation: they both have only one parent remaining that they dislike (no matter how internalized Adrien's dislike is), but they handle it differently which could be a good influence on the other: while Adrien is obedient to a fault to Gabriel because he wants to please his father in hope that Gabriel won't abandon him for not being enough, Maka defies her father due to her dislike for him and for the fact that he exhibits a perverse behaviour while still saying he is in love with Maka's mom (this pissed me off very much about Spirit but at the same time, give him a chance Maka, look at him; he is pitiful)

And this concludes my rant/ depiction of my fanfic idea.

Again, if you don't like it, that is fine. If you do, that is fine too. I just want to ask you: do you think it is worth writing? Would you read something like this if I did wrote and posted it?

Thank you for your time! Bye!😊