#this whole subplot in general is....not my favorite tbh...

[raccoonfallsharder]

what’s your favorite version of rocket? for me it’s between eidos rocket and mcu rocket

this is such a great question ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

it’s like asking “what’s your favorite star in the sky?” “which ice cream is the best ice cream?” “what flower do you prefer?” “what bird is the coolest bird?” “what cat is the best cat?”

it’s not that i don’t have a fave (i do, or at least i think i do), it’s just that im picking from such a fucken splendor of options. truly spoiled for choice. there’s no wrong answer here (although some of the comics artists have never, i think, seen a raccoon. here’s lookin at you timothy green ii).

so i’ll rank these motherfuckers but understand that i love them all differently. also im sticking to various versions of canon but honestly some of my fave rockets come from fanfiction writers like @hibatasblog, @caesarhamato22, @aliasrocket, & @elegant-fleuret ~ and what is mcu rocket or cartoon rocket or eidos rocket really but fanfiction with a budget?

anyone else who wants to share their faves and why, please do. it's so fucken fascinating to learn why certain rockets appeal to different people!

Grounded: Rocket Raccoon (2016) story by matthew rosenberg // pencil & ink by jorge coelho i love this furry bastard so much and this whole arc pulls on all my heartstrings which is probably why my first rocket fanfic was based off this storyline. he's at his snarkiest, most cynical self, still saving people in spite of how fucken thankless everyone around him is. as much as comics-rocket talks about how everything he does is for the money, i feel like this series really exemplifies his begrudging willingness to do the right thing for people even when people suck. i just wanna love on him tbh (platonically, romantically, domestically). wanna take care of him. wanna build him a blanket-fort and feed him hot cocoa. grumpy asshat

MCU's Guardians of the Galaxy (2014-2023) created by james gunn, et al. nose to tail, this rocket has the most consistent and coherent character development and we get to see so many sides of him in one long-lived arc, and it's fucking beautiful. just because of the nature of comics in general, we never get to see this much growth in any single incarnation of rocket. but here we have sad-rocket, dad-rocket, lonely-rocket, friend-rocket, baby-rocket, captain-rocket - i love him so much and what this movie has given us in terms of a fully-fleshed out character. plus we get to hear lines like "oh yeah" (you know EXACTLY what i'm talkin about) and his goddamn singing. not to mention that beautiful expressive face.... the way he moves when he's beating the shit out of ravagers... what? huh? where was i?

Rocket Raccoon: Blue River Score (2017) story by al ewing // pencil & ink by adam gorham i fucken love this comic arc. we get a lot of rocket in a suit and we get to see his impulsive behavior, his softness for otta (and by extension, his desire to love/be loved) despite their history, his cleverness in the colon and the final heist, and his relationship with gatecrasher. PLUS if you thought one sad snarky gun-wielding maniac wasn't enough, there's a subplot where rocket and deadpool team up and it's the best thing in the world. just a perfect little kiss from every five-star chef in the galaxy. i love rocket's last few lines to deadpool in this segment. perfection

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Game. (2021) by eidos-montreal and marvel entertainment. just to note: 4,5, and 6 got real murky for me in terms of figuring out how to rank these rockets. i wish i could watch this game multiple times so i could get a better feel for who this rocket is but it is SUCH an undertaking tbh. still, this rocket is so good. bitter, hilarious, sassy, isolated. i love him so much. i just want to play with his beard and also say lots of nice (occasionally naughty) things to him so he blushes really hard like in that sequence where pete was like "you deserve some praise" (i think that was the closest we've ever seen rocket to actual death, volume three included). there's a thing about rockets-in-general that i think this rocket in particular really pulls out of me: the desire to trust, and to be worthy of trust. ...that and the fact that you just know this guy is fuckin filthy. when he decides he wants you, he's gonna make you miserable in all the best ways. like, the level of teasing would be so over-the-top you might spontaneously combust before you get into bed (though luckily, he is an expert when it comes to manipulating combustibles).

Assorted other comic appearances that I've smushed into one thing in my mind. i dunno, friend. rocket who blames himself for pete's apparent death breaks my heart. rocket who thinks he's the only one of the guardians left breaks my heart. rocket who blames himself for groot's death breaks my heart. rocket who is sick and alone on halfworld like an animal crawling under the porch to die but ends up leaving inside a giant mech-suit to save his friends breaks my heart. rocket who protects chewy's kids breaks my heart even though it's supposed to be a lighthearted fucken arc. there are more.

Rocket Raccoon, Volume 2. (2014-205) story by skottie young, pencil & ink by various artists. yo. this rocket is so different and yet still perfectly rocket. he's a hyped-up little gremlin of a guy who fucks and is probably constantly high off blaster-fumes and engine-fuel. i fucken love him so much. imagine rocket with no self-confidence issues who pops caffiene pills and energy drinks every half-hour and smashes anything that can orgasm, and you've got a skottie young rocket. while other rockets might get you off because they think they've got something to prove or want to keep you coming back, this is a rocket who has learned how to use his tail solely for the fact that it's a claim to fame that means he can get laid anytime he wants. he never lacks for an excited partner (or partners) because everyone in sixty-nine systems knows how fuckin good he is. ultimately, he fucks like a god for the most (apparently) selfish, shallow reasons (and then inevitably ghosts his partners). or maybe not. maybe he's also just obsessed with the idea that anything he's gonna do, he has to do over-the-top. like planning an intergalactic scavenger hunt for your friend's birthday. ...but scrape the surface and underneath you find a guy who's just so afraid of being the only one of his kind that he's gotta fuck or shoot everything in his vicinity. what a wild little shithead. i love him so much, so much. p.s. the fron storyline - the cold, parts one and two - is one of my favorites. he loves groot so much. and princess jink is the fucken best

Guardians of the Galaxy TV Series/Cartoon. (2015-2019). i enjoyed this rocket and his gremlin ways. his fascination with duct tape is a particular point of charm. the take on his backstory was interesting. loved the episode with ja kyee lrurt - like it was so fuckin cute i could die. i need more of THAT storyline in particular.

Rocket & Groot TV Series/Cartoon. (2017) i loved this so much but it just left me wanting more (just because, you know, of the nature of this type of short-episode media). big skottie young energy. ultimately, trevor devall does a fine job but i think his voice in both this and the other cartoon make it a little harder for me to fully embrace these rockets. like his interpretation of rocket's voice just doesn't match mine, you know? and that's okay. still would rewatch 5,739 times.

how's that? i still need to watch telltale but i think i got most of the iterations in there lol. anyone i forgot, or who is worth specifically pulling out and mentioning by author/issue/edition?

[virtu4l-archieve]

dean winchester beat sheet || saltyfeathers

rating: explicit

chapters: 12

tags: college au, big gay crisis, a lot of sex, smut, gay dean, internalized homophobia, comphet, alcohol used as a coping mechanism.

summary: in his final year of college, dean’s got a lot of decisions to make. most importantly, which girl he’s going to do... right now. and later tonight. And the next night. when new transfer student castiel novak snakes his way into dean’s friend group, sean can’t help but see it as an infiltration. somethings is up with castirl, and he’s going to find out what. more accurately, he’s going to enlist his best and longest suffering hacker friend, charlie bradbury, to do it for him. not a single one of dean’s suspicions has anything to do with the fact that upon their first meeting, castiel insults his shoes, his general existence, and his masculinity by— looking at him like that.

“fine. i’ll do it. i’ll be your experimental college phase.”

for the whole thing being nothing but a subplot- I LOVED DWBS (wait but quick question- why is it called dean winchester beat sheet? did i miss when the beat sheet bit was mentioned?) i really did enjoy it. there is so much good that i can’t talk about without spoiling. look if you want spoilers-

i enjoyed comphet!dean which is crazy lmaooo but i enjoyed seeing this aspect of a fic. i’m realizing it’s a regular occuring trope. i like how everyone knew yet just remained quiet. seeing through dean’s fun house illusions. i felt for dean. not to flex but i was comfortable with my sexuality at a very young age so stories like this always seem to make my heart ache a little more. he was so scared when there was no reason to be. i loved cas. he had so much patience for dean despite being annoyed with him every once and a while. although always well earned and needed as it helped dean work through his sexuality more. also for you horny ppl, for a friends-with-benefits fic was a lot of sex and it was all really well written. thank you, salty feathers. (i will be checking out more fics)

also the college aspect, i graduated almost a year ago and tbh i miss college. i graduate a year earlier than i expected (damn another flex sorry guys) so i just love reading college aus right now.

also the way every bitch and there mama was in this fic was crazyyy. like . . . jo, charlie, aaron, pamela, benny, victor, cain, crowley. (i feel like we dont see enough crowley in au i need more crowley) okay maybe not every character but there was bitches i didn’t know expect but i definitely loved seeing!

also loved the thanksgiving chapter- might be my favorite- when we go visit bobby and ellen. it’s so sweet seeing cas in that environment. it reminded me of abandon all hope- the good half when they drink with cas and take a family photo.

[sepublic]

Tbh I hated the whole prison-cop subplot in Crystalized and found it deeply frustrating, especially after sitting through the one we got in Skybound. I think way too much screentime was wasted on it, instead of properly fleshing out the actual villains, exploring/resolving other dynamics, addressing the Ninjas' feelings about certain events. But amidst all of the other wasted potential, I really think they should've replaced Hounddog McBrag (probably my least favorite character) with the snake warriors from the sets released earlier that year, as part of Ninjago's CORE line. Because unlike Hounddog, the snake warriors, at the time, were actual sets, and Crystalized later even brought the 4-in-1 mech into the story!

As for what they are, c'mon, it's obvious; They're Constrictai. They're black and orange Serpentine. One of them even has the short minifigure legs the Constrictai exclusively used. And it feels like them and the Fangpyre have gotten kinda forgotten in these newer years, with Ninjago usually defaulting to the Hypnobrai, and admittedly the Venomari in Legacy, when bringing back the Serpentine. So bringing back this tribe into the spotlight would be nice.

Just say these guys are Constrictai bounty hunters hired by the city to capture the ninja; Maybe they have a past vendetta towards them, related to the events of S1 and the Serpentine's failed plot to take over Ninjago with the Great Devourer. Maybe they haven't fully let go of old pains. With a lot of the setting at this point being in the desert, this also makes the tunneling Constrictai more of a threat because there's no structures to climb up, think Tremors. It makes a river an even more fitting way to escape them, if they're bad at swimming.

Instead of a whole army consisting of variants, just downsize them (for the sake of animation budget) into individual characters; Cobra Mechanic, Boa Destructor, Viper Flyer, Python Dynamite, and maybe Sneaky Snake. You could still retain the cowboy motif for one of them, given snakes are usually associated with cowboys anyway. You could even link Cobra Mechanic’s dual flamethrowers to Miss Demeanor by revealing they supplied her!

Have the snake warriors harass the ninja in the desert for a bit, and then they disappear when the Crystal King properly enters the plot. Then when they return, it makes more sense because they're not general keepers of the law, just bounty hunters hired for this specific mission, who already have a grudge against Lloyd and Garmadon and thus aren't really worried about maintaining the peace.

And when Lloyd does make peace with them, it's in the sewers where several crystalized Serpentine are; Seeing Lloyd and Garmadon spare these crystalized Serpentine gives the Constrictai bounty hunters more reason to pause and reevaluate their motives, especially when someone else is hurting their kind and not just humanity. And then maybe they can show up at the end to help against the Crystal King and with rebuilding the Monastery, I dunno. This could play into a larger theme of letting go of revenge, which is relevant to Harumi's story, and could play into Lloyd not wanting to embrace his anger as an Oni (plus the Overlord's return being fueled by hatred).

Dragons Rising still managed to acknowledge the CORE sets of its year with the Greenbone Warriors, who actually show up and play very brief, yet nevertheless antagonistic, roles. If we're not going to focus on the actual Crystalized villains even though these episodes are already airing during their set wave's release, you may as well allocate screentime to antagonists from actual sets instead of making up another generic human cop character.

[obscure-ninjago-facts]

Would you like to hear my favorite obscure Ninjago facts ? I sure hope you would because here they are Ninjago has giraffes (s5ep5, 8:50), despite having an ecosystem different from ours. This implies that giraffes are the result of convergent evolution accross realms Contrary to popular belief within the fanbase, the Ninja were already famous in early season 1. We see Kai receive a fan letter (s1ep2, 3:17), we see a child cosplaying as a ninja (s1ep6, 5:21), and we see Jay or Kai (can't remember which) being acquainted with dealing with fangirls (can't remember when, but it's during their Samurai-hating phase) Those were my 2 favorite obscure Ninjago facts, I hope you liked them

Tbh the giraffes one is very interesting to me and I gotta wonder if they look like regular giraffes. Most animals in Ninjago look like animals we have in the real world (or are similar enough that we can figure out what they're based on) but are named differently (for example, wallopers look like yaks) and the animals that we do have in real life are generally given some kind of supernatural ability (like Wu's chicken having electrokinesis similar to Jay and the frost wolves in the Never-Realm being abnormally large) so the idea that giraffes as we know them (as in, completely normal, no powers) exist in Ninjago fascinates me.

I also believe Kai was getting fanmail as early as episode 2. I remember he was at celebrity status pretty early on. It's really funny to think about to be honest, another criticism I have for Skybound I guess. The ninja have been celebrities since season 1 and live half their lives in Ninjago City, so the whole fame subplot makes no sense because it makes it seem like they just gained celebrity status.

ANYWAY yes I very much enjoyed these :D

[nalyra-dreaming]

Head's up that I am sending this to Nalyra and Virginia if they each choose to answer. Will you rank the episodes from your favorite to least favorite and feel free to give reasons why. Thanks!

Thank you for the heads-up, yeah, my ranking is different from @virginiaisforvampires :))

Going through from favorite to least as well, though I do wish to point out that these are all very, very close and I always watch them one after the other when I rewatch, because... I really cannot single one out. So ... *cracks knuckles* :)

Episode 7 -The thing lay still

The whole episode was breathtakingly beautiful and I felt the "female gaze" the director employed. It all felt extremely intimate and careful, like caressing a painting.

---

Episode 5 - A vile hunger for your hammering heart

I love this episode for a lot of reasons, one of them being the bar scene. This episode is also where it turned really dark, obviously, but also where a lot of the threads and connections were leading to and set up.

---

Episode 1 - In throes of increasing wonder

What is there to say. Best pilot ever, epic television. A tie with the previous episode, too :)

--

Episode 6 - Like angels put in hell by god

If there was ever a fitting title for an episode... seriously. This episode has it all, the only criticism I have here is that I would have preferred to see the direct aftermath, not the jump. But the chess game for example *chef's kiss* (Or the hate sex, or, or, or^^)

--

Episode 2 - After the phantoms of your former self

Baby vampire Louis!!!! *screech* Ahem :) Juxtaposed with the elaborate Dubai dinner where Louis is decidedly not a baby vampire anymore... and the baby.... :)) this is such a very, very interesting episode.

--

Episode 4 - The ruthless pursuit of blood with all a child's demanding

I could have done with five episodes of their life alone tbh :) And Claudia's diaries bringing in another voice and another POV was so very refreshing, too. (Totally apart from the possibilities through that.)

--

Episode 3 - Is my very nature that of the devil

Last but in a way definitely not least^^, but Louis falling into despair is always my least favorite thing to watch (all kudos to Jacob)... and as iconic as the "of course" is... I (in general) could have done without Antoinette's subplot. *shrugs*

[lazyrabbit755]

Ok so I finished Wednesday...

So first of all I wanna start by saying I really liked the series. I'm gonna go into detail about what I liked and didn't like and what I want to see improved in later seasons (assuming there are any). But overall no matter my criticisms overall I really liked the show as a whole! You might be asking yourself why I'm not just writing a review on IMDB or something? To which my reasoning is that this is my little blog and I am going to exercise my right to rant about my stupid little obsessions on the internet as much as I want!

Just a heads up I am going to go into spoilers so I would highly encourage you to watch the show first and come to your own decisions before reading what some rando on the internet has to say about it. Now with that out of the way, let's get into it...

The Good:

Obviously the art direction is great, I mean it's Tim Burton directing an Addams Family reboot, that's a match made in heaven! The characters were wonderful, I honestly think they carried the show imo. Eugene and Thing were some standouts to me although of course Bianca, Enid and Wednesday were my favorites. I just really feel like Eugene was like the MVP and like was consistently one of the nicest characters both to Wednesday and the other characters (although the scene where he barfs all over the pilgrim bullies was kinda dated, really felt like I was watching an early 2000s movie making fat jokes in poor taste) The music score was lovely it really sold the whole "Goth Girl Hogwarts" vibe which I don't mean as a jab towards Goths cause I'm obviously here for that or I wouldn't be writing about this show.

The not so good:

Tbh the whole teen romance subplot wasn't doing it for me. I mean I get why they wrote it in but it felt kinda forced at times ngl. Like having Wednesday go back and forth between Tyler and Xavier, (the two most boring "straight guy" names of all time btw) after a while it felt like writers ran out of excuses on why Wednesday would be leaving one of the boys hanging while pursuing the other. Yes a lot of people have complained about how boring in general Xavier and Tyler were as characters and I agree! You had on one had an artsy loner boyfriend who has psychic abilities and the power to LITERALLY MAKE HIS DRAWINGS COME TO LIFE and they managed to make him uninteresting and kinda unlikable (that last one being more subjective to myself but you get the point). And on the other hand a literal serial killer boyfriend who turns into a 10ft tall monster with a mommy kink. And like just saying the whole idea that Laurel controls Tyler because she told him the truth about his mother also being a Hyde was kinda weak. Like just say the kid has mommy issues!

In all honesty the main gripe that I have with the show is actually about Wednesday herself. She didn't really get that much character development throughout the season. YES her relationship with Enid was very cute and I love Enid...BUT...the show even acknowledges that Wednesday is kinda a jerk to her friends. Enid straight up tells her to her face that she doesn't like the way she treats her, bringing her along to dangerous investigations and tricking her with the promise of a girls night out. And before we knew that Tyler was the real killer he was in the same boat. I mean she leads him on prioritizing herself first and her investigation and uses him to get what she wants. Same with Xavier who REALLY got the short end of the stick getting PUT IN FUCKING JAIL (even if it was only for a night or so). It felt like towards the second half of the season that Wednesday was going through a series of selfish decisions and having characters highlight them to her face so that she could reflect on her bad actions and grow as a character. But instead of giving us that payoff she literally doesn't grow OR APOLOGIZE to basically anyone! And when she does apologize it's weak as hell! Instead most of the characters she treats like crap come to her and apologize or attempt to rekindle their relationship. I MEAN FOR GOD'S SAKE Enid literally tells Wednesday TO HER FACE, that she is the one making most of the effort in their friendship and instead of apologizing, Wednesday just tells her she doesn't need friends and that she's a gigachad alpha. And Enid just comes back like an episode later and has a change of heart. And her "apology" to Xavier was just pathetic. He just sorta forgave her for everything after being justifiably pissed the fuck off at her for ruining his life and then suddenly forgives her for everything because she took an arrow to the shoulder for him.

Like it feels like the writers ran out of time or something, like they wanted her relationship with Enid and the other characters to have more depth. Like most of the other side characters have at least decent character development arcs, like Enid and Bianca standing up to their Mothers. The thing is I like Wednesday as a character, contrary to what you might have just read I want to root for her! But the writers made it a bit hard towards the end. I know they wanted to sell the whole Goth girl, raven from teen titans, attitude but it's ok guys you can make her a little more likable.

Conclusions:

You may think that I have been a bit harsh or nitpicky about the show. Or perhaps you're thinking "Why the hell did this loser nobody write several paragraphs about some dumb teen drama Netflix show" to which my response is why are you still reading? YES I'm probably a bit harsh on this series or nitpicky but that's because I like it so much! When something that you enjoy is so close to being "perfect" (or at least really well done) it's all the more disappointing when it just barely falls short. If your favorite sports team loses by one point right before the final whistle you're even more crushed that you would've been if they had lost by 8 points.

To conclude despite the cheesy teen romance plot lines and boring ass love interests, I enjoyed my time with this show and if there are more seasons to come (which it's looking like there will be considering the success of the show) I want to see the show do better and improve upon it's previous seasons.

If you read all that borderline incomprehensible word vomit here's a gold star 🌟 you deserve it. 👍 And hey, Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a great rest of your day/night and if you watched the show lemme know if you agreed with some stuff I said or you think I'm fucking insane for caring so much and writing all this. Either way it's just a show at the end of the day. :)

[vonkarma2]

deep space 9 for the show ask? (i have not seen ds9 but i still enjoy reading ur thoughts on it)

favorite male character: I think I’m going to say Jake Sisko but Bashir (yeah yeah I know he’s annoying and all which is true but 1) That makes him funny 2) he’s also representation for people who own plushies) and Ben Sisko are close. I like a lot of them though I like Rom, Quark, O’Brien, Odo if you count him as male… Damar even though he’s overrated as all hell. So is Weyoun but at least he was gay. And purple

favorite female character: For main characters I think I’m still going to say Kira even though I feel like they ran out of things for her to do for a while, her whole backstory is very interesting + sympathetic and it’s crazy how they portrayed her as such when just a few years later people would have lost their minds yk. Also she’s a lesbian and all etc etc and her oh outfit and haircut were cool and I really liked her personality. For side characters Lwaxana Troi I loved the fake marriage with Odo episode 

least favorite character: besides like the irrelevant boring ones like shakaar bareil eddington etc… I dislike the way they wrote Kai Winn towards the very end I feel like she would have been a better character with more nuance considering everything she went through during the occupation. I dislike the way the Pah-Wraiths subplot ended up being handled in general tbh like it’s not 100% bad but I don’t think they ended up building it up as as much of a threat/as interesting as the dominion so it felt kinda anticlimactic and black and white/contrived in nature. Especially since only Sisko was really involved with it out of the main cast. Don’t get me wrong I think being the emissary is a very interesting part of his character, but there’s not much that interested me abt the plot other than that and that made it feel small and self contained rather than the huge scale of the dominion conflict. Sorry that got off track.  Also I hate Sloan for being boring and for being in the CIA. As a person rather than like as a character it’s Gul Dukat and it’s not even close  

prettiest character: hmmm it’s close but I have to say Ezri. Wait I take it back it’s Leeta

funniest character: this one’s even more difficult… weyoun and quark are contenders… Sisko sleeper candidate for #1 but even then it’s hard to say. I think everyone has really funny moments at times. I’m going to say Dukat  (< even though some things he did were fucked up not in a funny way. But overall he’s just so deranged and out of touch with reality it’s really funny to watch a lot of the time)

favorite season: seasons 5 and 6 were fire I think I’m going to go with 6 though it was amazing lots of great episodes 

favorite episode: Rapture is my favorite (Dr Bashir I Presume being second) it’s so good literally look at this 

my third place is take me out to the holosuite fourth is in the cards and fifth is just the scenes where Odo had the baby changeling that one time that was so cute. I do hate Dr. Mora though I feel like it’s disengenuous to characterize him as completely sadistic and evil bc yk he was a bajoran living under the occupation and he had no idea what the nature of the sample was at first but he still fucking sucked he was such an asshole me when I refuse to admit I was wrong and don’t ever change or take others’ feelings or experiences into consideration or apologize for physically harming my liquid son. + I feel like the show was way too willing to present him as right when a lot of the time he just was not 

favorite romantic ship: I wasn’t on board with Kira/Odo at first at ALL but I was kinda sold on it eventually, although I do have some problems with its execution (mainly I don’t think they focus on Kira’s feelings and perspective nearly enough I really loved the episodes leading up to them getting together. Actually I take it back I still think in concept it is pretty sweet but a lot of what they did with it in execution was not it to me, what I like abt it in the actual show is more abt what it said abt or contributed to or whatever to Odo’s character, it really didn’t add much to Kira’s in my opinion which is very sad bc she was my favorite character in the earlier seasons. So I guess that leaves Lenara and Jadzia as my favorite. I might be biased for obvious reasons but I genuinely really liked their relationship, like the way it was written and acted during the episode. Ofc it only had to last 1 episode so it wasn’t the most in depth or anything but I really enjoyed watching it. Idk if it should be #1 though. Jadzia and Worf were pretty hit or miss, Miles and Keiko I actually liked but they were kinda dragged down by shitty writing on occasion. Sisko and Kasidy I like but I wouldn’t say theyre my favorite I feel like they didn’t have that good of episodes together, like they did have some but there weren’t that many times when they were on the same side which is a shame (and they have the same thing as Kira/Odo where they don’t focus on her perspective enough in my opinion but it’s to a lesser extent). Kasidy was based for helping the Maquis though. Non canon ones I don’t see a lot of evidence for so I’m not including them (like I’m not against them I can see all of them but I don’t think that in the actual universe of the show they are romantic in nature. Well romantic and reciprocal at least Garak was definitely into Julian at least initially). Ok I guess I’m going to say Miles and Keiko whatever whatever they were cute ok I don’t care what people say I liked them. I liked them in Time’s Orphan and the badminton or raquetball or whatever it was episode.

favorite family ship: do I even have to say it Jake and Ben Sisko <33 their relationship was like my favorite part of the show since s1. I haven’t talked abt Worf in this whole post so I’m going to talk about him here, I think it’s funny how he did not parent his son whatsoever. That’s mean I’ve only said negative things abt him on this post I like him. The episode where Jadzia almost fucking died was good and the one where he was babysitting Kirayoshi was also good. The one with like his brother or whatever was bad though

favorite friend ship: julian and miles aren’t my favorite but honorable mention for their strangely gay moments that was great always loved to see it on screen. I like them all it’s so hard to pick just one. Kira and Dax was probably my favorite though I loved like all their conversations and whenever they would just like hang out. They were also kinda gay as well like that holosuite scene

^although ofc I strongly disagree with the she doesn’t swing that way part. I’m referencing homosexuality too many times I swear that’s not the only or main reason I like this show the plot is really good 

worst ship: I’ve talked abt this before many times so not to beat a dead horse but Garak and Ziyal makes me cringe he’s so much older than her its so awkward not to mention it’s completely out of character. Jake/Ziyal should’ve happened instead it would have been so cute. I know I just undermined this man’s credibility but he was right to regret this

Also Ezri/Worf (ofc that was only for like 1 episode) and Ezri/Bashir made me very uncomfortable I watched their scenes like this 😐 it sucked that they retconned him being over Jadzia too like I actually really appreciated the way he moved on initially 

[mego42]

Shamelessly stealing @foxmagpie​’s monthly rec thing without the ability to get my life together to do these on a monthly basis so, seasonal recs! So excited to see if I manage to do this again with anything remotely resembling consistency but i’ve been keeping the notes for approximately 43 years (or since ~september, whatever that means) so by god i’m gonna use them. 

found my thrill - s_t_c_s / @sothischickshe​

Turner POV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

guys turner is SO OBSESSED with Beth and Rio

both canonically and in this fic

it’s gr9

also features a weirdly soothing and relatable cord untangling moment as a metaphor

truly disturbingly relatable turner pov tbh

relentless boomer disdain, always a plus

led to the creation of this monstrosity, not sure what kind of a monster would do that

War In My Mind - mintletters16

Backread!!!!

post-213, gorgeous character study 

guaranteed to make you feEl stUfF

I really love the like, cyclical, fractured pattern of Beth’s internal monologue, it gives the whole thing a really affecting at times dreamy, at times haunted vibe

the end twist is *chef’s kiss*

mourning bells - Ejunkiet / @ejunkiet​

Backread!!!!

Later s2 era, Rio’s at a funeral, gets drunk and calls Beth

V short, kind of…..mmm, not sweet, but almost? Idk

It’s got a wistful sort of almost/i can be quiet with you vibe that i go extremely bonkers for

delinquents - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie​

Lol are any of you actually not reading this yet?

g o d ch 8 where do i start

First off how ABSOLUTELY VERY DARE for the tragic angst that is delinquents!beth boland. This poor baby, this precious bean. MUST PROTEC

SHE’S TRYING HER BEST AND I LOVE HER

zero percent deserves dean’s clammy hands, no i have not forgotten, tattooed on my brain, will never forgive

I also love love love love LOVE the ruby/stan subplot happening

(and ruby’s mom!!!!!) (seriously though you write the best moms)

oh god and baby beth starting to have confusing feelings about rio?????? *chef’s kiss*

p sure i was just like, straight screaming the entire end of the chapter

the dugout is like, pure serotonin

I can’t even talk about the closet

tHe teNsiOn

thank you i will take eleventy billion

don't give it a hand, offer it a soul - medievalraven / @medievalraven

am a desperate heaux for any fic that features rio and mick friendship

you are all incredibly shocked i know

still would not be mad if this swerved into rio x mick fake dating but beth x rio is cool too i guess

Speaking of things i am a desperate heaux for: DIANE!!!!!!!!

and DATING ANNIE???????????? Blessed

honestly this fic is worth it purely for the assertion that mick watches queer eye

Why don't we go to Venus? - watermelonriddles / @bensonstablers​

another grief study! 

apparently i was working through some stuff in september, idk, that was like 4 years ago

considering it’s the premise of the fic, i don’t think it’s a spoiler to say this fic is canon divergent and working with the premise that rio killed beth in 302

he is uh, not coping well

extremely haunted you might say

lots of marcus and rhea which is a delight!

rhea is to good for him tbh

i said what i said

truly top notch dream (nightmare?) sequences

the conversation at the end is extremely uncalled for

drop the game - Ejunkiet / @ejunkiet​

Backread!!!!

Am going to die mad Beth and Rio didn’t hook up in 211 but luckily this fic scratched the itch 

(temporarily, it’s a fairly permanent itch)

Bonus rec: missing scene series i wanna do bad things to you featuring 2x02 and 2x04

Viva Voce - zetuslapetus / @querenaxx​

Whoops we woke up married Vegas shenanigans!! 

So cute!!!!! So sexy!!!!! 

What more do you want?

am desperately obsessed with how beth can’t help stalking rio

feels right, feels organic

this makes me feel a lot of stuff about how they could be without their canon garbage between them

🎶 we could’ve had it aaaaaaaaaaall 🎶

you showed me colors (i can't see them with anyone else) - gild_fire / @gild-and-fire​

really into the use of color to illustrate beth’s emotional state, i feel like there’s a word for that but idk what it is

UNIMPORTANT

really nice job capturing beth’s inner vulnerability balanced by her outer stubbornness

am DESPERATELY into Mick playing matchmaker

more please???????

Both Sides of the Law - JoeyLee / @joeyjoeylee​

LAW SCHOOL AU! I suuuuuuper love Beth and Rio here (alt pov!! a gift!!!!) I love how initially prickly they are, I love how it’s evolving into a grudging respect, I love how INCREDIBLY AND HILARIOUSLY OBSESSED WITH EACH OTHER THEY ARE and neither one of them seems to see it

listen I know we’re all already foaming at the mouth over this one but as it’s gonna go down as one of my all time favorites it bears repeating/rereccing

cannot stress enough how masterful the use of POV is here, both voices feel completely true and distinct and I love how the alternating chapters revisit, reveal and emphasize pieces of each other

i can’t talk about this fic without hyperventilating

I LOVE IT SO MUCH YOU GUYS

the slow burn is going to ACTUALLY KILL ME

rip, no regrats

Earned It - wakeupflawless / @wakeupflawless​

spanking

that’s it that’s the pitch

H O T

living for beth’s exit in the first chapter, rio and i are both incredibly into it

second chapter also features violently possessive Rio who cannot deal with anyone messing with his girl so if that’s your thing boy howdy get on it

shake, baby, shake - openhearts

backread!!!!!

according to my bookmarks this was a reread but ???????

must’ve read it in the fugue state that followed reading for a moment we were strangers which is gr9 and I believe I have recced it before. If not, horrible oversight, reccing it now

beth and Rio POV lead up to the bathroom break, beautifully done, low-key feel bad reccing it bc the end point of both chapters makes me want to throw things but it’s super worth it for the tEnsiOn. ENJOY

What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have - flashindie / @pynkhues​

I’m assuming all of y’all are already reading this

If not OH MY GOD FIX YOUR LIVES

P I R A T E  A U

I’m sorry maybe you didn’t hear me piRaTE aU

meticulously researched, brain-meltingly vibrant, already painfully sexy slow-burning PIRATE AU

god where to start okay so first off, the world-building here straight up breaks my brain, sophie’s put in the work and it SHOWS

second, the atmosphere. i’m generally a pretty like, vague mental picture sort of reader but the sensory detail here grabs you by the throat and like, forcibly hauls you in whether your brain’s wired that way or no

and hey speaking of throats if you, like me, go a little funny about the knees at the idea of beth holding a knife to rio’s throat (he’s fine, calm down), there’s a v excellent beth-in-a-barrel moment for you

oh christ and the sexy tension

it’s gonna be a race to see which slow burn takes me out first, this or law school

Stunner - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie​

Another high school AU, this time with baby Rio absolutely head over heels for his older sister’s bff

stunner!Rio has an emotional earnestness about him that I feel like delinquents!Rio has already outgrown and it’s so SWEET I can’t get enough

Desperately cute!!!!!!

alL he waNts iS foR beTh tO bE hiS girL

also unreasonably angsty???????

ANN ARBOR IS NOT THAT FAR MEGAN

A Heart's A Heavy Burden - tooshyforthis / @bathroombreaks​

Howl’s Moving Castle AU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love Howl’s!!!!!!!!!!!

perfect opp to roast Rio for being a Dramatique Heaux 

and it’s gonna be 9 chapters?????? H Y P E

author’s note boldly presumes I did not know I needed this AU when the reality is I did in fact know I needed this AU, I just wasn’t expecting anyone to deliver

so blessed

author also claims to not be team nose stud and yet it features prominently in all its magnificent glory

what is the truth dot gif

A Bit of a Stretch - septiembre / @septiembur​

SO????? CUTE?????????

would be on this list for Rio calling Beth E alone tbh

really really really really really love this Rio POV of being settled into a relationship with Beth

It manages to be sweetly domestic af while still holding the edge that makes brio brio which is a neat trick

@septiembur may be a witch

beth’s approach to getting rio to do yoga with her is hilarious and exactly right, canon-typical amounts of subtlety 

1000000/10

Post Break-Up Sex - femalegothic / @bethsuglywigs​

stg this was called Hit Shuffle

no matter

h O T

with a side of damn i’ve made some questionable choices in my life haven’t i introspection

(no regrats tho)

(esp not with this fic)

not the point of the fic by a long shot but i’m also extremely obsessed with Weed Eddie, so real

She drains my soul... she drains it not - niham87 / @niham87​

ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED WITH THIS CONCEPT

am a complete sucker for paranormal world building that satirizes bureaucracy 

Is that a trope? If so that’s my favorite

I did it. I’m picking a single favorite. You know what that is growth dot gif

ANYWAY i love the concept, i love the humor, i love beth instantly clicking with annie

I love her and mick’s sort of grudging professional courtesy

Love beth as a champion of environmental responsibility and all of the underworld being like …...okay??

cannot wait to see where this goes

Nine-Tenths - riosnecktattoo / @riosnecktattoo​

*INCOHERENT PTERODACTYL SCREECHING*

sometimes i think about rio putting beth’s hair in a ponytail and have to go lie down

science please explain why this rUinS mE

wait hold on i skipped ahead

HEY KIDS DO YOU LIKE UNBEARABLY CUTE DOMESTIC TENDERNESS

opens with rio sleepily holding beth’s hand to his heart so that’s the kind of thing you’ll be dealing with

uGH theY’RE sO CUTe

idk why precisely but rio adding hair ties to his bracelet collection is my undoing every time

Missed Call - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie​

Rio doesn’t come home from a job when he’s supposed to. Beth (and I!!!!!!!) slowly loses her mind

Truly a masterpiece of rising tension

Will literally never forgive her for calling this light angst

I was SO STRESSED OUT

The first person to point out there was an author’s note at the beginning I obvs didn’t read is getting blocked

crush - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie​

Listen even though this is centered around two OCs, they are OCs FROM a (n iconic) brio fic AND Beth, Ruby and Rio all make cameos (I mean, Rio’s pretty present since he lives in Mar’s mind rent free bc they are THE SWEETEST MOST ADORABLE BEST OF FRIENDS so idk if i’d call it a cameo but whatever)

and even if it didn’t feature any official GG characters I’d still rec is bc that’s mY SON AND this fic is TOO CUTE

I have so many feelings over mar and rio growing up and not knowing how to cope with girls becoming a Thing in their life and how it affects their friendship and mar feeling left behind but (SPOILERS) at the end of the story rio starts feeling that too and it’s so poignant knowing how that’s going to continue in delinquents

while mar may be my son, i also claim elena’s #1 stan status

before you’re like meg you’re only reccing it bc it’s a bday present ask yourselves do i really strike you as the kind of person that wouldn’t be equally obnoxious about this either way?

truly cannot fathom how hard i have fallen for these OCs i don’t normally do that

@foxmagpie is definitely a witch

The Ottoman - Niham87 / @niham87​

look i will be the first to admit that i don’t go near as bonkers over the ottoman line in 308 as y’all do

(don’t get me wrong, i love it!!! I love that he laughs and i love that she’s pleased it just doesn’t hit my lose my whole mind button like idk, the dubby or the 306 convo, idk why)

BUT i v v v much love the context this delightful Rio POV pwp gives it

am also absolutely feral for 209 missing scene fic

and anything that captures the complexity of Rio’s s3 feelings for Beth and how twisted they’ve become

so this scratches a bunch of itches, is what i’m trying to say

Bet On It - zetuslapetus / @querenaxx​

*INCOHERENT PTERODACTYL SCREECHING*

That’s what my brain does when I think about Beth and Rio meeting in ch 1

am DESPERATELY OBSESSED WITH the tension between the two of them in this fic

I love how it plays with the ways they have to rely on but don’t trust each other

plus FAKE DATING and BED SHARING (fair warning hasn’t happened yet but the set up is there)

originally supposed to be 2 chapters, already up to 4, prayer circle it goes on forever

do you like drugs (tonight) - s_t_c_s / @sothischickshe​

v important focus on hydration, other fic should take note

extremely about the use of cut to and then flashback to enhance the ‘we were on drugs’ vibe

speaking of, beth and rio absolutely would take ecstasy to prove they are fun bc they are the exact kind of idiots that would peer pressure themselves

so glad beth kept her purse, got a bit stressed there for a second, clutches in that kind of circumstance are A Risk

not that i would know

FLAWLESS USE OF VOICEMAIL TBH

really love the ongoing denial that they are remotely into each other while proceeding to demonstrate how they are in fact, extremely into each other, great vibe

rio dances

I know my brain broke too

mmmm bacon

Navigate A Broken Path - flashindie / @pynkhues​

*INCOHERENT PTERODACTYL SCREECHING*

I have a long standing tradition of getting unreasonably obsessed with side characters so i’m not like, entirely surprised by how obsessed i am with both Mick and Mary Pat but i never in a million years considered them as a ship

AND Y E T

they fit????? so perfectly?????? It’s amazing how she developes them individually enough that i look at them together and think ah yes this makes perfect sense for both characters

and they’re such an amazing foil to Beth and Rio? 

can ships have foils? do i know what a foil is? 

unimportant

GUYS you dON’T uNDERStAN d 

hell i don’t understand

how absolutely very dare you make me care about YET ANOTHER set of gg ‘verse children

do not read this fic if you have no interest in feelings you zero percent asked for

wHA t hAPPeNED iN aLASkA?????????

A Moment’s Silence - femalegothic / @bethsuglywigs​

*makes sign of the cross*

y’all are gonna make me rediscover religion

extremely appreciate the author’s note approach to backstory top notch prioritization

listen it’s basically 3k of beth deep throating rio idk what more you need me to say about it

it is…..good stuff

bless the kinkmeme or fest whatever we’re calling it

praise - civillove / @blainesebastian​

I mean you had me at “three times rio calls beth a good girl and one time he really means it”

ephemeral rio

I left that note for myself in here in the middle of the night and haven’t the foggiest what i was thinking but i stand by it none the less

okay okay i think i know what i meant, this fic (as do all of my fav civillove brio fics) has this sort of like, liminal, in the quiet moments feel to them that makes the moments and feelings somehow feel like i’m catching a glimpse of something secret and precious???

idk i just really like it okay

Heart and Soul - riosnecktattoo / @riosnecktattoo​

oh look more unbearably sweet domestic tenderness, this time to music

thank you ma’am for my life

rio remembers beth used to play piano and gets her one and revoltingly cute shenanigans result

also hilarity

and sexiness

this fic has it all, truly

shout out to mick who sees no reason to keep rio’s feelings to himself

good girls tumblr fic - prettylittlementirosa / @hypermania​​

cheating and reccing a whole series

It’s my list and i can do what i wanna

stop crying about it, it’s four fics and they’re all AMAZING absolutely impossible to pick a fav

truly flawless characterization, next level ability to capture evocative mood, cannot get enough

three’s a crowd: who knew ballroom dancing while dean watches and grinds his teeth could be so sexy 

(trick question everything about that premise sounds A++++ and boy howdy does it live up)

feel it on the way home: rio tries to break up with beth, it goes about as well as you’d expect

(thE angSty tenSioN)

i want to play the game: [from the floor] i’m still not ready to talk about it

(rio/turner, missing scene, 10000000% a taste of what went down in that hotel room)

june after dark: pitch perfect annie pov, really really love the take that Annie is the baby whisperer, can’t fully explain why but it feels incredibly right

(ANNIE X NANCY COULD WORK SO WELL YOU GUYS)

[unknown-from-m-e]

so i just finished watching a longplay of sonic 06 (a 7 and a half hour long one to be exact!)

honestly i think it's okay. i wasn't really interested in the gameplay tbh. it was basically all the same stuff and it didn't look that enjoyable. there were also a lot of frame drops (not the biggest issue to me but it's still very notable.)

what i was interested in the most was the story. the Sonic episode was pretty mediocre tbh. i know it was mostly just to introduce the main plot but it was still pretty underwhelming? not sure if that was the purpose. the whole relationship between Sonic and Elise was pretty weird to me, not just because Elise is a very bland character to me, but also because it just got in the way of the main plot. it was a strange, forced romance-esque subplot that had no real value in the end.

the Silver episode...i enjoyed it! as you guys know i love Silver a whole lot (in fact he's my favorite character.) i really love his personality...he believes in justice and will always try to do what's right. he cares so much about others and wants them to be happy and live in peace. despite being given a clear task that will determine the fate of him and everyone else, he still questions whether it's truly right or not to kill someone to save the world. and when he learns the truth, he immediately changes his course of action. he assists Sonic and Shadow, and doesn't try to kill Elise, despite knowing that she is the true Iblis Trigger. even when he was manipulated, Silver still did what he had to do, and saved the world! he's a hero, and i love him so much!! i also really appreciate his friendship with Blaze. they vibe SO much like found brother and sister and i was definitely saddened by Blaze's death in the end.

i also liked the Shadow episode! i love the dynamic of Shadow and Rouge, they just...go so well together. in this episode we also learn more about Mephiles—who he is and what his goal is. we learn that in the future, Shadow is feared and persecuted for his power despite him fighting for the sake of the world. and instead of going against his promise to Maria and joining Mephiles in destroying the world, Shadow remains true to himself and continues to fight for humanity...because, well, he's a badass.

the last story was straight and to the point. it wasn't very impactful, much like the other stories, but it was good enough (save for...that scene. you know the one.)

as for Mephiles...i'll be honest, i don't really have any real opinion on him. i think his crystalline form's design is cool, and that he definitely stands out for having been the only STH villain to actually kill Sonic, but that's about it. he's just not that noteworthy of a character to me.

overall, Sonic 06 is solid, in my opinion. it definitely could have had a better plot and better writing in general (especially for Elise...) but it wasn't terrible, at least to me.

[zhuhongs]

はいーーー、そしてそれが終わり！！

Cherry magic was very cute and very hard hitting. Tbh Honestly I'm gonna be REAL... when I heard the premise it rlly rlly just sounded like fujo bait.. like its SUCH a cliche fanfic premise omg... like I rlly expected it to be kinda crude and simple. Like it's so gimmicky.. the fucking virgin magic stuff... it's such a gimmick omg.. I rlly rolled my eyes when I first heard abt it. Esp making the connection of cherry and virginity in the title like HELPGJFJDJSJ. Like I wasnt sure I'd like this but i know a lot of yall liked it and i trust my mutuals taste so i watched it and rlly I'm glad. The first 5 episodes made me like...bawl with how relatable and down to earth it was. Ik half of my lb was in japanese and maybe 1 person put it thru google translate outta curiosity but wow like that shit HURTED. God... when all u do as a 20 yr old is overwork urself and feel alienated from all ur peers and even ur friends for being boring... this hits a little different xoxoxo (I'm fine ♡)

The characters were a lot more fleshed out than I thought and while I can still see the tropes in them, I think the live action aspect rlly did it a service. Like if this was animated I wouldve 100 percent written it off as just fujo bait no matter what yall posted idc. But this as a drama felt super real. It was so on the nose abt the kind of anxieties someone like Adachi would have and treated his character with grace.

I rlly only have one notable complaint. I wouldve liked to see and that is having adachi initiate things a little more. Again, ik hes like 30 and never held a hand so hes timid and thats like part of his appeal. But I do wish the relationship seemed more balanced in terms of that stuff. Like if I was kurosawa and I always was the one intimating that stuff I would feel a little strange but it's fine. It's just a small pet peeve but I feel like that stuff and rlly the whole concept of adachi always being so timid goes into like yaoi couples being written with heteronormative ideas behind them. Like yes they're a gay couple but iirc the author is a straight woman or at least isnt mlm and I dont trust and idk.. there were a few moments were I was like... This seems like they're trying to be heteronormative and make adachi the "girl" in the relationship but it was mild but still I'm just a little :^///. Though the scene of Rokkaku standing up for minato and straight up saying like "so what if hes gay" made me drop it. Bc I'm rlly glad they just said it like that. Though again I'm still critical of the instances where the characters were like "but we're both men!" Usually it was like deconstructed like when Kurosawa said it in ep 4 I think. But then when adachi did it a few times I was like... king pls stop. Like generally speaking they did rlly well on the front of not making lgbt relationships taboo and there was no unnecessary homophobia subplots minus rokkakus misunderstand of tsuge. And Adachi never had any big crisis like "oh no I'm gay!! What shall I do!" but i still wish those aforementioned things didnt haooen as much but ANYWAYS... I just will ignore that for sake of I want to enjoy the rest of the series but still, I have my complaints.

Also.. just a personal thing but I WISH they wouldve used each others first names like at the very end.

My personal favorite trope in japanese media (I guess this would apply to most east Asian media but sh) is first name basis bc like family names are the default way to address someone so when I see a couple use first names or change to using first names when their relationship deepens I just Go Crazy.. I rlly love this trope but ik that most ppl probably dont care abt this thing.

Anyways.. cherry magic was rlly solid and made me cry like.... more than it had any right to and honestly I dont think I've had that sorta reaction to smth since I first watched cql. Maybe my first read of tgcf i had that kinda reaction but man... the gay stationary salary men got me.. they got me.

Edit: oh also I hated the little imagine sequences with the fucking choir music... like omg... pls stop that's so cheesy I was embarrassed for the actors watching all of that

[mistergrass]

a dump of podcast thoughts/recs

I have been listening to a whole lot of podcasts in the last month, and so I thought I’d just lay out what I’ve listened to so far and my general thoughts (but I’m not gonna tag any of them because I might get too honest - which means REALLY no one is gonna care about this lmao) 

I would also love some recs for both fiction and non-fiction if anyone’s got any! 

Fiction:

The Magnus Archives - This is, unsurprisingly, my top top recommendation for podcasts. The story being told is so intricate and well thought-out. I love pieces of media where I can turn my brain off and trust that the creators know exactly what they’re doing. And I love anything that knows its intent from episode 1. I think I could go on for ages praising this podcast, but tldr; 

HIGHLY RECOMMEND 

The Penumbra Podcast (Junoverse) - I am not a fan of high fantasy, which is the main reason I haven’t listened to Second Citadel (other than the one-off eps in s1), so I’ll just focus on the Juno Steel stories. But I listened to this after catching up with TMA because so many people seemed to recommend it. Because of that, I think I might have gone into it with slightly higher-than-necessary expectations....

Here are things I like about it: the environment is well sound-scaped (especially in later eps), the universe is really cool and fun to learn about, and the romantic subplot between Juno and Peter really is a great time. 

That being said, I can get a little frustrated with the writing at times. Story beats are sometimes paced oddly, and at other times the narration can over-explain what’s going on -- especially wrt character emotions. S2 I think is the biggest culprit of this “tell don’t show” method, and it can expand to hurt the individual mysteries and the set-up of the metaplot, too. Overall, S2 was a real dredge to get through. (But credit where credit is due, Juno Steel and The Monster’s Reflection were incredibly crafted episodes of that season). 

But it was worth it to me for S3, which is a fun vibe and shifts from focusing on individual mysteries to character explorations in a found-family dynamic. The real strength of this podcast are the unique and engaging characters and their dynamics (which is why when Juno isolates himself in S2, it gets kind of dull). It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely been a very entertaining season. 

Uhhhh, kind of recommend? Maybe only if you’re really into the noir/sci-fi/detective genre. 

Death by Dying - The worst thing about this podcast is that there’s only five episodes. Oh my GOD what a gem of a show. The deadpan, absurdist humor in this show is so insanely up my alley and so well-written. But one thing I love about this podcast is that even in five episodes with a format that is mostly obituary-of-the-week, the emotional arcs of the characters are really well-maintained. Charolette, in particular, is a tragic character to follow through the MC’s eyes, but in a way that makes total sense considering the situation. This show is so clever, so fun, and finds ways to be really poignant at times, too. 

HIGHLY RECOMMEND 

Two Princes - I know I said I don’t like high fantasy, but I’m also gay and sometimes that just beats out. Who doesn’t like a light, fluffy story about two princes falling in love in some perilous magic forest? It’s a gas. Also, it’s just really well-produced and an easy listen. You very much get what’s on the tin,  and that tin is some high-quality and very tasty cheese. 

RECOMMEND 

Limetown - God, I’m so upset about this one. 

The first season is a masterpiece. WONDERFULLY produced, beautifully sound-scaped, insanely intriguing and engaging, along with a wonderful MC who is far from perfect in her endeavor for forbidden knowledge. I don’t think I can recommend it enough. 

The second season... is fine! You still want to know what’s going on, so it’s easy to keep listening. But, tbh, it takes a bit of an odd turn. I don’t want to spoil it too much, but I would’ve been okay with the shift in direction if it was leading somewhere satisfying. But the S2 finale is... well. Choices were made, I guess. I’ll just say that I was really cheated out of an emotional pay-off. 

If there was a promise of a 3rd season that would explain these things in more depth, I might let it off. But it looks like the production team is shifting its focus to the TV series being made out of this. I might watch it -- but I am worried now that they won’t know how to land the plane no matter how smooth the take-off is. 

Despite everything, RECOMMEND 

Archive 81 - (I have only finished through S2) 

My feelings on this show is that I do not have the auditory processing skills required to keep up, lmao. But I don’t think I can really hold that against this podcast. This show doesn’t hold the audience’s hands, which is something I actually really like (even if I do get lost sometimes in what’s happening, lmao). This is obviously another case of the creators knowing EXACTLY where they’re going in the story, too. I also don’t think I’ve heard any other podcast with sound-scaping at this level. The biggest themes of this show are sound and ritual, and itreally follows through on that wrt how the sound is edited. The vibe of it is so mysterious and unique, it does such a good job of making you feel like you’re in a totally different world.

RECOMMEND

Wooden Overcoats - (I have only finished through S1)

This show definitely has a Fawlty Towers feel to it, and the humor is very fast-paced and British in that very specific UK-sitcom way. Because of that the humor is very dry, but definitely fun to listen to. And the characters are a real hysterical bunch.

My biggest critique, however, is that sometimes the episodes end in a way that feels like a big bummer. British sitcoms of this nature usually hinge upon an incompetent/anti-hero MC who tends to deserve the different comical misfortunes that fall upon them. Usually they get up afterwards, having learned nothing, and the cycle continues in a harmless way. But sometimes that vibe doesn’t really hit, and a few episodes will end with these big tonal shifts where the schadenfreude ends up drying out. You sort of just end up feeling bad for everyone involved instead lol. It’s what has me hesitating going into the next season, but I’ll definitely start it up eventually. It’s well produced, and honestly the characters are just too fun to keep away from (Antigone in particular is my favorite). 

If you like British sitcoms, I’d recommend. Or if you’re looking for a cynical laugh. 

Other podcasts I’ve started are EOS 10, and Dreamboy. I really didn’t like the first episode of Dreamboy, but I’m gonna give it another try since it’s so short. EOS 10 seems well-produced, but not really up my personal alley. 

Non-Fiction 

I’m not gonna give these ones as long of blurbs, just know I recommend them all highly. 

You Must Remember This -  Old Hollywood history that is wonderfully researched, and focuses a lot on women of the time. The recounting of these histories feels very honest and she really doesn’t pull any punches when giving detailed and accurate accounts. A truly wonderful show. 

Welcome to Your Fantasy - A deep dive on the history of Chippendales that is WILDLY entertaining. I sort of can’t believe I got as sucked in as I did. The host has a wonderful humor about her, but is still great at getting to the heart of some of the heavier issues at hand. 

Last Podcast on the Left - My favorite true crime/conspiracy podcast by a long mile. It’s equally hilarious and well-researched. I know a lot of people are kind of anti-true crime lately which is very understandable, but I do appreciate each of the host’s personal philosophies on the matter, which I think comes through in a lot of their episodes. 

[clandestine-j]

Gossip Girl Reboot, Ep. 2 Reaction / Review

This was posted on reddit first, crossing posting it here since I’ve chosen to review the ep’s and post on tumblr as well. So, this post is geared more towards reddit as a whole, this was posted a day after ep 2 aired.

i don't have a favorite character rating but #teamaki, yeah, the acting is awkward but it's getting better and it's not like it's the only bad acting in the show. i like the character either way.

now

people are so extra with zoya and obie and are looking at julien with the rose colored classes. yeah, obie shouldn't be dating zoya but let's not act like julien gave her all and everything to him. from the conversation with zoya in ep 1, his general feelings, audrey calls it out (maybe because she always feels that way)

She admits it at the end, she wouldn’t do the things he wanted when it came to his interest, he’d want to do random and fun things and she’d blow him off...how is this mart of someone fully invested in their other, no, she was invested what he did for her and how he made her feel. She misses him because in their other breaks he’d always come back. We saw a dying relationship and ppl can assume a lot about him but make 0 assumptions when it comes to her.

And then y’all expect Zoya to turn down the one person who’s actually nice, doesn’t ice her out and shares interest? What I want more than anything is for Zoya to find her own friends & her romantic interest, just one episode where her life isn’t an extension of Julien's. Idk wut, maybe she can go off on a find out gossip girl adventure. Idk something.

Then this talk about sisters and sister hood. Yeah, they’re blood related but what sisterhood is there? You say that’s is wrong for Zoya to do that to her sister but what about what her sister did to her? Even in this ep, she wants Obie so instead of idk driving Zoya away from him, she attacks her lil ‘sis’ over her long time boyfriend. She continues to let her friends talk bad about the girl. We can talk sister hood when she gives the mean team a good “learn me or leave me” when it comes to Zoya

At the of ep 1 Zoya says, she’s not playing the game. She’s grounded in fear of losing her scholarship, has already lost her dads trust. So she does that, she keeps her head down and doesn’t bother anyone but it’s the mean team to prompt Julien to after Zoya and she does. She’s minding her business at the even and Julien is the one to storm over and cause a scene. And it’s all about her, she’s scared of her dad finding out without any care that Zoya has lost and what she has left to lose. Of course she doesn’t care about Julien personal problems? When did Julien care really about hers? Then, she wants to sneak away and have fun and because she’s mad Zoya won’t run off and hide like a hood little girl, she once again collabs with GG, brings in the dads and fucks her sisters life up, AGAIN. Yeah, she changed her mind at the end but too little too late. Her come to jesus moment was great but the relationship she wanted/wants it very much damaged.

So yeah, Zoya dating the one person who has empathy for her is not as bad as the older sister who consistently let her be talked down, about and two, plotted with GG and didn’t even ask her if she was okay because, she didn’t mean it, it’ll blow over. Even in the very last apology when Zoya was about to leave, you could see that she had 0 faith in Julien, not only as a sister but as a person.

Which leads me to saying that Julien is probs the most interesting character of the show. She’s lovable and flawed and she is good but she as of right now, she’s mean at worst and horribly complicit at best because right now her career is a bit more important but her 14 year old sister doesn’t deserve the headache of navigating her with her. But I do love Julien because she has layers and I think by the end, she’ll be able to have her influencer career without compromising herself. That does lead us to the the chairmen and co-chair of the mean team.

Monet and Luna weren’t around as much but I do think...I do think...that if Julien goes nice, they’re gonna go super nasty. They have access to her life which mean access to that video if Julien didn’t out right delete it or they find out about it and snooping. They’re her friends but unlike her, they don’t have a much of a Conscious so far of right and wrong and they’ll strike anyone down. I think if we have wild cards, they’re it. If Julien really does go down a new path, learns more to fight for what matters and understand the real her is just as likable, the mean duo will not accept and will try and bring her down. They have their own meaning of friends with benefits.

My dude Obie, I can’t say much. I don’t think he’s as Malicious as y’all make him out to be but he is a bit callous and naïve...which could be worse tbh. I think he does want to do good but he only knows Performative good to counter-act his parents. I do want him to get with someone else but I do hope he learns what true activism means through Zoya and understand how much of a difference he could make if he really put his mind to it. I also want him to learn get out quick, because he wasn’t just looking for a reason to end things but one to stay and Julien didn’t give him that.

Audrey, I like the stuff with her mom. I like the little bit more depth we got, she slept with Max maybe but Aki made out with him, who am I to judge? I hope her mon can step up in the future but I don’t think it’ll be easy and hopefully they explore it more. Not just tease us. Her mom needs therapy but I think I'm a bit invested in her too.

Max, I love max but the dude is Pretentious ~ above earthly love ~ low key a shitty friend and talks in metaphors whenever he has the chance BUT he does it well. I don’t see him with Aki but I want it! I do see him going harder after Audrey but I think he was a bit shocked for all his flirting that he was into the kids with Aki. I think he lives to play with people. I don't know if he really likes Audrey but he does want to bang her, a lot, a lot a lot. I don't think he really wanted to sleep with Aki but he did like playing with him and he could pick up the fact that Aki might be feeling him. I don't think the interest was really, real until Aki kissed him at the pool, home boy was shocked and was like oooo maybe something is there but his focus is on the teacher. And I also think the not in a million years thing had his gears turning too. You tell him it can't or won't happen and now he wants to make it happen.

Aki, my baby, my voice of reason. What makes him great as a person, makes him not great for Audrey when it comes to emotional stuff. He means well and I get where he's coming from with wanting Audrey to understand her mom but she did need a partner. The thing she loves about him is the thing that makes it hard. I don't know how Aki was brought up but I feel like this plays into it, she's always comparing him to a therapist. I wonder if his parents a bit more emotionally cold or curt or just very analytical people. But, like he's been lovely since ep one, the only one of the group to sort of defend Zoya or Julien wanting to know her / keep her secret. (What secrets does he have?) And in ep 2, he really was like 'ya'll fucked in the head' to the mean team. I know some consider him boring because he doesn't speak up often but when he does speak up, he got something to say. I want the show to use him in a way to stir drama just by being friends, his character doesn't have to have a dramatic effect and he could get his own little subplot that's tied into the show but like, my can't become some douche. (If he does, only for a bit.) Now, I don't see Max being endgame for him AT ALL. If it's between the two, Max would go for Audrey for sure while leading my boi on in ways, he could even really start to like him but endgame no. I'd love to see a scene with Max does get jealous of Aki with another dude, in a romantic way or the dude could be hitting on him, I think Aki would be able to humble him just a bit because no one really seems to know what he's thinking. In the end, idk who he ends up with but I want him to find someone who will do my dude right and he should get some non-shitty friends who'll listen to his problems. (Still not over that Max)

The teachers while being shown more, don't have much of a presence. It's mainly Kate and the goofy one for extended scenes. KATE MY GOOD SIS. NO. Please, I want this to be the point where she loses GG somehow and someone takes over or maybe another GG pops up, can market better and isn't willing to have a faltering moments. I want it to spiral. Spiral hard. Also, sexy teach said not on my watch ezra! I stan him. Teachers are still fun for me, they make me want to never teach at a dumb rich private school.

Also, fuck the dads within reason. Esp, Julien's dad but only because we got to see Zoya's more and he is kinda in the right about most of the stuff but not the sister stuff. You can tell he's doing his best to instill morals in his daughter esp when he knows she can fall to outside influences.

Overall, I'm still enjoying it, I'm invested. I see room for growth for all of the characters (maybe not the teachers) and I want to see it play out. It does feel a little rushed but I think they're finding their footing and they have some big things to pull. But's not horrible and if they just play the drama bit longer and then conclude, it wouldn't feel that way. Maybe one more episode or half an episode could've been added to the Zoya-Obie-Julien story line to fully flush it out but I like the ending. Not sisters, not friends but cool with each and possibly re-build, at worst they just don't interact. I noticed some cool things with the promos but I need to confirm when I can find the one for 3.

Sorry if it went from all lower case to proper-ish, I had to switch to my phone and it auto-does it.

[authenticcadence18]

For the positivity asks: 7, 9, 14

AAAHH THANKS FOR THE ASK AHHH! (i’m assuming we’re talking about phineas and ferb here so LET’S GOOOO)

7. Favorite Episode

OK I feel like I have to answer with my favorite regular episode and my favorite special soooooo my favorite regular episode is probably “It’s No Picnic.” I just LOVE how this episode starts with Isabella getting to spend time with Phineas before everything falls apart, which is normal for an Isabella subplot...but then in the end THEY ACTUALLY GET TO SPEND TIME TOGETHER AGAIN. Like!! Prior to this episode (and season 4 in general, lol), most of Isabella’s “i want to spend time with Phineas!” plots ended up being the punchline of a joke at her expense (like in “Out For Launch” or “Canderemy”). But this one subverts that expectation because YES, at first the plot is the punchline of a joke....but THEN IT ISN’T!!! They actually get to have a picnic together at the end of the episode!!! Isabella gets her wish!!! and it’s just! So sweet!! (like the scene where Candace is like “But! it was a whole park!!” and Linda replies “Yup. And just the two of them.” always makes my heart soar ahhh, it’s so precious). I also love getting to see Isabella and Phineas interact in this episode! Their friendship is so sweet, and it’s clear Phineas just enjoys spending time with her (he has no qualms about just sitting and having a regular picnic with her, which says a lot!). And also the bit where Isabella accidentally puts her arm around Ferb is PEAK COMEDY, LOL. And! And! I love how Candace helps Isabella out in this episode! Their relationship is so sweet, and I love seeing the show explore it. Oof, I could write a whole essay on why this episode is so good. 

My favorite special episode is “Summer Belongs To You”!!! This episode was the first that actually made me do a double take at Phineas and Ferb and go “huh......this is actually an amazing show....woah” (because up until that point I’d seen episodes here and there but didn’t go out of my way to watch it. I happened to catch SBTY on tv one day and it was like “....that was so good wait...”). I didn’t officially become a fan until a few months later, but “Summer Belongs To You” piqued my interest and is very dear to me. It’s also just so good! the music is great, and I love how every character has their own subplot!! To me, it is the ultimate episode of Phineas and Ferb. (and i mean...it has two Phinabella hugs so....yeah)

9. Favorite moment! 

ok i LOVE THE SUNSET SCENE IN SUMMER BELONGS TO YOU!!!!!! I love love LOVE how neither Isabella or Phineas are portrayed as being in the wrong, just that they have clashing desires....and I love how Isabella realizes she doesn’t REALLY need Phineas to spend time with just her in a romantic context to be happy, she just wants him to be himself and loves him for who he is. I love that she motivates him to get off the island--because, like, really, without Isabella, they would have been stuck there longer and likely wouldn’t have won the bet.  It just goes to show how important Isabella and Phineas are to each other and how well they compliment one another. But, yes. The parallel of Isabella saying “I’d give anything if he’d just sit down with me and enjoy this beautiful sunset” and then Phineas sitting by her and saying verbatim “at least we can sit and watch this beautiful sunset” and Isabella pondering that for a moment before just saying, “.....no...” will ALWAYS give me chills. Like. Aah. It’s so good. They’re perfect for each other. (and the moment where he HUGS HER and the way she just sways dreamily afterward is just! sO SWEET. like honestly, that moment right there is probably one of the main things that sold me on becoming a fan of the show! and that made Phinabella my otp, LOL) 

14. Fave friend/friends i’ve made because of the show!

you are one of them!!! :) and also @dragonairice! and the other day I chatted with @involuntarydiaphragmspasm about Phinabella for, like, the entire day and it was awesome. ALSO! Frsdgirl on AO3!!! She writes amazing fics and leaves the nicest comments on my stuff!!!! This fandom is so great, ahh. (And there are other friends too!!!  tbh i could make a whole post about y’all, ahh!) 

Thanks so much for the ask! These were fun to answer!!! :)

Ask me about my favorite things from my favorite shows!

[echodrops]

hey!!! just wanna say that i really appreciate ur analysis on bnha, esp those regarding dabi, since it really helped me arrange my own thoughts on the plot. however with all these analysis im curious if this means u actually believe horikoshi is a good writer? cuz tbh im still not yet convinced in his abilities, which sucks in a way cuz it stops me from expecting more out of the whole series.

Do I believe Horikoshi is a good writer... Hrm.

First, I should probably clarify that when I watch media, I don’t deliberately try to watch or read only the “good” things. I feel like if I only stuck with manga authors I think are genuinely “good” authors, I’d probably have a grand total of two manga series on my shelf (Noragami and Fruits Basket, lol).

Instead, there’s a post going around right now that describes this perfectly--my philosophy toward media is often “I didn’t say it was good, I said I liked it.”

A writer does not have to be an objectively good writer to produce enjoyable stories, and a story’s plot and characters don’t have to be perfectly developed to be likeable.

The writing of My Hero Academia has a lot of flaws, at least to my sensibilities. There are too many characters for us to care about them all. The women and romantic subplots are poorly fleshed out at best. So much emotion and time has been invested in the villains that any scenario in which at least some part of their ultimate goal is achieved will feel like a hollow victory at best. The pacing of arcs is all over the place. Power-ups are often hand-waved without decent explanation. The subplots that pack the greatest emotional punches are often neglected (re: All Might and Mirio and Eri). Opportunities for small moments of world and character building are frequently overlooked. Important side elements like the U.A. traitor plot get dropped for too long. I could keep going for a long time.

But there are a lot of really great things in the writing and character building too! Bakugou is a fantastic deuteragonist. Even though the cast is too big, most of them do have clear and distinct personalities and unique traits. The villains have incredible impact and appeal. The premise of All Might--the washed up Number One--is an awesome premise in general. When Horikoshi really nails a moment, like Nighteye’s death, he really nails it. Aizawa’s character and his entire backstory is incredibly moving. The potential present in the plot to make a strong statement about society and individuality? A cool idea to think about by myself, even if the story never delivers! Toga and Twice’s friendship? Villain versus villain subplots? A+ stuff.

So no, I don’t think Horikoshi is an objectively great writer.

But I do think that My Hero Academia is a perfectly enjoyable story that I love a lot.

As for expectations... I generally keep my expectations for canon--from any series!--low. I go into shows and comics with the expectation that most storytelling in media is going to be “flawed” from my perspective and that there is always going to be something I wanted to see happen that just won’t ever get delivered on. The author isn’t me, and they’re always going to write the story they want to see, which is never going to fully line up with the story I want to see.

But I think it’s also important to go into stories with the knowledge that canon only really has as much bearing with you as you want to give it. If your favorite character’s backstory in canon doesn’t live up to your expectations? Ignore it. Re-imagine it however you want! Dislike the way the story ended? Daydream up your own ending! Don’t like a twist the plot takes? Tell all your friends and Discord servers how it should have gone instead. XD

The best part of the internet, to me anyway, is that creativity remains a free action, and if you feel let down by a story’s canon, trust me, you will NOT be the only one. You can always find a home and fellow fans in fandom that would love to hear about your alternative ideas for the story, and AUs, fix-it fics, alternate headcanons and more are always going to be highly desirable to fans.

We live in a time in which it is not only possible but also easy to produce transformative content for media, share that transformative content with the world, and find plenty of like-minded people who totally agree that canon could have done things so much better.

Long story longer: Media is almost always going to disappoint you. Even if you try to keep your expectations low, there will always be things you wanted to see and didn’t get in canon. A lot of fan content exists specifically to fill those gaps, so personally, I recommend that you let yourself fully enjoy the things you like, but get ready to be creative if necessary!

[kinetic-elaboration]

October 16: 1x19 Tomorrow Is Yesterday

Today, one of the best, most entertaining, and most fun TOS episodes.

This intro is so strange lol. If I were watching this in 1967, I’d be like “Has Star Trek been preempted by something dumb?” It’s also very short.

That is in fact the definition of a UFO--what’s less identified than the Enterprise?

I can’t wait until a space ship of people from the future shows up. It’s 2020 so anything could happen.

Captain’s Log: This is weird!

I love all the shots of the Enterprise through this ep. How clearly it’s cut and pasted against the sky, the weird and jerky way it moves.

So I was confused by the use of the term “black star”--it is in fact a black hole (Spock’s eternal nemesis lol); that term just wasn’t well known or settled on to describe that particular phenomenon in 1967.

The method of time travel reminds me of The Naked Time (wasn’t that also like snapping a rubber band?) and according to the amazon trivia, this was supposed to be The Naked Time part two--which actually would have been pretty cool.

“If Scotty’s not dead” lol. How dark.

Amazed by how efficient this ship is--they get those reports back to Spock really damn fast.

I love how Kirk is so smart and good at history that he can immediately date when they are based on the news about a moon landing. (Although actually this episode pre-dates the actual moon landing so that was just a guess as to when it would happen, which I find AMAZING tbh.)

The drama of the time travel reveal! Close up on Kirk’s face: WHAT??

Sulu’s eye makeup is great. Bones’s is too, later.

“The craft might have nuclear warheads, which would be rather inconvenient for us.”

Kirk doesn’t know his own lady’s strength. Whoops, we accidentally destroyed your ship.

Why does Christopher beam up standing? Because it would be too funny if he beamed up sitting and then immediately fell on his ass?

Kirk immediately checks him out, and then starts flirting. He is so shameless.

“I’m a Captain too! I’m from Iowa!”

“Woman?” / “Crewman” feminist exchange paired with that horn music that usually accompanies Jessica Rabbit. Well A for effort boys.

The Enterprise is one of only 12 in the fleet. Not that that’s really trustworthy since everything in S1 of TOS is seat of the pants random facts and numbers lol. This episode refers to BOTH Starfleet and UESPA--and possibly the Federation? Already can’t remember. I don’t understand any more than Captain Christopher does.

“We’re a combined service.” Combined from what?

Captain Christopher was one of the best guest characters. Love how he’s on this amazing futuristic ship and the only thing he can say about it is “you guys sure fuck up a lot.”

Spock is having tons of fun with the new Earthman like IMMEDIATELY. “I also don’t believe in little green men--by which I mean don’t call me little.”

Another ep in which Spock is referred to as a Lt. Cmdr. while pretty clearly wearing a Commander’s uniform.

“Don’t touch anything.”

“Anything else on your mind, Mr. Spock? A threesome perhaps?”

“Jim, we cannot not exist.”

“That flight suit must be uncomfortable”--so unsubtle in wanting to get him undressed. “Why don’t you slip into something a little more comfortable, Captain?”

“Signet 14 is a planet dominated by women...with a sense of humor.”

“You can’t go home now that you know what the future looks like--damn fine, I mean take a look at us.”

“We’ve no place to go!” Oh Scotty, always coming in to burst some bubbles. They should have just gone on tours everyone’s home towns for fun.

And now Captain Christopher tries to escape. Exactly what Kirk would do in his situation. And yet Kirk is perplexed: “I sent him to his room--and he’s not in his room!”

Bones is so convinced that they have to leave and get back to their own time because they can’t have 435 people just wandering around 20th century Earth changing the timelines and that’s legit--but I think they could have stuck him in 1960s Georgia and he’d do fine. Except for the racism.

“Now you’re sounding like Spock.” Jim! How dare!!

“Could he be reeducated to forget his family” sounds VERY suspicious out of context. Or, really, in context.

Bones identifying that Spock is joking is hilarious and sweet. He pretends he doesn’t know him, but he does.

Kirk’s face when Spock is talking about Christopher Jr. is so MUCH--he looks like he could try.

I love the colors of this episode. I would buy a color tv for this for sure.

“Our tractor beam caught and crushed an Air Force plane.” Well that’s not good. Hard to explain that one.

Sulu gets to go on a one-on-one away mission with the Captain! And he’s obviously having a grand time.

“Look at this cool bulletin board!”

“Look at this primitive computer!” Which Kirk can identify because he likes going to museums because he’s a NERD I rest my case.

I feel like Spock is super alien today. Just giving off a lot of alien vibes. “I am working on my calculations.”

This episode is so hilarious; I love it. This guy’s reactions to Kirk and Sulu and their communicator, and their reactions to him and the whole situation. It’s really pretty cure comedy without much bearing on the plot--just for fun.

“I don’t hear anything.” I mean--you’re officers?? That’s the best you can do?

“Hmmm, you’re not Jim.” “We seem to have another problem.” “An unfortunate accident.” Bones taking the gun and probably keeping it. The absolutely on point score. “Our guest seems quite satisfied to remain where he is.”

Also “A subplot of this episode is that Kirk and Sulu steal government documents from an Air Force base” sounds very fake, but it’s completely true and accurate.

Kirk just straight up LAUNCHING himself at those guys. The ONLY valid fight scenes are in Star Trek TOS and it’s all because of Kirk and his highly choreographed fight moves.

“Three against one? Why don’t you get two more guys and make it a fair fight.”

But then as soon as he’s caught he turns on the charm.

Spock: “Poor photography.” He never knows the right thing to say, does he?

And now the obligatory moment when Bones accuses Spock of not caring about Jim even though he of all people should know better.

This interrogation scene is also hilarious and one of my favorites. How he doesn’t say his middle name is Tiberius. Wincing when they throw the weapon around. “I’m a little green man from Alpha Centuri.” “This little thing? Just something I slipped on.” “Two hundred years? That oughtta be just about right.”

Tbh sometimes I do feel better about the AOS!Kirk characterization because of scenes like this. Like, you could see that mid-20s Kirk turning into this mid-30s Kirk; the sense of humor is similar.

This man in the beret is having a fun time. I think he’d like to stay here. Also, I find the food replicators in the transporter room really random but I guess that was a budget issue.

This is such a good-natured episode. Everyone’s so friendly, so forgiving of light moments of back-stabbery, so generally good-hearted.

You’ve seen the Vulcan nerve pinch, now get ready for the Sulu shoulder chop! And then the Vulcan nerve pinch! And then the  Kirk very-fake-looking punch in the face!

Spock so obviously wants to kiss it better. The camera is away from them for so long, it’s possible there was a lot of hand fondling going on.

And then everything about the rest of the scene--how Spock somehow leaves by one door and comes in by another to get behind Christopher; how he lurks out of focus in the background; the random shots of Sulu’s face; all the opportunities for Kirk to look Fond.

Aw, poor Christopher. Didn’t get into NASA but he still gets to go to space. I wonder if a part of him did remember all this and that’s how he inspired his son to work on the Saturn probe.

Also there is no way for DC Fontana or anyone else to know this but there was a Saturn probe launched in 2004, which is approximately the right timeline to match this ep--if Christopher’s son was born in 1970, he would have been in his mid-30s in 2004.

“You only have 15 years, so you better hurry”--Kirk, hurrying to get his last flirty comment in.

More shaky ship and more people throwing themselves around the set. Never gets old.

Christopher sure learned the ship fast. He’s already pushing buttons to talk to the bridge. Maybe NASA made a mistake.

Scotty is a genius lol--they were SUPER precise in getting both of those guys back to the exact right moment in time.

“Mr. Scott is still with us”--again!

Uhura really likes the lady computer voice.

“The Enterprise is home!”

Amazing ep, as expected. I don’t have deep commentary on it because it wasn’t a deep episode, but it was a rollicking fun time. Next up is Court Martial, primarily memorable for the introduction of Kirk’s ex-girlfriend, The Lawyer.

[alwaysraineh]

author interview

tagged by @little-bi-kingtrashmouth sorry it took a whole day!! this was super fun tho tysm!! 

Name: rachel/rain, AlwaysRain on ao3

Fandoms: aaaaahahaha oh no this is an extensive question without meaning to be!! i’m in a lot of fandoms tho so i’ll just put down what’s currently holding my interest a lot as i try to write!! supernatural, the witcher, taz, omgcp  

Where You Post: ao3!! when i post, that is. i guess i sometimes post here also??? but it’s rarer bc honestly i’m a little apprehensive of trying to write for tumblr

Most Popular One-Shot: tell me, love (how destiny is bullshit) which is actually my most recent fic as well as my first witcher fic! i’m still absolutely blown away by the outpouring of love it’s gotten and this fandom is so nice that i just can’t wait until i finish another fic or two!! (’tell me, love’ is partially geraskier and partially found family but mostly self-indulgent fix-it fic)

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story: according to ao3 stats (both hits and kudos) i think it looks like just breathe (i will stay) which is still a wip but i’m close to finishing it!! i have a lot of love for this fic tbh but a lot of that is because i made friends through this fic!! (its a modern au taakitz with a subplot involving the twins!)

Favorite Story You Wrote: OKAY loaded question lol but i think my favorite might be fields of gold???? i wrote it for the 2019 dcbb and its not necessarily the best thing in the world but i have a soft spot for it and one day i think i’d like to adapt it into a book (destiel apocalypse au heavy on the found family and healing old hurts)

Story You Were Nervous to Post: aahhhaha i get nervous before i post literally anything and i honestly have no clue which was worst. i’ve never posted my original fiction but that!!! is definitely what i’m most anxious about whenever i share it!!

How You Choose Your Titles: i ammmmm SO bad with titles and EVEN WORSE with summaries so generally i use song lyrics and then pester @tennisxiu for help with summaries until she’s sick of me

Complete: ha. completion isn’t exactly my strong suit but here’s a list!! (sidenote: wow some of these are.... older than i thought)

meet me halfway (taz balance, taakitz, hurt/comfort in which taako grieves lup)

fields of gold (spn, destiel, apocalypse au, dean harbors a fugitive angel)

where the lightning strikes (spn, destiel, summertime on the farm!!)

Until You (spn, destiel, prohibition and reincarnation)

The Mission (spn, gen, cas rescues dean from hell)

tell me, love (how destiny is bullshit) (the witcher, geraskier, found family and apologies)

Never Leave You (vld, shatt, major character death)

Numb (free!, makoharu, anggggssstttttt with a happy ending)(some of my earliest published work and.... hm. i’ll leave it there.)

In-complete: i don’t think i want to expose myself like that butttttt the list is surprisingly shorter than complete so i shall (i think.... two of these will get finished. the others are likely just abandoned bc dang)

just breathe (i will stay) (taz balance, taakitz, modern au, healing from trauma)

take my hand, take my whole life too (vld, shatt, matt has amnesia)

Serenading an Italian (hetalia, spamano, human au with fem!romano)

Home Is Anywhere You Are (spn, destiel, fairies au!!!)

Hunter’s Creek (spn, destiel, wild child au, fem!dean goes to boarding school)

Calm Chaos (spn, destiel, sam is in rehab with cas who is a mute pianist)

The Edge of Night (lotr, merry/pippin, college au (of sorts))

Do You Outline: lol i wish. naaahh i maybe make notes of a couple things i really want to include in a story but mostly i just go for it and slap some words on a page (i do outline my original work, to an extent, but that’s just because i really really really don’t want to lose all that)

Coming Soon/ Not Yet Started: technically????? nothing bc i have a lot of started work but none of it is coming soon

THAT SAID i have two nurseydex, two/three geraskier, one destiel, and a whole series of taz balance based in the same au as just breathe plus a chalice au featuring the twins

Do You Accept Prompts: ....... in theory. i would love to!!!!! i’m really bad at remembering to answer prompts but i really like getting them!!! so. yes!! in theory

Upcoming Story You Are Most Excited to Write: hmmmmm thats difficult bc my last three braincells are playing ping pong and taking turns with which one gets to be the ball so i regularly change interest and excitement BUT i am really really excited about my nurseydex fics and the witcher just in general so yeah

i have no clue how many people i’m meant to tag so @catladymarie and then anyone who wants to do this!!! its fun! feel free to @ me as the one who tagged you, i get really excited about other people’s work!!