#writer hasn’t actually played in a while I was on hiatus for like the entire season of plunder

[asklordfelwinter]

What do you think of everything, thus far? I mean- things could definitely be better, what with all the new drama every few months, and new, bigger threats with every time and things looking more and more bleak with every victory... But- I mean. Still! There's a bright side, I promise, I was- I was wondering if you could see that bright side, too?

-Warlock Annithia

Bright side, indeed.

Lord Saladin has done his best to keep me apprised of the situation in the system at large. I myself have been keeping my nose out of things. Better for my health that way. If you had told me centuries ago that we would be such fast allies with the Fallen—or, the Eliksni, rather—or any other people from beyond the stars, I would have thought you mad.

I know that things are looking dark, Guardian, but look at all that you have accomplished. In my day we struggled to keep so much as a single village safe. Your people have built a magnificent City under the watch of the Traveler. You defend it with your lives, as we would have done. Every assault that has come your way, you have weathered, and come through stronger for it.

I may have my reservations about relying too heavily on Rasputin for aid, given my past experiences with the Warmind, but I have spoken to Anastasia and have offered my support where I can. Provided, of course, that Rasputin is never made aware of my involvement…

But I digress. If you are feeling lost, Warlock, you need but look around. Think of your fellows, fighting these battles at your side. Of the lives you have saved. Those that look up to you. It may not feel this way now, but you will see this through. There is hope. As long as you and your fellow Guardians continue to fight, there will always be hope.

[itsclydebitches]

hello! loved your tbb meta posts (10/10 analyses of the batch and their respective characterizations), but since it wasn't explicitly mentioned -- did you catch the post-s1 interview with jennifer corbett (head writer) and brad rau (exec producer)? their answers about crosshair's chip being out were Interesting (tm) but fairly definitive-sounding, so I'm wondering what your thoughts on it might've been.

Hey there, anon! Thank you—I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed them :D

I’ve heard this info second-hand and ran into one written interview on the topic (idk if it’s the same one you’re thinking of), but my first response is… arguably a reach lol. Not to start off with a tin hat on, but it’s always possible that the writers are lying. Which yes, yes, we have a knee-jerk reaction against the idea of anyone lying for any reason, but in this case, it would be in service of both the writer’s plans and the audience’s enjoyment. Let’s say for the sake of argument that Crosshair’s chip is definitely still in and the entire point of this setup is a double twist: first the reveal that his chip is gone, then the real reveal that it’s actually still in and Crosshair was lied to (among other possibilities). How can the writers discuss him during hiatus without revealing that twist? By playing the current knowledge straight, despite the fact that they know otherwise. Yup, Crosshair’s chip is out. Yup, he chose this 100% willingly. Nothing else to see here, folks! To do otherwise would be to reveal the twist way too early. Even refusing to answer the question, dodging it, would give it all away. Imagine if during a season finale we’re meant to believe that a character is dead and then during hiatus an interviewer asks how the cast will mourn them. If the writer refuses to answer, every fan will realize that Something Is Up and what’s the main possibility here? That they’re not actually dead! Twist spoiled… unless the writer pretends that what the audience currently knows is definitely the truth here.

Taking my tin hat off now, these interviews are one of the main reasons why I’m worried about the writing moving forward. Because despite the paragraph above, I’m by no means convinced that the writers are skillfully keeping up a lie to avoid spoilers. It’s not outside the realm of possibility, but it’s not necessarily likely either. Which leaves us taking their words at face value and that’s… a problem. Because as so many fans have already pointed out, the writing is setting up a twist that, according to these interviews, doesn’t exist. That doesn’t say good things about their intentions for the show vs. what actually ends up on screen and that kind of disconnect becomes frustrating for viewers very quickly. Take the headaches, for example. I’ve seen a couple of fans explain Crosshair’s away using the engine accident: “His face got burned up, of course his head still hurts. You’re reading too much into this.” But imagine for a moment if I’d tried to do the same thing for Wrecker prior to “Battle Scars”: “He gets thrown around and hits his head nearly every episode, of course it hurts. You’re reading too much into this.” Other fans would have—quite rightfully—explained to me how television works and that this repetitive problem is functioning as foreshadowing of a larger problem. With a side of the fact that this is an action show where the characters consistently shrug off their injuries. We’re not supposed to take Wrecker getting thrown around seriously. He’s the brawn of the group, meant to withstand a lot of damage, with any injuries being presented as either #cool (Wrecker shrugs off Fennec’s hits to go after Omega, yeah!) or #funny (Wrecker treats Crosshair shooting him like a badge of honor lol), not something he’s going to have to grapple with in a serious manner. So the audience recognizes the question, what’s more likely? That Wrecker’s headaches are a deliberate visual cue on the part of the writers to tell us that something important is happening, or that suddenly how the genre treats injuries has drastically changed?

It's precisely the same with Crosshair. He’s not the brawn like Wrecker is, but he’s still the action (anti)hero who shrugs off injuries because this is a show interested in more fun, explosive plot, not a deep dive into recovery. (See also: the story doing nothing with Echo’s trauma.) When Crosshair is injured, he’s immediately fighting to get back into a ship and when we next see him he’s passed the recovery stage entirely. There’s only a scar to show that this happened at all. We don’t watch him getting bacta skin grafts, or worrying about his eyesight, or struggling to eat, etc. The point is that he was injured for the purposes of that episode and now he’s not. So why would we think his headaches are a long-term symptom when the show is otherwise not at all interested in writing long-term symptoms? What’s more likely, that this familiar visual cue is being repeated to tell us that this is the chip, just like it was with Wrecker, or that the story is randomly interested in something it never was interested in before?

The audience is right to think that there’s more going on because the show has been written to say, "Something more is going on." The headaches, Crosshair’s refusal to give concrete information, the group conveniently not using Tech’s scanner, the burn scar hiding where the chip’s scar would be, a lack of motivation for the Empire removing the chip, not seeing its removal when the show did include its power being amplified… all of these are deliberate writing choices to set up another reveal. But, if we take the interview at face value and learn that these weren’t deliberate details… then what? The writers are making mistakes? Throwing in “clues” for the hell of it that they never intend to cache in on? Unless there’s some amazing answer here that allows for both these inconsistencies' explanations and the writers’ hard stance—something I personally can’t think up—then we’re left with is a pretty serious flaw in the show. A flaw that’s going to undermine the audience’s trust in everything we get from here on out. The next time we see something that feels like a cool setup/reveal, half the fandom will be going, “Yes! It totally means that ___ is going to happen!!” while the other half will be going, “… does it? Because we thought things were happening with Crosshair and that went nowhere.” Writers have to tackle the implications of what they’ve put on screen. Otherwise, the story falls apart.

So yeah, I’m aware of those hard “His chip is out and this is his choice” statements and, frankly, they make me nervous for season two. Because what the show needs is to engage with what we actually got in the finale: an ambiguous state of Crosshair’s chip, a number of hints that it might still be in there, and an ethical dilemma that, so far, hasn’t acknowledged how much of an influence the group’s decisions have had on Crosshair’s. I tackled most of this in the first analysis, but something I didn’t unpack there was the “choice” of not leaving with them. I mean yes, by all exact definitions—and if we accept that the chip really isn’t there—then Crosshair absolutely had free will in that moment to do as he pleased. But life is way more complicated than that. Imagine for a moment that I put two candy bars in front of you. “You can have whichever one you’d like,” I say. You reach for the one on the left and I glare, hard. I scoff at you. I mutter about your choices, your personality, your flaws, and your mistakes. So you reach for the one on the right instead and I’m… neutral. Okay then. Right candy bar it is. “They could have chosen the one on the left” someone watching claims. “Nothing was stopping them. No one put a gun to their head!” And yeah, the concept of “stopping them” was never that extreme… but the more compassionate, nuanced look acknowledge that some measure of “stopping them” did exist. Insults. Cruelty. A clear indication that one choice was wrong and the other was right. That’s one hell of an influence, even if it's not as formidable as a gun or a chip.

And that’s what Crosshair is dealing with. Yes, joining the Empire is clearly wrong and yes, a non-chipped Crosshair has free will to walk away from it… but walking towards TBB was never presented as a real option for him. He saw that through their inaction when they never came back for him. Then in Hunter’s refusal to admit that they’d made a mistake in leaving him behind. Wrecker putting all responsibility on his shoulders, despite knowing what the chip does to someone. Tech backing him up and framing this situation as stemming solely from Crosshair’s base personality—“severe and unyielding.” It’s seen in the always-loving Omega walking away from him in the barracks, in Crosshair’s hesitation to follow them to safer ground (and boy oh boy, do I have sad headcanons about that), and most especially, in their reactions to him saving Omega. What Crosshair learns in that moment is that they honestly believe that he, not the Empire's chip, but he would shoot Hunter and that saving their little sister is not a point in his favor. It's met only with glares and a need to disarm himself. They don’t trust him and actions that should produce trust are outright ignored, so… where can they go from here? Nowhere, according to TBB’s actions. They’re not giving Crosshair any wiggle room, any hope that these relationships can be repaired, or any acknowledgement that they had a hand in things getting this bad. So when they offer to let Crosshair come with them—which is very significantly presented as an obligation, not something they want—he knows that offer is BS. Whatever their real feelings might be (because the found family show obviously wants us to believe that everyone loves each other), their actions have said loud and clear that they don’t want him. That yes, he could technically walk onto that ship… but that it would be the “wrong” decision accompanied by more insults, scoffs, and pressure to do otherwise. That once he's there, he'll be treated only as a threat with any good deeds ignored. It's an awful offer outside of it being the morally correct decision when it comes to leaving the Empire... so Crosshair reaches for the right candy bar instead.

That very long tangent out of the way, THIS is what season two has to grapple with, along with all that ambiguity and the existence of these "The chip is still here" hints. But the interviews don’t seem to acknowledge that all of this exists, instead framing things as if we’d ended the finale knowing for sure that the chip is out and had watched a season where Crosshair is 100% responsible for everything that’s happened, no Empire or TBB influence involved. The way the interviews frame things doesn’t match up with the text, so I can only hope this is an example of bad communication, or the writers keeping a spoiler under wraps, because otherwise… season two might be frustrating to watch, with fans continually going, “Why are you ignoring that this happened? Why are you pretending that all of this is simpler than it actually is?”

[hlcreators]

AUTHOR REC:  jacaranda_bloom / @jacaranda-bloom 

Be sure to show some love by leaving kudos and comments! 

Seven Simple Words (15k)

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Louis has always loved lazy mornings in bed with his mate, but now that his Omega is carrying their pup, they’ve reached a whole new level of wonderment.

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This is the story of how one choice - a left instead of a right, a go instead of a stop, a yes instead of a no - can change the future forever and that sometimes, taking that leap of faith, is worth the risk.

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Five years after Vertigo goes on hiatus, the band comes back together for a benefit concert. Can Louis and Harry work through their complicated past, or are some wounds too deep to be healed?

Shine (13k)

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Louis lets his eyes drift closed and focuses on the sensations. “It’s like… like I’ve got hands all over me, touching me, inside and out, and…” Louis tries to zone in but it’s so hard to describe. “It’s like I’m being stimulated everywhere all at once.” As if on cue, his nipples and earlobes start tingling and he arches his back. “Oh fuck, yeah.”

OR the one where Louis has a thing for the sun and Harry is more than happy to indulge his sunshine boy.

If You’re Out There (I’ll Find You Somehow) (55k)

Harry looks so intensely into Louis’ eyes it’s as though he’s reaching in and touching his very soul. “I never thought… I never… I’ve been searching for so long, Louis, but I never gave up. I couldn’t stop, wouldn’t stop trying,” Harry says, bottom lip trembling as he strokes the backs of Louis’ knuckles. “I just knew that if you were out there, I’d find you somehow.”

OR the story of how one man’s love changed the world.

Everything I Do (16k)

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OR the one where Louis really doesn’t want to like Harry, Harry is struggling to quell his growing fondness for Louis, but sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t fight fate.

Exposed (666)

Louis should really stop agreeing to do favours for his friends while drunk, especially when they result in him becoming a live-art model…

Forever And Always (25k)

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Going My Way (20k)

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OR the one where Harry gets a replacement LYFT driver, Louis is just trying to earn some extra cash before the baby arrives, and they both end up with way more than they bargained for.

Up For It (18k)

Each year, the five friends take a lads holiday; it’s tradition, and this year is shaping up to be a jam-packed, fun-filled trip with their best mates just like all the rest... or is it?

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With Words Unspoken (18k)

At forty-nine, Louis hadn’t envisioned being at a crossroads in his life; kids, grandkids, an ex-wife, and completely at a loss as to what direction his future will take. When he finds himself drawn back to a cabin in the Californian wilderness that’d he’d visited fifteen years earlier, an acquaintance from his past triggers an awakening deep inside and reveals a new path that he could never have imagined.

OR The one where Louis is lost, Harry is an excellent tour guide, and age is no barrier to finding the love of your life.

Henry and Lewis (4.3k)

PART 1 SUMMARY: Louis hangs out in his local coffee shop to work on his weekly WordPlay Prompt, speaks to his beloved muse aka Harry the gorgeous barista, embarrasses himself in front of said muse, and receives a comment on AO3 from his favourite reader.

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Smuturdary (4.1k)

Louis struggles with this week's WordPlay prompt before finding inspiration, and a date, in an unexpected place, and could there be more going on with his favourite reader than he originally thought.

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Play Me A Memory (26k)

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Cue matchmaking storms, muffin preferences, laughter, love, and a whole lotta music.

The Cyber Sphere (17k)

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Louis is a solo officer on Space Station Zeta and the isolation can present many challenges, not least of which is that it’s really bloody hard to date. He’s pinning his hopes on that changing with a fellow solo officer, Harry, from a neigbouring station who gives great banter and has a gorgeous smile. Maybe online dating has its benefits after all?

OR The Space Wank Fic.

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My One And Only (Desire) (500)

Harry is his, only his, and Louis belongs to Harry just as completely. They consume each other, in life, in love, in every way two people can.

Take Me Down Slow (Don’t Let Me Go) (26k)

Louis has always felt different. Not necessarily on the outer realm of societal norms, but pretty damn close to the edge. As an Omega, he’s supposed to want certain things; to want to raise a family, to want to build a life with a partner, and to want that partner to be an Alpha.

Well, two out of three ain’t bad.

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Soup Of The Day (19k)

It had been the single minded goal for them since college and seemed simple enough. 1. Study hard. 2. Open their dream restaurant. 3. Take the culinary world by storm.

What could possibly go wrong?

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The Clock Strikes New Year (9.6k)

Louis senses people moving around behind him and cranes his neck left to right. The store is quiet, just staff and Louis and Harry, but all of the other salespeople appear to have gravitated to where they are to watch the little runway show Harry is putting on. He can’t blame them really, Harry is a sight to behold, but it makes him chuckle anyway.

“Okay, Lou, you ready for me?” Harry calls from the change room.

“As I’ll ever be, baby. Get out here!”

Harry comes into view and Louis’ breath catches in his throat.

OR Harry was homeless, but now he has Louis. Louis was lonely, but now he has Harry. And there’s more than one way to see fireworks on New Year’s Eve.

The Bet (2.4k)

Louis Tomlinson never reneges on a bet. Ever.

He may be many things - a joker, a sometimes-wayward student, a loyal friend, a Tony Award winner in the making, and a card-carrying member of the Chad Michael Murray fan club - but never, ever, a welcher. Louis makes good on his promises and does it with flare.

OR The one where Louis misjudges Harry's ability to do TLC's Waterfall rap and finds himself having to put on a one-man show for his viewing pleasure. If Louis decides to go all-in and dress the part, then that's just a bonus for his (very appreciative) one-man audience.

Heat (2.4k)

Louis was smitten from the moment Harry had arrived a month ago. Long, curly hair which he mostly keeps up in a bun, and a sinfully deep voice. Cheeky too. Louis likes that the best. He gives good banter and laughs at Louis’ dumb jokes, adding his own woeful puns. When Louis had asked him why he was in this godforsaken dust bowl, he’d said something about a ground crew traineeship and fulfilling his visa requirements while experiencing the real Australia. Louis had been momentarily distracted by Harry’s plush, red-bitten lips so the salient details may have washed over him.

OR Drinking beer in a blow-up pool, in a backyard, in stupidly hot temperatures, in outback Australia should be ridiculous, and it would be, if Louis didn't have a curly-haired workmate to keep him company.

Whisper The Wind (36k)

Louis’ father has political ambitions and decides it’s time for Louis to step up as the company’s Chief Financial Officer. Louis thinks this is a monumentally stupid idea. After storming off in a rage he has a chance meeting with a tall, dark, curly haired stranger. A technical glitch with their shared elevator finds Louis spending twenty minutes with the most intriguing man he’s ever met. Unfortunately the man is leaving London the very next day and moving to Australia to work at his mates surf school. Timing, as they say, can fuck right off.

Fast forward three years and Louis is miserable, a shadow of the man he once was, working in his father’s company, and hating every moment. At his thirtieth birthday party, surrounded by people he doesn’t know or doesn’t like, he decides to throw it all in and follow the impossible dream. Happiness, a fulfilling life, and someone to love. The question is, will that dream be found ten thousand miles away on a sandy beach, with a curly headed surfer dude?

Or the one where Louis rides an elevator that may change his life forever, Harry loves the ocean but is a terrible surfer, Liam proves not all heroes wear capes, and Niall might actually have all the answers.

The Clock Strikes Christmas (10k)

The clock ticks over to midnight and Niall strikes the match, lighting the candle and looking expectantly at Louis. “Time to make all your dreams come true. What’s your birthday wish Tommo?”

Louis stares into the flame and wonders. Closing his eyes, he thinks of cold winter nights curled up by the fire, driving along country roads holding hands across the console, laughter and warmth and a sense of belonging. An image creeps into his mind, blurry and shimmering. Curls, green eyes, milky white skin. Louis sucks in a deep breath, opens his eyes and blows.

The lights in the pub go out and the music stops, time seems to be teetering on the edge of something, like the crest of a roller coaster before the fall.

Then the pub surges back to life. “Sorry about that folks! Damn storm must be coming.” The bartender shouts out.

Niall is staring at him, mouth agape, before regaining his composure. “Must’ve been a helluva wish Tommo.”

Louis is a little stunned himself, but blinks out of it and laughs. “Yeah, must’ve been.”

OR the one where Louis needs someone to love, Harry needs a miracle, and sometimes, wishes really do come true

The Prince Of Light (35k)

Louis was found abandoned at a hospital at six months old and adopted by an older couple who raised him. Now twenty, he studies by night and by day works as a live-in au pair for a family with three little girls. One of the girls, Holly, swears there is a Garden Fairy coming and eating treats she leaves out in the cubby house each night.

When the family goes away for a two week holiday, Louis is secretly tasked with feeding the Fairy. While laying out the food one night he falls from the cubby house and is found by Harry. Harry is different and Louis is fascinated. But as Louis learns how different Harry really is, he discovers his own true home and a very surprising past he never knew.

Cue badgers, bananas and cookies, soulmates, a whole other world, and a future he’d never imagined.

Clouds On Curtis (9.6k)

A wave of comfort sweeps over Louis like a blanket as he allows himself a moment to imagine the possibilities. His past failures and disappointments feel like they are ebbing away, like shackles falling from his limbs. The burdens he's been bearing and the guilt he’s been carrying slipping away into the ground with each step he takes.

Harry reaches for the door and pauses, holding the handle he turns to face Louis.

“Are you ready for the adventure to begin?” Harry looks at him with hope in his eyes, dimple cratering in his left cheek.

“Absolutely, I’m all yours.” Louis says, wide smile breaking across his face, feeling the crinkles appear at the corners of his eyes.

In that moment he is sure of it. Surer than he's been about anything for years. This is exactly where he’s supposed to be. This is his second chance.

Or the one where Louis is a chef who is looking for a chance to start over, Harry’s restaurant needs the right chef to make his dream come to life, Niall is a cook who desperately wants to be a chef, and Liam just wants to be happy. Together, can they turn their dreams into reality?

[papers4me]

Fruits Basket SE02. Ep 14

This is a build up: to the teacher conference & catching up with the aftermath of the beach after hatori/mayu & student council break. Tohru has 5% of of this ep! & not the usual ‘moma tohru/sohma’s savior tohru/ happy tohru/ healing tohru”. NO!! It’s real person with real issues tohru!!! scared lonely teenage tohru!!! celebrating the crumbs thrown to me!!!!!!! XD.

(1) Haru!!! The lighter version of tohru’s kindness:

I was right!! haru was there for yuki!! He was 13/14 years old when he asked shigure to take yuki, putting himself in danger by sneaking few moments to sit with yuki whenever he can. As a kid, he’s done than all the adults. His support comes from genuine concern over yuki. Haru is a lighter & healthier version of tohru’s kindness. He supports yuki & can get in danger but he’s not neglecting himself. he faced his demons early on as a kid & got over his hate which was caused by the adult’s mockery of him. He learned to love/accept himself & found love with rin, he didn’t selflessly sacrifice anything despite her attempts to leave him. He showed selfless kindness towards yuki, kisa, & rin. He still can turn dark but this is part of him being imperfect. Moreover, haru didn’t hold on to yuki, imposing his guidance & his support. he stands in the near distance. I’ll support you but you need to go search for your path yourself. He also understands that yuki can’t do like him & stay around helping haru in his issues with rin cuz (a) romantic issues are mostly exclusive to the ppl involved & interference may cause harm, (b) yuki needs to focus on himself now & not escape into other ppl’s issues like tohru does. He needs to face his future & haru is there to tell him so. Again the writer is telling us yuki will do/choose right even in moments of doubt cuz ppl will be there to support him. This ep, it’s haru ushering him into focusing on his path & resisting the need to escape the pressure. we’ll see others step in for yuki until he can stand on his feet. 

(2) Tohru!!! The abandoned/lonely teenager:

Her only loving relative might soon leave, he’s old & sick. Her mom wasn’t sick nor old. Yet, she left. Tohru’s fear of abandonment intensifies. From the moment she got the phone call, her face screams “Don’t leave me”. teacher conference usually involves parents. It’s supposed to be her mom that’s attending with her. it’s her mom’s dream to get into high school & she would’ve proudly visit the teacher to talk abt tohru’s future. except this time tohru goes with a stranger..not even her grandfather. Shigure genuinely cares for tohru, despite the ulterior motive of seeing Mayu. but he’s still a stranger who doesn’t know her or her future plans. Shigure’ll be present physically with her but she’s all on her own. Kyo saw that when he entered the house. He saw her pain despite the cheerful smile. Guess whose fault that kyoko isn’t here now? kyo. Guess who’s guiltily went to his room & stood there in the dark? kyo. Guess who couldn’t face tohru the next day? kyo.

-”why do they both have to pass away, I want to ge see them”!! Tohru begs her grandfather to stay with her, him suddenly dozing off caused her anxiety attack, it has been building inside her since hiro’s words. “ i want to see him” kyoko said!!! & oh she ended up really going to him..“its okay” it isn’t. “always together” they aren’t. tohru flashback is clearer. Kyoko abandoned tohru somehow around her father’ funeral. For some reason the door is locked literally & metaphorically between tohru & the sense of safety & being wanted!!. It’s too much for her!!. she” do anything, say anything, just don’t TAKE mom away!” alas~ Her mask cracks. Her legs fail. she can’t stand. she falls. she breaks. she’s alone. kyo’s here with her. Present physically & emotionally. Tohru’s angel. Except he’s real. if she reaches out, he won’t disappear. He’s not TAKEN from her (not yet). Tohru smiles genuinely without putting her mask back on. kyo, unlike haru, can’t hug tohru becuz of the curse. He uses head pats instead. lovingly, kindly & tenderly patting her head. “it’s normal to be worried when a relative is ill”, “don’t push yourself” is that like kyo’s 5th advice to tohru now?. “do you plan to sit here forever” carries more than the literal meaning, along with him actually holding her arm & pulling her up! followed by teasing her to ease her back into normality. Now it’s really “okay” for tohru cuz someone who cares is really here with her. present by body & soul. kyo teasing her shifted her focus from painful past into a flirty chat & musings in Arisa’s expense. It’s similar to when tohru helped yuki with his first encounter with akito in school by suggesting playing to cast away the fears. except this time someone is doing this for tohru!!Her struggles are seen despite the mask. she’s not a lonely teenager, she is receiving an emotional well-needed help. however...this is but the tip of the iceberg. tohru hasn’t opened her lid yet. she should or she’ll break down soon..

-The faulty/over usage of the Voice-Over technique:

Usually this tool is used by writers to send messages they believe is hard to catch for readers/viewers or for foreshadowing. It’s done mostly when (a) a character is watching a scene unfold in front of them & they comment internally, or (b) they are narrating a scene/story. However, that’s not the case in this ep. (I’m not talking abt internal monologue, that’s a different case & is totally suitable when character talks abt themselves when the scene only show them & doesn’t switch into a different place entirely). This ep is weirdly stuffed with voice-overs by kagura, yuki, haru & shigure done over multiple scenes & it was poorly done (in my personal opinion) as it caused confusion in the episode’s flow, especially the kagura’s part. Manga/still pictures are different from anime/moving pictures, therefore manga writers feel the need to insert lines said by this or that over another scene to connect what the still image might fail to express. Moreover writers publish monthly & there might be periods of hiatus, so they need to remind readers of certain themes. Anime/shows are totally different medium. The images moves with expressive facials expressions, colors, characters voices, & music to convey a message. How can you have all that & cause confusion? or over saturate a single ep with one tool?

-when kagura's voice is over kyo’s image in school, it shows kyo looking at tohru sadly. i really was confused on why kyo is still sad abt kagura, I didn’t notice tohru walking alone at first, then kyo went home before changing his mind. I kept thinking he’s gone to kagura!! or that he’ll go to Akito cuz kagura’s words expressed guilt?? or he changed his mind & would confess to tohru cuz of kagura’s words of illogical love?? when he didn’t tell tohru where was he heading for the longest time I was confused that he’s hiding sth!! it wasn’t until I watched the ep twice & omitted kagura’s part that I got it!! Why didn’t the show let us hear kyo’s thoughts directly instead of kagura’s confusing voice over?? it’s not like he’ll tell us kyoko’s promise? he’ll express what we already know! that he’s struggling to either let go of tohru or be there for her... why is that hard to express to viewers using kyo? If kyo’s thoughts MUST be blocked, then why NOT use the most effect method for shows/ moving pictures which is Show-Not-Tell???. They’re trying to do that but felt the need to insert kagura’s thoughts over to help us understand??? shame how the result is total confusion & loss of impactful scene for tohru/kyo unless you watch it twice to analyze. It was in my 2nd watch with omitting kagura’s scene that I understood why kyo was off/sad & where was he headed. Very poorly done.

-Yuki’s/Shigure’s/haru’s voice-over didn’t cause confusion but was excessively done in a single ep, Moreover, it carries the feeling of the shows flaw: the need to guide viewers’ thoughts to the door step in certain scenes or leave them without anything in other scenes. Again I’m not talking abt the monologues, I’m talking abt the images of other characters they showed over the voice when others are in discussion. It felt too on the nose for me this time.

Side Notes:

There are some moments in this show, more than other shows, where I feel like I’m reading more than watching or hearing audio book over still images, which is shame since the story itself is superb & the anime has all the tools it needs to express all themes visually. It also adds to the flaw of “imbalanced expression” that this show suffers from sometimes.

 Rin & haru relationship..wow.. I’ll hold on talking abt them until I see more. Haru is a dear fave of mine. I’m sure Rin worth the wait.

Yuki’s Japanese VA is awesome! he’s one of my top 5 VAs in furuba. 

I’m in love with tohru’s crumbs. Feed me more, show! plz.

[liam-93-productions]

Note: This interview was made a month ago. So mind that while reading Liam’s answers. 

In the offices of Liam Payne's management company, just north of Soho in central London, there's a bottle of Bacardi inscribed with his name.

It was sent as a gift, after the singer immortalised the drink in his hit single Strip That Down. According to the lyrics, which he co-wrote with Ed Sheeran, he mixes it with Coke and "sips it lightly".

There's just one small snag, says Payne: "I don't think I've ever drunk Bacardi".

"When I was younger, I went straight in on the whisky," the star says. "I tend to pick my poison early, then I stick with it until it bores me."

In fact, shortly after Strip That Down was released in 2017, Payne gave up drinking altogether after his lifestyle became "a cause for concern".

"There were a couple of very dark years of me going through extreme peril with different mental health things," says the 26-year-old. "I just didn't know where I was going to end up."

'Reset button'

His drinking started to get out of hand while he was on tour with One Direction - the hotel mini-bar becoming a source of solace as he came down from the adrenalin high of playing for 80,000 screaming fans.

But even when the band went on hiatus, the habit continued. "It was very erratic behaviour on my part - I was partying too hard," says the star, who'd always been cast as the "sensible" member of 1D.

"It was a tough little time. My family were very worried."

Eventually, there came a point "where I realised I needed to hit the reset button and take a break," he says.

"I was coming off the back-end of a break-up, so I was dealing with all sorts of emotions that I hadn't dealt with in a long time because I was always covering them up - heartbreak, nerves, all sorts of things. I'd gotten too used to this rhythm of life; of using alcohol and different things to mask my feelings, or get me through. So I just needed to prove to myself that [drinking] wasn't the issue for me."

(...)

'Success gets the better of you'

(...)

Is that why it took two years to translate the success of Strip That Down into a debut album?

Actually, no. It was that song's phenomenal, and unexpected, performance (it's still the biggest-selling solo song by any of the former One Directioners) that threw Payne's plans into disarray.

"Strip That Down was such an amazing thing to happen - but sometimes success gets the better of you," he says.

"It took the best part of nine months to get to number one in America - and for that whole period, people wouldn't put any other songs on the radio. So it was a really weird time. We got stuck with one song for so long that it really prolonged the process of making the album".

It was especially strange for someone who was used to writing and recording entire albums in six weeks or less.

"Writing for One Direction was a different process because you knew what the kids wanted," says the star, who co-wrote about 50% of the band's last two albums.

"I love those songs - don't get me wrong - but I knew why I was writing them and I knew what I was writing them for."

Ultimately, Payne realised that getting more time to work on his debut album was "a luxury" and he allowed himself to "sit back and enjoy the process for once".

Recording sessions took place around the world, with A-listers like Ed Sheeran, Ryan Tedder and Charlie Puth. In total, the album credits a staggering 72 composers - and Payne likens the writing process to "speed dating".

"Sometimes it was difficult because I'd get one or two days in the studio with someone that I don't know and I didn't really want to share an awful lot of private stuff with them," he says. "It's almost like the first day of school every day."

His experiences in One Direction helped him be more assertive during sessions; and he turns out to be a studio geek, marvelling at piano sound on Selena Gomez's Lose You To Love Me, ("they've recorded it so close, you can hear the hammer hitting the strings") and the textural painting in Billie Eilish's Everything I Wanted ("when she sings 'I'm underwater'and they tweak her vocal so it sounds like she's disappearing, it's like Disneyland").

But as the album came together, he gravitated towards the albums he grew up with - Usher's 8701, Justin Timberlake's Justified and Chris Brown's self-titled debut - shaping his solo career around a sleek, efficient brand of R&B.

There's a thread of sadness running through the album - "Heart meet break, lips meet drink / Rock meet bottom, to the bottom I sink," he sings at one point - informed by his recurring bouts of depression, (...).

"I'm an absolute expert on heartbreak, it would seem," he says. "I think, for me, it was easier to write from a sad place, because the feelings were a little bit more raw. Happiness is hard to fathom, I think."

My sexuality is not your fetish'

But it's one of the album's more explicit songs that generated headlines - and for all the wrong reasons.

Both Ways is a late-night slow jam that details a sexual encounter with two women. "My girl, she like it both ways," Payne sings over a ringing trap beat. "She like the way it all taste / Couple more, we'll call it foreplay / No, no, I don't discriminate."

Within hours of its release last week, the track was being criticised for reinforcing harmful stereotypes that bisexual women's sexualities exist for the gratification of men - a fetishisation that can have violent, real-world consequences.

So far, Payne hasn't responded - but when we spoke last month, before the furore erupted, he said Both Ways was his "favourite song" on the record.

In his explanation, the lyrics are about being open to new experiences and different sexualities, as we emerge into a new "world of 'love is love' and people becoming much more understanding about the way love is - and rightly so".

Payne indicated that the song had originated with one of his co-writers, adding: "I don't know who in the studio had actually been in this situation, because I certainly haven't, but it was an interesting song to write."

Whether or not he addresses the criticism, the song is a blot on his copybook; and a rare mis-step for a singer who's always strived to be on the right side of public opinion.

For a self-confessed perfectionist, its bound to sting; but several times during our discussion, Payne says he's trying to learn from his mistakes, rather than punish himself for making them in the first place.

"My life is super-complicated," he says. "(...) and all sorts of different things kicking off, so I have to drill these messages into my head."

All things considered, would he prefer not to have auditioned for the X Factor all those years ago?

"I wouldn't change it," he says decisively. "I know it's where I'm supposed to be in the world now.

"I was very confused about fame when it all happened; and learning to be a person outside of your job was difficult. But now I feel like I get it. I'm a lucky boy."

Liam Payne's debut album, LP1, is out now on Capitol Records.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S4 Ep 12: Pharaoh, a Well Known Magician of Darkness, Swears he Has Never Done That.

I just had the most disappointing cheesecake cup of my entire life, so lets talk about Yugioh. From weird dessert to weird desert. ha.

I mean OK. Sure. I mean they gotta do something while they look for Yugi in a desert that isn’t really known for it’s off-roading, but it also isn’t known for it’s card game scene so...

But then the show decided to fill even more empty time with Rebecca sharing this piece of info when I least expected it. Now. In S4.

Y’all I was SO surprised.

I know that the show is doing this for the people just tuning into Yugioh for the first time but...Man, I’m having flashbacks to that time Yugi didn’t tell anyone that Bakura freakin died for over 40 episodes until Marik had to do it for him.

Yugi never told the girl he gave the friendship card to, that his best friend is ACTUALLY a 4000 yo ghost that haunts his every move. (5000 yo? I forget how old he is)

Tea just patiently reveals all of Yugi’s deepest darkest terrifying occult secrets to Rebecca with a smile on her face the entire time.

That’s girl talk. Can affirm--this is what girl talk looks like.

(read more Girl Talk under the cut)

Her explanation on the show actually did not point out that there is a separate entity with a completely different personality, so I think that people watching the show for the first time would still be hella confused. Instead it was more “this is Yugi’s strong and handsome side which I clearly like WAY MORE, and this is the other one”

Like she kinda left out the part where one is a ghost.

So this scene basically takes away any tension that a 4-way love square would have brought to the table.

And that’s fine. I really didn’t need a love square that involves both a 12 year old and a ghost. For me, as a person who is immune to shipping, it just seemed wildly too complicated for the same writing team who have been trying to bury Kaiba and his relationship with that that paper card since they brought it up in S2.

But apparently no one in this square cares they all kinda like the same person and that this particular person is two people. And as they go on about what they like about Yugi, it’s clear that both girls have made kind of a perfect dream Yugi who...just doesn’t exist at all. Maybe if either of them actually went on more than one date with the boy, they would separate the dream from the reality and realize fully that, in actuality, Yugi and Pharaoh both are a human version of that “hang in there!” poster with the struggling kitten on it.

TBH I think the women in this show forgot they like Yugi, it was a very friendzoning style of conversation.

Meanwhile, Rafael’s giant arms only continue to grow even more muscular with every scene as he tell us the vague deep lore behind this necklace. It’s sort of like watching a webcomic written by a teenager. The muscles keep growing, and growing, but the characters have to keep getting distracted by lore, and then midway the lore drop, the writer goes on a hiatus because of finals and just never comes back so it feels like you’re stuck in lore limbo forever.

I do like that Pharaoh’s like “your necklace is evil, take that off” when he has also been wearing the Oricalchos necklace the entire time.

Maybe because it was just waaay too tempting for Yugi to look at that jewelry and NOT wear that jewelry? Yugi has kind of a magpie problem with accessories, as we all know, and I can’t believe this magpie problem has put him into mortal peril so many times.

And then the show finally does us the favor of explaining why some people go cray when they wear haunted jewelry, and others do not.

Which does not bode well for Ryou. Not like we ever hang out with Ryou enough to find out his personal balance between being a meek little Brishish(ish?) kid that likes to eat cookies and his demon form that likes to stab things. Like seriously, would have liked to know more about Ryou ever at all, but since Season 1 ended, he’s only Ryou for like...2 minutes at a time before he’s back to being wonderful, scene shredding, serial murderer asshole Bakura.

Also, unrelated note, WHAT THE HELL, ART TEAM.

Is that turtleneck just spray painted on??? Why does this guy ever bother with cards? He can just do some punches and probably accomplish the same damn thing and a lot quicker. This man is larger than...any other human that has been on this show.

And so it’s at this point that Rafael’s decided like “ahaha my master plan, I will make Pharaoh doubt himself” and it’s like...

...you actually don't need to give Pharaoh a push, he and Yugi doubt themselves so often they’d list it as one of their hobbies on their edgy Livejournals (because they would keep two)

This fight with Rafael was kinda frustrating, because while most villains make points where it’s like “oh, you were tortured underground your whole life because of something I did in my past life, yeah that checks out.” all of Rafael’s points had so little to do with Pharaoh and were...so easy to debunk...

Like I made the joke about Flat Earther’s the last recap but you know what? I can see Rafael being a Flat Earther. Straight up. You can tell him the sky is blue and he’ll start going off about how all of humanity needs to die because the sky is actually made of Meyer lemons.

Darts even decided to say this line.

Which I thought was mostly funny because Pharaoh still has no idea that thing around his neck can shoot lasers, but also funny because the only reason Yugi has friends is because he initially cursed them to like him in Season Zero. And that wasn’t even Pharaoh, that was YUGI. Rafael is just SO very late to this party.

So, he decides to give Pharaoh an Oricalchos card, and like...

And I don’t believed I capped this part of the last episode, but before they even started this game, Rafael was like “yeah I let Arthur go.”

So...there’s no reason for Yugi to be here anymore other than the bridge is out. There are NO stakes in this game. Other than...Pharaoh’s pride?

I guess it’s one of the problems of sharing a soul with a King who we’re 90% sure did some pretty effed up stuff at some point because he’s a King. That’s just what they DO, I’ve played Fire Emblem, I know how Kings work.

Like we could just sit down and make a list of things that Pharaoh and Yugi did that ended up really screwing him over. (And hearing that nitroglycerin air hockey happens somewhere in the manga does make me want to take a peek at it eventually but I have too much on my to do list)

Like for instance, there was that time he took a fireball for Mai thinking she was a decent person and she ended up killing over 20 people with a gas station and is now a Mad Max Style serial murderer racing down the 101, and actively trying to kill him and more specifically Joey Wheeler.

Or that time he took the ultimate bullet and died but left his tomb to the most asshole tombkeeper family cult known to man who like to carve tattoos onto children with old ass hot butcher knives for thousands of years.

Or that time he thought Namu wasn’t Marik when Marik had insane tattooed eyeliner and a millennium item sticking like 8 inches out of his back pocket the entire time. Could’ve saved him like...2 seasons of content if he just yoinked that item right then and there.

Or that time he actually tried to murder Seto Kaiba. Like actually tried to push his own classmate off of a steep ledge and would have done it if Tea hadn’t intervened.

Or that time he did...a lot of the things that Yugi did in Season Zero and the Manga.

I just feel like...this is our boy. He’s meant to be this gray area protagonist who is trying to do the right thing but at the same time does enjoy his dark tendency towards revenge. Yami is sort of like having the best of both worlds where you can be both villain and hero. He doesn’t need to be a polarizing force like Superman or something.

And...it feels a little bit like the narrative is trying to say he has finally stepped over the line of gray area and it’s like...he’s been here kind of a while, bud. But honestly, if it makes Pharaoh go a little Zero I’m here for it. Why not? It’s been a while, I want to see him go nuts again.

And I mean Yugi hasn’t had a meltdown in kind of a while, we were overdue. I assume that’s all of next episode is just Yugi freaking the hell out.

Anyway, if you just got here, this is a link to take you to the first episode where you can then read the entire epic in chrono order.

[elixir448]

Good Girls 3x03 Thoughts

Right. Well. I’ve kind of been stalling with writing this post just because the fandom is so divided over this episode. This is just my opinion obviously.

Overall, I enjoyed the episode. While I certainly didn’t love certain plot devices that were utilised, I can’t say I necessarily hated them either, which is...interesting.

Opening Scene

Oh my god. OH MY GOD. What an amazing scene. Christina and Manny are FIRE and they killed it!! I have never ever seen two actors with this much on-screen chemistry and I am basically 100% sure that I never will again, which is amazing but also sucks haha.

Rio is just his pettiest, best little shit self in this scene haha. The way he starts just casually asking about her kids and about Jane being the super star forward of the team. I NEED MORE JANE AND MARCUS AS BESTIES RIGHT NOW.

The way Beth just stares at him with those big, blue eyes and then glances away and around them at times. Her terrified, shocked silence. Gosh, Christina managed to convey so much despite only saying two words in the entire scene; she said everything with her face and eyes, her posture and the way her shoulders were set so that she was leaning slightly away from Rio.

The fact that Rio kept the freaking bullets she shot him with, the way he spend a few seconds sorting through them in his hands and knows which one is which, the way he kissed the first bullet. You cannot tell me that he hasn’t had those bullets with him sometimes, that he didn’t take them out in his hotel room and think about Beth, what they were and what she had done to him. Jesus. That’s literally all I can think about now. You know what I need now that the writers brought back the bullets in such an amazing way? THE PEARLS!

Gosh, the way Rio said Don’t. Do. That. The fear was very real in that moment and it felt so jarring; I was kind of thrown back to the scene in 1x08, where Rio grabs Beth by the back of her neck and touches her for the first time. This is the first time he has touched her since his ‘resurrection’ and it’s suddenness  was kind of similar to 1x08. 

Throughout this entire scene, you can just tell that Rio’s thought about this moment so many times, that he’s thought about how he wants to make her suffer, go through some mental anguish for what she did. He couldn’t just shoot her as she got out of her car, in an impersonal manner, or get somebody else to do it. It definitely would have been easier and more successful. But they have history now and it’s too personal and I love that we can feel that in this scene.

“And then you gotta wait for it and, trust me, that’s, that’s just way worse”. Oh my gosh, Rio’s face, his almost manic laughter and smile, the way it turns into a grimace. The shaky cam. THE SHAKY CAM. I have no clue who was responsible for it but the shaky camera only served to emphasise Rio’s turmoil, his fury and his disgust. 

But then as soon as all that turmoil and emotion become obvious, he doubles down and adopts a faux gentle manner again, with his voice becoming soft and placating, his arm around the back of his chair and stroking her hair so gently away from her face. I love that we were all thinking about how face and hair touches wouldn’t be back for a while. But nope. Rio’s out here destroying us all.

And then he stands up and says let’s get this over with and we get a shot of Beth’s face as she looks down, with Rio just standing on the periphery of the screen, hovering around her. I am in love with that shot. To me, it’s so representative of what Rio has been to Beth since they met and started orbiting around one another, never quite able to drift awat from one another. His presence just hangs around her and, even when he isn’t in a scene, Rio casts a very long shadow over Beth’s life and he’s a constant presence, even in her solo scenes. I feel like that is something this season has really doubled down on, whether it’s Beth thinking about what she’s done, interacting with Marcus and Rhea, looking at pictures of fathers and sons, standing and airing her thoughts about death to customers, making light of Rio’s death with the girls and Dean, emulating him and trying to think like him, teaching Annie lessons about being taken advantage of by criminals just like he taught her. Gosh, I think we’d be hard-pressed to find a Beth scene where Rio’s presence isn’t looming over her and I LOVE IT, especially since they’ve had so few on-screen moments together so far.

You can see the split second where Beth decides to lie about being pregnant. Like I said, I don’t love that this is being utilised as a plot device but at the same time I’m not as averse to it as I thought I would be during hiatus. I think part of the reason is that, like I said in the 3x02 thoughts post, Beth can be ruthlessly pragmatic and this is a highly duplicitous, terrible thing to lie about but, in such a desperate situation, it feels very Beth. God, she’s a mess.

I geuinely believe that Rio might have actually killed her had she not lied about being pregnant and Beth knew that. So I get it. I think now that Rio’s being forced to spend more time around Beth, it’s going to make it so much harder to kill her. Like Manny said in his interview “they hate each other but they want to be with each other”. Rio’s probably spent ages nurturing the hatred, fury and betrayal he feels. But once he’s forced to be around her again, I think it’s just going to remind him of all the ways he was attracted to her and genuinely liked her, of their messy history but history nonetheless, of all the ways she looked at him. It’s going to be so painful!!!!

Also, does anybody know what music is playing in the bar? I literally cannot find it anywhere! It’s not on Tunefind or on the season 3 Spotify playlist.

Beth and Dean

Ewwwwwwwwww. Hahahahaha. Omg. The writers did that. They cut away from Rio’s face to Beth and Dean having sex. I just about died.

This episode was such an interesting one for Beth and Dean’s relationship and really served to emphasise that Dean cannot read Beth anymore. She clearly was not enjoying the sex, was doing it with a specific purpose in mind and he just did not care because he was enjoying it too much. It makes me wonder if Dean was used to this emotional and ‘physical’ distance with Beth when they were having sex before Jane was born. The parallel of Beth grabbing Dean’s neck to her grabbing Rio’s neck in 2x04 was so good, especially when you just look at her face in this scene. I went back to watch the bathroom scene in 2x04 haha. I had to cleanse my mind.

Beth is clearly trying her best to be into it, with all the toys and acrobatics she’s having to use to even feign interest. The way that she can’t say that she loves Dean, the slow movement of the camera backwards as Dean walks away, serving to emphasise the distance between them.

I know a lot of people hated that Dean had so much screen time in this episode and, while I think the show could benefit from a little less, I actually kind of loved the scene where he’s out for a run and is working out. It was super funny with the way the scene cut between his blissful, sexed out face working out to  Beth frantically checking if there’s any chance she could be pregnant. He’s clearly living his best life and Beth’s trying to further her own agenda. She’s been using him. Like a warm body. A sperm bank.

I saw someone point out the parallel between Dean lying about cancer, paying a doctor to help him, and Beth lying about being pregnant, with a doctor ultimately helping her. And it really is such an interesting parallel because we view both actions so differently. I for one think that what Beth is doing in this episode is horrible but I feel like the fundamental thing that separates her actions from Dean’s is that Beth is literally fighting to preserve her life. Dean just wanted back into the house, to hold onto the idyllic life he had carved out with his stepford wife at home and his chick on the side at work. Does that absolve Beth of her actions? Absolutely not. Does it separate her from Dean, even a little bit? Yes. Are they basically as bad as each other? Yes, but in very different ways. 

I am hopeful that the fake pregnancy storyline will end within the next few episodes and that Beth either admits that she isn’t pregnant or Rio finds out himself. But by that point, there’s something else, work-related, that forces Rio, or encourages him, to let her live and to work together again. Gosh, my dream scenario would be Beth screaming at Rio “We both know I’m not pregnant!” but then he doesn’t kill her because there’s a reason why it would be best to keep her alive, like the counterfeit cash or something else crime-related. I do genuinely believe that this storyline won’t continue throughout the entire season, especially since Beth quite clearly says that her lie will only by her 3, maybe 4, months. And look, I know the timeline on the show is a mess. I’ve decided to ignore the inconsistencies because I honestly just don’t care too much and I’d rather not get stressed and frustrated over it.

I loved the argument between Beth and Dean. It was so real and so well done. Beth’s hesitant justification, that getting pregnant “not the worst thing”. In this particular scene, Beth’s actions are the reason for the argument but, as the audience, none of us sympahtise with Dean either. These are two people, who have both done terrible things to each other and to other people, having an arguement about what they want. Dean’s actions are the reason they can’t afford to have any more kids but it’s not like Beth wants anymore either, which has been made clear by her arc over the past two seasons.

In this scene, Dean tells the truth, he doesn’t want anymore kids and Beth continues to lie. Even with this very ‘real’ arguement, she can’t have a discussion with Dean and she hasn’t ever been able to; she becomes defensive and attacks the choices Dean made during their marriage. It’s interesting because while Dean has been Beth’s problem for a while, he’s not really the problem in this scene. Beth lying to Rio is the real problem. Regardless, Dean brushes off Beth’s comment with a “here we go”, just like he did when Beth called him out for cheating in 2x06, to which we responded with “oh, come on”. I’m not gonna lie. Despite knowing that what Beth is doing is so wrong, it felt pretty good to see Dean taken down a notch, where he realises that Beth really just does not care for him as a partner (sexually or emotionally) anymore, just like that scene where she brutally says that she just likes having sex with Rio to emasculate Dean.    

The emotional and mental distance between Beth and Dean is further emphasised by Dean feeling that their relationship felt like them again, even though all that had changed was them having sex again. Almost like that’s all he values in a relationship.

I’m kind of confused by everyone saying that the writers are trying to fix their marriage when it seem really clear that Beth and Dean’s relationship has basically been torn at the seams, with the only stitch being the kids now.

Dean and Gayle

Not gonna pretend. I’m not really feeling this storyline. I don’t hate it but I don’t love it either. I’m kind of just indifferent towards it.

In this episode, we see Dean be tempted by Gayle’s offer but ultimately reject it, stating that he wants to focus on his marriage. Gayle, of course, knows that Dean is married but doesn’t care, which says... a lot.

Dean dyes his hair in this episode and it looks ridiculous. I 100% prefer Matthew Lillard with grey streaks haha. That being said, it’s not actually completely clear to me why he dyes his hair and I think that was also purposeful:

1. Is it because of his new-found confidence and bliss, living his best middle-aged male life now that he and Beth are having sex again?

or

2. Is it because he feels confident following Gayle’s offer and is looking forward to something “different” (which is how he describes sex with other women in 2x05)?

I think it’s interesting that the show is tackling bullying in the workplace. I don’t necessaily love that Dean is the victim, as I find it hard to sympathise with his character and I also feel like I don’t want to see him put in a position of vulnerability if that makes sense because I don’t want to feel bad for his character, who had sex with women at Boland Motors who were inherently vulnerable due to their positions as employee. I get what the writers are trying to do, placing him in the same position that others were in at his workplace, but there are just too many barriers stopping me from wanting to feel bad for him. That being said, I think this is an important topic to discuss in the real world because workplace bullying, sexual harassment and blackmail are such big issues. And anybody can be the perpetrator. 

Stan and Krystal

I am pretty sure that Krystal is one of my favourite side characters on this show, which is saying a lot since I basically love all of the side characters, like JT, Tyler, Mary Pat, Lucy. Say what you want about the show and its flaws but the introduction of side characters is not one of them.

I don’t know how many times I’ve said this (pretty sure I keep saying it) but I really want Stan and Krystal to be besties.

Annie’s Therapy

I feel like this particular storyline is still finding it’s feet but I’m excited to see where it goes. In this episode, Annie mainly had to contend with the relationship that she with Beth, who is not just her older sister but has also been her caregiver for most of their lives. It also deals with something that has clearly been a sticking point for Annie for a while now, which is the fact that Beth kind of runs their 3-woman show and ‘calls the shots’. It’s interesting because Annie has had a couple of good ideas over the past 2 seasons but the reality is that Beth is the one who has crossed all the lines that Annie and Ruby haven’t. It’s Beth who gets high on this life and can’t live without it anymore. And it’s Beth who ultimately feels the most responsible for the messes that the three girls get into. She was willing to go to prison in the season 2 finale because she felt responsible for what happened over the past 2 seasons. In my mind, this is what separates Beth from Annie and Ruby.

In this episode, Annie and Beth basically have a quasi power struggle, for example when Beth tells the mover that he can leave but Annie tells him not to. Ruby’s face as she sits between Beth and Annie on the bench and listens to them argue was hilarious!

I love how confused Ruby is by Annie questioning Beth. It’s not just because Ruby has Beth’s back, it’s because it logically makes sense for Beth to deal with the mover, since she was the one who hired him. I’ve seen a lot of stuff floating around on Tumblr, about how other characters are being used to prop up Beth and, while I respect that opinion, I emphatically disagree. I feel like this season has made it so clear that Beth has not been absolved of any of her actions. Not even a little bit. This feels very purposeful on the writers’ part and I’ve written a little more about this in the section below about Rhea and The Clinic (+ Beth and Rio).

Ultimately, Annie comes to feel bad about the fact that she was giving Beth a ‘hard time’, recognising that Beth is under a lot of pressure. Like I said before, I’ve seen some posts about how other characters’ arcs are being sacrificed in order to justify Beth’s thoughts and feelings and that’s a fair enough opinion. I just don’t see it myself. Annie loves Beth and, yes, she gets frustrated with Beth controlling the show and making mistakes that affect all of them but ultimatly they’re sisters. So yes, Annie can call Beth out for all of her mistakes but she’ll also always have her back and empathise with her. As for the broader metaphor being used by Annie’s therapist, I really just think that Annie needed to fully realise that Beth’s actions are not, and have never been, selfish when it comes to her and Ruby. It’s always been from a place of love and maybe it is misguided and too protective sometimes but it’s out of love nonetheless.

I love, love, love the “Auntie Beth” scene, where Annie clarifies took care of her growing up.

The Mover (The Girls’ ‘Employee’ / ‘Partner’)

I love this character. I think he’s such a fun addition and I’m so curious to see what happens with him. Of course, we got the shot of him gagged and beaten up in the season 3 trailer and I’m fairly certain we will get that scene in the next episode or in episode 5. Perhaps it’s Rio and his guys who hold him hostage and beat him up and Beth is taken to him? The spoilers during hiatus revealed that Rio is going to shoot somebody in a van, in front of the girls. With how much this guy talked about his van and how loud his van looks, the fact that Stan and Ruby are saving up to get the van, all the times it was mentioned in this episode, I can’t help but wonder if Rio kills the mover in his van? Before this episode, I thought it would be Boomer but now I’m wondering if Rio actually kills the mover. I’ll be sad to him go if that’s the case.

Rhea and The Clinic (+ Beth and Rio)

As mentioned above, Beth has not been absolved of any of her actions in this season and I think this has been a purposeful move on the writers’ part:

The introduction of Rhea and Marcus means we get to know some very real characters who have been hurt by the absence of Rio in their lives, in other words they have been hurt by Beth’s actions. In the season 2 finale, she ‘murdered’ a father.

• The very purposeful scene where Beth stares at Marcus running away and at a picture of a father with his son. She can’t escape her own thoughts and guilt. There are reminders everywhere, even when she isn’t around Rio’s son.

• The moral dilemma presented by Rhea’s cheque, which Beth agonises over for a whole night and endeavours to pay back as soon as possible. Beth knows she’s a bad person who’s doing bad things

• Beth clearly states in this episode all the reasons why her approaching Rhea was wrong. She literally lists them all out, that it was selfish, creepy and messed up. It’s literally what we, the audience, have been thinking ever since the news during hiatus that Beth would be friends with Rhea in the new season.

• Beth’s pregnancy lie in this episode has also placed Rhea in a terrible position, placing her at the centre of a lie created to fool the father of her child.

Like I said, I don’t love the fake pregnancy storyline but I can appreciate Beth and Rio in an OBGYN clinic. He was so smiley with that pregnant lady who literally just did not clock how scared and uncomfortable Beth was and how insincere Rio was being. He was such a little shit in this entire segment and so gleeful while smiling at Beth, probably feeling 100% confident that she’s not pregnant. Airing out his and Beth’s dirty laundry with the doctor, regarding the date she conceived. Please, please, please do not let that be the last reference to the bedroom scene in 2x09. I need all the references and a flashback scene please and thank you.

It was genuinely so funny to see him look so intently at the ultrasound scan, like wtf she’s preggers?! Lol. But then that look he gave Beth, just before she very slightly smiled at him, where he looks at her with about 10,000 emotions on his face. Gosh, that shot brought me crashing all the way back down. Manny is a brilliant actor. I don’t even know what was on his face, a bunch of emotions that are practically unreadable yet on one of the most open facial expressions we’ve seen from Rio so far. You’re pregnant? You weren’t lying? You are lying? You fucked that husband of yours? What did you do? Why did you shoot me? I hate you but is it enough? I can’t kill you now? Right, I’m going to stop now.

The throwback to season 1 Rio, always on his phone and acting indifferent towards Beth and the girls was great

Also, Beth had me shook in this episode. She’s unbelievably gorgeous.

And to the person who pointed out the fractured artwork between Beth and Rio. You genius. What awesome symbolism and set design!

The Ending

Oh my gosh. I loved this ending. It was an awesome, fun cliffhanger. I cannot believe his real name is Mick (I’m really hoping to learn that his gang name is Demon in this season). From Carlos Aviles’ posts, it looks like we’ll be seeing a fair amount of him this season; at least, I’m hopeful we’ll see him more. We’ve already got a sneak peak centred around him being super polite and practically besties with Beth’s neighbour haha.

I’m super excited and optimistic for 3x04. I’ll l be watching it in basically 24 hours, as I have to be up early for uni and work and stuff and won’t be able to watch until I get home. Cheers to all the spoilers that I will try to avoid but give into eventually!

[mymostimaginaryfriend]

QOTS 4x08 Reaction Post

The Good News: This episode bounced back.  The Bad News: Teresa shared one line and 10 seconds of screen time with another female character.  

First things first, this episode was at least 10 times better than last week so WHEW.  In fact, other than the RIDICULOUS UNFORGIVABLE stat I mentioned in the intro, there was even some positive action taken addressing my list of mid-season concerns:  

Teresa finally got involved with the Tony and Pote drama and it resulted in a powerful scene between Teresa and Tony.  (Gonna ignore the general ickiness of “your dad got himself killed with his choices” to focus on Teresa’s blaming Guero breakthrough.  Love that for her.)

There were some moral quandaries introduced for Teresa to start pushing the boundaries of her Queenpin line in the sand.  She was able to avoid innocent collateral damage this episode, but for how much longer?

There was even a Jeresa parallel with Pote telling Kelly Anne he didn’t deserve her love (!!!!) and this great exchange:

Pote: I’m also a murderer. Kelly Anne: Well, so am I. Me: *chin hands* ROMANCE.

Like Teresa, Pote had a lot more to work with than usual this episode and Hemky freaking ran with it.  Just think what it could be like if they didn’t turn Pote into Cartel Yoda every week?  He was hilarious and badass with Ishmael---who I literally typed, “dammit I actually like this dude?” less than five minutes before his death so....still got it, baby!  

[Sidenote: whoever chooses the mid-commercial preview clips at the network stays picking the WORST spoilers available every episode!  When James does return I feel like we’ll learn about it in a commercial break first lmao.] 

Speaking of commercial breaks I was seriously ticking them by with: 10 minutes without two women sharing a scene.  20 minutes.  30 minutes?  40 MINUTES?!  We have ten minutes left are you freaking kidding----Oh wait.  10:57pm Teresa says one line to Kelly Anne to which KA doesn’t even verbally respond.  DO BETTER, SHOW.

Which brings us to Javier.  You sure are cute but WOW you are a spectacular failure.  Has he done anything successfully this season besides bet on the right rooster in 4x01?  Remember how irritating last week was when Eddie inexplicably made it through the entire episode without discovering any of Teresa’s secrets? This week it’s Javier SOMEHOW making it through the hour without fessing up about Rene. There’s drawing shit out and then drawing shit OUT.  (An issue across the board this season TBH--can we get some forward movement please?)

It is maddening to have a character who has witnessed Teresa using her beautiful brain to get out of worse scenarios, acknowledge that Teresa could figure something out if she had all the pertinent info he’s been withholding, PLAN to tell her and somehow manage to squander multiple opportunities to come clean. It gets even worse when Javier fails his redemption assassination attempt (lol only this show) and puts Teresa in even worse danger!  IMO the reveal is well past it’s “good by” date and, like with Eddie, I cannot enjoy Teresa "bonding" with Javier while there’s this huge lie between them. 

I did like Javier and Detective Greene playing off each other though.  I thought it was great that Javier refused to blame an innocent man for his crime only for the man to die anyway making the point moot (foreshadowing for Teresa next week perhaps?).  I mean, yay for your morals in this highly specific inconvenient instance I guess.  Never mind that the body count for Javier’s Rene mistake is now at EIGHT haha.  

During hiatus I speculated we could have a play on the Camila/James/Teresa split loyalty dynamic with Teresa/Javier/Boaz and I wish they’d focus more on that rather than a half-assed parallel between Eddie and Emilia.  IMO Javier’s scenes are strongest with Boaz so I’m hopeful it’s something they will explore even if the setup hasn’t been as strong as it could have been. 

As for Boaz, I swear one of the highlights of the episode for me was the loud as hell tinkling noise of all Boaz’s jewelry shifting when he sat up mid-massage lol.  The man loves his crystals okay?  I wonder if  he will surprise us all and rescue his familia and if that means Javier, Emilia or both.

Finally, I loved Teresa putting the Judge to work, Marcel proving Teresa wasn’t the only one who had learned a lesson from their war, and a special repeat mention to Teresa and her legendary empathy talking to Tony by the pool.  I’ve missed scenes like that so much this season.  Now if only Teresa and Kelly Anne could have a few cathartic conversations too.  Kinda hard for them to  reconcile with no lines, writers---and NO that is not a challenge.

Looks like Teresa and Tony get their cardio in next week as several vengeful chickens come home to roost.  Hopefully El Gallo finally proves himself useful too.

[laufire]

Some things I’ve received during my hiatus, and that it’s related to some worrying patterns I’ve seen recently on tumblr, have made me want to clarify a point. I’ve debated whether to put some of it behind a cut, since +1000 is on the longish-side, but fuck it. I think it’s important --or at least, important that you know this about me--, it makes me angry, and you’ll just have to scroll past it. And it’s a topic I’ll probably talk more about in the future, since it genuinely concerns me, even if not specifically in the same way or focusing on the same things I do here, so you might wanna be mindful of that *shrugs*.

I do not give a single fuck about whether B*llarke is “problematic”, or toxic, or abusive, or “immoral to ship” in any way. And the same can be said about literally every pairing. And if you ever try to harass anyone with those arguments (or any other, but I hope that goes without saying) --including shippers of my NOTPs--, I guarantee you, you won’t have me on your side.

Sure, I don’t like seeing it (and plenty of other ships) on my dash; that’s what filters are for. There are ships whose existence I prefer to ignore in its entirety, and I plan on forgetting them for the rest of my life.

In BC’s case, in particular, I –obviously, if you’ve read this blog– don’t want it to become canon. The way I see it, it’s a crack-ship (and not a very interesting one, AFAIC) between a character I like and a character I dislike, that’s entirely based on misrepresenting canon. Why would I care? But IMO the writers dislike the ship itself, so why would I worry either?

On top of that, I’m rooting for Bellamy’s narrative to be the dominant narrative (not as much for Bellamy himself –thought that’s a nice bonus–, but because it inevitably benefits my favourite characters: Raven, Murphy, Emori, Echo and Octavia), and the show has proven that’s antithetical to Clarke’s narrative prevailing (there’s a reason why every single season has put them at odds, in ways that effectively risk each other’s happiness, health and life). Historically speaking, things don’t end well for male leads that are put in romantic situations with women they haven’t chosen and put moves on by their own accord, and there’s plenty of evidence in canon that Bellamy doesn’t see Clarke in a romantic light –and it’s telling that, in fact, the writers CHOSE to cut out the one moment that could’ve hinted at it, back in season one.

Lastly, as I said, I think the writers themselves dislike the ship; not just aren’t interest in writing it, but actively dislike it. The first piece of evidence (if you plan on ignoring everything they’ve said about it, which already backs this opinion) is, frankly, that it hasn’t happened. Ships well-liked by the writers and supported by the narrative happen fast; lightning-fast in some cases. They likely don’t stay together, because narratives tend to follow a path of separation before the last-minute endgame (which might not happen; endgames aren’t a guarantee, even if there clearly are ships with better odds than others; BC, IMO, is the LEAST likely endgame possible out of all of them), but you better bet that dude is making his interest known ASAP.

Of course, writers in all of history of TV have written ships that they disliked, or at least ships that they only saw as filler and not “endgame material” (though I’m struggling with remembering another one that has the writers feeling so apathetic tbh). So yeah, there’s a very, very small chance of it happening, sure.

But have you ever tried to write a romance for a ship you hate? You probably haven’t, because the very idea it’s ridiculous. But imagine if you had. You would have hated every minute, I bet. And I don’t think any fans of that ship would find your story even remotely satisfying. Professional writers are exactly the same.

Even if the writers felt so worn down that they decided to go for your ship (which, IMO, would be a giant warning sign on itself; it’d be a mere symptom of their disinterest on their own story, and the show would be on its lasts breaths), what makes you think it’d make for a good story? They would half-ass it at best (and probably use it to troll you, out of spite), it would never get the genuine ~feeling that their preferred ships enjoy because, well. They don’t want it. They don’t believe in it. You can’t write with passion about something you don’t believe in, and passionless writing sucks literally every damn time.

And even all that? All that play-by-play essay I just gave you about why I don’t like the idea of canon BC? That still isn’t enough to make me hate on the ship. This can be said about plenty of ships across shows, books, etc., and I don’t talk about any of them because I don’t even remember them after I’ve moved on to the next thing.

But you know what I hate about BC? ITS FUCKING FANDOM.

They’ve proven to be one of the most dishonest ship-doms I’ve ever encountered, and probably one of the most numerous at that, which obviously only makes them worse (one day I’m going to talk about how these type of ships seem to attract assholes that know they can get away with shit due to the numbers and the attitude of those fanbases, but that’s another story).

Their numbers allow them to control the narrative within the fandom (and since canon doesn’t support them, they’ll outright lie about it), to the point were dissenting voices are ignored, disbelieved, and actively ridiculed and silenced, even when we’re pointing out actual scenes that support OUR reading and contradict THEIRS. They routinely act like characters like Echo or Raven don’t matter, while in fact feeling threatened by their relationship with Bellamy, and go into their tags full of condescending concern-trolling or outright hate. They harass other fans that dare to disagree with them, and they harass the actors and the creators of the show on a semi-regular basis.

A.K.A., they’re hurting real, living human beings.

There are hundreds of “toxic” ship out there (and am I the only one who, thanks to fandom, feel like many of these words have completely lost meaning? I truly hope that I am) that I never think or talk about, even if *I* personally didn’t care for or disliked them. By virtue of their small numbers (since a lot of those ships tend to be fringe interests in the already fringe medium that is fandom), most of the shippers usually mind their own business and simply go on with their lives, which I find to be the right attitude. Shipping (and character/show-stanning) isn’t activism, it’s born out of the fucking opposite impulses, IMO. Fiction is a place to explore anything and everything we wouldn’t even imagine doing in real life; there’s a reason why horror is such a popular genre, ffs. (and that’s mainstream, which means it has a bigger outreach and potential real life consequences (even if they don’t happen the way people think they do; fiction mostly reflects and maybe reinforces reality; it can’t create anything out of thin air). I cannot stress how few people read fanworks and how little they impact the real world).

If anything, those shippers have all my sympathy, because 9 times out of 10, THEY are the ones getting the brunt of the harassment. Like, I don’t give a single fuck about Reylo in one way or the other, to name one example (I’ve only watched TFA, which means I’ve missed the ~meaty part of their relationship, for one; but even if I remedied that, I thought both characters were deeply uninteresting, and I find KR painfully unattractive inside and out, so it’s likely I still wouldn’t ship it); but I’ve seen how its shippers got sent anti-Semitic slurs and gore pictures and were compared to school-shooters, and how its antis have effectively shielded a confessed rapist in their midst (and all that without getting into the general pattern of harassment/violent threats/suicide baiting that plagues the purity culture movement in this site; I can send you sources, if you don’t believe me), so those antis can go fuck themselves, tbh.

THAT shit is what I take issue with: hurting actual people. That’s ALWAYS going to matter more than the feelings of some fucking fictional construct, and I can’t believe that somehow became a controversial opinion. Bellamy or Rey or whom-the-fuck-ever doesn’t exist, they can’t get hurt, and the idea of their “feelings” taking precedence over the well-being or real people is fucking insulting.

(btw, don’t bother with any “but what about THIS gross ship/type of ships? you support THAT too?“ I’m not going to answer that and make myself a target for that bullshit, and I think this post proves this situation goes a little beyond something as clear-cut as “support” or “condemn” --among other issues, who am I to “aproove” or not any ship wtf--, but if you mean “are you against people who like it being attacked because their interests in fiction somehow prove they have ~nasty morals?”, then the answer is a resounding “yes”. What the fuck do you know about their life anyway)

[masseffectspotlight]

This week we’re featuring @thunderheadfred!

What got you started writing Fanfic?

Hmm. Hard to say. I started back in middle school. Just for fun, I suppose. I took a long break from it - what brought me back was a desire for a low-pressure proving ground. I lacked the confidence to jump straight into original work, but I wanted to write again, to start practicing again. Fanfic seemed like a good outlet. Are there any authors, published or fanfic, that inspire you in anyway?

I started writing my first Mass Effect fanfic after (another) binge-read of 'Ghost' by @theherocomplex. I wanted to challenge myself to try something on that scale. Bee has since become one of my biggest inspirations in the community - and a wonderful friend! <3 What Mass Effect character comes easiest for you to write and why? This can be a canon character, an OC, or one of the MCs (Shepard/Ryder).

It's a close race between Kallo Jath and (young) Garrus Vakarian. They're both a bit snarky, a bit trapped in their own heads, but deeply sweet and selfless at the core. I find characters like that make for natural POV characters, because they allow for a lot of emotional range and fun (for me!) unreliable narrator moments. I think Kallo wins by a tiny margin on account of the fact that he's a bit more whiny and pretentious, and I've been known to indulge in that kind of thing from time to time. Hahaha. Are there any characters you want to tackle writing but haven't yet? Why?

Thane is a big one. I always liked his character in-game but struggle with how romantic and... uh... "siha!" he can be. I feel like I'd fumble to capture that and end writing him with too many purple words and dramatic flourishes. I've also considered adding Tali as a POV character to my longfic (Red Streak) but ultimately decided against it because I don't think the quarian perspective would jive well with the turian v. human POV thing I've got going there (plus I'm lazy and ughhgghghg MORE research??) Time to talk about your fics! What's your favourite story you've written / are working on? Add a synopsis, talk about why you like writing it, and add a link here!

Red Streak   Synopsis - Jane Shepard was raised by a turian expat after the First Contact War. The plot runs as parallel streams - an AU version of the first game plays alongside Shanxi, following Hannah Shepard and the turian OC who eventually becomes Shepard's adoptive father. Background - I started this massive beast with a casual, carefree attitude (oh how things change!!) purely as a personal challenge to write as much as I could as FAST as I could, because I wanted to see if could sustain a 100k+ narrative. Turns out I could write a LOT more than I thought... but once I reached a certain level of investment, the self-doubt arrived, and in a BIG WAY. Thanks to a lot of IRL stress-factors and a general lack of confidence, I've been on hiatus from this one for a while, but I absolutely plan on seeing it through to the end... eventually. What's your second favourite story you've written / are working on? Add a synopsis, talk about why you like writing it, and add a link here!

A Pretty Taste For Paradox Synopsis - My take on a canon-compliant asexual romance between femShep and Mordin Solus. Background - Early last year, I became deeply curious about what might have been - what if we'd had the option to pursue an ace romance with Mordin that spanned the events of ME2/3? What might have changed? What would that relationship even LOOK like? I thought nothing could knock Shakarian off my personal OTP throne... but... damn. Since starting this, Mordin/Shep has become almost impossible to beat. What's your third favourite story you've written / are working on? Add a synopsis, talk about why you like writing it, and add a link here!

Double Blind Synopsis - Basically... 50 Shades of Solus. Shepard is assigned to apprentice with Mordin Solus on Omega for her N5. An improbable amount of BDSM ensues. Background - The idea for this dumpster fire came to me while I was drunk in the middle of a thunderstorm. That in and of itself was so ludicrous and Byronic that I had to do it, haha. Trying to use this one as an outlet to break free of months of agonized writer's block. No better way than a PWP to remind myself that not everything has to be good. Sometimes you gotta just let yourself roll in the trash. What are your greatest challenges when writing?

The entire process, start to finish. Writing feels like trying to line up the pieces of a pain-pleasure torture puzzle so fiercely seductive and complicated that it puts the Lament Configuration to shame. What are your greatest strengths when writing?

Um. I honestly don't know. I guess... imaginative similes and descriptions? (Thanks, ADHD. No, seriously.) My brain is a constant stream of weird disconnected thoughts. I feel like writing is the one place where so much random noise is actually helpful rather than a huge pain in my ass. Okay, we're almost done! Any WIP or sequels or anything you'd like to give a hint about?

NOPE! Just that if I have a WIP that hasn't been updated in a while, don't give up hope! None of my works have been abandoned. Sometimes I really struggle to write, but I'm making a little more progress each day. I SHALL RETURN!

[chikyuji]

Log Horizon Season 3 Release Date Confirmed For 2020

The post Log Horizon Season 3 Release Date Confirmed For 2020 appeared first on Chikyuji Animes.

At one time, everyone thought Log Horizon season 3 can never happen but there are new sources now which tell us a completely different story. If you want to get more information about the release date of Log Horizon season 3 then you are at the right place. First of all, let us look back at what Log Horizon is all about.

Out of dozens of Isekai anime out there. There are very few who maintain the standard and are loved by the audience. Log Horizon is one of those anime and it is on par with the likes of KonoSuba, SAO, The Rising of the Shield Hero, Overlord and That time I got reincarnated as a Slime and some fans even consider it to be better than them.

Log Horizon Story:

The story starts with about thirty thousand Japanese gamers getting trapped in an MMORPG “Elder tail”. The gamers believe that this happened because of the latest update of the game and there could be several hundreds of thousand players around the world.

Log Horizon anime Season 3 Pic credit: Satelight

The main character Shiroe is a college student, he grasps the situation and uses his character menu to see how many of his friends are trapped with him. He immediately finds his friend Naotsugu who logged in after years and now he also can’t log out. Together they discuss their current situation and how they should probably start treating this game world like home for a while.

They understand that the world they are now trapped in is now different from the world they knew when they used to play behind screens. The grass and the environment are not just pixels, they can be felt by their bodies. Their bodies need food, they need to sleep and they also need to learn how to use their bodies in actual combat.

Log Horizon Season 3 release date! Pic credit: Satelight

Not to mention, they have no idea of what this new world has in store for them as they are not familiar with the latest update of the game. The people who were trapped are now adventures and the others are called people of the land. However, there is something different about Log Horizon which makes it stand out more. It is really unlike most of the Isekai anime out there.

The characters rely on strategies instead of leveling up, and there isn’t much combat involved. It is more about manipulating the rules than overpowering the other guy.

The first season ended in 2014 and the second season came in months after the first season ended.

Log Horizon Season 3 Pic credit: Satelight

The gamers have been trapped for six months and they are now starting to get the hang of this new environment. The adventures are getting sustainable because of Shiroe’s round table Alliance. But getting funds and having spies spy on you can be a little difficult. And the second season also ends on 28th March 2015.

When Will Log Horizon Season 3 Come Out?

Log Horizon 3 Pic credit: Satelight

Both seasons were very successful and they were also dubbed by Sentai Filmworks. What was supposed to happen, was for the studio Satelight to announce the log horizon season 3 shortly after the second season ended, as there is only a gap of few months between the first and the second season. It has been more than four years without any official announcements.

The number one reason is that the studio doesn’t actually have enough sources to make an entire season of 25 episodes, not even of 12 episodes. The original writer of the novels went on Hiatus after the tenth volume in 2015 and he hasn’t been around much after that. The 11th volume was published in 2018. Which explains the gap in the second season and the announcement of a third one.

Log Horizon Season 3 Release Date:

Log Horizon Season 3 Release Date Announced. Pic credit: Satelight

Now that the author is back and continuing with the story. There were a lot of rumors saying that the third season will be released in 2019, but 2019 is about one step away from ending and we still have no season 3. What we can expect is for the third season to appear in the summer of 2020 at the earliest. By then they would have enough material for the third season.

Anime producer KADOKAWA/NHK has finally confirmed the release of Log Horizon Season 3. The latest installment will return in the fall 2020 anime season. The third season of Log Horizon will release in October 2020.

The third season of Log Horizon will release in October 2020. Pic credit: KADOKAWA/NHK

Log Horizon Manga:

Here is some information for manga lovers, The log horizon light novel was adapted into four log horizon mangas with one focusing on the main story and the other three mangas are from the perspectives of the characters. These three mangas have other main characters with Shiroe as a supporting character, Log Horizon: The West Wind Brigade (Log Horizon: Nishikaze no Ryodan).

Log Horizon Gaiden: Honey Moon Logs is a spin-off of Log Horizon focusing on the Crescent Moon Alliance. It ended with a total of 24 chapters and 4 volumes, with the conclusion of the Round Table Council arc.

Log Horizon Gaiden: Kushiyatama, Ganbaru! (Log Horizon Side Story: Kushiyatama, Do Your Best!)

other than these there are spin-offs but they are probably not that important.

The post Log Horizon Season 3 Release Date Confirmed For 2020 appeared first on Chikyuji Animes.

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[stilestilikeslydia]

A Totally Objective and Unemotional Recap of Teen Wolf Episode 6x12: Raw Talent

@wellsjahasghost hasn’t gotten a chance to watch the episode yet, so I told her I’d write her a recap, and....... yeah, this is about as far from objective as it gets.

friends, i really hated this episode, and this recap is almost entirely negative, so if you really liked the episode, you probably want to skip this post lol. if you're also bitter and want to enjoy 2.5k of someone else ranting, please read on!

The real title of this text post: 

Anya Discusses Plot Holes, #recycledplotlines, and Casual Racism in Episode 6x12

*ahem* 

The show begins. The0 R@eken, sleeping in his car because he is homeless and friendless and irredeemable, is awoken multiple times, in multiple locations and at multiple times of day, by police officers rapping on his window and telling him to get up and leave. It takes me three minutes to figure out that it's him for sure because he's grown out his hair a bit to look more Boyish, Unkempt, and Vulnerable and I can no longer tell white boys on Teen Wolf apart. By the time I've reached 95% certainty that it is, in fact, the white boy who literally killed Scott and is still stanned by tw fans everywhere, he's waking up in the middle of the night to a spider crawling on his hand. He watches it, fascinated and unafraid, probably because he's like "yo this thing looks as evil as I am lolol." Then the spider burrows under his skin.

Cue The0 breaking into Deaton's vet office to stab the spider crawling around in his back with a scalpel and pull it out of him. Cue me gagging. Then the spider disappears in a puff of black smoke/gunpowder dust bc like... why not.

The police montage continues. And continues. I'm bored. Then - gasp! - the next police are nOt In fAcT CoPs bUt mEN wItH gUnS wHo wAnT To kiLL thE0. They shoot into his car repeatedly, and the scene ends.

(This would be a good cliffhanger if tw trailers didn't already show him appearing in future episodes smh.)

I refuse to watch the episode again, so I'm just going to say that I'm pretty sure the mcmartate scene is next. I'm not going to recap it fully because it was actually pretty good and this recap is not about Accuracy, it's about Salt. In short, the Scott laser scene happens but it turns out that the lasers were actually police flashlight beams (why were they in the woods?!?! who the heck knows. oh wait p@rrish exists, i forgot. maybe he told them about getting beat up by a hellhound wearing matching boxer briefs) and he was hallucinating. he's panicked enough to wolf out before he realizes it's a hallucination and the entire police department sees his eyes glowing red. great great great my son is hallucinating yET AGAIN, i really needed him to suffer more. also he pockets the Argent bullet shell case and mcmartate decides to talk to Chris Argent before they involve Papa Stilinski.

Mcmartate is a Good group. "Maybe this episode won't be so bad," I think.

*sighs*

idk what order the next scenes happen in, so i'm just going to tackle each subplot separately lol.

2.0:

Mason and Liam are chatting in the boys' locker room before lacrosse practice about the supernatural evil threatening Beacon Hills, surrounded by tons of freshmen who could easily overhear them. Liam's giving an extra practice to the freshmen so they have a chance of making first line, even though Mason thinks this is foolish. Liam explains that Brett is helping him, which makes no sense, but I don't mind because this sequence happens:

M: Brett? Incredibly... HOT Brett, with the 8-pack abs?

L (sounding mildly disgruntled... iS SOMEONE JEALOUS R U SURE UR STRAIGHT KIDDO): Pretty sure it's just Brett.

M: He has an 8-PACK. Do y- do you know how hard it is for the human body to have an 8-pack??? *music swells dramatically and then cuts off* ...God.

Also, at the end, Liam tosses Mason over his shoulder and carries him out of the locker room because he was accidentally discouraging the freshmen.

This is the best scene in the episode.

Next, both Liam and Corey failing to do a decent job at playing lacrosse. This is ostensibly an extra practice for the freshmen, and yet Brett, Liam, and Corey are the only ones playing. Brett outclasses them both in looks, swagger, and skill. Liam has no control as usual and Brett tells him to get it together. Audience reaction: Writers are recycling Liam's s4 plotline bc they ran out of ideas for his character; Brett is so clearly superior to Corey that we don't understand why Mason and Corey didn't break up during the hiatus so Brason could happen. Also, guidance counselor watches Brett score on Corey and hears Corey reply, "Wait, I'm not actually invisible right now, am I?" Nice subtlety, Corey.

Liam is pissed bc #recycledplotlines and punches out a locker. Somehow stays there all day because by the time Mason and Corey go to find him, it's after dark??? And since it's summer, it must be like 9:30??? "We need to study for a history test" hOW IS THE SCHOOL STILL OPEN THIS LATE i will never understand.

Oh yeah I forgot, while Liam was still working through his anger issues on the lacrosse field, a bunch of spiders crawl into a freshman boy's helmet in the locker room, and when he puts it on, they invade his body and then start crawling out of his mouth. So when Mason and Corey go to find Liam, they notice a smeared blood trail on the locker room floor and follow it to the showers, where there is an..... unidentifiable bloody mass on the floor. I am disturbed.

Brett:

After obliterating Liam and Corey, it is somehow magically nighttime and he's heading towards his car when the guidance counselor shows up, holding a lacrosse ball that rolled off the field. She compliments his abnormal skill level and tosses him the ball.... which turns out to be covered in wolfsbane. She claims it's "nothing personal,” but no one deserves that much power, and then tries to kill him. I think she stabs him??? I forget the details of their fight. Anyway, he manages to escape.

Scott and Malia:

They go looking for Chris at his... house? bunker? who knows. He has crates full of guns, surprising no one. They have #wittybanter and #chemistry, surprising no one. (i’m sorry i’m sorry i just feel like sc@lia is forced i’m sorry) Scott tells Malia it's okay to break into Chris's computer to find his calendar, and she is turned on by his rule-bending. All of the passwords she guesses involve her capitalizing the first word and adding spaces, because that's how passwords work. Scott picks up a bow and has a Revelation, immediately going to Chris's computer to type in ALLISON as the password. It's the second #recycledplotine of the night. Not to mention that as much as Chris loves his daughter, he is much too practical to have such an easily hackable password.

Questionable computer security aside, they show up in the middle of one of Chris's gun deals right after his fake military buyers pull out their guns, realizing that Chris knows they're fake military and is trying to find out who their boss is. Chris is annoyed with them for intervening and claims that he had an inside man that they just took out while trying to help him, which is yet another plot hole bc Chris shouldn't need to ask about bosses if he has an inside man. In the following chaos-ridden action scene, Scott drops the Argent shell casing. Chris says it's okay and they'll just find the actual bullet in the woods.

Best line of the episode: After Scott and Malia ask if the shell casing belongs to him, Chris says, "I haven't stamped a bullet since Allison died." Our hearts all break a little.

Anyway, despite their plans to go to the woods TOGETHER, Chris is mysteriously nowhere in sight so Scott and Malia can have ~time alone~. Malia shows concern for Scott's well-being. They smile at each other, and thanks to compulsive heterosexuality, this clearly means they've just caught feelings. I'm definitely not still bitter that the writers didn't bring back Kira and give Malia a girlfriend instead.

(in all honesty, however, i can admit that this scene was objectively cute, and it was great character development that already happened in s5 but again #recycledplotlines to see Malia actively caring about other people. I’m really happy for sc@lia shippers because I know you were all really excited about that scene.)

Chris comes back. They find a bullet in a tree thanks to its infared heat signature or smthg (idk i'm spaced out at this point). It's a silver bullet, meaning that the guidance counselor is just a wannabe Hunter, not the Genuine Article.

Lydia and Toast:

At the sheriff's station, Lydia??? hears some noise in her premonitions and decides to tell Toast and not her bf's dad for??? some completely valid reason i'm sure??? tbh i have no idea what the premise of this scene is, but Lydia realizes that the noise she keeps hearing is the key card reader from Eichen House. Apparently that means something bad is happening there so she tells Toast that they need to go check it out. Toast tells her that there's no way he's "letting her" go back there - because clearly he owns her and she can't make decisions for herself - and decides to go alone instead, because once again, that clearly makes so much more sense than telling the Sheriff. The whole scene is written to make it sound like Toast is the only one who cares about Lydia's well-being - because it's definitely not like she has a pack full of friends who care about her and a boyfriend who would do anything for her - and therefore is in charge of protecting her in a creepily possessive way. Aka, tw writers are still pandering to M@rrish fans even after Stydia is canon, and I don't know why I'm surprised.

So Toast goes to Eichen, meets Creepy Doctor who accidentally released Other Hellhound last week, and tells him to let him into the closed ward after hearing a woman begging for help. Doctor refuses. Toast shows him his glowing eyes as an... intimidation tactic??? Doctor complies but locks the door behind Toast after he enters.

Toast finds the woman in a communal-shower-type room (which???? okay), lying on the floor with an open electric cable sparking her body every few seconds, surrounded by a bunch of other apparently dead supernatural creatures. When Doctor arrives and Toast tells him to help, plot twist! Doctor is the one who put them there. (Oh, look, electricity........ I wonder who would be helpful....... in this........ situation........)

Doctor gets Toast locked up in room where Other Hellhound used to reside and turns down the temperature, telling Toast that he'll freeze him from the inside out or smthg.

Meanwhile, Lydia's just been hanging out at the sheriff station and waiting for Toast instead of registering for MIT because according to a reminder on her phone, this is the ~last day~ for her to do so and Lydia "IQ of 170" Martin OBVIOUSLY would have put off registration until the last minute. OF COURSE. She ignores the notification bc apparently college isn't important and steals one of the deputies' walkie talkies after she hears strange noises emitting from it. Her absurd attempts to sneak casually would have made Stiles Stilinski proud af.

However, her next move would NOT have made Stiles Stilinski proud af, as she hears the Doctor threatening Toast and immediately decides to go after him alone instead of

1) calling Scott so that Scott and Malia can come with her or

2) taking the Sheriff, seeing as he is her BOYFRIEND'S DAD and also CONVENIENTLY LOCATED IN THE SAME BUILDING AS HER AT THAT MOMENT.

So. Naturally. She goes to Eichen alone, and every sound she hears, every sight she sees, is immensely triggering. For the first time, Teen Wolf actually somewhat addresses the fact that Lydia has PTSD after everything she's been through. This is a good thing. I would be happy with this development if, again, Lydia wasn't alone throughout the entire experience. Clearly, Teen Wolf writers have decided that Strong Female Characters must always face their fears alone if they want to remain Strong Female Characters. Clearly, having her friends there to ground her would have taken away from her character development. Clearly, it wouldn't have been amazing to see Lydia accept her friends' help when s1 Lydia Martin never would have shown weakness around others. Clearly, having a support network when you've faced immense trauma isn't important at all. CLEARLY.

(Clearly I didn't have to pause my TV at this point because I was so horrified and angry that the TW writers placed her in a situation where she was surrounded by a myriad of triggers, on the verge of a panic attack, and completely alone.)

Anyway, Lydia reaches a turning point where she is somehow able to push aside all of those horrible memories and find Toast, who's been slowly freezing to death while watching Doctor hold a gun with shaking hands. Doctor's been explaining that he hates guns and has always been opposed to violence, but his fear of supernatural creatures has led him to believe that eradicating them all is the only way to ensure normal humans' safety.

Lydia runs into the cell just as Doctor raises the gun to shoot Toast in the head. She screams, knocking Doctor back and killing him. GREAT. LET'S ADD ANOTHER TRAUMATIC EICHEN MEMORY TO THE PILE. LYDIA DEFINITELY NEEDED TO KILL SOMEONE ELSE. THAT WOULDN'T BE EMOTIONALLY SCARRING AT ALL. OF COURSE STILES IS ENTITLED TO AN ENTIRE SEASON OF ANGST AFTER KILLING DONOVAN IN SELF-DEFENSE, BUT LYDIA KILLING MULTIPLE PEOPLE WOULDN'T HAVE ANY EMOTIONAL RAMIFICATIONS. OF COURSE.

End scenes:

2.0: Suddenly realizing that freshman boy (I think his name is Aaron) is missing, they go running around the school looking for him and eventually find him in a classroom, magically unharmed. "What are you doing here?" they ask. "Just remembered we have a history test," he replies. I thought this boy was a freshman. smh.

McMarTate: Clearly not scarred from her experiences at all, Lydia rejoins Malia and Scott to discuss their discoveries. Cue "what is everyone afraid of?"/"us" scene combined with a montage of everyone looking away from Liam in slow motion at school the next day, apparently afraid of him. Which is definitely because they magically know he's a werewolf, and not because they don't want to catch the disease that gave him his awful haircut.

Brett: Brett pounces on the guidance counselor, who's looking for him in the woods, and they start fighting. It looks like he's going to win, but then he gets shot in the chest with an arrow and runs off.

The arrow was shot by Gerard.

He tells wannabe hunter/guidance counselor that she has potential.

Huzzah, what a great episode.

Bonus casual racism: Now that Kira's gone, wannabe hunter/guidance counselor (who still doesn't have a name...... oh hey, look, mORE CASUAL RACISM) is the only woman of color on the show... and she's a Black antagonist. This is clearly Not Problematic At All.

Of course, thanks to theories that will be discussed in this week's episode of stydiacast, it's possible that this casting decision is entirely legitimate.

HOWEVER, one other poc was introduced in this episode...... and Aaron, poor young freshman lacrosse player, is now possibly being possessed by spiders and will likely also be a Black antagonist, albeit one with no control over his actions.

Oh, hey, doesn't..... that...... sound..... familiar? It's.... almost like..... another problematic #recycledplotline. *looks at s5 Mason Hewitt*

Thanks, Teen Wolf.

[singingwordwright]

#Shadowhunters recap - s2ep20 “Beside Still Water”

SHADOWHUNTERS Recaps Intro and Masterlist

These recaps may contain spoilers from the books (that may or may not happen in the show.) Proceed at your own risk.

Well, here it is. My last recap of the season. Let’s do this so I can get around to watching all the reaction videos I don’t let myself watch until I’m done reacting myself!

 Recap and meta under the cut.

Raise your hand if you didn’t know that not retrieving Sebastian’s body was going to come back and bite our boys and girls in the ass? Anyone? Anyone?

Even without reading the books, you just had to know that wasn’t the end of Sebastian. Still I’m thrilled in a way because Will Tudor is amazeballs and I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do with the character from here on out.

Also, I gotta say, this whole thing with Sebastian’s blood being able to open up passage between our realm and Edom is really quite cool, and I wonder how it came about? Like, did Valentine already know that about Jonathan and is that how he created the pentagram/conducted the ritual that enabled him to banish Jonathan to Edom in the first place? Is it some sort of gift or ability that was granted to Sebastian by Lilith? How did that happen? I want the story behind it.

This was it. This was the moment when Magnus exhausted my forbearance.

Like, I’ve pretty much been completely behind him this whole time, even knowing he’s acting rashly and being misguided, because I totally get his motivations. And I still do.

But in this moment we saw him cross the line from “I’m possibly putting my trust in a bad place because I’m hurt and scared and have a very limited array of bad options for protecting my people” to “I’m staying a bad course because I don’t want to acknowledge that I might have been wrong.”

Desperation is one thing. Being willfully obtuse in order to save face is another thing entirely.

Thank God Maia apparently knows better than to eat in Faerie. I was worried there for a moment. Also I love her trying to make a run for it, however futile, rather than just waiting to be rescued. And can we talk about those boots Maia was wearing? We only get a glimpse of them but it was enough to inspire a serious case of shoe-envy.

The Seelie Queen has made the list of people who need to come down with a case of dead. Alas, I doubt we’ll see it happen. IIRC she survives the books.

These past couple episodes have fed me so well with regard to our squad fighting together. Clary and Izzy/Jace and Alec/Izzy and Jace in s2ep19 and now all four of them plus Magnus in various combinations in this episode? *squee*

I’m a happy, happy girl and truly, if you’d listened in on the conversations @roseglass and I had over Facetime during the hiatus leading up to season 2B, this was #1 with a bullet on our list of things we needed, since we really didn’t get much of it in 2A.

Also, there’s my not-so-lowkey archery kink. That’s been fed pretty well in 2B also.

Sarah Hyland really is teeny-tiny, isn’t she? It’s interesting also that the seem to have found a lot of extras who are of similarly short stature to fill out the Seelie court. So apparently it’s canon here that the Seelies are on the small side? Is Meliorn an exception because he’s half-human? What about Kaelie? Was she not entirely Seelie either?

So, Luke calls Clary…from the Seelie realm? They have cell towers in Faerie? Really?

Clary’s portal rune being powerful enough to pierce the warlock wards—just like her other rune managed to burn through the wards on Magnus’s apartment in s2ep12—annoys me because we have no explanation for why that would be the case. It’s total deus ex machina, and did no one really even try to bring up the notion that she and Jace might be fucking vaporized if she ends up being wrong about this?

I really hope next season the writing won’t lean so heavily on Clary’s unreasonably amped-up powers (who am I kidding? Of course it will.)

Jace and Alec’s “be careful”/“when am I ever not careful” exchange was of course funny until…well, until.

I really love this shot of mundanes just arguing over mundane thing, completely unaware of the fact that there are fucking DRAGONS swarming over their heads.

Oh, Izzy. You always do this. You are ruthless when it comes to nudging Alec in the direction of happiness. You play him like a fiddle every time. It further convinces me that the only reason she chose Magnus as her advocate in s1ep11 was to force Alec to go see him.

I think Magnus’s salt with Alec at this point is mostly self-protection. The only good defense is a strong offense. Or something. Some of it may also be injured pride, too, I imagine. He’s got to be stinging right about now, having found out that the Queen has betrayed them all. He probably feels very foolish, and yet he doesn’t feel like he can trust Alec with an admission of his own foolishness.

Jace introduces himself like he didn’t just see Malachi a few days previously when Valentine escaped. Weird.

Also, did neither of them notice a circle rune until the guy turned his head? Seriously? I mean, sure, the camera angle was cleverly chosen to hide it for the big reveal, but I refuse to believe neither Jace or Clary didn’t have a chance to catch a glimpse of it. Those runes aren’t subtle. Surely they would have seen some trace?

And here we see Todd and Darren once again leaning heavily on the plot-convenient incompetence trope. You seriously expect me to believe that Jace and Clary were grabbed like that without putting up even the littlest bit of a struggle, aside from a few twitches and grunts? They never even went for their weapons. Jace just kept his hands clasped behind his back while the guy grabbed his jacket. They just go along and let themselves be shackled.

UGH. Sloppy, sloppy writing/directing.

They’re doing the same thing with Meliorn that they’ve done a number of times with Raphael. His actions are so inconsistent that it’s impossible to get a handle on his motivations. I know book!Meliorn was just loyal to the Queen, full stop, but show!Meliorn hasn’t been portrayed that way. So what’s he doing here? I’d say he’s following orders because he has no choice, except that he seems too smug and complacent about it.

IDK

Also, as fierce as Seelie knights are supposed to be, Luke fucking disarmed them both right quick.

I like this glimpse at Clave (well, sort of) operations in Idris. Until now I don’t think we’ve had much of a look at thing as a purely military organization.

I know plenty of people have already meta’ed about this, but Malachi’s whole speech about there not being any such thing as Downworlders when Raziel created the first Shadowhunters is utter bullshit.

1) The Fair Folk were definitely already around. Shadowhunters have been in existence for ~1000 years (IIRC Jonathan Shadowhunter was a Crusader?) Faeries have been around much longer than that.

2) Jonathan Shadowhunter raised Raziel with the help of a warlock (I don’t remember if that’s in the books or in the supplementary material/wiki.) Which just makes sense. How else would he have acquired the tools and knowledge to summon an angel? And why would demons only have started procreating with humans in the last millennia when they have been around and able to get to our realm for much longer than that?

3) I’m not as certain about vampires and werewolves. But why would the Soul Sword have been created with the ability to wipe them out if they weren’t already in existence?

So I guess we can interpret Malachi’s diatribe in one of two ways. Either the writers are retconning the history of the world, or this is a deliberate choice illustrating how racists rewrite history to erase marginalized people from the narrative.

If it’s the former, they’re going to piss off myself and a lot of other people with even a modicum of common sense and understanding about the lore. If it’s the latter, they really need to make that a little more explicitly clear at some point, lest viewers who don’t have a clearer idea of the lore imagine that what Malachi said is actually canon.

*sigh* I don’t really have any commentary here, I just love them all working together. There are people meta’ing about the fact that apparently Magnus and Izzy were filmed calling the demons “asmodei” and apparently it was dubbed over as “edomei” (but the subtitles on the international Netflix release still say “asmodei”.) That change could mean anything or nothing. It could be as simple as they didn’t want to confuse things when we’re already familiar with Edom but not the fact that Asmodeus rules it. Or it could mean they are holding that concept of Asmodeus in reserve as a major Magnus-related plot point down the line.

Anyone else, familiar with how unstable sand can be, get a little nervous when they approached that big hole? Just me?

As I remarked in the comments on another post, I’m torn about how to interpret Alec’s sudden inability to draw another arrow and shoot it.

After the demon dodged his first arrow, he had plenty of time to draw, take aim, and shoot. We saw him earlier stand steady in the face of a demon bearing straight down on them until he had a point-blank shot. He totally could have done it, and my first thought for why he decided instead to turn and run screaming for Magnus’s help was more of Darren and Todd’s heavy reliance on convenient incompetence.

However. If he had waited until the demon was right on top of them to try for another shot, and the demon had dodged again, it would have been too late for him to reach Magnus and warn and protect him. So there’s a chance that his charging down the beach wasn’t him screaming for help, but yelling to warn Magnus that the demon was coming right toward his back.

I honestly don’t know which it is. Either is possible.

I know I’ll probably get some flack for this, but I’m quite disappointed that this was the extent of Magnus and Alec fighting “together” that we saw.

Todd’s remarks at SDCC gave a completely different impression. First of all, they gave the impression (talking about a “true blending of their abilities” or something to that effect) that we’d see the Alliance rune, which clearly we did not get in this episode. Second, they weren’t really fighting together here. It was one demon, and it was barely a fight. It came at them, Magnus blasted it, fight over.

I was expecting some sort of epic battle sequence but um, no. Not that I mind them taking down a dragon together, but seriously, Todd built this scene up to be something it wasn’t even close to being, and I’m a little irritated by that.

“I’m the High Warlock of Brooklyn.” Yes Magnus, yes you are.

One thing I’m NOT disappointed in is that Magnus remembered that. And reminded Alec of that.

Since s2ep12, we’ve seen Magnus in this very powerless place. He’s rendered powerless by being stuck in Valentine’s body. He’s powerless to defend himself against the Clave’s racial profiling. He’s powerless to escape the tragic memories that were forced back into the forefront of his consciousness by the Clave’s tortures. He’s made powerless to defend himself and his people against Valentine and the Soul Sword by Alec and the Clave’s lies. Then he’s made powerless again by the Seelie Queen’s betrayal.

What we’re seeing here is him reclaiming his power, remembering—and reminding others—that he is strong. He’s immensely, almost incomprehensibly powerful. And that’s important.

Yeah, this was the moment I started muttering “oh shit this is not good.” Simon Simon Simon…

I do like that the show seems to remember that Idris is on the other side of the world from New York city, and we see day/night differences accordingly.

I’ve meta’ed else where about Consul Malachi and the fact that his being a Circle member means precisely jack shit to any show watcher. In the books, we didn’t have a very clear picture of him, but we at least got to know him well enough that when it turned out he was working with Valentine, it mattered. On the show, it means exactly nothing. He’s Random Bad Guy #3407. We feel nothing about his betrayal, and nothing about his death, other than to hope that maybe the Clave will now come under new and better management. It was a lazily executed subplot, frankly.

However, we do have an interesting situation that wasn’t present in the books.

In the books, Imogen Herondale died long before this point. In fact, she died before Jace ever found out he was a Herondale. A man named Aldertree (who was described quite differently from the Victor Aldertree who was Head of the Institute in season 2A, so I don’t know if he was meant to be the same character) was Inquisitor at this point in the books. Aldertree was killed by Valentine, and then Malachi turned out to be a traitor and died. At the same time, in order to get the cooperation of the Downworld against Valentine’s forces, Luke (and Jocelyn, who was still alive in the books) got the Clave to agree to give Downworlders voting seats on the Council.

So now, on the show, we have Imogen Herondale still alive. Aldertree (assuming it’s meant to be the same character) possibly still alive but supposedly disgraced. Jocelyn is dead, however, and there was no epic battle between the Clave and an army of demons Valentine summoned and controlled with the Mortal Cup, so the need for the Clave and the Downworld to work together to fight him never came about.

What I’m getting at here is…what is the political landscape going to look like in Season 3 for the show?

In the books, Robert Lightwood becomes Inquisitor. Is it possible he might become Inquisitor while Imogen Herondale steps up to Consul? Maybe, but I sincerely hope not. I would much rather see Maryse become the political mover and shaker, and I’d like to see her take a page out of Alec’s book and introduce the idea of restructuring the Council to give Downworld representatives a vote. But what would compel the Clave to agree to that, without the Downworld having to strongarm them into it with the threat of letting the Clave be annihilated unless they agreed?

This could be the issue that puts the final nail in the coffin of Robert and Maryse’s marriage and paves the way for a romance between Luke and Maryse as well.

Okay. Okay. Hold up.

Are you telling me that Sebastian, who was impaled (supposedly through the heart) on a massive sword, somehow survived hours in the cold, polluted water and managed to drag himself ashore, but Jace goes down for the count after a few seconds from a little poke with a pocket knife?

The same Jace who just the night before took a sword to the lung and is apparently now hunky-dory?

Seriously?

SERIOUSLY???

This isn’t exactly the plot-convenient incompetence thing that Darren and Todd keep pulling, but it’s a near relation. And I hate it. It insults our intelligence.

With all that’s happened it’s hard to believe we’re only halfway through the episode at this point. I’m seriously amazed by how much they pack into these episodes.

That said, my fondest wish for Season 3 is that they’ll slow things down and work for it a bit more, lay more groundwork instead of speeding through everything. I doubt I’ll get that wish, though.

I remember an interview with Dominic Sherwood—or was it Alan Van Sprang?—where he spoke of Jace and Valentine having this really powerful moment of connection in the finale, and since I knew the books and had a pretty good idea what was coming, I suspected it would be something like this. In the books, Valentine actually weeps when he kills Jace. I like that, even as utterly corrupt and vile as Valentine is, he still at least deludes himself that he knows what love is enough to mourn the child he destroyed.

The editing of this entire sequence is a little frustrating for me, because they show Alec reacting in pain and shock, but just when we’re about to see Alec start really emoting about what’s happening, they cut away to Clary. And I have to give Kat full props, she plays this beautifully. Her grief here is so much more convincing and compelling than it was in s2ep04/s2ep05. (Maybe that’s because she had another actor whom she obviously feels close to to play the scene off of? It’s probably easier to get in the moment when your friend is lying there “dead” in front of you.) But Alec’s reaction is important here, too, and I feel like we don’t really get enough of it to feel what he’s feeling. The next time we see him, he’s in soldier mode and it just feels very disconnected.

I’m a little annoyed also that Clary didn’t even try to go for Jace’s iratze rune but instead just sat there crying. Despite that, their moment got me. A lot of that is totally on Dom and his improvised “I love you” because I’m a sucker for stuff like that, the sheer pathos of making that monumental admission of love at the last moment when it carries no promise of hope or a future. Good stuff, there.

Gotta admit, it’s kinda hard to comment on this whole sequence because I just get caught up in watching it.

Alec’s immediate concern for Magnus’s safety is amazing, as is Magnus’s utter disregard for it. He’s just remembered his own strength; he’s not going to run for shelter when everyone is in danger.

I really wish Raziel had read Valentine the riot act the way he did in the books, raking Valentine over the coals for his arrogance and the fact that every thought he’d ever had that he was fulfilling Heaven’s mandate was pure egotism.

If Valentine hadn’t decided to do the palm-slitting thing in dramatically slow motion, Clary wouldn’t have been able to stop him. Alas, all his carefully laid schemes were undone by his need to posture.

The fight scene was brutal and perfect.

Clary going Princess Stabbity (yes, I have co-opted that name from Dragon Age; it belongs to Clary now) all over Valentine’s ass is a thing of beauty. Especially after the way she did the same thing to Sebastian in s2ep18. Apparently her fighting style is just to keep poking things until they fall down or run away. I like it.

I especially like that she kills Valentine with the same knife he used to murder Jace. Much more satisfying than Raziel smiting Valentine like he did in the books.

“And be wise.” Wise? Really? This is Clary we’re talking about, Raziel.

I know there have been people (none that I follow) who have scoffed about Clary bring back Jace instead of her mother. I don’t have a problem with it. No, it doesn’t mean she loves only Jace and doesn’t love her mother. It means her grief from her mother’s death has had time to heal more, to become something she can live with, and in that moment, the same could not be said for the grief from Jace’s death. It was much more recent and much more raw and it wasn’t a decision she had time to mull over or be philosophical about.

*sigh* Sometimes people just expect too damn much from characters.

(and yes, grammar check, I know “rawer” is actually the proper word, but I hate it so…no.)

I like that Jace points out the consequences of bringing people back from the dead. It brings the events following Jocelyn’s death full circle and turns them into foreshadowing, giving her death purpose in the context of the story instead of just something they did to flaunt the fact that they could deviate from the books at will.

I want to go on a rant about the way Jace and Clary’s kisses are filmed versus the way Magnus and Alec’s kisses are filmed, but this probably isn’t the place for it. Let’s just suffice to say that Malec’s kisses remain oddly chaste and passionless, with the exception of s1ep12 and the bedroom scene in s2ep18. Someone commented on one of my meta posts a few weeks ago that Magnus and Alec kiss like they’ve been married for 40 years, and it’s true. They don’t kiss like people who have only been a couple for just over a month.

I don’t know if it’s the actors or the directors, but I’m getting really tired of it, because kisses between Jace and Clary are filmed entirely differently.

Alec saying “it’s over” just kills me because of course we know that it’s not. They think Sebastian is dead, and Valentine is dead, and of course they’re wrong on the first count. I feel so bad for them because this has been two months of just non-stop nightmare for them and I wish they could have that respite for real.

I love Magnus hugging Izzy here.

Please give me 20 more episodes of drunk Luke. Even if he is a cop forgetting that Clary is a minor.

I’m wondering at the presence of Seelies at this party. It would seem after the Queen’s betrayal and assisting Valentine that they would personae non gratae at a celebration of Valentine’s defeat. But whatevs.

And can we talk about this scene between Clary and Izzy? I know the Clizzy shippers are mourning the sister thing, but we’re getting REAL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT from Clary here!

s2ep12 was all about Sebastian getting in Clary’s head and telling her how isolated she is, how she has no family left. Because, of course, he wanted to supplant her those connections with himself as her miraculously-returned brother. And she bought into that. She basically spent the rest of season 2B angsting over the fact that Jonathan was the last of her family, etc, etc.

So to see her here, acknowledging and valuing her found-family is pretty important and honestly not the sort of character growth we tend to get for Clary, so I’m in favor.

There’s been a lot of meta done already about the dual levels that Clary’s conversation with Simon is happening on. She’s saying “welcome back” while he’s saying “goodbye” and ow, my heart. I find Clary adorable when she’s playing Simon’s wingman, and as much as I bought into Climon 1000X more than I ever expected it to, this feels absolutely right for them and I’m so glad their interactions will never again carry this omnipresent undertone of Simon pining for her.

Once again, Alberto is just killing it all through Simon’s scene here. He’s so charming and funny and yet those moments when you get a glimpse at him letting down the mask are amazing. How is he just so incredibly GOOD? He continues to be the best actor in the whole cast, which is saying something because there are a few really good actors on this show.

I like Jace and Maia’s little moment, for no other reason than to wrap up loose ends and demonstrate that there’s really nothing there between them. Which is sad because they really do have crazy chemistry, book canon be damned.

I both loved and had issues with Magnus and Alec’s resolution here. Alec’s heart-eyes when he looks at Magnus, his heavy breathing as he amps himself up for their talk in the alley… It’s all amazing.

There’s something about the way Alec says “I don’t think I can live without you” that just grips me. He says it very baldly and simply, but that’s par for the course for Alec. I’m still trying to parse what’s different about this declaration.

The “I love you” in s2ep10 was something that Alec was very nervous to admit. I mean, yes, he was still dealing with residual fear from his concern over Magnus’s safety, so part of his anxiety in that moment might have been due to that, but it was just very clear from his breathing and his body language that it was something he had to amp himself up for.

And there have been other, very purposeful declarations Alec has made throughout the season as well, and those have a different tone entirely. He goes marching into them like the soldier he is, standing stalwart in the face of these blunt truths, refusing to flinch from them.

This admission here…it’s almost the exact opposite of any of those occasions. He goes from anxious to calm. He’s not anxiously powering through it, and he’s not staunchly resolute.

He just…surrenders to it. That’s the only word I can use to describe it. There’s a sort of helplessness in that look he gives Magnus, the little shake of his head. The simplicity of the statement. No dramatics. “You hold my entire hope for happiness in the palm of your hand, and I’m giving in to that fact. There’s nothing I can do here to affect the outcome, it’s entirely on you and it’s just going to be what it is.”

It’s wonderfully nuanced acting on Matt’s part.

So, that’s why I loved the scene. On one hand, I would have absolutely lost my fucking mind if they’d carried the break-up over through the hiatus.

However…On the other hand, there’s still so much that needs to be said and I need to especially know that Alec gets it.

What went wrong between them wasn’t just about the Soul Sword and his failure to disclose what he knew about it. What went wrong is that he still thinks too much like a Shadowhunter who believes his job is to manage and control the Downworld and make decisions for them instead of working with them as an ally. And I’m not sure Alec gets that and he needs to. And it’s okay for Alec not to be there yet, as long as he knows this is something he has to learn to do. It’s not as simple as saying “I won’t do that again.” He needs to reprogram his entire way of thinking, his entire concept of his world and the role he plays in it, and it’s going to take time.

I do love that Magnus is open to giving him that chance, I just wish we’d seen an understanding of the true nature of the conflict acknowledged.

Don’t get me started on the kiss again. Why are they not permitted to really just snog each other and make out the way other couples on the show do? It bothers me and it’s going to continue to bother me.

You can’t tell me Isaiah didn’t have the time of his life playing this scene. He probably had the entire rest of the cast in stitches. I’m gonna need ALL the footage of stuff that ended up on the cutting room floor.

Ollie really couldn’t have chosen a worse moment to show up. I am looking forward to finding out what her deal is in season 3.

Though, honestly? I was hoping that season 3 would start with the characters enjoying at least a few weeks of respite to let the dust settle, but clearly that isn’t going to be the case, because with Jace screaming in agony clearly there won’t be the slow build-up to the Lilith-related plotline that was in City of Fallen Angels.

Also, there’s no way anyone is going more than a day or two without noticing that Simon is missing.

…unless Simon ISN’T missing. We have no idea what the nature of the deal he struck with the Seelie Queen is. Is she going to keep him with her in her realm permanently? If she does that, she has to know people will start looking for him. Or will she let him carry on his life with the requirement that he spend a certain amount of his time with her also?

In the books, Simon and Maia’s relationship ends because he’s two-timing her with Izzy. Clearly show!Simon would never do that in the way it happened in the books, but if he’s in this position where he has no choice but to carry on these two relationships because he’s trying to protect Maia…maybe?

I don’t know. There’s some people who think that Simon’s use of the words “for better or for worse” means that he’s being made to marry the Seelie Queen. Which would also be an interesting twist.

I’ve commented before on the fact that the choice of a child to play the Seelie Queen initially was probably a nod toward Maureen as she existed in the books. There, she was 13/14 year old girl who was Simon’s self-appointed groupie. Obviously show!Maureen went someplace entirely, so she wouldn’t really work here.

In the books, however, Maureen ended up becoming a vampire, taking over Raphael’s clan and appointing herself “queen”, and forcing Simon to be her “king.” So what we could be seeing here with this Seelie Queen plotline is some variation of that thread in the books, perhaps?

I love how there are all these people around and no one notices the guy screaming on the ground.

I have to admit, the notion that all those demons we actually pieces of Lilith that would eventually coalesce into her manifestation was not something that I saw coming, and a really cool concept. Especially since we’ve already seen a foreshadowing of that ability, in the fact that Azazel could transform into a swarm of locusts. These Edomei demons are, of course, much more massive than locusts, which sort of gives a comparative notion of just how hugely powerful Lilith is.

I remarked in my liveblog at the time that it would be really cool if Lilith were played by Maxim Roy, but I doubt that will happen. IMDB has her in the credits as Tara Westwood (at least, a character just called “Woman” whom I assume is Lilith.) Whether that’s who is going to play Lilith in season 3 or not, I couldn’t say.

And there we have it. I wonder if Will Tudor is going to have to spend season 3A the same way Maxim Roy spent season 1, just sort of lying there unresponsive all the time. If they stick to the books, the answer is yes, but God, what a waste of Will’s talents that would be.

See you next season!

[elizabethrobertajones]

Hey you, during the course of this season i Have seen more and more people leave the fandom or grow disinterested in spn, and im confused why that it. I get why maybe s12 wouldnt be a fave season but if I look at the wank and bads of the previous ones (destiel fiasco in/out the show s9, charlies death Dean cruelty to Cas in s10, Dean/baby love interest s11) s12 didnt really do much that would drive people away en masse I feel? Yet it seems like more people left it :(

Heya! :D

Idk, maybe it was that more vocal people drifted off? I always feel like people’s attention spans are usually only a few years or so. I mean, I feel like I’ve been in the fandom a Long Time and I’ve only been here since the end of season 9, so really this is only my 3rd hiatus, and coming up to 4th year watching with fandom, on a 12 year show I’ve been watching for nearly 10 years, for the most part as a moderately casual viewer… I think I clock up about 5 years major interest and then drift, based on me vs several other things like how invested I was in LotR or Harry Potter or Animorphs, or whatever (to go back in time to my pre-teen interests :P) and it’s not a bad thing and I still love 2 of those franchises and have engagement in them but back to being a casual fan (if “religiously watches LotR at Christmas” is casual allowing for cultural/social stuff, but I’m not composing Legolas/Aragon smut in my teenage journal in secret code any more :P) 

Anyway the season 8 bubble of fandom could be deflating about now - that’s long enough for people to feel they’ve given the show their full attention and it’s still going so it’s getting tiring. That’s the major feeling I get - people are exhausted and we had a baby boomer fandom around season 8 so that ~generation~ of fans is now reaching the natural end of its attention span in a very human natural way. But there’s a ton of new or newer fans who are still enjoying the heck out of it, and the fandom’s still huge and full of people with a commitment to the show or ships. And some people don’t work like that and are loyal from start to finish or commit to TV shows fully to see them to their end. I would dump a show I was getting bored of but come back to watch the end later in a big marathon to find out what happened, but Supernatural hasn’t given me a reason to get totally un-invested until that time… I suspect a lot of people will watch the entire show ONE DAY but don’t want to do fandom and give it all their leisure time any more either.

[under a cut for meandering rambling]

But yeah I think you’ve named some pretty big mass exodus moments (I would like to clarify “Dean/baby” is “Dean/Amara-as-an-infant” right? Because Dean/Baby totally was a thing in 11x04 and it was GLORIOUS :P) and I feel like I DID lose people from my dash all through the time I’ve been watching. Heck, I hit up fandom right after 9x18, and started following people, and that was the JIB of “we don’t play it that way” so I immediately was following several abandoned blogs and I’d barely even started to get to know the landscape :P I feel like people HAVE been jumping ship the entire time and I remember most of those instances as sadly clearing several favourite people off my dash or turning them into different fandom blogs that I eventually unfollowed out of confusion… 

I don’t know, I think people leave when they want to leave because as long as you like the core of a thing and it holds your interest, you can forgive or ignore or scowl at but hold out for better the bad bits and problematic parts. I’m sort of weary of them killing all the women and PoC but I’m still at the stage where I identify it sucks, but I still care too much about the main characters that I’m sort of stuck on this ride with them. 

(I have 2x21 paused on the screen next to me right as Sam meets all the special children, aka introducing Lily the lesbian who dies horribly as a disposable red shirt to show how awful this situation is, and Jake, a black guy whose power is being super strong and to fall to Azazel’s manipulation, kill Sam, and then get killed with extreme overkill by Sam. In the same season he set the cops on Gordon, also a black man who was really aggro and cruel, but in the next season becomes a monster and Sam kills him also one of the most brutal kills he has up there with Jake. Basically, the show’s always had some issues and if we carried on watching all the way to season 12, well, apply self-reflection, but at this point if you’ve been watching as long as I have, you just kind of accept the show sucks at certain things, and for ME personally it’s not kicking off the sort of weariness that others felt about Billie and Alicia and Eileen being killed off this season)

… I don’t really have a point, expect about the demographics of fandom during season 8 getting to the end of their interest now. I don’t think EVERYONE who did will leave, and we’re getting fresh blood all the time, but I think that’s just part of the nature of being in fandom. I don’t think season 12 is particularly bad from my experience, although some pretty high profile bloggers have gotten exhausted - again, they’ve been maintaining blogs and producing content since single digit seasons so they’ve contributed a LOT to the fandom and there’s a fatigue about contribution as well… 

That’s partially why I meta and gif and write fic and occasionally make random shitposts… I don’t want to burn out because any one of those things on its own can get pretty boring, even writing fic. Or especially, idk, as a writer I tend to bounce around projects, so this is keeping me weirdly focused on writing my original fiction on one side of my brain and fan fic on the other and it seems to be a better way of splitting my attention… But I digress. :P 

I know how to manage my own brain to some degree but I have a lot of time to contemplate and self-reflect on why I’m in fandom and what I get out of it, and mostly I just conclude I’m bored and house-bound and I’ve found a few tried and tested things that get me some positive attention in a non-weird rat with a pleasure button way like people running hate blogs or something… But I know my own head and that I can get bored of stuff so I marathon a lot of other shows and think about other things than fandom stuff as much as possible and just let this be the gutter my brain drains into when my attention span is too shot to hell to do anything else and I just want to slump over a keyboard and do the easiest activity I know bar playing Animal Crossing for hours. 

Other people with busier lives and actual jobs and energy and limbs that don’t just randomly stop working when they do anything for more than 5 minutes and so on might not be casual fans but they make a certain space in their life for fandom and get out of it what they need but it’s a high quality demand thing so if their carefully allocated me-time isn’t rewarding them like it should it’s totally their right to go find another OTP to amuse themselves with a fandom producing stuff they want to see and a media source that’s giving them what they want immediately and in a way they don’t have to “look for scraps” as some people were saying about Destiel in season 9, 10 and 11 while things were thinner on the ground.

And as one of the too-much-free-time fandom contributors, I’ve got an enormous luxury to stick out things people who don’t have time for being jerked around or over-analysing to find what they want to see have… Although I’ll try and pass on my thoughts for the people with less time to think them to try and help them enjoy themselves as much as possible :P Anyway I think a whole range of reasons happen that people might get fatigued of the show especially as lives change and people blogging enthusiastically one day might get a job or a new relationship or a dog or SOMETHING and just not spend quite so much time online and then discover they don’t NEED to spend so much time on fandom, and drift naturally… Then try and find some reason on the show they’ve stopped watching, but often it’s just that things look worse after time away when the spark has started to fade because it’s not being nurtured in the same way any more. 

And 12 years is a LONG ASS TIME to be invested in something, so I think in general the fatigue or changing interests is all over the place and we might see it more and more as people drift… People who might watch it all as a catch up one day maybe a year or two after the show ends, but just don’t have the patience to stay in fandom and put in that energy over and over and over. 

Also the show is in a really weird place where it has some of the best writers it’s ever had in Berens and the newbie writers, and Dabb’s doing some fascinating things with the plot, but Buckleming are the executors of the story, in several interpretations of that phrase :P And there are people who skip MotW and find them unimportant or would judge the season on the plot, not the heart of the story… It’s a pretty precarious place, quality-wise. I think season 11 and 12 are a proper like, silver age revival of the MotW (with Nancy Won and Robbie giving last season a massive boost) where I think those episodes are really innovative and interesting, and the writers are being allowed a lot of freedom to play on THOSE canvases, but while the character development and *reasons* for the story have been fascinating and important, obviously 5 of the plot episodes this latest season were Buckleming and crucial to watch to know wtf was going on, even though the writers of those episodes seem to have such a terrible problem with hating the audience (literally, it’s in their scripts and off-screen comments), the genre, second drafts, common human decency towards characters and understanding why they’re important, pacing, you name it… :P So the show literally has 2 faces these days and depending on which one you see when you think of season 12, probably defines how you feel about the show as a whole and all that. I treat the plot episodes these days as a necessary evil between episodes written by people who actually like the show and care about it and its characters (see also: my non-stop sobbing about 12x22 since it aired)… But seeing the other face can really cast a cloud over the show and I’ve seen it make people wonder why the other writers even try. (I mean Perez did an incredible salvage job on Crowley in 12x15 only for it to immediately get yanked away again the next time BL wrote him and I think only they really got to play with him for the rest of the season, meaning all that work to make it seem important and thematically relevant that Perez had set up in 12x12 and messed with in 12x15 ended up being for nothing and Dabb had no time to do anything deep with Crowley, because 12x13 turns out to be the big Crowley & Rowena farewell episode, except for how it flubbed the entire premise of Grand Send Off Episode a la 7x10 or something despite all the ingredients being there…)

I am just rambling now so… Gonna hit post. Hope this makes sense :P This is just my interpretation of how people are feeling/how fandom as an entity seems to work, so it’s pretty subjective and others might feel very differently especially people who have been in negative echo chambers while I’ve built myself a reasonably positive one plus SENSIBLE and CONSTRUCTIVE wanky criticism that doesn’t go off the deep end :P

[vieuxnoyesrp]

Tatum. We really liked the thought and the depth you put in your application for our up and coming Labonair Alpha. What is particularly important to us when it comes to Hayley applications is to get a feel for who she is before turning into the fearsome and fearless leader that she became on the show. This isn’t quite where’s she’s at in our verse (not yet anyway!), and your application beautifully captured this distinction. We see a Hayley that is still rough around the edges, still too honest for the maelstrom of politics and deception that is the Bayou, and still has a lot to learn. This gives her so much room to grow! We could hear her staunch, stubborn voice in your sample para, and your headcanons helped further bring-out her humanity. All in all, you showed us that even in her fledgling state your Hayley Labonair is a force to be reckoned with, and we cannot wait to have her on the dash!

Tatum, thank you very much for applying. As for Hayley…

                      ⚜ ~ WELCOME TO VIEUX NOYÉS!!! ~ ⚜

Wondering what to do next? Click here and let the good times roll!

⚜ Roleplayer:  

⤜ Name/alias: Tatum ⤜ Pronouns: She/Her + female ⤜ Age: 19 ⤜ Timezone: Est ⤜ Activity: 7-8 ; I typically can be on for an hour or two every day with weekend activity increasing a few hours. At the very least, I make sure to get one round of replies out per day if not on hiatus or something of that nature. ⤜ Best form of contact: The tumblr messenger function is the fastest way to reach me but I do have a Skype if necessary for plotting and such. ⤜ Any Triggers? Not at the present time. ⤜ How did you find Vieux Noyés? I actually stumbled across the one year post in the roleplay tags. I thought it was pretty amazing that a group had lasted that long and decided to check it out. (congrats by the way; that’s a landmark not a ton of people hit ❤ ) ⤜ What drew you to the RP? The thing that drew me most to the roleplay was the way the characters from multiple shows were arranged. I enjoy how the admins have found a way to combine so many supernatural creatures and beings in a way that makes sense. The plot gives a solid backbone to start writing from but also allows writers some grey areas to which they can use to develop their character in a unique way.

⤜ What is one subplot/element from the Plot page that you are particularly looking forward to seeing in this roleplay? I’m most interested in the witches subplot. I find it very interesting to have Davina Claire and the New Orleans witches run into the Bennetts. I believe that the possible conflict and hierarchy development of power between these witches is a very interesting element and something that hasn’t really been quite explored in either of the shows.

⚜ Desired Character: Hayley Labonair

⤜ Why do you want this character?

Hayley has always been a character that I’ve been drawn to. From the first time she appeared in the series, it was obvious to see that she was a character strong enough to stand on her own, but also a girl that had a tormented past. I enjoy that Hayley has a particular brand of sass and wit that is all her own, but that quality about her is also her defense mechanism. Hayley isn’t your typical Mary Jane character. She isn’t perfect, but she tries. Her drive to find her family and her history have shaped her into a person that stops at no end to protect those she loves because she’s been deprived of the typical, happy childhood for no good reason. Perhaps, it’s the fact that Hayley has become everything she is today on her own accord that draws me to her the most. The Labonair is completely able to take care of herself, but she’s beginning to realize that perhaps friends and allies aren’t the worst thing to have in the world. I want to be the person that gets to explore Hayley’s journey from becoming a lone wolf to one that belongs to a pack, or better yet, a family. I believe that I can do that within the context of this roleplay and would be overjoyed to be given the opportunity to make this she-wolf to come to life.

⤜ What are your future plans for this character?

My future plans for Hayley are mostly centered around her ascent into becoming an alpha. I want to explore how Hayley deals with the power that comes along with her new position.  I want to show how her nature and the way she deals with others adapts to the new role she’s been given. I’d also like to explore her relationships with others. I believe that it will be interesting to allow a few walls of Hayley’s to come down and display how she interacts with other’s she’s allowed to get past the walls she’s created over the years. Finally, I’d like to explore how Hayley learns about her past from Jackson and other members of the pack. She’s spent her entire life seeking this information, and now that she has access to it, I’d like to show how her goals and also ideas about wolves come to change and grow.

⤜ Put yourself in your character’s shoes. Give us a few lines to describe a day in the life of your character… Where do they live? Where and how do they spend their time? (feel free to refer to our locations page that can be found in the navigation)

Hayley likely starts the day fairly early in the morning. While she may not get up and do things right away, she likes the calm that comes over her while watching the sunrise in the Bayou. Her cabin there is small but quaint. She isn’t one for much artistic décor, but there are minimal elements that she’s added to the home to make it her own. Hayley enjoys darker colors, most of her furniture and décor fall into this range of colors as well. After morning cup of coffee, Hayley likes to go for a run through the community to check on the members of her pack. Once she’s assessed the area and confirmed that the members of her pack are safe, she’ll likely meet with Jackson to discuss what they need to get done for the day. Once she’s finished there, she’ll call Tyler to see if he wants to either train or meet up for a drink. These meetings with Tyler are her repose from the Bayou, often occurring just outside of city limits. Hayley isn’t one to spend time in the Quarter, but there are times in which she ventures there to do a little surveillance and visit the local bars for a drink. Hayley’s days are mostly routine, but the way she views them, they’re comprised of things that are necessary to her cause and her new role as alpha. Towards the evening, Hayley will likely pick up something to eat and dine with a few of her pack members around the fire before doing a final sweep of the Bayou for the night. Once she’s sure everything and everyone is away for the night, she’ll retire to her cabin for the night. Often, she’ll pour herself a glass of bourbon and drink it while reading a book or writing in a journal. Once the clock strikes two, she’ll shower and get herself to bed before waking up once again to start the next day.

⤜ Give us three headcanons regarding your character of choice. (If your character is from one of the tv shows, please come up with a headcanon that is not explicitly stated on the show, but is rather based on your own imagination.)

Hayley cannot cook to save her life.Hayley’s cooking skills are extremely lacking. This is most likely because she’s a product of her upbringing. Bouncing around from place to place didn’t quite leave her with the money or utilities needed to cook proper meals. She’s survived on to go food and the microwavable food she comes across. While most wouldn’t be too bothered by it, Hayley absolutely hates the fact that she isn’t capable of this simple task. So, in the evenings, she can be found with a ratty, old cookbook and a few ingredients in hand. While most of the time her efforts end with her having to open a window to ventilate the space after burning something, she can’t quite help but enjoy the times she gets the meal right. Her goal is to be able to cook a few dozen meals by the end of the year. Even though she began trying to learn how to cook for her own needs, it’s actually become a bit of a hobby for her. It unwinds the wolf after a stressful day, allowing her time to focus on a task with clear instructions that produce an immediate result.

Hayley is extremely claustrophobic. This is a quirk about the wolf that she doesn’t quite talk about a lot. No one knows of this fear as she believes it to be foolish. Her fear of small spaces stems from her childhood experiences in foster homes and sleeping in random places for the nights. Once, she spent the night in a small closet with the door locked, and the whole ordeal terrified her when she realized she couldn’t escape. Now, if she’s caught in a tight space, the wolf does her best to hide the way her hands curl inwards as her nails dig into her flesh to distract her from the terror. Beads of sweat pool on her forehead and her breathing quickens until she’s able to get out into the open. This is yet another reason she’s thankful for her wolf side. When she turns, the freedom that comes with being able to run as a wolf is a release for her, and she enjoys the open terrain and using it to her advantage.

Hayley has a new found love for jazz music. Since coming to New Orleans, the wolf has begun to appreciate the city’s music. The first time she found herself in a bar within the city, a small jazz band was playing a set. Hayley found herself almost leaning forward on her barstool as the members of the band played and danced throughout the song. Hayley wasn’t quite sure what it was about the song, but the music had a way of drawing her in. The wolf found her fingers tapping along with the beat as a small smile appeared on her face. Now, it’s not uncommon to find the girl humming along to some song she’s picked up or tucked away in the corner booth of some hole in the wall bar listening to a new jazz band play.

⤜ What are some plots you’d like to explore with your character?

I’d like to explore Hayley’s relationship with Kira. I think it’s interesting that Hayley’s taken an interest in the younger girl. Hayley’s always been more self-oriented, only truly caring about her back outside of herself. I want to explore her reasoning to want to help the other girl and using it as a tool to display how Hayley is growing as a person. Alongside that, I want to show how Hayley reacts when she finds out that Kira isn’t in fact a wolf but something else entirely. I think it will be interesting to see if she sticks around for her after she’s sure she isn’t a wolf, and her decision in that will further define who she is becoming as a person and also possibly serve as an example to her pack.

Another relationship I’m interested in playing out is Hayley’s and Jackson’s. I want to delve into the conflict that is unavoidable now that Hayley, a newcomer, has taken over the alpha position when Jackson seemed to be the obvious choice. For Hayley, Jackson is her closest and dearest friend, and while she feels that she’s likely overstepped him, she can’t bring herself to regret her ascent to power. It isn’t in her nature to tip toe around anything, so she’ll have to figure out a solution fairly quickly or risk losing the most important person she’s come to have.

Outside of her relationships with others, I want to explore Hayley’s relationship with herself. After years of being of looking out for herself, I want to give her the opportunity to be taken care of herself. She now has at least two friends she knows she can trust, and I want to give her the opportunity to rely on someone else, an idea that used to be completely off limits to her. I think it will be good for the wolf to learn that she doesn’t have to take on the world by herself, and it’s alright to ask for a hand every now and then when she needs it. As for her enemies, I plan to expose a new side of Hayley. One that isn’t hand on the throttle at top speed. I want to allow her to think and consider more before she acts, but that’s not to say she’ll lose her temper either. I just want to allow Hayley to grow for the better, and while parts of her growth may make her teeth grit, it’s necessary for her to finally assimilate into the life she’s always dreamed about.

⤜ Para sample: (The sample must be in character, in third-person, and at least 300 words. Samples with dialogue are encouraged.)

(Retained for privacy.)

⤜ Would you like to be considered for another character if not accepted as your primary choice? Not at this time, thank you.

⤜ Have you read the rules?: Yes, I have!

⤜ Anything else? N/A.

[nodancer]

Fic Rec Days #1 - Hamilton

I love the idea of fic rec days and so I’ll try to make a post for each day.

Starting with Hamilton since that’s what I read pretty much exclusively last year - these are mainly Hamilton/Burr or Gen with a focus on the two. In order to keep this list a bit shorter I’ve cut it down to only fics with under 1000 kudos (with one exception). Some stories are about the historical and not the musical figures, they’re marked with an asterisk in front of the title.

Gen & Not-Hamilton/Burr

Bound Together by triedunture Rating: G Burr and Hamilton are captured by British scouts and shackled together, but manage to escape. They can perhaps survive in the wilderness for a day. If they can work together for a few moments. 

a great frienemies fic with wonderful banter and lots of fun obstacles for the unlucky companions, with just the right amount of feelings thrown in.

Frienemies by Esti7310 Rating: T Pairing: Angelica Hamilton/Theodosia Burr What do you do when you finally get to know an old family nemesis in front of your locker? Pretend to date them just for kicks, obviously. 

a modern au that will satisfy all your needs for fake dating, enemies to friends to lovers and awkward but supportive dads. happy and fluffy and with all that good good pining and denial.

Hamilton Modern AU Gothic by AlanOfAllTrades Rating: G What does "Modern AU" actually mean? Especially for the characters involved?

exactly what you expect from the title. short and hilarious metafic.

I support our troops is not a political opinion by Sarah1281 Rating: G He and Hamilton are definitely not friends. The fact he's not even surprised Hamilton broke into his house to yell at him about his lack of political opinions might confuse the issue but they're not.

a short and funny modern day fic that’s mostly dialogue between hamilton and burr about the latter’s (lack of) stances in his campaign for the presidency.

keep the light in by Mira_Jade Rating: T “God be good, Alexander, you commanded entire battalions during the war, but you can't keep track of a troupe of adolescents - ” 

hamilton manages to lose his kids in the presidential mansion and during his search runs into someone with the same problem. adorable interactions with the little hamlets and funny dialogue between the adults. just wholesome fluffy gen all around.

Outside the Lines by BethCGPhoenix Rating: G Guess that’s what the Cabinet gets for hanging around with a narrator, though. They’re all like that.

the characters act out their lives, but they’re also aware they’re part of a play and what their roles in it are. the metafic in this fandom is particularly excellent and this one is my favorite - the way the writer incorporates the lyrics and musical motifs and the character’s awareness of their meanings on a meta level is just incredible.

someone else’s story by iaintinapatientphase Rating: M Warnings: Dubious Consent, Abusive Relationship Pairing: Alexander Hamilton/Maria Reynolds This isn’t a love story, not at all. Maria doesn't like to dwell on it, but that doesn't make it any less true. 

maria’s story gets told. everything about this fic is incredibly good - the writing, the multilayered characterisation, the way it absoluetely isn’t apologetic about hamilton’s actions, but doesn’t demonize him either. it just feels absolutely real and unrelenting in its portrayal of maria’s world and the decisions she has to make. the one hamilton fic absolutely everyone should read.

The Source of Distant Rivers, the Sound of Distant Guns by scioscribe Rating: T Pairings: Alexander Hamilton/John Laurens, Alexander Hamilton/Eliza Schuyler Men who put their faith in history must sometimes live to see themselves be overwritten.

the colonists are losing and they are overwritten by the winners - literally. this is a creepy, otherworldly metafic where the characters see themselves change into something different as their stories get told by their enemies. absolutely everything scioscribe has written for hamilton is amazing and this one really stayed with me.

Hamilton/Burr

A More Perfect Union (WIP, regular updates) by holograms Rating: E Other Pairings: Alexander Hamilton/Eliza Schuyler Hamilton survives the duel. He gets more time, and Burr does too. 

the duel doesn’t end fatally, so aaron and alex slowly become friends again and plot a future that involves them staying together, despite massive disapproval from... everyone. the slowest of slow burns with great characterisations and wonderful relationships both between alex and aaron and alex and eliza.

Alexandrite by pennylehane Rating: T Warnings: Implied Child Abuse Other Pairings: Aaron Burr/Theodosia Prevost The words pushed their way from Aaron's lips without pausing to await consent. A single, soft white begonia  slipped out from under his tongue, drifting lightly in the morning wind. 

a fairytale au where a witch put a spell on aaron so that flowers and gemstones fall out of his mouth whenever he speaks - and so he talks as little as possible and hides his words from other people. the fairy tale it’s based on is such a great fit for burr and the fic is beautifully written with lovely use of symbolism and flower language.

* and indeed there will be time by cherry_darling Rating: M In which Burr and Hamilton sit down and play their hand again. And again. And again.

a beautifully written non-linear reincarnation au where aaron and alexander meet each other at different times throughout history and keep making the same mistakes.

Everyone who loves me has died by belmanoir Rating: M Alexander has been talking for eight solid days about the importance of an independent judiciary. He doesn't have to stop for breath anymore. 

a hamilton’s ghost haunts burr fic that starts light and humorous and becomes increasingly heartbreaking.

fools who run their mouths off (WIP, on hiatus) by scioscribe Rating: T Other Pairings: Alexander Hamilton/John Laurens The one where Alexander Hamilton is a witness in need of protection and Burr has just lost a very crucial coin toss.

my one exception to the less than 1000 kudos rule, simply because this is my favorite hamilton fic (and one of my favorite fics in general). this is scioscribe, so the writing and characterisation are excellent, in particular her burr is heartbreaking here. both hamilton and burr in this are people who have to lock away large parts of themselves in order to live a functional life and both deal - and fail to deal - with that in their own way. and this look on them (and in fact on all of the characters) is just so very empathetic, so non-judgmental about their flaws and mistakes. all of the relationships are touching in their own way, in particular the friendship between aaron and angelica is the heart of some of the most memorable scenes. that being said, do heed that “on hiatus” and read at your own risk, as it hasn’t been updated in a good while.

History Obliterates by holograms Rating: M Alexander Hamilton has had Aaron Burr erased from his memory. Please never mention their relationship to him again. Thank you. 

an absolutely devastating eternal sunshine of the spotless mind au where first alex and then aaron erase their memories of each other, looking back at how their relationship began and how it broke apart.

Making a Million Mistakes by 4b4the22 Rating: T In a desperate attempt to prove he can be a responsible father Alexander agrees to watch Philip for the weekend at the "apartment" he doesn't actually have. Fortunately Aaron invites him to spend the weekend with him and Theo. 

hamilton’s life falls apart fast, so he gets drunk in a ballpit. aaron doesn’t need another person in his family, except maybe he does. this one’s a classic and everything you could possibly want out of a hilarious desperate single dads au.

* Religious Duty (WIP, not on hiatus anymore!!) by ghostburr Rating: M Just another modern AU Hamburrger reincarnationverse.

honestly just the definitive historical hamilton & burr characterisations for me. this writer has done her research for years and has such a good grasp on their character voices and motivations, and doesn’t shy away from darker topics like burr’s overburdening parenting and his sex addiction. also featuring: hilarious hamilton/burr/morris/troup exchanges, lots of fun and snarky dialogue in general, a wonderful theodosia b/angelica h friendship, spectacularly bad decision making, copious amounts of miscommunication and all the ways aaron and alex fail at being single dads. also, there are additional ficlets in that ‘verse if you crave that extra content.

* a halo of patience and a less sporadic pace (WIP) by elizajumel Rating: M Alexander smiles brilliantly. “You know,” he says, “that we’ll never be fully free of ghosts.”

set in the universe of religious duty. they move in together and learn to settle into domestic life, but that doesn’t mean their differences simply go away. snippets of their life, some melancholic, some disgustingly domestic and with fun, sharp dialogue throughout. it’s marked as chapter 1/? but can easily be read as a standalone.

The Crackpots, Two Schuylers, and Burr by thelittlelion Rating: G Many years ago, Andrew Jackson, America's 7th President, had a two-ton block of cheese in the White House foyer that everyone was welcome to eat. Alexander really should know better than to mix his least favorite gimmick with a bet against Angelica Schuyler.

a west wing au full of snark, fun interactions and hamilton fucking things up in a masterful way. you don’t have to watch the west wing for this but it does make it even more hilarious.

you had to have him (and so you did) by Nakimochiku Rating: E Aaron isn't superstitious, so he sees nothing wrong with moving into a suspiciously cheap apartment, despite Theo's words of warning. And if there's a spirit or something in his house, well, he has better things to do than worry about it. 

burr moves into a new apartment and, ignoring his best friends’ warnings, slowly befriends the fairy haunting it. just a good old mystery/witchy au with an unrelentingly prepared theo, an openly seductive fairy alex and a way too ready to be seduced aaron.