#ONWARDS TOWARDS 11 EPISODES

[familyagrestefanblog]

If the woman at the pool really is Amilie then from S6 onwards we will have 2 orphans in the main narrative: Adrien and Lila

That fact that it's these two is honestly weirdly giving me hope

and yes, Adrien is an orphan. Just because he doesn't live alone and has legal guardian/s and a girlfriend doesn't it mean he isn't an orphan anymore. Marinette holding his hands and kissing him is not undoing the fact that Adrien's mother died harshly of illness almost 2 years ago and he thinks his father now died because Ladybug was partnerless and Gabriel as the only adult member of the Resistance and as Adrien's father - Adrien, who was thought to have been kidnapped - filled in Chat's place to defeat Monarque.

The amount of death surrounding Adrien's narrative right now - if the woman truly is Amilie - is beyond concerning.

Add Adrien blaming himself for Monarque having been cataclysmed in "Destruction" to the mix, plus depending on how Ladybug will go about Monarque's defeat she may use as a cover story towards the world in a panic reaction that Monarque crumbled to dust because of the cataclysm, which would indirectly but very directly include making Chat Noir responsible for Monarque's death in front of the whole world which in normal Miraculous fashion Marinette probably only accepts 20 episodes later to sweep it under the rug because *sighs; unfortunately insert random excuse for why she's blameless*

And let's not forget the fact that Adrien still had to wittness Nathalie having been sick like his mother (though Adrien never saw Nathalie in her worst state) and he also knows that Nathalie and his father were very close to the point where he has already given his blessing in season 3 and in s5 Nathalie has worn his mother's ring.

And now Adrien has every reason to blame himself for his father's death.

Take a damn guess if Nathalie being his legal guardian is enough for Adrien to not be or feel like an orphan anymore!

Then there is Amilie being around who looks like his dead mother and most likely can't stand either of his dead parents

Or Félix being around who gave ShadowMoth the 15 miraculous' which made Monarque as powerful and dangerous as he was (that's an objective fact) which for Adrien also would have lead into his father's death which is gonna be awful when Félix bad mouths Gabriel with Kagami, Marinette, Ladybug or in general.

Depending on what everyone else thinks and remembers, Adrien's friends may bad mouth Gabriel as Adrien's father too since that's what everything has lead up to by "Representation".

And let's not even get into Lila now.

The way Lila at this point would have such alarmingly easy game taking Adrien from Marinette and the rest of his friends and family, and also Chat Noir from Ladybug and her team that has barely ever been his anyway - especially now that there are 4 people in Ladybug's team who know her identity and he will continue not being allowed to be included in any of that, because I don't know how realistic it is to hold onto any hope regarding this - is ... insane. This is absolutely insane.

I know hoping that the new villain will latch onto everything bad and unfair is a shitty and biased thing to do, but Lila's villain narrative will be all about her being an orphan (right? That makes sense with the whole mothers thing and her extreme attention seeking behavior while not having a home. Just dialed up to the worst 11) and now Adrien is one too after.. all of THAT and how Adrinette and especially Ladynoir are at risk because of all the lies and secrets Lila is perfectly aware of.

For me there is a difference between wanting a new villain to latch onto the unfair treatment of a character because of one's own personal biase and just straight up refusing to get out of one's denial to acknowledge it when a new villain not only as an established character but story wise too has every reason in the book to do that now.

Do what you want, but I'm not putting my TRUST into LILA for her to not be as stupid as Gabriel because that's "mean to Marinette/Ladybug"

#ml spoilers #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #lila rossi #Ml season 6

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Adrien's feather allergy as foreshadow of his status as sentimonster is reaching on fandom part. But fandom claimed Felix being one isn't. His name being the episode name definitely foreshadowing his status as sentimonste, considering in s1-3, the episode always named after either akuma or sentimonster bar the Origins. That's what I call foreshadowing. Not whatever feather BS people like to claim.

Felix being a sentimonster is just make senses, always make senses for me, considering he seems harbor a jealousy toward Adrien especially at his remark "You always do everything your father tells you to do?" Considering as sentimonster he couldn't disobey whoever had his amok while human Adrien can disobey anytime he want yet choose not to, in his view.

Then come s4 and 5 with a huge retcon.

Also prior to s4 I don't believe the rings is amok, Felix want it because his mother want it since it's her family heirloom. Again, make senses that she want one of it considering Emilie is dead at this point. She has the right to own one of her family heirloom, Gabriel don't.

One of the episode in s5 implied that Felix always know that the rings are amok and this doesn't make senses if we were to connect back to his debut episode where he just give the ring he stole to his mother, even if say Amelie is a better parents/human than Gabriel, Felix who claimed to love his cousin and want to free him, should know better than to give his cousin's amok to his mother. The math is just not mathing, unless Felix doesn't know the rings are the amok in his debut episode and only know later which is a huge plot hole.

The retcon isn't inherently bad per se, in initial plot Luka is supposed to be Juleka's brother older by two years, s4 retcon him to be her twin. This isn't a problem because it's a minor thing that people either doesn't notice or doesn't care. But when what retconned is almost about the whole world building and lore, that's when it become a big problem. S4 onward doesn't seems like the same series as it's prior season.

,

Would you also argue that Nathalie is a sentimonster given the name of the final episode of season two?

[Image showing that episode 25 of Miraculous season two is named "Mayura"]

And what about the first episode of the origins two parter? Does this mean that Marinette and Adrien are both not humans?

[Image showing that episode 11 of Miraculous season one is named "Ladybug & Chat Noir"]

In seasons 1 to 4, episodes were mostly named for akumas and sentimonsters, but it wasn't a hard rule, so that's a pretty weak argument for Felix being a sentimonster. Even if he was human, he's still the episode's main antagonist, so naming it after him isn't weird even if he was fully human. This is extra true since Chat Noir was originally named Felix, so calling the episode "Felix" apparently drove up hype from fans who were saddened by the change. People wanted to see Felix make at least a cameo and would even pester the head writer about it prior to this episode. A lot of people wanted him to be a former Chat Noir or Adrien's older brother or something like that. You can find a lot of fanfics that did this long before season three was even airing.

Plus what else would you call this episode? There wasn't a single akuma, there were three, and "Princess Fragrance, Lady Wifi, Reflekta" is both an awkward name and something of a spoiler since I think this was the first time that we saw one item lead to multiple akumas.

ALL THAT BEING SAID, I would actually buy that Felix was planned to be a sentimonster from the start. That doesn't feel like a retcon in the same way that Adrien and Kagami do because there is some setup for Felix. The "always do what your told" line fits him being a senti and evil "twins" are often revealed to be magical in origin in these kinds of shows. Plus sentimonsters were a thing at this point, so yeah, I'd totally buy it.

The big reason I still call it a retcon is because of the issue you bring up about the rings. The way they're handled in that episode makes no sense if they're supposedly Adrien's amoks because how would Felix even know that? Who told him? Amelie?

I mean, I'd buy that Amelie knew because it's implied that she was somewhat close to her sister, but that just raises more questions! Why is she demanding her nephew's amok? Why does she give it to Felix? What does she think he's going to do with it? What is going on here?

And, of course, there's the biggest issue of them all: why is Gabriel only mildly annoyed that Felix and Amelie have Adrien's amok? If that was me, I'd be demanding it back! I'd be sending akumas! I'd go to war! You are not controlling my kid!

But Gabriel does nothing. He just waits for Felix to bring it back in the next season. Like this is how he greets Ameilie the next time he sees her:

Amelie: Gabriel! I'm so happy to be able to thank you in person for giving our family's ring (kisses his cheeks) back to Félix. Gabriel: It was the sensible thing to do, Amelie. Adrien: That was very thoughtful of you, Father.

Dude, what are you doing? Why didn't you just tell her that Felix stole the ring? What is going on here? Why does this episode (Gabriel Agreste) end will Gabriel totally fine that he didn't get the ring back because he finally got his hands on one of Ladybug's magical charms? It seriously comes across like he the completely forgot about the ring even though this is the season where Adrien is finally foreshadowed to be a sentimonster! Writers, what are you doing???

A better version of the episode Felix would see Felix show up with the goal of learning if Adrien is also a sentimonster and - if yes - figuring out what the amok is. Have Gabriel give Adrien a command to be nice to Felix so Felix is a total brat to see what his cousin will do. This would be excellent foreshadowing because you could do all of that without directly stating what Felix is doing, but once the reveal happens, it would be a major "oh!" moment on a rewatch.

As-is, the episode is just weird. It may have been intending to set Felix up as a sentimonster, but why? What was the plan? What's with the rings? Why did Felix try to take away all of Adrien's friends and ruin his reputation? There are just so many questions raised here that - sentimonster or not - Felix was still massively retconned.

I will also agree that a retcon isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the writers claim to have planned everything out which is why I will point out every one as it clearly refutes that claim. Plus most of them aren't minor things like the weirdness of Luka's age. It's big stuff like all of the above, which does negatively impact the show. Everything about Felix is extremely unsatisfying and I don't think we're getting answers to any of the questions I asked in this post.

#ml writing salt #ml writing critical #senti salt

[solarsleepless]

hello all

welcome back the kristy thomas autism analysis, where i'm rewatching the show and writing down her autistic traits as i see em (as well as noting any neurodiverse traits in the other girls). here's part one if you haven't seen it.

this ep is not narrated by kristy, so she is not the 'main character' in this episode, which basically means there's going to be a LOT shorter than before

without further ado, let's jump right in!

Episode 2

"did he ask you to the dance or not?!" autistic people often don't pick up on things when they're indirectly stated, and much prefer a direct way of speaking because we tend to not pick up on the double meaning, which is clearly showcased with how much value kristy gives on the exact phrasing here

"subtlety is not among her many talents" more examples of kristy's bluntness—she doesn't feel the need to sugarcoat anything she's saying, she's just stating what's true

kristy is extremely and visibly confused by the notion that him saying he'd "see her there" is him asking her out. again, more emphasis on how she needs directness

oh also good time to note: comfort clothes!!! autistic people tend to gravitate towards clothes that feel nice. from this point onwards we see kristy wearing a lot of hats, which can feel good pressure-wise or even texture-wise.

oh also also, kristy is pretty queercoded!!! research right now indicates that autistic people are much more likely to identify under the lgbtqia(+) umbrella

something i didn't have enough space to note last time is that kristy generally wears much more comfortable clothes than the rest of the bsc. not that they actively wear uncomfortable clothes, but she's the only one who really dresses plain, with sweatpants, jeans, and soft shirts.

stimming: fidgeting slightly with the twizzlers :)

even More issues with bluntness: she doesn't understand how rude it is to say that her friend's dad is crazy and so forth because of his being obssessive over aforementioned friend.

not much to say on her response to mary anne's "and what would you know about having a normal dad?!" (ouch, mary anne), it's perfectly understandable. the way she just ups and runs without saying anything can be read as autistic.

additional notes

as this episode is claudia centric, we get a much bigger view into what she's like at school and whatnot. almost straight away, she tells us that above everything, she's good at art—which isn't in and of itself a sign, but with everything else, it can be! people with adhd can like art for a variety of reasons: the ability to just sit back and focus your mind on just one thing you want to create, the fact that you can create as well is important, the textures you can use and feel, the way you just sort of disconnect your mind from everything else. she remarks that she also likes it because there's no homework or tests, things adhders are notoriously bad at keeping track of due to their executive dysfunction.

this episode showcases most of all how she struggles with school. especially if claudia is dyslexic/dyscalculiac as she's slightly implied to be, pair that with adhd, and she's not living the vida loca.

as well as showing the same traits listed in part 1, janine also mentions she has noise-canceling headphones, which are common party of autistic culture as sound generally affects us the most. adhd and autism are also often hereditary, so if janine is autistic, it's likely that claudia is similarly nd.

claudia is shown to not understand how the math works, even when stacey explains in depth. she asks "and how do you do that?" and dyscalculia impairs how easy is it to understand mathematics, even if they're regarded as "simple" to others. there's also a pretty high comorbidity rate between dyscalculia and adhd with 11% having dyscalculia. generally, it's common to see adhd paired with another learning disorder, with 45% of ppl with adhd also having a learning disorder

stimming: tapping her hands on the table and swaying her leg

mary anne sits cross-legged in her chair: autistic people tend to have a heightened proprioceptive sensory input, which is basically why we sit funky, and why it is physically uncomfortable to sit "normally", with both feet on the ground.

anxiety is very common in autism, which both mary anne and especially her dad display. her dad's very autistic coded as well, but we can get into that in later episodes.

#autistic kristy comp #kristy thomas #the babysitters club #claudia kishi #mary anne spier #janine kishi

[ecargmura]

Hirogaru Sky! Precure Episode 40 Review - A Vow To Always Be Together

After a one-week break, Hirogaru Sky returns this week with a rather questionable episode. This will certainly be an episode that the fandom will be divisive over for the rest of the franchise’s life, given how sensitive people are towards fictional media these days. For all of you sensitive people, I’ll say this: Don’t make this weirder than it already is.

The fact that twelve-year-old Tsubasa is marrying two-year-old baby Ellee is nothing more than a game of pretend. I’m sure there are kids who did say they wanted to marry their parents or older siblings when they get older but later grow out of that phase; it’s just a sign of affection. Ellee wanted to marry Tsubasa because she felt as if he was growing distant from her. She’s a baby who isn’t used to sudden changes in her life.

Then there’s the issue of Ellee herself. She’s a cute baby that makes everyone want to protect her. However, that’s the reason why Ellee isn’t really much of a character herself. She’s extremely spoiled and always gets what she wants. No one ever scolds her. She never gets moments of important life lessons implemented onto her. She gets everything she wants handed to her. She takes Tsubasa’s book, but never once did they reprimand her for doing so. Tsubasa finds a dream for himself, but that dream is causing some distance with him and Ellee. I don’t really know why Ellee is so fixated on this as she has so many other people who adore and spoil her to no end. The other Precures get their own focus episodes focusing on the ups and downs of their characters like how Episode 34 was about Mashiro wondering if the picture book career was for her, Episode 35 showcasing Sora’s desire to help people, Episode 36 focusing on Ageha’s struggles on what it means to be “the greatest daycare teacher” and Episode 38 focusing on how Tsubasa can be a great asset to Sky Land’s future. What does this episode do for Ellee?

To make matters worse, the writers nerfed Cure Majesty so hard. She was always shown to be the strongest of the Precures, but she got nerfed as hard as Talonflame did from the Gen 7 games and onward. Gosh, seeing her being reduced to a damsel in distress for Tsubasa to save when she’s fully capable really bugs me. The fact that Majesty is a teenager so it could’ve been better if she had explained her actions in that form before transforming back to a baby. The writing for this episode was all over the place.

What is with the writer trying to make Tsubasa be in the wrong in some episodes? First, there was Episode 11 where he was mistreated by the writer and the other characters for being uncomfortable around Ageha and for good reasons too. Now, this episode is treating him as the bad guy for not spending so much time with Ellee; it’s as if being Ellee’s knight means he has to be with her forever and ever and not think about his own dreams and aspirations. No one ever comes to his defense and that really irritates me. Tsubasa deserves better, seriously!

Now that we’ve reached the Episode 40 mark, when is the plot going to move forward? Episode 33 was the last time the story had progressed. It’s nice to get character focus for the main group, but how much longer will it take to get to the end game? Is there even an end game at sight? What are your thoughts on this episode and how the plot is progressing at a snail’s pace?

#hirogaru sky precure #precure #tsubasa yuunagi #cure wing #princess ellee #cure majesty #review #anime #anime review #ecargmura #arum journal

[extraordinarilyextreme]

11:30-12:15

Hou Minghao: Then, I’ll continue talking, alright? Firstly, yesterday[’s episodes] covered why-- Firstly, I’ll talk about why: originally, Wang Ye wanted to conceal the Fenghou Qimen, yes? Right, so why did he still end up using it in the end? It actually is just because Wang Ye, toward this world, possesses a heart of compassion¹. He doesn’t wish to see Zhuge Qing, in order to investigate the truth, end up letting himself be harmed. He doesn’t wish to see that at all. Right. …Furthermore, I feel that, as a sorcerer, actually [Wang Ye] holds Zhuge Qing in very high esteem. So, in that moment, it was that-- He didn’t wish for [Zhuge Qing] to continue investigating and to hurt himself. So he made the choice: “Okay. I will tell you [the truth] in full detail, from beginning to end².”

1. 怜悯之心

2. 一五一十 - explain systematically and completely

36:40-39:20

Hou Minghao: Yes. But I feel like… Just, in truth, Wang Ye can tell that you are actually very strong. With regard to this, Wang Ye definitely approves of and acknowledges you. So I actually feel that - “Zhuge Qing, have you ever been defeated before?” - this sentence actually… He was worried that you would suffer a setback¹ because of this. So he didn’t want to continue explaining, because he knows you’re very strong. He can also tell that you think very highly of yourself². So he also knew that you had never been defeated before. So that’s why he used this sentence - he was actually trying to imply to you, “In truth, I also don’t want you to be defeated. But this is where my words end. I hope you can understand. If, after these words, you can understand, then let’s just stop right here. But if you really [insist on] this, then you might really lose some of the things that made you think so highly of yourself.” [Wang Ye] will be somewhat worried, actually, with regard to you.

1. 受挫 - be thwarted; become frustrated

2. 自负

Wanyan Luorong: Yes. Actually, Zhuge Qing did understand these words. And then, right there in that moment, he divined a fortune for himself using the Eight Trigrams - and then he discovered a remark composed of only four words: “moth to a flame.” Just-- He “knew full well there are tigers, yet traveled deep into the mountains anyway³,” as an equivalency. 

3. 明知山有虎，偏向虎山行 - to forge onward into certain danger

HMH: Yes, so didn’t you discover that just, at that moment, Wang Ye was really using - seriously using - the Fenghou Qimen, the Fenghou Qimen of the Eight Supremes, to treat this battle earnestly? He was treating [Zhuge Qing] in earnest. Right, because he could tell-- Because, actually, he very much admires⁴ those who “despite knowing full well that divine order and destiny exist, will behave in a manner that opposes the momentum of the times⁵.” Just, he really admires this type of person and their feelings. Right, just, he really admires this type of courage. Moreover, he also knew, knew full well-- “You know full well that the odds are not in your favor, but you still--” This type of courage, he admires, actually. So in that moment, he was willing to hold you in esteem. He will-- Actually, he also gave it his all [during that fight] - to treat you. 

4. 敬佩 - revere

5. 明知天理在 但是逆大势而行

WYLR: Yeah, exactly. And also, I feel like, in truth, Zhuge Qing and Wang Ye actually have quite a lot in common⁶. I personally feel that, at least. And then why, in the end, they ultimately became friends-- Actually, I feel like, that scene where Zhuge Qing was going down the mountain and you helped me carry my suitcase, where I said, “But I really want to be friends with you” - I feel like that statement was sincere. Actually, I feel like, including from maybe the fight or the entire Outsiders’ Martial Arts Summit, our “two-person security guard” group⁷, then to my curiosity concerning you, then to… Actually, I feel like the true turning point - where a seed was planted in my heart - has to do with when I heard you speaking to Zhang Chulan, that scene with Zhang Chulan. That scene where the two of you ate mantou. HMH: Yeah. WYLR: I feel like that [scene] planted a seed in my heart, which is… “Wang Ye, this person - I can get along with!” Yeah? HMH: Right, yes. WYLR: With regard to Zhuge Qing, it was like this.

6. 共性

7. 保安二人组 - a joke started by cnetz about YeQing; maybe Quanxing couldn’t have done so much harm if at least one of them had stayed on Longhu-shan

from 王也诸葛青宵夜局 Hou Minghao and Wanyan Luorong's 20230912 livestream

#异人之下 #i am nobody #hou minghao #wanyan luorong #my translation #认可 这两个字 非常重要 #wang ye #zhuge qing #yeqing

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 29/11/2023

Susume​→​Number One

Season 2 Featured on: The Voice's Highest Quality Video Game Rips

Ripped by 2achary

We're just shy of closing out November and entering the Christmas season, so I figured it'd only be right to highlight some more all-timer rips for me. And, hey - Love Live has like, tenuous ties to the winter season through Snow Halation, right? That's good enough reason for me to cover Susume→​Number One, I say!

We Are Number One was, especially early one, always one of the most fun sources to get rips from - there was just so much going in its favor! Be it the fun vocals, immediately recognizable instrumental, that could be mixed and changed in so many ways and still be identifiable, or just the pure fun ska-tune the song had...there's always something to look forward to with WANO, and the team rarely just leaves it at a mere mashup. Because of that, I'm almost always able to enjoy WANO rips, even with barely any knowledge of the source material - which is exactly where Susume→​Number One slots in.

I remember January 2017 as being a time where the fanbase was in pretty high spirits, coming hot off the heels of off several episodes of the Christmas Comeback Crisis in December the year prior, and a huge slew of rips basically confirming SiIva was nowhere near ending (before Chaze himself would fully confirm that with the monochrome pause). And though I have little to no attachment to Love Live!, and SiIva really hasn't been able to convert me, that high from the fanbase sort of carried over into this rip - I can now only associate Susume->Tomorrow in any form with the happy feelings of SiIvaGunner continuing onward from way back in 2017. And that's all thanks to the excellent work done with Susume→​Number One - its at times the original song's instrumental with Robbie Rotten's vocals, at times pitch-shifting WANO's saxophone to be in key with the song, and even intersperses little segments of The Noble Haltmann and Snow Halation toward the song's middle. All together, it becomes a really celebratory anthem, almost the complete opposite emotions that the various Season 1 finale rips elicited.

Though I don't think I'll ever truly connect with Love Live!, I'm happy that its music has been able to find new life on an entirely different platform, with a whole new emotional meaning and an all new fanbase. Thanks, gang.

#todays siivagunner #season 2 #siivagunner #siiva #2achary #love live #love live muse #love live music #love live school idol festival #love live school idol project #snow halation #idol game #jpop

[hyperionshipping]

i may be biased, but ive loved getting to see ur liveblogging of dw!! i also wanted to ask, what do you think nine, ten, and eleven would think about your feelings towards a certain captain? :3c

I'm so glad you're enjoying the liveblogging!! Series 5 is definitely gonna be fun because it'll be a little bit till we get to "new" episodes for me!!

This being said, KIT. STOPPPPP!!!! THERE IS NO FEELINGS!!!!! FOR ANY CAPTAIN!!!! CAPTAIN? I DON'T KNOW ANYONE I'D CALL THAT *JUMPS OUT THE WINDOW*

*ahem* Anyway. Well. This being said. I can give you totally hypothticals on their reactions

Nine:

Okay I think nine is the least surprised or like "oh no absolutely not" of the three. My partner made the joke 9 was the one who me and him both look at him and just nod.

If anything I think he tries to scare Harkness via like "ohhh just wait till you're in the dark. He's completely different" or he's telling the two of us to behave and just Smiles when I sputter and start yelling and Harkness looks between the two of us just "I don't know what's being said here other than when you talk Doctor, but I know it's all about me"

I also think he'd be least surprised if anything happened but would put his hand on my shoulder like "now Tricks. Isn't he a little old for you?"

Ten:

The fucking. Dadness if he learned. IT'S SO BAD. He doesn't let us be alone and he's always always like "that's ENOUGH Jack" (like the one episode where he was like "what I can't even say hello?"). All the time he's Judging crossing his arms and ushering us onwards.

He's like "I don't care he's your friend the flirting is terrible" like. DOC I can see that!!!! Don't you think I've tried stopping him???

Ten I think would catch on quicker than 9 re: MY feelings. Just gives me A Look tm when I say shit like "My Captain..." "And the Captain said?" and especially the like once or twice? I ever call him Jack.

"Your Captain huh?"

"......Not like that. NOT like that."

"Then why do you say it like that?"

"I say it like NOTHING."

Eleven:

This is a really good question for him specifically. Since they don't Meet.

Firstly and I must say this, I don't think Harkness would love 11 as much as he did Ten, and certainly not as much as 9.

He's just.... Different.

But! That's not gonna stop him when he sees "MY FAVORITE DEMON!" And instantly 11 is looking so so fast already abandoning whatever he was once doing to go ":) who's your friend? Oh!"

And with 11 I would be even MORE like insistent on "NONONONO DAD HE'S JUST A FRIEND. ONLY A FRIEND."

And Harkness would just smile and wrap an arm around me to say I've said that for years! I love a slow burn"

11 would be sooo excited to include him on more adventures and like Well! The TARDIS always has room for people from the past. He asks me point blank if I like him and I lose my shit like!!! No!!!!!!

He's totally oblivious like "Oh :)!! Okay you do like him." and I beg him to not say anything he should know it'll go straight to the Captain's head. He's already asking Jack if he's ever heard me purr and it's one of the few times he's like "hey maybe this new face isn't as bad as the last!"

#tricks answers #the way i SCREAMED reading the latter half of this. TOU GUYS I DONT LIKE HIM LIKE THAT STOPPPPPP orz JES A FUN SILLY CHARACTER THATS ALL!!! #my fiancé already jumpscared me enough today when he said to check my inbox like i was fully convinced he'd sent an ask from him x_x

[taikanyohou]

faizaaaa! i have finally started kinnporsche because of your gifs on vegaspete and now i have been wondering but like how did vegas end up liking pete or what made him actually interested in pete out of everyone he has punished?

hiiiii anon!!! ghdhfixf i dont wanna spoil it for you if you've just gotten round to starting it, bc their storyline really is something you wanna witness real time. all i'll say is, pete is everything and gives everything to vegas that vegas has longed for and needed, in every single manner and in every single way, including taking him by surprise with just how he reacts to vegas as opposed to how others would have, and that creates that lure and attraction and pull that finds vegas gravitate towards pete, even during times of sadness and hurt. ig pete just sees him and can connect to him in a much more deeper manner, he is the other side of his coin. he sees him for more than just what everyone else sees him as. he sees the cracks in him, breaks them to form greater cracks, and dig his hand into his body and pull out the most raw, vulnerable, wounded and sensitive parts of him that knock his pride and ego and strip them down, until he makes him cry with no shame or reservation in front of him. and it all sounds very toxic and it is, and its entirely built on the foundations of codependency, but thats who they are. and you'll get exactly what i mean when you reach episodes 11 onwards.

#faiza answers

[tominostuff]

My Anime magazine 1986 May edition

*published around 9 episodes into ZZ airing* 

Tomino Interview

--I believe it’s been a while since the production has started, how are you feeling now that it’s in motion?

Tomino: To be frank, I’m in a bind because there’s only stupid directors around. I want them to understand with their whole body that a show like ZZ is harder to create than Zeta. There is not as much liveliness as I imagined on screen. If it doesn’t become 2 times more interesting than it is currently, I’ll be in trouble, is how I feel right now. 

--There’s a gap between ZZ and the ‘Gundam World’ up until now? 

Tomino: In terms of the gap, I believe I filled it in the first two episodes. In fact, I think we’re still too caught up by Zeta. ZZ is an entirely new show so I’d like the directors to consider that more. Sure, the pre-established world building and positioning of the Gundam World still exists but what I truly want people to perceive is how interesting it is when the cast changes, the entire atmosphere can change this much. Of course, there are voices saying, “Gundam is Gundam so it’d be an issue if you made it Xabungle.” Which is valid, but there’s also the side of me thinking, just ignore the backdrop of Gundam and make it interesting!! To be truthful, I want ZZ to be so fun that it overpowers those voices of the adults. 

A part of me is feeling, “Do I have to draw all the storyboards myself?” but I’ve made it my theme to grow directors and planners in these 3 years so I can’t do that now. 

--Then is there anyone in the staff that can become the next Chief Director? 

Tomino: There is no one in particular but there are people who I feel will be in trouble if they don’t start showing some stamina soon. Competition is starting to arise among the staff, which is not a bad situation at all. If they were truly stupid, I wouldn’t be able to call them stupid. Therefore, in regards to ZZ, I’d like us to continue working for another year just like this. Then, I’d be more clearly able to pinpoint whether the next chief director is among them. I am also eager for this to happen. If someone like that appears, I wouldn’t have to be the chief director year after year. To continue being the CD for this long is unusual, and as the person in that situation, I think I have the right to say, “We’re reaching the limit.”

--In regards to the story, will Char’s appearance be from the 3 cour onwards? 

Tomino: I believe so. However, if ZZ continues to be supported even with the way the show is structured currently, there is a chance that he may not appear at all. In that case, Char is probably dead in a ditch somewhere. The target audience for ZZ is children after all, so it is highly possible that Char doesn’t make an appearance. If we target high schoolers, they will cease to be our customers in 5 years so I’d like to focus on the reactions of fourth and fifth graders. 

Suzuki Yumiko Interview

*Main screenwriter*

--Judau and crew ended up boarding the Argama, what will follow? 

Suzuki: Leina will be caught by the enemy around episode 11 or 12. And Judau will finally become serious because of this. He doesn’t have any other great ambitions that he’s living his life by, so he usually gets caught up by whatever is directly in front of him. However, he will work hard towards getting Leina back. The problem is that Beecha and Mondo will betray them and join Axis in hopes of finding success with them. They fail and end up coming back though… There are rumors that Bright is going to have an affair but if he does that it’ll be awkward when he comes back to Earth… Also around episode 20, there’ll be a story of the Argama going to the Moon and we have plans for Wong Lee showing up then. He tries to “correct” Judau and gang but he fails and falls into shock. This is one of the ways ZZ will differ from Zeta. In Zeta, the plot moved faster than we can digest the characters but the theme of ZZ is to let the characters breathe so I think it will go at this pace for the next 2 cours at least. 

--Even among the enemy ranks, there’s several unique characters. 

Suzuki: Mr. Tomino is having fun and playing around as he creates them, so there is quite the variety and their personalities are rather strange. In episode 12, Mashymre makes a mistake and a new commander, Chara Soon, appears who is a weird woman who goes into hysteria while riding a MS. And her replacement, Glemy Toto, is a princely character, or rather a rich boy, who tells Leina “this is how to be a lady” and teaches her the piano. The truth is, Glemy falls in love with Roux Louka at first sight and wants to use Leina as a tool to grow closer with Roux. At this rate, Haman will have a hard time. 

--This Haman you just mentioned, what is her final agenda? 

Suzuki:  Isn’t it to obtain the Earth? Currently, as a first step towards that goal, she conquers colonies in order to connect to the Earth sphere….so she began a lot of skirmishes. In the end, doesn’t she believe Earth to be the core? Mineva-sama probably wants to play on Earth. 

--Do Kamille, Amuro and Char make an appearance? 

Suzuki: There are discussions about Kamille making an appearance in the last episode… in ZZ, the situation gets a bit brighter so I believe things will go in a good direction. 

Amuro, if the setting ever moves to Earth, he might appear. He will never show up in space. Wasn’t Zeta Amuro about making the realization that “I can never go back to space”? In ZZ, I think he becomes a behind the scenes actor. 

As for Char, I have no idea what he’s thinking. When he shows up, I start losing sight of the plot. If he is to show up, it’d be towards the end, probably surrounding the Mineva plot. 

--I heard you wrote a fun episode towards the beginning of the second cour? 

Suzuki: Episode 14 “The Forgotten Colony” and Episode 15 “The Mysterious Moon Moon” (both working titles), they’re both separate from the main story and for entertainment purposes. 

There is a Sweetwater type colony that is even older than Shangri-la, called Moon Moon. After the popularization of cylindrical colonies, it became a forgotten existence. The agricultural plant is also broken so they have to farm directly on land in the colony. There, a religion which teaches the elimination of machines and aiming for a world without machinery dominates the people. The story begins when the Argama, being chased by the Endra, stops by for provisions and repair. 

The original concept was supposed to feel like “Mothra” (from the Godzilla franchise) and the priestesses were inspired by The Peanuts (a twin sister duo that played the twin fairies in Mothra). And in the end, the machines would awaken all at once like “Daimajin”

It really feels like an entertainment arc, so it would be nice if people could see it more for the entertainment value and less for the plot itself. In that sense, it’s the kind of story that you could only see in ZZ. It is the first arc that is completely separate from the main story, but unlike Zeta, ZZ is leaning more towards the episodic approach so there may be more stories like this in the future. If we do that, people who begin following from the middle could also watch along too.

#Yoshiyuki Tomino #Yumiko Suzuki #gundam zz

[notelectrictigerart]

The Promised Neverland: Season 2 Episode 3

#the promised neverland #tpn #tpn spoilers #tpn s2 ep3 #tpn anime illustrations #messy but done!! #ONWARDS TOWARDS 11 EPISODES

[seraphsurvival]

series recap : 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐬 !

with a successful show behind us it’s time to recap everything that happened on 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇 and finally find out which of our angels will spread their wings and fly with the flock.

disclaimer: all votes from ep 3 onwards are based off of one set of votes that we conducted. we moved around the rankings week to week as a way to spice up the plot so that votes and storylines do not become repetitive. the final 6 is determined by those original votes and as some ocs have been discontinued we removed them and added in a “producers pick” for the final member.

[ # 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟏. ]

2 weeks before the airing of the first episode hundreds of soon to be angels sent in audition tapes showcasing all of their individual talents and charms in order to show why they deserve to be one of the angels on seraph. each of their tapes were uploaded online and the audience voted for 2 weeks in order to pick their top 12 angels. the final 12 angels were announced on the live broadcast of the first episode of seraph on the 19th of march 2021.

detailed episode ⇢  ˗ˏˋ  here  !

— — — ʚ♡ɞ 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 !! ʚ♡ɞ

1. baebi ˒ 2. yuri ˒ 3. ricky ˒ 4. chloe kwon ˒ 5. winter ˒ 6. mimi ˒ 7. ame ˒ 8. jade ˒ 9. haeju ˒ 10. jay ˒ 11. eden ˒ 12. dahlia

[ # 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟐. ]

this was the first week of challenges and the girls were given 2 performances to work on. the first being a solo performance of another angels iconic comeback and the other being group performances.

group 1 = mimi ˒ haeju ˒ winter ˒ ame ˒ jay & eden !group 2 = baebi ˒ chloe ˒ dahlia ˒ yuri ˒ jade & ricky !

despite the initial tension in group 1 as winter , jay and eden fought for this weeks centre position the girls all learnt to recognize each others talents and decide remove the center position entirely making their team work the focal point and created an amazing performance!

unfortunately for group 2 their main vocalist of the week chloe fell ill and lost her voice so they needed to pick a replacement fast. the girls took turns singing and when ricky’s turn rolled around her voice cracked . tension rose between the girls as chloe picked ricky despite this error , making jade and dahlia feel done in as it was clear she did not get the part because she was the best but rather because of her preexisting friendship with chloe.

group 1 end up winning this week !

detailed episode ⇢  ˗ˏˋ  here  !

— — — ʚ♡ɞ 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 !! ʚ♡ɞ

1. baebi ˒ 2. yuri ˒ 3. winter ˒ 4. mimi ˒ 5. ricky ˒ 6. haeju ˒ 7. chloe ˒ 8. eden ˒ 9. jade ˒ 10. ame ˒ 11. dahlia ˒ 12. jay

𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 ! : dahlia & jay

[ # 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟑. ]

this weeks challenge was team focused and lead by the two main dancers of the show : baebi and mimi who both choreographed their individual group dances.

group 1 = mimi ˒ ame ˒ ricky ˒ winter & yuri ! group 2 = baebi ˒ haeju ˒ chloe ˒ jade & eden !

tensions kept rising between contestants as team two allow their egos to get the best of them and become full of it. they’re attitude becomes an issue with the other team and they have had enough. in their confessionals group 1 express this annoyance with everyone choosing to be indirect except for yui and ricky. ricky publicly voiced her dislike for jade calling her a princess and her general skepticism towards haeju as she felt disingenuous and washed up. whilst yui accused eden of being “ too reliant on rigging , can't half ass her way to number 1 ” like she did on honeypot.

group 2 aimed to “make group 1 cry” by adding in an acrobatic trick. when chloe drops jade at the interim check and an almost dangerous accident happens the angels scrap the trick and although the performance is safer it does not wow as much as they intended.

all of this tension comes to a head at the interim check when ricky snaps on jade and the two engage in a heated yelling match that gets broken up by their fellow angels.

group 1 end up winning this week !

detailed episode ⇢  ˗ˏˋ  here  !

— — — ʚ♡ɞ 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 !! ʚ♡ɞ

1. baebi ˒ 2. mimi ˒ 3. yuri ˒ 4. ame ˒ 5. ricky ˒ 6. chloe ˒ 7. jade ˒ 8. winter ˒ 9. eden ˒ 10. haeju

𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 ! : haeju

[ # 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟒. ]

this week was the semi finals and stakes were high. the challenge focus for the week was positions in the group with the angels splitting off into 3 groups of 3 , each focusing on the 3 core aspects of idol performances : vocals ˒ rap & dance ! winning this week was extra valuable as the team that won got immunity and would immediately be sent through to the finals.

rap team = eden ˒ winter & ricky ! ⇢  ˗ˏˋ  stage ! vocal team = yuri ˒ chloe & jade ! ⇢  ˗ˏˋ  stage ! dance team = ame ˒ baebi & mimi ! ⇢  ˗ˏˋ  stage !

after a month of seraph the girls deserved a break and so each team split off and had exclusive off days which they could decide to do whatever they wanted. rap team went on an overnight trip to the beach, vocal team had a spa day and performance team went to an amusement park.

winter and eden were in the same team for the first time since their group disbanded and since yui’s comment about the rigging. the reunion was highly anticipated and the awkward tension between them at first was palpable. but when their team had their trip to the sea the girls had a lot of down time to talk. through their heart to heart conversation the girls made up and despite facing slight difficulties as none of the girls had ever written a rap they managed to create a fun filled rap performance in the end.

the vocal team decided to go on a relaxing spa day with each other to bond and write. they all agreed that they needed to release their stress and felt like being pampered at a spa. on the trip the girls spoke about their lives and careers and took videos and photos which they used to create a feel good vcr that played in the background of their performance.

performance team took a trip to an amusement park and the clips from their trip were so fun and mimi’s screams on the rollercoasters were memed and spread all over stan twt. seeing the girls have so much fun and let loose was so refreshing and it allowed for them to work well to create such a memorable dance performance.

as we know as this point seraph consisted of already debute idols and aimed to find the best of the best in the kpop industry. this episode truly showcased the level of excellence amongst the girls. so of course this week was especially tough competition with all the angels stunning audiences with their self created performances.

in the end vocal team won the round and gained immunity. no one knew who wad going home that week and in a shock reveal yuri placed last but because of her immunity eden was sent home instead.

— — — ʚ♡ɞ 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 !! ʚ♡ɞ

1. jade ˒ 2. ricky ˒ 3. ame ˒ 4. mimi ˒ 5. chloe ˒ 6. baebi ˒ 7. winter ˒ 8. eden ˒ 9. yuri

𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 ! : eden

[ # 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟓. ]

this episode was the finale of the entire show and it was livestreamed to millions viewers world wide on the 23rd of april 2021 it was the girls last chance to prove why they deserve to be in the fic communities first super group. the stakes were high. this week had 4 performances : wings seraph intro song , solo stages , group performances of iconic kpop songs and finally a group performance of the first original song made for the angels nun nu nan na !

crazy = yuri ˒ winter ˒ jade & baebi ! ⇢  ˗ˏˋ  stage ! rollin’ = ricky ˒ chloe ˒ mimi & ame ! ⇢  ˗ˏˋ  stage ! nun nu nan na ⇢  ˗ˏˋ stage ! wings ⇢  ˗ˏˋ stage !

the way voting worked this week was done different. originally viewers would vote for their fav flock as well as their favourite angel and both votes would be totaled together to determine rankings. however this week they did not vote for groups and those performances were not judged. instead the votes were all done live and focused on individual angels. so although group performances technically did not count people were still voting throughout the show with it only closing after their final performance of nun nu nan na. angels had to perform to their best abilities to try prove why they should debut in the group.

the show opened with the angels performing their intro song wings for the first time ! the track that was played before every episode was produced by judge j-hope of bts and blu ﹙ @irisblu3 ﹚ who sang the song. the angels performed and sang the track which was entertaining and focused on them having fun on their final stage. during the stage all the former angels came on stage and performed with them making it a massive reunion stage with all of the original 12 angels.

before the stage a vcr played of all the former angels surprising the others as they came to practice for the stage. it was a heartwarming and sweet video that set the perfect sweet scene for the performance. voting opened as soon as this stage ended.

their solo performances then followed. each solo performance highlighted each of the angels unique charms just like their audition videos in their first week. all the former angels sat in the audience and cheered for the other girls as they performed. the angels group performances of crazy and rollin’ followed their solos , and they closed off with nun nu nan na.

the final lineup was announced from bottom to top with winter being the first confirmed member of seraph after placing 6th ! chloe , mimi and jade were announced afterwards with each of the now official members taking their place on the podium. the final 4 left on stage were baebi , yuri , ricky and ame. yuri and baebi stood hand in hand as they anxiously awaited the results. nova and yen built up anticipation by explaining each of the angels remaining’s journeys on seraph.

ricky started the show strong and was consistent throughout ranking high every week. baebi and yuri had been fan favourites since they sent in their auditions and shon every week until their shock dip the week prior. ame had at first been towards the bottom and narrowly missed elimination multiple times but as week progressed so did her skills , every week she climbed up the ranks and proved that there was a reason she was there.

nova and yen both gasped as they saw the result : yuri and baebi had tied for first shooting up the ranks hugely following their previous week. yuri couldn’t help but cry as she as baebi walked hand in hand onto their shared first place podium.

the final angel was decided by the judges: j-hope , sunmi and hyuna. they analyzed both ricky and ames time on seraph before deciding that ame would debut in seraph as the final member. ricky was thought to be for sure a member of the final lineup as she never left the top 7 every week unlike ame. but the judges explained that she had begun to plateau, no longer showing anything new or special but ame was constantly working on improving and it unlocked all of her unseen potential.

and just like that the ultimate fic community super group 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇 was made !

— — — ʚ♡ɞ 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 !! ʚ♡ɞ

1. baebi ˒ 1. yuri ˒ 3. jade ˒ 4. mimi ˒ 5. chloe ˒ 6. winter ˒ 7. ricky ˒ 8. ame

𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 ! : ricky

— — — ʚ♡ɞ 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐔𝐏 !! ʚ♡ɞ

𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇 ! : baebi ˒ yuri ˒ jade ˒ mimi ˒ chloe ˒ winter ˒ ame

— — — ʚ♡ɞ 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 !! ʚ♡ɞ

@whileinvenus ˒ @alwaysvivid ˒ @nct-krown ˒ @inter-stellar-jyp ˒ @chloekwon ˒ @se4sonz ˒ @triptychexe ˒ @ideaism ˒ @hcney-moon ˒ @dulcetgg !!

#[ 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇 ] : ゝ ʚ fly me to the moon ɞ #aes!ocnet #SHES DONE I POSTED IT FINALLY OMG #fictional idol community #idol oc #fake kpop idol #idolverse #kpop au #idol!au

[nautiscarader]

2020 in animation - recap

So, 2020. 

Yeah, I have to say I’m not entirely satisfied. Would not recommend, 1 star. 

But I would be willing to bump it to 1.5, if only because of one factor: the animation. 

Because I have to say, this was the best animated end of the world so far! And if there was something that kept our spirits up, it was the cartoon industry!

Just like last year, I should preface this by saying that this is highly subjective selection. Even when one is confined to their Hobbit holes for better part of the year because of *waves hands* everything around, 

day still only has 24 hours, so I have missed a few shows. (I should also apologise for omitting a few major ones last year, like Milo Murphy’s Law S2, Ducktales, or She-Ra. This is why I started keeping a track this year). I’m sure I will catch up with those I missed this year some time in the future, but for now, let’s see what this year has gifted us with.

And right from the start, January opens the race with very interesting propositions. We were still riding on an incredibly high wave from last year, with Infinity Train season 2.

This one focused on Tulip’s mirror, and pushed the season towards a much darker and complex story, diving deep into one’s personal journey and identity. There were tears, math, deer, and cops being murdered. Brutally. 

t was followed by two newcomers: The Owl House and first season of Kipo and The Age of the Wonderbeast. Both of them would dominate first half of the year, with The Owl House’s traditional, week-to-week airings, and Kipo's seasons appearing in  June and October.

The Owl House, a strong contender in "What will be the Next Gravity Falls?" contest, invited us to a world full of magic, mystery, elongated owl demons and some dark secrets. It has also created a milestone for Disney, introducing an LGBT couple with characters of bisexual Luz Noceda and lesbian Amity Blight. Their Grom dance has risen to the top of my animates scenes, polling very closely to the unforgettable Kataango.

On the other hand, Kipo has taken us to the post-apocalyptic world filled with mutant animals, revealing that despite the end of the world, our old vices and animosities have survived in underground burrows, and we have infected the overworld of giant doggos and suit-wearing frogs with them. 

Kipo did not pull any punches regarding commentary about our society, at the same time giving us hope in the form of the main protagonist, who was able to spread friendship and understanding amongst the mutes, as well as the humans that had to survive. And in the world that we have found ourselves in, it was a pretty darn good lesson.

February would bring end to two seasons of airing cartoons, Big Hero Six season 2 and Miraculous season 3, as well as another newcomer that won the hearts of fans: Glitch Techs, with its "second" season arriving in August. And while in my opinion he show wasn't as good as the other two new titles, I am clearly in minority, as the show about Ghostbuters-like team of game console technicians gained huge popularity... though not enough to keep the show afloat. As of writing this, it is currently in limbo, which is a shame, as the second set of 10 episodes finally added some much needed ongoing story.  

in March, another show from last year ended - Steven Universe Future. As we have expected, it tackled slightly more mature themes, showing how much Steven needed that therapy we have wished him, telling an important tale of finding one's worth and one's self. its ending might not have been as explosive as those of the original show, or the movie, but it left Steven’s story as open as an open road, and deep in our hearts, we all knew it would look like this.   

March was also the time when majority of western world caught the coronavirus, and that caused quite a turmoil with the movie and animation industry. One of the first victim of changed schedule was Disney's Onward, which was released on-line on Disney+ quickly after its theatrical release.

I have mixed feelings towards “Onward”. For such interesting promise, I think it made a few questionable and down right boring turns, though the unorthodox message at the end of it was its strongest point, and it was one I haven’t seen in a while, so it was worth watching just for that.  

April was relatively quiet (aside from more end of the world stuff); brought us third season of Ducktales that spread throughout the year, while May gave us final, fifth season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. 

To my eternal shame, I missed on this show when it premiered, and due to the lockdown, I binge-watched the previous four right in time for powerful and explosive season 5. And even though Catra and Adora finally gave us exactly what we needed, some fans felt slightly unsatisfied, calling for a movie, like the Steven Universe one to be made. And I’d be all for it, the rest of universe needs saving from the Horde! Also, cats in space - hilarious. 

May also revealed a new player on the streaming field: HBO Max, who surprised us with new Looney Tunes Cartoons, much more in the spirit of the legendary originals than the often-criticised Looney Tunes Show from 2011-2014. And in my opinion, it did; one could feel the same fluidity in animation, dedication to slapstick, and synchronisation with music than in the very first cartoons with Bugs and Daffy.

HBO Max would, however, return in June with first of series of Adventure Time original movies called "Distant Lands". The first centred around BMO, with second one - Obsidian giving us a glimpse into Bonnibel and Marceline's lives.

Distant Lands allowed people to revisit the odd, odd world of Ooo and learn about its colourful inhabitants, taking turns to seeing their past and the future, an, as usual, showing us that post-apocalyptic world can teach us valuable and meaningful lessons.   

Just in time for full lockdown in our burrows, aforementioned Kipo season 2 premiered in June, together with another cartoon movie, this time featuring We Bare Bears. While their movie wasn't anything to write songs about, it was exactly like the show, providing some wholesome content right when we needed it.

And just in case you needed more wholesome adventures, Craig of the Creek's second season ended, and its third season began, reminding us of HOW COOL LIFE WAS WHEN OUTERNET WASN’T SCARY AND WE COULD STILL WALK OUTSIDE FOR FUN AND NOT TO HUNT TOILET PAPER.

Just like last year, July was not dogs' days, but frogs'. Amphibia season 2 started raining on our heads, but unlike last year, its schedule wasn't a daily one, spreading the episodes throughout the Summer and early Autumn, with its second part arriving in February of 2021. There were more roadtrips, more mysteries and MORE MARCY.

August was equally strong: aforementioned Glitch Techs "season 2" premiered, offering better and more plot-heavy episodes than the first ten episodes. Unfortunately, the show's future is unclear; the uneven divide of plot between the seasons probably contributed to the show not being renewed. 10 new episodes apparently are written, but await in sleep mode, until Nickelodeon remembers about it.

HBO MAX picked up Infinity Train for its third season, after being derailed by Cartoon Network. And if you thought that killing a mirror cop was shocking... then this season has pushed the limit of what can be shown in modern children's cartoon to a frightening degree. The schedule was once again, weirder, with first five episodes airing on the day of the premiere, ending with a cliffhanger (literally) that only contributed to the shock factor and made us wait anxiously for its conclusion. It was bold, it was dark, it was memorable. 

And just like Glitch Techs, Infinity Train waits on a side track, unsure if it will be picked up, or will it be abandoned and left as a canvas for graffiti artists.

However, to end the Summer, a truly amazing TV movie has arrived on Disney Plus, where we came back to good, old Danville and could witness Candace against the universe. The new Phineas and Ferb movie brought back the glorious memories of this fantastic show, with the same humour, writing, abundance of catchy songs and a surprisingly deep moral.

In September we have seen the start of Big Hero 6 season 3 and a odd change of format. Instead of standalone 22-minute episodes, the show now consists of two 11-minute segments. In opinion of many, this weakened the stories, forcing them to be more comedy-oriented, and shortening the potential emotional drama. Still, it gave us funny, short stories, but they did clash with the two previous season, not to mention the movie.

However, if that wasn't up to your taste, Ducktales season 3 also started airing, and continued its first part up until December with more action- and plot-driven episodes, including the Darkwing Duck crossover, serving as a pilot of the spin-off. 

Later in December fans have learned that Season 3 will be its last, which broke the hearts of many duck fans; however, it seems that the season has been written as the last one in mind, and the news of the ending was known to the creators, which gives us hope for a kick-ass finale somewhere in 2021.

Miraculous New York, telling arguably one of the most mature storylines, opened the "Heroez" world to some new characters and new opportunities, with two more specials, taking place in Shanghai and Brazil, meant to air somewhere next year. AND I DO HOPE WE WILL SEE MORE LOCAL FOOD VENDOR SUPERHEROES LIKE HOT DOG DAN. 

October was the month of two season 3's: Carmen Sandiego and Kipo. In case of Carmen, as it is usual with Netflix, the "season" was only a half-one, with just a handful standalone episodes, and just a dash of more ongoing plot. 

For Kipo, however, season 3 was the end, and what a glorious one it was. Fans were saddened to learn of it, but Kipo was always imagined as a 3-part story, and it showed. The finale proved more than satisfying ending to the plot, elevating Kipo to one of the smartest cartoon characters we should all try to aspire to.

In November, Distant Lands: Obsidian aired, focusing on everyone’s favourite candy/vampire couple, and the long and complicated love between Bonnibel and Marceline. And as usual, it showed us that relationships are not always as straightforward as we would like them to be, but with enough music and teamwork, no enemy is big enough. 

For the next new show, I’ve waited with the most amount of excitement and anxiety. Because while I was completely fine with other reboots and re-imaginings to take creative takes, new Animaniacs, (airing on Hulu) had to be perfect and had to be the lightning that struck twice. 

And sadly... it wasn’t. It was still good, but some people criticised (incorrectly imho) the amount of political topics, while I mourned almost total cast-ration of additional characters, aside from Pinky and the Brain. This truly weakened the possibilities it could have had. It was still very good, but you can feel that some of the original charm was lost, due to these odd, odd limitations. 

December brought us a new original Apple TV movie, Wolfwalkers. A beautifully animated folk tale of friendship and social divides, and how short-sight can cause the collapse of both arguing sides, reminding me very much of the intelligence and heart of original “How to Train Your Dragon”.  

We’ve had to wait two years for the return of arguably one of the most wholesome shows out there: Hilda. Second season dived into deeper mysteries that permeate the rich and colourful troll-ridden land, we saw the return of some familiar characters, and introduced a whole new storyline, that ended with a surprising cliffhanger. Still as wholesome, but now with a tiny bit of Police incompetence. Also Twig, lots of Twig.   

Just like Onward, Pixar’s highly anticipated Soul aired on Disney+, telling a very mature story about finding one’s purpose in life, what that purpose actually means, and whether it exists at all. Beautifully animated, with fantastic soundtrack, it was a stunning tribute to creativity, and it never dumbed down its profound, open message about following your dream.   

And just if you thought that Soul was going to be 2020′s last note (pun very much intended), right before the year ended, DC Super Hero Girls concluded its first season on a rather anti-climactic two-parter. That being said, the season, running from March of last year, was packed with short, bite-sized, funny stories, taking interesting spins on existing comic book characters. For a comic book noob like me, it was perfectly fine, and I can’t wait for the second season next year. 

And so, we have reached the series finale of humanity. 

2020 ends in just under a day. What will 2021 bring us? I do not know, and if the animated shows of this year have taught me anything, is that the future is an always open book, full of worries and challenges, but also opportunities and possibilities. 

...

And in reality I was too lazy to check any news sites about upcoming projects.

#infinity train #glitch techs #amphibia #kipo and the age of wonderbeasts #animaniacs #carmen sandiego #hilda #DuckTales #big hero 6 #distant lands #dc super hero girls #Miraculous Ladybug #spop #The Owl House

[torturedpoetemotions]

Dean’s Hair: A Guide

Attention: this post is for people with Dean derangement syndrome who want his haircut and hairstyle ONLY. People with a normal and healthy level of attachment to Dean DNI. Details under...

The Cut

So...in case anyone else is as insane as me, Dean’s haircut in every season is a modified high-and-tight with a very gradual fade on the sides and squared, very short sideburns. If you have no idea what I just said, your hairstylist should (and if they don’t, walk away).

That being said, it’s always a good idea to bring reference photos of the front, back, and sides of the hairstyle you want or something very similar. Try to find photos all from the same episode, season, or photoshoot if you can, as that will get your stylist/barber the most consistent reference. Luckily, we have fifteen years of this man being photographed, filmed, and screencapped as Dean Winchester to help us out.

Dean’s Hair by Season

In seasons 1-2, you can tell it’s been allowed to grow out quite a bit on the back and sides while keeping the top trimmed fairly short.

This is the stage mine is in right now, and while it does have a certain “fuck you I’m the final girl” energy, it’s also annoying as fuck. I’m constantly batting at my own ears thinking a mosquito or something has landed, when really it’s my own damn hair brushing against them.

In seasons 3-7, it’s been allowed to grow in just enough on the sides to not have that “shaved head” look, while the top is kept fairly short still (sometimes awkwardly so).

The overall shape of the high-and-tight is maintained, just longer than traditional.

In season 8 the sides are kept short with the sideburns nearly shaved off, and the top is kept a bit longer and styled with a bit of a swoosh. The overall effect is almost boyish, which should not be possible let alone attractive on a man in his 30s, but here we are.

This, for the record, is my second-favorite Dean hair (just behind season 1 and right before season 10).

In early season 9 there’s also not as much of a fade on the sides, more a clear break between the very short sides of his hair and the longer top which gives vague messy bowl-cut vibes that he somehow pulls off because his vessel is Jensen fucking Ackles.

Later in season 9 the smoother fade is back, but the hair is still longer on the side toward the top and the sideburns and hairline are more pronounced and angular in general (probably to help tie in the facial hair that I think was supposed to indicate to us that Dean was Going Off The Rails?).

The top of his hair is also shorter than it was in season 8, and styled with less of a swoop.

In season 10 Jensen goes through a few styles.

Demon!Dean has the same overall shape as in earlier seasons, but it’s been kept fairly trimmed on the sides while being allowed to grow much longer on the top than we’ve ever seen it. Long enough that when his head moves quickly enough his hair has actual movement as well. If he didn’t style it, he’d have honest-to-god bangs.

Demon!Dean also uses less product in his hair in general, and while he parts it on the same side as usual, the part is more pronounced and lines up with the inside corner of his eyebrow rather than the outside corner.

Now, they slightly fucked up their hair continuity here. You can tell they filmed some of these episodes out of order because Demon!Dean occasionally has the style, part, and length of non-demon Dean in a few scenes (like the fight with Cole), only for the Demon!Dean hair and styling to be back afterward.

That being said, after Dean is “cured” his hair goes back to normal, shorter and spikier on top and parted over the outside of his eyebrow rather than the inside.

In season 11 onward, he goes for a much more traditional high-and-tight with a side fade and faint sideburns. It’s more or less consistent season-to-season, albeit with occasional slight variations in how long the top gets or how pronounced the sideburns are (the below example is from season 11 but I’ll reblog this with additional examples from 12-15, since tumblr won’t let me add more than ten photos to the original post).

The sides are kept pretty severely short, the sideburns don’t really get more pronounced than this, and the top is long enough to spike but not swoop.

And...sidenote does anyone else think they put cheap gray Party City color spray in his hair for 15x20 for some godforsaken reason? Because the sudden gray cast to his hair in the last scene has been bugging me for MONTHS.

(Also: Don’t even get me started on Dean being in the foreground but blurry and out of focus because the camera is zeroed in on Sam...if that isn’t the entire finale summed up in a single image, I don’t know what is. Thanks camera guy I hate it. /endrant)

Styling & Texture

I’ll also add this caveat to all of the above: I now know, based on some uh...interesting photos and videos of Jensen during quarantine and my own experiences with Dean haircuts, that Jensen’s hair is thick and fairly coarse as well. The only reason the sides of his head don’t look bald in the later seasons is he has so much goddamn hair. If your hair is thinner, you might want to go a little less short on the sides to get a similar look.

Also, if you have baby-fine hair line mine, you’re gonna need something (or several somethings) to add texture.

The funniest thing I learned getting this haircut is that even with Jensen having coarser hair than mine, there’s almost NO way Dean Winchester’s hair looks like that (that being the way it looks in literally any season) without application of some styling products and use of a hair dryer.

Which like...we also know he wears a full face of makeup on camera, but I can suspend disbelief for that. What I cannot suspend, now that I’ve had this haircut, is the image of Dean fucking Winchester standing in front of a motel bathroom mirror or the bunker’s bathroom for at least fifteen minutes every morning, meticulously arranging his hair with styling products and a hair dryer, then making fun of Sam for what is likely a much less involved hairstyling regimen.

What styling products he uses precisely, I have no idea because again...his hair’s a slightly different texture than mine. But it’s gotta be something with some light hold that achieves decent separation and definition without looking clumpy, oily, crunchy, or keeping his hair looking wet all day, so. There’s that.

For my hair (thick as fuck, baby fine strands, tends to stick straight up if left to its own devices) I use a rat-tail comb to part it where I want and then a combo of pomade on slightly damp hair to style with my fingers and medium-hold hairspray to set.

Please picture Dean doing all of that. Hell, just picture him using hairspray. I’m begging you. And please note that he almost HAD to for the Demon!Dean look.

(And in case it isn’t obvious, men styling their hair is perfectly normal but Dean Winchester, male power fantasy extraordinaire doing so while actively making fun of his brother for taking care of his hair is...objectively hilarious.)

#supernatural #dean winchester #dean derangement syndrome #dean cosplay #lizawords #hair

[filmmakerdreamst]

How Xena: Warrior Princess Allowed Me To Accept Myself

I was living in a city all alone and these two characters showed me that it was ok for two women to love each other.

In order to understand the following story, there’s something you need to know about me. I have always loved fiction. From the age of about 5 to 11, I loved books more than I loved people. I was a shy child who found it easier to emotionally engage with fictional worlds than the real one around me.

See, fictional worlds are created for your brain’s enjoyment. Their rules make sense. Events happen for a reason. The narrator tells you why characters behave the way they do, allowing you to empathize with them on a deep emotional level. Easy to understand, easy to identify with, easy to love.

But real people are complicated. The real world is complicated. And things are seldom laid out nicely in a coherent narrative format for you. Real things are much harder to love.

This emotional disengagement continued from the age of 11 onwards, although it was no longer as pronounced. My habit of retreating into fiction would fade during good times and come back in force during difficult or stressful periods. During the stressful periods of college, the rise of Netflix allowed me to become certifiably obsessed with my favorite TV shows. And naturally, I joined Tumblr in order to more easily fangirl with people who shared my interests.

Only for some peculiar reason that I didn’t care to examine, my interests were slowly gravitating towards girl-girl couples. Soon I was shipping, reblogging, and reading fanfiction almost exclusively about female couples. But I, who had always considered myself straight despite lacking interest in the boys around me, didn’t think this meant that I was gay. I probably just found female couples more emotionally satisfying. I was friends with mostly women, I was a woman myself, so it was natural that I just understood them better. Yeah, that was probably it.

Fast-forward to nine months ago. I was living in Boston and incredibly depressed about it. My job and my boss were making my life miserable and I had very few people to socialize with. I was making the rough transition from the constant socialization of college to the isolating pressure of a city where I had few connections. My days and nights were some of the loneliest I had ever experienced. I looked for something, anything, to lift the heart-crushing emotional silence.

My solution was the same one I always chose when I was dissatisfied with the real world; obsession with a new TV show. And thanks to my femslash-focused tumblr community, I knew just what my next feel-good show was going to be.

My tumblr friends had told me this: Xena: Warrior Princess is an action-fantasy show that enjoys a cult status, much like Buffy: The Vampire Slayer (which I watched and loved). The two shows were made in the same mid-to-late 90's era, with similar bad special effects and endearing campiness. But XWP is much… MUCH… more gay.

That was about all I knew about the show going in. And amazingly, that was all I needed to know to be excited about watching it. You’d think that fact would have told me something about myself, but no. The mental walls of denial were years in the building and needed more force than that to be shattered.

For anyone unfamiliar with the show’s premise, Xena: Warrior Princess is about the title character and her quest for redemption. You see, Xena did some bad things in her previous life on another show (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys). In her storied career as a warlord, she committed such petty crimes as genocide, the slaughter of innocents, that kind of thing. But now she has seen the light and wants to atone for her crimes. Except she can never undo the terrible things she did. All Xena can do now is help people on a day-to-day basis and hope that it’s enough for someone to show her mercy.

Which is already fantastic from a character standpoint. But there is a secret mirror to Xena’s journey that is not reflected in the show’s title, and that is Gabrielle and her character arc.

Oh! Gabrielle! When I met her in the very first episode, I loved her straightaway. She is a feisty, naive, talkative small-town girl who accompanies Xena on all her adventures. Her character quickly assumes paramount importance in the narrative. Gabrielle is Xena’s only friend. She comes to know her better than anyone else and love her for who she is, all the while believing Xena can reach redemption. Yet Gabrielle is not just a support system for Xena; she goes on her own heroic journey. The two character arcs intertwine and co-develop in a way I have never seen in any show before or since.

As each episode rolled by and their relationship grew in complexity, I found myself more and more engrossed. And I came to realize: this was something I wanted. The day I accepted my own desire was the day I accepted myself. What could be more strangling than denying the existence of your own feelings? Yet I had been doing this to myself for years — cutting off the possibility of being attracted to other women — without even realizing.

Before beginning the show, I thought the fandom had read in between the lines to construct a romantic relationship between the two characters, the same way as femslash shippers do in all other TV shows. Except not this time. This one is mind-blowingly different.

Not only does the narrative place utmost importance on the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle, but the actresses bring such multi-dimensional love to their parts. When I saw Lucy Lawless (Xena) and Renee O’Connor (Gabrielle) interact, I could so easily believe that these two women loved each other beyond friendship. Xena and Gabrielle display every kind of love you can think of. They protect and sacrifice for each other. They tease and flirt. They cuddle and console. They have inside jokes with each other. They dance sexily. They play pranks and drive each other crazy. They sweetly kiss. They come back from the dead together. They bathe together. They raise each other’s children. They meet in alternate timelines and fall in love all over again.

I could have left my mental walls of denial in place. I could have said to myself “oh yes, I want this. But with a guy.” But no. Lawless and O’Connor’s incredibly attractive faces and bodies broke down the door of my mental closet. Precisely because they were fictional, I felt safe to admit my attraction to them. One of the key mental blocks I had always had towards accepting any attraction towards other women was the thought that I was being creepy. That since they could not possibly feel the same way about me, it was wrong to feel the way I did. But in my mind, that barrier didn’t exist with fictional characters. They couldn’t feel anything for me. Therefore, it was fine to feel whatever I want about them.

The walls cracked. The water came rushing in. Oh my god. I am attracted to other women. Like, every day of my life. Those flickers in my stomach when I talk to an attractive female coworker suddenly make a whole lot of sense now. I now saw my historical awkwardness when talking to beautiful girls, which I always dismissed as “me being weird”, for what it was. All those short-term girl crushes on older girls throughout high school. How was I so sure they were platonic? That heart-aching infatuation I had with my best friend that lasted for years? Yeah, add that to the ‘definitely gay’ list.

Since then I’ve realized that my feelings are valid regardless of what others feel for me. Just because feelings are unrequited doesn’t mean they aren’t real. That’s what Xena and Gabrielle taught me. Their fictional example was the final blow to my rapidly-crumbling resistance to the idea of homosexuality.

In our culture today, so many forms of media reinforce heteronormativity. How many commercials have you seen that assume attraction between a man and a woman? How many billboards tell women that they need to look sexy for the men in their lives? How many times has a movie ended with the guy getting the girl? It’s the combined action of a thousand small rocks shifting to make a cultural avalanche. You can’t move against it. All you can do is stand still and try to maintain your footing against the current, to maintain your identity in the face of a world where you and people like you are often swept away by the mainstream.

Xena: Warrior Princess is one of those rare stories that dares to go against the grain. It celebrates a romantic relationship between two women as the most natural thing in the world. And in doing so, it provides a mirror for me and people like me to recognize themselves in. There we are. Look at us fly.

This story isn’t over yet. I still have a lot of work to do to accept myself, but thanks to Xena and Gabrielle I’ve taken one huge step towards living the open life I want to live. I moved on from that horrible job and lonely city, but in the end I’m grateful. Grateful that circumstances pushed me to the depths of loneliness necessary to bring down the prison I had built in my own mind.

- How Xena: Warrior Princess Allowed Me To Accept Myself by Lyra Hall

#if this doesn't convince you to watch the show i don't know what will #i love this article so much! #xena #xwp #xena warrior princess #xena x gabrielle #gabrielle #gabrielle x xena #xena/gabrielle #renee o'connor #lucy lawless #tv show #lgbtqia #lgbt #article #quote #passage #xena & gabrielle #gabrielle/xena #xena: warrior princess #subtext #lesbian #bisexual #lesbian subtext #queer subtext #analysis #review #discussion #xena and gabrielle #gabrielle and xena

[alloftheimaginesblog]

You’re Safe Now (Bellamy Blake x Reader)

Plot: Bellamy ventures into Mount Weather to save his friends and the girl he loves.

Character: Bellamy Blake x Female!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of blood, torture, violence. Takes place Season 2 episode 11 and onwards though changes events to suit (I’m re-watching The 100 bc I stopped at Season 4 the first time I watched it so I’m in a Bellamy mood!)

When Bellamy goes into Mount Weather, nothing could’ve prepared him for the horrors that lay ahead. Lincoln could only prepare him for the start of the journey but not the cages, not the blood transfusions, not the bone marrow torture; not any of it.

Thank god that Maya was on their side. He wouldn’t have escaped his cage without her help. He searches the cages before he leaves, it’s just Grounders in them. Bellamy demands Maya to list the names of those who are here that are his friends. He cuts her short when she says your name fifth.

“I don’t know where they keep your friends,” Maya says quietly, “I’ve checked all of these cages, over and over. They’re keeping them somewhere else.”

“Why?” Bellamy’s tone is angrier than he intended, “Where is (y/n)?”

“We haven’t seen her in four days,” Maya tells him, “Monty and Harper are missing too.” Anger surges through him burning red hot in his veins. He clenches his fists and breathes hard as he glares at the cages surrounding him. He just needs you to be okay. He needs to save you. He cannot lose you.

“Why have they separated us from the Grounders?” He asks through clenched teeth.

“There was a breach and I got caught in it, they did it on purpose because they knew that Jasper would volunteer his blood to save me. The blood of your people, the Sky People, works ten times better than that of the Grounders. They figured out that bone marrow from you allows us to walk on the ground.”

It’s a harsh realisation that hits him in the stomach causing him to take a sharp intake of breath, “They’re experimenting on us,” Bellamy realises, voice nothing more than a whisper, “They’re killing us to save themselves.” He turns to Maya who looks terrified, “We have to hurry.”

His footsteps are heavy as they go through the corridors. Maya’s a nervous wreck beside him and he knows it but he doesn’t care. He needs to find his friends, he needs to find you. Maya tells him in a hushed whisper all that she knows about the transfusions and about his friends and tells him that they need Grounder blood but more importantly Sky People blood in order to live on the ground. Bellamy was going to kill them. He was going to kill every single one of them who hurt you. He almost can’t think straight, the anger is almost too much for him to cope with.

Maya grabs his arm, she notices that he’s almost tipping himself over the edge, “We’ll get your friends out of here.” She looks sad, he notices as he allows himself to breathe deeply and calm down. She’s worried about her fate, he realises. She’s helping them escape but she can’t come with them... what will happen to her? He pushes that out of his mind, not wanting to think about it before nodding and carrying on. She glances at him out of the corner of his eye hoping that he knows what he’s doing to pull this off.

The light burns your eyes as they flash the torch on your face, “This one will have to do,” the doctor, Doctor Tsing, says.

“Looks weak,” Cage Wallace, the new President of Mount Weather, comments.

 “She’ll have to do for now, your father released the others but soon we’ll have the rest of the 47 to choose from.”

“She’ll die?” Cage studies your face as you glare at him, Tsing nods and Cage shrugs, “So be it.”

Rough hands of the guards drag you out of the cage, pulling you legs first. You’re almost too weak to fight back but you try. It’s a weak attempt, one that fails very easily, as you try and kick at the guards. Your foot collides with the chin of one but the other grabs your ankles and shoves you to the ground. Your body hits the cold floor as the guards grab you and force you upwards.

Cage’s lips twist into a cruel smile as you’re brought to your feet, “I’m surprised you’ve got any fight left in you.” Your weakness didn’t stop you from being angry. They were hurting your friends, they were going to kill them after they killed you.

“Go to hell.” Your voice is a hoarse croak.

Cage grins, “Oh no, we’re going someplace better... We’re going to the ground.” He nods to the guards and they shove you forwards, towards the patient bed in the centre of the room.

You struggle feebly but the guards are too strong. They force you to lie on the bed and they strap you in, strapping you in so tightly that it even hurts to breathe. Cage and Tsing talk in the corner, you can hear them but you don’t listen. You try to control your breathing as you stare up at the concrete ceiling. Death looms over you and you know it as you clench your jaw and your fists. There’s nothing to be done now, you’re trapped and you’ll be dead in a few minutes. They knew it too, they’d taken too much from you in such a short space of time, you’d die within minutes of the procedure. They were taking your bone marrow, apparently it allowed them to walk on the ground without taking damage for the radiation. You’d tried to tell them before how the ground wasn’t that special but that was a lie. How you yearned to touch the grass, feel cool water on your skin, feel the breeze through your hair one last time... how you yearned to feel his touch one last time.

You hear the drill as they test it out and squeeze your eyes shut. Forcing yourself to drone it all out, you begin to think of your friends. You were hoping that by now they’d managed to come up with a plan to escape, even if it meant leaving you. You think of Jasper and Monty and Miller and Harper... and it isn’t long before Bellamy Blake comes into your head.

Oh, Bellamy.

Tears want to desperately fall from your eyes, burning and nipping, but you keep them shut and force yourself to stop. You wish that you could see him one last time, tell him how you truly feel. You’ve imagined that moment over and over again in your head over the last few weeks. He already knows, you know that, but he needs to hear it. You need him to hear it. The last two months, you’d spent the majority of them curled up with him, making love under the stars, talking quietly in the dark, sharing secrets you’d never told anyone... You’d spent the last two months falling in love with him so hard.

The sound of the drill began to get closer to you. This was it. You open your eyes, letting the tears fall, as you stare at the ceiling imagining space. You try so hard to picture the view from the windows, the glow of the stars, the colours...

“May we meet again,” you whisper before the drill makes contact with your skin and you begin to scream.

It’s a bloodcurdling, horrid scream that he hears and he immediately knows that it’s you. The vents are tight but he can make it but he has to move fast. Bellamy’s heart is racing, hearing your screams and the voices grow louder. He feels sick as he hears them torture you, he wants to kill them for harming you; he wants to kill them all.

“Her pulse is getting weaker, she’s dying.”

Bellamy Blake is scared as he wills himself to move faster. He sees the grate of the vent up ahead, he’s so close. Your screams fade to nothing and he clenches his jaw. Only a few more feet. He sees you through the grate and bile rises in his throat. He can’t. He can’t look at you. He refuses to look at you because he’d really lose it then.

“We’re losing her.”

“Like hell you are,” Bellamy grunts as he blasts the grate open and throws himself out into the room. The element of surprise allows him to shoot the two guards with quick ease but his gun jams when he goes to blast Cage’s head off.

They begin to fight as Tsing keeps working to extract the last of your bone marrow. Your head lulls to the side, eyes struggling to stay open as you sway on the edge of unconsciousness. You can’t figure out what’s happening as all you can focus on is trying to fight to stay awake. There’s no pain anymore, in fact, you feel numb all over. It’s cold... it’s death, you realise. 

Bellamy manages to slam the butt of his gun into the side of Cage’s head, knocking him to the floor. He wasn’t dead but for now, unconscious was good enough. He had to be fast. He moves to Tsing next, unable to look at you, as she takes the syringe out of your hip.

“Let her go,” Bellamy warns her, secretly reaching his arm behind his back to find the knife in the waistband of his pants.

“I take it this one’s special to you,” she smiles sadistically, “It had to be done.”

She turns away from Bellamy, reaching for the gun on the table but Bellamy’s faster. He’s already plunged the knife into her shoulder before she can grab it. Your vision’s clouding over, unable to do anything or see anything. Bellamy needs to get you out now.

Tsing yells out, grabbing the gun and aiming for him but Bellamy has the upper hand. She’s wounded which makes her sloppy so he easily overpowers her and takes the gun before shooting. The gunshot makes your ears ring, making you gasp a deep breath of air. It pulls you back to consciousness for a couple of seconds as Bellamy pockets the gun and the knife once more before rushing to you.

You barely feel his hands as he presses down on your hip to stop the bleeding, covering it with something and he checks you over. His face comes into your line of vision as he pulls you up, drapes something around you to hide your body from others, and lifts you up. He looks down at you, talking but you’re slipping away from him. It’s almost like you’re underwater, you know he’s talking but you can’t tell what the words are.

As darkness seeps into you vision, you manage to catch a glimpse of his eyes and whisper a tiny, “Bellamy...” before falling deep into the darkness.

The sounds of muffled voices talking, no wait, shouting is what woke you up. Your eyes fluttered open groggily as you tried to move but the pain was too much. Every part of your body ached, it felt like you’d been trampled on by one hundred horses.

“It’s been thirty eight hours!” You knew that voice. Who was that?

“She’ll come round when she’s ready.” You knew that voice too.

“I just need to know she’s okay.”

“Bellamy-”

Bellamy. 

You groan softly, stopping whoever it was from talking, “She’s waking up!”

Someone rushed to you, you knew it was Bellamy from his scent - gunpowder and pine, “Bellamy,” you whisper, opening your eyes. It took a moment before they adjusted and you could see his face clearly, “Bellamy.” You want to so desperately cry and he knows that.

“You’re okay, you’re safe now.” His hands caress your cheeks, “Here,” he whispers, grabbing a cup from the table and helping you drink it, “It’s water, drink.” You drink it all quickly, water had never felt so good. He fills another and you finish it, too.

“Let me check her over,” it’s Abby, you realise. She walks to you, “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit.”

Bellamy chuckles from beside you. He holds your hand as Abby checks you over. She checks your pulse, your heart, your pupils and your pain levels. She explains that you’d lost a lot of blood and a lot of fluids and that it’ll take a few days for you to feel better again, “It was touch and go for a day,” she says, “but we managed to get you stable last night.”

“What- What happened?” You look to Bellamy who glances at Abby, “How long have I been out?”

“Thirty eight hours, your body had a lot of trauma, it needed time to heal and recover... I’ll give you a while to talk,” she says before leaving the tent.

“I’ve been out for over two days?” Bellamy smiles before you look around, realising you’re back at camp, and ask, “We’re safe? I was... They were...” You look down, “They were killing me.”

Bellamy takes your hands, forcing you to look at him, “I got you out, you remember?” You nod slowly, trying to piece together the hazy details, “I got you out. You were so close to dying.” His voice was tight, like he was just barely holding it together, “I managed to get you out of the mountain in time. Abby treated you in camp while I dealt with the mountain.”

“Dealt with?”

Bellamy looks down, “There was no other way. They were going to kill us all.” He tells you what he and Clarke did, how they had to irradiate the mountain, killing every single person who wasn’t Grounder or Sky Person, “It was the only way. We had to kill hundreds of innocent people.”

You swallow, digesting the information, he looks up at you and you give him a small smile, “You’re forgiven.” It’s what he needs. He needs that forgiveness, he needs your forgiveness. He helped slaughter a bunch of innocent people and he’ll carry that guilt forever but you make it a little easier.

Abby comes back a minute later, requesting that Bellamy go help with a situation at the gate. He looks to you and you nod, “I’ll be okay.” He leaves reluctantly.

Abby gets you something to eat and replenishes your water as she helps you sit up, “You’ll start to feel better soon.”

After devouring the soup and crackers, you ask, “Where’s Clarke?” It’s a touchy subject and as soon as you ask it, you want to take it back. Abby clears her throat and looks to her hands.

It’s a minute before she talks again, “She’s- She left. She’s gone.” You want to ask why but it’s a fresh wound so you stop yourself from saying anything else about it. She helps you to lay back down, “I’ll be back in a while to check on you. Do you need anything else?”

“Bellamy,” you say quietly, “I just need Bellamy.”

You didn’t mean to fall asleep and you didn’t realise you’d fallen asleep until you woke up. Bellamy is in the chair next to your bed, reading something. You roll over and he looks at you as a smile grows on his face, “Hey, sleepy head.” Octavia had known weeks before he did, she would constantly tease him about you... how right she was when she said he loved you. He did love you, he does  love you. 

“How long?”

“Three hours.” He leans forwards, “You must’ve been exhausted.”

“How long have you been sitting there?”

“Three hours.”

You feel your cheeks burning, “You waited that whole time?”

Bellamy smiles at you, “I waited here thirty eight hours for you to wake up, what’s three more?” He helps you to sit up, “I needed to know that you were okay.” He scoots his chair closer to the edge of the bed, you’re only inches apart from.

You reached for him, he caught your hands easily and let you tug him to sit on the bed beside you, “I was so scared,” you tell him quietly, “I thought I was going to die.”

Bellamy could tell that you were close to crying so he gently cradled you to his chest, shushing you and telling you that you were okay. He wasn’t sure of the full extent of your torture there but he knew it was horrible. It angered him that you and so many of his friends went through that and some even died but they’d gotten you out safe. He had saved you.

“Clarke’s gone,” he murmurs, “She couldn’t deal with having to face everyone when they know that we killed all those innocent people. She did it to save us all, I did it save us all. I don’t know where she is; she doesn’t want to be found.”

“How are you?” You ask him, pulling away so that you can look at him but still holding onto him, “How are you coping?” It wasn’t just Clarke’s hand on that lever, Bellamy helped kill them too.

He could never lie to you. He shrugs, “Not slept, I’ve been staying at your side so I’ve not really faced anyone. I’ve been too worried about you to care about what the others think, honestly but... Jasper’s a mess, Monty says that he’s just been drinking non-stop.”

“Maya,” you realise. Bellamy’s head falls, “Jasper will be okay. We all will be.” You hope that’s true.

Silence falls for a minute before you say his name, “Thank you... for saving me.”

Bellamy rolls his eyes, the slightest smile on his face, “Haven’t you realised that I will always look out for you? I will always protect you.” He’s serious, he would do anything to protect you and keep you safe even if it meant getting himself killed, “You don’t realise how badly I need you to be okay.” It’s a confession that shocks you but he keeps going, needing you to hear it; needing you to believe him, “I heard you screaming when they were torturing you and it broke my heart. The whole time I was in there, my priority was you and that’s selfish that I wanted to save you first than all of our friends as well but I need you to always be safe.”

“Bell...”

“I know,” he pulls away, thinking that you’re rejecting him, “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

You grab his wrist, “When I was lying there, waiting to die, do you know what I thought of? I thought of you, Bellamy. I thought of all the things I wanted to say to you if I survived, I thought of all those nights we had together, I thought of your smile, your messy hair in the mornings, the way you moan my name... I thought of what I need to tell you.”

“Tell me what?” His voice shakes. He knows, he knows exactly what you needed to tell him but he he wants to hear you say it; he needs to hear you say it.

“I love you,” you whisper as he edges closer to you, “I am in love with you, Bellamy.”

It’s rare for Bellamy to be so open but with you, it’s always been different. He can’t stop the smile that spreads on his face. He can’t help his racing heart and the butterflies in his stomach. He feels stupid but he’s happy. For the first time in a long time, he’s happy, “I love you.”

He kisses you. It’s not like all those other times when you were rushing to take the others clothes off. It’s soft and delicate and he’s savouring every single second of this new type of intimacy. His hands cup your face as you grab onto his shirt to pull him closer. Bellamy is the one person who sends you into a flurry of emotions; your weakness.

Far too soon, he pulls away. Smiling, you press your forehead against his, closing your eyes and enjoying the happy moment together; it wasn’t often a happy moment came along. You stay like that for a long time, breathing and just enjoying the love before he clears his throat, “You should rest.” He goes to move away, unsure now of what to do.

Once more, you grab him but this time you scoot to the left and open the blanket up for him, “You should rest.”

“I need to be on watch-”

“Bellamy,” you say, “You’ve not slept in days, you’re exhausted. Come to bed.” He relents, kicking off his boots and throwing his jacket into the chair at the side of the bed. He crawls in beside you, the warmth of your body soothing his aching muscles.

He lies on his side, arm draped over your body as he presses his lips to your temple, “Thank you,” he whispers, already feeling sleep take over, “for loving me.” You’re taken aback by it but you slide closer to him, pulling his arm over you tighter.

The light snores signalled that he was already asleep. You smile, closing your eyes, “I love you, Bellamy Blake. You’re safe now.” It’s only minutes later when you fall asleep in his warm embrace.

#one shot #bellamy blake x reader #bellamy blake #reader insert #the 100 #the 100 one shot #os #prompt #long prompt #written prompt #the hundred #bellamy blake one shot #bellamy blake imagine

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

Let’s talk: the Vmin “no on screen interaction = no bond” Paradox

by Admin 1 & 2

One of the reasons that are usually stated for why people are so insistent on their claims that Jimin and Tae supposedly aren’t close anymore, that their friendship is nothing but PR for Friends, and that the whole “soulmate agenda” is fake as well, boils down to the statement of “we rarely or never see them interact on screen, no touching, no talking, nothing”. We find this both misleading, since it isn’t true, but also disrespectful, since it means that the only way in which some are able to accept closeness between the members as real and valid is if they see it, nothing else. So, just because you don’t see it through grand physical touches, hugs and whatnot, does that mean if they speak about each other, for example, that doesn’t count? 

You could argue that the power of pictures is greater than that of words, but to that I would like to ask: do they owe us visual proof of their closeness when we already have so much that shows how truly close Jimin and Tae are, how much they care about each other and how much work across years they’ve willingly and eagerly put into their bond for it to grow as deep and beautiful as it is?

As a way to showcase how misleading the screen time = friendship/closeness argument is, especially in connection to Jimin and Tae, I’d like for us to look at two different instances: Black Swan MV (the MV Sketch as well as the “opera” b*omb and the basket ball b*omb) and the Jingle Ball 2019 EPISODE.

Let’s start with the videos surrounding Black Swan below the cut:

Around that time I saw a lot, and I mean a lot, of chatter (mostly negative) about vmin since a very loud portion of the fandom were very up in arms after we got Friends. Not only did it solidify their preconceived notion that they are just friends, because the song is titled like that and none of them really cared enough to check the lyrics, but also because it opened up a whole new discussion about “but like, are they really friends?” To which, of course, their answer was mostly “no”. It’s just PR, they actually don’t really like each other, they barely interact, we see nothing of them, both interact way more with the other members, you know the drill. So when the MV Sketch for Black Swan came out it was, once again, like more “am/munition” for their arguments.

The thing we find laughable though is this expectation of “ship moments” in a video that’s literally about the filming of their music video, most of the scenes showing said filming happening though there’s also a few scenes of the members interacting. But, at the core, this isn’t like a bangtan b*mb of them hanging out backstage waiting for something or another where it makes sense that we’d see them interact a lot and be silly, instead it’s a video in which their focus (as well as ours should be) is on filming and giving the best performance they can so the MV turns out amazing, which it did. They are doing their work, not enjoying their free time. When you’re at work, do you really spend the majority of your time playing around with your friends? No, you do your job, the thing you get paid for doing.

The first few times I watched the video, I was so captivated by the theatre and their dancing, their mindset and performance, I didn’t even really notice any of their interactions or pay attention to who interacted with who or who did not. Guess my priorities and expectations are simply a bit different when watching a music video being filmed...

So what was the conclusion people drew? While Jimin and Tae are both close to JK and the other member, they are not close to each other, they don’t even particularly like each other. It was a narrative I saw repeated across various sns and, really, while it made me sad, I also wasn’t surprised. It’s nothing new that people treat vmin in such a manner.

Then, months later we got two Bangtan B*mbs from the same time and surprise, surprise Jimin and Tae did interact, a lot even, in ways that show how attuned with each other they are, how easy it is for them to fall into one of their role-plays or just be silly together, how gentle and thoughtful of the other they are, and how much they enjoy doing something together, regardless of what it is.

The first, posted October 1st 2020, showed Tae playing basket ball while Jimin and JK sat off to the side and watched him. Like you can see in the above pictures, eventually Jimin joined Tae and they played together for most of the video. Since the sun was shining at them, Tae stood before Jimin and raised his hands so the shadow fell onto Jimin’s eyes and he could see better, later on doing the same for Tae. It’s a small thing and yet it shows they care about each other. At some point Jimin pretended that he’ll be leaving, twice, and yet he stayed and they played some more. Toward the end of the video Namjoon joins them and eventually vmin leave and Namjoon stays behind and plays with Seokjin before the video ends.

Based on all that you’d assume the people who, seven months earlier, claimed vmin are essentially estranged and barely even like each other would reconsider, but of course not. Despite the focus being largely on them across the entire video, many comments by non-vminies (and non-namjinists) I saw on sns were about Tae playing on his own, Jimin and JK sitting off to the side together, and Namjoon playing with Seokjin. 

The second video was posted October 24th 2020 and began with Jimin pretending he’s an opera singer, which Tae noticed and immediately joined in, since we know this is the sort of thing Tae enjoys doing, even occasionally turning their own songs and lyrics into opera style to make the other members laugh. This sets off this entire sequence of Tae and Jimin singing different things, JK also joining in for a moment, and then vmin ending on that sweet moment of Jimin standing behind Tae with his hands covering Tae’s eyes before concluding that “it’s hard to play with him”. And yet, even if it’s hard, can we talk about these two screenshots of Jimin fondly watching Tae and looking like he can’t wait until his stylist is done so he can go join him? Adorable.

But again, even here while the focus is on vmin for a large portion of the video, this fact was largely omitted and instead people zeroed in on moments in which Tae was alone, Tae or Jimin interacted with JK, and Tae singing with Namjoon and Seokjin. It seems to me like the council of “how valid is a friendship” decided on their opinion months prior and stuck with it even if it meant, as always, to just ignore vmin interactions in favor of other things while at the same time spreading the “vmin are not friends because they don’t interact” agenda to anyone who’ll listen.

Generally I don’t really care all that much for all the chatter happening among parts of ARMY, but seeing these comments belittling and erasing the bond Jimin and Tae have, regardless if you see it as platonic or potentially romantic, is just really hard to read sometimes. Not even because I’m a vminnie, but simply because they are erasing something that is so important to both Tae and Jimin, this bond they have with each other they themselves spoke so much about, showed so much of, and yet people refuse to accept it, like they have any right to make such judgements about their bond.

The second example I’d like to show is Jingle Ball 2019 in LA and how deceptive, paradoxical and misleading the no screen time = no bond agenda really is.

For context, the Jingle Ball happened some time in December 2019, the same month as when we got the vmin “let’s take a half bath together” while holding hands during Seokjin’s birthday vlive happened, meaning a time when Jimin and Tae were just as close as ever, even occasionally giving us glimpses into their bond, giggling together and being all smiles. Also the same month as the famous holding hands because we think no one sees us anymore moment at the airport.

On July 22nd 2020 we got the EPISODE showing the behind the scenes of the Jingle Ball performance. It’s 11 minutes long and includes the BWL performance with Halsey, but largely shows the members getting ready, practicing their English and being excited to perform. If we focus solely on vmin then sure, I’ll agree that there were no interactions between those two whatsoever, not a usual or out of the ordinary thing, and not something I see any kind of problem in. They don’t owe us interactions in every piece of content. And yet, as always, it just added fuel to everyones favorite agenda that vmin are not close, ignoring all the prior time frame context we established previously. But who cares, they didn’t interact in this 11 minute video therefore they definitely didn’t interact at all and now hate each other.

Jokes on those people because of course that isn’t true.

Excuse the rather mediocre quality of those pictures, I tried my best with the screenshots taken from a video taken by a fan (one of many) who got to see BTS behind the scenes before going on stage from the stands further up. There’s this video on twt that shows just vmin and then I found a longer version in this person’s vlog (around the 7:25 min mark and onward). You can check both and confirm that it really is vmin in those screenshots. Also, as memory refresher, Jimin was the only one with a black collar and shirt along with blond hair. Namjoon stands further away and can be seen in the three lower pictures.

So, what does this tell us? Easy--just because it wasn’t shown in a condensed and edited video it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Just because Jimin and Tae don’t show us things on screen, or the editors don’t use scenes where it can be seen, it doesn’t mean that it’s an accurate representation of their actual, real life bond. They weren’t in the EPISODE but hugged and walked together off camera.

Notice how this agenda merely applies to vmin, how their bond, their soulmate status and closeness is the only one that gets questioned at every possible moment. When Seokjin said that Yoongi feels like his soulmate nowadays in an episode of In The SOOP no one questioned his words and accepted them as true, because he said so himself and we should believe their sincerity when they say these things. And yet when it comes to vmin, the rules are entirely different.

This was a post brought to you by Admin 2 coming across yet another thread on twt filled with ARMY claiming outlandish things about vmin and their bond and getting annoyed.

#lets talk #vmin #taehyung #jimin #we try not to get annoyed by these things but... #bts #bangtan sonyeondan #honestly this agenda is awful and unfair #just needed to get this out of our system