#anyway sarah this is for you <3

[pettyprocrastination]

whoever this beloved anon was I am so touched by your kindness! You definitely didn’t have to do this but I am so happy you enjoy this idea and I will happily expand upon it for you!

this is just a collection of word vomit bullet points for the time being but I will happily answer any and all questions about this pair!!

warnings: violence, angst, child death (Sarah Miller), foul language, the same warnings that apply to tlou, reader is Sarah's mom and described as having similar features to her. 

So the general Idea is that you and Joel are happily married before the outbreak. 

You had been Sarah's mother, his high school sweetheart he got pregnant when neither of you were old enough to have any reaction to the pregnancy test other than a fucking panic attack in one another’s arms. but you made it work 

you both worked but made time for one another and your sweet girl, going to museums every other weekend and joel insisting on swooping you off for a date every now and then 

nothing special. He knows you’re more of a diner gal than anything too fancy that makes you both feel out of place. 

On his birthday in 2003, you had planned to tell him that you were pregnant again. But the memories of your own fears of motherhood from all those years ago begin to swirl through your head again and you get cold feel. deciding to tell him the morning after

it is his birthday afterall, you want to focus on him. 

but when you’re woken up in the middle of the night because tommy needs to get bailed out, Joel kisses you sweetly one last time before promising he’ll be back and you can’t shake the feeling that something bad is happening. 

its you that shakes sarah awake that night. shouting at her to put on her shoes when she’s still rubbing the sleep from her eyes because you’ve been listening to the radio for the past two hours, calling joel again and again and again praying for him to fucking pick up but to no avail. 

Sarah, bless your little girl’s bleeding heart is the one who insists you check on the adler’s against your better suspicions and when you find the eldest looming over her daughter, blood and sinew dripping from her mouth, you grab your daughter hand and burst into a full sprint until something slams into your back and sends you tumbling onto their front lawn

its how joel finds you, struggling to keep the once sweet old woman, whose now nothing more than dead eyes and gnashing teeth straining to snap at your pulse point as you push against her while sarah shrieks before your husband runs forward and cracks her skull with a wrench. 

there’s hardly a moment of pause, just enough for him to pull you up and into his arms before he’s ushering you both into the car with an urgency. 

when the truck crashes, you get separated from them. Perhaps at Tommy’s side when the flames rise and create a wall, separating you from your husband, or maybe pulled into the mob of chaos when trying to escape from those already infected-

all joel knows is that you promise you’ll find him: just get sarah to safety and you’ll meet him at the river

Poor thing is already so frightened, held in her father’s arms with tears streaming down her face insisting they can’t leave you they just can’t but her father kisses her forehead and reassures her its going to be okay 

“we just need to be brave, okay babygirl? Your mama’s real tough, she’s gonna be alright.” 

he isn’t sure if he’s saying it to his daughter or himself. 

but when he comes to the river you aren’t there. Only a soldier who points a gun at the scared little girl in his arms and then he loses everything

its when the light is gone from his daughter’s eyes that he realizes. His voice cracked and raw from sobbing that he looks around to see his brother with drawn in shoulders and tears in his eyes but his wife is nowhere to be found. 

Tommy says you got lost in the chaos. Everything was so loud, so sudden that he turned around and suddenly you weren’t there. 

Joel wants to go back but its Tommy that stops him, that dulls the red in his vision to a sad faded pink because his brother points at the orange horizon not too far from them, so much of the city is already in flames. 

“We’re gonna find her, but not there.” 

So Joel searches. for the first year spent in the world post-outbreak its all he did. 

He became a smuggler because of it. 

Information came at a price and he needed to be able to fucking pay it, whether it be in blood or ration cards. He was willing to do anything to find you or any thin thread that lead your way. 

But it’s Tommy that asks him to give up. Not in those words of course. 

The youngest Miller knows better than to say something so cruel that would make his brother, the only person he has in this world turn on him. 

But his voice is worried when he asks him one night in Boston when he hasn’t even had the chance to wash the blood from his knuckles 

“You think she would have wanted this for you?” 

the fight that followed his words was brutal. Vicious insults and scarred fists slamming against each brother until they're both too tired and bloody to continue. Each leaning against a wall for support and Tommy’s wavering voice breaking the silence. 

“I don’t know where she is, Joel. But I do know you're gonna get yourself killed if you keep lookin’ for her.” 

All he can do is nod. 

It’s a few days later when he meets Tess. Who has heard plenty of stories about the elder miller’s brutality and wants him to put that muscle to good use for some extra profit. 

It begins his new life. One that empty and cold but one he can live. 

Until of course, Ellie comes along. The sweet and incredibly opinionated girl that makes him become something akin to the man he thought died twenty years ago. 

its when he’s traveling with Ellie, that it happens. When a warm familiarity has settled between the two because so much blood and pain has been shared he can’t help but see her as something close, something bright even though all he can force himself to utter in her reference is “cargo” 

when theyre traveling through the woods as Ellie chatters away, probing his memory about a movie that may or may not have existed thirty years ago because her descriptions of the plot are incredibly odd he hears a voice shout for them to stop and finds himself staring at a man- no, a boy- pointing a gun at them. 

Ellie stills, but Joel can see enough to know that from the lanky figure and dimpled face that he’s young. Maybe twenty, twenty-two at the oldest, but his eyes dart from Joel to Ellie with a pinprick of fear that allows Joel the time to charge forward and slam him to the ground before wrestling the gun from his hands. 

He has enough to time to tuck it under the stranger’s chin before he hears the sound of the safety being turned off and finds himself looking up and seeing a gun just inches from his face. 

Joel’s head whips around when Ellie’s voice calls out his name in fear, he turns to see another stranger holding her a gun point, shoulders drawn back and a shadow cast over their face by the had obstructing their identity. 

“You hurt one of mine, I hurt one of yours. That a fair deal?” 

Its takes him a moment to recognize you. It’s been so long since he’s heard your voice, the sweet tease when you would poke at him each time he woke up late despite the fact that you reminded him to set his alarm the night before, the times you’d chide him with a harsh “Joel Miller!” whispered in public anytime he was able to grab you a bit too passionately to be appropriate in public but the laughter in your voice let him know you were never truly mad at him. You didn’t know how to be. 

But that sweetness is buried under a cold rasp that cuts through the air as you point a rifle at the scared little girl in front of you.

“You think I won’t?” You’re older now, skin covered in scars from a life he didn’t know you got the chance to live and your eyes are cold as they regard your husband. “Put the gun down and get the fuck off of him, I won’t repeat myself.” 

Joel mumbles your name in awe. The woman he loved, the woman he mourned the one he fought so hard to find stands before him like some sort of hallucination and suddenly the world feels like its spinning until you bark orders at him again. 

“You’ve got five seconds Joel, make a fucking choice before I make it for you.” 

He looks down and realizes the boy under him, the one with the bleeding nose and snarling face has your eyes and his dimples. 

“One.” 

The one above him has Sarah’s hair. Soft brown curls that shine under the sun. 

“Two”

Wait. No, they both do.

“Three.” 

Twins. Jesus fucking Christ you had twins. 

“Four.” 

Joel holds the rifle up above his head and the one boy standing snatches it from his grasp, tossing it to the ground and kicking it far from his reach. He slowly stands, allowing your son- dear god your son- to scramble to his feet. 

Your voice softens just for a moment. “You okay, Duke?” 

Blood stains the bottom half of his face from where Joel slammed his fist into the boy’s nose just moments before, but he nods nonetheless. 

Now, they both stand on one side of you and he can see the resemblance clear as day the same way he would whenever Sarah was by your side.

When you order him to hand over his bag, he does so without question before telling Ellie to do the same. 

She watches him with wide eyes, her hands still up in the air but gaping at her companion as if he had grown a second head. 

“Joel!” “Just do it, alright?”

He doesn’t miss the way you watch their interaction with narrowed eyes until she tosses her bag to you and you slowly lower your gun. 

“Now, you want to tell me what the fuck you think you’re doin’ at my home?” 

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #i had an idea of something similar for tommy but on outbreak night he uh. abandons you instead of getting separated from you #because. angst :D #people say nice things #this was incredibly generous of you anon thank you so so much! #i may get myself a little starbucks drink this week now because I havent had starbucks since like january 1st lol #joel reeling from taking in all this information and also realizing he suckerpunched HIS OWN KID #id like to apologize for all the grammatical issues with this. this is just a bulletpoint word vomit to get my thoughts on the page before- #-beginning the actual fic. also I have to do a midterm tonight and this is my treat to myself hehe #but yes. joel getting separated from his wife on outbreak night and having to accept that shes probably dead #meanwhile youve lived this entire life without him because you think HES dead ad raising your boys all on your own #which just- further digs into his insecurities about failing in his role as a protector #he couldn't save sarah. he can't save ellie and he couldn't even save you #he thinks about you pregnant and alone. fending for yourself in a world full of infected and raiders and his chest grows tight again #this is all followed by Ellie going >:O 'you KNOW THIS PSYCHO?'and then joel immediately snapping at her to WATCH HER MOUTH #because that kid has no filter and he has to explain that youre his wife #anyways joels wife is a badass mfer who also maybe has a little garden and some chickens that you and your boys take care of <3 yeah . #reunion tag #ill be using that for this specific couple because I dont have a fic title yet but if anybody has suggestions!

[welcometogrouchland]

[ID: two pieces of digital fanart depicting Luz and Belos from the owl house dressed as Sarah and Jareth from Labyrinth (1986), respectively. They're wearing the costumes from the hallucination/ballroom scene. In the first piece Luz stands in the foreground with her skirt bunched in her fists, facing towards us but looking at something out of frame. She has a necklace of her egg palismen and a rod of Asclepius hairpin, and is wearing her white vans under her ballgown. Belos stands behind her in shadow, looking down at her and holding up a light glyph. The background is black. The second image is the same piece except with no shading, more vibrant colours and a purple background. End ID] @toh-described

🦉💫Don't tell me truth hurts little girl/Cause it hurts like hell🔮🌟

Labyrinth au!! Honestly surprised I've never seen one of these before?? feels very fitting. But I guess I'm the only one w/ this specific brainrot cocktail lol

(DO NOT TAG AS SHIP OR I WILL EXPLODE YOUR EYEBALLS💥)

#the owl house #toh #luz noceda #luz toh #belos toh #philip wittebane #i do have actual thoughts and (traditional) sketches to flesh this out into a full on au #luz and sarah are very different protagonists so it's fun to switch up the labyrinths design and narrative function to reflect that #if the labyrinth in the movie is trying to teach sarah to be grateful for what she has (lose moral cause this movie has -20 story) #then Luz's labyrinth would be a lot more of a ''give into temptation'' style test ala witches before wizards #overall very similar to the ballroom scene (hence why i took inspiration from it for this) #(also sparkly outfits <3) #I'd probably put the collector as jareth instead of belos as well?? i drew him hear bc I thought he'd look cool juxtaposed w/ luz #but the collector would be a much more relevant antagonist in a story based on Labyrinth i think lol #he'd have stolen king away after luz proclaims he'd be better off without her and she has to get him back yknow? #meanwhile the collector tries to lure her into giving up by crafting a fantasy world to tempt her #but of course she keeps going. make some friends. do some trials. you have no power over me. david bowie dance party. etc #it makes sense to me <3 #anyway. Tumblr pls let these images be a decent size on dashboard <3

[swallowedabug]

MAYKO NGUYEN Hudson & Rex 6.13 (2024)

#hudson and rex #hudson & rex #sarah truong #mayko nguyen #maykonguyenedit #my edits #my gif #did not even see she was wearing a black turtleneck before i started coloring these #i tried to make it visible but it's always tricky when you try to lighten up a black piece of clothing #but if i don't do anything you can't make out any details #anyway. she's in a black turtleneck but of course she never wears it without the coat. they can't keep getting away with this 😤 #but i'm once again grateful for those black jeans 👀🙏 #also out of context this set probably looks like she's in some delicious polycule #see the pregnant woman? sarah's actually the father <3

[sarah-yyy]

me: i'm going to write some mindless smut, it's going to be QUICK, i'm going to be done in NO TIME my brain: or!! it can 95% misunderstandings, 5% feelings, -20% smut, and take you 3 months!!

#clowning myself as usual!! nothing new here!! #posting an excerpt so you guys can shame me into writing when this inevitably ends up taking >3 months #ANYWAY!!! some progress!!! #let's aim for like............500 words a day and maybe this could be done by the weekend 😭 #where is the sarah who had the creative energy to drop 3-5 ficlets every day in 2020 😭 give her back to me #writing with sarah #shenlai

[thephantom]

floating, falling, sweet intoxication! touch me, trust me, savor each sensation! let the dream begin, let your darker side give in, to the power of the music that i write! the power of the music of the night!

#michael crawford #sarah brightman #the phantom of the opera #phantom of the opera #poto #west end #potoedit #e/c #erikstine #the other two were just warm-ups.. obvi #the .psd files for these on my laptop are literally just 'erikstine1' 2 3 etc #and the coloring grouping i titled 'erikstine special' so. y'know #that's how it be tonight #GOD BLESS THEM they are my Parents actually #also in making all of this i have learned that mikey c is INCREDIBLY fuckin' pale lmao #like you. can tell ofc. it's obvious but YOU PUT ONE CURVES LAYER ON THAT MAN it's all over #washout city #but anyways enjoy my first long LONG post after like a year-long hiatus <3 #i'm gonna try to be more active now #as my poto interest peaks in the wintertime

[houseofpunisher]

bite the hand 🦷

#you know I had to bring the boys into this #anyways I finally got around to editing these three #so sad you guys can’t see the edits I make in my head bc have no real scenes of them together younger #the things I would do for more lore about them <///3 #house of anubis #hoa #houseofanubis #house of anubis edits #victor rodenmaar jr #rufus zeno #sarah frobisher smythe #nostalgia #nickelodeon

[yaburnae]

"so quiet so soft" oh yeah he's going to rage quit

now is this so difficult sarah janet (yes evidently it is)

#the fact that i have to wade through the fucking trenches for fic that acknowledges the shit the ic put nesta through #absolutely horrendous i'm so tired #anyway i reread this fic often bc the author gave az an actual personality and made everyone apologize and heal accordingly <3 #sarah could never #NO ONE SPEAKS TO YOU THAT WAY NOT NOW NOT EVER #I KNOW THAT'S RIGHT!!!!!!!!! /THAT'S/ WHAT YOU SAYYYYYYY

[loving-jack-kelly]

superhero au where Davey has been a hero his entire life, recruited as a child, is looked up to and honored and admired by so many people, a shining example of what it means to be a good metahuman, somebody who uses their powers to help and uphold the morals and standards that everyone knows are best. he's been doing this for so long, his whole life, and everyone expects him to be perfect. he's merciful when he needs to be but knows that justice comes with a price. he's well-spoken and respectful, he knows how to talk to a crowd, he's the kind of hero that kids have posters of and people swoon over. he sits up straight for interviews and talks about the moral obligation those with powers have to protect those without, how choosing to do anything else with those powers is a waste of positive potential and only contributes to the problems that he's working so diligently to face.

and maybe he believes it for a time. for a long time. he believes it because it's all he's ever known, all he's ever been allowed to know. he's a role model, a hero, somebody for people like his kid brother to look up to. all of those things are good, aren't they?

but he knows there's more out there. and maybe he wants to give that more a try. maybe, after a long month of neverending fights, when he's bruised and sore and still nothing is fixed, nothing is better, maybe he has a moment of rebellion that he never allowed himself to have as a kid. maybe he puts on a new disguise, one that nobody will recognize, and he slips away into the city to live his own life, just for a night, not the life that somebody else decided he should have when he was a kid.

and the thing is. there's a whole world out here that nobody has ever thought to tell him about. a world of people who are rich and colorful and bright and full, who have lives on the streets of the city so unlike the sanitary, solitary existence he's believed in for himself for so long. he slips into the city and before he knows it, somebody who melts into the shadows like he's one of them and leaves streaks of light across building faces as easily as spray paint is grabbing his hand and telling him to, run, goddamnit, you led them right to me!

and this boy, this shining boy who's barely older than davey but knows the ins and outs of this city better than anybody davey has ever met, is laughing. davey is learning that he knows nothing about being on his own, nothing about how to sneak away, nothing about any of this, even the things he's supposed to be good at. he was followed from home by people who want to make sure he's never anything less than perfect, but this boy pulls him by the hand into an alley and surrounds them in shadow so dense davey hears rather than sees their pursuers run past, and then he's laughing.

and this boy, this shadowy, shining boy, pulls sparks from the air to leave his mark on every street corner they pass. he presses light into crevices in the sidewalk, gives warmth to the people they pass who have no home to return to, flashes a smile so bright that a shopkeeper doesn't notice when a little kid with holes in his shoes steals something to eat right in front of them. he's everything davey is supposed to warn against, somebody powerful, somebody strong, who doesn't use their powers for good the way davey has been taught is the only way to be good. but this boy, who names himself jack, is doing more good in one night than davey feels that he's done in the last year. these people recognize jack, they thank him for something he did yesterday and he laughs it off as nothing, nothing, just doing what needs to be done. he pulls a blanket made out of shadow from thin air and wraps it around the shoulders of a woman shivering in the night's breeze. from a block away, he throws up a wall of shadow that lets a woman disappear around a corner without the man following a few paces behind to see where she went.

and davey is in awe. and davey is realizing for the first time in his life that there is so much more to life and so much more to being a hero than he thought there was.

and jack, who's smarter than he tries to seem, has noticed right away how davey moves faster than he should and reacts before he should have noticed, has noticed the hidden strength that doesn't seem possible with the way his body is built, and he says, you don't have to hide it, you know, you should meet my friends.

and for the first time, davey meets people like him who are allowed to just be people. people with powers who use them for fun, a boy who can fly using it to steal his brother's hat and stick himself to the ceiling so he can't get it back, a boy who can read minds playing cards and pretending not to cheat, a boy who can see through walls teasing his friends by shouting out what embarrassing thing they have hidden under their pillow. not heroes, these kids, at least not according to what davey has been taught a hero should be. they're not neat and coiffed and carefully maintained, not scripted and stiff and poised. and he loves it. and he wishes that he'd been allowed to have this. and he wishes he could be a part of this.

and when jack starts talking and they start listening, davey hears a whole different kind of hero. the kind that jack is, the shining boy who doesn't care about the grand, posturing battles taking place miles above the city but cares so much about a kid going hungry that he can bring himself to tears. the kind of hero who isn't a role model because he never curses and is never anything but polite and never questions let alone breaks the rules, but is a role model because he isn't scared to get dirty, isn't scared to throw a punch against somebody dressed up and nice and neat and respectable and kind when he sees through that show, isn't scared to be seen as a bad guy by some people when he knows he's doing the right thing. and all of these kids are like that, davey notices.

when he leaves that night, with a shard of crystalized light he has to wrap in three pairs of socks to hide in his dresser drawer, he starts paying attention. starts noticing the way that the fights he gets thrown into don't change anything because that's the point, they're not supposed to. he's a hero because the status quo says the good guys are the ones who listen to the rules, even when the rules are hurting more people than they're helping. he's a hero because when he was little and not in control of his powers, promising to be good and sit still and not show off was the way to get people to leave him alone, he's a hero because somebody saw that he was so eager to please and so eager to be good that he could force himself to never think about anything as long as he was making people happy and keeping his family safe. and that tiny seed of rebellion that made him steal a night in the city grows bigger and bigger and bigger until it's driving him crazy, making him restless and reckless and stupid. until he's asking his sister, what if things were different and I didn't need to be this way? what if things were different and everyone understood that there's nothing special about me? and he's noticing the way she catches her breath and the way she's lying when she says, but this is the way it has to be, this is the way we need it to be, this is the way that it's safe. and it breaks his heart to realize that, however heroic everyone else seems to think he is, his family doesn't trust him, not really. because he never breaks the rules, and if he never breaks the rules, that means he won't tolerate them breaking the rules, either.

when he's on duty at night, he watches the streaks of light that appear from the shadows, burning messages that nobody but the person who created them can erase into the face of the city. he starts to notice how many people have gifts from shadowy, shining jack, and he starts to notice what the other kids he met are up to, too, the people they help and the difference they make. and that seed of rebellion grows and grows and grows until even the people who think he's a perfect, controlled, impenetrable example of their goodness start to notice. until sarah confesses to him, late at night and whispering so low he almost can't hear her, that she's been sneaking into the city at night, that les has been sneaking into the city at night, that they both thought davey would hate them for it. and when davey pulls that shining shard of light out of his sock drawer, sarah laughs just as quietly and says, it's like cinderella in reverse.

and on the day that perfect and poised, stiff and scripted, excellent example of heroism davey jacobs finally lets that seed of rebellion burst into something more, for the first time, he actually feels like a hero. not like an actor playing a part. and when shining jack kelly takes his hand this time and draws him into a shadow so deep he can almost taste it while letting dangerous pursuit run past, this time he doesn't say, run, you led them right to me. he says, I knew there was something weird about you. he says, do you want to help me change the world?

and for the first time since he was very young and very naive, davey actually believes it when he says, yes, I'm here to change the world.

#now if i could get the inspiration flowing for my thesis the way I just wrote this in forty minutes. that would rule #lol #newsies #jack kelly #davey jacobs #sarah jacobs #i really love superhero aus where the heroes have a system and the system is flawed. btw. #if you couldn't tell <3 #also i love giving jack light-based powers bc I love light based powers and I love jack <3 #javid #javey #anyway. if i am online again tonight and cannot truthfully say #i have written at least three more pages of my thesis #shoot me. cut me off. kill the internet

[dbraures]

from the life-tree we go. to the life-tree we shall one day return.

#assassin's creed #assassin's creed mirage #basim ibn ishaq #putting cheating death by sarah schachner on repeat because that ost rules yo #also ive plagued with this disease where i draw basim giving you evil side eyes 😩 #in the attempt drawing yellow eyed basim i got scared so i gave him small :3 to make him less menacing #anyway #gambarliu

[conanssummerchild]

are you also in the cant read time on an analog clock camp

yeah i was like floored when abed couldnt either i was sooo pleased like yayyy me neither abed "im gifted in other ways" i love you so much character of all time <333

i also cant read time on a 24 hour clock like wtf is a 17

#i only read digital 12 hr clocks #my sister makes fun of me rip #she says im 15 i shoumd know how to read clocks #but idc fuck you sarah #anyway #will <3

[sysig]

Hard to ignore, harder to forget (Patreon)

#Doodles #SCII #Jocasta #Sarah #I like how when I first saw Sarah and Jocasta I was like ''Oh they're so cute!'' and then immediate scribbled down Angst lol #They're great for it and I love angst <3 #This is not that but it is still very important lol - I tried out more of the hypnosis eyes like I said I would! #I do like green green is a good colour for it #I think the first one with blue turned out very cute on her! But I think green probably wins overall #I remember while I was drawing her collar undone I was like ''Wait......how does it attach in the first place'' #I posit an internal fabric clasp? Like just a strip of fabric that buttons on the inside like pants with hook-and-eyes lol #It looked weird if I left it looking like it sat flush without evidence of like a zipper or something lol #Maybe it's actually space magic clothes who knows lol #Anyway! #Mostly just spacing out - b'dm tss thank you thank you - bleary eyes to test the green in comparison and do some expressions #I was curious to draw something based on Jocasta going to kiss Sarah while she's fuzzed out but it felt incomplete to just do the one #I have no idea what's in or out of character tho haha ouq They did both turn out very cute in the chibi tho #Sarah's foggy confusion like ''? But...?'' aw #I always like to do the thing of matching eyes when people are actively linked up haha ♪ Shows the connection! #And then a spacefiller Sarah coming down from it - it's rough! Poor dear

[coentinim]

American Horror Story is such a shitty series my love for it is undescribable

#it's very camp #but also tries to take itself seriously too much so you don't know if it's grotesque or just bad storytelling this time #anyway i have only watched season 5 but im already in love with hypodermic sally <3 and james march #i meant sarah paulson* since she's in every season #sally is a treat though i want to hug her and also i want her to put a cig out on me whoops #also lady gaga made me forget she's lady gaga??? despite countess resembling her sometimes #that's impressive acting #and the pathetic cop guy did grow on me a lot after the plot twist #james ur an evil genius #american horror story #mine☆ #the ahs brainrot tag

[broke-on-books]

☕

The live action Scooby-Doo movies?

I did not see this ask until RIGHT now (first time on desktop since crab day, second time since Nov 5 2020 [which was DOUBLY experience since I got my phone taken the same day]) so I'm going to assume this ask got eaten on mobile because tumblr, HOWEVER you poked a bear with this ask anon (as I'm sure you knew when asking) SO without further ado: my Scooby Doo live action opinions

So when you say 'live action Scooby-Doo movies' I'm assuming you're talking about the James Gunn films, starting with Scooby-Doo (2002) followed by Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, just due to like, generally popularity and also the fact that I have actually seen those films. However shoot another ask if you wanted me to include Curse of the Lake Monster in this (because I will if anyone cares and turn this into a live-action scooby dissertation, i'd just need to like. watch the movie first) But anyways where I'm going with this is that this post is about the Gunn movies aka the ones with SMG, Freddie Prinze Jr., Linda Cardellini, and ofc our #1 man, Matthew Lilliard.

Okay so my take on these movies is... complicated. I wouldn't say it's as complicated as my feelings towards SDMI, because I watched the live actions way less as a kid and generally care less about them, but still no matter how much shit I throw at these two movies there are parts that I generally like (even love) that stops me from totally condemning them wholesale. Like the fact that these movies are FUNNY! There's so many moments from this duology that are just beyond iconic "like, that's one of my favorite names!" the whole thing with Scooby in the dress at the airport, ET. CETERA (like I can go on!)

The Gunn movies are genuinely SO fun and I can 100% see and understand how they've stood so well in the public view as a representation of Scooby. HOWEVER, this is where you start to see my problems with them. For the general American, (because that is the audience I'm familiar with) ESPECIALLY millennials and younger, who happen to make up the majority of both people on this site AND people I talk about Scooby with in real life, these movies, and the elements they introduced as "quintessential scooby tropes" are the base of their understanding of the Scooby franchise, along with likely some miscellaneous WAY episodes and maybe SDMI.

Which is where I get pissed off. In the pushing of the narrative of "breaking away" from the Scooby norm, Gunn basically invents (aka totally makes up) an idea of what classic era Scooby was like, cementing an idea of classic Scooby into the public mind that is totally disingenuous and just straight up false. For example, in attempting to portray Daphne as having taken strides to be seen more seriously in solving mysteries and defending herself, it pushes the narrative that in the classic era she WASN'T taken seriously, and only existed as a damsel-in-distress prop of a character, which is just not true??? Like yes, Daphne is clumsy, that's a part of her character, and her friends (because, fun fact, the gang ARE friends) joke about it sometimes because that's what friends DO. Framing that in some kind of sexist "that's all she does" lens is just total bull, especially as gang members fall into secret passageways/get lost etc. in WAY ALL THE DAMN TIME because that's how the plot functions! Like are we calling Velma ditzy for losing her glasses every other episode? Of course not, and Fred falls into passageways all the time, not to MENTION Shaggy and Scooby and all they get up to. Also one last thing on the topic of Daphne, like this idea of her mystery solving skills not being respected by the gang is just so supremely bullshit it amazes me sometimes, especially when she was the LEADER (or leader adjacent) through pretty much all of her appearances in the 1980s [Not that James Gunn could look at '80s era Scooby without spitting on it, but I digress]

AND THIS IS JUST DAPHNE! Like the perceptions pushed towards Fred (and Velma, but mostly Fred) through these movies are just as bad! Like okay, with Fred---In these movies Fred is just an asshole. I hate Gunn Movies!Fred. I mean yeah he can be funny but it's almost always so mean! Almost nothing makes me madder than a mean Fred by the way. If he's putting other gang members down (even halfway, like with his whole "dorky chicks like you turn me on too" line, which... ew) then to me something has gone very, very, VERY, wrong in your basic understanding of Frederick Herman Jones as a character. Like he's the cheerleader! He puts himself in between his friends and danger! He loves nets, and traps, and Elvis impressions, and wrestling, and the trapeze, and cars, and most of all he LOVES sharing the things he loves with his friends! (Sometimes to a bit of an extreme. No one wants to hear about your net facts, Fred) And the live action movies just don't understand that at all. And I know there's maybe something to say I suppose in that some of those aspects of his characterization hadn't been "established yet" by the time "Scooby-Doo" came out in 2002. But it's there if you look. For Fred Jones, being the leader means being the caretaker, (he's the Mom friend what can I say) and any version where he's cruel and arrogant and just DOESN'T CARE about his friends in the way he's shown to in the Gunn movies is just so far from Fred to me it's not even funny. And what makes it even worse for me is that this (or at least something similar) is the idea of Fred that has really spread to the popular culture. Just the "leader", the jock that makes the rules, the one that [insert X adaptation here] finally gave a personality and made interesting (something that has been said more times than I can count for pretty much every gang member, save Shaggy and Scooby).

And I haven't even touched on Velma, and how they gave her a bit of a early 2000s smart superiority girl complex against Daphne, plus the whole makeover thing and etc. etc. The Gunn Movies are pretty much what would happen if you took someone who hadn't seen Scooby since they were 7 years old (and honestly had a pretty negative outlook against it then) and tried to "fix" it, only his memory was so bad he just made up problems (and threw in a good helping of early 2000s style sexism with it) convincing pretty much the entirety of the popular culture that said problems exist and that Gunn was absolutely brilliant for fixing them (and then bringing up said "problems" whenever anyone wants to talk about Scooby) and this entire rant has been without even fucking MENTIONING what is probably the reason you, anonymous tumblr user sent this ask in the first place, to I, Swishy "Scrappy Doo Redemption Arc" Broke-on-books (dot tumblr dot com), which is his HIGHLY SUCESSFUL and utterly sadistic character assassination of my number one man, Scrappy Doo.

And I am going to try my damnedest here not to get totally into my highly passionate opinions over what James Gunn did to Scrappy in the first of his Scooby movies and how thoroughly it has pissed me the fuck off because I have been writing this post for over an hour now and if we start to really get into my feelings on this topic it will certainly be a couple of hours more but like. That Fucking Bitch. I give James Gunn personally a solid eighty-five percent of the blame for making my life as a Scrappy Doo fan UTTERLY unbearable with this stupid fucking movie alone, and just his Scrappy crimes would honestly be enough for me to say that I hate this movie, not even considering the numerous Scooby crimes I've been talking about here for the past million paragraphs, but the part about this movie that makes me the MOST mad the most pissed off is that it's actually a good fucking movie. James Gunn wrote two hilarious and entertaining movies that have become beloved in the popular culture for their successes in that arena, while at the same time pissing all over the core themes and messages of the franchise of which it was based, that of friendship.

TLDR; The Live Action Scooby Doo movies (written by James Gunn) are highly entertaining and fun pieces of media to watch, and are widely loved by the general public and looked at with fondness and nostalgia because of that. However, as a hardcore Scooby Doo fan (writing that phrase sounds so ridiculous but oh well) the existence of these movies and their impact on the popular culture can be extremely frustrating (despite any personal nostalgia said fan may have) due to their spreading of a misinformed picture of what "typical Scooby Doo" looks like. This picture is especially frustrating due to the fabrication or exaggeration of problems present in classic Scooby (such as sexism in regards to the girls), as well as giving more ammunition to other problems in Scooby fandom (such as oversexualization, and sexualization in general, which no one wants to see in regards to their children's cartoons, like HONESTLY.) Discussions of sexism and sexualization in Scooby (both of which ARE present and are issues, although not at their worst in WAY) can often lead to an overlooking of the issues that are very present and clear in WAY and have continued since then with far too little resistance (I'm 100% talking about the racism here) HOWEVER that topic deserves at least a dozen posts of its own that I am no way informed or qualified enough to even begin to think about writing. The Gunn Movies are frustrating to many longtime Scooby fans because of these reasons, but for me, and fellow Scrappy Doo fans there is also the added aspect of the demonization of Scrappy Doo in the live action movies and the affects that has had on the popular culture as well, making it uniquely inhospitable to like or enjoy the character of Scrappy. End post.

#that last sentence is such a weird tone jump btw but its because the topic flowed one way and i had to jump it back to a summary to actually #finish this monster of a post #SO anon i hope you're happy with this and this makes my opinion make some more sense. and you or anyone else is more than welcome to ask me #questions about anything i said here or my opinion on any and everything scooby related (and not) so if theres a specific aspect of this yo #would like expanded on i can definitely 100% do that for you or anyone who cares #also there are many complexities towards my feelings on these movies that i didnt get to hit on despite the monstrous size of this rant (il #check word count later but im not gonna fuck with it now because im terrified of deleting this post by accident) one of which is my lasting #fondness towards all of the actors in this movie. YES including freddie prinze jr. i may have major issues with his fred but hes also playe #characters i really really like. for example hes the va in this tv show i LOVE and havent watched in like 10 months despite the fact im on #the last season because freddie's character dies in like 7 episodes and i am NOT AT ALL emotionally prepared for that on any level because #that is my fictional father goddamnit!!!!! #also every buffy the vampire slayer gifset that crosses my dash gets me closer and closer to watching it because oh my god daphne!!!!! that #sarah michelle gellar thats daphne oh my god!!!! also i went and saw guardians of the galaxy 3 with my friend (despite not having seen a #marvel movie in 2+ years AND holding a grudge over james gunn's scooby doo crimes)[the things you do for {platonic} love amirite?] #and the title sequence SAID linda cardellini was in it and i got SO excited i was looking everywhere for her it was like wheres waldo in th #discount movie theatre FOR REAL and i just could NOT for the life of me find her (turns out she was VAing the ferret) so in a way linda mad #me cry with that role. whatever. istg i get so off topic i forget what i was even talking about but ANYWAYS <<<1 of my fave english words b #dubs (my favorite spanish word is el amanacer btw. it means sunrise. also burbujas because its bubbles and saying it sounds like bubbles #popping) BUT. AS I WAS SAYING. SEND ME ASKS IF YOU WANT SCOOBY DOO OPINIONS. DEAR GOD I GET SCATTERBRAINED SOMETIMES. #scooby doo #answered #anonymous #blah

[archiephd]

the vague shape of george's non-romantic relationships that's been formed over time within the narrative is on constant rotation in my mind btw. the entire gravitational pull of george's character throughout both seasons has been sarah, before and after she gets killed, it's why he blows up a nuclear bomb, why he kills a bunch of people to start a war that's big enough to press the apocalypse is about to happen so we need to start over the entire year button and kills and betrays his friends and colleagues in the process. sarah is his world, and his world in the time that she's dead and even later when she's just left him is not just defined by the isolation of grief and depression, but just straight up isolation.

we know he has one (1) friend who he doesn't actually like and financially sabotages for dating his girlfriend once in a discarded timeline, we know he has a cousin who wanted to introduce him and sarah in the first place but is never seen or mentioned after that, no apparent siblings to speak of. in season 2, we do learn he has parents who presumably live in london as well, or at least within some semblance of driving distance. there's no particular warmth or even a lack of it it how he describes them before breaking into their empty house to establish a temporary time traveler headquarters, no reason to believe much of anything about anything about them. yet, when sarah dies, it's her dad who reaches out to him, not his own. in montages, it's sarah's parents who come to visit for holidays, nobody else. we don't see any friends reach out after sarah's death, no friends or family visit her with him while she's in the hospital, just george. when george joins sarah in an outing with her friends, it's portrayed as something strange and abnormal, and not just because of the timeline he'd just lived and then discarded for her without her knowledge, but abnormal to sarah, who knows george both better and worse than anyone else at that point. joining the lazarus project isn't just something that alienates him from the rest of the normal world, he appears to have no attachment to it in the first place other than sarah herself. his relationship with archie and shiv in his first year with lazarus appear to be the closest things he has to actual friends, and he kills one and betrays both, for sarah. the second the life he envisioned with sarah evaporates, the vision he had for his life at all does the same.

but the thing about george is that he appears, at least from the outside, perfectly capable of forming connections with people. he's incredibly intelligent, appearing fairly well off materially, very charming as a person, if not a little awkward, but in a way that mostly just enhances the charm. he is for all intents and purposes a pretty normal guy, which is why his descent into sabotaging all his newfound connections and ending the world is so startling for both the people around him and the audience, but it begs the question why he's so isolated in every aspect of his life outside of this one person in the first place. why he's so separate and alienated from the world even before he awakens to an inherently separate and alienating ability. this reality explains his actions and their hubris entirely, but has yet to explain it in of itself, let alone address it as quite a core aspect of his character and actions. hello can anyone hear me. sky max. i am asking

#j watches the lazarus project #tlp s2 spoilers #or is he just a loser lol #like he is but he isn't #listen i just need his friendship with at least archie to be impossibly mended in s3 if not shiv as well of course but i can compromise #they're all fucked up it's honestly impressive but like. give him friends give him relationships outside of sarah pleaseeee #i am asking sky max to take his emotional state as seriously as other characters thank you. i know it's a lot to ask 🙏 #not that he's the only one </3 unfortunately #anyway. #that's enough georgeposting #or is it

[flowerprose]

Amber: Something you learned from writing your wip

amber: something you learned from writing your wip?

learning confidence and security. it's an ongoing journey, but i feel my skin thickening each time i push back against the doubt that frequently surfaces with penning a myth retelling, trying to reweave an iconic story into something new (hades and persephone), and developing my flowery, lyrical style without slipping into outlandish, purple prose. i feel more secure in my ideas and execution these days. i'm learning to trust my instincts when i need to gut something, no matter how much time was already invested in a scene or the word count it'll set me back by. i want to finish this story and lay it to rest, but i want to finish it strong, and i believe i'm on the right path.

💎 send me pretty gemstone-themed writing asks? 💎

#she answers #ty sarah!! <3 appreciate the ask #idk i think it's so easy to drown in doubts and for the longest time it was a frequent battle but #oh well - me to me: doubt me if you want but i'm gonna do it anyway

[jobey-wan-kenobi]

i want a 'you're wrong about' podcast but most of the stories are vintage ambiguously queer/transparent closet celebrities instead of vintage maligned women

#and ofc throw in all the guys who spent 10+ years consistently and intentionally referring to their attraction to men #only for everyone in the mainstream to treat it as a joke and ignore it #... in fairness this may be what sarah marshall is actually doing with the show rn. i don't listen to it enough anymore to know. #michael hobbes kick your new show to the curb baby pleeeease #i know the patreon $ is nice but come back to your roots: human-interest stories that straight white guys on twt *don't* praise you for <3 #anyway #q