#i feel like so many of his traits get overshadowed by the whole babying thing this fandom has going on

[ozziesdisco]

We need to talk more about Eleven's machiavellian tendencies

#eleventh doctor #doctor who #i feel like so many of his traits get overshadowed by the whole babying thing this fandom has going on #like... man outsmarts almost everyone he faces off against #weeping angels?? the gravity thing #the silence?? the moon landing video thing #the great intelligence?? the memory worm thing (granted this one backfired but still) #the bells of st john thing?? 'you hack people. me? im old fashioned. i havk technology.' #i want to dissect him and study him under a microscope

[yandere-sins]

can i have a yandere gojo who impregnates reader, y/n manages to run away, moves out to another country and after a year and a half, gojo, who sort of came to his senses, founds y/n and wants y/n back? only for his yandere traits to come back again out of fear that he'll lose y/n and the baby for good?

also, thank you so much for your hard work!

Thanks for the request!

»»———————— ♡ ————————«« 

♡ There probably are only a few people in the world able to understand a maniacal mind like Gojo’s. The amount of willpower and discipline to overcome an obsession like he had for you borders on the opposite end of the psychopath as he was when you were still with him. The time it took for him to forget your perfume, to not stalk random people that had your hair color, to exit a store when a song began to play that you would hum from time to time. That time was nothing more than divine punishment, it seemed; otherwise, it would be hard to explain. His heart and body could understand you were gone, but his mind just couldn’t let go of your image. Gojo would see you in the corners of his eyes, hear your laugh when a group of people passed him, and sleep in your apartment just to get the last bit of comfort that you left. For a long time, he believed you’d be back, but even he had to realize you wouldn’t at some point or another.

♡ Imagine the surprise when he did actually see you, passing by the storefront of a 7-Eleven while he was reading magazines inside. Imagine his eyes following you, thinking how odd it was that you’d be back after he managed to forget you. The magazine slowly slipping from his hand and falling to the floor as he storms out of the store, trying to find you in the masses of people. Every alleyway could be your hideout and every store a place for you to avoid him, but he just knows. He knows you’re returning to your apartment that holds all the stuff that you left behind. Why else would you be back? Surely not for him.

♡ Gojo can’t stop his heart from racing as he watches you enter the apartment from across the street. Nothing changed. Not the passcode at the door, not you, not his love. The latter is beginning to rip at his heart, making him want to scream as the waves of suppressed pain return, the pain that you put him through. Yet, one thing is different. You’re not alone, judging by the stroller you are parking in the hallway of your apartment building. Gojo can tell by the little baby hands gripping tightly into your shirt, less white hair than his, but a remarkably fair color peeking over your shoulder, and the rocking motion you’re making that you were extremely busy the last few months. That’s probably the reason you never contacted him, right?

♡ Admittedly, he’s a bit impatient as he rings the doorbell, standing right before your door waiting. Over and over, his fingers pushes into the button, the sound overshadowed by his own thoughts. “I’m coming, I’m coming!” you yell, and for the first time in what feels like an eternity, he hears your voice. It echoes through his body, his thoughts shifting to the feeling of your voice dripping over every fiber of his being. Gojo shudders as he waits for you to open, impatient, barely holding back from bursting down the door. He has questions. Oh, so many questions, and he steps aside from the peephole, waiting for you to open the damn door before he loses it.

♡ Your reaction time is still bad, or maybe his is just too good. Gojo’s had always been better. That’s why he got a hold of you first. With his hand covering your mouth, his foot in the gap of the door before you can smack it in his face, and a warning, “Ah-ah-ah,” from his curled up lips, he steps inside, pressing you to the wall. His hand only disappears from your mouth so he can replace it with his lips, the taste of your tongue still as exquisite and desperately wanted by him as he remembers, when you two suddenly get interrupted by a fussy baby asking for attention. His head turns towards the living room as he puts his hand back in place to keep you from alerting anyone, and your eyes follow, your whole body growing tense as Gojo’s grin widens.

♡ He lets go of you - a great price to pay, but his curiosity wins. But no matter how much you claw at him, try to hold him back, and plead with Gojo, he doesn’t stop, only pushing you aside with the tiniest bit of effort, walking right over to the child sitting on your bed. Picking it up, you can only stare in horror as Gojo holds your kid, their resemblance almost terrifying, and Gojo calmly soothes the fussy baby as if he never hurt a fly in his life. Rocking it and talking nonsense, you only grow more and more scared of what he will do, knowing his true nature a bit too well to trust him with your baby. But he’s nothing close to the monster you experienced in your past. Even your child seems perfectly fine, slowly falling asleep in the arms of the beast. You try once again, try to get closer to save your baby, at least if you already cannot protect yourself from Gojo, but he presses the little one closer to his chest, leaning forward as if to spite you. There’s still a smile playing on his lips, but you’re not someone he can fool with the mask he put on. Under his blindfold, his eyes are probably those of the psycho you remembered. “I never knew you wanted a family,” he muses, and you can’t help but feel disgusted. “Not with you,” you hiss back, and Gojo straightens his back, sighing as he looks down on the kid in his arms. “Too bad,” he fakes pity. “When you know what’s good for you, then I am sure you remember where to find me. I’ll be taking my child.”

♡ Before you can protest or even reach out to your baby, Gojo is gone. He knows as well as you do that you can’t abandon your own kid. It was the leverage he always needed against you, that lacked in the past. This time, you’d have to return to him, the exact opposite from what you did one and a half years ago, and there was no way you’d be able to leave as long as he had this power over you. Gojo sat down with that little clone of his, waiting for you to return to the hell, confident that with this responsibility, you two simply were bound to be together forever. His child was just one more person he could never let go of; that much was evident by the beautiful, shining blue eyes coming directly from him.

#gojo #gojo satoru #satoru gojo #yandere gojo #yandere!gojo #Jujutsu Kaisen #JJK #yandere jujutsu kaisen #yandere!jujutsu kaisen #yandere jjk #yandere!jjk #yandere #yandere imagines #yandere headcanons #yandere scenarios #yandere fanfiction #yandere writing #yandere stories #yandere oneshots #yandere oneshot #yandere drabble #yandere x reader #yandere x darling #Yandere TW

[shatteredminds]

Who is your favorite Hetalia character?

Congratulations you are my first ask. Have a cookie 🍪

(All art belongs to their respectful owners)

And that's a tough one because I have quite a few for many different reasons.

Prussia: I like him because he can be a complete and utter nut ball at times, but when it comes to serious matters he’s on the ball about it, also he has an unshakeable will to get things done, he has a deep passion to keep those around him happy, like when he bothers Germany he does it for his little brothers health (because as you can tell Germany gets mega stressed at times). 10/10 brother right there.

The Nordics: (yes I’m lumping them in together) I love their personality, the don't clash, they mesh quite well together in my opinion.

Denmark: he would be the one who cooks alongside Norway since they are the only two that can cook edible things, but between the two of them he the one that makes the desserts and Breakfast, he is the hyper energetic first born who cares for his siblings whilst also annoying them(I mean all siblings do that I think, I'm not really sure since I don't have any), he would also always has a plan to get them out of tough situations.

Sweden: Dad of the family (you cant tell me otherwise) is the quiet, level headed second born who thinks before acting and making sure Denmark stays in line to some degree. He may come off as intimating but he is a kind soul at heart.

Norway: Middle child, Mythology obsessed third born can do magic and I will bet you my bottom dollar that he used to use his magic to create small aura people when telling bedtime story's to baby Iceland to and wonder and excitement to the story. Both him and Denmark do the cooking in the family, he makes the lunch and dinner for them.

Finland: Mom of the group, the caring forth born with a fiery wrath if any of his family gets hurt, will hunt down anyone who threatens the family and snip them if it comes to that, he will also listen if any of them have a problem and try to help them fix it.

Iceland: Baby of the family, trying to find his passion in life. Acts like he doesn't care when he does and they all can tell, the one who always looks to deeply into any answers to try and find the real meaning behind I when there is none.

All: the will protect each other with a fierceness that you have never seen before. if you mess with one of the Nordics, you get the whole clan.

In my opinion their personality tie together pretty well, keeping the family well balanced.

F.A.C.E family:

England: He may be brash and quick to anger, but he can also be calm and collected, he also cares for his family even though he doesn't act like it, he’s the strict dad who balances out Frances flirty, outgoing nature quite well,

France: The flirty, outgoing dad, will complement and help any nation in need, it may come off as an acts perversions but he really doesn't mean it to come off that way, he balances England's harsh and quick temper of nicely.

Canada: (I think he’s the older of the two brothers so please don’t hate me). The quiet older twin with a love for animals, nature, and hockey. His personality fits well with America's even though it tends to get him overshadowed at times.

America: the loud younger twin, he’s the polar opposite of his brother. He’s a loud goalball with a passion for freedom, sports and food. He shares the animal lover trait with his brother. He seems to be well aware that he overshadows Canada a lot and often try's to make up for it.

Hungary: She is a strong, independent woman who will put anyone into their place whether it be friend or foe. She cared for Italy when he was a child and this may indicate a love for children.

Russia: He comes off as scary, but he just wants a friend. he loves his sisters with all his heart and wishes that he could have a normal relation ship with them again like when they were little. He doesn't mean to hurt anyone but have you seen the size of him, even after all these years he doesn't have proper control, but which country does when the strength of their military's fluctuate so much.

(sorry this is the best Gif i could find)

Belarus: She misunderstood, even though she does the “Marry me” thing with Russia she has good intentions behind it, she doesn't want him to be alone. She also cares for her sister as well even though she doesn't show it.

Ukraine: She is a fierce and kind older sister, I believe the only reason she cry's is because she cant be around her brother because her boss forbid her to do so and because she cant find any friends.

Romano: I love this tsundere Italian, his personality perfectly contrast Feliciano, i feel like people think he hates his brother and spain when in reality he loves both of them. Feli is his brother after all and Spain took care of him for his entire chibi hood and you can tell he has love for Spain since he said yes to his marriage proposal(even though Spain thought he said no.)

So there are some of my Favorites, well i shouldn't say that. i love all of them, each have such unique personalities, traits and designs that makes it so hard to chose just one.

Anyway sorry for going on little rants for them, and I hope I answered your question. Have a good Day/Night Anon.

#aph-kingsland #hetalia ask blog

[abigailnussbaum]

The Witcher S1: A Few Thoughts

Overall, I mostly enjoyed the show while finding myself least interested in its two main characters. Like a lot of fantasy stories, the fun of working out the history of the world can overshadow a fairly pedestrian main story. So even though most of my detailed reactions are critical, I’m definitely engaged and looking forward to the next season. I just wish I found Geralt, Ciri, and their whole deal more compelling.

The structure of the show is simultaneously its strongest point and greatest weakness. I had already heard, before starting to watch, that there were multiple timelines, but I think even a viewer who was unaware of this would pick it up fairly fast. There are hints in the first episode - Stregobor tells Geralt about locking women born during the eclipse in towers quite recently, and then Mousesack tells Ciri about it as something that happened a long time ago; Renfri mentions Calanthe winning her first battle, and then we meet Calanthe as an old woman and seasoned warrior. But by episode three, in which Geralt is cleaning up a mess for an adult king whom Yennefer meets as a child, the scheme is fairly obvious - Yennefer’s timeline is earliest, Ciri’s is latest, and Geralt is straddling the two. What this means is that for the first half of the season, the viewer is working overtime trying to slot the various timelines together, figure out what’s happening before and after what, and how the various events influence each other. It’s fun! But it also means that a lot of air comes out of the show at the end of episode 4, when that task is concluded and we get the answers to most of our questions. At that point, the whole thing becomes an exercise in delayed gratification - how long can we tease Geralt and Ciri’s meeting before it actually happens? It makes you wonder whether this is yet another fantasy story where the background details are infinitely more interesting than the present storyline.

An additional issue is that the show is weirdly stingy with details exactly where you need them the most. Geralt and Yennefer first meet in episode 5, and by the time they meet again in episode 6 their entire relationship has been and gone and they’re now bitter exes. Especially when you consider that episode 5 is the weakest in the season, this means that all the heavy lifting of convincing us of this relationship is being done by the actors, not the script. By the same token, the show parachutes Fringilla in as a major villain towards the end of the season, instead of taking the time in earlier episodes to establish her personality, not to mention Yennefer’s relationship with her. I imagine some of that will be filled in later on, but for the moment it feels like we’re being asked to take a lot on faith, and as if a lot of season’s storyline is driven by informed traits - Geralt and Yennefer are going to circle each other till they die; Fringilla is a deeply scary villain - rather than actually establishing them in the narrative.

There are a lot of problems with Yennefer’s story. I mean A LOT. I don’t think there’s a single box in the “evil female character” checklist she doesn’t tick. Obsessed with her looks! Driven to extremes by her ugliness! Breaks the heart of a sweet boy! Power-mad! Baby-crazy! Not to mention that the show rarely misses a chance to show us her tits. I’m not going to make excuses for any of this. But I will say that I found it refreshing that the ultimate conclusion of all this was not to decry Yennefer as a villain, but to make her into a selfish asshole who can, and does, learn better. In a season that opens with Geralt putting down another lover whose (justified) anger makes her monstrous, it’s easy to anticipate the same ending for Yennefer. But she never actually crosses that line. The worst thing she does is break Istredd’s heart (well, depending on how seriously you want to take the implication that the orgy in episode 5 was non-consensual, I guess). And otherwise the person she hurts most is herself, and when push comes to shove she does try to help people. Her journey over the course of the season is to the realization that power hasn’t made her happy, and that - despite realizing just how flawed and manipulative the systems of power in her world are - she needs something to believe in and to stand for. That’s not a character arc that women tend to get, and it’s cool to see it here, for all the other problems I have with it.

Having said this, Yennefer’s styling, post-beautification-spell, is simply ridiculous. There’s a difference between “this woman is fashion-forward” and “this woman’s hair, makeup, and clothing are all from a different century than all the other characters”. Why is her hair down all the time? Where did she get a curling iron? Who is laser-cutting all her over-dresses? It never failed to take me out of the show.

Speaking of which, “Toss a Coin to the Witcher”, and indeed all of Jaskier’s songs, sound exactly like 21st century folk-rock. Say what you will about Game of Thrones, but they at least had plausibly old-fashioned-sounding songs.

Also on the topic of Jaskier, I can’t make his period of acquaintance with Geralt last less than fifteen years, and it’s probably closer to twenty. There’s hints of this - Yennefer teases him about getting crow’s feet in episode 6, and his conversation with Geralt in the same episode reads very much like a man who sees middle age barreling down on him and is starting to think seriously about changing his life in anticipation of that. But the choice to style him basically the same throughout the season is really distracting, especially when, post-episode-4, you’ve already firmly established that Geralt’s story spans the better part of a century. Making it clear that people around him are getting older while he stays basically the same could have been a fun device, and it’s weird to me that the show avoids it.

I caught a couple of fairy tale references - Renfri being taken out to the woods to be murdered by Stregobor’s man is from Snow White, obviously, and Pavetta and Duny’s story is a cross between Beauty and Beast and Hans My Hedgehog. Now I’m wondering if there are others that I’ve missed.

It’s a bit weird to me, how positively Tissaia is depicted towards the end of the season. This is a woman who turned her less-successful pupils into eels to power her magical fortress. It’s OK to conclude that she’s not a good person even if, when push comes to shove, she’s on the right side of things. Not to mention how thoroughly she screws up with Yennefer. That girl desperately needed someone to love her, and instead Tissaia gave her the same disdain she got from everyone else. The fact that Yennefer was never loyal to the mages is on her, so it’s weird how, towards the end of the season, she and Yennefer are suddenly so chummy and even mother-daughter-ish.

The law of surprise is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. I know “destiny” is a big deal throughout the season, but it might have worked better if the show had approached it with a slightly lighter touch, and maybe not brought the law of surprise back so many times.

It’s really hard to write about this show, because autocorrect keeps making it about Gerald, Jennifer, and Siri.

#the witcher

[inthestars011]

Hi! How are you? 🥀 If it's not a bother, could you tell me your thoughts on my placements? I am a libra sun, libra mercury, virgo venus (all in the 4th house), aquarius moon (7th), leo mars (3rd) and cancer rising (2nd decan). Thank you if you answer! Hope you have a wonderful day, stay safe 🌹

Long day but I’m pretty good, and i hope ur doing well too!

and willlll dooooo

first of all, stellium in the fourth, it’s likely that your family is very important to you. family means different things for diff people so keep that in mind. you would do anything for your family and maybe sometimes you are too loyal like it’s too intensely patriotic if that makes sense, like almost like you’d go to the end of the earth for your family which is chaotic but sweet? however you are obviously a very loving person. 4th house stelliums can sometimes be a negative emphasis on home but because it’s in libra for u and is personal planets i think you had a rather enjoyable home life. not perfect you could have had a vain mother or parents that always imposed their own moral high ground over yours or your emotional world, but libra in the fourth is still a rather nice pleasant family life. also with cancer rising and a stellium in the fourth, it’s likely you have many cancer like traits. powerful connection with mother is often indicated with a stellium here. With sun in the fourth you really appreciate family traditions and try your best to revive them. You probably are the type to romanticize such cute little family traditions as well, but you are balanced and you know how to balance out your other life with your family life, even though there is a strong emphasis, libra will overshadow that and bring balance. which is sooo good. It is likely in your childhood at home you were the one who was the mediator, seeing both sides whenever there was an argument and you essentially just seeked peace within the home, which it was essentially peaceful but no family is perfect. With libra mercury, you speak romantically, softly, and politely. You have a great understanding of social context and cannot handle people who have no boundaries and are rude and inappropriate to people of authority, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU SEE THEM DO THIS WITH THEIR FAMILY, you were taught to speak politely and kindly to people, do as you want done to you. So you are furious when you see kids around you speaking rudely to their parents. In childhood, you were taught the whole “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all!” as well. Also the venusian signs, taurus and libra mercury tend to have beautiful singing voices but that is just what i have noticed. May often feel frustrated like you can’t express your negative feelings as they aren’t positive or nice enough but you have to find someone you can be authentic with and let that shit out. Bad thoughts sometimes need to be expressed so you can take power over them. As for love, you are shy and anxious. Sometimes awkward at first with potential partners. It can take you a while to open up. But you are a kind and gentle lover and friend, always being there to be of service to your partner/pal. you prefer to do this in little practical ways or giving someone advice. You can put too much love into other people and lack a lot of that love for yourself, WATCH OUT FOR THAT. It is extremely important to you that your lover gets along with your family, your lover loves your family and your family loves them. If that does not happen then you don’t think they are worth pursuing. You are very nurturing to your lover, sometimes too much, it can feel like smothering. You probably care a lot about the appearance of your home and it often looks beautifully aesthetic, or immaculate to others. Probably enjoy very chill laidback home movie date as a date night.

aqua moon in the 7th,; You probably feel isolated in the way that you are different than everyone else, something about you may be weird or out there. Which makes you feel like emotionally you are in a different universe than others. This is frustrating because you feel alone and isolated in this way yet, your moon is in the 7th so the thing you most crave and need to feel comfortable is love and human connection, but it is hard for you to connect because you feel so misunderstood by others. 

leo mars in the 3rd- there can be a firey aggression that is showed through your words when you are mad, you are passionate and you love to debate. you are dramatic and sometimes too brutal when trying to get your point across. with libra mercury, you are still polite and have your own morals you always follow, but i am assuming when someone messes with your family, your words are absolutely ruthless and filled with rage.

cancer rising- you are soft and you look very emotional. sad girl energy.  you have baby or momma energy. people feel like they will be cared for when around you. you are meant to empathize with yourself and the world no matter what. idk much abt decans.

thanks so much and feedback is always appreciated, and yes you stay safe as well! xoxoxo

[purplesurveys]

409

A little F•R•I•E•N•D•S survey just because.

Characters Favourite character? I relate to Monica the most but my favorite has got to be Chandler. Favourite male character? Chandler by a long shot. Favourite female character? Monica. Man, three questions in and I’ve already got my biases established ha. Favourite non-main character? Probably Jack Geller. Least favourite character (main)? Joey. I was always too impatient for his dumb ass. He’s adorable though.

Least favourite character (not main)? EMILY for days. They wasted so many episodes and storylines dragging her ass through them. I also kinda hated Amy. Funniest? Chandler, and this is going to be unpopular: Ross. He’s funny when he’s not being a jackass. Sweetest? ...Chandler. That episode where Monica ‘freaked’ him out by pretending to book a wedding venue when it turned out Chandler loved the place and ended up proposing to her was the sweetest. Best looking? Rachel. Girl’s style was always on point. Most mature? Phoebe trumps them all so hard. She lived through the Civil War, World War I, lost her mom, lived on the streets, and did so many shady things before landing in that apartment of theirs – she’s a kook but she’s a hella smart kook. Most immature? Has to be a mix of Joey and Rachel. And Ross.

Most annoying? Joey had his annoying moments especially the episode where he tries to speak French!!!!!!!!! but I love all of them just the same. Relationships Favourite couple? CHANDLER AND MONICA Least favourite couple? Joey and Rachel when they got together. I liked the slow burn that preceded the whole thing, but when the writers mashed them together, the execution was just ughhhh. I hated Ross/Julie, Monica/Pete, and Ross/Emily too. Favourite couple that wasn’t a main couple? Oh oof, I guess I’ve listed them all there. ^ Couple you wish would’ve happened? Chandler and Rachel. Their cheesecake episode was awesome.

Best friendship? Monica/Chandler and Joey/Chandler. The two that had the worst friendship? Phoebe and Ross were the two that just clicked the least lmao. Ross was too serious and too nerdy and Phoebe was more liberal and very eccentric. They had that debate on evolution once which I found hard to watch lmao, and not to mention that Ross is the biggest baby in the group whereas Phoebe had to grow up earlier than all of them because of her awful childhood. Couple you’re surprised happened? Rachel and Joey, obviously. Overrated couple? Ross and Rachel. They’re so hyped up when in reality, they were on and off for ten deadass seasons??? It was stretched for so long that it’s very easy to lose interest in it. Most underrated friendship? Phoebe and Ross, I guess. They weren’t very close, but I remember how Ross got Phoebe a bike when he found out she never had her own. That gets overshadowed a lot but I found that episode very sweet. Phoebe/Joey is also pretty underrated. You and them Which character would you be? I’m already Monica. Which character would you wanna be bffs with? Rachel hahaha. Monica’s too high-strung, Phoebe’s crazy, I’d get annoyed with Ross’ bitchfests, Joey is a little immature for my liking, and I feel like I’ll eventually get offended by Chandler’s sarcasm, so I’d go with Rachel.   Who would you date? Chandler. Who would get on your nerves? Joey or Ross. Who can you relate to the most? Monica AF. Organized, obsessed with weddings, obsessed with kids, loves spreadsheets, makes everything a competition, loves food, the mom of the group...all of this is me. Which character pulls on your heartstrings the most (gives you feels)? Chandler aaaahhhhhhhhh. Who would you makeout with? Monica. Show Funniest moment or episode? There’s a lot of em, so let me keep a list:

The episode with the quiz

Joey putting the pieces together about Chandler and Monica

“Ross hasn’t worked in the museum for a year” “Monica and Chandler aRE LIVING TOGETHER” “Ross married Rachel in Vegas anD GOT DIVORCED, /AGAIN/” “I love Jacques Costeau” “I wasn’t supposed to put beef in the trifle” “I wanna GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO”

Ross spelling out F-I-N-E

They don’t know that we know they know they now

Saddest moment or episode? Monica finding out they can’t have kids, Phoebe having to part with the triplets, Erica almost giving up on Chandler and Monica because they lied, and the final goshdarn episode. Moment or episode that melted your heart? When Monica made Thanksgiving dinner, only for Joey to ruin it because Monica had to answer the phone, then when Chandler told on Joey, she was like “I don’t care, the adoption agency called and we’re having a baby” :’( Best episode/moment? I can think of so many depending on what kind of episode you’re asking for, but the first ones I can think of off the top of my head are the quiz, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s resolutions episodes, and the one where Chandler and Phoebe pretend to be into each other to see who breaks first. Cringiest moment? A lot of Season 10 stuff was cringey just cos everything felt forced by that point. I also didn’t like the scene where Chandler was checking out their home-sitter’s bra because Monica was convinced she was stealing from her wardrobe lmao. Oh and the one with Ross’ list about Rachel. OH and Joey failing so bad at French. They def had their cringey moments lmao. Worst moment/episode? The one where Pete decides to be a UFC star(????) was so fucking random. There’s also an episode that shows their alternative lives - Monica was still chubby, Phoebe was a bitchy executive...I forget the rest because I’ve only seen it once cos the whole thing was pretty pointless. Best season? The ones in the middle. Best quote? “It’s an electric drill. You get me, YOU KILL ME” or “Gum would be perfection.” Joey Best trait? He’s adorably clumsy and he’s also pretty confident. Worst trait? He has his creepy tendencies, he doesn’t share food, and he’s too stupid for my humor to appreciate him. Who should he have ended up with? Definitely Phoebe. Was he just a player or a sweetheart? Meh. He was a player. If Matt LeBlanc couldn’t play him, who should’ve? Chandler His best season? I’m not familiar which season it is but it has to be the one where he decided he was going to marry Monica. Chandler was always the most insecure out of the six who had a lot of childhood issues and as a result, was perpetually afraid of committing and being serious and actually being an adult. Deciding that he knew he wanted to marry Monica is such an underrated pivotal moment for him. Funny or annoying? FUNNY.  Why did he have trouble with girls? Because he’s so awkward.  If Matthew Perry couldn’t play him who should’ve? Best trait? He really cares.

Worst trait? He hates himself and uses humor to mask everything lol. Ross Best trait? He’s a sweetheart and looks after the girls the most.  Worst trait? Immature and cocky as fuck and loves to kiss his own ass. Which of his gfs/wives do you like best? Rachel. Funny or annoying? I’m split. Everyone hates Ross but he’s actually pretty funny to me lmao, but only when he’s not being sexist or trash. If David couldn’t play him who should’ve? Smart or dumb? Academically smart, pretty dumb in life. Phoebe Best trait? She’s highkey the most mature of all of the friends. Worst trait? She can be a liar. Weird or awesome? She can be both!!! Best song? Either the Santa song (”Rachel and Chandler, hshsshhshsh handler!”) or the shower song (”And tegrin spelled backwards is nirget”). Both slap. Best relationship? That guy from Minsk, David. That highkey should’ve happened. Did she have a better friendship with Monica or Rachel? Tbh Rachel. Monica’s very...analytic and Phoebe doesn’t care. Total opposites. Did she really wanna get with Joey or was it all a joke? It’s all a joke, but I wouldn’t be surprised or offended if they ended up together in some alternative universe. Did she really hate Ross? Probably aspects of Ross, but not fully. Rachel Was she secretly a bitch? She was openly a bitch lmao. Best relationship besides Ross? I hated all of her boyfriends. Probably Joey. YEA I SAID IT Best trait? She grew up so much in the show and I’m so proud of her <3 She went from fully dependent on her dad’s credit cards to getting her dream jobs and being a really good mother and ugh, I just feel for her. Worst trait? She was still the biggest baby in the show. Monica Best trait? She’s the mom of the group. Nothing better than that. Worst trait? She was overly competitive sometimes. Put together & organized or a stressed mess? Definitely put together and organized. She was also stressed, but she was never a mess. Would you find it hard to live with her cause of her cleaning issues? No, we’d be the same more or less. Was Richard too old for her? Yes. Richard knew her since she was little, which makes it worse. Short or long hair? Long. Do you think the fat jokes are funny or mean? Mean, but then again they were jokes of their time so idk why people today are being SO LOUD crying foul over it. More questions Were they on a break? Yes they were. I will defend this to my death. They were on a break after that very bad phone call and Rachel immediately invited his dude-friend over without thinking of Ross. Ross had every reason to be with a girl. Was Gunther weird or kinda cool? He was cool. I loved that they kept him as a recurring character.

Should it have ended sooner, later or when it did? They ended it perfectly. Some elements of season 10 already felt inorganic and unnecessary, but if we didn’t get the last season then we never would’ve seen Chandler and Monica’s twins and Rachel getting off the plane. I’m fine with the way they ultimately paced the show. Based off looks, who of the six would’ve looked best together? Chandler and Monica.

#survey #surveys

[zodiac-queens]

Zodiac Myths and Mythology #1

I’ve gathered all this information from Liz Greene’s book “Astrology for Lovers”. I love,love, love this book because it really made me understand every single sign and love all of them equally. Liz Greene seems to understand Astrology on a deeply psychic and spiritual level as she unites nature and humanity and explains every symbol in detail. 

Aries (The Ram)

1) Robin Hood A true outlaw fighting for the opressed poor and against everything established. He stands for change and progress as he questions and searches to untangle authority. Just like an Aries - the Knight - he stirrs up trouble to keep society on its feet and save those in need of saving, Robin Hood rebels against everything deemed unfair and has a good time doing so. Danger brings excitement and an Aries will always be merry in the face of battle or challenge. The whole story is the perfect Arien dream, the starring roles being a good king, the vicious younger brother, the opressed poor and extravagantly rich, a corrupt Sheriff of empty promises and even a young, beautiful maid in need of a saviour. Aries burns for a greater cause, for the underdog, even when they are not worth burning for.

2) Jason and the Argonauts, and the capture of the golden fleece. Jason hears of the magical golden fleece and is even more curious to hear that it is impossible to find. Like a true Aries, he is encouraged by this information, gathers the Argonauts and leads them through adventures and dangers to finally find the fleece in Colchis and capture it. Medea, the daughter of the King of Colchis falls madly in love with Jason’s courage, bravery and chivalry as he needs her help to succeed. Everything goes well until they come back from their quest, and, like so many Ariens, Jason grows bored with his wife and and now that he is in posession of the golden fleece, he searches for a younger, more suitable princess. But Medea is twice as willful as Jason and takes vengeance by murdering their two children and his young bride-to-be before fleeing in her dragon-drawn chariot. It is in Aries’ as much as Jason’s nature to underestimate the qualities of Venus. As ruled by Mars, Aries can have a hard time understanding the value of gentleness, sympathy, understanding and patience and incures vengeance by disregarding the ideas, visions and values of those surrounding him.

Taurus (The Bull)

1) Theseus and the Minotaur Minos was the king of Crete and in posession of a herd of bulls which were dedicated to Poseidon. He promised Poseidon an exceptionally beautiful white bull in exchange for mastery over the seas. But as covetous and greedy as Taureans can be, Minos decided to cheat the god, keep the bull for himself and offer him a lesser one instead. So Poseidon asked Aphrodite for help in his vengeance and she made Minos’ wife Pasiphae ill with an uncontrollable lust for the white bull (which is also a quite Taurean trait). Pasiphae, unable to tame her desire, disguised herself as a wooden bull to mate with the white bull and they both created the Minotaur, a terrifying creature with the body of a human and the head of a bull which fed on human blood and flesh. The Minotaur represents Taurus’ beastly side, where humanity is overshadowed by desire. The beast was enclosed in a labyrinth were it could never escape. Young maidens were thrown into the labyrinth as a sacrifice for the abomination and Theseus, the son of the king of Athens volunteered as one of those sacrifices to slay the Minotaur. With the help of Ariadne, Minos’ daughter, he got into the labyrinth, murdered the beast and was crowned King of Crete with Ariadne as his bride. The myth is a metaphor for Taurus’ inner fight between humanity and animalistic impulse. When desire hits Taurus, no reason or logic can stop him from possessing that object of his desire. But rather than letting themselves be guided by lust, they must use it to get to the top, and once a Taurus has made his ambition and passion their own, nothing can stop them. They can often lose their way in the labyrinth of feelings, emotions and relationships but once they are aided by Ariadne’s ball of thread or foresight, the path before them is clear of dangers or unforeseen obstacles. 

2) Vulcan (Hephaistos) Vulcan is the husband of Venus and works at a forge inside a volcano, where he creates power for the other deities out of earth and stone. He made Zeus’ thunderbolts, Mercury’s winged helmet, Minerva’s magical shield. Just like Taurus, he is a true alchemist, who, once he found his purpose, directs all his energy and passion to creating life and beauty from his inside. With strength and patience Taurus wants to make something that lasts and matters not only for him but also for others and therefore people will always owe him their respect or admiration, just like the gods and goddesses owe their powers to Vulcan’s originating hands.

Gemini (The Twins)

1) Castor and Pollux Castor and Pollux are the two sons of Zeus who were hatched from an egg by Leida who disguised herself as a swan before mating with Zeus. It’s a symbol for Gemini’s bird-like nature, never to be tied down, unbound and free in the realms of intellect and intelligence, curious and adventurous. One of the twins is human while the other one is divine and when one of them dies they make a plea with Zeus who allows one of them to spend a little holiday on Olympus while the other spends his time as a mortal on earth. When they change places, they spend time together to exchange notes. There seems to be an ongoing fight in Gemini between its highly logical and rational side and a spiritually refined side which believes in a higher world. Geminis intuitively see a bigger picture, the nonrational side of things, the secret behind life. But this experience is seldom persistent and not really welcome when it comes to Gemini’s more structured and analytical perception of the world.The challenging thing for Gemini natives is to live with the fact that there are two beings combined in their body, light and darkness, artist and mystic, introversion and extroversion and while their surrounding is tired by their ever-changing personality, Geminis are the ones who long for consistency and the emphasis on one side of their personality the most. They interchangeably breathe Olympian air and taste mortal bitterness and there is nothing they can do to stop it. Sometimes they feel more in touch with their spiritual self, while on other occasions, they are painfully aware of their earthly responsibilities.

2) Mercury Mercury is the ruling planet of Gemini and as the smallest and fastest in the solar system, he tells us something about Gemini’s mobility and speed. In mythology, he is the messenger between one god and another but also between gods and men, while he is at the same time considered the god of thieves and liars, protector of the road, lord of commerce. He is an amoral, flexible, always changing god who acts as a channel, a bridge between divine and earthly. In medieval alchemy, Mercurius is a symbol for understanding and integrating. He can be pictured as the lightbulb flashing over one’s head when things finally make sense and two things come together to work as a whole. In alchemy, Mercurius is pictured as the Great Transformer, androgynous in nature and just like Gemini he understands that the world is made out of light and dark, male and female but before he can act as a messenger, an interpreter for his surrounding, he has to come to terms with his own duality and before he learns that he can be both, he often is caught up between two things, unable to move.

Cancer (The Crab)

The Mother Mother represents feelings, security, past and childhood and therefore unites everything Cancer knows and wants to understand, so the experience mother is rooted deeply in a Cancer’s inner life. No matter in which form, safe and warm, domineering and strict or absent and far-away, a Crab will always live his life in search of or running away from this one, so complex archetype - the mother.

the ancient myths  The most ancient religions of the world begin with the worship of mother goddess or mother earth, the source of life, the nurturing hand guarding the harvest and the cycle of the seasons. As civilization grows older, men think they are superior to mother goddess and her gifts are there for the taking but just like the ancient belief in the mysterious, powerful ways of our mother earth, nothing will ever come close to the bright and vast moments of a baby at its mother’s breast. And a child will never forget this experience, it is rooted deep in their conscience. A Cancer is wonderfully sensitive to the flowing tides of a family and the effects it has on human nature but it will always remain a glittering secret for them, a distinct feeling in their gut, they can only feel but not explain. The mother goddess always had a consort, who was, at the same time, son and lover (taken symbolically, this means that the Goddess and her lover have the same source, the same roots). This consort is often an artist, a sort of muse to the mother, who brings life to the world in spring. Easter has its roots in the worshipping of this young god’s resurrection after his death in autumn followed by a cold and barren winter. He shows us the ebb and tide of the seasons and especially Cancers are incredibly vulnerable to the changes in climate, weather or seasons because they are the sign that is closest to our mother earth. But the myth also tells us something about a Cancer’s creativity, as they draw from the deep ocean of their dreams, visions and fantasies to create something that lasts, Their inspiration is like a swelling tide, the spring, a phase of life and renewal and after that tide has come to sleep in the sand, they will be depressed for a while until the ocean brings a new task. 

#myths #mythology #astrology #zodiac queens

[roslinadama-sinequanon]

Major Crimes Re-Watch-Medical Causes

What I loved best about this episode is how Andy/Sharon centric it really is. Though I’m not sure the writers were even thinking in this vein yet or not, we get some major foreshadowing of the future Raydor/Flynn/Beck family with Sharon relying heavily on Andy to help her in dealing with Rusty and his mom.

The case-Jumping to conclusions. The crowd outside the club jumps on Lesley and nearly beats her to death assuming she was drunk when she plowed into the crowd. Later, after finding out how her boyfriend had drugged her Lesley is tormented by the idea that he made her a murderer and it is something that she will have to deal with for the rest of her life. Imagine how those people would feel if they’d killed Lesley and then found out that she was innocent. This is why we let the law deal with things, because in the heat of the moment no one is thinking rationally.

“Oh, you’re through already, cause that was hilarious“-Andy’s got the dad thing down. Rusty is pissed that he got dragged out of bed to follow Sharon to work and Andy gets another glimpse into what Sharon is dealing with—and sympathizes with her.  After Rusty’s sarcastic rant, typically Sharon just ignores him and lets it all roll off her back. In her profession and because she is a mom she is used to this kind of stuff and doesn’t let it get to her, it is Andy in dad mode who gives it back to him.

“Maybe now you can get rid of the little psycho”-The look on Sharon’s face when Andy says this and the way that she speaks shows us that however much of a pain in the ass Rusty is, Sharon has already become attached to him and isn’t completely relishing the idea of letting him go. Also, I think she is understandably wary about Sharon Beck and handing Rusty back over to her given her history of abuse.

“You did get a warrant to search that purse?” “Come on, do you think I’m new at this?” The look that Sharon gives him is actually quite sexy and his cocky sexy grin in response is really  the first—and only time—we get anything resembling a sexual vibe between them. Yes, we get a lot of sweet puppy dog eyes and tender smiles—but evidently, James Duff does not believe people over 50 can be sexy—just sweet and tender. And it is a real shame because Mary and Tony do it very well and there could have been some great sexual tension in the relationship that was never developed. These re-watch’s can be extremely frustrating because of all the “what could have, and should have beens.” So many missed opportunities.

“She’s agreed to return to LA and resume her role as Rusty’s mother as long as we wire her $500.00 cash.” OMFG, really? How BIG of her. This is a woman who should not be allowed to have a pet, let alone be responsible for a child. Personally, I think she should be arrested for child abandonment and gross neglect but Sharon Beck’s treatment of Rusty growing up is quite often glossed over on MC.

“Cough it up”- Interesting again that it is Andy who takes it upon himself to get contributions for Rusty’s mother’s bus. For Andy I think it is a combination of trying to help Rusty along with getting him off all their backs, while for Buzz it’s all about not having to baby-sit the little pain in the ass anymore. If he’d had the money, I think Buzz would have paid it in full to get rid of him. If that scene happened today, I think many MC fans would contribute to the “say bye bye to Rusty fund”. But, at this point in the series, the Rusty/Sharon condo mother ship scenes were my favorites. It’s only later when it becomes apparent that the TPTB aren’t interested in any other insight into Sharon’s life other than her job and as Rusty’s mother and the Rusty show started overshadowing and interrupting the Sharon storylines I really wanted to see developed, that I was ready for him to be gone--or at least cut back recurring status.

“Everyone is putting money in to buy a bus ticket.” “Everyone put money in?”

Kind of sad. Rusty’s never had people doing things for him before and he’s not sure how to respond to kindness other than to promise he’ll pay everyone back.

“Lt. Flynn has offered to take the two of you out to dinner.” It was only in the re-watch that I noticed the “offered”. I wonder if Andy offered because of his knowledge of addiction. Having spent so many years in AA and counseling Andy would probably be the one who could easily size Sharon Beck up--and also be the one to offer insight and assistance in getting her into a rehab situation should she be open to that. Having said that I think there was a real missed opportunity for a great scene here between Andy and Sharon. Sharon could have opened up to him about why she didn’t want to be the one to meet Sharon Beck, first because she didn’t want the woman to be ill at ease from the start and wanted this meeting to go well for Rusty,  but also I think because she is angry with the way this woman treated Rusty and she doesn’t want Sharon B. to get that sense of judgment right from the start. I don’t think we get nearly enough of Sharon being frustrated or angry at the way Sharon B. treated Rusty. Understandably, she isn’t going to vent to Rusty because that isn’t appropriate, but I would like to have seen her vent a little “mama bear” to Andy or Provenza or anyone really. And then Andy would offer to take him to the bus station and take them out to dinner, that way he can size Sharon B. up and also offer assistance to get her on the path to regaining custody of Rusty.

“People have bad days.“ Good God, this just shows us the world Rusty inhabited. Yes, people have bad days, they say things they shouldn’t say etc. but a bad day is NOT abandoning your child at the zoo. No, that is criminal. In this scene with Sharon, we see Rusty the child and Rusty the enabler completely emerge. He makes every excuse in the book for his mother’s inexcusable behavior, especially blaming it all on Gary. Because it is easier to believe that someone made her dump him than it is to accept that his own mother left him of her own volition. He is trying to convince Sharon, and himself, that once Gary is out of the picture things will be perfect between them again, conveniently forgetting that they were not perfect before Gary was in the picture.

“I cannot release you into her custody right away.” I should think not. I’m surprised that Rusty didn’t think there would be any repercussions for what his mother did. It just shows how neglected he was his entire life for him not to realize what a terrible thing she did and that she would have to prove she could be a better mother to get him back.

“They’re not rules, they’re laws” Of course Rusty immediately turns on Sharon when she tells him she can‘t just hand him over to his mother, that‘s for a judge to decide, and, just like with Andy in episode 1, Sharon remains calm and rational in the face of his outburst. Rusty responds to this by immediately calming down, just as Andy did, which proves how good Sharon is at de-escalating angry confrontations.

“Concentrate on the positive”-Sharon is training Rusty on the way she deals with life. You can’t dwell on the negative; you have to try to take the best out of every situation.

“I wanna make this up to you, and I will. “ “You don’t have to make anything up to me. I was perfectly happy to help you.”

This is beyond Rusty’s comprehension; in his world, nobody does anything for anybody just out of the kindness of their heart. There is always the expectation of reciprocity. This is the start of Rusty continually feeling like he owes Sharon--no matter how many times she tells him he doesn’t owe her anything but to be safe and be kind.

“I guess I don’t have to fill out these school forms anymore.” “I guess not.”

There is almost a little sadness and a tinge of regret that shows us that Sharon does mean a little something to Rusty and that he is giving something up to regain his mother.

“Flynn can take Rusty’s mother to dinner, but if you would like to go with Rusty yourself?” “I would but I don’t think his mother would appreciate me being there and I want this to be as easy on Rusty as possible.”

Two things here--Provenza has just put out his own olive branch. He sees Sharon now as a person with feelings, not just the Captain who took away the job he wanted. And he can see how trying this whole situation is on her and tries to help. From this moment on the anger is gone, acceptance given. Of course, there is still a little friction occasionally, but it is more grudging and/or humorous than laced with rancor.  It happened much faster for Sharon than for Brenda.

And, again, we see that Sharon is always trying to do the right thing, always trying to do what is best for others, not necessarily what is best for her. Provenza sees that and starts to respect that she is one of the “good guys”. But, at times, this isn’t always a good thing; it is this character trait that kept her in an unhappy marriage.

“Does it have a mini- bar? She doesn’t like mini-bars.” Rusty is obviously very nervous. Nervous about seeing his mother again, nervous about Andy judging her and nervous about his mother displaying her addictions in front of Andy. This is a great fatherly scene here for Andy. This is the Andy I love. He is kind, compassionate and understanding and does not make any derogatory comments about Sharon B. or what she‘s done, instead he humors Rusty‘s nerves and tries to make things easier for him. This is important because Andy is the dirt bag king; criminals only bring out disgust in him. So, for him to tell Rusty he got a nice hotel room for Sharon B. and then offering to cancel dinner when Rusty seems uncomfortable with it all, is quite revealing of the man beneath the cynical shield Andy surrounds himself with as a coping mechanism to deal with the ugliness of the world he inhabits in his work.

“Hold on…” Rusty is not oblivious to who his mother is. He knows Sharon B is not on that bus well before Andy turns his back on him to question the bus driver. Disappointed and devastated, his world crashing in, Rusty flees before bursting into tears in front of Andy.

“What do you mean Rusty ran off?” Andy feels so horrible about the situation. You can read it all over his face. And it’s personal. He truly feels like he let Sharon down, not just as his boss, but also as a friend. The fact that Sharon is trying so hard to be brave, assuring him that it’s not his fault only makes Andy feel even worse. And, like Rusty before her, Sharon has to turn to leave the murder room before she cries in front of her colleagues--though they can all tell by her sort of quivering voice.  

It is interesting that at this point they are so convinced that Rusty just wants to escape they never bothered checking Sharon’s condo to see if he’d returned there.

It’s the end of another exhausting day--this time Sharon needs a glass of wine.

“Why did you run away from Lt. Flynn?” “I don’t cry in front of people and I started to cry, so I left.”

Sharon nods, she gets it. She doesn’t cry in front of people either. But more than that, Rusty has opened up to her for the first time, has allowed her to see his vulnerability. When Rusty offers to pay everyone back the money his mother stole from them Sharon makes up the idea that their bosses will cover it--yet again allowing someone to save face.

Rusty tells her he is filling out the forms for school, tacitly admitting that he has given up on his mother and will be staying with her.  

“Your mother is the one who is losing out. It doesn’t have anything to do with you.“ I have a feeling this is probably something she’s had to tell her own children in regards to Jack’s disappearance from their lives. Rusty tells her it’s hard to let go and Sharon responds that holding on to someone when they’re gone is even harder. Again, speaking from her experience. This is something they have in common.

“Rusty is home.” For good. Sharon has become home to Rusty. His rose colored glasses have come off and he’s finally seen his mother for who she is, and, unlike his mother, Rusty learned in this episode that he could trust Sharon. She said she would find his mother and she did. So when his world came crashing down, he rushed back to Sharon’s condo, to his home, where he is safe and ready to build a new life with a mother who truly cares about his well being.

#sharon raydor #andy flynn #shandy #Major Crimes #medical cause

[lokgifsandmusings]

Definitive Ranking of Book 4 Episodes, #3/13

3. 4x10 Operation Beifong

Toph’s mothering skills wow everyone. Zhu Li is the world’s worst saboteur. All the tropes get busted. The spirits give no shits about anything.

Okay. If you’ve been following these definitive rankings, you know that I have one main issue with Book 4: while Kuvira worked very well as a foil for Korra, and a way to externalize Korra’s *internal* struggle, Kuvira in her own right is a little less successful, since everything is framed as being about the Beifongs for her, and that thread gets effectively drop-kicked.

For that reason, I objectively know that “Operation Beifong” is an issue with the whole of Book 4 considered. It’s essentially the culmination of the Kuvira/Suyin tension (which I’d argue is far more important and central than her relationship to Baatar), and the rationale for why she didn’t get her ass kicked by Toph at the end of the episode was more or less, “the script said not to.” I mean “leave it to the kids.” 

See, it had to be reserved in its climax because Kuvira’s downfall had to be saved for Korra. Which is fine; protagonists should be considered first and foremost when writing antagonists. But it also meant that the high-high-high emotional and personal stakes of this episode for the characters were always set to fizzle. In fact, the only tension that paid-off here was Lin working through her fractured relationship with her mother, and even that just ended on the note of Toph saying “maybe if you don’t hate me it’s fine.” Sadly for our unsung hero, that’s the happiest resolution she’s ever going to get.

Oh wait, Bopal forgave each other too. And you can make the argument that this was the climax of Bolin’s maturation arc: we saw him rise to the occasion in 4x07 and take charge in a way he hadn’t before, but his decision to save Zhu Li at great self-risk fully demonstrated his moral fiber. I personally think that he already exhibited these traits, he’s just a bit easily led (giving people apples = helping them...just don’t look to the right or left or ask the deeper questions), but fine.

I guess my real frustration is for Suyin and Kuvira’s characters here, who you could easily view as the primary “actors” of this episode’s A-plot, especially given the number of scenes throughout the season we were given to set up this tension. Suyin gets practically no resolution of any sort from this episode, or frankly this season. She escapes imprisonment, sure, but what it boils down to is that she fights Kuvira and quasi-loses, then flees, only for her moments in the finale to be focused on forgiving Baatar and destroying the spirit gun. Sure, she played her part in taking down Mega Maid and was the one who led Kuvira off with that super-memorable-and-not-at-all-just-a-never-replaced-placeholder line, but I fundamentally don’t understand why so much emphasis was placed on her and her point-of-view in this conflict. And it’s one thing if it’s Suyin telling Korra a backstory to set-up the final conversation, sure. It’s just....consider how many scenes we have to explain away that have *nothing* to do with Korra’s arc, including the entirety of this episode.

I guess it kind of reminds me of the Winterhell plotline in GoT Season 5, where it’s an uphill battle to argue that Sansa was the protagonist because Ramsay had 5 or 6 scenes dedicated to his fraught relationship to his dad. In this case, it’s not that Korra ever stopped feeling like the protagonist. It’s just that if we’re going to have so many non-Korra (and frankly non-Krew) characters cannibalizing our screen-time, can we at least give them a complete story?

I know I’ve talked about how it’s a problem before given Kuvira’s arc, but yeah, it’s a problem for Suyin too. It’s honestly a problem for the entire Beifong clan, since other than Suyin and Baatar’s weird “we’ll get through it” scene, the strife that had consumed their family wasn’t really given any kind of space tp land. They’ll get through it. Nifty.

In my brain, I know that this is a shortcoming of Book 4. It’s one of the primary reasons I feel this season needed a draft #2 (I suspect Bryke would have preferred a longer time-line and a heads up about resources as well). And yet... I love this episode. I LOVE this episode.

No you don’t understand: every minute, every aspect of this episode, I love.

Well, I feel rather tepid about the B-plot actually, so let’s knock that off first. It’s just the planning for an inevitable Kuvira invasion in Republic City. Varrick introduces Asami’s hummingbird suit and I have to assume does all the talking because of the voice actors involved (you *use* John Michael Higgins when you have him, and I’m wondering if Gabriel was limited to a set number of episodes). I liked the instantly photoshoppable blueprints that were held up, but remember thinking how ridiculous this biomimicry was given how completely energy inefficient hummingbirds are. I try to at least make sense of it as a suitable countermeasure to Kuvira’s spirit cannon in my newest fic, though.

(x)

Wu suggests evacuating the entire city in case Kuvira attacks. I guess in fairness they didn’t know the two-week timeline of the planned invasion, so it’d seem feasible to be able to craft that strategy, but you’d think fortifying the borders (with the help of Izumi’s troops, like she promised) would have taken priority. Personally I’d be doing everything I could to keep the fight out of my country’s population center. But it was a simplistic idea to show that Wu was actually concerning himself with the safety of others, and that Mako is an easy-to-impress boyfriend.

Finally, Korra decides she’s going to enlist the help of the spirits to defend the city, and they tell her to fuck right off because even though Kuvira is using vines to her own ends, helping the other side would be just as bad, or something. In other words, the spirits continue to be butts, and the entire thing went a little like this:

At the time this aired, I actually thought this was going to set-up a moment like the trees arriving at Helm’s Deep, but no. The spirits really didn’t want to be involved. Sucks to be human.

Like, all of this was fine. I can nitpick military decisions and engineering details, but it was fine.

It just was heavily overshadowed by the most wonderful, complicated familial dynamics.

The shining star was Lin and Toph, as it should have been. For Lin to be in a place where she’s risking her job (again) to save Suyin and is going to these extreme lengths given where they had started a few years before is nothing but touching, especially given how Suyin is more or less living the idyllic life (her rich-ass mom bought her a city to run, she’s got a loving husband and a bunch of kids, etc.) and Lin is still, ya know...

But her relationship with Toph...just murder me.

Every dang conversation they have with each other is more painful than the last. It’s made so clear how much Lin truly loves and respects Toph, and is just desperate for her approval in some ways, but there’s been so much hurt in how Toph brushed off her feelings over the years and is unwilling to actually state her own (you know you’re an INTP when...), that Lin can’t help but be closed off and sardonic. Then you’ve got Bolin picking at the baby daddy wound, Toph just randomly volunteering the information, and...

Toph: Lin, I can feel your enraged breathing from here. Just say what you have to say and let's get it over with.

Lin: Just get it over with? Yeah, let's not linger on the fact that I grew up without a dad. No need to get all touchy-feely about it. Just one of those things, right?

I have to imagine this was Toph’s general approach to parenting, and gods, Mindy Sterling SELLS the hell out of how deeply Lin feels things but how unable she truly is to express herself. As a brief side-note, I do have to imagine that Lin the detective *did* figure out who her dad was, since she doesn’t react to that information itself, but more to why the fuck Toph is willing to talk to Bolin of all people when it was kept from her previously.

Toph: Hey, I forgave you for all your garbage a long time ago and Su and I worked things out. You're the only one who wants to hold on to this family drama nonsense for the rest of your life.

Lin: Forgave me for what?! And not knowing my dad is nonsense to you? It was pretty important to me. And until now, you would never even discuss it.

Seriously, forgive her for what? Toph, again, just wants to avoid and evade the whole “feelings” piece of this. But keeping in mind that it’s been like TWO DECADES since they’ve talked, for Lin to be able to spit this all out and call her mom out on her dismissiveness is huge. HUGE.

Lin: You know, after Su and I patched things up, I thought, "maybe I should try to reach out to mom." But now that we're together again, I remember why we stopped talking. You make me furious and you don't even know why. And when I tell you, you don't care. Once we save Su, you and I are finished.

Toph: If that's your decision and it makes you happy, then fine.

Treat yourself and listen to the voice acting, because the way Philece Sampler does this little inhale and the break in her voice when she says Toph’s line is tragic, simply tragic.

Toph. Just tell your daughter you fucking love her and you care. You obviously care; you’ve been creeping on her in the swamp for years. And Lin just putting it all these raw emotions out there.

I know I’m gushing, but this is so fractured and so beautiful and if they could just flippin’ COMMUNICATE we can *see* how they care about each other underneath. It’s not a witchy-Repunzelesque mother situation or anything about escaping toxicity, but more a mother and daughter with a Shakespearean flaw that prevents them from having a happy relationship, at great personal cost.

And yeah, somehow Lin finds it in herself to apologize for snapping, and Toph just ends on the whole “if you don’t fully hate me, I’ll take it” note. In one episode we watched 20 years of hurt acted out, and it never felt forced or even a little dumbed down for the Y7 audience as like, Asami saying that she “should” try to forgive the dude that wanted to murder her sort of did (frankly that Hiroshi dialogue was all a little wonky if I really want to nitpick).

The second most important relationship in this episode was, of course, Suyin vs. Kuvira. What’s interesting is that the decision to engage with Kuvira instead of sneak away wasn’t made until after Bolin and Opal decided to go after Zhu Li, so it was a little passive on Suyin’s part, but once that fight started, nothing else mattered. Not a single word was uttered and yet you could *feel* how charged and fraught it was. Which yeah, maybe it’s reading a little too much into subtext, but there is something THERE, damnit.

However, the way Suyin’s entire family operated was just delightful. I love that Huan and Baatar Sr. were never expected to fight, and never shamed for it, and Suyin’s shrug to Lin when Baatar Sr. clung to the side of their cage in terror was just perfect. Yeah, they don’t conform to traditional gender roles, and it goes with no more comment than that shrug. Then Wing's “We can’t let Opal be the coolest!” was hilarious, and just felt...real. The Beifongs feel real, and I think that’s one of the things I appreciate the most about them. Dysfunctional, led by a hypocrite, fractured at the moment, but real. Though full disclosure: I’ve been known to call them “aspirational” in the past, if that’s any indication on why such dynamics appeal to me.

It’s worth noting that Baatar Jr. cleared the lowest possible bar possible in not wanting to murder his sister with his cannon. But fuck Zhu Li; she doesn’t even get a re-education camp. I don’t get Baatar Jr. apology (and I *especially* don’t get Kuvira apology), though given where he ends up (regretting his actions) we could have stood to see just a bit more of his reaction to the ensuing fight between his ENTIRE FAMILY INCLUDING HIS GRANDMA and his fiancé.

I should say the Zhu Li saboteur thread didn’t work super well, mostly because you’d think such a cold, heartless war machine could have thought up a better way to actually make the thing malfunction. Or just not have kept the missing pin on her body. Maybe she want to the Galen Erso School of Engineering Sabotage. But the reveal that she was purposely messing things up (and Bolin’s happy face) was lovely. Her devotion to Varrick is certainly not free of problems, but knowing she wasn’t on-board with fascism and actually jumped at the opportunity to undermine the campaign in a big way? I’ll take it, happily.

I’ll also ignore the possible implication that she only did it to save Varrick from more of Kuvira’s wrath, knowing how he’d operate on his own. Anti-fascist Zhu Li is the only Zhu Li. That’s the 2017 hero we need.

That finally leaves us with the Bopal plotline. I cannot believe the amount of hate that Opal got as this season was airing, but I have to think that on rewatches, especially in this cultural context, her point-of-view seemed a lot more reasonable, as well as her frustrations with Bolin. Yeah, her anger towards Kuvira at the very, very start of the season could be framed as a bit OTT and likely the result of loyalty to her mother (who wasn’t exactly the model of reason then), but after that... like, no! We *know* she’s seen prison camps, we *know* she’s learned about dissenters being dragged off, and when her entire family was captured (and to her own admission quite possibly being tortured or already having been murdered), her boyfriend came back and said he was responsible for it (oh Bolin and your logorrhea), but just wanted to pick up exactly where they were right away. And this was after he outright ignored her in Zaofu when she clearly lay out what was happening. Who the hell wouldn’t be pissed?

Frankly, Bolin should have been suggesting how they could save her family, so when she suggested that he should come with her to fix things, it’s...reasonable, even if high-risk. It would demonstrate that at the end of the day, he does have her back. I really have a hard time finding a fault in that.

I do think her line “he’s been in the polar bear doghouse long enough” was overly reductive. We can tell that the moment he was willing to get himself killed to save Zhu Li is the moment that Opal forgave him. Because it showed that his heart is always in the right place. He just sometimes needs a little coaching, and doesn’t do nuance well. If the people *he’s* seeing are happy, it’s difficult for him to think the campaign is doing something bad.

So really, I have zero problems with it. They were two young adults growing apart in a long-distance relationship, and the fact that this mission placed them decidedly on the same side and Bolin took initiative with it...yeah, it works. Their long-term is uh, well, let’s just hope they don’t find themselves in morally ambiguous situations too much.

Also I don’t want to sound like Opal is the font of wisdom and truth either. She can be bad-tempered, impatient, she can let her emotions guide her (though it never pushes into the hysterical woman trope), she can be biting and bitter and cutting when she wants; she’s a fully realized and fully fallible character. I just don’t happen to think she mistreated Bolin in any way during Book 4’s run.

The Bopal take-away, too, is important: women can assert their frustrations and that doesn’t mean their relationships will blow up. Too often we see narratives where women must stuff it, where their emotional needs are always always on a back-burner to the men that they’re with. It’s frustrating and I’ve had enough of it (I’m in a mood thanks to Supergirl lately), so this is dang refreshing. Bust ALL the tropes, Opal.

Frankly, bust ALL the tropes, Beifongs. That’s truly what makes this episode amazing. The central fight is between two women, one of whom is middle-aged and has children, while her husband and elder son (that isn’t Baatar Jr.) are guarded by her mother. There is a mother/daughter “reconciliation” that still ends with them both shoving their feelings down as far as they can go, though they at least achieved a less hostile relationship. There was the Bopal resolution, there was Zhu Li, not Varrick, taking on the role of the saboteur, and there wasn’t instantly a neat redemption for Jr. because he had one moment of human decency.

Yes, this episode was a little contrived in its existence, and it gave us a bit of a false resolution. But it was packed, exciting, and utterly transgressive, while also delivering a wallop of feels.

#13: 4x08 “Remembrances”

#12: 4x11 “Kuvira’s Gambit”

#11: 4x09 “Beyond the Wilds”

#10: 4x07 “Reunion”

#9: 4x06 The “Battle of Zaofu”

#8. 4x12 “Day of Colossus”

#7 4x01 “After All These Years”

#6 4x03 “The Coronation”

#5 4x04 “The Calling”

#4 4x05 “Enemy at the Gates”

Book 2 ranking/essays found here

#lok meta #operation beifong #korra 4x10 #suyin beifong #lin beifong #book 4 ranking

[scorpmal]

So lately I’ve been toying with @kikaiz ’s reverse trio au (based in Danny Phantom) and it sort of led me down the path of this concept in the Harry Potter world, specifically with the golden trio, to create what I called the flipped trio au.

Basically what I’ve done is take each character from the golden trio’s archetype and gave it to one of the other two, keeping their personality traits that are there because of their nature over the environment in which they were raised. In this, Harry would take on Ron’s position in the golden trio as the “comic relief” type character, Ron would assume Hermione’s “smart friend” character, and Hermione would take on the “chosen one” character previously connected to Harry. Basically what follows is a ton of various ideas that arise based on this concept.

HARRY:

Harry would definitely end up more like his father than he is in canon: confident in his abilities (bordering quite heavily on arrogance), prone to mischief, and always making jokes

His parents aren’t dead is this au so he would be actually been raised by people who love and respect him

Still very similar to the character we know today but WAY more laid back and relaxed because his life hasn’t been nearly as stressful as it was in canon

I wanted to also attach to him the poverty aspect connected to the Weasley’s but it doesn’t make sense to me (James is from an already wealthy family, Harry is an only child, more than one working parent, and even if James and Lily were as grossly underpaid as Arthur was I still don’t think they’d ever truly be poor)

He and his family (specifically James) would 100% be labeled as blood traitors though. Not only did James marry a muggle-born but it’s pretty obvious which side they’d fall on in this sort of race war

I think Harry might actually have a slightly better (maybe?) relationship with Draco in this? I’m really not sure how that dynamic would change with Hermione at the helm of the trio

Not only would he still be playing quidditch but I think he’d be even better at it since he would’ve been playing for much longer

Might have actually been a bit better with girls after some coaching from James (and then Lily telling him to disregard it all in favor of her advice which lets face it would be much better)

Still manages to be hella clueless which I really think rounds him out nicely as a mini James

Not not only does he looks just like his dad but he acts like him too (definitely less douchey though) which weirds people out to a whole new level

RON:

Ron is no longer the youngest boy of a family of purebloods, but instead the only magical child of a family of muggles

This probably would help a bit with his feelings of being overshadowed by his brothers

However! He still thinks they would have been better suited to the wizarding world and is considerably anxious about proving that fear right

This is what leads us to Ron being the smart friend He doesn’t want to be as lackluster as a wizard as he thinks he is as a muggle so he spends way more time actually studying and actively trying to do well because his grades are one of the few things he can control

Still quite lazy in other respects, and I don’t think he’d every reach Hermione levels of being extremely focused in school because he doesn’t have that same innate drive as she does

Just as cool under pressure as he has been shown to be, but not because he’s grown up around and is extremely familiar/comfortable with magic but because 1) he’s got a huge family and is used to the pressure and 2) he’s the type of person who makes themselves comfortable or at least can adapt to new and unfamiliar situations and 3) if he can be deposited in a world previously unknown to him and not freak out (too badly) he has a pretty good handle on most things

His family would be financially stable similar to Hermione’s family and because Arthur wouldn’t be working for the Ministry and thus couldn’t be grossly underpaid by them

Doesn’t mean that Molly stops knitting her sweaters because they’re awesome

Still hates spiders

HERMIONE:

Grows up an orphan with terrible foster/adopted parents (we know nothing about her family) who treat her similarly to the Dursley’s and Harry throughout the series

The only difference would be she would get out of the situation much more quickly than Harry did

I don’t care what anyone says, Lily and James Potter are not letting their son’s best friend go back to an abusive home especially since James’ parents took in Sirius to shield him from a similarly toxic environment

This could go one of two ways: either Hermione becomes an honorary Potter similarly to how Sirius did as a teenager, or it could open the door to Sirius taking Hermione in himself. Both ideas have merit to them in my opinion

Without trying to sound overly complimentary of Hermione I honestly think she’s the best suited of the three to be the chosen one

She’s got really strong morals still and is able to use her position as the “chosen one” to push for what she wants more forcefully (“I defeated Voldemort as a baby! Join SPEW!”)

Hermione would also still be the one to call Harry and Ron out on their bull and keep them in line, so to speak

OTHERS:

Lily and James never die, which would set off a whole chain of events within their personal lives that I’m trying to keep as close to canon as I can

Peter would still end up on Voldemort’s side (can’t change canon too much) but he’d end up in Askaban and he would be the Prisoner of Askaban from the books who escapes I’m not 100% sure how it would play out but let’s ignore canon and go with it okay shhhh

Remus ends up teaching DADA like normal, but he’d be a better adjusted human

Snape would still out him as a werewolf to the entire wizarding world and I think he’d still end up going into hiding

Snape would also pretty openly hate Harry since Lily is still alive. Instead of him having Lily’s eyes being what protects Harry from Snape it would be a constant reminder that James and Lily got together and had the cute ass kid that is Harry

Harry would definitely mention it to one of his parents and it would culminate in Lily having some GODDAMN AGENCY in this “love triangle” and she could finally put to rest all of the Snily shippers the idea that it was ever a love triangle or that she was a prize to be won. She chose James and if Snape has an issue with that he can take it up with her fist (and he ends up getting punched because I made this au up and I need to see that)

That’s one of the many reasons he’s salty enough to out Remus

Besides maybe taking Hermione in as a surrogate daughter I really don’t think Sirius would work

The man is an eligible bachelor right up until the day he dies (unfortunately under similar circumstances)

Harry and Hermione still spend a lot of time at the Weasley’s house. That’s where Harry meets Ginny and they do their thing

I also like the idea of the Weasley’s sort of ushering in an era wherein muggles who know about magic (and squibs of course) are able to take an active part in the wizarding world. For example, Fred and George could still pretty easily found Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes — it doesn’t take magical ability to do potions and once they have a couple of wizards working for them they can collaborate to make charms and the like. Ron retiring from the Aurors to join at least George (unsure as to whether or not Fred should die) to help out makes a lot of sense in this. I don’t think it takes magical ability to ride a broomstick and play quidditch (lmk if I’m wrong) so for all we know Ginny could become the first muggle quidditch player. You hopefully get my point with this one

This is hella long but feel free to add your own ideas about this on this post or tagged under #flipped trio au

Don’t think too hard about canon and it’s a pretty interesting idea in my opinion

#flipped trio au #harry potter #hermione granger #ron weasley #harry potter au #the marauders #hp meta #hp #severus snape #hp au #iyanah talks