#i mean what if we see an episode and season later we see new doc and new companion in the same place :'D

[magicalrocketships]

☔

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

Oh, I'm sure I've talked about this before but L U C K I L Y I retain zero information, particularly when I'm tired, so this means I get to explain it again.

SO, the plot which I won't ever write because it gets pretty dark and it also requires me to make up an injury (I got the idea from the first series of Chicago Fire, where the dude whose name I've forgotten (no, really, I retain no information anymore) has a life-changing made-up ?neck? injury where he requires surgery and it will take one year+ to recover from the surgery so he self-medicates and then it's miraculously fixed by a dazzling new surgery in one episode after making it an entire plot for an entire season):

Canon divergence somewhere along the way, maybe the pandemic doesn't happen, maybe he never really got as publicly involved in streaming, whatever, but what's key is that Max doesn't have anything really going on outside of racing and it's this year

So Daniel's left RB/Mcl, and Max is focused focused focused on racing and maybe he gets his first world championship a year earlier but whatever happens, he doesn't build that strong sense of home outside of racing (no cats, no partner, no online streaming, just what's becoming an unhealthy focus on racing and winning at all costs)

Then there's an accident. It happens off-track, so it's not a racing incident, and it's not Max's fault. His car gets hit. And Max is injured. He breaks something in his neck (I am assured this injury does not exist in the manner employed by Chicago Fire. For the purpose of this imaginary not-to-be-written fic, it 100% exists).

Max is told he can't race, maybe forever, but likely for at least a year post surgery

(and at this point I'm just going to c&p from the chat fic doc I saved months and months ago, and it's going under a cut with a content warning here for suicidal thoughts, some mention of disordered eating and childhood abuse, look after yourself, pals)

surviving to drive: the max verstappen recovery story (~3k)

Anyway max realises that he has exactly one (1) thing in his life, racing, and it's just come crashing down and he's v emotionally unhealthy as we know and has nothing else going on so when he loses racing he believes there is literally no other reason to keep going plus he's in hospital

anyway daniel ignores all of max's emotionally unhealthy bans on hospital visitors and sneaks in to see him and he's like... "something is very wrong here"

he leaves and max thinks he's chased him away but then daniel comes back later that day and he's like, "you don't have to have the surgery in this hospital, you can have it done in any of these places *presents a list* so pick a place and we'll go there instead"

so yeah they just go somewhere else and daniel rents them a house and just hangs out with a secretly suicidal max who sees precisely no reason to wake up every morning if he's not racing

and daniel has precisely zero idea that max is still here/alive/whatever just because daniel is there every night and every morning and max doesn't want daniel to have to see him like that

ANYWAY max is very clearly not in a good place and his dad sends him messages telling him how he can improve his recovery and get better faster

it becomes more difficult for max to hide the fact that he's alive mostly by virtue of not being dead right now

and he's had the surgery or whatever and he's looking at a 12 month recovery so he's definitely out for the whole of the next season so daniel's like, "It doesn't matter how long recovery takes, take your time" which of course he has precisely zero idea of how to deal with since he's been racing so long and has nothing else in his life

Something happens idk he breaks a glass and Daniel finds him with cut hands and a piece of glass idk and Daniel's like, "a new crisis! I can help with that! this is clearly not something that max has been dealing with daily for weeks now, it's a new thing!"

so he's like, IT'S THERAPY TIME BABY, no more clutching a handful of broken glass and bleeding everywhere, superdaniel is here to help

yada yada finds max a therapist and max HATES IT, HAAAAATES IT, he's uncomfortable and the therapist makes him feel worse and he still wants to like... not be here if he can't race today, he can't wait a whole year

and daniel asks him how it's going and Max lies because why wouldn't he and he's been doing miserable things his entire life that he didn't want to do so what's another thing on top of everything else

meanwhile Daniel's like... hmmmm this is scary Max looks worse

and he sits in on a therapy session and half way through he's like, "nope, we're ending this, sorry, bye, you can have the money for the whole hour but we're never speaking to you again"

points out to Max that that therapist was awful and why didn't Max just tell him how awful it was and how it made him feel

Max, who's never had a choice over anything in his entire life: "..."

anyway he gets max to try another couple of therapists and in the end there's one who is NOT monstrously awful and does not make Max feel like he wants to scratch his own skin off

so Max gets THERAPY and it becomes clear that max's childhood was weaponised beyond belief and he doesn't even know what foods he likes and doesn't like

because he never got a choice and he was always on some kind of food plan that his dad could withhold or not according to how max was doing in every other area of his life

well of course, he gets a whole year of therapy and it turns out his dad was an abusive asshole and he is BLOCKED from Max's phone

and Max has to do things like "make sure his life has more than just racing in it"

so he reads a book

the first one he's ever read

he tries food and tries to figure out if he likes it or if it's just a source of energy he has to eat anyway

he gets a PLANT

it DIES

anyway whatever he gets therapy and he lives in a house with daniel and is allowed to feel some things because he never really felt anything before

and daniel goes off and does some promo stuff idk and films some shit from the house and max is maybe in the background or something and no one's heard from him in ages and in fandom it's all like MAX IS IN DANIEL'S HOUSE etc

and the drive to survive people get in touch and are like, can we interview you for the series even if you're not on the grid, do some stuff about your recovery etc etc

and max is like... i guess

he's not, like, actively suicidal any more because his life has actual pillars of stuff that isn't just racing

his life isn't just like dependent on one jenga tower of racing with the pieces falling down

like, he can't wait to get back to racing but he's like, six months in to therapy or whatever and he's been living with daniel and it's... nice to just... watch movies with him and eat stuff and play computer games (daniel banned racing games so max has had to... compromise)

and maybe there are some... warm feelings

some best friend shit when he's never had real time for a best friend

some "i could probably spend more time with daniel in a forever kind of a way and not get tired of it" you know

BUT ALSO, daniel blowing up his life for max, he saw max in that hospital room and didn't once question what it would mean to him to step back and just... fuck shit up so that max would be okay

anyway drive to survive team show up and they do a bit of interviewing and it is VERY CLEAR that this isn't a natural fit for an episode because Max has, for once, got some shit to say

so they come back with an idea for a spin off documentary that's just Max and this injury and getting back to driving

because Daniel has kind of been fielding red bull this whole time, saying "he's not racing this year, leave him alone, give him some space", and he's got to go out and talk to them or do some promo stuff with them, whatever, he's going away

Max says the timing is good because he can do the main body of the interviewing about what's come before etc, then Daniel can come back and do his bits

and then the docu team are like, "where do you think you'd be right now if you hadn't crashed" and Max looks at the camera and says, "dead, I think" and the team know they're on to a winner because Max has realised that actually, driving like you don't care if you're alive if you don't win isn't actually okay

anyway Max does the documentary interviews and Daniel comes back and Max tells him he can talk about whatever he wants, it's fine but when the team ask him about helping Max when he realised he wasn't coping, Daniel won't give any details and says it's Max's story to tell and he just wanted to make sure his best friend was okay

not realising that he looks very much in love during this idk

ANYWAY SOME TIME PASSES and they do a bit more documentary stuff and Max is preparing to race again and Daniel is doing some stuff with red bull and he flies out somewhere to do an interview and photoshoot for some magazine or other.

The first clips from the documentary are released and they're on youtube and clipped up for instagram and Max posts them but the first picture is just like, 'this contains discussion of suicidal thoughts' etc

Daniel is preparing for this photoshoot and interview

anyway the first clip is about Max in hospital and they go straight in for the kill, Max saying, "I didn't want to live if I couldn't race.

"I didn't want to see anyone, I didn't want to speak to anyone, I shouted at the nurses, I just wanted to get somewhere so I could figure out how not to wake up again. And then Daniel walked in.

"He didn't know how bad it was, he didn't know anything specific, but he knew something was wrong and he got me out of there and he brought me here and got my surgery moved. And he didn't know he saved my life that day. He won't know until he sees this. But he saved my life that day."

END OF CLIP ONE, start of clip two

"You were suicidal," the interviewer says

"Yes," Max says. "The only thing that stopped me was that I didn't want Daniel to find me. He'd moved me to a different hospital and he'd rented this place for us so it was close to the doctors, and every day I woke up and he never knew that he kept me alive just by being here."

"But he found out in the end."

"Not how bad it was. Just that it was bad. And he got me help. And when that help didn't work, he got me more help. He's the best friend I've ever had, and I still haven't been able to tell him how bad it got."

end of clip two, start of clip three

except this clip is DANIEL

"I snuck in to see him in hospital. he wasn't doing great. He was kind of lost, and I didn't really know what I could do, but, like, I figured he needed some space so I got him some. Different hospital, different views, nothing to remind him about racing."

"But he was struggling?"

"Yeah," Daniel says. "He struggled. It was hard to see him when he couldn't race. He's my best friend. It was hard when he wasn't doing so well. But he's doing great now."

smile smile etc Daniel being happy

then a final max clip i think

"Do I still have that drive to win? God, yes. I'm going to win. That hasn't changed. I just want to live as well. I want to wake up tomorrow, and the next day, and the one after that, and win."

then a final slide with the documentary logo on and some suicide prevention helplines, idk

ANYWAY imagine Daniel, if you will, at a photography studio about to have pictures taken, crying his eyes out in the toilets because he's just found out Max wanted to die

so Daniel, who is always very professional, entirely bails on both the photo shoot and the interview so he can go home because he needs to see max

and Max lent him his plane because that's a normal thing excessively rich world champions have so it's not a fucking nightmare getting back from... wherever the interview is, somewhere not that far away in europe

and Daniel chooses to respond to Max's documentary clips on instagram

[ASIDE, my beloved friend as I was telling her this over Telegram, in response to that above: WHY????

Me: because this is MY 4am hurt comfort fic baby]

so anyway he makes a text post that just says Max is the bravest and best person he knows, he's fought so hard to be here, and that there hasn't been a day in Daniel's whole entire life that would have been better if Max wasn't here on this planet, and he's so glad he stayed

and then another one which is like, if anyone else feels like they don't want to go on, please stay, people love you, here's some helpline numbers etc

and Max just replies to him with a blue heart

important to understand that this is my four am comfort fic so it is ENTIRELY appropriate that Daniel walks through the door and both hugs him and starts to cry

and Max hugs him back but does not cry because Max has broken through a lot of shit in therapy but he is not a crier

but he IS accidentally in love with Daniel

and Max makes some Choices in his life, as Daniel does, but this choice involves touching Daniel's cheek and glancing at his mouth and then up at Daniel and Daniel kind of nodding and then there is a KISS

which is badly timed really considering that today has been very emotional and Daniel is still crying and has been travelling etc and they've never actually addressed any of this

so Daniel needs a moment and he goes into the bathroom to stare manfully into the mirror and wash his hands and face and when he comes out Max doesn't let him say anything, just launches into a multi point in-person powerpoint about how they should be together

[my friend: maxplaining his way into a relationshippp]

which Daniel, it turns out, entirely agrees with, but he's really kind of emotionally burnt out right now and would really just like a hug and a sit down, so he tells Max yes, of course, but could they just talk about it later and hug right now

How good is Max at listening to instuctions to stop talking?

not marvellous it turns out but daniel kind of likes it when max gets enthusiastic about stuff

even if the stuff in this case is a multipoint argument in favour of them being quite gay together

OH OH OH now we skip forward a bit

to when Max is racing again

first or second race out there for red bull

and daniel is kind of tied to red bull again

anyway Max WINS

hurray etc he's a conquering hero with a recovered broken neck

so once he's out of the car idk he's done the bit with the team and he spies daniel and goes over to hug him, which the cameras in general love, and then he goes off to do some kind of next step celebratory thing, cool-down room, whatever

only partway there he's like... um

has a feeling, one or two, you know the kind of thing

max hasn't historically been very good at feelings

or healthy choices

but anyway, he decides to act on this one, which is to go back to where Daniel is, and kiss him

which is as much of a surprise to daniel as it is to the whole of the media who are still around to film him

and then Max just turns back around and heads for the podium, so there's a very nice accidental shot of Daniel, afterwards, just smiling and ducking his head and touching his thumb to his lip

which turns into a very popular gif

for reasons

Anyway!! there is a LOT of discussion about Max losing his edge now his focus is not only racing

the documentary talks a lot about Max's childhood abuse and limited food intake etc etc but doesn't mention his dad by name

Daniel races again somehow but probably not in the fic

daniel ends up losing some bet or other and has to do a computer game live stream from his living room of some cosy game idk and the whole thing is interupted by max just living his life in the background

max getting up and sleepily saying morning, max going for a run and kissing him hello, max going in and out of the sim, idk, the two of them making weird noises at each other because they still do that

OH I forgot they buy a house together like immediately after getting together

somewhere green again and it's in both their names because they've lived together for a year already and whatever

and still don't tell anyone they're together even though red bull has them residing at the same address

and ZERO people realise until after the kiss on screen

and obviously the docu clips suggest they've been staying together

and Max gets to say to Christian that they literally own a house together when he expresses some degree of surprise at kissing in public

not their fault no one noticed

Forgot to say that max and Daniel get filmed driving about and max stalls his car and doesn’t know if he likes olives and maybe they forget they’re being filmed

And also that when the documentary finally airs all its eps Netflix on Twitter are like “lol bet you can’t figure out which bits we filmed after they got together and which were before because we certainly can’t, lol”

And Daniel’s in the comments, like “do I get a prize if I get it right”

He gets 9/10 clips right but no one but max knows

Anyway when they buy their house max has zero shits to give about the decor so daniel just gets a decorator in and the only thing max wants is a fancy catio for when they’re not there and his new cats want to go outside

Daniel arranges this because he’s a sucker for max.

anyway that's general plot of surviving to drive: the max verstappen recovery story, the end.

#my fic #fic i wish i was writing #except actually this one is just staying my 4am comfort fic #but i've just told it to you too #content warnings for: #suicidal thoughts #mentions of childhood abuse and disordered eating #surviving to drive: the max verstappen recovery story

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

01/31/2024 Daily Recap

TLDR; Cast & Crew Sightings; Watch Parties; OurFlagMeansDeadloch; LubeAsACrew; Stats; UK News; Upcoming Events; Other News; Favor To Ask; Love Notes; DailyDarby/Tonight's Taika

== Cast and Crew Sightings ==

Probably the cutest sighting would be Con O'Neill's dog Cooper

== How To Help ==

How to help docs have been updated with queerties and other stats!

How To Help Save OFMD Task List - US

How to Help Save OFMD Task List - Outside US

== Watch Parties ==

Today was Day 2, episodes 3 and 4 of Deadloch!

I realised I totally forgot to crew reactions up for Deadloch yesterday! Sorry all! Here's some from todays watch!

On to episodes 5/6 tomorrow! Same time same place!

== LubeAsACrew ==

The second Lube as a crew was widely successful! Trending at #7! Thanks for catching it @_irene_adler!

Everybody had a lot of fun with it, here's some highlights!

Our lovely friend over at @Astroglide left some fantastic tweets for us, I'm including a few that stood out.

== Stats ==

Some interesting stats today! Thank you @meowzawowza_ on twitter for these details!

More stats by @lucyrosebutler regarding How well OFMD is doing in the US!

== UK News ==

Reminder! 5 days until S2 airs in the UK!

Thanks as always to our lovely @lamentus1 for the update in the UK!

"I tweeted at 13 lucky TV Guide journalists in the UK all about Our Flag Means Death and the efforts of the fandom and also why the show is so great. I have a document with their twitters and email addresses. Email will be my next line of attack! If anyone wants access to the UK TV Guide press list let me know! We were thinking that we should introduce a spoiler free way for people who are starting to watch season 2 on the BBC to interact with the campaign on Twitter. I think it might be to encourage them to follow #OurFlagBBC while encouraging anyone posting spoilers under that hashtag to add #ofmd2spoilers so that people can avoid seeing spoilers. One other thing that’s coming up later in February is that Chxrlotte on our UK crew will be releasing an Our Flag Means Death inspired track on her label on 24 February! She has a ton of gorgeous tracks that are often inspired by shows like OFMD and Good Omens, and the new one is about Ed and Stede. I’ve had a preview of the new track and it’ll make you cry! @shutupchxrlotte's Twitter Her other stuff is on Apple Music and Spotify here"

Please have a listen!

== Upcoming Events ==

#StewAsACrew

Reminder! Feb 4th is National Homemade Soup Day! More deets! Be sure to share your soup/stew pics with these hashtags:

#StewAsACrew

#SaveOFMD

#AdoptOurCrew

Not a soup bitch but still want to help?

You can politely menace: @CambellSoupCo and @CampbellsChunky with our petition hashtags!

==New Watch Party!==

Muppet Treasure Island - Feb 7th 2024

4PM EST, 1PM PST, 9 PM GMT

Watch Party Hashtags:

#MuppetPirates

#AdoptOurCrew

#SaveOFMD

== Other News ==

Warner bros stock is still dropping! Sure looks like cancelling OFMD wasn't a very lucrative plan. Thanks @iamadequate_ for this!

Max still has billboards up for OFMD in Hollywood! Thanks @LeanneBrodie13 for catching this!

Also, @_irene_adler caught some audacity from Max in trying to monetize OFMD merch for Valentine's Day.

== Favor to Ask ==

I've been working on a bit of a side project of putting together an OFMD Renewal Repository for resources that doesn't require anyone to log into ... twitter, IG, tumblr, facebook, etc. It's still WIP but I'd love some constructive feedback if anyone would be willing to take a look and let me know what they think. I won't be replacing the tumblr recaps with it, but will be posting them there minus the gifs at the end so they can be shared to other platforms if needed.

My specific questions are:

Are there more categories / different information you'd like to have added?

Is it generally easy to find information?

Is this a bad idea? (too many places with this stuff already?)

Other feedback welcome!

I am totally cool with constructive feedback, feel free to dm me :)

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies. Do you ever worry you're too much? Like you talk too much, or feel too much, or come off too strong? I know I do some days.

Just remember, on days you're feeling too much, you're probably shining your brightest. What other people think is too much is just you, and you're allowed to shine! Don't ever let their inability to see your worth stop you. Saw this on IG today and thought of you call. Gnight crew, all the love <3

== Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika ==

These gifs go together, I don't make the rules.

#daily ofmd recap #ofmd daily recap #ofmd daily recaps #ofmd #our flag means death #gentlebeard #save ofmd #rhys darby #blackbonnet #save our flag means death #adopt our crew #saveourflag

[parachutingkitten]

No actually, time can't pass differently in the never realm.

Sorry Doc, but now that you're the one making lore tweets, you get the prolonged tumblr rants from me.

To be fair, he does seem to be handling things in a way I much prefer to tommy. Cryptic self deprecation at a (maybe?) mistake is always a better look than doubling down, so this is all incredibly light hearted, but here we go:

If time does in fact work differently, then I have to assume that means time is moving more quickly in the never realm. Zane gets sent to the Never-Realm, and in the time it takes for the ninja to follow, sixty years passes in the never. Great.

In show it seems like it takes maybe a day or two for the ninja to realize what's happened and follow after him. For some easy math, let's just round it out to about 6 days, meaning that each day in ninjago is a decade in the never.

Problem is, we see pix and wu waiting for the ninja to return. We have at least 2 incidents in ninjago taking place on separate days (The Absolute Worst and Kaiju Protocol), meaning at minimum, the ninja are gone for 2 days ninjago time, which would imply the ninja were in the never realm for 2 whole decades which... can not be true.

So, maybe I did some estimating wrong. What if it took the ninja a solid month to grieve their loss, and then realized there was hope and go after Zane? That takes the ratio down to about 2 years in the never for every ninjago day. 4 years is still an insanely long time which does not map up to what we see in the never realm. In MotM, the ninja refer to this and other missions as all happening within the span of "weeks", implying that not only do all these missions happen immediately back to back, but that their time in the never realm was no more than a couple weeks. Now, they may be referring to the time that passed in Ninjago alone, but the way it's phrased seems to imply the time experienced by the ninja themselves. It's phrased as a reminder that they haven't been home in a while, which they obviously wouldn't need to be reminded of, if they had spent more than a month or so away, nevermind 4 years.

But say that we assume the never adventure took place over the course of a full month in never time, the most I am willing to conceed before later statements don't make sense. That leaves us with a 1/15 ratio, meaning the gap between Zane being blasted away, and the ninja following after him is 4 years. That... can not be true. There is no chance it took Wu 4 years to go and visit aspheera for the first time. There is no way everyone looks the same, the team hasn't split up, and Pixal just happens to still be having plot relevant nightmares. There is no way the time skip between episodes 14 and 15 of season 11 is 4 times as long as between seasons 14 and 15.

All of this is not to mention, we're still using our extremely conservative estimate of the ninja being gone for 2 days ninjago time, which not only assumes that the absolute worst and Kaiju Protocol happen back to back, but also that the news broke to the papers that the ninja had left, it was printed, and a paper was discarded close enough to blow over prison walls, in less than a day.

So, unless "time passed differently" means that time literally started passing differently when the ninja entered into the realm, normalizing it to ninjago time... I do not see what this could possibly mean. We see a montage of time passing in episode 17 that shows us a day in the never is just about as long as we would expect, if not maybe longer. The only way I can think that this might make sense is if people in the never realm refer to a day as a year- meaning Zane was corrupted for maybe 2 months max. And that kinda undercuts the drama a bit, don't it?

Btw, any way you slice it, formlings definitely age differently. Akita's tribe gets frozen as winter comes to the never realm, when she's a child, and 60 years later, she is a teenager seeking revenge. Which for those who care (me, I'm saying this for me), means if you like the 'Lloyd has life extending Oni blood like his dad' HC, Akita may be a decent choice to ship.

I do appreciate his attempts to make this the canon answer, as it does feel less stupid than the time travel thing. The 60 year blast from tommy feels inherently random and without purpose, and so comes across as a plot hole filler more than anything else. Unfortunately, this explanation is pretty impossible unless you want to introduce some MAJOR time skips to the timeline, or change the 60 year timeframe all together.

Anyway, the consistent time difference is impossible, and Akita has a very long expected life span. Unless they explicitly decide to kill her off, there is no reason to believe she is dead.

#ninjago #i know this is old news at this point #but i feel like i needed to make a post #just to have all the evidence in one place #ns11 #akita #secrets of the forbidden spinjitzu #doc wyatt

[mrbensonmum]

TV Show - CSI: Las Vegas

As mentioned in the last post about Dr. House, I felt like watching a crime series. The temptation was strong because Prime added the first three seasons of Rizzoli & Isles to its program. But I decided to go with CSI: Las Vegas because it's been longer since I last rewatched it compared to Rizzoli & Isles.

Right in the first two episodes, I notice a lot of details, and I might end up writing a lot about them. Let's see how long I can keep it up!

One thing that stands out right away is the age of the series. And by that, I don't mean a specific year but the aspect ratio, which is still in 4:3. 16:9 will come later, but I can't remember exactly when. I'm curious to find out.

Catherine Willows already shows character traits here that will later drive me crazy. I remember finding her very demanding in the later seasons. She always comes up with arguments to bend the rules so she can break them later. However, in the successor format CSI: Vegas, she becomes interesting again.

During the autopsy scene where Grissom and Nick help, you could see the eyes of the millionaire blinking. I always find such details interesting. Sometimes you can see the "corpses" moving their chests, the carotid artery pulsating, or a body part moving. If I remember correctly, some shots use a still image to avoid such mistakes.

We still miss important characters like Super Dave and Doc Robbins. But one person we see very early on is the firearms specialist Bobby!

I also noticed Grissom's mood during the dummy experiments, which reminded me why I find him so intriguing. He's a man of facts, and as the series progresses, he becomes less and less able to deal with society and its quirks.

Voices are another topic because we have two very distinctive voices right from the start, one of which stays with us. Holly Gribbs is voiced by Sandra Schwittau, who is the German voice of Bart Simpson, played by Nancy Cartwright. Nick Stokes (George Eads) is voiced by David Nathan, who is not only one of the most distinctive German voices but also the regular voice of Johnny Depp and Christian Bale.

I'm thrilled to be back in Vegas, to see how everything unfolds, what cases they work on, and what questions arise. Because I already have one question: Even though Warrick was overseeing Gribbs since she was new, no one asks what happened to the officer at the crime scene where Holly was shot. Sure, Brass was reassigned, but that's about it. I find it extremely strange. (Although I'm aware that this is used to show the tragedy surrounding Warrick's character!)

Otherwise, the first season is always the most interesting because this is where the series is still finding itself, and many things are still changing. There's a lot to discover and admire, especially when it comes to the development of the characters.

I'll also thoroughly enjoy all the special effects because many of them were created without CGI, and practical effects are still among the best because they are tangible and provide a sense of depth that CGI simply can't achieve. I know, it's a big debate, but it's like photography. Digital photography is great, no doubt, but that final step to achieve exactly what's possible in analog photography is still missing. It's not much, and I know both sides very well, but it's just that tiny bit that's still missing!

In the German version, when Nick talks to Sanders, it's briefly mentioned or asked if Sanders is already playing the "Football game on Dreamcast." Once again, it shows that someone involved in writing the dialogue didn't have a clue. That always annoys me. Either video games look terrible in movies/shows, or they mix up everything and leave out details.

#csi #csi las vegas #crime scene investigation #nick stokes #catherine willows #gil grissom #warrick brown #sara sidle #greg sanders #csi vegas #csi lv #tvshow #tv show #tv shows

[knickynoo]

Back to the Future: The Animated Series, s02ep07 “The Money Tree"

Previous episodes linked here.

In this episode: Everybody is mean to Jules + a "money doesn't buy happiness" plotline.

They really got their money's worth out of the green screen this season, huh? This time, Doc is deep in an unnamed rainforest, researching the deforestation happening (and also eating bananas).

After mentioning how valuable the trees in the rainforest are, he recalls the time his son, Jules, had a tree with a "very different type of value."

We begin with Jules walking home from school. Two kids on bikes come racing by, sending the papers in his briefcase flying. He is quite upset.

Turns out, one of the biking troublemakers is none other than Verne. Jules yells at his younger brother for both his recklessness and the damage he's caused. Verne's reply is awful.

"Good thing you don't got any friends, or we might've hit somebody and done some major damage."

Jail for Verne Brown.

On the other side of the fence, one of Verne's classmates invites him to come swimming, and Verne quickly jumps at the chance. Jules pokes his head into the yard, asking if he can "join in on the frivolity." He's promptly told that he's not allowed, then splashed by a cannonball.

I CRY. Look at him. He is so sad and ostracized. Jail for Verne's classmate.

So far, this episode is no fun at all.

We cut scene to later that afternoon, where Marty is playing some basketball outside the garage while Jules works on his latest project: a genetically modified tree that grows colorful leaves with all different patterns on them. Two thoughts here.

1. This series really pushes the "Marty is a cool, sporty guy" thing. He's played baseball in past episodes, collects baseball cards, helps to coach Verne's soccer team, and is now shooting hoops while excitedly narrating his every move like a sports commentator. And, I mean, I don't really mind it as a whole. It's possible our Trilogy Marty is into sports (though I don't see him as being the sporty type). It just feels kind of forced in the cartoon. As if Marty being his own sweet, goofy self wasn't appealing enough, and they needed to make him into some sort of jock because that's what's expected of a college-aged guy? I don't know. I guess it helps that he isn't particularly good at any of the sports, which feels true to Marty.

2. All of the kids who look down on Jules are wrong. Jules is SO cool. Look at this tree he's created!

When Marty asks Jules why he doesn't have any friends, Jules tells him sadly, "Martin, intelligent children are always outcasts." Marty replies that he's never had that problem, lol.

Verne soon comes running into the yard, upset that Doc won't give him an advance on his allowance. He ends up inadvertently giving Jules the idea to create a money tree.

Some time later, at school, Jules is about to take his turn for show and tell. He's tripped on his way to the front of the class, taunted, and laughed at by all the other children. He remains unfazed and proudly displays his tree, covered in various bills. Naturally, this gains him a sudden influx of new "friends." Unable to see that none of the kind words and attention is sincere, Jules allows himself to be swept up in his newfound popularity.

All the attention soon goes to his head, and Jules soon has Marty and Verne doing all the heavy lifting in an attempt to find the perfect spot for the money tree.

Even though the bills on the tree aren't ready to be picked, Jules decides it's a good idea to start buying things left and right on credit. He gets toys for all his new friends and even has a swimming pool installed in the yard. Though Clara and Doc initially protest all the spending and the attitude change in their son, a trip with him to the mall has them changing their tune when he lavishes expensive gifts upon them.

Doc gets a brand new, giant TV and seven VCRs (one for each day of the week), and Clara gets a diamond necklace.

Jules soon lands himself an interview on the local news, bringing his money tree to the attention of Biff and his son, who catch the broadcast at home. Uh oh...

Meanwhile, Jules hires Marty to guard the money tree, offering him "ten leaves an hour." And since Marty is very rarely at his college attending his classes or ever at home with his family (who may not even exist in this cartoon), it's a good job for him.

I should also mention that the news of the money tree catches the attention of the FBI, who assume Jules is the leader of a counterfeit money ring.

Anyway, Marty is terrible at his tree-guarding job. He stays fast asleep on his lawn chair while Biff sneaks by in the middle of the night to steal it, then continues to sleep through the loud argument Jules has with Verne—accusing his brother of stealing the tree. By the way, this is where things are at in the Brown household...

There's not a single level-headed person in this family anymore.

Desperate to recover the tree, they all pile into the car and take off into town, where a police officer quickly pursues them. This happens.

Doc engages the car's flying mode, and they lose the cop and take off after Biff's tow truck, which has the tree strapped to it. Jules hangs out of the car to try to get it, but his seatbelt rips, and Verne grabs hold of him just in time. Clara then has to catch Verne, who almost falls out of the car, and Doc changes the car's path just before Biff tries to send them crashing into a tunnel.

Relieved that the boys are safe, Clara comes to her senses and realizes that they were all blinded by greed. Doc promptly drives the car to the police station to TURN HIMSELF IN for going over the speed limit and resisting arrest.

Biff takes the tree to a car dealership and buys himself a fancy Winnebago RV. He's immediately surrounded by a group of federal agents, who tackle him and send all the money he's recently picked fluttering around the lot. One by one, the bills all shrivel up and turn brown. So, no money for anyone. Jules's project was doomed from the start.

Things quickly go back to normal around Hill Valley, and Jules returns to being a social outcast. Without the promise of money, almost all of his new friends drop him like a hot potato. Except for Franny—a classmate who reveals to Jules that she likes him for who he is (and has a crush on him!).

The two walk off hand in hand, and we return to Real Doc, who is still hanging out in the rainforest. He shows us the new money tree he had Jules cultivate, explaining that his plan is to allow it to mature and eventually use it so that he and Clara can make their "golden years" comfortable.

And that statement makes me laugh because Doc is already well into his golden years. Sixty-five at the start of the trilogy, then the ten years to build the time train, plus the additional however many years have passed since he and the family moved. (It's 1992 in the series, but I don't think the Browns settled straight into 1985 because Jules and Verne's ages don't line up properly with how old they were at the end of Part III) But anyway! Doc has to be somewhere close to eighty years old. Though, with the medical overhaul he went through in 2015, it did give him an additional thirty or so years, so...I guess it all evens out.

Here he is, sneezing away all the newly-grown money because he discovers he's allergic to the pollen it produces.

Add money-tree pollen to the list of Doc's allergies.

The episode ends with him slipping on the banana peel he had tossed in the beginning of the episode. Silly guy.

Join me next time to see Marty and Verne travel back in time to meet Jules Verne.

#back to the future #bttf #bttf: the animated series

[absent-o-minded]

YR Season 2 Analysis - The Shaping of Presence in the Invasive Camera

After many a' deadline and many a 'stress, I am back on my bullshit.

I've had a Google Doc full of notes left to perish since early November, so this is just me busting out the big guns. I want to (mostly) talk about the 'Orange Jumper' and the instances of 4th wall breaking in S2, but I will also mention other bits and bobs along the way.

SIMON AND THE ORANGE JUMPER SAGA:

Throughout Season 2, the 'Orange Jumper' becomes a somewhat personified entity within itself, both physically and mentally occupying designated (or rather, undesignated) spaces. Within the first episode, it becomes strewed and effectively 'lost'...But it's not really lost, is it?

It all begins in the first episode with Mr Englund's reprimand echoing the expected fate of the jumper; "You'll get it back at the end of the day."

The plot device/trope of someone conveniently leaving an item directly attached to them is something that goes back to conventions of Renaissance Drama, and so already audiences are aligned with seeing the jumper as the 'replacement Wille'. We know that it's not actually him, but it's a part of him, and Simon notices this at the same time that we do.

It's very clever to have an inanimate thing represent a whole being, especially in Film/TV when clothing is used as direct passages to remembering someone, honouring someone, disregarding someone etc etc

After finding out that Wille is being forced to leave the school, Simon takes it upon himself to guise giving Wille's jumper back as means of seeing what's going on for himself. The act is already pinned by secrecy or disguise, but for the moment, it seems like it will follow the expected route - Simon will take the jumper, go find Wille, give it back, and in a way have that serve as a reason for Wille to stay.

It's too early to distinguish the interaction so far, or even if Simon is doing this out of a want to see Wille in a moment of distress or whether he's doing it to understand the situation better.

It's not until this frame that we get the slightest hint that the jumper is now more than a jumper (take a shot everytime I write the word jumper in this essay bloody hell-).

He falters. He hesitates. A task has become influenced. He even shields it from everyone else, settling it under the desk and away, before asking to 'go to the bathroom'. This is the first sign of choice.

Obviously, we know that any intent to give it back is stinted, and so it never actually gets returned. Instead, Simon keeps it, whether it's intentionally or not is up for interpretation. But, the item is transferred from a public sphere to a private sphere, and so the Saga really begins.

Later on, we see Simon rustling in his bag until he pulls out the jumper. A weird thing that I thought is that in Simon's room, the jumper seems better suited? When Wille wore it into the classroom, it was stark against the white walls and other muted tones, so it wasn't until he took it off that he became more comparable to his surroundings.

But in Simon's room, indulged in this yellowy-golden haze, the jumper slots in. It matches the environment. Even though it's not Simon's, it looks like it belongs there. Am I being sentimental? It's a full-time job at this rate.

The whole shtick of personification becomes more solidified in this way, because the jumper visually settles into a new environment, and so eventually this leads into discussions around emotional distance, and how if it fits in physically, then does that dilute how emotionally displaced it is?

Ahhh, so we're getting really sentimental here, well lucKY FOR YOU-

As stupid as it may sound, the relationship between Simon and the jumper is distorting itself from a 'replacement' of feeling to a 're-iteration' of feeling. By engaging with it, Simon is not trying to substitute his feelings for Wille or channeling it by using the jumper as a keep-safe, he's using it as a passage to re-connect, to re-imagine.

The situation becomes a lot more nuanced when you picture the jumper not as a stand-in for Wille, but as a whole device itself.

There is something entirely more personal and intimate that we as spectators are only granted visual reflections of, eventhough there rests a psyche behind it.

Now this is where, I think, it gets really interesting.

What better teenage heartbreak trope moment TM is it than to wear your ex's jumper whilst writing a song that is intentionally about them? How else do you translate those feeling lyrically, musically, unless you actively place yourself in the feeling and stay in it?

It's the embodiment of speaking without really speaking, avoiding admitting how you truly feel by putting it into song. But then again, perhaps that's more emotionally impactful? To turn prose into verse, all for expressing memories, whilst forcing yourself to remember through wearing a jumper?

It's solidified here that the Jumper (i'm capitalising it now bc it's easier) is the union; It's the connection that still tethers Simon to Wille and all of the emotions that comes with that, despite the other distancing factors.

We're aware that Wille and Simon are socially and culturally miles apart, their most intimate commonplaces are ultimately framed by their larger differences, and it is in those differences that a lot of the conflict throughout both S1 and S2 are derived from. But through wearing it, through feeling it and allowing it to be the inspiration, Simon punctures an obstacle.

This was one of my favourite shots in S2, and one the main points of this essay - What's happening with these oddities, the 4th wall breaks spliced throughout the season? (Apologies for the turkey-esque second screenshot, it was the best I can do but now I'm giggling)

One of the things that YR does brilliantly is building a theme of presence in all it's attributes: How it is defined, what presence is warranted, what is the effect of presence or inadvertently absence (Think of all the occasions that presence gets discussed/is shown: Micke being absent from Simon's life, Sara not feeling entirely integrated or present at Hillerska, Wille's presence at Hillerska being threatened, Felice's presence as a black girl in a predominantly white environment etc).

And this is no exception. We are invited into this intimate, personally engaged environment only to be reminded that privacy appears as a privilege, not as an inherent right.

Whilst playing the keyboard, Simon looks directly into the mirror, of which directly reflects into the camera lens. He stares for a few moments more, questioning, and then takes of the jumper, as if he caught himself slacking.

But really, the persisting eyes of those most un-welcomed (LIKE the press, LIKE August, LIKE the Monarchy, LIKE everyone) have now distorted into the presence of the 'imaginary audience' - This is a complex induced by the sense of invasiveness that Simon and Wille have experienced. Wille is in a constant performative state towards the public and the only comfort awarded is when he's with Simon, but now this notion of 'keeping appearances' has extended and effectively bled into Simon's own private world, because whether it's consciously or subconsciously, Simon is now acknowledging a third presence.

BUT ALAS, how do we see this? Is this a moment of Simon putting himself "in Wille's shoes" (or rather his jumper) and then he suddenly becomes aware of this omnipresence (i.e the theme of mutual understanding)? Is this Simon getting a sliver of what life may potentially be like? Or is this the reflection of the parasitic nature of being in the public eye, and how no solace or sanctuary is ever truly private?

Just realised that my tabs are in the picture, and now I'm getting exposed with the SZA track and the "How to take a screenshot" PLEASE I LSKS-

Directly after this however, Simon wears an orange sweater (I'm getting confused abt what's classed as a jumper and what's a sweater bc to me they're interchangeable but I DIGRESS) to Marcu's house, the presence of Wille still lingering, but here the sweater serves as the opposite to Wille's - It has the triangular neckline filled in and marked, as if it's filling the open neckline space of Wille's sweater.

I wasn't sure what the intention here was, I had to knock around my rotting ball of a brain to see what might work. Is Simon compensating? I don't know. I saw this as more of fitting with the idea of both Simon and Wille recreating moments of their relationship together with other people (a thought I determinately want to expand on more in another essay), and that in this case, Simon was 'filling in the gaps' by attempting to be with Marcus in the same way that he was with Wille.

But, I don't know, it's hard to describe love, I guess you'll have to ask Marcus.......to ask Wille how it feels.

Or get Marcus to ask Simon because my boy is carrying the load of tropes and motifs on his BACK.

We get another instance in Ep 5 after the 'Ball Kiss' (I was originally going to call it the 'Wig Kiss' but then my brain when to the Horrible Histories scene of '....Wiggy, Wiggy, Wiggy...')

It's important to note that from the start of Ep 5, we understand that Simon has kept Wille's sweater under his pillow which, as you can imagine, says a lot about himself and his feelings. Just imagine if he'd been sleeping with it under his pillow, if he'd been dreaming with it...

It's also here that we see a shift in coverage - The saga begins with just feeling the jumper, then smelling it for the sake of it, then to wearing it and then to covering his entire face with it. I know that it might be strange, but this is a direct reflection of Simon getting closer to admitting that the reason why he can't 'move on' is because he's still in love with Wille.

It's also around this time that Wille starts to wear more muted, comparable colours himself (This is credit to the Costume Designers. I've watched half of the video that they posted, but this note is credited to them).

Considering that the orange jumper is quite stark, both Wille and Simon become almost mimicking? Or emulating the same colour palettes towards the end of the season.

What's lost is also found, y'know?

SPEECH PRACTICE:

Fake scenario: Wille goes Live after seeing Simon on a date with someone else, 'REVEALING THE LEAKER **NOT CLICKBAIT**'

But this moment in Ep 6 is another anomaly in the pattern of 4th wall breaks. As said before, we are accustomed to any 4th wall breaks being individual, strong moment at either ends of the series, reflecting a beginning or a somewhat end, and yet throughout S2 both Wille and Simon are more acknowledging towards the camera.

So, why was it chosen here to have Wille looking directly into the camera whilst reading his speech, and what status does that attach to the audience? Are we the mirror refracting the image back to Wille? Are we the anxiety-conjured masses of students and press, assigning us the role of expectation-holders? Or maybe, are we just Wille's reflection, staring back at a vessel that is both boyish and princely?

It's a brief, small moment, but I wanted to catch it quick.

THE CLOSING LOOK:

And of course, the pièce de résistance, the final look.

It makes me a lil' emotional to think about the difference between this final look and the one in Season 1, because Season 1 was anticipating the fallout, it was heartbreak and neglect folded into an expression and placed on the face of a boy who fucked up, but who was also done wrong.

But this, this is entirely different in its own respect.

This 4th wall break reduces the viewers to an almost-passive like state, where just the pierce of eyes is enough for us to abandon any participation we had in his life. In both of their lives. This is a look that is not bashful at all, but it also holds no remorse for those who played a part. Proceeding the confession, "It was me in the video.", we can only understand that this is the look of a boy who is ready for revolution. And the fact that in S1, the look was encased in a darkly-coloured car with a low roof, so the look was contained and compacted away, but that this look is entirely in the open, framed by the students behind him, and unabashedly in the open light of day.

I don't know about you, but I think that the revolution in S3 will be a gift fit enough for the Sun.

______________________________________________________________

And that's the first of what is likely a few essays !

p.s Happy Season 3 announcement + Jimmy Fallon day to everyone <3

#young royals #young royals netflix #young royals season 2 #young royals analysis #tv analysis #meta #feel like i'm REACHING in a lot of these points but it's just a bit of fun #i know that a few of these moments have been spoken about a lot and i've read so many fantastic interpretations #i'm just happy that I've finally managed to write something down after just over a month because I've been thinking about it every day #but anyway #i hope that this made sense ! #also if anyone knows which Horrible Histories scene I'm talking about I will kiss you on the mouth

[boobachu]

Sonic Prime gush

No one wants to talk about this and I don'[t want to spoil people so hiding under read more

Okay so first off: I hate the prime universe. Big is ugly, Knuckles sounds weird, Amy acts weird, Shadow acts weird, Rouge isn't showing her titties and everyone sort of acts like a budget 3D children's cartoon. The way they smile, and stand it scared me it was like Sonic Boom or Pac-Man or Mega Man...

Tho I looooove the animation, sometimes they seem to move like claymation, they're actually animated like cartoon characters! Something in the games Ive only seen in Sonic CHampionship and Sonic Riders!!

Also even tho the prime universe sucks, you barely see it!

Tho.. the weird wormy story telling is like... "dude why didn't you just have a longer intro instead of jumping back to finish the intro"

Like, it persists through the whole season so like... aunno I don't get it. My friend said that Ben10 man wrote this and it's a Ben10 thing but I never watched Ben10

Oh yeah I love Sonic's voice, like... he actually sounds like Sonic for once! It's very modern but like... duh. It's not 1999 anymore (sadly) so he kinda sounds like what corporate thinks is a tiktok but oh cool there's foxy comics in Sonic's world

(oh yeah! I can screeny on VLC!)

Like, aunno Sonic looks off but I also kinda love how he looks like those Y2K Archie comics like...

Also, isn't it weird that Rouge was made into a good guy instead of a dubious guy?

Also Rouge is the best she's been since SA2. The personality is... eh, but her mannerisms are great.

Also this smile reminds me of Robot Chicken

Like did Seth Mcfarline make this? It reminds me of Toyfaire theatre titan maximum

Also it's weird the egg-o-matic isn't in the series? Like supposedly this is canon now so like.. where's the egg mobile?

It's weird how Amy is sorta like the brains (tactics) instead of Rouge or Tails or Sonic. Kinda reminds me of Sally Acorn.

Tho the AU Amys are fantastic like it's almost like she's Sonic's rival like Knuckles used to be. I love seeing them fight! I fucking hate the baby Robotnik tho.

Also it's weird that only Sonic Underground world got AU Robotnik(s) but Junghole and pirate world didn't.

Like, this is all we get? Where's colonial eggman or monarch eggman... well I guess both are the same...

Where's Good Robotnik? I want to see a universe where Sonic's pals n gals are the villain and Robotnik is the force of good.

This is going to be 24 episodes and it's not (quite) Quantum Leap in that it's episodic... it's more worm spaghetti.

Also

I fucking DIED when he said his name! NINE?!?!! They did it! They made him canon!!!!

Well only sorta... not really... well I mean hey.

Also is this a Spider-man 2 reference... except Spider-man saves Doc Ock?

(God that smear) XDDDD

Also it's weird that like, they seem to reference the classic games?

but like, later Sonic remembers Knuckles in the hidden palace but the floating island doesn't seem to exist? Like is the hidden palace in green hill?

Cuz like the stupid palm tree is a reality anchor, there's the loop-de-loop, nexus of shattering, and a palm tree they "gave" to Sonic because I don't know the real superpower of teamwork?

Also Sonic seems to be sorta connected the the crystal he shattered? Like the glue to the multiverse? Pretty weird.

Nine would be my favorite character if not for Rusty Rose.

Like she's the Robotniks' lap dog but she seems to be roboticized but more robocop than SatAM (which, Wildbrain is basically new DiC) and she's a formidable opponent and I love her?

She is basically mind-controlled by the Robotniks (then later Nine) so I wonder how much of her is her and how much of her is programming and how much of her is lost...

Also I wonder how long until someone makes fetish art of Nine controlling Rusty (I'm busy working on JG so not it)

Shadow seems to be lost in the void and can only communicate with Sonic when he's running fast which causes him to warp similar to Sonic CD

Sonic also warps when he touches a jewel (sorta like Sonic CD except no)

I wonder if there will be six worlds: one that focuses on each character's social problem, on the rewatch I realized Amy cared about forests in the shattering, which, the jungle episode is about Thorny Rose wanting to defend the jungle at all costs.

So is SU world about Nine needing Sonic?

is pirate world about Knuckles not thinking?

Will there be a Rouge, Robotnik and Sonic worlds?

Will Blaze or different Sonics be in the show?

Aunno!

This is an interesting sight to see.

Also

Rings actually act like rings???? What is this nonsense?!

Wait someone in the credits is Miles "Tails" Wyrth? XDDD okay I mean how can you not

Aunno, kinda feels like they wasted the first season stevenbombing but like... aunno it's good.

If they release it on BluRay I'll buy it (downloaded Mkvs off a website)

I do wonder how Shadow plays into the story cuz it kinda hints that only Sonic is lost and no one is "split up" but time is breaking down or something but like...

They're air shoes.

#Sonic prime #spoilers #rant #okay I feel better back to drawing

[ultraericthered]

Choose violence - Spider-Man. 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22.

1. Raimiverse Mary Jane Watson, easily. 3. NOPE. That'd take way too long to find!

4. "No Way Home saved MCU Spidey 'cause they fixed their shit and listened to all the fan complaints, period! No way was this always the set plan or else they'd never had made him Iron Boy to start with!" 6. Both the Peter/Mary Jane AND Peter/Gwen Stacy stans. If anything could make a good case for shipping Peter/Harry... 7. Carnage. He's hard to make engaging in canon as is, but his disproportionate popularity among fans is what I really hate. 8. There are many, but off the top of my head: every negative thing expressed about Raimi!MJ and MCU!MJ, the notion that Eddie Brock/Venom is some essential aspect of Spider-Man that has to be done and done right, and the purist idea that Spider-Man has some inflexible, stone-set canon mythos that must be adhered to in all adaptations or else it's some grave disservice to Spider-Man that fails to do the character and source material any justice (wonder if the whole "canon event" thing in AtSV is partially a shot at that).

9. Which canon? :P

10. The rampant purism, sexism, racism, and double standards. 12. Raimi!MJ, Spectacular!Sally Avril, 2017!Anya Corazon, and the Hobgoblin in general. Oh, and I also unironically like Michael Morbius and believe he deserves morb love! 16. Going back to MJ and Gwen, the "blind date build-up/party girl phase" for MJ and "the Death of Gwen Stacy" for Gwen. Lightning struck once, but trying to apply these to other iterations of Spider-Man comes off not only as forced but incredibly dated and dull.

17. More crossovers. The Spiderverse is practically beckoning us to try that out and see what we come up with! 18. The 2017 Marvel's Spider-Man series. It inevitably falls in the shadow of the 90's animated series and The Spectacular Spider-Man, but it's a solid take on Spider-Man in its own right and delivered some truly brilliant stuff, especially with its take on Doc Ock. 19. Aside from Morbius? The Spot. Not the new menacing version from AtSV, I mean the wimpy, whiny one from a single episode of the 90's animated series! The way he was written and handled was so bad yet so pivotal to the later proceedings in the plot that it crosses the line into So Bad It's Good for me. 20. The Clone Saga in the 616 comics, Season 4 and most of Season 5 in the 90's animated series, the Venom arcs of The Spectacular Spider-Man, the Cellar arc of Marvel's Spider-Man, and the Amazing Spider-Man film duology in general. 21. The Death of Gwen Stacy, Kraven's Last Hunt, and nearly everything to do with Venom and Carnage in the comics, The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) back when it was getting hype online, and yes, Into The Spiderverse, which remains a very, very solid movie but not the best Spidey film and in retrospect it was merely a warm-up for what we've got now in Across The Spiderverse and Beyond The Spiderverse. 22. The motherfucking Hobgoblin! Namely Roderick Kingsley as the original one in the comics, and the 90's animated series' version of Jason Philip Macendale. Easily one of my top favorite Spider-Man villains who deserved better in canon, and still deserves more appreciation and adaptations.

#choose violence ask game #Marvel #Spider-Man #opinion #meme

[troglobite]

one more time for those in the back: pls don't say anything abt the shows i watch. lol

now here are some more Thoughts

okay i went back and watched the first episode of s3 and i FULLY agree w ppl theorizing that ted is gonna go back to kansas at some point this season, and then likely return.

the ENTIRE EPISODE was ted being like why the fuck am i here?

and yes it was spurred on bc of henry--but that seems to be sort of his main concern and motivation in general

he had to take henry to the airport, had to worry abt his flight, asking him directly if he knows why ted's still there

he even asked beard and beard didn't fucking answer him which. INTERESTING.

and then of course henry and the bullying thing and ted panicking and wanting to be back there in the latest ep.

also fun detail, while he's in the airport, the--what do you call the. speaker? speaker. whatever.

the person over the speaker in the airport noted that the flight to amsterdam was delayed. 👀 now what does that mean? lol

also rebecca quite literally says in the first episode TO KEELEY that she HAS grown. she used to want to crush everything rupert loved--and now she just wants to beat him.

what did i say abt that revenge body era? lol

it's not perfect but christ, again, it's only been 2 years after a TWELVE YEAR MARRIAGE and he is constantly antagonizing her in public. i'd be still hurt and pissed, too.

other thoughts!

nathan. [stares]

yeah honestly it'll be interesting. there's not much to say that hasn't already been said.

but basically rupert is clearly trying to manipulate and control him into a little mini-me that will win everything for him. the car, the look, the office, ms. kakes, etc.

yes also we get the foreshadowing of the tinted window in keeley's office in this episode.

orgasm for the soul is said in the same place that, undoubtedly, keeley & jack have regular orgasms later on. lol

but also she had to schedule time to cry--and later in these next few eps we see that. well. it seems maybe she has a little more wiggle room if she manages to get caught up w jack, etc. lol

also what is WITH barbara and jack? and barbara in general? less so the second one. but the investor sent her over as the cfo. so i'm. hm.

also keeley not knowing what cfo is, and later not knowing what position to give to shandy, officially.

again, she's not stupid--she just doesn't know the ins and outs bc she wasn't raised in that shit.

also idk it's interesting there's a parallel w keeley and nathan in that they both have a person from their past who's reminding them of where they came from

for nathan, it seems to go well w jade at the restaurant--friends or dating. thematically, makes sense.

for keeley, shandy doesn't work out so great. and i'm REALLY wondering what the final takeaway will be about that relationship and how things fell apart. bc believe me, it's not over.

also obviously leslie saying at the beginning they should look to get new blood--initially ted vetoes the idea. doesn't seem to think they need it.

but he just sort of. rolls over. lets it happen. says you got it, i'll be flying like a butterfly stinging like a bee all season, etc.

and his entire conversation w the doc over the phone that i only half paid attention to the first time bc him trimming his nose hair was. Gross. lol

but he literally says

what if i'm doing more harm than good

what if they'd be better off without me

what if i'm holding them back

she says to him "you don't quit things"

as a literal answer--part of why he's there.

everyone is echoing to him the reasons he's offered for staying. he doesn't quit, it's to win the whole fucking thing (as rebecca AND henry remind him).

so yeah i absolutely agree, i think ted is going to leave.

it will. potentially. break the fucking team. they just love him so much. i have no other thoughts or ideas abt how that would go. but it does feel absolutely certain.

also of course higgins suggesting new blood does also foreshadow him suggesting that ted is actually the problem w the team.

and he IS out of it and FEELS out of it and is just questioning his entire purpose there.

meanwhile jamie is soaring, flying, brilliant colors. he's doing GREAT! he's internalized ted's message and ethos, but with his own style. he cares abt the team. he kept his confidence and sometimes allows his ego out.

BOTH times the team starts getting worried in the locker room, it's JAMIE who calms everyone down.

he's not a mini-ted--but he's a very enlightened little jamie! and i'm proud of him.

also would you believe i forgot until this very moment that jamie has that whole stint on a reality tv show and then has such an attitude problem that no teams and no tv shows and no pr firms even want him anymore? and THAT'S how he ends up back at richmond? i completely fucking forgot until this very moment.

anyway, jamie's doing really well, right off the bat.

ALSO

we get TWO hints abt roy's uncertainty having to fill in for nate's position. "i know i'm not a tactical genius like nate" and then keeley saying "roy i know you're worried abt that but--"

very interesting.

roy is insecure.

he has been since the beginning.

and it often seems the anger overcompensates for that.

and yet in those moments, he doesn't have a lot of anger. he looks at keeley like he's HURT, not angry--bc when is he ever angry at her, anyway?

but like he's HURT that she would try and comfort him. as if to say "really? now?"

which. is interesting. bc she says they're on a break, and he says they've broken up.

and yet--

at the end of season 2. it was roy being a big ol baby that keeley wouldn't take two weeks off for vacation with him, and keeley being like "babe, i have to start my own business. i'm gonna be busy."

like. i guess that's not a "and yet" moment.

that's roy.......realizing how badly he needs so much support and how insecure he is. how much he needs to be someone's priority.

we haven't ever met phoebe's mom, and she says that her parents got divorced when she was four. "one of my core beliefs is that nothing lasts forever"

is roy..........

maybe feeling some of the stuff he imagines phoebe might? he has to be there for her bc her mom is--

way. too busy. for her.

yeah. okay. that makes sense. lol

perhaps he wanted a clean cut. even though they agreed that she could still hang out with keeley. ostensibly....

yeah it's interesting.

what else?

beard and roy bonding is nice.

also the hoosiers reference.

interesting. little details are similar.

i'm just sort of. thinking and wondering. what elements are going to be thematically relevant and compelling throughout this season. bc that seems. deliberate.

ALSO realized that season 1 also included/featured ted's getting ready routine--but it was to get ready for bed, instead. this one is to get ready for work.

[stares]

i've connected the dots

you haven't connected shit

i've connected them

[stares at the empty spot where an answer to 'so what?' should be]

HMM!!!!

anyway.

thinky thoughts.

ALSO idk if it was. intentional or relevant.

when they went to the sewer--also ted says that henry wanted to go in order to face his fears. roy says that's fucking smart.

[squints purposefully]

okay anyway when they go to the sewer, the first players to climb down seem to be plot-relevant for the season, which of course makes sense.

but then isaac is on one far end

and colin is on the other

i think roy and jamie are near each other??? idk

basically i am Paying Attention. lol

okay i think that's everything.

[aenslem]

why there was never an episode of doctor who where the doc and his new companion/s on their first adventure together accidentally go to the same place and time one of the previous doctors were in, saving the place and people from some historical disaster... it would be so much fun the new companions trying to save the same people, not listening to doctor and doctor not wanting to ruin their first adventure together, not telling them there’s actually old him/her here so they don’t have to explain about regenerations but still trying to stop the new companion from actually making it harder for the old doc and companion to save the day...

#text #doctor who #i know fixed stuff and all but it would be just fun #im not about episodes where the docs team up #i mean what if we see an episode and season later we see new doc and new companion in the same place :'D #i just want to see docs face when they try to stop new companion who doesn't listen to them but also don't wanna ruin their fun #like old doc and team saving everyone by clicking on the button and new companion coming and figuring out #by clicking on the button everyone will be saved and they click the button #but now it means it's reset and everyone gonna die #and doc have to click on the button again so companion thinks they saved everyone #and then when old doc and new doc with companions meet #one of them remembers the time they saved those people #and the other companion be like but we saved those people #askjdhnjkadhjka #was there anything like that in those stories outside the show i have never read/listened? :D i guess there would be #don't mine me im at work and super bored

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - A Tale of Two Sisters

So we’ve finally come to what is, in my opinion, the most boring episode of Tangled the Series. Max’s Enemy is forgettable. King Pascal is tedious, but this? This is sleep inducing; as in I literally fell asleep while watching it the first time. Even now, for this review, I struggle to engage with the episode enough to write about it because it’s so redundant. But I’m going to give it an honest try anyways, so here we go...

Summary:  Two kids visit Gothel's old house where they are seemingly attacked by her ghost. Rapunzel, learning of this, travels to the house, only to encounter Cassandra, who had been told by Zhan Tiri to investigate rumors. As the two fight once again, they cause the house to tip over and they fall into a mine. After escaping poisonous gas, Rapunzel and Cassandra are attacked by a giant mole and bats. They team up to escape only to stumble upon Gothel’s secret lair. 

Wait, Where Are We Again? 

The establishing shot shows the snowy mountains that are home to the ‘mountain retreat’ (talked about in QfaD and seen in the Snowball short) and Demanitus’ tomb, which we will visit in the finale. Yet the interior shot that follows showcases the ruins of the Demanitus Device. Knowing the language of film, this would imply that the Demanitus chamber was housed inside the mountains this whole time and not under the capital city like we all thought. 

So is the series retroactively claiming that Rapunzel traveled miles underground to get to this thing in Queen for Day instead of just using the tunnels to evacuate her people to the mainland like any other sensible human being would do? 

Are we implying that Varian isolated himself from all of society for five weeks while struggling with complex post traumatic stress born from neglect and abandonment, instead of just hanging out near the castle where he could occasionally come up for food and air? 

Was the Demantius Chamber connected to Demantius’ Tomb this whole time and couldn’t Rapunzel and the gang just get there from here instead of hiking through the snow? 

Also, if the tunnels were built by Herz Der Sonne during the Saporian War, why would they connect back to the mountains and Demantius’s stuff? 

I mean I guess this new information isn’t inherently contradictory, but it is convoluted and unnecessary to the plot. Not to mention that it comes at us way too late into the game to register in the audience's minds.    

Who The Fuck Is She Talking To?

This is so lame. 

Demantius isn’t actually dead, he’s just a monkey and right now he’s probably half way around the world; completely obvious to his ex-girlfriend's taunts. Even if she just thought he was dead, then why wouldn’t she make this speech in front of his actual tomb and, you know, help foreshadow that plot point for later?

This is basically the equivalent of a mean girl, who got dumped, posting her revenge plan in a non-sharable google doc where know one will ever see it. Like, what’s the point? At least ranting on social media gives you an audience, even if your hated foe never sees it, but here, it’s just Zhan Tiri talking to herself like a crazy person for no other reason than to hear herself talk. 

That's not very intimating show. 

If you need your villain to spoon feed exposition to the audience then you need to at least give said villain someone to talk to. That’s why bad guys in cartoons often have minions and beloved pets. Even in this very show, both Ruddiger and Owl were created so that the two main villains could have someone to exposit too when they were alone. 

All this does is showcase how tacked on Zhan Tiri is too the plot, despite being foreshadowed since season one. It’s such a let down, really. 

This Is Really Bad Exposition  

It’s not quite as bad as the exposition in Race to the Spire, but it’s close. 

For starters, we get yet another ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ refence to the eclipse but then no actual explanation for anything. 

When is this eclipse suppose to occur?

What does the eclipse do? 

How does the eclipse make it possible to steal Raps’ powers later on? 

Why does Zhan Tiri have to wait for this eclipse in order to steal both powers? Even if it’s the only way to steal Rapunzel’s, then why can’t Zhan Tiri just take Cass’s powers right now? 

What does Zhan Tiri even need Cassandra for now that she is free?

What does Rapunzel and Cassandra’s relationship have to do with any of this? Does it honestly matter if they are fighting or not in order to steal their mojo? 

Cassandra is already fully on board with killing her bestie and enslaving others. I would think that rift would be permeant at this point anyways. Why do you need to make extra work for yourself, Zhan Tiri? Why risk losing what you already have? 

Also what does this plan actually entail and does it make any logical sense what so ever, or is it more of you babbling like a loon while Cass just goes along with it for funniez? 

 Don’t You Have Better Things To Do Raps?

This is, yet again, the same problem that we saw in Race to the Spire. 

I suppose spending time with little kids is more admirable than wasting time with your drinking buddies in a bar, but I would much rather see the protagonist of a kids show actually taking steps to protect these children that she’s responsible for instead of just pretending like nothing is wrong. Especially since she now knows that a literal daemon is planning on attacking her home. 

Also, Did We Get New Models For These Kids? 

Ok first off, they can’t even keep the models consistent from shot to shot, as shown here with the little girl’s hair changing color, but they also wasted money building new ones because that girl in blue is clearly taller than when she appeared in Return of the King. 

Like, are the artists trying to showcase the passage of time by having the kids physically grow? Because if that is the case, then why didn’t they put in that same amount effort for Varian? He’s the one who would logically grow the most over two years given his age and as a main character that would actually be noticeable to the audience! 

This is lazy and also a waste of money. Some of these kids were built just for this one scene here and then never appear again. Meanwhile kids from season one, like the braid sisters, never show up after that season even though they could logically appear here. 

It’s so bizarre. 

Like what the fuck happened behind the scenes to cause this? 

Either way, I’ll take it as further evidence that season three is two years and not one. 

You’re Not Helping Rapunzel 

This kid is clearly traumatized by something and instead of asking him how he’s feeling, or letting him talk about it, Rapunzel decides to humble brag about her adventures and act like her experiences are universal. 

Rapunzel sucks at giving advise and due to her very limited world view has trouble empathizing with people, and the show is trying to pass this off as her being 'wise’ and ‘all grown up’ instead of actually having her learn to be a better person. 

Not listening to people is the opposite of maturity show. 

I Guess That Proposal From Cassandra’s Revenge Didn’t Count, Huh?

Just say ‘fiancé’. It’s not a dirty word show. 

Walking back on established events undermine your story. If you have an on going arc then what happened in the past has to matter going forward. Why invest in something if nothing is treated as being relevant?

How Do These Kids Know Who Gothel Is?

Yeah the children might be familiar of the story of Gothel, now that Rapunzel is back, but that doesn’t mean that they could identify her on sight. 

For one, Gothel wouldn’t be caught dead in Corona looking ‘old’. Not only because of her vanity, but also because the royal guard would still be looking for an elderly lady and not a beautiful young woman. 

Secondly, even if Gothel frequented the town and was known before Rapunzel’s return, these kids wouldn’t be old enough to remember her. I mean, they’re what? Roughly between four and nine? It’s been years since Gothel’s death at this point and they would have been just babies/toddlers when they would have seen her. You can’t really retain memories from before the age of three. 

Finally, why would they associate the abandon cabin in the woods with her? She hasn’t lived there in nearly two decades, and anyone old enough to remember a witch living there probably wouldn’t assume she was the same person who’d kidnapped the princess. Those two stories didn’t interconnect for the mains until  Zhan Tiri told them and there’s no reason for random citizens to know about it.  

Why Couldn’t We Have Gotten Gothel’s Actual Ghost?

I mean, ghosts have already been established in the series. It wouldn’t have been that far fetched to bring her back as one. They also got Gothel’s voice actor back for the episode anyways, so it’s not like it would have cost them more to write her into the show. 

Lastly, the series has been hinting heavily that Gothel was once a Disciple of Demenatius/Zhan Tiri and all of the other disciples have appeared as spirits now. So why wouldn’t Gothel become a ghost like her brethren? She even had unfinished business, as this episode later implies, which is what you need in order for a ghost to remain. 

Having Gothel not really appear in the episode isn’t some clever fake out because it doesn’t add anything. There’s no reason for the wax works to exist other then to be shown in promos. Meanwhile there would have been an actual story to explore had you brought her back for real; one that would have connected to the larger narrative. 

The episode is a missed opportunity all around. 

‘Why?’ Is Right.

We know that Zhan Tiri built this, and we know that she wanted Raps and Cass to find the mirrors in the cabin, but we don’t know to what end. 

How does this further her plans for destroying Corona? Didn’t she steal the mind trap last week? Why is she wasting time on this instead of using that? 

How does bringing Rapunzel and Cassandra together again ‘brake their bond’? Especially, when it was already broken. 

How did she know this would bring them out here, and how was she able to time it just right that they would arrive at the same time?

Also, seeing as how Cassandra is now her pet flying monkey and will do whatever she wishes, why risk that blind loyalty by deliberately exposing her to more hidden ‘truths’?

Furthermore, why risk having Cass kill Rapunzel before the eclipse, seeing as how that’s the only time Zhan Tiri can steal the Sundrop powers? 

None of this makes any sense. That’s why it’s not very compelling. I already know going in that nothing is going to come from this episode because the writers won’t let the characters be themselves. 

So Does This Take Place Before or After Race to the Spire?

I’m genuinely confused now. 

Is Rapunzel trying to warn Cassandra of Zhan Tiri here, and if so, why doesn’t she try again later on? For that matter, why doesn’t try to warn everybody instead of playing games? 

And if she’s not, and if Race to the Spire is indeed suppose to come after this episode, then why isn’t Rapunzel more confused by Cassandra’s statement? Shouldn’t she be asking ‘what friend?’ or ‘who?’ at this point.   

Pointless Fight Is Pointless

The reason why I find this episode so boring is because it’s just a rehash of every Cassandra vs Rapunzel episode that we’ve gotten since the beginning. Complete with flavorless dialogue that adds nothing, and a ‘resolution’ that doesn’t solve jack shit.   

Like I don’t care what these two self absorbed bitches are fighting about any more. You’ve thrown away any good will I might have had for them a season ago. And instead of telling a coherent story, the series has decided to spin it’s wheels by giving us this pointless runaround. 

And most of damming of all, there’s no fun side characters to distract us with. This a bottle episode, with only the two main leads and the ultimate big bad, and it is soul crushingly dull and at times outright offensive. 

That’s a death knell for any show. 

Why Does Gothel Have A Runaway Minecart Roller Coaster Underneath Her Home?

Did she even know this was here? I mean Corona does have actual mines, and yet, she hid her magic study down here for some odd reason... hmmm...

Also who the fuck would build a mine like this with tracks that steep? Neither Gothel nor the Corona mining industry has any reason for such an inefficient design.  

Remember When Cassandra Wasn’t A Moron? 

Yeah, me too. 

I wonder what happened to her. Did the moonstone replace her brains with jello or something? 

Cass Isn’t Wrong, Here

Rapunzel’s inability to let go is a fundamental flaw in the character, but the series won't let her own up to that. It instead presents her obsession as being ‘the right thing to do’ and so when she finally does part ways with Cass in the finale it doesn’t feel like a real resolution. Nothing was learned and therefore, nothing was earned. 

That and also teaching kids to simp after their abusers is a dangerous message to put into your story. 

Just Because She’s Right About Rapunzel, Doesn’t Mean That Cassandra Is More Sympathetic To The Audience 

The core problem with the Moonsandra conflict is that it asks the wrong question of the audience. It asks us, “Can Cassandra be saved?” as if that wasn’t already a forgone conclusion. Rather the series should be asking, “Should Cassanda be saved?” 

Not leaving someone to die is like the bare fucking minimum of basic human decency. There are plenty of people I dislike but I don't wish death upon them, and if they were in trouble I would at least try to help because I have something called standards and a conscience. 

Cassandra clearly doesn’t have this moral frame work. Worse than that, she use to have it, but she abandoned it for petty reasons. So no, there’s no reason for I nor anyone else to root for her redemption. 

And there’s no excuse for this behavior either. Zhan Tiri isn’t here and the moonstone isn’t making her crazy. She just doesn’t care. 

Bats and Moles Are A Real Downgrade Here

Not only is the internal conflict bland and aggravating, but the external conflict is pretty uninspired as well. We’ve already gotten ghosts, werewolves, and sea monsters. Giant moles is pretty lack luster compared to that, and the bats are just normal bats. The only threating thing in the episode is the toxic gas, but that only becomes a danger whenever Cassandra decides to be stupid, so it’s plot effectiveness is dampened. 

So How Did You Do That On Command, And Why Don’t You Ever Use It Again? 

If we’re implying that Rapunzel now has control over her powers, then why does she never use them effectively? What about the implication that the Sundrop had a mind of it’s own and would control her hair instinctively? Also, where’s that ‘fuck you, I win’ incantation when you need it?  

Ugh, Rapunzel Is Such An Ass

This isn’t charming show. 

Rapunzel got what she wanted and she’s still not satisfied. Because here’s the thing; ‘nice’ and ‘mean’ to Rapunzel are just words to describe how friendly you are to her. It has nothing to do with actual manners or common courtesy. She doesn’t give a shit if Cassandra tries to murder people but not being her ‘friend’; not constantly kissing her ass and feeding her validation, well now that’s just unforgivable.  And so she pulls this little manipulation tactic through out the episode to try and get Cass to ease back into her ‘role’. 

Rapunzel doesn’t actually care about Cassandra’s issues or reaching out to her and ‘saving her’. She just doesn’t want to face rejection, and so she tries to get Cassandra to ‘pretend’ to like her again. Because if everything is outwardly fine and no one is making waves then Rapunzel doesn’t have to deal with crap or face her own failures as a person. 

And the most annoying thing of all, is that this could have been a brilliant conflict if the show would just let it play out. Instead the writers chickened out, and threw in a bunch of distractions in a desperate bid to not hold either girl accountable. Zhan Tiri, Gothel, even the moonstone itself are unnecessary, and by including them it weakens the story. 

This Doesn’t Go Anywhere

We spend a whole scene pointing out this wall full of symbols and then it just never comes up again. We don’t know what any of this is, what Gothel was up to, nor how this connects back to the current conflict. It’s just... there. 

This is the same problem as with the note, the tunnels, and the entirety of the Dark Kingdom. Any lore that gets introduced in this show is fated to be swept up under the rug and ignored. There’s plenty of set ups but no resolutions. 

Don’t introduce plot points into your story if you’re not going to do anything with them. 

Zhan Tiri vs Demantius and what happened to their disciples, the fate of the Brotherhood and their home, and the generational conflict between Saporians and the Coronians are all far more interesting plots than the Cassandra vs Rapunzel fight because they naturally hold more tension and complexity.  The answer to keeping the two mains in the spotlight in not to ignore those other plots but to neatly tie them back into the main plotline. Which could be done, but the series refuses to do so. 

I Don’t Mind That The Girls Call Gothel ‘Mother’; I Do Mind That The Series Calls Them ‘Sisters’

It makes sense for Cassandra and Rapunzel to have this knee-jerk reaction. 

Like it or not, Gothel did raise Rapunzel. On some level she will always be her ‘mother’ no matter how much time has past. That’s just how abusive relationships work. There’s never a clean break. You can move on, you can heal, but you won’t ever forget. 

As for Cassandra, Gothel is the only maternal figure she’s ever known. It doesn’t make sense for her to be so obsess with earning her mother’s love/approval anymore, but I’ll buy the idea that Cass has accepted that Gothel was a parenteral figure in her life and recognizes her as such. It’s just that she should also be smart enough to acknowledge that Cap was a better parent.  

However, none of that makes Cass and Raps ‘sisters’. 

They weren’t raised together. They don’t share any genes. They even have separate parental figures that have long since replaced Gothel in their lives. Heck, Cassandra can barely even remember Gothel, let alone form any possessive bond with her. 

At the time of airing, and even now at times, I've seen plenty of people try to use this ‘sisters’ set up to justify the main conflict of the series... only it doesn’t work because it requires you to ignore everything you know about the characters lives up until this point. Raps and Cass aren’t a Gamora vs Nebula situation, nor a Zuko vs Azula one, or even an Eda vs Lilith. They lack the needed framework in order to keep a jealous rivalry like that going.   

Flanderizing Gothel’s Vanity Cheapens Her Character   

The Gothel we got in the original movie was far more complex than this. She didn’t kidnap Rapunzel just because she wanted to remain beautiful. She kidnapped her because she didn’t want to die! The only hint we get that Gothel cares about looks is that she preens herself in front of mirror... once. 

This is taking that one, half a second scene and turning it up to eleven. It reduces Gothel into nothing more than a stereotype; and it’s a pretty sexist stereotype at that.  

Gothel isn't evil because she’s confident and cares about how she presents herself. So what if she enjoys getting compliments, or makes personal v-logs quoting positive things about herself? That has fuck all do with anything. She’s a bad person because she abused a child! 

What makes this sexist it’s twofold. 

For starters, caring about your looks has been deemed a ‘feminine’ trait in modern society due to cosmetics marketing. So the ‘evil’ woman is framed as being shallow for caring about her appearance and made to look as if that’s all she cares about. While the ‘good’ women in the story are all tomboyish and care about ‘action’ and ‘adventure’, not ‘silly’ things like putting effort into their appearance. Meanwhile, male characters like Eugene and Andrew, are made the butt of a joke for enjoying self-care routines and having confidence in their appearance.  

You see the pattern here? ‘Femininity’ is to be shunned while ‘masculinity’ is to be praised. It’s the same backasswards thinking that plaques people who will give their girls a baseball bat but won’t give their little boys a Barbie doll to play with. 

Secondly, Gothel isn’t the only person in the series who has abused children. We also have King Frederic, Edmund, and even Rapunzel and Cassandra themselves. We never see them framed in this same negative light because they are either ‘dads’, a.k.a ‘men’, just like the men who wrote the series, or women who present masculine traits that are deemed desirable by other men. (Cassandra is a sexy dominatrix power fantasy while Rapunzel is the manic pixie girl trope) 

I’m not saying the writers of this series intentionally hate women or anything, but it’s clear that they do have certain biases and those biases have seeped into the writing. That’s why we needed more women in the writers room to begin with. 

But the unfortunate negative stereotyping doesn't stop here folks. 

The Gothel of the movie was this stunning woman who used her brains to manipulate people into getting what she wants. 

The series just turns her into a lazy wicked witch archetype. Complete with a hooked nose that isn’t present in the original design and gives her actual magic beyond just the healing incantation. Which not only begs the question of why she never used any of that magic in the film, but also brings back up the same racism that the series has struggled with through out its run. 

This is just Madame Canardist all over again, and just like then, there are more people in the fandom better equipped to handle that topic. Therefore I shall bring it up in order to call it to attention, but I’ll differ to them in regards to furthering the discussion. 

Cassandra Already Knows All This. Why Is She Acting Surprised Here? 

Cassandra saw the same flashback we did in Rapunzel’s Return. She already knows that Gothel was a bad person who treated both her and Rapunzel like crap. She shouldn’t be this delusional nor this hung up over someone who did nothing for her other then to push her out of the womb. 

Once Again, Why Is Cass Victim Blaming A Baby?

What logic does this hold? 

I’m not only asking for Cassandra’s sake here, who’s had her braincells stolen by the writers, I’m also asking the creators. 

Who thought this was a good idea? Who thought making a grown woman being bitchy at a baby would be compelling and sympathetic? What possible reason would she have to blame Rapunzel for an event that she had no control over? One that ultimately led to Cass having a decent life with a real parent that cared for her anyways.

I just... It’s so baffling to me. Just why? I legitimately want to know the thought process of such people who apparently can’t comprehend basic reason and logic. How do ya’ll like live? Can you function at all in the real world? How did you wind up working at the most prestigious animation company in the world, running your own show even, when you lack any sort of writing skill, management abilities, or even a basic understanding of how human beings work? 

The answer is nepotism; but still...

Can We Talk About How Stupid Zhan Tiri’s Plan Is Here?

So this mirror holds a scene of Gothel being nice to Cass and apparently this is suppose to ‘break’ her ‘bond’ with Rapunzel.... or something... Even when rolling with this premise, it’s still a dumb idea. 

How did Zhan Tiri know that Rapunzel and Cass would find this hidden underground lair? 

Why did Gothel even have such a lair to begin with? Why didn’t she just keep this all in her actual house? 

How much time did Zhan Tiri waste finding this one specific mirror and building that Ghost Gothel wax work?

Why not just give the mirror to Cassandra outright? Why risk getting caught slipping it into Rapunzel’s bag and ruining all that set up?  

Cassandra didn’t need any more convincing. She’s proven for several episodes now that she’s fine with killing for Zhan Tiri. Why risk that by putting her into a situation that could bring her doubts to the fore?  

Speaking of wasting time and risking what you already have; why aren’t the bad guys using the mind trap that they stole last episode instead?

Crap plans like this are why Zhan Tiri is such an underwhelming villain. She lacks both brains and power. The only reason why she stays on top is because the leads are written to be even dumber than she is. 

 You Did That To Yourself Cass

Why does Cassandra point at her own face when she says that line? 

She’s the one who choose take the moonstone. No one made her do it. She even sang a whole song about how happy she was to have it. Is she only just now noticing that her blue hair looks stupid? Either way she could just ditch the dumb rock at anytime. No one is forcing her to keep it. 

Also yes, Rapunzel is full of shit here, as always. 

So Why Did Gothel Keep Cassandra Then?

The series tries to pass off this idea that Gothel only kept Cass around to be her slave but that really doesn’t make any sense. It takes a lot of hard work to give birth and raise a baby, and a three year old can’t cook shit.

Gothel is too smart for that. She wouldn’t waste her time nor risk her life in childbirth for such a small return as burnt gilled cheeses for supper. There had to be another reason to keep Cass around and if it wasn’t because Gothel cared about her, in her own selfish way, then what the fuck was it?

I’m Pretty Sure Varian Could Understand

Seeing as how both women here abused him and all.

This is that same self-centered outlook that that has plagued most of the series. Rapunzel is not the only person in the world who has faced abused. Even her own dang boyfriend was neglected as a child and she couldn’t comprehend that.

Even now Rapunzel doesn’t actual care about Cassandra’s experiences or personal feelings on the matter. She only cares about how her ‘friend's’ truama might validate herself.

There’s More To Friendship Then Recalling Past Adventures

None of these random monsters of the week that they're listing off hold any significant meaning to Raps and Cass personally. Over half of them come from episodes that didn’t even focus on their characters. Only the sneeze weasel could potentially be connected to their ‘friendship’, and in that episode they were also fighting over petty shit and learned nothing from it.

In fact fighting is all that they do. Name one episode where they got they A plot and they weren’t at each other’s throats. Go head, I’ll wait...

The answer is there isn’t one. The one time they were shown doing something other then argue was in a B plot during In Like Flynn, waaaay back in season one.

Like, my best friend and I have misadventures that we laugh at from time to time too, but we also do other things. We talk about stuff, we help each other out, we take the time to do fun things together, and we support each other in our endeavors.

Rapunzel and Cassandra never do any of those things. We’re constantly told by the narrative that they’re ‘best friends’ but they don’t act like it. I’ve no idea what they enjoy doing together on their down time, or what they talk about when they aren’t biting each other’s head off. They certainly don’t support each other, help one another, nor even hold basic respect for the other.

Women want to see themselves being written as people in media, but Rapunzel and Cassandra aren’t allowed to be people. They’re props for the story. Puppets for Chris and Ben to play with and then throw away.

I may not like Rapunzel or Cass in this show, but I certainly respect them far more than the writers do.

Oh, Shut Up Rapunzel!

How am I supposed to take this character, and by extension her story, seriously if the writing won’t?

Being positive and naïve is one thing, being fucking delusional during the middle a crisis and smugly rubbing it in other people’s faces is another.

Even Cassandra Succumbs To Playing Second Fiddle To Rapunzel  

The real reason why Cass acts dumber than usual this episode is because she’s the only person around besides Rapunzel.

Rapunzel is not allowed to be wrong during season three and must at all times be the ‘hero’ during any situation. Therefore she gets to be presented as the only ‘clever’ one, who comes up with all of the ideas, while Cassandra, someone one who used to be competent, is turned into a meat head who breaks things without thinking.  

This the same issue we had back in The Alchemist's Returns, King Pascal, Rapunzelk’s Return, The Lost Treasure, Day of the Animals, ect. ect. And it isn’t just the fact that Rapunzel is the only one allowed to take charge and come up with ideas, it’s also that the ideas she comes up with aren’t particularly clever nor individualistic. They’re random plans anyone cloud have come up with and aren’t supported by pervious characterization or plot.

A What Point Would Rapunzel Have Had Time To Hide The Mirror From You, Cass?

You both found the hidden lair at the same time, you both saw the missing place where they mirror should have been at the same time, and you both were standing in front of each other holding a conversation the whole time you were down there.

Are you suggesting that she’s the one that made the fake Gothel Ghost and and lured you down there too? Why? What reason would have to do that? And if that is what you are accusing her of then why not bring all of that up, or have you just forgotten what happened only 30 minutes ago?

This Is Too Little Too Late

It’s like the writers realized at the last minute that Cassandra didn’t have any real reason to care about Gothel, but Rapunzel’s Return, Be Very Afraid, and Cassandra’s Revenge was too far into production to go back and change it, so they had to churn this episode out on the fly to try and mitigate the damage.

I mean, I don’t know for sure if that’s what happened or not, but like it’s the only explanation I can up with. Because why else would you do it this way?

Everyone knows a basic betrayal/fall from grace plot has to start with the temptation scene first, followed by the doubt, and then ends with the reveal. Like that’s been the standard since fucking Macbeth! You can’t really alter the layout of the plot or otherwise the characters actions won’t make sense.

No one just decides to be evil without a reason. No one acts like their conflicted if they haven’t been tempted by something before hand. No one reasonable or sympathetic jumps to murder without genuine provocation. And no, victim blaming a baby does not count!

What Does It Matter If It Was In Her Bag Or Not?

This doesn’t add any drama or tension to the conflict because it’s forced. It robs agency away from the characters and flattens the conflict into an overly simple pantomime.

How much better would this have been had both characters had stumbled upon the mirror down in the caves? What if Rapunzel had to address the complexities of Gothel as human being while still reiterating that what she did was wrong? What if Cassandra had the chance to explain why Gothel means so much to her while also confronting her own biases?

No idea is without merit. A compelling story about Cassandra being Gothel’s daughter could have been told here, but it required far more care and respect than what the TTS crew gave us.

It required expanding upon Gothel as a character and humanizing her rather then flanderizting her. It required giving Cassandra some self awareness and not turning her into two-dimensional ‘evil sexy badass’. And finally, it required Rapunzel actually learning something rather then being reduced into a smug brat while being patting on the head for being ‘oh so wise and noble’.

Looking Guilty For Half A Second Does Nothing To Make Cassandra Sympathetic Here

Cassandra has already violently assaulted, abused, and attempted to murder several people by this point. Her doing it again for the 8th time in a row now, while giving a pitiful look, and continuing through with it anyways, does nothing to convince the audience that she’s ‘worth saving’.

If you want people to root for Cassandra’s redemption then you need to have her stop acting like a dick for zero reason. Have her work for her own salvation and show that’s she’s really changed. Looking sad sometimes while still doing bad things doesn’t mean you actually care, it just means that you’re a moral coward.

NO!!

We Do Not Imply That A Woman Can ‘Save’ Her Abuser With ‘Love’ !!

If Cass had been a man, people would be up in arms about this. But instead, and I shit you not, I’ve seen people in this toxic ass fandom try to claim that Rapunzel is a ‘good role model' and how her behavior ‘should be emulated’ when dealing with ‘erratic people’... 

And oh God this stupid show is going to get real people killed isn’t!?  

Listen To Me! 

If you learn nothing else from these reviews then please, for the love of all that is holly, remember this.... 

You can not reason with a violent attacker if you are their target! You’re only job as the victim is to get the fuck away! If you can’t do that, then you defend yourself by any means possible until you can! 

You are not trained to deal to with people under stress during emergences and work a job where you need to deescalate conflicts on a regular basis! And as the target of aggression you are more likely to aggravate the situation and place yourself and others in even more danger if you try. 

Fuck this show!

Why Did You Bring The Shard Back With You, Zhan Tiri?

This one thing that can reveal all of her trickery and she takes it back to Cassandra’s lair instead of just leaving it to be buried forever. 

It’s so painfully lazy you guys. 

Oh What Is The Point?!

What does it matter if Rapunzel knew or not? It’s not like she’s been withholding that information from Cass the entire time. Even if Cass buys that Raps stole then mirror then it would still only be recent events. 

Cass was already gun ho about killing Rapunzel before, so what does this add?

Why is Zhan Tiri risking her loyal pet psycho-killer catching on to her schemes like this? What does she gain from it all? 

Why is Cass still listening to the sour grape anyways? What does she gain form any this? 

Why would Cass care about becoming stronger? What does ‘strength’ have to do with being dumped by Gothel? 

And why, oh why, are we wasting time with this dumb run around when the bad guys already have the mind trap!? 

I Hate This ‘Twist’ 

1. If Gothel truly hated Cass this much, then why the heck did she have her? She’s not beholden to anyone. She doesn’t have to keep her. She doesn’t have to be a mom. If she doesn’t want her daughter around then she could have just dumped her in an orphanage. Gothel took care Rapunzel because she needed her, not because she wanted to. She doesn’t need Cass for anything. 

2. Giving Gothel one nice moment does not erase the years of harm she does. Humanizing her somewhat wouldn’t have made her any less of an abusive asshole. It’s already straining credulity that Cass would cling to this one memory in the face of insurmountable evidence, the fact that it’s a false memory to boot undermines the story even more. 

3. King Frederic being given a free pass while Gothel is made even more grotesquely unpleasant then she was in the movie, is just flat-out sexsim. No ands, ifs, or buts, about it. They’ve both committed the same atrocities, with Frederic harming even more people than Gothel ever did, yet it is the man who is given sympathy and forgiveness while the woman is shown to be irredeemably and cartoonishly evil for evil’s sake. 

This is for you Chris 

Conclusion

This episode is pretty bad. It could easily make a bottom list of season three episodes and that’s some stiff competition. But I’m also, just like, numb to it all by now. Nothing I’ve said here, beyond talking about Gothel’s bacterized characterization some more, hasn’t been brought up in past reviews already. That’s why it’s the most boring episode of the whole series. It’s just as likely to put you to sleep as it is to offend. 

#tangled #anti-tangled #rapunzel's tangled adventure #tangled the series #mother gothel #anti-rapunzel #anti-cassandra

[unwhitewashthebadbatch]

Disney Email Draft 2

(going under a cut because it's much longer. Here is the Google Doc link for anyone who would like to comment directly)

Reminder that we are encouraging critiques and comments regarding this email!

To Bob Iger, Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni, Jennifer Corbett, and the creative team of Star Wars: The Bad Batch:

We hope this email finds you all well. We are fans of color, disabled fans, neurodivergent fans, and Jewish fans writing out of concern for the portrayal of our communities in the Disney+ series Star Wars: The Bad Batch. For several months now, we have been campaigning on social media to spread awareness about these concerns through #UnwhitewashTBB, a movement we began to raise awareness about the ways in which the series has poorly represented several minoritized groups of people.

Just like the creators of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, all of the creators of #UnwhitewashTBB grew up with Star Wars as the backbones of their childhoods, and for many of us, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was crucial to our development as artists, writers, creators, and lifelong Star Wars fans. We are all firm believers in the phrase “Star Wars is for everyone”, and we would like to see Disney support that message by hearing our plea.

As fans of color, as disabled fans, as neurodivergent fans, and as Jewish fans, we’ve seen ourselves on screen in both good and bad ways, but recently it has been more the latter than the former. One such reason is Star Wars: The Bad Batch, a show whose premise piqued many fans’ interest, but whose main cast has left an increasingly sour taste in the mouths of those who watched.

The series follows an elite squad of clone troopers who have named themselves The Bad Batch, due in part to their series of mutations that gives them an edge over regular clones on the battlefield. These mutations drastically altered the appearance of each of the members to a generally lighter, more Caucasian appearance--one that is inconsistent with how the original Jango Fett actor Temuera Morisson looks. Fans take issue with the implications in the writing and design of The Bad Batch: that in order to be elite, special, and better than one’s contemporaries--in order to have a story worth telling--one must also be white or as close as possible.

Merriam-Webster defines whitewashing as “to alter (something) in a way that favors, features, or caters to white people: such as to alter (an original story) by casting a white performer in a role based on a nonwhite person or fictional character” The #UnwhitewashTBB movement comes with two carrds explaining the grievances of the fans. A summary for each character is given below:

Sergeant Hunter, the leader, closely resembles Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo character, despite being a clone of a man of color. The importance of his character, the fatherliness he has with Omega, and his centrality to both their Season 7 appearance in The Clone Wars and the series itself sends the message that important people look

Wrecker is the demolitions expert, and he’s the only member of The Bad Batch with features similar to that of a Maori man’s, like Temuera Morrison/Jango Fett. He’s large with broad features, brown skin, and is a stereotype of men of color. His personality as first introduced to the audience was that of a loud, aggressive, impatient, slow man who called frequently for violence/destruction. He falls into the “Loveable Brute” trope, an observation that is supported by statements from supervising director Brad Rau and voice actor Dee Bradely Baker that Wrecker is like a little boy and has a heart of gold.

Crosshair is the sniper on the team, and he’s the most derisive of the “regs”--the regular clone troopers. Taken in conjunction with his appearance (inspired by Clint Eastwood), the various messages being sent by the writing and appearance of the other team members, and his comment about the regular troopers--the he and the Batch are superior and thus should join the Empire--his character pushes forth a message that there is superiority inherent in whitened or fully white features.

Tech, the technology specialist, has incredibly light skin and hair compared to the regular clones. His mutation made him a genius, with an IQ that outpaces that of any other clone in the Republic. Fans of color are upset that Tech’s genius mutation apparently also affected his skin color, as now this creates a direct link between intelligence and appearance/race. Contrast Tech with Wrecker, who is the exact opposite in every way, and this harm becomes only more apparent. In addition to this, many Autistic fans of The Bad Batch have noted that Tech, being “on the spectrum” (according to Dee Bradley Baker) is a popular stereotype of Autistic people: a nerdy-looking white man with a formal way of speaking who’s a genius but dismissive of others’ feelings. Baker also plays Tech with a British accent, further cementing the harmful message that intelligence is in some way connected to ethnicity.

Omega is the newest member of The Bad Batch. Despite being a pure Jango clone, she’s come out looking nothing like Boba Fett--she has lighter skin than he does, as well as blonde hair. Fans are concerned about the connection between genetic purity and light skin/blonde hair, as this is directly harmful to the people of color who don’t sport those features.

Echo is the ARC Trooper of the team, but many fans--disabled fans especially--fear that his series of disabilities have reduced him to the “droid sidekick”. Echo does not have a prosthetic, instead sporting a scomp-arm attachment that allows him to plug into computers but would otherwise hinder him greatly in daily tasks. He rarely is the focus of an episode, and the series has not given him as much attention as it has given characters like Hunter and Omega. Disabled fans worry about the lack of attention given to his medical trauma, and fans of color note that his skin color goes beyond what a brown man who’s been without sunlight for a few months would look like.

The issues do not stop here. Asian fans noticed and were harmed by a Tiananmen Square parallel in 1x10, “Common Ground”--a recreation that was led by an Eastern Asian-coded woman. Jewish fans are hurt by the antisemitic stereotype in Cid the broker, a greedy lizard woman who speaks with an accent commonly associated with New York Jews--and who is played by Jewish actress Rhea Perlman. Black fans were harmed by the whitewashing in Saw Gererra and the one other Black character in The Bad Batch being a Black woman who works for the Empire and burns civilians alive.

The full analyses can be found in the official #UnwhitewashTBB carrd: unwhitewashthebadbatch.carrd.co. We respectfully ask that you read this carrd and give a public statement in response to these criticisms.

Our movement has only gained traction since its inception on March 30th, 2021. A few months later, we wrote and released an open letter on Change.org to be signed by supporters of #UnwhitewashTBB, and every day it gains new signatures and draws nearer to the next milestone. A survey we released over a month ago has received over 1,100 responses and also continues to climb. The latter displays a range of opinions regarding The Bad Batch, but one sentiment stands out: Hunter, Crosshair, Tech, Wrecker, Omega, and Echo are written in stereotypical and actively harmful ways. Respondents were shocked at outdated portrayals of Autism, sickened by antisemitic stereotypes, and confused at how, in this current social and political climate, a family-friendly corporation like Disney could greenlight a series that sends a message that is the complete opposite of “Star Wars is for Everyone”. Some sample responses are below:

“I would just like to elaborate on the ableism aspect. As a amputee myself, I don’t like how Echo’s trauma has been ignored. The whole reason he is with the BB is because of what he went through. Losing one limb, never mind multiple, it’s extremely difficult. They made it seem like just because his prosthetic can be of use on missions, that means he isn’t grieving the loss of his actual hand. There is no healing or evolution. It also feels wrong to only address the fact that echo uses prosthetics for the sake of hacking into machinery. Prosthetics are so personal and become a real part of who you are as a person.” - Respondent 130

“...I can't believe Star Wars is still doing this, and that an entire team of animators with a huge budget can't get skin tone right. I didn't even know the clones were supposed to have a NZ Māori accent until a friend told me. That's a big deal, since I live in NZ and hear it every day…” - Respondent 209

“As someone who is neurodivergent myself, Tech and Wrecker just. sting, you know? in a “is that really what you think of us” kind of way. I grew up in an environment where intersectional equality was heavily discussed, and I can still miss things. Having Jewish friends does not mean that Cid’s antisemitic implications can’t go right over my head until someone points them out (thank you).” - Respondent 87

“As a fan of color, its irritating and painful to watch and be brushed off as "lighting issues" and see justifications made by white fans and producers...It also feels very bad to me that TCW spent 7 seasons with several arcs emphasizing that the clones were all as individual as a 'normal' person, but then undo all that with TBB, which centers a group of "special" clones (who are suspiciously white) and have them treat the "regs" as a homogeneous group who are lesser than them, and then expect us to find it within ourselves to put that aside to enjoy the MCs. The way the treat "regs" is very offputting and it made me dislike them since their introduction...Star Wars is no stranger to racist and antisemitic media, but I must say, the blantancy of Sid, a greedy lizard who essentially financially enslaves the protaganists, being Jewish-coded and being protrayed by a Jewish voice actress is really next-level even for Star Wars. As a Jewish fan, it really grates on me.” - Respondent 40

“I’m disabled and autistic, and the ableism is appalling to watch. Watching Echo be treated as subhuman for needing machinery to survive makes me feel like having implants to keep my spine from breaking itself would have me be the pitied member of any group. I am disgusted by the blatant antisemitism, as a fair number of my friends are Jewish and it hurts me to think that people can so easily hate others based on internalized stereotypes. Me and my friends have also critically analyzed the fact that, despite being clones of a character portrayed by Temuera Morrison, for some reason the bad batch look nothing like him in any way. No resemblance in any way: just a bunch of someone’s badly worked characters fraught with disgusting writing decisions and design choices that make no sense. It makes me angry to think that the writers for this show, and to an extent any modern writer, would believe that using harmful tropes to make a story is acceptable and someone brings in profit. I tried to watch it out of fact that my family likes Star Wars and we all grew up watching it, but all of these unhealthy assumptions and terrible choices in terms of writing and design leave a bitter and nauseating feeling.” - Respondent 605

In the survey, various questions were asked about fans’ feelings about The Bad Batch. Before reading the carrd, 34.7% of fans answered that writing was their least favorite aspect of the series, with the next being the main characters. Elaborations in the following free write made clear that the whitewashing and stereotypical writing were huge factors of these opinions. One a 1 to 5 satisfaction scale, 68.1% of respondents rated their satisfaction at a 3 or lower--again, due to the whitewashing and other issues respondents perceived in The Bad Batch. When asked to analyze pre-post carrd-reading feelings regarding the above issues, every category saw a marked increase in awareness of the issue at hand. The perceived prominence of the whitewashing went from 81.3% to 91.4% in respondents. The awareness of ableism jumped almost 30%, from 52.6% to 84.4%. The majority of respondents (59%) were not aware of the antisemitism in the series, but after reading the carrd, that statistic flipped to 80.5%, a near 60% increase from the original 26.7%. Regarding the other racist issues, the respondents went from 63.1% to 83.7%.

Fans of color, neurodivergent fans, disabled fans, and Jewish fans have been waiting for the day where we can see ourselves on screen a level of attention and care that makes us feel even more at home in the Star Wars community . If Disney’s message is truly family-friendly, if Star Wars is for everyone, then Disney needs to support these views with not just words, but with actions. Resolve the racism in Star Wars: The Bad Batch, take out the antisemitism, and treat your nonwhite, disabled, and neurodivergent characters--and fans--with the respect and dignity they deserve.

This will not be a benefit solely to the fans who are asking to be represented properly. In today’s time, popular media is facing a reckoning; media that is inclusive of and respectful towards minoritized groups ends up with leagues more popularity, high ratings, and good reviews than those that don’t. A recent and prominent example is Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a movie for which the inclusion of Asian-Americans at nearly all levels of production boosted its image and aided in its successful box office release. Black Panther is another prominent example--a movie spearheaded by Black people that completed its box office run at more than five times its initial budget in total revenue. The proper representation of people of color is a two-fold benefit.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch already has beautiful animation that reminds many longtime Star Wars: The Clone Wars fans of their childhood.

It is our hope that you will take our concerns as well as the concerns of others into account, and address the issues that we have outlined in order to better reflect the Walt Disney Company’s commitment to inclusive, diverse entertainment for audiences of all ages. Thank you for your attention to this issue.

Respectfully,

Fans of The Bad Batch

#mod CH #email #disney #star wars #the clone wars #the bad batch #unwhitewashtbb #swtbb #racism #antisemitism

[absolutebl]

This Week In BL

Feb 2021 Part 3 

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. 

Ongoing Series Thai 

1000 Stars Ep 4 - so flipping lovely, I’ve come entirely around to this show. 

Manner of Death Ep 13 - the penultimate episode was as angsty & twisty as we could want, but it’s starting to feel a bit stretched. Although new tag #oakcake is the best thing ever. 

Brothers Ep 2 - still a mess but there’s a cute foodie side couple (young college student wants cute older baker). As the world’s foremost ChampDoc proponent I am obviously in it for them. The other couples though... eek. 

Ongoing Series Not Thai 

You Are Ma Boy Ep 6 (Vietnam) - second week running with no new episode and no indication as to why. If it ended at 5 then it ended on a cliffhanger. Grrr. 

Amore Ep 27 (Pinoy) - FINALLY finished its run at 27 episodes! TWENTY SEVEN. I stopped watching it ages ago but it’s done now so if you’re a binger and you need to see the “everyone wants Joey” show, it’s all on YouTube. We salute your bravery. 

Stand Alones 

Finally watched Korea’s Step For You from 2018 (in preparation for You Make Me Dance). OMG it’s SO CUTE. And who says Korea can’t do kisses? Oh wait, that was me. Anyway, no dead fish here. School newspaper journalist has to interview the next big thing senior dancer and falls in love with him. Short af but ADORABLE. 

I got my brains back and decided to FINALLY watch 2015 Japanese BL Seven Days. It comes in two parts: Seven Days: Monday - Thursday & Seven Days: Friday - Sunday. You can watch it eng subbed on YouTube. It’s one of the best Japanese BLs ever made (FIGHT ME) and that’s because it has a lot of the breezy style of something like 2gether (with, sadly the same heat level - low). The leads have a similar comfort level with each other which yields up fantastic on screen chemistry. It’s a charming af high school story with none of the usual stalker/obsession/rapey elements (nor the egregiously cartoonish humor) I’ve come to expect from Japanese BL. Despite the setting, it’s a lot more in the Cherry Magic vain than, say, Takumi-kun. GO WATCH IT. The hair is bonkers, but if that’s all I can think of bad to say, you know it must be good. 

The TharnType Wedding Special PPV dropped last week. Champ & Doc officially got together so I was happy. They hit a bunch of tropes, said I do, and that was that. I pronounce it... 

 Breaking News - So Many Teasers & They Dark AF 

More promos for HIStory 4 keep dropping so I think we can assume this is coming sooner rather than later. (Taiwan doesn’t raise funding the way Thailand does with test teasers, so we only see promo when the thing has started filming.) 

We Best Love 2 dropped its trailer. It’s a doozie. We’re all hoping for a happy ever after but frankly Taiwan means 50/50 chance at best. They love pathos and many of us will never recover from HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count. I’m terrified by the season 2 trailer. 

You Make Me Dance dropped a teaser, that’s our next one out of Korea. 

Lovely Writer showed its dark underbelly with a new angst-riddled teaser... what’s that? A wheaser? 

Secret Admirer the Series dropped its first teaser. I had this one on the rumors list but not actual, so I bumped it up in the upcoming 2021 BL master post. It’s only a taste, it could be gunning for 2022. The director can’t be trusted with happy endings - so I’m not sure about it. 

Gossip 

Wild rumors persist that there will be a new 2gether installment in which someone gets married. I wouldn’t be surprised to see GMMTV milk that cash cow especially if F4 is delayed. (With all these BLs featuring marriage, maybe the Thai government will legalize it on account of the boost destination weddings would give the tourist industry post covid?) 

Bad Roommate dropped a teaser for all you Gen Y Padlock lovers out there (waves at @heretherebedork​). Do we trust Star Hunter after the Gen Y debacle? Maybe? I don’t know. Who cares, it’s fresh content. 

More rumors of a We Best Love special episode before season 2. If they’re true my guess is it’s another behind the scenes thingy. 

Fish Upon the Sky is reported to drop ep 1 on Friday, April 9th, 2021! This is the rivals to lovers BL I’ve been waiting for! 

I am SO FLIPPING EXCITED. 

Initial murmurs about Close Friend - a 6 ep run featuring established BL ships from an unknown director: KimCop (2Moons & Gen Y), OhmFluke (Until We Meet Again), JimmyTommy & MaxNat (Why R U), JaFirst (TharnType 2), and YoonLay (YYY). Either each couple gets their own episode (like Our Skyy) or it will be more like You Never Eat Alone. Ships may or may not be playing the same characters as previous. 

A few more promo shots posted for Y-Destiny. It looks more serious than director Cheewin normally goes for (YYY & You Never Eat Alone). I don’t know if that means anything or if it’s just a mature styling we’re seeing in Thai BL as a result of the actors getting older and the influence of Manner of Death and KinnPorsche. 

Speaking of You Never Eat Alone is supposed to be finally dropping official Eng Subs somewhere, and ep 9 features Prem & Boun. I’m not bothering with this one so I don’t know where it’s posting. 

Next Week Looks Like This: 

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here. 

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something. 

#thai bl #thaibl #asian bl #asianbl #1000 stars #manner of death #brothers #history 4: close to you #taiwanese bl #taiwan drama #tharntype 2 special #tharntype wedding #We Best Love: Fighting Mr.2nd #KimCop #OhmFluke #JimmyTommy #MaxNat #JaFirst #YoonLay #brothers the series #you are ma boy #Vietnamese BL #amore the series #pinoy bl #history 4 #we best love 2 #you make me dance #korean bl #lovely writer #Secret Admirer the Series

[spencesglasses]

sweet creature (spencer reid x f! reader) pt 1

A/N: I did it! I did change the plot a little bit so Spencer does know the reader instead of just meeting her at the BAU. This takes place around season 11/12. Please ignore any grammar or spelling errors hehe. Enjoy! <3

part two

Spencer weaves through the sea of people, heading towards a small coffee shop tucked between two lonely stores. The hustle and bustle of the market square was enough to make Spencer’s need for a serene atmosphere urge him into the cafe. A familiar scent fills his nose when he finally walks in: freshly brewed coffee and muffins straight out of the oven, he concludes.  

“Welcome in!” he heard someone call out from the back. “I’ll be with you in a second!”

He nods and claims his spot on the battered leather couch in the nook of the quiet coffee shop. The building was cold, despite the burning heat outside. Which was good, he supposed, he was never really fond of the heat.

“187!”

Spencer puts his attention to the woman in front of him. His eyes were stuck on her, and his thoughts drowned out most of his surroundings. She and Spencer had known each other for a while now, since the day he walked into her shop on an impromptu coffee run. Spencer went in with a frown on his face and left with a number memorised, but Y/N didn't need to know that. And that next Saturday they found themselves on his couch watching movies and cracking jokes through them all. By the end of their first movie, she was asleep so peacefully Spencer did not have the heart to wake her up. So he stayed there with her, throwing a small blanket over her and making a makeshift bed on the floor below her. Y/N left in the morning for her part-time job, a job he found out keeps her afloat when monthly payments come around.

“Hello,” sang Y/N, waving a hand over his face. “Earth to 187.”

For a moment, he feels out of place while the memory of them clings to him. “Huh?” he clears his throat. “Sorry about that.”

Y/N quirks her brow. “It’s alright, Mr. 187,” she pokes his stomach.

“Doctor, actually,” he grinned, shooing her hand away.

She moved away just before Spencer could poke the spot between her brows, and she made her way back behind the register. “Well, doc, you didn’t come here to sit and look pretty. Whatcha want?” Spencer’s face flushes and she watches him shake his head, as if it was a reluctant reply. “Unless you did come here to sit there and look pretty,” she laughs.

His brows furrowed. “What? I was ju-”

“I’m just messing with you,”

His lips curl into a gentle smile. “Oh,” he looks up at the menu. “You choose.”

“Oh, don’t say that, Spence, I’ll give you the most repulsive cup of coffee you’ve ever had.” she said with a smile.

“The most repulsive cup of coffee, but I’d still love it anyway,” he leans forward against the counter between them.

“And why is that, 187?”

“Because you made it,”

Y/N pushes his head away and starts on the ticket. “Such a charmer, Dr. Reid. So tell me, you use that line often, or are you just trying to get free coffee?”

Spencer taps his finger against his chin in a false ponder. “Both, but free coffee always makes my day.”

Her laugh and the smell of freshly brewed coffee are lively compared to the quietness inside the shop. Seeing her move so effortlessly around the kitchen had more of an effect on him than he’d care to admit. She puts a lid on the cup and pulls a pen out of her apron.

The buzzing of his phone in his pocket pulled him out of his thoughts. “I gotta go,” he said. “We just got a case.”

“Just in time, 187, your coffee is ready,” she slides the cup across the counter.

He takes out his wallet and pulls out a few dollars and Y/N shakes her head, “No need,” it was her turn to shoo away his hands. “It’s on me.”

“So I’m taking my charm worked?” he laughed.

Y/N held her hand over her chest and batted her lashes. “Oh, of course,”

“That usually doesn’t-” Spencer’s phone rang.

“You should go,” she checks her watch. “I actually have to go as well.”

Spencer tilts his head at her. “New job,” she continues.

“I can walk you out,”

“I’m sure the FBI needs you much more than I do, and I think-”

He interrupts her. “You paid for my coffee and the least I could do is walk you out.”

She paused for a beat. “Alright then, doc, I need to clean up a bit then clock out and I’ll meet you out front.”

Spencer nods, turning on his heel and walking through the front doors. She stared at the doors closing behind him, then got to work.

“I can do that if you like,” she hears her coworker, Anna, say. “I see you have a special someone waiting for you.” she wiggles her eyebrows.

“Oh please, Spence and I are friends,” she rolls her eyes. “Barely that, we meet each other a month ago and the only times I see him, or actually get to have a proper conversation with him, is when he stops by the shop.”

“Spence?” Anna repeats.

She arched one brow. “Yeah?”

“Nicknames already, huh?” Anna faked yawned.

She threw the rag she was using to clean the counters to her friend. “Just shut up and clean,”

Anna chuckled softly. “Have you told him, by the way?”

Y/N’s head snapped up. She did mean to tell him, but she just did never have the chance to. Now, she had two options: tell him now, or surprise him later.

She frowned deeply. “Not yet.”

-

Y/N hurried to the front and found Spencer leaning against the shop building, fiddling with his watch. The sound of the doors opening alerted him. “Ready?”

She hummed and held out her arm. “Ready.” Spencer linked his arm with hers, and they were on their way. Meanwhile, Y/N had something boiling deep inside her, her thoughts overflowing. Should I tell him now? Of course! This is the last chance you have! It’s not that big of a deal, right? She huffed, digging her nails into her palm.

Spencer’s eyes fall on her, quite literally having to look down at her. “Are you okay?”

“Huh?”

“I asked if you were okay,”

His voice catches her off guard, and she’s quiet for a moment. This is the perfect opportunity to tell him, Y/N. You’re making a bigger deal than it is. “Don’t profile me, 187,”

“I don’t need to profile you to know something is bothering you,” he separates their arms. “What is it?”

Tell him, Tell him, Tell him. “It’s really nothing,” she said. “I start at my new job today so I’m just nervous,”

This wasn’t a total lie. She was nervous. Who wouldn’t be nervous starting at a new job, especially the one she’s about to have. New people, new surroundings, and traveling every other day. It would be a huge adjustment considering the job she has now. Despite the nervousness, she was excited. She was ready for new and bigger things, things her current job could not give her.

“Hey,” he says softly, halting their movements. “You are-”

“Spence, we both have to go,” she snaps.

Spencer watches her as her feet carry her to her car. She didn’t mean to be so blunt. She knew she should just tell him and get it over with, but she couldn’t help but think about how awkward the interaction would be. She didn’t want to intrude. Dammit, Y/N. Why didn’t you just tell him when you had the chance? You’re making this so difficult! She shakes her head. It’s silly that she’s arguing with herself through her thoughts. “I’ll see you in a bit, Spence,”

He gave her a questioning look but before he can question her, she was off.

What is she hiding, he thinks.

-

The train to Quantico was brief, but it gave him time to be alone with his thoughts. What was she being so secretive about? And why was she going to ‘see him in a bit’. He knew he was thinking too much into it, but the profiler in him needed answers.

Spencer made it to his floor as soon as he could, realizing he was 30 minutes late. This wouldn’t be the first time he was late, but it was the first time he was late because he was with her. He rushed through the hallways not paying attention to his surroundings into he heard someone call his name, well his nickname.

“Boy wonder!” he halts and sees Penelope Garcia rushing towards him.

“You’re finally here,” she places her hand on his arm. “We have a case,”

“Hotch sent me-”

“And we have a new addition to the team!” she squeals.

Wait. New job. “See you in a bit”. It couldn’t be. Could it? Is this what she was so nervous about? Starting at the BAU? Not just starting at the BAU, joining their team. Being a new member of their tight-knit group. A new member of their family. Don’t think too ahead on this, Spencer, you don’t even know if it’s her yet. Don’t get your hopes up.

“Oh, you will love her! She fits in so perfectly!” Penelope tugs on his wrist, pulling him towards the wide glass doors.

The bullpen is lively. Everyone seemed happier, more joyful than they’ve had been in a while. His eyes roam left and right, trying to find if his conclusion was true. And there she is. Just as he thought. Y/N. Y/N sitting there with Hotch. And Morgan. And Tara. She sits there as if she has always been there, making jokes with everyone and already having a playful banter with Morgan. He knows Penelope was right, as always.

“Spence!” JJ calls. “Come meet newbie,”

Y/N’s and Spencer’s eyes meet, and they knew exactly what they were thinking. She gives him a sheepish smile and says, “Surprise.”

—

A/N: I just remembered that Emily is only in one episode in season 11 so you’ll probably only see her when I write out that episode and when I write season 12.

But anyway, first chapter! How we feelin’?

Feedback is always appreciated <3

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds #spence reid x you #spencer reid fanfic #matthew gray gubler #matthew gray gubler x reader

[stupid-stew]

character names keep me alive, toh is my lifeblood.

i am literally obsessed and this show really does provide (i still have to add more smh my head dana terrace why do you do this to me jk i love it so much please never stop) COPY AND PASTED FROM DOC UNDER BREAK

NAMES INCLUDED:

FIRST NAME

LILITH

EDA

LUZ

KING

WILLOW

GUS

ASSORTED BLIGHTS

LAST NAME

BLIGHT

CLAWTHORNE

NOCEDA

PORTER

PARK

BUMP

MISCELLANEOUS

BELOS

HIERONYMUS AND BOSCHA

ADEGAST

HOOTY

OWLBERT

KIKIMORA

GWENDOLYN

RAYNE

NOTE EVERYTHING BEFORE GWENDOLYN AS OF 6/24/21 WRITTEN WITHOUT SEASON 2 KNOWLEDGE, TO BE REVISED, REVISIONS IN BOLD!

Hello and welcome to the ramblings of a mad man. Before we get into it I think you should note that I do write like I talk because I think like a talk and I write how I think, so if you are confused as to why it sounds like i’m not making sense its because I'm not making sense also my capitalization and punctuation suck so sorry about that but we don’t have time for technicalities in this house. TO ADVENTURE!

FIRST NAME

LILITH

EDA

LUZ

KING

WILLOW

GUS

ASSORTED BLIGHTS

LAST NAME

BLIGHT

CLAWTHORNE

NOCEDA

PORTER

PARK

BUMP

MISCELLANEOUS

BELOS

HIERONYMUS AND BOSCHA

ADEGAST

HOOTY

OWLBERT

KIKIMORA

GWENDOLYN

RAYNE

GILBERT

FIRST NAME

LILITH

Ok so because I'm lilith’s bitch we are gonna start with her because her name is so cool and I love her and we should be besties Lilith hmu. Anyways as most people know Lilith is a pre existing mythological character which makes this very much good because that means it’s all outlined. Most people know her as a demonic figure, which I very much dig but similar to our lovely queen of curses out here, that's not all she is. There isn’t going to be a chronological explanation of similarities and conclusions, cope. The basic gist is that Lilith was this chick with fiery red hair (this is important iykyk) who refused to be beneath or below adam, more specifically to subjugate to him, funny because of the tapestry with belos what says subjugation on it, probably a coincidence but I do not believe in coincidence right now. Anyways basically she runs off and becomes this chick who like snatches children and will make them sick if they don’t have an amulet with the names Senoy, Sansenoy, or Semangelof on them, thats a different story but what I find interesting is this one passage,

“(12) Her nobles shall be no more, nor shall kings be proclaimed there; all her princes are gone. (13) Her castles shall be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. She shall become an abode for jackals and a haunt for ostriches. (14) Wildcats shall meet with desert beasts, satyrs shall call to one another; There shall the Lilith repose, and find for herself a place to rest. (15) There the hoot owl shall nest and lay eggs, hatch them out and gather them in her shadow; There shall the kites assemble, none shall be missing its mate. (16) Look in the book of the LORD and read: No one of these shall be lacking, For the mouth of the LORD has ordered it, and His spirit shall gather them there. (17) It is He who casts the lot for them, and with His hands He marks off their shares of her; They shall possess her forever, and dwell there from generation to generation.”

And there are separate part of this that I find relevant, especially the description of the location, i’m not all that familiar with symbolism of animals in religious texts, so i’m gonna take it at face value and say that this is more or less a description that could be given to the physical owl house itself, sort of a place for people who don’t fit in, its a little messy and I guess one could say overgrown, but it’s a place for anyone, a place to rest now hopefully for Lilith away from the coven, there shall the Lilith repose. On top of that we see the “the hoot owl…” and you’re probably thinking what that so crazy wacko because like why are they referring to Lilith as the hoot owl isn't Eda the owl lady, yes she is. That’s why the actual meanings of lilith’s name that come from her mythological depiction as a demon lady are so important. We have night monster, night owl, night spectre, vampires, night hag, night creature, nightjar (which is another kind of bird), and night bird, all of these seem to fit lilith’s dark aesthetic very nicely which is very good for her, but there are two other ones, hot owl and screech owl, which draw her closer to Edaand away from the coven and her depiction in the mid-later episodes of the show as a monster for cursing eda, but also the name night monster could come into play if while sharing the curse Lilith acquired some of its traits, similar to Ed aas the owl beast. Ultimately, we have this little red head girl who eventually fights back against the men who are attempting to get her to be under them, for the character that is belos, for the other Lilith that is adam, god, and his angels, and now hopefully both of them will find solace and repose among the owls in a place they never thought they’d belong. All this talk of owls and god brings us into the other clawthorne baddie:

Lilith did find her repose! I love her staying in the owl house, get it queen oh yuh.

EDA

For this I'm going to use her full name edalyn, because you know like that’s just how it be it is her name. There isn’t a wiki page for her name like there is for Lilith which makes this a little bit harder but the general consensus seems to be that it means something along the lines of “gift of god”, which I find very interesting. If you are going to name a child gift of god i’m assuming that you are referring to the child themselves, but I don’t think that really applies to eda. I’m not religious, but its my impression that someone who lies, cheats, pranks, and steals their way to the top and isn’t exactly the most responsible witch on the isles and might not be the best gift god could give. I do really love Eda though, her character flaws are still a part of her character, but I think this refers to her powers. Eda considers herself to be the boiling isles gift to magic, which I mean like, have you seen the woman. In agony of a witch we see her at what probably 30% of her power with how much the curse was already tolling on her and how much magic she was probably using to fight it off, and like goddamn. She was almost beating lilith, definitely beating the shit out of her, but she was almost defeating Lilith who was at her full power, and that is just a fraction of what she used to be able to do. Her powers were a gift of god, and I think that the loss of them will greatly affect her. She’s already admitted that she doesn’t know how to do much without her magic, and I think going straight from the second most powerful witch on this isles to having no power at all is going to be incredibly taxing on her, physically and mentally.

Luckily for her the name edalyn also means patience, another thing about her name is that it not only means gift of god, but also similar things like gifted by the gods or even goddess, and this draws a connection to Lilith who is named after a demonic figure, casted out for having defied god, they are quite literally polar opposites on the name spectrum, and we see that a lot in the show, they are completely different people, I mean have you looked at them they don’t even look related, but the funnier thing is that their personalities do the same thing. You’d expect Edain her youth to be a gift from the devil, just ask principal bump, and Lilith seemed to be a goody two shoes who worked her ass off, their names could be switched based off their characters alone.

A random baby name site I found said that :

“Persons with the name edalyn are usually highly flexible and well equipped to making and accepting change throughout their life. They always seek excitement and are sometimes a bit of a risk taker. They are imaginative, and often, through their unconventional way of thinking, are naturally able to solve complex problems with ease. They are quick thinkers and observers who are clever, analytical and versatile”

Which I mean like very much applies to eda, she takes change like a champ, either genuinely or by pretending she’s ok with everything, and is always seeking excitement. Like literally all of the time. Always. I think she takes felonies as a compliment, and one of the biggest changes in her life that she genuinely was able to adapt to and appreciate was

OH MY GOD HER LEARNING THE NEW GLYPHS WAS SO CUUUUTTTEEE, I love her being able to adapt, she really is doing well. As the beginning of separate tides shows, she’s working around it, and is doing a damn good job, living up to her name.

LUZ

Ok I think at this point everyone knows that at this point the name Luz means light, and if you didn't, oopsies now you do. The character Luz was named and designed after a real life person the miss dana terrace knew at the time she was starting to really think about the show, Luz ’s personalty comes more from dana herself and we love that, but the character has really started to grow into her name. This is made most obvious when the first spell Luz learns is the light glyph, not only coming into her own as a witch, but also starting to live up to her name, which along with light also has to do with “Our Lady of Light”, which is the virgin mary, fitting her right in with the other biblical names we got going on here. I really want to stress that I know next to zero about religion, and all of the connections I am making come from wikipedia, so bare with me here. But most of the time mary seems to be this pure, saint like figure, which I think is what a lot of people see Luz as, especially on the isles. I’m going to flat out say that this is in no way meant to pass off Luz as simple minded, pure, or oblivious, because we have seen what that girl is willing to do, she faced death and poked him in the with an ice cicle. In terms of life on the isles, however, she is more or less pure and sheltered, she’s completely new to the world she’s in, but she does quickly adapt, and shows more of her strong side, and remains a good person throughout all of it, taking losses as they come, and not letting them remain losses at the same time.

Back to the whole light thing, we already touched on the whole literal bit of her and the light spell, but can you think of a better way to describe Luz ? She literally brings light everywhere she goes, even Eda admits that she’s changed things for the better, for everyone around her too. Willow got a new friend, probably the first friend she’s had in a long time, and even got to begin repairing her relationship with amity, and got placed in the plant track so she could do the things she loves, all because of Luz . Edagot to grow as a person and a mentor, and finally got someone willing to accept all her eda-ness, unconditionally, someone to really care about that really cares about her back, all because of Luz . Amity got a friend who cares about her, not just her family name and money, someone who supports her and will do anything for her because she is her friend, and a bit of self discovery along the way for amity, all because of Luz . Not a single person on the isles who has had more than 2 minutes of interaction with Luz hasn’t had their lives improved, even belos got his portal, and the thing is that even characters who people might not even consider changed have been, characters such as

Luz my beloved, she seems a little bit less of a light this season, and i do mean little. That’s totally fine though, it’s expected, i didn’t want her to just be this bright shining star after the events of the last two episodes of season 1, and appreciate her going and starting to take the fantasy of the isles with more than just a grain of salt. Obviously like in escaping expulsion, she’s still trying her best to make everything better and make friends with everyone, but there’s something a little different about it and i’m here for it tbh.

KING

The name king itself is obvious, he is royalty, the king of demoNS HIMSELF ASMODEUS hahahaha pulled a sneaky on you now accept my ideas as your own. I am on a mythological name kick, deal with it. The most important thing here is in the bible, asmodeus poses himself as a false god, which I know is something we have all considered with king, that he might be a full on liar, not be a king of anything and is just your ordinary street demon, it’s even come up in the show with him calling himself the king of artists and Luz asking him if he was just making it up at this point. It’s a good theory, I can see it, and this could be used as proof. There is also another legend that paints him as a good natured dude, who eventually banishes the king by literally throwing him, and then he loses his powers and is banished, but this is also the same legend where he marries Lilith and that is not something I am down for. There is another text in which he tells the king (the same one he threw in the other one) that his kingdom will one day be divided and the king does not believe him, and this is the same text where he admits to hating water and birds because they remind him of god. Lets think class, who has the god name and is related to birds here? King’s name by itself holds true to his character, who (regardless of if it is truthful or not) holds himself as if he is a king, and he isn't the only one with a name like that, there is also

WILLOW

Ok I know we all thought it, willow, the plant girl, how fiendishly clever. This also happens to be the only descriptor for her name I could find, which is totally fine because I think it’s a very cute name and willow is also very cute. This means we get to go into the symbolism of the willow tree wwwooooOOOOO aren’t you so very excited I know I am. Its kind of interesting, willow trees seem to match the character, understanding, warm, a safe space really, but most of all the ability to let go of pain and suffering, sometimes outright ignore it, and move on. Willow does always say out of sight out of mind does she not? She is willing to ignore, even excuse people bullying her, be it bosha or even amity, and the moment she got the chance her inner willow decided to try and literally burn the painful memories she had, willing to cause damage just to forget. Willow as a character is very willing to move on like nothing happened most of the time, key word most because another thing about willows is the ability to grow from the pain. Before understanding willow, we never really saw willow stand up for herself until she really had to, but hy the end of the episode she is willing to tell amity that she isn’t willing to fully forgive her, but she’s willing to grow and try. Heck, we see this over the entire first season, we see this little girl who can barely pull it together long enough to stand up for herself grow into this amazing character willing to publicly oppose the emperor and break into his castle for her friend, she tried to full out attack Lilith when 19 episodes earlier she wasn’t able to stand up to amity for bullying her. And I am in no way calling willow weak, she never was, she just needed to find the ability to show everyone that she’s strong, god I love willow so much, you wanna know who else loves willow?

GUS

Gus, my main man, love you but for this we are gonna have to use the full on augustus sorry babes. The name augustus means majestic, or venerable, which while I must say that the illusion of kiki doing the worm was probably one of the most majestic things I have ever seen, I’m going to focus on venerable a bit more here. Venerable is a big word, it means “accorded a great deal of respect, especially because of age, wisdom, or character.”, which for gus the age part might play a smaller part here, but he is good as what he does, Luz and willow both respect him, Eda Respects him, he’s this little dude who is younger than everyone and has to rely on his ability to succeed, not only with his power but with his personality. Gus seems to be confident in himself, communicating with everyone regardless of who they are or what power they hold, similarly to willow he was willing to do anything to help Luz , leading into the second description of venerable, “heroic in nature”. Now, you might be wondering, bestie where ever did you get that description, it totally wasn’t from a religious page okyesitwas but that's fine because being pronounced venerable guarantees a spot in heaven so get it bestie. Overall, the general meaning for augustus is that they are strong, respectable, and powerful, which takes us right into the

Gus, shawty, ily but please stop the obsession with death babes ur starting to scare me. I hope with the upcoming Gus content in TTLGR we will see more of him growing into his powers and such.

ASSORTED BLIGHTS

The blight first names bring me joy so I am putting amity last because I think its really funny, starting off with alador, the name alador evokes diplomacy, correctness, and confidence. We know zilch about alador, but if the vibes of the blight family have anything to say it’s definitely something along those lines. The name odalia means wealth, which I mean like have you seeeen blight manor? Also back at it again with the fact that it’s a variant of the name odilia, like the saint olilia which I don't have ties for you right now because again, we know nothing about her. Edric also means wealth, fortune, riches, powerful, you get the vibes, same thing with emira which means commander, or prince, princess, leader, or star. So you know like we have all these super powerful names happening, and then, oh boy and then we get to little miss perfect herself, amity blight. It means friendship, or harmony. If I was her I would be so mad at my parents like yall have these mad powerful names and I got stuck with friendship? Hand me the emancipation papers. You know what they say, friendship is the real magic (even if no longer taught in schools due to budget constraints). I hope that this leads more into season 2 with amity working on her friendships and ultimately her relationships in general, which we got a bit of already with her working on repairing her relationship with willow, and making the moves to cut off old toxic friendships and moving into more genuine ones with willow, Luz , and gus. I guess you could say that the only thing ALL the blights have in common with each other is their

They are rich assholes, alador is a little wacko, odalia is hot asf dana seriously what the hell man that was out of pocket. The only thing about alador that lives up to his name is his money, odalia seems more obsessed with image and money, and i too am obsessed with her image literally boy what the hell boy.

LAST NAME

BLIGHT

The word blight by itself means a plant disease which boy oh boy can you believe how nicely that fits into amity bullying willow because I sure can. Outside of just the plant bit it overall just means like something that damages another thing, and this works beautifully for each member of the family. The parents are damaging their children, the twins just causing general damage, and amity and her goddamn relationships, but fortunately that whole plant thing brings us into the next couple of last names

CLAWTHORNE

The last name clawthorne means “cold or exposed thorn tree” which had me kind of like what the heck so I went off and had some fun and got you some presents that I think are funny, so there was this guy right, his name was joseph clawthorne, and he created the term whiffenpoof, which is the name for a wildly fictitious animal, things like a jackalope, or even a griffin with spider breath, though I guess that would be the work of a

NOCEDA

Back again with the trees good lord, it means field of nut trees, so again I went into prominent people an found this guy named jorge noceda sanchez, he was a painter and some of his works are kinda baller actually it seems like something that would fit in on the isles, but also not all of the names have a deeper meanings, names like

PORTER

Ok I am like pretty sure this was just meant to be a play on the fact that gus’ dad’s name is perry and is a reporter, get it, perry porter, perry porter, reporter, but nonetheless I did some digging because why the heck not, it means doorkeeper, or gate keeper, someone who guards something like an important building, which honestly I think this would be a good last name for hooty if he ever gets one, but again not all of these are important names at the moment, or maybe they won't ever be at all, names like

PARK

At first I was kinda like l m a o willow park plant girl hahahahah plants in the park parks have trees willow is a tree but then I remembered that someone pointed out that park is a traditionally korean surname and then like a week later disney posted about it for aisian pacific american heritage month which kind of confirmed it, and I don’t know if the whole intention behind it was to establish willow as representation or not, but the surname park by itself means gourd and willow I am so sorry that is so unfortunate LMAOSIFN

BUMP

To be honest I was not expecting bump to have a last name that meant anything but it means swift walker and I think thats funny so you have to know it now

MISCELLANEOUS

BELOS

BIIIITCH LISTEN UPPPP there is a butt tone of mythology surrounding his name and its mostly a different form of it, belus, that is referenced, but same thing different shape. Most of his depiction is as a great king or ruler, in babylonian mythology being the equivalent of zeus of jupiter, which liiikkkkkeeeoajolnjojnkjakjavnjfvdfkjf but its fine everything is great its all ok most importantly, he is recognized as the god or ruler of war, and in that same mythology he lived in babylon, which “... was originally water, and called a sea. But Belus put an end to this, and assigned a district to each, and surrounded Babylon with a wall; and at the appointed time he disappeared.” and idk about you but the smell of him assigning a divide and disappearing smells sour like funky to me babes

HIERONYMUS AND BOSCHA

I am only putting this here because the fact that it’s totally a play on hieronymus bosch makes me cackle and you all have to know it thank you

ADEGAST

B-but brevyn he was only there for like one episode, yeah ok and? Radegast is the slavic god of hospitality, and there is no host like a host that pretends to take you on a mythical quest and then tries to eat you and your mentor and her deranged cat demon, ok? His name translates to “dear guest” or “welcomed guest” and I mean I think if my host tried to suck me into some fantasy would delusion i’d feel pretty welcomed

HOOTY

He is an owl

OWLBERT

He is also an owl

KIKIMORA

First and foremost, she is a little night gremlin who hates children and I think that really fits her, but she is also a little house demon, who is very difficult to get to leave, have we seen her outside the castle? Will she be a spy along with the mask next season? She also has a name that means nightmare or night demon, similar to a certain other night creature we might have heard of a while ago. She tried to strangle children and I love that for her,and she is described as a little old ugly messy haired lady and I feel like her current character has the personality of one so i’ll take it, but what really gets me is her villain origin story, which is that she "grows up with a magician in the mountains. From dawn to sunset the magician’s cat regales Kikimora with fantastic tales of ancient times and faraway places, as Kikimora rocks in a cradle made of crystal. It takes her seven years to reach maturity, by which time her head is no larger than a thimble and her body no wider than a strand of straw. Kikimora spins flax from dusk and to dawn, with evil intentions for the world.”

GWENDOLYN

Ok, the queen herself, haven’t met her yet but like who knows. Not really a whole lot here (my ears are ringing oops one sec ok i’m back hi) anyways um uh rings? Her name right off the bat has a lot to do with rings, and really that only applies to eda, because her ring was a big thing for her, she gave it to lilith, we all watched wing it like witches you know what’s up, but i mean like was that gwen’s ring? I really wanted the hand on eda’s wall to be gwen’s, very upset to see she has all of her body parts so far. I am also not sure if that’s how it’s spelled, but it means the same thing anyways. Also meaning fair or blessed, any woman who created both eda and lilith is probably mad powerful and we love to see it, also she’s a beastkeeper and i like i want to talk about that with eda’s curse but now is not the time for shenanigans (that’s a lie every time is the time for shenanigans i’m just exhausted)

RAYNE

Bitch, sorry, ok listen like um sidebar I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS CHARACTER AND YOU ALL NEED TO KNOW IT but also at this point i’m not really sure about this character, is this their name, is that even how it’s spelled, girl idfk but like whooptydooo I do what I want so cope. Right now, we are assuming that they are the new bard coven head character, and like let me tell you the way that I am fully pissing my pants atm like bestie, anyways, if spelled rayne, then it means counsel or song, and this is why, do you see why this is why we spell it like this? It’s also scandanavian which means like nothing but it’s cool. This spelling fits because like counsel, head of the bard coven, you get it it’s fine, and then song, also head of the bard coven, you know. It fits so well, especially since this is supposed to be a friend from eda’s past, and like is supposed to try and recruit eda for a rebellion against the emperor in the episode eda’s requiem, i cannot convey to you how goddamn excited I am like there are not enough words in this realm or any others to tell you how prepared i am for this character to rock my world.

GILBERT

I AM S O B B I N GGGGG apparently one of willow’s dad’s names is gilbert and that is literally so cute I cannot like actually this knowledge makes up for coronavirus anyways it means bright promise and idk what that even has to do with anything but I love it and you should to omg

Now i have to go update the other characters see you in hell <3

#the owl house #luz noceda #lilith clawthorne #eda clawthorne #gwendolyn clawthorne #amity blight #alador blight #odalia blight #blight twins #willow park #gus porter #principal bump #rayne #hooty #character names

[alaffy]

Riverdale 5x11- Strange Bedfellows

Post these on Reddit, might as well do it here too.  Riverdale is back and it’s..just as crazy as ever.  Did really enjoy this episode. I have a lot of thoughts on the whole Jughead situation.  Spoliers below.

Jason's death has now hit cult status.  Veronica wants her Opal back (and, you know, the hostages).  Palladium could be it's own drinking game.  Archie cleans up the streets of Riverdale.  And Darla.  Just Darla.

I do appreciate the fact that Archie, upon learning that Chad didn't sign the papers and Veronica can't tell Archie why (which she's right, she shouldn't get him involved), decided they needed to take a step back until things are settled.  The army has, at least, somewhat made him a bit more level headed.  And then we have the Batman scene, and...

But the big story is that they're finally dealing with Jughead  (and a bit of Jughead and Betty).  First off, glad to see that the Doc he mentioned is still alive.  And clearly something bad happened in New York.  Jughead mentions it and I have a feeling that Jessica wanting the manuscript confirms it. So, clearly, a lot of Jughead story has to do with these three women.  And, my standard disclaimer, I'm not interested in ship wars, just here to discuss a story.  Also, let's be clear, while I am going to discuss Jughead and Betty's relationship, I am not doing it to make Jughead the villain or to excuse Betty.  Even if Betty was starting to question things about their relationship, there are several ways to deal with that situation that don't involve cheating.  Betty is responsible for her actions just as Jughead is with his.  But I'm talking about  Jughead right now.   

So, I'm going to start with this, Jughead may not have seen Betty in seven years, but seems to be strongly suggested he was in contact with her.  At the very least, he invited her to his book party and then sent her that message when she didn't respond (I still wonder if we'll find out she didn't show up because she was a prisoner of TBK at the time).  And as for the message itself, I mean, it sounds like a message someone who was hurt and drunk would send.  I don't think he was right or wrong for sending it.  I'm not going to get into whether Betty deserved it or not.   Because, again, I feel there's something we're missing from those seven years and, yeah, until I know everything, it's hard to judge.  What I do find interesting, is that he clearly was in contact with Betty and Jessica, his girlfriend at the time, didn't know.  And she clearly does not seem pleased about that.  Also, it's important to note that, unlike Betty, Jessica wasn't allowed to read his manuscripts.  

Jessica, it turns out, is there to get his manuscript because she's afraid Jughead will write about their lives and she doesn't want that to get out.  Clearly she doesn't trust him enough to believe that won't happen.  Going back to the beginning of the season, the Serpents don't want anything to do with Jughead because of what he wrote about them.  And, going back even further, Jughead pitch a story to a group of publishers, using Betty's life story, as a way to keep a book contract.  Also, there is the fact that, again, Jessica didn't know that he was in contact with Betty while Jessica was living with him.  Furthermore, at the beginning of the time jump, Jessica leaves after finding out that he has creditors after him and he's about to be evicted (something that will also affect Jessica's life and so he should have told her).  And where have we seen this secretive behavior before?  With his relationship with Betty (and, to be fair, Betty was just as guilty hiding things from Jughead).  

I've written about this in detail before, but the fact of the matter is this ties back to what the Guidance Councilor said to him in season four.  The fact is, Jughead has had a hard life and has probably developed traits that where created to protect himself (like lying/withholding information).  And Jughead does have a tendency, when confronted with his behavior, to try to pain himself as the victim.  The best case in point is when Betty found out he used her story to keep the book contract.  Betty is, understandably, angry with him.  But instead of apologizing and admitting he did something wrong, he makes excuse and, when that doesn't work, gets angry at her.  And while there's that moment later where he tells her he hates it when they fight, at no time does he ever admit what he did was wrong.  Same with the Serpents, he gets defensive. The fact is it doesn't matter if it's Betty or Jessica or anyone else, his behavior is not ok. And until he acknowledges that he has hurt others, and improve on these behaviors, this will continue again and again. The thing is, I think they are trying to deal with some of Jughead's behavior this season and I don't think that's a bad thing.

As for Tabitha, maybe his message was a hint of future things with her, maybe not.  It's one of those pieces of dialogue put in to make people question.  But the real question is, even if he is interested, is she still interested?  For me, listening to her dialogue and watching her expressions,  it seems to me she's starting to realize she doesn't really know Jughead and is uneasy with what she's seeing.  At the very least she has to be wondering if he's still hung up on Betty.  But, especially with Jessica's story, and how much he was hiding from her and the whole using people stories to create his book, is that something she wants to get involved in?  People say Tabitha is good for Jughead, but is Jughead good for Tabitha?  Well, we'll just see.  At the very least, I'm guessing Jughead will be dealing with his own issues for awhile.  And I like this new friendship between Betty and Tabitha.

#Riverdale #Betty Cooper #Jughead Jones #Archie Andrews #Veronica Lodge #tabitha tate #Bughead #Varchie #episode thoughts