#i originally watched s3 as it was coming through and made it to the episode where lexa died and that was the final straw <3

[ultfreakme]

Thoughts on Jessie Gender's video on NATLA

I really admire Jessie Gender's videos usually, she's the one whom I usually go to to see videos on gender and queerness in media. I like her stuff a lot and respect their work.

But the NATLA video left me going "no, wait, that's not what happened" a lot. I can't summarize the video, I suggest people go watch it if they want to know but I disagree with practically everything for the most part.

I'm not anybody on the internet. But what I do have is a lifetime of growing up on ATLA, a degree in Sociology and English Literature, coming from a culture that ATLA is based on, studying about colonial rule, researching the cultures ATLA is based on in my spare time and a love for the original. Does that establish some legitimacy? If for some reason you feel like you need to go hate on Jessie for this, DON'T. DO NOT. This is me just critiquing because I think the video content was biased and I want to honestly engage with the points made because everyone has a tendency to demonize the adaption without looking at it on its own merit. With that said:

Point 1: Sokka's sexism is taken out to make the show more palatable and his arc in the Kyoshi Island episode undermines Suki to prop up Sokka.

She says that Sokka's sexism and him addressing it is a show-long arc, and him deconstructing that is him fighting against the colonial sexism of the Fire Nation.

Sokka's sexism is explicitly dealt with in one episode. He's shown to be overtly sexist in the first 4 and never again except for little comments here and there that every other character makes as well and goes unaddressed. His sexism is not because of the Fire Nation- FN is very inclusive of women as warriors. Sokka's sexism is an anomaly because no one but him cares that Katara isn't just sitting home mending clothes(Bato, Hakoda, none of the men on the ship they are on in S3 say a word and she takes off to join Aang in the Fire Nation islands).

If Sokka's sexism is not systematic to the Southern Water Tribe or caused by the Fire Nation, what kind of commentary on sexism is this?

She also says Suki is played down and demured to give Sokka confidence when she's teaching him, taking away her arc as she pines for the new boy who she likes because he's shirtless. Sokka's throughout the episode shows insecurity and a more subtle form of sexism where he's trying ton prove he's as good as her. He's trying to show off his strength to her, and failing miserably and when he realizes she bested him, he walks away. He goes into it assuming he's better than her but walks away realizing shit she is GOOD. Then he goes to her dojo to observe the practice and follows along, Suki invites him in seeing him fucking up the forms outside and teaches him.

Suki falls for a tackle Sokka does in the og and live action. In the OG, it's shown as Sokka ACTUALLY being better. In the live action? He isn't. One lesson doesn't make him better, she transitions from actually teaching him to kinda flirting until she completely stops. She's not weakening herself for him, both of them are expressing romantic interest. How did Sokka, a boy who that morning was defeated by them, get better than SUKI in a spar she put genuine effort in? I think that's frankly more sexist than the live action take.

Additionally, Suki was meant to be a one-off character meant to teach Sokka that sexism is bad. She existed entirely to serve Sokka's character arc and had no independent motivation in season 1. In the live action, we see her talk about wanting to go into the world, and see her growing motivation through Aang's presence of wanting to not just protect Kyoshi Island, but the world. She became what she is only in season 2 and 3. Sokka's sexism arc didn't even pan out well because he never addressed the issue with Katara after that episode, the first and most affected victim of his sexism.

Sokka wearing the armor in the original, is a joke. Aang calls their uniform a dress while laughing (it's not, like it's not even constructed like one, the bottoms are loose pants called Hakama). He isn't put into the uniform to show solidarity, it's a joke, and we are meant to be laughing at Sokka for the most part. Queer fans have reclaimed and redefined that scene to be like drag, but that wasn't the original intention of the show because we get jokes on Aang's masculinity which never actively get refuted from Toph in season 2. Katara of all people points out Sokka wearing a poinytail in a demeaning manner multiple times, a supposedly girly hairstyle. If the original wanted to honor Sokka embracing gender fluidity, they wouldn't consistently mock him for being choosy about buying a bag and wearing a ponytail(which in-universe has cultural importance to him).

All signs of 'femininity' in Sokka are played for laughs in the rest of the show(down to the scene where he draws a rainbow, and his master Piandao simply rolls his eyes).

Sokka is also never once shown as a better warrior in the live action- his story is the opposite. Sokka yearns here to be an engineer, a scientist tinkering away with new inventions. His father Hakoda and the SWT discourages this because there is no value in that for them. Value is shown for them to come from physical strength, which Sokka NEVER has in live action season 1(him having biceps and being shirtless is not a glorification of strength). He's good, but he's nothing special. His true highlight is in his intellect and the show implies pretty well that Sokka doesn't need to be physically strong or a warrior to fight back against oppression.

That's his defining line in the show teasers "you do not need to be a warrior, to be a hero."

Point 2: The sexism arc isn't replaced by anything more nuanced.

It is! It's replaced by the biases against bending. Sokka discourages Katara from bending because the Fire Nation attacked the SWT to eliminate waterbenders. Both Katara and Sokka hold fear for waterbending, a part of their own culture, specifically because of the Fire Nation's hegemony and hierarchical beliefs. Waterbending = preservation of culture and Katara says these exact words in episode 1. Sokka stopping her is him being under the colonial hegemony of the FN because waterbending is what brought Fire Nation soldiers to their shores to kill their mom. That's the new arc and it has follow through to the end. Instead of Sokka telling Katara to kick ass because he isn't sexist anymore, the live action Sokka says it because he's embraced waterbending and his own culture now through seeing Katara grow and letting her choose for herself what's best for her (instead of smothering in his faux warrior persona, which they literally discuss when stuck in the cave). This arc is exclusive to the show, there's no comment on the cultural significance and erasure of waterbending in the original.

It's made more explicit in Katara's arc, where she needs to get past the fear the Fire Nation has put in her of the dangers of her own bending, and embrace that her people wanted to protect it (Kya sacrificing herself, Gran-Gran hiding the waterbending scroll).

Point 3: Showing the genocide of the Air Nomads is disrespectful

In the original, the Air Nomads are nothing but a memory. At all times. We never see the influence of the Air Nomad culture on Aang, or see them alive and thriving at any point. We see them fight back on the live action, and the actual genocide is a few short minutes, interspersed with Aang sinking. It's not a lingering process and it shows the abilities of Air Nomads. Jessie says this is purely aesthetic and to be cool, but there are significant moments that happen here.

Establishing the powers of Air Benders- this is the first and last time we'll get to see Air Bending on this scale and this shows what they can do

There's a scene where two air nomads nod to one another, and the air nomad switches from defensive to an extremely offensive move. It shows that this isn't typical for the Air Nomads, and that they are being pushed to their limits

This is a festival, they were defending themselves and it's important to show that the Air Nomads didn't just go silently without a fight and were ambushed on an important day.

To show the Fire Nation's cruelty and the extent of their power during the comet specifically.

To give weight to WHY everyone Aang runs into is so critical and hateful of the fact that he was gone, and to also show why Aang never refutes them and the weight of what he's lost (and also that even if he were there, he couldn't have done anything)

It's not just to be cool, it's honestly not cool to watch and taking Gordon Cormier, a child's quote to say that's what everyone's impression is, is disingenuous despite the disclaimer given. The kids' quotes always get taken out of context. Reviewers and Avatar fans who went to the premiere were disturbed overall by the violence. They did not think of the Fire Nation as "cool", they saw the Air Nomads like that. Like don't we want people to think of the Air Nomads in a positive light for fighting back?

Their culture gets little to no expansion in the original, and whatever Aang has left of them is actually slowly stripped away in the original.

Aang is made to okay the destruction and modification of the Northern Air Temple when destruction is shown as wrong during his rage and grief in the Southern Air Temple. The new settlers have used the gliders of Air Nomads to device weapons that fly, which were then sold to the Fire Nation. The Mechanist and his people continue this and create more weapons to fight the war in the temples(albeit this time agaisnt the fire nation but the cycle of violence continues using devices and cultures of a peaceful people). A once-peaceful place, is now a center for war innovation and Aang is told to accept this because he must let go of the past to look to the future.

The above, in comparison to Aang simply saying "I should let go of the past and look to the future" is FAR more disrespectful of Aang's culture and past. The live action keeps Gyatso's memory a constant companion to Aang, he is terrified of letting go of the past and it hinders him from simply living.

Point 4: Violence is shown as good and the cycle of violence is perpetuated.

She says Kyoshi demanding Aang to fight back and hit hard is showing that Aang needs to embrace strength and power. That everyone telling him to fight and be alone means strength is given importance, and that the same is shown when Zuko says "sometimes the weak can become strong, sometime you just have to give them a chance."

Kyoshi is wrong. She is willfully portrayed as powerful, but harsh. Roku(though his screentime was small) disagrees with her and tells Aang to find his own way of fighting and that is ultimately what Aang follows.

Kyoshi doesn't come off as correct, she's demanding and harsh, unforgiving. Aang initially lets her take over because he is scared of the power he holds and she promises she can control it to help others. Aang doesn't want power(he literally says 'I don't want these powers'). In the finale, he gives in to the ocean spirit and does what Kyoshi asks; save everyone, even if it costs his own life. But it is shown as a tragedy. Katara calls back for him and tells him he shouldn't have to sacrifice himself, that he has a place in this world as he is no matter what others tell him and he listens to THAT. He says he will save the world not alone, but with his friends, in the memory of the Air Nomads to ensure it never happens again.

Physical strength is only a priority to Katara's character. Sokka doesn't fight in the end, he's begging Yue to not sacrifice herself and is protecting her. He's not some macho man. Aang is also not embracing power.

Zuko says that line not to show that he can grow stronger, but that people should get second chances. He's a hurt kid wishing his father had the compassion to let him grow. But he doesn't and Zuko walks away from it thinking physical strength and bending prowess is important, crushing his compassion. That line on a meta level isn't even about physical strength. It's about mental fortitude and character, and the strength to be compassionate.

Jet was mentioned as being portrayed as more wrong, but in the original he was ready to sink a village of innocents. in the live action he genuinely helped Katara with her waterbending and was justified in wanting to kill the mechanist(who collaborated with the fire nation) and King Bumi (who is neutral, incompetent and has let the Fire Nation run rampant in the city). He's more sympathetic here because he's doing it with a concrete reason, and he didn't even manipulate Katara the way he did in the original. She was genuinely charmed by him.

A big problem I had with Jessie's video was putting in clips from some right-wing channel between critique of NATLA....which....why? Huh? And these were used to say NATLA is leaning into fascist tendencies and smoothing out any critique of colonialism when it really isn't. I think NATLA is very explicitly saying the same message as the original. Not in the same way, but it is. The show actively engages audiences and the characters in discussions of cultural erasure and the problems of valuing power(the latter especially through Zuko and Azula).

There are million issues with the live action (Sokka's casting, ableism in Zuko's burn scar, the writing issues, pacing issues, the lack of screen time for Aang and focus on the Fire family). The ones Jessie Gender discussed though, are not it.

#natla #natla positivity #atla la #atla live action #avatar netflix #jessie gender

[muninnhuginn]

I think we have enough pieces to speculate when Lu Guang first leapt from/to. So, the hard limit is obvious enough. S2e1 we get Lu Guang flashing back to Cheng Xiaoshi's death. He must have already jumped by then and that seems pretty straightforward.

The soft limit comes more down to the Cheng Xiaoshi-Lu Guang dynamic as well as the remarks about Lu Guang being "mature". Lu Guang being mentioned as mature/beyond his years seems a big indicator that he already jumped. Now, I can't remember the first time the "mature" comment was made beyond it being sometime in s1, but literally the first episode of the series has Lu Guang instructing Cheng Xiaoshi through the rules as Cheng Xiaoshi takes a somewhat exasperated approach. He also provides knowledge about diving that Cheng Xiaoshi himself seems to be lacking multiple times in s1, the most notable being his explanation of death nodes in the earthquake arc.

In other words, everything we have seen "present day" of the time trio has been *after* Lu Guang's dive. Given this, I find two options most likely for when he leapt *to*, just from a storytelling perspective. It's either the overseas trip or Lu Guang's first meeting with Cheng Xiaoshi.

Where Lu Guang landed after leaping back

The first mention of the overseas trip was back in s1 during the Doudou case and we have a timeframe for it as around three years ago as a result. (For context, I think Lu Guang first met Cheng Xiaoshi around six or so years ago, they went through uni together, and then at some point after the trip they started the photo studio together) I haven't looked into this too deeply because I prefer to speculate from what's in the show itself, but it sounds like various out-of-universe sources have confirmed that this trip is when shiguang first obtained their powers and we're set to get some flashbacks to it in s3. Basically, whilst there isn't much in-universe beyond the conspicuous mention in s1 pointing towards this as being the missing period, everything out-of-universe seems to blaring huge alarms about it being important. Regardless of if it ends up being Lu Guang's actual leaping point, it *is* important to the story.

We also have Liu Xiao "studying overseas" for several years which may or may not be related, but is curious.

The main thing preventing me from putting the overseas trip down as a higher probability is the way that Lu Guang slotted into Cheng Xiaoshi's and Qiao Ling's lives. It reads as very coincidental and sure, it could literally be so, but Cheng Xiaoshi even remarked when reminiscing about how easily Lu Guang slotted into their lives. Which would make sense if he already knew them. This would also explain how Cheng Xiaoshi or Qiao Ling didn't notice some huge shift in Lu Guang's personality (as has been implied by the "mature" remarks) because as far as they knew, he'd been like that as long as they'd known him. And Lu Guang *did* say he was "returning to the beginning". (Though the "beginning" could just as easily refer to the beginning of when they got their powers--)

Where Lu Guang leapt from

In terms of where he leapt *from*, if he leapt *to* the overseas trip, then most likely he leapt back within the trip itself to fix things or from before the introduction of the twins in some alternate version of s1 which went wrong. If the first meeting idea is correct then the time range goes back further technically, but given they only gained their powers in the overseas trip it seems unlikely he leapt from a time before then.

I agree from others' observations about shiguang's clothes (namely, that they seem to be wearing their s1 clothes in his flashback) and the comment about "things seem to be changing" in s2e1 (as well as the way that Lu Guang clearly didn't know the twins' backstories or he wouldn't have let Cheng Xiaoshi dive into Tianxi's photo) that the timeline diverged before s2 either way.

We know from his watch that the original Cheng Xiaoshi died mid-September, which is... less helpful than you'd expect. You can't use it to remove s1 alternate (as that happened around April to Octoberish iirc) or overseas trip (as mid-September is still summerish). But it leaves three dates over the course of three years for Lu Guang to have leapt from.

He could have even leapt back from the overseas trip to the first meeting, which would account for sources being so cagey around Lu Guang's age without neglecting the importance of the overseas trip or Cheng Xiaoshi's comments about how easily Lu Guang slotted in.

Tldr;

The Lu Guang we have known since s1 has always been post-dive. He most likely leapt either to the overseas trip or to his first meeting with Cheng Xiaoshi. He leapt from a time period during/after the overseas trip (as no powers before then) but couldn't have leapt from any later than end of s1 (as in his previous timeline/s, he was never stabbed and never learnt about the twins so he never "reached" a s2 equivalent). Regardless of when he leapt to/from, the overseas trip is important.

#link click #link click spoilers #shiguang daili ren #shiguang daili ren spoilers #abusing formatting to make this a bit less wall of texty

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

so howd you like it what are your thoughts

Anon, I hope you don't mind it but I'm going to use this ask as an excuse to do my Full On Rambling post about my honest thoughts. I'll try to keep is as coherent as possible, but I can't actually guarantee it :')

Also putting it under a cut because some of it is going to sound negative (as I said, I want to exorcise any critiques I have so I can go back to Vibing asap) and I know many people (undestandibly!!) won't want to read that, and I don't want to burst anyone's happy bubble :) . And also because of s3 spoilers. Bear in mind that it's not a rant post, I still had tons of fun with the season. But since I'm going to be talking about the things I enjoyed forevermore and gonna try to keep all my 'didn't really like this :/'s contained in this post, it may come out sounding like I enjoyed it less than I truly did. Here we go, get ready for some Thoughts

-> Content

Okay, listen. This season was fun. I had a nice time watching the newest shenanigans. New characters (with one notable exception) were a joy to watch (yes, even the thing. We're in a toxic situationship) and I was greatly amused by their adventures; most of them kept me on the edge of my seat.

(ok, here's where the negativity begins. Please don't take me for someone who wanted everything to be done for Their Specific Standards or who thinks they know more than the professional and extremely skilled team that was behind the series. I'm just throwing around thoughts about how I feel, but in the end, the only thing that matters is that Luke Pearson and the team got to tell the story they wanted to. If that was achieved, I'm happy regardless)

However, I couldn't help but think that some of it felt... like it was "thrown" at us, in a way? To be fair, I think most of the negative points I'll discuss in this post are a consequence of this season being 6 epsidoes short of what the writers originally planned because, as I've mentioned before, I do think the show's writing is great and that the team puts their heart and soul into making this the best cartoon possible. Anyway, what I mean is that at times I thought the episodes seemed so worried with delivering all the information they could that a lot was left behind and some stuff didn't really tie together with the rest.

For example; I still cannot understand why aunt Astrid and Anders had to be these big surprises that had never been mentioned before if Hilda, the character who we see this world through, already knew about them? Don't misunderstand me, I am well aware that these nitpicks of mine are subjective and only my personal opinions that may very well simply be a consequence of not understanding what the writers were trying to achieve. I just feel like Johanna's family and Hilda's father are topics that have been discussed so at lenght in the fandom, precisely because they'd been so carefully skirted around in the previous seasons, that the reveal that nothing really dramatic had happened (between Johanna/Astrid and Johanna/Anders, at least) feels anticlimatic to me. It just feels (again, to me, personal opinion) that if this was going to be the case all along they could have mentioned these characters before, and it would have made the narrative make a little more sense.

(This is especially true to me in Anders' case. Bc it felt to me like they had been trying to highlight how irrelevant Hilda's dad was to the story in the first seasons by not bringing him up at all, by not even pointing out his abscence. But I can't really see the point in that if you're gonna bring out the man either way)

Ironically, at the same time I felt like some of the arcs were a tad overachieving, especially the Johanna's parents one. I just felt like it was Too Much Too Quickly, which once again is likely because of the season having been shortened. I feel like if they really wanted to do that arc, and that way, it would have been helpful to cut some other storylines so they could begin fleshing out this one earlier. They way it was done I just personally (can you tell I'm terrified of being taken as a hater?) felt like there was no time at all to get either used to the idea of Johanna being half faerie nor to get attatched to her parents. Like. I know the episode was the season's emotional peak, but it just didn't hit me the way I know it should.

Not sure if this was a me problem, but I felt like the audience wasn't given enough time to process what had even happened when they got stuck in the fairie island, nor to even consider that they'd truly be stuck there forever, much less to fully process the sacrifice Johanna was making when she left it with Hilda. I didn't get to get attached to Johanna's parents or to the dynamic they have with their daughter. I didn't suffer the way I wanted to when I saw them having to part ways, because I couldn't become invested in their bond when I was still trying to wrap my head around what their backstory even was and pay attention to the action heavy scenes that were to come.

What I'm gonna say here is way meaner than the people behind the show's writing deserve and I know, I can absolutely tell it isn't the case because you can see some of the foreshadowing once you have the benefit of hindsight, but it felt to me like some of Johanna's backstory was written for shock value alone. Which, considering the previous components of the season that I have already mentioned felt underwhelming, was even more jarring.

Another thing is that I feel like a lot was sacrificed in order to do these overachieving arcs. This maaay just be the side character lover and change hater in me, but I do feel like in order to present to us all these new concepts that would be necessary for the backstory to make sense, we were deprived of some elements in Hilda The Series that are arguably what the show does best. It felt like they all but scratched all of their previous stories, characters and components to switch them up for new ones. Pikablob has said it better than me, tbh.

However. I do feel like saying that none of the fears I had for the season came true. No character feels ooc, no one was left with an incomplete arc, and though I can't see how Anders contributes to the story, if he had to be there I feel like the way that was it done was the right one.

-> Pacing

Frenetic. Run for the hills kind of thing sometimes. Which, once again, I can't bring myself to believe was the writers' fault, not when they had other 6 episodes planned that they didn't get to do. I absolutely understand that they had to condense everything they wanted to show us into half the runtime. But it did become an issue (to me) when instead of the trademark Hilda Idyllic Tranquility I usually feel while watching (even plot and action heavy content like TMK), I felt like I was watching a completely different cartoon. Carmen Sandiego, or something like that (please note that I do also love Carmen Sandiego). Many times it just felt like there was no breathing space, which isn't necessarily bad when done well, but I hadn't gone into the season prepared for that.

It wasn't a problem that was all around present, though. I do want to point out that imo "The Giant Slayer", "The Laughing Merman", "Strange Frequencies" and even "The Forgotten Lake" still felt like Hilda to me. Which is where I realize what the main issue I had with the season was. That a lot of it just felt like a different show.

-> ~ vibes ~

I am bringing back the disclaimer that if the team told the story they wanted to, then good for them, I'm pleased as can be. I do enjoy that the series played with some different concepts. The musicality and colours in The Laughing Merman, for example, were absolutely delightful to me. Seriously, I want an entire Hilda musical now.

But some things I just couldn't help but feel were so disconnected from the previous feel of the show that it felt to me like they didn't belong. You can sum the rest of this post up by saying that season 3 would have been one of my favourite ever cartoons if it had been its own thing. But it's not, so I can't help but compare it and try to understand how all of the installments work when together.

The faeries, for example. I was so excited when I saw the trailer and knew it was going to be one of the plots, because I thought it was going to be another adventure of the day type of thing that would span over three episodes max. And listen, I've talked about how much I love Celtic folklore, and maybe this is just my consistency loving brain being annoying, but it felt a bit... clashing? that this season was based on tales and creatures and treaditions that weren't the scandinavian ones that inspired the rest of the series. It just felt like a major shift in tone that I don't really understand (once again, me problem, may very well be a skill issue on my part & I'm not saying they shouldn't have ventured so far just bc I didn't quite vibe with it). It just feels a bit off to me, knowing that Johanna's backstory was likely planned from the start, that there wasn't any celtic lore at all in previous seasons to make this sudden detachment from nordic folklore feel less out of the blue.

You know that joke that Disney movies like Aladdin and Raya take concepts from different cultures and smash them together like they're not completely different? I felt to some extent (bc OF COURSE Hilda is much better researched and has a lot better quality than that /gen) like they did that this season. But with white people. Which, fair, I can appreciate the irony.

Back to the topic of bold storylines, I understand what the Hilda team did with all the Johanna backstory. I understand that it's something that everyone wanted to see soo bad and they wanted it to be great (and it was). The thing I got stuck on is just that it ended up changing the vibe of the show to me. Whereas previous seasons feel like "slice of life in a magical place", I felt like this time I was watching a magic centered fantasy. Especially when they got into trying to explain the origin of magic and everything. Which is ironic, because I enjoyed the concept a lot and will explore it in the future, but it still felt like something that I wouldn't have expected Hilda the Series to tackle. Like there was a giant shift from folkloric to fantastic that isn't bad, but it is different and I hadn't been prepared for that lol.

God, I feel like I just wrote all of that and just to be A Bitch. I just wanted to get these thoughts out but I don't expect you guys to agree or anything. I genuinely liked watching this season, and I will continue to reiterate this in the future. And even if it doesn't beat s1 or s2 in my heart, I'm still grateful we got a final season at all, and everyone who was involved in it deserves all the praise <3

#me while writing this: dont say retcon dont say retcon #retcon is the word toxic 'fans' use when something doesnt go exactly the way they want and they can't interpret media DONT SAY RETCON #(<- friend just brought to my attention that I wasn’t clear on this - I don’t mean to say that retcons don’t exist #or that bad writing isn’t a problem!! I just mean I’ve seen so many discussions where the word was used badly #that now I can’t take it seriously nor use it anymore #) #I don't mean to say no one can critique the writing or that it's wrong to not enjoy what was done #I just don't trust myself to do it right KJSHDFKJHDS #& I don't want to soundl like a whiny and entitled jerk :( #kinda traumatized about it after that One ao3 commenter #hilda spoilers #hilda s3 spoilers #hilda critical #I cannot BELIEVE I just used that tag #should I tag for negativity?? I will just to be safe #negativity #hilda netflix #hilda season 3

[gracieryder]

The Fridge Magnet Theory

(Revised and Updated April 25, 2023)

The Diaz Family fridge has a collection of magnets (and more) that gets tweaked in small ways between sightings.

Most notable early on are the colored stick figures, but there are other magnets on the fridge as well. In later seasons, we also get photos and calendars.

They first came to our attention during Eddie’s surprise party because of the particular selection of magnets on the fridge and the way they were arranged ahead of that scene. There seemed to be a symbolic connection between the magnets and the people present at the party.

So, we went back and followed them from their introduction, and trends started to emerge.

I’m going to transfer all of our various posts and discussions with necessary changes. Let’s go! 👏

As I mentioned above, the magnets first grabbed our attention during the surprise party because of @buddiestiel67′s color theory post. It seemed like the five magnets could represent Buck, Taylor, Eddie, Ana, and Chris because the clothing seemed to match. However, we later discovered (as you can see in the pic above) that there were never two red magnets. One of the “red” magnets is actually orange. It’s just difficult to tell when watching the show.

This information seemed to almost debunk that particular theory.

(I say almost because if you tell me Taylor’s bright hair doesn’t look almost orange, I will call you a liar. 😭)

But that doesn’t matter until later.

For your reference:

This is the original research thread. 

[Please take everything in the above thread with a grain of salt if you decide to look through it because we were still compiling information and trying to figure things out at the time.]

This is an early breakdown post when we thought there were two red magnets because we’re clowns.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get to it!

S3 E11: Seize the Day

AKA “I’m not really a guest.”

In this episode, we get our first glimpse of all ten stick figure magnets, three of the Dr. Seuss magnets (mentioned below), and the Arrested Development magnet (also mentioned below) in the scene with Maddie and Buck in Eddie’s kitchen.

We originally thought there were only nine, but @hattalove looked closer and discovered that the green magnet person is indeed there in 03x11. It’s just way down at the bottom of the fridge.

The circular magnets come from a 6-magnet set of Dr. Seuss magnets found by @stagefoureddiediaz here.

The three circular magnets that start out on the fridge are:

We’ve been able to determine that the photo magnet is an Arrested Development quote magnet, but as of right now, we don’t have an image of the actual magnet to show you. So, we can’t be 100% certain of the quote.

@tsunamibuck made the connection on this post. And @stagefoureddiediaz came in to tell us that this was correct, and she’d found the magnet at one point but was unable to locate it again after that.

She believes it’s the Gob Bluth quote “I’ve made a huge mistake.” But take that with a grain of salt because as of right now, we don’t have a clear enough picture of the magnet to confirm it.

She believes this particular magnet was originally just meant to be a joke about Fox cancelling Arrested Development.

Now that we know what the magnets are, let’s start going through their various appearances.

The main thing we noticed during their introduction was that the green figure was separated from all nine other figures. Standing right next to the figures at that time? Buck in that olive green looking shirt.

One thing to note is that this is the episode in which Buck receives a clean bill of health regarding his leg and had been somewhat isolated from the rest of the crew as he recovered.

However, despite that isolation from the crew at large, he tells Maddie that he’s not really a guest in Eddie’s house. A sign of his comfort and place in the Diaz family and household.

S3 E12: Fools

AKA The Skateboard Incident

The magnets change position in this episode and a new circular magnet is added. (Thank you, anon!)

@theladyyavilee noted in her tags on this reblog that the yellow figure we see separated from the rest with the circular magnets could be Chris because of how isolated and conflicted he was feeling at the time.

If we go back to that episode, literally right after we see Eddie and Carla in the kitchen talking and get a glimpse of the magnets, Eddie and Chris are having their talk at the table, and Chris is indeed wearing yellow. Eddie literally walks out of the kitchen and sits down to talk with him.

The new circular magnet that gets added is this one (which I think we all know ties to that episode pretty well thematically):

S3 E15: Eddie Begins

AKA Eddie fucking Begins?

The Diaz fridge we get in this episode isn’t the fridge this post has been following or continues to follow. It’s the Diaz fridge in El Paso! There was a lot going on there though, so if you’re interested, click this link for The Fridge Magnet Theory: Eddie Begins Edition! 😇

S4 E08: Breaking Point (Ty, anon!) 

AKA That Episode Where Chris Calls an Uber

Back to our regularly scheduled programming and the fridge we all know and love!

The number of stick figures drops from the ten we saw in 03x12 to seven. @theladyyavilee noted it best in the tags on this reblog:  #the fact that the figures decreased from s3 to s4 when we KNOW how much chris was struggling with missing all the people in his life?

We see Chris late in the episode express those feelings of isolation to Buck after he steals Eddie’s phone and calls an Uber.

The seven remaining stick figure magnets are dark blue, light blue, yellow, red, orange, green, and purple.

Also notable is that at no time in this scene do we see the other magnets except for when Chris is storming out of the room. We see two of them, and the choices are very telling.

We see the Arrested Development magnet with the quote “I’ve made a huge mistake” which can easily be tied to Eddie in this scene. And we also see the Dr. Seuss quote “I meant what I said and I said what I meant” which can easily be tied to Chris.

[This anon noted that the remaining seven magnets are just kind of chaotically thrown on the fridge which could hint at Chris’ state of mind at the time. However, in my opinion, they’re usually just kind of chaotically thrown up there except for when they aren’t. So 😂.

But if you think all of the magnets in this scene symbolize Chris, you may wish to note what he’s wearing at the end of the episode when he sees Ana again.]

S4 E09: Blindsided (thanks @theladyyavilee 💖)

AKA The One Where We Get Jee and Albert Flatlines

A fifth quote magnet gets added.

It’s the Dr. Seuss “A person’s a person, no matter how small” magnet.

We weren’t able to see exactly what it was in this episode, but the magnet remains in that position through 04x13 and becomes more visible in 05x03. It doesn’t move. So, we are able to go back and draw some informed conclusions.

@theladyyavilee put all of this together on this post: “going by the size, shape and color-sheme (blue-pink???!) it looks like it’s another doctor seuss magnet, specifically the one that only says ‘a person’s a person no matter how small’”

Assuming that this episode is indeed when the magnet gets added and it wasn’t just completely hidden until then, it seems to be another case of a quote magnet being added or made visible because it ties into the episode’s themes. This particular episode focuses heavily on children.

Note:

This is when Jee-Yun is born.

This is also when you have the storyline surrounding Nia being returned to her birth mother.

The main emergency in this episode involved a call from a child whose mother had been drinking which caused a major accident while he was in the car. The child was badly injured and taken into surgery. The dad has a breakdown while talking to Athena about it all.

This ties back to Bobby’s stuggle with alcoholism which is what led to the death of his wife and children.

All of this going on around him is likely one of the main reasons why we get the short scene of Eddie going home and immediately hugging Chris at the end of the episode.

That hug is when we see some other changes with the magnets as well.

The magnet people decrease to five in this scene. The dark blue and purple are gone. Red, orange, light blue, yellow, and green remain. Everything is still chaotically spread.

Chris is wearing a light blue shirt with various other colors on it as well.

S4 E13: Suspicion

AKA The One Where Eddie Gets Shot

We see the magnets in this episode when Eddie and Ana go into the kitchen to discuss Charlie and his mother.

The quote magnets are mostly grouped together on the left door of the fridge.

The exception being the fifth Dr. Seuss magnet which remains on the side of the fridge.

The five remaining figures are connected in a circle. They are the same colors we saw separated in the previous episode.

This is where the color theory becomes particularly interesting because it’s in the next episode that we see the welcome home party where all five of them are in the same room. Which is of course:

S4 E14: Survivors

AKA The Surprise Party

Now, as we established at the beginning, one of the figures in the circle is orange instead of red. Both Ana and Taylor in 04x14 are wearing red, but I think it’s fair to argue that the orange figure could be Taylor because of her hair.

So, as the color theory linked at the beginning noted, we have Eddie and Buck in yellow and blue, and Chris is in green.

Also, we have Ana and Taylor in very different shades of red. If you choose to acknowledge Taylor as orange because of the brightness of her hair, all five of them match the circle of remaining magnets.

Another link to that original color theory post to refresh your mind.

And now we go to Season 5.

S5 E03: Desperate Measures

AKA The Breakup

The key difference from Season 4 to Season 5 is that the red and orange magnets have disconnected from the circle.

Also notable between Season 4 and 5 is that the main four Dr. Seuss magnets and the Arrested Development magnet are more aligned.

Three theories to address here regarding the colored figures. One is assuming that the colors still stand for who we assume they stood for at the end of Season 4. The others assume that they’re specific to this episode symbolically. This seems more likely as we’ve addressed the symbolism as changing from episode to episode in the past.

Before we get into those though, note that this is when we get the true look at the quote magnet that first appeared in 04x09: Blindsided. It’s also when we’re able to see that Eddie now has what appears to be a calendar/planner on the side of his fridge.

As for why, @stagefoureddiediaz makes a good point in her tags on this reblog: #as for the planner thing being on the side - same thing - Eddie doesn’t know what his plans are for the future.

Eddie seems to have lost sight of what it is he wants, where he should be, and what he should be doing. This becomes a major theme throughout all of Season 5, and the calendar remains on the side of the fridge the entire time.

[She also makes some other guesses on that reblog as to why this is the moment we get a clear view of that particular Dr. Seuss magnet even though it’s been around for a while, why it’s on the side of the fridge, and what that might mean. I left all of that out because this isn’t technically the first time we’re seeing it, but check out her reblog if you’re interested!]

Now! Let’s get into the three theories regarding the stick figures!

Theory One: The red and orange magnets for Ana and Taylor are detached from the rest of the circle.

One is obviously more disconnected than the other, but they’re both disconnected.

However, the blue, yellow, and green magnets have remained connected.

This is all signaling Ana and Taylor being disconnected from the remaining group of Eddie, Buck, and Chris.

Theory Two: We see the yellow, blue, and green magnets all connected as a unit. And we see the red and orange magnets disconnected from that unit. One only slightly. And the red and orange magnets are also disconnected from each other.

@theladyyavilee pointed out that the blue and green figures are bracketing the yellow figure, almost like parents and a child.

And we see Ana, Eddie, and Chris sitting together wearing those colors right before we see the magnets (which @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx brought to my attention with this edit that @ellelans has given her blessing for us to use. 😘)

Which could also mean that in this episode, the red and orange magnets are Buck and Taylor.

The red one being only slightly separated from Eddie would likely be Buck in this scenario. We saw that Eddie was keeping Buck at a slight distance by not informing him of the panic attacks he experienced until pushed repeatedly. The orange could therefore be Taylor who is completely separated from the group and slightly distant from Buck at this point as well.

The blue (Ana) and green (Eddie) are only connected through Chris (yellow) who is standing on two feet between them.

This makes sense as this is the scene when Eddie breaks up with her and removes her completely from their family unit after admitting that he’s been trying to make it work for Chris.

Theory Three: This theory is almost identical to Theory Two except that it assumes the red and orange magnets are unimportant in this case, and the only connection to be made is the blue, yellow, and green for Eddie, Ana, and Chris.

S5 E10: Wrapped in Red (Christmas Episode)

AKA Eddie Leaves the 118

We do NOT see the magnets in this episode, but it seemed very purposeful. So, we’re making a note of it.

We had an entire scene of Eddie and Carla talking in Eddie’s kitchen. They were shown from multiple angles. Yet somehow, at no point during that scene do we get even a glimpse of Eddie’s fridge. Not one.

So it seems as though they deliberately avoided showing us the magnets before we got to the next episode:

S5 E11: Outside Looking In

AKA Eddie Has a New Job

@theladyyavilee pointed it out and said it best on this post:

NO MAGNET PEOPLE, I REPEAT NOT A SINGLE MAGNET PERSON ON THAT FRIDGE, HOW VERY EDDIE-AND-CHRIS-COMPLETELY-CUT-OFF-FROM-THEIR-FAMILY OF THEM

The magnet people are gone, but the rest of the magnets are still there.

This could easily symbolize Eddie and Chris now being cut off from the rest of their family as a result of Eddie no longer working at the 118.

(For a more in depth view of Eddie’s self-imposed isolation and how the symbolism of the magnets may showcase that, check out the post by @yramesoruniverse here. The magnets appear towards the end.)

The calendar (which remains on the side) is also easily visible.

S5 E14: Dumb Luck

AKA Eddie Has a Nightmare

We see the fridge again during Eddie’s nightmare at the beginning of the episode.

It’s a dream sequence as opposed to an actual scene, but let’s look at it.

The quote magnets from ‘Outside Looking In’ are still on the left side of the fridge which was confirmed by @stagefoureddiediaz here.

The main thing of note from this scene is Eddie collapsing against the right side of the fridge. This is generally where the magnet people are located.

However, instead of the stick figures who generally represent Eddie, Chris, and/or the people around them, that side of the fridge gets smeared with Eddie’s blood as he relives being shot.

Instead of the people in his life. Instead of himself. There’s only blood and pain and death.

That makes sense when you consider all of the compounding traumas he’s currently facing as well as the fact that he just found out multiple people in his life died without him realizing it.

S6 E04: Animal Instincts

AKA Chris Gets In Trouble For Lying

The fridge makes its first appearance in S6 when Eddie takes a phone call from Chris’ school. There’s a lot to unpack here.

The magnet people still seem to be gone. We do believe there is a very good chance that they may not return to the Diaz fridge. They slowly disappeared over time as Eddie, Buck, and Chris underwent various traumas starting in late Season 4 into Season 5. They stayed gone as Eddie felt isolated and slowly declined in S5.

The magnet figures were representative of the people they’ve been up until this point. However, Eddie underwent great changes in S5, and he’s arguably a different person than he was before. His relationship with Chris has changed. Their relationship with Buck has changed. Blood was smeared where those magnets were once placed and could therefore additionally signify the death of who they were before. And because they’re no longer those people, the magnet people in particular may be retired.

We’re therefore starting off this season with the five circular quote magnets we ended with, the Arrested Development magnet, the calendar, and some newly added photos. All of which we will continue to follow going forward. Of course, we will keep an eye out for any of the other magnets returning as well.

The large calendar we’ve seen on the side of the fridge before now is not visible. However, another calendar has appeared on the front of the fridge. It appears for this episode and this episode only.

It’s seems to be a calendar of events for Chris’ school. This ties into the entire scene as this is when Eddie takes the call from Durand and finds out Chris has been lying to him about his whereabouts.

It’s being held by two of the five quote magnets, and the choices made are particularly interesting. These are the magnets for your reference.

The first magnet stood out to us once before. This was during Eddie and Chris’ kitchen confrontation over Ana - when Chris breaks the salad bowl and storms out of the room. Of the six Dr. Seuss magnets, it’s the only one with a confrontational tone. It’s notable that it was the only one shown during that particular scene, and now during this confrontation, it’s front and center being used to hold up the event schedule for the school that calls Eddie and sparks the conflict between them in this episode.

The other magnet has also been linked to Chris in the past. This is the latest of the quote magnets added to the fridge. It was added in 04x09: Blindsided which you’ll recall was heavily focused on children, and the magnet was showcased during an end scene when Eddie goes home to hug his son. It’s now being used to hold up a schedule of events for - you guessed it! - kids.

The photos themselves are also interesting, and there are some things to note that become relevant later. (FYI, they were first discussed here after we got this BTS TikTok from @911bts pre-S6, and they were discussed further on this post.)

There are three of them. One is of Chris and Eddie. It’s a shot of them sitting together in the Eddie Begins flashbacks. The next is of Chris and Shannon seemingly from 02x10 Merry Ex-Mas. The third is of a young Chris.

Pay attention to the way they’re connected. The picture of Eddie holding Chris is being held up by the quote “Don’t give up. I believe in you all. A person’s a person, no matter how small.”

That picture is connected to the picture of Shannon and Chris not by another Dr. Seuss magnet but by the Arrested Development magnet.

As we know, the quote on that magnet just so happens to be “I’ve made a huge mistake.”

The picture of Shannon with Chris from Merry Ex-Mas is connected to the picture of a young Chris with the quote “Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.”

And the final magnet solely on Chris’ picture is the one that says “Think and Wonder. Wonder and Think.”

Just something to keep in mind as we move forward.

S6 E05: Home Invasion

AKA The One With Hoover the Dog

Things get a little strange here. I’ll explain why.

We see the fridge again in this episode when Eddie and Chris have the conversation about Hoover and separation anxiety.

However, we only see a small piece of it. We see the side, which is now empty. Last time we saw it, the large white calendar was there. We also get a glimpse of the photo of Shannon and Chris. (Thanks, @stagefoureddiediaz!)

She’s being held by the magnet we last saw on Chris with the quote “Think and Wonder. Wonder and Think.”

To quote @stagefoureddiediaz on this post:

“...the first time we see them they're all interconnected on the fridge - one with Shannon, one with Eddie, and one which is just Chris (as a baby and how cute!!) suggesting that all 3 of them are still interconnected. The interesting thing is that the Shannon and Chris one is the one in the middle - almost like a connecting point between Chris and Eddie. But then we do get a very tiny glimpse of the Chris and Shannon one in the scene with Hoover, and we can see that they've moved - we cant see what the others are doing, but we can see that Shannon is now off to the side and not at the centre of things - it's likely that at this point they've all separated, we just can't see it.”

Normally, we’d move on from here to the next episode, so consider this the end of the canon portion of this episode.

However, we can’t just jump ahead because we have a BTS shot of this scene (courtesy of @911bts) that shows us the entire front of the fridge.

We can deduce that this shot is from this particular scene because it doesn’t match the previous episode with the school calendar, and the pictures to the left are straighter than they are in the next episode, which you’ll realize when we get there. (There have only been the three scenes so far.) The calendar we’ve linked to Eddie in the past has also now moved from the side of the fridge to the front of the fridge.

There is a good chance that some of the footage from this scene was cut. For what reason, we can’t be sure. But you can read more on this post if you’re interested in our (mine, @stagefoureddiediaz, and @theladyyavilee)’s discussion surrounding it all.

Earlier, we also mentioned a BTS TikTok posted by @911bts. It seems to be for the same episode. The quality is low, but we’re able to tell that both of the orange magnets are still on the fridge [pink boxes below]. Only two of the six magnets are that color, so it has to be them. This is noteworthy because one of those magnets is gone in the next episode.

So, more fridge content may have originally been meant for this scene that we just didn’t get to see, and the photos are indeed no longer connected the way that they were previously (as @stagefoureddiediaz concluded just from what we were able to see in the episode). None of this was actually shown in the episode though, and that may have been for a reason. It’s just something to keep in mind because the BTS will come up again in the next episode as well.

S6 E08: What’s Your Fantasy?

AKA Buck Babysits Jee-Yun & Chris Goes to a School Dance

This episode gives us our next actual view of the front of the fridge.

Now, we know that there was a bit of separation during the Hoover episode, but it’s gone even further in this one. Whether or not you take the BTS into account, the pictures have more distance between them than they did before.

Shannon has moved even further away to the top left corner of the door, and Eddie has moved into the right corner of the door. Chris’ photo is tilted in the lower-center.

Another major change to note in this scene is the removal of two magnets.

Both of these magnets have been on the fridge since they first appeared in S3, and they were put to use in ‘Animal Instincts’ (and possibly ‘Home Invasion’ if you decide count the BTS as being canonical to that episode).

One of the magnets that has been removed is the Arrested Development magnet with the quote “I’ve made a huge mistake.”

The last time we saw the Arrested Development magnet about making mistakes, it was connecting the photos of Eddie and Shannon each holding Chris. It’s now gone.

Two quotes from @stagefoureddiediaz‘ in the replies on and reblog of this post sum it up well:

“...that was the quote and it’s not just holding up the Shannon picture - but connecting the Eddie and Shannon pictures / then it’s gone and they’re no longer connected - and then we have Eddie - seemingly having laid her ghost to rest and moving forward rather than holding onto the past...”

“But then [the photos] move again - and they've separated even more [...] almost like now that we've seen Eddie have a conversation where he talked about Shannon dying openly and with someone who is essentially a stranger and who didn't know his past, accompanied by the pictures separating and a story where Chris is growing up and pulling away from Eddie - at the same time Eddie is in a place to move forward - I'm here for it!”

The other missing magnet is the Dr. Seuss one that says “Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” The last time we saw this magnet, it was connecting the photo of Shannon and Chris to the photo of the younger Chris. It’s now gone, which can tie into the hints of foreshadowing we’ve seen regarding Chris so far this season and also be a reminder that he and Shannon have no more fun days ahead of them. To quote @stagefoureddiediaz again from the same post:

“…because it just further implies that Chris in danger is incoming - because to remove [the] one that implies tomorrows going to be another good day (and after we saw Chris having a good day on the beach) is screaming that tomorrow is in fact not going to be a good day…”

To quote her from our DM:

“[…] I’m thinking it’s [also] connected to the idea of his family being whole - that we might not see that magnet [again] until buck is more a part of the family - he’s still going through his own thing at the moment so he’s not ready to fully embrace being a part of the Diaz family.”

But make of that what you will! We’ll revisit this as needed!

Because two magnets with quotes were removed, let’s also note the ones that remain and their placements.

Shannon is still being held in place by quote  “Think and Wonder. Wonder and Think.”

Eddie is now being held by the quote: “A person’s a person, no matter how small.” We last saw this magnet helping hold the event calendar for Christopher’s school.

The photo with Chris alone has two quotes holding it up. They are: “Don’t give up. I believe in you all. A person’s a person, no matter how small.” and “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant.”

These choices may be random. What stands out as more intentional is the removal of the two magnets that have been there for the past three seasons - including the beginning of this one. We’ll revisit all of these and their possible relevance as more content becomes available.

The final thing we note in this episode is the calendar representing Eddie which is now front and center instead of to the side which could show that his story is now a focus. It may also be a sign that he’s on the right path now as opposed to his struggles to figure everything out in S5. It is a blank monthly calendar with two black x’s on it.

We know from the BTS that at least one of those black x’s was already there in ‘Home Invasion’. However, it wasn’t shown on screen.

This is our first time really seeing either of them. The x’s are on the Monday and Thursday of the third week. No other writing is on the calendar.

Some theories (including 🤡🤡🤡 ones) were thrown out and discussed in the reblogs of and in the replies on this post, but we can’t draw any real definitive conclusions about what these x’s mean. So, I won’t get into detail about those theories at this time.

S6 E12: Recovery

AKA Buck Falls Asleep on Eddie’s Couch

There’s quite a lot of fridge content in this episode. I’m going to focus on the magnets and everything on the front of the fridge, and I’ll explain the other connections and link out to other related fridge theories as we go.

We get a new Durand calendar in this episode. Eddie’s calendar has again been removed. It’s different from the Durand calendar we got in 06x04. The most noticeable difference is that it no longer needs to be held up by other magnets. It’s able to stick on its own – without assistance - which could be a nod to Chris’ growing independence.

The photo of baby Chris and the photo of Shannon and Chris have been moved to the right side of the fridge.  

Chris is still being held by the quote “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant.”

But the quote “Don’t give up. I believe in you all. A person’s a person, no matter how small” that was previously helping hold up Chris has moved to join the photo of Eddie and Chris instead. The picture of the two of them alone on the left side of the fridge is being held by both versions of the same quote: “A person’s a person, no matter how small” and “Don’t give up. I believe in you all. A person’s a person, no matter how small.” 

Shannon and Chris is still being held by the quote “Think and Wonder. Wonder and Think.”

Multiple things to make note of here.

First of all, despite what you may think, that is not the exact same picture of Eddie and Chris that we’ve seen in previous episodes. It’s the same image, but this one is printed in a landscape format as opposed to the portrait format we’ve seen previously.

@stagefoureddiediaz posited two theories on this post: “there’s a part of me thinking about if it represents a widening of the picture - making space as it were but I honestly think it might just be a continuity error!!!”

These are both valid theories, and there’s no way of knowing for sure which one it is. She thinks there’s a good chance that the photo got lost when props were taken down, and they printed out a new copy (just incorrectly), but I’m personally leaning more towards it being more purposeful.

And that’s because of the photos on the right side of the fridge.

This is the first time we’ve seen photographs on this side.

In fact, the last “people” we saw on the right side of the fridge were the colored stick figure magnets, and we saw them slowly vanish as Eddie, Chris, and possibly Buck depending on your interpretation evolved as characters.

It’s interesting to me that not only is the calendar able to remain stuck to the fridge on its own, but the photos that have been moved over as though they’re on their way to being in the past (like the colored stick figures) are the photos of baby Chris and the photo of Shannon and Chris.

It becomes even more noteworthy to me when you think about what @stagefoureddiediaz points out on this post by @hattalove referencing both the photo in that post and the photo on the fridge.

#but also the fact that they oblitterated Shannons face out of the picture on the fridge of her and Chris from christmas 👀👀 #it says so much bout the place Shannon now occupies compared with the one Buck occupies #because that christmas was the christmas of the Elf - Buck was there but in the background #now shannon is there - only in the background and not part of important moments/developments etc

@sainteddie made that point on this post by saying: “but this week’s kitchen scene in particular reflected this growth so beautifully.. along with the rest of eddie’s healing… because they were able to showcase christopher existing outside of their dynamic. buck didn’t ask, eddie didn’t volunteer anything. christopher was able to exist quietly in the lunch eddie was packing without needing words. because this was about them and what they’ve built.”

There’s a lot more to that post, and I recommend reading it. This is just the bit relating to the kitchen scene. Because I’d also argue that Chris is being represented there but existing outside of their dynamic by his calendar being the one on the fridge. Particularly when looked at through a lens of independence.

This scene being focused on Buck and Eddie and their dynamic outside of Chris is also supported by another theory related to what’s going on inside of the fridge. I won’t get too deep into that because this post is already a LOT, but the general idea revolves around the fact that the water in Buck’s fridge was empty whereas the water in Eddie’s fridge was full.

To quote @yramesoruniverse from this post about the water (which was first pointed out by @anxieteandbiscuits in the tags of this post): “I lost the post, but bravo to whoever caught that the water container in Buck's refrigerator was empty. You know, before he asked for water and Eddie poured him a glass. Before he fell asleep on Eddie's couch underneath a painting of the ocean. Before Dr. Salazar told him that "water finds its own level, people do too." I mean, water was already a significant metaphor for Buck, Eddie and Chris. And then they did that? Insanity.”

[ I don’t want to stray too far from the magnets (and the content on the front of the fridge) beyond what’s necessary to explain their significance in this episode, so see this post for more detailed information. It’s a list of links for water theory, beer theory, and more conversations surrounding this episode and the fridges within it.]

Before we go, here’s an up-close look at Chris’ current school schedule. As you can see, whoever did the numbering on this for the show forgot weekends are a thing. 😂 But it looks like he’s got a science fair, another fair, an English paper, and a math quiz in his future. 😎 Make of that what you will. 🧐

S6 E15: Death and Taxes (shoutout to @lesbiandiaz​ for sending us these pictures allowing us to get started early)

AKA Buck and Eddie Talk in the Cemetery

So much is going on in this episode, so let’s break it down bit by bit.

We’ll start with the calendars.

First up, Eddie’s calendar. Bet you didn’t catch that one! Thankfully for all of us, @catdadeddie​ did. We actually see Eddie’s calendar on the right side of the fridge where we’ve never seen anything up until now.

@stagefoureddiediaz​ sums it up well: ‘Ok so the calendar has never been on that side of the fridge before [...] and that is in and of itself telling (and heartbreaking) - Eddie has put himself to the side again - except now he's on the other side - he's moved past Shannon - the calendar has literally crossed past her pictures on the fridge from one side to the other - is symbolic of Eddies choice to move on and forward. I think that might be why we've seen it moving to the front and then back to the side - kind of like a move forward before a move back. But the  calendar is also hidden by the cupboards on this side - so Eddie has moved on and Eddie is back to waiting on the side or in this instance I think it might be him choosing to sideline himself (because he thinks Buck doesn't want him) and he's also hiding himslef a bit more - being protective - but the calendar isn't gone - its still there - if there was no hope then I think it would've been removed - it just in a different place - Eddie is in a different place now.’

Chris’ school calendar, however, has once again been replaced with a new one. (Maybe they noticed how we dragged them last time because we got an accurate calendar this week. 😂) It’s a calendar for April 2023. We first see it when Eddie is rushing out the door while on the phone with his mom, and because everything is so detailed on this one, we’re able to determine that the date of this scene is April 7th, and Chris has Science Club.

Later in the episode when we see it again, it’s now April 25th, the day after his science project was due.

@stagefoureddiediaz​ talked about the callback of it all to 05x14 and ‘I misunderstood the assignment’ by pointing out the science connection and more when they’re talking about the solar oven project at the cemetery: ‘Also connecting this scene to the one from 5x14 through the hoodie is insane - [and through] the science of it all - Christopher’s factual heart drawing [last time] - chris in grey stripes - when Buck wore a grey shirt in the 5x14 scene there’s something there about the information in those two scenes being connected - heart metaphors being at the centre and with the stripes representing change I’m thinking it might be in some way connected to the idea of moving on, but also acceptance that you can let new people into your heart...’

As for the calendar, we actually see Eddie write directly on it in the first scene while discussing Chris’ plans for Earth Day which is April 22nd. He writes the words “Field trip” on the exact right date. Chris’ schedule isn’t the only schedule Chris’ calendar is being used for though. We also see the word work repeated multiple times, obviously in reference to Eddie’s work schedule. Interesting that they’d use Chris’ calendar for this when the larger one is also on the fridge.

April 25th, the day they make s’mores, happens to be a free day for both of them.

Chris’ calendar and the marker/pen used to write on it are now being held by red clip magnets which bring to mind red flags and the foreshadowing we’ve seen with Chris so far this season. It just so happens that the third red clip magnet is holding up the picture of Shannon and Chris at the beach that’s been by the front door in a frame until now.

(Speaking of foreshadowing and red flags and beaches, Chris has surf lessons coming up, make of that what you will.)

This picture was specifically moved to the fridge and placed in that clip for Eddie to knock it to the floor in front of us.

In the words of @theladyyavilee​, ‘it NEEDED to be in the kitchen and it needed to be on the fridge’ which absolutely tracks when you consider not just the fridge symbolism that’s been at play but the recurring theme of the kitchen being the heart of the home.

@stagefoureddiediaz​ says ‘this episode was Shannon heavy - her presence was far more felt than at any other time. And when that picture falls off the fridge - eddie is feeling like he’s lost his other co-parent and so Shannon’s relevance has increased over Bucks - because even if she isn’t able to be there her presence will never leave. Buck however at that moment is different - eddie feels like he’s been left or that he’s going to be left and so Eddie seeking comfort in the shadow of presence that Shannon offers makes sense because she cannot let him down again - she can’t break his heart like buck [has] just (inadvertently) done...’

The clips aren’t our only new magnets though! We also have some new colored magnets! They aren’t the stick figures this time. They’re cubes. Specifically, red, yellow, green, and blue ones.

We believe this is their new method of representing the Diaz boys and the people around them now that the stick figures are retired. In this scene, we get Eddie and Chris in these outfits:

Eddie in green, and Chris in a tri-color shirt of yellow, blue, and gray.

Going to bring over some direct quotes from @stagefoureddiediaz​ to sum this up. ‘... my thoughts on that jumper are about connecting him to buck in bucks absence from the room - that the show is trying to hint at how Chris has 3 parents - 3 people who are making him in to who he is becoming - it’s something they took pains to point out in other ways - and bucks presence was in the Diaz grave scene with the other jumper too. So if the jumper is all three parents then the ochre use makes sense - Shannon is white - as she is no longer of the mortal coil. Buck remains blue and chris is the yellow - the part of himself that is him. Eddie is wearing green and is present in the scene and so doesn’t need to be represented.’

Buck’s been framed as blue and Eddie as green throughout the season, so this stays true to that, meaning the green block by Chris and Shannon is Eddie, the yellow block on Shannon is Christopher, and the blue block slightly off to the side is Buck. Also notable is the red block over by the red clips because we see Natalia wearing a red dress in this episode and she has significant ties to death and can also be seen as pulling Buck slightly away from the other two.

The landscape portrait of Eddie and Christopher has notably remained the same, including the tilt of the quote magnets being used to hold it up. Eddie and Chris’ relationship is stable, and there’s still space to add in someone new.

Final notes:

Chris is still being held by the quote “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant.”

The calendar has the quote “Think and Wonder. Wonder and Think.” holding down the botton even though it's being held up by a clip.

Until next time! 💃

#so tumblr decided it's not going to let me update my original fridge post anymore 😒 #therefore new post #this one is the most updated version with the new information we found for season 4 as well as information from the latest episode #god this post is massive 💀 #the fridge magnet theory #eddie diaz #evan buckley #christopher diaz #buddie #buckley-diaz family #911 #blood tw

[orionsangel86]

Welp. Okay I watched the last episode of ofmd.

To sum up my thoughts on this season I will say that whilst I enjoyed it and felt the love and passion and respect for its queer fanbase throughout, it didnt hit me the same way the first season did. It felt like maybe a little bit of that season 1 magic was missing and for that I very much blame Max's cutting off 2 episodes and slashing the budget. They had a lot of story they wanted to tell that would have worked so much better in 10 episodes.

I consider the last 3 episodes of season 1 some of the best TV I have seen in my life. From the use of The Chain in ep 8, through the dramatic highs and lows of eps 9 and 10 it was edge-of-your-seat drama and I was in awe at the creators that put it together. But one of the reasons why those 3 eps were so good is because the drama and the pivotal moments were given time to breath.

If those 3 eps were given the same lack of time and budget as season 2, no doubt they all would have been crammed into 1 episode and it would not have had the same impact.

If anything that last episode should have played out across two, with Izzy's death being the half way point and cliffhanger ending leading to a final battle and somewhat happy resolution.

I'm not mad at Izzy's death. If anyone was gonna die, it was gonna be him. His status as Blackbeards enabler and sometimes mentor is over. For Ed to truly be free, I think Izzy always had to go. From a storytelling perspective it makes perfect sense, even though I am sure a lot of fans are absolutely heartbroken about it.

Another casualty of the reduced screentime meant certain original cast members weren't given anywhere near the amount of screentime they should have had. I was expecting a lot more focus on Jim as they were basically the third lead of s1 due to them getting the same backstory as Ed and Stede. All of the crew appear to have had drastically reduced parts which does feel like a big loss to me.

Its funny actually, OFMD S2 suffered from the opposite problem to GOS2. OFMD had too much story to tell in a limited timeframe, GOS2 had very little story to tell outside of the flashbacks and probably too much time given to it. Both shows season 2s suffered from tremendously bad pacing issues.

Also, the one thing the final episode made so obvious to me, is the uncertainty of getting a s3 renewal. It is so clear in the way they tried to wrap things up in a happy bow as best they could, so that if they do get cancelled it leaves fans at least somewhat satisfied. I hate this though. I hate that studios are so fickle and ruthless that creators have to gamble with good quality writing and avoid cliffhangers because of asshole executives who dont actually care about the stories.

Because of the fast pacing, and the fear of cancellation, it felt more like a rush happy ending instead of a part way point in a bigger story, with important character development still to come. Perhaps I need more time to absorb the story in a full rewatch, but im not exactly itching for more at this point, whilst also not really being satisfied with what I got either. I wish we had left Ed and Stede in at least some minor peril, like have them captured and threatened with hanging but at least in a good place romantically, so that we can start speculating about what kind of escape plan they will come up with in season 3. Leaving them in a dilapidated old inn somewhere just felt wrong to me. Instead of ending the season with the stakes sky high (like season 1) it feels like they left season 2 with zero stakes at all, instead of at least a happy medium. At this point we should be turning to fanfiction and wondering what happens next, but instead I'm left thinking "okay then. That was good. What can I watch next?" I don't need to bury myself in fanfic and fanart to feed the hyperfixation this time around, and that is where I feel the most loss.

I'm sure others will have hugely different reactions to me though. Perhaps my expectations were too high? Perhaps my GO obsession just isn't leaving room for OFMD this time? But then again, I think if GOS2 hadn't ended the way it did, I wouldn't still be so obsessed with that either.

Sigh. I dunno. It was a good fun show and will no doubt still be hugely popular with devoted fans, but for me I just can't say it cast the same spell over me as it did last year.

#ofmd #ofmd spoilers #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #perhaps my feelings will change after a rewatch #i hope so #i just wish they could have had the extra two episodes to stretch out the story

[roseverdict]

How Can AvM Be Canon Within AvM? (Analysis/Headcanon)

Alright, so it's been, what, two, two and a half weeks since The King came out and downright imploded the fandom? There's so much going on during every second and every little detail counts. There've been revelations of Mango and Purple's narrative foiling, of what Mango's backstory means for the ages of the rest of the cast, and of what this means for the Beckerverse at large.

However, one odd little loose end continues to nag at a lot of us, it seems.

How is it possible for the original AvM video to exist within the continuity of the AvM "Shorts"?

I've seen a lot of speculation about whether in-universe Alan just has his screen recorder on all the time or not, and what this means for the apparent father figure to the very sticks in the video. Are the videos like vlogs in-universe? Do the sticks know they're being watched by millions of strangers?

I'd like to think I've figured it out. See, a post like this almost could have been made months ago, back when Green first saw Mango's explanation of the plan to Purple…except we didn't have one key factor then that we do now.

And that key factor…

…is Herobrine.

Lemme explain.

See, a lot of pieces of the puzzle fall into place once you work out Herobrine's whole deal. For context, in the original AvM video, he possesses Red and forces them to battle the rest of the Color Gang for seemingly no reason. When he next appears in Monster School, he's…

…a teacher?

Now, I'm not going to talk too much about the ins and outs of Monster School- that's not a canon I'm familiar with. What I am familiar with, though, is the previous Animation Vs. videos. Why on earth would a Minecraft cryptid who, by all appearances, should have a grudge against ROYGB…not have a grudge?

I mean, you've seen him in action.

If Red wasn't an unexpected-but-welcome visitor, we would have known. Instead, we got Herobrine making Red come to class. Almost like saying "Get in here- you might actually learn something."

And while he's pretty insistent that Red sticks around for class, as visibly Not A Mob as Red is, he's also a pretty chill teacher, all things considered.

At least, until his students are endangered.

Now, how does this characterization of Herobrine mesh with that from the original AvM, when the characterization for everybody else is so rock-solid that we're able to associate Minecraft proficiencies with stick figures who are visually indistinguishable save by color?

Simple: it doesn't.

Now, I'm not saying we've got two Herobrines running around, I'm saying that the Herobrine we meet in Monster School is, as it were, Beckerverse Herobrine's natural state.

The original AvM was an acting gig.

I'd even go so far as to suggest that almost all the "Animation Vs" videos that aren't AvM "Shorts" were planned out in-universe, and there's a simple way to tell which ones would have been planned and which ones weren't.

Does it happen on Alan's desktop (or an expansion of it)? It was most likely planned.

This goes for Vs. Youtube, Vs. Mario, Vs. Arcade Games, and Vs. Minecraft. An argument could even be made for AvM S1E1- The Rediscovery.

It does not go for Vs. League of Legends.

(Don't worry, I'll be coming back to Herobrine later. I'm not through with him yet.)

Now, Vs. League of Legends, while originally teased at the end of Vs. Minecraft, does not actually pick up from where Vs. Minecraft left off. It takes place sometime after season 1 of the AvM shorts, and it takes place within League itself.

It also features Purple.

I won't go into too much detail, but suffice it to say that the bit of character development we get here does seem to translate directly to the Parkour episode of AvM S3- in the previous AvM short with Purple in it, the rainbow squad leaves on less-than-friendly terms with Purple, what with Blue and Green being left to fall to their deaths and Purple being tossed in Minecraft jail, and all. In Vs. League, however, we get a good, old-fashioned stick fight between ROYGB and Purple, and it would be expected for the two sides to part as frustrated acquaintances at best…

…and then they go for another round, this time switching up who the 'villain' is and getting Purple to play with them.

Then, in Parkour, Purple uses this newfound trust to get them into the parkour trap. (And I could yell (hyperfixation) about Purple here, too, but I'm trying to focus purely on the meta right now so skdjskdjdk)

See, season 1 of AvM originally takes place on Alan's PC, but it does take a detour through the Nether and out through multiple different Minecraft worlds before the sticks finally get back.

Season 2, short as it is, takes place entirely on the desktop. (Or desktop-adjacent, in the case of the Lucky Blocks episode. Even in that trippy Lucky Block Dimension, the sticks can still influence the desktop directly.)

Season 3…well.

Season 3 takes us out of Alan's PC right from the get-go, and while there is a brief return or two before the end, it's still a direct continuation of what's been happening on the other side of the portal.

And what a happening it's been!

We've got the squad being split up multiple times, we've got a looming threat on the verge of deleting Minecraft, and we've even got a brief detour through somebody else's copy of the game.

But how does all this mesh together?

Well, like I said, if my theory is correct, the Animation Vs. videos (minus Vs. LoL) were all staged, at least to some degree. That means that, for all intents and purposes, Herobrine's original possession of Red was planned out beforehand and given the green light.

Maybe some of the other AvM videos were too, maybe they weren't. Unless we see them within the context of new AvM videos themselves, I don't think we'll ever know for sure.

But the videos that follow the sticks off the desktop are almost certainly videos that just don't exist in the Beckerverse. If in-universe Alan has a screen recorder trained on his desktop for funsies, he likely doesn't send his digicameras to follow the sticks around as they leave to do who-knows-what.

So what does this mean for the father figure to our favorite stick figures?

I propose that the Animation Vs. videos that could have been filmed using just Alan's screen recorder were, while videos that involve the sticks leaving to go who-knows-where weren't. The build battles, the first two music-related episodes, the first rollercoaster video, those were all done with at least the knowledge that what they were doing was being recorded. (I personally like to think in-universe Alan runs any "hey remember this? let's make it a video!" ideas past the sticks before uploading, but that's just me.)

Blue and Green leaving for the Nether the first time and ending up on Purple's Macbook, and everything that comes directly of it? That happens "off-camera" and probably isn't uploaded to in-universe Youtube.

The events of S3 as a whole, taking place almost entirely off of Alan's PC, wouldn't have been recorded, either.

Which brings us back to Herobrine. His first appearance, his acting gig, was definitely on Alan's desktop. In this context, it'd be like if you managed to successfully get Bigfoot to shoot a video with you- you shoot the video, you bid Bigfoot farewell, and you never expect to run into him again.

Except Red did.

When Herobrine sees Red in the halls, his first instinct is not to tell Red to get lost, the way it would be if he'd recognized Red and left ROYGB on bad terms. He squints at Red- and I would bet money that he does recognize them, because how many stick figures would a Minecraft Creepypasta brought to life even know?- and invites Red to class.

That's not something you do with somebody you dislike, especially when kids you care about, your students, are on the line and you've got the means to protect them.

Now, we know from Monster School and The King that Herobrine is perfectly capable of what we saw in the original AvM, but that he's also capable of so much more. The Doylist explanation is just that Alan and the crew came up with more abilities to show off after growing their skills for years on end.

The Watsonian explanation is that, well, in a scripted video, Herobrine didn't need to pull out all the stops. The original AvM was plenty entertaining as it was, and the sticks are durable enough to do things, like, say, brawl with each other in a website without end. If the first AvM was scripted, who's to say they were even really endangered?

(The AvA videos and the actually-short shorts…kinda hurt my brain to think about in this context. So I won't. At least, not yet.)

But they were definitely endangered in The King, and when Herobrine is in danger of getting pulled into the staff, nobody moves…

…except for Red.

Red was possessed in the seemingly-scripted original AvM video and, if they'd had a bad experience with being possessed for a video, they likely wouldn't have brought attention to themself right at this moment. If they hadn't, they might have beaten themself up over not doing so later, but their first thought in the moment wouldn't be to get closer.

But it was. They did.

And we all know what happened next.

We know that plot points from the original AvM are still true in-universe, scripted though the video may be.

Herobrine's abilities...

...the power of the Minecraft icon...

...that's all stuff that comes back later on.

Which brings us to the Mango man himself and the moment that's breaking all of our brains.

In-universe, if the only videos that exist are the ones that take place solely on or around one guy's desktop, who's to say stick figures in the interspace believe that anything that happens in them could be real? They don't go on that guy's PC. As evidenced by the Minecraft booth from Mango's backstory, they need a whole Star Trek holodeck-on-steroids setup to even get into Minecraft without using Minecraft mechanics directly, and this likely goes for other games as well.

Mango, however, was desperate enough to turn to Minecraft myths for his revenge plan. He's already considering things outside the box- who's to say he can't get the Minecraft icon from wherever the ROYGB sticks are?

So when he puts up his posters declaring that he wants to find the sticks who most people probably consider to be actors, who else would respond than the one stick we on the outside have seen before, the one stick who knows that the videos may be scripted but the abilities are certainly real?

When Purple sees Mango's Minecraft basement, they're looking around in awe, sure, but given that the use of Minecraft mechanics seems to be restricted outside of Minecraft, to the point that Mango needed to make a shady alleyway deal to get his hands on a command block…well, I'd be surprised too.

But they recognize the Nether portal for what it is, and they don't hesitate to follow Mango through.

There's probably a lot to be said regarding Purple's motivations at this point- given the assumption that Vs. LoL happened off-camera, for Purple to then turn around and lure the sticks into the parkour trap for Mango…there's something more going on there, there's gotta be. Something that might have been expanded on in a musical number, perhaps?

however this post took several hours of thinking to do and the better part of a day to make legible for tumblr, and i wound up passing out at one point, so i think i'm done for now wodjskdkd. i'd like to think i've at least clarified which videos would be available in-universe and why.

now if anybody needs me, i'm gonna go rewatch s3 and cry again :',D

#animation vs minecraft #avm #alan becker #avm analysis #avm headcanon #rosie babbles #id in alt text #sticks

[27emailsicantsend]

Season 4 Thoughts

To My Followers

This rest of this debrief will be wordy and I wanted to make sure I got what I felt was the most important part of this posted here first, before I move onto my thoughts of season 4. In case you read nothing else, I hope you read this: Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this amazing ride we have went on the past four years. Especially thank you to the 2019 Rina’s, who saw our little crack ship and believed in it’s potential every step of the way. I am floored by the amazing community I feel we have built on my page.

Something I haven’t shared about on here is I have dealt with some pretty bad on and off depression since 2019. I’ve had a hard time maintaining friends due to natural circumstances that have come with just being an adult. When I got lonely, I was always able to turn to Tumblr and answer a new ask or read a positive comment. I remember one time one of my posts on Tumblr got semi-big on Twitter and it was during one of my darkest depression phases. It truly made me feel like I had something… special to offer when I felt like I was nothing. I’ve been on Tumblr for a long time, but the HSMTMTS fandom truly changed my life. I am not only mourning a show that brought me comfort and felt like the friendships I was craving, but also the community we have built.

If nothing else comes of the show (no movie, spin-off, etc.) I just want you all to know from the bottom of my heart, I genuinely appreciate you. You were my light in my darkest tunnels and I will never be able to thank you enough for that. I don’t plan on leaving Tumblr, not even close and I am sure I will have a lot more to say as I rewatch the season, but I know some of you might be gone after this. So, whether you stay or you leave, please know you have “changed my life for the better, I have been changed for good”.

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Now who is ready for my season 4 thoughts?

Instead of going episode by episode, I figured it would be easier to talk about the season in general themes. Overall, I loved this season. It is my favorite season, which I knew would be so hard to beat s3 but this one did. I cried, laughed, cried, sang along in my head, and cried some more. Tim and the cast truly outdid themselves this season and I don’t think I have ever seen a better final season to a show. Ever. Honestly, I hesitate rewatching the season because of how much it impacted me the first time and I know it won’t feel the same the second time around, but that just means it did what it needed to do. If anyone on the show is seeing this, please know that I appreciate everything you’ve done!

Music

The music this season was incredible. I know a lot of people didn’t like season 3’s soundtrack, but honestly, I did. But I really feel like this season outshined in a lot of ways musically. Stripping down to raw vocals made the scenes feel much more emotional and connected. And the changes and tracking to the songs we already knew made them feel fresh again. The original songs were all crafted carefully to give meaning and purpose to the scenes and characters, making each one feel like a progressive step in the episode, rather than just filler. The music was always an important part to this show, but this season it really felt the most intentional. I don’t have enough good things to say about it.

I’m having a hard time picking a favorite because they were all so meaningful in their own ways, but if I had to pick one (for now), I would probably say “Maybe this Time” is my favorite. Watching Ricky and Gina talk about how they feel like this time around their relationship is different from their other relationships- and before with each other- really encompasses everything Tim was trying to portray with the ship. They had to go through their ups and downs, had to see other relationships, in order to give and appreciate each other’s authentic love. Not only this, but the proof was in the pudding with Ricky’s feelings. Watching each iconic Rina scene as they sang about feeling like their relationship with each other is different than others, shows that those moments were reciprocated feelings between the two of them. And while I never had a doubt Ricky had feelings since the beginning, this really solidified the idea for even the most casual of viewers.

Cinematography

I had to pause myself several times and remember I was watching a tv show and not a movie because the budget was budgeting! I am amazed at the detail and stylistic choices the show chose depending on what we were watching. From the opening scene literally feeling like I was watching HSM again, to certain scenes making me feel like I was back to previous seasons, to other scenes where the lens would change depending on if we were watching HSM4 being filmed directly or through the directors chair. It was creative and stylistic, using different camera techniques like the steady camera or being shot more like a music video for the Halloween song. In the most meta way, you could literally see the enhancements to the shots with coloring and lighting, making this season feel like the same upgrade HSM3 was from HSM2. I am just so, beyond impressed.

Humor

Oh my gosh, this season did not miss with the jokes and facial expressions! I will say, I think season 3 did have me laughing a little more frequently, whereas this season had me crying a lot more, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t funny. They weren’t kidding saying it was “pg-13”, because I was really surprised with some of the jokes they put into this season (like the one between Ricky and his dad episode 1 or the amount of bleeped swear words). Emmy had the most heinous lines, so you never quite knew what to expect with her. I loved seeing Ricky make his “Jim Halpert eyes” at the camera or Ricky and Jet tease each other about their girls. I think one or two more jokes would have bode well within this season, but I am also very happy with what we got!

Friendships

EJ and Ricky- this was probably one of the more shocking things to happen in the season. I knew from stills we were going to get something with EJ and Ricky, but I remember when they were first dropped I was very confused about why they were together. There are a lot of things EJ has done wrong and a lot of things he’s done right, but I really think his relationship with Ricky was redeemed after episode five. I was so impressed by his monologue at the end of their time together and the raw emotion Ricky had to hearing the things EJ was saying. Ricky needed to know that it was on him to change, even if he couldn’t change the outcome, he could change his view. I loved knowing that EJ had moved on and even if it was hard, he still supported rina at the end of the day. I think this gave Ricky some relief too. And then watching Ricky call on EJ a couple more times when he was stressed and have that parallel scene of throwing the basketball back and forth… it was just a very satisfying ending for them that I didn’t know needed to happen until it did. (Also their song?? Was so good??? It was really nice to hear EJ sing something serious and his vocals worked well with Ricky’s).

Gina and Mack- I really thought I was going to hate Mack and the first couple of episodes set him up to look that way too. But then he shows up in the trailer asking to pretend to date Gina and for some reason that scene I knew he wasn’t harmful? I know that might sound backwards but it came across really… friendly? Ricky’s worries were more comedic than an actual threat to their relationship which I appreciated. Tim really meant it when he said no more love triangles for them… because it was never actually a triangle. Mack and Gina didn’t actually have those romantic feelings for each other. Mack grew on me throughout the season and watching him drop out after his conversation with Ricky really shed a light on his character. I just wish Ricky would have replaced Mack as Romeo… and kind of shocked he didn’t?

Kourtney and Gina- If there is one thing I was certain on and was completely wrong about, it was these two. I genuinely thought Kourtney’s “diva-ness” was going to mimmick Sharpay’s because Sharpay was jealous of Gabriella and tried to take her role HSM3. The doc set up Kourtney and Gina to look like they hated each other and I really thought things were going to get messy between them. Honestly… that was the only thing from the doc that wasn’t mentioned, so I kind of wonder if Tim had plans for it but dropped it in the end? Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy they stayed close this season; I’m just confused, is all.

Ricky and Nini- Another name I did not expect to hear at all this season, but in the context it happened in, I’m glad I did. I think Nini giving Ricky that lotto ticket helped to heal any remaining wounds from their break up and show they would always still be friends. And while we never saw them as friends in the show, I feel like with their set up as a couple s1 they really were good friends, but dating kind of wrecked it for them. Knowing she sent those opening night cards again (a fun tradition I’m glad they kept even with her off the show), was a sweet nod that they were ok again.

Gina and EJ- Much like Nini and Ricky, I was shocked to see these two interact again and the context they did. I love Gina Porter and would defend her in court, no questions asked, but it was really interesting watching her recognize maybe a little of the hypocrisy of her keeping that secret from Ricky, which was the whole reason she got mad at EJ. I think having her go through the same thing in her relationship, helped her to recognize why it was so hard for EJ to bring it up. However, Gina seemed to try a lot harder to say it to Ricky in a short time period after finding out about the offer, whereas EJ kind of seemed like he was going to put it off as long as he could s3- that’s the difference between them. I really did love EJ and Gina as friends and you can find other posts of me saying this- and with him being friends with Ricky now too- I think there was something really healing for all of them in Gina and EJ’s conversation. I also found Ricky’s reaction to knowing Gina confided in EJ first interesting because I genuinely thought he was going to get really angry, but instead EJ pushed Ricky to go fight for Gina. It was a nice conclusion for all of them.

Miss Jenn and Emmy/Carlos- At first I was going to be really sad they cut Carlos out from being a helped with Miss Jenn, but I loved the role Emmy played with her. Emmy was obviously looking for a place where she felt wanted/needed, especially after getting kicked off the movie, so seeing her feel that by assisting Miss Jenn was sweet. I also loved that Carlos was still connected to Miss Jenn but in very different ways. They seemed more like friends and it made me think a lot about what their relationship would look like after Carlos graduated. Knowing Miss Jenn helped Carlos when he was first getting bullied was a very touching twist to their arc… in fact, that entire episode (4x06) is making me rethink everything that has happened since the beginning of the series. Just when I thought I was done finding new things, Tim has managed to make it so I can go back and rewatch and probably find MORE new things. That is what real writing looks like and it can’t be mimicked.

Family

Ricky- Watching Ricky say “I Love You” to every person he considered family was such a touching storyline. Ricky’s whole premise from season one was about how he felt isolated from those who cared about him and how he struggled to say how he feels. We watch Ricky slowly overcome this as he tells those he loves that he loves them over and over, while simultaneously wrapping several of their storylines with him. It was his way of thanking them and saying good bye and I couldn’t think of a better way for Ricky to demonstrate who has become family to him.

Gina and Terri- “Don’t get me started” is the only way I can start this, ironically. I have nasty words for this woman. I am so proud of Ricky and Gina standing up to her, pointing out how malicious she was all season. How she couldn’t be bothered to even spend two seconds with things that were important to Gina, but could easily make Gina be everything Terri wanted her to be. I knew in the Thanksgiving episode something was off about Gina’s mom. Of course, we had a couple pieces of the puzzle like Gina talking about how her mom pushes her too hard in other episodes, but specifically during this episode I got weird vibes from Terri and couldn’t quite put my finger on it. This season answered it for me. When Gina called to tell her mom about how she won the “Choosical”, it was something so small but so important to her, her mom immediately made Gina take her off speaker and then dropped that bomb while Gina was out with her friends. Like Terri couldn’t have waited until she got home? It’s very obvious that Terri’s needs are above all else and it makes Gina feel like she has to cater to her mom’s every whim. I have always said I felt a really close tie to Gina and without going into too much detail, her home life molding who she has become, makes a lot of sense why I feel so much like her. So yes, I do take Terri a bit personally.

Ricky and his parents- I have seen a lot of mixed opinions on Mike and Lynne getting back together and I get why. Honestly, I really liked Mike and Jenn. I liked the idea of Miss Jenn being the mother figure Ricky didn’t really have and literally stepping into that role. They seemed good and happy, but I get why she chose Mozzarella Stick after this season. Miss Jenn does seem a bit happier with him so I’ll let it slide. But with Mike and Lynne, it’s kind of got two sides for me. On one hand, maybe it was good for Ricky to see his parents get back together. He got this second chance and being Troy and seeing them happy in the audience was all he wanted, so it came full circle. It also proves more of the love Ricky has for Gina, because his parents represented Nini and him. He could have easily saw them get back together and thought “man if they can, I can get back with Nini too!” But he was so far removed from Nini because of his relationship for Gina, he could see that and not have it shake him back to S1 Ricky. On the other hand, it also defeats Lynne’s whole conversation that led Gina to Ricky. Because Mike and she paralleled R*ni, seeing her give Ricky permission to let Nini go (“sometimes two people aren’t always meant to be”), but then come back to Mike, makes it kind of be like “well, what was the point of that conversation because we were proving that Ricky could be more without her?” I guess you could maybe even argue that his parents reflected he and Gina instead, falling apart but then getting back together because of unresolved feelings. I’m not sure… I’d be curious to see what everyone else thinks about this.

EJ and his dad (+Kourtney and her mom)- I was happy to see EJ finally separate himself from his dad. Even though EJ was struggling financially, he was happier figuring it out on his own. This show really embodied a lot of different parent/child dynamics and I think it gives kids permission to stand up to their parents, even when it’s scary. To do what is best for you, even if your parents disagree. I think maybe EJ’s arc could have been explored a bit more and I would have loved to see more on him and Val (which I totally called it btw), but I feel like that would have been reserved for s5, had we gotten one. In the same breath, it was nice seeing Kourtney have such a good relationship with her mom as a juxtaposition to EJ and his dad this episode. She had a parent who wanted her to explore her options for college and supported her unconditionally. It showed what a good parent is like too. I really enjoyed those two storylines flipping back and forth in episode 5.

Jet and Maddox- it was so good to see their relationship healed this season. To watch them encourage each other in their roles and dreams (like Jet wanting to possibly go with her to New Zealand) was such a massive contrast from last season. You could tell a couple of times they were still working a little through the kinks, but it really seemed like they had found their rhythm again as siblings. I also have to give a huge shout out to the Halloween episode for Jet getting to help Maddox reclaim her scary story that he had “ruined” in s3. It was like the last unresolved thing for them and it was such a sweet callback for them to do again.

Relationships

Carlos and Seb- Man I don’t know how to feel about them this season. Rina’s predicted the cheating from a mile away and with Red, but even watching it on screen seemed so out of character for both of them? And the angry phase seemed to last several episodes more than the “make up” phase which was a bit frustrating. I love Seblos, but this was such an interesting plot to go down, especially with Seb accusing Carlos of cheating the whole time. And it wasn’t like that insecurity was because Seb was the cheater the whole time? It only happened once. I don’t know, I think they could have made it so Seblos fought over something else or if they had to go down the cheating storyline, showed Seb getting more and more feelings for Red through the seasons. Then when he got insecure, it makes sense because he was projecting. Then we could have had a whole arc about Seb’s insecurities.

I also had a hard time with the Seb not coming out storyline and that’s why they couldn’t travel? It just seemed like such a random “we need a C-plot” storyline for the last two episodes? I think there are better ways this relationship could have been executed this season, but I am happy to see them still as endgame.

Seb and Natalie- *blinks profusely*

Ashlyn, Maddox, Big Red, Antoine- I’ve mentioned this several times on here, I was really happy with Ashlyn being with Red or Maddox. She seemed happy with both, but I think with an entire season of Red missing, it did help to create some of that separation so the break up didn’t seem so abrupt between Ashlyn and him. I absolutely died seeing him get with Antoine though. That was the exact plot twist I needed!

I appreciated Madlyn getting together in the end because I think there was a natural progression of feelings we were able to see since S3. Maddox needed a way to move on from Madison and Ashlyn was able to figure out her sexuality through Val, but place herself in the right heart through Maddox. I think Julia had talked about how good it was for kids to see queer storylines that are positive and cute, rather than how they might get portrayed otherwise. That being queer was just… accepted for Ashlyn. If we do see gay storylines on TV, it still tends to lean toward MLM, so it was a breath of fresh air seeing a WLW on a teen show like this. I have female friends who are queer that I could see really resonating with a storyline like this.

Jet and Kourtney- This relationship is the prime example of the show runner being mostly positive the show was getting cancelled, but holding out hope for more. I think if he knew for sure when they were filming, we probably would have seen a Jetney kiss or something a little more… solid between them? They were really cute and I loved seeing Jet get flustered every time he was around her (especially when he would be acting normal 3 seconds earlier), but their romance fell just a teeny bit flat for me this season and I think it’s because Tim was trying to leave the door open for more. I think they were supposed to be more of a “slow burn”, so we got that comment from Gina about Jet asking her out, but then nothing else really happened from there. If we get a spin-off (and I PRAY we get a rina one), I would hope to see more between Jet and Kourt (imagine one with them being the core four!).

Ricky and Gina- I don’t even know how I am going to write this without crying. These two hold such a special place in my heart and watching them finally succeed was everything I could have asked for and more. We got everything with them: duets, Ricky saying “I love you” first, flashbacks, a rain kiss, “Can I Have This Dance”, spin hug, secret dating and more. Val was right when she said that they were the “love each other needed”. From the beginning, we watched Gina feel isolated from East High. She had no friends, a bad family life, and apparently had gotten in a lot of trouble in her previous schools. With Ricky, we saw him navigating this need to be loved so desperately, he ended up pushing those he cared about away even further. If he felt like a mistake or a failure to them, he hid because how could he be anything else but happy around them? He believed the sad parts of him made him unlovable, and that’s where Gina proved him wrong. When everyone else reminded him that he wasn’t wanted at the first show, he never showed up as a good student, he was “in the way”… Gina reminded him he did belong. She reminded him that he had good things to offer, even if it was as simple as just listening to him play a song.

And Ricky did the same for Gina. She was completely isolated and felt like it wasn’t worth getting close to people because she might have to “move again”. She felt like her only business was causing problems and being the number one competition. But Ricky stepped in as a friend, showing her that someone cared enough about her to just ask why she was causing trouble in the first place- and not to get her in trouble, but to let her know someone saw something soft beneath the surface and that he just wanted to pull that side of her out. “Why are you making it your business?” “You’re not that scary”. And he did.

Both of these characters shifted after their first conversation at the dance. They both continued to grow and adapt together, even when they were a part. I loved the flashback in 4x06, as well as the tag in the hat, because it proves that the stars were always aligned in their favor. It was a good lesson to us as the audience that even when all seems lost, there might be better things in the future. “Sometimes the really good stuff begins only when something else ends”. And to enjoy what we have now because it might be a part of the best part of our life. “It’s about the journey, not the destination”.

Time and time again, Rina proved that they were made for each other this season and that they improved each other in the best ways. Ricky told Gina he remembered the things she said (someone who felt forgotten after moving so much) and that he always wants to hear what she has to say (after being pushed aside by EJ all summer). Gina rearranged her life to stay in Salt Lake, rather than making Ricky figure it out (she wasn’t going to leave him like everyone else and not because he told her to stay, but because she genuinely wanted to). She reminded Ricky of his value to her in her good bye speech (saying that he saw her like no one else did and saying that he was the hardest one to talk about, which probably made Ricky feel like a priority and not an after-thought). I have never seen a couple be such a complete and whole puzzle piece like these two.

They were destined to be together because they are each other’s best parts. Their love story is serendipitous.

Things Missing

As much as I loved this season, I felt like there were a lot of elements still missing that I hadn’t already mentioned and I would have loved to have seen fleshed out more. I wish we would have gotten more on Ashlyn’s and Carlos’ body image storylines. I think it’s important to have that representation on screen and the storylines seemed to end as quickly as they started. We also don’t know much about Emmy still. We know that this opportunity felt big for her and she was let down, but that was about all we got. I really, really banked on a chocolates confession and as much as I loved that rain kiss, I think it would have been perfect if Gina would have ran out saying, “you were the one who got me the chocolates” and THEN told Ricky about her mom. I get for the audience it works because now we have confirmation of Ricky getting her them (it’s literally the exact same design of bows), but it would have been nice to see Gina learn about it. I wish we would have seen more of Kourtney and Carlos being the “Ryan and Sharpay” with their need for wanting everything/sassiness- it just seemed to show up a little in the beginning of the series and then wasn’t revisited until the last episode. Lastly, the OG wildcats really still felt like they were missing from this season. I was convinced we were getting guest appearances from Zac, Vanessa, and Ashley, but I guess this is what you get for living in delulu land. And when Monique or Bart showed back up (or anyone else) later in the series I was just like, “oh yeah! They’re in this season”. I just wish they would have been shown a bit more throughout so I didn’t completely forget they were a part of the season (it kind of reminds me of S3 where halfway through I completely forgot Nini even had a storyline- it wasn’t until the last episode I remembered her being around).

The song placements were a bit off for me too. “Just Wanna Be with You” was completely missing and we didn’t get to watch “The Boys are Back” at all… I honestly felt really deprived! I think “The Boys are Back” would have made a great reacquainting song for Ricky and Jet, “Just Wanna Be with You” would have solidified not only rina endgame a bit more but they could have even had jetney sing it to show their endgame more. I don’t think the placement of “Scream” was bad by any means, but I think it might have been better around the time of Ricky visiting EJ because I believe that was when he was truly at his lowest this season. Things were kind of working out for Ricky a little more when he actually sang it, which doesn’t parallel Troy as much (Troy sang it at his absolute lowest of lows). And as much as I wanted to love “I Want it All”, there was something about either the instrumentals or the vocals that made the song not hit as hard for me as the movie. I think Kourtney and Carlos are absolute powerhouses and could have really knocked it out of the park, so I’m not sure what happened there.

Spin-Off

I desperately want a rina spin-off or even one with rina and jetney. I’ve seen some people want a Kourtney spin-off, but I’m not sure how much I would enjoy it because I’m so emotionally tied to Gina/rina. I think a rina college spin-off could be great with other characters coming in and out, as well as a whole new cast. I am sure Tim has more ideas up his sleeve and he could show us rina getting married at the end of the show. It could be about balancing this relationship and college, as well as all of the pressures that come with that. It could be about them figuring out their life together as adults (which would be amazing to see because there really aren’t enough shows based on your 20’s and most of the fan base for this show is in their 20’s!) It could be more mature and hit harder topics, but still in a way that fits the essence of the show we already know. If a spin-off is too much, I would even be happy with a movie. I just want to know what happens after high school for these characters and I really believe we could have gotten that in a season 5, had the show not gotten cancelled what feels to be… a little premature. Tim said he wanted this show to go on for a long time with multiple seasons and/or spin-offs, he has said that he has floated the idea of a rina: college spin-off around, and Josh and Sofia don’t seem to hate the idea. Of course, we’d have to wait on the strikes, but hopefully by the time they are done we’ll hear some news one way or another.

What’s Next?

So, Wildcats, what’s next for me? Well, I’ll still be here. I’ve had these character asks lingering in my inbox but I was gone all last week (literally from morning until night) so I just haven’t had a chance to do them. It might be kind of fun to finish them up now that I’ve seen season 4, but it also makes me sad because I didn’t wait for the other characters… so maybe I might keep the character asks for seasons 1-3 only to keep the playing field even.

Please keep sending me asks and discussion prompts. I love talking to all of you and just because the show is done (for now) doesn’t mean we can’t keep talking about it. I have a lot of drafts of other thoughts and theories etc. relating to the show that have come to mind and I never got a chance to post. But now I feel like I’ve got more time to post them, so be expecting to hear more from me on that front too.

I will also try to keep you guys updated if I hear anymore about spin-offs, movies, etc. and since this is technically a multi-fandom blog (just lately it’s been dedicated to HSMTMTS) you might see me post about some other shows too. If you have any recommendations, let me know.

Well, I guess it’s off to go rewatch the season… and probably a million more times after this. Thanks for everything you guys have given me so far and I pray our adventures will continue.

You’re not a maybe. You’re a yes.

#hsmtmts #high school musical the musical the series #rina #ricky bowen #gina porter #ricky x gina #season 4 #season 4 thoughts

[kiss2012]

putting the rest of my skam thoughts under the cut cause i have so many

im now 100% sure i originally stopped watching s4 after episode 5 LOL which was kinda real of me cause this season was umm a mess

i do believe s1 and s3 are masterpieces. s2 and s4 on the other hand have…some issues

still haven’t reached a verdict on s2 and now it’s been a while since i finished it and so all i will say is that my feelings r still complicated

that being said vilde’s kinda an icon for saying “what if william’s a psychopath who killed noora”

why is yousef going to turkey.

i think yousef not being muslim is a really good plotline i just wish it had been given a proper amount of focus. because i dont want sana to compromise her beliefs obviously. but at the same time im sitting here thinking as a muslim i love islam but i dont agree with lots about it and i dont think that makes you a bad person necessarily. but i do think yousef goes to turkey and regains his faith and converts back for sana ❤️ because they are true love ❤️

penetrator chris does not deserve a damn clip all to himself

vilde coming through in the end for sana is really so <33 wish there had been MORE FOCUS on their friendship in this season…

WHY IS JONAS DATING EMMA. FUCK THAT

JULIAN DAHL REF!!!!!

penetrator chris texting jonas for advice about eva is fucking hysterical

MAGNUS SAYING PENETRSTOR CHRIS IS HOT

JONAS SAYING EVA IS UP HERE WHILE HE’S DOWN THERE SO TRUE BESTIE

i don’t have anything against eva and penetrator chris even if i vastly prefer eva/vilde or eva/noora but im an eva and jonas truther to be honest. i will forever wish jonas got a season to himself that ended with them getting back together

ISAK AND PENETRATOR CHRIS S2 FORBIDDEN ROMANCE TAKING DOWN YAKUZA BESTIES REF

magnus making fun of william is so real

even’s clip is perfect no notes. i mean yes notes because ideally this season would have focused more on even’s relationship with sana and the balloon squad and his past. but anyways.

WHY DOES WILLIAM GET A FUCKING CLIP

ok i think william’s clip is quite sweet actually BUT i don’t think he needed one or if he was going to get one THE REST OF THE SEASON SHOULD HAVE FOCUSED ON SANA

eskild saying he and linn think noora is much better than william and aren’t his biggest fans ❤️

mikael is so damn fine…

not sara and ingrid pulling out the “not even water???”

PLAYING LOVER WHERE DO YOU LIVE OVER PENETRATOR CHRIS AND EMMA IS RIDICULOUS. THEY DONT DESERVE THIS.

k if it’s playing for eva and jonas & sana and yousef as well that’s acceptable.

the show starting and ending with a speech from jonas 😭😭😭😭

having finished all of s4 i think that i am…glad i finally watched it all? there were a lot of good parts about this season but even if the end of episode 8-episode 10 made me satisfied when i reflect on what happened before that i get so irritated.

i really love episode 10, but if it was going to happen this way then all the other episodes should have been far more focused on sana. for me rather than wrapping things up episode 10 instead emphasizes that there’s way more story to tell here and that there should have been 6 seasons…but whatever…

i think this season did a lot of good & what im most glad about is that it avoided the whole western stereotype about muslim parents & sana’s family was great. if we could cut out half the noora stuff, develop sana and yousef further, GIVE YOUSEF SCREENTIME, give jamila more screentime also, pick up the dropped storylines about elias, have the girl squad actually interact (and have sana interact with chris and eva and vilde not just noora…she and noora are obviously close but why tf are there like no scenes of sana talking with the others alone), have the balloon squad and even properly talk, have even explain things, have sana and even interacting, remove half the annoying russ bus stuff, remove that terrible terrible sara plotline, and follow through on the ideas present in the first 4 episodes of the show. then. this could have been a really great season. as it is i have my criticisms but i did cry and i do love them. sana <3

#skam rewatch #time to listen to the whole soundtrack

[starsfic]

Okay so I’ve been thinking ever since the S3 finale episodes’ summaries have come out and mentioned a depowered Mayor. 

First off, why would he be depowered? He’s shown to be very loyal to the Baigujing and, unlike Macaque, hasn’t failed in doing anything. (I do theorize that Qi Xiaotian was originally planned to be the host but then the key got stolen but hey that isn’t his fault.) So I started considering.

Maybe a betrayal occurs? Not of her to him but him to her.

My thought process is that, in Journey to the West, the Baigujing was never a possessing spirit. She made the bodies she used to try and lure Tripitaka only for each one to be killed by Sun Wukong, the third attempt actually killing her. So what if that third death occurred and while she was trying to come back, lost the ability to make bodies and also received what she thought was a vision?

So she comes back from the dead but needs a host. Both for her to live and for her to accomplish “destiny”. Her court willingly goes out and steals humans and demons for her to possess but she always burns too quickly through them. Not only that, most of her hosts aren’t able to channel her power. (My explanation for why she didn’t start this destiny thing when she possessed DBK. It’s not that she didn’t want to, she literally couldn’t.) So eventually, not wanting to waste time waiting for a new body to be found and given, the Baigujing turns her attention to her court.

The Mayor is all that remains of her court. He’s watched her cannibalize all the rest in the pursuit of “destiny” and has pretty much given up. As far as he knows, she’s all that remains. All who could lead the Bone court are gone.

But then the girl.

The child.

Her new host.

The Baigujing has gotten more done in her quest then she’s ever been able to do in centuries. This little girl has been able to survive longer and channel more of her power than anyone else.

And for once the Mayor knows there is someone else that can become the new lady of the court.

#LMK #Monkie Kid #Lego Monkie Kid #White Bone Spirit #Lady Bone Demon #The Mayor #Lady Bone Demon's Host #Bai He

[seikilos-stele]

This is one of those questions that I want to ask a lot of authors, because I curious how many answers will be the same (if any)

The the basic premise is Do You Control Fic or Does it Control You?

What I mean by this is broken down into a few sub questions

Do you watch a show or read a book & fic ideas just pop into your head?

Are you watching/reading something and you are unsatisfied with the plot, but love the characters, therefore, set out to fix it?

Do you intend to write fic from the start, so you go in search of inspiration?

Have you ever completely lost interest in the canon, but still love the characters/fic (therefore, no longer revisit the original source of the fic?)

As is usual, this is just a guide. Answer any which way you would like - long answers are always welcome!

Wow, I think all of the above, multiple times!

The first type, where fic ideas just pop into my head — that’s the most difficult to write. I mean, it’s the most difficult to follow through 😆 sometimes I’ll write the ideas down, but once I’ve moved on to the next episode or book, I lose interest. So out of all these, statistically, this is the one you’d see the least.

#2 — setting out to fix it. Of course! I’ve probably written like, hundreds of post-Bilbringi fics and fics set in-between the Legends Thrawn trilogy, where I wished there was more character development with Thrawn and Pellaeon.

#3 — intending to write fic from the start, going in search of inspiration. This, probably more than anything else. When I first started writing on AO3, I made a kind of arbitrary goal to write a fic for everything I read or watched. Luckily when the stakes are that low you can basically just open a blank document and write whatever comes to mind, and it turns out okay — you’re like, “This ain’t my fandom, I’m just strolling through.” You don’t care if people even read it, so you don’t stress about prose or characterization 😆 it’s very nice!

I do this for fandoms I actually like too, because I usually want to write every day, but don’t always have a current idea. So I keep lists of interesting prompts and ideas, that way I never run out of material. Some of them get so stale that I never end up using them, but it’s still nice to have them there!

#4 — this happened with Once Upon a Time. I thought it was a bad show straight from Episode 1, but I loved Robert Carlyle’s character, so I watched it for him. All the way up until Season 3! At that point, Mr. Gold’s character arc was taking too many exhausting dips and turns, and the show wasn’t up to the task of explaining why. I stopped watching, but I kept up to date with the show’s shenanigans, read tons of fics, and wrote somewhere around 40 or 50 myself.

(It’s funny — I did write a few tiny fics BEFORE the show went bad; but it’s only the fics I wrote AFTER that I saved)

There are some great fix-its for that fandom btw 😆 I was also a huge fan of SwanQueen (main character Emma Swan x main villain Regina Mills) but in S3 they introduced a straight romance for Emma that I couldn’t STAND, so I read lots of fix-its for them too. My own fics weren’t really fix-its; they were AUs, almost always hurt/comfort. The show offered us plenty of material for that!

* * *

Maybe also worth mentioning:

1) when you’re reading a nonfiction book, but you’re thinking so hard about your favorite show that you end up with 7 plot bunnies all stemming from that single nonfiction piece that has nothing to do with Star Trek or Gargoyles or—

2) the private fanfics that you never bother to write down but replay in your head with minor tweaks each night before you go to bed. All of them are write-able! Many people would probably like to read them! But they seem somehow off-limits to me 😆 like, no, I’m only allowed to write fics based off stuff I think of in the shower, or at my desk — in bed??? That’s blasphemy

#my asks

[tangledbea]

I got into the series later then some other fans and I have heard it said that ratings for the show went down after season 1and continued to decline. Is this true? I guess this surprises me because I greatly enjoyed this series. Is there a reason as to why the ratings dropped in later seasons?

I think I got psychic damage from reliving this and writing this replay. XD

It is true, and, as far as I know, it was a self-perpetuating problem on Disney's part.

Now, I'm no expert in ratings. I don't know where to go to look for them, nor do I know how to interpret what I'm seeing when I am shown ratings (last time I saw a ratings number for TTS, my only thought was, 'Okay, but that looks like a lot of people are watching it?'). But here is how it appeared to me, a layman, as I was watching the series air.

"Tangled: Before Ever After" was a Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM for short), and was given a lot of fanfare by Disney Channel. It was aired in a prime time slot, on a Friday night, and ran multiple times over its premier weekend. The series started in earnest two weeks later, also on Friday evening. Disney aired reruns, made merch, promoted it, genuinely tried to get people to watch it. There were promotional posters up at the theme parks to drum up interest. There was a doll set and a Christmas ornament made to promote Queen For a Day, and after the episode aired, it was released on DVD. Tangled got its own panel at D23 Expo in 2017.

But from what I understand from what people who worked on the series told me, DTVA has a tendency to promote the newest, shiniest thing for a season, then turn its attention to the next big thing. In Tangled's case, the next big thing was DuckTales, which aired almost exactly five months after Tangled did. I guess numbers weren't quite where Disney wanted them to be, because despite pre-approving three seasons, they slowed on making merch after S1. I mean, a few things still came through for S2. There's the LEGO set of the caravan, for example. It seemed to me that they didn't catch the audience they were aiming for (girls from 6 - 12) and they didn't know what to do with the audience they grabbed (teens and young adults).

So, they stopped promoting it, stopped making merch of it (and what little merch was made wasn't aimed at the viewing demographic, but the target one), and what shot itself the most in the foot, they started changing the day and time they were airing it, pushing it more and more into time slots aimed at the target demographic instead of leaning into the curve and switching their focus to the demographic actually watching. New episodes aired on a moving target. If you weren't already keyed in to when they were coming out, it was difficult to figure out when it would be, because it kept changing. I had crew members tell me that they only way they knew when the episodes were airing was because of my blog. Sometimes they ran reruns, most of the time they did not. And when they did run reruns, it was in the middle of the day, when the only kids home were kindergarten-age. And when the series was on hiatus, reruns didn't air at all. This was no way to grab new viewers who might just happen to stumble upon it. At this point, the only way to watch it was to do so deliberately, either getting your butt up at 7 am on a Sunday or turning on DisneyNOW or your cable provider to watch it as soon as it dropped at midnight. The fandom had viewing parties, for goodness sake.

And then, Disney decided to blitz through the last part of S2 (after a six-month hiatus) and the first part of S3 in bomb format. The last part of S2 aired two episodes back to back, once a week. The first part of S3 aired them one right after another on consecutive week days before hitting us with a three month hiatus. Disney seemed to be done with it, and just running out the clock until the series was over. As a fan, it was an exhausting schedule to keep up. Even when it returned to its one episode a week format, it still aired first thing in the morning on Sundays.

It can't have helped that this aired when it did, societally-speaking. Things were rapidly moving from being aired on TV to being launched exclusively online. They were really trying to promote the use of DisneyNOW, and in the middle of Tangled's run, Disney+ launched.

Anyway, TL;DR, Disney didn't like the numbers it was showing by the end of S1, and so they stopped promoting it and started changing what day and time the episodes aired, which can't have helped those numbers. Instead of trying to make it better, they gave it up as a lost cause and made it worse.

#Tangled #Tangled the Series #TTS #TV Schedule #Answered

[amplifyme]

Finished Bright Spirit Descending~.

(This is going to be quick and unedited as I've got to keep going irl.)

Nan is brilliant, as always.

I'd love to hear all about bts content-- did Nan write this after her fics? When and why did she get contacted to write? Are there any interviews I can read up on? Any and all information will be greedily swallowed whole.

Loved how this filled-in the episodes-- tv or movie novelizations are a beloved niche of mine.

Nan definitely understood Cathy better than I did (and do); and I think her point (through Vincent's POV) is too true-- that Cathy is drawn to and feels alive in the danger without realizing, like she had been drawn to her abusive ex without first sorting her fearfully contradictory emotions. It's unhealthy, it's a feedback loop for Vincent, and both of their situations are probably going to get worse before it gets better. And, like you say, Cathy is naive and doesn't intend to harm; but there's also that willfully naive or obstinately "I can do this" quality to her that does not bend to circumstance. There is only one route to be done, always. Now that I think about it, she's very like Father: neither like to change their views on matters, both have "set in their ways" habits, and both collapse rather quickly when their viewpoint of the world is shattered or challenged. Or, if they rise to the challenge, it is because they have another viewpoint as a backup (i.e. Cathy's "you always told me to face my fears!" on the tail end of a failure.) I don't have a moment where I heavily dislike or am irritated by her other than the moments where the emotions that she prizes so strongly get in the way of common sense or logic. She's come a long way, and will go longer I'm sure. (S1 finale made me really respect her and look forward to those possibilities. However, I always remind myself that all roads lead to Rome.)

Jacob and John, Paracelsus and Father. Seamless, gorgeous, beautifully constructed. Anna and Grace and Devin and little Vincent... all of their characters were exceptional. The community's construction, expanding borders, rules, governances, operations, interpersonal dynamics: all exquisite. John's descent and Anna's end and Vincent's torture and Devin's love and speech (I had a kid in my life give a Devin speech once-- excellently written, Nan) and Father saving and learning to love his new son and the community closing ranks around Vincent for more complex and complicated reasons and why John stayed and why he finally left....

I'm almost speechless at the quality of this book. I could not put it down and read it all the way through (good thing I trusted Nan's excellence and planned for that to happen going in.)

It did clarify my confusion in Nan's other fic: Vincent thinks the same "I must separate from" thoughts; but, aside from the Pilot and the finale episode, I can't recall if that is an established pattern of behavior in S1. He's had many conversations of how much Catherine struggles (and himself); but never about permanently severing their tie or communication. I don't think, anyway. (Correct me if I'm wrong!) I do agree it is Vincent's nature. My only wonder is if it is to this degree. And if I am wrong, then that tells me I either missed something HUGE in S1 or there's a monster of character writing to face in S2 and S3; and I can't wait to turn the corner and find it.

Also: Nan filtering Vincent's mind through Paracelsus's drug and Catherine's woozy daydreams of Dris and Eurydice and all of the mythologies put together was so brilliantly done that I'm of two minds: that that was the original intention to be drawn, or that it was a slight intention that Nan magnified. Either way, what excellent, excellent writing.

I am so satisfied and pleased and content and abuzz with this story and this show these characters that I might fill in some S1 gaps (if you think I've missed any, point them out!), go over some passages of Nan's work, and watch it all jenga higher and higher as it builds towards S3 and "S4".

Thank you again and again for putting pieces up of Nan's writing and of this series (and so much more~.)

Book discussion below...

I'd love to hear all about bts content-- did Nan write this after her fics? When and why did she get contacted to write? Are there any interviews I can read up on? Any and all information will be greedily swallowed whole.

A little background: Nan wrote and published the AWTN series between 1991-1992 and it was, I believe, the first BATB fanfic she'd written. Then at some point in 1991 she was commissioned by Cinemaker Press, who had the license to publish BATB fiction, with the approval of Republic Pictures (which owned the rights to the show), to write a novelization of the S2 ending trilogy, which she titled Beyond Words, Beyond Silence. A year after that was published, she was approached to write a second novelization and chose to tackle The Alchemist and To Reign in Hell and create the backstory of the tunnel community.

I never asked Nan specifically why she was approached, but I have to assume that someone at Cinemaker read at least some of AWTN. And Nan was already a fairly well known sci-fi/fantasy writer with several professionally published works under her belt. So who better to commission, right?

Sadly, Cinemaker Press lost their publishing license and folded while in the midst of prepping Bright Spirit Descending for publication. So Nan eventually published it herself as a fanzine. There are still copies of Beyond Words, Beyond Silence floating around (I have one myself) but any for sale are stupidly expensive. Last I looked, the price was $159. Oops, just looked on Amazon and now it's closer to $180. Luckily for fans of Nan, she continued to make both novels available for download and at no cost up until her death, and still to this day.

As far as interviews, there's little to nothing on the web. Nan had very little desire for self-promotion. She was much more interested in mentoring and promoting other writers and artists in the fandom and doing her part to keep the dream alive after the show was canceled. Her website for the two authorized novels is still accessible here: http://nan_dibble.tripod.com/

You can also access more information about her on Fanlore. If you do a deep dive on the links to her BATB fanfic there, you'll discover that her AWTN series was considered one of the most controversial zines in the fandom and not very well received by Classic fans (those who deny anything that happened after the S2 finale and insist Cathy didn't die). I'm afraid that by introducing you to Nan's work and the show with AWTN, I've brought you into a very small subset of the fandom that loved all three seasons and the idea of Diana as the perfect romantic partner for Vincent post S3. It's really quite amazing, if you venture into reading other 4th Season writers, that we seemed to have acquired a hive mind when it came to how we saw Diana and what would likely be Vincent's fascination with her.

On to other things...

Cathy is drawn to and feels alive in the danger without realizing, like she had been drawn to her abusive ex without first sorting her fearfully contradictory emotions. It's unhealthy, it's a feedback loop for Vincent, and both of their situations are probably going to get worse before it gets better.

Your last line here is an understatement. S2 is a rollercoaster ride, S3 even more so. But before I scare you, both seasons are filled with lovely stories and individual moments as well.

Now that I think about it, she's very like Father: neither like to change their views on matters, both have "set in their ways" habits, and both collapse rather quickly when their viewpoint of the world is shattered or challenged.

Yes! You can't see it, but I'm standing up and applauding. I love how easily you're picking up all these little nuances that even some longtime fans have never noticed or given much thought to. I love that. ☺️

It did clarify my confusion in Nan's other fic: Vincent thinks the same "I must separate from" thoughts; but, aside from the Pilot and the finale episode, I can't recall if that is an established pattern of behavior in S1.

It's there, but not obvious. I think any fan who gets to know Vincent (through repeated watches) in all his aspects and personality quirks, gets to the point where they just know that his thinking is when it came to Cathy, specifically, and the tunnel community at large. He is always aware of his otherness, his aloneness, and the danger he poses to the people he loves because of that. There are more hints and confirmations of this mindset in S2.

Wasn't the backstory of the tunnel community wonderful? It was my favorite part of the book, and Nan handled it masterfully. ❤️

#beauty and the beast 1987 #bright spirit descending #official batb novelizations #nan dibble #discussion #ask and answer

[myladyofmercy]

I got tagged by @tessabennet to do a

8 shows to get to know me

list and she did it as a kind of watch history and I loved that method so I am copying it

1. h2o: just add water

this show defined my childhood. i was obsessed. i remember only being allowed to watch the rewatches on saturday mornings but not the premieres that came mondays through thursdays. when s3 came around my parents allowed me to record the episodes on vhs and then watch the episode the next day. when the finale aired i had a friend come over after school the next day and we watched the last two episodes even tho she already watched them the night before. in the scene where lewis walks down the stairs in slow mo she pulled out her flip phone and recorded the scene because she thought he looked so cute.

also rikki made me gay and i was always her when we played mermaids in the pool.

2. glee

my first big teenage obsession. i think i started watching when season 2 was airing. the last two seasons took so fucking long to come out dubbed that it was the first time i streamed an episode right after it aired in the us even tho my english wasn't that good yet. i also got my mom and my aunt to watch it. my aunts favorite was finn and when i read that cory had died i called her right before bed to tell her and she told me later she couldn't sleep that night.

my favorite characters were quinn and kurt. quinn made me gay(er)

also i wasn't in fandom spaces back then so i managed to escape all the crazy shit that went on in the fandom back then but i have met some new friends recently who were in it and told me some horror stories and i really feel like I dodged a bullet.

3. gossip girl

i only watched this show after it aired but it's so messy and a definite guily pleasure.

also unpopular opinion but my favorite character was jenny (i am also obsessed with her band and their music and covered two of their songs in my school rockband)

4. the originals

i always preferred the originals over the vampire diaries because i just liked klaus and the other mikaelsons more than elena and co. i also became obsessed with the soundtrack of the show and used to listen to the tracks on youtube and would then convert my faves. that's how i discovered my love for ruelle.

5. shameless

another big obsession I discovered between s4 and s5 airing. i remember crying real tears when ian and mickey broke up in s5. i think gallavich was the first pairing i watched fanedits on youtube for and also how i discovered twenty one pilots and my ultimate beloved florence and the machine. i also had a fan account on instagram at one point that got some likes from emma kenney.

6. supernatural

oh supernatural.

i discovered the show at a very low point in my life and bingewatched 10 seasons back to back while staying home from school. destiel was the first ship i ever read fic for (twist and shout anyone?) and even tho this show went on for wayyyy to long and made some very questionable choices it still has a place in my heart.

7. 911

at this point in time this show is probably my biggest obsession right now (probably because a new season is airing right now) i saw gifs of buck and abby on tumblr when the first season was airing in 2018 but only started watching when the spin off started and i rediscovered it via tumblr during s3. i have done multiple rewatches at this point and this show can truly make you laugh, cry, look away in disgust and believe in humanity at the same time.

also either buddie is the best slow burn of all time or the biggest queerbait since destiel and i am down for the ride.

8. young royals

where do i even begin with this show. it showed up on tumblr in july of 2021 and then i watched it the second weekend of the month and my life changed. since then i have started being truly active on tumblr, creating content myself, reading fanfic earnestly and by some great writers who i can call friends now, learning swedish (even tho the bird scares me), found a bunch of friends from all over the world and flew to fucking canada all on my own to visit people i met through this show. like what the fuck. even tho my obsession is a bit dormant right now they have just started filming the third and last season and as the amount of content will grow my obsession will too. i know it.

-

okay so this was a fucking essay but i really enjoyed this little deep dive into my watch history and even tho i don't expect anyone to do this I'm gonna tag some of my lovely friends (who i may or may not have found through that small swedish show at 8.)

@tooindecisivetopickaurl @i-love-semicolons @prince-simon @angelbabysimon @cloudywilmon @royalwilmon @oatmilkovich @ungaroyals @aro-of-artemis @little---versailles @cantputitintowords

[motherland-thoughts]

Alder: Death? Not even once. -Sarah Alder (probably, at some point)

Some thoughts about Motherland: Fort Salem. Full spoilers for seasons 1 to the end of 3, you are warned. (Sorry this is very long)

This is a (slightly upgraded) repost from my personal blog, original post is here.

Alder in the Mycelium

In M:FS s2e10, Alder’s biddies all die from the witchplague. Her body ages 300+ years in a few seconds, her skin taking a bark-like aspect, rendering her unable to move. Despite that, she’s still alive, stuck in a way-too-old body, her organs probably at the edge of failing. She’s still capable of very limited speech and movements.

Izadora: “I don’t understand how she’s holding on.”

Alder asks to be put into the Mycelium, to join the Mother, and they grant her her wish.

She’s still moving and watching as mycelial tendrils attach to her aged body and is taken into the Mycelium. For the people present, they consider that this is her death.

But as the audience, we are shown something more. Inside the Mycelium, we see that Alder’s body, with its bark-like skin, is attached by numerous tendrils and some form of crackling pink energy go from those tendrils into her body. Some areas of her skin have regained a normal aspect, her face, her hands and forearms, obviously a work in progress. Her heart is pulsating with this same pink energy and all the while we are seeing this, we can hear it pulse loudly. In the end, her eyes open.

She is definitely still alive, and the Mycelium is healing/rejuvenating her body.

She was alive going in and is alive once inside, being healed.

Thus, she hasn’t died this time.

Alder in Season 3

All throughout M:FS s3, we are shown that Alder is not using her own human body, but a new body made of Mycelium:

In M:FS s3e01, Alder’s body and clothing are formed from the ground by the rapid growth of mushrooms and mycelial tendrils, in between tendrils is emptiness, it’s not forming a cocoon.

In M:FS s3e03, Alder disappears from inside a trailer with no obvious exit (we aren’t shown how).

In M:FS s3e04, Alder appears suddenly from a paved ground (we aren’t shown how).

In M:FS s3e05, several Alders appear through tendrils coming from inbetween pavement directly into human bodies, making them explode. All those bodies but one, although all looking like Alder, alive, dissolve into mycelial spores. The last body is Alder, alive but considerably weakened. Also in this episode, it’s important to note that Adil crushes a mushroom that dissolves into mycelial spores. Even though it happens inside a building, those spores are shown to travel quickly, straight into the Mycelium.

In M:FS s3e06, Alder rejoins the Mycelium through the mycelium wall, her body becomes transparent, showing that it is entirely made of mycelial tendrils. The tendrils are not arranged to replicate human organs. “It’s time for me to go now.” Later, Alder’s healed mycelial body disappears into grassy ground, leaving a patch of mushrooms visible on its surface. Also in this episode, Willa Collar, although dead and her own body destroyed by the witch plague and the collapse of a building, has a new mycelial body grown for her, it is formed through mycelial tendrils growing rapidly through a wall inside a building. It’s visually similar to the first appearance of Alder’s mycelial body in M:FS s3e01. Willa’s mycelial body then dissolves into mycelial spores when she leaves. Willa is still seen outside and inside the Mycelium after that, her consciousness survived.

In M:FS s3e07, Raelle appears inside a building by using her witchbomb powers to kill a Camarilla, but the mechanism of her arrival is kept purposefully hidden, she seems to appears from behind the spores of the witchbomb. We know this is her real body. Important to note that we can see her heart pulsating in mushroom pink, the same way Alder’s heart was pulsating in mushroom pink in her real body in the mycelium in M:FS s2e10.

In M:FS s3e10, Alder touches some mycelial growth on a wall and her own mycelial tendrils merge with it, she uses it to disappear from a dangerous situation (we aren’t shown how). Also in this episode, Alder disappears from a library room, no indication she used the mycelium for it but the clerk seems surprised by her absence (aka she probably didn’t use the door). At the end of this episode, Alder’s body dissolves into spores in a visually similar manner as Willa Collar’s did when she left Edwin’s house in M:FS s3e06.

Some additional observations:

Alder has flashes of mushroom-pink in her eyes every now and then all throughout s3,

Alder’s mushroom-clothes in the helicopter and when she “spores” herself out of it are the exact same color as the spores in the air.

In resume:

Alder is exclusively using a mycelial body all throughout s3,

a mycelial body dissolves into spores to travel through air and solid matter,

a mycelial body merges its own tendrils with any mycelial growth to travel directly through the mycelial network.

From all this, we can conclude that Alder’s body dissolving into spores at the end of s3 means she is only traveling, not dying.

Thus, she hasn’t died this time either.

As a side note, we’re never shown how people with non-mycelial bodies travel through the mycelial network. We never see them entering it nor getting out of it. Khalida, Noodin (the Cession Steward), the unnamed Basque Steward, and Tally, have all traveled through the mycelial network with Alder as their guide. Raelle has traveled through the mycelial network too.

Why does Alder leave the unit then?

In M:FS s3e10, just before she leaves the helicopter, Alder says: “She [the Mother] has just told me my work is done.” Nothing indicates that the end of her mission means she has to die. Nothing indicates that Alder assumes so. Why should we?

Alder is simply leaving, most probably going back home, her home being the Mother since the end of s2e10. Going home at the end of a mission is standard for everyone, what else would you do?

Also: the helicopter is taking the unit to President Wade, where Alder has no interest in going. Her mycelial body looks almost expired and Alder always had to go back to the Mother when her mycelial body “malfunctioned”. And let’s not forget that Anacostia just died, and is presumably with the Mother too. It’s understandable that Alder would want to go join her.

What’s next for Alder

One of the most important piece of information that Alder gives to Tally in s3 is that she doesn’t know much about her situation, she only knows what she has to accomplish. “She [the Mother] doesn’t tell me everything”, “I’m sorry, Tally Craven, I don’t know.” In M:FS s3e10, Alder is not the one giving the big explanation, it’s the Mother who speaks through her. Alder seems to hear it at the same time as the protagonists.

It’s logical to assume that even Alder herself doesn’t know what happens next for her.

But those absolute facts remain:

Alder’s real body is alive, being rejuvenated (or having been rejuvenated) inside the Mycelium

The Mother gave Alder a mycelial body to use for her mission to find the First Song (its traveling capabilities were vital to her mission)

Alder’s mission had ended, her work is done

Again, it’s logical to assume that Alder is going back to the Mother, with the intention of giving her mycelial body back. From here, her consciousness would presumably be returned inside her own live body.

There is one more piece of information to consider:

In M:FS s3e02, Raelle entered the Mycelium while still being alive. The Mother healed her body.

Then, in M:FS s3e07, Raelle is given a choice to either leave or stay by her mom. Raelle’s mom died but her consciousness still lives in the Mother. If she’s able to give Raelle this choice, we can safely assume that it’s in fact the Mother giving her this choice.

Raelle: “Well then I can leave.” Willa Collar: “If you want to. It’s your choice. Stay and we can be together.”

In M:FS s2e10, Alder entered the Mycelium while still being alive. The Mother healed her body.

Alder’s situation is the same as Raelle’s was. Is there any reason the Mother wouldn’t give Alder the same choice? Especially now that Alder has found the First Song like the Mother asked her to.

From there, we can only speculate as to what could happen in a hypothetical season 4.

Alder could be given this choice and decide to stay, spending time with Anacostia and any other dead witch present in the Mother. Anacostia could convince Alder to go back to the world and live fully at last. Anacostia loves her mother, of course she would encourage her to live.

The Mother could also use Alder as her Winter Soldier of sorts, popping her out in a mycelial body anytime She needs something important done.

The unit could go and plead with the Mother to give them Alder back. Maybe they’d have to fight for it, accomplish something for the Mother in exchange of Alder’s come back. Or they could have to convince Alder to live.

Talder could become canon.

The writers could go with any of these routes, and more, or simply ignore this thread entirely, never mentioning anything about Alder’s live body or consciousness ever again (which still wouldn’t negate this thread’s existence).

But as long as there’s nothing official from whoever owns the IP of Motherland: Fort Salem, Alder is alive and anything is possible.

#no tags yet cause it's a repost #i don't want it to clog the feed

[feralnumberfive]

Pine's (long) personal PSA about S3 

I really did not like most of S3, so I will not be rewatching it. I know this is a TUA blog and that'd be nice if I was up to date and could join in on conversations and make posts about S3, but I, Pine, am not going to make myself rewatch something I really did not like just to make content for my Tumblr blog. I might eventually make a post about things I didn't like in S3, but who knows.

It's unfortunate that I didn't end up liking it, and I didn't actually like it a whole lot when I originally watched it in June. I wanted to rewatch it to solidify my opinion on it, but I just can't bring myself to rewatch it, I can't. I already have a issue with rewatching shows and movies (I don't really know why but it had something to do with anticipation and feeling tired and anxious about what I already know is coming if that makes sense) and my mom wanted to watch S3 and even then I avoided watching it with her at all costs, I even made it through two episodes before telling her I just couldn't watch it.

And you could be thinking "Damn you're overreacting :/" but let me tell you something, I love this blog to death, but S3 was personally disappointing so I'm not going to force it onto my blog. I'm not going to sit here and force myself to consume more of something I did not like for a damn Tumblr blog. I'll still probably reblog S3 things like gifs, but you won't be getting many, or if any, S3 analysis or serious posts from me. I haven't really been on here since S3 aired and haven't really heard opinions within the fandom, but I know that there are more disappointed people out there. And I am absolutely not trying to push the thought that you need to dislike S3, it's just that I have seen a few negatives and not very many positives about it since I left. So please, feel free to share your positive or negative thoughts with me about S3! I still mostly love TUA and there are still things I liked about S3!

And that finally brings us to this actual PSA I'm sorry most of the stuff above is just me rambling ⬇️

Soooo the main point of this PSA is, I haven't watched S3 since it came out and watched most of it sleep deprived. So if I get anything wrong about S3, please for the love of god CORRECT ME! I am not going to get mad, I think it'd be kinda funny if I constantly get stuff wrong because I am going off of shaky memories. I still will probably look things up if I really need to drive a point home, but if I ever get something wrong about S3 (unless it's an opinion I have then don't "correct" me on that??) just come and tell me, I'll really appreciate it!

#phew that was a doozy #personal

[vikingqueer]

embarrassing to admit that i watched all of the 100 in the year of our lord 2022, but yet again i managed to get overly attached to bellamy and almost stopped watching halfway s3, but suffered through it from sheer determination and spite and then suffered for an additional 4 seasons

#literally: what #i originally watched s3 as it was coming through and made it to the episode where lexa died and that was the final straw <3 #but like WOW that was a shitshow #in my opinion the worst season are 3 then 5 then 7 #but 5 is mostly for the bad vibes and sudden plot twist at the end #3 is for the horrendous characterisation and the bury your gays <3 #7 is for what the actual fuck #+ some horrendous characterisation for the spice #6 was pretty bad too ngl #they really took two seasons of a decent show and was like 'hmmm but what if it was really bad suddenly' #the 100 #amalie.txt