#this is episode 1 and 2 because i am CONVINCED they aired on the same day but wikipedia disagrees

[izzymalec]

7 years of shadowhunters

january 12, 2016

#shadowhunters #shedit #shadowhuntersedit #this is episode 1 and 2 because i am CONVINCED they aired on the same day but wikipedia disagrees #it's a core memory that i watched them both and absolutely hating it that means more than wikipedia #mine #it's late but u know.......... anyway #thank u holly for reminding me of this milestone 🥺💕 #s1 #1.01 #1.02 #200

[cookies-over-yonder]

"... In that moment, you, and Taylor, and Nick all realize that there is no fixing this. That this is as good as it's going to get. That you are all stuck with each other in the forms that you are now. You see daddy magic—that same daddy magic that exited Ron and Terry's body, emanate from their bodies like a fine mist, coalesce into the air, and then zip into the jar and fill it up a little bit more because that's what your relationship is."

The Close Family and Closure: An Analysis and Breakdown of Taylor's Issues in Hell or High Father

...and the way he addresses and, in Taylor fashion, downplays the problem, and denies its lack of solution.

(I have transcribed the majority of this scene, and below the cut is my line-by-line breakdown and analysis, as well as some other tid-bits.)

hello! ever since i got into dndads, taylor has been my favourite. i found his extreme escapism and dumb confidence fascinating, and as you may know, i love finding scenarios for him to break. it's, like, at least half of my fics at this point.

this episode is my favourite episode, it broke me, and it pieced me back together but Wrong in all the right ways.

this analysis is focusing on the taylor of it all. the motivation behind his words and the changes in his cadence and the denial that still, despite everything, refuses to fade.

i've never written an analysis post structured like this, so do let me know if you like it. i just... i really love taylor.

okay, let's go!

1. "Well...''

Nicky: … I didn't see a lot of Taylor's growing up and that was—that was fi—like we're cool now right, Taylor? Taylor: Fuck yeah dawg— Nicky: See?

to start off, taylor's instinctive answer is to agree with nicky. because well, yeah, they're chill now, that's true, so of course the first thing he does is agree. and i gotta say that i was expecting taylor to leave it at that, because he's not one to dig deeper when he doesn't need to, and even when he does.

Taylor: Well…

taylor says this immediately after his first answer and oh ny god i got SO excited. but this ain't about me. anyway. taylor finally admitting that they're actually not 100% cool is such a big fucking step argh i am so proud of him forever and also so sad for him forever...

Nicky: What? Look, I'm back now, and I'm super tight, and we hang out, and we can do samurai shit together, and we're fuckin'—we're tight as fuck.

this part makes me so sad because nicky is so ignorant to how his absence has affected taylor despite his frustrations at glenn for not being there. and also, this sort of reasoning would have worked on convincing taylor back in early season two. in fact, it did!

[Season 2 Episode 10: Dad Me To Hell]

taylor is completely satisfied with this reason because it feeds into his main character syndrome. his dad left to protect him. what better reason is there? and now he's back and there and able to do cool shit with him, so everything is perfect, right?

but the next thing taylor says is so fucking heartbreaking:

Taylor: If I'm gonna be honest, Dad, I've kinda been hoping and keeping an eye out for time travel magic so that we could go back in time, and you could be there for me.

the way he trails off as he says it, and he loses his confidence in his words... it shows an unfamiliar shyness. we've never seen taylor be this vulnerable before. and to think that he'd been holding out hope for time travel magic to fix his childhood? that perfectly aligns with the idea that taylor is so stuck in his anime escapist fantasy that he can't accept what's real. and magic is real, so therefore he must be able to fix his past, right? it's not impossible for there to be time travel (see. end of season 1 + see. attack on titanic.) but taylor doesn't realize that this is something that can't be fixed so easily, even if that magic were available. he doesn't believe that this can't be fixed. more on this later.

Nicky: [grunts and falls] Uh… um… I didn't know you felt that way. Taylor: Yeah, you know, it's just, when I was practicing my jutsus I could have used some pointers. Nicky: Yeah, but like— Taylor: As a result, I've developed a number of very bad habits that I'm told are very hard to break. And, you know, just watching YouTube videos is not the same as having a dad who can fight.

in the past, taylor has used anime to cope with his absent father, and he relied on the fictional characters to bring him the same comfort a father might bring (this was mentioned by freddie in one of the teen talks and while i've been relistening i've yet to find it. do forgive me as i am merely mortal) while this isn't directly referring to that, i still feel it's worth mentioning, as taylor is confronting his own unhealthy coping mechanism and acknowledging that no, youtube videos aren't a replacement for a dad. he couldn't fill the absence of a father with anything else in his life no matter how hard he tried.

also, taylor is smart. he knows that he has unhealthy coping mechanisms or "bad habits" that he can't break and he knows that they're caused by nicky's absence. i just wonder how long he's been stewing over that, you know?

as shown earlier, when taylor first met nicky and found out why he wasn't there, he accepted it immediately, knowing it was the coolest reason for a father to be absent and only fueled his protagonism.

but now, taylor's confronting his own issues surrounding nicky, and explicitly addressing them to nicky.

*wipes a tear*

i'm so proud of him.

Nicky: Wha—I mean, if it's training you want, we can train you, and like, you see your grandpa there— Taylor: [sighs] It's too late. I needed to start when I was three to five years old like true ninja warriors.

there is something so cutting about the way taylor says it's too late. he's talking about training to be a ninja warrior on the surface, yes, but that's not it.

it's too late. it's too late for nicky to witness his upbringing. it's too late for taylor to grow up with a loving father figure. it's too late.

and taylor knows that, and he's saying it, but he's still masking it with it being about training to become a ninja when in reality it's so much more.

this is just one example of the way he downplays the issue. he zeroes in on just one aspect of his life that nicky wasn't a part of, and speaks as if it's the main issue, when really it's only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

Nicky: Oh, well, I mean— Taylor: So I'm already trying to play catch-up a little bit, but you know, I guess it's water under the bridge. But you know, if there is time travel magic, then you know, maybe, or if you find it, you could maybe… pick me up on the way back… to the past, and you know maybe we could do childhood all over again.

taylor is playing catch-up with training, but he's also playing catch-up with having a father in his life.

and again, he downplays it, says it's water under the bridge, when it's so very clear how deeply this has been affecting him his entire life.

and to top it all off, he brings up time travel again. and the way he says this is so un-taylorlike it's jarring. the uncertainty of the maybes, the trailing off, the voice so quiet you almost can't hear it...

he thinks there's still a chance to redo it and fix things, but i feel that deep down he knows it's impossible, that it doesn't work like that, and yet he's still grasping at straws to try and make things better.

it's... it's really sad. i feel really sad for him.

and the way he says he wants to redo childhood. as opposed to only talking about training, here he actually says he wants to do childhood all over again, and it's so, so quiet. and taylor is never shy. it's so clear how badly he's hurting over this.

god. okay.

2. "I didn't even know where you were."

Glenn: So we're cool. Nicky: So, we're cool. Glenn: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nicky: We're just three cool guys. Taylor: Well…

i love how taylor isn't backing down on the fact that nicky fucked him up. like the gates are open and they can't close back up that easily. he's not accepting them just being three cool guys.

Taylor: Well, I'm just saying—you know, I could have, y'know—not to put too fine a point on it, but Dad, I would have appreciated if, you know… I didn't even know where you were. I 23&me-d my ass, and they sent me a picture of fire, and the cops showed up! There was a white van parked outside of our house for three years!

again, i really notice the change in the way taylor speaks, he's more unsure, quieter, and uses more filler words (such as "y'know"), and it feels as if he feels bad about making nicky confront his faults as a father but he's pushing through it anyway, because he has to.

and i absolutely love the throwback to episode ONE with the 23&me test! like this had been brewing from the start! i just think it's fantastic for it all to build up to this. like yeah. taylor didn't know WHO nicky was or WHERE nicky was and trying to figure it out only led to more danger for him.

Nicky: [gets on one knee and puts his hand on Taylor's shoulder] I guess I never got to properly apologize to you, did I?

Taylor: Well, an apology won't really turn back time, and I don't know how I feel—I would rather have the time travel magic.

this is so cutting. like, yeah, an apology won't cut it, and taylor immediately circles back to time travel magic, as if it could fix what's broken when it really, really can't.

i also find the trend of time when it comes to the close boys to be very fascinating. glenn got locked up in time prison, nicky's childhood was split into two timelines, and taylor thinks time travel can fix his broken relationship with his father?

god damn.

Nicky: Well, I didn't even get to explain—I was in Hell. I was worried that these fuckers [pointing at the other kiddads]— Taylor: Yeah, those fuckers. Nicky: —would have chased after me if I'd gotten out of hell. Taylor: So you're telling me that these fuckers kept you away from me all these years? Nicky: Yeah, you know what? It was these motherfuckers! They are the reason I didn't get to spend time with you because they betrayed me! Taylor: That makes sense; I just saw the memory! Yeah, yeah!

thinking about how taylor immediately agrees with nicky in blaming the others for his absence, because, well, yeah, shit's complicated and they are definitely part of the reason, but the fact that taylor is so on board of whole heartedly blaming them after chewing into his dad about not being there is just so sad. like yeah, of course he doesn't want to be upset at nicky. and it hurts so much that he is.

god.

oh my god.

okay, now, i didn't transcribe the entirety of taylor's memory, i actually summarized it and quoted some key aspects of it, so here:

Taylor's first belt ceremony. He's performing, and he finishes, and he bows, and he looks up. His mom is there. He's sniffling a bit and Cass asks him if he's okay and comments on how he moved all the way up to green belt, and he says he knows. He looks over to the kid who was supposed to get green belt but didn't because of him. The kid is whining, and then his dad comes in and gives him a big hug and—

"It's okay son, I saw how hard you worked, and in my eyes, you're a black belt. Come on, let's get ice cream."

The kid says thanks and they hug and then they leave and Taylor watches them leaving through the window and sees the child and father and mother smiling together. Taylor looks down at and then throws away his green belt.

"I think I'm done with karate."

Taylor gets kicked out.

that line that the father said to his child really hit me, because taylor never heard nicky say that to him. ever. and that was all that he wanted, really. like, "i saw how hard you worked," as in, i was there, watching you, practicing with you, supporting you, i saw you, i see you, i'm here, i'm here with you. and "in my eyes, you're a black belt," in my eyes, you've worked so hard, in my eyes, you deserve more than what you got, in my eyes, you're strong, in my eyes, you're capable.

things nicky never saw, and things nicky never told him.

and then, well, taylor quits.

a memory defining taylor's relationship with nicky. a memory where he wasn't there. a memory where he didn't see taylor's growth. a memory where taylor gave up on an ambition. a memory of absence.

anyways.

Nicky: I'm really sorry— Taylor: I'm kind of sensing a pattern here to be honest. Nicky: Yeah, I'm thinking that maybe the things that your granddad did, I do now. I'm thinking maybe I fucked up in the exact same way… Taylor: [lays a hand on Nicky] I think you fucked up in the same way too. Nicky: Okay. Well that's good. That's good for us.

god. oh my god. the fuckign pattern. i'm so sorry this part makes me lose my coherency all i can think of is how sad it makes me idk idk guys im sorry. you get it. taylor saying yeah you fucked up in the same way and nicky learning that and accepting it. oh my fucking god. like. i dont know theres something about the acceptance of it that really gets me. at the start of the conversation nicky denied it, and here he is, after seeing a memory of taylor doing something he wasn't there for, and now he's like yeah, yeah. i did fuck up royally.

3. "...there is no fixing this."

Glenn: What if we started over? What if we tried to kinda give it a little bit of a reset, and try and make some new memories together, as this sort of team of three? What do you think about that? Is it stupid? I dunno.

Nicky: What kinda memories are you talking about?

Glenn: Well I was thinking we all go to Disneyland, the happiest place on earth, and start everything off on the right foot! It's been so long since I've been to Disneyland, and, I dunno, let me show you all the secrets. Let me show you all the hidden Mickeys. I never got to show Taylor how to get over nine-hundred-thousand points on the Buzz Lightyear ride. And you! Nick, I never showed you the secret entrance into Club 33 that only I know about, and it requires you to go through the sewers a little bit.

I mean, what do you say? Maybe we can do something about this whole fucked up Close family. Maybe we could bring it on back a little bit. What do you guys think?

Nicky: Yeah, sure, yeah I mean, I like Disneyland as much as the next guy. What do you think Taylor?

Taylor: What's Disneyland? I don't understand, what's Disneyland?

now listen, i know that taylor not knowing what disneyland is was just because of the whole doodlerized world thing, but i feel like it also really highlights the disconnect here. like, glenn wasn't around much in nick's life but they knew each other and yes glenn went to disneyland without nick a lot and yes nick liked universal better and if i got into their relationship it would take far too long and i don't feel particularly equipped to tackle that which is why i'm focusing on taylor, but i think that taylor asking what disneyland is highlights the disconnect between him and nicky. nicky and glenn are talking about something that taylor is completely lost on, and to me it really shows the disconnect between all of them. first off, nicky likes universal studios better than disney, second of all, taylor doesn't even know what disneyland is. they grew up in different realms, and they grew up around different people, and nicky was never there, which means there's so much taylor knows that nicky doesn't, and so much nicky knows that taylor doesn't and so much of that knowledge and those experiences can never or will never be shared.

Nicky: Oh yeah, good point, I guess it's on a previously Doodlerized world now with a bunch of really fucked up shit in it.

Glenn: I'm just saying that like—give me a chance. Give me a chance to try and make up for all the—well—you know what? No, no, no, no, no, I can't make up for any of that stuff.

it's true. this solution is like putting icing on top of an overdone cupcake. temporarily sweet but it's still bitter and burnt. (i'm sorry if that doesn't make sense, i don't bake.) but like when you burn something you can't just. un-burn it. sure you can put icing and sprinkles and all the fun stuff and maybe you can wash out the taste but that doesn't change the state of what's underneath.

that's their relationship to me.

Anthony: As you're saying this, without even wanting it to, tears are rolling down your cheeks, and in that moment, you, and Taylor, and Nick all realize that there is no fixing this. That this is as good as it's going to get. That you are all stuck with each other in the forms that you are now. You see daddy magic—that same daddy magic that exited Ron and Terry's body, emanate from their bodies like a fine mist, coalesce into the air, and then zip into the jar and fill it up a little bit more because that's what your relationship is.

ah yes, finally, we reach the end.

this is what their relationship is. it's comprised of missing connections and missed experiences and misplaced memories and absences and longing and searching and finding one another only for it to be too late. it is comprised of absence as opposed to love or hate or anything in between. the nothingness that is absence is their relationship

how depressing.

if i'm honest, i think nicky still has a chance. obviously he can't fix anything with taylor, but i really do hope that he tries to be proactive in taking part in taylor's life from here on out, that is, if taylor even survives this next episode, oooh scary.... hahaha anyways.

i hope everyone enjoyed this essay! i started writing it the day the episode came out but schoolwork kinda took over me.

i wanted to get it out before this episode's teen talk so that's why i finished it tonight, but i may reblog with more thoughts, who knows! we'll see! :3c

i do also encourage you guys to check out my art for this episode specifically inspired by that last anthony quote there.

and of course my thoughts are not the objective truth, i am a mere university student, ignoring my school essays to write one for tumblr <3

bye-bye! <3 :3c

#dungeons and daddies #dndads #dndaddies #hell and high father #dndads analysis #analysis #cookies analyses #cookies rambles <3 #taylor swift dndads #glenn close #nicky foster #nick close #nicholas foster #cookies writes and cookies wrongs

[vole-mon-amour]

You know, I was surprised by the amount of people asking for s4. I understand, it's your favourite show. Mine, too. I'll be devastated if we never see Phil as Jamie again (he's my fav character, can't do anything about it). I'll miss him very very much.

However,

1. I was amazed by the amount of things they got wrong but general audience saying that the finale was perfect and asking for more. We must be watching a very different show.

2. After that AMA with Brendan, I simply don't trust the writers to continue this. In my mind it's a bit of a relief that we're probably not getting more because of the possibility of them ruining it even further.

Sure, one of my fav episodes (Sunflowers, 3x06) was written by Jason S. and Joe Kelly. Brendan was probably involved in some way, but not enough to give him credit for writing and directing it.

International break, 3x10, was written by Jane Becker. There are moments that I dislike, but the entire Uncle day? Roy & Jamie being besties? Roy finding the right words after he sees Jamie giving a nod to Sam that couldn't represent his team? Chef's kiss. I still think the way they handled Roy x Keeley was awful, but still. It was, more or less, a nice episode in my opinion.

Mom city, 3x11, was written by both Jason and Brendan & I absolutely LOVE it for most part (especially if we ignore the entire 'forgive him' thing with Jamie's dad). Jamie-centric episode that I'll always cherish & it's a shame we didn't have more of those. Give Phil all the awards. Love love LOOOVEEE IIITTT. Even better, give Jamie his own spin-off and invite Phil back as Jamie. (But then again, the fear of them bringing James back into Jamie's life and showing it as a good thing... The fear is Real.)

However, how could all Jason, Joe, and Brendan together write and release 3x12 as is is beyond me. How could they give us all those parallels, all that build up, only for it to ruin it in the finale? Jamie and his dad, Beard and Jane, the weird triangle thing that before this was mostly presented as ot3 but suddenly turned in the dumbest possible '2 people are chasing another same one' and Roy & Jamie both being OOC as HELL. Even ot3 aside, what was that bar talk? Jamie would never. Then at Keeley's house and Roy that's 'been working his ass off for the past year' but actually regressed to the point of BEFORE we see him in s1. He was presented as mentally mature in s1. I understand that he's jealous and insecure, but getting back to throwing punches at your best friend trying to convince himself/believing that after one night stand (that was VERY poorly addressed in 3x10 and 3x11 in my opinion) you're getting back together with your ex when she's been turning you down again and again? After that misogynistic comment about "But she's a woman, so you never know." WHO wrote that and why? Who allowed this to appear in the actual episode? And don't give me the "He's only human" treatment, he was always human but he never treated Keeley that shitty. He was better than that from the beginning. Or is it just me who wanted him to be better? Plus, Roy attacking Jamie after KNOWING what Jamie went through and how awful it is for him.

Before TL there was a show that I loved very much, but it disappointed me to the point that I started hating it, dropped it before the last season aired, and blacklisted it everywhere. I won't name it, but the writers were absolutely awful and treated the fans and the main gay ship like clowns. Typical Cis White Guys behavior towards their own characters and writing them as OOC as possible. I was very afraid this might happen to TL but was hoping that it won't. After 3x12? You guys. All my trust into their writing and believing in knowing what they're doing completely disappeared.

I am gutted bc of how much this show means to me and how it helped me through the darkest time in my life, but also... Are we sure we want more? Are we sure we trust them to continue this with these characters? I can kinda imagine the female football team, but to continue with all of our favs?

Mmm, I'm not sure about that, guys. Are you?

#brendan hunt #jamie tartt #ted lasso #roy kent #roy x jamie #roy x jamie x keeley #jason sudeikis #meta #i guess? #i tag the ships but it's actually more generic for me #them getting their own characters wrong is SO BAD #there are actually way more issues for me in the finale #i just completely can't get over the named ones #bc if i start on what i didn't name... #yikes #i also have SO many questions for phil #can i please have a chat with him? #i usually don't know what to ask but this time i have too many questions

[accio-victuuri]

xiao zhan @ SBMS fox factory interview 1/2 :

XZ: friends of fox factory, hello! i am xiao zhan~

hello~ watching SBMS it feels so real. everyone says that this is not xiao zhan this is the representative work of my leaders and colleagues…have you seen those funny comments?

XZ: i haven’t see anything so funny yet

we want to know if there were any moments where your designer dna moved when you played shengyang.

XZ: from the moment i stepped into the company, see the workstation, see the brush, at the moment when i see the hand-painted board…my dna is already jumping wildly.

the director said he didn’t expect you to sit in the workstation and you know all those software on the computer.

XZ: well, i used to work (with those software)

they are all nightmare memories, aren’t they?

XZ: no~ it’s a good memory

you understand the method very well because i watch the tidbits when you choose the clothes and you mentioned something with grayscale, pinkish…i didn’t expect anyone to say it so accurately what else do you have in your mind? what’s the difference between this and the colorful black?

XZ: ah no~

what kind of air shots are there in the play? big bath towel, hurry to the elevator, brake, draw a bunny on the bread and call her ex-husband, there is also an ultraman appearance, which of them are designed by yourself?

XZ: it’s through our verification process…actually, it’s all rather than using the word design in the drama “SBMS” why don’t we say that many of them are things that reveal the truth at the moment, i didn’t preset. this is also something i really like, it’s just very real. when the director was in the rack position, he will hide a lot of seats, that’s what i mean by hiding. it’s because you can feel his existence and he create the most relaxed environment for actors.

i’m impressed…the director also said this, he told us that you got your wake up scene filmed. however, there are 8 direct shots from 8 camera positions that have not been released.

XZ: yes, yes, it seems to be…he’s really good at it. what makes him really powerful is that he used to shoot the scenes before, we will habitually save the emotions for close up before presenting them but often the feeling of people are the most precious at the present moment. the great thing about the director is that they have a long-range, medium-range close-up. he can catch it all.

do you like this kind of thing? several angles are filming at the same time. you don’t have to go through it many times.

XZ: usually when i go to the scene, i don’t even look at the cam seats. i will just pretend it doesn’t exist.

he said you are so smart, says you memorize your lines very well, you will just memorize it at once on the spot and then pass it, and he said that if you screw it or you stuck you would treat them to dinner.

XZ: ah yes, yes, ah director is really….my personal habit is that i will memorize all the line in advance, i will also be familiar with co actor’s line and then we joked at the scene that “whoever eat the screw they have to drink the water.”

you wear the same inner shirt in the first 16 episodes did you also notice the design?

XZ: i don’t know if it kiwi, or mango, when i try on the clothes. during the try on actually there are many clothes, including some major brands of the clothing but how can we make audience believe in shengyang growth, environment and the things he has experienced. i even wear different clothes every day for work, i can’t make audience believe it, i can’t convince myself either that basically the same outfit for work, because when i used it to work i will have a set of clothes for work. something just makes me feel comfortable at work, because you are at work station, you will sit for half an hours or even longer.

so wear those nice clothes only when you are not working…

XZ: that’s right

which of shengyang’s behavior that will make you feel that it shouldn’t rise to xiao zhan? being a spoiler when parents quarrel, when parents reconcile, act as a microphone..

XZ: i can do it too.

start work at 8am, you are in a hurry but still do an exercise…

XZ: it seems that i used to do the same, because i think it’s the way to wake up my brain quickly.

no matter how late you lie down, you have to play with your phone before going to bed?

XZ: this is of course a very bad habit. i think everyone doesn't have to imitate this. i think you can just sit down and lean against the bed. lie down against the bed is really bad for you eyes.

do you subconsciously put all the items within your line of sight in a centralized.

XZ: did i?

you turned a can bottle on the set and be sure to put its trademark facing out.

XZ: maybe it’s what the director told me that we need to shoot the logo that what i did right? i shouldn’t be that obsessive-compulsive

(Interviewer plays a compilation of him being OC)

because this time you going back to chongqing to filming SBMS we want to know how you feel.

XZ: very happy and relaxed.

some people say that the following is the darkest moment for chongqing people. i want to know how you feel about these things?

XZ: [he read the qs] [eat small noodles, there are no chili paper inside, there are no vegetables either]…i can’t do this…

can only choose one option

XZ: vegetable. it’s not good to eat spicy food now.

XZ: [driving with friends from other places, using navigation or going the wrong way]

XZ: this is really happened. especially after i haven’t been back for so long, the road conditions is really unfamiliar.

XZ: [go to hongya cave to eat hot pot]… i won’t tell them about this.

hongya cave is a special tourist destination…

XZ: it’s not like that…

then why you can’t eat hot pot there?

XZ: well, maybe everyone has different taste, (after all) hongya cave is a very important place in chongqing.

you are worthy of being the ambassador of our city.

XZ: [going to ktv and sing the chongqing dialect rap] i think if we go with a very familiar friend then okay for everyone to have fun and make some scene isn’t it?

because they said it always be the stereotype of people in chongqing. you have to ask them to say something to any ktv you go to

XZ: i don’t think they were supposed to sing that…emm…never mind

eh which one?

XZ: the chongqing version of “fire” when we were at school this version was very popular.

have you sung this before?

XZ: no, but everyone enjoy it.

#xiao zhan #sunshine by my side #sunshine by my side spoiler #accio victuuri translation #fox factory interviews are always extra chaotic 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[transmutationisms]

my problems with s4 are mostly to do with pacing and editing, a few strange moments of melodrama, and a less cohesive A + B plot structure overall. i feel acutely aware that this is a show that has two hour first cuts, because they’re trying to squeeze everything and the kitchen sink into an hour-ish, and things keep getting dropped along the way. and yet, there seems to be so much air in scenes! connor and willa vanished, and he’s running for president. the political stuff that’s clearly going to play a big part in the final few episodes has been barely touched so far. it’s not terrible by any means… it’s just a bit baggy.

sure, i see where you're coming from. in terms of pacing i thought there were some issues with the first halves of episodes 1 and 2 (maybe also 6), and there are some editing floor losses (mencken's guard dog showing up to the wake, but mencken being cut; whatever was happening between ebba and karolina). i don't think it's new for the show to have some of these mechanical issues, though (anyone remember dundee?) and i'd say the same about connor being under-appreciated. politically, i actually like how they've been handling it because mencken's entire point as a character is to demonstrate the vapid spectacle of fascism and how that appeals to capitalism. they do that really effectively, but it also means psychologically he's nothing, and the way they've been using matsson this season works for me because it's a different flavour of fascism that appeals more to a sense of meritocracy and biological improvement—which is why it makes sense for shiv to be the liaison. i am excited for the election episode but i also think this whole season has been "waystar gets into bed with fascism," and there are reasons (writing and political) that it's been effective for that to happen via matsson more than mencken.

anyway, like i said, i'm not trying to convince anyone to like the season. in my lifetime i've hated plenty of things that other people liked, and vice versa. i'd also agree there have been a few weirdly melodramatic moments that threw me off (tomshiv in episodes 1 and 4....) and although i'm reserving final judgment till the season ends, it might really be the case that i Simply Did Not Like That lol.

once again, though, to me these are mostly minor, localised mechanical issues that don't prevent me from enjoying the season overall. i still think this is a very good tv show and i think season 4 is better so far than season 3 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#s4 critiques

[streets-in-paradise]

The Fishnet Emergency - (platonical) Jonathan Byers x (Fem) Henderson! Reader

Word Count  2 K

Warnings: Not proofreading (sorry for any mistakes). This covers an episode referenced on “I’ll Wait”, an Eddie x Henderson! Reader oneshot i posted some time ago. There it was briefly described, here I am showing it. 

Relationships mentioned: Implications of Eddie Munson x Henderson! Reader (reader has a crush on him), Jonathan x Nancy. 

Summary: Your best friend is accompanying you to a Corroded Coffin show and finds himself contextually forced to help you out through a dressing fail. 

Tags: @losersclubisms​ 

“ Excited to see your boyfriend?” Jonathan teased you as part of your conversation on the trip to the show . “ Try to be less obvious this time.” 

It was well intentioned, he wanted to mess around because it was the very first time since you met that he was witnessing your crush on someone. The guy in question was a guitar player in the band you were about to see, a new friend from school and an absolute mess that you were drooling over. 

“ Eddie is not my boyfriend, that is exactly the point.”  Was your immediate comeback. “ I am a friend, his friend and friend of the group who is there to support them. I am going for them and you are going for me because this is a chain of supportiveness and that is what friendships are about, right?” 

You said so many times the word friend that it was obvious you were trying to convince yourself. 

“ Just chill. Even if he wants that cheerleader, so what? Eddie Munson has as many chances of being with Chrissy Cunnigham as ….” 

“ ‘ as I have with Nancy Wheeler’. That’s the outdated answer you are trying to replace because you ran out of excuses to cheer me.” You cut him off in a mock. “ Let’s finish the sentence with a ‘ as you have with the guitarist of Van Halen’, which is actually impossible unlike your case.” 

The interruption got a few chuckles out of him, but it also led him into an excellent point he hasn't discussed with you on the topic. 

“ Have you never stopped to think that maybe that’s how he sees her? You know, a fantasy. Not everyone projects on celebrities like you do. Some people that we see everyday can feel almost as unreachable and serve the same purpose.” 

It never occured to you, but you didn’t see the importance of distinguishing it. One way or another, he liked her and there was no space to speculate on how you could be part of the equation. 

“ What’s the difference? It doesn’t really matter how, the fact is there.” 

Jonathan tried to make the explanation as practical as possible to make you see what you were not getting. 

“ Let’s name the Eddies so this will not get confusing: Van Halen is Eddie 1 and Munson is Eddie 2. “ 

“ Like the Things of Doctor Seuss?” 

“ Yeah, like that. “ He agreed to continue. “ Now imagine a fictional situation where both are into you and you have to pick one of them. I’m not even going to ask you because I know you will pick Eddie 2, he is the real deal. The one you know, who you trust and share stuff with. Eddie 1 is an image on your wall, a video on your TV screen and you like him as that. With him you don't want it to be real and you don’t need it to be real.” 

“ Of course not, that would be erotomania.” 

He would have answered the same way, that was definitely his influence. 

“ For as much as you drool whenever MTV airs the video of Panama, Eddie 2 is still your Eddie and the way in which your face transforms when you see him play is something I have never seen before.” 

“ With all of this you mean that Chrissy may be my Eddie’s version of Eddie and, if i am lucky, I still have chances of becoming his version of him?” 

The tongue twister conclusion seemed to be indicating that you understood the central points of his idea. 

“ That makes no sense.” You insisted on yours. “ She is not in a poster, she is a real girl who passes by us everyday and he could be talking to. She is right there being a divine beauty and freaking adorable, putting every mortal girl to shame while we really can’t blame her because she seems like a sweetheart. She is like Arwen, I simply can’t compete with her and I don’t want to hate her because there is nothing to hate. What I should be doing is having the guts Eowyn had to face Aragorn was not for her.” 

“ Let go of that Jolene bullshit. We are going to a shithole to see the band of the dude who sells me drugs. How can you lose your mind claiming that you are not good enough for him?” 

From the way in which he was presenting it, that did sound a bit exaggerated, but it was perhaps because Jonathan wasn’t spending as much time with Eddie as you. He didn’t find him as awesome as you did, to him he was just some dude. 

“ I guess it is my subconscious being unable to let go of how I was rejected by the chezz club as a kid. “ You joked in return. “ I could have been a chezz state champion, but I abandoned some time before the championships because I found out the boys had a D&D party outside of that and they never invited me.” 

“ Then you tried to form your own group in revenge, but only one girl joined and that wasn’t enough to start a campaign. You thought you had made a friend, but she moved for the next school year and you were alone again.” 

He remembered every single detail of the anecdote, knowing it so well that he wouldn’t let you finish it. 

“ I love you, Johnny. I don’t know what I would do without you. I love to know that, even if things go wrong and Hellfire turns out to be like the chezz club, we will still have each other.” 

He was focused on driving, but you could still see his smile. 

“ Always, you know I love you too. I want you to remember that it will not be your fault if it turns out that there are no real chances beyond friendship with Eddie. This is not about being worthy or unworthy of him. Besides, we are all weirdos. He is called a freak, I am a freak and so are you. Yeah, you are not some preppy cheerleader but we know that is not the end of the world. You are still a cute freak girl and some other freak will notice.” 

“ That’s the kind of comforting advice I give to Dustin. Please, don’t make me sound like a hypocrite. “ 

“ Or maybe a normal dude. Have you thought about it?” Jonathan added, still caught onto his speech. '' Some chill normal that casually enjoys Stephen King books and would get to hear your exhaustive analysis on dates. He is so normal that haunted house horror is his favorite genre and he found The Shining absolutely revolutionary. He doesn’t even get why King complains about Kubrick’s adaptation.” 

“ Don’t be an asshole, haunted house is Steve’s favorite! He doesn’t like gore and enjoys stories centered on families. Not everyone has to be into the blood splatter.” 

“ We have the same Evil Dead poster, we are on it together.” 

“ I’m just saying that the haunted house genre has its charm. “ You defended yourself. “ Remember that draft for a story I abandoned because I felt there was nothing interesting besides the subversive undertones at the end I wanted for it? I told the concept to Steve and he said he would watch a movie based on it.” 

Jonathan was surprised to hear that you were talking about that with Steve. He knew that you were spending a lot of time with him because he became a friend of Dustin, but didn’t imagine he would stand the writer's info dumping. 

“ Are you doing market research before passing by your editor? Unless you forgot it, that’s me.“ 

" I will hand you the manuscript as soon as I decide on a direction for the idea. I don't know yet what I am going to do, but Steve liked it and that makes me want to do something with it."  

In the relaxed spirit of the conversation, he delivered some more well intentioned teasing. 

" What does Eddie say about that? "

The mere mention of that made you throw a skeptical chuckle.

" Please, as if he could actually be jealous of me. ME, of all girls. At best, I can see myself as á 'one of the boys' kind of friend." 

" Is that why you are going to freeze to death wearing that super short skirt? Do you want to perform metalhead femininity so your friend /crush will notice you are a girl?" 

That was exactly what you wanted to do, or at least a complicated explanation of your plan. At the needed time, as always, you asked him to pull over halfway so you could change clothes alone in the car. 

Neither his mother or yours had to know where you were going, so you couldn't allow yourself to be seen by any of them wearing your outfits for the shows. Each and every single time you were contextually forced to change clothes on the way. The look you picked for that gig had you particularly excited because it was slightly more riskfull than your usual. You were a bit too desperate for some of Eddie's attention, what you would be trying to get wearing your shortest jean skirt and fishnets. 

Wondering if he would notice the change was your main motivation and the escenarios going on in your mind were a great impulse as you were changing. Your playful imagination was inventing an ideal reaction: Eddie looking at you and feeling surprised, impressed, maybe interested. That last point was exactly what you craved the most to think about, you were imagining how amazing it would be if he would want you as more than a friend. You two would be crossing glances the whole show, a sneak out to some small corner of the place where you could be alone after the end. Him confessing in whispers exactly what you wanted to hear leading to a heavy makeout session where you would feel his hands touching you everywhere... maybe even underneath your skirt. 

That kind of distraction was the recipe for an accident. Not only were you changing on a rush, your mind was somewhere else. You had no idea of how your thoughts could escalate that fast, but the result was your fishnets getting stuck. Cursing yourself in the process, you tried to fix the situation on your own. It didn't work, you barely got them to pass halfway to your thighs. 

There was no other way, you were going to need more hands on the matter. 

" JONATHAN!! " You called for your friend waiting outside. " I need some back up!" 

He didn't know what you meant, but didn't like the sound of it. 

" How are things going?" 

Your answer was slightly delayed by your shame making you hesitate. 

" It's the fishnets, crap doesn't move and I can't make it move." 

He also hesitated before replying. 

" Can't you figure that out yourself?" 

It caused more frustration in you regarding the situation. 

" IT'S STUCK! PLEASE, JOHNNY. I NEED YOU IN THIS!!!"

A very awkward request, but it sounded desperate enough to make him see you were serious. That only made him get more nervous. 

" WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?? MOTLEY CRUE, DR FRANK N FURTER ?? I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIX THAT SHIT??" 

" DON'T YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND??" 

The evocation didn't work at all to convince him.

" NANCY DOESN'T WEAR FISHNETS!" 

That wouldn't make you stop either. 

" JUST COME IN!!!!" 

Seeing no other option, he got inside the car to find you spreaded in the backseat and providing a very embarrassing visual. 

His expression of discomfort was impossible to dissimulate, it was such an awkward situation for everyone involved. 

" Ok, I am here. What should I do next?" 

There was no simple way to explain it. 

" Help me pull, but do it gently or you will rip the thing apart. " 

" Can you make it sound LESS awkward, please?" 

You were too ashamed to think words carefully. 

" Teamwork requires sacrifices, now pick a side and start pulling. " 

You allowed him the needed space to reach you and the embarrassment grew. Johnatan was very hesitant to touch you when he comprobed that there was no innocent extreme for him to grab the fishnets without getting in contact with some awkward spot of your body. 

In your front it was your inner thighs, while in the back it would be pulling until reaching your ass. 

" I'm going to cut this hideous thing with a scissor and your legs will go bare. " 

" YOU DON'T!" Was your extremist complaining " We have faced shit worse than this and we did it together. GRAB AND PULL!" 

" I CAN'T!!!" He kept yelling, completely freaking out. " THERE IS NOWHERE I CAN PICK WITHOUT TOUCHING." 

" JUST DO IT!!!"

One of the most uncomfortable moments you have lived together across all the history of your friendship took place exactly then. As he helped you out in between a concert of curses, mutual yelling and weird encouraging speeches you two got convinced that fighting interdimensional creatures was somehow less challenging than going through that. 

" ALMOST THERE, DON'T YOU DARE TO GIVE UP NOW." You were saying to him once you began to notice some considerable movement. 

At the same time you thought you made it you were almost sure of hearing a subtle cracking sound that was very bad news. 

" IT WILL LOOK BETTER THAT WAY, I PROMISE." Johnatan tried to stop you from panicking within his own panic. " DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT, WE ARE GONNA MAKE IT. DID YOU HEAR ME? THIS FUCKING RIPPED CRAP AIN'T GONNA STOP YOU. " 

" HOW MUCH IS IT?" You asked, still managing to panic. " HOW MUCH DAMAGE, JONATHAN??" 

" Try not to bend down, the hole is at the edge of your ass"

" FUCK!" You cried out in frustration. " One goddamn time I'm putting in more effort and shit has to get screwed anyways." 

You put on the skirt with some feelings of defeat ruining your mood. 

" Thank you, I'm very sorry for this mess and for how batshit crazy this whole situation has me. " You apologized to your friend. " I want to feel pretty because that feeds a bit into the illusion, you know? It's my dumb brain thinking that if i look different Eddie could get to look at me a bit different. " 

The sincere confession made Johnnatan toss aside some of the awkwardness. 

" It's alright, we all do dumb shit when we like someone. " He attempted to comfort you. " Seriously, don't bend down or it will get worse. It may sound like a good idea to get quick attention, but it is not going to come from him first. Your new goal tonight is keeping this crap in place at least until the last song." 

You tried to seem optimistic, at least as a way to show gratitude to Jonathan for his help. 

" Alright, that is going to give me something to keep myself occupied. It must help with the nerves at least. "

The outcome didn't end up turning as terrible as you feared. You had fun anyways, despite the reminder of the quite wild fantasy you unexpectedly came up with at the time of your harmless accident made you feel too wrong to keep eye contact with Eddie for too long. 

Of course, you could have never possibly guessed that he actually came up with wilder ones just by looking at you. Dissimulating how into you he was got exponentially harder and he was so afraid of being discovered by the friend you brought once more with you. 

#stranger things #stranger things oneshot #jonathan byers #jonathan byers x reader #(platonical) jonathan x reader #eddie munson x reader #henderson! reader #charlie heaton #joseph quinn

[walks-the-ages]

Mkay definitely going to be writing..... multiple Quantum Leap fanfics at some point in the future so establishing some ground rules / changes because the writers clearly have no concept of the word "consistency":

1) 100% body swap. Sam and the person he Leaped into are physically in each other's bodies, the only ones who see Sam as "Sam" (aka the actor Scott Bakula) is canonically the AudienceTM, the other side of the Fourth Wall. he literally has no idea what he himself looks like because he sees the person he's Leaped into in the mirror, and Al also sees him as whoever he's Leaped into.

(On the inverse, this means that whenever Sam Leaps into someone new, everyone at home has to deal with the fact that the body of their best friend is being possessed by a wide variety of people, some of whom are super traumatized, confused, and alarmed at what is happening, from terrified soldiers taken straight from the front lines of Vietnam, to coldblooded hit men, to Sam's literal 13 year old self. There's a lot to unpack here in terms of potential angst)

(Also, None of this bullshit where Sam can see while in the body of a blind man, or having half the episode try to convince you he's not actually pregnant until the last minute or saying "she could have the baby in the future and then the baby could be stuck there!" Like excuse me writers, you are breaking your own universe's established rules in the most hilariously stupid reach with that lol. That's now how this works.)

2) Sam knows american sign language. Any man that goes out of their way to learn 8 different languages is going to learn the main sign language of where he lives, especially with a photographic memory, he would learn quickly just from being around Deaf colleagues and friends.

3) Sam's 100% autistic in my fics :)

4) Sam is also 100% Asexual in my fics :) wether or not he remembers that or even knew it existed as even a concept is up in the air, but either way he'll slowly discover it over the course of the fics. He's also sex repulsed.

5) 4X01 doesn't exist. It was dumb, contrived, and didn't do anything except derail the storyline and completely throw the storyline off it's rhythm and make 4x02 feel very disjointed, leaving the audience needlessly wondering what stakes have changed only to realize... Oh. Literally nothing. (I am so glad nothing changed, but it would have been nice if they didn't try to hype it up like Sam had been leaping on his own for who knows how long, only to have Sam and Al start chatting as though they'd never been separated.)

4x01 was also used as a dumb excuse for Sam to suddenly be into sex, and flirting with women, because clearly they were fishing for more male audience engagement by making Sam have enthusiastic sexy times with women of his own free will (instead of the previous 3 seasons that established that he wants nothing to do with sex or anything physical). Also just the complete irony of them retconning in a wife for Sam in the same episode they start making him more....sexually active shall i say.

6) Ziggy is the "God/Him" in question, clearly, and is Orchestrating Events to make a more perfect timeline that is also a self fulfilling prophecy where he is always created by Sam. Not that Sam or anyone else ever realizes this.

7) Al is super fucking queer, and is very involved in the community and equality movement. Running for Honor doesn't follow the same script anymore, it was probably pretty good for 1992 television,but uhhhh no to Al saying "I can't always be the good guy" like, sorry writers but no .

Anyways. Al is Aromantic and genderqueer, and his full name is Ally which he chose himself after running away from the orphanage for the nth time and being taken in by a group of homeless queer folk and learning about everyone's experiences with gender, sex, romance, and everything in between.

8) "Time travel within his lifetime" except every time Sam Leaps into someone their lifetime is factored in to that count. Exponentially increasing Leaping dates. Aka Sam Leaps into Jesse Tyler in the year 1955, which is when Sam is 2 years old (born in 1953)? Well, now Sam can also leap as far back as Jesse Tyler's birthday and birth year. And every single time he Leaps, the Leapee's lifetime is added to his pool of potential leaping years.

.... I'll add more as I think of them :)

#quantum leap #bold text #Walks writes #Sam Beckett #Al Calavicci #Ally Calavicci #Asexual Sam Beckett #Genderqueer Al Calavicci #Aromantic Al Calavicci

[iguessitsjustme]

BL ~ Drama Asks

Still home sick and bored so why not. Thanks to @pose4photoml for tagging me

1.     If you had to watch one drama forever what would it be?

I’m taking this to mean that I can only watch this one drama and nothing else and it might surprise people but my answer isn’t a BL. It’s Vincenzo. I love that show. But since this is a BL asks game, I’ll also choose a BL for this...I’m gonna say Old Fashion Cupcake. It’s short but it hit all of my sweet spots (no pun intended) and I can’t see myself ever growing tired of it.

2.     If you could change the ending of a drama which one would it be?

Just one drama? How about two? My Gear and Your Gown and Enchante. MGAYG could have been so good, it just needed to be tightened up a bit and not throw in that random drama at the end. And Enchante was so very good until that ending.

3.     Name your favorite drama and tell who your favorite character was.

My favorite drama? Probably A Tale of A Thousand Stars and my favorite character was definitely Tian.

4.     Name a drama you dropped within the first few episodes ~ we all have at            least one!

I literally just dropped Check Out after 2 episodes. I’m not saying I’ll never finish it but I hated Nine so much I just couldn’t and then I kept hearing that it doesn’t really get better.

5.     Name a popular drama you've never watched and why?

I Told Sunset About You. I KNOW it’s good okay. I know it is. It just feels too real and I simply don’t want something that real. At least not right now. I will probably watch it eventually, just not any time soon.

6.     Name a drama you regret watching.

So I binged Hong Kong’s version of Ossan’s Love and then I immediately binged Japan’s version and I would not recommend anyone do this ever. It did weird things to my brain. It’s the same exact show but one is slightly more exaggerated (HK) and one is ever so slightly more serious (Japan). It’s a fine show just...don’t do what I did.

7.     Name a drama you thought you’d never watch but did and did you end up            liking it?

Cherry Blossoms After Winter. I’m normally not a fan of the stepbrothers trope and was going to not watch this, but I heard that it was actually cute and decided to give it a try and I am so glad I did. It is just genuinely one of the most wholesome and soft shows I’ve ever seen.

Also Secret Crush On You. I was very concerned about the stalker angle after reading the MDL summary but it started airing when I didn’t have a lot else to watch so I gave it a try and it ended up becoming one of my favorite shows ever.

8.     Name a pairing you want to see?

MacauChay. Also HinTum from Lovely Writer. I was happy to get bi representation with Tiffy but then I ended up hating her because she just decided that Tum was gay for reasons I can’t even fathom.

9.     Name a pairing you didn’t think had chemistry?

YuThanu. What even were they? They seemed like they were both from different alien species trying to convince the other one they were human and definitely wanted this relationship, yes, they definitely wanted it. I have more chemistry with the 30 pairs of socks I found on the ground by the dumpster than these two had with each other.

10.  Name a pairing you have seen in another drama that you like?

I’m guessing this means a pairing that’s in multiple shows that I like? I don’t actually have an answer for this. If it’s about the actors, then I’m not really a big fan of pairing actors together and basically making them a set. If it’s about characters, then I’d honestly rather only see the pairing in one show because otherwise that means there’s a second season and I do not trust second seasons.

I’m not going to tag anyone today, but if you want to do this, please go ahead. Just tag me in it so I can see your answers.

#bl tag game #i don't even know what shows i answered so i'm not gonna tag them because i cannot even bring myself to reread what i wrote

[what-do-1000-swords-look-like]

I’m sorry but you guys give D&D way too much credit. You really think these idiots went “ok so we’re gonna make Dany leave her hair up and Jon too so people can see their sex is a service and not love.” This is D&D we’re talking about.

Hi, Anon.

Well, short answer: Yes, I do think they did that.

1) when speaking on the GoT commentary, Dan was notoriously obsessed with the tiniest details (which to GA would have seemed inane and not worth their time), to the point where even David would tease him about it. Dan was also the one that allegedly got upset about 8x03's airing and being so dark.

2) Have you seen behind the scenes of the Dany and Sansa scene in 8x02? D&D were directing Emilia on how to gesture to Sansa to sit, even though David Nutter was the credited director of the episode. This once again, goes in line with the point above.

3) D&D were the ones to convince GRRM to do a show in the first place. He had turned down offers before that. The story is infamous at this point, and GRRM confirmed that one of the reasons he agreed to their pitch is because they had guessed who Jon's real mother was, after going back over the books.

4) They had crew working for them that played into the details like the hair being left up or down. Sophie Turner confirmed that Sansa's hairstyles usually echoed who she was learning from and/or channeling. If you look, you can see at one point in the series for each queen who Sansa learned from/was channeling. Season 8 has Dany-style hair for Sansa even. Michele Clapton, the costume designer, has confirmed that not only did she put little clues into the costumes as much as she could, but that the crew did these types of things knowing full well that people would go back and rewatch the series over and over again, and their goal was for the viewer to find something new each time (a la the books).

5) The show utilized different storytelling devices that many television shows and films use, across the board. That includes different shots and angles, framing, panning, set dec, props, music cues, lighting, costuming, blocking (like when Dany is moved away from fire), actors' performances/notes, editing, and of course, the dialogue/writing. Each one of these examples is present over the course of the series.

Look, I'm not saying that D&D didn't screw things up in the end nor am I defending them nor am I calling them as geniuses, but they both did do some decent work as showrunners at some points during the show. I don't think they were stupid as much as I think their egos grew too massive and got in the way. They literally rushed the last season so they could go make Star Wars which lol they didn't even do. They had started pulling their celebrity friends in for cameos (that had nothing to do with the show or industry at all, I think one of them was an NFL player iirc), and even put themselves into the show (in 8x04 as the widlings Tormund is boasting about Jon to). Some might say, well Taylor Sheridan put himself into Yellowstone or 1883, and they would be right. But the difference is, the characters he embodied worked with the story, and he was an actor before being this highly successful writer. These two simply put themselves into the show because they wanted to be immortalized in this series (and they chose the feast scene of all scenes to do it) and did it in the last season because that's what they were doing with all of their celebrity friend cameos. Getting it in as a last hurrah. Massive. Egos.

So to go back to your point, Anon, yes, I do think they did that to show that Jon was simply giving Dany what she wanted. When you break down the boat sex scene, it's pretty easy to spot what they did there. They are still in the Queen Dany and Bent-the-knee Jon here. Same as in this scene:

If they were in love or just having really great sex but bonding then we would have seen Dany like this:

Or Jon like this:

Especially when you compare it to Dany's love scene with Drogo where she takes control, the seduction scene with Daario where she takes control, and then her pillow talk scene with Daario (photo above).

So yes, Anon, I don't feel that we're giving them too much credit. I do think they absolutely kept in mind that people were going to rewatch the series and find new clues each time, just like they themselves used to do with GRRM's books. Listen, they screwed up in a lot of ways, but as for what they showed with Jon and Daenerys in that boat scene, I don't think they did.

Hope you have a great rest of your day!

#ask #ask answered #got #game of thrones #d&d critical #due to ask #antijonerys #anti jonerys #slightly

[waitmyturtles]

Oh man. WOW. While waiting for tomorrow’s EAW episode, I did a CRAZY fast binge of Ase to Sekken, which I had seen previewed on Twitter in the spring and then promptly forgot about until my kid (I SWEAR) reminded me YESTERDAY that we ran out of their soap, and I was like, SOAP! I GOTTA WATCH THE SWEATY SOAP SHOW. So now my eyes hurt and I’m overtired, but damn it, I finished this super cute show and here are my quick thoughts!

1) I haven’t even dived into this tag from a few months ago, so I am sure a lot of this has been said, but woven into all the metaphorical intimacy scenes is an incredibly cute show about two partners supporting each other through growth!

2) Yeah, those metaphorically intimate scenes. Yeah, so I am THAT PERSON that kept on forgetting that those scenes were METAPHORICAL and I was definitely like, WHY IS THERE FRUIT IN THE BED, and, GET A NEW DEHUMIDIFIER, and FLOATING?, and then I was like, right, they’re metaphors, you idiot. I need more sleep.

But I think they were pretty cutely done! I mean, for sexy midnight doramas, like, you’re always going to expect things to get a little whut whut crazy crazy and those scenes certainly took that cake. 

3) And yeah, the lead-in to their intimacy with a smell/scent obsession and the way in which Natori jumps into Asako’s personal space to start the relationship was also a little like, whoa, my man, fast there, huh? I have to wonder if some viewers were like -- does he like her only for her scent? BUT, I think while the pacing was super fast to start the series, that it actually paced PERFECTLY by the end, and the emotional development of their relationship hit every convincing button for me. 

4) Ohara Yuno was great*, but I have seen Sato Kanta in smaller roles, and I think he’s a FABULOUS and hilarious actor. I want to see him in more lead roles. He was fantastic, he did “weird” perfectly, he was truly and convincingly emotional. I want to read the manga now to understand if he nailed his role, but I am sure he did.

5) I thought the filming of this show was actually superb. It almost looked like to me that they tried to get a “filmed on film” look to the show. I don’t know anything about cinematography, but I felt the way they filmed this show lent an air of studiousness and seriousness to the off-base content. I LOVED how the lighting in Old Fashion Cupcake lent so much to the story, and I felt the same here, too. 

I highly recommend it! For a fast watch, it hit all the right emotional buttons, and I felt totally convinced by their investment in their relationship. Also, now I will buy so much soap.

*****

*So, this show was obviously, in part, a showcase for Ohara Yuno’s physical assets, which, okay, also midnight dorama fare. However -- I didn’t actually think that this element was overblown. I thought it was treated relatively fairly and it didn’t seem overboard. I’ll have to read the manga to better understand the balance there. As a mom who’s nursed her kids a LOT, I have feelings on these physical assets that may be slightly different than your typical progressive mama, which is to say, if Ohara Yuno wants to flaunt ‘em, she should, because they are FABULOUS. Go get yours, girl!

#ase to sekken #midnight dorama #mbs #sato kanta #ohara yuno

[spideeysense]

Break-up, Make-up, Whatever. Fezco x F!Reader.

A/N: Well, here it is folks! I hope you all enjoy this piece, as much as I did! This was a really fun request to write, so thank you to whoever suggested this! I hope you enjoy it <3. As always, thanks for reading. And feel free to drop a request! (and I'll get working on the next one :D)

Word Count: 2.9k

Desc/Request: heyy babesss, can you please do a fezco x reader where he breaks uk with her because he’s scared that his job can put her in danger. so like yea she’s been really upset and maddie convinced her to go the the new year’s eve party and she shows uk looking sexy as fuckkk, but see fez getting close with lexi and she feels like her heart breaks again and gets all insecure (you can decide the ending) <3 tysm bae - Anonymous

Warnings: Mentions of Alcohol consumption. Dirty Dancing. Mentions of drugs, and weapons. Fluff. Light Angst. Suggestiveness. (there is no smut, but I am still going to mark this fic 18+!!!). LIGHT SPOILERS FOR SEASON 2 EPISODE 1

Here are some songs I listened too while writing this if you want to get into the ambiance:

First Love/Late Spring - Mitski

J’s lullaby (darlin’ I’d wait for you) – Delaney Bailey

Space Song – Beach House

I Don’t want to be okay without you – Charlie Burg

Disco Inferno- 50 Cent

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The house was quiet when you unlocked the door. The blinds were halfway down, bathing the living room and kitchen, in a soft glow. Rays of sunshine highlighted the particles of dust that danced in the air. You pocked the spare key Fez had given you, and entered the house.

“Fez?” You called out.

The bag of groceries crinkled in your arms, and you put down on the counter. You pulled out the goods, putting them where they belonged. “Fez?” You called out a second time. You were met with silence. Odd. He hadn’t told you he was going out.

You fished out your phone from your bag, and opened it up to the messages screen.

Y/N: Yo bae, wya?????

No response. Worry settled in your stomach. It was unlike Fez to not communicate. You thought the worse, that he had been killed in business gone wrong and he was now lying dead in a ditch somewhere. You shivered at the thought.

You finished putting the groceries away and milled about the house.

An hour had passed and still no sign of Fez, nor Ashtray. The sense of worry was palpable now, your skin felt damp, cool, and hot, all at the same time. Your heart felt like it was in your throat, choking you with your own blood. Your stomach felt like it had turned upside down, and it was shaking itself and it was going to explode. Like a shaken-up can of soda.

You sat on the couch; eyes trained on the door, left leg bouncing up and down.

Suddenly, it flew open with a bang. Fez and Ashtray barged through the entrance. You didn’t miss the gun in Ashtray’s hand, and the handle poking out of Fez’s waistband. You jumped up on your feet.

“Where have you been.” You asked, your voice laced with worry, and a bit of angst.

Ashtray immediately went towards the dinner table, throwing a black duffle bag onto it, its contents spilling out.

They were both silent, focused on whatever task at hand.

“Fez.” You emphasized, a bit angrily.

“You should go upstairs Y/N.” Fez muttered.

You gaped at him, hands on your hips. You stood there silently.

“You didn’t answer my question Fez,” You stated.

Geez, you’d think that being together almost half a decade, would get you some sort of explanation.

“You need to go upstairs Y/N”. Fez said looking down, his focus on loading another gun. He stuck it between the couch cushions.

“Fez, you were gone for hours, I would have at least liked a text” You explain, going near him.

“Y/N I ain’t fuckin’ around, go upstairs. Now.” Fez said voice raised. He stared at you, hard. You could tell from his face he wasn’t fucking around. You sighed, snatched your laptop and headphones, and disappeared down the hall.

Fez rarely spoke to you like that. He was always very gentle and was very careful to not raise his voice around you. When you had your disagreements, you would be annoyed, and irritated, but you would never raise your voice at each other.

As quiet as a mouse, you tiptoed your way upstairs, made your way into your shared bedroom, and softly shut the door behind you. Click. Went the lock on the knob.

Soon, you could hear Mouse’s voice through the vents. Talking. No, ordering, Fez. Money. Drugs. Money. Blah blah blah. You hated when Mouse came over, things would become tense, and stay tense, even long after Mouse had left.

You thumbed the plush, carpet flooring underneath you. It was dry and scratchy. You placed your laptop in front of you and plugged your headphones in. Music flooded your ears as you disappeared into your laptop.

A little over an hour later, you heard the front door close, and heavy and familiar footsteps come up the stairs. Fez.

A gentle knock came from the door, and you moved from your place on the floor, and opened the door.

“Hey” You muttered.

“Hey” He responded and pushed passed you. He sat at the foot of the big, his head in his hands, one slowly rubbing his neck. Slowly, you joined him, pressing your side to his.

“You ok?” You ask, your hand meeting his shoulder. You gave it a soft squeeze.

It was silent between the two of you.

Fez looked at you, his expression unreadable, he opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it.

“Hmm?”

“I think we should break up” He finally said after a long moment.

Those words hit you like a brick, stealing all the air from your chest. You struggled to breathe.

“What?” Your mouth went dry like a desert, you gaped like a fish gasping for air. It felt like the floor had been tugged out from under you, and you were free falling down a pit.

“I think we should break up.” Fez restated, this time a little clearer.

You got up quickly, wiping your hands on the front of your shirt, but you weren’t sweating.

You turned towards the door, and then back to Fez, and then stared at the clock on the wall, and then the dresser, and then the picture of the two of you on the nightstand, next to his joints and some random trinkets. And finally, your eyes made their ways back to his.

They were wet with tears, his eyebrows knitted together.

“Why,” You whispered, you didn’t trust your own voice.

Fez sighed. “I can’t-, it’s not-,” He struggled to find his words. “It’s not safe for you anymore.”

You dropped your hands to your side. Silently you stared at him.

“Fez-“

He cut you off. “He knows about you, I don’t know how, but he does.”

“Fez-“

“No, babe, I’m serious about this shit righ’ now”

“I don’t care.” You said pointedly. You threw your arms in a dramatic shrug. “So what? You’re gonna let a bald-headed drug dealer dictate your life?”

Anger boiled inside you, crawling up your gut, into your throat. You could feel it burn.

“He’s not just some harmless dude Y/N, he can kill you.” Fez said raising his voice. “You need to take this shit seriously.”

You laughed humorlessly; it came out dry. “Oh yeah, I need to take this seriously.” You said in a mocking voice. It was petty, you knew it, and you didn’t miss the flash of hurt that crossed his eyes.

Fez moved towards you slowly, as if you were a hurt animal. He cupped your face in his hands. He pressed a soft kiss to your forehead, when he pulled away, you saw he was crying. You were crying too. Red hot, angry tears, spilled down your cheeks.

“Fine.” You whisper-said. You pulled away from his hands harshly, you wiped your face roughly with your hands, but it didn’t stop your tears. They dotted the carpet, your sweater, your hands.

In a bag, you stuffed whatever clothing you could find was yours, your laptop, and your headphones.

Fez didn’t even try to stop you. Before leaving you turned around, and with a wobbly and weak voice, you spat “Fuck you” before slamming the bedroom door behind you.

You bounded down the stairs rapidly, ignoring the calls from Ashtray. You flew through the front door and disappeared into the night.

It had been two weeks since you had seen Fez. He hadn’t tried to call, he only texted a few times, which you always responded too, hoping he’d change his mind. You’d ridden by the convenience store on your bike, hoping to catch a glimpse of Fez sitting outside, but you never saw him. Sometimes you stood on the other side of the street, trying to force yourself to go inside, but when you saw him turn around, you’d pretend you were simply walking by, preoccupied with your phone. It became clear to you that Fez was serious. There was no effort from him to get you back, no standing in front of your window at two am, no missed phone calls with voice mails that lamented the breakup. Nothing. And that was worse.

The year was drawing to a close, and you had never expected to end it without Fez. He really came out of no where with this one. Fuck him. You thought. How was it so easy for him to throw away three years? Like what the fuck? You lay on your bed, clothes, dirty laundry, and empty snack bags strewn around you.

A chime from your phone alerted your attention, and you quickly pulled it out.

Madds: Hey bitch.

Y/N: What’s up?

Madds: U should come out with us tonight, its nye. Theres a party

Y/N: Don’t feel like it.

Madds: Bitch wtf, ur gonna become like ugly and gross if you keep staying inside all day.

You chuckled and rolled your eyes.

Y/N: Fine.

Madds: Yeaa bitch, be ready around 9.

Y/N: kk <3 x

You tossed your phone absent mindedly onto your bed and turned towards the mess that was your closet. You took the plunge. Tossing out random pieces, looking the mirror to see how it would look, and abandoning it on the floor. A black, little piece, drew your attention. It was crumpled between a red velvet dress, and some other stuff. You pulled it out and examined it. It was black, with see thru, mesh pieces under the chest part. The straps were made out of fake diamond crystals, that crisscrossed the bodice.

Perfect.

Pulling it on, you admired yourself in the mirror. It hugged your body in all the right places, and the crystals made your skin glow. You styled your hair, adding small rhinestones to different strands. You finished your makeup and were putting on your heels when you heard a honk coming from outside.

“I’m comin, I’m comin” You murmur under your breath, and you stuff your phone between your boobs and your dress.

The car was cramped with Jules, Kat, Lexi Maddie and you. It smelled vaguely of Everclear, cigarettes and weed.

Music was blasting on the radio, and Maddie had all the windows rolled down. “Bitch you look hot as fuck!” Maddie exclaimed when she saw you. You rolled your eyes and said a sheepish thanks.

Soon the car rolled up to the already-rowdy party. Red solo cups were strewn about the lawn, people were lumbering drunkenly up and down the driveway. Abandoned cigarettes were squished into the asphalt, and the air smelled vaguely sour. Music boomed from inside the house, rattling you to your bones.

Jules dragged you inside, and immediately a cup of some mixed alcohol, that was way too sweet, and way too strong, was in your hand. Disco Inferno by 50 Cent was playing loudly over the speakers, and bodies were dancing, twirling, and grinding. Hazy smoke hung in the air, giving everything a muted look. You didn’t miss the look a few guys who were hanging out in the corner were giving you.

You looked around the living room, trying to act nonchalant. But subconsciously, you knew who you were looking for. Him. This was his stomping ground after all.

Someone handed you another glass, this time the liquid was clear, and smelled strongly of fake raspberry flavoring. It stung your nose. The alcohol stung even more as went down your throat.

For a couple hours you let yourself get dragged around the house and dance floor by your friends. You spotted Fezco a few times, sometimes in the kitchen, and sometimes in the backyard. Each time, he caught your gaze, looked you up and down as if you were a piece of art he was admiring, and then gave you a small, sad smile.

At one point, you had ended up against a guy, grinding sensually, against him. His hands gripped your hips (a little too hard), and his breath was hot on your neck. It made you gag.

“You’re really hot.” Stinky Breath said into your ear. Another internal gag. His hand slid up from your hip and stopped just short of your boob.

“I know.” You said shortly and pulled your self away from him.

“Hey where you goin pretty thing?” He called after you. You ignored him. Instead going to the kitchen and grabbing another drink. And that’s when you saw them. Smack dab in the middle of living room, were Fez and Lexi, looking all cozy.

What the fuck. He breaks up with you and ignores you for two weeks and instead decides to chat up fucking Lexi? What. The. Fuck.

Angrily, you stomped your way over.

“What the fuck Fez.” Instantly, Lexi and Fez broke away from their conversation. A look of shock was etched onto Lexi’s face.

“Y/N..” Fez said, looking up at you. “How’s it goin’?” He asked tentatively. The new found tension in the air was palpable.

“How’s it going? Really, Fez.” You state, you pinch the bridge of your nose. Fez is silent, and adverts his gaze.

“You break up with me because you think I can’t handle your shit, ignore me for two fucking weeks, which was hell by the way. Thanks. And then, I come here and see you all cozied up with Lexi Howard? What, you feel like you can’t have me involved in your life, but feel totally fine wrapping her up into it?” You spat, poking your index finger at him. Was it really that easy for him to move on? What did Lexi have that you didn't? Your heart sinks in your chest. Fez stands up, and he places a hand on your shoulder.

“No, don’t fucking touch me Fez.” Words fly out like venom. You realize your yelling, and some people were curiously eyeing your conversation over their red solo cups.

“Here let’s talk outside.” He suggested, reaching out for you, but you take a step back.

“Fine” You state sharply. “Lead the way.”

Fez sighs, and rubs the back of his neck, he looks down at the carpet. Lexi stands up from the couch and backs away slowly. “I’m gonna…go.” She mutters and disappears into the crowd. He makes a beeline for the fire pit, and you follow him.

You both take a seat around the fire, the orange flames are dwindling, but it still emits a warm glow. When you turn to Fez, he’s illuminated with a dim orange light, and it highlights his ginger hair. His freckles look stars, and you remember countless times tracing the freckles on his face, his arms, hands, and back. And it hits you how much you’ve missed him.

Out here, the energy has changed. Instead of feeling charged and angry, you feel sad, disappointed. “Fez.” You start slowly, but he holds up a hand to stop you.

“Babe-Y/N, I really am sorry.” He toys with his hands in his lap, nervously looking into the fire.

“I just, feel like, I can’t lose you like that-you know?” He glances at you through his eyelashes. His words hang heavy in the air. You know what he means, and your heart sinks.

“Mouse is real scary, and I thought-you know- that if you weren’t around me no more, I could prevent anything happening to you.” He continues. “Cause I love you.”

It’s quiet again.

“I love you too Fez.”

Out of the corner of your eye you see his outstrechted hand, and you take it. He brings your knuckles up to his lips and kisses them softly.

“I’m sorry ma’, I know you can handle yourself” He mutters against your hand. When he pulls away, he starts talking again.

“And I’m not gonna lie, these past two weeks have been ass without you.” Fez laughs, and so do you. “I can’t even get Ashtray to pick up his mess man,” He pulls you up from your spot on the chair, and pulls you into him.

“Don’t ever, and I mean ever, let me break up with you again.” He mutters against your neck. It’s a funny thing to say, but you can tell he’s serious. His arms snake around your waist, his hands resting on the curve of your ass. You playfully (and lightly) punch his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, I’m not letting you go nowhere.” You state as a matter as fact. Fez pulls his head up, and looks down at you, his eyes flicking between your eyes and your lips.

“Damn right you ain’t”.

Fez leans forward and presses his lips to yours. His left hand trails down to your thigh, and pushes up your dress a little bit. You let out a small noise, but Fez pulls away.

“I got handle somethin’, but uh- find Ashtray and tell him you want a ride. He’ll be glad to see you.” He says, placing a kiss on your forehead, then your cheek, and then finally, a light soft peck on the lips.

Your breathless by the time he pulls away completely, and detaches himself from you. You give him a small smirk. “Love you.” You whisper.

“Love you too baby” He turns around and head towards the house

“And I’ll see you at home!” You yell after him, sending a flirty wink his way. “I’m lookin forward to it!” Fez calls back, mock saluting you before disappearing into the house.

Maybe, coming to this New Years party wasn’t so bad after all.

#fezco x you #x reader #imagines #fezco x reader #reader insert #fezco euphoria #female reader #fezco fluff #fezco fic #fezco #fez euphoria #x reader insert #euphoria imagines #fezco imagine #fez imagine #fez x reader

[violettelueur]

— JUJUTSU KAISEN EPISODE THIRTEEN || TOMORROW

↳ featuring : fushiguro megumi  kugisaki nobara (mention of gojo satoru + todo aoi) from jujutsu kaisen

↳ warnings : mention of death/passing + EXTREME grammar issues

↳ form : story

↳ published : 16 march

↳ pronouns : she/her

↳ word count : 2.0k

↳ synopsis : within the jujutsu world, there were three famous clans to be aware of, the Kamo clan, Zenin clan and the Gojo clan. However, unknown to many sorcerers there was one last family that was known to be apart of the three, only for them to disappear after the golden era leading some to speculate that they had died in battle after the sealing of ryomen sukuna, but....

↳ previous episode : to you, someday 

↳ next episode : kyoto sister school exchange event - group battle 0 

↳ barista’s notes : GUYS WE ARE AT THE END OF THE TRAINING/VS MAHITO ARC FINALLY!!!! AND NEXT EPISODE IS THE KYOTO EXCHANGE ARC!!!!!  ʕ •ᴥ•ʔゝ☆ so before we move on to that, there is a little wholesome episode since i wanted to give you guys a little break of Y/N’s pain because you all deserve it and i also might be planning more.....OTHER THAN THAT, i hope you enjoy today’s episode and i can’t wait for you all to see the next one ʕ•ᴥ•ʔﾉ♡

BEFORE READING, I NEED YOU TO BE AWARE OF THIS:

1. the whole story belongs to Gege Akutami and the credits go to them and them only.

2. the spell curses used belong to Tite Kubo due to them being the ‘Kidos’ being used on the manga and anime ‘Bleach’ - but none is mentioned in this chapter.

2.5 for the ‘cursed spells’/kidos (bleach) i will link this video here and tell you the time stamp to check out what i am intending to show - remember i add a few twist here and there by adding the katana to link with Y/N’s cursed technique

no cursed spells used this episode..

3. if you are confused on anything, please don’t hesitate to message me since i know this whole thing is so confusing.

“You know...It’s better to show yourselves than rather hide from me Fushiguro, Kugisaki,” you firmly mentioned before slowly turning your head to the side, quickly noticing the tense nature of the two classmates hiding behind a tree and some bushes before they hesitantly made their way out of their hiding place causing them to reveal themselves and to discover a nonchalant look displayed on your face.

‘Like what the hell, if you’re going to hide maybe hide your cursed energy while you’re at it’

“Did you both follow me here? You guys are such drags and stalkers, you know that is really creepy right?” you questioned both of them with an assumed tone before placing the bouquet of blue hydrangeas and white roses against the tomb, covering the last name on the engraved stone in case Kugisaki was going to come closer to you.

“Ah sorry,” Kugisaki apologies before placing her hands together in a ‘please forgive me’ position while Fushiguro just looked off to the side as if he could just avoid your glance to not feel embarrassed about getting caught.

Letting out an airy laugh, you turned back to the stone in front of you leading to your small smile to instantly turn back into a straight line as you glared at the incense’s smoke that was dancing in the air while your hand hesitantly went to the side of your neck.

‘It’s just a dream...It’s just a dream…’

“Does your neck hurt again? I suggest you stop sleeping under the tree if it does,” Fushiguro commented, causing you to jolt in surprised as you didn’t realise that he was now suddenly next to you rather than a few steps away to which could be said the same for Kugisaki, who was standing on the other side of you while looking at the tombstone that all three of you were now standing in front of.

“Hey! You didn’t answer my first question, did you both follow me here?” you asked once again with a teasing tone, causing both of your classmates to look to the side away from you since they instantly knew there was no way out of this little situation...it’s no surprise since you are Gojo’s adoptive daughter.

“It was Kugisaki’s idea to follow you since you disappear from time to time,” the shikigami sorcerer outed, as he placed a hand on the back of his neck to ease his bashfulness while Kugisaki turned her head towards him, ready to yell and counter his statement.

“Fushiguro is lying, it was his idea!” Kugisaki shouted in annoyance, causing your eyes to shift back and forward between them as you were somewhat finding slight amusement on what was going on at this current moment in time.

“Ah~ is that so?” you questioned, while slowly raising your hands to smack the back of their heads without them noticing causing both of your classmates to groan in pain once they felt the violent impact, before holding the back of their heads to ease the pain that was somehow intensifying - to be honest, they deserved it for trying to stalk you.

“Who are you visiting?” Fushiguro curiously asked with a hesitant tone since he didn’t want to accidentally cross the line on your comfort zone leading you to turn to him for a second before looking at the stone with a hint of heartache forming in your eyes as well as your heart.

“My mother,” you softly answered, leading your classmates to turn to you with widened eyes before looking at the stone showcasing where your mother was resting as a feeling of sympathy began to consume their whole body.

“I really don’t need your pity guys, it’s been 6 years already, so it’s not necessary,” you mentioned before they could give their condolences to you. You didn’t need it or rather, you didn’t want to hear any of it. When your mother passed away, you were used to the fact that you were the only one grieving since it was always just you and her in your own little world, there was no one giving you their condolences then and you didn’t want them now. It was already too late for that.

“So your real mother actually passed away, is that why Gojo-sensei adopted you?” Kugisaki asked, leading you and Fushiguro to slightly tense as you both were reminded of the fact that the ‘adoption’ story was just a (somewhat) clever cover-up to conceal your true identity as well as to not raise any suspicion on your sudden enrolment to Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College.

“Yeah, he found me a year after and took me in,” you lied through your teeth, hoping that you were convincing enough to continue the lie leading your friend to nod her head, as she continued to gaze at your mother’s resting place.

“What was she like?” Fushiguro suddenly asked as he was trying to divert the conversation into a different topic leading you to open your mouth to answer before closing it again to tilted your head to the side slightly as you began to wonder all the things you could say to Fushiguro and Kugisaki to inform them about the person that brought you into the world.

“She was someone that I could only forgive if she did something wrong,” you quietly answered before mentally wondering if that was the right thing to say. 

“She was someone that was quite selfless, even if that meant sacrificing her whole happiness to make someone else happy, that was the type of person she was,” you extended, trying to ignore the first comment you made since you were still wary of what you had just stated.

Fushiguro and Kugisaki hummed absentmindedly as they listened to your answer as they continued to peer at the stone that was in front of them like it was a painting of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.

“You know, it isn’t a painting to admire, right? There’s nothing special about a grave,” you questioned causing your classmates to break out from their daze to look at you before becoming flushed again since they didn’t realise that they were gawking. “It’s fine, I’m just teasing,” you commented before letting out another airy laugh as you processed to turn your heels and began to walk away from your mother’s resting place to the exit of the cemetery leading Fushiguro and Kugisaki to look at your direction in confusion before making their way towards you.

“Since you guys followed me all the way here, what do you want to do?” you asked, once they both caught up to you leading Kugisaki to answer immediately about the fact that you both needed to go to the bubble tea shop that you both went to the other day since she was craving it again leading to the erratic-haired sorcerer to groan slightly since he wasn’t in the mood to get anything sweet which caused you to explain that the shop also had black coffee if he wasn’t feeling the sugary drink.

“Are you the type to drink black coffee to impress a girl even though you don’t like it? That isn’t healthy Fushiguro, you shouldn’t do that to impress Gojo,” Kugisaki commented with a hint of worry since she didn’t expect the shikigami user to be the type to do what she has assumed. However, this seemed to annoy Fushiguro more as you discovered the irked mark on his forehead before answering that he always drank black coffee - to be honest, that statement made you remember the time you and Gojo had coffee together and you were disgusted about the number of sugar cubes he added into the caffeinated drink.

“I’m surprised you're not getting any orange juice,” Fushiguro mentioned, leading Kugisaki to widen her eyes in surprise since she hasn’t noticed you drinking your favourite juice for the whole day at all.

“I don’t know if you’re extremely bad stalkers or you lost me during your following session, but I have one here,” you stated in a matter-of-fact tone, as you dug into the pocket of your Jujutsu Tech uniform skirt to pull out a carton of orange juice leading your fellow sorcerers to look at the drink in shock since they didn’t remember you buying anything at all when they were following you.

“HOW?!” Kugisaki yelled out in complete surprise as she grabbed the boxed drink from your grasp while staring at it like it was a curse to be exorcised leading to the feeling of amusement to rise again since the situation was becoming funnier by the second rather than sorrowful like it was supposed to be today.

“I bought it at the vending machine just a few minutes away from this cemetery, maybe you two were arguing or something,” you commented with a small smile as you did recall hearing two people shouting at each other from a distance when you were collecting your drink from the dispenser - it was something like ‘this is really a stupid idea’ followed by ‘but we need to figure out where Gojo goes when she disappears, I want to knowwww’.

“You guys are such drag, so you better pay for my drink for me to forgive you both for stalking me,” you voiced out with a smirk planted on your face causing Fushiguro to look at you with widen eyes since he wasn’t expecting any consequences when it came to Kugisaki’s little investigation.

“Hold up, but don’t you have more money than us because you take on more missions? How much do you have Gojo?!” Kugisaki questioned as she moaned at the fact that she was going to pay you rather than spending that money on the Balenciaga jacket that she was hoping to get.

“That’s why I paid for your drink last time, so it’s your turn don’t you think?” you asked before continuing with, “think of it as a ‘thank you’ gift to me for the fact that I trained you both for the past two months,” leading both of the sorcerers besides you to quickly realise that paying for your drink might not be as bad as they expected - two months of training in exchange for paying your bubble tea, they didn’t mind that exchange at all.

“Ah alright, Kugisaki let’s go half and half,” Fushiguro stated causing the female sorcerer to nod as she gave you back your orange juice before linking your arm with hers due to the fact, she was more excited about spending the day with you for an extra day of the week rather than going back to Jujutsu Tech to do nothing.

“I just realised, the Kyoto Exchange Event is tomorrow isn’t it?” you asked before looking up to the sky as you began to recall what date it was today. However, it seemed like you were more concentrated on your feeling of relief as you noticed a few clouds moving across the sky rather than the one you could remember… you were reassured that it wasn’t just a solid blue that was above you right now.

“Yeah, and we are going to beat their asses!” Kugisaki cheered determinedly, leading you to giggle at her enthusiasm since she seemed motivated to win the whole event altogether.

“Do you think you’ll be picked for the individual battle?” Fushiguro questioned, causing you to shift your head towards him as you began to wonder if there was a possibility of you being chosen. From what you knew, Todo Aoi seemed to be the strongest sorcerer on the Kyoto side and had the highest chance of being picked for the second day of the Kyoto Exchange Event.

Although, it seemed like you didn’t have an answer to provide for the shikigami sorcerer leading you to raise your hand to quickly flick his forehead, catching him by surprise since it was one of your lighter ones. “I have no idea, you drag~” you answered, before placing your hand in your pocket.

“But one thing I do know is that we’re going to win the team's battle,” you mentioned with a courageous smile. You were confident since both Fushiguro and Kugisaki have improved so much during the past two months - much more than you had anticipated due to the short amount of time you three had to prepare for it.

Fushiguro and Kugisaki nodded boldly at your statement as it seemed like your confidence and determination had affected them as well.

Tomorrow, you all were going to win.

© violettelueur 2021 : written and published by violettelueur - do not steal or repost

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk #jujutsu kaisen imagines #jujutsu kaisen imagine #jjk imagines #jjk imagine #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk x reader #fushiguro megumi #megumi fushiguro #kugisaki nobara #nobara kugisaki #gojo satoru #satoru gojo #aoi todo #jujutsu kaisen fushiguro megumi #jujutsu kaisen kugisaki nobara #jujutsu kaisen gojo satoru #jjk fushiguro megumi #jjk kugisaki nobara #jjk gojo satoru #fushiguro megumi imagines #fushiguro megumi imagine #kugisaki nobara imagines #kugisaki nobara imagine #gojo satoru imagines #gojo satoru imagine #fushiguro megumi x reader #megumi fushiguro x reader #kugisaki nobara x reader

[dotthings]

The gaslighting needs to stop. Systemic power imbalanced in the tv industry are real. Network interference is real. Erasure and unkindness towards marginalized characters is real. 

I’m more on the canon analysis end of things personally, but I assure you the fans trying to figure out WTF happened here and account for stuff that objectively, even the people more skeptical acknowledge is weird and points back towards network interference, try to debunk their own theories. They are telling you that, they are transparent about their information, if you don’t feel like playing detailed murder wall, then don’t, but to deny there is a very very real power imbalance behind the scenes that hurt marginalized characters and fans, and hurt the story, is toxic. Stop it. 

Things like the Spanish dub and people who have worked on the show coming out of the woodwork to support Destiel should be a clue. Latin America believes it’s a mutually requited love story, canon confirmed from both sides, because that is what aired on a big tv network there. And watch out for that US-centric thinking that somehow thinks this doesn’t count. (Also plot twist: the US is the restrictive market. Wake up).

My wheelhouse is more canon analysis so I’m going to say now that the gaslighting about canon, about aired canon, about confirmed canon, about implied canon, seems to me a whole lot of toxic detached-from-reality hand waving so hard to still, STILL!!--try to deny the validity of Destiel. I’m glad some of y’all think this is merely hilarious, and after not showing up and not being supportive and not sticking your neck out at all to protect Destiel shippers from bullying, you came back just to eat the popcorn because it amuses you and I’m supposed to think that’s pro-Destiel supportive or something, or it’s people who have no horse in the race who just want fandom entertainment so everything’s a joke while they reinforce the exact attitudes that let this kind of systemic oppression perpetuate and get away with erasing marginalized voices in the tv industry, in fandom, in stories. Nice work, people. Your holier-than-thou attitude is real convincing. 

Then there’s the people trying to convince everyone it’s convincing to play false equivalency cha-cha and as if people only see this as canon due to a) 1 slash joke b) they stared at each other that one time c) drapes. Because old school fans are so proud that in their day, nobody wanted their queer ships to be canon and Destiel is just like *insert whatever slash ship of the past that had about 1/10th of the loud textual material and canon development Destiel has*. You want to try to argue against the epic nature of the text on Dean and Cas, hey give it your all, but it’s not going to hold up. If I started listing off the immensity, things that are textual plot points, it would be a 3,000 word essay. Stop playing false equivalency. Stop trying to artificially yank this back into the past because you can’t handle the textual validity of Destiel.

Deal with the fact that this is not an easily classifiable situation.

Even if in the end the same old systemic crap stifled its full due, and that’s the part that is tiresome, Dean and Cas deserve better than have their actual canon content demeaned.

After the story we have seen. After 12 seasons of deep-dive development. After Cas was finally openly confirmed as queer, and in love with Dean, in the final season, 2 episodes from the end, and Misha echoed it, and from Dean’s side, because full confirmation on Dean’s side is being held down, Jensen protected a romantic reading, protected people’s right to see Dean as in love with Cas not having a chance to speak his heart. Protected the right to that reading within the ambiguity that he knows is as far as the canon was able to take it. After the ship became canon confirmed as at least unrequited love story. Whether Jensen ships it or not, he has been very loudly and openly protective of fan readings and has been very openly excited about 15.18 and the handprint, he knows this is a great story and he’s been openly excited about how excited and joyful fans were about that episode. 

But what we have seen on our screens, what the story told us, transcends the muzzles placed on it. What we have seen is a mutually requited love story. We already saw in action how Dean loves Cas. We are left with, in the end, the silencing of Dean Winchester. Gosh I wonder why the silencing of Dean Winchester. Why was it necessary. Why was he not even permitted to speak at all, to anyone, to confide about how he even felt about Cas’s love confession. Why did Jensen have to do the heavy lifting to meta it for us. Why did Cas have to be left fully out of the series finale on a show he was so key on for 12 seasons, as a 3rd lead. Why is that? Because the only thing the creative team would ever be allowed to do by corporate is friendzone it and they didn’t want to friendzone it. 

So we are cursed with ambiguity from Dean’s side. And if the series finale had done better by Dean’s story, including his death, and by Cas’s story (instead of shoving him out of sight), if it hadn’t erased Eileen and Saileen, if it hadn’t failed Sam’s story, if it hadn’t been a regressive, awkward mess, most shippers would have accepted ambiguity if Dean and Cas has been given at least the respect of a reunion, if Dean had at least been given the chance to partially speak even if it couldn’t be removed from ambiguity. But the system was too scared of it. It had to be held down and muffled hard.

It was yanked out of the story artificially in ways that don’t match Destiel’s narrative importance before the series finale and don’t match 12 seasons of storytelling. It’s artificial. It is a silencing. And it shows. 

That sudden silence was a scream.

"The writers” were for it. “The writers” wanted to tell that story even if network interference prevented it. Some of us were gaslighted and smeared and bashed just for pointing it out, and we turned out to be right.

DESTIEL IS CANON. And the parts where fans still have to rely on interpretation for have ample, AMPLE, story evidence and external evidence--that has nothing to do with deeper dive murder walls, it has to do with support shown, and confirmed information--all point to a mutually reciprocated love story.

How many more times do shippers have to be proven right before people stop this. I was bullied for several seasons just for saying Destiel was a purposefully crafted a valid textual reading, by my own lane. For asserting it was a love story designed to dodge under network radar. I was bullied for years before that by antis, who didn’t like seeing people love this ship too much, who didn’t like that I refused to get down on my knees and label myself as delusional just for seeing it, for refusing to bow down and say “it’s only about 2 brothers so I am wrong to say Destiel matters too.” 

The unkindness in this fandom over all this continues to be overwhelming. Get your shit together.  You worship your favorite actors and then they show you up every time by being kinder and more open and understanding than fans manage to be. Jensen and Misha are showing you how to roll and people are ignoring it in favor of continuing to try to silence and demean Destiel shippers.

For Destiel shippers, don’t let all this gaslighting and shaming nonsense and the systemic corporate nonsense that wants Destiel silenced knock you off from your reading of canon. It was valid. It was real. Thanks to the magic of bleedback effect, now it was always textual, the subtextual has been transformed retroactively, and it’s from both Dean and Cas’s end. If you still feel doubt on Dean’s side, because we didn’t get the same loud explicit confirmation, go back to the text itself. If you believed it already for Cas, if Cas’s confession to Dean only validated what you already knew, why can’t you see it for Dean, because it’s already there. 

#Jensen Ackles #Misha Collins #Destiel #The 15 Year Show #Castiel #Dean Winchester #i'm not burying this behind a wank tag #i need people to pay attention and not dismiss it as mere 'fandom drama' please

[lys-lilac]

Yuki Sohma: An In-depth Character analysis Pt. 2

Hey everyone! I hope you are all well. Now that the series of Fruits Basket has ended, it’s really difficult for many of the anime viewers to say goodbye to this masterpiece of work by Natsuki Takaya. But somehow, we have to get over it. Remember, this will always remain as a special work in your heart.

Although this is a character analysis, I have included my thanks for the Furaba team now that it has ended.

Read Part 1

[Spoilers ahead! Read at your own risk. Also a disclaimer, I am a Yukiru fan, love Kyoru and Yuchi and I don’t want to hurt anyone. If you have different theories, let me know. ^^]

(Look at this guy from this...

to this! He looks so mature here... T^T)

Moving on to the topic in hand, I was sobbing at the last Yukiru conversation in the anime. That short scene was the most important scene from the episode. Ah, I didn’t watch the whole season 3, just some snippets but I was compelled by my curiosity to watch the last episode at least to say them goodbye. I don’t have much to write now, as I had mentioned many scenes in the first part, so just grab a cup of coffee or tea while listening to my thoughts.

Let’s start today from something different from the anime. I was reading about Yuki’s character from the fandom website, and here are some screenshots which piqued my interest-

1. Comparing 2001 and 2019 Yuki (Kyo’s revealation of his True form)

So 2001 airing of Fruits Basket had a little bit different plot from the 2019 one(which followed the manga). As you can see, when Kyo runs from Tohru after being transformed into his true form, Yuki chases after them in order to help them. In my opinion this was really a good thinking, but not the best. We can figure out by now how much Yuki was confused about his feelings regarding Tohru in reboot series. Since there was not much content in the former series, so the action taken by Yuki was appropriate. Otherwise, fans would have felt that he didn’t care about all this, which is not true. On the contrary, in the reboot, Yuki stays in the house and just watches Tohru running after Kyo. And in this version, he was also not convinced by Kagura to chase after them, because both of them were uncertain about their feelings. The result of staying silents ends up in Yuki starting to distant himself from Tohru in the next episode. 

Sometimes I don’t understand why viewers say that Yuki just flirts with Tohru. You can see how much care he harbors for her, and that’s not in a romantic way, but as a good friend. He is consistent with his behaviour towards her from the start to end(that is how dear she is to him).

2. Former Conclusions which are excluded in the reboot

In 2001 anime, since not much plot was there, it was easy to imply that Yuki also had somehow developed romantic feelings towards Tohru. (When I first read this, I couldn’t believe it as I am just an anime viewer who has not read the manga nor watched the 2001 anime T^T). So, it’s general for some viewers to imply the same thing by the end of season 1 reboot (which was my case). It’s easy to shape this relationship as love at first, but after thorough thinking, like Yuki did, it is to be concluded that their bond is not love at all, but something much more pure.

3.  Author’s information on their relationship

The last point is regarding the ribbon that Yuki gave Tohru on White Day. One can see how much both care for each other. Yuki started to distance himself from her for both of their sakes, and so does Tohru when she realises how much Yuki has changed gradually as the time has passed. I can consider Yuki as a small child leaving his nest (his home) and finally becoming a full fledged responsible guy. 

4. Why Yuki didn’t call Tohru by her first name (Season 2 episode 4)

This is really a short scene but has its own importance. When Haru turns into his dark form and is about to attack Tohru, both Yuki and Kyo along with Momiji get shocked, but Kyo is the first one to punch him and save her. At that time, Yuki’s face is overshadowed with his bangs, and in my opinion, I guess he was about to extend his hand before Kyo came. 

Fruits Basket has amazing imagery throughout the series. Here you can see Haru asking Yuki to call Tohru by her first name, to which Yuki first gets shocked, then seems tensed about it. Haru is looking out of the window through broken glass which represents the confusion of Yuki’s feelings, now gradually breaking apart. And the multiple images shown refer to the multiple possibilities he thought about his relationship with Tohru, but that all got compiled to a single answer; his one and only true answer to the problem. 

Yuki realises how selfish he has been about this thing, while there were much more problems going on in their house. He learns to be like Tohru and Haru, worrying for everyone and helping everyone out. So he takes a bold step afterward to visit Haru in the Sohma estate as the later had been suspended. When Tohru asks to accompany him, he firmly says no and proceeds to go by himself. In other words, he didn’t want to lose what he learnt from Tohru, that is; caring for others.

But, in the last episode, he has gathered enough courage and feelings that he can now return to her. Tohru as well as Haru cared so much about him, and now that he has reached the finish line to happiness, he wants to thank the ones who made him feel that he was also important; that he was needed by them. Shimazaki Nobunaga-san, you are really fantastic! The way Yuki says her first name is so heartwarming. And one can see Tohru smiling in the end. Even though he was slower than Kyo for this, still he did it. (So proud of you Yuki!)

We can also see how Yuki transforms with the help of Tohru. And this can also be seen by the change of his dressing style at the end of graduation. Earlier, he used to wear collared buttoned up shirts with dark hues, like blue, white, which represented how much tied down he was to the Sohma clan and the curse. But with the help of Tohru, he was able to change. This can be seen by the way he dresses, with loose fitting clothes and little bit vibrant color added to it by the time the curse breaks.

(I loved the transformation he went through... Aww.)

5. Yuki’s ‘Confession’ in the Beach Arc (Season 2 episode 7)

I knew that I couldn’t cool myself off till I get to know about the true meaning behind this scene. And so I did. 

Yuki and Tohru are great as friends, their dynamics are so pure, enjoyable, but one can actually figure out that they are not meant to be for each other. One instance is in season 2 episode 7. Tohru was in inner conflict about her dad but didn’t let it show on her face. No one actually pointed out her gloom either, except for Kyo. And we can’t blame Yuki for not noticing this, because he was suffering internally at that time too. 

In a particular scene where Tohru was covering sleeping Momiji, Kisa and Hiro with a blanket, a smile blossoms on Yuki’s face. But upon seeing Kyo being with Tohru, he gets a little jealous and makes an excuse to Haru to leave the spot.  But this is not defined as him being ‘romantically’ jealous. He was confused about his actual feeling for Tohru, and just to not get any misunderstanding, he takes this step. The reason being, Kyo had more interactions with Tohru because he genuinely understood her. And after Tohru running after Kyo, which Yuki considered more of a womanly step, he couldn’t stand seeing him getting more distanced from someone he cared about.

There’s a great imagery when Yuki returns from the Sohma meeting. Tohru was waiting for him by the beach, and she sees him coming from far in pitch dark night. This sky covered with clouds is his past traumas that he has been dealing with. But when Yuki sees Tohru, the clouds slowly start to dissipate and moonlight shines, which implies the way Tohru helped him out in his hard times.

Remember when he said about the closed lid to his feelings? Let me tell you what do I think of that concept. Yuki didn’t actually know what he wanted or what were his exact feelings for Tohru. He had a little bit hint about the ‘motherly’ feeling, because she always listened to him, worried for him and cared for him. (Although in my point of view, this is more like a close friend helping another, not motherly affection). But he didn’t want this possibility to be the answer to his confusion. That’s why he kept distancing himself from her, trying to see her in a romantic light, but he couldn’t see the affection that she had for Kyo, for others. By this episode, he has already come to the conclusion about his true relationship with Tohru. Even though he didn’t want to accept it, but he couldn’t refuse it either. That’s why he said that he was sad. She was like a vast expanse of sky, and that meant that Yuki couldn’t have her all to himself. Thinking of this situation as goodbye to his former feelings and the beginning of a new feeling, he cries on her shoulder. (And thinking about he strong he must have been at that scene makes my tears well up too T~T).

About all the things he said in that scene, be it comparing her to the sky or how she was dear to him, I think that he didn’t say it out loud. That’s because he just silently kisses her forehead and leans on her shoulder. If he had tried to say all that, then Tohru must have been confused. (and she was even confused when he didn’t say anything.) So, in that prospect also, Yuki took the decision perfectly. And that change in him which he accepts is seen when he shares such a warm relationship with Kakeru and student council, and his developing feelings for Machi.

6. Why their ending up together would have been difficult to understand.

I was thinking at some point that how similar Tohru and Yuki are to each other. Which is another reason why they didn’t end up together, and it’s for the best.

Tohru was raised by Kyoko to such a sweet girl. Similarly, Yuki was changed by Tohru and was able to find his true self. 

Both their partners, i.e. Kyo and Machi were helped by both of them to get over their traumas and to grab to the joy that they were both providing.

Both wish for the happiness of others. 

Both are selfless. 

That’s why one can see that their dynamics are so good, yet they are unable to complete each other, because they are similar. Both are nice to others, but have lot of pent up emotions inside. These hidden emotions can only be seen by Kyo in case of Tohru and Machi in case of Yuki. So I loved how it turned out.

(Both Kyo’s and Yuki’s expressions are so soft!)

7. The essence of the last conversation of Yuki and Tohru

Ah, so we have reached the end, huh? Anyway, at some point we had to say goodbye to this, and now is the time. 

I absolutely loved how this made it end in a complete circle. The series started with Yuki and Shigure discovering Tohru in the woods, giving her shelter in their house, and Yuki taking care of her fever with Tohru thanking him the next day. And the series ends with Yuki now thanking Tohru for being a part of their family, and helping every Sohma member. The change that she brought to them is something which makes her irreplaceable in their hearts. Even though she will  leave with Kyo, but everyone will remember her everyday, if she has been doing well and whether she is happy or not. 

Yuki further says that he will be sad, now that no one will be there to say him ‘welcome home’. But he will also be happy because he was able to meet her, who had the vital role in making him realize his importance. Yuki’s dialogues with Shimazaki-san’s voice will bring anyone to tears. Yuki also reveals that she is like a mother to him. 

Now I know that many readers might ask me why I am not accepting the fact that she was like a mother to him, even though he himself said that. The reason is, I just don’t know how to digest this. After all the beautiful moments that they shared, him helping her with every little chore, their conversations, I just can’t. It feels more as what a close friend would do for him/her. And I never found any scene which truly depicted that they are related just like a mother and child. In fact, this relationship they have is something more.

Tell me, if he saw her as a mother, then why did he profusely blush when she called him by his first name (he didn’t even blush that much when Machi said it), or Shigure asking him about his rushing along with Kyo to bring her back from her relatives? Or many other short moments? You can see the same deep blush of Tohru when she is with Kyo. Yuki’s this cute side changes by the second half of the second season, with his blush now accompanied by a happy face, which makes us understand how much he values her as a friend. Honestly, some bonds have no words to define them. They are just bonds, but they will always be special to the ones who have it. It will reflect selflessness, care, worry and each one wishing happiness to the other.

(Tohru helping him with his tie.)

(When Shigure asks Yuki about his unusual behavior.)

(His eyes were shining with joy... HNGH, so beautiful!)

The last part when he extends his hand to her for a handshake has again such a pretty touch to it. In the manga, it is seen that Yuki and Tohru handshake with their right hands, but the same scene here is with their left hands. Actually, left hand is close to the heart right? Handshaking with left hand symbolises the deep friendship that both the sides have, which will always remain close to their heart. 

(Darn you Furaba team, you really want me to sob, don’t you... Also, look how beautiful they look! Yuki and Tohru look so much more mature and their blushing is like a cherry on the cake ^^)

And this series is brought to an end with our female protagonist saying “I will see you again” which again implies that they are just getting separated from the family due to change in their environment and situation, but they will make sure to see each other once again. 

(Team, you won... *sobs*)

One thing I want to add is how Kyo and Yuki became friends too... It’s so precious! I really liked how Yuki helped Kyo to move on and leave negative thoughts behind when he was not visiting Tohru in the hospital. That scene portrayed how much both idolise and adore each other. The last conversation that they share is Yuki addressing him as stupid cat and Kyo addressing him as stupid rat, which is so sweet in itself. 

(I wish all of you happiness.)

Also, I felt so bad for Momiji and Kagura with their unrequited love... Please let them have a great significant other!

All in all, I enjoyed the moments and the values that the anime inculcated in me, and this will always have a special place in my heart. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the creators, team, and of course, all the characters. Good bye, Fruits Basket,

and thank you for giving me such a great time. 

~Lys

P.S. Dear Yuki, thank you so much for letting us know about such a sweet and kind character, that’s you. You deserve all the happiness in the world. 

#fruits basket #furaba #yuki sohma #kyo sohma #tohru honda #machi kuragi #kakeru manabe #shigure sohma #Lys's thoughts #coffee with lys #the story just unfolded in front of me so rapidly #from them being students to grandparents #aww... #character analysis #fruits basket reboot #fruits basket review #season 2 #season 3 #season 1

[icebluecyanide]

RQG 214 Anxiety Report

Format copied from UPROXX’s ‘The Americans’ Anxiety Report series. I’m basically going to rank RQG characters by how worried I am about them after any given episode, based entirely on my whims and wants and whatever I think is concerning or funny at the moment. If you have a different order feel free to come up with your own ranking or let me know in the tags!

Without further ado, these are the top 10 characters I am most worried about in the show after listening to RQG 214:

10. Ada

She’s stuck in the lab with no way out, with sleeping (?) gas and possible other terrible planar monsters on one side (plus whatever is going on outside the complex/bunker between the plants and the cult of hades), and the doorway to the tunnel that Zolf blocked on the other. Did they store any rations or food in the lab? Is there a limited supply of oxygen now that the door is sealed air-tight against the gas? I have concerns.

9. Babbage

This is a bit of a mixed one, because I don’t care too much about Babbage’s safety per se (sorry Charles), but if his brain gets crushed it’s very likely that they won’t be able to get the kill-switch working properly. So like, here’s to hoping the orb he’s in is made of reinforced glass?

8. Einstein

He has almost definitely been taken by some faction, whether it is the blue veins or the cult of hades. What if he’s blue veined and starts popping in during the fight? What if he’s NOT and he pops in during the fight and gets burned by Guivres?

7. Azu

But Cyan, you cry, Azu is a PC! A main character! Why isn’t she ranked higher? And yes that is true, but she is also buffed up quite well at the moment, has a decent number of hitpoints, a big axe, and the most likely enemy she will be fighting until the distracting Guivres plan fails is weird plant creatures that she can cleave. I am very excited about the possible cleaving. Having said that, I’m not sure what’s to stop Guivres from glassing the bell tower and Azu’s reflex save is rubbish so, insert One Fear meme here.

6. Zolf

Is in much the same situation as Azu, he’s got loads of hitpoints, but he’s also worryingly unconcerned about his own health because of it, and there’s a good chance Guivres may go all FIRE on them at some point, and I fear Guivres has too much spell resistance for his ice javelin spell to work this time. :(

5. Hamid’s twin brothers

Okay, listen, if Einstein has been blue veined and Einstein knew where the twins were, that would mean they’re in danger. I know Ismail at least can probably can cast fireballs and Ed was still hanging around but like,,, if anything happened to them I will cry. They are already different ages, Alex, leave them be 😭

4. Wilde

Is probably going to cast some illusions or buffs, which would both be really nice, but we all know that Alex rolls distressingly poorly sometimes, and he’s not exactly got lots of hit points. I’m very concerned about him if Guivres decides to breath fire in their direction.

3. Cel

They have surprisingly decent hit points from what I remember, but they’re mechanically Shaken which is bad, and they’re also planning to run interference between Guivres and the tower party and they have the wings and move speed to pull off some self-sacrificing tactics and also said they would distract the GIANT ELDER DRAGON.

2. Skraak

Is currently played by Alex, who is a monster and forces Bryn to roll for him without context, and is also probably trapped under or in a glassed house??? Judging by what Alex said they also took a bunch of damage already and I’m not convinced he made his escape artist check, so yeah, MUCH ANXIETY.

1. Hamid

If Skraak dies in this battle and Hamid doesn’t, he’s gonna feel so guilty, but also that might not matter because Hamid is currently COMPLETELY VISIBLE and being stared at by a MASSIVE DRAGON (cousin?? aunt???). I’m also not sure a fire resistance of 10 is going to be much help against a 60ft cone of fire doing 20d10 damage. FLY LITTLE DRAGON BOY

#rusty quill gaming #rqg spoilers #rqg anxiety report #i hope gragg is alright in other london but he didn't make the list I guess #topaz is not on there because topaz has been buffed up to ridiculous levels and she's also an angel

[hunterartemis]

Media Bias (Avengers X Alien!Reader)

It was a request from anonymous reader and since I have limited experience with tagging, I am going to quote the person’s request here:

“ Hi can you please do Avengers x reader where the reader is like Starfire from og teen titans (but the reader is green and the blasts are blue) and the Avengers go on a talk show and the host is being very mean to her. Thanks”

So, dear anonymous. I hope you enjoy!“

Words: a whopping 4100

Y/n, open the door” I heard Sam thudding away on my door as I buried myself in the layers of blanket and put the air condition humid enough to cause a mini monsoon.

“Go away Wilson and leave me alone--” I bellowed on top of my voice.

“Y/n it’s been more than 7 hrs, you got to come out... whatever happened in the morning you gotta let it go--”

“I don’t wanna let it go... I am a national embarrassment--”

You must be thinking, what is the situation you’ve been dragged into. Let me pause there and rewind 17 hours back to give you a complete understanding which lead to this complete mess.

People think our story ended and sealed with Thanos never got to see what we go through in the New York penthouse. With the ongoing Pandemic on board, people are desperate to see us even more, as if it is the new Thanos and we are to defeat it. There is no greater sense of helplessness than playing the puppet of courage without doing anything. So whoever wrote that “after the defeat of big bad, the heroes rejoice” was a big idiot.

And thus, I found myself awake after hours, sitting alongside the broad glass panel that showed the completely stopped-in-time, shining in the dark cityscape of once bustling New York. A fleeting sense of desolation plagued me as I remember my own world in the verge of extinction. My breath almost stopped in the great worry of my fellow living being in this planet; the one who saved me from destitution--

 “y/n, is that you?”A calm and concerned paternal voice broke the train of my thought. I sharply looked behind my shoulder to see a disheveled figure of man standing in the dark. By the tousled curls and the slouched hem of the sweatpants, I knew was Bruce.

“Urh, you startled me!” I said with a dismissive voice. I felt almost embarrassed to realize what I was thinking moments ago. I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself.

“It’s you who startled me y/n, what are you doing up so late?” Bruce said with a groggy voice rubbing his eyes rather irritatingly. “We have an important event to attend tomorrow first thing in the morning” he slowly moved towards from the shadowy part of the room to the path of dimmed light from the glass panel and spared a long glance at my face. The way he looked at me sometimes irritated me, because it was an inalienable fact that he fell into the same category of humans who express an unhealthy obsession with my kind: a scientist.

“It’s not like I enjoy staying up like you Lowly Human...I am as stressed for tomorrow as you are!” I tore my face from his ken to express my displeasure. In reply, he sighed disappointedly, which sounded patronizing in my already agitated mind.

“I wish you’d stop insulting my specie whenever you get upset...” he gently put his hand in my shoulder, but soon he withdrew and stepped back. “And what is that god-awful smell?”

Any female whether she is human or not is very sensitive to criticism, especially about how she appears, thus Bruce’s comment was not only offensive but hurtful as well. I could not restrain my anger and annoyance anymore, and I stood up sharply to face him “I just happen to wet myself in the rain yesterday at my detour downtown and it turns out it has too much sulphuric acid and it is peeling my skin away... right before when I am about to go up close on television.”  My hand subconsciously moved up to my cheek, where flakes were forming in my otherwise jade smooth skin. “And you are telling me to stop insulting your specie... I will when you unicellular cretins will stop ruining your own environment—“ I folded my arms defensively, gazing away from Bruce’s face “--as if I don’t get ridiculed enough for my chrorophyllic skintone, and now I am shedding like a common reptile.”

“Alright alright I am sorry...” Bruce threw up his arms defensively, and his small paces back and forth showed his discomfort more than anything, “do you want something for your skin, CeraVe or something? I can fetch you some ice if you want?”

His apologetic gesture made my whole effort defeated; but my pride disrupted me from being apologetic “Forget it... as if those human manures would work on my skin—“ I heaved a sigh and looked at him again “must we do the thing? I mean I am not the only alien that set foot on earth in this decade, why must I be walked around like a showdog in front of all the people?”

For some moments Bruce did not answer me. I almost thought he was ignoring me, but then I realised that he must be contemplating on every word he wanted to say and every word that was running through his brilliant mind. Out of anyone in the team, Bruce was the visual hole, the less than heroic material: even with the Hulk. And for this, the society made sure that he would be self conscious for the rest of his life for his other identity. My annoyance almost melted to sympathy when I heard him speak in a rather frustrated voice.

“Y/N, I know that you are stressed about this and frankly I hate this stuff too, but this is very important for the people: for your people as well as ours. Not all things that come from the space are benign and people need reassurance that you are not hostile. I hate this too, but it is for the greater good!”

“Greater good, greater good... it is always for the greater good!”  The same old daily whining of lofty agenda made me sick “I am sick and tired of these Brucie, I don’t want to do this anymore... I am tired about people asking me weird questions and cretins posing as scientists trying to push probes on me the first chances they get-- I wish I could just disappear with the portal that brought me in this cursed place!“

Bruce came closer and grabbed my shoulders gently “Don’t say that y/n... otherwise we wouldn’t have the means to counterattack all those aliens—“ my silence might have given him the cue that he wasn’t doing a very good job at convincing. His wavering eyes fixed on my face once again as he spoke “okay, here is a deal: how about it is the last time you appear in public, hm? Once you satisfy them that you are part of the team, I swear people will leave you alone... they left the Hulk alone too once they understood that he is one of the good guys!”

“No but...“

“No ifs and buts... go, and have some sleep. Let me look in the lab if we have some squalanes and peptide solutions lying around—“ he said with a paternal affection and disappeared into the dark passage which lead to his room

“Thanks Brucie you are the best—“

I couldn’t help but to smile a little. Humans!

...

“This is a bad idea I am telling you--“ I told Bruce with an hushed tone as the makeup artist went on with a puff on my face for the millionth times. The rest of my team was behind me, getting the same attentions to their dismay. I could tell Bucky was downright uncomfortable as his makeup artist had a hard time getting not distracted by his bionic arm; and Wanda was downright glaring at the man who kept flicking the brush on her nose.

“relax y/n, you are smart and you are friendly, you are going to ace this and trust me people are going to love you--“ Bruce said with gritted teeth to make sure no one could tell what he was saying. He almost flinched as some of the powder made into his nose and the makeup artist followed him up with a q-tip.

“My face is itchy...“ I whispered again, trying not to gouge my face out with my nails as the powder sat on the flaky part of the cheek. If this wasn’t a studio I would have scratched my face like a lunatic and ended up as someone who was attacked by a bear in the mountains. And I was glad that I was standing beside Bruce who knew how not to go overboard with the things. Clint would have brushed them off, Wanda and Bucky would have panicked, and Sam’s gestures no matter how genuine would have made me laugh.

“Wanda already told the makeup artist to spray you with Squalane, your face isn’t half as bad as it were yesterday night“ Bruce then went on politely gesturing the makeup artist to spray the stuff Bruce brought from the lab in a clear bottle, and the look on the Makeup Artist’s face was between annoyance and bursting into tears.

“Brucie...“ “I don’t wanna mess it up--“ I said nervously as we walked into the couch and settled with the others.

“Trust me you won’t... “ Bruce graciously consoled me.

The cameraman cued and we were all gestured to look into the main camera as the lights in front of us adjusted accordingly. Within all hustle and bustle, the host walked in like a royalty, and by the looks of his face and those following him with makeup and refreshment, he had a really bad morning.

“We will go on air in 3, 2 and 1”

“Good Morning America, this is your host Justin Fallon and welcome to another episode of The Early Show. Today we have with us some really special guests. You might know them from News, the murals, the comics and the Merchs please welcome our own global superheroes: The Avengers. Welcome to our show” the host said with an uncomfortable friendliness and turned towards us.

"Thanks for having us with you" Sam answered graciously, with a little awkwardness. I could understand why; it was always Tony, Steve and Natasha who spoke in public. After such a terrible loss, he is struggling to fill up their shoes for the sake of our public image. He had been wrapped up into a pretty bad controversy recently for succeeding as Captain America and it had a pretty bad toll on him—to the point his speech kind of went from cheerful to composed in an unnatural way.

 "It’s been way too long since our morning couch looked so colorful and it surely brightens up the day.” The host said with an obligatory politeness. Although the term was innocent enough but it seemed not so—I instantly froze up and million things started flying inside my head: was I looking good enough, is my patches showing under the layers of power and squalane. Turns out it was not me alone. From the corner of my eye I could sense the tension behind me from Clint and Bucky and I know it was different than mine. The host must have wanted the old team, and looked like he was stuck with the mediocre leftovers.

“Thank you...“ Sam replied.

“So here you guys are after averting the big wipeout crisis, in the quiet and chilling, so how does it feel to be in the pensive from being hyperactive all the time?“

“Well, at first it did feel kind of boring and lack luster, but slowly we are adjusting to it. With the ongoing Pandemic crisis I think we just have to adjust to the situation. In a way, I think we are all helping each other by staying inside and recuperating.” Sam answered diplomatically.

“That’s so nice” the interviewer said quite curtly and then changing the topic he sharply turned to Doctor Banner “I know of all you people Dr. Banner will find this Lockdown Leisure slightly more comforting, isn’t that so Doctor Banner?”

Wait, what was that? Was that even normal? Sam was sitting in the front and after him Bucky, then Wanda and then Bruce. Should not he come gradually? Breathe... maybe I am reading too much into this. Keep a friendly face, don’t think too much... the entire nation is watching... this is the one time I have to do things right! It’s for me, my team who housed me and my people.

I had to give props to Bruce for managing things calmly despite his claims about public speaking. He politely replied “Well theoretically it should be but it’s not like causes of anger cannot exist within the so called peaceful environment if you think about it, but I am glad you showed your concern” and like a pro, reached out to the glass in front of him to sip some water—like some real celebs in talk shows.

“Isn’t that true! So Solaris, how does it feel to be surrounded by the icons of the earth?”

I wasn’t really ready for the sudden attention. For a second I blanked out completely and gaped my mouth like a complete idiot. My stupefied face must have been quite prominent because the host tried to laugh it off lightly to divert the attention. I am still wrapping my head around the fact how some humans work so beautifully under so much attention—If I could choose between blasting off alien armies and speaking in talk shows, I will take the aliens instead.

“I..I--It’s quite fun... there is never a dull moment with them--“ I manage to utter, and thankfully it wasn’t a gurgling sound from a deep abyss.

“The thing is, being the most newest member, you sort of have a mystery around you, the kind of a Blue Comet sort--“

“Oh thank you— “ great going me, like a real talk show celeb—keep it up!

“So why don’t we break that down... Solaris, is that true that you came from a whole another galaxy which is not Milky Way?” the Talk show host asked, reading from a small piece of card.

Finally, something I can talk about all day: stars, planets and galaxy. I will have to slay this, I chanted inside and replied after drawing a breath “Yes that’s true. I am from Planet Auriga from Pleiades system. Our Sun is Alcyone, the second brightest star right after Aldebaran. You people call our system Taurus Constellation--” 

“--so much astrophysics, take notes kids they might ask you at the NASA interview.“ the talk show host interrupted. It annoyed me greatly because I could finish the words I worked so hard to speak confidently. So that’s how Bruce must feel all the time when people interrupted him when he explains things. However the host went on as if nothing happened “For a near human creature in this planet, do you identify more with the Professor X’s troop or with the Avengers?”

Near human creature? My race is literally the most Superior in all of galaxy.

“I don’t really understand what you mean...” I said as politely as I could manage.

“I mean isn’t it hard to fit in when you are the only alien in the group--“

The flippant remark was rude and I tried not to wrap my head around it. I recalled Bruce’s words to keep cool and maintain a neutral face replied : “I mean I am not the only one, Thor is also not of the earth and he is a darling to be around. Alien or not I think I have learned a lot about myself and the ways of earth by spending time with this wonderful people?“

I could hear the audience clapping and cheering with my reply. A surge of pride swept across my chest and I smiled slightly at the audience.

“How sweet--“ the host said, keeping with the cheerful mood “as the outer world people are coming into the planets, we think a lot of things are shifting, do you find it hard to cope into the earth from where you come from--“

Finally, a thoughtful question, I made a solid eye contact with the host and replied “No, the atmosphere is pretty much the same in Auriga, but I think humans can do a lot better taking care of the environment. I know for a fact that millions of planets and their lifeforms were extinct because of excesses I see on earth.”

The thoughtfulness of the host was only for so long “The girl’s been around... if you know what I mean—“ he commented with a little wink, and from the audience’s laugh I knew he didn’t mean something polite or mildly positive. After the laughter subsided, he turned again to me “I dig the midnight blue hair... it is so contradictory and yet it works“ he complimented “because you know scale and hair are not something we see very often in our planet--“ 

Excuse me, what was that supposed to mean?

“--so tell me are the lapis cascades all natural? I mean they are not dyed at all?”

“No they are not... the special keratin bond that reflect the blue pigment of the natural light but they are actually transparent—“ I added objectively.

“So that means in the right lighting you don’t need to mow the bush—“ the host said with a curved smile on his lips, and the audience went on laughing in the same manner they did moments ago.

Even under the blowing airconditioner, I started t feel really warm around my neck “I really don’t know what you mean; you are making any sense at all! Do you guys need special light to mow the bush, do you do in the solstices or during the eclipses—“  this time I didn’t hide the fact that I was annoyed.

“--she is really really funny you guys--“ the host again smiled and acted like I was a stone wall and my reaction didn’t register in his mind at all. “So you are saying you don’t mow your bush at all?“

“I live in a New York Penthouse, there is no bush--“ honestly if this wasn’t a dumb talk show, I would have taught this impudent human a lesson.

The host looked a little uncomfortable as our eye contact lasted for several seconds. He cleared his throat and went on “Okay you guys, she just clarified that there is no bush, so let’s move on to your...your look... I am so fascinated by it, it’s so reptile chic--“

What’s your fascination with cold blooded animals? Are you asking to die like one?

“Um, thanks...?!”

“So how do you manage to maintain this--“

That was honestly the last straw. This host is impolite and rude and he leeches off the discomfort of his talk show host. When this realisation hit, all my self-control and self preservation went out of the window. The vacuum was replaced by the sheer annoyance towards the host who deliberately mistreated us since the beginning.

“Do you think that’s how I live, maintaining my skin and mowing the bush--“ my pitch rose from my previous composed tone “I mean what kind of questions are these?“

The host was still wearing his phony smile on his face, but I could see the colour slightly draining off his face “No I was just asking, because the audience wants to know--“

“I think the audience is smart enough to understand that they cannot get the green skin on natural blue hair, so can you move on to a more sensible question?“ I answered heatedly and defensively at the same time, and as I spoke I felt the aura of tension shifting from discomfort to sheer panic.

“Y/n... don’t do this--” I heard Bucky whisper very faintly from above.

“Solaris, don’t get me wrong, but we don’t always get a green-skin hottie on the morning couch, don’t be offended!” he said while he gestured covertly to cut the camera on the other side. I have to give this man an applause , I could tell he had busted all his courage but he kept the face of nonchalance too good to be true—no wonder he sat on this chair for so long.

“What’s your obsession with the skin colour?—“ I said heatedly as I stood up from my seat “Don’t you dare cut the camera... don’t you dare! Do you think you humans are the epitome of beauty from which point everyone in the galaxy should confirm? I am sick of this... Everyone, I am so sorry for your wasted time but no more of this!”

“Solaris--“ this time it was Sam’s voice that implored me from the sides. For a split second I felt bad for him, because as Captain America, he would have to take the heat from the public. But I was at the point of no return. If I back out now, I would be called a pushover and I would have to endure that image for the rest of my life in the earth.

“You know what, as you are so obsessed with my looks, I would love to show you another thing of mine that is blue--”

Blast

So long story short, Solaris goes to a morning talk show, Solaris encounters a rude host and Solaris blasts him with her Blue Sun Beam. Biggest disaster ever!

The thudding outside the door would not stop, and honestly their over attention was getting on my nerves “honestly, why don’t you go away... what are you, my royal nanny?”

“Very funny Solaris... now come out and get some food--” this time it was Bucky who spoke. Although he was the shortest to reply, but it made me well up. He had the shittiest history amongst all of us: hunted, betrayed, manipulated and now sidelined—how can I see my problems bigger than him.

 “How can I... I ruined everything, all the reputation you built throughout the year, I blew it up within 3 minutes, how can I show my face to you guys! I was supposed to be the superior being--“

A moment of silence followed. But then the old familiar calm voice spoke from the other side

“y/n... It’s not about superior or inferior, you were just very very honest with your feeling! sometimes it’s good for the public, sometimes it is not. I mean look at me--I have struggling with my anger all my life and god knows the stuff I have wrecked in Hulk state. It’s okay to make a mistake... no one blames you!”

“Ha ha right...“ I replied sarcastically, feeling mad about how well Bruce understood my situation.

“Honestly, the way you acted today... Tony would have been proud!”

I could not hold myself anymore. All the feeling that has been plaguing me until now: embarrassment, guilt, confusion, sadness... all came down like a thundering rain with that one statement. I rushed and slammed the door open and jumped on Bruce to embrace him into a tight hug. At first I could tell Bruce was taken aback, but soon his firm arms snaked under my back to hold me tightly.

“I am so sorry... I ruined you all--“ I hid my face in Bruce’s shoulder. Suddenly I felt a gentle pat on my back, I straightened up and looked, it was Sam. His awkward cautionary expression was gone and he looked cherry as the old days “As Captain America, I cannot condone your behaviour, but as Sam... well, that jerk deserved it--“ he reached for his pocket and took out his cellphone “and hundred thousand people in New York agree with you“

I looked at him with a curious expression as he gave me his phone. When I looked at it, it was a tabloid video that had the clip of me blasting the host and it had—

“Stars in galaxies!... 100K likes?” I exclaimed

“And look down, there are comments too--” Bucky scrolled down from behind my shoulder to descend to the white space.

That jerk deserves it, he was literally harassing her...You go Solaris #MeToo

Solaris is so cool, I wish I was as cool as her.

Ugh, I hate that morning show host, if I was in her place I would have thrown him off the stark tower, #SunQueen

Racists never change, and We stan our color positive hero #SolarisRocks

Humans...

...

Okay, that took a lot of time because at first I didn’t know how to work on the request, then I had to go back and forth and rewrite most of it two times because I wasn’t convinced it was good. So I sincerely hope it’s good because I am freaked out as hell.

I also gave reader a name because she is inspired by an alien character in TeenTitans called “Starfire”. So I call her Solaris, and was constantly reminded of Solar of Mamamoo (TMI)

I don’t hate on Fallon, I just used his name because it is recognisable by American public and I also had to see a lot of Jimmy Fallon’s show to write about the Talk Show plot. I was also greatly inspired by Naomi Campbell, RDJ and Nicki Minaj’s interviews.

#avengers x reader #alien reader #skin color #teen titans og #starfire inspired #yay I got a request #rude talk show imagine #avengers x reader imagine