#why i label it the best episode of this last season

[enteringdullsville]

‘24 was alright, but it’s definitely the Action to ‘23’s Island; stuck having to continue a tough act to follow.

I know I’m skipping Pahkitew Island (and to a lesser extent World Tour) to get to this, but I have a lot of ideas for what I want (but don’t at all expect) for a third season.

First the elephants in the room, the newbies. Assuming season three is full length, 18 contestants is seems like a good cast size. Nick, labeled “The Know-It-All”, is like an unholy cross between Sierra and Dave: He’s seen every episode of this show fifteen times…and he’s already regretting attending. He’s actually an online critic who made the vital mistake of pissing off Chris in front of millions of his (Nick’s) viewers, prompting Chris to personally reach out to invite him onto the show. The fact Nick’s an in-universe character means he’s a lot more fair to the contestants than most fans and critics would be, but he’s still incredibly caustic to everyone with a pulse (and also Scary Girl). Felicity, labeled “The Gamer Junky” combines Sam’s interests and Lindsay’s demeanor…which I guess is just Kitty. More or less the pain magnet for the first half of the season (Damien takes over partway through), Felicity’s a moderately famous streamer with a rapier wit and is almost as athletic and coordinated as Tyler. She’s more straightforwardly a fan of the show, that’s why Chris picked her, but given that her team is a ticking time bomb, she’s gonna hafta work fast.

The teams consist of the Hiding Snakes (Nick, Damien, Julia, MK, Wayne, Raj, Priya, Millie, and Caleb) and the Feral Kittens (Felicity, Nichelle, Bowie, Emma, Zee, Chase, Ripper, Axel, and Lauren).

Episode 1. The cast is dragged kicking and screaming back to wherever the season takes place. Wawanakwa again? The abandoned movie lot? Boney Island? Who knows, but they don’t have to worry about it, since the challenge is solely for the new duo to pick their teams by collecting golden statuettes of the cast. Maybe it is an Action Sequel.

Episode 2. Nick and Felicity both have their work cut out for them. In one corner is Nick, who has to put up with Julia/MK vs Priya and also everyone on his team not named Wayne. On the other corner is Felicity, who has the misfortune of being caught up in a popularity contest: now that Ripper and Axel are dating, Chase feels he and Zee have been left in the dust (Zee has no clue what’s happening), leaving Chase and Axel to bicker endlessly throughout the challenge. Meanwhile, Emma’s finally taking her opportunity to patch things up with Bowie, who himself is more preoccupied with Scary Girl, who’s taking her loss last season about as well as Courtney did in Island. The absurdity of Ripper being forced to play the voice of reason is not lost on him, but it doesn’t save him from elimination by Felicity, Nichelle, Emma, and Bowie to make the arguing stop. I didn’t want to eliminate him so soon, but he made it halfway through two seasons, so it had to be done.

Episode 3. So it turns out sending the one guy keeping Axel in check and Chase from accidentally killing everything packing was not Felicity’s best idea. Feli and Niche bond over poor game decisions (and the fact the latter’s career is starting to pick back up helps too), while Emma and Bowie are now on speaking terms again. Speaking of which, Emma tries to sic Lauren on Chase (he’s voted her off twice now), giving a recap of all the reckless and insane stuff he’s done. Gotta get rid of your distractions while you can. Unfortunately for Ms. People Person, Lauren was nicknamed “Reckless and Insane Girl” before signing up and the two surprisingly hit it off. MEANWHILE BACK AT THE LAB Nick picks up where Bowie left off and commandeers Julia and MK’s cheating skills for the team, much to Priya’s chagrin. Caleb grows worried about Priya’s mental state, but Millie, determined not to screw herself over again, goes with everything she says without question. In the end, Zee goes home, still hopelessly confused about why everyone’s fighting, but at least avoiding any major social gaffes. It’s a good thing he and Ripper merged twice, otherwise I’d really feel like scum.

Episode 4. This one’s a breather, but we don’t have to tell them that. Nick for the first time is divided over his role as a contestant and as a critic. As a contestant, he knows it’s best to keep Julia, Priya, Wayne, and Caleb as close to him as possible (and pats himself on the back for acing the team picking challenge), but as a critic he doesn’t particularly want to keep them around, especially Julia and Priya who pulled a Gweathuncanoey and have stuck around for two seasons in their entirety. He also kinda wants MK and Julia to become an item. On the flip side, since Emma introduced Chase to his demented new bestie, he’s gotten even more crazy himself and spends the entire challenge locked in a dare contest with Nichelle. Emma and Bowie watch on in amusement to take the latter’s mind off of being separated from Raj, while Axel reminisces about simpler times when she was an early boot. Caleb and Millie continue their power quartet with Damien (who has taken it upon himself to start lugging a first aid kit every he goes) and Priya, whose fuse grows shorter than Eva’s.

Episode 5. Caleb should probably know better than to make deals behind Priya’s back by this point, but it’s her own fault for sharing the Bow’s taste in men. Since the final four of the previous season (and also Damien) are all on the same team, Lauren makes her first strategistical move now that she knows the group’s biggest fears. MK proves to be a tougher nut to crack, however, building on the two’s interactions in the 24 finale. Axel and Chase have entered “Cold War” territory and are both trying to gather allies. Emma and Bowie are a given (although the latter can’t promise anything), and Chase has Scary, but Felicity and Nichelle are anyone’s game. Not that it really matters though, since that deal I mentioned was for The Boys (TM) to vote Caleb out, since he doesn’t want to hold Priya back anymore. Priya is crushed, Julia is laughing hysterically, and Damien’s salty that nobody voted him off when he was literally asking for it. I didn’t want to give him the Gwen/Ezekiel treatment where he’s the lowest member of two teams, especially since it means he’s 16th again, but here we are. Curse my impartiality!

Episode 6. Knowing Priya’s going to stick around as long as she has allies, Julia and MK start gunning for Millie, hoping she slips up eventually. Nick, however, secretly chooses to plot against the duo, even though MK is his favorite character from this season, because honestly, who would you pick as an ally? Meanwhile, the Kitty Kold War’s come to a boiling point with Nichelle and Felicity’s votes up for grabs. Bowie’s been on Team Axel, but after suffering a migraine all day decides to join the two wildcards. In the end however, Wayne genuinely asks Axel and Chase why they’re even arguing to begin with. Realizing that Ripper’s already gone by this point, they decide to cooperate this one time…a decision that sends poor Wayne right to the losers’ circle. I wanted to see how long I could keep the Hockey Bros around before I had to eliminate the one who lasted longer last season. At least he still has his sick awesome two buses.

Episode 7. Did somebody say “reward challenge”? With the teams even for the first time since the second episode, the two have to wrangle up old contestants scattered across the lot (I decided this will be the Action reboot), and appropriately it’s the three most frustrating contestants to track down: Shawn for the Kittens (much to zombie slayer Axel’s delight), Dawn for the Snakes (much to tiny Tsundere MK’s horror), and for a bonus, Ezekiel (who Chris has “procrastinated a bit” on retrieving). This one’s more or less an excuse for character growth, so that’s why I’m describing the challenge in a little more detail. Anywho, Dawn, Shawn, and the one whose name doesn’t rhyme are all caught, the Kittens winning. And MK’s secrets are totally safe and not revealed to the public at all. In other news, Dawn and Shawn both want off the lot immediately after finding out Scary Girl’s still on it.

Episode 8. (Sotto Voce) I’m gonna have to eliminate a girl sooner or later. Anywho, the Cold War arc has finally cooled down since even Axel can’t stay mad forever and Chase is too narcissistic to hold a grudge. With the merge coming up, Felicity requests Nichelle train her since her leadership skills can only get her so far at this point. Priya and Millie are taking the opportunity to relax since Julia and MK are still awkward about the secret crush I totally lied about earlier. Maybe they’ll get together, maybe they won’t…but Nick ensures they totally do, if only because he refuses to let his OTP sink…at least not before he takes the opportunity to eliminate MK, who’s both a bigger social threat and less of a physical aid at the moment. I think she’s made it far enough for me not to have to explain her elimination in detail.

Episode 9. With Julia out of allies, she’s gotta either guarantee her team wins, bribe Chris into throwing in another immunity idol, or make one of her teammates look less desirable than her. In unrelated news, Raj is still missing Wayne after I cruelly tore the two apart. Axel’s now in on Nichelle and Felicity’s alliance, meaning Emma and Bowie have to get in their good books before Scary Girl (she’s still plenty mad at him) does what Fang does best. Try as the noble Priyanka and Millicent may, Julia manages to play up Raj’s misery to get Nick and Damien (in a moment of weakness) to vote him off. For whom Raj himself voted, I didn’t think too hard about, but the Snakes are sucking for a team with four different finalists on it. Oh, and Bowie is pissed. TOTAL DRAMA BOMB!

Episode 10. In the final pre merge episode, not much occurs. That dang moon from All-Stars is making Lauren act strange, even by her own standards, and not in a productive way. Bowie throws caution into the wind and goes all out in trying to make sure Julia goes home (don’t have to tell them twice), making Emma realize how tiring it is to have to play damage control to someone else’s revenge schemes. Nichelle takes charge, refusing to get eliminated before the merge again, while Chase gets everything on film. By this point, Millie’s competent enough to single-handedly win this for her team, and also by this point, Scary’s freaked enough people to get voted out. Of course, this isn’t the last we’ll see of her…because she ran off before Chef could apprehend her.

We now interrupt this program to bring you this picture of Team Victory I drew for a follow up to my iconic TDWT/Jellystone animatic. I wasn’t feeling like making a whole video, but I kept the boarded first shot anyway.

Episode 11. Chris has dissolved the teams for one purpose: catch Scary Girl before she tries to reenact the events of Scarlett Fever. To make a long freaking story short, they apprehend her…and Chris decides to go the Dakota route and give her a promotion…to tertiary third host…meaning she has the means to cause even more mayhem. And no, Chase, that doesn’t mean you get to submit challenge ideas.

Episode 12. It’s Scary’s first day on the new job, but Chris insists she “sTaRt SmAlL”. The girls’ alliance approaches Nick, partially to build their numbers but also because Felicity feels it’s only fair she at least tries to build a friendship with the other rookie player. He agrees, but only if he can bring Damien (his best friend on the island and his second favorite character). Bowie and Emma take their chance to get rid of two birds with one stone, since Priya and Julia now have nothing stopping them from maiming each other. And maim, maim, maim they do, since (as you could probably guess by how I highlighted their names), they both get sent packing! Did I deliberately hold off on voting them out solely so they’d reach the merge a third time? Yes. Did I do this because having them be proper enemies instead of rivals like in 23 was entertaining? Yes. Did I also do this to piss off the people complaining they (read: mostly Priya) had too much screen time? YES! Do I love making this fan base cry? You tell me.

Episode 13. Against his alliance’s better judgment, Nick tries to edge Bowie back into active villainy, realizing too late he’s prioritized competent gameplay over plot by getting rid of the main conflict. Unbeknownst to him, Millie has her sights on him, correctly viewing his alleged alliance as suspicious, not to mention him turning against MK a few episodes back. Damien suffers from a terrible disease called “having Scary Girl in your general vicinity”, and to add figurative insult to literal injury has to deal with Chase trying to befriend him at her request. Luckily for everyone, it’s a reward challenge for the final eight.

Episode 14. Nick may have awakened a monster. Trying to stir up drama again, he decides it’s a great idea to set Lauren on Emma, claiming A: that it’s the best way to get his attention, and B: that only she gets to cause him harm. Feeling genuine emotions of protection for the first time in her life, she does all she can to make Emma suffer (even though the latter genuinely doesn’t care what Chase does at this point and is willing to be polite if he doesn’t pull anything). Millie and Bowie put aside their differences to stake out Nick, but of course Bowie has other plans. The girls’ alliance continues to serve and oh would you look at that, Emma’s gone because she’s canonically rich anyway and Scary’s not gonna let up while she’s still on the island. I could’ve made her elimination not Chase related. But I didn’t. Emma deserves better, but this is Total Drama, where we don’t even remotely give a crap.

Episode 15. Bowie’s out of allies and Scary’s still after him, so now he really needs to keep Millie close, and what better way is there than to break up an alliance? Nick’s more than a little suspicious about Millie’s sudden investment about everything he does, prompting Bowie to claim she’s in love with him and can’t communicate it. Nick is doubtful, but the idea behind planted in his mind causes him to catch feelings. Damien, being Nick’s confidant and feeling guilty about how he indirectly screwed Priya and Caleb (and also Zee) last season concerning their romance arc, tries to steer him away from her. Axel and Scary bond a little when they trick out the Sling of Shame, and by that I of course mean they accidentally break it in half. Chris already sold the Drone of Despair, so let’s call this one a draw.

Episode 16. Bowie, now fully back in the groove of things, tries to drive a wedge between Nick and the rest of his alliance, while Nick has some delicious angst over what he should do about his budding feelings, knowing full well that Bowie’s lying to him but failing to realize Millie wants him gone. Felicity pops up for the first time in a while, which in Island would mean she’s going home next (let’s imagine she won immunity last episode) but here means the girls’ alliance goes through its first rough patch when Axel, who’s long since taken over as leader, tests Felicity’s resolve. Unfortunately for Axel, Millie, Bowie, Damien, and Nick view her signature brand of tough love out of context and drop her like Ripper’s parents dropped him.

Episode 17. Ten episodes left and a lucky number seven contestants remain. Chris tells the kids (or are they 18 by now?) upfront that today’s a reward challenge, the prize being a FaceTime with the eliminated contestants. Millie, still wanting answers, and Bowie, wanting to see Raj again, immediately dissolve their alliance. Everyone tries (except Chase, who had a phone the entire time and got to keep it three seasons in a row by not being as obvious as Julia was), but Millie comes out on top, ultimately learning about Nick’s alliance…and his crush. She has the decency to let Raj and Wayne say hi to Bowie. Chase learns something, too…

Episode 18. Nick decides Bowie’s more trouble than he’s worth, but rather than just telling everyone to vote him off (which he predictably finds overused), he decides to play a game of “show, but don’t tell”. So using that as the episode title. He immediately decides to play this on hard mode with the two remaining contestants who have the least amount of beef with him: the fangirl Felicity and the airheaded Chase. Surprisingly, this actually works and Bowie gets sent home, Nick realizing he doesn’t have to rely on others to make drama for him. Millie sees what he’s doing but is confused about his slightly convoluted methods, not helped by Nick’s complete and utter failure to explain himself, by this point completely smitten. Damien notices that Nick’s popularity is fading and decides to lie low for a bit rather than betray him or risk being associated with him.

Episode 19. Reward challenge time? With only Millie, Felicity, Nichelle, Chase, Damien, and himself left, Nick seriously considers playing the main villain. Chase is the odd man out, lacking any sort of alliance and still having sort of a target on his back, but he doesn’t seem too concerned. Millie struggles to approach Nick without breaking his heart, since while he isn’t really her ally, he hasn’t really done much to wrong her. After all, he’s a better partner than opponent.

Episode 20. Every villain has their nemesis, and Nick was not expecting it to be Chase of all people, but Chase outs him before Millie can. Damien sticks by Nick (in silence of course, because he’s still friends with Nichelle and to a lesser extent Felicity), but Millie’s conflicted. Nonetheless, Nichelle and Felicity start gunning for him, breaking up the alliance, and they would’ve gotten away with it too, if Chris didn’t remember sudden death challenges exist. Millie has the misfortune of finishing last and is sent home, but not before she decides to just ask him out, figuring she doesn’t have anything to lose at this point.

Episode 21. Notice a pattern? It’s another reward challenge! Scary Girl’s been in a rut lately, and the challenges have grown dull, so Chris has brought in many of TD’s most terrifying beasts, mutants included back on to spice things up a bit. Even the Dakotazoid returns, half the size she was before but now sporting wings for some reason. I guess mutations evolve. Chase chooses now to start caring about other people, but because it’s Chase it’s doomed to backfire horribly, given that it gives Lauren a wonderfully wicked idea…

Episode 22. …that involves locking people in closets. Specifically Chris and Chef. Scary Girl’s the host today and she’s back and more terrifying than ever. Nick, Nichelle, Felicity, and Chase put aside their differences (not that Felicity ever had issues with any of them) when the challenge becomes “Stop Lauren”. Aaaand now I realize Scarlett Fever was probably recycled from the scrapped episode where Dakota hosted the show after locking Chris and Chef in a closet herself. Anywho, Chase is fired on the spot for starting this whole mess…right before Scary kisses him, resigns, hops on the sling with him, declaring him her “boyfriend for eternity”. Chase has only half a second to process what the freshwater frick just happened before getting flung away.

Episode 23. Can you tell I’m getting tired? Only four remain, split between two alliances who used to be part of a greater one. Nick assures the others it’s nothing personal before things can start. Things happen, hijinks ensue, interns are mauled, but it’s ultimately Nichelle who crosses the finish line last. Better 4th than 12th or 14th. On that note, now we all know Felicity’s gonna be a finalist.

Episode 24. Nick and Damien part ways somewhat amicably, Nick knowing it was bound to happen eventually.

Episode 25. One final breather episode: this one’s just a big pre finale party! Really, the only thing the contestants need to worry about are Chase diving into the cake, Wayne and Raj freezing the pool, and Julia and MK doing their darnedest to bring the mood down.

Episode 26. A simple, no frills finale…is what I’d say if Chris hadn’t brought back every finalist the show has had (including Ezekiel, ostensibly because he got the TDWT prize money, but mostly to squeeze some mayhem in before Zeke’s first therapy meeting), in particular Priya, Bowie, Millie, Wayne, Julia, and Caleb. Damien vs Felicity vs Nick, battle of the nerds! Three go in…one comes out.

#total drama island #total drama spoilers #total drama fanart #total drama reboot #td ripper #td zee #td caleb #td wayne #td mk #td raj #td scary girl #team victory #td ezekiel #td harold #td bridgette #td leshawna #td lindsay #td dj #td priya #td julia #td emma #td axel #td bowie #td millie #td chase #td nichelle #td damien #td oc #total drama fan season #total drama fanfiction

[shigayokagayama]

Uh Oh I Thought About The Music In The Finale Too Hard And It Started Bothering Me Again

ok so aside from one of my favorite scenes in the entirety of mob psycho getting cut from the last episode, a decision which will haunt and torment me until my dying days, my biggest issue with the last episode was always the music and i think ive been able to finally pin down a coherent explanation as to why

disclaimer: i am not a music expert. i was in choir in middle school and i like listening to people who actually know about music talk about music, but this is not a professional opinion so take it with a grain of salt

so first, 99 playing during reigen running towards mob. my problem with this is less the song choice and more that the anime decided to completely change the tone of the entire scene. like, 99 works perfectly for the hype exciting scene they were trying to create! i just dont think this scene should have been hype and exciting. this isn’t a “music is tonally inconsistent” problem so much as a “tone is inconsistent with events unfolding” problem so im not going to put much focus on it.

what IS tonally inconsistent though is the next track that plays after it (timestamped)

this scene is supposed to be not just the reveal that reigen is okay but the reveal that dimple, a character who we’ve spent the last six episode thinking was dead, is alive! and the music they chose is so... sinister??? wouldn’t something more triumphant or energetic fit here??? i get that it has to segway into a really emotional song next so it can’t be too upbeat but wouldnt something like this maybe fit better??? it’s another song associated with dimple possessing someone who isn’t especially powerful to let them achieve something they normally wouldn’t, it’s pretty dramatic, it’s exciting, it has kind of an emotional through line in the back of it with the violins???

the next song is perfect. no notes. the second i heard it in the mob character trailer before season 3 dropped i was like “oh theyre going to use that for reigen’s confession” and i was 100% right. in fact, this song being so perfect for this scene is what makes the next song choice so confusing.

huh? what? why???? on the elementary school level of “well this is labelled mob’s theme and this is mob’s moment of self acceptance so it has to go here” i can maybe understand but it is the most jarring tonal whiplash i have ever felt watching a television show. this is music that we normally here when mob is fighting an enemy, this is supposed to gear us up for conflict. it does not fit the bittersweet catharsis of mob accepting his whole self at all.

ive seen two different edits with different soundtracks i prefer, one with “Passing my heart, I'm getting bigger” (at least im pretty sure thats what its called?  すれ違う心・大きくなったなぁ?) and one with “Mob’s Kindness”. personally, i feel like mob’s kindness would be the best option. for one, one of them already played at an emotionally climactic moment during the final episode last season so it might be a bit weird to do it a second time. second, for when we last heard “mob’s kindness” it actually fits really well with this scene on a couple different levels.

just the title of the song on its own fits with the scene. it’s the first time mob really extends kindness towards himself rather than trying to repress it or smother it in guilt and self loathing. we also have to consider the last place it was used and how that echos this scene. the first time we hear mob’s kindness is in season 2 episode 1, following the line “i made the decision to consider my feelings more”, a line which fits really well with what the “100% shigeo kageyama” moment is trying to get across. “shigeo kageyama” is mob’s repressed power and, more relevantly, his repressed emotions that he’s been bottling up for years now. “mob” flaking apart and forming “shigeo” also kind of visually echos emi’s novel getting ripped apart and brought together again by mob’s power, so that’s another little mirror between these two scenes. mob putting emi’s novel back together is the first time we see him using his powers for another person, not to save them from any sort of threat, but just as an act of simple kindness. it’s the beginning of a realization he has during the mogami arc, these powers arent just a burden, he can use them to help people. and he doesn’t even need to limit it to that, he can just use them to express himself and have fun because they aren’t just tools that can be used, they’re a part of him.

#i feel like i lost the plot a bit writing the last paragraph but whateverrrrr #mp100 #mob psycho 100 #shigeo kageyama

[theenbynightingale]

My thoughts on TDI '23 Season 2

I'm just gonna make one big post about it because I wanna get all of this out of my system so I can focus on other things.

Okay, let me get my verdict out of the way. This season was... fine. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad. It's probably the most middle of the road season, IMO. My now former friend told me that he thought this was shaping up to be one of the best seasons when half the episodes were out. I didn't wanna label it yet because I didn't agree but I wanted to see them stick the landing. They didn't. So while I don't agree that the season went downhill, I agree that its ending wasn't very strong.

Okay, good stuff! MK and Julia friendship (and MKulia nation thriving). Loved that. I kept worried that they'd drop the ball but they never really did. They were a lot of fun and it was great seeing these two characters who outright rejected the idea of making friends grow close.

Nichelle getting better at the physical activities while not actually understanding that she had to have a social life on the island and therefore, not actually knowing how to play the game was funny.

Wayne and Raj. They're always great.

Less fart jokes. Though, it seemed like they were just saving it for the memory episode.

Owen and MacArthur cameos!

Bowie's inner conflict. I think that was a nice arc for him, especially after constantly playing dirty last season. It made sense and wasn't out of nowhere.

Zee being Zee. We love Zee. I wish we saw more of his pet raccoon.

A lot of the challenges were creative (Starting off with a Squid Game parody is very Total Drama) and a lot of the jokes were funny.

Okay, so... I can't talk too much about stuff I like without immediately following it up with "and then it kept going and it got old" so... let's get into that.

Usually, in TD, there's the writing hurdle of what to do with characters after they hook up. Usually, one of the characters leave the episode they hook up or the episode after. I admire this season for trying to break away from this formula but I think they just proved why the formula exists. Because if you keep the story going after they get together, you run the risk of it getting old. And it got old. Twice.

Ripaxel was funny... and then it got old. And gross. And then it was funny again. And then it got much worse and then they left. And then you wonder what the point of that was.

But then there's Caleb and Priya. I actually liked the story between them. And then it kept going. The moment in the memory challenge where they made up? That should have been it. The story should have been over and, as much as I love Priya, that's where she should have left. We didn't need to follow it up with another misunderstanding between them. Their story was run into the ground and it just wasn't worth caring about anymore.

There's a problem throughout the season that was evident when the very first episode leaked. After a whole season, it's revealed that Millie still doesn't listen to Priya. This is an example of the season's biggest problem: rehashing the last season.

Millie has to face the consequences of betraying her friends, breaking their trust and not putting forth a lot of effort in a challenge... again.

Zee gets eliminated because the campers somehow believed letting him in on a secret was a good idea... again.

Damien accidentally screws himself over... again.

Emma seemingly has an interesting story set up, only for it to be dropped as soon as it gets somewhere... again.

Priya grows close to someone only to reveal that they had less-than-flattering thoughts about her, only for that someone to realize how much they care about her, only for Priya to find out about the earlier stuff and a rift is formed between them... again.

Once MK is gone, Julia is the main villain... again.

So yeah. Not a bad season because nothing really upset me. I'd take it over All-Stars or PI (maybe even Action but idk). It had a lot of good stuff. But some of the good stuff either deescalated into a rehash of last season or was dragged out to the point where you stopped getting invested.

I liked Julia's hair. Mullets are terrible but she pulled it off. I'm serious. She's rocking it.

tl;dr Owen didn't age because he was never really stressed. He was the happiest of all the campers so that's why he still looks 16.

#total drama island #tdi 2023 #td caleb #td axel #td nichelle #td scary girl #td damien #td mk #td wayne #td raj #td ripp #td zee #td chase #td emma #td julia #td millie #td bowie #td priya

[bluedalahorse]

Two decisions I really liked about YRS3 (but not the only decisions)

Also posted on my dreamwidth. Left unrebloggable for the sake of setting boundaries. Comments and thoughts welcome though!

Today I want to talk about two decisions made by Lisa and the other Young Royals Season 3 writers that I really liked. This is an analysis post, to some extent. In line with my new priorities, I also want to talk about how these decisions could work on a craft level to fuel my creativity, and—more fannishly—where they might leave me with inspiration in my fanfiction. Because everything from here on out is spoilers, and because it is long, I am going to cut it.

The writing decisions I want to focus on today are a) starting the season with a private settlement to resolve issues around the video/the gun/the drugs, and b) digging deeper into the ambiguity of Erik. As a heads up, both of these decisions felt particularly catered toward my reading of the show and what I wanted from it to begin with. But I figured, why not start with what one loves about a thing? So we will begin there, and perhaps, if I let myself rewatch episodes during the break, we will move on to other things, too.

The private settlement

This was something @heliza24 speculated might happen in the months leading up to season 3’s release. In fandom, there was a lot of discussion around whether the legal system would be able to deliver consequences to August re: the video or not, and whether Wille or Simon could be prosecuted for the field scene and the drugs and such. For me, one of the most informative posts on the matter was sflow-er’s post about how each boys’ actions would be labeled and classified, and what the penalties might be. I don’t know the Swedish legal system too well, so it was quite informative.

In my opinion, kicking off season 3 with the arbitration/settlement outside of court, and refusing to provide catharsis through the legal system itself, was the best decision the writers could have made. I also love that it was all wrapped up in an episode. We know that rich Hillerska families often settle things discreetly behind closed doors, and the legal system tacitly allows this to happen, so this felt in line with the series worldbuilding and the real world interactions it is grounded in. I also feel that Young Royals works best when it’s at least partially anchored in Hillerska, and secondarily anchored in the family interactions characters have at home. So taking things into the courtroom for too long wouldn’t feel quite right, even if season 3 does, to some extent, open up the world more for our characters.

What also struck me was the way the adults behaved in this scene, and how a lot of it felt… not so great? You can tell that the adults all care for their respective boys (however imperfectly they express it before, during, and after the settlement.) But the way they all swoop in and try to flatten the last two seasons of conflict into who owes what to whom is sort of fascinating, and feels parallel to the housemother trying to mediate between Sara and Felice at the end of 2.6. You realize how little they know of the nuances of what happened, and how quick they are to take away the agency of their boys when they think it protects them. I really want to hit this point hard—the boys all have their agency taken away in that moment, and I use the word “boys” deliberately because it is adults who are putting them in that position. You can see some of that persist in the aftermath of the settlement; FFS Linda is making Simon pee into a cup every day.

(Not to mention the hint of personal investment each set of parents has in the case. Rickard can’t resist doing lawyerly flexes, and Linda’s constant references to Swedish values show that she’s worried she immigrated in vain. I’m sure there’s a blank we could fill in with Ludwig and Kristina, but I’m operating on memory here and I don’t remember their lines precisely.)

As icky as the settlement scenes feel, and as much tension as they create, they are also necessary for marking the importance of past conflicts while propelling the narrative forward. It does matter that August released the video—it matters enough that he had to sell his estate to compensate Simon, and it’s absolutely appropriate that he should have. And it does matter that Wille waved a gun around and Simon brought drugs to school and sold them. 

At the same time, what the show is saying here is, legal consequences and lawyers (especially Rickard) can’t solve all the show’s problems. No amount of money from August is ever going to fix Simon’s mental health by itself. August being locked away forever wouldn’t have magically taken away the fault lines in Wilhelm and Simon’s relationship, which we see over the course of the season have as much to do with Wilhelm’s relationship to the monarchy as everything else. And in some alternate universe where Simon and Wille get in trouble for the drugs and the gun but August faces zero punishments at all, he wouldn’t exactly be magically cured of all his trauma and live a pretty life from then on.

Ultimately season 3 seems to be saying not that the legal system is 100% ineffective, but that it has its limits in how much healing or catharsis it can bring to people. Especially because of the way settlements and trials focus on incidents in isolation, and limit the agency of the people they are supposed to defend. I actually don’t think season 3 is telling us to let go of the legal system entirely. But what it is doing is asking us to understand offenses beyond the strict binaries of crime and punishment, and how they fit into broader contexts of societal prejudice. And finally, it is telling us to look to vulnerable human-to-human connections as another space for healing. Which is where all the juicy, interesting, complicated stuff is. I’m glad that S3 chose to follow those threads instead of just sticking us in a courtroom for five episodes.

A note before I continue: I know I’ve talked to a few friends who were disappointed we didn’t see August sell Årnäs, when we know it’s important to him. I haven’t decided how I feel about that yet. I have decided that this is one of the things I’d love to ask Lisa about in more depth, to see why one of her writing decisions was to leave that out. I suspect August has already started to pull away from Årnäs a bit in season 2 already, given that he’s willing to sell art to buy Rousseau for Sara, but I don’t know if he’s consciously there yet, and I think fans might be looking to see him grapple with that. In retrospect, it also seems like August’s arc over 3 seasons is him trying to figure out who his family is. The material reality of Årnäs and how much he wants to keep it is sort of an externalization of that, but also his way of deflecting from talking seriously about his grief for his father. So, I see why this is a tab left open in people’s brains. Maybe I’ll be able to close it on rewatch. But Simon’s also supposed to be getting that money, and that tab is left open in my brain, too. I hope Lisa reads this and has an answer for me.

Anyway. Onward to those human-to-human connections.

Erik’s ambiguity and his role in the initiations

I never fully trusted Erik. I say this not to “gloat about being right” but mostly to establish what my baseline reading of the character was in season 1. I do think he was very loving of Wilhelm and meant a lot to him, but I didn’t trust him to be a full-on LGBTQIA+ ally, and I didn’t trust him not to have gotten up to abusive fratboy shit in the past. Part of the reason I gravitated toward this reading of the character is that I found it way more interesting than Erik being perfect. In my personal experience, family members are never exactly who you need them to be, and part of the struggle of growing up is knowing when you can lean on someone (or their memory) for support and when you need to protect yourself. Fiction that deals with these themes is endlessly fascinating to me. It’s the kind of fiction I try to write, that I’d want to someday publish. So naturally Ambiguous Erik is my preferred Erik.

As someone who’s always sort of approached Erik’s memory with a less-than-trusting reading of his character, the minute the homophobic initiations came up, I knew that Erik’s role was going to be a key point of revelation. So much of season 3’s momentum was tied up in Wilhelm finding out and processing that, and August being able to put into words how Erik and the other third year boys’ actions traumatized him. The knowledge that August, Nils, and Vincent chose to remove the most homophobic practices when they initiated first years adds a twist of the tragic knife. We have three boys who are trying (however imperfectly) to break the cycle, and yet none of them got the support they needed in processing what happens to them. August even ends up releasing the video and perpetuating the cycle of abuse. But it’s hard not to look at that now and not see an element of untreated trauma driving his actions.

I suspect for some fans of the show, that revelation about August (and Nils, and Vincent) essentially being a sexual assault victim is a pretty uncomfortable one, because it can feel like an excuse for his actions. But I don’t think the show is excusing August’s actions so much as explaining them, and even more importantly, the show instead seems to be focused on just how challenging breaking the cycle can be, and just how much time and effort is required. Moreover, understanding August’s vulnerability is crucial for Wilhelm’s character arc.

In my restorative justice meta a while back, I talked about the dangers of the Hillerska students being able to villainize someone like August, because they could so easily deflect from their own actions by imagining him as an individual monster and ignoring the parts of the system that enabled his worst deeds. When I wrote this, I was primarily thinking of characters like Nils and Vincent. I did not expect it to be Wilhelm buying into the myth of August the Monster while disavowing his own flaws. And yet, in season 3, we could see Wilhelm’s black-and-white villainizing of August as something that got in the way of his empathy and better judgment, primarily toward Simon. Like. Wilhelm is, to put it lightly, a pretty crappy boyfriend to Simon at the beginning of the season! (If this post also included a third thing I loved, it was that a lot of the wilmon boyfriends stuff early on in the season was always just a little too yikes to be fully cute.)

And yes, you can look at the part where Wilhelm’s making Simon delete stuff off social media, and eventually delete all his social media entirely, and talk about how Wille is responding to the pressure of the palace, and his mother’s mental health struggles and so on. But IMO it’s similar to the way August lets himself get caught up in the pressures of his social role at Hillerska to try and escape his grief and trauma. Both boys fear and disgust the ways they’ve been made vulnerable (something they react to when they see their vulnerability reflected in one another) and try to play their social role within the system they are most familiar, to gain back a sense of strength and agency. Ultimately, however, they become the weapons of that system, and hurt those they love and care about. It was pretty smart of the show to recognize that Wilhelm reconciling with August and Simon reconciling with August are actually two different flavors of Thing, and the reason a Wilhelm-August reconciliation is different is because of the amount of social power that they hold in the system.

No character symbolizes the reasons for August and Wilhelm’s struggle with the system more than Erik. This is not to say that Erik Is Evil—he’s not! We also know that August and Wilhelm love him, and that he has helped them and cared for them—merely that he strands for what they’re both grappling with. Both boys have to recognize Erik beyond the idealized version of him in order to heal and move forward and actually break the cycle. And they have to recognize Erik’s place in those cycles too. In the last scene we see of Erik, he’s day drinking, and we know he visited Boris for therapy. Could he have struggled with guilt over what he did in the initiation? It’s possible. In a way, the biggest tragedy of Erik’s death is that he doesn’t get a chance to break the cycles alongside Wilhelm and August. But maybe his soul can rest easier knowing they are a little closer to being brothers than they were before.

Where this leads me as a writer, especially of fanfics

I likely started with these two aspects of season three because they already line up so much with what interests me in storytelling. When I think about the kind of writer I want to be, I want to write the complex entangled family history stuff that’s hard to sort through, and I want to write it well. Young Royals gives me another solid mentor text in that regard, alongside books like Patron Saints of Nothing and A Sitting in St. James.

On the fanfic side of things… well. I’m glad the legal stuff is taken care of already! I honestly didn’t want to have to be dealing with the courtroom all that much in my fanfics. Maybe someone else will want that, and I think the option is still there. Someone could do some really cool fics with a character choosing to study law in the future, or similar. But I’m glad to have that off my plate for the time being.

As for what these parts of the season have made me more interested in than before, I’m really captivated by the idea of Wilhelm and August becoming brothers to one another, even if—especially if—it’s a fun multi-year slowburn with lots of heart-wrenching emotions. What would their relationship look like? How would they navigate around Wilhelm’s break with his mother and August’s newly forged relationship to one another? What kind of time would August and Wilhelm choose to spend with one another to work on their relationship, and what do the boundaries look like? Could August one day leave the monarchy too, and would Wilhelm support him in that? (I hope so.) For some fans, I think they’re just content to leave Wilhelm and August’s reconciliation as that conversation at the party, and I think that’s valid. But I do know that in whatever I write going forward, I’m interested in seeing how their relationship can develop and change over time. And that feels hopeful in a way I like.

So maybe… just maybe… some of the things I’m going to write will involve Wille and August developing a better relationship. And I think I’m ok with that.

#yr s3 spoilers #yr spoilers #yr season 3

[thegeminisage]

okay WHEW it's star trek update time. last night* we watched tng's "interface" and ds9's "the siege." *i'm typing this at fuck o clock and scheduling it to go up tomorrow when i'm not here <3

interface (tng):

i don't want to talk about it

actually wait no yes i do but mostly i just want to complain. i wish there was perhaps some sort of skip/watch list with the dead parent episodes labeled. for star trek. i mean i know i'm making one but not that one i can't use that until it's too late. i can't crowdsource EVERY dead parent episode of star trek through my tumblr followers. though i will say whoever warned me about 4.02 of ds9 (i forgot which person it was, i'm so sorry 🙏) has my deepest gratitude. ok. complaint lodged.

what else...um, geordi and data. emptiness. Yeah

yeah. that's all. sorry. my spidey senses started tingling about halfway through the episode and i googled whether or not his mom really was dead and upon receiving my answer we stopped the episode to go directly to ds9.

the siege (ds9)

LOVED this one. where do i even begin

well i will begin at the obvious: women! kira and dax in the shuttle. mwah

what i loved most about kira and dax in the shuttle wasn't even the homoeroticism, though i did - of course - deeply enjoy the homoeroticism. what i loved MOST was that they seemed to have invented a personality for dax at last! i have no idea what was going on in this episode or who this dax was or where she was during s1 but i REALLY liked her. it's shocking bc i almost gave her LAST PLACE in the character rankings, but she was so fun here?? and also kind of like...airheaded and weird. "i might keep the nose." seems like they really DIDN'T know what to do with her in s1, but better late than never. i will continue to try and forgive her really terrible hair even though it makes her head look soooo weird and offputting

big spider bad. actually it was too stupid looking to be scary but i still didn't like it

quark and odo's gay little goodbye <3

julian FUCKING bashir pretending he was hot shit when he held those guys up. KING.

actually all of the action sequences in this episode were great. all three of season 2's episodes have been really funny even as they're also very serious at the same time, i fucking love it

love also the little nod to o'brien's service record on the cardassian front in the way of wartime rations. not only is it funny but it is, again, a great reminder of his cardassian trauma, and why he might feel obligated to stay behind

SPEAKING OF. everyone in ops, down to the last person, agreeing to stay at ds9, even though some of them have families like o'brien does. i'm SO glad they didn't forget his family, that they actually showed him and keiko arguing about it, but he STILL felt morally that he had to stay - that it was more important than his own life, and the risk of his family having to continue on without him.

PLUS the fact that not a single person wanted to leave, even after sisko assured them that they SHOULD think of their families...girl he is literally the best captain or commander or whatever. that's stone cold loyalty. they all trust him or love him or both.

i was a little ambivalent on li nalas as a concept but he actually was used finally...i think "off the hook" was a great way to take care of that arc neatly, because making him live the lie would have felt cruel, but him just ghosting would have made him look like an asshole, no matter how justified. i hope there's a bajoran afterlife he can chill out in

did we get set up for season-long villains with winn and jaro? that would be fun. the concept of "storylines" feels so foreign in a star trek show but there it is........

TONIGHT: tng's "gambit part i" and ds9's "invasive procedures," which with any luck will hopefully be about subjects besides dead parents 🤞

#personal #star trek blogging #tng lb #ds9 lb #i did go back and finish the episode later on like 2x speed during the nonimportant bits. only second or third tng ep ever to make me cry #that riker and geordi scene................

[vital-information]

"But, for at least part of the 1999-2000 TV season, Freaks And Geeks was a beacon to anyone whose high school experience was awkward, boring, humbling, or painful—basically, anything other than the sexy and stylish depictions that had dominated teen-centered movies and shows. It begins with a feint in the pilot episode, one of best series introductions ever. Director Jake Kasdan scans the high school track, seeking out a very blond football player (Gabriel Carpenter, in a role not unlike his appearance in 1999’s Drive Me Crazy) who’s confessing his affection to a very blond cheerleader in the bleachers. This early encounter is the extent to which Freaks And Geeks would engage with the kind of prepossessing teens who were frequently the subjects of these shows. This decision, Feig tells The A.V. Club, was based on having “grown up on such a diet of teen stuff being about beautiful people who were so cool with everything, including sex. It didn’t reflect anything I grew up around. You would see those kids; they were around. But they weren’t my group. They weren’t the majority of the kids that I knew.”

The camera ventures under the bleachers, where Daniel Desario (James Franco) is holding court among the other “freaks,” before panning over to our protagonist, Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini), who’s lurking nearby, ever between groups. The camera keeps moving, settling on an altercation between the “geeks”—Lindsay’s brother, Sam (John Francis Daley), and his friends Bill Haverchuck (Martin Starr) and Neal Schweiber (Samm Levine)—and a bully named Alan (The Sandlot’s Chauncey Leopardi). Lindsay comes to their rescue, but inadvertently offends Sam by referencing his diminutive stature. Lindsay is insulted by Alan’s buddies for her trouble, and Sam stalks off. This opening scene is a prime example of the brand of subversion found in Feig’s good-hearted show. A lesser series would have dedicated at least five minutes to Lindsay making up her mind, either in approaching the freaks or standing up for her brother. In Feig’s pilot, Lindsay acts decisively and still gets it wrong, which is not how this is supposed to go—that is, not on network television, and certainly not on the powerhouse network that was NBC in the late ’90s.

That was far from the last time Freaks And Geeks would defy expectations. In the same episode, we learn Lindsay is in the midst of an existential crisis brought on by her grandmother’s death. Hearing from her grandmother, the kindest and best person Lindsay had ever known, that there was nothing waiting on the “other side” leaves her questioning everything. So the former mathlete goes looking for answers in unlikely places, including under the bleachers and on the “smoking patio” with the freaks. Lindsay bonds with the freaks, especially Kim Kelly (Busy Philipps), whose depths were just as filled with teen-girl fury as insecurity. She even manages to win over the caustic Ken Miller (Seth Rogen). But her behavior flummoxes her parents, Harold (Joe Flaherty) and Jean (Becky Ann Baker), and to a lesser extent, her brother. Lindsay’s quest, which unfolded over the course of the season, was probably just as baffling for NBC executives (and possibly viewers). She wasn’t mollified by a new relationship with sweet stoner Nick Andopolis (Jason Segel), nor did she quickly learn her lesson and return to her high-achieving best friend Millie’s (Sarah Hagan) side. The absence of easy answers became a defining element of Lindsay’s life, as well as of the show.

But Freaks And Geeks was always just as optimistic as it was realistic, which is a key part of its enduring appeal. It’s a show about survival, about how a found community can help you muddle through anything. Despite the labels, Feig’s characters are all basically good people—failing that, they’re people who are capable of doing better."

Danette Chavez, "Why Freaks and Geeks Is the Teen Show that Endures"

#film criticism #linda cardellini #freaks and geeks

[my-mt-heart]

I never saw so much reference and speeches about Caryl being friends or family coming from official sources even when the flasgship was still airing and you right they doing this to put them on this box of fraternal love. On the first teaser that come out last year Daryl talks in plural like "Thinking of all the people I left behind... I wonder if they forgot about me" and when the infamous "a lady named Carol" happened I saw some of the fandom saying that she was special that's why she was somehow named "differently" from the others but to me sounded more like an afterthought... maybe it was the delivery, I don't know.

He hasn't yet talked about her in a way that show how she is his priority, even on the dream sequences on season 1 she always appeared with Judith and RJ, never just her.

All this makes me really skeptical about canon and how satisfying it will be IF (a big if at this point) happens

That's what's bothering me so much about Daryl's arc. Any reference to Carol is in a flashback they inserted in post or in some vague look of his we have to decode. Dropping the "F" bombs has never bothered me because yes, Daryl and Carol have become family and yes, they are best friends. It never meant that they weren't also romantic, but what Zabel and Nicotero are doing? Emphasizing those labels every chance that they get? That's a power play. "We don't like Caryl and we want you, Melissa, and all your fans to know that you can't have what we don't like." Will that ultimately play out in the episodes that air, I don't know. That probably depends on audience reception which is why I'm still here talking about it. I want it to be clear what I want to watch and what I won't watch.

#caryl #carol peletier #melissa mcbride #daryl dixon #norman reedus #the book of carol #twd caryl

[winged-wolf-dreamer]

You know what? I have a Byeler hot take (and yes, that is how I spell it, I will always spell it that way, that was accepted naming when I started shipping it and I will not change it). I see people talk about the leaks and about how S5 (the final season, let's not forget) will develop the relationship and how they'll get together then, so here is my hot take:

If Byeler doesn't happen in Vol. 2, then it shouldn't happen at all.

Why would I say this? Because it's 2022 and I can't think of a popular mainstream non-queer media show that has a gay couple, especially between 2 teenage boys, as one of its focuses, one of its main couples. Because Korrasami didn't happen until the last possible instant, Destiel and Klance and Johnlock were all queerbait, and any show with a gay couple as a central ship is explicitly queer media, something that can be sectioned off, excised, hidden in the closet or under the bed if necessary. Not put in the faces of regular viewers who watch Stranger Things for the plot or the nostalgia, whatever.

If Byeler happens in S5, do you know when it will happen? The last episode. The series finale, when there will be no repercussions. No viewers who leave between seasons cause they're homophobes. No viewers who stop partway through the season because oh no, two boys kissed, the horror. Byeler happening in Vol 2, with a whole season left, means their relationship as a couple can be explored, means a show can be unapologetically queer without being labeled queer media and hidden.

Do you know how revolutionary that would be? If Will gets with his childhood best friend, do you know how hopeful that would be for queer kids? How bittersweet it would be for queer adults? Yes, the relationship would have to be secret, and there will be drama of the supernatural sort, of course, but still, imagine. Imagine...

Will Byers and Mike Wheeler may get their happy ending, but if it isn't established until the last season, the last episode, you know what that says to queer people, to queer teens? In a world of super-powered people, alternate dimensions, nightmarish creatures, a queer relationship is still too strange for the masses, for "normal people," and needs to be hidden away, to be put in a closet until it can come out without consequence.

When do you think that will be reality?

#byler #byeler #stranger things #mike wheeler #will byers

[littlequeenies]

Why Do We Love...

Shannen Doherty

We continue with this series called "Why Do We Love" in which we share the love for our muses on their birthday, and today is Shannen Doherty's turn!

[The typical 1990s Shannen/Brenda image. Shannen in 1991 by Mario Casilli]

It was the early 1990s, a Friday evening at our granny's. She was watching the telly, "Beverly Hills 90210", with the Spanish title "Sensación de Vivir" (roughly translated as Feel of Living). There was this beautiful tiny brunette girl called Brenda, who had a twin brother called Brandon, and she was passionate about acting, and she was trying her best to be a good student and a good girl, but sometimes, of course, she did mistakes. And we fell in love with her! Maybe because she was petite like us, or brunette like us, or was a twin like us!

[The Beverly Hills gang pictured in 1991 by Andrew Semel]

Then we kind of "forget" her and, even we knew when we were teens that she was playing a good modern witch in Charmed, we didn't watch that show (I don't know why, since the subject was very appealing to us. Maybe our parents were watching something else on the telly at the time the show aired?). We were more focused on Drew Barrymore at that time, anyway.

But then, when we were in our late teens or early twenties, through a website I created for some of my favourite actresses, I "reconnected" with Shannen! And then I learnt she had been acting since she was 11, and that she had an amazing rock/grunge fashion sense when she was young!

[Shannen as Jenny Wilder in "Little House of the Prairie". She was there in the last 2 seasons, 1982 & 1983, and some farewell films from 1983 & 1984]

[Beautiful Shannen in 1992 & 1993]

We also found out that in the 1990s she was hated by many Hollywood men influencers, as she was a very strong and confident woman, she was always voicing her opinion and not everyone agreed, so they labelled her as difficult. She was also followed with the press everywhere all of the time. She made some mistakes and bad decisions, as she is human, but the tabloids were always there annoying her, which fe found very sad, as she was just a young girl who wanted to live from her dream, from her art and from her craft.

[Shannen as Brenda in Beverly Hills, in the fourth season of the show, her last]

We finally re-watched all the 4 seasons of Beverly Hills in which Shannen was (the so called "Brenda Years"), and although today it looks very sexist (as Brandon can do what he wants and he is the good boy, while his sister Brenda always gets punished for things she does that are not as bad as her brother's), back in the day broke many stereotypes about teenagers and the issues they faced with friends, lovers, sex, alcohol, drugs, racism, sexism, animals rights... it was interesting to see that some things were very dated but some others were still very current subjects.

[Shannen as Brenda in Season 3, some of our favourite looks]

[Some of our favourite looks of Shannen as Brenda in season 4 of Beverly Hills, her last]

We also recently watched "Charmed", not only the first 3 seasons starring Shannen, but some others as well. It might have been one of the first TV shows for wide audiences about witches, demons, good/evil and special effects. I personally loved her Prue character, although not always agreed with her. She was the oldest sister and wanted to protect her younger sisters, and kept them together. I also like that they lived together in an old Victorian house in San Francisco. She was at her most beautiful in this TV show, and she also got to direct the last 3 episodes in which she appeared.

[Shannen as the good witch Prue Halliwell in Charmed]

Shannen is also an activist and author, besides being an actress, director and model. She fights for animal rights, she is an animal lover since she was a little girl, and she supports the Sea Shepherd Sea Society. Shannen is a vegetarian and is against animal captivity.

[Shannen in 2015 for the "World Love For Dolphins Day" rallying against the dolphin's slaughter in Taiji, Japan, with the Sea Shepherd]

Shannen is also a cancer survivor, she suffered a breast cancer in 2015 that went to remission on 2017 but came back on 2020. However, this hasn't stopped her acting or making her voice loud for animals' rights, people's rights (when her house was burned on a fire she sued the insurance company, and many other owners joined her), or actors' rights (recently she posted about how her acting union didn't support her when she was sick and couldn't work).

[Shannen in 2016 with dogs rescued from the meat factories in South East Asia by the Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation, in Los Angeles]

She is very strong and despite all the hate she has received and all the hardships she has endured, Shannen is a warm and lovely woman according to her fans, and she finally is receiving the love and recognition from press and people that she's always deserved. We met her very recently and we are very excited too!! She was very sweet and lovely!

Today, for her 52nd birthday, we wanted to share with all of you, dear followers, how we knew about Shannen and what made us love her.

Here we share:

OUR TUMBLR BLOG FOR HER

OUR PHOTO COLLECTION HOSTED AT GOOGLE PHOTOS (all the photos have been collected from the net, photographers, details, websites etc are credited when known)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR CELTIC ACTIVIST QUEEN!

#Shannen Doherty #Why Do We Love #Happy Birthday #Happy Birthday! #Happy bday #Happy bday! #actress #model #activist #director #author #coach #our muses

[brian-in-finance]

Getty

Note: Brian formatted all text in Italics

Outlander star Caitriona Balfe's husband's link with iconic Scottish band resurfaces

Tony McGill manages the Fratellis, the iconic Scottish band best known for their worldwide hit Chelsea Dagger, and is also good friends with broadcaster Gordon Smart.

Outlander star Caitriona Balfe's is so in love with Scotland due to her role in the smash-hit series that she is happily married to a Scotsman as well.

Tony McGill has been married to the Irish actress since August 2019 and recently welcomed a baby boy, whom the Claire Fraser actress was carrying while filming season six of Outlander.

But the Scots music producer's career has been kept under wraps due to the pair's very private life. He is known to be a musician and also owns a bar in London.

And another aspect of his social life was thrust to prominence late last week thanks to a radio interview involving Outlander star Lauren Lyle and broadcaster Gordon Smart.

He was covering for Irish comedian Patrick Kielty on his Saturday morning BBC Radio 5 Live show when they discussed the Scottish Six Degrees of Separation to link both the actress and Mr Smart.

Stazplay

It was discovered that the former Scottish Sun editor is actually very good friends with Mr McGill and mentioned that he manages iconic rock band The Fratellis.

The band is best known for their tune Chelsea Dagger which has been adopted by fans of the Scotland National Football Team and is often belted out at Hampden.

He was chatting to Ms Lyle about both Outlander and her new show, Karen Pirie, which is based on detective novels written by Val McDermid.

And the actress was describing how delighted she was that the drama had been given a second season by STV and that she was now being recognised in the street for two of her characters, with Marsali being the other one.

She said: "It's been received so well and even when the first episode came out I went into ITV and the receptionist went 'oh I love the show by the way' and it was suddenly such a weird thing that I was starting to get recognised for it straight away.

The Fratellis (PR pic as per Scottish Daily Express)

"I'm always recognised for Outlander, especially when I'm in Scotland. If American fans are over and they see Marsali walking down the streets of Edinburgh, they absolutely fall apart, are beside themselves.

"It must be amazing to have this show you are so passionate about and then see one of the characters, it's been really brilliant to get to do it again."

This prompted Mr Smart to put forward an "amazing bit of music trivia" as he labelled it a "ridiculous six degrees of separation." He said: "People might not know but Caitriona Balfe from Outlander is married to an amazing fella called Tony McGill who is a very good pal of mine.

"Now, Tony McGill — for anyone thinking why's he mentioning this, it's Scottish nonsense — Tony McGill manages a band you will know called the Fratellis. So that's what links Outlander to great music, Lauren Lyle to me today, and of course the much beloved Martin Compston who in Vigil for about 7 seconds."

Mr McGill and Ms Balfe first went public in 2015 on social media and were later photographed attending the 2016 ceremony for Jodie Foster's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Scottish Daily Express

The Italics: 1. He’s a manager, not a producer. 2. If Tony is a musician or currently owns a bar in London, it’s news to me. 3. Not sure what the writer means by “public in 2015 on social media.” Brian’s blog includes a video and three photos all posted on Instagram in 2014.

IMDb

Remember… I read somewhere that everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people. Six degrees of separation between us and everyone else on this planet. The President of the United States, a gondolier in Venice, just fill in the names. I find it extremely comforting that we're so close. I also find it like Chinese water torture, that we're so close because you have to find the right six people to make the right connection... I am bound, you are bound, to everyone on this planet by a trail of six people. — Ouisa Kittredge (character played by Stockard Channing in John Guare’s 1993 film Six Degrees of Separation)

#Tait rhymes with hat #Good times #Scottish Daily Express #7 March 2023 #Six Degrees of Separation #BBC #Radio 5 Live #Patrick Kielty #Gordon Smart #Lauren Lyle #4 March 2023 #Thanks caitrionabalfestanclub

[dontforgetoctober3rd]

Spillways (Chapter 4) A Gilded Age fanfic

Faceclaims for George and Randolph Stewart

Contents: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

Word count: approx. 1600

Story Summary: All of New York society is in a tizzy over the news: The Earl of Galloway is in town with his son, the 30 year old (bachelor) Randolph.  Marriage-minded mamas are on the prowl but the Earl and his son eschew most of the lavish parties and teas they’re invited to...except to a certain tea with Agnes Van Rhijn and her niece, Marian.

Rating: Everyone (Ratings will be *by chapter*, so subsequent installments might differ in their rating).

Author's Notes: This is a canon-divergence story that takes place a few months from episode 5 of Season 2.

DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with The Gilded Age in any way beyond being a fan, I do not own the Gilded Age characters nor am I using them for any commercial purposes or making money from this, this is just basically word fanart of the show

Beautiful divider by @muchomago

Bertha Russell was beside herself with a mixture of fear…and excitement.  Fear for Miss Brook, as her reputation was currently being fileted to pieces in the papers.  Excitement because Bertha knew she had a solution.

Agnes Van Rhijn had just sent word that she would finally call upon her. This very day. The day of the famous tea all of New york was talking about. 

The note had reached Bertha by messenger at Bloomingdale’s.  Mrs. Van Rhijn wouldn’t say why, just that it was urgent.  The note had not been sealed and no doubt the messenger had read it and would sell his bit of gossip to the highest bidder after this was done. Bertha wagered the note had something to do with Mrs. Blane’s horrid antics.  However, this provided an amazing opportunity. 

A few days ago, Miss Brook and the young Randolph Stewart (he insisted upon dropping the formality of “lord”, as they were in America after all) had happened upon her and her daughter in the park.  The carriage Bertha and Gladys had been using had broken a wheel.  Miss Brook had recognized them and Randolph had kindly offered them use of his rented carriage.

What an interesting ride that had been.  Apparently Mrs. Van Rhijn had known Lord George Stewart previously, having come close to an engagement with him. Randolph was apprehensive about speaking of the matter so openly to a stranger at first, but Miss Brook had encouraged him that Bertha was a trusted friend. And so she and her daughter Gladys became privy to the saga of their neighbor having a strained history with a Scottish Lord. 

This was the chance of a lifetime, and Bertha knew it.  She knew what she must do: get Agnes Van Rhijn to mend fences with Lord Stewart.  Before the Earl called off his acceptance to their tea later that day, as he surely would, due to Mrs. Blane’s defamatory statements in the papers.  If that happened, it would be the death knell for Marian Brook’s place in society but Bertha had every intention of preventing that from occurring.

Many called Bertha a power-hungry social climber, but she didn’t care.  If she managed to pull off her plan, Marian Brook would come out on top and one day be a countess!  Was it so wrong to want the best for people around her?  

Miss Brook had shown Bertha goodwill from the start, despite Mrs. Van Rhijn's edict that Miss Brook shun her, as everyone else had in the beginning.  It was time to repay that kindness. 

Bertha would get those wretched gossip rags off her back if it was the last thing she did.  Miss Brook would no longer be labeled an adventuress and Susan Blane would rue the day she decided to blacken the name of anyone who was her friend.

Gladys was quite apprehensive about her mother inserting herself into the affairs of Mrs. Van Rhijn.

“Mother, I don’t think it wise to meddle with this. The papers are already tearing Marian Brook apart as it is.” Gladys worried, as they hustled into their carriage to hurry home.  “They only mentioned us in passing from that day in the park and painted us as desperate hangers on, even now that we have Mrs. Astor’s favor!  Don’t you think you will be doing Miss Brook more harm trying to play conciliator between her Aunt and that Lord?  We should just offer Miss Brook whatever support-”

“Gladys, my darling.  If a friend of yours was drowning, would you merely swim by her and hope she is able to latch on on her own?”

“Well, no, I’d grab her at once but-”

“Exactly.  You grab her yourself and drag her to safety.”

“But mother, how-”

“Don’t you worry, I have a plan.” Bertha, smiling as she hastily scribbled a note, handing it back to the messenger before their carriage took off.  Agnes Van Rhijn’s own note had asked Bertha to return to her own home at once and wait for her there while she made a few emergency calls.

Bertha had to act quickly but knew now how to get Lord George Stewart’s attention.  He was sure to accept her new invitation to her house right away.  All she had to do was drop Agnes Van Rhijn’s name.

George Stewart had been looking forward to finally seeing Agnes Van Rhijn once more, but he knew good etiquette demanded he reject the invitation to Miss Brook’s tea now.  He also knew that if he did reject it, Randolph would not only never forgive him but would go by himself anyway and he would be left with trying to find a way to meet with Agnes on his own. It was for the best, as George had not looked forward to that blasted tea at all.  Having to air out his business in front of an unknown girl and god knows whoever else she had probably invited?  No thank you. He should have never let Randolph persuade him to accept the invitation in the first place.

The boy was smitten with Miss Brook and had vehemently defended her when they both read the papers after breakfast early that morning. He was still defending her now, after they had drained both cups of coffee and were on their second.

“You’re really going to listen to the prattlings of a scorned widow? To my knowledge, this Mrs. Blane never even socialized with Marian except for attending a few of same tennis matches.  There must not be much going on in New York right now if ballroom gossip is what is making headlines. This is not who Marian is, I assure you.”

“Oh, it’s just ‘Marian’ now? No, ‘Marian Brook’, no ‘Miss Brook’? You have only known her a few days.” George said in exasperation. 

“Father, I’m serious.  You’re not actually considering it?  Rescinding your acceptance?” Randolph asked, coffee cup in one hand and folded newspaper in the other. “Why inconvenience yourself so?  You have to meet with her Aunt anyway. Save yourself the headache of coming up with another excuse to see Mrs. Van Rhijn.  Do not add fuel to the fire that this Susan Blane ignited against Marian.”

“Randolph, you know I must.  It is nothing against Miss Brook. I’ll send a note after my coffee, I need to think of what to say.”

“The rumors will worsen when you reject her invitation!”

“Oh? It’s my responsibility to guard the reputation of this girl?  I don’t even know her!” George said with a scoff.

Randolph tossed the newspaper to the side and put his cup down, standing up. George put his own newspaper down and sat straight in his chair. 

“Father, I’m disappointed in you. You don’t know her, but I do and she doesn’t deserve what would happen if you decide not to go.”

“Rather harsh to take up against your own father for a girl you barely know.”

“I know enough of her.  I know she is kind, empathetic, cares about her family and has unshakeable integrity.”

George raised an eyebrow. “That is enough to defend her from me, is it? Your own father?”

“Enough for more than that, I would say. She is different.  Marian talks to me like a person.  Not like the future Earl of Galloway. I love her and I intend to ask for her hand.”

“Good god, please tell me you didn’t say that to her! She is American!” George exclaimed. A knock came at their door, his valet answered it while father and son stared each other down. 

“I am not an idiot. She is a practical woman and it would have pushed her away telling her too soon.  Also, why balk at her being an American? Really? If memory serves, you were almost engaged to one yourself!” Randolph said. He crossed his arms and smiled.  “Do you know what I find very funny about this?  The fact that you are still bent on meeting up with Agnes Van Rhijn.  Father, what do you think is going to happen when it gets out you rejected Marian’s invitation? Mrs. Van Rhijn will no doubt do something about these ridiculous gossip articles herself and when she finds out that you-”

“Excuse me, my lord, but a note has arrived for you.” The valet interrupted. George held out his hand and the note was put in.  Randolph rolled his eyes and sat back down, waiting for his father to read it. 

“Oh..!” George looked at his son, shock on his face. “Inform her messenger I will leave straight away,” he ordered.

Randolph looked worried. “Father?”

George Stewart rapidly walked to the door while his valet put on his coat and his top hat. “Mrs. George Russell has sent an invitation again.  Accepting this one is to my benefit, I think.”

“Why is that?”

“Mrs. Russell says that Agnes is anxious to meet with me at her house, Mrs. Russell’s that is,  before the tea. I will see what she has to say before I make a decision.”

“Mrs. Van Rhijn is at her house? Marian never gave me the impression that the two were friends.” 

George adjusted his hat. “The Russell house is right across from Agnes’s. If I change my mind, then we can just walk, it will take no time at all.  Satisfied with that?” he asked, still attempting to placate his son.

“If you change your mind?” Randolph asked incredulously.  “Do you really believe Mrs. Van Rhijn will give you a choice?  This is her niece, after all. From what you’ve told me, she will defend her family from anyone.  Even the nobility. I think you will change your mind, but I shall wish you luck all the same.”

“We shall see about that.  I have my own matter to take up with her, as you well know.” George said grimly, putting on gloves as the footman finished brushing a bit of lint off the Earl’s back.

“Like I said, I wish you luck, father.”

Randolph watched on as his father briefly nodded then hurried away. 

#spillways fanfic #the gilded age fanfic #the gilded age fanfiction #the gilded age #hbo the gilded age #agnes van rhijn #marian brook #here we fucking go #its about to go down y'all #next chapter is when Agnes and George will finally reunite I promise

[shysublimecoffee]

Gwen and Duncan had potential. They barely interacted in season 1 besides that one-off horror episode, and they did had mutual respect in how they each played their respective game. It'd just weird to see how they were best friends immediately starting in s2 and it then fed into the paranoia with their established partners and portrayed and fed their delusion to be right which I hate.

I could see it work but gradually build up over the course of the season in action to make them be closer and then built up to be best friends because having them be so chummy right off the bat it's weird seeing them being so awfully close, although granted they did had a good chemistry in action lol. Why is Gwen confiding with Duncan about Trent someone he feels threatened by? No clue why the show is throwing away Gwen real friendship and sidelining Leshawna over this.

I actually really dislike it when they keep referring or making hints Gwen or Duncan liked it each other in-universe after the tell all in action because honestly wasn't that deep. They're nonconformists of course their interests aligned and they did trouble together but that's not love lol unless you're seeing all this through a shipping lens and over analyzing each interaction that just had no meaning.

I could see ship potential actual happened but s3 destroyed it. By the beginning of Celebrity manhunt special and in season 3 Gwen changed her tune out of nowhere when previously no it wasn't true she wasn't into him like Sierra described lol it felt so contrived and forced seeing that kiss be a wtf moment just speedrunning everything and her being eliminated after 2 episodes for the ratings.

Let's be real for a second alright? Courtney in s2 was insufferable. At least Heather was fun to hate Courtney just worsened it for me. Their relationship peaked in s1 and truthfully was never gonna last their a real life opposites attract but have no future. Courtney becoming more high maintenance and Duncan having all his worst traits just be cranked were annoying. I ain't condoning it but yeah after action and seeing Duncan cheating you understand as a viewer.

The show made her the butt of the joke and always crank her up to be the villain. They really wanted us not to be sympathetic and even with the other two put in a negative light after the cheating fiasco hers aren't favorable as well she's back up on villain agenda instead of being vulnerable or giving her a chance to breathe. The villainization and callling Gwen " New Heather" pissed me the fuck off I swear.

It never was that deep they were forced to be friends for all of 3 days so all of that built up to the cheating fiasco was so that we feel sympathetic to her plight. I... After all stars and them becoming closer again it just went nowhere and up and died.

Gwen the straight women to the other character goofy antics and almost Main character became the girl in and out of the show for her complicated love bomb relationships.

Courtney the know it all but genuinely nice and cared for contestant s and had her sweet moments in immediately helping Izzy and Sadie became a onenote derailment of a control freak whiny my way or the highway always attitude be so presently dominant to everything. She comes first always.

Duncan used to cool and yeah he's pretty casual sexist words were very hypocritical. I'm annoyed the show never addresses it and Ezekiel got flamed for it in-universe. But, still he did had his tender moment of goodwill and his persona bad boy image was chill went so down the drain I pity this dude. He's so obsessed with not being a good guy label he just became a loser by defaul

If Total Drama was a real show then it's irony to me how everyone became worse off it then they were when they started on this show I guess that meta for you.

#total drama world tour #total drama island #td gwen #td duncan #td courtney

[thehitchhikerguide]

Season 2, Episode 6: Videodate

Let me start out by saying this is one of the best episodes I've seen so far. The sleeze, the revenge plot, crazy 80's visuals...all perfect for a Hitchhiker episode.

The famous guest star this week is Shannon Tweed, known for being in some not-so-recognizable movies and also for being Gene Simmon's wife. I know her from Hot Dog...The Movie, which I guess is a must see for anyone who has ever been a skier or just likes a lot of full-frontal in their movies. The main male character is played by Gregg Henry, who looks to have a decent acting career, but I didn't recognize him. I thought he maybe looked like a low rent James Woods.

We start out with a woman who has very 80's hair watching a video dating service tape of a guy who is making it out to be his first time doing something like this. She is charmed by his vulnerability.

You can see by her joker-like smile, he has sealed the deal. He takes her out to an art exhibit and I have to say this is something I would love to go to even now. There is an area where you can smash a TV:

I mean, that is a really fun date!

Then we see the exhibit of a hot new artist named Monique. Wait, what? It's always weird when I hear other characters on TV with my name, since I don't hear it too often. I guess with a Canadian show, it was just a matter of time.

This is an art exhibit I would love to go to. People with TV heads that play some sort of strange video. It's creepy and disturbing and I'm all in for it.

This one represents the woman TV head's fantasy of running off with another man (shown on the TV). Of course our male character decides to man-splain to his date and also mention that he knows the artist. She seems to be watching this conversation behind him, unamused.

At least I think that is the artist...right? I guess they don't say but it seemed obvious at this point.

By now, the date is going really well.

Well that was a cool art exhibit so I kind of get it, even though he looks like a creep whose hair is just hanging on for dear life. She seems pretty vulnerable and mentions to him that she doesn't want this to be a one night stand. He tells her what she wants to hear...

...then immediately rushes her into a cab. After she is gone, we find out that wasn't even his apartment! He has been paying his friend who is a doorman to use people's apartments for these sleezy videodates.

As he drive away, we see something we haven't seen in awhile.

Oh yeah I almost forgot, there was also this weird image and some video game noise. Not sure what this is, his car is in a video game now?

Haha, as usual, perfect butt is on display. Man, he looks like he could double for George Michael in this shot. Anyways, we see the main character interacting with the Hitchhiker. He refuses to give him a ride.

Also, we are over 8 minutes into the episode before he shows up! We learn that this main dude is named Jack Rhodes. He has a lot of disguises and thinks he is the master of the illusion. But Jack is not the only one with tricks up his sleeve. Yes! Comeuppance! Comeuppance!

So this guy Jack is actually a salesman at an electronics store. He likes to brag to his coworkers about these conquests.

Co-workers Joey McIntyre and Wallace Shawn are not impressed.

We see the female video artist at the store as he is making a sale using his dynamic personality. She is still observing his behavior with disgust. When he gets home he notices a package at his door.

Wait a minute, am I watching Lost Highway now?

We get a good look at his apartment and his "last known photo" board and notice something a little weird.

Nice, huh? But what I'm not showing is that he has a section on this board labeled "foxes" and there are no photos under there.

He settles in to watch the mysterious tape.

Oh no, why does it look like Videodrome now? How many movies are in this?

Honestly I would be crapping my pants right now.

I mean I know it's a hot babe, but this video is still very disturbing.

Anyways, it's Monique, the artist in her underwear. She is saying her name is Barbara and that she wants to go on a date with Jack. Does he think this is from the video dating service, because I wouldn't think they just plop unmarked tapes in front of his door. I thought you had to go to a place to watch the tapes. Well despite this, she's a fox and we've established he's never been with a fox so he is up for anything.

Hmm, now it looks like Blue Velvet. I should probably stop obsessing over these movie references.

Their first date is playing video games. He plays a round and then she sets out to beat his score. She is the original gamer girl! Maybe she WAS creating a videogame from videotaping his car.

I immediately recognize the video game sounds to be from the game Centipede, however the game they show is shooting the letter E for some reason.

Maybe it's also an eye test, who knows. Defeat Enron!

She cuts the date off with the promise that they will see each other again. She invites him to her place for dinner. The building looks run down and this elevator...

I know, but now it looks like we are in an Adrian Lyne movie! Okay I'll stop.

She's cooking him dinner and he is being a total gentleman.

It's not a Hitchhiker episode without someone leering.

Monique changes in a dominatrix-type outfit under her clothes. They have dinner and retire to the bedroom. Jack immediately lets Monique tie him to the bed.

She reveals her sexy outfit and asks if he wants to play a game called Blastoff. I mean, it sounds pretty sexy right? Sounds like code for something else?

She puts on this neon metronome and says he has 1 minute to free himself or he will blastoff. Pretty cryptic.

This thing keeps booping faster and faster as Monique explains that she knows how he treats other women. Jack is upset and sounds like he wants to kill her, demanding she free him. The metronome goes even faster and then...

...his genitals explode? It looks like he dies in ball of flames. Wow what an ending!

Oh wait there's more.

I guess she had been filming this whole thing for her newest art installation. The people watching the exhibit seem confused, maybe they've never seen an episode of The Hitchhiker before.

There is an announcement showing the artist Monique is there and we get this big reveal.

It's Barbara! I mean, I knew she was the artist all along, were we only supposed to get that now?

Anyways, The Hitchhiker is leaving the art museum telling us that Jack Rhodes used the state of the art in video to get what he wanted (really, VCRs state of the art?) but when he had to do it for the sake of art , he went to pieces. Haha! Good one Page! An actual joke! I think he's enjoying Jack's suffering a little more than he should.

Let that be a lesson to everyone...pick up hitchhikers.

As I said before, this was a great episode that had it all, even the confusing ending. I mean, what actually happened to Jack and how did he explode like that? It's episodes like this that keeps me coming back for more, so until next time, be nice to people named Monique!

#hbo #thehitchiker #80stv #pagefletcher #shannon tweed #The Hitchhiker #Videodate #TV art #Gregg Henry

[marypsue]

Thank you @thelibrarybat for tagging me!

song recently played: Arcade Fire's 'Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)'. Wait. Wait, wait. This is a Canadian band, why is my track listing telling me they spelled 'Neighbourhood' without the U. Blasphemy. Blasphemy and perdition.

favorite color: Green!

movie recently watched: Eyes in the Night, a crime thriller from 1942 about a blind detective uncovering and thwarting a Nazi spy ring with the help of his guide dog, which all takes place in one night. It's a bonkers premise and that dog is the best-trained animal actor I've ever seen onscreen.

tv show recently watched: I've mostly been watching movies lately and really haven't been watching any TV shows. The last episode of something I watched was, I think, a Silent Witness? Which is basically a movie anyway.

sweet/spicy/savory: All three, but preferably savoury.

relationship status: My New Year's resolution for 2024 is 'live like the protagonist of a cheesy romcom', so. Looking?

last thing i googled: 'fontage cap' (turns out I'd misremembered the spelling and 'Fontage' is a hair salon.)

current obsessions: Songs from the soundtracks of 90s-early-aughts romcoms; nice sweaters; my new local coffeeshop and their trio of seasonal drinks; wearing skirts with leggings. Honestly, I'm kind of in between fandoms at the moment, which means that pretty much nothing I've got going on really deserves the label 'obsession' as far as I'm concerned.

ETA: Oh, I was supposed to tag people, wasn't I? Eh. If you want to do it, do it.

#chatter #hm. perhaps that last thing is a contributor towards the 'i understand why sherlock holmes did cocaine' of it all lately.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hello :) I wondered as im getting into watching Hannibal and don't know any main Hannibal blogs now, could you tell me plse of any moments that it showed Will was in love with Hannibal either in looks etc? Thank you x

Let's put it this way. The last scene has taken out versions that are labeled "kiss-alts" (on the DVD extras).

A lot of the events are shown from Will's POV or in his imagination, there's a lot he's imagining. A lot of very direct things Hannibal says in his imagination, too. Like a merged threesome scene.

Ultimately though, everything is kept subtext. There were "I love you"'s in the script, but they were cut. Season 4 should have made that jump, but we never got that.

That is why IWTV felt so very refreshing tbh, despite being done by a straight man (in contrast to Hannibal, which was obviously run by a gay one) to be so utterly without subtext. They bang in the first episode. The proverbial: Deal with it *laughs*

BUT that is not to say that Hannibal isn't heart-wrenching - it is. The end will leave you devastated, in the best way.

#Anonymous #hannibal #hannigram #will graham #hannibal lecter

[moonlady101]

OFDMD S2 SPOILERS AHEAD

Okay so since I've been gone for so long there are quite a lot of things I want to post, from ancient history to my experience of living alone. But the first thing I want to talk about is about something that happened on this website quite recently and made me really mad.

I fell in love with the tv show of our flag means death from episode one, because it's the first show that is completely and absolutely inclusive without that being the whole plot... it does not brag about it, it does not force it and it is utterly unapologetic. For me this is the right way to go because this isn't about labeling people, this isn't about explaining, this is (and I will steal my dad's words to define it) an ode to freedom and love; and that's what makes the show for me so great.

And then we get to this year, we get to the end of season two and more specifically to the response of the fandom to said ending. I swear that the first time I saw a post saying that the ending was bad I started to wonder if they had been watching a different show. But it's actually fine, I mean, I may have enjoyed every minute of the episode while someone else hated it, opinion is subjective and everyone is free to express their own.

The post below the one I have just mentioned was the one that made my blood boil, because the person who wrote it didn't just gave their opinion, they straightforward started to attack the director, the writers and the entire show just because they didn't like a character death. And I will say this one and a thousand times, no matter how invested you are in a show, how much you like it and feel a part of it; no matter how involved with the fandom the cast and crew of said show get: the plot and character ALWAYS belong to their creator. That doesn't mean that you cannot imagine alternative storylines or complain about something you didn't like, that is fine; but saying that the creator of a story had NO RIGHT to kill a character, that is not okay. It's just as ridiculous as saying that an artist painted something wrong; it's absurd and in this case it shows that this people do not respect anyone working on OFMD.

The worst of all this to me is that part of the fandom did not learn anything from the whole freedom message that this show sends; instead they choose to act like a child who didn't get the present they wanted and attack other people who have probably put a lot of effort in making something which is meant to be liked or not. I also want to add that Izzy was my favourite character this season, and I believe that his character development was fantastic; I read that his death was disrespectful; sure, that's exactly why they decide to bury him right next to their new home, that's why everyone had the most devastating expression when he died and I'm sure that's the reason why Ed says "You're my only family". I think that people need to learn to watch a show without expecting it to go the way they want. The best thing about all media is exactly that!

Just to finish this, I want to talk just for a brief second about something, because tomorrow is the fifth of November and I'm a former Supernatural fan. I did get mad with the ending of that show, but before I start to look like a hyppocrite, let me explain. I watched Supernatural at a very low point in my life and it really helped me go through some hard times by allowing me for 45 minutes to be a part of something else (that's the magic of stories after all); I did cosplays, I forced my best friend to watch it and talked to my parents about it even if they got barely anything. I did notice the show getting a bit worse on its last seasons (which is completely understandable giving its lenght), but I still watched every single episode because it wasn't actually all that bad. And then the ending came, and I had to watch in utter horror how things that made absolutely no sense to the plot happened one after the other. It wasn't because they killed Cas, it was all about how they did it. To me it felt like it didn't make sense, and, in the end, even the actor were a little mad about how their characters were treated. I felt angry because it was terrible to watch and, even though I rarely use this tag it was definitely a "bury your gays" case; I'm not entirely sure it was queerbaiting (Dean clearly loved Cas, but love comes in many ways), and to me it would have made so much more sense if Cas had stayed or had at least some more time to talk to Dean, despite they ending up together or not. That ending did make me exit the fandom, because it was disappointing and I DID NOT LIKE IT. It is entirely up to a creator to do whatever they want, but that doesn't mean that after watching a show you can't write your own ending (I want to personally thank all the fanfiction writers responsible for alternative endings and fix -it stories).

So there's that, this is my opinion about all the response to the ending of OFMD season two, if you would like to add something or have a different opinion you are absolutely free to do so in the comments, but please be respectful, as I think I have been on this post.

See you on the next one! (it will be shorter, I promise)

Ourania

#ofmd s2 #ofmd spoilers #opinion #media criticism #fanfiction #spoilers #destiel #supernatural