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buddiebeginz · 5 days

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I keep seeing posts about how us Buddie fans are just being delusional. How we need to stop reading so much into what’s being said during interviews and oh also how it’s offensive to the current ship.

First of all let’s be clear here Buck is NOT in a relationship with Tommy. I feel like this is something you Buck/Tommy shippers are failing to grasp because I constantly see posts about how Buck shouldn’t cheat on Tommy. They have kissed once and been on 2ish dates they are not a couple yet. Being exclusive requires a conversation or at least some acknowledgment by the characters and we haven’t had that yet. They still barely know each other.

Second we have always theorized about Buddie when the characters were with other love interests. We did when Buck was with Taylor. We did when Eddie was with Ana. Is it somehow different now because Tommy is a guy? Is it different now because Buck and Tommy aren't straight? Or is it just because Buck is dating the guy you want him to be with now? I don't know there's just something very strange about how some of you are responding to Buddie/Buddie shippers with all of this.

What's even crazier to me is that so many of you who are all about Buck/Tommy now used to be Buddie shippers or still say you'll be happy if Buddie happens down the line. Yet you're still attacking Buddie and our meta and speculation because it threatens the current ship you want at the moment.

No one is saying that every one of our theories and speculation is 100% correct but we have always speculated on the show and the interviews this isn't something new people are doing. I feel like the response some you have is that we're somehow seeing/hearing only what we want to and or twisting the words of the actors/etc to fit some kind narrative we have about Buddie.

It's not like we're seeing interviews where Oliver, Lou, Tim, etc are saying Buck and Tommy are going to be together 4eva and then immediately twisting that to mean oh they must be lying Buddie is so obviously happening tomorrow. We're inferring what we think might happen based on spoilers and what the actors (and Tim) have said combined with what we hope might happen. We know not everything we think will happen will. We had a ton of theories on 7x04 and 7x05 (many of which turned out to not be true) and despite what some of you think we didn't all collectively lose our shit because they didn't come true.

You can dislike Buddie and us all you want and can disagree with us or our theories all you want but these posts talking about how we're just seeing what we want and setting ourselves up for disappointment come across as hypocritical (considering most of you used to be Buddie shippers) and patronizing. We don't need or want you to save us from our fandom experience. If we're disappointed by the storyline that's our business but right now we're having fun with where things in the show are and are going.

---

I also really don't like how some of you are trashing Buddie to prop up Buck/Tommy. Basically saying that because Buck and Eddie's feelings haven't been verbally confirmed on screen (like in an I'm in love with you kind of way) that we're making it into something it's not and it's not fair to Buck/Tommy because they are canon.

Buddie isn't in a romantic relationship at the moment but they have loved and supported one another and always been been more than friends since basically the beginning. Even Oliver just confirmed that Buck was attracted to Eddie from the first scene. And no attraction alone doesn't equal love but if you can look at the six seasons of history shared by these two characters and only see two bros being the bestest friends you really need to take some media literacy.

I feel like some of you don't understand that not every part of a fictional story is spelled out super literally nor should it be. We know how deep Buck and Eddie's love goes because we can infer that based on their scenes. On all the ways they are there for one another, on how they treat each other, on how their relationship differs from the other friendships on the show. On all the things they say and don't say to one another. A big reason we want to see them in a canon romantic relationship is because of how clear the show has already made it that these two men love each other.

As for Tommy even though I'm not a multishipper I get Tommy's significance in the storyline. I'm also more thankful than I can put into words that Oliver and the show have decided to do Buck's bi awakening storyline epecially considering I'm bi myself. Buck being bi and his journey is incredibly important all on it's own but Buddie being canon is equally as important not because we need to see these guys together but because of what they represent. We have never had a slow burn same sex love story like this and the way it would change media forever if Buddie were to be canon cannot be understated.

#buddie #911!

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inklore · 11 months

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—🍊. 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐒 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐀𝐔'𝐒 𝐎𝐔𝐓

this is not a writing challenge, this is just a list of summer au's that have been collecting dust in my google docs that i'm both sick of looking at, and also feel like for those who also really enjoy writing summery fics, could always use more inspiration or ideas for au's or scenario's (even if it's just smutty or fluffy blurbs).

please make note that anyone can use these for any fandom or character. it's literally for everyone, for whatever ship, gender, or verse. no one owns au's and everyone makes them their own and writes differently. so please do with the content below as you wish!!

you don't gotta tag me if you use one but would i love to read your beautiful work? hell yeah so feel free to if ya feel like it.

i separated each into categories + some might have added context or prompts because i have zero self control and like to be extra and add ideas onto things lmao.

hopefully someone finds these fun and helpful, happy writing my loves <3

LOCATION.

beach

ocean

ice cream parlor

lake town

ranch

summer camp

summer school

island

boat

fishing town

resort

the woods

national park

public pool

destination wedding

renaissance fair

lake house

bar

theme park

capecod

italy

winery / vinyards

country club

cruise ship

concert

RELATIONSHIP BASED.

brothers best friend ('unfortunately' spending the summer with your family)

neighbors au

exes back for the summer

bodyguard au (character a has to follow around reader whose some princess/rich girl on a vacation, bonus points if she's supposed to be on lockdown but refuses to stay at the hotel, even more bonus points if her parents sent her on this vacation as a rehabilitation for her bad habits)

best friends dad (you're spending the summer with your bestie and god her dads hot as hell)

mermaid x human

frat boy x good girl (last minute studying together before summer break, or maybe the frat is throwing a big grad party and reader decides to let loose for the first time in forever)

frat boy x sorority girl (it's giving rich hoes who can't stand each other who get caught doing something and have to do community service with each other alllll summerrrrr long, can you think of anything worse?!)

sitcom stars (they're both on some summer love show but fall for each other instead, or you're two celebs supposed to be fake dating on some mtv drama show in palm springs but you actually fall for each other)

park ranger x someone who thought going camping alone would be fun but oh shit i know nothing about the wilderness au

ex-best friends ex (a summer love but put revenge and 'we're only fucking because this friend screwed me over and it'll really show them' au anyone??)

lifeguard x parent au (or you saved my life let me repay you wink wink)

dads best friend

house sitter x house owner (or neighbor, or family member who came home early and wtf are you doing here and who are you?? or even the old i asked the neighbor to watch our house but also my wife wink wink)

babysitter who tags along on vacation with the family au

fake dating (for the summer)

friends to lovers was made for summer au's!!!

superhero x vigilante (nightly meet ups to keep the streets safe)

friends with benefits but only for the summer au

painter x muse

body found on beach x person who found them (+ the added bonus of the two of them working together to figure out wtf happened and how they got there)

sugar baby x sugar whathaveyou (free vacation? hell yeah)

roommates (renting a room for summer what could go wrong)

tour guide / local x tourist

camp counselor x parent of camper

friend group on a drama filled vacay au

the only single people at this resort for couples au

sad housewife x pool boy

DARK THEMED.

cult au

slasher au

hitchhiking gone wrong (or right)

monster au (summer is the perfect time to go exploring for the monster in the woods or the lake, ocean even, obviously)

haunted house au

ghost hunting au

hunter x prey (bonus points if they don't know they're being hunted until it's too late)

safe house au (gone wrong)

kidnapping au (it's giving 365 days but less shitty ok)

stranded au (on an island, in a creepy town, etc)

bestie's trip gone wrong au (the innocent looking guys at the pool who are gorgeous are actually super shitty and deadly omg, or the couple in the hotel room next to us are insane wow, or someone is killing us off...but it's someone within the friend group)

stuck in an abandoned amusement park au

INSPIRED BY.

grease au

dirty dancing au

x au (70s-80s pornstars au + added slasher element if ya wanna make it dark)

daisy jones & the six / rocker au (summer tour anyone?)

the white lotus (cheating au?? a couple hoping a vacation will fix their marriage, maybe even the whole shitty husband leaves you there and you fall for one of the resort workers)

50 first dates au (but make it 'i bet i can make you fall in love with me by the end of summer)

jurassic park au

i know what you did last summer au

friday the 13th au

the final girls au (aka you end up in your favorite movie and have to find your way out with a side of 'oh shit there's my fav character what if i stayed and made them fall in love with me instead', or go full final girls au and you're stuck in a cult horror movie and have to survive the night to get out of it)

outer banks / goonies au

schitt's creek au

romeo and juliet (1996) au

mama mia au (the prequeal tho aka boning a bunch of people and omg i'm pregnant who is the baby daddy tho??)

overboard au

OCCUPATIONS.

naturalist

farmers market vender

dog walker / dog sitter

dive bar singer

surfer

swim instructor

vet

journalist

camp counselor

author

cowboy

undercover pi

contractor

car wash attendant

lifeguard

gardener / landscaper

summer intern

tour guide

tutor

nanny

theme park owner

bartender

house sitter

summer farmhand

golf course caddy

sign-holder

movie theatre worker

uber driver

wedding photographer

hotel receptionist

RANDOM.

heatwave (how ever will we stay cool?)

shipwreck / stranded on an island au

rainstorm / hurricane au (stuck inside oh no what will we do??)

love triangle that shit

matchmaking au

love letters in a bottle au

drunken karaoke

kissing in the rain is top tier

workaholic letting loose au

(illegal) car racing au

road trip au

#feel free to add to this list if you wish #writing prompts #writer resources #fic au's #prompts #fic resources #au's #writing reference #fic help #resources !

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sheeple · 9 months

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Miracles don't exist | 15: Like hot coals

Genre(s): Riddle!reader / Slytherin!reader / kinda slowburn / little happy moments Fandom(s): Harry Potter Pairing(s): Theodore Nott x Reader / Harry Potter x Riddle!reader Summary: Being the Dark Lord's daughter and raised under the strict supervision of the Malfoy's is no easy life. Especially if you start crushing on your father's arch-nemesis, Harry Potter. And that while being engaged to one of his follower’s sons. Warning(s): Smooching / reader is one angsty bitch who loves self-punishment [Masterlist] [Mini masterlist] [Playlist]

The days grow shorter and the temperature drops significantly. And before you know you have to go back home for Christmas. You've been dreading the moment and you look like shit. The DA lessons are also not going in your favour.

As Harry dismisses the class, his eyes meet yours and you understand that he's asking you to stay behind. You move towards the mirror and study the group picture of the Order. They were all so young. And Voldemort killed most of them. Or driven them insane.

Once everybody cleared out of the Room of Requirement, having said their goodbyes and Christmas well wishes, it's only Harry and you. He goes to stand next to you. You see in the reflection that he wants to touch you and comfort you in some way or another. But instead, he drops his hand back to his side.

Turning around, you swallow. "I'm scared to go back, Harry. He's at the Malfoy Manor." It comes out as a hiss, dangerously teetering close to Parsletongue. "And they will be there, revelling in their... doings and I-"

Your breath hitches in your throat as the first tears start to fall. The ones you've been holding back for so long but couldn't find a moment to let go.

Harry grabs your hands, giving them a squeeze. He reaches and wipes away a tear from your cheek, his hand lingering on your cheek. He knows you mean Voldemort. But you yourself are not sure if you only mean Voldemort, or also Theodore.

In your heartbreak and loneliness, you lean into Harry's touch. You haven't let anyone touch you like that since the day you received the Mark. You always felt like he was lingering in the back of your mind.

But Harry... He's like you- almost. He also bears a mark that Voldemort left behind on his soul. He's already on the Dark Lord's kill list, so he wouldn't be in more danger with your involvement.

Your touch starved-ness mistakes Harry as a sign he has been looking for, and he presses his lips against yours. The kiss is first soft and unsure. But as Harry cups the back of your head, his finger lacing your hair, the kiss starts to be more serious. It actually forms into a make-out session.

More tears start to pool out of your eyes as you feel guilty towards Theodore. He obviously liked you, and you still like him. But it feels oh so good to have your cheeks cradled like that by Harry. To have someone touch you tenderly without ulterior motives. Your skin aches for that kind of contact. So, selfishly, you cherish every moment of it.

Your hands fist the back of his sweater when the two of you part. As you lean your forehead against him, you close your eyes. His breath hits your face in soft puffs.

"Come with me to Grimmault for Christmas. And summer break. You'll be safe there. And Sirius would love to see you again." A short laugh escapes him. "He's sort of sad that he can't send you any more letters."

You smile sadly. "I can't, Harry. You know the consequences will be too severe if I don't show up." You've already missed Christmas last year, so there is no way your aunt and uncle will let you not attend this year. Especially now that Voldemort is residing in the mansion.

He hums and wants to give your lips another peck, but you stop him. The confused look on his face saddens you.

"We can't", you whisper, "we're supposed to be opposites- enemies."

"You being here means that there is no way you could ever be my enemy."

Oh, Harry... You don't know how terribly wrong you are.

You take a step back and stare at the ground. You wipe away your tears harshly with the palm of your hand. "I'm sorry, I really am. But I'm not the type of girl you need, Harry." You lean one last time closer and give him a lingering kiss on the cheek. "Have a nice Christmas. See you next year."

And with that whisper, you leave the Room of Requirement. Guilt, heartbreak, anger, and anguish swirl through you. And that all the while the Mark on your arm burns like hot coals.

Cold water splashes against your face, smudging your makeup. Staring yourself down in the mirror above the sink, you wipe away the water and mascara that runs down your face.

You fix the sleeves of your floor-length gown. One good thing about winter is that nobody questions why you have a dress with long sleeves. Even though you will be in a room with mostly Death Eaters, you're not too keen on showing off the Mark.

Checking the time, you rush towards the ballroom and stand next to your father. You fix a stray hair before people file in, making their way over to the two of you and bowing to the Dark Lord.

An enchanted orchestra starts to play the first notes of a slow song and the annual Malfoy Christmas ball has officially started. Normally you're allowed to roam around the ballroom, mingle with the guests and pick something to eat before disappearing into the library and spending the rest of the evening there.

But now you're expected to stand next to Voldemort. Smile and nod whenever you're needed to and overall keep quiet. Silent, agreeable, and well-behaved. Those are the words your uncle told you with a hiss before you were let go to get ready.

You mostly zoned out of the conversations, the anxious energy of the guests starting to get on your nerves. The only time when the guests speak to you is when they ask if you are officially engaged. After all, you're almost at pure-blood marrying age.

At one point you have enough of it all, and you turn towards your father. "May I be excused, my Lord?"

He loftily waves you away and you make your way over to the drinks table. Your feet are killing you from standing around and you are hungry as a hippogriff.

Making sure you stay in sight of your father, you move towards the table with hors d'oeuvres. You feel a presence behind you and turn around. Mr Nott looks at you with a wide smile. Behind him stands Theodore, his eyes boring into your own.

"Miss Black — or I should say Riddle — you look very pretty." The compliment gives you the ick but you smile politely. "My son would be honoured to take you to dance."

The elder man pushes Theodore towards you. He holds out his hand for you to take. You make eye contact with Voldemort. And after the faintest of nods, you take Theodore's hand. He leads you towards the middle of the dance floor and a waltz starts to play.

Neither of you says something until the dance is almost done. You anxiously fiddle with your fingers from the hand that lays on Theodore's shoulder.

"You really do look beautiful."

Your eyes flicker towards his – which are already trained on you. "Thank you", you whisper, a faint smile growing on your face.

As Theodore twirls you around, he catches a glimpse of Voldemort. "So, Riddle huh?"

Your stomach knots together at the last name and you nod. "Yeah... I prefer Black though. Feels less... evil?"

"Is that also the reason you've been ignoring me all school year?" Theodore's voice and face is void of all emotions, cold and indifferent.

It feels like he has driven a knife through your heart. You can handle hurt. You can handle anger. But cold? The indifference hurts the most. Like he doesn't care about you anymore.

"I just wanted to protect you." Your voice cracks as it comes out in a whisper.

The hold on your hand and middle tighten and his eyes narrow. "Protect me? From what? The Dark Lord? For your information, Riddle, I've grown up with Death Eaters."

You close your eyes, willing away your tears. You can't cry now. It will look pitiful and weak, and the Heir of Voldemort can't look weak. "I- I know, Theodore. I don't want him to hurt you when I am not as obedient as he wants."

"That sounds like a you problem, Riddle." Theodore looks like he's ready to pounce.

But before he can do any more damage, Uncle Lucius raises his glass and taps his wand to it. The guests fall silent and turn towards the white-haired man.

"Esteemed guests, I would like to proudly announce the official engagement of the Dark Lord's heir, (Y/n) Riddle and Theodore Nott. May the line of Salazar Slytherin reign long!"

Taglist (bold means I couldn’t tag you): @the0doreslover @lqndkxlmqma @st4rrry @choppedpartymuffinwinner @ledtasso @literallyobessed @lestat-whore @vanishingcherry @harrysnovia @pietrobae @ireallywannasleep127 @yeolsbubbles @fruityfrog505 @fluffybunnyu @theroyalmanatee @shinrjj

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lurksunderthebed · 6 months

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Ghoap Analysis/Meta (2.1)

The Evolution of GhostSoap Redux

Recontextualising mwii(22) Ghost and Soap dialogue and what it could mean.

(Part 2.1/?)

BEWARE SPOILERS TO MWIII(23)!!!

As I said in part 1,

I, and arguably most of fandom had theorised that "Kill or Capture" was the first mission that Soap and Ghost ever had together. And we weren't quite right, but we weren't completely wrong either.

With Flashpoint, it's obvious now, that was not quite true. It even suggests in it that Ghost and Soap had worked together prior to even that, as there was no formal introduction between the two.

This dramatically changes how we can read their dialogue in mwii(22)

So let's go into the biggest bits of mwii(22).

Please also check the alt text.

Kill or Capture

"Kill or Capture" is the first mission players see Ghost and Soap together. Lets look into the first conversation.

Shepherd: (over radio) You're wheels-up in five.

Ghost: Roger.

Shepherd: Marines are loading in now. You and the Sergeant are leading the way on this.

A truck drives up and off-loads the Marines and Sergeant Johnny "Soap" MacTavish.

Ghost: The Sergeant?

Soap walks up to Ghost, brimming with enthusiasm.

Soap: Let's get ourselves a win, yeah, L.T.? Save ya a seat, sir...

Soap fist-bumps Ghost's shoulder and walks toward the plane.

Ghost: Fucking hell...

Shepherd: Ghost- you copy?

Ghost: Yes, sir.

Shepherd: Any issues?

Ghost: Negative, sir. Out here.

As I have stated previously, "Flashpoint" proves that Ghost and Soap have worked together 3 years ago prior to "kill or capture".

When I first watched this scene I assumed that Ghost was unhappy to be tacked on with a random sergeant by Shepherd.

Obviously this was wrong.

Ghost mentally and physically rolls his eyes here. If he's unhappy with a FNG/rando this makes perfect sense. Even the next dialogue suggests it, as he goads Soap into "keeping up" with him.

Ghost: Bravo Team offloads here. Alpha Team stays onboard to land downrange. Both teams meet in the middle. Remember, we want Hassan alive, but this is capture or kill.

Bravo Team stands up, including Soap who trades fist-bumps with a fellow Marine and joins Ghost.

Ghost: Keep up, Soap.

But this can't be true with "Flashpoint". Ghost knows Soap is at least competent from that mission in '19. He saw Soap handle himself out of a tricky situation. Ghost even calls out Soap for stealing one of his kills. The sergeant has Price to vouch for him as well.

So the question remains. Why is Ghost peeved at Soap joining him?

There's a variety of answers here, I said in part 1 that it might be that Soap had annoyed him in a limited capability over coms. There definitely have been times where Ghost tells Soap to cut the chatter in 2022. That could be a possibility.

If "Flashpoint" was Soap and Ghost's first mission together Ghost could also have remembered when Soap lost his head and threatened to kill Makarov in the heli. Only to have Price pull Soap back at the last moment.

He could be unhappy to be saddled with a known hot head. Add with the chatterbox issue and yeah, I could see Ghost making Soap prove he can follow orders. The next dialogue proves it as well.

Ghost: Alpha, how copy...?

Alpha 0-2: Bravo- Alpha is immobile. Multiple critical! Oh, shit-! We're taking effective fire!

Ghost: Alpha, we're moving to building 1. Hold tight!

Soap: Ghost, we need to secure that crash site now.

Ghost: First, we clear for Hassan, that takes the heat off Alpha. Then, we secure the crash site. Clear?

Soap: Roger that.

Hard to show, but in game, there was a definite emphasis in the clear. Ghost expects Soap to not follow him. Soap proves him wrong.

This also supports my theory that Soap had never worked directly under Ghost in those 3 years. If he did, then Ghost wouldn't be so uncertain about Soap; they would have already done this whole circus already. Ghost wouldn't have to goad him, and he def wouldn't need to emphasize so hard on the matter either.

Which also implies that their relationship was non existent up to that point. At most they were coworkers coexisting. Ghost would've considered Soap to have been an annoying hot head while Soap thought of him as a living legend (as we find out later in mwii (22) from his praises to Ghost).

This is a departure from the popular idea of Soap being "The Fucking New Guy" that has to prove himself competent. Ghost already knows he vaguely is. He's seen it for himself. Ghost just doesn't like Soap 🤣🤣🤣.

It's also supported in our timeline: Soap was already part of 141 by 2020 in Cod Warzone. Considering that Ghost and Soap have worked together previously in '19, it would be strange to not have them working on some missions together. Maybe not directly, but in the same mission roster. Ghost even sees Soap fight again in Dec 2020 when Price and co go and backup Soap in Verdansk.

Another possibility to consider would be that ghost didn't want to have any sort of partner/person he was responsible for.

As in the previous mission "Strike", and in cod warzone Mar 2020, we see Ghost going on solo missions. He seems to prefer it, infiltrating and disappearing like his namesake.

Perhaps having a subordinate is something he actively hates.

WHICH MAKES MWIII(23) MORE DELICIOUS. That means we see Ghost go from "I don't want a partner ever, especially not someone like this dumbass(4 years ago)" to asking Soap if he wanted to go on a mission with him and being paired with him always in mwiii(23). Until he isn't.

But more on that in part 3.

Lets go to the next mission.

Cartel Protection

Alejandro looks at Ghost.

Alejandro: Lieutenant... Laswell says they call you Ghost.

Soap: Actually, I believe he prefers to be—

Ghost: That'll do.

When I first watched the introduction of Ghost and Soap to Alejandro and Rudy, I always found this conversation to be a bit jarring.

How would Soap know anything of Ghost? They were just introduced. Given the later implication of Ghost being some sort of legend, it's possible there was a different nickname hovering around. Or more embarrassingly, ghost preferred to go around being called "The Ghost" like how Soap says it to Rudy in "Prison Break".

With new context, perhaps there's more credence to a different name that was used during both of their SAS days working missions together. Perhaps there was a name that Price used instead? We'll never know. But it does set the tone of their relationship.

There's a comfortableness of Soap around Ghost. It's obvious in how Soap is able to joke around with Ghost despite his very imposing appearance. I assumed at the time it was down to Soap's fearlessness and his brightness. Having a spooky lieutenant wasn't gonna stop him from being his usual snarky excitable self.

Now I'm thinking more on Soap being comfortable, not only because of his character, but because he's worked with Ghost before. The fistbump and smile when Soap first sees Ghost in "Kill or Capture" supports it. There's an ease there (but also an unfamiliarness in their dialogue to each other in later missions) that speaks of a prior relationship. One that appears to be of (1) barely tolerant grump and (1) overly happy sunshine child that talks way too much.

This exchange seems to be a common occurrence and Soap already has a sense when jokes go too far (which would entail Ghost cutting Soap off with a gruff "That'll do" or his unamused dead stare).

We see this with this next bit:

Rodolfo looks at Ghost through his rearview mirror.

Rodolfo: With your mask, you will fit in well here, Ghost.

Soap visibly tries to tell Rudy to stop joking with a classic 'cut it out' gesture and very wide eyes.

Alejandro: Ay, calmada... (Hey, easy...)

Again, this makes much more sense now that we know Soap and Ghost have worked together before. How many times has this happen with Soap in Rudy's shoes in the past 3 years? Taking one joke too far and resulting with a stony grim faced lieutenant that is visibly done with him? It's a wild thought.

What's even wilder is that we see this change in the next few days.

From Ghost cutting Soap off here in "Cartel Protection" to encouraging banter and making jokes to him in "Alone". But its surprisingly not "Alone" that was the turning point. It was THE definitive mission yes, but it's actually the mission, "El Sin Nombre", that has Ghost changing his mind about Soap.

Why?

Lets see.

El Sin Nombre

Graves: Correcto. Get one of us inside, find the boss... roll him up.

Soap: I'll do it.

Alejandro: You go in there, and they'll kill you, hermano.

Soap: I'll take my chances. We came here to stop a missile, let's stop it. I'll offer intel for a meet with Sin Nombre. And if he's there, we pounce.

Alejandro: Órale. Tienes huevos, cabron. (Hell yeah- you've got balls, you son of a bitch.) You make it in, you'll need eyes and ears. I'll go too.

Ghost: I'll take overwatch. Shadow circles the target in a helo.

This is Soap's character defining moment. Here we see the crux of him: a fearless man, reckless and fiery. One crazy enough to brave getting purposely caught and taken for interrogation by cartel members.

But its not only us viewers who see this. It's also Ghost as well. We've already established that Ghost has a bare bones relationship with Soap. He'll work together with him, even compliment him on his skill while on missions, but anything closer than that-Ghost is noticeably cold.

Ghost doesn't tolerate Soap's jokes in or outside of missions, AND he most definitely doesn't joke back to him ever.

However, this moment impresses Ghost and we see him observing Soap while he gets himself purposely caught here:

Ghost spots Soap approaching the guards with his hands up in the air. The guards raise their weapons and fire warning shots on the ground in front of Soap, who complies with their orders.

Ghost: Visual on Soap.

Graves: Moment o' truth...

The guards force Soap to his knees.

Alejandro: They see him?

Ghost: They do now...

Ghost watches as the guards communicate on their radio with their guns pointed at Soap's head. They throw a black bag over Soap's head, haul him up to his feet, and perform a body search for weapons.

Ghost: They're taking him in.

Graves: Kid's got sand.

The guards escort Soap through the front gate.

Alejandro: I hope he makes it...

This is Ghost's defining moment to his relationship with Soap. Ghost is on overwatch. Probably done this a million times over. But this time it's different.

Who is this annoying man that would volunteer for something not even Ghost would dare do?

To leave himself exposed, in the hands of cartel members–tortured/killed if he says the wrong things. Ghost finds himself intrigued, invested for the first time in a long time. He wants Soap to succeed and not get killed. He cares.

And this is explicitly shown here. In this mission there's several ways to complete it. One of these options involve Ghost's help:

(If Soap heads outside the villa where Ghost can spot him...)

Ghost: Got a visual on you, Johnny. There's a trellis outside you can take to the roof.

Soap: What about Diego's keycard?

Ghost: Your call.

Ghost provides Soap with some hints.

Ghost: The AC units could get you on top of the garage. There's a ledge above you, Johnny.

Alejandro: Could help you get around that guard.

(If Soap climbs up the trellis to the roof...)

Soap: Moving to the roof.

Alejandro: Copy that! I'll be right behind you!

Soap reaches the roof and spots the guards.

Ghost: Multiple cartel up there. We'll have to clear it.

(If he kills the guards with Ghosts's help...)

Ghost: Roof's clear.

Soap proceeds further.

Ghost: Penthouse is in the north corner. Check the penthouse. I'll cover you.; El Sin Nombre is in the penthouse. North corner.

This is the very first time we see Ghost use the name Johnny. An important moment, because this is where everything starts rolling. Nicknames are a signifier of care. Soap isn't just another sergeant to Ghost anymore. He's no longer, Mactavish, Sergeant, Soap. He's more. He's Johnny.

Names have power. There's something to be said that by the act of naming something you bond with it— you make it yours. Nicknames are special to Ghost. And it's something we see hold true in mwii(23) as well. But that's for later.

Just let it sink in that it only took 5 days for Ghost to go from rolling his eyes and being done with Soap to giving the man a nickname. 5 days out of the 3 years we know have existed between them.

The next possible time we see Ghost use Johnny, it's in a heightened moment in the next mission "Dark Water". This event is non canon but supports my argument.*

If you stall in stopping the missile launch, Ghost will shout out Johnny to Soap. It's an adrenaline high moment and a critical point of life and death.

Now why does this matter ?

It matters because it proves that Ghost has only started using the nickname since "El Sin Nombre". There's a counter argument to be had that since Soap has known Ghost for so long, the nickname could have existed between them for x amount of time. Ghost could be upset at having Soap be his sergeant because he didn't want someone he cares for under his responsibility. Soap and Ghost have a prior relationship to mwii(22). What exactly happened between Apr '19 to Oct '22 is undefined.

But this is proven very unlikely because now we can tell that at this point of their relationship, Ghost only uses the name Johnny in moments of heightened emotion.

The two Johnnys we got in "El Sin Nombre" had Ghost using it the moment he sighted Soap alive. At the time, Ghost was unsure if Soap was still breathing. Seeing him near/on the roof was a moment of high stress/emotion.

What's another moment of high stress?

Jumping off a cliff in "Cartel Protection" just a couple days earlier.

If Ghost had already cared about Soap then, it's highly unlikely a Johnny wouldn't escape his lips at that moment.

Alejandro, Rudy, Ghost and Soap were on the run from the Mexican army. Pinned down and nowhere else to go but a free dive at least 50 m down off a random cliff and noone but Ale/Rudy to trust in (men they had just met prior that day). I don't see Ghost not shouting Johnny at that point. Tellingly, we see Ghost use the name Soap instead when yelling at the sergeant to jump.

I could be completely wrong about this, but personally, I don't see Ghost as able to stop himself from using nicknames.

As we find out through "Alone", Ghost is a massive hypocrite. There's much he tells Soap to do but doesn't actually follow himself. As a result there are three things to pay attention to when discerning his motivations: His nicknames, his stares and his actions.

This is actually seen in the pivotal mission "Alone" and later in "Prison Break".

It's the tonal and plot shift in the game. From then on their relationship isn't Ghost and random sergeant like in "Flashpoint" in 2019. It's not even Ghost and (the annoying sergeant) Soap, at the start of the game in "Kill or Capture".

They become SoapAndGhost against the world. Or rather, JohnnyAndGhost.

And even more rare: JohnnyAndSimon.

But I will split the post off here.

On to part 2.2 (the other half of mwii)—when I get there. The Alone segment is promising to be very long since it's the bulk of all Ghoap interactions. It will be awhile till I get there 😔.

Any questions, comments, arguments on the discussion, feel free to buzz me on it. I always did feel that having an opposite opinion strengthens your own arguments.

Can I call myself a Ghostsoap scholar now? I will try to answer any questions to my best ability.

#ghostsoap #cod mw3 #cod mwiii #john soap mactavish #simon ghost riley #soapghost #ghost x soap #simon riley #call of duty #soap x ghost #soap mactavish #cod mwii #cod mw2 #call of duty modern warfare #meta

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xerith-42 · 3 months

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Stop blaming characters for bad writers

Seriously, stop fucking doing this. While this is a post that could certainly be applicable to MANY fandoms, I'm mainly directing this whole rant at my target audience which is mentally ill minecraft obsessed freaks.

If a character is written badly, gets badly fumbled by the creator, or has the ball dropped in regards to their arc in some way, a lot of people will blame the character, as if they're a real conscious person making these decisions. When they aren't. They're a block man literally being controlled by two people who just aren't very good writers and one or both of them are incredibly sexist, kind of racist, ableist, and just bad writers in general.

Yeah, Laurance does some pretty shitty things through out Season 2 of MCD, actively crossing lines he wouldn't have previously crossed. We as fans can cope by saying something something calling, or just saying Laurance is a bad abusive person, but the reality is that the writers wanted to force the series to fit a specific vision and as a result were willing to do anything to get the series to that point. In order to make Aaron the most favorable suitor for Aphmau, her previous suitors need to be out of the picture, or clearly inferior options.

Garroth suffered the out of the picture, being mostly absent outside of a few cutscenes here and there until episode 81 of season 2, but episode 81 is the culmination of the writers goals to make Aarmau happen. By the time Garroth has returned to the series, the damage has already been done. He's not getting the life he wants. And Laurance is written out of the picture as well, but only after being shown to be inferior because Jesson were pushing an agenda.

Laurance didn't deteriorate as a person due to neglect of his physical and mental well being after a severely traumatic experience. He deteriorated as a character because the writers stopped giving as much of a shit about him and instead were using the series as self indulgent fanfiction of alternate versions of themselves. That's not Laurance's fault.

And this applies to any character who was completely fumbled in MyStreet due to this similar focus on wish fulfillment from the writers. Jess has stated that the relationship between Aphmau and Aaron in Phoenix Drop High is reflective of her relationship with Jason, we all know this. This means that any characters who come off as total fucking creeps in that series (namely Gene), are not actually acting on the whims of their own autonomy or desires as characters. They are acting in service of telling a predetermined story that they are retroactively being added into for author fulfillment.

In this regard I fully support fandom cope and say that you should rewrite your little guys to your hearts content. But if you're going to criticize these characters for their actions, don't criticize them. They didn't do anything wrong. All characters are just puppets in service of the story or themes a writer is trying to push. If a character acts in an objectively terrible way, especially a way that isn't in line with their previous characterizations, that is a failing of the writers, not the character.

And I feel like largely a lot of us can and frequently do this. We're actively criticizing Jesson for being terrible low-key bigoted writers all the god damn time, it's like half of the content here. But when we get into character discourse I feel like some people cling onto bad actions of the canon too closely and I've seen more than a few posts presume some pretty terrible interpretations of characters based on these actions. Obviously Laurance is a character I and a lot of others are fixated on so a lot of discourse revolves around him, and it was seeing some... interesting takes on him that prompted me to start writing this post.

But this happens to everyone. Quite personally based on the character I was shown in MyStreet, it feels really weird that Garroth would make an insensitive comment about his brother's weight. Yeah siblings poke fun at each other and often cross lines, but if that was something Zane was seriously insecure about (which it seems like he might be) then it does make Garroth come off as a really insensitive brother, which just doesn't gel with how hard he tries to bond with Zane despite their tense relationship. And I don't think Garroth should be criticized for making those comments.

Whoever wrote those lines (Jess and/or Jason) should be criticized for writing a scene where a character is mocked by their older sibling over a physical insecurity even if said sibling would not normally do that. It's not Travis' fault that Jesson never decided to give him more of a character beyond "funny pervy guy" that's not funny in every anime they've watched until Season 5 of MyStreet. It's unfair to try and say Travis should be scrutinized for his borderline sexual harassment of some characters when it's not his fault that happened, he was written by writers who don't think this sort of behavior isn't all that bad if they make it out for comedy and punch him in the face.

And god dammit it's not Laurance's fault that his jealousy became the most prevalent emotion he felt. Laurance has always been a character to give into his vices and yet fight against them at the same time, it's what makes him compelling. If they were going to pull on those vices in order to make him a less appealing love interest, he never had a chance to really be his own character after a certain point. Because at a certain point in Season 2, Jesson stopped caring about the character they had been writing for over a hundred episodes at that point. They just wanted to canonize their self insert ship and were willing to do anything to get it.

Laurance isn't an abusive angry person who would have killed Aphmau if they got together. He's a flawed character being handled by incredibly flawed writers who are prone to making some of the worst decisions you have ever seen a creator make in regards to their character writing. He was caught in the crossfire of the adoration he received from a very dedicated fanbase, and the creator who would rather pretend he and his previous arc didn't exist for the sake of her fun. It's not Laurance's fault his arc was stilted, jerked around, and ultimately ended with him completely face planting. And yet still reliably dragging his bloodied body up at just the slightest glimmer of hope (Void Paradox).

It's deeply poetic and tragic that I can describe his character in universe and in the meta-textual sense that way, but we should never blame Laurance, or Aaron, or any other characters for things being like this.

They didn't write the show. Jess and Jason did.

#minecraft diaries #text post #aphblr #aphverse #laurance zvahl #garroth ro'meave #minecraft diaries laurance #mystreet #mystreet garroth #mystreet travis #bad writing #fandom discourse #fandom discussion #character discussion #character discourse

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unhingedlesbear · 2 days

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Okay fuck it yeah I'm making the post idc abt backlash. First of all the hidden agenda fandom doesn't exist anymore so whos even gonna have an issue. But if you do feel called out um. Maybe thats ur problem idk bc I'm not aiming at anyone in particular here.

Anyway long ass ramble abt the tiny dead Hidden Agenda fandom below the cut

This is mainly something I noticed looking through the very limited amount of Hidden Agenda fics on ao3, but it's VERY obvious on there. The vast majority of fics on there are centered on Adam and Finn, which I can understand more since they have an interesting backstory and are well written characters, sure. But then you look at the others and the other characters that are centered are... Riggs and Calvary?

In the actual game ofc Becky and Felicity are the main characters. Both of them not only are pretty objectively interesting characters on their own, and even more so together. On top of this they have the most shipping potential of any two characters in that game, it's literally basically canon, it's not even subtext atp it's literally just text. NO other two characters have that amount of chemistry in the game, and yet there is a noticeable lack of gravey fics in that tag. And I'll stress again bc I know how defensive people got last time I made this kind of observation, I'm not pointing fingers or calling anyone misogynistic/racist/homophobic BUT. but. When the two mcs are women, one of which is poc, and they're implied to be lesbians, and they get sidelined by the fandom despite being the focuses of the game... it's kinda hard not to assume there's some kind of bias there.

And on another point, it's similar when it comes to supporting characters too. In a way I'm disappointed but absolutely not surprised that Adam/Finn is prioritized in fan works over Becky/Felicity, but when characters like Riggs and Calvary are also given more attention than them it becomes way more suspicious to me. Riggs is a fine character, I like him enough and I can see why others might like him more, but wbk he doesn't really have all that much relevance. Calvary is even more confusing bc he basically JUST exists to be a creepy misogynistic asshole and as unlikeable as possible. Thankfully I haven't seen him getting a lot of attention but the fact that I've seen him getting any that isn't entirely negative is... hm...

Now there ARE in fact male characters that can be both relevant and likeable: Tom and Karl. (I talk shit abt Karl bc it's a joke I started with friends, I'm gonna drop that for this post obv bc we're being fr here) these two are pretty obviously more relevant than Riggs or Calvary, they're literally Becky's partners (Tom can even replace Riggs' entire role lmao, and if he's replaced himself it's by Karl) and I'd say they're also both likeable characters on their own too. And yet I'm pretty sure I found maybe one??? fic with them in it? Probably should have mentioned this earlier but yeah, they're both poc.

So like... I feel like it all comes down to what Becky/Felicity/Tom/Karl have in common and then what Adam/Finn/Riggs/Calvary have in common. It strikes me as questionable. But like maybe I'm just an annoying snowflake though idk🤷‍♀️ /s

This turned into more of a ramble than anything and I'm aware i'm also yelling into a void bc I'm posting entirely for a dead fandom that barely existed to begin with, but tbh this stuff applies to most if not all larger fandoms as well, i'm just looking at it from what I've seen in the remnants of the HA fandom. Again I am not attacking anyone here, I am making observations. If you're like mad or something I'm just gonna assume you didn't even read the whole post. Yes ur allowed to like characters, but I am also allowed to address what I've noticed about what characters seem to be more liked than others.

#uh oh #if I get burned at the stake for this one too then I don't even know atp #hopefully I won't be though bc not many people gaf abt Hidden Agenda #Hidden agenda smg #🏃‍♀️

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jadelynlace · 6 months

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Obviously reader can hold her own. She's a tough cookie. But I'm curious, what's an instance where Ink Drinker Ivar has stepped in and been protective of her?

Oh I fucking l love this.

So, we know Ivar has had his little run ins with readers ex-boyfriend. Even going as far as to tackle him to the ground.

And now don't get me wrong, Ivar loves to watch you in your glory. You're strong, you're confident, you take no shit. You can do nearly as many squat thrusts as he can, all while wearing your turn out gear.

But sometimes, sometimes, Ivar needs to be the protector. Much like he likes to bask in those domestic vibes when you two are cooking dinner together, Ivar likes to bask in the vibes of being your protector.

You two are out, tag-teaming the grocery shopping (getting it done quickly so you two can go home and have your evening together, and fuck, of course) and while you search for the right shape of pasta for dinner, you can practically feel the eyes of someone crawling across your backside. Glancing over your shoulder, you offer the man a neutral face (a smile would surely be too welcoming), and go back to your search.

"You're very pretty," He says and even his voice makes you raise your lip in disgust.

"Uh, thank you," You say back. You try to reach for the box of pasta you need with your left hand, only so you can shove your wedding band in his face. But either he ignores it, or thinks it means nothing.

Now, Ivar has this uncanny ability to switch from his normal face, to a face that would make even the fiercest of warriors think twice. And in his one track mind, he's walking back to you, and there's a slight smile on his face because he's thinking about you. Rounding the corner he sees you nearly backed into the shelf with the man in front of you. And the smile fades. That smile fades so quickly there's no evidence it was ever there to begin with.

Straightening himself, Ivar speaks, and his voice now, is dark. It's dark and chilling and you almost don't recognize it because it's so rarely used.

"Do we have a problem?" He asks. And you don't even have to look over to your husband for him to know they most certainly have a problem.

"No problem," The man says. "We're just talking,"

"How about you and I do a little talking outside?" Ivar suggests.

"Eh, you're not really my type, man. No offense," The man says and you know he might as well find a shovel to start digging his own grave.

"Oh? But, my wife is your type?" And you know he only said it that way because Ivar really, really likes it.

The man opens his mouth to say something but in a quick moment Ivar steps towards him. In the same action, he tosses what was in his hand in the shopping cart and quickly maneuvers it to latch it on the mans arm.

"When I mentioned that thing about us going outside? That wasn't a suggestion," Ivar sneers and the two of them move. The man twists again but Ivar only tightens his grip.

"Alright, alright," He says. "Not bothering the lady anymore," He adds.

"See? You even knew you were bothering her," And Ivar shoves the man away from him. He raises his eyebrows and the man backs down.

You watch, you watch and you can't fight the smirk on your face. If you weren't careful you're sure your bra might unhook itself.

"Ivar," You hum. And your husband turns around, face of steel long gone and that smile is back. "I had his right where I wanted him," And you flash your right hand with your pocket knife in your palm.

"Let me have this, alright?" Ivar teases.

"I want to be on top tonight then," You say back.

ask about more about Ink Drinker here!

find more Ink Drinker here!

Tags:

@smileysam13579 @dreamtherapy @angelofthenightposts @unbetaedimagines @readsalot73 @queen-sarang @anastasiaskarsgard @andmyannabellee @peachyboneless @heavenly1927 @prettyinpayne @quantumlocked310 @xbellaxcarolinax @mighty-ragnarssons @alexhandersen-marcoilsoe-fandom @queen-of-upshur @nanahachikyuu @fandomlifeandeverythingelse @fatedwithmbc @hashimily @youbloodymadgenius @love-all-things-writing @theanxietyqueen17 @trip2themoon @tgrrose @synnersaint @kataphine @prepare4trouble @abbiii72 @not-another-viking-fanfic-blog @93xdiagonxalley @ivarisms @nordicshieldmadien @ironynoticony @ivarsgard @cosmicmerbabe @smears-and-spots @kaybee87 @t4medicroe @noway4u @southernbe @anakindoesntlikesand @mymindfuckery @noonespecial90 @hypocrtic-trash-baby

*please message me to let me know if you would like to be added or removed from my tag list. specifications for series/etc. are also welcomed, as well as feedback.*

full masterlist can be found here.

#vikings #vikings au #modern vikings #ivar au #modern vikings au #ivar #modern ivar #vikings fiction #ivar lothbrok #ivar x you #modern ivar x you

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no-psi-nan · 2 months

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🥺🥺🥺 not 2 be sappy on main but omg I actually started off in Deviantart ages ago, that was the closest thing to social media for me until the tumblr migration lol. But I never really interacted with people on there, and even upon moving to tumblr, never really interacted with people here too often either. At first I had my main blog which was meant to be more professional since I was selling art to get a little college income, so I didn't really make too many irrelevant posts. Then I decided that I wanted to be able to reblog art and support other artists, so I made a side blog where I carefully curated and tagged the posts I reblogged. I made a few original posts but no one ever interacted, and eventually I realized that people only ever sent me asks there if I tagged anything wrong. Also I found out that adding stuff like series and character tags to a reblog on tumblr is basically useless because the op will pretty much always tag those things which makes it searchable on your own blog even if you don't tag it yourself. And if op DIDN'T tag it those things, your tags will make the post searchable on your blog but NOT in the general search, so it doesn't give op any more of a boost than just reblogging it tagless. So I made another sideblog, which I still have today, and I just rapidfire reblog literally anything I find shareworthy lol. Not any interaction there but at least I'm not wasting my time meticulously tagging strangers posts hsfjdlshfks. Since I was best friends with a big name fan in my main fandom (we became friends when I left a long emotional comment on their fanfic btw <3), I helped run some small fandom events and met more people as well. When I switched fandoms, it was a fandom event that gave me a new friend too, my posts never got any traction. Large fandom discords didn't really work for me either. But on this blog I was lucky, and for the first time people started like actually responding to my comments and posts, and get conversations going! And genuinely that's what's kept my brain rot so powerful I think, because bouncing ideas off each other and joking around and shitposting is genuinely the most fun I've ever had online!! I have to thank desta and oatmeal for the fun times especially, and hillbilly---man left really nice comments on my first few fics that really encouraged me, and I always have fun trading ideas with alienn, saikikthoughts, and crookedlyinnernightmare, plus everyone else who's on here, that's too many people to type out. AND I TYPED UP A BUNCH MORE STUFF BUT TUMBLR FUCKING DELETED IT!! Are you shitting me.... Well I think I remember saying that even if it's been getting kinda quiet and boring lately so my attention is starting to wander (I've pretty much posted all of the meta that's not deep fanfic hc at this point and my drawings take me a long time to make), I'll never delete this blog and I'll still be putzing around online until the day I die probably. And I'll always remember these days fondly and hope to find another great community like this one. And also I highly encourage everyone to post, reply, interact, and play with fellow fans! I've made lifelong friendships over blorbos and even if we don't have the same blorbos any more, we're still friends. Obviously stay safe online, never send money to strangers, probably wait like a year to start shipping each other stuff but still, reach out because you never know who you might meet! I've been lonely irl for most of my life for various reasons, and my online friends have been a lifeline honestly, they're all really important to me. Two of my best friends today come from fanfic comment sections!! Also I need to get around to archiving my meta on AO3 lol (yup, it's for meta too!) but that's gonna be a lot of work so -_-U).

#notes to nopsi #🥺thank u for making an old blogger like me emotional at 7 am #even if tumblr fucking pissed me off by deleting half the post #Also I appreciate the 'hate' anons because even though it must have been super embarrassing for them #it was fun to do some more analysis on a topic I usually don't think about <3

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centi-pedve · 20 days

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been scouring the regretevator wiki cause i was curious (terrible wiki btw i am so sorry. one page has a citation that just links to some discord bullshit which people who are not in the server obviously cant see) anyways i am getting a terrible impression of the creator(?) and i would be interested in your thoughts on this business if youd be willing to share :3

oh goodness gracious... well we do have Some thoughts and we dunno if they match your own concerns since, we purposefully don't go out looking for whatever the creator has said but yeah even from a distance it's. Not looking good. (Already mentioned some of these before but for the sake of putting it in one place we'll be redundant)

definitely has his own takes on certain characters, headcanons, and the like. it was silly at first but as time went on and the more effort he put into pushing negativity over certain things the less fun it became. we think, if you want people to dislike a character, you try and make them dislikeable within the context of the story and then let people form those opinions. rather than being weird about the fact that there are still people who do like the character and punishing them by denying them the most basic things or even involving them in the story at all because Doesn't Deserve It. yes this is primarily about unple/asant

related but... too much of a reliance on telling stories with twitter or other unofficial platforms. did we learn nothing from the dumbledore is gay tweet. like a huge amount of information on the wiki that is very important to understanding the characters are just is NOT in the game, like if you played the game fully you'd still need to rely on the wiki to be able to participate in fandom. honestly a large part of that is why we're so biased towards certain characters! unple/asant and infe/cted are the only characters with lore and trivia and such that we've bothered to go on the wiki for and memorize. we've played the game for hours and hours but that doesnt mean much lol. once again, unple/asant especially, it literally DOESN'T TALK or participate in ANY of the active dynamic story because Doesn't Deserve It but there's still things to know about unple/asant and people who like the game just want something!! like dunno the overuse of social media in storytelling just makes it so much more unfun, we don't like how information is released and the fact that we need to rely on external material that... is sometimes taken back because the creator has gone on record Just Saying Shit. favorite example vv

Which is really funny considering it has 1 piece of dialogue on the game. So it can physically speak, and is also not "mewing 24/7" by result of having that dialogue (pretty sure the creator was just encouraged to say that without giving a fuck but, whatever). but the things that happen in game are second to the creator's twitter feed AMIRIGHTFELLAS

3. the,. the ableism. we've heard people tried to bring it up with the creator in the past and they were ignored so we feel comfortable mentioning it lol. bi/ve is a stereotype of someone who suffers from paranoia really, we mean we love her but... lol... and we will say it again pe/st should not canonically have npd or aspd. like omggg the evil character that robs people has two pds negatively stereotyped as belonging to evil people we're sure there was no bias in this decision. maybe we'd be less bothered if people didn't treat it as so serious and pretend to be cluster b allies like "you have to give him some understanding cuz he has aspd and npd 🥺" like no because he's evil, also maybe it wouldn't hurt to care about real people with those pds instead of a caricature. also the half-hearted throwing around of the word "mute" for unple/asant has been pointed out as ableist by a lot of people.

tldr uhhh wuhgghh NOT A PERSONAL ATTACK nobody get us (: nobody talk us...

#asks #good morning! (starts bitching

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danggirlronpa · 5 months

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Hey, do you see Touko as more of a bisexual, or more of a lesbian with comphet? I've seen cases made for either, and both are pretty compelling. On one hand, I definitely think her and Byakuya will Never work out as anything but a friendship, but just because she and him aren't meant to be, doesn't mean that those *feelings* weren't real... But even saying that, I'm not sure if her feelings for Byakuya are actually *for* him, but instead the idea of him. How she characterizes him in her fantasies in UDGs illustrates this; while I think some of the lines she imagines him saying are accurate (though would be said in a different tone/context), some of it is just Shit He Would Not Say. So I do see where people are coming from regarding "she's a lesbian only in love with the idea of Togami" because I think there is an argument to be made for that. On the other hand...

I keep going back to Syo's last FTE - now, obviously, Syo and Touko are different people, but there *IS* leak through with them. According to the two of them, they share feelings - which is why they both love Byakuya and are friends with Komaru. So, in Syo's final(?) FTE, she talks about how confused she is over the fact that she doesn't want Byakuya dead. She goes onto conclude that her feelings for him are just Deeper if I remember right, which I think is compelling evidence of Touko and Syo's (shared) feelings for him coming from a genuine place. (And also supports my headcanon that Syo killed the boys she did because Touko wanted them dead after they hurt her - since they share feelings, Syo felt that too, and without the context of WHY Touko felt this way, it would just feel like to Syo that she a) loved these guys and b) wanted them dead, leading to her mistaking the feeling for, well, wanting to cut up cute guys. But that's a different story.)

So, I sort of see where both camps are coming for. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on it? I think either headcanon is valid and has at least some support in the text, but I would be interested in hearing your thoughts.

The quick answer to this: I'm a staunch supporter of comphet ace lesbian Toko and comphet lesbian Jack! Also, I think it's really important to remember that different alters can have different sexual orientations - there's no reason not to headcanon Toko as a lesbian and Jack as something else! (I think Jack would really jive with 'no labels just rock and roll,' actually. Queer Jack.)

The slightly longer answer to this:

So to start, a huge disclaimer: I hate Toga//Fuka. Everything about it squicks me out. I hate the way it makes a joke out of stalking and male victims, I hate how it characterizes both of them, I hate the sheer amount of space it takes up. I think fandom has, in general, politely swept just how bad Toko was in THH with Byakuya in favor of her much better characterization in UDG. And I do not blame them. It is hard to watch and be a part of. I like to think that this does not bias me in this discussion, but like...ultimately, just keep in mind that I'm speaking from a place of dislike for one of the core "Fukawa system likes guys" belief in general.

(Note: this is a completely independent issue of me not liking Byakuya. I ALSO hate Byakuya. But in a like. Very different way. And he is DEFINITELY the victim in the Toga//Fuka dynamic.)

I am generally also a believer in "Jack is actually the core alter, and Toko was the alter that developed later." I think it both makes a lot of sense and makes the other issues surrounding her 0.02% less bad. It doesn't make it GOOD. But we're working with the game that does just about as bad as its physically possible to do representing DID here, so I'll scrape my pennies from the bottom of this barrel to buy an eighth a pack of gum. I can pay the rest of the dollar myself.

Within this context. I think, rather than Jack manifesting as the system's overall need to release immense tension, Toko manifests as the system's overall yearning to be socially acceptable; to, rather than being zany and bad at picking up on social cues and inclined towards immense violence, be quiet and aware of what those around her think and romantic. (This means a girl who has toppled the other direction and is immensely anxious about what the people around her think, but y'know, you get what you get.)

In a lot of ways, I think the Fukawa system's comphet is an extension of their shared desire to be "normal." To, for metaphorical purposes, cut out the part of themselves they don't like - the violence, the anxiety, at time the fact that they share a body in general, themselves- and replace it with a nice traditional Good Girl TM.

(I do think that this works with Toko as the core alter as well, or for both alters developing at the same time. In that interpretation, Toko wants to get rid of Jack, the part of her which she considers 'abnormal,' and Jack wants to get rid of Toko, the part of her which she considers 'abnormal.' Ultimately, they actually both hate Toko in particular - Toko in self-loathing, and Jack because of having to share her body with such a bummer - so the ideal is Still a new, third alter, which subsumes both of them and is A Perfect Person. The essence of the thing is very similar. I just prefer the first interpretation in general, because I think it adds more depth to the character.)

The same way that Fukawa's comphet is an extension of general desire to be normal, the obsession with Byakuya is an extension of the comphet - the extension of the extension of the desire to be normal (in simple terms: a=b, b=c, thus a=c). Like you said, the characterization of Toko's imaginary Byakuya is a great example of this! As is Jack's even greater obsession with Byakuya in UTDP-verse, where there's no killing games to restrict either of them (though any UTDP characterization should be...taken with a hefty handful of salt).

And in terms of the development of Jack's desire not to kill Byakuya, I think there are two important things to remember.

Jack is not a reliable narrator of her own experience. (This feels obvious to me, but it's always good to establish at the outset, because sometimes people forget that characters can't be taken at face value.)

Jack's desire not to kill Byakuya doesn't come from time spent with Byakuya. It comes from time spent with Makoto.

You can't even argue that the time with Makoto counts because it line up with the time spent with Byakuya - because of Jack's availability for FTEs, you can't to get this scene after the first day of Trial Four. And Jack remembers the two years spent together - and we know Jack was around and interacting with classmates in that time, because she's in some of the class photos Junko hands out.

In my opinion - and the beauty of analysis is that there's any number of ways that you could interpret this scene, but what I find the most likely based on what we know of both Toko and Jack - is that this isn't out of any special romantic feelings for Byakuya, the way Jack is mistaking it: this is from Jack's general platonic affection for the group.

The thing is, at the end of THH, the group has very deeply trauma bonded. Toko is even aware of it, to a certain extent. But Jack isn't aware of it, because Jack - as we've established earlier, and as I think is a pretty widely recognized part of her character - is really, really, bad at reading the room. Jack struggles a lot with emotions! That's why she conveys them through scissors. Very, very directly. And because Toko's almost always fronting, it's safe to assume Jack has rarely, if ever, interacted with anyone except her classmates more than once or twice.

I think it's not only possible, but very reasonable, to think that Jack mistook "I have a lower urge for violence because for the first time in my life I've had friends who accept who I am and the support system has made me a better person, more capable of handling my unhealthy coping mechanisms, and now that they've forgotten me I'm coming to truly appreciate how much that support has changed me" for "I must just be SUPER in love with Byakuya! So much that I don't want to do violence to ANY boys anymore. As long as I just keep thinking of him and being in love with him all the time!!"

And surely that won't lead to any self fulfilling cycles!

#really only the last paragraph of this is Direct Counter To The Ask the rest is just me rambling about comphet lesbian toko bcuz i love it #asks #anon #talk to the mod

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serendertothesquad · 5 months

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I can finally go off about the Odd Squad Season 3 pitch bible (AKA happy 9th anniversary to this big lil' franchise)

I had originally wanted to do a little analysis video on this thing, and maybe I will someday, but for now here's a text version of that video.

I have not found the overall series bible -- and oh you better believe me when I say I've tried, and oh you better believe me when I say I have found shit -- but if I die before it's unearthed, then it will be, perhaps, the greatest failure in my pseudo-career as Odd Squad fandom leader. We've had cast members reveal pink drafts of scripts, we've found deleted scenes in some episodes...I just wanna see the big old pitch bible for the entire show. (Why didn't Sinking Ship Entertainment give me that when they sent me a fan package in exchange for me not promoting watching the show via VPNs? The fan package was nice but if I got a copy of a nice thick happy show bible I think it'd cure my depression!)

"But Seren, you managed to get PBS's Metadata Bank wiped from public view of everyone on the Internet who isn't a PBS employee, won't the same thing happen aga-" Shhh. Shhhhhhh. The answer is no. Absolutely not. Not on your life. Worst-case scenario is that a Season 4 bible is decided to be kept locked in a vault that's tighter than anything Disney could ever craft.

Can we move on now? Right, cool. Then let's go.

Y'know, it's sad that they continue to uphold that Season 1 and Season 2 were set in Nondescript Town, Nondescript State despite any and all evidence pointing to both being set in Toronto. I don't care if it makes it seem more local to kids. Some kids don't really have a giant-ass replica of their town's name sitting in their town's main square.

"But it's in the backgro-" Shhhhh. We're talking about the demographic that weaponizes brutal honesty better than John Wick weaponizes his own two fists. Shhhhhh. I'm willing to bet some kid has noticed that sign.

Tim McKeon and Adam Peltzman had the balls to put in a merch pitch that would have made Hasbro execs slam their hands on the table and then immediately go in for the deal-closing handshake.

No but seriously, they could have made bank on selling miniature vans. Osmerelda had a mini-van toy of her own in "Monumental Oddness", even! Odd Squad's already just slightly toyetic, one more injection won't hu- wait, the chance has passed now. Well, fuck. Never mind.

But ohhhh no, that's not even the most egregious part. The most egregious part is the fact that they called Creature Room employees...ah..."creature wranglers". Quite obviously, we know that's not all they do...I mean look at Ocean, as one example.

...Okay that's not so egregious.

Also, I, uh...well...they're not so much "roles" so much as they are "departments". You don't really go into a job interview at the local Target saying you'd like to apply for the role of part-time cashier like it's a school play and you really wanna strut your stuff. Odd Squad is a workplace. It has always been a workplace. Let's stick to the roots.

And while you guys do that, let's move on to the characters! This is one of the things I most want to see from an Odd Squad show bible, because if PBS can hike up their belts and declare Oprah to be physically seven years old right on the Wild Wild Internet, for all we know Olive could have been named Olivia somewhere in pre-production and they wanted to make her a hell of a lot more fucked-up than she turned out to be.

You know what's also sad? The fact that no one has the balls to admit that Odd Squad has precincts and it's not just smaller offices also named Odd Squad under a Big Office that's probably named, oh no you better not guess it, Odd Squad.

Let's be honest here, Opal is by far and away the most "we erased only the small smudges but she's otherwise polished" character in here. Everyone else has characterization that differs wildly from the final products. Opal...not so much. Pretty much everything said about her here is right on the money.

Except for, uh...that third paragraph. Let me word-vomit about that.

It does not matter how hard the franchise will try and make you believe Opal is not the leader. The fact of the matter is, she is the leader, de facto, and as such, she takes charge in all kinds of situations. However, that doesn't necessarily mean she's not keen on passing the buck to her teammates, as she's done it before (see, blugh, "Odd Squad in the Shadows") and she's more than willing to do it if she has to. This is a trait I honestly would have loved to have seen in her -- an Opal who decides to go-off-queen on her teammates by saying that she's the boss and what she says goes would have been more entertaining to watch than the final product we got. Opal's an enjoyable character, but she could have used a lot more polishing to make her as perfect of a character as her predecessors. Yes, even with the story arc.

Such a good example of this unused trait in action would be with a plotline similar to "O For a Day" -- Opal is forced to fill in for an Odd Squad Director after they get ill or sick in some way, and as a result, she slowly begins to get drunk on her own power until it becomes full-blown alcoholism and it gets to be at its utter detrimental peak for the precinct and the agents that work there. Maybe she micromanages like a boss bitch so that it's micro-micromanaging. Maybe she has her sanity go weeeeeaaaaaaaow down the drain. Maybe she becomes what CEOs of corporations aspire to become. Whatever the outcome, it could have served as wonderful character development for her and showed that being a leader is no easy task and choosing one is not a "pick a name outta a hat" method.

Whereas Opal is a sort of weak expy of past characters (Olive/Otto) -- and even that could be a stretch -- Omar is explicitly referred to here as an expy of Olympia and Otto, which...well yeah, actually that's pretty accurate.

You know who he's also an expy of? Pinkie Pi- nah that joke got old fast in 2016, I'm not revivin' it again.

Omar is one agent out of the group whose personality remains largely the same, but also has something just a teeny-tiny bit...off. In this case, the thing that's off here is the fact that he's gullible. So let me word-vomit about this too, and throw some Pepto-Bismol into my Walmart shopping cart while I'm at it.

I'm going to be real with you guys, even though some of you might already be aware of this: Otto is not a gullible motherfucker. He's really not. If some random stranger on the street waddled on up to me and asked me what the first word I'd use to describe Otto would be, "gullible" would not be the first word that springs to mind. Has he had gullible moments? Oh abso-fuckin'-lutely without a doubt. He's a dum-dum blorbo sometimes and if I gotta be frank with Frank then I like him like that. But is he easily gullible? Yeah no.

Maybe Otto being gullible all the time was something that was planned for when he was nothing but an idea on paper. I've seen enough criticisms about his character development to where I could probably hang that guess out on a limb and pray to the oracle in "Nature of the Sandbeast" that I'm lucky.

But I digress. Omar's gullibility being exploited to hell and back by his teammates would have been amazing to see, but alas, it never really came to pass in Season 3. Would have made for great conflict with The Shadow when she didn't have an obsessive schtick for Opal and didn't decide to wake up and choose the "by proxy" option for her crimes.

Now where in the McFuck can I begin here? Can I start by going inside and telling the cook I'd like a McCrispy Lack of Facts with a side of large What the Fuck and a large WHOA AN ACTUAL ORIGINAL CHARACTER with no ice? Cool, thanks, card got approved and I'd like my receipt please.

To say Orla is a writers' pet is something that you could have some bobo respond to with "citation needed" and get citation...but not really enough citation. For a character that is no expy of any previous one in the franchise and is something birthed from the God of Originality in the Television Industry...well yeah, you could say that justifies it. But Orla is really a fantastic character through and through and she deserves all the love she can get. I mean it's not every day you get a character willing to make people spill their coffees by punching and kicking the ever-loving shit out of an octopus (for simplicity's sake, let's assume it's an octopus, okay? okay) on a network where physical violence can become weirdly memetic at best (I'm side-eyeing you, Arthur) and controversial at worst (I, uh...I can't name any controversies about that. I am sorry).

I'm not about to delve into the historical parts of that paragraph, largely because history is my worst subject. I can say for sure, however, that I see why they changed what she called cars. If we wanna get technical -- and I mean insufferably so -- then cars would technically be the carriage and the horse. The horse serves as the engine, and then you have the carriage as the main body of the vehicle. "Metal chariots" is a more broad term that is far more accurate, because when I, for one, think of a chariot, I think of the carriage and the horse.

Also, I'm pretty sure sandwiches were around back in her time...lemme see here...

Mmmmmhm. As I thought. And let me check the timeline of the show here...

...Oh! Well wouldja look at that! Not exactly 400 years, but close!

Yeah, something tells me a lot of writers on the crew might have gotten an A in comedy but got an F in history. That or they simply went "bitch, we don't give a fuck!"

Tim and Adam slipped in an absolutely beautiful burn that missed the show as much as that one guy who shows up to meetings several hours after conclusions.

Like I said before, and I will repeat: Orla is not an expy of any one character. She is an original character made from scratch like your mother's baked bread. I find it hard to believe that she's a copy of Otis in any aspect outside of "hey, both of our seasons have us as the feature of story arcs". I can kinda sorta see the "surprising skills" aspect, but not by much outside of the season premiere. (Which, to be fair, had her scaling a wall with the same strings the Zephyr Heights royalty used to pull themselves up, but did not have her saying anywhere that she tamed a jaguar. Nowhere does it say she tamed a jaguar. Wrestled alligators, but the fun stops with big cats that can eat your face off.)

Perhaps I can blame that on poor execution within Season 3 itself. After all, it tried to gamble with character development and it failed. And that's just one flaw out of many.

Shifting subjects, though, the most hilarious thing I find about this paragraph is her ability to come up with ideas that are out-of-the-box. Which, for those that have not watched the horror that was the second half of the season and miraculously lived, is Osmerelda's schtick. She is explicitly labeled as the out-of-the-box member of the group. They did a theft-not-theft of something from the pitch bible and slapped it onto Osmerelda and ohhhhhh maybe that's part of the reason why she's terrible as a character.

Wow. Eureka moment! How about that?!

Before I get started on tearin' apart Oswald like a huge-ass Thanksgiving turkey from the supermarket, I'd like to address what has to be one of my biggest pet peeves of the season.

"Librarian/museum worker" is not a thing. Stop trying to make "librarian/museum worker" a thing, Gretchen. It will never be a thing.

If you want to call Oswald by the correct terminology, then allow the Seren to educate you.

He is an Odd Squad Security agent first and foremost. He's got the uniform, he's got the position, he's got the duties, he's got the competence to make Owen eat dirt and live, it's all right there.

Second and backmost...he's a museum curator. A "Curator" is what you call people who work in museums. I know this because I punched it into Google because I'm a petty bitch who eats reruns of A&E shows for every meal.

For what it's worth, I will also accept "museum archivist" and "archives technician". That too.

Okay, have we got that settled? Cool beans. Let's move on.

Oswald as a character is, for all intents and purposes in existence, what happens when you take Oscar, suck every last inch of science out of him, and then replace it with an obscene level of bookbookbookbookBOOKBOOKBOOKBOOK. He's still got the same "sacrifice your lives to the devil that births oddness, here I shall stay in my safe zone" mentality that Oscar does, and he's the smart guy of the team, but that's about it as far as comparisons go. I never really pinned Oscar as a nerdy ol' bookworm anyway, though it would have been amazing and hilarious to see.

That being said, Oswald applying the power of the writing gods' hands to real life and failing tremendously would have been a great trait for him. You know the lil' man would read a book on overcoming social anxiety and pull off a Shocked Pikachu Face when it doesn't work. And then he'd read on why it didn't work, try again with the opposite, and pull off another Shocked Pikachu Face when that fails.

Ah, now, see? These are other traits I would have loved to see in Oswald.

Him being an insufferable jerk who goes "well eckshuelleh" every 5 minutes -- yes, including with exposition, that market of which Oprah had cornered for 8 years -- would have probably made Season 3 more enjoyable, at least for me.

You know what would be a good thing to add to that batter, though? Him being meta.

In Season 3, especially in the second "kids are more forgetful than a backwards elephant" half, Oswald makes a few callbacks to earlier seasons. Which is nice and all, but imagine if he pried through particular cases and nabbed specific events and relayed them to people like it's his job and livelihood. If they had enough balls to make Xavier and Xena utter jerkasses, they could have grown two more to make Oswald an utter jerk, but one with redeemable qualities. As an example of one: he's a jerk who goes "well eckshuelleh" on people, but he does it because he loves the show. He loves Odd Squad lore and history. He's a fanatic.

I mean...well...he loves it already. He's enough of a fanatic and that shit has been proven. But they don't really lean into it all that much. It might as well be more informed than anything else.

But jerking the subject away from that...what if God gave you a character with all the autism traits, and you decided to come out and say "nah, he's not autistic, he's a quirky lil' man"?

You're telling me you can't make the boy canonically autistic in the same way that, ohhhh, I dunno, AJ Gadgets is canonically autistic? Or that one Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood character whose name I forget? You're on a network that embraces diversity the same way wine moms embrace the triple-L of "Live, Laugh, Love" and you had an opportunity...and Tim and Adam both blew it. Out of the water. Nuclear explosion. Does autism exist in the world of Odd Squad? Is there air?! You don't know!

Okay, that's a dumb question. I was reminded that muscular dystrophy exists, along with whatever disability Xena has.

Instead, what they did with Oswald was make him so friendly and sociable with people you wouldn't believe he's been a hermit in the belly of the Big Apple for [REDACTED] years. Which is a waste, because I'd have liked for him to be canonically autistic. They spend so much time on gender and making sure girls and women triumph over men and boys that they forget about disability, y'know?

Ah well. There's always Season 4. But let's be honest, I'm fully prepared for them to laugh and say "there are no autistic people in Manchester, what a silly notion!"

Here's another pet peeve of mine when it comes to this show, and those who have followed me and my biz for a long time probably know this already.

I don't like the formality error on proud display here.

Let's set the record straight. You don't call your boss at work Manager, not unless they're one of those whoo-hoos who knows they're paying you minimum wage for busting your ass and is reveling in it. No one does. No one calls them that.

So exactly why call Oprah by Ms. O? Or even the Big O?

Yes, it's an easy identifier for popularity purposes. Yes, it's her title that everyone calls her by except for a few close pals.

But that's just it -- it's a title. It's not her actual name. It's not like her mom delivered her cesarean-style and decided to name her Ms. O to compete with Elon Musk and whatever gibberish he's named his kid this time. It's not like Oprah decided to get a legal name change to go with her meal of a free promotion. Oprah is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, her actual name, and to insinuate it's not puts you in a silly delusion with a silly mind that might not be so silly.

But, y'know...I've screamed this at people for nearly 9 years now and no one's listened. I was friends with Joshua Kilimnik and had the crew watch my stuff and still no one's listened.

...Maybe I'm the one who's deluded...

...Um.

...

Yeah okay, maybe I might have a point if they're not even bothering with title capitalization anymore.

Not much to spice up here, but if you're wondering where in the blue hell Onika came from: she's from Season 2 of OddTube. Is not an Odd Squad explorer or an oddness finder, but rather, she built an entire 2015 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, threw some Odd Squad stuff on it, and called it half of a day, all with her own two hands.

Okay, it's hilarious that they're using teamwork and perseverance as an example of "broader themes". Yes, they are broader themes, but you also have:

Bullying

Trauma

Stop being like your family. You are not your family. You are you.

Friendship (is magic!)

Why going to work sucks ass on a daily basis

I could keep going, but I think I've made my point well with just these 5.

Nice justification for the set piece that is Oprah's office, though. That's clever. But...and it's a but bigger than any but Sir Mix-a-Lot has ever sung about in his career...this just highlights one of the problems with kids live-action shows. Had the show been animated in full, there would be no "I'll take seven slices of pizza and you can stuff your faces with the rest" to be found. Instead I must suffer in agony as I get whined at that "Odd Squad is not a cartoon".

One of the Odd Squad God's biggest mysteries is why, exactly, they axed Omar, yoted him into a single episode and a shitty-ass clickbait thumbnail, and decided to replace him with Orla.

...

No, no...actually I might know why. It may or may not have anything to do with the discussion of whether Orla is a "writers' pet" or not. No one @ me, I have theories.

But let me lay down Chris's crispy McNugget of truth for you all: while Orla does have appeal in her not understanding how technology works to save her life, Omar has somewhat equal appeal in him being a lover of traveling and buying souvenirs. Hell, if they wanted to grow balls that would make AC/DC weep, they could have cohosted the series. But alas, it was simply not meant to be.

Given how PBS Kids is planning to go the short-form route as a means of cutting costs while still aiming for quality, I'm kind of sad this never came to fruition. Imagine numerous seasons of OddTube, one for each country. All they would need to do was account for every Canadian in each country because if not then the bad guys have won.

...I mean it could come to fruition. Maybe. It might not. Maybe. Hopefully. It could be with Orli or something I dunno. She could shoot the shit or however British people say the phrase!

When I tell you folks this aged like milk, lemme tell you it aged like fucking milk. Like you could hear it churning at the grocery store while the manager does fuck-all about it.

Anyone who has absorbed enough of this franchise knows that episodes have absolutely been no stranger to rehashing mathematical concepts. And that's fine by me, because the episodes themselves aren't derivative outside of that regard. Each Season 1 and Season 2 episode is hand-crafted so it doesn't feel like a painfully obvious Xerox copy of a previous episode. Key word being "painfully obvious", keyer word being "painfully", because there are episode copies out there (see "The Trouble with Centigurps" and its mid little brother "Worst First Day Ever") that are obvious but don't actively make you say "I'm going to buy some Clorox and pour it into every facial orifice known to scientists who study human life".

Season 3 was absolutely no exception. However, instead of creating new plots and just sticking with that, they created new plots and also rehashed old ones in addition to reusing math (and science) concepts. Like plopping new pasta sauce on old shittily-cooked spaghett'. Is shit, tastes like shit.

One of the most glaring examples is with the infamous clip show episode, "Welcome to Odd Squad". Anyone can clearly see it's a rehash of "Odd Squad Needs You" from Season 2, just with new elements (a B-plot, Orpita instead of Oprah...No-Name who's essentially relatability personified). And, I mean, y'know...it's a clip show, which, in most cases, spells bad news for a series and/or a franchise. That too.

All in all, these comments are hilarious to me. Even if they are a stark reminder that in a show where comedy comes first and education comes second...there's still education.

If your first thought upon reading this wasn't "this seems more of a better fit for Wild Kratts or Cyberchase than Odd Squad" THEN WHAT THE MCFFFFFFFFFUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU GET BACK IN THE HOUSE. YOUR LITERACY IS O F F JIM YA GOTTA READ IT AGAIN.

Okay, but I digress. In a world where the rules of scientific concepts like biology and anatomy go completely out the fucking window and land right onto your uncle's Corvette, this is a very stupid lesson and I'm honestly glad they didn't go through with it. We don't need lessons on the ecosystem in a world that explicitly defies the rules of ecosystems as we know them in real life.

I just did an audible groan at that stupid-ass pun. "Mathience"? Really? Suck a peanut. Like 90% of the "odd" puns are better than that trash. Be the fuck for real.

This is a nice plot, really, but I dunno...something about it just doesn't sit right with me. Let's be realer than real here, one of the climates would have had to be the Arctic. Another one might have been in the Amazon somewhere, or another place that's humid. And the third one...yeah I dunno about that one. But this plot isn't sitting right with me. Like a bruised coccyx.

...Okay, my brain got fried there for a moment. Let's move on.

I guess it's time I air out my ire with this episode -- which is a good episode, but let me just take the time to talk about one of the things that bothers me about it.

The 44-Leaf Clover is supposed to grant whoever finds it magical powers. So where in the holy God of McFUCK are the magical powers of the Mobile Unit?

Let's be realer than realer than real here: the Mobile Unit having magical powers would have really spiced up Season 3. If not the entire Unit, then at the very least Opal and Omar, who initially went on the adventure. But that part of the Clover's lore is just dropped clear straight away like my dinner from last night. We have four normal humans with no powers who pissed off that one guy who called them politically correct. Which honestly sucks and is yet another thing we can throw into the "Odd Squad Missed Opportunities" bucket. Wow is that bucket getting full. Shall we dump it in preparation for Season 4?

...Yeh but oddness struck like a long-ass time ago. You don't get two of the same snowflakes and not find it odd. Confetti Betty's a step up, sure, but oddness is oddness. Let's try and keep continuity, hmm?

---------------------------------------

So that's it. The Odd Squad Season 3 pitch bible, properly dissected and torn through and ripped to utter shreds like a dog to a slipper. Sorry not sorry. Had to be done.

Still holding out hope for an entire series pitch bible to unearth somewhere in life. Preferably sometime before my death. Preferably on the 'Net. Preferably stored on my computer somewhere. I can and will tear into that too if it ever pops up.

But for now...we wait for Season 4 news. Since I don't want to do anything big this year for the franchise's 9th anniversary because ADD and depression and ADD, you all can have this instead. You're welcome. This has rotted in my drafts for at least two months. Take it.

#odd squad pbs kids #odd squad #pbs kids #seren speaks (about odd squad)#pitch bible

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nyarlathotep-thecrawlingchaos · 7 months

Text

Get to Know the Unknowable!!

14 DEC 2023 Lest I ever forget this momentous day

Hey so I found a list of weird unambiguous questions so we're doing a get-to-know-the-blogger thing for shits and giggles, which I guess I'll link in my masterlist or something.

Gonna include some blog-driven questions first and then just delve straight into what-the-actual-fuck territory.

Here we goooooooooooo

Fandoms?

One Piece Live Action is the only one I'm actively writing right now, largely for my own sanity. Fandoms I also write for include One Piece anime/manga (of course, though I'm painfully behind), Death Note, Harry Potter, Supernatural, Seven Deadly Sins anime, Durarara!, Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross, and maybe some others I might remember and add later or something. Feel free to make a random ask request for literally anything listed, there's a chance I might end up responding to it. But OPLA is my hyperfixation at the moment, with a little spice added here and there from manga. I make my own canon, don't like it then sail on.

Genres?

Oh fuck me up, I will write any genre. My original work is primarily horror, sometimes with a touch or fantasy or science fiction, almost always with a splash of crime. Fanfiction often revolves around romance, but if you want something niche, DEAR GODS TELL ME I WANT TO PARTAKE especially if it's horror please ask me to write horror

Reply time to ask requests?

My life is very chaotic right now, and thus therefore also is my reply time. Do not get disheartened if I write a few headcanons and/or a one-shot or two before I get to your request. Writing is very much a coping mechanism for me, so I write what I feel. That does NOT mean I'm not interested in your request, it just means that I want to make sure I'm in the right mindset to do it justice because I love you people and the fact that you like the shit I'm shoveling makes me so unreasonably happy.

Are you really an ageless unknowable horror?

Yes. We get into fandoms, too. Eternity gets fucking boring okay don't judge. Especially when your bff has been napping for LITERAL CENTURIES WOULD YOU WAKE UP ALREADY YOU TENTACLED DIPSHIT I'M STARTING TO RELATE TO THESE MORTALS AND IT'S UNCOMFORTABLE

What is the most ridiculous nightmare you have ever had?

Actually I wrote a whole ass horror story about it, which I might share here someday. So there was this epidemic of huge windstorms one night that knocked out the power in a handful of small towns around the world. Then the next day there were these weird little black rocks, oval shaped, about an two inches long and one inch wide. Smooth like river rocks with a white line running through them, just scattered around the towns here and there. Not super noticeable, not tons of them, but just enough that they looked out of place. If one came in contact with your skin, e.g. you picked one up or kicked one up into your shoe, you'd get this weird little pinprick of pain just behind your left shoulder. Three nights later, at precisely 2:43 in the morning (nonidea why, but it was 2:43, Inwill never forget that), you hear footsteps. Quick footsteps, small footsteps, coming toward wherever you happen to be, and then you're asleep. Then you wake up the next missing a limb or an organ, no signs of any injury or surgery or anything, just like it was never there to begin with (and obviously if itbwas a major organ then you never woke up again at all). There was a lot more detail, the dream was like living in some weird sci-fi horror movie, and it was so vivid that when I woke up from it I literally sat up and jerked away all my covers to make sure I still had all my limbs.

Tell us an embarrassing story.

Seventh grade. Close to the end of the school year. Was reading a book (I think it was The Shining), had one of my ankles crossed over my other knee, didn't realize I was somehow pinching a nerve. Had to stand up at end of class period, and one of my legs had gone completely numb. I stood, took one step, went down like a sack of bricks. The group of boys who used to bully me were all in the class and spent at least a month mocking the spectacle. Still think about that sometimes.

Explain an inside joke you have with a friend or family member.

Any time hubs and I go out together for any reason, one of us inevitably does Rick Sanchez voice "And awwwAAAAAyyy we gooo" before we leave the driveway. No idea how this started. No idea when it will end. I have a feeling we'll still be doing this into our 80s with no idea why.

Tell me your life story in exactly one sentence.

"Oh no, not again."

What is the strangest coincidence that ever happened to you?

Went to the beach when I was seventeen. Was sitting out on the boardwalk playing guitar by myself because toxic family members were doing nothing but argue and fight in our hotel room, I literally just walked out and no one noticed for hours. Was super peaceful. Got into a conversation with two strangers who had just met each other as well and were hanging out, two kind elderly men. As we were talking, I found out that one of them was from my very small hometown in New York and had moved to the beach recently; and the other was from the very small town I lived in at that present time in South Carolina, and had recently moved to the beach. Both of them had moved there at around the same time. I still think about that a lot.

What is your favorite random fact?

Pineapple eats you while you eat it.

What is your useless talent?

I can bend the top joint of all of my fingers without bending the second joint, a la Sith Force Lightning. Arguably it makes me better at music, but I've never had to bend my fingers like that playing guitar, so I disagree.

What is the strangest food combination you enjoy?

I literally have no idea. I'm a tremendous foodie and "strange" is relative when you're willing to eat literally anything put in front of you at least one time just to experience it.

What would you name your heavy metal band?

Plastic Peanutbutter

If you could choose one superpower, what would it be?

Invisibility, so people would like just leave me alone seriously I'm antisocial as shit just give me peace and quiet (not internet people, you guys are cool af)

What is your strangest irrational fear?

Gamma Ray Bursts. Do yourself a favor amd don't Google it. I spent literally two years of middle school fucking petrified of that shit. It still gets under my skin if I think about it too long now.

Describe your most eccentric family member.

It me! 😁 or maybe my niece, but she's basically my personality twin so either way.

Have you ever met a celebrity? Which celebrity would you like to meet?

Nope. But I really would love to have coffee with Stephen King and just talk about life. His On Writing memoir changed everything I thought about writing, taught me that imposter syndrome was a thing, and that even the most talented and successful artists have it. Really I just want to thank him.

What is the craziest thing you ever did on a dare?

Got a tattoo. It's a skeleton key, on the outer side of my right thigh. I have another, but I got that one on a dare. Basically just because why not, and I literally forget it's there sometimes and sort of jump when I notice it.

What is the grossest thing you would do for $100?

Probably eat something super weird. Will literally try anything once, food-wise. In fact I'll usually try it twice, just to be sure.

What songs are on the soundtrack to your life?

Don't ask me that, we'll be here all goddamned year. A few right off hand though are "Doesn't Remind Me" by Audioslave, "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" by Elton John, "What it's Like" by Everlast, "Gone Away" by The Offspring, and "Vienna" by Billy Joel. I'm also unreasonably hyperfixated on The Fratellis right now because I suddenly remembered they existed a few months ago after more than ten years not hearing them at all and now I know almost their entire discography by heart. They're my feel-good band right now and pretty much all I'm listening to. Yes, there definitely is something wrong with me.

What actor would you choose to play you in your biopic?

Samuel L. Jackson. My life requires hefty use of the word "motherfucker." He might need a wig or two but I think he can handle it.

What is your go-to karaoke song?

I've never karaoked, but probably something from Chris Cornell, Ella Fitzgerald, Jewel, or Fleetwood Mac. Or "American Pie" by Don McLean.

If you were a superhero, who would be your archnemesis?

Probably myself rofl kinda don't like me very much

Create and describe an undercover alias.

Fancy black bowler hat, and a pair of those joke glasses with an attached giant nose and mustache. But like, be completely and totally serious about it, to the point that people are afraid to question you.

What is your most random impulse buy?

Death Note manga, complete box set. I was seventeen. I had money. Many years later and I do not regret it at all and it sits very close to my bedside.

What did you do as a teenager that makes you cringe now?

Let bullying bother me.

What would your warning label say?

"CONTENTS HIGHLY UNSTABLE, DO NOT TOUCH MIGHT TAKE OVER THE KNOWN UNIVERSE ON CONTACT or possibly cry hard to tell"

What is your guilty pleasure?

I don't think I have one. If it brings you happiness, don't waste your time being guilty about it. Just enjoy it and kick anyone who makes fun of you for it directly in the shin-bone. Actually don't do that just ignore them I'm not into violence.

What emoji do you use most often?

Combination of 🙄😒 to signify eyerolling.

Does your family practice any unusual practices?

Does emotional unavailability count asking for a friend

A genie grants you the ability to have infinite amounts of one item. What is it?

Guitar strings. Please. Dear sweet fuck PLEASE

What is your favorite joke?

A big moron and a little moron sit on a bridge. Which one falls off?

The big moron. Because the other one was a little more on.

Aaaaaahahaha

What is the best Halloween costume you ever wore?

Pirate. Always. I have so many clothes tucked in my closet and jewelry hidden away that are strictly there for the sole purpose of putting together an impromptu pirate costume it's honestly kind of sad honestly

What is the most awkward situation you ever found yourself in?

My very very religious mother-in-law noticing that I have a tattoo on my forearm...after SEVEN YEARS. Awkward af, but it was also hilarious.

What is the most ridiculous thing you believed as a child?

My older brother once told me when I was very young that vehicles move by rolling over and over end to end so fast that you don't know it's happening, and crashes happen when they hit a rock or a crack in the road the wrong way. I spent TWO YEARS secretly terrified of getting in a car before finally asking my mom about it and she just sort of sighed and said "oh god please stop listening to your brother"

What is the most outrageous lie you told a child?

I don't know Santa or something? I've got a ton of nieces and nephews. I try not to lie to kids, apart from letting them think magic exists for as long as possible, because everyone deserves to believe that.

What is the dumbest way you injured yourself?

Broke my pinky toe, because my dog got under my foot and I didn't want to step on her paw by accident so I jerked the wrong way

How do you waste time most often?

Probably napping. But given I have trouble sleeping at night that's sorta necessary or something I guess.

#yo demons its ya gurl #personal questions #get to know me #or something #idfk I'm unknowable

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mrs-monaghan · 1 year

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Hey. How are you?

Well this is not really an ask but I just wanted to share something. If we're talking about jkk Or tkk then let's for once forget about romance and just focus on friendship.

IMO I believe that jk and tae are good friends but they are not really best friends. Meanwhile jkk are close and we all know that both jm and jk are very private, so just because they don't share it on SM doesn't mean they're not close. There were a lot of instances where if we wouldn't have got a picture then we would never know that it even happened.

Now what I wanted to share :

Okay so I have two college friends. And I have one best friend who isn't in the same college. So I am with my two college friends almost during the whole college time obviously, I hangout with them a lot too. But my best friend has been busy for the past few months but that's coz she's preparing for an entrance exam. Now I only hangout with my college friends and me and my best friend rarely hangout these days( we still talk obv)

But even though I hangout with those two friends, I still wouldn't say that they're my best friends. Everyone in our college thinks we're bsf but I know that we're not. It just doesn't feel like that, like I don't actually feel the connection with them but I still hangout with them because it's cool we don't have to be best of friends with everyone yk.

While my bsf, though we rarely hang out these days but whenever we meet it's like nothing has changed. We vibe perfectly well together. It's like she understands the real me and I understand her and the distance has done nothing to ruin our friendship. We don't meet regularly these days but when we do, it's just like old times.

And that's what I'm trying to say, let's keep the romantic ships aside for now. But we all have seen that jm and jk are very emotionally connected to each other and these types of bonds doesn't fade away that easily unless they had a huge fight which we can clearly see is not the case.

I'm not saying tkk are not close, they are. But imo their relationship is different from jkk. Like it's not even a comparison. Tkk are like those buddy friendships where they hangout, play games and all. But jkk has that deep emotional type of friendship where they can have those heart to hearts and a deeper conversation.

I think the reason why jikookers are insecure about tkk is not because they actually see something in them both but because of the way the whole fandom overhypes literally the smallest thing that tkk do. Tae and jk both have done much more things with other members but nobody even bat an eye but the moment tkk even stands next to each other everyone goes psycho like what's even the big deal?

Anyways everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I just wanted to share mine.

Btw love your blog. <333

Let's for once forget about romance and just focus on friendship.

Lets keep romantic ships aside for now.

Ngl anon... thats gonna be hard for me

Forgive me anon but I wanna use your ask to say something then I'll go back to your ask. If you're new u will notice when I talk about Jikook, it sounds like their relationship has been confirmed. I, believe Jikook is real. They are a couple. They kiss, they fuck, they do everything under the sun that couples do. I, believe this to be fact. I, will not be using words like if Jikook are real when I talk about them. I, will not be saying things like; assuming Jikook are a couple bla bla bla. Nah, fam. I, believe they are a couple and have been a couple for a long long time. I, do not have a 1% doubt left for just incase. In my eyes Jikook are together 110%. No, ifs, no maybes, no buts. In future if they come out dating other people, I will read that as them having broken up (God forbid) not that they've never been together. I'm sorry but any other alternatives don't make sense to me. Not when they do shit like this. Alright? We together? Good ☺☺☺

Back to anon. I agree with every single thing that you said. 1000%

-Just because we don't see it, doesn't mean it ain't happening. Facts.

- Tkk are definitely not closer than Jkk. True.

-Jkk didn't see each other as often as they used to when Jimin was working on his album. But when they reunited it's like they were never apart. True

-Tkk is overrated. Agreed.

Thanks for sharing Anon. I'm glad u like it here 😘

#bts ask #ask shaz #if jikook isn't real then neither am i #jikook is real #jikook #kookmin #minkook #jimin and jungkook #park jimin #jeon jungkook #bts #jimin #jungkook #Taekook is not real

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chaos0pikachu · 7 months

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Top has gotten the shortest end of the stick of all the characters. (Imo) He seems like a plot tool for Mew’s development, not a real person. I thought they would delve deeper into the insomnia but they have not. They brushed over him doing coke so quick as well. That’s literally the only interesting nuggets we have about him. We don’t know about his family life either. It’s hard to feel sympathy or connect with his character at this point when motivations are still so unclear. So Jojo shouldn’t be surprised that he’s so ‘hated’.

I wish he was hated because he's under-developed but I think him and Boston (who also has a lack of nuance issue in the narrative) are hated b/c they had non-monogamous sex. Which the crew (not just Jojo, I'ma call them JNBD for Jojo, Ninew, Best and Den lol) must've realized too b/c they specifically cut a scene where Top was gonna have sex w a rando and cry about it.

Know, that's unfair, I think both factors can be true at the same time. I think some people are struggling to connect with Top b/c like you said, he feels more like a plot device for Mew's character than his own individual character with their own motivations. AND I think it's because he had sex with other people who were not Mew. Because Forcebook is a branded couple and I saw those stans on twitter wildin out.

I think one factor is valid - him being under developed makes it hard to the audience to connect with him as a char - and the is not - who fucking cares if Top, the fictional char slept with someone not Mew they are not Force and Book jfc.

I think it says a lot about the state of the type of hate Top is getting that JNBD are seeing that the scene they cut was a sex scene specifically. Only now that it's gotten to the point of being outright undeniable are people even a bit more sympathetic to Boston. But like, I saw people calling Boston a predator and a rapist like, 3 episodes ago lol and rooting for Mew to share the revenge porn of Boston with his father.

Obviously this is not the entire~~~ fandom but suffice to say fandom hasn't been actually all that understanding of slutty (or really, non-monogamous behavior, y'all know being poly isn't like, an ao3 trope right? boston isn't "self-harming" himself by sleeping around he just...enjoys sleeping around? but the show has been kinda regressive in terms of poly/open relationships anyway they tease at threesomes but never follow through. At this point it feels like a meta joke, lol look at ray saying him and sand should have a threesome don't worry firstkhao fans we're just teasing they're true love fr!)

I think a big factor is fans have to strong a para-social relationship with Force and Book along with First and Khao (like holy shit y'all calm down about these two). So Top sleeping with Boston was seen as a "threat" to the endgame of their ship which should be TopMew but is actually ForceBook (don't even try with me SandRay had like 100 fics before the show even aired, and so did Top and Mew).

I spoke to a friend about this, they don't watch BL themselves but they said it sounded like part of the appeal specifically with branded couples is viewers know going in their ship "wins" they are endgame, there's a low-risk factor involved so it's easy to buy in. And I think they're right tbh I don't follow branded couples because, well frankly I don't care much, so I wasn't expecting this level of fandom bias nor the existence of the branded couples interring actively with the narrative itself. It was a very new experience for me and I think I'll just pass on gmmtv shows in the future.

I don't mind knowing where a story is going, I've watched plenty of romcoms, I'm not in this shit for plot twists, but if the journey really pushes the couple shouldn't be together and I know they'll end up together anyway well then I'm annoying lol

I think it's a shame that Top is gonna end up with Mew. I don't think they fit well together, the narrative hasn't shown me that they work or even could work long term. They have all the chemistry - to me - of white sauce casserole Carol brought to my cookout and only added some pepper for flavor. But narratively, what does Top even want? Why does he want to be with Mew? Because he opened up ONCE to Mew? We never even saw his perspective of their dating life just him giving up drugs in exchange for sex which chepie that was NOT romantic to me.

I'd love a fic that explored Top more as an individual char, why him and Mew don't actually work b/c Top's trying to contort himself into someone else because he's clinging to the sense of security Mew gave him. But what else is there to their relationship? Really? Maybe Top is actually aromantic or maybe he just enjoys being un-committed but feels pressured by society to do so, to "settle down".

There's potential there to explore that I hope fandom does but either way don't bring casserole to my cookout ever again gmmtv

#chaos pikachu speaks #its late my brain is crumbling but yeah

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