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acourtofthought · 10 months

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First off, love your blog. Always well thought out backed with canon evidence.

You look at things from the big picture, and take context into consideration, something I noticed many El/riels do not.

Aside from trying to force the Koschei plot line on Az (a plot that ties to Lucien) you ever notice that the only theories they provide are centered around ways Az and Elain will end up together? They legit dismiss multiple plots and arcs in favor of Elriel. I never see them provide actual storylines that moves the series forward. Plots that account for the rest of the characters in ways that it does not diminish them (Making Lucien, Mor and Gwyn villains ) yet dismissing the actual villains, uniting the courts, and progressing the story in a positive way that keeps the IC in tact and drama free.

What I'm taking from their theories is an elriel book is going to revolve around conflict among the IC when the purpose of the series, especially given the crossover is to UNITE and push characters to be the best versions of themselves with the person they are meant to be with. Elain and Az would break bonds, political alliances and it would get messy. It already is messy and they have not even kissed. Sorry, but that is not how SJM writes. Her plot twists and conflicts are centered around actual villians, which we know are neither Lucien or Gwyn. Sure, in other books by other authors it would work, but that is not the case here. If as a reader you enjoy that type of drama and a book centered around how a couple overcome their family and friends rejection and takes up most of the conflict in the book, there are plenty of books with that trope.

With all that is going on, Beron, Koschei the queens, uniting the continent, the crossover, I can't imagine SJM would have time to write one book that doesn't make Elriel look selfish when there is an actual real problems to deal with (The meme of Kourtney Kardashian telling Kim " people are dying" comes to mind here lol)

Imagine Rhys and the IC having to deal with Az and Elain sneaking around and breaking alliances, please lol. That is not the direction SJM takes in her series. This trope for characters like Az and Elain does not move the overall arc forward, it sets the story back and makes them look like assholes TBH. IMO Elriel sunk in that bonus and for good reason.

Lucien and Elain arc are intertwined to move the series forward.

And then you have Az and Gwyn, their union would be welcomed and if Gwyn is Az's mate, his found family would be nothing but happy for him, we'd see Azriel heal in a positive way, the way we did with Chaol. AN Az and gwyn union cements the bonds with the IC and Valkyrie, and allies, it does not break any bonds unlike Elriel.

Sorry, but the way I see it they can’t fit elriel into the entire arc, and their theories never tie into the actual storyline and that is why Elriel was never meant as endgame when you look at the series and crossover holistically, it's pretty obvious.

Thank you!!

To start with Gwynriel, it is set up to be such a natural pairing when you consider their friends.

Cassian and Az are best friends / brothers because of found family.

Nesta and Gwyn are best friends / sisters because of found family.

While Elain is Nesta's blood sister, they aren't sisters in the way that sisters can sometimes be best friends. They care for one another, they protect one another, but I wouldn't say they have the healthiest dynamic. Nesta has always struggled to allow Elain to be independent especially when it involves things Nesta considers too dangerous and I don't think Elain feels truly comfortable letting her hair down around Nesta. I think their relationship will improve by the end of the series but I still don't think they'll be close in the way Nesta / Gwyn / Emerie are close.

So this natural relationship between Nesta and Gwyn, where Nesta is able to be the new version of her makes perfect sense if Gwyn were to end up with Az. Mates spending time together while also spending time with their found family / best friends. Actually, I have friends like this. The two girls have been best friends since they were younger and they married two guys that have also been best friends since when they were younger and to this day they take vacations together, sleep over at one another's house after parties, etc.

I don't think it hits the same when it's sisters marrying best friends when the sisters have a bit of a complicated relationship. I don't think Feyre / Nesta / Rhys / Cassian hanging out would feel quite as fun as Gwyn / Nesta / Az / Cassian hanging out.

As for future plots, I know that shipping E/riel means someone is going to create scenarios for them. E/riel defeating Koschei, E/riel making diplomatic visits together (which doesn't even make sense when we're specifically told Az likes to work from the shadows and he's not social). But until SJM writes the book we can't guarantee that won't happen. What confuses me though is how they create the exact plots that SJM seems to be hinting at for Elucien. How can someone ignore that SJM tells us it's LUCIEN who had been to Koschei's lake? That LUCIEN was setting his sights on his target. That Nesta wonders if ELAIN would not only visit the continent with tulips but the one to the South of that? That LUCIEN is permanently stationed in Spring and is their emissary to the Human Lands, that LUCIEN is the heir to Day, and that Nesta tells us Spring had been Made for someone like ELAIN, that she'd tell ELAIN to go if she could, that ELAIN needs Sunshine, that ELAIN is struggling with her lost humanity. Every single thing associated with Lucien SJM has also tied Elain to. But E/riels ignore every mention of Lucien in these places and insert Az instead. How can you just erase the set up for Lucien's story like that?

And I did say this in a recent post but to your point of forbidden love, first off, how does that even work logistically? Az doesn't have his own place. Elain doesn't have her own place. Are they really meeting in dark alleyways and seedy taverns? There is no where they can go in Velaris where someone isn't going to see something and report it back to the High Lord and High Lady.

Second, does anyone honestly believe the union of Az and Elain is so special that it needs to be forbidden love?

This isn't a mafia romance where they're worried about their families trying to take the other one out.

There are no real stakes to their relationship.

Seriously, no one really cares if Az and Elain want to be together.

If Elain opened her mouth and said a few words to Lucien, "Lucien, I want to be with Az" he would say, "OK". He left her because he knew she was still in love with Graysen, he obviously doesn't feel entitled to her just because he's her mate. Just like Rhys allowed his mate to nearly marry another man, just like Cassian allowed his mate to sleep with many other males, Lucien is not going to stand in the way of Elain's decision to be with someone else.

Rhys laid down his threat but say Az disobeys, what does anyone honestly think Rhys would do? Kick him out of the IC? Torture him?

The ONLY reason Rhys pulled rank is because he knew Az was being an idiot and he didn't have real feelings for Elain. Rhys ONLY pulled rank because he knew Az wasn't over Mor and Az really was planning on hooking up with Elain for "just one taste" and Az did nothing to convince him otherwise. That's Rhys's little sister, it's admirable that he was looking out for her when he knew his brother was being a hothead. And while I'm sure Rhys did consider what consequences could come from Az's idiocy (he's a smart character, of course he looks at all sides), we all know Lucien would have never done anything to jeopardize the peace they were all trying to attain. He was the one warning them to treat Tamlin better because he knew they'd need Tamlin's forces before all was said and done.

So yeah, the whole idea of Az and Elain sneaking around creates this shady love that they can't share with the family and friends who love them and just want them to be happy. It turns them into selfish characters who don't care about doing things the right way, who don't care about having actual conversations like grown ups do.

Forbidden love is a thing because even if the two characters sat down and had a rational and reasonable conversation with their parents / bosses / brother, etc their love would still be forbidden.

If Az and Elain sat down and said to Lucien and Rhys, "we're in love and we're sorry we hurt you", NO ONE would stand in their way and that means their love is not forbidden.

#anti e/riel #gwynriel #elucien

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quarantineddreamer · 9 months

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hiiii, please tell me more about that TGP AU 👀 if you want to! would it follow the TGP storyline? does Jyn get switched up with someone else and Cassian her soulmate who reluctantly helps her? do they figure out the real truth and then fall in love every time no matter how many times their memory is rebooted? I'm so curious!! also there's actually a lovely TGP-inspired fic for rebelcaptain but the twist is that it's canon-verse post-Scarif and it's really just them healing in the afterlife

Hi sissi! I see we are sharing some RC brainrot today (this and boxing au) and I am SO here for it ahh! 💕

(Uhhh first of all do you happen to have a link to that fic cause would love to read it 👀)

I haven't thought too in-depth about The Good Place AU yet, but (~TGP spoilers ahead):

As in the show, both Jyn and Cassian technically 'don't belong' in the TGP--Jyn knows it, and Cassian isn't really sure, but he definitely thinks he doesn't belong.

Draven is our Michael-esque character who places Jyn and Cassian together as soul-mates (for torture purposes). Both think the other person is someone else, someone 'good' (haven't thought about specific careers, backstories just yet). (I know Draven could be Krennic, but I kinda liked the idea of a more morally-ambiguous character from canon being the architect of a fake good place.)

Kay is our Janet-esque character who believes he's doing good in running the afterlife and helping its inhabitants.

Chirrut and Baze are a part of this neighborhood as well, except they are legit residents and true soul-mates. Chirrut was a therapist kind of life-coach in life and hosts lecture-esque sessions for the neighborhood where he talks about how to continue to put good into the universe, find peace etc.

*Cassian and Jyn both find these lessons painful, because they assume the other totally understands/lived the way Chirrut teaches and it all seems so simple except they both know it's not and life is more complicated than that.

After listening to Chirrut for awhile, Jyn finally confesses to Cassian she doesn't think she belongs in TGP and asks him to help her in becoming a better person. He's pretty torn up about doing this because he seriously has a a hard time believing he's a good person, but he agrees to help if only to convince Jyn she's actually a good person who belongs in TGP.

I need to think more on how Bodhi/Baze fit into the story as well....

But I think the gist would be that eventually Jyn and Cassian both discover it's not the actual good place. They do get rebooted many times by Draven (and they fall in love every time 🥺 cause im a sucker for that), but eventually Kay let's slip that there is a map to the real good place and they decide to steal it with the help of the whole Rogue One crew (at risk of their eternal lives) to find the real good place and warn them about Draven.

#ANYWAYS #i am always always here to ramble on AUs lol #so if anyone has additional thoughts feel free to chime in #the good place au #the good place / rogue one #ask b anything

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neo-neos · 1 year

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Can I give my unfiltered opinion on Till The World Ends?

Yes, because who the fuck is going to tell me I can't (Spoilers)

WARNING: I kinda popped off a little here and there, I do not mean harm... I promise. I just really enjoy putting my thoughts on paper sometimes. <3

I would like to start off with a bit of a disclaimer, I am skipping through like 70% of this show because after watching ep 1 I kinda already lost it but I would like to share my opinion anyway. I in no way am trying to make fun of the show or the actors or anything like that. I am just stating my findings that are based on legit nothing other than my opinion on like the few scenes I have fully watched.

In general

The concept/storyline is actually really cool, I think it's a very interesting idea, and was excited to see how this was going to go.

The biggest issue I have with this show is the acting and I ain't here to shit on actors at all but... Can I just say what I want to say? Golf (Best)... Honey... This ain't it... (Idk if he has roles in other shows that do work better for him..) But to be very honest... Art is carrying this show atm.

I legit would get on my knees and bow down in a worshipping manner to translators. Their work is legit so, so important and they are all literal angels. BUT the translation of this show is so insanely distracting, the mistakes are hard to overlook and often cause some massive confusion for me personally. Again, translators deserve some hella praise but... I tried to ignore it, I really did.

My boy Art cannot catch a break with the crying

What the FUCK is up with the insane amount of awkward/unnecessary dialogue?

And now for something yall DEFINITELY DID NOT ASK FOR, an analysis of the eps that also hold my very unfiltered opinion

Ep 1

The prison scene...

They then talk about food for like 1 minute straight AND THEN HE LITERALLY GOES

AGAIN? -

The rest of ep 1 was fine but my lord that scene took forever and mostly repeated the same thing 3 times.

Ep 2

Not bad, not great.

Ep 3

That opening scene was ehm... a bit ?????

You aight miss thang? - She continued to lay there until like the end of the ep as well... I'm: Concerned.

The comfort talk... Sir mr Golf needs a little lesson on how to comfort people because basically Art is saying: Listen mate, I woke up in your house, you basically kidnapped me, let's forget about the fact that you were the one that knocked me the fuck out in the first place for a minute... But okay. Can you please look at this entire ordeal from my perspective for a HOT SECOND? I just wanna go home mate, I wanna go find my family..

Golf: omg no don't cry bby boy, I'm just worried about u.

AND then the scene in the bed was so insanely long and the topics jumped from one thing to another and ??

Ep 4

The breakfast scene felt oddly out of character for the character of Golf, idk how to explain this one to yall sorry.

I am glad AIDS is being talked about.

Ep 5

Gus is cute

2 entire seconds later:

Is this like their thing as brothers? They talk to each other but neither of them listens and then they just... repeat the same question? pls do tell me if that is the actual clue here because, I'm lost.

THEY MADE HIM SING? Bro pls no.

Ep 6

Are you... ???? ARE YOU TWO FOR FUCKING REAL? (sorry this just really got to me..)

Just this, no further comments HAHAHHA

That marriage thing was cute af

Ep 7

THEY DID NOT HAVE TO DO THE DOG LIKE THAT.

Ep 8

This ep holds my favorite meme from this show EVER

BRO SAME HAHAHAHAH - that is a MOOD I have absolutely no idea what was happening throughout the conversation. I know it might be a very interesting, deep and heavy topic I'm pea brain.

NC scene was good

#Till the world ends #Till the world ends the series #thai bl #VERY LONG POST!#I'M SORRY IF THESE ARE LIKE SOME SALTY SALT OPINIONS IM #TRYING #BUT I JUST EHM #YEA

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doctapuella · 10 months

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okay @keefsteef i was gonna send this in an ask but i got SO OUT OF HAND that i'm just putting it here so i can keep it organized!!! it's so many words i'm sorry!!!!!!!!! behold: my konosuke takeshita manifesto

i don't actually believe that you need to know or understand the rules of a match to get a lot out of it! they have a set time limit, and go until either they reach time (ending in a draw), or a wrestler can win either by covering and pinning the opponent (both shoulders flat on the mat for a count of 3) or submitting them (getting them in a hold they can't get out of, and the opponent physically or, if thats not possible, verbally taps out and gives in). everything else you can pick up as you go.

OKAY SO! sometimes it's difficult to find full matches for the bigger professional wrestling promotions (including AEW which is the one i've been mostly watching and the US-based one that takeshita is working with rn). the smaller/indie promotions (which he also wrestles with sometimes) often upload full matches to build hype, and those tend to be really intense and less cinematic and sometimes a lot cooler than televised matches. but! AEW does usually put up highlight clips, and those are really good for catching up on a storyline. so i'm dropping a few takeshita-focused links here for you to enjoy at your leisure:

this video i found is kind of a "who is konosuke takeshita?" mini doc, which is def a great starting point! it's about a year old and there's a lot of filler, but i learned a lot from it about the structure of japanese wrestling and the context of how wrestlers like takeshita have gotten to where they are. the takeshita-specific parts start around 6min.

[quick side note! you may have heard the whole 'wrestling is fake' comment before and really all that means is that outcomes are often predetermined, but the moves are all legit even if coordinated, and any good wrestler will say that their primary goal in any match is to make sure their opponent is safe. which i mention because some matches, especially indies, can get super violent. so for me, i'ts important to know and remember that they're highly trained not only in making stuff look cool but also in keeping both themselves and their opponents safe. some of the clips below include copious amounts of blood, but i didn't put anything with major legit injuries.]

some AEW highlight videos from the past 6 months or so, that give the overall trajectory of his current arc:

match vs bryan danielson (member of the 'blackpool combat club' faction), who was currently on a run to challenge for world champion title against mjf (current champion). couple weeks later, takeshita fought mjf and got real wrecked, and danielson came to help him out, nearly missing his own match in the aftermath, because his opponent's faction-mates trapped him in takeshita's locker room. (the takeshita vs mjf one was also the first match i watched live! so it has a special place in my heart.) (also mjf's character is a fucking dickhead to the extent that i feel the need to give a heads up for it.)

he then had some one-off matches that didn't really impact the story, and tbh i think they didn't have a good grasp on his storyline yet, but then!!!! a huge feud (that is still going on currently and i do not even understand all the layers of it) arose between two groups:

the elite (brothers matt and nick jackson, kenny omega, and later hangman adam page)

danielson's faction, the blackpool combat club (=bcc, also including jon moxley, claudio castagnoli, wheeler yuta)

there's also a manager figure, don callis, who has accompanied omega for years, but during this feud he started trying to lure takeshita into working with him and joining with the elite. he is trash. multiple people have called him a carnie piece of shit.

[almost everything from here on out is summarized in this video, but because i'm obsessive and extra, i added other links too. i do not myself know japanese, so i'm not sure who the guy at the end is or what he's adding in commentary, but from the backdrop it looks like he's with DDT, the japanese promotion takeshita works with and the ones who put together the video.]

at the end of an elite vs bcc match, callis got takeshita to come out and help the elite, more allying as the feud continues and he fights a match alongside omega. after it the bcc thought that, because of his history of respect with danielson, that he might help them. he refused.

then! callis turns on omega and attacks him in a match against another big figure of the bcc, jon moxley. everyone forgets about takeshita. then at the big pay per view event, big match between the two factions, omega is about to secure the win for the elite but then A MASKED FIGURE comes out of the crowd, vaults over callis (who is trying to interfere) and knocks omega to the ground. pulls down the mask to reveal that he's takeshita! working with callis, and now officially A Bad Guy (aka a heel). now he wears a leather jacket and all black gear, and glowers at the camera.

he hasn't gotten to do TOO much since, except this singles match against another awesome wrestler, bandido, then this past weekend he sided with the bcc (still hasn't joined officially) in a big match against the elite, which the elite won (the summary video above includes the announcement of the match, where moxley calls takeshita tall dark and sexy, but it doesn't have the footage of the match itself. i can't find any good clips).

i don't know whats next!!!

some cool indie matches where you can watch a whole match:

against speedball mike bailey in june 2022. bailey is another super unique wrestler (imo) and so it's really cool to see them together! it's one of my favorite matches and even from the first couple minutes you can tell it's a banger and that they're both going to make sure they highlight each other. they've teamed together in the past, so they know each other really well which makes it fun. (side note: mike's wife veda is a commentator on this one, which is also a fun element to this particular match!) i know that in this one, takeshita does one of his signature moves, the blue thunder bomb. it's such a cool, high-impact move. also uses his big finishing move, the german suplex, which he is a master of. and he talks a teeny bit at the end!

AND then this is a pretty recent one, at a lucha libre (mexican wrestling) street event in april. the organizers are a pair of brothers from mexico who also wrestle in AEW, so for them to have thought of takeshita when it came to putting together a lineup for this one-off event speaks very highly of him. i don't know this opponent that well, but the match is really cool, and i also think the setting is really unique and adds a lot as well.

oh my god this is so out of control i'm sorry thank you for your time

#i haven't written an unhinged manifesto in so long I FEEL ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#konosuke takeshita #this is so much text i'm so sorry i didnt break it up at all and i talk too much #but! i am excited! i love talking about things i love!#and this is all i have right now!!!!#long post #just in case the cut doesn't work

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sugdenlovesdingle · 1 year

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I feel like they’ve really wasted mack as a character too like he has potential but barely interacts with moira and her family, even though their his only family in the village? Also what does he even do as a job? I legit thought he worked at the pub until the other day when he said he didn’t lol

And now they’re gonna land him with a kid with Kerry’s “daughter” - feels like they’ve basically just recycled cain/amy/kyle storyline - charity will dump mack, next thing mack will be forcing chloe to have an abortion or they’ll be putting the kid up for adoption *eye rolls*

yeah remember those scenes when he first arrived where he told moira about their mother? Those were so good! I thought we were going to get some genuine conflict between the two of them... but instead it was all forgotten in 5 minutes.

Then him with the lads™ and Aaron. the lads could have been comic relief during covid and Aaron could have had a fling with someone he actually had chemistry with... but they lumped aaron with kayak bore and Mack's friendship with Ryan was only remembered when he had to call Charity a slut for sleeping with his mate.

And the early days with him and Charity were good too - when it was a fun little fling... but then they went from fuck buddies to having a baby in 10 seconds flat - and in between that charity was making heart eyes at her ex. (I'm still convinced they meant to reunite vanity but michelle's pregnancy made them change their plans)

and yeah the future for Mack is bleak - maybe he can move into the box room at keepers when charity kicks him out for knocking someone else up and he decides to Be There for Chloe and the baby.

#Anonymous

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knowlesian · 2 years

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okay!!! let’s talk izzy ‘big ol’ motherfucking duffel bag of shit’ hands and the possibility of a redemption arc for him, since i went ahead and put it out there in the world already but i haven’t done a legit piece of writing about it yet.

i said this flippantly in response to an ask i got a week or so ago, but i stand by it: the wildest thing this show could do, beyond bend the laws of space and time as well as ocean travel, is have the toxic white guy not only acknowledge and identify his toxicity but set about making things right without any expected return on the investment.

i have a lot of issues with the overall way the culture i swim in processes the ideas of forgiveness/redemption in general, and why is... way too long to get into here, but i’ll just leave it at the short version: ( 1 ) we emphasize apologies/subsequent and immediate forgiveness as a tool to smooth social equilibrium and not a way to acknowledge you think you fucked up and should say so outside your own head ( 2 ) we view redemption in incredibly weird and stealth jesus-flavored tones and it’s real fucked up.

then once you add race (or any other stripe of marginalization) and the intrinsic power differentials that brings into the mix it starts getting even more complicated.

the sheer amount of “white person learns racism is Bad, Actually through the eternal patience and internal fortitude of the person actually experiencing said racism and EVEN KNOWING THIS MAKES THE WHITE ONE A HERO YAY!” in media is just... we all know it’s there. this is a STAPLE in entertainment, there’s a lot of great writing out there already on it so i’ll just say: it’s a really worn and frustrating trope that encourages real world cycles of expecting incredible amounts of emotional labor to be poured into convincing people basic human dignity is important.

i’ll be honest: on almost any other show, that established pattern is a large part of why even the idea of an izzy redemption arc would really, really worry me.

thank fuck this isn't that show, because i think ofmd might have one of the only creative teams kicking around who are not only capable of doing this right, but are interested in doing it at all.

the reason i say that is a little galaxy brained, but bear with me: if the only reason ed valued izzy was his propensity for fucking shit up without needing suggestions on how, he could have chucked that little fucker over the side years ago and replaced him with another first mate. maybe one who wouldn’t fairly constantly challenge his authority once ed decides things like “pirate talent shows are the wave of the future, actually”, even!

(the way izzy never truly allows ed to have the absolute final say despite calling him his captain is so juicy and fucked up and i need to leave talking more about that for my future just izzy n’ ed post, but i do want to bring it up here as part of my reasoning about a potential redemption arc.)

so: the fact that izzy has kept his place at ed’s side despite it all leads me to the conclusion that once upon a time, for whatever reason, ed offered up his real name to izzy and brought him into his confidence because he saw in izzy a spark of something more than the sum of his current grody little parts, and he keeps him around in part because of that spark.

the feeling that there was a world where izzy wasn’t damaged by the expectations put on his specific performance of masculinity and in that world he doesn’t run the fuck around policing everybody else’s is part of what i find so compelling about con’s performance; i want to take izzy to therapy and after session i want to beat him about the head and shoulders with a brick. he’s so crunchy! so ugly! so fucking sad and so fascinating.

i’ve talked about this a little bit (here, here, and here) and there’s a longer explainer coming on this, i swear, but for now just take it on faith: outside his textual storyline, izzy stands in as a commentary on colonizers bringing Weird White Jesus Shit everywhere with them and doing their best to obliterate any given indigenous culture so they can replace it with echoes of their own.

what’s even better (and more realistic!) is i would bet izzy is very aware of the constructs of masculinity he and ed share, but has no fucking idea about the fucked up racist shit he’s enforcing on top of that.

it feels very weird to say “i love” about anything like this but i really do love how the writers balance these two truths. if we want to understand the complexities of ed and izzy’s shared storyline, we can’t pry them apart, but the narrative allowing that izzy understands one level of his shit and has no idea about the other is so fucking perfect. this is how it works in real life, time and time again. it’s why the phrase “intent isn’t magic” even exists.

because we gotta be real: izzy is not A Cool Guy for doing any of this to ed. (he might say ‘for’ is a better verb there; he is an Unreliable Narrator and i stand by to.)

if i had to guess, i’d say whether or not he lies to himself and says he’s 100000% helping/protecting ed exists on a sliding scale by the issue and moment. regardless of that exact ratio, the whole mythos he’s build around who ed actually is and who izzy is in relation to edward lands in a place that has everything to do with izzy’s issues, and very little with izzy seeing ed as a whole, real person who is allowed agency and choice outside what izzy sees as Good and Right behavior.

because i’m me, i have to drop a quote here before i move on. it’s from the bluest eye (by toni morrison, a novel both so emotionally unsettling/crushing i almost never reread it in full and so fucking gorgeous entire paragraphs will live rent-fucking-free in my brain until the very second i die) and the moment izzy and ed’s whole thing strolled into my head to also live there forever, i couldn’t help but start using it in my grabbag of izzy inspirations.

Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe. There is no gift for the beloved. The lover alone possesses his gift of love. The loved one is shorn, neutralized, frozen in the glare of the lover’s inward eye.

this is what i mean when i say izzy loves ed in my meta; he loves as well as he can, in the ways he can, but his love is one that requires ed be exactly who izzy wants him to be or suffer the consequences.

it’s why i think jim and olu function as such a perfect bright mirror to ed and izzy; olu and jim’s love for each other does not depend on the other living up to a set of predetermined expectations, and it has nothing to do with control. much like pete and lucius, olu and jim know they don’t own each other. they love each other, and healthy love isn’t about control.

so, with that lens top of mind: what izzy tells himself is both up for debate and immaterial in terms of “okay, let’s step back: what’s the actual net impact?”

because izzy can tell himself anything he wants. the analysis ballgame here is what is he actually doing to ed, in reality, and how is that effecting them both?

honestly the fact that the show itself gets this without discounting that izzy’s own emotional journey is part of why it's so fucking good. they can tell a full story about both these men without placing izzy's own issues above the damages he deals out.

izzy’s trauma is another piece of important context, but the people he hurts aren’t required to call a mulligan in order to understand and empathize with that.

kind of like how if you slap me in the face because you were spinning wildly around with your arms out in perfect slapping position, i still get to be mad you hit me in the face! because... you hit me. in the face. but if i want to take in the nuance it would also be good to admit to myself there’s a difference between that unhappy accident and somebody who hit me on purpose.

what i do with that nuance and if i choose to keep associating with the slapper is my choice and i firmly believe that as a universal fucking standard for everybody alive, but knowing that there is a difference is what makes ofmd so important and game-changing.

because like i said: we know izzy is damaged! he too was hurt and railroaded by the dominant culture, that’s why he’s fucking like this at all. somebody sat baby izzy down and said “this is how the world works. do not question: do not seek other lanes. there are no paths to freedom, fuck you if you ever thought otherwise.”

izzy didn’t make this shit up; izzy was born into a world ready to kick him in the teeth, too. that’s a huge part of this.

unfortunately his reaction to that messaging was to become a full-on bootlicker and enforcer for parts of said culture! Not Great, Bob. Not Fucking Great.

just like the show, we should be able to feel empathy for izzy and not excuse his actions at once.

which brings me to why this redemption arc can't be about how izzy is sad, or getting him laid. (though the first is true and i would not be opposed on principle to the second at a hypothetical later date when he’s not so toxic i would not wish his version of love upon my worst enemy.)

at the end of the day in the fucked up web/ouroboros of intersectional power dynamics we all have to exist in, izzy is a white man; ed is māori.

izzy will always be able to fall back on being a white man, his sexuality aside; ed cannot. when izzy refuses to allow ed to make a single choice that doesn’t fall inside izzy’s limits of acceptable, he is enforcing those dynamics. his intent: not, as it turns out, magic.

and jesus fucking christ, does ed deserve to have that validated.

“you weren’t crazy; you weren’t out of pocket, i was. you asked me to stop a million ways, sometimes by literally saying hey would you stop it, and i never listened. i really fucking should have. i’m sorry.”

i admit right here and now: i’m so very biased. it’s the activist fantasy, you know? the problem with setting out to change minds is you have to deal with people who haven’t already gotten their shit together, kind of a lot. it’s frustrating and it hurts and it makes you want to give the fuck up pretty regularly.

(and when you didn’t choose the activist lane, you just fucking exist and people put their shit on you because you are in the world at all, being who you are, unable to hide: oh, baby. ohhhh, does that suck even harder.)

so yeah: i’ve got a dug-in position on this. i love ed and i want him to get the validation and apology he deserves, and the idea of people like izzy actually being able to change is what keeps me going, in an existential sense.

that doesn’t mean i’m wrong!

in this case, with this deeply intersectional show—i think it means i’m right.

because the end goal of trying to deprogram and dismantle the kind of shit that leads to one mister izzy not a muppet hands, rolling around stomping upon joy, is not to punish men like izzy. it’s not to make them suffer for what they’ve done, though sometimes emotionally speaking that is all i want and i fully admit it; it's still not the goal.

the goal is to make them stop; the hope, i suppose, that thing with feathers that keeps us going even when it seems impossible, is that by blowing up the system we can make them better.

in real life, this often only happens (if it happens at all) because the people men like izzy hurt had to hold their personal izzy’s hand and gently cajole and stay meek, just so they could wait and wait and wait for even the smallest scrap of acknowledgment about past sins. once all that painful, often dehumanizing work is done, moving beyond there to restitution or reparations can usually get fucked; “it happened a long time ago, let it go!” is the preferred refrain, whether a long time ago is a racist joke somebody made last week or all that genocide their ancestors did for hundreds of years.

there are a lot of reasons why that is, but for my purposes now i’m going to focus on this: moving from apology to action isn’t about comforting the person who fucked up, it’s about evening the scales and centering the person they hurt. it requires work, and it usually means sitting in discomfort and understanding internal motivation in service of actually knocking it the fuck off.

that’s a huge part of why i don’t want ed to be the one leading izzy towards this, or the one to guide him through it.

in a proper redemption arc for izzy, ed gets to be pissed off; ed gets to be sad, ed gets to do and be whatever the fuck ed wants, and izzy still needs to be sorry for what he did.

this is what i was getting at above, when i said we tend to see apologies as social panacea and not as a way to say “i really fucked up, intentionally or not, and i know that.”

if izzy stops being sorry (or anybody stops being sorry) because the reception of their apology doesn’t make them feel good, it lays bare the actual priorities at play. it says: sure, i might be sorry, but only if you are properly gracious. i didn’t need to consider your dignity in full, but you better watch it if you think you can get away with even a fraction of the shit i brought to bear on you.

but wait: ofmd is writing us a big intersectional muppet love song! they made us a world where we muppets win despite the rules trying to keep us back, not because those systems don’t exist.

and in that world, i am pretty sure even izzy hands could say he’s sorry and really fucking mean it.

aaaaand that’s it for part one since apparently i had to write all this before i get to what i think that redemption arc could look like and why jim and lucius are the two characters most narratively equipped to blow izzy’s fucking mind about the gender essentialist toxic masculinity snuggie he has so firmly wrapped himself in. part two: that! coming... at some point.

(renew this shit, hbo, i will FUCKIN FIND WHOEVER IS HOLDING THIS UP and we will have a chat.)

#our flag means death #ofmd spoilers #izzy hands #edward teach #my ofmd meta #today: not for joke tags once again!#i will say that izzy may be a stupid motherfucker but i want him to be a BETTER stupid motherfucker #in the sense of: not constantly forcing ed to live out a mini-version of colonial subjugation every fuckin' afternoon #also all the other weird but NOT fun shit he does #the fun stuff can stay #tldr; this show fucking slaps #give it awards and renew it or i will BURN HBO TO THE FUCKIN GROUND #also weird white jesus post coming soon i promise i just have to do a rewatch before i finish

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ravenadottir · 2 years

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just give s4 a go. you’re gonna eventually run out of things to write about for s2 and it’s not that bad tbh. fusebox was just as bad as they were when you played s2.

when you try to convince someone by using the phrase "it's not that bad" you know it's pretty bad.

but here's the thing, season 4 is pretty warm to cold from what i've seen, except for the mistakes they made. i've had over 20 asks talking about the mc's customization alone! like, mate, it's a sign. i'm not even counting the many i got about the problems they've encountered so far, whether about the plot, the characters, the mc's storyline in general.

i have daily asks complaining about s4. if you're curious about it, under the cut contains spoilers for what anons have been bringing to me, or things i learned on youtube playthroughs.

mc has the worst customization.

not worse than season 1 from but comparing one with the other, and the thought of one being almost 4 years ago??? it's worse. they're moving backwards.

black hairstyles behind a paywall?

blantaly racist. i don't care if they released them now; it happened later and that really says black hairstyles was an afterthought. fuck that asbolutely.

mc is the bombshell and her first contact with the boys is to dance on their lap for a challenge.

plus, HOW FUCKING AWKWARD is that? i'll tell you, a lot! rebecca did that on season 6 and i was so uncomfortable by proxy because you could see no one knew what to do. that's not hot nor it's exciting, it's just stupid.

first of all... WHAT? if priya had done that everyone would call her names that i abstain from saying. the first time you're having an interaction and it's grinding on someone? without even knowing their names? and them not knowing yours?? fusebox really went with it for shock value and it didn't go anywhere did it?

there's a girl that legit tells mc to back off from her couple, menacingly.

what people thought hope was on s2 but i don't see anyone calling this lexi out anywhere. GEE, WONDER WHY.

you have to steal someone from a girl and she's left single and pissed (?).

so that's a good thing. but apparently handlebar is not an option so why am i here?!?!?! plus, if you go with will, he'll dump you and go with a girl named thabi.

that's FUCKING AWESOME, it's the best part! i reckon people are complaining but if mc was an og and her boy had dumped the bombshell to stay with her, will would be a hero, but mc is not og so he's a monster? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE, because the math ain't mathing!

AND people gave graham much more shit for a BOAT tattoo but this bitch ass doesn't get anything? again, make it make sense! the dude looks like a public restroom wall, please i'm so tired of the tattoos fusebox decides to give them.

there's two new guys who are boring?

at this point we had bobby, gary and ibrahim, and lucas and henrik were just arriving. now i see people in my inbox absolutely fuming because these new guys couldn't be worse... LUCAS AND HENRIK WOULD NEVER SUCK THIS MAJORLY.

also, i saw the white hair dude and all i could think of was sam winchester's bad wig saga:

someone had their period and talked about it.

i actually like that! more of period problems because it's 2022 and it has been happening since fore-fucking-ever. i support that!

they didn't make any effort to compensate what people spent on gems in the old platform. they announced the new app WAY later than they should've and that caused people to spend money on the wrong app. now they're bucks shorter and there's nothing fusebox wants to do about it.

the bad publicity has definitely taken a toll on their online presence, consequentially on the volume of players.

the matchmaker look on the islanders is absolutely uncanny valley in the worst way possible. imagine if these hot ass islanders were made into s2 style. nah don't say anything, just picture it! i've seen a playthrough on youtube, they don't emote like they should, like they think something's funny but they don't laugh or smile, it's very weird. and the way they smile or move is just very sophia the robot. i'm not wanda maximoff, i don't fucks with emotional machinery.

the animation is so... meh. it's there, no reason to make a fuss about it because it doesn't make a difference in my opinion. they shouldn't even brag about it.

it's a general consensus that there's only two hot people in there and they're girls. judging by this whole will ordeal i reckon we won't have a girl couple for a very long time, which is... 300 steps backwards.

there's a page leaking everything and i fucks with that.

i would have to be at least ok about playing this shit but i'm really not. i feel more dead inside about this than i felt when i saw s3's art.

this season is not even average, and if it's possible it's just as bad as s3 or worse.

the reason why i'm not talking or playing season 4 is because i don't have anything good to say. for every 1 (one) good thing they did there's a thousand wrong. it becomes aggravating when you see the same person shitting all over something (even though that thing absolutely deserves it), and i don't want to be so negative.

plus, i would rather respond asks about s2 than playing s4, it's pretty simple. there's absolutely no joy in playing season 4 for lots of reasons but the main one? it doesn't look worth my time.

#litg #litg spoilers #love island the game #queue #spoilers #litg s4 #litg season 4

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dragynkeep · 3 years

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This "jaune granted penny her dying wish" is such bullshit. He fucking killed her, the character that was suicidal all v8 long. What kind of message is that? Its fucking disgusting what the writers wrote there and they should be ashamed and not play the "oh poor jaune he had to kill a friend" card like! He didnt have to! He could be stubborn and heal her or something different could happen! Its their story they literally could wrote anything else! And wow yes jaune is more tragic right now then penny who wanted to die all volume and ends up getting killed by a friend who has healing abilities. Like how can you watch that scene and not drop the show like a piece of hot trash it is.

legit, especially since we had jaune wrestling with suicidality in v5 but unlike penny, his existence was actually validated by his friends & he was allowed to live. penny was an android & therefore “not human” & was specifically made human to die after spending all volume asking to die so her friends would be safe. it’s just a heinous way to write this type of storyline but not unexpected considering the ableism & lack of respect or care towards the mentally ill from mkek & rt themselves. how are those ptsd ridden animators doing guys? we’re still hearing that the crunch is happening btw, especially to your poc creators !! but they care about mental illness soooo much, they’re such great allies guys !!

also yay, like jaune needed anymore tragedy that would shove this fucking creators pet back into the spotlight over the main girls. somehow he’s also a main character but his team mates aren’t. y’know, the ones who didn’t get to murder the robot waifu or go to madagascar too? that’s really interesting.

#rwby #rwde #jaune arc critical #penny polendina #lie ren #nora valkyrie #ruby rose #owl.txt #answered #q #suicide ment /#suicide /

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railmerosalie · 3 years

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I found this one in the drafts from ages ago

What people are like in my DR: Marauders edition

Sirius:

the cheekiest mother fucker I've ever met. I didn't expect him to be as kind as he was, like this man is like a rock to me. Gives 10/10 hugs. Only down side is that he dates a new chick like every week and when he dumps them they start to resent the whole group, one tried to push me down some stairs. When hes drunk he will either be the human equivalent of a puppy or a sad horny bitch, oh yeah he's a mild alcoholic.

Remus:

I mean he's my twin brother so apart from him policing my every movement, friendship and relationship I guess he's okay ?? Won't let me date anyone and is way too overprotective. Has a solid jumper collection which i steal. Mum and dads favourite and overal nerd, would die for him though. Can't control his liquor and its kinda sweet, Sirius stays with him to make sure he's okay. He reads a bit too much Jane Austin. Has sooo many chicks after him but just never notices them.

James:

Shares on braincell with Sirius and another one with his dick. I mean we have this whole enemies to lovers storyline going on rn. His personality is just, quiddich, friends and being an arrogant bustard. Cares lot about his friends and studies. Is actually quite cute when he stops talking. Gives really nice hugs, softer than Sirius but more firm. Listens to Fleetwood mac and the Beatles on a loop (me too lmao). Will buy you a hot chocolate or a butter beer if you ask.

Peter:

Rat man who i hate. Is sexist, I tried to punch him after he said women were too sensitive to play quidditch as we might cry if the balls come near us, Sirius had to carry me out of the dorm. Smells like hay thats been left in the rain.

Marlene:

My actual wife who i would die for. Very artistic and will probably draw you when she's bored. Best drinking buddie anyone can ask for. Honestly I want to date her so bad but it'll muddy up the James plot line. Is such a softy who gives the best cuddles. Has an attitude problem but I low-key love it. Smells like cranberries, vanilla and maple. I can't describe how much I love her. Really good at charms, she can do pretty much anything she puts her mind to.

Lily:

She doesn't like me because I'm opinionated??? Honeslty idk why she doesn't like me, all of our mates don't get it either. She's really sweet with Rem so I can't really fault her for that. I wanna be closer with her but at this point I'm not sure if it will work out

Snape:

A fucking incel that smells like bleach and toothpaste. Legit the worst human I've met so far, sexist, racist and homophobic to tick off some. He sent me to the hospital wing and I nearly died so fuck you Snape!!!!! I got him back tho.

#marauders #shifting stories #reality shifting #shifting realities hogwarts #james potter #remus lupin #sirius x reader #sirius black #peter pettigrew #lily potter #anti snape #regulus x reader #sirius and regulus #marlene mckinnon #dorcus #shifting

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mischas · 2 years

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I read the guardians’ article and it made me so mad, especially because it made me imagine what this pod could have been if Mischa was hosting it with them. It would have been such a bold move. Despite the good memories, to learn and grow from that nostalgic hold to the past.

It’s funny, in an awful way, that the article is about women speaking up about their experiences and then RB is like: oh these characters were actually very well written and misunderstood!

The part where she’s “willing” to listen to what Mischa has to say lmao, who does she think she is? Mischa doesn’t have to explain anything to her, and it makes me imagine Mischa not having support from any cast mate at the time, imagine how lonely it must have been, that awful feeling of “maybe I’m overreacting” “maybe this is normal”, ugh I can’t stand it. Mischa deserves to be heard, I wish there was a pod of this blog and we could write/speak out all our essays on how Marissa deserves better.

PS: happy holidays, dear!🌻 thank you for keeping this blog alive and blooming 🧡

I know, I know, like damn. How fucking tone deaf. Lmao I once thought about making a podcast where I watch shit that I know I already like and have opinions of and just talk a bunch of shit 🙃 If podcasts were as easy to make as they seem, I totally would.

I just got so sad reading what you wrote about Mischa feeling alone even back then during filming, oh my god. I hate that she must've felt crazy and alone. Like half of the core four were legit besties with their BOSS. How is that appropriate and fair? Imagine knowing that the besties of said boss are being written for with funny dialogue and low-key storylines and you're carrying the heavy drama on your back with weak writing? Shit.

Thank you so much!! That's so sweet and thanks for interacting with me 💕💕 I hope you're having a nice holiday season 🎄

#ask #anonymous

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acourtofthought · 3 months

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Cauldron is corrupting!

I think it's funny because no one really knows how partners are chosen. We only have what Rhys says and some things about the Cauldron that was used for evil by villains who just want to destroy it. Rhys himself points out that I don't think he knows everything about it from a book.

And in addition to staying in this speech he ends up making it seem like the woman cannot reject and she has this Choice of rejet then create a theory that is so unnecessary to justify sending it and the end of the game. To be honest, if the Cauldron chose companions I don't believe in, the bond would be impossible to refuse because it would also be a corrupt bond. Ixi has already fed another fanfic with this thought.

And being completely negative, I think it's very unrealistic in a world where there are several couples of happy Partners, the Corropimdo Cauldron because they made the mistake of only ONE COUPLE.

For me, the choices the couple makes are the right ones, if the Male chooses to be bad then it will never work out.

And besides why that couple is wrong, what is the basis for saying that Elucien was wrong and won't work? I still think they have everything to be happy.

This entire argument is so nonsensical it would be funny if it weren't so frustrating that they honestly seem to believe it. First off, the Cauldron, when held in female hands (mentioned in ACOWAR), all life flows from it. And the first person who is told to have used the Cauldron? The Mother. And who have many of the characters mentioned as the one who decided bonds? The Mother / Urd / Fate. Mating bonds are predetermined. Fact when you take into consideration that Maeve knew who Rowan's mate would be before her birth. The Cauldron alone does not seem to "decide" this when you take into consideration that there are fae living in Midgard with mating bonds, who do not live in a world with the Cauldron. Yes, the Cauldron was used for evil by the Daglan. By the King of Hybern. But when it wasn't being used by evi people, it just sat there. At one point Miryam and Drakon used it in order to turn her fae but nothing went wrong because it was being used by good people. So where is anyone in seriousness coming up with the idea that just because once upon a time some bad creatures used it for evil, that evil has carried on thousands and thousands of years later? But not for any of the other bonds given to our favorites. Not Elide or Lorcan, not Aelin or Rowan, not Rhys or Feyre, not Nesta or Cassian, not the hinted bond of Helion and the LoA, not the mating bond between Bryce and Hunt, not the mating bond between Danika and Baxion. Not even when Nesta or Elain were made especially when you consider the Cauldron loved Elain and honored her with gifts (not something an evil corrupt Cauldron would do, right?). Oh no. No, the evil has only decided to finally reveal itself for the ELUCIEN BOND!!!!! Because SJM clearly needed a believable reason to dissolve their bond.....after personally deciding to make them mates.....a reason outside of the fact that ELAIN CAN CHOOSE TO REJECT THE BOND. It's actually bat-shit crazy that anyone thinks SJM, when writing the final book in another characters trilogy, decided to casually insert that the Cauldron has been forever tainted just so she can prove another characters mating bond is not legit. Characters who didn't even show up in the crossover. I LOVE Elain but it's theories like this that make me understand why half the fandom hates her character when some create the most convoluted storylines for her, making her "real" mating bond with Az the most important plot to ever happen to the ACOTAR series. Like. Ever.

#anti e/riel #elain archeron

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calliecat93 · 3 years

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ST: TNG S5 Watchthrough Episodes 18-21

Cause and Effect: Who’s ready for the ST equivalent of Groundhog Day? Yep, we have a time loop episode. This is actually my mom’s favorite episode so I’ve been waiting for this one XD.So the episode opens with the Enterprise blown up… and after the titles we have a poker game as though nothing happened. But Crusher begins to have deja vu and as the loops continue, so do the others. So... If you’ve seen time loop stories you more or less know how this goes. Though unlike most of the oens I’ve seen where just one person becomes aware of it, while Crusheris the first the others also begin to take notice. The don’t remember everything, but they start picking up on it and figuring out that something’s up. Again, I appreciate the cast being written as competent and not stupid cause it’s very easy to do with this kind of plot. Not sure I at all understand Data’s explanation on how he figured out how to end the loop... but hey, it ended. So it was good. Nothing mind-blowing but very much enjoyable. Any time that Crusher gets prominent screentime I’m happy, but again I just appreciate the cast being intelligent. Also the Kelsey Grammer cameo at the end, Hell yes~! 3.5/5.

The First Duty: Okay Wesley, second guest star appearance. Let’s see how it goes. Which, haha... it’s not a happy episode for him. There’s been an accident at the Academy and while thankfully Wesley is alright aside from an injured arm, one of his classmates has died. Well… that’s sad. That n and of itself could fuel a story all its own. But as a hearing is held, it becomes clear that something more is going on. As it turns out, Wesley’s teammate died because the entire squadron not only performed an illegal flight procedure… but lied about it. First that it was an accident, then that the accident and his own demise was his own fault. Why? To save their own skins. Now to be fair it’s clear that they’re scared, but it doesn’t change the fact that they’re essentially lying/disgracing a dead person to save themselves. Even the kid’s own father gets convinced of this, which only adds to Wesley’s guilt. I actually felt really bad for Wesley and I kinda feel like Picard, upon confronting him, was… pretty harsh. Wesley’s actions were wrong, but again he was clearly scared and felt guilty for it. Thankfully he does ultimately do the right thing, accepting the consequences. Hopefully, Wesley can push through it and grow from it if he shows up again. My mom doesn’t like this episode I guess because of how it portrayed Wesley, but honestly? I like it for that exact reason. Welsey isn’t portrayed necessarily as bad, he’s reacting like… well… a scared nineteen-year-old. He made a major mistake, and he paid the price for it, though it certainly wasn’t the worst punishment that he could have received. While Picard was rather harsh when confronting him, it was the push that Wesley needed to do the right thing. I think that this was the kind of episode that Wesley needed, where he commits a huge screw-up and unlike when he was a regular, pays the consequences for it… it’s just a shame that they did it after he stopped being a regular. I can see why some may dislike this one because of Wesley’s portrayal, but I think it was good and was long overdue for the character without villainizing him. He’s intelligent and capable of greatness, but he’s got a lot to learn, especially after this. Let’s hope that he does. 3.5/5.

Cost of Living: It’s another Lwaxana episode folks… yay. Okay despite my complaints about her episodes, the last one’s issues I had was more due to the subject matter than the character. If anything, she was the best part of it. So maybe this time things will be better. So this time, Worf is having parenting problems with Troi trying to help him and Alexander make it work. Lwaxana is on the Enterprise as she’s getting married, to Troi’s exasperation and Picard’s utter relief, and ends up butting in. Oh and the ship malfunctions because it’s Star Trek. So… it was okay I guess? The Holodeck scene was just utterly bizzare and I’m still trying to wrap my brain around WTF just happened. To be honest, Troi is the best part of this episode. She’s trying to reasonable help Worf with his parenting issues, Alexander with his lack of discepline/responsibility, her mother marrying a guy she never met and bending agains the Betazoid traditions that she usually follows, and she’s clearly just fed up with everyone especially her mother. It makes her such a joy to watch, haha! Lwaxana was… alrigh. On the one hand, it ws not at all her place to butt into the whole Alexander situation especially since Troi was handling it. On the other hand, the episode does go more into how lonely Lwaxana is and make her manhunting/desire tog et married more sympathetic. Te previous episodes always played it mainly as a joke/a condition of her species at her age, but it never allowed her to actually delve into why she’s so desperate. How she’s fears rowing older and being all alone without someone to love her… and gosh I’ve absoluteley seen this before and it’s just sad. Consideirng that this came out the same year that Gene Roddenberry, majel Barret’s husband and of course as we know the franchise creator, has passed… I can only imagine how rough this had to be for the poor woman. But if she wad channeling that into her performance, she did a fantastic job. Also Lwaxana’s fiance? He was played by freakin’ Tony Jay. The man is a freakin’ legend the voice acting world (probably best known as Frollo in Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, by far his darkest performance yet probably his best) and it’s the first time I’ve seen him in a live aciton role. He plays a snobish asshole and obviousy the marriage falls through in the end, but he made the episode worth it! So yeah, I’m still not a big Lwaxana fan but they are trying to add more to her and overall it was fine. It’s not great, for example the Enterprise’s plot felt tacked on to fill in the runtime, the pacing was rouh, and the storylines were not at all balanced out well. But it was overall fine, though i think Half a Life did her better. Troi, some legit Lwaxana development, and getting an appearance by Tony Jay made it worth it XD 2/5.

The Perfect Mate: While preparing for a peace treaty, the Enterprise picks up two Ferengi, one of which messes with the cargo, and releases a young woman named Kamala, a mutant amongst her kind whose abilities let her become the perfect mate for any man, from suspended animation. She was meant to stay that way until the ceremony... and was meant to be a ‘gift’ to one of the sides. Yeah... that’s not at all messed up. Due to the Prime Directive, the crew can’t interfere... and we find out that there was a more complicated reason as to why Kamala was as she was. This is pretty much the TNG version of Elaan of Troyius from TOS. Kamala is completely different from Elaan, more composed and well-mannered while Elaan was more aggressive and upfront. Looking back I do feel I was too harsh in calling Elaan a brat considering the conditions she was under, but the episode certainly didn’t give he much sympathy from anyone (aside from Kirk) while they do better calling out the arrangement here. Then again it’s been months since I watched the episode so I may be remembering wrong. But it does ultimately end with Kamala entering an unhappy marriage, but she bonds with Picard and ends up acting as his perfect mate, so... hope that goes well. The whole empath/metamorph thing felt necessary as well, you didn’t need a reason to make men attracted to her for this episode to work. Which yes it only works on men, remember this is the 90’s folks. I’m kind of baffled as to why Troi wasn’t in this one considering we have another empath, that could have added a more interesting layer and justified that part. But I shall repeat what I said in Elaan when they put Kirk under that tear-induced love spell: you don’t need those elements to keep a plot spicy. The Ferengi we're also utterly pointless. While I feel that the subject is better done than in TOS and it felt more evenly paced... I’m still not a fan of it. It has more of the nuanced debate on the arranged marriage plot that I was annoyed that Elaan didn’t have... but I’m still pretty meh about it overall. it’s alright, but just that: alright. 2.5/5.

Okay folks, we’re five episodes away from finishing S5. So far... it’s only been alright. There’s been a couple of strong episodes, but overall it’s remained firmly in the average range. Maybe S4 hyped me up too much, IDK. I’m still having fun, but maybe I’m just starting to get fatigued from TNG. But we don’t have much more to go, and there’s still plenty of time for S6 to change my mind, so we’ll see how things go from here.

#st watchthrough

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oflgtfol · 3 years

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kung fu panda is truly dreamworks’ best franchise. yes, even over httyd

while the first two httyd movies were phenomenal, the last one was, well. i mean. perhaps it was also phenomenal on a writing level, i couldn’t tell you, because frankly the whole experience was so upsetting lol. you get invested in hiccup and toothless’s friendship, only for the rug to be ripped right out from under you. and the fact that the instigating moment was Heterosexuality of all things is just salt in the wound

kung fu panda, however, is another franchise that deals heavily with family and friendship, yet it does not emotionally punish you for getting invested in these relationships. the third movie was also not as good as the first two, but it was not as good due to superficial reasons. i’d rather have a weaker villain drag the movie down than literally never be able to watch the movie again due to how actually upsetting it is. lol

i just cannot believe how httyd 1 and 2 were all about hiccup and toothless being the bestest of friends against all odds. they fought to stay together even when everyone and everything was against them................... only for the franchise to end with them separating, and like, never seeing each other again except for some random ass occasion years later. like what was the point of the other movies then? all that, for what? toothless to leave for some random ass Girl Dragon? it’s literally the most upsetting thing ever

like i can understand that the whole, dragons and humans don’t belong together, storyline was built up from the very first movie. it was a long time coming. but i just can’t believe that the conclusion would be “ok so let’s just go fuck off to our own world and live entirely separate and never see each other again despite the immense love between us” rather than like, “fuck you. we will MAKE this work no matter the odds against us” like what had happened in the first and second movies...?

kung fu panda, however, also had friend and family relationships set up from the very first movie, and they were never cast aside, but rather continually built up and always served a core function of each movie. the central themes were carried through naturally and consistently and never did they let the audience down emotionally like that...... the first movie introduced the idea that po is the only one of his kind in this area, the second movie explained that it’s because he lost his bio family due to genocide, the third movie then had him reconnect with the remaining members of his community. it wasn’t that like, the second movie showed the panda genocide, and then the third movie was just like, oh well fuck the other pandas then. like it was the natural progression that po would reconnect with his community, the story didn’t take that away from him. nor did it take everything he had already established away from him either, like yes he’s meeting and befriending all these new people, but his core relationships are still important to him, and it’s actually the B plot of the movie how his adoptive father doesnt want to be left behind and the conclusion is that he wasn’t, and that he no less important to po just bc he’s not po’s bio dad. the conclusion to the franchise was emotionally rewarding because it followed everything that had been set up earlier in the previous movies

like imagine if we saw kfp 1 and 2 and saw how important ping is for po and then the third movie was just like, oh lol he isn’t po’s real dad so fuck ping. and po went off to live with li shan as his Only Father? imagine how unsatisfying and upsetting that would be. but no! instead the movie says that po now has TWO dads, and they are both just as important to him

i get that plot-wise these two situations (toothless leaving vs ping raising po) have nothing in common but im comparing them in terms of the narrative set up and emotional reward (or lack thereof) at the end

IDK like yes i love httyd as much as the next person but im lowkey so sick of ppl acting like kfp is less than httyd all because it seems silly at the surface level...... but kung fu panda is genuinely so good and so few people acknowledge that and it’s especially annoying considering that i legit cannot even ever rewatch httyd 3 meanwhile kfp 3, while it has its flaws, is a much more enjoyable experience.... like i am SICK OF IT..... APPRECIATE KUNG FU PANDA OR ELSE!!!

and i can’t deny that i am probably hurt by the ending of httyd more so than the average person.. like, not to bring my aromanticism into a random conversation, but like. i really appreciate both these franchises specifically because of their emphasis on friends and family as opposed to romance. which is why the ending of httyd feels like such a betrayal... toothless and hiccup were ENEMIES TO FRIENDS, platonic SOULMATES, they were the baddest bitches out there, and then toothless just LEAVES bc of some random ass girl?!?!?! you do a lil mating dance and are suddenly ready to leave your bestest friend?!?!?! it’s literally so upsetting LMFAOOOOOO........ kung fu panda never did me dirty like that and its exploration of friends and family is so so good in a way that i wish more media would.......

#brot posts #TL;DR IT'S LOVING KUNG FU PANDA HOURS ON MAIN!!!#idk if any of this is coherent #edit: ok. actually. i am saying this genuinely but i would say that shrek is a strong contender for dreamworks' best franchise #i am saying that genuinely #shrek's biggest weakness is the third movie but that overall gives it 3 very strong movies #its commentary on pop culture + beauty standards + self love et cetera are all so good and i am frustrated #that like its all reduced to memes LIKE YES shrek memes are funny but also the movies are so good shut UP

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ibitchytimemachine · 5 years

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Chapters: 53/? Fandom: Dragon Ball Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con Summary:

With Earth destroyed, Bulma and the Z gang find themselves in an outer space guerilla war against a tyrant. The mysterious Vengeance seems to be the only hope to win the war against Frieza, but teaming up with him brings its own set of problems.

AU, ensemble cast but with focus on BV. Several other pairings (m/F and m/m) and non-romantic relationships get significant screen time.

While Vengeance often appears to be a light-hearted, funny story, there are darker elements running through several storylines. Warnings of non-con are for isolated incidents and don't reflect the story as a whole, but explicit descriptions of sex, violence, and general depravity are contained within these chapters.

Of all the Vegebul fics I have read, this one is easily my favorite. It has nuance, gives (almost) every character full and rich motivations and story lines. You find yourself rooting for the oddest pairs and weirdest people. I can not recommend this story enough, and if you wanna read my thoughts on it, lets dive into spoilers below the cut!

So this story has something for everyone. You want thick well thought out and executed plot? DONE! Humor? DONE! Large cast of characters, both canon and OC who are all pretty well flushed out? DONE! Smut? Name your poison, chances are, its in here. There is so much about this story that I love that I am struggling with exactly the best way to organize my thoughts. So instead of agonizing over it, instead I am just gonna throw away all my careful notes that I have taken during my read and just freaking ramble!

I think the first thing that people are a little put off on is the rare pair of RaditzXPuar. I will tell you that I 5,000 percent ship these two and it is all because of reading this fic. I love it so much that I MAY have even taken some time to draw my own fan art for the pair, but lets just leave THAT in the vaults xD When Raditz first encounters Puar, he is NOT a cat. Puar is in a Human form and is shifted to be Bulma. Raditz immediately is attracted to Puar’s scent and when they later encounter each other in a bar and end up ( ͡ᵔ ͜ʖ ͡ᵔ ) Ray is still just enamored by Puar’s scent. Whenever we see Rays POV in-between the time that Ray has fucked Human Puar, and the time that Puar is discovered, Ray keeps catching scents of the cat. And it drives him fucking wild. He later says that he is so crazy for Puar that he was about to fuck a houseplant cause it reminded him of Puar. Beyond that we get the backstory on Bonding and that basically Saiyans bond to a mate kinda at random so Ray has basically taken Puar as his husband. Raditz is really a great lover, there is a relationship imbalance between the two, but Ray doesnt take advantage of it. Its really a pretty healthy relationship. Puar gets jealous of some stuff, Ray gets WAY jealous of stuff but they always seem to talk it over. Shit at one point Ray dreams of having kids with Puar, and he is swiftly reminded that Puar is a MAN and will never be and never wants to be a WOMAN.

A huge part of me feels like this Puarditz pairing is commentary on identity, self acceptance and love. Ray is constantly telling Puar that he doesnt care what his body looks like (except that he is excited to see Puar has a tail), only that it is Puar that he is in love with. It is only Puar Ray wants, no matter if he is a human, cat, plant, screwdriver or anything else. Puar talks about how he feels weird in his cat body, but it is his natural form and he wants to change and be bigger, more menacing, or just different. And I think we can all appreciate that sentiment at some point in our lives, but I can also see this as a low key message about trans acceptance and its fucking beautiful. Hell even Bulma tells Puar that he should take whatever form he is most comfortable in and basically fuck everyone who disagrees. I love that message and I love this pair - fight me.

I really want to talk about another pretty complex character in this fic, Zarbon. He struggles with so much shame and negativity in this story. He hides behind his good looks and his hair, and when that shit gets cut off, Zarbon is a completely different man, it is shedding his old evil skin and literally growing into his own as a new man, a better person, and you start to care about him. His time with Frieza has basically ruined his ability to have any sort of healthy relationship - friend or other, because he resorts to sex for just about any close relationship he has. The FIRST person he meets after being rescued from Frieza, he starts bedding. Hell he promises a pity fuck to Burter for rescuing him, and come on.. I have never wanted a Burger sex scene more than when I was reading this fic. No really... Catgirl has a way of making you root for just about everyone... I think that besides the slavers, the only character I HATE is Frieza, and thats pretty cool. AND Speaking of Frieza, shit hes a bad dude in this story. There aren't many POVs of him, and we see a lot of Frieza through Zarbon, Vegeta and Burter, but the POVs after Zarbon escapes and Frieza is trying to replace him is she fucked up shit. You really see his madness when he is sitting in the bloody tub stroking the hair of the dead attendant wishing it was Zarbons. He repeatedly states how much he gave to Zarbon, and how he basically loved him, but then you see him torture the poor man, sexually assault him, and generally just be a complete tyrannical asshole to him.

The way the Nameks are handled is really cool. I love the nod to canon with them living with the Briefs on Red Station, I love watching Dende figure out how to lead, and struggle with his followers. I love how he makes the decision to room with Gohan as a way of bridging the gap between the Namekians and the Saiyans. The decisions Dende makes shows that he is dedicated to moving forward and not being stuck in the past. But you see him still struggling with things in the past, Zarbon for example. it is hella tense for a while when he first comes aboard because Dende feels Zarbon is responsible for the demise of his people, and Dende seeks out others help and advice on how to manage his feelings. He gets several peoples views and chooses what he thinks is the best, just like a good leader would. He even attempts to make Piccolo feel more welcome in the Namekian contingent of beings on Red Station.

Nappa is a super important character for the beginning of the story. He is the voice of Saiyan past and he advises Vegeta, wether he takes the advice or not. Overall he is the Father figure Vegeta needs (a common role for him) but he tells Vegeta and Raditz about bonding and Gohan comments that it sounds like LOVE. Nappa has some really shitty moments with Bulma, but overall I really like the sweet peeks into his head, when he thinks about his dead wife and babies, or when he tears up about the thought of Bulma and Vegeta having “little princes” of their own, is just heartwarming. And the attraction to Momma Briefs is cute and funny and provides so much ammunition for Bulma to hate Nappa (and boy do they hate each other)

I kinda hate how K18 gets treated in this story, and part of that is how long it takes for 18 to come about, and another part of that is the fact that the story isn't finished. I feel like 18′s android qualities are REALLY played up, which isn't a bad thing - great characterization in fact... but poor Krillin deserves so much better than being mounted with no foreplay and then immediately being engaged... Now I will say that I really like both of these characters in this fic, just wish things were finished cause their relationship has so much more to explore.

I have both love and hate the Vegebul relationship dynamics in this story. They obviously care for one another, but the relationship seems super unhealthy... there is really no talking, relationship building going on in story. a LOT of fucking sure, but it almost feels like these two banter, fuck but don't really know one another.. and thats kinda sad.. I like that part of a Vegebul fic. Bulma is legit scared of Vegeta on multiple occasions and even in the last published chapter Vegeta looks at her and thinks that she is a monster just like him. And hell with her improvements to the Ki Circlet, she probably is. I will say that their smut is A++ fantastic, it is real, sometimes it is awkward (when they fuck in her lab it is both hot and funny) and there is always a mention of safe sex.

With all the time spent on, pretty much everyone, including 2 OCs, it is sad that 17, Dr. Briefs and Tien don't get a little more love. They have very very brief scenes peppered throughout the story, and they just seem like after thoughts.. Shit Roshi and Oolong have more impact on the story than any of these three do and thats just a bummer. I am gonna say that maybe they have parts in the unwritten bots of the fic, but who knows if it will ever be updated, much less finished at this point.

This story is fantastic. I can not recommend it enough. The relationship dynamics alone are fantastic, never mind the fact that Catgirl is FUCKING FANTASTIC at showing not telling, but even when she tells it is impactful. She has a wonderful grasp of character voice and each POV feels like it is actually that characters POV, told through them, not through the lens of a narrator. There are some amazing quotes in this story, some are just funny,

Others.. Not so much....

These are a bunch of misfits thrown together, fighting to survive, and ultimately building a home. Hell Zarbon sees it and is shocked by it.. He says he is amazed by Vegeta “Floating around this country cottage of a ship, lord and master of an assortment of weaklings.” And Zarbon is right. Vegeta is the lord and master of this rag tag crew, and Bulma is their Queen. Their relationship is the glue that holds this little family together. This story is a tale of their struggle to defeat Frieza, but thats not what this story is ABOUT. This story is about, family, friends, love, home and ultimately all the wholesome things humanity has to offer. Sometimes we fuck up, and fight and create drama, but we persevere through those trials and (hopefully) become stronger, more well rounded and more human. And that is a really nice message.

As a bonus, @rutbisbe drew this amazing Puar/Raditz fan art for this fic and I love it (AND I LOVE THEM SO MUCH)

If you liked this review, after you check this fic out, head over to my A03 and read some of my stuff!

#BTM Fic Review #vengeance #Vegeta x Bulma #go read this freaking fic #its my absolute favorite #I really need an update #PLZ catgirl

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swainlake · 5 years

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Hello! So now that got has ended I'm looking for some tv shows that I could watch after I'm done with my exams. Do you have any suggestions? I'm not looking for anything specific, although if you have watched some good period dramas, I'd love some recommendations. Also wanted to add how much I love your blog, it's really beautiful

tysm that’s so sweet!! i love giving recs so i’ve got a bunch that you might like under the cut; i’ve put a ♡ next to my favs

period dramas:

NEW WORLDS (2014)this one is a mini series, only 4 episodes long, but please don’t let that stop you! it’s about anti-monarchism and rebellion and forbidden love in the 1600′s & is set in both england and america. i cried more than once but the ending is so bittersweet and hopeful!!

POLDARK (2015—)i have a love/hate relationship with this one tbh. i started watching because of the main relationship but i ended up really into it for the side relationships instead?? the actual political plot doesn’t interest me but i love the drama between the family members. also i adore the women in this show, every single female character is well-written and realistic and you’ll love them all (even if at times you hate them). the men tho? the men are pretty much collectively the worst. “what’s wrong with the women in this family?” “the men.”

SPARTACUS (2010—2013) ♡i started watching this before i ever got into game of thrones but if you like the fight scenes in got, you’ll enjoy this! great characters, great fight scenes, great friendships. this one is based on gladiators who are fighting for their freedom.

THE WHITE PRINCESS (2017) ♡okay firstly and most importantly: jodie comer stars in this so you know it’s good. it’s also got michelle fairly (catelyn stark) in it though tbh she wasn’t my favourite character in this and i didn’t find her likeable at all. it’s not very historically accurate ofc but the relationship between henry/elizabeth is honestly the perfect enemies to lovers rep & always lowkey reminds me of book!sansa/jon possibilities

PAN AM (2011—2012)this one isn’t like game of thrones at all but it’s only one season and it’s super cute and has a lot of famous actresses in it like christina ricci & margot robbie. based on the adventures of a crew of pan am stewardesses, this is a good combination of lighthearted fun and chilling cold-war drama. an old favourite.

THE MUSKETEERS (2014—2016) ♡i’ll be gushing over this for years to come tbh it’s really just that perfect. the relationship between the musketeers is so lovely, the personification of ‘brotherhood’ really, but also the romantic relationships are really good too?? which for some reason i personally hadn’t expected. my fav couple is aramis/anne (anne is played by the actress who played roslin frey!) because the forbidden love & the respect and adoration between those two is just perfect but really every relationship (even the ones that don’t become endgame) are written very well

OUTLANDER (2014—)i haven’t watched every single episode of this one but from what i have seen it’s very good, and has some similar themes to game of thrones!! the sex scenes are epic, the main relationship is lovely, and overall its a very realistic show that features supernatural elements!

THE LAST KINGDOM (2015—) ♡i’m not going to lie: i started this series by skipping straight to 2x7 because i’d seen gifs of the relationship between aethelflaed and erik but it was so good i ended up going back and starting from the beginning! this show reminds me of ‘vikings’ more tham game of thrones but it’s not as gory and the characters aren’t all assholes. side note: if you love sansa stark as much as i do you’re gonna love aethelflaed, lady of mercia! she’s actually a real person but this show is based on a book series that looks super interesting! honestly the main character also kind of reminds me of jon snow

HARLOTS (2017—) ♡oh my gosh how do i describe this show?? the family dynamics are so! intricate! and! beautiful! honestly just stunning. everything about this show is s t u n n i n g. the costumes are colourful and vivid and honestly i’d recommend watching just for that but the storyline really does keep you hooked!! also: liv tyler and jessica brown findlay are love interests in this which is honestly a dream come true

BLACK SAILS (2015—2017)okay full disclosure; i haven’t actually seen this but i’ve heard very good things and it’s on my list!! it’s about pirates, i think there’s some queer rep (can anybody confirm??), and there’s lots of amazing women. again, allegedly.

dramas:

THE SOCIETY (2018—)i literally watched the entire first season in a single night so it must be alright, right? basically all you need to know about this is that a town full of teenagers go on a field trip & then return to find all their parents mysteriously missing and their town closed off from the outside world. it’s basically lord of the flies but modern! with some kick-ass friendships! and amazing young women (one literally teaches herself to be a doctor can you believe?)!

SHARP OBJECTS (2018)if you haven’t heard about this one yet idk what rock you’ve been living under but welcome back! this one is a m a z i n g but also hella chilling and the ending is such a shocker if it hasn’t been spoiled for you yet!

THE BOLD TYPE (2017—) ♡i always describe this one as ‘sex and the city for millennials’ but i’ve never watched a single sex and the city episode in my life so i honestly don’t know how accurate that is?? but it’s about a group of 20-something year old women who are best friends and work mates and they love each other so much?? the relationship between the girls is my favourite thing about the show but the show honestly tackles a lot of relevant issues; trump, age gaps, queer rep, immigration, racism, etc. i can’t recommend this enough!

CODE BLACK (2015—2018) ♡you know those episodes in greys anatomy where everything is life-or-death and you’re on edge for the whole episode? that’s basically every single episode of code black. this is hands-down one of my most rewatched shows ever. i love medical dramas and this one balances well written characters with action-packed medical miracles so honestly what’s not to like??

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES (2018—)okay admittedly the only reason i watch this show is because of the main couple but i can’t help it when they’re just so gosh-darn cute!! they love each other so god damned much! i wasn’t completely sold on this straight away but by ep 3 i was HOOKED. if you like supernatural romances/dramas that are more mature than your usual cw show, this one is a good choice!

THE OA (2016—) ♡i can’t even put into words how much i adore this?? but also: it will confuse THE SHIT out of you. no matter how smart you are, this one will leave you scratching your head. basically: a group of people who’ve had near-death experiences get kidnapped and experimented on. it’s not as brutal as it sounds, in fact the show is exceptionally beautiful, but it does deal with some hard themes and the good guys don’t always win.

12 MONKEYS (2015—2018)do you like time travel? do you like forbidden and yet totally-still-devoted-to-one-another-anyway love? then this is the show for you! this one is dark and gritty and deals pretty realistically with the concept of time travel & self-sacrifice and what people will give up to create a better world. it’s got a happy ending & you wont regret watching!

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE (2018)oh this one will make you cry. in a good way though! long story short a family grows up in a haunted house and it affects them in ways they cannot imagine. it’s hauntingly beautiful and poetic and everybody should watch it at least once imo

comedies:

THE MARVELOUS MRS MAISEL (2017—)okay so this one counts as a period drama as well but it’s about a COMEDIAN so i put it in the comedy section lol. okay so long story short, a woman is left by her husband, she’s worth 1000 of him & everybody else knows it because you seriously can’t help falling in love with this woman but ofc there’s period-typical sexism she has to face as she struggles with being a single woman, a single mother, and an up-and-coming comedian. def recommend.

SANTA CLARITA DIET (2017—2019)drew barrymore is a zombie!! who lives a normal life but also eats people!! it’s only weird for the first couple of eps. the family dynamics are snarky and witty and they manage to make gore funny?? honestly this entire show is legit laugh-out-loud darkly hilarious.

#if you like any of these & want some recs that are similar please feel free to send another message!#i've got some movies you might like as well #cool ask tag

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