#which is arguably my least favourite scene in the whole show
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The Freaks Sister (part II)
summary:Y/N is a transfer student living with Eddie who has joined the cheerleading squad for her college application. This is where she met arguably her least favourite person, Jason Carver. The pair bicker constantly, but to everyone other than them there seems to be tension behind it.
warnings:some cursing, none others
word count:3624
A/N: Heres part two, i really didn’t think i would finish it because i am notorious for not finishing fics. Gareths gf is based on my friend but you can insert who ever you want
Ever since his screaming match with Y/N and Nancy, Jason had been noticing her and her band of freaks around school more and more. Up until that point Jason had always just considered the whole group as Eddie’s goons. A bunch of freaks by association. That was all he saw and it allowed him to just write them off completely and ignore them. They really faded into the background compared to Eddie’s loud and semi-frequent public outbursts. None of the others were standing on tables and screaming which next to Eddie seemed damn right normal. The only way he had ever been able to identify the group was the matching club t-shirts.
However, since his run-in with the girls in the hallway, Jason had noticed that Eddie's group was bigger than he had thought initially. He had always known that not all of the group wore the t-shirts, he’d never seen Y/N wear one, or Nancy, or Robin. None of the girls did. He noticed that not all of them sat at the Hellfire club table either, most moved about multiple friend groups. But every day, without fail, he noticed the big group gathering in the car park after school. It caught him off guard, which is the excuse he would give if ever asked why he stared at the group so often. And, according to him, it wasn’t staring nor was it too often, more just a curious glance or two.
During these occasional glances, Jason had picked up on the group's dynamic, at least a little. The whole group seemed more affectionate than Jason was used to. It wasn’t uncommon to see someone wrapped in a hug or an arm thrown over someone's shoulder. More than once he had seen Y/N leaning her head on someone to use as a pillow after a long day of lessons. He didn’t know what a group of friends had to go through to be this close, but he was internally a little jealous of it.
On Monday he noticed movement at the Hellfire table and looked over to see if Eddie was going to make a scene today. Instead of Eddie standing on a table, he saw Y/N walking up to the table wearing a black and white plaid high-waisted skirt with a white turtle neck. He saw her walk over to the table, greet Eddie then turn and start laughing at something one of the others said. He hadn’t seen her laugh that hard before. Then he saw her turn around and lean down towards one of the boys at the table as if trying to hear him better before her face fell and she jumped back a little before hitting him in the arm and turning a little red.
Now Jason loved pressing her buttons. He took great joy in watching her face fall and eyes roll. Considering how expressive Y/N is, she’s just a very fun person to mess with. Jason had seen a lot of her reactions so a lot of different things. He’d seen her mad, he's seen her eyes roll into the back of her skull, and he's even had the joy of watching Y/N get shouted at by her coach for getting caught flipping him off. However, one reaction Jason had never been able to get, at least not to this extent, was flustered. The guy with a red jacket on over his hellfire shirt seemed to have no issue getting this reaction. Jason rolled his eyes at this but didn’t look away from the blatant flirting.
He kinda wished he had looked away because watching Y/N tuck her hair behind her ear and wink with a shit-eating grin before Eddie burst out in a fit of fake gagging. That was when Jason looked away having enough of the freak show. When he did finally look back at his table and zone back into his friends’ conversation that had continued around him. The only person who seemed as quiet as Jason was Patrick, who was sitting across from him with a weird look on his face. It was somewhere between thoughtful and knowing, it looked like he was just finishing up a puzzle that Jason had just started to piece together. It was the same look Patrick had been giving him when everyone else was talking about Y/N in the Locker room at practice last Tuesday.
“What are you thinking -” Before Jason could finish asking Patrick to explain what he was thinking about a loud shout rang out across the cafeteria.
“STOP FLIRTING IN FRONT OF THE CHILDREN!” Obviously, Eddie had to stand up and scream grabbing the attention of everyone around them. When Jason looked over he saw Y/N smack Eddie around the back of the head while saying something Jason couldn’t quite make out, while the “child” in question seemed more offended than anyone else the mystery guy in the red coat, Jason still didn't know his name, was just smirking at the scene in front of him. Jason didn't like the look of him, with his cult t-shirt and fluffy hair and smug little smile. Even if Jason had never met him before he didn't like the guy's vibe.
Y/N walked over to Eddie's table to double-check he was able to give her a lift home and wasn’t staying for a club activity.
“Yeah I can give you a lift, but we're going to Gareths’ for a last-minute Corroded Coffin practice, so you gotta tag along,” Eddie said while poking at his lunch. “It shouldn’t be a super long practice so you can just sit at the side and watch.” he waved his fork in Y/N’s general direction. Y/N turned to the others at the table to get their opinions.
“You guys okay with me crashing your practice today?” Y/N asked.
“You can come watch me play anytime babe” Gareth replied with an exaggerated wink. Y/N and Gareth had been jokingly flirting for years now despite being, as Robin would say, Platonic with a capital P. It's just a well-known joke amongst friends, made even funnier by Gareth's girlfriend who regularly joins in on the flirting.
Gareth's teasing only earned an amused eye roll from Y/N before she joined in on the tables conversation, not in the mood to go sit with the cheerleaders today. As sweet as those girls were they could be a little overwhelming. Gareth said something to Y/N but due to all of the background noise, she didn’t hear it and had to walk over to him and lean down so he can repeat it.
“Is that a new outfit?” He asked seemingly genuinely confused.
“Yeah I got it when me and Nance went out thrifting, it’s a little seventies with how short the skirt is but oh well,” she explained.
“Has Gf/n seen the outfit yet? I'm sure she wouldn’t complain about the skirt.” Gareth said with a dumb smirk. Y/N jumped back in shock and smacked his arm.
“You dick. Don’t flirt with me for your girlfriend.” she said trying not to go red as she was known to do.
“Why, you rather she flirt with you herself?”
“Obviously.” Y/N said tucking her hair behind her ear trying to play into the flirty cheerleader role.
The next time Jason was forced, and by forced it means he stuck his nose in their business out of “curiosity”, to bear witness to the freaks flirting. They had to be dating or extremely close to it because Jason swore that every time he looked at that group the two of them were doing something. And every time it made him mad. It made him feel even worse that he couldn’t understand why he was so angry.
At first, he thought that he was just upset that he didn't have any friends that he was that comfortable with physically, but he was really close with his friends. Even if they weren't always hanging off each other and he can’t remember a single time he’d ever winked at Chance or Chrissy, he knew they all loved each other so that wasn’t it.
Then Jason considered that maybe he was just upset that he had been single for too long. Maybe the PDA from the couple had sparked something due to his lack of love interest. He wasn't interested in anyone at the minute but that didn’t mean he would say no if the right girl appeared. But then he realised that Andy and Chrissy had never sparked anything like this even with their PDA. He only ever felt happy for them.
Jason was walking down one of the empty hallways leading towards the locker room before practice when some giggling coming from an empty room. When he got closer he heard a familiar voice and he didn’t like what he was hearing it say. He stopped a little down the hallway to listen.
“...drive out to Lovers Lake and turn the back of your car into a fort with a blanket and cute little lights. I’d bring music and we could sit and listen to music and stare at the stars or talk about whatever. Go for a walk in the dark and see who pussies out first or even hang out the Hideout and listen to some shitty bands.” Y/N spat out ideas and with each one, Jason felt his heart leap. They all sounded perfect but the idea of her doing them with this Gareth guy hurt him for some reason.
“Hey,” he said through a laugh “I happen to think that the bands that play at the Hideout are amazing.”
“Yeah you would,” Y/N giggled a little, “I’m sure if I ask for your unbiased opinion, they're all also totally hot and amazingly strong.”
“Obviously, have you seen all the equipment we have to lug onto stage.”
“I've seen the equipment Eddie and Vivi lug onto stage. Fuck, I’ve helped Eddie pack it. But the Hideout has a drum set, all you have to carry are your “lucky” sticks” Y/N said and Jason heard feet hit the floor. “Anyway, I have to head to practice see ya round.”
“See ya round for that amazing date.” Jason heard Y/N let out a laugh at that.
“Try not to damage yourself lugging around your heavy drum sticks before rehearsal. Bye loser” Y/N said as she walked into the hallway and straight towards the locker room, not even noticing him standing frozen on the other end of the hall.
Gareth emerged a few minutes later having packed up the rest of his stuff. When he came out into the hallway and saw Jason standing stuck in place looking like a puppy whose foot had just been stood on, it didn't take much to figure out what had happened. Obviously, he’d overheard something that he didn’t like and considering the conversation Gareth had just ended he didn’t think it would take a genius to figure out what that was. Never one to pass up a golden opportunity to piss off the jock.
“Don’t you have a practice to get to Carver?” He said as he passed. When he didn't hear back some sort of response from the basketball player he looked over his shoulder and added, “What, Y/N got your tongue?” he winked as he said it, then laughed at his own joke as he walked off humming something Jason didn’t recognise.
Jason didn’t understand why that conversation hurt him so much. Or why the idea of Y/N lying in his car with him at lovers lake sounded so appealing. Or why the idea of it being anyone else walking through the woods with her makes him wanna throw up a little.
“I have literally no clue what to plan for date night this week and it's my turn, please I'm literally begging you to throw me a bone.” Gareth looked desperate as he started to haphazardly throw his pencils into his bag.
“You are so in luck, we literally just talked about our ideal dates the other day.” Y/N replied smiling because she knew for a fact she had the upper hand right now.
“Come on spill,” Gareth said before changing his strategy “ just tell me one, please. You know how stressed she’d been with school and moving and stuff.”
“You are lucky I love her.” Y/N started “she said that her ideal date was to rent a movie from family video, romance or horror up to you, then go back to your house away from the chaos and set up a home cinema in your garage. Then order a greasy pizza and fall asleep together. She isn't hard to please.”
“You are a lifesaver,” he said with relief that he was going to be able to cheer up his favourite girl. He continued “but now I'm curious, I gotta know what your ideal date was.”
“I don’t know Gareth, my ideal date would probably be to drive out to Lovers Lake and turn the back of your car into a fort with a blanket and cute little lights. I’d bring music and we could sit and listen to music and stare at the stars or talk about whatever. Go for a walk in the dark and see who pussies out first or even hang out the Hideout and listen to some shitty bands.” She never wanted fancy dates and big presents, just someone to spend time with was enough.
“Hey,” he said through a laugh “I happen to think that the bands that play at the Hideout are amazing.” Y/N gently smacked the back of his head before laughing at his joke.
“Yeah you would,” she rolled her eyes laughing at his defensiveness“I’m sure if I ask for your unbiased opinion, they're all also totally hot and amazingly strong.”
“Obviously, have you seen all the equipment we have to lug onto stage.”
“I've seen the equipment Eddie lugs onto stage. Fuck, I’ve helped Eddie pack it. But the Hideout has a drum set, all you have to carry are your “lucky” sticks” Once she was sure he knew the details of how to go about his date with his girlfriend she went to head out. “Anyway, I have to head to practice see ya round.”
“See ya round for that amazing date.” Gareth laughed, referring to the study “date” Y/N had reluctantly agreed to tutor him at.
“Try not to damage yourself lugging around your heavy drum sticks before rehearsal. Bye loser” Y/N said as she walked into the hallway and straight towards the locker room, not even noticing him standing frozen on the other end of the hall.
Jason was off his game all practice. In sharp contrast to last week, he could barely shoot for a single point. His guard had so many holes in it that the freshmen were getting past him regularly and even coach called him on it. It had been a total shit show.
His friends had grown really concerned. He came to practice looking like he’d just witnessed a baby be thrown out a second-story window and refused to say anything more than was absolutely necessary. The practice continued like this with Jason consistently messing up and his friends and coaches giving him worried looks.
About halfway through the practice, the boys were taking a water break when one of the cheerleaders who Jason vaguely recognised as one of Chrissy’s friends bust through the door in a hurry.
“Coach do you have anyone free to help?” she asked in a panic. “One of the girls fell and we can help her up to the nurses and Miss says she can't leave us unattended.”
Before the coach could answer Andy asked who was hurt, presumable stressing that it could be Chrissy.
“It’s Y/N. She took a pretty bad fall and her legs don't look too good,” she replied trying to ease Andy’s concern. While she did ease Andy Jason's heart rate spiked. What had happened? Was she okay?
“Coach,” Jason said “I’ll go, I’ve been in my head all practice so I might as well go help” The coach thought it over for a second before seemingly agreeing.
“Carver! Go give a hand and get some fresh air. Chance, you’re captain for team two now!”
“Yes coach!” both boys responded before Jason got up and ran to the door to go check on Y/N. The other boys shared a knowing look because that was the fastest he had moved since he got to practice. Even the coach seemed to have figured out that fresh air wasn’t the only reason Jason was so keen to lend a hand.
Jason followed the cheerleader to where the girls were practising for the day and found Y/N lying on the floor with her leg at an odd angle.
“Guys I'm okay. It wasn’t a serious fall, I’ll be good in ten minutes.” Despite trying her best Y/N was not convincing at all. Seeing her stubbornness nearly brought a smile to Jason’s face though, nearly.
“Miss!” The girl shouted upon entering the gym, “ Jason came to help carry her to the nurse.” The cheer coach seemed relieved, evidently, she too was not buying Y/N’s “I’m fine” routine. Jason walked up and kneeled beside her.
“Hey, where does it hurt?” he asked in a soft voice.
“My nose. Where the fuck do you think Carver?” She said voice dripping with sarcasm but just quiet enough not to be heard by her coach. Jason rolled his eyes a little before positioning his hands under her knees and one on her back.
“For this to work you’re gonna have to hold on, okay,” he said, uncharacteristically nice.
“Just don’t drop me okay,” She said as she wrapped her hands around his neck and braced to be picked up.
Jason, to his credit, picked her up easier than she thought he would and walked towards the door without saying anything else. As she was leaving through the door Y/N made the big mistake of making eye contact with Chrissy as she left. Chrissy had this shit-eating, feral grin on her face as if she couldn’t believe that Y/N wasn’t fighting this more. To be honest, Y/N could barely believe that she wasn’t fighting this more.
The walk was pretty quiet on the way to the nurse's office, neither really knowing what to say. When they did arrive the nurse looked her over and explained that it was only a strained muscle and would require a week off practice, some over-the-counter pain meds and an ice pack if the pain got worse. Both were pretty relieved to hear that it wasn’t serious. The nurse left them alone as it was the end of her work day. Both of them sat in surprisingly comfortable silence for a few minutes before Jason broke it.
“So how’d you fall?” He asked quietly as if he was afraid talking any louder would break the temporary truce they seemed to have.
“It really wasn’t serious, I just fainted and twisted my leg when I went down.” She replied at about the same noise level.
“What do you mean “you just fainted”?” He asked, almost as concerned as he was when he found out she fell. How could she be so casual about fainting, that could be a symptom of something serious?
“Sometimes I just collapse. It's worse if I haven’t eaten much that day.” Y/N said under her breath, looking away from Jason.
“What have you eaten today?”
“Not much, I had a banana and a can of coke at lunch.” She was still avoiding eye contact at all costs, embarrassed that she had caused this whole mess whether unintentionally or not.
“That's not enough, especially when you have practice on that day. You sat with the Hellfire table today. How did none of them notice you weren’t eating?” he asked working himself up into a state of offence on her behalf, those were her friends. Fuck, one was her boyfriend. How could they not care enough to notice? “What about your brother or your boyfriend? How did one of them not notice?”
“I brought lunch, but Dustin forgot his lunch so I gave him mine and just ate the banana because he hates the things.” Y/N explained before pausing “ and what do you mean by my boyfriend?” she asked confused.
“ Your boyfriend? The one with the curly hair and red jacket?” Jason asked as if it was obvious.
“Gareth?” You asked laughing when he nods. “We aren’t dating, never have been. Never will be. Platonic with a capital P. I swear.” Y/N laughed at the common misconception.
“I heard you two planning a date.” Jason asked confused.
“He’s in a relationship, I was giving him ideas for a date with someone else. I just flirt with him because that's what we’ve always done. I flirt with his partner too.” She continued to explain the dynamic amongst the friend group.
“So…” Jason added heart a little lighter with that information. “... You’re single?”
“Why Carver?” Y/N asked suspiciously hoping he wasn’t going to try setting her up with one of his friends.
“Are you also free on Friday?” He asked. Y/N smiled at him and paused for a second before answering.
“For you, I could be.”
tag list:
@thelaststraw3
#jason carver#jason carver x reader#jason carver fluff#stranger things x reader#stranger things#gareth stranger things
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having some of the worst times of my life ever and im scared things could get worse... how? well you see. they might create more tnb some day even after all of this.
after massacring my boy ryan like that live on screen... smack cam... removing any of ryans narrative worth or meaning just to have him show up and be cringe which i did enjoy but for real guys. my friends. if they had just had everyone do something random and lackluster it wouldve been fine but ryan showed up to drive the plot and continue his character arc from the rising (and then he didnt, as a joke).
karinas lack of real character arc (AGAIN!) so that she can uhhhh talk about crushes... instead of, for example, have her be an equal hero on-screen to the guys who have already been king of heroes and she works arguably harder than anyone else (she is a hero, an idol, and a student). shes so interesting, theres so much to her! but most of her appearances just serve to further some guys character arc (like the whole blue golden episode is mostly about ryan!.. or kotetsu even! cmon)
the character arc that antonio got that wholly ignored that hes friends with nathan and which makes me actually lose my mind when i think that those two have frequently been shown together but they didnt have a single convo together so that nathan and keith can be confined to a cage where theyre only interacting with each other instead of having any real plot relevance despite them both being really interesting!..
and the fact that antonio/agnes made its way into the show bc the director likes him and you know... agnes was her stand-in, and another reason to not let nathan talk with antonio ever because yknow?.. it just tastes like ash in my mouth to feel like the director felt some type of way about nathans and antonios prior relationship...
the buddy hero system was utilized so poorly! it threw so many characters under the bus like ryan seriously got way too much time in blue golden and their prior relationships with each other were ignored so much like man... i just love them all interacting. i dont love whatever the hell was going on with, for example, nobody noticing that thomas is gone. my heroes wouldve noticed immediately btw. instead of subaru and thomas being in a cage where they only interacted with each other, the buddy hero pair curse of 2nd cour that almost everyone suffered from
lets not even get into that even if they say that yuri is actually fine haha! they cant remove that scene where kotetsu and barnaby stared at him and went like “hmm thats rough buddy... anyway”. what the hell... kotetsu is one of the characters i think of the least and it was just so grossly OOC and just plain disgusting... the entire abuse apologism arc with yuri and lara overall as well
what about that fucking scene with jungle where they implied shady shit was going on when subarus communicator didnt go off and he was recruited as a double for thomas anyways and uhhh (checks notes) literally nothing came out of those plot threads btw. jungle CEO was introduced for no reason
and they cant remove what they did to ouroboros (the way they made it all-powerful illuminati-esque organization instead of plain old corruption etc), and the whole NEXT disease ooohhh-thing, and the literal internment camps and the various deeply bigoted implications thereof plus lackluster new character designs (oops! almost all white, pale-haired and blue/green-eyed).
how could they bounce back from this and do i even want to see them try to ignore OR try to grapple with any of the above. oooh when i get my hands on the people who were in the writers room...............
cant they just please retcon that my favourite character fucking exploded to ten thousand small pieces. excited for scraps of my fav characters like usual but then?.. its also like spitting in my face after all the shit they pulled. put me out of my misery
#tiger and bunny#im trying to think of things that are less bad than current life happenings so im just thinking about tnb#devastating yet way less bad than my life rn
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i feel like people were expecting something as impactful as s3 felt, especially after the 3 year wait and just the hype in general for s4 – which, imo, it was more about the Saga returning and new plot points taking shape + ppl had a lot of personal opinions over the hiatus of how the story should go and which character should do what, so i guess this is making some reactions feel... biased, at least from my standpoint
I think what gets me is that structurally and pacing wise, the season isn't that different from basically any other in the show. A lot (not all of course, but some) of the S4 criticism just feels like people not giving S4 the slack and/or patience they gave every other season of the show. Which is a pet peeve of mine that I've talked about before specifically re: people's complaints at S3 Rayllum back in the day, when it was beat-for-beat very much the same amount of plot focus and importance they'd gotten in the previous seasons. If you're gonna complain about something show wise, I expect that complaint to be consistent (probably bc of my autism) not just when it occurs to someone that it is a Thing that is happening that they Suddenly don't like (as though again, it hadn't happened in every other season)
Eps 1-3 are typically set up (we see this in s1 and s2 first hand). The kiddos have a more specific goal than ever before (going to see someone somewhere specific, i.e. Rex Igneous at Umber Tor) and it's more detailed than just "seeing the Dragon Queen just somewhere in Xadia" and with very little reference in universe as to how close to the border the kids are at any given time up until 2x07, lmao.
Now that Claudia and Soren have been fully bumped up from side characters (S2, S3) to main cast members a lot of their previous screen time is allocated to Janai and Amaya's subplot. Viren's subplots were often disconnected entirely from the main plot (i.e. anything after 1x06 for Viren never affects the main characters in any significant way until approximately 3x04, and even then, only with Ezran) but nobody complained about that, because it was compelling and interesting to watch. And if the Sunfire elf stuff wasn't to someone, okay cool - but again, very subjective. Now Viren's plot line has been merged with Claudia's, so again, it's about the same amount of time allocation.
(And part of the reason I know that is because I once did the math to see literally how much screentime Rayla and Callum - and often including Ezran - get in previous seasons, averaging 50+ minutes in S1 and S3 and under half an hour in S2, due to the flashback episodes and no interaction in the first ep and minimal interaction in 2x08. I would expect S4 to be over half an hour simply because a scene like the end of 4x01 would count and once they're together, they're rarely apart / not talking about each other.)
Like 1x05 and 1x06 are some of my favourite eps in the whole show, and they are effectively filler, particularly 1x05. You could remove Viren and Amaya's plot line and remove very little (particularly because Gren's imprisonment didn't amount to anything in the first arc, and likely won't in the future since we already know Runaan is in the coin). 1x06 is plot relevant for Viren and Claudia but arguably only plot relevant for the trio at the very end. As expressed before, significantly more is established and discussed in 4x01 than almost any premiere except 1x01; very little substantially happens in 2x01 and 3x01 besides either 1) worldbuilding or 2) travelling. 2x04 is another one of my absolute favourite episodes, and it is entirely filler. The Amaya-Janai storyline doesn't come back all season and purely exists to set up their S3 storyline and Callum's struggles with magic. Of course all these filler eps do the work of furthering the trio's and particularly Callum and Rayla's bond, but outside of emotional stuff, they are filler in regards to the plot
But suddenly 4x05 and 4x06 are too filler-y? Episodes in which the kids determine their specific goal is to hunt down Claudia, go to Rex Igneous, stop Aaravos, the immediate fallout of the possession, starting to actually mend Callum and Rayla's relationship (they hadn't gotten a significant scene together since the beginning of 4x03, after all), demonstrate Soren's place in the group, etc etc? The purpose of these episodes and the plot beats are exceedingly similar to 1x05-1x07 smushed together (with 1x07 again being mostly filler, there to set up how Claudia does the tracking spell and how the kids find out about the 'miracle healer'). There is a shit ton going on amid setting the stage for emotional beats, giving room for some to happen, and getting the rest of the season's plot under way.
I've also seen some people saying that that indications we've gotten that Rayla has changed isn't enough bc it's only a couple of scenes, but 1) the girl who was once like "I don't have to explain anything to you" / "time for my least favourite course of action: reason" is now leaping up like "I love talking" because she wants to make things work and 2) her "We can't save everyone" scene in 4x05 hits so hard because it's her most basic core character trait that's been utterly decimated in a major way. Not completely, as we see in 4x09, but like, this is her Core Character Trait. Every season show us this. Forget a needle in a hay stack in terms of big flashing lights of This character has changed!! It's like smashing a sledge hammer into a wall. It does what it needs to because they know where to hit the hardest in the time they have
And once again, we see this pattern in earlier seasons. Rayla has one (1) scene expressing doubts regarding being an assassin in 2x06 before the immediate next episode is building on that to set the stage for the entire conflict of 2x07 and the rest of the season by extension. We get one (1) scene of Callum being interested in magic and Ezran sneaking around the castle before it's being utilized by the plot and Callum being a mage is his main drive for the first three seasons. If anything I like that we're give this sledge hammer moment, its immediate consequences, and a meta-narrative reflection that since the one person Rayla routinely opens up to doesn't want to talk to her, we're not privy to what she's going through either, and that it's given time to stew.
And I'd be more willing to take structural criticism of the season seriously if there was one that acknowledged the structural similarities 1) virtually at all and 2) so much of S4 criticism wasn't couched in very subjective opinions. Like for me, S2 is the season with the slowest pacing in some ways for the first half of bc 1) 2x01 isn't my fave although I have grown to appreciate, 2) Viren and Aaravos' plot line isn't that engaging to me personally up until like 2x08, and 3) 2x04-2x06 is virtually all filler that just reaffirms things we knew or gives more context to events prior, but the flashback eps are absolutely crucial theme wise. And again, S4 is doing some major thematic heavy lifting that I want to explore further, so like - for me it just doesn't compute why that has to be so dissimilar in public opinion?
Like yes, the search for Soren leading to the path to Rex Igneous and N'than's existence is convenient. But so is Ellis' existence (we see the path the kids take on the Caldera and a 9 yr old child carrying a heavy wolf pup in her arms somehow took the same path completely by herself?) and the fact that Claudia and Soren somehow reached the 2x07 town a day behind the trio (who travelled by boat and flight) while not being able to even use their horses because they had Corvus with them, thereby having to travel on foot? Or Opeli and Corvus' one line mention of going to Duren (not even Aanya by name) and relying on people listening for her name when Opeli lists off who's attacked and noticing who's not there leading to the event that allows the heroes to win the Final Battle in the first place? That Janai's forces just happened to go to the Storm Spire at all?
None of this makes the previous seasons bad by any means, but the writing is as consistent as it's always been. But no, season four is the breaking point, Apparently, of suspension of disbelief or a willingness to give slack / time for things to play out
Again, I don't want to dismiss anyone's feelings about season four. People are allowed to feel how they wanna feel! I waited like four years for "Blood of Olympus" to come out and it was the last PJO book I ever read and it was ultimately disappointing to me like, I know it can suck. But the book wasn't bad because I'd waited so long and then it didn't progress enough or anything like that. My experience reading the book would've been completely the same in terms of my enjoyment whether I'd waited four years or four weeks.
One of my big worries going into S4 was that during the hiatus, I'd gotten too attached to what I thought had to happen that I wouldn't be able to enjoy whatever did happen. Things like Callum had to go after Rayla because she'd never come back of her own accord. Aaravos was going to get out by the end of the season. Big stuff like that. I found the Rayllum reunion anti-climatic on my first viewing. Now it's one of my favourite scenes of the season and I love how much it parallels their first meeting (Rayla pursuing) while also inverting (lovers rather than enemies, Callum not wanting to talk vs talking to stall/convince her) and giving so many emotional layers at once
All of this being a very long winded way of saying
4x01 is my favourite premiere after 1x01. I think S4 did the best job at incorporating bouts of flashbacks without bringing the plot to a stand still in order to do so. 4x07 is probably my favourite ep7 after 2x07, and I adore 2x07. S4 does some of the most interesting thematic and character work in the whole show, mostly because we have three seasons of context to draw comparisons and correlations from, and it knows how to draw on those things exceedingly well. The most filler eps of the season is before Rayla even shows up, so how could time before her home coming be even effectively re-allocated to after?
Season Four is not what I expected in almost any way. It surprised me, did some of what I expected, plenty I didn't, and then so much more in a lot of ways.
I love(d) it, and I think my opinion and affection for the season is only going to grow as time goes on, tbh
#tdp#the dragon prince#analysis series#the english major strikes again#bc that is my tag for Structural things#arc 1#analysis#s4 is my best friend#s4#arc 2#parallels#thanks for asking#arcmagecallum#like honesty ezran and janai's season and i loved that for them#feel like i just ran a marathon lmao#i said 'okay brain look at the structural parallels i give you permission' and this came out
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Must watch fall movies and shows
Hi everyone! Welcome back to another blog where I have the chance to talk about our current season, autumn! Today, I want to touch on movies and shows that either I or my family like to watch annually during this time of the year. So without further ado, here's my opinion on what you should be watching during this fall...
Starting off with one that might be controversial, the 'Twilight' saga. If you have seen it before, you know it's definitely on the cheesy side, which for some might be a no, thank you. But although this may be true, I continue to rewatch all the movies around this time of the year. The vampires, the wolves and overall eerie vibe of the set make it perfect for the fall.
Moving on, arguably one of the best rom-coms, 'When Harry met Sally'. Throughout this film, the leaves are changing colours into the browns, reds, oranges and yellows we all love. This movie isn't specifically fall related, but I definitely think the vibe and aesthetic of this whole movie fits the autumn characteristics. Plus, it's a must-watch for everyone at least once in their lives.
Next up, two short watches with the same characters, these remind me so much of my childhood as my family gathers to watch these classics every fall. The first special would be 'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving', this nostalgic little episode is the perfect thing to throw on the TV with everyone this season. It's so cute and one of my all-time favourites from the Peanuts collection. Second of all, 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' is the Halloween version of these shorts. This is definitely a fan favourite and includes some of the most recognizable scenes. Such as when the group goes trick-or-treating and Charlie Brown says "I got a rock.". These two Peanuts specials both include, so many fall aspects like the colours, football, Halloween, pumpkins and more. Perfect for a stay at home fall evening!
Lastly, I want to talk about my favourite series ever, Gilmore Girls. Beginning with it's famous intro to every episode, there's beautiful fall colours and vibes before every episode. However, the entire series goes through all the seasons throughout the main characters lives, so not entirely including fall throughout the episodes themselves. But, I want to highlight some of my favourite episodes that occur during autumn.
'Ted Koppel's Big Night Out' - This episode takes place at a college football game, and everyone knows autumn is football season. Everyone is wrapped up in Yale sweaters and warm accessories, the coziest fall vibe.
'A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving' - You could probably assume that this episode is centred around Thanksgiving. One of the main characters, Rory's best friend, is a Korean girl named Lane. Lane's mom hosts a Thanksgiving dinner outside for everyone and this is probably one of the most fall coloured episodes, better yet, most of the big scenes happen outdoors.
'Kiss and Tell' - Leaves are turning, pumpkins are everywhere and the small town in the series of Stars Hollow is having their annual Autumn Festival. You can probably already assume what this one is about as everyone attends this town wide festival covered in perfect fall decorations and festivities.
In my opinion, these are some of the best movies/TV shows with the fall aesthetic. I consider these must-watches during this season, and I highly recommend you give at least one a try!
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I guess this is a fanfic?
I made a little thing inspired from Yuri's rain scene in his route, which you may be able to tell is arguably my favourite scene in the whole game. I haven't written anything in at least 5 years so I am out of practise and this is kind of just a rough draft but I wanted to put this out there anyway, especially since the tag is so dead :3 I could've continued it a bit more and I might do but I like the place I left it.
Since its an au from my daydreams tho, the main character is different and there are themes of paranoia/trauma
Please enjoy :)
I haven't titled yet but I guess I'll just call it Rain.
A long day at school meant a well-deserved lazy evening in bed. Faith could be found none other than under the covers, consumed by endless scrolling. Lights off and stomach full, a pause in the music from her headphones led Faith to notice her bedroom window. The curtains open, late September had turned the wind brutal and the skies dull. A thunderous sound accompanied the rioting of the orange leaves. It was raining. How long had she been in bed for exactly?
She sat up simply staring at the window for a moment, thanking no god in particular that she was safely indoors. Her thoughts hurried to the dolls, who were all out there somewhere, so she sent each a text to ask if they all had umbrellas. The thought of any of them being trapped in that havoc turned her stomach.
Before the bottled water could be raised to her lips came Lance's response. He was busy with his duties as the discipline guide and has already checked the weather forecast long in advance so the smartass had taken an umbrella when he left for school that morning. Who knows how many worst case scenarios he's already prepared a thousand solutions for?
Faith wasn't sure if the room had always been this chilly. The next reply came through as her head finally poked through the top of a fluffy white jumper: Tei apologised that he'd be home late from work again today, saying that the manager would lend him an umbrella. Yeonho was also dining at the cafe Tei worked at with some friends who offered to walk him home. Although Faith knew his friends to have overstepped a few boundaries, she trusted Yeonho wasn't so naive as to bring these people right to their doorstep. Maybe.
It was entertaining to mindlessly play with the settings on the bedside lamp. Bright and dim, flashing, fading, in and out. Forwards and backwards through the rainbow. Pink. Purple. Blue. Green. Yellow. Orange.
Red's reply came cheerily, explaining that the drama club members would walk home together, sharing coats and umbrellas and hats. It was cute the way he signed off with an emoji.
The droplets drummed against the glass, creating a methodical pattern of swirls and dots and lines. Fingers painted the transparent canvas with cats, dogs, stick men with top hats. The smiley face drooped and the whole artwork seemed to cry. Was the stick woman aware that her hair and her clothes and her body and her face were all crafted from tears and watery blackness?
The phone kept ringing. Perhaps if she kept ringing Yuri would reply eventually. Ringing and ringing and ringing. To admit, it wasn't strange for Yuri not to reply. He frequently came home late, spoke to strange women and showed off money from an unknown source. Everyone was used to his disappearances by now but Faith just couldn't shake the feeling that this might be the last time he disappears.
Time stood still yet raced ahead fast as light simultaneously. Pushing down those thoughts certainly wasn't an unfamiliar task, nor was it a pleasant one. Those thoughts of all the different ways you could lose everything you've ever loved all in the blink of an eye. Those thoughts of fighting, screaming, pleading, bleeding. Those thoughts of all the worst things happening all over again. Those thoughts of being left alone, all over again. All over again.
She turned the music up.
Escapism was the answer but it never lasted forever. Thoughts disappeared but feelings remained. Faith itched. She couldn't sit still. By the time the next song started, she found herself dressed at the door, armed with two umbrellas and a weapon.
Again, she welcomed the soft feelings of dread and anxiety, a dull ache she felt in her chest every time she went outside.
She turned the music up.
The rain didn't feel totally real, she thought, nestled under the clear round shelter of the umbrella. It was a small thing. Eyes fixed downwards at soaked feet, dodging hurriedly through roadside puddles. In truth, Faith wasn't even sure she could get to her destination if she was only staring downwards but this didn't seem to be a problem as her feet marched on determinedly, fully independent from the rest of her body.
Her world felt tiny, compressing, crushing her deep into herself. Distant from her body, she couldn't move, couldn't stop moving. Autonomous feet. Thoughts. Fear. Rain. Always rain.
She turned the music up.
Faith arrived at school. For a second, her body allowed herself to stop moving. She only noticed now that she was trembling all over. She left a damp trail up the stairs. It wasn't any warmer indoors.
Of all places, Yuri should be here. Pray to no god in particular if you're ever to look for him wherever the hell he goes to after school.
The volume couldn't possibly go up any higher. She turned the music up.
Uncertain of whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, Faith finally stood face to face with the music room door. She took her headphones off. The storm behind her hadn't calmed. She couldn't hear anything.
Is Yuri in that room? Maybe he is. Even if he is, what if he's not ok? Will opening this door welcome the sight of blood and tears and pain? Had Yuri gotten in a car accident on the way home? Was he mugged? Assaulted? Murdered? Kidnapped? All of the above?
This is stupid. That stuff didn't happen. Yuri's probably having the time of his life at a wild party right now. All this because of some rain? Seriously? It's just rain at the end of the day. There's only so much rain can do to you.
But if it's just rain then why isn't he answering? What could he possibly be doing with his phone on without answering the calls? It'd make more sense if he was at a party but considering the time, he couldn't have left school yet. Yuri is unpredictable and unexplainable but he takes his job as a teacher seriously and wouldn't be so irresponsible to run off and play.
He has to be in this room.
Frozen in place. What's beyond that door? Does Faith even want to see it? If she were so weak, she could go home right now, never to face the horrid truth awaiting. She could throw everything away, kill everyone and then herself, just to prevent them from witnessing the bloodbath shielded only by a plank of wood.
But what would be the point of coming? What's the point of thinking these thoughts if never to confirm their stupidity yourself? After all, whatever's beyond the door will still be there whether you witness it yourself or not.
There's no other choice. Gulping down a heaping portion of dread, Faith pushes open the door.
A tidal wave of relief morphs into shame. Warm golden light spills out, illuminating the scene of a man in an elegant black suit playing a grand piano against the rain's dreary dark backdrop. Slender fingers dance across white keys in precision, beautiful face caught in a focused expression, stopping every now and then to edit a page of sheet music. Peace.
An eternity passed by in a single second as Faith took in the view but she shied away from it to kneel off to the side where she couldn't be seen. The grip she holds on her weapon burns her hand. So stupid. Why is she here? She's lived in a much safer world now for so long yet she still isn't used to it.
No matter how much she fights for the present, the past can't change. She lost so much and still can't accept it.
A pause in the piano playing led Yuri to notice the open door. A quiet sound hid itself amongst the thunderous rioting of the rain. Someone was outside. How long had he been playing for exactly?
He turned the music off.
I hope you enjoyed reading!!! I had a lot of fun writing this and am so proud of it!!! ^^
#my post#nameless the one thing you must recall#nameless the one thing you must recall au#paraportal#nameless#nameless cheritz#cheritz nameless#whump
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im considering tryingto make a liveblog sideblog bc LOL im posting a lot and o_o
okie almost at the end of The Locket (paused in the ending scene where d'argo finds out his son is alive) and im kinda so-so on this one
i think its like. i have to assume MOST sci-fi shows have, like, "time dilation" episodes. well i say every . i mean i can name countless instances in each doctor who (+ torchwood), star trek, buffy, etc. alone.... arguably, one in torchwood too, yeah? but wherein time moves differently for two separate parties; whether that be some force keeping them out of sync, or someone put into a different space wherein they experience time differently. like literally. im thinking of more and more instances of that in shows the more i sit on it.
and like. when its done RIGHT? my favourite plot device. im insane for tragedy and time messiness. world enough and time is my favourite doctor who episode. the visitor is one of my favourite ds9 episodes. if we're stretching it, adrift was one of my favourite torchwood episodes. like it HITS....
BUT the problem is when its kiiiindaaa ... middling its REALLY middling. like time's orphan was the most mediocre ds9 episode there ever was. sorrryyyy.
and this kinda applies here. i honestly think half of it is just.... FIRSTLY, i think it was paced and focussed wrongly. i think crichton and aeryn should have went down there together, first time - and we should have followed their perspective, entirely. dont deviate back to the ship; dont see whats going on. i think devoting the screentime like that to them, and them alone, would have really developed their situation down there a lot more bc thats what the focus should be. really immerse us. dragging us in and out, the beginning complications with aeryn- it just doesnt make it flow as well, and i think... again . following THEIR perspective STRICTLY, devoting a longer piece to just them alone on a planet and growing old so we reallyfeel the isolation- that would work better.
bc like. the OTHER stuff- the stuff with zhaan, the mechanisms of the mist, etc..... like i feel like its convoluted in a way that doesnt benefit the story. like its tryinggg to do something clever to pull it back together. and the thing is, at least with this set up, its ALWAYS going to be a weird and contrived solution for the story that they had - so why not really devote the screentime, and invest in crichton and aeryn's story?
bc like... here we just. hit a hard reset. and i dontlike that at all. one thing i LIKE about farscape is that it doesnt do hard resets. even in the last episode- that had plenty of consequences. both times where its been a simulated reality (stories that usually end with a it was just a dream, hard reset) there have been consequences and thats what makes them work
here it just kinda.... idk. cheapens it. and thats a SHAME bc i dont think it makes it entirely ... for nothing .... because i did like this exploration of aeryn and crichton. which again- is exactly why trying to focus on that, more, would have made it better
its like. tng the inner light. thats effective because we follow picard almost exclusively. we get flashes outside of it but its mostly with regards to him trying to fight against the whole experience - hence why its necessary...
anyways
DO WE ALSO GET D'ARGO#S SON SOON GOD IM SO FUCKING EXCITED I AM IA M IAM. WANT MY GUY TO LOVE HIS FUCKING SON SO BAD
alsoooo . im not warming to chiana and d'argo BUT the hypothetical relationship beats i'd want them to explore were touched more upon here. though it does sort of feel kinda meh whatevers when i still dont think they laid proper groundwork for it
anywaysthats it everyb-
I DIDNT MENTION
STARKS BACK
HI STARK
I THINK YOU WERE KINDA WASTED HERE AS UNFORTUNATELY YOU WERE TIED INTO THE WHOLE, OVERCOMPLICATING WHAT THEY WERE TRYING TO DO THING, BUT THATS FINE I LIKE YOU STARK . SMIKLLLEEE
#Egg.txt#FARSCAPE LIVEBLOG#ALSO ITS SO FUNNY I WROTE A LONG POST ABOUT THIS AND NOT LAST EPISODE#ITHINK LAST EPISODE MY BRAINJUS RMELTED OUT MY EARS#I'D LOVE TO FUCKING PSYCHOANALYSE JOHN#BUT LIKE GOD FORBID. I DONTTHINK IC AN
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Gene Hunt being a COMPLETE Hypocrite in Ashes to Ashes Series Three
I’d like to preface this by saying I really enjoy series three, I love the shift in tone to the darker, more supernatural side and I love the growth we see everyone go through. HOWEVER the more I think about Gene’s actions (and specifically his interactions with Alex) the more I get annoyed at the hypocrisy of it all. Spoilers under the cut. I’d also like to apologise if this is confusing / hard to read / just doesn’t make sense. It sounded good in my head but when it came to writing it down I really struggled.
So the main thing that Gene is hypocritical about is calling Alex out for not trusting him in regards to what happened to Sam Tyler. The only reason he has any reason to think she doesn’t trust him is the fact that she’s looking through old files, and he gets word of that through Keats. Keats is also the one who pushes Alex to find out more, the one who pushes Alex away from Gene. This can be paralleled with Gene and Jenette in the series two finale,which I’ll come back to.
There are several things to unpack here. Number One, Gene knows that Alex knew Sam in some capacity before he met her. They have a conversation about it in the first episode.
Gene: Sam?
Alex: Tyler. I knew him.
Gene: Poor sod, that explains a lot.
Alex also has a conversation with Ray about Sam in the first episode, along with mentioning him to Jackie. So it’s known to the other characters that she and Sam knew each other. Gene also draws attention to the similarities between the two, most notably in the fight he has with Alex in 2x08.
Gene: First Sam Tyler and now you. Why do I always attract the liars and the weirdos?
This is followed by him threatening to kill her and ultimately him shooting her. Let’s remember the first interaction they have after Alex’s shooting is him slapping her across the face. It wouldn’t be a massive stretch to think that he could have done something to Sam, even though Alex’s gut instinct is that Gene is innocent.
The second part of this is that Keats is the one who reports to Gene that Alex has been talking to Manchester and Gene believes him, however whenever Keats gives Alex information Gene tells her to ignore it. That Keats is a lying tosser, or words to that effect. Essentially Keats can only be trusted when it suits Gene to trust him.
Thirdly, the parallel between Gene and Jenette and Keats and Alex can’t be ignored. Both Jenette and Keats come into CID with the intention of driving a wedge between Alex and Gene, however Jenette is much more successful than Keats, even though she and Gene spend less than twenty four hours together and Keats is trying over the course of several months. This gives rise to an implication that Gene almost doesn’t want to trust Alex which is cemented after he hears the tape. Although being upset about the tape isn't unjustified, shooting her is. Even threatening to shoot her when every other officer (including Ray who doesn’t even like Alex that much) is ready to defend her.
In addition to this Alex gives Gene countless opportunities to explain himself in series three and despite his reluctance or just downright refusal to talk about what happened. Ray and Chris’s unease around the situation and the accusations from Bevan in 3x05.
Bevan: The only difference is you got away with it [murder]
Alex REFUSES to give up on him or stop trusting him. Even in the series three finale, when she talks to Keats before leaving for Farringfield Green she still trusts him and doesn’t believe he could be a murderer. The only time that faith wavers is between her finding the body and finding the warrant card. Even during that time she admits how much she believed in him. We also see her consistently stating her belief in Gene’s innocence, throughout the series (right up until the series finale), in contrast Gene joins Jenette in down talking Alex almost as soon as she arrives in his office.
Jenette: Does that DI of yours notice those eyes?
Gene: She’s a little bit too in love with herself.
I could maybe forgive this if it was said in the heat of the moment after hearing Alex’s tape, but it isn’t. It’s just casually dropped into conversation when he has no reason to think badly of Alex (other than her obsession with Summer, which she later tries to explain to him). The only possible explanation (which isn’t canon confirmed but is popular in fanon) is that Gene and Alex sleep together at some point between 2x07 and 2x08 and because Gene is emotionally repressed this is his attempt to convince himself he doesn’t care. Even if this is true it would only reinforce the trust Alex puts in Gene throughout 2x08, only to have it thrown back in her face. Gene seems to do a complete 180 between episodes 7 & 8 in terms of how he feels about Alex. She is the only member of the “inner circle” of CID whose loyalty isn’t tested by Gene but by the next episode he seems to have no respect for her.
Not only that but Gene gives her ONE chance to explain herself before he decides she doesn’t deserve his time or a place on his team. Even though Alex doesn’t dodge his question and tells him the truth, he still reacts with anger. It could be argued that he is angry about everything that has happened over series two (Mac and Chris) and the idea of Alex being bent is the final straw, but in the aftermath as mentioned, Ray comes to her defence. Ray, one of the most misogynistic of the team and arguably the most loyal to Gene defends Alex. If Ray and Chris mean as much to Gene as he makes out they do, it seems wrong that he wouldn’t take Ray’s opinion into account. It is also mentioned earlier in the episode that Alex isn’t well, both in 2008 and in 1983. She has just spouted lots of nonsense in Gene’s office, but he doesn’t consider that it could be down to ill health, he gives her one chance and that’s it, not even relenting when she cracks the case. This makes Alex’s patience with him in series three all the more jarring.
The main difference between the two I think comes down to their faith in each other. Alex knows there is every chance Gene won’t understand the truth, but she still trusts him. It could be argued that Gene couldn’t tell Alex the truth in series three because he doesn’t remember and that he gained his memories gradually until they arrive on the hill. However the other characters (mainly Ray and Chris) know that Gene wasn’t involved in Sam’s death. Ray even mentions that Sam went against Gene’s advice and that’s how he met the accident. But I believe he must have remembered enough to know that he didn’t kill Sam, or at least if he didn’t remember use the evidence provided by those around him and also what he knew about himself, the only reason I can think of for not using the latter is that Alex’s shooting made him doubt whether it was the kind of thing he was capable of doing (even though Alex’s shooting was an accident), but Chris and Ray would both confirm he didn’t kill Sam.
Alex doesn’t want Gene’s entire life story, the inner workings of his mind (ok that might be a lie), but after witnessing him burn all of the evidence she collected from Manchester and having him dismiss her concerns and curiosity, all she asks for is the confirmation he isn’t a murderer, which given the fact he nearly killed her isn’t completely unreasonable. She doesn’t want him to talk about the emotional intimacies of his relationship with Sam, all she wants to know is that he didn’t kill him. Gene doesn’t give her any kind of answer, but she still trusts him.
I’m not sure if this makes sense (it sounded good in my head), or if I’ve covered everything I wanted to but these are my thoughts on Gene and Alex in Series two and three and why Gene’s hypocrisy bothers me.
I could probably write a whole separate analysis on Gene and Alex through the course of the show, if that is something people would be interested in, but that’s another can of worms for another day.
#ashes to ashes#a2a#alex drake#gene hunt#character analysis#Keeley Hawes#Philip Glenister#this is so long#I'm so sorry#also I rewatched the 2x08 fight for this#which is arguably my least favourite scene in the whole show#apart from Alex being mean to shaz#galex#alex drake x gene hunt
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You have Thoughts about Eddie's face journeys thru s4 esp where Buck is concerned???? 👀 🍿🍿🍿
i sure do!!!!!!!!!!!
ok so i think there are 3 possible scenarios for how s4 played out re: 4x14 and the will, right?
1. ryan was made aware of eddie changing his will at some point early on in the season (around 4x04-ish) and therefore was responding appropriately (in conjunction with the script and director obviously) to how he thought eddie would react to buck
2. ryan didn't know but the writers did and so were purposefully including these lingering moments in the script where they would focus on eddie's reaction to buck
3. nobody knew until late in the season and it's all a huge coincidence
no matter which option it is, something about the way eddie looks at buck in season 4 is just Different?????
like season 2 is obviously about establishing their dynamic and developing their friendship. and season 3 in its own right has some very loud moments to really drive home their significance in each other's lives (the tsunami, the lawsuit, the kitchen scene, the skateboard etc.)
but while season 4 is a much quieter season in comparison and we definitely went whole episodes without any sort of major interactions between them, i honestly think it's the most...damning? in terms of evidence for how much they mean to each other (or at least how much buck means to eddie??) bc it’s more subtle, sure, but it speaks volumes to the depths of how they know each other
everything about how eddie reacts to buck in 4x04 and 4x05 shows how much he cares about him. being the calm to buck’s anger when he’s venting his frustrations on the punching bag, validating his feelings and saying he doesn’t need to apologise to his parents, being the one to know buck is talking to dr copeland, the “that’s not on you” and “i know you did” said so softly.
none of it’s necessarily Big or Declarative but it’s there and it’s a given and you can tell eddie’s worried about him even if he’s not vocal about it like the others. you can see it in his face that he’s trying to figure out how to make buck remember he’s not alone and he ultimately does that in the same way buck did for him so much in s2 - he offers support like it’s a given and he doesn’t push beyond that
likewise the scene in treasure hunt haunts me where buck says he doesn’t trust anyone and eddie’s face just looks....so different to everyone else. the rest of the 118 are mock offended but eddie looks so?????? i don’t even know what the right word is but he’s very clearly thinking in that moment - about buck and trust and his abandonment issues and how to make him understand he matters to eddie (and chris)
also i was talking about this with @evanbucxley the other day but the moment at the beginning of jinx too with the whole ‘check’ thing where eddie completely indulges buck for no reason?????????? and does so in a way that clearly shows this is a conversation they’ve already had bc he knows what buck wants him to say. i’m literally not even lying when i say it might be one of my favourite scenes of all time for them bc he’s so fond???? and the fact this is coupled with him telling buck he’s allowed time to process if he’s not ready to move on after the daniel revelation and saying ‘still not sure what inspired this software update’ about buck 3.0
all of this is to say, having these quiet asides where we see these moments play out in eddie’s expression whether they were deliberate or not, laid such a perfect foundation for everything that happened in 4x13/4x14. because you watch buck completely lose it when eddie gets shot and you watch him break down sobbing and you watch him step up to take care of christopher in a way that’s so expected and accepted by the other characters and you watch eddie’s face when buck says it’d be better if he got shot and then you watch the hospital scene and you just think....of course
of course eddie would do this. of course he would choose buck - he loves buck and he trusts buck more than anyone. of course this makes sense. and i honestly don’t know where they’re taking things from here but i think so much of season 4 showed eddie quietly reflecting on his feelings for buck and how he specifically cares for him (not even necessarily romantically but just as one of the most important people in his life) which then culminated in the hospital scene and “you act like you’re expendable but you’re wrong” - arguably one of the most significant things any character has ever said to buck. and i’d really, really love if we got a similar journey for buck in regards to eddie in s5 :’)
#buddie#anon#asks#mine#this is so incoherent i'm sorry askdjfha#and now i need to edit chapter 2 of the practical magic au so excuse me while i dip out lmao#long post
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Which season Hürrem is your favorite?
I can't say that I specifically have a favourite Hürrem from any season. I like her throughout the show for different reasons. And her appeal evolves over time. That said, I'm definitely in my Vahide era at the moment. I hope this isn’t too incoherent. Even in spite of how long it is.
I love season 1 Hürrem because I think at that stage her immaturity both makes a lot of sense and is very endearing. She's only 17 when the show starts, and she's gone through an extremely traumatising event. She behaves like a child because she basically is a child. Which explains both a lot of her more extreme or problematic actions (while obviously not justifying it), as well as a lot of her behaviour in general. One of my favourite moments is when she arrives on the Favourites' Floor because she allows herself to relax and be a child. Which is so nice to see after everything that has happened to her. We also see her intelligence and cunning. As she starts trying to manipulate situations and the people around her for her own benefit. This is also the season where the conflict between her love for her family and the need to move on is at its strongest. This can be seen in how proud she is of her new name, and in the active decision she makes in converting to Islam. That said, the conflict is the most apparent in the Leo arc. His presence is an unwelcome reminder of the past she can no longer go back to and the traumatic circumstances of both her separation from that past and her present. Even though she does still care about him. And all of this comes to a head in his death scene, which represents the final severing of her her last connection to the past. Overall though, I think this conflict, and a lot of her psychology overall, stem from her abandonment issues. She’s determined to find family, love and stability because she lost precisely those things. And she’s also ambitious and gaining power is also a goal for her. So there is a lot to love and to analyse with her there.
Season 2 Hürrem is...interesting. First of all, the Isabella plotline did Hürrem no favours. Early season 2 Hürrem is probably my least favourite version of her because of this. That aside however, season 2 was a huge season for her growth and development as a character. She went from arguably one of her most powerless moments in the whole show at the beginning of the season 2 being crowned the ruler of the harem at the end. And she becomes more recognisable as who she is later on. She becomes more willing to discuss her past and how she has been affected by her trauma. And because of this we start to see her able to persuade people using it. I think the first example of this is when Hatice is unresponsive and depressed and worried about Ibrahim. Hürrem sympathises with her by relating her own experiences to Hatice's and is able to make her snap out of it. To everyone's surprise. Overall this can be explained by the fact that her position starts to stabilise at this point. So she can start to open up and reflect on the past more. Ironically around the same time that she burnt Leo’s notebook (which was honestly one of my favourite scenes because it’s literally her innocence of the crime and the fact that Nigar and Daye believed in her that saved her). While she has had to move on from the past in some ways, in other ways it stays with her and she still cares about the people she has lost. She’s still deeply affected by her abandonment issues, and still quite isolated. So she does want and reach out for friendships (as can be seen in her dynamics with Hatice, Nigar and Sümbül both in seasons 1 and 2 and Gül, Nilüfer and Aybige in season 2), although she’s willing to sell them out if it benefits her or hurts her enemies. Although she will still do what she can to reward people who help her, as she does Daye. She has both a deeply caring and a ruthless side to her. At this point she’s also at her most audacious yet. This can be seen in both how she schemes to marry Süleyman and also rule the harem after the Valide’s death. Both of which she succeeds in. She also becomes more ruthless. As can be seen in her attempts to kill Ibrahim and the Efsun plot. The first attempt to kill Ibrahim comes soon after Leo’s death so she’s still deeply angry and upset and motivated by pure revenge. The second one is similar, although to a lesser extent. It also shows that she’s not as ruthless as she will be later on since she does call it off both because Ibrahim is helping with the wedding between her and Süleyman. This changes by season 3. The Efsun situation is also interesting because it highlights both her ruthlessness and immaturity. As it can be contrasted with the very similar Cevher incident in season 4, in which she is far more willing to admit wrongdoing and try to make up for it. So this shows how Hürrem both has more positive and negative character development to go through by this point.
Season 3 was interesting because Hürrem was challenged in new and interesting ways. And some new sides to her character were highlighted. Her ruthlessness was particularly apparent, but there was still a lot more to her than that. And there is a progression between her characterisation here and in season 4. First of all, her ruthlessness is apparent in Ibrahim’s death and the Firuze arc. She finally actually succeeded in killing Ibrahim and after her fallout with Hatice, she no longer was considering the consequences that this would have for her. Her reaction was interesting though. Because she was at first shocked (since she didn’t necessarily know what the consequences of her influence on Süleyman were guaranteed to be) and then triumphant (and honestly, given everything he put her through I can’t exactly blame her). As for Firuze, her ruthlessness against her stems both from abandonment issues and the pain of betrayal. She saved Firuze from the abuse of the slavers and she liked her and trusted her. As far as Hürrem was concerned, she had found a new friend (and this is still at the point where she’s trying to reach out). She thought she’d found someone she could find solidarity with. So when she found out that Firuze was the favourite, her lashing out in large part stems from that hurt. That said, the other interesting thing about Firuze, was how her challenge highlighted other parts of Hürrems psychology. When she almost took Thursday night from Hürrem, Hürrem’s monologue as she was going to kill herself is very interesting. Because she goes back to her family and her parents. Highlighting how they are still with her after so long as well as her abandonment issues and emotional isolation. As well as the fact that there’s so much that she can’t tell anyone (’Time to stay silent’). And all of this makes it all the more meaningful when a new parental figure and friend, Afife, saves her. That hug honestly made me cry. And the friendship between Hürrem and Afife is one of my favourites on the show. After this point she doesn’t feel such a need to reach out for friendships in the same way. The only person to whom she does is Şah, and that’s because she specifically in order to be friends with a Dynasty member who could be on her side. Moving on to Şah, her rivalry with Hürrem was one of my favourites. It highlighted the intelligence and ruthlessness of them both, the way ın which Hürrem used her loyalty as a defensive mechanism and her neuroticism and protectiveness towards her children. Her loyalty was a defensive mechanism for two reasons: both because she never wanted to lose someone she loved again, but also because she was at risk of incurring Süleyman’s anger if she stepped out of line too much. Şah cleverly exploited this. Which was very interesting to see. Hürrem’s neuroticism also causes her to make the decision that puts Mehmet’s life at risk, by refusing to let him go to any Sanjak aside from Manisa. She did this because she thought that it would save him. But instead she was kidnapped and he was murdered. Overall the protective mother angle gets highlighted more in Season 3B and it’s very interesting to see. And finally I would like to mention one of my favourite scenes. Which was her conversation with Kevser Hatun. It highlights how her past stayed with her, her ability to persuade and her ability to find solidarity with other women. It’s a fantastic scene and I think the show should have made more of her charity work. So season 3 contributed to her characterisation in some extremely compelling ways.
Now onto season 4! She’s at her most ruthless this season, but she matures a lot here. And I absolutely love Vahide as Hürrem. I’d say her character development in season 4 goes from being vengeful and vindictive right after Mehmet’s death and her return from captivity to starting to heal and mature over time. There is the parallel between episodes 104 and 133 of her refusing to forgive and then finally forgiving Mahidevran. Which is hugely significant in terms of her character growth. And the contrast between the Hürrem who says that she sees Mustafa continuing to live as an insult to Mehmet’s memory and the one who says that she wishes he were her son and cries in private after his death is also very telling of this change. She is still ruthless as she orders the deaths of people like Nazenin, Cevher and Mustafa. But she is overall more mature and willing to admit when she’s in the wrong. This is especially the case with Cevher as she apologises to Sümbül, frees him and tries to make up for what she has done to him. This contrasts with Efsun and it shows that while she’s still ruthless and capable of terrible things, she’s more willing to accept responsability. Especially at this point, Hürrem has no illusion that she’s innocent. And she’s still as protective of her children as ever, although this brings up new challenges. Her plotting against Mustafa is motivated by her wish to protect her children, but she underestimates how significant those fraternal relationships are. And this leads to Cihangir’s death. I will say that Vahide’s acting as Hürrem grieved Cihangir was powerful. And Cihangir’s death was also especially significant considering that it was the first time Hürrem could properly mourn someone. Her relationship with Nurbanu was interesting. Because she chose her specifically because she saw herself in her. And she knew she could protect Selim. But this conflicted with her attempts to also protect Bayezid. As two very similar ruthless and ambitious women fought to protect their families. Hürrem was never going to be able to truly choose a side between her sons though since losing another child was her worst nightmare. How much she cared about her children was just so...Her relationship with Sümbül was at its best this season. I loved how they stayed friends even after she freed her and her visiting his coffee shop was sweet. Finally I would like to talk about the best episode for Hürrem: episode 134. This episode was a fantastic tribute to her. I loved the phoenix imagery. It’s such a great representation of her resilience and survival and also mixes her bird and fire imagery nicely. The scene where the women visit and thank her made me cry. I loved the acknowledgement of her charity work again. Her hugging and comforting Mihrimah was nice and made for a powerful parallel with her hugging her mother in her dream back in episode 1. And it was nice that a character who had had to deal with grief and loss or the threat of it got to die surrounded by her loved ones. Her actual death scene was powerful too. Both with the combination of Luli and the Seventh Door and because time stopped for her death. Overall at the moment season 4 Hürrem is my favourite and probably the most complex version of her. She’s fantastic. They had a difficult job to do since they had to contend the most strongly with the ‘evil witch who manipulated Süleyman’ narrative while not also letting her off the hook but they thread that needle. And it’s why I’d say season 4 Hürrem is possibly the best written character in the franchise.
#hürrem sultan#my fave#magnificent century#el sultán#muhteşem yüzyıl#teamhürrem#answered#illusorybeing
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Season 2 simultaneously makes happy and sad. Happy because I think I over all enjoy it for what it is, but it could have been so much better.
Highlights of my favourite scenes:
— Anthony’s interviews in episode one (hysterical)
— their first meeting in the park (cute and fun)
— Kate overhearing Anthony with his ‘friends’ on the terrace and handing him his ass (amazing — perfectly set up their conflict) (side note I loved that she went looking for him 🥺)
— shutting the door on Anthony’s face and smirking (peak comedy)
— fencing (I love sibling scenes!)
— the whole races scene
— Pall Mall and the Bee Scene
— the flashbacks (heart wrenching and so well acted!)
— Pretty much all of Daphne at Aubrey Hall
— the harmony ball (pure Bridgerton family fun!)
— the gazebo (though, I think it was weirdly edited and I will never get over it being outside where they could have been easily caught)
— the Featherington ball dance (literally makes me wanna cry)
— Anthony’s speech (literal perfection, the best thing I’ve heard, no notes)
The bad:
I think the writing was very clunky and not cohesive throughout the entire season. I think episode six really highlights this, but it’s all over for a lot of characters. The Bridgertons themselves also felt very off to me as well. I didn’t feel the family love and playfulness as much as I did season one. At points they were literally downright mean to Anthony for no reason. I think they were going for teasing but really missed the mark. I hope that is improved for the next season. (They we’re also downright oblivious? Violet and Benedict especially?)
I know they’ve started to market this as an ensemble show, which sure okay I can see the thought process, however — you have to promote the main leads and storyline better!!! Also…maybe have better subplots? I can’t really say I found any of the other characters stories this season particularly interesting. Lady Featherington’s one especially, Colin’s and Eloise’s. I mean I sort of understand what they were doing - they were setting up season 3 just as they did season 1 for Anthony. But it didn’t interest me as much (note I went into season 1 knowing nothing and not particularly loving Anthony at first but he grew on me!)
Kate felt very sidelined to me at points throughout the season I would have loved to have seen her more fleshed out and I think this ultimately comes down to the lack of the Sharma family set up. The dynamic was odd. To me, I didn’t see a loving and caring family.
I think they tried to get Kate to mirror Anthony a little too much by her taking on the at the time traditional masculine role. Realistically for the time, Kate marrying would have been the best way to secure her family’s safety. I understand they wanted to close the age gap (totally fine with that, the age gap between E + A creeps me out, same with any other big age gaps in the show/books). The backstory just didn’t make sense. I would have loved to have seen Mary be more of an active character, she was completely sidelined and basically made out to be a absent parent? Like she didn’t care that much about Kate at all and arguably Edwina too. She just sort of let everyone else do everything. I think if Mary knew about the Sheffield plan along with Kate would have been interesting. I understand keeping it from Edwina so she could find a match without this overhead pressure.
Finally…the Edwina of it all. I think they focused so much on Edwina not being a plot device she kind of was anyways? They really dumbed her down and while she had some lovely moments (the Penelope at the party, when she spoke to Anthony about her love of literature etc). I really thought for a while she would cotton on to what was happening (Aubrey Hall, the lake scene etc) but nope. The wedding was painful to watch for a variety of reasons (I think it’s my least favourite episode and should never have happened but hey that’s television) but this really started the decline of the character and that’s just down to poor writing. It honestly felt like they wrote that episode first and then tried to work around it and it just didn’t work. (I also want to say I think the actress did an amazing job with what she was given, my complaints are in no way directed towards her). The immediate shift of blame to Kate as odd to me too. I’ve seen it been said that Edwina is more upset with Kate because she loves her more but to me at least it was obvious Kate had feeling for Anthony during the bangle bit but for sure that Anthony had a thing for Kate. I don’t know that’s just my interpretation. And I’m not saying the justification for Edwina’s anger wasn’t there, I understand the reaction. There’s just somethings you can’t forgive coughcoughHALFSISTERcoughcough. Her also taking forever to decide to go through with it was weird to me too (personally would have called it off immediately but hey that’s me) and really dragged the episode out. Finally I remember watching Edwina’s big speech in chapel with K + A and the whole “you have lost your power” but I got so confused I had to replay the scene I couple of times because none of it made any sense??? tldr: episode six was a mess.
What I would have found more interesting for Edwina would have been her not enjoying the Diamond title and the Ton as much as she thought she would and realising maybe this life wasn’t actually what she wanted (also befriending Eloise and having intellectual conversations would have been cool!). Also…meeting a cute scholar would have been nice (justice for mr bagwell)
#bridgerton brainrot#olivia speaks#i just have to rant to the universe because no one i know irl loves this show like i do#i love kathony but S2 really makes me want to scream at my TV at some parts#i remember my first watch through just being uncomfortable whenever anthony and edwina spoke to each other#she's so young#and he's so dumb#bridgerton#justice for kate sharma#s2
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big ol’ invicncible spoilers, watch the show first trust me you’re not missing anything if you don’t read this post
I’ve never talked about a cartoon or tv show before but I’ve gotta say that people who say there’s ‘no complexity’ to Omni-Man’s character just tick me off.
I mean, listen, he’s totally a villain at least in the cartoon adaptation (I’ve not read the comics, going to consider them separate entities for the sake of argument), but he’s far from a two dimensional sussus amogus imposter blindly readying the planet for invasion.
I whole-heartedly believe that Omni-Man enjoyed being a superhero, saving lives. I believe his friendship with the tailor guy was real, I believe he respected, admired even, the Guardians of the Globe, cherished his relationship with Debbie, and enjoyed living among humans. The brief interaction with Darkwing and The Immortal when the Mauler Twins attack the White House is so sincere right? Like, it seems to me he respects them, the jokey “you’re welcome” when he saved Darkwing, the “I had him” when he saved the guard Immortal was going for, that wasn’t necessary of him. He had no real reason to be playful and cordial with them, he could have been distant and still gained their trust easily (I mean, Darkwing was a jerk and they loved him). The brief moment of shock and unresponsiveness when Mark revealed that he’d finally gotten his powers? I honestly believe that was a moment of disbelief. I think he hoped Mark’s powers wouldn’t manifest, hoped he wouldn’t have to continue his mission. That pause was him coming to terms with the end of things. The realization that he would have to hurt people he respected, finish his mission, and end his time as a father, author, and superhero.
When he collapses after murdering the Guardians of the Globe, the look on his face isn’t just exhaustion from the fight, it looks to me like shock. Disbelief. I don’t think he wanted to kill the Guardians, I think he hated doing it, but it’s what he was bred for. He was born and trained from childhood for thousands of years to weaken a planet from within, prepare it for invasion. Earth had superheroes, naturally a pretty noteworthy obstacle for an invasion, so he, in his mind, had no choice but to kill them. And notice that most of his kills are pretty... clean? He goes right for Immortal’s head, ditto with Aquaris and Green Ghost, snaps War Woman’s neck, kills Darkwing in one clean move, tears off Martian Man’s heart(? is that a heart?), crushes Red Rush’s head (which seems slow because of Red Rush’s perception of time being RIDICULOUS compared to our own, that horrific scene only lasted like a second for the rest of the characters). He goes for quick, clean kills, minimizing pain. Maybe its just brutal, soldier-like efficiency, since the greatest superheroes on Earth cannot be allowed to get any good hits in (they nearly killed him as it was), but what if it was a desire to not prolong the suffering of people he genuinely liked?
We see in the flashback towards the end (during the THINK, MARK, THINK! scene lmao) that he initially didn’t give two shits about humanity on a deep level. He loved and respected Debbie and his then-very-young son, but thought humans were, on a whole, primitive and dumb. But as he spends time observing them, watching their culture, interacting with them, living with them, he warms up to them. The smile on his face when Mark hits his first homerun in little league, remembering Debbie’s favourite foods, the way he laughs when he mentions how a superhero had to meet the president in a plaid supersuit, the fishing photograph with the tailor. Even after he finally reveals himself as an infiltrator, the way he talks, to me, shows respect for his adversaries even as he demeans and belittles humanity. The discussion with Cecil, the warning to ‘stay out of this’. Nolan seems reluctant to kill anybody he doesn’t have to, and seemingly acknowledges that the Global Defense Agency at the very least is a minor threat.
So, you say, why does he act so AWFUL at times?
Well, his seeming lack of emotion after the funerals for the Guardians of the Globe can proooooooooooooobably be chalked up to his alien psychology. He finished grieving, he didn’t see the harm in cracking jokes about them. Calling Debora a ‘pet’? I think that honestly would be him trying to rationalise his feelings for her. There’s a fraction of a second where he hesitates to say it, and I honestly think he’s just trying to explain to himself how he could ever love a ‘lesser lifeform’. Killing all those innocent people? In his mind that was justified to get through to Mark. He doesn’t enjoy it -- though he also doesn’t dislike it -- he just sees it as a flat necessity, no less insignificant than killing a bug (i said the man is a complex character, I didn’t say he wasn’t evil).
Don’t forget, Nolan’s genuine reasoning for bringing Earth into the Viltrum Empire is to help it. He argues that Viltrum technology can end hunger and poverty, end crime, revolutionize medicine. In his eyes, his indoctrinated eyes, he’s doing the right thing to help the people of Earth.
He still thinks he’s the hero.
‘it’s right to pity them’.
He sees humans as lesser creatures, he thinks they need protection from themselves, need to be brought up by the Viltrumites to be better. They can’t survive on their own, they’re weak and soft, they need us to reach their full potential, to find true glory in serving the might of Viltrum. Omni-Man does not see his actions as evil, he thinks he’s the good guy. He reluctantly kills the Guardians of the Globe, slaughters thousands of people, and destroys a city in order to, in his extremely twisted sense of morality, help people.
And, in the end, it is not the Viltrumite parts of Omni-Man and Invincible that end the conflict. It is Mark’s very human belief that he will, one day, get through to his dad. His refusal to give in, his undying love and determination to save people, save Nolan. It’s this that reaches Omni-Man. It doesn’t reach the tough soldier he had been for thousands of years, it reaches the small part of Omni-Man that wasn’t pretending to be human. The part that is Nolan Grayson. The part that, despite still seeing them as primitive and inferior, likes humanity. It’s a human tear that leaves his eye as Nolan flies away from Earth, finally giving up and refusing to facilitate the invasion if it means killing his son, something a full Viltrumite wouldn’t hesitate to do for a second if their family got in the way of their conquest. He was changed by his time with humans.
I’m not defending Omni-Man, he’s obviously a bad guy, an antagonist, serving a genuinely evil empire, but i AM saying he isn’t some flat, boring two dimensional villain who just PRETENDED to like humanity for the twenty odd years he spent living there. I’ve seen people in youtube comments replying with “I think you misunderstand Omni-Man as a character, you see, he was simply pretending to not hate humanity, it was all an elaborate ruse, there’s no real depth and inner terminal in him at all uwu” but i think THEY misunderstand Omni-Man.
He’s not morally grey, he’s arguably not even redeemable, but he IS a complex and well written character and boiling him down to ONLY being an evil alien who tricked people into liking him just rubs me the wrong way.
but idk maybe I misunderstood him and he really IS flat and boring. Maybe his time with humanity didn’t change him at all, he isn’t emotionally conflicted, and he’s just less cool than I thought.
And despite my seeming passive aggressive language, it’s totally chill if you disagree with my personal interpretation of Omni-Man as a character, art is meant to be a unique experience for everyone, so if you see him completely differently to me that’s great! I just dislike the insistence from some people online that anybody who sees him as a deeper, more complicated character is just wrong.
also sorry for this post coming out of left field entirely lmao
#invincible#omni-man#nolan grayson#mark grayson#cecil stedman#debbie grayson#the immortal#war woman#aquaris#martian man#red rush#green ghost#darkwing#guardians of the globe#cartoon#animation#character discussion#complex characters#THINK MARK THINK#look i know this isnt unpopular#but i just wanted an excuse to write about omni-man and invincible tbh#superheroes#super powers#mauler twins#forgive me for typing so much#i like to get carried away sometimes#spoilers#invincible spoilers#big spoilers
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What do you think was your favorite part of chapter 2?
Also have you heard of this route’s version of the genocide route? Because it’s arguably more horrifying than UnderTale’s… I think it’s called the snowgrave route or something
[deltarune spoilers]
oh boy I cannot pick just one favourite part so here's a few faves:
the traffic jam outside the library makes me lose it every time. the way that weird musical honking starts with zero context the moment you step outside the school, and then walking over like 'what the hell is this noise' to see Undyne lifting an entire car just because she can, the whole bit somehow clicks something in my brain that immediately makes me start crying laughing
Queen showing up drunk on battery acid before Berdly's awful statue appears. every line in that scene is pure gold
the Suselle ferris wheel scene is a treasure
obviously Toriel and Sans punning at his store was extremely relevant to my interests
there's a ton of single lines and small segments that stood out to me as well but this would get real long if I listed them all jhsdgjh
...as for the Snowgrave route:
I finally watched a playthrough of it yesterday and yeah wow it's worse than UT
unfortunately I'd already heard spoilers for all the main beats of the story, but the visuals and smaller details were new to me and those caught me off-guard :'D the enemies just being frozen in their moment of death, staying in the overworld forever?? that's horrible I love it
since I'm late to the party I don't think there's much I can say that hasn't already been discussed, but I think part of what added to it being worse than UT is just how quickly everything goes to heck; UT's geno route starts slow but keeps ramping up that horrifying feeling for the rest of the game with many beloved characters going down in one hit and few bosses putting up any fight, but here, chapter 1 and the first parts of chapter 2 are just a normal fun adventure! even if you choose to fight, barely anything actually changes! and then the moment you start this route things start to go so wrong so fast, and all of it's within just half a chapter out of several. if one chapter can turn this dark in such a short span of time, how much worse can the full game get?? and how is there only one ending if you can do things like this?????
also one post I saw a few days ago (which I only glanced at before realising it was a huge spoiler and scrolled away, so no idea who posted it) pointed out that Noelle in this route seems to mirror the way Chara becomes corrupted by the geno route, and given the things Noelle says about "the enemy" and "getting stronger"? I absolutely believe it's intentional. someone who's just unwillingly along for the ride at first, eventually taking part of their own accord, having a whole thing about being in control... it all fits too well and it could be so interesting if the full game expands on that concept.
having said all that though, my opinion of it is similar to the geno route in that it has its really cool moments and I get why it's popular, but in terms what I like to draw and focus on I don't think I'll do anything with it myself. it's not a route I'll ever play personally and the the exact opposite of the type of content I enjoy creating, but I do appreciate the story it tells at least o/
#I wouldn't rule out drawing the snowgrave move itself like once maybe but#so many people have already done that and I'm not sure I could bring anything new ahah#besides I'm still in the mood to draw silly fluffy things first#authordgaster#holoskart asks#bad opinion zone#deltarune spoilers#long post //
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Can you list anything you unironically like in the games (and cartoons and comics) that you don't like?
I won't bother mentioning music, since that goes without saying and is to be expected for a Sonic game... unless you're Chronicles.
Sonic Adventure 2 (mixed gameplay-wise, annoying story-wise)
- While I prefer Sonic's SA1 levels for a number of reasons, I still think his and Shadow's gameplay in SA2 is fun on its own merit. I also don't mind the treasure hunting gameplay returning or how big the levels are this time around, since Knuckles and Rouge are still fast and not '06 levels of slow. It's mainly the gimped radar that creates the unfortunate domino effect of making them a problem.
- Introduced Rouge, one of my favourite characters for how playful she is and how she's a lot more nuanced and intelligent than you'd expect.
- Some genuinely good scenes, like Eggman's trap on the A.R.K and Sonic escaping from the G.U.N. helicopter.
- Had some good ideas going for it, like the Pyramid Base and the Biolizard as a scientific monster instead of an ancient one.
- Despite my thoughts on the backstory itself (or rather, its execution), Shadow has enough depth and subtle qualities and occasional unintended hilarity to stand out from the typical dark rival characters you see in media.
- The Last Scene's music in particular is one of my favourite cutscene tracks in the series.
Sonic Heroes (mixed gameplay-wise, loathed story-wise)
- The gameplay is fun when you're not being screwed over by repetitive combat, overly long levels and/or ice physics.
- Boasts some of the most consistently Genesis-worthy environments in the 3D games, up there with SA1's and Colours'.
- The in-game dialogue that isn't the same tutorial drivel repeated ad nauseam can be interesting, funny, etc.
- Reintroduced the Chaotix, which provided me with another character I quite like in the form of Vector.
- Bringing Metal Sonic back in full force and front and center in the plot after a long absence (not counting cameos and the like) is a perfectly fine idea. Just... not like this.
Sonic Battle (decent yet repetitive gameplay, mixed story-wise)
- Emerl's arc is compelling, and it earns the emotional weight of having to put him down at the end.
- While some characters are iffy (read: Amy), other characters are extremely well-handled. Shadow is probably the prime example.
- Gamma's belly dance healing animation is fucking hilarious.
- When I was young, and the game was first announced, I was really excited about being able to play as Chaos. This proved to be my downfall when it turned out he was arguably one of the worst characters in the game due to being slower than me during the writing process, but I still recall that excitement fondly.
Shadow the Hedgehog (comedy classic)
- The sheer amount of legendary stupidity this game has going for it makes it practically impossible to actually hate. It helps that it's not quite as white-knighted on the same level as '06... usually. You know you're in for a unique experience when you hear a gunshot every time you click something in the menu.
- By extension, Black Doom never gained an unironic fanbase like Mephiles/Scourge/Eggman Nega did, which means I'm a lot more willing to take Doom's dumbass brand of villainy in stride. He even has a unique design... a terrible one that rips off Wizeman granted, but alas, even that is a step-up from Fridge Shadow and Bumblebee Eggman.
- Despite being... well, Shadow the Hedgehog, some of the environments would fit right in with any other Sonic game, like with Circus Park, Lava Shelter, and Digital Circuit. Even the Black Comet levels look pretty cool.
- This game understands amnesia better than IDW does.
Sonic '06 (what do you think?)
- The obvious one: Shadow's character was handled pretty well, even if it came at the cost of everyone else being a dummy and being forced to interact with Mephiles.
- Like SA2, there are some good moments, like the Last Story ending sequence with Sonic and Elise.
- In the greatest form of irony ever, I like Solaris as a concept and design(s), and its backstory has potential to serve as a parallel with Chaos without being a complete ripoff. Iblis sucks, Mephiles sucks, but I'm fine with Solaris.
- Introduced legendary characters like Sonic Man, Pele the Beloved Dog, Hatsun the Pigeon, and Pacha from The Emperor's New Groove.
The Rivals duology (apathetic outside of Nega-related grumbling)
- There were some cool zone ideas in both games that were sadly let down by the restrictive and limiting gameplay. I particularly like Colosseum Highway for thus far being the only full-on Roman level in the series instead of merely having a couple minor hints of Roman, and Meteor Base for the unique scenario of the space station being built into an asteroid. These level concepts and others deserve a second chance IMO. (At least Frontier Canyon got a second chance in the form of Mirage Saloon, amirite?)
- Ifrit has a better design than Iblis. Not saying it's amazing, but the Firebird motif it has going on is a lot more interesting for a fire monster than the Not-Chaos schtick they had with Iblis.
Sonic and the Secret Rings (a very frustrating gaming experience)
- Erazor Djinn, A.K.A. Qui-Gon Djinn, A.K.A. Dr. N. Djinn, A.K.A. I'll Take It On The Djinn, A.K.A. Not From The Hairs On My Djinny Djinn Djinn, is one of the best villains not associated with Eggman in the series. He's a Mephiles-type character done right, and there's actual weight and reason to his actions, however sinister or petty.
- I don't have strong opinions either way on Shahra as a character, but the Sonic/Shahra friendship is sweet and well-handled.
- The ending is one of Sonic's greatest moments. The sheer contrast between how ruthlessly he deals with Erazor and how comforting he is towards Shahra speaks volumes... Still gonna make fun of the mountain of handkerchiefs though. (Before anyone lectures me, I understand the significance of it and can even appreciate it from that angle... doesn't mean I'm not allowed to poke fun at it. :P)
- Another game with some redeeming environments. I love the aesthetic of Night Palace, and Sand Oasis looks gorgeous too.
Sonic Chronicles (my personal least favourite game in the series)
- Uh...
- Um...
- Er...
- I like Shade's design?
Sonic Unleashed (overrated game and story IMO)
- The obvious two: the opening sequence and the Egg Dragoon fight deserve all the praise they get.
- Seeing Eggmanland come to life was an impressive moment to be sure. While part of me does feel it didn't quite measure up to what I had in mind (ironically, the Interstellar Amusement Park ended up being closer to what I had in mind), it still looks badass and works well for what it is. I also don't mind the idea of it being a one-level gauntlet... key word being idea.
- Obviously, the game looks great. Not a fan of the real world focus (real world inspiration is fine, but copy-pasting the real world and shoving loops in it is just unimaginative), but it can't be denied that the environments look good.
- This game pulled off dialogue options a lot better than Chronicles did, since they didn't rely on making Sonic OoC.
Sonic and the Black Knight (just kind of boring all around)
- Despite my gripes with the story (Merlina wasn't nearly as fleshed out as her unique anti-villain status deserved, which ends up severely undermining the ambition of the plot in more ways than one, and the other characters go from being useless yes men for King Arthur to being useless yes men for Sonic), I will admit it provides interesting insight into Sonic's character.
- Like '06 and Secret Rings, the ending is very nice... well, aside from Amy being an unreasonable bitch ala Sonic X at the very end.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (apathetic)
- The admittedly few new concepts sprinkled within had promise. They may not have been as fleshed out as they could have been, but level concepts like Sylvania Castle and White Park, bosses like Egg Serpentleaf and the Egg Heart, and story beats like the Death Egg mk.II being powered by Little Planet, all could have been brilliant had they been better executed.
SatAM (apathetic outside of SatAM Robotnik-related grumbling)
- I'm not a fan of the environments on the whole due to them looking too bland or samey, but there are some exceptions that look pleasant or interesting, like the Void.
Sonic Underground (apathetic)
- The character designs make me feel better about myself.
- Does "large quantities of unintentional meme material" count as a positive?
Sonic X (mostly apathetic outside of Eggman's handling)
- Helen was a better human character and audience surrogate in her one focus episode than Chris was throughout his entire runtime.
- Actually, most of the human characters not named Chris were legitimately likable. Including everyone in Chris' own family not named Chris. Hilarious.
- Despite arguably having the most Chris in it, I actually don't mind the first season that much, partly due to slight nostalgia from seeing it on TV when it was new, but mostly because Eggman actually acted like a villain for the most part, and certain other characters weren't quite as flanderized yet. It's season 2 and onwards where things started going off the rails IMO. (Incidentally, Helen's episode was part of season 1...)
The Boom franchise (apathetic)
- Along with Chronicles, the games provide yet more proof that just because someone isn't SEGA/Sonic Team, that doesn't mean they're automatically more qualified to handle the series.
- The show had some good episodes here and there, and Tails' characterization was probably the most consistently on-point out of the cast.
- Despite not exactly being favourite portrayals for either character, even I'll admit that many of Knuckles and Eggman's lines in the show on their own were genuinely funny.
Archie Sonic (pre-reboot is mostly terrible, post-reboot is mostly... bland)
- Whenever I doubt myself as a writer, I think back to Ken Penders, and suddenly I'm filled with a lot more confidence.
Sonic the Comic (apathetic)
- Fleetway isn't a comic I tend to recall much of aside from how much of a loathesome cunt Sonic is, but IIRC, Robotnik's portrayal is pretty good. Different, but good.
IDW Sonic (stop pissing me off, comic)
- Putting their handling aside (and being too obviously "inspired" by MGS in the latter's case), Tangle and Whisper are good characters IMO.
- Same goes for Starline, before he was killed off-screen and replaced with Toothpaste Snively.
- Execution aside (noticing a pattern?), the zombot virus was a fine concept on its own and an interesting new scheme for Eggman.
- I get to remind myself that I've never drawn scat edits and posted them publicly on Twitter.
#Crusher's Asks#Opinion#Sonic the Hedgehog#Sonic Adventure 2#Sonic Battle#Shadow the Hedgehog#Sonic the Hedgehog 2006#Sonic Rivals#Sonic and the Secret Rings#Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood#Sonic Unleashed#Sonic and the Black Knight#Sonic the Hedgehog 4#Sonic SatAM#Sonic Underground#Sonic X#Sonic Boom#Archie Sonic#Sonic the Comic#IDW Sonic
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House of W (Multiple!Wells x Reader, Chapter 2)
Rating: T
Summary: After having to deal with the deaths of an infinite number of Harrison Wells in the Multiverse, you, a magic-wielding meta, have a breakdown and unwittingly create a happy, fictitious sitcom life with some of your favourite men. In a world of comedy and cameos, can Team Flash and an out-of-town magician break through your powers to save you? And what if you don’t want to be saved...?
Tag List: @fandomdancer @bluesclues-1234 @pinkdiamond1016 @crissymadlock @ensign-tilly @disneyoncerlover815 @marvel-lady10 @thecaptainsgingersnap @noctvrnalmoth @alexxlynn @dontbedumb3 @heyl0lwhatsup @ryou-cosmos
PROLOGUE | CHAPTER 1
Birds tweeting, sun shining…
Big strong arms around you.
“Well, well, Wells,” you say with a scratchy morning voice and twist your body around in bed to see who’s got you in his grasp. Ah. “Good morning, Harry.”
“Good morning, (Y/L/N),” the scientist replies. You just love how strands of his hair stick up in place. Harry arguably has the best bedhead.
“You know dear, since we are married after all, don’t you think it would be more acceptable to call me by my first name?”
Harry chuckles and pulls you closer against him.
“You do raise a fair point. (Y/N).”
“That’s more like it.”
He kisses your nose. Shortly after he does, it starts to feel itchy. You feel like you’re about to sneeze. It wiggles and wiggles until—
“Achoo!”
Suddenly, Harry, who had been clad in his silky pyjamas is now- oh my.
“(Y/N), did you just sneeze my clothes away?”
You can hardly answer the Wells in your bed because you’re so enthralled by his lack of clothing under the sheets.
“Happy accident?” you offer innocently. Harry shakes his head and smiles as if to signify that you’re up to your old antics again.
“Come here, you,” he says and pulls the covers over you both.
* * * *
The scene is really quite comical.
Harry walks briskly with his long legs into work at S.T.A.R. Toys Manufacturing Inc. as you try to keep up with quick little steps and a clipboard… while H.R. trails behind you like a maniac with a tray of coffee.
“(Y/N), I believe you have some explaining to do,” Harry speaks to you over his shoulder. “Can you remind me why you’re at work with me? And why the numbskull, too?”
“Handsome numbskull!” H.R. jokingly clarifies. Harry rolls his eyes.
“I told you, honey,” you begin, “I decided it would be best for me to get a job instead of sitting around the house. Plus, an assistant here was the only position available. I thought that was terribly convenient. We can spend more time together now, isn’t that wonderful? As for H.R., I hired him as my assistant!”
“My assistant has an assistant?”
“Don’t question it, honey,” you tell him and pat him on the cheek. Just then, two young employees walk up to you. They look rather familiar, but you can’t place why at the moment.
“Good morning, Mr. Wells,” the pair greet Harry. “And Mrs. Wells. ...And Mr. Wells.”
“Ah, good morning Garcia. Runk,” Harry answers. “I trust your projects are coming along?”
“That they are, Sir,” the young man called Runk replies.
“We should have them finished and ready by end of day,” Garcia, the young woman, adds.
“I’m glad to hear it-”
“-Well done, chaps!” H.R. interrupts. “You’re all doing such magnificent work. All for the children.”
“All for the children,” Garcia and Runk agree.
Harry clears his throat and whispers to you, “I think assistants to the assistants should be seen and not heard.”
“I’ll have a little chat with him,” you tell your handsome boss husband. “Now, let’s build some toys!”
* * * *
After a long day at the factory, you, Harry, and H.R. all return home. The delicious scent of dinner greets you as you walk in the door.
“Mmm, I wonder what Sherloque and Nash are cooking up!” you think out loud.
“I hope it’s nothing French,” Harry says semi-bitterly.
“H.R., can you go see what they’re up to in there, sweetie?”
“I most certainly can, dearest!” he responds then disappears into the kitchen. You are sure to take this opportunity to have some more one-on-one time with Harry on the couch. As you sit, he sets his briefcase down on the coffee table and removes from it a small rocket ship. After turning it around in his hands, Harry hands it to you.
“I’d been working on this today,” he says.
“Oh Harry, it is so groovy. You do such fine work.”
“The idea came to me in a dream.”
“You make dreams come true for children every day.”
Harry turns to you. “I think I’ve always wanted kids. But I guess it’s never happened for me.” He looks into your eyes. “I think I’d like to have one with you someday, (Y/N). How do you feel about that?”
“I feel… I feel…” Your nose starts to wiggle again. “Achoo!”
“(Y/N), are you sure you’re feeling okay?”
“Oh, yes, I’m completely and totally, whoaaaa!” You stand up to get a better look at yourself, finding that your tummy has a noticeable roundness to it.
“Are you…?” Harry asks. The rest of the Wells men come rushing into the living room.
“Qu’est-ce qui se passe?”
“I heard another sneeze!”
“Jumping juniper, (Y/N)’s pregnant!”
They all group around you in a half-circle to admire your belly and to declare their delight at the very abrupt surprise.
“Is this really happening?” you ask all of them, falling deeper and deeper into your happiness.
“I couldn’t imagine a better life with you,” Harry says and punctuates his final word with a kiss. Everything about this moment just seems… so much more colourful and vibrant.
And perfect.
~ ~ ~ ~
Barry had urgently messaged Cisco and Caitlin to meet him back at the Grand Central City Auditorium, where they had just seen Zatanna’s magic act. The plan—what very little of a plan he had—was to race to find Zatanna, the Mistress of Magic, and ask for her help.
Word on the street was that Miss Zatara’s act wasn’t mere illusions. People have said that she really does possess a special magical power. And if this was the case, she was their only hope to retrieve you from whatever world you’ve gotten yourself into.
They say sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.
Well, now Team Flash is going to fight magic with magic.
It took a bit of making a scene inside the venue with the security guards for Zatanna to finally come out of her dressing room to see who was causing the commotion.
“Hi, excuse me, what’s going on here?”
“Zatanna? My name is Barry Allen,” your brother introduces himself. “I was at your show tonight.”
“Flawless,” Cisco can’t help but add.
“Sure,” she says, probably very much wanting him to get to the point. “How can I help you, Barry Allen?”
“We have a bit of a magical issue. My sister has gotten herself into a situation. We need your help.”
Zatanna’s big round eyes squint slightly, but whatever she sees in these three strangers surely isn’t threatening.
“Your sister, you say?” The Mistress of Magic always did have a soft spot for family. “Where is she?”
“You better come with us and see for yourself.”
~ ~ ~ ~
“Wow, this is quite the setup,” Zatanna says, taking in the Cortex upon her arrival. “Now, you said that your sister is broadcasting her own sitcom?”
“That’s right,” Barry confirms. “I switched on the TV earlier, and there she was in black and white. But the weird thing is that her set looked almost identical to her home, except not because her real home exploded-”
“Yeah, that’s the weird bit,” Cisco pipes up sarcastically. “Definitely not that she’s married to four different versions of the same man.”
“What?” Zatanna looks entirely confused. “Okay, you guys are going to have to catch me up.”
“No problem. The episode is streaming online. On repeat.”
“Cisco, pull up the show on the monitors,” Barry orders. The engineer does so, and the crew proceeds to analyze the sitcom episode.
“This man... or these men, rather—you said they died?” Zatanna asks the room. The rundown the gang gave her on the way to S.T.A.R Labs was quite rushed, so naturally it would only generate more questions.
“That’s right. I saw them disappear before my eyes,” Barry confirms. “They sacrificed themselves for us.”
Zatanna hums in thought. “Whether they’re truly dead or not, she must be using an incredible amount of magic to create this world and broadcast this across the airwaves.”
“Guys!” Caitlin raises her voice. “We have an incoming broadcast!”
The monitors change after a bit of static. Now, instead of the episode Team Flash was watching, a brand new jingle comes through the speakers.
“Is this…?” Barry starts.
“She released Episode Two!” Cisco cheers. Everyone in the room shoots him a look. “What? I’m invested.” As they watch the new episode, they take frantic notes, searching for any kind of clues.
“Look!” Barry points at the screen to the familiar faces.
“How did Allegra and Chester get in there?” Caitlin wonders.
“They have a guest-starring role…” Cisco notes, possibly with a hint of jealousy.
“And who are they?” Zatanna inquires.
“They’re our friends,” Barry clarifies. “At least, I think they are. They can't be illusions, can they? Created by (Y/N)?”
“I’ll call them and see if we can hear their phones ringing in the show,” Caitlin suggests. As she attempts the call, the rest of the team stands and stares at the screens hoping for some form of ringing sound. This episode seemed to be styled more in the Sixties, so it was unlikely that they’d actually see Chester and Allegra pull out a cell phone.
Nothing. No sound.
They must not have their phones on them…
A little while longer passes, with even more analyses by Team Flash and Zatanna studying your power on screen. Once in a while, she’ll ask Barry for background information about you. Which brings her to ask the all important question:
“How did (Y/N) get her powers?”
Barry goes on to explain your origin story, which coincides with his own. It was that one fateful night where Barry was in his CSI lab at CCPD, and so were you. You had stopped by to see how he was doing after the whole debacle of Iris getting her laptop stolen and Eddie saving the day instead. (To Barry’s credit, he tried really hard to catch the criminal, he just wasn’t fast enough). But you were checking up on him when the Particle Accelerator exploded and sent a wave of extraordinary, uncontained power across the city. You saw the lightning in the sky and tried to get Barry away from holding that metal chain, but in doing so, you also got caught in the crosshairs of the accident. Your brother fell into the shelf of chemicals as the lightning struck at the same time you knocked over a box of evidence—stolen ancient crystals from the Central City Museum.
Zatanna takes in the story silently, nodding in the right places. She’s deep in thought when a voice comes from the entrance to the Cortex: “Hey guys, what’s going on in here?”
Barry rushes to the two younger members of Team Flash, Allegra and Chester. “How did you two get in there? How did you get out?”
“Get in where?” Allegra wonders.
“Come on! In (Y/N)’s sitcom,” Cisco says. “Did she send out a casting call or did she just tell you that you got the parts?”
Chester and Allegra glance at each other with identical furrowed brows.
“You really don’t know what happened, do you?” Caitlin asks them.
“What happened?” they reply in unison.
Cisco stands up immediately. “I’ll get the popcorn.”
As he replays the footage, both of the ‘guest stars’ shake their heads in disbelief.
“Wow, nope, don’t remember any of that,” Chester says.
“No,” Allegra agrees. “One minute I’ve got my feet up in the Lounge, and the next I’m here walking into the Cortex.”
“Interesting,” Caitlin muses. “Interesting, but beyond strange. It’s like they’ve been mind wiped of the experience. We need more answers.” The rest of the episode plays out to reveal the big cliffhanger at the end.
“(Y/N)’s going to have a baby?!” Cisco shouts. “Oh man, things just got real. I wonder who’s the father... You don’t think (Y/N) would turn her show into a Maury episode, do you?”
“Zatanna, is there anything you can do?” Barry asks desperately. “This is getting out of hand.”
“I can cast a locating spell. All I have to do is say the words of what I wish backward for it to take hold.” Zatanna readies herself. “(N/Y) etacol,” the magician utters with her eyes closed. Everyone in the room stands silent in case making any kind of noise would ruin whatever spell she has cast.
They hold their breaths.
“I’m getting something…” Zatanna says eventually. “It’s like a signal of sorts. I can see it in my mind. And it’s coming from… here.”
“What do you mean, ‘here’?” Barry presses.
“Here. As in S.T.A.R. Labs.”
#reader insert#harrison wells x reader#harrison wells imagine#harrison wells fanfiction#harry wells x reader#harry wells imagine#nash wells x reader#nash wells imagine#hr wells x reader#hr wells imagine#sherloque wells x reader#sherloque wells imagine#the flash imagine#the flash fanfiction
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🌈 RH POSITIVITY🌈
DISCLAIMER: this doesn’t exactly have to do with the dolls, the creators, etc. it’s literally just about the web series alone. i figured since i have been feeling quite negative in the doll community, i kinda just wanted to shed some positive light on my current comfort show. also, you don’t have to agree or anything! not that these are really opinions... they are more facts with evidence from the show haha.
FEATURING:
Ruby Anderson
Poppy Rowan
Sunny Madison
Jade Hunter
Skyler Bradshaw
Violet Willow
Bella Parker
Amaya Raine
❤️ RUBY ANDERSON - she’s a supportive girl. she is always there for her friends when the right time calls for it. we can often see her being supportive of violet’s channel (at least in the earlier episodes), her working hard to complete group projects, her complimenting their friends, her bringing them up from their worst moments and more. some of my favourite scenes of ruby being supportive is definitely in episode three when poppy was showing her music to the a’s. you can see ruby excitedly standing there with her thumbs up for poppy. another great scene is ofc in episodes five and six when she immediately dumps the boy she was interested in just to go comfort skyler, because she knew she needed it. i also love how she was supportive of bella’s feelings and was quick to defend them. she truly cared for her roommate and was rightfully upset to see her go. the group as a whole is usually supportive of each other and each other’s decisions, but i have noticed a lot of that hype is channeled through Ruby’s support
🧡POPPY ROWAN - she’s a dedicated, passionate artist. poppy definitely has a personality, i just don’t think it’s as prominent as the other girls. poppy doesn’t usually get the spotlight (other than in her two respective episodes) and she doesn’t usually get into drama. i noticed she’s usually in the background or remains neutral during drama. so we really don’t get to see sides of her like we do with violet, ruby, or jade. but she’s still really sweet! she’s a total goofball, loves to be silly and is clearly close with sunny. she dedicates her time to her music, a clear fixation. she relies on music for comfort and to express her feelings and emotions. when feeling homesick, she found comfort in the sounds of the waves from her home. when excited, she loves to pay hard attention to her music, and just simply channels all creativity into that. it’s not that “being a dj” is her only personality trait, it’s the time, effort, love, creativity and passion that is part of her personality, and part of anyone ever for that matter!
💛SUNNY MADISON - she’s the sweetest friend. sunny is always there for those she loves, no matter what. a perfect example would be w/ violet. she grew up w/ violet! they are best friends! seeing violet attempt to drift away for her was an obvious stab at sunny’s heart. and while i wish the drama lasted a bit longer and not get resolved off screen, it’s clear that sunny still loves violet & they worked past those problems together. she is seen hyping violet up, supporting her vlog, bringing up past memories, etc. even when violet had wrongfully exploited bella, sunny still remained loyal to violet because of how much she cares for her. another perfect example would be with amaya. amaya was the new girl, and came at the wrong time. she did absolutely nothing wrong and sunny knew this. on the other hand, the other girls’ heads were clouded with judgment because they had just lost their very best friend. sunny knew she had to be their for amaya. she’s caring that way! she welcomed amaya, & immediately grabbed her hand when first walking in to introduce her to the girls.
💚JADE HUNTER - she’s a loyal defender. i figured she wouldn’t just be some mean girl who had this cold, hard exterior for no reason. luckily, we get to see a soft, goofy, lovable side with jade. she’s emotional. she’s dependent on positive energy & comfort. she gets these through doing what she loves & caring for who she loves. her being a loyal defender is clearly seen in episodes 5-9. she was defending ruby & skyler when yelling at colin. when bella was leaving, she was quick to be upset. that’s her girl & she was no longer going to be there! even though bella didn’t fully listen to jade, she didn’t waste any time blaming bella. she immediately was filled w/ powerful emotions. she wrongfully took them out on amaya, which had reason, but wasn’t right. she ended up apologizing & grew from it/developed. same with the violet situation. violet did something wrong, and it filled jade with powerful emotions. what jade did was wrong, even with good intentions. but in the end, it got resolved and they moved on from it. development!
💙SKYLER BRADSHAW - her emotions are powerful. i often hear talk about how emotions and feelings are lame. “get your head out of the clouds & come back to reality.” statements like that are hurtful, and i can 100% imagine them being hurtful to skyler. she takes a lot of things personally. she didn’t know how exactly to feel when she found out colin and her were no longer a couple. her thoughts were all over the place, & it took the help of a friend to bring her back to her senses. skyler is more than just “colin’s girlfriend”. even though she’s shy, she’s got big talent. it’s like ruby and even skyler herself said... she may not talk a lot, but she loves to let her artwork speak for itself. and she clearly channels all of her emotions and feelings into her artwork. so these creations speak a thousand words. she’s always the mutual one, taking emotions and thoughts into consideration. never picking sides, always being reasonable and rational. she’s not just the shy girl. she is arguably one of the most mature girls in the group!
💜VIOLET WILLOW - she is outspoken, loud & proud. i will confidently say that she’s been doing better since her dev. arc... she was always looking to record this n that, only ever talk about her vlog, ignore others feelings & just wanted to focus on her channel. focusing on what you’re passionate about isn’t wrong! it’s abt how you handle it! she was shown the cold, hard truth in episode 11. she had to experience a similar pain that bella was feeling to understand what she did wrong. and ever since then, she hasnt really started any drama or been involved in any! she definitely is a passionate girl. it’s good to be outspoken! it’s good to put your thoughts to words for the public to hear! she just wants to have fun as an entertainer & share school stories w/ her audience. needing a friend to bring you back to your senses isnt always bad! it’s the development that counts! she just wants to enjoy her time with her friends! i do want to point out that scene in the recent episode (15) where she asked amaya before posting the video of her dancing.
💗BELLA PARKER - she’s an impulsive, hard worker. bella likes to work hard & get the job done. this can be seen in episodes where she’s trying to complete school tasks or help her friends with their situations. she also clearly puts effort into friends! she stopped everything during the escape room just to have a fun moment to cheer jade & her friends up. when she knows what she wants, she goes for it. even if it takes a little debating, she will go for what she is passionate abt. this is seen in episode 7, and is unfortunately at the expense of her space at RH. yes, she broke a rule. yes, that is technically wrong. but the rule was sort of dumb, and she rightfully applied for that internship with her idol. i, too, would do just about anything to get a chance to work with my favourite celeb! honestly, bella was gone too soon, especially considering how many episodes there are. it’s all just truth anyway. she’s a supportive, caring, goofy, impulsive, hard worker who honestly means nothing but the best!
🤍AMAYA RAINE - she isn’t afraid to stand out and show some spirit. amaya is definitely a feeler. she feels things at a deep level and just wants to make a significance at her dream school. she unfortunately entered at the wrong time, but was luckily able to work hard to solve the problems. even though she was filled with negative emotions about the drama, she still found ways to be positive, whether it was by trying her best to fit in and work with the girls on their project, she tried her best. and in the end, succeeded! it seems she likes to take the lead during some things, but definitely isnt someone who fully picks sides during conflict, especially when it has nothing to do with her. like skyler, she is someone remains mutual and can see both sides of an argument... sort of in a diplomatic way perhaps? she’s obviously a strong girl who lets her emotions take full power, and she is definitely a bold character. i really hope we can see more of her personality develop in these final episodes and see how bold she truly is!
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On NeoScum, and the end of things
(crossposted from my website)
Three and a half years ago I started listening to a podcast called NeoScum.
I picked it up on a whim. I had just been thinking shortly before that I wanted to get into some new podcasts (a rare occurrence for me) and I saw some people reccing actual plays on twitter. I'm burnt out on typical fantasy these days so NeoScum immediately stood out to me. I thought it looked interesting. I've been burned before by cool media turning out to be made by shitty people so I flick through the cast's twitters real quick and I think, huh, okay, they look like good people, let's give this a shot.
A year later I'm in Chicago with my best friend, sliding off my seat laughing at Gannon Reedy's post-interlude piece at the final Doing Drugs and Dying In Space Ritual, having just spent five hours commandeering a Raising Cane's with a gang of other NeoScum fans.
I found NeoScum at a time when I was kind of drifting. I didn't really have a community that I was part of, having jumped ship on my previous one for reasons I won't go into here. I was kinda into some of Polygon's stuff but nothing really had me hooked. NeoScum grabbed me by the throat and tabled me. I binged the whole thing as fast as possible and then, because I have autism brain, proceeded to listen to the whole series again, and again, on repeat, at least six or seven times, I think.
(Thus was born the famous NeoScum plot map - I couldn't help but try to make connections and figure out who was working with who, where the next big reveal would be, which trap Gannon would spring next. My brain absorbed all the information like a sponge and I needed to visualise it to be able to keep track of it, and it wound up being helpful not just for me, but for the cast themselves.)
NeoScum has, obviously, had a huge impact on me as a creative. I'm a very visual person and Gannon provides such vivid cinematic descriptions, helped along by Casey's incredible audio work--it's impossible for me not to want to interpret the events of the podcast as visual art. And because I'm always thinking "what if" and dropping my favourite characters into Situations, that spawned Aubrey, who took on an unexpected life of her own--having initially been intended as a one-off throwaway character, if you can believe it--and the whole Transitverse, which is now arguably my most prolific project to date. Gannon and Blair between them have set up this fascinating (and horrific) backstory and there's so much potential still to be mined from it through the perspectives of other characters. I hope they don't mind me borrowing and expanding on it, because for me, it feels like the meat of the Transitverse has only just begun; the end of NeoScum S1 is just flinging open the doors for me to unleash a story I've been working on behind the scenes for literally years now, and I can't wait to share it.
I remember when I started entertaining the idea of visiting the US... it was like 3am and it was during one of Casey's streams back when he was streaming Control and Kingdom Hearts a lot. I was looking at GenCon pics and thinking how much fun it would be to attend and I was like lol... what if... and then it turned out flights to Chicago were WAY CHEAPER than I anticipated, and MBMBaM were doing a show in Chicago in the fall, and completely coincidentally I discovered that I'd be there just long enough to go to DDADIS too. I'm so glad I ran with that impulse and went on that trip because it's one of the best things I've ever done in my life. I got to meet so many of the amazing people I've come to know through NeoScum, I got to visit my best friend, I got to see an amazing city (that I'm desperate to return to), and I don't think I've ever laughed harder in my life than I have while I was there. It was incredible.
NeoScum has cultivated one of the most thoughtful and caring communities I've ever had the pleasure of being a part of. It's home to some wildly talented people, wildly funny people, and multiple times I've watched it pull together to help out community members in times of need. I've been part of communities that pledged similar values on paper but struggled and/or openly failed to adhere to them in practice and to see this community manage to maintain this degree of kindness and respect, both for one another and for the people who make the show, is so rare and so refreshing.
I'm gonna miss NeoScum while they're on hiatus. Even though I know this isn't the end forever, and there'll still be gaidens in the interim, these characters have been very dear to me for the past few years. Other people have already said it and maybe it's a cliche sentiment, but it feels like I'm saying goodbye to beloved friends without knowing if or when I'll see them again. But the end of this story was so kind to them, in contrast with the hell they've been through, and I'm glad for that. And maybe they'll be back! Whatever happens, I'm glad I decided to hit play on that first episode that first time. NeoScum set my life on a new course and launched me out of a catapault along it. I'm gonna enjoy the gaidens, and catch up on all of the art I've wanted to make while NeoScum prime has been running that I haven't been able to make because new episodes have immediately overwritten the old ideas with new ones, and I can't wait to see what comes next.
Thanks for everything. 💙
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