“ paralysis. uh ... it's a new symptom? big white space on the board where it would fit? nice, multicolored markers? ”

lawrence kutner in 4x06: WHATEVER IT TAKES.

please give credits if you save/use. 𖹭

Oliver Mighty Med your strained relationship with goodness and deep seeded worry and concern about evil and not being seen as a worthy friend or hero in a time where that's all you want in order to avenge everyone you've ever held dear means the world TO ME

Mom I need your opinion on sollux and eridan (please?) :3

Yes my child no problem 😄

Another pair of toxic trolls who're often shipped together! Ngl I'm not fully sure what kind of answer has been wanted between this and the last ask cause I'm not sure if you just want me to talk about each of the characters separately or if you're also wanting me to acknowledge the ship between them and the nuances in it so I try to cover both.

Again, to preface this these are both shitty 13 year old boys who aren't great people trolls and part of that is cause of the hellscape of a world they grew up in. So today's purity standards don't apply to them in the fact that yes they're shitty but for the zillionth time depiction is not glorification and they're literally pawns for the narrative.

For Sollux, he's a gamer/hacker dude that is recognizably based on a lot of guys like that in the 2000s. He's not a great person in that he uses slurs and isn't pc but he's a very real 13 year old boy who taught himself all about how computers work and just likes to play games and talk shit with his friends. I feel especially bad for him when I think about how Vriska forced him to kill Aradia and how he has to live with not only that but also his visions of Doom and knowing that he and all of his friends would die. He's a tragic character but he's also pretty fun to play around with in art and fanfics. Also he's a very shippable character like there's a lot of different ships that he works great in esp stuff like Fefsolradia and such

For Eridan, he's a punkass little "nice guy" spoiled rich 13 year old with a superiority complex. He supports genocide of lowbloods and has no respect for Fef's right to be with whoever she wants. Granted, the situation he grew up in with only really having her as a good friend and his responsibility of helping keep Gl'bgolyb fed didn't exactly discourage that way of thinking at all and probably fed into it but if SGrub hadn't happened while it could've been a possibility for him to learn better its likely he wouldn't because of how Alternian society promotes selfishness and the idea that highbloods deserve anything they want. Narratively he makes sense and he exists in order to fill the role of "nice guy" who ends up wrecking their future just because he was rejected. At least that's canon Eridan. Fanon Eridan can be more fun just because ppl like to focus on his being a uwu soft boi and his love of magic and esp his kissmesis/matesprit ships with Sollux. Also obligatory shout out to March Eridan love that shit just cause it's silly.

As far as their ship goes, there's a lot of fun to be had and there's far too many fics of them out there to count. Are they healthy for each other? Absolutely not without a very long fic of them learning how to be better people and getting over their own shit. Did I used to ship in high school? Absolutely though I haven't cared about it in years.

OK, let's do this one more time....

NEW THEORIES for the "Beyond the Spider-Verse" after seeing "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" a second time...

1 ) We're setting up a whooooole thing where Prowlers are the dark mirrors of Spider-People

2 ) Miguel's got claws, as Miles points out with surprise, because he's not a "Spider-Man" originally, he was a Prowler who saw that Spider-Man had died in another universe and took over his life and his identity. The fact that Miguel began as a villain has compounded his sense of guilt over that universe getting destroyed and his adoptive daughter being unmade: he was never supposed to be there in the first place. But he has since developed a strong sense of right and wrong based in that trauma and is sincerely trying to be a better person / save the universe.

3 ) This is going to be important because Miles G., the Miles Morales from Universe 42 who is now Prowler, is going to pull the same stunt. That's why he asks if Jefferson, Miles' dad, is still alive in the other universe. Miles G. comes from a shit universe and he feels robbed (or he will) when he learns that original Miles has all the happiness he deserved. He's going to lock up original Miles in his universe and go to take his place, just like Miguel did. This puts Miles in the further awkward position of needing to parrot what Miguel said about how disruptive Miles G. going to his universe and disrupting his life would be.

4 ) There are numerous clues pointing towards this "You become Spider-Man or you live long enough to see yourself become the Prowler" dichotomy where there's more than one Spider-Man who was once Prowler. Hobie Brown is canonically a Prowler, originally, who impersonated Spider-Man. So hidden in Spider-Punk's name is this set up for the dark and the light side of Spider-Man being Prowler. But also hidden Hobie Brown's character is the fact that you don't have to stay Prowler. With a little dose of anarchy and bucking the system, the original thesis of Spider-Verse is reasserted: anyone can wear the mask. Even Prowler. Even a villain.

5 ) Miguel is not actually entirely wrong. We are going to tragically learn that for all his villainy at the end of ATSV, he's still an antagonist, not a villain. On the re-watch it really stuck out to me how much he's not a mustache-twirling villain. He's not being a jerk for the sake of it. He's traumatized and he is, genuinely, trying to help others and save other universes.

Most interestingly of all the narrative has not proved him wrong yet. For all Miles' optimism about altering the canon, he's not been proven right yet that disaster can be prevented. We didn't see Pavitr Prabhakar's Mumbattan get rescued! We don't know if Miles was right yet! Gwen's dad might be saved because he resigned the badge, but just rescuing them might not be enough. Miguel might still be proven right or, more likely, something more complex needs to happen to alter the canon without risking disaster.

6 ) Part of the lesson Miguel is going to learn is just because he was once Prowler, doesn't mean he was damned by the narrative for taking Spider-Man's place. He can still wear the mask. Anyone can wear the mask. IMO, he will be redeemed along these lines but we are going to learn about his guilt and sense of being a Prowler who doesn't belong among Spider-People and how he's overcompensating to overcome that.

One reason being that if he's some other villain, like Venom, and his intentions were to destroy the Spider-People of the multiverse, which I originally suspected, it means every single Spider-Person got duped, which is hard to believe when they're all heroes. IMO, the only way to trick them all from a narrative morality standpoint, is if Miguel is sincere and really is a Spider-Man trying to make the world a better place. Then the other Spider-People's weakness isn't being stupid, it's that they gave in to the sense of being doomed by the narrative, of despair, that they couldn't try to save the lives and lessen the tragedy of their multi-verse counterparts.

TL;DR - Next film we're getting Miles G. trying to steal Miles's life, while Miles is also trying to save his dad's life and stop the Spot. We're going to learn all about how over and over, it's Prowler vs. Spider-Man/Person, how Spider-Man can become Prowler, how Prowler can become Spider-Man, how you're not doomed to be a hero or a villain, that anyone can be Spider-Man, and indeed, we're gonna get some redemptions. Miles G. is almost certainly going to become Spider-Man in his universe by the end. Miguel is going to possibly get his family back and learn he can be Spider-Man without guilt. We're gonna learn how to save the world, save Uncle Ben, and not disrupt the canon. We're going to learn that the Spider-People are stronger together and that the only way to be doomed by the narrative is to give in to despair.

Ok, I think that's all I got for now!

Edit: OH, PS!

I'm not convinced that Miles G. is actually a bad guy. A lot of his scoffing at Miles and a lot of Uncle Aaron's scoffing at Miles is very ominous but it could also be them laughing because Miles is telling them they don't have to be bad guys.

But for all we know, Prowler and Uncle Aaron might be the only ones protecting New York from the bad guys! They might be angry at Miles for insinuating that they're bad guys when in truth they're busting their asses trying to save the world.

That still doesn't mean that Miles G. is going to like Miles. He might be pissed off at him, actually, for robbing him of the super powers he was supposed to have that would make his life easier. He might still want to steal Miles's life! But on the re-watch I a much, much less convinced that Miles G is actually a bad guy and not that we're supposed to think he is because we're seeing the scene from Miles's point of view, and he's scared and alone and seeing enemies everywhere. Miles G. might actually be a hero in his universe and it's a bait-and-switch.

yk i was going to ask what your takes/predictions are for the rayla/sarai parallels but then i realized they sure weren't gonna be good and would ruin me but then i realized i do not like myself anyways so you have the floor

So I have a lot of feelings about Sarai and Rayla (and Claudia) being women who are doomed by the narrative and I will try to express them eloquently

Post with Sarai and Rayla parallels (pre-S4)

Post with Harrai and Rayllum parallels (pre-S3) featuring all the potential parallel pairs

The Viren-Avizandum theory that Viren paralleling Avizandum in the intro was to also parallel how the dragon queen caused Harrow's loss of Sarai by having Viren cause Callum to almost lose Rayla (pre-S4, largely defunct but still interesting)

Bonus Claudia and Sarai parallels (being used for dark magic, etc.)

With that out of the way:

Rayla and Sarai do have their similarities, given that they see their enemies as people even when it would be far more convenient not to and everyone else around them is telling them not to ("The human looked up at me, and I saw the fear in his eyes" / "You keep calling it a monster!"). And they see these people as well, people, even when ultimately taking the act of dealing the final blow upon themselves (Sarai being the one to kill the Magma Titan, Rayla killing/tackling Viren off the Pinnacle). There is, of course, the very obvious framing parallel between Harrow watching Sarai ride away in 2x06 and between Callum watching Rayla leap away an episode later in 2x07 that makes my heart do a little pitter-patter every time

We know from Callum's Spellbook and from Sarai's argument in 2x05 that she is staunchly against dark magic - just as Rayla is - but they are both willing to stand by Harrow and Callum anyway even when they choose to engage with it: "I disagree, but I stand by you anyway" / "It doesn't matter what you did before, I just want you to be okay again". (This bodes well for S6 Rayllum in particular.)

There is, of course, that Sarai dies saving Viren, and Rayla almost dies killing Viren / wrecks her relationship with Callum by leaving to hunt him down, causing mother and son to both assume, "Without Viren to perform the spell, the heart is worthless and this was all for nothing" / "I didn't find him..." "Oh, so you disappeared for two years for no reason at all?"

While Harrow and Callum parallel each other more framing and devotion wise (Harrow never moved on from Sarai just as Callum never moved on from Rayla, while Sarai must've moved on fairly quickly after Callum's father's death for Callum to be able to remember the man and only have a 5 year age gap with Ezran. More thoughts on that in this oneshot here <3)... I think Harrow and Rayla are more similar personality wise and that Callum also has a great deal of similarities with his mother. (This is also why Rayla-Harrow and Callum-Viren dynamics tend to parallel each other as well, tbh.)

Basically I don't think there's a clear cut-ness to it - almost everyone in TDP parallels each other at least a little with a generational breakdown of

Personality:

Harrow-Rayla

Viren-Callum

Sarai-Ezran

VS Generational roles

Ezran-Harrow

Rayla-Sarai

Callum-Viren

if that distinction makes any sense? There may be more to the Sarai-Rayla parallels (certainly I can see the "Tell me she wasn't your world" + making a choice said woman doesn't want you to make on her behalf involving dark/star magic and shit, which Callum arguably already has) in S6/7 in the way I thought might be happening pre-S4, but I lean more away from it now. There could always be interesting (or sad) stuff I missed though between the two ladies, so anyone feel free to leave your thoughts in the reblogs/replies!

And like yourself anyway, you deserve a seat

top five doomed mariners go

in order not of significance, but of encounter:

(1) William Bush - the original Doomed Mariner, my copy of Lord Hornblower is still held together with duct tape from chucking the book across the room when I realized Forester was not going to pull a "if there's no body he's not dead" - rather, "if there's no body, it's because he was too close to the ignition point." A character whose defining trait is his devotion is actually something that can be so personal.

(2) James Norrington - the man, the myth, the legend. clearly takes up too much brain space for a [checking notes for comedic effect] antagonist secondary character from a twenty-year-old theme park ride movie. Hard to say at which point it became clear he'd never survive, but there's definitely a point at which he clearly thinks he's survived too long for anyone's good, least of all his own.

(3) Mr. Starbuck

“On this level, Ahab’s hammock swings within; his head this way. A touch, and Starbuck may survive to hug his wife and child again.—Oh Mary! Mary!—boy! boy! boy!—But if I wake thee not to death, old man, who can tell to what unsounded deeps Starbuck’s body this day week may sink, with all the crew! Great God, where art Thou? Shall I? shall I?—The wind has gone down and shifted, sir; the fore and main topsails are reefed and set; she heads her course.” “Stern all! Oh Moby Dick, I clutch thy heart at last!” Such were the sounds that now came hurtling from out the old man’s tormented sleep, as if Starbuck’s voice had caused the long dumb dream to speak. The yet levelled musket shook like a drunkard’s arm against the panel; Starbuck seemed wrestling with an angel; but turning from the door, he placed the death-tube in its rack, and left the place. (123: The Musket)

(4) Eyk Larsen - doomed by Netflix more than his own foibles, though that's not for lack of trying on his foibles' part. Even the men on his crew that like him are waiting for him to snap under the strain of his bereavement, alcoholism, and the demands of the new shipping company's changes (and the sudden appearance/disappearance of a ghost ship. and inexplicable deaths. and seeing things. and and and). Doesn't make it three whole scenes before staring moodily into the deeps of the Atlantic, musing on the impossibility of knowing what lives on the floor thousands of feet below. Kind of deserved that mutiny. Didn't exactly die in 1899, but. Well. Like his relationship with Maura, it was complicated.

(5) Bill Malloy - He never learned how to swim, he put together The Big Secret about the manslaughter trial quicker than any other uninvolved character, he's been in love with and trailing a respectful step behind Liz Collins Stoddard for 20+ years to no avail (but, hey, Carolyn says he's as good as her father, which?), and he's not the most helpful ghost but he is having a little too much fun getting revenge for his murder - did we ever hear him laugh when he was alive? I suppose we have to subtract some points for him never spending any time on a boat within the scope of the narrative, but then, he IS trying to go back to his job on the boats - and no one else on this list sings "What Do You Do With A Drunken Sailor?". I'm pretty sure the narrative is through with him now, alas. He'll always be famous to me.

Your analysis is delicious and thank you for enabling my bitching. We are holding hands.

Your point about the samadhi fire is so right! Like if Red Son got it, it would have to be a completely different arc, everything would have to change. Unrelated but I think Mei, MK, and Red Son all simultaneously being foils of each other is very interesting

TBH I could go on for even more paragraphs about my many problems with how Mei's treated by the fandom so here's some petty complaints I left out of the first ask:

Her getting hypersexualised in a lot of fanart

Her struggles with the samadhi fire only getting used as angst-fuel for other characters and never for herself

Fans only ever addressing misogyny when it's about someone disliking a ship shes in.

She gets compared to Willow from TOH like a lot? I don't know why???

(this one is hyperspecific and very petty) Multiple Youtube vids about LMK that only bring up Mei to talk about how the ship her with Red Son (while making fun of other ships simultaneously for sooome reason...)

girl is canonically into MCR. thats not a complaint i just dont see people talk about it

and thats not even going into how the fandom treats female villains :P

Anyways Mei deserves a gun and LBD and Spider Queen deserve the world

Mei, MK, and Red Son all simultaneously being foils of each other is SUPER interesting. I just talked about Mei and MK as well as Mei and Red Son parallels, and like it SLAPS. I should delve into MK and Red Son parallels, but that's for another time.

On the topic of Mei being compared to Willow, I think it's because they're both green girl characters who are considered "tough"? It's a very vague archetype—but, I think fandom in general likes to put characters into these nebulous categories. Each character gets sanded down to like 3 base traits and everyone calls it good. It's genuinely maddening.

And personally, I don't really ship anyone in LMK (excluding Freenoodles), so the amount of ship art I see and the way ships predominate is very off-putting for me. I think that's mainly because none of the actual show really focuses on romantic relationships (one of it's virtues, I'm an MK is aroace truther), but to each their own. Shipping is super fun, and I totally get it. However, when it gets to the point where no other relationships/dynamics are really focused on, especially on a show so focused on friendship, it just feels off. It feels even MORE off when the only time you discuss the main female lead is to ship her with Red Son.

AND LOL THE FEMALE VILLAINS. MY POOR GIRLS. I don't think I've ever come across a post about Spider Queen (though her henchmans get a lot of love), and really it's a shame. That girl was doomed by the narrative, and BOY was she doomed by the narrative with MK. Granted she's been dead for 2 seasons, but I STILL see Sandy and Huntsman art, so idk. It honestly feels like the misogyny.

Lady Bone Demon and I are best friends and I love her so much. Truly one of the most villains of all time. "No staff and no backup—so, your plan is to fist fight a child?" OH MY GOD SHE'S SO ICONIC. That AND she has fucked up parallels to MK (sorry my boy foils just about every character in this show, he's a reflection), what is there not to love?

She TRIED to go about helping the world the "right" way, attempting to lead someone with real power to be better (as shown in the 3x11 flashback, but on god that scene parallels her whole relationship with spider queen), and IT DIDN'T WORK. So then she tried to "help" the world by starting with a clean slate, and that didn't work. And then you realize that she was doomed by the narrative just as much as anyone else. I'm fucking obsessed with her. Seriously, the "to pain" scene has been in my head for 5 straight months. I'll never stop yelling about it.

I've been listening to Lady Hell by Dirt Poor Robins on repeat thinking about LBD, and I can't help but rotate her in my mind. She captivates me.

south park rambles n talk below ⬇️

I've been thinking about the boys' dynamics a lil bit and I wanted go dump my interpretations + what I think are like. The main friendships/sillies.

Best Friends.??

1. Kyle & Eric : fight me on this I don't care. I genuinly think, they're somewhat ONLY A LIL BIT closer than stan and kyle. As of recent seasons that is, Stan and kyle have NOT been hanging out.. and I think they're dynamic is very "I hate you so so so much. You wanna sleep over this weekend?" "I hate you too, yeah sure."

2. Butters & Kenny: boy/girl meets another boy/girl. They bond. Boy/girl friendship

3. Tolkien & Stan: they are nerds.... together. They both dated wendy once. They're both massive dorks. Need I say more?

4. Wendy & Eric : I just know these mfs text each other drama between the boys and the girls. Wendys got Eric in as 📚🗡Cartman. Eric has in as 🥊🎀Wendyll

5. Jimmy and everyone : I love how everyone is with Jimmy. They know he's the funniest GUY there, I DONT SEE NO ONE HATING ON JIMMY AND I LOVE TO SEE IT.

ermmm uhh. Hot takes below

- I don't like style. I think they're just friends 👍

- I think. Stan also should've apologized in the covid special. He is not exempt from burning down the farm. Randy should've done a better apology, yes. But stan didn't even Apologize and I thing he shouldve.

- eric deserves to not he doomed by the narrative, let him attempt to change cause he's tried on multiple occasions THWY JUST WONT LET HIM

- vic chaos solos design wise and charactwr wise in PC 👍👍👍👍

Here's some doodles I'm never gonna post or outline. But kyle n cartman

hiya im the anon from earlier, i'd frickin love to see a drawing of hajime getting snuggles!!! he deserves them!!! he is def a sad character and he needs the support <3 i'd also love to hear your thoughts n thinks on him if you want to ramble!

It's already in the works! Meanwhile; basically rambling why I love lol

Ok so I'm a fucking sucker for sappy "power of friendship", "being human is the strongest weapon" etc narratives, that's probably why I love him lol. I think it started solidly at the "I am Hajime Hinata!" moment.

The him in the game being like, just a normal ass dude who's insecure and a little rude and very blunt and very kind is good, love that, but its generic protag stuff. For me the real meat of it started during the reveal, bc there's so much more to him that just highlights the dude we already got to know? Hajime the normal dude becomes Hajime the ultra superpowered fucked up emo guy with a super sad backstory, BUT he's still also the normal dude. Just, this time, he's kind of choosing to be a normal human guy.

What I love the most is how he ALMOST did the very understandably selfish thing, wanting to stay alive and be himself and being ready for people to die for that. He was scared, and angry, and he didn't wanna deal with the whole Chaos World bullshit, not to mention the 'you were erased' thing (hes imperfect! Hes just a guy!).

But then he went and did the right thing anyway, with the help of his friend (Chiaki) FOR his friends (Survivor gang) and he did it by being himself. No superpowers, just like, hey guys c'mon do this with me. And they're like, I just almost doomed the world because I am also scared and upse and I dont want to face the truth. But I will do this with you bc you're my friend and I love u (this is my interpretation).

And I love that by the end of the game, he (amnesiac with no/unknown talent) is the one who knows himself the best (not defined by talents, He Is Hajime Hinata and he goddamn knows it, everyone else is like "what's it even mean to be an Ultimate Whatever when society has collapsed" and hes so many Ultimates but that's secondary to him just. Being him. Confidently. He saved the entire game just by being there.

AND the general narrative of Them being like.... potentially the worst fucking people. Like they have it in them to be cruel and violent and horrible, but the them that we know DONT do that, because they just choose to be better and they have a support net that encourages that. Villains pushed back to a time before they were villains, and they choose to be different because they! Want to be good because they understand life better with the power of friendship and whatnot! I just love that.

Also the voice acting is STELLAR definitely sold me.

RedState Weekly Briefing: Biden's Chicken Parm, Ramaswamy's Master Class, Trump's Teamster Tête-à-Tête

Welcome to the RedState Weekly Briefing  — where we take a quick look at the week’s most viewed stories in case you missed any of them. Grab a cup of coffee — or, hey, to ring in the New Year, some champagne — and sit down with this 21st Century Weekend Edition of your favorite (online) publication!

#1 - Biden's Brain Turns to Mush During New Year's Eve Appearance With Ryan Seacrest — by Bonchie

Jill Biden's discomfort is obvious as she gives a deep sigh halfway through his answer and turns to glare at him momentarily. I would assume this was a rehearsed answer that he went in on even though it didn't fit what he was asked. That's one of the results of having a president who can't do something as simple as a light-hearted New Year's Eve spot without canned responses.  He looks so inauthentic because he is. I mean, come on. Who needs notecards to answer softballs from Ryan Seacrest for a few minutes? This is supposed to be one of the most capable men on the planet filling the most important job in politics. But hey, at least he likes ice cream.

#2 - WATCH: Female Influencer Visits Gym in Painted-On Pants, Gets Reaction She Deserves After Playing Victim — by Sister Toldjah

Though Reynolds has a modest following at Twitter and Kick.com, she's built up a following of 356,000 people on her Instagram page, where the predictable thirst trap pictures and obnoxious videos are regularly posted.  READ: 'Kroger Andy' Gets Last Laugh After Targeted by Social Media Shamer in Grocery Store Mask Dispute Strangely, the gym video wasn't posted to Instagram, which is probably intentional since the one she posted to Twitter did not go according to plan. Because she got called out so badly for arriving to the gym nearly naked, she has since posted tweets showing other women at gyms dressed in bikini bottoms and also pictures of bodybuilders in bikinis as though it justifies her arriving at a fitness center in painted "clothes" and accompanied by a video director who clearly wanted to put the man who protested on blast as an alleged example of sexism and misogyny.

#3 - NEW: Iowa School Shooter Identified, Allegedly Part of the Transgender Movement — by Bonchie

That revelation didn't come from police, who have yet to officially identify the shooter, but news organizations (including The Daily Mail) have ascertained his identity from what appears to be a TikTok he posted just before the shooting. In it, you can see Butler making a face while standing next to a blue duffel bag, presumably containing the weapons he used.  Who is Butler? His social media has largely been scrubbed already, but some were able to capture screenshots and videos of his online presence before that happened. Specifically, he had a "pride" flag in his TikTok bio, shared the transgender flag in his posts, and had allegedly participated in a transgender Reddit group under the name "dylanpickles1996."

#4 - NEW: Vivek Does It Again, Flips Script on NBC Reporter As She Has Meltdown on Camera — by Nick Arama

They should just learn their lesson and stop trying to play these games, but then they wouldn't be the liberal media if they did that, would they? They keep trying to shape reality into the narrative they want, but reality doesn't comply. 

NBC News reporter Dasha Burns tried again on the subject of white supremacy with Ramaswamy, as though anyone would believe that he is a white supremacist or in favor of white supremacy, and it's more than a little hilarious that it's a liberal white reporter trying this on a man of Indian descent. What they don't like is the way he says to stop racism by not being racist, to anyone. He ripped apart how some of these definitions from people on the left of "white supremacy" include things like "punctuality," which would itself be a racist construct. 

#5 - The Pic of Trump and the Union President That May Spell Doom for Biden's Chances — by Nick Arama

The picture alone says plenty — they almost don't have to say more. It also seems an implicit acknowledgment that Trump is leading and may win, so they want to cover their bets. I think it looks like they think he's going to beat Biden.  It's fascinating for them to do this at this point rather than an endorsement for Biden, who has been bending over backward and trying to jump through hoops for union support. That says something about the weakness of Biden and perhaps also the support of Trump among union workers. He showed in 2016 that he was able to bring in more voters, and this may be more evidence of it. This looks all kinds of bad for Joe Biden's chances.  The funniest thing was the reactions of the left to this. They were just melting down because they understood what it could mean for the election. They were mad, saying Trump was supportive of "Right to Work." All the typical Biden sycophants were losing their minds. 

A, E, M?

A - Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

*whispers* Elena/Esteban (EoA S3 era or afterward). Either just the two of them or an OT3 w/ a third character( that I won't spoil b/c my friend is still catching up w/ the show and there are specific plot reasons why specifically these 3 together give me every feeling). But like, platonic is good too. I guess. Even if my feral little gremlin brain is like "yes, my precious..."the whole time. To be fair though, pretty much anyone with Esteban will probably make my brain spin happily as though on a hamster wheel. Also from EoA, Princess Valentina deserves to smooch *everyone* and it makes me sad that there isn't more content of her with anyone other than Alonso or occasionally Elena. (Esp. feeling the lack of Val/Naomi, Val/Chloe, and Val/Esteban content.)

I mean Phoenix/Kristoph from Ace Attorney will always have huge chunk of my heart and they still do even if Kris is no longer my main blorbo. Also from Ace Attorney, Gumshoe/Lang/Edgeworth are still THE OT3 (and Kay & Gumshoe & Edgeworth are THE BROT3) and Apollo/Klavier/Ema are the 2nd fave OT3 (tho I can literally only conceive of them as a poly ship. I can't ship any other permutations of them.) I've also as of late been having a lot of Cykesquill feelings which I imagine will only intensify when the AA 4-6 port comes out and I can revisit Dual Destinies.

I haven't really been doing much except thinking, reblogging and admiring from a distance, but "Rebel Captain" (Jyn Erso/Cassian Andor from Star Wars) have also been hitting all my buttons lately. Just the inherent eroticism of being narratively coded as soulmates AND also literally doomed by the narrative at what should've been the beginning of their story. It's just so good.

I've also been missing Malcolm/Nicola from The Thick of It and Jane/Michael from Jane the Virgin a lot lately. Just nostalgia for old OTPs coming back and hitting me unexpectedly in the feels.

I also had an unexpected craving for Gwydion/Achren from The Chronicles of Prydain recently. And was dismayed to learn that it barely exists. Not that I should've been surprised. The fandom itself is pretty tiny and I am queen of the rare pairs after all. But the potential is just exquisite and it's depressing that barely anyone else sees the vision.

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?

"Adding to your fandom" makes it sound so serious and powerful. I don't think I have that kind of sway. Maybe in the Father Brown fandom a few years ago but like probably not any more. Though people did seem to like the Barbie Selfie Generator post I made for the characters. I think I was one of the first people using/popularizing "malcola" as ship name for Malcolm/Nicola and I did make a (not very funny) joke (that Nicola might have appreciated) that they are the "bad soda" ship because "mal" as in the root for "bad" and "cola" as in "coca-cola."

I've also made some pretty outrageous things for AA that almost no one knows about since I didn't widely share them and I have no wider influence on the fandom as a whole. The most notable and hilarious of which is an absolute absurd batshit AU that my friend and I came up that just exploded to the most ridiculous and entertaining (imo) nonsense imaginable. (Ask me about the "larryan and the klavengers" I dare you. You will almost certainly regret it. But I probably won't :P)

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

It's tricky to say, since a lot of the characters that I am drawn to aren't necessarily the same characters I would want to hang w/ irl. In part because there's usually a lot of projection going on and because I'm awkward/shy/sensitive and I just sort of assume that my faves wouldn't want to be around me even if I wanted to be around them.

However, I feel somewhat safe in saying that I would probably get along well w/ (and feel really cherished and validated by/happy around) Athena Cykes from Ace Attorney and the title character of Father Brown. (I mean probably the whole squad tbh but Fr. B is an especial case. He's so kind and he would look out for me even if I felt intimidated/shy/overwhelmed by the rest of the squad's utter fabulousness.)

Link to Questions

Fact #1 Connie and Daryl are not getting together. She is a break in the chain of loss and tragedy both Daryl and Carol are used to going through. Period.

Fact #2 Leah is not pregnant, at least not by Daryl. It is amazing where people's mind can take them when they indulge their thoughts too much. Leah represents someone who actually is bound to her past and can't let go, juxtapose to Carol who to her own surprise can and will. Just like Merle was the doomed Dixon brother and Daryl got a second chance. Caryllels and Parallels always.

Fact #3: Daryl has let go of Leah. Listen, that fight Caryl had at the end of Find Me? Very telling. Daryl STILL listened to Carol. She said that he needs to stop thinking that everytime someone is gone that it's his fault. Daryl is very sentimental. Objects and people have meaning for him. That knife he gave to Carol because he is listening to her like he always has. He is letting go of that perception it was his fault Leah left.

Fact #4 Even at the end of Diverged, Daryl was still waiting and listening out for Carol. Look at Seasons 2, 5, 7, 9 and 10 in particular. All of them have very overt clues that Daryl is WAITING for Carol. AK has surely rewatched episodes regarding the Caryl ship. Everything she has written so far she didn't just pull out of her thin air. Everything she writes has context. Are we going to be lazy viewers and not look for context? Go ahead. But I know me and @my-mt-heart will watch for clues and narrative context.

Fact #5 Daryl and Carol have a spinoff. No one is going to take that away. Robert Kirkman also confirmed that the Daryl and Carol spinoff production will start as they get closer to the end of season 11.

Fact #6 If you think Daryl and Carol are not going to get cozy with one another in said spinoff, that deserves all my laughs. No way a man who associates this woman with hope and love, and Carol who literally dreams of him, thinks he is the best man and looks to him when she needs comfort, are not going to cuddle, nuzzle, hug, sleep in the same bed, hold each other if the other gets sick (they ate something bad or have a cold), do some serious level flirting and take care of each other, etc.. assuming they are not canon.

Fact #7 TWD is closing up so many storylines in season 11, INCLUDING the angsty one with these two since freakin' season 4/5 so they actually have new territory to explore in their relationship and friendship for the spinoff. Seriously, that's a fact. Any halfway decent television writer knows that's what going on here.

I agree wholeheartedly. To fact #6, I’ll just add that I think it’s more likely than not they’ll shift into romantic territory by the end of S11, then maybe explore it in more depth in the spinoff. 

Why we dislike skamfr?

@metal-people asked the tag why we dislike skamfr so i thought i'd break it down.

This is such a loaded question and hard to explain. Firstly they are two skamfrance's there is david's one and shirley's one and they have different issues. David's was just super aggressive, over the top, misogynistic and also would make illogical storytelling decisions that were in opposition with prior narrative choices he made. Plainly put it was a mess.

Shirley is not like David. Some of the decisions she has made on her own and some of the decisions were made by the network. I think we can all agree that skamfr issues is not their actors, directing or cinematography. Its their narrative choices it always been their narrative choices. So for example Shirley saw lola's season you would think after letting the audience endure such a dark melancholy season she would give us something else(maybe a jo season she was a fan fav) but no she chose to main the one person that made lola miserable and literally made fun of her mother dying. And i get this is a cinematic trend the whole antagonist redemption ark which we are now seeing all over the verse but after Lola's season like my god give us a break with the doom and gloom. Tiff season overall was fine. The actress was great the directing was very pretty and some narrative choices were interesting like Tiff and her mom. Parents governing teenage parents and her romance with Max but IDK the main selection was still meh and it would become more meh in the upcoming season. Shirley decides to main Bilal and talk poverty, prejudice and the fall out of small businesses during covid. We started off well, Khalid once again was amazing the skamfr cast always is and the topics were intriguing. THEN somewhere we got the surprise that Jo was a 2nd silent main and we spent 3/4 episodes discussing HIV which is a great topic to discuss but why in the middle of the season of the only man of color season when we are already talking about huge topics like poverty, poverty post covid, prejudice and racism. Shirley said the network made her introduce HIV but to me that topic in itself deserves its own season and so you gotta ask yourself why didn't they just explore this topic maining jo instead of saving tiff why undercut the only season which is main-ed by a man of color and is talking about really touchy subjects inflicting immigrant communities in france and their 1st gen children. It made bilal's season so underwhelming and also they force jo into the LI role and it just felt forced and odd. Also Jo was the 1st jewish sorta of main but we barely get to explore her because she is being shoe horn to fit into bilal's narrative. Am telling you narrative choices it will always be narrative choices and this is the 4th season that is a C average at best. Arthur's had potential but once again David fucked it with the cheating plot. SkamFR has all the ingredients to be good but the writers don't learn and at this point do we need to see them give it a 5th/6th chance to try to get a decent season out of them.......IDK I think I'll pass.

Hello, I just wanted to say I'm a major Charmed fan and love all four sisters! That being said, as much as I love Paige, I've still always hated that Prue had to die (even though it's been over 20 years, I'm still not over it), and I hate even more that Prue and Phoebe's relationship never had a chance to truly recover from her lie about Cole. Also , I think could see why you shipped Prue/Jack, there relationship certainly had a Moonlighting like dynamic to it, didn't it?

yeah wait we did just clear the twenty year anniversary of prue dying in may huh crazy how time works but like. like okay because ik the whole the way the story goes was ~they didn't know if they were killing off shannen or alyssa~ they left it ~open ended bc they didn't know which sister would die~ but like. they knew. oh bro they so knew. like dude. phoebe got a hot new steamy love interest filled w drama and intrigue who was like integral to the plot after basically two seasons of being love-interest-less prue got what? justin?? prue got an episode coming to terms w the fact she will die. like. they knew okay. and like. what breaks my heart is prue as a character like deserved So Much More like she deserved to break free of this narrative of matriarchal sacrifice that she had been locked into like prue practically had to sacrifice her childhood to raise us yeah yeah but like bro there are genuinely so few places where she got to like actually experience life outside of protecting her sisters and then she died protecting her sisters like aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. like aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. like bro u knew u were going to kill her and you end her & phoebe on that. even if we're sticking with the narrative they didn't know which sister would die there was the very conscious choice to end the narrative on that. so like. 🤬

of course like. tbh. i don't think prue & phoebe's relationship needs to like fully like "recover" from cole i don't think this is nearly as big of a rift as say roger bc i think between the past three years like they've really grown as people and have a new respect for one another that really had yet to be unearthed in it pilot but it's still like. like phoebe was in the underworld trying to save cole when prue died (& piper almost died!!) and we never do see her grapple with that. like even when we're sowing seeds of doom by making cole the source and have phoebe go full dark side like even in the midst of tanking phole we never bother to get some good old fashioned anger self hatred and making the wrong choice like. like that good have been really fun.

but then!! circling over 2 prue/jack bc i do really love prue/jack i think like my favorite thing about it is like. just like how fun and stupid it is. like. like okay so for starters i will say i love the idea of jack as the one to be prue's first real love interest after andy because with andy like you really did have this whole childhood friends to lovers this deep mutual understanding and trust and love and passion like definitely set up to vibe like soulmatism and then he fuckin bites the dust. but like. it's 1999. it's shannen doherty. she can't be an shw forever like you need your female characters to have love interests that's just kind of the way the world works but how do you top andy? how do you beat like the love of her life her perfect man? do you try to go well here's her perfect-er man,, this one's even better than before!! that we did so many countless times with phoebe no because that shit's fucking stupid instead they said here's jack sheridan & he fuckin sucks. & i love it i really do for starters excellent representation for women who are into lame ass guys like i know it's easy to say like haha i'm into guys and aren't they all lame but i'm talking specifically a man being lame is what makes him unreasonably sexy it's a mental condition i know i suffer from it it's bad but it's also like. really funny. but it's also bad. but that's not the point. the point is prue/jack was always supposed to be something kind of stupid something with an imminent expiration date you know? this is not andy. i mean from the moment we met andy we're like hearing wedding bells right from the moment we meet jack we're like ew wtf lol??? like both prue And jack know goddamn well entering this relationship that this is pointless. this is only here to end. and yet!! in spite of that!!! genuine love blossoms!!!! like. whether or not prue was ever in love with jack is definitely debatable i don't think she ever was like in love with him per se mainly because she didn't like. she didn't want to be. she didn't want to do love again that wasn't the point of this relationship so she's not gonna do it. and then for jack theoretically it should be the same thing because like he does constantly play it so nonchalant like he's not head over heels fucking in love with her but he is!!!! he took this relationship that was meant to be casual and stupid and over in a month and he fuckin blew it man he fell So So In Love With Her. like. drives me crazy it does i love that dynamic. and there was something there from prue's side too like. like over and over again she's telling him like you're not the guy for me you're not the guy i'm going to end up with But right now you're the one i want. like. like she has this vision definitely this andy-like figure someone who will you know be the stable father to her kids and her steady husband for many many years to come and her brain's going yeah no way that's jack but at the same time she doesn't care??? like, she likes him right now? she wants to spend time with him right now??? like fuck that potential future mr. right because he's not the one prue wants to spend time with right now she'd rather spend the night with jack like!!!!!! there are some vastly underrated dynamics going on with pruejack that definitely make me start munching on drywall every time i talk about them but like Oh My God. them <3. lol.

April 2020 Wrap Up

Sooo I read a hell of a lot... I needed the distraction.

1.- The Girl in the Tower (The Bear and the Nightingale #2)- Katherine Arden

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I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK. It left me shook, everything felt rich and woven perfectly into the story. Vasya gets so tested as a heroine, and comes out with more understanding of her own abilities and the world of the chyarti. It was such a magical and immersive story.

2.-Words of Radiance (Stormlight Archives #2) - Brandon Sanderson

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:00000 this is my review, it was so good. This world is being crafted so perfectly with such a care for the political situation and the different species with their culture. I am dying to read the next one.

3.-Iron Gold (Red Rising #4) -Pierce Brown

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Pierce Brown broke my heart again!!! I was so happy on how things ended on Morning Star, like I imagined at least Darrow would have some peace... well nope he is still fighting and has a lot of conflict with the new government they set up and the Ash Lord is still giving trouble. I really loved the mentorship between Cassius and Lysander it felt good for Cassius. But darn I was not ready for this , the political stakes are as high as always in this universe and can my son Darrow rest pls 😢😢???

4.- City of Night (Frankenstein #2) - Dean R. Koontz

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This book didn't move the plot that much but holy shit was it intense. We follow all our storyline were we left them in book 1 (Randal was scary but at the end I did feel for him) Victor Helios still thinks he has the upper hand even when all evidence points to the contrary, the members of his New Race keep having mutations and failures and it is only a matter of time before Deucalion finds a way to kill him.

5.- One of us is next (One of us is lying #2) - Karen McMannus

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I think I might like this one better than the 1st one (I still love Addy tho) it reminded me a bit of Gossip Girl or Pretty Little Liars (the text messages and gossip stuff) and I am a sucker for those, the characters were pretty great and even if I did guess who was the Simon Keller copy cat it managed to shook me in other ways. My only pet peeve is why does everyone has to end on a romantic relationship??? So wierd. But I still enjoyed it a lot .

6.-The Queen of Nothing (Folk of Air #3) - Holly Black

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It was sooooooo good. I really loved this one, my favorite in the series I think. Jude really comes strong in this one. I was crying like a fool at the very end, it was a very satisfactory ending though I wish Tamryn had been more developed and had her own narrative arc instead of dropping everything in this book. That ending was so heart warming and cute.

7.- Petals on the Wind (Dollanganger #2) - V.C Andrews

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The drama. Gosh had I witnessed any of this I would have called the Police on everyone (yes Dr. Paul included). Cathy has the worst coping mechanisms ever. Like I understand wanting to get back at her mom (she totally deserves it no matter how she tries to justify herself) but bitch u don't have to base all your life on that or she wins. This fool getting into relationships with trashy ass man instead of pursuing her dreams earnestly. Like it could have been so easy to denounce her (you had proof you were her children and Carrie's medical records) and boom her money would be gone but instead she chose to be a dramatic ho and ruin all her life and the life of others (also fuck Julian, it wasn't Cathy's responsability to fix his needy ass or fix Dr. Paul's mopey ass he was her guardian yet he abused her gross)

8.-Oligarchy - Scarlett Thomas

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This was a heavy read, it deals a lot with mental health and eating disorders, and it's so so dark. I really enjoyed it though I would have liked it if it went deeper with some stuff like the ending felt a bit rushed, there should have been more build up for the final reveal but all in all it was great.

9.-LifeLik3 - Jay Kristoff

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I just couldn't . I never got used to the slang, the story seemed so predictable, there wasn't worldbuilding to speak off and the romance was the deal breaker for me, insta-love I can't handle.

10.-Tiffany Sly lives here now - Dana L. Davis

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I cried multiple times reading this book. It was beautiful and so real. Tiffany's struggles with her new life and this family she is just getting to know that come with all this inflexible rules on top of her mental health and coping with her mother's death.

11.- A Trick of light - Stan Lee

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It was a cute story, really with TONS of cómic vibes. The characters were pretty good , they did have depth and the powers were cool. The plot twist left me shook. Super enjoyable I really recommend it to any superhero fan.

12.-Infinity Son - Adam Silvera

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It was okay-ish. I mean it wasn't a bad story but it was full of clichés and predictable. We don't get much on worldbuilding and honestly that last "twist" pretty much ruined the whole thing for me. It was an intresting premise but the execution was not great.

13.-Alex and Eliza - Melissa de la Cruz

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It felt so disconnected, maybe because Melissa de la Cruz usually writes Contemporary and tried to use the same tone for this one, but it just didn't work on this historical fiction romance, it felt too juvenile for me. I will still read her other books cuz she knows how to write cute romance but this series is not for.

14.-Family Life - Akhil Sharma

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As someone who has had to care for a incapacitated family member some of this book really hit me hard. Still I think it moved to fast towards the end. It was a good story but the ending was kind of bland.

15.- Dreamland - Nancy Bilyeau

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It was a pretty fun read. I always enjoy a good mystery and this one is pretty fun, yes it is predictable but I don't think that's necessarily bad in this case, because it was more about the privilege and the Police being onto an immigrant because they are so prejudiced.

16.- The Princess of Cleves - Mme. De Lafayette

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This is a classic about the court of France during the Dauphin's reign, there is lots of romantic drama and anguish very intresting because it depicts a very complicated and ultimately doomed relationship. But also it is tremendously intrincate on the factions between these powerful woman and the political drama. I super recommend it.

17.- Cranford - Elizabeth Gaskell

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All this vignettes were lovely. They are interconnected with one another showing us the life of all this color full characters living on a small town of England during the Industrial Revolution, all their moments sad and happy, their ambitions modest as they may be are reflected beautifully in here.

18.-John - Annie Baker

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I miss doing theatre a lot, and when I come back I hope I can do something as great as this. This play is complex and emotional, when it's setting and characters seem so simple and first. It made me laugh and cry and even be scared and unnerved. I really recc it.

19.-Angelina o el Honor de un brigadier - Enrique Jardiel Poncela

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Una obra muy ingeniosa y divertida. Una lectura increíblemente placentera,la historia es simple y fácil de seguir, los personajes son bien definidos y poseen una voz propia.