#they are ruby. maybe that's why

[000marie198]

Is it just me, or do the eyes of the mysterious creature in the middle of the mural kinda look like the Phantom Ruby?

Not just you

[elodieunderglass]

(Killie the jockey OC and his coworkers)

(Killie is absurdly strong! but also - this is important, listen up, Rossa - the instructions are written on the cap)

(As a dual champion flat and jump jockey, Killie is capable of opening jars and also immune to the lure of the single grape)

[claraoswalds]

It's racist, my dear, to be blunt. People come from outside, they think we're all witches and druids. For God's sake, child, you walked into a piece of string!

[fangswbenefits]

Smut writing tip:

Describe everything. It's the rare instance where more is actually better. You don't have to, obviously, but if you want that added layer of imagery and to help your readers immerse themselves more effectively, then try doing this.

Sure, you can simply write that you undid his pants or shirt, but what if you describe the act itself? How inherently intimate and sensual it can be? Just undoing the buttons one by one and see them react to their skin being slowly exposed for you.

Or how he tugs at the waistband of your pants and gentle teases it, hooking a finger inside... you know what he wants and he doesn't shy away from showing it to you.

To me, this makes all the difference and can turn a good smut into a delicious one!

[idkwhatuh]

Uh, hello guys, I just wanted to rewatch Steven Universe and and I was overcome with nostalgia. That's why I've decided to return to the fandom now!! Here are some drawings that I managed to make last week.

(sorry, my fixation on TLH is gone...)

[bingqiv]

obsessed with how the master is haunting this season. there’s been no direct reference to them, but they’re this unnamed entity that is following the doctor.

from the master being pointedly left out of the doctor’s list of timelords to the maestro playing the saxon theme to the president’s wife to the most dangerous prime minster ever to the doctor using rogue as a placeholder “argue across the stars”/“fight across the constellations”

the doctor may refuse to acknowledge them directly, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t constantly thinking about them. isn’t failing at trying to forget them. he’s actively trying to run away from directly discussing the master.

because he may have been through doctor rehab, but he hasn’t dealt with his feelings and turmoil regarding the master. he’s just locked their memories and feelings in a box and hoped that if he doesn’t mention them, he doesn’t have address it. but that box is a ticking time bomb because he knows the master will return and he’ll be finally confronted with what he’s running from that they’re entwined and that they’re one and the same and that their hearts are maintained by one another and that terrifies him.

[aerithisms]

i think my problem with this dw season arc accusing the audience of fanbrain for theorising about ruby is that it both feels deceitful and isn't actually that compelling from a character perspective. the season goes out of its way to build up supernatural mystery around ruby and even invokes susan more heavily than ever before in a way that is deliberately trying to get the audience to make those connections. and then it turns around and says you stupid idiot why would you ever try to connect these dots i have deliberately tried to get you to connect.

building up a mystery only for the character to be ordinary is an impossible girl arc redux only this time accusing the viewer of failing to see the humanity of the companion, whereas the impossible girl arc was turning that accusation on the doctor. 7b didn't really blame the audience for viewing clara as a puzzle and in fact several times spells out the fact that clara is perfectly ordinary before the big reveal to give the audience a chance to catch on. as 7b goes on, instead of laying the mystery on thicker, the audience just gets more and more affirmations that clara is a normal human being (rings of akhaten, journey to the centre of the tardis, hide). i found this approach compelling because it was rooted in character, focusing on the doctor's disconnection from humanity/the gendered dynamic of a man treating a woman as his manic pixie mystery to pull him out of grief. s14's meta approach of accusing the viewer feels both unfair, given it has deliberately led the viewer towards theorising, and personally less compelling to me because it wasn't tied into character in any way.

the thing about rey's parentage in tlj is that the reason rian johnson chose to go for that reveal was that it was the only answer that was interesting. none of the theories - rey is a skywalker, rey is a kenobi, and even the eventually canonical rey is a palpatine - were interesting or satisfying because they brought nothing compelling to the table for the story being told. the only satisfaction to be gained from those answers was a fanbrained "omg rey is important because she's related to that guy from the other movie." on top of that, rey desperately wants her parents to have been important, to give her life and her abandonment some kind of significance. so them being ordinary provided the most compelling trajectory for her character because it was the thing she least wanted to hear. it forced her to do the most introspection and growth, as well as tying into the film's themes about the capacity of ordinary people to be special. it wasn't just a choice made to "gotcha" the viewer, it was rooted in character.

i don't think ruby's mother being ordinary accomplishes the same thing. by invoking susan, s14 is engaging with the most egregious example of the doctor's streak of abandonment, which has potential to be very compelling in relation to ruby (and now also the doctor's) own abandonment issues. theories that ruby might be susan, or be somehow related to susan, or somehow related to the doctor, weren't just fanbrained "omg she's related to that guy i know from the classic series." they were theories genuinely rooted in character and the potential to explore both the doctor and ruby's issues with abandonment. and this is something the show willingly led fans towards by invoking susan so much in the first place. so for the show to turn around and act like they were shallow out of nowhere ideas when they were not shallow and were based on potential character conflicts the show itself deliberately invoked, feels misguided.

as well as that, ruby's mother being ordinary does not require that same growth from ruby as it did for rey because it is exactly what ruby wanted to hear. she never wanted her mother to be important, she just wanted to know who her mother was and have a connection with her. so finding out she was a normal woman who still loves her and wants to be a part of her life is everything she's ever wanted. it doesn't introduce interesting conflict for her the way rey's parents being ordinary did for her, because they were written as different characters with different hangups over their abandonment.

tl;dr i don't necessarily dislike ruby's mother being ordinary as an idea but compared to the things it was inspired by - 7b and star wars - it is not nearly as compelling in terms of how it relates to the characters or themes. and the meta angle, while conceptually interesting, doesn't quite work for me because it feels a little manipulative of the audience.

[supernova049]

Out of all the very valid criticisms you can make for 'Empire Of Death', one I've seen that I actually disagree with and I think it was a good choice was the decision to cut The 15th Doctor saying "I love you" back to Ruby.

I get people like it because it's an inverse from 10 being unable to say it to Rose, but from what we've seen it seems pretty apparent to me that 15 feels an emotional disconnect from Ruby because she was able to rekindle with her mother despite abandoning her.

Before Ruby dares to talk to her The Doctor tries to give advice saying it's not worth it, proyecting his experiences with Tecteun and also his fear of coming back to see Susan. Once he sees it does work out for Ruby he starts crying, probably as a mix of envy and intense self-reflection. You can tell seeing Ruby have a healthy relationship with her foster mother already made him melancholic so this makes sense.

Not only that, while it's not the entire foundation of their relationship, bonding over being foundlings was a big thing that allowed The Doctor to connect with Ruby, and now she is just... Not that anymore.

Of course The Doctor still loves Ruby, but he now lacks the strong connection he used to have with her plus she is now the mirror of what The Doctor wants which he knows he can't get. In this scenario, a bittersweet smile feels more fitting than outright saying 'I love you', a gesture that shows 15's love for Ruby while also acknowleding the fissure he now feels in their friendship.

Plus, being emotionally open doesn't necessarily only come with words, it can also come with physical language, I'm confident in saying that said smile was enough for Ruby to understand that 15 felt the same.

[cherry-bomb-ships]

Sorry but if I catch you saying you want other people who also ship with your f/o dead you're getting blocked :]

[redge]

Seeing Aqua just makes me heartbroken every single time. 💔

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

Really is weird how out of all the current showrunners, Russell T. Davies is the only one who has never done a queer fulltime companion.

[ernstiggroteadelaar]

so i did a Sutekh family tree, half of which is egyptian gods, but the bigger half is susans

[iniyaas]

ME RN:

[cyellolemon]

It's like i could see him

[mixtercandy]

mightyena icon that i made a while ago, i thoight it was too cool to not post so here it is in the open!

[wickmitz]

you know rereading the comic got me thinking and i feel ur the best person for this. im very intrigued by mitzi and asa's dynamic pre, during, AND post atlas. i really wish we saw more of what happened before atlas' passing bc mitzi herself said asa used to be so nice to her and i'm just like YO WHAT HAPPENED anyways hi hello love ur blog

hi! i’m flattered you love my blog! and even more so by the fact you think i’m the best person to go to for this question! i’ve briefly talked about mitzi and asa before when analyzing the lunch scene in my long analysis for mitzi’s and wick’s relationship, where i said this on the matter :

to touch upon asa’s treatment of mitzi, even from as early as the phone call we see that mitzi is forced to have a conversation with asa on his terms rather than her own terms. mitzi sets out with a clear goal in mind -- learning why asa sweet would attack the lackadaisy in the way that he did -- and she's repeatedly talked over and threatened, with her questions remaining unanswered. it’s very clear very quickly that asa doesn’t respect mitzi nor view her as someone worthy of his time like atlas was, and almost appears to approach her in a misogynistic manner. he demeans something as simple as her ukulele as a ‘teeny little guitar’ and acts as though mitzi’s tears would be bothersome to him, some sort of burden he’d be forced to deal with rather than a valid emotional response to threats, degradation, and the likes. while asa is by no means wrong with some of his observations, he’s certainly rude and uncaring with how he goes about it. when he tells mitzi that he’s here to suggest that she step down, because he so generously has her interests in mind, she doesn’t buy it ; once again bringing up last nights events, where asa willingly armed the pig farmers with the lackadaisy’s arsenal and sent them over her way without so much as a warning. asa dismisses this coldly, once again dodging any fault and claiming it was ‘happenstance’ and entirely mitzi’s own doing. even now, when he’s actively threatening her and making it clear they won’t stay friendly if she keeps trying to make it in this business, he still won’t fully admit to any sort of responsibility for the disastrous night he helped put her through. while this seems rather typical of asa given his disrespectful streak ( something even mordecai, as valued and as useful as he is, suffers because of ) it’s worth noting that this side of him is new to mitzi and not one she was at all expecting. she even says as much here, in heartstrings.

we also know that mitzi only met atlas due to her performing at the marigold speakeasy first, and it’s likely asa was rather present in her life due to his bond with her now husband. asa even admits that mitzi may be confused because they’ve ’managed a friendly coexistence for so long,’ once again hammering home this idea that up until this point, asa was indeed kind to mitzi, or at the very least cordial. but with atlas out of the picture and mitzi trying to take his position, suddenly asa is more than okay with getting her killed or taking all she has left -- even his plan is nothing short of apathetic and cold, an afterthought, expecting her to give up something important to her and only offering a one time offer to play at the marigold room ‘sometime’ with that ‘old band of hers.’ what’s important here is that mitzi is ruthlessly betrayed by a man who used to like her and is treated as a lesser thing due to his view that she’s too incompetent to run a rumrunning business. he also brings up atlas to, in mitzi’s eyes, ‘intimidate ( her ) into agreeing with him,’ and towards the end of the lunch, she looks particularly kicked and undoubtedly hurt. she leaves this meeting that could’ve stayed a phone call with a potential enemy made and with the world on her shoulders, now more determined than ever to be someone people like asa would be forced to respect. instead of being dissuaded, she’s been encouraged, and it’s not hard to realize why.

so, i suppose those are my very brief thoughts about them post atlas! but as for pre and during, i don’t think there was ever anything really there outside of peaceful coexistence. as atlas’s wife, mitzi garnered respect she probably never had before as a traveling musician! asa wouldn’t dare insult her or belittle her once she became atlas’s wife and probably felt no need to do so in the first place. especially since, after all, asa’s the reason atlas found mitzi at all, back when she played for the marigold room where i assume she was treated well enough given asa’s rather friendly mask. he’s a jokester! he’s well meaning and goofy, always smiling and his eyes permanently upturned looking due to the patterns on his face … mitzi wouldn’t ever really see the asa that many other people deal with, and even when comparing asa to her rather quiet and eeire husband, well, he’d still seem leagues impressionable by default. asa purposely acts like he’s approachable and harmless, and while mitzi definitely knew he wasn’t some angel, i do think she fell for that mask more than she’d like to admit.

how i’ve always viewed their relationship is that the very nature of it was dictated by atlas may simply existing and owning her. his mere interest in mitzi was something phenomenal, and by default, something people had to respect. asa sweet was kind to her because she likely didn’t linger in the marigold room for too long before atlas snatched her up. he’s then very cordial to her, probably armed with compliments and generous gestures of interest because she’s atlas’s wife and asa can respect that role wholeheartedly. it’s only when atlas is removed and mitzi begins putting her paws where they ‘don’t belong’ that asa seems to drop the ruse, because there’s no need to keep it up anymore. even though mitzi isn’t harming anyone and hasn’t tried to step on asa’s toes once, he still steals from her and puts her in danger without care -- not once burdened by any real guilt as he continues to threaten her when she doesn’t back down immediately. with how clinical the removal of affection is here ( because even mordecai hasn’t managed to remove viktor, mitzi, or ivy in such a careful or ruthless way despite his awful actions and words ) i find it hard to believe he ever truly cared for mitzi as an individual person outside of atlas. the way he so casually oozes disrespect and belittles her without blinking an eye is … interesting!

all of this is to say that i don’t think asa and mitzi were ever personally close. they probably never knew each other deeply nor made any real steps to try. they’d see each other because asa had a habit of appearing in the lackadaisy just as much as atlas had the habit of being at the marigold room, and so they’d greet each other and asa would be excessively kind in that bumbling fool way he keenly presents himself and mitzi would be pleased by his presence. very simple ‘this is my friend’s wife’ vibes and nothing more. i doubt asa would even be interested in cozying up to mitzi due to atlas’s implied possessive behavior lol … but it was kindness and it was caring to an extent. it just wasn’t as deep or loyal as mitzi might’ve hoped it would be.