#A kiss can change Jim's entire world

[respectthepetty]

I am laughing so hard at the preview for MLC ep. 6; it looks like Heart and Li Ming will get to kiss before Gun and Tinn do in MSP lolololol (laughing where I can because I am wrung out like a dish towel, today's episode utterly pulverized my soul, petition to rename this show Emotionally Devastating Flashback Sequences, The Series)

I don't know if it will happen tomorrow for Li Ming and Heart (never trust the previews!), but in a show that has shown us how important a kiss is, I'm glad that Li Ming and Heart get to have one with the possibility of Jim witnessing it.

Jim hasn't kissed Wen. He won't let himself. We saw in the flashbacks how much care and love Jim had in the kisses he gave his ex. We saw in the flashbacks how much love and care Wen had in the kisses he gave Alan.

But they never had an audience. Jim was worried people would see, and Wen no longer wants people to see, but for Heart and Li Ming, two people who feel caged and isolated, a kiss between them with someone to witness their love...it could be life-changing, not just for them, but for the witness.

I hope if they kiss, and Jim sees it, he will see that love, he will see the possibility, and he will be reminded of what he has given up. Jim mentioned that love nearing 40 is much different than young love. He is wrong. It's not that the love is different; the heartache is. Jim doesn't want the heartache, so he doesn't accept the love. Jim might even be worried for Li Ming after seeing the (almost) kiss because he is always reminded of his heartache and wants to shield Li Ming from that pain.

But the kiss between Heart and Li Ming is needed for Jim to see that love is worth the heartache. So many people already love Jim; it's time he accepted some of it without the fear that it will destroy him.

[toasttt11]

first word

The last month had been a relaxing and peaceful month for the Hughes, It’s been a month since Charlotte and Quinn joined the rest of the family at the lake house, letting Charlotte meet her family for the first time.

Charlotte quickly warmed up to all her family but she definitely had a favorite, Luke she seemed to be enthralled with her uncle just babbling with him and giggling as they sit together. Luke seemingly understanding his little niece.

Charlotte always looked very intrigued towards Jack and her hands always seemed to be found in his flowy hair and she loved to boop him on the nose, She also seemed to love to grab her mini stick and hold it towards Jack wanting to play with him.

Charlotte loves sitting in the kitchen in her high chair and watching Ellen cook, she giggles and claps as she watches Ellen in the kitchen. Ellen always seems to really enjoy getting to dress up Charlotte, Charlotte having no problem wearing anything.

Charlotte seemed to make the biggest soft spot in Jim, Jim let his granddaughter hold the spatula as he cooked at the grill and that’s more than he has ever let anyone else do, She always seemed to enjoy sitting in his lap watching hockey even being such a young age, she was very interested in hockey.

And Charlotte still absolutely adores her dad, having spent almost every night wrapped up in his arms, she loves taking her naps on his chest when they are out on the boat in the warm sun. Charlotte also went in the lake for the first time and loved it entire time while she was in Quinn’s arms, Quinn also carried her as he slowly wakeboarded with and Charlotte giggled the entire time.

Charlotte was in Quinn’s lap as the boat was docked out in the water for the day. Jack and Luke fooling around the water as Jim and Ellen contently watched their family.

Luke and Jack climbed up the ladder both shaking out their hair that was soaking wet, Charlotte who was leaning against Quinn with her back against his chest and was watching her uncles, perked up when she saw them back on the boat.

Charlotte squealed babbling towards them with her tiny hands stretched out towards Luke and Jack.

“There’s my favorite girl!” Luke grinned quickly walking towards his niece.

“Lu!” Charlotte squealed out making of five of her family members quickly look towards her, Charlotte having only made sounds and not saying a word yet.

“What was that Charlie girl?” Quinn smiled proudly down at his entire world.

“Lulu!” Charlotte squealed reaching her tiny hands right towards a frozen Luke.

“Me?” Luke whispered in disbelief pointing towards himself, feeling his eyes water at being able to hear her first word.

“Lulu!” Charlotte clapped with a giggle still staring right at her uncle.

Luke grinned moving forwards and gently picking her up from Quinn and spinning her around kissing her cheeks multiple times, “That’s right Cia, Lulu.”

Charlotte just giggled resting her cheek against Luke’s face.

Quinn smiled taking a quick photo of the two before standing up towards his daughter brushing his hand against her soft cheek, “Aren’t you the smartest girl.” Quinn cooed at his daughter gaining a larger smile from her.

“Can you say Jack?” Jack smiled walking to be in her line of sight, kissing the top of her head.

“She’s saying dad before Jack.” Quinn grumbled at his little brother.

Jack only mischievously shrugged with a smirk, before his smirk changed into a soft smile when Charlotte reached over booping his nose and giggling after she did.

[emopirates]

Thoughts about the wooden demon boy who thirsted for life

OK so I think early in his pirate career Stede latches on to the story of Pinocchio because it’s about a "fake" boy becoming “real.” And for Jim, Fang, and Archie the focus is on a "wooden" boy becoming "flesh."

Stede has masked his entire life, with his father and his bullies and his arranged marriage. He has buried his true impulses over and over (when he made himself look at that bloody goose, when he posed for portraits with a stranger he didn’t want to marry, when he said his life wasn’t monotonous, when he told Mary his crying was an owl). A puppet who wants to be human resonates with him because maybe he has become a puppet, a little bit. He's done what people manipulated him to do, and what he himself learned to make himself do, to get by and stay out of trouble. When he leaves home, Stede isn't sure who he will become or what will happen, but he knows he has to go in order to find out. He takes a leap of faith, and I think he hopes it will lead him to be more authentic to himself than anything he’s known lately.

To Jim, Archie and Fang, the story of Pinocchio is maybe the same, but it’s also about a “wooden” boy who is becoming “flesh.” Which is hilarious because it makes it a horror story, and Jim and Archie and Fang are all in on that joke! But also, the lives they have led, as an assassin trained from childhood, as career pirates, have led them to be tough and guarded (Jim takes a year to tell their best friend their favorite color; Archie isn’t phased by fighting to the death because that’s just how stuff goes; Fang is more raw and open, but also his persona is so different on raids vs on the Revenge that that juxtaposition is used to set up the whole cake-eating scene). Jim and Fang both remember a time when almost everyone on the Revenge was unguarded and soft most of the time. They wore soft clothes and sketched each other and played the lute and went on little day trips and talked about their feelings and kissed. Archie probably doesn’t know all those specifics but she can piece some of it together, I think. I think, to Jim and Archie and Fang, maybe the wooden boy story is still about unmasking and shedding learned behaviors, but instead of the focus on those behaviors being untrue, now the focus is on those behaviors being protective.

Side note: we don’t know this for sure, but Pinocchio could be the same story, mostly, in both tellings! Certainly they’re compatible with each other. Which maybe is a comment on what it’s like to put your story out in the world. People will make it their own and use the parts they need, and that’s the desired effect! That’s part of it! Look how much relief and hope it’s giving these folks to do these silly demon voices! Look how this fancy guy is enjoying reading this kids' story to his new family!

Also both s1e1 and s2e1 end with Pinocchio (if you include the post-credit tag) which I just think is neat.

Seagull feast

I think this is related. I was wondering if the seagull feast is maybe a goose callback?

Goose: baby Stede making himself go through the motions of seeming tough and masking to avoid mean comments from dad. Mostly this isn't successful, shown by baby stede’s flinch and dad’s lecture. Dad still mean, goose still not nice to look at. Flashbacks to the goose moment always come when Stede feels like he's weak or weird or wrong :(((( — but, I think this is changing in season 2!

Seagull: Shows that the crew have made themselves BE tough since the storm / almost killing Ed. They are much more effective at toughening up than baby Stede (not flinching at the sight of the dead bird but digging in!! eating it!!). They are more armored up than ever rn. They're eating a SEAGULL and not flinching even a little bit. They've gone full box-in-the-mind.

I love so much that Stede seems to see the bloody seagull and barely registers it (or jumping overboard, swimming, climbing up a ~!~ladder~!~ for that matter). Now he only wants to find Ed, and flashing back to his dad is the farthest thing from his mind, dead bird what dead bird who CARES I have important things to do. He’s got no time for his filters and protective layers and second guessing his instincts, he’s a real boy and he’s going to find Ed damn it!!!!! Ahhhh!!

Nine guns

There is so much to think about with Ed and Blackbeard and masks and armor. When Ed meets stede he’s been wanting to soften and take off his Blackbeard armor for a while, and within the first one hour and forty seven minutes :D of meeting, he does so, a bit, in the form of softer clothes. Ed lowers his guard over and over, in the bathtub scene, the kiss scene, etc, even renounces piracy (kinda ;), he is his real soft self and then when he gets his heart broken :(((((( he tries to suit back up with his emo makeup and nine guns, but he can't really get that armor to stick. Maybe because it's tied up in the Blackbeard persona which he was so ready to shed anyway???

I think I'm really glad he gets the head bonk and the cold shoulder in the antique shop and talking shit with Mary Read because they’re all little ways he’s getting little bits of protection/autonomy back?? in ways that feel authentic to Ed and not blackbeard, and not ed as part of ed+stede??? And then once he's that little bit safe he starts saying thank you to compliments from stede and yes I'll come back to the ship and gahhhhh

I have no conclusion and this is half formed, and I want to think/read about how the cake toppers and gravy basket fit in too, but really I just can’t wait for ed and stede and the crew to get more story time and art therapy. ✨🎶🎨

[nikrei]

May Comics Round Up!

I didn't think I got all that much read this month, but it looks like there's a decent amount!

Swamp Thing (71-90) (1988-1990)

Swamp Thing tells a good story as always, and is delightfully messed up in many ways. Intertwined a bit with the start of Hellblazer at this point, so read them together!

The Demon (1-4) (1987)

Missed this mini last month, so grabbed it this time around. A pretty good sequel to the 70s run, and ends with Etrigan kissing Blood on the mouth as they break up, so I think it's a success.

Invasion Event (1-8 + all tie-ins) (1989)

This is a fun event! It is also where the term 'meta-human' originates, so check it out if you wanna get that history.

New Guardians (6-12) (1989)

Sort of a mediocre run overall. Definitely groundbreaking, but you can tell that the guy with the vision left after the first couple of issues (because dc wouldn't let him be as progressive as he wanted to be with the story). Makes me wonder if Tom continues to be a fully enlightened being when he shows up in GL issues after this (if he doesn't they're all cowards)

Plastic Man (1-4) (1988-1989)

A fun gag comic mini. Good for an intro to the character, and it's neat how each issue starts with detailed "serious" comic art that then becomes v stylized and fun.

The Spectre (21-31) (1989)

Oh boy did this go places in the finish. The first half of this run has an entirely different vibe then the second half and neither of them really do it for me.

Dr. Fate (1-14) (1988-1989)

Look the new Dr Fate is sooo wierd, they are just wildly going places with this whole thing. Old Lord of Order Nabu is now a grumpy couch potato, the new Dr Fate duo have no idea what they're doing and consist of a kid that's been aged up to adulthood and his v young stepmom, and also they are soulmates. No idea where they at gonna go with this after they've killed Eric off.

Hellblazer (1-26) (1988-1990)

I like this one a lot, as serious titles go. It really is amusing the difference between Constantine in this title and in Swamp Thing. In his own title he struggles to travel around England, hitchhiking and train hopping and the like, compared to how he's jetsetting around the world in Swamp Thing.

The Question (Annual 2-33) (1989)

The Question is always quality, and also Shiva showed back up!! Many things happen, and also Hub City is literally the worst. Gotham and Bloodhaven think that they are the worst but it is 100% Hub City sorry guys.

Action Comics Weekly (609-641) (1988-1989)

Or at least the bits that were Black Canary/Dead Man/Phantom Stranger/Nightwing/Speedy/The Demon/Phantom Lady (i am not immune to the power of tits okay). These little stories were all really fun, and super easy to miss if you don't have a reading list to follow (I was following a Roy list, then backed up to catch the Dinah stories story) However, the Demon story there at the end had Jason and Etrigan back together already, so I looked up a reading list for him and discovered:

Cosmic Odyssey (1-4) (1988)

Read this to find out how Etrigan and Jason got back together. I love the fourth world. I have many things to say about it and I have written out some of that already. Jim Starlin is my enemy.

Secret Origins (26-38) (1988-1989)

Catching up on folks changed backstories for the post crisis era pretty much

Green Arrow (14-16) (1989)

Only just got started on Arrow at the end of the month! I'll read more now!

Bonus: weeks 5-9 of the Comic Kon superboy reading club! We've finally made it to the Superboy solo! But boy, does that start off getting caught in every big event around, the extra credit has to work hard!

[muchamusedaboutnothing]

Heart of a Hunter Act VII - Ch. 18

Heart of a Hunter Act VII - Ch. 18

Characters: Dean x doctor!Reader, Sam Winchester

This story is Act 7 of a saga.

New to the story? Get caught up on the Heart of a Hunter Saga here.

All your favorite Winchesters are alive, in spite of the curse that nearly took them from you. After coming so close to losing the only family you have left in this world, you’re taking matters into your own hands. There’s a witch to hunt.

Series Warnings:

Character injuries/sickness - Take note that no one is excluded from this.

Canon-typical violence and language.

Lots of whump.

Lots of caring for hurt characters.

Smut (18 Only. NSFW. You were warned.)

Angst.

Fluff.

Medical talk. Is that even a warning

Image Credit: bing image search, google image search, @blueredeye2 , @gaywitchtwins ,

Wordcount: 2236

Author's Note: Happy New Year's Day everyone! We made it through another year together. I love you all more than I can tell you. There's only one more chapter to go in Act VII - we'll see you again next Sunday. :)

Chapter  18

"Do we have everything?" you thought out loud as you glanced in the diaper bag a second time.

"I think so," Dean assured you, bouncing Jonah lightly in his arms. "As long as we leave in the next fifteen minutes we'll make it to his appointment on time."

You nodded as Sam and Addie descended the stairs from the garage area after having taken Addie's things out.

"It feels weird to be leaving," Addie said as they approached.

"I'm going to miss you," you told her, putting your arms around her to hug her close.

She hugged you back. "I'll miss you, too."

"Thanks again for everything you've done. I can't say it enough."

She pulled back to look at you. "You don't have to say it at all. I'm happy I could come and help."

She turned her focus on Jonah then, reaching out to take him from Dean.

"Hey there, cutie pie," she said, snuggling him. "I'm going to miss you, too. Don't you get too big before I see you again, kay?" She kissed the top of Jonah's head affectionately and handed him over to you.

"Thanks Addie," Dean said as he pulled her in for a hug. "We couldn't have done it without you." Addie patted his back and Dean slowly released her. "Take care of yourself and give Jim and Cheryl our love. We'll plan a trip down to visit real soon."

"I'll hold you to it," she said with a grin.

"Have a safe flight," you added as she waved and headed for the stairs again.

"See you in a bit," you told Sam.

He nodded and gave you a little wave before following Addie to the garage to give her a ride to the airport.

"Ready?" Dean asked as he slung the diaper bag over one shoulder and picked up the carseat.

"Let's go."

Sam and Addie had already pulled out of the garage when you walked inside. Dean clicked the carseat into place in the back of the Impala and you gently set Jonah inside, doing up the safety straps.

You gave Jonah his pacifier, seeing his eyes begin to droop. He hadn't had his mid-morning nap yet, and you were hoping he'd sleep on the way.

Jonah napped the entire trip until the moment Dean cut the engine in the parking lot of the pediatrician's office. To your relief, he woke up rested and happy. The three of you made your way inside and Dean checked in at the front desk while you carried Jonah into the restroom to take advantage of the changing table for a fresh diaper.

It was twenty minutes after you joined Dean in the waiting room before they called Jonah's name and took you back. You helped the medical assistant weigh him in the hallway on the scale, and then she took you all to an exam room to wait.

Dean held Jonah, walking around the room and talking to him about the posters on the walls.

The wait for Dr. Weston was surprisingly short as he showed up only ten minutes later, smiling warmly as he shook your hands in greeting. Then he turned his attention to Jonah.

“Hey Jonah, how are you doing, buddy?” he said as he reached out for him. Dean handed Jonah over and Dr. Weston gently laid him on the exam table. "Handsome as ever, I see…. How long is he sleeping at night?" he asked.

"He goes as long as five or six hours most nights," you said, looking to Dean for confirmation as he'd spent more time at home with Jonah lately than you had.

"That sounds about right," Dean agreed. "He's more alert for longer periods during the day now, too. I think it's just cuz he wants to hang out with his old man." Dean winked at you and you smiled at the pride that was so obvious in his expression.

Dr. Weston measured Jonah's height and the circumference of his head while you chatted, noting it all down in the chart on the tablet he'd brought into the room with him. "How much is he eating?”

"He's drinking 28-30 ounces of formula a day right now," Dean said.

"That's perfect," Dr. Weston said. "How are his bowel movements?"

"Still gross," Dean answered. You smacked him lightly on the arm, smiling. Dean feigned innocence. "What?"

"The iron fortified formula we have him on right now seems to be working well," you answered. "He stays pretty regular."

"Good,” Dr. Weston said as he checked Jonah's eyes and watched him track his finger back and forth. “Stick with the formula. That’s all he needs for now.” Next, he unbuttoned Jonah’s onesie and slipped it off of him, eyes growing wide at the sight of the temporary tattoo Dean had apparently felt the need to put on Jonah's chest when he'd dressed him that morning.

"It, uh, it comes off," Dean said in explanation. "It's my band's logo. I have one to match, but mines, well ... real."

Dr. Weston smiled and began a quick but thorough head-to-toe examination of Jonah. "What kind of band?" he asked as he checked Jonah's pulses.

You glanced at Dean, also curious as to his answer.

Dean stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "We do mostly covers. Some Skynyrd, a little Segar. On occasion, we'll throw in some Zeppelin."

Dr. Weston looked over his shoulder at Dean. "Is that so?"

Dean gave a casual little shrug.

"I only recently added Zeppelin's fourth record to my vinyl collection," Dr. Weston said with a hint of pride as he checked Jonah’s hip range of motion.

"It’s not a vinyl collection without that one'," Dean said with a smile.

"Do you have any shows coming up that I could catch?" Dr. Weston asked.

"Well, uh, not right now…." Dean scratched his head. "The newest little honorary member of the band here has sort of taken all my free time."

Dr. Weston chuckled as if he'd only just realized that would be the case. "Good answer, Dad," he said as he slid his stethoscope from around his neck and put it on to auscultate Jonah's heart.

Dean gave you a reassuring wink and you smiled at him.

"You're just healthy and happy as can be," Dr. Weston said to Jonah as he returned his stethoscope to his neck. "He's developing right on track," he added for you and Dean as he put Jonah's onesie back on with practiced ease. "I still suspect he's going to be tall…." He snapped the little buttons at the bottom together.

"No surprise there," you said with a smile.

Dr. Weston gently placed Jonah in your arms. "These are for you." He handed Dean printouts with the percentiles charted on them. "Do either of you have any questions or concerns for me?"

"When can he drive?" Dean said, deadpan.

Dr. Weston chuckled and said, "It'll be here before you know it."

"I'm in no hurry for him to get that big," you said as you bounced Jonah gently and kissed his cheek. "He'll get bigger than me soon enough as it is."

A smile tugged at the corner of Dean's mouth as he watched you snuggling Jonah.

"You guys are doing great with him," the doctor added. "Keep it up."

Dean shook Dr. Weston's hand and you both thanked him and headed to the front desk to schedule Jonah's next follow up.

When you got back to the bunker, Dean offered to give Jonah a bottle and then rummage something up for lunch for the rest of you. You found Sam intently sorting things in the supply room. He was in such deep thought he didn’t notice you approaching. You only watched from the doorway for a moment before recognizing Sam’s version of what you often referred to as ‘stress cleaning.’

You cleared your throat, causing him to startle and look up.

“Oh, hey. How was Jonah’s appointment?”

You leaned against the doorframe, folding your arms casually. “It was great. He got a clean bill of health. Right on track.”

Sam smiled softly. “That’s good to hear.”

“Addie make her flight okay?”

“Yeah.” He set a bottle in a drawer and closed it, straightening to his full height. “She, uh, she should be landing in Florida in a couple of hours.” You didn’t miss the way his face fell as he spoke. There was no doubt in your mind Sam and Addie’s goodbye had been a hard one.

“Hey,” you said. “Come on.” You gestured with a jerk of your chin behind you, indicating Sam should follow.

“Where we going?” he asked as he set the clipboard down he’d been holding.

“Outside for some air. Take a little walk with me?”

The two of you left the bunker and fell into step next to each other on the side of the road. The air was crisp and there was a hint of impending rain in the scent. Clouds in the distance likely meant you were only a few hours shy of a decent thunderstorm, but the temperature was perfect for a little stroll.

"It's okay, you can say it," Sam said after a moment, glancing over and down at you as you walked.

"Say what?"

Sam smiled and shook his head softly. "I know you're worried about me … and I appreciate it. I'll be okay. Really."

You shrugged. "I have no doubt about that, Brawny," you assured him. "In the meantime though, you don't have to pretend that saying goodbye to Addie doesn't suck, especially considering this is the most time you've ever had together in one stretch." He nodded in silence. "You know, she worries, too."

Sam kicked a rock as you walked. "She said that?"

"With her big ole heart eyes, yeah."

Sam couldn't help but smile at that. "I worry about her," he said. "I worry that some great guy - some normal guy with a 401K and a Benz is going to want to be with her."

"Sam, Addie likes you. A lot."

"That's what worries me." He stopped walking and you turned to face him. "What if she misses out on something real because she's got some grand notion of what I do, or who I am. You know better than anybody that this isn't some heroic fantasy we're living-"

"Addie knows enough," you stated. "She survived demonic possession, and she knows we almost lost Jonah to that witch. Almost lost you and Dean, too…. Give her some credit. She's not seeing you or this life through rose-colored glasses."

Sam looked out at the field nearby as he considered your words. "That's not all," he said, his voice softer. "She's deep in her career already, and she's great at it. I don't want her to feel pressure to change that or give up what she loves doing to be with me," he added. "I get the sense she's already feeling torn."

You wanted to tell him that it was up to Addie, just like it had been your decision to leave your career in medicine to hunt with him and Dean. But there were layers of pain in his hazel eyes that stopped the words in your throat.

"We agreed it’s best to keep things between us casual. That way we can keep in touch and still get together whenever we can manage, but I made her promise me that she'll date other guys, and that she'll tell me if something gets serious because I want that for her."

"That must have been really difficult," you said, reaching out to squeeze his hand.

Sam let out a little humorless laugh. "Yeah, well, I imagine it will pale in comparison to how I'll feel when she actually meets Mr. Right."

"Are you sure this is what you want?" you said after a moment. "To be Mr. Right Now?"

He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "It's not about what I want. This … this is about what she needs. What she deserves." Sam took a breath deep enough to fill his lungs completely before letting out a heavy sigh. "I'm going to miss her like crazy. Hell, I miss her already, but more than anything I just want her to be happy. I want what's best for her ... even if it breaks my heart."

His words were selfless and painfully insightful, which also summarized Sam in a nutshell. You stepped forward and wrapped your arms around him, feeling him duck down so your arms could circle his neck. “You’re a good man, Sam,” you said. He hugged you back fiercely but didn’t say a word. “I can’t imagine not having you in my life. I hope you know we all look up to you, and not just because you’re a freaking sasquatch.” Sam’s mouth twitched into a smile. “I love you,” you told him.

“Love you, too, Spider Monkey,” he said, kissing the top of your head.

“Your brother’s making lunch,” you said as you released him. “It’s probably something greasy. You up for it?”

Sam let out a soft laugh. “Yeah. I think so.”

He wrapped an arm around your shoulders and you headed back to the bunker together, but Sam seemed to have a renewed pep in his step that you hoped meant he at least felt a little unburdened after your talk.

Act VII Masterlist.

You can find the Masterlist for the Heart of a Hunter Saga here.

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[justsomemuffledcries]

The office and Brooklyn 99 similarities

Both the office and b99 are one of the best sitcoms made in american history , with a pack of great comic timing, perfectly written jokes and incredible direction. I appreciate them both very well and intend no hate for anyone whatsoever . After watching both of them I felt some similarities between both these shows , which could be due to the michael schur connection.

Both the shows follow a basic heartfelt comic approach sitcoms, with a cute couple , the sarcastic main character, weirdo side characters, and obsessive yes man / best friend with a spectrum of weirdness, and ofc the COLD OPENS, here are some more specific similarities:

1. As I mentioned, the characters charles boyle (b99) and dwight schrute (the office) are both

- obsessed yes man of the main character (jake and michael resp)

- very particular and loyal towards family name ancestry and the weird traditions that follow

- wear neutral colours half sleeved shirts

- very hardworking

2. Kevin from office and Scully ( or hitchcock) from b99 can eat anything in this whole damn world , dumb and occasionally very smart

3. Gina and Stanley are both in the job only for the money and hate being a part of it

the office s7e6 costume contest , everybody tried to get Stanley's attention

b99 s2e22 the chopper , everybody tries to get Gina's attention

Gina also has the mean girl , Hollywood queen tone just like kelly

4. s2e3 b99 : Jimmy jab games

s2e3 the office : office olympics

I mean..

5. "That's what she said" & "Title of your sex tape"

both jim and michael are immature , take nothing seriously, have a traumatic childhood but loveable in the end

6. Both jim-pam and amy-jake's 'technically' first dates take place on roofs , with a very similar camera shot

7. s7e15 the office : everyone searches for Michael putting them in his shoes , and he is eventually found , Again , on a roof , then a kiss scene

s4e18 b99 : everyone searches for amy putting them in her shoes , and she is eventually found , Again , on a roof , then a kiss scene

8. s2e9 the office : Michael crashes Jim's party which he wasn't invited to

s2e12 b99 : Jake invites holt to a party , nobody wants him in to be

9. Whenever the boss leaves the office the secretary (pam or gina) follows him out

10. In the office jim invites everyone to his party including the tech guy who they thought to be a terrorist but michael , similarly in b99 , holt involves the random copier guy in the unique high fives to punish jake

I understand that there are common tropes used in comedy all over the world , but this is more , I was copying half of my texts and changing the character names which explain most of it, they basically used the entire theme of the office and created it into a cop drama

The only difference is , that the 99 is more of a woke show with light quirky comedy, and the office is much darker and saracastic , following the footsteps of the original uk version, but yet manages to be heartfelt, what do you think

[demoniccak-e]

listen i'm listening to purpose is glorious rn so i'm sad but whenever i say that good omens is my silly show i mean that in the way that i just need that in my life. like that silly show has kept me here for so long and i literally see the world differently bc of it

but like i constantly rewatch good omens and every single time i notice something new. it's as if rereading a book and you find a line that you missed that changes the entire scene. for example: when their in the cafe in season 2 in the background i believe it's bohemian rhapsody being played in a classical way. and there's the part where nina tells crowley that "you like that person. you do. that's what you've been feeling." and like i forget to keep that in mind that he realized that and as he walks down the stairs and he's looking curiously at him- it's sort of a look of confusion and then when he's looking out the window and watches him, and when he enters the bookshop and when he runs up to him i think that he's thinking: "i do like this person. and i though i knew everything i needed to about him, and yet he always surprises me." and also (one more I just really wanted to share this little bit of what i'm always thinking idek if anyone would read this) that line with jim, the line about "I feel, like, and empty house. (...) A house of someone who lived there for a long time, but now their gone, but the house can sort of tell where the things used to be- like when i remembered how it all began." and my first thought was terry pratchett.

no because like thats just from season two, whenever i think of season one i think of a lot of things. i think about the way that aziraphale was always so delighted to meet him after long, long, gaps. like they just- don't lose that familiarity with each other. and that like in eden, when aziraphale first met crawly now, and like they just clicked again. but a part of me is saying that maybe they didn't always talk the way that they did as angels. that maybe they weren't particularly friends but more like people who meet up sometimes to talk about the stars yk more like business partners because crowley later says the line "how long have we been friends? six thousand years!" and in season two he says "we've been talking for millions of years. blah blah blah blah blah blah blah." and those little bits just make me explode. (i would give other mentions like vinylatte (nina & maggie) or ineffable bureaucracy (beez & gabriel) or mutt & spouse ((i call them andrew bc that's the actors name)) or like anathema and newt but then i'd be here all day and no one actually wants to know all that.

another thing is how much they relate to songs. how i have literally connected so many songs to them whether it's queen, hozier, boygenius, noah kahan, big theif, adrianne lenker, the oh hellos, olivia rodrigo, whether it's instrumental music i can literally connect it to good omens somehow. like i have wrote so many song connections and essays (not posted anywhere but in my notes app giggles) and like it's literally what i think about. whenever i'm in class and listening to music and thinking of silly things they could be doing, or whether i'm at home walking around like a mad man thinking of them. ITS THEM IN MY HEAD IT'S JST THE ENTIRETY OF GGOD OMENS.

one last thing is the way that they help me view the world, like they have actually taught me so many things, it's insane. like with adam and crowley, he taught me that i don't actually have to be what is expected of me. and aziraphale (oh my god he's actually the best thing that has happened to me btw and that kiss scene hurt as well as healed me a wee bit) taught me how like- sometimes you can't run away. sometimes you have to face whats in front of you and take it. and he's also taught me to look between the lines, to look between the wedges of what people say. what i mean by that is, yeah crowley's the demon, the rule breaker, but like aziraphale also bends the rules in ways that are managable for him. he gives away his sword because it was to prioritize someone else that was important. that was important to god. (which is something that i desperatly would also like to talk about but once again we'd be here all day) furfur also has taught me something that i literally did not know i needed to hear but that your worth should not be measured by how productive you are. (I LOVE FURFUR SO DAMN MUCH.)

anyways thats my thought on my silly little shows i love these silly people they are the best thing that happened to me thank you neil for being a goofy man and go through a phase where you wore sunglasses inside so that terry pratchett could add that into crowley and thank you terry pratchett for creating agnes nutter because she is awesome

[theoscout]

I just realised that this song is like THE MOST PERFECT SONG EVER for a Something Wicked This Way Comes animatic!! OH MY GOD.

Every freakin' line of this masterpiece can be interpreted to relate to something from the novel. I'm going to put my stuff under the cut because the full lyrics are there too

One October just came around Just to shake the sky and move the ground Just to strongly insist the wind should up and change And it knocked down walls and bridges too And it reached more people than we knew And it left with nothing really Left the same

This entire first part is, without doubt, referring to the Dark Carnival. It appeared suddenly one October, and with it, an entire fairground with rides and tents and circuses and everything. In the movie, there was even a scrapped scene where the train ended up morphing into a bunch of tents. TBH I wished they had kept that, because it would be more supernatural that way.

Also the 'reached more people than we knew' part can be connected to the victims of the Dark Carnival in the past, and how they were all there but their names were lost to time and their souls were lost to the carnival.

You called it the reckoning And your voice came through unquestioning You said the universe is trembling Don't ya know, don't ya know?

I'm going to make this part about the lightning rod salesman who warns the kids about October stuff. This definately feels like one of the kids recalling how he spoke to them. This feels like how I MYSELF recall him speaking!

Cause you felt it coming long before I walked you through your own front door And I spent just a one night on your floor For a few nights in a row

I'm going to make this part about Jim and Will. We know they're neighbours and they stay at each other's houses often, and they've been friends for a long time, so this part could be about Will noticing something's off with Jim's mental health. Jim is depressed or has self image issues which makes him want to grow up faster, and this part reflects how the dark carnival preyed off problems he already had rather than inciting them when they arrived.

Change ain't so sudden It just hides as it's coming Is this change or fruition Of some hope and ambition? Is this all repercussions? Was this grown out of something That we cursed, that we prayed for That we knew we could wait for?

This part is about the desires of the people that the dark carnival preys upon. I'd start this part with Jim to carry on from the previous verse, wanting to grow up, before going on to people like Mrs Foley wanting to be young again and stuff like that.

I headcanon Jim as being black, the source material repeatedly refers to him as being 'dark' but doesn't specify how. Bradbury's statements on how Jim had seen too much of the horrors of the world despite being a child would fit here too- as a black person in the 1960s it's possible he was subjected to racist bullying which made him want to grow up faster, even though it'd take years out of his lifespan.

I would personally like to insert some dramatic irony into the 'we knew we could wait for' part of the song by relating it to Mr Holloway's fear of getting too old to play with his son.

You named it the reckoning In your perfect notebook lettering One October leveling All we knew And you felt it coming long before I kissed you on that dancing floor And you held me loose and I made sure To hold tight on you

Ok, IDK about the 'kissed' part but maybe something something Will x Jim? Jokes aside, and this leads into headcanon territory, Will could see that Jim wanted

If the first part of the animatic was about

Oh, I'm holding Oh, I'm holding tight on you I'm holding tight on you Girl, I'm holding tight on you Oh, oh I'm holding tight on you Girl, I'm holding tight on you

I'm going to ignore the 'girl' part because not all songs are perfect. But this perfectly reflects the end of the novel where Mr Holloway and Will save Jim from death

And it also reflects how Mr Holloway was able to overcome the dust witch and Mr Dark by holding onto his happy memories.

[chickenstrangers]

Photography in Aof's Series

I have been thinking a lot about cameras and queer visibility since @dudeyuri's tags on this post and @miscellar, @respectthepetty, and @telomeke's following discussions. In Bad Buddy and He's Coming to Me, the motif of the camera plays with the ideas of public vs private aspects of the character's relationships and how open and visible they are able to be. I think this is very true in BBS and HCTM, but it is also a recurring theme in Aof's shows.

Bad Buddy and He's Coming to Me

I am not going to delve too far into these shows because I think @miscellar and others have already written brilliant posts about this linked above. @miscellar makes a wonderful point about photography being seen as a hostile act in most of Bad Buddy because Pat and Pran are trying to hide their relationship, but the context changes when Ink is taking the photo: "ink's camera sees them for who they really are, and more than that, it affirms their relationship." Who is taking the picture changes its meaning, which I think can be extended to discuss queer media more generally, how directors using a queer lens will portray queer stories in more nuanced and/or realistic ways.

In He's Coming to Me, we have the theme of public vs private queerness with Thun taking a selfie with Mes but Mes is of course not visible. Not sure if I have anything to add here, but I do think this fits into the many other scenes where Thun does absolutely nothing to hide the fact that he's talking and hanging out with a ghost. They're hiding in plain sight but no one else sees what they do. This could be a comment on how often people overlook queer relationships or devalue them.

Dark Blue Kiss

In Dark Blue Kiss, Pete photographs Kao a lot, and he doesn't do this in secret. Unlike Pat and Pran who aren't even supposed to be friends, Pete and Kao have that act to disguise their relationship, so they are able to do some parts of their relationship in public. In episode 3, Pete takes Kao's photo in front of a horse and buggy ("You said you like taking photos of views." "You're in every view I see." "Smooth."). Right behind them we see other people also taking photos, including someone taking a photo of two people who look to be a couple, contrasting Pete and Kao with the visibility that straight people get to enjoy.

But while we do have public photography here, because their relationship is hidden and Kao isn't out to his mom, he hides the photographs. In Pete's room, there is a photoboard with lots of photos of the two of them or them separately. Pete doesn't have to hide the relationship in his own home because he is out to his dad and his dad is incredibly supportive.

Kao, on the other hand, primarily has his room decorated with posters about math (this is yet another Aof show where a character has 1 interest and it becomes their entire room décor). But he does keep all the photos, even if he can't display them.

He reveals them at their anniversary surprise when he decorates a whole room with pictures of them together. This moment shows that even though Kao isn't able to be completely open about their relationship, he still wants to put in the effort to show his love, even if it is only possible in an empty school room that no one else will see. While this moment is sweet, there's a thread of sadness behind it because being open to the world is such a huge point of concern in their relationship for the whole series.

Moonlight Chicken

Heart and Li Ming take photos together multiple times, and their comfort with this I think speaks to @telomeke and @waitmyturtles point about how this show is about generations and their different experiences of queerness (x), and so it is an important counterpoint to Jim and Wen that Heart and Li Ming are fairly openly affectionate with their friendship and then their relationship, within safe spaces. For example, they ask Wen to take a photo of them in the food court (Wen who acts as an observer throughout most of the show), and in this interaction Wen sees that there is more to their relationship than friendship. In this way, I think he acts in a similar role to Ink.

I also think it is noteworthy that Wen and Alan have so many photographs of each other, and then their break up scene takes place right in front of the photoboard that is a monument to the good times of their relationship. Wen starts with his back to the board, facing away from that history, and then the framing moves to have the board in between them. The traces of the past are literally acting as a wedge between them as they fight over it. And then that board remains in the apartment, with the photos taken down, as a continued reminder of what used to be there. The love that no longer remains.

There's an interesting parallel between Jim and Wen's conversation on the pier and the scene I talked about before in Dark Blue Kiss. While they discuss the Marina Food Court, there's tension between them, with Wen's guilt in his role in the project affecting Jim's diner and Jim still putting as much distance as he can between himself and Wen. In the background we see a two people, potentially a couple, taking photos. They are wearing almost the exact same colours as Jim and Wen. Their happiness in this scene seems like a direct contrast to the sadness Wen and Jim are expressing, hinting at what they might have when they get past this disconnect. And then once they do get together, Jim and Wen take their own photo together at the beach.

Our Skyy 2 x A Tale of a Thousand Stars

In these special episodes, as the brilliant @wen-kexing-apologist has discussed in their incredible essays (x, x), the main journey of the special surrounds Phupha becoming more comfortable being a partner to Tian in public and being more open with Tian in general, working through a lot of internalized homophobia. This is once again demonstrated using the photography motif.

Phupha takes photos of Tian taking photos of the food in the café, a date during which he is initially uncomfortable with how public they are. He is slowly getting used to how this feels to be so open. But he does push past the discomfort because he knows that this is important for Tian, and important for himself as well.

The next stop on their date is to a photobooth, which an interesting liminal space between public and private. Inside the booth they are alone, but it's still in a very public space, and anyone walking past could see them coming out together, or could look at the photo strips as they're printed out before Tian and Phupha have a chance to collect them. The public and the private are slowly becoming enmeshed.

Tian and Phupha then take a photo with Ink, Pa, Pat and Pran after the play. This is the most open they are with photography, Tian's hand resting on Phupha's shoulder, standing close. This is also an opportunity for Pat and Pran to be in a photo together publicly, like the play itself. Like I talked about regarding the play, it's important that all the people in this picture are queer, and that this creates a safe space to blend the boundaries between public and private sides of their relationship.

I also think it's important to consider when talking about photography, the role that the camera plays as a stand-in for the audience. We are getting this glimpse into the characters relationships, both public and private, and the cameras we see within the scenes can often reflect queer media and queer visibility more generally.

[thesevenumbrellas]

Our Flag Means Death is actually a dnd game.

Spanish Jackie is the dm who has to literally put herself into the world to force her players to please pay attention to the story.

Jim is the only one taking this seriously. They make a badass rogue raised by nuns to avenge their family. Oh and obviously they’ll join the ship in disguise-

Andddd they have a gender crisis.

Hey can I try out he/they pronouns?

Jackie keeps trying to incorporate Jim’s backstory into the plot BUT THESE IDIOTS WONT STOP FLIRTING.

Lucius forced his bf to join then and he was like fine but my character worked for the super cool famous Blackbeard and we’re best buds.

And then Ed, Jackie’s friend, comes in three weeks later, hears that, and goes ok I’m playing Blackbeard. 😈

And then when Ed is introduced to everyone else?

Oh no he’s hot.

X2

Stede and Ed spend every session flirting through their characters.

They spend all their free time developing plans for their characters.

They go on (not) dates and design this entire storyline around their characters falling in love.

But they won’t admit their feelings irl and it’s so painful FOR EVERYONE WATCHING.

Suddenly its that scene (tm)

Ed looks into Stede’s eyes.

Tells him how happy he makes him.

Stede’s player is like oh shit wait wait this is too real.

I’m in love.

Crap

Panic

“My character runs away to his family he left behind.”

Ed is NOT HAPPY

This is not what they had planned.

He’s like fine.

Ok.

I turn evil 😈.

I go crazy throw Lucius off the boat.

Lucius’ player is like ????

Do I make a save?

Sure.

I rolled a one.

So Blackbeard throws you over the railing-

YOU JUST KILLED ME???!!!

I’M NOT THE ONE WHO JUST BROKE UP WITH YOU?!

Awkward silence.

Jackie realizes things are not moving forward until this shits sorted out.

Why are men like this?

She tells them to go talk it out and admit your feelings already before I murder both your characters painfully.

They go.

They talk it out.

It’s awkward.

Until it isn’t.

Stede apologizes because he hadn’t meant to change the story, he’d just panicked when he’d realized the story was getting so real.

Ed is like finally because I’ve been crushing on you since day one!!!

They kiss.

Lucius wins $20 from Pete because Pete totally thought they’d angst about this for another month at least.

[broccoliboix5peepeeman]

Prompt/Headcanon: “Edward Scissorhands” AU with Deku as Kim Boggs, Shoto Todoroki as Edward, and Katsuki Bakugo as Jim (the jock/asshole “boyfriend”)

Ooooo that'd be an interesting AU!

Izuku's surprised when his mother brings Shoto home - claiming that she'd found him alone in the abandoned mansion at the end of the street - but he supports her decision in letting him live with them and tries his best to make their guest feel welcome.

He quickly learns that Shoto's interesting. Not only in his appearance, which his neighbours seem keen to comment on at every given opportunity (Izuku thinks they're incredibly rude, but doesn't comment), but in his actions. Shoto doesn't exactly talk a lot - it's as if he never really had anyone to teach him - but he's most expressive in both his art and his eyes.

And more often than not, his eyes are sad.

Izuku wants to remedy that; he can't change the past, but the future is pliable in his grasp, and Shoto deserves to be happy.

However, he quickly learns that not everyone shares the same intentions. Kacchan's never been the kindest person, but to take advantage of Shoto's naivety of the world and get him arrested is a kind of cruel Izuku thought he'd long outgrown.

Kacchan's actions turn the rest of the town against Shoto. After all, Kacchan's lived there his entire life and can do no wrong, meanwhile the stranger cannot be trusted, and his once charming quirks are now looked upon with suspicion. That being said, the Midoriyas make it known that they'll always support him. They're rewarded with a small, but genuine smile in response, and Izuku thinks his heart might burst.

And when Kacchan corners Izuku and yells at him for choosing the wrong side - eyes as accusatory as they were when they were children - he hears blades slicing and suddenly, Shoto's in front of him with a fierce protectiveness that has Izuku shocked to the spot.

'Leave.' That croaky voice tells Kacchan. 'Leave Izuku alone.'

'Or what?'

Both of them are in a bad way after that, but only one of them receives sympathy from the town. Shoto doesn't seem to care though, especially when Izuku offers to help clean him up afterwards and runs his hands through red and white hair.

'Thank you.' He murmurs quietly, head cushioned by Izuku's thighs.

'I should be thanking you.' He says, matter of factly, before pressing a kiss to that scarred cheek. 'You're amazing, Shoto. I'm so thankful that you entered my life.'

And if Shoto ever tries returning to that solitary mansion at the end of the neighbourhood, Izuku will be there to make sure it's a decision his friend wants, not something he's forced into.

[fortheloveoffanfic]

Mr. Gallagher and Me

Jim x reader

A/n- I swear I remember what happened in chapter 5, I'm just saving it for some explosive drama later on.

Playlist Chapter 8 Masterlist

Chapter 9

Jim ventures to Y/n's apartment in an attempt to reconcile but an accidental discovery leads to a another explosive confrontation.

Late November  Jim wasn’t sure if he should be there, simply put, he wasn’t sure if he still retained that right or if the whole mess of things had taken that from him, making his visit to her apartment not only woefully inappropriate but also disrespectful to Y/n’s feelings. She was still avoiding him, probably even more so than before- Jim didn’t even think that was possible, but Y/n had called in with the department’s administrative clerk and told her that she wasn’t sure when she’d be able to come in again and that her work should be sent via email. 

For an entire week, he’d gone over their very last interaction in his mind, wondering what he’d done on that morning specifically to make her run off like that, but so far, he’d come up with nothing. Well nothing except the kiss. So instead of continuing to throw himself a pity party over it, Jim had mustered up the bravery to make the drive to her place and confront her.

Well, not confront. He actually just wanted to apologize. 

He couldn’t stand the thought of making work or school uncomfortable for her. He also didn’t think he could bear it if things had ended the way they had; he still loved Y/n, Jim always would and he just wanted her to know that. He needed her to know that those two or three seconds kissing Yvonne back had been the biggest mistake he’d made since meeting her, she had to hear that she was the only person for him. 

Inhaling deeply, feeling his chest with air, and hopefully courage, Jim brought his fist to the door, knocking firmly three times. It took a couple minutes, no longer than that, before he heard soft footsteps drawing nearer to the door, and then when they’d stopped, he heard nothing more. 

“What do you want?” He assumed she’d figured out it was him after looking through the peephole and Jim sighed heavily.  

“I just wanna talk,” he offered solemnly, “Can I come in, please?”

“No,” Y/n refused harshly, “I don’t want to talk to you,” he heard her sniffle, and when she spoke again, Jim thought her voice sounded heavy with tears, “Just go away.”

Exhaling softly, he pressed his forehead and his flattened palms  to the cool, oak surface, as if somehow, the barrier between them would melt away so he could touch her, “I don’t want us to end like this.”

“Its already over,” Y/n spoke softly, and he heard her shift on the other side, he thought she might had turned to press her back to the door. "You should just…..go be with her."

"I don't wanna be with her," he protested readily. "That kiss didn't teach me anything that I didn't already know, but it did make everything so much clearer. Y/n," her name was a heavy, urgent breath seeping off his lips, "The only person I ever wanna kiss like that is you. I love you, and I'm never gonna love anyone else like this," Jim spared a moment to gather his thoughts, “That night could never, ever change the way I feel about you. Nothing in this worls could ever make me think twice about loving you.”

“Nothing in this world could ever make me think twice about loving you.”

When he’d said it, her breath hitched, and for a moment, Y/n squeezed her eyes shut to slow the trickle of salty, warm tears as they drew tracks down her cheeks. Upon hearing them, Y/n couldn’t bring herself to let him go like that, and it was largely because she knew she felt the same, and so, she gingerly pushed off from the door and hastily attempted to dry her tired eyes before undoing the locks and pulling it open. 

“I’m so sorry,” were the first words off his lips, “I’m sorry about that kiss, I’m sorry about pushing myself on you at work last week-”

“You didn’t…..” Y/n shook her head, suddenly deciding that she’d do anything to avoid explaining what had happened that morning. Even if she’d opened the door, and even though she did accept that he still loved her and she him, Y/n knew that they couldn’t go back to being what they were. “You didn’t do anything wrong last week,” she smiled somberly, reaching out to give his forearm an affectionate squeeze, "And I guess....maybe I overreacted about the kiss."

"You didn't," he promised earnestly, "I shouldn't have ever let get to that. I shouldn't have even gone to dinner with her, I wish I could take it back-"

"Jim," she sighed quietly, her shoulders dropping, "You don't have to....I'm not even mad about anymore. It was mistake-"

"One that should have never happened," he stressed, "It will never, ever happen again." His words made her hum and Jim matched her half smile, glancing down at their feet, before lifting his head back up to meet her eyes, his blue gaze brimmed with hope, “Can I come in, please? I just want us to talk this through.” 

“Jim…..” Y/n suspired heavily, casting her head down, “I don’t know….”

“I’m not asking you to forget what- what is that?” His eyes strayed to something past her and Y/n turned to see what he was looking at. Her breath caught when she glimpsed it too, and when Jim gently tapped her shoulder, a silent signal for her to step aside so he could cross the threshold, only to stop as he entered the foyer, bending to pick up something that had spilt out of her bag, left there since the last time they’d seen each other on morning of the exam, exactly one week earlier.  As he straightened up, Jim regarded the bright pink box, pulling the top flap open after a moment of scrutiny and finally, producing one of the two capped tests and swallowing thickly. 

They stood in silence for a moment and Y/n held her breath in anticipation for his reaction. From the minute she’d told her, Elaine had been pressuring Y/n to tell Jim, she’d argued that it was his baby too and even if he didn’t want to be a part of their life, he deserved to know. But Y/n had been much too fearful of burdening him with the guilt; if Jim didn’t want to raise another child, she didn’t want to pressure him to do it. Besides, the last thing she wanted was for her baby to be anyone’s, but especially their father’s, obligation; Y/n had already decided that anyone in their life would be there because they wanted to, not because they had to. 

“Are you…..?” He apparently couldn’t even bring himself to properly finish the question and Y/n thought she ought to take that his speechlessness as a sign. 

“Yeah,” she confirmed softly. 

“Wow,” he huffed under his breath, his thumb grazing over the two bright pink lines on the little strip of white, “Were you gonna tell me?” Jim turned, lifting his bright blue gaze to meet her eyes, the unreadable surprise in his stare almost overwhelming. 

“Honestly?” She chewed on her lower lip, “No. At least, I wasn’t going to tell you that its yours.”

Licking his lips, Jim glanced away with a disappointed scoff, “So  that’s where we are now?” The pained disbelief was etched in his lowered tone and Y/n immediately felt more guilty that she had before. 

“You said you were done raising babies,” she began defending before Jim cut her off, eyes ablaze and fury rising his tone. 

“But that was before I knew you were pregnant!” He yelled and she jumped, “You were mad at me over a kiss and you were gonna lie about being pregnant?”

“I was gonna lie about who the father is-”

“That doesn’t make it any better-”

“Well you didn’t make it any easier!” She yelled even though her throat was already raw, “I didn’t want you to feel like you got stuck with a kid you didn’t want because you made a mistake.”

“We were not a mistake! Not for me,” Jim clutched the test and the box in one hand, running the tired fingers of the other through his hair, “How long have you known?” His voice grew softer once more, and while he still seemed angry, Jim also seemed more open to her reasoning. 

“A week,” Y/n swallowed thickly, “I found out the morning you were late to the exam. I wanted to tell you right there,” her voice broke pitifully, “But I didn’t know if you’d want me to….” Y/n couldn’t even bring herself to say it. 

“I would never, ask you to do that would always be your decision.” Slumping his shoulders, Jim reached out with his free hand, clasping her arm and tired of fighting, Y/n let him. “I know what I said back in Derry made you want to hide this from me, and when I said that, I meant it. But I mean it when I say I want this, with you. Only if its with you. I love you,” he added softly, licking her lips as his gaze panned down to her unassuming stomach, reaching  back behind himself, Jim hastily set the box and test down on the small table there, not caring that they’d fallen off as he touched her the spot just below her navel, “And I love our baby.”

His hand on her arm slid down so their fingers could lace and Y/n hesitantly stepped closer, “I don’t want you to feel pressured to stay with me…..with us because you think it's the right thing, if you don’t want this-”

“I want this,” Jim pressed his forehead to hers, “I promise you, I want this.” Not missing a beat, he caught her lips in a fervent endearment and Y/n readily responded, melting against him. His lips tasted just as she remembered them and when his arms came around Y/n to hold her close, she thought his embrace hadn’t felt safer, she’d always felt protected by him, but that evening it was different, and she swore that she could feel his love enclosing her, keeping their little family in a protective sanctum. 

When his lips vacated hers, favoring the top of her head, Jim questioned quietly, “Do you know how far along you are?” 

“Not yet,” she laid her head on his shoulder, when her palms lied flat on his shoulder blades, she borrowed her face in his neck, silently grateful that he hadn’t worn the same cologne he’d been wearing the week before, “But I made a doctor’s appointment next Tuesday, you should come. If you want to,” she added the final words hastily, not wanting Jim to feel like she was pushing him into something he wasn’t ready for. 

“I want to,” he returned without a moment of hesitation, “I want to be there,” his hands settled at the small of her back as he added his final words with a doting kiss, “For everything. I’m in this with you, even if you have to do the hard part,” he teased with a chuckle. 

Y/n laughed softly, moving to hug him tighter. She wasn’t ready to let him go yet, far less let him leave. It had been a little over two weeks since they'd been that close and after all that time spent on her own, she was desperate to just be with him in the most unadulterated of ways. “Do you wanna stay?” She pulled away, offering Jim her biggest doe eyed stare. 

Pressing his lips to her hair once more, Jim hummed, “I’d love nothing better.” 

*****

Tagging- @pearlstiare

[cardentist]

I haven’t been in the star trek fandom for very long (I’ve only just started binging the series in the last couple months), so it’s been pretty surprising to find out just how negative the perception of the reboot movies are.

this isn’t coming from the perspective of someone who grew up with the series, so it hit different for me than it might for people with a different relationship to TOS, but I thought it was genuinely clever and Respectful with how it was handled.

To quote leonard nimoy: “Well the alternative timeline gives them license to escape from canon concerns. I can’t see people saying ‘they shouldn’t do that because…’ or ‘that doesn’t tie in to such and such’ because it is a different time and place. Am I right about that?” [Link]

the entire Premise is that the original series happened as it was presented in TOS, but an event late in Spock’s life caused the creation of a parallel universe in which everyone’s lives were significantly altered through two key changes to the timeline. this gives them the freedom to Both revel in fanservice And explore different facets of the characters and their relationships. 

the destruction of vulcan Vastly impacts the characters and the plot moving forward, and its a detail that a lot of people take issue with. but the emotional impact of sarek admitting Directly to spock that there is value in his humanity, that his feelings Aren’t wrong, that sarek married amanda because he Loved her cannot be understated. you can read all of these things into sarek as he was in the original series, but he Never had an open conversation about these things with spock. this creates a Believable and Rewarding change in their relationship, where we get to see a different facet of them Because of the changes made. and that’s exactly the appeal. showing us pieces of these characters that we never got in TOS that are nevertheless undeniably Them.

everyone is Different yes, but they’re also fundamentally the same people at their core and that matters.

kirk’s personality obviously takes the biggest change, with him experiencing trauma at a young age, losing his father, and having an implied abusive father figure after that point. he has a harsher personality in reaction to harsher conditions, he’s spikier and harder to love. but he’s also still fundamentally a Good person whose willing to risk everything to help people. he still has what made kirk prime a good captain and a good friend.

I’m not gonna say that it’s the most nuanced story in the world, but it explores a version of kirk that was born from even Less fortunate circumstances than kirk prime, exploring a kirk brimming with potential who learned to bite back after he was kicked down. exploring those themes of trauma and loss, of insecurity and growth, and coming to the conclusion that Fundamentally He Is Capable Of Good isn’t a Bad thing. you don’t have to like it, but his growth into a better person is The Point. they deepened his flaws (all of which were present in a less exaggerated form in TOS) To Show That Growth.

and then of course there’s his relationship with spock.

people are totally justified in not liking that they had a rough start to their relationship, I usually don’t like to see that kind of thing in reboots or hollywood adaptations either, but the way people talk about it is just unfair.

Yes kirk and spock and bones have a very strong relationship in TOS, they also already know each other by the time the show starts. to look at them having to learn to get to know and trust each other when they first meet and say that it’s Bad because they were already full on ride or die for each other in the og series is silly. TOS kirk and spock had to meet and fall in love with each other too, it didn’t just happen over night kings.

secondly, the entire point of the first movie is that Even With reality itself being altered to pull them apart they are fundamentally compatible people that are Bound to each other. they meet each other on bad terms because of circumstances outside of their control, and yet they’re still pulled into each other’s orbit and find the other slotting into place next to them as if they always belonged. one of the first things that spock prime says in the movie is “I am and always will be your friend,” spock and jim are Meant for each other and the movie goes out of its way to explain that. which is what makes it so Weird to see people complaining about how they don’t like each other.

it’s a Different relationship, but it’s absolutely no less steeped in yearning or queer subtext. 

speaking of queer subtext ! some people are Very unhappy with spock’s relationship with uhura.

first thing I wanna say is that making the argument that they’re doing anything that the original series hasn’t done is just, completely untrue. kirk has fallen in love with more girls in the og series than he knew what to do with, leonard nimoy was a heartthrob in his time (and he deserves it, awooga) and spock reflects that ! Spock usually turns the women who come onto him down (or when he doesn’t it’s because a plant has literally altered his mind), but there are exceptions to even that. all of three of the main boys have plenty of romance subplots, it happens. if that takes the possibility of them being queer off the table for you (which it shouldn’t, m-spec people exist) then I’m sorry to say that TOS is not exempt.

now, I can understand why Specifically This Relationship could rub people the wrong way or being disappointed that they didn’t outright depict kirk and spock as having a relationship (if not in the first movie then in the following ones after they’ve gotten to know each other), but even in that context the way I’ve seen people talk about it comes off as insensitive.

no, the relationship did not come out of nowhere. they considered having spock and uhura date each other in the original show (and you can see signs of this in the earlier episodes, where uhura very obviously flirts with him and they spend time together in their down time) before they decided against it, and spock was originally going to kiss uhura until shatner insisted that he wanted to do it (because it was the first interracial kiss on tv). [Link 1, Link 2, Link 3]

nichelle nichols was asked about this exact thing (spock and uhura’s relationship in the movie), you can read the interview in full here [Link] but I’d like to highlight this paragraph in particular:

“Now, go back to my participation in Star Trek as Uhura and Leonard (Nimoy) as Spock. There was always a connection between Uhura and Spock. It was the early 60’s, so you couldn’t do what you can do now, but if you will remember, Uhura related to Spock. When she saw the captain lost in space out there in her mirror, it was Spock who consoled her when she went screaming out of her room. When Spock needed an expert to help save the ship, you remember that Uhura put something together and related back to him the famous words, “I don’t know if I can do this. I’m afraid.” And Uhura was the only one who could do a spoof on Spock. Remember the song (in “Charlie X”)? Those were the hints, as far as I’m concerned.”

the film makers looked at the fact there were Hints for uhura and spock, that they were Interested in exploring an interracial couple for the first time (both before and immediately after interracial couples won the right to legally get married) but Couldn’t because of the circumstances of the times and decided to Make that depiction. you don’t have to Like their relationship just because of that fact, but it’s Incredibly reductive to play down it’s significance as just a No Homo cop out. explicitly queer relationships are not the only progressive or culturally important relationships in fiction.

moreover, if you can’t imagine polyamory in the communist utopian future that’s on you.

moreover, this perception that this was a soulless cash grab is just, unfounded.

leonard nimoy returned to the role as spock for the first time in 16 years (since 1991) and this was Entirely because of the respect they had for nimoy, spock as a character, and the franchise as a whole. 

Lets look at some quotes from nimoy in interviews regarding the film:

Leonard Nimoy: When I first read the script (...) I immediately contacted J.J. and said “I think it is terrific…I think you guys have done a wonderful job. There is still work to be done, but it is very clear that you and your writers know what you are doing and you know how to do this movie and know what it should be about….and I am very interested.” Then as time went by we worked things out with Paramount, but the most important things were J.J. and the script. (...) I am very pleased about that and I am very comfortable with where this is going. I think the writers have done a terrific job. They have a real sense of the characters and the heart of Star Trek and what it is really all about.

(...)

TrekMovie.com: Now in the case of the new movie you have been retired from acting for years. What was it about this one that made you want to act again and go through the make up again? What was it that made you say ‘I really want to do this?’

Leonard Nimoy: You are right, this is a special situation. First it is Star Trek and so I have to pay attention. I owe that to Star Trek. Second place is that it is J.J. Abrams who I think very highly of, he is a very talented guy. Then came the script and it was very clear that I could make a contribution here. The Spock character that I am playing, the original Spock character, is essential and important to the script. So on the basis of those three elements it was easy to make the decision. So those three things: Star Trek, J.J. Abrams, and an interesting Spock role.

[Link]

Praising the cast playing younger versions of characters from the original 1960s TV series, he [Leonard Nimoy] said: “Let me take the opportunity to say this. Everybody at this table [the cast] are very, very talented and intelligent people.”

“They found their own way to bring that talent and intelligence to this movie, and I think it shows. (...)  When Karl Urban introduced himself as Leonard McCoy and shook hands with Chris Pine, I burst into tears. That performance of his is so moving, so touching and so powerful as Doctor McCoy, that I think D. Kelley would be smiling, and maybe in tears as well.”

“The makers of this film reawakened the passion in me that I had when we made the original film and series. I was put back in touch with what I cared about and liked about Star Trek, and why I enjoyed being involved with Star Trek. So, it was an easy way to come on home.”

“[In this Star Trek] they said things and showed me things, and demonstrated the sensibility that I felt very comfortable with, and I think that shows in the movie. I like it.”

[Link 1, Link 2]

again, you don’t have to like it just because leonard nimoy did, you don’t have to Agree. but the idea that nobody working on the film Cared is provably false. near everyone working on the project was already a fan of the series or were excited to be involved and did their homework. it’s genuinely a Miracle just how much of a labor of love this was, and in my opinion you can feel that through the movie itself. I’d highly recommend looking into interviews and behind the scenes details about the movies. they had a respect not just for the source material, but for leonard nimoy as a person.

there’s definitely more I Could say about this, but it’s 4 am now so I’m gonna shelve it jklfdsa

that said! it’s Fine to not like the movie, not everything is going to be suited to everyone’s taste, but the specific criticisms I’ve seen feel very off base

[extasiswings]

One more day...

Taylor’s in the middle of reviewing the notes for her next segment when her phone rings. She barely spares a glance to the screen before picking up, distracted as she says—

“Hey, Buck. Can I call—”

“Taylor.”

The rest of the sentence dies on her tongue at his tone. She’s never heard Buck sound like that, never even imagined that he could—his voice is raw, wrecked, like he’s been slashed open and no longer has the energy to hold the wound closed so he’s just bleeding out.

Taylor knows Buck. She knows that he’s not the kind of aggressive, posturing alpha male that some people might assume from just a look—he’s sweet and gentle and sensitive—but this is still on another level from anything she’s experienced. It scares her, sends a shiver down her spine as she pushes her chair back from her desk, abandoning the notes.

“What’s wrong?” She asks.

“Eddie—” Buck’s voice cracks. “There was a—fuck—a fucking sniper. Eddie got shot. I saw him—We’re at Good Samaritan.”

Taylor grabs her purse on autopilot, making sure she has her wallet and keys.

“Are you okay? Is he okay?”

“I—I hit my head, but I’m fine,” Buck replies. “Eddie—he’s in surgery, I don’t—they took him away, I don’t know anything else.”

“What do you need?” Taylor asks. Buck’s breathing picks up on the other end of the line, ragged and too fast.

“Buck,” she snaps to get his attention before gentling her tone. “Breathe. Slow, deep breaths, okay? Now—what do you need?”

“I need him to be okay,” Buck replies, voice cracking again. “I can’t—”

Taylor’s heart clenches in her chest.

This is why she turned away when he tried to kiss her during the treasure hunt. Why she firmly placed him in the space of “just friends” when he tried again after. It’s written all over his face, in every line of his body, laced through his words now on the phone—

She wonders if he’s realized yet how much he’s in love with his best friend.

“The doctors are going to do the best they can,” she says quietly. “But what do you need that I can do?”

Buck exhales shakily. “Um—a shirt. I need a clean shirt. There’s so much blood—”

“Okay,” Taylor agrees. She has one in her car, from a night she got drunk at his place and didn’t want to sleep on the couch in a tight dress. Easy enough. “Okay. Does anyone else know yet? Have you called your team? His family?”

“No. No, I—I couldn’t. I think Captain Mehta was going to, but I don’t know if he has yet,” Buck says before sucking in a sharp breath. “Fuck. Christopher. I have to—he shouldn’t hear it from—”

“We’ll figure it out,” she interrupts before he can spiral again. “We’ll figure it out, Buck. Just sit tight and breathe. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Thank you,” he chokes out. Her heart pangs again.

“You don’t have to thank me for anything,” she replies. “It’s what friends do, right?”

Taylor hangs up a minute later and leaves her office. Before she walks out, she knocks on the next door over.

“Sasha, I need you to take my next segment,” she says. The junior reporter looks up from her own desk in surprise, doing a double-take at whatever look is on her face.

“Jesus, who died?”

“No one. Yet,” Taylor replies. She clears her throat. “Look, it’s an emergency, okay? I’m leaving for the rest of the day, can you do it or not?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course, just—what’s going on?”

Taylor glances over her shoulder and bites her cheek. She steps into the office and shuts the door.

“A member of the LAFD was shot by a sniper a little less than an hour ago. He’s in surgery in critical condition. Shots were also fired at an LAFD captain but missed. Another firefighter was on the scene out of uniform and wasn’t targeted.”

Sasha’s eyes widen as she reaches for a notepad.

“A sniper? Do we know—”

“That’s all I know,” Taylor interrupts. “And it’s embargoed for two hours or until the LAFD releases a statement. If I see it on our network before that, you’re going to be out of a job faster than you can say breaking news—got it?”

The other reporter sits back in her chair, eyes narrowing.

“Is that hold coming from Jim, or—?”

“It’s coming from me.”

“It’s a story,” Sasha argues. “A good one. If we can report it now—”

“It’s not just a story. It’s a person,” Taylor replies. “A person with a family and friends and coworkers—people who love him—who deserve to have a chance to find out before it’s plastered across the news. So you’re going to wait. Or I’ll have you fired. Is that clear enough?”

She waits for a nod before turning to open the door again.

“You know, you’ve changed,” Sasha says to her back. “A year ago you wouldn’t have hesitated. You would have reported this yourself the second you got the tip, family and friends be damned.”

Taylor pauses with her hand on the door handle and looks back over her shoulder.

“Yeah, well. The world turned upside down a year ago. We’re all a little different now.”

She leaves it at that and heads to the garage, pulling the bag with Buck’s shirt out of her trunk to toss it in the front seat before she slides into it the driver’s seat of her car.

On my way, she texts. Fifteen minutes.

She shoots off a text to her editor as well, saying only that there’s an emergency. And then she turns the key in the ignition and forgets about work entirely.

Some things are more important.

[awakefor48hours]

Talking about ROTT

Since I can’t just keep talking to my sibling about it, I’m just gonna say what I felt about this movie. So I’m going over the things I liked first, then I’m going over the things I didn’t like.

The Good

Since TOA is REALLY good with writing, my expectations were through the roof and it actually started off REALLY good. Claire opening a portal to the subway that she mentions is going 55mph shows that not are the writers considering real life physics but also to show just how strong Claire has gotten with her shadow magic (you have no idea how many times I said “yeah, you girlboss gatekeep gaslight”). The fight was so beautiful to watch, I LOVED it, and it raised my expectations for the rest of the movie. 

The use of an anti magic generator was also very interesting and shows just how good Krel has gotten with developing technology and I’m so proud of him for that. 

Douxie (who needs a break) switching bodies with Nari isn’t something I’ve seen a lot of people talk about but it was really cool to see. Douxie has gotten so much better with his magic and was willing to sacrifice himself for the world (because that’s what heroes do)

Strickler and Barbra are getting married, good for them. I’m surprised that I’m actually VERY happy for them considering how much I don’t like their romantic relationship (I just feel like they’d be better off as friends) but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m happy for them.

“For the good of all” no longer “for the glory of Merlin.”

Jlaire continuing to be a happy and healthy het couple. 

Strickler sacrificing himself for Jim was great, it shows just how much he really does care about the Lakes. Also, I love when stories have characters that will sacrifice their lives to help everyone else save the day only for their death to mean nothing. The reason why I like it is because it shows the ugly side of war and how it isn’t as glamorous as movies make it out to be.

Nomura’s death was brutal but also shows just how much she’s changed. She used to loathe Jim and everyone else but in the end she gave everything to try and stop Nari.

An eldritch god and alien mech fight? YES PLEASE! (I even said during that fight “do you livestream or pray when this happens.”) 

CLAIRE, CLAIRE, CLAIRE, CLAIRE

That fight between Nari and Skrael. Yes, yes.

The final battle *chef’s kiss* yes, you go Jim. You go on and malewife, mansplain, and manipulate.

There are so many good things that happened in the movie that it makes me sad to write the next part.

The Bad (I’m very angry so there will be a lot of swearing)

Like most of the fandom, I want to say what the ACTUAL fuck was that ending. No, I need actual answers WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS THAT ENDING.

The Krohnisfere, the WORST thing in this entire series. Jim has been through A LOT and obviously loosing Toby was hard on him but to just erase EVERYTHING, nope, nope, nope. This is even worse than a “it was all a dream” ending, hell, it would’ve been better as a “it was all a dream” twist for so many reasons:

Everything that happened for the past FIVE FUCKING YEARS have been for NOTHING. Every plot twist, mystery, battle, etc have been erased and now have no meaning. Not to mention, Jim is the only person that can come out of this alright. There’s literally no way Jim can stop what’s happening on A-5, so Aja and Krel’s parents WILL be in a status and since Jim was in a different state while 3Below was happening that means he has no way to know how to stop General Morando from stealing Gaylen’s core and therefore has no way to stop Aja and Krel’s parents from sacrificing themselves for the world. There’s no way Jim can stop Merlin from getting killed by Arthur. So in the end, the Tarron kids and Douxie lose their parental figures while Jim gets Toby back. Jim doesn’t really sacrifice or lose anything, he gets everything he wants. 

It undermines the entire purpose of episode 37 (Unbecoming-season 2, episode 11) because the issue is that we SAW what would happen if someone else besides Jim took the amulet. Draal is a very good fighter and has probably been training to be a Trollhunter since Deya (probably even harder when his father was chosen) and even he failed to stop Bular. BULAR. Jim was chosen because he was special and a human which is why I was mad when Jim became troll, it undermines the whole reason why Merlin specifically choosing Jim to be the Trollhunter. So by giving it to Toby, it throws that entire episode in the trash. Merlin chose Jim and Jim specifically.

It doesn’t even matter that Toby is the Trollhunter now because Jim HAS to be the leader no matter what they do. Toby can’t do anything without Jim’s say-so because if anything veers off to the left, it’s over for everyone (tbh, this could be a very cool idea for a bastardization arc for Jim as he keeps getting more and more hungry for control, but that’s not happening).

“The amulet didn’t make me a hero, I already was one” (or I at least I think that’s the quote) just shows that Toby can’t be the Trollhunter. Throughout the entire triology, Toby has accepted his role as a sidekick, he’s never shown interest in being the type of hero that Jim is and has been alright with that. So by forcing him into the hero’s role goes against everything Toby stands for. Hell, AAARRRGGHH!!!’s nickname for him is “wingman”

There’s NO way that my Jim Lake Jr would ever do this. Being the Trollhunter has traumatized Jim and ruined so many parts of his life. If I was Jim, I’d let Toby die his heroic death, being a pawn for Merlin is worse than death anyway.

If they wanted to save Toby, they could’ve just saved him with magic or alien technology bullshit or have him just drive away last minute. Either way, I think killing Toby was the right route. As I mentioned earlier, this would’ve shown more of the ugly side of war and that you can loose anyone at any time. No one has plot armor in real life.

Getting the Krohnisfere was awful too. They got it too easy which is unfortunate because the idea of having to outsmart your enemy instead of just forcefully making your way through is such a scarce thing in action shows. I would honestly pay GOOD MONEY to see this remade and watch how Blinky, Charlemange, Archie, and Claire could think of a way to steal the Krohnisfere from a dude who could see into the future instead of some “Looney Tones bullshit” (my sibling’s words, not mine). In the end, it just felt like it was only there so Archie would be stuck in the trollmarket (which makes no sense). Honestly, I think it would’ve been better if the Krohnisfere was at the bottom of the ocean in like a temple or something or force the gang into combat trials to get it.

Nari. Alright, I’m gonna say it. NARI WAS SO ANNOYING. She couldn’t just TELL Jim “hey, go back like 2/3 months ago and make a better plan.” It would’ve saved us so much trouble. Instead we got “time is like a flower” bullshit that sounds like something that Soren from the Dragon Prince would say when trying to write poetry.

A CANON MPREG. A FUCKING CANON MPREG IN A Y-7 SHOW. It’s disgusting to believe that we have to fight so hard to get just a sliver of gay rep in shows and how hard Nate Stevenson had to work to get Catra and Adora to be able to a gay kiss on screen but a teenage boy kissing his alien girlfriend which resulting in him getting pregnant (without his knowledge or consent might I add) is A-OK. Ever since Steve stopped being a bully the writers have been so bad with him and that makes me sad because Steve is so much fun especially as a CreepSlayer. It just feels like the writers don’t know what to do with him so they took him out of the story in the worst way possible. It had no reason to be there (I think it’s real purpose was just shock value), if they needed to take Steve out of the story, they could’ve had him: spend some time with his family, babysit the kids that Barb and Strickler now have to take care of, send him to therapy to help him get over Lancelot’s death, send him to A-5 to learn about the history/culture because he wants to marry Aja, or HELL send him to college. If kids are going to be confused about anything it’s the fact that a teenage boy got pregnant (once again without his consent/knowledge) because he kissed his alien gf not two people of the same gender kissing. 

(In Red Vs Blue, there IS a mpreg because of an alien and I want to talk about how that differs. Red Vs Blue isn’t a children’s show, the target demographic is for teens-adults and the show has crude humor, it fits in with the show’s established humor VERY well. But TOA’s audience is CHILDREN (literal first graders), the crude humor is usually very cryptic because it’s only there for the adults that are forced to watch the show with their kids can have a laugh. But they outright showed Steve giving birth and it wasn’t even funny, it was so gross. I couldn’t even laugh in shock like I usually do, all I had was a disgusted look on my face.)

To conclude this, I’m going to start gaslighting myself to help forget that the last 10 minutes of the movie and Steve getting pregnant happened. But I really needed to FINALLY just get all my thoughts out there. There were so many good things that happened in the movie but unfortunately, they’ve been outshined by the bad things. Endings are important because not only are they a reward for the audience that have been watching or reading your creation over the years but it also makes-or-breaks any future fans. Therefore because of this, so many potential future fans are never going to watch TOA. 

A year ago, I persistently begged for weeks to get my sibling to just watch the first episode of Trollhunters but now if someone asks me for a recommendation, I’m never going to suggest watching TOA ever again. I’m so mad at this and need to spend A LOT of time on AO3 before I can think properly again. I just needed to get this off of my chest because I can’t keep pulling my sibling away from her life and job or mumble to myself about how angry I am.

[inhonoredglory]

ROTT: hot takes 🔥 (spoilers)

I wrote the following last Thursday, before my fandom life was waylaid by birthday shindigs for my sister and a weekend of migraines and nausea/fainting because of the COVID vaccine. I feel so out of touch w/ fandom but here’s my late but initial thoughts to ROTT if anyone’s interested LOL

––––––

DAMN SON.

DAMN.

I saw Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans last night. Before I launch into the fandom again, I’mma share my unfiltered thoughts.

ThAT oPEnING. HOLY SHIT. It was exhilarating. Seeing all of Tales of Arcadia rush past me in 3 minutes was awesomesauuuuuce.

but guYS GUYS lemme tell you the

✨✨ABSOLUTE✨✨

✨✨✨UTTER✨✨✨

✨✨✨✨✨HIGHLIGHT✨✨✨✨✨

✨✨✨✨✨✨of MY LIFE✨✨✨✨

////oh gODS////

hearing Douxie say in that deep, grave, convicted, voice:

❝ ｂｕｔ　ｔｈｅｙ　ｃａｎ　ｔａｋｅ　ｍｅ ❞

DOUXIE MY SELFLESS WIZARD BEAN. LIGHT OF MY LIFE. I’M DECEASED.

Because it’s scenes like this which convince me they KNOW that Selflessness Is His Thing. And that means so freaking much to me OH MY LORD.

Act 1 of ROTT was an absolute delight, let’s just say.

Men in Black!Krel

Nari!Douxie (i cANNot beLIEve THIs is a THING im in tears)

THE BARBARA/JIM REUNION!!!!!

A FREAKING STRICKLAKE ENGAGEMENT!!!!! Jim/Strickler relationship growth arc 😭😭😭

Y’ALL WE GOT JLAIRE SITTING ON A FLIPPIN’ RED ASS BED. This is the closest we’re gonna get to sex in a kid’s show.

NOT COUNTING OFC THE INSTA-STAJA-FAM CONCEPTION

should I be scared that GDT is reading the totally wack corners of mpreg AO3??!! 👀👀👀dude, like DUDE. that happened.

ELI GLOWUP !!!!! damn son u hot

also aja is such a Queen in this whole thing omg

I obvs can’t go scene by scene through this thing but––

Douxie and Nari in P A I N during the spellbreaking scene. that hurt my soul oh lordy. there must be art made

OK but then after this SHIT GETS VERY REAL. There’s a lot of Character Thematics/Arcs and Real Narrative shit I can get down into and stuff I want to think about because yEAH... wow, this movie Went There. And Back Again. (lOLJSKGSg)

I appreciate the deaths. I really do. But Strickler was a shock. Jim holding onto his mom and crying, overwhelmed with guilt, was the most Jim thing. The boy puts so much agony on himself. It’s his undoing. gAH POOR JIM.

CAN WE MAKE A NOTE THAT JIM’S RIBS WERE BROKEN/HURT throughout this entire thing??? 😭😭😭 HMmm? HMMMM!!! LOOK AT THE ANGST

Claire shadow-porting an eNTiRE TITAN. This girl is OFF THE CHARTS SJGHSBKGJMNFSBG

Nari’s death was emotional. Wow. She was being a Hero. Not running, like she said. That was a Power Growth and beautifully scored. Not to mention archie trapped forever?!!! Nooooo?!!!

They really want to take everything away from Douxie don’t they.

Jim getting Excalibur and leveling up with Akiridian armor was pRETTY SWEET. Especially ✨together✨. And everyone saying the Destiny speech. *tissues*

Act 3 finale babbaaayyyy.

CHILDREN OF THE SUN REDUX OMSKGJSGGMN HELL YEAHHHH

Jim realizing the amulet didn’t make. him a hero, HE DID. And that’s why the amulet chose him.

y’all I sobbed for tobes. that was powerful, painful, and moving. and y’know it was almost like this whole movie was an apology for treating toby like a comedic sidekick––and giving him the trollhunter mantle in the end.

like THEY VALIDATED JIM AND TOBY’s FRIENDSHIP and that cANnNOt be underestimated. Because friendship is almost ALWAYS knocked down the ladder of importance in the pantheon of human relationships, and ROTT said NO. Jim loves Toby so much that he’d change his own history and the history of the ENTIRE WORLD in order to get him back.

like, Jim, our sacrificial Hero. Deciding to truly be Atlas and take all the weight of What Could Have Been on his shoulders, because he cannot stand the losses that happened under his leadership.

this kiss tho. the absolute ANGUISH in the way jim presses himself to her face. gOD. THE PAIN. THE LOVE. THE “I LOVE YOU”

––––

The whole time travel twist tho. I’m kinda... not here for it?? Time travel is tricky to pull off and yeah, I think I’m in the camp that everyone’s character arcs (except Jim’s) have been retconned. It’s sad because people get connected to one another by the shared pains, joy, and experiences that brought them together, and now they’ve lost that.

But thematically and more importantly, why can’t the acceptance of death be validated? Sure, so many people dying was painful, but Let. It. Be. Painful. That’s life. TOA hasn’t shied away from dark things before. Toby and Strickler and Nomura and Nari (even Archie and Charlemagne) gave their lives; Toby became a Hero in the truest sense of the word. Let him do that, let that choice be his. In fact, it says a lot thematically about Jim’s hero complex that he cannot accept other people making heroic choices with tragic consequences. That it’s all on him. But with this ending, they do make it clear Jim’s need to be a hero is a driving obsession, and I appreciate the strength of his conviction on that identity for himself.

But the thing about retconning the anguish is that it’s telling us that bad consequences, tragedy, and loss are unacceptable in life. That just because Jim and his friends need 10 years of therapy, he should try to erase all that pain and give himself and his friends a “normal” life. No. Depression, loss, hurt... these help make us who we are; growth is about accepting them and using that pain to become better people, not invalidating them from our past.

*grumbles*

let’s be real tho: that ending was meta. it was like they were telling us fans that now WE can go create the Trollhunters we wanted to see, and fix all the things we thought went wrong. I think someone’s been reading a bunch of Trollhunter AU fics, no?

tl;dr ROTT creates more questions than it does answers and we need another show LMAO