#I don't really dislike any of the seasons tbh they all have something going for them. but 5/6/2 is my holy trinity

[anniemal2004]

last post is exactly why I love buffy s6. love to see my no 1 girl broken and depressed and deeply disconnected from her closest friends and the world at large. I eat that shit up every time

[nachosncheezies]

In defense of late-canon x files (including the revivals)

I was thinking about this poll after I commented on it, and I kinda want to be brave and say more.

Short answer to the poll's question before I go any further: If you're a new fan and a sensitive sort who thinks you'll struggle with your blorbos Really Going Through It and you really need a happy ending, I suggest you stop at the end of season 8. Do not pass go, do not look at spoilers. Disregard this post entirely, close the internet, and go look at something that makes you happy. (Also fuck every part of society that characterizes sensitivity as inherently weak and bad and some kind of personal failing, you are valid.)

That said, "quality" as a concept is entirely subjective, and the question of whether or not there's a decline in quality for any story is wholly subjective, too. In the case of x files? I'm not convinced there is a decline. I am going to be upfront that I haven't yet watched past season 8, though I am almost completely spoiled on events after that - and the reason I haven't watched yet is not because of how I know events are going to unfold, but simply because I don't want it to end!!! Ohh, the tension between "I CAN'T WAIT!!!" and "Nooo don't be over D:"

When I first came to txf fandom on tumblr and gradually became spoiled about what happens in late canon though, I was often left uncomfortable and tbh kinda queasy about it. As I said in my comment on the poll, the hate for especially the revival and IWTB, or to a lesser extent even seasons 8 & 9, is very well documented. But! There are other takes to be found here on tumblr if you figure out where to look, and my feelings have changed!

The thing is, I have yet to find myself in any fandom where there isn't a vocal subset of fans who dislike the story after a certain point. I am not joking when I say that no one hates the things they love as passionately as sci-fi and fantasy fans. In my experience, it often hinges on the extent to which a viewer has strong notions on where they would like the characters to end up. In particular with series where shipping is a dominant component for the bulk of a fandom, I have almost universally found that there comes some turning point in the story where "let them be happy you cowards" is the dominant view, and things that compromise the attainment of a degree of romantic stability and/or domesticity are, to many fans, annoying at best and despicable at worst. But! As one tagset on the linked poll said:

and I think for any fandom, that last tag especially is so so so important. (I think that's harder for people watching a weekly series live, bc you have so much time to analyze and speculate and dream before the next breadcrumb drops, but I digress.)

So why am I saying this and how do I apply it to x files? Well, I eventually found that there are also a subset of fans who find redeeming things right up to the very end and actually quite like the whole thing! The things that I had seen people rage and ventpost so much about honestly never quite sounded to me as "out of character" or "untrue to the story" etc as those same ventposts made them sound. And I've discovered I'm not the only one who felt that way. Do I love that the spooky squad had to go through all of those things? No, those poor guys D: Life is hard and they have been through so much trauma. But do those events and their choices make sense to me in light of everything that came before? Yes! And I honestly can't wait to see them fight to overcome those things, breaking, healing, always learning, always growing, always getting better.

So if you're wondering "where does it go wrong"... well, I'm a completionist, as many people who've answered that post are, but also my personal opinion is that I don't think it does go wrong. If you're new and interested in exploring why I've gone from "vaguely queasy" to "excited" about the whole thing, or want to maybe balance out the impressions you're getting about the later seasons before deciding whether or not you want to see the whole thing, I'll put a few blog names in the comments.

Final admission: even once I started feeling a little more confident in the possibility that "actually ok maybe I'm not crazy, maybe this all kind of is in character and does make sense", there was one big plot point that I was NOT looking forward to and I thought I would never be comfortable about. In hindsight, I think my discomfort came from the negative responses being SO seemingly universal that I hadn't stopped to let myself truly consider other possible interpretations on that point. (I mean my initial instinct when I first read about it was, why are we mad about this?? CSM is literally the most unreliable narrator in history???? it's obviously fake news?????? this must be either a fever dream someone's having or it's a misdirection ploy against whatever shadowy forces might still be lurking?????????????? but for whatever reason I guess I had halfway written that off.) Happily, just last month there's a new post-s11 novel out, and although reviews for the book as a whole are mixed, it seems to have laid the groundwork for resolving that plot issue in a way I think most fans would be broadly happy with. If you're interested in being spoiled about that and seeing how, I recommend searching #perihelion on @agent-troi who liveblogged reading it with receipts, scroll back chronological-style to the first post on the subject and see how it unfolded. (And never forget that Dana Katherine Scully is the queen of denial as a coping mechanism lol)

Everyone's mileage will vary. Each person can feel however they want! But for anyone new, I wanted you to know that the very many ventposts you might be seeing are not all there is to this show or its fandom. Some of us love it despite - or even because of - all the things that went "wrong". I think we just don't talk about it as much.

[sea-buns]

hey to a gorgug liker what do you think about his nightmare section from sophomore year? cause I feel like the horror there is less “ah my grandparents were racist” and more “fuck am I being a stereotype? are the people who hate me right about me?” cause wrt to his having to modulate between barbarian and artificer in fhjy it’s like. idk

oh boy do I have thoughts

Tbh, I had zero recollection of the racism stuff until reading this. It was just SO MINOR. His trial in the forest felt really lackluster to me. I feel like everyone else's really dug into an issue at the core of their character and his felt more like "everyone is getting a trial, what do we do for gorgug?" And idk if that was just a bad delivery/call on Brennan's part or if it could have been helped by Zac engaging more in it but it just. Didn't feel like anything. It was a lot more about the dice than the horror of the claustrophobia and the bugs and you've never fit in anywhere you live to make yourself smaller wherever you go you're just the loser who hits hard. Like yeah I guess there was an overarching theme of Gorgug gaining confidence in himself but it was done very poorly imo.

And I think his trial in the forest was wrong for putting such an emphasis on his intelligence. I think that would have been much better suited in fy, back when he was still being heavily bullied, but beyond that it felt like a quick and easy thing for them to grab. Yes, he had insecurities about his intelligence with all the complications with Zelda. But, to me, the focus of fhsy was his HEART. It put a spotlight on how his social circle has grown, and his bully is his friend now, and he's not alone anymore. His interactions with Ayda, the friendship book, trying to help Fabian, I believe in you spring break, it's Gorgug keep going. I made a post earlier in the season (including a great addition by another user) that I think articulates that emphasis on his emotional intelligence very well.

Fhjy HOWEVER. I think it's doing everything that sy failed at. It's giving him space to have an inner conflict. It's addressing lots of little issues and conflicts he's had over the campaign and combining them into one coherent piece. Like, guy was in a relationship pretty much all of fy, and then dealt with the fallout in sy, but I don't think we've EVER seen as much quality relationship development with Gorgug as we have in jy. He and Fig spent an entire summer together trapped in a tour bus and no season has indicated that bond and friendship more than this one. He and Riz have found something to bond over, meanwhile in previous seasons there was pretty much zero one-on-one personal interaction between them. Fabian expressed sadness over Gorgug leaving the Owlbears, because it was the only thing they had that was just for them to hang out and be friends.

Just with that, we're already doing leagues more with Gorgug's character than we ever have. And I haven't even STARTED on his barbificier journey, oh dear god lmao.

Gonna preface this bit with a post I made before the season even started. It was about Zac's steady improvement in his performances with every PC, and how I was predicting that it was gonna culminate into a Gorgug that does him the justice he deserves. It was initially supposed to be a criticism, but I got a little lost in the sauce of loving my boy lol. Still very relevant to the topic of this ask!

God, where do I START?? Addressing his relationship with rage? I'll be honest, I didn't think that would ever be used as a character arc. And I'm not even sure why I've felt that way. I just didn't think... I didn't think about how he might've had a dislike for his own rage. Like, the WAY he rages isn't bad by any means, but I don't think it ever crossed my mind how actually harmful his lessons to sing to combat rage were. No, I did not like the way Porter went about teaching him (a bit too unsupportive of his capabilities and reminiscent of shitty teachers for my liking). But his point about EMBRACING anger; that rage is not bad and does not— should not— need to be stifled. THAAAAT. That opened up such an interesting dialogue for Gorgug.

I do appreciate the beginnings of Gorgug's interest in artificing in fhsy. I think the crumbs of it back then did a great job of leading into his larger commitment to multiclassing. And I think what he's been doing with it this season is exactly what was lacking in his section of the nightmare forest. His trial was a puzzle, based entirely on die rolls, where his solution after failing even when he's assisted by the enemy is to essentially give up. I understand that facing their fears was the whole point of the trials, but his section came off as incredibly anticlimactic and unfulfilling. Just the fact that it was a trial based on stat numbers more than the development of the character itself.

Where junior year succeeds in actually showcasing his intelligence and the evolution of the worth he holds in himself is with the hands-on approach it takes. Yes, the academic rolls are still dice and stats, but there's a physical manifestation that wasn't there before. Gorgug is smart when it comes to getting his hands dirty. It is in the practical applications of his skills that his brand of intelligence shines the most.

And while, once again, I did not LIKE Porter's heavy resistance to multiclassing....I have to admit that I don't think Gorgug would have had such a boost in confidence without that struggle. Even if my boy had trouble expressing it to Porter verbally, HE STOOD UP FOR HIMSELF. Instead of simply rolling over and agreeing that he wasn't built for a technical class and it was stupid to try– he was DEFIANT.

The kid who said "I'm a dumbass. Eat me you stupid bug." took on FOUR CLASSES. Three school years worth of artificer simultaneously. AND stayed with the Owlbears. AND went along on party missions to help Kristen's candidacy. AND was always on deck to help the party with the overarching plotline.

AND HE ACED IT!!! THE FIRST BARBIFICER THAT THE AGUEFORT ADVENTURING ACADEMY HAS EVER SEEN!!!!! He is paving the way for every unprecedented multiclass that follows.

Just in comparison to who he was in the previous season, the amount of drive and self-worth he's gained is astounding. In my eyes, it's done more than enough to makeup for the way his development fell flat in sophomore year.

i hope this fulfilled the ask in the way you were hoping! i told you i'd get carried away lmao. writing a bunch about any of zac's characters is always such a joy. gorgug had always been my favorite of the bad kids but i always found myself wishing he went deeper, y'know? and now it's real. my precious anxious boy has been handled so well. and watching zac's growth as a performer has been such a blast.

thanks for the ask! :D

[itsclydebitches]

Did I just saw with my own two eyes an episode, where Ted’s mother shows up and acts in this very disinterested “I am not interested in you and your achievements whatsoever, you are not even the main attraction of this trip and I’m going to tell you that in this indirect passive-aggressive way, but at the same time I AM here because I am displeased with you, now guess what’s wrong while I tell lies about you to your friends and colleagues. The lies that are kind of nice but also lies and it makes you feel uncomfortable and I do not care”.

And then Ted goes back to Kansas where he can’t have his career, his friends, but he will be in contact with Michelle (who dates their couple therapist, and that is something that makes Ted very uncomfortable) and mom???? Like? And Henry never asked him to return and in fact is not suffering at all. Henry is shown to be fine. He never has meltdowns when he leaves London, he doesn’t express any hurt feelings towards Ted. They seem to just have an unconventional arrangement and Henry misses Ted, but doesn’t feel neglected. It also seems like his mom just believes that Ted should be home with his son, an unassuming father who doesn’t have public panic attacks and causes her embarrassment??? Because the way she showed him the clippings from the papers?? Boy! I don’t know how else to interpret that tbh

Ted has just achieved one of the best moments in his career and his mom actively and purposefully poisoned that moment for him, this whole thing is being contrasted to Jamie’s mom, I just don’t believe that Ted is going to stay in Kansas. That can’t be.

Also I feel like the tedependance tinfoil hat is not a tinfoil hat at all because actually! Ted having suppressed a huge part about himself (bisexuality), and not being able to live his life because of his roots works really well here.

It's precisely readings like this that make me hope a permanent Kansas ending can't be possible and likewise believe that if that is our ending... Ted Lasso will have failed in a pretty significant way. Even just a few episodes ago I was fully on team, "I 100% don't want Ted to return to Kansas, but if he does I accept that this was an ending long in the making and just because I personally dislike it doesn't make it bad." Now though? They've introduced so much lately -- and emphasized so much else from past seasons, like Ted's rocky relationship with Michelle/Jake -- that I just can't read Kansas as a positive ending for Ted anymore. It's not just me and my preferences anymore, I don't think that ending fits the show, period. Is, in fact, a betrayal of everything Ted Lasso has argued for.

Ted's mom was a big part of that feeling this episode, as you've nicely laid out, anon. It's no coincidence that in an episode titled "Mom City," Ted's story with his mother does not run parallel to Jamie's (unfailingly supportive, knows him better than he knows himself, Jamie comes to her when he's ready, an act of agency that Dottie doesn't allow Ted), but rather closer to Jamie's dad. Which I don't mean as a way to say, "She's abusive!" but rather the more nuanced take that we end the episode on: You can forgive someone while still acknowledging that they've hurt you so badly. Ted, normally so polite with his "Oh boy"s and "Darn"s and "Shucks"s really says it all with a string of direct, angry, "Fuck you"s. That level of anger and disappointment will not be magically fixed with one dinner. By continually introducing Kansas-aligned characters that make Ted uncomfortable at best, uncharacteristically angry at worst, it HEAVILY sells the idea that the space itself is no longer healthy for him. He can slowly rebuild those relationships -- and arguably should -- but that's not the same thing as throwing himself back into their mix. Allowing Ted to stay in London with visits from his family is akin to Jamie remaining removed from his dad, but sending him a text on his own terms.

As for Henry, yeah. I've been arguing for ages that Henry does not act like someone who feels abandoned and the few arguments I've seen fans bring up aren't very persuasive to me. Basically, framing every normal child struggle as a result of Ted's distance. Henry being a short-term bully is not automatically some cry for attention tethered to an absent dad -- there's no evidence for that, especially when Henry uses Ted's own teachings to realize his mistake and apologize -- and him being sad with Beard is because he's finally seeing his dad and Ted is ignoring him. I'd be sad too if I hadn't seen someone in a while and they were spiraling instead of hanging with me. That doesn't mean I need them to drastically change their life to accommodate me in new ways. Henry as a character needs to be allowed to make mistakes without that automatically reflecting badly on what Ted has chosen for his own happiness and mental health. Anyway, yeah, Henry has consistently been shown to likewise be happy, well-adjusted, and fully engaged with Ted through visits/over Zoom, so this claim that Henry needs his dad in this way doesn't jive with three seasons of Henry flourishing through Ted's parenting this other way.

All of which means that, frankly, I think we should take Dottie's "Your son misses you" with a serious grain of salt. That's a damn broad statement because of COURSE Henry misses Ted and vice versa, but that basic reality of missing people in life when you're separated from them doesn't mean he misses him in the way that I think Dottie is implying: he's hurting to an extent that you need to fix in this specific way (moving back home). Beyond everything you've listed about how Dottie makes Ted uncomfortable, I think it's significant that she has Very Traditional Ideas about how this family should function. She couches it in a lot of humor and starts to demonstrate a bit more open-mindedness at the end of the episode, but we're still left with:

Telling all Ted's friends that he's done Amazing, Unique, Super Cool Things That are Objectively Impressive. To be clear, I found her interactions with the team as funny and surface-wholesome as we were supposed to, but I do think there was this underlying implication that Dottie is not as satisfied with Ted's choices as Ted himself is, so she 'accidentally' makes up stories that make him seem 'better' than he actually is. This is compounded by what you've pointed out, about how she only gives a cursory congratulations for this MONUMENTAL achievement. Compare that to Jamie's mom absolutely loosing her shit in support of him.

She brings the 'gift' of the clippings -- Ted should be GRATEFUL for this. Only a terrible son would be upset by a mother keeping track of his accomplishments! -- which not only include the headlines about the panic attacks, but she's situated them front and center, ensuring they're the first thing Ted sees. Combine that with her 'concerned' question about whether he's still getting panic attacks and you have this strong implication that Ted Is Bad For Showing Weakness. Men don't do that. The Lassos don't do that. They bury things in positivity, even the suicide of a father/husband. The fact that Ted immediately lies and says the panic attacks are gone says it all. He knows trying to explain this to her is a lost cause.

Speaking of mental health, are you really seeing that therapist? Oh, well, good for you, I guess. Me? No, no, no, I would never see one. I'm going to be suspicious of it to the point of implying that it's a flaw to need one. This is the one point where I cut Dottie a lot of slack because Ted himself went through the same arc of needing to accept the benefits of therapy, but we're nevertheless seeing where he (in part) got that biased perspective from.

There are a lot of throwaway lines that paint Dottie as a Good Traditional Mother, very much in contrast to Ted Lasso's queer, open-minded, gender roles-bending world. She continually reminds him that she is NOT having sex, it's those Australians. Why-ever would an older woman be having loud, enthusiastic sex? (Compare that to Rebecca nearly getting it on with the boat guy, a celebration of romance and sexuality for older women.) Dottie can't take the bed. That's not the polite thing to do. She needs to be coaxed into accepting even the simplest of care while, simultaneously, expecting Ted to offer it despite the inconvenience. (If I bring up the awful hostel I've been staying in you'll offer to let me crash here instead, right?). That's one of the big differences between Ted and his mother: Ted has a lot of trouble accepting help, but honestly doesn't expect anything in return for the intense kindness he doles out to others. In contrast, Dottie has trouble admitting that she's accepting help, she pretends to do the nice thing while waiting for someone to insist strongly enough that she do what she's wanted to do from the get-go, then she's off the hook because, well, they basically made her. Will Dottie go to a football game like Henry and Higgins and Rebecca and Keeley and Bex and all the other emotionally open characters, screaming for her son in the midst of chaotic action? Oh no. No, no, no, that's not for her. She'll just stay home and do the Proper Thing of making a home-cooked dinner for her little boy... while making him feel guilty about that by sending texts about how now she kinda does wish she was at the game. The conclusion to their moment of honesty and growth is Ted (a man, the child in the relationship) serving her (the woman, the mother) for once, which I think highlights how much of the Good Traditional Kansas Woman mask Dottie has learned to maintain.

All of which is to say that we've been introduced to a loving but incredibly flawed mother who puts a LOT of stock in old-school values and appearances. There's no way that this all doesn't extend to her views on Henry, her grandson. Right now, Dottie is not someone who can fully embrace Ted's nontraditional style of life (divorced, in therapy, taking some risks like drinking not-actually-drugged tea) or parenting (long-distance, "It takes a village"). She doesn't outright reject Ted's choices, but she does spend the entire episode being passive-aggressive, even manipulative at times, to make it very clear that she does not approve of all this. When she says, "Your son misses you" it reads as a very biased view of the situation, driven by the idea that no child could possibly be happy without that nuclear family living their white-picket fence life in the good old US-of-A. Ted needs to move back to Kansas not because of Henry, but because that's what Good Fathers Do. I don't think Dottie should be seen as a reliable source here for what Henry actually wants or needs. She certainly hasn't been a reliable source for Ted.

Which -- as said numerous times -- paints Kansas in an incredibly negative light. We haven't actually seen Ted in Kansas on the show, so our understanding of his relationship with that place is filtered through the people living there. Michelle, Jake, and Dottie are all emotional landmines that Ted still needs a lot of time to diffuse and Henry is written as perfectly content with their arrangement. If Ted permanently goes back to Kansas I'm really gonna be ????????????????????????????????? about it.

[ca-suffit]

I generally *don't* dislike devils minion as a ship. I like it even...But sometimes I think about blocking it even though there is good content i like to see on it.

But the tag is filled with people who hate loumand, people who try to put shippers down. I don't see that much hate even from loustat fans.

One of the things I repeatedly see that gets on my nerves is the "armand pays more attention to daniel in dubai then he does to louis" take.

I understand they probably will happen in following seasons. But to think that armand was secretly in love with daniel the whole time in dubai is such a weird take to me. Do you think it has any base or is it just the fans trying to push their own narrative? Am I crazy to think that armand looked like he was completely in love with louis in dubai, despite their problems, and didn't really care about daniel outside of louis?

I get that they will get together in the future and i will support them and nod along when that happens. But they clearly didn't happen in season 2. There was just too much resentment on both sides and they both clearly cared more about louis. Am i crazy to think that?

I think first of all that ppl should relax trying to attack each other over which ships they like or not. it's pointless and everyone is with everyone else eventually so there's no reason to be going at each other about any of it. this was way less intense before the show aired bcuz everyone was white. now it's insane bcuz there's a lot of racist motivations fueling the protection or rejection of these ships. we can all just breathe (this is a general statement, not rly aimed at u).

secondly tho. I think the show has made a lot of things intentionally ambiguous. I can't say one way or another what armand is thinking bcuz the way he looks at daniel at times could read either way. he *is* focused on daniel in one sense bcuz daniel is *the enemy.* once armand was no longer rashid, he could more directly confront daniel and he did (not like being rashid stopped him fully anyway but lol). but there's times he's uncharacteristically gentler on daniel than louis is, like during the engagement mind-reading fuckery. I think it's meant to read as both, if u have awareness of DM. I don't think it's meant to be THERE there rn but a detail to notice and think is kind of fun (hard for this fandom to do tho, ik lol).

idk when DM is meant to take place in this universe, but I think there's something to be said about viewing all of them after 2x5. armand has remembered that entire thing the whole time and yet they're back here again. he'd otherwise erased both of their memories so neither one remembered the "fascinating" segment and he prbly figured the risk of louis thinking that again after so much time and in a different mindset was v low. but louis is still talking to the man he said was more fascinating as a stranger than armand had been for decades. and they're talking about lestat again. "ur going to teach me how to be fascinating" is prbly still in there somewhere. armand is always watching both of them bcuz he still wants to know what this means and why it happened.

it kind of mirrors jonah in S1. even tho louis doesn't explicitly tell lestat not to touch him, we learn that he lived to old age too. it makes claudia's death even worse but anyway I'm getting kind of OT.

but he definitely is v invested in louis too and is putting a lot into making the relationship look good. some of my fav parts are from some of those scenes tbh, when he's just smiling and recounting memories with louis in front of daniel. or even when he runs out as rashid to stop louis from attacking daniel again over claudia's diaries in S1, which now has more context knowing their history and louis' desire to not have harm come to daniel.

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

How would you rank each season and why? What did you like and dislike about them?(Including wildbrain if you want to)

ooooooooooh okaaaaaaaay fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine

*cracks knuckles* Just remember you asked for this

Buckle up bastards and bitches, we're tearing this shit apart!!! Going from worst to best so we can end on good taste!!! *loads my opinions into a bazooka like Lloyd with an Ice Cannon*

Rebooted- *drags hands down face* ....I really don't actually hate NS3, but as I mentioned on another post, a lot of things this season tried to pull off (read: practically everything) at least one other season did better. And I know it's not really this season's fault that it's such a mess, since it was whipped up in a whirlwind of unexpected serendipity, and it had less time to explore its ideas, but when people only truly remember and constantly bring up the worst parts about it, rather than few (if not far inbetween) good things that it brought to the table? Or people consistently straight up forget other things about it (primary shoutouts to Techno!Wu and the ninja going to literal space???) Yeah, probably not a great season overall.

Pros: Fun aesthetic, wasn't afraid to try new things, attempted to expand and build on previously introduced ideas, did well with the emotions and aftermath generated by Zane's sacrifice, Pixal, killer music, X-1 Ninja Charger, Sensei Garmadon, had the agenda of getting people back into Ninjago after it supposedly hit its grand finale and did succeed in that if nothing else Cons: Absolutely breakneck pacing to the point that its hard to recall what happens where, when, and even why, you could literally take out like 3-4 of the episodes (half the season!!!) and very little would be ultimately impacted, poor execution of: the established character arcs, dynamics, and motivations within the season (with exception of Garmadon); the attempts at further world building; and the ultimate impact of the antagonists (...people rave about Cryptor but he doesn't even really do anything!! And why did they need to bring the Overlord back at ALL—if this was really something of a Zane-centric season, Cryptor would've already been the perfect foil for him!! AND WHY PYTHOR. I AIN'T ACTUALLY MAD ABOUT THAT TBH BUT WHY THEN)

Hands of Time- This season's biggest issue is that it's...boring. Technically doesn't even do anything wrong, but even when trying to follow a mystery as big as what the heck happened to Nya and Kai's parents, or watching Lloyd begin to come into his own as a future master, or exploring the downfall of two ex-Elemental Masters who turned to evil...it comes off so...stilted and stale. Literally an episode is called 'The Attack'. The whole show is full of attacks, this gives me nothing!!! (But, to be fair, most of the other ep titles this season are pretty kickass). It's like NS6 in the way that a bunch of things happen (and not even nearly as incoherently) but 85% of it doesn't have any lasting or satisfying pay off, and most of it doesn't really mesh in a natural way either. A lot of it feels very contrived, with events happening just for the sake of it happening, and that probably contributes to why it's not quite as compelling as other seasons, despite absolutely having the foundation to be.

Pros: Has an interesting way of drawing parallels between several characters, added a good chunk of lore that generated fresh interest, Kai and Nya Sibling duo, introduced villains with unique motivations and complex history with the main character (directly or indirectly), Jay got that cool bike moment, getting to meet Ray and Maya, actually mention of Skylor being a "bad guy" previously and exploring some of her insight of that, previous EM info + flashbacks, Cons: ...executes a lot of the best things about it in such bland and unsatisfying ways, and could have been much tighter with tying its events all together–would've helped the ending (whether it was a "cliffhanger" or not) feel a lot more deserved and less....empty.

(Also not a real con for the season itself and its literally just a nitpick but I hate those outfits. How are they simultaneously overly-detailed yet so monotone??? There's no pleasing contrast nor a place for the eye to comfortably rest! How are my eyes to last beholding a season with THAT fashion?? This is literally the only time where the gi are a distraction to me because they're...clunky, in a way? But...y'know, given that impression, I suppose they do fit the season to a t, then— *bricked*)

March of the Oni- This season is like a collections of puzzle pieces for a good finale season...but, someone lost a few pieces from the box. Or a lot of them. Isolated, there's a lot of good bits that could've really thrived in a normal season format...but, once again, the limited number of episodes strangled the potential out of its own plotline, SO. Plus, it feels extra weak following off the heels of Hunted's already high stakes, and with these stakes supposed to be even higher, it just doesn't quite hit in the way it's supposed to. That being said, there's a lot of fun and/or intense character dynamics and moments interspersed throughout, and the ending was so cozy and bittersweet but lovely that I can't be too upset with it. It stuck the landing it wanted to, and I can respect that!

Pros: Very strong character moments, (mostly) well-placed use of nostalgia, beautiful music, and overall a suitable little wrap up to "Masters of Spinjitzu" Cons: Not enough room/time to let some plot points breathe (a problem common to a few other seasons as well), and the antagonists could have done more, especially given their previous build up.

The Island- I don't even really count it as a season but it's going here. It was just...okay. Not actually all that bad, but not out-of-this-world great either. Laid the foundation for lore expansion for Seabound which is appreciated, utilized the characters well (EXCEPT RONIN WHAT THE FUCK NO), and again, I can respect it for what it was trying to do. Just didn't do anything that really stuck with me in a mind-blowingly positive way.

Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu- Kiiiiinda wish this season was strictly about "Forbidden Spinjitzu and it's secrets", rather than the "Forbidden Spinjitzu" leading to...assorted shenanigans. Could've made for a good Wu season, honestly. Also kinda wish they'd taken the concepts for the Fire and Ice Chapters and made them into more focused stories on Kai and Zane (especially if they were going to go on and do or attempt that exact thing for Jay, Cole, Nya, and Lloyd properly). Wishing aside, while there was a bit of a lull getting things started, the excitement did pick up soon enough. This season did eventually introduce some fun twists, (mostly) enjoyable character dynamics, and having a little lighter of an adventure until it wasn't after MotO was a refreshing change of pace.

Pros: Lots of individual moments to dig into and get invested in, a nice expansion on the lore of Wu's past + other realms beyond Ninjago, Cons: A little hard to initially get into, and can be even harder to keep wanting to push through and watch to the end. Both the Fire and Ice Chapter have points where they feel a bit "aimless" in their middle portions of their acts, and the season as a whole simultaneously feels like it's longer than it needed to be + didn't always use the time it had efficiently.

Legacy of the Green Ninja- Fellas as I've been finishing up my planning for Legacy!S2, I have to confess this Season isn't quite the masterpiece we remember it as snksnksnksnk. There's literally 2-3 episodes that are ENTIRELY pointless, and none of them are even the """"filler"""" ones. It felt like it was trying to be a wacky shenanigan-of-the-week thing and a "dramatic world-ending thriller adventure" at the same time in both halves of the season, and that didn't always pan out in its favor, giving this season a bit of a lost/confused identity—especially one that so explicitly implicates Lloyd as being important, and yet most of the episodes are spent following the escapades of the Core Four still (which is not inherently a bad thing, but WHERE'S THE SO-CALLED LEGACY?!?! WHERE'S THE GREEN NINJA?!) ........anywho, negativity-fueled-by-recency-bias aside, even its short-comings still make for a highly enjoyable watch and rewatch, which isn't something that can be easily said for the previously mentioned seasons. And, there is still a LOT of funny, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and downright epic moments! But, not always immediately memorable ones.

(but also like please you have to UNDERSTAND there's literally a scene during the final battle where Wu, Misako, and Julien are on the ultra dragon and one of em's like "WE HAVE TO HELP" and, i swear i timed this this is legitimately accurate, TWO SECONDS LATER they make like two wing flaps going nowhere and Wu or Misako's like "THIS AS FAR AS WE GO" LIKE WHAAAAAAT?!?!?!!?! HELP LMAO)

Pros: Easy to get into, easy to keep watching, god-level music, and the simple ass humor still makes me laugh like a lunatic all these years later ("O'GRANDMA???" "I can make a little extra if I do the human piñata." "BEQUEATH! BEQUEATH!" *wordlessly using Zane as a battering ram* *the entire absurdity of Wrong Place, Wrong Time* *Dareth's existence*) Cons: The inconsistency of its overall direction still gives me whiplash all these years later, and I wish it had better embraced a singular identity, as that probably would've helped immensely both with character focus and the at times odd pacing of the plot.

Prime Empire- Finally, some good food! Similar to SotFS, this season took a while to kickstart and find its groove and keep it, but by the end it was sooooo much off-the-walls fun that it's hard to actually hate it. Lots of missed opportunities to expand on Jay's character though, especially when those Prime Empire shorts primarily focused on Jay released alongside the season would've been GREAT to see in actual episodes, and probably could've been what tipped it higher onto this list. While what we did get towards the end was super cool, it would've have MUCH more impact if it had better prior buildup. But, this season is incredibly solid in ways that may not be immediately obvious, though does still a bit to be desires at times too.

Pros: Fun and glorious setting for adventure, some very potent and very memorable character moments, SUPERSTAR ROCKIN' JAY, and a very strong finish that still gets me buzzed when it think about it. Cons: Slow start, many missed opportunities, left me wanting just a bit more (in the not-good way) despite the satisfying finish.

Crystalized- *folds hands in front of face* I probably should put this lower than Prime Empire overall quality-wise, but idk man, Crystalized scratched a lot of my personal itches...and also sent me banging my head into a wall, so. While I genuinely, honestly did enjoy my time with this season (I laughed, I cried, I "what the fuck"ed), there's the other half of my mind that just couldn't stop questioning sooooooo many decisions for the direction of the main characters, and constantly doing so did take me out of it way, way too often. For something that was going to serve as (another) big, grand send off...this one may have stuck the landing better than Hands of Time, but. IDK. Something still felt off at the end of everything.

Pros: (Mostly) incredible fight scenes, and action moments, we got to see perspectives of certain character dynamics that hadn't been explored before or not as often, there really is a lot of cool shit in here, loved the return of so many old faces, honestly very enjoyable if you're able to turn your brain off just a bit Cons: WHAT THE HELL DID THEY DO TO NYA, WHY ARE Y'ALL SLEEPING SO HARD ON THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO FINALLY GIVE LLOYD SOME REAL ACTUAL DEVELOPMENT THAT MADE SENSE, IF YOU WERE REALLY PLANNING ON "REDEEMING" HARUMI WHY DIDN'T YOU PACE IT OUT BETTER, WHY ARE THE CORE FOUR NEAR USELESS, DID WE REALLY HAVE TO SPEND A FOURTH OF THE SEASON IN A PRISON WAS THERE NO BETTER WAY TO GET OLD VILLAINS INVOLVED OR FOR RUMI TO INTIMIDATE LLOYD FROM THE SHADOWS, WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE NEW NINJA, THERE'S SOOOO MUCH MISSED STUFF SURROUNDING NYA'S SACRIFICE/RETURN, AND WHY DID THEY SCRAP SO MANY ACTUALLY NEAT IDEAS FOR THISSSSSSS *dies*

Hunted- Gonna be honest, it's been a hot second since I've watched NS9 because everyone being in such distress stresses ME out just thinking about it (I'm apparently the people Jay was worried about lmao) and I haven't quite brought myself to subject myself to it again. However, I do remember it being an incredible watch and every episode bringing something epic to the table, and honestly I just see it as a sequel or a part 2 to SoG. Good music, strong character beats, satisfying in pacing all the way through; a great and surprisingly introspective season, just got outshined a bit by some of the pure spectacle and overall enjoyment of other seasons.

Not gonna give Pros/Cons here because I genuinely don't remember specifics—not because any of it was "Forgettable"; I literally just technically only watched it once snksnksnk. I know it's mostly nothing but good stuff with maybe a few snags here or there, but a superbly solid season.

Sons of Garmadon- Ah yes, one of two fan favorites. And a favorite of mine as well! Just...well, it's not really a Season I ever have the urge to go back to often, which is something the following seasons to come are about to have in common. It's got a rock solid plot, delicious twists, always kept me on the edge of my seat, had a lot fascinating locations and new lore...all wrapped up in a gripping entertaining time to be had. Though, it's kind of a season where you watch it once, are completely satisfied with, and then maybe only come back to it if and when you're rewatching the whole series (at least for me—that being said, I've watched season 8 waaay more than I've watch season 9 snksnk).

Pros: Well-thoughtout plot, fully compelling antagonists, another shout out to the music, dared to take some risks as the show entered a new era, and for once everyone felt like they were contributing as a single group, which was nice to see until they weren't Cons: As stated, already a very solid season; it's just a few scenes that probably could've used some polish for extra impact in hindsight.

Way of the Ninja- Well, if I'm including the Island, might as well include the Pilots! It's only above Hunted/SOG here because *I* happen to like it more and have rewatched it a great many times haha. Honestly the only cons are that I wished we'd had some little adventures in the Ice Fortress/Floating Ruins, and that the ninja themselves had more of a presence in the ultimate confrontation with Garmadon. Otherwise the Pilots did an absolutely fantastic job of laying the groundwork for the show to come, and using witchcraft to hook many of us into adoring these characters with insane chemistry from the get-go with nothing but the bare minimum. Nothing but love and respect for my pilots! <3

Skybound- Only reason this is higher than the previous three on this list is because *I* personally enjoyed it more, that's all. For overall quality and consistency, Hunted, Pilots, and SoG clear it easily. ANYWAY I LOVE SKYBOUND. It's probably actually my second favorite season these days but I'm already about to be crucified for putting it this high on the list rip. Oh there's plenty of things wrong with this season: out of character moments including but not limited to misogyny, contradictory statements, contradictory actions, saying things they would never say prior to this season; the antagonist has wildly changing motivations almost every episode along with uncomfy tendencies, every episode feels wildly different and/or disconnected from the others, the things are happening all over the place at any given time...it's chaotic, messy, and I LOVE IT. It's a mess but it's my mess and if you dig deep enough there's a lot to love buried in the muck that I, as an individual, feel that makes the season worth it all <3

Pros: PIRATES, everything about Jay, Watching Jaya develop over the course of the season for better or worse, getting some insight into the other characters via the wishes they make, watching Jay get his moments to be the absolute badass and even Nadakhan acknowledging that (just with some horribly misguided but well-meaning intentions of the heart but he's HUMAN), the HUMOR, the Ninja Replacements and Jay getting to show off some leadership FINALLY, Jay whump, Lloyd's pirate impression, Lil Nelson!!!, Jay with an eyepatch, crashing a wedding, Echo Zane!, a commentary on how people perceive us and how we perceive ourselves can lead to great inner and outer conflict, pretty ass animation scenes esp for being in the earlier era, we got the greatest gi to ever grace our unworthy presence despite being folded the wrong way, did I mention Jay— Cons: Literally everything stated previously and probably more I'm sure you already know. But also why did they randomly MAKE DARETH LIKE THAT GOOD LORD WHY this is on par with Ronin in the Island IS2G

Rise of the Snakes- The vintage classic!!! Not ~perfect~ by any means BUT it told a cohesive story while giving everyone (even including Nya!) a little bit of spotlight and some significance and brought it all together so neatly with emotion and FUN that of course it had the power to reshape our childhoods (or teenhoods. Or adulthoods. Or nowhoods). Really its biggest flaw is simply that it was first, thus of course having a little less polish and therefore had to pave the way for better seasons to follow, but it was still a mighty tough act to follow.

Pros: Many establishing moments for the main crew for their adventures to come, antagonists that were funny, threatening, and had some pretty convincing motivations, Lloyd, highly memorable overall, easy to jump back into, gave us the legendary Weekend Whip (unless that was in the credits to the pilots too i don't remember) Cons: A bit dated nowadays, and rough around the edges, but doesn't do anything inherently wrong either. I'd say the pacing is a little quick, but in this season in particular its masked so well that you really only notice if you're looking for it (which I had been)

Master of the Mountain- And now, the truly cream of the crop. NS13 was the thing we've always wanted and always knew we needed and finally the powers that be delivered. I could rave day in and day out about Cole finally getting some much deserved focus, but for as strong and heavy-hitting as his whole arc was, the stories of the other ninja pale a bit in comparison, leaving this season unable to break the top three. Otherwise a masterclass in storytelling. And Cole.

Pros: COLE SEASON, HYPE AF FIGHT SCENES, COLE'S MOMMY, VANIA, THE UPPLY, WU AND COLE DYNAMIC, ZANE THROWING ROCKS AT KAI, THE VOICE DIRECTION (esp Lloyd, Cole, and Kai), THE SUBTLE MYSTERY OF IT ALL, THE MUSIC, THE INTRIGUE, AAAAAAA Cons: NOT ENOUGH COLE, antagonist was a bit bleh (though those fight scenes he had SERVED), could have had a little better utilization of the characters outside of "Cole's crew"

Seabound- MMMMMMM EVERY SINGLE EPISODE HIT SO GOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!! NYA EATING FOR REAL!!! THE GODDAMN INSANE FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY!!!! THE PEAK VILLAIN!!! THE MUSIC! THE EMOTIONS! THE PAPERGIRL! THE BENTHO! THE PILLOW MINT! THE CRUMBLING COOKIE! THE JAY ALMOST DYING FOR HIS FRIENDS! THE NYA BASICALLY DYING FOR HER FRIENDS! THE SILENT I LOVE YOU!!! THE UTTERLY GUTTING WAY IT ENDED AND LEFT ME COMATOSE FOR THREE DAYS!!!!! IT WAS SO BEAUTIFULLLLLLLL WHO GAVE THEM PERMISSION TO POP THIS HARD

Pros: *gestures wildly* Cons: It made me sad

Possession- Here we have the other fan favorite season, the bible for all people Morro-obsessed. Essentially the Seabound of the older era but with significantly less emotional devastation snksnksnk. Top-notch characterization—the Core Four have never been better with their dynamics, humor, and teamwork, it's the first real time Nya (and if we wanna be picky, Cole) get some dedicated introspective time, Lloyd is truly put to a very personal test, Ronin is there, and Morro serves as both a fantastic antagonist and a foil for all those he opposes. Simply isn't the top spot strictly because when I think of my favorite season...this ain't it, though it absolutely deserves to be.

Pros: THE CHARACTERIZATION FOR ALL, AMAZING ANTAGONIST, ALSO BEAUTIFUL ANIMATIONS, HUMOR AND HORRORS IN ONE GO, EXTREMELY REWATCHABLE, MOAR MUSIC, ENDED BITTERSWEET BUT WITH HOPE AND A SICKASS QUOTE Cons: Perhaps a touch overhyped but that's not actually the season's fault nor is it actually a con I just needed to put something here this thing is honestly airtight perfect when it comes to seasons gfgsfddfdhfkls

Tournament of Elements- yes. Yes. YEEEEEEES. To be fair this should be #3 or #4 overall quality wise MMMMMBUT I THINK ITS POTENCY CLEARS THE GAP! Season 4 ran so Season 5 could fly!!!! THE RECIPE FOR A PERFECT STORY, just, perhaps a touch undercooked, BUT THE INTENTIONS WERE FELT AND I VIBE WITH THEM H A R D

Pros: IN A SEASON WHERE THE VILLAIN DIVIDES PEOPLE WE LEARN THAT THERE IS STRENGTH IN KEEPING AND MAINTAINING MANY DIFFERENT KIND OF RELATIONSHIPS EVEN IF IT SEEMS HARD AND IMPOSSIBLE AND IN SPITE OF OUR DIFFERENCES AND EVEN IF WE DO FIND OURSELVES DIVIDED, WE SEE WE ARE STRONGER WHEN WE ARE ABLE TO COME TOGETHER AS ONE. THESE THEMES ARE SUPPORTED BY THE CHARACTERS, MUSIC, PLOT, THE ANIMATION OF THE EXPRESSIONS, AND I THINK THIS IMPORTANT OVERARCHING MESSAGE TRIUMPHS OVER EVERYTHING ELSE AS IT TRULY RESTS AT THE HEART OF NINJAGO AS A WHOLE *mic drop* Cons: Wish it delved just a bit more into the other EMs–what in the world have they all been up to??? Also wish the season ran with the tournament theme throughout the whole season rather than suddenly bouncing around in like the last three or so episodes–that kind of killed its momentum when it needed it the most. But, it still definitely stuck the landing!

[prumanoenjoyer]

Doing this thing because I got blorbos on my mind

A - Current OTPs/OT3s etc.

It may not come as a surprise but I am absolutely rotting on PruMano at all times and have been doing so for basically a year now. It's beginning to melt into my personality and nothing can be done about it. Whenever I'm released from the iron grip of PruMano rotting I enjoy GerIta and FrUk like the normie that I am. The BTT are definitely getting together for threesomes when they're all single and I like them as well.

B - Pairing I initially didn't consider

This might shock you after reading the first bit but. PruMano. See I'm not new to this circus, I first watched Hetalia in 2015 but focused mostly on the Nordic 5 with SuFin and DenNor. This was before PruAus 9/11 (Hima suddenly announcing they're cousins) so I think I was on the PruAus rot.

Other than that I got a friend who I dragged into this hellhole (you know who you are) who has infected me with Frain and TurFra. I have some Thoughts about TurPru but uhh. let's leave that for now.

C - Ships I never liked and never will like

All the ones where there is an unbalanced power dynamic (age gaps, having interacted when one was a child and the other way older etc, former colonies and oppressive states, having a relationship that implies being related etc). I am a seasoned hater of these and I do my best to block anyone who as much as reblogs it. I do not care if it's "just fiction" you guys are weird and not in a good way xoxo

D - Ships I just can't get myself to like

Due to the aforementioned PruMano rot I just don't feel seriously interested in any other pairings I fear. Nothing against PruCan or LietPru for example, I am just so rotted on PruMano that it doesn't make me feel anything lol

E - My crack contributions

I may just be the only person who has even considered TurPru and I have done it in the most unbearable fujoshi way possible </3

Other than that I'm helping out with spreading unrequited GerFra, Frain and TurFra which I do also enjoy on the side.

F - Longest I've been in a fandom

I wanna say this one?? Not actively so, I jumped ship to other things such as Love Live and JJBA in early 2019ish (Love Live even earlier in 2017), but even during my longer breaks from Hetalia I've always ended up rewatching it at some point or posting about it.

G - First OTP

For Hetalia it's definitely been GerIta from day one. Do I even need to say anything? To me they're canon.

H - Favorite way of consuming fandom stuff

It's mostly anime series and TV shows I'd say, I do sometimes read but am a bit too busy to properly sit down and do so.

I - Has Tumblr made me dislike fandoms

I think it would take less time to list the fandoms Tumblr HASN'T made me dislike tbh. I try to keep a tight knit circle for my own sanity and rarely interact with the fandom part of stuff apart from my own and my friend's contributions. Highly recommended btw.

J - Fandoms I didn't notice until Tumblr

To be honest I'm not really browsing Tumblr at all. I like to upload here because the image quality is way better than on Instagram. I suppose I highly associate some fandoms with this site (Undertale for example)?

K - Say something nice about someone

You should all go like and subscribe to fruktual on Instagram for more FrUk and Frainposting

L - Say something nice about a mid character

Lithuania I'm sure you are way more interesting than I give you credit for and I care about you the most out of the Baltic Trio (which I honestly forget exists at times)

M - Something nice about a ship I don't like

I'd honestly rather pull a tooth out than say a single word of praise for things such as UsUk or Spamano 🤢🤢🤢🤢 And that's on periodt!

N - Things I wish to see more of in the fandom

More PruMano please please please please please pl

O - Song that reminds me of a ship

Til There Was You by The Beatles makes me think of GerIta, as well as Kingdom Come by Red Velvet

As for PruMano it would be Tales Of Great Ulysses by Cream because I had that on repeat writing my Ancient Rome PruMano AU lol

P - New AU

I'm working on/will be working on a Frankenstein PruMano AU where Gilbert is a much more empathic Victor Frankenstein and Lovino is too traumatized from dying and being resurrected to be out killing people. Look forward to that...

Q - Ship I've abandoned and why

PruAus because Hima came in with a warhammer and bludgeoned it to the cousinzone R.I.P </3

R - Pairing I think no one else ships

Again with TurPru, I seriously wonder whether it's been considered at all. Most likely not.

S - Personal headcanon

Okay more or less true I guess if you bother to read the source material but Gilbert is just a silly loser guy. Like, he's a total himbo. I love him and need to gnaw on him.

T - Headcanons I'll die defending

That Gilbert and Lovino who share a passion for chivalry and knights would definitely go visit museums and LARPing events such as medieval weeks and whatnot. Just warms my cold little heart <3

U - 5 faves from 5 different fandoms

Oh boy. Forgive me for what I'm about to share.

(Hetalia) Gilbert Beilschmidt

(JJBA) Dio Brando

(Madoka) Kyouko Sakura

(Love Live) Yoshiko Tsushima

(Gakkou Gurashi or School Live) Kurumi Ebisuzawa

V - 3 OTPs from different fandoms

(Hetalia) PruMano (shocker, I know)

(Madoka) HomuMado

(Love Live) YohaRiko

W - 5 ships ft 5 kinks for said ship

So obviously gonna skip over the ones featuring minors.

PruMano - Verbal degradation, sadism, masochism, somewhat fear aspect, leaving marks

I do also just think they love each other and have normal sex and that's fine too, but I did write a fanfic where the abovementioned happens

X - My top 5 babygirls

1. Gilbert, I bully him a lot but don't you ever seriously say something mean about him because I will be so sad </3

2. Lovino, he's a flawed man and some of you are MEAN to him for having it rough

3. Rome, some people who haven't read source material claim there's some favoritism going on, he does visit Lovino as well okay? The allegations are canonically false!

4. Ludwig, I think most of us agree he's a good person but for the rare few who claim he's "verbally abusive". Go outside and touch grass no he isn't. GerIta has always been them antagonizing one another, the battlefield is even or perhaps even in Feliciano's favor. Ludwig will never be able to escape the nightmare and I don't think Feli wants him to. They're bound together forever and love it.

5. Roderich, gets slack for various Chibitalia related things, does not deserve it at all, it's all whining and he and Feli are on good terms in modern times. Relax.

Y - Fandoms in-law

My current close friends are into Baldurs Gate 3, Watch Dogs, Dishonored, Evillous Chronicles (Vocaloid), Utena and more. But these are the primary blorbo shows in-law.

Z - Rambling time

Okay if you've gotten this far down I admire your attention span lol thanks. I don't really have all that much to say that is concrete and comprehensible but I am thinking of PruMano and of warm days by the Mediterranean Sea and skies later lit in vivid shades of red and orange as the hot sun sets and the cities come to life. I am also thinking about them cuddling, which I do quite a lot.

Anyway that was all for me bye

[moonshinemusings]

i really enjoy your headcanons! Can you pleeeaaassee do it for my baby boy Alex :,) i love the ones with Alex. Love youu!!!

Thank you, I'm really glad you like them! Here are some more of my thoughts about Alex :)

---

General Alex Keller headcanons (Pt.1)

Warnings: slight mentions of canon typical violence

A/N: there are so many mentions of food in this?? I'm sorry, I just have some very specific thoughts about him lol

• I'm a firm believer this man runs hot like a furnace no matter the season. In the summer he should be suffering, but somehow he's used to the heat

• Dog person. When people say dogs look like their owners they are talking about him. He probably owns a beige labrador or a golden retriever

• He's good with most animals, but bigger ones like cows or horses kinda intimidate him. Only at first though, when he gets to spend some time with them he really enjoys their presence

• The only animals he really dislikes are birds. No specific reason, he just does

• He's somewhat an artistic soul; he likes to write song lyrics (although he can't really sing), design new tattoos for himself, try to scribble poems

• Alex loves specifically the pink cotton candy. As a kid he used to eat them often and they are still a comfort food of his

• Despite that, he likes salty and savory things over sweets

• An exception is vanilla pudding because he could eat it for the rest of his life. His second favorite is the caramel flavour

• He also looks like the average honey-mustard chicken enjoyer. With pasta. You know what, I think he LOVES any kinds of pasta

• He's also a fruit lover, his favorites are tangerines and strawberries. He totally eats his apple slices with peanut butter too

• Loves pizza even when he knows it's stereotypical. His mother used to make really good home made ones when he was younger and he never really grew out of the "I can eat a whole pizza in one sitting" phase

• Also, when he's drunk he always craves pizza, no matter where they are or how much he had to drink

• Speaking of, he can hold his tequila but weak to beer. Shots do almost nothing to him, but a few beers and he's down

• When he's drunk and gets together with Gaz and/or Soap, everyone is going to suffer from their volume and pranks. The amount of bullshit that can come out of their mouths those times is honestly impressive

• Still, he's king of respecting women tbh. If there is someone who's going to be polite and won't cross any boundaries even when in a pub shitfaced, it's him

• Alex is one of the worst when it comes to gossip because he wants to know all the tea. It's hilarious when he tells something he just heard to Farah and she already knows

• He's naturally easy-going and laidback, most know him for his friendliness as a close second to his abilities

• He's really good with kids. Alex is like the fun cousin you only meet at family gatherings, but those times he teaches you some tricks and tells the best stories you will forever remember

• He has one specific sniper rifle that he has gotten from his father at a young age. It can't usually be with him on missions because he has an assigned weapon, but when he can he takes the chance to use it on the field

• His favourite colors are green and red

• Most of his tattoos don't hold any deep meaning, only a few represent something/remind him of something/someone

• The codename Echo 3-1 is really close to his heart for some reason, if he could he'd keep it forever

• He's not a big fan of coffee, but still drinks it for the caffeine and out of habit

• He has occassional nightmares and night terrors (which soldier doesn't), but they are not as frequent as they used to be when he was younger

• Opposite of what others may believe, his hair takes like 5 minutes to style in the morning. Sometimes he puts some gel on it when it has already started to grow a little longer, but otherwise he just ruffles it and let's it do what it wants

• Some has told him before that he'd be a great leader, but Alex always denied it. He doesn't feel like he's cut out for that kind of responsibility

• He often bickers with Price, but only outside of missions. He's a pro at knowing when to take something seriously or joke about and that makes him really efficient in the field

• Alex often puts others before him, which almost cost him his life a few instances before. He doesn't think it would have been in vain though

• He loves to spend time in the nature, going on hikes, camping or hanging around the beach all day. Doesn't matter as long as he's outside

• As a kid, he tried to play football but hated it

• He used to be really good at math, but somehow as he got older he just gradually became worse

• In school he was the best at geography, communications and for a while math (as mentioned)

• He doesn't per se have a problem with flying, but would much rather travel through cars or other vehicles on the ground. They are much more comfortable, even if he likes being high up (hence his sniper position)

• When he was a kid, he didn't think about joining the army, although his father was a marine. He thought he was going to get a scholarship somewhere with his sport abilities or just land a decent place at a regular university. Turns out life had different plans, but he didn't regret it one bit

• He's totally the type to use emojis like 💀 and🧍🏻‍♀️ or the crying one when he laughs at something

• He's great at household chores and keeping the place running

• Alex can't exactly cook, but he can adjust just a few ingredients in a boxed food mix. It always turns out heavenly and no one can tell he didn't make all of it

• Deals well with horror movies but doesn't really like them

• Okay this last one if really specific and random at the same time, but he 100% eats the little chocolate roll things out of this wafer mix and no one can convince me otherwise

[thoseyoulove]

@probablynottola thank you for tagging me! I love this games and also love Ted Lasso! I almost used it here, but thought the answers would be too repetitive so went with something different hehe.

Rules: Choose any three fandoms (in random order) and answer the questions, then tag 10 people you want to know better

@black-market-wd4o, @voiddusk, @kaokhss, @ellavrena, @jaypentaghast, @andy4yippee, @unhinged-nonsense, @gayboymolloy, @hearfrost, @waterghoulcalamity

P.S. As I edited this on my drafts, some of the blogs I'd successfully tagged got unmarked and I don't know why? So I'm keeping it anyway in case it does show up on the notifications or people see it on their dash and want to play. No pressure tho. ^^ x

I choose:

Interview With the Vampire.

Stranger Things.

Shadow and Bone (going with the books because I'm not caught up on the show, but I did love season 1!).

The first character you loved:

Lestat, but things shifted pretty quickly to Louis, Claudia, Armand, Louis again and so on... But I guess he was the first because I wish I had his confidence.

El.

Alina.

The character you relate to most:

I relate to a lot of things with all of them, the least would be Daniel, but I still have one or two things in common with him. It's hard to say, but I think Claudia is a safe choice. She's definitely one of them and could definitely be the very first.

Will.

It depends, but Alina or Genya.

The character you'd slap:

ALL OF THEM except Claudia.

Lonnie. Would happily kill him with my bare hands.

The Darkling. Would happily give him the slowest, loneliest and most painful death in the world tbh.

Three favorite characters in order of preference:

Like I said, at this point it really depends on the episode. Sometimes I don't know who to choose even on one scene with just two people. Things are that balanced for me, which is a testimony of how mind-blowing the acting and writing are on this show. It's so satisfying to not be able to choose because all the options are amazing, I hope that never changes.

Will, El, Mike.

Alina = Mal, Genya.

A character you liked at first but don't like anymore:

Santiago. I hate him as a person, love him as a character, cheered when he died and applaud Ben Daniels for his amazing work. All reactions can and do coexist in me.

The only one I can think about is One? I mean, he is supposed to be the character you root against because of spoilery reasons, but I did like him at first. And I did see that plot twist coming from miles away. And it was still one of my favorite scenes from all time anyway because it was that powerful to see. Emmy material. And while I root against him, I still love him as a character. Wow. Such an upgrade in that category of specific type of characters. I love it.

I don't think there's one? Now that I'm thinking about it, I believe this story actually didn't have any traitors or characters that frustrated me? I started and finished the books loving/hating the same people, the only ones that I changed my opinion about grew on me after their development, never the other way around. Unless I'm forgetting something.

A character you did not like at first but now do:

Armand. It was more of a neutral opinion than dislike or hate. There wasn't much to know about him on season 1, but now... I'm obsessed. Assad is a wonderful actor, he stole the scene several times and gave me some of my favorite moments in the history of television.

Steve. I think the writers didn't know what to do with him at first, so he behaved in bad ways that really don't make sense with the person he turned out to be. It wasn't even like "wow, what a great character development", because he has absolute no signs of that guy anymore. It just feels like a totally different character at this point, but in a good way. He's my favorite among the teenage characters.

Zoya.

Three OTPs:

So I don't have OTPs that easily, it depends a lot on the writing, chemistry and the characters having a good amount of screen time for a pairing to get on OTP level for me. But here we go:

OTP

SHIP that has potential to become otp depending on future development

Ship I like and I root for, but some things are still missing for me OR there's probably not enough time left for it to become a full otp at this point

LOUSTAT? Okay, these two I'm not sure if they are a ship or straight-up OTP to me, I'm still figuring it out, but they're my favorite so far. Also, the church scene and the hug are my top 3 of favorite scenes on the show and some of my favorite on anything I've ever watched. I think Loustat will go down in history not only as one of the biggest pairings on TV shows, but also as the only one that fully explored all the depths of a relationship and even the depths of existence for the characters as individuals. The good, the bad, the ugly, the complicated. There's nothing else out there with that caliber of writing, chemistry, details and layers. At least not so far. And I'm in for it. ARMANDIEL, I need more time, but I'm invested. I haven't read the books, but everything I hear about Devil Minion sounds so compelling. And that scene with young Daniel is the other scene from my IWTV top 3. It's one of my favorite scenes ever as well. The chemistry was out-of-this-world and I hope they develop their dynamic on both timelines. LESMAND, I need more and I'm incredibly invested too. Everything about them on the books just sounds so insane. That scene they had alone, the chemistry was fantastic and so hypnotizing... They could be as explosive as Loustat, but in a totally different way if the writers want. I'll probably still root for the endgame ships, because that's what they'll spend more time with anyway, but I could accept any, each and everything they give me because the chemistry between all the duos is that incredible. Even Loumand, that sank pretty fast in the narrative, I loved their flirty and courtship phase so much. I'd also accept a large polyamorous ship if they gave me, but we know those vampires would kill each other and themselves because they can't really share lol. But I'm just enjoying the ride and having a great time.

BYLER, Jancy, Elmax.

MALINA, Genya x David, Nadia x Tamar (tbh that's the only other ship I remember/think that exists on the books and I'm neutral, but Nadia is AWESOME and I love her).

[captain-hen]

re your complaints/critiques on 911 said in an anon response:

I 100% agree!! On the finale, I love everything about the first 30 minutes! the bridge collapse is everything, i could go on about that for hours, even the birth on the couch, i thought that was a funny twist in the couch theory. I love everyone else's storylines (bathena honeymoon, henren's newest foster daughter, madney wedding planning) I could like eddie with marisol if it ends with him growing and them not together, but buck's ending was so infuriating! like you said it felt like he was going in circles which can be true to real life, doesn't always make for good television. The biggest thing im worried about it it being nearly exactly like bucktaylor, especially if they last a season. I don't care if its a slowburn but like you said, theres slowburn and setting up something with no payoff over and over

anyways, Im surprised they didn't circle back to jo and mallory (molly maybe?). they usually circle back to the injuries of the week to get the like conclusion so (and i didn't realize until after) to not circle back to them felt weird. Do you think we'll get them in the next season?

OH also i thought it was so interesting that we almost / could've gotten the lees for this ep! tbh i thought it would be a scene where chim is in the hospital with maddie (if this wouldn't be a scene were maddie and chim jump the gun andd marry) and they reaffirm that chim is a psuedo son to them this leads to my other question: did you think we would've gotten a madney wedding like in the S2 finale for Bathena and would you have wanted that?

anyways, I thought this ep did the platonic relationships really well (buck and hen, buck and chim, hen and chim, and buck and bobby) and did literally every other storyline well except for buck's ending

i realize like as i finished that this was kinda neg so if you don't want to respond to any of this dw I understand adsf

i enjoyed everything related to the emergency! i thought it was done very well, while i wanted it to be more high-stakes i get why they couldn't end what they thought might be their last episode on a cliffhanger or something. the 'pay it forward' thing really worked so well, not just with the civilians and jeff but i also clocked it with ravi and buck (someone also pointed out that the 118's degree of injuries was based on how much experience they've had on the job, which is why ravi didn't face any danger at all, and i thought that was an interesting theme!). i enjoyed how they wrapped up the other characters and i love that bathena got their cruise.

my major problem is the way buck's storyline was resolved, while the sperm donor thing was wrapped up very well; i'm unhappy and tired of him going in circles with natalia yet again. i also dislike the implication that him ending the season being single would mean it's an 'unhappy' ending for him—aside from all the obvious issues with that statement, buck literally started out this season by trying to be comfortable in being single and figuring out life by himself. it would have been the PERFECT conclusion to his arc. i love buck, i really do, but i'm not interested in sitting through who knows how many more episodes of him trying to learn this lesson again, i'm just not.

the thing with eddie and marisol was actually cute and it went more or less how i expected tbh. the way she was re-introduced left very little doubt that eddie would date her again. (given the lack of set-up, tho, i wouldn't be surprised if they opened up s7 with the relationship having fizzled out during the time-gap).

when i saw the synopsis mentioning the lees, i thought they might appear in a montage of sorts with chim recovering and i'm disappointed we didn't get to see that, especially with the stuff with chim's dad. (side note: 911 really needs to do better on the chimney front. i'm gonna need a season 7 that treats him like his own person for the entirety of it, not just maddie's partner. 6B has given us some of that, but i need more).

i'm actually glad they didn't rush the madney wedding. the bathena wedding being the way it was kinda made sense given the circumstances of how they got together in the first place, and how their relationship progressed from there. madney on the other hand—they've always taken things slow, they've been cautious and thoughtful while taking each step, largely because of their own past and baggage. what worked for bathena wouldn't really work for them, especially considering maddie's trauma surrounding marriage, i'm really glad they didn't rush this.

[pengychan]

I read some takes that Gabriel and the other archangels were deliberately cruel to Aziraphale through his existence. Thoughts?

Nah, I don't think they were deliberately going out of their way to be cruel. I don't think they were deliberately going out of their way to make him uncomfortable, either. I don't even think they even disliked him prior to the entire Armageddon't business, really.

Tbh the vibe I got from Gabriel in particular in S1 (as well as the Job scenes in S2) when it came to Aziraphale was that yeah, he was very dismissive and came across as a jerk, but it was mostly due to the fact he did not understand Aziraphale, nor he ever tried to... much like he never understood humanity.

In the deleted S1 scene, Gabriel was supposed to tell Aziraphale that he had been promoted back to Heaven and expected him to be happy about it. They were taking him home! Surely he wanted to come home? Look, we got you a medal! Aren't you happy? : D

This is not the attitude of someone who wants to be a jerk to his underling - it's someone who just really is an idiot does not understand why said underling would be anything but overjoyed by what he's offering, the same way he did not understand why Job wouldn't be happy to have new kids to replace the old ones.

This doesn't mean the interactions Aziraphale had with him and other archangels were not making him feel awfully isolated, unimportant, and ultimately lonely - they did. Heaven as a whole was a shitty and damaging environment, but that's the point: Haven as an institution is the problem, and it's not just a matter of a few higher-ups being jerks.

(And yeah, how quickly and viciously they turned on Aziraphale once they knew he was working against Armageddon is horrifying, but it's clear they would have turned against any other angel in the same way - they did not have something against Aziraphale specifically. They were on a Mission and anyone standing in their way had to be taken out; in Season 2, this extended to Gabriel. Heaven operates in a way that's not all that different from a cult, tbh. Not a single one of them was innocent in that system, but also not a single one of them was safe from it either. And turning against the cult comes at a steep cost.)

[spaceorphan18]

I saw someone in the Glee tag say that Glee fans don't like S4 because all the characters are separated (ship-wise & location-wise), the storylines are ridiculous, and the music selections aren't good or memorable. They also said they don't like S4 because Dantana was an insult to Brittana fans and the ship doesn't even make sense. This person also mentioned that they believe S3 is one of the most stable seasons with less annoying drama than the others. I only bring this up because I know you have asked about why fans like S3 and dislike later seasons, so I thought this might give you an insight into how some fans view it. Personally, I don't agree with any of that, but I often see things very differently than the majority of fandom.

So, out of curiosity, I went into the glee tag and, you guys, like, it's been kicked around that I'm well known and stuff but -- there are posts in that tag with hundreds to thousands of notes on them. I sometimes get maybe five. I appreciate those of you who are here, but I have never had a post go viral and probably never will.

Also, 95% of it was Brittana related. Ah, times have changed.

Anyway... not the point, Nonny this is such interesting feedback! Thank you for sharing and, is it wrong that I'm kind of laughing?

Glee fans don't like S4 because all the characters are separated (ship-wise & location-wise), the storylines are ridiculous, and the music selections aren't good or memorable.

'story lines are ridiculous' -- um...did they not watch the first three seasons? What about faking a pregnancy wasn't ridiculous? Terri was so over the top just... huh? Glee was always bonkers, it's one reason I liked it. Also there are some damn good musical selections in Seasons 4 and 5 (though I do agree that musically Season 6 is weak). But the story of Season 6 is just fantastic. (And bonkers. I love absurdity though)

This person also mentioned that they believe S3 is one of the most stable seasons with less annoying drama than the others.

I'd argue that S3 had some of the most annoying drama, but ymmv.

But... I think this speaks to a point I made a while ago. Season 3 does have the most structured-ness of any of the seasons. It's a three act story with an outcome that gives you exactly what you were expecting. And I do think people find comfort in that conformity.

Season 4 does change things... a lot... And something I've never really considered until now -- that Season 4 becomes even more jarring after how mundane Season 3 is. One of my issues with Season 3 is that they play it safe and standard every step of the way, which makes it kind of boring, tbh. But going from that kind of stableness to the bonkers Season 4, especially in the beginning, makes it feel like even more like an abrupt change, and people bulk at change a lot of the time. (Like I've said - even I had a hard time with it at the time.)

They also said they don't like S4 because Dantana was an insult to Brittana fans and the ship doesn't even make sense.

This is the part that had me laughing, though. Dani made perfect sense, so I don't even know what that means. Also Dani didn't come in until Season 5, yeah, whatever on that point. And it's not an insult to Brittana fans, omg. Klaine had fucking Blainofsky to deal with, I just can't, I'm laughing.

Also, the writers never owed any of us anything. Maybe it's because I am creator, Idk, but I've always taken issue with how entitled fans get sometimes. And this isn't just a Brittana thing - this is all fandoms everywhere.

I will say - I can understand Brittana fans having a different perspective on things re: Season 4 and 5 especially since Brittana wasn't really a part of it? And that's fine? Be honest about that. That I can get on board with.

Also, Nonny, what even is majority these days? Things always keep changing, who knows.

Thanks for dropping a line - this has been fun! <3

[madamscream]

My typical way of experiencing... well, everything, if we're honest... is to avoid having any expectations. It's something I learned how to do, and I stick to it pretty well. While it was originally mostly a bulwark against a chaotic childhood making my lil autistic ass have to figure out how to do without any sort of routine, the most profound effect it has these days is drastically increasing my enjoyment of media.

The only time I find myself disappointed with something, in that sense, is when they do something that it literally would have been better to have done nothing at all. Solmare has managed to do this a few times.

And YET. Here I am. I think so much about Obey Me that I can't help but speculate, and I've gone and got my hopes up because I've realized that there are some really fucking cool things they could do. I'm feverish, so this might get long... gunna put it under a cut.

So. I started playing the OG Obey Me about a year and a half ago. The fourth season either came out right as I started, or was already out. I never was really effected by the wait time for the next season drop, and the limbo that left fans in, so I get that my perspective is different than most.

But my perspective is this: they had a cool story with some neat concepts, both story-wise meta game stuff, but the game play was so ass it could barely be called game play, the balancing is insane (I've scraped through the main story using countless glow sticks but most of the extra lessons are still beyond me will full teams of lvl 100+ cards), and they'd written themselves into several corners they didn't know how to get out of.

Then they released Nightbringer. It has it's issues, sure, but as a game? I enjoy it about 1000% more than OG. The story is one of being thrown back in time and trying to find your way home, which we managed last chapter. On April 13th, the game will have been out one year. I think that's when they'll drop the next season but...

It would be so wildly cool if they also merged the games. The MC's just returned to the timeline from OG, supposedly, though hadn't Solomon suggested that... y'know, everyone had noticed you disappearing? OG is at it's end of life. It's pretty clear they're going to shut it down at some point. I want, so so so badly, for 4/13 to hit, a massive update to be available, and the entirety of OG's story line to have been ported to NB. I want the accounts to merge together. I want to have all my cards and I want there to be a new Nightmare chapter with all the old cards from OG and I want the plot moving forward to be a mess of scrambled timeline shit, trying to figure out who NB is, and stress. From a game dev perspective, they have the chance to do something so so wildly awesome and I KNOW they won't. I KNOW I'm going to be disappointed. But FUCK it'd be cool...

I have so many ideas on how it could be done... and I'm well aware it'd probably piss a lot of people off still, but people are pissed off anyways. I think it'd make more people happy than it did angry.

And I know some people don't like Ruri-tunes but like... at least it's a game. I'm no huge fan of rhythm games tbh. I honestly hated them before Ruri-tunes, but I disliked the dance battles so much that I've started liking rhythm games more just because it was suck an upgrade imo

Anyways. That's the end of my rant. I want them to do meta shit that ties into their story basically. Thank you for coming to Mal's fever talk.

[rangetsuryuu]

tozx redeems the most unredeamble parts of the game

Rewatched a lot of the TOZX anime in 2024 and honestly. This show does a lot to save the characterization and plot of the game, but also not enough.

The anime's 2nd season is still burdened down by the rushed 2nd half of the original game. Rose is again done dirty, and everything they do to build her up as a chracter is still reduced to just being a puppet molded by Dezel's meddling and desire for vengeance.

Still, there's still a lot I like about her portrayal in the anime. You get to see the side of ther that's cold, calculating, methodical, brutal... I love it. They actually gave some proper insight into her motivations, whereas the game attributed all of them to Dezel. But. It's not. Good enough.

I love that Rose is getting the opportunity to finally confront her past on her own terms. That she's choosing a version of justice that's not really as straight forward as Brad's. But I dislike how much influence Eguille and Dezel seem to have on her. People always want her to be a certain way. Eguille's constantly reminding her to be calm and indirectly implying that she needs to be cold when it could have been better if it was the other way around. IMO, her final attack on Konan would have been much more impactful if she was telling her guild to stay calm, when she was the one who still carried a very personal grudge.

I feel like that's also better in line with how her own malevolence is described in the game. She does 'evil' things but doesn't breed Malevolence. In the game, it's implied that Rose has no hate or negative emotions despite her job. She lacks Malevolence. In the anime, negative emotions are said to influence malevolence and that threshold is different for everyone. No real indication of the the level malevolence in Rose in the anime.

The anime comes this close to bringing her hate to the surface and makes it seem like she WILL be overwhelmed by it. She acts recklessly and takes Konan on solo even when he's clearly become a hellion. The biggest proof of that is that she takes off her mask when she's about to kill him so that Konan KNOWs why he's going to die. That is in complete contrast with how she took out the pope dude in Lastonbell's church. Rose took that guy out, in cold blood. It was just something she had to do.

But Konan's hit was PERSONAL. She's not turning off her emotions fort this. She's angry, she's got all these negative emotions and compared to how impersonal Rose has been about almost everything else, it's awesome. I love it. It's real vengeance for her own sake, not just for someone else's.

Her inner turmoil, her doubt, those are all things I like. By itself, I don't think this would be an issue, but my issue is how they follow up this episode. What the heck is the conflict that they're giving Rose here? She confronted Konan, but now what?

What are the consequences to her giving into her emotions that she was supposed to have buried? To taking on a personal grudge? What are the repurcussions? Especially now that her identity as an assassin is exposed to Sorey who doesn't want her to kill?

The game and anime both fail to bring her into any real conflict with Sorey, the Shepherd who insists that killing is not the answer. And that's because the anime kinda implies that Rose's methods are not wrong. (IMO the game kinda does too tbh)

It's almost suggested that her method are actually one of the few tools that people have in combatting an otherwise unseeablee threat; the Malevolence of the modern age. While not the solution, her assassinations have been alleviating the symptoms of something awful, unseen, and untreabale. She's never painted in the wrong for it. It's implied that Rose never hurts or kills anyone that doesn't deserve it.

And the anime never puts Rose in a position where she might have hurt someone that doesn't need to be killed. She never actually has to be truly combatted for her ideals by anyone but herself.

The Scattered Bones take on contracts and enact vengeance for civilians. For those that don't have the power to protect themselves or defend themselves. That's the vibe you get when you see them killing the corruption that's in power. Killing those that need to be killed. The law and people in charge aren't doing enough. So someone needs to take action. Real action. Not just promised action for the distant future. Immediate action and immediate justice.

A philosophy that was inspired by Rose's lost foster father. In a way, Rose's guild is portrayed as a successor to her father's guild that was revered as the kind that doled out vigilante justice.

What other parties have been dealing with that corruption that's hurting the common man? Who's actually standing up for those who can't?

Alisha is implied to be lowborn princesss constantly struggling against the corruption of her country's monarchy and military despite being a princess and a knight. She's monarchy and military, but she's separate from the actual decision making. She is constantly butting heads with them. She has limited influence but her conflict has always been that she's struggled to make an actual meaningful change for her country's people. That's why she wanted to find the Shepherd. She believed the Shepherd would be needed to save this place. It's largely implied that she doesn't believe she has enough power to make any change of her own power. She believes in true pacifism and never hurting someone else. Even in self-defense, to never kill someone.

Sorey on the other hand, has never actually lived in the day-to-day reality of the modern world. He was raised in complete isolation by Seraphim. As a Shepherd, he's supposed to learn and fight back against humanities long bred Malevolence. His entire journey is learning about humanity and where humanitie's Malevolence comes from. He comes to understand Malevolence as a cycle of hate and vengeance. It's something he wants to stop cold after he sees the aftermath of it firsthand. But he doesn't have to take any action against humanity or anyone. He doesn't have to actually stop humanitie's conflict, he just needs to deal with the aftermath. In the game it's outright implied that he needs to take a neutral stance for peace. That his goal is to really cut down the symptoms of human hate, rather than to take on the root problems. Still, he knows he doesn't want people to die, no matter what.

Both Sorey and Alisha, have a stance of pure of never killing.

Alisha and Rose have an outright conflict of ideals, with Alisha's pacifism at the cost of self, and Rose's killing for the sake of others. Sorey and Rose are practically DESTINED to have a conflict about how they handle the cycle of hate respectively.

But Rose's ideals are never challenged in any meaningful way by anyone else.

Again, Rose's methods are implied to actually be a realist solution.

This is really cemented by the fact that Alsha takes absolute 0 issue with Rose being an assassin. She welcomes Rose to kill her in season 1, if Rose truly believes her to be in the wrong. The PACIFIST PRINCESS. Gives an ASSASSIN the green light to kill her, if that would mean true justice for her people.

To me that's how that scene reads. Not as some game of chicken, but an acknowledgement that Alisha's methods, if flawed, deserve the judgment of a third party that the Scattered Bones have set themselves up to be. Rose's methods may be different but they have the same goal, of protecting the people that need it. If Rose's method can do that better than Alisha's then THAT'S how it'll go down.

Now, obviously, there is that scene where Alisha prevents Rose from going in for the kill in an act of self-defense, when they're surrounded by Landon's men. But this instance of kiling is separate from Rose's actions as an assassin. In this instance, Rose is about to kill a man for supposed self-defense. THIS is what Alisha takes offense too. If Rose is going to kil Alisha for being evil, FINE, that's okay but if Rose is going to kill someone else for trying to kill them, then THAT'S WHERE SHE DRAWS THE LINE.

It's honestly hilarious, and a little messed up. Alisha never takes any action to report Rose. She never steps in to stop her or talk her out of it. She never even tells Sorey that Rose is an assassin. She never rats them out, even after exposing Rose's actual identity. She picks Rose out as an ally she wants to back her up. Is it just me, or does that read as complacency? A silent, acknowledgement that she won't interfere? This is Alisha we're talking about, if she thought somoene was doing something wrong, wouldn't she try do someting? Especially since she has the upper hand. She's clocked Rose, and the Sparrowfeather's guild as assassins.

But instead...Alisha HIRES them. (I mean as merchants but.)

Point being. No one contests Rose in any meaningful way for being an assassin. They should have let someone have an actual confrontation with Rose about this. And they almost did.

When Edna learns that Rose is an assassin she has a PROPER reaction and a proper response, as someone who does not like this, and won't condone it, unlike Alisha's who's pretty much dropped it.

Edna immediately hops off to try to get Sorey to stop Rose. It doesn't matter if she's heard the tragic backstory. To Edna, not even monsters deserve to be killed.

Edna has a an actual, deeply personal reason to be opposed to Rose's entire character. Edna's brother has been turned into a literal monster. And he's been slated for death, by just about everyone except Sorey. But shes clinging onto hope that he can be saved.

That is DIRECT conflict with Rose's ideals who will kill monsters for the sake of others.

Rose: Monsters(human) deserve to die.

Edna: Monsters(any) don't deserve to die.

Isn't that perfect?

So how does this resolve? With crickets. Nothing.

That's what Sorey's lukewarm intervention was to me. Just crickets. He finds Rose, tries to stop her. He doesn't even do shit, he just gets beat up and knocked around while Rose is trying to kill a man!

AND THEN HE CARES FOR HER IN THE AFTERMATH. AND RIDES WITH HER CARAVAN. And Edna? What does she do? Fuck all.

Like bro what? You have a perfect drama baked into their characters. WHY NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS? Why can't we have characters actually disagreeing and fighting each other? I want to see how that would have resolved.

And this is so unfortunate, because I feel like we are SO so close to a character in this show having some kind of growth or real conflict with SOMETHING.

But at least Rose has a conflict wiith herself. For once she is challenging her own ideals.

She has baggage, she's chosen a course of action for herself. She knows it's immoral in some way, but she's still taken this on to beat down those that are even worse.

And she has this awful revelation in the middle of this forest full of the dead, where ghostlike banshees, that she can't see are screaming past her, that maybe, she realizes, it was all for NAUGHT. She has this horrible realization that she might not have made an impact at all. That everything she's done up until now might be completely insignificant. That she might not have had any real power to do good, maybe she's just deluded herself into thinking she could.

It is the only time any character has to actually confront some aspect or part of themselves in a MAJOR way.

BUT THIS DOESNT HAVE AN ACTUAL RESOLUTION. . .? There are no CONSEQUENCES to what she did. Her actions aren't actually painted as wrong in any light, it's literally just set up as a completely personal drama. The conflicts that she has with other characters about this is brought up and then dropped. And then it's left up in the air whether or not she really killed Konan but somehow still imples that he kinda is actually DEAD for real this time. So. She still won? She beat the guy who ruined her life. Didn't she get her revenge in the end?

I don't understand and I can't actually understand what the anime is trying to say about her character after this point.

What direction has her character actually taken? Does she regret choosing killing as her method of justice? Has she renounced her previous way of life? What about her role as leader to a whole assassin guild? What does this mean about her relationship to Eguille and the rest of her guild? Does she have the entire guild change tunes? What does this mean about the legacy of her guild and foster father's ideals?

Well. I don't got a clue. Her inner conflict changes nothing about her relationship with anyone, despite how it very directly has conflicts with other people.

Instead, we see her really pushing to find a way to help Sorey. The power he has to do good is something that she's been lacking. She thought she was doing everything she could be to do good for the weak but it wasn't enough.

For me, I interpret this as her trying to choose a new path for herself. A more solid way to make an actual long term, permanent change for people, and not just the short-sighted justice she was carrying out.

Okay. So she's moved past the philosphy she's long since believed in, in that sense. But what about the stuff she already has going in? Is she completely renouncing her entire past?

She'll fight malevolence with the Shepherd's power instead, sure. She's course-correcting, I guess. But the issue is, this doesn't actually address her past actions. It's not implied at all that she's disbanding the Scattered Bones or turning a new leaf in the same vein. So is she regretful for killing people? Or is she regretful of the fact that she misinterpretted what power she needed? Maybe it can be both, but I don't think she's put in the wrong for her actions at all.

if the act of her killing was actually wrong, why isn't it condemned? Where are the repurcussions? Proof that she's actually hurt someone or set her own goals back by doing what she's been doing? Conflict from people she cares about?

There's nothing. Not even a single acknowledgement by anyone that she'll stop. So what the HECK does that mean?

Every time she's killed someone they HAVE deserved it. They've been proven AWFUL people that would have continued to hurt people if she didn't take action.

Sorey, never learned about the corruption of the Blue Storm Knights and the church. And even when he learned about the corruption of Hyland's royaly, what could he do?

He didn't confront Alisha about it, he didn't develop a mistrust, and he didn't need to. His role was to acknowledge, learn, and understand humanity to be the Shepherd that they needed him to be. His role is the Shepherd of the world.

So who else was going to stop the pope or Konan? It wasn't going to be Sergei or Alisha. So were they supposed to wait for someone like Sorey to findout he was a hellion to purify? No! If Rose didn't take the action she had taken, then people who had suffered would have continued to suffer.

So is she still in the wrong for what she did? Is being the Shepherd's squire the only way she can actually help people? What BULLSHIT!

Anyways. The whole game was trash, every character deserved better and only Alisha got better in the anime(kinda.) I don't think she should have been crowned Queen TBH i think they should have just kept the political drama going and let ALL characters slowly and surely address the malevolence with their powers, and be unified under Sorey's meteoric rise and fall.

Game sucks. Anime sucks less.

[chirpsythismorning]

Predictions for Songs That May (or May Not) Be Used to Promote the Final Season of Stranger Things!

While in the process of making my ST5 Vision playlist (with up to 200 songs), I noticed I was subconsciously making categories. And one of the categories I found myself getting especially fixated on, was one for songs that I could actually see being used, in either the official trailer for s5, or some other form of promotion, whether that be a teaser, sneak peak, or even just a simple 10 second clip of all the main characters dramatically looking up at the camera.

As I continue to stress myself out over the near endless possibilities for this playlist, I wanted to share a few songs here right now which I think, with (some) good reason, could end up being used to promote the show, ie. what Separate Ways was for the official s4 trailer.

Now, I want to make clear that I'm just theorizing here. This is all educated guesses at best. Don't take my word for it and please refrain from getting bitter in the case that you dislike one or more of the songs. If you must know I predicted exactly ONE song that ended up featuring in s4 (Object of My Desire), despite only having like 20 songs on my 'ST4 Vision' playlist (and despite not even taking it that seriously last time), so please give me some credit here! TBH I myself don't even like all these, but I'm still willing to consider them after researching through all the options that are out there.

I also want to add that most of these songs require some imagination. I think it's likely that whatever song(s) they do end up choosing, they'll most likely be modified to sound slightly different than the original. It all depends on the vibe they want to go for. And while we wait for the final season, i figure it might be fun to see if we can guess some of the DNA for s5 by doing stuff like this, which is why I wanted to share!

Keeping all of this in mind, here are my predictions!

The Final Countdown (1986) Europe

Likelihood Rating: 9/10

Yep. I'm starting with the most obvious. Sue me. Honestly though, I don't really have any strong opinions about this one. Like, it fits. It's 'the final countdown' aka the final season. This song is most often used in intense environments, like sporting events, etc.. So there is this element of appeal in that it could be quite fitting for an official trailer, let alone a final season trailer. I have said in the past that lyrically there is some potential endgame byler coding in these lyrics, meaning this song would be fitting not only because of it's literal title, but also in a way that could foreshadow what may end up happening in the show itself (wouldn't be the first time). There's this mention of 'we're leaving together', 'missing her so,' as well as something a little more specific, '-- still we stand tall, cause maybe they'll see us, and welcome us all'. I could genuinely imagine this being used to foreshadow Mike and Will leaving for the city (together) at the end of the show, missing El who stays, and the audience maybe (hopefully) accepting that as a satisfying ending (also a Separate Ways parallel: here we stand vs. and still we stand tall).

I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire (1941) The Ink Spots

Likelihood Rating: 2/10

Yep. I'm going from the most obvious to the most obscure. Sue me. To be fair, I don't think this song is that obscure (you might even recognize it from angsty s4 Will Byers edits: here and here to name a couple). And although it is very old and therefore would not necessarily fit with the 80's vibe specifically, Stranger Things is no stranger to featuring songs that came out well before the setting of the show. In fact, almost every season, we get at least one major oldie. And so, I guess if I had to choose my prediction for the oldie to feature in s5, it would be this one! It should be noted that the preview Tumblr offers for this song does not do it justice (nor do the other previews listed here for that matter), so definitely listen to the whole thing before giving it your full consideration. I do think that the s5 promo version would indeed be modified quite a bit to match the vibe they want to go for. What made me sort of instantly transfixed by this song in particular, is that it sounds and carries itself like a love song, and that's because it is a love song, no doubt. But because of the lyrics, it also feels like it could be framed in an eery way (I've Got Five On It from Us comes to mind). I think by fully embracing the apocalyptic-toned lyrics, while also embracing the romantic-toned ones, they could invoke a really incredible feeling out of the audience. Now, when it comes to the lyrics, that's what really got me intrigued. "I don't want to set the world on fire" reminds me of the expectations for Will's character going into ST5, with much of the GA being convinced that Mike not loving him back is going to result in this villain arc for him, which will inevitably end with Will sacrificing himself (also Will Byers fireball homage). But the truth for Will, and just like the song also argues, is much less stereotypically violent and a lot more surprisingly pure. The truth is that Will, 'just wants to start the flame in Mike's heart'!! And so we've got flame in heart crumbs, with a dash of end of world crumbs? Sign me tf up.

Mad World (1883) Tears For Fears

Likelihood Rating: 6/10 -

I feel like we need at least one Tears For Fears song in Stranger Things. Although I'm convinced (delusional) that Everybody Wants to Rule the World will feature near the end of the series during a happy moment, solely because of how much that s2 behind the scenes video has changed the brain chemistry of the entire fandom, to the point where a lot of us have been convinced it was used in the show at one point. But for the sake of this list, I think song(s) used to promote s5 before it premieres, are going to be less 'uplifting good', and instead more 'eery good'. We're still in hopeless, assumed failed mission territory and so 'No tomorrow. No tomorrow' is quite fitting. While there is hope going into the final season (we've been reassured the ending is beautiful) there's still a battle ahead in the mean time. Unless they plan to change our relation to that song, from aww to OH SHIT (which they definitely could...), I do think Mad World sort of fits the bill in respects to the impending doom a little more than EWRW, which feels more victorious in comparison. Lyrically, Mad World reminds me of Henry's villain monologue at the end of Vol. 1. I also think it's a good example of a song that has some lyrics that fit very well, while other lyrics don't fit as much. And that's okay. In the past, there has been songs used for ST promo, and even in the show itself, that followed a similar criteria, where they even tweaked/removed parts of songs that didn't match the message they wanted to convey. So keep this in mind as the list goes, because I do think a lot of layers go into their final decision for song choices, especially in regards to promotional picks. And so in this case, I guess you can't go wrong with a birthdaygate easter egg either...

Crazy Train (1980) Ozzy Osbourne

Likelihood Rating: 5/10

This song is extremely well known, and I do think it has the range to mesh well accompanying badass frames of the characters fighting and surviving in the trailer for the final season, as it has been used a lot from this sort of hyped up lens before (fingers crossed Megamind is on the ST5 inspo board!). Lyrically, we've got 'mental wounds not healing, life's a bitter shame, I'm going off the rails on a crazy train'. 'Mental wounds not healing', could parallel to what was going on with El at the end of s3 and throughout s4, with her powers not working bc of the memories she was suppressing, and it could also be related to Max ending up in a coma at the end of s4 at the hands of Venca, with her going into s5 somewhere in between life and death. 'Life's a bitter shame', pretty much sums up a lot of what the characters were feeling in s4 (also Heroes crumbs mayhaps?). 'I'm going off the rails on a crazy train,'... I shouldn't even have to acknowledge the implications of them using this song, or any song that includes the word Crazy in the title for that matter, as the official song for the season... and so, I wont. TBH I feel like this song is a little too similar to Separate Ways, and so maybe it wouldn't get picked based on that reason alone? Or maybe the exact opposite? Maybe it would get picked for that very reason? Regardless, I could see it.

Have You Ever Seen The Rain (1970) Creedance Clearwater Revival

Liklihood Rating: 3/10

This is another example of a song that would need to be modified quite a bit in order for it to work with the vibe of the final season. However, I do think there is quite a bit here to work with. 'Someone told me long ago, there's a calm before the storm, I know, it's been coming for some time'. Those lyrics alongside some eery s5 frames, like, it works. And they feel deeper than just the literal storm itself, as everything likely to go down in s5, has indeed 'been coming for some time'... Also, if I'm being totally honest, any songs I can find that involve storms or thunder or rain, I'm there! And so this is just one in particular that stood out to me. This emphasis on rain pouring tremendously, while the sun shines brightly... I love it. Also we know songs by Creedance Clearwater Revival are very very capable of being covered and changed to something more creepy, Bad Moon Rising ring any bells?

Somebody to Love (1967) Jefferson Airplane

Likelihood Rating: 3/10

Now, ST has used a song by Jefferson Airplane before (White Rabbit), which is from the same album as this song Somebody to Love here. Although I don't necessarily think that alone rules out this song being a possibility, I still felt like it was worth mentioning. Lyrically, we've got, "When the truth is found to be lies. And all the joy within you dies. Don't you want somebody to love? Don't you need somebody to love? Wouldn't you love somebody to love? You better find somebody to love." This could fit very well with what's going on with El towards Mike in s3-4. Though I think she already knows the truth, which is that his monologue wasn't romantic and that he's sort of stringing her along with this falsehood, this song captures an emotion that I think is present with her still, and will be until they finally end things romantically. I also think the audience still hasn't realized the truth themselves, seeing as most of them assumed she loved the monologue. It's almost like the audience would also be discovering the truth aka the lie, and so if a song like this were to be incorporated in some type of promo, it could be interesting... El also very much deserves someone to love her the way she wants to be loved. Whenever someone finds themself in relationship, where they're giving 70% and the other is giving 30%, it might be time for the person putting in more to let go and remind themselves they deserve somebody to love them, truly. And this could also apply to every character on the show, as most songs used in promo apply to more than just one character. However, I do think the initial lyric at the start of this song definitely applies to El and her relationship with Mike, along with her desire to love someone and for them to love her back equally. Oh and also "when the garden flowers, baby are dead, yes and your mind, your mind is so full of red"...

Smalltown Boy (1984) Bronski Beat

Likelihood Rating: 1/10

I don't want to hear about how unrealistic it is, it's called manifestation. We all know Smalltown Boy is the very first song on Mike's official Spotify playlist, and so there has been a lot of hype in the byler community that it could potentially feature in the final season, aka the same season Mike's feelings for Will are anticipated to be revealed. To be fair, You Spin Me Round featured in s4 (at Rink-O-Mania where Mike was being an absolute gay disaster bc of Will) and was also on Mike's playlist, along with Mad World which I also listed as a prediction for s5 promo. Even still, personally, I can't really imagine this song in the show itself, as like non-diegetic nor diegetic sound. I could however imagine it being used outside of the show for some kind of promotion. I know all the Netflix socials release more than just teasers and trailers, but also like small snippets of promo, for example the one with the main party all looking up at the camera dramatically for ST4 promo. I could totally see a short clip of s5 Mike looking up at the camera all worried, and accompanied by that notable Smalltown Boy (Bronski) beat.

Should I Stay or Should I Go (1982) The Clash

Likelihood Rating: 7/10

Even though I try to not dwell too much over songs that have already been on the show, I feel like this is one of the clear exceptions. Should I Stay or Should I Go had so much importance early on, like it was literally the Running Up that Hill of the first season. And so if we're going to see a lot of things coming full circle, with us getting some big questions answered related to Will and the Upside Down, I think it's possible and even likely we could hear it on the show again. There's a bunch of popular theories that Will could get Vecna'd based on a decent amount of substantial evidence, meaning we could hear this song play on the show again in attempts to save him... However, it's probably not likely to play out exactly like this, since we know Vecna/Henry needs Will and doesn't want him dead (as far as we know at least). I do think it could also be used as promo for s5. There's one TikTok edit in particular that made me realize how awesome something like this could look. It would feel very much like we're back to s1 vibes if they used this song, and I think that since they've admitted to going back to their roots, it's definitely a possibility we'll hear it again. (Also another iconic s5 concept edit from this user bc they’re a legend!)

Down Under (1981) Men At Work

Likelihood Rating: 2/10

This is probably my most unique prediction of all, because although there aren't a lot of lyrics to go off of here, we don't really need a laundry list of lyrics, as it first and foremost depends on the style of promo the song would be used in. The title itself could parallel to the Upside Down, aka 'Down Under'. Lyrically, we've got, '--Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder? You better run, you better take cover'. It doesn't take a lot to recognize this fits pretty well with what we're going to presumably be thrown into at the start of s5. I do think this would be another case of them having to edit the original drastically in order for it to work. But again, I could really imagine it working well for promo that's smaller in length. And if given really eery, edgy modifications in the ST version, I could honestly see it being pretty epic too. A lot of people know this song from other entertainment over the years, so it would be instantly recognizable, but also unique and engaging enough to impress viewers. Underground is another song from this album that feels slightly Upside Down coded, though not as well known so probably not as ideal for promo purposes. (Double also, Men At Work have a couple extremely Mike Wheeler coded songs, including, but not limited to: Who Can It Be Now and Man with Two Hearts)

AND that's all for now!

I'm curious to know if any of you can imagine one or more of these songs featuring on the show in some way? Or if there's any other songs you can think of that might work for s5 promotional purpose? So please don't hesitate to share! I would love more inspiration!

It's been a lot of fun making this playlist, especially knowing there's at least a small possibility in guessing some of the DNA of the final season in doing so. I feel like with previous seasons, it wasn't as easy to guess the music that might feature because there was just such a broad understanding of what was to come. Though, with this being the last time around, there's just so much to go off of in terms of the expected tone, especially with the whole 'end of the world' aspect.

As of now, I'm not sure if or when I'll ever post the ST5 vision playlist. I could see myself being able to release it in chunks, like I did here first with songs that I could see being used in s5 promotion. Some of the categories include themes involving catastrophic weather conditions/war, doors and/or locks, hearts, unrequited love, sleepless nights, magic/powers, etc. are just some of the few categories I have going on. If there's any in particular you're interested in hearing next, don't hesitate to ask!

[myxinidaes]

Earthspark spoilers for all ten episodes below! I slapped down my thoughts here

First of all: I love twitch. I ADORE twitch. every single twitch moment had me going *points* ur my kid, lifting her on my shoulders, and cheering wildly. 99% chance twitch is going to be my first ever tf figure

I adore all the kids, tbh! I feel like Twitch is the most developed, but Mo and Robbie and Thrash are all excellent, and their interactions feel soooo natural! I'm not sure if Bee counts as a kid, but he's basically been sent to sit at the kid's table this series, so I'll put him here too. Definitely my favorite Bumblebee since TFA! He's such an asshole, and I appreciate that about him.

The transformations were fun, too! The way that bots would transform their weapons out of their bodies (but not attached like in TFP or TFA) was fascinating- and very slick. I'm looking forward to seeing the new Terrans' alt modes and final designs

And the LADIESSSSSSS oh my gd the ladies I am SO happy transformers shows are finally getting girls that arent just Girl (mean) and Girl (girl but cool and like the dudes). Elita One was *swoon worthy*, Arcee was delightfully insane, Frenzy was SUCH a pleasant surprise and possibly my favorite design yet, the Seeker twins were fanTASTIC, and the Terran gals are literally so good. Hashtag only showed up for a few minutes but she absolutely stole the show!!!!! let hashtag have her yuri manga backstory pls <3

My favorite episode was by far the traditions episode- Twitch's struggles with finding her place in her unique intersection of heritages rang super true to my experience growing up mixed, and hit unexpectedly hard! For the most part, the emotional side of the show was done well, which was a huge relief since I was worried it would come off as trite and shallow. I think the excellent characterization helped! Also, the foreshadowing/crumbs of exploring the effects of war on people is Very Tantalizing. Fingers crossed that if they portray combat PTSD, it'll be done respectfully! However, I think so far this show has been good about touching on sensitive topics and making them seem real.

Other people have also discussed how big the war looms over this show, and I couldn't agree more! The show does an excellent job of telling this story from a young person's perspective. None of the main four kids have seen war but it still touches their lives and even within this first half of the first season, you can see the kids starting to understand that. The intersection of Dot as a war veteran and Alex as a transformers fanboy is fascinating, too! Even though Dot's affected by the war, the kids perspectives of it are initially entirely from the sanitized stories and comics Alex gives them, giving them a rosy perspective on the battles and tragedies humans and cybertronians both endured. I wonder if this will be explored in later seasons? I can't imagine it's comfortable for Dot (veteran, possible con sympathizer?) to be constantly bombarded with this glorification from her fanboy husband. idk!

I can't really think of many things I disliked other than the way Megatron seems to be so disapproving of GHOST while allowing his (former) army to be imprisoned by them? I adore this Megatron's characterization, but the GHOST thing... hm. dislike. BIG dislike. Why would the guy that was the head of a faction during the war be so passive? I don't think we've been given any reason for the war happening yet, but even if the war beginning was entirely unrelated to functionism, it's hard to see half the Cybertronian population being jailed by humans as an ended war.

Which brings me to my final point. The war??? Is it over??? From Optimus' line in Age of Evolution about the Cybertronians on Earth being the only cybs left, something Big happened to Cybertron. Before watching the series, I was convinced that the war was still happening on Cybertron proper and had only ended on Earth because of the faction leaders being stranded on it together without communication back to their homeworld but now I'm like????? I feel as though we haven't gotten quite enough Lore Droppage for me to begin making any theories, which is TRAGIC

tldr: pls this was so good I'm so well fed and want more i was :DDDDDD the entire time earthspark is such a joy!!!!!!!!!!!!