#I’m going to try logging 5 things I loved about each episode of the true Season 5

[riverdale-retread]

Riverdale S5 E4 (The True Season 5 Start) (maybe spoilers, probably not) (will also only make sense if you’ve watched the episode, as this is not a recap).

5 Things I loved  

1.  I loved that Archie is in some sort of war but we don’t see what war.  This makes for a much more interesting way to deliver the information they need to rather than get bogged down on which war in which place.  It made me think of Dogville, a film by Lars von Trier, where the ‘set’ is a sound studio with markings on the floor.  You are watching a show, says Riverdale, so this a deliberately crafted alternate universe.  It doesn’t matter which war. 

2.  When Archie comes back to Riverdale, the Serpents are performing a song on stage at the Whyte Wyrm.  Utterly pure Bollywood.  There is no reason to do this song number, they just wanted to do it.   I love that there is so much show in Riverdale.  I’ve also never seen a heavily pregnant woman do a sexy song and dance routine AT A BAR in any form of media before!  There’s references to Britney back in the day with the girls in short shorts carrying actual boas on their shoulders. I also hollered with laughter at both Archie and Kevin outright wanting to laugh at this show Toni is putting on.    

3.   I love the post time jump misery of everyone. Post college life as a 20 something can suck so bad, seems to be the point. 

 Job  - Being committed to a career can lead to discovering people in your life don’t want you to outshine them (Veronica). You might think you’ve set yourself up for something long term and then turn out to be wrong (Archie).  You can do all the things - graduate from a good college with good grades after you earned a sensible degree - and still have to hustle like a maniac or settle really hard to make ends meet (Toni, Kevin, Fangs).  Tasting early success can end up showing you only how  very far you have to go and how little it matters (Jughead). 

Personal life - You can definitely have an I have absolutely no friends, wtf happened to me evening or two (Betty). Whatever you didn’t heal from in your teens can take over your whole life with drastic adult consequences (Cheryl, and possibly, Reggie). You can be irresistibly drawn to the absolute wrong person to be with and nobody can stop you because you’re grown (Veronica, Betty, Jughead, and again, possibly Reggie).  You have even less support from parents/ guardians than ever before (Veronica, Cheryl).  And sometimes, when you meet up again with people you were really close to in your teens, it’s actually awkward and terrible (the Diner scene).

4.  I love thicc slutty miserable adult Jughead.  I had a person who really disliked me for this blog (their ask was an ad hominem attack)  ask an interesting question:  A Jughead stan? (derogatory).   I wasn’t sure, but I think now I can be. I’m a Jughead stan!  I am surprised that I find adult Jughead so much fun, like, even more intriguing than the beautiful delicate sadboi, the passionate Serpent Fail King, the feral manic G&G player, or the smug preppy (though I am partial to this last) iterations.  This irritable person who talks over a fan to correct her and obviously engages in a game of self-defeating chicken about not doing any housework with his equally irritable girlfriend - I love this, that he went from being the most perfectionist idealist teen to this dude who memorizes his best performance review for his job. (See also my 3rd point). 

5.  I love that they did something with the Serpents and the Serpent Queen.  FP’s failures (it was more FP’s fault than Jughead’s) as Serpent King decimated the Serpents, and Betty should never ever have been anything other than a Serpent groupie, so Toni and Sweet Pea (SWEET PEA GETS TO TALK!) reconstitute the group, with Toni at the head, and they seem to have learned something from Jughead’s time as King, when the Serpents were homeless and under a lot of strain. They’ve diversified - they own a bar, they run a trucking business, and those who want to and can also get white collar jobs

3 things to consider

1. The dream shows how Archie views all these old friends.  Jughead is a burden and an obligation, at the same time - someone he has to save, maybe, but definitely someone whose entire weight he has to carry around.  Reggie is an equal (when he falls, Archie moves on). Veronica, Betty, Fangs and Sweet Pea are merely his ‘audience.’   The person who actually takes time to pay attention to what is happening to him and sends him love & encouragement without any demands is Cheryl.   Someone - if it was you please say in the comments! - gave me an important hint, that Cheryl is known or likely to be the spokesperson for the creators of Riverdale, so maybe this just means, The Show Loves Archie.

2. Betty thinks she caught serial killers, in the multiple, in high school. But she didn’t, so she’s still very wrong all the time about her own life.  Her Dad and Charles desperately wanted her to know who they were and she just refused to take the fucking hint, and Jughead actually figured out most of the rest (Penelope as the true Gargoyle King, that Hiram was using the Gargoyle King as a prop, the stuff with the Stonies).  The one bit that Betty put together on her own was that Warden Norton killed the Principal In the Cupboard, and he wasn’t even that important.

3.  What makes a town or city function? According to Riverdale they are in order of priority: (1) emergency services esp having a fire station and more law enforcement than the lone sheriff and social services, (2)  solvent residents (signified by the abandonment and decay of the leisure space, the park, as well as the metastasized skid row), (3)  connection to the national transportation network (if Greyhound won’t have a stop in your town you’re done for?), and (4) a high school.

[adobe-outdesign]

TIOL LIVEBLOG: PART 5–7

Note: I will do a final review tomorrow to summarize my thoughts.

Spoilers under the cut:

Part 5, Chapter 1

in true New Jersey fashion, Joey never wants to go back to it

mud is only a few steps removed from ink when you think about it

Nathan pointing out that Joey misjudged him really points even more towards him being the Unknown, as he says he hopes to prove it soon. If he isn’t the Unknown at this point I’ll be legit shocked

Joey legit just outright calling himself a God is really hammering in those Joey/Ink Demon parallels again

Part 5, Chapter 2

yes but did Joey see the baby incubators

Part 5, Chapter 3

I could never decide if I liked the idea of Disney existing in the BATIM universe or not but it does support my favorite crack headcanon, which is that Henry went to work there after leaving JDS

I’m not sure if it was the intended implication but I think Grant comes in late and leaves late for the sole purpose of avoiding Joey as much as possible

love that Joey respects Wally. good boy deserves that much

“again, it is why I avoid the past as much as possible” [makes Henry go through the studio on loop like 500 times]

I’ve mentioned before that the Whipper-Will-O is likely the ride Bertrum is fused to. It’s mentioned here but without enough context to confirm (it is mentioned later that it would be the biggest one which does match)

Part 5, Chapter 4

Joey’s secretary has a name now, don’t think she did previously

Makes sense that Bertrum was retired, he’s like canonically 60

Grant probably hates Bertrum for no reason other than the sheer expense of his restaurant bills

Joey: “ultimately Bert knows I’m the boss :)” Bertrum: I Am Going To Smite You Off The Face Of This Earth

I wonder if Bertrum hates being called Bert as much as he does Bertie. probably (side note: “Bertie” is misspelled with a y here; if I’m not mistaken it was “ie” in the game transcript)

I know some people have said the “I’m not that kind of date” line is homophobic (which was probably the intention), but all he says is that he’s not the kind of guy to play hard to get, not that he isn’t a date

In things that only interest me, Bertrum is confirmed to be a heavyweight (or at least more so than Joey)

I love these two trying to out-ego each other. I didn’t think it was possible but Joey’s winning

nice to finally have explanations for the different lands, was wondering what the hell that was about

also the battleship stuff was for the Butcher Gang’s area, that makes sense

if anyone walked up to me and told me they “had a Whipper” I’d slap them

man this is the best episode of Defunctland ever

Side note: Bertrum is much more in-character here than in DCTL. While he’s still friendly towards Joey, that’s because they just met, so it makes sense in this situation (unlike in DCTL). He also corrects Joey on his name, something he never did in DCTL

Actually this kind of botches the timeline as DCTL has Bendyland just being developed and announced in 1946, while here that happened in 1941-1942. 1940 was the date on Bertrum’s BATDR teaser tape, so the later is closer to being right (still off by a year though). I’ll chalk DCTL up to Buddy’s bad memory.

Part 5, Chapter 5

“I like me just fine” is really amusing and I’m not sure why

I LOVE how much Joey keeps hammering in how great Henry leaving is. cashing in my final “Joey is gay”

Part 6, Chapter 1

Neat to have an explanation for the Sillyvision thing. I didn’t get the impression from the Handbook that it was a process of sorts, but then again I might be misremembering

Part 7, Chapter 1

(Counting these as chapters even though they’re more of an afterwords thing)

figures Joey is a morning person

Nathan just wakes up and chugs a single cup of black coffee while not breaking eye contact

Joey enjoying Cheerios amuses me more than it should

Joey: “hey what’s today looking like Sammy” Sammy: I Am Going To Kill Something Jack: I am also here

I was pointing out that it was weird that Abby was a temporary art director but is still at it in DCTL, but I think the implication is that Joey fired Morris and replaced him with her when he got back. He seems to much favor her work

the “that others were lying to him instead of him lying to himself” amuses me as Grant has a log in the Handbook that is literally just “Joey we’re fucking bankrupt holy fucking shit please respond to this for once”

are the people in the music department like. okay

I like how Joey speaks positively about his employees but every single one of them hate his guts and I’m pretty sure he hates most of theirs too

Joey’s famous 2 hour lunch break has been pared down to an hour and a half, which is slightly better but not by much

Joey: [holds still for five minutes] Joey: [starts vibrating] nevermind

Part 7, Chapter 2

hey they kept this consistent with the excerpt from the Handbook, that’s nice

well, kind of. They kept the same copy but added stuff to tie it back into the previous plot. kind of makes sense though, as they wouldn’t include that stuff without the context in a reprint

Part 7, Chapter 3

that was a bit of an oversimplification of plot structure but okay

Part 7, Chapter 4

Joey does outright say here that he doesn’t intend to die, could point to him being BATDR Bendy

[ellaenchanting]

Hypnovember 2020 Master List

Now that I have awoken from my post-Hypnovember nap, it’s time to post my 2020 Master List! in comparison to last year’s entries, a lot of stories this year delved more into either more intense kinks or more of my intense personal feelings than my stories last year did. Sometimes writing stories is a bit like reading my own tarot cards in that way- letting an ambiguous prompt roll around in my subconscious and sometimes being surprised or amused or even slightly unsettled by what it turns into. I hope you will find something in this group of works that soothes you, that turns you on, that intrigues you, and that most of all provokes a response. If you do, I’d absolutely love to hear about it. :)

Copying one of my favorite @jukeboxemcsa  ideas, I’ve also included a HypnoBS rating for every work about how realistic the hypnosis/mind control is in each work (IMHO). In this ranking, 1 means to is absolute bullshit and 5 is a normal Tuesday night (for someone).

Icons- 📰- story. 🔊- audio 💻- technology 😍- romantic 🌈- queer 😴- regular ole’ hypnosis 🛀- brainwashing and/or character in tub 👻- spooky 🐈- at least one happy pussy ❓- bad or reeeally questionable consent 👨‍🔬 -science! 🤪 -crackfic #-#sceneideas 😭-feeeels ⭐-author’s personal favorites

Day 1: Instant M/f 📰 😴🐈#😭

Choice quote: “Sean chuckled as he moved in closer. And closer. ‘I thought you wanted to know what it was like to be hypnotized, sweetheart. To follow suggestions? To have someone else take control? It’s not real control if I’m doing something you already wanted, now is it?”

HypnoBS- 5. Read the whole thing but- IMHO totally plausible.

Fun Fact- These are the same characters from last year’s Day 5: Poison.

Day 2: Coils F/m 📰 😴 💻 👨‍🔬

Choice quote: “Daniel rolled his eyes. ‘I bet you could hypnotize me with a bar of soap if you wanted to. That still doesn’t make me like spirals.’”

HypnoBS- 5. Maybe 4 because I don’t love the induction but- maybe you will? Also- oh no poor Daniel is so conditioned that he’ll go under to anything Jamie does! How hard for him. :(

Day 3: Staged Hypnosis (Stage) F/f 📰 😴 🌈 🛀 ❓

Choice quote: “No one needed to know she was a plant. A confederate. A stooge.”

HypnoBS- 1.5. This would collapse like a house of cards. It’s a fun concept though.

Day 4: Psychic F/nb 📰 😴 🌈 😍 👨‍🔬⭐

Choice quote: “Something about the hypnosis- being in and out of each other’s heads and in and out of each other’s bodies all weekend- made her feel like she and Tris had merged in some way. Like there was a new, deeper understanding between them now- a telepathic bond.”

HypnoBS- 5. Maybe a 4.5 if you’re recognizing some nre magical thinking here. But- I’ve definitely had this feeling and this kind of experience- and I hope some of you have had it/will have it as well. :)

Day 5: Visor F/multiple 📰 😴 🛀 💻 👨‍🔬 🤪#

Choice quote: “Besides, everyone knew stormtroopers were kinky.”

HypnoBS- 4.5. Some of the exact details would need to be changed and thought through more thoroughly, but I absolutely believe you could do something like this if you wanted to. (And if you do, you definitely have to let me know. I know some of y’all out there go to Dragoncon.)

Day 6: Pendulum F/y’all 🔊😴 👨‍🔬

Choice quote: This is a trick I first learned from a science book I read in 5th grade.

HypnoBS- 5. The real thing.

Day 7: Song Aliens/the human race 📰 💻 👻❓

Choice quote: “Anna didn’t know what she was singing.”

HypnoBS- 1. I hope. Why do the song based stories always turn out so creepy?

Day 8: Performance unknown/f 📰 👻❓😴# ⭐

Choice quote: “With each snap, the gears inside her doll body click click click clicked into action. She turned, jerky but graceful. She was determined to do well. “

HypnoBS- 5 (if part of a fearplay scene, which is my headcanon for this story)

Day 9: (Hot Under the) Collar F/f 📰 😴🛀🌈 🐈#⭐

Choice quote: “She was wearing her collar. She was aroused. It was as simple as that.“

HypnoBS- 5 With time, I think you could do this. Maybe a 4.5 for the 30 minutes thing- that might lead to a bit too much cramping.

Day 10: Gentle 🔊😴

Choice quote: “Just look into the spiral....”

HypnoBS- 5. I hope.

Day 11: Summoning Sappho (Summon) eventual F/f I hope 📰 😴🌈 🤪

Choice quote: “In fact, the only ideas left to try on their brainstorming board included ‘sexy alien invasion’, ‘sexy witches’, and this. Shockingly, at this point a sexy seance seemed the most practical.”

HypnoBS-1. Although stay tuned for Femme Flirt 2021.

Day 12: Plants unknown/m 📰 😴🛀#

Choice quote: “If he focused, Chris could feel that new suggestion also growing stronger and stronger, becoming more and more firmly rooted inside of him. “

HypnoBS- 5, with the right person

Day 13: Artifact F/f 📰 😴🛀🌈 👨‍🔬 ❓

Choice quote: “She fumbled through the contents when suddenly her hand found something unexpected from her past.A red lipstick tube. An artifact.”

HypnoBS- 4? There’s different ways of reading this story, but my headcanon is that the consent here is pretty dubious.

Day 14: Tail M/f 📰 😴🛀❓👻#

Choice quote: “It was no use. She could sense her tail was still behind her. She couldn’t shake him. She should have known he’d come for her.“

HypnoBS- Let’s say 2. Although I think this could work really well for a fearplay scene in an appropriate setting (where someone wasn’t actually left unmonitored with extreme paranoia).

Day 15: Serve F/m 📰 😴#⭐

Choice quote: “He had put his heart and soul into the dish.They were hers now.”

HypnoBS- As a scene? 5 (depending on the person). As a long term effect, much lower.

Day 16: Memory F/f  📰 😴 🛀🌈 😍

Choice quote: “Mesmera waited for Galaxy Girl at the door.”

HypnoBS- 4, you could do an induction along these lines but -1 for psychic powers

Fun Fact: These characters were originally featured in last year’s Day 19: Hideout. 

Day 17: Toy F/f m/f 📰 😴 🛀🌈🐈 #

Choice quote: “Dolly hated to have Bad Manners. “

HypnoBS- 4.5. This is pretty deep into headspace, but I wouldn’t want to rule it out for the right person.

Day 18: Monster m/f 📰 😴 ❓😭⭐

Choice quote: “That kind of stuff wasn’t fair to think about here. It wasn’t everyone else’s fault that she was so warped.”

HypnoBS- 5. Ouch my heart. Poor young!Ella.

Day 19: Eyes M/m 📰 😴 🌈 😍

Choice quote: “Scott looked into his partner Brandon’s eyes. Brandon had hypnotized him so many times over the years in so many ways but- this was one of Scott’s favorites.”

HypnoBS- 5. Especially in a long term relationship like this. (In my pretend Hypnovember universe, these guys are some of the patriarchs of the hypnokinky convention scene and absolutely wonderful advice givers.)

Fun fact: The story of how these characters originally got together is in last year’s Day 12: Stage story. 

Day 20: Possession F/f  📰 😴 🌈 😍😭

Choice Quote- “Things that were hard to do for herself during these times became easier to do as something owned by Thadra. Taking a shower. Getting up and going to bed at the right time. Making sure she ran once a day. Making sure she ate.”

HypnoBS- Errr....4 trending upwards. Although for this to be safe and healthy you’d really need to be checking in with a therapist and working on your continuing mental health at the same time (IMHO). Please do not get relationship advice from my porn.

Day 21: Snaps 🔊😴👨‍🔬

Choice Quote- “No, that one was up.”

HypnoBS- 5. I’m not sure quite how this translates to audio but this is the kind of shenanigans I pull with friends all of the time.

Day 22: Restrict  F/f 📰 😴 🌈 🐈👨‍🔬 

Choice quote: “’Hmm. By ‘weird’ do you mean ‘hot’?’ asked Zahara, lounging above her on the couch. Nikki nodded. She definitely meant hot. “

HypnoBS- 2. A month is a long time and this is a strong reaction. But- maaaaaybe would work for a bit, especially within these boundaries?

Day 23:  Villain there’s a m and a f  📰 🛀👨‍🔬❓#

Choice quote: “They had been planning against that damned do-gooder reporter Lizzy Lampost for months and now they were about to finally have her in their clutches. “

HypnoBS-1. But you’re not reading this one for realism, are you?

Day 24: Drink F/f 📰 😴👨‍🔬🌈 😍

Choice quote: “’Leah,’ she said. ‘I’ve found a drinking game! This might be fun! Want to try it?’”

HypnoBs- 5. With the right person. (That part of the end might be a bit harder.)

Day 25:Worship: F/m 📰 🛀🌈 

Choice quote: “After all, it wasn’t the time to work right now. It was time to worship his Mistress’s cock.”

HypnoBS- Someone on AO3 told me this fic just wrecked them. Lucky that person- this one’s a 5. Maybe not with everyone, but an awful lot of people should be able to do an awful lot of the activities in this story. :)

Day 26: Fey M/f 📰😴 😭⭐

Choice quote: “Humans do not know the spells they weave.”

HypnoBS- 1 Only true in that metaphorical way. (So- really, really true. But not factual.)

Day 27: Recording F./m 📰 🛀❓👻#

Choice quote: “It’s a recording, he reminded himself. “She’s not there. No one is there.”

HypnoBS- 2 At least, I don’t know how to make this happen (outside of a consensual scene).

Day 28: Obsession M/F 📰 🛀😍���‍🔬

Choice quote: “Some guys had cars. Some had computer systems. Some had home brewing. But Mark’s obsession was Julia.“

HypnoBS- Oh gosh. Errr...2.5? Hard to say. 

Fun Fact: This started as a one-sided scenario, then it changed, then it felt really hot, now it feels like a sweet silly sitcom premise. (If you want to read some episode synopses of this hypothetical sitcom, there are some brilliant ones here! Also- feel free to send me more!)

Day 29: Helpless F/m 📰😴😍

Choice quote: “’I want to be helpless,’ he replied. Juan felt his headspace changing. He threw himself into that feeling, trusting Josie to take the reins.“

HypnoBS- 5. Not a scene log, but pretty much How I Top.

Day 30: Awaken 🔊😴👨‍🔬

Choice quote: “Aaaaaand-awaken!”

HypnoBS- 5 Hypnotist BS- also a 5

Thank you all for reading these! Thank you especially to everyone who reblogged, wrote me comments, and generally supported me through this past month. I’m going to specifically single out @daja-the-hypnokitten​, @wellgnawed​, and @spiralturquoise​ for the encouragement- y’all are the best. :)  I know this is a long post, but I’d really appreciate reblogs of it!

Also, I didn’t have time to contribute myself but- if you donate to Hypnokink for Trans Lives, let me know and I’ll write you an epilogue for any of these stories that you choose. 

[hunting-winchester]

My thoughts on the finale

(Sorry, this ended up being soooo much longer than I intended, but it was also therapeutic for me to get it out, so if you read it all, sorry again, but thanks!)

I’ve been sitting on this for the past week trying to sort through my feelings about all of this. But the finale of Supernatural, while it did make me cry because my comfort show for the past 3 years (has it really only been 3 years since I started this side blog?) has ended, which was my distraction from the deaths of not only close family but also a friend whose death still affects me today. The newer seasons helped me more in the dealing with death, and I’ll explain that later, but I feel like the end of the show kind of took all of that and threw it out the window with a note that states “we don’t care.”

I’m not here to be mad at the actors. I know none of this is their fault. They did their best to make a great end to a show that was written for them. Their acting was spot on and made me feel for the characters that both them and I love so much. However, the ending took that love and put it through the grinder and I do put most (if not all) the blame on the network.

So I binged Supernatural in the summer of ‘17 within a month. I started it because I remembered my mom watching an episode when I was about 7 or 8 and I was so fascinated by it (episode Route 666 where Dean hangs up on Sam after the ghost truck disappears because Sam had a hunch that the truck couldn’t drive on hallowed ground. Dean didn’t like the idea that it was just a hunch, sticks in my mind). Within the first 5 episodes I was in love with the boys, and while I loved them both I became drawn to Dean over the next few seasons. Now I love them both, but like many others I started to see myself in him. Some anger issues with a heart so big that he would do anything to help his family. And a little bit of self depreciation that starts to escalate a bit more as the seasons go on.

Then I made it to Lazarus Rising. I met this absolute badass character who later becomes part of the family. He grows into the most kind hearted character that tries to do everything in the name of good, even when it tends to go a little off the rails. Then I saw a little bit of me in him as well. Good intentions, sometimes misguided, and only wants the best for the ones he loves.

I’ll focus more on the season I was here live for, not because the earlier seasons didn’t matter but because this is where things became really personal in my life. Supernatural 13 started on October 12, and on the 23rd I lost my friend. Everything started falling apart around me and nothing made sense. Nothing made sense about why them because it should be the terrible people that die terrible deaths, not good people. And while nothing seemed right in the world, I knew one thing for sure- that Supernatural will still be on just as scheduled and nothing could take that from me. So I made sure to still find time to watch that episode because I’ll be damned if I let this whole week go to hell. Let me find at least one good thing to happen. And while the scene didn’t fix the shitshow that became my life that week, a little bit of happiness raised in me when I saw Cas in the last scene of the episode.

So especially from that point on the show became of my little world away from reality. My reality sucked and, sure the Winchester’s lives weren’t all sunshine and rainbows, it was a nice distraction for an hour a week when I can watch the characters I care about continue to keep loving the ones they love.

The season continued then ended with a nice lead into season 14. I love Jensen and was ready to see how he would tackle the new role of Michael. So ready for the new season, in a new town 3 hours away from my hometown, (motivation being that I felt too close to everything that happened with my friend) and just ready to see where life would take me. Then I lost my Grandfather and my Aunt within a month of each other and absolutely no one would hire in the town I moved to. So another shitty summer and I end up moving back home within 3 months.

I continued watching Supernatural when it aired again in October; grateful for the hour weekly distraction again, and I kept up with it. I would log onto here after the episode, reblog things and read people’s reactions. I enjoy this community so much. Then the episode came in ‘19 where Dean was in the infirmary after having his head bashed against the wall a couple times and Jack was worried about whether he’d get through it. And the speech Cas gave is something that has stuck with me ever since then, because since the death of my friend it had been the same thing I had been telling myself.

Jack: What’s the point- if everyone I care about is just gonna leave?

Cas: The point is that they were here at all and you got to know them. When they’re gone, it will hurt, but that hurt will remind you of how much you loved them.

This felt absolutely validating to me. I was tired of hurting. I was done with and angry at everything and felt as if I just wanted it to be gone, but I kept telling myself that it only hurts because I loved them so much. When I heard that line, watching my favorite character recite it to Jack, it felt as if he was talking to me because it was something that I needed to hear at that point in my life. It felt as if they knew I needed saving and reached through the screen to pull me up and say what you’re feeling is valid and there are people out there who are feeling like you are now, and all of you will end up okay.

So I took this to heart and lived the best I could everyday. I turned that into my mantra and started living the life I knew they would want me to; with kindness and love and understanding.

I owe a lot to these characters. I owe my ability to go forth with kindness and understanding to Cas for making me feel valid. I owe my ability to move past my anger and finding my identity to Dean. I owe a lot to Misha and Jensen to bringing these characters to the point that I can feel all of this. To get to the point that I may be a little healthier than I was 3 years ago. 

And then season 15. The final season. The season where I say goodbye.

It started out as a nice tribute I believe. They had brought back some old characters that we had missed (lordy I missed Kevin and Adam). They did some things that we had talked about a lot on this platform that we would love to see before the series ended. It seemed like it would be a good ending to a show we all love. We saw what our boys went through all these years and they were evident in the beginning of the season and was slowly being pulled through the season. We saw how they differed from the early season and got to see them with their new-found family. Do I wish more of the episode included more of TFW 2.0? Of course, but I’m still happy we got as much as we did... up until the end.

Episode 18. We knew it was coming before it happened. There was so much speculation about this after the convention where Misha and Jensen had both talked about the emotional scene that Richard Speight Jr. directed. How it was a hard day on set and that absolutely no one was cracking jokes during this time which was a really big indication about how important this scene would be. We knew what would happen, but we didn’t know what all would happen.

We got Cas’ confession, and as much as some are like “you can interpret that as you like,” we knew what was meant here. We knew where Cas was coming from and to see his happiness to save the one that he loves was something I will never forget from when I first watched it.

And after all this hype for this after the fact, not just from fans but also the actors, we knew there had to be more to this. This was a monumental moment! There had to be more! But we know where this is going.

Episode 19. Not much to report. Which as Jensen had put it, episode 19 was the season finale and episode 20 would be the series finale. Episode 19 ended like I thought it would generally. Chuck is finished. Jack is the new God (which some of us guess would happen at the beginning of the season. I feel amazed we got something right after the fiasco that is episode 20). I still don’t understand the montage at the end of 19. That’s what I would have expected at the end of 20. If only we knew that was the first of SO. MANY. DAMN. POINTLESS. MONTAGES. But I’ll move on for now.

Episode 20. If you would have asked me 13 years ago how this show would end, I feel as if this episode would be pretty damn close to my answer. That’s not good writing. “Oh Dean dies and Sam gets to live and have an ‘apple pie’ life. Makes total sense!” And that would make sense if nothing in the last 13 years happened. There has been so much growth in not only the last 13 years but also just within the last season, and it’s just all gone. Dean dies, not because he wanted to, but because of another hunt that his dad didn’t even finish. Something that could have been done in season 1. He dies, not ready, not having the chance to finally experience freedom from his “destiny” (something that this show has made them fight against since the introduction of the angels might I add!), not giving an ounce of effort to stay alive, and not ever really finding peace. I’m sorry but there was absolutely no way that Dean could find the shred of peace he deserved within 2 weeks of escaping Chuck’s grasp. But this is where I started having issues in the episode.

Dean, a character I love and saw myself in for years, dies before he finds peace and in all honesty, true happiness. A character that has been known for suicidal actions and thoughts (episode 13x05 ring a loud bell?) and you decide to say he needs to die before it gets better? Or were you saying that it only gets better or peaceful for people like him after he dies? Because either way that sends a really shitty message. I don’t think I have found my peace. I think I’m better than I was a couple years ago, much like Dean, but I sure as Hell haven’t found my peace. So are you telling me that death is the only way I find it? Because I’m sure I’m not the only one reading it like this.

Dean gets a small hunter’s funeral (if you want to even call it that). No one they befriended or became family with along the way is there (sure, blame Covid. I’m sure it was part of it, but Hell. Surely something could have been done to bring at least a couple more people in for this). Then we get Dean’s heaven where Cas is mentioned in a throw away comment that you would miss if you weren’t intently paying attention (he’s out of the empty and helped with Dean’s heaven. Awesome. Show him then). We literally only see one person in Dean’s heaven. Bobby. Which he is great, but what about the “everyone we lost on the way” that was seriously just mentioned the episode before? They not there?

And from here, we get even more montages. Why the Hell, do we need to fast forward through Sam’s life, with shots of Dean driving around heaven? Why not explore more into Sam’s family (not just the wife and kids but also check up on Donna? Jody? Sweet goodness any indication of what the Hell happened to Eileen!?) Why not show Dean seeing his loved ones in his heaven? WHY NOT SHOW DEAN SEEING CAS AFTER WHAT HAPPENED IN 18? So much could have been done following up what happened in 18 and it was chosen to be ignored! Which is awful in so many damn ways, but it doesn’t matter for this because it was completely ignored. And after that 10 min montage (which montages should not last that long. I don’t care what anyone says. If a montage lasts that long, they could have made important scenes pertaining to that) Sam dies old and is greeted by Dean in Heaven and we look off into the sunset because finally we’re all happy... and dead.

All of this, and it feels like the message through this whole thing is “yall can fight for happiness, but yall won’t get it until you’re 6 feet down in a grave!” No peace. No found family. No fighting the good fight. Just death is the end, and that’s all that matters... and that’s where it all stings. I watched the characters I see myself in for years, got validation from them and felt as if things for them could get better after all of this, maybe they could for me too. Only things didn’t get better for them. It ended in death and only “happiness” after the fact. This isn’t a message I expected from this show, but it sure as Hell is the message I received.

So thanks C*W. Way to make all of this “keep fighting” mean absolute shit. You did a bang up job murdering a show you housed for years.

[fizzingwizard]

Digimon Adventure: Ep 19!

Wow! That certainly was an Episode!! It was pretty fun from start to finish, though nothing mind-blowing, but it was definitely the ending that made me gasp. Not wholly unexpected to an old turnip like me, but promising lots of fun (and angst!).

Picture of the week: MIKO, THE TRUE STAR OF THE SERIES!!

no for serious are the writers reading my reviews? they keep giving me what I want. within reason I guess. They seem to have an extremely limited budget as usual x’D

but Miko is still adorbs

ok I’m really looking forward to recapping this one so let’s get to it!

So last week I thought the kids sans Taichi and Yamato were abducted by Devimon, but apparently that either isn’t the case, or it was, but then Devimon decided it’s best just to dump the kids back on Earth and hold on to their partners. Because that’s the current situation. While concerning that the kids are separated from their partners, it’s probably best this way, since Devimon appears to be sending Gesomon(?) and Parrotmon(?)

to the human world, if I remember right. It’s hard to remember what happened in the first fifteen seconds kay So when the kids find their partners it will probably be in the human world and they can fight back.

Meanwhile Taichi and Yamato are alone and very Confuse

Taichi tries frantically to contact Koushirou. The others too... but especially Koushirou.

Finally he gets him!! He’s so happy!! My Taishiro heart flutters!

But I was fully expecting it to be a trap. When I saw this still here, my first thought was “Devimon’s forcing him to tell Taichi a lie by threatening him with a gun!!”

of course thats not whats happening. Koushirou is relatively fine and there are no guns (yet). What’s happened is the other kids have been sent back to the human world for reals this time!

This show is not even bothering to hide its Taiyama angle.

They spend the entire episode giving each other Significant Looks like this. The entire episode.

Now where’s Jou through all of this, you ask?

He went to talk to the police. He’s shocked they don’t believe his story about monster attacks and the world ending (well, at least Tokyo ending). I freaking love how taaaaall Jou is. Though it makes Koushirou look like a bean x’D

Jou = beansprout / Koushirou = bean

Koushirou has a much easier time dealing with the news that the police don’t believe them. He’s a denizen of the Internet. He knows how people’s minds work. And he has tons of chat logs to prove it.

People are chatting and spreading gossip and disbelief and complaints, but my favorite is the comment that just says “It’s a flood of fake news” xP

The home team runs into Mama Yagami! Who Sora literally calls Mama Yagami! x’D I mean I know that’s how kids generally refer to their friends’ parents but I still lol’d.

So un... Jou is almost as tall as Mama Yagami. LMAO. I’m gonna assume she’s short. Jou might indeed be quite tall for his age but Sora and Mimi are pretty close to Mama Yagami’s height too. I guess we haven’t seen Taichi standing next to his mom yet! With his hair he’s probably taller than her.

So Mama Yagami is HILARIOUS and I’m so glad that’s a continuing thing in the reboot! She was already that way in 99 Adventure, but we’re just seeing a lot of it now - like every time she’s around. (And we didn’t see it in Tri so I missed that.) Basically she seems like a basketcase. Not a totally irresponsible one, more like just... generally the carefree go with the flow type. Which is not bad. She just also seems a bit, uh, ditzy?? I think Taichi probably grew to be so serious by necessity. Dad’s busy with work and someone’s gotta make sure mom doesn’t leave the house without her keys!

The way Sora just stares at Hikari like “explain??” after Mama Yagami thrusts Miko at her and runs off to get her car with a big smile as if they hadn’t all nearly died recently... bahahaha.

also I love how she doesn’t even bother asking her son’s good friend if she knows where he is after not seeing or hearing from him for three full days

^The face of a boy shouldering the weight of nuclear family life and all its batshitness

Taichi and Yamato determine their priority is find the Holy Digimon. I wish they were a little more concerned with what happened to their friends’ partners, but I guess this is the only goal with solid clues. Anyway before they can do anything they are attacked by Bulbmon Looks like subtitlers went with Valvemon which also works, who looks like a Lego monster creation by an eight year old (and probably is).

He has the Domo face. Grrraaah

Domo is NHK mascot by the way. bahahaha

Next these guys come swarming out of Valvemon. (And if we didn’t already get it, apparently Digimon can construct other Digimon as we’ve seen before.) Nothing is quite as freaky as gas masks. They are commanded by Minotaurmon/Mintaromon whatever.

They too have the aim of Stormtroopers though so our heroes will be fine...

... probably...

... then Leomon finally shows up!! Yay! He looks good! All beefy and scarred and sounding exactly like Zaraki Kenpachi. Uhh. Is it the same VA?? Nothing comes up in the Google search so maybe not but it sure sounds like him. (Minotaurmon and Ogremon also sound like Leomon... while it’s normal for VAs in kids shows to voice multiple characters esp minor ones, it literally sounds like Zaraki Kenpachi is the voice of all the characters in this episode besides the main ones. And Mama Yagami of course because that would be weird.)

Leomon may look cool, but his ride... and his friends... uh, less cool x’D I want to strangle that ostrich thing with its own scarf somehow it inspires violent emotion in me

In the smallest, most shocked voice, Yamato says, “Leomon...?” It’s honestly kind of adorable. He’s clearly remembering what Neemon said about Leomon leading the resistance way back when.

Leomon helps them escape. Taichi very considerately and cutely helps Agumon aboard the fashion disaster ostrich emu thing.

Yamato also considerately helps his partner but rather less cutely xD

Leomon takes them to his hideout and gives them your standard fare of weird-looking Digi fruit. He then proceeds to tell them about Devimon and that he is trying to infiltrate Valvemon yadda yadda.

Taichi is freaking ADORABLE, immediately concerned that by saving their asses, Leomon’s battle plans have been ruined. Leomon waves that aside though. Yamato is equally adorabibble when he asks after Neemon and gets told that they made it to Leomon safely.

Leomon plans to try to get into Valvemon again because he knows Devimon’s put something related to the holy Digimon in there. Taichi is determined to join in. He doesn’t have much of an argument as it why they should be allowed when they just got their butts kicked so easily, but he has a trick up his sleeve: the Burning Eyes of Fiery Passion.

Not to be outdone, Yamato shoots off his Icy Eyes of Cold Determination.

Faced with this twin assault, Leomon has to give in. Ahh, I remember last week when we saw the trailer for this ep and I naively thought Leomon would train them like Piximon did in 99 Adventure. Nope. They’ve just met and they’re already spy buddies.

Okay, okay, yeah Leomon does seem to have some knowledge of the “Chosen Children” and that’s his real motivation. Still.

They break into Valvemon and we get the excellent invention of Agumon riding on Garurumon. I assume because of Garurumon’s advantageous speed. That seems to be recurring thing in this show.

Idk I just capped this because he’s so darn cute

I don’t know why I capped this one though.

They enter some sort of central space where Leomon tells them something relevant to the holy Digimon is being kept. (Lol I already forgot the details of what he said.) There are two protectors, Minotaurmon and Bullmon. Leomon tells the kids to take Bullmon while he faces down Minotaurmon. These guys might have been somewhat intimidating if we hadn’t already got Perfect level evolutions mastered, not to mention the occasional Jogress :P Sooo I didn’t feel too worried.

... uh, never mind x’D Taichi what are you doing

Yamato saves his idiot butt and almost gets in a bind himself. Once again I’m just wondering why they are sticking at Adult level. Whatever. They win of course

Leomon uses his Fist of the Beast King to maim Minotaurmon. His brilliant one-liner? “I have more than one first.”

Bully: *punches you*

You: ow

Bully: *smirk* I have more than one fist.

You: That’s funny, I only have one, but it’s made of titanium *You punch the bully straight through the stratosphere* Quality over quantity!!!!

*cough*

Our heroes approach the secret compartment supposedly holding something to do with the holy Digimon... Yamato gets a look inside and gets the black shadow of true terror over his eyes

becaue floating inside like some kind of Weapon X experiment is... Takeru!!!

Hold on while I put in my ear plugs. Okay, ready, screech all you want now.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

So... okay. First of all, baby Takeru is sooooooo cute <3 I had two predictions about what happened to Takeru last week. Either he ended up in the digital world and was now on his own, or he got abducted by Devimon. I thought the former was more likely, but in hindsight, it should have been obvious that it was the second. This show misses a lot of points where I feel like they could have developed some relationships or thrown in some drama, but it never passes up a chance for Yamato angst.

So yeah, this is pretty much gonna destroy Yamato xD Not only is the baby brother he wanted to protect no longer at home where he can easily protect him, he’s now in the digital world and in the enemy’s clutches.

I BETTER SEE REALLY TRAUMATIZED YAMATO NEXT WEEK. Of course, I expect him to be cool-headed enough to try to save Takeru, but I will be very disappoint if this goes off with no break downs at all. Takeru is always Yamato’s number one priority!

Super exciteddddd

So I give this ep 7.5/10. The .5 is pretty much for ending with a killer cliffhanger. My one real complaint about this ep is how highly plot-based everything is - we finally got the team all together only to split them up, and on top of that, once split up, we don’t even get all that many character moments between Taichi and Yamato. As I said, they give each other lots of Signifcant Looks, but man cannot live on bread alone. However this is par for the course for this show and I know I should stop mentioning it every week because I doubt it’s changing. We will get the big shockers when we get them and not a moment before.

I just want Yamato to cry in front of Taichi and make him all uncomfortable x’D That’s what made 99 Adventure so great bahahaha

Some cool bits from next week’s trailer:

Surprise surprise, Angemon is the holy Digimon! Or one of, anyway. And he is indeed trapped. This makes the “Angemon is Devimon” theory less likely. Let’s not forget that our heroes’ Digimon partners were evidently a band of powerful warriors in the past, but they’ve forgotten much of it. I won’t be surprised if the result of that war played a part in Angemon’s abduction.

Next week they’ll have to fight to save Takeru from being drained, I guess.

And then!! Digi egg! Excite. Also I only just noticed that his hate says TK!!!

Takeruuu <3 My first fav when I was 10. Though my heart has belonged to Taichi for many long years, I still have a special spot in it for Takeru only <3 Even if he does dress like a celery stick

[tellywoodtrash]

immj2 02.11.20 lb

this fucking episode my dudes. i just went through it like...

business maharani is doing some more bitchification of bhaabi, ki dekho phir nikal gayi aapke peeche. even used the same lameass mandir excuse, the idiot, instead of coming up with something new.  

hubs like riddhima is a major pain in the ass, but she's MY PAIN IN THE ASS, where isss sheeee, why isn't she back yet???????? is she ok????????????

ishani getting a call about someone in the hospital and......

bitch, it's her friend who's in the hospital. why the fuck would anyone call ISHANI of all people if riddhima was in the hospital????

lo aa gayi.

gujarat registration gaadi waale bhaiyya was a careful driver. unlike literally everyone else on tellywood. good for him.

concern!maxxxxxxxxxxx about her haalat.

asks about her bleeding hand and she's like i'll tell you if you tell me about how YOUR hand got hurt. noice.

again, rrahul's not putting on the vansh voice in this scene and it's 300% more watchable. for the love of god stop directing him in a way that impedes his performance!!!!!!! LET THE MAN MOVE HIS FACE AND TALK IN HIS NORMAL VOICE!!!!!!!!!!!

cliche dialogue about “shareer ke ghaav jaldi bhar jaate hain par dil ke ghaav..........”

this asshole is like yeah who would know that better than me???? BITCH WHAT IS THIS, THE TRAUMA OLYMPICS???

she's thinking ki yeah, i'm not gonna fall for your fakeass parwaah anymore. good. i like. she needed this stupidass illusion of her's broken longggggggggg back.

ohohohohoho ib waala mangalsutra breaking and slipping off trope idhar bhi hai.

“tooti hui cheezein kabhi kabhi dobara nahi judti.”

dialogue maarke chali gayi, lol.

but notice she's the one who caught it anyway. which makes me think she's gonna choose him/this relationship YET AGAIN. *deeeeeeeepest sigh in the world that sucks up all the oxygen in the atmosphere*

“jaise mera dil.”

OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH.

“lekin ab waqt aa gaya hai bohut se cheezon ko sahi karne ka.”

again, he looks menacing and all, but is probably just talking about making sure all the paperwork is up to date for upcoming end of year audits. he's a very rich accountant, remember???

ragini's medical reports have come.

lol being married to ishani is taking yearssssssss off angre's lifespan. roz naya tension, naya drama.

also, angre refers to vansh as "vansh bhai" when talking about him to ishani, but calls him "boss" when referring directly. interesting. veryyyyyyyyyyyyyyy interesting. you guys need to sort out that relationship, my dudes. it's the only stable, healthy one in this whole damn show.

ishani is like you're his right hand, what the hell are you doing about riddhima spying on him and getting all up in his business???????? dang, this might be the first conversation they're having about their only common interest: vansh's well being.

also i notice ki shivaay ke saare shirts angre ko diye gaye hain. huh, the shirts must have a kanji eyed wearer clause in their contract.

“mujhe shakti dijiye ke main apne emotions se upar uthke sahi ke saath khadi rahoon.”

damn, first time i've had a lil respect for riddhima. i mean, i know ultimately it's all gonna go to shit, but she's trying.

lmao a dhaarmik aarti version of the title track is playing. a version for every situation!

“main ragini ko bacha ke rahoongi. yeh mera aapse, ragini se, aur apne aap se vaada hai.”

YESSSSSSSSSSS BITCH, SISTERS OVER MURDEROUS MISTERS!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG WHY WON'T Y'ALL JUST DRESS HIM LIKE THIS, LIKE ARNAV, WITH THE SHIRT AND SWEATER COMBOOOOOOOOOOOOO. PLS GODDDDDDDDDDDD STOP DRESSING HIM WITH THAT STUPID SCARF WAALA BLAZERRRRRRRRRRRRR I BEG OF YOUUUUUUUUUU

he's talking to some shadow (def a woman) about how they're his humraaz about the whole ragini issue and nothing is hidden from them and how everything is going as they planned and the story will end soon.

it might be siya but omg i hope to goddddddddddddd it's ishani. i really really reallly want it to be ishani and see the hot demon siblings do some scheming and planning together. the sibs that conspire together, stay together!!!!!!!!!

menacing growling about riddhima and how he needs shadow chick's help in "handling" her, so that she doesn’t leave the house.

“chaahe VR mansion uske liye jail bann jaaye, i don't care.” cool, real healthy. also copied from this week's naagin 5. i'm telling you, these two shows be copying their homework off each other.

vansh leaning real hard on how he trusting shadow chick. hmmmm. reallyyyy hope it's ishani. though can’t say i wouldn’t be delighted if siya also turns out to be just as fucking twisted as him.

ofc ms. snoopy here has come to snoop. SIS TUM THAK NAHI JAATI KYA ISS SAB SE. MUJHE TOH DEKHTE HI THAKAAN HO GAYI HAI AND I NEEDS ME SOME GLUCON D.

“ragini riddhima se jeete-jee milna toh door, usse dekh bhi na sake.”

uh a little too late for that my man, lol. your girls already had a catchup session this afternoon. they're going for brunch and manis next weekend!

oh ho, she knows that angre's gone out. so this is def someone else in the house. DAMN, I'M REALLY INVESTED IN THIS SHADOW NOW.

yaaar, kya haalat bana rakhi hai shivaay ke room ki. best room hota tha iss set ka, aur isko bas ek random space banaa rakha hai.

ASLKFJSLDKJFLSDKJFLDKSF

this fucker crazyyyyy. like fulllll on flipping cray cray!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wow ok he's shaking from rage. more unhinged than i've ever seen him. which is really something. something scary as fuckkkkkkkk.

kudos to riddhima for just being like same old, same old, instead of being scared. i'm really liking i-give-no-fucks-riddhima.

DUDE. THIS FUCKER HAS COMPLETELY LOST IT.

also knife play copied from shivaay. this dude like a much much worse version of shivaay. never thought that would be possible, but never say never with ITV and the year 2020.

ok i don't like this angry version of him that's outta control, all shaking and growling and panting. not only is it really bad acting, it's hard to take seriously as menacing. ppl are always scarier when they're ice fucking cool with their anger.

blah blah blah some more growled warnings and riddhima and i are just here like............. “ok and????”

she's not even allowed to leave the room.

oooooh brave sis questioning him back and provokingggggggggg himmmmmmmmmm. got a death wish, this one, but i like her like this. i was sick of her just collapsing all over the place weeping. thaaaaaank god she found her longlost backbone.

“tum jaise haiwaan ki baat kabhi nahi maanungi.”

sarcastic slow clapping and slightly turned on by this show of dheentness.

“chalo aaj tumhari bahaaduri ko celebrate karte hain.”

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

“piyo, zeher nahi milaaya hai ismein.”

OK NOW THAT YOU SAID THAT I'M DEFINITELY THINKING THAT YOU HAVE.

omg ridhhimaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa you idiottttttt.

ok he's def put something in it. his face almost looking pitying as he takes the glass back.

“jaao. jahaan jaana hai jaao. nahi rokunga tumhe.”

ohhhhhhhhhh boy.

dslkfjsdlfkjdslkfjdslkjflkd her legs don't work no moreeeeeeeee.

THIS FUCKERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. JESUS CHRIST THIS CRAZY ASS FUCKING D;SLFKJ;SLDKFJ;LDSKJF;LDKJ

EVEN THE CHANNEL PUTTING BIG BOLD DISCLAIMER OVER THE SCENE LIKE THIS SHIT IS SERIOUSLY UNHINGED AND FICTIONAL THE CHANNEL ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT CONDONE THIS FUCKING MADNESSSSSSSSS

I CANNOT STOP SCREAMING THIS FUCKERRRRRRR IS OH MY FUCKING GOD WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK IS THIS THIS SHIT IS MAKING 4 LIONS MEN LOOK LIKE SOFT CUDDLY LIL SOFTBOIS I AM LITERALLY GOING OUTTA MY MIND WITH RAGE AND ANGUISH WHAT THE FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

i need a break. i seriously need a break to go cuddle my cat coz my god this deranged fucking showwwwwwwwwww.

ok cuddle break done. i’m not feeling any better but at least the tears of blood have stopped flowing from my eyes?

all i gots to say at this point is that CHEELANSHU SINGHANIA FROM NAAGIN 5 WOULD NEVER DO THIS. ONCE AGAIN SANKIIII CHEEL BOY >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> HUMAN MEN.

“haiwaan hoon main. rakshas hoon. aur rakshas kuch bhi kar sakta hai.”

electric chair for you, dude. ELECTRIC FUCKING CHAIR, GREEN MILE STYLE.

he literally gave her a paralytic.

“isse ek luxury relaxing spa treatment ki tarah enjoy karna.”

OMG I WISH I HAD SOMEONE MAKE ME SLIP INTO A PARALYTIC COMAAAAAAAAAA WHAT ELSE COULD A GIRL WANT FROM PRINCE CHARMING UWU TRUE WUVVVVVVVVV

omg inn paplu taplu ka chip waala naatak abhi bhi chal raha hai BIGGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED IN THE HOUSE YOU IDIOTS KEEP THE FUCK UP LITERALLY NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR SADAA HUA MEMORY CARD ANYMOREEEEEEEEEE

anyway they decide to put it in the bank locker. omg why though, under the mattress was suchhhhhhh a safe and secure spot!!! badal kyun rahe ho tum log?!?!?!!?!?

“good morning.”

sis, lower half is paralysed. haath abhi bhi kaam kar rahein haina??? PICK UP WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON AND HURL IT AT HIS FUCKING HEADDDDDDDDDDD

“don't worry, bas kuch der ki baat hai. uske baad tum apne pairon pe khadi ho sakti ho. main tumhari help kar deta hoon.”

TELLL HIM SIS. TELL HIM TO STAY THE FUCK AWAY AND NEVER EVER COME WITHIN A 3 DISTRICT RADIUS OF YOU. 

“phir se zidd. tumhara naam riddhima nahi, ziddhima hona chahiye tha.”

ok can't deny i lol'd at that.

OK NO BACK TO HATING HIM. PUNS WILL GET YOU NOWHERE WITH ME, YOU BLOODY PSYCHOPATH.

“abhi toh bas ek chota dose diya hai jiska asar sirf 10 ghante rehta hai.”

oh how sweet. such a considerate husband. Star Parivaar Pati of The Year you are. haan behen, aur rakho aise pati ke liye karwachauth.

“agar baat nahi maaani, toh agla dose double hoga.”

seriously though, where can i get one of these? all i want is to be put in a coma so that i don't have to be conscious anymore. esp with the USA election today............ give me a 5x dose, daddy.

YEAH RIGHT LIKE SHE'S EVER GONNA CONSUME ANYTHING YOU OFFER HER EVER AGAIN LOL

“tum chaahe kitni bhi koshish karlo vansh, main tumhe ragini ko nuksaan pohunchaane nahi dungi.”

determination toh behen ka top classssssssssssss hai. where do ppl get such mental will from? i face the slightest inconvenience and i need a 6 hour nap to cope.

LMAO VANSH YOU DUMBASS YOU LEFT HER WITH HER PHONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. YOU KNOW SHE'S A SPY AND HAS SOMEONE ON THE OUTSIDE. YOU WANTED HER NOT TO GET TO RAGINI BUT NOW SHE CAN JUST CALL WHOEVER SHE’S WORKING WITH TO GET RAGINI THE HELP. GOD, BEWAKOOFON KI TOLI HAI YEH SHOWWWWWWWW.

ab yaad aayi kabir ki. my god, he seems like such a mellow weirdo now compared to vansh, just into some casual costume-changing and quasi fratricide. almost a tolerable level of deranged compared to this other fucking madman.

sent a voice note to him.

SHE HEARD SOMEONE COMING AND FLUNG THE PHONE ACROSS THE ROOM INTO A PILE OF CLOTHES. OH HO WHYYYYYYYYYYYY, YOU COULD HAVE LITERALLY JUST HID IT BACK UNDER THE PILLOWS WHERE YOU FOUND IT!?!?!??!?!?!?

“hi riddhima! tumhe iss haal mein dekh kar, dil ko bohut sukoon mil raha hai.”

asldkfsjflkjdslfkjdl i honestly love her the most. she's so fucking petty and hilarious.

ishani is like thank god bhai has seen fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinally seen your real face.

“sirf vansh ne hi nahi, inn sab mein maine bhi vansh ka asli chehra dekh liya hai.”

“kya matlab hai tumhara?!?!!”

ok, i'm thinking ishani is shadow girl. from day 1, she’s wanted riddhima to see vansh in a certain way; as someone dangerous, the way he projects himself. (as opposed to dadi and siya who want her to see his soft side.) this statement from riddhima makes her wary that did she get close to the actual truth. INTERESTING. VERYYYYYYYYY INTERESTINGGGGG.

she's now grumbling about how vansh treats her much better than she actually deserves. I REALLY WANT MORE INSIGHT INTO THIS BROTHER SISTER RELATIONSHIP THEY HAVE IT'S SO INTRIGUINGGGGGGGG

le, kapde chale gaye laundry. phone ke saath.

———————————————————————

precap: kabir listened to the voice note and now him and mummy are in panic about ragini disclosing the truth about 3 years ago. RE DEVAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. OFC THESE TWO WERE INVOLVED IN THAT KAAND TOO. LITERALLY EVERY ONE IN THIS SHOW IS A DERANGED MENACE TO SOCIETY.

kabir coming to meet riddhima.

but ofc.

ugh she turned back saying “K.........” and he's like there's literally no one in this house whose name starts with K.

*facepalms for allllll eternity till my godforsaken face itself falls off.*

i think i’ll go watch s2 of mirzapur now. i need something ~~~light and fluffffffffffy~~~ to take my mind off whatever the FUCK this was.

[ohwereusingourmadeupnames]

17 with domestic starker

Don’t Shadow the Light

Pairing: Peter Parker/Tony Stark Rating: Mature (M) Word Count: ~4k Notes: Mm, domestic Starker immediately made me think of the Counting Airplanes verse - so I hope you don’t mind that I went in that direction.  Warnings: Tony has PTSD, so that’s mentioned. A bit of none descriptive phone sex.  Summary: 

Uncle Ben’s is doing great, so Peter signs up to attend a conference in hopes of networking and expanding the coffee shop. Tony, the anxious little bean, struggles with the separation. 

do the thing, send in all the prompts

For the first time in 3 years of marriage, Tony had to survive a couple nights without Peter. Uncle Ben’s was doing insanely well and, in an effort to expand a little bit, Peter signed up to attend a business conference. If it weren’t for the huge Boeing deal they were trying to close up, Tony would have gone with him – but duty called for the both of them.

A part of him felt irrational – he was a very grown, very mature man that lived on his own for a long time before Peter came around. He went through basic training without anyone to write to and survived the confines of a cell with nothing on the horizon other than the sweet release of freedom. Self-sufficiency was a thing for such a long time, yet – he still felt anxious about the whole thing; Peter’s presence brought him peace.

Forcing himself to get over it, Tony made the most of the night before Peter left – they had a good dinner and spent a little bit of time talking about Peter’s adventure over the next couple of days. His husband could sense his hesitation and anxiety about the whole thing and promised to FaceTime and call as often as he could. Tony loved him for it but expected the smarty pants he loved more than anything to take advantage of the resources available to him while he was there.

They finished off the night with a couple of fantastic rounds of sex – Tony always appreciated when he could get his old, beat-up body to cooperate and perform like he was Peter’s age again. Satisfaction lulled him to sleep with Peter in his arms and the thought of his husband leaving early the next morning far from his mind – at least for a little while.

True to form, Tony’s nightmares dragged him under that night – they’d been getting better, but the build-up of feelings he’d been trying to hold back was too much. Like most things that fed off a victim, his fears ate up the negativity and weighed him down, the struggle to get back to the surface a little harder than normal. When he did come back around, Peter was looking at him with an unreadable expression.

Tony didn’t have the brain bytes to think too deeply about what it meant, he simply dug his face into the crook of Peter’s neck and clung to him. It felt like no time at all passed before Peter’s alarm was going off and both men were stumbling out of bed. Still a little shaken from his episode, Tony sat on the toilet seat while Peter got in the shower, the warmth of the bathroom grounding – the severe need for the closeness to his husband he got sitting there something he wouldn’t admit, no matter how obvious it was.

Peter didn’t say anything when Tony followed him out of the bathroom and into the bedroom – until he walked out of the house, he knew that he’d have a Tony sized shadow following him around; that coping mechanisms one of the harder ones for Peter to adjust to. No one was prepared to have a person follow them around, but Peter took it in stride. Instead of shunning him away, Peter accepted Tony’s need and embraced it. Tony figured Peter had no idea how much that truly meant to him.

The inevitability of saying goodbye came before Tony could stop it – Peter pulled him into a tight hug and held him close for what felt like several long minutes, his hand moving rhythmically up and down Tony’s back. It was reassuring and torturous all at the same time; Tony never wanted the gentle caress to ever stop. Giving Peter a tight squeeze, Tony pulled back just enough to let his lips linger against his husband’s – the kiss on the verge of becoming desperate quickly.

“I have to go. I know you don’t want me to, but it’ll be okay. I’ll call you when I get in, okay? I’ll call you,” Peter mumbled, the man pulling away out of necessity. His hands framed Tony’s face, the grip not letting him do much other than look right into Peter’s eyes. “I’ll miss you just as much, Tony.”

Pressing forward, Tony slotted their lips together, his eyes clenching tightly together. “I know. It’s just a couple of days. I’ll be fine, Pete. I’m just going to miss your wet towels on the floor of the bathroom, that’s all.” Tony wiped at his eye and took a step back. “I love you,” he whispered, the words finishing with a watery smile.

A soft look moved across Peter’s face, his own wet eyes widening with affection. “I love you, too.” Peter replied without hesitation. He shot Tony a smile, then quickly turned and got into his car. Any hesitation would’ve dragged the already excruciating situation out more than necessary – Peter was leaving for 3 days, not a lifetime.

Though Tony knew that, it felt like one. The dream from the night before clung to him in a way that made it hard to want to do anything, let alone go to work. He called Steve and didn’t even have to explain the situation, his friend reassured him things were taken care of for the afternoon and let Tony get off the phone. With that done, he walked back into the bedroom and crawled into Peter’s side of the bed.

Sleep didn’t claim him again for a while – Tony laid in the sheets that smelled so much like his person and attempted to relax but couldn’t find the way. He rolled around for a while, then flipped the covers back and climbed out of his cocoon just long enough to get the TV on and playing some show he wasn’t going to pay attention to, anyway. He just needed some background noise – anything to drown out the weirdly desolate hollowness in the recesses of his mind.

Thankfully, exhaustion overtook him and allowed for a couple hours of uninterrupted sleep – his eyes blinked open for the first time when he heard the familiar ringtone sounding from his phone. His heart rate picked up, the flash of “Husband” on the front of his screen an easy way to wake him up as quickly as possible. Clearing his throat, Tony answered the call, a smile slipping across his lips as he did.

“Petey,” Tony said in greeting. The remark pulled a laugh from Peter across the line, the sound of it making his chest warm with happiness for the first time all day.

“Hey Tones. From the sounds of it, I woke you up. I hope you were able to get some rest,” Peter replied, his voice soft, the tone of it meant to be tender and reassuring. Each word worked magic on him and made him feel calm – any type of presence from Peter at all a proven magical remedy.

Rolling a bit, Tony shifted until he was sitting up. Laying the way he was made him want to fall back to sleep, the heaviness of it trying to cling to him. “I’ve been sacked out for a couple of hours,” Tony admitted, a yawn overtaking him. “Did you get in okay? Is New York everything you remembered it to be?”

“I did – I got through the airport, into a cap, and checked into the conference, then spent a little time at the welcome banquet. New York is exactly how I remember it – busy and a little gray. Can’t touch Colorado,” Peter remarked wistfully. “I miss you.”

The simplicity of the words rang in Tony’s ears, the way they made him feel still so intense – like every time Peter said them was the first time. He gripped the phone in his hands a little tighter, his traitorous eyes watering. “There’s not a lot that can touch Colorado, Pete.” He let the cookie cutter remark come from his mouth first and then – “I miss you. A lot. More than 12 hours of separation should call for.” He laughed at himself, the absurdity of his words not lost on him.

Peter was quick to negate him, however. “It’s okay that we miss each other, Tony. I’ve spent every day falling asleep next to you for the past 4 years. The idea of not doing it tonight is crippling.” He adjusted then; the movement apparent in the rustle on the line. “You’re my husband, Tones. I’m obsessed with you and don’t want to fathom that I don’t have your warm chest to cling to.”

Blushing, Tony forced himself to take in a long breath – he knew Peter’s words were the truth, he heard them often enough. The vulnerability of them, however, never ceased to stop him in his tracks. “You are kind of obsessed with me.”

The two of them talked for another hour before the call of fatigue was too much for Tony – he fell asleep with the sound of Peter’s voice in his ear.

----

The next couple of days went by at a snail’s pace. Knowing that Steve and Rhodey couldn’t take on all of the work sitting in the garage, Tony got up and went in the next day. Waking up to a dead phone and a 5 hour long call on his log when he got it powered again, Tony felt a little bit better. Peter’s words from the night before stuck with him – his husband missed him just as much and it was okay to feel the clingy feeling of discomfort and irritation.

For a second, Tony let himself remember the reason why he never connected with someone else – the exact feeling bubbling within him. That thought was short lived, however, his brain supplied him with every reason Peter meant what he did to him; their connection was the only exception.

Getting through the workday provided a good distraction – the hours in the shop were packed with enough engine replacements and upgrades that thinking about anything other than the science wasn’t viable. The second he walked into the empty house, however, Tony felt loneliness creep over him. It took him a while to get further than the kitchen and then even longer to get out of his clothes and in the shower to clean off the day’s grime.

Not in the least bit hungry, Tony turned the TV on in the bedroom and let his body drop into Peter’s normal space again – the sheets smelt a little less like him than the day before, but the scent lingered regardless. Digging his nose into Peter’s pillow, Tony took comfort in the familiarity of it. The memory of their shopping trip to buy the fluffy thing flashed across his mind and eased the vice grip on his anxiety.

Like the previous night, Tony fell asleep with Peter on the other side of the phone. He opted out on the FaceTime calls – seeing Peter’s face might make the whole situation harder. Instead, he let Peter talk about his day and all of the different things he learned and wanted to apply to Uncle Ben’s. The passionate way he spoke made Tony’s heart ache and relaxed him further. Falling asleep mid-sentence, Tony missed the softly muttered ‘I love you’ and affectionate sigh that followed.

Steve and Rhodey took pity on him the next day, the two of them forcing Tony to sit in the small hangar kitchen and eat the admittedly delicious pizza from the parlor down the road. Apart from necessary stuff around the shop the last couple of days, Tony hadn’t talked to either of his closest friends – shutting down was the easiest and still took a lot of effort to not let that be his default reaction.

After spending a couple of hours trading stories and actually getting his head out of his ass, Tony went home feeling okay – he only needed to make it through 20 more hours before Peter came home. Between the effort of his friends and that knowledge, he felt determined to not fall into a lump of nothing the second he walked into the door.

Tony managed to get a few things around the house done before getting into the shower and settling down for the night. Still a little wired, he wondered if Peter was alone and in his room getting ready for bed, too. It felt like too long of a time since he heard his husband in the throes of passion – in that moment, Tony felt desperate to change that.

As if he were reading his mind, Peter called him, the sight of his name sending a rush through him. They didn’t partake in phone sex often, there wasn’t ever much distance between them – yet, he craved it; the need for that connection more important than the usual nerves he felt about talking, let alone saying anything about the way he felt.

“Hey, baby,” Tony mumbled, the nickname he reserved for times just like this one tumbling from his mouth.  Clenching his eyes shut, he shifted a little and waited for Peter’s reply.

“Baby, huh?” Peter started; a chuckle apparent in his tone.

The echo Tony could hear next made him realized he’d been put on speaker – his nervousness lessened a little. Hands-free meant having the ability to use said hands that were free. Keeping his eyes closed, Tony let Peter continue.

“I like that. Hey yourself. What are you doing right now, Tony?” Peter asked, the tone of his voice dropping a little. Without much of an exchange, Peter understood him immediately.

Switching his own phone to speaker, Tony shifted a bit and got himself comfortable in the middle of the bed. His skin was still a little damp from the shower, so he was only covered in a pair of grey boxer briefs and nothing else. The rush of heat he couldn’t help danced across his limbs, gooseflesh following in its wake.

“I just got out of the shower. I had a little energy when I got home, so I finally moved the stuff in the garage and changed all the air conditioning filters.” Tony tried to sound casual, though he’d already given himself away. It felt good just to hear Peter’s voice – he wanted his husband to know that first and foremost.

Yet, Peter was his other half for a reason – where Tony wanted to beat around the bush, Peter stepped right through it and took Tony by the back of the neck. “Thanks for doing that. Now why don’t you tell me about what you’re wearing.”

The mix of praise and command didn’t foster anything but compliance, that thought making Tony answer without thinking. “I’m wearing those Calvin Klein’s you got me for Christmas last year,” Tony muttered, his fingers moving to the waistband to trace the letters. He remembered the nervous look on Peter’s face – they were a different brand than Tony’s usual; change didn’t always go over well. When he saw them however, he immediately felt sexy – if Peter wanted to see him in the expensive underwear, he’d gladly do it.

A drawn out ‘mmm’ brought him out of the memory’s haze, the noise shooting a direct line of heat right to his groin. Peter hadn’t said to yet, but Tony couldn’t help it – he reached down and cupped himself, the feelings coursing through him on the cusp of overwhelming.

“You look great in those. Especially the gray ones. Are you wearing the gray ones, Tony?”

For a while, Peter asked him questions that progressively got more sexual. ‘Do you think your underwear would look better on the floor?’, ‘Are you thinking about my hands on you or your hands on me?’, or the best one – ‘How bad do you want to cum?’ Tony answered each of them truthfully, his coherency diminishing, but need to please Peter in the forefront of his mind the entire time.

Peter’s ability to pull him out of his own head and actually enjoy the things he liked became more apparent over the phone. He catered his responses to the things Tony said and when he finally let him cum, Peter was right there with him. Coming down, Tony listened to Peter’s breaths across the line like he would if they were tangled up with each other in person. The only thing that was missing was the thump of Peter’s heart against his ear, but he’d have that back soon enough.

“Are you feeling better now?” Peter asked after a while, his voice light and sleepy, the ultimate post-orgasmic tone. There wouldn’t be too much more conversation for either of them.

“Much. I miss you, Pete. I’m ready to touch you again – you calling every night has been nice, but I’m so ready for a hug,” Tony admitted, his own sleepiness making his lips a little looser than usual.

The light laugh he heard pulled his lips up into a smile, his spirit still high from the admittedly good day and the even better ending to it. Peter’s melty tones and chest deep noises were just icing on the cake.

“Fuck – I miss you, too. Especially when you’re being all soft like this. I can’t wait to have you in my arms again, Tony. Just a few more hours – I’ll be home before you get off of work tomorrow afternoon,” Peter replied, the obvious attempt to reassure not missed. The way Peter loved him, with so much incredible depth, made his heart race.

“Don’t tell me that. I’ll be watching the clock the whole day,” Tony joked, his lips still taut in a grin. “In all seriousness, though – I’m ready to see you. Please make time speed up a little.”

Like the last few nights, Tony let himself be lulled to sleep by the sound of Peter on the other side of the line. He got up out of bed to clean himself off and get into a clean pair of shorts, then got comfortable. Peter told him a little more about the conference and the stupid keynote speaker who didn’t bring the right presentation to an auditorium filled to capacity.

After a little while of Tony not replying, Peter stopped talking, his breathing getting heavier with each passing minute. Right before Tony passed out for real, he blinked awake to hear the soft snuffle of Peter’s kind-of snore. Grinning, he nuzzled back into the pillow and promptly fell asleep – the nightmares finally far, far away.

----

Knowing that Peter was going to be home when he got through the door the next day gave him a motivation he hadn’t had since the man left. If he immersed himself in the work, the time between him and getting to see Peter wouldn’t feel so long. It wasn’t sound science, but it seemed to work – he got lost in the remainder of the Boeing customization and didn’t look up until 10 minutes before quitting time.

He went about getting out of his coveralls and his hands clean – the process taking the remainder of the open hours for the garage. Both Rhodey and Steve knew that Peter was back, so they didn’t bat an eye when he raced out without saying much of anything. He turned and opened the door with his back, a soft smile on his lips – Tony sending them a wink. Feeling good wasn’t overrated – he appreciated all the moments that made his blood course through his veins like it was right that second.

His impatience made the drive home seem twenty minutes longer than it actually was – Tony tapped on the steering wheel irritably the entire time. Seeing Peter’s car in the driveway made his eyes light up, he hadn’t even seen the man yet and he already felt a billion times better just knowing Peter was there, waiting for him.

Fine motor skills took way more focus than usual – his excitement making it hard to think about anything other than getting out of his car and into the house where his beautiful husband was. He left his workbag on the front seat and made his way hastily across the grass and into the house; the door blessedly unlocked.

Peter peeked his head out of the kitchen door at the sound of footsteps, his eyes widening when he noticed Tony. The peanut butter sandwich that was about a quarter of the way to Peter’s mouth dropped on the plate Peter was holding that went to the corner of the counter, his hands dropping to his sides to wipe the crumbs off on his pants before taking quick strides and closing the distance between them.

Tony let out a long sigh as Peter’s arms wrapped around him. His husband smelt like recycled air and sweat – a lovely traveler’s concoction that shouldn’t have been as appealing as it was. Ducking his head into the crook of Peter’s neck, Tony clung to him, his body completely relaxing for the first time since he heard about the trip. “I’m so glad you’re home,” he said, the desperation disguised by the glorious muffle of words against skin.

Lips on his seemed like a good enough response, Tony leaned into the kiss and let himself melt a little further – words weren’t ever his forte, anyway. Peter put a lot into the kiss, his hands clenching first at Tony’s shoulders, then down his flank to settle at the edge of his shirt. So lost in the kiss, he didn’t notice fingers starting to creep under the thin t-shirt he threw on before walking out of the hangar’s locker room.

Gasping, Tony pulled back from the deep kiss, his skin prickled from the cold hands that were now flat against the planes of his back. “Holy shit, Pete,” Tony exclaimed, his hands batting Peter’s out of his shirt to stop the overabundance of cascading stimulus. They shared a smile, his husband’s eyes glazed over and overtaken by rogue pupils – the sight beautiful.

Those same cold hands cupped his cheeks, Peter’s fingertips running around the line of his lips to trace the shape of them – the touch was still tingly cold, but he got used to it as the seconds passed. Glad to simply be back in his presence, Tony soaked up as much as he could.

Peter had a lot of good things coming for him – this wouldn’t be the only time he left to better himself. Loving him meant being there to support him, which meant not falling apart at the seams. In all the bogged down feeling he experienced while Peter was gone, Tony realized that it was worth it – finding a way to enjoy life together from afar.

There wasn’t anything quite like that ‘good to see you’ feeling.

[duhragonball]

7 Comfort Movies

Tagged by @pandemicpicnic . List your seven favorite comfort movies, then tag 7 people.   

This is a good thing to pass around, since I could use the diversion, and as I think about this list, I realize how long it’s been since I last saw a lot of these movies.  

In no particular order...

1) Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn

I dunno if these are necessarily comfort movies, as opposed to just movies I like the best, but I don’t watch movies a whole lot, so I’m guessing my all-time favorites are probably close enough.   Movie 12 is good watchin’, period.   This is a movie about everyone working together.    Friends, enemies, strangers, the living and the dead, the damned and the divine.   I watch this movie and wish that we in the real world could put aside our differences so easily and blow up all the Nazis.

2) Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

People say this is the worst Superman movie, but fuck that noise.   This is the only one where Superman throws all the nuclear weapons into the sun.    But one of them has a chicken nugget attached to it, which grows into a clone of Superman with scratchy fingernails, his only weakness.    So Superman has to kick his ass on/with the moon, and then tell everyone that nuclear war is too big a job for Superman, because we’ll just re-arm the minute his back is turned. 

This is a story about high school physics, Luthor.     Sometimes the things we fear the most are only the darker side of our greatest strengths.   If humanity has the power to destroy itself, then doesn’t that mean we have the power to save ourselves as well?   The choice is ours.  

3) Spaceballs

Some killjoys actually hated this movie, and point to it as evidence that Mel Brooks lost his touch.   I respectfully submit that those people are dumb.  Spaceballs came out during the dark years between Return of the Jedi and Phantom Menace, when we all wanted more Star Wars but thought we would never get more.    Brooks heard our pleas, and gave us this movie, which is basically Star Wars with dick jokes all over it.   People always go on about how Star Trek predicted smartphones and the Simpsons predicted the Trump administration, but only Spaceballs was prescient enough to declare: “Fuck!    Even in the future, nothing works!”

This is a story about following your heart.    If all you care about is duty, and obligation, and profit, you’ll end up marrying some dullard, or owing your soul to a talking pizza, or roaming the universe in search of air.   

4) Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

This is the best Batman movie ever, and maybe even the best comic book movie period.    In 1994, Batman the Animated Series was popular enough that they made a feature film and ran it in theaters and everything.  I remember some smartass article at the time questioning whether parents would see the point in taking their kids to watch a movie of something that’s on TV for free, which is just dumb.    It’s not like they ran four episodes of the TV series for this thing.   It’s an original story!   Anyway, Batman has to figure out what the deal is with this new vigilante who fights crime with murder, which is also a crime.   He also gets very sad in place and it’s very emotional and I bought the soundtrack as soon as I could because I wanted to listen to it and feel things.

This is a story about the future, and promises, and the roads not taken.   And when all is said and done, maybe the choices we made were the right ones after all, in spite of our second-guesses.

5) Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

I considered putting Revenge of the Sith on this list, since that’s usually the one I look up clips from on YouTube, but there’s no topping Jedi.   I saw this in the theatre when I was six and everything was awesome.    Jabba the Hutt, wint-o-green lightsabers, speeder bikes, Ewoks breaking stuff with logs and rocks, it’s just a pleasure to watch.   Also, this movie introduces Emperor Palpatine, and lays the foundation for the Sith lore that made me love Revenge of the SIth in the first place.  Not long after we got home from seeing this movie in 1983, I tried to draw this scene in the screencap above, because it left such a deep impression on me.   

This is a story about feelings.    Every butthole in Star Wars is always telling everyone else what to feel and how much they should feel it, and don’t get too attached to this or that.     But in this movie Luke has to exercise restraint and then cut loose, give into his passions and then reign them in, care for his friends and family but also be willing to let them go.    Everyone can give him advice, but he’s got to hoe that row himself, and figure it out as he goes.   He doesn’t always get it exactly right, but he still gets it.   

6) The Transformers: The Movie (1986)

The historians will say that cartoons like the original Transformers were nothing more than glorified toy commercials, made possible by the deregulation of children’s entertainment in the 1980′s.    I find this incredibly unfair, because that analysis ignores the fact that Transformers was a fucking awesome cartoon.    They’re all robots, so they could shoot and punch each other without any guff from standards and practices. And since the show was designed to promote an entire toy line, there were literally dozens of characters, each given a surprising amount of character and personality.   Starscream (center) and Ramjet (right) are practically the same toy, but kids wanted both of them because Starscream is a whiny, shitty drama queen, and Ramjet is a dumbass who likes to hit things with his head.     Astrotrain (left) is just a cool dude who can be a train or a space shuttle. 

This movie is the height of the franchise, where they could raise the stakes even higher, and introduce even crazier concepts like planet-eating monsters and robots actually killing each other for keeps.    I see fans from my generation acting all traumatized over all the deaths, like they never should have done that in a movie marketed for children, but this was a story about renewal.   The old order changeth, and it falls to the newcomers to rise up and carry on.    I’ve always taken a lot of comfort in the way these characters pass the torch.    The Smurfs were never brave enough to have Papa Smurf name his successor.  

7) UHF

Geez, I haven’t watched this one in forever.    I’d have to double-check to see if I even have it on DVD.    UHF was the ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic vehicle from the late 1980′s.   I want to say ‘89.    He plays a guy who takes over a TV station and runs all these ludicrous shows on it until it becomes the most popular channel in town.   It’s basically a bunch of sketch comedy stitched together into a movie, and it doesn’t try to apologize for this.  

This is a story of the importance of imagination, and of being true to yourself.   Al’s character has trouble finding a steady job, and its’ easy to conclude that there’s something wrong with him, but it’s really just that he hasn’t found the right opportunity for his passions and skills.   Once he finds his place, he rises to the occasion.  

And that’s my list.   Now I gotta tag people.   @auralime, @ediblenonsense, @semercury​, @twobellsilence​, @drowning-in-this-starry-serenade​, @cozymochi​, and @glintea​.

[ottorocket808]

Chapter Two: Trick or Treat Freak

I also call this chapter How the Hell Did El Survive?

El crying tugs at my heartstrings man her life has sucked and now she’s in the woods shivering cold and alone.

Hops paranoia sucks El has one day of the year that she could safely go outside and that’s Halloween but he still won’t let her go. You can’t keep her in a bubble Hop she’ll resent you for it she needs room to grow man.

Jonathan ain’t learned shit from last year check on your brother sometimes. Deep breaths Joyce let him pee in peace. Jonathan probably should’ve told Joyce how Will was feeling he’s closing himself off trying to feel normal.

Nobody wants to be Winston so either Mike is Winston or we have two Venkmans it is what it is and how in the hell are y’all the only kids in the entire school who didn’t know that the rest of the school was saving their costumes until later?

‘Who you gonna call The Nerds!’ 🤣 this shouldn’t be as funny as it was.

I wonder if people blaming Wills True Sight on PTSD is because they don’t know enough about it yet or because they aren’t listening.

I wonder what kind of cigarettes Hop smokes because Joyce smokes too so this has to be a completely different brand or at least type.

The gate has grown so much even with all the burning it still got massive.

He knows that Will knows what’s currently happening in the Upside Down he just doesn’t know how but why he’s choosing to hide it from the people that it could potentially effect I don’t know in all honesty if I were to blame him for anything it would be leaving them vulnerable.

Nah Steve she ain’t alright she has a damn near crippling level of guilt. I’m fairly certain that Nancy was Barbara’s only friend that’s why nobody cares they didn’t really know her well enough to care. Steve wasn’t really listening to Nancy’s plight she carries the weight of what happened to Nancy and she can’t get out from under it until she confesses it to herself she needs to admit it ’I got Barb killed, I should’ve let her stay at home, I should’ve gone home with her, I never should’ve left her alone.’ that guilt eating away at her that’s what’s making her want to tell Barb’s parents, a night of fun won’t make that go away because she can’t even admit it to herself.

Bullies huh? Nice save boys. 🤣 Presumptuous is not a good thing Dustin.

She’s found the romance genre she’s ready for her own love story to take off with all the movies she’s probably seen.

How long had she been on her own in the woods? That looks like a month of new growth on her head poor kid. I wonder if he died from getting hit in the face with a flaming log.

Six different farms crops killed 5 of them died in the same night.

Why are Max and Billy blaming each other for having to move to Indiana? It’s not like either of them made the recommendation or asked to move their parents decided they should be banded together not divided like this. Is Billy off beat with his steering wheel smacking? Yes, yes he is. Attempted vehicular manslaughter is not a good example to lead by Billy not cool at all.

This rot is disgusting and Barney Fife in the background is an idiot you don’t touch that with your bare hands when you don’t know what it is or what causes it.

Quick question does the T and W stand for Tight and Wide?

I see exactly what Joyce sees in Bob He’s nothing like Lonnie and he looks at her like she hung the stars in the sky. I wonder why Jonathan doesn’t.

Poor Egon the kid just wants to feel like last year never happened.

I never understood keg stands who thought that up?Oh look there’s Steve’s old friend the one whose girlfriend was staring at Billy’s ass on his first day.

How big is that tv, the thing is tiny. Poor Bob and Joyce you can tell she’d jump at the chance if she could I wonder if moving would disrupt Will’s True Sight.

Nobody likes nougat Dustin 3 musketeers bars are gross. Poor Lucas his voice shot up so high I think that was more high pitched than I can do. I feel like Max is a constant reminder to Mike that El is gone as the new girl hanging around I feel like his friends should’ve tried talking to him he’s drowning.

Yes Hop you did forget about El your halfway happy compromise turned into a only you’re happy situation while she stuck in that cabin yet again.

I wonder if that guy El knocked out went down to the station to tell them what happened and that’s how Hop found out that she was still out there.

Mike’s brooding is starting to wear thin and we’re only on our second episode.

I never understood older kids picking on younger ones it’s low hanging fruit.

Poor Will is maybe 5 foot at this point and this massive monster is big enough that dwarfs every building in Hawkins and it’s chasing down this child he forgot to be quiet when he drops into The Upside Down always be quiet and never stop running.

Who the fuck is ‘we’ Nancy? Steve didn’t even invite that girl to his house you asked her to be a 5th wheel then you sent her home Steve did nothing but exactly what Barb told you he wanted to do there is no ‘we’ here. Just admit to yourself that you messed up, and let it go. She should’ve never told that boy that she loved him if it wasn’t how she actually felt shit is cruel.

Will’s bowl cut makes me so sad it’s awful and people are still giving their kids this haircut.

That’s right El lock him outside! made her skip out on trick or treating to sit at home and stare at tv so much for compromise. Man if El could survive being out in the elements in December in a dress, tube socks and Chucks then you can survive a night on the porch crybaby. Not gonna work you should’ve brought yo ass home on time. This man thinks he’s crazy when she doesn’t say his name again you can tell he thinks he’s imagining it. Keeping these kids apart is causing them both a lot of unnecessary pain

[loopy777]

You've got me curious now as to what anime youve seen, enjoyed and why.

Oof, I don’t track that type of thing. I’ve been asked about anime I like previously, and I feel like I always forget something. I suppose I should start a MyAnimeList one of these days, just for reference.

So let’s list everything I can remember, as well as a pithy reaction.

Baccano!This one is just so much fun. It’s violent and crass in a classy way, it’s funny in a weird way, and it’s a great example of a non-linear narrative. I love it.

Code Geass (Season 1)Ugh, I only watched this one because people solicited my opinion on it. Well, my opinion is that it’s not as smart as it wants to be, there’s too much contrived melodrama (and considering the wild premise, that’s saying something), and Kallen would be a wonderful and interesting character if she wasn’t always being demeaned for fan-service. I quit when the first season finale kicked off, because I felt things were just getting too contrived. I hear it really fell apart in the second season.

Cowboy BebopI found this a bit pretentious. It had good episodes and bad episodes. The production quality is good. But I'm not sure why it's legendary. Still, I liked its sense of humor, and enjoyed it when it wasn’t trying to be super serious. My favorite character is Ed.

Demon SlayerI'm mainly watching this because my brother wanted to give it a try on Toonami, but I kind of checked out when it unceremoniously removed everything difficult about the sister being a demon and made her into an order-following sidekick that fits in a suitcase. Now the latest episode introduced a loud annoying side character, so we may quit. I have no idea why this one is so popular.

Fullmetal AlchemistCovered

Gatchaman CrowdsI was asked to watch this one, as well, but it went a lot better than Code Geass. It’s a bit weird, and I think it's naively optimistic about the internet in many ways, but I still found it's exploration of Internet-age superheroes to be interesting, and it's the best, most mature take on the Power Rangers-style ‘sentai’ genre that I've seen. I don't know how well it matches up with its Gatchaman legacy, but as its own thing, it's pretty good.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (including 2nd Gig)This is another legendary one that I think is good but a bit over-rated. It's a good piece of modern Cyberpunk, but it's very talky, and very jargon-filled. I'm almost convinced that the viewer is not meant to follow half of the conversations, that they're just part of the ambiance. I tended to like the stand-alone episodes better than the storyline episodes. Still, it’s a very smart series, and probably the best thing in the franchise, from what I’ve heard.

Log Horizon (first season only)I’ll tell you what- I think it’s possible to make a good anime with the premise of people from the modern, real world entering a fantasy realm (either another dimension or a VR video game). Log Horizon did not end up being that ideal. The main character is a Gary Stu, his romances with girls who are either ten years old or just look like they’re ten years old are creepy, and it got boring seeing the protagonists’ plans always succeed without much of a hitch.

Lupin III (series 4 and 5)I like this franchise when it's being clever, when it's springing a twist while playing fair. Sometimes, though, it doesn't play fair with its twists, leaving me underwhelmed. And while the regular cast is amusing, they're fairly shallow characters; this isn't always a bad thing, as that allows them to slot into all kinds of genre fare, but does limit the storytelling ambitions. It’s fine.

Macross franchiseSuper Dimensional Fortress MacrossI still like the original, despite how dated it is. It's probably the best possible implementation of 'soap opera in space.'

Macross PlusI'm not sure why this one is so revered. I feel like it doesn't play fair with its mystery, despite being such a short story, and whole thing with the killer popstar AI just left me cold.

Macross 7I like the music, but the story really drags for the first half with a formula that’s repeated far too long, and then falls apart in the end. The love triangle isn’t resolved, and in fact I’m of the opinion that two of the participants didn’t even know they were in competition. The bad guys are allowed to sail off into the sunset, forgiven, despite still inhabiting the bodies of kidnapped humans. But this isn't a series you watch for the story; this is a series you watch because you like the idea of a rockstar flying into space in a transforming mecha, controlled by an electric guitar, to sing at alien invaders. Personally, I think the idea is dumb. Plus, this ruins the premise of the original series by adding in what is effectively magic.

Macross ZeroThis is pretty good and has the best dogfights in the series, but it has one of those weird arty endings that anime sometimes likes to do where no one can tell what actually happened and we need to find translated interviews with the creative team to get it explained.

Macross FrontierBy this point, I was wondering why everyone is so eager for the Macross franchise to get American distribution. It’s better than Macross 7, but feels like a first draft of the intended story, and the creative team lost track of their own subplots. The two AU movies do a more satisfying take on the same basic story, but sometimes they come across like an abridged recap of the series, so you really need to watch everything to get a satisfying experience. That said, the final experience was indeed fairly satisfying, making this the second best thing in the franchise for me. Still, I wouldn’t say it lives up to the original in any way.

Macross DeltaBoy, this one was dumb. Everything wrong with Frontier is worse here, with none of the good stuff.

The Melancholy of Haruhi SuzumiyaI still want an ending for this, despite nothing worthwhile coming from it since 2011. It wouldn't even be hard to pick it up again; set it in modern times, and explain the fact that everyone has smartphones now to be a result of some weird off-screen Haruhi antics.

Mobile Suit Gundam franchiseMobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded OrphansI've only ever experienced the Gundam franchise because my brother wants to get into it and he keeps trying to find a vector. This was my first experience with it, and I found it very 'teenage boy,' in both tone and story. I was underwhelmed.

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn RE:0096Another case where the storytellers reached the end only to have forgotten the rest of the story. Why does that happen so often in anime? And I think it assumes the viewer is familiar with the whole rest of the franchise, because there was a lot that just went straight over my head but didn't seem like it was supposed to. Nice animation and art style, though.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin - Advent of the Red CometEverything I said about Unicorn, only more.

My Hero AcademiaCovered

NichijouThis thing is still hilarious, even after a rewatch. Stick with the sub, as the new dub's voice-acting doesn't have the same range and power of the original, losing a lot of the humor.

Outlaw Star I'm struggling to remember a lot of this one. it’s another I watched because my brother was interested in it. I do recall that it was a fairly standard Space Western that ends in a way that's more like serious science fiction, and that for some reason a Japanese swordswoman in classic clothing was part of the cast. Now I wonder if that was an homage to Lupin III. Or maybe Japan just really loves throwing classic samurai into everything, regardless of setting or genre.

Pokemon (part of first series)I was in high school when this franchise first came to America, and for some reason all the geeks in my high school thought it was the greatest thing. The games were good, yeah, but the anime? I don't think it's bad for a kiddie cartoon, but it obviously has no greater ambitions than pleasantly occupying the kids for 22 minutes. Personally, what I really want is a series about Team Rocket done in the style of Cowboy Bebop.

Princess TutuCo-owner of the Best Magical Girl designation. I forget who asked me to watch this, but I owe them.

Puella Magi Madoka MagicaCo-owner of the Best Magical Girl designation. I still haven't bothered with anything but the original series, and I continue to be happy with that choice.

Samurai ChamplooI liked this better than Cowboy Bebop, but only because its ambitions were lower. It leaned more into its genre, had fun with its style more even when being serious, and as a result became more enjoyable. I overall liked going on a journey with these rascals, but I think it ended at a good point. I don’t need more.

Spice & Wolf (first season)I watched this on someone's suggestion, and found it a little underwhelming. What I really appreciated were the two main characters, especially that they seem to be into each other, romantically and sexually, and aren't freaked out by it while at the same time not being in a hurry to become a couple. It was just a kind of, "Yeah, this could really be something if we ever find the time." It was so amazingly mature and real. Too bad the main Economics plotlines just wound up being tepid.

Tekkaman BladeMy thoughts haven't changed on this.

Tiger & BunnyI'm still fond of this one, and I'm actually kind of curious to revisit it in light of My Hero Academia.

Transformers ‘Unicron Trilogy’These three cartoons are true anime, produced by and for Japan. (The other cartoons in the franchise were written, and sometimes animated, in the west.) It's garbage that assumes its child audience are morons, and on top of that the first two series wound up with laughably bad dubs. How this trilogy revitalized the franchise, I have no idea, and thankfully I'll never have to worry about it.

Volton (original)Either this or Robotech/Macross was my first anime; I was too young to say which I discovered first. I'll admit that the original Voltron isn't good, despite the toy being neat, but I have a soft spot for it. I tried the Netflix reboot, watching the first three episodes, and found it to be vacuous junk. Maybe some day a version of this will come along that will do justice to the toy.

And I think that’s it. If I remember anything I left off, I’ll reblog with the addition.

[themagiciansreccenter]

Author Spotlight: @ceeainthereforthat​

Every week we interview a writer from The Magicians fandom. If you would like to be interviewed or you want to nominate a writer, get in touch via our ask box.

First things first, tell us a little about yourself.

THE DREADED QUESTION! I'm a novelist, in my public persona, and so I literally write all day long.

How long have you been writing for?

For years, but it was off and on until 2014, when I suddenly just started writing all the time. I started with fanfiction, I wrote original stuff, and I've recently come back to fanfic after being on hiatus for a couple years.

What inspired you to start writing for The Magicians?

I got into the fandom late--my first live episode was 4.11--and I never saw a season finale that so desperately needed to be erased by as much transformative fiction as possible. I was so upset. I went into reading fanfiction to help me move away from the heartbreak of 4.13.

And fic is infectious. Once I started reading stories, I started getting an idea for one. And one day I just dashed off a really short scene of queliot thirst, thinking, I'll just get this out of my system. But it didn't work that way, and now I have a universe alteration timeline 41 story set in an alternate first year at Brakebills that's pushing 70k and it's not done yet.

Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write? What it is about them that makes them your favourite?

I am really torn. Do I love writing Quentin, who resonates so deeply with the part of me that doesn't realize that getting out of bed every day is an act of bravery? I love writing Quentin, because I feel like his headspace is so familiar--but since I'm in control of writing it, I can write these moments where Quentin comes up against his monsters and persistent feelings of self-doubt and show how he resists them by having faith in the people around him.

...Or do I love writing Eliot, who resonates so deeply with the part of me who went through growing up with people who were hostile to who you were, who you loved, how you were different, and how he walked away from all that bullshit and never looked back, and made himself what he wanted to be? I want to clutch Eliot to my chest because he seems like the typical queen bee meanie at first, and he's good at saying, "I don't care" while at the same time doing things that show that no, he cares a hell of a lot, but he's not going to get hurt again if he can help it--but since I'm in control of writing it, I can write these moments where Eliot walks up to what he fears most, and instead of slaying the monster, he embraces vulnerability and the risk of hurt in hope of something incredible.

WHICH DO I PICK? HELP

Do you have a preference for a particular season/point in time to write about?

So far I have been writing about the very beginning. First year. Season One. Where it all started, but different. Writing for The Magicians is a surprise for me because I'm usually writing Alternate Universe RomCom fics, but all my ideas are much more closely related to the Magicians TV universe than I usually ever write.

Are you working on anything right now? Care to give us an idea about it?

Oh boy. Two things! The first one is Enfleurage, the story that was supposed to just be a little flash/slice of (horny!) life between Quentin and Eliot,  but wound up exploding into this plotty epic fantasy. I didn't know what it was going to be when I started it, and so it starts out feeling like a flirty romance fic, and then I found the plot and went, "oh well, I guess I'm writing a longfic."

The other is a series of incredibly porny short stories. The series is called Hedonism for Beginners, and like Enfleurage, it was just supposed to be this simple one-shot. And then I wrote a sequel. And now i have a short list of stories that happen next in the series. I started working on a new story really recently, and ... it seems to want to have a plot. But I think it can progress gradually with each story I write.

How long is your “to do list”?

That's it. I don't have any more ideas for Magicians fic. *knocks on wood*

What is your favourite fic that you’ve written for The Magicians? Why?

Enfleurage and Hedonism for Beginners are the only fics I've written for the Magicians. I think I'm always going to be fond of Enfleurage, because it came in a time in my life where I needed to prove to myself that I know how to write a story, and I can trust my characters and my own sense of story to tell something that will keep people entertained.

Many writers have a fic that they are passionate about that doesn’t get the reception from the fandom that they hoped for. Do you have a fic you would like more people to read and appreciate?

There aren't as many hits on Hedonism for Beginners when you compare it to the audience for Enfleurage. I know that's partially because I locked the series away so it can only be seen by logged in members of the archive, and that a lot of people who enjoy the fic on Ao3 don't actually have accounts there. I think it might also have a narrower audience because the sex is explicit and the story really revolves around writing the smuttiest smut I can manage, ha! and so that probably limits the audience too.

What is your writing process like? Do you have any traditions or superstitions that you like to stick to when you’re writing?

My writing process is all over the place, and it depends on what i'm doing. Usually I outline but for the Magicians fics I've worked on so far, I've been working without much of an outline at all, just seeing where the characters and my understanding of stories takes me.

For tools I use a combination of scrivener and google docs. I'm really nuts about scrivener and I have an elaborate project setup complete with color coding and other bells and whistles. I write the first draft of a scene in Scrivener, and then I copy/paste it to google docs for alpha/beta reader feedback and do editing on it there.

I also track wordcount - I don't try to make a wordcount goal every day; I'm just tracking the work I actually did that day so when I feel like I've been wasting time doing nothing I have proof that's not true.

Do you write while the seasons are airing or do you prefer to wait for hiatus? How does the ongoing development of the canon influence and inspire your writing process?

I didn't start writing these stories until hiatus (and i don't know if I'm going to keep watching for season 5, I'm still really angry) but I think If I was still in progress on a long fic and the season started again, that's cool, but I'm writing for what inspired me at the moment of that first spark of an idea. Maybe something in the new season will be pertinent and maybe it won't. I guess I'll know when I get there.

What has been the most challenging fic for you to write?

The stories in Hedonism for Beginners are the more challenging stories to write. I don't precisely shy away from writing sex scenes, but I did kind of gloss over them a little, and I really felt like I wasn't bringing everything to the page that I could. I'm talking about the more frank descriptions of the action going beyond metaphor and feeling cues into exactly what they did with the envelope (and getting more adventurous with the kind of sex i'm portraying,) but I'm also talking about getting more intimate with the person whose point of view we're experiencing while reading--trying to get into the skin and mind and heart of the character, so we can see how that sex scene changes things for them.

It's been beneficial already. I can see that they've improved me as a writer in general--that working on writing better sex made me use skills that apply to everything I write.

Are there any themes or tropes that you like particularly like to explore in your writing?

I think I'm not good at seeing the recurring themes and tropes in the things I write. But I haven't ever written a story where nobody in the story falls in love. There's always a romance in everything that I write, even if it's not the main point of the story.

Are there any writers that inspire your work? Fanfiction or otherwise?

I think I gain inspriation from everything I read lately. Fiction, fanfiction, essays, non-fiction--it all helps to fill the well and inspire me.

What are you currently reading? Fanfiction or otherwise?

I'm not reading much fiction right now - I'm currently reading a book about city planning and how states try to make living spaces according to the ways in which they have attempted to make their citizens legible, through census data and other records, and how it doesn't always work. After that I'm going to read a book authored by a member of the Black Panthers during the Black Power movement (it's for a book I'm writing)

I'm having decision paralysis on my next novel to read. I'm really behind on novels, it's really quite sad.

What is the most valuable piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?

Don't hoard your best ideas. Use them right away, and clear up your brainspace to make room for another mind-blowing awesome idea. Another one will come - and the more you use your best ideas, the more excellent ideas you will get.

Are there any words or phrases you worry about over using in your work?

I'm overly fond of the word fingertips. I don't know why.

What was the first fanfic that you wrote? Do you still have access to it?

um. I think it was for the vampire lestat? and I don't have access to it any more.

Rapidfire Round!

Self-edit or Beta?

Both. Betas are really, really important.

Comments or Kudos/Reblogs or Likes?

I love getting comments on Ao3, and I love getting reblogs with tag comments on tumblr. Likes/Kudos are nice.

Smut, Fluff or Angst?

Can't we just have it all?

Quick & Dirty or Slow Burn?

Both. Yes, both. both is good.

Favourite Season?

Season Three

Favourite Episode?

the same as everyone. 3.05!

Favourite Book?

Haven’t read them.

Three favourite words?

petrichor, somnolent, euphoria

Want to be interviewed for our author spotlight? Get in touch here.

[douxreviews]

Star Trek: Discovery - ‘New Eden’ Review

Pike: "If you're telling me that this ship can skip across the universe on a highway made of mushrooms, I kind of have to take it on faith."

By nature I love brevity: Though the improvements to Discovery as a whole continue to do their work, this episode is bogged down by its attempt at religious themes when it lacks a clear understanding of religion.

'New Eden' starts out with the same log that closed out last week's 'Brother.' The opening scene with Burnham and Pike is a good example of the new status quo aboard the Disco. The friendlier, more team-oriented leadership of Captain Pike combined with the more relaxed, less anxious tone of the series as a whole make the scenes on the Disco herself work well. The character interactions were good, particularly between Saru and Tilly. I also thought the final solution looked really cool, even if there are numerous science gripes one could take. It was fairly obvious that Tilly's friend wasn't real, and once we found out it was a friend from her childhood, I guessed that she was dead. Still, that didn't make their interactions any less fun to watch, and the moment Tilly figures out that May is dead was sufficiently creepy. I think it's Mary Wiseman's expression that really sells it.

My chief gripe with the episode lies in the scenes set on the planet. To explain fully why I don't like these sequences, I'll have to get pretty in depth with philosophy. If you're not interested in reading all that, the TL;DR is that the episode fails to understand religion or religious people enough to portray them realistically, and that its attempts to stay above religious disagreements and not take sides lead it to unintentionally choose a different side entirely. There's a lot more to unpack than just that, though, and that's really the bulk of what I have to say about this episode, so continue on if you are interested in engaging your philosophical side.

There's an old story about five blind wise men wandering through the desert. After a time, they come across an elephant, and unable to see it, they reach out to touch the creature. The first grabs hold of the leg and declares, 'The elephant is like a tree.' The second grabs hold of the trunk and says, 'No, the elephant is like a snake.' The third grabs hold of the tail and corrects both, 'No, the elephant is like a rope.' The fourth grabs hold of the ear and informs them, 'The elephant is actually like a heavy piece of leather.' And the final one grabs hold of the elephant's side and says, 'It's clear the elephant is like a wall.' The five blind wise men go on their way, arguing about who is right and really knows what the elephant is like.

Anyone who's ever sat through a philosophy class will tell you the purpose of the story and its moral: the five blind wise men cannot agree on what the elephant is like because none of them has the full picture. Each has a piece of the puzzle, but none of them can see the totality of the elephant. This is then used as an analogy for God. No one religion can have the whole picture because we are all blind wise men who have only a part of it right. From the ideological basis that this story illustrates have come a multitude of pluralistic movements and systems of thought. Someone who has a 'Coexist' bumper sticker on their car or who describes themself as 'Generally spiritual, but not confined to any religion' probably derives their worldview from this basic concept. Though I happen to disagree with this idea of God, I won't argue this here. The problem comes when this is touted as a religious awakening that all religious people should agree with and get behind.

Let me ask you this: how do you know that the five blind wise men all have only a part of the puzzle? How do you know that the whole elephant isn't really like a rope, or a tree? The answer, of course, is because you know what the elephant is really like. It's because you can see. So someone who takes this analogy from the story of the five blind wise men and the elephant makes the following claim: Of all the many people on Earth who have searched for the truth, I alone can see. This is, of course, the central claim of anyone who believes they know what God is like. So the 'Coexist' spirituality is itself a religion, with its own view of God, though perhaps a view that's not definitively established. And because it is a separate religion in and of itself, it contradicts the other religions that it often claims to incorporate into its beliefs.

A monotheistic religion, like Christianity or Judaism or Islam, explicitly requires that its deity be the only true deity, and the only correct view of that deity. No one who truly believes in the Biblical God or Yahweh or Allah would ever decide that, just because everyone in their group believes something different, their true savior must be a part of all of those beliefs. The expectation that this will occur assumes both that all religions are essentially compatible with each other and that the amalgamation of these religions is a true cooperation of all of them rather than a separate religion itself. Both assumptions are false.

The resulting misconception of religion makes 'New Eden' somewhat hard to watch for a religious person like myself. Going the route of a combination of every religion is a clear attempt to not have to choose a side, but in the very attempt it chooses a side all its own. And making it so much about sides creates the friction between belief systems we see nowadays. Instead of pretending we all believe essentially the same thing, let's recognize where we disagree and be human beings together apart from that. Of course you should try to convince people if you truly believe you are right - it's an important question - but if you can't live with someone who makes a different choice about where they put their faith, you're in for a difficult life. This, along with the whole science vs. faith theme - a trope that needs to die - make all of the sequences on the planet fall flat and far short of where they could be.

The execution of this episode was perfectly fine, I just didn't like the writing choices they made on the planet. Jonathan Frakes continues to serve as a competent and proficient director, and all the acting was good. Sonequa Martin-Green seems to have settled into the role of Burnham much more this season, which I appreciate, and all our main characters continue to do well.

Strange New Worlds:

The planet was called Terralysium by its inhabitants. What we saw of it seemed like a fairly run-of-the-mill small country town.

New Life and New Civilizations:

The Red Angel continues to overshadow the season. It's also possible that the being who looks like May is actually some other creature. As far as civilizations go, the New Edeners fell flat.

Pensees:

-Spock is in a psych ward at Starbase 5. Huh.

-Pike has already redecorated his ready room so it has seats.

-I liked Stamets' fears that he'll see Culber in the network and won't be able to leave. Since Wilson Cruz is a regular this season, expect more of that.

-So, after all that pluralistic vague religion, mushrooms are the source of eternal life? Okay then.

-We heard a bit about WWIII, an event well-documented in Trek history.

-Lt. Owosekun grew up in a Luddite community, huh? I bet her parents weren't too thrilled with her decision to join the high-tech Starfleet.

-If the asteroid material weighs so much, how was Burnham able to hold a chunk of it last episode?

-It was great to see Saru acting as a mentor to Tilly. More, please; those are my two favorite characters!

-Stamets knew exactly what was going on on the bridge before he even entered. Hmmm...

-So, it's quite the coincidence that the Red Angel happened to grab a group of soldiers that contained at least one Christian, one Jew, one Muslim, one Buddhist, one Hindu, one Shintoist, and one Wiccan. Seems unlikely that you'd find that sort of cross-section of religions in any group of soldiers. Also, every one of them had a copy of their scripture on them at the time?

-I love Detmer's reaction to Tilly's plan. Actually, I just love Detmer in general.

-The one bit of religious theme/imagery I really appreciated was at the end when Jacob plugs the power source into the church and the lights turn on. They'd said that the reason pilgrimages had stopped was because the lights were off, and here science solved that problem. Science fueled faith, which is a cooperation of the two that you don't often see in television.

-I'm surprised they so easily used the spore drive. I thought after the end of last season it would take a whole lot for them to use it again.

Quotes:

Saru: "Before we can care for others, we must care for ourselves."

Tilly: "No, I think your orders are probably good. I need to go pass out now."

Pike: "Don't make me laugh." Burnham: "Fortunately for you, I was raised on Vulcan. We don't do funny." Pike: *laughs*

Burnham: "Sir, I learned the hard way what not following orders can lead to."

3 out of 6 fungi of eternal life.

CoramDeo got tired of sitting around and picking blackberries.

[measuringlife]

Measuring Me: Goal Setting

For as long as I can remember I’ve been a goal oriented person. However it wasn’t until last year when I was working with my life coach that I got into the habit of writing and reflecting on them. We had weekly and daily goal exercises, I’ve maintained the weekly goal setting and reflection practice. The great thing about writing and record your goals is that you can go back to read them! So here’s a look at my very first weekly goal writing session on July 1, 2018, prompts in bold and my reflection a year later in italics. 

Make a list of 10-15 goals you would like to achieve THIS WEEK. Make them positive, present tense, and specific. Remember these are goals for the week, not months from now. So think of these as the smallest action steps that will drive you FORWARD the quickest. This is about setting yourself up for a win. 1. Log my overtime work hours to prepare to present to my boss at the end of peak season - DID, having comp time in the fall helped me make myself, my goals, Measuring Life a priority 2. Add google analytics to my website - DID 3. Categorize tumblr blog posts - DID 4. Work out at least 4 times - Likely Did, still track workouts 5. Share my blog/instagram with 2 more people I know in real life - DID, still continue to share 6. Check in with my graphic designer friend regarding my new logo/visual brand - DID, launched the logo on NYE 7. Pick up new chromebook - DID, having a computer that isn’t my “work” computer has also helped give me separation 8. Buy and set paper planner and set up a google calendar for my personal life/side hustle - DID, this was a game changer more on that below 9. Buy a bulletin board, note books, office supplies for home office - DID, however only used the home office for a few months since we started using the guest room for AirBNB in October 10. Post 1 video of me on Measuring Life accounts - Did it in August, I post video on occasion, but despite my broadcast journalism degree I prefer writing when it comes to being vulnerable 11. Listen to at least 2 of Dan's podcast episodes - DID, still keeping current on his podcasts and other social media channels for continued inspiration and motivation 12. Rewatch the portion of last week's bonus call where I had my talk time with Dan - DID, watching myself dig and be vulnerable on a video call was odd, but also beautiful. I’ve re-watched a few recording video calls where I’ve gotten emotional and I learned to give myself some grace and understand that change happens when you stop doing the things you’ve always done - in my case being extremely guarded and private 13. Journal at least 3 times this week - Likely Did, I try and write in my paper journal weekly, but such is life sometimes it more often or less often, but there hasn’t been too much of a lapse between writing since I got back to my journaling practice

Which is the one goal that will help all of the others happen? Buy and set paper planner and set up a google calendar for my personal life/side hustle.

For too long I relied on my work outlook calendar to keep all my things, but I really need to separate work from home. As a long time paper journal person, I’ve come to find my paper planner as another type of journal, especially after I made the switch to a passion planner in January 2019. I still can’t get into google calendar, but I use google docs to track all my side hustles (pet sitting, AirBNB, fitness instructor) including dates and income generation to keep everything in order, but also to keep a catalog/record. 

What has to happen for these goals to be done? I need to make the time to get to the stores to pick up/purchase items. I need to make the time to set up a calendar as well as have focused time in my office to do so. 

Making time was the key, which really means making me a priority. I tend to make everything else a priority, work, other people, social media, television, etc. I still have to actively choose my goals and dreams when it comes to my time. My people pleasing/fixer tendencies will always be there, but for me the awareness is key.

Why are these goals so important to you? I want a public medium to share my story of trauma, failures, successes and connect with others with similar stories. I felt so much shame and isolation over the years for just being me and I'm learning how to break through that and I think the sooner people can push through the shame and isolation the better for them and for all. 

This is still true, I came into this my coaching program at a crossroads and a place of self-loathing. I’ve learned to love myself including all my flaws and defects of character (a line from my 12 step program). I still want to share what I’ve overcome, but now I’m more focused on the present and the future. Living in the present isn’t always something I’m very good at, but I’m trying to live less and less in the past. 

What would you gain by achieving these goals? I would be vulnerable, but living authentically and building connections with people - both the people I know, think I know, or have yet to know. 

This has been one of the highlights of the past year, developing deeper relationships with people and meeting new people who I have connected with on a deep level. I’ve also started to let go of the relationships that are no longer serving me.

What risks will you have to take by achieving these goals? Being vulnerable and open to judgment. Reducing my day job hours/stress levels. 

I did these things and no one died! If people are judging me that’s fine, but it hasn’t been something I’ve seen or heard and honestly at this point if I did read or hear something negative I know I’d be okay because I have enough people lifting me up. When it comes to work, the work never ends. It’s about priorities and focus. I know I’ve set more attainable work goals as opposed to pushing myself harder than what is expected which has been a previous pattern. I take my lunch hour, I leave at 5 unless there is a meeting or program that requires me to stay. I’ve taken my sick and vacation days on top of comp time. 

What will get in the way of these goals? Procrastination or trying to do too much too soon and therefore getting overwhelmed. Not managing my time or wasting time.

THIS, this still gets in my way. I am way more aware, but I still love the rush that comes with procrastination or being too ambitious. 

Why haven't you achieved these goals already? What stopped you before? Time - I tend to run full speed ahead doing 10,000 things at once and burning the candle at both ends or I'm laaaaaaaaaaazy and have the motivation to do anything. 

This is tied to the last one, I am still very much an all or nothing kind of person. My planner helps me see this a bit more, so I actually try to schedule in “nothing” time. Ultimately I aim for more balance and alignment in a week, but more likely than not in any given month I have 3 crazy busy weeks and then a really chill low key week. I’ve learned not to feel guilty for “lazy bones” weekends as I’ve called them.  

What will you do differently now? Since last September I began managing my time better: actually taking my 1 hour lunch break to workout/walk/meet someone for lunch, setting a Fitbit alarm at 4:40pm each work day so I could wind down for the day and actually leave the office at 5pm. I packed my gym clothes the night before and changed before leaving work so I could go right from the office to the gym. I really found my stride in doing this from January 2018-mid June 2018. Currently in my intense peak work season, but want to quickly get back on track as soon as mid-July gets here. 

Yes, all of these things I’ve kept up with these good habits and thankfully after my peak summer season last year I was able to get back on track. I’m looking forward to getting back on track after this summer’s peak season. 

Is there anything I can do now to make achieving these goals easier?  The biggest thing in my control is sleeping. I can't function off 5 hours of actual sleep and since I currently need to be up at 5:30am most days I need to make sure I'm in bed by 10pm. I also need to continue to journal/blog to stay accountable. 

Sleep hygiene has been such a priority for me this year. Starting in September I began charging my phone away from my bed. I first started charging it in another room - where I could still hear the alarm, but as I got better about not “needing” the phone next to the bed I now charge it across the bedroom, but still not next to the bed. I also keep it face down so I don’t see the screen light up from the bed. I strive for 8 hours of sleep each night, however, in January I stopped wearing my Fitbit to track my sleep because I found the data to no longer be helpful. I often would wake up feeling refreshed, but if the fitbit data didn’t back it up then I’d mentally feel less refreshed. As mentioned personal accountability also is really important for my goal setting and self-care. Writing my weekly goals and reflecting on them each week, managing my time with a paper planner, weigh-ins/measurements, budgeting and finances, etc all of this has made a huge difference and my momentum is only growing. 

I am thankful to be where I am today and excited to see where I’ll be a year from now!

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 78: Log Date 7 15 2

"She still has a lot to learn about our planet.”

Cooldown episodes tend to be underrated, as they’re right next to big bombastic moments that merit such cooldowns. House Guest is bad for its own reasons, but episodes like Full Disclosure and Kindergarten Kid do an excellent job of just taking a moment to breathe and process. The Cluster Arc isn’t over quite yet, but the emotional high point certainly is, and I’m thrilled that it’s followed by Log Date 7 15 2.

This is a simple episode full of humor and heart, in a way that’s honestly difficult to write about, because the temptation is always “oh man it was so funny when ____ happened” in such comedy-centric outings. But this is still Steven Universe, so there’s still something deeper even in a wacky pseudo-clipshow like this. 

If we’re going to move forward with Peridot’s development, it’s nice to take one last look at how much she’s grown, which this episode does brilliantly. And if we’re honest about making Peridot a true member of the team, it’s necessary to address her fusionphobia.

This is Garnet’s Peridot Episode, and the culmination of her Season 2/3 arc (she’s the only Gem who gets to finish in Season 2!), in which she learns better ways to understand and to be understood. In Keeping It Together, she encounters the heinous perversion of fusion that creates the Cluster Gems, and in the Week of Sardonyx, she faces betrayal from her oldest living friend. In the former incident she nearly comes apart, and in the latter she does come apart, but after absorbing these events and sharing a more positive story of fusion with Steven in The Answer, she’s able to deal with Peridot’s toxic attitude with grace.

It’s an unusual arc, because despite resilience being a good thing, Garnet isn’t wrong to react the way she does in Keeping It Together and the Week of Sardonyx. She’s completely entitled to her pain, and to her expression of that pain. It takes a ton of strength to deal with a bigot with patience, but I very much doubt the crew’s message here is that having negative reactions to bigotry makes you weak. Not everyone can deal with the Peridots of the world the way Garnet does here, and frankly, if you’re the one being wronged because you are who who you are, it’s not your job to educate bullies on how to not be terrible.

Garnet’s ability to do this benefits from Log Date 7 15 2 airing at the end of her arc. We know from past episodes that her patience has limits: she gets fed up with Peridot in When It Rains and Too Far and It Could’ve Been Great, so this isn’t some unrealistic paragon of grace we’re talking about. You don’t have to like somebody to be patient with them, and showing that Garnet has never liked Peridot makes their newfound bond much more meaningful.

Moreover, we have a concrete reason for Garnet to change her approach to Peridot. This is the episode where Peridot inadvertently shares with Garnet what she already shared with Amethyst at the end of Too Far: that she wants to understand. There’s a different between a bigot determined to hate and a bigot who seeks to learn, and while the latter is no ray of sunshine, it’s certainly a better starting point for the conversation.

The scene where Garnet makes this discovery is remarkably subtle considering how broad its humor is. Peridot’s methodology to see whether humans can fly is childish and clumsy, but think about her point of view. Yes, it’s silly to think that an animal with a very different body than a winged insect could fly, but her only exposure to humans until now has been Steven, who has superhuman strength thanks to his Gem heritage. Otherwise, every other humanoid she’s ever met has been a full Gem, and peridots themselves are especially sturdy. So even if Greg is unlikely to fly, Peridot has no reason to think pushing him a relatively short distance might hurt him.

Garnet’s natural response is anger, but she takes Peridot’s “Well how was I supposed to know that?” to heart. From there, this could’ve been an episode where Garnet teaches Peridot the ways of Earth, but thankfully we eschew the preachiness this would involve and instead get a ridiculous comedy episode where Garnet pops in on Peridot’s antics with quiet affirmation.

Garnet’s suggestion to fuse works terrifically as the episode’s climax, ending with the episode’s strongest plot point: Garnet referring to herself as Percy and Pierre. It gives her seemingly random appearances in other clips meaning beyond comic relief, because it shows that she’s been paying close attention to Peridot and used her interests to better communicate. Garnet appreciates that Peridot is trying to understand her, and expresses this by making an effort to understand Peridot.

I really can’t emphasize enough how funny I find this episode, but I love how well the comedy is used to flesh out the characters. Peridot’s erratic emotional state at the beginning of the episode (culminating in Shelby Rabara’s jolly “No!”) is hilarious, but it does wonders to show how she feels about her harrowing rejection of Yellow Diamond. Florido’n’Zuke, as always, make the most of Peridot’s inner raccoon to give us great physical comedy, but it constantly reminds us how awkward and antsy our little gremlin still is. Her very first “Wow, thanks!” is a punchline, but it only takes two episodes for it to become a heartwarming acceptance of love.

Even the episode’s unusual format serves the comedy and the characters simultaneously. The zipping around in time allows for quick jokes that build on each other to create callback humor, but the conceit of Peridot’s recorder gives us the rare episode with a narrator (linking this episode with Steven Bomb opener The Answer). Care was clearly taken to make sure her commentary doesn’t tell at the expense of showing: we can see, for instance, that Peridot is bashful around Amethyst and patronizing to Pearl before her jokey narration confirms her analyses of them.

Log Date 7 15 2 is, above all else, a relief. Like Peace and Love on the Planet Earth, it’s refreshing to see sustained levity in a season full of stress, but unlike Peace and Love on the Planet Earth, this is an entire episode of that without another shoe dropping. Yes, we’re about to hit more drama as the third season begins, but this episode will hold us over nicely on the comedy front until the legendary Hit the Diamond knocks it out of the park.

Future Vision!

Where is Peridot gonna put the star? On her chest, as a badge of honor. And it’s awesome.

Garnet and Peridot’s positioning during their present-day conversation has some serious Mindful Education vibes.

I’ve never been to this…how do you say…school?

Okay wait how are Pearl and Amethyst and Opal all around at the same time? Is this a different opal, or are you telling me that the Floridoverse isn’t grounded in strict logic?

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

I really love this episode, and it’s pretty high up in terms of rewatch, but it’s not quite enough to crack the Top Fifteen. Still, it definitely would make the cut were it not for the glut of amazing episodes.

Top Fifteen

Steven and the Stevens

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Winter Forecast

When It Rains

Catch and Release

Chille Tid

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

No Thanks!

     5. Horror Club      4. Fusion Cuisine      3. House Guest      2. Sadie’s Song      1. Island Adventure

[lieselstark2-blog]

Gotleaker is fake. It’s an elaborate hoax, and I’m it’s victim. So are you.

@thelawyerthatwaspromised @reysbae @myrish-lace-love @wolfmaiden25 @wolfmaiden25 @tiny-little-bird 

Hello, my name is Liesel Stark and I am a Jonsa meta writer.

Or I was, but not too long ago something happened outside the fandom. Something very personal that nearly destroyed my life.

I had a roommate. We never got along, but I hoped it would remain civil and I would find a new place at the end of my lease.

However, this roommate wanted a guard dog. I didn’t want this, as I was bitten by a dog when I was a child and I’m scared of them. Pets are also not allowed in our lease. I thought that was the end of it when she brought it up, but a week later I came home and she had adopted a dog from the pound - it kind of looked like a Rottweiler, and I was scared to death.

So I informed our landlord. However, my roommate, who is the landlord’s cousin, called her and said I was lying. Our landlord came to investigate, but my roommate had taken her dog over to her friend’s house and pretended the dog didn’t exist.

I took pictures, but the roommate kept our landlord around her finger and said it was just visiting. It was all so awful.

Unfortunately, the dog was not well behaved, and while nothing ever happened, the lack of discipline and free reign the dog was given over the house meant there was fur and pee everywhere. I would come home at night from work and be greeted in the doorway by one of my worst fears.

One night I snapped and just left and slept over at my sister’s house. This would prove to be a terrible mistake.

It only took a few days and a broken lease before the landlord realized that her cousin lied. The landlord did pay for my grievance and is giving me a good reference, but she refused to kick out her cousin over a dog.

Bad, but not the point of this story.

When I left that night, my roommate went through all of my things. Like an idiot, my computer pass code is also my phone pass code, which she must have seen me tap hundreds of times whenever I unlocked my phone around the house, and she was able to get onto my computer and steal my identity.

She went through all my documents and accounts, and sent terrible things to my family and friends. I didn’t realize it at first until my parents asked why I posted that I never loved them on facebook and was cutting them out of my life that something was happening.

Everyone I ever met had been told some awful lie about me in the span of two days, and every account I had ever used was part of her campaign to ruin my life all because I didn’t want a dog for the remaining seven months of our lease!

She was always unhinged, but I never thought it would amount to this. Eventually I threatened legal action, and I thought it was over.

But I didn’t account for tumblr. I didn’t even think about it for awhile. When everything settled because I threatened legal action, I actually decided to come and log in and de-stress with fandom, but found that my tumblr was gone.

Okay, I thought. She deleted this account too.

I just kind of gave up after that. So much had happened that I figured I would cut my losses and move on with my life.

But that wasn’t the whole of it. Because my former roommate is a fucking psychopath.

I’m not ashamed of the fact that I ship Jonsa (it’s fiction), but she must have seen a possible opportunity to hurt me and took all the metas I wrote, the drafts in my account and computer, and the outline of a fan fiction I was writing to create an elaborate hoax in which she was planning to “out” me.

Seriously. What the hell.

I found out because I still browse the Jonsa tag on tumblr and saw mention of some new leaks, so I checked them out. They were suspiciously close to my metas and fan fiction outline, but when I saw the ending of episode two, I knew that it was one of her plots.

She must have been planning this for some time, and I don’t know exactly where she’s going with it, but if the past if anything to go by she plans to dox me and falsely incriminate me for something.

This is just ridiculous.

To prove that I am being framed, an outline to my fan fiction is included below. I expect @gotleaker to blow a gasket soon.

Now, I want to apologize to anyone who has been mislead by this maniac and to please stop believing her because she’s plotting against me simply because she’s upset she couldn’t get her way.

Please tag and reblog this so she’s discredited.

And FUCK you Kelsey.

A Time for Wolves

Episode 1 – Bat

Chapter 1

Daenerys and Jon arrive in Winterfell.

Chapter 2

Euron makes an agreement with the Golden Company to betray Cersei.

Chapter 3

Sansa is anxious over the prospect of Jon and Daenerys marrying for reasons she can’t describe, and is upset to learn from Tyrion that it appears to be happening.

Chapter 4

Jon is adamant that he will do what is necessary to protect the North and his family. However, Sansa doesn’t agree, because she feels the tension in the North better than he does.

Chapter 5

Although initially welcoming of Daenerys, their relationship sours over disagreements largely of Sansa’s making (due to her fears of losing Jon and the North).

Episode 2 – Eel

Chapter 6

Euron betrays Cersei, and in response to the Red Keep being overrun, she uses the wildfire, destroying the city and killing hundreds of thousands of people. She miscarries in the process.

Chapter 7

A settlement nearby is attacked (possibly the Dreadfort so they can reuse some of the sets and it make sense, considering their possible path), forcing Jon and Daenerys to prepare to depart. Sansa and Jon have a tender moment despite their current disagreement, and I think Tyrion is witness to sparks flying he didn’t see with Jon and Daenerys, causing his suspicions to be raised.

Chapter 8

Jon ends up showing these feelings because he has been informed by Sam and Bran about his parentage, and it’s eating him alive for so many reasons. Unfortunately, he hasn’t told Sansa and Arya yet, because he isn’t sure he wants to accept and go public with his parentage due to the political ramifications.

Chapter 9

However, the Dreadfort is lost (and destroyed), and the forces of the North are dealt a devastating blow. They return to Winterfell, licking their wounds, unaware that they accidentally are leading the Night King on path to Winterfell.

Chapter 10

Mid to the end of the episode, Jaime arrives and informs Daenerys that Cersei has betrayed them after a lost battle against the White Walkers. Daenerys, furious, rides off to take King’s Landing using Drogon as a threat in order to secure their manpower for the upcoming battle. She leaves Rhaegal to protect the North after a frustrating conversation with Jon who pleads with her not to leave because she is abandoning her people.

Chapter 11

Jon is frustrated by this, and isn’t too happy about Sansa’s smugness and seemingly glee (think about: Daenerys is gone, and also going to kill Cersei. That’s a win for her), but his anger is due to the fact he fears he cannot protect the North or Sansa, without Daenerys since he cannot control dragons. Bran offers to help. He also makes more cryptic comments to Sansa. I think Bran’s vision about her wedding may be of the future to Jon, like previous metas have stated, and Bran is starting to see dreams of spring and hoping to make them happen.

Chapter 12

Daenerys’s actions are not well received by anyone in the North, and when Daenerys leaves, all hell breaks loose politically. The Northerners fear that Daenerys will be a dictator like the Targaryens before her, reminding Jon of Torrhen and his uncle and grandfather’s deaths under the Mad King. This only further cements his desire to control Rhaegal. Episode 3 – Ghost

Chapter 13

The surviving Greyjoy siblings take an imprisoned Cersei Lannister North, narrowly missing Daenerys as she arrives to the destroyed King’s Landing. Since they go by ship and are one of the few survivors, the true perpetrator of King’s Landing fall is mistaken to be Daenerys when people outside the city arrive.

Chapter 14

They end up penning a raven that is received at Winterfell that blames Daenerys for the destruction. Her army leaves, no longer feeling welcomed, though Tyrion and Varys stay.

Chapter 15

Sansa is no longer so smug. She’s scared, and so is Jon and everyone else. Jon confers with Tyrion, who, knowing about the wildfire, erroneously believes it to be true not because Daenerys purposefully set the entire city on fire... but because Drogon was the spark that caused the wildfire to get out of control. Either way, Tyrion admits to losing faith, and switches support to Jon.

Chapter 16

But Jon sees his power waning, and now Sansa’s political power is on the rise. Tyrion sees an opportunity, but he is conflicted because he is starting to form feelngs for Sansa now and he believes Jon and Sansa are siblings. But he’s certain they have feelings for each other now, because Jon and Sansa are caught kissing after he gives her a blue rose and between all this hyper jealously as Tyrion spies and insinuates himself in Sansa’s company, fearing that Jon, Bran, and Sam are keeping something from him and hoping to use Sansa to figure it out (unaware she knows how the game works).

Chapter 17

But basically, political shit happens following this, and Jon tames Rhaegal. He then “comes clean” to the North. He initially thinks he will give up his claim to Sansa, but to his surprise he is hailed as King in the North and South.

Episode 4 – Owl

Chapter 18

Daenerys is trying to convince the people around King’s Landing of her worth, but news of Jon being a Targaryen reaches her. Remember in Daenerys’s vision that the first prominent image we see of the throne room is not the throne, but the Winter Rose on stained glass - a reminder of Starks and shade thrown at Daenerys that she doesn’t have Jon’s affections.  Daenerys decides to leave and head back to the North, and he meet her army in the Neck.

Chapter 19

But back in the North, it’s discovered the White Walkers are moving towards Winterfell just as Daenerys has departed for it. Fearing that they may be attacked on two sides, Jon decides to meet Daenerys at the Neck with Rhaegal and make a deal. Tyrion warns him that she won’t go for it. Jon mentions a political alliance, but Tyrion tells him Westeros would never go for two Targaryens on the throne, and jokingly tells him that Sansa would be the better wife. Tyrion realizes his mistake, because Jon appears to seriously consider it.

Chapter 20

However, Jon is determined to make an alliance with Daenerys by any means necessary, and though he has a tender moment with Sansa, he departs and arrives in the Neck for a parlay with Daenerys (who flew over land, instead of sea, and thus misses the Greyjoys).

Chapter 21

He initially believes she will threaten him when he mentions that his people wishes she bends the knee, but instead she does (reluctantly) for three reasons: 1, she sees Rhaegal bonding with Jon and is forced to reconcile that he may actually be a Targaryen and she will lose Rhaegal if they are not on good terms, and 2, she wants to be seen as a worthy ruler again and loves Jon... unaware about the Sansa situation.

But more than anything, Daenerys doesn’t want to be seen as a Mad Queen.

She proposes that they join themselves in marriage, knowing that is what Tyrion initially suggested, but Jon refuses. She initially thinks this is because she has to prove herself, but really Jon refuses despite initially planning to accept and even offer it himself first on an impulse when he sees winter roses around them.

Chapter 22

However, despite this positive turn of events of an alliance without conditions, the episode ends with combined army at the Neck learning that Winterfell has been attacked sooner than expected and is being sieged by White Walkers.

Episode 5 – Wolf

Chapter 23

Sansa, Arya, and Bran are desperately trying to protect Winterfell. They are being attacked by an advanced force, and not Viserion, but they know it is only a matter of time. Unfortunately, they are surrounded and unable to escape and flee even if they wanted to. Sansa stands at the battlements, wanting Jon to return.

Chapter 24

En route to Winterfell, Daenerys is desperate to prove herself worthy of being Queen and worthy of Jon, mistaking his earlier actions in season seven for love when really Jon was hoping to get an alliance (and stopped pursuing that after Sansa). She takes a risk, and heads off into battle despite Jon telling her not to.

Chapter 25

The scene switches, and FINALLY the Greyjoys arrive with an imprisoned Cersei at Winterfell, helping Daenerys stop the advance White Walker army besieging the castle with their forces and the remaining Golden Company. They inform Sansa of the truth, and Sansa apologizes (unfortunately, no one in the North is willing to take Theon’s words at face value).

Chapter 26

Jon and the others arrive. Jaime was with Jon, and he is shocked to see Cersei for so many reasons, but especially when he learns she was responsible for King’s Landing. She is put on trial, and found guilty.

Chapter 27

Despite the North rebuking Daenerys, she believes that Jon will warm up to her after her heroic save of his home and Theon informing Jon of what really happened in King’s Landing. But that is not the case, because Daenerys soon realizes that Jon and Sansa have a relationship when they are reunited in an affectionate way.

Chapter 28

However, before she can do something she’ll regret, the Night King attacks, and Daenerys and Jon takes their respective dragons to the sky. Rhaegal is killed in battle, and Jon falls to his death, the battle lost.

Episode 6 – Nightingale

Chapter 29

Starts with Jon surviving his fall like Sansa and Theon did by falling on a mound of snow. Unfortunately, the people of Winterfell need to flee as the Night King licks his wounds for the final assault.

Chapter 30

Cersei is in the broken tower after a cryptic discussion with Bran (he likes those). She wants to die where Bran told her it all began. Jaime and her get into a fight, and she manipulates him to choke her, thereby fulfilling the prophecy. Jaime is horrified, burns the tower with all his crimes, and goes into battle to protect the fleeing civilians and army alongside Brienne.

Chapter 31

He ends up encountering Jon Snow, and instead of going out in a blaze of glory, helps Jon to return to the retreating army. Jon and Sansa are reunited, and Daenerys feels alienated, and is still reeling from the death of Rhaegal knowing he too will be revived by the Night King. She is devastated by the loss of her children and lover. Cue another cryptic discussion with Bran; this time, Daenerys is his victim. He promises her that she will meet her son and husband again (referring to Drogo and Rhaego). Daenerys does not take that well, but nobody takes Branvisions well.

Chapter 32

The army is pushed back into the South in attritional warfare, not having the numbers. They make it all the way to Stokeworth before they are able to secure a castle long enough to defend it. It appears to be the last battle - they will either win the war and live, or lose the war and die.

Chapter 33

In order to secure succession, Jon marries Sansa and their wedding is the last feast before the battle. Jon promises to come home, and we get a repeat of Jon waving goodbye to Sansa with Daenerys looking on in Baelish’s place.

Chapter 34

The battle begins, and Daenerys prepares to square off against Viserion and Rhaegal who are now controlled by the Night King. She takes a risky move, and there is the biggest ball of flame in the sky.

Chapter 35

The three dragons are destroyed, but the Night King survives, seemingly impervious to fire. The dragons are gone, but the army lives on, and Jon prepares to lead the surviving soldiers in a final charge as the castle is sieged and those inside try to hold everyone off.

Chapter 36

But just as all appears lost, Bran wargs into the Night King, momentarily stupefying him, and Jon is able to get the upper hand and kill him, destroying the army. He feels victorious, but when he returns he sees that Bran is dead.

Chapter 37

The snows begins to recede, and Sansa becomes round with child. They return North to Winterfell together with their child.

[each-uisge-and-glashtyn]

Tagged by the amazing @habenaria-radiata​! I dunno why it wouldn’t let you properly tag me, but I still got this, thanks! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

I’m gonna tag @lunalove25​ and @electric-vanoogaloo specifically, and in general anyone else who wants to do it!

List 10 of your favorite ships, in no particular order. Don’t cheat by scrolling down to see the questions yet, either!

Hibiki Kuze/Yamato Hotsuin

Akira Kurusu/Goro Akechi

Laurent/Damen

Misaki Yata/Saruhiko Fushimi

Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy

Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Adrien Agreste

Tony Stark/Loki

Daisuke Niwa/Satoshi Hiwatari

Jack Frost/Pitch Black(or Kozmotis Pitchiner)

Makoto Sako/Fumi Kanno/Otome Yanagina

Questions below the cut.

All questions for copy+paste:

Do you remember the episode/scene/chapter that you first started shipping 6?

Have you ever read a fanfic about 2?

Has a picture of 4 ever been your screensaver/profile picture/tumblr screensaver?

If 7 were to suddenly break up today, what would your reaction be?

Why is 1 so important?

Is 9 a funny ship or a serious ship?

Out of all the ships listed, which ship has the most chemistry?

Out of all your ships listed, which ship has the strongest bond?

How many times have you read/played/watched 10′s fandom?

Which ship has lasted the longest?

How many times, if ever, has 6 broken up?

If the world was suddenly thrust into a zombie apocalypse, which ship would make it out alive, 2 or 8?

Did 7 ever have to hide their relationship for any reason?

Is 4 still together?

Is 10 canon?

If all 10 ships were put into a couple’s Hunger Games, which couple would win?

Has anyone ever tried to sabotage 5′s ship?

Which ship would you defend to the death and beyond?

Do you spend hours a day going through 3′s tumblr page?

If an evil witch descended from the sky and told you that you had to pick one of the ten ships to break up forever or else she’d break them all forever, which ship would you sink?

My answers:

1. Do you remember the episode/scene/chapter that you first started shipping 6?

I’m pretty sure that I started shipping Marinette and Adrien the first scene they were actually together in. And just shipped them harder in each scene after, including all the ridiculous superhero/civilian mixup-mashups lol

2. Have you ever read a fanfic about 2?

Uhhhhhh......would these be my fav ships if I didn’t read fic of them? Either way, I’ve trawled through the Akira/Goro tag so many times that I’m actually caught up with all the completed works for them on a daily basis.

3. Has a picture of 4 ever been your screensaver/profile picture/tumblr screensaver?

Not by themselves, but in a group photo, I guess? I had the whole K Project main cast as my computer background for a bit. I did look for a phone background of them a while ago, but I couldn’t find any I liked enough.

4. If 7 were to suddenly break up today, what would your reaction be?

If Tony and Loki broke up then I’d be mildly worried about the fallout on their mental and physical healths, but overall I wouldn’t be super surprised on average.

5. Why is 1 so important?

Honestly I just relate to both Hibiki and Yamato so much, and also I’m a sucker for the dynamic that they set up. Also I wanna break Yamato in the most delicious ways thank you so much radiata for letting me indulge in that through your fics

6. Is 9 a funny ship or a serious ship?

I mean, it’s literally a funny/serious ship. Jack brings the fun, but Pitch brings stability and seriousness when it’s needed.

7. Out of all the ships listed, which ship has the most chemistry?

Well, speaking literal canon, Laurent/Damen is the only actual canon ship so I guess by default they win, But damn if Hibiki/Yamato, Harry/Draco, and Akira/Goro can’t give them a run for their money in innuendo and implied chemistry.

8. Out of all your ships listed, which ship has the strongest bond?

They’re all based on growing through hardship and learning to trust each other and deep loyalty due to those so uh all of them? Like half of them were willing to die for their partners and the other half worked (or is working or will work or whatever) extremely hard to make it work so...

9. How many times have you read/played/watched 10′s fandom?

Oh god that’s Devil Survivor 2. I think by this time I’ve logged like 60 bazillion hours into DeSu2. I’ve replayed the game so many times I can recognize when people use actual lines from the game, or slight modifications of lines. I can get the true ending effortlessly. I’ve played both the original and remake, watched the anime, and read fic for it (and nearly started writing my own before realizing I had no plot beyond yay ships). In short: too many goddamn times.

10. Which ship has lasted the longest?

I don’t know if this is asking which has canonically lasted longest or which has lasted longest for me, so I’m gonna answer both. Laurent/Damen is the only currently canon pair, so they win canon lasted longest. Either Harry/Draco or Daisuke/Satoshi were my first real ship, so they’re my personal longest lasting.

11. How many times, if ever, has 6 broken up?

Well, Mari and Adrien haven’t gotten together yet, but I’d like to believe that they wouldn’t quit for anything. The only thing I can see them fracturing over is if they get together before the reveal so they’re hiding Lady and Chat from each other. As soon as that’s cleared up though, they’ll be strong again.

12. If the world was suddenly thrust into a zombie apocalypse, which ship would make it out alive, 2 or 8?

Ooooooohhhhhhhh that’s certainly a choice. I honestly don’t know. Akira and Goro certainly are skilled and resourceful, but I don’t know how they stack up against Sato and Dai. Satoshi is literally a genius and has skills to back it up, but his stamina ain’t shit. And Daisuke has the skills and smarts to survive, but he puts himself in danger way to often to bet on. Meanwhile Akira and Goro are always fighting smart and using the most out of all their resources, as well as both being super smart and highly skilled. And this is ignoring all the canon extra shit they come with, cause that just muddies the playing field more. I honestly don’t know.

13. Did 7 ever have to hide their relationship for any reason?

I feel like Tony and Loki would hide their relationship from the Avengers as long as possible just to avoid having to deal with the drama lol

14. Is 4 still together?

Again, the didn’t technically get together in canon, but damn if they ever let each other go again once they do get together (which is also p much inevitable imo

15. Is 10 canon?

It is if you assume Hibiki was just too focused on saving the world to notice and the others didn’t feel like blatantly informing him. I can’t see why Makoto or Otome would tell him, and Fumi just straight up wouldn’t care if he knew or not.

16. If all 10 ships were put into a couple’s Hunger Games, which couple would win?

Okay so on an equalizing field of no supernatural or superhuman powers of any kind, probably not Mari and Adrien. Look I love battle couples and I have no idea who would win. I’m gonna say Laurent and Damen literally only because they’re actual adults and not baby adults or near adults and they didn’t have any powers to begin with so that’s all them babe, no boosts needed.

17. Has anyone ever tried to sabotage 5′s ship?

If Harry and Draco ever actually got their heads out of their asses and realized being obsessed with each other really was quite gay, everyone and their dogs would probs be trying to get in their way.

18. Which ship would you defend to the death and beyond?

All of them on my own time with no one making me, but I refuse to do it on command in order to prove anything.

19. Do you spend hours a day going through 3′s tumblr page?

Oh my god look if Laurent or Damen had a tumblr I would absolutely spend years on it, but alas, the closest I can get is modern day fics that include social media

20. If an evil witch descended from the sky and told you that you had to pick one of the ten ships to break up forever or else she’d break them all forever, which ship would you sink?

I’m fairly sure that all of them would end with someone dying or otherwise messy circumstances such as world war or smth other than like, Mari and Adrien cause they’re sweethearts who couldn’t hurt a fly and they’re responsible and crap. And cause they would also make very good friends even if they couldn’t be together.