#Repeating a storyline Ive already had

[patheticblorbloscholar]

I just broke a fucking tooth. The 2020s hate me and my pursuit of happiness.

[mazojo]

Winter 2022 Anime Opinions

As always my thoughts because no one asked

From least to fav here are my overall thoughts:

Urusei Yatsura (2022)

I am just not the target audience for this. This is probably a nostalgia ridden show that people who watched the original will love and enjoy but I am not that person and with the two eps I watched I had enough. The jokes were not funny to me all characters were annoying and yeah the animation is nice but I will not put myself through something I will not enjoy for it tbh. Watch it if you liked the original ig

Tonikaku Kawaii: SeifukU

I dislike tonikaku with a passion it gives go girl give us nothing to the negative 20 no flavor no taste still the same shiz as the show so yeah. Watch it if you liked the series lmao its more of the same

Shinobi no Ittoki

I guess…… Its really kinda bland and I can’t pinpoint why. The concept is interesting but it just doesn’t hold up in its execution and I dont care for it run sorry do better I guess

Fumetsu no Anata e 2nd Season

I try so hard to care, SO hard. Since season 1 I have found this show to be kinda…. All over. Like the only storyline I cared about was the one with the kid with the mask last season and since that its just been meh to me. Like, we already kinda know how everything is going to go and all the arcs are kinda the same, they show us someone, we care for them for like half an episode, they die, repeat.

Bocchi the Rock! 

I TRIES SO HARD TO CARE TOO I AM SO SORRY. This has been like the number 1 show this year but I… I dont know I just dont like it ASDFGHJ I am not a big fan of cute girls doing nothing specially mixed with the uwu social anxiety quirky. Like they dont paint it in a bad light like most shows do and the art style is very unique but I just dont… Give a shit adfgdhjf I tried I promise but hey if you are into this shows probs the one for you.

Mushikaburi-hime

This one is boring I am ngl. Its not bad but like… Its not good either. Ive seen this trope done SO many times its just boring. It hasn’t done anything bad per se but I just dont really care for it much. I like my romance with spicier ships so yeah I mean if you like cute royal same old same old couples then watch it.

Fuufu Ijou, Koibito Miman.

Do you like boobs????? Do you like boobs ON your screen for 23 minutes??????? Then you will for sure enjoy this one fellas! ASDFGHJ I… I am not the biggest fan of ecchi so this is a lot for me but hey if you like this fan service trash then you go bestie. Character design is cute I dont care for any characters as of the moment so yeah I guess its something

Chainsaw Man

This is the one that gets me cancelled ASDFGH. I am not going to say much other than I've never been a fan of chainsaw man since the manga and you can write me all the essays y'all want but I just.... Dont care sorry lol ADFSJAK Its just not for me; I am not saying its bad per se, I am just not the person that enjoys this type of shows. Akiangel as the only thing that matters of chainsaw man fr fr

Aru Asa Dummy Head Mic ni Natteita Ore-kun no Jinsei

This is trash but it goes higher just because Its what it is and delivers just what I expected. The reincarnated person is annoying as fuck but the girls have cute dynamics so that's why it goes higher. Its just 3 minutes skits of the girls being cute so yeah its okay

Koukyuu no Karasu

I feel like this is a good show but I am just not the target for this adsfgh its a show you gotta pay attention to understand and a lot of history goes behind it and it just kinda bored me but I know its not bad. I just dont think its for me but that's okay I might keep watching it.

Eternal Boys 

Its okay. Its a nice concept and I have only watched like 3 eps but its a nice message I guess. Its short and whatever so it doesn't take much time to watch but its not something revolutionary. I like idol shows so maybe I am giving it more than what it is.

Mob Psycho

This is the one that gets me cancelled part 2 SKSKSK. I am not going to lie besties, I am not the biggest mob psyhco fan. Its okay, I just never got into the hyper around it sorry :(( I really wish I could because I know its a good story and I ddi like that last episode a lot but like,,,,, I feel like the story was over last season ASDFGH But hey I am glad y'all enjoyed it a lot!

Boku no Hero Academia 6th Season

I am ngl, I am like on ep 2 of bnha season 6 but have seen the Dabi scene like 20 times thanks to social media and I got no choice but to Stan. I dont like this arc of bnha as y'all know but it seems more interesting than last season and I like the way the animation direction is going so I will give them points for it.

Do It Yourself!! 

Lesbians your honor!!!! I like this one! Its cute girls doing silly lil stuff and I am not a big fan of the genre like I said but this one is more entertaining for me, maybe because I am more into DIY shit but its cute!! Nothing big happens tbh but its a soft watch to put in the background if y'all enjoy this

Romantic Killer

This was cute! A refreshing romcom from the ones weve gotten recently tbh. I liked it even though I have a different interpretation of the road they took it in the end but it was a fun show to watch with some nice gags and cute characters, defo give it a go!

Renai Flops

Okay hear me out. This one is in a weird place but hear me out. I hate everything this anime stands for because it was such a cliche weird and ecchi but it was such an interesting train wreck I HAD to keep on watching every episode and when I least expected it I was suddenly on ep 6 and the twist left me screAmiNG. It kinda goes downhill again after ep 7 but just because it took me so off guard (dont wanna spoil it but aloO) it goes high up, gg 1 for the ecchi trash 0 for Maria this round.

Yowamushi Pedal: Limit Break

Ngl this season of yowapeda hasn't been as hyped as I hoped for me but I care so much about the characters I will place it high up SKSKSKSK its basically more of the same; I honestly miss the upperclassman a lot but its okay my babies appear like for .2 frames and I start sobbing

Akuyaku Reijou nano de Last Boss wo Kattemimashita 

okaY is this trash??? yes. Do I care??? nO. I LOVE MY SILLY LIL TROPES OKAY ITS FUNNY AND SILLY AND DUMB AND THEY ARE CUTE SO IT GOES UP OKAY I LIKE HAMEFURA WHAT DO YALL EXPECT FROM ME. still kinda trash but like, guilty pleasure trash.

4-nin wa Sorezore Uso wo Tsuku

THIS IS HOW YOU DO CUTE GIRLS (AND TSUKASA LY BESTIE) DOING CUTE STUFF IN A GOOD WAY. If you like Saiki K you'll like this show. I dont know how to explain it but it gives the energy from Saiki K and I loved it they are very important and relevant.

Spy x Family Part 2 

Its more of the same of part 1 y'all know spy x family its a good show I love them all I love when my families are found go stream it look at Bond and Anya being best family

Tiger & Bunny

The gays are back for more and better! Not my favorite season buT I still care about them all so much that I dont care SKSKSK go stream tiger & bunny I dont have much more to say

Cool Doji Danshi 

Do you love dumb people??? Me too! then this anime is for you ! Its silly short and goes to the point. It doesnt try to be something its not and I like my anime silly and dumb. If you are looking for something easy and silly watch this.

Blue Lock

Guys guys my favorite comfort soccer players are finally animated!!! Watch it. If y'all follow me y'all know I am annoying about blue lock. Its the only anime that has Bachira AND Reo imagine the odds!!! Its a great sports anime and the characters are great and I love it and its my comfort okay

Mairimashita! Iruma-kun 3rd Season

Lets all pretend for a second we are all surprised M!ik is number one woah Maria that is so weird your favorite manga animated as number one????? did not expect it that's wild. Anyways M!ik supremacy today tomorrow its the Lied arc and Iruma and that one episode were Iruma cries made me emo and I love it and I think you should all be super cool and interesting and go watch m!ik it would make us all a better society.

[sojutrait]

thank you so much!!! 😭💓💓💓hope u feel better omg fuck the plague

i just simply started making sims kdjfkdk

I DO im so happy season 2 has started it reminds me sm of old school sims 4 lets plays with storylines and such UGHHH im so glad that style is making a resurgence

thank u!! again im so unhelpful when it comes to advice on making sims bc i really jus Go for it 😭 i dont really have a different approach when it comes to making masc frame sims either

probably not bc its such a small action (like theres only 2 or 3 steps iirc) it just wouldnt be worth the hassle and i dont think that many ppl would find any use out of it😭😭

well,,,, tis the season 🤔

i highly doubt it dkfdkkd

i didnt its from the gallery! i just decked out the inside

ahhh i play on desktop but theres 3 and 4 columns for different screen sizes u can read more about it on the actual mod page iirc

my defaults should be good but my mods arent but i cba to update them rn 😭

( @simarcana ) TYYYYYYY she really is, i just wanna spin her around in cas all day and gawk dkfndk

my only tip would be dont dress them in clothes only if u would wear it/its your style. more so let it be a reflection of their character and their own fashion sense. theres alot of my sims id never dress like djfdkfkd but i know its something they would like !

NOW- DIFJDIFJDK me and nia orphyd have written many dissertations about... That aspect of dante's life but i will not confirm nor deny if that was included

im drawing up blanks too rn 😭😭😭 id suggest if u already know like the ethnicity of ur founder sim to just google last names from that culture and go from there, thats what i usually do dfjkd

10!

thank u omg but no i would feel bad if anyone gave me their money esp considering my tendency to like.. dip for weeks at a time DFKDJK also love u tumblr but i absolutely do not trust u with my credit card information

strip naked/bald, facial features, skin details, hair, clothes, repeat any steps if i dont like what i picked initially

( @thatoneplumbob ) no thank u for enjoying them !!! 💓💓💓😭😭

thats an easy one i dont JFKDJFK thats all neighborhood stories and mcc, i would simply die if i had to do all that myself 😭😭😭 i just pop in and give them quick makeovers

( @cutie-with-glasses-blog ) thank u so much !!! u have a great day as well 💓💓💓😌

i havent, im not a big marvel movie fan 😭😭 BUTTTTT i have seen edits and fancams of shuris actress and i agree i would also sell my kidneys and yours for her, shes so fine

( @wildsangria ) THE WAY I ALREADY FORGOT THIS DISCOURSE HAPPENEDDHFDJHDJ ugh throwback to when i gatekept the decades old tabletop rpg game dungeons and dragons

ive been staring at this in my inbox for almost a month and it never fails to make me laugh yet also feel horrified great job you two

WELL GOOD NEWS I DID and ive only made one hs so far!! buttttt it was before hsy so it doesnt work with the pack 😭😭 ill prob make one for hsy eventually bc as much as i hate building im also drawn to it like a moth to flame

thank u!! but ahhh no i havent been having any problems with uni

thank u, i hope ur having a great day too! tbh its not like something i put like... effort into if that makes sense KJDSK like for my gameplay sims no matter how casual i try to make it i inevitably start adding unnecessary depth into them 😭😭 like ill just be cleaning my house and think hmmm this sim hates this food or once had this happen to them, so pretty much the same approach i do to my ocs!

I ACTUALLY RECORDED A VIDEO i just gotta grow some bawlz and upload it 😭😭 its just a quick cas vid for a sim i wanna do gameplay with on there but im still peeing in nervousness

TYYYY i am doing well i rlly am 😌😌 im on winterbreak so YIPEEEE hope ur both doing well too!

[the12thnightproject]

Heyyy! Just to let you know ive been rlly invested in your ikesen series with your ocs. Just havent rlly finished any of them and ive quite stop reading at some point, since most of them weren't my favourite suitors.

Sorry.

But id love to hear more if you have any ideas or planning on writing more ikesen series like that but with other suitors? And can share about how you get inspiration about your storyline and your oc katsuko?

Thank you and keep it up!

Hi Anon!

Thank you for the love and for liking Katsuko (I'm a little sad for Shingen and Mitsunari... but Cybird has been rather light on giving us new content for them that will help us fall in love with them).

Ok... for your questions (later... oh boy, this got really long... sorry).

I am absolutely writing more in the series - it can take me a year to write each longfic. My goal was mid-late March for the next story, but ... I'm about 70% done with the first draft, so we'll see if I can manage that.

Before there was a series, it was just me playing the game, and suddenly realizing that I was thinking about it when I wasn't playing it, and the things that I was thinking about (daydreaming actually) were scenes that were not in the game, and not with MC. The people I was imagining in the scenes eventually became Katsuko (although she didn't have a name at that time) and Akihira. Eventually though, I felt like I needed to write them down, at which point I started thinking more in terms of "what is this, exactly?" And I wanted to write Katsuko with more than one character, and then I wondered if I could create an OC who, like the game MC, would fit as a love interest with every game character (spoiler alert - I #failed at that one), and also figure out a way that multiple versions of Katsuko could exist (which is how the multiverse part of it started).

At that point, there were ten routes already released in the game. The idea is that the final longfic in the series will be Sasuke & Katsuko traveling through all the existing timelines, trying to make ensure that they didn't collapse on each other. It's somewhat like the concept of Loki - that some timelines will start interfering with others. There was supposed to be a longfic with every available (at that time) suitor, plus I set it up to potentially also include Yoshimoto (if his route story made sense with the multiverse). The Shakespeare angle came up because it occurred to me that if Katsuko and Toshie were both isekai'd into Sengoku, and then separated, then it was sort of like the plot of "Twelfth Night." And then I decided to make things difficult on myself by having the individual longfics each be inspired by one of Shakespeare's plays.

This is what I originally thought I was going to write (in some order...):

Shingen, a route inspired by Twelfth Night. Shingen needed to go first because his canon issue allowed me to do a lot of world building and setting up rules for the multiverse.

Mitsunari, inspired by A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Hideyoshi, inspired by Julius Caeser.

Ieyasu, inspired by Much Ado About Nothing

Nobunaga, inspired by Hamlet.

Masamune, inspired by... [kind of drew a blank on this one, but I was considering Pericles]

Mitsuhide, inspired by The Taming of the Shrew

Yukimura, inspired by As You Like it

Kenshin, inspired by The Winter's Tale

Sasuke, inspired by The Tempest. He needs to be last to tie up the multiverse.

But what I thought I was going to write, intellectually, ran up against the wall of creativity (meaning, ok, I sort of had an idea, but those ideas didn't always work out for various reasons).

So this is what actually happened - plans? Ha! What plans?

Shingen - done

Mitsunari - done

Hideyoshi - as I started to envision it, I realized that some of the plot was repeating things that happened in Shingen's route, so I put that idea on the back burner until I can better figure out what will happen here.

Ieyasu - Actually had a couple of scenes in mind, and once I put Hideyoshi aside, I thought I would write him next, but I couldn't figure out an overall storyline, so I've temporarily skipped him.

Nobunaga - every time I start trying to envision it, I run into a wall of angst and tragic ending (he kills her ... because she's there to assassinate him). Temporarily skipped until I can figure out another approach that doesn't end in MCD.

Masamune - So... I basically have "screen tested" Masamune with Katsuko, and ... they have no chemistry. Total 'good friends' vibes, no conflict. I tried to work around that with a high conflict plot... but then...

Mitsuhide - Was supposed to be later, because I wanted to focus on some of the more neglected characters. He jumped in and demanded that I write his story. Enemies to lovers - in the previously written fics Katsuko and Mitsuhide have said that if they had to work closely with each other, they would be tempted to murder the other... so... let's see if that happens. Fic in process, hopefully out in Spring 2023.

Yukimura - I think this one may be after Mitsuhide. Probably. It's the one I can see the clearest in my head. Likely to be a buddy comedy with lots of adventure, if it develops the way it's started.

Kenshin - I have a solid idea for this one, but it's tangled up with what I had in mind for Sasuke's as well, almost to the point where I think I have to write it in two parts, with part 1 coming first, then ending on a cliffhanger, picking up in Sasuke's story ... or something.... this is one where the problem is less his story, and more how do I solve a plot twist where another multiverse Sasuke & Katsuko are needed to step in and help.

Sasuke - see above, but it's supposed to be the final story.

Other warlords: If a storyline occurs to me for them, I may add them. Some of them may actually fit better with a different OC, e.g., the character of Shohime/Sho may work better with some of them (Keiji, Masamune, Motonari - or even Hideyoshi), so there may be some spin-off short stories or novellas going that way instead of full fics with Katsuko.

All of that means that there will be more stories, but not the ten total as I originally wanted.

Ok... so for your question about character inspiration. Going all the way back to when I had the idea for the Tempest stories - there were things about Katsuko that I mostly knew - that she would have a self-deprecating inner dialogue, and that she would be more athletic and have had less of a stable upbringing than Mai, and, having been in the Sengoku longer (7 years), she would be less peace-loving, and more used to the war and death of the era.

Some of that was due to things I already wondered about Mai... how could Mai disappear into another era without her ending up as a "missing persons" cold case... we never see her go back to her family/friends and explain what happened. So to make that an easier issue with Katsuko, I decided that she would be kind of a loner, and that her only family is her brother (and he gets yanked into Sengoku era Japan with her).

When I started to write the prologue, she was actually really different. Instead of a rebellious athlete type, she was actually a party-girl/failed gymnast. I got about 5000 or so words into that version, and realized I didn't like her, she was too whiney, and I didn't want to spend a bunch of longfic writing about her. I trashed everything I had written, and started over.

Mostly, I knew what I wanted her to be able to do... and then worked backwards to figure out what basic skills she would have (athleticism, adventurousness) that would provide canvas for Aki to train her in the skills she would need to survive and thrive. I sent her back 7 years prior to the arrival of Mai/Honno-ji, in order to give her time to adjust, to pick up the skills she could use in the longfics. And then in the prologue, I put her through a near death experience, which left her with a bit more ruthlessness than before, and the claustrophobia.

But for some of the other aspects of her personal history, most of those I discovered when I was writing the first draft of "Twelve Lies..." The fact that she was a vegetarian (as much as possible), her mother's story, the flashbacks to her life in modern Japan, the fact that she once had a cat (named Tony Stark)... those organically appeared in that story - at which point, I went back to the prologue and made some edits, since I had a clearer vision of her.

The discoveries about Akihira didn't come to me until I was partway through the second draft of that story (which again... necessitated more rewrites - originally Aki was supposed to be native to Sengoku Japan... I didn't figure out that he was also a time traveler until later). So basically it took me two drafts to learn that the central relationship, the one that goes through all the fics, is the relationship of Katsuko and Aki, and that the overall theme of the all of the fics together is a father/daughter story.

So sometimes, when I discover something like that, it's an "oh of course, that's how it needs to be." And sometimes, like with Aki, it was an "of course, he has to be this," followed by my brain going, "ok, but how the hell are you going to make that work." I'm still trying to figure out some of the multiverse rules with Aki.

Inspiration is a combination of necessity, and discovery. My brain knew that in order for Katsuko to be good at what she does, she needed to have certain skills or be put into a position to learn them (hence the long prologue that covered 7 years). That was necessity. But other things I could only discover by just sitting down and writing and seeing what came out. I have to turn off my brain, and stop editing in that first draft.

There are quite a few times when I'll write a scene and about halfway through hit a dead end. I just circle that section (oh, I hand write my first draft, btw, as it makes it easier to allow play time and stop editing... I KNOW I'm going to fix it later, because it's going to have to get typed up) and write "cut??" and start again at the spot where it originally turned down a blind alley. This happened a lot more in Mitsunari's story than it did in Shingen's -- I probably have about 10,000 words of material that existed in the first draft that lead toward blind alleys, and scenes that went nowhere, that I had to back out of (a couple of them were perfectly good scenes by themselves... but they didn't work in the context of the story).

Sometimes if I get really stuck at where I am, I'll put it away for the night, and suddenly when I'm doing something else, I'll realize what needs to happen next. Sometimes it won't be until a later draft that I realize something is missing or necessary. There's a chapter in "Twelve Lies" that wasn't even in my third draft (Chapter 32, though I expect you might not have read that far). But as when I got to around Chapter 28 in the posting, it occurred to me that things that were to happen in Chapter 36 didn't feel as motivated as they could or should have... so I wrote an extra chapter (which in turn, made it necessary to rewrite parts of chapters 33-35).

And sometimes, it's the nature of episodic posting that gives me ideas... I had a couple of lovely, very active and responsive readers on Ao3 who were commenting and reacting to every chapter. Occasionally things they said gave ideas to edit and tweak chapters that were written but not yet uploaded. For example, in the first draft Yoshimoto didn't have nearly the amount of 'screen time' that he did in the final posted chapters. But every time in the early chapters that he appeared, the readers responded very positively to him... so I added him in a few scenes where it made sense that he would be around. He was kind like "The Fonz" ... a supporting character who became a featured character because of audience popularity.

As for the other OCs... I started with knowing I'd need Aki and Toshie... and then very early on, I added Iekane as the main villain. Cybird has the habit of redeeming their villains, and I didn't want to write the series thinking all along that someone like Motonari was the big bad, only to have Cybird "Joss" me. (That said, Motonari is one of the main antagonists of Mitsuhide's longfic... but I've been careful to make clear that he's redeemable).

Other OCs appeared as minor characters whenever I needed them... Susumu (who is a restaurant owner in one longfic, and a vassal in the other, for example), Hiko, Shohime, and Sute - most of them were supposed to only be in one scene, but they all stuck around. Shohime and Sute might get their own stories at some point (in fact I have a one-shot with Sute that is about 2/3rds done and I could see Shohime in a novella inspired by Jane Austen's "Emma"). And of course, the various versions of Hiko in each longfic play into the overall series mystery that all the Katsukos are working together to solve.

In terms of storyline inspiration... some of that is trying to figure out what parallels to whichever Shakespeare play I can then use to help organize the plot. The rest is picturing Katsuko and whichever LI is in the route and trying to imagine various scenes that happen in the story. It's in a sense sort of like looking up at the sky and trying to trace the path of a constellation... they start out as a cluster of stars, random, varied... but then if you imagine the lines from star to star, the constellation emerges. When in my head, I can see the map of that longfic... maybe not every point from the beginning to the end, but enough of them, then I know I can start writing the fic. After that, it's just figuring out how to get from the point I'm at to the next big point... and as I write, discovering what comes directly next. Eventually, all those "this comes next" scenes get me to one of these bigger scenes.

I don't know... this clearly turned into a much longer essay that I imagine you expect. But I hope somewhere in here I've managed to coherently answer your questions.

[actualbird]

A little belated, but thanks so much for the Halloween interaction! It's been a while since I wrote my thoughts about your fics down so I thought I'd send something for my interaction.

Zangr my beloved I'm so happy he opened the door!! Such a fun character I'm glad he came to your mind when I sent my trick or treat in! What made you decide to send him for me though if you don't mind me asking?

It's okay Zangr you'll be a cute marketable plushie in my heart 😔 if you do this again next Halloween and Zangr's gotten a plush by then I'm marching back to the door just to congratulate him on his fanbase.

Even if I'm just a human going by Milkyway, at least Zangr's managed to defeat one cosmic entity. Though it's by confusion. Eventually he'll work his way up to being free from the grip of narratives!!

The LI cookies!!! I wasn't expecting those! I'm very happy about my treat hehehe

Thank you so much for the entire Halloween saga! Reading it from start to finish was a joy and Luke plushie looks so good in his costume!

🌌

gmorning milkway :DDD!! and omg no worries, this isnt belated at all since i closed my ask box last night so i wldnt get more trick-or-treaters when i already had constructed a vague overarching storyline HAHAHSVKJHS

that being said, im so glad u enjoyed my silly little halloween saga :DDD it's funny cuz i wasnt even planning on doing any of that til i got sam's first ask and was like "okay how do i make this fun for everybody involved", and writing it all day rlly was so much fun on my end!!

i picked zangr for you cuz!:

in the beginning, my mode of choosing who would come to the door basically went "if i know who you are and who your fave is, im choosing the plush of your fave. if i dont know who you are OR if i dont know who your fave is, im choosing whoever is funniest" jjjVKJHVKJH!!

ive got a bad memory and i cant remember if, from the for nxx boys, youve got a specific favorite. so i went with zangr! cuz is he not all our deranged little fave? HAHHJAHFKJ

i deviated from this original mode though when i realized i didnt want to repeat plushies too often and also when i wanted to string the ask saga to the grand reveal of luke plush's costume, hehe

honestly, having a zangr plush would be both so cute and hilarious JHVKJAHVKJSHFAK. now i want 3 more tot plushies to exist: mc, DAVIS, and zangr

CONGRATS TO ZANGR FOR (KINDA) DEFEATING SOME COSMIC ENTITY!! wishing him the best on whatever other stories he may end up in <3

and u kno, i was originally gonna give you AP Energy Drinks, but then i realized that those dont actually look uh...particularly appetizing? JVKJSDFVKJSHD. the cookies from the cookie event still live in my brain rent free cuz they look so cute and so sweet and So Delicious mmmmmm

thank u for stopping by last night! and for stopping by this morning for this sweet ask huhu!!! luke plush is very happy u liked his costume :'D

[fictionfixations]

3.2 update [chapter 3 act 5?] / brief thoughts

so like. i think ive already talked about this update ngl

cant remember

but so anyway

theres this thought that i remember having towards the end..

you know like.. when after the fight against scara and we wake up in gandharva ville?

paimon was talking about how we were recovering and like

bro i had the scariest thought that it was repeating, and that we were back at gandharva ville after passing out from haypasia's scent thing that i forgot the name of and that we were gonna go and redo it ALL

bro after the whole samsara and sabzeruz festival storyline i can no longer trust in shit and the second its familiar to a previous scene i will get this very scary feeling

ah, genshin giving trust issues for the bizarre concept of time loops.

[hurting-fictional-people]

Helplessness

For day 7 of Whumptober: helplessness

I am once again late for the right day of whumptober y'all 🙈 Aaanyway, does anyone remember Noah? I thought this was a nice time to bring him back ;) I've kinda given up on the storyline I had planned though, so if you haven't read any of the other Lab Rats chapters you won't have a problem understanding this one (I think)!

If you want to see more of him, here's where the story started

tagging @whatiswhump @writingbackwards @ladygwennn

CW: lab whump, medical setting, noncon drugging, catheter, IV drip, noncon stripping and noncon touching (both non sexual), display whump, manhandling, restraints

-

At first, Noah thought it’d be just another day of being poked and prodded against his will. He’d had plenty of those already, was almost getting used to it – as chilling as that thought was.

And then he was taken to a different floor, through a different door, and his heart started beating louder, faster.

It was only when he saw himself in a wide room with a glass cell in the middle that he started fighting, though.

“Fuck no,” Noah gasped, digging bare heels on cold tiles and pushing away, arms flying in fists, trying to hit flesh. But among five brooding men, it wasn’t hard to subdue him. Not when they simply grabbed him by the forearms and dragged Noah, kicking and screaming, into the cell with a violent push that sent him down on all fours, and locked the transparent door behind them.

It was only when Noah looked up with wide, wild eyes that he felt what he hadn’t before. The weight of dozens of eyes stuck to him, dripping judgment and pity, mockery and indifference. Scientists. Doctors. Nurses. Guards. All their eyes on him, on every gasping breath he tried to take.

“What the hell is this?” he gritted out, getting up on wobbly legs and looking around the tiny mockery of a room he was in – one bed and a pole for IV bags behind it, all surrounded by four glass walls all the way up to the ceiling, only space enough for him to take three full steps before he hit the wall and shoved a closed fist against it. “Why am I here? Get me out.”

All he received was pointed glares and rolls of eyes. Mouths moved, but no sound left them. At least, no sound he could hear through the glass – he was sure they had no problem hearing him.

The room outside his cage was large enough for the transparent walls to be surrounded by desks, monitors, couches, all so they could watch him comfortably. A shiver ran up his spine as Noah searched for known eyes, and another one when he found them.

“Carver, what the actual f–“

“Noah, the longer you take to calm down so I can send my nurses in, the longer the experiment will take to start,” the doctor’s voice filled the box, mechanical through the microphone but none less condescending than usual. He sat behind a desk, a notebook and a pen in front of him. “And the longer we take to start, the longer you stay in there. I am assuming that’s not something you’d like.”

By now, he knew that lashing out did him no good. But it wasn’t that what made Noah take deep, shuddering breaths and look away from the depthless pit that was Carver’s eyes for a moment. It was the weight that refused to leave, the burn of being at the very center of attention, in the most literal sense.

“You do know that no matter how pretty I am, I’m not a doll to put on display, don’t you?” he said through gritted teeth, hoping that no one else noticed the trembling in his voice, and knowing by the slight tug at one of the scientists’ mouth that they did.

“If we open the door, will you behave?” Carver asked.

“If I punch you in the face, will you stop being a creep?”

A sigh, and the microphone went mute. Still, despite everything, Noah did his best to calm down.

The quicker it starts, the quicker I’m out, he repeated over and over, a mantra that made him want to scream, but true nonetheless.

When the nurses came in, he didn’t struggle. He could still feel the muzzle on his face if he closed his eyes, could still remember the pressure of the restraints on his skin. Now, with two nurses pushing him down to lie on the bed, the memory felt too much like a threat for him to try and fight.

Even so, it was instinct that led him to jump when they pushed a catheter beneath the skin of his arm and pain flared to life and spread quickly as he struggled to pull away.

He couldn’t even force the nurse’s hands off him before two guards were pushing his limbs against the bed so he could barely move at all. When a tube was forced inside of him so he didn’t have to use the bathroom though, humiliation swept him in such a fierce wave that he barely had the strength to trash.

He was left fighting tears on the bed, his clothes ripped apart and changed in front of everyone for a gray gown, cheeks burning as he fought to muffle the sobs gathering just behind his teeth.

Alone in the box again, Noah knew better than try to pull the catheter out or mess with the bag of yellowy liquid slowly dripping into him, hanging from a pole behind the bed.

He couldn’t keep still, though.

“So, what is this experiment?” he asked, sitting up with his legs dangling from the bed, meeting every single stare that sought his with a glare – a challenge. One he knew was empty, but if he had no way to hide, then he wouldn’t let them know how hard it was to so much as move when he was being so thoroughly observed. “C’mon, I’m already giving you the most handsome view you can get, at least tell me why I am here.”

Only silence met him, echoing inside of the box as he waited and pretended he didn’t wish to curl up somewhere dark and cry.

Five minutes later, he clenched his jaw and sat back against the plastic headboard of the bed, gripping the harsh sheet underneath his legs.

It didn’t take long for his question to be answered by his own body.

When it started, Noah thought he was just scared. His legs wouldn’t stop bouncing, but then, who wouldn’t be nervous in his situation?

When his hands started shaking as well, he knew there was something wrong. He wasn’t cold, and he was not that scared. Not until then, at least.

“Wha-w-what what is th-this?” he stuttered, pulling his legs to his chest, trying and failing to make the trembling stop. “W-wha-what’s ha-happening?”

No one answered, and he didn’t have the energy to keep talking.

Noah wasn’t even surprised when the world started spinning, and he had to lay down to avoid being sick. Curled up on the bed, his whole body shaking and something warm blossoming inside of him, he couldn’t help but touch the catheter sticking out of his arm.

“Touch that again and we will restrain you, kid,” Carver’s voice warned, barely able to disguise the amusement with annoyance.

For his own horror, he let go. Noah hugged himself tighter and closed his eyes when the warmth became heat, and the heat started to burn.

It was both an eternity and a second later when it grew into fire, licking his veins and making Noah gasp at the sudden pain.

A sob left his mouth when it grew even more, burning everything inside of him.

“P-p-p–, p-please it, it, it burns,” he whimpered, curling up on the bed as tightly as he could, “p-ple-ease make it s-s-stop.”

Even through a sea of tears, he could see his observers scribbling down notes, feel their stares boring into his trembling form. Somehow, it made everything even worse.

“Please,” Noah screamed when the burn enveloped him entirely, encasing his every breath in pure agony, until he was thrashing against the sheets, fighting an invisible enemy that ran through his bloodstream.

It didn’t take long for him to pass out.

-

He came to with a ticklish feeling, a brush of something cold against his skin though he knew there was no one close enough for touch.

When his eyes fluttered open, he found that it wasn’t touch that made him shiver. It was eyes. Watching him sleep, watching him squirm and scream and cry – and doing nothing but take notes.

He didn’t know how much time had gone by, but the memory of searing pain still hovered too close for comfort, even if all that was left of it was exhaustion.

His eyes closed for a second or an hour, and when they opened again, there were people in the cell with him. Nurses. Wheeling cards filled with things Noah refused to look at long enough to scare him.

Instead, he let his eyes flutter back closed and let them take whatever they wanted – blood, vitals, samples. He just lay there, a limp ragdoll they didn’t hesitate to play with, draining what little strength he had left, and then leaving him alone again.

It was weird, he thought, looking up at the ceiling where there were no eyes to look back. It was so very weird that now, when he was the least alone he had ever been – with people around him all the time –, was when he felt the loneliest.

-

“How are you feeling, Noah?”

“Just peachy,” Noah muttered against the thin pillow, burying his face into it. He didn’t want to know who was watching him, and at least that way, it almost felt like if he couldn’t see them, they couldn’t see him either.

“You can make this easy for yourself,” Carver sighed through the microphone, and Noah couldn’t help but curl up tighter into himself. “Or you can make it hard. Either way, I’ll get the answer I want.”

Fuck you, is what he wanted to say.

“I’m feeling like shit, is that what you want to hear?” is what came out instead, not angry like he wanted it, but weak. Spent.

“Be specific, Noah.”

The sooner this experiment ends, the sooner they’ll let me out.

“My head hurts,” Noah sighed, sitting up against the plastic headboard, leaning his head back against the glass behind it. “My throat feels raw, and it hurts to move. There, that’s how I feel.”

He tried, and like every other time, failed at not looking at the people watching him. There was only so much Noah could do to distract himself, and curiosity led his eyes up, to see doctors and nurses scribbling on notebooks or talking to each other, their eyes never leaving him for long.

“What else?” Carver’s voice filled the glass box again.

“I…” he trailed off, whimpering softly when his muscles tensed with the weight of those unrelenting eyes. Could they see how tired he was? How scared? It was almost like they were feeding off his fear, delighting in the way his throat bobbed as he swallowed and shifted on the sheets. “I feel…”

“Eyes on me, Noah,” the doctor commanded, and this time he obeyed. He knew where Carver was, he knew where everyone was by now. “Good. Now, are you feeling dizzy? Weak?”

“Weak, not dizzy,” he whispered, trying to focus on the anger that flickered to life at the sight of the doctor’s brown eyes. “And thirsty. I need water.”

Only silence answered him as Carver bent on his desk to write something on a clipboard, and Noah was left in silence again.

-

Sometime later, while he slept, the nurses came in again. He woke up with a startle as they stepped inside, placing a hand on his heart and grimacing at their callous faces.

“Good morning to you too,” he said when one of them reached for his arm without warning. It probably wasn’t even morning, Noah thought with a shiver.

They collected tests, and another bag of yellowy liquid was placed on the IV pole, ready to drip fire into his veins.

“No,” Noah breathed, twisting on the bed and kicking the pole before he could even think. It fell with a loud noise, the bag along with it, liquid spreading through the floor, smelling of something bitter. “Stay the fuck away from me.”

The nurse closest to him locked her jaw and shook her head at the mess, while the other let out an annoyed squeak, stomping away to presumably grab another bag.

“Don’t you dare come near me!” Noah shouted, clutching the sheets and crawling as far away as he could from the remaining nurse and the four men that came inside a moment later. “I’m not gonna let that piss-colored fire into me again, stay back.”

No one said anything, because no one seemed to hear him. Or care.

The guards came closer, stepping on bitter yellow fluid and reaching Noah in a heartbeat.

He tried to jump from the bed, run, fight, call for help, but as soon as Noah moved there were already hands grabbing at him. He thrashed, screaming mindlessly, but no matter how fiercely he wished to fight, it took barely a minute to buckle restraints around his ankles and wrists, hips and chest.

“Let go!” he cried out, arching away from the bed only to fall back on it a moment later, feeling judgment burning into his skin from all around the room. “Let me go let me go let me go,” Noah sobbed, pulling against the restraints even though he knew they wouldn’t give, if anything only to feel the burn of leather cutting into his skin as a sign that he was trying.

He was failing, but he wasn’t going down without a fight, however small it was.

Still, all he got other than aching wrists and a raw throat was apathy, and a new, full bag of liquid attached to him regardless of how high Noah screamed.

He kept kicking weakly even when the nurses left and came back to clean the floor until only the smell of disinfectant and dread remained. He didn’t stop squirming, not when dr. Carver’s voice told him to quit fighting, not when he saw a doctor rolling his eyes, and not when his muscles started to hurt.

If he stopped, he wouldn’t be able to start moving again.

It was only in the presence of fire that Noah froze in place.

As soon as enough of the drug hit his veins to start burning its way inside of him, all of Noah’s already scarce energy left, dissipated into the air until all he could do was sag on the bed and feel warm, silent tears rolling down his temples.

Pain closed in around him, from all corners of the glass box that felt like a coffin, but also from inside his body. Agony came, and swept away all thoughts from his mind, leaving behind only raw despair and hopeless tears.

-

He fell asleep at some point. Woke up too, watched nurses come inside and go out again, carrying his blood and his dignity away.

When the doctor asked him how he was feeling, Noah simply looked at the ceiling and kept quiet. Why do as they told him to if in the end, it would hurt all the same?

“If I let you out of the restraints, will you cooperate?” Carver sighed eventually.

It wasn’t what he wanted, but Noah was too tired to fight even that. So he simply nodded, and waited for a guard to unbuckle each of the straps, not bothering to say anything when the man put them under the bed in a quiet threat. They are still here if we need them later, he seemed to want to say.

Noah just waited for him to leave, and started listing his misery in a hoarse voice.

“I’m cold. Tired. My body hurts. My throat does too. I’d like some water, but I know you won’t give me any. The lights are too bright. I’m kind of dizzy today, I think.”

And then he was left in silence again, and this time it was almost nice to stay still and quiet.

If it wasn’t for the constant itch of being watched, he would’ve been almost thankful.

-

They came again, with a new yellow bag. He didn’t fight it then. Noah simply closed his eyes and let the nurses manhandle him as they wished, trying not to let any of his tears spill.

No use fighting when all he’d get himself was restraints to force him into stillness.

When it started, the pain didn’t seem as bad as before. Maybe he was just getting used to it, he thought with a spike of despair.

Later, they came again. And again. And again. With new bags and tests and indifference. Noah let them, because he was only one against too many, and his wrists hurt and his body did too, and he just wanted to let this end and go back to his stupid little cell with his stupid little cellmate he barely knew.

So Noah closed his eyes, and allowed his body to be played like a doll’s, and after a while, he stopped feeling the stab of anger and revulsion at the apathetic stares and harsh hands. Each time they took samples and gave him unknown fluids, they took something else from Noah too. Something he couldn’t name, but that always left him feeling empty.

It might’ve been his fight. Or his indignation. Whatever it was, it left Noah feeling more and more like what they wanted him to be – a vessel, only a body to be used as the doctors wished.

-

He didn’t know how long had passed when he opened his eyes and found doctor Carver standing beside his bed, the glass door open behind him.

“Hello, Noah. How are you feeling today?”

“Is it over?” Noah whispered, not quite excited, but almost… hopeful.

“Yes. This experiment is over,” Carver smiled, ruffling his hair. “You were a good boy this time, kid.”

“Fuck you,” he said feebly, turning his head away. The doctor only giggled.

“I almost missed the attitude,” Carver sighed, taking a step back. “The guards will escort you back to your room.”

Noah sat up, blinking at the open door and the doctor walking out of it. He looked around, wincing a little at the eyes still stuck to him, always stuck to him. Would they follow him to the room?

One nurse took off the tubes he had nearly gotten used to, and though Noah’s cheeks burned and part of him wished to fight, he held still when they took off his gown and dressed him in gray pajama pants and shirt still in everyone’s sight.

When the guards took his arms, Noah got up obediently. He should’ve fought, shouldn’t he? It was what he always did, he kept fighting.

But walking back to the small cell, through corridors of solid walls and no one’s eyes following his steps, all Noah could feel was relief.

They walked, and he was faint and a little dizzy, needing to sit down and take a breath even from the short walk, but no eyes chased him and no tubes stuck out of his body, so Noah simply kept following the guards, even when his body begged him to stop. Lost in his own mind, Noah almost didn’t notice it when the guards stopped in front of familiar metal doors. And then they slid open, and he let out a huff of air he didn’t even realize he was holding when Maverick appeared on the other side, getting up from his bed and taking a step forward with his mouth open.

Noah stumbled inside the cell and barely heard it when the door closed behind him.

“I thought they’d killed you,” his roommate whispered, haunted.

“I’m too pretty for them to kill,” Noah joked weakly, trying for a smile and landing on a grimace.

Maverick smiled and took a step in his direction.

“Are you okay? You look different.”

“Yeah,” Noah nodded, not quite sure what he was agreeing with. “I think I just… need to sleep it off.”

“Sleep what off? What did they do to you?” Maverick asked with a frown, placing his hand on Noah’s back and guiding him to the bed he had occupied before the glass box.

“Experiments,” he shrugged, falling on the bed.

“Yeah, that much I figured,” his roommate cocked his head, looking Noah up and down. He winced at the inspection but held still. If there was something he’d learned, it was how to be watched. “Just… tell me if you need anything, alright?”

There’s nothing you can do if I need something, Noah thought gloomily. He didn’t have the energy or the will to say it though, so he just nodded and smirked before laying down facing the wall.

His fingers found their way to the white cement, cold under his palm. Firm. Solid. Not transparent, not glass, not holding gazes that always followed his movements. Noah stared at it, telling himself that there was no one else watching him now but Maverick.

But even without the glass box, he could still feel the eyes glued to him. The weight of them on his back, the helplessness they brought still nestled deep in his gut, seeping uneasiness into his bloodstream.

He wondered, as tears silently soaked the pillow underneath his head, if he’d ever stop feeling them.

[27emailsicantsend]

Season 3 Episode 8 Thoughts

I am SO sorry this took me so long to write. My week has been a lot, so it’s just taken me a little longer to get to this. But I have been so excited to write my thoughts! A lot of things I might have already discussed on my blog, so if it seems like I’m missing something go back through the last few days on my blog and I’ve probably talked about it already :)

Ok… heads up this is my longest one yet… buckle up, wildcats 😂

I love that for the last couple of episodes they’ve had jet and Maddox doing the opening lines. It was a good subtle hint to the casual viewer that we were going to be seeing them again. If they weren’t a part of the larger cast this season then it wouldn’t make sense for them to do the opener

ANY TIME I hear the rina cue I will call it out. And guess when it played during the opening credits?? When jet said ej and gina broke up (so literally over that scene) AND when he was reemphasizing the coat check 👀

I’m going to be honest… the set up they made for Channing going “full reality show” last episode made it seem like there would be… more this episode? I thought it was going to be more of a repeat of episode five but it felt a little lackluster

LMAOOO the way ricky is sleeping has me 💀 what does josh think fake sleeping looks like 😭 he is so perfectly posed I don’t know how he thought we wouldn’t know he is acting hahahaha

But his jump scare was funny. I’ve loved his “scared” moments this season, like when he and gina were going through the woods and then when they found Ashlyn 😂 so funny

BIG RED I MISSED YOUUUUU

I’ve seen a few people throw around the idea that big red and jet might have a “fighting over who is the best friend” arc next season which would be so funny. But then I saw someone else say what would be even funnier is if ricky just said “gina” so both of them lost 😭 Tim please I’m begging for the storyline

Also when ricky asked if red bought the lotto ticket bc it was the last thing on the list and then red asked if ricky walked on the moon. It kind of made it sound like red got him something for THAT instead which makes me wonder what it would have been… 🤔

Oof jealous Maddox 👀 listen I’ve been calling the Maddox and Ashlyn romance since the episode where they were painting the set and Val and ej since ep 2. I’m impartial to Maddox and Ashlyn because I also love Ashlyn and red equally.

But I am VERY much a Val and ej stan. To me they GET each other. Who did he keep going to for serious talks this season? Who gave him comfort instead of his girlfriend? It’s been Val the whole time. Tim said we won’t get a ton of ej next season because we’ll be focused more on the high schoolers, but it would be cool if his “outside plot” was that he started dating Val :)

RICKY AND GINA MADE WISHES FOR EACH OTHER I REPEAT THEY MADE WISHES FOR EACH OTHER

And I KID YOU NOT: the first time I was watching this (1 am and delirious from just waking up), I watched ricky make the wish, said “where’s gina?” outloud and not even 2 seconds later ricky said, “where’s gina?” That was a little spooky if you ask me hahahaha

But also the fact that he had literally every other friend in the cabin he cared about INCLUDING red who traveled all that way and all ricky could notice in the chaos was where gina is, is so 🥺🥺

It just sends me back to some of my crushes and I KNEW I had it bad when I could spot in a crowd of 100 people if they were there or not and it completely influenced the night. Yeah mr bowen has it BAD

Ginaaaaaa you look so pretty my dear!!! Her outfits made the show feel grounded in reality. It feels less disney. Just something I appreciate in general :)

the only time it felt disney was that AWFUL outfit they had nini in when she was singing “What I’ve been looking for” at the piano with EJ. That one was cruel from the wardrobe department

But also this scene makes me want to do yoga in the woods. Fun fact I actually love yoga and have been doing it for a few years now. Ive just never gone to a remote location to do it 😂 only a gym or at my house

this is superrr random but Val looks EXACTLY like one of my friends from the back with her hair in that updo. I had to do a double take at first when she walked up to gina 😂

“When the right person comes along you’ll know, the timing will just make sense” and then LOOK WHO SHOWS UP MR RICKY BOWEN HIMSELF.

And Val is SO right for this. Rina has been right person, wrong time for the last two seasons. They just kept barely missing each other because of dating other people (FUNDAMENTAL to their growth arcs though). It’s cool seeing them go through all those lessons about who they aren’t supposed to be and be with, so when they DID understand it they got together. 🥹

Kind of a cool parallel from ep 1 this season 😏 “nobody’s gonna get in our way” and then “nobody” shows up asking for a group hug lol

RINA THE LITTLE YOGA POSE THAT WAS SO CUTE NO ONE SAID YOU HAD TO DO THAT

And then gina talking about knowing where she stands with people and that it’s “over and done” she’s ok… Ricky THOUGHT she was talking about himself kinda fibbing last night (he knew that she knew he fibbed), but then she mentioned ej and you see SO much relief on his face. He was so scared he messed up 😭 sweet boy

RICKY PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU LEARN YOUR CHARACTERS JUST A LITTLE FASTER THAN RIGHT BEFORE OPENING NIGHT. Personally I find the joke of him getting main guy without doing anything significant to get it SO funny. I know other people say others deserve it more, but he really is just being Troy Bolton because that’s exactly what Troy does. He doesn’t really do anything and still gets the lead 😂

That little “happy birthday”. Part of me wishes she would have said it a little louder so ricky would have heard and then maybe we see him walking away, pause when he hears it, then shakes his head and smiles a little. The other part of me likes how quiet she said it because it really gives off that vibe of “things left unsaid” which has just been the two of them all season

One of my favorite running things in the show is that we were told it would never be a “spontaneous song and dance”. There would always be a REASON something would happen. So it’s been so funny watching the show runners jump through every single freaking hoop they can to get a song in 😭 this song, by far, was one of the biggest reaches to me. We go inside Emmy’s mind for a song lol

She has a really good voice but I still am having a hard time seeing why she sang it? I guess I don’t have much of an emotional attachment to her character. She was only shown a couple of times in the show so it felt kind of… off balance for her to get such a large song when there’s other characters (like EJ or Gina or Kourt or even little Elsa after the talk about anxiety) that probably could have had a more emotionally charged version of the song for the audience? Idk it just threw me a little that she got a song in the finale. I’m pretty sure she’s a main character next season so I think a song after we learn her character more will make more sense then.

But regardless I did enjoy this rendition. It was fun seeing everyone prep for opening night to this song and them looking at their costumes. I also LOVED the little ricky and gina opening night looks during the circle. It very much was a direct parallel to s1, but this time felt more authentic because it wasn’t Ricky fighting for gina because he was anxious and needed security. He just loved her and was so proud and happy to be there with her in that moment. The lines about “letting the light shine on me” is very metaphoric to gina this season because she finally feels seen as an actress and ricky shining the light on her saying how proud he is of her… 🥹 this song just comes full circle back to those moments of him celebrating her as Anna.

I will say I LOVED their black and white outfits for this number though… especially Ashlyn’s. WOW she looked STUNNING in that top. Literally like an angel. They all just had these beautiful modified versions of outfits that made sense with them and their characters (for instance, EJ’s was just this sportsman jacket). It was cool because to me it felt like they were all smaller parts of a larger whole symbolically. We could see their essence through the individual outfits, but they were all black and white making them seemingly the “same” as everyone else’s. Costuming is just so, so cool because there is actually a LOT of thought that comes from wardrobe departments when you start doing more investigating in it. It’s all veryyy intentional.

This song was nice too because it really does make sense for every character. We watch their reactions to their costumes, being part of the greater production as a whole, and we know from their individual arcs that “this is where they’re supposed to be”. Gina is supposed to be in a spotlight she earned, ricky is supposed to be in theater camp with gina (not with lily back home), kourtney is supposed to be learning more about her potential, jet is supposed to be a part of the theater kids and making amends with Maddox, Maddox is supposed to be with her friends who consider her part of the same team, ej is supposed to be directing the show and learning about his potential in the film and production industry, etc. etc. etc. it’s just cool watching all of their storylines add up to this part and make SO much sense with this song

Ashlyn being so happy as an ensemble member and practicing with them is so 🥹🥹 the growth

“Gotta figure that one out” lmaooooo Maddox your crush is showing

oof can you imagine if Red, Antoine, Maddox and Ashlyn were all in a room together 😂

I can’t imagine how gina felt when ej was like “that’s tomorrow’s problem” about his dad and them trending. Because one of the MAIN contributors to their fighting and break up was how paranoid and stressed ej has been trying to impress his dad with the show. It’s why he kept blowing gina off and had so much anxiety and more. Now literally a day later after they broke up he doesn’t care? It’s fine now? I’m sorry that would have been SO upsetting for me. The whiplash of it all. And you can see the upset on her face ☹️

Miss Jenn and her singing I can’t 😂

OK this scene in particular how did we NOT see frozen coming?? Miss Jenn and nini here is a DIRECT callback to the “snowstorm” episode where they get stuck in the car. Snowstorms=frozen. Miss jenn talked about how the reason she became a teacher is because she was so stressed over getting that part in frozen and then she saw “let it go” on the score which helped nini decide she wanted to come back to east high. And now she is singing that song and nini is back and they’re talking about letting things go again (nini with east high going to California). Gosh it just makes some cool parallels doesn’t it

But also… Nini’s arc feels a LITTLE counterintuitive because she made this big deal about coming back to east high because that’s her family and that’s what made it so hard to leave and be in Denver. But now she’s leaving again. I mean I understand why, since Olivia is leaving. I guess I just find the irony a little funny 😂

On a lighter note I loveee nini’s top. UGH have I mentioned how obsessed I am with the wardrobing this season?? Because I am 😅

“It’s just a high school musical, nini” 😭😭😭

It’s a small detail, but I love (for the most part) how consistent this show stays. It’s cool that they reminded us from back in s1 that nini used to go to that camp. Of COURSE she would know where the firepit is. I just like when little things like that stay consistent in shows because it makes the characters feel more real. Another example of this is when Carlos at the beginning of the episode was like “on 3” and kourt says, “on 3 or after 3” and then Carlos goes “not this again”. The audience might not remember, but of course Carlos would remember being annoyed trying to get those numbers right from taking pics s1. It’s just fun little details like that that, again, make us feel like these characters really exist.

I love how they’ve decorated the barn from episode to episode 🥹 so cute

For the most part, I like how they’ve addressed kourt’s anxiety storyline. I work with anxiety professionally, so I think they’ve done a good job. Gina asking about what happened to kourt’s bravery the night before might have seemed a little insensitive but i get why they did it. It was so kourt could explain that they don’t go away in a night. The only thing i would have liked to have seen is maybe gina helping kourt take some deep breaths or kourt doing a grounding exercise or something. They’re doing this storyline to show kids they aren’t alone and everyone experiences anxiety, so yes while having a friend HELPS, not everyone has a friend that can “talk them out of it” or be there for them. It would have been a simple way to model, for kids, how to cope with anxiety on their own too if no one is around to talk to. (But this is just the professional in me coming out 😂)

Carlos not being ready to say good bye when he first came to camp not happy to be there 🥹 the growth!!!!

I liked watching Carlos do the “in summer” song but I also kinda wish we would have gotten “fixer upper”. But that’s just my selfish rina heart talking 😂 this was still a cute song either way, though

Lol you can tell nini was filmed separately from the actual opening night. They have no cameras behind her watching so we can see her WATCHING the play. It just LOOKS like she is. You can just tell there were time constraints they were trying to work around with filming with her and it’s just funny watching how they work around that 😂

The little “I’m gonna tell him” “don’t you dare” is VERY much something actual rina would say if there was something happening with one of their friends. Oh yeah they are so kristanna coded 😂

The little red and Ashlyn picture before she walks in on her mirror 🥹

This scene is why I am so neutral about Ashlyn being with red or Maddox. I think she and red work really well together. And with both of them discovering their sexuality and red still knowing regardless he wants Ashlyn, makes me SO happy for them. (Like imagine them checking out girls and guys together on dates lol).

I think this scene was supposed to be confirmation that she was happy with red and wants to be with him too? But the line delivery didn’t totally make me feel that way? And we know Maddox is still going to be around next season, which I really love their arc this season as well, so I would be ok seeing her with either :)

I appreciate that they both went through similar arcs on their own though :) it would have been cool to see red have that parallel to Ashlyn in the episodes… like showing his self discovery back at the pizza shop. But I also love the end of the episode when he’s just like “oh and I’m bi!” And ricky goes “good for him”. 😂 comedy gold. Just so unapologetically themselves. I love it :)

Also, I just realized remember how Carlos and seb had that whole plot last season about being the only queer characters in the school (that they knew of)? It makes the pin scene last episode so much more special because now they’ll have at least 3 more people a part of the LGBTQ group in just their theater club (there could be even more in the school they don’t know about yet) 🥲 that makes me so happy to know they won’t feel so alone

Ok I do like this scene between kourt and little Elsa but my one gripe with it is, isn’t kourt’s mom supposed to be a therapist?? The show did so well keeping storylines accurate up until this point (and I guess a little with nini as I mentioned before). So I don’t know why kourt is so surprised little her has a therapist? It makes it seem like kourt doesn’t know kids her age have one?? Idk and some of the advice little Elsa gives her seems like something her mom could have said to her at this point? This scene was a little confusing to me ig 😂 it was sweet, don’t get me wrong. It just seemed a little counterintuitive to what we already knew about kourt from episodes past hahaha

But also WHEN are we getting a convo with ej and kourt about anxiety?? I’ve said this before and I’ll keep saying it til it happens. Im waitinggg 🤨⏱

“The feeling you get right now is the feeling you get right before you’re about to do something brave” I’m crocheting that and hanging it up in my office fr, fr. One of the best lines of the entire show

“You’re my supernova ash” 😭😭

KOURTS PERFORMANCE OF LET IT GO 15/10 STARS

Literally SO good. Her vocal runs, some of the changes to the delivery of notes, the acting, the contrast of lines as she’s building up to the main part… this was absolutely one of the best performances of the entire show. Hands down. Like BRAVA Dara.

Also normally I absolutely CRINGE when the audience pulls out their phones or starts singing to help the main character, but I actually was ok with it here. (I would have DIED if they would have sang though soooo thankful they didn’t). I think shining that light on kourtney was kind of like what little Elsa said about using her anxiety to help her be brave. At first the lights scared her but then she used them to power through her stress. It was a cool parallel to that convo

The audiences gasps are killing me though 😂 i can’t take them seriously they’re so funny hahahaha its giving mii audience during wii tennis

And their nodding while they’re holding their phones 😭😭 PLS they look like npc’s I’m cryingggg

Also GINA YES FREAKING ANNHILATE CHANNING OMG I LOVED her coming to the rescue for kourt there 😭 really showed that “power of sisterhood” that’s been mentioned a few times in the show. So good

That was such a cool wardrobe change!! AHHH I WANT TO PERSONALLY MEET AND THANK THE WARDROBE DEPARTMENT

gina being so willing to punch Channing i cant 😭😂 she’s my FAVORITE

Ricky saying he’s never felt so much like a kid. When I think of kids I think of how happy and playful they are. How they can just move through life and accept things as they are. They are VERY resilient. This carefree and happy version of ricky makes me sooo happy. I know he’s been hurt by not being with gina but he’s not hurt BY gina. She makes him SO happy and you can see that so much through this season. I just really loved this line. It feels very special to me ❤️

Listen nini and I have had our beef but her doing the little cards each season and this little balloon set up is so sweet to me 🥹

Also… low key (like others have pointed out on here) I kind of forgot nini and kourt were best friends 😬 watching them sing born to be brave together was really cute and you could definitely tell some of that emotion from nini was just Olivia sad to actually say goodbye, but I don’t think I’ve ever really felt a friendship chemistry from them? I’ve seen it a lot more with kourt and carlos, gina, and ash. This scene just didn’t have a ton of impact on me which makes me a little sad? I think I would have liked to have seen their friendship a little more in the past two seasons to make this feel more deep. I’ve seen other people say the same thing so I know I’m not alone on this

I know ricky is just watching offstage but you can’t see that from the angle of this so it looks like he is just walking over and idling, staring at a wall 😂 it’s giving npc energy hard hahahhaa

YES RICKY END HIM. I love that it’s ricky and gina who stand up to Channing. Yet another parallel. Rina being the protective parents of the theater… our protagonists 🥹

Also “for the first time in forever”. You can tell that gina was not at all upset about what ricky said about “acting” like he likes gina. That she knew he was just saying that to get Channing to leave her alone and that he was defending her. It’s a cool contrast between him and ej because ej was just like “yeah we’ll give you drama” which upset her and ricky was like “we’re faking it and we want you to leave us alone. We’re not going to give you more of what is hurting us” which was comforting to her. ahhhhhhh

And then him immediately turning to her and asking her if she’s ok??? He’s so protective of her 😭

KRISTOFFS LULLABY

This was SO sweet

I also fully expected ricky to sing “you’re what I know about love” while looking at Gina so I was taken back when the only line he sang TO her was, “everything I thought I did, you’ve gone and changed it kid”, but after thinking it through this line makes WAY more sense. And the fact that he sang that BEFORE the “you’re what I know about love line”, helps us to know that the following line is STILL referring to gina. He didn’t need to look at her for us to know who he was now referring to because he already did. But lets break down the other line, shall we? Everything he thought he knew and did for love, she changed. Gina represents change. He doesn’t act like old ricky in love situations anymore. We also know that she said ricky came to her as a surprise, he was not part of her plan either. She helped him see that he doesn’t have to be stuck in what he’s known forever to feel love. Also, him calling her a kid refers to my point a few bullets ago about him feeling like a kid again this summer. They are two kids in love. He feels happy, carefree and childlike with her. Not stressed or anxious, like he did with nini. He may have grown up because he’s 18 now, but gina keeps him in that young and happy state of mind. Not in an immature way either… but more in a relaxed way where he doesn’t feel so much pressure on the relationship. “It is what it is and I’m happy if you’re happy”. It’s a very innocent and calm state of mind and I just love seeing them (him) that way together. 🥹

I’ve got some thoughts about why ej and nini were shown during this song, but I’ll keep it short. I think a lot of it is the context of the lines and their stories. For example, “braver than the bravest of us” when showing nini. She sings about “born to be brave”. Her entire arc is about bravery and taking risks and trying big, life changing things which has helped her grow into who she is as a person. I can break down the rest of these if you guys want, but I think that’s what a lot of that is during this song is ricky just explaining their arcs each time a person is shown along with the line that’s sung.

Again, Val and Ej!! I’m telling you people, they’re meant to be!!

Val looks BEAUTIFUL here. I want to know every place these outfits came from, I’m so serious about this

This scene was HEARTBREAKING. Ej needed his dad so much in this moment and for him to turn that love away was hard to watch

You can see Ej just trying to do everything he can to make things right and it just isn’t working.

I know Josh has wanted to sing “scream” and he is absolutely the Troy of the show but with EJ’s arc I actually think he’s more suited for this song? And it would be his first serious performance. Maybe he and Josh could duet it? I’m not sure what Ricky’s story line would be for him to sing this but I’m sure if josh really wanted to sing this, Timberly could make something work for both of them to duet

But the lyrics about losing yourself to get what you want, getting on a ride and wanting to get off. Ej lost everything this season. Himself, his girlfriend, his dad, last season he put away college…. His world is completely upside down and he is being told from every direction how he should be or trying to be everything he isn’t (we saw him go drastically in both ways when he lied all the time to being honest all the time in s1). The song just MAKES SENSE for his character arc

And you can’t tell me when Val sits by him and holds him close they don’t look like husband and wife!! Like they literally look like an old money couple and the wife is comforting the rich husband. I bet this is what cash and his wife look like after a difficult night lol.

Ricky didn’t even seem that upset about not getting a card? Like he did earlier and then in this scene he doesn’t? Lol I can’t read him

PLS TIM IS SO MEAN TO ELTON. WHY ARE YOU MAKING HIM BE IN THAT COSTUME AGAIN 😭😭 I can’t imagine Matt’s face when he’s saw that the first time lmaoo

So I could have sworn in interviews I’ve seen Olivia say she was contracted for 4 seasons? I wonder if she was able to get out of that somehow?

CORBIN REMEMBERING JENN 😭😭 well… Jessica lmao. But that was so sweet

And then the wildcat cheer!! That was so sweet seeing how excited gina was about that 🥹 and right after she said “he’s doing it” Ricky was the first to chime in. He loves her sm fr

Gosh this whole scene with the cheer and then Corbin starting the song made me feel soooo nostalgic. I’m going to be an absolute mess s4 with all of the og cast coming back 😭😭😭

“Sometimes the really good stuff begins only when something ends” to Gina then Ej walks away. I’m so sorry p*w is bones 😭😭 that was so rina coded I’m-

And tbh I liked this song better than the “this is me”. I did like this is me but it didn’t feel as natural to me as “Everyday”. This was such a unifying song for the group about holding onto each other and being a family. And then all of the scenes of them being together were sweet

Also did you notice that the scenes where Ricky and Ej are just goofing and gagging were only at the beginning and end of the season? When Ej didn’t feel his relationship was threatened? It’s like their friendship is good when Ej isn’t worried about Ricky swinging in. I think Ej having a girlfriend that isn’t also Ricky’s love interest could be really good for them and I actually think they could be good friends (brothers even 🥹). This is another reason I want the Val and Ej agenda!!!

Favorite performances from “Everyday”: Ricky and Gina, Ashlyn (literally outsang everyone and for what) and Jet

“Because this moments really all we have” as rina stare into each others eyes 🥹🥹 we’ve seen so much talk about just enjoying high school and living in the moment and that’s what they do when they’re with each other. Time slows. It’s actually very metaphoric idk idk

RINAS NAMES NEXT TO EACH OTHER IM SO SERIOUS ABOUT THIS (especially ricky putting his name AFTER Gina’s, boy is smitten)

Ej signing with Elton 🥲😂

Corbin wearing his s2 shirt 😭😭

Also rina ran under the sparklers together… you know who else runs under sparkler send offs together?? Married couples. I’m just saying 😌😌

RICKY IS WEARING HIS JACKET 🥹🥹

Ok I’ve explained this in an ask so just go down my blog a little bit I’m very much a gina got the lotto ticket and not Nini truther and that’s all I’ll say on that

This time jump is EVERYTHING. Again, I explained my thoughts on how mature they are in another ask so scroll down a bit and you’ll find it :)

Ashlyn’s line delivery here and then her taking pictures 😭😭😭 it’s gets me EVERY time. Soooo funny

Carlos I LOVE

Maddox looks so cute here!!

Ricky 😭🤣😂😂 lmaooo this was such a funny joke and I feel so people who haven’t seen the meme behind it because I think the meme of hilary doing this makes it 10x funnier

Them just screaming in unison: same

This commercial and all of their reactions was such a great way to close up the storyline of the doc finishing but leaving tons of cliff hangers for next season. I LOVE that Tim did this

The Val and Ej/rina/Maddox and Ashlyn/Jetney agenda this doc is spreading 😭😭

Also what the HELL was that innuendo of Carlos and the camper 😭 where did that come from. Apparently this is disneyPLUS adult jokes lol

I’m so sorry but the part where gina is talking about her eyes being on “one thing only” and they just show Ricky with his “no thoughts, head empty” smile 😭😭😭 it’s so unserious 😂😂😂

Like Gina is soooo determined there and he is just completely clueless. That is PEAK humor 🤣

“Good for him” 😂😂

Ej saying he would slap Ricky but he’s his brother feels a little vindictive to me idk

“It’s all gonna work out in the end. Probably”. And then his little wink at the camera? Wtf was that Corbin hahahaha

And I’ve been wanting to point this out forever but notice how they made it a point for Corbin to turn off the camera before rina has their scene?? This was intentional!! I think this was to show the audience (us) who might have thought their relationship was “acting” for the cameras. Of course there is tons and tons of evidence for this otherwise as well, but this was such a nice small touch. Corbin knows they have more to say, so he gives them a private moment. Where they can just say what they need to. Unfiltered, not acting. I just LOVE this little touch 🥲

RINA CONFESSION

NO THOUGHTS, HEAD EMPTY

I’ve said my piece and I agree with sooo many other rinas about this scene that I think it went the way it should have. I’m not going to go into it, just scroll through my blog over the past week and you’ll see all of my opinions :) because there is A LOT

I was just as emotional as rina through this scene. They are everything to me. 😭

This was just perfect and everything it should be and I’m really, really happy with how this season ended ❤️

Rinas, especially my rinas who have been with me since there was literally like, 5 of us, we WON ❤️❤️❤️

Do not worry friends, I still have some drafts and asks I need to post so I’m not going anywhere for a bit :) I just wanted to make sure I got my episode thoughts out here because I know you’ve been waiting for it and I’ve been waiting to do it! :)

[wormstar]

i was going thru ur blog and u have good posts about ableist aus and i was wondering - what if in the aus the requirements for warriors were different? Like instead of having to fight jay only hunts? Would the muddling of roles still be ableist? In a Tree-like situation?If its not presented in a "work super hard to get what you want" and more in a "yeah they can decide what he wants to do". This is mostly for jay (and cinder) specifically because they had desires to be warriors yet were forced to be medicine cats because of ableism (ig this can apply to briar but i just truly cant remember oots that well and i havent read her death). I am asking because i am still trying to unlearn the ableist mindset that i grew up with. Feel free to ignore this ask and thnx!

hey yeah thank you for asking! took the opportunity to write up more general thoughts on rewrites as a whole and i went over why exactly theyre ableist hopefully that provides a better perspective

i think the major thing to keep in mind is that the structure of the clans is very abled centric and overly ignorant of inner community work (for example dens are only solidified or altered when either the area takes damage/the clans grows wrt population) theres a fixation on marking territory and starting fights and whatever with other clans which is whats expected of most warriors to partake in. to fix those implications in any fanwork youve really gotta knead into them and understand the nature of their ableism....its not just a problem with cats being barred from being warriors its the whole occupation and the standard its held to, so to speak (+ that fits into general clan society being flawed but eh thats another thing and also its easy to branch out into thought about)

going to stress other disabled people might have other solutions to how disabled cats are received this is just how i like to think of things

first i think its kind of interesting to examine discrepancies between disabled cats in canon as somewhat of an indicator of clan attitudes and leaders and whatnot. like i think you could get something interesting by regarding lets say deadfoot in windclan and cinderpelt in thunderclan who both have bad legs yet had different experiences with them in clan life. if you wanna go a step further comparing generations like lilywhisker and deadfoot or cinderpelt and jayfeather (+ the consideration of how congenital disabilities are regarded) can also make things interesting and just give you an idea of what to do. having the clan systems stray from a clear-cut common attitude both gives you more freedom for different approaches + adds to worldbuilding anyway. imo boiling down clan society to perfect utopia just gets boring but you can have imperfections in the system that depict the disabled experience just fine. just be careful with them and the way they come across yeah?

(real quick as an in between. god just dont refer to cats/their injuries as crippled. it still happens somehow)

im a little ambivalent on the idea of creating a ‘special role’ for disabled cats to be thrown into. cause then thats a repeat of canon medicine den really. its like ‘oh youre disabled youre instantly discarded into the x role pit’ i think just adding substantial in-universe changes to the warrior rank itself (vagueness is fun actually) or expanding on ‘warrior types’ rectifies the othering angle. ‘othering’ as a whole is just as bad as the ‘exception’ archetype people run for most warrior aus i want to state that clearly. effectively if youre gonna introduce roles that dont depend on fighting or hunting or both make sure theres abled cats who have them too. like say you want a camp-based role where a cats job is to fix dens or one where they help in the nursery, its far easier for a cat who cant run to manage those but also have some cats who are physically capable of doing other ‘tasks’ do the same thing for personal reasons

the tree comparison is interesting honestly cause i guess you could just give a cat a particular thing to do as a nonfixed position. and roles accordingly being made for a cat to fill until they cant and the positions done away with afterward. but youve gotta do it carefully so you dont fall into othering as ive said. id avoid something like that personally i just dont like the quality of ‘well theyre not a warrior (the most noble/useful concept in cat society) theyre actually some other thing’

in general giving disabled cats agency and choice is the best thing you can do. whether this means them deciding on tasks they can do themselves or picking a certain kind of warrior to be or asking for an assistant to help them out when they do stuff. the way you wanna pull it off again depends on my first question of “how does the relevant part of your warrior cat world treat disabled cats already”

very important point, the majority of the ableism also comes in the form of character narratives and not just the structure of the world itself. like think for a bit why the writers decided jayfeather shouldve been forced to be a medic or why briarlight got killed off early etc etc. characters ‘wanting’ to be like the abled ideal and still being bitter about not fulfilling that years down the line are just part of the ableist storylines. if youre abled id literally say just do away with those sadstuck ‘i wanted to be a warrior!’ moments. if you really want to id say pull a cinderpelt or a shadowsight where a cats time in the medicine den started their fascination with medicine and they switched to that path due to personal intrigue. id say a more interesting and realistic angle to it is having a disabled cat who found fulfilment in doing something else besides being a warrior becoming bitter about their entire clan ‘mourning’ how theyll never fight again or giving them the pretence of being a warrior being the best thing you can do.... it depends on the character really

this is just a very basic disability thing but stray from the whole ‘useless/dead weight’ way of regarding disabled characters. like dont place their worth on how well they service a clan or not theyre still deserving of shelter and whatnot. you dont need to justify a cats existence or usefulness by going ‘well they may be blind but their sense of smell is excellent so we keep them around’ or whatever its just no good

last thing i can think of is like. dont disregard how a cats disability affects them. like its fine that briarlight cant fight (or even hunt major types of prey) she doesnt need some convoluted method that lets her do that. there are like a dozen other warriors hunting and fighting and theres present value and enjoyment in the stuff she does around camp. she doesnt have to be brightheart 2 its ok

[saipng]

okokokok so i don’t typically make these kinds of posts like. ever BUT since mortie and i just came back from the cinema i simply have to. as your resident professional batman connoisseur and insufferable bastard, i believe i am obliged legally - so here it is:

my review for the batman (2022) (starring robpot) (spoilers ahead)(also pretty darn long ahead):

let me just quickly preface this by saying that i did genuinely and truly enjoy the movie a lot, but i do also think it had pretty serious flaws. here, the good and the not so good will be mixed in together and i’m writing these points chronologically and/or as they pop up in my brain. ok leggo:

first of all, this movie has to be watched as a comedy. it CANNOT be taken seriously under any circumstance. if you begin to watch it as a straight-faced drama, everything is lost. it becomes an insufferable, stupid, long movie. this is a COMEDY

robpat’s batman was fun. i am very strongly on the fence about his portrayal, but since this is a comedy, i think i’m gonna say that i like it. his batman listens to nirvana and tells alfred ‘you’re not my DAD’ unironically. his batman never kissed a girl before. his batman doesn't leave his cave, doesn’t bother to wash off his eyeliner, and eats doritos and mountain dew when alfred isn’t looking. his batman is 17 years old and also me when i haven’t left my house for 3 months in a row. his batman is a wet shaking chihuahua that is also a looney tunes character and his batman is GREAT.

that being said, i simply CANNOT believe that this is batman after 2 years of doing his vigilante act. if you told me this is his third month on the job i’d be like ‘yeah, that checks out’. but two whole years??? that’s a significant amount of time. the fact that this 28-29 year old man is acting the way he is (towards alfred, out in public, towards selina, towards kids, etc) after TWO YEARS of fighting crime on the daily? impossible.

well okay not impossible but it makes him seem like a huge shithead (and like. a huge creep. why did he watch selina like that. why did he keep staring at the kid like that. bruce plz)

i mean i get it, i do - they had to integrate gordon and police work into this, and it wouldn’t have worked with batman month 3. but then his character feels really really wrong. but hey, this is a comedy so i’ll let it slide

besides, watching him eat shit and faceplant into concrete is fun as hell

the AESTHETIC. oh my GOD if there is one thing the movie nailed entirely it’s the feel of gotham. desolate poverty clashing with high rise buildings, people trying to live their lives as horrible things keep happening around them, those who still have hope and strive for change against all odds, echos of the past still haunting every single corner of the city. the techno music of the iceberg lounge contrasted against the worn architecture of falcone’s office. wayne’s gothic castle contrasted against the modernity of batman’s gadgets. the red and black. fuck, the read and black….. yeah i have no notes there. everything is perfect.

mortie: you know what they should’ve called the iceberg lounge

me: what

mortie: club penguin

me: oh my god

the score too!!! the score is AMAZING. the theme is haunting the movie, like batman haunts gotham, and the mix of church bell tolls against the violins…. goodness me. ive been listening on repeat since i stepped out of the cinema

the storyline itself was actually decent enough (i bet you're already like 'huh???' but hear me out here).

for what it was aiming for, i think it was alright. i did like the wayne family aspects of it, and that it wasn’t as clean as it was always made out to be. this is kinda like what they did in the first season of telltale’s batman (only telltale did it better imo lol). the fights were very well choreographed, the situation was intriguing, all the aspects converged together in the end.

so yeah, it was FUN. and that’s the most important part, isn't it. did it actually make sense? i honestly don’t know at this point. so for what they did with the plot - sure, let’s say it kinda worked, yeah.

now what DIDNT work was The Riddler. oh my fucking fuck the riddler. why. just why.

why did they make him like that. where did they pull this characterization out of. please point me to a comic book where this happens because i was. so insanely confused. i’m actually gonna go on a huge tangent here so brace yourselves.

so we all know (or at least i know, or at least i THINK i know and i dont even know if i know anymore-) who riddler is in the comic books (and the games for that matter). he’s a narcissist and an egoist. in every iteration, he’s out for himself and himself only. his greatest desire in life is to prove himself the smartest there ever was. to feed his ego. that’s pathetic enough on its own, but what makes it even more pathetic is that he desires to prove himself smarter than batman - which he isn’t. let me reiterate this again - batman outwits him at every turn, solves his every convoluted puzzle and riddle, is always one step ahead of him, and that is the staple of their dynamic. riddler is NOT as smart as batman but he desperately wants to be and that is what drives him to commit the shit he commits. he is vengeful against those that wronged him, sure, but when the hell did riddler start caring about justice????? why is that a thing???? this is a man who only ever was out for himself, so making him this. vigilante twitch streamer is. a choice.

it is definitely a choice.

i did like that they kept him pathetic (cuz he is (affectionate)), but that actually has nothing to do with his intellect or his constant dick measuring contest with batman. no, in this iteration, riddler is all but coming onto batman, and batman rejects him, and that’s what makes him a sad little meow meow. which, again, is ridiculous (nothing to do with shipping, i promise, ship your barriddles to all your hearts' desires or whatever their shipname is).

it's ridiculous because in this fucking movie, he actually outwits batman. riddler literally says ‘you’re not as smart as i thought you were’ and in this case, it’s not mockery, it’s true. batman failed to notice a critical piece of the puzzle. batman was outsmarted.

honestly, robpat’s batman is.... just kinda dumb compared to your usual batmans and that’s…. well, ngl, thats pretty disappointing, considering it is also a core part of his character. (also batman didn't think to just use google translate for spanish. really. well. O.K.)

honestly, in this instance, riddler quite literally won.

his only loss was batman being like ‘um, sorry, i’m not looking to date anyone rn :\ also i kinda hate u’ and embarrassing riddler making him go all 'aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaveeeeee maaaaarriiiiiiiiiaaaaaaa'

and - AND!!!! don’t even get me STARTED on him figuring out batman’s identity. that is such. total. utter. horseshit.

it is a STAPLE of riddler’s character that he cannot guess who batman is. it is his vital flaw that makes him who he is. he cannot crack batman. he is too self important, too much of a megalomaniac to realize batman’s true identity. he’d never connect bruce wayne to batman. never. his ego wouldn’t let him. not on his own. and yet, this riddler just. knows.

how? well. yknow. reasons.

also can i just say his costume was fucking dumb as shit. why. like. why. he is a gimmicky villain, give him his gimmicky suit. not like. a ski mask. i mean cmon man.

yeah so riddler was a huge disappointment and he’s like. a good 25% of the movie so that’s sad. (not sayign anything about the actor btw paul dano did great with what he was given.)

(and that is 500 followers on twitch)

catwoman, on the other hand, was phenomenal. i actually adored everything about her personality. even her relationship with bruce was alright, no matter how much i dont care for batcat. like selina gave it her all - and then batman just stood there like 📷 _📷 99% of the time.

we love a man who never interacted with a woman before.

i just wish selina's mask wasn't a ripped up beanie cuz cmon. really. you can give her a super sexy cool suit but not a sexy cool mask. man forreal.

why does everybody's mask suck.

(that being said, batman's costume was one of the best we've seen in movies, but i still dont get why they don't just use white glowing lenses for his eyes. why bother with the eyeliner. it's so dumb. just make his eyes fully blue or white. it's not a hard solution.)

the penguin was also so so so so so SO good i actually gasped when i saw him what phenomenal casting + makeup and wardrobe work im still floored

but also speaking of penguin - what the heck was thAT CAR CHASE SCENE. WHY WAS IT SO LONG. WHY DID IT CUT EVERY 3 SECONDS. DID ANYONE UNDERSTAND LITERALLY ANYTHING THAT WAS HAPPENING THERE. WHY WAS IT SO LONG. THEY COULD'VE MADE IT AT LEAST 5 MINUTES SHORTER THAN IT WAS.

and honestly, they could've made the whole movie at least 50 minutes shorter than it was cuz like holy crap 3 hours. THREE entire hours. i nearly pissed myself cuz i didnt wanna move from my seat but i had to give up and go to the bathroom eventually. this movie had absolutely no business being 3 hours long. i think you can cut out at least 20 minutes of robpat staring into space alone.

ngl tho, they werent a boring three hours. if they come out with uncensored version on bluray, you bet im rewatching.

honestly that whole final segment was a messsss. i didn't see the explosions (bathroom break), but i came back when the flood was happening and it was all like. ok? so this is what's going on now?

the batman fighting scenes there were COOL (all of them were oh so COOL, actually) but besides that, it was just. a mess.

his dramatic jump into the water. why did he do it like that. i straight up thought he was offing himself when he jumped.

tho the imagery in the water WAS cool (again, nailing the aesthetics)

mortie: this movie is goddamn biblical

morite: *not ten seconds later* lost in the sauce

the final scenes were all sorts of confusing too, but at that point i gave up trying to make sense of any of it and began thinking of telltale batman season 2 and how i wanna replay it again

as you might have guessed, as an S-Tier Simp and Gremlin, i was delighted to see joker (yet) again. From the silhouette alone his appearance seems fanfuckingtastic and im ecstatic to see what comes next - even if everyone is tired of joker nowadays, and him being in arkham already doesn't even make sense

but whatever, i'll take it

i wanna see margot robbie's harley interact with robpat btw. well, robpat's batman, but he's jsut robpat to me, we're on a first name basis.

great movie, hilarious, 8/10

[kaypeace21]

What's in a name? (Analysing all the names in stranger things)

*I'll be repeating some names more than once as I break down categories .

Show , book, and tv easterggs

Alot of character names may have deeper meaning but some are also refs to stories they liked. The stranger writers twitter posted a list of movies said to inspire s4 (which I’ll be referencing).

Dart- dustin names him this after d'artagenean (a 3 musketeers book character) and one of Dustin's fav candies (3 muskateers). Similarly his pet turtle yurtle is implied to be named after the dr Seuss’ story 'yertle the turtle'.

Brenner- main character from 'the birds', which was on the st s4 list.

Byers- john byers from x files. The duffers mentioned x files was an inspo for the show. Although John byers (from x files) resembles Murray as an unhinged conspiracy theorist. The documentary paradise lost was also cited as inspo for st- john byers and his son, terry, Michael, and Steve were names in said film

Jim Hopper- in Predator (another st inspo) he was a soldier who was flayed to death in the woods. Another character in the film with a similar fate was “Hawkins”.

Detective Wheeler and elle Holloway- from silent Hill franchise. Another ref mentioned by the Duffers. Holloway was the surname of st's Heather. Elle (is el) and Wheeler is Mike's surname. Wheeler was also on the ep of twiglight zone (another cited ref by the duffers) . In the ep 'mute' sheriff wheeler takes in a mute psychic girl as his foster daughter. So some hints at hopper too . Hopper even mentions el-anor (gilipse) in s1. The surname of a main character in the silent hill series.Lt. Colonel Sullivan (s4) could be a eastergg of silent hill 4 which had a Sullivan character.

Henderson- st twitter mentioned how all the bond films were on the s4 inspiration list . So Dustin's surname being the same as one of the bond characters is a nod. Duffers also mentioned ‘freaks & geeks’ as inspo- and 1 character’s surname was also Henderson (another nod).

Mrs Driscoll (from s3) - a nod to invasion of the body snatchers which was mentioned as inspo by the Duffers. And clear inspo for s3.

Powell (cop and partner of hopper ) - diehard films also on s4 list. He's named after the cop powell.

Callahan (cop and partner of Hopper) - father Callahan ref. He shows up in many of Stephen King novels. The Duffers have cited over 10 novels and books from him as inspo for st

Nancy- she's called ‘Nancy drew’ (from the novels). And the duffers have mentioned they are fans of elmstreet - who's main character was Nancy. Nancy also references 'Oliver twist" ,and that book has a character named Nancy in it. Nancy was also a first Lady in the 80s similar to her friend Barbara- who was also a first Lady in the 80s.Nancy's name might also be inspired by "Nancy Wheeler", a secondary character in the 1970 book Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret written by Judy Blume.

Fred (s4)- apparently a high-school journalist who may be friend or foe. This one is a stretch but given nancy maybe being an elmstreet ref- and her enemy being fred-die kreuger. Fred may have animosity to Nancy and that's why his name is Fred. I mean ... they even cast a new s4 character with Freddie kreuger's original actor.so...

Jason (s4) - is in the 1986 Nancy drew novel (when s4 takes place). He is similar to the duffers description. In the novel he's a rich, popular, arrogant jock and blackmailing students at the high-school . S3 even named one of its episodes after a nancy drew novel- so wouldn't surprise me.

Christie carpenter (s4/reffed in s1 by hopper)- christie is the main character in the hellraiser series (which is on the s4 st list). Carpenter is the surname of the director of 'the thing' name dropped in s3. (The flesh monster in s3 also resembles the thing) , and in s1 mr clarke watches it ,and mike has the thing movie poster in his basement.

Argyle (s4) - die hard 1-2 were on the s4 st list. And is a name of a diehard character.

Max- her name is 'mad max' like the 80s film. But since the Duffers like videogames. Her name may be a ref to max caufield from the ‘life is strange’ game as well. She has a 'never Maxine rule' similar to max in st. But the game character is similar to jonathan as she is a teen photographer and says similar words to jonathan in s1 saying she would rather watch people through a camera than interact with them.

Eddie munson (s4)- not going to lie. I have no proof of this but I immediately thought of the TV character Eddie Munster (the friendly monster ).

Possible comic book easteggs

The duffers are no stranger to comic book references. The duffers have already directly reffed xmen, wonderwoman, and green lantern. Kali's place also has a comic book ref to 'the invisibles' on the wall. While the s4 movie list mentions thor ragnock , age of ultron, and 2 batman films. Some of these refs will go over your head if you haven't read my DID theory. But a lot of this analysis will still be enjoyable. :)

Jane st ives (jane ives aka el). marvel. (jane st ives sees her dad k*ll her mom and vows revenge against him.Sort of similar to what brenner did to terry).

Stephanie harrington (Steve harrington)- 80s marvel comic. DP.7. Will DID ref. Antibody, is a medical resident who can project from his body a dark figure of himself (also called an "antibody", a word play on the medical term) that flies, can become intangible, and transfer its memories to another person by physical contact (mindflayer).  He later merges with the antibody. like how susie refs ‘wizard of earthsea’ -the novel where the young wizard Ged releases a shadow monster (said to be an ancient evil) but it turns out to be the dark aspects of his personality and the only way for the chaos to stop is to accept his darkness and merge as 1.

Barry bauman (Murray bauman) . marvel comics - Will did easteregg.Bauman lived in never ending darkness. He felt, that there was a realm outside the darkness and started to explore the entire content of his brain thus using now more than the usual 10 % .Also had telekinesis.He turned his attention to the stars in order to exact revenge on the human race which spends billions of dollars to kill each other, but wouldn't spend the mere million or so it would have cost to cure him. For his vengeance he transported the suns near our galaxy into his omnipotent brain. As the people of Earth would learn of the disappearing of the suns they would panic and feel Bauman's loneliness before he would destroy Earth.Despite the death of his physical body, Bauman's consciousness somehow survived and began hopping from body to body throughout the galaxy, his powers growing until the Star Thief was recognized as a major threat to galactic society.

Sinclair- last name of xmen rhaine.  Will Did ref. storyline Rahne Sinclair is mentally bonded to Havok against her will(Will/mf).She is subsequently manipulated by the Shadow King. Her bond with Havok causes her to act irrationally, sometimes threatening teammates, sometimes by flirting with them.  She undergoes more than one attempt to undo the bonding, with varying results. Her instability also manifests in many odd dreams, in which her identity is merged into pop culture figures. What’s funny is charlie heaton (jonathan byers) was just in an xmen movie with this Rhaine character.

Victor creel (s4)-sounds like mutant victor creed of the xmen comic. x men Mutant with ab*sive dad and poor socioeconomic background. He had a "birthday tradition" of ab*sing his young relatives on their birthdays. Which reminds me of Lonnie making jonathan cry for a week (because he forced him to k*ll a rabbit on his b-day). Not to mention Lonnie is prob coming back for Will’s b day in s4... so... the name is prob a ref to that ‘birthday tradition’. Could also be a stephen king reference -since Duffers love him. The Creel family was in sk’s book “pet cemetary’-which fun fact (the actress who plays El’s aunt is in the recent remake)!

Yuri (s4)-Yuri Topolov (Russian: Юрий Тополов) was a Soviet scientist and the first foe of the Hulk. 

Dimitri (s4)-Dmitri Bukharin was born in Kuibyshev, Russia (some sources say Moscow).  First appeared in Iron man.

Peter ballard ( s4 character) may just be a hellfire ref . since I guy with last name ballard was a double agent for the hellfire club (name of st s4 ep 1). And ballard means bald which the actor is certainly not lol. I don't think he's literally associated with hellfire but its just a ref. And because its implied in his st character summary despite working for the mental hospital-where brenner is most likely at- he's horrified by the treatment of the psych patients. So that may be where the double agent aspect would come into play.

Ian Hargrove (billy hargrove)- batman comics. had a history of mental health problems dating back to childhood, which his parents were unable to afford treatment for. His brother John hargrove tried to keep him out of trouble but Ian developed an uncanny talent for explosives (will the wise fire powers). He ends up at Archam asylum. Cough billy is Will's alter. Why he has the name billy (a nickname for William) . Jonathan in s2 mentions how he likes the writer vonnegut- who wrote slaughter house 5- the main character was Billy. Already mentioned how it connects to my did theory .

Jason carver (s4)- carver is the last name of the comic hero thunderbolt (in the flash)-the first name of thunderbolt is Will and his brother is named Lonnie. There was also a John carver in the comic.

Holland (barb's last name) last name of Swamp thing. I think its plot has quite a few s4/5 spoilers but Im not diving into it right now.

Names associated with religions or mythology 

(if you’ve read my DID theory- some themes will appear relevant in relation  WIll’s alters or to WIll’s past/tr*uma).

-‘Kali prasad".Kali  is the name of a Hindu goddess . Kali’s iconography and mythology commonly associate her with death,  violence, s*xuality, but also paradoxically -motherly love. In myths ‘she only k*lls demons’ and is described as  ‘overflowing with incomprehensible love for her children’ - (aka ST’s Kali k*lling people from hawkins lab for hurting kids). Her third eye stands for wisdom (like Will the wise).Kali is called at times ‘ the bright fire of truth’ (will the wise/fire powers).The devotee makes her image in his heart and under her influence burns away all limitations and ignorance in the cremation fires. This inner cremation fire in the heart is the gyanagni (fire of knowledge), which kali bestows (cough Will the wise-fire powers). The goddess also could create a darkcloud of lightning (similar to the mf). The phrase “brilliant as a dark cloud” is a snippet of one such prayer dedicated to Kali.The name Kali is derived from the Hindu word that means “time”. Kali receives her name because she devours ‘kala’ (Time)- like clocks ticking when El sees demogorgan/clock being wonky when Will see mf/clocks in s4 promos.’ After devouring time she resumes her own dark formlessness. “This transformative effect can be metaphorically illustrated in the West as a black hole in space” (cough mf cough hopper blackhole/time refs). Kali’s s2 butterfly-“Kali is the Hindu goddess associated with eternal energy. ... The cocoon, butterfly and the karmic golden wheel reflect Her deep connection with life.”And Prasād (her last name) is a material substance that is a religious offering to gods in  Hinduism .

-While, EL is the name of a Cannanite (male) god associated with “salt water “ (pool filled with salt in s1) who “dwelled in a tent” (in s1 Mike’s blanket fort) .And his gray-beard was described as " "full of wisdom.” él’  in Spanish means ‘he’- which could be a nod at her ( androgynous) presentation in s1. El can also be translated to "God" or 'god'. The el character has various mythologies depending on which culture/ religion is using the term 'el'. In the post-biblical period, "el" became a regular element in the names of angels such as "Gabri·el," "Micha·el," and "Azri·el," to denote their status as divine beings.And Jane translates to " Yahweh (god) is gracious/merciful". The cannanite god El was also dubbed “Compassionate God of Mercy.”  Earlier, a ninth century B.C.E. inscription  identifies Ēl- the name of the Babylonian water god Ea, lord of the watery subterranean abyss (cough watery  dark void in st). Terry (el’s mom-aka Teressa) was originally used in the Middle Ages for a “child baptized in holy water” (El in the sensory water tank/Terry used it too,according to Becky in s1). Eleanor (called this in s1)- can mean "sun ray" (possible the opposite of the ‘shadow monster’ or Kali who can represent a “black hole”). 

-Will-the s4 st movie lists (‘red dragon’, gods of monsters, & ‘blade runner’ ) mention the artist and writer William Blake  (specifically his painting of the angel michael fighting a dragon in revelations - reffed in st s1). He was one of many painters part of the exhibition of “ The World Turned Upside Down: Apocalyptic Imagery.”The World Turned Upside Down explores the myriad ways that artists in England visualized the apocalypse in a period fraught with political, religious, economic, and cultural change. 

During this period Blake was commissioned to create over a hundred paintings intended to illustrate books of the Bible along with revelations .  He also drew illustrations for the novel Dante’s inferno. Blake’s brutally satirizes oppressive authority in church and state.He said those who proclaim restrictive moral rules and oppressive laws as “goodness” are in themselves evil. Hence to counteract this repression, Blake announces that he is of the “Devil’s Party” (cough hellfire club ref-and dissing the satanic panic of the hellfire club and other marginilised groups) . He also says “men forgot that All deities reside in the human breast.” So Instead of looking for God on remote altars, Blake warns, man should look within.He produced a diverse and symbolically rich œuvre, which embraced the “imagination as “the body of God.” He wrote his own stories based on biblical writings- one includes the fire wielding character of Los (will the wise) who represented jesus. Los (like jesus does in revelations) causes the destruction of the world and the second judgment unfolds. The poem ends with Los’s unfallen state rising up and shepherding in science and removing the dark religions. I also talked about  how this story ‘book of los’ hints at the DID theory-but this is getting long-so you can just read the explanation here if interested. Also, hellooo Both names are William B(yers/lake). Billy (a alter of Will-sharing the name William) in s3 he even wore “lady of pillar” medallion- i.e about jesus/mary.

JOHN (supposedly Jesus’ blood relative- who wrote ‘revelations’.) In scripture John was called “the disciple whom Jesus loved as a brother” .Fire is the most typical element associated with the Saint John's Eve celebration (Jonathan did light the demogorgan on fire). Many scholars consider John & Jesus ("apocalyptic prophets"). Jonathan itself translates to " yahweh (god ) has given" in Hebrew.

Michael- Similar to kali, he’s a religious figure known for killing demons. He’s the arch-angel from the book of revelations (Apocalypse). A evil Beast (with seven heads usually translated to ‘satan’ or ‘dragon’) appears .“it was a 7″ causes Will to be attacked by the demogorgan ( which in d&d is a demon with multiple heads). The Archangel MICHAEL fought and defeated this 7 headed beast/satan. Corresponding with Mike at the end of s1 writing a fictional d&d story for Will (based off defeating the demogorgan) which was about helping kill a 7 HEADED MONSTER! Michael is also the archangel who oversees on Earth the natural element of fire (Mike telling Will the wise to use ‘fireball’ to defeat this same 7 headed monster in the game, at the end of s1)! Ironically though Jesus /Christian god is also associated with 7s a lot (he has 7 angels and during the apocalypse causes 7 plagues , he has 7 candles etc .)cause the number seven, represented ‘perfection’ according to ancient numerology . Will’s b day is March 22- (3) +2+2 =7 (“it was a 7”). Will’s bday even falls in what christians call “the holy week”( the week immediately preceding Easter.)  At the end of s1 they even defeat this 7 headed monster because Will rolls a 14 (which can be broken down into two 7s). Michael & William also have 7 letters in each of their names respectively- equating to this 14. This dragon biblical story (of Michael) is also William blake’s most popular painting. Also, random fact in revelations god has a rainbow throne (with thunder /lightning -will the wise powers- coming from the throne, and seven lit torches next to it ) . He also wears a rainbow halo. Lol. Michael also roughly translates to  ( 'Who like el?' The answer being roughly translated to ' no one like el' ... which i mean literally is saying there is no one similar to her. But I still think its a linguistic pun/ burn that Mike is not actually into El romantically).

Jim (James) hopper- According to the s3 script Hopper’s real name is James. JAMES (JIM) was an apostle to jesus- brother of john. And in the bible was called a ’son of thunder ’. Will’s powers/ hopper being an alter of Will's so technically brother of jonathan and thunder powers. Not to mention David on Instagram saying hopper has " he has risen. like bread" is a Jesus ref to 'he has risen"... even the bread ref could be a catholic ref to the last supper.

  Martin Brenner/marsha holland-  have their first name reference the roman god Mars who was originally a ‘thunder or storm deity’ (will the wise/mf powers). EL (in cannanite mythology) also allowed Baal the storm god to rule the entire earth.

ROBIN- was the God of Thunder’s- Thor’s- favorite bird. And Dustin also means ‘Thor’s stone.’The red belly robin is also an important bird in Christianity. Legend has it that the robin got its red belly from a fire in which it was trying to protect Jesus. Robin also name drops the greek god prometheus- the god of fire (will the wise) who brought human beings life and knowledge. And Steve looks at Robin and says "let there be light" a biblical passage. The robin represents selflessness for a higher truth. 

Barb- Saint BARBara- dad kept her locked away from the outside world (like el/brenner) . He tried to k*ll her when he learned she didn’t believe in his religion- so the dad was punished by “god” who electrocuted him with lightning/lit him on fire. (Will the wise powers).

Nancy- is derived from a medieval diminutive of Annis, an English form of Agnes.  There’s the christian saint Agnes- who was beautiful and from a wealthy family. She was the Christian saint of girls and v*rginity . And the duffers subverted this along with the problematic horror movie trope of the ' v*rgin female heroine surviving while her more se*ually liberated female friends are punished by the villain' ( by having her survive specifically because she decided to have s*x).Agnes was also led out and bound to a stake, but (allegedly) the bundle of wood would not burn, or the flames parted away from her (will the wise fire powers). Also people claimed that any man who tried to r*pe her was struck blind.

Hopper's wife’s name -Dianne- is also the roman goddess of ,nature, hunting and wild animals( and greek equivalent to Artemis) .Becky  means ‘snare’ -for hunting animals .Teressa (Terry) means ' huntress'.  The name was originally used in the Middle Ages for a child baptized in holy water . Name of 2 saints-Teresa of Avila and Therese of Lisieux. Lonnie’s gf (Cynthia) was originally an epithet of the Greek goddess Artemis, as well.

Power couple Angela & jake (s4) - Angela means 'messenger of God". And Jake (also means ”supplanter”) is derived from jacob. Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebecca in genesis. El’s aunt,Becky (Rebecca) is wife of isaac.Other theories claim that Jacob is in fact derived from a hypothetical name like יַעֲקֹבְאֵל (Ya'aqov'el) meaning "may God protect".The name jacob is also where the names James/jim is derived from.

couple Steve spies on in s3- Anna Jacobi & Mark Lewinsky. Anna ( name of the mother of the Virgin Mary) Jacobi ("he who supplants"-aka same meaning as jim since both names are derived from jacob). Mark (”the god mars”-same meaning as martin brenner) .Lewinsky (lion-same name meaning as Lonnie). Also derived from the Hebrew root לוי‎ (leví, “priest”)

Joyce means "lord". Could also be a ref to the ('unofficial') saint Joyce who gave up wealth to live in poverty.

Ted-is the short form of the names Theodore and Edward. Theodore is a Greek name meaning "gift of God", Edward has an English origin and means "wealthy guard." Eddie (from s4) also means ‘wealthy guard”

Holly (nancy and Mike's sis)- Holly meanings are 'One who is pious' or 'sacred'

Karen- can be short for Katherine-one of the first christian saints.”Saint Katherine of the Wheel “(er). A 4th century martyr who suffered t*rture on a spiked wheel.  Wheeler does mean ‘occupational name for a maker of wheels’ after all. 

Gospel of LUKE (lucas?) , or simply Luke, tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.

Sinclair- Catholic saint of computers and TV screens (i mean... he is in the av club).

MAXimilian was deemed a saint in the 1980s- saint of journalists and radios. (Both aspects of s3)

Saint stephen/steven ( STEVE)-an early disciple and deacon . Considered one of the first m*rtyrs of the church.Stephen is first mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as one of seven deacons appointed by the Apostles to distribute food (lol icecream) .According to Orthodox belief, he was the eldest and is therefore called “archdeacon”.

Sara- Her name is a feminine form of sar (Hebrew: שַׂר‎), meaning “chieftain” or “prince."  She was the wife and sister of Abraham (ew -given her being an alter of Will though, such a name doesn’t surprise me). Similar to st Barabara’s dad - Abraham tried to k*ll his son isaac in the name of god. Becky (El's aunt) - is derived from Rebecca - wife of Isaac.

Claudia (Dustin's mom)- Christian woman of Rome greeted by Paul in his second letter to Timothy (in the bible).

Sam mayfield (max's dad) -  Short for Samuel or Samantha, from the Biblical name Shemu'el, which means "God has heard", from the Hebrew shama, meaning "heard" and el, meaning "God". Samuel is rumored to be argyle first name.

Marsha Kelly (s4)- Kelly means "frequents churches" or " bright headed". Given she's a counselor the bright headed pun makes sense. But maybe she's not to be trusted if she frequents churches during a satanic panic arc which was fueled by Christian religious extremism . Or she's someone who contrasts the rest of the religious people in town since she's not originally from hawkins...who knows. x files’ main character was catholic but in one ep she criticized a small town for the satanic panic occurring-and says how accusing these kids who listen to rock as satanic or being k*llers is ludicrous.

Peter ballard (s4) - Peter was also the name of an apostle. 

Tina (side character s2)- like christy (s4) it’s short for Christina which translates to "follower of christ" or 'stream'. Tina was the gal who hosted the t halloween party and also the name of one of Erica’s friends in s3.

Samantha (goth girl jonathan talks to in s2 party) translates to "told by god".

Tommy (s1-2) "God's gift" or "twin".Thomas is the Greek variation of the Aramaic name Ta’oma’. It came about because there were too many apostles named Judas; Jesus renamed one Thomas—meaning "twin"—to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot and the Judas also known as Thaddeus.

carol (tommy’s gf)- Carol is the short form of Caroline and the meaning is derived from the English vocabulary word for “song” or “hymn". A hymn being a religious song or poem.

Benny ( who helped El at his dinner) - originally derived from latin bennedictus which means "blessed"

Stacey (s2-3 ) rejected dustin at dance. Stacey- "resurrection "

Grigori (the guy following and tracking hopper, Joyce, and alexi)- The name was adopted by early Christians heedful of the Biblical passage located in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober-minded; be watchful."grigory now means 'watchful and vigalent'

Alexi- prob based on the russian folklore story of alexy. A clever priest's son who tricks a dragon.

Harrington- similar to Robin's religious animal iconography. Harrington means 'he goat'.The most popular image of the Satanic goat dates back to the ever-mysterious Knights of Templar, who were accused of worshipping an idol known as Baphomet (a 1/2 human 1/2 goat man). Roman Catholic society decried it as a demon that demanded human sacrifice — but it would take a few more centuries before the goat became a truly occult symbol.Anton Lavey adopted Baphomet as the sigil of the Church of Satan in 1966, and it has appeared on countless metal album covers. But, Baphomet isn't the lone source of inspiration for our goat-like depictions of Satan.it's also believed that early Christians, seeking to demonize preexisting Pagan traditions, drew comparisons between the Devil and the Greek god Pan (god of nature), who happened to resemble a goat.Some cited how in revelations- during the apocalypse- Jesus separates the 'lambs from the goats'. ( supposedly Good vs bad)

Given the fact s3 alluded to the satanic panic. A Christian movement in the 80s that demonized and said d&d ,rock music, homosexuality, other religions, stephen King,horror films, wearing black,and non conservative ideology were 'satanic.' I wouldn't be surprised by this possible ref. Heck even William Blake criticized similar religious movements in his own time period. Several movies from the s4 list allude to this. The most obvious being the documentary paradise lost (named after the fictional retelling of satan/adam and eve story) - the documentary directly focuses on a witch hunt of rock loving teens (wrongfully accused of m*rders) in a small town during the satanic panic. Not to mention ironically s4 is hinted to be around easter. So Using such symbolism to address religious fundamentalism and the bigotry/hysteria it can cause isn't surprising. No i’m not lumping all religious people into this negative category- obviously.

Other Names with similar definitions

*Hunting /forests woods, nature, animals

Hunters and people in forrests

name meaning : becky - snare (a trap for catching birds or animals). Teressa-huntress. Dianne/Cynthia (Hopper’s ex wife/Lonnie’s gf) - is a roman/greek goddess of hunting and wild animals.  Rhadaghast- Will's password for cb is a lothr wizard who protects forests/wildlife.martin/marsha- previously god of agriculture/plants.As an agricultural guardian, he was believed to directed his energies toward creating conditions that allow crops to grow, which may include warding off hostile forces of nature (pumpkins rotting in s2). El in phoenician culture was called Elus and its Greek equivalent Cronus (god of agriculture) steve- he goat- associated with pan- god of fields, groves, wooded glens . brenner- ‘someone who cleared forests by burning’. the blond women, Brenner worked with,  Fraizer-  “of the forrest men”

* FUN FACT: Kali’s name originally was going to be ‘Roman’ (which is derived from Romulus-the son of Mars... aka Martin Brenner) .

Trees

Ives and owens- ives means 'yew wood' while Owen means 'yew tree. ' bauman- nickname for someone who lived near a tree.comes from the German word "baum," or "boum" in Middle High and Old German, meaning "tree’. Jennifer hayes- Jennifer  derived from Old English words "jenefer", "genefer" and "jinifer", all of which were variants of Juniper used to describe the juniper tree.Lonnie means "oak tree; or lion". Lion plushie in cb and the lion el has along with the tree establishes a connection between all 3 maybe? Oak groves were especially sacred to  the goddess dianna too. Buckley (it has many different translations) - Old English "boch ley" (with boch meaning beech tree and ley meaning wood, glade or clearing).

Nature

buckley if translated from "bok lee," means meadow, or field. mayfield- open country (field) where madder (mæddre) grows. Holland- wood land, Bruce (who was also possessed) - means WILLow lands . Keith (s2-3) : woods or forrest.Hargrove- meadow filled with rabbits (Jonathan’s hunting story).Holloway is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, or type of tree. Tina means 'river' . Burness (guy who claimed he jumped into quarry)-stream. Neil- cloud. Lowe (Bruce's last name)-This surname is derived from a geographical locality 'at the low,' i.e. the hill. Hayes means "hedged area'.

Flowers

Flo (hopper's secretary)- means flower. Suzie-  lily flower. Susan (Max’s mom)- means lily, lotus flower or rose. Karen (in Japanese can mean)- flower, lotus, or water lily. Heather is also a variety of small shrubs with pink or white flowers which commonly grow in rocky areas.  Erica is a type of "heather" plant. martin/marsha: in the legend of Mars,his mother become pregnant with him using a magic flower- which was given to her by the goddess flora.

Bright (aka intelligent)

Bob- nickname of Robert . Both Bob and Robert mean 'bright, shinning or fame'. Aka smart -he's called ' Bob the brain ' for a reason.

Robin- is also diminutive of Robert . And we all know robin is smart too. Being multilingual/ cracking the code.Robin (like Robert) also means 'bright, shining , or fame.'

Lucas- means "bright" or "shinning" aka he's also a smart cookie. His firework plan saving the day.

Lonnie and Larry (the mayor) can both be nicknames for Lawrence which also means ' bright one' or 'shinning one'. Well... both are cunning I'll give them that. Lonnie is unfortunately ...smart. I think this detail had other foreshadowing. Joyce to Will about Will the wise ' if he's so wise why does he need the fireballs? can't he just outsmart the bad guys? " Will: " yeah. Usually. BUT sometimes the bad guys are smart too." I never understood why on earth Joyce would be with someone as awful as Lonnie in the first place- than be with his literal opposite Bob- but maybe she just found intelligence attractive?

Names associated with thunder/lightning/fire (Like Will/mf/Will the wise)

Byers-reprsents Greek Zeus (god of thunder/lightning). Martin - references the roman god Mars who was originally a ‘thunder or storm deity’ .ROBIN- was the German God of Thunder’s- Thor’s- favorite bird. And Dustin also means ‘Thor’s stone.’Jim- “son of thunder”. Christian god- has throne (surrounded by thunder /lightning). Kali- could summon thunder storms.Nancy/Barb-both saints associated with fire. Kali-is called at times ‘ the bright fire of truth’ /and bestows the fire of knowledge. Robin also name drops the greek god prometheus- the god of fire. Mars -the keeper of Rome's perpetual flame . The Robin bird in a Christian story myth protects Jesus from hell's fire. William Blake- wrote about a fire wielding character of Los who represented jesus. Jesus during end times wields fire. Michael is the archangel who oversees on Earth the natural element of fire. Fire is the most typical element associated with the Saint John's Eve celebration (Saint John- called Jesus’s brother).

Animals (and their symbolism)

Byers- means ‘ cattle shed’.The Greeks considered the bull animal totem to be a symbol of Zeus (god of thunder and lighting - will the wise powers). He is the head of the gods and the almighty ruler of Olympus.  I”n hinduism, Shiva is known as Gorakhnath, means the lord of the cows.  And is also known as, Pasupathinath, the lord of all animals (similar to Rhadaghast). According to some scholars, Shiva’s association with cows and bulls might date back to the Indus Valley period. Cows have a special significance in Hinduism, as aspects of Mother Goddess and as symbols of selfless service. Mahatma Gandhi declared the protection of cows a central feature of Hinduism.Hindus worship cows as the Mother Goddess and symbol of motherhood, kindness and forbearance.”

Tigers: (Sarah’s plushie/ Hawkin’s macott/ Will & Mike have tiger posters in their rooms): The goddess Kali & God Shiva wore a tiger skin (this fact was actually mentioned by Kali in the prequel novel ‘suspicious minds’ ).”In many tribal traditions of India, the tiger (or lion) is worshipped as a god. In some Hindu hymns the domestic fires are compared to the tigers that guard the house.Tigers also figure prominently in many Indian folk-tales, Jataka-stories, and the Panchatantra.”

Lions:(Lonnie means ‘lion’ and el and Will have matching lion plushies)- In the Bible, the lion has two opposite meanings: it is compared to the Devil (1 Pet 5:8) and to Christ (Rev 5:5). Aka: Lonnie is the devil. The kids are the opposite. Nancy also compares the demogorgan to a lion. “In many tribal traditions of India, the lion is worshipped as a god.One of the ten incarnations of Vishnu is Narasimha, who has the head and shoulders of a lion, but the torso of a human.Goddess Durga, a fierce form of Parvathi or Shakti, has a golden lion as her vehicle, while Rahu, a planetary guard, rides upon a black lion as his vehicle.Lions form an important part of Hindu religious art. The face of the lion (simha-mukha) is used in images and sculpture in many Hindu temples to decorate the doors, walls, arches, and windows.The memorial pillar at Saranath  contains four beautifully carved standing lions at the top on a round abacus representing the imperial power. They now constitute the official emblem of the government of India.”

El almost k*lling a cat- “Some superstitious beliefs are also associated with cats in Hinduism. For example, killing a cat is considered a grave sin, for which one may have to offer prayers and give in charity at least seven golden images of the killed cat. “

Harrington- he goat. Buckley- has various translations. Anglo-Saxon: ‘bucc and leah’ meaning goat and wood respectively. And obviously there’s the robin-bird. And I've already discussed their symbolism. Goat= baphomet/pan. 

Robin- thor's fav bird/ helped Jesus from hell's fire.

Buckley- can also translate to " field filled with deer" (like the deer attacked by the demogrogan or the bambi film jon reffed in relation to the hunting story about lonnie).And Karen ( when from it’s Hebrew origins) can mean- antler or horn. Also the caananite God el was usually depicted with animal horns on his head.Diana in Roman art usually is accompanied by a hound (demo dog) or deer.  Because of the story of her turning an attempted r*pist-hunter into a deer/ and then causing dogs to attack him.  Deer is also one of the symbolic animals accepted since early Christianity as an allegory of Jesus Christ and the Christian Disciple. And when associated with Shiva (kali's husband) in Hindu iconography, the deer omen denotes sovereignty over nature and symbolizes the lord of all animals, humans, and the King of the Forest. In many visual and written illustrations, human beings and deer appear as close companions and in some cases, humans adopt the face or antlers of a deer, in images more common in stories of human strife. Deer also have a supernatural significance and appear as apparitions of divinity and in legends of spiritual awakening.

Hargrove- meadow filled with rabbits (like the rabbit lonnie made jonathan k*ll.) Hopper sounds like thumper the rabbit- which jonathan mentions in relation to bunnies . And ... idk... Hopper did make that pun in s3 about bunnies to Larry (lawerence) ? We also have rabbit refs elsewhere like with- el in Benny's. They play the song 'white rabbit' a song referencing Alice in wonderland and in el's room at Terry's house is the white rabbit from that story. Also paralleling to jonathan- el was almost made to k*ll a cat by her father (Cheshire cat aka Alice in wonderland ref + cats are associated with magic powers/witch craft).In Celtic folklore, the rabbit is seen as a supernatural being from the Otherworld.The rabbit symbolism in Christianity has found its way through the Germanic deity Eostre from which the name Easter came to be (s4 will most likely have the Easter holliday).One tale describes the rabbit as the pet of Jesus Christ. And rabbits were often inserted into art of jesus' mother .

Creel- basket or container of fish.fish is taken as symbolizing Christ’s faith, charity, and abundance. A biblical story goes how Christ fed his disciples with 2 fishes and called them “fishers of men.”  The Christians made an acrostic from the Greek word for fish, “ichthys” as early as the first century and it is, “Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter”, meaning Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.

Names hinting at character traits (which are very literal)

Mr clarke (science teacher)- clarke means 'scholar'

Dottie (in kali's gang)- she was in an insane asylum . And ‘Dotty’ is a very old British slang term  for 'crazy'

War (usually relates to ‘villains’)

Troy- means ' foot soldier'. Martin brenner: Martin means 'war like'. Lonnie is diminutive of Alonzo or Lawrence. Alonzo means 'ready for battle'.

In contrast to Lonnie, Will can mean "desiring peace. " Axel  who is part of Kali’s crew (who i think Will created along with others ) even means "father is peace."

Twin

Tom (Heather's dad) and Tommy mean ‘twin’. Robin's crush Tammy ('twin') Thompson ( 'son of tom’).

* Besides similar/identical name meanings.There’s also a lot of other repeated names that go into this whole twin/mirror imagery which i find strange... makes me wonder about @strangertheory ‘s version of the did theory. If not...maybe it’s just a allusion to the whole Will vs Will the wise arc (possibly) coming up?

Jennifer hayes (popular girl) & Jen (Mr clarke’s gf). Tina (highschool gal) & Tina- erica’s friend- Tina & christy are also nicknames of christina (s4 character). Susie (dustin’s gf) & susan (max’s mom). Sam (max’s dad) and Samantha (girl at party)/ samuel (possibly argyle). Billy Hargrove, Bill (dianne’s new huband),  and Will-all being nicknames for William. Robin & Bob-nicknames for Robert. Lonnie & Larry-nicknames for Lawerence. Ted  & Eddie being nicknames for Edward.James (Will’s bully), Jim Hopper (real name James), jacobi, and jason- all 4 are derived from jacob . Marsha Holland (barb’s mom) and marsha kelly (therapist s4)/martin relate to mars. Tom (reporter), tommy (highschooler), thompson (other highschooler).

it’s definitely peculiar to repeat names like this in a story. Unless it means ...something... I talked about how David was mentioning alot of doppelganger/twin imagery recently-here. So the name mirroring could just be an allusion to the Will/WW arc coming up ...possibly?

[purble-turble]

Ive been going absolutely batshit over all the calabash schenanigans that are floating around the fandom rn, so i gotta know, we've seen King Reds perfect world and how it drove him even crazier to lose it, we've seen Prince Red fail to get rescued by whom he was bait for and be humiliated over it. What would TT Red's calabash world look like? Would his ptsd induced 'constant vigilance' mean he'd figure it out quickly? Would it be that world he constantly insists would be 'for the best' that yin and jin overheard him shouting about in the middle of a breakdown and decided to give him what he (apparently) wants?

I’m also loving all the calabash shenanigans going on around fandom lately! The calabash has such great narrative potential, it can get so so angsty but also allows for some of that good good hurt/comfort 👌 I had a ton of fun doing that story with Prince Red’s aftermath from the calabash, and the storyline where King Red winds up in there is so so dark and at points almost makes me feel bad for him which is wild because he’s the worst :U

As for Time Travel Red Son, his scenario is definitely harder to decide on. The thing that makes him happy is being around MK and getting love and support from him and his friends, but being around them is also something that scares him because he’s afraid of himself and his own potential to harm them... Jin and Yin seemed to use the calabash’s power to mollify its victim, to convince them that the world they’re in is wonderful not only to trick them into believing it’s real but also to make them WANT to think it’s real so they remain trapped. That’s not going to work on TT Red though because the things that make him unhappy aren’t external factors that Jin and Yin could fix by changing others’ behavior or giving him a free slushie. If the demon brothers did their research (they probably didn’t but let’s pretend lol) then they’d probably figure out that Red is super depressed and thinks he doesn’t deserve MK. Oh, maybe they’re extra jerks and like, eavesdrop on a therapy session of his or something that’d be such a dick move but it’d get them a lot of information about how to trick him. And it could definitely be a way for them to realize that the world being perfect for Red is not what’s going to convince him it’s real.. Red thinks the world is terrible and depressing and he’s a monster? Well, let’s give him a world where he gets all of that.

When TT Red wakes up in the calabash it’s not snuggled up to MK in their little twin sized bed like usual. Instead, MK is already up and is pacing around the apartment. When Red asks what’s up MK gives him this look and Red feels like the world falls out from under him. He’s imagined MK giving him that look so many times and now it’s right in front of him as MK frowns at him piteously and says they shouldn’t be together anymore. MK says a few more things but Red has already drowned him out and is staring at the floor, furiously fighting off tears. When MK finishes, Red stands and grabs the few things in the apartment that he’d call his, and leaves through the window. He doesn’t say anything except a quiet “I understand.” as he goes.

Red just hops around the city across a few rooftops before settling on a quiet empty view of the city where he can just sob the rest of the day away. He’s devastated and relieved and heartbroken all at the same time. He wants MK so badly; he wants him to come up from behind and hold him and say everything’s going to be okay and he doesn’t deserve to feel this way, he’s not a monster, but that doesn’t happen. And it doesn’t happen because he knows it’s not true. He does deserve this.. he IS a monster. He repeats this to himself like a mantra for hours as the sun goes down and he’s left to stew in his own misery, until finally the wind picks up. And then suddenly standing behind him on the rooftop is Princess Iron Fan.

His mother greets him coldly asking why he isn’t with his precious Noodle Boy that he abandoned his family for. Red doesn’t answer her, he just wipes away his tears and turns to leave. PIF correctly guesses that MK dumped him. Obviously he did. Just look at her useless little son, whimpering away on some rooftop because he couldn’t get what he wanted. How pathetic. She circles around him on the wind, cutting off his exit as she says, if her son was really worth anything he’d just take what he wants. Why doesn’t he come back home with her? Together they can come up with a plan that will put the Demon Bull King back in charge of this city AND spare his little Noodle Boy so Red can still play with him. That’s what he wants, isn’t it? He wants his family back and he wants the Noodle Boy to himself... well, what’s he willing to do to get that? Isn’t he a monster? What would a monster do to get what he wants?

As she speaks, somehow repeating back to him all the terrible thoughts and impulses and fears rattling around in his head about himself, Red feels himself seizing up. This isn’t just a nightmare, this is THE nightmare- he’s being tempted to follow exactly in the footsteps of the mad king. He’s turning into the Demon King Red! Overwhelmed, he falls to his knees, breathing out of control as he starts to spiral. The thing he’s been afraid of since he came back to his timeline is happening and he’s frozen in terror. Everything he did to try and change and he still ended up here, forced to walk the path of the monster he was always destined to become and oh my god I can’t believe I’m traumatizing this poor boy all over again this is so sad but oh well we’re already in it so let’s continue,

Iron Fan just watches for a moment but then reaches out for him, holding her hand out and offering to help him up she says, “It’s time to go, Son. Aren’t you coming?” And that finally gives him pause. Because she’s asking him... that’s right. He hasn’t done those things yet. He hasn’t hurt MK yet, but if he just surrenders to that destiny of being a monster now then he will. He knows he doesn’t deserve MK, and maybe he IS a monster for how much he still wants him, for how tempted he is to try and have it all, but if there’s still a chance, if there’s still time then he has to fight it! Red swats his mother’s hand away and says no. He’ll never help his parents hurt MK, even if it means he never sees any of them again... and then he turns and just runs. He’s not sure where to, he just knows he needs to get away, as far away as possible from the city, from his parents, from MK, from all of it so he doesn’t hurt anyone else........

And.... listen, Jin and Yin are a pair of idiots, they’re probably so moved by the display of loyalty and sacrifice Red just put on that they maybe even start to feel bad. It’s one thing to trap a guy in his perfect world and making him happy enough to stay.. it’s another to trap him in the world of his nightmares and make him wallow in the misery he believes he deserves in order to make him stay. And then he goes and does this? Proving (maybe not to himself, but at least to Jin and Yin) that he’s not at all the monster he believes himself to be and he really has changed! It’s genuinely touching... and they feel awful about putting him in that position now...? Hey, what was even our plan for keeping this guy in the calabash anyway? Did we ever come up with a step 3? Oh right, we were gonna use him as bait for the Monkie Kid....... we should send him a note so he’ll come collect his boyfriend, this is getting out of hand.

[missjackil]

I wanted to tell you I LOVED the Valentine's story! It was adorable and I could totally see it happening 🥰💕 I always like how you write Sam and Dean they always [sound] just like them. How are you feeling about Walker now that a few episodes have aired? Are you going to write a review for episode 4 or did you already and I missed it?

Oh Nonnie thank you so much for the compliments! I love to write about my boys and that ficlet was just a little something I threw together from a thought in my head about the song Heaven actually. Im happy you enjoyed it!

You didn't miss a Walker review, I don’t think I will be writing them anymore.  I had started and realized it would basically be a repeat of the 3 before: Jared is doing a great job, Augie is adorable, Im not excited about any of the other characters. 

It’s a great show for the type of show it is, and Jared is really making a name for himself and Im proud of him. Its not my type of show, but I’ll still watch it because I love Jared and will happily support him. However, I feel like when I write about it, I'm sharing too many negatives and not enough positives and I don't want to come off like I hate the show, and I don't want those who love it to feel like Im trashing it. So maybe I give some opinions here and there but Im not making it a weekly thing. 

I will share one thing that bothers me big time under the cut 

It’s an ensemble show. All the side characters are in every episode and all have their own storylines. This isn't a problem per se, but its not what they were selling me for over a year. I feel like it should have been called “The Walkers” then I would have known that the format was more like Modern Family than Walker Texas Ranger and I wouldn't be disappointed with how little focus is given to Cordell’s story. or even the cases.

Part 2 of this issue is that for the last 4 years that Ive been in the SPN fandom I have heard non stop bitching about how terrible SPN is *now* that time is spent on side characters (at the request of J2 mind you) when there were still several episodes per season that were just Sam and Dean, and yet everyone gushes about Walker which is side character central! Of course, this isn't Walker’s fault, it's the fandom. Walker is fine how it is, just not what I hoped for. That’s my problem, not Walkers.

[detectiverickitubbs]

Rules: Pick 5 shows, then answer the following questions. Don’t cheat. Tag some people. I was tagged by @someheroescarryfloss

1. Outlander

2. Turn

3. Miami Vice

4. 911

5. Manifest

Who is your favourite character in 2? Lord. This is such a hard question to answer because I love all the Culpers so much. Okay, I have a love-hate relationship with Abe Woodhull. I’d say partly Anna Strong because I write as her. But I love Ian Khan’s General George Washington SOOO Much and then Benjamin Tallmadge follows as close seconds and thirds. 

Who is your least favourite character in 1? Randal. He gives me the heebie geebies. I despised him. And I’m quickly growing to despise Stephan Bonnet. Kill him off already!!!!

What is your favourite episode of 4? As twisted as it is for my liking of 911 the most memorable happened to be the Flood ones and the one where Athena Grant’s boyfriend Emmett was killed. They’re the ones that made me cry and also offered the greatest character development.

What is your favourite season of 5? The 1st I think because it was shrouded in sooo much mystery and you could never quite predict where it was headed.

Who is your favourite couple in 3? Sonny Crockett x Gina/ Martin Castillo x May Ying/  and Rico Tubbs X Trudy

Who is your favourite couple in 2? Anna X Edmund Hewlett. I adore them sooo much.

What is your favourite episode of 1? I don’t really have a favorite tbh. 

What is your favourite episode of 5?. I love the writing in the very first episode the MOST. But I loved the addition to Zeke 

What is your favourite season of 2? Seasons 1&2&3 are all on equal footing because of the intensity in the writing. *side eyes season 4 and it’s writers very very hard* 

How long have you watched 1? On and off since the start and I’ve seen every episode- I think. 

How did you become interested in 3? IA Tumblr rp friend of mine had a Crockett blog and when I was flipping through the channels on Tv Miami Vice came on. I was bored and thought, eh, what the heck. I’ve gotta watch to get an understanding of their character and they dragged me down the rabbit hole!

Who is your favourite actor in 4? Angela Bassett 

Which do you prefer, 1, 2, or 5?  Turn

Which show have you seen more episodes of - 1 or 3? It’s a tie. I’ve seen every episode of both. Turn, however, I watched on repeat for 3 months. 

If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?! Athena for sure.

Would a crossover between 3 and 4 work? Yeah. Actually it would kind work as both shows involve cops and emergency responders. Although, the 80s vibe and motif might be hard to recapture in a modern Los Angeles setting. And you’d have to get the cast of Vice back together and they’re all a bit older now than they were.

Pair two characters in 1 who would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple? Fergus and Brianna Frazer? *squinty eyes* Because technically by blood Fergus is NOT related and he’s adorable and adventurous. 

Overall, which show has the better storyline, 3 or 5? Miami Vice if you exclude season 4 and like 80s tv show drama as it excludes the melodrama of love triangles. 

Which has better theme music, 2 or 4? Turn #2 for sure!!!!!!! Is it bad I don’t really think 911 has a theme or if it does it hasn’t been captivating enough for me to pay attention to.

I’m tagging @mellowoutpal @afourletterwordfordirt @officer-chen @officerxwilliams @femme-fatale-mcgarrett @stupiidgood @itisweselton @throughtimeillbethere @thedoctornumber11 @familyxdutyxhonor @moretreasurewithin @ive-been-reminding-you @firstrespcnse @firstrespxnders @sharp-teeth-and-wide-grins  @alreadybrcken @aequilibriium @theiirstories @muddledmenagerie @rockinthedots @gcldbound @truthsecn @backedagainstthewall @fallsekings @historypowered

and anyone else who wants to do it

[callunavulgari]

“Listen to the sound of my heart beat slow Yeah, my heart's like yours, my heart's like yours Listen to the sound, oh it feels like home When our hearts beat slow together.”

Heather’s Top 50 Songs of 2019!

dark night — philip sheppard // curse of the i-5 corridor — neko case // way down we go — kaleo // almost — hozier // dancing in a room — ezi // epic (pt ii) — anais mitchell & justin vernon // spanish sahara — foals // obstacles — syd matters // tom thumb — bitter ruin // wolves of the revolution — the arcadian wild // epic (pt iii) — anais mitchell, justin vernon // the spine — darren korb & ashley barrett // don’t think twice — hikaru utada // face my fears — hikaru utada // waves — chloe moriondo // ashes — bear mccreary // wake up, moving on — kevin penkin // paper boats — darren korb & ashley barrett // call off your ghost — dessa // power over me — dermot kennedy // a future for the krogan — christopher lennertz // mine — bazzi // bite — charlie cunningham // wait for me — andre de shields // birds — imagine dragons & elisa // crazy — patsy cline //  bury a friend — billie eilish // the seed — aurora // eleventh dimension — julian casablancas // sunflower — post malone // what’s up danger — blackway, black caviar // bad guy — billie eilish // elevate — dj khalil // must’ve been — chromeo // dark matter — les friction // lark of my heart — eliza rickman // dancing on my own — robyn //  hungover in the city of dust — autoheart // season of the witch — lana del rey // bird song — juniper vale // paradise valley — honey & the sting // my hallelujah — autoheart // furthest star — dirt poor robins // play dirty — kevin mcallister // it’s quiet uptown — kelly clarkson // pas de deux — michael abels // i got 5 on it — michael abels, luniz, mi // one day more — les mis cast // into the unknown — idina menzel, aurora // show yourself — idina menzel & evan rachel wood

short version | long version | youtube | spotify unwrapped

long version will lead you to the 165 song, 10 hour and 34 minute playlist which i’ve been slowly adding to since january. short version will lead you to what you see here. youtube will lead you to the playlist you see here but... wait for it... on youtube. mostly because i know not everyone has spotify. spotify unwrapped will lead you to a mixture of the long and the short version, which is pretty bloated with austin wintory songs because those are what i listen to when i write or read usually.

the long version is much improved in length from last year, which was 261 songs and 17 hours, but that’s mostly because august through december i was pretty bad at keeping track of the music that caught my attention. whoops.

and under the cut is me ranting about music, like usual. enjoy!

i. dark night || philip sheppard *instrumental*

This was my absolute favorite from the Detroit: Become Human soundtrack. I tended to prefer Kara’s songs most because they were gorgeous and haunting and just plain fantastic. Connor’s songs were mostly listened to while writing for the fandom, but Kara’s songs were what I kept coming back to. ii. curse of the i-5 corridor || neko case So I left home and faked my ID I fucked every man that I wanted to be

Sometime in January, I fell in love with eighteen wheels on an uphill climb, which was a 91k hank/connor wip by blackeyedblonde. Hank’s a trucker. Connor occasionally dabbles in sex work to keep himself alive and moving. But like, it’s so much more than that? Anyway, at some point the author linked to this song. I think it may have been on tumblr, but I fell in love with it and neko case.

iii. way down we go || kaleo Oh, 'cause they will run you down, down 'til the dark Yes and they will run you down, down 'til you fall And they will run you down, down 'til you go Yeah, so you can't crawl no more

Speaking of Detroit: Become Human (sensing a theme?), this fanvideo is one of my favorite things in the world. I had it and a couple other fantastic videos like it playing in the background while writing for the fandom. This video, in fact, is what finally made me go in search of the game. iv. almost (sweet music) || hozier The same kind of music haunts her bedroom I'm almost me again, she's almost you Wasteland, Baby was a thing that happened to me. Which would have already been enough to get it on this list, but I also listened to it on repeat while writing my first DBH fic. v. dancing in a room || ezi I know you notice, notice me I might be broken but it's not showing It's how I'm copin', copin' I don’t actually remember where this one came from. I know that sometime when March is still a bit cold, I listened to a playlist on spotify that I can’t find for the life of me. It had a lot of the songs that are about to come up on it, and before I started exclusively listening to audiobooks while I got ready for work in the morning, I listened to random fantastic playlists. vi. epic (pt ii) || anais mitchell & justin vernon And suddenly Hades was only a man with a taste of nectar upon his lips

Hadestown was also a thing that happened to me. This song makes me fucking weak. All of the lyrics are great, the whole song is gorgeous and haunting and so perfect it hurts, but those lyrics above are just *chefs kiss* vii. spanish sahara || foals Forget the horror here Leave it all down here It's future rust and it's future dust

Sometime during the spring, I played Life Is Strange and had a million and one feelings. I played both options for the ending and each one was gut wrenching in its own way. I think I still prefer the one where Chloe lives, but this song has literally haunted me ever since.

viii. obstacles || syd matters Someday we will foresee obstacles Through the blizzard, through the blizzard And this is the song that plays if you make the other choice. Again, SUPER TRAGIC, but also you know. You get to keep your girlfriend. ix. tom thumb || bitter ruin And I know I'll be burnt, but I can stand a flame or two to catch you

This was one of the songs that I discovered on the mysterious spotify playlist! Something I’d forgotten: I discovered Hadestown off of that playlist. Thanks, mystery playlist. You gave me all the ear worms. x. wolves of the revolution || the arcadian wild You're trapped inside of your own heart It's a spectators sport, just play your part You guessed it - from the mystery playlist. They’re all very reminiscent of the Hadestown soundtrack. Vaguely eerie, kind of haunting, a lot beautiful. Makes you feel like you’re a forest creature living on the edge of the swamp. You know: the aesthetic. xi. epic (pt iii) || anais mitchell & justin vernon Where is the treasure inside your chest? Where is your pleasure? Where is your youth? Where is the man with his hat in his hands? Who stands in the garden with nothing to lose I thought about only including this one instead of including part 2, but in the end I loved both too much to choose. Hadestown, man. I hope it comes to Ohio at some point in the near future. xii.  the spine || darren korb & ashley barrett Fingers tied themselves in knots around the heart It beats in time I see the spine of the world

I have never actually played Transistor, which is fucking tragic because I listened to basically the entire soundtrack over and over again for the entire year. There’s at least one more song from the game on this list, but it is really wonderful. Haunting vocals, perfect for writing or reading or driving.  xiii. don’t think twice || hikaru utada I'm only crying 'cause I never dreamed It'd take this long, it'd take this long Hi, I played Kingdom Hearts 3 this year. And I cried so fucking much. I had some issues with the game, namely how the ending was such a clusterfuck of boss fight after boss fight and emotional character arc resolutions so it all felt kind of rushed? But the gameplay was superb, the selfie thing was ingenious, and I did cry at least six different times while I was stressing my way through fighting boss fights with blurry eyes. xiv. face my fears || hikaru utada Oh, let me face, let me face, let me face my fears Won't be long, won't be long, I'm almost here Watch me cry all my tears

So like, if you care at all you’ve probably already seen it, but the opening cutscene of KH3 was to Face My Fears, and I’m gonna be real honest here - I didn’t like it at first. I moaned and groaned about Skrillex and how it was nothing like Simple and Clean or Passion/Sanctuary. But it grew on me to the point that it was actually my most listened to song this year. Watch me cry all my tears, indeed. xv. waves || chloe moriondo Make me into more than a goner Perhaps a little bit stronger Thicker skin, less needy, And maybe to not bruise so damn easily, but you can't

I don’t remember where I found this song either? Maybe mystery playlist but probably not. Either way, it’s pretty and uh, I too want to slow the world down. xvi. ashes || bear mccreary -instrumental- Man, oh man, let’s talk about how good of a game God of War was. It was so good, guys. The game play was excellent, the world was gorgeous, and the storyline was interesting. And the music went so, so hard. Between Horizon Zero Dawn and the new God of War, I have basically been ruined for all other games. Also, dad protagonists, am I right? xvii. wake up, moving on || kevin penkin -instrumental-

Did not actually realize this was part of a soundtrack to a game? But it’s very lilty. Has that French quirky romcom vibe to it and I listened to the crap out of it in early summer. xviii. paper boats || darren korb & ashley barrett The river always finds the sea So helplessly Like you find me

Another Transistor song. I really love Ashley Barrett’s voice. I should probably at some point play the game. xix. call off your ghost || dessa I hope she makes you happy It's just a lot to ask to watch your future walking past me

This song played during one of the weather segments of Welcome to Night Vale and made me remember how much I absolutely adore Dessa. Her voice is fantastic and I love the way that her songs flow. Also, this song gives me personal feels. xx. power over me || dermot kennedy I wanna be king in your story I wanna know who you are I want your heart to beat for me I have absolutely no idea where I heard this one. It might have been playing on the radio while I was driving somewhere? I played it a lot during the summer.  xxi. a future for the krogan || christopher lennertz -instrumental- It’s been a while since I played Mass Effect, but this song came up on a writing playlist and I have been listening to it ever since.

xxii. mine || bazzi Running circles 'round my mind Even when it's rainy all you ever do is shine

Shrug emoji. 

xxiii. bite || charlie cunningham Stone cold faces let you keep you poisoning your blood Cut you open then you'll see poison in your blood

Also shrug emoji? Most of the time when I’m doing these there’s fandom connatations to half the songs, but these year I wasn’t heavily invested in a whole lot of fandoms so these are mostly just songs I listened to while I was a) driving, b) in the shower, or c) while reading.

xxiv. wait for me || andre de shields Ain't no compass, brother, there ain't no map Just a telephone wire and the railroad track Keep on walking and you don't look back

And here’s the last Hadestown song on the list. It’s just... really good, okay. Really, really good. xxv. birds || imagine dragons & elisa Seasons, they will change Life will make you grow Dreams will make you cry, cry, cry

I think there’s been an Imagine Dragons song on here every year since they came out with Radioactive. This is the only song of theirs I heard this year, but pairing their voice with Elisa’s was fucking genius because this song makes me feel the chorus in my soul. xxvi. crazy || patsy cline You'd love me as long as you wanted And then some day You'd leave me for somebody new I was at a bar, and my friend has just announced that he was getting married to his girlfriend of ten years in Vegas, on a ferris wheel, by an Elvis impersonator. We started listening to Elvis songs to figure out what he’d play, and then we got distracted listening to a bunch of old love songs. This one is more heartbreak than love, but I’ve always loved Patsy’s voice. xxvii. bury a friend || billie eilish Bury a friend, try to wake up

I was really slow to the Billie Eilish train. One of my friends recommended her music and it’s just so chaotic and fantastic that I can’t believe I didn’t fall for it earlier. This song in particular was a Billy Hargrove song for a while.

xxviii. the seed || aurora Feed me sunlight, feed me air In a place where nothing matters Feed me truth and feed me prayer Aurora’s got one of those truly lovely voices. Also I like songs about how the earth should eat humanity.

xxix.  eleventh dimension || julian casablancas 'Cause no one really cares or wonders why anymore Oh, I got music, coming out of my hands and feet and kisses

Back in 2011, when I was still watching Doctor Who, someone made this video which blew my little heart away. I rediscovered this song while we were driving back to Ohio from our annual beach trip and managed to get everyone in the car hooked on it for weeks afterwards.

xxx. sunflower || post malone You're a sunflower I think your love would be too much

Into the Spiderverse! Was so! Good! 

xxxi. what’s up danger || blackway, black caviar I like it all on the edge just like you, ayy I like tall buildings so I can leap off of 'em

So like, that scene, right? The one that had everyone losing their collective shit? I saw gifs before I watched the movie, and goddamn, it lived up to every single expectation I ever had. I made Nick watch it with me, and he groaned a lot because honestly he is not the biggest fan of super hero movies, but even he admitted that it was the best damn Spiderman movie we’d ever seen. It was powerful and clever and heartwarming and funny and the music and animation were both fan-freaking-tastic.

xxxii. bad guy || billie eilish I'm the bad guy, duh Can you believe that I actually didn’t know about this video until @nijuukoo did art? I mean, I’d definitely heard it and liked it before hand, but the fucking video, man. That pic of Vanitas showering Ven in hearts is still the background of my desktop.(It would have been the one of him sitting on Ansem while he’s doing push ups, but it didn’t work with my screen)

xxxiii. elevate || dj khalil I jump off this building to save these civilians My strength and my honor is trusted by children I'm ready and willing to fight all these villains No chaos or killings, my style is so brilliant I really, really liked the music to Into the Spiderverse.

xxxiv. must’ve been || chromeo I must've been high when I met you Out of my mind when I decided to love you

There was a Harringrove fic that I read during the summer that made the connection between this song and modern AU Billy and Steve. I thought it was @lymricks but maybe not. Either way - I listened to this for like three weeks straight while reading about Billy and Steve flirting at the pool. Ha! Found it - you, through half-shut eyes by @brawlite.

xxxv. dark matter || les friction Bring me your soul, bring me your hate In my name you will create Bring me your fear, bring me your pain You will destroy in my name

There was an Outsider fanvid. I tripped over it.

xxxvi. lark of my heart || eliza rickman Lark of my heart - dance in the dark and say you love me Lark of my heart - right from the start and say you love me

This one was another that I found on a random playlist while I was reading and I just love the rhythm of the song. I sat right up and favorited that sucker before I lost it.

xxxvii. dancing on my own — robyn I'm just gonna dance all night I'm all messed up, I'm so outta line Stilettos on broken bottles I'm spinning around in circles Okay. Okay, okay, okay. So there was that tumblr post that went around a while back where a bunch of subway riders who just got back from a Robyn concert started singing while waiting for the train and I just. It makes me so fucking happy. Like, I remember the night I clicked on that video. I’d never heard the song before, but I didn’t need to because the level of fucking joy and unity in that video literally brought tears to my eyes. Sometimes, humans are fucking beautiful.

xxxviii. hungover in the city of dust || autoheart We’re hungover in the city of dust So let our minds run round in circles While we figure it all out

I really adore autoheart. They did Sailor Song, which was on my Top Songs post last year and honestly, according to the plays on spotify, probably should have still been on my list this year, but alas - this is the abridged version. Every song I’ve heard from them I’ve loved. The entire bridge makes me shiver, it’s just so wonderfully executed.

xxxix. season of the witch || lana del rey You've got to pick up every stitch, The rabbits running in the ditch, Oh no, must be the season of the witch In October I watched Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and it was super spooky and really great and probably one of the best movies I saw this year? But like, also this cover by Lana del Rey was the best damn thing about it. Someone made a witchy video that was great too but I can’t find it now. xl. bird song || juniper vale Listen to the sound of my heart beat slow Yeah, my heart's like yours, my heart's like yours Listen to the sound, oh it feels like home When our hearts beat slow together

I really like Juniper Vale. I found them last year when I stumbled across their cover of Singing In The Rain, and they churn out some really quality music.

xli. paradise valley || honey & the sting So you'll have to hold me down Could you just hold me down build the levees higher This song was always going to make it to 2019′s list too. It’s just too damn good. Thank you, Wolf 359. You’ve given me a gift that is still giving three years later.

xlii. my hallelujah || autoheart Thought I found a new religion In you who was I kidding There's nowhere to go Except for under quarantine

More Autoheart! Just listen to that melody! That flow! 

xliii. furthest star || dirt poor robins We'll find our hiding place Clear across the Milky Way Beyond the galaxy On the furthest star that we see

This song reminds me a lot of Muse back in their early days. I was half-napping on the couch listening to, you guessed it, a random playlist on spotify, and I liked this song enough to surface from the edges of slumber to favorite it so I could find it again.

xliv. play dirty || kevin mcallister Would you get the Devil this dance? Would you be a part of his plans? Now you got some blood on your hands

There was a fanvid. It was good and basically caught me up on Preacher. The song is also really catchy.

xlv. it’s quiet uptown || kelly clarkson Look at where we are Look at where we started Last year, this was on my list because of an EOS 10 playlist. This year it’s on my list because I still fucking love it. Also I saw Hamilton this year and it was really phenomenal. I cannot get over how good it was.

xlvi. pas de deux || michael abels -instrumental- I watched Us in late October/early November and this entire sequence was really lovely and eerie and just all around fantastic. I loved the mirroring throughout the movie, and it all came together in this stunning confrontation.

xlvii. i got 5 on it || michael abels, luniz, mi I got five on it

Us had a really good soundtrack.

xlviii. one day more || les mis cast One more dawn One more day One day more!

About a month ago I got to see Les Mis in theater and I cried like six or seven times. That is not an exaggeration I was a fucking mess. As much as I’ve adored every musical I have seen up until this point, I have never had a musical affect me the way this one did. It was incredibly powerful and the experience was worth every damn cent.

xlix. into the unknown || idina menzel, aurora Everyone I've ever loved is here within these walls I'm sorry, secret siren, but I'm blocking out your calls

Like, I know it’s cool to hate on Frozen because it got so popular, but Idina Menzel is a queen with the voice of an angel and I’m sorry, but the movies were good. Also, Elsa is very, very pretty and this shit was very, very gay. 

l. show yourself || idina menzel & evan rachel wood Come to me now Open your door Don't make me wait One moment more

Sorry, I don’t make the rules. Elsa gets all the best numbers. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, folks. Happy listening.

[enixamyram]

Hey, guess what, I’ve found another screen rant I want to react to! I wasn’t planning to do any more but, reading through this article, I just have SO many problems with it... So Let’s do another, agree or disagree with a Screenrant article made by someone with no bias at all. (Sarcasm for the last part by the way.) So let’s see:

Agreed with this point. People act like, if the characters weren’t on screen then they disappeared or something. Maybe they were just living their own lives?

... I don’t even understand this article. Apparently this is 20 things people get wrong and this point is that the timeline can make sense, but then OP goes on to say “However, the more characters were introduced and the more worlds the characters ventured into, it became clearer and clearer that time didn't work the same way everywhere... However, in a world of fairytales, expecting anything more than that is simply asking too much. What does it matter, exactly, when some of these events took place as long as we know that they were a long time ago in a universe not at all like our own?”

Like, so that means this isn’t something people get wrong - the timeline DOESN’T make sense - so what the hell is it doing in this article? You can’t claim you’ve solved it just because you shrug and go “yeah but it’s magic so what do you expect?”

I mean the text directly conflicts the title/bullet point. Luckily I can still safely say I disagree, both with the title and the text because the timeline became f*cked, and just making an embarrassed shrugging face doesn’t change that.

I can’t even say disagree because this is just plain wrong! I don’t quite understand this writer. I can’t tell what they’re deal is, like did they just give a poor title to their article?

Season 1 - The Original Curse Season 2 - Belle and Sneezy lost their memories. Season 3 - Everyone lost a year. Season 5 - Camelot Season 6 - Emma lost her memories Season 7 - Another Curse.

Notice how I left out 4? Well this is where I’m getting confused because this is what OP had to say about Season 4: “While season four dabbled with alternate universes, memories were never wiped or reset in the way they were in every other season.”

... But their memories WERE wiped! They were essentially in a curse because their memories WERE wiped and they WERE given new identities just like the original curse. So yes, memory wipes did in fact happen every single season!

So I can’t agree or disagree because maybe some people do call Ruby a lesbian, but most everyone I talk to calls her bi... So I’ma just skip this one.

Note: She’s bi people. This is canon. If you don’t agree then tough shit.

Agreed, there’s plenty of other ways true love can be proven. TLK is probably just the most convenient, lol.

Kind of agree? I mean I think most people do know and acknowledge this but I guess it can sometimes escape people without realising in passing sentences?

This is true. It was a lame and terrible reveal that made no sense but it was revealed.

... Like, I’m getting confused again. Because this title either doesn’t fit or the writer lives under a rock because no one get’s this wrong! Everyone - rightfully - calls out Zelena for what she did. Even Zelena fans admit what she did was messed up!

... I do agree, I don’t think she made up for all the awful things she did and she definitely became “one of the team” way too quickly for my liking. (I’m hesitant because I suddenly have an idea what side of the fandom wrote this article and I can pretty much predict where it’s going.)

AND THERE IT IS!

DISAGREE.  DISAGREE. DISAGREE. DISAGREE. DISAGREE. DISAGREE.

“Nothing says good guy like being an older man who takes advantage of a young girl, impregnates her, and lets her go to jail for crimes you yourself committed.” First off, we don’t know his age. Second, he didn’t ‘impregnant’ her. She got pregnant. It takes two to tango though I doubt the writer knows this. And third, Emma went to jail for HER crimes. Sorry, dear writer, but let me just fill you in. Aiding and abetting a fellow criminal IS A CRIME! Emma did wrong and she was punished for it. I don’t necessarily agree with what Neal did but he is not responsible for where Emma ended up.

“Even further, nothing says good guy like someone who mocks the woman he allegedly loves for the years of trauma, suffering, and scars she endured as a result of your callous, selfish behavior.” ... WHEN?!

“... Neal Cassidy became more and more like the selfish, frequently malicious parents who raised him.” ... Again, WHEN?! Like seriously, selfish maybe but malicious?!

“In no world would he have been the right man for Emma or a good father to Henry because he could never accept accountability for any of his many wrongdoings.” Except, you know, Neal knew Henry all of five minutes and was already dedicated to being a great dad to him and literally was WAY better at being a father to Henry than Hook ever was to the kid. And I added the Hook part because my God, the writer of this article couldn’t be more obvious a CS shipper if they had every sentence end with swans and pirate flags.

It’s amazing how, even dead, they’re still threatened by Neal’s character.

Maybe this was true in S6, but by S7 they had clearly retconned it, making the Wish Realm a very real place. Otherwise there’s a ton of plot holes and you’ve got to be a real idiot to say you’d rather accept plot holes than that the Wish Realm might actually be real.

(Also, just saying, another terrible title because what happened to Emma and Regina when they were in the Wish Realm very much DID happen. So again, really poor titles for this article that clearly doesn’t know what it’s point is.)

... She VIOLATED everyone’s minds by erasing their memories and TRIED TO MURDER ZELENA!

She may have had good intentions but that doesn’t change the fact that she was a villain for a season! Dude, have you never heard the phrase “the road to hell was paved with good intentions”?! I’ll defend Emma turning Hook into a Dark One for sure, but trying to completely ignore the awful things she did?! Jesus Christ!

Again... What? OP... Everyone already KNOWS this. This article is meant to be things people gets wrong but, honestly, I think OP’s the only idiot who gets things wrong at this point. So I’m once again torn because I agree with the statement but I don’t agree that this is something people get wrong.

*Sigh* OP’s giving me a migraine. Not because their statement is incorrect, but because all their reasoning is!

“Regina, as we know, went back and forth to points outside of Maine many times during the preceding 28 years.” It was actually explained, by Regina herself to Hook in Season 2, that because she (and he) had no cursed memories, crossing the town line would not affect them.

“Greg and Tamara are also able to cross the town lines, with Greg even remembering the tiny town for years and years after a traumatic encounter within it during his childhood.” Again. The town line affects people who ARE CURSED! This is made very clear! Henry can also cross the town line when he went to get Emma.

The title, once again, is misleading. People are able to leave - so long as they don’t CROSS THE TOWN LINE. That’s the part CURSED people are not able to do.

I’ve given up Agreeing and Disagreeing at this point. OP’s points are making my brain hurt so let’s just move on.

You’re right OP. It did serve a purpose. It’s purpose was to be a cash grab!

Apparently OP’s excuse is that Anna and Elsa helped Emma come into her own as a magic user? Like yeah, I’m calling bullshit. Emma had no problem using her magic until they brought Frozen in, then they made a whole storyline of Emma having problems just to justify having Elsa struggle and then help her with it.

And after they left they were barely even mentioned. So, again. NO PURPOSE. (Apart from a cash grab.)

Okay, so actually, I do agree. Regina is still Henry’s mum but the fact is, his adoption can’t be legal because Regina would need to have lied on her application and all the usual checks usually done for people wanting to adopt couldn’t possibly have happened.

I was going to agree on technicality but you know what? No.

DISAGREE!

Just because the couples aren’t perfect doesn’t make them toxic. (Using OP’s examples:) “Robin's relationship with Regina results in his being repeatedly assaulted and fathering a child as a result of that assault.” Wow, dude, wait to blame the girlfriend for some of the bad stuff that happened in Robin’s life. I sure feel sorry for whoever you end up with if this is how you see it. “Hook and Emma frequently lie to one another as well,” Lying does not equal a toxic relationship! Certain lies, maybe, but general lying is just what people do when they’re embarrassed or ashamed or upset. What counts is what you’re lying about and also whether or not you come clean about it.

The only one I’ll agree with is RumBelle but even then OP completely misses the reason WHY they’re a toxic relationship. Instead they generalise it into very un-toxic details.

... Again... Like... I agree with the statement but NO ONE GETS THIS WRONG!

OP is clearly just using this article as an excuse to bash Regina. And I’m not a Regina fan, but no, dude, if you’re gonna do this then make a “20 of the worst things Regina ever did” list. Not a “20 things people get wrong” and then list a bunch of things that one in ten people gets wrong!

And now OP’s repeating. Because I’m pretty sure this was covered in the 4th one? Like, agree. I guess. But it feels like OP was running out of things and figured Regina bashing again would be too obvious or something.

Okay. Now this is something a lot of people won’t agree with but... I do.

I agree the show was intended to be Emma’s story and that it then got popular and other characters got popular and it branched out into something more.

... However OP is still a colossus idiot because they ended on this sentence:

“It's what made the concept of a seventh season without almost any of the Charmings such a laughable concept - and such a colossal failure, as well.” And while Season 7 may not be the masterpiece I pretend it is to piss of anti’s, it is also far from the worst. OP just hates it because their fav wasn’t centre stage and they’re bitter as hell.

Wow this was probably the stupidest article yet. OP either clearly doesn’t know what they were meant to be doing (a list of things people often forget about the show) or they just wanted to make a list where they bitched a few points and couldn’t be bothered to think of a catchy title or reason why. Either way, OP’s an idiot and most of these points are ridiculously dumb.