#and as if it wasn’t enough that the arc has that whole beautiful storyline

[krispyjb]

Ah fuck I’m thinking about Water 7/Enies Lobby arc again

Whoops I wrote an essay in the tags

[blues-valentine]

this might be mean but i am glad nini was off the show and a lot of characters were taken off regular status because the show needed fresh story lines after season 2

This is going to be a long answer and probably a controversial one too but I feel now that the show is over I can finally say it. I really agree. And this is in no way shade to the actors but how things were constructed in the show. I feel like it helped the show to just focus on other dynamics and characters. If you take the S1 nostalgia aspect, Season 3 and Season 4 were such a massive improvements after Season 2, which is undeniably their weakest season of all.

I liked Nini, but as a character I feel like she wasn’t giving “main character energy”. It didn’t help either that most of her arcs were individual or about Ricky or Miss Jenn. So when you took her out, she wasn’t really missed in terms of the dynamics with other characters because those improved so much after she left. On Season 3 and Season 4 the group dynamics finally felt like a family and solid friendship instead of separated groups with separated plot lines.

Also, character arc wise, I feel like Nini’s arc ended on Season 2. Her arc has always been about spreading her wings outside of East High and finding what makes her happy. She got that at the end of Season 2 so it feels like it came to a natural conclusion. Nini’s send off on Season 3 was beautiful and a nice tribute to her character and her relationships. Even now, the small details that keep Nini’s character alive are sweet. I like Olivia but Nini as a character just wasn’t memorable enough for me to care. There's not "void" to me because the show has so many great actors and vocalists that were able to shine in Nini’s absence and I am glad. I would have hated if they Rachel Berry-ed her.

A character that benefited the most from Nini’s departure was Kourtney, who was perpetually stuck in the “black best friend” stereotype. Season 3 was such an improvement because Kourt was given an individual arc that wasn’t about Nini and her issues. Plus, Gina and Kourtney’s friendship felt so much more natural and reciprocated as well and her interactions with the whole group, especially with Carlos.

Gina always felt like the hidden female main character to me because her character had so many emotional layers. I’ve always said Sofia is the best actress the show has and is constantly rising the bar in scenes with her other co-stars. Anyone that's not giving her the flowers she deserves for this last season are just crazy.

Now, one of the biggest issues with Season 2 was adding new characters while also trying to handle plot lines for the established characters. It was messy. None of the plot lines were resolved and it was too crowded with most of the new characters staying as one dimensional and stereotypical. The season was dragged out and boring. The best choice this show made was to cut down on some of them for Season 3. I like Big Red but I don't think he was neccesary as a regular at camp. I am glad he wasn't there because it gave Ashlyn space to explore herself and get one of the best character arcs on this show. Same goes for Ricky. He needed new friendships and Jet was a great one to have. I liked Big Red's cameo and it was well placed. Same goes for Seb, I like him but I am glad Carlos was able to have a solo storyline about his own insecurities and also develop stronger dynamics with the group. His friendship with Ricky was great. Seb’s cameo was well placed.

Maddox and Jet were the best additions this show has ever made. And I don't take anyone seriously if they think otherwise. After season 2, the show needed changes. A new enviroment and characters that added value. Maddox and Jet gave us a new dynamic and instantly felt like a part of the group because they weren’t there to just exist temporarily, they pushed the story lines of the existing characters forward. The show needed a canon sapphic character and Maddox was perfect and relatable. Her arc with Ash goes down as one of the best on this show. Jet was great and Adrian's vocals are show stopping. Not only did the siblings added a much needed representation but were very easy to love. Even Val, in her minimal screen time, added actual value to the story lines.

And now goes to EJ, he was not going to be a regular part of Season 4 since he isn’t in East High anymore. It was the natural progression of his character. His appearance this season felt very well placed with where his character was. It would have been very weird to find an excuse to keep him at the school just for the sake of keeping him as a regular. Glad they didn’t do it.

So yes, I think a lot of the changes were necessary and made this show better.

[baynton]

tagged by @blackbeardsblanketfort​ - thank you 🥰

8 shows to get to know me better

1. bbc ghosts

this is where the mat obsession started. it actually started as a ben/patcap obsession, funnily enough, but within mere weeks of being back on tumblr i had spiralled into mat insanity, never to return. for real though, this show is so good. i love it so much. i love all the characters. patcap is real and i love it. i don’t really need to say anymore about it since i think everyone who follows me here has at least SEEN ghosts. 

2. spy (2011)

spy is so important to me. it gave me chris pitt-goddard. he is me, i am him. i love him more than i love life itself. one of the best mat characters to ever exist. thomas thorne could never. the rest of the show is fine, the other characters are alright (i am soft on tim though) but chris MAKES the show. the things he comes out with are iconic. plus. without chris, the iconic chris x joe ship would have never been born (which would have been an absolute TRAGEDY) 

3. reluctant persuaders

because this is about shows rather than specifically television shows i am including reluctant persuaders, hit bbc radio show. it’s funny, it’s iconic, all the characters are phenomenal. even if mat wasn’t in it, i would still love it. but he is, and he plays joe starling, the soggiest wettest most pathetic mat character to ever exist. my mans is insulted by everyone every episode. they all comment on how pathetic he is all the time. how sad and lonely he is. how he looks about 10 years older than he actually is. it’s wonderful. and, of course, without joe, the iconic chris x joe ship would have never been born. tragic. but it’s ok because they’re here and i was here to coin the ship so we can all heave a sigh of relief. 

4. you me and the apocalypse 

okay, you might be sensing a theme here. and yes, okay, the theme is that they are all mat shows (i WILL be including at least one non-mat show though, never fear). but this one gave us two PHENOMENAL mats. the twins. THE twins. of all time. cersei and jaime were usurped by ariel and jamie (idk why iconic twins always have a jamie but it’s NOTED). this show is also just objectively brilliant. it’s not like spy where it would suck without the mat character. this show is just great. 

5. the wrong mans

i can’t talk about mat shows without THIS one. because mat not only wrote and starred in this beautiful wonderful show, it’s also iconic for the soppiest wettest mat character we get to see on tv. (the only one who holds a candle here is william from quacks but.. i think sammy takes the cake). he’s a cute tiny baby and i love him dearly.

6. inside no.9

okay, so this one genuinely doesn’t count as a mat show, but mat is very beautiful in the few minutes he has in that one episode and so, here u go, mat gif. i loved this show long before i descended into mat madness, and for good reason! it’s brilliant, inspired, genuinely incredible. and watching it again with @the-20th-century-girl has been an absolute joy. looking at reece with her (and yes, okay, SOMETIMES i look at steve and his lovely legs too) is always a good time. i love almost all the episodes. anthology series are fucking fantastic but this one takes the cake. i love black mirror, but black mirror wishes it was in9. 

7. ted lasso

this show is absolutely fantastic and i went absoltuely insane watching it over the space of about 5 days. i was then left with the last 4 or so episodes to watch as they came out, which was brilliant. i got to experience the end with everyone else, lol. but seriously, this show has some fantastic characters and storylines and character GROWTH. jamie tartt at the start of s1 vs jamie tartt by the end of s3 is just. INCREDIBLE. the whole nate the great arc. like holy shit this show went HARD and it paid off.

8. bbc merlin

going RIGHT back to my roots with this one. while glee got me onto tumblr and twitter back in the day, it was merlin that got me INVOLVED in fandom. i learnt to gif because of this show, i went to my first fandom event because of this show (bradley and tom’s football game), i made my first group of fandom friends because of this show. it’s still one i go back to and rewatch every now and then. sometimes i still read merthur fic when i think about a Specific Fic i remember i used to love. i will always have a special place in my heart for this show fr.

right! there we go, that’s it! tagging: @matbaynton, @toomanyfandomsneverenoughtime, @the-illuminated-one​, @the-20th-century-girl​ and @catboyrightsdefender​ but no pressure if you don’t want to 🫡

[mishasminions]

The Last Time I’ll Write a Long Post About Supernatural (15x18-15x20)

15 YEARS OF WATCHING THIS SHOW. 11 YEARS OF RUNNING A BLOG ABOUT IT. IT’S BEEN QUITE A RIDE.

[15x20 Speculation + evidence at the bottom]

First off, I just wanna come clean and say, after all these years, I still think they should’ve ended at Season 5.

If you’re going to come at me with “Then why’d you stick around to watch it if you didn’t like it?”, your question is immature, and the answer is simple: I just want to know what happens next (I also love the main characters and their actors too). You can watch a show and still think it’s shit.

Call me a clown, but despite all the disappointment and trust issues that this show has given me, I would still look forward to the day where it might just turn itself around and bring back the quality it once had, or realize the potential of each story it was trying to tell, or at the very least, do justice by my favorite ship.

Never happened.

They’ve had a few good episodes here and there. I can’t imagine the SPN Universe without The Man Who Would Be King, The French Mistake, and Scoobynatural. Seasons 6-10 were enjoyable at times. I blocked out most of 7 & 11-15. 

If you’ve been following this blog since its heydays in 2010-2014, you’d know I’d try my best to defend Destiel and this show’s decisions regarding it no matter what.

Because you know what, as a CONCEPT, this show is good. If you take a look at all the worlds its storylines have birthed in fanfiction/fanworks, you’d see how much Supernatural has wasted its own story arcs. The writing got shittier as each season progressed, and they’ve obviously given up in production as well because the quality in the execution has noticeably gone down too, but if you take a step back and take a look at the bigger picture, you’ll see that this show still tries to make sense of itself.

[If you’re still following this post, please bear with me, I know this is long, but I just want you to understand how jaded and pessimistic I am with regards to this show, so maybe you can buy into whatever hopeful thing I’m about to say later on.]

SO LET’S TALK ABOUT DESTIEL

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that they would give us Castiel’s “I love you” speech. To the point where, if I weren’t so desperate for it, I would argue that it was completely out of character for him to word vomit the way he did (but I’m not gonna diss on that right now because I’ll take what I can get).

I’ve valued every meaningful and obscure exchange that Dean and Cas have had in the earlier seasons, and I was willing to accept their relationship as just that--undefined, without any clear boundaries as to what they really are. And I think that was beautiful on its own.

But now, they’ve chosen to define it.

After they’ve driven every possible wedge between Dean and Castiel in seasons 11-15, to try to explain away their feelings as something they offer to a collective.

Dean can’t mourn and pray for JUST Cas, he has to mourn and pray for EVERYBODY--even Crowley, even some chick he just met, because god forbid he cries about just the guy who has given up everything for him--that would be “too homo”.

They’ve even set Cas on a path to abrupt fatherhood just so he can care about something other than Dean. Make it seem as if Dean wasn’t his purpose through and through.

And after all these years of this stupid show trying to deny it, they choose to acknowledge it at the worst possible circumstance, at a time where they’ve been so far apart, that it seems so foreign for them to suddenly come together.

But here we are. And they’ve chosen to tell us.

Chosen to tell us that everything that Castiel has done leading up to his death, he has done it because he was IN LOVE WITH DEAN WINCHESTER.

Chosen to tell us that the ONE THING THAT WOULD MAKE CAS HAPPY IS DEAN WINCHESTER.

Chosen to tell us that BEING WITH DEAN WINCHESTER is something that CAS WANTS BUT KNOWS HE CAN’T HAVE.

And they’ve also chosen to tell us nothing about how Dean feels.

Sure, finding out your angel made a deal, the stipulations of said deal, his newfound happiness philosophy, his long-winded monologue of why he loves you and why you’re worthy of his love, and to top it all off he tells you that being in love with you is enough to make him happy while he subtly hints that he’s always wanted to be WITH you romantically, was a lot to process in the 5 minutes after you’ve just had an existential crisis.

It’s whatever, right? Let’s culminate 11 years worth of tension and feelings in 5 minutes. Let’s waste the entire episode with cringey expository dialogue, and irrelevant sequences. The whole season was a waste anyway.

You know what Supernatural? FUCK YOU FOR THAT. They deserved better. WE deserve better.

And I would love nothing more than to hurl every possible insult your way,

But for the last time, I’m going to HOPE that you’re finally going to try to make it better for the fans that stuck by you all these years.

No more baiting new viewers, no more placating casual viewers, no more excuses. 15 years. Bring it home for the people who have actually been around.

SO HERE’S HOW I THINK 15x20 IS GONNA GO

There’s two ways this series is gonna end. Horribly or Spectacularly.

First let’s all take into consideration what Andrew Dabb says about it:

So, let’s start with

ENDING HORRIBLY

In this scenario, Misha is telling the truth about his last day of filming being 15x18. His “camping trip” during the last few days of filming 15x20, was actually a camping trip. He doesn’t go to Vancouver to shoot.

Jensen wasn’t “being careful” during the zoom interviews that it was just him and Jared quarantining for the shoot, it really was just him and Jared (althought most of these were done pre 15x19) Supernatural isn’t smart enough to do misleading PR, and they’re once again oblivious to the potential of their own story.

Misha hasn’t posted a “Goodbye Castiel” tweet because he’s probably saving it for last episode or he forgot because it was overshadowed by the Destiel trend that night.

So what we get is:

Sam and Dean are on the road again, up against the monster of the week. Only their world no longer has actual Supernatural beings anymore, so the monsters they’re fighting are humans.

Humans end up killing the Winchesters (despite having gone up against literally every powerful being imaginable INCLUDING God himself). Dean and Sam end up in heaven and relive their greatest hits.

Meanwhile, Castiel rots in The Empty because he died after realizing that he was happy and gay. Jack doesn’t bother rescuing him—his surrogate dad, the guy who made this specific deal to spare him—even though it was so easy for him get Cas in and out of The Empty when he had a fraction of the power that he has now.

Dean never speaks of Castiel’s confession because despite all the hints of a profound bond in the earlier seasons, and the fact that Dean has never cared for anyone (who isn’t his actual brother) as immensely as he does Cas, Supernatural just can’t have its main macho character be “suddenly bisexual” because that would hurt the male ego or some shit.

His heaven would probably be living happily ever after with his family. “Family” meaning Mary and John Winchester--two of the shittiest parents ever (but they’re not going to include them in this episode like they were supposed to because of Covid) and Sam.

Sam also gets a dog. As usual.

I wouldn’t put it past Supernatural to do this. After everything they’ve pulled, this would be right up their alley. I actually expect this ending.

Anyway, onto the next possible ending

ENDING SPECTACULARLY

In this scenario, Supernatural tries to stick the landing, and Jensen’s whole “It didn’t sit well with me at first, but then I took a step back after talking to Kripke, and realized that I had to view it from an audience perspective, I am now really excited about it” (DC Con 2019) anecdote about his thoughts on the final episodes, were actually about Dean potentially ending up with Cas. (Which would totally make sense because Jensen at first didn’t see Dean as anything but hetero, but as of late, he has been throwing in Destiel jokes of his own, so he seems to have warmed up to the idea)

Backed with Misha’s tidbit (DLConline 2020) that he and Jensen had conversations about Destiel, and that they wouldn’t have gone through with it if Jensen wasn’t onboard with it, but Jensen didn’t push back at all. (Why would they need to check with Jensen if it was just Cas going all in?)

Robert Berens (writer of 15x18) also wrote the script at the beginning of Season 15, but made Misha privy to the concept a year prior (Season 14), so they went into this season knowing about Destiel going canon.

This one’s a reach, but this scenario also supposes that Misha was lying about his whereabouts during the filming of the final episode, and him saying that 15x18 was his last episode is part of the diversion to avoid taking away from the weight of Castiel’s death.

And that Supernatural is actually self-aware of its own material (similar to how they have wrapped things up in the past—lots of expository dialogue, poor execution, but fulfills the story arc)

Since Season 15 is basically a Meta Season (Chuck/God as a writer, pretentiously calling out how he created the worlds, its characters, and basically invalidating the past 14 seasons), and 15x19 is supposedly the finale for Season 15, written by two of the worst Supernatural writers, Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming (Bob Singer’s wife), then we can assume that 15x19 is where the shitty writers kill themselves--as Chuck, of course.

So we get a badly written episode that produces a bad ending, or as Becky put it, “All action, and no Cas”

So we get the bad writers season ending at 15x19.

And 15x20 is where Sam and Dean write their own stories, and where the cast had a hand in pitching ideas for it.

Dabb has mentioned that 15x20 (Act Two) is a SERIES finale, where they try to resolve the characters’ journeys.

Because as everyone has acknowledged, Supernatural isn’t about the story, it’s about the characters.

So here’s what we can get out of it:

With no more Supernatural beings left to fight, Sam and Dean are in a stalemate. They’ve resigned themselves to fighting to the bitter end, but the “end” has passed, and they’re still standing.

So they try to figure out who they are now, and what they want out of the life they still have.

Sam still wants a normal apple pie life. Before Dean dragged him out of college to go hunting with him, he had a whole life planned out for him. Become a lawyer, settle down with a nice girl, and get a dog. He gave all that up because they had work to do, but now the work is finished, he can finally go back to wanting that for himself again.

Dean finally realizes his self-worth after Cas saves him again. His prayer to Cas in purgatory may have helped him come to terms with his anger, but the whole “you’ve done everything you did for love” speech finally put him in his place, and he learns not to hate himself anymore.

But of course, he cannot fully reconcile with himself if he doesn’t get Cas back, and tell him how he feels.

Because Dean actually wants something for himself this time. Something he knows he can finally have if he can just salvage it.

So maybe this time around, with the help of Jack (off-screen), Dean saves Cas. Grips him tight and raises him from perdition.

They bypass The Empty deal by turning Cas human, and he lives the rest of his days with Dean.

Dean and Cas know they deserve to be saved, and they know that they deserve to be happy.

(Wishful thinking, maybe they kiss a little)

Anyway...

I’m just saying, there’s NO WAY that they’d have Cas go through that whole rushed speech, if they weren’t going to do anything about it later on.

But again, after 10 years of disappointment, I wouldn’t put it past Supernatural to pat themselves on the back and say, “Okay, we sort of gave them what they wanted. We’re good now”

If that’s the case, Supernatural, I’m sorry I wasted my time on you.

Here’s to hoping 🤡

[glitterfairy-21225]

One of Us is Lying: Episodes 4-6 Thoughts

TWO Olivia Rodrigo songs!?!?!?! My FAVORITE two Olivia Rodrigo songs!?!?!?!

Maeve is so badly adapted. I’m sorry. The girl who did the police’s job for them is not THIS. She’s just not.

I don’t hate the Maeve/Janae ship.

I do hate that Bronwyn and Maeve are not the close sisters they were in the books. They’re never on the same page, they fight so often, and they keep so many secrets from one another.

This is all probably because they wanted to emphasize a ‘bad girl/good girl’ clash in the sisters, because it is suggested that Bronwyn was such an overachiever to make up for Maeve not being one, but sis this is not the way.

I am glad that the Simon storyline led to Bronwyn telling him off to his face though.

Evan had abs.

Why were Nate and Bronwyn not more mad about Addy telling the police about the computer? There was never any real confrontation. And I guess there wasn’t much room for it, because next time they see her she has this whole stalker thing to deal with.

And look, I want the four main characters to be besties. One of the things I wanted most from this adaptation is for them to have more interaction. It’s just that a lot of their interactions are negative, which is understandable given the circumstances. But here’s the thing; If any relationship is hit with too much drama, but not enough of just chilling and vibing with each other, it’s gonna start to feel like there’s too much baggage there for what it’s actually worth.

I do like Addy and Nate’s friendship though, even if he does forgive her for talking to the police off-screen.

Here’s hoping that we’ll have Addy and Bronwyn actually bonding next week, because the way they ended up friends and really respecting each other in the book was great and I really want to see it here!

This is gonna go into some stuff from eps 1-3 because I’ve had more time to think over them. Addy’s arc is suffering because of how Jake is characterized. I said last week that I really had to look hard to see him as controlling. In the book, it was more obvious, specifically with this scene where he tells her to put on a bikini for the beach even though she doesn’t want to be cold. In the show, we have him coercing her into going to the wake, him ghosting her over school break, the imagery in that swimming scene, and I guess him wanting to have sex with her when they should be going to school. But all of that came off very cute and sweet, so I came to the conclusion that he was just very good at manipulating her and making himself seem super sweet.

The thing is that we characters like Nate or Janae that go on about how much of an asshole Jake was, and how Addy is better without him. Maybe it’s to show that Jake only seems like the perfect boyfriend and it takes an outside perspective to see that, but like…. I just don’t see how it could be that obvious to other people.

Maybe if we saw more of Addy being a brainless beauty next to Jake so that the contrast of her without him is more noticeable. I think a good opportunity was the Janae thing. Jake cut off the interaction, but after they break up the bathroom scene happens. Except Addy was clearly so uncomfortable by the first confrontation, so what else should Jake have done?

It really hurts Addy’s character because it makes the arc look more told instead of shown. She cuts off her hair to feel stronger but that’s about it so far. And it feels a bit late to make Jake’s douchebaggery more obvious so a lot of the empowering material they can use in future episodes might not feel as impactful.

It’s very clear that Addy is still able to be manipulated by Jake, given the dance scene, so I hope that next week there’s something akin to the scene where Jake starts to be interested in getting back together with Addy, he takes her to his house, but decides she doesn’t need this and leaves. It will feel less earned but I still want to see it.

A part of me is scared the show itself doesn’t care about Addy as much. That thing where she kept saying ‘believe women’ kind of feels like a mean-spirited way of saying ‘look how dumb this blonde chick is’. When Addy is so much smarter than people give her credit for. And you know, she was right to be pissed that no one besides Nate showed up when she called a meeting. (Again, could have been an opportunity for Bronwyn to at least criticize Addy for spilling about the computer but no.)

Also, when Janae showed up at her door, her hair was down which was new, so I just saw a blonde girl and got so excited because I thought that Ashton had finally left her husband and come home, but no.

This is minor, but I hope that Addy’s bike riding becomes a lot more of a fun activity for her, and not just a way of getting from one place to another without friends.

I can’t be the only one who was blindsided by there being a dance. No one mentioned it beforehand, and I know that everyone has more important things to deal with, but I swear when episode six started I was convinced there was a time jump.

The dance sequence was so cringe. I’m sorry. I love Olivia Rodrigo. (That was where they played Good 4 u, right? I’m not going back to check.) I mean, I get it. Another picture of them together is going to be leaked, why not dance at this dance? But the sheer intensity they exhibit as they walk to the dance floor, as everyone stares at them is so cringy, I couldn’t deal with it.

Keely being in love with Cooper despite knowing he’s gay. I have to say, I want to see where it goes. Mainly because in the books, it was a very dramatic pair, so even though it’s changed it still feels true to the books.

The trading secrets thing, I like. Because in the book, it was all ‘Simon was never wrong!’ But…. How was Simon never wrong? I don’t think it’s ever explained how Simon learned the core four’s secrets, and I liked this being explained, because it added to the ‘omnipresent’ narrative, which was eventually lost when they figured the plan out, so we should have found out how he knew at some point in the novel.

There is no fucking way Janae was in on it.

Janae being the girl Nate sold drugs to is a much better reason for Simon including him, but he didn’t really need a better reason. In the book, you find out why Simon hated these four so much, and you’re just like, ‘Wow, that’s so petty!’ And that’s kind of the point. Simon is an extremely self centered person who blows tiny, mostly incidental slights against him to big proportions to the point that all this happened. So if the show wants to make Simon a more sympathetic character, I guess that’s just something that happens in adaptations, but that does take away from a major theme in the story.

Less thoughts than last week, but I mostly just want to see how it ends.

[tuiyla]

It’s a shame I’ll probably never be able to write an “IKAG sucks ass and here’s why” post because even just thinking about that episode fills me with an indescribable rage. It deserves to be shredded to pieces but lord knows I’m not the one strong enough to do it.

That said, I often think about how incredibly disrespectful the whole concept of Santana’s coming out journey concluding with her being outed is. I always say 99% of ideas aren’t inherently bad and it’s mostly about execution. Santana being outed? Idk guys we might have found the 1% there. And this isn’t even about Finn and the circumstances of it because again, I can’t even begin to describe how much the situation makes my blood boil. But just like, in the context of Santana’s arc beforehand.

In the context of how tragic but beautiful season 2 is. In the context of, no matter how much of it was intentional, how Santana’s story makes for such a satisfying journey. From the way she clings to popularity through guys like Puck and Finn, to the way she rejects Brittany’s attempts at putting a label on their relationship. Even way before Sexy rolls around, this girl is terrified. And after she can’t continue fooling herself anymore she doubles down on trying to fool others. She’d rather pretend to be with Karofsky than be with the person she actually loves, even when she’s presented with an opportunity to do so. Because Santana gets a taste of what it’d be like to be treated as the other, as queer, and she can’t bear it. Season 2 ends on a somewhat optimistic note: she loves Brittany, Brittany loves her. But Santana is still way deep in the closet so what’s gonna happen with that?

And season 3′s answer isn’t to explore how she’s willing to be more vulnerable. It isn’t to allow Brittana space and time to develop, it isn’t to give Santana friends who encourage her to be herself. It isn’t to show, through the Glee Club, that there are people who’d accept her no matter what and to let her actually, you know, come out. It’s to yeet her out of the closet. To bust down the door in the most vicious way possible. And this isn’t even in IKAG, my nemesis, but the decidedly superior Mash Off. You know what though, I kinda don’t care how hauntingly beautiful Rumour Has It/Someone Like You is. I kinda don’t care that it gives Santana centre stage for once. Because this wasn’t how it was supposed to go down.

Forcing Santana out of the closet as a storyline would have left a bitter taste in my mouth even if it was done well because it fundamentally disrespects what season 2 has built. And it just shows how little, for all its championing of gay rights and diversity, Glee truly cared for its lesbian character. Whatever, let’s just get it over with. Because letting her make that decision would have been too time consuming, too much effort, right? Ain’t nobody has time for that.

Everybody already knows. They don’t care.

Well. I did. Santana did. Because her fears of being the other, of being rejected? They come true in IKAG. But nobody hears her cries over the sound of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun playing in the background.

[fromiftowhen]

The Rookie 3x06 Revelations Thoughts

THIS. EPISODE. I yelled a lot about it on Twitter already, but it was getting a bit much, so this is easier. I need to watch again for more coherent thoughts, but here we go. I'm going to try to go through the plot lines in the order that I cared about them, ranging from literally not at all (Nolan) to literally every fiber of my soul being on fire (Harper and Lucy and June.)

This got VERY long, so it’s behind a cut to save your dash. 

(TLDR? I LOVED this episode. My Chenford heart is happy, but my LUCY CHEN IS A BADASS, NYLA HARPER IS A BADASS, WOMEN RUN THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD HEART IS SOARING. SOARING. Read on for more.)

 First, to get the boring stuff out of the way. NOLAN. I AM SORRY. I get that this show wants me to care about its main character. And in the ways that he relates to Lucy and Jackson and Harper, I do. But I'm just entirely past the point of needing Nolan in separate plot lines. This episode, in particular, I could have done without his arc. Any time he interacts with Harper or Tim, I'm good. But that's because of Harper and Tim. This week he took time away from storylines I was MUCH more interested in, and I honestly didn't care. I know they use him to check in on current actual world events, but this show did that SO well with Jackson's story last week/etc. that this stuff with Nolan wasn't necessary this week.

 JACKSON AND HIS NEW LOVE INTEREST. As soon as they panned up to OFFICER ISAAC "A cop on a horse, yeah" YOUNG, I was like OH HELL, this is ON. I forgot about Sterling and then was like, "wait, he has a boyf.... wait, I DO NOT CARE" -- "You must've been looking in the wrong direction"/"Yeah, well, I am not now." And the scene at the end with the bikes! YES. Here for this. They IMMEDIATELY had more chemistry than Jackson and Sterling ever did, sorry. I hope he sticks around. Jackson finally getting a love interest who will (hopefully, presumably!) understand him as a cop and a person of color? NEED. IT.

 TIM BRADFORD AND BILLY RIGGINS MACK DANIELS. "YOU GET PRETTIER WITH AGE." (I am here for ALL references to this show understanding how beautiful Eric Winter is. ALL. OF. THEM.) Derek Phillips is a longstanding love of mine, and he just plays every minor role he's in so well. This storyline was heartbreaking and gave me SO many Tim (and Isabel!) feels. For some reason, even though I thought about this episode a million times over the last week, it NEVER occurred to me to think about Tim's reaction to the UC stuff as an extension of the Isabel storyline, which just... what in the world, self. That is clearly, if you've read my fic, one of my favorite of MANY aspects of Tim's character, and it just never occurred to me that it would play into this episode. So when he said Isabel's name, I had to compose myself. And how it played out, the multi-layered way it gave us a glimpse into Tim now and tied into his clear feelings about Lucy going UC, THIS is what this show does best. 

 When he administered the Narcan to Mack and did CPR, god, I HURT for him (and for Mack and his family) -- but TIM. He's been there. He's watched it tear his entire world apart, and the guilt he clearly still carries from that is just. Heart-wrenching. The scene at the end with Mack's wife and the scene with Sgt. Grey... so painfully good. The guilt. The honesty. Eric Winter is just knocking it 1000% out of the park every week this season. Honestly, I've loved many television characters with my whole heart, but maybe none more than I do Tim Bradford.

(Please know the restraint I’m showing by not writing one million words about Tim’s solo storyline and the Chenford of it all here. Trust me when I say I could have. But this episode ended up being SO MUCH MORE to me than what I thought it would be. I went in for WORRIED TIM and I got that! But in different ways than I thought, and SO MUCH BETTER.)

 TIM "GET CHANGED" BRADFORD PUT LUCY "YES, SIR" CHEN IN HANDCUFFS. WHILE ASKING IF SHE WAS OKAY. AND THEN HE TOLD HER SHE DID GOOD. "I kind of hoped that he would be proud of me... wow, that sounds stupid when I say it out loud." "I know she can. I trained her." Her little smile as he closed the shop door and the way he sort of hesitated before saying anything. It wasn't as much as I wanted it to be (but then again, will anything with these two EVER BE genuinely enough for me? Signs point to no), but it was still EVERYTHING.

 BE SCARED. BE WILD. BE UNPREDICTABLE. There are no words for how much the girl power part of this episode worked for me. From Tamara or asking Lucy for the interview to Lucy sneaking a peek in on Harper's presentation, the clear history that Harper and June have (which I want to know EVERYTHING about), to the end scene, which is one of my favorite things this show has EVER done.

 It ALL worked. I can't adequately express how much this Lucy storyline means to me. I could ramble for a thousand words about it, but to keep it somewhat coherent, I'm going to bullet point all of the moments that gave me every feeling. 

Harper’s look when she realized Lucy was listening. She wasn’t shocked at all. That was pride. 

June’s little glance at Harper as she told Lucy that if she wasn’t nervous, she wasn’t human. There are so many sides to Nyla Harper, and I think the soft,  caring side is one she hasn’t let everyone see. She shows it to Lucy (and Nolan) when needed, but I don’t know if June had seen it before that moment. And it was a lovely moment of all of them acknowledging in a safe way that what they do, what they were about to do, is dangerous, and nerves are natural, even if you’re badass and can push through them. 

“Nope. I just have a flair for the dramatic.” MY GIRL.

Harper’s WINK. I yell a LOT about how much I love Tim Bradford, but I could just as easily yell about Nyla Harper too. 

“Actually, my body does have magical powers, but.” YASSS, Harper. Queen. 

“I think fitting in is a trap.” This one sentence explains SO MUCH of who Lucy Chen is as a person, not just as a cop. “... as though empathy is somehow a liability.” 

“And there sure as hell isn’t anyone tougher.” Basically, every word of that last scene was pitch-perfect, Melissa’s delivery was flawless, and it gave me every feeling possible. 

 This show does a LOT of things right. This episode was so, so strong. I missed Lopez and Wesley because I love them, but I didn’t MISS them in terms of the storylines we got. A storyline for them would have been one too many for this week, and in a season that’s already felt overpacked, random storyline wise, it wasn’t needed. I would have loved to see Angela on the couch with everyone at the end, but it was perfect as it was. 

 I sincerely hope this show has started to realize what its strengths are --  bold, badass women (honestly, they’re ALL fantastic - Luna Grey, Isabel, Rosalind, Julie, Tamara -- and obviously all of the regulars) who CARE and who know that isn’t a weakness, Tim Bradford and his mile-long guilt complex and his relationship with all the other officers (especially Lucy and Harper, and now Jackson), Jackson’s ability to fit into whatever role they put him in (Titus is SO good), and multi-layered episodes like this. We don’t need wild, dramatic bombs or random meth lab explosions that don’t fit into an episode’s overall theme. We don’t need hours devoted to telling us that Nolan is the Good Guy. We just do not. This show has come so much further than that, and I know it can continue to be JUST as good if it focuses on everything it already does so, so well. 

[nealcassatiel]

RANT ABOUT SPN FINALE

That finale was terrible and made NO SENSE. From season 1, Dean has resigned himself to letting destiny and fate and his negativity towards himself win and causing him to die young, die fighting monsters, and never have a family or get to live long enough to really experience love. But over the seasons he has slowly started to admit that deep down, he wants love, and a safe home, and to say 'fuck you' to fate and destiny - fuck you to godlike authors who want to see that destiny of him dying young play out. Dean's character arc was him realising that he can break free from that negative narrative and predetermination and live a long, happy life, in a safe home, with a loving partner. He didn't fight for nothing. Things get better. Just because you think you may die young, things change and if you fight hard enough you'll live long enough to die peacefully and not tragically young. ARE WE BACK AT SEASON 1? 

And then Cas declares his love for Dean, and Dean's face says 'I love you too, but i can't process this right now, and don't do this to me now, when you're about to die!' and we never even get to see him say this to Cas's face? And after Cas's death Dean doesn't rip up heaven and hell and the empty and every fucking book in the bunker to try to get him back???? It makes no sense. And then for him to say in the finale that Cas's sacrifice won't be in vain because he will live a good happy life to prove the sacrifice was worth it - and then he dies????????? Cas sacrifices himself for beautiful gay love and the writers make it mean NOTHING. Yeh he helped sort heaven out - but his whole character arc was that he was slowly becoming MORE HUMAN. Not destined to become TOP DOG ANGEL IN CHARGE SORTING OUT HEAVEN because we HAD that storyline seasons ago but the point was that HUMANITY/DEAN/SAM and his love of humans on earth brought him back down to earth and kept him closer to humanity. He's just gone and returned to heaven's soldier????  ARE WE BACK AT SEASON 4?

 And Eileen! Baddass deaf character with a whole multiple season arc as Sam's love interest? NO MENTION OF HER? Not his wife in the end? Sam not spending another second since episode 18 going and even finding her?! THE WOMAN HE LOVES?! THE AWESOME BADASS DEAF HUNTER? FUCKING DONE LIKE THAT? 

 AND SAM! Sam wanted a happy life outside hunting, but really, his character arc was about him becoming a leader - a Men of Letters book reading, witchy, spell-making leader who will one day stand back from the fight and have a family but also be involved in training and helping with his intelligence the next generation of hunters. No longer living under his brothers shadow, not because Dean is dead, but because he knows Dean can retire from hunting, but Sam can have both - he's good enough to have both. It's his turn to be the leader now. Dean deserves a break, and a happy retirement, Sam deserves being able to lead and EDUCATE. 

 It was like we reverted to the themes of season 1? Dean dying young. Sam leaving hunting for a family life with a random woman. Cas returning to being heaven's soldier. But these themes were set up to prove that this isn't the way things have to go! The entirety of season 15 was about freeing the characters from these predetermined fates, set up 15 years ago. It was about saying to them - be free, be happy, have the life you deserve. And instead they undid 15 years of storylines. The characters ended up where they'd started. Dean suffered and suffered and fought and fought and yearned for freedom and safety, and was finally told that he deserved love and freedom and that he wasn't his daddy's blunt instrument who good for nothing but dying in a fight, AND THEY KILLED HIM YOUNG IN A FIGHT, DEPENDANT ON HIS BROTHER, WITHOUT EVER KNOWING TRUE ROMANTIC LOVE, DYING IN THE WAY HE ALWAYS THOUGHT HE WOULD BUT DEEP DOWN WISHED HE WOULD NEVER. 

 FUCK THIS SHOW. It was the most important television show to me. I started watching it when it aired in my country in 2006. I based my academic studies and career on my love for this show, and it's left me angry and hollow. Lastly, I've never had the confidence to come out. My bisexual flag gathers dust - stuffed into the darkest corner of my closet. I don't even ave the confidence or pride to hang up a fucking flag in my room. I thought my favourite character would be like me. I thought i wasn't crazy or projecting seeing the evident romantic tropes set up. Hell, i mean I literally work in developing tv shows now - i see the tropes, i write those tropes, they are there. And I thought I would see Dean find love with Cas and was so looking forward to seeing that and thinking - that gives me real pride - I'm so proud I'm like that. But that dream also gathers dust with my fading bi flag at the back of my fucking closet. Fuck you Supernatural. I will dedicate my career to making sure i never do to an audience of a show i work on, what you have done to us.

[morkofday]

#10YearPromise - pingxie blabberings

bc i wasn’t able to answer these questions throughout the week (as i’ve been traveling around while being extremely busy), i decided to just collect all of my answers under one post! i never tire talking about pingxie so this was extremely enjoyable ♥ am also practicing some very shameless self promo in this so be prepared!

thank you for @laireshi​ for organizing this event (i take it’s you alone? am not sure, sorry for my laziness) and being amazing in general ^^ i won’t be able to join as i am still very busy and summer is always pure chaos for me, so i can only hope that other ppl have fun! if you are not aware of 10 Year Promise Pingxie Exchange, you can find the original announcement post here. join in if you have the time and inspiration ^^ 

and then to my answers which i will be placing under the cut bc i don’t want to flood anyone’s dash with me going bonkers over these two idiots. enjoy tho if you decide to read this :’D ♥

I. What made you ship pingxie?

Back when I got into Reboot bc of ZYL (as has happened to many ppl probably) and then saw stuff about pingxie once I started going through that drama’s tag on tumblr, my first thought about them was that they had to be a crack ship. The way Reboot portrays them as well as their actors and their huuuge age difference affected this a lot, and I was actually cackling at them bc all their moments in Reboot made me just go “oh, socialist brotherhood at its best” in my head. But then I finished watching Reboot’s 1st season (as the 2nd one wasn’t out yet) and started reading some fics. I learned more about them and the canon storyline. I learned how damn devoted they are to each other, and after that, many moments in Reboot gained new meaning in my eyes. So, I think what made me ship pingxie was a mix of Reboot (especially the hallucination moment where Xiaoge dies and Wu Xie loses it bc that’s my jam as I later on became to notice) and then the amazing fics I dug out during that time. After that the love grew stronger as I watched the other dramas, and these days I’m a lost cause. I feel like I spend most of my awake time thinking about these two and their love. They are amazing. I cry rivers for them.

II. Which pingxie version is your favorite?

After finding pingxie, I fell in love with them properly during TLT2. There is just something about that stage of their relationship for me, the stage where both of them are still very tentative about everything but they have deep down accepted that they’re tied now. Wu Xie is figuring out so many things, coming to terms with being betrayed by his uncle and slowly realizing that something bigger is going on behind the scenes. Meanwhile, Xiaoge is learning how to trust Wu Xie and how to accept that he cannot leave this naïve boy behind. It feels very fragile, and I have so many emotions about TLT2 bc of this. Xiaoge is so soft and feels very multilayered. Wu Xie is still his naïve self but is slowly gaining some sharper edges as he comes to face the cruel world. I like how Cheng Yi and Hou Minghao have portrayed this dynamic. Also, TLT2 is just very extra with all the pingxie scenes, who would be able to resist loving them? So, I have to admit that my favorite pingxie is these two, tho Ultimate Note comes very, very close.

III. What’s your favorite pingxie headcanon?

Headcanons are a bit hard for me as I don’t know enough of the canon. I have not read the novels so most of the story I’ve just patched together from all the bits I’ve read from somewhere (here, on twt, in fics) and through the scenes the dramas have shown me. I feel like the whole world is lowkey made of headcanons for me :’D But hmm, my favorite pingxie headcanon… I’d say there are two and then one bonus bc it’s more a Wu Xie related headcanon than just pingxie. The first one is that the pingxie confession happens after the Bronze Gate. It feels like the only moment when they’re both ready for such a thing. I’d say Xiaoge comes to realize his own feelings a lot earlier and he might tell something to unconscious Wu Xie before leaving for ten years, but he will not actually leave Wu Xie with such a burden. He doesn’t want to ask anything when it sounds like he doesn’t even believe that Wu Xie will be willing to wait for him, and I’d say that for him, his feelings are going to be fine even if Wu Xie never learns about them. He might even wish that Wu Xie never learns about them bc he’s not able to promise much as an immortal and amnesiac being (he outlives Wu Xie, most likely forgets him). For Wu Xie however, I’d say he needs time. He really is way too naïve and I’d say that he needs those ten years to realize that he’s in love with his best friend. I dunno who confesses first after Xiaoge returns but I think that only after that decade their relationship is “mature” enough to hold the weight of a confession (even if I also love to play around with the thought of them getting together during the events of Ultimate Note bc that drama offered many good chances for that). Another headcanon for me is that Xiaoge will find a way to die when Wu Xie does. After learning about them more, I feel like Reboot implies this too. Xiaoge is very accepting of Wu Xie’s death but in the last moments, when he really thinks that this is going to be it for Wu Xie, he hesitates. We see a spark of desperation there, and I’ve come to think that his initial plan, the plan he came up with once he got that call from Wu Xie and knew he would join Wu Xie on his last adventure, was to see this through for Wu Xie’s sake and then leave and die alone. I don’t know how much there would be left for Zhang Qiling after Wu Xie is gone. I feel like this is also what Wu Xie fears. But would he really resent Xiaoge for joining him in death after living such a long and hard life? I’d say no and I’d say that even Pangzi accepts this as one of the most likely outcomes. The bonus one then feels very personal to me. I don’t usually talk about this bc I feel so unsure of even mentioning this but I’ve seen others with similar thoughts so am sharing! I’ve never before gotten any vibes about a character’s sexuality in a drama I’ve watched but Reboot Wu Xie looked at me once in the eye and all I could hear was my brain yelling “asexual”. So, that is just my personal headcanon for Wu Xie. He’s ace and proud of it. He can flirt etc. but sex makes him go naah. He doesn’t need it or want it. He can appreciate beauty and hot ppl without wanting to sleep with them and I think his relationship with Xiaoge fits very well into this. I don’t have any personal experiences with being ace but I feel like Wu Xie has read the name once, shrugged and gone, “guess that’s me” and continued on with his life. He’s badass like that and I love him for it. (take a very relevant meme lol from this post)

IV. What’s the ideal pingxie date?

Ah, christ. I dunno if I’ve ever thought about them going on a date? In the middle of tomb raiding, hospital trips and fighting against powers bigger than themselves, I’ve rarely seen any time for them to do something like that lol. But after Ultimate Note, I’ve thought about star gazing a lot. Just them, the infinite night sky and some lonely hilltop. They would probably take a blanket with them, huddle together and talk about things in hushed voices. Wu Xie would go on a ramble about all the constellations and their meanings and mythology behind them and Xiaoge would just nod at him and watch Wu Xie talking. Maybe he would offer some tidbits in the middle of the rambling, making Wu Xie smile brightly. It would be relaxing and comfortable and loving. They would make out a lil bit. Would maybe lie down and play with each other’s hair. All their worries would feel insignificant. Wu Xie would fall asleep for a moment and Xiaoge would wake him up with a kiss to get him moving again so that they don’t need to sleep on the cold ground. They would return home and drink something warm and then go to sleep, cuddled together and happy. relevant edit x

V. What’s your favorite pingxie getting together scenario?

I guess I already talked about this a bit but let me elaborate then! As said, I’d see it happening after the Bronze Gate. I am not sure if it would be right away (they’re both going through so much trauma at that point) or if it would happen after Reboot (maybe we would still need Wu Xie almost dying for them to get their shit together), but I’d say it happens in a rush either way. It’s one of those “I have to tell you something before it’s too late” -type of moments. Or one of those “Bc I love you, you idiot!” -type of moments. I feel like I keep thinking that maybe Wu Xie would have to confess first bc as said, Xiaoge wouldn’t like to burden Wu Xie with his feelings when there’s so little he can give in the sense of normalcy. But then again, I have written a oneshot where Xiaoge is the first one to confess and that always feels better for me. That at some point Xiaoge feels secure enough to tell Wu Xie about his own feelings. That he feels confident and comfortable enough to say it out loud while still expecting nothing in return bc he knows that Wu Xie won’t abandon him either way. But no matter how that happens, I always see it as this dam breaking. The emotions finally become too strong. Something happens that reminds them that life is too short. Something happens that makes them finally talk it out and ah, Pangzi can finally take a break, what a joy

VI. What’s your favorite pingxie moment?

Every adaptation has its own good moments so let me make a list (like I saw someone else do too):

The Lost Tomb:

Xiaoge rescues Wu Xie from the shibie

Wu Xie worrying over unconscious Xiaoge plus taking care of him in the hotel room

The Pingxie MomentTM aka Xiaoge saving Wu Xie from falling and then cradling the boy to his chest while thumb rubbing his shoulder

The Lost Tomb 2:

Xiaoge revealed to be Baldie and Wu Xie yelling at him about it

Lowkey the whole underwater tomb arc bc holy shit that’s gay

Wu Xie losing it when Xiaoge doesn’t come up from the underwater tomb, diving after him and then almost dying himself + Pangzi getting angry at him for being stupid

pingxie ft. magical skype in the bronze tree cave (and Xiaoge being emo about the 1000yo warrior guy right before that)

Xiaoge rescuing Wu Xie from drowning (they shared air, you cannot convince me otherwise) + Wu Xie giving Xiaoge his watch in the hospital (relevant edits x x)

Wu Xie’s face when he sees Zhang Buxun in the coffin bc I love pain :)

Xiaoge not shooting Wu Xie despite not remembering him in the mountain village

Wu Xie grabbing Xiaoge’s jacket after being kidnapped and the Iron Triangle reunites in that old Chen guy’s cabin, asking, “Is that you?” from Xiaoge to make sure that he remembers again while looking like the biggest puppy (relevant edit x)

also some relevant memes x

Ultimate Note:

The hand over mouth reunion in the Golmud Sanatorium

“Xiaoge will ignore anyone else but you”

Xiaoge pretending he isn’t Losing ItTM throughout the whole time Wu Xie is in the Devil’s City with A-Ning

more hand over mouth with the gigantic snake

“The goddess has ascended”

Wu Xie protecting Xiaoge after he returns from the jade meteorite 

“Do you remember me?” “Wu Xie.”

Wu Xie promising to help Xiaoge find his memories no matter what bc Xiaoge’s business is Wu Xie’s business 

“Maybe you can return home with a wife today.” Wu Xie: proceeds to stare at Xiaoge, horrified

“Take me home.”

The sword gifting scene (especially Xiaoge denying the possibility of him killing Wu Xie or them harming each other, relevant edits x x)

other relevant edits for ultimate note x x

Reboot:

Wu Xie telling Xiaoge about his sickness and then Xiaoge coming back and promising to join Wu Xie on his trip (relevant edit x)

the death hallucination bc am a masochist 

Wu Xie’s death dream where Xiaoge calls to him but then accepts his choice to move forward bc am a masochist pt. 2

pingxie reunion in the Thunder City forest where Xiaoge saves Wu Xie & co. from the poisonous gas 

the moment in Thunder City where Wu Xie sits outside at night, eating the peanuts Pangzi gave him and then notices Xiaoge, offering him the peanuts and smiling 

when Xiaoge leaves for the last time and then gets reunited with healed Wu Xie against all odds

the train scene and their softest smiles to each other  

Time Raiders:

Wu Xie being the best bean and just wanting to befriend this mysterious man while seeing right under his skin and making Xiaoge baffled and fall in love in approximately 0.5 seconds

Xiaoge, catch! *proceeds to save only Wu Xie when they fall into that shibie horror chamber*  

Xiaoge’s desperation to save Wu Xie from the crumbling ground 

their death waltz at the end of the movie plus Xiaoge’s sacrifice

+ Sand Sea: 

“Don’t you dare call him Xiaoge!” 

Wu Xie offering his friends and then himself as comfort to Li Cu when he’s scared while smiling very softly at the memory of Xiaoge 

“But isn’t his surname Wu?” Hei Xiazi: You have seen nothing yet, you sweet summer child

Wu Xie talking about Xiaoge’s past in the temple (aka the Tibetan Sea Flower story bc I just adore how pretty they’ve made those scenes) 

VII. What is the best gift Wu Xie and Xiaoge could give each other?

I haven’t really thought about this type of stuff either bc we have already seen a ton of gifts being exchanged! I love the watch Wu Xie gives to Xiaoge in TLT2 as mentioned (it’s so silly but also so sweet) and I love it that Wu Xie gifts Xiaoge with a new sword in Ultimate Note. Also, I feel like I can count the food Wu Xie leaves for Xiaoge in Ultimate Note and that one moment where Xiaoge offers his knife for Wu Xie as a “pen”. They would give anything for each other as long as the other asked (which they never do) so I dunno what type of gift would matter the most. As it’s so hard to say, let me talk about one more headcanon that I’ve been thinking about ever since the infamous Bazaar photoshoot for Ultimate Note/XYL & ZSX. So, we see them having matching rings and necklaces in that photoshoot. I think jewelry would be kind of difficult for Xiaoge to wear when he needs to fight, as jewelry could be a hindrance in that type of situation But my brain won’t shut up about “pingxie married!!!” when I ask this question from it. To be honest, I do not see pingxie getting married in the traditional sense. They don’t need something like that after everything they’ve gone through. But I like to play around with the thought of promise rings. Just them exchanging rings for fun, for their own sakes, to have something concrete that reminds them of their promise to each other and of their feelings. Maybe even Xiaoge could wear that ring under his gloves idk. But am a sucker for that thought so my answer to this is then simply: a ring. relevant edits x x

if you read this far, thank you so much! I hope this gave you something and thank you once more for organizing this and allowing everyone to share their love for pingxie ^^ ♥

[symphonyofthewrite]

Saw your post, getting stuff off your chest, I just wanted to say that I haven't seen the thing with the kids mentioned by anyone and it really stood out to me, I feel what you mean to some extent, because for me it was a stronger reaction, albeit you probably won't feel the same and that's, obviously, perfectly fine. I have an instant recoil these days whenever a character is around kids for like one second and everyone instantly goes "THEY LITERALLY ADOPTED THEM/THAT'S THEIR CHILD/THEY'RE A PARENT"... genuinely sick of it, and I went white as a sheet when I heard it, I wanted to pluck my eyes out. I don't know if it's an American thing but English speaking fandoms (well, those teeming with fancops that is) seem like they cannot process adult looking characters being in any near proximity to childlike characters without automatically imposing parenthood and family dynamics and it's becoming distressing to me. I feel like Alucard needed to process his trauma and learn to trust and be whole again, he's young himself too, why he needed to be a "father figure" all of a sudden is beyond me.

Thank you so much for the ask!! I don’t get many asks so it makes me happy when I can talk meta with people 💛💛 (Sorry I’m a bit late in answering.)

Funnily enough I actually do agree with you. I didn’t have quite so strong a reaction, but I definitely had a very similar one when I first hear it.

My feelings were and are a bit mixed. I was saying in my other post that I would have preferred that I got to actually see this interaction; see the kids run by him and call him father, and him smile when no ones looking. I still think that would have been a better, more touching way to do the scene, and would have had more chance of me liking it (though I probably still would have felt very weird about it). (I think it especially would have been better because it would show that Alucard himself liked it, not that Greta was forcing the role on him.) I know that it was meant to be something touching, and pretty much everyone seems to like it (and I have seen some cute posts about it), so I just tried to like it too, and focus on the fact that all they were really trying to say was he was having a nice relationship with the kids, and that was indeed sweet.

But yeah, when I heard Greta say “I heard some of them calling you father” for me it was less a reaction of horror, and more a “HUH??!!”moment. When I heard it I was like “Alucard...you agree with this???!! This is how you see yourself??!!” I almost expected Alucard to refute it and say he didn’t see himself as a father to them. Like I seriously do not see Alucard as anything remotely close to a father figure, and it felt weird and wrong to me.

Like when I saw him interacting with the kids the first time, I didn’t think “oh he’s a father figure to them.” I just thought “yay, Alucard’s playing with some kids, and getting out of his bubble!!” I didn’t have any thoughts as to what his relationship role was with them, I just thought that first interaction was lovely.

And if I saw him interacting with the kids again, I still wouldn’t go “father figure” I’d just be like “yay, Alucard’s playing with the kids again, how sweet!!”

Sometimes the relationship doesn’t need a role or a label, ya know?

And I thought it was especially strange because…he literally just met them?? Like how can they possibly start calling him father when he’s played with them once or twice? Regardless of Alucard’s side or things, what group of kids would randomly call a nice man they just met ‘father’? Is...Is this a normal thing??

Anyways, back to Alucard’s side of things, Sypha’s line about Alucard being a teenager trapped an adults body has always been something that stuck with me and shaped how I view Alucard. I definitely view him as internally much younger than he looks. No matter how much I might hate them for what they did to him, I think Sumi and Take are about the age he actually is, and their relationship with him made sense to me. He’s still a kid—or at least young—he still needs his parents in his life, really. (That’s part of why I didn’t like that Drac and Lisa don’t go to him at the end. I personally don’t think Alucard really got closure, and in my mind I think he still very much needed them, and that would have been the perfect ending to his story in my mind, where everything comes full circle; He was forced to lose his parents and grow up too early, and only when he’s started to truly grow up does he get them back.) So yeah, I really don’t see him like a father at all. One of my main focuses in my Castlevania fanfiction is his relationship with Dracula, so I very much see him as the son, not as the dad, even when Drac isn’t around.

(Sidenote, come to think of it, I think this is another reason why Greta x Alucard is a nope from me. She’s very much an adult, so I just see a discrepancy between them that makes me feel weird about them being in a romantic relationship. If we need a label I feel like she fits as an older sister for him, guiding him and giving him support. Him unloading all his problems on her within just meeting her makes more sense if he’s like a younger brother who needs to cry to his sister. I felt weird about it in a romantic context when it was so fast. I mean I know he was desperate to talk to someone, and I probably would have done the same, but still).

“I feel like Alucard needed to process his trauma and learn to trust and be whole again, he's young himself too, why he needed to be a "father figure" all of a sudden is beyond me”

^^ THIS. EXACTLY THIS.

I was honestly really hoping they’d go in depth into him dealing with his trauma, and how he’s still hurting from the wounds of it, and how he needs to heal. I thought that’s what his S4 arc would be about. I don’t think they gave him the chance to really process and work through everything that happened. (Again, I don’t think him just unloading all his problems on a nice stranger is truly working through his trauma. I would have much rather watched him struggle to trust her, and him telling her about his trauma happen later, and be difficult for him, and a deep, heartfelt moment).

Like I was saying in my other post, I think if they framed his arc in how he dealt with the town collectively, I think that would have fit better, and been more touching and satisfying. I would have liked to see him struggling to trust humans, and then see as time progressed how several different people in the town liked him and meant him no harm, and how he realized he could trust them, and that he liked them too. It wasn’t that he had a bad romantic partner and needed a new one. He believed he needed to be punished for killing his father, and in his deep loneliness he let these kids into his house and heart, and they turned on him because he was half vampire. That’s something pretty deeply ingrained, and not something a new romance just fixes by existing. He needed to work through that in a much deeper way.

I know this is gonna be a very unpopular opinion, and it's totally cool if you disagree, but in a weird way... I sort of disliked Alucard’s ending. Don’t get me wrong, Im glad he’s happy, and I’d certainly prefer it to him just getting more trauma like last season (*shudders*), and I don’t think him opening up his castle (and his heart) to humanity is a bad way to end his story, certainly not. I think that fits. And my heart did melt a bit at the "I'm weirdly happy" scene. But, where everyone else is like “*sobbing* happy endings for all our faves” ...I see the creators of the show trying to wrap everything up in a neat little bow, and while that’s certainly not all bad, I don’t love every aspect of that. Theres a time and place for that, but a show based on video games, for which there’s more content in these storylines isn’t one of them in my mind.

Sometimes some of the sadness needs to linger. At the very least, let it linger at the beginning of the season so you can work through it in a powerful way, you know? It may have been tough to see Alucard be more closed off, but I think it would have been more satisfying to see him open up his heart and go back to his old self if we saw his trauma leave lingering effects at the beginning.

To me it didn’t feel like a satisfying arc, it felt like the fairytale ending of “oh look he’s not apprehensive about humanity even after what happened! Oh look he got the girl! And the Castle’s a happy place now! Look he’s not sad anymore! He’s even a father figure to these kids! He’s totally moved on!” And all those things can be awesome when done properly, and when they have depth to them. But they didn’t work through the trauma to get there, so it felt surface level to me, and too fast. I really liked that first episode, and how we saw the two sides of him—one that's become more closed off, and the other that still buries the human despite his comments—and I also really liked the first interaction with the kids, and thought that was one of the few interactions that had depth to it and fit with his arc well. Having it go beyond “they’re helping him learn to like and trust humanity again, and displaying who he really is inside” ended up detracting from the power of his relationship with them in my mind.

Having played SOTN, I think an ingrained loneliness and sadness are, in a way, a key part of Alucard’s character. That sounds really sad and awful out loud but…there are some people that just have a sadness or a loneliness to them, and that's not entirely bad. Here’s the thing…it can make them that much more beautiful. The fact that they still fight for good, even when they see all the dark, those moments when they find true friends, despite how alone they are, those moments when they are happy, are so much more powerful. They just are always a bit…separate from other people. One of my favorite lines in anything is the line "We are connected by our darkness, not by our light" in Pandora Hearts. I think it's a line that fits Alucard well, and it’s always something that’s drawn me personally to him. Don't get me wrong, I don’t think Alucard’s all dark and sad and lonely, he’s definitely got a bright side to him too, of course he does. But I also don't think he ever is able to fully accept the vampire side of himself, and I find that interesting, and worth exploring. Personally I was honestly hoping for the show makers to come up with a bittersweet reason for why he went to sleep for 300 years, (and I thought that's why they set things up with Sumi and Taka that he’d have something against his vampire nature). Personally it felt like they were trying to say “oh he’s all better now, he’ll never be sad or lonely again” and while that’s nice I suppose…for me it sort of…stops feeling like Alucard, in a way? I don't know if I'm explaining it right, or if that sounds terrible...😅

Anyways, back to the topic at hand. I do agree that’s very common of fandom that people are like “boom! Just add water! Instant father figure!” and I don’t love it either. Sometimes it can be cute if it truly fits, but it doesn’t fit every relationship between an adult-looking character and a kid character, and shouldn't be the first place people go to. In the same way every relationship doesn’t have to be romantic, not every relationship has to be parental/familial either. Sometimes it feels like fandom culture isn't really okay to have some characters just be good friends. A good friendship can be more wonderful than a romance sometimes.

If we have to put a label on it, I think he seemed like a nice older brother figure to them? I think that fits who he is in my mind. But father? Nope. Not for me. And again, I don’t think it needs a label.

Thanks again for sending me this ask!! It was nice to get the chance to work through some more of my feelings here too. Sorry if I went too overboard. And I hope I don’t sound too terribly negative, it really was a great season, and I definitely liked some parts of his arc, just not all of it.

If you or anyone else reading would like to discuss with me more, be my guest!! 💕

[parisofpeoplez]

Shadow and Bone Season 2 when? WHEN?

(Spoilers ahead)

I LOVE the show omg it is so so so amazing! I haven't read shadow and bone trilogy, so I didn't particularly care for it's storyline when I found out about the show. I was just hyped that I'll get to see my favourite crows come to life. But after watching the show I am absolutely invested in Alina and the shadow fold plotline. I can't wait for her to destroy the fold. It will be glorious!

I liked Darkling in the beginning but hate him now ugh why didn't he die. It seems like he's even more powerful now with his Volcra army. Ben Barnes played this character so well! I actually believed him just like Alina did in the beginning. Idk if we will have a redemption arc for him though. And even if we do, I don't know if it will be believable, esp for viewers like me who haven't read the books. His backstory wasn't that moving tbh, considering that it led him to creating the fold. So that hopefully won't be a part of his redemption arc.

I really liked Mal's character too in the later episodes, even though I hadn't in the beginning few episodes. Like I couldn't quite understand what his role would be in the story but now he's grown on me. I feel his character had a good arc in the show and I'd love to see even more character growth in the next season (please let there be a next season).

MY CROW BABIES!!! I LOVED LOVED LOVED THEM IN THE SHOW SO MUCH OH MY GOD! I legit could not stop smiling when I saw them on screen for the first time like my favorite characters come to life!!!!!!! They really did the SOC characters justice, I have zero complaints!

Inej!! She has my whole heart! Watching her DESTROY everyone with her knives gave me so much joy! And I felt for her so much when she killed the Grisha, even though it was to save Kaz's life. Her look was just perfect! At this point idek what I'm trying to say I'm just so happy!

Kaz! Our Dirtyhands! Bastard of the Barrel! Hearing him speak literally destroyed me! They really did the perfect casting for Kaz God I can't imagine anyone other than Freddy Carter playing him. He looked and was as ruthless as Leigh describes him in the books. His cane!! His gloves!!

The Kanej moments were also done just right (thank God that didn't kiss or even touch). Kaz putting the Crow club on line to free Inej. Kaz deciding not to go after Alina for Inej (we know it was for her). Kaz telling Inej he needs her. Kaz finally calling Alina saint. That entire Kaz and Inej scene by the fire. Boy is so whipped for her and I'm so glad we got to see all these moments!

That Kaz and Darkling interaction!! Kaz got away from one of the most powerful Grisha by throwing a fucking bomb at him, one which wasn't even strong enough to blow up a hut! I literally clapped in that scene😂😂😂 (ngl though, I was hoping for Darkling to get whacked in the head by Kaz's cane lol)

Jesper was as hilarious as he is in the books God that whole Milo sub plot was so funny! Our sharpshooter sunshine boy. I really can't wait for Wylan and Jesper interaction. And even for Jesper and Nina interaction! Speaking of her, WE REALLY GOT TO SEE NINA AND MATTHIAS'S BACKSTORY LIKE FOR REAL! Seriously, how will I survive until the next season? I love Nina sm aaaaaaaa. And Matthias was just perfect PERFECT! Aaahhh their banter, their flirting. They're literally so cute!

Man this show is amazing. They've managed to mesh the S&B and SOC storylines so well! Everything seem to fit and the soc characters didn't feel out of place even for a moment. Kudos to Leigh and Eric for giving us such an amazing show! Everything from the set to the costuming to the cinematography was so beautiful. Idk if I'm being biased, but the city of Ketterdam has got to be my favorite of all the sets in the show. It's vibe is exactly the kind you get while reading the books.

I can't wait for the next season! NETFLIX GIVE US SEASON 2 NOW!

[pynkhues]

Why does Dean plead guilty? Is it bc of Phoebe? Is it because he wants to protect Beth? Is it because he wants to take the credit? Does it have to do with his male-ness? Have you already explored this topic? #questions

That’s such a good question, anon! It makes for a really interesting (and I actually think in-character) beat for Dean, and I think you’re right in the sense that it’s partially about protecting Beth and partially having to do with his male-ness, but I think there’s also something more fundamental at play.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how this show explores image, perception and projection, and how frequently those things are at the root of Beth and Dean’s arcs, both together and apart. These themes do of course feed into other character storylines (Annie at Ben’s school charity auction in 4.02 being one of the clearest examples of this – that was entirely about projecting an image to Ben’s peers and trying to change the way she would be perceived), but I don’t think it roots as deeply as it does in Beth and Dean, in no small part because Beth and Dean’s biggest audience is themselves.

So! Let’s break that down and talk about how that feeds into Dean pleading guilty.

Rose Coloured Boy (Rose Coloured Girl): nostalgia as the face of love

One of the things that’s always fascinating to me about Beth and Dean’s relationship is how often the show roots it in the past. One of the very first moments of Dean acting regretful over his cheating way back in 1.02 is through talking about the ‘fun stuff [he and Beth] did in the back seat in highschool’. That sense of the history of their romance is further emphasised in imagery of their past – Beth and Dean’s wedding photo is revisited frequently in season 1 while their anniversary is a key moment of the finale, Dean reminisces over screenshots of the kids as babies in season 2, and they even talk sweetly about anniversary dates, and their first apartment together after signing their divorce papers in 2.13.

This paints a picture of a tender history. One of young love and years of happiness and kindness, only it’s a history that the show has regularly, deliberately undermined.

All those beautiful pictures Dean’s looking at of his young family together and happy? Well, 2.05 confirmed that Beth was pregnant while he was having one of his affairs, so which of those photos are truly happy, and which were taken while Dean was betraying her? Similarly, they talk and joke about Valentine’s Day three years ago at the end of 3.08, but if he wasn’t having an affair with Amber then, he was likely having one with another woman.

The purpose of undermining history like this isn’t about the show forgetting or retconning these plot points – especially when the show ties these moments to other emotions, like Dean’s jealousy over Rio in 3.08 (and I’ll come back to that later), or Dean’s feelings of failure – but rather to establish the way that Beth and Dean both romanticise their past and paint it with a rose-coloured brush.

They tell themselves that they might not be happy today, but they were happy yesterday. And then they say that the next day and the next day and the next day, until every unhappy day, becomes a happy yesterday.

That romanticisation of their history is intrinsically tied to an image that they want to project to themselves. They have put so much time and energy into this thing between them, they have so many children, have so much of their lives entwined, that they need to believe that it’s all been worth it, because if it’s not, the image cracks and I don’t think either of them have the tools to handle that.

Which we kind of saw in 4.03.

It’s not an accident that the Beth and Dean flashbacks were in that episode – an episode that in a lot of ways fractured the image of Beth and Dean’s relationship, particularly for Dean. He’s been under the impression that they’re better, that they’re working again, that neither of them are cheating and Rio’s far away and Beth believes in him like she did before everything went wrong, and to discover that that image was false – was a projection of what Beth wanted him to believe, and perhaps simply what he himself wanted to believe too – is challenging to say the very least.

He was put in a position where he was faced not only with the extreme consequences of his wife’s actions, but a domino effect of lie after lie after lie, and the show choosing to take us back to the start of their relationship at that very moment, I think, shows us that the root of Beth and Dean’s relationship came back to Beth needing to be looked after, and Dean deciding, without knowing Beth very well, that he wanted to be the one to do it.

Macho Macho Man: Dean & Masculinity

Which brings us to Dean and masculinity. I’ve talked about the show’s exploration of masculinity quite a bit now (hell, it even has its own tag now, haha), and wrote a whole series of posts after 2.04 about male ego which I should probably update sometime to include s3 and s4,  but it really is one of the core themes of the show. It bubbles to the surface almost constantly and frequently becomes a driving factor of character motivations, particularly characters like Turner, who had his male ego challenged by Beth which resulted in a vendetta, to Boomer’s toxic masculinity driving him through much of the show.

For Dean though, his masculinity is frequently projected only to be destroyed, undermined or used against him in a way that ultimately completely emasculates him. The scene of Dean trying to reassert gender roles on himself and Beth only to have Rio bone his wife, destroy his prized car and insert himself into his business is perhaps the clearest example of that, but it manifests in plenty of other ways too. From hiring hitmen only to be robbed and have his wife’s panties stuck in his mouth, to buying the gun only to have it stolen, to think he’s establishing a new business for himself only to discover his wife’s pulling the strings with her ex-lover. Hell, even the fact of losing the business in the first place is inherently emasculating.

What I’m getting at is that every time Dean asserts himself in ways that are typically considered ‘Masculine’ – providing for his family, dominating his wife / treating her paternalistically, behaving with violent intents, establishing a business – it’s only to have that immediately undermined in the narrative. Dean likes this image for himself, and wants to project it, but the show keeps telling us that the image is a false one.

And then the show outright used that falsehood, and Dean’s insecurity over it, in 4.02 with Dave convincing Dean to give him the books, despite Beth telling him they weren’t ready.

Dean played right into his hand because Dave saw Dean’s masculinity for what it was – a projection covering an insecurity, which in turn, made Dean act thoughtlessly.

(Another pattern of behaviour for Dean! Like hiring the hitmen or cutting the money plate).

Dean’s commitment to the image of masculinity is in a lot of ways too tied to this idea of the rose-coloured image of his and Beth’s romantic history. Beth, from an image standpoint, is a case study in traditional femininity, and for much of their 20-year relationship, they’ve had their roles and they’ve stuck to them. The challenge of that throughout the course of the series is ultimately a challenge to the image that their relationship is based on, which in turn means that Dean’s feelings of failing masculinity end up being tied to his feelings and insecurities around Beth, frequently manifesting into jealousy over Rio.

To have that used against him by Dave (and funnily enough, Rio using those same feelings of Dean’s against Beth in 4.02) is a really interesting character note and I think very much fuels his motivation in the scene with Phoebe.

That Loving Feeling: a brief aside

I feel like I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention here that I actually do think Beth and Dean love each other. I think that it’s a broken love, like Christina said in her BUILD interview while promoting season 3, and I also think it’s a child’s love, which is something that we saw a bit through these flashbacks. Their relationship is so steeped in that history and that origin, that their love has failed to grow with them. It’s a sort of arrested development type of love, which I think makes them cling to the image all the harder, and it’s that old love and that image that’s stopped Dean from ever even contemplating turning Beth in.

Dean Pleads Guilty

Projection and perception are key in this show overall, but especially this season. We’ve seen that with the way Fitzpatrick has projected onto Beth, which I’ll talk about another time, but we also importantly saw Phoebe project onto Beth in this episode. She equates Beth to a girl she was friends with in highschool who used her, and tells Dean as such.

Phoebe’s projection of Beth – her image of her – isn’t one that Dean identifies with, and he tells her as much in return. While Dean is quiet in the scene overall outside of that interaction, the flashbacks deliberately seek to remind us of the nostalgia that has driven Beth and Dean’s relationship for the last twenty years and four seasons of the show. There’s a part of Dean that still sees Beth as the girl he chose to look after when they were just teenagers, and I think having his masculinity threatened the episode before by Dave intermingled with Dean’s nostalgia and his desire to ‘man up’ and take care of her in the way he tried to when her mum was in the hospital. All their murky, messy history and anger and hurt is painted over again, and Dean, at least in the moment, re-commits himself to the image of what he and Beth are.

He’s the man, she’s the woman, and it’s just another unhappy today for all those happy yesterdays.

[incoherentbabblings]

can i get a long post about why tim/steph worked out when tim/ari, tim/zo and tim/cassie didn't?

To be honest, I really struggled with this one because...well, so here’s the thing. Tim and Steph didn’t work out. That is, if you are saying 2011 is the end of that timeline with those specific iterations of those characters, Tim and Stephanie as a couple failed. Fairly spectacularly really. Like, you can make an argument that people died because of it even. Twice if you count the very end of Robin with all the crap with Ulysses. 

There are things which they got right that the others didn’t, sure. And you can say Convergence was the genuine last time we saw those iterations of those characters, in which case, yes, they got there in the end. And though I would like to think that the two would have reunited in the end, their respective solo runs do not end with them as a couple. Tim doesn’t even really get a mention in Steph’s final issue, and vice versa. Like, they focus on the main thematic points of their series - Tim and his relationship with his fathers, Stephanie and justifying her existence as a vigilante. Don’t get me wrong they matter deeply to each other and they probably do still love each other...they just have more important things on their mind when the other is not in the room.

But even so, between 2004 and 2015 (or 2016 if you count Rebirth instead of Convergence), Tim and Stephanie were not a couple. And one of the reason they failed was the same as for Arianna, Zoanne, Tam etc., didn’t work out. (Cassie is kind of it’s own ballpark). Tim could not keep his girlfriends in the loop. Either as Robin or as Tim Drake. There are other things that made them flatline, and I think at the end of the day what made Tim’s relationship with Steph fail was a little different, but that’s the jist. For the long and short of it:

Ari/Zo: Largely Tim’s fault. Too secretive about Robin.

Tam: Entirely Tim’s fault. Too secretive about both Tim and Red Robin.

Steph: Equally at fault. She trusted Bruce over Tim. Tim didn’t trust her enough period.

Cassie: Equally at fault. Grief is not a good reason for a rebound.

Lynx: Boy was just horny.

So, for Ariana, it was genuinely just because they were too young. They were fourteen when they split up. Ariana said it was because they were getting too serious at too young an age; Tim because he was tired of lying to her about Robin and also the will they/won’t they of Tim and Steph had been rolling on for fifty plus issues and Steph was just a more interesting character than Ari and was the preferred option by the readers so hey. There you go. End of. Tim cheated on her with Steph repeatedly, emotionally and smooching. Ari cheated because she felt ignored and left behind by Tim. He fell asleep in the car as she was telling him. Also Ari was insecure, because she was fourteen and every fourteen year old is insecure, so she did things like dye her hair (because Tim was staring at Steph at funeral not because he was gobsmacked by her beauty or anything it was less of a ‘holy shit she’s so pretty and blond’ and more of a ‘holy shit if she sees me my secret identity is blown’) or try to keep Tim’s attention on her by sleeping together. Which, again, they were fourteen. So in many ways, she was right in her reasoning. There was a lot going on there for people barely starting adolescence, but Tim’s general emotional and physical absence made their problems seem huge and overwhelming, when really, it was just because they were fourteen. Everything is such a big deal when you’re fourteen.

It’s kind of a similar thing with Zo. Now, I don’t know if it was intentional, but it’s sometimes said that your next partner after a big breakup is often the complete opposite of your previous. Zo comes from a nice middle class background with parents who are still together and are very loving. She is very school orientated and in fact tutored Tim. She is also (bless her) very boring. Which is arguably what Tim wanted. He’s still trying to convince himself that there’s a Tim Drake life worth living. However, same issues as Ari arise. Emotional and physical absence. Only this time it’s both the pressure or Robin plus the lovely trauma of dead family and friends. He can’t keep up with Tim Drake anymore. He falls asleep on a rollercoaster and can’t tell Zo why. He cheats on her with Steph (again emotionally and smooching). He breaks up with her over the phone. He kinda gets a bit grabby and manhandle-ly at points, physically lifting and carting her around when they are having an argument and she does not want to listen. Tim is... not good to Zo. At all. 

Ari and Zo fail as relationships because they only know Tim Drake, except who Tim Drake is... is Robin. So they aren’t really in a relationship with Tim as a whole, so inevitably they both crumble.

The reason Cassie didn’t work out was just because they were out of their minds with grief. The cult arc and the cloning was bad. Like it was just a bad storyline. Rebounds like that (which timeline wise was occurring at the same time Tim was taking an interest in Zo) were bound to fail. Cassie deserves better!!!!!!!!!! Stupid goddamn writers.

Tam is tricky. Because she, like Steph, actually gets the privilege of knowing about Tim and Red Robin. She does it ‘backwards’, so her issue is having the realisation that yeah Red Robin is really cool but Tim Drake is a mess. And he still lies to her. There’s a few times where she has moments of realisation of how messed up Tim Drake is by the time she meets him. Her leaving is explicitly because that cool person who saved her from the LoA is also the kind of person to lie and throw people under the bus if it serves the greater good (what Tim thinks is the greater good). And she wants no part in that. It’s emotionally taxing to say the least. Also Tim cheats on her with Lynx. Constantly. And Steph, less constantly. He deserved that slap to be honest.

So we’re left with Steph. Steph also does things backwards, meeting Robin first. However, she gets moments with Tim (kind of) before she knows who Tim actually is. So she gets to go to the cinema with him. She gets her birthing classes with him. She gets the evenings sat at her kitchen table chatting about school. She gets him before the absolute shit show that was 2004/5 for Tim Drake. She is more patient than the other girls, either owing to a general lack of self esteem (hence being more willing to put up with long unexplained absences' than the others) or just by nature. At the same time she’s also more likely to tell Tim to belt up when he’s being mopey or secretive or whatever. Tim to be fair makes it pretty clear the ground rules of the relationship - she can’t be in all aspects of his life. Managing expectations and all that.

This fails. Obviously. Bruce is Bruce and uses Stephanie repeatedly to manipulate Tim. And she trusts Bruce. Repeatedly. For reasons. Bad writing. Low self esteem. Desire for approval making her throw out common sense. 

But, here’s why maybe Tim and Steph would one day work again. It’s a minor thing I know, but Tim falls asleep on his girlfriends a lot, as I have shown above. What is Steph’s reaction when he does so?

Sweet dreams then, honey...

She knows him. So she is able to put the pieces together. Zo and Ari were not given that opportunity, so it could be said they couldn’t ever love Tim because they didn’t know him. Tam didn’t even like who Tim was when they broke up. Cassie never really stopped loving Conner. Steph pretty much consistently remained in love with Tim, and vice versa, even after their relationship imploded. It’s a lot easier to forgive your significant other for things like falling asleep over the phone when you know there’s a high chance they were probably out all last night working a case you know? 

Stephanie had the sheer determination (stupidity) to stay around Tim until brick by brick (hoho) she was allowed behind those walls into all aspects of his life (unlike Zo and Ari), and she loved all aspects of Tim, regardless of how... disagreeable those aspects or actions were (Tam).

Flipping over to Tim’s feelings towards the girls... Steph won over Ari because he enjoyed sharing his night life with someone who understood. She was wittier, sharper, and less insecure than Ari. Steph won over Zo because of the omg you’re not dead factor and by this point she was a presence in both Tim and Robin’s lives so was just around him more often. And again, bless her, Zo was kinda dull, especially in comparison to Steph.

Steph didn’t win over Cassie or Tam as such but Tim did make a move on her whilst dating Tam. The problems that had ruined their relationship at the end of the Robin run had been proven moot after she’d shown how much she’d matured. So it’s possible in Tim’s mind, just for that split second on the roof, he thought things could go back to the way they were. Only for Steph to remind him that one of the reasons she had grown so much was because of his absence. And then he had the lovely reminder that Tam existed via engagement announcement.

Finally Lynx... well. He just wanted to bonk there to be honest. Which is fine. If he wasn’t seeing Tam at the same time. 

#TimDrakeStopCheatingOnYourCivilianGirlfriendsChallenge

[thxngam]

i think being a ww fan means recognizing the inherent flaws in its story and characters. for every amazing character moment, theres the fact that the show has a lot of misogyny, both from its male characters and how its female characters are written and treated (ex. the whole laurie and sam arc. some of the stuff that josh says to donna). for every istotg moment, theres the fact that charlie was literally written in bc the show was considered too white (and for most of its run, was). for all the awesome political moments, for all the show presented bipartisanship, and had republicans that were sympathetic, three-dimensional characters, theres the fact of ainsleys entire introduction to the show. it has issues, real issues, and highlighting its high highs should also come with acknowledging its low lows.

Absolutely! I couldn’t have said it any better  (but pls watch as i proceed to make your point bc i feel like i should respond).

For any of yall saying the moments i talk about don’t rlly matter, please notice that even if it didn’t bother you, it might have bothered other ppl/enforced steroetypes/etc. 

For example, there’s one super misogynistic line that josh says that still sticks with me? as a woman, i think most times the show was sexist/anytime anybody was sexist i tend to notice in a way men probably don’t, the same way white ppl don’t notice when everybody in a room is white. it’s just something you notice. but anyway, there’s that one thing with the economy/china-us trade relationship or something in season 5 or 6 and they talk about bras, which is this whole comedic moment. but i remember donna telling josh this, and then josh going “do the Chinese even need bras?”

and i’m not Chinese, i’m desi and i don’t know what it’s like be Chinese and i’m sure there are cultural beauty standards i’m not aware of, obviously. but hearing that line made me so uncomfortable. ig it was supposed to be funny, and donna sort of reprimands him, but it made me so uncomfortable! and there are so many moments like that on the show.

there are maybe 3 recurring black characters (charlie, fitz, nancy mcnally) and that’s it. there’s angela blake, but she wasn’t there for you to like her bc she was “replacing” josh after that whole carrick business. your point about charlie being the point of diversity saddens me. i saw one asian person on the show, cathy, for like two episodes. that’s all. 

and also, sam, despite being my favorite, says some sexist things! i’m gonna talk about sam because he is my favorite, but moments of casual sexism are true of just about every character on the show. the bit about “leggy blonde republicans not knowing anything”, he condescends connie tate (i thought that was kinda funny but it was in poor taste bc connie--despite not seeing much of her--was incredibly intelligent and sam speaking down to her did rub me wrong), the bit about “baton twirling” when he talks to ainsley (tho she gives a great quip back and abt five minutes later he calls her intelligent), that borderline savior mentality with laurie (i (not being a sex worker, someone pls let me know if that was more problematic than the way i saw it) would’ve been fine with that whole storyline if they just kept her on so we could see laurie put sam in his place some more. bc i liked that they said that sex work was real work and that she liked what she did and didn’t fall to some trope about being abused as a child/crazy/etc but then they straight up never mentioned her again. she was smart and she could put him into his place and i liked her enough that i wish we saw their friendship). also he hears from this one weather person/air force person, and when he sees her he goes “you look exactly how you sound on the phone” and yuck

all the same, i like sam! he was idealistic and incredibly smart and i loved all his little impromptu speeches and he had great chemistry with everybody. i was so sad when he left the show and so excited when he came back (even for like two scenes). but i know he’s problematic. knowing he’s problematic and liking him as a character can happen at the same time.

also cj and relationships is weird on this show. that whole episode where she goes back to visit her ailing father there’s this weird romance with that one guy and it’s so weird. also bill? that we never see? the ranger or whatever? i like that cj had emotions (to be strong does not equal emotionless, i appreciated her appreciation for a pretty dress/shoes/jewelry bc that’s something i wish i knew when i was younger) but that was ridiculous. when she gets promoted to chief of staff, this was a great moment to mention sexism in the workplace/the sad rarity of women in power and i honestly don’t think they did, at least not meaningfully enough that i remember it. 

also there’s this whole ridicule of the michigan’s women’s caucus? not important at all, but it’s a sad how they talk down to an organization that isn’t there for mockery just because it’s full of women. it’s a legitimate thing, and because it’s full of women they constantly talk down about it.

i don’t know, but as i type this, i keep noticing more casual sexism and racism on the show. but that doesn’t mean i don’t love the show anyway. government can be optimistic (it’s not right now, but it can be) and it brought me out of a funk and i love it so, but like you said, it has its high highs and its low lows and we, as viewers, should acknowledge this. 

[lizacstuff]

SCK episode 46 asks!

Hi folks, below the read more you'll find a smattering of asks about this week's episode as well as a few spoilers for 47.

Good asks this week:

(under the cut)

Anonymous asked: this may be superficial of me, but why are they dressing Serkan in such ugly tops? they finally brought Eda's hair back but now this

BWAH! You're not wrong. You know what I'm wondering, if they've put him in some of those outfits because they are showing his suburban dad side? It's kind of a subtle nod to him embracing father hood and a different way of life? He's now all about running around the yard after his daughter and not about what he looks like when he's being SERKAN BOLAT, FAMOUS BUSINESS MAN and WORLD'S BEST ARCHITECT.

Also, Eda's hair, thank goodness they let that go once the flashbacks were over and we didn't need something to distinguish between then and now! Those curly bangs were not it.

Anonymous asked: They built up the Edser chemistry soooooo well throughout the episode... for that ending? Who decided to cut it there?! The scene was BEAUTIFUL I’m actually upset lol. are not we going to see any more? I’m not asking for a sex scene, I wanted to see THE moment they decided to get back together (the tattoo line doesn’t do it for me) - a few words, tears as they embrace, him walking through the door as she closes it, one passionate kiss, something! But it doesn’t feel like a cliffhanger that continues next week. I’ll be so underwhelmed when they cut to the morning after and we have to infer that they got back together overnight *sigh* if they were allowed 1 kiss only, id rather it have been here instead of ep 2

We do deserve to see how they reconcile, that should be one of the biggest moments of the season after 7 episodes of build up to it.

90% of final scenes in this show have continued uninterrupted the next week. To me there's no reason to think the next episode won't pick up right where this one left off. Crossing fingers!

Anonymous asked: It just hit me that Serkan is the “Kiraz” for Kemal - but Kemal actually missed his child’s whole 35 years 😬 this is an interesting turn of events. Also that line Serkan said about how fathers should love their child’s mother and how he didn’t have that with his own parents....but his real dad does love Aydan, more than she deserves haha.

Oh so true! Kemal really does love his mother more than she deserves! How he puts up with her, I don't know.

The parallel between Serkan/Kemal and Kiraz/Serkan is strong and I hope it gives Serkan some perspective when he starts grappling with this knowledge. I'm sure it's going to be very disconcerting for him, because while he expected to never see his father again, Alptekin is still his father. He's still the man who raised him and formed him into the man he is. Serkan still runs the company he founded and bears his name.

I don't expect any of that to change, but hopefully he can forge a separate relationship with Kemal that might fill some emotional holes that he has and bring him some peace.

None of that even contemplates how Kemal will feel, thankfully Aydan didn't willfully hide the truth from him. How awful to realize you lost 35 years.

We aren't there yet, but I wonder at what age with Kiraz learn the truth, that her dad is not an astronaut, that her parents went through hell with with cancer and plane crashes, and that her father didn't know of her existence until right before they met?

Just something to think about.

Anonymous asked: i'm so happy for hanker, don't get me wrong, and i'm also so happy we get "together" edser for so many episodes until the end, but i'm already tired of the constant "hanker improvising" comments i know i will be seeing. not that they don't improvise in some scenes, but i just know that every romantic edser scene is gonna be analyzed to hell bc ppl want to look for hanker in them. like there's no possible way that ayse, the writer ppl hate the most, could write any romantic scenes.. nope no way!

Yes, this is one of my pet peeves, I can't stand the "Edser left the chat" and all the "that's Hanker, not Edser" type conversation. it's so invasive and most of all disrespectful to not only the writers, but Hande and Kerem and all the work they pour into bringing Eda and Serkan to life.

One of the things in fandom that sets my teeth on edge is when folks take some interpretation of the character by the actor and then decide because it wasn't "scripted" (pro tip the vast majority of physical movements the actors make are "unscripted") that it must just be the actors themselves and have nothing to do with the characters. What an embarrassing and naïve assertion. Actors literal job is to take what's on the page and then translate that. So, no, OF COURSE, every look and touch is not scripted. The actors interpret how their characters would think and feel, and what they would do in given moments and then do those things.

Eda is not touching Serkan's arm just because Hande can't hold herself back from touching Kerem. Puh-lease, they are professionals. Grow up.

However, having said all that, I do think there was one scene that seemed to be very improvised this episode. The bean scene in the grocery store did feel like them just eFFing around. LOL.

andhewonherheart asked: @andhewonherheart: SCK promo department is best and worst all at the same time, cause giving away the last (cliffhanger) scene in fragman is just cruel. But based on the next week’s fragman thing happens that we we think happens *wink*

Hee! So true. The thing I'm grateful for is that in season 2 not one fragman has made me dread the episode, I think there was at least one fragman an episode from 29-37 that was hella upsetting.

As far as I'm concerned these fragmans are doing there job, making me want to watch.

I am really excited for Serkan planning how he's going to ask Eda to marry him, I wonder what Kiraz's reaction is going to be. So far she's been their very own cupid!

Anonymous asked: I didn't find it surprising that Serkan removed his tattoo as soon as Eda left. His logic is always out of sight out of mind though it doesn't work. He did the same when he broke up with her when he found out about the death of her parents. He removed all of her belongings. But their memories are too strong and enough for him to continue to remember her.

Truth! Will he ever learn that it's never going to work? He'll never be able to erase Eda, she has left an indelible mark on his soul. Let's hope he's never faced with that situation again! From here on out, he and Eda are together, a unit, and will live a long life together and in love.

Anyone have any guesses where Eda's tattoo is? Will we find out or will it remain between the characters.

Anonymous asked: I've seen some people say that Edser are getting married now way too fast and to that I just have to laugh lol. First there were complaints we don't have happy Edser and now when we do, of course there's something else. These two have had a rollercoaster of a year when they first met and a five year separation.. they've been through the dating phase, the engaged phase.. of course they'll head straight to the altar! It's not like Eda's plane proposal and that first wedding wasn't rushed either!

I'm on team head straight to the alter! No more waiting. They've had terrible luck, so they just need to tie the knot and make sure there are no easy outs.

As for people who think it's too fast, they don't even know the storyline yet, I swear there are folks who complain just because that's their personality and they're never satisfied.

Anonymous asked: From some of the spoilers of BTS pics, and the fragman we got, I was just reflecting on this season and Turk romcom dizis in general and I just wanted to say how LUCKY we are to see Edser married (again, from spoilers) and with a kid on screen for more than just 10 minute at the end of the finale. Like, it is really rare and as much as people have nitpicked on this season in general, I feel like watching these last episodes have been such a breeze after the last arc of S1.

Oh agreed, I think these episodes have been very enjoyable. The writers are giving me exactly what I want from this show. Comedy, UST, romance with a little light angst thrown in now and again. I would rewatch this season a dozen times before even thinking about watching anything from the 30s.

We are very lucky that we've got to see them as parents, and actually forming their family. We've gotten so much domestic goodness so far and we still have a ways to go. I'm very appreciative of this season and that Ayse came back, got rid of the constant ridiculous melodrama for melodrama's-sake and is telling a very human story about family and love persevering.

Anonymous asked: the last scene gave me chills for some reason. you could actually see eda fighting her head and her heart and deciding to take the step (metaphorically and physically!) towards him for good. i wanna SUE whoever decided to end it the ep there though.. it was actually cruel. also looking at the next frag.. it makes my heart soft that in the flashbacks we see serkan pushing off their wedding bc of his fears and now he can't propose and get married fast enough.. can't believe we're really getting it

I know, it's almost surreal at this point. Since we're near the end we know it's for real and won't be ruined by psychos or awful family members or terminal illness. I just hope that they give us an emotional scene when they get married, whether its just them or the whole cast is there as guests, after everything they've (we've) been through we need to see them both feeling that moment and reveling in it.

FYI - I'm out of town next weekend, so I may be slower than usual in replying to asks and in posting gifs of 47, but I'll get to it all eventually!

[eddiemunsonssoulmate]

OBX Season 2 Review

I just finished and I have too many feelings so y’all gotta have to put up with me hehe.

I’m gonna talk about the main plot in general and then gonna talk about the most interesting characters and some other stuff.

I’m not putting a spoiler tag on this so it’s more accessible for the people that don’t mind reading spoilers but it should be obvious that this review isn’t spoiler free.

Main plotline

It was okay. Nothing too crazy but also not very realistic but it’s fiction afterall, so I don’t mind. I loved that they kept the treasure hunt theme going even after the gold was lost. Also loved that it was Pope’s plotline and he got more to his character thanks to it but it was also pretty obvious that every other character suffered because of that. So I’m hoping they’re gonna stick with that, S1 was John B, S2 was Pope, hoping for S3 to be JJ but from how the season ended, it looks like it’s gonna be John B again but who knows, I have hope.

There were some things that I didn’t like for sure, timeline issues, continuity problems but it’s fine, I can overlook it for the sake of the story. I was just missing some real Pogue action, they kept them apart quite often or just split up in smaller teams. I’m also a little meh about the whole fact that they’re okay with being on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere where they could potentially die? Idk that was weird but they hopefully can just get off the island whenever they want.

JJ

My boy first, of course. He was as beautiful as always but I lowkey hate how they treated him this season. He was more of a comedic relief character than he was already in the first season with less iconic lines and even his friends treated him like a stupid child even though he had some great input. Yes of course he is a reckless character that fucks shit up quite some time but he is still the most loyal of them all. He would willingly go to jail and die for them and yet, I feel like they don’t appreciate him enough. Now that Luke is gone too, he’s basically homeless without a legal guardian and he only has his found family. Please treat him better and please give him some actual character development next season, thanks.

John B

I’m really conflicted about him. He is fucking stupid sometimes but then again he is a good guy. He can be such a good but also such a shitty (boy)friend. Idk man, I like watching him but sometimes someone needs to slap some sense into him. I’m glad he is doing okay and I’m really curious to see what Season 3 has in store for him.

Pope

I’m so happy he got more storyline this season. Who would have thought he would have such a great family tree? He for sure didn’t haha. I’m glad he wasn’t just a full nerd all the time and actually got into a few fights. He deserved the screen time and Jonathan did a wonderful job portraying him. I feel really bad that he didn’t get a single thing this season. No gold, no cross, no Kie. 

Kiara

Eh, I can't get to vibe with her this season. Most of the time she was just stupid, running around yelling dumb stuff, treating her parents and especially Pope like shit. We all knew that Pope and Kiara wouldn’t be together for long but honestly girl, what was that? Flirting with him but never reacting when he tried stuff, then having sex with him, knowing full well he has feelings for you and then just dumping him? Nah girl, that’s not it. You’re better off at boarding school.

Sarah

Poor baby girl. You deserve better, why are they putting you in so much pain? Honestly, first she’s getting kidnapped, then she’s a fugitive at the brink of death multiple times, she watches her father explode into pieces in front of her only to get kidnapped again to find out that he’s alive and still wants to take her with him AND THEN HE TRIES TO KILL HIS OWN DAUGHTER? Girl needs therapy, I’m telling you. She had already been so conflicted in season one and season two didn’t make it any better. Give her a break, please.

Rafe

He can still go choke. For real. Like, we know that he’s apparently been turning into a psychopath since he was ten and Ward only pushed him further to the brink. Don’t get me wrong, it was amazing to see how he was spiraling during the season, how he was losing his mind more and more and Drew did that so well but god, he did it so well that I just want Rafe to die.

Topper

This is a quick one. I was really hoping for a good redemption arc and he kind of started to get one but then his unhealthy Sarah obsession kicked and I was like nah boy, get the fuck away from the Pogues, thanks. Let’s see how it goes in the next season.

Side Characters

I’m too lazy to list more in detail. Ward is a shit but too smart for his own good. Rose is such a gold digger but she really loves her family. Wheezie is the MVP and she deserves to be with her sister in peace. Kiara’s parents...I feel bad for them, they just want the best for her kid but get treated like shit. I also feel bad for Mr. Heyward who is so worried about Pope without really knowing anything. I’m glad Shoupe came around in the end, there’s some good cop in him. Luke is still a shit father and I’m glad he’s gone but for some reason I doubt this was the last time we’ve seen him.

Overall

The season started off quite slow but as soon as the Pogues were united again I started to get the vibe back. My favourite was probably the middle part of part 4,5,6. The ending was a little too crazy for my taste but it wasn’t bad in general.

I’d give this season a 7/10. There’s a lot of things to improve and things I’m looking forward the next season, hopefully with more development for JJ and some therapy for Sarah.