#and giving dana depth is EVEN BETTER

[punkeropercyjackson]

Honestly why even bother making Jason afrolatino if you're not gonna write him as he is in canon when that's what actually'd make him work good rep for us.What i mean by this is

His ego is huge,he's super tough and an edgelord,has anger issues and brutal ass tactics and is a morally gray vigilante but he's ALSO a huge woman respecter to the point he thinks they're better than men,is extremely kind with a huge soft side and his exterior attitude and Red Hood are trauma responses that're framed as valid on his end so he's not the 'Scary Black Man' stereotype and with the exception of the vigilante part this is actually a pretty common personality type for irl black men-Important note that i don't fall under the attitude but i AM a black man(and woman)

He's been a huge nerd since he's debut in both meanings of it-He's a genius who was a star student in school and loves classical literature,theater and speaking articulately and poetically but just happens not to 24/7 since he's a comic book character,not a Shakespearen one

And his soft sunshine boy with hidden depths Robin self is a critical part of making him as black latino work-You can't go with the retcon of him as a mini thug because it's extremely dangerous stereotyping

Duke as his favorite brother-It's erasure with white gringo Jason but even worse and just stupid because both of them being black would it EVEN BETTER writing they're eachother's number one Batboy pick.Ain't no nigga picking Tim when the only other black guy in the factor is Right There and fuck ya aus,keep Jason white in them and leave afrolatino Jason out of your mess

He hasn't expressed a particular preference for girls he likes but HAS for the ones he dosen't and it's preppy perfect judgemental ones who try to 'tame' him so rip all y'all's white X Readers LMFAO.Worth noting that his canon girlfriends have been a half cambodian tomboy(Rose),an edgyptian butch(Artemis)and a darkskin black woman(Dana)and that he's actively rejected a white blonde girl on the basis of her being too normal(Isabel)and Kory post deblackification so i think it's obvious where his tastes lie

You CANNOT make him and Roy or Batcest a thing-I don't think i need to explain why pairing up a white man who knew an afrolatino since he was 14 and him grown with a daughter and putting him in incest is violently antiblack

Poverty is not inherently bad in black or latino characters and there was a point in canon where it was used as simply an element in Jason's story instead of demonization so use that edition.But making him a drunkard,a smoker or a sex fiend is 100% perpetuating stereotypes and he's canonically the opposite of all three so again,sometimes things that are canon are better

Him being tall and super jacked and intimidating looking can actually enchance it-He uses it to his advantage to get people he dosen't like to fuck off because they buy into the propaganda and gives him more deepness with the rest of his personality

This includes him being a real gamer and his neapolitan food addiction and your headcanons on his other tastes should follow their lead-His favorite characters should be black and latino ones(His favorite Marvel hero is Miles Morales,it's canon to ME),he should listen to black and latino artists,he should eat black and latino food and know how to make it for that matter,etc

Back to a Duke situation-You also can't make a white woman instead of Talia his adoptive mom for obvious reasons and imo if you're gonna make him and Stephanie besties,she should be black too for that black best friends and found siblings rep(She works as a black woman as much as he does a black man and i'll make a manifesto of that like i did him if asked).This applies to the Team Dad Jason take too in the sense that he should mentoring Damian and Nell and Tiffany since they're Batgirls instead of white kids

In summary what i'm trying to say is:If you're going to see Jason as an afrolatino man,you need to go beyond just the aesthetic and little bits you feel like including because you think they're appealing and actually write him as an afrolatino man,as Jason Todd and not some random guy

@nogender-onlystars @willieoo @mayameanderings @desi-pluto @insomniac-jay @vulnonapixes-dc-corner

[sisterspooky1013]

Gaslight, Chapter 24/48

Rated X | Read it here on AO3

Washington, D.C.

She really does love him, and has for a very long time. She loved him when he discovered the X-files, when he wrote his infamous monograph, when she left him behind for Berlin. She never stopped loving him, even after years without contact. But this isn’t about love, and it never really has been. This is about winning.

They had all but begged her to come back and clean up the mess they’d made when they partnered him with Agent Scully. Idiots. If they’d bothered to ask, she could have told them how to keep Fox under their thumb. They should have paired him with someone like her, someone who would have earned his trust by giving credence to his crackpot theories, and then leveraged that trust to lead him away from the truth. Instead, they fueled the fire by giving him a reason to keep searching for answers, if only so that he could prove to his partner that his theories aren’t as implausible as they appear at first glance. Diana likes to win. Fox likes to convert skeptics into believers, and they handed him one on a silver platter, complete with tits and ass.

It had been a fun little project, something to break up her otherwise predictable cadence of work. She’d fly back to the US, get Fox into bed, fuck some sense into him, and let him see how much better it feels to be listened to, to be believed. It should have taken a week, tops, maybe two if she took a less aggressive approach. But she’d underestimated Dana Scully, and she hadn’t anticipated how much it would hurt to see Fox take her side, even if only half the time. Because she loves him, but also because she really, really doesn't like to lose. Especially not to pint-sized gingers who hide behind science when the uncharted corners of our universe are revealed to them. Diana read the reports. Agent Scully’s attempts to fit the paranormal into the periodic table were adolescent at best, and ignorant at worst.

But Diana had been weak, and she made a mistake. Because she loves him. Because seeing him strapped to that table with his brain on full display activated some deeply buried store of empathy that she hadn’t realized she had on reserve. She didn’t even think it would work, it was more of a gesture of goodwill that would help her sleep at night. If Agent Scully couldn’t figure out how to use the key card to save Fox, that was on her. But to Diana’s surprise, she had, and without any help. And that’s when Diana realized that she’d underestimated the woman, and perhaps also the depth of the bond that she and Fox shared. And it hurt, because she loves him. Because she lost.

She’d learned of her own untimely death the following morning. Found murdered at her apartment, which struck her as pathetic. Couldn’t they have at least given her a valiant death? Let her go down swinging? On her flight back to Berlin she couldn’t help but wonder if they’d throw a funeral for her, and if Fox would attend. She found some satisfaction in the image of him mourning at her graveside, but when that image expanded to include Agent Scully by his side offering comfort, all she felt was rage. He was supposed to be hers, whether she wanted him or not. She was supposed to win.

Imagine her pleasant surprise when Carl came crawling back not two months later, once again needing a favor. He said he couldn’t do it without her, and she knew that he meant it. It felt good to be needed, to have something that no one else could provide. Her history with Fox, the love affair that predated his introduction to Agent Scully, was the secret ingredient to building a new life for him that he would accept. And the idea of being married to him, of getting him for keeps, was quite appealing. Because she loves him. And if she is his wife, Dana Scully is no one. Not even a memory. Not even a scar. Diana was forced to concede the battle, but this was a chance to win the war.

They’d done it together, she and Carl. Not the actual memory manipulation—that had been left to the scientists at the Spurious facility—but curating Fox’s new life. Deciding that an aberrant name like “Fox” wouldn’t do, for one, though she wasn’t especially fond of Carl’s intention to call him after his other son, the one who was a consummate disappointment. He felt that it would be easier and give the Spurious staff fewer fields to manipulate on the documents that would need to be created, but she suspects that he only chose it because it would be one less new name for him to remember, the selfish prick.

By the end, she’d convinced herself that she was doing Fox a kindness. His life up to that point had been an endless series of traumas and hardship, and she had the chance to rewrite history. She downgraded the loss of his sister from unexplainable abduction to cut and dry terminal illness. She took away all his memories of a cold and distant mother and replaced them with one who was warm and loving. She re-routed his career away from the wild goose chase of the FBI, and towards something stable and mainstream that she knew he’d be good at. And she gave him herself, a wife who loves him and wants what he wants. Only it would appear that she made some miscalculations. Perhaps her assessment of Fox’s dream life was slightly off target.

She waits until he’s asleep to slip out of the room and make the phone call. She’s managed to reel him back in so far, but that luck is bound to run out any moment, and she can’t spend all her waking hours tracking his location to be sure he isn’t getting into trouble. Fox is an intelligent man, and a self-preserving one. Leveraging guilt over his affair, which had actually been Carl’s idea, will only get her so far. She has to do something more drastic to put things back on the rails.

“Spender residence, this is Teena.”

“Hi Teena, sorry to wake you. Is he home?”

There’s a heavy sigh, and she waits as Carl walks to the study and picks up the receiver.

“You can hang up, Teena,” he says, and they both wait for the tick of the open line closing off. “It’s late,” he says, his tone shifting.

“I’m sorry, I had to wait until he fell asleep. It’s bad, Carl. Worse than we thought,” she explains as she finds an open seat in the expansive indoor courtyard.

“What does he know?”

“Someone else contacted him. He said it was a patient but I’m not sure if that’s a cover. They told him about Mulder, the FBI agent, and his partner Dana Scully.”

A long pause, followed by a muffled, “Jesus Christ.”

“They must have missed someone in the vaccination program. I don’t think I can get us out of this, Carl. Fox isn’t stupid, and he isn’t going to let this go,” she tells him, rubbing her temples with the thumb and middle finger on her free hand.

“We’ll have to run him through again,” he says resolutely.

Diana pulls her hand away from her face and sits up in her seat.

“Again? From scratch?” she clarifies.

“Well, maybe not completely from scratch. Perhaps we just need to edit out those new bits,” he posits, and she hears the metallic zip of a lighter.

“I think we may want to make other changes. He seemed very unhappy in the plan we built. He wanted to change jobs, and he was asking me about…having children,” she says.

A dry laugh, followed by a coughing fit.

“Do you want Dana Rose’s children?” he asks haughtily. “They’re going to need a new mother.”

“So you’re going to—”

“Of course,” he interjects. “It seems clear now that we ought to have done that on the first go round, don’t you agree? Can’t say that we didn’t give it a good faith effort, though.”

She wants to ask how they’ll do it, but decides that she’d rather not know.

“I’ll bring him to the facility tomorrow so they can get started right away,” she says.

“I’ll call over now and have them start preparing. Goodnight, Diana.”

“Night, Carl.”

She snaps her phone shut and makes her way back to the room, creeping through the door and under the covers with all the stealth of an intruder. Fox stirs and rolls to his back, lifting his arm in invitation that she curl into his side and lay her head on his chest. He quickly falls back asleep and she listens to the steady beat of his heart and feels the rise and fall of his rib cage under her cheek.

She hopes they get it right this time, because she loves him. She wants him to be happy. With her. Only with her.

Tagging @today-in-fic

[mdhwrites]

FYI, Amphibia actually got to have a full 20 episode season for its third and final season, while Owl House's third season was shortened to three specials. So don't go saying Amphibia exists as an excuse that Owl House could do better without needing more time when that show got to have a full season 3.

Answering this late night because it's just kind of... Frustrating because I chose the examples I did for a reason. The blog they're responding to for context.

So, part of the point of the blog was to compare two elements that got roughly the same amount of time. The same amount of episodes/appearances and critique which one did it better. This is also part of why I stopped the analysis when the characters finish their arcs because Amity finishes her arc BEFORE the show's shortening could have even affected it. Before it could be excused. Dana has said (interview here) that Eda's Requiem was in production when news of the cancellation came down. That is still two episodes AFTER the latest point, the one that is the most equivalent with Sasha's arc, that I place the end of Amity's character arc, Looking Glass Ruins. Amity's arc, or failure to properly have one, is NOT a product of the shortening.

It is just a product of bad, wasteful writing. Amphibia was able to do an arc more impressively, more robustly and more meaningfully to its actually story than TOH was in the same amount of time. The ONLY difference is that yes, Amphibia's plot got to move forward but that isn't an argument in Amity's favor. In TEN. EPISODES (and more appearances), Amity has literally NOTHING to do with the actual overall plot of The Owl House. She is a romantic subplot who doesn't move other characters' arcs forward, doesn't add to the world building besides a single time of going to a new location, or even adds much depths to the themes because of how botched her motivations for her change are. Or, you know, how there's a lot implied Amity but actually very little exploration of her character or relationships (this is part of why Alador's change of heart sucks so much because Amity seems to give zero shits about him before suddenly being a daddy's girl) which isn't nearly as compelling as what Sasha got because her appearances are DRIPPING with character and exploration.

This also ignores that Amphibia is quite literally INFAMOUS for the amount of episodes that don't technically need to exist. There are a LOT of episodes, even in S3, that serve more to add flavor, fun and small bits to theme than move the story forward. I love this flavor because Amphibia is genuinely fun and has a lot of fun with its world so it actually has flavor but... Well, it's not like it couldn't have been shortened. I actually wrote up an outline for how to do it but decided that that deserves its own blog if people are interested because it is still pretty long and doesn't actually address the real problem here.

Amity's arc finishes before the shortening. It wasn't affected by losing out on those extra episodes. It was written as intended for her going from enemies to lovers. That is part of why I feel it's so okay to compare the two because if Amphibia had been shortened, Sasha's arc might have had to get worse. Amity's literally didn't get affected by TOH's though. Maybe how she is post her arc could have been explored more but that's it. Her actual arc to becoming a good person was untouched. I am harping on this because I am SO TIRED OF HEARING THIS FUCKING EXCUSE.

But despite that, her arc also did very little actually with her and/or the world. That's the bigger point. You can argue that TOH had plans to do that post her arc (Reaching Out shoots that concept in the head admittedly) but why wait until then? Why be that wasteful? Even if they had three full seasons with 20 episodes each on average, Amity's arc, at its furthest point, takes up a SIXTH of that time. Ten of Sixty episodes. And in that time, they do such a piss poor job actually exploring her changing and wanting to become different. Meanwhile, Sasha spends 9 segments, because True Colors and the like are counted as one segment in the overall segment count, of a show with 106 segments. A bit less than ten percent. Even if we say 10 segments to include Commander Anne, it's still under ten percent of the runtime, which is WAY less time devoted to Sasha's arc percentile wise while Sasha ACTUALLY FUCKING MATTERED. She is also explored, expands the lore of the world, show us sides of it we wouldn't get otherwise and actually presents compelling, thematic arguments that challenge Anne and the show. Now yes, Amity doesn't literally get the full runtime of her episodes but she gets the majority of almost all of them but Looking Glass. If it's literally time spent on a plot line featuring Amity? She probably still clocks in at just around the same amount of time for her arc as Sasha did for hers.

TOH has flaws that run DEEP. Flaws in priorities, planning, pacing, actually exploring its own world or keeping things consistent. Amity is actually one the best examples of it because while yes, I like the character in S1... It didn't feel like she was actually ready to have her arc wrapped up soon after Winging it Like Witches. There was simply too much potential, too many problems in the way between her and Luz, or her and happiness in general, too little actually explored about her place in the world, for it to wrap up in two episodes or so.

And then it did, despite the fact that it wasn't shortened at that point. Then you look back on her arc and holes just keep showing up. Not because of Disney. Not because it was gay. Not because of the shortening.

It's because it was badly handled and not actually well written, especially when compared to its contemporaries. It just looked that way for a while but looking like something and being something are vastly different.

======+++++======

Sorry for how repetitive this blog probably is. I'm just really tired of hearing this excuse.

Edit: Shout out to the fact that someone actually, before the blog was published, asked me what would have happened with Amphibia if it had been shortened like TOH. So... I'll set that one for the morning.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[jess-the-vampire]

so in arofam, belos's mudbeast form IS an actual curse, like from a spooky scroll from the night market kinda curse as opposed to absorbing thousands of palismen souls to both stay alive and gain goo powers like in canon. So, did caleb actually curse belos in the au?

tbh i was waiting for the show to actually go more in depth on what his condition was so i could better implement it into the au but we’re finished s2 and i am STILL extremely confused on how it works.

Dana confirms his monster form is a result of consuming palismen, and it seems almost implied in the show itself it was self inflicted?

Tho WHY philip decided to do this in the show is not answered, so i have no idea why he decided to do that to himself?

But then that’s oddly countered by the glyphs on him?

Ok, no, lemme explain why this is so confusing to me still.

Ok, so HM and KT imply belos has control over his mud form? Right? Like ooo, scary he can do this whole thing at will right?

But then the show also says he doesn’t? Belos actually seems in pain in COTH and the collector says outright he seems to lack control over his form anymore, belos can’t be faking it because he has no reason to fake it for the collector and in HM the collector outright makes it out like he knows belos can do it at will.

Like even if you claim belos is faking his illness for hunter for whatever reason, there are instances where he can’t be, like if the palimans are to have his goop form and nothing else....what about EAE?

Philip was clearly in pain from his arms? he has no one to show this to, and he took a palismen to fix this issue?

So does he take them to.....somehow help with the glyphs?  or to turn into major goop beast? Is it both? Why does he need them to help with his glyphs? Why did he carve them there in the first place?

Did removing the souls give him control? Implying he only NOW has control over it and he actually didn’t before HM? But does that mean eating more paliman would just....give him more souls to annoy him? If he needs them to help with his pain then clearly he would have new pailsman in his head to bother him right?

Why does his form look like that thing king’s dad faought seemingly millions of years ago??????

i wanna say i can give you a great answer on his curse but i’m not even sure how it works in canon????

i might still make it a result of the one palismen he has in his system and give it different origin but philip’s curse situation confuses the heck outta me.

[melodyofthevoid]

I posted 7,486 times in 2022

1,035 posts created (14%)

6,451 posts reblogged (86%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@elytrians

@lindendragon

@dana-chan-the-control-brain

@ai-dont-care

@thel3tterm

I tagged 3,318 of my posts in 2022

#melody rambles - 1,069 posts

#ocean idiots - 505 posts

#invader zim - 463 posts

#friend art - 294 posts

#zib - 161 posts

#my writing - 100 posts

#ask meme - 67 posts

#zadr - 66 posts

#yeah - 66 posts

#ref - 55 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#and sometimes the larger a project gets the more unrealistic the expectations on those working on it to the point where no one's having fun

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Ocean Idiots Masterpost

Hello hello lore enthusiasts and newcomers alike! I finally am getting around to organizing all of this so here we go! 

Lore Slideshow

Art

The-Trashiest-Pada

Merfolk Lore

The Sailor Who Fought Back

If She Fits She Sits

Teef

The Deep Blue 

Delta’s Crew

Don’t Starve Ocean Idiots

Family Reunion

Bebe Delta

more bebe

Ab Bab

Ascension and Aftermath

Freya and Argo

April fools Bitches

Squish

Heather is A Bitch™

Entranced

On Deck

Shandzii

Various doodles

Larus

Mariza and Delta

Samira Ref

Mariza Ref

Larus Ref

See the full post

242 notes - Posted April 29, 2022

#4

HOLY GOD! Ok, this project launched back in... October of 2020 and it’s here. Huge and never ending thanks go out to everyone involved in this project, I’ll credit all those I can. Please know that you all mean the world to me and the fact you did this... I was close to tears man, genuinely. This world, and I know I’ve said it a million times, is my baby, and that you all did this... fuck. It just makes me unimaginably happy. Thank you. 

Please give your appreciation and love to the wonderful artists who made this possible, and support them where you can. They all did an amazing job. 

@shandzii

@thefurriestofchows

@the-trashiest-panda

@buttonpastel

@snugglecat453

@paujama

@rainbott

@emositecc 

@malibubandit

@rollermatsu

For those not on Tumblr but are in the video: Kat, Silverkapa, Pinkie, Squishy squid, thank you.

394 notes - Posted January 13, 2022

#3

After much anticipation, it is here. The official slideshow of Ocean Idiots Lore! Thanks go to @shandzii and @the-trashiest-pada for all the art! Again, if y’all have any questions feel free to ask! I just may take a minute to get to it. Also you know. Spoiler stuff. 

459 notes - Posted April 27, 2022

#2

509 notes - Posted July 6, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

6! Preferably for Mariza and Delta but you can do whoever you want

"I missed you... a lot"

It'd taken a good deal of time for Mariza and Delta's... relationship to even out after Mariza's ascension.

It'd taken the half desperate pleadings of someone far too exhausted to keep up a one sided fight for it to stop, a fire no longer fueled by oxygen left to smolder. Then they were left with what remained, a goddess who didn't know who she was, and a pirate who remembered everything but didn't know where to start.

So they started anyway, because when had they ever planned for anything?

The bottom of the ocean, contrary to the superstitions of sailors who'd never so much as swam a reef, was far more lively than an eternal quiet. Just because the cool depths only contained the echoes of humans didn't mean they were devoid of life, only human life. Though for some that didn't make a difference. It made the perfect spot for a mer and the embodiment of the ocean to sit and watch the world go by, the occasional curious fish swimming around Mariza's torso and extra limbs, weaving in and out as though the goddess were nothing but coral.

"Guess they like 'ya huh?"

Delta laughed as the guppy darted away from Mariza's claws, the goddess unable to contain a small chuckle of her own.

"Well, they know better than to be near a shark. I think they want me to protect them from you."

"Right, because I'm the more deadly of the two of us, you're ridiculous."

"I dunno," Mariza smiled impishly, "Those teeth of yours are pretty sharp."

"Mari. I've seen you bite boats in half. Come on."

Delta whacked Mariza with her fin, enough to push her forward, but no further than that. Of course, retaliation was swift, and those same tendrils that were a fish's playground wrapped around Delta's tail and hoisted her vertical, then in a loop. The cycle continued until both were cackling messes, throwing small handfuls of sand in each others' direction as they wheezed.

"Ha- haha- Can't believe you're this easily winded. Aren't you supposed to be a god?"

"Yeah well- I'm still- still getting used to it. It's not like I'm laughing all that much around Samira."

Ah, that pleasant company. Surely a more jovial presence you couldn't find.

"No kidding. I can't say that I've laughed this hard in a while either. I missed this."

Cold regret seeped into the waters around them. For what it was worth, Mariza tried to give a sarcastic half smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Did you now?"

Too late to pretend she didn't mean it now.

"I did. I missed you... a lot. When you slipped under the water... Thought I'd never see you again. But hey, lucky me, right?"

"Lucky that I didn't end up sinking you when you came up and hugged me out of the blue."

"Hey! How was I supposed to know you had all the memory of a brain-dead sunfish left?"

"Brain dead- HEY!"

The bickering continued, but Delta couldn't help the smile that clung to her face each time Mariza let out that laugh of hers, or looked away for a brief moment.

She really was lucky, huh?

It stung she still missed her, sometimes.

1,082 notes - Posted January 20, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[eldragon-x]

To be honest I feel lowkey narratively cheated with Darius stuff this season, even though I tried not to raise my hopes. I thought about it – maybe his implied backstory was just wishful thinking and the fandom over exaggerating his role, this happens, but it still seems to me that the show was setting something up, at least in relation with Hunter. And going from Darius worrying about Hunter in HM, and Hunter worrying about him in KT to season 3 seems odd, and makes a messy writing where some character bits just go nowhere.

And I wouldn’t even mind sidelining him if he still had some agency doing something in the background or was acknowledged verbally, but the way this particular sidelining in the episode works, it basically means he wouldn’t get any active role in the final episode either, and that’s what makes it disappointing. Especially when, as others said, some other stuff this season feels like fanon pandering, so certainly didn’t expect that there wouldnt be even a single cool or emotional moment for him.

And personally I think one of the reasons team RED were so memorable was that, despite their very limited time, they clearly had their own agency and active involvement in the in-universe plot, so stripping them of that agency instead of leaning on it is certainly a choice.

Yeah honestly, I would've even just been happy if we saw a change of attitude in Darius because I always imagined the whole Day of Unity thing with Eberwolf would shake him and break his walls down a bit. But instead he basically doesn't exist due to doing nothing, saying nothing and not being acknowledged at all.

And I guess it is possible that fans have read more into him than it was intended but as you said, they defenetly set up a conncetion with him and Hunter through the previous Golden Guard having been Darius' mentor and their interactions. Plus Dana did say at one point that they would've explored Darius' character more in a full show so I wouldn't say more in-depth readings of him are far-fetched. Moreso hints of what could've been.

But as I said, just because there's a time limit doesn't mean things couldn't have been executed better. Like Darius could've just been with the Clawthorne sisters and it wouldn't change the episode itself much. The episode as a whole could've been different and maybe Hunter finds some closure about Flapjack because Darius talks with him about loss or something (instead of. Hunter getting magic.), giving us more of a glimse into Darius' feelings at the same time. Idk I'm just throwing ideas here but you get my point.

[saltiestgempearl]

Since Disney decided to be a bunch of jerks and locked the remainder of The Owl House into a schedule that gives no time whatsoever for fleshing out Belos' character, I want to talk about the two possibilities I see for his development in a world where they let Dana do what she wanted. I don't know if either of these were Dana's intention (maybe Belos was never going to have more depth than he does now!), but I like to think about the possibilities.

Both of my ideas start out the same way: delving deeper into how being raised in early 15th century Connecticut shaped Phillip's priorities and values. This naturally leads into how those things drove the way he dealt with the Caleb and Evelyn situation. They've already given the bare bones of this with the stories and snippets of flashbacks we've gotten so far, but this would have them go much deeper, make the more empathetic audience members come to the uncomfortable realization that they might have done the same thing in his shoes.

This would all culminate in a detailed flashback of the major confrontation between Philip and Caleb (and yes, I do believe they could do this justice without making it too graphic for Disney), and lean into the "I tried to save your soul" line they threw into the"For The Future" episode, because that feels very Puritan to me. I think that played a big role.

Next, we would explore the unfathomable pain Philip lived with after killing his brother, and how he tried to "fix" the situation. We would explore how that quest changed him, how he slowly lost more and more of himself until we were left with Belos, a being nearly unrecognizable from the little kid back in Connecticut.

Now, this is where the path diverges.

Option 1: The protagonists learn of all this and come to understand how Phillip became a monster, and try to tell Belos he can still be good, he can still change. But he tells them that it's too late for him, or better yet, he's so deep in his own rationalizations he doesn't even see that he's in the wrong anymore. The heroes ultimately destroy him, but it's not a fun satisfying thing: it's bittersweet. It's the end of a tragedy.

Option 2: The protagonists learn of all this and come to understand how he became a monster, and try to tell Belos that they understand he went through a lot of pain, but what he's doing isn't going to change things, it isn't going to help. They help him see that while he can never undo the past, he can work to make the future better. Instead of killing him, Belos becomes something of an ally, even if not a friend. The series either ends at the start of Belos' redemption journey, or follows it along now and again as the show continues with a different threat. Either way, the emphasis is not on Philip "becoming a good guy" or "paying for what he's done," it's on Phillip taking steps to make a change in his life and help heal some of the damage he's done.

Option 2 is my preference by a long shot, but I've only seen this done properly for a level of villain like Belos in one show: Steven Universe. So it's pretty rare. Still...while The Owl House certainly hasn't fully embraced this level of complexity with its redemption arcs (Amity and Willow's conflict was ultimately reduced to 'Amity's mother's fault'), they did come pretty close with Lilith's redemption arc. So it's possible these writers could have done it with Belos too with a ton more time.

[luckyqueenreign]

hey love! Welp, what a rollercoaster this final was!

the only two things I actually liked - Suresh's speech and him giving MC the ring and showing his intentions (finally!)

everything else is a total mess!!!

the writing was atrocious - i felt like I read a 12 years old girl's diary😵Sexy scenes weren't sexy. Congratulations of other islanders were fake. MC's speech was terrible! Like - this dude (Suresh) pouring his heart to you and makes himself vulnerable and you talking about his hot body and great personality? Maybe it doesn't look completely out of place if you coupled up with others, but with Suresh it was stupid. And don't even start with ring!!

where did it came from?! Was MC hiding the freaking ring from players in her ass?! cuz it's only plausible explanation! UNBELIEVABLE!

I mean wasn't hoping for a brilliant final. I was kinda expecting tonnes of BS, but FB for sure surprised me😆

also! I was really disappointed with "looking at MCs journey". why in the name of holy cow they didn't do it with an actual scenes? why Bobby didn't said a thing about Finn trying to seduce MC in shower? I WOULD LOVE to see Kat's reaction. And Suresh's too! he must see his girl was loyal and would never be "the other woman". Kat must see her man actually isn't hers. And also Kat can go to hell with her fake apology after all her petty comments in final.

okay, rant over, thank you for your attention 😃

do you know who picking who in final if MC doesn't pick Suresh?

Hi babe 💖💖 yes!! those "spicy" scenes were NOT spicy at all...high schoolers in a creative writing program could've managed a better scene than that. He really truly laid it all on the line for MC with his speech and he was like well your really hot and your personality is too! MC has a depth problem that was evidenced in that speech!

The ring was sooooo crazy...also I was wondering if she proposes to anyone else or if that was just a Suresh exclusive moment.

re: Best Bits...ME TOO I was so disappointed they didnt do it like previous seasons where you actually got to see the moment on your screen. Seeing Kat's reaction to Finn propositioning MC wouldve been WILD!!!! they shouldve let that happen and I'm so mad we didnt get that moment.

If you pick Finn, Suresh picks Kat and I think Alfie picks Dana - (not entirely sure on Alfie/Dana here but assuming)

If you pick Lulu, Suresh leaves and Kat & Finn, Alfie and Dana are coupled.

If you pick Gabi, I *believe* (someone please correct me if im wrong) Suresh leaves, and Kat & Finn, Alfie and Dana are coupled.

[webpreneursclub]

When The Fun In Gambling Is No Longer Fun

The illusion that you can be in control of Chance Chance is a factor that can't be controlled by anyone. It's never in favor of any player, no matter how smart. A lot of gamblers with problems believe they'll be able to turn their luck around on the tables by the sheer force of their mind. They believe that they will succeed if they learn the rules to win. They would spend all day in casinos trying to master their game. They don't realize the reality that gambling is a 100 percent chance and is cannot be taught. There aren't any tricks or information that can an instant turn the odds in your favor.

The Lure of the Jackpot A few hands at the tables can leave you feeling unbeatable. Everybody loves winning and research has shown that people will remember their successes more than they do their losses. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunate in this instance the new players are usually referred to as "beginner's luck.". They start their gambling journey in the right way. They are obsessed with the prospect of winning the jackpot.

Faith of Changing Luck In the real world we are taught to rise up following every fall. We'll be there in the end. Our goals will be achieved If we don't quit. For one thing, who wants to stop when the gold vein may be only two inches away. There's only one spot that this rule does not apply. If your goals are determined by luck, there is a low chance you'll succeed. The numbers are available to anyone who wishes to look. Gambling is a sure way to end up with huge losses, debts and broken social relationships. There's no better moment to stop than right now. Lady Luck will not smile at you any time soon.

How To Know If You Are Addicted To Gambling There are certain indicators that tell you you're into the addiction lane however, it can be difficult to recognize them when you don't know what they mean. This is possibly the most tragic aspect of addiction. We don't realize we're addicted until we take an step back and examine our lives in the past when the damage is already done.

This section we'll look at the 5 most important warning signs to look out for.

You Just Can't Stop Do you remember the intelligent Gambler whom Kenny Rogers sings about? The wise gambler is aware of when to keep their bets and when to give up. Gamblers who are obsessed are the opposite. They don't have any limitations. They'll bet everything they can think they are having a blast of entertainment, however, the reason for their actions is the compulsions that are beyond their control.

Gaming with Money isn't meant to be played for fun Slot Kakek Zeus Deposit DANA who have problems will play with money they cannot risk losing. They don't have a fixed budget for gambling and are often tempted to gamble funds that are intended for essential things like medical expenses and expenses for utilities.

Gambling to Win or to Recover Losses If you're playing more for the sole aim of winning instead of for enjoyment it is time to reconsider your behavior. The same applies if the principal motive behind gambling is to recuperate the losses you already suffered.

Overly Thinking about Gambling If you consume food, drink and even sleep with a mind set of gambling, you may be into the depths.

Borrowing to Finance Gambling Have you ever taken out a loan to fund gambling? It is likely that if you've the situation is not quite so great.

What other signs do you believe indicate the presence of a problem with gambling? I'm convinced that you understand these indicators more effectively. You know what sets off the siren and red flag in the back of your head. Many gamblers recognize the signs that indicate an issue with their gambling but stopping is an issue.

[plotholefragments]

Full story

Red had hopped on an airship a week ago.

Green was on their way to their portal after a week of research.

Your job didn’t do leaves of absence, but they promised not to hold it against you if you gave two weeks notice. So you did.

You hop in your car for what you hope is the last time in a while. You had asked if it would work where you were going, which had prompted Dana to take a look under the hood and give it her approval. Apparently she was the resident mechanic at the Lighthouse.

You had wondered aloud whether an electric would be better. She said she’d swap in an electric motor if that becomes the case.

The back of your little hatchback is stuffed with all of your worldly possessions that you still have left. Lots of clothes had gone to Goodwill, the furniture was staying for your house-sitter (a young couple who needed a place that wouldn’t get sold out from under them), and you had ruthlessly Marie-Kondo’d the rest. Video games, books, music, movies; all replaced with their digital equivalents.

You are bringing along your instrument, though. That sparks joy.

Your little car isn’t the same little car you had driven up and down the mountain all those years ago. Times changed, engines degraded, and you have a new little car with a touchscreen.

But you do have one thing that was the same.

As you say goodbye to your house for the time being, you fire up that old CD. And skip to the last track.

Windows down. Volume up. “All I wanna get is,” you sang, “A little bit closer.”

There’s a sense of giddiness among the three of you. It’s finally happening.

It’s! Finally! Happening!

Red had given you a tour of the airship when they first got on. It’s like an old passenger ship, except with hot air balloons in addition to sails. There was apparently some magic involved too.

But now the ship had docked in the Melodian capitol. They head down the gangplank and scan the crowd at the pier for their guide.

“All you’re thinking lately,” they sing along, grinning to themselves and sending a salacious image.

Red finally sees an elf with lilac hair and mage’s robes waving at them. Red waves back, and the elf runs up and takes their larger suitcase.

“Eutychia?” she says. Red nods.

The elf smiles broadly, and the two of them start walking. She starts talking a mile a minute in an unrecognizable language, but with the gestures at her and Red’s heads you can imagine what she’s talking about.

Red finally holds up their hands and points to their ears. “I’m excited too,” they say, “but I don’t understand a thing you’re saying!”

The elf blinks twice, then forcefully slaps her palm to her forehead. She mutters what you assume to be an apology and twirls her hand in a strange gesture, an aura the same hue as her hair surrounding it.

“How’s this?” she says.

“That’s better!” Red says with a smile. “So what was your name again?”

“Oh! I’m Margo! I’m here to escort you to the portal.” She fidgeted with her hands. “And… if it’s okay, can I ask you a few questions?”

Red laughed. “So you know?”

“No!” she says with a smile bordering on manic. “I mean, I heard the basics: a cross-dimensional mental and magical bond forming seemingly out of nowhere, with people that didn’t even know that other worlds existed—which, sorry—“

“Yeah, about that,” Red says. “How long have you known about other worlds?”

Margo has the decency to blush. “It’s been an open secret as long as I can remember,” she says quietly. “It was just always described as incredibly dangerous.”

Red huffs. “I would have done it,” they mutter.

“I’m sure you would have,” Margo says gently. “I can only imagine the depth of your love for each other.”

Red smiles. “Me too.” They makes eye contact with her. “But it was rough for a bit.” At Margo’s confused look, they continue. “It’s a strange relationship, but it’s still a relationship.”

If anything Margo’s eyes seem to get brighter. “So you still had to become friends?”

Meanwhile Green touches down on a public vista for a break. They pull out their travel mug and take a few gulps of water.

“You alright there, son?” an elderly gryphon says behind them.

Green shakes off the strangeness of being called “son” and turns around. “I am,” they say. “Anything I need to be worried about in the valley here?”

“Not unless you’re afraid of ghosts,” the gryphon says.

Green smiles back. “Not a chance.” Internally they wince: they were hoping to have a bit longer to rest, but they’re not keen on getting roped into a conversation, not when they’re so close. With a cry they dive down into the valley.

“Here come the dreams of you and me,” they sing to themselves.

“Here come the dreams,” you answer as you pull onto the highway. The portal is about an hour from you, and with any luck the three of you will get where you’re going at the same time.

Green glides over the treetops, looking for a particular cliff.

You pull off the highway onto a road that feels like it's heading straight up a mountain.

Red is walking through the city streets, making a note for the three of you to come back and visit.

You're trying not to get distracted as you carefully take your car around the switchbacks.

Green finds their landmark and dips below the trees.

Red arrives at the portal.

"Here you go!" Margo says. "Though, if you're willing to talk more..."

Red laughs. You've all made your thoughts on the matter quite clear. "We would love to sit down with you," they hold up a hand, "later."

You can see the dots connect for Margo. "Right," she says. "In each others' heads, never been together in person."

Red nods. "Can you show us around the city sometime?"

She brightens up. "Yes! Oh, of course, just send a message to the palace."

Red blanches. "The... palace?"

Margo shrinks back a bit. "Yeah, that's... where I work! So just send a message—"

"Are you a princess?" Red says flatly.

"Please don't call me tha—" Margo instinctively responds before clamping a hand over her mouth, eyes wide in shock.

Red shrinks back a bit. "Okay, talking with royalty. Got it."

"I'm serious," Margo says, and she looks... sad. "I basically got a promotion and now everyone thinks I'm this big deal and my friends say it's because I am but..."

Red puts their hand on her shoulder. "You feel like people aren't seeing you, just who they imagine you are?"

Margo nods, her smile coming back. "On the bright side," she says, "we can use the diplomatic channels to get in touch."

You finally get to the top of the mountain.

Green is at their portal.

Red takes their other suitcase from Margo and walks up to the portal.

"Oh!" Margo says, "do you need a language spell?"

Red smirks at her and points at their head. "We've already got one."

You laugh out loud. "I told them we've already got one," you say.

Red turns back to the portal.

There's an awkward silence on their end.

"Um..." Margo says, looking between Red and the portal.

You glance at your GPS: two minutes out.

Red turns to Margo. "Waiting for everyone to get to their portals," they explain.

You finally find the turn-off. It's a dirt path, barely a driveway, but it's exactly as Richard described it to you. And at the end of it...

There are ripples around it, similar to the ripples that appeared when Dana transformed in your living room. It's translucent, in that you can see through it to the rest of the meadow behind it. You can't see through it to wherever it leads.

You stop your car in front of it.

Red squares their shoulders and takes a deep breath.

Green tenses into an attack stance.

And you rush in.

Two seconds in and you can tell why they call it "Nowhere." There's floating islands, the landscape can't seem to decide if it's barren or lush, there's a surprising amount of debris and rusting structures, and the sky is an eerie shade of pink, like the underside of a storm cloud at night with city lights reflecting off of it.

"Great," you say in your best impression of a hobbit, "where are we going?"

[grendelsmilf]

have you seen the new mq ep? i'm so mad that they're trying to give brad depth... let him be cartoonishly evil! also hoping for dana's corruption arc. more yelling at poppy for her <3

I mean I think it’s great that they’re letting danny pudi broaden his range more, bc he’s an incredible actor who can convey more with his eyes than many actors can convey in a whole movie. and brad is clearly a very broken person. even poppy can recognize this, and she’s... well... poppy. like, brad being cartoonishly evil was very fun for him, especially because they made the brilliant decision of casting someone so charming you can’t help but root for him even though he’s a complete and utter asshole. but brad is now getting the same backstory ian got at the end of the first season when it was revealed that his father was abusive and he then abandoned his own son out of the fear of perpetuating that cycle of paternal estrangement (thus perpetuating the cycle nonetheless). he’s sympathetic now without being any less of an asshole. he’s evil enough to put profit before merit, but not evil enough to slaughter his pet (sidenote: was brad raised xtian or did his father just make him slaughter a pig as a test even tho they weren’t gonna eat it... either way, explains a lot ngl). jo, on the other hand, was established very early on as being completely remorseless, seeing as she takes pleasure in driving children to suicide, so I think this will be a good payoff to that setup, however that arc may end. but yeah, I think it’s a good thing that they’re giving brad depth, because if they cast danny pudi in the first place, it’s because they know not to waste his talent.

as for dana, I love that they’re showing that there’s a limit to how much she can actually put up with. because she’s such an angel, and so accommodating, but she’s not a doormat either. and the contrast between her and rachel, and how race plays such a (previously) unspoken role in their dynamic, which they’re establishing now is so good. I loved when poppy was like “I’m a woman of color so it’s fine” god that was good. i love how many pee oh cee on this show get to be assholes but not necessarily in a white way (whereas jo and david are assholes in an especially white way lmfao). the gag is that if rachel were being mentored by poppy and dana was being mentored by ian, both pairs would get along so much better. ian has a way of comforting people and making them feel good about themselves even when he’s blatantly exploiting them, whereas poppy and rachel are both in their comfort zone when being argumentative and confrontational, so they would probably build off of each other’s ideas really well. unfortunately, poppy is the one who knows how to code, and ian is the one who can actually grant rachel access to resources, so they’re stuck with each other. lmao

[k-a-r-a-m-e-l]

So i watched the new season of Sweet Magnolias and here are my thoughts

At first I wanna say: If you want to share your thoughts and opinions about my thoughts, I would appreciate to stay respectful. A little discussion about the new season actually can be fun!

So those are my thoughts (spoilers ahead!) :

I adore the relationship between Jackson and Annie! Of course i wanna see her with Ty but i like the possibility of a jealousy trope (in a healthy manner). Jackson seems really sweet and makes Annie happy. Plus the kissing scenes??? so adorable.

Personally I would have liked to see way more scenes of Nellie! The actress seems so sweet and it would have been nice to see quite more scenes between her and Kyle.

The conflict between the families is gonna be like a Romeo and Juliet trope and I'M HERE FOR IT.

I have no idea who the woman in the end is, but i suspect an old enemy from the sweet magnolias? or a crazy ex?

Cece is not my favorite. I believe the actress is really sweet, but I couldn't sympathise with her. It seems so forced with her and Ty and i don't believe she loved him either.

We saw a flawed Maddie, which i quite enjoyed. The relationship with Cal was so long over the top good that I already suspected some kind of twist.

Cal surprised me but not in a good way. Violence is a very complicated and serious topic. It gives him more flaws and character depth but I'm excited how it plays out in season 3.

Helen is a angel who deserves the world. I mean it. She better not say yes to Ryan. Eric is perfect for her.

Dana Sue was a little bit annoying. I liked Ronnie, he seemed like a nice guy who really worked on his mistakes. I didn't like how controlling Dana Sue is over Annie. Let the girl breathe for once!

Kyle's issues were good developed as well as Ty's. I wish we would see more siblings scenes.

Noreen is quite a good person, even though i don't like her actress.

Bill? what is going on with your sperm? Is it your superpower or what?

Isaac's story wasn't my favorite one. I already suspected Peggy but i really enjoyed the performance of the actor.

the outifts ????! all absolutely gorgeous! They really embodied the whole show. Already looking out for similar outifts

It was a wild ride the whole season but i enjoyed it a lot! It's a good-feel show and leaves a warm feeling. I'm so excited for the third season (pls netflix don't cancel it i swear to god) and i cross my fingers for more tyannie scenes!

[nixxx11]

So...we know that Luz was seen by most people as an outcast and a weirdo in the human world, according to what we see of her time there.

I think a large part of what makes her so quick to help others and express affection is that she's never had that outlet.

It's funny to see her share a dance with Amity and tell her “it’s what friends do” but it’s also kinda sad and understandable?

She'd been friendless for a long time, like Amity. Luz might not have had as much internal trauma as Amity before coming to the Isles, but I think she’s so eager to give love to others because she hasn't been able to enjoy that in the past. It's so much fun for her to finally be able to have friends to love and help.

It's why she has a hard time comprehending romantic signs from Amity-

Luz blushed back in Escaping Expulsion because Amity spoke to her through her own way of love- taking risks and helping others. That's Luz's love language; when Amity returns that favor, it's easier to reciprocate.

In previous episodes...Because helping others was merely a way of expressing her love, Luz didn't connect it back to having a possible crush on Amity. Luz's love language is shown in almost every episode with conflict (with Eda, Willow, Amity, etc). Her determination to succeed often makes her overlook potential risks and signs. Luz’s desire to befriend Amity goes beyond her Azura fantasies.

It’s why Lumity wasn’t able to work in that way before-

As a result of Luz and Amity's different love languages, they weren’t able to realize that their crush was reciprocating their love. They understand love in two different ways.

Also, this was probably the first time she had any friends. It’s exciting; so why not make more, right? Having connections with others is so important to her. Luz likely hasn't had a crush on anyone who she could actively call a friend, so any feelings of romantic attraction simply seem to be kind, platonic affection to her. It’s the only actual love she’s ever known. And as Dana already mentioned, she had lots on her mind, such as Eda's curse or her conflict about sharing the truth with her mother.

She’s thrilled with having friends that care about her, which is why she has trouble distinguishing platonic and romantic feelings. Luz is affectionate in general, so her obliviousness is understandable. Another important thing to note is that Luz could also be self conscious. What does she really think of herself? It’s possible that she thinks too highly of Amity (among the first things she learns about Amity is her high academic and social standing) to suspect that she would be interested in Luz.

We’re talking about a girl (platonically or romantically) has been rejected her whole life. Think about it. Her lack of friends back home makes it difficult for her to adjust to people being friendly and accepting of her. Adding someone being romantically interested in her on top of that? If I was Luz, even even I would struggle to comprehend it. Luz never had an outlet for receiving affection in general- even friendship is something she’s still discovering. That’s mainly why she doesn’t pick up on Amity’s crush.

Luz's kindness is unconditional. She doesn’t help others expecting a reciprocal reaction from them in any way. Aside from that, she's seen Amity's parents and is aware of their standards for who Amity is allowed to associate with. She’s also seen that Amity is willing to push that limit if they hurt her friends.

Initially, Luz was the one who befriended and helped Amity. Luz being taken aback and blushing in Escaping Expulsion was the result of Amity reciprocating that. Returning her act of service.

While Luz has struggled as much as Amity, it's less obvious because she's always been so bubbly and happy, she's that character who gets swept away by her radiant personality and jumps over the shadows. Amity is the opposite.

“That’s what good friends do.” Having Luz offer a dance under the blanket of friendship is her way of being able to help someone she genuinely cares about; it's also a way for Amity to justify the dance to herself. And to help Amity cope with rejection. We all know who Amity actually wanted to ask out- But Luz is probably still under the impression that Amity was rejected by someone else.

Luz indulges in others’ fantasies (King’s requests, dancing with Amity, helping Willow, Amity and Eda, etc) partly because she herself has fantasized about things a lot, but never got the chance to live them out. The thrill of living the fantasy she's always imagined is what made her want other people to experience it too. This is also one of the reasons Luz is so kind. Knowing what it's like to have her interests downtrodden, she knows how good it feels to be loved by others.

Love is touch for Amity, not service. I'm not going into that, but it's obvious that Luz's touch makes her blush and physically react. WILW was basically Lumity trading love languages - Amity rushed to go talk to Willow and Gus to help Luz, and played the game with her and Willow despite it meaning destroying her social status. And despite her “weak nerd arms” Luz offers to carry Amity to the nurse when she’s hurt.

Also, Luz and Amity are literally inseparable- Luz is always helping her out. Even if the love was rivalry at first, it still kept them actively thinking about one another. In Covention, we get to see Amity's depth and the reasons behind her behavior in I Was A Teenage Abomination. Luz immediately tries to befriend her after the duel.

Intimidation was the way Amity kept her place and hid her weakness.

But suddenly, here’s the girl she was deliberately mean to, trying to build a genuine relationship with her to gain her trust. When she realizes that Luz isn't as she thought and, regardless of her generally wacky attitude, is willing to put in her best and succeed, she accepts the friendship.

Lost in Language is another important episode where they continue to build trust. That’s where Luz sees a different side of Amity and wants to know more. To do so, she tries to better understand her, and in the process, they get captured and need to work together to get out alive. (Unrelated, but I’ve always imagined that this is the episode Amity started developing her crush on Luz lol)

Throughout every shared episode they have, there's some sort of growth. First, we have Luz offering her book about Good Witch Azura so they can discuss their interests further. Then Adventures In The Elements- she accidentally endangers their friends, so she takes it upon herself to help Amity save them. Despite Amity's protests, Luz basically does whatever she can to ensure that she helps. There’s Luz expressing her love language to the fullest. Throughout Understanding Willow, Luz also tries to help Amity correct Willow's memory, and other than the moment in the room, Luz isn’t angry with her. Instead she understands her mistake, and tries to encourage Amity. And then of course, Enchanting Grom Fight, where Luz offers her a dance just to make her feel better about rejection.

She's repeatedly gone out of her way for Amity, whether it's picking her up books, carrying her, or fighting Grom for her, it's evident she'd do anything for her.

The reason Lumity wasn’t working, traces back to their two different love languages. After WILW, the next episode with these two is Escaping Expulsion- in which Amity decides to openly disobey her parents out of love for Luz. And something finally happens. First time we see Luz blush over Amity's actions. Now that they've both learned more effective ways to communicate, we're seeing lots of progress. Only lack of communication was the reason Luz wasn't able to tell Amity was into her (besides the other things on her mind like Eda's curse). Amity wasn’t anywhere close to confessing and the idea wasn’t even consciously there for Luz.

Now that they're developing a better understanding of each other, Luz is finally realizing and reciprocating and Amity is becoming more comfortable around her.

(I want the library episode so badly rn)

[thescullyphile]

Visitor

Mulder yawned sleepily as he set the kettle to boil on the stovetop, scratching his chest through his cotton t-shirt. Scully was still in bed, decidedly not a morning person, especially in light of their late night, which had Mulder smiling as he remembered it. He was getting out a cup when a knock sounded at the door, and his ears pricked at the sound, dually curious and cautious. Who could it be? After a brief moment of anxiety, he reasoned that if the person knocking was a threat, they probably wouldn’t bother with knocking in the first place. He waited for a second, trying to hear if Scully might get up to answer the door, but a second knock encouraged his curiosity to get the better of him, and Mulder padded to the entryway to investigate. Scully’s front door opened noiselessly.

“Oh, hello Fox.”

Mulder blinked owlishly back before remembering himself. “Good morning, Mrs. Scully.” He said, like it was a common occurrence for her to find him at her daughter’s apartment every Saturday at 8:30 in the morning.

Mrs. Scully, for her part, looked nonplussed and unsurprised to see him, though Mulder knew Scully hadn’t told her about them yet.

“Fox,” she prompted him with a meaningful look, and Mulder stepped back from the door a little awkwardly. “Would you like to come in?”

The kettle whistled and he jumped a little, casting a look in the direction of the bedroom, unable to decide if this would be less awkward if Scully was awake. It was a toss up. He sent a nervous smile in Mrs. Scully’s direction. “Tea?”

—

The spoon clinked against the rim of his cup as he stirred in sugar, bringing it close to his face so he could smell the soothing aroma, and he almost scalded his nose as he jumped when arms wrapped around his waist from behind. Mrs. Scully had him on high alert. “I heard the kettle.” Scully murmured, and his shirt was so thin that he couldn’t tell if he was imagining her lips moving against his back or not. The sweetness of barely-awake Scully was unlike anything Mulder had known, with her inhibitions lowered and her touch gentle against him. It was almost perfect, except Mrs. Scully was standing barely ten feet away and Scully didn’t know it yet.

“Scully, your-”

Mulder was cut off by Mrs. Scully’s amused chuckle. “Good morning, Dana.”

Mulder felt Scully freeze, knowing how she only touched him like this when it was just the two of them, reserved to the very end. He could tell that even Mrs. Scully seeing this side of her was rare and a little uncomfortable, at least for the Scully that was latched onto him like a sleepy koala.

“Mom?” Scully’s voice was girlish and endearing and Mulder thought, not for the first time, that he was in love. He pressed the warm porcelain of the teacup into her hands to give her something to do other than hold onto his shirt. He had made the tea for her anyways.

She stepped out from behind him looking flushed and a little confused, tea cup in hand and wearing his old Oxford sweatshirt. If Mulder didn’t know any better, he would say Mrs. Scully looked positively impish. “I guess congratulations are in order. How long have you two been together?”

Seven years, Mulder wanted to say. Scully took a sip of her tea before answering, and he watched her face to make sure he put in enough sugar. Her right eyelid twitched a little, and he moved towards the sugar dish.

“A little over a month.” She finally answered, still partially hidden behind Mulder’s arm but decidedly less shy than she’d been a minute ago now that she had a better hold on the situation.

Mrs. Scully nodded, a smile on her face. “Good, I was worried you two would never get over yourselves.”

Scully’s lips pressed together as she struggled through passing embarrassment. “Thanks Mom.”

Mulder’s eyes were torn between the two Scully women as he watched the tension build and then dissipate over an awkward 45 seconds. Then Mrs. Scully brought up how old Mrs. McGrath from next-door caught the mailman snooping through her bills, and Scully relaxed against his arm while she sipped her tea. He felt, in that moment, completely out of his depth.

Twenty minutes later and he was kissing Mrs. Scully goodbye and telling her yes, we’ll come to dinner next Sunday.

When the door closed, he looked at Scully and felt genuinely confused. “Wait, why was she even here?”

Scully threaded their fingers together and pulled him towards the kitchen. “Oh, I’m sure she had her reasons. For her to know and us to find out.”

[butterflydm]

ramble about WoT

Like a lot of people, I do wonder what the impact of making S1 of WoT more of an ensemble will have with regards to show-only viewers once the stage is done being set and the reveal happens.

Book spoilers below.

Because I do understand the argument that the show is downplaying Rand too much. I get that argument, I do, but for me, I feel like an ensemble-vibe is true to what the books became over the course of the series as a whole, once the PoVs really started opening up. And the Dragon mystery is a good hook for a first season. So I understand why they set things up the way that they did.

But I can also understand the worry that show-only viewers will be disappointed at the reveal. I feel like all of Rand’s screentime has had incredible depth to it, but it hasn’t really been as dramatic as the others yet, except in context with other characters. Plus, the worry that show-only viewers will feel bait-and-switched that, yep, tall handsome white guy is The Chosen One.

That potential second reaction is, I suspect, part of why the show did go with an ensemble-vibe, so that hopefully viewers who feel disappointed will come out of the reveal feeling like the other characters are still massively important in their own right.

For the first point, I do think, once those viewers know more about the Dragon, if they go back to rewatch the episodes, it’s pretty clear that Rand is the only one who is getting moments relevant to the main struggle of the Dragon Reborn (a struggle that has already been talked about in the show) and that the powers that the other characters are showing don’t connect to that specific theme and their conversations don’t hit on those themes.

Points the show has already made about the Dragon Reborn:

Strong channeler

The Trollocs and Fades are actively searching for TDR

Born twenty years ago

Could destroy the world or save it

re: point one - strong channeler

While Rand and Mat may believe that Mat’s behavior is tied to potentially being TDR, the show has tied his weirdness pretty closely to more of a possession vibe and most of the non-reader reactions I’ve seen have already connected it to either the dagger or some other item he’s carrying even before we get told that in the show (I’m currently assuming we’ll find out next episode but we’ll see!).

And Perrin’s thing is obviously tied to wolves and, well, the character’s title isn’t The Wolf Reborn. Egwene is kinda the wildcard there, as she obviously can channel, but the difference between what we saw Nynaeve do and what we saw Egwene do implies that Nynaeve is more powerful than Egwene, so that makes her less likely.

re: point two - chased by agents of the Dark One

Rand and Mat are the only group who we see on-screen continued to be pursued by a Fade after they’ve all split up. (unless I’m forgetting something!)

re: point three - twenty years old

Nynaeve is too old to be TDR.

re: point four - saving or destroying the world

The philosophical question that Rand is actively getting pushed at him in the show is “Is the Wheel/’reincarnation cycle of the world’ actually a good thing?”

There’s really only one character to whom ‘should the world keep existing’ is actually a practical question rather than just a philosophical exercise.

He gets the discussion with Tam in the first episode about how being reincarnated gives us a chance to do better (which I would contrast against Ila’s talk with Perrin, where the focus is on peace vs violence). Logain talks about this, too, thus tying this theme more strongly to the concept of the Dragon Reborn.

We get Dana in the third episode, and I love that Dana’s belief in the need to break the Wheel is based on her personal experiences. The reason she was tempted by the Darkfriends was because her life was kinda shitty and she didn’t see a way out and the idea of just cycling around and around in the same situation sounded like an eternal nightmare. Understandable!

Our boy Rand goes through so much trauma in the books. He’s a big target and everyone gets their shots in. He also went through a shitton of trauma in his past life immediately before this one, and he’s forced to process all of that trauma in addition to his own. And, because of his power and who he is, he’s the one person who gets the opportunity to actually answer the question of ‘Is the Wheel worth it?’ and actually make his answer stick.

So that’s kinda why I feel like, if people rewatch the show after the reveal, they’ll see that the hints are all there.

All that being said, it totally hurts my heart when show-only viewers hate on my boy Rand, so I get the worries. He’s pretty high up there on my list of favorite fictional characters and I think Joshua has done brilliantly with him so far. But I feel like the show has done a good job so far in translating the vibe of the books to a new medium and a new decade, so I’m hopeful that the reveal will be done well.

[mydreambatfam]

Batfam Fancast part 7: The Drake Family

The ever unusual Drake family.Father Jack,mother Janet,Stepmother Dana and son turned vigilante Tim Drake.

The Drakes are wierd. Their backstory is that of rich socialites who love archeology .Yet socialites are not the ' get your hands dirty type.' By making them new Gotham weathly and by making them people pf color, you add depth to how they act. By making them Asian American you bring opputunities to create unique stories within the establied canon.

This also adds a layer of intrigue. Ask and asnwer questions on what its means to be Asian American and not fit the mold in many areas.This will contrast greatly with the Cain family who will be casted in part 8.

Obviously I have to stretch the canon as well as add a bit to bring more depth to these somewhat hollow parental characters. I sort of want the Drakes to be a much more grouded or opposite of the Martha and Thomas Wayne. New money, young-ish,neglectful instead of attentive towards their son.

To be specific I made them Filipino minus Dana. The history of the Philippines before its colonization is almost all lost. 333 years of Spanish Colonization, Chinese influence, Japanese invasions of World War 2,and American occupation really led to many colonial mindsets to present day. A sort of silent epidemic of sorts within the Philipines culture and many Filipino Americans still plagues to this day

Janet Jackson Drake

Good old Janet Drake, from what little details I could find she was a doting mother at first but just like her husband neglacted Tim as he grew.

To add some extra stuff to the character, she is a heavy investor in archeology, her wealth comes from the digs in Asia and Africa she uncovered and subsquently donating to museums in the west.

Additionally to add fuel to the fire to canon she was raised by her rich father, the Irish Dutch American side of her family who gained custody after her mother gave him to her, hoping to give her a better life away from the Philipines.This leaves her growing up never experiencing the other half of her heritage.

Shannyn Sossamon is an actresses best remembered in the 2001 film A Knight's Tale and Season 3 of TV show Sleepy Hollow. She is part Filipino and was originally the lead before recasted for the upcoming show The Cleaning Lady.Her million dollar smile and varied career shows she can make the tragically short role memorable.

Jack Drake

Papa Drake, he developed from forgetful and neglectful at first , to over bearing and protective close to abusive, and died shortly after becoming more understanding and upstanding towards his son.

For Jacks canon extenstion I thought best to make him fourth generation Filipino American. Jack naturally became more American than Filipino. This can tie nicely with his finacial struggles and other story arcs. Clashes of Americana and Filipino culture within Jacks story arc where he loses all his money .He could even move into a middle class city home that has a large Filipino community. Like Woodside Queens,NYC or Jersey City,New Jersey

He became a archeologist and met Janet through his time in Gotham bringing artifacts to her museums .He made his riches in investments during the .com era. He pulled out just before the collaspe and when he married created Drake Industries with Janet.

Alain Uy is one of those underutilized actors that only get sterotypical roles. The Filipino American finally got the main role in the 2020 crowd funded indie hit The Paper Tigers. He plays a divorced husband trying to balance work and fatherhood while he tracks down his sifu's killer. He brings such a lovely preformance and showed his skills in drama, comedy and action.

Dr.Dana Winters (Drake)

The second wife to Jack and stepmother to Tim. Her presence cooled down her husband and brought a much needed mother figure to Tim. In canon she was Jack's physical therepist where they fell in love somehow, florence nightingaled.

To bring some more depth I see her as a former member of the MSF (Doctors without borders), helping mostly in Southeast Asia. She just moved to Gotham but previously did her residency under Leslie Tompkins. She now worked in private medicine for rich people.When Jack lost his fortune she became the bread winner and moved to a middle class Filipino community in downtown Gotham with him.

For her story arc its the little moments that count for her.Due to her time in MSF she is much more grounded and actively encourages Jack to go back to his family's roots, causing him to experience his heritage through his neighborhood. She also instead of helping Tim in making chicken soup for a sick Steph, she makes arroz caldo instead.

The big question now , is she dead or is he alive? Last time we saw her is Bludhaven getting psychiatric care after Jack's death. In pre New-52 canon Both Tim and Alfred checked up on her till Bludhaven blew up.

For this instead of the whole Bludhaven incident we'll go the Dean winchester route and have Zatanna mindwipe of her memories of Tim and Jack after she recovers mentally in Bluhaven.She coughs it up to amnesia and Tim insists on her moving on with her life.She lives happily up in southeastern Connecticut in a private practice once more. Now at peace. Similar to the Three Jokers storyline Tim and Alfred go check on her from a far.

I wanted the actress to be close in age but look younger than Alain Uy. She also had to give off the look of someone in the medical field, worldly and down to earth compared to Jack and his rich background. Best known as the main lead for Covert Affairs, Piper Perabo is a Hollywood veteran since the 2000s. She can definetly bring the heartebroken tale of Dana Winters Drake to screen.

Tim Drake (Wayne)

Tim Drake, considered the best Robin that brought the Batman back to his much more controlled self after Jason's death. A master strategist and detective Tim was the first Robin to be given his first solo series. He might be a prodigal son in many cases but has been shown to be consistently relatable and down to earth, when he is remembered by writers nowadays.

To add to his canon he is very much a floater of sorts as a teen, able to fit in many group. But his small arcs should deal with the unusual case of Rich Asian American kid in a mostly white private school and neighborhood community. I can say from experience as a middle class Asian kid who grew up in the suburbs. They never truely see you as human. Enless you grew up with them and are close friends. This perspective should contrast well with familial aspect of the batfamily and adoration Robin gets from both heros and civilians alike.

Tim finally gets a chance to interact with community away from the riches and glamor when his dad goes broke. What is a nightmare for Jack is a awakening for Tim, exploring much of the Asian enclaves and communites in Gotham with Steph and Cass tagging along. He finally sees life beyond the gated communites and mcmansions of the rich in Gotham and sees the ups and downs of the working class in the city. This should inspire the Neon Knights Foundation shown in his time as Red Robin.

For casting choices I never found myself so frustrated. Finding a young actor who is Pinoy and can carry a character like Tim is like finding hay in a needle stack. Almost no one in Hollywood cast a filipino as a main character enless he is a one dementional comedic character or there to check off a box. Even then when I expanded my choices to southeast Asian american I was still stumped with the same problems. I almost gave up and went with the usual Ryan Potter or Brandon Soo hoo. Ryan a fan favorite fancast and Brandon who is of equal caliber. So I went the Shannon Lee route.

Eddie Liu is Chinese American actor who had a platter full of characters till he got his big break in the CW reboot of Kung Fu. He steals the show whenever he is on screen and has that main character energy. He is also a Long Islander, so New Englander and New Yorker all in one. He is by far the best choice I found playing the teen wonder and later Red Robin.