#and none of them have really reflected on it

[madlori]

If the only thing you can lord over buddie is that bucktommy is canon, then you really didn't care at all about the ship.

7 seasons of being a family unit, being there for each other, having each other's back but hey! Here comes another underdeveloped love interest, but since it's a man this time, you don't care about Buck being stuck in the same hamster wheel, again, because he's kissing a man and that's hot 🙄

Also for all your doom and gloom about buddie not happening, do remember that Tommy/Eddie was an idea in Tim's mind at first, so Eddie can be read as queer, even if it's not in canon yet.

I guess you don't place much value on them being a family unit and always there for each other, and having each other's back...all of which is still true and will continue to BE true. But it's only important to you as a prelude to them kissing, right? It has no value in and of itself. I love their relationship. I love what they are to each other. But YOU are making me not want to see it, because every time they turn to each other, lean on each other, support each other, we have to listen to you shrieking BUDDIE CANON CONFIRMED or whatever, because to a certain genre of shipper (not all buddie shippers, etc) any interaction or feeling they have with each other exists only in service to the ship.

I swear to god, I'm gonna banish the phrase "hamster wheel" from y'all's mouths until I get an actual definition as to what you think it means, because from where I sit, to you it just means "he's with someone who's not Eddie." To me, it means that Buck continually fell bass-ackwards into relationships that weren't right for him, looking for something he wasn't even sure what it was. And heyyyyy, he's currently in a relationship that he actively chose and fought for, having learned something new and important about himself, with someone who makes him giddy and excited in a way we have never seen him be, who the people around him can see gives him contentment. But none of that matters, because it's not Eddie, and that is by definition his only appropriate partner, so he must still be on that hamster wheel. Also if we're going by creator intent here, Tim's said he wrote this relationship specifically to reflect Buck being off of it.

As for underdeveloped love interest? I wrote an entire ass essay about how MUCH we know about Tommy, and it's reams compared to anything we've ever known about Buck's girlfriends OR Eddie's current girlfriend who does not even have a last name. Tommy has been introduced in a way that integrates him with the 118, with multiple interests, a character arc of his own from his first appearance, a set of motivations and emotional arcs that are NOT about Buck, and something to actually offer in a relationship besides existing. Anyone saying he's underdeveloped is determined to read him as such, especially for the limited amount of time we've had him.

And I never said Eddie couldn't be read as queer. He can EASILY be read as queer. I said he WOULDN'T be. Those are two different things. If Tommy and Eddie had gotten together (which I give no more narrative weight to than Maddie and Eddie getting together, which was also a gleam in the eye at one point) I'd equally be saying that Buck would never be queer.

It's hilarious to me that I'm being accused of liking a ship because it's hot (it is, and I do, and that's...fine? there's nothing bad about that?) as if people enjoy Buddie because of the amorphous purity of it all and not at ALL because it's hot (it is and you should say so).

If my thoughts about this are so upsetting to you, just block me, dude. I promise I won't take it personally.

Also, just...learn to enjoy a ship whether it's canon or not. I've done it, we've all done it. It's not that hard, especially THIS ship, which has so much good stuff to it regardless of whether there's romance or not. Those of us who like Buck with Tommy are not taking away from you enjoying Buddie, or anyone doing so. It's not like...the State of Buddie will lose congressional representation if the population falls below a certain level. The existence of another ship does not affect yours.

[lavenderspence]

To lean on you - Sneak peek

so, here it is. A little sneak peek for my 1st Spencer Reid fic and the first for this blog!🎉

This is most likely going to come out sometime this week, let me know what you think because, for a second there, I seriously considered not posting this fic at all, haha.

79 days, 3 hours, and 27 minutes - that’s how long it’s been since he got arrested in Mexico.

70 days, 6 hours, and 13 minutes since you saw him being pulled out of the courtroom after he was deemed a flight risk and denied bail.

70 days, 6 hours, and 13 minutes have passed since you last saw him.

65 days, 7 hours, and 11 minutes, since he was transferred to Millburn Correctional Facility, and this whole nightmare, had started. 

Per Penelope’s carefully crafted schedule, every team member has made numerous trips to visit Spencer - every member except you. You’d only made one trip out, and that had been 3 days after he’d been transferred.

March 4th, 2017

It’s been 8 days since you saw him led in cuffs out of that courtroom, where Penelope had broken down in Luke’s arms, everyone too shocked to make a sound. He’d looked back, his eyes meeting yours briefly, and it had been as if you’d almost seen your reflection in the mirror, every emotion had run between you both in a matter of seconds. 

Shock, you’d almost been sure they would grant bail, and you’d be able to take him home. Almost. 

Fear, for his future and his well-being. Fear of the uncertain. 

Desperation, the desire to run to him and take him into your arms, finally, and to not let go. 

Except you’d held his gaze for as long as you could before you’d looked down and turned your head to save him from seeing you break down in tears. You’d made a hasty escape after that, not sparing any of your teammates a glance, and walked out of the courthouse, stopping by a tree outside. The urge to curl up into a ball and hide, pretending none of this had happened, was strong, and then a hand wrapped around your shoulder. You had turned around, only to see Rossi and one of his sad little smiles, the ones you rarely saw.

“It’s going to be okay,” he’d said, squeezing your shoulder. ”The kid is strong.”

You’d sniffled, trying to hide the tears in your voice. “Yeah, well, I’m not sure I am," you’d whispered in despair. 

You were better than you had been 8 days ago, calmer. Although still heartbroken, you were looking forward to seeing him, seeing with your eyes that he was okay. Garcia had seen him, 2 days ago, before you’d been sent out on a case.  

“He looks good. I mean, as good as that big genius brain of his can look in prison. His eyes were sad though, really, really sad.” She’d paused as if to assure herself it would be alright, “I’m sure he’s looking forward to seeing you, sweetness.” She’d squeezed your hand, but her statement hadn’t rung true. 

Your hands were shaking, you weren’t sure what from. The anticipation you’d felt? The nerves? Or the words you had a hard time coming to terms with.

“I’m sorry, but your name isn’t on Spencer Reid’s approved visitor list,” the guard at the checkpoint had said after rechecking the list. 

“There has to be a mistake, I made an appointment,” you insisted, feeling yourself unravel. It wasn’t possible, you knew for a fact you were on that list, Emily had made sure of that.

“Look, lady. There are only 10 names on that list, and yours is not one of them. Now, you need to move, because there are people here waiting to see their loved ones.” you’d hiccuped and turned around, walking to the lockers to unlock your gun, badge, and phone. 

“I’m here to see a loved one.” You’d wanted to scream, but you knew it would have been futile. There wasn’t anything you could do at that moment. 

You walked to your car, dialing Emily’s number, “This is Prentiss.”  

For a second, only your breathing could be heard over the sound of the wind, and then a tiny sniffle. You wiped at your eyes and nose, and then spoke up, barely, “Why am I not on Spencer’s approved visitor list?” 

“What do you mean? Every member of this team is on the list. So is his lawyer and Diana, even Derek,” you could hear the surprise in her voice, yet you couldn’t keep calm any longer.

"They refused to let me see him! I made the appointment, Emily, and I came, hoping I’d finally see him hear his voice, and ask him-” Your voice broke mid-sentence, and after taking a deep breath, you continued, “Ask him if he was okay, and I was denied because out of the 10 names on that list, it seems mine’s not one of them.” You finished defeated, barely above a whisper.

All was silent for the moment, save for what you could hear was Penelope’s voice on the other end of the line, quietly asking what was going on, “Let me call Fiona and the warden, and I’ll see what happened. Meanwhile, I need you back here, because we just got a case.” Her voice wasn’t leaving anything up for discussion. Still, you couldn’t go, not until you saw him. 

“Emily-” she cut you off.

“It’s not a discussion. I’ll resolve this, but I need you here and your head in the game. Am I clear?” Her voice was stern, but maybe that’s exactly what you needed. Maybe.

“Yeah, clear. I’m on my way back.” You took a deep breath and started the car and the journey back to Quantico, but your mind stayed right there, on the bars that kept you away from the one thing you held dearest. 

As it turns out, there was nothing the warden or Fiona could do. Even Emily Prentiss, Unit Chief of the BAU, couldn't “resolve” the situation. Days, weeks, and months passed, and for 70 days you couldn’t see him, isolated out, not even knowing why.

--------------------------------------------------------------

[sunderwight]

crack scum villain theory: there is no "original" Shang Qinghua

how this works is, neither the world of SV nor the world of PIDW actually existed in any tangible sense before Airplane died. Airplane dying was actually the catalyst for the system, and whatever unfathomable cosmic entities are behind it, to recreate the world from the novel. that's why Airplane transmigrates into an infant, and also why the world mostly follows canon up until Airplane interacts too much with actual plot-relevant characters, and accidentally butterfly effects Shen Jiu into a fatal qi deviation. At which point the system determines that a dead Shen Qingqiu makes fulfilling the basic story requirements impossible or at least dangerously low in terms of odds, and brings in the second play (User 002, Shen Yuan).

SY is able to earn more points from the system than Airplane, but that's mostly thanks to his proximity to the protagonist not actual preferential treatment, and he seems to have more concrete restrictions on his behavior and limits on his mobility (OOC lock, entering into an already-established character, and of course being forced to ensure that Luo Binghe goes into the Endless Abyss) (this does make it ironic that he ultimately changes the most things). whereas Airplane seems to have more freedom to do as he pleases. the system doesn't even seem to dock him points for accidentally contributing to the death of a vitally plot-relevant character.

so the SV world was originally supposed to more or less just be the same as the PIDW world. it didn't change to any significant degree until Shen Jiu died.

I suspect, then, that the PIDW world which followed canon didn't exist as any kind of separate reality until Shen Jiu died of a fatal qi deviation and had to be replaced. at which point the system -- perhaps hedging its bets -- created two splintered timelines. one being the original sandbox for Airplane to play in and continue to alter, the other being a manufactured reflection of the story's original outcome, possibly to serve as some kind of emergency back-up character bank or reference outline.

which means that the PIDW version of this reality isn't a full and cohesive world. though of course the people there don't know that. it's mostly just a tool for the system, which is why we first encounter Bingge being utilized as an enforcer. Bingge and everyone else who exists in the PIDW reality, they all remember their past as the story and are at the end point of what Airplane had written, but none of it actually happened. they instead sprang into existence at their narrative end point.

since the Shang Qinghua of Airplane's novel died well before the end of the story, characters in the PIDW have various recollections of a "Shang Qinghua" and his death, but they are vague and ultimately do not reflect the tangible events of a world the way that the SV timeline does. they are artificial memories based on a story. PIDW Shen Jiu likewise never really existed, although SV Shen Jiu did. similarly, all the history of the SV world that supposedly happened before Shang Qinghua was born never actually happened either. that's all constructed as well, which means that in a weird kind of a way, no one in the world can actually be older than Shang Qinghua either. they can only have manufactured memories that give them that impression. which means Airplane is the oldest being in that entire universe. he'd even be older than his own parents, because they were created to be his parents the moment he was born.

so there's no other Shang Qinghua. everything prior to Airplane's transmigration in the SV world and prior to the last PIDW chapter in the PIDW world is like when a video game designer seeds a dungeon with a skeleton and a bunch of notes about how some lone adventurer got lost and died there. at no point in the game was there ever actually a live adventurer in place of that skeleton.

that's "original" Shang Qinghua. he doesn't exist, because in one reality he's only ever been a version of Airplane, and in another he's a skeleton in a video game dungeon.

[smaeemo]

As a whole, I think so many people don’t truly understand what “being an adult”/having a developed brain, can look like. What I see so much of the time is writers/fans making these fully grown characters act well like teenagers. Which, isn’t suprising given that most of us are in fact teenagers. AND THIS IS NOT A CRITICISM. But more as an observation. I think that when we see a character, say, Buck, and we start to project onto them we turn them roughly to our age. Or whenever we really look at characters/character relationships, we are looking at them, from OUR ages. And so, when I see people head cannoning/speculating things that are very “teenagery” I get the sense of this. And AGAIN there is really nothing wrong with that, until it becomes toxic. And so, you know, I interact and I enjoy these things, until it starts to get out of hand. Such as, the whole “lets all hate on tommy/lou ferrigno jr” situation. And I am FULLY aware this wasn’t just buddie shippers. TRUST. But, what we see there, is that their own insecurities are showing through, and their own perceptions of what relationships will look like in a (teenagery) personal perspective.

And I really, trully and honestly relate, understand, and totally get where we are coming from. And I would be super hypocritical to say I don’t sometimes do this, but when it gets to the point where there is such intense infantilism and drama coming from/to these 40y olds, it starts to get a little tiring. Because, so much of what makes (healthy) adults, “adulty” is the way they interact and view relationships and themselves.A

And because we as teenagers/trauma havers/etc. don’t really see what it’s like/have experienced it, specifically if you’ve never been in/seen a healthy relationship OR the contrary, we don’t really understand what it means to really have this healthy developmental understanding. So, when we look at these characters and relationships, we see it from a teenage/etc. perspective, rather than the target age that the characters are themselves.

Which is why, if you’ve ever rewatched a show, even if just a few months or years apart, you start to notice and see more things. And that just shows that we as people are always maturing and developing. Which is why, when we get older/a broader perspective, so many shows and characters will become so much more intense or understandble.

So again, I will reiterate, I understand and relate to everyone that continues to project onto or understand characters from these perspectives, the only time I don’t is when it starts to become an issue.

And ofc. If none of this applies to you, it’s fine to just scroll, reblog, etc. Just don’t provide negativity or hate. lol.

Also, I am speaking more from a sense of self reflection more than anything else. As I continue to mature I start to realize so much more of everything. Like rewatching friends has been a JOURNEY.

Anyways, send fic recs and q&as if you made it this far!

XOXO,

Leenya

[acetheabnormal]

Thinking of a potential one-shot I may or may not write but I'm gonna write about here anyway just in case

Alternate timeline where Purgatory doesn't happen and the codecicle arc continues as planned; Slime progressively becomes more and more infected until his entire body minus his face is consumed by it. Randomly, Codeflippa up and disappears, halting the process and leaving him to rot in his eggxile home, unbearably weak and having not left the island in months.

Mariana, after his disappearance, decides to find where his husband fucked off to for all that time. Finding him in such a terrible state shocks him, and he decides to try nursing Slime back to health while attempting to convince him that he isn't a monster, despite what Slime's reflection and prior actions have shown.

Phil and a few others have been continuing the hunt on code entities, wiping most of them out in the process. He decides to visit Slime's home in eggxile to see if any had managed to escape there while keeping the prior knowledge of Codeflippa's existence in mind.

Catching a glimpse of Slime in his code form, Phil comes to the conclusion that Mariana, much like Slime was to Codeflippa in believing she was his daughter, believes that a code monster has taken the likeness of his husband and was being tricked.

Phil confronts Mariana with this, and Mariana becomes incredibly defensive; he's seen Codeflippa and KNEW it wasn't her, so how could he possibly be tricked into believing another code monster has shape-shifted into his own spouse?

Phil is adamant on his stance and attempts to confront Slime instead, getting inside the house and seeing Slime's weakened state. Phil meets his eyes, unsure at first. Could it really be him? Even after everyone thought he was dead? It had been so long, after all.

Phil declares that he's going to kill him, the code monster, and Slime is hit with a realization; he is a monster and nothing is going to change that. So he may as well just give up.

Completely surprised by the sudden show of pacifism and remorse, Phil sees Slime basically collapse to the ground, fully prepared to accept his fate. None of the code monsters had ever refused to put up a fight once found, until now. Phil sees Slime, Charlie, his long-time friend in the husk of this man before him, and is struck with profound sadness and regret. He hugs him, apologizing profusely, full of guilt over his words and actions towards Slime.

Slime accepts the gesture just as Mariana slams in through the door and demands Phil to stop before seeing the scene before him, confused yet relieved.

And uhhh. That's all I got so far, and that's where it would probably end!

[spectrum-color]

Truths the aSoIaF fandom isn’t ready for: Jaime is just as deluded as Cersei in Feast.

The man spends his chapters patting himself on the back and talking about how he’ll be remembered as the legendary Goldenhand the Just after he goes after a few outlaws while he has spent the entire book…trying to forcibly consolidate the Riverlands under Lannister rule after his family terrorized them for years, sent brutal gangs of mercenaries to rape and burn peasants, and broke guest right (and thousands of years of Westerosi tradition with it) to murder their Lord Paramounts daughter and their king, whose corpse was mutilated and paraded around after the fact by the family his father installed in their traditional Lord Paramounts seat. All of this for a war he started because he was having an incestuous affair with his sister. Sure Jaime, you’re gonna be a beloved figure!

[aroanthy]

kiryuu sibling stasis post-32 is so interesting to me. nanami tries to leave and is (temporarily but also, crucially, violently) prevented from doing so by touga and akio. after this experience she puts distance between herself and them: she leaves touga’s phone in the car, she resigns from the student council (though she dons her old uniform still), she repeatedly dismisses and undermines the authority of the rose code, of end of the world, of akio, of touga. but she’s still in ohtori, isn’t she? uncomfortable with the idea of leaving, uncertain if it’s really possible. she tried before, and it hurt her. deeply. it’s so interesting to me, nanami’s agency and how she limits her exertion of it after 32, when she realises it for what it is. contrast that with touga, who accepts this weird stalemate between them, who is, really, uninterested in having any relationship of any kind with nanami if he can’t gain something from her. he’s very passive with her after 32, compared to the passivity he’d always feigned towards her before in order to stoke reactions from her and then exploit them. i was thinking about how touga has always been able to sever his relationship with nanami, but chosen not to; first out of a sense of obligation (‘we should live to help each other’) then a realisation of how that could be exploited. i was thinking about how nanami has never realised her ability to leave, in part because it is limited by touga and the harm he does her. i was thinking about the desperation and confusion akio calls out to anthy with as she leaves. i was thinking about how different that is to the kiryuus’ strange semi-breakdown; touga doesn’t want or need nanami, and nanami might love her brother but she cannot trust him or feel safe around him, doesn’t want to see him anymore; she’s itching to leave, and just a little scared (you know, because last time she tried that her brother assaulted her), and he’s not doing anything because ignoring her means he doesn’t have to deal with the emotions of her leaving or staying. something something gendered power dynamics something something tragic siblings

[everyryuujisuguro]

[firefly-fez]

as much as I generally like the ending of brooklyn nine nine I don’t love what they did with Jake’s character. I feel like his friendship with Doug Judy and the way it ended was a missed opportunity for Jake to re-evaluate policemanship and what he’s actually doing at the 99th precint. Jake has always had a very childish, idealised perspective of a police officer. His character arc centres around growing up and maturing - it seems like such a missed opportunity not to have his persepctive of a police officer also mature, especially considering he’s had so many moments that might prompt him to re-consider. After he’s wrongly imprisoned, he struggles with the responsibility of arresting the right person for the crime. He makes a wrongful arrest and is guilting of intimidating an innocent person - and he feels remorse when he realises the subject is innocent, but feels justified in his actions when he thinks they’re guilty. All throughout his relationship with Sofia, they argued about the ethics of her job, because she was defending “criminals”. And yes, she’s a defense lawyer, she does represent clients that have commited crimes.

Even though the last season tackled police reform in a lot of detail, it stopped short of defending the idea that even criminals deserve human rights. Even as it represented Doug Judy’s bittersweet departure from the show, highlighting that he ended up in a life of crime because he couldn’t get his life back on track after being convicted of a minor offense -- Jake is sympathetic and helps his friend, but none of the team acknowledge with any serious depth how badly the justice system failed Doug Judy.

That could have been a catalyst for Jake’s character, but it wasn’t.

Although it’s rewarding to see Jake go from fatherless to the-father-he-never-had, and his dedication as a stay-at-home dad and everything that means to him, I don’t think it was the most rewarding end to his character arc.

Instead, I’d love to have seen him do a deep-dive into Doug Judy’s old case files after his arrest/escape. (He’d have to be cautious, so that no one picked up on what he did). To really take the time and think back on every criminal he’d arrested and how much it changed the trajectory of their life. To look at the arrest record of someone he’d booked as a first-time offender, noticing that they’d been convicted of multiple crimes since then...and wondering if he’d condemned them to a cycle they couldn’t get out of with that first arrest. Looking back on his career and everything he did, without that idyllic, childish, ‘good guys vs. bad guys’ mindset.

And after all that, he goes back to Sofia. Not to get back together with her, but to tell her she was right. Defending the human rights of the accused, even if they’re guilty really is the basis of their entire justice system. So he re-connects with her - to network and gain her advice.

Because he’s decided - he wants to become a defense lawyer.

[glimmeringpersonality]

it feels so good to be so young and have this fun and be successful

i’m so successful

listen listen listen

i have a CAREER, i’m making that SCHMONEY, i’m with the man of my DREAMS, i have so many good friends, i’m READING again, i’m being ARTISTIC again.

i am FLOURISHING

man im so thankful for it all

[rubberbandballqueen]

yesterday at work, the kids had to like, make their own puzzles by drawing stuff on paper n then cutting them into pieces n stuff, n this one kid came up to me saying that the kid sitting next to him was saying mean things, n the second kid was like, "it wasn't me, it was him!" n pointed at the creature he'd drawn for his puzzle.

i didn't really know how to handle the situation (though thinking about it, i probably should have just said that just bc the creature was saying mean things abt his friend didn't mean he was in the right for passing on those thoughts), so i just told him i didn't want to solve his puzzle if the creature it featured was gong to be so mean to other people, and for some reason it worked??

i guess it's just easy to forget how deeply children care about what adults think bc of how we as adults have learned to not care so much abt what other people think and operate on the assumption that others don't automatically care abt our thoughts.

[dreaminginsteadofsleeping42]

I think I’ve figured out the reason that I didn’t vibe with Les Mis is that it’s a Musical For Men™️, whereas Phantom is a Musical For Mentally Ill and Horny Women, so it all makes sense now.

[pepprs]

um… bad jew moment 💃🏻

[itsukicoded]

🕯.

[boi-zizzoi]

You ever revert back to your middle school self (edgy furry kid hissing at you) except it's just you and your reflection in an empty house with angsty music playing in the background?

Cause mood.

[omniaspec-rat]

I spend all day trying to distract my mind, convinced that worrying about social issues isn't a help in itself and is just making me feel too bad to help, and then when I *finally* find something to distract myself, my brain decides I can't because "hey but you still don't have an opinion on this specific issue and a perfect argument (taking into account any counterarguments) against this wrong thing and a perfect solution in your head and a perfect understanding about this social problem that is not that important and that you definitely can't do anything about and-"

Thank u brain, this is very useful! /sarc