#fun fact: the end of this scene was supposed to be wholesome and I even had a snippet written already

[iwonderwh0]

One more scene for this out-of-body fic idea. This one is (almost) directly following the one started here

It was decided that when it comes to Hank going to sleep, a phone with Connor will be left in the garage, right next to the washing machine set for the longest cycle of two and a half hours. Additionally Hank promised to leave a working fan to maintain the noise present once the washing machine finished its job.

That was the plan.

What it didn't account for was the fact that Hank would need to actually do the laundry and all the laundry-related tasks, and to his own regret, he decided that it was a great occasion to finally wash all the bedding - a chore consisting of (as he realised a little too late) the most tedious tasks. Tasks such as: unbuttoning and removing all the pillowcases, sheets, duvet cover and replacing them all with new ones by going through the miserable process of searching for the replacement bedding in a closet, fitting all the pillows into according pillowcases, buttoning them back on and the worst of it all – fitting the comforter into a new duvet cover. This was too much work. He could have simply loaded the washing machine with the content of laundry basket and call it a day. That's what he should have done. Now it was too late.

He lay down on a bare bed and stared at the ceiling as the pile of removed bedding frowned at him from the corner of his eye. He tried to pretend it wasn't there, ignore it, but he could still feel it taking up space -- both mental and physical -- even with his eyes closed. This knowledge alone filled him with the kind of dread only the tedious unfinished tasks could induce. Tasks like making an appointment at the doctor's office or cancelling a subscription he didn't remember having, reminded him of it only by a weekly junk-mail. Tasks that are easy to do, but much more tempting to just ignore. Let them pile up and rot.

"I forgot how much I fucking hate laundry," Hank grumbled, cutting through the silence of the last couple of minutes.

"I thought you hate doing the dishes," Connor said.

"I hate doing laundry and the dishes. But if I had to choose, I'd rather do the dishes."

"I'm sorry. I would help you if I could."

Something about sincerely apologetic tone of android's voice annoyed Hank and he scoffed.

"Sure you fucking would."

"Is something wrong?"

"No. Yes. It doesn't fucking matter."

Hank pressed his palms against his face and sighed.

"Fuck...This is embarrassing," he said and instantly winced from realisation of saying it out loud - something he didn't intend to do.

"Laundry?"

Hank huffed and applied more pressure to his palms, seeing colourful spots appearing at his fake vision of closed eyes.

"Yeah. Laundry."

"Is the process of laundry embarrassing in itself or is it-"

"-Connor. Just stop, okay?"

Connor got quiet, but only for a moment.

"You know, you don't have to do it today," he said.

"That's what I told myself yesterday. And...Shit, I don't even remember when was the last time I did it. And now I already took the sheets and covers out..."

"So you're already half way there, much closer than yesterday, right? You can do it tomorrow morning."

Hank didn't feel like arguing and insisting on doing something he already subconsciously decided not to do, so he agreed. He abruptly thought if android tried to use reverse-psychology on him to make him finish making the bed now, but if that was the case -- Hank thought -- he should have known better than to do it like this.

"Tomorrow it is, then. I'm not doing it."

He took his hands off his face and stared at the pile of removed bedding. The sight of it was nauseous. He turned to his side and looked at the phone laying on the other side of the bed instead.

"What about you? What are you doing exactly? I'm sure you're not only here talking to me."

"Correct. But I try to focus on my audio input the most, so what I'm doing on the background is not so important."

"You can still tell me about it," Hank turned to his back.

"You want me to talk about what I'm doing?"

"Couldn't be more clear than that."

Connor made a noise - something between a surprise and content.

"It's not much, there isn't enough computing power for me to use, so mostly I'm just surfing through text articles. For example, when you mentioned hating laundry, I tried to find something that might change your perspective on it. I found that there's a music album named 'Laundry Service' released on November 13, 2001 - the same day the President of the United States signed an executive order allowing military tribunals against foreigners suspected of terrorist acts as part of the war on terror following the September 11 attacks."

"Wow," Hank elongated the word and shook his head, "I must admit, it does indeed change my whole perspective on laundry."

He chuckled at his own joke reaching the phone to move it closer.

"Is it something you only do now or..," Hank started.

"No, I've been also doing it before."

"Ah, I get it. Can't be entertained by a conversation only. Can't blame ya. I'd probably do the same if I had a computer for a brain to do this kind of shit unnoticed."

"It's not about my level of entertainment and more about not being familiar with some of the cultural references I may encounter. I can't know it all, Hank."

"Right. I keep forgetting how little you've been around. Of course you'd search things up... didn't come out of the box with all this nonsense installed."

"Technically I've never been in a box."

"Yet."

"I'm not sure what's that supposed to mean. Is this a joke about coffin?"

Hank laughed.

"What? No. Actually, I don't know what I was thinking. Probably just imagined you in a big cardboard box or something."

"Why would I be in a cardboard box?"

"I don't know, why would you be in a coffin?"

"I don't know, you said my body looks like a corpse in your living room."

"Connor, fuck...Do me a favour and shut the fuck up!"

The awkward silence filled the room. Once again Hank got painfully aware of the pile of sheets, but this time it looked more like an excuse than anything else. He rose from the bed and grabbed the pile on his way to the door. He was halfway through the threshold when he got stopped by the sound of his name. He froze.

"I won't say anything. Please, don't leave me alone in silence."

Hank felt a heavy knot forming in his stomach. He swallowed and turned back around.

"Of course not. Wasn't going to."

He returned to the bed to pick up the phone, then walked to the garage, loaded the washing machine, closed the door, and stared at it blankly. It seemed like he had forgotten something, but the silence-induced noise was too loud in his ears to remember whatever it was. He started the washing machine, gave it another glance, and returned to the bedroom where he collapsed onto the bed. After a few moments he realised that he had returned with his phone in his hand. He was squeezing it tightly, still. It had been quiet the entire time, and for a moment, Hank wondered if he could accidentally turn it off without even noticing. The thought sent a surge of panic down his spine, and he swiped his finger to unlock the phone. The screen lit up with CyberLife program still up and running. Thank god. He let out a sigh of relief and sank into the matress, setting the phone aside.

"Connor?"

There was no response.

Hank burried his face deeper into the pillow. He felt sick. Without meaning to, he accidentally remembered what it was he had forgotten -- aside from leaving the phone in the garage with a fan, which had been a rather conscious decision-- washing detergent. He hadn't used it at all.

"Connor," he tried again.

After a few seconds phone buzzed in response.

"Listen, you can talk if you want."

The room remained silent.

Hank turned to his side and unlocked the phone. He wasn't sure why, probably just to see CyberLife screen again, to make sure it was still there. He looked at it for a few seconds, then locked the phone back.

"I'm sorry" was what he meant to say. What he wanted to say. What he said instead was "Say something, damn it!"

It came out wrong. Agressive. Not the way he intended it, again.

"Goodnight, Hank," Connor said.

It was something. Sharp and short. Hank let another sigh out - both from frustration and relief.

"Goodnight, Connor."

[angstflavoured]

A little fiddauthor analysis...

Making this post mostly just to get all of my thoughts out about it regarding how I think it is inherently very toxic on both ends, despite people treating it as more wholesome near the beginning when they were both younger… and the fact that I think it’s very incredibly one-sided. I’m strictly going to be talking about CANON events, not headcanons or speculations or AU’s. If you wanna draw Fiddleford and Ford being cute and hugging and dating, I don’t care, I like a lot of the content for them myself. It isn’t canon to the show and doesn’t affect or harm anybody. That’s what a fandom is and I’m not trying to police anyone, I just think a lot of people misinterpret their relationship and thought it would be fun to talk about it because I find their dynamic really interesting. I’m going to be using a lot of direct quotes and scenes from Ford’s journal, TBOB, and the show, so buckle in baby ! This was supposed to be a quicker and smaller one while I work on my Billford essay, but I had a lot more to say than I thought…

First off, it’s interesting to see how Ford thinks their interaction after so long is going to go. In Journal 3 he says he has “no choice” but to call Fiddleford up to work on the portal because Ford just doesn’t have the smarts to do what he wants to do himself, and he thinks he’s going to have to literally beg Fiddleford to join him. But as we see in the journal and in the show, it hardly takes ANY convincing at all for Fiddleford to drop everything he was doing and leave his wife and kid for months on end to work on a project he knows nothing about. All the info he has he got over a short phone call. It seems like Ford, at this point being so close with Bill and thinking he’s the only one who cares about him, just assumed that most people he used to talk with don’t think about him anymore. He’s had Bill whispering in his ear that he’s the only one who understands him, so it makes sense he doesn’t think Fiddleford will want to do this with him. But from what it looks like, Fiddleford either has been waiting every second for Ford specifically to get back to him, or just has been waiting for any excuse to get the hell away from his family which is… yeesh. Either way, not very healthy regarding his wife and kid. He doesn’t seem to really care all that much about either of them, but more on that later.

Obviously Ford cares about Fiddleford, as soon as he comes down to live with him, Ford hasn’t been so happy in a good while. He missed human connection, despite how good things were going with Bill. Having another person there to talk with was nice. Despite Fiddleford having strange quirks that did irk Ford, he found them endearing and genuinely felt better in his company.

But I think the biggest thing here a lot of people overlook is that Ford only ever refers to Fiddleford as his college buddy in the show, and in the journals as “my assistant.” I’ve seen so many people have Ford call him his partner, but he actually only calls him this like once in the show i think. It’s always my assistant, my research, my theory. Which is funny because Ford didn’t come up with any of this stuff with the portal on his own. Bill was the one that gave him the blueprints. Fiddleford even questions Ford at one point, asking if he had help coming up with them because of how complex they are, and Ford decidedly DOESN’T mention Bill and instead tells him “with hard work, anything is possible.” (Btw he does refer to Bill as his partner multiple times… just sayin.)

The way he talks to and about Fiddleford, Ford is always talking down. He does think that Fiddleford is smart and does think he has a brilliant mind, but he still thinks that he’s below him.

Because Ford has Bill.

And oh my lord, do I not see anyone talk about this. Soooo many comics always depict Fiddleford knowing about Bill existence, but I think the biggest roadblock with their ship and a huge point of contention is that Fiddleford never canonically knows about Ford’s relationship with Bill until after he’s already lost his mind when he’s old. He doesn’t even KNOW that he exists until he’s half sucked through the portal. People ignore this, but it’s so important to their dynamic. Ford doesn’t think that Fiddleford could handle it, and he doesn’t think he necessarily deserves to know. Because Bill is Fords thing. Their relationship is special. Ford is special.

Ford claims he doesn’t tell Fiddleford about Bill because he would throw him in a looney bin, despite their research being so whimsical and ridiculous already. They’re literally building a portal to a different dimension, Fiddleford would’ve believed him. And the way Ford talks about it, you can tell it’s less about Fiddleford thinking he’s crazy and more about something else.

Could F ever truly appreciate the complex fates that brought me and my Muse together?

He doesn’t think Fiddleford could APPRECIATE it. The language he uses, you can tell that Ford knows that Fiddleford would see right through Bill’s facade. And Ford doesn’t want that because he wants to be friends with Bill and he wants to be special, and he’d rather hide Bill and stay in denial than tell his dearest friend, just so he can feel special a little longer.

This is why I think as much as Fiddleford’s romantic feelings for Ford were there, it never ended up going anywhere. Ford would always choose Bill over him. When Fiddleford got him the axolotl pet, Ford quickly threw it out and lied about it to Fiddleford just because Bill told him to. And there’s multiple cases of interactions like this, where Bill will talk down about Fiddleford and Ford will just be like damn… yeah. Here’s a journal excerpt from TBOB around Christmas time. For context, Ford got into a huge fight with a monster and tried to contact Bill to help him, but he didn’t come. And then Bill randomly shows up later when Ford’s at home decorating.

I was almost roasted by Krampus, and where was he? Off inspiring some other scientist? Posing for some tapestry? Were we even partners? He threw the accusation back in my face. “Hey, I’m not the one skipping portal work to carouse with a third-wheel hillbilly with second thoughts about our project!” I started to argue--but he had a point. F has seemed less and less committed to work lately.

Which is INSANE !!! when we see that only a fucking page ago, Fiddleford was explaining how he got in a fight with his wife because he didn’t get her a present for Christmas. After spending multiple weeks and making multiple prototypes for a pair of 6 fingered gloves for Ford.

And if we hop back to Journal 3, there’s a particular interaction with them which is crazy to me. While hiking up a mountain to go to Crash Site Omega, they get into a fight with the Gremloblin, which fucking swoops up Fiddleford into the sky. In Ford’s attempt to get him down, they both end up falling down through the roof of a barn, where Fiddleford gets stuck full of quills and breaks his arm.

Despite our fortune, I have become worried about my assistant. I was able to treat his physical wounds, but I fear there are mental wounds not as easily remedied. For the past several nights, he has been unable to sleep, apparently still haunted by the Gremloblin’s gaze. More alarming is his Cubic’s Cube. It has sat scrambled, unfixed, on his desk for days. I myself have survived many monster attacks without trauma, but perhaps F is more sensitive than I realized…

OH. MY. GOD. The way that Ford talks so condescendingly is enough to make any person's blood boil. It’s the same way when Fiddleford gets sucked through the portal, and when Fiddleford gets pulled back, Ford’s first words out of his mouth are “WHAT DID YOU SEE!”

As much as he cared for Fiddleford… he has no regard at all for Fiddlefords VERY VALID feelings about events that would traumatize literally anyone. But he just pats Fiddlefords back and tells him to get used to it because this is just part of the job and he shouldn’t be whining so much. He does nothing to properly comfort him and scoffs it off like “apparently he’s ‘TRAMATIZED’ or something. I’ve been through so much worse and never had a problem, I don’t get what his issue is.” And then ford is SURPRISED AND APPALLED when Fiddleford creates the memory gun.

Which oohhhhh lord, the memory gun. jesus christ. Such a big example of the distrust between them on both sides. Fiddleford literally canonically lied about destroying the gun and then erased Fords memory about it so that he could erase his own memories in secret without him knowing. And also probably fords sometimes! Not completely canon, but like…. Fiddleford did it once, I wouldn’t put it past the guy. And then when they go to the carnival, Fiddleford hands out his fucking card to Ivan (the leader of the society of the blind eye, who was a teen/early 20s at the time) so that he can erase memories for him that he didn’t like.

Biggest thing we can take away from everything regarding Fiddleford’s character, is that he always takes the easy way out. He ran away from his family he obviously didn’t really care for as much as he should’ve because that was easier than talking it out or divorcing. He pushed it aside for later. Bro was literally looking for a fucken Brokeback Mountain situation, but Ford wasn’t giving anything back to him. So instead Fiddleford constantly made a fool of himself doing things for Ford and tripping over himself to show his gratitude when all the while Ford was entirely focused on Bill. and then he just goes around and starts erasing memories, because it’s easier than having to actually deal with things. Which is why I don’t foresee a reality in which Fiddauthor makes sense, in the way they actually end up doing anything together. Because Fiddleford’s too much of a coward to admit his feelings first, and Ford obviously has his sights on someone else.

And here’s the BIGGEST damning thing, like oh my god.

In Journal 3, Ford goes to a fortune teller (which don’t get me fucking started on how judgy he is to her and how much he talks down about her, DESPITE HER BEING LEGIT AND ACTUALLY WARNING HIM). Long story short, she gives Ford a spiel about how someone close to him is deceiving him. She then gives him a mood ring and says “when this is blue, you may pull through. When this is black, you can’t turn back.”

And LO AND BEHOLD!! OH MY FUCKING GOD, when they’re at the carnival and Fiddleford is talking to Ivan and whispering--

Ford. Looks down. To check if the ring is black.

I took one last look down at my hand and was strangely relieved to find that the palm reader’s ring was still blue. I shoved it in my pocket, collected F, and tried to put the whole experience out of my mind.

FORD LITERALLY THOUGHT ABOUT THE IDEA OF FIDDLEFORD BETRAYING HIM BEFORE BILL. IN FACT, HE LITERALLY NEVER MENTIONS THINKING IT WAS BILL ONCE.

He talks about how they got into a fight at dinner the night before the portal test because Fiddleford was having second thoughts about it being dangerous, and Ford told him to be there or he would get left behind. He’d do it without him.

And when Fiddleford gets pulled through the portal and quits the project, Ford says gooooddd fucking riddance, I never even needed you bro.

F, you weak-willed hayseed! Go back to your doting family and a life of fear and compromise! I weep now not for our failed partnership, but for the golden opportunity thrown away. To think I considered him a friend! I know my true friend. It is my Muse.

One of the few times he ever refers to it as partnership btw. Literally only when they break everything off.

And Ford only starts fighting with Bill about everything after it starts directly hurting him. It literally just seems like Ford is less upset about Bill’s plan being evil, and more upset at the fact that he lied to Ford LMAOOOOO he didn’t like the fact that he was disposable and lesser to Bill, despite Ford treating Fiddleford the exact same way.

At the end of all of this… it may seem like I’m really fighting against this ship, but not in the slightest. I LOVEEEE them so much, but in a way where it would be really toxic and not actually end up with anything happening.

Such a biggg theme when it comes to Ford’s character specifically is yearning. He yearns for success and attention and love and acceptance, but he’s constantly never giving other people those things. Which ends in him not receiving any in return. That is obviously until he gets back from dimension hopping and works on being a better person. When he starts towards healing, that’s when he starts receiving what he always wanted.

There’s so much tension between Ford and Fiddleford it's like disgusting, they were so incredibly gay… but, I hate to say it, it was very one-sided. They did have some fun times together and Ford enjoyed his company for quite a bit, but it was nothing like how Fiddleford felt for him. Fiddleford was always thinking about how Ford was feeling and what he was doing, and Ford never really did that for Fiddleford unless he was prompted to. But he was alwayasyayayss thinking about how Bill felt. And he always chose Bill in the end.

I just see so much of all of this get swept under the rug and never addressed, when it's kind of sad because it’s all so interesting and really adds a lot to both of their characters. They were both so morally gray back in their day, and honestly even more so now that they’re older, and its kinda sad to see that all go ignored. I JUST LOVE TOXIC GAYS SM AND THEY WERE SO TOXIC AND I’D LOVE TO SEE PEOPLE EXPLORE THAT MORE. Hopefully maybe this will prompt some people to think about it like this…….. It’s all so very tragic and their relationship was doomed from the start and i loveeeee shit like that. only misery to be had...

[lochlogie]

Chloe is a Predator

So everyone gives Chloe shit for this little speech. I was inclined to think, yeah it's weird, but it's not like it's evidence that she goes around seducing underage boys. Plus she clearly has a dark past as a sex worker and maybe she wants a "john" who's wholesome and would never hurt her, maybe she enjoys the role reversal of it all. She says "When I was modeling, all the girls who were romantic ended up broke and brokenhearted, or worse."

It's weird, it's inappropriate, but I thought, surely it's not like outright predatory, right? Surely it's not pedophilic, right?

But no, I trawled through episode five once more, and it's very clear that she takes this shit seriously. When she says she likes innocent young guys, that's code for kids. Because she treats Lochlan like a child.

Sidenote, nice going Saxon. Way to normalize something like this because of course he would.

Note that Lochlan is walking closer to the water, which has the effect of making her higher up than him, looking taller than him in certain frames. His body language and facial expressions are mostly nervous throughout this interaction. He smiles when she says "Everyone gets laid," but he's mostly worrying his lips and blinking (which he does whenever he's unsure about something). When he asks a pragmatic question "What can I expect tonight," Chloe answers that vampires come out, as if he's a toddler asking what the moon is made of and she says "cheese." It's a red flag for me that she's actively leaning into her perception of him as naïve to that degree. And the hand on the shoulder looks very possessive.

This scene is interesting, because Chloe walks right up to Saxon with the drugs. She says "Guys look what I got!" meaning she's not singling Lochlan out. She shoves her hand up to Saxon and calls the drugs little candies and little sweeties, which is very infantilizing and meant to sound fun and harmless, not dangerous. Is she trying to pressure Saxon specifically to take drugs because he just rejected her offer? Was that her plan? Get Saxon to cave so Lochlan would be more amenable to take them next? Or is Saxon young enough that he also counts as an innocent young boy to her? Much to think about. It's definitely weirder than most people would think. That's twice she's used baby talk with her explanations of things. And note the camera focuses on Lochlan as she says this.

It's definitely to show the wheels turning in his head as he rejects Saxon's mentorship and replaces him with Chloe (he just wants to be used after all). But the fact that we see him while Chloe uses this cutesy language tells me it does fit into the pattern. Chloe talks to her prey like they're actual little boys.

Nevertheless, she's pleased when Lochlan takes the ecstasy. Did she avoid offering it to Lochlan directly because he'd be too nervous? Could she tell that offering them to Saxon would make Lochlan more likely to take them, whether Saxon said yes (worship) or no (spite)? I don't think Chloe's that much a mastermind, and it would be hypocritical of me to accuse her as such, considering this is the sequence that kicked off the Lochlan Spit Out The Pill "theory," which hedged on him playing 5-D chess, which is just not how this show works.

Considering the age gap and experience gap between her and Lochlan, I'm fine with saying that she drugged him. She pressured both brothers to take ecstasy at once, even if she was facing and talking to Saxon. Lochlan probably didn't even know what it was, much less had the information or sobriety to make an informed decision about it. She wanted them both high, and definitely Lochlan specifically.

When Chelsea asks "What is it?" she says "Come on, this is our one night away from the grumpy old geezers." Still a little infantilizing, definitely weird that she won't answer her supposed "best friend," but noticeably she doesn't try to make it sound like it's made of sunshine and rainbows.

And as for the sex itself, during Lochlan's flashback in episode six, Chloe can be heard saying "It gets better," which pretty heavily implies that she had just made out with him and was telling him the best was yet to come. And um... wouldn't he know that? Like he knows what sex is Chloe. Are you infantilizing him again? Do you wish he were a literal little boy who had no idea what sex is? I think she wishes he were a literal little boy who has no idea what sex is. She clearly gets off on talking to him like he's in elementary school. It's creepy as fuck!

Here's another example, more physical than verbal. During Saxon's second flashback, Lochlan is sitting on the bed, legs crossed, arms at his sides, passive, letting Chloe grab his head and lean in for the kiss. I'm not saying that her liking submissive men means she's a pedophile, but she's treating him like he's literally never kissed anyone before, and he did in fact kiss both her and Saxon earlier. Maybe she wanted to teach him how to properly do it since his earlier kisses were rushed and closed mouthed. In any sense, there's a definite experience gap that this shot only highlights. Also Saxon watching wishing that were him tenderly making out with Lochy, okay fag.

And finally the iconique choking. Again, not necessarily pedophilic, people are into choking. Did she ask first? If Lochlan has to take the heat for touching Saxon's dick can she take heat for grasping his throat? Anyway it ties into her hand on Lochlan's shoulder, almost on his neck, as they walk on the beach. It's clutching and possessive. I can't tell if she's squeezing very hard, but she's using enough force to pull his away from Saxon and toward her.

The whole night of the full moon Chloe has openly lusted after Lochlan, talked to him (and Saxon) like he's a child, and confirmed that she really gets off on his inexperience and naivete. The fact that she extends that out of the bedroom and says that vampires come out on the full moon and calls drugs little sweeties is a giant red flag to me that this isn't just her wanting to take control in the bedroom. I think she fetishizes the act of deflowering a pubescent boy, and is probably subconsciously viewing Lochlan as young as physically possible.

She never hears Saxon confirm that he turned 18 a couple months ago. She never asks on screen. I don't think she really cares either way. If Lochlan were still 17 during the season, she would've still fucked him. If he were 16 or 15, she would've still fucked him. Just because Lochlan is of age doesn't mean Chloe doesn't clearly fetishize that he can still pass as underage. And she treats him like that. She's still a predator.

[sweettoothvn]

How would be like if LI and MC had slumber party? (⁠☆⁠▽⁠☆⁠)

Btw I LOVE HOW YOU DRAW AND IM VERY EXCITED FOR THE GAME (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

Andre: He makes a LOT of snacks and shows you all of his favorite romantic comedies, of course! You're snuggled up against him with Pepper (his pitbull), whose tail is happily thumping against the couch. He's a big night owl so if you try to stay up with him despite how tired you are, he will encourage you to sleep and not worry about him. You two compromise by letting him cuddle you while you sleep.

Casey: Of course he has the best candies! And maybe the spiciest snacks you've ever seen- some of these you've never even heard of. Effortlessly, he's able to devour the hottest of them all that would make most people vomit and cry- how is he able to do that without even cringing??? Either way, we show you all his best snacks and video games. He's really good at Mario cart so fair warning.

Chrys: She will show you all her favorite recipes she likes to cook, encouraging you to work with her so she can teach you as well. Of course, she has the freshest ingredients too. Only the best after all. She has a lot of plushies, most of them she's bought but a lot of them have been handmade by Eddie. They're all plant-themed and very squishy. You both sit on Mt. Plush and watch movies. She doesn't have a general preference so long as it makes her laugh; she doesn't like constantly sad and edgy movies. She would probably enjoy satire movies mostly.

David: Fun fact he's never been to a slumber party. He doesn't know what to do so when you suggest the idea he frantically goes on the internet and looks up what to do so he can impress you. Not that he would ever admit that he did that though. He takes it entirely too seriously and has a schedule planned out- you should probably reassure him that it's not supposed to be like that, and the point is to do whatever is most fun and spur of the moment. You two end up talking about conspiracy theories all night and he lets you pet his bunnies while eating some snacks. He rarely likes to sleep because he either struggles or has nightmares. For once he was actually able to sleep peacefully and comfortably.

Eddie: MASTER PILLOW FORT MAKER HERE. I mean he has to be with two younger siblings you know? He pampers those little guys like his life depends on it. He has so many movies on DVD; this man is a movie addict. If you have questions, he can answer them in-depth and give you behind-the-scenes info and theories about the movie's plot. He makes a crap ton of plushies in his free time- plus they're a good coping mechanism when he can't punch a hole into something. He tries his best not to talk during the movies- he gets so excited and wants to tell you all about the sets and how they were made or what sort of lines were improvised. If you're okay with him chatting during the movie he will ramble for hours- a stark contrast to the person he was when you first met. He usually hates talking.

Kieran: For a punk/goth/alt guy, you wouldn't expect the sort of stuff he pulls out. He has Hello Kitty pajamas and tons of Sanrio plushies. You're watching My Little Pony movies and he's singing along to them. It's fantastic and he tells you all of these facts about Fluttershy you'd never even heard of. If you two wanna do something spontaneous, he dyes or cuts your hair on the extreme ends, and on the lower ends, he shows you some good hairstyles you never expected you could pull off. He lets you try on his clothes- have a whole fashion show. It's a fun time and oddly wholesome considering how he flirted with you and tried to get into your pants when you first met.

Noble: He's never been A PART of slumber parties before but he has seen a few? He has an idea of what they are as he's seen his sisters host some. He asks you for guidance on what to do- if you just want to chill out, he's more than willing to do that. He bakes with you and gives you some of his secret tips and tricks- maybe you two make edibles and watch some kids' cartoons or Hannibal. He really likes those gorey shows. They make him hungry. There's a lot of cuddling and he tells you how much he loves and adores you. He might do your makeup or nails while you vent to him or share any gossip on your mind. He's a good listener. He loves your voice more than anything.

Zach: Similar to David and Noble he's never really been to one- Or well- He HAS but he was only invited because Kieran's friends' parents didn't want to seem impolite and exclude him. He would always go into the corner and draw, not interested in being there. However, when you ask him to have a slumber party, he gets flustered. He never expected to actually be asked to hang out- one on one- with you. You! He really likes you- he doesn't want to mess up. For someone who tends to lie a lot, he's honest with you and tells you he has no idea what to do, asking for you to take the lead, and he'll just follow your instructions. When you're watching movies/anime with him or you're not paying attention to him, he's secretly drawing you. Of course, if you catch him, he will be super embarrassed to show you the drawings. Don't look through his notebook unless you want to embarrass him immensely.

Bonus: Everyone at once!

Shit, that's chaotic as hell. Andre and Noble are arguing over what to cook while Chrys is making food in the kitchen with Casey. Kieran and Zach are doing karaoke way too loud while Eddie covers his ears as he's overstimulated. He made a pillow fort to hide in- David is with him and also overstimulated.

[desolateice]

For the Fanfic Ask... A Feast For Fools. 💗

💖💖💖💖 thank you!

My favorite scene

There are quite a few.

Anytime Cheyenne and Emile roast Terry.

Terry going for the grand gestures, romantic words, or sweet interactions only to panic and think oh man this is going to blow up in my face only for Johnny to soak it up like a sponge who hasn't received any love in decades and loves it.

Especially taking Robby out for lunch only to go oh, maybe that wasn't smart, and then Robby moving in and he and Terry do face masks and Robby when Johnny asks if he's okay with the situation is like yeah dad it's all fine, look at my skin, I'm beautiful.

Terry's running internal monologue with his therapist.

My favorite chapter (if it's a multichapter)

Chapters 5 and Chapter 6 where Cheyenne challenges Terry to see if Johnny could handle being his partner and to put an end to the game only for Johnny to be really good at it.

I think Chapter 15, it's when everything comes to a head and Terry has a very intense day. He deals with Daniel, he deals with Kreese, he expects that Johnny and Robby will be gone when he gets home and decides he's relapses or will relapse when they leave and preps to stay somewhere and get more therapy.

Hardest scene to write

Honestly the end. I originally had them get married and both try to out do one another on the ridiculous romantic gestures. Johnny built the archway they were going to stand under and designed it with stained glass and I spent so much time researching and then was like no, I'm ending this on them having a nice get away.

Favorite character to write in the fic

Terry. Omg. It was fun to have him be like therapy zen yogi Terry whose undercover out of curiosity but also has this like internal thought process about how he could do xyz, sometimes even realizes doing xyz is too much, but he can't help himself and then like covers himself waiting for an explosion only for it never to come. Like his issues and Johnny's just complimented each other so well. Terry had a lot of love to give and needed to give it to someone and Johnny truly needed some attention.

Favorite dynamic to write in the fic

Terry and Cheyenne and Emile. I love them roasting him. Terry and Robby too.

Why I chose that title

I dropped it on april fools day and I mean it felt like a crack fic. Like wholesome Silverlaw? But also the two of them are fools. Terry and Johnny or they've at least been made to feel like fools, and the whole thing is their feast. They get everything they've been wanting by engaging with one another earnestly. It's also a reference to Feast of Fools, the festival and feast in the middle ages europe where low level and high level clergy would swap roles. I.e. Terry out of Kreese's shadow and Johnny out of anyone elses.

A fun fact about the fic

WickedJade originally came up with the idea for a wholesome Silverlaw and I took off running with it and had a ton of fun. There were other parts that were supposed to be included that I just couldn't fit in, like the students were supposed to swing by more frequently and explore the mansion and realize that Terry had a bunch of artwork of Johnny done, some tasteful and some pinup style which for Miguel would've been a oh no not again sensei. Pretty much Demetri just wandering around going do you think this is a weird sex thing? What about that? And Robby refusing to go with them on that tour.

[its-your-girl-geekerella]

So... Wonka. (spoilers ahead)

Going into the theater, I was not hopeful. In fact, I was as pessimistic as one could be. An origin story of Willy Wonka? It didn't make sense. It was like telling the origins behind the Cat in the Hat or Mary Poppins, and while it was sure to get a lot of money, I didn't understand why the movie was being made.

But in the words of Vivian from Legally Blonde, "When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong":

This. Movie. Was. Amazing.

The songs overall? Good. Not great, but good. I especially liked For A Moment. (I also laughed so hard when I heard the Oompa Loompa motif in that one scene, and even harder when the Little Orange Man started singing it)

The set design was so beautiful and bright, it looked like Netflix. Like, I was legitimately getting Matilda flashbacks.

The thing that really made this a great movie for me was that feeling of "Wow. I didn't know that Warner Bros still made movies like this"/"I didn't know that movies like this were still made at all." I love it when a movie is 100% pure, and the media isn't trying to force any agendas on people. The whole thing was so fun and wholesome, and I couldn't get enough. I totally cried when Noodle met her mom (the singing in the background was too much for me).

I only had two problems with this movie:

The dialogue and action between Noodle and Willy? Intimate as heck. Halfway through, I stopped and asked, "how old is Wonka? Am I supposed to be vibing this?" Near the end, the writers seemed to remember that Noodle was, like, twelve, and began to make Willy a sort of father-ish figure.

This is sort of a personal preference, but I wish they had gone into what event made Willy Wonka "Willy Wonka". Cos let's be honest, in the movies, he's kinda creepy! A weirdo with weird methods of getting to his goal. How in the world did he turn from "Wonka" Willy to "Willy Wonka" Willy?

Anyway, overall, this was a great movie, and I highly suggest you watch it! For best experience, do watch this movie while eating chocolate.

[nokaru]

For the AnS asks: 13, 15, 16, 23, and 32 pleaseee.

(I'll answer yours too soon, I promise!!)

Lmao no worries hun I will be waiting patientally :) ty for the ask! I let my toxic side out 💀

13. Favorite scene or line

ohh definitely this Obi line when he was talking to Torou about Zen and Co.:

If we're talking scenes my favs are whenever the OT3 or OT5 are just vibing together and living their wholesome and silly slice of life all together (OT3 Lyrias date, OT5 sleepover before coronation ect ect...)

15. Your controversial take

Lyrias👏arc👏wasn't👏that👏good👏 it was quite boring in fact IM ENDING MY SILENCE

It will never be as good as the other arcs no matter how cool the winter aesthetic is and no matter how cute and fun the new characters are. The plot itself was ehhh and the pandemic and OT3 date was probably the most interesting thing that had happened there. It will never be Tanbarun or Bergatt arc and that's on that 💅

AND ANOTHER THING! omg I just remembered. Shirayuki leaving her patient in the Perfume arc just like that (girlie was traumatized and recovering still) and going with Obi and Eisetsu to rescue Ryuu and Kageya was quite pointless imo (and bit ooc for Shirayuki? Is it just me??) Like I understand it was about Ryuu so ofc she came but I don't think she played that crucial part in the rescuing (she noticed the secret msg from Ryuu and knew about the herbs effects so she was a good addition but I just can't get over 'leaving your sick and very traumatized patient moments after the accident' move) 🤷🏻‍♀️

16. Something that you had wished had happened

I wish we got to explore more of the characters pasts and backstories. AND BRING TOROU AND MIHAYA BACK! Torou could have been a great fuel for Obi and his character development....a missed opportunity man 😭 I think sensei makes the mistake of making interesting and appealing side characters just to forget about them later a lot (?), even when they are relevant to the plot or not. It's a shame, really. But I can't blame her I suppose.

Like you also mentioned before: wishing the separation arcs weren't as long. AMEN! OT5 should get more time to spend all together. That much of a separation was just ...??? uknow

23. Favorite fancontent that you've created

You guys should appreciate me for this masterpiece and I'm super proud of this one and this one from the early stages of my art :)

and this zenyuki cause I even suprised myself with that.

32. The best part of the fandom

yall my darlings <33 everyone in the discord server made my fandom experience so much more enjoyable so thanks yall for that <3

also ppl who are big fans of side characters are the real ones i know we've got quite lot of these. I also feel like we have so many talented writers, artists, editors and creators! and ppl who post ans news, manga panels and analysis are so amazing too!

Ohhh plus I think our fandom has a great attention to detail (just like sensei!) and just seeing ppl pinpoint stuff I otherwise wouldn't notice myself is pretty cool.

[golden--doodler]

I SAW ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE.

This is my official warning for extreme spoilers because I want to give my full, uncensored thoughts.

However, before getting into all of that, I wanted to say beforehand that this movie is a part one. It ends in a cliffhanger which caught me completely off-guard, and I just want to tell people who haven't seen it yet that this is only the beginning of this particular story. If anyone wants to watch this movie at home when it comes out on video/streaming and just catch the conclusion in theaters (or at least I hope it's the conclusion) because that would be more satisfying to them, I want them to have that ability, and be aware of this.

Okay, now getting into the actual movie, oh my god it was freaking incredible 🥳. I want this movie's art style more than anything. Somehow they improved upon the magnificent, ground-breaking animation style of the first, and made it even better! Gwen's universe has this super cool, almost painterly art style (which is the best way I can describe it) and everyone moves in such a fluid, distinct way.

And speaking of Gwen, I love how the movie opens with her and briefly shows what her relationship was like with her dad and Peter. It makes it all the more sadder knowing what Peter's inevitable fate is. However, the moment Gwen reveals herself as Spider-Woman to her dad is even sadder because despite everything, he's still afraid of her and everything that's happened, and it's absolutely gut-wrenching. I really want to give the girl a hug.

Not only that, but the fact that they used a joke that wasn't even originally going to be in the first movie (the whole bagel joke was just something made off-the-cuff that ended up making it into the final cut because it made everyone laugh so much) and turned the person that said joke happened to into a genuinely tragic character and menacing supervillain is nothing short of massively impressive. I adore the villain in this movie because of how genuinely terrifying he ends up being after being shown in the beginning to seem like just another sad bank robber. By the way, that entire scene is freaking hilarious. And the way that his entire life was "ruined" by Miles and the reactor, so he in turn wants to ruin Miles' life, is so awful, yet one can definitely understand where he's coming from. I can't wait to see what they do with him in part two, and what that final battle's going to be like.

I love how they reintroduced Peter B. Parker, and they gave him a daughter who is the cutest little girl, oh my gosh. The way he's such a proud, excited dad, showing off photos of her on his phone, is the most wholesome thing ever. And his whole heart-to-heart with Miles was really sweet, too. I can't believe meeting Miles is what caused him to want to actually be a father after originally divorcing MJ because he was too afraid to be one 🥺

Miguel is also an interesting character, and this exchange was fascinating:

Gwen: We're supposed to be the good guys!

Miguel: We are the good guys.

I don't want him to become a villain, exactly, but it's clear he's misguided, and I'm sure he'll continue making rash decisions and hunting down Miles in part two. I think his reasoning for wanting to sacrifice one person to save a ton more gave me Infinity War vibes and I'm wondering what they'll do with him next.

Oh yes, and I loved Pavitr Prabhakar, the Indian Spider-Man variant. He was effortlessly talented and also just a genuinely nice guy. I always love it when effortlessly talented people are also genuinely nice. They could've made him a jerk so easily, but they didn't, and I appreciate that.

I also want to praise this movie for the fact that it gave Miles' mother more to do. I adore her speech to Miles about wanting what's best for him, and that there will be people in the future who don't believe in him like his parents do, so he needs to look out for himself and "that little boy". She's such a fun character and a wonderful mother.

This is usually the spot where I'd put any criticisms, but honestly, the only thing I could really say in that regard is because it's a part one, there is definitely a lot of setup. But all in all, I think it's great even on its own, and it leaves you wanting more.

Okay, okay, and the ending. I can't believe a variant of Miles is the Prowler, and I have no idea what that means for the next movie, but I'm so intrigued to find out. God, they really got me, hook, line, and sinker.

There's a lot more I could say about this movie, and I might make another post to add more thoughts that I forgot to add here, but I cannot emphasize enough or put into enough words how much I love it. If you don't mind cliffhangers, go see it in theaters to support it.

[egg-emperor]

I hate to ask this, but do other eggman enjoyers... Want him not to be evil? I mean this in the most respectful way, but eggman doesn't have a whole lot going on canonically besides being evil. If someone doesn't like that part what part are they into?

I regret to inform you that it's been a very shockingly controversial aspect of his character in recent years, despite him being the main villain of the series and it confuses and frustrates me to no end lol. I think part of it is because of small things outside of the game canon media, where he has vastly different portrayals and isn't anywhere near as evil. Which is all fine and good for them to like of course but then they dislike and can't accept that the original Eggman in the games has always been pure evil without any genuine good morals and traits, and no chance of redemption. And they'll get mad and judge one's character over those who actually like it.

And as a result of them liking those lesser evil versions of him more, they will attempt to ignore or highly misinterpret Eggman's scenes in the actual games, because he's one of the most unpopular versions for actually being a lot more evil and doing so is the only way they can like him there at all. And if someone actually likes that he's evil and chooses to acknowledge and embrace those things and correct the misinformation instead, they will tell them to stop ruining their fun and accuse them of being a bad person for caring. I've unfortunately been a target of this for appreciating his evil and making passionate analysis and writings based on that.

Eggman has become the subject of a lot of tropes based around giving him redeeming qualities that he doesn't have that doesn't make sense for the character he was established to be and has remained consistently so. The most popular fanon Eggman interpretation is vastly different from the game canon and liking him as he appears in the games and expressing that openly gets you alienated. It's at the point where I'm being kicked out of the fandom by newer fans that have only liked him for as long as the nicer versions and fanon of the character has existed and some older fans that latched onto them while ignoring and misinterpreting game canon.

And yeah you're absolutely right and that's especially wild about it, he doesn't have anything going on canonically in the games that doesn't involve his evil in any way at all. Even if people like his charming funny and casual moments, his evil is still a part of everything he does, it defines him, his personality, his actions, his beliefs, even his humor. He was even given the first name "Ivo" because its pronunciation is supposed to sound like "evil"! So his name is literally "evil" and 99% of what he does on screen in the games is evil - yet that's controversial, disliked by Eggman fans, and it gets fans that actually enjoy it shamed. It's so ironic.

I can't imagine that fans of him enjoy actually consuming the game media much when they don't actually like anything he's doing. And I don't know what they actually want him to do, if not be evil because they want him to become a better person despite everything he does coming from the fact he's evil, his entire character is built around it as the villain. In all the games where he doesn't have an active villainous role, he's just sat there doing nothing. If he somehow stopped being the villain after 30 years then he'd barely be used as a character anymore. I don't think that's worth occasional scenes of nice pure wholesome Eggman for people to coo at.

All of the things that make Eggman so charming, entertaining, and lovable all stem from his evil and it's involved and evident in every aspect of his characteristics and actions. He's a very evil and selfish character that will gladly do terrible things to accomplish his just as evil goals in conquering the world, he's motivated solely by that and even finds sadistic enjoyment in it. The way most the games' adventures even begin is by Eggman kicking it off with another evil scheme. It's a very important part of his character at the very core and it's important to the overall plot in most games, nothing would be the same without it, there'd be no conflict and nothing interesting left.

It saddens me that it's something that's so disliked or ignored by fandom but you know people can be when it comes to villains, they don't like it when they're genuinely evil and don't have good redeeming traits so they can have something to be interested in and feel justified in liking them because they don't like his evil and think it's wrong to enjoy it like I do. But I love seeing Eggman being his best true self as a super evil and dangerous threat and all the thrilling badass scenes that come out of it when he's in action and being a real diabolical bastard, which is 99% of the time he's on screen, and I'll always give it the love and appreciation it deserves! 🥰💜💕

[sandbees]

Child!Yuu: Octavinelle

Floyd:

Eh~? Who’s this small fry~?

Calls Yuu Shrimpy-chan or small fry as their nickname.

I mean, Yuu isn’t even a quarter of his height! Literally towers over them!

Yuu enjoys when Floyd picks them up to either give them a piggy back ride or throw them in the air.

I mean, if Floyd throws them up in the air it gives everyone a heart attack, but it’s fun!

Heartslybul has tried to ban Yuu from being with Floyd, but both do not care at all. Floyd will just walk up to Ace and Deuce and pick up Yuu, say “Mine now :)” and walk away.

They’ll try to take Yuu back, but they can’t.

These two combined are pure chaos and you should fear whenever these two are bored.

Whenever Floyd is feeling down, Yuu is always up to make him feel better.

Surprised at how close they are? Well, it wasn’t always like this. In fact, Yuu was scared of Floyd. I mean, he looks intimidating, but there’s a lot more to the story.

Remember the scene where Yuu got kicked out? Yeah I’ve made it more serious/sad.

You see, when the Tweels showed up to evict Yuu, they just sat in the living room with a pout.

They wanted to yell, cry, and even try to convince the twins to let them stay, but...it’s late at night, they’re alone (besides Grim) and the twins could literally harm them if they did. They did make the contract to save everyone, though.

Yuu made their bed, now they are forced to lie in it. It’s kind of sad, how they kind of just...gave up on fighting.

When they finally leave the dorm, they’re at the gate. That’s when the burst out crying. It’s really pitiful where they were at. They’re extremely angry at the Octavanille trio but they can’t do much.

Thankfully Ace, Deuce, and Jack are to the rescue. While they can’t beat up the Tweels, they will most certainly help Yuu. (Wholesome moment where everyone comforts Yuu)

Anyways, after Azul’s overblot and the arc closes, Yuu’s relationship with them is sort of mended.

I’d like to think Floyd and Yuu make amends when Yuu finds Floyd in one of his “moods”.

He’s feeling pretty crummy and Yuu notices. Ignoring Grim telling them to leave Floyd alone, they approach Floyd.

“Hm~? What’s Shrimpy-chan doing here?” “Pick me up, I want a piggyback ride.”

Floyd picks Yuu up to amuse them, but then it ends up with the two bonding over their sheer chaotic force. It’s kind of scary how Yuu used to shy away from Floyd but suddenly runs up to him with a big smile.

When Yuu first called Floyd “Big Brother”, he was extremely happy.

“Shrimpy-chan called me big brother~! Call me that more, ok?”

Jade:

I honestly think he kept Yuu at an arms length, to be honest.

It’s pretty interesting and amusing how Yuu reacts to certain situations, and how efficient they are, despite how young they are!

However, they’re still a child, they don’t need to know everything about his life.

...is what he said before the overblot incident. Actually, seeing Yuu’s sudden maturity when comforting Azul sparked a new interest in Yuu for Jade.

He still isn’t fully open to Yuu but he’ll answer questions if Yuu asks. He’ll especially be open if Yuu is interested about Mushrooms or his terrariums.

I think Jade would be the first one to try and ease the rift between Yuu and himself. He invites them over to Mostro Lounge to have them taste test new recipes.

Yuu accepts, because free food! :D (Also maybe get some for Ruggie too)

I think Yuu and Jade would have a lot of conversations, mostly about school related topics. Jade is surprised how knowledgeable and mature Yuu can be with these topics despite being a 10 year old.

Yuu can always talk to Jade about topics they feel passionate about or to simply rant about. He’s a good listener!

When Yuu first called Jade “Big Brother”, he was genuinely shocked, it was written all over his face! It was a moment of that before he composed himself and smiled.

“Big Brother? Well, I suppose I can be that role. Though don’t you call my brother and you’re friends that, too?”

“I call everyone I love/trust big brother! :D”

“I...see.” *Internal smiling*

Azul:

The first interaction Yuu has with Azul is when they walked up to him in the middle of his meeting with all of his new workers and asked for an anemone hat.

The idiot trio and Jack are just watching, scared for Yuu’s life.

To be fair, Azul half considered dragging Yuu into a contract, but then Jack came in and dragged Yuu away, reprimanding them. “You can’t just ask to make a contract! It’s dangerous!” “But my anemone hat! D:”

Azul kind of felt bad for making Yuu sign a contract in exchange for their dorm but...well, capitalism. (Our boys take pleasure in punching Azul after everything settles)

After Azul overblots and is brought to the infirmary, Yuu stays behind.

It’s just a long silence between them, because Azul kind of made Yuu cry but also Yuu feels like they should be there for Azul.

Yuu ends up initiating the conversation, which leads to Azul opening up a little about his past of being bullied.

When Azul is let go they all go visit the museum to return the photo, Yuu stays by Azul’s side.

“Since you’ve been here before, I want you to give me a tour! You must know the best places here! :D”

Anyways, general headcannons;

Azul has a soft spot for Yuu, but he has a reputation to keep up! So that means Yuu only comes around when he isn’t busy.

Hugs. Azul has the best hugs. “You’re so soft and squishy! Like an octopus! I love hugging you! :D”

Azul always has a bowl of candy like those in offices for Yuu. They’re only allowed to take one, though.

Plays peek-a-boo with Yuu when they discovered his Octo-pot. Climbs in and giggles because they can fit in it :)

Since Azul sucks at flying and usually flies closer to the ground, Yuu pops up by Vargas’ request sometimes and flies with Azul. I mean, he gets a good grade when Yuu does show up so he doesn’t mind. Yuu’s happy they get to fly.

Azul makes small contracts with Yuu to get an anemone hat. It’s those specific harmless ones like, “Remind me to buy ingredients after school.” or something simple that Yuu is going to forget after 10 minutes of making a contract. That way, Yuu doesn’t do anything they don’t want to and gets an anemone hat!

Everyone is suspicious about it though, “Are you SURE Azul didn’t add anything fishy in the contract?” “He got me an anemone hat so I don’t care.”

When Yuu finally got an anemone hat, they ran over to Azul and exclaimed, “Thank you Big Brother! :D” and gave him a big hug.

Azul stood there frozen, before he smiled and returned the gesture. It was extremely wholesome.

...too bad the Tweels were there. They began teasing Azul.

[warriorsbutnotreally]

Can you tell us more about the Ghost Reedshine AU?

I love her and I think it’s a very neat idea

Yes!!

I love thinking about this AU and I'm more than welcome to share on all the details I have so far;

///

so Reedshine, the beloved, she happens to be watching over her grandkits the day of Stormkit's accident and she's in shock when she notices the ghost of Mapleshade swimming next to him

outraged, Reedshine seeks permission from the most important cats in StarClan to become a spirit in order to protect him

there's some hesitation, but they end up agreeing to this

of course, with how long it took, she doesn't get there until he's living as a loner for a bit

she makes sure she's only visible to him and at first he's a little startled to see her, as she approaches him like she knows him

but they talk and he learns that he's her great-grandson and that Shellheart is her grandson, son of her daughter, Willownose

he asks why she's here and she assures she wants to be there for him, that he's her kin and she wants to see him become the best cat he could ever be - whether he's a Clan cat or not

of course, in his dreams, Mapleshade convinces him to go back, but he plays it off like it was his idea the entire time

Reedshine is skeptical, but plays along

/

the in between details are fuzzy, but she does have to watch in horror as her beloved kin is given a horrible name and being mistreated by Rainflower

and Crookedpaw has to beg Reedshine not to speak poorly of Rainflower, as he still wants his mother's attention

of course until he learns that he doesn't need it and that found family is valid and Rainflower sucks

She also calls him Stormkit/Stormpaw/Stormjaw his entire life and refuses to use Crooked- because she refuses to be cruel to a kit

/

Reedshine helps him see past Mapleshade's lies and once he opens up to her more, she opens up about her past [after he becomes a warrior] and helps him face Mapleshade and get her to leave him alone

or as alone as she'll leave him, as she still makes his life hell

Reedshine tries to confront her, but never gets the chance as Mapleshade either vanishes or dodges questions until she vanishes back to the Dark Forest

/

I also have the idea of a scene where Goosefeather and Crookedjaw are in the same area with Reedshine and they're both aware she's there and Crookedjaw has to keep from having her go off on the old man

/

And, of course, she makes it back to StarClan in time so that she can give a life and she gives him the life of Learning From The Past and she dubs him Stormstar loudly and proudly

and he goes on

being Stormstar

because he deserves that

///

and because I have them

I wrote some drabbles

They're optional reading, but I had fun writing them!!

.

.

/// Wholesome Familial Bonding ///

"What am I supposed to do?" Crookedpaw felt defeated as he stared down at his paws, his heart giving a stinging ache in his chest. "I want to be stronger. I want my Clanmates to able to look at me and not see-"

He fell silent and he could see the faint outline of a paw reach out to brush his cheek. Even if he couldn't feel it, the motion made the pain in his chest just a dull burn. He had been so convinced by Mapleshade that she had been the only molly who cared for him, but Reedshine was here. She was here and she loved him like a mother loved her kit.

"Strength is a lot more than fighting," Her voice was tinged with sadness as she looked down at the apprentice. "It wasn't brute strength that kept me going after my mate died and it was through carrying through the pain that my Clanmates saw me for more than just a sad tale of a widowed queen. You just have to find what makes you feel strong."

Crookedpaw paused as he looked up at the starry ginger tabby. He wasn't sure Reedshine had really ever said much about her past, other than the fact she was his kin and that she wanted to protect him from Mapleshade.

For a brief moment he thought of the cats in his life - of his brother, Oakheart, and his father, Shellheart. He thought of Bluepaw over in ThunderClan and Willowpaw and Graypaw back at camp. Of Brambleberry and Echomist, who treated him with such love and care.

"Do you really think I can?"

"I know you can, my little Stormpaw," Hearing his birthname come from her sent a spark of hope through the tom. "You're more than just your pain."

.

.

/// Goosefeather Gets Bullied By A Ghost ///

"You!" The shriek pierced the air and the brown tabby paused, breaking his attention away from the fish he had been prepared to catch.

He knew that voice..

"Reedshine!" Crookedjaw bounded forward, breaking through the underbrush and stumbling onto the Sunningrocks. The scene he found had not been the one he had been expecting, quite honestly.

There he saw the StarClan queen, her pelt bristled and her white teeth flashing in the sun. But who he saw her yelling at was not that the Dark Forest molly he had been expecting. Instead she was corning a tom.

It didn't take long at looking at the mottled, matted gray fur and the wide yellow eyes for Crookedjaw to guess who it was. This was Goosefeather of ThunderClan.

Wait.

This was was Goosefeather. A living cat. He glanced towards his great-grandmother before looking back towards the haggard old tom. Goosefeather glanced over at him in return and they both had the same realization at the same time.

They both could see Reedshine.

"Reedshine," The warrior coughed awkwardly as he tried to not cause much alarm. "Leave him alone."

"Leave this coward alone?" She snapped, never breaking her glare from the ThunderClan cat. "He left you to drown after you fell and you want me to leave him alone?"

"Yes!" Crookedjaw stepped forward, exasperated, and Reedshine turned towards him. After a moment her gaze softened before she looked towards the old tom with a less violent, but still bitter stare.

"Fine."

.

.

///Unnamed Little Talk Thing From Reedshine To Crookedjaw///

"That river brought her the first time - where she looked at me with such a vile look because the tom she loved, who sired her kits behind the Code, was my mate. And deep down in my gut I knew it'd be what brought her back from that damned place her soul was doomed to rot in. I'm just sorry it was you she chose as the target of her ire.."

///

And I think about this AU a lot!

There's more I may add in the future, as I really love this idea and Reedshine and Crookedstar both are comforting characters for me to write, so I'd love to do more with them ^^

[writer-ylstr]

Okay, lets just talk about this AMAZING movie for a second. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, I’m talking about Puss in Boots and the Last Wish.

This was a really good movie!! DreamWorks better keep it up, their movies have been improving! The animation has SKY ROCKETED!!

Below is SPOILERS!!

So please beware.

(Watch the movie if you haven’t!!)

Part i: The villain

It was so refreshing to see a fairly interesting villain. I’m talking about Death. He was super interesting, instead of carrying that big staff that the Grim Reaper has, he carries like two? I’m not sure what that weapon is called… but it was interesting design choice. His whistle always gives me shivers. Like literal chills. The fact that Deaths goal is just to get Puss into the right state of mind and he’s trying to say “Hey, theres more to life than just this.” It really makes me feel happy that there wasn’t a really long fight, instead he leaves when he realizes that Puss has already gone into that state of mind and decides not to use the wish.

Now lets talk about Goldilocks and the three bears.

They’re a really interesting family. I love the fact that instead of the bears fighting and arguing with Goldi that they’re her real family— they actually respect it and help her get the wish. I also love that Goldi decides that “Screw it, I’m gonna help my family.” Its just so wholesome!! I love their character as well! (Before you say that their not villains or whatever, just not I put them in here just as a neutral.)

Okay last and not least Big Jack Horner.

The fact that his intentions have no backstory or what not. He’s just a silly villain who wants control over magic. He even says that he had loving parents and a pie business that he was supposed to take over. He’s also very refreshing to see as a villain, and theres not as much backstory to him.

Part ii: The Main Characters

First of all, lets talk about Puss.

Puss’s song has been stuck in my head for days ever since I saw the movie. I don’t mind but its just there. Anyways, after rewatching Shrek 2 after watching the movie, I realized they added so much backstory and depth to Puss. I also rewatched half of the first movie of Puss. It was quite okay. Its fun to see that now Puss is called a ‘hero’ in the beginning of the movie, and he takes pride in it. But soon after he’s been attacked by Death— he knew that he was likely to die. He ended up retiring. But until he met Perrito and Kitty— he realized he didn’t need all those lives to enjoy life. He’s a pretty interesting character.

Now— Lets talk about Kitty!

Kitty was in the first Puss In Boots movie, I think shes an original character? I’m not sure. But she is sassy, fun, and very sarcastic. Her backstory is tragic, the fact she has trust issues, it all adds up. Kitty is a very interesting character and I hope to learn way more about her. Kitty is definitely ONE of my favorites. She is pretty cool character.

NOW LAST BUT NOT LEAST… PERRITO!!

He’s so cute!! If I could have a dog like that, I want that dog NOW. Perrito is one of my comfort characters and seeing him cheer up Puss just makes me feel so sad and it makes the scene wholesome at the same time. I love Perrito, he doesn’t know his backstory is tragic because HE IS SO DANG WHOLESOME AND OPTIMISTIC!! I love him!!

Part iii: Conclusion

Overall, this was a pretty good movie. 10/10, it has the best humor I have heard since Shrek. The censored swearing is just perfect. I love the movie, it was super good. DreamWorks is doing really good with movies! If they do come up with a Shrek 5, it BETTER be good. Can’t wait to see DreamWorks future projects!

[borkthemork]

BorkMork’s Amphibia Fanfiction Recommendations

There are so many absolutely fantastic fics out there, so these will be generalized. They could be character studies, one-shots, anything that was able to pull in my interest and leave me an absolute mess.

I won’t be tagging the authors here because I don’t want to bother them, but if any of you do know them feel free to tell them that their creativity and works are lovely, and that they have made my day ever brighter.

Anyways, let us begin.

Any Work by MayDayGirl_Save_Our_Ships

Okay so I was part of the Amphibia fandom back when it first aired. And back then there weren’t that many fics even though I was craving to see more focus on the Plantar Family and how much they mean to Anne, and overall character studies. So when I read Two Truths and a Lie, the characterization pulled me and it still aged well regardless of the new info we got about these characters today.

Years later and I am pleasantly surprised to see that the characterization once again swings and succeeds with the other fics MayDay has created. I laughed, I yelled, I felt numerous feelings for the Plantar family, and I would highly recommend their content.

bloom by dragondawdles

I haven’t been here when I saw the boom in Newtopia fics, but I had a massive craving to see Marcy fics when she first arrived in the city. Dragondawdles pulled me into this fic immediately with their prose, the characterization of Marcy and Lady Olivia, and also the really cute doodle that accompanied the story itself.

It gave me everything I wanted, and to see Marcy be curious over Lady Olivia made me ponder even more about how they acted toward each other. Overall, a cute one-shot!

Any Work by DeeTheTeaDrinkingDragon

There is something gentle about the tiniest touches, of well-done prose and filling in the potential blanks. I first read Constellations when I scoured around for some Marcanne content, and this one was the softest cuddling fic I had ever witnessed with my eyes.

It was vivid, very visually stimulating in its wholesome atmosphere, and I couldn’t get enough of it. Also, Dee’s Stay was able to check off everything I speculated for Marcanne in Season Three so me and my friend were yelling loudly over that. Would recommend them!

Any Work by feebop

I love character studies. I love authors who can pull me into the narrative through dialogue and description. Put it all together and you get feebop’s Starlit Review and Painted Yellow Lines.

Honestly, I reread them just because I feel so inspired by the attention to detail and the prose itself, they’re that good. And being able to see character studies between Marcy and Sasha always left me satisfied. I cannot recommend their stuff enough!

Any Work by mira_blue

That’s right, more character studies! Mira_blue has a few fics already but my absolute favorites would be her stuff on Marcy and Sasha, because those left me to speculate about those two more than anything, and it’s always lovely to see people’s takes while keeping the people in-character.

This Is Home is dear, because damn you can definitely get me emotionally wrecked in under 1,500 words and this is a great example.

Dance With Me by Hugh Jidiot

Long fics here we go. It took a bit to get me into Dance With Me, but when I finally had to time to read it I was absolutely pulled into Marcy and Anne being absolute disasters while trying to get ready for a massive social event. There are a lot of laughs, lots of events being filled in-between, and some study into Marcy’s thought process when it comes to socializing with people.

Few key comments on the fic itself. It took a while to get used to the newt ocs but they became absolutely enjoyable as things went on, and my favorite would be Fiona, just saying.

Also the practice dance scene was the hardest I’ve laughed in 2021 so thank you, Hugh, for this beautiful piece.

Any Work by Mighty_Ant

Fill-in-the-blank fics are always fun, but man Mighty_Ant knows how to write these so well, especially when it comes to what is basically the physical representation of emotional as heck music.

Reading the fics always flowed well to me when I narrated to myself, and you could tell the person is a professional writer with the amount of techniques used to emotionally fuck me up, especially Sasha’s story.

Thank you, Mighty_Ant, and I can’t wait for your Marcy fic!

Is She Really Your Daughter? by red_lensed_glasses

Do you ever just want to read a fic about Anne’s parents and their perspective of Marcy? And then cry? For hours? This fic is for you.

It’s such a really interesting take when it comes to how the Boonchuys perceive Marcy, and the ending got me very, and I mean very, upset for really good reasons. This fic is a recommendation, I love it!

Anne 2.0 by mandaree1

I always wondered if Anne ever got a scar from, y’know, breaking her arm, so this was a delight to read when it came to Marcy’s POV of the situation. You get Marcy being an analytical nerd in her writing style — in an intriguing second-person, no less — and it’s just really good!

Heron by TheDinosaurNerd

I stumbled upon this fic while I was looking for some Grime and Sasha one-shots, and I really liked the dialogue found in this! Very succinct, to-the-point, but in said succinctness you are able to form a really well-done fill-in-the-blanks story.

not delivered. by camomile_t

God. This is one of the big ole’ fics in this fandom that is keeping me alive throughout the hiatus, I love text fics when done well, especially when they utilize the features and limitations to basically do storytelling, and this is one of those examples. Cause holy shit.

This fic takes any theories about what could happen in Season Three and goes the limit. You get Marcanne, you get a well-done mix of comedy and angst, you get Sasha having her redemption, you get the Plantars/Boonchuys being a supportive family, and a lot more!

I binged the hell out of this and kept up with each update with much eager anticipation. You have no clue, my friend and I keep speculating and theorizing in DMs over this fic. It is so good.

There Will Be No Dancing by PartlyCloudySkies

I have read this fic so many times. Ten? Twenty? I don’t know, but I keep coming back to this just because of how well-written it is. When I tell you that this fic plays out like a legitimate Amphibia episode, I absolutely mean it.

This fic is an Amphibia episode from some alternate universe and is now given to us on a silver platter.

And for what????? We were given to this free and we’re supposed to take it with no complaints?????? Understandable, have a good day. I can’t.

You get amazing pacing, a writing style that fits Anne’s perspective to a T, dialogue and comedy logic that hits what Amphibia is all about, and you also get two girls being gay in Newtopia. What’s not to love?

Go read it. Do it. Put a comment. I don’t know what you do, but just acknowledge the fact that this fic has ruined the shit out of me and now I cannot recover, ever.

[lady-literature]

I rewrite Sky High

okay so, disclaimer: sky high was actually pretty damn good for it’s time and a lot of the plot twists/tropes used in it were still just starting out and not as commonplace as they are today. so 10/10 really good movie.

Also as i was writing this, it turned into half analysis of what’s already in the movie and half things I would change about the movie so,,, yeah. enjoy!

***

So the point about Sky High is that and the way the school and hero society as a whole works, is that you, as the audience, are supposed to look at it and know that it’s a flawed system. We’re supposed to see it as an injustice that kids are sorted into hero or sidekick- Sorry, I mean ‘Hero Support,’ on your first day of school based on something you can’t even control.

(This movie was my hero academia-ing it up before it was cool.)

Anyway, the movie calls a lot of attention to it in the beginning, but then doesn't actually give it the resolution it deserves in the end. Which, not cool guys.

The Hero/Sidekick debacle is, on the whole, a very thinly veiled metaphor for the problems minorities face. Specifically, those of the alphabet mafia, or LGBTQ, as we’re more commonly known.

There are a lot of examples for this so I’ll speed through the big ones real quick:

Will’s nerves regarding not having attraction to girls superpowers?

The way he tries to fake having an attraction to girls superpowers to get approval from his dad?

Being literally outed in front of his whole class (by someone named Boomer no less) and then immediately trying to hide it from his parents as long as possible?

The constant references to being a ‘late bloomer’. Doesn’t it remind you of the common phrases: ‘it’s just a phase’ or ‘don’t worry. You’ll start liking [opposite gender] eventually.’ ?

The scene in the kitchen, right after Will introduces the Sidekick Squad (and yes, that is what I’ll be referring to them as for the rest of this essay tumblr post). Will is so obviously trying to gauge how his dad is going to take his friends being sidekicks and also him being a sidekick. I just, this is so blatantly a coming out scene? How does anybody not see it as that?

(also the dad talking so offhandedly about bigotry and the hatred his own father had for sidekicks??? Who else has been there?)

Will telling his dad that he doesn’t care, that he’s proud of being gay to be a sidekick is just,,, *chef’s kiss*

With all of this backing behind Will and him growing into not being ashamed of his lack of powers, My first change would be that Will does not, in fact receive his father’s super strength. It’s just such a cop out! The movie had all this amazing build up, and this brilliant metaphor it could have used and, instead, they threw it all away.

The sudden acquisition of powers and immediate acceptance by his peers, feels too close to someone being ‘fixed’. That Will wasn’t good enough the way he was and had to be better, had to be his father in order to be good enough.

So, no. Will remains powerless.

Instead of the revelation of ‘he’s strong’, we get to let the Sidekick Squad shine.

Lash and Speed still cause a fight between Warren and Will, but when Will is under the table, the sidekicks actually do something.

Will knocks the table over (not, like, lifting Warren up but something closer to pushing him off. I mean, even I could push upwards from underneath a table fast enough that if someone is standing on it, they’d lose their balance and fall to the ground) and that starts things.

The Sidekick Squad all grab forgotten lunch trays or cartons of milk or something and throw it at Warren. It isn’t long then that the whole scene devolves into a food fight (Zach, at least, does not have good aim and probably hits a bystander accidentally, drawing more people in, until the whole cafeteria is involved.) The fight turns into something more playful, but still with that bit of an undertone of trying to actually hurt each other.

Ethan melts at one point and (accidentally) causes Warren to slip and land on his back, Magenta probably punches someone (not Warren) and Zach is just mouthing off to anybody who gets close enough. Near the end, right before Principal Powers shows up, Layla finally gets the right idea and just fire extinguishes the shit out of Warren.

(Side note here: I am very much also nixing the Layla crushes on Will plotline. I love best friends to lovers just as much as the next person but… no. Let kids see boy/girl friendships! 

Instead, I will be inserting a Layla/Warren love story and you can consider this the first scene on the road for that.)

Anyway, the whole Sidekick Squad plus Warren ends up in the detention room and all of them are covered in food. Right after Principal Powers leaves, the Sidekick Squad is immediately talking excitedly to each other about how cool they just were and what they did. Basically it’s very wholesome and they’re all hyping each other up and then one of them, Layla or Will, excitedly turns to Warren and goes, ‘and that thing you did with the fireballs? God! I don’t think Lash is going to have any eyebrows for a month’ and the tension between them all but drops.

Warren, of course, tries to push them away and not get involved with their ridiculousness, but the Sidekick Squad is stubborn and by the end of detention, everyone but Warren is in agreement that he’s a part of the Squad now. They will not leave him alone. They also start hanging out at the Paper Lantern all the time just to annoy/make fun of him in that loving way friends do.

(I just want Warren to be a part of the Squad guys. Will calls him his best friend at the end but what did the movie actually do to show they were friends? Nothing, that’s what. I want that fixed.)

So the cafeteria fight boosts the whole Squad’s reputation, right? People think those sidekicks are pretty cool, and they get their fifteen minutes of fame. Only… Will gets a little hooked on the feeling of being popular. He doesn’t want to be a capital-h Hero or anything! But, well… he’d be lying if he didn’t like people thinking he was cool.

The others don’t really care all that much about being cool, but Will does. He hates that he does but what is he supposed to do? He can’t change how he feels. So he starts trying to make himself more popular and sometimes tries dragging his friends into stupid schemes.

And then enter stage right, one Gwen Grayson.

I prefer Gwen being Royal Pain’s daughter, actually. A girl who would’ve had no stock in this fight but her mother, who is sickly and weak and survives mostly because her daughter takes care of her, practically brainwashes Gwen to do her bidding.

Gwen is a minion here, and also, perhaps, a victim.

At first, she follows her mom’s orders and charms Will into dating her. She also feeds into his desire to gain popularity but can’t, in this world, break him from his friends. Actually, Will brings Gwen along to the Sidekick Squad hangouts and, slowly, she becomes a part of the group too.

She starts to doubt her mother. Starts to care for Will and the Squad.

She throws the party, and the Squad is all invited (trying to break them up isn’t conducive to the Plan her mother has anyway and wouldn’t work besides) but she lures Will away to make out and… other things, and he brings her to the Sanctum for privacy just like before. She still steals the pacifier (or whatever death ray equivalent you want idk) but she and Will don’t break up at the end of the night.

It’s not actually until two days later, right before the dance is going to start, does Gwen decide she can’t stand back and let this happen anymore. She spills the whole plot and her betrayal to Will when he comes to pick her up for the dance. She’s crying and apologizing and basically expecting to be hated forever by the only people she thinks ever actually liked her.

And, well. Will is furious at her for lying but there’s more important things to deal with at the moment. They’ll talk more about this and he’ll be angry, but that’s all going to be later. Right now they have a school to save so he grabs her hand and starts running to warn the rest of their friends.

Things happen mostly as canon from that point with minor changes.

It’s Warren who pulls Layla into a kiss before they all split off into groups, telling her to kick ass and stay safe before sprinting off after Speed. There have been scenes throughout the movie where the two are very obviously getting closer and are into each other. And then, before the dance, while Gwen and Will we’re technically going as a couple, the whole Squad was going as a group.

When Warren and Layla saw each other all dolled up, it’s very cliché. Warren says she looks nice and Layla visibly gulps at his outfit of a button down and suit pants, sleeves rolled up to his elbows (because homeboy does not wear a full tux you can fight me on this).

And also, Will doesn’t fight Royal Pain by himself. Instead, Gwen is there with him and they don’t fight with super strength. Gwen’s been helping Will build an arsenal of gadgets a la Batman and the two face off against her mom together, Gwen with her powers, and Will acting as half support and half as a watered-down Batman who still needs some more training before he’s totally polished.

The school falls from the sky, but Gwen buys them time by keeping the anti gravs working through sheer force of will, while Will holds off her mom from attacking her while she’s vulnerable and concentrating. Magenta eventually kills the EMP or whatever it was, and the day is saved.

Gwen passes out, cause ~drama~ but she ends up okay so don’t worry. She’s just exhausted. 

The sidekicks get their recognition and then immediately bounce because dances suck and they all agree that they should go to the Paper Lantern instead to celebrate cause they’re tired, alright? Saving the day is hard.

So it’s all of them, a little battered and bruised and exhausted, crowded into this corner booth and laughing and being kids. The camera does it’s fade to comic book page thing, and the narration is something more along the lines of:

“Royal Pain and her cronies got locked away. Gwen and I talked things out, and she’s getting help for all the stuff her mom did to her. We’re taking things slow in the meantime.

The school is undergoing a lot of changes to the curriculum and getting rid of the whole ‘hero/sidekick’ divisions. (Mostly at the urging of my parents… and Layla). Next year is going to look a lot different, I think.

But it’ll be a good different, just like we are. None of us were what we were expected to be, and, I think, we’re going to keep defying expectations. There’s a whole world out there that needs changing.

And I can’t think of a better group of friends to do it with.”

THE END

(just give me found family saves the day by being themselves rather than somebody else, give me them saving the day because they care about each other, give me them fighting for what’s right and fixing things. please i am b e g g i n g.)

***

Additional nitpicks that are small but Very Important to Me

Coach Boomer is still called coach Boomer because there is no way I am missing out on the ‘okay, boomer’ jokes

Layla stays like Layla, but i’d like for the movie to stop trying to make her seem annoying for her beliefs or like she’s wrong to be so vocal about them. Her caring about things that are wrong ends up as the butt of too many jokes and i… do not like that.

Why so many dad/son scenes? Why this janky imbalance parenting dynamic between the Strongholds. Knock that shit off. I want happy functional family thank you very much

Mr Boy and the mad scientist are very obviously in a relationship

Wait, actually: mr boy, mad scientist and Boomer are al in a poly relationship and are ridiculous about it

I’d like to see more of the sidekick classes going over like, ‘the boring’ parts of the job, and teaching the kids how to deal with the aftermath of the heroes heroics, just to hammer in the fact that the system is fucked up and that it’s messed up that the heroes get all the recognition while the sidekicks are left to clean up the mess

Use actual 14 year old actors? These kids look like seniors.

Or, if you want more ‘mature’ characters make it so sky high is like,,, a finishing school or smth. Something kids 16 and over go to.

(What the fuck kind of parent thinks that their freshman child dating a senior is a good idea?? An almost adult coming onto a fourteen year old??? Are you trying to make Will’s parents (particularly the dad) seem like irresponsible assholes??)

Gwen is, at most, a year above Will in this rewrite, kay?

[lukesperfectharmonyhair]

im rewatching jatp instead of studying for the 3 tests i have tomorrow and i thought i would share my thoughts and reactions with each episode so enjoy!!....

wake up

- hearing the “1, 2, 3″ at the start of the episode gives me more serotonin than my antidepressants ever will

- julie’s slippers...that’s it...that’s the thought

- that dry ass pasta the molina’s are eating for dinner??? someone needs to give my man ray some cooking tips or a cookbook... something

-the looks the boys give julie when she says it was an OLD cd she found. as if they could be old??

-the entire julie and luke kitchen scene i mean there are no words to describe how much i am in love with scene. the banter, the flirting, luke giving this girl he literally just met an actual PIECE OF HIS SOUL so she can get music back into her life. not a single time have i watched that scene and not felt my heart literally grow cause of how cute they are. 

-the entire scene when julie is singing wake up. that scene is what made me literally CRAVE watching the other episodes. like of course i was going to watch them cause i wasn’t gonna just stop watching a show after one episode, and yes the show was good already but seeing the lighting and her voice, and just everything about the scene,,,,*chef’s kiss* 

bright

-flynn drinking seven sodas....SEVEN??? i would be throwing up if i drank more than like 2 and she drank seven,,,no ma’am.

- flynn and her trumpet. talented queen

- “ i wouldn’t have given you the song if i didnt think you were gonna rock it.” lmaooo im crying:)

- i start tearing up every time julie goes to play the first notes of bright,,, and then i’m full on bawling when the guys come in and play with her cause...they weren’t playing to be seen they were playing to be there for her and play to comfort her. pls i love them<3

- nick vibing in the front row

- the tech guy deserves so much more praise

flying solo

- reggie’s little butt shake or whatever you wanna call it!!

- julie’s little laugh when she yells at the guys to stop it

- “and we’re on the runway again” GENUINELY one of my favorite lines of the whole show pls i love luke’s humor

-this is the first time i noticed this but reggie’s face after alex says “DONT TELL ME HOW TO GHOST!”

-WILLIE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU<3333333

-the slow mo helmet take off,,,,me too alex me too

-willie’s little giggles:))))

- “oh-oh!”

- “no clue” alex i love you baby<3

- next season better give us a scene of flynn throwing eggs at someone’s house because i think it’s safe to say we were robbed of that experience. 

- the flying solo performance is just amazing

i got the music

- just the whole opening scene is so cute ....the dancing, singing, happiness RADIATING from julie 

-nick in an all white suit and fedora

-WILLEX MUSEUM DATE YEAH BABYYYYY

- carefree skateboarder bf and anxiety ridden drummer bf

- yelling. in. museums. 

-alex thinking he’s literally dying again because of the salt... zero braincells in this band.

- another scene we were robbed of that i need to see in season 2...reggie singing “home is where my horse is” while alex and julie sit patiently and attentively listen to him but luke looks like he’s about to commit murder

- i get SO MUCH second hand embarrassment for julie when she looks through luke’s songbook and says “ wow luke I didn’t know you were such a romantic” julie baby i love you but...eekkkkk

- “he looks like a substitute teacher”- where did he come up with that like so many other things he could be compared to but a substitute teacher??

- “luke introduced you to rock” heck yeah it did.. literal soulmates

- would like to see a picture of the raccoon in Flynn’s backyard

- wee woo wee woo police sirens://///

- julie’s outfit ughhhh i love it

- the poster that im pretty sure says “sexiest role” behind caleb... why was that necessary 

the other side of hollywood

- THE ENTIRE PERFORMANCE OF THE OTHER SIDE OF HOLLYWOOD 

- i lose my absolute shit over this song omg literal chills

- the cape grab i cannot physically do this rn

- willie being so excited the entire performance and looking over to see alex’s reaction

- reggie being in awe everytime one of the girls performing does something.. me too reggie

-”well i wouldn't really call it mAAgiCcCC bUT”

- nick and his fedora again

- alex has a crush, alex has a crush on.....WILLIE

-the boys eating food for the first time in 25 years is honestly so realistic

-alex shoving a whole slice of pizza in his mouth

- lukes ‘OH MY GODDDDD’

- reggie kissing his meatball sub that looks painfully dry but also delicious 

- the continuation of the other side of hollywood performance and everyone dancing

-reggie imitating caleb’s evil laugh and owen trying so hard not to break

-me getting mad at the boys for not showing up for julie and being sad with her but at the same time i’m obviously not mad at the boys just...disappointed?? idk 

finally free

- how did julie get to the school if she missed the first three classes?? wasn’t she still at flynn’s house from the night before cause she slept over so did she walk to school or was she just sitting in flynn’s house by herself and one of flynn’s parents was like you gonna go to school or???

-dance class with nicky poo<3

-reggie fixing his amp in the rain

-julie’s blue dress outfit in this episode is my ABSOLUTE favorite 

- the birthday candle scene makes me sob like a little baby,,,and rightfully so

- julie smart, smart to be taking calculus as what a sophomore??

- all eyes on me yes queen iconic

- alex dancing is how i dance in my brain whenever the song comes on 

- finally free as a song is NEVER given enough credit and why not?? it’s my favorite song they do as a band AND the madison’s vocals and the echoing part omg i loveeeee

- and the whole performance with luke’s heart eyes. i count this performance as the moment luke like fell in love with julie...like full on just blown away with how much awe and admiration he has for her in that moment and all the time.

 - julie and luke singing “and you’re a part of me” while staring directly into each others soul,,,yeah that’s love kids

edge of great

- carlos being the ghost hunter he is and tía being done with him

- luke’s pouting face 

- reggie and ray making breakfast together is so wholesome. reggie really loves and seeks comfort in ray and i love that

- luke just waiting next to julie’s locker and his little “hey”

- the first time i watch this scene i thought charlie was from new york cause of the way he says “ i can't do this without you” and then i watched the cast interviews and just realized he is somewhat joey tribbiani 

- jealous luke hehehehehhehehe

- “well dont you look shARrP”- yes he does luke thank you very much

- “uh oh i think someone has a crush on julie” yeah you do you little shit,,, now admit it to her

- the proud look on luke’s face when he realizes julie is still paying attention to HIM even though she’s supposed to be having a full on conversation with nick

- the shoulder push ( as someone who has had their own shoulder pushed in the middle of a high school hallway as a weird way of flirting,,,,i can definitely somewhat attest to how luke is feeling in that moment and i too continued to flirt with the person who shoulder shoved me while we were still standing in the hallway)

- the flow from whatever the hell dance nick and julie are doing and the perfect harmony dance is so special to me and i love it

-ADOANCLOBNAOVBCOAB THE HAIR PLSSSSS

- EVERYTIME THE SCENE COMES ON AND I SEE HIM WALKING THROUGH THE MIRROR I HAVE TO PAUSE THE SHOW FOR LIKE 10 MINUTES WHILE I DIE LAUGHING BECAUSE THE HAIR IS SO BAD EVEN THOUGH I SHOULD BE USED TO HOW IT LOOKS AFTER WATCHING THIS SHOW LITERALLY 30 TIMES

- i think people see my username and assume i like his hair in this scene but...ummm fun little fact i do not like it

- the dance is so good though ugh my babies

- the hair

- madison is gorgeous 

- another season 2 scene i need: julie teaching this dance to luke and they perform it in front of alex and reggie so they can see luke roll on the floor like that

-the hair

- the lift i loveeee

- the voices at the end of the song *chef’s kiss*

- the way julie spins out from luke and into nick omg so good

- “thAnKs pArTnER”

- luke denying his feelings for julie,,,babe pls

- the whole edge of great performance is so good and beautiful and the colors are SPECTACULAR 

-julie avoiding luke’s gaze lolz

- can't believe my mans really tried to deny he didn’t have feelings for julie like 5 hours earlier even though he’s getting upset because she hasn’t looked at him in 2 minutes

- THE. GUITAR. RIFF. SOLO.

- when i finally learn how to play the electric guitar well enough to learn the guitar solo... it’s over for everyone

-nick just came to watch the girl he likes perform not watch her flirt with a hologram plssss can we give this man a break next season.

- “we have to say goodbye to julie”- that’s literally more important to luke than not playing music anymore because julie is music to him now

unsaid emily

-already crying and the episode hasn't even started

-willex in the orpheum

- alex literally being OVER reggie

- nope too emotionally unstable to watch this scene right now

- my therapist will be hearing about this tomorrow

- show us the baby picture of luke cowards

- this is such a beautiful song that makes me cry every fucking time gosh damn it

- everytime i watch the flashback scene of luke on his bike i think of “christmas song” by phoebe bridges and i cry even more

- i tried to learn how to play this song on my electric guitar (because i dont have an acoustic guitar) and i ended up crying half way through so i do not think i will be playing it anytime soon:/

- the harmonies *chef’s kiss*

- THE POLICE LIGHTS ....i cry

- FAT tears rolling down my face

- there's literally not a moment i don’t cry during this episode

- interesting little relationship :0

- when i played percussion in 7th grade i used to lay down on the couch in the practice room at school ( which god knows what people did on that couch...ew) and stick my drumsticks up my nose too,,,, just another similarity between alex and i 

stand tall

- willie really drove a bus 200 miles into the desert for his crush

- WILLEX HUG 

- i love willie no last name so much,,,i just wanna hold and protect him

- alex’s ballerina dance

-julie’s overall outfit i love<3

- “im swimming”

- the way carlos hangs up the iPad on tía makes me CRACK UP he’s just lmao bye girl

- another julie outfit i love

- “anything julie. you know that.” AHHHHHAASIDSJFPACISN love bitches

- the suits

- luke’s hair in this episode is so much better than the perfect harmony hair pls

- YOU GOT NOTHING TO LOSE

- the way luke looks so restricted and confined in his suit... but at the same time he looks like a 10 week old puppy

-luke’s AGGRESSIVE but small foot tapping leading up to being on the stage

- the solos:)))))

- crying again over julie’s monologue to her mom

- julie really was brave enough to be ready to perform by herself

-the way Trevor looks at carrie when she says “been here before”

-ALEXXXXXX

-REGGIEEEEE

-luuukkKKKEEEEEEE

- this performance makes me cry

- especially the first time when i saw luke flickering...sobs

- he finally looks free in his suit:))

- alex’s solo is so pretty i love him

- reggie’s solo too 

- nick just straight up vibing the entire performance

- alex and luke holding hands...hehehe cute besties

- “thank you, guys” NO THANK YOU 

- the way julie begs for them to do something about the jolts for HER cause she knows luke would never say no to her

- “no music is worth making, julie, if we’re not making it with you,” I JUST SCREAMED AND IM PRETTY SURE I WOKE UP MY ENTIRE HOUSEHOLD...whoops

- going back to that line i could say so much about it but....for someone who’s life was literally MUSIC for the 17 years he was alive, and after finding out he could play music again even though he was dead and saying it made him feel alive, he would give that up- he would give up playing his guitar, playing in a band with his friends, give up writing and singing music- if he wasn’t doing that with julie. that’s more than saying i love you,,,that’s literally like saying i’d give up my ENTIRE LIFE and what i love to do if i dont get to do it with you

- i just made myself cry with that description...wow

-the hug<3

-also imagine how luke felt in that moment,,, hearing this girl, once again that he would give his life up for, saying in his ear that she loves them. i would motherfucking glow too, luke

- *passionately but gently holds each others faces*

-HANDS OFF MY BABY NICK, CALEB

- caleb’s outfit is....something

- the head turn plssss

this was so long and i am so sorry but if you read this far.....leave some of your own reactions or thoughts:)))

k goodnight im gonna, ugh, finally go study ://

[theravennest]

Let’s Talk: The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion

I finished all 40 eps about two weeks ago, actually. I enjoyed it for the most part, the 1st half especially, but there were several things near the end that took me out. 

But first some of the good bits...

The cast chemistry was immaculate. Our four main lead actors were a lot of fun together. Not just Zhang Zhehan and Ju Jing Yi, but also Wang You Shuo and Xu Jiaqi (Loved them!). The four of them have such obvious ease with each other after their previous work together in Legend of Yun Xi and it made scenes with any combination of the main four really pop. 

I was especially drawn to the sisters’ relationship and the Prince-Vassal bond going on between Prince Su and Little Marquis. (Y’all know I’m a sucker for both sibling stories and stories about fictional royals and their loyal vassals.)

Most of the ancillary characters were interesting, actually. As y’all know from my last post about this one, I was crack shipping like crazy all the side characters. 😂 This cast made it easy for me.

Except for Prince An. (Sorry to hit the bad so early.) Good god, I hated that man. His character was poorly drawn in pretty much every way, which is unfortunate cuz he’s the main antagonist. Any story with a main antagonist that just doesn’t work is always gonna be weaker.

Also, no offense to people who like that actor but he was the only cast member who did absolutely nothing for me in terms of performance. So much of the story was focused on his weaksauce motivation and dry acting like, my god, put me out of my misery I do not care.

Anyway, the set design and costuming was top notch and I even enjoyed the broader story ideas the show was trying to put forth. The sitcom vibe of the first 20 eps or so was SOOO good. Our four mains’ comedic timings were pitch perfect. 

Unfortunately, the writing took a sharp nosedive in the back 3rd or so and it had a rough ending. (The lightning strike on the tower scene, the fight in the underground temple, the return of Prince An’s mom...all of that was trash. let’s be real.)

I mostly blame this on three things: the missteps with the Prince An character, the lack of development of Rong’s prophetic dreams even though that was the main premise of the show, and the jump-the-shark moment that was the wedding night and its subsequently underwritten fallout. 

Now to clarify, I don’t mean to say the wedding night event shouldn’t have happened at all but rather the execution of it within the story was poor and it negatively impacted 90% of the other character motivations/progressions and the overall pacing. 

You know, it felt like that thing you do as a writer where you wake up and have a specific scene in your mind. It’s evocative, impactful, fun, or otherwise intense. But you just have that scene and it’s something that would have to happen in the middle of your story. So you work your way backwards to try to get to that scene and you do your best to get the characters to make decisions to get there but when you sit down to write nothing works out. It’s clunky or OOC for the scene to still happen so you end up having to either scrap the evocative scene or keep the clunky lead up and hope no one notices. That’s what that wedding scene and everything that happened after felt like. They wrote themselves into a corner and just struggled to recover until the bitter end. 

The main pairing suffered the most because of the poor writing choices. No matter how much chemistry ZZH and JJY have together, even they could not completely salvage Rong’s yo-yoing behavior with Prince Su. They started off so wholesome and then dove into such toxicity and miscommunication for no reason. 

Don’t get me wrong. I can very easily enjoy angst. But Fu Rong consistently broke this man down. After ep 25-26, it stopped being good angst and became so awful to watch all the emotional manipulation and turmoil. There’s something broken in the writing if 9 out of 10 times Prince Su cried or fell into depression it was because of something Rong did or said to him after jumping to a conclusion with only part of the puzzle pieces gathered. 

I could forgive some stuff because Prince An was manipulating things but some stuff was just all Rong not giving Prince Su the benefit of the doubt or plain old not doing her due diligence in investigating. She is supposed to have inherited the most prolific and successful spy organization in the show and she still got 90% of her conclusions wrong. It was like she was determined to always think the worst of Prince Su no matter what despite how often he went above and beyond to help her. Despite the fact that he literally had a reputation as a general for being a harsh taskmaster but fair and just. 

I think what broke me was when she did the bare minimum investigation into her own father’s death and just fully blamed Prince Su without confronting him honestly or even considering his personality or their relationship up until that point. She really believed a single street seller’s entire testimony over the man she lived with and supposedly loved for months. Girl...

And this is after she’d previously mistakenly accused him of killing her mentor with very few facts to the point where she stabbed him on their wedding night.

There came a point where I actually wanted Prince Su to finally, truly divorce Rong and settle down with someone who could love him right. Maybe give him time to heal from the repeated heartbreaks, betrayals, and the literal stab wound in his chest but he was so fucking in love with Rong, he just couldn’t escape.

(If there were behind the scenes production reasons for the clunky-ness of the back half, I would not be surprised at all but ultimately they don’t matter cuz the story we got was the story we got.)

Imagine if we had gotten a Rong who used her prophetic dreams to navigate the cut throat world of royal politics. Or imagine if we’d gotten Rong as a true apprentice to Ruyi who learned both metalsmithing and spycraft in the first half and took over the pavilion as a competent leader in the second half. As it stands, it just felt like wasted potential.

I’m glad they had the modern day special AU eps tho cuz those were great. Zhang Zhehan and Ju Jing Yi had the opportunity to really showcase their incredible chemistry but in a modern setting and with better writing than the back 3rd of BRYP.

Now let’s talk Zhang Zhehan since he was the reason I started this in the first place. I loved him in this. I truly did. He was stern and serious but also playful and sweet. He was romantic but awkward, badass but vulnerable. He really delivered a nuanced and charming performance. I loved every second.

I think my favorite moment wasn’t some badass fight or even a super romantic moment. No, it was when he got drunk and started crying like a little baby cuz Rong was constantly doubting him no matter what he did. It was simultaneously sad and hilarious. Like gut busting funny. Y’all can watch it here:

I laughed so fucking hard at this. Oh my god, guys! This shit was too much.

Random Thoughts:

The romance between the 2nd leads was A+. Truly an adorable affair. Though I think they should’ve gotten together officially earlier around ep 25 or so and we should’ve seen the rest with them as a couple.

The costuming was so good y’all. For all the main four characters but I was especially drawn to Prince Su’s outfits.

The ghostly pale look with the bright red lips and eyeshadow makeup for Rong did not bother me at all. I actually liked it for her though I think it would’ve worked better if she’d had more explicit prophetic abilities.

I could’ve used more actual war scenes with Prince Su and Little Marquis.

The OST for the show SLAPPED!

That one kid spy in Ruyi Pavilion was voiced by the same actor as Chengling from WOH and I have never double-taked harder. lmao

Even though there were things I didn’t like in this show, I appreciated how gay I could make it in my last post. Truly it was a bisexual’s dream aesthetically.