#go re-watch red vs blue

[breezypsyche]

Do you remember how last week I discussed how homophily encourages us as humans to branch out to those who think, act, and feel similarly to us? Do you also remember how I mentioned that this tendency can be seen in a positive light through the use of the algorithm? How about how the algorithm can help populate content geared toward our areas of interest, such as that one series of movies you watch in guilty pleasure even though they are not seen as "cool" or "entertaining"?

We will flip that script and see how homophily and algorithms can be used for not-so-good things. Are you as intrigued and excited as I am? (If you would like to play catch-up from last week, or if you would like a quick refresher, click here to read about the birds!)

But what is a bias bubble, anyway?

I know you have heard people refer to "living in a bubble" before, but it may not be so far off from reality with how social media can be. Kaiser and Rauchfleisch (2020) mentioned that a "bubble" can be formed around individuals by how the algorithm is designed to work (Kaiser & Rauchfleisch, 2020). What does that mean, exactly?

Look at how algorithms are designed - they keep spoon-feeding content similar to what the user has previously viewed, sometimes in a continuous loop. That continuous content loop can keep a user "trapped within a bubble," so to speak. While within a bubble, nothing comes in, and nothing goes out - this is also similar to content that can be viewed on social media.

Content bubbles ensure we view the same content repeatedly, forever in a loop. For some, this could mean something as insignificant as makeup tutorial videos, gaming strategy videos, or even how-to videos. However, that continuous content stream can create the perfect storm for "us versus them" thinking for many others through the means of cognitive bias.

A perfect example of allowing cognitive bias to flood the mind negatively through social media is conspiracy theory content. We all have encountered that person who continually posts about various conspiracies. Let us say you were bored one day and decided to click a video about cryptids. Once that link is clicked, you have encouraged the algorithm to feed you more information about cryptids, which can bleed into other conspiracy theories. After so many hundreds of hours of viewing cryptid-related content, it would be difficult to not believe.

Oh.... now I get it. I don't want it anymore.

As an American, I see this played out in real-time through the political environment on social media. Family members and friends of mine lean in opposite directions concerning political views and constantly post such aligned content to their walls, making my feed a weird amalgamation of "red" versus "blue" (not the old YouTube show about Halo, sadly).

When you're stuck in the bias bubble, it is incredibly easy to continually find the same type of content being regurgitated, which can morph into something more hateful and sinister the longer you allow yourself to be stuck inside that bubble. Lee, Karimi, Wagner, Jo, Strohmaier, and Galesic (2019) found how one thinks or views their personal social media groups influences their own behaviors, thoughts, and beliefs, thereby creating a bias based on the very influence of their social media groups. (Lee et al., 2019).

How can I break free of the bubble of bias?

It is physically accessible, but may not be mentally easy to break free from the bias bubble. To put it simply: use that beautiful brain of yours! Critical thinking is a delightful tool any human on the planet can use to be open-minded about any topic. Meegan (n.d.) shared the depth of critical thinking to be artful, analytical, and evaluative (Meegan, n.d.).

Critical thinking is artful because it takes consistent practice over one's lifetime - in fact, most do not ever truly "master" the art! Critical thinking is analytical because it takes breaking down each thought, feeling, or opinion bit by bit until you get to the core of the rationality behind it. Critical thinking is evaluative because it is up to each of us to find the standard behind each thought, feeling, or opinion we come across.

Great - what does Critical Thinking have to do with breaking the bias bubble?

It is really so simple: find someone who does not think like you! In social media, this can easily be done by utilizing the search bar to type in a topic you know nothing about and read away! If you do not know what certain words or phrases mean within that community, ask away or consult a dictionary - which is at our fingertips thanks to our mobile devices!

Try flexing that beautiful brain of yours today!

References Kaiser, J., & Rauchfleisch, A. (2020). Birds of a feather get recommended together: Algorithmic homophily in YouTube’s channel recommendations in the United States and Germany. Social Media + Society, 6(4). Lee, E., Karimi, F., Wagner, C., Jo, H., Strohmaier, M., & Galesic, M. (2019). Homophily and minority-group size explain perception biases in social networks. Nature Human Behaviour, 3(10), 1078-1087. Meegan, G. (n.d.). What is critical thinking? [Blog post]. Links to an external site. https://theelementsofthought.org/what-is-critical-thinking/

[caffeine-high]

sometimes i wonder who i would be if i hadn't been obsessed with rvb when i was a teenager

but i also wonder even more who i would be if i was still watching it actively now

[major-comet]

The Music in RvB: Restoration Kinda Sucks. Here's how I'd fix it.

I gave this as a presentation the other night after my first re-watch of the finale, and it was a major hit so I thought I would share it with other people who think too hard about Halo fanfiction.

Red VS Blue has some truly fantastic music in it's 21 year history, and I think that the music here was pretty weak. Obviously this post has major spoilers for RvB19 / Restoration, so be warned.

So, under the Read More is a typed up and fleshed out version of my powerpoint presentation where I will dive in and not just bitch about the musical choices, but explain how I would fix things. This is...really long, but I hope you all enjoy my thoughts :)

This will be best enjoyed if you listen to the songs I'm talking about as a refresher. For your convenience, I have input links to the songs on Youtube when necessary.

So what's the problem?

Since the development of the finale overlapped with Rooster Teeth getting shut down, it's very likely that they had minimal funds. (EDIT: Yes, the finale itself was done by the time the announcement rolled around. However, the decision was almost certainly already in the works at WB. RT was shut down in part for financial reasons. It’s all connected.) I personally think this was part of why Burnie/RT was/were [reportedly] so insistent on using stock music for part of the season rather than a whole soundtrack done by Trocadero - I'm not sure they had the money to properly compensate for a full soundtrack. And maybe it was just a stupid / dick move, and had nothing to do with money at all, but that's what I choose to believe if only because it makes me feel slightly better about it.

This means that besides the stock music, the Zero song for that cameo, and Waning Moon (the Barenaked Ladies song), all we have are four re-used songs from earlier RvB - these songs being the Trocadero Grifball theme, I Say Ooh and Round One by Jeff Williams, and Vale Deah by Trocadero. There's also a David Levy composition in there somewhere according to the credits, R U Ready, but I have no idea what it is or where it plays. It's bothering the hell out of me because it does not appear to be a reused piece as far as I can tell - at least not reused from RvB. If anyone has any leads on this please reach out, because it seems crazy that there's one random possibly original David composition mixed in there. I've checked Apple Music and Soundcloud, nothing by that name.

In this very Meta focused film, neither of The Meta's themes play in any shape or form - [When] Your Middle Name is Danger by Trocadero or Plagam Extremam Infligere by Jeff Williams.

Nor do any of the character themes, really. Most of the series' iconic recurring tracks are completely absent. Tex's various themes, Carolina's theme - hell not even Blood Gulch Blues or the iconic intro music.

Were there any highlights?

Of course there were!

Considering I was going into the finale having only been spoiled on Vale Deah, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the Jeff tracks! That was totally unexpected, and really lovely.

Speaking of, I thought the use of Vale Deah was a really lovely touch. Fun fact: that song was used for the end credits of the Season 1 DVD, so it really felt like a sweet full circle moment.

I think that using a Barenaked Ladies song for that very sweet scene of Caboose, Grif, and Simmons reminiscing about Blood Gulch by the fire was a very lovely choice, and quite honestly it was my favorite scene in the whole thing. The BNL have been close to RvB and RT since damn near the beginning, and it was very nice to hear them attached to the finale in that small way.

I should also point out that the composer for the season is Carl Thiel - known for his work on Hot Fuzz and the second and third Spy Kids movies. I think he did a totally fine job. I liked the bugles that were under Sarge's death, but the rest doesn't really stand out much. Perfectly serviceable.

So, now that that's out of the way, let's break down those four returning songs a bit more - shall we?

Grifball Official Theme - Trocadero

This was a really funny choice. It's such a quick bit, but I respect Burnie's dedication to get in one last Grifball joke. Obviously, I would have preferred to hear a different song for something else, but this was totally harmless.

Vale Deah - Trocadero

Lo-fi Hip-hop beats to get divorced to.

God that scene was heartbreaking. I love this song a lot - I think a lot of Trocadero's strongest stuff is the stuff that just feels kind of melancholy. It's something Nico does really well, and I think Vale Deah is one of my favorite examples of that. Like I said above, I think this song was used really well - if I had to pick a different track for that same scene I would probably choose Half Life. While it was written during the Blood Gulch era, it wasn't really used in the show until Seasons 12 and 13 - notably, a version of it plays under Kimball's rally speech to the troops after Doyle's death. I just really like it, tbh. There's absolutely other songs that could work, but I think having it be a BGC-era track served the scene really well.

I Say Ooh - Jeff Williams

My feelings about this are pretty similar to Grifball. It was cute, it was nice to hear, but I wish they had used a different Jeff track somewhere else. Ultimately, it's pretty harmless. It is kind of an odd choice though - I'm pretty sure Jeff didn't write it for RvB. This was a song that he composed that was used in two RT Shorts (live action sketches that RT used to do). I think it would have been nicer to use one of his RvB tracks for the introduction of Niner - could have been a cute spot to use a track like I Am The Best or Forge World or hell, Come on Carolina would have been cute.

Round One - Jeff Williams

...Actually, I have a lot to say about Round One, so let's get everything else out of the way first.

Other Scenes that *should* have had returning tracks before I talk about Round One for a billion years

Sarge's death should have been scored with a version of Rally (Sarge's Speech). My vision is a version of it that's just the string section - familiar, but not enough to be distracting, and absolutely soul crushing if you do recognize it.

The scene with Wash and Dr. Grey in the hospital needed a hint of what Nico so lovingly calls the "Wash Trauma Theme" - which is closely related to the Trocadero Meta theme, fun fact. I think Limited Duty from the scene in Season 16 where Carolina tells Wash about the brain damage could have worked pretty well there.

The scene at the end with Wash and Carolina talking about Doc and the Freelancers really needed something. I think one of the variations of the Shizno trilogy Carwash theme could have worked very well.

Obviously the big scene with Tucker and Sigma on the ship would have really benefited from [When] Your Middle Name is Danger or one of the many themes that incorporates it, but I'd also throw Soul Clef XI into the ring! I think it's so interesting that the work around they came up with for not being able to get Elijah Wood back was to have epsilon!Sigma take on a more Felix-y type of voice. Partly because Felix was an incredibly ambitious villain so he fits it pretty well, but more importantly that was a very smart voice to pick to fuck with Tucker in particular! I think that was really smart, and I think having Felix's theme playing during that scene would have been really cool.

Bolt by Trocadero was never used in the series proper. However it was used in this ten year retrospective that they released alongside Season 10. I highly recommend giving it a watch, because watching it now that it's Over - RvB, RT, all of it - it's honestly kind of heart breaking. They're all filled with this deep optimism about the future of the company, and hindsight is a bitch on this one. They use it in a really sweet sequence at the end where they're showing a bunch of old photos. Anyways I think this should have played in the credits after Vale Deah finished. "We only want to have a good time."

Miscellaneous Trocadero Songs I would have liked to see them find a place for that I haven't already / will not mention elsewhere

Steady Ride (Gunmetal Green) - this is THE Grimmons song ever to me. I love it so much. Also fun fact: as of the interview Burnie did with Nico on the season 10 (I think?) dvd/bluray, this was Burnie's favorite Trocadero track. And you can tell when you watch the DVD cuts of the first 6-ish seasons - it plays all the time.

I like Good Fight a lot, not sure there was a great spot for it? but still would have been nice - It's used a few times as a Wash theme, I believe.

No One is my favorite Trocadero song and I wish it could've been there Somewhere. It was the elevator-music type song that played behind Vic in BG once or twice, I think was in the season 4 credits, and also played during the weapons demonstrations in the Meta VS Carolina Death Battle. I just like it a lot, lol.

Okay let's get back to Round One.

Why they shouldn't have used Round One for the big fight in RvB Restoration

AKA: The actual bulk of the presentation

Okay so we've got some pros and cons to this track. Starting with the Pros;

It's a song from an iconic scene - the 3v1 training room fight from Season 9

Tex and Maine are both in the fight

Was a great "Oh FUCK yeah" moment for the fans

Great track

Cons;

Not really a song for Carolina or the Meta (or y'know. Tucker. He's there too), and only kind of a song for Tex

Honestly the fight makes me think about York more than anyone else, since that's the fight where he gets hurt

Not a cool thematic moment besides just Tex being a badass

Started too late into the fight - it's sad that Carolina got a cool track when she (finally!) showed up, but Tex just got generic music. Show my girl some respect :(

So what would be better?

It has to be something that makes you think of at least one of the fighters. A track that's good for multiple would be better, but not required.

I think it should start when Tex first shows up, not when her armor changes. that’s a cool moment, but it still means most of the fight is working with Thiel’s score.

It should be something with a note of thematic relevance - for example, the big moment right at the end of the fight is Tex reminding epsilon!Sigma that she's not based on the Director's memories of her failure this time; she's based on the memories of Grif, Caboose, and Simmons. And she Always kicked their asses.

Still needs to be a big "Oh FUCK yeah" moment.

While incorporating Carolina's theme would be nice, I think it's more important to get at least one of the others - but we'll do our best here. I think this is moreso a Tex v meta!Tucker fight in my heart than it is a Carolina fight.

So let's look over a few options, shall we? These are in no particular order.

Spiral - Jeff Williams

This is the song that plays during the Season 9 car chase when Maine gets shot. It incorporates Carolina's theme, because in PFL her theme is never too far behind whenever a Maine/Meta song is playing, which has always been interesting to me. It has all that freaky choral stuff that Jeff loved to use, and generally is just a great track.

Fragments - Jeff Williams

This plays during the Freelancer break-in in Season 10, and it just rocks so hard. Anything from the break-in would be cool because that was the last time Tex, Carolina, and Maine/The Meta were all in the same place, and of course was when The Meta was properly created. I think it was so sad that they used the instrumental of Round One, because the vocals are part of what makes the Jeff era of RvB soundtracks so iconic, and god this song delivers! Also this song has a kickass trumpet solo at the end.

Slingshot (from the Death Battle) - Trocadero

Man this song rules. This of course plays in the Meta VS Carolina Death Battle from Season 14. It's a very different energy from the Jeff picks, but it rocks so fucking much. This is a fight between Carolina and The Meta, and would of course be a callback to a (marginally) more recent - and extremely popular - episode of the show. If you haven't watched the Death Battle in a while you really should, it still kicks just as much ass now as it did back when I was in high school.

Literally any other song from the 3v1 Training Room Fight - Jeff Williams

This includes;

Round One (feat Lamar Hall)

Bullfight (track starts about 01:32)

On Your Knees

I just think the instrumental to Round One is the weakest choice from this fight tbh! Bullfight is my favorite out of the three, because it sounds the most Tex-y. The guitars are very her, and it incorporates part of the Agent Tex motif. And On Your Knees would have had the biggest "Oh FUCK yeah" factor. But honestly even just using the versions of Round One with the vocals would have been way better.

EDIT TO ADD: a quick note - while it’s listed in the credits as Round One/Bullfight, that’s just how the instrumental is packaged on the OST. As far as I could tell in my two watches of it, they never actually make it to the Bullfight part of the track.

A Girl Named Tex - Trocadero

hold on, walk with me on this one.

I had a vision of Tex fighting meta!Tucker set to the "Yellow rose of Texas clad in black, lonely star tattooed upon her back. Double Tex she'll hit you like a truck. Double Tex and she'll mess you up." bit right after I watched 19 the first time and it's been haunting me ever since. (That bit starts at about 02:19)

This is her theme for the first chunk of the show - which just so happens to be the time period Grif, Simmons, and Caboose were primarily reminiscing about. It would have been cool as hell, and I can See the beginning of the fight in my head - the opening strums when caboose is saying his line about how he brought back someone even worse than church, and then the fight starts! I can see it in my mind, it would have been so cool!

I just think there should have been more Blood Gulch era music in here.

100 Tex Battle - Jeff Williams

This doesn't get you any Meta points, but obviously it incorporates little bits of Tex's, and a lot of Carolina's theme. Twisting a Tex vs Carolina fight - obviously, Carolina vs all the Tex bots in Season 10 - into one where they're fighting alongside each other would have been really lovely and a cool full circle moment.

This song is really cool, it's such a good fight. I do think it maybe sounds a bit goofy at points for this fight, but still a cool option.

Okay so now let's go over my top three-ish picks

Ice Fight (or maybe the revelations suite?) - Jeff Williams

Jumping to the end of Season 8, we have a fight that involves Tex vs The Meta! And Wash, Doc, and all the Reds and Blues (barring Donut and Lopez. Hmm. Doesn't that sound familiar.) are there! Ice Fight rules so hard, it's so good.

And it has some of that narrative theming I was looking for! While yes, Tex does technically lose this fight - so does The Meta. And how does she lose it?

By going into the recovery unit.

The main reason I suggest the Suite instead of just Ice Fight is because I think having a touch of Red Vs Blue would have been really nice.

Mental Meta Metal - Jeff Williams

Genuinely my favorite track from season 10. If you let the song play the whole way through, it has Jeff's themes for The Meta, Carolina, and Tex in it. This plays the first time we see Maine in a fight in Season 10, and is also Sigma's first time in the field after we see him pondering Meta-stability in the classroom.

It incorporates elements from both Spiral and Plagam Extremam Infligere, which is kind of Jeff's theme for the Meta that he established back in Season 8. It also plays during the Freelancer Break-in when he's tossing Carolina off the cliff. The Latin on that translates to “to inflict an extreme blow”.

It also has a very strong statement of Carolina's theme, which could have been a great opportunity to bring her in with her theme!

Now, before I go over my final pick, let's go over what we need again;

We need a song with thematic relevance to the fight, that’s from an iconic scene, has a good energy to it, and would give fans a big “OH FUCK YEAH” moment.

Well, isn’t it obvious?

Agent Tex (/ Tex vs Tank / Hell's Angel) - Jeff Williams

The first instance of Jeff Williams’ Tex motif, later used in Hell’s Angel and Tex vs Tank, etc. I would add the opening strum commonly heard in the later iterations, but keep it generally the Agent Tex version which was used in the S8 Warehouse fight, as seen above.

This is like. The RvB scene ever. So many people saw this before they watched the show, and many more never even watched RvB - just this fight, since RT uploaded it separately from the episode because they knew it kicked so much ass. It also helped draw in folks who may have been fans of Monty Oum's other work. Fun fact: This was RT’s outro music for a really long time, too. So it really has history with the company.

Part of why I think this pick would work so well, beyond it just being Tex's theme for the Jeff Williams era, is that it would be so interesting in terms of narrative theming. The Season 8 warehouse fight was Tucker, Grif, Simmons, Sarge, and Caboose against Tex.

This whole sequence was Grif, Simmons, Caboose, Carolina, and Tex against Tucker.

This was one of the other scenes being reminisced about around the fire - you can see it as one of the clips shown during the scene. I think it would have been a really powerful moment, and a fantastic "FUCK YEAH" moment for everyone whose stuck around this long. This track is so good, and I really do think it would have been the perfect choice for this fight.

It's not even my favorite, if I was just choosing favorites I'd have picked Mental Meta Metal or A Girl Named Tex.

What have we learned? Why Were We Here?

Red vs Blue is a show with a lot of really fantastic music in it's book, and a really strong history of musical callbacks - particularly with the Meta's theme and how it's so closely tied to the motif Trocadero liked to use as "Wash Trauma" music. Making a clever callback to a song you've used before can help strengthen the thing you're trying to get across to your audience. I think it's somehing that Restoration really struggles with, which is pretty sad. But I hope you found my deep dive / analysis of what could have been interesting.

I'd really like to dive in and do a long reflection about the series as a whole, but as it stands this is around 3,000 words and if I get started on that, this post will never end.

Thank you for reading all of that! if you enjoyed reading all of this, maybe you'd also enjoy taking the post-mortem survey that @asphodeldreams and I are running! Deadline for submissions is June 30th at 11:59 EST. We ask questions about things like your favorite characters, your favorite songs, when you started watching RvB, and more general thoughts like that. Once the survey is over, we will compile all of that data into something actually Readable (likely with charts and graphs and such) and post it so everyone else can enjoy the peek into the minds and sentiments of RvB fans.

[rubykgrant]

You joke but when my folks were watching Jeopardy the other night like usual the final question asked foe the Tallest mountain on the North American continent and I, having seen red vs blue season 8, immediately knew it was the largest land mass in the state of Washington and shouted MOUNT RAINIER

It gets in your brain! It sticks around! Listen, I forgot about RVB for a DECADE, randomly remembered it existed for NO REASON, re-watched what I had seen (up to season 5), then kept GOING, now there is 18 seasons of this filling up my head, and every time somebody tries to talk about actual-real-place North Dakota or Wyoming, internally I have to tell myself-

(PPG comic that was edited for Buttercup to say "Stop talking about states", now edited to read "Stop talking about Freelancers")

[twig-tea]

Grand Guignol

Wanted to write down my thoughts on this movie because it was AWESOME and I don't want to forget lol. Non-spoilery thoughts above the cut and spoilers below it.

First of all, the colouring of this film is gorgeous. Everything is in dull greys and navy blues and cream, except for the red, and the red is throughout. There's red roses, red lighting, red ties, red viscera, and so, so, so much blood. It makes for a really stunning watch, to see this heightened red spurt and colour the white clothing of the protagonists, and on their faces.

The cinematography is also a lot of fun. So many dirty shots, where the creepy decorations of this school sit in the foreground and the characters having a conversation are left blurred in the background. Quick, hard cuts, so it's not clear whether something was real or not.

And I love the tension being around what is real vs what is fake rather than jump scares. The way cinema and pranks and voyeurism is woven into this plot to make everything more confusing is so well done; it puts us in the same situation as the characters stuck in this school with no clear sense of what's happening or why.

Most of all this was just fun. It was a wild ride where gross, gory, discomforting, messy, and generally weird shit happened constantly lol and I really, really enjoyed the experience.

Cutting here because I couldn't help but spoil from here on out.

I also really love the subtext of the show re: queer as monstrous. There is a suggestion that at least two of these characters were sent to this school abandoned by their families in order to be sacrificed because they are gay, or queer in some sense. The other characters have stories about doing physical harm to those around them, but at the least for Kenta, it's implied that whatever is going on with him and dressing femme--i won't assume--is what got him sent here (this is early in the film so I'm not counting it as a spoiler).

I had to laugh at the excessive lube; Japan's lube game is always incredible. We never get a normal amount of lube in a Japanese BL, and I live for it.

Also really enjoyed the cannibalism subtext! Cannibalism is always such an interesting theme in horror because it's such a taboo. This felt very Rocky Horror-like with the constant viscera shots and the open questions on characters' faces about where it came from.

The message in this film was so fascinating. Normally we get the trope of 'you have to defeat yourself ' as a hero's journey to get past self-doubt in order to win. In this case, Itsuki tells us he was forced to participate in...it's not entirely clear, bullying and mutilation at the least. He seems traumatized by the experience, and it's not clear how much damage he did on his own. But by the end of the film, after the teacher gave him the gun and told him to defeat himself, he manages to move through whatever was holding him back, and he fully embraces doing violence to others. He kisses Teshio, when he was surprised by/recoils from the kiss from Kenta. He laughs, glories in, is freed by the way he mutilated Teshio's corpse, and flashes back to his memory of when he was "forced" to hurt his classmate in his old school, but this time he's similarly elated. He had some initial reaction to seeing Kenta in a dress and wig--Shinji wondered if he wanted to wear it himself--and after the cult dresses him in heels, a dress, and wig, he does not remove them even after he's free and limping in the heels to drag along that sledgehammer. In this case, the hero's journey is one to freedom from moral constraints, allowing in the monstrous--both murderous and queer--parts of Itsuki to overcome any fear or self-hate or physical limitations, and to be victorious. And then we get the final scene, with the uncertainty as to whether the entire film has been a play, whether the play is in Itsuki's mind, or whether it's a metaphor for the audience to represent what happens. I think the uncertainty is the point. The entire film has been messing with our ability to tell what's real and what's fake, and maybe in the end it doesn't matter. Itsuki is dead; whether metaphorically because he's mentally snapped, or literally because he's killed himself, or because the whole thing was a metaphor and he's embraced his weirdness and joined this weird club and found acceptance in this group that puts on horror plays...the Itsuki who was traumatized and terrified of himself is gone by the end of the film, he's defeated the enemy within. I loved that.

And there's something in this film about how it gets us to be interested in this weird friend group before it starts killing them off for the sake of... entertainment, a ritual, to free their parents of the embarrassment, it's not entirely clear which. But there's something implicit in the morality here that these characters are humanized before they're demonized, and that we are set up to see the ritual as cruel and the level of violence as undeserved. This part reminded me of Gang of Cherry; these kids are fucked up, and cruel, and weird, but don't deserve the even more fucked up and cruel situation they're in, which in turn makes them even more fucked up and cruel, until it's a twisted version of enlightenment, when all you are is cruel and fucked up, and delighting in the purity of the emotion.

Anyway that's way too much navel-gazing for what is essentially 1.5 hours of intentionally bad blood-spraying camp and actors who didn't kiss in their BLs kissing in this. Big fan.

If you want realism, sexiness (there is a sex scene but it is not what I would call sexy; it's intentionally discomforting/edged with tension), romance, or a happy ending in the traditional sense this is not for you. If you like campy horror, strategic cinematography, gratuitous gore, gratuitous tongues, being discomforted, psychological horror, and metaphors on metaphors, I think you'll enjoy.

[fanaticat]

Like everyone else, I downloaded prime and watched Red White and Royal Blue this week.

I really loved the main characters, and an enemies to friends to lovers plot is like the basis of half of my serotonin.

I was a little unsure how believable their relationship development was going to be at the very beginning. At first their conflict seemed extra contrived…even for a rom com. They didn’t get along because of some tabloid comparisons and ONE minor miscommunication YEARS ago? C’mon.

BUT…after finishing the movie and really seeing where they went with it, it makes so much more sense. And I really, really love it.

Both Henry and Alex struggle so much with their public vs private personas.

Alex is cast as the charismatic, smooth social butterfly; Henry as a reserved, pompous rock of a person.

But underneath that, they’re both insecure goofballs who want to be loved, support their families, and do good in the world for the countries they serve. (And that’s really why they ultimately work so well together.)

They’re such complicated people who want desperately to be seen and appreciated for their whole selves. That’s where their conflict stems from when they were younger. They both saw this other man in a similarly difficult position, felt this instant attraction to him, and wanted the other one to somehow recognize their struggle and see the man underneath the facade. Unfortunately, they are so worried about being seen THEMSELVES that they fail to recognize the same desires in one another…until the fall-out from cake-gate.

Once they resolve their initial misunderstanding, the conflicts in the movie really aren’t so much between the two of them anymore. Instead, the conflicts arise when their INDIVIDUAL values and public/private lives seem to be at odds with one another.

The very things they bond over - supporting their families and the people the serve - drive the wedge between them. They worry that if they show their private selves at all, their ability to be valuable to their families and to their people will be compromised.

In spite of this, we see both of them breaking down the walls between their public and private selves during their time together, and showing more and more of who they really are. Sometimes they are the exact OPPOSITE of their public selves.

As we see their relationship develop, Henry - ever the poet - is often the smooth and confident one in their personal affairs, while Alex is sometimes awkward and unsure of himself in bed.

“Your body comes back to me in dreams” (!?! Henry WTF how long did you work on that verse before you hit send).

Versus…

“Who says ‘make love these days? Are we gonna listen to Lana Del Rey while we do it?” (Alex again covering his nerves with humor for the millionth time.)

And when things really get rough, we see Alex stepping up to be Henry’s solid anchor in the storm, and Henry openly admitting to him that he’s not ok. (Is there any more perfect moment than the two of them collapsing on the stairs together, holding onto one another for all they’re worth!?! Part of me DIED. An Amazon rom com has no business making me feel feelings like that.)

Their individual progression culminates in Alex giving this beautiful speech about both his love for Henry and his hopes for the people he serves. He is every bit the charismatic leader he is supposed to be, but he’s open and genuine, with heaps of vulnerability and no pretense. He uses his experience to admonish those who would do the same to others, and re-affirms that his family will continue to fight for those who need support.

Henry’s moment is equally perfect for him. No grand speech. Dignified and understated. He simply steps onto the balcony, waves, and makes history. But he doesn’t do it alone - he has Alex on his right side the whole time. He’s firm in standing up for himself, and genuine in wanting to take that step not just for himself, but to change the precedents and expectations for everyone else in his current and future kingdom. No more hiding beautiful things in silent, dark museums, but pulling them out into the light with a calm smile on his face and steel in his backbone.

The central conflict of the movie starts with the problems caused by the discrepancy between their personal and public selves, and ends with the lovely resolution of that conflict. And their love for one another is the catalyst for all that change. Henry and Alex truly bring out the best in one another, and by the end of the movie we have to believe that they’re going to go on to do great things.

Plus it’s just damn cute.

[ashen-sky]

Red vs. Blue: Restoration

Writing this as I watch, Spoilers ahead

Doc and Wash's conversation feels like an exposition dump, and I can't tell if it's because Wash is being interrogated or the dialogue really is that clunky.

THE AIS ARE BAAAACK. Also poor Tucker, being conscious through it all and knowing Sigma wants to kill him.

I feel like Church's animated explanation feels kind of out of place, not because it's not something he would do but because it feels so modern compared to where the Chorus reds and blues left off. Like it feels more like a dig at the audience than a joke in universe because up until this point they got by with verbal explanations. It would have felt more natural for Church to day "Since we don't have time for you guys to not understand, I made a video" instead of "Since no one can understand anything without fast moving pictures" (or whatever the exact line was).

Also, Church's inability to predict what Caboose says is so funny.

This whole thing is just Valhala and the hunt for the director all over again. Which is fine because at least there's no cyclops. This isn't a complaint, just an observation.

Anyways Church should have withheld Omega, not the memories of why combining is such a dumb idea. Like, one of the pieces that build the basis of his sanity (I.e Delta, Theta, ect.)

Was the pilot supposed to be 479er?

Lmao, Simmons getting "Shut up Caboose"'d and Caboose apologizing.

Caboose still has the confetti gun!

"It looks more like they're making fun of the last four years, which is fine because that's what it started as" -my dad, who I agree with when you look at it like that

Anyways, that was prompted by the security team working from home, which was a funny bit

It was 479er! Pretty sure the VA is different, do love her re appearance.

Love Tucker taking control, Caboose telling him not to blame himself, and Sarge going back was a really nice sequence.

... THEY KILLED SARGE, NOOOOO. I mean, I guess it's character growth for him but... the idiots were all supposed to leave together.

Why does Blood gultch look a bad 3D rendering?

Griff finally got discharged and he stuck around!

It kind of feels like this was roo focused on being the end. Like that campfire scene? It was cute, and the memories were nice, but it felt too final.

Nothing will beat Church's hero speech, but Caboose's speech? The story of Allison and memory? Definitely a favorite

It's also fitting that Tex and Carolina took Meta down, along with the reds and blues, because the Meta exists because of them. And it tormented them. It was their closure, and Carolina getting to fight with her mother made it necessary and not just a rehash of Alpha letting Tex go and the director dying. Also, Tex finally got to do what she wanted. She got to choose her fate.

Also, that twist with Doc made that clunky conversation make more sense. Seeing the freelancers made me happy, and holy fuck finding out Doc was dead was sad.

Wait, I never saw past s16, is one a reference to something? Also, one sounds like 479er, is that the real 479?

Tucker’s after credit scene was sweet... Bow-Chika-Bye now!

All in all, this wasn't a bad finale. I definitely think it would have been better as episodes because the tone wasn't consistent enough for a movie, those Wash bits early on felt a bit shoehorned in. But I don't really think anyone's characters were butchered, even Sarge dying is understandable.

Red vs Blue is about cycles, and this put an end to them all. The AIs are gone, Wash isn't letting the memories of the dead control him, Sarge isn't stuck in endless search of battle, and Griff is free of the military.

The show definitely isn't worse off with this finale, and the memory speeches (both Caboose's and Carolina/Wash's halucinations), are definitely in the top 3 with Church's hero speech for me. I am kind of glad they did this though, because the end of s13 did sort of imply that the AI fragments would be back and this finally and truly put them to rest.

EDIT: I FORGIT THE MOST IMPORTANT PART! Tex being able to kick Meta's ass because she was the Reds and Blues memory and not Alpha or Leonard's was a nice touch. I thought when Caboose was telling the story of Allison it was because it was such a huge driving force for Chruch, but it was because it was Tex and she needed to know who she was.

[prototypelq]

This is just a personal dump of media I experienced this year and wanted to share with others.

Movies!

Movie of the year (which, coincidentally, actually came out in 2022!)

Everything, Everywhere All at Once (2022)

this masterpiece of a movie is easily the best thing I have seen this year. It is also the best movie I have ever seen in my life, it has everything. It is crazy, it is dramatic and emotional, it will make you feel existential dread and love for humanity and the little things. It is beautiful and incredible and unlike anything I have ever seen. It is not for everyone (but when true art ever is?), but I believe everyone who hasn't seen it should give it a chance, because if this movie is for you, it will be the best film you have seen, maybe ever.

Honourable mentions of other amazing movies, in no particular order:

Don't Look Up (2021)

Beautiful blend of caricature and realism, I would not be surprised if all the ****s**t that happend in the story would actually happen in life. Comedy that is actually a tragedy, and I love it.

Sound of Metal (2019)

A technical wonder, the 'Sound' in the title is completely justified. Amazing movie with a touching story and a perspective on deafness and deaf communities.

Supermario Brothers (1993)

If not for the Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, this would be my movie of the year. Either people didn't have a sense of humour in 93, or they had very high expectations for a first video game adaptation movie. This movie is comedic gold. Every other comedy can only dream of getting even close to this level of humour and absurdity. Great movie, everyone who tells you otherwise is wrong, go watch it.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)

This movie has Tom Hanks singing lullaby songs for a children's evening show, and this perfectly explains the incredible coziness, fluffiness and comfort this movie provides. And the best thing is that it's not an overly happy movie - dealing with grief, death and other complex emotions is the heart of the story. This movie is not afraid to show that a rainbow can appear only after the rain, and it is beautiful in providing comfort for dealing with that rain.

Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)

Good roadtrip movie about male friendship and perspective of a young person with Down syndrome

Devil Wears Prada (2006)

A cautionary tale about managing personal relationships and career boost.

Night Watch (Ночной дозор) 2004

A good, very atmospheric dark russian-urban fantasy adventure movie.

Series!

Series of the year

Red vs Blue (2003-2019) (up to season 17)

I found this gem at a perfect time - a month before finishing university, and this series has been a lifesaver for me. This series has hit the golden comedy mark of Supermario Bros, and Also hit the mark for creating a great cast of characters. The comedy, the irony, the lovable idiots and their tanks, the Soundtrack, and the drama of RE- and Chorus seasons make a perfect blend for a wonderful show. Michael J Caboose is a national treasure and should be protected at all costs. Trocadero songs live rent free in my playlist.

Honourable mentions:

Resident Alien (2021-_)

Good comedy and an exploration of human emotions, relationships, familiar bonds through the eyes of an alien, played by Alan Tudyk. Has the best female-friendship I have seen in a series.

Cowboy Bebop (1998)

Never heard of this series up untill this year and OH BOY was I in for a ride. I'm not a huge anime fan, but this is certainly my favourite. The style, the music, the characters with troubled, yet unknown past, everything here is perfect. Absolutely in love with this series.

Firefly (2002-2003)

Space western AND Alan Tudyk? That's a recipe for a series I would definitely love, and I did. Awesome series.

(I don't know what's the deal with fun blond pilot man and a badass dark-skinned woman with beautiful curls combo is, but I LOVE it)

Games!

Game of the year:

Death Stranding (2019)

No other game has ever made Walking it's main mechanic. I loved the gameplay of this game So. Much. This game perfectly captures all the struggle, effort and perseverance required in real hiking, as well as the importance of human connection on the trail. I have spent 120 hours in the game before finishing the main story just enjoying deliveries, getting all my new homies on the network and rebuilding roads. I absolutely will come back to platinum that last trophy, but for now I have been enjoying the gameplay to it's fullest.

The story was sort of okay, I don't dig the Kojima writing. For all of his ambitions and genius as a game designer, I think writing is his downfall. The spectacle and the music in the game is another level though.

Bugsnax (2020)

A very weird and very fun game! Developers have made quite an effort to make all the different bugsnax fit into an entire ecosystem, and the passion for ecology and entomology shows. VAs clearly had a lot of fun voicing all the different snax.

Subnautica (2018)

Same as Bugsnax, this game has passion over marine biology written all over it and I LOVE that. Designs of all the creatures are very unique and fun. As a person with all kinds of underwater/depths/wrecks fears, this was quite a trip for me at the beginning, though I have become familiar with the game, and after maybe 10 hours it didn't scare me anymore. Sadly, the game is buggy and not very well optimised, and the survival&grind for materials aspects had me quitting the game.

Horizon Forbidden West (2022)

The only release of this year I have played, a sequel to my very beloved universe, and it was...good. The new tribes are breathtaking, the OST of this game is amazing!!!, and all the moments with Erend are precious, but I didn't like the overall story and the direction it's going for the third game. First game had a much stronger writing in my opinion. OST and gameplay however, had been masterfully upgraded to a next level. The poseidon level is a highlight which deserves it's own savefile so you can replay that bit.

I'm so glad Erend is in the sequel, but they did him dirty( Best husband deserved much better

Risk of Rain 2 (2019)

A great game I should spend more time in.

Devil May Cry 5 (2019)

Last year I have fallen into the DMC dumpster fire and I haven't been able to get out ever since. I'm not very good at the game, but I love it. Someday I will get to best doggo Cerberus stage in the Bloody Palace.

[notyourprof]

DTS S1 Word Vomit

Temporarily veering away from primer territory, because I'm rewatching DTS S1 (I'm about halfway through at this point) and having some FEELINGS and need to get them out somewhere:

Daniel's personality hasn't changed much but his attitude is SO different. He was so focused on winning and especially on winning a championship. I'm thankful he's in a much better place now! I know everyone wants to win a WDC but I think it's a much healthier attitude to go out and have fun driving and do the best you can do, because sometimes your car is a tractor and if you spend all of your time thinking about how you won't ever be WDC, that's miserable.

They don't show even half of the times it happened but gosh it really drives home how unreliable the Renault engines were. So many engine problems leading to retirements for Max and Daniel both. (I think it's telling that now in 2024 Renault isn't supplying engines to anyone but their own team (Alpine) anymore.)

There's so much more we know about Daniel going to Renault that isn't shown and I wish I knew better what was known at the time but not included by Netflix vs. what we have learned in the years since.

For example, Christian talking about how they'd offered Daniel plenty of money is hilarious, now that we know how much more he made at Renault.

Speaking of Christian, is the entire DTS team frantically scrambling this week to re-cut as much of S6 as they can? Sending them energy and focus and lots of good food and caffeine.

Daniel going to Renault meant Carlos was all of a sudden out of a seat. Sounds familiar...🤔

I am petty and will probably never forgive ZB for how he treated Daniel and I'm feeling very vindicated in that opinion because he's so unlikable even in S1.

Every time someone crashes, the first thing that happens is their race engineer/TP asks if they are okay. This is normal, this is what we are used to. It keeps reminding me of that time that, while at McL, Daniel crashed and the first thing he was asked was "Is the car okay?" (See previous bullet point.)

Also feeling vindicated about having the opinion that Checo is a kind of reckless driver, and has been for awhile.

Related, Max is such an aggressive driver and I just...hope he is in the lead most of the time again next year so I don't have to worry about him playing bumper cars at 200+ mph.

It's fun to hear GP talking to Max on the radio and know it's him, even though he isn't named.

The lack of Merc and Ferrari in this season is both funny and sad, but bless the producers for finding some good press conference footage of Kimi. I think Kimi might have annoyed me if I were watching his seasons in real time, but looking back, he cracks me up. I'm glad I never had to manage him, though!

Pierre so excited about going to Red Bull, oof.

But all of the Pierre and Charles being friends since they were tiny lore is adorable!

I'm going to miss Günther so much! (I used to think that someday I would go visit the Haas HQ in North Carolina and...that's no longer something I'm particularly interested in.)

I'm sure I'm not the first to point this out, but I didn't remember the 2018 Toro Rosso car well enough to make the connection, but look at the similarity in the liveries between the 2018 TR and the 2024 VCARB. Obviously not identical, but I like the return of the blue, the red accents, and the silver bull!

Anyways, that's it for now, I hope someone enjoyed this word vomit. It is really interesting going back and watching S1 knowing so much more about the sport, the season, and what's to come. Also interesting how much a lot of the drivers have matured since 2018. I'm sure that happens all the time with drivers who stick around for many years, but this is my first time seeing it.

[january-summers]

Tag someone you want to know better OR just want to say hello to!

I was tagged by @uweiy thank you for tagging me~

Favourite color: Purples and Blues 💜💙 although I do also like greens 💚

Last song: Contact Redux by Trocadero (Feat. Meredith Hagan), but I have Bullet by IMY2 stuck in my head, so that's sort of ongoing?

Last movie: Carnifex, an Australian creature horror, though it is a slow build for two thirds of the movie. (Not based on the book of the same name, though it does share a name and 'monster')

Currently watching: My Group Watch is currently doing Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty, which is a rewatch for me but so good, and I'm also making my way through Lady in the Butcher's House. Oh, and I'm also in season 3 of Battlestar Galactica (2004)

Currently reading: Mostly fanfiction at the moment, I just got back into an old fandom I haven't been in for over a decade, so I'm making my way through that, though if we're talking books, I'm technically most of the way through one of the A Song of Ice and Fire books, but I haven't picked it up in months because the fandom is just so unbelievably toxic and it does impact the reading experience. Been thinking about re-reading Kenobi.

Currently working on: *nervous laughter* I drew a bird the other day, wrote a fic for the roulette in august which was my first real fanwork of the year, I haven't been very creative lately. I either have nothing, or my brain is doing ping-pong against the inside of my skull with all the thoughts, I think I'm in burn out rn tbh, kinda want to work on some original stories, but, uh.... yeah...

Currently obsessed with: Agent Washington of Red Vs Blue fame. Some of y'all might have noticed 😅

Tagging @none-sex-left-gay @clockworkspider @vyther15 @favvnsongs if an of y'all are feeling it

and a free @ for anyone who wants a go~

[tvckington]

re: the "why is it more fun to interact w hyperfixations under the influence" post: fun fact, every time I get high, without fail I reach the point where I just start rambling about Miles Luna. every time. just inexplicable Miles Luna hours.

the point is that I agree and as a psych student I should be able to explain the witchcraft but alas all I have is "hehe hyperfixation funny"

- @church-gets-pegged (sorry for repeatedly going insane in your asks)

No please go insane in my asks I beg of you

To be entirely fair with you, Miles is an extremely talented writer. I got to meet him once ages ago and he’s a really funny dude. I’m hoping that one day I’ll meet him again and get to have a genuine convo with him as I seriously look up to his talent. I mean, I’ve never seen Camp Camp (I do have an interest in watching it, don’t get me wrong) but during RTX 2023 I did get to see the final episode, and I was shocked at how well done it was— literally as someone who had never seen these characters before and as it reached the end of the episode I felt so many emotions. I can only dream to evoke so much emotion like last few minutes of Red vs Blue season 13 or the final episode of Camp Camp with my own writing. Dude’s got so much raw talent it drives me crazy. I could go on, but I feel like I’ve already gushed SO much, lol.

But yes hyperfixation while high is the best thing for curing any bad mood it is the highlight of my free days lmfao

[prophecydungeon]

we've hit the point of our grand (re)watch where are (finally) going into a season of rvb that none of us has watched all the way through, so we have decided to make a bingo card for 16 and 17 featuring hit prompts such as:

FREE SPACE: something makes all of us laugh

basia wash moment

eli caboose moment

alyssa kai moment

blue carolina moment

grimmons

really good donut innuendo

church is involved somehow

sarge goes on about "red vs blue"

#redteamcarolina

doc shows for less than 5 minutes

tucker dad/dilf moment

locus suffers

H5 models are double cheeked up

funny obvious bad photoshop

new character, bad accent

the UNSC is name-dropped for extremely confusing reasons

BGC callback

simultaneous wtf

Oopsie Daisy™️

[adickaboutspoons]

tagged by @red-sky-in-mourning. Thanks, hon. Hope everything is going better with the power sitch 🧡

Fair warning - I've had a glass of wine, I'm a lightweight, and an amorous drunk.

fave ed gif

I mean, an entire life of male-gaze cinema has trained me to read this as sexy, and boy howdy did it succeed. The toe-to-head "this is the love interest" pan. His fingers skating down his chest in a teasing caress. His cock(ed) pistol. And then you throw in how blazingly hot Taika looks in that wig and beard and leather? The flesh is weak, your honor. And the lizard-brain is even weaker.

fave stede gif

Relatable af, but also, I want to hug him and put him in my pocket for safe-keeping. He looks like a live-action Podling. I love his ridiculous face.

fave ed outfit

I love the classic leathers, and he's the prettiest princess in purple, but my answer is this outfit, specifically right here. The superb fit of the breeches and how well the color complements his complexion. shirt partially untucked and open to the chest. Then him, just laying there with his legs sprawled and drinking directly from the decanter. Look me in the eye and tell me that he doesn't look thoroughly debauched and debauchable.

fave stede outfit

It's a tie between the wedding outfit

and the navy taffeta with brick-red lace trim during the "Arthur's kind eyes" flashback.

What can I say - I'm a slut for red and blue, and the specific hues matched in these two outfits make my brain sing. I covet the fabric of Stede's wedding outfit like burning.

fave blackbonnet song

"Leather and Lace" by Stevie Nicks and Don Henley for them getting together, "Stranded" by Heart for them falling apart. (White Flag by Dido for the reunion IDC if I'm jumping the gun).

fave ofmd fic trope

If you write Stede and Ed engaging in all manner of sexytimes, but Stede is convinced it's anything OTHER than Ed being in love with him because How Could Ed Be In Love With HIM ("this is just what pirates do and we're pirates, so...", "ed is helping me get acclimated to being more casual about touching", "ed is such a good friend to let me do this", etc.)? I'm yours.

ed's hair or stede's hair

So here's the thing. My hair is v. similar to the Ed wig. Long, dark, wavy, shot with silver streaks. It's v. distinctive and defining - like to the point that my college advisor would tell underclassmen to go talk to "the girl with the hair" and they would find me on that description alone (and that a high school teacher once wrote me a v. inappropriate poem entitled 'The Lady With Hair'). And I love my hair. I cut it all off several years ago to donate to Wigs 4 Kids, and while I don't regret the donation, the following few years while it grew back out were TORTURE. So I wouldn't trade it for anything. BUT, if I weren't so deeply lazy, and burdened by sensory issues, I would be serving mid-century high-femme all the times, and Stede's highly styled and shaped curls are The Dream.

longest i've gone between rewatches

It's been awhile, actually? I mean, I rarely go more than a week or two without checking back in on one specific scene or another to make sure I'm remembering it correctly before I mouth off about something here or on Discord, but it's been months since I've watched an episode from end to end. I am planning a full re-watch before the new season drops, though.

hiding in the ship lucius vs. ghost lucius

I was an early adopter of hiding in ship. Like one of my first posts as dancing-with-the-madmen was about how he climbed the un-scraped barnacles on the hull like a climbing wall (we have fun making jokes here at spoondick llc ™,©, ®).

favorite crew member

How v. dare. Rude. Ask me to pick a fav muppet next, why don't you. Gun to my head? Prolly Buttons. He's so deeply and wonderfully weird.

tagging @nicnacsnonsense, @tisziny, @chocolatepot, @ymfingsteadilyon, @poorcitrusmanagement, @bizarrelittlemew, @peachesandpink, @artgirlfunkel, and anyone else who feels the music move them, but no presh, babes (gn).

And, uh, sorry for the overshares and being so horny on main.

[chocomd]

12, 15, 17 or else

backs away slowly from the knife

12. favorite character to write about this year

I thought the answer to this one was going to be obvious - Aang - but actually, the character I enjoyed writing the most this year was Song in my Song-centric fic, To Owe an Ostrich Horse. As much as I love writing about Aang and Katara, so many people have strong opinions about them and there are so many bad takes and tropes I need to avoid even accidentally implying, that writing them feels a little restrictive sometimes. But since Song is a side character who only shows up in one episode and isn’t a divisive character in fandom, I had a lot more freedom to expand on her personality and her predicament when Zuko steals her family’s ostrich horse. Writing Song was such a satisfying experience, and I’m proud of how that fic turned out!

15. something you learned this year

Hmmm....I’ll talk about what I learned from writing Drag You Down, my Kataang breakup/make up fic. It’s the longest piece of fiction I’ve ever written, and it will clock in at around 134k words after I post the final chapter this Thursday. I learned that even though plotting a long multichapter fic isn’t all that different from plotting a oneshot, it’s a lot harder to do - surprisingly, because I have to keep re-reading earlier chapters to stay inspired and to remember what the heck I even wrote before 💀 Having an outline and notes was helpful, but I still had to frequently re-read 🥲 That was quite literally the hardest part. But I’ve completed the equivalent of a fanfic novel, so now I know what writing a novel to completion feels like! I won’t do something like this again for fanfic, because it’s so time consuming, but I’d like to write an actual original novel someday.

The other thing I learned from writing DYD is how to weave together a romantic storyline with other non-romantic subplots. And I discovered how much I love writing storylines that don’t have anything to do with romance at all. In general, I prefer reading/watching stories that don’t have romance as the focus, but as part of the larger plot. (Fanfic is different, of course - I enjoy the romance-only stories, but sometimes I need something more.) I still have some Kataang ideas, but next year I’d like to explore more aspects of ATLA and other characters besides my two faves.

17. fics you’ll continue next year

Wow, this is a popular question! Answered here and here, but I’ll talk about another one. I’ve had a wip for a fic about Katara fighting Zuko because she’s jealous of his work bromance with Aang. I’ve talked about this fic idea before, but never got around to finishing it. But since I’m done with DYD, I’m thinking I’ll finally get around to writing Katara vs Zuko, aka Blue vs Red, sometime next year!

FANFIC END OF THE YEAR ASKS  

[thehoodedneku]

Ended up rewatching some Red vs Blue and guess whose putting off watching the rest of season 6 because they don’t want to see a certain someone go 😭 🙃 my fav character is one of the saddest to love (which is funny considering what kind of person they are).

Insane how the funny haha show turns into the sad angst show later on 😭 and then you’re like OH OW.

Season 6 is definitely a great season! It’s when shit gets real but also there’s so many funny moments! I’m re living the days when I was obsessed with this show! I still own the RvB book!

[mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune]

Let's Always Keep The Memories Of Rooster Teeth Alive In Our Hearts (And Hope Things Work Out)

[Note: Mature Audience Readers Only & For Rooster Teeth Fans...(so not for kids) also will talk about some weird random stuff, some weird ideas and hypothetical stuff and some other stuff like keeping the memories alive. and some stuff will be off topic....also I'm not sure I want this to be reblog or not, well besides talking only a little a bit about well how we can keep the series that was made by the Team of Rooster Teeth alive, I know I will get off topic in this, and I had to edit this in after writing a whole lot on this post that I have so far...anyway maybe I can have the "don't reblog without permission" as a tag for this for now, which means those who do end up reading this can give it a heart, just please don't reblog it without my okay...at least I should think over if I want to decide to let it be reblog and change the tag for this later on that has to do with it...I mean some might find the off topic stuff not really interesting or freaky, because some of the off topic stuff will talk about a pendulum...]

one of the ways we can always keep their memories alive…even though I just found out about the whole May 15th thing…

I was going to take a break from playing FNAF, those darn Glam-Endos… anyway I decided to check out any news about the next Season of RWBY, I think it's suppose to be Season 10…

so anyway I didn't watch all of the video, but it had a Youtuber talk about well Rooster Teeth's Site…

and well, it was May 17th when I found out….

so I got Good News (About FNAF Ruin DLC on the Xbox is working…it was the Glam-Endos from RUIN, I was having trouble with…lucky Moony-Pie didn't give me a Game Over…yep, gonna nickname Moondrop aka Moony by the nickname "Moony-Pie" which is funny cause of some food that is called Moon-Pie…)

and the Bad News about ya know…RT's Site…

but I hope that we can still keep the memories alive, through Fan-Art, Fan Fic and also keeping the Fandom dot com places (I'm not placing the "." but instead of the "dot", I don't know if it will make a link or not…

if I try to write it the other way…) that means Red Vs Blue, Camp Camp, RWBY and many others… dang it, I wanted to watch a bit more Good Morning From Hell on there, and well…it does seem someone made another version of a Red Vs Blue Fandom dot com…

it is like a Database of Red Vs Blue… well like I said, we just got to keep those memories alive, and if it isn't just RWBY that is getting a new home, then maybe someday the others that were on there will too…I can at least hope so.

I wasn't happy about finding out about it, I mean I knew it was suppose to happen but I didn't know it would be so soon and on May of all Months…and there is a reason I say "May of all Months"…

I will have to wait to see that last season of Red Vs Blue, at least I got almost all the Seasons, the last one being needed is of course the very new one that I haven't watched yet, I only saw the trailers.

also is it possible to be a mix of small panic upset at first, and then still a bit mad with a mixture of numb or like half-numb, like you are still mad, but it's like you just feel disappointed you missed the chance and didn't know or if forgot that it was going to be on May 15th...but then again I probably didn't know it was going to be on May 15th and well I had just found out today...

I hope we can always keep those memories alive, from re-watching them by the other means we are able to watch them, like DVD or Blu-Ray...

we can keep them alive, by keeping their original fandom pages alive, as well as their new ones...like both Red Vs Blue, RWBY, Camp Camp and the others...

not even sure if Good Morning From Hell has a fandom page, but it be nice if they did...I was gonna re-watch and listen to that series on there, I mean when I got around to do so...hopefully I can find a way to watch and listen to it even if it isn't at Rooster Teeth.

it would of been nice if I knew about the whole May 15th thing before it became that day and past it...

so yeah, got Good News & Bad News Today like I said...

it made me happy to finally play a bit of FNAF Ruin myself for the first time, even though I haven't beat the one where we have Gregory as a Playable Character.

also another way to keep the shows we fell in love with from Rooster Teeth Company, alive...

is I guess some could make Fan Parody Animation, like it being like Alternate Timeline where Church and Tex don't become "Ghosts" and they stay in their original host bodies, but the new robot bodies that were originally made for them, by Sarge...

can be for their Epsilon-Doubles, and Epsilon-Tex can be called "Beth" as the reference to that song.

Epsilon-Church can be called Epsilon and Church, as well as by the nickname Church Junior by Church, who could nickname him C.J. for short....

but it would make sense if Epsilon is called Leonard Church III.

I can't really bring myself to check the you know, out after listening to what was said in that video.

I couldn't really bring myself to fully watch it, I can't remember the name of the channel of the youtuber really, I'm not sure if I got a really good look at it...but if I run into it again, I guess I can decide to watch it or not....or wait until I'm more ready to.

man it really does suck, but I hope those who do become the new Adoptive Parent Company to those shows we love, make sure to treat RWBY that is Monty Oum's Legacy right and protect RWBY like a precious treasure like it is a gift that must be protected for all times.

I don't know who will be the new Company-Parent, but I do have a guess but I'm not 100% sure if my guess is correct.

well besides the whole Good News & Bad News thing, after I get done writing this and posting this...

I will share some Weird News in the next post.

and it has to do with possible evidence that has to do with both Lilith and Eve being Gran-Grans....

well with the three close calls I had and having to have a dream-catcher for both inside and outside my room, like one on the door and one hanging over my bed....guess it would explain a lot, if it involves Lilith's daughter marrying Cain...

yeah, I will talk more about that in the next post...

but anyway, I know we all may have got really upset in different ways about the thing that happen on May 15th on 2024...

even though I had found out it was on that day, by finding out on May 17th of 2024....I knew about the thing that was going to happen, and well I didn't think it would be that soon...

and like I said, we can keep the memories alive by Fan-Art, Fan-Fic, and well some of those Fan-Fics will be Crossover ones.

even other shows that have completed their journey with their shows being fully completed after you know, the Final Season of the show...

are still kept alive by re-watching the show when we want to re-live it, and well also by writing fanfics about it.

and well it does seem that Steven Universe is coming back, if he is wearing that blue jacket in the new series, it is only going to make me view him and Sans possibly being one in the same even more, like you know the whole theory about Sans is Steven's Future self.

I mean, Steven has Sans hidden in his Full Name.

Steven Quartz Universe has Sans hidden in there.

of course there is the theory that Sans is Ness, and I got a weird theory that Baby Finn from Adventure Time Fionna & Cake...

could be Papyrus, and the Universe that is Fionna's Home is also where Steven Universe takes place...but like the events that happen in Fionna & Cake's series, happens at the same time that Steven is possibly off Planet and on Homeworld...

and Prismo could of like co-created Steven's version of Earth and Homeworld, and yeah maybe that idea could be more Fanon...

but Prismo decides to place Steven's Galaxy or Cosmos that has Steven's home version of Earth where Fionna's world is, and by doing so, ends up merging the two versions of Earth.

yeah it could end up being Fanon, but I hope some like the idea that pop into my head, even if it is weird...

well I hope my weird idea has lighten the mood...

to the fans of those who were the hearts and souls that made Rooster Teeth's Greatest series and well, what I want to try to say is that like it shows in the tags for this...

Rooster Teeth Company and their Site, will forever and always live on and well I will always love the laughter and joy that was brought by them....even the jokes I didn't really get at first when first watching Red Vs Blue, but like you end up looking it up or learning about it by having it be explained in some other show or movie, and you understand what it is now...

it took me a while, like re-watching the first seasons of Red Vs Blue again, after watching the other seasons...

to figure out that Tucker was a cute idiot, he thought he went back in time....Tucker, you are and will always be an adorkable cute idiot...

if he was real, and if I well you know felt like getting a boyfriend...but I don't because of reasons, and I'm just fine with just getting small crushes on characters, and shipping them with either other canon characters from their own series or in a crossover ship...or like with OCs.

but if Tucker was real, and if I did marry him, I wonder if that would make him technically a Prince by marriage.

if ya heard me talk about my heritage before, even if it isn't all of it and well yeah...I guess hypothetically if he was real, and we did got married, and if we had a kid together, but like that being a big if....and well I rather have a surrogate because of reasons 1, my blood type might ended up hurting the baby, and 2, there can be chances of some bad problems to happen when the baby is about ready to be born...

and once again the whole if Tucker was real, and we did get married, like hypothetically...and if we did have a son or daughter, chances are they will be gifted.....as in they will likely have some powers that will freak Tucker out so much he will jump on to the ceiling and hold on to maybe whatever is on the ceiling...

like I said before, when I first got the pendulum and I held it, it freaked me out.....and it took me a long while maybe some months or so, it touch that pendulum again after it had freaked me out when it started to move like crazy when I held it by that chain thing.

also I'm making sure not to use the pendulum too much, and I have gone for longer not using it too much, and well I have hardly used it.

of course still gonna have to use my gem bracelets for that multi-purpose thing, one of the purposes being that is possibly thanks to my using the pendulum too much and it unlocked something...

lucky the stuff I hold by my hands or just fingers, only move like my pendulum, maybe just a little bit...when my thoughts make it do that.

but even with the gem bracelets on, it seems that some gems that can be on a necklace or like a locket are immune, so it can't be helped and it doesn't really bother me that its just those...

but in a hypothetical way, picture Tucker's hypothetical baby daughter or son, who would be Junior's little sibling.

using telekinesis and making Grif float in the air along with Shelia.

I'm still trying to put a limit to my abilities, like some stuff I don't mind having, like currently...but I rather not let it be like moving stuff without touching it because I don't think I could handle it.

which is why my gem bracelets are uses for the multi-purposes, to put a type of sealing charms & limiters.

and yeah as weird as it is, there is a good reason I keep a dream-catcher outside my door....and have one for in my room, and it has to do with the three close calls which I ain't gonna fully talk about in this post.

but anyway I guess I have only small ideas on how we can keep the memories alive, but I'm sure other fans have already plan to keep those memories alive even after the stuff that happen.

also even if it might not really matter to my family I'm Fictoromantic

but maybe I can take baby steps with the whole Ace thing, and maybe talking to them about the whole Toxic-Lust energy thing and had how it may have effected me before I figured out I was Ace...

I think I might be Aceflux, its just seems like well it just seems more Ace and less flux...

but I guess it was a really good idea to protect my body and energy from some energies that were doing harm, one of them being Toxic-Lust energy....and well there are other reasons for why I wear the gem bracelets, and like I said I use them for multi-purposes, one of them being to keep what the pendulum had unlocked under control.

I think I might be Gray-Aroace, but I'm not sure if it would be the same as Grayromantic, but something I don't know if I can explain it right now...

I know I still get some crushes, but I'm not interested in getting a boyfriend at the moment, but it wasn't like I had one in real life, I mean yeah they were real but one of them I had fell for before, even though I don't remember much about them and I like to keep it that way, but I do remember a bit...like I know one ex, made me feel uncomfortable but I tried to tolerate but I guess maybe I wasn't fully aware but maybe only half was, that they made me uncomfortable even if I did like them....

it might be a good thing I don't remember much about those ex-boyfriends, even if they were online ones and well I never had any guy in the places I lived at before, take a interest in me, and I guess maybe before it would really bother me, even when I got my heart broke by the guy I did have a crush on that lived at the same town as me.

but right now, I could care less because I have no interest in RL-Guys....you know Real Life-Guys...

maybe someday I could find someone in real life, maybe...

but I just don't want to right now, and I don't want to be forced to either.

but if I did want to try to get a boyfriend in the future, he will need to respect my space, not surprise hug me from behind, cause I can get scared really easy...like if I don't know your standing behind me, I'm likely to freakout from the surprise hug.

they will also need to respect that I may not want to be touched at times.

but anyway if by chance the site does come back someday, but like with a new or slightly new name, I guess I don't mind waiting for that.

but I'm not sure if that will happen or not but to me it is a nice thought.

we can keep the memories of those series from the Rooster Teeth Site alive in our own way, and can still watch the episodes of the shows made by Rooster Teeth Company from where we are able to watch them.

as well as hope that Monty Oum's Legacy that is RWBY, will be dearly loved and treated with the most care by RWBY's new adoptive parent company, and I will still give credit to Monty Oum and the Rooster Teeth Team for any future fan fic or fan art that has to do with the series they worked on.

it is just, of course I will need to add a new name to the credit of course.

I think I'm doing a bit more okay now, still not happy about finding out about you know, that thing that had to do with May 15th...

but at least the Good News about the DLC of FNAF Security Breach finally working on the Xbox was the first thing I found out about today on May...and I found out about the other thing that had to do with the Rooster Teeth Site, like after playing Ruin DLC...

I had to take a break, because of those dang Glam-Endos and oh, yeah and that Blue-Rabbit, too...

also we can view that the ship of Grif x Simmons didn't sink, and we can still ship them like well for some being either platonic or romantic bromance...

is it weird that I kind of want to Crossover ship Grif with The Queen of Gluttony from Helluva Boss, but like in a Crossover AU that takes place in a Fanon Timeline kind of way...?

well you know I have my weird moments, even my weird shipping moments...you know if Grif x Bee were ship together in a Crossover Fanon Timeline, Bee would likely spoil Grif way too much and she could be spoiled way too much by him too...

anyway I hope the stuff I had talked about in this, even the off topc ones aren't misunderstood and some understand it in well you know the good way and not that terrible misunderstanding way...

well at least before that whole sad stuff happen, which by the way I still don't feel up to clicking on well the site....to see how it is now.

I can't really bring myself to do that yet, but at least I made sure to do certain stuff first before May 15th happen, and once again didn't know it was going to be that day and well if I did maybe I forgot or maybe I really didn't know the day it was suppose to happen.

anyway I think the love for the series can still live on by the fans, even if it can be Fanon work and the whole re-watching the series.

and well hope that whoever is adoptive parent of Camp Camp now as well, they will be treated with love just as much as RWBY and well, also Red Vs Blue is they get a spin-off series, but I'm not sure about the chances of that, well besides the ones we may know about.

and I guess there can be a good reason why my feelings were a bit maybe mixed today, like yeah that video that I couldn't really bring myself to fully watch did upset me some...but then came some other feelings that weren't really positive but maybe some can understand.

a part of me hopes that someday, Rooster Teeth Company and their site will be back someday, even if it may end up being under new management and a new team and the original team and ones who made the original company will be retired.

and well don't know if the whole being like a Phoenix will happen someday.

but it is still a nice thought, well to me it is...

and I think there are other fans who will keep the series alive in their own way, like either by fan fic or fan art or like a fan comic series or fan animation series.

anyway maybe when I can, I will write a short fan fic that has to do with Red Vs Blue as well as the other series.

well if I do find out some good news that is spoken from those who were a part of the Rooster Teeth Team, I will keep my eye out.

I just hope things do work out, and if the site that was called Rooster Teeth does come back with a new name well I guess that is a possibility and it would surprise me.

I might not be the only one who held on to hope, but even if things seem hopeless maybe there can still be some hope, and that is well whoever is the new adoptive parent company, the fans keeping the memories alive in their own way when they are able to, and well when I'm able to as well.

I think tomorrow I'm going to binge Red Vs Blue, still have to wait for that new season to binge along with them but it will be worth the wait.

maybe before I do that whole binge Red Vs Blue, I will watch FNAF Movie, Sonic The Hedgehog Movie and then Steven Universe Movie and then start with the first Season of Red Vs Blue.

anyway hope some can understand my feelings and I was not happy about what I learned from a video that once again I couldn't bring myself to fully watch after the whole stuff that was mentioned.

anyway I think we can keep the memories alive in our own way, and I don't want what I say to get misinterpreted and I know I had my feelings hurt before when some misunderstanding of what I was trying to say ended up getting misunderstood in a bad way...

like small misunderstandings can be a bit okay and still be worked out in the right way, but some can leave hurt feelings that might stay with you for a while and even if you do get better the memory of the hurt is still there...

anyway hope some understand my feelings and my saying we can keep the memory of Rooster Teeth alive, even the series they helped create and even kept Monty Oum's Creation going even after he went the way he did...

I think I'm doing a bit more better than how I felt when I saw that video, but once again at least I got some Good News about FNAF's DLC first, cause at first I couldn't play it even after downloading it.

and it might have to do with those who were working on the game's DLC, were fixing some problems with it before fully releasing it and only perhaps partly released it at first.

anyway I'm not really sure what else to say, I mean I'm not sure if my words of encouragement will be all that great.

but we all as fans of Rooster Teeth and the shows they had a part in, can keep those fun memories they had created alive and well.

and hope all the series that were created by the team and with other parties that co-created with Rooster Teeth Company.

will be in good hands and will be treated with both love and care...

also I'm not sure if some will understand about my talking about the whole half-numb feeling...

like you get upset even if it is just a small bit, but then while you still feel not happy about it, but like some of your not so good feelings turn like half-numb...well hopefully things will work out, and when I'm able to I will try to see about looking up who the new adoptive parent company is for Camp Camp, RWBY and if Red Vs Blue is in there, then maybe that is possible...

anyway in loving memory of The Original Rooster Teeth Site...

and hope one day maybe in a unknown future, Rooster Teeth will come back like a Phoenix, even if it might be done by new faces and a new team, cause well like I had said before...

but I know the chances of that is small, and might not happen.

but we can still keep the memories alive in our hearts in our own way.

and well I hope some don't misunderstand but still get what I'm trying to say...but I do hope the new adoptive parent company will be able to treat those shows with care, and understand that they are for mature audiences only...

so some parents don't scapegoat, when you realized you saw a mature movie way too early, even before you were the right age to view it...but you still like the movie even if you may have had someone cover your eyes in some parts.

and even if you still like the movie when you watch it again later on, and you have a DVD or Blu-Ray version of it, and you own it now and it isn't just a rented movie...

but yeah, the mature content isn't the problem, because some mature content ya have to wait until your the right age to view it.

no matter if it is a show or book or video game or whatever.

but at least I know now it wasn't my Mom that let me see that movie I'm thinking of, it was one of my much older cousins who should of known better...

but yeah back to the whole topic, that I hope those who have or will become the new adoptive parent company of those shows understand that those shows will not be for kids and will be for mature audiences only...but maybe they already know that, and will make sure to have the proper ratings.

and well maybe it be a good idea like how one of my other favorite series does, to place the Warning and Rating first and to say it is for mature audiences, and depending on the mature age you will need to watch it, and well I'm gonna hope that not only they do the proper mature rating, but I'm going to hope parents or whoever watches those who are too young to view mature shows, movies and video games.

stop with the scapegoating, and make sure to keep any mature content in a place that can be kept away from those who are too young for it, and when you are able to you can watch the show or movie or play the video game yourself, but making sure to take some form of safety measures, to protect the ones who are not the proper age to view the mature stuff you like but you know you can't let them see it until they are much older, and well hope some understand why you need to be careful with some mature shows, movies, video games or even books your have.

even if you still have some family friendly shows, movies, video games and some books, you could try to get your little siblings or like niece or nephew or son or daughter, to view the ones that will be okay for them to view...

I had caught a little cousin one time, trying to play my Deadpool game once, and I was lucky I caught them just in time before they really got into the fully game...

I can't really play my Deadpool game right now, or even my Overlord game for my Xbox because they need to be cleaned because there are marks on the back of them where they shouldn't be...

I have a idea how the Deadpool one happen, but can't be too mad at little kids, who don't know that your not suppose to touch the back and you have to be very careful.

it can mess it up and cause it not to play, well no matter if it is a video game or a dvd or blu-ray of a movie or show.

anyway once again I hope those who are going to possibly keep working on Camp Camp and RWBY, will take care of them and also make sure to put the proper ratings on them.

and even if some fans have fully given up, I think there are some who haven't and will still keep the memory alive through a type of appreciation and maybe even make anniversary type arts or writings about Rooster Teeth and well maybe only a few will do that, but I hope things will work out and well once again I hope some what I'm trying to say about it and once again there is no misunderstandings.

and well we all can put our hearts and minds in how we keep the happy memories alive, and I hope those who were the original team and founders of Rooster Teeth with their friends and families, stay safe and live a long healthy lives.