#i need to do a rewatch after i process some emotions

[jedi-bird]

Episode 6 of Andor went about how I expected it to and I'm not okay. Nor do I want to wait another week for the next episode.

[lawlightautismtruther]

SUPER LONG LAWLIGHT DYNAMIC ANALYSIS RANT (THIS MOSTLY ONLY APPLIES TO THE ANIME)

It’s really not that serious, but there’s more to my thesis of L being a sub/bottom than just blorbo yaoi fuel. I‘ll call back to my post about L’s true emotional vulnerability that most viewers seem to miss, because on a surface level (especially when coming from the manga and when trusting the words of Obha at face value) you may see L as detached and cold. You’re supposed to think that L is unfeeling at FIRST but post-confinement/pre-yotsuba, the truth starts to seep out. L could have had Light convicted after seeing that no more criminals were dying since locking him up, but he didn’t. Even Aizawa admitted that it was enough evidence. You know it’s real when Aizawa agrees with Matsuda, lmfao.

Anyway, after this point, L and Light actually really start to bond. (I pretty much see lawlight as subtextual canon) L, not really needing to do this because of his access to surveillance, handcuffs himself to Light Yagami. He doesn’t want to be apart from him. I actually find it to be a comedically obvious act of desperation.

My point is, Light is winning the game, and L is letting him do it out of what I believe is love. L has found the one person in his life (besides maybe Naomi) that he really feels any sort of connection to, and therefore he would hate to watch that person die. L is inarguably a vulnerable character imo. If you rewatch the the series, outside of his internal monologues, he’s actually extremely soft-spoken and coy.

“Oh, uh, well it was nice meeting you”

“Light, please make Misa stop talking now.”

You get the point. He’s nervous. He’s super frail and holds himself very compactly, he walks with his eyes on the ground usually. He shakes when Aizawa lays a hand on him. He is terrified of shinigami. I think his coldness is an act to protect himself. I really do, because he knows how much things actually do affect him. In order to continue with cases, he has to pretend like none of it really matters to him. And he almost believes it at this point, too— hence his monster speech.

But then there’s Light Yagami. A worthy individual to truly understand L. He comes along, actually treats L like a human being (be it an act, I believe it still feels good to L, who has been treated like a robot his entire life), of course L is bound to at the very least see him as a friend.

I don’t believe L’s external behavior towards Light is an act. He didn’t have to be kind, he didn’t have to pretend it was a friendship. He had zero professional reason to do so. In fact, it very much made the case a harder one to solve. If we take L’s character at face value, he would have scrapped all of the fluffy shit (like asking Light to go get cake with him, telling Light he was his only friend knowing damn well Light wouldn’t budge regardless, etc.) Adding a friendship into the mix only complicates the process of trying to read Light.

As much as L the detective hates to lose, L the person is desperate. If he really hated to lose, why did he let himself? He’s submitting to Light’s will and THAT is what kills him. On the day he dies, he knows it will happen, but still, he treats Light with kindness. Sure, he asks him if he’s ever told the truth once in his life, but after that, he pretty much gives up prying. That’s it. He’s put his gun down. Since he’s going to die anyway, he might as well just enjoy being around Light. I know for a fact that he is smart enough to have come up with some sort of plan to convict Light post-Higuchi. There’s a book about that. But canonically, he didn’t do it. Notice also how L goes to Watari before he dies for comfort. L is really such a sad character.

The crux of his character is his submissiveness, hence why I’m such a proponent of that ship dynamic. Its not just a wet-dream, it’s something I sensed in their dynamic to begin with. It’s why I became an L simp, not the other way around.

Anyway, the anime is a genius adaptation and expansion on the original story imo. (At least up until L’s death— unfortunately it didn’t do the other Wammy’s boys any justice)

TLDR;

manga L- cold and domineering, hates to lose and mostly loses at first because Light outsmarts him

anime L- the very opposite and I LOVE IT

Look at me putting my 5 on the AP English literature exam to use! Also, I know I’m a huge L fan, but I am a Light kinnie and I love him as a protagonist in every possible anti-hero type way and would love to analyze him so let me know if yall want that.

Okay, class, any questions?

[skayafair]

Ep 1 Rewatch Notes

So I'm rewatching the 3rd time and want to note a few things I didn't realize before:

This:

where Edwin seemed so sure he won't need these self-defence techniques is followed by this ↓ the very same episode. No wonder it ends not well. Should have listened to ur mate, Edwin!

Edwin identifies the era Emma is from by her hairstyle and details of clothing and purse. Someone's been studying historical fashion huh~

When the boys banish the demon from Crystal in the underground, Charles looks mostly alright despite taking the most damage (apparently ghosts can very well feel things inflicted by other supernatural beings and forget that material hindrances like floor or a wall or a door shouldn't be an issue for them), while Edwin seems to be alarmed and breathes fast as if trying to calm down from panic. I guess it's not "as if".

Table soccer line on the wall is such a cute detail reminding they are still teenagers.

I didn't understand the bridge scene with "Like, I'm being mean to you. - What? Am I supposed to get mad?" properly before. I do now though. Chaaaarles 😭 I believe it's a mixed bag of him keeping up his "sunny" facade, being able to communicate to another teenager who's alive (as a connection to being alive and regret that he's dead) and liking Crystal. Damn, that's too sad(((

Charles knows Edwin sooooo well. I can't with this huge smile after "You're really gonna let a little american girl die?". He was 1000% sure Edwin would cave in.

"Edwin this woman has a big cleaver-" WHY are you asking Edwin about it Charles?! 🤦😂

Ooooh no oh no oh no. The first case they take is a missing girl one. Crystal is crying while reading the mother's mind. Of course the woman can think only of her lost daughter. And THEN we learn that Crystal's own mother didn't give a damn. DIdn't even know her daughter was missing. My turn to cry 😭

Wow Edwin looked like he was on the verge of tears when Crystal confessed she let David in willingly. Heavy stuff.

Gods the whole "our deaths didn't matter" scene is. Idk how it can hit harder the 3rd time - maybe because I'm paying more attention to the details and have already processed some of their meanings - but it does. A moment of involuntary vulnerability, a true connection, reluctant as it was, and. Edwin is not collected in the slightest. It's not just that his emotions blew up - he just can't control them at all. This whole case with David the Demon became a very strong trigger and Edwin simply could not handle it at all. Crystal can't handle it either, she has her own trauma in full bloom. It's such a fragile moment between them when they decide to set this issue aside, even though it's very much urgent for Crystal. And poor Charles who's used to being a fixer is so lost the whole time because his words don't work and he has no idea what to do. Say what you want but the 1st episode is CHARGED with emotionally strong scenes.

Charles had a beef with Monty from episode one I just can't- 😂

"Keep mocking me, crow. I'll make you my friend eventually. Everyone likes me". Oh well, he sort of succeeded!

[letsgetrowdy43]

lowkey feeling some angst (said me never) like maybe nico gets hurt really hurt on the ice (like doesn’t get up for a while) and it was after an argument him and angie had when the team still didn’t know they were official. and angie goes crazy and has to be held back by someone (jesper?). idk just an idea!

-🍹

Omg yes!! It could have happened at the end of last season, and both of them are trying to make it to the end of the year after an injury-riddled season (2023-24 was rough for them).

Despite the seasons setbacks, Angie had begged Coach Green to let them play on the same line for just one game before the end of the year. After all, their off-ice chemistry was undeniable, so why not see if it translated onto the ice? Green had reluctantly agreed, but it felt like the world had other plans that night as they were no longer in play off contention so really it felt like wasted games.

Their pregame had been thrown off after a slight argument that Nico had started after bringing up their summer plans, hinting that he wanted to be invited to the lake house. Angie still a little on the fence about inviting him to the lake house and finally telling boys that they are, in fact, together. Nico felt like she was purposely sabotaging their relationship and Angie, flustered by her own fear of taking that next step, snapped at him.

Soooo they hadn’t fully made up before the game, and now, the tension lingered into their dynamic on the ice, which caused Green to separate them onto two different lines after playing a shitty first period together.

Then came the second period.

Everything had led up to the slightly dramatic, but also very traumatic moment where Nico had the puck when someone blindsided him with a hit that flipped him around and slammed him against the ice. It wasn’t just a routine fall—this was different, even the crowd could feel it as they gasped while Nico crumpled to the ice, unmoving.

For a moment, Angie was frozen on the bench, her brain struggling to process what she was seeing as he gaze flipped from Nico to Green who was now motioning fo rthe medics to get on the ice.

But then the panic hit as she dropped her gloves and stick on the ground.

She was halfway off the bench before she even realized what she was doing, her skates hitting the ice as she made a beeline for Nico. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. The argument from earlier swirled in her head—how stupid she had been.

Really, her motives could be summed up as her being the only Alternate captain actually playing in the game (Jack was out for the rest of the szn at this point), but to a few guys on the team, these moves were a lot less calculated then the normal angie reaction.

Jesper Bratt grabbed her arm, pulling her back before she could get too close to the scene in front of them. "Angie, wait—let the medics handle it!" "I should be there," she said firmly, trying to pull free from Jesper’s grip, her voice breaking as she watched his expressions often, almost like he clued in a little that stronger emotions were floating around, "I need to—" "Let them do their job!" Jesper’s voice was firmer than she had ever heard before but still had that gentle tone to it. Angie struggled against him, but he held her back as the medics rushed onto the ice.

"Go talk to the Refs, okay, we still need a leader," he motioned towards the guys in tripes who were rewatching the tapes over and over again to decipher whether the hit was legal or not.

Her heart was pounding, every second feeling like an eternity as her eyes flipped between him and the refs, who weren't even attempting to speak to her, as she demanded some sort of penalty for their captain being knocked unconscious.

Nico still wasn’t moving, and with every few seconds she felt herslef going crazy.

Angry tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as the refs yelled at her, and she yelled back, her throat tightened with frustration at the turn of events, and before she knew it, she was ejected from the game and down the tunnel, following Nico close by.

But as she left the ice, she could definitely tell that the team could read the tobe change that had overtaken the captain and alternate captain and that whatever going on was at a deeper emotional level than they could ever understand.

-

-

-

Idk if that's what you were envisioning, but I can def see her going either completely batshit or like so overcome with emotions that she's not sure what to do other than get mad and cry (average girl experience)

[skylie-spiderlillis]

1, 5, 7, 15 for the dbda ask game :)

Thank you so much for submitting these questions!

1. My favourite character

It's Charles. Yeah it's very obvious from my profile picture, I'm a Charles fan all the way.

The moment I met him in the show/ trailer I got possessed. I knew he was going to be my favourite character and I was right. Also I'm in love(/nsrs. Well, okay, maybe a bit, but mostly not!) with Jayden Revri. God the eyes of this boy. And his face. And his everything.

Yeah Charles is very much my favourite.

After him probably Edwin Crystal and Jenny, with no particular order. I can't decide.

I'm extremely obsessed with Edwin as well, although he is vastly different from my usual type of characters, because a fencer (in my heart, George also confirmed! And I relate to him on that) + he's not afraid to be bitchy and he's so iconic and so many others stuff that surprised me about him. I love him.

Also Crystal. My love. My girl. Complex female characters my beloved.

And Jenny is an icon. What else can I say?

5. Character I relate to the most.

Well, it's Charles. Sorry the answer is clear cut lol.

His situation with his parents reminds me of my own a lot (unfortunately). I relate to him on so many deep and emotional levels. Some of the episodes hit me strong. I thought 3 was going to be the peak where we get to see his trauma although it's not a lot, and then episode 4 hit me like a train. Episode 5 (especially the end) has my heart.

I relate to Charles on so many levels.

I also relate to Crystal a lot, her journey is relatable. I feel her.

She's just as messy and complicated as anyone else in there, I get her.

7. Favourite headcanon from the fandom

Demiromantic Charles! I talked about it before and also tagged the post I saw it in that explains it really well. I love this. I wish I saw more fanfics exploring this.

Also I wish I saw more gender queer Charles Rowland.

But mostly demi Charles. I can't think of any other hc I saw I really like yet.

15. My favourite line

There are many, many, hilarious lines I dearly love. But I am going to go with an angsty pick, I think the line that broke me the most was a line Charles said in episode 1 I didn't see anyone talking about I think holds a major part of his character- "you are the smart one, and I'm the one that does shit like this." It deeply hurt me.

Let's talk about it for a moment, shall we?

Because Charles is smart. Many times he finds the solutions to their cases, Edwin often praises him for his brilliant mind and George himself said in a cameo only people he thinks truly deserves it- a compliment from Edwin is the highest compliment ever.

Charles is smart.

But he sees himself as this reckless, foolish, charicaristic. This sentence comes from so much self hatred. When things get complicated we see him turn again into the aggressive image he has of himself. He sees himself as waste. He holds Edwin at the highest place ever in his eyes "you are the smart one, you are better than this, you are better than me, don't step to my level I'm trash you are so much more I will do it for you" and it just hurts me how much he throws himself away in the process.

Seeing this line again in a rewatch and realise it definitely was a stab to the chest, now that it's known how much he hates himself.

I wish we talked about episode 1 more, it's a great episode that sets out so many important stuff for the rest of the show. We just skip over it because so much happened so quickly but there are so much stuff we need to unpack there.

[spaceorphan18]

Hi! You mentioned you were a bit disappointed by part 2 - what do you think could've been done better? Personally I needed more Colin, I felt like he got lost in the Whistledown plot

Hi Nonny!

Ooff, I have very complicated feelings about all of this, lol.

I was initially disappointed when I first watched because there are a lot of subtle emotions going on and it all goes by so quickly, and is in such short bursts that it's hard to unpack all of it on first watch. It also COMPLETELY plays with expectations and has them in the middle of a fight while getting married which is... so bonkers. So bonkers. And it is incredibly disorienting.

Having rewatched it (multiple times now) and having some MAJOR revelations about Colin (I mean I was casually watching two months ago -- I had zero real idea bout his character) I actually love a lot of the second half, and really appreciate what they were going for.

Is it perfect? No - there are still some issues (I'll get to that in a sec) but I appreciate the story that they were attempting to tell. Because it's fascinating. And there are a lot of delicious elements to it.

I think one of the biggest issues is that they were trying to cram this incredibly complex story into 8 episodes. And with the addition of the million subplots, it didn't fully work. Honestly, I wish we had gotten an episode or two longer just to let the full story breathe a little more.

I agree that, overall, they we needed a tad more of Colin's process. It's there but it's subtle. And I think his entire character arc, while there, is subtle. As just a casual viewer who hadn't watched the previous seasons - ngl, I felt slightly lost and slightly disappointed that we didn't get to see /more/.

Also it's hard. HARD. That they don't get to connect post-wedding, because Whistledown still hangs down over them. Because you WANT to them to have that post-wedding bliss. You WANT them to consummate the marriage and have that after glow and we don't get that. And my god, I really wanted to wake up in bed together, happy and blissful like we got with Kanthany.

But that's not the story.

I will say, once I unpacked it a little - the story we get is absolutely delicious. And I actually really love what we did get. There's this fascinating angst there -- where the characters are so IN LOVE and yet they both have their own journeys of dealing with the Whistledown of it all. And the fact that they do go through with this wedding, the fact that their their friendship means they have groundwork to get them through the nonsense, it's so good. I really love it.

But yeah, ultimately, I just wanted more of it. Because we don't get enough. But, honestly, I feel like we'd never get enough really.

About the side plots -- I haven't gone back and watch the first two seasons other than the rewatch I did a month ago. I'll have to see how many subplots are in those seasons, because idk know if there are /that/ many more. It's just that we're used to Polin being the subplot that it's odd when someone else takes that space.

About the ending -- here's where I feel like it could have been better. And here's where I think that maybe Season 4 can deliver on what was ultimately cut short in Season 3. I think Season 4 will have them be a united front and whatever Pen is going to go through they go through it together.

But we also get the happiness we didn't fully get at the end of Season 3. I hope -- would like to believe that Polin will settle into their comfortable roles as subplots again.

And maybe selfishly, I hope the show can keep Nic and Luke as long as possible because -- with their story being there from the beginning they have the chance to be a backbone of the entire show. And I mean, think about how much story that accumulates over all those seasons.

Anyway - I have more to say about the episodes, and maybe I'll kind of write up more on Season 3 as a whole, or episode by episode or something. Because, y'all who've been here with me know, media analysis has just become my second job. (I say as if I don't love every second of it.)

[kairithemang0]

it always hurts to think about the fact that Tatiana was the one who said “Owen” when he came out from behind the curtain and not Curt. Curt just stands there, shocked. He’s terrified, he freezes. The first thing he says is “how are you here”, and then “why are you here”. I swear, this poor guy. And the fact that Tatiana, who has only really heard stories of Owen, and maybe saw a few pictures if Curt kept any and decided to show her (I’d like to think he did keep a picture of Owen on him, dunno it’s cute) just knew that it was Owen. It’s just the way that Curt freezes, the way he walks back just a bit when Owen starts talking, just trying to figure out how Owen, Owen who’s been dead for 4 years, could possibly be here, and not only that, could be the deadliest man alive, the man who tortured him days prior. I’m rewatching the scene now, it’s been a minute, but the way Curt stutters at “how are you here” is so painful. He left Owen, he wanted to put Owen behind him and he wanted to move on, meanwhile he’s being confronted by Owen mere days after he finally got back on his feet. I feel like “you’re dead” is more of him trying to get himself to believe Owen is still dead now, I think in some way he’s experienced this before, some type of hallucination trying to make him believe Owen is still there. And yet here stands the real Owen, who is not only alive, but wants him dead and wants to go against everything they ever believed in. Ugh the way Owen insults him is everything to me, because in some way it is true, Curt is arrogant and impulsive, he probably did feel like the dumb one on the team at multiple points. Ughhhhh what if these were insecurities he actually told Owen? What if he was able to open up to him about the fear he’s arrogant and impulsive and was made to feel stupid by the people around him and Owen reassured him at the time he wasn’t and now he’s the one telling him? Sorry I’m overthinking this scene I just love it. And then the one time Curt gets something right HE STILL INSULTS HIM. Off topic but Curt’s “rocks?” Is so cute to me idk why it just is. Rocks? Gah I love them. Owen’s little annoyed slow turn after “huh” is everything to me IM SORRY IM LOSING MY MIND.

Ok I meant to do this months ago but here’s my overthinking of the line of “I’d be god, what kind of a world would that be?” You can’t really see exactly who he’s looking at, but I swear it’s Curt. He’s looking directly at Curt and saying that a world where he’s god would be better than this one. At least that’s how I’m reading it. honestly I doubt Curt or Owen believed in god at that point, through all they’ve been through, for all the things they’ve done, though the fact that at this time homosexuality was seen as “sexual perversion” and against the will of god. I dunno, I’m really overthinking this. I don’t know where I’m going with this tbh, frankly that’s all of my posts

the way Curt hesitates at “good thing we’re here to stop you” is interesting to me. Does he want to stop Owen? I mean yes of course he wants to stop this plan of his, but does he want to actually hurt Owen at this time? I think he’s still processing the fact Owen has been the DMA, that Owen tortured him. I think at his time he isn’t set on killing him, that maybe things could work if he somehow gets Owen back on their side and thinking clearly. I think once he kills the informant, that's when he really questions it. The informant isn't just some random person who they need to kill to get out of some warehouse, he's someone Curt knows and may not be close with but does care about. Owen didn't need to kill him, he just sort of wanted to.

I think the fact Curt at first wanted to go and destroy the compound is interesting, he knew what was going to happen by then. He knew one of them wasn't going to make it out alive and that this wasn't going to end well. I'd love to see a Tatiana staircase scene with Owen, I don't think it would be as emotional, but I think it would reveal a lot more about Curt and Owen's relationship. Tatiana, even if Curt hasn't explicitly told her he and Owen were once together (i think he did personally), it would be interesting to hear Owen's point of view on that. Actually I may write that... hmm.

Well here are some really incoherent thoughts for yall

[lucianalight]

Hi! I'm back :) after another long hiatus😅 I have missed all of you❤️

First of all a huge thank you to everyone who were worried and asked about my health and how I was doing. I wasn't doing well tbh. I'm one of those people who had the misfortune of never quite recovering from covid. I already had one chronic illness that was messing up my life and health. Having another on top of that takes a lot of physical, emotional and mental toll and limits my energy greatly. So I needed time to get used to my new reality and condition and learn to how manage it and live with it. It's still a work in progress and doctor appointments are seeming endless but at least some meds are helping. So there's that.

You probably already know the second reason why I wasn't doing well. I've seen terrible things…And you need time to process them. To grieve, to deal with trauma and survivor's guilt, and nurture your anger and keep fighting, keep resisting…

And well, internet connection still sucks so using social media is kind of an ordeal :D

There were a lot of times that I wanted to come back on tumblr but every time some issue would come up and take my motivation and energy. Then two weeks ago, after I couldn't crush the little ray of hope that maybe this time I'm going to see sth I like, I started watching season 2 of Loki. I watched it while promising myself that I'm not going to care anymore if it's bad, reminding myself that I might see sth as bad as season 1. Still I was surprised that I didn't hate it. On the contrary there were moments that were entertaining and even enjoyable. And those moments were more than the ones I dislike. It was better than season 1 and admittedly that's a low bar since I consider S1 one of the worst tv shows I've ever seen, but there were noticeable changes in pace and tone of the narrative and characterization in S2. Some issues in S1 was addressed. Loki was actually the main character of his series and got to do badass magic stuff :D The characters were flesh out and three dimensional and likable(I love OB so much :D). There was no romance. The ending was great.

There were of course things I didn't like. Removing Loki's backstory and his issues with his family from the story is one of them. How some of his moments in past was addressed. The episodes at times got boring or very predictable. There were times that Loki was ooc or comedic moments that weren't delivered well.

It wasn't perfect but at least acceptable. And probably the best Loki content we got since TDW. And I liked the ending a lot. I found myself keep going back to rewatch some scenes. I found myself analyzing the content happily. I had things to say. So here I am :D basically I'm 100% back to my Loki bs and I'm making it everyone's problem :P

Whether you loved the series or hated it, you're welcome on my blog and you're welcome to send me your opinions and engage with me in discussions and metas. I will tag posts accordingly in case you want to avoid certain content(tbh I still don't know what the new tags will be because I haven't written anything yet but I will make a post when I do).

There will be posts of some new fandoms so block their tags if you don't want to see those posts. The new fandoms are Sandman tv show(I haven't finished the comics so plz don't spoil them for me), Wednesday, My Hero Academia, Shadow and Bone, and The Bifrost Incident.

As I mentioned above I'm dealing with multiple chronic illnesses and have a limited energy each day. I will try to answer your messages, comments and asks as soon as I can but it might take a long time. Sry about that.

And finally a warm welcome to all the new followers and thanks to everyone who are still following me❤️

[speremint]

Good Omens S2 Thoughts

OBVIOUSLY spoilers for GO S2 below, so if you've not seen, and don't wanna be spoiled, don't read!

The tl;dr of this long post is that I loved S2, it was a lot of fun, and I love that it focused more on Az and Crowley, but I also think it was a little out of pocket and a little messy in writing.

Anyway I fuckin.. am still processing all of what I watched, and am currently rewatching with a friend, too, but here's my jumbled thoughts on S2 and especially the final episode because I'm having many emotions and I need to get my thoughts out somewhere.

Listen. I would like to clarify that I loved S2 and I loved S1, and I think S2 was VERY smart to parse down on supporting characters and keep it stuck to Crowley and Aziraphale for the most part.

I'm assuming that S2 was made with S3 in mind though, esp after this post from Neil Gaiman, bc lord I will cry if there's no S3.

The focus on the story of Job I am being super optimistic in hoping that maybe it's Gaiman punching us in the throat with S2 before offering us a nicer S3... regardless though, I loved the season despite my minor criticisms.

I... do not have anything against Beelzebub/Gabriel, but holy shit was that out of left field for the ending... I just feel that, despite Gabriel having memory loss (it doesn't seem to be COMPLETE since it was kinda touch and go during scenes), they should've sprinkled in some sort of foreshadowing the his relationship or fondness of Beelzebub.

Have him at least not try to decimate that fuckin fly with books, or take an interest in books on forbidden romance, or rebellion against authority, or maybe just flat out have him be interested in Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship, or Nina and Maggie's. Just SOMETHING to set it up a little bit...

EDIT:: while rewatching, I suppose they hinged most of their foreshadowing in Beelzebub's passiveness and interest in Gabriel, but it's a little hard to have a comparison given how little they were in S1

It was only after I skimmed the GO tag that I saw people were pissed about Aziraphale's choice in E6 and I'm kinda just like ??? It's not OOC though... He's always been loyal to Heaven, and the times when he's been questioning, the biggest issue, is that Crowley was an enabler. He kept Aziraphale from REALLY facing the consequences of these decisions because he's acted as a safety net in some of the situations they're put in.

I love the added scenes of the past with Crowley and Aziraphale, they're fuckin great and I like that it continues to expand upon their relationship and "temptations", but I do think it was kinda reiterating stuff we knew from S1... even if it was good fan service, for lack of a better word. I just kinda wish they had sprinkled in more reinforcements of Aziraphale's fealty to heaven. Or, perhaps during the scene when Azira is worried he's going to become a demon, he could take that time to ask Crowley on his feelings on being a demon, and perhaps if he regrets it, just to also set up for the finale desire of Aziraphale in turning Crowley back into an angel.

Regardless though, S3, assuming there is one, will be a big wake up call to Aziraphale when he's left on his own and also under a tighter leash by heaven, especially since Crowley is gone. Also, expanding on Crowley being a high rank when he was an angel made my fuckin night, I still stick to the headcanon that he was the Archangel Raphael, don't @ me

I do think that... some of the stuff that happened in S3 did feel a little like a response to fans as well, since I know Gaiman is on tumblr and Ik the fandom has been really vitriolic over the fact that Az and Crowley didn't kiss or anything in S1... tbh I didn't think it was that big of a deal cause love is shown in many different ways, and I admit I do like that they kissed in S2, but it did also feel uhhh kinda spontaneous.

Not a bad thing, just wasn't expecting it. I did replay the scene bc I'm an angsty bitch. But yeah, I'm like ehhh.

Also Nina and Maggie randomly coming at the end to like.. sit Crowley down and be like "erm youre stupid and in love" felt very weird in a way I can't quite describe, but also felt kinda undeserved. Esp cause Crowley was like "eh I guess". I think the more subtle off handed chat he had with Nina about Aziraphale being his partner was a more elegant way of setting that up, and having him reflect on that instead would've been better. But also tbf he and Azira were being bitches and indeed messing with Maggie and Nina.

I don't like the term of describing content as "fanfic"y because a lot of fanfiction is super well written, but I think S2 was very... fan service-y... rather.

Which tbh I don't mind that much, esp given Gaiman really didn't want an S2 to respect Pratchett's passing as his cowriter. So... meh. I did genuinely dislike the ball scene at the end though. Just... it was really weird, and I'm not sure what they were trying to say with it, other than Aziraphale is fucking demented... and tbh he should've known better since the fucker's been on earth for ages, idk. After talkin with a friend, it just was a really weird scene, and if anything was OOC for him, I think it was that bc his removal of free will, speech, and even actions, was fucking insane.

Also I don't think John Hamm is attractive, so I tbh was just confused for a lot of his scenes that had interactions or alluded to him...

I liked S2, I really did. It was campy, it was a lil sloppy, but it was fun, and it gave a lot more Crowley and Aziraphale being a bitchy little married couple before their fuckin messy ass divorce at the end.

ANYWAY... I really can't wait to see what happens, and I am PRAYING that there'll be an S3. Until then, I will happily sit in my puddle of tears

[nottoofondofgaypeople]

The whole Kiki and Zane situation

Major Content Warning for sexual assault, unwanted pregnancy, and lack of consent

Yeah this is a thing. That we need to talk about. I'm keeping the whole amulet thing the same, I actually have a lot of thoughts about these amulets, where they came from, and why they do what they do, but in this situation I think it works. But we are not going to gloss over this situation at all.

I am necessitating downtime after the first major fiasco with Zane. I literally don't know what happens after that but there is as much time as I want for characters to just process that whole fucking ordeal. Especially Kiki. Give her time to process the physical trauma of having a child under such extreme circumstances, maybe show her going to the Irene Statue to pray or getting healing potions from Zoey or eventually Lucinda to help her body deal with the after effects.

Let Kiki be emotional about it. Let someone ask her how she's doing and that time she can't lie about it. She can't hide the miserable look in her eyes. She's tried to hide this from Leona, she doesn't want her daughter to have to deal with the burden of her origin and what it did to Kiki, but deep down Kiki knows she can't stop that from happening. She knows Leona will always be affected by this and she's completely shaken at the mere thought of having to explain it to her later in life.

And let other characters express thoughts on this!! I feel like canon absolutely ignores a lot of characters feelings, especially people in Season 1 Phoenix Drop, and will just focus on a certain part of a series of events while ignoring or rarely bringing up another. Like I honestly forgot this whole subplot happened when I went in for a rewatch a year ago and was absolutely mortified by how little the story focused on a fucking traumatizing experience that it just shows on screen.

Garroth shows up at Kiki's barn because at this point, the jig is up. Everyone in Phoenix Drop knows who he is and who his brother is. And most people know he despises Zane and that Garroth is fundamentally a different person. But he still shoulders guilt for how bad it got for some people. Especially Kiki. He saw the way Zane looked at her, the way he fancied her. Even when he and Irena both warn her about Zane, Garroth still feels like he didn't do enough to prevent this.

He agonizes over how to talk to her and ends up pacing near the staircase up to her second floor while he tries to work it out. Garroth forgets that his armor is fucking LOUD and Kiki can hear him in her echoey ass barn, so she just yells at him to come upstairs and get this over with.

Garroth is eventually coaxed into revealing how guilty he feels about this happening. He starts to blame himself for it, and Kiki very quickly shuts that down. The only person at fault is Zane. There's no way Garroth could have known the depths of cruelty his brother would go to, and she doesn't want anyone being blamed for this other than Zane. She decided to keep Leona and raise her as her own, in spite of the man who helped create her.

Garroth apologizes for trying to shift the blame and resolves to instead ensure Zane isn't able to get that close to anyone he cares about. And he takes his role as Leona's uncle very seriously. For the time he gets to before the season 1 finale, Garroth often spends time around Kiki and Leona. Sometimes he'll baby sit so Kiki can get some rest, or he'll tell Kiki stories of what his youngest brother was like as a child. He quietly omits any mention of the middle brother.

Irena and Kiki have long talks about parenting and how Kiki plans to raise Leona. Irena keeps giving her this sad look, and Kiki admits that she's much more damaged than she lets on. But Irena has enough on her shoulders. Kiki admits that she's been processing a lot of this with Brendan and Donna, who she considers her very dear friends, and that while she's so happy Irena cares so much, it isn't her problem to worry about. She isn't allowed to blame herself for it, and she isn't allowed to try and take more onto her plate for Kiki's sake.

Gods I love Kiki so much. She's such an underrated character and I really want to explore her and other underutilized members of the village quite a bit more in this rewrite. Really make Phoenix Drop into the incredibly fucked up found family it was meant to be.

And let's be clear that even after 15 years, 15 years of healing, of loving, of having a life without Zane, of having a life with the daughter she adores, Kiki is still healing. There are scars on her stomach that will never go away. She's fairly confident she'll never be able to give birth again and has come to terms with that. She doesn't let herself be very intimate with people anymore, and anyone who knows her isn't pushy at all. They're just grateful that Kiki is incredibly strong and unbelievably stubborn.

One day Leona comes downstairs and some of her hair is covering her eye the same way Zane's did. Kiki tries to hide how tense and uncomfortable this makes her, asking Leona in a fairly roundabout way how she'd feel about a haircut. Even if Leona isn't fully aware of the situation at this point, she can tell that something's got her mom acting a little off. And the long hair is harder to maintain when she's trying to hunt.

Short hair Leona. That's it.

Even if it takes forever to get to this point, there's something fundamentally healing about Garroth getting to meet Leona. A lot has changed in the time he was gone, but Irena prepared him for a lot of it. What she couldn't have prepared him for is how it would feel to see a 15 year old Leona racing around the island chasing after some other kid like a feral beast. Like I'm so serious Garroth is so close to crying when he meets her.

Once Leona realizes who he is, she's ecstatic because she's heard so many stories about her uncle Garroth from her mom!! She's always wanted to meet him!! Garroth has a massive complex around his family and their impact on the lives of those around him, but when he gets to see how happy Kiki and Leona are, it kind of just melts away and he gets to spend an afternoon playing with his niece in the forest.

[hecatesbroom]

Remember that essay I wrote on vulnerability in the Golden Girls? Yeah. 8k wasn't enough apparently, because I've got a little add-on about Rose here. After rewatching some episodes, I have a lot more to talk about!

Under the cut because this got slightly out of hand (again). You can just treat this as a standalone post if you haven't read the essay by the way; it's just that the subject matter is the same so that's why they're linked in my mind ;)

Rose is very emotionally intelligent and great at supporting others. We see this in multiple instances, and I've mentioned it in the essay as well — so I won't delve too deeply into that. But, and I never mentioned this in the essay because I hadn't noticed it before, she seems to deal with her own emotions in a healthy way only (or at least primarily) because she lives in an emotionally healthy household.

What do I mean by that? Well, when left to her own devices, it seems like her coping method is actually very similar to Dorothy's (distract herself from the matter at hand while trying to find a solution), which can be seen very clearly in S01E22: Job Hunt, where she loses her job and, for the first part of the episode, focuses on everything except her very serious problem (being out of a job and needing money to pay rent). The discerning difference between Dorothy and Rose is that Rose stays incessantly cheerful and focused on empathizing with other people throughout it all. In fact, I'd say that as long as she prioritizes others' (emotional) needs, she can trick herself into feeling like her own needs aren't as important — attempting to diminish their emotional impact in the process.

It tracks perfectly with what she said about the orphanage (only the sweet, happy kids were adopted). And what better way to hide your hurt, even fron yourself, than behind a mask of cheer and kindness, and empathy for others?

In the episode mentioned above, she snaps only when Blanche and Dorothy call her out on her seeming lack of concern for at least the second time — and she seems to snap not because they show concern, but because she's frustrated with the fact that they think she's underestimating how severe this all is (because she's been putting up a front all this time, and it's been so effective not even Dorothy or Blanche saw through it). When asked why she's been hiding the extent of her distress from them, Rose replies with a very clear line of reasoning: telling them won't get her a job.

This implies she's actually focused a lot more on practical outcomes for her own problems, than her work at a grief centre (where her only way of helping people is emotional, not practical) would suggest. By working at a grief centre and acknowledging her importance towards her clients, she acknowledges the importance and effectiveness of emotional support. But when it comes to her own problem, which is admittedly rooted in a more practical concern, she completely dismisses her need for emotional support — because telling her friends won't fix the practical root of her problem, so she simply doesn't do it until she snaps.

So: Rose turns to somewhat unhealthy coping mechanisms (distraction to the point of ignoring her emotions) until her roommates confront her about it. Which is where the emotionally healthy environment comes in: because Blanche and Dorothy are so willing to support Rose, she opens up eventually and she's able to work through her problems. (As she does on several other occasions!) But it seems like she opens up only when she's pushed to do so, at least a little.

[thedecadenceofwar]

The Kiss of the Muse: Young Royals. A meta.

Alright. So I was rewatching young royals (stream young royals lets make season 3 happen) and I noticed at the end of episode one, Wille is doing his homework! (Good for him!) And his book is open on this page:

Oh, what an interesting painting, I thought. And then I thought, it’s Young Royals; nothing is by accident. So I went searching for this painting, and I found it. It’s by Cézanne, and it’s called The Kiss of the Muse.

The wonderfully informative cezannepaintings.com had this to say:

The Kiss of the Poet shows a poet who is experiencing difficulty in his writing process. Although the scene doesn't include a writing implement, a piece of paper is resting on the desk. It appears as if the poet was in the middle of creating a poem and got stuck. Exasperation is written all over his face. His entire form screams of a man tired of what he is doing. Dream of a Poet is an apt alternate title for the painting because it describes this scene perfectly. The poet and his eyes closed so the muse on his shoulders could be part of a dream.

Pretty sure they meant Kiss of the Muse at the beginning (whatever, errors happen) but one of the things I want to point out is that the ALTERNATE title for this painting is Dream of a Poet. In this essay I will -

talk about how both titles are symbolic for Wille and Simon, and how they are both the poet and the muse in this painting.

Disclaimer: I don’t have a degree in art history. I don’t know anything. Feel free to disagree with me entirely. Enjoy!

Simon as the Poet; Kiss of the Muse.

Immediately before this scene in Wille’s bedroom takes place is the first time Simon sets a boundary before Wilhelm. I’ve been thinking about you all break, he said, but it’s nice to have some space. You can see in that interaction how exhausted Simon is, how he’s entirely fed up with Wille not being able to understand where he’s coming from.

(Apologies for my godawful Netflix screenshots.)

While Simon might be faced away from his muse, clearly sick of this mental block, Wille is always behind him, always with him. The poet’s muse inspires him to write, just as Wille inspires Simon to write the new Hillerska song. But at this point, Simon has not yet begun; the artist in the painting notably does not have a pen or quill.

It speaks as well I think to Wille’s constant presence in Simon’s life. The poet has given up on his poem. He’s sick of throwing himself at the wall and never being able to get through. And Simon constantly tries to take back his agency; through Marcus, through the Hillerska song, through the boundaries he sets with Wilhelm. But it’s never enough. Wille is constantly with him. The muse stands behind the poet; he cannot see her, but he can feel her presence. Dream of a Poet (the alternate title) implies that he wishes she was there, that he yearns for her constantly and the creative impulses she brings, but he cannot access them.

I feel ascribing the poet to Simon is a fairly obvious comparison; two creators, both feeling stuck and art-blocked. Simon as poet and Wille as muse represents Simon’s artistic and emotional journey through the season; he tries to look the other way, but Wille is always drawing him in, constantly with him.

And oh, the kiss. Simon cannot sing his song without Wille there. The muse is vital for the art.

In episode 4, when Simon realizes Wille has left the ball, he goes in search of him. Wille, the song is about you. He needed Wille to be there, to hear him sing those words because without him there the full impact of the premier is lost. What would happen if the muse left the poet? The kiss must happen. Wille must be present for the song.

Simon goes searching for him because he knows this. If Wille is not present to hear it, the point of Simon writing it is lost. He may not have known it until Wille threatened to leave, but he knows it when he goes after him. He seeks the kiss of the muse. Once he receives it, he is free to make his art again.

Wille as the poet; Dream of the Poet.

Speaking of that kiss. I’m sure we’re all aware at this point that the music that plays during this kiss plays during Wille’s dream at the very beginning of the season. He’s dreamed of this moment for so long, this kiss, and to finally receive it is such ecstasy he’s speechless.

(Look at that queer fucking joy. My god. I nearly cried.)

But I digress. We must return to the point at which he flips the book to the painting. Then we return to Wilhelm’s dream.

So, where is Wille coming from at the moment this painting appears? He is certainly under extreme duress. I would compare him to Cézanne at this moment:

Here, the defeated demeanour of the poet could represent how Cézanne faired during his early days as an artist. It looks as if he has lost hope until a muse bestows inspiration. It took a while for the French painter to gain recognition for his talent and maybe a muse of inspiration had something to do with it.

So Cézanne, like Wille, like the poet, was stuck in a cycle where he was doing his best, trying his hardest at something, and still nothing came of it. Wille is terrified of being crown prince – it affects him so physically he vomits simply at the thought of speaking in front of others. He is fighting as hard as he can but the forces surrounding him are far too big for him to ever prevail against them.

Time and time again, he tries to reason. He tries to threaten. He begs. And always, nothing real comes from it. He gets to stay at Hillerska, he gets his bodyguards moved. He still has to make the speech. Still Crown Prince. Still forced into a role he doesn’t want. With Wille as the poet, the block is less creative and more literal. He wants to be able to do what he wants, to be who he is, but he’s not allowed to be. And he’s allowing this to happen to himself. He begins to mold himself into the shape of the Crown Prince.

But for the dream. The dream of a kiss of inspiration. The one thing driving Wille up until this point (at the ball) is this dream that he can, somehow, win Simon over. His whole motivation is to get Simon back – the means may be questionable at times, but it’s undeniable that Simon IS the force behind Wille’s actions. His muse.

Similarly to Simon, it’s not always necessarily a good thing. In the end, Simon inspires Wille to come out on his terms, but up until the ball, where Wille first tries to let go, what he inspires is a relatively selfish feeling in Wille, the I want of winning Simon back. Likewise, Wille as Simon’s muse almost hangs over his shoulder in every interaction, causing guilt and anger and helplessness. It’s the kiss that changes everything.

Wille dreams of being free. Simon is stuck behind an emotional block. The kiss of these two poets’ respective muses represents the freeing of both of their blocks. Wille’s dream becomes a reality; Simon is able to perform his song. Moving forward, as inspirations for the other they become better versions of themselves as they push away the mental, physical, emotional, and creative blocks that kept them away from each other.

Paul Cézanne’s The Kiss of the Muse, also entitled Dream of the Poet is representative of both Wille and Simon in both roles of the painting, as muse and poet. Both act as inspirations to help the other overcome some kind of block, and one quick flip to a page showing this painting in Wille’s textbook acts as foreshadowing for the entire rest of the season.

[pfhwrittes]

Actually I know you said I wouldn’t wanna hear you bemoan your writing process, but I’m actually very interested in that tbh

What is your process for a longer fic? How do you format your outline? What does your research look like if you need to do that?

I’d love to see it! Maybe this is more of Talk Shop Tuesday question lol

tats you can have a little Talk Shop Tuesday as a treat!

so i briefly touched on my process (god i need a new way to phrase that it sounds so wanky) in this ask here where i admitted to kind of flying by the seat of my trousers/pants with writing ("live by the PWP sword, die by the PWP sword i guess" is probably one of my favourite sentences i've ever written).

but i'll expand further under the cut because i know i'm going to get long winded as hell.

firstly, i'm going to admit something slightly embarrassing. i'm not a planner, or a plotter, or a think further than the scene i'm writing writer. i'm just not. i write entirely on vibes or wherever the worms take me. i think that's pretty evident from the fact that most of my fics/drabbles for the fandom are shorter than my left leg. i consider it to be a minor miracle if i break 500 words, never mind 1000 words for my fics.

secondly, maybe mummies is my most rigidly outlined fic ever. i have a super rough outline for my festival fic (remember that? god those were the days) and for my bbc ghosts inspired thing (again, another blast from the past right there) but maybe mummies is the biggest document i have in my WIP folder right now and i'll use that as my example for my outlining process (and hopefully i won't spoil the fic too much).

What is your process for a longer fic? i always start every single one of my fics by dumping a synopsis of what i want the fic to be at the top of my document. first of all, it scares away the Fear of the Dreaded Blank Page (where The Blinking Cursor of Doom lingers), secondly it pulls me back on track when i start getting lost in the weeds as i always get lost in the weeds to some degree. thirdly, it's kind of silly and mostly vibes. i basically just talk to myself in the blurb and at some point that may translate to an author's note but sometimes it doesn't.

then i move onto notable tags i know i need to include. so that would be the general vibe of the fic ("Inspired by The Mummy (1999)"), the genre ("Action/Adventure", "Romance", "Comedy"), or notable triggers ("Bugs/Beetles", "Implied PTSD", "Implied Alcoholism"). the notable tag section is subject to change as i write but as soon as i pop something in my fic that i know could potentially trigger someone or make someone balk at bit at reading it, i update the tag list. as i work through the sections/scenes of my fic i list the tags/triggers that apply to that section and mark them with a star and match that star up to the notable tag section.

for maybe mummies, i started writing it chronologically while on my third(?) rewatch of The Mummy. i spat out the blurb during my first watch because the brain worms took me gently by my throat and calmly threatened me at knife point (no, i don't know where they got the knife either and at this point i'm too afraid to ask). then i yelled at @391780 over having an idea as i usually do and early enabled me like the Chief Worm Wrangler they are.

then i got bored of writing it chronologically on my fifth rewatch after blocking most of act 1 and act 2, so i went to the last scene of the fic, blocked that out with bullet points (and made myself laugh) before deciding that actually, an epilogue would really tie everything up wonderfully. so then i spat out the epilogue (and very shyly asked @syoddeye if the emotional beats hit right and they were kind enough to go "i love [this metaphor] and [this interaction]" which basically cemented the epilogue for me. so if you hate it, don't you dare blame sy, i'll come for your kneecaps with my makita drill if you do).

aside from that, i block everything roughly using bullet points. sometimes that's a badly worded sentence, sometimes that's a particular dialogue exchange that fits, sometimes thats just [JP and F!RC bicker] (anything in parentheses gets filled with more detail in at a later date), sometimes the worms wriggle and i spit out an entire scene.

if i'm struggling to write a scene i tend to either leave myself bullet points or break the scene into smaller chunks. it helps my brain to focus on the parts i want it to write better that way and it takes the pressure off so i don't get stuck in the mire of "oh god this needs to be the most perfect first draft that has ever existed".

How do you format your outline? so my heavily redacted outline for maybe mummies looks something like this:

Blurb (stream of consciousness babble/vibes/silliness)

Title (currently blank)

Notable Tags (all the current tags/triggers, and there are 23 currently!)

Characters notes - John "Johnny" MacTavish - Female! Reader Character (RC) - Captain John Price - Simon "The Ghost/Ghost" Riley - Kyle Garrick - Philip Graves (then some redacted characters)

Act One (the set up) - Scene 1 - Scene 2 - Scene 3 - Scene 4

Act Two (the rising action) - Scene 1, part a - Scene 1, part b - Scene 1, part c. (etc, etc. you get the idea)

Act Three (the crisis) (see act two and three for how that would look)

Act Four (the resolution) (heavily redacted bits go here) - Final Scene

Epilogue (this i have written out in full, but i can't share it with you because of spoilers).

Odds and Ends (this is where chunks of dialogue i want to add into the fic, or interactions i want to go live until they find a place in the fic. it's also where the parts i've "scrapped" go too. i never delete anything from my outline, it just gets moved to the odds and ends section).

What does your research look like if you need to do that? oooooh boy. okay, another embarrassing admission coming up. my research for maybe mummies has been my nigh on continuous rewatching of The Mummy. i'm on 13.5 watches right now (10 before my surgery date, 3 post surgery, and one time i started watching it and fell asleep about half way through while my brain was slowly stewing in the remnants of morphine and codeine). other than that, i've got about 5 or 6 tabs that i've shoved into a folder in firefox dutifully labeled "shit i don't know about 1920s eygpt".

in short, my research is more of a mess than my outline.

hopefully this answers your question and i'm so sorry i made you slog through what is essentially 1.1k of words that may be nonsense.

[knickynoo]

Hi there! Me again.

I’ve been rewatching Family Ties (thanks again for showing me where!) and noticed something about Alex’s character that i don’t care for/think you have touched upon.

What are your thoughts on his views of women?The advice he gave Jeff on his date with Mallory appalled me. Do you think it’s just a product of the time- how right leaning people were expected/did to treat women? Or is it something deeper? I don’t understand how he thinks this way after seeing how amazing Steven and Elyse are toward each other. (Even if the kids are disgusted every time they kiss lol)

I would love to hear your opinion!

Hello! Nice to hear from you again :)

Yeah, so, a lot of the words that come out of Alex's mouth regarding women are 😬😬😬

I can't recall the exact advice you're referring to, but I do know it's bonkers. Something about how women want a man to make all her decisions or something? Boss her around and take charge? It's honestly not only some of his worst advice, but I also think it's one of the more outrageous things he says in regards to women out of the whole series.

It's especially weird considering he's giving advice on how his sister should be treated by Jeff! And we know that, while Alex isn't always the nicest to Mallory, he loves her very much and wants to protect her. I mean, there's an entire first season episode centered around Alex losing his mind over Mallory going out with a guy who Alex doesn't like or trust. He's so worried about this guy taking advantage of Mallory and not treating her right, then he goes and gives bananas advice to Jeff. So...what's the deal?

Honestly, I don't know, lol. If I had to guess, there are probably several different factors at play that contribute to those moments Alex says Horrible Things.

1. He operates with a set of standards and values from way before his time. The thing is that Alex isn't even a product of his time—a lot of the opinions he holds would be considered outdated in the 80s by the majority of people, regardless of political leaning.

I can't for the life of me remember the episode or the exact quote, so I'm going to butcher it I'm sure, but there's a scene where Alex is lamenting how no one holds the same values he does, and he and Steven have an exchange like this:

Alex: "I should have been born in the 40s."

Steven: "Even then, you'd be a little conservative."

Alex: "The 1740s."

Steven: "....Even then, you'd be a little conservative."

It's something like that. If anyone knows what episode this is from or what the exact line is, lmk because it's one of my favorites.

2. Alex is an extreme black and white thinker. I think this is the number one trait of his that impacts him the most across the board. So many of his problems boil down to him just not seeing nuance. It's not that he's unwilling to. The guy just can't.

It makes Alex very rigid in his thoughts on things, and that absolutely spills over into situations like when he gives advice to Jeff or voices any other wild opinion. He's going to automatically go to the extremes because that's all he can wrap his head around. In a relationship, men should have all the control. They should make the decisions and say specific things and so on. It then leads him to make generalizations about women and their roles.

I think he also finds some security in these thoughts, honestly. Alex clings to facts and things that he feels are concrete and reliable. We also know that he has a very hard time processing and acknowledging his emotions. Putting people into two neat piles is comfortable for him, and anything that doesn't fit into either of those piles is too overwhelming. Alex's world needs rules for it to feel stable to him. Unfortunately, a lot of those rules are...not so great.

3. Shock-value: This is more about Alex the TV show character rather than the "real life" in-universe Alex Keaton, but still. A good deal of his character, especially in the earlier seasons, hinged on him saying or doing things that got a reaction from the audience. You can't have a show about ex-hippy, progressive parents without someone for them to knock heads against. The early episodes in particular seemed to really lean into this, and I feel like he gets toned down slightly as the series goes on? Don't get me wrong, it doesn't go away, but he does grow.

• The "Ladies Man" episode has him realizing that, while he may not support a particular movement, he absolutely respects the rights of the women in the movement. Him jumping up to defend the woman being heckled by a guy, and then his little speech to the women at the end are two of my favorite Alex moments.

• After a very difficult adjustment period when he gets a new job and learns his boss is a woman, Alex ends up really respecting her and becoming friends with her. (Wow, this ep is uncomfortable for the first half, though!)

• Ellen in particular has an impact on helping Alex to see those "in-between" areas, in my opinion. Some heart to hearts with Elyse help as well, and it's clear through the series that Alex loves and respects his mother a great deal.

Idk if this response was coherent, but there you go, haha. Alex is such a complicated character, and whenever I write about him, I feel like I'm trying to untangle a gigantic mess of yarn. But I do love him! Sometimes he is a menace, though!! He should, perhaps, simply keep his mouth shut a lot of the time.

(Also, Steven and Elyse don't discipline him ever, so it's partly their fault if we're being real here)

What? Who said that?

Thanks for the ask!

[cherrymoonvol6]

i was rewatching TTT for uhhh, [redacted] fanfic reasons :) and i am yet again annoyed by huntlow framing that has like, no resolution at all.

after luz and hunter find each other in the bathroom at the beginning of the episode and they talk about the secrets they’re keeping, there’s a pointed cut framing only amity and willow:

and then, while staring at them, luz says: “we’ll tell them, when we’re ready.” the implication being that these two will have pointed reactions to the discoveries that 1) luz helped belos and 2) hunter is a grimwalker, for amity and willow respectively.

and like, sure, that’s what happens with luz, right?

even before the main plot kicks off, there’s a precedent of luz hiding stuff from or straight up lying to amity. of course, this is all justified within luz’s mental state and she takes every chance to open up (at least a little) to amity and deepen their bond as a result. by this time, the tally is at three with the collector reveal.

beyond the moment where everyone in the main group gets access to this information at the same time, there’s a scene setting up how luz feels that amity’s disappointment is imminent (lucy’s betrayal in the azura movie). and sure enough, once the fight is over, the show goes through luz’s biggest fear in this scenario.

and after all of luz’s paranoia the “twist” is that obviously amity doesn’t blame her - it’s the rational outcome of the scenario that luz can’t internalize because of all her guilt and trauma. so amity explains why she’ll stay loyal to her (since luz is fighting against belos) and hunter seems to find some peace for his years of gaslighting and abuse by telling luz that belos tricked them and it’s not their fault.

so like, setup and payoff 101, yadda yadda. well done TOH. what just doesn’t pay off at all is willow’s involvement in the grimwalker reveal.

sure enough, she has the biggest reaction when luz mentions it during TTT:

but it rings so hollow since she’s not the first to come to that conclusion. it’s gus.

tbh i think this is an underrated gus moment... how he also follows in the guilt-ridden emotions at the center of almost everyone in the main cast (luz, camila, willow, hunter and belos) by bringing back his trusting issues. he clearly thinks this is a choice he would’ve been able to make if he wasn’t so scared of putting himself out and making important decisions, given his past experiences doing so.

it also follows on the foreshadowing of gus learning that secret on the fight against belos during king’s tide.

like, even if willow initiates the moment that triggers hunter’s grief process from anger to sadness, it’s gus who ends up having a bonding moment with hunter. which is why it’s completely baffling that by the end of the episode hunter and willow summon a romantic pseudo-relationship out of fucking nowhere.

and like, i wouldn’t be saying any of this stuff if the show had only added gus to that scene. legit, only gus was needed in that frame. he’s even sat at the table two seconds after that bathroom scene ends.

maybe you consider the nature of this post to be very nitpicky, and i get why. but, in my eyes, this is just the ongoing trend of TOH doing nothing to deepen hunter and willow’s relationship beyond only stating that they’ll become a couple soon - and the only time hunter and willow had a real conversation before FTF was when she still thought he was “caleb”.

as it stands, the first scene only works to point out that huntlow is canon. which is also the entire extent that the show is willing to do for them.

[jmagnabo92]

Just rewatched Trevor's Body because I'm waiting on Big Brother Live Eviction to start and I'm coming away with some thoughts:

It's really obvious that Hmoney was still a thing - Trevor looking at her when he says that thing about his Jaw & Hetty's the only one in every scene regarding getting his parents back together. Plus the whole 'who is Tara Reid' scene, where it's clear Hetty just wanted his attention. And His response saying that 'if he was ever in a long-term committed relationship that she was his celebrity out'.

Jay gives objections, but I appreciate that he gives in easily.

Sam is way on board almost instantly and I totally love it.

Also love how she starts thing with the uplifting possibilities but as Hetty points out, it doesn't finish with the happy possibility.

It's exciting to see the ghosts so happy about getting Trevor's parents back together - although Sass was oddly missing in the process.

It's clear that Isaac is the type that wants a high level relationship (as in doesn't need the physical) he wants the emotional relationship. Honestly, Isaac reads very ace here, he is clearly happy walking and talking and that's it.

THE GHOSTS ARE SUCH HYPOCRITES. They give Trevor such a hard time about wanting to watch livings do it, and then watch his parents??? LMAO. Hypocrites. Although I do love that Alberta watched just to make sure it happened for him. And Sam was actually interested - 'they look cozy'.

It's heartbreaking hearing Esther&Lenny's speech but interrupting with Tara Reid's whole thing was just ... ick to me. This isn't a party, this isn't place and I didn't find it funny or fair.

OTOH, SAM LEGIT BASICALLY SAID 'TREVOR IS HERE' - TALK TO HIM' and I ... love that. Like this is a moment which has happened before and after with the ghosts' families, but she's never been so direct with it. I mean - literally, she mineaswell have said 'I can see him - he here's and he's the reason for this whole thing'. And Esther and Lenny just rolled with it - they basically just start talking to Trevor as if he's there and it's so... touching.

Finally, I adore the 'I'll be the stand in mama bear' - I love Alberta&Trevor and this moment was as great as 'I'll watch a talkie with Trev' and Trevor supporting her in AF and I really, really would love more of it.

Side note - LOVE the scenes 'We're going to hell' & 'Our eight idiot kids'.