#i'm so excited s5 is gonna be so good but like

[raayllum]

72 days max until S5 drops i’m

[chiimeraangel]

it's coming up on that time of year where I rewatch Samurai Jack in its entirety...

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Thur lovely fandom :) So sorry for being a day late. Kinda a miracle took this long for life to knock me off course tbh. Entering our final 3 eps of this rewatch. It’s the final Countdown ha This is a glorious episode top to bottom. This season really finishes out very strong. Let us begin.

5x20 S.T.R

We start off in the most domestic fluffy way. I was giddy af when this premiered. Took me awhile to get through this ep cause I rewound this part so much. They have this flirty dance as they prep for breakfast together. Tim checking her out as he places the pancake down. Not subtle in the least looking down at her chest. I love that he can shamelessly check her out now and does so. Lucy is soaking it in. I mean if Tim Bradford was openly checking me out I’d feel empowered too.

The confident way Lucy leans extra hard into Tim as her response. *fans self* Needing zero space between them if she can help it. She is eyeing those gorgeous lips of his as well. Doesn’t take much to ignite Tim around her. Moth to flame this man. Lucy pressing into him like she didn’t just have him this morning in the shower. Gah I love it so very much. Our horny little ship never getting enough of each other. I’m a puddle. Look at her seducing him with just her body language and gaze my goodness.

Tim’s soft reply of 'Hey.’ Smitten Kitten Tim reporting for duty. Getting what she is throwing down for him. *sigh* These idiots in love. I love them so much. Happiness once again looking so damn good on them. They’re both beaming in this scene. Look at the smiles on these two. Said it a few times. Forever love how one kiss is never enough. Doesn’t take much to get them going and wanting extra kisses. Tim pulling on her for more as he goes in for that second kiss.

Also Tim cooking breakfast for Lucy is so adorable I cannot. This is canon now and I love it. So nice she has someone to cook for her now unlike when she was with the clown. And for Tim to have someone who enjoys breakfast. Which he didn't have with Ashley. Tamara breaks up their love fest. Parting the Red Sea that is Chenford on her way to the fridge. Tim's reaction is so funny. Just throwing his hands up in the air all defeated.

At first he’s annoyed then Tamara says her line. Then he’s like she’s not wrong... LOL Oh Eric you’re the king of expressions sir. Let’s just take a second to to soak this moment in. They’re making breakfast together, can’t keep their hands off one another, his hands on her waist pulling her close, they can’t even keep it to one kiss. It’s glorious on so many levels. Not squeeing to death at all.

Lucy and Tim still gravitate toward each other despite Tamara's interruption. Lucy noting she thought she was sleeping in today? Ha Thought she had the morning to herself with Tim. Tamara explaining she was but the smell of pancakes woke her up. We see Tim perk up so excited to make her pancakes. He truly does love having her around it's adorable. Happy it was his cooking that awoke her. Such a dad excited she wants his cooking. I cannot.

He is so happy to make her some pancakes. What a man. I LOVE the way Lucy is looking at him when Tamara says she wants 3. He looks back at her and she cutely raises her eye brows. Just as smitten with this man as he is with her. They’re so adorable. They hear the doorbell ring and Tim freezes and says ‘shoot.’ all adorable like. Telling Lucy Isabel texted him. Her name getting stuck in his throat a little. That he totally forgot to tell her he invited her over here. Lucy stumbles and is in shock but recovers pretty nicely if you ask me.

Tim being adorable saying he is sorry. That he was gonna tell her when she got out of the shower. But then he got in the shower…oh my lord. Legit announcing they had shower sex this morning. Am I dreaming? Tim Bradford saying out loud they had little morning delight in the shower. I can't believe my ears and I'm ship drunk. S5 continues to feel like a fever dream.

Not only that but talking about their sex like in front of their pseudo daughter LOL Lucy playfully hits Tim but is still beaming at him. The shower sex was so good and distracting he forgot his ex-wife was coming over. I'm reeling. God I love this season so very much. It’s insane the glorious goodies that we got. Also must point out the necklace anytime I see it. I spy with my little eye Lucy’s Valentine’s Day gift that never leaves her neck. *internal screaming*

Lucy is so uncomfortable once Isabel is inside poor thing. Trying to be a good last second hostess. Asking if she’d like something? Isabel says coffee. Tim guides Isabel to the living room. Tamara speed walks to Lucy asking if this is the ex-wife? Lucy scolding her for being so loud I'm dying. This is hysterical.

This is such a mother/daughter moment I love it. Lucy agreeing it is odd he invited her over. Tamara's protective instinct kicking in saying she’s gonna do some research. Lucy doesn’t want this whatsoever. Scolding her once again but the train has left the station haha I love Tamara so much. I hope we get lots of her in S6.

Lucy joins Tim and Isabel in the living room. I have to say before I start. I’m so distracted by Tim’s hands in this scene. Mmm doing things to me. I know I have a one track mind when it comes to him. But look at the man... Anyways she brings up 8 years ago she was UC in the Teska family. Became a mentor to the boss’s daughter Dara. Love the little check in's they do with each other BTW as she speaks.

It's subtle their eye contact but that's their specialty. Silent communication at it's finest. Isabel tells them she got close to Dara. In that weird way you do when you’re pretending to be someone else. They have no idea what that’s like…*cough double down cough* I do love the way Lucy’s eyes dart between Tim and Isabel.

So after Frank her dad was arrested she scattered and left that identity behind. Hadn’t heard from Dara in 8 years. Until now. She had answering service for her old covers. That she left a message for her. It was a distress call and sounds like people are chasing her. She came to them because she’s out of cover. Can’t seem to find her through other channels. Tim says they can go to station get warrant for her phone. See if they can't find her that way.

Once they’re at the station Tim and Isabel are en route to Grey. Smitty welcomes him back and is awkward af with Isabel. Because well Smitty. She asks if he's back from vacation? He says no a shooting. That he just got cleared from it. Says he’s getting there but Lucy keeps trying to get him to meditate. This would be adorable to see btw. I love all of Melissa’s tea ceremony’s and meditation videos. Tim is more the kinda to take a deep breathe and go for a walk and chill like he did in 3x11 with Barnes. Their versions of meditation are vastly different LOL

I love the way Harper walks over to check in on Lucy. Forever be in awe of how they started to where they are now. Nyla being apart of Lucy’s BAMF journey still makes me so happy. Harper asking her if she’s ok with Tim working this case? Lucy letting her know it’s not a big deal…that he’s over her. Nyla shooting back she knows that. She’s making sure Lucy does. Love her looking out for Lucy. Doesn't want her to get riled up over nothing.

Clearly Harper has seen the way Tim beams around her. Knows that man is gone for her. Lucy couldn’t be cuter telling her to stop it with a playful hit. Tamara comes up ruining her 'ok vibe' with her deep dive news. Harper’s face is hilarious. She like Eric has fantastic expressions. They make me laugh so much during this scene. Tamara divulging everything she’s found. Lucy trying to spin it into something positive. That it sounds like she’s got her life together.

Tamara is instigating saying 'Or she wants Tim to see she’s doing well.' Why are you doing this to your mother? Lmao. She loves you and houses you little lady haha I do love Lucy calling herself his new girlfriend in her explanation. Yeah you are. Tamara continuing her instigating mentioning how Tim said she looked good. Also tacking on 'Keep your enemies closer...'Lucy is so exasperated with her I’m dying. Pulling that look from her husbands book.

Isabel asks how long Tim and Lucy have been dating? He says a few months. Can tell he doesn’t want to delve too much into this. Diverts it back to her. Asking if she’s seeing someone? Letting him know yes and no. That he set the bar really high. He sure did and you threw it away madam. Didn't know what she had till it was gone. I know some saw this as her trying to get him back. I didn't see it that way at all. This SL wasn't built on that. This ep had her show back up for a couple reasons. One we will see later on with Lucy but this one here was more about closure IMO. The last time they spoke or the last time we saw them really speak was back in 1x12.

A conversation where she basically blamed him partly for their marriage falling apart and her addiction. That he would be a constant reminder of it. Tim didn't walk away from that convo feeling great about himself. It inflicted some deep wounds for him actually. Those wounds showed themselves in his relationship with Ashley. By not rocking the boat and being less rigid. Him smile is a little uncomfortable and strained. I I think because one it's opening up wounds he's worked really hard to close. Two he's not totally sure he believes her words but he will take them anyways. Some closure is better than none at all.

Tim and Isabel are waiting outside a motel. They tracked Dara down here. Isabel stayed here once in hiding with her. They talk about her UC life a bit. Tim telling her how he held his breath every time she went on a long term assignment. Isabel noting even when she came back she wasn’t fully there. Even though she wanted to be.

Tim pulls his gaze from her. It’s like re-opening a wound for him once again. One that’s been healed over for while. He doesn’t want to pick at it any further. Tim tells her since she’s not a cop anymore she needs backup. Lucy is on her way to them now. Isabel can’t help but note he's dating another UC.

The sweet smile when he thinks about her has me squeeing. Nothing makes him melt faster than talking about her. Telling Isabel ‘But Lucy is different.’ Yeah she is. I love him being able to see that. He looks so damn in love as he speaks. Just giddy and gushing. Also him once again being protective over his relationship with Lucy. It makes me so happy. He couldn’t be more in love with her if tried.

The scene in the truck is fantastic. First off Lucy looks amazing. Second I adore her absolute confidence about Tim. Isabel thinking it’s about Tim she wants to pick her brain. I love her saying 'No she has Tim all figured out.' I mean she does. Has owned the book of Tim for years now. No one knows that man better than she does.

Isabel may have years on her. Knowing him longer but Lucy has her beat in knowing him better. She don’t need no cheat codes for this man haha This scene is really cute. They’re both laughing and having a good time. Tim is confused as hell trying to hear their convo LOL So annoyed and frustrated he can’t hear what they’re talking about.

Lucy gets serious and asks her about UC. If it was worth it for her? Despite all the bad things that happened? I love how honest Isabel is. I also love how this wasn’t a oooh his ex-wife comes back and causes havoc thing. So grateful they went the mature healthy route with this. Was so very lovely to see her back and healthy. Isabel coming back added to the elephant in the room. Lucy being a UC while being with Tim. Like I mentioned earlier she came back for a couple reasons. This is the other one.

Lucy getting an honest opinion about this career she's considering. Isabel is completely honest with her. Saying it took a lot from her. Her husband, her job and her self respect. But she can’t blame all that on being a UC. That she had stuff in her past that added to it. Adding in sounds like Lucy has much healthier coping mechanisms than she did. Lucy is seeking out some answers because she’s having doubts. No doubts that she can do this. Lucy is very aware she is good at it.

What she’s weighing is the cost now. Here’s my take on a Lucy with UC. Take it or leave it and I'll delve into this more at the end as well. Pre-Tim UC made ton of sense for her. Hell even Pre-Tamara as well. Now she has this little patch work family she loves. That’s what she’s leaving behind now with these OP’s. Leaving Tim behind. I think she struggling with the idea of doing so in the future. Isabel’s answer was open and honest. IF she’s prepared to make those sacrifices. IF. I don't know that she is. Not anymore. Falling in love with Tim has changed everything.

Speaking of our boy. Tim ends up calling Lucy asking if the wire is fixed? Poor love is feeling so anxious right now. He needs to know it’s working. Lucy laughs with Isabel and says a wire must’ve disconnected. Mmhmm… Does a sound check for him so he can see it’s ok. They see Dara coming back and Lucy calls him ‘Babe.’ again and I’m floating. It’s such a simple word and makes me all giddy. I need more of this in S6. I really do.

We rejoin them post-op coming home. Love her asking if he wants a beer? Such a domestic moment. We got to start with one and end with one. Fantastic. Lucy mentions 'She seems good. Happy.' Tim asking Isabel? Lucy just replies ‘Hmm.’ Tim saying yeah she deserves it. Seems like he's talking about more than just Isabel. I do love the look in his face when she says this. That empathy of hers shining through.

One of reasons he loves this woman. Genuinely being happy Isabel is ok. There is also a lot behind the second look he gives her before he sits down. How he’s staring at Lucy before he lands on the couch seems loaded. Isabel coming back has stirred up a lot for him. That lingering look he gives her. It's almost got a sad haunted look to it.

Tim has been through so much all he wants is to be happy with Lucy. Saw a sad tag about his expression. Saying how he looks like he doesn’t deserve to be happy. This broke my damn heart. Falls in love again for the first time since Isabel and she’s on the same path she was. He looks so tired and defeated by the time he sits on the couch. I wanna hug him.

We get a cute little moment before this scene turns serious. Lucy mentioning it was nice to get to know the person behind all his stories. Tim asking if that’s why they muted themselves? Ha A little serious but mostly joking. Lucy saying it was just to talk trash about him of course hehe Tim couldn’t be cuter with his smile and saying sarcastically ‘Funny.’ That Lucy smile we all know and love.

The way this man looks at her my goodness. Also let’s not skate passed the sexy stubble adorning his beautiful jawline. Or the fact that they’re drinking and chatting at the end of their day. So married. Making my heart swell. The sassing and teasing never gets old. It’s the best between them. Just hits differently now they’re together too.

Lucy looks at him and takes the plunge into what she wants to talk about. Asking if she can share something vulnerable with him? Gah I love her sharing in the first place. Tim puts down his beer and gives her his full attention. Saying of course she can. I love this first shot of them. Her beautiful view as the backdrop to start this conversation.

Lucy starting off with telling him she loves working undercover. Tim doing his Lucy smile for her. Knowing how much she truly does. Even though it kills him. Lucy goes on to say she’s never gone as deep as Isabel. Doing a 6 month run or a year long. Tim thinking he has this pegged. Voicing she's worried she won't be able to handle it?

This next line kills me. Makes me a little emotional. Because Lucy is so emotional bringing this up. Her worry for him so very evident and deep. Tears brimming in her eyes. The way she touches his shoulder gently. Voicing her vulnerability and fear about him. It’s the way she rubs her hand up and down his shoulder not making eye contact till she speaks her worry.

Ripping my heart right out. Tim putting on a brave face for her and reaches out for her hand. Embracing her warm touch. Covering her hand with his. Telling her he’ll be fine. Ugh but you won’t my love. You really won’t. Even though he knows it is different this time. Because it is. Logically he knows this. Doesn’t mean he’s going to worry any less.

Hell it might even be more worry this go around because of the PTSD. Next ep is proof of that. Lucy not fully believing him says ‘Yeah.’ Tim is refusing to be in the way of her UC aspirations. Reassuring her he will be fine. I love the way he pulls her into his arms for a snuggle. Telling her to 'Come here.'

Her leg over his thigh. *squee* I’m dying. Getting real close to snuggle in for this moment. Tim looks like he goes for her hand but lands on her knee. Lucy looks damn near ready to cry. Tim rubbing her knee/thigh soothingly. My heart. Trying to find some solace in holding her in his arms. Look at his face. This man is anything but fine. He’s so very worried.

Holding her tight to him. Taking comfort in the fact she’s with him now. Savoring they're together right now. They really need to have more conversations about this. Honest ones. Lucy doesn’t want to leave him but he also isn’t telling her to stay. Just lying liars who lie right now. We all know she would have just as much trouble if it was Tim.

This sweet cuddling is beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time. I am excited we finally got some good couch snuggling. Tim looks absolutely terrified he’s going to lose her though. Not only lose her but to same thing he lost Isabel too. Ugh it hurts so good everyone.

The way Tim slightly shakes his head trying to kick loose his tormented thoughts. *heart clutch* His little smile though is everything. Knowing she so worth going through this again even if scares him to death. Lucy looking gutted about the thought of leaving him behind UC. Knowing he is anything but ok with this scenario. I believe she is having some doubts about being a long term UC now. I think she was hoping Tim would’ve had a different answer. Maybe given her an out about it. I think she’s being torn between what she thinks she should be and what she now wants.

She's been on on the UC path so long it scares her to get off it. I totally get it I wanted to be a dog trainer forever. When first moved to CO it didn’t happen. It was my goal moving there but it didn't happen. So I got a different job settled into that for awhile. Then when things came up for dog trainer while at this other job. I felt the need to still do it even though I was fine at my current job. Why? Because I had been on that path forever thought I had to because of that. But I wanted someone to tell me it was ok not to if I didn't want to anymore.

I think Lucy wants Tim to tell her not to so she has an out and can pursue something else. You can be amazing at something and not have it be your career path. Also her sticking with it might be little bit of that old self doubt creeping back in. Lucy thinking I’m good at UC can I be this good at anything else? Doubting she will be good at anything other than UC. I mean she doubted herself in 5x19 with the test. She has grown but those doubts can still creep back in. *sigh* These two. Both still holding back. Needing to have more convos about this for sure in s6. But what a damn good ep.

~~~~

Side notes-non Chenford

Aaron being Angela’s aide is hilarious. Also her getting the guy to confess cause she’s so pregnant and uncomfortable is hilarious.

Isabel and Lucy being bad asses on their OP was fun to watch.

Thank you to all you amazing readers who like, comment and reblog these reviews. Give me life hehe Shall see you all in 5x21 :)

[mikerooksi]

opinions on the new lmk s5 trailer (spoilers.. duh..)

Correct me if I'm wrong on anything btw 😭

Flyingbark studio is no longer doing LMK, which lowkey makes me upset because they already abounded ROTTMNT.. sigh, but now we have Wildbrain. At first I was a little skeptical as Wildbrain mostly does 3D stuff and LMK, well, isnt really 3D that much.. so.. Also there's been a lot of backlash about the animation style change and expression etc with the characters. Which, I can kinda see 😭 In some of the scenes it looks really stiff or the expressions look almost lifeless.. kinda..

in reality, it is just a TV show that I enjoy, it's fine if the animation changes. perhaps it's like how flyingbark progressed their artstyle from s1 to s4. wildbrain will most likely improve, and they have the same writers/story boarders from previous seasons (I think), so I'm assuming the lore will be pleasant. Either way, I will still watch it, multiple fans have expressed their opinions and even said they'd still watch themself even with the change. I won't have high expectations though after seeing the change in animation from the trailer. Sure, change will be hard, but I will adjust, eventually, hopefully.

I am grateful and glad that the new season might be out soon, along with the sets, and that they at least gave the fandom something to work with. It may not be perfect, but I'll take it.

Another thing I've heard is that the trailer could be unfinished or rather just rushed. LMK is a show that is mostly running off of.. well. the lego sets... So, maybe they rushed the trailer because the lego sets aren't gonna wait forever. But, with time Wildbrain will obviously get better too. It'll be different and may not be able to replicate some of the close up, fighting scenes, etc, but I'm sure they'll do good! wildbrain has worked with many other animations, one of my favorites being Sonic Prime. Sooo, yk!! (I believe they worked on Ninjago too??... idk guys..)

Of course, the whole trailer isn't actually trash or anything. there are some cool scenes and animation! I like one of the MK close ups, and the snippet at the end with Red Son and Mei, and another one of Chang'e looking up at the broken world or however it is 😭 But those scenes are pretty and whoever worked on those did the lego style pretty well! Again, I'm also really excited for the story and I'm just glad it didn't get canceled 😭😭

Oh yeah also, who even knows is S5 animation is gonna look like how it was animated in the trailer?? Maybe it'll look different in S5, so, there's always that possibility too. Kinda goes with the trailer being rushed or wtv but 🤷‍♂️

TLDR: it'll take me a bit to adjust to the new animation style but wildbrain also has time to improve their lego style and I'm also just glad it didn't get canceled.

[babybluebex]

okay imagine how cute jamie would be with anthony!!!!! so cute

ok jamie with anthony is so cute

they only meet after filming ends, jamie is in london for a while and joe offers to have him over for tea

you're a little starstuck to meet jamie campbell bower tbh and, when he first comes over, anthony is napping

jamie keeps his voice low as he speaks so as to not wake up anthony is the other room, even after you tell him that he can speak at a normal volume

finally, about twenty minutes after he arrives, your baby monitor blinks on, and you're like "omg he's awake"

you go and fetch him, and his downy curls are all fluffed and messy and his eyes are so sticky, and he's rubbing his eyes with his fist as you gather him in your arms

"jamie" and he perks up "this is our son, anthony. he's still very sleepy, so he might not be too social"

"aw but he's adorable" jamie coos, and he smiles as anthony blinks at him, still trying to wake up and not really understanding why he's being confronted with a stranger

"thanks" you say

"he has his father's looks" joe chuckles, and you roll your eyes

"he does look exactly like you" you tell him, and anthony reaches out for joe

joe takes him and bounces him a little, placing a wet kiss to his chubby cheek, and anthony babbles a little "dadada" and joe's cheeks go red "that's me! dada! can you say mumma?"

anthony sputters his lips and laughs, and jamie grins "can i hold him?"

seeing your son in jamie's grip is so so cute, jamie is holding anthony so tenderly and firmly, and anthony is so excited to have a new friend, he keeps flashing his little teeth and trying to tug on jamie's long hair and necklaces, and you try to apologize but jamie won't have it

"nah, he's just curious, just exploring, no harm done"

jamie holds anthony in his lap for the rest of the night, playing with him and tickling him and kissing his head, and he frowns when he looks down at his watch "i should be going, but i must see this little rascal again"

jamie lives in LA so it's hard to ever find time to meet up, even without anthony, but every meeting, the little boy is there

anthony will toddle along next to jamie, sometimes holding his hand, and you have plenty of pictures of jamie and anthony together, playing on a playground or sitting at the dinner table together

once anthony starts to get older, you introduce him to the concept of "uncle jamie", and jamie is so flattered that he's an uncle that he almost starts to cry

"i'm his uncle... good lord, he loves me"

SO many little presents

anthony gets the first run of jamie's music merch and paparazzi get pictures of you and joe and anthony out, anthony wearing a tiny version of jamie's I AM shirt

oh my god , so many presents, especially once stranger things merch starts to drop after the season airs

jamie sends anthony a little demobat plushie and anthony WILL NOT let that thing go, it's his favorite lovie and he'll pitch fits if you lose it or forget to bring it

and for fun, let's say that anthony gets to visit the set of season 5 when he's four/five years old, and you warn him "uncle jamie is wearing a really scary costume, are you sure you want to see him?"

"yeah! unca jamie!!"

and anthony is NOT FAZED by the vecna costume, he comes onto set and, instead of running to his father (dressed as eddie, bc eddie IS gonna be in s5), he runs straight to jamie "unca jamie!!"

pictures get out of anthony on set, on vecna's hip and playing with the prosthetics, and it's a huge meme like

when you and joe are in LA for an event, you let jamie and jess babysit anthony for the night, and when you pick him up the next morning, you expect chaos, but jamie is sleeping on the couch with anthony in his lap, and it's so peaceful and you know that your boy will never abandon his unca jamie

[mercymermaid]

well here's my full season 5 (nezha edition) rant bc what did i just watch

obvious spoilers 💀

what the fuck was that

blah blah animation, blah blah main character sacrifice, wowee

first off, the mechs?? yeah, i know it's just product placement, and i've never actually liked the concept. in a world of mythology and magic, something to technological belongs in a sci-fi movie, not among gods. and in season 5 especially, they feel *so* out of place. the only people who end up actually using their mech are nezha (twice) and mei (once.) i can't be mad at mei, since yeah it's just one time to have an epic moment and goes away after that, but it's nezha that i'm mad about. that standoff at the festival? okay, product placement, epic moment, never brought up again. but then during the battle thing against the chaos guy??? he's the *only one* using a mech and it ticks me off. i wanna see the third lotus prince not the third lotuce mech!! i wanna see him being all badass with his staff and firewheels (like sealing off the jade emperor's power in s4)

i'm gonna be so honest, i only watched the season (and show) for nezha, as i tend to do to medias when i have a top unbeatable absolute favorite. and the show did not deliver.

tldr; nezha had so much potential and all of it went right down the drain

speaking of the power

so you're telling me that mr. "my job is super duper important and more important than my life" would take lightly to his dad going "lmao no" and just taking his seal and reinforcing it with his little magic house?

OH. THE LI JING SITUATION.

"i've always been proud of you" NO YOU HAVE NOT??? YOU HATED NEZHA SO MUCH YOU BURNT DOWN HIS TEMPLE AND LITERALLY YOU GUYS HAVE A BURNING HATRED TOWARDS EACH OTHER?????

i wanted a fucking fight scene SO BAD. SO FUCKING BAD. but noooOOOOOO you're DEFENDING YOUR BITCH DAD??? okay, i get it, power imbalance or something! give nezha a *reason* to be so buddy buddy with his dad, because he sure as hell wouldn't do it without one!!

that ties in to the whole pagoda thing, how fucking hurtful must it be for your dad, who you are far from on good terms with, to pop in, take the power you've put on your shoulders, deem you not good enough ("you got demoted!"), and push you around?? very! very very!

you do not understand what i would've done, what war crimes i would've committed in order for nezha to get some focus on HIM. specifically angst. with the shit that he went through in s3, being nerfed and having his long-term position as guardian of the map pulled out from right under him by his little friendly rival, and then *s4*, getting his ass absolutely kicked by the shit that went down with azure, being the most injured and put under the giant strain of containing the jade emperor's power, you're not gonna elaborate and give him some depth besides "big brother energy but distant and super 'regal'"?? (btw if you've ever EVER written nezha angst (or even some nezha-centric stuff in general) on ao3 i've probably read it and oh my god i love you so much for gifting it to the world, and if you read this far recs are always appreciated 😭)

actually on that note, mk is the one constantly making trauma jokes, and while i get that he's the main character, everyone's gone through shit. s5 at least kind of works with that, with mei's samadhi fire thing and wukong/macaque's death memory thing, along with pigsy's insecurity moment and sandy's little "i'm very very angry but i control myself" spiel, but like come on ☹️ (not a ruse to get nezha some angsty focus wdym)

ALSO mk breaking the seal? yk how in s4 we had that little thing where their eyes flashed and they felt the jade emperor die? i was lowkey expecting a little similar shot of nezha feeling his seal on the power break but no we needed the emotional moment 😒

i was so excited in the festival scene for nezha to go "yeah, okay, i see you", fight against his father, and join the MCG, but nooooOoo he gets sent to the celestial realm to not be seen until the end of the world

OH SPEAKING OF not nezha but red son??? what happened to the poor guy i feel so bad for red son enjoyers because he had ONE EPISODE of screen time. that's worse than us nezha fans. that little bit about the dog videos meaning help us could've so been used later, he literally joked about how this time he was invited and just. didn't show up?? there could've been such a sick moment of mei sending the dog video, and red son seeing it and coming in and being all badass with them but no he was just literally not featured again except for the 'world is ending/being saved' flash shots. (unrelated but please i want canon big brother nezha lil bro red son content those guys are Iconic)

ANYWAY it's coming to an end now, and boy oh boy

basically i have futile, naive hopes for s6 - please, PLEASE give nezha focus that lasts longer than 1-2 scenes. it literally does not have to be angsty, nor big brother energy, not even a badass moment!! just make it mechless and put the camera on *him*, and i will die a happy woman. (another badass moment, in which he wins for once, would make me cry for joy. a big brother, to literally anybody, specifically red son or mk, would make shake and snarl like a feral animal. an angsty moment would make me force the world to be puppies and rainbows. a nezha episode would make me implode and take the world with it.)

bring back li jing and do it *right*. make nezha bring up their horrible past, and at that point, i'd even settle for a corny talk-it-out session with wise words and an issue that gets resolved way too quickly, though an epic fight scene would be preferable. angst not optional, because you can't tell me that interaction would end without tears and breakdowns on nezha's end. (at this point, i'll write it myself)

LET NEZHA WIN. i do not care what he fights, who he fights, when he fights, why he fights, how he fights, let him actually cop a win for once. this fearsome general who was entrusted with guarding the samadhi map, is a protector deity, and managed to singlehandedly contain the jade emperor's power has never won a single fight within his show screen time?? bull fucking shit i tell you. stop treating this guy who carried the end of s4 like some shit side character who never gets his way, and start treating the guy right.

can you tell i'm mad about this

also ACTUAL s5 thing, not gonna lie, mk's decision is stupid. nüwa is trying to protect her creations like a good mighty goddess, and you go "erm actually me some random guy who you created to save the world and was about to do so is gonna undo all of your work and decide to make my own path and simultaneously create a massive crisis where i not only flip normal on its ass and give everyone magic but also potentially unleash the same cosmis horror you're protecting us from"

i'm kinda curious about this new magic tho... (pls have a negative effect or some sort of effect) (pls let nezha win)

yeah okay i think that's it if you've stuck around to the end here's a selection of desserts because you need it after the crash of the season ending 🍮🍭🍬🍫🥧🧁🍰🍪🎂🍩🍨🍧🍦🥠🍡🥮🍥

[thefringespod]

Its the last day of 2023 and the last #AudioDramaSunday of the year! Here's my last wrap up of weekly listens for 2023, starting with @thenightpost. I listened to the mini-episodes between s1 and s2 today and they're so much fun! I'm excited to get back to listening this week!

Up next we have @innbetween which im officially caught up on and AHHH I really love this show. The concept of moments between campaigns is so brilliant and Hannah Wright does such a good job with writing it. S5 starts THIS WEEK (or right now for patrons) and its going to be great

New @somewhereohio was MARVELOUS this week I love hearing more of what Orange is doing and the editing that brought that section to life was incredible. I also just love that all of season 2 so far has been dipshit teen shenanigans underscored with horror. Its excellent

This week's @woebegonepod was absolutely phenomenal it went back and forth between making me feel emotional to making me laugh and then the ENDING gods no one is doing it like Dylan woe.begone is. There is a cw for gore and it comes in a way I did not expect but in a wild way

Episode 3 of the Grotto and Athan has once again just. Knocked it out of the park. Between the music for this show and the incredible voice acting that's involved and the *mystery* of it all, The Grotto is quickly becoming a favorite of mine and yall should listen

And I would be remiss if I didnt give one last plug for @souloperatorpod which starts TOMORROW for patrons on their patreon and next week for everyone. Tot has put so much work into this and yall are gonna love it. Im incredibly proud of Tot and can't wait to see her blow yall away

Since this is the last ADS of the year, I want to shout out some shows that kept me company in 2023: @ethicstownpod, Super Suits, The Technomancy Project, @liarsandleechespod, Tiny Terrors, @doyoucopypod, @eelerschoice, @224bbaker, @kingmakerpod, @karenonepercent, @tellnotalespod, and @thewyrdsidepodcast (just to name a few)

These are all absolutely wonderful shows that I would highly recommend to anyone and everyone. Also a lot of them are up for the Audio Verse Awards so if you haven't voted yet please consider some of the shows above!

Here on the Fringes we're almost halfway through the season!! This week's episode is currently live for our crowdfunder backers and our patreons at patreon.com/PineTreePods. I'm quite proud of this episode and next week's episode and can't wait to hear y'alls response :)

And over on @forgedbondspod our cast has been finalized! Thank you to everyone who submitted an audition, there were so many incredibly talented people who did so and there were many hard choices but I think yall will like the cast we have. Official cast announcement coming soon!

That's all for this YEAR! I'm excited to see what 2024 will bring and can't wait to keep sharing the stories I have in the works with y'all

Thank you to everyone who followed along with the Fringes this year! Looking forward to seeing y'all again in 2024 💜

[wayward-dreamer]

I've been seeing a lot of people saying they're not liking this season (I'm not talking about the extreme conservatives who are review bombing it because they didn't realise this show was making fun of them until now lol), which is totally fine. Everyone has their reasons which are valid, but I've honestly really been enjoying it so far.

I like the idea of everyone dealing with their pasts and how it's affecting their present, and then possibly how it'll affect them in the future. Some might say it feels disjointed or that we don't need to know all this stuff about their backgrounds, but I actually feel it's the opposite. I think anything you get to learn about them makes them more rounded characters, and gives us more insight which is always a good thing considering we only get 8 episodes a season.

Yes, some of it is a bit recycled i.e. Frenchie's past, Kimiko's as well. That said, this is the most we've explored with Frenchie's days of working for Little Nina, more than S3 when Nina was actually in the season. We're always told things about him, but this is the first time he's dealing with the consequences first hand with Colin, and I'm actually glad they've done that. I think the addition of this girl in Kimiko's storyline who is from Shining Light might've been better explored in S3 as a continuation from S2, but I think this a way of putting this storyline to bed before we get into the final push in S5.

Hughie's arc is killing me, and Jack Quaid is absolutely crushing it. Annie's arc is great with her having to grapple with what's happened in the past and reconcile it with everything she's trying to do right now. Homelander is more frightening than ever, which I didn't think was possible but it is. Episode 4 is the peak (so far) of how scary and downright mean he can be. And his absolute delight in the face of that is disturbingly fantastic. Also the revelation that he's basically psychologically programmed to need and crave love is genius. That just makes him human, which is the one thing he hates to the point of wanting Ryan to hate that part of himself too. Brilliant. I also think Butcher's story carries a lot of weight despite being subdued, but it makes sense for what he's going through. And A-TRAIN HOLY SHIT. I think they're handling this road to redemption really well, and I think I'm one of the few people that don't think he's gonna die this season, which might just mean I'm delulu but whatever lol

Other seasons have had one central plot which have split into seperate arcs, but this one has a lot of arcs which are going to converge into one central plot soon I feel, which I think is just another way to do it and keep everyone on their toes. I like that the tone is a little darker this time, because they're building towards the end, not just of S4 but S5 too. I think it works for this season to set up the next and last, because we have more time to work with. So it's more like 16 episodes towards the series end, rather than 8, if that makes sense.

So let's see where this all goes, I'm really excited to see how everything unfolds!!

[swearyshera]

I want to say I really respect how you're handling Glimmer's arc, her interactions with Bow in particular. Them dealing with the emotional fallout of this in a harsh and awkward but earnest way is really gratifying. I feels like pulling teeth in the best way possible. Glimmer's arc still rings amazingly to me and somehow hasn't diminished since the apology bit.

Is it weird that I "respect" Glimmer's redemption more than Catra's? I guess I always thought Glimmer's heart was in the right place despite like... everything she had going on. I never once felt Glimmer couldn't be redeemed and frankly my opinion on if Catra really "deserved" redemption still flips every time I think about it. If i thought I had a way to annihilate the people who took my family away, I don't know if I'd hesitate to top-rope elbow drop the Big Red Button even as much as Glimmer did. I guess that was Catra's rationale too on a deeper level, but at least Glimmer wasn't fine with the world dying once confronted with that reality, as sad a step up as that is. I feel like the fact I don't feel much sorrier for Catra reflects very poorly on me.

The series had a bad habit of Catra's choices having their more catastrophic potential consequences avoided so her redemption could go down smoother, my most prominent example being the corrupt shera virus. I'd pay damn good money to see how the story could even begin to salvage Adora and Catra's relationship if Adora killed someone like Glimmer or Bow under the effects of that. (not to mention the portal only kills one, albeit very important, person, Adora just happening to survive falling a pit, the story conspicuously forgetting about Angella etc) This sort of thing makes me think the author is cheating or working backwards from the ending they already want. Other characters were involved in some of those choices but that only expands the problem imo.

Glimmer's doesn't kill the universe either, but there's still disastrous consequences for Etheria and people she cares about, pretty much all of s5, and her story is all about understanding what she brought on them, and becoming a more responsible person to her friends/people. I really liked that. The only person Catra is really held accountable to is Adora, and maybe Perfuma on Scorpia's behalf. There's Entrapta but I dont think she operates in terms of blame/forgiveness, at least in canon. I know she literally forgave Catra explicitly, I guess I'm too mean to believe people could let go of stuff that "easily' and write it off like it doesnt count.

I know Catra's arc wanted a more intimate scale and they didn't have time to litigate all this, but my deep gut reaction is "tough shit, you shouldn't have had Catra do all that if you weren't gonna make her face what she'd done", especially since Adora makes a point that Catra is afraid to face people she hurt, then Mermista, Micah and Scorpia are conveniently chipped until the last minutes of the damn show. HP really did Catra a solid there. Glimmer's arc felt more willing to make her culpable in dire shit and not pull punches about it, even less so here, so sincere gratitude from me there. Not that Adora and Catra weren't put through hell but their s5 relationship seems to happen in its own little bubble safe from outside responsibility apart from Adora's martyrdom pathology.

Anyway, very excited to see how the Catra reunion will be handled given everything so far, and for Glimmer and Bow stuff. You've never done wrong by us yet. Sorry for this fucking thesis. Please feel free to point all the ways I'm being a myopic dumbass.

I always see Catra and Glimmer as two sides of the same coin - the same person but treated very differently by those around them. Glimmer had love and forgiveness from the people she grew up with, particularly her mother, whereas Catra had none of that outside of Adora.

But I think the end of season 4, start of season 5, we see a little bit of a flipside of that, and that's what starts making both of them wiser, more mature, etc. Up until then, Glimmer had never really had to deal with consequences for her actions - her mother, outside of grounding her, didn't appear to really punish her when she did things wrong. Even Bow, at least until Fractures, felt he always had to support and agree with her (and his own arc played into that). But when Glimmer decided to plough ahead with her plan to activate the Heart and ignore her friends, she actually had serious consequences for once. She had to deal with losing friendships, attracting Prime. And that wasn't something she'd really had to deal with.

Catra, by contrast, always had negative consequences to even the slightest of actions. Usually by Shadow Weaver, and then by Hordak, she was punished for her mistakes. But in season 5, she gets shown kindness and forgiveness despite her actions, and it too, becomes a turning point for her.

I also don't really see the story as 'redemption'. It's not about Catra or Glimmer redeeming themselves, it's about accepting you've done wrong and making the choice to be better. Yes, they do have apologies to make, wrongs to right, and we don't see a lot of that in the show. But we don't need to. What we see is Glimmer becoming more levelheaded and choosing to use that in place of recklessness. We see Catra choosing to return to Adora in Heart not for herself, but for Etheria. Both these young women have done things that have had a huge negative impact on other people, but they both end up trying to do better, to be better.

Redemption is based on how other people treat you. This is a story about how you treat yourself. Both are important.

[rebelcaptain4life]

6x03 isn't up for me yet so let's complete my 6x02 recap that I never posted!

DADDY COP 2.0 FT CHOIR HECK YES

Ha that 100 in the title card is cute!

And ofc ABC will never miss an opportunity for some extremely in your face Disney product placement.

Nooo Henryyy (coincidentally, a Canadian airline went bankrupt last week and haunted all their ops less than 48hrs after announcing it 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️. They really need to make some rule to stop airlines from stranding people by basically not giving any time between bankruptcy announcement and shutdown)

RANDY AND CHASTITY?!!!

Actually really great idea to have a wedding as episode 100 so you can get so many guest stars back for the special occasion.

Bruhh how are they supposed to get more catering, flowers, etc in ONE DAY?!

OF COURSE IT'S OSCARRER

Ma'am why didn't you immediately take your poor fur baby to the vet?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! MONICA!!??? AGAIN?! FFS

Chenford being passive aggressive while Angela watches LOL

"no, ladies first" Tim are you scareddd 😂

I don't get the Hammer?? He'd rather 100% go to jail in a fight rather than just give them the ring and make a run for it???

"I have to look good in a dress tmrw, nobody cares what you look like" LMAO

Dude just destroyed his own apartment, too

EXCUSE ME TIM

DOWN ON ONE KNEE

HOLDING A RING OUT?!!

KDJDJDJDHDNRNDNFDBBBD

I love Harper & Lopez 😂

The... The florist just sold their flowers to someone else the day before a wedding just cuz they wouldn't answer the phone?? Don't they usually have a contract or something and yk take it directly to the venue???

NOT THE CAKE TOO what kind of awful vendors did these guys get stuck with for their wedding 😭

CELINA CASUALLY BRINGING UP CHENFORD WEDDING

"why not, your so good together" everyone can see it even though they've only officially been dating for a few months 😭

I love the way this scene is cut between the convos.

Yes Lucy you are projecting!!! Please acknowledge your own feelings instead of telling Tim he's not acknowledging his own 😭

"I need to show Harper what I'm capable of" "by baking a cake?" Aaron stole the words right out of my mouth

"or he's gonna say something that will make you want to kill him and he wants witnesses" NYLA LMAO

LIE DETECTOR TEST HAHAHA

Wow Lucy you didn't have to sit that close 👀👀👀

FIRST ON SCREEN I LOVE YOU LFG

Tim didn't you think to maybe test out the lie detector first???

Ok so on my first watch, I was really annoyed that basically everything was on Tim for their argument and his hesitancy about Lucy being detective. But after sitting with it for a week and remembering the end of s5, where we see Lucy be super excited, and he's obviously being supportive but he's clearly very stressed about it (couch scene. in that ep with Isabel), I get it. Tim does need to work through.

We had the opportunity to see chenford walk into a wedding TOGETHER for once but nooooo (ughhh Tim looks s goooodddddd) Lucy's like "oh hey :D wait no I'm still mad at you :(" :((((

Omg CELINA?! LOOKS AMAZING?!!! It's always so funny seeing the girlies out of uniform for the first time cuz they're like half the size XD

SLAY LUNA!!!! Awww Grey

I LOVE BAILEY'S DRESS

I'm crying the vows are so sweet 😭😭😭😭

Ah so the dancing was intentionally really awkward. Good job, James

Noooo Aaronnnn I thought you were going for her cheek djdsfj;aj;a;jak

CELINA RU INSANE THE ENTIRE SQUAD IS TWO STEPS AWAY WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL FOR BACKUP WHILE YOU GOT CHANGED?!!!

Um this scene is perfection?! Alicia Keys?! The no-words asking to dance? How Lucy immediately moves SO CLOSE. Lucy wearing THE RING!!!! I love how they always talk super softly about super important things while dancing at weddings 🥺🥺🥺

I LOVE YOU NUMBER TWO AND A KISS WE'RE WINNING!!!

Tim not wanting to let go but being forced to by Aaron!

LMAO Aaron "everyone was so worried, but I told them it's fine, you're solid". Love how everyone just casually talks about Chenford

CELINA WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL SOONER?! LIKE ON THE DRIVE THERE?!!

Damn everyone comes prepared with go bags?!

nooooo siriiii

Overall, great episode!!

[queer-as-used-by-tolkien]

Story Study: Luka Couffaine in MLB S4E2, Truth

New blorbo official announcement: Luka Couffaine from Miraculous Ladybug.

(As of S5 episode Migration, pls no spoilers)

He's always been a pretty cool character, but I first got really excited about Luka in S4, episode Truth, when Marinette (his girlfriend at the time) refused to tell Luka her secret (about being a superhero). Luka was understandably quite upset and Shadow Moth tried to take advantage of this to akumatize him into the villain Truth - able to uncover secrets.

Luka resisted this. At this point in the series, resisting akumas was still RIDICULOUSLY rare and unheard-of and took a stunning amount of willpower. And he resisted it because - as he said - secrets can't be forced. That's smth he believed on principle. He wasn't gonna violate someone like that.

He did this EVEN THOUGH HE WAS ALREADY GENUINELY UPSET AT HER (and with good reason). He did this despite the immense temptation even being spoken to by Shadow Moth puts someone under. This is - excuse me - a stunningly miraculous display of self-control, morals, and strength of character. I've admired Luka ever since.

He did end up getting akumatized, but not before shouting at Marinette to run, fully aware he was about to become a villain without any real control over his actions.

(Digging deeper under the cut.)

And like - yeet, I do so love when characters are aware they're about to lose control - through no fault of their own - and are fighting with every last shred of their being to hold onto themselves, but some villain is slowly, inexorably, digging deeper into their soul and STEALING THEIR BODY, using it - using THEM - that's such an intimate violation I'm stunned speechless and it gets me every time.

(Tangential but - this is esp true if you're aware inside while it's going on - the guilt? The shame? That's YOU hurting your friends, your hands, your words - and there's nothing you can do to stop it and also it's your own out-of-control emotions that did this anyway (and maybe some tiny part of you feels justified and you hate that, too) - maybe this is why everyone forgets what happened afterward. Suppressed memories.)

Ofc if the character doesn't know it or forgets or its not actually made into a narratively significant thing (in MLB this happens at least once an episode, if not more) well then, it can't be impactful. Characters have to express smth to give the audience permission to also feel it. To acknowledge, yes this is as bad as it looks. Instead of moving on and making you wonder if that was really the intent. Sit in the emotion for a moment. Also bc, then you can get punched in the feels over the CHARACTER getting punched in the feels, and that's really the point of fiction. I digress.

But once the character ACKNOWLEDGES it like Luka does here??? THEN you can feel it!! YEET AND YIKERS YALL, I'M GONNA SCREECH!!! He KNOWS he's about to lose control, he knows the danger of akumatized villains - he's BEEN akumatized before, he was Silencer - and also since he knows the TARGET of his emotions is Marinette?? And she'll be the first in danger?? THIS IS MONUMENTALLY DISTRESSING!! To the point that he resists!! Successfully! For a good while! This is a legitimate violation of his physical body and he makes it CLEARLY known. And the reason is that if he utilized the power Shadow Moth is giving him, THAT'D BE A VIOLATION OF MARINETTE'S PRIVACY TOO!

Most MLB characters don't acknowledge the violation when they're getting akumatized bc they're already so fully under Shadow Moth's thrall by the time he even speaks to them. In other words they don't have the self-control, self-will, self-awareness, or desire to do so. Luka tho - YEET. Luka knows and he feels and he has a strong sense of morality amd responsibility and he FIGHTS. That's all it comes down to really. If a character can FIGHT for mastery of his own body. That's strength there.

ANYWAY! Luka became one of my fav characters (not more than Adrien tho, but Adrien's a whole 'nother post lol).

I wish he got more screentime. Characters fighting, resisting, sacrificing for their convictions - YEET that gets me. Characters sacrificing for PEOPLE THEY LOVE??? EVEN BETTER

Characters sacrificing for people they love WHEN THEY'RE NOT FEELING TOO HAPPY WITH THOSE PPL RIGHT NOW? MAKING THE LOVE UNCONDITIONAL??? AKGGHALFHALFNSLFHAKFBALHFKH

Characters resisting external villains for all that? Amazing. Characters ALSO resisting THEIR OWN SELVES - THEIR OWN DESIRES - ON TOP OF IT?? I'M GOING FERAL

[aprillikesthings]

LAST EPISODE

s5 ep13 heart pt 2

LET'S GOOOOOOO

it's 1:21pm and I have laundry to do AND Easter Vigil service starts at 8pm, can I get this all watched before 7pm?

Or am I gonna sit there in church vibrating in place for two hours knowing I have three minutes left on the episode or some bullshit lol

(That's longer than usual, yes. Easter Vigil is actually one of my fave services of the year--we start outside lighting candles (the ones inside have been out since Thursday night, even the one we otherwise never put out), then walk into the dark church, then sorta speedrun bits of the old testament (with a hymn after every reading) and then we decide OKAY IT'S EASTER NOW :D and turn on the lights and make a lot of noise and sing a few more hymns--we don't sing or say alleluia during Lent so all the hymns have that in it. There's often MASSIVE amounts of church incense, too. Anyway by the end it's a bit of a party. Apparently some churches have an actual party after the service.)(side note if you're new-ish to these posts that I'm Episcopalian, like, the priests at my church are a gay man and a woman, we're cool people mostly I promise)

See this is why these posts take forever. Why do I keep infodumping shit. This is what it's like to watch things with me in person, though.

If I get through this episode before Easter Vigil my reward is gonna be coming home and taking an edible and rewatching the last two episodes without screenshots so I can just cry over them.

oKAY

eh? that's new. like putting that on screen like that in dead silence. No intro sequence.

oh right Adora is injured. :( And it's some kind of magical monster thing that did it--a security thing put into the Crystal Castle by the First Ones

when she touches her wound the Failsafe glows, and it's making static-y noises and looking glitchy, that can't be good

the nasty tentacle monster thing is still there buT SO IS CATRA YAYYYY she shatters at least one of its eyeballs? I think?

my brain: this is like Caitlyn helping Vi after she got stabbed by Sevika, the wound is even in the same place :D me: wrong person has the red jacket on also Catra isn't going to buy some illegal potion thing to dose Adora with

(you should watch Arcane)

DOES SHE EVER SAY IT LIKE THAT BEFORE THIS?? oh god she sounds so breathless and relieved

Adora: "You can't be here! It's too dangerous"

And she stands up and starts to fall over and fucking Shadow Weaver helps her stand up, uGH

LOOK AT MY BB KICKING ASS

oh god so Shadow Weaver basically drags off Adora, Catra's like "I'll catch up, okay?" and Adora's like "no no Catraaaaa" her voice is cracking and everything, she doesn't want to do this without her and also worries about Catra and that tentacle monster thing

I'm not gonna screenshot it but poor Glimmer is fighting her dad, who is still chipped and Evil.

Bow is fighting Scorpia, also chipped and Evil. Oh hey Melog shows up and makes Bow invisible.

Micah is MEAN when chipped. He calls Glimmer a failure.

Glimmer: "My mother raised me to be brave. My friends taught me to be kind. And I'm stubborn. I get that from you. I will never stop fighting! And I won't lose another parent! I love you, dad."

She blasts him with enough magic that he collapses.

Bow, invisible, types away on Entrapta's computer she set up in the Horde thing, but when he gets it to start to do its thing he gets excited and says "I've got it!!" and Scorpia hears it and blasts him and is standing over him about to get him.

Bow: "Prime may have made you do a lot of things, but he can't turn you into something you're not. So, right now, all I need you to do is trust me."

Her eyes get normal for a second and she yells, and Bow slams a button on Entrapta's computer. There's a bright light.

Where Sea Hawk is holding Mermista, her chip goes dead and falls off. We get a lovely montage of other characters from all over Etheria, like Huntara and the folks at Elberon, who'd been chipped having their eyes go back to normal!

Scorpia: "oh my gosh I am so sorry!!"

yeah she's definitely back to normal lol

up on Horde Prime's ship:

lol

"My device worked! I knew it would!"

Bow: "Hey, everyone. I'm Bow."

(lol there's so much story in just this frame alone)

But yeah they show people from all over Etheria stopping to watch him speak, including his dads.

"Right now, we're the only thing standing in the way of him controlling it forever. You might be feeling hopeless. You might be thinking "We don't stand a chance." And maybe we don't. Prime's too strong. His army is too powerful. But that's not gonna stop us. We need to show Prime we're not afraid of him, because we have each other. And we have love. We can't give up. And if we go down, we go down together. We need you. All of you."

"It's time to fight. For She-Ra, for our homes, for each other!"

Broadcast over, back to Horde Prime. "Put an end to this mockery."

Catra injures the tentacle monster thing, but now that green is spreading into the room, and as Catra runs down the hall towards the Heart, she stops as Horde Prime shows up in hologram form

"I had such high hopes for you." like what, dude. keeping her around and chipped like a fucking puppet as an example? eugh. (something something about how her speeches to Adora while chipped were an obvious reference to people proselytizing high-control faiths)

the moment of distraction is enough for the tentacle monster to grab one of Catra's legs and she screams in pain D:

also there's still a bunch of earthquakes happening as these two limp towards the Heart

Poor Adora is just weakly going "No...no...wait" Shadow Weaver: "Don't lose your focus. We're so close."

What's this WE shit.

But also damn one thing Shadow Weaver and Horde Prime (and Light Hope!) have in common is they both believe love and affection and "attachments" are weaknesses. Shadow Weaver just cannot seem to get it through her head that Adora's love for Catra (and vice versa) is helpful here. Not a detriment. Love isn't a distraction!!! It gives us a stable ground of security and safety from which to do hard things!!

Meanwhile poor Angella told Adora "take care of each other."

This is pulsating, and so is the Failsafe on Adora's chest

OH NO oh god Okay being near that much hardcore magic is making Shadow Weaver powerful--her hair does the floaty thing for the first time since, what, s2? And she starts reaching for it, but THEN--

Adora yells Catra's name and starts walking back towards her, and Shadow Weaver's hair falls down again and she says the most weirdly desperate-sounding "Adora, wait!"

Prime's hologram is still torturing Catra along with the actual tentacle monster

(someone has drawn rule 34 of that thing but I'm not looking for it. I am content to know it exists.)

AND THEN THE MONSTER GETS BLASTED BY SHADOW WEAVER AHAHA NICE

about time she was useful amiright

okay so is this Shadow Weaver actually realizing she's been wrong about The Power of Love, or is this just her begrudgingly accepting that these two are Sold as A Set, Do Not Separate, and unless Catra's there Adora won't be able to use the Failsafe because she'll be looking for Catra the whole time???

Like is this an emotional epiphany or just pragmatism?

oh god so she magically shoves Catra away (towards Adora), but Catra runs back to Shadow Weaver

And y'all I know I talked about this a LOT way back in earlier seasons but I cannot tell you how accurate this keeps being in regards to dealing with an abusive parent. Like if you'd asked me, even after I cut off contact, if I wanted my dad to die, I would've said No! Of course not! At that point I didn't know whether the no-contact thing was temporary or not. I just knew I needed time and space to not be constantly stressed and anxious, for a notification on my phone to not immediately fill me with so much adrenaline my hands shook.

Anyway Shadow Weaver puts up a magical shield to keep Catra back

Shadow Weaver's response is amazingly calm and quiet. "Please, Catra. You need to make sure Adora reaches the Heart. The magic must be set free."

Her fight with Tentacle Monster isn't going well.

Catra's voice is heartbreaking here. "Stop it! It's going to kill you!"

"But you, this is only the beginning for you."

;_;

STICK THAT KNIFE IN AND TWIST IT! YEAH!

Catra's crying "no...no..." and a hand reaches out and grabs hers

LOL FINALLY HIT THE IMAGE LIMIT okay going to reblog

what a moment for it pfft

[strangeswift]

byler first date hcs? (if i can ask for em :]])

Ofc you can always ask for HCs! But uh... formal apology for how long this ask was in my inbox :,)

So let's say their first official date is post S5, in Hawkins, they're like... let's say 17.

Imagine if you will, they're both aware of each other's feelings at this point, confessions have been made. But with the apocalypse and all, no moves were made. They're in the awkward flirty dancing around each other phase. Mike finally asks Will out on an official date.

Mike: Do you want to... Would you want to like... hang out? With me, I mean.

Will (confused): Yeah, of course.

Mike (flustered): No, I mean uh. Would you wanna go out with me?

Will: Oh.

Mike: Oh?

Will (failing to suppress a giddy smile): Yeah, of course.

Now. Small town dates generally consist of: Movie and/or food. Drive around. Go sit in a parking lot or somewhere else secluded.

They go see a movie. They have to keep it a secret from the party so that they don't all try to tag along.

They share popcorn. Their hands gradually get closer until their pinkies are pressed together, then Mike hooks their pinkies together and they both blush so fucking hard.

After the movie, they drive around, listen to one of Will's mixtapes, and talk. They pull over in a field somewhere secluded where they can talk some more and ✨️smooch✨️

The kissing is good. Mike understands now why people like kissing. Not that he didn't like kissing El, just... okay, he didn't like it. He likes this though, he likes it a lot. It's so good, in fact, that he feels the need to confirm with Will that this is, in fact, his first kiss. Will nods shyly. Mike feels a sense of pride at that. He was the first person to kiss Will Byers. He's gonna be the last, too.

They don't make curfew. Mike drops Will off. Will doesn't sneak in, just walks in the front door, but instead of a lecture, Joyce just gives a knowing look and practically beams at him.

Joyce: Did you have a nice time, honey?

Will (blushing furiously): Yeah, mom, it was fine.

Joyce: Just fine?

Will (already backing up toward his bedroom): I'm pretty tired, I'm gonna go to bed.

Joyce: Alright! We'll talk about it in the morning.

Will (said through his now closed bedroom door): Nothing to talk about!

Then he just turns and leans against the door, and he can't wipe the grin off of his face. He presses his palms to his face and feels the heat there. It's late, but suddenly he has so much pent up energy, he feels like he needs to yell or jump around. He settles for quietly pacing and smiling like an idiot.

Meanwhile, after Mike gets home and sneaks back in through his window, he's just laying in bed buzzing with excitement. He has so much adrenalin he can't even think of sleeping, so he just lays there and replays the night over and over in his head. Will Byers held his hand. Will Byers kissed him. A lot of times. He went on a date with Will Byers.

The next morning he calls the Byers residence. Joyce answers.

Joyce: Hello?

Mike: Hi Ms. Byers. It's Mike. Is Will there?

Joyce (grinning): Yeah, he's here, I'll grab him for you. Did you two have a good time last night?

Mike chokes on nothing, and mercifully Will comes around the corner, having heard his mom, and makes her hand the phone over.

They talk in hushed voices, and Joyce watches, then when Will hangs up, she looks at him expectantly.

Will: ....Would it be alright if Mike and I hung out again tonight?

[sisterofficerlucychen]

i have so many thoughts and questions about s6 but i'm also Unhinged so putting it under a read more bc this is just me needing to share them somewhere??

something that has my mind spinning is all the bts content we’ve been getting because i’m too curious for my own good and i’ve fallen down this rabbit hole of trying to figure it out (i’m not going to but i have nothing better to do lmao) — we know s6 will pick up with s5 finale storyline bc that obviously needs to be resolved but what i’m so curious about is how big that storyline is? from how they set it up in 5x22, it seems to be bigger than two episodes (assuming s5 finale to s6 premiere).

what has me the most confused in terms of timeline for s6 is that 6x02 will be bailian wedding (100th episode) and we know aaron will be there so there’s gotta be a time jump at some point between 6x01 or 6x02? but then there’s tim and grey show up with facial cuts to the wedding so something happens that may or may not be connected?? 

and then all is well and bailian goes on their honeymoon which angela and nyla may or may not show up at because they all end up at the beach???

AND THEN WHAT I’M LITERALLY GONNA GO FERAL ABOUT IS LUCY CHEN IN THE HOSPITAL!!!!!!!!!!!

i think i’ve blacked out the bts content between john and bailey on their honeymoon and lucy in the hospital because i can’t remember what they shared in that in-between period. however, whatever happens i think will place them at the hospital for at least an episode or two? because i remember before eric and melissa shared those bts pics, jenna posted a few tiktoks at the hospital (at least one with lisseth so bailey and celina are there too - only ones maybe missing are nyla and angela?). 

sidenote: the way they’re all gonna go through in in s6, maybe??? bc there’s at least three of them now that we’ve seen with cuts and bruises for s6 that have a different placement than the cuts and bruises they ended s5 with?? lmao.

i’m literally so excited for whatever’s to come that’ll give us tim reacting to lucy getting hurt because of how he’s reacted before when she was just his rookie and now that they're canon i can’t imagine him not losing his shit over it. 

i’m also delusional and for a second was like "what if it’s an undercover op??" 👀 because imagine this - the big bad has connections to law enforcement/is or was "one of their own" aka someone from mid-wilshire so in order to flesh them out they put up some elite task force that's made up of patrol, detectives, metro, lafd, & the district attorney (aka the main cast) to scope them out and lucy goes "undercover" to get close to whoever that is and gets caught in the crossfire and that's how she ends up at the hospital?? (or bonus point delusion: she's not hurt and it's a set up) because again, they're almost all at the hospital in whatever episode(s) that'll be??? (this isn't a theory by any means, i'm just being a clown, also i don't think it makes any sense but ya girl loves drama and angst lmao).

anyway, i really hope s6 is fanfic pt. 2 because whoever let a fanfic writer into the writer's room for s5b deserves a smooch. i still can't believe we got half of the canon chenford moments that we did ♡

[pholiabanna]

what's on your s5 wishlist? the silly, goofy things!!!

I'M SO SORRY FOR ANSWERING THIS SO LATE finals were killing me and I wanted to wait and write a good answer to this.

First of all I'm really excited for the 4 og boys to be together again, because we haven't had one full season of them being in the same storyline yet, which I think is criminal. I really think putting them back together will bring back the season 1 feel that made everyone love this show, and I can't wait!

I'm also so excited about learning more about the upside down. The ships and characters are awesome to analyze, but I love the supernatural part and knowing that we're gonna learn what the Upside Down actually is, and why it's stuck on the day Will went missing, among other things, makes me impatient because I need to know rn.

Now I know those weren't really goofy things but I needed to put them because they are a must for me. Moving on to the silly things:

If the season takes place in 1987, the Duffers have the chance to do the funniest thing ever and include a rickroll in a creative way. C'mon, it has to happen

A lot of people are advocating for byler to get murray'd, Erica's or Jonathan'd, but I actually want them to get Argyle'd. I imagine a scene going like: Mike and Will talk about El and Mike's breakup and the camera switches to Argyle smoking a joint in the background, while he says "Whoa Wheeler you were dating supergirl? And I was here thinking you were with mini Byers this whole time, dude, that's not cool man, that's so not cool!"

I need more Erica and Lucas sibling bickering moments, they're the best

I know this won't happen, but imagine Mike's sexuality is revealed through a conversation about movies where he reveals he finds Fast Times boring af and he "doesn't understand the appeal every man sees in that movie". I mean, at this point Fast Times has become the Duffer's favorite sexuality metaphor

I know Max probably won't wake up early on, but I'd kill to get more Elmax scenes where they just bond like normal teenage girls again. Max already taught El how to stand up for herself and how to know what she actually likes, but I think it'd be so cool to see her find out what her hobbies are. I'd love to see a scene where Max just teaches El how to skate, and El keeps trying to cheat with her powers but Max tells her that's not fair.

I need Lucas and Max to go on that movie date as well, I don't care if it's impractical

Also even though I don't really care about Dustin/Suzie because they aren't a very focused on relationship, I think it'd be cute if there was a scene where they reunite in person

More Joyce, Jonathan and Will scenes together please!!!

They need to go around town riding bikes again, bring back the whole s1 vibe

Please let us see Mr. Clarke's pov, mans probably so confused every time he helped his students the town was destroyed. Also, they can't win without him and that's a fact

Troy has to show up again, only so that they beat him up and this time El breaks his leg

Alternatively, Lonnie comes back and Jonathan beats him up (with the help of Will maybe)

Nancy notices Jonathan's tendency to interrupt byler moments and puts a leash on him

I need a new iconic song tied to another iconic scene I can obsess over. Something that can top even the Running up that hill scene

Someone needs to acknowledge the fact that they are straight up calling 001 Vecna as in one of the Dnd characters, when actually he's just some guy named Henry who would probably be so confused as to why they're calling him Vecna

These are all I could come up with but I'm sure deep in my mind there's many more things I wish for and if the Duffers deliver even one of them I'll be satisfied!

[xhanisai]

🪐🍬🌿

Why hello there bby <3333

🪐 ⇢ name three good things going on in your life right now

I discovered how delicious biscoff spread is in coffee and have been a huge fan since then.

I realised I'm quite decent at drawing lace so I'm excited to incorporate that in future drawings.

I've made some progress in my ML horror fic.

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

Ahhhh this is gonna piss off a lot of ML fans BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I WILL NOT BE SILENCED.

Kagami is NOT a good friend to Marinette imho. The fandom severely overlooks her actions and attitude from the end of s4 to the whole of s5 and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth because they were waiting for Alya to do all that instead 💀. I will leave it at that cos I've already ranted all about it last year LOL.

🌿 ⇢ give some advice on writer's block and low creativity

I NEED ADVICE COS I'M CONSTANTLY STRUGGLING WITH IT LOLOLOL.

But if I were to think of some tips, doing other creative things like drawing or playing music can help with writer's block.

Also, when writing you should first get the main parts written down. It doesn't matter if it's messy, full of terrible grammar and spelling, etc. Get it down. You can neaten it all up during the editing stage.

Oooh- I like to write on Discord first and have my friends read it. It can be really encouraging and give you dopamine at the same time!

Thank you for the ask MWAH MWAH <33