#mention other characters or have a cameo here and there but the plots are so much richer when they're stand-alone

[anakirui]

said it in a qrt but if you Genuinely think it's too soon for vbs to surpass rad weekend or if you think it's bad that they're going to or if you think it has no build up then i think you are just genuinely terrible at reading

here's various reasons why:

1. akito4, aka burn my soul

-> burn my soul has both chapter 1 and 8 take place in the present day of sorts, where akito is supposed to announce vbs's event to surpass rad weekend. because of this, i've been saying SINCE akito4 that vbs would do their actual attempt to surpass rad weekend in kohane5 OR akito5 (it would be akito5 if kohane5 was solely dedicated to her assignment)

-> touya4 and an4 both follow up on this, and have a similar flashback-present day structure, to illustrate the growth vbs needed to go through in order to surpass rad weekend

2. vbs's world link event

-> this event literally establishes that vbs's passion has always EXTENDED out of rad weekend. they WANT to go across the world and spread their music together. rad weekend was NEVER the end goal, it is a major milestone for their success.

-> it also further establishes that them trying to surpass rad weekend isn't a bad thing, in fact, it's moreso like they're continuing what radder intended to do all those years ago but couldn't due to Certain Plot Spoilers. i think the concept of "legacy" is going to be VERY important in an's next character arc, consequently.

3. main story

-> speaking of this, the feelings that their sekai makes up don't explicitly mention rad weekend, in fact...

translations by Project Sekai in English on youtube

again, this just shows that rad weekend really was never our endgoal.

side note:

i'm pretty sure the only way this event will make me upset is if rui isn't involved or at mininum doesn’t have a cameo, mainly because in wedding1, he literally told touya, akito and an he would help them with their event to surpass rad weekend so Hopefully colopal didn't forget (especially with how many times they've referenced that event in other events)

translation by eiyuuou on youtube

[lurkingshan]

Notes on Unknown (and Da Ge)

Oh man, I love this show. They are absolutely nailing the dynamics for this trope. The bond between Qian and Yuan is palpable, and the way they interact with each other and with Lili feels very lived in. You can feel the shared history between this little family in every scene.

We got our Sam Lin cameo in episode 3, and I was so happy to see him. We also got a couple additional flashbacks to Qian's history with his mother, so CW again for child abuse this week (you should probably just assume there will be at least mentions of it in every episode of this show). I also liked getting to see some more of Qian's work story with the H.O.T. team, and how Yuan is able to help him.

A note on the adaptation: I have been reading Da Ge this week, the original Priest novel the drama is adapted from, and I'm about halfway through. The major thing to note is that the show has significantly condensed the story. The novel is chronological and their childhoods are more than half the story, but the show has changed the structure to focus on the time when they are adults and Yuan begins to pursue Qian, streamlining their pasts into a two episode backstory. They did this primarily by cutting and combining side characters, blending arcs together, and simplifying a lot of the relationships. I think it's quite well done, and it has affirmed for me that the creators of this show know the story they want to tell. They are making use of the rich material in the novel with some smart changes to make it all work as a 12 episode series.

Notable changes so far from the source material:

They have softened Qian's characterization quite a bit. He's much harsher and more tsundere with his siblings in the novel. There are aspects of his roughness in the show, but it feels gentler.

The whole sequence in episode one where Yuan is kidnapped, Qian fights to get him back, and they have that touching brotherly love moment is original to the show. "If I lose you, I would have nothing left" is the kind of nakedly emotional sentiment you would never hear from the Qian in the novel (though we have enough hints about how he thinks to know he does in fact feel that way). The show adapted a plot that was much more cerebral (in Priest's usual fashion) to give us this more romantic take. They're using some shorthand here to make sure we understand how deep the love between them already runs, and I think it's very effective.

Qian's abuse at the hands of his mother, and the trauma it causes for him, is much more present in the show. I haven't gotten to the adult years yet in the novel, so maybe it will ramp up then, but he doesn't think about her nearly this much throughout his childhood.

In the novel Lili's paternal grandmother is part of the family unit, Qian and San Pang have another friend in the building named Ma Zi, and there are multiple gangster types that Qian gets involved with. The show cut grandma and Ma Zi entirely and blended all these gangsters into one, which I think was the right call.

[ranbling]

Hi i had a couple of thoughts about BTs and their shipping, which i posted on my own blog a while ago, but I'd like to throw out here for your thoughts -

BTs and T stans' love for BT seems to be based on a LOT of assumptions and unfounded headcanons, the primary one being that T's racism and sexism and his entire unpleasant personality is not really him, it's all a facade, a self-defence mechanism he developed in response to the discrimination and repression he's suffered, but now that sunshine Evan is in his life, he's going to learn to open up and love again and be vulnerable and transform back into his true self, a sweet kind gentle warm affectionate compassionate loving man who's perfect for Buck - basically they think he'll turn into Eddie (and they're already writing fics like that).

(and some of them think s8 Eddie will turn into T - a lackey and Yes Man for Gerrard)

I feel like the other misconception/assumption that BTs make, which leads them to imagine and root for endgame BT, is that caring about and validating and accommodating buck's feelings and reassuring him and affirming him when he's insecure and showing an interest in and enthusiasm for things he's excited about (you know, like Eddie does)-

Doing all that is actually infantilising him and is bad for him! and what he REALLY needs is someone who doesn't particularly go out of their way to make him feel safe and comfortable and heard and understood. It's time for buck to grow up and mature and get over himself! and T in all his cynical snide casually dismissive condescension is the perfect partner to do that!! This is an ADULT relationship (with lots of sex), as BTs like to say ad nauseum

Hi!

I think the reason why the perception to Tommy's character is so divided is due to multiple things. First is Buck is bi! This is a great thing to be confirmed and a lots of people got so happy about it that they didn't really cared about Tommy (who is quite literally a plot device during that moment. Any male character could have replaced him and the scene would have stayed the same).

Second: many bt stans started to watch the show after the kiss and refused to go back and watch the rest of the show. Or they went back, but somehow missed the whole point of the Hen and Chimney Begins episodes. If you look into the tag for those episodes, it's filled with gifs about Tommy, raving about how good he looks and don't mention the fact that he was an asshole. There is also a mandela -effect happening and people are trying to make it seem like Tommy was actually in the background and did nothing wrong, when he was the most vocal in the whole group. Chimney Begins shows that Tommy was the one to start the racist comments. They're literally saying that Sal DeLuca (a guy who wasn't even in Chimney Begins and looked annoyed through the whole Hen Begins) was the one who acted like Tommy did in canon.

Third: Lou and his cameos. Not really talking about the fact that he kept raising the price to exploit the fans (though what were we expecting from a nepo baby, who posted pictures of himself lusting after women's asses to insta. Absolutely disgusting). He was the one who set the precedent when he called Tommy's behaviour teasing. He's the one who keeps coming up with tragic backstories to Tommy to excuse his behaviour. He was the one who lied multiple times on his cameos to make his character more relevant. He was the one who decided to fuel all the headcanons by confirming them as long as someone payed him 150+ dollars for a few minutes long video.

Also, I find the whole self-defense mechanism stupid. Tommy was a grown white man during Chimney and Hen Begins (he had to be 28 at the youngest during Chimney Begins for his military backstory to make sense). He could have protected himself by just staying in the background and not participating in the racism. He shown no sign of being uncomfortable with Gerrard's behaviour and the only time he looked annoyed was when Hen was giving her speech. It makes more sense that he just stopped saying bigoted things out loud because the captains after Gerrard were not tolerating it. There is a reason neither Hen or Chimney kept in touch with him after he left the 118. Chimney calling him once for assistance was for work reasons, and in s3 they both make very clear they don't keep in touch with anyone from the old 118.

All of their characterization of Tommy is only fanon. They totally disregard canon. In canon Tommy couldn't care less about Buck's feelings. He left Buck standing on the curb after he annoyed him (and I 100% believe Buck did nothing wrong, that was his first time on the date while being out) and somehow put the blame on Buck for it (which he tends to do a lot. He also blames the enviroment and Gerrard for his racism). Then he totally ignored Buck's planning of the bachelor party (how you show an interest in someone when you couldn't do the fucking minimum), made condescending comments (the henley comment). Being on call is not an excuse, he had to change anyways. Yes, he was in the hospital, but he probably was going there anyways.

I'm not gonna touch the last paragraph with a ten feet pole, because I hate that part and I fear I wouldn't be able to stay civili if I started to talk about that, however if you say things like "fuck the sad out of him" when Buck's dad is in the hospital and how concerned about Tommy is about him, I think it's pretty clear you're only fetishizing them

[poppitron360]

One thing I felt like HoO really dropped on is the characterisation of the Argo II itself.

Where a lot of shows like Star Wars, Firefly, Doctor Who, and Star Trek really shine is where the ship itself becomes it’s own character.

I’m gonna use firefly as an example here, because I started re-watching it today, and this is something that’s a VERY key theme.

I think Joss Wheadon (the creator of the show) talked a lot about Serenity (the ship) actually being the “ninth cast member”. “Serenity” is the name of both the pilot episode and the follow-up movie, it’s name-dropped in the theme song, and the show is called firefly because it is a “Class-3 Firefly Spaceship”. And we as an audience really connect with the ship- despite the show being only fourteen episodes long (If I was only able to throttle 20th Century Fox… I answer to no god)- and I think the reason we do so is because every single character has their own personal connection with the vessel. Wash being the pilot (Also, if I remember it correctly, it being the place he met Zoë), Kaylee being the engineer, for Simon, it being a safe space to hide his sister from the totalitarian government trying to do experiments on her brain, and Mal and Zoë starting the ship together- Mal naming it “Serenity” after the battle of Serenity Valley which he fought in with Zoë (I could lore-dump about this show ‘til the gorram cows come home). And the whole premise of the show being about surviving with your rag-tag crew on this piece of shit that you love dearly, and just… keeping flying. Ugh, there’s something so magical in the writing that makes you adore the ship itself.

Other examples, like the Millennium Falcon, the TARDIS, and the USS Enterprise, are also good for this.

Now, onto how the Argo II itself:

The only person who really has a personal connection with the Argo II is Leo. The rest of the Seven just feel like they’re… on Leo’s boat. All the food is provided by the magic plates from Camp Half-Blood. Most of the piloting/engineering is done by Leo, and a little bit by Annabeth and sometimes Percy when they’re on the water. You never get the sense that any of the others really love the boat, or have any connection with it at all.

I think that’s the reason why the Seven never felt that close in my opinion. There was never a sense of community. Of people united by a common location.

I think, just love for a place in fiction is something really powerful to me. That’s where Harry Potter most thrived, not necessarily the plot, but wanting to be in the world, go to Hogwarts.

Camp Half-Blood had that charm and homeliness. So did the Waystation in TOA. Camp Jupiter didn’t for me, but I think that was kinda the point. But I never really got that from the Argo II, because of the way it was set up so that Leo was the only one who could really bond with it. And this is what makes Leo so compelling to me, is that he actually connects with his flying ship. I just feel like the Argo as its own character, similar to Serenity from firefly, could’ve been so good if it had been written right and was such wasted potential. It would’ve strengthened that bond between the Seven, and made that “familial” dynamic feel a lot more natural.

In conclusion? Everyone should go watch Firefly on Disney plus. It’s just fourteen, forty-five minute episodes, plus the movie. But man, is it worth it. You will cry at the deaths (why do all the good ones get impaled?). You will laugh at the jokes. You will probably say, “Wait- is that a young Zac Effron?” When a young Zac Effron has a cameo. You will wish you were as badass as River.

Idk, it’s 3:03am and this is basically a good idea of what the inside of my brain looks like most of the time. I’ve mentioned at least six obsessions of mine in this post.

[wolvertooth]

can you plz hate rant about the deadpool & wolverine movie… saw it last week and i didn’t like it all… very refreshing to see that someone shares my opinion lmao

i got u man👍 most of this was in my drafts from after the movie came out, but i just never got around to posting it. i added some other opinions ive had since then, tho theres still a lot ive said over the past month that ive totally forgotten about lol

the intro sequence was fucking HYPE‼️ but then, part way thru the movie, u realize....it doesnt ever hit that same mark again. WHERE TF WAS THE HUGH JACKMAN SONG THEY PROMISED? the trailers showed 95% xmen origins clips. the movie didnt mention it once. no the brothers line doesnt count. false fucking advertising. deadpools sexuality has been confirmed since 2014. and now, 10 years later, its still being reduced to gay jokes. and people still eat it up like its genuine rep.

that guy at the tva who’s whole punchline was that he likes men. why. in 2024. why is that allowed. his whole character was a gay joke. i mean so was deadpool, but this guys whole thing was. That. can i say homophobia? can i say i felt that? is that reasonable? this movie felt like a fundraiser for the future avengers movies to make up for all the recent flops.

i watched this shit twice and yea. i was right. the plot was half assed. once u watch it once, thats it. thats the fun. its all just cameos. the jokes didnt even make me laugh again, since it was majority shock based humor. my second watch thru i was trying not to fall asleep in my chair. the way it lacks plot isnt in the Not Coherent kind of way, but rather 'this couldve been a 40 minute monster of the week episode'....or maybe even a 2 episodes if they wanted to get freaky with it it just felt so separate from the rest of the movies, like it wasnt even a sequel.

literally, the movie begins with them abandoning the previous timeline and wade moving to a new ‘better’ one.....almost like hes moving over to a more sacred timeline.........separate from fox.........which is dumb af cuz the movie couldve been him accepting that whatever happens in ur life u cant go back and change, and u have to make due with the good u already have. the previous movie ended with him having a family, he didnt need a new one. i mean, they did that for logans 'learning moment', why wouldnt that also apply to wade? paradox literally says ‘hey we brought u in cuz the mcu is dying, so u should come over to the sacred timeline’ and then after he changes into his costume THEY CHANGE THE PLOT. THEY THROW THAT OUT. WITHIN MINUTES. now paradox is like ‘actually just your timeline is dying, and i wont elaborate on how that works. and also u dont get to go to the sacred timeline. and i hate you.’ WHY BRING HIM THERE AT ALL THEN IF THATS THE PLOT U CHANGED IT TO? ITS DOESNT MAKE SENSE. even if the plot was that he had to go to the sacred timeline cuz his own was dying, WHY WOULDNT HE BE ABLE TO BRING HIS FRIENDS?

what was the vanessa plot? they never explain why she broke up with him? theres like a tiny flashback where she says hes been distracted ever since he got rejected, rejected from what? clearly not the avengers, since that happens after she leaves him. so wtf was the motive here????? the cameos felt like props. especially the deadpool corps, which i feel like they didnt even skim a wiki article for. they just went off google images. which hurt me. cuz i reallyyyyy like those guys....in the comics, theyre a group of deadpools(consisting of lady deadpool, kidpool, headpool, dogpool, and deadpool), who in their first series save the multiverse from being destroyed(sound familiar?). theyre the GOOD GUYS. why tf would they hear cassandra nova say ‘hey im gonna kill the entire multiverse’ and go ‘alright sure whatever’. why were they in the void to begin with? how’d they get there? isnt the void just for movie continuities anyway? why was cassandra also there? how does the void work? why does the void exist? will someone please explain literally anything in this movie? why not have them come in later to save the fucking day instead??

oh lady deadpool...how they massacred ur character... OH KIDPOOL.....HOW THEY MASSACRED UR CHARACTER...... god speaking of that. cassandra nova had literally so much potential and they watered her down to just Evil Villain. she hasnt done much in the comics, but one the things she did in one them was using her powers for therapy on the xmen(which deadpool also made a cameo in). she sort of does this briefly in that one scene, but it was just so.....basic. bland. why was there no b plot with the rest of the main cast. did they think the audience doesnt watch these movies for them? cuz i sure fucking do. i was waiting for the continuation of colossus and wades epic romance arc. side note, the gay jokes in the previous movies felt even less queerbaity then these ones. this movies queerbaiting was just....sad. marketing queerbaiting. this movie WISHES it couldve been deadpool 2 levels of queerbait(shoutout to the extended sex mimicking scene set to In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel)

did anyone catch at the end when deadpool was narrating and when he said ‘friends’ yukio and negasonic teenage warhead were on screen. did anyone see that. they disney gal paled them.

i know wade is supposed to be the Funny Guy but man. thats literally all he was this movie. the other ones has ANGST they had him be HUMAN while this one was like 'logan was mean to me one time ):' bro. what happened. where'd the writers go.

this wolverine was like. the wolverine 2014 wolverine. which is when fox wolverine started to lose character and just become grumpy and mean. hes also like that in Logan 2017, but the reason why this kinda attitude works in that one is bcuz hes old, hes fucked up, hes tired, and every fuck that comes outta his mouth he means it. and yet....still manages to experience other emotions. what a concept. ive read literal satire comics that understood his character more(shoutout to the What The--?! series). it just had me waiting for the 'gotcha! this wolverine is actually 3 dimensional!' but it never fucking got there. it was amusing in the beginning, but by like half way in, i did not give a single fuck about this guy. they tried to give him some emotional moment(like. the only emotional moment in the entire film) but it just...lacked the emotion. just 'heres my sad backstory. are u sad now?' and then they did the SAME THING AGAIN no we get it man u were at the bar instead of with ur friends and u went on a classic wolverine style berserker rage. why should we care tho?

i mean, sure, they could use the excuse of being in the type of depressive state where ur emotions numb out(speaking as a mfer with the came curse), and yea hes not the kinda guy to open up about his emotions unless he really trusts someone(which he would likely distance himself from forming connections with others after that kind of trauma), but with cassandra nova right there there was a missed opportunity for elaborating on that. for digging deep into his brain and telling why this fucked him up so bad. imo, if i were to write it, with everyone he gets close to he puts upon the expectation for himself that hes at fault for anything that happens to them. that he needs to be the savior, even in a friendship. to prove himself to be worth something. especially after a life of being convinced hes a burden by just existing as himself, he needs to have use in order to make up for the fact that hes Logan.

but whos going to save him? isnt he struggling too? whos gonna help you? looking at all the other logans across the multiverse, who is the wolverine? why do you keep falling for the same patterns no matter where you are and who you are? deadpool called sabretooth queen and she/her'd logan within like 5 seconds of eachother. that was pretty good ig

final verdict:

yknow. i think i get now the way fans reacted the way they did tho.

the other night i was rewatching the movie Hackers with my mom, saying that it was obvious the creators mustve known a lot about hacking in order to do such a good parody of it, out of love for the craft….but my knowledge of hacking is pretty minimal, so i have no actual fucking clue if that assumption is accurate or not. im just going off of a ton of references to hacking. for all i know, real hackers couldve hated this movie.

and thats how the average non comic fan saw this movie. they saw a buncha characters and references and thought ‘damn, they must really love the source material’ without knowing how much of a kick in the face it felt like to watch them get used and butchered like that.

[chrismcleaneatspants]

General season 2 opinions. MASSIVE TDI 2023 season 2 spoilers ahead (as well as a huge wall of text.) You've been warned.

Ok, so here's everything I like about the season (I can count them on my fingers)

-There were some funny jokes

-MKulia was entertaining and it's now in my top 5 favorite ships, but it's not perfect, as I'll explain later

-Hockey dudes were a joy to watch I suppose

-Bowie stole the show as usual

-There are a lot of neat challenges (The canoe, slide, and dog challenges was a particular stand outs to me)

-MK herself was really funny

-MacArthur's cameo was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one, and she bounces off of Chris really well

-Duncney is still broken up lol

Honestly that's about it in terms of positives, cuz I have a million other negatives for this supposed sequel to (imo) the best written season of the show.

-The Relationships were the single worst aspect about this season full stop. Ripaxel and Praleb are probably the worst couples the show has ever subjected me to. For Ripaxel, they basically removed anything interesting Ripper had going on and Axel wasn't allowed to live up to any kind of hype she created because one lame ass poem turned her into Ripper's girlfriend for the remaining duration of her run, only for the both of them to be tossed aside in episode 7 in perhaps the worst double elimination in the entire show.

-Praleb started off ok. I thought it was gonna be a one-sided crush plot initially before Episode 6. They had a couple cute moments before episode 8, of which their screentime became suffocating because afterwards is was this painful back and forth where Caleb tried explaining himself and Priya would be mad at him, then ally with him, then be mad at him again like it was so tiresome. By the time they got together in the finale again, I was wishing they had just followed up on Pramien instead. Caleb by himself was funny in the first half of season 2 and Priya was great in season 1, but the two of them together were insufferable

-Speaking of Priya, she went from one of the best characters in season 1 to one of the worst in season 2. Why did she have to make it all the way to episode fucking 12 after winning season 1?? Just for some generic heterosexual romance? They also made her so dumb with shit like knowing Julia is manipulating her but then getting a surprise Pikachu face when Julia manipulated her??? You spent your entire life preparing for this show, how the fuck did you not see this coming???

-Segwayying into Julia, she's the worst antagonist full stop. I've never seen such an absolute downgrade of a character. She was a goat in season 1 who was aware of her situation and acted accordingly because the stakes were real. Here? Reality basically warps around her just to keep her in the game. She does things characters would never fall for in season 1 and they just go with it?? They insist on keeping her in the finale and do basically nothing interesting with her. She's not even as funny as Island Heather at the end of the day.

-I mentioned MKulia earlier, so I'll just get to it here: I like it in concept. Two evil sapphics causing chaos together is really fun. My main issue is that it was very sudden. They both were not fans of each other at the end of season 1 and now I'm supposed to just believe they became friends off screen? I mean, I guess, but it's kinda cheap. I would have really liked it if it was straight up enemies to lovers ngl. Also the fact MK had very little agency outside of being Julia's lackey doesn't help either. I want to point to the fake contract thing, for instance. Why did Julia do that? That sounds like an MK thing to do.

-Time to dive into other characters: Damien is an absolute fucking tragedy. At the end of season 1, Damien had one ambition: win next season. They kinda did that, sure, but they regressed Damien into being a complete coward to do so, not to mention he didn't even go all the way either. Damien didn't get a W until episode 6 and tbh that was his only W. By the end of his tenure, I was left confused on what the point of his run was. (I'll come back to this later.)

-What was the point of Nichelle? Like seriously, what did she contribute to the season at all? They didn't do the ironic underdog story with her, and considering she was getting all egotistical and aggressive, i thought she was gonna be the antagonist for sure...until Julia got rid of her in episode 5 in a way that really shouldn't make sense cuz like Nichelle is an actual celebrity that stars in blockbuster movies, I'm pretty sure she could sniff a fake contract a mile away, right?

-Hockey dudes were great, but I felt like they were very dumbed down at times? Like they were just generic dumb dudes that just meandered around a lot of the time (Wayne in particular just straight up floated away from a challenge at one point)

-Bowie was alright too. His line delivery is great as usual, but let's not kid ourselves: In a well written season, he'd be going straight for Julia the next time his team lost. Bowraj was nice to see even if the season didn't really do a whole lot with it

-Am I the only one who thinks this season is a tad bit misogynistic? Like this is the shortest them phase the show as ever had (to the point where i'd argue teams don't really matter) and 4 of the 5 team phase boots were girls. Millie and Emma in particular were really bad. Like, you could make Millie a team phase boot without like shitting on her that hard. And Emma got like fuck all closure outside of breaking up with Chase off screen like wow, way to utilize such a high potential character, Fresh. And this is saying nothing about how the girls that did make it to the merge had plots basically dominated by romance and like nothing else. And then there's MKulia which is apparently intended to be a friendship but like is written like a romantic one at times. It gives me all-stars gwourtney vibes and (as a fan of gwourtney myself) not in a good way. At least MK and Julia were somewhat in character I guess, but they had their edges really sanded off and honestly as a friendship (situationship?) it's a complete downgrade from Millie and Priya in so many ways

-And another thing: who's the protagonist this season? Outside of Praleb, who am I supposed to care for? Who am I supposed to root for? By the halfway mark, the show doesn't really make any convincing arguments to root for like anyone there outside of maybe Damien? And he went gone in episode 10, so like, hockey dudes? No one has an interesting enough narrative for me to care.

-The immunity idol stinks as usual. Like, why did Damien do THE SAME FUCKING THING HEATHER DID IN ALL-STARS?? That actually pissed me off so much holy shit. The immunity idol as it stands in the show is basically a shitty plot device made to keep characters in as there's no real strategy revolved around it.

-Oh and another minor thing: Owen's cameo sucks, and that's entirely due to him not being physically aged up at all and just being a vehicle for the same dumb jokes they always make with him. so stupid

-Anyways, I spend an entire season with two shitass straight relationships taking up screentime, a whole multiude of potential plotlines from last season (pramien) and this season (scary girl's revenge, millie being the new ripper, damien's comeback, julia having internal conflict over her friendship (feelings?) for MK) being set up and just nothing being done with them, and characters in general just being nerfed or borderline out of character (Ripper) and what am I rewarded with?

-Soar Losers. The most boring nothing finale in the entire show. The choices for finalists suck, Wayne, while being the least bad option for a winner (and i do still like him a lot), is still a mid ass winner in the grand scheme of the entire show. And more praleb drama? fuck off I hate them so much. The challenge did not feel finale worthy at all, and honestly it was the worst challenge in the whole season. On top of being a bunch of nothing, the show decides to bring back the worst trope it ever had: losing hair as karma. I almost ragequit the episode on the spot that shit makes me so irrationally mad. I think it's even worse here because Julia still had hair after the fact, which makes it seem like they were aware it's not a popular TD trope but wanted to half commit to it anyways for the sake of tradition or something. Terrible finale to an already decently sized letdown of a season, but it has some ok MKulia moments I guess. The finale was just emblematic of the entire season, where things just happen and you're just expected to go along with everything. (Also side note how come Chase wasn't the one to jump off of the cart for pizza immediately?)

TL;DR reboot season 2 imo was a step down in every conceivable way from season 1 apart of i guess comedy and it's left a very sour taste in my mouth. I'm probably missing a few points that I'll add onto later but man it feels nice putting my opinion out there.

[soleminisanction]

What comic issue did the whole kon v steph showdown happen? In which he basically called her a poser? I’m wondering what the rest of the young justice teams reaction to her was. I think greta tried to kill her at one point? I don’t think she’s very well liked among that team, but it also makes me wonder if she’s very well liked in the wider hero community at all besides her small group of vigilantes she’s enmeshed herself with through getting involved w Tim and to a lesser extent Batman? What are your views?

Teen Titans (2003) issue #13:

That's it in its entirety. The bit with Tim and Conner is very much the story's B-plot, the A-plot is focused on Beast Boy and the rest of the Titans back in San Fran.

As for Steph and Greta -- it is true that Greta is the one member of YJ that Steph ever truly interacted with during that time period. I actually wrote up a whole thing here about the arc of those interactions, but it was kind of off-topic with your question and also long enough that it really deserves its own post, especially because lining it all up together without the multi-year gap between plot points gave me a revelation about how the story actually went.

I'm going to try to get that post up in the next day or so to prove my point but the summation here is: the first time they met, Greta explicitly didn't try to kill Steph -- but afterwards, Steph framed it as "she tried to kill me in a jealous rage" and people took Steph's side because part of Greta's story was that her "good people bad powers" thing made her kind of sus and that's what eventually drove her to join Darksied.

So while Steph did get mentioned in YJ, including getting brought in to help as part of the invasion of Zandia in issues 50-52, her only significant contribution there was a very brief stand-off with Greta and getting stuck in a bubble with a several other 90's characters who I'm pretty sure don't exist anymore.

The only other person I recognize here is Lagoon Boy. The pink filter doesn't help.

Other than that, the only interaction Steph's had with any member of Tim's friend group is the one issue of Teen Titans (2003), #66, where they're doing this membership drive thing and Steph (recently back from faking her death) tags along so they can pretend that maaaaybe she's going to join the team, but actually she's just there to have a very brief interaction with Traci 13 and Bombshell.

And an even briefer, awkward stare-down with Cassie that's only there because she and Tim's budding romance had been awkwardly cut short just so he could back to Steph the very instant she got back from faking her death no matter how little sense that made.

And then Steph wasn't even interested in joining the team anyway she was just there for quote, "moral support" as Tim told Cassie he needed to take a break for a while and focus on the pre-Final Crisis chaos going down in Gotham.

Stephanie has never spoken to Bart, Anita, Slobo, or Ray so far as I know. She's never even met Cissie because the Arrowette who went to Zandia turned out to be Bonnie in disguise.

Pre-Flashpoint, the only other people she'd met outside of Gotham are Supergirl (whom she met in World's Finest (2009)) and Squire, who's still technically a Bat even if she lives in England. Stargirl and Miss Martian show up alongside Bombshell and Supergirl towards the end of Steph's solo series but they come out of nowhere only because BQM had wanted to make them part of Steph's entourage at some point but didn't get the chance, so I don't really count them. Nor do I count her showing up in a group shot at the end of the Gail Simone Wonder Woman, since that was just a line-up of cameos from every female hero she could get at the time.

So with all that as the preamble, to answer your second question: no, I don't think Steph is very well-liked by the wider superhero community. I also don't think she's disliked. I think the vast majority of heroes and villains have no idea who she is.

If they know her at all, it's probably as, "That girl in the purple that Cass is always hanging out with" or "Robin's ex-girlfriend who faked her death that one time" or maybe even as, "There was a girl Robin at some point right? I feel like I heard that somewhere," particularly since there was a big media shake-up after War Games. Heck, they might even know her as, "Cluemaster's daughter; she runs with the Bats, yeah? Heh, sucks to be Arthur" since he's actually gotten around more than her just by virtue of being on the Suicide Squad.

But as Spoiler, as Batgirl, as a hero? Basically unknown outside of Gotham. She's always been too much of a supporting character to develop those kinds of connections.

[sunnybyler]

what descendants 4 would have been if i was given free reign

okay so idek if there’s a descendants community on here but i just have to get my ideas out SOMEWHERE bc the wonderland stuff had so much potential but disney just went such a bizarre direction with d4. like what even was that time travel plot. this was partly inspired by dylanisintrouble’s incorrect assumption in his reaction vid that it would be abt a group of wonderland kids bc that’s exactly what should have happened!! let me elaborate

fun fact this was written while i was getting torn to shreds on tiktok for my descendants song rankings but ANYWAYS

i’m keeping it realistic to what disney could have done, as in no cameos of the og cast that isn’t already in the movie. ofc in a perfect world we’d get more with those characters, but after cameron’s passing i’m respecting their wishes to not be in more descendants movies without him.

things i’m keeping the same:

the cast is p much the same except characters i have to cut since i’m scrapping the time travel aspect. cinderella and charming were basically the best parts of that movie to me bc i love their original cinderella so yeah we are ABSOLUTELY keeping that. and the cast is v talented they just got an ass script not their fault

red & chloe are still two of the main characters but i’m adding a third too (we’ll get there) and they’re basically unchanged personality/backstory wise

the whole beginning up through red’s song is basically unchanged. uma’s still in charge and invites wonderland kids to auradon prep, except in this case it’s more than just the one

the queen of hearts/cinderella backstory is somewhat the same; they were friends in school and then there was a prank that caused the queen of hearts to become the tyrant we now know. we get this knowledge through further exposition in love ain’t it

okay and that’s literally it LMAOO let’s get into the characters now

the main three

so as i mentioned two of the main characters are still red and chloe basically unchanged from d4. so the third mc is, and i feel genius for this…. bridget!! but an oc version, not as the young queen of hearts. hear me out. pretty much everyone seems to agree young bridget was such a fun character and loves her, myself included, so i had to find a way to make her an mc. in my plot, she’s red’s sister! either twin sister or irish twins idrk either works, but i will be calling them the twins in this post. she’d realistically have a different name but in order to not cause confusion i’m going to keep calling her bridget in this post. she has the same personality and appearance as the movie, except she also has a bit of blind loyalty towards her mom, unlike red. she’s a sweetheart and hates the idea of hurting people, but she’ll do basically anything outside of that for her mother. she also has such an intense need to be liked that she’ll sometimes do things against her morals or ignore red flags — as seen with her mom. she and red do love each other but there’s still a lot of disconnect in their relationship because of their different dynamics with the queen of hearts and how different they are.

the other wonderland kids

so just like the og descendants movie, i would have it be four kids. obviously the two girls would be the twins, and then i would also add the mad hatter’s son and alice’s son. i would keep the mad hatter’s son kinda similar to the one we see in the movie, except he’s red’s age and more eccentric. i’m keeping his name maddox as well but we’d have to recast since the actor is a bit too old. he and red are still good friends and he tries to have her back and keep her out of danger like in the movie. unlike in the movie though maddox is a lot more fun and unique. he’s still more grounded than his father, but he was boring af in the movie for the mad hatter’s kid so he’d be more vibrant in my version. he’s the comic relief. i named alice’s son alex and he’s kind of what you’d expect — very curious and eccentric but still kind and smart. ppl get annoyed with him because he’s always asking loads of questions. he’s close with bridget.

the side characters

okay so admittedly this is probably where i put in the least thought lmao i don’t really have parentage/names for anyone here. but i want there to be a relevant vk kid who’s kind to the wonderland squad just to remind fans that the vks are still here and not all bad. but they would befriend maddox and alex in particular and it could be a fun little c plot. and then on the flip side the “villain” character is actually the kid of hero characters. it’d have to be someone more unpopular of course, maybe like a side character or something. but this character pretends to be friends with the wonderland kids, specifically bridget, but is only doing it to make fun of them with her friends. but these characters would expand on the original movies concept that you aren’t your parents yk.

the parents

i wouldn’t really change the parents much if at all! the casting is great but they’d be seen a little bit less in their adult forms & we wouldn’t see their young self at all. as for the mad hatter and alice, idk if we’d even see them but if we do it’s a very brief cameo like in the first descendants.

okay actual plot time!! lmao

so like i said the first part of the movie up to red’s song is basically going to be unchanged. uma decides to invite the wonderland kids to auradon prep, specifically selecting the twins, maddox, and alex to be the first four to be invited. the first song is unchanged it’s still red. maddox still ends up saving red’s ass but the scene is more comedic relief than anything with maddox’s changed character. we then get a bridget introduction with a brief interlude of life is sweeter (the full song would be later in the movie but i don’t want too many full songs clumped at once) that shows the differences between the two sisters. we would then cut to auradon to meet chloe, and that sequence is basically the same too.

the queen of hearts enters in the next scene, announcing the invitations to the twins. we also get a similar scene as in the actual movie of the queen trying to get red to decide on a punishment for the guard and refusing to kill him. she then tries the same with bridget, who also wants to save the man’s life, but tries to appease her mother by kind of talking in circles about why him being alive is somehow worse punishment. she begs her mom to let her to something else to make her happy but she doesn’t want to hurt someone. this is clearly a recurring pattern with the twins and their mom. the queen is disappointed in both girls and expresses this, but it clearly bothers bridget more outwardly than red.

we’d then cut into the love ain’t it song just for exposition purposes. in this version it would be a cut between the queen warning the twins about auradon and cinderella explaining some of the wonderland lore to chloe after getting news of the wonderland kids attending auradon. so they’re not at the school yet, meaning chloe hasn’t met red or anything. lyric changes would be necessary but the purpose is the same. the song establishes that the queen and cinderella used to be best friends as two outcasts at the school, but at a school dance a cruel prank got pulled on the queen, causing her to drop out and leave to wonderland. the queen didn’t used to be some sweet innocent like we saw in the movie, but she was less jaded according to cinderella.

the scene then cuts to a new day when the queen of hearts has decided to let the twins attend auradon. they have to leave right away. she’s come up with a grand plan on using her girls as spies to get information on auardon so she can plan a takeover. she doesn’t follow them to the school or try to take over immediately bc in what world would one person be able to solo an entire school of powerful magic users. i get she’s unhinged but no. bridget is immediately willing, relieved to have a task from her mother that doesn’t result in her having to directly hurt someone, while red clearly is uncomfortable with the idea but doesn’t say anything to her mom. the queen leaves to go fetch maddox and alex to allow them to attend auradon as well to cover for the twins. the idea is that while bridget and red are snooping around, maddox and alex will be actually innocent to cover it up. but the queen insists they can’t know of the plan. red and bridget have an argument about spying, red saying they shouldn’t enable her but bridget arguing that the queen is their mom. it’s clear bridget is kind of in denial that she’d still be contributing harm even if she’s not being directly violent. it establishes that bridget is a genuinely good person in most ways but is way too loyal to her mother and makes excuses she shouldn’t for her.

the twins fight gets interrupted by them having to leave to auradon so it’s left unresolved. the four wonderland kids go to auradon alone, like in the first descendants movie. they have a similarly awkward meeting with the other students, but instead of being seen as evil/scary, the students seem to think they’re bizarre. alex is asking 101 questions without taking a breath, maddox is trying to make jokes/observations but is just sounding kind of out of his mind, and bridget is so overexcited it makes people uneasy. red originally seems like the most normal, so chloe approaches her trying to befriend her. red shoots that down immediately, and the girls have an instant distaste for each other. instead of people being scared of the wonderland kids, people just think they’re weird/outcasts.

there’s scenes that establish that bridget is giving the queen of hearts actual helpful information to help a potential takeover — including very useful information about the museum when they take a class trip there. red, on the other hand, is instead giving her mother vague/partially true information with some flat out lies sprinkled in. she doesn’t want to cause her mother to flip out again, but she doesn’t want to help her either. with her experience rebelling against her mom, she’s able to not get caught in her actions. red and bridget argue about the spying throughout the movie.

despite their awkward first meeting, red and chloe keep getting paired up for things and continue to get on each other’s nerves. chloe also begins to get suspicious that red is planning something with her mother after hearing stories from cinderella. there’s probably a song here about their arguing. chloe thinks bridget is sweet and doesn’t suspect her, but continues to question red’s motives which is beyond infuriating for her since bridget’s the one actually spying. but she can’t say that and expose her sister because despite their disagreements they still have love for each other. perfect start for a rivals to frenemies to lovers arc if you ask me 👀 if we’re being real disney would tell me to go fuck myself with that but i said it’s MYYY descendants 4 so there is a lot of clear romantic tension here. small moments like red getting distracted mid insult by how pretty chloe looks that day or chloe complimenting red’s outfit without thinking. just little things to establish attraction but they still dislike each other on principle.

unlike red, the other wonderland kids are starting to find some friends at auradon despite seeming so odd on first meeting. red and bridget are naturally suspicious at first that people’s motives aren’t genuine after their mother’s story. bridget is actually the one that caved first though, as she is desperate for real friends and wants to fit in. maddox and alex bond with one of the vk’s who is also a bit of an outcast and that’s a c plot of the movie but i don’t have many concrete ideas for them since i’m focusing on the 3 girls mostly. but just know that’s happening! lol. eventually bridget gets paired up with a character well call “the bully” for a class assignment (as chloe and red are somehow paired up — again). bridget goes out of her way to be nice to this girl but isn’t getting anything in return. at the end of the class, there’s a scene of the bully talking with one of her friends and complaining about bridget. the friend suggests that the bully pretend to be bridget’s friend since it’s funny to make fun of her. the bully ends up inviting bridget to eat lunch with her friend group, and they pretend to like her just to laugh at her. bridget doesn’t pick up on this though. red tries to warn bridget against them, but bridget thinks she’s just being paranoid/jealous and ignores her. she has such a deep need to be liked that she ignores the red flags. this is also when bridget starts to question following her mother’s orders, but doesn’t tell red.

red is starting to feel like an outcast even among the wonderland kids with the others making friends. there’s a scene where maddox forgets about plans they had because his was with his new vk friend and they have a little spat over it. they end up making up within a few scenes though and maddox encourages red to try hanging out with him, alex, and their new friend. despite this she refuses to cave and let other people into her circle. oddly enough the person she probably talks to the most during this time is chloe.

the bully ends up learning about the prank that was pulled on the queen of hearts by overhearing the fairy godmother talking about it with another teacher. the other teacher is questioning putting on castlecoming out of concern it will be seen as an act of aggression to her daughters. but the fairy godmother insists on it continuing. the bully ends up devising a plan to make bridget castlecoming queen (or maybe a different title since there’s an actual queen lol but same idea) and turn her into a gross beast in front of everyone. it’s the same prank that happened to bridget’s mom.

as bridget believes she’s making genuine friends, she starts to consider how her actions will actually affect them. shes been feeling guilty the whole time but there’s a ballad here where it all comes to a head and she admits that even if she’s not the one swinging the sword, by spying she’s still putting the sword in her mother’s hands. she stops spying for her mom and starts ignoring her letters. she doesn’t have experience rebelling like red, so she doesn’t think to do what her sister does to avoid suspicion. it’s a moment of character growth. bridget tells red that she’s stopped spying, and red expresses how proud she is and they make up.

so in this movie, we actually get to SEE castlecoming bc why the fuck wouldn’t we!!!! we see all the characters in their outfits getting excited — even red is a bit giddy due to maddox joking with her and hyping her up. in the bathroom at the dance, chloe overhears the bully talking about her plan to prank bridget just like her mom was pranked all those years ago. she tries to warn bridget, but she runs into red instead. she tells red what she heard and the girls reluctantly team up to stop the prank. red gets maddox’s help too, but alex is with bridget all night and they aren’t able to tell him either. they keep either losing bridget in the crowd or being blocked by the bully’s friends. at one point red gets up to her sister and tries to pull her away to talk. bridget wants to go with her sister, but has to leave before red can explain everything because she got called up on stage as part of castlecoming court. red tries to run after her but gets blocked by the bully’s friends. she gets into an altercation with them, but maddox jumps in and the two of them together manage to win.

everything comes to a head when bridget is on stage being crowned castlecoming queen. the sad part is most people voted for her in earnest because she’s a sweet girl, but they ended up leading to her being humiliated on accident. red and chloe both corner the bully who has a spell book. maddox is trying to keep the bully’s friends distracted. unfortunately, chloe and red are just a second too late and the bully casts the spell before they can intervene. the bully then drops the book and manages to escape before anyone else sees it was them since everyone is watching the prank play out. it’s a carrie type moment but without all the murder obviously lmao. more just like vibes idk if that makes sense. as people are looking around to see who did it, someone locates the spell book right by red and chloe’s feet. as the fairy godmother hastily tries to undo the spell, someone yells out that it was chloe and red that did it. the girls start to panic and accuse the bully, but it’s too late because the evidence points to them. the bully of course jumps on this and goes to console bridget while declaring how evil red must be to betray her sister like this, and how hypocritical chloe is by pretending to be so high and mighty. maddox tries to defend them but it’s no use. in her anguish, bridget believes the bully. the movie ends with everyone in chaos and the sisters truly divided.

maybe there’d be a scene of the queen of hearts crashing castlecoming and seeing what went down but idk i kind of want the prank to be the climax of the movie yk. her shenanigans would come at a different time

in my head i also have the sequel for this written out LMAOO. that movie it would be about red and chloe trying to clear their names and catch the bully, while also trying to figure out how to stop bridget from helping her mother attack auradon (bc bridget would def align with her mom again after what happened). not that anyone is gonna read this mess of a post but i might write up the sequel anyways bc this was sooo much fun lmao

[tavyliasin]

The Abdirak Essay - Fandom, Pain, and Loviatar's Love

Another day, another Lia Essay - and if you're really really deliciously sinful my very dear darlings, I shall give you yet more when the sun rises again upon the morrow. So, today in Niche Fandom Adoration Hours, I give you:

For The Love of Loviatar: Why Discomfort Can Be Delightful, How Agony Alleviates Anguish, and All The Ways Abdirak Fans Are Also TavyliaSin's Very Favourite People (Who Also Probably Need A Hug) ((Do We Love The Long Titles?)) (((If No, Consider This Essay Title Part Of Your Penitance)))

The themes of this essay will discuss: BDSM, Kink, Chronic Pain, wounds/injury, Acute Pain, Mental Health, mentions of harmful behaviours, a discussion of psychological elements from someone with absolutely no formal training or experience, vague mentions of trauma, and the magic of friendship. So please make sure you are in a comfortable place within yourself if you feel any of the above might be difficult to read for any reason. It is ok to skip sections as each has a topic header, or you can leave at any time. Nobody is judging you for that at all. Additionally, NSFW discussion further through, so minors DNI as usual. Very little of my blog will ever be suitable for under 18s, for your safety and for mine. Editing in to add a link to the Abdirak fandom gift to chronic pain pals A Cameo from Declan (Abdirak's Performer) (Fully SFW)

All that said, the main theme of this piece is actually:

To truly understand suffering is to avoid being its cause.

So, let's understand what "Suffering" is first, shall we, Dear Ones?

The Difference between Pain and Suffering

Lia hasn't completely lost the plot darlings, the two words may seem almost interchangeable but they are not. At the very least, this is the interpretation I have and the discussion that follows will stick with it too~ Pain is the sensation itself, whether physical or mental, it is the hurt, the bruise pressed upon, the moment a heart breaks. That is pain. Suffering on the other hand, is the effect that the pain has. It is the anguish, the torment, the overwhelm and the exhaustion. So, whilst two people might have the same pain, let's say a stubbed toe for a simple example, their suffering might be very different. One might feel able to walk it off, maybe swear a little and move on. Another might need to sit immediately, feel tears in their eyes, or even become utterly overcome by misery from the intense sensation. This might sound like a difference in tolerance, but it can also be seen as taking the bigger picture into account. One brick might not feel so heavy to someone with empty hands, but added to a pile of bricks already carried it may feel as if it weighs a dozen times as much.

What about Abdirak? How does he relate to Pain and Suffering?

When I first heard Abdirak speak, I knew he understood this concept to its very core. His goddess wants pain, but in himself he does not seem to want actual suffering. He does draw a different line, with pain being physical and suffering being the mental aspect, however the principles are very close to my own. Some people might see Abdirak and judge him as cruel, as a torturer delighting in anguish, but that could not be further from the truth. When he speaks of delivering pain with a loving hand, that really is meant. When he was speaking to the player character, for a moment I felt so intensely seen when he speaks of seeing a greater suffering.

"Forgive me, but that look in your eyes - something terrible has happened to you. ...I see those same eyes when I look in the mirror, dear one."

This, to me, was such a moment. He recognises trauma easily, and we also have this chance here to either interpret this as "oh, right, the tadpole stuff, the things in the game" or we can allow our own feelings about a player character's backstory as the interpretation of what he has seen. Either way, he immediately offers to alleviate that suffering with pain, something he is familiar with, something he knows to help from personal experience. There's the important point. His motivation is not to cause hurt, but to relieve it.

How does pain make anything better?

Deep breaths loves we're getting to the heart of a few things here and it may get heavy. At the most basic broken down level, right at the bottom of everything, it's about distraction. Pain is instant, sharp, a sensation that draws our nerves tight and fires off that electricity directly into our brains. It takes our attention and focus away from whatever else is on our minds. Usually? This would be detrimental, to be unable to concentrate on something because pain is intruding. However, think back here, "delivered with a loving and measured hand." This is precise pain, sensation that is welcomed and applied with expert care in order to reach that point right between where pain is suffering and where it cuts out the thoughts. BDSM darlings will know this as similar to "subspace" which I will discuss later~ Whilst there is some short term benefit to using strong sensation to distract the mind and alleviate intense distress, if taken into real life scenarios there are a lot of things to consider, and it is far better to speak with a therapist. Though the most commonly suggested low-harm methods can be things like gripping an ice cube for a minute or two, or even something like exercise that can push the mind to focus on the body instead of the source of the distress. The element of penance is also there. Abdirak brings to the fore those thoughts of struggle and guilt, so those are the thoughts that are stripped back by the physical pain. It's intentional, careful, and taps at the other core of using pain to alleviate suffering.

Why we love Abdirak, and the importance of recognising the weight of unwarranted guilt.

Remember my little villain essay? Back then I spoke of how a love for villains can also come from the way we are prone to judge ourselves unfairly, to heap undeserved guilt at our own feet, and to believe every slight mistake to be a heinous sin. Sorry, darlings, the only heinous "sin" you are allowed to believe in is me. Name puns aside... Part of the draw is indeed right there, believing ourselves deserving of punishment it's appealing to want to submit to that and find absolution from everything we judge ourselves for. And yet, it isn't a horrific thing, it's coloured by love and affection. The Love of Loviatar from Abdirak does not ignore that first part. But I do encourage you, if you are feeling particularly called out right now, to stop seeking punishment for things that are objectively not your fault, and instead treat yourself with kindness and forgiveness. By all means continue to indulge in our beloved priest of Pain and the joy he brings, but do so without any negative self-assessment, alright? Good, I'm glad we agre- THAT MEANS ALL OF YOU. No exceptions.

And what of the Fandom?

Ahh Abdirak fandom. Small, loving, welcoming, and utterly devoted~ Similarly to villain fandom (Abdirak is obviously not a villain, but is arguably villain-coded), his fandom also draws a lot of kindness and understanding. Despite how we might see ourselves, we are remarkably free from judgement in how we treat each other. There's endless encouragement, genuine warmth, and alongside spicy takes that might make lava look like a suitable spot for ice fishing there's a profound amount of respect and consent. By which I mean, there's no shame. There's no allowance for "I hate that character you like", or "that kink is bad because I don't like it". Tags and CWs are applied to posts and works with care and nobody is treated poorly for enjoying what (or who) they enjoy in the fictional space. To go back to the quote at the start of this essay, "to truly understand suffering is to avoid being its cause." I feel the vast majority of us have that depth of insight and recognition for suffering and have the empathy required to wish to avoid it. And that is why I would perhaps feel safest in the company of Abdirak fans (and likewise Raphael fans), there's another level of connection in those tadpoles~ Which leads me neatly forwards to...

Endurance: Abdirak and Chronic Pain Sufferers

Here, loves, we're going to get a bit more personal. Those of us with chronic pain conditions may find an even deeper connection. So I'll go over a little for those who are fortunate enough to not have personal experience here: Chronic Pain - This applies to pain which is constant or frequently recurring, that lasts (and/or is expected to last) for more than 3 months. It's not like a broken bone that heals and has an end, it's not like a few headaches that come and go with little consequence, it is either always present or always on the edge of flaring up at any time. It's different to acute pain, because most conditions have no cure, many barely have any treatment so all one can do is try to endure the worst of it. The other side-symptoms can be reduction in physical ability, exhaustion, mental health difficulties (because for some odd reason constant pain is not a path to happiness), low self esteem, and of course carrying the guilt of feeling like a burden if you need help from others (you are not a burden, and anyone who says so can receive the blessing of forever feeling like there is a stone in their shoe that they cannot find). As an aside, this can apply to chronic mental health struggles too - it is still pain, only a different kind. Though I will be looking primarily at physical pain here, as that's where Abdirak's focus is. Now, where are we going with this? The difference here is in how pain is treated. Abdirak speaks of pain as a wonderful thing, as something that is sought after, that is a way of worshipping Loviatar. This is something that might feel strange to someone who is plagued by pain, but there's another quote I'd like us to remember.

"Pain without purpose is a terrible thing, wouldn't you agree?"

Chronic pain has no purpose. It's there whether by illness or injury, or some other unseen cause. It was not a choice, it doesn't bring any relief, and often it drags us right down with it.

"Please let me alleviate this pain."

And there's another line, one we wish we could hear, one we wish so very deeply in the core of our being that we could believe. That there could be someone who could bring an end to the pain even if only for a brief time, a fleeting hope of relief.

How fanworks can be a means of coping with chronic pain.

So here's the next point... What in all the hells do I mean, how can fanworks help a single thing? Well, have some personal moments. I had a deeply unpleasant flare up the other night, so I put out a brief ask to writing groups for some comforting fiction shorts. In the past, I've written a few myself - like these: Abdirak - Migraine Comfort Yurgir - Migraine Comfort Tav - General Comfort, with Audio Multi-Character Comfort Drabbles (Including Abdirak) Full AO3 fic of Abdirak x Chronic Pain Reader (Spicy, NSFW)

These are the two I received from some writers very dear to my heart who have more talent and skill than I could ever hope to aspire to in their works. Elfvamp (who does not have tumblr) (image description is attached to the image)

and this one from @morb-untamed

Darlings, when I tell you there were tears in my eyes at these, I mean it. THIS is just an example of the understanding and compassion possible in the community, the care and consideration, and the emotion that words can carry through them that make things genuinely feel more bearable in the moment of distress. Both captured something that it took me too long to realise. Perhaps what follows might sound entirely unreasonable or unhinged, but for someone like myself who has not known a single second of what "0%" feels like in over 10 years, it's beginning to seem far more sane by the moment. What if, within the confines of my mind, I try to rewrite the understanding of pain as something different. Just tell myself each new pain is an offering to some vile deity who has decided my mortal vessel is worthy of enduring, rather than one that is being punished with suffering. Breathe through it and listen to those character voices, find my own purpose to the pain. Let it become inspiration, note it down, get that visceral and intimate knowledge to the page instead. Naturally, this probably isn't a healthy coping mechanism, nor one that is infallible, but there have been moments recently where thinking that has made the moderate levels less distressing, easier to tolerate for a time. Perhaps it could do the same for you, but perhaps not, either way - it is there. Please do read through the comfort pieces too, and if you would like to see more - even ones with more specific aims and pains, please do just ask and I will make them happen. Either through my ask box, or in comments/reblogs, or any other way you wish to contact me honestly.

Alright, Tavylia, we've covered personal pain, but you promised NSFW discussion!

Oh my very dear darlings I had not forgotten this part~ You may here people talk about "good pain" and "bad pain", and wonder how/why pain can ever be good. It's not just about a physical hurt sensation or using that as a distraction. Pain can cause a rush of adrenaline, and even endorphins - similar to how people enjoy extreme sports, horror films, or theme parks, it's a pleasant feeling from something that would usually be scary, because it's safe and controlled. Falling from a high place? That's terrifying, dangerous. Parachuting safely from that same high place? It's controlled, there's no real danger, but the feeling of danger brings that adrenaline rush. There's the key. In real life BDSM there is control in the safe signal, in knowing it can and will stop when needed, that although there is someone causing pain they will stop at a moment's notice. (Anyone who does not respect a safe word/signal is not someone you should be in that situation with, if you are engaging in or want to try BDSM with real partners please PLEASE do your research on safety, that's too long a lecture to add here) In the context of fiction, we can go a lot further. Could a real person easily withstand Abdirak hitting them with an axe in their back? Obviously not, that's far too much. But this is a world with magical healing, and our fantasy and fiction is quite safe to extend where we find is interesting. So when reading - and especially writing - with pain and pain play, I encourage you to remember these links to adrenaline, endorphins, and that it isn't about harm, it's far deeper, and finding an understanding of that (even if you never wish to experience it) might be of some benefit to understanding those around you who have this intimate relationship with pain.

A title for the End

I think I've covered a lot here, but I do just want to round us off now. If you have any questions about this topic (or any of my other essay posts), please do feel free to ask - that's why my box is there, for all kinds of discussions to open up. Not just for smut and creative writing, but for all the ways we connect with fiction and characters. There is so much more than a single story being told, each of us experiences it through the lens of our own experience, we all find our connections in different ways, and I will have more character essays on this later. There's so much more to see, to learn, from all the interpretations throughout the fandom. I'm very grateful to be here to witness it, and for you being here to share in these thoughts and explore them more with me. Pain can teach us many things, about ourselves and others. Empathy, kindness, compassion - when we know how much we need them ourselves, we begin to see how much others may need it too. Much like how Abdirak sees the pain behind the player character's eyes, and feels that strong desire to help in the ways he knows how.

A Final Note for the Pain Pals

To my Chronic Pain Pals, darlings you do not always have to be strong. It's alright. It will not break you entirely to let go of that incessant need to try and quietly endure. Find those places it is safe to let it out, look for those tricks you can use on your brain to make Loviatar's Favour just a little more bearable. You are worthy of kindness, support, and compassion. The same you are likely giving of yourself to everyone else. You are not a burden, these are pains you do not choose, and you deserve something more gentle without any guilt attached to it. You are also not alone, find community, find those who understand.

Pain without purpose...but have we given it one now?

So I hope this time the pain has had a purpose in teaching, in helping us connect in new ways, to find compassion and understanding. Until next time, Dear Ones, look after yourselves.

Oh hey look I know who made that gif that came up in the search~ What an absolutely wonderful coincidence ;) (And a final final footnote, hello Abdirak fan community, you are perfect and I wish you nothing but the best in all things)

[the-inky-waters]

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[terrence-silver]

Oh, I so agree with you about the lack of Terry in promos being... unsatisfying. So many things they're playing with this season were set in motion by Terry. Terry mentioned Kim Sung Young first, who they now have cast. Terry wanted to go to the Sekai Taikai. Terry introduced Kim Da Eun. If they can get Kreese out of prison with a box of Jell-o, no way can they keep Terry in jail for more than three hours. If he can spin heading Dynatox into being a green philantropist, he can doctor this. If Kenny still has a major part to play, well who mentored him?

I could have understood it if they wanted to shift away from the Terry storyline and focus on what the show started as, reclaiming your life through karate. But then, it would have made much more sense to keep Kreese in prison, send Chozen and Da Eun home, and not focus so much on Tang Soo Do. But if they're setting that legacy up as the überthreat, it makes no sense for Terry not to be involved. The Sekai Taikai was his baby, moreso than Cobra Kai, even. Maybe the CK brand has been compromised, but so what? Hearsay. Simply rebrand.

Terry completely revitalised a show that had milked everything out of Johnny-Kreese there was to milk, keeps shying away from consequences with Robby and Miguel and would never give Sam and Tory the gay awakening that drives them. To dump him and keep Chozen and Da Eun around makes no damn sense!

Exactly. Precisely.

Terry Silver is the lifeblood that keeps this show running.

Because what else is there to do with this plot?

A lot of storylines got tragically milked to completion seasons ago.

And I don't think for the life of me Da Eun, who quite literally got flown into the plot during the penultimate mid-season is a strong enough character to be the end all-be all final boss villain. She doesn't have the charisma to pull what Thomas Ian Griffith pulled in TKK3. She was just introduced pretty much last minute and our attachment to her is at best nonexistent to miniscule with her only connection to anything going on in the plot at all is through Kreese, Silver and their mutual history with the sport. In the plot itself, girl even seemed like she was begrudgingly in the States in the first place and had to be talked into staying by Terry. To carry the whole endgame conclusion of this show and well over forty years of lore between the characters as the ultimate bad guy? Yeah, nope. Don't see it. There's just no development there. No meat.

As you said. It makes no damn sense.

And I will be in the minority here, which is entirely alright for me, but I really have an abject allergy for fan concoctions like brining back Julie Pierce in Season 6 or having Chozen and Da Eun have a showdown to fill in plot gaps. Shoehorning in Julie Pierce for a random, out of nowhere cameo when the one attachment she had to the plot was vaguely through a character dead for well over forty years just so she could tutor female character x and y for a short period of time is unnecessary at this late stage and I don't think Chozen and Da Eun warrant enough stakes to suddenly become mortal foes that take up space like that in the last season, but hey, that's just me; like, where are these rivalries even coming from? They met like yesterday. Do you two even know each other's full names!? Like!?

Terry Silver, John Kreese and the Sekai Tekai are sole the points of interest left.

After all, show's called Cobra Kai and they are Cobra Kai.

[tangledbea]

As heartwarming as the epilogue is, It does encapsulate a problem I have with the show: it’s that it has these big payoffs that are usually satisfactory in the moment, but had very little build up

Rapunzel becoming a good queen?: On paper that is extremely fitting. But here’s the thing: other than other characters mentioning that she was gonna become queen, we never actually got to see Rapunzel realizing just how big of a responsibility that is, and the process of her learning what it means to be a good ruler. There’s bits and pieces of it (Great Tree, the painting episode, etc) but it never really sticks

Eugene becoming captain of the guards?: Where did that even come from?! Honestly, it felt like the writers didn’t really know what to do with him. The closest we got to an arc for him was the Dark Kingdom, but that gets kinda forgotten about, and doesn’t affect his character all that much.

Cassandra going off to find a path that’ll make her truly happy?: Again, conceptually fitting, but it wasn’t properly fleshed out or set up because for 99% of the season Cass whined about Gothel and like 5 other things that barely related

Varian reconciling with and feeling validated his dad?: Well Qurin wrote this letter back in “Queen for a Day”, shortly before getting trapped in the amber, and it was stated to have been something very important. But come season 3 it turns out the letter just says “I proud of U :)” , and all the baggage is instantly resolved, Varian is a okay now, yipeeeeee-. Like nice sentiment but we were promised more.

To be fair, I'm not at all positive that Rapunzel is supposed to be the queen at the end of the series. Her accepting the crown means she's officially ready to officially have the responsibility she's been carrying out for the entire season.

But when you look at the finale scene, Frederic and Arianna are still wearing their crowns.

But when you see them being casual (not "on the clock" as it were) they don't wear them. So, I don't think Rapunzel is meant to be queen in the epilogue, just officially ready to take on all responsibilities of Crown Princess.

I was never too fond of Eugene becoming Captain. It's sort of... the "natural" conclusion of "Fitzherbert P.I.," where he's shown not being a fit for the guard. Over the course of the series, he becomes more responsible, more reliable, and moreover, he's Rapunzel's #1 defender. I still don't like him as Captain, though, and I personally headcanon that he only keeps it up for a couple years, tops, before turning the guard over to Maximus. After all, the movie's epilogue implies that Max is the one who keeps the kingdom crime-free, and that Eugene has nothing to do with it.

Cassandra actually spent most of the series dissatisfied with her lot in life, and "Beginnings" even shows that she's not happy in Corona and would rather be somewhere else. Besides, I headcanon that she was soft-banished for taking Corona over. That's why she wasn't expected to help clean up the mess she made; because Rapunzel very lovingly told her she had to go and wasn't welcome there anymore.

As for Varian, his plot resolved at the beginning of S2. I know a lot of people really would have liked to see more with him and Quirin, but that wasn't a loose end for me. What little we saw of them showed that they were getting along better and making an effort to be a part of each other's lives. But while Varian achieved main character status, in actually, he's physically in 15 of 60 episodes (including the pilot), and two of those episodes ("Not In the Mood" and "King and Queen of Hearts") he's barely in them, so it's more like 13 episodes, which is less than 22% (21.66666666 etc%) of the series. Then he has his imaginary cameo in "Happiness Is..." So as much as people love him, he's not actually a major part of the overall series plot, in general, and his presence in S3 is more about how he now gets along with the gang than his dad. That's not really a flaw of the series, IMO.

[kitkatopinions]

Your take on the recent RT announcement of a storybook anthology series to show what was happening in Remnant during volume 9?

I really feel like it's unnecessary at best at the moment and really doesn't give me any hope at all for... Anything going forward. XD

Like, 'this shows what's happening in Remnant during V9' V9 happened over the course of like a day and a half. And yes, it's obvious to the audience through the visual of the ships over Vacuo that it's been at least aa bit longer for the people of Vacuo than for RWBY+J in the Ever After (which I didn't want.) But if they were doing V10, I think they could stand to actually confirm how long they were gone in the show before they're like 'aren't you curious about what happened during all that time?'

Number one, it makes me feel like they will just brush over any time gap and have RWBYJ be like 'Well I guess it's been six months' or whatever and then move on quickly. Number two, despite caring about and liking a lot of the characters left in Vacuo, my hope is below zero for the fact that we'll see anything good or worthwhile at all.

Here are my predictions:

We'll get a minor cameo from Team SSSN and Team CFVY working with Team FNKI or something and at best Sun will ask about Blake and Nora will offhandedly say something about Blake belonging to Yang and Sun will be like 'oh, good for them.' Nora and Ren will get back together. Winter will get a ton of focus and weirdly will be like the only person really allowed to grieve for the presumed dead kids in more than a passing way. Maria and Pietro will also make a minor appearance and the anthology will say like one thing about Pietro missing Penny, but there's not gonna be any info on what happened to them out in the tundra or how they got to Vacuo. Qrow will get like a moment of acting bummed about Ruby and Yang and then Robyn will put a hand on his shoulder and Qrow will just move on. Theodore will make an appearance being 'the good member of Oz's inner circle' where he'll make some comments about never trusting Ironwood and will say something to Oz like 'it's a good thing you had those girls picking up the slack' and Oz will be like 'I know,' and they'll mention Glynda in passing. Mercury and Tyrian will be dealt with in this anthology.

And honestly, I could like all of them so much and I still wouldn't buy this because 'what Ren and Nora did in passing while Ruby was committing suicide' obviously doesn't matter as much to me as seeing Ruby actually go through the plot. And there being enough time for an 'anthology' to happen in Vacuo does damage imo to the main story because it gets consequences of V8 for Remnant and personal conflicts and moments I'd have liked to see addressed in the actual show for characters all brushed aside.

Also some people in the Discord chat I'm in mentioned that they think it's possible that the 'Beyond' portion of this is concerning.

As in, we might be getting important things like Team RWBY+J's return to Remnant and reunion with the others in this instead of waiting for V10 out of a desire to quickly tie up loose ends in the fear that V10 will never happen.

I've been on the 'V10 will probably happen but it might be the last season and probably will get rushed hardcore' train, but everything that RT does with RWBY makes me feel like V10 might not happen after all, or at the very least will only happen if the projects they make sell very well.

[theinsanecrayonbox]

FOP: A New wish e31-36

short bought here huh? that's what we get for a finale i guess. it's so weird having a whole season air in LESS THAN 2 YEARS. ahem, sorry about that ^^; lets get this party started (during a tornado watch!)...and finished a day later because i lost power with LITTERALLY 3 min left of the last episode

Episode 31: Hazel Wells and the Multiverse of Jenkins

is the title a reference? i mean aside from multiverse shenanigans, because holy wow multiverse shenanigans??? i am excite! can i get a cameo?? (please note; this is a joke, i don't seriously think i'm cool enough to be on the creative team's radar*)

wait title cardTHAT is Jenkins?? the beanpole kid with the glasses?? i remember him from the zombie episode

haha Dev's causing trouble because he can, i'm betting Jenkins doesn't have a crush on Hazel at all...and maybe Dev told him the inverse so that's why he's gonna be after her

oh Father Time, because a do-over...like Deja-Vu...eh they're keeping consistent within itself, so i can't complain *glares at s9* hehe the clock poof said "wibbly wobbly"

so many time loops. Hazel is such a disaster girl lol. but those who don't eat the cereal, even the mystical, are affected by the loop, very interesting.

we keep mentioning the daylights savings (which is back an hour, so it's fall season??? what time is it????) at the start of each loop, so i'm sure that'll be a big deal

aww sweet in one loop the hijab girl gets a crush on Hazel

her middle name is Antoinette?

heh everything in the hallway was a metaphor for Hazel's problems. but she learns her lesson with minimal magic. and ha i called it, Dev made it up to annoy her.

so...it wasn't really a multiverse thing, more a time loop.

ah, well, still a good cute short story. we need fun light and easy too. good job.

Episode 32: Growing Pains

synopsis sounds like a standard aging up plot. lets do it

hi big brother. and yay Hazel's love of horror movies returns!

hey a canon teen Hazel, that saves me time. but lol "your neck is longer" way to call out the stylization lol

hey is that Dinkleberg as the theater cashier???? also Chinfinity War poster

but teenager shenanigans montage. ok cool. more punk goth girls, this time it's Hazel. huh

pasta puberty? o...kay...it's fairy puberty...o....kay...you guys never put any other godkid who wished up their ages through this

heh pads. this show is great

and her pasta pits are working like octo-legs. why does FOP have so many Spiderman connections/themes/allusions???

dawwww such a sweet comforting, realistic talk with her parent

and a gross button to end on. eh, not so bad.

this was another fun light episode. again, minimal magic to fix it, main character learns a growing up life lesson. good stuff.

Episode 33: Fairy for a Day

synopsis sounds like the episode where Tim wishes to be Cosmo and Wanda's fairy godparent who's title i can't seem to find right now...

old Jorgen design!! and Fairy Con??? but Cosmo Con said it was held every millennium...or was that only because of how long Binky was spinning?

i would want that shirt, not gonna lie

ah she's not being an actual fairy, she's cosplaying to sneak into a con. mkay

wow, we're actually bringing up magical backup...and death memorials...what are you show? (that third one isn't me right O.o no...that doesn't look like how i've ever drawn me, but the 8s....)

Hazel don't you know never to sign contracts with the fae?? now she's a real fairy...with starry glitter hair...huh *makes superverse notes* and kids can't wish to be fairies? uh yeah they have; is that another rule Tim had made?

Anti-Hazel???? cool! why she has a backwards name though, that was unique to Peri and Irep...but i guess since they were the first *new* fairies in a bazillion years, maybe the backwards names is what the newer gen of anti-fairies is doing.

i don't have much commentary on the magic battle to get the paper back, it's pretty ok. and everything is fixed and reset to one by the end. it's a fun magical romp, good one.

Episode 34: Stuck in my Head

synopsis sounds almost like parts of Imaginary Gary???

oh Hazel, it is just a silly internet quiz, don't sweat it ^^;

ok he inner mind is a museum. both works to info dump which is eth goal, but also since she's such a bookworm and organized, it also fits-

SHE WANTS TO CREATE A COMICBOOK SERIES????? and she writes poetry? Hazel, baby girl, i love you sweet child

why was Vizolia (sp?) here?

can't wish away Hazel's mindworm huh? can't remove her negativity huh? despite...having done that before with Tim in Emotion Commotion (not that it ended well sure, but still), or Vicky Looses Her Icky, or even earlier this season with Jasmine's fears in Fearless (though i guess it just manifested the fears she still had them)

but hey, defeating it with the power of positive thinking as taught by her mom, that's a good lesson to teach. good story.

Episode 35: Mind the Gap

oh boy Tooth returns. how's her design going to be wildly different like most of returning characters...

hey follow up on Patty Possum...well sort of, we got distracted lol

oh look, Tooth has no design change. weird since we changed everyone else that's reappeared

talking teeth...ok...who speak in teeth puns

haha the line! "How'd you do X-thing? "Uh...internet?" lol i love it, 10/10 A+

ah i think i see where this is going, Toothica, being an artificial tooth is just totally fake in all her actions/words

that joke wasn't funny...especially with the pause for laughter part...maybe that was the joke?

the logistics on how a tooth sets a mouth up as a rave and invite other teeth is...dumb to unravel. so let's just marvel that the colosseum setup in Fairy World still exists

of course the bad guy outs themself and the day is saved and we reset to one. it was an ok episode.

Episode 36: The Battle of Big Wand

a double (30 min) length episode for a finale huh? and the title does sound fitting for such an event. 1 millionth wish huh/ sounds almost like something muffin worthy....which yeah, why are there so many ways to get a rule free wish when they are so no-no?? (it's almost like fae rules make no sense lol)

heh they're padding her wish count to get her to hit the goal

new math thinking meme screencap please

heh 39-40 times, because it's episode 36

oooo evil-fied Fairy World looks cool

wait, did Dev take everything over OFF SCREEN?? please tell me they'll show us how as the ep progresses via flashback, because that's some really big development to do OFF SCREEN (*grumbles about Marvel*)

ok we are getting a montage explanation...sort of. i feel like Dev taking over ad teaming up with Irep could've been an episode in itself.

Dev misnamed Wanda Pam. funny...and kinda close to Pan, which i named Blonda "Panda" after Cosmo's datebook misnaming Wanda that in Dog's Day Out...hm....

oh he's evil gloating to the world. welp, you just revealed Fairies and magic to the world at large (heh Crocker cameo, also AJ), so if he wasn't in control of the Big Wand i'm sure he'd be loosing Peri and mind wiping right about now. Dev why you slide back so hard into antagonist? you were doing so well! another episode would've helped flesh that slide, just saying

hey Patty and not-Timmy too

heh Dale just praising Dev because he's the new overlord

oh we brought up magical backup because Peri is dying. wow

Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda!

Pet Cemetery joke??? O.o Show! i love you so much

pffft thank you! everyone DID notice the magical stuff and just didn't bother pointing it out. but they did think it was weird.

gotta make some calls for backup at the commercial break huh? you gonna call in the previous wishes? or are we gonna get Timmy...

oh back to the evil lair, guess we'll find out when they attack

see Dev isn't evil and wanted world domination, he just wanted to be noticed and validated, like always. Dale wanting world domination follows

ah yeah she called in all the wishes

Anti-Fairies should love broccoli, why is that a bad thing?

dawww Peri telling Dev he loves him, Dev gives the key. he is really a good kid, just like i've been saying he doesn't know what he wants so he can't be pleased. and Cosmo even said it! dawwww

magical backup was never that fast acting before...is it sped up because the Big Wand is off so there's no syphoning to help mitigate?

so...was restoring Fairy World her rule-free wish? since it was the next wish granted?

dawwww Dev willing to take responsibility and punishment. but he is mind wiped

oh no it wasn't the next wish was auto rule-free, you have to state you're using it. and it's to let her friends remember magic...huh, that could be an interesting dynamic for a s2, the only time we've had others remember magic were when they were antagonists (Remy) or co-protagonist (Chloe). plus, with Dev mind wiped, the chance for that to get undone is also looming. so we got plot threads we can follow up on

and yes Peri, a fart joke...i do hope for a s2 too because this series was actually very fun!

i think towards the start i said this was sort of a do-over for what they tried for Chloe, and to a degree...yeah still is. you can see the shared elements, but by removing Hazel from Timmy, it made it work so much better. as i say, i actually loved Chloe but she was a huge well of missed potential, and Hazel seems to have learned from that and made it work.

i am quite ok with New Wish being the prime timeline continuation, and i hope it continues to thrive...for at least another season (we don't wanna ram it into the ground repeatedly like we did the original series after all)

[schoolnerdateen]

Teen Wolf Movie: Review

*Spoilers please be aware!*

• First of… no Stiles in this movie. We knew that, but I was hoping for a surprise cameo to happen. Unfortunately it didn’t. They mentioned him a few times though.

• We got Malia and Parrish as a couple, which I did not expect. I don’t like it, I have mixed feelings.

• I wished they had some type of location subtitle in the beginning. You know how some scenes will say “New York” and the next scene it will say “Peru?” That is what I wanted.

• It didnt take place in New York of Peru….or at least not peru that I know of

• The evil fact that we get to keep Allison (I do love her no offense) and not Derek is totally unfair!

• I literally cried at that scene. I will get to said scene soon

• coach saying Scott was Greenberg to win the lacrosse game was a good one. Coach is always funny. We stan coach on this account.

• Allison slowly and then all at once remembering everything from Lydia’s wail.

• The Jeep is still iconic. I love Eli hotwiring the Jeep.

• side note: I always joke about hot writing a car but never done it. I also don’t have the mechanical skills for that. Also cuz the scene in stitch the movie where they hot wire a car or plane thing.

• Sad that Jackson didn’t use his abilities. Would’ve been fun to see them again.

• Mr Harris (the old chemistry teacher that was used as a sacrifice in season 3) as the villian-besides Nogustine of course-was not who I expected.

• I thought it be Kate or Gerard. Or someone at least in the argent line.

• The funeral scene had me in tears. As someone who also lost my dad, I felt that pain. We also got coach at there too.

• Oh! I did not like Scott’s buzzcut/shaved hair. Unpopular opinion, but I hate Stiles’ shaved head in the beginning. Honestly, it’s a terrible look in general.

• We didn’t have Kira, but we had a new girl kitsune, which didn’t do a lot in the movie. Not like lazy, but more “not enough scenes” of her. Not a lot of character or story to her.

• My favorite part of shows moving to streaming is that they can curse. Unlike Criminal minds, they didn’t do it a lot. Oh, someone on here mentioned it felt unnatural and weird for the characters, which I agree. Some moments probably deserved it, but others didn’t feel right.

• Probably not new, but if Argent is scared then you know somethings up.

• Liam is still my favorite beta.

• I’m trying to remember everything in the last 2 hours…

• Edit: I totally forgot about Nogustine being like a werewolf hybrid! Which totally didn’t make sense. Apparently Scott bit him but I personally don’t remember anything of that happening in the movie or show.

• In a way, the ending gives off an actual spin off. I know there’s wolf pack, but that’s not a spin off. It’s just directed by Jeff too. It’s an adaptation of a book series apparently. I hate it when the articles say it’s a spin off where in reality it’s just directed by the same person.

• Edit: speaking of the ending, I didn’t like much of it. There wasn’t a lot of aftermath scenes. I’m not one of time jumps, but I did wish there was a small jumó to see how everyone is doing afterwards. Like 3 months after or something small of that sort.

• I can’t think of anything else right now

• Overall, I did like it, but at the same time, I didn’t. Someone mentioned the plot line was good, but execution wasn’t….at least paraphrasing it. And that’s what it was. Plot line: really great, Execution: not so great. So i can’t say I loved unfortunately, but it was good. But bad at the same time.

• it’s like the percy movies. Adaptation wise: terrible, outside of adaptation: really great. I love the movies. On their own it was so good, but as adaptations, not good. That’s how I feel about the movie.

[aroaceleovaldez]

Speaking of their depiction of Will's anxiety- the Stymphalian birds were specifically chosen for him, because in the myths they can only be taken down by archery. But they're saying here that Will had a traumatic experience at the hands of monsters who have historically been defeated by archers. And then he didn't dedicate himself to archery at all? For the 5+ years he's been at camp? Reverse superhero origin story where instead of vowing to fight crime as the result of a loved one's death they just never leave the house ever again

Yeah! Or music/sound (which his satyr is specifically noted to be skilled at - Woodrow teaches the music class at CHB in The Hidden Oracle), which Will also doesn't do anything with besides his sonic whistle or healing hymns (which apparently are actually just his mom's songs and not hymns) at all until that gets retconned in TSATS. Like, we know he has a sonic whistle and healing hymns, but it's kind of a specific thing that he's not as musically or archery inclined as his siblings. So why half-retcon half of that, make these birds that can specifically only be defeated by sound and archery a major part of his backstory, and then... we never get any payoff for it? He faces them again, but it doesn't go any better than it did the first time? There's no building of his character there.

Also, Stymphalian birds are actually sacred to Artemis. Yknow. Apollo's twin.

I get that TSATS was trying to cameo a lot of monsters we've seen before, but making Stymphalian birds specifically part of Will's backstory feels kind of weird and doesn't make a ton of sense? Because when we see them in SoM it's implied they were specifically sent to CHB, so why would they try to maim the random kid? Especially a son of the sibling of the goddess they're sacred to?

The only explanation I would accept is that the Stymphalian birds that attacked Will in New York were actually the ones from CHB in Sea of Monsters after they flew away, and Will just got really unlucky. But timeline-wise that actually doesn't work, cause SoM and TTC are the same year, and Nico and Will are the same age, so Will should be 10 or 11 in SoM/TTC (depending on if you accept Nico is 13 or 14 in HoO). And TSATS tells us Will arrived to CHB at age eight, which would mean he's been at CHB longer than Percy has and so the birds couldn't be the same ones from SoM. (Yes I'm still mad about the absolutely broken timeline there.) Also if they're dissuaded by noise, there's no way they're going to land in the middle of New York City of all places.

There's just other monsters they could have picked that would have made more sense. Or even mortal animals! We know from previous books that there's a thing about mortal animals sometimes having vendettas against the children of gods associated with their species for curse reasons or etc! Apollo actually has a lot of those! And it can become enough of a problem even to young demigods that it can require them to come to camp early before monsters can begin tracking them (ex.: Annabeth with spiders - monsters seemed to only become a problem after she tried coming back home the first time). Why not have it be Will being attacked consistently by normal mortal crows, because he's a son of Apollo? Or snakes - in the first book Percy even mentions fighting off two snakes when he was a baby because they were sent to kill him. I mean, Will's from Texas! We can absolutely scrounge up some snakes for him to fight. And it would fit more with acknowledging how he's from Texas specifically, just like how much the book tries to emphasize that Nico is from Venice.

It feels like one of many dropped plot points that make me say I wish TSATS had been worked on longer so that these types of things could have been ironed out and maybe turned into something consistent.