#might have to change a few panels bc i have no idea how to do them (aka the astrid fire scene. i dont think i can animate that lol) but hey

[stellarsightz]

thank you textured brushes i love you i owe you my life <3

[xblackreader]

CASTING MY OC’s: Tadeas 🦏 and Xyanza 🔱 + LORE

The Children of Okoye of Wakanda and Attuma of Talokan

+ bonus: Nashuri’s Daughter - Itzia

Tadeas - The Rhino 🦏

He was a sweet sensitive and shy boy growing up, he was very in tune with people’s emotions and how they felt. But unfortunately his parents could not shield him from the violence of the real world. When he was around 8 years old, he was out playing with the rhinos (his mother often commented how close he was to them and his father said they would be his wayob or ‘chosen animal’)

He went following the rhinos, further than he should’ve been, and witnessed a poacher group of elephant and rhino hunters. They saw him and decided to try and shoot him, they wanted ‘no witnesses’ and thought “some young African kid, just get rid of him”, his favorite rhino shielded him from the bullet and died there, roaring for Tadeas to run for his life. Tadeas ran for his father and when they went back, Attuma killed the poachers and reported it to Queen Shuri. But Tadeas was forever changed. It changed his worldview. His family gave the rhino a hero’s burial and Okoye comforted her son but noticed he did not cry anymore. He was numb. She cried to Attuma that night bc while her child was safe, those poachers had taken her innocent son. And she feared she might never see him again.

After that Tadeas focused mostly on training and feeding his rhinos. His father saw how quiet his son was these days and wanted to do something, his daughter Xyanza suggested they take him to Talokan for the first time. See, Tadeas was unable to breathe underwater. he has no gills and so he had not yet been to Talokan even at 9 years old. Though Xyanza didn’t quite see why not, she didn’t understand why she and Baba went to Talokan often but not Mama or Tadeas.

So they brought him to Talokan, and told him to stay in his room overlooking the city, glass panels giving him and other visiting Wakandans the ability to see over the city. At first he did stay put, but Xyanza said “You’re still sad… how about I sneak you out and we can go play a game with the other children!” Not knowing that normal humans will die underwater bc of the dense atmosphere. Awful idea but she was only 9.

His sister held his hand and Tadeas was able to go into the depths of Talokan. They snuck him a breathing mask and the other children of Talokan showed him lots of places, he wasn’t as good of a swimmer and they had to hold his hand, but he fell in love with Talokan. He finally smiled for the first time in months looking out at the kingdom and Xyanza was proud she had been able to make him happy again.

Meanwhile, Okoye comes back to the room to entertain her son and call for her daughter only to find that they are both gone. Under normal circumstances she would’ve been calm and okay, but she was pregnant again and had already been hesitant to bring Tadeas so deep under the surface. She screamed for her husband and Attuma came running.

They sent a search party to find the children. Namor, Namora and Attuma went themselves to look from them and found them atop a steep cliff on a trench. Attuma raced toward his son and enveloped him in a hug while the other Talokanil surrounded Tadeas like “YOURE NOT WEARING A SUIT… HOW ARE YOU ALIVE????”

So they bring him back to the Talokan Palace and he is scolded by his mother who is in tears and Xyanza is given a stern talking to, but she didn’t understand he could’ve died. Tadeas is unremorseful however, he has tears in his eyes as he tells everyone how wonderful Talokan is! Shuri does a few tests and discovers that although he is not able to breath water, he still is immune to the depths of Talokan. Now knowing that his children could both train in Talokan, His father says it’s about time his son began to train with Talokanil children, but Okoye is hesitant once more.

“Umama, please… I have not known happiness in some time. Please let me train. You trust me right?” He son said, tugging at her dress and nuzzling her hand in his hair. Had to turn up the cuteness to convince Umama.

“No. You are not old enough to be trusted with such a thing! Attuma, talk to him!”

Attuma nervously cleared his throat. “I believe it is time, Okoye. We’ve held them both off for long enough, you see how their hands long for the blade.”

“We said, we wouldn’t-“

“This illustrates not forcing them, in K’iino… he reaches for it, just as we did at their age.” Tadeas looked between his mother and father and nodded eagerly at his fathers words. “How we wanted to protect and serve.”

Okoye shook her head. “I did not know better then. I know now.”

“Mama, please!” “I forbid it!” Of course, the children eventually began to sneak out and train at late night, which made Okoye absolutely cry from worry and Attuma have to scold them even if he was in support of them training. “You will be the end of your mother if you continue to act like this. Chaac forbid it.” 

Often she would fake faint just to guilt trip them, but it stopped working when their father subtly informed them of what she was doing. Okoye glared at her husband from she laid dramatically on the bed as her children shook their heads at her. After that, she finally allowed them to train freely. Reluctantly, after she gave birth to the triplets, she recovered and a year later began to formally train in the way of the Dora the twins at 11 years old. Xyanza went to Dora camps after that.

Tadeas is very close to his little triplet sisters once they begin to talk, they latch onto him and he is often the one In charge of watching them.

He’s the oldest so he’s very often the one in charge or held responsible for hijinks. He idolizes his mother and father but mostly wants to fully emulate his father. He’s a bit jealous that his sisters can breathe water and not him.

His skills include: swimming (he had to train to swim like a Talokanil, it didn’t come naturally) holding his breath for up to 10 minutes, battle ax combat, espionage, long range combat, night vision (all children of both talokan, and Wakanda were given night vision by Bast and Chaac as a gift of unity)

Xyanza - The Eel 🐍

When she was born she had gills and could breathe water as well as air. I’d on the battle field, you’ll often find her in a body con suit that changes color with her surroundings. She is known as the eel for her swimming ability and stealth.

She was able to go to Talokan and stay there for days or even weeks while her brother had to stay home until he turned 14 and he could come unsupervised.

She’s the bleeding heart (very similar to her auntie Nakia) she was Namor’s little grand baby when he would hang around them all the time. She was the sweetest baby and her mother and father predicted she would be sly and cunning. She is a master of stealth even if she is 5’11 and close to 150 pounds. She towered over her mother by the time she turns 15 and Okoye be like “🤨 you think you can beat my ass?” And Xyanza is like “mom, chill, I just asked what’s for dinner…” “I DO NOT SERVE YOU EEL�� “Umama be CALM”

She is a good friend of Itzia as well as trains with the Dora often. She and her brother were close until he began to become vindictive and angry as a teenager, they still have their sibling moments but it’s hard for them to be friends with their opposing views.

“Xyanza… your brother still loves you of course… how could he not?”

“He has become so dark and closed off, Mama… I do not even recognize him anymore.” Xyanza weeps into Okoye’s arms. She misses her brother, she misses her best friend.

“He is going through things he must navigate himself. But his love for you has not stopped. He is blinded by rage right now. It happens to the best of us. Do not cry for he is not gone.” :((

She a thickly thick broad too. Very popular with all the youth of Talokanda. Wide hips, lil waists but built! She is STACKED! Call her the Willow smith bc her parents are powerful and she’s a bad bitch.

She very much is an icon in their kingdom, people wear her clothing and suck up to her a lot but it’s not difficult bc she is a sweetheart, though very competitive. When she’s being normal think Ty Lee but when she’s in a competition or match off she turns full on Azula. She’s smart as a whip and very easy to fall for. She has some of her fathers features but her face is her mamas. The side eyes and stank faces are completely her mothers.

She trained for many years as a Dora. And her mother was excited to think her daughter would follow in her footsteps but Xyanza is not the girl to be an obedient soldier. She questions authority and is steadfast in her personal beliefs.

She still has not told her mother she doesn’t want to be a Dora. Her mother is the Head of Border Defense and General of the Midnight Angels… how can she tell her nationalist African mother that she wanted to be a spy/war dog?

Her skills include: swimming (Talokanil, Contorting her body (Eel) Night vision (Talokanil) Camouflage, close range combat) Think Ty Lee from Avatar TLAB

Itzia - The Clawed Serpent 🪽

She’s a goofball fr, he relationship with her mom isn’t the tightest but she still loves her and knows her mother loves her too.

She’s much closer to her father, or she was until he began to push her away when she turned around 13… she doesn’t know why (see this post for the reason) and instead turns her attention to her closest friends, Tadeas and Xyanza for her chosen family. She’s a massive rebel and a bad influence.

She will not do what she’s told, she don’t give a fuck that her dad is the godking of Talokan and her mother is the black panther and queen. She definitely gives “I didn’t ask for this life” but she’s truly the life of the party.

She’s got namor’s trademark wolf smile, pointed ears and winged feet but besides that she absolutely her mother’s daughter. @mickimomo maybe she’s tight with her auntie ora and auntie oni 👀👀

Her skills include: lesbianism/rizz, flight, superhuman strength, Siren song of Pathos (think blue Diamond), Night vision (All Talokandan children), She has a good lie detector in her brain

TBC 👀 for more info click here

[spicysix]

「eddie munson X gn!reader • roadtrip!AU」

2.1k words | prev | next | masterlist | ao3 warnings/author's note: there's a fair in this chapter. i have no idea how fairs work, fwi. also, the fair already existed but we don't know how it went in 1986. i based the (barely mentioned) atractions off the ones on the fair's official website. google is my best friend ♡ also: i was supposed to update only at tuesdays but i might... change that 👀 cause i'm too anxious. anyway this one came earlier bc first chapter had basically no plot moving at all so here's a treat! ♡

Wednesday, July 23

Eddie Munson was not an easy one to convince, that you had found out.

He tried pulling your bag out of his van, he tried pushing you back into your trailer, he tried being mean and rude and grumpy. But he just didn’t know how persistent — your grandma would call it ‘stubborn’ — you were.

So after some more bickering, there you were at the right window seat of his van, that damp sticky wind of summer in your face as Indiana passed you by.

He asked about a hundred times if you were sure you wanted to come, said you had no idea what you were getting into, and didn’t go into detail at any point but really tried to scare you away. Stopped asking once you passed the ‘Leaving Hawkins’ sign and you still showed no signs of changing your mind.

There were two bags, his beloved guitar and a fucking mattress in the back of the van. The back of the van, by the way, that you knew that up until March still had at least one or two rows of benches, but was now bare to open up space for said mattress. Did Eddie really think you had no idea what he was up to? Did Eddie really think it looked like he was just going for a ride to Main Street’s Melvald’s? Did Eddie really think he could disguise the fact that he was fleeing town?

Not like you were going to judge him, if that was his fear. Hawkins was already unkind to him before framing him for murder, but after the whole Vecna thing and Jason Carver’s witch hunt, it was even harder for him to be treated like anything but a rabid contagious animal. In your opinion, he was rightful by wanting to leave behind a place that harmed him in so many ways.

But you also knew that Hawkins wasn’t the only one to treat Eddie unfairly. You knew he did it himself too.

And yet, there you were with him, fleeing town, in the most unprompted — your grandma would call it ‘reckless’ — adventure of your life. Running away with Eddie Munson, a guy you knew barely anything about, only because the thought of him running away alone was too heavy for you to bear.

The ride after the ‘Leaving Hawkins’ sign was completely silent if not for a tape he had on, but it was set to a very low volume — uncommon of him if the trailer neighbors’ complaints were to say something. He said nothing about where you were going, if he even knew where you were going. It was around four PM when you recognized the outskirts of a city you had seen only once, many years ago.

“Are we in Chicago?” you asked, and he hummed.

“Not to stay, though. Wanna go further. Gonna stop at a gas station.” He was like a savage man talking in few words, his face still contorted in a grimace. Obviously still unpleased you joined him.

You just gave your okay — not like he needed it — and looked through your window as you left Chicago behind before he stopped at a gas station right outside the metropolitan area. You checked the panel, tank was full.

“Gonna buy some stuff, you going?” Eddie asked, and you just left the van as an answer.

He went inside the convenience store, but you clocked in a payphone and went straight to it, searching for dimes in the front pocket of your bag. Luckily, you had the Mayfield’s number memorized, and it wasn’t long before your friend’s voice greeted you.

“Mayfield’s, this is Steve Harrington talking.”

“Steve! It’s me! Listen, I had an… occurrence.”

“Oh hey,” he said your name in recognition. “What do you mean? You sound suspicious.”

“I may or may not have fled the city with Eddie.”

“Is this a prank?”

“You wish. I was just leaving Max when I saw him loading up his van, and I just felt it in my gut that he was running away. And, I dunno, my conscience told me to come with.”

“So you… ran away with Munson, is that what I’m hearing? Are you even close friends?”

“Yep, that’s what you’re hearing. And nope, we’re not close at all. I just couldn’t let him come alone.”

“What the fuck, where are you even going?” He was distressed, and you heard Max’s ironic ‘language’ in the background before he shushed her.

“I don’t know, Steve. But we trust him, right. Nothing bad’s gonna happen, but what if he had left alone and we just didn’t know where he was going? I don’t think he told anyone, maybe you should check? He’s kinda pissed that I tagged along, but I’ll win him over in no time.”

“Sure you will.” You ignored him, not sure if he was being sarcastic or genuine.

“Dustin’s heart would’ve broke if Eddie just ran off without saying. At least I can tell you guys where we are. Promise to send you news!”

“Yeah, you damn better! Jesus, you’re completely insane. Listen-”

“Oh, Steve, gotta go, he’s coming back, I’ll keep you updated, bye!” You gave him no time to answer before hooking the phone back as Eddie walked in your direction, not sparing you a glance and checking something on the receipt as he spoke:

“Got some food, drinks ‘n stuff. Let’s go,”

He also didn’t wait for your answer before returning to the van, and you just went after him. He tossed the plastic bags on the bench between you, and you pried on the goods. There was a full US roads map, some chips, protein bars, chocolate treats, a few cans of soda. And two postcards of Chicago. You took them out of the bags and inspected them carefully.

“Mine’s for Wayne. You can do whatever with the other one.” His voice was still gruff with annoyance, but he looked at you from the corners of his eyes and you thought you’d seen a sparkle there.

You smiled to yourself. You’d win him over in no time.

── ⇌ • ○ • ⇋ ──

Sun was starting to set as you crossed the Mississippi River from Rock Island, Illinois, to Davenport, Iowa. Eddie kept going further and further until you were almost leaving the city, and something caught your eye.

“Look!” You pointed at the commotion on his side of the road, drawing his attention.

“A fair,” he observed, and the van was suddenly going slower.

“Think we should go?” He huffed at your question but didn’t deny you. Didn’t say anything for a while. You thought that was a clear no, but after a few more minutes of driving around you realized he was parking the van near other RVs and some camping tents.

“As good as any,” he mumbled before getting out. You got your bag and left the van as well. “Gonna pay for the camping, you can go get us tickets.”

You just nodded and found your way to the fair entrance, a nice arch-type building with the words ‘Mississippi Valley Fair’ and people taking pictures in front of it. It was a big deal, apparently. You had only gone to a fair once, many years ago, and didn’t remember much because you were too young. But all the lights, noise, talking, and laughter were riling you up. And you were thankful Eddie listened to your suggestion.

Tickets paid for, you waited just a few more minutes before Eddie showed up. You handed over his ticket and he nodded in gratitude before the two of you headed in.

There were a lot of people. The place seemed to be constructed specifically to host the fair, and the mixed accents around you confirmed the thought that it was a big deal, people from other cities and states coming to see it in person. A few signs and ads were pointing at specific places, areas and attractions, and you were overwhelmed in the best of ways.

“Where do we even start?” you asked Eddie and he shrugged.

“Bathroom.” And, again, didn’t wait for you before following a sign pointing at a restrooms area. You rolled your eyes, but there was no real irritation behind it.

He was like a feral kitten. You had to go in carefully, understand why he was so wary, make him trust you. You were willing to be patient.

So you followed him to the restrooms area with a joyful skip on your walk.

── ⇌ • ○ • ⇋ ──

Eddie was actually much more fun than he led on initially.

He paid for your hot dogs, yelled loudly in the Viking boat and elbowed you until you threw your arms up with him. Didn’t give you a single second of peace on the bumper cars. Made your belly hurt from so much laughter. At the small zoo, he gave the goats some grass to eat, and mimicked their baaa’s for the children watching to giggle at. You won him a goat plushie at one of the games and he looked proud and actually grateful.

It wasn’t all at once, of course. He opened up to you — slowly, but he did it. You won him over, and by the fireworks show at the end of the fair, his shoulder was pressed to yours in the middle of the bustling crowd and you could feel the tip of his pinky grazing over the tip of your pinky.

It was so easy to simply let go into this headspace where you forgot what you were doing, forgot where you were going, forgot that you were running. You went back to the camping grounds side by side, popsicles in hands, hairs damp with sweat and the moon bright over your heads. But you still felt it — in yourself and exhaling from Eddie in cold waves —, that it was coming to an end, that you were slipping back into the bittersweet reality of things, that you were remembering.

“Wake time tomorrow?” you asked as Eddie opened the van’s back doors and searched for something in one of his bags. He looked at his wristwatch — probably your alarm clock for the next day — before answering.

“Uh… eight? Wanna leave around nine.”

“Okay. You know where we’re headed next?” He eyed you from over his shoulder before shaking his head in a negative answer.

“Wait a second.” He went inside and closed the doors, and you looked around at the people leaving or making up their own camps. He didn’t take long, and soon opened the doors, changed into more comfortable clothes. Behind him, the bags and guitar case were tucked neatly by the side wall of the van, and the mattress had sheets on and two pillows. “You can go in and change, knock on the door once you’re ready.”

You nodded and went inside, quickly changing into something comfortable to sleep in after using some wet wipes under your arms, on your neck, chest and feet. You should’ve asked Eddie if he wanted some too. There was no way you’d be skipping a shower the next day.

You knocked on the door and were surprised that Eddie came in through the front door instead of the back one, grabbing one of the pillows on the mattress and getting himself ready to sleep on the front bench. You showed him the wipes, but he denied them with a quiet thanks before punching his pillow in and lying down. You couldn’t see him anymore. The goat plushie was on top of the dashboard, facing and looking through the windshield, a silent safeguard.

Lying down as well and grabbing the sheet neatly folded by the edge of the mattress, you covered yourself and sighed. It took a while until you were feeling sleepy, some lights outside still on — and the moon was very bright.

“Are you sure you’re still up for this? I could get you back, we’re not that far,” he practically whispered after a while, and you wouldn’t have listened if you weren’t so quiet yourself.

“We’re far away enough, Eddie. And I’m very sure,” you promised, and silence reigned again.

You stared at the back of the front bench for a while until you noticed Eddie’s breathing slow down and go steady and deep, showing that he had fallen asleep. Only then you closed your eyes, smell of popcorn still strong under your nose, and drifted off to sleep. Dreams of a Ferris wheel, you, a mop of wavy hair beside you and Metallica blasting somewhere in the distance.

taglist (is open!): @amira0303 @rupsmorge

[corfisers]

Same anon here and please, pop off about ryuuzaki, anytime. Especially paralleled to Doumeki. I was rereading vol 5 and 6 (let me tell you that I needed that bc I'm so dumb that this is the first time that I noticed that the yakuza who was caught having sex with Y and expelled HAS A SCAR IN THE SAME CHEEK AS D. I lost my mind,,,,) and in the official translation of my country there a difference that made me connect by contrast R and D.

In the eng trl that you can find online, when Y and R talk in the police car after R was rescued (and arrested), R first thinks "if you were a women, I would have protected you" and this is the same in my copy of the manga BUT a few pages later in my version R thinks "if I died, I wouldn't want him to know" and "if he protects me, I can't take care of him" VS "you'll find out over my dead body!" and "I can't believe he is the one protecting me!" in the eng vers.

The meaning may be somewhat the same but DAMN, the feeling behind it is radically heavier in my version.

I like better my country's version just because at the beginning of vol 6 when doumeki realises that he has been left behind and finds the two cleaners, the same words came up. D says "take me to the boss because I am the only one who can protect me, you wouldn't be able to" and the cleaner scoffs at him "you are the one who is been protected" -and that is the same in the online eng translation. That's something good to chew on, at least for me.

THAT SAID (I am very verbose, I am sorry), tysm for your in depth response at my last ask, it was a super good read and after thinking about it, I agree to your points. Especially because kou Yoneda is a master of silent storytelling, I'm always in awe of her use of silent panels. Her pure visual storytelling is where the worst sucker punches come from. Sometimes more subtle than others, you are right about that, but still very very much a storytelling choice.

hi anon, i'm glad you enjoyed my reply to your last ask, and thank you for giving me more food for thought! i do want to talk about ryuzaki at some point, both in general and specifically the parallels between him and doumeki. i'd need to reread some parts to refresh my memory and take a closer look at him first tho. ryuzaki's one of the characters who i wasn't paying super close attention to initially, but he grew on me over time, in a weird way. like moss

putting some stuff regarding translation and other things under read more (for my poor followers' dashboard experiences sake)

i looked at the original text for the part you're talking about, and i want to say that the translation you have in your version is closer to the original. it's something like "if i died, i wouldn't want him to know [about the stupid thoughts i had back then]" in reference to ryuzaki wanting to protect yashiro if he was a woman. no idea how to put the other sentence nicely in english (the one about how ryuzaki can't take care of yashiro if he's the one being protected), but again, your version seems to be more accurate, and it nicely parallels the part with doumeki. also worth noting that ryuzaki isn't exactly throwing "!" in his internal monologue here at the end of the sentences, and in the drama cd for that part he sounds pretty calm and i guess just… sad. i've noticed some punctuation changes in the translation before and they shift the tone slightly, guess it's one of those cases. wish i had junemanga's translation on hand, but i can't buy it because my country sucks (might ask a friend to buy me the digital version at some point, but idk if it's worth it since there's a lot of mistranslations in it based on what i've seen)

all that being said, my japanese isn't exactly great, neither is my english if we're being honest, so while i can point out and check some things here and there i am definitely not an expert when it comes to translation and i'm only like 70% confident in what i'm saying. just wanted to talk about this because you made me curious and i never bothered to compare the texts for this part before. and i still really appreciate all the work actual translators put in, even if there are some inconsistencies or differences here and there

moving on from the translation stuff - if you get involved with yashiro in some way i guess you're destined to get a cut on the cheek, because nanahara got one recently as well. we only see yashiro slapping the band-aid over it, so idk how the actual cut looks and there might be nothing much to it, but it's still a neat little detail

don't have much to say regarding the visual story telling, i agree with you, it's great, some of the best pages have no words on them, i'm obsessed with yoneda kou's art and she's been a huge inspiration for me since i got into saezuru. love her work so so so much

but yeah, uh, thank you again for the ask, both the previous and this one, i love having an excuse to blabber about saezuru or go look at specific scenes/chapters! going to think real hard about ryuzaki and try to organize my thoughts about him and write up something in the future

[murdermusicandmagic]

I live reacted to my first watch of Succession by writing in my notes app. Here is season 2:

Tom seeing Shiv “observing”: WHOS THE HOT INTERN

roman texting gerri “i’m going to kill myself”

shiv is so fucking smart it’s so hot “well, jess, so kendall, but also karolina and colin? what’s going on, gerri?”

greg saying “business open relationship” and tom Literally Crying

every scene of the roys growing to respect greg makes me emo

a shot of shiv laughing at roman looking more like sarah laughing at kieran

the way the intro features more imagery of shiv ie the one iirc new image of young shiv with her father looming behind her bc she’s the heir apparent this season

“penis cat”

and what the FUCK is the point of marcia

tom and shiv = adhd husband autistic wife

god big dinner scenes are FASCINATING. this dinner with the pierces is genius

THE SHOT OF SHIV FROM BEHIND WHILE THEYRE TALKING ABOUT THE TAKEOVER oh she’s GONNA find the fuck out and she knows it it’s just a matter of how soon

SIOBHAN. OH MY GOD. i swear i NEVER know what’s going on in her head she might have no idea what she’s doing, or she might know EXACTLY what she’s doing.

roman being the guy who fucks around and drinks too much but he actually Can’t fuck around

poor shiv looks like her heart is fucking broken Logan is a piece of shit. she’s trying so goddamn hard to thrive in this environment but no one can do it honey not even you. it’s not your fault

at 41:44 in S2E6 “Argestes,” Sarah’s lips say “How’s Nan?” but the ADR says “What about Nan?” Just an interesting factoid. 

roman calling tom shiv’s boyfriend as a dig like he wasn’t watching his rocket explode at their wedding

roman and shiv going at each other and kendall is in the back like are you kidding me god they’re so fucked LMAO

putting all three of them on the panel is actually a fucking insane move on logan’s part has he fucking MET them

also the way the interviewer doesn’t have to say a THING they’re fucking it all on their own

“we hear for you now” cutiepie

kendall “DON’T FUCKING TOUCH HIM” brothers <3

I miss season 1 shiv and her big sweaters and long hair but I do understand the haircut and vibe change was necessary

i feel like we don’t talk about enough that her name is fucking shiv

i can’t think about teenage shiv or i will throw up from sadness. little 18-year-old shiv and her cute little face fighting with her mom who doesn’t want her at christmas,,,,,i’ll kill myself

also the scene at the end of “safe room” where kendall cries in front of shiv and she just wants him to talk to her but he can’t…..i’m fucking crying

arguments between all four of them are always. so fucking funny.  and always end in shiv being so sick of her brothers and just in general men. in that line actually shiv being both the youngest AND only girl is something that is so personal to me im obsessed with her

a bit of a gregxit. also can’t make a tomlette without breaking a few gregs 

WHY IS KENDALL RAPPING. shiv nearly crying laughing AND recording. L to the you need to stop this

gregs fucking vacation clothes

SAILS OUT NAILS OUT

are tom and shiv gonna have a fucking threesome

shiv has absolutely CACKLED multiple times in this episode and it’s been 15 minutes. i hope she never stops it’s precious

WE COULD TALK ABOUT…….OUR FEELINGS

their bare dogs……just out……all the time……

siobhan roy bisexual confirmed???? 

i cannot believe tom wambsgans deprived me of seeing shiv roy kiss a girl i’ll never forgive him

actually shivs soft little vacation outfit is so season 1 of her

i know that comment that i read about shiv picking the winner but i actually have no plausible idea of where this is going and im very scared about it. but i love it so much

i can’t wait to read a MILLION metas about shiv and tom’s relationship 

the no real person involved thing is actually fucking bonkers insane

oh i forgot about shiv and roman complaining about british snacks in a convenience store i love them

[celestial-ringleader]

I’m not done ranting about ToM, I just finished reading the damn thing and holy shit I’m fuming.

1) It says Pietro is supposed to be there, but he’s not shown AT ALL in the entire issue, not even in background shots. There was one (1) panel I saw where he might be there, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s listed as one of the main characters. Honestly what the fuck is marvel’s problem with Pietro at this point?? JP got more attention and even then he was only there for like a page or two and then promptly shoved into the background.

2) AND SPEAKING OF MARVEL’S PROBLEM WITH PIETRO WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SUPPOSED TO MEAN??

“You sound just like my brother” FUCK OFF WITH THAT. ACTUALLY FUCK OFF WITH THAT WILLIAMS. There is countless evidence out there that Pietro loves and cares for his sister, he would never talk down to her like that. If you ignore the shit writing he’s been getting over the past few years, he’s not this controlling asshole who would tell his sister that she deserves to have people be afraid of her. Even as shit as HoM was, all he wanted was for her to be able to live her life and not be killed by their supposed friends.

And to drive this home, PIETRO WAS NEVER EVER AFRAID OF WANDA. NEVER.

3) Continuing off this picture, why in the actual fuck are Tommy and Billy treating Wanda this way? Williams either forgot about Children’s Crusade or just didn’t bother reading it in the first place bc she would’ve known that this is OOC for both of the Minimoffs. And what happened to Tommy in the last few issues of this damn event, first he was calling her “mommy” and now he’s like “this is why everyone’s afraid of you”??? What the fuck happened?? Was it the plant people???

4) The title of this comic even is Trial of Magneto, he featured heavily on covers leading up to and into this event. Why is he not the focal point anymore? Why did this become a comic dedicated to bashing Wanda for shit that happened in 2015 again? And why is there no fucking trial? We were promised magnet family shit and we got this instead, no one has truly confronted Erik, the Maximoffs barely got any good panels, and the one time we saw Pietro being spiteful was in the first issue and then he was written out of it. Also Lorna barely got any good moments either despite her taking up a lot of the first book. How do you fuck up a good angst opportunity this fucking bad, Leah Williams?

5) Wanda looks too much like her white-washed MCU counterpart here and I fucking hate it. And I blame w*ndav*sion for it entirely. Not only did we get her back with Vision for some reason, but now we’re left wondering wtf happened with her and Jericho. And now she looks like MCU Wanda and I hate it so much. Bring back her curly hair and dark skin for the love of god, she’s a Romani woman and always has been.

6) Also turning a Romani woman into a boogeyman scape goat. Great. My favorite. That’s totally not racist on top of the other ableist shit here, but whatever. (I’m being sarcastic)

To sum up my thoughts, this event started out interesting but it’s very clear no one in the writers room had any idea what to do with it and instead decided to bring back HoM drama and throw in some random kaiju into the mix and hope fans would eat it up. And no, no one’s happy about this shit. Also to anyone who’s saying that the two panels of Remy and Rogue were good enough to make up for the comic, actually get some standards please. That’s two panels surrounded by a mess, I’m not gonna thank Williams for scraps if it’s surrounded by bullshit.

This comic was a mess and I hope that when it ends it’s promptly forgotten. Also I hope Williams never touches any of the Magnet family again.

[cynassa]

I am going to comic con tomorrow and you follow DC comics closer than I do. Jim Lee has a panel and I am only familiar with some of his art. Do you know anything about him as publisher?

Hello anon! I hope you enjoy Comic Con!! I've never been and I'm so jealous. I hope I saw this when you sent it, because Tumblr continues to be a hot mess.

Idk how helpful I can be, I'm not fond of Jim Lee in any sort of creative control position tbh. He's done some wildly interesting stuff as an artist, including Hush, some bits of Gotham Knight, and I used to follow WildC.A.T.s way back when, so it really isn't nice to have to say that he should have stayed in his lane. But. He really should have.

Short summary of his career as a publisher/creative editor because I don't know how much you know: Image Comics was formed in 1992 and Jim Lee joined them to create WildStorm. Lee then sold it to DC in 1998 but continued to exert some amount of editorial control from time to time. God knows how much or when, because he is all over the place with it. (This is a theme with him. He was supposed to collab with Grant Morrison on WildC.A.T.s in this period but that fizzled out I guess?) You might have read Warren Ellis' The Authority, which was one of my absolute favorites, and was one of the few good things to come from this.

Now, in 2010, when DiDio took charge, Jim Lee was named co-publisher with him. At the same time, Wildstorm got shelved. And after that is when shit hit the fan imo.

I've got two major issues with him, and one minor gripe which I am putting under a readmore bc no one wants that naked on their dash lmao.

Major Issue 1. The New 52. I'm not going to go on a rant here, because we all have our own opinions about the New 52, and it was what it was. The thing is, Dan DiDio keeps getting blamed for it (rightfully, the abusive, predator-shielding asshole) but Jim Lee was also there!! Because DiDio was a loudmouth who kept giving his opinions whether or not they were asked for, everyone forgets that this was Jim Lee's idea too. And when Johns was booted in 2018, he was Chief Creative Officer too. Either he was fully onboard and had no fucking clue that they at least should tell the writers what backstory their characters have, or he was just.... MIA. Too busy dealing with Batpenis, maybe.

In the last 2 years since Jim Lee got complete creative control, sales of DC stuff have tanked, continuities now make no sense, and I don't read Green Lantern but from what I've heard, they still haven't recovered entirely from the Geoff Johns/DiDio/Jim Lee era. The usual suspects blame 'wokeness' for it, but that's absolute nonsense. I will not get into what I think the real problems are, but there we go. Jim

Major Issue 2: DC killed WildStorm. I don't know if they intended to, or whether they never bothered reading a single comic before buying it up and trying to grab Alan Moore any way they could. I'm just going to quote Bleeding Cool's summary from 2010 here:

Minor Gripe: He keeps trying to shove together WildStorm and DC legacy characters. It doesn't work, they don't need to share an universe, and if this is what he wanted to do, why did he try to go for creator-owned comics in the first place. The New 52 reboot of backstories was the worst in many ways, but making WildC.A.T.s characters share the same universe as the actual Justice League was........... A Choice.

Mark Millar would grab news headlines around the world and cause Paul Levitz to personally intervene, changing dialogue and finished art because they offended his sensibilities. It would cost editor John Layman his job. Mark left for Marvel and went exclusive. He would not write for DC or Wildstorm again.

Alan Moore wrote a number of books for Wildstorm, including WildCATS and then his ABC line. DC just managed to keep Moore on board by the skin of their teeth when buying the company, and indeed he would do his first work for hire for DC in ages on the Albion book as a result. However conflict, especially over V For Vendetta and League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen with Paul Levitz would see him leave, taking League with him. It would cost editor Scott Dunbier his job. Moore would not write for DC or Wildstorm again.

[that-thing-that-feeling]

Beyond being a Jancy stan I have two big issues with them ending the show not together: one, it reinforces the tired idea of "women who want careers need to be single to succeed", which is bullshit; and two, with them presenting the main conflict as Jonathan struggling to leave his family and go to a fancy college, he and Nancy breaking up over it would basically be telling the audience that Jonathan can't be good enough for Nancy because he's poor and has trauma due to childhood abuse.

Good points. I was just guessing atm what I think might happen; it could change as we get more Duffers quotes (like if they do any Emmy interviews, SAG panels and such)

But I think Natalia was saying she’d kinda like to just see Nancy on her own for a bit; I don’t necessarily think going to college single means they’d be showing you can’t have a career and relationship. It would mean she’d date some people in college and imo they’d find a way back to each other. Although prob what would happen is every ship with her would hc who she ends up with in a few yrs (which might be the other reason they do it—to sort of avoid making a writing choice and leaving it open).

That other point is interesting: I mean I guess that would depend on if they show any of Jonathan confronting his trust issues and trauma in s5. Like I think he might feel like he can leave, bc of Hopper and especially if they have Jonathan have a talk with Joyce over all of this. It’s still unclear to me if he didn’t want to go to Emerson really bc it is “chasing a dream that isn’t mine” or if he was more worried about his family. I mean it seemed like both. They could have him go to NYU in the end, or some place else if they really have trouble affording it. Ig they could make it Emerson really is his dream school; it just goes agst what he’s said and it doesn’t help they didn’t show us how they decided on it. But it’s true, if they had them break up and leave for college single, they’d need to really get at why. Like right now, I think a bunch of things from Jonathan’s pov abt future plans were confusing.

[pascalpanic]

Fixer Upper PART ONE (Frankie Morales x f!Reader)

Summary: Nothing seems to go right in your new house. When yet another thing breaks, a certain handyman comes to your rescue.

W/C: 2k ish

Warnings: language, joking mentions of a house being cursed (it isn’t), reader has dirty thoughts bc it’s Frankie and he’s hot

A/N: this one goes out to my anons who’ve been sending me stuff about frankie as a repairman! I loved the idea and I thought it would be super fun to write! This will be part ONE of three-ish! ps idk if any references to reader’s gender are in this part but there certainly will be some in the future so.

It’s been a while that you’ve lived in this house. Since that day you hauled in the cardboard boxes, you’ve been feeling that your life is the epitome of Murphy’s law. Or rather, this damned house is.

Nothing ever goes right. The heat breaks in the winter and the air conditioning breaks in the summer. The plumbing needs work when you need it to work, and the oven only ever breaks halfway through cooking something. Seriously, you swear this place is cursed by some hex determined to pester you out of living here.

You’ve never exactly been the handy type. You don’t know much about mechanics, heating or cooling, the electricity and wiring in your house, any of it. By now, you wish you’d taken the time to learn it at some point rather than hiring someone every time.

The first sign was that the June heat seemed inescapable. You’d been outside all day, and you figured it was just your body taking its time to adjust to the cooler, indoor temperature. Then you never cooled down. When you stepped out of the bathroom after a shower and found the air to be nearly as muggy as that of the steamed bathroom, you realized that the air conditioning must be off.

Well, it was on. The problem was that it wasn’t working. You opened all the windows, and figured the night breeze would cool you, then you became worried about serial killers and crimes and promptly shut and locked all of them again. With the fan in your bedroom on, the air at least moved, but was still thick and heavy.

In the morning, when you wake with no blankets on and sweaty sheets, you dial the repair company as fast as you can. You inform them of the situation, and they tell you they’ll send someone out your way in the next hour or two.

The air is still somewhat cool outside, so you give the front porch a shot once you get changed out of your pajamas and take yet another cool shower. The heavy dew is an indicator of just how humid the air is, and you relish every little breeze that passes by and cools you down. You conduct your morning business outside, hoping to have this problem fixed before the sun reaches a height where the temperatures will rise exponentially.

About an hour after the call, the repair van rolls up into your driveway and parks. “Thank God,” you murmur to yourself.

Your focus returns to your computer, but you hear the door slam shut and look up to find the repairman there. He wears khaki cargo pants and a gray t-shirt, complete with a ball cap on top, with dark brown curls peeking out from the bottom. He fastens his tool belt around his waist as he walks up to the porch. “Hey there. I’m Frankie. I’ll be taking care of you today,” he informs you, a kind smile on his face. You already like him. “I got the basics from the boss, but can you tell me more about the problem?”

Looking up at him from the seated position you’re in, you give an awkward smile. Suddenly, you wish you’re better dressed, fixed up and looking nice. Even in work clothes, this man is beautiful. It makes you a little nervous, you in your pajamas and him looking like a god even in cargo pants. “I wish I could, but I don’t know anything about the air conditioner and how it works other than how to change the settings. All I know is that it isn’t working.”

He gives a good-natured chuckle, a soft bounce of his chest beneath the shirt. He looks down at his tool belt and his scruff brushes against the collar of the gray. “Well, let’s go give it a shot. I’ll need you to show me around, show me the control panel and the main system.” God, he’s handsome.

“Oh, of course,” you nod and stand, leaving your laptop on the small table. “Well, right this way. And please, you don’t need to take your boots off. Those look complicated,” you laugh as you look at the heavy tan boots at the bottom of his body.

Frankie nods and looks around as you lead him through the house. He doesn’t take his boots off, since you insisted, but he does give them a generous wipe on the doormat, careful not to track anything in. “It’s a beautiful place,” he tells you honestly, with a half-smile that just tugs at one of the corners of his ridiculously soft-looking lips.

“Thanks,” you shrug and show him to the control panel. “I try. Okay, here’s the button thingy.”

“The button thingy?” he teases, which leads to laughter from the both of you.

“If I knew what it was called, you wouldn’t be here,” you tease him back and shake your head.

Frankie uses the tools from his belt to take off the casing. You lean against the wall as he works, admiring the way his hands nimbly check the wires and paneling behind it. He holds a small flashlight between his teeth to look into the wall cavity.

“I can hold that for you,” you offer, and he moves his mouth for you to take it from him.

“Thanks,” he says, popping his jaw slightly to adjust from the awkward angle of holding it between his teeth. “You don’t have to. I’m just here to fix it.”

You point it at the same spot. “I might as well be some help, considering I don’t know shit about my own house.”

Frankie laughs at that, stealing a glance your way that makes your face warm before his gaze returns to the electrical situation. “Well,” he declares after a few seconds. “The wiring must not be the problem here. This all is working fine, so it must be with the actual system.”

“Great,” you groan. “The part I know even less about.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” he chuckles and screws the panel back into place on your wall, making sure everything works properly and he didn’t mess with any functions.

Leading Frankie to your basement, you show him the cluttered laundry room and the central air conditioning unit. He’s already analyzing the system, and you back off to let him work. He looks focused. “Holler if you need me,” you tell him as he gets on his knees to look at something, daring to gently pat his shoulder. It’s strong, muscular beneath your palm.

Heading back to the kitchen, you open the fridge and sigh. For a moment, you allow yourself to close your eyes and just enjoy the cold air it produces. Hopefully, your house will be the same soon enough. Grabbing two tall glasses, you fill each with ice before pouring half sweet tea and half lemonade into the glasses.

You stand in the kitchen with the freezer open, sighing at the cool air it provides. Not sure how long he’ll take, you scroll through your phone. It’s surprisingly quick, you find.

“Hey, I found it!” Frankie calls from the basement.

Carrying the two glasses, you return to the laundry room to find him reorganizing his tool belt. “Here,” you tell him with a smile as you hold out the drink. “Least I could do. It’s unbearable in here.”

“Thanks,” he smiles and lifts the glass to you in a miniature salute before taking a sip. Frankie then launches into a detailed explanation of the issue with the A/C unit, using all kinds of terms you don’t understand and mentioning parts you didn’t even know were included in the machine. “I got it all fixed up, though, and it shouldn’t take long before it’s working just as good as normal.”

You sigh in relief, swallowing the sweet drink and smiling at him. “God, thank you so much. You don’t even know how awful it was in here.”

“If it’s anything like right now, I do,” he chuckles. The man takes the hem of his t-shirt and lifts it to wipe his face, revealing a muscular but soft body beneath it, with a beautiful little trail of dark hair leading to beneath his belt. Is it terrible that your first thought is that you want to lick it?

You force the image from your mind with another swig of the drink. “Yeah, just about. Well, how much do I owe you?” You ask the man, leading him out of the laundry room and into the basement that’s already feeling cooler.

“Oh, nothing right now,” he shakes his head as you lead him upstairs and to the kitchen. “I just tweaked some things for you, didn’t need any parts or anything, so it’s just gonna be labor.” He seems to remember something. “Ah, shit. I gotta have you sign something. I’ll grab the paper from the van and be right back,” he tells you and leaves his drink on the counter, half-jogging outside.

While he’s outside, you lean against the cool kitchen counter and let yourself daydream. This Frankie guy certainly is attractive, and his personality is definitely something you’re interested in. What if the situation right now played out like a porno, and he fucked you on the countertop? You certainly wouldn’t complain. You noticed his hands and feet are large. Certainly he must be big somewhere else too. “Oh Jesus Christ,” you murmur to yourself. Why did my mind have to go there? And why is the thought so hot? He’s a sweet man too, clearly goofy and sweet. Why is your mind going there then? Really, upon further pondering, you just want to hug the man, admire his strong body pressed to yours in an intimate but innocent gesture.

“Sorry, what was that?” Frankie calls out as he walks into the house again.

His voice snaps you from your daydreaming. “Oh, just talking to myself,” you say quickly and cheerfully, taking the paper from him. The top is printed with repairman name: Francisco Morales. Francisco. That makes you smile. What a cute name. The rest is filled with the details of what he did to the machine to fix it, and you sign and date at the bottom. “Here you go, Francisco.”

His tanned skin turns a little pinker on the cheeks. “Great,” Frankie smiles and takes it back.

“Before you leave,” you tell him quickly, darting to grab your purse from the entryway, “here.”

Frankie walks to you and you hand him a generous cash tip, with a stupid smile stuck to your face. “Thank you, wow,” he says, voice honest in its surprise as he notices the total of the money.

“Of course. I really can’t thank you enough. God, it’s been painfully hot in here and I really just can’t stand the heat,” you ramble, your voice speeding up. “And… yeah. Thank you. For your company, too.”

“Just doing my job,” he tells you with a smile, putting his hands in his pockets. “Oh, here.”

From his pocket, he pulls a little rectangle of paper with his name and company on it. “The shop number is on here; if anything changes, just call and ask for Catfish.”

“Catfish?” You ask with a smile, puzzled.

“My old military nickname. It’s what the guys around there call me,” he shrugs, shy at the nickname.

It makes you laugh a little, and you tuck the card in your purse. “Well, Catfish, thank you. I’ll be sure to use this next time I have some stupid thing I can’t repair myself.”

“Please do,” he chuckles, a shy smile on his face. “I’ll see you around.”

“Thanks!” You call again and cringe. That’s, what, the ninth time you’ve said that now? He walks to the van and you give him a wave before retreating back inside. God, now you can’t wait for this shitty house to need another repair. You’ll certainly be asking for Catfish.

-

taglist:

@remmysbounty @mishasminion360 @blo0dangel @binarydanvvers  @sleep-tight1 @apascalrascal @randomness501 @spideysimpossiblegirl @notabotiswear @pedro-pastel @sanchosammy @lv7867 @greeneyedblondie44 @hunnambabe @astoryisaloveaffair @emesispo @pedritobalmando @magikfanatic @a-court-of-feysand-and-elorcan @princess76179 @starless-eyes-remain @tacticalsparkles @queridopascal

[antiloreolympus]

10 Anti LO Asks

1. there's a part of me that wants to laugh at posts like that "body diversity" in LO, but at the same time i just pity them. its very clear to me LO fans are becoming a bit more aware it's not living up to its progressive and feminist claims and they're just resorting to crumbs or just making stuff up to try and make it seem deeper than it actually is. they didnt need to hype it up a something its not, and now they're double down and making themselves look foolish in trying to make up for it.

2. i dont think webtoons knows what a graphic novel is either if theyre called the print version of LO that, bc GNs require a storyline and arcs to be done in one book, not hacked up into pieces like rachel is doing (for that sweet $$$). like hooky's print version is a graphic novel because it's self contained story, LO is not that.

3. yeah itd be one thing if pysche was depicted with textured hair from the beginning, but she wasnt. so now rachel giving her textured hair (i swear does she know there are actual natural hair and braid brushes for her to use?) just looks like her realizing nearly 4 years in she made an all white, straight cast and is trying to diversify it now for brownie points. its like jkr claiming her//mione could have been black despite her being called white in the text. it's just virtue signaling.

4. ngl its kinda a bad look all the LO merch and stuff webtoons uses for ads are at best only from the first 25 ish episodes, but more so only the first THREE episodes. like why arent you guys using more recent art? surely they should showcase what the comic is currently like, right? seems a bit weird to not show how much its degraded since early 2018 ...

5. the thing with comics and esp webtoons is like sure yeah on some panels you can get more cartoony with the anatomy for like a comedic moment or w/e, but rachel and the art team literally cannot keep the characters looking even in the same style from panel to panel, which isnt good. the characters cant suddenly change body types and whole facial features in the span of a few seconds, that's not a good style, thats laziness and a lack of consistency on everyone's part.

6. hades in the hades game is literally the antagonist and even he makes sure everyone is paid, gets time off, benefits, and even throughout the game gets them perks like a more entertainment and leisure options, hes literally the barely minimum to be better than and lo hades is a thousand times worse.

7. I feel like RS is trying to pull the whole "Three brothers! Two are crazy and wacky and the third is the straight man!" Trope with Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon. Except, for whatever reason, it's REALLY not working???

8. is lo artemis supposed to be british or is that anon just joking? bc if not does rachel know claiming greek mythology and making them a bunch of british people is heavily connected to really racist and white washing ideals? especially with the british colonizing and looting greece of their stories, culture, and artifacts as their own? then again rachel's ancestors were english ppl who even england couldnt stand so i guess we cant be surprised the colonizer gene is still in there 💀

From OP, not Anon: Honestly, I'm not sure since that could just be that anon's interpretation. From her dream cast, she picked a black woman to be Artemis so I think that counts for something. Although, I feel like RS might change it if she were to redo her dream cast because that would also mean Apollo (and most likely Leto) would be black and that's not a good look imo. Especially since Persephone would be played by white/fair-skinned actors.

9. its weird how LO fans go "according to the myths" when trying to justify anything in the comic because like what myth(s) is it even going off of? theres no myth persephone goes willingly, or of her on trial of mass murder, or apollo r//ping her, or her being involved with daphne, or hades and hera having an affair, or all these other made up plots. they cant go "according to the myths" when maybe 1% of any of it being myth accurate, with the rest just being rachel's nonsense fanfic.

10. i already have a problem with how rachel depicts the gods, but her idea that zeus isnt really that powerful, respected, or important compared to someone like hades and persephone is an insult. im not saying you have to like zeus, but he was and still seen as a major important religious and cultural figure, and to remove all his importance to prop up "her faves" isn't just bad writing, it spits in the face of centuries of his cultural and religious significance. it's not honoring, it's insulting.

[tonyglowheart]

Thinking about this again, but: Is there already a community/tumblr page/twitter page/discord server/whatever of Chinese cultural consultation for fic writers? Similar to Brit-pickers of ye olde, or Writing with Color here on tumblr?

If not, are there other Chinese ppl who would be interested in being a mod on such a tumblr page/twitter ask (probably via cc or some such)/or sth? I’d prefer a range, including diaspora in various parts of the world, Asia-based Chinese ppl (I’d prefer not just Western diaspora Chinese ppl), mainland-based if we can get them I know tumb & twt are banned..., recent immigrants, etc. The goal would be to act as an “ask blog” of sorts for specific questions similar to how Writing with Color does, as well as hopefully provide a pool of ppl who would be willing to act as cultural consults/Chinese-pickers/sensitivity readers for ppl to work in a more close/intimate way the way a beta reader would.

But yeah, if this doesn’t already exist, it’s an idea I do kind of want to get off the ground, because I do have ppl still asking me about it and it’s something I WOULD like to exist bc I feel like it could be a good resource for ppl or a good hub for cultural appreciation & learning, but it’s something which I don’t think I’d be able to do alone, nor would I feel comfortable doing alone since culture is so complex/in no way a monolith, and different perspectives are so important to providing nuance as well as verisimilitude, etc etc.

Edit:

This concept for a fan endeavor is still in its nascent stages so the exact details and parameters haven’t been pinned down, and I’m also grappling with what exactly the scope & function of such an endeavor would be. Is it going to be just more generally for “Chinese culture” stuff? Is it going to be more specific to fandom? If so, then does the scope of the fandom need to be limited? It seems inevitable that if this is a general thing there’ll be fandoms we can’t cover. And if it is fandom specific, do we limit it down to one fandom? A few fandoms? And how specific-to-the-fandom do we get as to what’s allowed and what’s not?

Additionally, there’s a lot up in the air as to logistics. What platform would this endeavor be based in? There’s pros and cons to most of the prevailing platforms rn. Some of the functionality is going to change depending on what platform is the “home” platform.

As of now I do envision it more of a WwC style situation, where people can ask in, and a designated panel of people provide their input, as well though with open invitations to the audience to comment. I do think something like this would benefit from having a specific panel of responses as a starting point, not to position anyone as an ”authority,” but to hopefully provide more focus and direction for the asker (I imagine something truly open the way open comments or even reddit could be overwhelming and might confuse the asker more because of the potential multitude of positions and reasoning). Again what I’m envisioning here is a platform as well as space to provide guidance and, hopefully, education and tools to people to better navigate the space respectfully and with confidence. Am I being too naively optimistic?

[pateldevs]

Hi! I hope I'm not bothering you, but I love your mood board edits and was wondering if you could explain how you go about making/colouring them? I see lots of places to find gifs but turning them into a set is so hard. Thank you in advance!

hi! first of all thank you so much and second of all it’s not a bother at all! i am happy to give some of my own tips even if my explanation probably isn’t super helpful. i won’t give like a ps tutorial but below the cut (since i included example gifs, it’s VERY long) is my process for my latest jily aesthetic:

i keep track of all my ideas/sets in a spreadsheet (which i won’t show bc there’s a lot of info i’d have to blur/black out) but i always have a list of what scenes i need to gif/what gifs i’m editing and where i’m getting them from. i also include a couple extra ideas in case the gifs i have planned end up being too hard to color or don’t fit in the set. i’ve found it’s best/easiest to start w the list bc there is literally nothing worse than spending hours on a set and then not being able to complete it.

as for actually finding the material, i have a pretty healthy number of scene packs saved in my giffing folder, esp. for things i know i will gif frequently. most of the time i will peruse youtube, vimeo, and instagram for any aesthetic scenes. i also have a lot of gif packs saved specifically for the purpose of making mbs (usually i mix my own gifs w gif packs), if you msg me i’m happy to direct you to some gif packs i use regularly or you can check my #resources tag. a couple tips for finding material: 

always opt for download when possible, i used to screen record and the difference when i switched to downloading was astronomical. (it’s easy to lose quality and esp if you’re on mac, quicktime duplicates frames so either you have to manually delete those extras or you get sort of choppy gifs when you load them into ps.)

always use 1080p or better, 720p will work in a pinch for 268px or 177px gifs since you can make up some of that resolution loss with sharpening, but don’t go any lower than that, just love yourself. 

for pale sets, look for the right colors. i tend to look for scenes w high color contrast especially if it features poc so it’s easier to color without whitewashing, ie if the subject is a person then i look for light colored or blue/green/violet/white backgrounds. it’ll make your life wayyyyy easier. this also means if you’re making a set try to find scenes with already similar lighting bc you won’t have to work so hard to make it look cohesive.

here’s a quick rundown of what i do before coloring:

import all frames and save all the files in a folder together!!

play around with frame delay so all the gifs are moving at about the same speed, usually keep it between 0.03-0.05s

crop and resize gifs (i use 268x145 most of the time)

convert to timeline

when it comes to coloring it can be really hit or miss, i’ve recently gotten back into my groove but i was having sooo much trouble earlier this year. in general, don’t stress yourself out!! sometimes it’s easier to just find a new scene/gif (hence my list of extras!) than to try too hard to fit a gif into your set. i color all my gifs by scratch (ie no psds) but i tend to follow the same pattern, i’ll explain using these gifs/psd as an example since then i can also explain how to fix white-washing:

first off when you’re coloring gifs with poc always always always make a layer mask so you can compare the edited and unedited skin tones directly! i use the marquee tool to make a selection in the middle of the character’s face, select the folder of my adjustment layers, and hit ‘add vector mask’ (the third button from the left on the layers panel, it’s a white rectangle with a circle in it). 

i almost always begin by using hue/saturation layers to highlight and delete certain colors. here i highlighted red and raised the lightness on yellow by a lot since it’s a very yellow scene. then i use a combination of brightness/contrast, levels, and curves layers to brighten the scene. here’s what i have now:

i add a gradient map set to black/white, change the blending to exclusion, and lower the opacity to between 5-10% (depending on the scene) to lighten the contrast further:

then i add back a little depth with selective color in neutrals and blacks:

now i have two main goals: 1. add contrast between the background and the subject, and 2. brighten the scene into a pale gif. to do this, i use color balance to tweak the color of the background, taking out the yellows. this step works best if there’s at least some shade difference between your subject and background, otherwise isolating the two will be impossible. here’s what i have after adding color balance:

i use hue/saturation to selectively highlight the background color. in this case i chose to adjust magenta and used the color picker (the first eyedropper on the left) to identify the exact shade i wanted to lighten. now i have a fairly neutral background and a colorful subject, which gives a sort of pale effect:

and now i use a curves layer and a selective color (white) layer to brighten further:

before i go further, i start fixing white-washing. keep in mind that some variance is normal since you are naturally changing the lighting of the scene; this gif shows it rlly clearly bc of how yellow and dim the lighting is, so some lightening is to be expected. however, both because the vector mask shows a lot of whitening and because i’ve giffed dev patel before and have a general idea of what he looks like in this type of lighting, i know what needs to be fixed, so i go back in under the psd/adjustment layers with a combination of selective color (red and neutral) and hue/saturation layers to darken his skin again:

now that some more contrast has been added in, i can go back to working on the psd and use curves and selective color to play around with the background again:

i use another hue/saturation layer and a black/white gradient to tone down oversaturation:

usually i leave those layers on top, so if i want to make any adjustments (like lightening the background more), i go in under those two. in this case i tweaked the whites and reduced the contrast a little to get this:

again, you can see his skin tone has changed from the original, but variation is to be expected given how much brighter the room is, the fact that i took out a lot of yellow lighting, and the brightening effect of the computer screen in front of him. some other things to keep in mind when coloring:

when you add layers to correct white-washing, you’re likely to end up with overly red/orange skin tones (red-washing). this can be fixed by upping cyans in the reds, desaturating/darkening the reds, or adding b/w or desaturation later on.

when in doubt, it’s better to be darker than lighter (the issue with white-washing is that it promotes colorism, and there is nothing inherently wrong with a darker skin tone) but really. just put in the effort to color poc correctly.

when changing the lighting a lot it helps to look at pictures of the subject in natural/bright lighting, since you get a better idea of what their normal skin tone is. 

don’t try to squeeze all your selective color layers into one. you’ll get less grainy gifs if you separate them out and work one by one. 

TURN OFF NIGHT SHIFT/NIGHT MODE! yes i KNOW it’s bad for your eyes (especially if you’re like me and gif at night, when the lighting outside isn’t changing every 20 seconds) but your gifs will look VERY different under f.lux or night mode compared to daytime screens. especially if you’re giffing at different times of day, blue light filters can really change the way your coloring appears. best to keep it consistent.

my sharpening settings vary depending on what i’m giffing but in general i do two layers of smart sharpen (500% with radius between 0.2-0.4, 10% with radius at 10px) and then gaussian blur at 2.5px and adjust the opacity so it’s somewhere between 15-20%. i try to strike a balance between smoothing out the graininess from selective color, and sharpening details like clothes and hair. here’s what i ended up with for the gif above:

then i rinse and repeat for the rest of the gifs in the set! i tend to start with the gifs that i know will be hardest to color, which is usually the darker ones (coloring is limited by how much i can brighten the scene) and those that include poc (again, limited by how much i can brighten and adjust the scene’s lighting without white-washing). then i check set cohesion as i go, using those first few gifs as benchmarks. once i have all 8 (or 9 or 10) gifs, i play around with composition and try to balance and vary the subject, colors, and composition of gifs next to each other. i go back and make a couple of adjustments here and there according to what i observe and what i think might improve the overall appearance.

and that’s pretty much it! i hope this was helpful, if you have other questions feel free to message me and i’d be happy to help/troubleshoot. happy giffing!

[ectonurites]

do u have any thoughts on the whole “tim is zapped to time prison” storyline? bc i feel like it could have been pretty interesting and a good way to bring back young justice/tim’s memories more immediately if it hadn’t been such a blatant attempt to just get tim out of storylines bc they had no ideas for his character

sorry lol u don’t have to respond i just kind of wish people talked about this storyline more? and the fact that tim lowkey became one of the only people in dc with knowledge of the other timelines (i think so at least) and nobody really addressed it?? like going into the next phase where people learn about other timelines after death metal.... tim should already know some of this stuff right?

YES YES YES OKAY LETS TALK ABOUT THIS this got incredibly long because I just have a lot to say (and i included screenshots) and i prob got a little off topic but. but lets get started anyways:

i haven’t read that particular storyline in a few months so i might be missing/misremembering some details here, but that whole ‘time prison + future tim’ thing was like. a really really interesting concept and the implications/impacts it has are a big part of why i liked tynion’s detective comics run as much as i did even with it’s flaws in characterization (such as treating tim like he was jimmy neutron boy genius and making steph..... be all ready to quit/breakaway from the team like that. the steph quitting characterization really started i think in batgirl convergence and unfortunately has haunted her since, even though pre reboot never giving up was like...... one of her defining traits. dc i hate you sometimes) 

i think that one of the biggest things that bothers me about the situation is how little we saw most of the other characters in the batfamily grieve (aside from steph and some with bruce, but again the way steph was portrayed just... hhhhhh. it very much reduced her to ‘tims girlfriend’ more than i’d have preferred) but otherwise like...as far as I can remember there was maybe one line in that monsters crossover thing where dick mentioned tim was gone, jason had a single line about avoiding the funeral in rhato, i dont think they showed any reaction from babs at all until after he was back, and the most for damian I recall is at the end of the 2014 teen titans run (#24) where he looks at... a case with the old red robin uniform Tim wasn’t even wearing anymore when he died? and that just bugs me. Instead of getting to see the actual funeral we get one flashback to it way after the fact once Bruce already knows Tim’s not actually dead

But at the time when they all DID think he was dead? the closest thing we see was in that same teen titans issue (#24) there’s a memorial-type ‘sharing stories’ thing after the funeral with tim’s titans friends but.... we don’t see something like that with his family. tim is a major presence in these peoples’ lives, they are his family, when he gets sent into time prison its even SAID how loved he apparently is

its just... idk. they all thought he was dead, and if they had put more emphasis on showing not just telling how that effected EVERYONE (not just steph) in the batfam, it might have felt a lot less like they were just putting tim away until there was a story idea for him. (like obviously I know they can’t make everyone’s stories revolve around Tim, but I’d have way preferred a detective comics issue of the funeral/memorial with the family than having there only be a teen titans one, I think it would have... held more relevance & meaning... but instead they just went right into that monster crossover story instead of lingering on this)

but then the Tim story itself once it does pick up way later, with titans tomorrow/future tim coming along having that whole “tell conner you’re sorry” “who’s conner?” exchange with current tim... that opens up A LOT of things to think about, and I think was pretty interestingly done if i’m remembering correctly. future tim recognizes the timelines are different, and ya know goes off to try to change things further ("whaddaya got there?” “a gun to kill batwoman” “NO!!!!”), theres lots of fighting etc etc the good guys win as we expect, but once that’s all settled tim’s left there with this whole. thought process

which ya know is the big indicator there’s weird timeline/reality fuckery going on (or also the read here can be that tim and kon are so connected across all space and time that their bond can transcend anything even timelines and realities and reboots... “and they were soulmates” “oh my god they were soulmates”) 

ANYWAYS lets not forget that tim isnt the only one who learns about this other timeline stuff during this whole situation!

Brother Eye has records of future tim’s timeline, and cass & steph see who they used to be! and as soon as steph finds out ‘holy shit i was ROBIN and BATGIRL?’ she also desperately wants to know more! which then a bit later leads into young justice 2019 where instead of going off to college like they told Bruce they were gonna, Steph and Tim go get the help of Zatanna to see what might be going on in their brains with these timelines and weird feelings (as we see in flashback form in yj 2019 #5)

and HOO BOY DOES SHE FIND THINGS! she gets in there and finds out that oh yeah, their brains had very much so been tampered with, and with her magic she undoes some of it, by unlocking memories, and Tim finally remembers Conner! (also in case u were wondering, that panel is specifically a callback to this one from yj 1998 #17 when Cissie quit the team)

one thing that I think is weird/interesting/idk if it gets... properly addressed even, was that Zatanna also poked around Steph’s brain too and she didn’t remember everything? Might have something to do even with how Tim had been in time prison, might have taken less work from Z to open things up because of that? Who knows

additionally i wanna call attention to how he said “That entire chapter of my life” which... leading into my next point a bit... strongly leads me to believe even though he’s remembering some things he definitely does not have ALL of his memories back (because theres a lot more than just the young justice ‘chapter’ of tim’s life that was drastically changed by the new 52 & rebirth) 

BUT moving on, i wanna bring up this part from later on (after they figured out that there was a crisis that caused things in the world to change, which is why their memories/brains were messed with) in issue #16

so yeah, I think it’s indicated even though Zatanna brought back some memories and opened up his brain a bit, there’s still many holes, and some things seem more like dreams rather than memories and he’s probably unable to tell which are which on his own to some extent. (also for reference the real thing that Tim thought was just a dream is... likely yj 1998 issue #1)

So based on the things i’ve brought up here (which are the things I remember off the top of my head, I could easily be accidentally leaving shit out LMAO i haven’t fully read through any of these books in at least 3 or more months now) I think it’s safe to assume that Tim definitely has a head start on getting back his memories before Death Metal happens, but that it was by no means a complete thing. So the after effects of Death Metal are probably just gonna... be a little less drastic for him vs most other people because it was already happening, but it’ll be kinda filling in the remaining gaps? 

And like you said he is absolutely one of the few people that already knew about about the timelines/the fact that these crises have happened and changed things, but pretty much all the other young justice characters are also aware that there was meddling in the timeline/that multiple timelines and alternate universes like this exist since they were all together as a group when it got explained (in like. yj 2019 #15 i believe is where most of the explaining happens) (and cass as well is aware of things to some extent because of her and steph’s interaction with Brother Eye) but the difference is that Zatanna didn’t go into everyone’s brains, so they aren’t dealing with the same memory things as Tim (and possibly Steph? because again Z DID go in her brain, she just wasn’t able to unlock all the same things as she did with Tim) 

but yeah in general i SO wish this was explored more, both in canon and in fanworks (fanworks tho... that can still happen >:3c). Memories hazily coming in for Tim while Kon and Bart are able to confirm or deny things, him dealing with conflicting memories and feelings about his past as they trickle in... like I think we’ll start to see these types of things moving forward across a lot of titles with Infinite Frontier (i BELIEVE dont quote me on this but I BELIEVE the person writing Damian’s upcoming solo had mentioned in an interview that the memories coming back of the other timeline aren’t going to be an all at once thing but will be more gradual for most characters) but the fact that it theoretically had already been happening for Tim for MONTHS and we only got that one crumb indicating it in #16 of it instead of any actual exploration makes me SAAAAAAD 

[blackberry-gingham]

okay but like, a drabble where you’re friends with ringo and of course the other beatles, except paul (bc all honestly i’m a major simp for him) and you two could just never seem to get along, but since you’re friends with the rest you suffer through it... and overtime you both realize your feelings for each other and are scared to admit it... i dunno, it’s a cheesy idea but i love it 😅

Absolutely yes, this is such a fun idea!! And let's be honest, "cheesy concepts" are actually just fanfic classics, bc I mean... cringe culture is DEAD 💅🏻

Lol, anyway this is kinda way more then a drabble bc I have no self control ig, so I hope that's ok djdjdj, but enjoy! It's kinda sweet at the end, ngl 🥺

---

The lights of the recording studio hum above while the gentle musk of old wood paneling and carpet surrounds you.

Today, you're spending time with your dear friend Ringo and he's invited you to hangout while he and the lads practice. Ringo beats out a little tune while you add some improvised vocals for fun. The two of you laugh and chat and before you know it, the rest of the lads trickle in.

George walks in and immediately comes over to catch up with you. He's easy going and polite, so you get along well. In fact, you get along well with all the boys! Well, except for...

In walks Paul McCartney, followed by his friend John. Now, John you like. He's a bit abrasive at first, but an absolute joker and sweetheart when you get to know him.

No, it's Paul you can't stand.

Or perhaps, it's that he can't stand you. It's hard to say really, it just feels as though from the minute you met, you simply didn't mesh with each other.

John grins and waves, glad to see you after so long. He walks past to say a proper hello, but keeps on his trajectory to set up and tune his instrument.

Paul, ever the ass, walks up to you, George, and Ringo and begins talking to them as though you're not even there. He greets them, then goes to handing out commands as if he were the manager. George is to go tune up and Ringo to make sure he's warmed up to keep on beat today. It'll be a long one after all.

George and Ringo look from Paul to you and back again. "Well sure, but we were just talking to-"

"I know. What are you doing here anyway, eh?", Paul turns sharply to you.

You set your face sternly. You've leaned by now not to let Paul bully you away, "Ringo invited me to stay today", you cross your arms defiantly, making sure to convey that you won't be leaving anytime soon.

Paul give you a hard stare, but decides you aren't worth the trouble. "Fine, just try not to be a distraction"

With that he walks off to tune up with John. You can't hear their conversation, but John doesn't seem to be too happy with him. Meanwhile, George apologies on Paul's behalf, "I'm sorry, I don't know what his problem is"

You sigh and let it roll of your shoulders, "Thanks, but it's nothing", you smile and shrug.

George laughs, "You're tough alright... I remember John use to treat me like that, and I nearly left!" You share a laugh and he walks over to the other three to chat and get ready for the session.

You and Ringo talk a bit before he focuses up on his drumming. For now, you sit and listen.

And watch.

The boys have spread out a bit and you now have a very clear view of Paul. You think back to the interaction you had just moments ago. Compared to his behavior when you'd first met, you could almost count what had just occurred today as kind.

The old Paul you knew would certainly have thrown you out.

Strange... This was actually becoming a pattern with him. This wierd, "niceness". Truth be told, you do sort of want to befriend him. After all, you're friends with all his friends. But he's just so frustrating!

Paul catches you staring and stares back for a moment, although, there's a look in his eyes as though the gears of his mind are turning. He gives you a nod before turning back to the boys.

You quickly turn away. What did that mean? A neutral nod may seem like nothing to most, but with the way you and Paul are it might as well be a friendly kiss on the cheek.

That's it. You need to find out what's going on here...

Over the next few weeks you play it cool and try to observe Paul as much as you can. And in that time period, the change in his behavior is... Alarming, to say the least.

The next time you saw each other, not only did he say a proper hello, but he even addressed you by name!

Then another time, he opened and held a few doors for you during a group outing with the boys.

But nothing tops what he did today...

Today, not only did Paul strike up a decent conversation with you. Asking all how you've been and what you've been up to lately and such... But after some recording, the boys decided to take a quick break and you had to be going anyway. You let the boys know and said your goodbyes.

While you were walking through the hallway, a voice calls out to you, "Hold on a minute, wait now!"

You stop dead. Is that...? No, it couldn't be. You turn around to find just who you expected.

Paul trots up to you, mildly out of breath. You ask him what's up, being a little more civil then your old self would've. Paul straightens up, having caught his breath, "I uh, I just wanted to say... I'm sorry for being such a right bastard to you. I know this is out of nowhere, but um... I don't know, I feel like as we've been getting more acquainted I feel just awful for how I've treated you. So... for what it's worth... I'm sorry"

You... Well, you're not sure what to say. He's right indeed, this is rather out of nowhere. At first you're not sure you believe him. After all, this could just be some joke to dupe you for his amusement. But then again...

Paul's eyes are big and glossy as they stare back at you. His eyebrows are quirked up and an uncertain frown is settled on his pretty lips. Wait, what did you say?

You shake the thought out of your head. "I um, I forgive you McCartney. Glad to see you've some manners", you cross you arms, daring him to take it back or like fun.

But he doesn't. Instead, he looks relieved. A brilliant grin replaces his frown and his eyes light up with a joy they've never before possessed while beholding you.

"You mean it? No hard feelings?"

You smirk, "Don't push it"

Paul actually laughs. "Fair enough", he says. Then, "you know... We're having a little concert nearby, would you like to come? The hotel is supposed to be serving a cracking dinner spread after the show! Y-you know, if you'd like to tag along that is..."

You blink, thinking you must be in a dream. Before you can even take a second to weigh your options and come to a decision, you hear yourself say, "Sure!"

That same light comes back to Paul's face. For all intents and purposes he seems genuinely excited that you'll be coming. One of the boys calls his name from down the hall. It's time for him to be getting back. But first, he fills you in on the details of where and when to be.

"Then just come backstage afterwards, we'll go together!", with that he says a proper goodbye and jogs off. You head for the street and catch a bus home, looking all the while as though you've seen a ghost.

You know, when he's being civil, he's actually... Not bad. For the life of you, you'd never tell, but you always thought Paul was the pretty one. Besides that, he's talented and charismatic... You were more then a little sore to find that he didn't like you at first.

After all this time you've gotten so used to putting up with him and his jerk behavior you don't know how to feel. And yet... These last few weeks you feel as though you're seeing a whole new side of him.

One you like.

Did you really just think that? You're about to shiver in disgust, but something stops you. He was bizarrely sincere with his apology today, and rather genuine with his invitation for you to join them after their show this weekend, you know.

Hm... After an evening of pondering, you decide to let him prove himself at dinner. If he wants to be a gentleman, then so be it. You're willing to bury the hatchet. And if not, then nothing's changed. Although, you would be rather let down...

Later that week, the concert is a blast. The boys were at their absolute best for sure. They practically brought the house down with the screams and applause they drew from the crowd.

All in all, you have nothing much to report. You enjoyed yourself in a comfortable position up front but... Well, you may have imagined it, but you could've sworn Paul winked at you after the show... Or perhaps it was the girl next to you.

Afterwards, you did as Paul said and passed through security backstage. The boys were in the midst of cheering each other on, celebrating the excellent work as you jogged up to join in. Ringo calls you name, and gives you a hug, "Did you see that! They loved us!"

The other three chatter to you excitedly, affirming Ringo's statement. Even Paul. No, especially Paul. You can't deny his bass playing and singing were absolutely top notch tonight, and he seems over the moon to receive your validation. Odd.

In the limo ride to the hotel, you sit between George and Ringo, yet you can't help but steal glances at Paul. This is crazy. You know it is. And yet, you can't help but dare to think... you mean, the way he's been acting lately, especially given the strange turn around... Could it be? What if... What if Paul...

Likes you?

You break from your thoughts just in time to see Paul looking at you with a shy smile as you stare into space. When you catch him, he looks away quickly.

Later at the dinner, Paul sits besides you and your heart jumps into your throat. A small part of you expects a ribbing or something of that sort, but your time together is actually quite enjoyable. Conversation flows easily between the two of you.

You make each other laugh.

You get each other excited.

You finally get to meet the kind and charming Paul you've heard so much about...

Paul pays for your meal and you continue chattering on all the way up to his hotel room. You stop at the door, and find that you're sad to say goodbye.

"Well, I guess I should let you get your rest..."

"Heh, suppose so", Paul shuffles his feet and looks away. "Uh, but before you go.."

You stop mid turn, "Hm?"

Paul hesitates for a beat, then gently takes your hand, just by the fingers. "I um, I probably have no right to say this, given how horrible I've been to you, but... I uh, I just can't go another moment without telling you the truth..."

He makes eye contact with you at long last. His eye lashes flutter slowly, only accentuating his doe like eyes.

"I uh, I don't know how to say this, heh... I've just been so afraid you'd hate me even more for this, but... I um, well I-I suppose I have feelings for you... I have nearly from the start, I just didn't know how to, well, you know"

Paul's voice trails off like he's afraid of your answer before he's even finished his sentence. He bites his lip and closes his eyes, bracing himself for insults or laughter, whatever you might throw at him.

But when your lips meet his, soft and passionate and warm... He swears he's in a dream. You pull back slowly, and open your eyes to look deeply and knowingly into his.

You didn't even know you were waiting for this moment...

Paul looks breathless as he gazes back at you, and he's hardly able to form a sentence, "W-wh-? S-so, you do-?"

You smile coyly, and it only makes Paul's confusion bloom into a beautiful, Paul smile. You don't have to say anything. His heart already knows the answer.

"I'll see you tomorrow, McCartney", you wink and walk away, holding Paul's hand until he's out of reach.

And see him tomorrow you did. And the next day. And the next...

And the rest, is history.

[aahsokaatano]

King I would love that essay about Changing Channels

Fjdjshjdhdjd thanks for reading my tags Jesse you're the real VIP here.

Okay SO "Changing Channels" is the 8th episode of the 5th season of Supernatural. I give this information bc it's important in looking at the context of the episode - now I've complained a LOT about how SPN is terrible at giving us canonical timeframes within the episodes (y'all i was SHOCKED to discover the first season is supposed to cover a little over a year's worth of time, I thought it was like... 4 or 5 months) so I can't say for sure how long before and after the other episodes happen in-universe around "Changing Channels" BUT

The episode before is "The Curious Case of Dean Winchester" where Dean and Bobby bet years of their lives in a game of poker with a witch. The episode after is "The Real Ghostbusters" where Sam and Dean end up at a fan convention for the in-universe Supernatural novels.

Why am I pointing this out? Because it's important, please, no audience participation, this is like a Brian David Gilbert panel.

[under a cut bc this got...... STUPID long. Who knew I still had this many opinions about SPN in 2020?]

Okay first of all I wanna talk about the cinnamon topography of this episode - I love the way the first 5 seasons are shot because you really feel the americana gothic horror aesthetic they were going for (I have a whole ‘nother rant about the first 5 seasons vs the last 10 but thats for another time). Everything is a little washed out and grey-toned, the camera angles generally serve to make Sam and Dean appear even taller than they actually are (larger than life - again, another post for another time), and there’s honestly a LOT of shots from the ‘monster’s’ perspective, which is really neat! I’ve said it before (on another blog - YES i have a dedicated spn rant blog, don’t @ me hdjfhfjfh) but the episode that really got me hooked on spn back in the day was the second one, about the w*ndigo. Yes, it’s a racist, culturally appropriating shitstorm, but the way its SHOT is fantastic. I’m honestly not a horror fan, but that episode could have easily relied on jumpscares and they DIDN’T and it was scary as all fucking hell and just - fuck okay getting off topic. 

In “Changing Channels” we get that distinctive grey-washed tone in the beginning and the very end of the episode, but the middle? When they’re in TV Land? Everything is bright. Almost comically so, I mean - okay look at these two shots of Sam (apologies about the crappy phone pics, netflix won't let me screenshot)

This one is from the start of the episode, in the "real" police station

And this is from a little later in the "TV" hospital

Ignoring that my phone is washing him out a lot in both pics, you can still see the warmer tones in the hospital shot as compared to the cold greyness in the police station one

Okay, now look at this picture

Dean inside the Impala, and those warm tones are back. Why? Because even though Sam and Dean believe that they’re back in the “real” world, they aren’t - so instead of the grey-washed shots that we’re used to, its the bright and warm shots that we see in “TV Land”! So the viewers pick up, even if its just subconsciously, that the boys aren’t out of the woods yet - everything is still too bright to be the in-universe reality we’ve come to expect from SPN by season 5

Which is also why i love this shift so much

These shots are literally SECONDS apart. The first is in "TV Land" and the second is in the "real" world. I have some red strip lights behind my bed, which are reflecting off my laptop screen - notice how much brighter they seem in the second picture? That’s because literally all of the warm colors have been drained out of the shot. As soon as Gabriel snaps them all back into “reality,” things get so much colder.

Okay, so the second thing I want to talk about is some of the very pointed dialogue choices within the “shows” the Winchesters take part in. Not between Sam and Dan and Gabriel, but from the, for lack of a better term, NPCs within the shows.

In the hospital, Dr. Piccolo tells Sam that he is “the finest cerebrovascular neurosurgeon I have ever met - and I have met plenty! So that girl died on your table; it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. Sometimes people just die.” Standard cheesy soap opera dialogue - but lemme just swap some words here and - 

“You are the finest hunter I have ever met - and I have met plenty! So that girl died on your hunt; it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. Sometimes people just die.”

Or even - 

“You are the finest hunter I have ever met - and I have met plenty! So Jessica and Mary died above you; it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault [but Azazel’s]. Sometimes people just die.”

Keeping in mind that the NPCs are basically Gabriel’s mouthpieces, its easy to see why so many people ship Sabriel. I’d actually love to see a fic that explores them talking about this moment in particular later on and the kind of gentle forgiveness that Gabriel can give Sam... getting off topic again.

In an abrupt about-face, the herpes commercial (much meme’d within the fandom) is straight up Gabriel shaming Sam. Because if you replace “genital herpes” with “demon blood” it’s.... dark. And very intentional.

So that’s what I did! (I combined all spoken lines to make the message easier to read, rather than splitting them up across 3 speakers as in the episode)

“I’ve drank demon blood. I tried to be responsible... did I try. But now, after being forcibly detoxed, I fight my addiction every day to reduce the chances of passing back into that toxic mindset. Ask your loved ones about a demon blood intervention today. [...] I am doing all I can to slightly lessen the chance of drinking demon blood again. And that’s a good thing.”

Like... the subtext throughout this episode sure is. Something.

Okay this is getting ridiculously long so I wanna wrap up by talking about The Best Scene In The Whole Goddamn Show

I’m talking, of course, about Gabriel’s Confession

“Max,” you might be saying, “there are so many better scenes out there, even within the first five seasons!” and to that i say, again, no audience participation, please. Also, you’re WRONG and here’s why!

Gabriel’s confession hits every goddamn emotional chord that the fandom begged for on this show - fear, rage, grief, pain, guilt, and even, yes, absolution. 

Okay, here’s the scene again for those of you who don’t think about it at least once a week like me

Now this video is missing some of the conversation, but most of it is there, enough for you to see what I’m talking about. Gabriel up to this point has been, essentially, a nameless antagonist - this is the third episode he appeared in, and before this, we didn’t even know he was going by Loki. He was just referred to as ‘The Trickster’. But here, not only do we get a name (a real name at that), but we also get a glimpse of his backstory and a hell of a lot of character development in less than 5 minutes. I mean, Sam didn’t get this much character development throughout the entirety of season 1! There’s a good reason Gabriel has been a fan-favorite for a very long time, and I think a big part of it is this particular scene.

Because here, we get to see Gabriel being vulnerable. And we even see Dean show a little vulnerability, as he can empathize being the third party to explosive arguments between the two people who mean everything to him.

I mean... okay, it will never see the light of day, but I wrote a little bit of a Reverse ‘Verse fic (because I’m a sucker for Reverse ‘Verse) and this was the scene I started with. Not s1e1, not even the resurrection in s4e1, but this scene. Because this scene, more than any other, is critical to the way not only Gabriel’s (first) arc plays out, but also to how Sam and Dean conduct themselves for the rest of the season (and maybe a bit beyond, it’s been a hot minute since I watched s6 and later). Dean is angry but determined, he has a point to make, he is going to save Sammy and if he can’t do that, then he’s going to damn well die trying. But Sam... it’s after this episode that we start really seeing how bone-achingly tired Sam is. It’s after this conversation - where one of the other archangels, one of the few beings who can truly understand how powerful Michael and Lucifer are - says that there’s no other way around this that Sam seems to start inching towards giving in. Saying yes.

Sure, in the actual episode, he seems outraged by the idea, practically scoffs at it - “you want us to say yes to those sons of bitches?” - but it’s after this where Sam really seems run down.

I mean, look at the episodes before and after (HAH you thought I forgot about that first point I made at the very beginning of this post! I did, briefly, but I’ve circled back to it, thanks for being understanding). In “The Curious Case of Dean Winchester,” Sam behaves much as he did since the start of s4, which is to say, ‘annoying little know-it-all brother tossed into the middle of the apocalypse and just trying his best’ and it works well for the mad scramble for any scrap of information that’s happening in s4/early s5.

But in “The Real Ghostbusters” it’s different. This is another funny meta episode - except, while Sam and Dean are technically aware of the joke, they aren’t as amused by it as the audience is. And it’s not because of the ghosts. It’s because they’re just... done. Especially Sam. Dean has that nice little moment with the cosplayers at the end of the episode, but Sam... threatens to shoot Chuck. Sam ‘goes darkside’ more often than pretty much any other character in the show, but that moment is different. It’s a flat promise, not a threat. He’s not being an asshole, like he is after losing his soul. He’s just... done. And it’s obvious to see.

Gabriel’s confession is the turning point for Sam in s5, and it informs a lot of his behavior through the rest of s5, and possibly beyond! Like I said, I haven’t watched past s5 in a very long time, so I don’t feel confident enough to analyze that specific sort of character line, but I feel confident in saying that hearing one of the most powerful beings in the universe basically say “it doesn’t matter what you do - your destiny is unavoidable” and then he’s proven right (Sam says yes to Lucifer, and Dean eventually does say yes to Michael down the line!)... like, that’s really gotta fuck up your world view that was built on free will and throwing off the shackles of fate. Sam managed to avoid his ‘destiny’ in s2... but then it turns out that that wasn’t ever his destiny. Lucifer was his destiny.

Talk about an obscured view of the inner self.

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Impressions from TTM

Spoilers, spoilers everywhere. Just a big bulleted list of thoughts as I read through the graphic novel. Not a lot of detail included, so it’ll make a lot more sense if you’ve already read it yourself!

looks like Moonshadow elves cross the arms of the dead... when they have a body to bury

it’s nice to see that Rayla imagines Runaan with all his shirts, the way she last saw him

kinda looks like Rayla changed into her jammies right on her bed and dumped her clothes on that little table. maybe she’s afraid of letting the few things she actually possesses out of her sight

listen we get one little panel of Opeli in here and it’s great

Soren’s cape smacking Callum in the face, 10/10

Lujanne’s appearance out of nowhere, along with Allen’s is just adorable, she’s so sparkly. And also she can apparently just turn totally invisible with an illusion spell? Even at a new moon? Probably because of the Nexus I guess

Lujanne’s “Big strong man with big strong feelings.” She and Runaan have exactly the same type and I support them

Allen’s face when Lujanne says it aches to miss Phoe-Phoe

Callum eating off Rayla’s plate and wondering how Lujanne suspected they were a couple, hmmm

Soren and Allen bonding

Rayla warning Lujanne about hand disguises, as if that was something Runaan made very sure she knew

Rayla’s cute chaos grin when Callum’s Aspiro spell goes off is my favorite pic of her in this whole graphic novel

Lujanne’s “Oh.” afterward is my fave pic of her, too, she does not seem to handle reality well!

Bait’s tongue will never get old

Lujanne’s whole speech during Phoe-Phoe’s rebirth ritual is so touching and beautiful, my heart

Lujanne putting the newborn Moon Phoenix into Ezran’s hands, like she knows he’ll have the best connection with her

Callum’s tears as he reminds Rayla that Runaan killed Harrow, he’s trying to move on, but it hurts

Rayla’s self-soothing behavior when she has her second nightmare in the book--she must have these most every night :((((

the big symbol on the Moon Temple doors looks like a stylized Moon staff, like it’s a building for mages

Lujanne saying Rayla might not want or need the truth right after Callum mentions Runaan’s name to her, he sassily asks about her husbands and she turns it into a compliment

Callum’s big reaction to the moon opals is adorable. The only other one he’s seen was part of a pair of treasured gifts between long-time spouses, so it kinda looks like he’s all “uhh we just started dating”

also Ethari must’ve made cute metal swirly covers for the pair he and Runaan wore, since these two are undecorated--maybe he got his from Lujanne?

listen Lujanne is a hoot and all but she’s both an ally and an antagonist. Her actions are trustworthy but her advice is generally terrible. It’s an interesting parallel to how Runaan says a lot with his actions too, but he talks a lot less than Lujanne

Rayla yeeting herself into a fight just to ask Soren for a talk is 10/10 Moonshadow assassin goals

but her hood is up when she’s lurking in the trees--she might not have known where she’d find Soren and was anticipating something less fun on the feels-o-meter

Rayla in the mud again. Soren keeps making people fall in the mud

Allen’s grumpy squiggle

Callum, I love you, but you have no respect for moon opals. It’s like they wronged you in a previous life or something

that dancing elf has very long hair and shoulder pauldrons, and they start off dancing with six kneeling, watching, hooded elves around them--Moon Druids wore hoods even before they were assassins. Considering what Lujanne said about why the portal was sometimes opened, maybe those six kneeling elves are waiting under their emotion-hiding hoods to farewell a loved one who’s recently died?

can’t tell for sure but maybe the elf is dancing along the lines in the stone like they mark patterns for ritual dances, which would be the bomb

Soren and Rayla’s conversation is pretty wrenching. Seeing Soren have to struggle with what he did because it’s tangled up with Viren is rough because as a Crownguard it should just have been his duty to defend his king and he’d have nothing to feel weird about

Rayla dissociating herself from the term “assassins” and Soren dissociating from calling Viren “my father” in the same conversation is 10/10 excellent growth

Soren must know what happens to prisoners his dad gets a hold of, even if he doesn’t know the details :(((

“we captured him” and “Viren took him” seem to be talking about the Crownguard and Viren, not the brodigies and Viren

Rayla having a wooden sword at the end of the day bc she played swordfighting with Allen and Soren all day long

the panel where Rayla doesn’t say anything at all after telling Callum that she asked Soren about Runaan actually says so much, you can hear it

every time Lujanne’s white lies idea gets repeated, things get worse

Allen’s reading glasses, there must be one optician in the human village and he caters to soft kindly gentlemen of a certain age

in the moon phase montage, baby Phoe-Phoe is flying next to Ezran after one week at the Nexus. Maybe he’s paying her back by helping her learn to fly after she helped him teach Zym how to fly! Did they bond as tightly as Ezran did with Zym? I support Ezran just bonding with the most powerful flying creatures in all the land.

the irony of Callum using Lujanne’s tactics against her is amazing, but really the white lies thing is a giant ball of chaos in this story and it does not play favorites

Bait on the stone pillar during rebuilding

all the noises the Moonhenge makes are 10/10

Rayla dancing with Callum even though there’s almost no chance she’s ever done that dance before

Lujanne’s pupils going white, that is a cool effect, what’s it mean?

the black moon in the pink sky is so spooky! Is it just me or does the color scheme here kinda vibe like the space outside Aaravos’s library?

the smoky assassin squad, 10/10 creep factor, I love it

the lightning being a literal crack of doom with “CRAK-DOOM” as Katolis Castle appears, “echoes of thunder” indeed, very nice

Lujanne being mad but she can’t decide if it’s at Callum or herself

when she says pulling Rayla out now will leave her soul on one side and her body a husk. After the Insta live stream last night where we learned that soulfang serpents are Moon primal creatures, that’s... super interesting

smoky assassins go tssh in the rain like they’re still hot from being cremated, thanks I hate it

Andromeda finds Rayla first and seems closest/most aggressive so I wonder why she might hate Rayla more than the others

the assassins’ wrist bindings have gone red but they’re still attached and seem to trap the souls where they are. But all they need to be free is to perceive that Rayla completed their task, even though we know otherwise. So... would that work for killing any target? If you’re certain that you did it, does your binding fall off even if you’re wrong? eyes Pip

this must not be the actual afterlife since the spirits kind of mist up toward the moon and vanish, it’s more like a lobby, no one stays here unless they get stuck

portaling around just by shouting at villains, excellent

Rayla literally dropping a sword at the sight of the pod Viren’s in, yeah, it’s that creepy, I agree

Viren’s eyes are so black I think they’re Aaravos’s. I got a whole headcanon on Good Viren and Evil Viren for S4 now, wow

Phoe-Phoe pulling out a feather for Callum, awww my heart! This is why Ezran had to come, to bond with her so together they could save Callum and Rayla, it’s so sweet

so these humans are from the Storm Spire battle, bc that’s the Storm Spire behind Rayla and Callum on p108, with the rune-written arch. Did they die hating Rayla and Callum from the battle? Did they even know Rayla was up there? Or is pod Viren/Aaravos actually making them attack out of hatred for Viren’s death? One of these is definitely creepier and more awesome

Rayla’s confidence that Callum can and will boost her at the right moment with his magic, my heart, I love battle couples

that one panel that mirrors the Ghost Feather key art, hhhhhh

Rayla being the better swimmer, such precious irony, thanks Runaan

them holding hands and swimming upward together on the full-page panel is blessed

Lujanne pulling Rayla out of the lake with both arms gives me feels bc my grandma saved my life once

Lujanne being super soft over Rayllum, she is indeed a hopeless romantic

Rayla says “gone” about her parents and Runaan, and that’s the word Ethari used too, and I’m suddenly wondering if Ethari reached right into that pool and has always known that the lotus is half-submerged and if the sword he’s been making is for himself

I’m so glad Rayla told Callum what she saw of Viren

Rayla deceiving Callum and heading into danger alone because his life is more valuable to her than her own is exactly what Runaan did for her the night of the full moon in Katolis. I’m leaning toward her having thought this over and doing it on purpose bc she believes it’s a sign of deepest love--that Runaan’s actions and Lujanne’s words match up in her head, so she thinks it’s the right thing to do bc the mage and the assassin agree. Alas, Callum doesn’t understand the Moon arcanum yet, so he will have a different opinion. That mage and that assassin do not agree!

Rayla’s cloak has that Moon Temple symbol on its back. Is it Lujanne’s cloak? Any Moonshadow who sees it will probably know where she got it and who helped her. That could be fun!