#shoutout to the two males on this list LOL

[jemmaasimmons]

10 characters, 10 fandoms

Tagged by: @maisieepeters thank you so much💕

Jemma Simmons (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

Temperance Brennan (Bones)

Kate Beckett (Castle)

Haley James Scott (One Tree Hill)

Erin Quinn (Derry Girls)

Connell Waldron (Normal People)

Claire (Fleabag)

Nick Miller (New Girl)

Lucy Preston (Timeless)

Spencer Hastings (Pretty Little Liars)

Tagging (no pressure!!): @katebeckets @achingly-shy @emilylprentiss @constellationclarke @twelverriver @tomkeirblyth 💖

[la-cocotte-de-paris]

La vie à deux (1958), dir. Clément Duhour

[fireemblems24]

Scarlet Blaze Ch 14

So close to completing this.

MAIN STORY

How many chapters is this game? 15, right?

Typical Caspar excited to murder. God, he's awful in this route.

Dorothea breaking the 4th wall. She says she can't deal with any more doubling back lol.

I love how they dress up "kill everyone who resists until the Empire Imperializes Fodlan" as "unite Fodlan" lamo.

Felix, Sylvain, and Dimitri discussing strategy. Seteth and Rhea joining it.

They suggest retaking the monastery. Not a bad idea. Rhea also thinks this could flip some Alliance lords.

Haha, the "bad guys" are going to kill Bernadetta's awful father.

They think by doing this, it'll inspire the faithful to unite against Edelgard's war.

Dimitri says to keep quiet to keep Empire defenses down. Dimitri suggests tricking the enemy. It's funny how the only lord that doesn't use tricks and strategy is . . . Edelgard.

Ugh, so many side battles again.

MAP/SIDE QUESTS

See, this is what's so annoying. I talked to Raphael who wants to fight Dimitri because he's so legendarily strong (this game hypes Dimitri so hard, and I am here for it). Anyways, that's not my problem. My problem is that Raphael can't wait to ask Dimitri about his training routine after the war is over. Like, I get it's Rapaheal who isn't the deepest thinker, but this attitude is everywhere - like war is no different than play fighting and like, after going to war against someone, not only will they definitely survive, but will get chatty with you about training - not.

Dorothea, Ashe, and Yuri are the only characters who seem to realize they're about to go kill innocent people, lamo.

Hubert just insulted me. Seems the right time to declare my love for him with the merc whistle, lol. He earned it doing almost all the work this playthrough. (it's even funnier bc an NPC just asked if I had a special person, and Shez picked Hubert).

Add more to Caspar being a complete psychopath in this route - he's happy his brothe failed because now he could potentially rule his family's territory and make Edelgard's vision come to life (oh, yes, how amazing, passing it from one noble male to . . . the male noble's brother, viva la revolution! /s)

Shoutout to the NPC who's pissing himself over the idea of having to fight Dimitri, Dedue, and Felix.

Add Mercedes to the list of people who realize they're going to kill other people.

Claude talking to Byleth and being like, if I had you around, I'd probably be a decent person!

I had to fight Cyril :(

SHEZ & FERDINAND A

Ferdinand is pulling a Dimitri and working until tired. Unlike Dimitri, though, Ferdinand listens.

This support is shipping Ferdibert because it's Hubert who sent Shez, and apparently worried about Ferdinand.

It was kind of short.

EDELGARD & HUBERT A

God, I hope this is better than their final Houses support.

Haha, she's asking about Byleth. Wishing she could've recruited Byleth, lamo. I bet this goes differently if you're a better gamer.

It sucks that, once again, Hubert and Edelgard's relationship is reduced to Edeleth bait rather than being about Hubert.

And so, once again, Hubert's not going to be any credit for being the Eagles' single braincell.

Wait....... did they just confirm the Crest connection between Edelgard and Byleth?

God, I would HATE it if they did that to Dimileth. Idk, there's something about magic influencing people to like each other that takes away from the romance of the relationship.

How did Edeleth fans react to this?

Oh, we're actually talking about Hubert now.

Hubert is happy with the role groomed into him. To Edelgard's credit, she wishes things would reverse sometimes.

I love how different all the lord-retainer relationships are in this game. They made 3 distinct, interesting ones. No points if you guess my favorite of them.

LINHARDT & PETRA B

These two have so little in common. Also, I'm going to need to grind to get their A.

They know what diaphragms are in Fodlan.

Petra needs help with a letter. It's written in archaic language. I forget that poor Petra only gets a language teacher ones, and it's Blue Lions locked. Dedue for the win.

It's a love letter, lamo.

I headcannon it's from Dorothea.

Welp, headcannon squashed. She says she has no knowledge of the writer, and is rife with mistakes.

Linhardt finds the letter sacrilegious, but Petra's impressed.

PETRA & HUBERT A

One of the worst pairings in Houses.

An assassin goes after Hubert, but Petra shoots her.

Hubert's annoyed bc he can't question her, but grateful.

Hubert critiques the tactics that Petra uses to save him. Only Hubert.

He's more surprised that a queen would use a tactic than thinking it's a bad one.

Hubert's hating on chivalry and knights.

Petra doesn't understand their thoughts, and Hubert tries to explain it.

"It's peace we are wishing for." Uh, no. People who start wars don't wish for peace.

Hubert admits it has its uses though. But dislikes it.

Hey, at least this wasn't a support revolving around Hubert gurdingly accepting Petra as an "inferior" Edelgard.

HUBERT & FERDINAND A

Hubert calls Ferdinand the ultimate noble, not sure if that's a compliment or not.

Ferdinand's like don't sneak up on me while I'm training, dumbass.

But then Hubert's like you could just kill me right now if you wanted too! Which, is kind of weird. And Ferdinand's like, stop being weird. agreed.

Ferdinand doesn't see his father as the man who raised him.

Hubert admits that Ferdinand's matured. Ferdinand admires Hubert's obsession with Edelgard.

Ferdinand asks to stand alongside both of them as Edelgard's two jewels of the Empire.

And Hubert laughs at him.

And then it ends.

Ok, so why is this such a big ship again?

DOROTHEA & PETRA A

Bummed they only have 1 support. This is my favorite ship for both of them.

They go on a date in the marketplace and are happy to get away from all the death they're causing.

Petra is surprised to see it so upbeat, considering the war. Dorothea says life goes on for commoners regardless of what nobles are doing, but get upset when family dies.

Petra claims in Brigid, everyone is family. Dorothea says Fodlan's not like that.

In Brigid, they fight over thrones and lovers, but not land, like in Fodlan (like in Scarlet Blaze, lamo). Dorothea wants the tea.

They get accosted by random dudes, but Petra fights them off. Dorothea helps, I think.

Does this mean women get accosted in the market in broad daylight in the Empire???

Hahaha, Dorothea tells Petra that her skin is silky smooth and asks her to feel. Sadly, Dorothea doesn't act on that.

Petra calls Dorothea important to her, and to watch out, that she'll keep Dorothea safe. Dorothea promises the same.

My shipping heart is happy with this, though the random attack was a bit odd.

PETRA & RAPHAEL A

I could have seen this already in GW, though it's unlikely?

Raphael is howling to catch a wolf, but it keeps getting louder, so he's upset. Petra disagrees that he's not getting better.

They've made a team up, where Raphael scares the animals, and Petra hides and kills them all. So they make a good team.

Raphael is acting as a hound, he's upset that he isn't a wolf.

Petra thinks Raphael would fit in in Brigid. He agrees and plans to visit.

I honestly have no idea if I've seen this before.

DOROTHEA & BERNADETTA B

This is their highest support.

Dorothea sees her talking to someone. And the little bit on screen looked a lot like Yuri? Dorothea confirms that it's a man.

Don't Bernadetta and Yuri have a history? Dorothea thinks it's romantic.

Yep, it's Yuri. Bernadetta talks about the commoner friend she had once, which is Yuri.

Dorothea thinks this is the makings of a good opera. Bernie insists it's not love; Dorothea says that's how an opera would work.

Honestly, though, Yuri and Bernie may be one of the least compatible pairings possible in this game.

I've heard about this. Yuri's support retcons Bernie's father's abuse into "protecting." Which is such bullshit. Imagine excusing abuse as "I'm protecting you." It's really gross.

Bernie thankfully gets to set it straight in this game. Saying her father didn't love or protect her, but just a valuable item that he owns. SOOOOO glad Hopes took the opportunity to fix that awful implication the Yuri-Bernie support added.

Dorothea says her father treated her mother like an item too.

So more Empire men treating women like possessions.

Even in the Kingdom and Alliance when characters feels pressured to perform (Slyvain, Ingrid, Hilda, Lorenz, etc . . .) - no one talks about it being so bad they're dehumanized. This really seems like an Empire-exclusive, sexism thing. (also notice that, without thinking, I came up with male and female examples of both the Kingdom and the Alliance).

LINHARDT & BERNADETTA C

I feel like I did a much better job unlocking Blue Lions supports than the other houses and I don't know why since I paid close attention to all of them.

Bernie is messing around and the weeds, and Linhardt asks why.

It's to avoid a man and a woman going on a secret date, according to Bernie at least. She thinks they'll get mad at her for interrupting their date. Linhardt says she's no more significant than a pebble on the road to them.

Honestly, Bernie thinking everyone will blow up at her is a self-centered, isn't it?

Lin's like, they're lost in their own little world. And gets a bit romantic for appreciating them for sharing love when they could die on the battlefield tomorrow. Bernie argues that in fiction, they'd get together. Then Lin's like, that's fiction, not reality. Then Bernie argues fiction that's more realistic. And Lin's like, yeah, those stories exist bc people relate to it. And they go a bit in a circle.

Then Lin just falls asleep right there.

FERDINAND & EDELGARD A

Ferdinand asks for some compassion from Edelgard about killing his father, but then says that's just pity and tells Edelgard to just give him the order she wants.

Edelgard says she's not here bc she wants something, she just wants his typical effort.

Ferdinand can't die here or history won't remember him well.

Edelgard then says imagine what history will say about me if I lose?

Then Ferdinand says he'll gladly die to further Edelgard's goals because her life matters more.

And because he's not from Faerghus, that's a good thing because dying for Edelgard = good, dying for Dimitri = bad. Or Edelgard can't recognize her own hypocrisy (Claude, at least, thinks "dying for Claude = bad" per his "wtf, Hilda" in CF).

I know Edelgard approves of Ferdinand's attitude (which is the EXACT SAME as Sylvain, Ingrid, etc . . .) because she says he's such a great noble she wouldn't have to get rid of them if they were like him.

So, unlike Dimitri, who hates it whenever Ashe or Ingrid or whoever says "I'll die for you in battle bc your life means more!" and tells them not too, Edelgard is like "wow, that's such a great attitude that I wouldn't even need to start a war if they all thought like you." Yet, somehow, this game wants me to think the Faerghus fighting back against this idea is worse than the Empire glorifying it, lamo (since Monica has the same attitude in her Edelgard support, which isn't portrayed as a negative).

Ferdinand argues for the existence of the nobility and the structure they build, that she can't throw it away. She says that's not her plan. (so, has she like, not even told him her plans??? What happens if she dies?? Would anyone have a single clue what her plan was???)

Then it goes back to their CF support, where he argues for education. And this game makes it obvious that it never occurred to her that poor people can't just automatically compete with nobles. That this dodo bird has killed hundreds of thousands without considering the gap between the poor and rich, lamo. Hopes is gold for confirming she never thought of this, only Ferdinand did.

I know Yuri does the same for Dimitri, but Dimitri already had the right idea of knowing the poor needed their basic needs meant before they can advance (and familiarizing himself with how they live unlike her staying in her ivory tower), and he also, you know, didn't go killing everyone who won't bow their heads to him bc he thinks his plans are so brilliant.

SHAMIR & HAPI C

Shamir is in a church. Hapi is confused, until Shamir says she's looking for some peace and quiet.

Hapi's "not the praying type" either. But she also just wanted quiet.

Shamir doesn't seem annoyed with Hapi's nickname, which is why Shamir is never annoying. She's edgy, yeah, but not in an annoying way.

She's talking about some pagan statue in the abyss. I honestly don't remember that.

Ohh, Shamir wound up in the abyss after the war. Then ran into trouble with the church. And Rhea hired her.

That pagan is actually from Dagda. One of their deities. Cool lore. It's apparently their god of fate.

They both wonder why it's there. Good question.

SHEZ & DOROTHEA A

Dorothea is singing for Shez. Who's like, yeah, it's good.

She's disappointed with the lack of response, because Shez isn't very cultural lol.

He says it made him warm, like his mother growing up. So he actually does get it because Dorothea was singing a lullaby.

It's a lost song though, and Dorothea doesn't know the words (only sang lalala, you cowards, give us lyrics like Annette gets!) But the song got researched and her melody is a guess.

Shez tells Dorothea that her voice touches people even if they don't understand high-art, like himself.

Dorothea lost her passion while working while singing, but she's getting her passion back now, thanks in part to Shez.

Shez thinks Dorothea speaks beautifully and can reach people's hearts, and credits her training, so it wasn't worthless. Unlike Shez who can't string a sentence together.

Dorothea says that Shez isn't back with words. And that he was actually pretty smooth and flirty.

Honestly, super cute support at the end.

EDELGARD & BERNADETTA A

Edelgard lists her worries at night; Bernie walks in on her. It's one of the places Bernie goes to be alone.

Bernie asks if Edelgard is alright after hearing the list, and offers to listen, which seems a bit OOC for Bernie.

Edelgard appreciates it, but says Bernie would get tired of it.

Bernie thinks the curse eating away at her is the same as the one eating away at Edelgard. Edelgard is impressed with Bernie's insight because she guesses right.

Edelgard is upset that TWSITD is still around after thinking she's already beaten him.

Edelgard says being kind to people doesn't help people recover from pain. Consistent with her characterization, but I HATE "feminine" things like compassion are weak instead you gotta just man your way through it (bc it's toxic to your mental health) and the game mostly proves her wrong though.

HUBERT & CASPAR B

This is their only support.

Hubert gets a report that Caspar located enemies scouting the base. He attacked, no enemies survived, and he got hurt.

Hubert's questions were all hopeful that at least one survived, but because Caspar's an idiot no one should trust with command of an army, of course they're missing intel now.

Caspar brags about it to Hubert, lamo. What an idiot. Caspar's inability to read people is also not a good thing for a commander.

Hubert is unimpressed. Actually sees it as bad.

Caspar counters that Hubert is impressed with Berligtz does it, but Hubert's like "those were reinforcements, also, he's competent."

This is why Hubert is best boy in the Black Eagles. (he or Dorothea are by far my favorite Eagles)

Caspar is like well my gut said attack, so I went, not caring at all like the smartest guy in the army thinks his plot was stupid.

Hubert keeps lecturing him. Saying he'll get people killed.

Caspar's like "if you wanna make a name for yourself, you gotta risk death!"

So . . . Caspar doesn't care that he hurt the Empire's war efforts by killing spies rather than capturing them, nor that he got his men hurt by his rash actions, because he "proved himself in battle to gain status."

Caspar is just really awful in this game. Hubert, though, is gold in this support, as usual. Even when he's a dick, he's an entertaining dick (and usually supposed to be seen as wrong lol)

Caspar learned exactly 0 things in that support.

LINHARDT & CASPAR A

Caspar wakes Linhardt up, who's slept into midday.

Caspar claims he found something amazing. Linhardt is like usually you're wrong about that.

Caspar wants to show off a huge bear someone took down. Linhardt is grossed out by the gore. Caspar really has 0 ability to see any POV but his own and understand who he's talking too.

Caspar wants to hunt it. Linhardt's like, ok, then go. Lamo.

Caspar wants to fight a bare bare-handed.

Linhardt bring up when Caspar's dad took down a bare when he was younger than Caspar. Caspar still insists he'll do it, and used to drag Lin along while bear hunting. This is how he learned healing.

I think Caspar got really dumbed down in Hopes.

Lin's like, let's focus on the war, not bears, ok? Caspar at least agrees to this.

LINHARDT & EDELGARD B

Their only support.

Edelgard plays with a cat, only after making sure no one can see her. Then Linhardt walks in, and she's thrown off.

Edelgard pretends she doesn't know the cat. Lin calls her out.

Lin likes cats. I don't know why Edelgard is surprised. Lin is basically a human cat.

Edelgard likes cats because of how they help humans (get rid of rodents, etc . . .)

Lin keeps arguing that cats are awesome because they trick people into waiting on them hand and foot.

Edelgard asks if he's owned a cat. Lin's like, seriously, that's too much work.

She's being so difficult because she didn't want Lin to own the cat.

Edelgard made a funny, accusing Lin of aspiring to be a cat.

This gap moe Edelgard stuff works wayyyy better than the stuff in Houses, imo.

SHEZ & CASPAR A

Haha, Shez is like, "Oh Caspar, there you are," and Caspar assumes that he wants to practice, Shez is like, yeah, but with your dad.

This game really dunks on Caspar, everyone just talks about how much better his dad is lamo.

Caspar is like, you're too ordinary to spare with my dad.

Apparently Count Bersraser whatever his name is really hurts people when they train, and Caspar tells Shez to cancel his plans.

After the sparing, Shez is exhausted, but Shez did better than anyone else ever did.

MAIN BATTLE

I don't remember who I'm fighting this chapter.

Why does Claude get a picture in SB? Will I see it in GW too?

Waaaaiiiitttt, is Claude . . . turning against the Empire?

He's like, we only agreed to pair with Edelgard under duress and bc the other option is the Kingdom protecting Rhea - who invented racism, who is the only reason hierarchies exist, and who made Claude stub his toe this morning.

Ok, so siding with the Empire is stupid, but thinking the Alliance can fight the Empire, Kingdom, and Church is maybe the stupidest move yet, lamo.

He thinks Dimitri will "shackle us to their outdated customs" because, you know, Dimitri is all about ruling the Empire and Alliance and not improving the Kingdom at all or anything. Projection much?

This is so funny, and dumb. Not like the writing has ever cared about making Claude look like he has the intelligence to surpass a toddler in this game.

Yep, Claude turned against the Empire, lamo.

Cut scene time! They're just marching and talking about the battle.

Dimitri's here too. And Dedue's right beside him. Of course.

Claude too, and he's like "too bad we can't do something more civilized" - like, my dude, you are part of the problem.

Seteth coming in on a dragon looking badass. He's begging Flayn to retreat. But she won't. Please don't make me kill her :(

Edelgard's like "time to prove the Empire's supremacy!" and "anyone who stands in our way must be cut down!" But see, this is why I like her so much better in SB. It's just more honest and tries less to twist things around to make her into a typical princess type, instead of owning (at least a little more) the red emperor type she is.

Fuck, I have to defeat Flayn. She's healing people, not attacking, but I still have to take her out. If it was a side mission, I'd ignore it. Hubert mocks her like "is this the second coming of Saint Cethleann" - well, about that . . . .

Now Felix appeared :( It's also a main mission I can't ignore. At least it looks like he's retreating.

Only for Sylvain to show up, which isn't any better :( Fuck, he's claiming he's avenging Ingrid :(

OH FUCK. He actually died. Begging for forgiveness from Dimitri. SB is really the most bloody path :(

Dimitri sounded so upset. I really feel the like the villain. It's by far the route with the highest named character count killed (Rodrigue, Ingrid, Annette, Gilbert, Sylvain) AND my main goal is to kill Flayn because she's . . . healing people.

At least Flayn retreats. She makes Seteth promise to do the same :( (If I have to kill Seteth too, I swear to GOD).

Please let Dedue retreat :((((((

I also have to defeat Hilda :( Sad, but not big sad.

THANK FUCK. Dedue retreated. Dimitri sounded near tears.

Now I have to defeat Seteth too :( Thank God, he retreated. I think Hilda did too?

Now I have to defeat Dimitri and Claude. I am considerably more upset about the former. I wonder if they live or die.

I'm letting the other units fight Dimitri. I'm tired of killing him. I'll go kill Claude, which doesn't upset me much.

Lamo, Edelgard was like, go back to your people! Stop protecting the church - like, as if her plan isn't to take over Faerghus regardless? Dimitri smelled her bullshit at least.

If Claude retreated, does that mean Dimitri does too?

Ok, he retreated at least. Still Sylvain :(((

Ohhhhh, Byleth the final boss? Sothis has possessed Byleth though. But he seems along for the ride bc Byleth's pissed we killed Jeralt.

Shez vs Byleth cut scene again, except unlike in AG, Byleth is Sothis possessed and Shez is Shez, but then Shez goes demon mode too.

Shez is worn down, but wins bc Byleth stops glowing, so I think Byleth dies?

NARRATION

Yep, we killed Byleth. Shez feels empty about it though. And talks about this being a horrible mistake and wishes there was another way to solve this.

Funny how he only cares about Byleth and not all the other people who died (Sylvain, and tons and tons of people).

Arval feels freed though, from an old quest, and major relief, and starts crying.

So you have to either choose between Byleth dies, but Shez and Arval are on good terms, or Byleth lives and Arval and Shez aren't happy (I think, since he took Shez over in the special chapter, but I haven't played that in AG yet).

Ok, so this battle took me 26 minutes. AG took me 4, because Dimitri is just that absurd. He kills bosses so fast. Like before the dialogue finishes. It's just so absurd.

Edelgard is worried because Rhea and the knights weren't seen (or most of them), she's also under the impression Rhea would love a battle like this, but Rhea's never seen bloodthirsty? Vengeful, but not battle loving.

The main force will proceed with occupying Galatea :((((( That small bit of dialogue - knife to my heart.

No one even mentioned Sylvain :(

xxx

[jadelotusflower]

Rewatch: Stargate (1994, dir. Roland Emmerich)

What to do when there's so many shows and movies on the to watch list? Revisit shows and movies I've seen many times before of course! Maybe I'm just in need of some comfort viewing right now.

I can't remember when I first saw Stargate. It certainly wasn't at the cinema, but probably rented from the video store (yes, I am an Old) and was certainly keyed to my preteen interests: mythology and Soft(TM) male protagonists.

Over the years and though several rewatches, online fandom, and my love of behind the scenes featurettes, director's commentaries, and retrospectives, I've also gleaned quite a bit of background tidbits and trivia, and I have many thoughts! Most of them through the lens of nostalgia, but that can't be helped.

Are you ready to go back to Titanic Stargate?

The much maligned Pharaoh's head, but it makes for a symbolic opening, trying to find the meaning to the different patterns before the whole picture becomes clear.

David Arnold's theme remains a banger. One of the GOATs.

I'm watching the Extended Edition/Director's Cut, which opens in the North African Desert 8000 BCE to depict Jaye Davidson being abducted, which is only seen in flashback in the theatrical cut. It's atmospheric, but it does tip the hand of the narrative a bit. The stronger opening is probably:

Giza, 1928, where the Stargate is unburied. Even this scene is extended, where the fossilized head of an Anubis is also found. It reveals the sinister undertone far too soon, imo, and it was the right choice to cut it.

Present Day! Love of my life Daniel Jackson ruins his career by arguing that the Egyptian pharaohs of the IVth Dynasty did not build the great pyramids. He does not claim (as the show later does) that aliens built the pyramids. Important distinction!

"Is there a lunch or something, that everybody...?" lol, James Spader is great. This was the first role I ever saw him in, and didn't realise this was actually playing against type a bit, but I have been a fan of his ever since.

Shoutout to Viceca Lindfors, who plays Catherine with steely grace.

Jack O'Neil (one L) aka Kurt Russell (two L's), in a great character introduction that is ruined by some voiceover exposition. We get everything we need to know from his scene without it, except that Tyler shot himself with Jack's gun, but honestly it would have been more impactful if that detail was held back from the audience and revealed in the later scene with Daniel.

The great Richard Kind everybody! He will later appear in an extremely tone deaf episode of Stargate: Atlantis, but here he's Dr Gary Michaels, aka the guy Daniel gets to show up by swanning in and correcting his translation.

Daniel: That's a curious word to use, isn't it? Michaels: ...Yeah

Rae Allen plays Barbara Shore - you may remember her as reporter Gloria Thorpe in Damn Yankees. It's a shame neither of these characters ever turned up in the show, I like them both.

"You must have used Budge, I don't know why they keep reprinting his books." LOL, Daniel with his petty academic grudges. Although as I understand this is a valid criticism, as Budge's translation methods were very much outdated by the 90's. But Budge conceivably could have been a contemporary of Catherine's father, which is interesting to think about.

Jack arrives with his haircut to correct Daniel's assumption that the hieroglyphs are 5000 years old - they're actually 10,000 years old, which Daniel ironically finds ludicrous. To pick some nits, according to the opening Ra arrived on Earth in 8000 BCE which is presumably where the 10,000 number came from, but doesn't take into account Ra establishing a culture and ruling on Earth for however long before the rebellion, which is when the coverstones would have been carved.

Leon Rippy plays the General West and his utter disdain for Daniel despite him solving "in fourteen days what they couldn't solve in two years" kind of gives me life. His surly "any time" and passing over the reference materials without looking at them is so great. Fantastic performance in a tiny role.

Several people are smoking in this scene, including Jack and Barbara. It's easily forgotten just how common casual smoking was back in the day - 1994 seems a little late for it to be so prevalent, but it gives the room that atmospheric haze.

Emmerich was also a big smoker, so ...

Unrealistic that Daniel would be presenting his theory without running it past Catherine and the team first, but hey it's a movie, dramatic effect and all that.

Important to note that Daniel's contribution isn't only realising that the symbols were star constellations, but the purpose of the symbols, being a map to determine a course. He also deduced that seven symbols were needed, realised that the seventh symbol below the cartouche not inside it, and then identified the seventh symbol on the gate itself.

This is a really nice illustration to Daniel's core strength - he's not just a repository of knowledge, he's a puzzle solver.

Some small character beats - Michaels questions Daniel twice, while Shore reaches out to pat Katherine's hand in victory when West orders Daniel be shown the Stargate. Again, they should have been brought back for the show!

There's a star map in the control room, implying that they had at least an idea that the Stargate was a transportation device, making the team look even more foolish for not figuring out (in two years!) that a) the symbols were star constellations, and b) that seven symbols (address + point of origin) were needed.

Daniel assures West that he can decipher the gate on the other side in a stunning display of hubris - a character flaw that will stay with him in some form through all ten seasons of the show.

Although West doesn't actually ask Daniel how he will make the Stargate work for the return trip, so that's kind of on him.

Jack correctly deduces that Daniel's full of shit, then goes to look at the Anubis head found in the Giza sequence. Again unnecessary inclusion imo, Jack's motivation works better as ambiguous at this point.

Everyone has their own little character moment before going through the gate - Jack grits his teeth and raises his gun, Brown looks back to the others, Porro kisses a St Christopher medallion.

Daniel toying with the event horizon was a Spader addition (much to the chagrin of the VFX supervisor!)

Foreshadowing for the Abydos point of origin symbol.

"That's a nice tent! Oh, we each get a tent, that's nice."

A snarky Ferretti (the great French Stewart) throws Daniel's suitcase at him, scattering his books on the sand. Daniel is completely nonplussed, starts to gather them up and then sits down to munch on a 5th Avenue bar. I love original recipe Daniel. Don't get me wrong, I love show Daniel too, but the OG, man, just 100% unbothered when antagonised.

Although to be fair, Ferretti's frustration is justified (if not his reaction) so that probably is a factor in Daniel's (lack of) response.

Daniel feeds a mastadge chocolate and gets dragged across the dunes and slobbered on for his trouble. But he doesn't hold a grudge, because he goes from "get away from me" to patting the creature on the snout in about three seconds.

Sha'uri, my beloved!

Important to note that while the other water-bearers keep their eyes downcast, Sha'uri is the only one bold enough to look up and make eye contact with Daniel, who smiles at her.

Daniel, in return, is the only one to say thank you.

She's also very wary of Daniel at this stage, here and on the walk back to Nagada - she laughs at Skaara and Nabeh taking his handkerchief, but tenses up when he looks her way. Does she know at this stage that he has been earmarked as her husband?

It makes me curious, because I don't think that it's ever explicit in the film that Sha'uri is Kasuf's daughter and Skaara's sister (although it's implied), but it makes sense that she is the daughter of the chief and would therefore make a high status offering (ugh I feel gross typing that) for an emissary of Ra.

We know that Ra surrounds himself with child slaves (the creepy implications of which I don't want to think about), and it's unclear how old Sha'uri is meant to be (Mili Avital was 22), but I wonder if the reason why she was not married already is that this was always the role intended for her - to serve Ra in some capacity, perhaps (in tv show timeline) as a host for one of his underlings.

If so, it makes her fate in the show even more tragic.

Brown takes a picture on their approach to Nagada which is a nice little character beat - I wonder where that camera ended up? Derek Webster also had bit parts in Devlin/Emmerich joints Independence Day and Godzilla, fwiw.

"Ferretti, say again." Great line reading from Russell - he gets flack for being humourless/not being Richard Dean Anderson, but I think he has great presence in the role and character at this point - RDA!O'Neill is the product of Russell!O'Neil's experience in this film.

A sandstorm approaches and in the extended sequence there's a miscommunication that Skaara (Alexis Cruz) defuses. I like this addition, as it gives more scope to the connection between Jack and Skaara - he sees that Jack is the one in charge, but also that he's willing to listen, and Jack sees that Skaara is brave enough to face a threat, but also clever enough to diffuse the situation.

"Well that would have been an excellent reason to shoot everyone." lol, and people say snarky!Daniel was a show-only thing.

Trying to learn the word that means "sandstorm" from Kasuf and the incredulous/frustrated little laugh after is a nice touch too.

Erick Avari steals every scene he is - he was also in Devlin/Emmerich's Independence Day ("what's with the golf balls?!?" was an ad-lib), and of course he's great in The Mummy ( the delivery of "Do you really want to know, or would you prefer to just shoot us?" is perfection.)

He was only 42 during this movie! Hasn't aged a day since.

A great deal of Kasuf came from Avari as well - the role was only a few lines in the script and was mostly developed during rehearsals - the same was true for Alexis Cruz as Skaara.

While "tastes like chicken" was in the script, the clucking like a chicken came from Spader.

Pivotal scene, because it really shows Sha'uri's courage - her fear is palpable, first at her duty to offer herself to Daniel then at what his rejection may mean for her and her people. She is confused by his behaviour, delighted when they are able to exchange names, but guarded again when he draws in the sand. At this point she doesn't know if he is an emissary of Ra testing her resolve, but she takes the chance and fixes his drawing to make the symbol from Earth, then takes him to the hidden catacombs.

Sha'uri's leap of faith here is underrated I feel - she's been watching Daniel so closely and makes a very correct judgement about his character - there is something in him that she recognises, and decides that she can trust. At this stage she probably knows that she is safe with him, but she wants to go beyond that and actually connect with him.

Also she's wearing red here, the same colour as Kasuf and some of the other elders wear, which does imply it's a colour of status.

LOL, this scene would never happen today.

This was almost cut from the movie! The studio's focus was on the action and wanted to eliminate a great deal of the character stuff, resulting in the film testing very poorly. Devlin/Emmerich redid the cut to put everything back in and (surprise surprise!) the next audience screening was much more favourable.

Because Jack's character arc doesn't work without this scene! We need to see Jack actually bond with Skaara, to gift him the lighter, be amused when Skaara mimics him and takes a drag of the cigarette, then for things to turn when Skaara innocently reaches for Jack's gun and he blows up.

"I guess the word dweeb doesn't mean anything to you guys, does it?"

Too good! Too pure for this world!

The hidden catacombs fascinates me - the entrance is blocked with rocks so she presumably Sha'uri hadn't been there for some time. Is it something she came across as a child? Was it secret information handed down through the generations, perhaps from her mother?

The symbol for Earth is only visible from inside so she must have explored the catacombs at some point, perhaps wondering what the paintings meant, and she must have been aware that at one point writing wasn't outlawed. I do like the idea that both Sha'uri and Daniel have this great curiosity and yearning to understand - they also share a great capacity for trust and willingness to take leaps of faith that makes them very well matched.

The backstory with Ra changed very late in the process - originally the Egyptian boy was merely appointed as a proxy for the alien creature to rule Earth, not possessed by the alien. This is unfathomable to me and really don't think it could have worked - where's the menace if Ra isn't the actual alien being but just some guy who works for him?

Presumably, it means Spader came back to do reshoots for the tale of Ra's origins, and if you notice he only mentions possession in a closeups where the lighting is slightly different. The frescos in the wide shots also don't match the closeups, which Emmerich himself did.

Brown is the one who gives Daniel a gun. RIP Brown.

Djimon Hounsou as Horus!

The Anubis/Horus/Ra disappearing headgear was one of the few noticeably CGI effects - most of the film was done practically and it shows (in a good way). I will take puppets and props and extras every day over CGI, there's just something more visceral about films made this way.

Daniel dies for the first - but certainly not the last - time.

The extended edition has Daniel walking through Ra's ship after being revived - there's a cat on Ra's throne, and we see more of Ra getting bathed and dressed by his child slaves just to notch up the creepiness.

Whatever happened to Jaye Davidson?

Apparently he had difficulty with the role, no doubt because as written it made no sense, which is why they had to change it in editing, adding the flanges and the glowing eyes.

Davidson was concerned he'd ruined the movie, and apparently was relieved rather than upset to see the final film. I actually think it's a great performance, and Ra really has a menace that feels genuinely dangerous.

The Abydonian langauge was based on Ancient Egyptian as developed by Egyptologist Dr Stuart Smith, and apparently great care was taken to make it as authentic as possible. I...don't think the same can be said for the show.

Dr Smith also consulted on The Mummy.

O'Neil, Kawalsky, Ferretti, and Guy Who Will Soon Die (Freeman).

Is is Kawalsky or Kawalski? The credits say Kawalsky, but his uniform at the beginning of the film says Kawalski. I personally prefer the latter.

The extended edition has an extra scene following the escape - Jack and Daniel jump on a mastadge which takes off and separates them from the group as Sha'uri and Skaara look on thinking "where are those idiots going?"

They get stuck in a sandstorm where Daniel collapses, and they're only found because the mastadge is so upset about his new friend he wails - this explains why Daniel is coughing and spluttering when they get to the cave.

Many a slash fic has started this way, I'm sure.

I really like Kawalski in this scene - "these kids don't have anywhere else to go" really hits me for some reason. He's bonded with them too.

"I don't want to die, your men don't want to die, and these people here don't want to die. It's a shame you're in such a hurry to."

The pivotal Jack and Daniel scene - this where the reveal about how Jack's son died should have been, so we find out when Daniel does. Then we'd think back on all the previous interactions - Jack knocking the gun from Skaara's hand, being unable to shoot the kids Ra uses as human shields - and be able to read new meaning into them.

A tender moment that I kind of wish they'd let play out a little more, although Avital captures Sha'uri's vulnerability so well. This was her first scene!

While I do love the Daniel/Sha'uri romance, I think she gets unfairly dismissed as just the love interest when she's so much more. Sha'uri is the one who starts the Abydonian rebellion - she's the one who decides that "we can no longer live as slaves" and rallies the boys to save Jack and his men - she's the one who passes on the knowledge of Ra's true identity.

At that point it's unclear if she thought Daniel is dead or just captured - her reaction following the massacre in Nagada perhaps implies the former. When Skaara tells her that Ra has called an execution she's been looking at the cave paintings, so clearly rebellion is already on her mind, and she's willing to go against everything she's been taught to try and save - maybe Daniel - but maybe only his friends, to help them overthrow Ra.

Interesting costume change for Kasuf here - he no longer has his outer robes or headdress, nor is he riding a mastadge - has he been stripped of his leadership role? Horus is now in charge.

Also nice little character beat - while the other have their guns pointed at Horus, Daniel is looking back at Sha'uri.

I do love Skaara's defiance - telling the others not to bow when Kasuf orders them to, and later he'll be the most reluctant to surrender, throwing down his gun in disgust before kneeling.

Sha'uri carries a gun into the pyramid, but I think it would have been better to at least see her try and shoot at the horus guard before she is killed.

Ostensibly this is a plot necessity to get Daniel up into the ship to give him a final faceoff with Ra and setup using the rings to deliver the bomb, but I think it's also needed for the Daniel/Sha'uri relationship - if he hadn't almost lost her and been willing to risk his life to save her, I don't think his choice to remain on Abydos with her at the end would have rung as true.

"I am no longer amused." idc, Davidson is great.

The first - but certainly not the last - time Daniel will get his brain friend by the hand device.

Ra's ultimate downfall is his hubris - if he'd never revived Daniel to make an example of him it's likely he never would have been overthrown, or at least not in the way he was. Yes he may still have had the public execution, and Sha'uri and Skaara may have still tried to rescue Jack and the others, but without Daniel to shoot his staff to set off the disturbance it may not have been successful. Jack wouldn't have been able to properly communicate with the Abydonians to form a plan, Daniel wouldn't be there to reveal Horus as a mortal not a god to Kasuf, etc.

It's interesting to me because as I said above hubris is also Daniel's main flaw, although it manifests differently, but that's what really draws me to these kind of characters - people who are a force for good but in such a way that their idealism and drive could easily tip over into ruthlessness/villainy in the right circumstances, and we definitely see this explored a few times in the show.

Also interesting is even though Kurt Russell gets top billing, it's really Daniel who is our protagonist - he's the one who is the true adversary to Ra, they share the relationship and confrontational scenes - Jack's antagonist is really Anubis.

Kasuf arrives with the uprising, and ultimately I do love that all three of our Abydonian family - Sha'uri, Skaara, and Kasuf - play a vital role in overthrowing Ra, even if Jack and Daniel get the credit for actually killing him.

We're meant to be la la la don't think about it re: the child slaves who were presumably still on Ra's ship when it blew up.

And I'm a sap! Skaara and the boys saluting Jack, and getting his salute in return always gets me.

Kawalsky and Ferretti too!

It's very important that Sha'uri is the one who instigates the kiss with Daniel, to balance the earlier scene where he kissed her.

Because it's a relationship that could very easily veer into problematic or feel unearned, but by this point having saved each other's lives, having communicated and bonded and come to understand one another, they do seem to be genuinely falling in love rather than there being any sense of obligation.

I think there might have been an alternate ending - on the bts there's footage of Daniel and Sha'uri walking with the Abydonians. Daniel looks back, presumably at the pyramid, as if reckoning with his decision to stay and a last look back at his life on Earth. Then he puts his arm around Sha'uri and they blend into the crowd as Daniel becomes part of the Abydonian people.

And then they both lived happily ever after and no one ever bothered them again! I choose to see the movie and the show as very similar but different universes/timelines, so hold true to my headcanon that this version of Daniel/Sha'uri got that long and happy life together on Abydos.

But as it is, we get our goodbyes - Skaara gets a handshake of respect from Jack, and Daniel gets some nice closure on his relationships with the three surviving members of the team:

Ferretti - goes from "Isn't there something you should be doing right now? Like getting us out of here?" (throws suitcase) to "I always knew you'd get us back"

Kawalski from - "You're a lying son of a bitch!" to "Thanks Daniel"

And Jack, from "He's full of shit" to "I'll be seeing you around...Doctor Jackson."

Of course this was setting up the sequel in the planned trilogy, but it works well moving on - as I will be - to the show.

[blameitonmy80hdbaby]

A running list of my 2022 obsessions (so far)

West Side Story

carried over from the end of 2021

No goddamn idea how it took me 29 years to see this musical

Also didn’t realize that Glee covered a lot of this music at the time it was airing and I gotta say it did NOT do a good job (went back and watched the episode)

Omg the music. The melodies. The soaring strings. The voices. The plot was okay, the music was fabulous and Sondheim (RIP) was a musical genius.

Mike Faist and Ariana DeBose stole the whole goddamn show. This is where my Mike Faist obsession began in full earnest (I kinda recognized him from Panic, which I hadn’t finished watching at the time)

Took until about mid/end of March to fully shake this obsession

Tonight (Quintet) is criminally underrated once you split all the parts in your head and then put them back together

Why of course I watched the original to continue my obsession. OG Tony was better. i loved OG Bernardo and 2021 Bernardo equally but obv hated OG Bernardo’s (and the rest of the sharks’) face paint.

Yellowjackets

I blame this one on Roz and Mocha (KISS 92.5 shoutout)

Immediately hooked but took a while to finish the last two or three episodes

Team “obsessed with Ella Purnell’s eyes”

One of those shows where basically everyone is unlikeable LOL except maybe Nat???? I like that messed up little bleached blond weirdo. Protect Nat at all costs.

May or may not have watched the entire season to see if there would be more cannibalism

Euphoria s2

As obsessed as I was with this show, s2 was a clusterfuck

Give Zendaya the Emmy for episode 5

Fuck Elliot and the pointless musical number

Lowkey would have dated Ethan. Ethan reminds me of my boyfriend but I don’t remind myself of Kat, who alternately annoyed me and bored me to tears this season

No more Nate I beg of you I am so fucking disinterested

I ship Fexi

Genuinely hoping this show did not peak in s1

Panic

I won’t fucking lie, I started watching this in last year and forgot about it bc I wasn’t invested, picked it up again so I could watch Mike Faist

Totally unbelievable, spoiled it before I finished.

Would probably still watch again for Mike Faist if I was going through Mike Faist withdrawals. Esp that scene in ep 6 😈🥵💦

Bridgerton s2

I binged this in a day

Something about the enemies to lovers thing made this season a bit * s p i c i e r * than s1, despite the fact that s1 had a fuckton (pardon the pun) of sex scenes.

I like being teased but holy hell that was difficult LOL (buildup was worth)

trying to convince my boyfriend to watch this with me. So far, he has refused.

I bought the first two books in the series, been too busy to read :(

My 53 year old male coworker and I have chatted about this show together (not in a creepy way) and i loved our chats (he’s read the books too!)

Dear Evan Hansen

Another thing I picked up due to Mike Faist withdrawals

Started with a bootleg copy of the stage show thanks to another lovely tumblr user and moved onto the movie shortly after

Already wrote a comparison post somewhere on this blog

Dude the plot is so…morbidly weird, but I’m so into the music.

Sincerely Me is my first and forever favourite, but the melody in Waving Through a Window and the subject matter of Requiem both get me every time and I love them as well

Lore Olympus

Okay this is cheating bc no new eps have actually been released in 2022 as of right now

But they’re coming this month

And I’m so fucking excited

Mare of Easttown

If anyone watches broadchurch and then asks me for another show that’s similar to it, I will always recommend this one (gracepoint who?)

My cinnamon bun Zabel. Too pure, too sweet, too lovable, too perfect for this life

When he kissed Mare and said how do you know what I want? I went WEAK. ZABEL, HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME.

Okay but this show was really well done. Strong female main character who was flawed but worth rooting for, complex mystery, lots of twists, interesting dynamics and parallels, therapy!! Character working on bettering themselves!! We love to see it.

Boyfriend DID watch this one with me (made him)

Julia (HBO)

I have a ridiculous love for the Julie and Julia movie. I blame the men (Stanley Tucci and Chris Messina) but I mean I adore food

Started watching this show last week and I’m really into it

We’ll see how invested I get but so far so good

[youtiaoshutiao]

i just finished "the romance of tiger and rose" and i have nothing to watch now :( do you have any cdrama recs?

hello!!!! sorry i got to this a week late my tumblr is like... neglected currently

anyway i’m so glad u enjoyed tiger and rose!!! i love it so much too :D for cdrama recs, omg it really depends on what u’re looking for!!!! i find it so hard to narrow down dramas that are my faves to recommend because i actually watch very little HAHA and i only watch to completion dramas that i really like anyway xD anyway i’ll just list a few that i’ve watched recently (meaning like... from mid 2019 till now) and really enjoyed!!!

period dramas:

- joy of life 庆余年 (2019): hard to describe this tonally because it’s v irreverant and hilarious yet moving and deep and suspenseful?! the first 15 episodes are fun and enjoyable but i think i really really truly got into it after that and became invested 100%. in my eyes it felt like a fervent love poem to life and the human condition especially towards the end. the characters are all very fascinating and there’s a lot of twisty plot twists. excellent acting and script writing. only caveat is that it’s the first season out of a planned 3 season series so it ends on a cliffhanger, and the female lead doesn’t really have as much agency compared to the other supporting female characters (mainly due to her circumstances and the role she plays i guess).

- young blood 大宋少年志 (2019): YOOO THIS is a huge lovelovelove for me, you have the most lovable squad consisting of 6 very different and generally lonely teenagers who get roped into this secret services thing where they deal with top secret government plots and stuff. and they start off all on the wrong foot and grow to LOVE EACH OTHER and RELY ON EACH OTHER and HAVE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. *sobs just thinking about it* has many supporting characters that are interesting and whom u also get invested in. It’s an original script written by Wang Juan 王倦 who also wrote the joy of life script, except young blood is 100% original and not adapted from a webnovel! just like tiger and rose’s script, which is also an original script written by Nan Zhen. this is SUPER SUPER rare nowadays in cdramaland which is why i stan these 2 dramas so hard hahaha. caveat: young blood also ends on a kind of cliffhanger/open ending, but it still felt like the arcs that the entire series covered in terms of character development were well completed so i was okay with it. plus there are lots of hints that there’s also gonna be a season 2, though I think Wang Juan is still writing the script for that.

- under the power 锦衣之下 (2019/2020): this is the drama that tiger and rose is sometimes compared to in terms of how it became so popular unexpectedly. i would wholeheartedly recommend this 100% solely for the OTP which is a Tsundere Embroidered Uniform Guard (Ming-dynasty secret police) ML x Bubbly/talkative/street smart Constable FL. they are SUPER SUPER cute and the leads (who are both my faves) play them super well and their romantic development is presented really organically. the outfits esp the male lead’s are A+++ also and make him look super super hot. i like the OST too. however everything else is quite mediocre lol especially the special effects and the meandering sideplots and there was a whole plot arc that didn’t really make much sense because a lot was edited out because of censorship. STILL VERY ADDICTIVE THO

- the story of ming lan 知否知否应是绿肥红瘦 (2018/2019): a very long drama (but quite normal by cdrama standards lol) basically about the ~journey~ and ~growth~ of our protagonist minglan, unfavoured daughter of a concubine of a relatively high ranking civil servant. it’s a very different vibe to a lot of other cdramas in that it’s very slice-of-life and slow paced, but i think it’s fascinating how it showcases how women deal and work with the internal dynamics of a household in a patriarchal society, and how that affects societal and political affairs as well. her OTP with an unfavoured son from another family (lol) is also very very delicious as it’s basically 2 people who have gone thru a lot of Trauma as children treasuring each other/learning that they too are treasured by the other and them building their own family and household against all odds and evil family members. it’s v long and slow paced as i mentioned earlier but it’s very very rewarding!! and i think many of my tumblr mutuals would agree it’s quite a favourite :D

modern dramas:

(i’ll admit that i’ve only had the brainspace the past 1 year for fluffy brainless modern dramas so all these are just for the FLUFF)

- skate into love 冰糖炖雪梨 (2020): uni drama where the FL re-picks up her true love speed skating after abandoning it for Reasons and gets back into it competitively. her OTP is her primary school deskmate who is an ice hockey player. the otp is very very fun!! the ML has a lot of resentment towards FL initially because FL was quite the bully in primary school but i really like how they resolved it and eventually the ML falls first and falls Really Really Hard and it is Delicious. the career aspects was quite well done also and i really rooted for the FL to rediscover her passion and pick it up again, and also for the ML to become better at his craft. caveat: i actually still have 10 episodes to go as i stalled because i know there’s a couple of episodes coming up that are going to be frustrating because of typical Misunderstanding and Miscommunication blablabla. but that’s pretty common lolol and overall it’s still a cute watch.

- the 致我们 series consisting of 3 dramas : 

1) a love so beautiful 致我们单纯的小美好 (2017): high school drama basically tsundere male lead x bubbly female lead, they’ve been classmates since young and are next door neighbours, female lead has a crush on him since forever

2) put your head on my shoulder 致我们暖暖的小时光 (2019): set in uni, female lead’s doing an internship far from her school, male lead is a physics student and his parents have a flat for him that is near female lead’s internship place, BAM THEY ARE FLATMATES!

3) the love equations 致我们甜甜的小美满 (2020): uni drama, female lead is a chinese language major who loves writing forensic novels online, male lead is a forensic science major.

all 3 are really cute lolol. i put these 3 because i just watched the third one two months ago and i feel like i have to mention it in the context of the first 2 haha. the first 2 were definitely hits both domestically and internationally. i feel the 3rd one kind of flopped? in terms of reception compared to the first 2 and a lot of my drama mutuals couldn’t get into it, and i can understand why because it did feel more unpolished? in terms of directorial choices/the editing/the acting/the script. but i still somehow really loved it for some reason, i think some parts of the ML’s life esp his relationship with his mum really resonated with me, and i loved FL and her friendships with her dormmates so so so so much. so i really rooted for the OTP.  i think objectively in terms of quality i would rate them 2 > 1 > 3, but in terms of feels... i loved them all. and it’s all just pure fluff anyway at the end of the day HAHA.

ok i’m running out of time writing this hehe but also a quick shoutout to my 2 favourite youth/high school dramas forever - With You 最好的我们 (2015) and My Huckleberry Friends 你好旧时光 (2017) which are sister dramas/set in the same universe and imo, are the pinnacle of youth dramas and what it means to capture the anxieties/stresses/mundane joys/pain/beauty of the Chinese/Asian high school experience. 

there are many others from before 2019 that i watched and enjoyed but i didn’t put them in hehe. and i’m sorry HAHA i actually don’t have much trust in my own taste LOL but i hope it helps!!

ohhhh and i’ve been trying to avoid starting on new dramas because of Exam Prep but there’s been SO MANY airing lately that i’ve been interested in:

The Bad Kids 隐秘的角落: apparently super well done suspense/thriller drama that’s receiving rave reviews everywhere!!

Love A Lifetime 暮白首: an original wuxia starring ren jialun (ML in under the power) whom i love so much and zhang huiwen

My Girl 99分女朋友: this is a modern day cdrama written by nan zhen!!! (who wrote tiger and rose) so i think it might be worth checking out :))

[missaureus]

CRASH LANDING ON YOU

Number of Episodes: 16

Genre: Romance, Drama

Rating: 10/10

I actually finished this series prior to the quarantine season but let me just include it to the list because I invested so much emotions to it, to the point it left me handicapped.

Crash Landing on You has so much on its plate! Not to mention the controversy it faced, being criticized by the liberal party for romanticizing not their own kind. I truly appreciate how this production served something new to the audience! The disclaimer being rolled before each episode is a reminder how a vast mind can offer so much - a window to let us visually access how the life is in the world's most secretive country, North Korea. Sure, there are already dramas with North Korea as a setting but the overall portrayal of CLoY makes it loved by the general public.

Apart from the reason of casting big actors as leads, how the supporting roles in CLoY are being painted give a big impact to the whole canvas, even the hostiles and the helpless. The side stories are definitely not something to be skipped. Surprisingly, my favorite character is Seo Dan's mom. She exudes peak mom level! Actually, all mother figures radiate strong personalities! Among all, I appreciate Seo Dan's character development the most! She is definitely a revolution herself. Thank you for empowering women on screen! Lastly, the backbone of the story are the best squads in the history of kdrama, the soldier squad and the mom squad ㅋㅋThey are just pure and fun to watch, even their chemistry with Seri is good~

I honestly ran out of expectations from this drama. I was afraid how it is going to end but the greatest takeaway is that, each character reached their own resolution. Probably some might disagree re: Seo Dan and Seung Jun's tragedy. But the second male lead saying: I was wrong. When I die, there’s someone who will cry for me. The fact that it’s you makes me sad and happy. I guess that resolved his own conflict. *criii*

I have so much to say, to be honest because this drama is generous enough with insights. Highly recommended~ People saying this is too overrated need to sit down and repent lol!

ITAEWON CLASS

Number of Episodes: 16

Genre: Drama, Revenge

Rating: 9/10

First episode and it was already dark and bold. The plot caters a pool of societal issues such as class differences, abuse of power/injustices, transgender discrimination, and racism. This drama has a different aura compared to previous works of Park Seo Joon. Even the love story of the leads is not the typical lovey dovey~

The main character's determination to avenge his father's death is scalding hot throughout the episodes. It was as consistent as his hairstyle for years istg. Hard work does not betray, indeed. What struck me the most is when one character, Seung Kwon, who used to be Saeroyi jailmate, crossed paths again after years in the outer world. He narrated how everyone is given the same amount of time but the depth of time one spends is completely different compared to someone who does not set goals and persevere through time to get it.

No wonder how the rating of the show did good since the characters are effectively pulled off despite how tacky each personality is.

HI BYE, MAMA!

Number of Episodes: 16

Genre: Drama, Fantasy

Rating: 10/10

This series stirred the general public for a fact that the one portraying Seo Woo is actually a boy. The enormous attention it absorbed was also due to its heartbreaking storyline. It is not even an exaggeration that there is no episode that would not let you cry. It will give your tear ducts so much work.

It reflects a pool of family values and love. It will make you realize even more no matter what age you have, you will still need your mom. It will make you ponder how death can rob you in an instant. Midong, a shaman in the drama, once said: A woman who lost her husband is called a widow. A man who lost his wife is called a widower. And a kid who lost his parents is called an orphan. But there’s no word for a parent who lost their kid. Know why? It’s because no word can describe it. There’s no word in this world that can describe the excruciating pain. That is too devastating, I can't digest it.

I want to commend the three main characters so much! They deserve a round of applause each. Both Seowoo's moms deserve her. Yuri and Minjung are both selfless and strong, as mothers should be. It's true that being aggressive with their respective decision against the other without feeling sorry could have been done if one is mean towards the other. This drama has no antagonist and it is frustrating that no one can take the blame. Sadly, one mom must be hurt deeply in order to save the other mom. Shoutout to all stepmoms! Not all are evil, stop labeling them as one. Seowoo's dad, Kanghwa, for me, has the hardest character. He has been walking on eggshells. All his life, his shoulders are heavy. He endured so much and embraced unnecessary guilt. His walls are too high that made his relationship with others shaky. He is afraid for people to get hurt to the point being too considerate does not help him at all, making himself his own punching bag.

Hitting the resolution of the story is a painful process but it is the kind of hurt that liberated all characters involved. To be able to point out what went wrong and ungrasping it--- Yuri boldy telling his used-to-be husband "I am not yours anymore. You can let me go now." opened the door to silence the conflicts. Acceptance.

Literally, I cried how the epilogue gave a glimpse of the couple's life if Yuri was able to escape his death note. It only takes a second to change a life-changing event. But reaching the final episode was the real deal for my tear ducts ㅠ I seriously cried 90 minutes straight! I am so satisfied how it is wrapped up. No better ending no matter heartbreaking it is!

HE IS PSYCHOMETRIC

Number of Episodes: 16

Genre: Romantic Comedy, Fantasy, Thriller

Rating: 9/10

Why did I just watch it noW? ㅠ Wow, this is a masterpiece! The plot twist is insane! I love how the truth was unfold throughout the story. It was helluva stressful hahaha. Dark enough. Since I was hungry for an answer, I finished this one almost straight 16 hours!!! If you have watched While You Were Sleeping, which was about someone who can dream about the future, this series is a counterpart. The main lead can see the past by touching a person or object. This unique ability helped him solve cases, especially the event the greatly involved him in the past.

I commend Jinyoung for crying that much! Crazy he has lots of frame that in need of crying ㅋㅋㅋ Rise the flag of actor-idol! He is a natural, to be honest. His character, Ahn's funny antics always got me~ The female lead, Ye Eun has an uncanning resemblance of Yerim, hahaha it awed me while watching~

I am satisfied how it ended. Although I would to see more of their love story but in totality it is a must-watch definitely!

WHEN THE CAMELLIA BLOOMS

Number of Episodes: 40

Genre: Romantic Comedy, Thriller

Rating: 9/10

I love how this is filtered ♡ Very aesthetic that I want to live in Ongsan too! Life for the female lead is too complex. The plot revolves around straightening the strands of conflicts of her life. Dealing with her son who does not want her to have a boyfriend, who is short-tempered and acts maturely to protect her mom; dealing with her boyfriend who loves her unconditionally, who always believes in her and brings out the best of her; dealing with her ex husband, who wants to stand as a father to his child and fill in those years he missed to take care of him; dealing with her neighbors, who speak ill and put her in a bad light at first; dealing with her mother who made her an orphan and came back to her sick; dealing with her secret killer...

This runs for 20 hours and I could not remember the last drama I've watched this long but I savored it without any hint boredom. It ended but I still want mooore. I love how every character is given ample amount of screen time in the last episode. Everyone ended up happily. The went through so much, a happy ending is deserved by all. I was moved. I learned so much about life which is too complex to be completely understood.

Props to Haneul! His loud and vibrant acting is commendable!!! And the post-credit is so heartwarming ㅠㅠ I had a fair share of tears for this drama ㅠㅠ

BECAUSE THIS IS MY FIRST LIFE

Number of Episodes: 16

Genre: Drama, Romance

Rating: 9/10

I had two attempts to successfully finish this series and what a shame it took me this long? This series also moved me so much. It talks about views and opinion about living independently and marriage. Throughout, I was also questioning my decisions in life and effectively made me reflect.

Ji Ho who is 30, who is jobless, who is homeless. and Se Hee holds the answer to her problems. Se Hee who only loves his cat, who only values his house. Apart from having the same interest in beer and soccer, they mutually signed a contract that both benefitted them. Weird. How can you marry someone without involving emotions?

I also love the opposite personalities of the female lead's friends. Soo Ji who does not believe in marriage and described it as a tomb of a relationship. She is strong and independent. She does not take any guy seriously until Sang Goo happened. Ho Rang who dreams of being a housewife and a mother. She desperately wanted to marry his long-term partner because she is already hitting three decades. Sadly, his partner, Wonseok, expressed how he is not that ready yet and still starting to get a stable job.

I love how this drama ended! Heartwarming~

Part 1 | https://daisy-illusive.tumblr.com/post/162383689643

Part 2 | https://daisy-illusive.tumblr.com/post/169033240193

[crqstalite]

video game questionnaire :)

tagged by @greencrusader13 ! might be a little disappointed because anything i’ve posted recently (ME, DA + SWTOR) are the only games I’ve ever played. i know, i’m a gaming baby but i’m getting there lol.

Rules: Fill in your answers below and tag some buddies!

Games

First game you ever played: I want to say World of Warcraft. I was born a few months after it was released [it’ll be 16 before I am :( ] and my parents absolutely loved it throughout my childhood. They stopped playing retail a while back, but they got me into it back during Mists of Pandaria. I don’t play it anymore (no real reason other than that except for one time, I’ve been locked to free to play since I picked it up)

Favorite game: If you mean game I go back to just for the hell of it when I’m sad or bored, SWTOR.

Game you’ve played through multiple times: ...SWTOR. I have quite a few toons that are honestly just copies of each other. It isn’t perfect, but besides WOW it’s a game from my childhood. Been playing since beta (okay ‘playing’ is a rather complex word for wandering around and not knowing what the hell to do at eight years old)

Game you hated at first but now love: I’m usually willing to give most games a chance, even if I don’t like it. See: MEA. Can’t say I love it, but some of the characters I like.

Game you used to love but now hate: Overwatch. I used to be really into the competitive scene but the highest rank I ever managed was bottom of the barrel silver. They make it rather difficult to rise in rank, and I gave up a few years ago. Still play when I need a little bit of chaos in my life but it’s not on my list of games to love anymore.

Your favorite game atmosphere/setting(s): Mass Effect 1. Now saying I’ve been through the whole trilogy and then some, I like the setting of the calm before the storm. Shepard + co. know something’s up, but without real proof they can’t really do anything. It’s a little unnerving, really.

Game with the best group/companion(s): Mass Effect 2. With the largest crew in the trilogy, it’s impossible not to get attached to them. Except for Jacob. I will never be attached to Jacob.

A game with your favorite ending: I might be too hard on games, but I legitimately can not think of an ending where I went ‘wow! I worked really hard for this and my characters prospered because of it!’. Except for ME2, where I was flying by the seat of my pants at first, entirely unaware of how the ending system worked and honestly, probably only managed the best ending because of mutuals (you know who you are ;). Made it all the more satisfying seeing all of my squadmates at the end.

A game with the WORST ending: MEA. I didn’t like the entire game to begin with, and the Meridian stuff honestly flew over my head like a damn jet. I always liked the Tempest’s theme, and that gave me chills over the ending, but it was rather anticlimatic. Unlike the two games before it, there’s really no risk factor in the ending. And Ryder 1 was a poor excuse for a culmination of your work. I did not spend a majority of those 65 hours on that game to not get another cutscene or epilogue with my 100% viability.

Best character customization?: I’ve been told DAI has one of the best. However, I personally like MEA’s, the realism is nice but a little jarring when it’s animated in-game.

Hero and Companions

Your favorite playable character: The Inquisitor and Trooper from SWTOR are my favorite classes to play. Shepard is pretty great too.

The funniest playable character: Currently, the Smuggler from SWTOR.

Your favorite companion(s): Elara Dorne, Andronikos Revel, Doc, Theron Shan, Lana Beniko + Gault (SWTOR), Alistair and Morrigan (DAO; I know, it’s early but they’re fun!), Garrus Vakarian, Kaidan Alenko, Tali’zorah nar Rayya vas Normandy + EDI (ME OT), Vetra, Drack, Jaal + Kallo (MEA)

Companions you could live without: Skadge, Jacob + PeeBee. I would’ve said James, but he grew on me during ME3′s campaign. Liam and Gil are sort of climbing up there, but I can see where MEA tried to grow their characters so I’m giving them a pass for now.

Relationships

Favorite game friendship(s): Shepard + Garrus. Sorry these two snip at each other so much of you let them, and that line ‘There is no Shepard without Vakarian’ kills me every single time. None of my Shepards have actually romanced him but it’s cool to see a female/male friendship that isn’t dependent on a relationship to back it. On that note, Joker + Shepard as well. He doesn’t have that big of place in the game, but he obviously really cares about them. He’s omnipresent in the series too, and one of the few characters that can’t die in the game. Hell, Anderson even asked him to watch over their stress levels, and he was obviously serious about it too. And Tali + Shepard. While that can also be a romance (apparently was even a bi one before it was cut entirely, thank you modders for restoring it), the friendship you can have with her is undeniably sweet. She feels like a completely capable younger sister that you watch grow up through the games, from a young Quarian on her pilgrimage to an Admiral who was ready to do what was right for her people.

Favorite game relationship(s): ...Shepard/Kaidan (ME3, specifically. I mean you guys you’ve seen my blog), Shepard/Garrus, Ryder/Jaal, Ryder/Reyes, F!SW/Theron, F!Consular/Felix, F!Trooper/Aric

Favorite companion banter: ...you guys play games with banter between companions? I kid, but I like the banter between Ashley and Kaidan in ME1. And Morrigan and Alistair’s in DAO.

A relationship you loved but went bad: Malavai Quinn and a female Sith Warrior. I loved the way it was going during the vanilla story, but then the betrayal hit and he disappeared for six years and two expansions. A double whammy if you ask me. This kind of goes for all the vanilla romances, especially Vector for me.

A relationship you weren’t sure of but loved: Jaal and Ryder, and then Thane and Shepard. I did Jaal’s with Fia, and have yet to do Thane’s with Shepard. Jaal was unbelievably sweet if you did romance him, and he has a living family you visit in game. Thane’s is sweet, but also heart wrenchingly sad because you knew he was going to die in the next game but you’re still entirely willing to go after him.

A character you wish you COULD romance: Joker. Sorry, I am not sorry. I mean apparently there’s even a line where he alludes to if there was an alternate universe, he’d quote on quote “Rock your world”. Bioware, lock away the good romances why don’t you. I can just imagine how quickly the conversations in the cockpit would turn on their heads...and Zenith. Zenith I wanted as an option. I feel like the Consular would’ve worked rather well with him.

A minor character you wish could be a companion: Nihlus. I know next to nothing about him, but the fact he was killed off so fast is annoying to say the least. Skavak from SWTOR as well, I know he was an antagonist for a whole chapter, but I mean, we chased Jaesa down for a whole Act, so Skavak should’ve been fair game too.

Fun

Shoutout to a random NPC: Green took mine, but yes, that officer from the Citadel in ME2, “Sir Isaac Newton is the deadliest son of a bitch in space!”

A game you love watching playthroughs for and want to play: Left 4 Dead. I know, it’s an old game but I love zombies. I would probably have nightmares for a while but the universe fascinates me at least.

Love watching playthroughs but won’t ever play: Walking Dead (Telltale; not even for the zombies but because the story telling is not as great as it could’ve been), Dead by Daylight (yet again, the universe is cool, I just don’t like other people)

Online gaming or solo?: Solo. Up until recently I’d only ever played with PUGs during FPs and that was rather frustrating. It got so bad that I ended up just running them to level and do the story quests at higher levels, especially for classes like the Inquisitor that I’d run plenty of times before. Still, some new Discord mutuals fixed that for me, it’s actually fun to do FPs now.

Why do you play video games?: For someone who grew up rather sheltered (and is still sheltered, shhhh), video games were my escape from kids who liked the sun and animals a little too much. So I played video games. It distracted me from my other problems in real life and gave me something else to focus on, like saving the galaxy a few times over.

tagging: @sheyshen , @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond , @roguescarlett

[howtotrainyouragents]

For the character ask, all the "M" characters off the top of my head - Mack, May, Marinette, and Mako, please! :)

Yayyy, thank you so much for asking!!! So this took much longer than I had anticipated (I’m sorry!!) and I ended up making them shorter and shorter just so I would finish 😅

GIVE ME A CHARACTER and I’ll break their ass down:

Mako (Let’s do him first bc it hurts the most, lol) 

1) How I feel about this character: WHY WOULD YOU ASK ME THIS QUESTION ABOUT MAKO. I HAVE TOO MANY FEELINGS. THIS IS CRUEL, VALIA. Okay. Like…Okay, I love this boy so damn much. He’s a brooding idiot with a heart of gold. He’s sacrificed everything for him and his brother and continues to sacrifice everything for loved ones again and again. He’s a dork, he wants to learn, he wants to better the world. He’s learned to have hope. He’s been through so much and I think he just needs some noodles and a hug and told that’s he’s allowed to relax for once, okay?

2) All the people I ship romantically with this character: Korra, and I’m crying now. They are so strong together. They love each other unconditionally and continue to push each other to do and be better. Younger, they were idiots. But older, they are wiser and more mature and infinitely more caring and supportive. They’re a kickass battle couple. Also, Mako swore to have her back which…lets not even get into how much of a love confession that was. Let’s not even talk about how he’s so devoted to her, he’s basically doomed himself to a loveless life now bc you can’t be that devoted to someone and then expect to be in a relationship with someone else. And to change that devotion is to change his entire arc and character. Let

3) My non-romantic OTP for this character:  I am confused about what non-romantic OTP is, but BROTP is Bolin I guess? I’m so soft for their childhood and making-it-big story and how these two have to look out for each other and support each other no matter what. If their entire storylines all four seasons was just about them taking care of each other, I think they both would have been fine and in fact would have had much stronger stories

4) My unpopular opinion about this character: He’s not a total dick. He can be a dick, just like many of characters, but I think he’s inherently good and has shown to apologize and try to be better. 

5) One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:  The list goes on for miles. Makorra is canon, Not setting him up for a loveless life if Makorra really wasn’t going to be canon again. Instead of the whole police thing which came out of left field (and its relevancy drops after book 2, a continued storyline until at least Season 3 with the Fire Ferrets and winning Probending. Ooh, I know! Going into their backstory, their street rats to fire ferrets story  and how that and his parents’ death still affects him.

Mack:

1) How I feel about this character: I love Mack. I love that he’s the voice of reason and the moral center, also that he’s deadpan and exasperated like all the time (Give the man a break). I love that he just wants the simple mechanic’s life and knows how to stay grounded and connected as the Director of SHIELD. I I feel so bad that he’s not like my favorite character, but I honestly love and appreciate him so much 

2) All the people I ship romantically with this character: Elena! And you know what I’m also gonna throw in Fitz as an option bc why not :D

3) My non-romantic OTP for this character: So many BrOTPs: Fitz,  Hunter, May, Simmons. But let’s give the special shoutout to Daisy bc they’re  BFFs and have got each other’s backs no matter what!

4) My unpopular opinion about this character: I know some people don’t like that he’s Christian, but I guess as a Christian myself I appreciate it. I don’t think the show uses it too heavy handedly, but his faith just serves as a character trait, like how going to church is one of the ways he keeps himself grounded. And I like that he still has faith with all of the crap he’s seen and been through. He’s gotten good at rolling with the punches.

5) One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:  I’m so dang curious about his ex-wife. Tell us about her! How’s his brother? Tell us about his parents!  Don’t they wonder what he’s up to?? 

May

1) How I feel about this character:  Everyone’s (Including me) Mom. She’s the badass supreme and is also deeply caring and protective. She’s snarky and used to like to have fun. And her whole character arc about healing, opening up again to familial/romantic love, returning to who she used to be without taking away any of what she is now is *wipes tear away* so beautiful2) All the people I ship romantically with this character: Coulson!! 3) My non-romantic OTP for this character: Her and Mack bc they are killing it together this season. They’re both so deadpan and straight to the point that they get along so well, and I can’t get over that visual tol/smol deal haha 4) My unpopular opinion about this character: I don’t think this is unpopular but as with all the girls, I think May’s storyline gets sometimes lost in the shuffle of her male counterparts’ storylines. She’s a well developed character and Ming Na Wen is a strong actor, so they should allow her more stuff to do outside of fighting and angst (Don’t get me wrong, I love the fighting.) 5) One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I want to know more about her and her mom and her mom’s agency!! (Does her mom work for the Canada version of SHIELD or is that just something I fabricated and assumed to be canon? Is she a Chinese spy? A KGB spy O.o lol I jest) ! And I want to see her pull some more pranks now and then!

Marinette

1) How I feel about this character: My precious little bean. Top five characters ever. I literally mod an appreciation server for her. She’s so beautiful and strong and brave and kind and loving and creative and smart and lovely. She deserves the world. She’s the best hero of them all. And you know what, I love that she’s the one who always saves the day; I need that. Little kids watching need that.

2) All the people I ship romantically with this character: Adrien/Chat Noir!!! C’mon guys was there really a question about this? It’s my one ship that’s actually canon; I got to keep to my guns… Okay, I also ship her with Kim or Nino. Sorry not sorry :D

3) My non-romantic OTP for this character: Hmm, so many BrOTPs. Alya, Chloe, Nino, her whole girl squad. But you know what? Shoutout to Kagami and Marinette. Two kickass ladies kicking ass together? That’s what I’m here for. 

4) My unpopular opinion about this character:She’s not stalkerish. She’s not obsessive. She’s doesn’t put Adrien on a pedestal. She’s not evil or bad. It’s literally a kid’s show and a lot of the things that you guys pick apart, are actually just normal aspects of regular kids’ shows (and like maybe we’re all just too used to fantastic shows like Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, etc which elevated the bar exponentially. But those shows are the exception not the rule. ML is the rule with sprinkling of exceptions); you guys have got to chill.

5) One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I would love to see more of her Chinese heritage and see her developing her fashion career! I’m excited to see her fashion blog, her modeling new outfits, and her blossoming fashion career. Perhaps an internship with Gabriel Agreste may kick things off? 

[thisweekingundamwing]

This Week in Gundam Wing 24 Feb - 02 Mar 2019

Here’s this week’s roundup!

Remember to give your content creators some love! And join in on the events at the bottom!

~Mod Hel

Fanfiction/Snippets/AU Ideas:

@fadedsepiascribbles​

Man of the House (Ch. 7) https://archiveofourown.org/works/12612252/chapters/42457355?view_adult=true

So that semi-Gothic Horror Zechs introspective fic I started two years ago? I updated it.

Zechs Merquise, Treize Kushrenada, Dorothy Catalonia, Lady Une, Mariemaia Khushrenada

Supernatural Elements, Not really AU - But assuming supernatural things are canon

Zechs has no intentions of following a dead man's advice.

@lemontrash​

Single Male Ordered (Ch. 4) https://archiveofourown.org/works/17799557/chapters/42321164

In which Heero receives a job offer and a phone call, and is enlightened on the subject of the first of his many errors.

ShenLong1

Bound, Bonded and Betrayed (Ch. 76) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9726683/78/Bound-Bonded-and-Betrayed

Genre: Drama/Romance, Rated: M

Heero Y., Duo M.

Heero is the eldest son of the King of Colonia. His 21st birthday is approaching and as tradition dictates his betrothed is soon to arrive. However he is also bound by tradition to select his own personal slave. The events that unfold lead him down a path that not only tests his sanity but his humanity and love as well.

@terrablaze514​

Secret Magic AU: Vocal Ranges https://terrablaze514.tumblr.com/post/183014096782/special-shoutout-to-offspringchick29-for-the

“And with the vocals!”

Fanart:

@bluesquishylemon

https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/bluesquishylemon/183103932942

Duo and Quatre

@vegalume​

http://vegalume.tumblr.com/post/183060929260/colored-another-really-old-sketch

Quatre

Photosets/Screenshots:

@disturbed02girl​

https://disturbed02girl.tumblr.com/post/183098319525/you-saw-i-was-a-boy-and-you-underestimated-me

WuFei manga page

Head Canons:

@terrablaze514​

https://terrablaze514.tumblr.com/post/183014436512/heero-would-lookup-geographic-coordinates-and

Marooned, headcanons

Chats/Discussions:

@helmistress​

https://helmistress.tumblr.com/post/183103091379/lemontrash-fadedsepiascribbles

Lettuce Club

@fadedsepiascribbles​, @terrablaze514​

Quotes/Dialogues:

@incorrectgundamwingquotes​

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/183044049808/heero-rushing-into-battle-out-of-the-way-01-is

Heero, Duo, & Trowa

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/183066983607/sharing-a-safehouse-wufei-changes-the-toilet

WuFei

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/183100135800/duo-heero-has-no-survival-or-self-preservation

Duo, Quatre, & Heero

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/183154897111/terrablaze514-terrablaze514-nos-ag

Heero, Duo, Quatre, Trowa, & WuFei

@nos-ag​, @terrablaze514​

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/183158481392/heero-after-being-shot-hit-or-miss-i-guess-they

Heero & Duo, Duo & Trowa

@kirinjaegeste​

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/183169611112/heero-you-are-my-oldest-friend-duo-i-am-your

Heero & Duo

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/183123259675/gundam-wing-text-posts-vol-4-i-think-lol

Gundam Wing + Text Posts Vol. 4 (I think lol)

MoodBoard/Aesthetics:

@gundampilot​

http://mooncrystalpower.com/post/182547358007/おまえ-を-ころす

Relena & Heero aesthetic

No Idea What To Put This Under:

@fadedsepiascribbles​

https://fadedsepiascribbles.tumblr.com/post/183168828347/lemontrash-fadedsepiascribbles-lemontrash

@incorrectgundamwingquotes​, @lemontrash​

Some incorrect quotes, perfect puns, and amazing arts.

@lemontrash​

https://lemontrash.tumblr.com/post/183168117574/episode-8-the-treize-assassination-by-radio

Episode 8 Radio Meteor

Calendar Events:

@acworldbuildingzine​

Rhythm Generation https://acworldbuildingzine.tumblr.com/post/183129411794/applications-are-officially-closed-and-we-are-go

Applications CLOSED

We will be making another announcement in the coming weeks about donations. As a reminder, the zine project itself is FREE, but the creative team would like to encourage folks to consider donating to a good cause.  Donations are completely voluntary and are not required to receive a copy of the final product.

The Rhythm Generation zine will be released digitally as a PDF on May 4.  To receive a copy, please be sure to sign up via our Mailing List Form!

@gwcocktailfriday​

Cocktail Fridays!

Post responses on Friday, during Happy Hour between 3 & 5 pm in your own timezone.

Here’s the prompt for Friday March 8th! https://gwcocktailfriday.tumblr.com/post/183163885265/cocktail-friday-post-responses-on-friday-march

For those going to Pillowfort, find us here.

If anyone has ideas for prompts, PLEASE send them in!

@our-summer-of-zechs​

Summer of Zechs 2019 Ideas https://our-summer-of-zechs.tumblr.com/post/181628092091/we-appear-to-still-be-up-and-running-folks

Come let us know how long this summer’s event should last!

What Month is it? https://our-summer-of-zechs.tumblr.com/post/182355135746/what-month-is-it

Come vote on a month for the event to be hosted in!

Here’s the Pillowfort discussion.

[amemericans]

what anime recs do you have an anime n00b

under a read more because the list is long and we added extra commentary because we’re just that extra

anon i hope you’re happy exposing us for the weebs that we are

j’s sidenote: i usually read more manga but fortunately, some of the ones i read have anime!! 

Shoujo

Cardcaptor Sakura

J: if you’re looking for a magical girl type of anime, this is it!!! kinomoto sakura is precious i hope you love her and her lesbian best friend tomoyo. please don’t watch the US dub “cardcaptors”…it’s an insult.

Yona of the Dawn / Akatsuki no Yona

J: sheltered princess gets kicked out of the castle, is involved in a prophecy, and then lots of action because why not? also i love yona 

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-Kun (GSNK) / Monthly Girl’s Nozaki-Kun

J: even if you say you’re an anime n00b, you probably have an understanding of shoujo tropes. too bad this breaks all the stereotypes!! it’ll make you laugh, i guarantee. characters are as clueless as hoshi is with technology and i’m sure all of them will never be in a relationship.

Ao Haru Ride / Blue Spring Ride

J: if GSNK breaks all the shoujo tropes, this one has all of them!!!! even so, it’s still pretty good- i bet you woozi can make a song or two from this anime (though i know his main muse will be full moon wo sagashite- also a good anime!)

Orange

J: slice-of-life anime about a group of friends who try to save one of their own. prepare tissues.

Ouran High School Host Club

J: if you love seventeen and their dynamic, you’ll love this too!! shoutout to my girl haruhi for dealing with all of the host club’s shit.

Your Lie in April

V: A male pianist and a female violinist play music together. also prepare tissues…you’ll understand the meaning of the anime title at the very last episode lol.

Ore Monogatari / My Love Story

J: this is…really…the purest love story…you just have to watch it, seriously…it’s as pure as seventeen adore u, mansae, and pretty u eras

Sports

Haikyuu!! (a personal fav of seventeen!)

J: be prepared to binge watch this because i know i did!! it’s a heartwarming story with lots of nicely-placed (and not forced) comedy. but i mean, it’s volleyball. **seungkwan endorses it**

Kuroko no Basuke

J: has the most cliche shit in a sports anime (i’ve watched like 5 sports anime so idk how accurate this statement is). friendship!!! teamwork!!! ridiculous basketball powers!!! but we can overcome everything when we work hard!!!

Yuuri On Ice!!!

J: ice skating anime. VERY GAY. no queerbaiting here- it’s GAY AS FUCK. you really have to admire and root for our main boy yuuri here though. he is truly a precious katsudon

Chihayafuru

J: at first glace, it MAY look like shoujo, but our main girl chihaya over here is 120% focused on karuta. because who needs boys who are in an unrequited love with you right?? still has the power of friendship and teamwork, which is always a must in sports anime!!

Shounen

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

J: personally picking this over the earlier version of FMA only because this follows more closely to the canon (manga) storyline. it really does have a wonderful storyline with rich characters and great development and you’ll feel satisfied with the story when you finish it

Hunter x Hunter (2011 but i have a soft spot for the older ver too)

J: this one has a little bit of everything: friendship, teamwork, sports, magical abilities, ~family~ (the main 4 are family don’t fight me on this), beautifully written characters, great storylines, a creepy ass clown,

Bungou Stray Dogs

J: um joshua personally recommended this so you should watch it. MC works in a detective agency that has staff with *abilities*. definitely lots of action. fun fact: the characters are named after famous people in literature and their abilities are named after their work! the first arc of season 2 is a personal favorite of mine

Code Geass

J: basically tells the story of a revolution against the current government. our main boy here, (sometimes douchey) lelouche pretty much leads the revolution accompanied by an ability he acquired- his geass. very mecha and has fighting robots action!!

Death Note

J: an even bigger douche than lelouche, light yagami is out to reform the current justice system by taking it upon himself to play god. someone give him an oscar for his performance honestly this bitch really knows how to act

My Hero Academy

V: high school students with super powers and they go to school to learn how to become heroes! easily became one of my favorite shounen anime. every student is precious except that one grape-looking dude

Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan

J: we have another hot-blooded male protagonist over here!!! my boy eren just has a simple dream- to kill all the titans that ever existed because they ruined his life!!! is it really too much to ask for?

One Punch Man

J: this follows the story of saitama, who just wants to be a hero and save people’s lives. he’s bored because, well, he’s overpowered. you’ll get a lot of laughs here, definitely

Tokyo Ghoul (the whole show censored the gore but you can find the uncensored version too)

V: Ghouls basically look like humans but their diet is limited to humans and coffee only (they can’t eat human food). The ghouls need to kill humans to eat but humans want to live so they fight back. It shows the story of both sides so you feel sorry for both of them lol…and so my boy kaneki just wanted to go on a date but his life turned upside down after that.

Noragami

J: we’re dealing with the supernatural this time! my girl hiyori suddenly becomes involved with the gods, which is kind of awesome but also awful. also the gods are so very human in the sense that they cause so much shit. you probably don’t want them ruling your planet or something

Parasyte: Maxim

J: in this world, there’s an organism/parasite that invades your body and takes over it, killing you instantly. sometimes, things don’t go as planned, and the parasite and the human have to coexist, guess what happens to our main character….

Psycho Pass

J: in a dystopian future, there’s a technology that actually predicts your probability of becoming a criminal/endangering humanity. that technology in itself is already the problem….

Moribito

V: set in a fantasy, historical Asia. my girl Balsa can easily beat up 1000 men while guarding a child prince. interesting plot, beautiful animation, and an amazing main character!!

D.Gray Man

J: hey there demons, it’s me, ya exorcist!!! demon-hunting adventures with lots of friendship in between and you’ll fall in love with these character i swear!! a+ humor as well honestly i love these kids

Blue Exorcist

V: hey there demons, it’s me, another exorcist! half-human/half-demon boy goes to school to learn how to become an exorcist to defeat demons and most importantly: Satan

Thriller

Erased (We recommend the live action too! it follows the manga more accurately. It’son Netflix)

J: murder mystery where our MC has this ability to rewind time and fix any bad things that were about to happen. one day, he gets transported back and ends up having to figure out on who murdered one of his classmates. really keeps you on the edge of your seat and the music is spot on!!

Another

J: in a seriously haunted classroom, there’s always one extra person who had died but is present with them, every year it’s someone different and the class has to figure out on who the dead one is before……bad things…

Terror In Resonance

V: two teenage boys commit terrorist attacks on Tokyo and they somehow get a girl involved in their crimes

Movies

Kimi no Na Wa

V: JunHao’s My I was inspired by this!!! I don’t want to spoil too much, you just have to watch it! beautiful animation, beautiful characters. the story makes a lot more sense if you watch it the second time.

Studio Ghibli movies

The Girl who Leapt Through Time

[lyricdissonance]

odds please! for ask thing

1. How do you define your sexuality?i’m bisexual, i also identify as queer3. At what age did you first suspect that you are sexually attracted to other girls?first started realizing i “like like” girls instead of just “like” at 15 I believe?5. Did you have an “aha I like girls” moment or was it more of a gradual realization?gradual realization, i had a whole lot of female actresses and musicians i really admired and then realized i was also attracted to them. then i kinda brushed that aside for a while, thinking that my celeb crushes didn’t count as real crushes, before i also got crushes on girls i knew irl which made me realize i definitely wasn’t straight7. How did you become comfortable with your sexuality?reading posts by bi bloggers on here helped a whole lot, they made me realize that i didn’t have to fit a narrow definition to be “allowed” to call myself bisexual. and as someone who grew up in a conservative environment, i probably wouldn’t have discovered my sexuality when i did without tumblr since i’d never been told before that it was ok to not be straight, and i thank the internet for showing me there are other ways to live life

9. Who was the first person you came out to? How did they take it?it was by text message to a male friend who was the only other bi person i really knew at the time. he was super supportive and we haven’t talked in a while but i’d love to catch up with him someday11. How out are you?out to friends and two family members, but closeted to most of my family. which means i can be gay on tumblr and twitter but not instagram and facebook. funny how that happens13. Was anyone surprised when you came out or did people seem to already know?a few people have been surprised, but these days when i meet someone new i prefer to casually mention my sexuality rather than do a real “coming out” and i don’t normally get any reaction from that15. How soon after meeting someone do you usually tell them about your sexuality?like the last answer, if i feel like i can trust them i’ll just try to slip it into conversation. i don’t have a timeline for when i do it though, it’s just whenever i feel ok doing it17. Have you ever wished you were completely straight?not so much that as just wishing my sexuality could be not a big deal. i’d love to be out to everyone but i know it would cause problems in a lot of my family relationships19. If you are not a lesbian, about what percentage of the time do you find yourself attracted to other girls?i gave up using percentages a while ago but i’m attracted to men and women about the same amount overall21. How often do you find yourself trying to sneak a peek or stare at a cute girl?only all the time because girls are Too Cute to not do that

23. What is your current relationship status?

single af

25. Do you remember anything about the first time you kissed another girl?i’ve kissed one person and she was nonbinary, we were hanging out in her dorm common room when she went for a kiss on the cheek and i was like “well we might as well do one on the lips too”27. What is your ideal first date?wherever we go i want us to be having fun! i love going out for food or drinks but if we don’t have a connection then it’s just us staring at our plates so there’s always that risk of it being too awkward. i’d love for us to try something new where we can talk and laugh while getting to know each other29. How flirty are you?i’m the certified worst at flirting. i’m trying to be more confident but my idea of flirting right now is staring across the room31 Do you want have children someday?no but i want to volunteer with children someday and do something to help make their lives better33. How often are you asked if you have a boyfriend?not often, i think my family is used to me saying no by now lmao35. Have you ever been on your period the same time as a girlfriend?nope (see above, single af)37. Have you ever been in a long distance relationship?nope39. Has a girl ever dumped you for a guy? Have you?nope and nope41. Have you ever had a crush on a straight girl?oh yes43. Would you ever date a trans woman?absolutely45. Where do you think is the best place to meet a potential lover?

a wendy’s parking lot in upstate new york 

somewhere where you can meet people who have a common interest, like a bookstore or a dance class or an lgbt event. but the romantic in me wants to believe that the love of my life could be found anywhere

47. Have you ever cut your hair super short? If not, would you ever want to?have not but would love to! even if i don’t like it i want to be able to say i tried it49. What is your opinion on septum/bull nose piercings?don’t want one for myself, but i think they’re cute51. How muscular are you?not very53. Have you ever been told that you don’t look gay, or that you’re too pretty to be gay?

hasn’t happened to me

55. Do you wear skirts and dresses? If so, how often?i may not consider myself very feminine but i do love how skirts and dresses look on me. so like once or twice a week on average?57. How much jewelry do you typically wear?i go without it a lot but i like wearing a piece of statement jewelry when i think an outfit needs it59. How often do you wear a bra?almost always when i go out, but home is a No Bra Zone61. Have you ever worn a suit?nope but i’d try it!63. Do you carry a purse?yep, i find it convenient to have all my stuff with me65. Have you ever worn any men’s clothing?because of my body shape finding men’s clothes that fit well is Hard but i’ve worn men’s shirts on occasion67. Have you ever shared clothes with a girlfriend?

no but i like this idea so cute girls who are my size please hmu

69. Who is your favorite LGBT celebrity?my faves include freddie mercury, janelle monae, st. vincent, and lady gaga71. Have you ever watched Will & Grace?nope73. How well do you feel LGBT women are portrayed on television?i’d like for us to survive to the end of the show for one thing. and not be overly sexualized. i’m glad that we’re seeing more positive and happy depictions like on b99 but we could always use more75. Do you watch any LGBT YouTubers?tbh i don’t really follow any youtubers77. Do you have a favorite LGBT themed blog or website?i follow a lot of gay blogs on here, too many to choose a favorite. and i really like autostraddle.com79. Have you read any LGBT themed literature? If so, do you have any recommendations?

i really need to start reading more lgbt lit, but shoutout to the misfits by james howe which was the first time i ever encountered gay characters in literature. i think it’s important that that book showed a gay boy who was unashamed about liking feminine things and had friends who supported him. i know my young mind was opened a little after i read it. and now that i’m looking it up again it turns out the author is gay which makes it even better!

81. Boobs or butts?Certified Boob Lover (tm)83. Ellen or Portia?

probs ellen

85. Have you ever been to a gay bar or a gay club?no but there’s a gay club that’s popular w people at my school that is on my list! 87. Do you have any LGBT relatives?my sister, no others that i know of89. How outdoorsy are you?i’m definitely more outdoorsy than i used to be! i’ve learned to enjoy a bit of hiking, kayaking, and exploring but i still don’t do well with heat and bugs lol91. How many rainbow items do you own?one rainbow rubber bracelet, and a couple of bi pride items93. Have you ever participated in the National Day of Silence?no, as far as i know it was never a big thing at my school? i knew one or two people who did it95. Have you ever attended a PFLAG (Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays) meeting?no, i’m kinda curious about what a meeting would be like tho97. Have you ever been part of a softball team?nope99. Do you play any video games?

well i used to be a hardcore nintendogs player back in the day

101. (on a scale of 1-10, how attractive are...) Women who wear glasses?glasses on girls are GR8 - 10/10103. Women who are covered with piercings?kinda neutral on this, i support women getting the piercings they want but "covered with piercings” isn’t really something i look for in a person - 6/10105. Women with short hair?if you have short hair i am guaranteed gay for you - 10/10107. Tall women (i.e. around 1.83 meters/6 feet or taller)?

*wearing a shirt that says I

109. What does equality mean to you?to me it means i’m treated the same as anyone else and i have all the same opportunites111. Do you eat meat at all?yes113. How do you feel about the terms “woman crush” and “girl crush”?i find them harmful to girls trying to figure out their sexuality bc the implication of a “girl crush” is that all women have crushes on women and that it shouldn’t be taken as serious attraction. that being said i think a not-insignificant amount of women who say stuff like that just haven’t realized yet that they are attracted to women (i was one of them whoops) and i hope we can find ways to talk about the “girl crush” problem that leave room for questioning people to talk about their feelings115. How do you feel when people use the word gay to mean things such as stupid, dumb, boring, or idiotic?i hardly ever hear it anymore but i don’t like it117. What are your views on gender identity and bathroom use?everyone should be able to use the bathroom that they feel safest and most comfortable in, gender neutral bathrooms need to be everywhere, and any lawmakers who want to get in the way of that can fuck outta here119. Have you ever been called a gay slur?nope121. Have you ever been discriminated against because of your sexuality or gender identity? If so, please explain.not like, personally, but the number of people who have said in my presence that they “don’t believe” in bisexuality is Too High123. Americans: How did you feel on June 26, 2015?it was really incredible, i’d been watching as state by state (including my own) had legalized same-sex marriage and suddenly it was all across america. seeing all the love and happiness being poured out on that day was amazing125. Have you ever tried to “pray the gay away”?luckily i’ve never been there, but it breaks my heart to think about people going through that127. What LGBT stereotype do you most disagree with?"bi women are just doing it for male attention” excuse you i’m clearly doing it in the hopes that jenna coleman will fly to the states and elope with me get your facts right129. What advice would you give to a girl who is struggling to figure out her sexuality?

take your time! you don’t have to 100% understand your feelings but please let yourself feel what you feel and remember you are not alone. and i want to be here for questioning girls the same way that other people were there for me when i was questioning so if you need someone to talk to i am always here.

[thebestplltheories]

Pretty Little Liars 7x20 Til Death Do Us Part - Thoughts

I literally just finished watching the finale and A-List Wrap party right now. I have not seen a single comment about the finale, I don't know how it was received, at all. Sorry if these comments are just reinforcing what everyone else has been talking about for the past several hours, because again, I have no idea what everyone is saying. Here are my thoughts! 

- It did not feel like a series finale to me and I cannot pinpoint why. I felt the goodbye scene at the end was not strong enough. Sasha said that they had to keep re-filming that scene because she was crying too much when she said “this feels like the end of something” - well, I think they went with the take that had not enough emotion, to the point it felt like a regular line and it lost its power. Not just this line, but in general, I never got a sense of “farewell PLL” from this episode, unfortunately. Not saying it’s a bad episode, but, I didn’t get that sense of “thank you and goodbye Spencer, Hanna, Aria, Emily, Alison and Rosewood”. 

- Marlene said that there is one question she cannot wait for fans to find out, but she can’t tell us what this question is without telling us who AD is. What the hell could be this question?

- THEY ALL DID THE SHHHHH TOGETHER, I LOVED THAT

- DID ANYONE ELSE NOTICE DURING THE INTRO THAT THE CASKET OPENED, RATHER THAN CLOSE???

- I’ve always said Pretty Little Liars is a two-part show: half a romance show, other half a mystery show. They really demonstrated that tonight, by having almost a very equal divide between the romance and mystery. The entire first hour was romance, and the entire second hour was mystery (plus farewells). The first hour, I was shaking my head. “This is not good. Not good at all.” Sure, there were some cute scenes, like Emison’s proposal, but there was too much fluff in the first half. The second half, it really kicked off. 

- So, my theory ended up being so damn accurate, what the hell! I can't believe it! Even though Spencer’s twin was my foremost suspect going into the finale, I still ended up being shocked, because of the simple fact that they went with it almost exactly exactly exactly how I said! Not just the who, but also the why! I even got the name Alex Drake! 

- Okay, so I got the part wrong about the twin having helped Charlotte play the game from season 3 onwards. And honestly, that is my biggest complaint about the finale: AD started playing the game after Charlotte died, period. Again this is my biggest complaint and this is where the finale fell flat for me. Technically, PLL could have ended with Charlotte’s reveal in 610. Everything we got with Alex Drake’s story, was purely an extension because we got renewed for more seasons. I just know there will be people saying “ugh I’m so mad that AD has no connection to pre-time jump” and yes I fully agree, and that’s my biggest complaint too... but my response is: weren't the extra 2 years nice? Sure AD is irrelevant to seasons 1-6A, sure that is incredibly underwhelming and no where near as good as the fan theories... but we got an extra 2 years of PLL in our lives because of this extra, final A story? I’m grateful? #alwayslookingforthepositiveside

- I do not understand Ashley’s comment. Quote “you finally get to find out who A is, who’s been torturing us for the last 7 years”. Girl... it was just a month or two, in Rosewood time. 

- Am I the only one who never really felt a sense of danger, or intensity? Weird, since it’s the series finale, and literally anyone could’ve died. It’s not like we had another season, and I knew Spencer was safe from dying. Yet, I never truly did feel like Alex would win the fight. I can't take PLL villains seriously for some unexplainable reason.

- I really liked the flashbacks that explicitly showed us the scenes where “Spencer” was actually Alex. That was great. I wanted more flashbacks to earlier seasons, however. (I did appreciate that they played some music from the pilot, though!)

- THANK YOU MARLENE for not doing another Charlotte reveal where A sits around crying all episode, trying to make us feel sorry for them. Sure, Alex (nearly said Twincer!) had a sad story, but she embraced her sadness, and it fuelled her anger to take over Spencer’s life. That was really good. I loved seeing Troian walk around with an axe. Bless. 

- I was surprised we didn’t hear of Radley (as a sanitarium). Honestly, thank god.

- I think the motive is the strongest we’ve ever had, of all the A’s so far: Alex was so jealous of Spencer so she wanted to break up the girls, yet her threats only made them closer. Therefore, she decided, “why break them up, if I can just become Spencer?” That is so evil and I love it. 

- I EVEN CALLED IT that there will be a scene where someone holds a gun to Spencer and Twincer, and they have to prove who the real Spencer is. I LOVED that! 

- I have a feeling that once I finish typing this, the first word I’ll be seeing people use to describe the motive is cliche. Especially the above mentioned scene about not knowing which Spencer to shoot. It is a bit cliche. (”I’m Buzz Lightyear!” ... “no, I’m Buzz Lightyear!” Toy Story 2.. anyone? That’s where my mind went, lol) An evil, jealous twin is a tad cliche. I can't defend that. But within this world of PLL, it worked well I guess. 

- Sorry Troian, I wasn't too convinced by the British accent unfortunately. But my gosh you slayed the rest. WHY COULDN’T WE GET AT LEAST ONE SCENE WITH TROIAN IN THE HOODIE!? That was a real shame. I get that it was set one year later, but... still, Alex should’ve wore the hoodie for a scene or two. For satisfaction’s sake, and it’s also just iconic for PLL. 

- SHOUTOUT TO A FOLLOWER OF MINE WHO MESSAGED ME AFTER THE AIRPORT SCENE IN 715 SAYING THAT TWINCER SOUNDED BRITISH. HOW DID YOU GET THAT PART TOO!? “Are you going someplace?” sounded very British, I agree, but I never picked it until I was told to listen for it. Genius.

- We even got it right as to who Wren was shooting: Twincer, so that she can look like Spencer. Gosh, is there anything we didn’t predict?

- Bethany who? Eddie who? Seriously though, I’m going to spend hours editing my unanswered questions list. We got a lot. You can say whatever you want about the finale, but you can't say we didn’t get answers. Like, c’mon. If you’re saying we didn’t get answers, you’re the type of person who complains over nothing and is just impossible to please. Every word that came out of Alex’s mouth was golden. We had rapid fire Q&A with Alex and Spencer. I’m not saying this finale answered 7 years worth of questions; I’ll probably find some unanswered things once I start going through my list. But... You. Can. Not. Say. We. Got. Zero. Answers. I hope that when I finish this post, I don't see people spreading such stupid negativity. 

- Wren died? How? Why? That was unnecessary. This finale really lacked a major death. I wanted to say OMG to at least ONE thing, and unfortunately, I couldn't. Not one thing shocked me.

- Am I the only one who thought Wren’s involvement seemed a bit forced?? What are the actual odds of Wren running into Alex at a bar in London? Seriously? But whatever. I’m so glad he played a role in this, and a damn big one too. 

- So ALEX was the British person Mary was talking to on the phone in 701!!!

- I loved the scene between Alex and Charlotte!!

- I found it really really random that Alex started messaging Mona 1 year later. They had just moved on and all of a sudden Alex is back to start to reveal herself. Maybe I’m forgetting something because that was just weird.

- I was disappointed that there wasn't a major reason Alex took Ezra. I was waiting for them to reveal a mind blowing alliance between the two but then it slowly became obvious that he had just been kidnapped and wasn’t on the friendly side with Alex. 

- Melissa’s mask was just pointless. That was pure fan service to MelissA theorists. (And also to throw us off for a bit.) And I knew Melissa wasn’t AD since there’s no way they’d reveal Uber A so randomly at a picnic like that. I knew it was a mask.

- I got dollhouse vibes when Spencer (or Ezra?) said “we’re still underground”. I thought that was creepy!

- Seriously... they make reference to the mums getting out of the basement, without actually giving us an answer??? “Do you remember how we even got out of there?” said Veronica. It would’ve been better to leave that dialogue out completely. Teasing fans over something they’ll never get, is far worse than acting like it was just forgotten. 

- Did Veronica know that Spencer has a twin, since she made a comment in 4B about not knowing who is coming down for breakfast; Spencer or her evil twin? They really made it out as if no one knew about Alex.

- Wren is the father of Emison’s baby!? That was so subtle, the way Alex said it. WHY!? That makes no sense. I’ve noticed that this show is really big on “who” but not so big on the “why”. I’m just going to assume that Wren was the only male she had “access” to, to pull off the stunt, so she used Wren simply out of convenience. That’s all I can think of.

- So Ezria got married, Haleb is having a baby, Emison is engaged with twins, and Spoby is??? I was really really shocked actually that one ship is still left up in the air. It’s not a sad ending, but it’s not happy either. Maybe that’s the one thing that doesn’t get answered that Marlene was talking about.

- That last scene with the recreation of ‘that night’ should NOT have been the last scene of the entire show. If Freeform wants to launch a spinoff, fine, go ahead, but how dare you cut to the end credits after that scene. Call me fussy, but I call it passion. The final scene of the show should have been Mary and Alex stuck in Mona’s dollhouse. Cut to the credits after that closeup on Alex (Which, was brilliant by the way, and aligns with Janel’s comment of Mona having her own unique happy ending.)

- The wrap party was boring. Just saying. It should’ve been the 6 liars (yes Mona too) with Marlene, sitting in Spencer’s barn, talking about the making of the finale, any questions that couldn't get wrapped up, favourite episodes, etc. I finished the finale and thought “it’s okay, I still have one more chance to farewell the show since the last scene didn’t do it for me!” and nope, this third hour was no better.

- FULL CIRCLE HOW??? Can someone name one thing that happened, that can be classified as “full circle”??? In my mind, full circle means Alison dying and the girls having a sleepover in the barn!?

- Overall, this is how I summarise the finale:

It did not feel like a finale. The first half was boring, even for a series finale. The goodbyes were not strong enough, and I did not feel like I properly said “thank you” and “farewell” to my favourite fictional characters ever. The scene with the girls at the end was far too short. The AD reveal was very predictable for me and other dedicated detectives, but I think other fans across the world will be pleased since it wasn’t actually that obvious. The motive was great. Troian slayed. But, coming from a person who also has a non-rhotic accent (Australian), I felt put off by Alex’s accent. The final scene was just stupid, I’m not watching a spinoff - the final scene should’ve been Mary and Alex. We got a shit ton of answers, but, as I’ll soon see when I go to my list, I don't feel like it was everything. But absolutely, most things, yes.

In 3 words: slow, predictable, fun. 

Here’s my theory where I correctly solved Alex Drake

Here’s my farewell letter

[celestialarcadia]

Dear Chocolatier

This ended up kind of long. I really hope this doesn’t come across as too picky! While I’ve included prompts and general rambling, I can’t predict everything that I’d be interested in--so as long as your idea doesn’t fall under my DNWs, I’ll be happy to read whatever you come up with! This is mostly geared towards fic, since I’m not very good at talking about art, but I’d also be ecstatic about art fills. Full letter under the cut. (Note that I missed nominations, so I was limited to whatever was in the tagset; not all of my favorite relationships in these works are represented.)

What you need to know about me is that most, if not all, of my favorite pairings include some element of opposites attract. I’m not sure that’s the right phrase to use, since it’s often not literal opposites that attract me to a pairing. What I love is when characters have some sort of large difference(s) between them that is impossible to ignore, requires there to be communication between the members of the pairing, and (this is the big one!!) all the members of the relationship love each other in part because of the differences between them as well as recognizing the similarities they have. It’s a bit hard to explain in words, but I hope that helps. To use examples from the pairings I’ve requested: human/elf, human/alien, alien/different alien, human/robot AI, mage/warrior, warrior/diplomat, witch/fairy, angel/demon...I let out a dreamy sigh just typing those out, which should explain how much I love this trope lmao.

I want happy endings. There’s a place for tragedies, but I need to be in a very specific mood to gain satisfaction from them, and right now in my life I can’t really appreciate them much. I generally prefer a “happily ever after”, but “happy for now” is also acceptable (and is more appropriate for several of the pairings on this list). While I enjoy fluff, I’d also be happy with something more dramatic as long as it ultimately has a HEA/HFN. I’ve enjoyed hurt/comfort, but I usually prefer them to be heavy on the comfort.

Regarding smut: I’m fine with or without it. I’m asexual and porn does nothing for me sexually, but I can enjoy erotica, even PWPs, as an exploration of intimacy between characters. (Not necessarily even romantic intimacy--I’ve enjoyed smut about friends with benefits.) Stuff I enjoy in smut: blindfolds; body worship; bondage; cunnilingus; edging; facesitting; femdom/malesub; gentle domination; intercrural; mirror sex; multiple orgasms; mutual masturbation; pegging; praise kink; service topping; vibrators; wax play. And if the scene goes into BDSM territory, aftercare!

However! I am also a very, very big fan of non-sexual intimacy. Kissing, hugging, cuddling, spooning, literal sleeping together, massages, holding hands, words of affirmation...I could go on and on. Love it all. If you headcanon a character in a requested pairing as asexual, go for it!

Special shoutout to characters bathing together (preferably in a very large bathtub or similar body of water). It can easily lead to sex, and I don’t mind if it does, but I almost prefer if it doesn’t cross that line.

General DNW: 24/7 D/s, A/B/O, abuse between characters in requested pairings, ageplay, amnesia, ass to mouth, BDSM society AU, bestiality, bloodplay in settings without magical healing, breathplay, cancer, canon bi character portrayed as straight or gay, canon gay character portrayed as straight or bi, cheating/infidelity by character in a requested pairing, crossovers, daddy/mommy kink, death of a character's parent(s) as a major plot element (references to canon parent death OK but try not to linger too long on it), describing genitals of any kind as "weeping", dub-con, eating disorders, enemas, explicit underage, fake relationship, feederism, fisting, guro, hatesex, humiliation kink, incest, inflation, kidfic (canon kids OK but I'd rather not have a fic centering around them), lactation kink, love triangles, maledom/femsub, necrophilia, nipple clamps, permanent death of a character in a requested pairing, petplay, plots centered around prejudice or -isms, pregnancy, rape/non-con, rape roleplay/consensual non-consent, reader insert, rimming, scat, school-related AU, self-harm, sex in public places, soulmates AU, sounding, spanking, vore, watersports/omorashi, zombies

Some of these fandoms/pairings have more written about them than others. Please don’t take that as an indication that I’ll be disappointed if you pick a pairing or fandom I’ve written less about here--I really will be happy with any of these pairings!

Cinderella Phenomenon

(Psst...this is a free game...consider playing it?)

Delora/Parfait: I didn’t consider this pairing until I saw it in the tagset and now I 100% ship it. Love me a goth witch and pastel fairy couple. I’d like to see them negotiating around the drastically different perceptions of witches and fairies in Angielle. Or maybe something a bit fluffy, like sharing a stolen moment away from the Marchen, or just taking a break from the trials of everyday life.

Pairing-specific DNW: Work set during/after Rumpel’s, Waltz’s, or Fritz’s routes

Lucette Riella Britton/Karma: While I enjoyed the game as a whole, I think Karma’s route was my favorite. For all his eccentricities, Karma recognizes Lucette’s terrible upbringing and how it affected her before the other characters do, and the fact that he’s a prince means that you can get up to some really nice royal intrigue and politics with this pairing. (Also, I wonder--does Karma continue to wear dresses after his curse is broken, just for the fun of it?)

Pairing-specific DNW: Explicit smut (fade-to-black is fine)

Dragon Age

Fandom-specific DNW: Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor sides with templars, rivalmances for DA2 LIs, Cullen as major character

Alistair/Male Surana: Oh, Alistair, my first DA love. Even though he never actually became a templar, he was still trained as one, and I think that could cause some issues in a relationship with a mage. And being an elf mage? Whew. Even though I don’t want something where Alistair becomes king, I’m fine with something where they discuss the possibility of Alistair becoming king, as long as they ultimately decide not to put him on the throne. You could also do something set after DAO/Awakening, where both are active Wardens--maybe they’ve been separated for a few months for Warden-y reasons and they’ve just reunited?

Pairing-specific DNW: Alistair as king, Loghain recruited into Wardens

Fenris/Hawke: Any gender Hawke is fine (I just have m!Fenhawke tagged because it was in the tagset). My Hawke is female, but feel free to write male or nb Hawke; my Hawke is also a mage, because I like the idea of them falling in love despite the tension that causes between them--but if you’d rather write a warrior/rogue Hawke, that’s also good. (If you want to include specific details about my Hawke: she’s named Samantha, specializes in healing, and is mostly purple/joking with a blue/diplomatic streak. I headcanon her as asexual even if it can’t really be replicated in the game. But I’ll be fine with whatever Hawke you choose to write.)

Zevran Arainai/Warden: Like with Fenris, I’m not picky about which genre or origin you pick and only put in the tags in the set for matching purposes. My Zev-romancing Warden is a f!Brosca, but if you prefer another gender/origin, do whatever you want. These two are my favorite enemies-to-lovers pairing, in part because Zevran never had any hard feelings for the Warden in the first place. (And the Warden telling Nathaniel “Some of my best friends have attempted to kill me” during Awakening gains a whole new level of hilarity with romanced Zev.) Zev comes across as a devil-may-care flirt, but he turns out to be a respectful lover if you actually put the effort to get to know him beyond surface level. (Also, that cool-ass Crow armor from the World of Thedas artbook. A+)

Female Lavellan/Josephine Montilyet: Josie! (｡♥‿♥｡) And I romance her with a f!Lavellan, so it’s a nice coincidence that this was in the tagset lol. I’ll be good with just about anything you come up with for this pairing. Josephine is one of the few non-Dalish characters who at least tries to be respectful of Lavellan’s Dalish heritage, even if she is a bit clumsy about it sometimes. My Lavellan is a lesbian mage named Ilena if you’re interested in including those details, but I’ll be happy with any f!Lavellan.

Josephine Montilyet/Cassandra Pentaghast: Fun fact--I ship this because of a bondage fic I read lmao. They have a very interesting dynamic--a warrior who kills on a regular basis (even if for a good cause); a diplomat who has renounced violence. I won’t be picky about anything for this pairing, either.

Good Omens

Fandom-specific DNW: Reverse AU (I don’t mind these but I’m not interested in receiving one), Aziraphale falling, smut involving Crowley’s snake form, work set before Crowley’s fall, strict top/bottom dynamics

Note: I’ve read the book and watched the series. I’m fine with stuff set in either canon (hence why I requested both). If you want to combine elements from both, that’s cool too.

Aziraphale/Crowley: My most recent love. I have lots and lots of feelings (at least a billion) about these two. Enough that I have a goddamn LIST.

I’m fine with any combination of genders/presentations/efforts/pronouns for these two. I headcanon Aziraphale as being agender with he/him pronouns and Crowley as genderfluid, but again, anything works. Lately I’ve adored fics and art of butch female-presenting Aziraphale, too.

Chubby Aziraphale!! I love!! So much!! Dovetails very well with my interest in body worship (sexual or otherwise). Crowley loves his soft angel!! So much!! And! So much cuddling potential!! (More serious note: I’m not a huge fan of stuff where Aziraphale is extremely self-conscious about his body. Surely he’d miracle himself a different shape if he hated it so much? And he’s been around for millennia, so he’s witnessed beauty standards change drastically over time. It makes more sense in human AUs, but it’s still something I tolerate more than enjoy.)

I’m a big fan of “Aziraphale and Crowley through history” stuff. Pick a time period you like and go wild. Personally, I have a huge soft spot for the 1920s--Crowley would look amazing in a flapper dress. (Realistic or Hollywood-style, take your pick.) (I know that according to the TV script they didn’t see each other between the fight at St James and the church scene, but...bah. Flapper Crowley!!) Some great opportunities for mutual pining, or if you want to write an AU where they got together before the Notpocalypse, go for it.

I have a big soft spot for stuff where Crowley is in his snake form (no smut, please--if the story turns that way I want him in his human form for sex)

I will never ever get tired of “first love confession” or “first kiss” stories for these two because I am a romantic sap who just wants them to be happy (they’ve spent so long not being able to be close to each other! they deserve it!!)

Outsider POVs: “random normal person weirded out by bizarre relationship between fussy bookseller and his goth husband” is one of my favorite fandom tropes

Praise kink! I mentioned this in my general smut likes but it bears repeating here. The major fanon is Crowley having a praise kink, which is wonderful and valid (tfw your crush calls you nice and it turns you on so much you try to play it cool by shoving him against a wall). I’ve seen some stuff recently with Aziraphale having a praise kink and now that’s an idea. (He’s spent so long just wanting to be good for Heaven! Even though Heaven’s standard for what’s good is kind of terrible and they hate him anyway so he’d never be good enough for them! But Crowley knows that Aziraphale is good and he’s more than willing to tell him every little thing he loves about him! aaaaaaaa) Regardless of who has the kink, I think they’d be a bit embarrassed at first at having it found out (Crowley: “Being turned on by compliments? C’mon, that’s not me” [it’s totally him]/Aziraphale: “It’s...a bit selfish, isn’t it?” [but since when has that stopped him]), but the other would be more than willing to indulge. (And while Aziraphale is naturally suited to provide praise, given how good he is with words, I think Crowley could grow into the role too, in his own way.)

Heart of the Woods

Tara Bryck/Morgan Fischer, Abigail Dalsing/Madison Raines: I put these two together because they’re so intertwined in the original game, but if you want to focus on one pairing over the other, that’s great! Something that really interests me would be seeing how Morgan and especially Abby would react to the...idiosyncrasies of modern-day America. Also, Abby being introduced to the internet could be hilarious. (Also also, Morgan getting to live her best butch life, and Tara being her slightly overly enthusiastic cheerleader.) On a more serious note, how does Maddie move on after leaving Taranormal?

Lake of Voices

(Psst...this is also a free game...consider playing it too?)

Kikka/Margret: I’m less interested in fluff for this pairing thanks to how dark the original material is, but I’d still rather not have something totally grim. Margret’s route isn’t truly romantic, not really, but considering the short period of time the game takes place during, that’s not surprising--so I’d like to see how their relationship progresses after the events of the game.

Mass Effect Trilogy

Fandom-specific DNW: Sabotaging the genophage cure; Control/Synthesis/Refusal endings; synthetics dying in Destroy ending (yes I know this is canon, no I don’t care; please don’t do post-ME3 if you aren’t willing to work around this); dead Wrex; no peace between geth and quarians (for ME3)

Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian: While Shakarian isn’t my favorite ME pairing, I do still love it. No Shepard without Vakarian, after all. They work so well as a battle couple and have such great chemistry. My Garrus-romancing Shepard is a Paragade Vanguard named Elliott, Earthborn/War Hero if you want those details.

Female Shepard & Mordin Solus: Death DNW doesn’t apply to this one; hit me with all the feels over Mordin’s death (I don’t like what you have to do for him to survive). Or avoid the issue by doing something set during ME2. Alien Sex Ed is always a classic trope, or something more serious regarding Mordin’s past as an STG operative or his work with the genophage.

Grunt & Female Shepard: Shepard is very proud of her strong krogan vat bby.

Kolyat Krios & Female Shepard: With or without Shep/Thane (”YOU’RE NOT MY REAL MOM”), either works. If there’s romance, how does Kolyat react to his missing dad showing up with a human girlfriend? Does Shepard try to become a part of Kolyat’s life or does she try to stay out of it? There’s less reason for Shepard to get involved if there’s no Thanemance, but I think there’s still opportunity there, since Kolyat and Thane keep in contact after the loyalty mission is completed.

Pairing-specific DNW: Thane dying

Thane Krios/Female Shepard: My favorite ME pairing! At least until BW fucked it up in ME3. (I still kind of haven’t forgiven them.) They have a very mature relationship, I think--both of them a bit weary--and they find solace in each other, at least until the inevitable. I would prefer a fic set during ME2, or in the time period between the end of ME2 and Shepard being detained before ME3. If you want to make something set during ME3, I’d like to see him receive treatment (not necessarily a cure, though I won’t complain if you go that route, but preferably something more realistic than “oh I took a pill and now I’m all better!” or similar) for Kepral’s. I also don’t like the defeatist “well, I guess I’m just gonna lay down and die now” attitude he has when you meet him at Huerta in ME3; it clashes so much with his entire ME2 arc, which has him realize that he does still have things to live for (his son, for one, and Shepard if you romance him). If you’re interested in details about my Shepard: her name is Diana; she’s a Paragon Infiltrator, Colonist/War Hero.

Pairing-specific DNW: Excessive focus on his illness (I know it’s a big part of his character, and I don’t expect people to avoid it entirely, but I don’t enjoy stuff that’s centered totally around it); Irikah bashing or trying to portray her as unimportant

Nyreen Kandros/Aria T’Loak: (STILL SCREAMING ABOUT BADASS TURIAN LADY) I want to see something from when these two were still together, or a fix-it where Nyreen doesn’t die and she and Aria enter a (possibly uneasy) truce. Less concerned about happiness for this one as long as neither of them dies; I’m fine if it ends up that their relationship just doesn’t work out.

EDI/Samantha Traynor: Geeky lesbian with a robot kink + sexy fembot = ooh la la. On a serious note, how would a human/AI relationship work? There’s a lot of possibilities here.

Stardew Valley

Fandom-specific DNW: Player siding with Joja-Mart

Abigail/Female Player, Elliott/Player, Leah/Female Player, Maru/Female Player: I’m putting these together not because I think they’re interchangeable (they’re not), but because what I want is basically the same for each of them--slice-of-life about the farmer and their partner (either dating or married...or dating then married; no kids please), with emphasis on how the partner’s personality and lifestyle meshes, or doesn’t mesh, with the player’s farm life. Maybe there’s conflicts that have to be resolved, compromises that have to be made. (But I do want them to eventually work it out and be happy together.) If you pick Elliott/Player, I’m fine with whatever gender farmer you want.

Sweet Fuse: At Your Side

Inafune Saki/Meoshi Kouta: One thing I enjoyed about Meoshi’s route is how he doesn’t have to give up games entirely in order to deserve love and improve as a person, he just develops a healthier relationship with gaming. I like the idea of Kouta participating in a fighting game tournament with Saki cheering him on...or maybe he taught her how to play and she’s a competitor too now? DUN DUN DUN. (but it’s all in good fun)

Pairing-specific DNW: Explicit smut (fade-to-black is fine)

Original Work

Dethroned and Dishonored Queen/Lone Loyal Female Knight

Lady Locked in a Tower/Lady Who Turns Into a Hawk

Female Werewolf Hunter/Her Boyfriend Who Gets Turned Into a Werewolf

Female Tall Muscular Badass/Female Short Chubby Nerd

Hiker/Sporty Girl Who Sprained Her Ankle Miles from Nowhere

Grumpy Lonely Sorceress/Female Courtesan She Hires for a Ritual

Female Witch/Female Werewolf

Female Witch/Female Demon She Accidentally Summons

Female Knight/Female Bath Attendant with a Crush

Female Gamer/Female Bookworm

Female Court Painter/Impatient Princess Sitting for a Painting

Female Armorsmith/Female Warrior Who Needs Frequent Repairs

Female Adventurer Lost in the Snow/Female Fire Spirit

Male Speakeasy Bartender/Male Speakeasy Piano Player

Librarian/Her Monster-Hunting Wife Who Keeps Dragging Her Into Wacky Supernatural Adventures

Sensible Royal Guardswoman/Arrogant but Skilled Court Sorceress

Dark Mage/Light Mage

Beleaguered Playwright/Actress Cursed to Ruin Any Show She’s In

Female Vampire/Female Vampire Hunter

Victorian Lady/Victorian Lady

GO WILD. Just don’t hit my DNWs. For the pairings that don’t specify the genders of both members, I’d prefer f/f works.

[zhouszishu]

Hi! I just wanted to ask what do you love so much about when a snail falls in love? Its been on my to watch list for a long time but I still haven't gotten to it. I need a push

my anon, my dude…the real question is what don’t i love about when a snail falls in love tbh. okay that’s a lie i did have some nitpicks about the drama but overall what i loved about it honestly outweighs any and all negatives i had against it. 

also here’s your warning, this is about to get extensive and unnecessarily long because i’m not kidding when i say that this drama is my favorite. (there are some very teeny tiny spoilers!! but i tried very hard to keep it to the very the minimum.)

okay i tried breaking down why i love when a snail falls in love so much into something somewhat coherent with bulleted points. i hope it isn’t too confusing.

xu xu aka the love of my life and queen of my heart. 

she became my favorite character of all time pretty quickly tbh. i just adore her so much and found her so relatable in how small, quiet, and introverted she is. despite her meek demeanor tho, she’s still very much allowed to be a strong female character, even if she isn’t strong physically.

what i also love about xu xu is how smart and competent she is at what she does and she knows that. i like that she’s allowed to be confident and self-assured in her abilities, especially in a field of work that is so typically male-dominated. despite her genius abilities tho, xu xu also understands where her abilities lack. this of course, is mostly in the physical aspect of police work, and even if she doesn’t like it, she readily accepts that she needs to work on physical fitness if she wants to stay in the violent crimes unit.

also shoutout to wang zi wen who portrays xu xu tho because she did such a brilliant job. like i just think that she got so much of xu xu right in terms of mannerisms and attitude and overall just did a really amazing job at being the xu xu that i imagined after i read the book and idk man, i can’t imagine anyone else in the role of xu xu now. 

the fact that the writer never forgets that the story is about our snail, xu xu. 

i feel like for so many dramas, it’s so easy for the writing to prioritize the male lead who overshadows the female lead and completely forget about her and only has her there as his love interest. with when a snail falls in love tho, this is never a problem!!! the heart of the story is xu xu and her journey and growth in becoming a police officer and there’s never any doubt about that!!! 

the friendship between xu xu and yao meng. 

these girls just have such a loving and supportive friendship and thinking about it makes me cry tbh. their relationship is so different from how it is in the book and i could never be more thankful that the writers chose to do this. yao meng in the book is very different from how she is in the drama and there’s even some pettiness that you would expect from a second female lead who also romantically likes the male lead. thankfully, there’s none of that in the drama!!! there’s no unnecessary hate between them, just a lot of love and support and wow, just give me more beautiful friendships between female characters 2kforever. 

the very well done slowburn romance. 

oh man where do i even begin. the buildup between ji bai and xu xu’s romance is so wonderfully done. their relationship starts off slightly antagonistic because of their different approaches to criminal work but ji bai isn’t the typical male lead jerk. his antagonism towards xu xu doesn’t come from any sort of misogyny but a real concern about her being a liability to his team. he quickly changes his mind and accepts her more readily tho once he sees how willing she is to change and from there a beautiful relationship slowly evolves. 

their relationship is built on these very quiet and gentle moments and ugh, it aches so good!!! don’t expect the typical loud and in your face moments often seen in dramas that indicate how these two people are falling so madly in love with each other. the romance between ji bai and xu xu is slow but you can see how they come to develop something romantic through their conversations and interactions. ughhh just thinking about these two makes my heart swell in the best way possible and now i have the urge to just go rewatch all their sweet moments.

the fact that ji bai and xu xu are very much equals in their relationship. despite how she calls him ‘shifu’ and she’s his student in terms of like learning police work and all that, they’re very much equals!! ji bai asks for xu xu’s opinion on things and takes the time to listen to what xu xu has to say because he knows that she’s very good at what she does but also how ji bai slowly learns to trust and open himself up emotionally to xu xu throughout the drama is just ugh, they’re so beautiful together i cry. 

okay this point is kind of spoilerish but there’s this conversation between ji bai and xu xu towards the end of the drama that just makes my heart so happy. in the conversation is ji bai acknowledging how xu xu is capable of living her life without him and it made me go !!!!!!!!!!!!! the first time i watched it. like this is so important, sosososo important!!! i feel like dramas are always very end-all-be-all with their romance but the fact that there’s this acknowledgement of xu xu’s agency and how she exists outside of their relationship is so important and amazing! it’s a reminder that, yes, the romantic relationship between xu xu and ji bai is great and all, but she won’t die without him. like xu xu isn’t with ji bai because she can’t live without him and all that romantic bullcrap but she’s with him because she chooses to be and she sees how he brightens up her life and idk, the conversation was something so small in terms of their overall relationship but it just made me love ji bai and xu xu even more.

also the chemistry between wang kai and wang zi wen!!! oh my god i die every time these two are on screen together because their chemistry is excellent and i’m sosososo happy they’re the ones to portray my #1 otp. like idk how they do it but these two are amazing as ji bai and xu xu. (also if you’ve seen wang kai and wang zi wen in ode to joy at all you know that they have a very explosive chemistry and do the whole sexual tension thing very well but with when a snail falls in love, they managed to reign in all of that and portray a very nice slowburn filled with a subtle, burning, and quiet sort of tension and ugh, it’s so amazing and beautiful to watch i just love ji bai and xu xu so much i can’t even)

okay i think that’s all i have to say about why i love when a snail falls in love lol. if you actually read through all of this, congratulations and thank you for even bothering to read what i wrote lmao. i’m so sorry i’m so fucking extra when it comes to this drama but yeah, it’s my favorite for a reason lol. anyways, i hope i convinced you to go ahead and give this drama a try!

[stealth-shadows-blog]

Trans Traveling

The months leading up to March 2015 I spent anxiously Googling stories of trans people who had experiences with airport security. Unfortunately, I was only able to find a vlog or two, and a few brief posts on random forums.  Needless to say, I found nothing that eased my anxiety. March 2015 was the first time I had to deal with airport security since passing, binding, packing, etc.  Ironically, it was also the first time I ever uttered the words, “I’m trans” out loud.

My travel day came faster than I was ready for and my anxiety built while I stood in the security line.  I handed over my boarding pass and my license and immediately worried that the officer would notice that my license had an F on it and the name listed (my birth name is blatantly feminine) didn’t appear to match the male-looking person in front of him.  I worried that I’d be ushered to some side room and be grilled and strip searched; however, after a skeptical second glance at me and my license, the TSA officer waved me through.  

I generally bind with a compression tank, which I figured I could easily pass as an undershirt/tank top; however, I was hesitant if, what, and how I should pack. My go to hardware (lol #transhumor) is FreeTom’s traditional 4 in 1.  I had no idea how (and I’m still not really sure) the body scanners would read my packer.  I had found a few posts online of guys suggesting putting the packer in carry-on through security and just putting it on after.  I think this is viable; however, my packer is something that makes me feel “complete” and gives me a lot of confidence (it feels kind of dumb saying a silicon dick makes me feel complete...but it’s the truth). Anyway, I disliked the idea of going without my packer, and I wasn’t fond of having to contend with the bathroom scene either (for obvious reasons).

I approached the scanner, waited for my cue to enter, put my feet on the footprints, raised my hands above my head, and anxiously awaited the results. The scan completed and I stepped out.  The officer asked me to step back inside for a re-scan.  I began to panic; I thought for sure they knew I had a silicon dick in my pants and I was going to have to pull it out of my pants as soon as I stepped out for the whole airport to see.  I stepped out again, more nervous, and definitely more suspicious looking.  The officer, who was female, asked me to turn around and look at the screen.  A red square was around my chest and around my waist.  My body started burning up--I tried to appear calm and collected.  She asked if I was wearing a necklace and if I had anything in my pockets.  I didn’t.

She explained that I’d have to be searched, and before she could finish her sentence, I awkwardly blurted, “I’m trans and I’m wearing a prosthetic!”  I felt like an asshole as soon as I finished the sentence.  (It dawned on me shortly after how many people don’t really know what either of those things means) She paused.  The shock on her face probably mirrored the shock on mine.  She answered, “Oh, really?  Good for you! Well in that case, would you be more comfortable if a male or female officer performed the search?”  Scared and wanting to get the situation over as soon as possible I told her it didn’t make a difference to me. She asked me to step aside and she walked over to a male officer. She brought him over and explained that I was transgender, and protocol demanded that he be the one to pat me down.

He explained the pat down procedure before he performed it, and it was a lot less scary than I had anticipated. He brushed over the flagged areas with the backs of his hands and put two fingers inside my waistband.  The pat down concluded with him swabbing my hands.  I was cleared and permitted to gather my things and proceed to my gate. As I gathered my things, admittedly shaken up, the female officer came over and asked if I was okay and what my preferred name was.  Still stunned from the event, and a little taken back by her curiosity, I told her, she commented that it was a nice choice, and she wished me a safe trip.

Looking back, the whole experience is pretty funny to me now.  I fly pretty frequently and I’m mostly unphased by the screening procedure.  There have only been a few other times where I ran into trouble with airport security (more to come on that), but mostly nothing flags and I get through the body scan without any additional pat down.  Prior to flying, I do mentally prepare myself for the potential of having to go through pat downs or potential questions, but more often than not it doesn’t happen.

To this day, I’m grateful--and a bit awe-struck--by the overall respect and kindness that the TSA officers gave me while going through the security checkpoint as a trans traveler (shoutout to MKE airport).  It was probably one of the first times in my life where I realized people just might be okay with me being trans.  The acted in a way that didn’t invalidated me and it makes me hopeful that acceptance is closer than we think.

I hope this helps ease any airport anxiety.  I wish there had been a post like this when I was searching the web prior to my first flight with gear. I’d love to hear your TSA stories and I’m happy to answer any questions.