#the power of fanfic could help with that amirite

[piracytheorist]

Think he might need a bingo card of his own but Killian Jones for character opinion bingo, and as a bonus, anything on Rumple?

Aight, red for Killian and green for Rumpelstiltskin!

For Killian, I don't think I even need to explain. Pictures are worth a thousand words.

(In a way, I do find Rumpelstiltskin's appearance great as well. But I couldn't describe it as "cool" more like... idk, elegant and to the point. Yes, even as a scaly man)

Everyone but me is wrong about Killian, always, ever. No-one understands him the way I do <3

No but seriously, considering how many people were SO wrong when analyzing his character, and how almost criminally out of character he is in AU fics (which I get it's kinda the point to change some stuff, but when you're making a brand new character without any similarities to the original and just name him "Killian Jones"... and that happens a SHIT TON in the fandom... yeah) or even CANON fics... I don't doubt I'm in a greatly small minority for my own views about him. Especially since I was actually surrounded by people whom I agreed with regarding to his writing in s7 (and we were already few in the wider Hook fandom, and also hated by most because how dare we enjoy a version of Hook growing as a character without Emma amirite) and then my opinion and their opinion about the ending differed completely to the point I felt I was alone in the world.

And yes, only my opinion is right. No I will not elaborate.

(For practical reasons, I am joking about the "right" thing. But Killian and Gold reconciling the way they did in the last few episodes was a betrayal to Killian's character and arc and I will fucking die on this hill)

Rumpelstiltskin had wasted potential because again I will die on the hill that he shouldn't have been turned into a "hero" character. They should've let him stay a morally gray character and fucking stick to it. Instead they had him jump from good guy to bad guy because the plot wanted him to be to then good guy again because Belle begged him to. I could kinda understand his relapse in the first part of s4 but it got tiring very quickly after that, and I think even Robert Carlyle got tired of that too. I've got to say that the episode "Lacey", though I have some thoughts about the flashback parts, was one of my favourite episodes of s2 simply because Gold went like "Fuck it" and beat that Keith or what is name was because he'd pissed him off (I mean, I don't condone beating, much less because the guy kissed the woman you love. But it was interesting storytelling). And then Lacey was into it and he kept going and like, this was who Gold just was. His dynamic with Belle was stunted because even if Gold wanted to do good, he was the kind of guy who got too easily corrupted by power and simply kept going after it and Belle kept going like "I can fix him". I'd rather a couple like Gold and Lacey, where they're not the villains of the story, but will help the "good guys" because of their ties to them and will absolutely go to distances the "good guys" won't. But anti-heroes was too much for A&E to handle and the fandom to accept, gotta woobify Rumple Bumple any way we can.

If they were real, either Hook or Gold, yeah I'd be terrified of them. I think we all would, and we understand that as much great characters as they make, they have killed in cold blood without any remorse, so. Blorbos they may be, and they're fun. But real life is different.

As I said, Killian is blorbo. It's been seven years that I've been a certified HookerTM and I still fall asleep making up fanfic with him in center. He'll probably be my biggest blorbo to ever blorbo.

The thing with Killian, as is connected to "didn't get enough screentime" is that he is indeed deeper than he looks, but that was only an issue of limited screentime. Us Hookers had to pick up the scraps the writers gave us and the PRECIOUS bits Colin was kind, talented and devoted enough to give us. In order to understand why he makes remarks about his appearance all the time, you have to notice the moments when he focuses on what he hates about himself; but if you skip that or just miss it, you think he's just self-centered like that. And the writing and limited screentime - by himself at least, not when he was under Emma's shadow - didn't help with that.

I've projected so much of my own shit on Killian. My self doubt, my imposter syndrome, my loneliness, some other issues that I'm not ready to share here... yeah, a lot. He's a good receptor for that, I gotta give him that :D

Done dirty by fans?? Killian and Rumpelstiltskin?? More likely than you think! From both sides too. Hook fans adoring the version of Killian who was uwu and pure and only existed for Emma's story, and hating on Rumpelstiltskin because he did bad things I guess. And for being a misogynist, apparently. And Rumpelstiltskin fans woobifying him and turning him into only a victim who had no choice in the evil things he did (and s5 did not help with the whole Dark One manifestation feeding you bad thoughts thing) and hating Hook for making sex jokes and being provocative I guess. And for being a misogynist, apparently.

So you've got two morally gray characters with excellent dynamic both on their own and ESPECIALLY together (the rivalry between the two was my TOP favourite dynamic on the show, way above Captain Swan and KnightRook... that is, until 7x18) with fans who victimize them and turn them into lovesick caricatures of themselves and the other bad guy is a misogynist!! Because that's the only way for a character to be proven bad!! MISOGYNY I TELL YOU!!

... The ouat fandom was an experience. Years will go by, fandoms will come and go, but it's the ouat fandom wank that will stay with me.

Probably explained above why Killian didn't get enough screentime. Technically, he did. From s3 onward, he appeared in every single episode, had his fair share of centric episodes, but when so little of his screentime is focused on him as a character and most of it being the writers trying to pacify the haters and prove that he's not the monster they're making him out to be, everything falls apart. That was a big problem with ouat, in general. I feel it was mostly in s7 where that was dropped, where the writers simply said fuck it and didn't care to pander to audiences anymore and just wrote what they wanted to write. Grand example, the Ruby x Dorothy ship that came out of nowhere to placate the people who were asking for LGBTQ+ representation. Then in s7, they wrote Curious Archer and it just fit in so naturally into the story and theme because they weren't pressuring themselves. And so, considering they were constantly trying to prove Killian's honor and maturity in regards to his relationship to Emma, so much of his screentime was wasted when it could have been used more appropriately. Like, the crumbs I talked about above? Make them a whole package, and that would prove the point they wanted to make anyway. But A&E were too proud in their own abilities as writers to even consider that, I guess.

Gold was a horrible person and you can fight me on that. He was an interesting character that I loved seeing on my screen... at least until his characterization took the plunge. But he was a clear example of a bullied, humiliated victim who, once he took a position of power immediately began abusing it and holding onto it for dear life. People kept mentioning how he stopped the Ogre Wars but a) that wasn't important enough to his narrative to show on screen and that says something and b) he used it as an excuse to be an asshole and to keep abusing his power, so it doesn't help? Upon losing Baelfire, his one goal became to go find him - but only as long as he kept his power. The seer confirmed he will meet him again, so he waited as long as it took - literal centuries because he wanted to find the way that would ensure he'd have both his son and his power. That power being the very thing he lost his son for, by the way. If that isn't a sign about how weird his priorities were, Idk what else to tell you man.

Yes I am mentally ill about Killian, if my seven plus years of stanning that developed into a love for Colin that I have paid real money to see from up close didn't clue any of you in XD

I circled the "part of a dynamic" one cause as I said, for almost the entire duration of the show, the rivalry between Gold and Hook was my top favourite dynamic. Sadly I didn't get that much, and I got grossly disappointed by the end, but what little I got (minus the ending, yes I am still bitter) I loved and I treasure.

Gold got too much screentime in the manner of the whole ping-pong he did between "hero" and "villain". I mean, it wasn't like they would dare sideline Robert Carlyle, but he got too many and repeated arcs that it got tiring even for me, who enjoyed his presence on my screen. If he had gotten a bit less of it, or a bit more balanced between all characters (same for Emma and Regina, they both suffered from repeated storylines and development arcs), I think they could have handled his gray morality better.

ALMOST got three lines there, lmao. BING!

[aftermathdb]

DEATH BATTLE Review: Obi-Wan vs. Kakashi

This episode is released to Youtube on May 4th. So, may the Fourth be with you.

Obi-Wan′s Preview.

So, before going into this, just be warned: Boomstick has a bunch of Obi-Wan Liners. Let’s get started.

We open up on Tatooine, and our first Obi-Wan Liner, because old Ben was actually Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time.

And of course, the classic “Hello there.”

They go over his brief story of training under Liam Neeson, and his rise through the rankings of Jedi Knights. And for the record, yes. I’ll be referring to them as “knights” as opposed to Boomstick’s “Samurai Space Wizards.”

Anyways, they also go over Kenobi’s relation to The Force. The energy that’s all around the universe and allows Obi-Wan to do incredible things.

It also leads us into our first Wiz/Boomstick segment!

Aside from the Force, they also go over some of Obi-Wan’s techniques and other parts of his arsenal.

And they also go over several novels that help give Obi-Wan an edge up as well.

And the Force is no joke. There’s a reason why I’m capitalizing it all the time.

And it wouldn’t be a true Obi-Wan rundown if they didn’t mention his ultimate weapon:

The High Ground.

A powerful technique that he copied from Darth Maul. It gives him all sorts of advantages.

Kenobi also scales to other Force-Users, like Anakin. Which is brought up when pre-Vader did a Force feat that puts the ability to move massive dreadnaughts at massively relativistic speeds.

And to pull that off, it would need over 21 Megatons of TNT. And that was when Anakin was a newbie.

Of course, they do go over some of Obi-Wan’s weaknesses, like his dedication to the Jedi Order, trying to trick Luke into killing his father, and that time when he uh… Dropped the ball when it came to Anakin.

But even at his worst, Obi-Wan is a protector of the innocent, the universe, and the next generation. Sacrificing himself in service of a New Hope…

And then Boomstick ruins the moment by then declaring that Old Ben then became a ghost!

Yeah, let’s be real… This was the only way they could have ended it.

Kakashi′s Preview.

So, apparently it’s not just the kids who had dead parents, it’s the adults too!

The hosts go over the accomplishments that Kakashi had over the years, and how his dad was disgraced for saving his friends rather than prioritizing a mission… And how his dad committed Seppuku. Dick move Ninja Village.

Regardless, the hosts go over his accomplishments. Becoming a Genin at age five, a Chunin at age six, and a Jonin at age twelve. And yes, I copy-pasted that from the wiki because screw actually writing that out.

To be honest, the most “memey” thing about Kakashi’s preview is the “One Thousand Years of Death” technique he has. And while I can understand that Kakashi’s preview isn’t supposed to be “memey”, It’s a tad jarring when Obi-Wan’s was full of memes.

Anyways, the hosts note that Kakashi is most familiar with Lightning. And specifically, that he made a jutsu called the Chidori that got its nickname when it was used to cut a bolt of lightning.

Now, when Kakashi invented it, he ran into a problem… Literally.

He can’t really see that well when using it. So, once he starts moving, he can’t stop.

Until a friend of his gave him a Sharingan.

With this, the hosts note that Kakashi has stolen over a thousand techniques. But, they also note that since he’s not an Uchiha… he can’t really turn it off.

And then his friends all died! Which leads us to our next animated segment.

(I can never spell “Mangekyo” right… This is what I get for being a Transformers fan as opposed to a Naruto fan).

We get a list of feats, and a quick scaling test by way of Jiraiya. Remember him?- He’s the old pervert who carved up a mountain.

Anyways, this comes out to about 18 Megatons of TNT.

And after all the trauma that Kakashi endured, he finally found out that the ways of old were not the way that should be taught. And he lives on, knowing that he trained the next generation to do better than his could.

… Like I said: not a Naruto fan, so I have no idea what significance that this has.

The Battle Itself.

Doovan Hohdan, Daitomodachi, and Devil Artemis are back for an SFM animation. Obi-Wan will be voiced by Steven Kelly and Kakashi will be voiced by Nicholas Andrew Louie. Force and Lightning by Therewolf, and audio led by Chris Kokkinos.

So, after crashing into Konohagakure, Obi-Wan “celebrates” his landing, and opens up the only way Obi-Wan could:

Now, credit where it’s due: Obi-Wan tries to resolve this without violence. Looks like we know where Luke got it from. If all Star Wars DEATH BATTLE combatants start by them trying to diffuse the situation, I’d say that these guys know what they’re doing when it comes to portraying them as normal… Y’know, minus the removed morals.

Obviously, Obi-Wan not going to let Kakashi just outright kill him, so he starts defending.

Now, it takes a while for Kakashi to take the fight seriously. He keeps readinng his book while fighting and it takes some heavy blows to get him to put it down.

Obi-Wan declares that he has the high ground, and unfortunately, that’s too much power to be contained in one screenshot. But, Kakashi manages to counter Obi-Wan’s almighty High Ground technique.

But, Obi-Wan has the force on his side, so being buried isn’t going to stop him.

Now, the fight rages on, and it’s pretty clear that any physical blows are kinda-sorta leaning in Obi-Wan’s favor a bit. Kakashi puts in more effort when countering than Obi-Wan does. Maybe that’s just Kenobi’s calm demeanor, or Kakashi’s hotheadedness though.

Regardless, Kakashi opts to put Obi-Wan into an illusion for a  striking blow.

So, with the illusion dispelled (Seriously. First Hiei, now Kenobi. Will any illusion-character be able to land that move?), Obi-Wan counters.

And he counters HARD.

Kakashi doesn’t break easily though, so he starts using lightning.

The two get ready for a charging blow, so finishing move in

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Another Sasuke vs. Hiei parallel: it takes a moment for Kakashi to actually die.

Also, has anyone noticed that all the Naruto mentors die at the end of their respective battles? (Yeah, I’m kinda cheating with Might-Might, but still.)

Verdict + Explanation.

So, right off the bat, Kakashi has the edge in versatility. Hands down.

For starters, Obi-Wan isn’t going to be running out of fuel anytime soon. Chakra is internal, and the Force is external. And since it’s not a Chakra technique, Kakashi couldn’t copy it.

And the mountain feat is about on par with the dreadnaught feat, so they looked to be pretty even on power… At first glance.

Remember, Anakin gained power over the course of the series. By the time that the two fought, Anakin was much more powerful. So it stands to reason that Obi-Wan, who matched him, would also be on a similar level of power.

Obi-Wan could also tear apart General Grevious’ armor, which could tank blasts from star destroyers. And while it’s a little unreasonable to say that he could do this with his bare hands, the Force definitely can.

In terms of speed, Obi-Wan could react many times faster than Kakashi, meaning that Kakashi wouldn’t have a whole lot of opportunities to actually land a blow. Combined with the precognitive powers that the Force gives Kenobi, this means that it would be hard for Kakashi to get in close at all.

The elephant in the room is dismissed, as when Kakashi had the Perfect Susanoo, he was being possessed by the spirit of his friend.

But, even if he did, Obi-Wan is still stronger.

Kyp could move a black hole. And Obi-Wan was directly compared to him. Taking this literally, this comes out to just short of 14 Petatons of TNT.

And as we all know, a Petaton is a whole lot bigger than a Gigaton, that’s for sure.

And this isn’t even counting the fact that Obi-Wan could just crush his organs using the Force.

Damn! Thank god for the Jedi Code. These guys could literally conquer the entire universe if they wanted. Good thing they adopted the Spider-Man ways of taking great responsibility with that power and using it for good. Screw the Sith for going the Green Goblin route.

Overall impression.

So, has anyone noticed that we’ve been getting lessons in these past few battles lately? Cable vs. Booster Gold came with the moral of “the level of seriousness between characters only really matters for their own universes, not in a DEATH BATTLE”, the one before that had the (somewhat humorous) “We’re all beautiful just the way you are, no matter how many arms or whose wife you stole”, and now we have “With Great Power, comes Great Responsibility” delivered through the fact that we have now seen that power, and we’re thankful for the Jedi for holding back.

Aside from that, the fight is really well-choreographed. While it’s hard to discern that Obi-Wann had the speed advantage, it’s pretty clear that he had everything else. It was clear that he was the more level-headed of the two, and that gave him an immediate edge as it showed that he was more or less, holding back. And the ones who hold back the most tend to be the one who has the most power.

And the Obi-One liners are a delight. If there was anything really awesome that came out of the Prequels, it was the Obi-One liners. Ad to think! This airs on May 4 on Youtube… Yeah, cue angry Naruto fans claiming that “Obi only won because May 4.” Ugh… Freaking DEATH BATTLE Curse, amirite?

8.8/10

Next Time…

Oh. Speaking of Spider-Man…

If this isn’t hand-drawn, there will be riots.

Is there a fight that you want me to review? - Send an ask/request, and I’ll look into it!

Do you want to read my fanfic based around DEATH BATTLE itself? click here!

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you next time for…

Spider-Copycat Combat.

[elenatria]

What are your thoughts on chernobyl episode 3 ?

Bestest ep ever.

This episode starts with silent looks.

It’s so heart-warming to see Boris’ boyish smile of pride and relief as he claps and waves, like a kid watching national heroes parade right in front of him. He’d be waving a flag if he could.

Of course Valery has no time for smiles because he knows better, he knows this isn’t over. However they do exchange a glance, starting to appreciate what they’re both doing for the cause, starting to realize the power of their collaboration.

In the next scene they’re almost demolishing what they just built, the trust and respect. Valery lashes out at Boris about the evacuation zone. Boris gets defensive because he just won’t have his newly found partner blaming him. This is getting too personal.

And oh, here it comes, the revealing “Don’t use my name” moment of this episode but in reverse.

Boris is not just offended by Valery calling his peers apparatchiks. 

He’s deeply wounded. And he delivers his next line in the darkest, huskiest tone imaginable.

Because hey, Valery could be talking about him for all he knows. So yeah, watch your tongue because I’m one of the people you loathe and I DON’T want to be one of the people you loathe, I’m not one of them, do you understand?

Of course he’s quick to hide his hurt behind a wall of authoritativeness.

 But Valery knows the meaning behind Boris’ words. He stops and stares and blinks and drops his head not because he’s embarrassed for being rebuked but because he got to hurt Boris’ feelings again. He wants to  learn not to hurt him anymore, and fails.

Pikalov then comes to bring some good news about the reduction of iodine 131 and Boris grabs this opportunity (the first in a series of attempts to cheer up Valery) to help the scientist see the glass as half full, not half empty. He still needs Valery’s approval and to tell him he’s doing things right. 

Valery turns to face him because he really really wants to be on good terms with him and Boris looks away casually as if to say “We’re good, no harm done.” Or maybe he can’t face him just yet.

Next scene, Valery is being his usual blunt self to Gorbachev himself. This Nerd is getting more and more dangerous to himself, not to mention an embarrassment to Boris.

Naturally Gorbachev, offended by Valery’s aggressive tone, hangs up.

And then we have Boris asking to do something as intimate as taking a walk with him. Is that… the equivalent of a first date?… That’s… like… fanfic material right there.

And then… Valery blurts out the most common excuse in the book. Wait, “common”? Yeah it’s common but the way he utters it he sounds like Boris’ girlfriend “having a headache”, y’know. “Not tonight, love, it’s late and I’m tired.”

But see, Boris Shcherbina is Boris Shcherbina and he won’t take no for an answer. I don’t think he ever took no for an answer tbh.

Valery breathes out a sexy resigned exhale and stares back because yeah Boris is being his usual self with that hoarse authoritative tone, however this time they’re alone and Valery is probably having a massive boner right now, being ordered around. Ordered to have a walk. Anything else you want to order me, Boris?

Next they’re seen walking and Valery is starting to learn how he should act around people. Of course he’s resisting. “Yes I know I embarrassed you in front of Gorbachev but here, have my non-apology instead, it’s better than nothing, yes?” Yeah, Valery, like you care how Boris feels. Or do you?

Then Boris asks him about the effects of radiation. The description gets more and more gruesome but Boris is a big boy, he can take it. And he wants to learn. From Valery.

Now this “Continue” here is like a total plot bunny for any bottom!Boris smut fic because yeah, imagine Valery on top of him, hesitant, not sure if he should enter him or not but Boris, like the power bottom that he is, is ready for anything and urges him on. Because he wouldn’t let anyone top him but he would make an exception for Valery. Because who doesn’t want to let go once in a while and be fucked by a brilliant scientist, amirite?

Ok. Mind. Out of the gutter. NOW.

A-hem. Sorry for that, that was my evil smut-writing twin. Moving on.

And this is when things get even more intimate, this is every fangirl’s (or fanboy’s) dream. After listening to the horrible effects of radiation on a human body Boris wants to know how “lucky” he is compared to those doomed men. How lucky THEY are, and how much time they have on this planet.

Yeah, it sure is a friendly “we’re in this together” moment but there’s something more, right? The way Boris delivers that line is like they’re an item, they’re “us” now. He’s not alone. And Boris is not the only person Boris cares about.

Valery takes a step back, pauses and squints as if he’s thinking “not sure if Boris is just worried about his hide or if he’s genuinely concerned about me, about us, and… is that a glimpse of hope and lust in his husky tone?”

AND THEN WE GET THE BESTEST (ok one of two bestest) VALORIS MOMENT OF THE EPISODE.

That’s Boris seeing the glass half full once more, encouraging Valery, and practically telling him “You know what, I’m glad I’m not alone in this and it could have been worse and I’m glad we get to live a little longer and I’m glad YOU get to live a little longer. With me.” And I mean, look at his face when he says those words and LISTEN TO HIS VOICE  as he gradually reduces it to a tender whisper saying “Valery…” Is that the first time he calls Valery by his first name? I think it is. And it’s a payoff of the first time Valery called him “Boris”. Now Boris is finally apologizing for his tone in the helicopter and acknowledging the fact that using their first names gives him life.

Then we have the second time Boris asks about Valery’s feelings, the second “what?” scene.

Ooooh first names again. The boys are so getting used to each other and Valery is acting like an insecure lover, asking for support.

Next scene, the second best Valoris scene of the episode.

Boris staggers into Valery’s office like he’s had one cup of Vodka too many with the guys and obviously Valery didn’t want to join them because work, because Apocalypse, because Armageddon. So Boris will bring the party to him whether he likes it or not.

THEN WE GET THE SECOND GREATEST VALORIS MOMENT OF THIS EPISODE.

Boris calls Valery by his nickname (are we on a nickname basis now??). And to my uneducated western ears that still sounded a bit too intimate. If google is correct Valera is pronounced Va-LYE-ra or something but you get my drift.

What’s next, Valery calling him Borja or something?

Valery begrudgingly shakes his head in approval but basically ignores him.

Look at Boris being frustrated and hurt once more by Valery’s coldness.

But nooooo Boris won’t have anyone ignoring him, especially not Valery. Not when HE is happy. So Valery should be happy too. So he makes him drink. He demands it.

And to me btw that glass being dragged between Valery’s hands is the equivalent of Boris dragging himself between Valery’s knees and grabbing his face for a kiss. You can’t ignore me now, can you? 

Boris tries to cheer him up and uses the worst words he can.

The double (and fateful) meaning of that phrase doesn’t get lost on either of them.

And oooooh the naked miners’ scene. Look at their shocked faces lol. 

Valery witnesses Boris not acting all-knowing all-powerful in front of his inferiors for the first time. That’s progress. And he feels bad for him.

Later on, upon hearing the news of Ulana’s arrest Valery appeals to Boris as if asking his boyfriend for help. First name basis always.

Yes, Boris, Valery is a demanding boyfriend.

And oh, Boris won’t have his boyfriend embarrass him in front of the committee. 

When Valery storms out of the room to address the chief of the KGB in his usual blunt manner Boris  is scared shitless. “I didn’t bring you here to have you sent out to some gulag because you’re a STUPID, unceremonious and reckless nerd.”

And finally, one of the funniest yet tender moments of the episode. Valery is looking at Boris for approval. He knows he almost got himself arrested but still Boris’ opinion counts more than anything. 

And that’s Boris telling him “you scared me shitless, you idiot, did you know they could kill you for that? Don’t EVER do this to me again.”

[jobethdalloway]

CLEXACON RECAP omfg

bc this needs to go somewhere & @mnhooch was kind enough to ask. tried to bold some highlights bc this is basically a long-ass diary entry ramble haha

-the first thing I went to was a panel called “Gaysian: Queer Asian Representation in the Media” with 4 incredibly rad/funny/super smart folks. Really enlightening convo on finding bits and pieces of characters who don’t look like/sound like you to relate to. A highlight: the first question was asking them if there are any queer Asian characters in the media they related to growing up and the last one said “Well, of course, Mulan” and there was like this loud “MMMMMM yeahhhh” that like rippled through the audience. Pressed to clarify which Mulan: “THE CARTOON one, come on”

-the moderator for the LGBTQ Actress panel was hilarious and the women on it were all wonderful so it was great to get to hear from them/learn about them but for me it was ALL ABOUT STEPHANIE BEATRIZ OMMMMMMGGG. Seeing how bubbly she is irl is a good reminder of how solid her performance is as Rosa like dang. Highlight: Stephanie tearing up talking about how much it meant to her to read the dialogue “I’m bisexual,” laid clearly and deliberately, in the script where Rosa come out 

-SO MANY STUNNING BUTCHES EVERYWHERE??? omg. also it was just really cool to be in a space with so many women and nb folks. Pretty much every other gay-anything I’ve tried to go to has been 98% cis gay guys so this was like huge in a way I wasn’t anticipating

-OLDER WOMEN WHO’VE BEEN WAITING DECADES FOR GOOD REPRESENTATION, and they were there, and they love the shows we love and it warmed my heart. Also people came from around the globe for this and that was so cool

-AMAZING COSPLAYERS!!! Faves: 2 people dressed as Valkyries, Xena & Gabrielle, and too many gorgeous Alex Danvers(...es) to count

-saw a group of short documentaries, some of which were like ok but there were 2 great ones - butch coyolxauhqui (x) (about a butch learning to love her body with the help of her mother & an Aztec goddess) and a place in the middle (x) (about a Hawaiian child reclaiming traditional notions about gender from an awesome teacher)

-an awesome panel on butch representation in the media! Wish more people could’ve made it to that one. Such an important reminder that there is soooo far to go. Good introspection about internalized lesbophobia (”cured” tomboys in kid movies; butches being the lesbian equivalent of effeminate men where the stereotype is what our internalized phobia wants to get away from instead of embracing as we should)/the fact that it’s a stereotype but still like never seen?? and if it is seen, is usually negative. sigh.

-a panel on sapphic fanfic! Which was actually really inspiring and makes me want to get back into writing. Because I love it. I love writing, you guys.

DAY 2? ALREADY OMG

-started off the day in the way, way back of the auditorium for the Wayhaught panel which was so much fun! Kat & Dom are too adorable for words. Highlight: Kat’s response when asked about her thoughts on things like fanart/fanfic. idk, it was really heartwearming/inspiring. Something along the lines of, “this character may look like me but it’s the spirit of Nicole that matters, and the spirit belongs to all of us, not just me” ergo she sees fanart and sees Nicole, not herself. No single person/entity owns the character. idk that was just a really awesome thing to hear an actor say 

-short comedies!! Sadly I had to duck out of this one early, but I loved 2 of the ones I saw here - a USC thesis (trailer) and a hilarious/touching one by a Philippine filmmaker called “salamagan” that unfortunately I can’t find online anywhere

-CHYLER LEIGH. CHYLER LEIGH, HOLY SHIT. This was like. The most moving Q&A I think I’ve ever been able to experience. As I was sitting there, it really registered with me how shitty it felt to have to put up with actresses (not just a certain 2) for years who were ashamed - vocally and specifically - of fans like us. Not for being over-zealous, but being queer and having queer feelings and seeking validation. How shitty it felt to have those actresses make fun of us on talk shows; make us feel gross/stupid/deluded/embarrassing for feeling the way we did & thus perpetuating internalized fears and shame in abundance. I know there are plenty of actresses who are truly great allies and who care about their LGBTQ fans, but Chyler like ... is so engaged?? She was so emotional and you can see that she gets it, she does not take her responsibility lightly and she is wonderful. I was also reminded of the distinction between seeing ourselves/hearing ourselves in media. bc i’m white, I do get to see queer characters who look like me more and more on TV/the movies (certainly more than I was a kid), but Alex is the first(/only?) one who I’ve really heard myself in and that feels significant Highlight: I got to ask her a question! And I was the last one they had time for so phew. Here’s a link to the whole panel, set to start at my question *^^ (but I definitely recommend watching the whole thing the next time you have an hour to spare) (I MADE HER LAUGH. Kinda hard to make out what I said at the beginning, which is, “oh wow, lesbians are short” bc I’m almost 6′ tall and the mic stand was very very low) (I WAS TREMBLING THE WHOLE TIME Y’ALL) 

-highlight: a DELIGHTFUL/wonderful feature called “Signature Move” (trailer). You want a good lesbian movie? HERE’S A GOOD LESBIAN MOVIE!!! Nobody dies, no lesbians have to date men, one of the leads is a butch Pakistani-American and the other is Mexican-American and we see their complicated/beautiful relationships with their mothers and it’s FUNNY AS HELL and the leads are HANDSOME AND BEAUTIFUL AS HELL and it needs all the viewers

-highlight: I got to meet @thefootlightclub and @missmaclay after years of being tumblr buddies!! They are both delightful/amazing people and it was so fun to like, fangirl irl with people. And since I went to this con alone, it was really cool to get to talk to other people about it, haha. They introduced me to some awesome peeps including the lovely @amyroot! Thanks y’all for being so friendly and welcoming me in. Also @thefootlightclub and I talked about how June Allyson should totally have a massive lesbian following bc Jo March and that voice, amirite #imright

DAY 3 OH NO THE WEEKEND IS ENDING

-really sad short films today!! Most of them not great, but there was one that wove in Mrs Dalloway and that was pretty cool/I was stunned to see that the cinematographer was a childhood friend of mine! Who is Mormon! And apparently worked on a film about lesbians! He’s a cool guy and that was a fun surprise. One of the films was pretty powerful and gave me AYLT feels (if my epilogue had been depressing AF) (trailer)

-there was a panel called “empowerment through fandom,” which was nice but pretty much wound up being for Earpers. Validating to know one of the panelists was a reporter and it’s like aha okay this stuff is for people in all walks of life/professions/ages. Validating all around. 

-I wandered around the vendor booths and picked up a couple of pins/postcards. So many talented people! Probably just as well that I didn’t look too hard at this stuff until the last day bc stuff was sold out and I probably would’ve spent $$ I didn’t have on some of these rad shirts/posters haha

-went to a panel on Queer Films, which I kind of thought would be more of like a presentation/discussion on the history of films but it was more about how to get them made/how hard it is to do that. The panelists and moderator were great, though, and had some great insights. Specifically, the producer of “Elena Undone” (which I admit I could not finish but deeply wanted to like) talked about how you have to do the best with what you have bc sometimes you just can’t raise the money you want/need to get the film you’d really like bc people don’t like to finance lesbian films and that was kind of humbling to keep in mind

-rounded it all out by watching DEBS, obviously one of the greatest films of all time. Highlight: there were a lot of older women at the con, which was really wonderful to see, and 2 of them were sitting behind me. One said to the other, “I wasn’t sure I was going to come to this but these kids downstairs said ‘oh you totally have to go.’ Well, one said, ‘you “totes” have to,’ which I took to mean ‘totally.’” It was great to hear them laughing behind me the whole time! WHAT AN ICONIC MOVIE. 

-I got to eat at Cafe Rio which is always ALWAYS A PLUS

Anyway, wow, what a fantastic weekend. I feel so, so lucky that I was able to go and meet so many amazing people and hear so many amazing people and be surrounded by the love. I never ever thought I’d go to a con - not for any condescending reason, just bc I never thought there was enough I’d ever be interested in to make it worth attending. But this? Wow. Tailor-made for me - for so many of us. If I had a wish then it would be that we could all go to Clexacon next year!

/is it next year yet 

[agentmintea]

tagged by @gryffindorkx who is amazing and has such a nice and pretty blog omg and also wow this has been in my drafts for months??? i am a terrible person??????

rules: answer all questions, add one question of your own and tag as many people as there are questions.

1. coke or pepsi:

coke but tbh neither... 

2. disney or dreamworks:

ahhhh idk?????? dreamworks has the more original stories, and better franchises, but i guess imma hafta go with disney bc they’ve got all the classics and i’m also a sucker for the songs

3. coffee or tea:

ughhhh both?!?!?! tea because it’s more versatile and i’m always down for tea. but i do love a good cup of coffee

4. books or movies:

books. but i also love movies

5. windows or mac:

windows and i will fight you on this jk i won’t. i understand why some ppl prefer mac but for me/for what i use/for what i want, windows for sure

6. dc or marvel:

marvel bc peggy carter is the love of my life

7. x-box or playstation:

I have not used either for any extended period of time but I'm saying xbox for the times I've used Kinect

8. dragon age or mass effect:

so I looked these up and they’re video games which is not my thing but imma agree with @gryffindorkx on this one and say dragon age just bc dragons

9. night owl or early riser:

night owl all the way

10. cards or chess:

cards bc lots of variety? but i’m also horrendous at both rip

11. chocolate or vanilla:

chocolate usually, vanilla sometimes

12. vans or converse:

vans

13. Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash, or Adaar:

lmao so apparently these are dragon age characters and when you put this into google lots of the first results are fanfic?????? lmao?????????

14. fluff or angst:

hmmmm it really depends... either as long as it’s well written tbh... but also fluff.

15. beach or forest:

both?????

16. dogs or cats:

BOTH???????

17. clear skies or rain:

clear skies yikes (though I love snow)

18. cooking or eating out:

lol I suck at cooking so eating out??? but I love home cooked food and I do not have $$$... basically I just need to learn to cook is what we’re learning, kids

19. spicy food or mild food:

mild bc I don’t understand the concept of covering up the taste of the food with the spice???? like if a thing is meant to be spicy then ok but I do not understand ppl adding spice to their food......

20. halloween/samhain or solstice/yule/christmas:

Christmas bc I like exchanging gifts and the whole family spirit thing... although we don’t really do that much to celebrate it

21. would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot:

if I can change the temperature by changing my clothing, then cold (like if I just have to wear extra layers all the time) but if it’s like a never-changing thing then hot???

22. if you could have a superpower, what would it be:

rationally, teleportation ... but just for curiosity, speaking to animals

23. animation or live action:

both!! (on average probably animation though)

24. paragon or renegade:

lmao what is with all these video game questions

25. baths or showers:

showers

26. team cap or team ironman:

why can’t everyone just get along :(((((( 

27. fantasy or sci-fi:

ugh BOTH PLEASE

28. do you have three or four favourite quotes, if so what are they:

“We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.”   ― J.K. Rowling

“Nobody is wired wrong, because there’s no wrong and right in the way we are.” ― Hannah Hart

"All grown-ups were once children... but only few of them remember it." — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

29. youtube or netflix:

youtube bc it’s free also youtubers are my life

30. harry potter or percy jackson:

HARRY POTTER

31. when you feel accomplished:

is this asking for a moment I've felt accomplished?? or?? i love the feeling when i know a gift i’ve picked out for someone is Just Right, or when i feel like i’ve been helpful

32. star wars or star trek:

star wars but only bc ive never seen star trek (sorry!!)

33. paperback books or hardback books:

hardback assuming this is about owning books

34. horror or rom-com:

rom-com bc I can’t do horror but also I'm not really a rom-com person

35. tv shows or movies:

hmmm depends?? 2 years ago I would have said movies but idk now

36. favorite animal:

ugh all of them please idk ducklings are my Thing but maybe otters or owls or bumblebees or fruit bats i love them all

37. If you had the chance, which character would you bring back to life in your favorite book/movie/series? One character only

ahhh my knee jerk response was peggy carter but she lived a full life so I’ll pick Lupin??? oh no argh idk this is so hard WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS

38. patterns or solids:

i added did just to express my love for patterns hehehe

i’m tagging some new and old mutuals (you’re all great, come talk to me!) (but don’t feel obliged to do this if you don’t want to):  @darlinglena​ @superbigirl​ @sabriboni​ @kryptoehoe​ @geekynerddemon​ @beingmadattheworld​ @bubbleschas​ @the-power-of-reckless-optimism​ @officialcookiebusiness​ @smileandremember​ @negomybauman​ @stevesam​ @kmalakhn​ @catnobody​@squintsandsuits​ @m-ackie​ @commanderbroodygay​ @partyhelbig​ @diz3ster​

(exactly half of 38 bc who cares about rules amirite)

[yoooidontgetnosleepcauseofyall]

Why season 8 of vld broke my heart aka why it is so freaking amazing

Ok so I’m writing this at 3am, I also have school tomorrow, but I’ll prob be drinking like 2 liters of coffee in the morning, so why the heck shouldn’t I make a post about Voltron amirite? So hold on tight and prepare yourself for my sleep deprived and full of grief state of mind that I’m in narrating why tf you should totally watch this heartbreaking season and why it was totally worth the wait.

(spoilers lmao)

On number one we have the moms. Literally warmed my heart whenever I saw Krolia or Colleen Holt on screen. And that reminds me, moTHER F’ING COLLEEN HOLT. SHE IS THE SOLE REASON PIDGE’S BODY CAN CONTAIN THAT MUCH SASS. Also I’ m glad they also included Krolia cause they had a butt ton of characters to integrate in this season and she had quite some screentime AND saved the situation once.(also Krolivan) So to wrap this up I just gotta say the dinamic on the moms was pretty interesting.

On number two we have the main antagonist of the season, Haggar, or should I call her Honerva. I mean what made her go forward was the wish to have a family(shout out to the mom argument above) which is totally understandable and it kinda broke my heart, but she did KILL a lot of peeps in the process so not real sure that was the best way she could have done it. I loved her design this season, actually I’m glad I could at least see her face(yes, she dumped the witch bathrobe or whatever she was wearing). ALSO when Allura gives her the Altean marks back I freaking lost it, like why would anyone hurt you in the first place Honerva :/. Also it was nice to find out where she got the Haggar nickname.

On number three we have moments that kept me at the edge of my seat, like when Honerva was travelling between different dimensions and destroying them in the process(remember, out of motherly love) she knocked Voltron out cold as everything was collapsing around them, and they went on with the ‘togheter we can do anything’ speech and Voltron powered back up and right as they were to enter the portal the screen goes black. Not gonna lie, I paused the episode, laid back, and continously told myself ‘They’re protags, they gonna make it through’(this actually happened on exactly 17 different occasions throught the season so...). Like I know they’re not gonna kill them(or are they? *VSauce theme blares into distance*) but I can’t ignore the fact that the last time I saw them they were about to be lost in an desintegrating alternate reality. Another moment like this was when Allura was dreaming(or nightmaring idk) about Lotor telling her to free an entity that was used to control the Alteans so she would gain more power. Of course, she went ahead and did just that cause when your ex, that you found out was exploiting your people for immesurable quintessence, tells you this unknown object, that was used to control people, bear in mind, gives you more power you absolutely go ahead and set it loose.

On number three we have the Atlas cast cause it was amazing I’m telling you. Kinkade won my heart because his face expressions and video blog were more than enough almost give me a heart attack every time I saw him. Also, Veronica befriending Acxa was honestly all I could have asked in my life. Also, also, Slav, Sam Holt, Romelle and Coran got a lot of screentime and were badasses the whole season and I wanna thank the studio for not forgetting those ‘sideish’ characters. Also, also, also SHIRO. The white-haired man came in pretty strong this season, so all bow to the commander of the Atlas. Thank you.

On number four, we have death, cause the fanfic writers didn’t have enough angst to work with yet. So basically, Allura died. Sure she died like a hero, sacrificing herself to save all the realities, but I forking cried. Also I ranted hard because: she didn’t get to say goodbye to Coran; why did she have the only one to go down(this season was amazing for her and I enjoyed the kinda darker side of her, but all she did was to protect this ‘family’ that she found, so why didn’t she get to enjoy it to the end????), she could’ve taken, idk, maybe Lance with her.

On number five we have the LGBTQ rep. When Shiro was revealed to be gay there was honestly a lot of excitement in the fandom, but when everybody found out that Adam died later in the season, boy, did Dreamworks had a lot to deal with. While I was surfing Reddit and Tumblr to find out what the people are thinking about season 7, I stumbled across multiple people who sustained the fact that Shiro was the LGBTQ rep and they wouldn’t leave the fans without something in the next season, and they were right. And yet, I can’t help but feel that it was poorly executed, the whole thing being presented in the epilogue, where we find out that Shiro married a character that I don’t think was even introduced by name and said like 3 lines the whole season and we sometimes see him on the bridge. Also, the epilogue? If you were going to do something like this you should first cultivate it, not force it on screen in the last minutes of the SHOW.

On number five(I didn’t wanna finish on such a bad note cause I actually enjoyed the season) we have little moments that made the season rememberable : Episode 8 of the season ‘Clear Day’ is the equivalent of ‘Space Mall’ an all time fan favourite episode. It displays Shiro arm wrestling(we also get to see the Warden and his dog like creature), Lance trying to get a Blue Lion plush for Allura(he ends up being scammed but he still gets the toy afterwards) Hunk and Keith being stuck in a ride with an annoying song(Keith eventually snaps and breaks through a wall to get out), and a little more Holt family action(Matt has a gf??). Acxa and the MFI fighters having VERY awkward convos at lunch. Pidge connecting with the forest on an destroyed Olkarion to find out what happened there. Bae Bae being the best girl out there. Pidge(again) reenacting her role on the 80′s Voltron show to get free stuff.

In conclusion, this season sure was one heck of a ride and I definitely recommend you to see it(if you haven’t), and while the ending was...questionable, it was still enjoyable. Peace!