#this is my 1 am fandom revisit time huh

[shu-shoe]

God, help me...

It's 1 am and this is what's on my mind...

AAAAA

I need sleep

[outrunningthedark]

I had a nonnie in my inbox who asked me to expand my thoughts on the sperm donor arc and when I tried to post I got an error, so here is the answer without exact context, ugh:

I'm glad you brought this up because it's giving me a chance to express my thoughts more...calmly, as opposed to the *screaming into the void* moment I had yesterday. I, personally, am not a fan of what the show has done to Buck's character since season four. To me, it feels like the intention was to go one way with his story (the therapy arc, maybe revisit things with the parents in s5 to officially move on to the next phase), but then...problems? unforeseen circumstances? changed it up. I mean...think about it. We get this "huge" Buck backstory, he realizes he needs to start learning about his past/accepting it, and then...two episodes later...here comes his former hookup who causes nothing but drama and she's not just a blip on the radar again. They're bringing her back to be part of the cast in s5. If you want my opinion (and this is not a slight on any actors because it is what it is), once it was realized that Jennifer was pregnant and she would have to be written out, and then the question turned to what to do with Chimney... Buck in healing mode didn't mesh with how the audience would expect him to react to Madney "leaving", so...why not let him self-destruct even more! The show abandoned the therapy arc. That's the part people are ignoring. That's the part that makes their arguments about "healing not being linear" irrelevant. There was no hint at healing beyond those two conversations (the end of 4x05 and beginning of 4x06). Shit happened and the show changed course. Very quickly. Skipping ahead to the sperm donor storyline...Well. I would argue that it narratively doesn't make *total* sense when we left off 5x18 with Buck finally doing something for himself by breaking up with TayKay. Maybe if it was TayKay who cut ties, we could more easily accept him still not being willing to listen to that voice inside that knows he's doing the wrong thing(s). Also, now that we know "radical acceptance" isn't supposed to be explained the way Buck explained it (they should have just stuck with "saying yes to possibilities")...I'm annoyed that his behavior is the antithesis of radical acceptance and looking at the show like "you just threw fancy words out there hoping people would call you genius, huh?" (Sad to say it worked.) It makes the fandom look dumb af, too, "He's saying yes without thinking! He's bound to backslide!" He's...he's not performing radical acceptance until he STOPS falling into old habits, actually. It's now a conversation that could have been avoided if they didn't use THAT exact term. 🤦‍♀️ (It's like someone decided they should use a word other than 'open-minded' or even 'automatic' and chose radical without considering it's a real phrase with a completely different connotation.) I'm not a fan of the sperm donor arc, I've made no secret of that. The timing of it (to me) seems like a way to appease the people who want to think of him as a father (because Chris isn't biologically his and therefore it doesn't count 🙃) since it's probably gonna be awhile until he has a bio kid of his own, if ever. But. I was trying to stay optimistic. "Well, surely, this is not gonna work out and he's gonna have a moment where he realizes his purpose is to build/be a family with Eddie and Chris." And by "not work out" I mean he gets rejected or the attempts aren't successful. *That* would have been my preferred scenario - he makes a rash decision, but backs out before it's too late because he's finally like "Wtf am I doing? This isn't gonna make me happy." *That* would have fit with him putting himself first. *That* would have been a way to expand on the growth we saw a glimpse of in 5x18. Now...there might be a baby? (Still allowing a 1% chance that it ends up being Connor's baby after all...) And as long as there's a baby, people aren't going to let it go. "Is Buck gonna have to save his bio kid when they get sick???" "Will Connor and Kameron die to bring up a new trauma for Buck???" "Are we gonna get Big Man, Tiny Baby because he gets to be a friend to the family???" And the thing is...I can't blame people for going there with it. As long as there is a (hypothetical) child in the story, the show could bring them up at any time. To some in the fandom, Buck should be capable of walking away peacefully from this situation he's found himself in, but the fandom is not in the writers' room. If the show doesn't have any "better" ideas, if the show needs easy drama...Buck's attitude could change on a dime. The saving grace is that this storyline is happening now when (I highly doubt) we'll get to a season where the child is old enough to want to get to know their dad. Because you know that would happen.

[wisyhana]

Hi Wisy, I'm so happy to see you still active and around! YGO was my baby fandom, so I'm living to see you get into that too lol - puzzleshipping was my bread and butter back in the day! So, in regards to that, question 1: What do you think of the anime vs. the manga? I admit I've never read the manga, so I'm curious about the differences!

Second: I do miss your Raileons! I know you said the comics you were working with them weren't finished, so were you planning to revisit them at some point? Just curious is all, not trying to push or anything!

Hewooooo!! It's been a while, huh

I also watched the show as kid but never finished it, in fact I hated most of the characters that I now root for lol but that only happened bc I read the manga... And that leads me to the questions.

Answer 1: I'm kinda afraid to reply this one but my honest opinion after doing a few comparisons myself with the show and the manga..... The show is awful lol and I don't want to sound too entitled only bc I read the manga or insult the people that prefers the show bc of the nostalgia, but I feel TOEI and Konami only did what they knew better: give a goofy show and sell cards.

I have to clarify that generally I prefer the manga over the show overall, so I'm pretty much biased on this but....

Takahashi's work is amazing, it's sensitive and respectful with his characters, the duels are fun and well used for the plot, the action scenes are well written aaaaaaaaaa I could talk about how good the manga is for hours.

Sigh... Yeah, sorry about that, but it's obvious to this point that I value the manga way more than the show... I hope I didn't offend anyone with this ;;;

Answer 2: siiiiiiighh I miss them too, there was one last comic to finally give an end to their story but I got to a point where I found myself stuck in a corner. The issue was that the last part had a lot of dialogues, important dialogues that I couldn't avoid. The problem with that was that I was never satisfied with them, I changed the dialogues so many times bc they never convinced me ;; I tried to turn it into a fanfic but I'm way better 'showing not telling' so I didn't know how to manage it. So I feel stuck for the longest time ever, adding that myself was dealing with an art burnout.... Yeah, it left a bad taste in my mouth that I try to avoid blame in the characters 😔... It's uncertain what I'm going to do with it, idk if I'll go back eventually or just leave it there.

Tried my best to not write a long reply but here I am :D sorry if it's too long but thanks you for asking tho!

[milkovichrules]

weekly tag wednesday friday ! 🌻

thank you sm for tagging me @iansw0rld 🥰

Let's get started!

name: river age: the number that's funnier than 24 star sign: leo ✌️ I always say having the same birthday as mickey is my life's greatest achievement first language: english second language: don't have one, I can string some sentences together in norwegian and im getting better! favorite lip product: straight up lanolin the best food dish you can make without a recipe? fried rice or mac n cheese easy if you drink tea, what kind? oooh yeah, green, peppermint, or oolong if you drink coffee, what roast do you usually get? I love coffee but I have no idea tbh... whatever's strongest favorite thing to watch on youtube right now: John Wolfe, Atomic Shrimp, Nick Crowley, Nexpo, Atrocity Guide, jacksfilms, Scary Interesting favorite thing to watch on youtube in 2012: cryaotic *crowd boos*, 1D stuff, Kelly Kpopp, Dan n Phil, Liam Kyle Sullivan, jacksfilms best boy favorite item of clothing right now: the witchy loungewear set from Drop Dead...idk what its called they don't sell it anymore favorite item of clothing in 2012: whatever I got at wet seal for a dollar

fandom

three movies you recommend: coraline, stardust, the witch your favorite concert: florence and the machine my GOD. thirty seconds into what the water gave me and I was fully sobbing have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion? absolutely lmao the best tv show you watched last year: probably succession...shiv roy I am free on thursday do you have a fancasting you just can’t let go of? nah but also pls cast noel fisher in everything thank you a ship you’ve abandoned: none they're all in my heart forever!! on a scale of 1-10 how willing are you to share your ao3 history? uuuuuuuh like a 5? It's not too crazy but it is embarrassing some of the fics ive revisited 80+ times what fandom do you wish was bigger? in the flesh!!! please watch my sad gay zombie show its so good do you have a fandom tattoo? nope but there are certain Plans has a finale ever ruined a show for you? the obvious one is GOT but it was going downhill anyway... also I was part of the shameless fandom purge after s5 so lmao

have you…

swam in an ocean? uh huh been vegan/vegetarian? yup for a little while gone skinny dipping? nope gone skiing? nooooo I would be so scared

tagging nobody bc I've been gone for two months hiii everyone💕

[darthsassacre]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

@spyscrapper decided to let me inflict this on y'all, so blame them.

1: How many works do you have on AO3?

55, but most of them aren't exactly complete.

2: What's your total AO3 word count?

Apparently I've hit 1,015,917, which means I crossed the million mark and??? fucking when???

3: What fandoms do you write for?

I write for Star Wars and World of Warcraft mostly, but I have dabbled with Mass Effect, Star Trek, and even some Dragon Age WIPs on a back burner somewhere.

4: What are your top five fics by kudos?

This one is trickier, because a lot of my fics with higher numbers only have those numbers because of that fucking kudos bot that was running around rampant for several months a while back and it hit a lot of my KOTOR stuff, so I went in and manually counted the humans who have touched these things and left a kudos.

"Things The Crew of the Ebon Hawk Are Not Allowed To Do" is at the top with 47, which is amazing considering that it's literally just one of those rules shitfics that I crowdsourced rules on lol. I feel like this might be one I revisit at some point, though, once my KOTOR muse returns from the war.

"I don't wanna hear your absolution (hope you're ready for a revolution)" is at 38. That's a bit less surprising, but it is odd that every few months a new one appears. The fandom is really starved for Revan and gang fucking shit up in the prequels huh?

"teenagers scare the livin' shit out of me" is hilariously at 35. Hilariously bc it's legit just a High Republic Jedi sex ed class fic that I wrote while actually teaching (or rather just babysitting while the student teacher did the actual teaching) but yeah. It also started as a convo about a completely different fic so uh... bosovir's bathwater server this is y'all's fault.

"oh, should my people fall then surely I'll do the same" is at 26 kudos and just... this fandom really isn't okay huh. This started off as an angst one shot that became a two shot and oops I'm on the 7th installment of this fucking series now. I'm coming back to it for sure at some point these shits are getting therapy

"there's a line that we'll cross (and there's no return)" is at 24, which is also a bit surprising bc at times it feels like the KOTOR fandom is six people and a gizka, but hey. This one has also been tapped recently. It was shaken gently and a few words fell out, so progress.

5: Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

For the most part, yes. There are some that I don't, and honestly that's because I genuinely just... forget. Chances are I'll approve a comment (I moderate those routinely) and end up doing something else and then forget to go back and reply. I love them all though (mostly. There's one guy I beef with in the comments but it's amicable).

6: What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oh this is a tricky one. Uh... it's probably a tie between "I am your ghost (a fallen angel)" in which I make Rising Storm worse and "I want you to lose (like I lose when I play what could have been)" which is Malak being his morose asshole self. Seeing as how both those titles are from the same song, well... yeah.

7: What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

This one might have to be "we can light up the sparks in our eyes" which was my Jedi June 2022 fic and I just adore it so much. There's some angst here, sure, but it's got a really adorable ending that was honestly an accident but I will die for that headcanon.

8: Do you get hate on fic?

On AO3, no. There was some shit on ff dot net but eh. Joke's on them, I have improvised, adapted, overcome.

9: Do you write smut?

I'm going to let Hope (@geekygirlexperience) explain this one BECAUSE IT IS ENTIRELY HER FAULT THAT THE IDIOTS IN QUESTION ARE IN MY HEAD RENT FREE legit never once and then these two idiots took up residence and here i am. they're paying rent with smut i guess

10: Do you write crossovers?

Half my brand at this point is random crossover shit. Like legit almost all my fics on ff dot net were low traffic because they were all crossovers and nobody went into those categories really. I have like... five planned right now? And a few posted. There's even a death knight Darth Vader that I have poked recently for ideas because that's still funny to me. And because Koltira and Thassarian deserve more fics.

11: Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not by a person, but those scraper apps sure get on my fucking nerves for free.

12: Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I would love to see it happen! If anyone sees this and wants to, here's your permission. Go nuts, I wanna see how it goes! I can't read more than English yet but by god I can figure enough out to get the gist of it.

13: Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Also no, but I would also love to try at some point! Closest I've gotten was the peanut galleries offering ideas and crowdsourcing.

14: What's your all time favorite ship?

You know what, I don't actually have an all time favorite. I am a multishipper I have a whole goddamn fleet of these things. But we'll pick by fandom, yes? KOTOR is Revan/Alek/Carth and I will die on that damn hill it takes two idiots to manage the worse idiot. THR is a solid tie between the Firebrands (there's a trend here) and Kantam/Cohmac, though Reathbell is a very, very close second. WoW is Halduron/Aethas bc oops the fandom convinced me. I'm actually writing them in the near future bc the fandom has once again got me back on my disaster elves bullshit. Goddamn chris metzen just had to go and announce a quel'thalas xpac...

15: What's a WIP you want to finish but probably won't?

As much as I hate to say that any of them won't be finished, for sure any prompt month or prompt series fics that aren't already finished definitely aren't getting a completed marking. I love the prompts, but... if I can't get them done that month I never will.

16: What are your writing strengths?

I'm passing on this one lol it's too late at night and my brain too fried from this week at work and other assorted bullshit

17: What are your writing weaknesses?

See above

18: Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fics?

I rather enjoy it, it spices things up and you can learn a lot about how languages work by having to string together sentences. And sometimes it's fun to let your characters be assholes in their native languages and everyone else just has the knowledge that this was an insult but no idea who it was directed towards or what it actually was about. I'll do this with Mando'a a fair bit and then drop the translations in the notes, but try and get the general gist across in the writing.

19: First fandom you wrote for?

Star Wars. Back in 7th grade and it's on paper never to be seen by the light of the internet.

20: Favorite fic you've written?

Surprisingly, it's "To Start Again", which is a modern AU WoW fic but like 9-1-1 and Grey's Anatomy flavored (don't ask me how I came upon this idea, there may have been strong pain meds involved at the time, that was the summer I almost broke my leg on the basement stairs). This particular fic has been idling for a bit, but uh... it's actually the bulk of my NaNo this year. I'll start posting the rewritten chapters and new content in the new year once I build up a cushion.

Anyway, if you see this (and that includes you Hope if you want to as I kinda made you see this XD) consider yourself tagged. I'm horrible about remembering most URLs honestly I had to check Discord to remember Lee's URL like???

[witchboyjimin]

okay but not you making me go major uwu and then crack up right after with the answer to my last ask lmfaoooo

love and dedication my phone has for your story hahaha. It's brothers in arms with my Browser that goes 'oh she must mean ILHDYS when i type in anything CLOSE to the words i like how' roflmao. It's all off and go from there hahahaha

And the way i cackled over your first reply to my question. It's just quite something, writing smut, huh? I was genuinely gonna say i haven't done that before but then i remembered three separate fics i wrote in teen wolf where i decidedly and irrevocably DID write that lmfao. But not as on the kinky side as yours. I do wonder tho, if you don't mind further questions of course!! How do you go about writing and putting ideas into plot and paper? Like, when do you go oh that's totally gonna be a thing I'll write and what remains a daydream only kinda thing? Hard to answer probably, huh.

I do enjoy all the smut you wrote and write, even though some things are not as much my thing if I'd consider writing myself. But first and foremost, writing is supposed to be self-indulgent imo and i can usually appreciate it the extra bit if it's apparent the authors joy is in the fic and story hihi

- cabin anon ✨

kekeke i was like i can be honest here, can't i?

dkfnsjk clearly u and ur browser are the #1 ilhdys fans wow!!! incredible!!!! you're visiting it more than me kdjfn i had better step up my game

i feel like writing porn/smut is such a...you do have to be in a certain mood and it can be quite daunting. especially because i think people sometimes assume writing porn is easy when it is. really not. i'm super grateful that jimin inspires me so much because idk if i could have written as much porn as i have if not for him. that aside, incredibly exciting that you're writing for/wrote for teen wolf fandom!!! truly one of the best fandoms out there in terms of porn AND creativity. there's some really cool story-telling in teen wolf.

as for your questions: i think i ruminate on fic ideas quite a bit. i also think, for me, i need time for an idea to kinda stew so that i can write it down the way i envision it, too. i think the fic that ends up being written vs the stuff that stays a daydream is just based on what is a reoccurring daydream/how often am i thinking about a certain idea or scene because the more you think about the same thing, the more likely you are to write it down.

of course, there are ideas i think about relentlessly that don't get written but i think usually in those cases, it's because something's missing from the story i'm telling. likely, part of me thinks it's a dull story because the plot isn't giving what i think it needs to give. i find lately i get bored very easily if i daydream about a fic and the stakes are really low or it feels like there's not a lot of tension or points of conflict. one of my current wips has kind of been put on the backburner because the plot's too basic/fluffy for me so i need to ruminate some more and figure out what story i want to tell.

also, i think with writing now i am trying to veer away from some of the traps fic lands you in eg. i want to write more fully fleshed out characters who aren't 100% likeable. i feel like with fic and especially bts fic, there's like this expectation that you only write wholesome versions of bts who never do anything wrong but that is not how real life works so a lot of my wips are being revisited and will likely be rewritten so that i feel more engaged with what i'm writing. when the characters are perfect and the plot's super low stakes, i lose interest and i'm glad i've realised that.

god! so very sorry for how fucking long this is and kudos to you if you even read this far fjdnk thank you once again for such a fun ask cabin anon ✨ you are so delightful! hope you have a great weekend!

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 308: VIBE: CHECKED

Previously on BnHA: Lots and lots of Shindou idk what else to tell you.

Today on BnHA: Tired Nomad Deku rescues Shindou from Muscular, and us from Shindou. Muscular is all “OH BOY I SURE CAN’T WAIT TO FIGHT DEKU AGAIN AFTER HE TOTALLY KICKED MY ASS THE LAST TIME!! I’M SURE THIS TIME WILL GO DIFFERENTLY SEEING AS HE’S HAD ALMOST AN ENTIRE YEAR’S WORTH OF ADDITIONAL TRAINING, AND ALSO HAS SIX FOURQUIRKS NOW, IN ADDITION TO THE CONFIDENCE THAT COMES WITH HAVING EIGHT OTHER PEOPLE’S SOULS CHILLING OUT INSIDE HIM OFFERING MORAL SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT.” Deku is all, “[kicks Muscular’s ass effortlessly].” Muscular is all, “[gets his ass totally kicked].” I for one am very satisfied with this, and with respect to all, I would like to hereby declare this post a discourse-free zone. I’m just happy to see my son out here making good use of his FOURQUIRKS, and more importantly beating Muscular in less than seventeen pages so we can all go on with our lives lol.

damn Deku since when were you allowed to look this cool

from this perspective and with the smoke, cape, backpack, and mask more or less obscuring his actual profile, he looks less like a sixteen-year-old boy and more like a grownass man

OH SNAP

we got a glimpse of this in the cleaned-up scan of 307, but seeing both of his eyes looking so distinctively All Might-esque here is... whoa. I mean we know that his face still looks pretty normal underneath the mask and he doesn’t actually have the black sclera, but still, this is an awesome look. mini-Might

lol Muscular

you and me both. I mean no offense, but yeah

so Deku is just standing there silently

typical Deku. tight-lipped and expressionless. mum’s the word. quiet as a mouse. silent as a grave

okay no but seriously this is so weird and creepy though you guys. Deku please say something or else I’m just gonna mindlessly say whatever stupid things come into my head in an effort to make things less awkward

so Muscular is all “I should probably make a cool speech about revenge but Horikoshi couldn’t think of anything good so I’m just going to stand here clenching my fist real slowly”

“I’m not here to go on a monologue” he says, as he monologues about not monologuing

okay you guys I confess I have only read through/watched the Deku VS Muscular fight once because the arm-breaking is just way too uncomfortable for me to revisit. and so as a result, I have completely forgotten Whatever The Deal Is with Muscular’s eye lmao so let me go look it up real quick

okay so it’s a prosthetic, obviously, and he changes it out according to his mood. that part does sound familiar. I just can’t remember which eye is supposed to indicate which mood. don’t tell me I actually have to go back and reread this shit

lol I’m skimming through chapter 75 now and remembering/realizing that I hardly paid any attention to this the first time around because as soon as I found out the villains were after Kacchan my brain was like “TIME TO FOCUS ON THIS AND ONLY THIS NOW AND FOREVER” and yeah. ah memories

anyway so he started out with the flower-looking eye, and then later on he was all

which begs the question, how on earth could I have ever forgotten the most ridiculous panel I’ve ever read lmao

anyway, but so after all of that, I'm only just now realizing that this isn't one of his previous eye prosthetics in the current chapter; this is an ACTUAL FUCKING ROCK that he's just randomly shoved into his eye socket fkdsjlk

so basically (1) I did all of that painstaking research for nothing, five whole minutes of my life wasted THANKS A LOT, and (2) what, and I have never meant this more emphatically, THE FUCK

anyway so now he's leaping at the building that Deku is standing on top of. but he’s not aiming anywhere near Deku though, wtf

(ETA: HAHA YOU BROKE ALL YOUR MUSCLES YOU LOSER.)

...huh

lmao okay then. I hope those annoying citizens in the building next door are watching this go down and rethinking their life choices

dlkdkljk

just keep standing there pressed right up against the window, why don’t you. “WHAT’S GOING ON THIS SUPER CLOSE COLLAPSING BUILDING IS BLOCKING OUR VIEW.” well, folks, we’ve long since known there’s a critical shortage of hero and villain brain cells, but what we’re learning now is that civilian brain cells are also in short supply

OH THANK GOD DEKU IS FINALLY TALKING THAT WAS ACTUALLY UNSETTLING AS FUCK

SO HE’S STILL OUR GOOD, POLITE, WORRIED, CONSIDERATE DEKU UNDERNEATH THAT COOL AND MYSTERIOUS VENEER. for real, thank fuck, because I swear to god if he suddenly started acting like the Dekus in all of the vigilante AUs my interest in this series would have dropped something like 50% lol. just because he dropped out of school and ran away from home and is currently dressed like the physical manifestation of a Linkin Park playlist doesn’t mean he’s not still the WORLD’S BIGGEST DORK okay

I MEAN, THIS RIGHT HERE. THIS IS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT. HE’S APOLOGIZING FOR THE DELAY

PLEASE FIND THE ATTACHED SHINDOU YOU REQUESTED. BEST REGARDS!!!

OH MY GOD WHY IS HE SUCH A BADASS

something about making bold, confident statements while obscured in smoke?? idk but damn it fucking works

ffjkkl

more importantly, should you tell him you actually need your copy of Shindou in excel format and not pdf?? on the one hand you don’t want to sound ungrateful, but on the other hand what are you even supposed to do with this

this chapter so far consists of like 50% smoke, but on the other hand Deku VS Kacchan 2 had a lot of cinematic smoke too so who am I to complain

OMG IS IT HIS ARMS

IDK DID YOU?! TELL ME YOUR SECRETS. PLEASE, AT SOME POINT THIS FIGHT HAS GOT TO ACTUALLY ADVANCE THE PLOT

OHHHHHHH

IT’S EN’S QUIRK!! OH MY GOD OKAY THAT’S ACTUALLY AWESOME

I CAN HEAR THE SOUND OF DISCOURSE RUMBLING IN THE BACKGROUND BUT I DON’T CARE LOL. WON’T CATCH ME EVER SAYING NO TO ANOTHER SIXQUIRK. GO AHEAD, BRING THEM ON, I WANT TO SEE THEM ALL but take it easy though Deku. don’t want to give yourself lung cancer or anything

also it’s good to see that in a very real sense he’s not fighting alone. the Vestiges really did mean it when they said they could appear more easily now. this is on a whole other level

so is this whole next page still En talking, or someone else? because whoever it is sure is chatty

okay, several things

pretty sure it is En, because he keeps saying “I suppose.” for someone who never said two words until one page ago, this guy sure never shuts up. we can’t all follow Muscular’s lead I suppose. oh my god now I’m doing it too

really like the suggestion of Deku using the SIXQUIRKS like tools in an arsenal, because that’s what he’s good at! it’s almost like he’s been training for this his entire life. “you value quirks too much” LOOK HE JUST THINKS THEY’RE COOL OKAY IS THAT A CRIME

where the fuck did all this rope come from

not gonna ask what the fuck that thing is sticking out from the back of his utility belt. Horikoshi will surely explain this

is that a fucking jetpack. I’m sorry Deku were six fucking quirks not enough for you. you can fucking float??? but JUST TO BE SAFE, LET’S STRAP A PAIR OF ROCKETS TO OUR SHOULDERS IDK

-- or wait, is this all supposed to be like a visual representation of En’s metaphor?? OH MY GOD AM I JUST STUPID LOL, DON’T ANSWER THAT. NEVER MIND. NEW LIST!!

rope = blackwhip

jetpack = float

radio = danger sense

and so I’m guessing that this ridiculously phallic thing is supposed to be a flare or something?? and that = the new quirk, smokescreen. well that was a fucking ride lmao we now return you to our regularly scheduled chapter

so now Deku is floating to his heart’s content and thinking that he’ll just sneak up on Muscular and vibe check his ass or whatever

WOOOOOOOO DANGER SENSE YESSSS I LOVE THIS FOR HIM

okay guys, I'm gonna press pause here for a sec to make a serious note, because I am loving the shit out of this, but tbh I'm having trouble enjoying it as much as I want to because I keep getting anxious thinking about the discourse. I know that a lot of the fandom has very strong opinions on Deku's character development one way or the other, and I want to respect that. but I also really have no spoons to debate this topic at all beyond what I’ve already weighed in on. so if it’s all the same to everyone, I plan on staying out of this discussion, at least this week

anyway! that said, YEAH BOI GET HIS ASS

VIBE: CHECKED. CURB: STOMPED. HOTEL: TRIVAGO

-- OF COURSE HE’S STILL FUCKING FINE LOL HE CRASHES INTO BUILDINGS FOR FUN IDK WHAT I WAS EXPECTING

dammit Muscular. how many fucking quirks does it take to beat you?! the annoying thing is that even with all of his cool new powers, Deku is still something of a mismatch against him. anyway r.i.p. to all these poor buildings

OOOOOHHHHH

you guys have no idea how intrigued I am at the prospect of watching Deku try to play both good cop and bad cop here lmao

anyway so Muscular says he doesn’t know, go figure

“I’m not here to make small talk or anything” he says as he small talks about not small talking

OH MY GOD DEKU

are you really gonna talk no jutsu all of these villains from now on?? that last battle really did have a profound impact on you, huh! interesting

you guys he’s really doing it omg

Deku this guy tried to murder a five-year-old literally just for fun. I mean more power to you, but holy shit you’re really gonna try to defeat Muscular with anger management therapy huh

I MEAN

WHO COULD HAVE SEEN THAT RESPONSE COMING dlkjslkjk

FUCK’S SAKE DEKU, I KNOW YOU MEAN WELL BUT THEY CAN’T ALL HAVE TRAGIC PASTS KIDDO

but. I have to admit, I do still like that he tried. probably knew just as well as we did what the end result was going to be, but still. he made the effort in good faith and I respect that

uh oh

why do I get the feeling Muscular just got a whole lot deader

oh my god oh my god he’s doing the “powering up” stance ffff don’t fucking tell me you can still use your fucking arms here, Deku

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY WHAT’S THIS??

okay so basically he’s saying that whatever it was he sensed in Tomura, he doesn’t sense from Muscular. which, yeah, that sounds exactly right. good judge of character here lol

AHHHHAHAHA YESS

WHOOPS, GET FUCKED I GUESS

WOOOOHOOOOOOOO

lmao so apparently this is the belated result of Shindou’s attack from chapter 307?? I’ll be damned. good for you Shindou!! I always liked you buddy. please just take my word on that and don’t fact check that statement

okay lol the one tiny bit of discourse I will allow is that it’s bullshit that he just did that with his right arm. like, I’ll fully acknowledge that. that makes no fucking sense, and I demand an explanation from the Great Plot Hole Filler himself. he’s never let us down before when it comes to continuity so I’m trusting him not to suddenly start now

that said, we love to see a rematch against a boring guy settled quickly and decisively within the span of a single chapter. THANK YOU

I like that Deku implies that his power is being a smart nerd who battles villains using the power of ANALYTICS. he basically didn’t do anything except restrain Muscular and wait for Shindou’s attack to take effect while halfheartedly checking to see if he regretted any of that murder and stuff

(ETA: and almost forgot to mention, he made excellent use of all four of his active SIXQUIRKS. it’s like the chapter title said; this is basically him fighting all-out, and it’s a sight to see.)

also, as cool as the mask was, this just feels right. like, we had our fun, now let us see his face, yes good

anyway, I think this was a good start towards establishing What’s Up With Deku Right Now! so if it’s all the same to Horikoshi, I would next like to take some time to explore Why’s Up With Deku. that, and What’s Up With Everyone Else, Especially Kacchan. por favor

[littlemisssquiggles]

Well there's another Ruby project and sadly like all the others is set in volumes one through three cuz I guess they're the most popular ones that the fandom loves or whatever and sadly we won't see Oscar in it like usual but on the bright side we do get to see ozpin again it's going to be a ruby au movie ozpin in it and they picked a good voice actor for him so I guess I'm happy with that

Hello anon-chan! Yes, I’ve seen all the hype for the new RWBY anime project. Watched the trailer and for the most part, it’s looking mighty cool. Wasn’t sure about the art style when I first saw the promo art but upon seeing trailer, I’m digging what I’m seeing so far for now.

My one gripe with this Ice Queendom project is that personally, I find its premise to be a little redundant in my opinion. Yet RWBY project that takes place during the Beacon timeline? Never mind that it’s animated but…why are we going back to V1 Beacon again?

Of all the potential FRESH new stories that they could’ve told from the World of RWBY that fans actually wanted to see---like Team STRQ’s story, Ozpin’s story, shoot even Summer Rose’s story--- why pick the one that’s already been done or rather, we already know the conclusion to?

Even if RWBY Ice Queendom is meant to be seen as some kind of alternate story, I personally don’t see the point of its existence since the main RWBY animated series has long moved past the events of RWBY Volume 1 and Beacon.

Y’know for a series that likes to use the phrase "keep moving forward”, often times than naught, RWBY has a tendency to backpedal and “revisit” a lot of previous ideas; bringing back old characters long written out of the story purely out of fanfare and repeating similar story beats.

And now they’re basically sort of doing it again with this 2D anime series. So basically it’s V1 but with a whole new spin on the story that’s more focused on…Weiss? Okay…but why? Why are we getting THIS story now of all times when the main canon story has long moved past RWBY V1 since what feels like donkey years ago?

It’s not even about “Oscar not being in this series”. It’s more like…why are we back at Beacon at all?

Why are we doing a “brand new story” from the World of RWBY…during Beacon V1 timeline as a new animated series…when we’ve long moved passed this plot point?

I get that the Beacon Trilogy is popular with the fan community (can’t really confirm that for sure) but…so?

For me, it’s almost feels like all those folks who’ve been screeching that RT should “cancel the current RWBY series and reboot the whole thing from the ground up” sort of got their wish with this… and I’m over here standing like…WHY THOUGH?

I dunno m’fam. For the sake of sounding like a Negative Nancy, I guess I’m in the mini-mini-minority who isn’t really bigging up Ice Queendom that much.

Don’t get me wrong, I am interested in it as a RWBY project and will be checking it out whenever it comes out this year. But forgive me if I’m not frothing at the mouth and exploding into puffs of pure unadulterated excitement for this new RWBY project like everyone else. I guess I’m still in that very exasperated phase that’s come to be exhausted by the way RWBY has been handled up until this point.

Instead of completely gushing over this project like other fans are doing, I’m over here like…why? Why does this project exist? Why are you expanding upon or telling a new/alternate story from the V1 Beacon timeline…when we’ve long moved away from the Beacon timeline?

You should be getting us hyped for V9, not teasing us with yet another new appetizer project with a story that dates all the way back to V1. Why?! Why THIS of all the prospective ideas you could’ve done, huh?

I mean it’s nice to see Ozpin again in the flesh with Pyrhha (rocking a lovely dress that strangely looks an awful lot like a red version of the one Weiss wore back in V4 during her concert at Schnee Manor while she was in Atlas) but…it’s not enough to get me hyped for this. I know these characters are dead canonically and the main story has long moved past them.

If anything, the main bright-sided takeaway of this project for this squiggle meister is that if it’s successful (which it’s already proving to be given the general excitement from the FNDM) then it can prospectively open the door for RWBY to be carried on by the SHAFT CRWBY team in the event that RT isn’t able to for some reason. With all the rumours about RT being sold off or worse, closed down, I’m concerned for the future of RWBY.

I can’t help but feel like V9 might possibly be the final chapter---not just for the whole Salem storyline that we’ve been following since V1 but also the 3D animated series done by RT as a whole.

That’s just how I’ve been feeling. While I’m not jumping off the walls for Ice Queendom, I will say that its art style and animation looks very promising from the trailer footage. While I quite love the style of the RWBY main 3D animated series, I wouldn’t mind if RWBY was continued in the 2D anime style done by SHAFT as an alternative to RT following the end of V9; y’know what I mean.

But putting art and animation aside, I’m actually way more invested in seeing what Ice Queendom does for the overall story of RWBY. Again, you can’t just dangle resurrected fan-favourite characters and cute outfits in front of me to psyche me up anymore. That stuff might’ve worked on me back in my earlier years of being a fan of RWBY. But after watching its main story do…not so well over the seasons, I just want the Ice Queendom writing team to deliver better on the STORY OF RWBY. Even if what they’re telling is an alternate one. I don’t just want this anime series to be a one to one copy of RWBY V1 for the parts of it that are adapted from those scenes/plot points in the show.

All I’m hoping for now is that the writing for Ice Queendom is not just good but solid and for the love of God, please let it be consistent with what fans already know from the World of RWBY.

Basically what I’m trying to say here is that RWBY’s story and writing is already hella messy as it is. As a long-time fan of the series that, somehow, STILL cares about the writing in spite of its flaws and problems, I neither need nor want Ice Queendom to add onto that.

I can’t take yet another RWBY project being harped on by its own fandom community for the same problem that’s been plaguing it since the beginning---its storytelling. For me, the writing of RWBY is what’s been keeping it back from being a genuinely phenomenal show and still continues to do so, based on my observations over the years.

Either improve upon the overall story of RWBY or don’t do anything with it at all! It doesn’t matter how many cool-looking action packed, razzle-dazzle-y spin-off projects they do. If the general writing of the series is still a mess, NO ONE is going to care in the long run. 

Not the prospective new fans or even the long-time ones still relentlessly holding onto the hope for RWBY to be better. And I honestly don’t want that to happen for RWBY. 

I know that’s a lot of pressure to place on Ice Queendom but here we are. So here’s to Ice Queendom delivering better on the story of RWBY as its second animated adaptation. Fingers crossed on that one.

Please let your story NOT suck Ice Queendom. 

That’s all I have to say on that.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2022)

[flutteringdreams-matw]

Fic Writer Review

Thanks for the tag @dp-marvel94 - first time I've been tagged like this. I have a full fuzzy heart right now!

1) How many works do you have on AO3? 7 but attempting to clean up and move fics to AO3. I've got about 13 on FFN. 2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 184 768 3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? On AO3 - 1, on FFN 2. Almost all Danny Phantom except for an old Merlin one shot. I'd like to revisit that Fandom one day - I just got so busy with school :/ The merlin fandom is quite awesome. 4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 1) Twist and Turns 2) The Road to Normal 3) Making the Grade 4) Out of Time 5) Undeserved Punishment 5. Which of your fic do you want more attention for? Out of Time but honestly I'm grateful for any attention I get. 6. Do you respond to comments, why or why not? Yes! I have been bad at it for AGES but have recently gotten in the habit of replying once every two days. It brings some serotonin to my brain. I don't get many comments or kudos - so it brings even GREATER joy when I get to reply.

7. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? Uh.... I guess it would be Just a Clone an old oneshot from Dani's perspective after Kindred Spirits (right after it aired). It was maybe the 2nd thing I posted on FFN. 8. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Have not done a crossover yet - not for lack of ideas. It's just not something I'm good at. 9. Have you ever received hate on a fic? Remember when flames were a thing? Also, quite a guest reviews on FFN who impersonated people's accounts. Just... not a good thing to do. 10. Do you write smut? if so what kind? NOPE. 11. Have you ever had a fic translated? I have not - honestly don't think anyone would want to but please be my guest! 12. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not yet - but did start the planning process over on FFN with MsFrizzle for something. Still working out timelines/commitment! 13. What’s your all time favorite ship? Canon pairings so Amethyst Ocean. Not that I won't read or enjoy other pairings so long as it's close to canon or very well done. 14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? Hmm. See the whole reason I came back to writing was to finish all the WIP fics I didn't finish. Underserved Punishment was left sitting for 6 years. Making the Grade was TEN. YEARS. But have since finished them both. Currently, I guess it's an unpublished short work called "Worth of a Pawn" from Vlad's perspective in Reign Storm. I started it, have made attempts to finish it... but writer's block and life.

15. What are your writing strengths? Huh. Um. Hurt Comfort? Friendship? I'm hoping characterization?

16. What are your writing weaknesses? Honestly, I have a love/hate relationship with action/fight scenes with heavy dialogue. For a while I thought it was humour but Road to Normal has been going well so far? 17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? If you can do it - do it responsibly. 18. What was the first fandom you wrote for? 15 (or 16?) year old me sat in a dentist office and wrote the entirity of Escape from Fear Island and an untitled angsty torture fic with Danny finding Dani in the Fenton Basement in a notebook. Then I read Tortured Truth by Darth Frodo on FFN and went "oooh... that was better." I published EfFI instead and started to plan more in that universe.... and am still going 15 years later. 19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? What. Ugh - do I have to lol? I love Making the Grade for many reasons, but I think Out of Time has started to replace that. 20. What fic are you most proud of? Out of Time - hands down. All of the ecto-storm fics hold a place in my heart but there are some parts of this story that have been in my head since I wrote EfFI in 2006/7. I just... I look at the almost 110k words I've written for that story (that isn't already on AO3... still working on catching up!) and realize how much time it's spent in my heart. Everytime I post a chapter, I feel like a piece of myself is out their in the world. An insane world with many ups and downs. We're getting near the end now and I had literal tears when I finished the last chapter a couple weeks back. Tagging: Oh gosh I'm new to tumblr! Um... @dekalko-mania @captain-ozone and anyone else who wants to do this? So many people have done this already, I'd hate to double tag! Please go for it - share your story!!!

[ouyangzizhensdad]

RE: WWX and his arc being about trauma. I got into the fandom through CQL and the first time I saw it I actually read a lot of his actions post the burning of Lotus Cove as being influenced by his trauma. He's paranoid even before getting thrown into the burial mounds. He seems to be self medicating with alchohol (which WQ kinda calls him out on). He over-reacts to a lot things, which seems to me like a nasty case of emotional dysregulation as a result of PTSD. He avoids all kinds (1/3)

Of reminders of his tramua, his sword being the greatest example but there were other little things. He never gave much of a fuck about propriety but the way he completely igonres it (and the possible social fallout) later speaks to me less about not caring and more about not *having* the emotional capacity to care, much like what happens with depression. Plus, a lot of his behaviour can be read with various shades of being self destructive, and there are just in general a lot of points (2/3)

Where it's made clear that he's in a pretty bad headspace (him crying about being useless in the burial mounds for example), but none of that ever really gets dealt with so all of those issues are still hanging under the surface even if they're not apparent all the time. I mean, this is just my take, but at least imo WWX ticks a lot of the checkboxes for PTSD in the drama and it explains a lot about the way he acts and the bad decisions he makes. Hope this was helpful! (3/3)

I'm only referring to the drama btw, not the novel (which I haven't read yet). My memory is terrible so I'm not sure if I made it clear or not lol. Anyways, have a good day ^^

Hi there, 

I am always curious when people who have only engaged with CQL end up engaging with my novel-only meta blog but perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised: if CQL posts end up in the mdzs tag, why not the opposite? I’ve seen some of my novel meta reblogged and tagged with “the untamed” and “CQL” so maybe the answer is already out there, staring at me in the face! 

I’ll start by saying that I do not wish to really argue with people’s interpretations of CQL since I consider that MDZS and CQL are very different works because so many changes were made in the process of adapting the novel, and I personally have no interest in analysing CQL except wrt  how it can help us better understand the novel (seeing certain elements removed or changed may help us understand why they mattered in the first place or what their use was). So I will speak to the arguments that could be applied to the novel and why *I* don’t think WWX’s arc in the novel is about trauma, and why I don’t think that picking up certain behaviours that can be exhibited by people with PTSD (but not exclusively by people with PTSD) is enough in itself to support the idea that a character’s arc is about trauma/shaped by PTSD. That does not mean that my interpretation is the only acceptable one--I am aware that a lot of people disagree with me on this and see trauma as a central theme/central part of WWX’s arc--and so I expect that a lot of people will disagree with my points (hopefully after they’ve read this post in good faith). And that’s perfectly fine: how likely is it that we can find another person who will agree 100% with our own interpretation of a work of fiction? And having divergent opinions floating around the fandom, or having to develop counter-arguments is a good way to strengthen our own pov if we don’t find ourselves convinced by that other interpretation, so it’s all good. 

So first, I’ll address the biggest point of my argument before moving to address more specific points you raise in your ask. For me, WWX’s characterisation is not about trauma but about resilience. 

So first, let’s clarify some things. Going through adversity/experiencing a situation that is difficult =/= experiencing trauma. Trauma is a concept referring to a potential response to going through adversity/experiencing something distressing or disturbing. In short, trauma as it is conceptualised and understood is not universal: not only in the sense that is a spatiotemporally specific concept used to make certain experiences intelligible, but as the reaction to difficult events (as well, what is considered to be an experience that falls under that concept is not itself universal and can take many gorms, and the behaviours and thoughts associated with trauma are generally not exclusive to it, ie having certain behaviours/thought processes is not an automatic proof that someone is dealing with trauma/ptsd). So after all this word vomit I want to clarify that my intent is not to suggest that WWX doesn’t go through experiences that are likely to cause trauma, but that to me, what is being portrayed is a different reaction to these events: resilience (if a slightly more “fictional” portrayal of resilience than what it would be presented in psychology/psychiatry). 

Resilience refers to how people adapt or recover successfully from adversity/distressing situation/stress. That does not mean that people’s first reaction to adversity/distressing situations will be not defined by negative emotions, of course. For instance, I don’t think WWX’s heightened paranoia/emotional state directly after the fall of LP when he goes to look for JC is an indication of trauma because at this point WWX is still deep in the middle of that moment of adversity: he’s still a fugitive in the middle of a war, in the middle of danger. This also doesn’t mean that people cannot still have some temporary negative reactions to things that happened to them, afterwards: WWX having to pause when JC presents him with Suibian after he returns from Mass Grave Hill is not inherently an indication of trauma as it can be read that his sword a reminder of the difficult sacrifice he made--and the consequences he faced as a result (just because a situation was not traumatic doesn’t mean we enjoy revisiting it).

Why I think that WWX’s arc or characterisation is about resilience rather than trauma is because of many things, but mostly I want to point out two sections of the novel in particular. 

First, this characterisation of WWX through JYL that we get relatively early in the novel:

Most memories from back then were already blurred. Yet, Jin Ling’s mother, Jiang Yanli, remembered all of them, and even told him quite a few. She said that, after his father heard of the news that his parents both died in battle, he had always dedicated himself to finding the child that these past friends had left behind. After searching for a while, he finally found the child in Yiling. 

The first time they met, Wei Wuxian was kneeling on the ground, eating the fruit peels that somebody tossed on the ground. Yiling’s winter and spring were quite cold, yet the child only wore thin layers. His knees were already tattered, and on his feet were two different shoes that didn’t fit at all. As he was looking down, searching for fruit peels, Jiang Fengmian called him. He still remembered that there was a “Ying” in his name, so he lifted his head. Although his cheeks were both red and chapped from the cold, he still wore a smile. 

Jiang Yanli said that he was born with a smiling look. No matter what unfortunate thing happened, he wouldn’t cling on to them; no matter what situation he was in, he would be happy. Although it sounded a bit heartless, it really was not bad.

This refers to a time of his life that is extremely difficult: he lost both his parents suddenly, at a young age, became suddenly homeless with no means to feed himself except to beg, and yet the only trauma he seems to carry from this experience is related to dogs. To me, this is a clear move from MXTX to position WWX as the kind of protagonist who can face a storm and keep his smile on his face. I can imagine that some people take it perhaps as a subversion, as the text telling us that WWX is weathering it all with a smile but underneath it all he is just a bundle of unaddressed trauma. And that’s certainly a possible interpretation, but it’s not mine. In this case I think the text is being straightforward. What we see of WWX also seems to support that: the way WWX just rolls with being brought back from the death, how easily he finds a way to adapt to things, etc.

I also find it meaningful that the novel choses to include in its ultimate chapter this discussion as part of its wrap-up of WWX’s journey and of Wangxian’s relationship.

After they left the shop, Wei Wuxian still sat on Xiao Pingguo while Lan Wangji held the reins in front.Swaying left and right atop the donkey, Wei Wuxian took the flute from his waist and placed it by his lips. The limpid notes flew across the sky like birds. Lan Wangji halted and listened quietly.

It was the song he sang for Wei Wuxian when they were stuck in the Xuanwu cave. It was also the song that Wei Wuxian just so happened to have played at Dafan Mountain, the song that enabled Lan Wangji to confirm his identity.

When he finished, Wei Wuxian winked his left eye towards Lan Wangji.

“How was it? Beautiful, huh?”

Lan Wangji slowly nodded. “For once.”

Wei Wuxian knew that ‘for once’ referred to how his memory was good for once. He could not help but smile.

“Don’t always be so angry about it. It was my fault in the past, alright? Besides, my terrible memory should be accredited to my mom.” Wei Wuxian propped his arm on Xiao Pingguo’s head, spinning Chenqing in his hand. “My mom said you have to remember the things others do for you, not the things you do for others. Only when people don’t hold so much in their hearts would they finally feel free.”

This was one of the only things he remembered about his parents.

Of course, this is not a direct reference to resilience as it is explored in psychology. But to me it speaks to that idea: one of the biggest lesson WWX has kept with him, one of his only memory of--and thus legacy from--his parents, is this idea that we should not hold so much in our hearts. It also reframes his bad memory as being the result of a philosophy, of an approach to life that not just about being grateful/paying your debts to others, but also a form of resilience, in a sense. 

As well, I find that a lot of people who go with the trauma interpretation see WWX’s actions and thoughts processes dyring his YLLZ’s days as being the result of his ptsd, where I personally read it as the influence of modao. I am aware as well that some people do not think that modao actually harmed WWX during that period of his life, but I don’t think that LWJ would have been worried if there were not reasons to believe it would:

One against two, Lan Wangji still refused to back off. He gazed at Wei Wuxian, “Wei Ying, for cultivating an evil path you would eventually have to pay. Throughout time, there has not been a single exception.”

Wei Wuxian, “I can pay.”

Seeing how unconcerned he seemed to be, Lan Wangji lowered his voice, “The path would not only damage your body, but your heart as well (此道损身，更损心性。)”

So now, onto the specific points you raised in the ask.

Self-medicating with alcohol: WWX is shown to enjoy and drink large amounts of alcohol before the fall of LP and after most of the events of the novel have unfolded. In the novel, while WQ tries to make WWX stop drinking, it is as likely to believe that it is for his health (now that he doesn’t have a golden core) than it would be because she was worried he was self-medicating. As well, heavy drinking is a very normalized behaviour (although most physicians don’t think it’s a good thing) in a lot of cultures and times, and considering WWX’s higher tolerance and his general demeanor while imbricated, his drinking is not shown to have a negative effect on his ability to live his life. The line between “self-soothing” (normal aspect of being humans dealing with emotions and hardships) and “self-medicating” (pathological) is hard to trace with alcohol consumption. As well, just because people with PTSD may self-medicate with alchohol doesn’t mean all people who self-medicate with alcohol do it because of PTSD. 

He's paranoid even before getting thrown into the burial mounds. As I mentioned briefly before, WWX is at the time a fugitive in the middle of a war: he’s still in the middle of those stressful events and his paranoia is not necessarily a maladaptive response since they are still very much fugitives in the middle of a war. Trauma is not really your reaction during but in the aftermath. It would be more telling if WWX were still exhibiting signs of paranoia in situations where he would have no reasons to. 

He over-reacts to a lot things, which seems to me like a nasty case of emotional dysregulation as a result of PTSD. I’m not certain at which reactions you are referring to here, but especially considering that some of this might be chalked up to acting choices since this is based on CQL, I probably won’t address this one point too much in relation to the novel. I do want to emphasize though that we’ve seen prior to Sunshot campaign that WWX can be quite impulsive in certain situations (hitting JZX for insulting Shijie, which he does both before and after the events of the Sunshot Campaign). As well, I do think it’s important to remember that he is still in the middle of the war during the Sunshot campaign, and that he is also hiding something pretty important from the people close to him and living a sort of double life, on top of experiencing fatigue/hunger in a way he hasn’t for years due to the loss of his golden core. In short, there are a lot of things going on that can be used to explain what can be seen as “over-reactions” without necessarily going with PTSD.

avoids all kinds  reminders of his trauma, his sword being the greatest example but there were other little things. I’ve broached in my previous discussions, but it’s also pertinent to remember his mom’s philosophy: we can also see this as WWX trying to leave in the pass this difficult sacrifice he made in order to move forward. 

He never gave much of a fuck about propriety but the way he completely ignores it (and the possible social fallout) later speaks to me less about not caring and more about not *having* the emotional capacity to care, much like what happens with depression. I have to disagree with that interpretation of WWX and WWX’s actions, but again this might just be a case of CQL-only vs novel-only interpretations of the character. One thing WWX thinks about being reborn in a “lunatic’s” body is that he’ll get to have fun, the way he never could when his actions reflected on others. So while at times WWX flaunts propriety, he is aware of how his actions can impact others and show in different situations that he is aware of propriety. His choice to protect the Wen Remnants goes against that, for sure, but it isn’t necessarily a case of not understanding the possible social fallout so much as putting other things (ie his life-debt towards WN and WQ) before propriety, as we can see for example in this exchange.

Jiang Cheng, “I’m the one who fucking wants to give you a thrashing! Yes, they helped us before, but why in the world don’t you understand that right now any remnant of the Wen Sect is a target of criticism! No matter who they are, with a surname of Wen they have committed a most heinous crime! And those who protect the Wen are at risk of being condemned by everyone! All the people loathe the Wen-dogs so badly that the worse they die the better. Whoever protects them is against the entire world. Nobody would speak for them, and nobody would speak for you either!”

“I don’t need anyone to speak for me.”

[...]

Swords unsheathed, the two stared at each other for a while. Neither was willing to take a single step back. A while later, Jiang Cheng spoke, “Wei Wuxian, have you still not realized what the situation at hand is like? Do you really need me to say it out loud? If you insist on protecting them, then I won’t be able to protect you.”

“There’s no need to protect me. Just let go.”

Jiang Cheng’s face twisted.

Wei Wuxian, “Just let go. Tell the world that I defected. From now on, no matter what Wei Wuxian does, it’d have nothing to do with YunmengJiangShi.”

“… All for the Wen Sect…? Wei Wuxian, do you have a savior complex? Is it that you’ll die if you don’t stand up for someone and stir up some trouble?”

Wei Wuxian stayed quiet. A while later, he answered, “So that’s why we should cut ties right now, in case anything I do affects YunmengJiangShi in the future.”

a lot of his behaviour can be read with various shades of being self destructive Which ones, specifically? I’m not trying to be obtuse, but I’m not sure which ones you mean. 

he's in a pretty bad headspace (him crying about being useless in the burial mounds for example) It needs to be said that the crying is only in CQL (it was an acting choice by XZ). My memory is playing tricks on me, but I think pre-rebirth we only see him cry after he kills JZX and after JYL’s death? Someone please fact-check me on this. 

Since I don’t believe it was MXTX’s intent to make WWX’s characterisation and arc about trauma, I do feel like interpreting the different behaviours as signs of his PTSD might lead us to miss out on other potential interpretations or meanings behind these choices, if we put aside the PTSD angle. It may also lead us to deny the text the possibility to signify something different through these behaviours and signs, especially on a thematic level--to explore something about how events and emotions shape us in a manner that exists outside of modern psychiatric classification.

TLDR (because god this got long): My point is not that WWX is unaffected by the things that happened to him or the things he’s done during this portion of his life: of course he is! Especially as they are happening to him, or when he is still stuck in a very difficult situation. But I don’t think his character and his arc is about trauma but instead about resilience. That, at the end of MDZS, WWX is still the person JYL described: No matter what unfortunate thing happened, he wouldn’t cling on to them.

[themysteriousphoenix]

10 Fanfiction Questions

Tagged by both @blatheringbluejay and @scamanderishredmayniac

1. what’s your favourite genre to write?

I love fluff (have I mentioned that before?) but apparently I am good at writing angst? Huh...

2. do you pull inspiration from real-life, or do you pull things from other books/fanfiction you’ve read?

Yes. Both. I love exploring characters and relating their experiences to real life. How would people actually act in this situation? What would be going through their head? What is their inner monologue? So often you see characters being out of character because the author wants something to happen. I like to let the characters tell me what is happening to them. So yes, real life experience dominates, but I pull inspiration, ideas, and headcanons from other fanfiction I have read or from participating in discussions on Tumblr or Discord. So often, other artists bring up something that I hadn’t thought of before but makes complete sense. I have completely changed several of my thoughts on Newtina in the past few months due to diving deep and exploring these characters through in-depth discussions. I also pull inspiration from other writers who have similar ideas and have already expressed them in words? How did they write this situation? What would I change? What do I agree with? Disagree? How do I make the idea flow in my own words in the context of my own story?

3. do you tend to write one-shots, short stories, or longer things?

Both. One-shots flow from the fingertips more quickly. I can usually knock out a 2500 word story in a day or two. My WIP is my baby. I have so much planned for it. Multiple stories, interwoven storylines, and big twists have all been compiled in a very long Google Doc. I think my WIP finally passed my planning document in length after this last chapter... Now to get it all out before FB3...

4. do you prefer to write description or dialogue?

I think I am better at writing dialogue, but description is what I like reading the most. It is where I need to improve.

5. favourite fic/book of all time?

Oof. Favorite fic? This is going to date me. Echoes in Eternity by The Jedi Wizard Hobbit. It is a Remus/OFC fic from 2003 (started 2 months before The Order of the Phoenix came out). It’s wonderful. It jumps back and forth between the Maurauders in school and in adulthood, it has musical theater, it has the slowest of burns...I love it. She wrote a sequel as well, but it was abandoned right on a cliffhanger. In 2006. To this day, I want to know what happens. If you are out there, The Jedi Wizard Hobbit, please send me a DM and spill. I neeeeeed to know. Even now, 14 years later...

My favorite book of all time? The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.

6. favourite trope?

Pretend relationship/marriage, there was only one bed, and fake-out-make-out. I have written two of these, I’d love to tackle the pretend relationship one someday. That sounds like it will be a multi-chapter, though, so I should concentrate on what i already have started.

7. are you the kind of person to work on more than one WIP?

I have two. I want to leave it there for now. If I finish “I Finally Found” then I might start another one (see above). More Than Enough (and all connected fics) will take me forever to get through. That will just go on forever.

8. how long have you been writing for?

I wrote Romione fanfiction during the summer between my senior year of high school and my first year of college (2005). I was 17. I wrote a one-shot and *gasp* I abandoned a fic. I didn’t even remember until I started writing again this last August and revisited my early writing. Oops. I started writing for the FB fandom last August.

9. do you tend to write more during the morning, afternoon, or evening?

Evening. I work full-time and I have a toddler. I am free to write once she goes to bed and before I clean up the house so I can go to bed. I get about an hour a day to myself right now, some nights I use for writing. That’s why I am so slow at updating things.

10. do you prefer to post and update your WIP chapter by chapter, or do you prefer to wait until your WIP is 100% finished before sharing it?

Chapter by chapter. HOWEVER...I have to plan everything out first. I know what is going to happen in MTE. I do not/did not know what I was going to write in IFFWILF. That is why that story kind of died a painful death. I promise to finish it one day, I just need to think up a good ending and be inspired to write it out.

Tagging: @hidetheteaspoons @bananachef @ravenpuff1956 @swansandslayers @ears-awake-eyes-opened

[latin-dr-robotnik]

What about the best game soundtracks of the 2010s?

So, I’ve been on and off thinking about and drafting this post for most of the year, and it’s finally time for me to unveil it to the world: we are now very close to the end of the year and the end of the 2010s, and while Sonic soundtracks have mostly kept their god-like status, I for sure played and listened to a lot more games than just Sonic. Because of that, I’m kinda in the mood to remember and revisit some of the games with the best soundtracks out there. 

Disclaimer: remember this is merely a personal list, where I take into consideration the game soundtracks that influenced me the most due to overall quality or hype surrounding them. I’m aware of the limitations of the giant task of listing 10 years of VGM, so this post is also an open invitation to all sorts of discussions for the myriad of games I’m surely gonna miss, and maybe even a door into other fandoms I used to take part or still am. If you have a game or a particular track you think it deserves the spotlight, then keep the discussion going!

Also: I’m only listing games with fully original soundtracks, but at the same making an exception for commercial songs created with a particular game in mind, released and then featured in said game (for example, A7X’s stuff for the Black Ops series).

I’m going to include Sonic games just for the sake of highlighting specific tracks. So, what are your favorite soundtracks of the 2010s? Here are some of the best for me:

Non Sonic games (in no particular order):

PAYDAY 2 (2013) - Highlights:

Hot Pursuit;

Backstab;

Break the Rules.

Mega Man 11 (2018) - Highlights:

Fuse Man;

Block Man;

Dr. Wily’s Gear Fortress.

Sunset Overdrive (2014) - Highlights: 

Total Annihilation;

I’m On The Run; 

I Don’t Want Your Company.

Ryu Ga Gotoku Zero (Yakuza 0) (2015) - Highlights: 

Judgement; 

Heart Break Mermaid; 

Pledge of Demon; 

Queen of the Passion; 

I’m Gonna Make Her Mine; 

Koi No Disco Queen. (sorry i got carried away for a while ‘cause this game and its ost are both so great)

Furi (2016) - Highlights: 

My Only Chance; 

6:24; 

Wisdom of Rage.

Super Mario Odyssey (2017) - Highlights: 

Steam Gardens; 

Jump Up, Super Star!; 

Break Free (Lead the Way). (I mean, Mario finally has not one but TWO proper vocal tracks, one of them being Sonic-esque as fuck, and in a mainline game no less? WHAT TIMELINE ARE WE EVEN LIVING IN?)

Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010) - Highlights: 

115; 

Abracadavre (Ascension DLC 1 was such a biiig hyyype back in 2011, I clearly remember those days); 

Not Ready to Die. (featured in DLC 2, Call of the Dead, using the classic ‘Damned’ Zombies menu melody)

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (2013) - Highlights: 

I’m My Own Master Now; 

It Has To Be This Way; 

The Stains Of Time. (also the first two tracks were featured in LakeFeperd’s fangame Sonic Chrono Adventure, lol)

Undertale (2015) - Highlights: 

This game needs no highlights, we all know it. But if you insist... 

Well, here’s where I put the most influential song of the entire decade; 

Ruins; 

It’s Raining Somewhere Else.

Freedom Planet (2014) - Highlights:

Main Theme;

Relic Maze 2;

Thermal Base 1;

Final Boss 2.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) - Highlights: 

Hyrule Castle (I’d say both versions, but the marching steps playing outside are badasssss); 

Breath of the Wild (greatest main theme of all decade, no doubts); 

Kass’ Theme (man, I hate that Nintendo blocked the full version of that song on YouTube).

Shovel Knight (2014) - Highlights: 

In the Halls of the Usurper (Pridemoor Keep); 

Tango of the Troupple King (what a fun highlight from Plague of Shadows); 

A Cargo of Fineries (Flying Machine); 

Hitting Close to Home.

Celeste (2018) - Highlights: 

Resurrections; 

Confronting Myself; 

Mirror Temple (Mirror Magic Mix); 

Golden Ridge (Golden Feather Mix); 

Farewell.

Katana ZERO (2019) - Highlights: 

You Will Never Know; 

Sneaky Driver; 

Monster.

Cuphead (2017) - Highlights: 

Floral Fury; 

Dramatic Fanatic; 

Railroad Wrath; 

High Sea Hi-Jinx.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015) - Highlights: 

The Wolven Storm; 

Hunt or be Hunted; 

Land of a Thousand Fables.

Spark the Electric Jester (2017) - Highlights: 

Lunar Bass (Stage 10); 

Flower Mountain Canyon (Stage 2); 

Sunset Heights (Stage 6) (no, not the one from Sonic Forces); 

Megaraph Fortress (Stage 16); 

Special Boss (a.k.a. the obvious Crush 40-esque song for a Sonic-esque game)

The Messenger (2018) - Highlights: 

A Melody To Break the Curse; 

Civilization in the Sky; 

Hills of Destiny.

Spark the Electric Jester 2 (2019) - Highlights: 

Floresta Blanca; 

Castela Blanca (a.k.a. Sunset Hang Castle); 

Technoria City; 

Titanic Tower. (no, not the one from Sonic BTS, same composer tho)

Sonic games (in chronological order):

Sonic Colors (2010) - Highlights: 

Planet Wisp Act 2; 

Aquarium Park Act 1; 

Vs. Orcan & Skullian; 

Nega Wisp Armor (Phase 2); 

Speak With Your Heart.

Sonic Generations (2011) - Highlights: 

Crisis City (Modern); 

Stardust Speedway Bad Future US; 

Mission (3D Blast Saturn Theme); 

City Escape (Classic).

Sonic 4: Episode 2 (2012) - Highlights: 

Metal Sonic Theme; 

Sylvania Castle Act 3; 

Sky Fortress Act 2.

Sonic Lost World (2013) - Highlights: 

Midnight Owl; 

Snowball Waltz; 

Dragon Dance; 

Juice Archipelago. (a.k.a. Delfino Plaza 2013)

Sonic Runners (2015) - Highlights: 

The entire game OST---I mean, 

Fly Away; 

Magical Snow Day (perfect timing, huh?); 

End of the Summer.

Sonic Mania (2017) - Highlights: 

Stardust Speedway Act 1; 

Egg Reverie; 

Mirage Saloon Act 2; 

Press Garden Act 2.

Sonic Forces (2017) - Highlights: 

Infinite; 

Moonlight Battlefield (Aqua Road); 

Red Gate Bridge; 

Network Terminal (Interior); 

Virtual Reality (Supporting Me Remix); 

Fading World (Imperial Tower).

Team Sonic Racing (2019) - Highlights: 

Ice Mountain; 

Green Light Ride (Tyler Smyth Remix); 

Bingo Party; 

Haunted Castle; 

Sky Road.

Honorable mentions:

Sonic Before the Sequel (2011/12) - Highlights: 

Hilltop Heights Act 1; 

Titanic Tower Act 2; 

Metro Madness Act 1; 

Butt Funk (Rocky Ride Act 2).

Sonic After the Sequel (2013) - Highlights: 

The Adventure Continues (Horizon Heights Act 1); 

Smokey Bear Says (Foliage Furnace Act 2); 

Stellar Lights (Technology Tree Act 2); 

Wolf Rayet (Technology Tree Boss); 

Ghosts With Guitars (Moon Mansion Act 2); 

Serious Influence (Redhot Ride Act 1); 

Neon Paradise (ATS Version) (Parhelion Peak Act 2); 

Red Moon (Storm Station Act 3); 

Mach Σ (Dream Dance Act 1).

[snkpolls]

SnK S3E19 Poll Results (Manga Reader Version)

The poll closed with 295 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results of the manga reader poll. Anime only watchers are suggested not to read if you do not wish to be spoiled about certain events! Anime only viewers, click here to view your poll results!

RATE THE EPISODE 285 Responses

This episode raked in high reviews as the rest of the season did, although less people enjoyed it as much as they enjoyed the previous episodes.

The animation was odd in the first half of the episode, but it was absolutely incredible in the second half. Overall an amazing episode, somehow making filler scenes brilliant

It was a little rushed (which is understandable), so 4/5 stars. Overall a really good episode, I think.

I will be honest: the episode was very average. The basement reveal was animated very well. Eren and Mikasa's memories also were very emotional. However, in the scene with Armin & the rest of group the quality of animation dropped harshly. I know that not every scene in the anime can be animated on the highest level, but this one was just looking really bad.

Animation quality took a drop but I still loved it!

I really enjoyed it, and seeing Faye was surprisingly moving given that I'm not really a bit fan of the switch to Marley.

The animation wasn't as good as previous episodes but I didn't really mind, especially because there was a frame in there that made it look like Levi was sMILING and I am so here for that

I've been waiting so long for this episode.

what a beautiful episode, in all ways.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT? 290 Responses

Seeing young Grisha and Faye in Marley was the clear highlight of this episode for manga readers, with 37.6% of the vote going to the after-credits scene! Behind that at 12.1% was the scene of Eren and Mikasa nostalgically walking through their hometown, and 9.3% of respondents got a kick out of Levi opening the door in his own way.

I live for animated moments of Dad! Levi to his squad.

At first I was worried that they would just show the photo as the cliffhanger, but once we got the post credit scene I was blown away

I loved the first moments with Faye and young Grisha. Awww! Faye was so extremely cute and innocent. I would love to hug her! I thought that Historia was the sweetest as a kid, but now Faye takes 1st place :)

WHAT’S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ARMIN SEEING THE COLOSSAL TITAN CRYING, SAYING “IT HURTS?” 288 Responses

36.5% of respondents believe that Armin is hearing and seeing Bertolt’s emotional pain over everything that’s happened to him. 27.1% think that this scene highlights part of the process of memory transfer from one holder of the titan to the successor. 12.8% feel that this is meant to highlight more the process of transferring the titan power to a new host.

A mixture of the Bert's physical and emotional pain, the transfer through paths and the extra creepiness. Bert here is behaving like a typical Japanese ghost who was killed in a brutal manner; notice the paths here are devoid of lights. Bert needs someone to exorcise him.

He's hearing Sasha saying 'It hurts' and because he's only half conscious and still possibly linked to Bertolt's memories, he's projecting it onto Bert. I think his subconscious knows he's eaten Bert at this point.

It has to do with the titan power, and how it hurts to carry such a burden of great power

Bert has been suffering too, just like Reiner, so a little bit of everything.

Foreshadowing of what Armin’s burden is going to be. He is going to have to kill a lot of people if he wants to protect the people within the walls. It’s a depressing fact for one of the more pure-hearted characters who just wants peace.

I think it’s an excellent presentation how Titan inheritors are connected both physically and emotionally

it's a pretty good summation of all those things tbh. Everything Bert went through can be summed up with "it hurts" tbh

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT CARLA’S SHORT HAIR? 291 Responses

Overall the fandom has neutral responses (33.7%) to the short clip of Carla with short hair, with just a slight edge of people (18.9%) who thought it was a good look on her. 16.2% of responses disliked the short hair.

I answered the Carla hair question with 3 because there is no "I don't care" option

HOW WELL DID THIS EPISODE ADAPT THE CORRESPONDING CHAPTERS? 288 Responses

Respondents felt that WIT did a good job at sticking to the source material again this episode, even though they stretched some scenes out with filler.

The pace was a little long but I really liked the episode's poetry and all the scenes in Shiganshina of the four walking, Hanji and her shadow reflecting next to a flower, Levi and the broken glass, Eren and Mikasa children ... it was very lyrical!

WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE EXTENDED SCENE OF EREN AND MIKASA WALKING THROUGH SHIGANSHINA? 292 Responses

56.2% of the fandom enjoyed the extended scene of Eren and Mikasa walking through Shiganshina, feeling that it helped to amplify the nostalgia and grief that they felt as they finally revisited their old home. 22.3% felt that the scene had a lot of emotional impact, saying that it tugged at their heartstrings. 11.6% felt the filler wasn’t necessary but still enjoyed it nonetheless.

They just came for my whole entire heart huh

Honestly, it was a little boring to watch,  I want to believe that it was stretched for the sake of that masterpiece of end scene.

It was a lovely and poignant time-killer.

The walk to EM's house was really well done, it took me some tears, and i loved the additional scenes...

Somebody hug these two please and thank you. I thought for a moment they were gonna show us the untouched insides of buildings. But it was indeed pretty good.

THAT SHIT WAS ART!! I got real chills

It was better in the manga. It was badly executed in the anime.

Just seeing Hannes again made it worth it. Also it was a good throwback to episode 1.

It honestly highlighted how terrible the animation was in this episode, because the flashbacks had much higher quality

Literally my favorite part, I think it added a lot of gravity to the situation. Like we know it's their hometown, but the way this was animated really brought you back to where it all started, which also adds weight to the whole, "Oh god, we accomplished our second-biggest goal (getting to the basement) but we're still not finished at all" thing.

The concept of it was fine, and it touched my heart for the first bit of it, but it went on far too long.

HOW DID YOU FEEL FINALLY SEEING MARLEY ANIMATED? 289 Responses

We finally reached the Grisha Files™ and got to see Marley portrayed in the anime! 40.5% of respondents say that it felt incredible to finally see Marley come alive through animation, color and sound, while 38.1% marked it down as a surreal experience. 11.1% simply felt that it was neat.

I love Marley arc, seeing it animated and different vibes of music, and voice acting are very good. Can't wait what they have when marley arc fully animated

Animation was shit. Really disappointed they dropped the ball on animating Marley.

It was my favorite part of this episode. I truly love Faye. She is way cuter in the anime and so innocent. Everything about that moment was perfect.

I really dislike everything that came after the basement so reaching this point was sad for me.

DEAR GOD Y E S—

I could never picture it in my head before, and now I can! Liberio is so grey and sad!

Omg Faye is the cutest thing ever!!! I don't want to see what happend to her, I'm not ready!

I hoped they would save it for the next episode.

I’m not ready to face Marley or Marley arc Eren. Go back. Please go back.

The way they put that whole scene after the ending was weird

I never thought I’d be alive to see the day the beginnings of Marley getting animated; I know the next episodes are going to be perfection :’)

Marley music was 👌

BASED ON THE CAST CREDITS, THE MAN YOUNG GRISHA RAN INTO WAS ACTUALLY XAVER. THOUGHTS? 288 Responses

36.8% of respondents found the confirmation of the glasses man being Xaver to be an interesting detail, while 19.1% believe that this helps to further support the fan theory that Xaver and Kruger were working together all along. 15.6% of the fandom thinks that Xaver being familiar with Grisha since he was a boy makes his actions Zeke all the more disturbing.

How old is Xaver?? If that was him he has to be around 25-30 here. Which would make him 45+ with Zeke.

I believe it was Xaver all this time. It’s good to have a name with the face now.

There's no fucking way he wasn't working with Kruger. This is all connected lads

Just how fucking old is Xaver jfc also he knew grisha by name since childhood wtffff

I thought that was already obvious in the manga?

Nice easter egg, but that's all

The Xaver timeline makes sense, but it's a bit complicated.

The tidbit about Xaver was interesting. When I saw him in the anime it did remind me of Xaver since we've just been introduced to him, but I would never have guessed it was actually him. When you think about it, that day Grisha stumbled upon two people that later really shaped his life and set things into motion in the story. A nice coincidence to think of.

WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 289 Responses

It was a close call this time! 40.8% of the fandom are most looking forward to seeing Eren’s reaction to Eren inheriting his father’s memories and figuring out that Dina was the Smiling Titan. 39.4% are excited to see Grisha and Kruger meet for the first time. At a distant third, Grisha and Faye going beyond the wall to see the zeppelin got 10.4% of the vote.

Dogs are cute, Faye is cute. Combine the two, and you're shou tucker.

KRUGER

NEED GRISHA FILES

I'm not ready for Faye's fate !!! ;_;

there's so many things to look forward the next episode, initially I was pondering between the Kruger meeting and Fay's death but eventually I chose Eren's memories because I don't remember that part in the manga.

COMPARED TO THE FEEL OF SEASON 1, HAS THE DIRECTION OF THE STORY MET YOUR EXPECTATIONS? 289 Responses

Nearly 70% of respondents feel that Isayama’s story continues to get better as it goes on. 17% say that it didn’t meet their expectations from season 1, but that it’s not a bad thing at all! 8% are simply still here for the ride, but are still enjoying the series anyway.

I'm one of the apparent minority who actually prefer the tone and content of the story post-basement reveal. I've always cared more about the human aspect of the narrative, and at this point SNK is nothing if not a tale of the human condition, in all its beauty and horror.

Animation wise, I feel like aot peaked with season 2 and they just got lazy or were under a lot of time constraints while making season 3. Other than that, didn’t care for how they handled Uprising and the direction for Shiganshina has felt pretty unoriginal and hallow. I just hope the new studio can adapt the next season with quality that can match season 2 or at least season 1.

I'm ambivalent about it. I preferred the atmosphere of season 1, but I'm still interested in seeing where the story goes. For me the emotional and moral climax of the story happened on the roof in Shignashina though, and I've not been as convinced by what's happened since - so far at least.

Met and exceeded. Thank you isayama.

I will continue watching, but it feels like Isayama is making things up in the fly and doesn’t really have a clear idea of how the storyline is going to work.

This is the peak of the story for me, I look forward to the next seasons because of thar, I want to see if the direction of the anime could make the next arcs more appealing to me

I initially liked the direction in which the manga went but I am finding it hard to like the way the story progressed, and how the original characters are treated, compared to the new ones. I am really disappointed in Isayama's writing at this point, character wise.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

I love Armin

The animation quality dropped compared to the latest two episodes. The first half of the ep was kinda weird... like the hug, seemed like two different animators did it, because the lineart changes between s1 (thicker lines) and s3 style... Also they didn't do justice to Armin's abs...

Glad I'm a manga reader because this anime reveal was pretty underwhelming.

Imma say it, I didn't like that they showed a tiny snippet of Marley. I would have preferred if they'd ended on the photograph and the words "humanity has not perished". I have anime only friends who watched the Grisha/Faye scene and were like "...I feel like I don't have enough to even chew on right now?" Like it wasn't a punch in the gut like cutting on the photograph would have been, and it wasn't a full-fledged reveal so there isn't enough to go nuts over and debate and hypothesise. I mean it's still really good and I liked the episode, but the way they've sequenced the reveal isn't optimal to me.

I think they took a little too long to get to the basement. I understand why they wanted to, and the walk there was still really well done! But I think it'll now be a little tough to cram all the information they need to if they plan to end the season with chapter 90, which they of course do.

Faye is too adorable, there will be riots next week.

glad we're getting into the GOOD SHIT. give me marley

I love the soundtrack. It feels very different(in a good way) props to Sawano.

Tbh, the animation and pacing felt lacking in this episode, but we got Armin looking both like a Cinnamon bun and an Arman, and I am there for that.

I liked the story more when it was a creepy titan apocalypse instead of, well... this. But it's too late to back out now.

OH MAN, GOTTA LOVE THAT CLOSURE, IT FELT PERFECT WHEN THEY WERE WATCHING THE PHOTO AND THEN THE ENDING SONG STARTS TO ROLL OUT AND THAT POST CREDITS SCENE. JUST PERFECT

The additional material of this episode was really good in my opinion and the OST used on it was a pretty good election too, it fulfilled the purpose of make the viewer felt nostalgic, but the animation in the beggining was really "meh".  And speaking about seeing Marley animated, for me the experience was literally a yelling and a "NO WAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!" I am so excited to see Grisha's backstory in colors! I can finally ear Kruger's voice, see the sunset falls down while Grisha take the photo and accept his mission, while Kruger give to him his final smile. Frankly this is my favorite "mini-story" of the manga, too shocking and enlightening. And to finish this, the appear of Xaver was too misplaced or it is just my idea? the timeline just doesn't fit into the story in my opinion. I think it was just a easter egg or something for the manga readers, I hope so lol.

For a long time I was scared that they were gonna leave out Eren hugging Armin and I'm so glad they didn't. Also the scene where Eren and Mikasa walked through the ruins of Shiganshina made my heart disintegrate. Thanks for amplifying the angst, WIT. 😭

When I read the manga, I remember fearing the idea about this getting animated because this part truly changes the entire story. But I feel that the story is getting better and better and more complex but still the same flare of Isayama Hajime's story telling.

THEY KEPT THE COLOR BLUE FOR MARLEY'S UNIFORMS I'M SO HAPPY

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 269 Responses

Thank you again to everyone who participated. See you again in a few days!

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 3X21 AND 3X22 - “Snow Drifts” AND “There’s No Place Like Home”

Watch what happens when Miss Swan tries to EMMA-ncipate herself from Storybrooke! 

Bwahahahahah!!!!

Anyways, let’s do the time warp agaiiiiiiiinn!

You better WATCH yourself because we’re going back to revisit the Season 3 finale below the cut! XD

I’m sorry this is so late! Super Smash Bros Ultimate kind of stole my life for a few weeks, but I’m back now!

Press Release

While Mary Margaret and David celebrate the naming of their son at a coronation in Granny’s Diner, Emma and Hook are pulled into Zelena’s time portal and find themselves in the Enchanted Forest of the past. But in their quest to discover a way back, they must be careful not to change ANYTHING or risk altering the lives of their friends and family – as well as their very own existence.

Main Thoughts - Characters/Stories/Themes and Their Effectiveness

Past/Present/Everything (?) XD

“Back to the Future” is my all time favorite movie, so is it any surprise that I fucking love this two parter? No? Well, good! Now let’s talk about why!

Revisiting this finale really shows me just how many story and plot points were set up in those first few minutes in such a natural way. This is easily one of the tightest finales in the show’s history in that regard. The story and plot here is so well paced. Never does anything, even for a second feel off or poorly spoken or anything of the sort! It’s just good! The absolute best instance of this is the two Hooks scene. Like, that was just so fucking CRAFTY for how Killian and Emma organize and enact the plan to get Snow to work for him.

I like how the opening of the episode finally lays out all the cards: Emma’s decision to go back to New York is a selfish one. She plainly admits this and spells out why. It’s framed as a bad thing to do and the episode’s goal is to tackle that. It’s the heart of the episode and it’s incredibly effective thanks to those opening shots that show just how much pain Emma’s been in throughout her past.

Oh my fucking God, all of the actors are just amazing here! EVERYONE gets a great moment! I talk a ton about Emma and Jen, obviously, so let’s give a shoutout to the others! Robert Carlyle gets to put all of Rumple’s delicious character aspects on display, from Rumple’s silliness to Mr. Gold’s snarkiness to both of their more sympathetic sides. Lana gets some fucking delicious ham as we see her Season 1 Evil Queen come out! Josh pulls off the perfect mix between being everything that Prince Charming is supposed to be with a more modern snark that makes him human. The same goes for Ginny, though the placement of this episode has Snow showing off a more believably cynical side to the character, which she nails! Jared Gilmore performs a fantastic Henry, understanding though still always tugging at Emma to come and stay home. Emilie de Ravin’s heart and soul during the wedding scene is just so present, so much so that I just feel myself bursting out in tears throughout the whole scene. And Colin, who boy! Colin had to take on two versions of himself and every moment of that was just delicious!

”Lovely ball the other night.” ...Is this to say that there was a day break between Emma being caught by Regina’s guards and being put in her cell? It makes sense, but WOW! I never thought of it like that!

The execution scene. The fucking kills me. I know Snow’s alive, but I don't fucking care. I still feel every bit of that sense of dread and disgust as the fireball takes her. And how that affects Emma, she can barely speak and when even the possibility of Snow being alive comes to light, Emma’s immediately back to full energy! Emma’s love for Snow is such an effective driving force behind the solving of her conflict of finding home. The moment that choked me up this time was Emma shouting “you’re alive” to Snow right before hugging her. Just...and then we have to sit on the reaction when Snow doesn’t recognize her. It’s just too much.

And Emma’s revelation. I love how slow and emotional the moment gets to be as she tells Killian why she wants to stop running and how she values her mother and life in Storybrooke. It’s so heartbreaking and heartwarming in the same vein. It’s this gentle breakdown that understands that yes, Emma has been selfish, but she wants to do and be better for everyone, including herself. She wants to be like the rest of her family. She wants to be a part of something. And the smile on hers and Killian’s face as she comes to terms with that lesson...it’s just the best kind of payoff! And then the reunion, accompanied by that GORGEOUS melody as Emma finally remedies her behavior towards her parents. It’s one of the most beautiful moments in the entire show.

So let’s talk about Baby Neal briefly, or rather, his name. This is one of the most contentious points in the entire fandom. I...don’t love it (but don’t hate it), but only because Snow and Charming didn’t interact with Neal all that much. Had they had any meaningful time together, I think this naming would’ve been not only good, but great. Even still though, I don’t really care too much one way or the other. I’m one of those people who is completely fine with kids on this show being named after the dead. Maybe that’s because it’s the case in so much of the other media that I’ve seen throughout my life and apart of the Jewish culture I grew up with, but I don’t understand the fandom’s hangup with that reason for names. People are named after the dead. It’s not that big of a deal.

Insights - Stream of Consciousness

-Guys, that is just cruel and unusual punishment to make all of the kids stand outside and watch a kid get adopted right in front of them. I get they’re trying to be polite and inspire hope, but they’ve GOT to know that that’s difficult for the non adopted kids to watch! Like, the actual fuck?!

-Dammit. The cameraman who kept the shot on Emma as she sees a kid driving off with a new family fucking is an evil genius and fucking WRECKS me! *sobs into infinity*

-Do you think Lucy had a coronation ceremony?

-Potluck at Granny’s, huh? I don’t know if that’s good because you’re thrusting less work onto Granny or bad because you’re denying her the business.

-Okay, I know Emma’s running away from her problems and all, but that retort about Snow and David stalling for time was fucking hysterical! XD

-Robin, that is one luxurious spread! But why are you guys sitting on the floor?! Don’t you know that Regina’s a queen and a bit more refined? XD

-”I would’ve walked through hell to be with my Marian again.” ...Dammit. I really want a Robin/Marian Underworld fic.

-”That [vault] was only for the most dangerous and unstable magic.” Then that sounds like a GREAT place for the dagger! “And this doesn’t qualify?” “No.” YES!

-To tell you the truth, I guess when you factor in both Rumple’s sacrifice AND the fact that he’s scary powerful, it makes sense that Maurice would bless the marriage. Like, he’s still a shit person, but the decision makes sense. I do feel though like they just stuck him in so that there was one extra person at the wedding, but I’d honestly think Ruby would’ve been a more appropriate choice since she was closer to Belle and even helped out Rumple on occasion, especially since she was actually in the episode.

-The entire back-and-forth about the origins of Snowing is the greatest thing in the world! XD

-KATHRYN! My sweet cinnamon roll!!! You look so happy and you’re talking with Best Matriarch!!! <3

-Okay! The Captain Cobra moment here is so fucking underrated! Henry trusts Killian with his fucking storybook! Like, this book just gave him back his memories and Henry trusts Killian with it to help his mom! Just...YES PLEASE!!!!

-”Stubborn like her...all of our family.” To be fair, have you MET your family, David? That correction is pretty accurate.

-”She would curb any homicidal tendencies.” ...I’m pretty sure that’s not how that works, mate!

-I love RC’s “oh shit” face.

-...To tell you the truth, now that we know Zelena survived, that corrupted footage isn’t that far off the mark.

-”You defeated the bloody Wicked Witch. You defeated Pan.” ...You’re not fully on the mark, Killian, but I do agree that she had a big part in taking them down.

-I LOVE THIS FUCKING MIRROR LAKE!

-Lana! Lana! There’s so much beautiful ham here and I love you for it!!! This scene where she’s intimidating the villagers! Just...this is perfection!

-BOOBS! I mean...Emma’s EF attire looks great! ...BOOBS! <3

-I just LOVE Emma’s smile as she watches the set up for her parent’s first meeting. Like, I legit reared up because that smile alongside the Snowing theme just...it was fantastic.

-”It’s a miracle you two fall for each other.” I love that ‘da fuq, Emma’ look Killian gives Emma.

-I love that look Killian gives Emma when he says “me.”

-...Damn, Killian looks good funny encased in shadows.

-And then he has to say “privacy” in only the way Killian Jones can do.

-”Ooh confidence. I like it.” And I like your confidence. ...Damnit, OUAT men! Stop being so attractive!

-Regina just ROCKS her every entrance!

-”It’s all about the tumblers.” I spell it differently, but I feel you, man. XD

-I love the way Neal describes his past with Rumple. The tragedy of their separation comes from the fact that they loved each other so much, but Rumple couldn’t overcome his demons in a way that could help them stay together.

-I LOVE this Captain Charming scene. The bros are so supportive of one another, though David doesn’t fully grasp who Killian is to him!

-”Who knows? Maybe you’ll end up with them again.” ...That hurrrrts!

-Ruby is such a badass!!!

-”Hook!” How strange must this nickname be to everyone else in this room?! XD

-*Snow sneaks up on Regina* Oh SNOW you didn’t!!! XD

-Aww! I love that Red Snow hug!!!

-You know, I really like the design of the trolls and am sad that they weren’t used more often.

-”I’m devilishly handsome again.” Yes you are!

-Gee! Is that urn important?

-I love both Rumple and Emma’s reactions to Neal’s name. That subtle happiness, especially on Rumple’s face, is just so beautiful!

-So I have so many feelings on Killian ‘ditching his crew.’ I actually wrote an entire fic about it. BUT that having been said, I think the choice he made was the right one.

-Archie, they’re getting married, not going ice skating. Wear a fucking suit!

-I can’t get as swept up in the OQ tragedy because Roland says “mama” and that is too fucking cute!

-Okay, that reveal of Elsa was SO FUCKING WELL SHOT! I love the slow buildup to her reveal, from the icy blue liquid in the urn to the forming of her dress to the shape of her hair to the dismissal of the liquid and finally, to the reveal of her powers! What an EPIC intro! Best one ever! Now I know you’re upset about that, Regina, but you just have to *takes deep breath* LET IT GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! (And THAT’S how you close out a season!)

Arcs - How Are These Storylines Progressing?

Emma Accepting Home - So look, I love how every season touches upon another aspect of Emma’s acceptance of people into her life, but on some level, I do get how the fandom got sick of it after a certain point. I firmly believe that this was the best and ultimate moment of culmination of this aspect of Emma’s character. That’s not to say that I didn’t like it in other seasons. Fuck no, I loved it in other seasons, but this was the best handling of it. The idea of those Emma loves and their philosophies on home and family all come together in this beautifully blended way. Emma’s parents, Henry, Killian, Neal, and more all contribute to her outlook on her life in Storybrooke and how her walls can be detrimental. And seeing Emma realize that makes for such a beautiful journey.

Killian’s Redemption - “That man sitting there, you don’t know him. Just be careful.” I feel like this line speaks to Killian’s improvement. He doesn’t want someone he cares for to see how lousy he was. And Killian’s redemption really gets its proper payoff here. With many of his past wrongs righted, Killian is finally given appreciation for helping get Emma back to Storybrooke. I think there’s an added layer to “you traded your ship for me.” Basically, Emma has to press him unyieldingly in order to find this out, meaning that he was never going to tell her on his own. He was willing to give up his home and have the act go anonymous.

Regina’s Redemption - ….Fuck. So, I’ve gone on about how I loved Regina’s Redemption this season. That is completely true. And this is where we take a GIANT step back. I GET that Regina feels resentment towards Emma. In this episode, it’s even at an okay level. BUT, going forward, this gives way to perhaps my least favorite Regina arcs. Thankfully, it only lasts for five episodes and I like the handling of it in the first four...you know what? We’ll talk about it when we get there! Apart from that aspect, I felt like Regina had reached a good place here! Her character is becoming more concrete.

Rumple’s Redemption - This is one of those episodes where Rumple’s decision to hide the real dagger and the truth about Zelena’s death makes things really sticky. And don’t forget, I was on his side for her death, but now’s the time to come forward! Apart from this aspect of it, something not at all glossed over in the episode itself, Rumple is framed as good. His wedding is a moment of character payoff and the happiness he feels as he gets married and Snowing’s son is named after Neal feels earned in a lot of ways. And the weirdest thing is that that’s Rumple for you: Undeniable someone with a big heaping helping of darkness, but a fuckton of character in there too. Like, this doesn’t ruin the episode by any means, but it’s there and it’s weird.

Neal’s Death - “Home is the place when you leave, you just miss it.” I think it was a fantastic story element to make one of the most poignant and thematically present lines in the episode something Emma learned from Neal. Not only that, but even some more of Neal’s minor advice comes in handy, like how to unlock the prison cell!

Favorite Dynamic

Emma and Killian. ...Look I work hard not to incorporate too much shipping into the meatier parts of the review and I’ll keep the romance out of it, I promise. So just give me this one. Cool beans? Cool beans. But seriously, I do actually have completely non-shippy reasons to love this dynamic as it works in this episode. For a time travel story to really work, there needs to be at the heart of it characters who know what’s going on and can interact with one another. It’s the most important dynamic in the story and if they fucked it up, the rest of the tale would’ve fallen apart, but thankfully, with Emma and Killian together, the special thrived. Killian and Emma both bring something to the table. Emma brings that fresh face and serves as a focal point for the story. Her naivete of some of the fairy tale elements and personal relationship to the people from the past is what keeps the story going and engaging. And Killian in a lot of ways helps to keep her grounded. While he cares deeply for Emma, his existence is not the one on the line and his lack of a familial relationship allows for some space between him and the events. He gets to be the clear thinker when Emma panics and her guide since this is his world as well as the voice of reason. And in return, Emma gets to perform the cool stunts, save people, and stand up to the past version of the Evil Queen. She even gets to save Killian’s ass in the case of royal balls and keeping his past self distracted. Together, they get to bounce around ideas, make jokes, and share moments of revelations that other characters in this episode aren’t and can’t be privy to. These two characters come together and make for a good and balanced dynamic for that reason. Additionally, Jen and Colin’s chemistry allows for a balance between things being lighthearted and serious when they need to be. Whether you like them as a couple or not, I don’t think it can be denied that they are the reason for why the main story was as entertaining as it was.

Writer

We have four writers here, two per episodes. David Goodman and Robert Hull worked on “Snow Drifts” and Adam and Eddy wrote “There’s No Place Like Home.” And they all did so freakin’ well! You can tell how careful these guys were with most every writing decision ever made. They managed to rework a fantastic episode, “Snow Drifts,” while still keeping to the dignity of it at the same time. It gels so well into also being a family story and allowing for as many fun character interactions as possible.

Rating

Double Golden Apple! What more can I honestly say? It’s as close to perfect as OUAT can get for me!

Flip My Ship - The Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness”

CAPTAIN SWAN, MOFOS! - THERE IS A REASON THIS BEAUTIFUL EPISODE IS CALLED THE CS MOVIE BECAUSE HOT DAMN IT IS A CS MOVIE!!!!! As I said in the “Favorite Dynamics” section, Killian is a constant source of support for Emma. He knows that she belongs with her family, respects her ideas, and challenges her. And just, let’s get through the moments, okay?! Like, he goes through a time portal for her! “One of these days, I’m gonna stop chasing this woman.” The fuck you are, buddy. You’re chasing her for all eternity! And just, he’s got her. He keeps her sane as she freaks out. He helps her relax. And just...the LOOKS he gives her! Like, look at how they joke around when Emma changes clothes, those little flirty looks! XD And speaking up, how about that loosening up of the corset and “you and I both know I’m his type?” Because that kills me. It utterly kills me! Someone drag my soul out of the Underworld because that scene destroys me in the best way possible! And the dude gets jealous of Emma kissing his past self, so fucking jealous that he needs to take his-fucking-self out! XD AND NOW WE GET TO THE BALL! THE FUCKING BALL THAT OWNS MY ETERNAL ASS! First, look at those smiles as Killian compliments Emma. THEN look at how Emma covers for Killian like a mofo’in boss! FINALLY, THE DANCING. IMMORTALIZED IN THE BOOK FOR ALL TIME IS MY FAVORITE CS MOMENT! EMMA GETS TO PLAY PRINCESS AND FEEL LIKE A ROYAL. KILLIAN GETS TO TREAT HER TO SUCH AND TEACH HER HOW TO WALTZ. AND THEY”RE SMILING AND HAVING SO MUCH FUN. IT”S PERFECT! HONESTLY PERFECT! Okay, I’m semi-recovered from that. Now, I also LOVE how Emma holds that ring to Killian and it looks just SO much like she’s proposing! And THEN “I’d go to the end of the world for her. Or time.” Just...you need to stop loving Emma so much because my heart cannot take it! And notice Emma’s smile when she says “Hook.” Then, we get an interesting callback to the Neverland Arc. When Emma asks Killian about his brother, Killian’s unwilling to talk about it, but here, knowing she needs that, he tells her what she needs to know. AND “I always knew there was a little pirate in you Swan.” She’s certainly getting there! And just...I love how Killian’s both harsh and gentle with Emma as she has her moment of realization. And THEN, Emma, after being with Killian for most of basically two or three days, goes out to see him again because he’s all alone! Just...the confession about giving up The Jolly Roger for love. I love how Killian never intended to reveal this and how Emma knows the weight of that choice. It just makes the subsequent kiss so satisfying!

Rumbelle - Oh yeah...There are other couples in this episode too! XD Sorry, but yes, I ADORED the Rumbelle in this episode. Like, in the past, I love how Rumple gets so embarrassed by Belle thinking that he talked about her and how he dismissed her. It’s so cute! And now, that wedding! That wedding! Just...what can I say about these vows? They’re perfect. The editing allows them to encompass every other couple while the lines are still completely their own and work perfectly for Rumbelle as a couple. Rumbelle is every other couple at their best and worst, a mix of best and worst traits and I feel like this wedding is a celebration of that fact. On a funnier note, I love how Rumple and Belle didn’t even wait for the fucking “I do’s” and just went at each other with  a kiss!

Outlaw Queen - Robin and Regina’s office picnic is so adorable and honest and open and beautiful! Like, they put everything on the floor, emotionally speaking.

Robin/Marian - Talking about Marian is difficult when you know that she’s actually Zelena, but this episode allows for her mostly to be herself, allowing for an accurate take on her. And to tell you the truth, I like this couple in a lot of ways. I love how much Robin misses Marian and that while he has moved on from her death, still cares for her so deeply. And Marian adores Robin! As soon as she’s free, she basically says “fuck it” to the stipulations of her freedom in order to be with him and Roland. Their love for each other is such a subtle and prevalent thing!

Snowing - Okay, so before we get to the past, let me say that I LOVE all of the Snowing banter at Granny’s! You can just TELL that a couple’s truly great when they can just joke and bicker about how they met and they have that down in SPADES! And in the past, I love the care that went into re-making Snowing’s story, but in a way that was still true to the original version. Though Emma, Killian, and Rumple are pulling the strings, Snow and Charming’s love is so carefully made to be all their own doing and that was so important. And I love the mix of new and old content so much. The repetition of lines just shows how true Snow and Charming’s love really is! And honestly, there’s something so special about Snow and Charming’s daughter being the one to bring them together!

Golden Hook - ...There’s so much FOETP goodness in here. Just, those hate-filled looks in the forest, that suffocation, the quips about burying the hatchet! There has never been true hate in all the lands! <3 Also, when Emma asks about how Killian got his hook, Killian’s next response is to say that she knows “who he is.” This hook and it’s origins, Rumple, are who he is.

Swanfire - That amusement park date was too cute and I really love how Neal’s advice is something that sticks with Emma. It shows Emma’s nuance as a character, as she can accept good and bad things about Neal, even during periods of time where she hated him. And I legit fucking BAWLED when Emma was telling Rumple about how she loved Neal and how he was a hero. Like, just...don’t talk to me! That was too much!

-----

Again, I am SO sorry this review took so long and wasn’t as deep as some of my others! Super Smash Bros, guys. Fucking dangerous. There was more that I wanted to talk about in this episode, but I’d rather you get the review than spend any more time! Thanks, as always, to @daensarah and @watchingfairytales!!! Love you guys so much!!! Hopefully, I can get the Overview done within the next few days and then we can get to season 4!!!!

Season 3 Total (207/220)

Writer’s Scores: Adam and Eddy (59/60)* Kalinda Vazquez (34/40)* Andrew Chambliss (42/50)* Jane Espenson (28/30)* David Goodman (39/40)* Robert Hull (40/40)* Christine Boylan (20/20)* Daniel Thomsen (28/30)*

* Indicates that their work for the season is complete

Links to the rest of my rewatch will no longer be provided. They take posts with links outside of searches and I spend way too much time on these reviews to not give them that kind of exposure. Sorry for the inconvenience, but they still can be found on my page under Operation Rewatch.

[velvet-tread]

so revisiting octavia blake (especially after what we’ve seen of her in s5e06 tonight)... what’s your understanding of octavia blake, in relation to bloodreina and also as one of the most disliked characters in the fandom?

 TW – there follows some discussion of abuse so if that is one of your sensitivities, I wish you well and recommend caution with what follows. Are you asking if I still stan Octavia now she’s Blodreina? Because the answer to that is complicated but basically yes. For clarity: stanning, to me, doesn’t involve nailing my colours to the mast and then contorting myself into ever more unlikely shapes to justify every single thing my fave has ever done. It’s possible to love and emphathise with a character, while also acknowledging the terrible things they’ve done or are. Maybe I don’t need to tell you this, but maybe others need to hear it: don’t let ANYONE shame you for loving Octavia. And by that I mean if someone tries, just tune them tf out. They don’t get it, they never will. They aren’t worth your time and energy. Let that truth set you free. So yeah, I still love Octavia, with all her flaws and her sharp edges. I can’t love Blodreina, but while Blodreina is certainly Octavia, Octavia is not Blodreina. Blodreina is the very worst of Octavia. Spoiled, demanding, hard, judgemental, imperious, unyielding, cold, unempathetic and very, very violent. She is the culmination of the story of a non-person, disempowered and locked up under the floor, coming into being and being handed a sword. And power. So much power. She is a product of necessity. She is an amalgamation of Jaha’s lessons, Indra and Kane’s guidance, Kara’s support and Gaia’s teachings. She has a god complex which, imo, can only go the way of Mount Weather. By which I mean it will probably consume everything in its path before blowing to smithereens and taking at least one of our faves down with it. But while Blodreina is certainly real, let’s not get carried away with OCTAVIA IS REVEALED AS FOR THE MONSTER SHE’S BEEN ALL ALONG. Deep breaths everyone, and maybe a sip of water. Blodreina is a persona who enables Octavia to carry out the most monstrous of deeds (hi Jaha!) and live with it. Has Octavia drunk the Blodreina Koolaid? Most certainly. But Octavia embracing her worst is not the same has Octavia being the worst. Also see: Bellamy season 1 and season 3a. Would you look at that A PARALLEL WE LOVE PARALLELS. Blodreina serves a purpose for Octavia-of-the-butterflies too. Because this show is this show and we are never more than a few monologues away from “love is weakness”, Blodreina is also a protective casing that locks away Octavia’s grief, her pain and her misery, her loneliness and self-loathing, along with her vulnerability and empathy. It seems super obvious to me that Octavia’s personal journey this season, apart from trying and presumably failing to keep Wonkru intact, will be about disassociating herself from Blodreina. And that, probably, won’t come without falling spectacularly from grace and facing her pain, and reckoning with the things she’s done. Also see: Bellamy seasons 1-4. Huh. What happens when the exoskeleton crumbles? What’s underneath? What will Octavia-who-washed-Lincoln’s-wounds, come to think about Blodreina and the things she’s done in the name of her people? How will she confront the agony of being Octavia Blake, naked, piteous and vulnerable, the girl under the floor who was denied existence?

I want these things for Octavia. I want the narrative to subject her to the most abject moral scrutiny because that is what you should want for the characters you love. It’s what makes them interesting. It’s what makes them matter. ALSO SEE BELLAMY FOREVER. Now I’ve been in this fandom long enough not to expect many others to see it this way. We are balls deep in moral monochrome here in the Bellarke fandom, and while that gives me pause for a sip of tea and a short prayer to the patron saints of patience, it’s not a situation that anyone can change, least of all me. And why would I? People are free to engage with the show how they want, as long as they stay in their lane.

And look, I get why some people can’t see past some of her sins. I, too, have characters that I dislike with varying degrees of rationality. But objectively, Octavia’s level of moral turpitude is at about the same level as any of the main characters. That’s just a fact. People’s personal preferences, while as valid as any other preference, are just that: subjective opinions. Where I start to sip my tea and raise my eyes to the heavens is when people start presenting their subjective opinions as objective FUCK YOU AND YOUR INBOX truth and thanks but no. It seems to be fanon lore now that Octavia is unempathetic and…it just makes no sense. This is the girl who was filled with wonder at Earth, who refused to let Jasper die even when everyone in camp wanted him to. She saw the humanity in Lincoln when Bellamy, Clarke and Raven could not. She saw the humanity in humanity when all anyone wanted to do was kill each other until they burned in Praimfaya. Wonkru exists because Octavia inspired them with her faith in them. The only way it begins to make sense is when you consider Octavia’s actions through the prism of Bellamy’s experience – which 8/10 is how the BC fandom at least views the show. (Also valid btw. I also project onto my faves! Bellamy among them! But see above for subjective opinion vs objective fact.) With Bellamy, the lack of empathy is real. Octavia, or at least the Octavia of seasons 1-4 high key struggled to see Bellamy as a fully realised person with desires and feelings of his own. But, while this sucks for Bellamy, from Octavia’s perspective it is entirely understandable. No matter how young Bellamy seems to us, to Octavia he is her parent figure. How many of the people on here haven’t put their parents through hell from time to time? I shouldn’t have to point out the bleeding obvious here, which is that teenagers who care deeply about animal welfare, trans rights, LGBTQA+ rights, poverty and climate change can also go through phases of being absolutely fucking awful to their parents. Often, that’s because in our world, teens are subjected to an unholy amount of pressure with which they struggle to cope, and the overspill of that hurt lands on the people responsible for them. It doesn’t make them bad people. And, yes, that can, occasionally, tip over into emotional and, more rarely, physical abuse but we don’t usually call it that. We call that “teenagers being fucking awful” and I am 100% sure that this is the context the writers room is working from. Do I think it’s acceptable, or justified? Hell no. But it’s important to take these narrative threads in the context of the real-world understanding of the people who develop them. This show isn’t created in a vacuum. Now work the scenario I outlined above into a post-apocalyptic landscape with 2x traumatised victims of systemic injustice, one of whom was locked up by the other because of that injustice. Yeah. What is so interesting to me is that the blind spot Octavia has wrt Bellamy – the blind spot that denied him access to the empathy she showed everyone else - has come into play again now she’s Blodreina, but in a different way. After 6 years of having everyone kowtow to her, and after vowing not to love, suddenly Octavia is making concession after concession for her brother at huge personal risk to herself.  It might not seem like that to us, or to Bellamy (and legit! I get why, from Bellamy’s POV), but to Octavia it must seem like she’s trying SO HARD to give him what he wants within the framework of what she thinks is achievable. Consider love is weakness. Consider that she throws herself into his arms on sight, in full view of all of her people. Consider being the arbiter of life and death for 6 years. Now consider Bellamy asking her to trust him. She does and is rewarded with a sonic blast. Bellamy delivers her an ultimatum about Echo, and she concedes. She fucking concedes! When has she ever willingly conceded on anything and ESPECIALLY NOW SHE HOLDS THE POWER OF AN EMPEROR? It’s fairly obvious from the Blake siblings sparring session that Bellamy was the symbolic winner. He got through to her. Octavia NEVER forgives. But she offers Echo – the woman whose sins Octavia will never forget - a way out. When Echo and Bellamy refuse, does she banish Echo? She could do. She’s Blodreina. She’s used to doing whatever the fuck she wants. But, no. She accepts the alternative, and even helps Echo on her way. Yes, it’s brutal and Blodreina-y and serves a double purpose but still, she helps her. She’s not doing that for Echo.  She’s doing it for Bellamy. No, she’s not doing it with a winning smile and a cuddle, but that’s not Blodreina’s style. She tries to thank him for saving them, in the only way she knows how. She reaches out, and he lashes out with cold anger. And perhaps it’s deserved. No, it’s definitely deserved, but GODDAMMIT that was a “you’re dead to me” level of cruelty. Can I just roll back a second and talk about how co-dependent the Blake sibs are? Cool. A friend (I can’t remember who, sorry) once said that Bellamy and Octavia carried their cage back down to Earth with them. And for seasons 1-4 that is absolutely what happened. They are spectacularly co-dependent. Bellamy depends on her to give him purpose, and a direction and reason to live. Octavia depends on him to absorb the overspill of her hurt, to push against, to take the blame for all of the ills in her life. It sucks for them both, and they’re TRAPPED, so terribly trapped, and neither is the other’s jailer but neither can walk away either. And just, what strikes me about the interactions we saw in the sneak peek for 507 is that maybe, FINALLY, Bellamy has broken free of their co-dependent relationship.  He may not even realise it yet, but he has completely re-centred his world around Spacekru now. And I think, that if push comes to shove, he will prioritise Spacekru above Octavia, even if it hurts them both.  It doesn’t mean he loves Octavia any less, but after 6 years of love and support and peace and quiet, Bellamy has broken out of the cage. Bellamy is free. Excuse me while I cry tears of joy. But Octavia isn’t free. Octavia hasn’t had 6 years of peace and support and love. Octavia’s life has been marked by trauma from the moment of her birth, and the trauma hasn’t let up for a single goddamned second it just keeps coming and coming and coming until all she has is her walls and an alter-ego and the hope that she can keep Wonkru together and her brother by her side. Believe me when I say that Octavia is still very much trapped inside the cage which Bellamy has now vacated. IT IS ALL VERY HEARTBREAKING OKAY. IT HURTS. So yes, I still love Octavia and I am ready to see her again when Blodreina falls.

[saphirecross]

questions. fandom questions. questions in which i am too lazy/tired to use grammar. but questions none-the-less i think maybe. But yes, on to these questions, where i may occasionally use actual words how they are supposed to be used. Anyway, yes. 

1) Are you ever in a fandom and there is a ship that you don’t necessarily like, but you don’t hate (or maybe you REALLY don’t like it) but at like 3 A.M. you are sitting at your computer just doing whatever it is you people do on your computers at 3 A.M. and you are just like man, i really want to look at fanart/read fanfics/headcannons for this one ship that i haven’t even come across in forever but like, i must remember the right way to search it NOW? Like, you know the feeling? THAT one? and you know that eventually you are going to go to sleep and when you wake up it will be another back burner ship because there is that one that is just absolutely precious and you fully support it, but for right now, for this slot of time while you are surrounded by media it is the #1 ship and it is the best. (honestly this is me with the Cinder/Emerald stuff. i mean... it exists but like... white rose also exists...) you know? 

2) or maybe you aren’t even part of a fandom but you were on the internet and hey that couple looks cute and now you don’t know how you ended up passing so much time clicking through a path of pictures and you don’t know where you are anymore, but while you don’t know all of the deets because you never watched/read/played/whatevered the source material you are still pretty aware of what is going on and you absolutely love these two disaster children and no you don’t even know who they are but you have to protect them because you are pretty sure that that ones mom wants them both dead.  (i have no clue what i found but chick with green hair and blonde chick are adorable, i love them, i don’t know who they are, i have no desire to, but they are my children)

3) or you are scrolling through tumblr, just being bored, and you see a fanart/fanfic/whatever for something and you have no clue what it is from, or what it is about, you don’t fucking know, but you NEED to find out. You have to involve yourself with the source material and you need to find more stuff from this fandom because DAMN it just looks GREAT. Like, you don’t know why, but this pretty black bird with the weird red mark and that blurry football player in the background make you really want to hunt down this show/book/whatever. but it isn’t in the tags. So you hunt through the blog and finally find the same raven except again, no tags. But now there is a clear image of a boy so now you are looking for this boy, etc, etc, until finally you are on what you think based on context clues is a shape-shifting psychic wolf and you finally find tags that tell you what it is from and you go and consume the source material and now you are tits deep in a new fandom and it is fucking precious. (the ravens name is Caleb, the girl is Lilliana, the wolf’s name is bane, and i love them all. Also, Xev is a precious baby and he doesn’t deserve this shit... ANyway,)

4) Or like, randomly NEEDING to revisit a fandom you haven’t seen in forever. Nothing happened to push you in this direction but you have chocolate and sprite and you want to go back and look into THAT fandom and maybe its from a cringey phase in your life and maybe you think it is stupid but regardless, you need to check in and then its an hour and a half later and you realize you ran out of andies candies. and fuck is it really that late already, i was just dropping by, whoops. (... Black Butler... I don’t know why. It just sort of happened.)

5) or like, you started a thing a while ago and kinda liked it but like... eh so woo now its time to finish that thing. Wait it has TWO WHOLE SPIN OFFS NOW uh... OKAY BINGE READING THIS SHIT TONIGHT. (Started reading a fanfic for a thing it had like 6 chapters. i bookmarked it. i was clearing out my bookmarks and i found it. it has 36 CHAPTERS and seriously two whole additional spin off serieses and like... yes. this was like a year ago and i don’t know why i am remembering this now but it deserves it’s place on the list)

6)or finding a fandom and loving the fandom but having no interest in the ships or anything or even the source material to the point that you don’t even really go watch the source material. you just sorta read all the fanfics that you happen across on this hell site and enjoy the headcannons and fanart and stuff because it seems cool but not like... something you would binge watch ( i am not stating what it is here because... as much as i love the fandom it scares me too. pretty sure they could kill me. Love you guys)

7) or starting a thing and getting really immersed in the fandom but not ever really finishing it so now you are like here but you don’t entirely know what’s going on so you just kind love everything and smile and die a little. (Hunter X Hunter. I started watching it with a friend. We never finished it. We got about halfway through what is on Netflix. I honestly don’t even remember the last thing to happen. but i love Killua and Gon and Hisoka is a fucking creep)

8) or like, you see a fandom/interest come across your dash so much that you just assume it was something you were interested in at some point and followed some poeple but then you like... forgot about it... and you don’t really remember anything about it. So like... you don’t really know. Maybe the people you follow just collectively started liking stuff they hadn’t before, which is fine, but you can never be quite sure. (i have seen A LOT of witchy stuff recently, and like... it seems in character for little fourteen year old me but like... i can’t quite tell...)

9)Or like, you see a post that is really random and it reminds you of that one thing you used to be really into but they are completely unrelated and you have no idea why that thing popped into your mind but you remember a surprising amount about it. (I really wanted to play trumpet. i did all of the bok studying but i was shit at playing. I practiced a lot... but it didn’t really work out. I saw a post about shoes the other day and i just kinda laughed for a minute remembering the trumpet thing and then i started remembering little facts and i just kinda... huh)

you know those feelings? like... those things that are like... is this something i am/was/could be/should be interested in? or is this just meh? you know the feeling? these are my questions.  questions. fandom questions. questions in which i am too lazy/tired to use grammar. but questions none-the-less i think maybe. But yes, questions, where i may occasionally use actual words how they are supposed to be used. Anyway, yes.