#thought I'd be really into xena but i love her SO much

[lonesomedotmp3]

gabrielle... my silly rabbit 😁😁😁😁

[explosionshark]

Your turn!

It's halfway through the year! Got any favorite albums/books/tv shows/whatever to recommend?

thanks to you @badwolfwho1 who both asked me!

music:

right off the top i'm gonna recommend 3 pop albums bc i almost never have this many TO recommend. but tei shi's valerie, empress of's for your consideration, and shygirl's club shy EP have all been on constant repeat for me this year.

big year for metal also - in particular crypt sermon, job for a cowboy, darkest hour, gatecreeper, aborted and tzompantli were all incredible. i feel like between seeing them live and the release of cure, this is the first time erra has really clicked for me and i'm loving it.

for post-hardcore i've loved the debut LPs by with sails aheads and your ghost in glass. the EP lonely people by love rarely was on repeat for me for weeks also - really great stuff.

i got heaven by mannequin pussy slaps too. and i also really, really want to recommend you could do it tonight by couch slut - if you love the queasy, depraved noise that chat pile make, you absolutely should be listening to couch slut.

i threw a couple little playlists together to roundup some of my faves:

(extended version here)

honorable mention: as was really apparent from my charts this year, i spent A LOT of time listening to the saosin s/t again. but also got really back into grouper this year - especially her 2021 album shade, which i missed entirely when it came out.

books:

okay for music i focused mostly on 2024 releases but for books i won't be so strict.

shirley jackson: a rather haunted life by ruth franklin was REALLY good and provided a lot of great insight into jackson's work and also just had some really interesting history in it. really enjoyed it.

hit so hard by patty schemel a rock music and addiction memoir by the drummer of Hole. very dark and upsetting at points, but compelling. was very illuminating re: the 90s seattle music scene and the drug culture around it, provided a lot of context and detail to some stuff i thought i already knew about. really great stuff.

penance by eliza clark - this is a fake true crime book that REALLY got under my skin. it's a meta commentary on true crime as a fandom and an industry and the exploitation inherent in it. it's a mirror to make you stare at your own internal biases. it's SO fucking 2014 tumblr. i've gotten like three other people to read it and they all went insane like me. highly recommended.

hex by thomas olde heuvelt - very late to the party on this one but i loved it. translated AND localized from dutch, with very interesting results. almost goofy to start and ends up totally bleak. i adored it.

magic for beginners and white cat, black dog by kelly link - REALLY falling in love with kelly link this year. read these two and currently re-reading stranger things happen and i just adore her style. weird but SO heartfelt, surreal and dreamy, as often horrifying as it is sweet. she's so talented, i'm really excited to read the book of love later this year.

between two fires by christopher buehlman - FINALLY read this and i loved it. absolutely deserves the hype. kinda wild that dark ages horror isn't more of a thing? i re-read buehlman's the blacktongue thief too and really loved it, definitely cemented it as one of my favorite fantasy books. i'm reading the daughters' war now and enjoying it a lot.

i also re-read the golden enclaves by naomi novik and had such a great time with it.

tv shows:

finished my buffy re-watch! been watching a ton of xena with @holdsteady and @nataliving this year too - we just finished s3 and it was insane and i loved it soooo much.

i watched under the bridge and thought it was very good, but i'd recommend people learn a little about the real reena virk case before engaging.

hacks season 3 was INSANE it made me crazy i loved it so much.

haven't watched much tv aside from that!

[barbwritesstuff]

Can you talk some about your character creation process? I know its most evident in Sergi but I'd love to hear how some of the other characters changed over the course of writing. Mainly asking about Blood Moon just because with TT still in development I imagine those guys are all still wiggling around

Okay, some random Blood Moon examples:

Farro's shyness. My original concept was just "lumberjack dad" but when he appeared on page his shyness was immediate and obvious. I was like 'okay... we can work with this...' and I think it did work in more ways than one, but it wasn't built into his original concept.

Vicky's gentleness. She was always meant to be the warrior with a traumatic past (Batman and Xena as inspirations) but I didn't know that would translate into her being super soft in romantic situations. But, that worked so well and made so much sense.

Marco's tattoos having special meaning for him as part of his transition. He got rose tattoos at first because I thought that sounded cool. Literally just that. No other reason. When the character turned around and said 'oh, by the way, I got a new rose everytime I felt like I needed to cut off my tits but couldn't. I decided to leave my pack and transition during this last rose'... That was a surprise to me.

Everything Sergi. He was meant to be a background character, the slightly more jokey version of Nikolas. He really clawed his way up from the bottom.

[marley-manson]

scattered thoughts on season 2 of xena after marathoning it over a few nights.

-- Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is so fun lmao, it didn't even occur to me that the vampire ladies could've been hypnotizing Gab until I saw it mentioned in a tumblr post lol, I 100% just took it as Gabrielle being attracted to them. I mean one of them even has a buzzcut.

-- Xena is great because it's a true genderswapped cheesy genre show, complete with extremely bland one episode love interests who die to provide our heroes with manpain. Also Xena totally subconsciously let Callisto kill Perdicus, come on. Loved Gab's rage afterwards <3

-- Lucy Lawless and Hudson Leick are excellent at playing each other. Hudson Leick is so good as Xena that I always forget Lucy Lawless isn't actually in Ten Little Warlords lol, and Lucy Lawless' Callisto is great too, especially when she's playing Callisto pretending to be Xena.

-- Love Ares' first episode as a mortal too. Love that he's scared of rats, a decent fighter but still needs Xena to save him a few times, and the moment where he contemplates having actual blood on his hands for the first time is *chef kiss*

-- I'd skipped Miss Amphipolis when I first watched Xena because I'd heard it was transphobic, and then saw a post praising the episode for its progressiveness so I was like hm I guess I'll give it a shot. Honestly, it had its good elements, but yeah I think the criticism is warranted. Awesome if it's true that Karen Dior was openly HIV+ when she and Lucy Lawless kissed here, love that. And if the idea was that Miss Artiphys was more a drag queen than a trans woman it's not too bad I guess? But if she was meant to be trans then yikes, terrible depiction, lots of 'he's really a man' shit (plus the name c'mon). And the lack of clarity doesn't help either way.

Also Gabrielle's mild homophobia was a weird choice, and I didn't like that she only won after every other woman turned down the crown lol - I get the point that none of them really wanted it or enjoyed the pageant while Artiphys did, but I feel like that point could've been made without putting her in last place.

Kudos to the director for objectifying her just as much as any other woman though lol.

-- They should've given a little bit more time to Xena and M'lila's relationship in Destiny, since her death is the catalyst for her going evil, but unfortunately it felt like a very arbitrary final straw. It was funny though that M'lila died for her because she just knew it wasn't Xena's time to die yet lol. Like c'mon, at least imply they got close off-screen.

-- Also Xena 🤝 Dennis Reynolds: because of the implication. I'm actually torn on how much that's intended lol, because on the one hand they certainly do not frame Xena as an actual rapist here, she's still sympathetic and Caesar's still the ruthless villian. But on the other hand the predator/prey metaphor when she was coming onto him was incredibly on the nose (she even says "cutting off his path of retreat" like, yikes girl); Xena later points out that crucifying her was an overreaction and thinks she must've fucked with his head; Caesar has psychosexual nightmares about her in another later ep (ie killing him mid sex basic instinct style); and Caesar's "all those who prey on Rome" line is basically the payoff to his earlier "I am Rome" thing, essentially a coded way of phrasing "prey on me," which fits the sex thing more than the hostage thing, since that was literally preying on Rome.

Idk, I'm curious what the writers were aiming for here. Maybe some of it's just meant to suggest that Caesar has a crush and is mad about it lol, but it's eyebrow raising.

-- Also also: the montage of Gab and Xena at the end of Destiny is so ridiculously romantic <3

-- I love that Xena agrees to only possess Autolycus when he gives her permission, then bodyjacks him whenever he says no anyway. Autolycus is a delight in this ep. And I love how the show does everything it can to make it clear that it's Xena kissing Gabrielle in Autolycus' body, from Bruce Campbell's acting demonstrating exactly when he regains control of himself, to his "Seems like you two worked things out" in repsonse to the kiss, to him not noticing his hand was still on Gab's ass lmao.

-- A Day in the Life is still such a ridiculously good episode.

-- Can't believe how almost explicitly gay Blind Faith is even with the rest of season 2 to compare it to. Like okay maybe it's not quite The Quest's kiss, but something about Gabrielle's conversation with the gay dude where they both very overtly use ambiguous pronouns for the people they love feels like a step beyond. It's not just two close characters who love each other, it's lesbians situated specifically in a gay solidarity context, idk. I love it.

-- Also I cite this a lot but idc, I still fucking LOVE that Xena is temporarily rendered blind in this episode and she is still never physically challenged by anyone in a fight lmao. Like you'd think as a plotpoint it would be a way to have her uncharacteristically defenseless and reliant on this one-ep dude to defend her, right? Nope, she still outclasses him, all she needs him for is to watch out for cliff edges.

-- Also also I love that this annoying dude sees her as an idol and it's just accepted as obvious, absolutely no commentary on a dude modeling himself after a woman. She's Xena, of course aspiring warlords desperately wanna be her.

-- Ulysses here to reassure the straight audience after the tidal wave of gay we've seen in the last few episodes, but it can't even do that right because Gabrielle and Xena still 100% interact like they're hooking up and catching feelings but not exclusive.

-- The Price would be a perfect episode if it weren't for the racism in the depiction of the antagonist force, man, it's such a blot on an ideal Xena story. Also Xena is at her absolute sexiest here. I'm usually more of a Gab girl, but fuuuuuuck her hardass sadistic commander persona has me like 🥵. Hits the perfect balance of serious and dark, while her warlord flashbacks tend to be a little too exaggerated and campy to be truly sexy to me.

-- Also another episode where I love how men relate to Xena. She shows up, they find out she's Xena, and they immediately go "holy shit please take over, please command us, you're our only hope."

-- Cecrops is one of my favourite one-ep characters I think

-- Comedy of Eros is dumb but fun lol, I always enjoy how the show flips the script for Xena's occasional heterosexual turns, in the sense that she's the active participant, acting upon the men and going for what she wants. It is a relief when it stops being earnest and starts being solely for the sake of manipulation though lol, and I'm glad we have Cupid to blame for this one too. In fact, I think all the genuine reciprocated het is behind us now, right?

-- I love the fake out where Gabrielle nearly sees Xena first before Joxer gets in the way. I feel like I've seen some writer say once that they considered having Gabrielle fall in love with Xena for this episode, but they decided against it because they didn't want it to be a joke she gets over, and I am 100% behind that reasoning. It would've felt cheap imo. But the tease was cute lol, they know what the audience wants.

[ageless-aislynn]

Back in the day, (around 2006 or so, I'd wager) I decided to try making a Bag End-inspired diorama display thing for my Lord of the Rings (and friends) figures out of plastic canvas and yarn. (No pattern, I was just winging it.) Here are some pics of how it turned out. 😉

The front with the famous round, green door. I also gave them some lattice-work windows and a couple of plant pots with greenery, just 'cause. 😉

Closer up on the door and one of the plants.

This is the wall that was beyond the window and plants, on the left side as looking in that orientation. I couldn't really do a hill without it looking weird so went with a tree motif on both sides.

The wall on the right of the door, this one with a "rope" swing, just for funsies!

Interior on the door.

Everybody needs a free standing closet to store your stuff in, right?

Yes, that's an Ian McKellen Magneto wearing Gandalf's hat and politely levitating his sword into the closet.😜

Behind the door standing open a bit is a coat closet.

I wanted a sort of marble inspired pattern. Plus, I really liked this variegated yarn so...

Everybody needs a table with a vase of roses on it! And yeah, that's a Nazgul wearing a tea ball strainer on his head. It was from a joke at the time. Also, we see our Hobbit guests putting their cloaks away in the closet.

Interior behind the big window. I thought of this as a combo kitchen/dining room area with a decorative rug.

Eomer CANNOT BELIEVE that we don't have his favorite brand of coffee! Storm thinks we should have a dance party. Boromir is heading over to lean on the fireplace mantel. 😉

Clearly Gandalf is HERE for a dance party! Oh and I do believe there might be a Boromir/Eowyn "leaning on the mantel" love connection going on back there? 👀👀👀😂

It's a little known fact that Darth Vader LOVES a nice tree swing! He even brought a droid friend, d'aww. That's my Xena poster on the wall in the background, btw. One of my most favorite Xena pics ever!

I also made Shadowfax, Gandalf's horse!

He can stand on his own. And yes, I made that fishbowl, including the Very Famous Fish Rear End on the side panel, lol! Nothing but UTTER ACCURACY around here, thank you very much. 😜

The chair was made from a kit. The cushion comes off and you can store things in the bottom box part. The mug of hot chocolate has marshmallows on top and also the rim raises up so you can store small things in it.

The flower vase was also from a kit. I famously got my hand stuck in it while doing the bottom stitch to finish attaching it to the base. I thought I might have to unstitch it a bit to get free but thankfully didn't have to. Absolutely no one who saw me with a plastic canvas vase stuck on my hand laughed. 😑🤣

(As well they should have. I laughed, too, once I got my hand out of there, lol!)

My mom loved lighthouses so I made her a day and night version. They're the same size but this was 2 separate pics edited together and the different angles made the night version look smaller.

Anyway, that's a few things I made back in the day. Nothing sophisticated but I just enjoyed playing around with it. The canvas got really hard to find for a while and then got very expensive once I located it again, so I stopped making things. 😢

Oh, almost forgot to add the pic that made me think to post these to begin with: Barbie with one of my ducks from my earthquake post.

I made a bunch of these little ducks for a project I never completed, then found them in a Ziploc bag the other day. Now there are little ducks all over the house, lol! 🦆💖

PS - I may have posted these pics before. I know I did on my Livejournal but couldn't find them on Tumblr. If this is the second time you're seeing them, though, apologies. Ais is old and the memory just ain't what she used to be. 😑😉

[jennyandvastraflint]

Xena Reactions S1Ep13! Bards, neat!

And we start with a flashback?

Ahhhh, Gabrielle as a bard relaying tales

Gabrielle your gay is showing

They're so gaaaay

A bard competition

Who is this boring white boy

I wanna punch the sexist prick

AZAHAHA XENA'S GLARE WHEN SHE ASKS ABT ATHENS

Gods Lucy Lawless is gorgeous

"EVEN IF I HAD AN ARMY AROUND ME I'D NOTICE YOU MISSING" 😭😭😭

Xena is super gay

HOW GAY. TELLING THE STORY TOGETHER

"the only family he ever needed was standing right beside him" GAY!?

Thank you for being my family (if I had a nickel for every lesbian couple saying something like that-)

Ah yes. "sister" sureee

"Draco. Nononooo"

Love how all of Gabrielle's stories are about her girlfriend

"Was your name in there someplace?" 😂

EURIPIDES

pFTTTT SHE SMUGGLED IT IN

OH SHIT

The was stabbed? Or... Not? Ah.

Ohhh, the Celeste storyyy

When I say I cannot tell all these brown haired men apart... Half the "attractive" men look the same... 😂 (maybe I'm just being a lesbian about this)

SHSHSHSHS PLS THE STORYTELLING OF THE GUY "There's like, all these guys fighting"

"The moral is... He kills all the bad guys"

Awww, a storyteller with a stutter.

What is this uncomfortable straightness.

"And then arghhhh, right in the gut!"

Holy shit? Can we maybe not torture Xena?

She's just like get OUTTTT I WANNA SLEEEEP Also I miss Xena :(

"If you don't like it, nobody else will" FUCKING RIGHT

....... Ffs. Shithead snitch

Blergh

YES. YOU TELL EURIPIDES. YOU CAN SPEAK FOR YOURSELF.

"Turns out we had a lot in common" You're both gay for the person you travel with

ATCH THE SOULMATE STORY (the aroace in me doesn't like it because it implies Aro and Ace people are "broken" for not craving that. Also non-monogamous people. But apart from that it's still a cute notion)

Autism honestly. Euripides and the other one.

Twickenham? I can't read his name, so... (It's fine I looked it up. Did think it was Trigonom because I have bad auditory processing)

Awwww she gets to perform

THE BABEHHH

Right. She yeeted that baby a lot. XD

"It's madness that she was left out" SLAAAY

Art will never take second place to rules and regulations

Ffs you stupid father. Stop living through your son.

"He'd do better if he was allowed to be himself" EXACTLY

Love this monster costume XD

WTF is this man's problem!

OMG THEIR MEETING STORYYYY Lesbianism showing

"You're not alone" I'm gonna go sob again byeee

NOT THE GUY TAKING THE HANKIE TO WIPE HIS TEARS

"Hu?" "I liked it a lot." Shdhsgsgs

Shielded his orbs sjdhshhs PLEASE SIR YOU WOULD DO NUMBERS ON TUMBLR IN MEMES

I think I should care about this, but all I can think about is how that Spartacus guy looks old enough to be this girl's father at LEAST

Ohhhh, the Twickenham guy (or whatever) got in!

HOMER!!!! THAT'S HOMER. OOOOOO

She didn't get in tho. But ah well.

Xenaaaa :D

OH SHE WON. I THOUGHT SO.

"It's good to have you back" you missed Gabrielle so much it makes you look stupid, Xena

"This is gonna make a great story" indeed!

I love that this was a really Gabrielle centric episode? Well we had flashbacks to lots of previous adventures but y'know

[gritsandbrits]

001 for Sonic the Hedgehog, 003 for Chris Thorndyke, 002 for SonElise

001 Fandom Sonic

My favorite character is Tikal

My least favorite is Mephiles

5 Favorite ships: antoine x bunny, sallicole, khanally, Sonudis (sonic x @crusherthedoctor 's fancharacters Trudy) & Tom x Maddie

Character i find most attractive: Shadow

Character I would marry:

Character I would be best friends with: Rouge

A random thought: why aren't there any aquatic anthros :(

Unpopular Opinion: Marine > Sticks

Canon OTP: Khanally

Noncanon OTP: Sonic x Lani (my OC)

Most badass character: Too many to count but a quick shoutout to KNUCKLES

Most Epic Villain: EGGMAN OF COURSE I love how his inventions span from servants like Orbot to fucking GUNDAMS movie Eggman especially for actually having him be the main threat instead of getting Upstaged or written OOC "Eggdad"

Pairing I am not a fan of: Sonally, made them both OOC, too soap-opera for my tastes and personality clashes

Character i feel the writers screw up: Elise, could've gotten a badass equivalent to a disney princess (though they're already badass) instead we get a poorly thought out Self insert

Favorite friendship: Shadow and Rouge, Amy and that little bird. Also Blaze and Marine

Character i most identify with: Big the cat I just be minding my own business but get dragged into sum bullshit anyways 😫

Character I wish I could be: blaze because she's rich duh also fire is my birth element

002 Sonelise

When I started shipping them: a couple of years ago after seeing cute fanart. But coming across @solarhood 's blog really increased my liking for the pair.

My thoughts: Gets way too much hate, i see it has lots of potential in fanfics, it is not and never was bestiality, and it can be a good romance or a good friendship. Plus Amy isn't unfairly demonized.

What makes me happy about them: their interactions were so sweet, especially the scene in the meadows.

What makes me sad about them: that they had to give up their memories :(

Things done in fanfic that annoy me: when people try to improve Elise by making her a Blaze Clone. Or turning her into a hedgehog just to make her ship with sonic more "palatable" listen Elise can still be badass without being turned into another Blaze/Sally copy

Things I look for in fanfic: again better characterizing that isn't turning Elise into Xena, also amy not being demonized for melodrama. Sonic & Elise more time together (with in character Sonic)

My Wishlist: that elise comes back with a new design that (let 👏 her 👏 wear 👏 different clothes!!) & reuniting with Sonic

Who I'd be comfortable them ending up with if not each other: with Sonic I don't mind him with Amy or a new character. With Elise, Surprisingly KNUCKLES. Both were isolated and had to spend their childhood into roles they didn't ask for so the parallels are already there. Difference is Elise can help Knuckles be comfortable around girls without overstepping his boundaries, and he can help her learn to master her power and be more open with her emotions even especially the negative ones.

My happily ever after: Sonic and Elise somehow recovering their full memories and becoming friends again. Elise decides to travel the world with him not just for personal pleasure but to instill alliances and gain more life experience

003 alright last one and it's *uighh* chris....thorndyke 😒😒😒

How I feel about this character: TERRIBLE he's the reason why I made Noelani in the first place!! Unnecessary audience surrogate who didn't even do a good job in the role he was that hateable!

Any/all people i ship romantically with this character: the only person I ship him with is with a therapist!!

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: Okay maybe his relationship with his servants were a little sweet then again not surprised if they forced to act like that because he signs their paychecks

My unpopular opinion about this character: he isn't the worse creator's pet I know he wasn't as awful as Kicker from Energon or Light Yagami

One thing I wished. Would happen/had happened with this character in canon: That he faced some actual damn consequences especially in the last episode of s2! Ground that boy! Don't just let him get away with dooming two planets!

Favorite friendship for this character: Surprisingly him and Tails, too bad it wasn't enough to salvage him

My crossover ship: him and Adrien would make great friends and that's not a compliment

[buddha-in-disguise]

100 episodes of Supergirl. And let me tell you it was a doozy.

Well that was an episode and then some. I haven't had a rewatch yet, so no doubt will pick up on some things once I do, but for now here are more immediate thoughts.

The first thing that struck me - it's now canon that Kara and Lena's destinies are intertwined. Who they become, who they were to who they are, whether or not they survive, hell, even whether or not those around them survive, depends on the other person. No-one else has the same impact in their life. Argue all you want, but that sure as hell is a definition of soulmates to me, platonic or otherwise.

If anyone of you are like me, and old enough to have been Xena fans, let me tell you this is so reminiscent of the “When Fates Collide” episode from season 6, which showed that in any alternate universe, Xena and Gabrielle still find each other. That it always comes back to the two of them. Fast forward some 18 years, and this parallels that message. Fate or destiny, call it what you will, but Lena and Kara's lives are intricately linked. I know a few other SG fans are Xena fans, and we've discussed the similarities between Kara/Lena v Xena/Gabrielle numerous times. This is another for that growing list.

So other than that, here are my immediate takeaways from it all.

Mon-El. Now he is a divisive character, and one I honestly have had a lot of issues with. However, this episode I felt showed the better side of him.

I also watched with widening eyes as Kara went to her ex-boyfriend for no reason other than to ask him about Lena! Seriously telling moment for me. I was also pleased Mon-El made the point that he and Lena both came from abusive childhoods and families. At last, the point of Lena having reacted in part like she has is because of abuse, as mentioned. Only the other day I said I was frustrated how Mon-El was forgiven for his actions because of his upbringing, but Lena wasn't afforded the same. It wasn't much, but it was a start. I will add, abuse or not - Lena still is accountable for her own actions (more on that later), just as Mon-El was.

The other thing. Winn has already said to "Give Lena time." Mon-El mirrored that line. Brainy believes in Lena. All three are from the future. Plus, the whole reason Mon-El can even be there? Because L-Corp develops a cure for the Daxamite lead allergy. Not LexCorp. Not Luthor Corp. L-Corp. Now I know that Supergirl and continuity are really poor at times, but I truly hope this is another nod that LexCorp is defeated, and Lena takes control of L-Corp once again, and she does good things, that lead L-Corp into being the cause for good she has always wanted it to be.

Onto Dark Lena. I'd already said to hubby that I wouldn't be surprised if in one of those timelines they didn't show an evil Lena. After all, we've had Kara gone bad now a few times in various scenarios. We even have had a bad Alex (S1, mind controlled anyone? Hmm. Mind controlled Alex. Oh wonder where we've heard that before? Yep, Alex this season. No idea if that is relevant in future episodes if Alex and Lena actually ever have a damn conversation, but it should be, whereby Alex can tell Lena just how mind controlling anyone, regardless of intent is a huge, bad thing, because of her own experiences with it).

So evil Lena was so good. It was pretty obvious to me, once they said that Lena had been injured, then disappeared and came back 2 years later changed, that Lillian/Cadmus had her. Lo and behold, Lillian had kidnapped her, and Lena version of Metallo was born. Even faced with that, when Kara refused to fight Lena, for that split second you could see the flicker in Lena's facial reaction. That split second moment of doubt. Honestly one of the things that I love so much with Supergirl is that they often have these nuanced moments throughout the seasons. Put those moments in the hands of Melissa and/or Katie and they're elevated to another level.

So only the other day on a different post I wrote this: 'Also, in reference to that S2 episode, (note - also ep 13), as Mxy disappears, he says that all he ever wanted was to have someone to love him, but Kara says that "love can't be forced on anybody; it needs to come on its own."'

Then we get the line in this episode of: “You were right what you said. You can’t force magic. It must be found.” Okayyyy then. Wow. Parallels again.

So talking of nuanced moments, let's talk about that ending. Although, before we delve into that I just want to talk about it a moment before Kara lands on Lena's balcony.

Did Kara actually watch that tape?

I find it strange it was left and I believe it wasn’t left by accident. Why else pick it up, and show that title so clearly? Why have that scene in at all unless it has relevance?

Is that why she decided she needed to take the stance she did?

I personally believe this was why it played out like it has. Kara saw something in that tape to take this route.

So the last scene. Again, watch the nuances of expression on Lena’s face as Kara speaks.

From the shock when Kara says “not this time.” to the way she frowned at the last line. Which isn’t calling Lena a villain by the way. For goodness sake please don't misrepresent exactly what was said. Kara is saying *if* Lena becomes a villain.

But there is far more here for me.

Lena knows Kara's true identity. Kara is trusting her with that knowledge even now, and especially with Lex in the picture. We know from the earlier timelines explored that by Kara openly showing who she is to the World, it causes all those around her to be targeted and killed. That is the trust Kara is showing and Lena almost certainly knows it, even without knowing that timeline alternative, and even if she doesn’t want to admit it yet.

A best friend isn't someone who always agrees with you and tells you that you're right.

A best friend is someone that helps you be the best version you can be, reminding you what your values are and what is important. They hold you accountable when you mess up, and support you when you need help. That is exactly what Kara did. She was telling Lena she would be the for her, but she would also hunt her down if she became a Villain.

We also have to remember numerous times, Lena has stated she is not a Villain. And she isn't. Not yet. She is misguided, making some terrible decisions, but ultimately Lena also stated just ahead of when she jumped off the cliff that 'Supergirl will save me.'

Now Lena knows, Kara will save her. But the boundary lines have been set by Kara (who by the way, I still think could never fight back against Lena. Not fully, because she wouldn't even when Evil Lena was killing her. She saw that flicker in the eyes just as I did).

Kara has firmly placed it all into Lena's court. Lena has to make the decision, to meet Kara half way and that Kara shouldn't have the burden placed entirely on her, and they shoulder it together. To realise her mistakes. We know Lena is craving friendship as much as she denies it. Remember this with Hope in 5.08, The Wrath of Rama Khan, and the nuanced reaction Lena gave there as the reality set in?

L: "You're the only friend I can count on."

H: "But, Ms. Luthor, I'm not your friend. I'm something you created to serve a purpose."

Ouch. That one hurt.

This whole end scene is more powerful and pivotal than perhaps realised.

Overall, I loved the episode. I truly did.

I just wish there wasn't another small break between this and episode 14, which isn't until March 8th. Damn all these breaks so close together! It would be so much nicer to be able to watch them without all these interruptions.

[stormcrow513]

Been rewatching Warehouse 13 with my mama and I like still don't get some peoples reaction to Pete/Myka, I always thought it made sense from the start, they seem to start out as end game?

I mean I do totally see Myka and Helena I saw it at the time and even liked it a lot (still do) I was so conflicted over who I'd rather have Myka with, but rewatching the Myka/Helena arc I think it makes a lot of sense the way their story went, like two people feeling an instant attraction to each other who just click, but then one person hurts the other really badly, betrays them, and while eventual forgiveness happens love is still there, that fragile romantic seedling is crushed and there's sometimes no reliving it you move on,

and I see Myka and Pete as just never ever letting themselves think to much about each other like that, at first with Myka because she dated one partner once and is fresh off losing him the Fuck she's doing this shit again!

and Pete well we know from the episode where Myka gets whammied by the age changing camera that Pete had thought she was great from the start, but Pete I think doesn't like himself much hence some of the posturing, he's a recovering alcoholic who hurt people he loved while drinking including his ex wife and a friend while drinking and driving, he doesn't think he's 'worthy' of her

and neither want to lose the other their the most important people to each other and friendship tends to last more often then romances,

so they say shit like, Pete's like my big brother, and no way would we ever ever ever sleep together,

Honestly researching this I keep thinking if Myka had been a dude people would have sooooo sniped it, its got a slight Destial flavoring to it, dorky guy with the serious guys whose actually also a dork also he's a total nerd,

Like ship and let ship, I have no issue with people not going for it, but people were such assholes about it after the ending,

I saw people saying Myka being with Pete was the worst thing that could have happened to her, and just seriously Pete's a total fucking dork but he puts her first always, never treats her badly for being smarter then him, is always supportive of her etc. etc. in a world where so w/m relationships are abusive to some extent and women end up murdered, like really,

Like this is one of the few tv m/w relationships where the couple don't treat each other like shit constantly and they talk to each other, they play with each other (which people say that makes it brother/sister and I'm like ???, I would love to have a romantic relationship where we can be fucking idiot kids together!!!)

I'm losing my train of thought but I just love everything about their journey together, as a bisexual women its the w/m slow burn I deserve and one of the few w/m relationships I actually like let alone love and I wish people didn't hate on it so hard or dismiss Mykas bisexuality, like she was with Sam a man whose death wrecked her and had a thing for an incredible woman that didn't work out and ends up with her best friend bitch is bi but I forget we don't really exist

(If I sound bitter I am, I figured out my own sexuality around the same time I was watching this show wouldn't be surprised if it helped me figure it out, (the Myka/Helena grapling gun incident hooo) and I was so scared but excited I knew who I was... only to slowly realize that I still don't belong to gay for the straits to strait for the gays especially knowing with my sexual trauma from being raped by another girl as a child if I ever end up in a relationship it'll likely be with a man which according to a lot of people means I get my queer card revoked, to so many people your strait if your in a relationship with the opposite sex and gay if its same sex and if you end up same sex then you were never strait, if you end up in a opposite sex relationship then you were never queer, its shit and the two show fandoms that display this most are Warehouse 13 and Xena two shows I watch from there beginning with my ma and fucking adore, its just upsetting its stuff like this witch is why I avoid fandom spaces outside like ao3 as much as I can, but every now and then I want to look at some gifs and shit and its just so much toxic crap)

Edit: I also just don't get why so many people gotta dump on a character if they like a certain ship, like I'm a BIG Spirk shipper but I don't shit on Uhura and so many people make her the 'bad' guy in spirk fanfic, like WHY!? I love Uhura I just don't like her with Spock, why can't people just let other people enjoy things, like why not just go oh not for me and instead they just gotta shit all over it

[transparentheartz]

day 8!!! feeling really festive today, i'm sitting in a coffee shop writing this which is fun!!

barnes and nobles!! omg that's so cool, i've always always wanted to work in a bookshop, but i think i romanticised it a lot. i'd say you're dead on your feet after your shifts! i find helping customers can either be really sweet or plain nasty... holiday hours are the worst, we're staying open until half ten now, which means i'll get home at 11 :((( it's so late

reading in the car is the best, i used to be able to do it but now i find i get the tiniest bit queasy sometimes but not on buses!! headphones are such a neccessity with my fam, no one really likes my music. that's cool that your dad listens to old music tho, do you like any of it?

i try so hard not to think about the ariana grande concert, it's terrifying so i can definitely see why you'd be anxious. the astroworld thing terrified me, i couldn't sleep after seeing one of the videos (it popped up on my tiktok without a tw and it was horrible). my mam is really hollistic and believes in guardian angels so it's rubbed off on me a bit and i like to trust i'm protected all the time, it's small but it helps. i was looking at olivia rodrigo tickets too!! i really want to bring my younger sister to it, i told her my plan yesterday and she started crying bc she was so happy <333

i think when you like something that much it becomes so personal to talk to someone about it, i think unless they understand it, there's always a fear they'll mock it... i regret letting my family know in some ways but then again, i literally can't not talk about it especially when something big is happening in the fandom!

how did you find school? (high school, i think, i call it secondary school, from like 14-18 ish) i didn't mind it, i liked watching people interact more than getting involved, so i was never faced with the whole weed or alcohol or boys obsession... i always told myself i do it all in college tbh, now i'm in second yr and still haven't "gone mad"

i think that's really lovely tho, it saves you money and makes sure you'll genuinely enjoy the books. yeah sarah j maas is problematic but she's so well known i always use her to get a sense of what ppl read... harry potter aus are supreme, i can't imagine writing one, it would be such an undertaking, also to get the vibes right is sooo hard!

oh ouch, that sounds sore! my mam put me off getting my nose pierced bc she always said it was sorer than giving birth (she's a drama queen!!) but i think they're dead cool! which was sorer septum or normal nose piercing?

i'm so sorry to hear about pepper, losing a pet is horrible. but at least you still have xena to look after! ahaha shitzshu are cute tho!

yeah makeup is hard, i've so much admiration for people who can do it properly! sometimes i'll just curl my eyelashes bc i won't be other to deal with mascara. i love that you cry when you laugh (not in a werid way!!), it shows you're really genuine

i'm the oldest, i've two little sisters who i love. they're acc great tbh, even tho they can drive me mad. you've a sister right?

i have a black toyota yaris, she's small and kinda moody with chaging gears but she's a car so i don't complain, you?

this question<33 i love music sm. the last 3 songs were probably silver by nic nim, sour milk by dylan and you're not harry styles by dylan which is kinda ironic haha what about you?

do you play any instrumments or sing?

are you in college? bc i know you said you're working part time..

have a great day! <3

- your ss <33

firstly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

welcome to being twenty, hope you enjoy it and hope you have an amazing day.

yeah, it's a lot more work than i thought it'd be but i don't hate it. i like the people i work with (expect one manager) and it's not hard. same, we close at 10, i'll probably leave around 10:30 after cleaning up, then i won't get home til 11 because of the holiday hours.

uh,, some of it. other songs i'm just like 'what is this' lol. it really just depends on the song and how it sounds.

yeah, i can't watch the astroworld videos they make me so sad and it's so horrible to even think about i can't imagine what the families of those people are going through. The date for olivia's concert that is close to me is the around the time i'm supposed to go out of town for a wedding so idk if i'll be able to go :( but if you and your sister get to go i hope you have fun !

high school.. i hated 9th grade (age 13/14) i wore headphones in almost every class, i didn't talk to anyone except for in two of my classes. i hardly went that year to the point that i almost didn't move on to 10th grade. then i went to school for i think the first few weeks for 10th grade then transferred to online school. i did online school for the rest of highschool. I just didn't like being there and i didn't really care for anyone i went to school with, i didn't consider any of them my real friends, just school friends who i never hung out with outside of school soo yeah lol.

also all through out school (even elementary and in college now) i was considered the 'quiet smart' one. though i was only considered smart because i was quiet. i have a hard time talking to new people, so i usually didn't speak unless someone spoke to me first.

harry potter aus are just .. sooo good i can't describe how much i love them for some reason.

so getting the piercings and the healing process i would say the normal nose piercing was sorer. but neither were so bad to the point that i was in extreme pain. there's a sweet spot in your septum, so if the piercer doesn't put the needle in the right spot, then it can definitely hurt really bad but mine was like a tiny pinch and that was it. the normal one hurt more, not sure why probably cause there is more cartilage there. but i love them both.

yeah i really miss her but it's okay i'll always love her. some shitzshus are ugly tho lol.

omg yeah i used to watch makeup tutorials and i could never do what they do. and lol yeah tears just come out like nothing when i laugh its odd but thank you haha

i am the youngest, i have eight, yes eight, sister and no brothers. it's all very confusing lol maybe i'll explain it to you when secret santas are revealed. love all them it was wild growing up with them in a small house but fun too.

i have a silver honda pilot (2008), the one with three rows of seats so she's a bit big but i'm tall so i need a big car. my grandad is a mechanic and owns car shops so he would always give my family cars if he had ones to give. the honda was in a car accident and brought to his shop, he fixed it up and gave it to me. (I googled your car bc i dont know what any car looks like by its name, so tiny lol its cute tho!)

I love dylan, i don't remember how i found her music but i never met anyone else who listens to her so thats cool. last three songs for me were burning bridges by bea miller, wish i never met you by loote, and i miss you, im sorry by gracie abrams.

i dont sing i have a horrible voice lol. i dont play instruments either. i had to play the trumpet in 8th grade but i hardly did it and hardly brought the instrument to school with me.

i am in college. i hate it. school is one of the most hated things in my life. im so behind in work and idk if i'll pass this semester. i can hardly bring myself to care but i also have a fear of failing so.. yeah. your in school right? do you know what you're going for? i don't so thats fun !

hope you have/had an amazing day :)

[marley-manson]

For the characters opinion sheet! Gonna go crazy and say Maccready from the thing, xena from xena and anthy from utena!

Thank you!

Maccready:

lmao I love this dark horse suggestion, but unfortunately I have very little to say about him other than he serves the story very well. I love The Thing, but I've never really thought much about the characters beyond how well they move the story along so I can enjoy the ride and see more cool fucked up puppets lol.

Xena was answered here.

Anthy:

She's a great character! Ofc she works best as part of a dynamic, toxic relationships are basically the premise of the show and you love to see them. (I mean arguably maybe that means she works best alone, but yk, not when it comes to me being entertained.) I love her growth at the end, but I also love her arc in terms of the slow reveal that she's a lot more fucked up than you expected. My favourite thing about her is probably how dark she can be, that she's not a perfect victim. I'm thinking I'd never want to meet her in terms of I wouldn't want to be stuck in the Ohtori... metaphor lol, but I suppose after she escapes she'd be fine to know, so maybe I shouldn't have crossed that off. Oh well.