#yeah idk reminds me a lot of shows that either just ended or like never got another season and you were left with plot threads

[taupewolfy]

houses of owls making me feel exactly like i did when fucking storm hawks and symbiotic titan ended

[genericpuff]

bit out of nowhere but LO Hades reminds me so much to Bojack Horseman idk how to explain it

Oh we've talked about this extensively in the ULO chat circles n such, especially when it comes to the most climactic scene in the show, the second interview:

The entire tone of the show showcases a very bitter reality with a lot of celebrities and people in power. There are some messed up things that happen throughout the course of the show, but they always feel like they're being used for comedy or brushed under the rug with comedy, because the show is, after all, a comedy. But I feel like that was the point, because it's not until the final season that everything that happened throughout finally catches up to Bojack, and suddenly... it's not funny anymore. There's no punchline. It really reflects just how much people in power don't see their abuse or wrongdoings as "big deals", sometimes they even see it as "just some funny thing that happened", all while the onlookers and victims of their behavior and abuse either become so acquainted with it they don't even see it as abuse anymore until they finally break away from it (Diana, Todd, Princess Caroline, etc.) OR they fight to be heard while the media tries to snuff them out. So then when the consequences finally catch up to them, there are no laughs to be heard, as much as the perpetrator in question may try their best to pass it off as "not a big deal" or believe they shouldn't be held accountable because "it happened a long time ago".

Anyone who sees Biscuits Braxby as the villain here is missing the overall point - Bojack has been responsible for literally ruining people's lives on several occasions, and has never been held accountable.

And yeah, I see a lot of that in LO as well, but the issue is the framing of the story isn't making it clear if it's actually going to have its "Come to Jesus" moment with Hades and Persephone, or if it's just gonna keep celebrating them as the heroes.

There were no consequences for Hades pulling out Alex's eye. They played the resolution out for comedy.

There were no consequences for Persephone turning Minthe into a mint plant. They played the scenario out for comedy literally by the end of the very same episode and then well into the next one.

There were no consequences for Persephone cornering Tori at his job. The entire thing was played up for comedy.

There were no consequences for Persephone raiding Leuce's home. She was rewarded with sex from Hades and it was, you guessed it, played up for comedy.

Just like with Bojack Horseman, we don't see Hades or Persephone treat these situations as seriously as they ought to. They ultimately don't care how other people feel or how they may be affected by their own actions, they only care about themselves. Just like with Bojack, we see Hades enter sexual relationships with women who are in a much weaker position than him, women who stand to lose far more than he would if the relationship went south.

(I need you all to realize that Hades is literally blackmailing her. He is trying to pay her off with a management position or some kind of severance and framing it in such a way to manipulate her into thinking it's 'better' for her that she take the deal, all for the sake of getting her out of the picture because he's with Persephone now. This is blackmail. And the narrative wants us to root for Hades here.)

Shit, I would argue Bojack is still a better character than Hades and Persephone because we 1.) see how the consequences of his actions do affect him on a deeper level (through his anxiety and self-hatred which he spends a long time wallowing in, making his situation worse, rather than seeking help for) and 2.) he actually does eventually start to seek help, but unfortunately there's only so much one person can do to fix themselves when their actions still haven't been brought to justice and their mindset hasn't truly changed; which is what we see in the final part of the show when, despite Bojack's attempts to be a better person, the Sarah-Lynn case catches up to him, and in his final moments up on that stage with Biscuits Braxby, we see his true nature come out - he thinks being an addict should absolve him from what he's done to others.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Except replace "addict" with "traumatized" as many of Persephone and Hades' actions are swept under the rug with "they went through trauma so it's fine". Despite the fact that other characters who have also been through trauma aren't given that same grace (Thanatos, Demeter, Minthe, etc.)

You could also go a step further and call out how the fans themselves will defend their actions as "but they're gods!!! gods were terrible all the time in the myths!" but isn't it funny how myth accuracy only ever comes up when it comes to defending Hades and Persephone? Meanwhile you'll never see anyone bring it up when it comes to Apollo SA'ing Persephone, or Hades having an emotional affair with Persephone, or any of the other number of things that Rachel rewrote for her 'retelling'. It's not funny haha, it's funny yikes.

I can only imagine how the fans feel seeing Hades and Persephone called out must be similar to how first-time viewers like myself felt seeing Bojack be put on the cross by Biscuits Braxby - "you're being an asshole, he's working on himself!" "leave him alone!!!" "the media is making a monster out of him!" "he's really not THAT bad!"

But he is. They are. And unlike Bojack Horseman, I unfortunately can no longer have the good faith in believing Hades and Persephone will have their comeuppance, or the people they've hurt will get their retribution. I have no hope that Persephone will see that she's the Sarah-Lynn of the relationship, a girl who was groomed into an abuser at the hands of an abuser, who had no chance of doing better because the person she fell for pulled her down to his level. I don't have any faith in Rachel whatsoever that she'll manage to end this story with any message besides "it's fine for Persephone and Hades to be who they are, because they're rich and powerful and really horny for each other!"

And Hades doesn't think he has any power over women.

[melrosing]

Ok speaking of changes GOT made… is there any changes you like? I struggle to find big moments, but there are small additions I love. Like Ned praying before he dies, Robb hitting the tree when he finds out, the chemistry that Kit Harrington and Rose Leslie have…. But there are very few structural changes I think improve the story.

hmmm so I can't lie there is a LOT I just don't remember anymore about the show, so wringing my mind a little to come up with something.....

I won't mention things that I think were adapted well (like Ned's execution) as those aren't adaptational changes. and I also won't mention things that I like the idea of (e.g. Jaime's dyslexia) but not the execution (they made out it was part of the longrunning 'stupidest Lannister' joke).

and like.... well I'm stuck already lmao?? I'm not even trying to shit on the show I just feel like it was a consistent exercise in either understating GRRM's work or butchering it entirely. so I can think of only a few things:

I can't find the link to where I talked about this at length but the scene in which Jaime and Ned duel in the streets of KL was a good one imo. I think it was more in character for Jaime to just recklessly fight Ned himself, and a neat parallel to what I suspect will happen between Ned, Arthur and Howland - in that when Ned is attacked from behind by one of Jaime's men in the midst of their fight, Jaime angrily ends the duel bc his man has essentially dishonoured it. I think Ned's fight with Arthur will end as it did in the show (with Howland stabbing Arthur from behind and Ned finishing the job, bc he needs to reach Lyanna), and this is like a parallel to show Jaime and Ned have the same principles, yet each have broken them in times of desperation. My personal theory is that this was a change GRRM recommended - the parallel seems notable to me, and not one that would've even occurred to D&D, esp. given they never gave any particular shit about Jaime's story. And this may sound spurious but I recall that GRRM remembers in an interview, saying the weather was different in the show version of the scene than in the books.... which makes me think he was maybe onset for this one, possibly because of the rewrite??

I'm v much in favour of ageing up the youngest characters. My ideal starting ages for the youngest characters in AGOT would've been Jon/Robb/Dany - 18, Joffrey/Sansa - 14, Arya - 12, Bran - 10. To me they all feel much too young for the roles they play in the story, and it occasionally kills my suspension of disbelief

I way prefer the book’s version of the Red Wedding but I do feel like Catelyn's single cry of despair works better than the book's manic laughter. maybe the laughter was a more vivid image for the books idk

I do actually like how we see Robb's grief onscreen it's very movingly played by Richard Madden. I also love Catelyn's expressions as Robb rides back from the Whispering Wood, like both these scenes are great reminders of their mother/son relationship in a setting where they aren't really allowed to be just that. and like just Michelle Fairley tbh I really like her work as Catelyn even though I don't like how the character was adapted more generally

Breaking the 'concept but not execution' rule just to say I think it was definitely a good idea to explore the High Sparrow as this weirdly charismatic figure so we can see how others might be taken in by him, even whilst we see the extremes of his faith. but that subplot was not executed well at all so fuck it

Yeah I agree that Jon and Ygritte having a slightly more charged romance also works. In the books Ygritte comes and goes quite quickly and I think there is something to be said for lending a bit more gravity to that relationship. I don't think they necessarily had to be the grand romance that the show makes them out to be but I didn't hate it

I might be forgetting other things that worked because some seasons I haven't seen since like 2015, but honestly it just doesn't work for me as an adaptation. things I liked in the show before reading the books feel completely naff in hindsight, knowing how they were supposed to play out, so..... eh

[abigail]

that prev post reminds of how many times my partner and i almost met throughout our lives before we actually did.. when we first started dating and was just talking about our past and things we’ve done etc we very quickly realised we’ve been so so so close and almost met a ridiculous amount of times, like going to the same small odd event that’s no where near where either of us lived for example (we aren’t from the same town/area btw) because of whatever reason we had to go to that one instead of one closer.

one i think about a lot is the fact we both went to the same gig, that wasn’t near where either of us lived, to see the same band.. but the thing is i didn’t really know the band very well (i hadn’t actually listened to them until that day oops) and i only went to that gig because it was my friends birthday and she asked me to. my partner and i then worked out we were both stood two people apart from each other, both on the left side of the stage, both at barrier in front of the speaker, we then realised the two people between us were our friends we went with. at the end of the show the guitarist threw a few guitar plectrums into the crowd and one landed on the floor in front of the barrier kinda inbetween us both, and we both realised we were shouting at the same security guard to pass it to us. the guy passed it to me and i gave it my friend seeing as it was her birthday. my partner and i didn’t really notice each other or anything but yeah idk.. it’s just the fact we’ve worked out we’ve had similar moments like that so often throughout our lives, almost meeting but never actually, is just so crazy to me .. i sometimes think about if we did properly meet and speak during any of those times and what would’ve happened, where we’d be now etc .. us in another life and all that. idk. anyway time for my morning cup of tea :-)

[rulerzreachf4n7]

I'm trying to say this in THE NICEST WAY possible, toxic shippers have the stupidest reasons for not shipping Huntlow

Heya! Now before I go into this please know I AM NOT a toxic/force shipper, I am not forcing you to ship Huntlow, simply just telling you why your reasons don't make sense and contradict to the canon versions of the characters of the show, and with that let's go

Reason 1: it's not possible for Hunter to trust Willow after Below possed him and in general

Oh. My. Fucking. Titan...Im just going to automatically assume you've never watched Any Sports In The Storm, that one part in Reaching out, Labyrinth Runners, Clouds On The Horizon, Kings Tide or the entirety of s3, I'M LITERALLY TRYING TO BE NICE BUT YOU ARE ACTUALLY FUCKING STUPID, Hunter trusts AND CARES Willow by first, in reaching out, giving her his penstegram account to chat, saving her from getting hurt in clouds on the horizon, yes, it's wasn't actually Luz, it was an illusion, and in the same episode Willow tried to save Hunter (or so she thought it does matter if it's actually Luz it just proves she cares about Hunter) and when Luz got captured by Kiki she was very anxious and hurrying everyone to get to Kiki to save Luz, yet again, don't come at me with just because it was illusion doesn't mean she dosent care about Hunter, she thought it was him, she cares about him a lot cause she was in a hurry to save him (or so she though it was him)! Hunter was comfortable and trusted her to cut his hair in thanks to them, in the same episode he wasn't uncomfortable with Willow holding him after the possession, in for the future HE LITERALLY SAYS HE CARES ABOUT WILLOW, NOT JUST GUS, WILLOW TOO, he comforted her after her breakdown and saved her and Gus, Willow trusts and cares about Hunter in ending of for the future by holding his hand (pinky promis?? Idk what to call it lol) and literally said "Thanks Hunter, you mean a lot to me to" which Hunter replied "yeah...sure, no problem"

Reason 2: they head canon either Hunter, Willow, or both of them as aroace, asexual, or on the spectrum

Oh. My. Titan, did you like know aroace/asexual people can like STILL DATE??? you completely misunderstand the meaning, just because they don't experience ALL ATTRACTION dosent mean THEY WON'T EXPERIENCE ANY, you know what "little to none attraction" means, it fucking means someone who has a bit, A BIT, NOT ZERO, THERE'S STILL A PIECE OF ATTRACTION THEY CAN HAVE FOR SOMEONE, I'm literally trying not to be as toxic as possible but people have the most fucking stupidest reasons

Reason 3: you ship Lunter/huntric/huntmira/boschlow/ect

Well that's fine, but those ships don't make sense in my eyes but I won't write an entire paragraph on why it doesn't make sense (I'm doing it after this post lol 💀💀) and also boschlow is literally toxic pookie it's not the enemies to lovers you want Boscha literally bullied her, if you think that's chemistry you're fucking stupid and never seen the entirety of s1

And hehe silly reason I'd like to add!!

Reason 4: they're bland, don't go well together, rushed, and have no chemistry

Oh my fucking Titan, OMG y'all! Did you know you could uncancel you're own show?! NO YOU CAN'T DUMB FUCK, it was rushed because it WAS FUCKING CANCELLED, SORRY POOKIE DANA CAN'T DO NO SHIT ABOUT IT, it's not like you can get rid of all the episodes and make it hunlow themed, sorry, we can't get all the things we want in life, and by saying that it wouldn't work by the first impression in ASIAS is stupid, sure Willow made a bad first impression but Hunter seemed mildly phased by this other than just being a bit spooked out and startled, and NO, HE DIDN'T JUST DEVELOP A CRUSH ON HER ON SPOT, sure, he could think Willows pretty, but that doesn't mean HE HAS A FUCKING CRUSH ON HER, and people saying that it's not a "half a with Hunter" because Hunters a grimwalker dosent make any sense, may I remind you this was made before hollow mind, he's still convinced he's a powerless witch by Belos lying about it to him, he thinks he's a half a witch while yes looking like a witch on the outside despite having no bile sack, and he doesn't seem to think as himself as weak like Willow does on the other hand, eh, I wouldn't mind if they took out the half a witch, and btw it's not supposed to be a romantical aspect it's supposed to be a similarity, people have also said she's only there to comfort him, even though that's apart of Willows personality, SHE'S THE RELIABLE ONE, LITERALLY SAYING IT IN FTF, she's supposed to comfort people, supposed to be the person everyone rely on, but thats not just her whole personality, based around her reliability, she's so much more than it! People say they think they're both better off as friends in their opinion, it's totally fine! I don't give a shit really, but if you're going to state a reason why you dont think a ship is realistic, then at least watch all the episodes they're in and use some common sense at least! It's the bare minimum!

And that's all!!! I hope you understand and if I made any incorrections please let me know!! I really hate toxic Lunter and huntric shippers, or shippers in general, they just make up excuses instead of saying that huntlow isn't their type of ship or they ship something else, but if you're a multishipper you're totally cool! (Even considered being a multishipper hehe)

[biscuitbakerbecca]

Jared Kleinman for the character asks :)

Favorite Thing About Them

Jared is so bad at communicating he reminds me a lot of myself. I have ODD so it’s a little different, but the man is an asshole in the best way possible. He is petty and gives off angry cat energy in both fandom aspects and canon. Also I appreciate that he never acted against Evan even when he had the opportunity and reason to do so, he threatened it but he kept his mouth shut. Real friend right there <3 (I could tell everyone everything! Okay great! You go ahead! Do that! Tell everyone how you helped write emails pretending to be a kid who killed himself! Fuck you Evan!)

Least Favorite Thing About Them

He doesn’t have enough screen time/show time. People mischaracterize him because his entire character is shoved into as little time as possible. I know I just said that I love how he’s an asshole but he’s more than an asshole. He’s so clearly lonely and more than just an angry kid. At least in the book they made him “hot” in the end but the show and movie pretty much get rid of him come act two

Favorite Line

Kinky!

Just kidding

Asshole!

Okay okay for real this time

Yeah I hate to tell you this Evan, but you may have already perjured yourself.

Isn’t that only when you’re under oath? Like in a courtroom?

Well weren’t you under oath? In a way?

No.

Or from the movie (since I view them as different canons)

Connor took a letter from me. It was an assignment for my therapist.

Ew.

(I’d offer a different line but Jared doesn’t have that many)

BROTP

Jared and Zoe friendship!!! They hate each other they’re best friends they get drunk and cry together!!

Another excerpt of my own writing that explains this. Again my writing quality has gone up since this but oh well:

Connor rolled his eyes, "I'm saying that Evan will always be there, okay? You are so fucking stubborn, and I'm trying to be nice and make you feel better, just say thank you like a decent human being."

"You just made me feel shitty."

Connor threw his hands up, "Fuck! You're impossible!"

Zoe's voice screeched from below, "FUCK OFF! HE IS MY BEST FRIEND!"

— I don’t know what I want, but I need you. Chapter 12

OTP

Either kleinsen or kleinphy. They both have potential. All my kleinsen fics are really fluffy (soulmates, hurt/comfort, etc) and my kleinphy fics are like…rough and angsty (teen parenthood, child abuse, etc) I like both equally, but what I want to read depends on the content I’m looking for as shown by my own writing style

NOTP

Nothing icky like the parents being involved obviously, otherwise Jared/Zoe fics just don’t feel right. Jared is gay. Like he has to be. The book tried telling me he liked boobs and I know Val Emmich lied. Evan was simping at the end for a reason. Jared doesn’t even have to like Evan the man is still gay. Best part of the movie but dear god at what cost? (I did like the movie I swear)

Random Headcannon

Jared has two moms, or his mother is bisexual. I tried writing him with straight parents and every single time it feels kind of wrong

Also he has a cat. Her name is Mayonnaise. Mayo for short.

Unpopular Opinion

Idk if this is unpopular or not but I’m glad they cut Goin’ Viral. It only pushes the he’s an asshole idea and even though I love the song it wouldn’t have helped his characterization. I would have liked for them to properly record the song when they released the deluxe album but apparently Disappear Pt. 2: the duet version was more important.

Also Jared Goldsmith was my favorite Jared actor other than Will Roland. Nothing can beat the Will Roland vibes

Book Jared shouldn’t have ditched his glasses and got buff, they made him too powerful. Evan couldn’t help but fall for him. Let him stay as he is don’t make him conventionally attractive!

Song I Associate With Them

Jared is such a complicated guy. His feelings are deep. He’s cringy but free. I haven’t thought about this in a while hang on…

I imagine that Jared is a pop girlie and this gives the desperate for attention vibes that I usually associate with him

And as for his inherently cringey vibes that I usually give him…

I’m not sorry

Favorite Picture Of Them

Again, we have options…

[kryptonexorcius]

🌷 doing the @baeby-tc TC July stuff in December 'cause yes (now I have time to do everything I want)

1. describe your tc's physical appearance.

🪞: G's a kind of short man, maybe 160cm or 165cm, he's about my Height. I don't know how to explain his physical type, I think he has the typical "dad's body". His hair, omg his hair is perfect, it's short and Straight and has this color mix that reminds me of salt and pepper. Also, he has the most beautiful eyes in the world. They're green, in the sun they get a golden yellowish and in the dark they get a more greenish blue tone.

2. what was the first thing you've ever said to your tc?

🪞: I giggled 'cause the first thing he said to me was that I was such a quiet girl. The second thing was "I also like the Beatles" (he asked me if I liked them, actually I hate them)

3. is your to single or taken? or are you unsure? and are you single or taken?

🪞: G is taken (married) but I'm not sure if he's happy in this relationship at all... When I met him I was kind of dating a boy, but I ended our relationship 'cause I saw that I didn't truly like the boy and didn't want to hurt his feelings (now he's an asshole to me lol), so I'm actually single, UGHHH.

4. is your to more of the athletic type, the nerdy type or the artsy type?

🪞: At first I thought he was just a nerdy and artistic (musician type) man, but I saw him playing volleyball and I can tell y'all, the way he punched that fricking ball, I wish that shit was me

5. if you and your to were in high school together, do you think you'd be friends?

🪞: He was soooo extrovert and I'm pretty introvert, even if I like to talk A LOT with my friends and love company and everything about socialize, it's very hard for me 'cause of some of my life events so I think he would bully me (he actually told us the kind of guy he was when he was younger so I'm pretty sure he would be my bully).

6. name one song that reminds you of your tc and explain why that song reminds you of them.

Dois Rios - Skank (He told us to listen to this song to do a philosophy work and to chat about what that means in some kind of Socrates stuff)

You give love a bad name - Bon Jovi (idk, I just read a book about an age gap relationship and the guy was literally my TC and he enjoyed that song so, yeah)

There's a light that never goes out - The Smiths (He liked the smiths and he also likes that movie w the couple that are not a couple, I hate that movie)

Paparazzi - Lady Gaga (I REFUSE TO EXPLAIN)

7. is your to fashionable or are they more of the simple type? what is one outfit you'd love to see them wear?

🪞: HES SO MINIMALISTIC UGH I HATE THAT. EVERY TIME HES W SOME SOCCER TRAM SHIRT OR SOME SHIT LIKE IT. But I wish he wore these clothes everyday:

8. would you be willing to become a teacher and teach your tc's subject if it meant you two could be together?

🪞: For sure! I mean, I have a lot of options to teach because he teaches me a lot of subjects but I would love to help him give a science politics class 🥹

9. does your to drink or smoke?

🪞: Neither

10. name one item that is always on your tc's desk.

🪞: His red pencil case and those fineliner bic pen

11. has your tc ever done anything that has either thrown you off, annoyed you, angered you or bothered you in any way? if so, what did they do?

🪞: Yes, everytime. When he ignores my opinions about some kind of project or when he was just so insensitive when I literally told him the most significant thing in my life and that made me cry a lot and I told him I never talked about it with anyone, even w my family and he just stood there like I was only talking bullshit but when one of my friends cried cause she lost a SOCCER GAME he fucking HUGGED HER 👹👹

12. does your to have any past jobs that you know of, before becoming a teacher?

🪞: He was a tour guide, a music journalist and did something like analyzing music shows.

13. does your tc have kids or siblings? if so, how many?

🪞: He has a son (he told everyone that it was an unwanted kid and he never wanted to be a dad but when his kid or his wife is near he acts like he's soooo proud, idk what to think about it) and he has an older brother.

14. are you taking your tc's class next year?

🪞: Yes, I have no option ahaha

15. has your tc ever met your parents? if you were there, what was the meeting like?

🪞: Yup, we have parents and teachers council. Also, my father was a teacher where I study and my TC was one of his friends, he actually liked to chat w my father a lot, maybe my own father was his father figure lol (even if my father is like, one year older than him). When he met my mother he came to tell me this like a dog when it sees their owner.

16. has your to ever given you detention? if so, what was it like?

🪞: Nope, thanks god

17. has your tc ever failed you? if so, how did you react? if not, how would you react?

🪞: I don't think so. But I would be so sad and mad at the same time. Silent treatment probably would be what I would do 'cause that's what hurts me, but I wouldn't talk w him, even if it was for school purposes.

18. what are your tc's hobbies/interests? are they similar to yours?

🪞: He enjoy to listen to music (don't play anything, but I do play piano, bass, guitar and I sing), he liked to read (me too ahaha), go out to bars (even if he don't drink, but he only that the ones that have shows)

19. have you ever spoken on the phone with your tc? what did you talk about?

🪞: I never made a call w him. We just text each other sometimes. The first time he texted me was to thank me for going to his class.

20. if you had your tc's class during quarantine, what were your zoom calls like? if not, have you spoken to your tc since quarantine?

🪞: I met him in 2021 🥹

21. if you had the chance to go anywhere in the world with your tc, where would you go? what would you do?

🪞: I would go to Germany, it's my dream since I was a little kid and we would visit every museum we could.

22. does your to have any nicknames for you?

🪞: I don't think so, he never called me anything

23. have you ever cried in front of your tc? why? how did they react?

🪞: Yes; personal problems, classmates problems; HE DID NOTHING BOTH TIMES

24. have you ever walked/drove to/from school with your tc?

🪞: Nope

25. do you know which teachers your tc is friends with at school? if so, do you like those teachers?

🪞: Yes, one of them I don't like and the others I really do like

26. why does your tc's voice sound like?

🪞: It's nothing like a mature man, more like a mature teenager who had a lot of problems to deal in his life.

27. do you like your tc as a teacher? are they a good teacher?

🪞: Yesss, a lot. He's so smart and his classes are very good

28. does your tc prefer books, shows or movies?

🪞: Hard to tell, but I think movies

29. is your tc stern or easy going, in class?

🪞: pretty easy going w who make some effort to make the work he gives good, very strict if they are students who don't want to do anything

30. how would you describe you and your tc's relationship?

🪞: confusing, very confusing. Sometimes he acts like he does care about me but sometimes he just ignores me and I feel like a trash lol

31. do you address your tc by their first or last name?

🪞: by his first name. Where I live it's kind of weird to call them by their last name, it's something very particular. But when I talk to him I call him only teacher and mister, I feel it's too intimate to call him by his name ahaha, he never gave me that freedom.

[oddinary8ni]

Unveil track 1: Megaverse

megaverse: a collective group of universes, which are close together and a small part of the entire multiverse.

this could be telling us about the other skz we have seen previously.

like police skz from case 143

or evil skz from oddinary

or maybe even criminal skz from 5-star

bangchan - he's making bombs, idk what it was called but yeah

lee know - murderer (?)

changbin - vandalism

hyunjin - graffiti

han - graffiti

felix - theft

seungmin - trespassing

jeongin - vandalism

the possibilities are endless as they have always displayed themselves differently in every MV that is produced.

the bass kind of sound at the start kind of reminds me of the sound you hear when the prowler is near from into the spiderverse, also, a megaverse is in ONE multiverse, is that a spiderman reference?

the lyric "jumping between every verse" can either mean their seamless transitioning from song verses or jumping between their universes.

security guard that is going through hell could be the same from all in?

all in mv:

megaverse teaser:

not too sure on this one but just worth noting down.

the part where chan and felix say "jump force", jump force is a video game where villains from anime come together to another world to save it. we all know that skz like anime and have had references in the past, for example, Chan has mentioned that his rap part in 3RACHA has a reference to an anime. this again shows multiverse, or megaverse, whichever you want to call it.

the mirror that transitions between chan and felix. why is it important? well, they say that the reflection of the mirror shows you but on the other side of the multiverse.

the elevator could also be referencing to hellevator, and of course, the floor they land on is 8. That has been there in their mvs frequently, but is it just because there are 8 members or is it a code? Like 8 letters is all it takes? That code was 'I love you' but it could also mean 'Stray kid', as in one person in skz could be evil and sacrificing (?) them would be all it takes. Just a thought.

the hallway where changbin's part is happening kind of reminds me of social path

megaverse teaser:

social path:

the growl (?) towards the end (before 'welcome to the stray kids hot megaverse' is repeated) sort of reminds me of the tiger sound from miroh.

maybe the security guard was guarding the place/universe bc you can see computers there and skz had to harm him to get into the universe?

(the background shows the computers, focus on that. hyunjin good sir please stop distracting all of us. you have no right to look that fine 😭)

the set up at the start is kind of similar to freeze and case 143. freeze because of the computers and mafia-vibe, case 143 because it looks similar to a police station's office.

freeze and megaverse:

case 143 and megaverse:

the security guard falling through the glass in megaverse, felix falling through the glass in oddinary.

skz have referenced their previous mvs a lot in this teaser. are they defining the multiverse as the track's name is megaverse? or is it just me being a clown and reading too much into it?

the lyric "run from along the gods" or something like that. people have been saying that along the gods is a movie defining between earth and heaven (or wherever a higher deity would be) so is skz referencing that or is it nothing?

we never know.

[lollytea]

Can't stop thinking about Gus in wonder by the human realm. Both normal everyday objects that he never considered how they could/would work without magic and things like megastructures which he couldn't imagine being created without magic. I just like the idea of this kid reintroducing magic into the world, not that it was ever gone, but we've just forgotten it's there. Like, Hell yeah the animal kingdom is wonderous and awe inspiring and it *is* incredible what humanity has accomplished!

I've always been so endeared with Gus's pure joy and fascination for the Human Realm. I love how his room is completely filled to the brim with all his precious treasures. Reminds me so much of Ariel's Grotto. He could probably spend hours pouring over his possessions trying to puzzle out the mystery of them, and though he doesn't always have answers, sometimes the fun is in the figuring out part. The Human Realm truly is an enigma.

That doesn't mean he isn't pumped to finally get his answers though. I believe that Gus simply has to live in the Human Realm for a few years when he gets a little older. He needs that time to take in all these new and exciting things.

He wants to see the whole human world. He's obsessed with the Pyramids, with Easter Island, with the Colosseum, with the Taj Mahal, with all these big and magical places he's read about. Astronauts who've been to space in rocket ships!! Scientists who've made breakthroughs in concepts Gus cannot begin to comprehend but he fully intends to change that. Magicians with not a drop of real magic in their blood but their very own human style of dazzling an audience. Circus performers!! Broadway stars!! Rodeos!! Zoos!! Aquariums!! Movies!! Cartoons!! Gus will find the magic in all of this.

I like to imagine that if he does live in the Human Realm for a while, he makes a lot of friends. Idk if he'll be allowed to give away his witchy identity yet but either way, he will be so adored by people just because of this never ending enthusiasm for the most mundane things. He makes people's day brighter.

Hes got this this one friend named Mikey who collects model trains who's always had to deal with people calling it a silly hobby. Gus shows up at his house and is immediately transfixed by the mechanics of them and listens to Mikey explain with rapt attention. "I can see why you're obsessed with these things. They're the coolest!!"

He has a friend named Jessica who collects 70s memorabilia. Gus is her biggest hype man. He wants to know everything about the 70s and how these "record" things work. Jess is delighted to fill him in.

No matter your unconventional interest, Gus will be just as invested in it as you are. He loves humans because every one of them comes with an untapped well of knowledge. For Gus, the Human Realm is a world full of surprises. Like constantly turning over stones and finding more and more of it. He can never get enough.

Camila loves having him around. Especially in the mornings when she's tired and still hasn't had her coffee, and the toaster pops and Gus bursts into tears, utterly moved. "Beautiful....just beautiful..." and Camila has to smile.

Gus loves the Human Realm and the Human Realm would love Gus too.

[gmmtv-bl-tournament-but-evil]

I'm never around for the drama that unfolds bts since i don't hang around in the fandom much. so these are my (mostly) unbiased opinions lol

when i see comments saying cps don't have chemistry in dramas i end up confused because i enjoyed their drama because of how good they were romantically lmao even if the plot is weak. but honestly im not the best judge at that because if i don't vibe with the drama, i usually say it's not my type and move on. the fact that the plot could be at fault never crosses my mind until i see others opinion [looks at hidden agenda] (im sorry HA enjoyers im glad you liked it but it wasn't my type)

probably why i was able to enjoy bbs and its our skyy 2 and thought ohmnanon had strong chemistry. it was only after our skyy 2 did i know about their "break up" and that was very weird to me because they seemed pretty good friends in the bts I've seen. i wasn't a fan but i did like them a lot. And then i see comments saying they did not have chemistry in our skyy 2 which always gets me cause wdym they didn't look like they were in love

another one would be jimmysea in vice versa that some seemed to think got no chemistry either which i don't agree with because while the plot was all over the place with the constant ads, i never felt like they weren't into each other. i struggled through the drama because i wanted to see them end up together cause they were cute af. saw someone say it's probably because they don't fit the uke/seme stereotype which could be it? idk. I'm not a fan of the actors but im glad they got last twilight cause they seem to be nailing their roles in it.

unpopular opinion im guessing but i thought perthchimon had romantic chemistry in dr. i won't say it's strong like others but i watched it for them so. the theme didn't remain the same after ep 2 but a cute bl is up my alley so I wasn't that disappointed lol. though they can't kiss for shit lmao but im not the one to shame them and i hope they get better at it if they have another bl. i watched nlmg after and chopper stole the show for me. i liked both of them in it too (more than the mls but it's mainly because i couldn't stand their dynamic. phuwin character being whiney and having pond character fall for him again annoyed me because it reminds me of futs and i was against them ending up together in it lmao. i just wasn't able to get into nlmg much. genuinely no offense im glad there are others who enjoy them fr)

discourses online say all these cps were too bro-like which i get why but as a fellow gay man, this does happen irl. I've had people who were shocked at the fact that my partner and i were actually dating because we act like bros lmfao. and tmi, but who cares, im often called a twink irl. anygays these three really stood out to me because i liked them a lot in their shows so yeah i had to drop an ask since prev anons were discussing this lol

I get where you’re coming from, I'm also someone who doesn't engage in fandom very assidiously although my desire to know everything about everything means I usually know what's going on regardless whether I particularly want to or not. A lot of information seems to just randomly fall into my lap!

I partly agree with people who say that the OhmNanon chemistry was somewhat diminished in Our Skyy 2 though not so dramatically that it wasn't enjoyable.

Agreed on JimmySea and Vice Versa, I don't actively hate it but most of the reason I stayed was them. Those ads truly did some damage there. Last Twilight, though, holy shit! I would now kill and die for JimmySea. I really don't know if their distance from the usual relationship roles had anything to do with their popularity - or lack thereof -, it's really not something that had occurred to me before now, so thank you for that fresh perspective!

Yeah, Dangerous Romance wasn't excellent but I've seen much much worse and while it's true there's a lot of room for improvement ("PerthChimon can't kiss for shit" got a genuine laugh out of me), they weren't completely unsalvageable.

As for PondPhuwin, Phuwin does seem to get that type of character a lot and in terms of their dynamic, it can get old fast. I will say, though, that FUTS had me laughing irl a lot so I tend to hold a little more affection for it than I do NLMG. But that's just me.

And hell yeah for that last part! The discourse that pisses me off the most about BL is when people get upset about couples in stories not conforming to their idea of what a relationship should look like. If I'm being completely honest, I think GMMTV tends to use the same dynamic more often than other production houses which I sometimes find extremely frustrating because when something new and different comes out a lot of people get upset it doesn't align to the standard GMMTV sets by virtue of being arguably the most popular producer of BL.

[shadowsong26x]

And here we are with BSG mix 3 of 3 from Ye Olde Days of like 2010-2012 XD Previously I’ve talked about my Season Three mix, Days Upon Our Knees and my Cylon ship mix, Heart of the Machine.

This one is a Baltar/Six mix; generally focusing on Head!Six and Caprica. I did remember a couple of the tracks going in (one because it was an actual Bad Choice--the only one on all three of these mixes that I don’t think should be there at all--and a couple that were good ones. But a lot of it I hadn’t remembered, so it was nice to go through it!

Also, at the end of the Actual List of 14 tracks, there’s a list of songs I’d include now if I were making it (and/or I’m Considering making another one and most if not all of them would be on it.)

All right, let’s get to it!

1/touch (clay aiken)      ah, this one. i can’t say it doesn’t fit them (because it does), but it’s. uh. this was my song for ‘yes these two have a lot of enthusiastic sex’ and i definitely could’ve done better here XD that being said, i do like it for them? the angel references are always a bonus.

2/voodoo child (rogue traders)      i actually think this is one of the better fits on this mix. and yes, like many people in general fandom/online circles at the time, i picked it up from that one doctor who episode But it’s now...way more associated with these two (specifically caprica’s confession/the attack) than that. there was also something of a fanvid in my head (i was never able to make fanvids lol), and i particularly remember that the transition from the first verse into the chorus lined up with that One Specific Shot of her pushing him down as the house explodes around them. so there it is.

3/i’ll be seeing you (linda eder)      i mean. how could i not, lol (this was the first version i had; i was given a whole album of her broadway covers. also i always forget that this song technically comes from a broadway show....and yes, i am aware that it’s also on the s3 mix in a completely different context but Still.)

4/devil inside (inxs)      i think this actually should’ve been before track two, and i’m not sure why it’s here instead? but yeah it’s that reminder of ‘look i love these two they are 10000% my blorbos but they are. not great people’

5/gone with the wind (international victim)      another song that i still like for them, but this one i think is too early in the mix. i mean, we’re not...super chronological here, for this middle part of the mix, but this lines up with gaius in the back half of s3, so having it This Early in the mix feels off to me now.

6/protege-moi (placebo)      so i also use this song for anakin skywalker XD and while i actually don’t think gaius makes the best parallel there (that would be my best beloved athena), the song fits both of them so here we are. it’s definitely not one that developed Such a strong association Elsewhere that it ruined it for anything else, anyway.

7/liken a razor (adam pascal)      this one’s more about head!six, i think. it’s not my favorite on the mix, but i can’t say it doesn’t work/doesn’t belong. it hits that combination of fear and need/worship pretty well.

8/she’s always a woman (billy joel)      the first of two songs that can best be summed up with ‘i love you despite the warning signs.’ XD this one, again, mostly about head!six, but also kind of about caprica in the sense that...while they were together, the first time they were together, she actively planned to murder him and not just everyone he ever loved, but everyone he ever knew or could have known, using him to do it, and yet he can’t help remembering the way she smiled, the way they argued about idk obscure math theorems, spending lazy mornings in bed with her talking about everything and nothing...yep. yep yep yep. ((there will be more on this subject in either this month’s or (more likely) april’s fill for the otp meme))

9/he’s a tramp (lady and the tramp)      i really don’t have much to say about this one except...like...can you really say it shouldn’t be here XD (and yes, this is the second ‘i love you despite the warning signs’ pick.)

10/not me (aida)      a transition song, starting to come back from their estrangement. the more i listen to it, the more i like it here? although again, slightly out of order; it would need to be switched with the next one except...

11/antebellum (vienna teng)      this is the Mistake Track. and not just because this song is now Inextricably linked with satine and bo-katan kryze (but their relationship is not the subject of this essay, lol). but i think even before i got back into star wars/clone wars, i was having second thoughts about this one. the problem is, this song was supposed to be during their separation. when it’s not like they don’t love each other anymore (they never really stopped; witness how caprica continues to respond to head!baltar), but after everything that happened--with new caprica, with d’anna, with...just...everything...does that really matter anymore? and it’s really fucking hard to find a breakup song that hits right for the two of them. most of them are too angry or too bleak, or not angry or bleak for the right versions. antebellum comes close, because it’s a ‘what was and could have been but will never be again’ sort of thing but...it just. doesn’t work. i did not transfer it to my ipod with the rest of the mix, and while i do want a song for that particular part of their story...the mix as a whole does work without it.

12/casanova’s waltz (drew sarich)      and once again, i cheated in terms of my ‘don’t repeat artists’ rule. XD but i do like this song in terms of him choosing to dedicate himself entirely to their relationship, even after everything. ...and being a dramatic little shit about it, naturally XD

13/save the best for last (a capella/vanessa williams)      and this is her taking him back. the version i have is an unsourced a capella version i got on a cd a member of my high school shakespeare troupe gave all of us when he graduated a year before i did, so...who the hell knows, i just have it marked as ‘a capella.’ but yeah, i like it, it fits things here, and there’s that sense of ‘finally we’re on the same page for the first time in our Entire Relationship, we can move forward together now.’

14/i believe (altar boyz)      i love this song. and i love it for them. i wrote a quick fic a while back (that really needed to be two), but it’s about the way the two of them come together, they work together, because love, their love, is about choosing one another and forgiving one another, and, well, believing in one another. it’s just. a good place to leave them, a great song for where they landed. also iirc it’s Not Weird because in context this song is in fact about the band itself/Each Other. not jesus

And now, some additional songs I’d probably put on a playlist for them if I was making one now. If the prior mix skewed more Baltar’s POV outside of the shared-POV songs, I think this one skews more Caprica (or at least I tried). There’s also a lot less Head!Six.

This is not what I would call a Complete mix. There’s some redundancy in terms of moments/aspects of their relationship that are covered, and there are other gaps involved (in particular, I don’t have anything with even Vague Pretentions to being a Sex Song like ‘Touch’ was for the prior list). Also I feel like it’s not super balanced in terms of Tone. But it’s a starting point, anyway. Accordingly, these aren’t numbered and the order, while vaguely chronological, is by no means set in stone.

what am i feeling/galavant      played Completely Straight in a Very Different Way than the original context; this is caprica starting to realize that she’s falling for her own honey trap.

if i loved you/carousel      this is basically the ‘the things men do for love’ scene (or her asking ‘do you love me’ in the miniseries). they’ve each independently realized they love the other (though not that it’s mutual) but Saying That Out Loud Lol No Why Would I Do That (would it necessarily be this cover? no, this was just the first that came up on youtube, lol. but also it’s hard to go wrong with these two singers sooooo maybe XD)

your love is my drug/ke$ha      tell me i’m wrong XD (this might not go on a baltar/six mix Specifically, if only because i had vague plans at one point for doing a six mix of Entirely Ke$ha Songs, one for each notable six, in part because of this Perfect Fit, and in part because applying ‘blow’ to corinne/armistice station!six is just So Perfectly Terrible i couldn’t resist XD)

blonde over blue/billy joel      this probably would’ve made the first list if it weren’t redundant in terms of both the point it’s making (which is covered by...a couple of different ones) and artist, but...yep.

bad romance/lady gaga      again, tell me i’m wrong. this one, the ‘you’re a criminal as long as you’re mine’ line hits particularly hard for these two. also is it just me or are Some of the ways she’s styled in this video kind of...Hitting Some Familiar Visual Notes........

my immortal/evanescence      okay but hear me out XD like, yes, this song is Notoriously Cringe but a) i have no shame at this point in my fandom career and b) these two--when they’re together--have this blend of Melodrama and Painfully Awkward Sincerity and there is no band (or song) which hits that note quite as well as this one. also the lyrics actually fit pretty well if you pay attention to them so shut up, don’t at me, it’s on the list.

silent symphony/drew sarich      this one is about their first reunion, on new caprica, and there’s...a lot of Thoughts i have about that, about how the love is there and it is real, but with Everything Else going on it’s just...there’s a level of Desperation going on, too. and i haven’t been putting full lyric transcriptions in these summaries (because they’re long enough without them lol) but a couple lines stand out: ‘thank god for the night/pushing the complications from sight/hushing our battle drums til the sunlight/tosses a problem from every direction’; ‘you still see a man who knows wrong from his right’; ‘come on and quiet down/and wrap your arms around me/calmly for now’; ‘if i can’t see your eyes/then i can hear you breathe/and we can find a warm, firm platform to plan from’

how to save a life/grey’s anatomy cast      look this is the version i heard in full first and i like it so shut up and bear with me. anyway, this is a companion to the last one, because it’s about the way he pulls away from her, and the way she tries for as long as she can, and their relationship just falls apart during the first half of season 3, even when they’re trying Desperately to make it work. again, not doing the full lyrics, but the end of the first verse in particular jumps out at me: ‘between the lines of fear and blame/you begin to wonder why you came.’

model prisoner/adam pascal     i thought of this when i was writing up ‘liken a razor’ above. i almost didn’t add it, mostly because a) trying to focus more on caprica’s pov; and b) trying to make it more her and less head!six and the second verse is particularly head!six, but...it works. and adds a different Tone Color to the mix, i think, which is Useful/Helpful. i don’t know why i went for liken a razor instead of this one on the first mix, since at least now i think this is a better fit, but here we are.

style/taylor swift      this is actually the song that got me contemplating doing a second mix for these two, way back before i even tracked down the original one and listened to it all the way through again. i was listening to it and it had kind of the right Vibe, and then i got to the second verse. stopped. backtracked to the beginning, and went, ‘well, shit.’ and i kind of like this as a closing track. it kind of fits the same moment/hits the same note as ‘save the best for last,’ except...not exactly. it couldn’t go any earlier than their final reconciliation, though. but it also feels a little...lackluster, almost? for their happy ending. i feel like i want to end on a more optimistic note.

make our garden grow/candide      so this one is a Hard Maybe, and only made this post when i was realizing that ‘style’ doesn’t quite hit the note i want for an Ending song. this song was actually the closer for my hypothetical s4 mix--but it does mooooostly seem to focus on these two so maybe this would be a better place? (no, cunegonde’s verse doesn’t really fit in either case but the first and third do) and even if the lyrics are no more optimistic than style, the Tone of the song is a little better...although now i’m second-guessing it even more, lol. well, i’ll leave it here for y’all to have Opinions about if you so choose XD

and also i’d throw a different cover of ‘i’ll be seeing you’ on there (and possibly title the mix I’ll Be Seeing You (Again) because well i think i’m funny) because Come On.

[gossip-girl-of-middleearth]

Please tell me what you think of Rings of Power. I am deeply suspicious of it (haven’t seen it yet) and yours is the only opinion I trust

Okay, so, is it a greatly-written fantastic show that lives up to Tolkien’s books and Peter Jackson’s adaptations in terms of quality? No. Is it as shitty a hellfire that it deserves to rot in a dark damp cell as we previously thought it would be? Also no.

The writing sucks mostly and it comes across a little contrived where I think they’re going for “deep” and “insightful” in some cases, and they really have some weird ass storylines developing (they basically wrote Celeborn out with a “idk man he went to war and never came back anyway what you doing later tonight g” line) but I can almost understand that as they don’t have rights to a lot of the source material.

The dialogue is cheesy and feels like CBS-level writing sometimes, but honestly if you don’t take it too seriously a little cheese is good for the soul.

The characters themselves are actually pretty good. They didn’t just go for the classic “elf falls in love with mortal girl” trope that could otherwise be applied to a thousand terrible fanfictions, but rather “immortal elf shares deep mutual respect and affection for mortal woman and doesn’t enforce said emotions onto said mother and her son, but rather respects their boundaries and presents himself as an otherwise great partner and healthy step-father figure to this young soldier boy), and other relationships are also well done, such as Elrond and Durin.

Elrond himself in this adaptation is actually fantastic despite the short hair and is so genuinely hitting all the marks that he almost reminds me of book Elrond more than Hugo, but both are amazing in the roles for the different parts of Elrond’s life they’re depicting.

Hated Galadriel at first because she was your typical overly-done girlboss but she’s gotten some good development towards the end

Adar is a dilf and fuck everyone the man makes some political sense, he’s just the accidentally elected leader of his people and is tryna find a home for them, go off king but uh the volcano is a bit much

Nori is essentially Frodo in this timeline but she’s cool and I dig her vibe and every big story needs that Luke Skywalker boy from next door character to ground it so I really like the Harfoot story

Uhhh im running out of things to talk about

Oh yeah everything happening in Numenor is awesome, the set looks great and the characters are fantastic. BRB crying about Isildur knowing what happens to him but he’s so young and optimistic and full of life in this story, also just realised he’s totally gonna meet Elrond in this show because they become lava buds later

Idk if this is actually a helpful answer anymore I’m just ranting while I wait for my tea to cool

Halbrand is hot and I’m sincerely hoping he’s Sauron like everyone thinks he is

But look, at the end of the day, Amazon has got so much money they’re gonna keep making this thing. They’re already filming season 2.

The season finale is this week and there’s only 8 episodes a season all together. It’s accessible (from a piracy point of view) and a nice little break every Friday you can treat yourself to

The world already sucks so if you wanna escape into fresh scenes of Middle-earth just tune in every Friday, fuck what everyone thinks man you just gotta do you, if you wanna watch it, give it a go, it’s not great but it’s not terrible either

[drbatsponge]

Batgirls #14 review...

Disclaimer: this is basically a review I did on dead app (Amino) for Batgirls #14 because yes I have an audience there surprisingly, but I'm copy and pasting it here to see if people like my reviews idk.

...

Hey hey everyone, so as you know it's Cassandra's birthday, and what better to do than review a rather recent comic that came out that's all about her?

I will start this by preferencing that I haven't gotten through all of my Batgirls reviews on here yet, you all know I've really only given you my reviews of the first two issues.

It's safe to say that the book has had its fair share of controversy from time to time, as you all know from my previous blog on my problems with the series:

Though I will say that the recent issues of it have been pretty decent all around.

Not that I hated the first few issues (aside from 7 and 8, but that's a whole other can of worms to open), but I have a feeling that the book has finally found its footing as of late and is actually doing more of what I had expected from it.

And issue #14 has to be a pretty exceptional issue in my personal opinion, this issue is definitely the best one in the series so far and is probably one of the best Cass stories I have ever read. (Or seen? Idk, it's a silent issue for the most part, lol.)

And that's certainly saying something.

Now this is a silent issue, so it has no dialogue (at least not until the end but you'll see what that's all about...), meaning that the visuals are what make the issue, and well it's safe to say they got that right.

The main artist they got for this particular issue is Jonathan Case and his art is just really spectacular.

A problem with Batgirls is it does have a hard time tying down an artist, at least ever since Jorge Corona left the series, but I've never had a problem with the other artists on the series, though they had slight imperfections that would bug me even if nitpicky.

Like Neil Googe draws Cass and Steph a little bit younger than they're supposed to be and Robbi Rodriguez's movements for the characters are often too stiff for my liking.

But Case gets everything right.

Cass is drawn looking her age and the actions she takes are conveyed perfectly.

I mean what can I say the art is just gorgeous throughout the entire issue, I really hope Jonathan Case comes back to do another issue of Batgirls after this because they're just great.

Now the plot of the issue is pretty easy to explain, Cassandra is basically looking for Steph who had been kidnapped by her father in the prior issues of the series.

(This entire issue reminded me a LOT of Cassandra's stories that happened during the War Games saga, I actually plan on writing another review today on a particular comic that came out during that time.)

Cass at a point opens the letter that Steph leaves her to either see if it has a clue, or because at that point she thinks it's too late, but the letter contains a rather shocking confession

You are reading that right, Stephanie Brown quite literally admitted she has feelings for Cass.

And seeing how Cass reacted, it's possible she might return those feelings back.

Now I'm not sure if this confirms StephCass, we'll have to wait and see what happens in the upcoming issues, but yeah I hope this means what I think it means.

Now, of course I can't close out this review without mentioning the special appearance from Cassandra's dear mommy.

Yeah you had to see the full sequence because it's just 😍.

(Tumblr's image limit unfortunately prevented me from actually showing the full thing. 😭)

But yeah, all in all this is a REALLY good issue of Batgirls and I definitely recommend people pick it up even if you've had problems with the series.

It's just a passionate love letter to the character of Cassandra imo, and tbh I think this story will be remembered as one of her best for quite some time.

So, an obvious 10/10 from me. :)

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this review of Batgirls #14 from me!

As always stay tuned! Same bat-time, same bat-channel!

You can find the Amino version of this review here:

[being-of-rain]

Legal notes from my court-appointed Classic Who watchthrough. This time season 23, The Trial of a Time Lord.

The Trial of a Time Lord reminds me of Flux in New Who in a lot of ways. Both are shorter seasons that have a unique and more prominent story structure. And idk if it’s the neurodivergent in me or the writer in me (or both), but I really love an interesting and strong story structure that shows itself off, so I really love Trial and Flux in theory. I like some of them in practice too! But oh boy do both stories have their weaknesses, especially in their endings, that could’ve been fixed with some planning and editing and good writing. Though to be fair, both had reasons that accounted for some of their messiness- Trial’s final story saw the death of its author partway through and his first replacement quitting, and Flux was made during the COVID pandemic. So yeah, I have a soft spot for Trial of a Time Lord. Putting the Doctor on trial so they watch videos of his adventures to debate is perhaps a little on the nose on the meta level... but I’m fine with on the nose themes, and it’s a great premise just on its own, so whatever. I’ve heard people say they get sick of the trial scenes and I can’t say I’ve ever agreed. It’s a fun gimmick and there’s not that much of it compared to the rest of the story, it’s just a shame that eventually they stop having anything particularly interesting to say in them. But honestly I’d always be happy to watch some Doctor Who that randomly pauses sometimes to have Six give commentary on how good he’s doing or how much the Time Lords suck.

The Mysterious Planet isn’t the most gripping story ever and goes a bit slow, but honestly it’s a solid start to the series. The introduction to the trial is a great build-up, and the shot of the space station at the start is obviously wonderful. Six and Peri’s relationship being a little softer is nice (though, like most of their soft moments last season, it kinda looks like that character development was down to Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant working hard to deliver the script in a way that makes the characters watchable. I’ll never understand why the writers thought the Tardis team fighting and bullying each other all the time would make for a fun show). Glitz and Dibber are very funny, so are a lot of the Doctor’s interactions with most characters. Setting up the mystery of the sleepers and why the Time Lords want to censor what they found is the sort of story arc Classic Who had never really tried before, and I love it. And its eventual answer of people stealing secrets from Gallifrey itself is a cool payoff. But it does raise the first of many, many questions/holes in the trial plot: why on Earth did the Valeyard choose this story to show as evidence? Out of the history of Doctor Who, he chooses the only one the High Council wanted him to keep secret? Also, I don’t like season 23′s theme music. Maybe it fits the court intrigue better than the action-packed early-80s theme, but damnit I just love that action theme. SO catchy.

Mindwarp is.. a mess! I mean it’s meant to be a mess, but apparently nobody working on it knew exactly what was supposed to be happening in it. And that’s not how you make a deliberate mess! Because it shows, and it means I don’t know what was supposed to be happening either! Specifically, the bits where the Doctor goes evil. Was he acting evil to earn the trust of the bad guys, was he actually evil because of something their machine accidentally did to him, or did the Valeyard edit the footage to make him look evil? Or a combination of those? According to Tardis wiki Colin Baker asked the script editor, the writer, and the producer for the answer, but they all said they didn’t know. How is that even possible. The way the Doctor at the trial says he’s starting to half-remember what had happened makes things even more confusing. So... yeah. The story reminds me a lot of Vengeance of Varos. Obviously it’s by the same author and features the same villain, Sil, who still just doesn’t do it for me. Again story feels like it’s being very meta (even more than the rest of the Trial season) and I’m sure you could make some clever observations about it and the way season 22 plays Six as very unlikable, but again it just doesn’t interest me a lot. It’s a bleak serial without a lot to enjoy watching. Brian Blessed is one of the most fun things in it, but I’d rather he was in another story. Peri’s departure is... well, I guess it’s the right story for an exit as brutal as that. I think I prefer making a happy ending out of it, but being left to marry a random warlord is still pretty rough. Still, if there’s one thing that I love in this story, it’s the Doctor’s reaction to her death. Colin Baker’s acting in that part (and at the start of the next story too) kills me every time, and the moment of silence before his delivery of “you... killed Peri?” is heartwrenching in a way that I love.

First of all, I love any story that follows the structure of A Christmas Carol with past, present, and future, so kudos to the three stories used in the trial as evidence for that. And it’s a very fun way to introduce a new companion. But if the trial was starting to confuse itself a little in Mindwarp, it completely loses its focus in Terror of the Vervoids. Calling the Doctor’s argument in his defence ‘flimsy’ feels like it’s giving him too much credit. He chooses it so he can point at one adventure and say “in this case I was explicitly asked to interfere,” something that has already been made clear isn’t always the case, and something that I’m not sure would even matter in Time Lord law! And why this adventure specifically? Obviously he didn’t see it coming that it would get him saddled with a charge of genocide too. In the next story it looks like the Doctor would’ve genuinely been executed if the Master didn’t intervene, and honestly... it makes the Doctor look like an idiot more than any other time in the show. It’s bad writing lol. Another thing that seemed silly- its made clearer in this one where the Valeyard had tampered with the evidence, but his two edits are wildly different. One of them is writing the Doctor out of a certain scene so it looks like he let Mel investigate something alone- not particularly damning and not very unbelievable either, with the Doctor thoroughly edited out of a certain sequence of events. The second edit is a quick scene where the Doctor sighs in satisfaction while holding an axe and looking at the wreckage of the radio room, which is so absurdly out of nowhere and nonsensical that it makes me laugh every time. The way the Inquisitor is willing to believe it makes her look very gullible, especially when she was quite ready to consider the idea that the Matrix had been tampered with when it was the Valeyard suggesting it, but pooh-poohing the idea as impossible when the Doctor suggests it. Anyway, I can enjoy watching Terror of the Vervoids, and not just because of poking fun at it. Mel’s strong personality matching the Doctor’s makes a nice change after Peri (sorry Peri), and a love a murder mystery so setting up the characters then watching them sneak around and suspect each other is also fun. ...Though that said, I think the mystery gets a little too complicated. There’s a few different parties up to no good who are all facing double-crossing in their own ranks, making things very hard to keep track of, so the trial scenes on top of that is quite a lot of plot that isn’t executed very clearly. Maybe I was just happy for an all-round brighter story after Mindwarp. I think the most interesting character was Travers, the guy who’d met the Doctor before and had both a healthy respect for his ability to root out the truth, and a healthy wariness of the chaos that he causes. Oh, and the scene where the Doctor pauses and rewinds the Matrix to explain how he made a deduction was kinda fun, like a peak into the thought process of the Doctor that might turn up in Moffat’s Doctor Who, if a little rough and smarmy. It’s a peak at the kind of entertaining things that could be done with the trial format. It’s this kind of thing that makes me wish they reused the trial format for another season in modern Who, with better writers who’d actually work together to make a coherent story.

The Ultimate Foe is a lot! Just so much. From the moment the Master turns up, the trial premise that’s been building (and then decaying) for twelve episodes collapses into an absolute shambles. I don’t know why so much of these episodes are set in the Valeyard’s Victorian England-themed Matrix hideaway, or why the Valeyard spends it pretending to be a completely random character he made up. Maybe the funniest moment in the story is when, in the middle of everything, the Keeper of the Matrix runs into the court and announces, with no build up, that the High Council has been deposed by insurrectionists. Are these insurrectionists allies of the Valeyard, the Master, or just random people who have somehow been following the trial and realising just how shit the High Council is? I don’t know, because it isn’t mentioned again until the Inquisitor mentions that she guesses that they’re going to have to elect a new Council. One day I’m going to make a post going through the politics of Gallifrey in Classic Who, because oh boy is it a hell of a mess. Another moment that I always find very funny is the reveal that the Valeyard is the Doctor, which is written and delivered like it’s supposed to be a super casual line from the Master, but the most talented actor in the world couldn’t deliver that line and make it sound casual. Actually, that’s something I could say about a heck of a lot of lines in this story, especially for poor old Mel. Bonnie Langford you tried so hard with the script they gave you, and I respect you for it. Oh also, shout out to the Keeper of the Matrix for looking the Doctor in the face and telling him that no one could possibly get into the Matrix. As if The Deadly Assassin and basically every other Gallifrey story didn’t happen. As if the Master and Goth didn’t have a DIY bootleg Matrix link in their sewer lair. I feel like so much of some Gallifrey stories are Time Lords saying very dramatic things that are demonstrably false, but I guess that’s an empire for you.

I’ve really spent most of this post dunking on The Trial of a Time Lord, but I’ll say again that I always enjoy revisiting it. It’s partly because of the little great moments sprinkled throughout, partly because of nostalgia, and largely because of the fantastic premise that they had to work hard to make such a mess of. It becomes more and more of a disaster as it goes on, and by the time the Valeyard turns to the camera in the Keeper’s clothes and laughs I’ve completely given up caring about questions like “how does that make any sense at all,” but I enjoy the ride every time. They even managed to write Six in a way that isn’t aggressively unlikable and rude all the time! Good for them. As always, it’s a shame that Colin Baker was treated so poorly by the show in so many ways, but I’m grateful he got a chance to play the role with such better scripts in Big Finish (and specifically I’m grateful for Jac Rayner and The Marian Conspiracy for writing the blueprint for Six and Evelyn. I’ll never not stan that audio.)

[traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors]

tw pedo, confusion, family.

sometimes i feel like my dad may be a pedo. not that i caught him with any porn of that sort, his stash was completely adult related when i used to see it scattered around the house and what not. i was hyper as a child and unfortunately viewed such things every time. he's never done anything to me that i know of, except once he roughly spanked me as a teen which i felt very violated from in a bad way type of touch feeling. i was pretty confused.. they also shamed me for being sexual (getting caught in school making jokes with a friend and drawing dicks n writing things about teachers) which they ended up seeing and ofc i felt guilt bc they were disappointed in me and shamed me, banned me from watching shows and what not. couldn't even have a phone bc they didn't trust me. this was up til 11 years old to 14.

ive been sexualised my whole life. shaming me for wearing clothes that expose my figure, I was only 14 when an uncle apparently commented on me saying how im dressed inappropriate bc he can see my shape.. mind you, i was fully clothed head to toe. i didn't know about this until my parents mentioned it in anger, implying its my fault basically. yeah u get the gist of it. my whole life ive felt uncomfortable. getting looks from people and even my own family.

i remember being in my early 20s my mom mentioned this to me bc I said how my dad would be harsh. she said its bc of ur actions, also holding what i drew and wrote in school still against me. i was only 11/12?? but what's even crazy, she said i wrote those things about my own dad. yes. my mind was shocked how she could even say such things. and yet she believed that even tho I said it wasn't even about anyone except a teacher. so, i know my mom holds jealously and resentment of this. probably thinking ill steal her man vibe, which is gross. I felt extremely gaslight, I always have with them.

since their messed up minds think that idk if that's why he behaves weird with me. i know he's a pervert but this is just. there was a show we would watch and he was very obsessed with the girl. (She was 17, same age as me) and i found that so bizarre. my mom simply didn't gaf. I even said its wrong but no one cares. his obsession was unhealthy, finding pics of her and searching up explicit scenes of her which I found on his search.

its like its so normalised. she's like the age of ur daughter wtf. ig since then its just been confusing for me bc I've been gaslight badly. idk if i ever got abused by him bc i don't really remember such happening. i only had a sexual dream with him once which was strange. he does take offguard pics of me which I hate and tell him to delete but he never does. he gives me weird looks and i hate dressing up bc of it. they make me feel ashamed of myself and disgusted. I feel like a whore, like im begging for this.

I'm glad I haven't had any weird touches or anything, but its still uncomfortable with the energy that lingers around. like im always reminded when they give me certain looks esp my mom. i feel like im going insane just thinking of everything. i wish things were normal but they really ain't are there

Hi anon,

I'm so sorry about what you've been through.

I can see how being shamed for being sexual or making sexual jokes may have influenced the way you view your own sexuality, especially at such a formative age. It's saddening and frustrating to hear that your family seems to normalize victim blaming. It's gross that your uncle made that comment, not only because you were a child, but because it implies he was looking to see your "shape". The comments that your mom made towards you are not okay either. The things that you found out about your dad are also quite disturbing and predatory.

Even if you dad hasn't touched you or anything like that, he still does some harmful things and it's valid to be upset or traumatized by that. I think a lot of this, especially with the example of your uncle, could count as sexual harassment.

It makes sense to be uncomfortable with the environment that your family creates. Your wish for things to be normal is completely understandable, and I'm sorry you've been having to put up with this. Please know that there's nothing you could've done to deserve being abused, and you don't deserve to be disgusted at yourself for things that aren't your fault.

If anyone has any comments or suggestions, feel free to add on. Otherwise, I hope I could help, and please let us know if you need anything.

-Bun

[matt-the-radar-techncian]

I think the bad prediction alternate universe kind of explores that but the outcome is pink and pearl gets caught, not pink revealing herself.

But yeah that's pretty much what I've been thinking about. It's also why I feel that there is something wrong when calling Rose/Pink a coward for that but I'm just like wondering what kind of alternative she could have done without people getting hurt? If she did reveal herself that could have been the end of not only earth but also the Crystal Gems and Pink probably be at the lowest point of her life during this.

Like I kind of feel like most people seem to believe that if she stood up to them as herself, there would have been a good outcome and I feel like this is further Amplified with Future with deconstruction and Steven's problems with her like his "running away from her problems" rant.

Now with Steven, understandable and he really wasn't in his right mind mentally and never reminded himself that pink's reputation with the diamonds is like on thin freaking ice and thinking more about his situation then his mother's but because the show treated him as like the ultimate victim of her actions and there's nothing suggesting that the viewer is supposed to disagree. Feeling like your mom screwed you over in a massive way? No disagreement there i guess. Thinking that if she was more honest with the diamonds or everybody things would have been better? There may be a possible disagreement when considering what we know, even if future kind of treats it it shouldn't be an excuse even though just thinking about it makes it seems like it's kind of like a lose-lose situation for rose and the "better" option sounds like opening up to your abusers so they beat you down, destroy your world and putting you in a position where you'll just do everything they say (pink not wanting to escape the society she's in and feeling like she deserves the punishment) and the rant goes into that black and white thinking

Idk, sorry about this long thing. There seems to be a lot about rose/pink that makes me wonder a lot and what you presented makes me feel like hey if she did try harder and even reveal herself to them, it's massively naive to assume that there's a good outcome since that would be ignoring the kind of relationship pink and the diamonds have and be invalidating pink's feeling by somehow thinking the diamonds are right and pink is wrong because she was a brat and wasn't mature

Nah don't be sorry these asks are getting me to think more carefully about stuff I'm happy to get them

And yeah I do think that Pink getting found out by the other diamonds is much more likely than her revealing herself to them. (I did say in the last ask that this doesn't sound like something she would do, I just needed a way for the scenario to progress to where I wanted.) The other likely outcome is that Pink just keeps dragging her feet with "dealing with" the rebellion for so long that eventually Yellow and Blue step in and just take matters into their own hands, seeing that Pink "can't handle" the responsibility of having her own planet. Either way the outcome is the same: Pink is seen as even less mature and capable by the other diamonds, the Crystal Gems are all destroyed, and everyone is worse off

However I'm not so sure about the show, or SUF in particular, painting Pink/Rose's deception as clearly being the wrong choice. I'll admit I'm not exactly sure what scene you're talking about where Steven rants about this (feel free to let me know what episode this is in or when this happens) but there is a bit similar to this in "Storm in the Room." Sure, this is before we learn the full story about Pink Diamond, but it's still clear at this point that Rose has definitely done some questionable things. Steven lays into the fake Rose for being a liar and running away from her problems, but at the end he accepts that there's nothing he can do, that he won't feel better by taking his anger out on her, and that he just has to do the best he can going forward. (This episode strangely isn't talked about that much, probably because we don't really learn any new information about Rose in it)

I think the show is trying to say that there's no "right answer" as to what Pink "should have" done in her situation. It makes it clear that the other diamonds don't respect Pink as her own person, and that the rebellion was held together by the idea of being led by Rose Quartz, both of which somewhat necessitated Rose/Pink hiding her true identity. However it's also shown how much of a negative effect the deception has on people like Steven and Garnet. But even if Steven is upset and traumatized by it and makes valid and correct complaints about it, that doesn't mean that the show is saying it was the "objectively wrong" choice. I think just it's the show saying that even if you are negatively affected by the actions of your ancestors or other factors out of your control, you just have to make the best out of your situation. (This is also touched on in other characters' arcs like Lapis and Peridot.) @palezma made a post about this idea too

Steven actually has a similar reaction when he finds out what Greg's childhood was like in "Mr. Universe," and he feels like his dad made the "wrong decision" in not giving him a more traditional upbringing. Steven does bring up some good points, but I don't think this is the same as the show saying that he's unquestionably correct here; there's no way of telling whether Steven's life would have been better if Greg had stayed with his restrictive parents, or if he even would have been born at all. (Compare this to the AU with Pink Diamond I laid out, which I tried to keep as grounded in canon as I could, in which the alternative scenario seems pretty clearly worse, and it almost certainly means that Steven would never have been born)