#But s2 and 3 these two had very little interaction

[smugraccoon137]

Shout out to ouat s4 ep5 for being the single gayest episode that I've ever seen. And no one kissed or even held hands

#You know I love swanqueen #It's a good ship and there evidence enough to make it plausible #While also it's got so much potential #However I'm like actually literally watching the show not for the gay #Which I never do #And like I'd kind of put the ship aside since s1 was gay #But s2 and 3 these two had very little interaction #But like this episode #This fucking episode #What the actual fuck guys #I thought this was crack I thought we were just having a good time #Why did they frame that episode like that?? #Why was it so gay? #Like not haha it's so gay #Like no for real for realsies gay #Like gay gay gay #I'm kind of reeling #once upon a time #ouat #ouat rewatch #text #textpost

[biconickyoshi]

Okay y’all… I was very critical of eps 3 & 4 (especially 4) of NAtLA. Then all of a sudden eps 5 & 6 kinda slapped me in the face with how much better the show suddenly got.

Spoiler-free thoughts first:

Zuko, Iroh, and Aang have cemented themselves as the best parts about this adaptation - which is really funny considering I’m currently writing a longfic AU where Zuko and Iroh discover Aang in the iceberg right after Zuko is banished at age 13 and end up becoming the first members of the Gaang (albeit reluctantly at first lol). Episode 6: “Masks” (the Blue Spirit adaptation) was so good, I’d venture to say that it actually improved and fleshed out some things from the original series.

Episode 5: “Spirited Away”, while not as good as E6, was not as bad as I heard people say it was going to be. I think that the changes they did make didn’t bother me nearly as much as the changes they made in the last episode, and it was actually entertaining.

There were several scenes that made me cry in both of these episodes (moreso in episode 6, which I’ll get into further down in the spoiler section). These are the scenes that I feel like really tapped into the heart of the original show rather than feeling like a soulless remake.

Now for my in-depth thoughts (INCLUDES SPOILERS):

EP 5: “Spirited Away”

- Staring out, I was bummed because I had just rewatched the first two eps of the original animated series lol.

- It was an interesting choice to have all three members of the Gaang get stuck in the Spirit World, but I think it worked.

- Wan Shi Tong just showing up randomly was a bit unnecessary, but I suppose it will be kinda interesting to see him again in S2 since he’s already met the Gaang

- Hei Bai plays a much smaller role in these eps, but I strangely didn’t mind that either?

- Seeing Katara’s last memory with her mom was devastating, especially the fact that she had to witness her death and hide in the igloo with Kya’s charred body :(( she definitely has severe PTSD.

- Even Sokka’s memory made me tear up a bit

- Koh being the villain and a soul-eater or whatever was a bit of an odd choice, but I guess I can see why they did it. I do prefer him just being an asshole who steals ppl’s faces lol

- Appreciated the Fog of Lost Souls reference from the LoK lore

- Aang reuniting with Gyatso made me cry. I know some people didn’t like him being in the Spirit World, but I really liked it. Also, the fact that Gyatso was the first person to tell Aang that it wasn’t his fault the Air Nomads died, and that if he had been there he would have died too? THANK YOU! My poor boy has been berated enough for “abandoning” the world.

- We got some interesting lore about the afterlife for humans from Gyatso and Aang’s convo, which we’ve never gotten in AtLA media before. Idk if it’s just for Air Nomads, but Aang mentions that Gyatso stayed behind instead of “seeking enlightenment”. I know that the end goal in Buddhism is to reincarnate until you eventually achieve nirvana, so I wonder if that’s what they were alluding to (I’m not an expert on religions so pls correct me if I’m wrong)

- Oh yeah, I forgot June is here lmao. As a queer person I loved her (bc beautiful goth woman) but I didn’t like the weird choice to make her hit on Iroh - I guess to contrast the Iroh being creepy towards her thing in the OG series. I wish they would have just had them interact normally tbh, no weird “flirting”

EP 6: “Masks”

- Here we go y’all. The best episode in the show so far and probably the best the show is gonna get this season. I’m still pretty shocked at how good this one was.

- I think the decision to include flashbacks to Zuko’s Agni Kai was a good decision here. It felt like an appropriate episode for them and the flashbacks were very well done.

- In general, Dallas is doing a phenomenal job at portraying a Zuko who is angry and aggressive, yes, but also so very sweet and compassionate at his core. I love when little inklings of his true self shine through.

- Roku was… not what I expected. He was very much more of a lighthearted and jokey person… I didn’t hate it, it was just unexpected lol. I wonder if they did that to contrast him with Kyoshi. Which, speaking of, I’m glad Roku clarified that Aang doesn’t just need to be a merciless warrior (and that he didn’t berate Aang for “abandoning” the world like she did). But I still am annoyed about the mischaracterization of Kyoshi in general.

- RIP Shyu :/

- Thought it was kind of strange how June captures Aang at Roku’s temple lol. Like how did she get on and off the island??

- Zhao continues to feel like a completely different character to me lmao. I think this version is pretty funny, but it’s so weird to see Zhao being portrayed as so goofy and incompetent when he was such an intimidating force and the main villain of Book 1 in the OG series. Just a weird direction they went with his character.

- The Yuyan archers look cool as fuck. 10/10 no notes

- Still not sure how I feel about Azula already being this insecure and jealous of Zuko. I think it makes her feel a bit more realistically like a child, but the whole point of Azula’s character is that she is really good at maintaining this cool and calm persona on the surface, which she uses to scare and manipulate people. I can see her maybe getting to a point later on to where she hardens herself into that though. We’ll see.

- Baby Zuko asking Iroh how he looks and his little smile 😭😭😭😭 I had a physical “aww” reaction to that. THAT’S MY SON (me and Iroh shouting in unison)

- War Room scene was handled very well. No complaints. I like how Ozai tried to test Zuko with battle strategies.

- Blue Spirit break out scene was extremely close to the original, and it was really good. They adapted it almost shot for shot with all the important parts.

- Here’s probably my favorite part of the episode: Zuko and Aang’s talk inside the abandoned house after they escape from Pohuai!!!!!! Gahhhh I could gush about this scene all day. I love how they expanded it to be an actual friendly conversation between Aang and Zuko. Like we get to see Zuko’s true self coming through - the sweet, kind boy we know he is. Zuko and Aang just have such great chemistry as well, wayyy more than Aang has with either Sokka or Katara. Like I adored them bonding over painting and caligraphy!!! I think this is the best acting we’ve seen from Gordon so far, and Dallas did a phenomenal job switching back to that hurt, angry version of himself (of course a trauma response). And the fact that Aang said “sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you” when he blocked Zuko’s firebending attack??? My sweet boy 😭

- The final flashback to the Agni Kai was really well done too. I’d already heard Zuko fights back, which I wasn’t sure I’d like, but I actually didn’t mind it. I really liked that they showed Zuko’s hesitation whenever he did actually have an opening, and that was what angered Ozai the most - Zuko showing compassion, “weakness”. Daniel Dae Kim is of course doing a phenomenal job (no surprises there), and I really liked that Iroh actually attempted to stop Ozai at one point. It also looked like young Azula had tears in her eyes, which I again actually liked because it humanizes her.

- I loved that Aang was still there when Zuko woke up on the boat 😭 he wanted to make sure he was okay!! I full on started crying when we got the “do you think we could have been friends too?” lines from him. Again, Gordon killed it. I love how you can tell that Aang knows Zuko has been hurt and that’s why he acts the way he does. He doesn’t blame him for any of it. 10/10

- the last flashback to Zuko in his bed recovering from the burn… god the tears just kept flowing. I really liked the choice to have Ozai almost give Zuko a chance to like… idk understand why he did what he did, and how compassion is “weak”?? And then Zuko’s response to give people a chance 😭😭😭 as if I couldn’t love him any more!!! And then of course Ozai gets pissed. But seeing baby Zuko just cry in his bed UGH I’m dehydrated at this point

- Of course I can’t finish this review without mentioning the 41st division. What an incredible way to expand upon the source material by making them Zuko’s crew!!! It shows just how much Zuko truly cares about others and it moved me so much (once again to tears).

I don’t have high hopes for the last two episodes, but honestly, if this is what the live action can be, it gives me a bit of hope (at least for future seasons). I really think that Dallas, Gordon, Paul, and Daniel were the stars of this ep and are a big part of what made it so good.

#atla #natla #netflix atla spoilers #natla spoilers #atla live action #avatar the last airbender netflix #avatar the last airbender #atla netflix #atla meta #natla meta #zuko #aang #iroh #ozai #zukaang

[wolfscarr]

Helluva Broken Narrative 3. Wasted Romance.

So here I am for a 3rd time on this...I guess Broken Narrative...series? Because honestly this just came to my mind, that's also a big point

^ Links to the other 2 parts that I've written out.

DISCLAIMER: Not saying you can't enjoy the show. Enjoy it all you want, this again is just a rant about a lack of cohesive narrative.

Alright so this may be because of the Season 2 trailer that I'm writing this, but I really just...need to throw this out there because it again, has everything to do with the Narrative that has been told to us thus far for 2 and a half Seasons.

So we as the audience are suppose to believe that Blitz and Stolas are going to end up together, but here's the thing. There's no reason for them Narratively to be together. Putting aside the fact that thanks to Season 2, Blitz and Stolas has ZERO reason to interact at all as I labeled out in my previous posts above.

The two have zero chemistry, they have nothing in common as far as personal hobbies and for all of S1 and it seems in S2, Stolas has treated him like complete shit. From what I've gathered in S2, Stolas is apparently going to throw Blitz out and is pissed at him because.....reasons.

Yet I'm suppose to want these two together because....why? There is no narrative reason for them to be together, people wanna say "you need to wait, you need to wait, you need to wait!"

WAIT FOR WHAT?! It's been 2 and a half Seasons worth of content. What we're suppose to wait all the way to Season 3? If that's the case, then this is laughable and shows how terrible the writing is, it also shows that the two should never be together if we're having to wait this long.

You're suppose to gradually put building blocks if you want a relationship to pan out in a series. The writing for 2 whole Seasons involving Blitz and Stolas, haven't done that and in fact Season 2 made things even worse for Season 1 and from where I'm sitting....it doesn't get any better.

Why should Blitz want to be with Stolas, after the way he's been treated? No one in their right mind would want to be with someone who's talked down to him, who's hung their livelihoods over their heads and who thinks so very little of his own species.

Oh but here's the kicker folks, here's something that will be quite a shocker! As I've explained in my posts above, you can write Stolas completely out of the show now thanks to Season 2, he's a pointless character. But you wanna know who you can't write out of the show? Wanna know who is an important character for Blitz?

VEROSIKA MAYDAY!

Wanna know why? Well first we have to turn back the clock to Season 1. See while Season 2 retroactively and continues to make things worse for the Blitz and Stolas dynamic and Season 1 just in general showed that they need to be so far away from one another, they should be in separate dimensions.

Let's see....we have had basically...what 9 episodes showing Blitz and Stolas' dynamic across 2 whole Seasons and I've gotten nothing other than they are terrible to eachother and have nothing in common/no chemistry.

But within a single Season and within....3 EPISODES! I have more of a Narrative reason to want Blitz and Verosika to reconcile and get back together. But let's explore those 3 episodes, shall we?

S1 EP 3, Spring Broken= Introduced to Verosika, Blitz stated that they had a lengthy relationship/dated for awhile, he took her car and credit cards.

^ This episode gives us an introduction to who they were to one another, showcases that the pair had a genuine relationship and it was Blitz who ended it. It also shows that Verosika has a tattoo of his name on her arm, signifying that he was very important to her.

S1 EP 6, Truth Seekers= In Blitz' hallucination, he comes across Verosika who is crying, crawling towards him, stating that "you just push away anyone who tries to get close to you!"

^ This brief sequence tells us that Verosika really did care/loved him, in that she was just wanting to help him, to understand him, to be there for him.

S1 EP 7, Ozzie's= Verosika again appears, saying that he was selfish in bed and calls him a heartbreaking freak, leaning into him, with Blitz looking guilty. Later on after, Blitz is scrolling through his phone and there's a picture of him and Verosika, clearly in a public area and she wearing a dress with the word NO over the crotch. This implying that she only wanted Blitz and no one else.

^ This sequence shows basically...everything that the prior 2 episodes told us and even moreso, that Verosika truly did love and care for him before he pushed her away. Blitz clearly looking guilty about what he had done to her.

So 3 episodes, 2 of which weren't even a focus on them, gives me much more of a reason to support them because the Narrative....didn't try to hamfist it. It was far more natural in building up than whatever they are trying to do with Blitz and Stolas, which in turn ends up breaking the Narrative entirely and making Stolas a pointless character for the show.

Now I'm sure Season 2 is going to no doubt, turn Verosika on her head as a character...just to support Stolas and to show Blitz that he is the one for him, but sorry...they really can't write their way out of it. Not that the writing has been able to do so anyway.

Yet the funny thing is? Verosika will be far more important to Blitz than Stolas ever will be and why? Because the Narrative tells and shows us this, she is an important part of Blitz' past, not just relationship wise either.

Verosika Mayday connects with Blitz that connects him to every single other part of his past due to his insecurities within himself and how he should be a better person to others. She actually can help him with that, if the writing allowed for it, she could actually help him mend his past relationships, since Verosika not only knows Fizzarolli, but also knows Barbie(due to rehab), though I know Blitz already reconciled with Fizz, I'm just saying this as more of a Narrative hook.

People wanna say this show has such 'complex and deep characters/writing' yet I really have a hard time seeing that, when S1 is basically broken. Oh but they also wanna say that "it's just a cartoon" or "It's not that serious!"

No...no folks, you can't say one thing and then say another that completely contradicts the other thing.

A show is like a house, S1 is the foundation and if that foundation is broken....then the whole show is. Characters and plot points have been made useless thanks to S2.

Yet Verosika, will always be important for Blitz as a character and to see this get wasted? Is a real shame.

The real waste though is that Season 1 had set it up, to where....they could have written it as Blitz and Stolas realizing that they need to confront those that they've hurt. That Blitz needs to confront those and reconcile with those of his past, to become a better person.

On Stolas' end, he has to confront both his wife and daughter before he loses them forever...before he loses his whole family. Something which mind you, is REALLY RELATABLE for many in the world, because many don't want their Families to split up. But of course as I've outlined in posts above, they just completely wasted Stolas' Family.

They had a great S1 story hook for both of them...and they fumbled the ball.

Anyway folks, this is the 3rd and probably last bit of Broken Narrative I make...so enjoy!

#helluva boss critical #helluva critical #helluva boss verosika mayday #blitzo x verosika #verosika mayday #blitzika #helluva boss blitz #vivziepop critical #helluva critique #helluva boss criticism #helluva blitz #helluva blitzo #helluva verosika #helluva boss blitzo #helluva boss verosika

[frociaggine]

Further to Keeley saying yes to marrying Roy (definitely agree), how much would Roy only be asking because he thinks that's what you do. Like he's retired, he's forty, and all his former teammates are married/have kids. He's a traditional guy (kind of) - would he have waited for them to have been together for two years (or whatever) and then proposed because that's the next step?

Context: this is a follow-up to this 'unpopular opinion meme' ask where I said that (to me, etc) Keeley would've said yes if Roy ever asked her to marry him post S2.

In general, I just looove to overthink gender roles and performative heterosexuality with these characters, because the mix of sports series + juicy queer dynamics is like catnip to my brain — so thank you for this ask so I can ramble about it some more!

The thing is. I think Roy's actually not very traditional for a footballer (let alone a very famous one) simply because he's close to forty and he's never been married and doesn't have kids. Like, genuinely, that makes him a huge oddity in his set. If I were applying RL football logic to the football show that plays fast and loose with realism, I'd say that there must be a lot of speculation in-universe that Roy is gay. OR maybe he's had so many public short-term flings that there's only a little speculation — but there would still be people thinking it's strange. Just because "WAG and kids" is such a big aspect of how football stars are expected to perform masculinity, and Roy not having any of that (while at the same time performing a very specific brand of 'old school' tough guy masculinity) would make him a weird anomaly.

(When talking to non-sports fans, I usually find it useful to compare pro athletes to active-duty military personnel as two categories that on average start a family very young. It's a mix of a family providing more stability in a hectic career + expectations in those circles because everyone else is doing it + financial reasons that mean is more convenient to do it now than to wait)

(Again. Reflecting on social norms in footballers' circles makes me think a lot about what Keeley's expectations might have been pre-S1, when she kept dating footballers and moving in those same circles, whether the fact that she was with a young guy at 30 bothered her more than she let on, etc etc. This is also part of why I think she absolutely would say yes if Roy proposed — see also her reaction to Shandy saying that all their former flatmates "married footballers", which is just like "yeah, fair enough". I think pre-season 3 she just never saw her life going in a different direction, and was fine with it — at least until S3 made her consider stuff she might not have otherwise)

Anyway SORRY I went off!! Back to Roy — all that ramble was to say that, TO ME, if he wanted to be married, he absolutely would be already, way before the show started. It's something he must have considered earlier in life, just because it's a staple of the Ideal Footballer Career Path, and for whatever reason decided he wasn't keen on it. And it wasn't a one-off earlier — it's something people would have commented on it over and over, as all his teammates started families and he didn't, as the tabloid press speculated on his private life. It's not that he never had the opportunity; it's that he actively chose not to. So I'm not sure retirement would necessarily be the thing that makes him decide that "it's time" to get married. We see that in S2 he really throws himself into ~playing house~ with Keeley because he's trying to find a new life anchor after retirement, but idk if that would necessarily translate, to him, into "next step is getting married." Because, for someone in Roy's position, getting married would have been "the next step" ten years ago, and he was like, nah!

I also think that "when will Roy and Keeley get married" WAS an expectation that was very much present in the eyes of everyone who interacts with them, at least from the moment it became clear that they were serious and basically living together. Tabloid speculation, old friends of Roy who're also retired, friends and acquaintances of Keeley who also move in those 'D-list celebs / influencers / WAG' kind of circles. Their families, even; I have a very elaborate headcanon built off that one (1) throwaway line that Roy wanted to open the champagne when Keeley's mum "moved back north", that maybe Keeley's mother was a bit too happy to see her settled down with an older man for once, and they're living together, and he's very famous and very rich. My other headcanon is that Keeley dropped Shandy / her old friends after she got with Roy partly because there'd have been some wink-wink-nudge from those corners about "landing Roy Kent" (I have WAY too many thoughts about Keeley and Shandy, lol).

...Anyway. This is all to say. I think, between the two of them, Keeley might have been the one who vaguely considered that maybe marriage could be on the horizon as a next step, because she's a woman over 30 in circles where women over 30 get reminded of these things. Roy has the luxury of thinking about it less, because he decided years before the show that he wasn't going to get pressured into an early marriage just because it's The Done Thing.

I can believe Keeley and Roy never discussed marriage all through the year-odd they were dating, but I bet multiple people brought it up to Keeley unprompted, and to Roy also but to a lesser extent, and he was able to shrug it off way more easily. Keeley is probably dodging old friends who text her happy birthday and then are like "how are things going with RoyKent(TM)??" wink. babe you landed the big fish!! etc. etc.

SORRY THIS GOT SO LONG! this is like 80% headcanons that's partly inspired by me being A Sports Fan, partly by me overthinking Keeley's narrative, especially in S1 and S2 when she was still allowed to have neuroses and a meaningful friendship with Rebecca. But I'm ALWAYS thinking about Roy/Keeley not only as a ship but also in the context of the very specific gendered dynamics that exist among top-flight footballers and their partners, especially in the UK. It's just anthropologically fascinating to me, and I think S1 especially does a very good job of hinting at all the various nuances with Keeley's character.

#Anonymous #ask #ted lasso #WOW THIS GOT LONG SORRy #roykeeley

[thesherrinfordfacility]

what the hell is going on in hell

this is essentially a braindump of ramble-y thoughts because the situation going on in hell is currently my new sub-fixation. a couple of things mentioned/shown in s2 would indicate the position that hell is currently in, and i dont think it's inaccurate to say that they appear somewhat stretched.

first up, we meet shax in ep1; she and crowley appear to have some kind of arrangement (ha) going in, where they are exchanging information - shax keeping crowley abreast of the goings on in hell, presumably so he can monitor his (and by extension - aziraphale's) safety being now an exiled retired demon... and crowley seems to be helping shax to assimilate to life topside, by means of teaching her behaviour that will mean she blends in more with humanity in her new role.

i did a post on bits of this scene, and on shax in general, that looked at how shax appears to be working somewhat with the favour of the higher-ups, possibly to the point of an unofficial informant, that would help her climb the career ladder. but i do wonder how far her allegiance lies, and actually how much she seems to know. in any case, a couple of things about this scene:

hell either doesn't know, or refuses to change, crowley's address for his post - they're still being sent to the flat in his name, and not his new abode, the bentley. furthermore, it's possibly even the case that hell hasn't even acknowledged that crowley has been replaced - they won't accept/recognise shax's signature.

however, shax appears to be very firmly in position as his replacement, and presumably has been for at least a little while. there's been a gap of 3/4 years between s1 and s2, so allowing for hell to be slow on the uptake in replacing crowley (as well as being initially shit-scared of him re: the holy water bath), plus shax is still learning things/remarking on how easy the job is, let's be really generous and say she's had the position, and the flat, for around six months. realistically though, estimating from her question about the boiler which, from crowley's tone, seems to be something that happens periodically, id say it's likely more around 1-3 months.

in any case, that's plenty of time for hell to update the records, right?*

same as crowley remarked in s1, it seems to be universally understood in hell that the ends justify the means; doesn't matter how things are done, just that they are. if shax echoes this sentiment, it supports that it must be true; hell doesn't give one shit about her interacting with crowley. this is supported by 1827; whether you look at it that crowley didn't secure elspeth's soul for hell through suicide, or that crowley was caught being good/nice in the general sense, either way it's strongly suggested that there is a consequence for him not doing the job. doesn't matter how it's done, only that it is.

ergo, hell doesn't care that shax is interacting with crowley, nor that she appears to be recruiting him as an intelligence source (despite his lackadaisical branding of 'traitor'), only that she does what she's ordered to. the issue is though, what are shax's orders at the moment? which leads me to the next one:

she lists three things, two of which don't appear to hold much importance to crowley, or at least he's not surprised by them. the first - he's still in hell's bad books: cool, not a surprise. the second, however, is the 'half rations' reveal. this brilliant post talks about this, because... well, what would demons feed on? or be interested in having, that holds any kind of importance to them? more on this later*. regardless though, crowley seems... to halfheartedly mull over the information? like its interesting, but not a major surprise? maybe it is, maybe it isn't.

the third thing though is the one that crowley perks up at: that something has happened in heaven. shax appears to admit that she doesn't know the details, and needs intelligence, which crowley brushes off. now, the thing that perplexes me is that - well, the conversation between michael and beelzebub hasn't happened yet, right?

could be that there has actually been a previous conversation between michael and beelzebub, where the news that gabriel has disappeared was revealed - and what we see above is a second conversation about the matter, now that it's gotten a little more urgent (hence the BOL threat)

or, that the two different scenes are out of chronological order... which honestly would be just plain weird.

the first option is possible, that beelzebub found out about gabriel from michael in a previous conversation (and told shax), and the one we see above is a follow-up.

but, in the crowley/shax conversation, shax doesn't actually seem to know that it's anything about gabriel, just that something's going on. so presumably, beelzebub doesn't know at that point either - not until the interaction above with michael. at which point, where did shax get her information from? how would shax have known shit was going on in heaven - even without the specifics - before it seems that even beelzebub knew? does shax have a different in-road with heaven?

(at which point, the only ones that appear to know about gabriel going missing, when it happens, is the metatron, michael, uriel, and saraqael - unless there's been a containment breach/someone else accessed the file? make of that what you will.)

*coming back to this point, on why hell hasn't gotten round to, or been bothered to, update the record that crowley is no longer an employee/in his flat, i think this is directly related simply to hell being short-staffed. i think it was mentioned in a BTS video somewhere, but the set design in hell purposefully included lots of files and folders to directly suggest that there is a huge backlog; whilst the higher-ups may be aware of shax replacing crowley, it doesn't appear to have reached the administrative offices:

as for why hell is short-staffed, ive toyed with it in previous posts/rbs but it would suggest that:

demons are disappearing - im thinking along the lines of the book of life, or just straight up being killed

demons are leaving - perhaps another mass rebellion?

demons aren't leaving but the numbers of the damned keep increasing - this, i think, is the most likely.

we don't know what the deal is with heaven, but presumably there is a separate facility for heavenly souls, and all we see in the show are the offices. in any case, it would kind of make sense that, if heaven is in fact taking its fair share of souls, even if lower-choir angels are attending to them... well, it's unlikely to extremely hands-on, is it; souls can be left to their eternal rest with minimal angelic involvement.

demons, however, are actively torturing their share of souls, such as is the purpose of hell, and this is definitely more hands-on; at which point, demons are going to be overworked/understaffed as the soul population increases. demons are only made from fallen angels, so the staffing situation is only going to get worse - hence why in s1, it was revealed not only that an estimate of 10 million demons exist, but that they would be pretty pissed about being told to go back to work. armageddon was meant to wipe out humans altogether (putting a stop to the ever increasing human population and therefore number of deaths), and bring about an eternal victory for one side or the other.

this, however, assumes that heaven is taking their fair share. i don't think it's necessarily the case that they're not (as i said, we haven't actually seen any areas where human souls exist in heaven - only the higher offices), but it's certainly possible that they're not, and they're all going to hell. at which point, why wouldn't heaven want more souls? isn't that ultimately the point of aziraphale and other earth-stationed angels? to bring about god's plan, but also sway humanity to the good? or is that the point - that human souls going to heaven or hell is inconsequential, and all that matters is the complete annihilation of one by the other?

1941 shows a bit more context for hell, in that we have what appears to be the main lobby, with multiple admissions demons (including shax and furfur) and there are chutes for transport into the lower floors/departments.

one thing i did notice as a small difference between 1941 and 2023, is the lights; this could be purely ambience/a single set design choice, but compare the scene where furfur has an audience with dagon, and the crowley/beelzebub chat - the lights in latter start flickering, like they are faulty or there is a power supply issue. this not appearing to happen in 1941 would suggest that the situation has gotten worse between these two points in time. it could just be for the ambience as i said, absolutely, but i think the line re: rations* could potentially be linked here.

another thing that interested me in 1941 is this:

pretty intriguing that the camera deliberately focuses on this, right? instead of continuing to track behind furfur? if it is Of Interest, what is the hourglass keeping time in, or counting down to? it could be the apocalypse, but if you consider the proportionality of sand in the top to the bottom, vs. the time that has passed since the Beginning vs. the next 78 years until armageddon, that seems... well, disproportionate? so could it be ticking down to something else, or does the hourglass time something, and it's just been recently flipped? at which point, why is it framed as so significant?

*returning to the "half-rations" point, there has to be due credit to this post by @that-ineffable-devil, it's such a good point; what do demons care about - is integral to their existence, and is essentially in short supply - that rationing would be necessary? crowley doesn't seem overly intrigued by the notion, but shax idly considers it important enough to share when prompted. op suggested that it's power; that there isn't enough (given that miracles appear to be drawn down from heaven/up from hell) to go around. op gave the great example of the ceiling leak in s1, but if the flickering lights, the broken lift mentioned by eric in ep5, and the excess backlog of filing in s2 is also anything to go by - yeah, these things could be solved with a demonic miracle or 'magical' intervention... so why aren't they?

gabriel cautions (putting it politely) aziraphale at some point around 1793 around using up 'frivolous miracles', which suggests that heaven was/is having a similar issue (or, alternatively, it was simply a power flex; to keep aziraphale in his place, so to speak). however, when we look at the archangels' reactions to the 25-lazarii miracle, their main concern understandably, given the plot, is what it signifies (ie. it's too coincidental to have occurred at the same time as gabriel going AWOL)... but not so much that there isn't enough power to allow a 25-lazarii miracle to go unchecked. instead, it seems like the sheer scale of it is just completely written off, that heaven doesn't actually care too much about how much power it seems to have partially drawn from heaven (ie. if it's a 50/50 split, 12.5 lz), and they seem to write it off like petty cash.

so tl;dr, hell might be having a power issue, but heaven doesn't appear to be sharing in it. i don't think it's anything to do with human souls fuelling miracles, because by the same logic (which i accept may be completely flawed. in fact id stake my life it is) the pool of power should be increasing, rather than decreasing - if more and more souls are being funnelled into hell and heaven respectively. so what if instead there's a leak somewhere - what if heaven is syphoning off power from hell? and when did the power leak start happening - was it to do with the failed apocalypse? is it actually nothing to do with heaven, but instead that because the soul population keeps going up and up, the power they actually have to contain and maintain them is stretched really thin? power can't be spared for lower-priority shit like filing and maintenance? why isn't heaven having the same issue? why is power seemingly finite, and where does it come from? does power actually come from god? or does it directly parallel to humanity's faith (and, presumably, the dwindling amount of it) in god? but heaven is closer to god, so they haven't yet been hit with the shortage?

this is still flummoxing me slightly - if there even is any answer to be had/if there's anything deeper to be read here - but the post is already long enough that it's probably best to leave it there... ideas very much welcome!!!✨

#good omens #getting this one out the drafts its burning a hole #dont have a hell tag yet so sticking this under #heaven theory #this requires more intellect than my two braincells bumping off each other and occasionally creating sparks

[trutrustories]

STUDY IN LOKI ROMANCE

Part 3: 1893

Since we're only a few days away from the last episode, I decided to COUNT DOWN everything we´ve got so far ( that can be interpreted very easily as romantic ) and discuss what the actual fuck is going on with second season. Because even though I shipped lokius practically from S1E2, I absolutely did NOT expect this kind of development. (Not that I´m complaining)

Warning: This is gonna be LONG post, lots of screenshots, lots of SPOILERS, lot of "oh-my-god-they-so-cute" language, and little bit of meta.

I originally thought that this post would be everything at once, but since I have just too many screenshots this time around, I´ll have to split it. so every post will be one episode. Color coding means:

IIIIIIIIII = anything, that coud potentialy be just acting choice.

IIIIIIIIII = everything else (tzn.: whatever was written, and/or carefully prepared by filmmakers. )

side note: I already wrote, about how amazing it is, that Mobius is unable to fight but fights anyway and how beautifuly, and ridiculously brave he is HERE. But this is about Loki/Mobius interactions, so I´ll try my best not to talk about THAT. (Even when I´m really happy, that s2 continues with this formula and Mobius is still his completely defenseless while aggressively brave self. I love him, btw.)

EPISODE 1 HERE EPISODE 2 HERE

Episode 3, here we go:

22) matching suits part 2 anyone, who work on those costumes: I want to kiss you all!

23) Another exhibition of touches:

the challange name is: "how close we can get, before we sink into each other"

24) "And they lived happily ever after..." They had some lokius fan in the editing room, I´m telling ya! This retro movie style transition... THAT is my roman empire...

like seriously? what is the purpose of this? I can´t wrap my head around it. someone just thought that it is really crucial to end this scene with two of them in a circle. OK.

but WHY?

It was LITTERALY used only once! (I´m sorry, but as someone, who works as an editor, this just driving me crazy 🤒🫠)

25) Loki and Mobius enjoying popcorn:

I have several things to say here:

ever heard about when one person is "forced" to have fun for the first time, and to try new things by the other person, and he´s protesting and is all about work and serious matters, but secretly loves it and is visibly relaxed and happy? - Because I´m sure this is some bloody romantic comedy trope, that everyone have seen about hundred times!

"Oh look, you have a piece of food on the chin, let me just…"

I know I already said this somewhere, but, this is the moment, where in my language suddenly (completely randomly) switched from formal way of speaking to each other to intimate way of speaking to each other. (I´m Czech, btw, and I have no idea, what happened in that recording studio but it had to be interesting)

26) Also... Bickering like married couple (part 3)

27) "You know sometimes I forget, that you are one of them... Blows my mind!"

Mobius being Loki´s fan.

Also yeas. Loki is one of them. God. And Mobius is a small, normal dude. JUST A HUMAN. Analyst, even! And they´re eating popcorn together.... also Loki will do whatever Mobius wishes

28) another "let´s be as close as we physically can" challange

Loki can´t keep only eye on him. he needs hands, because reasons

29) Mobius supporting Loki in using magic...

... or I should say Loki using Magic, whenever Mobius wishes, because...

"Will you handle this please?" "Gently!"

And on top of that... not him, explaining, what just happened, to the public, by: "The amazing Loki, everyone! He´ll be here all week! 🥳🥳🥳"

who the heck asked, Mobius? stop showing off with your magical boyfriend

30) Victor/Ravonna - the most transparent mirror ever:

THIS scene? Are you kidding? Ravonna running towards Victor: "Mr Timley! are you okay? And Mobius running practicly at the same time towards Loki with: You allright?" and both helping their man up on their feet?! IN SYNC! this is too much.

WTF

31) THE BIKE THIS. this is the most GREENLY green point, I can think of. Someone had to have this vision. This idea. And put it in to screenplay. Someone had to find the bike. Someone was shooting this. Camera is moving around them. And they were all like GREAT idea, let´s have them riding tandem bike while chasing Ravonna and Timely, that makes complete sense! (even when we have Loki chasing Brad USING MAGIC one episode back) anyway... ever heard about "let´s do this crazy stupid thing - absolutely not - and then they do the thing" trope?

32) Loki going with Mobius, not even thinking about it anymore.

And to think, that I was expecting something like S01E03 (Lamentis episode)! Once again, I wasn´t prepared for amount of Lokius content I was actually served. What a surprise! 🤯

#loki #loki spoilers #loki and mobius #lokius #mobius m mobius #owen wilson #tom hiddleston #loki s2 spoilers #loki season 2

[phoen1xr0se]

New Fic on AO3: Don't Fall Away From Me

Thought I would be brave and post my post S2 fanfic - it's set shortly after the TRAUMATIC events of Season 2 and throws Crowley and Muriel together into an adventure neither of them expected when Aziraphale goes AWOL. Lots of angst, very fluff, a few giggles. Feedback welcome.

Image credit: @mistysblueboxstuff (AMAZING ARTIST)

Don't Fall Away From Me - Chapter One MURIEL

Today is my fortieth day on Earth as a human bookseller. It seemed important to keep records of my time here on Earth - after all, record-keeping is what I do best - and I was inspired by Mr. Fell the traitor the Supreme Archangel's own personal records. I discovered a whole heap of them at the back of the shop on my second day, and although I am unsure who "Diary" is, or what the purpose is of describing how a demon's hair moves in the breeze, I do very much admire dedication to accurate record-keeping. I will be keeping a log of my activities and the things I have learned about humanity.

Here are some of the things I have learned so far:

1 - There isn't much book selling that goes along with the job. Or interacting with humans, really , which is a bit disappointing. Rather, I sit in the shop all day and wait for customers that never come, and read. I like the reading, and I'm used to being alone after millions of years as a scrivener, so it's not all bad.

2 - Books are brilliant! They hold so much information, and somehow make you feel as if you are another person for a little while. I am learning so much about humanity by reading all their funny little stories. I still haven't quite figured out why humans do it, create wild stories and put them in print, but it's jolly good fun.

3 - Maggie (a human) is very kind. She comes in every morning and asks me if I want anything from the coffee shop. I always say no, of course, but she comes by anyway. She is always helping me to understand things better.

4 - Nina (another human) seems less kind but is actually nice. There is a human saying that says "don't judge a book by its cover" and I discovered that it doesn't actually describe books, but people who behave differently than their appearance might suggest. Isn't that funny? But it is a good description of Nina. Nina doesn't speak to me much but did give a bag of clothes to Maggie to pass on to me, which was super kind of her. After all, my human police officer outfit was no longer suitable, and I was a little unsure about miracleing myself a new outfit in case I got it wrong. As it turned out, apparently putting on every item in the bag was also a mistake, but Maggie helped me to fix it.

5 - Every night at sundown, a large black car drives slowly past the bookshop. I always try and wave to Mr Crowley but he doesn't seem to see me, which is odd as I believe he used to spend a lot of time here. This behaviour seems suspicious, especially for a former demon, which is why I am noting it.

Muriel closed the leather-bound journal with a satisfying clap and looked around the bookshop. The sky was darkening outside, and as if by magic, the flickering low-level lighting around the bookshop sputtered into life, casting Muriel and the books into a warm yellow glow.

"Three, two, one..." whispered Muriel, and, just as expected, they heard the low growl of an engine approaching. A black Bentley pulled into view, going as slowly as a car could. As always, Muriel approached the window and waved cheerily. From behind the wheel, the driver gave no indiciation that he had seen Muriel's wave - his face was set like stone and kept on driving, out of sight.

Across the road, Muriel saw that Maggie and Nina had also been following the car's movements from the coffee shop. They were exchanging words. Maggie shook her head and Nina's eyes met Muriel's. She raised her hand in a wave. Muriel went to wave back when they realised that Nina was actually waving at them to come over.

Muriel froze, flustered. They hadn't actually left the bookshop since being appointed to be its protector - they took the responsibility of protecting the Supreme Archangel's personal property very seriously indeed. But why shouldn't they venture out and interact with these humans? After all, they had been so excited to get out of the office and onto Earth, why waste an opportunity? It would look more suspicious to avoid them, Muriel decided, so they left the shop and crossed the street, smiling brightly at the two women.

"Hello Muriel," said Maggie, smiling. "I like your outfit today. Very... bright."

Muriel looked down at their choices for today, green knee length socks, a yellow corduroy skirt, a sparkly purple belt and a rainbow poncho. "Thanks! I love how much colour you... we... humans have to choose from. Colours are the best."

Nina and Maggie exchanged a look. "Hey, come inside for a coffee," said Nina. "We need to talk."

Muriel's face flickered with panic at being offered a beverage, but Maggie gently touched their arm. "It's alright, Muriel, you don't need to drink anything if you don't want to. It's just what... we... humans say sometimes as an excuse to sit and chat."

Muriel beamed. "Oh, well, of course, I knew that."

Muriel followed Maggie and Nina into Give Me Coffee Or Give Me Death, and let their eyes wander over the brightly painted walls. Sometimes it felt like their eyes couldn't take it all in, all the colour, all the EVERYTHING, everywhere. It was so vastly different from the infinite, empty whiteness they had been accustomed to in Heaven.

"Right," said Nina, after making two coffees and sitting down at a table in the empty cafe, "we need to talk about our friend Mr Crowley."

Muriel flinched. "He is not MY friend, I barely even know him. I mean, I arrested him once, but not really... and he's a de- de-" Muriel faltered, trying to think of a cover for her mistake.

"A... demon?" suggested Maggie softly.

Muriel let out a very unconvincing laugh. "A... what? A... no, don't be so... I mean, what are you... we humans don't believe in... in..." Their eyes flicked between Maggie and Nina wildly.

"It's okay, you don't have to lie," said Nina with a wry smile. "We may be human but we're not stupid. We know about Heaven and Hell and all you... lot," she finished lamely. "I mean I can't even believe that these words are coming out of my mouth, but here we are. I'm having coffee with an angel! I mean, I'm assuming you are, anyway - you don't strike me as the demon type."

Maggie smiled at Nina whilst Muriel struggled to find a reply. On the one hand, they were meant to be inhabiting Earth discreetly and it was entirely possible that they could get into a lot of trouble for having their identity revealed. But on the other, it would be so nice not to have to lie anymore... and Maggie and Nina had been so very kind to them so far.

"You don't need to worry, Muriel, we're not trying to cause trouble for you. I rather think we may have done too much of that already," said Maggie, her blue eyes clouded with worry. "Do you know what happened between Mr Fell and Mr Crowley on that day?"

Maggie didn't need to remind anybody which day she meant. Muriel shook their head. "No. Crowley said that he wanted them to have some "us" time at the Ritz, whatever that is, and then Azira... uh, Mr Fell, came in to tell him about his big promotion."

"Promotion?"

"Yes!" Muriel beamed, remembering. "You see, he was talking to the Metatron - that's the voice of God, you know - and he was offered the job of Supreme Archangel! Since, you know, Gabriel decided to go off with..." Muriel trailed off. They found the whole thing rather puzzling still. "So that's why I am here now, looking after the bookshop, and Az... I mean, Mr Fell, is, you know..." they pointed upwards. "Up there."

Maggie and Nina exchanged dark looks. "So... he left, then. And... how did Mr Crowley take this news?" asked Maggie. "After all, it seemed as though they had known each other for quite some time. Was he... okay?"

Muriel shrugged their shoulders. "I don't know. Apparently Metatron had told Mr Fell that he could restore Crowley into an angel and return to Heaven... but I don't see how that could have worked, after everything he's done. I mean, he is a demon, after all. I don't really see how any of this works. Mr Fell isn't exactly the first person I should think of when I think of a Supreme Archangel. I mean, he spends time with demons and humans, and... ingesting things..." Their eyes rested on the half-drunk coffee cups on the table and wrinkled their nose.

All three of them were silent for a moment.

"Well we know Mr Crowley didn't take him up on that offer, and we know that he's been coming by here every night since," said Nina matter-of-factly. "I think we can probably assume the poor man is heartbroken." Maggie nodded sadly in agreement.

"What... what do you mean?" questioned Muriel, looking quizzically at Nina.

"You know, Mr Fell and that Crowley. They're in love. We were trying to help them work it out so they'd stop hopping around the issue, but I feel like we were probably too late."

Muriel's eyes were wide as saucers. "In... love?"

Muriel felt a strange feeling pass through their body. They had read lots about love already, and not the celestial peaceful kind of love but the human kind - complicated, confusing emotional love - to Muriel, it all seemed a bit far-fetched but humans seemed to be totally mad about it! They'd read dozens of stories where humans did all kinds of incredible, unthinkable and unexpected things, and all for this very abstract concept of love. With a sudden sinking feeling, they recalled how many passages of Aziraphale's journal were devoted to describing the demon Crowley in painstaking detail. The description of his flame-red hair being tousled by a sea breeze and how the light would catch his shining yellow eyes. They recalled seeing Crowley drape across an armchair with barely an inch between him and Aziraphale. The way Crowley had called Aziraphale "angel" without a hint of irony. The way Crowley now stayed so close to the bookshop once owned by Aziraphale but refused to look directly at it.

Blinking, they looked over at Maggie and Nina, who had fallen into bickering over whether or not they had helped or hindered the couple, blithely unaware of the revelation Muriel was experiencing.

"I... need to get back to the bookshop now," said Muriel, standing up abruptly. "Thank you for inviting me for the 'coffee and chat'."

"Oh, okay... I also wanted to let you know that it's the monthly Whickber Street Traders and Shopkeepers Association Meeting tomorrow evening, I've had my arm twisted into holding it here. You'll come?" said Nina.

"It'll be a nice opportunity to meet some of the other traders," said Maggie with a reassuring smile. "If you're going to be sticking around a while, it'll be good for you to get to know the neighbourhood properly. And we'll be there in case you..." she paused briefly, "I mean, to help you if you need it."

"Er, yes, if that's what a human bookseller does then I will be there," said Muriel, pasting on a smile that didn't quite reach their eyes. They thanked Nina and Maggie again and returned to the bookshop, locking the door behind them and making their way to the small bedroom, the soft yellow lights extinguishing themselves as they walked by.

Muriel had taken over the bedroom that had been formerly occupied by Gabriel the amnesiac Archangel, and a small miracle had seen the tiny room turn a vibrant shade of lavender, and pictures of random things that Muriel had drawn lined the walls above their bed. Muriel changed into an oversized Back To The Future T-Shirt and climbed into bed. They had no need to sleep, but they had begun to spend their nights lying in bed reading and feigning sleep to keep up appearances. Tonight, though, Muriel's mind was whirring with brand new information, and they weren't sure that they would be able to concentrate on the unfinished copy of Persuasion on their bedside table.

After a few minutes of staring blankly at the ceiling, Muriel got up from bed and crept back into the bookshop. From Aziraphale's desk, they picked up a book bound in green leather and padded quietly back to bed. They held the book carefully in their hands and, despite having already skimmed through some of it, somehow realised that reading it this time would be quite different. What Nina and Maggie had unintentionally revealed to them, they knew, deep down, somehow changed... everything.

Taking a deep breath, Muriel opened the first page and began to read, and for the first time, also understood.

#good omens #crowley #aziraphale #neil gaiman #aziracrow #david tennant #ao3 fanfic #ao3 writer #muriel #ineffable husbands #ineffable idiots #ineffable bureaucracy #writing to cope with trauma #seriously season 2 destroyed me #but i guess im a writer now #good omens fandom #crowly x aziraphale

[ultfreakme]

I hope the natla writers don't go down the same route as the og atla by giving Zutara so many scenes and importance (atleast that's what it looks like). They have already made many changes interaction-wise with the characters that ended up being really good (like the Aang and Iroh conversations), I don't see why they can't do the same with the Book 2 and Book 3 content.

I don't have anything against the pairing, people can ship whoever they want, but it is kinda frustrating to see how much they seem to get in comparison to other Zuko friendships etc. I would like to see more emphasis put on the eventual friendship between Aang/Zuko and Sokka/Zuko, and fxf and mxm friendships in general, something I feel like the og quite lacked. Like, give me more bonding scenes between Katara and Toph please?!

Enemies to lovers is boring and overdone. I want enemies to best friends.

I think the NATLA team is, for the most part, reluctant to do anything with Zutara, but especially the actors and promotion team (the scarf scene wasn't even anything, Zuko's focus IMMEDIATELY goes to Aang right after and he basically leaves her to DIE under the NWT rubble. Also obviously the time he tried to burn her. He's far more vicious in NATLA than he ever was in the OG). They removed all the s1 Zuko-Katara scenes and I'm expecting pretty much the same for S2 & S3 too. One because the actors GENUINELY seem uncomfortable when its brought up as a ship, and two, they seem to be focusing more on expanding the Aang-Zuko interactions.

I would really enjoy more friendships and closer bonds too. I think the OG did very little with Zuko-Katara tbh, they have had like, three positive interactions that didn't end badly but shippers who are convinced that the universe has conspired against making Zuko/Katara are a thing exaggerate their interactions a LOT (personal opinion that will get me killed, I think every Zuko-Katara significant interaction has a parallel Zuko-Azula interaction and Azula & Katara's individual relationships to Zuko being juxtaposed to show family isn't about blood, this even carries through to the comics by paralleling Zuko-Sokka as big brothers). Zuko-Toph would be EPIC. Real missed opportunity there. Toph-Suki and Katara-Suki would be welcomed too, it's a bummer that Toph really didn't get to mingle in-depth with the extended gaang.

Yeah, I like enemies-to-best friends to, and I'd like to see those two's interactions being treated platonically (I hope randos in the writing room DO NOT push their ships onto characters, like, stop and be professional).

#riki asks #natla #anti zutara #atla la #atla live action

[butterflydm]

WoT reread: The Strike at Shayol Ghul & some final thoughts, post-reread

So, I was not planning to do a full reread back when I first picked EotW back up again! My primary motivation was to refresh myself on books 1-3 so that I would be prepared for S2 of the show, lol.

But I'm glad that I did this reread. There was a lot in the books that I had forgotten or where I'd bought into the fandom party line despite the books themselves not supporting the arguments imo, so it was great to dive into them again and see what I think and not simply what general fandom thinks. Thanks so much to everyone who commented on or interacted with my reread posts. <3

While this next bit is technically not a reread because I never got around to reading it when it first came out, I went ahead and read "The Strike at Shayol Ghul" (written in 1996 by Jordan). Thanks to @wafflelovingbatgirl for reminding me about its existence! I may try to get around to reading "River of Souls" (about Demandred, by Sanderson) at some point, but TSaSG was easy to find online.

here there be spoilers

The Strike at Shayol Ghul

It's pretty short -- it's "an introduction" written by someone in-world -- Jorille Mondevin, who is the Royal Historian for the Queen of Kandor. Looks like the Queen that we know in the series -- Queen Ethenielle. Nice. I always enjoy 'in-world" texts, so this is very interesting.

She's telling the queen about a recent discovery of a "partial copy" of a "history of the world" from the drilling of the Bore until the end of the Breaking of the World. We get a worldbuilding note here: that the practice of printing survived the Breaking "when so much did not", which helps explain the high literacy level in the Westlands. While many inventions were lost, the printing press survived! Though most of the actual writings were lost during the Trolloc Wars and the War of the Hundred Years.

"We must marvel at any writing that has survived more than three thousand years." So true, bestie. (I've decided that Jorille and I are besties) "What we know is based on fragments, copied and recopied a thousand times, but at least we know something from them. Even a little knowledge is better than ignorance."

I love how this feeds into the basic concept we're dealing with -- history becomes legend. We're talking about that process here, of knowledge being reduced to fragments that are passed on.

Oh, man, reading this does remind me about reading about IRL fragmentary texts. "Such a history would no doubt be a vast, multi-volume work, yet of the two hundred and twelve surviving pages, the largest number of consecutive pages number six, and nowhere else more than two."

She notes that the dates given in the text make no sense, because "no calendar dating from the Age of Legends has ever been found". There are references both to large-scale events such as cities destroyed by balefire during the War of the Shadow, as well as mentions of individuals' personal appearances. But nothing that tells the special significance of most of the people mentioned.

The six consecutive pages that survived are of particular interest, because they are about the sealing of the Bore by Lews Therin Telamon and the Hundred Companions.

"We still cannot be certain how long passed between the creation of the Bore and the actual beginning of what would come to be called the War of the Shadow, yet plainly at least fifty years and possibly more than one hundred were marked by a rapid decline in the social order". During the first three years of the War of the Shadow, the Shadow made great in-roads and then during the next four, Lews Therin pushed them back to reclaim some of what was lost.

But ultimately, the Shadow began to prevail because it did not care if it left disaster in its wake. It was soon clear that they were losing again and their losses were accelerating. "If they were to win at all, it must be done quickly".

There were two plans proposed at the time that are mentioned here: first Lews Therin's idea of directly attacking the Bore itself. The Seals were going to be used to shut the Dark One away from the world. The plan was considered risky due to the Dark One's influence on the immediate area surrounding Shayol Ghul, with Lews Therin admitting that he expected few or perhaps none of his "raiding party" (of twenty thousand soldiers and 13 Aes Sedai) would survive. Additionally, there was a concern that if the seals were not placed in precisely the right locations, the strain of them would rip open the Bore entirely and free the Dark One.

The other plan, in opposition to this, was proposed by Latra Posae Decume. Her plan was to use two massive sa'angreal (the ones that Rand ended up using during the cleansing of saidin) to push the Shadow's forces back and erect a barrier around Shayol Ghul until... you know, they figured something better out. Downsides to this plan: the Bore has kept getting bigger since it was first drilled, so it might continue to do so behind this barrier as well, and if the Dark One got loose inside the barrier, the barrier itself might come undone under the strain.

Latra and Lews were both, apparently, very convincing speakers, with Latra getting every female Aes Sedai "of significant strength" to sign what the manuscript calls "the Fateful Accord" though Jorille doubts that's what it was called at the time. I wonder if the 'strength level' was "Nynaeve-level" or if it was lower and more like "Egwene/Elayne-level". It was believed that the signing of this accord killed Lews Therin's plan in the water, because "men cannot create a circle, only be brought into one created by a woman".

Work on the massive sa'angreal was rushed into production. There is, Jorille says, a lot of speculation among historians about whether or not the sa'angreal would have worked as Latra had proposed. She also mentions speculation about whether or not women going with Lews Therin into his plan would have protected saidin from the taint or if it would have only meant that saidar was tainted as well.

But disaster struck as the sa'angreal were completed. The place where the access ter'angreal were created (needing to be done remotely due to "uncontrolled resonances during the finale stages" -- Jorille doesn't know what that might mean, but I'm guessing it would mean feedback leading to a big boom) was overrun by Sammael and the forces of the Shadow, though they did not find the access ter'angreal.

With the sa'angreal unusable, Lews Therin argued again for his plan but Latra wouldn't budge. As time had passed, even more of the female Aes Sedai had pledged to the Accord, even though they weren't strong enough to be part of the circle anyway. "Tempers and passions rose, and an apparently unprecedented division along male-female lines began to develop among the Aes Sedai in general, if not within the Hall itself". The Hall decided to stay with Latra's plan, attempting to smuggle the access ter'angreal out of the area now controlled by Sammael.

Jorille notes that all those making the attempt to find the access ter'angreal were later found out to have been captured, tortured, and killed, though none of them betrayed the location of the ter'angreal to Sammael.

As the Shadow swept forward, there was the "re-emergence of the peace faction" who argued that negotiations should be held with the Forsaken. Jorille notes that this peace faction, over the course of the War, would send people on its own to try to negotiate with the Forsaken but, upon the return of the delegations, they would act out plans that aided the Shadow's cause "though it seems that in some instances, they were completely unaware of what they had done" (aka Compulsion).

Despite how dire the situation had grown, Latra's resistance to Lews Therin's plan held firm. "the lines of division had hardened to a point where many female Aes Sedai refused to speak to male Aes Sedai, and the reverse as well". Lews Therin decides to act on his own, without the Hall.

Jorille notes at this point that Latra had earned the name Shadar Nor, translated as "Cutter/Slicer of the Shadow" but what deeds earned her that title have been lost to history.

So, Lews Therin launches his own assault against Shayol Ghul, with the "Hundred Companions" (though Jorille says that text notes they numbered 113 at this point) and ten thousand regular soldiers.

"Exactly what occurred that day can never be known, only the results. Of the soldiers, not a single man or woman returned to give any account." It is known that the seals were placed safely, that "all thirteen of the Forsaken" were at Shayol Ghul and trapped in the sealing along with the Dark One. If that had been the only result of the attack, then the world would likely have recovered well over the next few years, Jorille speculates. "Civilization has retained a large degreee of cohesion in the ares held by the Light" and without the top generals, the armies of the Shadow fell into struggles for power among themselves. "In any case, the War of the Shadow must be said to have ended that day at Shayol Ghul."

But, Jorille adds, this was not the only result of the assault. "Instead, there was the counterstroke from the Dark One at the moment of sealing, and saidin itself was tainted." Lews Therin and his companions "went insane on the instant" and by the time the taint was discovered, hundreds more male Aes Sedai had been driven mad by the taint. "That fateful day at Shayol Ghul ended the war, and began the Breaking of the World."

She says that the manuscript itself, in its own introduction, speaks for what the people at the time were suffering: "Whoever reads this, if any remain to read it, weep for us who have no more tears. Pray for us who are damned alive."

Very informative and pretty evocative as well. One of the things that I love about WoT is the post-apocalyptic setting and one of the things that I love about that setting is learning about the world before and during the world-breaking event (one of the reasons I also love the Horizon Zero Dawn games).

I have no clue why I didn't read that back when it was first published. It's great and it's pretty short. Though I realize that a lot of that information had kinda filtered into my world-knowledge already, lol.

My personal ranklist for the WoT books:

The Fires of Heaven (😍)

The Shadow Rising (😘)

The Dragon Reborn (😘)

The Path of Daggers (😘)

New Spring (😘)

The Great Hunt (😄)

The Gathering Storm (😄)

Lord of Chaos (😄)

The Eye of the World (😄)

A Memory of Light (🙂)

Towers of Midnight (🙂)

A Crown of Swords (🙂)

Winter’s Heart (🙂)

...

...

...

...

...

Crossroads of Twilight (😒)

Knife of Dreams (😒)

While I am glad that I did a full reread this time, there are definitely parts of the books that mostly frustrated me and I'll probably just skim past them in future rereads (I suspect I will want to do at least some rereading after S2 airs) -- I'm not sure if I'll ever reread Mat & Perrin's sections of CoT & KoD again. That's essentially the heart of the Slog right there.

Some things that definitely changed for me during this reread:

a. I noticed how much shipping material there is for Cauthor as a pairing (obviously this is mostly in the first five books but there are crumbs even after they separate). Very exciting to me! I didn't go into my reread expecting much, because fanon had definitely affected my memories of Cauthor and I was assuming that their friendship permanently broke in TGH after Mat found out that Rand could channel. Very untrue! I (and many of the other readers, I must assume) was just too young to pick up on all of Mat's subtext back when I first read the books.

b. Gawyn's stock massively rose for me. One of the best points that @markantonys made to me about Gawyn is how similar his 'coping with trauma' behavior is from the outside to Rand's is -- we just spend so much more time in Rand's head that we understand him and his choices better than Gawyn's. And I think that the TV show bears that out a lot because show!Rand got a lot of the same complaints thrown at him as book!Gawyn does. I gained a lot of sympathy for Gawyn over the course of this reread.

c. Min's stock, on the other hand, massively fell. I remembered her as my least favorite of Rand's romances but was still fond of her, but wow, my reread burned away so much of that fondness. Which is kinda a shame, because now it's going to be a genuine effort to make sure that I don't hold the sins of book!Min against show!Min, whereas before I did my reread, I was liking show!Min a lot. But between her (admitted to in her own PoV!) manipulation of Rand to get him to fall in love with (the invented version of) her, the way she acts in their relationship (to pick a few things: trying to force him to be jealous because she thinks it makes the sex hotter; threatening him with knives; reading his mail and trying to burn it before he gets the chance to read it himself; punching him hard enough to make him grunt), and the way she changes herself to suit the person she believes she needs to be to get and keep Rand's attention... it's just yikes all over. She's not my least favorite character in the books, but she's definitely the character who fell the furthest down on my list after my reread.

d. While I didn't like Tuon any better in this reread, Sanderson does set up the Mat & Tuon relationship to be much less.... character-breaking for Mat than it was in CoT & KoD. Mat's brain starts working again around Tuon in AMoL and she actually experiences some minor consequences for her actions, it seems like, instead of just skating through everything on brainwashed autopilot like she did in the Jordan books. I actually feel like the Mat in AMoL is prepared to Do Something about the Seanchan Empire and slavery, while it felt like CoT & KoD Mat would have just rolled over and let Tuon do whatever she wanted because (much like Min) he'd given up his morals and personality for the sake of his prophesied romance.

e. I was able to really parse through and see what I liked and disliked about some of the 'plot shortcuts' that Jordan used -- the ta'veren shortcut of coincidences is mostly fun, because it forces the plot to happen when the main characters are there but gives an explanation for it, but it also affects random things (like people falling off buildings or the rate of weddings in a town), but wow did I dislike some of the heavy-handed romance prophecies and how they mostly seemed to be used to bypass crucial relationship development (especially in Rand/Min and Mat/Tuon).

f. There are also the two major Mat-related plotholes I noticed that still bug me so much, even now, one during Jordan-era and one during Sanderson-era:

Everyone's vow of silence about Mat being trapped in Ebou Dar (Nynaeve is the worst offender because she spends weeks/months with Rand and never bothers to tell him that his best friend was left behind in enemy territory).

Mat's magical teleportation to Ebou Dar at the start of AMoL that completely breaks the logistics of the narrative.

Both in clumsy service of attaching Mat to the Seanchan storyline At All Costs (Even Logic), which really does stand out to me as the worst plot choice that Jordan locked himself into way too early on via prophecy and then didn't know how to handle when it actually showed up on the page.

#wot reread #the wheel of time #wot #wot book spoilers #wot spoilers #wot a memory of light spoilers #wot amol spoilers #wheel of time #the strike at shayol ghul

[raayllum]

how long would you say you've actively shipped any of your favorite ships? - im curious specifically about sorvus, sorpeli, and claudiez

I wouldn't say Sorvus is one of my faves even if I do 1) love Soren and Corvus individually, 2) Corvus is one of my favourite side characters in the whole show (like top 5) and 3) I do really like them! That being said:

Canon

For the bulk of TDP ships, canon-wise, I shipped them as their relationships were revealed (aka Harrow/Sarai with the info we got in S1, Claudia/Terry with the info we get in S4, Runaan/Ethari back when he was known as 'Tinker' thanks to the S1 credit sketch, etc).

For Janaya, I shipped them from the first time they met in S2, since "rival intellectually and physically matched generals on the battlefield" along with both being very pretty is a decently long-ish homoerotic trend in literature (aka a production I saw of "Coriolanus" really leaned in on it, although I think I saw that pre-S2's release. Applies though)

For Rayllum, I shipped them pre-show even if I was also down to brotp them. They'd be travelling together, thus having plenty of time to develop an interesting dynamic / were around the same age, and the screencap released before the premiere of them sitting under the tree (Callum, distracted but eager, and Rayla, exasperated and fond) really drew me in since that's a ship type - dynamic and gender wise (I don't tend to love ships where the guy is the more grumpy/guarded one, I think, since women are so often forced to do More of the emotional labour in relationships Anyway) - I'm already Very susceptible to. I tried to hold off a little bit in early S1 cause I didn't want to ship them too hard, but then 1x05 came along with the boat scene and it was Over for me. They've had my heart ever since (5 years going on forever)

Requested Rarepairs

Sorvus

So I didn't really ship Sorvus (although I was never opposed to them) for the majority of the time post-S3. I didn't really ship Soren with anyone and preferred Gren/Corvus at that time (due to their personalities / closer dynamic to Amaya and therefore each other) as well as enjoying Corvus/Opeli. However I was also really hoping that Corvus would stay on the council/with Ezran, and figured that if Soren was going to end up with anyone, Corvus was probably the most realistic choice (shared goals, decent development, timeskip to help things, similar ages).

That said I still didn't actively ship them (like I didn't mind them but was completely impassive/neutral y'know?) until I wrote an interaction between them in "if heaven and hell decide" (a canon divergent S2 where Claudia and Soren decide to delay their betrayal of the trio, and therefore travel with them for much longer) and the fact that Corvus would see Soren at his worst in canon (S2) but also see and appreciate who Soren was becoming... I started to turn a corner and grew to ship them a lot more. I'm really excited for them to eventually be canon, it seems, even if they're not My Endgame for either character In My Head for years-post war, at least for now.

Claudiez

For aged up Claudia/Ezran, I think this post (dated July 2021) was when I started to ship these two. There was something about the interplay of Claudia telling Callum about Harrow's death, but he only seeks out comfort from Rayla, and Ezran rejecting Rayla's offered comfort about Harrow and instead accepting it from Claudia, that felt very apt to me? And then a couple weeks later I wrote my formal "I actually do ship Claudiez and here's why" meta so it's been a few years now!

Both the younger sibling uniquely given their father's mantle to carry in ways their older brother just doesn't have to; Ezran being connected to all nature while Claudia continually perverts it, thus Ezran having the relationship to nature that she needs to learn/acquire for her own healing additionally; they both see the throne as a tool to help and breaking their fathers' cycles with each other; the childhood friends to enemies to friends to lovers of an according slow burn because of said age gap; ending up as Queen of Katolis but not the way her father imagined and ending up with one of the brothers, just not the one everyone previously expected; Ezran getting to grow up and into his own and assert his independence and choices (no matter what his brother thinks about it), etc. I also think personality wise they suit each other - Terry's parallels to Ezran in personality are some of the reasons I think Clauderry works at least as a short term pairing.

It's also kinda perfect bc, since they'd only get together like 10-15 years post the end of the show Anyway, so like. they're Endgame to me no matter what and there's nothing canon can really do about it, #improvise adapt overcome.

Sorpeli

This probably started out as the truest crack ship because it started as a joke of like, Soren flirting with her at 20 and easy to dismiss and then again when he's 30 and Opeli is like "I deserve a little fun," so they start having a physical fling, and then catch feelings (Soren falls first, she falls harder). The earliest post I have for them is from May 6th 2023 but I know realistically I'd probably shipped them for a lot longer (what can I say, younger men not being put off my older women aging bc society is bullshit, and contrasting personalities + devoted man & woman who feels undeserving will always get me) before I ever had mind to say anything. Then I dragged @jelzorz into it and the rest, they say, is history. So like 1.5 years at least now?

I'd probably be even more into Sorpeli than I already am but I'm not unconvinced that Opeli won't die (I really hope she doesn't, but I do understand how it could benefit Ezran's narrative in particular) but like if all seasons pass by and she's alive? Canon crack quartet with Endgame Rayllum, Claudiez, Sorpeli, and CorTerry is a go <3

TLDR;

Rayllum before the show started, Janaya in S2, everything else when the ships got introduced, then next we have Claudiez (July 2021), Sorvus (casually since Oct 2021), and Sorpeli (late 2022/early 2023).

#shipping #thanks for asking #anonymous #forbidden op lore #requests

[girlbossblackbeard]

brain thoughts whilst watching s2 ep1

if u saw me post some of these as their own posts no u didnt

-y'all are so smart for predicting that the steard HAD to be a fantasy/dream sequence

-"I never made you leave him. You did that yourself" *stede kills him* hmmmmmm definitely not a metaphor for stede trying to kill/silence the part(s) of himself and his actions that he hates and is ashamed of and that story arc DEFINITELY isn't a parallel to Ed's comatose dream journey we see later in ep 3 when he confronts Hornigold's ghost only to realize that it's actually a manifestation of Ed's self-hatred. this is just a silly little pirate show with silly little fake sword battles that's all :)

-Okay. We know this is a fantasy. We know this is a silly little pirate show. We know it's a haha funny comedy with two of the best comedic actors the world has ever seen in the starring roles. And Yet. The ungodly heartbreaking "Ed" that Stede yells the second time just before running to him is so gut-wrenching, so full of desperation, so overwhelmingly breathtaking in the undeniable agony laced throughout that one syllable, I wish god had put me in Izzy's place instead bc it would've been a thousand times less painful to literally be stabbed directly through my abdomen than to hear Stede say Ed's name like that while tears well up in his eyes

-watching stede and ed run like that gave me the ick im so sorry yall i wanted to be brave about it but i just cant be

-okay but WHY am i blushing when Ed looks directly into the camera for his lines in the fantasy sequence.........how in the hell did stede not spontaneously combust the second those stupidly big brown beautiful doe eyes made eye contact with him

-EVERYONE SHUT UP STEDE'S FACE AFTER HE AND ED COLLIDE AND ARE ROLLING AROUND IN THE SAND IS A LOOK OF ABJECT DESPERATION AND AGONY WHAT THE FUCK HE MISSES HIM SO MUCH AND FEELS SO GUILTY HE CAN'T EVEN BE TRULY HAPPY IN HIS OWN DREAMS

-"I knew you'd find me, babe" "You're not mad?" "I knew you'd find me, love" "So, we're good? About everything?" "Fuckin' love the beard, mate" Even in Stede's dreams Ed does not confirm that everything is alright between them. I'm starting to think this dream sequence is actually a nightmare sequence because he gets confronted by his fears by not only Izzy throwing it in his face that Stede left Ed of his own volition but Ed steadfastly refusing to answer Stede's questions about their relationship being okay

-in stede's dream ed has his full beard because that's a marker of the last time/era stede remembers being truly happy with ed before he ruined everything at the naval academy and broke ed's heart so severely it turned him into the very monster the rest of the world always wrongly made him out to be

-"can't be worse than you moaning 'ed, oh ed' all night long" black pete my beloved

-GOD stede's hair and scruff look so GOOD on him what the HELL

-WEE JOHN'S HAIR AND EYELINER AND PIERCINGS AND EVERYTHING LOOK SO GOD DAMN GOOD HE LOOKS SO GOD DAMN GOOD

-stede's silly little thumbs up to the swede as jackie makes him throw that ass in a circle reblog if u agree

-stede talking to the patrons at spanish jackie's is just a typical customer interaction working in the service industry

-ayo i think spanish jackie's is serving food now?? guess that overhead issue she mentioned to geraldo in s1 is no longer an issue bc that place is popping

-if ricky was able to clock stede immediately and doesn't think he's dead even after his very public and very loony-tunes-esque death then how many people in barbados actually believe he's dead??? does the whole town just kinda know he faked it and have accepted that he abandoned his family, became a pirate, came back home, drunkenly bisexualized his ex(??) wife's new boo thang, then faked his death so he could abandon his family again???

-"Demon? I'm the fuckin' Devil" I can't accurately put into words how hearing this line so softly spoken paired with seeing Ed's beautiful kohl-covered eyes as the guitar and xylophone from the song kicks in has affected me but I can say with 100% certainty it is the root cause of my new mental illness, whatever that may be

-fuck OFFFFFFFFFFFF EVERYONE LOOKS SO FUCKING GOOD ON THE KRAKEN CREW IT'S ACTUALLY INSANE

-LOVE LOVE LOVE the freeze frame with the day of the week overlay it is SUCH a visually excellent component of those scenes

-i know we're all supposed to be very sad and upset at ed shooting a guy (that was BASICALLY ALREADY DEAD) but for the love of GOD that man has never served so much princess babygirl gender in one cocking and shooting of a gun as he did in that scene

-JUST REALIZED ED IS WEARING A LONG TRENCH COAT JACKET THING IN THE SHOOTING SCENE AND THAT'S WHY THAT SHOT IS AFFECTING ME SO MUCH IT LOOKS LIKE A DRESS

-the immediate stoppage of the music with the smash cut to the crew trying to process the trauma that they've been through is so fucking funny, the editors have absolutely mastered the science of comedic timing

-"i dunno, i've never really been to a wedding before so i've got nothing to compare it to really" archie my beloved

-"i've never seen blackbeard like this. he didn't even bat an eye when ivan got killed" i don't have the energy to really put all my thoughts about this into coherent sentences, so all i'll say is that i'm really disappointed this is how they chose to deal with ivan not being in the show anymore. idk what went down with guz khan and whomever made the decision not to invite him back for s2, but at the very least i feel like they could've either written him off in some other way or simply not mentioned him at all. killing him off in one sentence that gets immediately interrupted with a comedic line just doesn't sit right with me

-"i lock the box and then i don't open it again" frenchie just like me fr

-i know stede did NOT just say "he's just blowing off some steam" in response to olu pointing out that ed has been committing so many crimes they literally had to start listing them on the back of the wanted posters. it's giving "girlfriend whose boyfriend acts like a massive asshole to her in front of her friends but she tells them he's actually soooo sweet when it's just the two of them together"

-"well, we can't turn up with any old ship. we need to look good" stede you literally haven't touched clean water in who knows how long, i think pulling up to the revenge in a dope af whip might need to be a little lower on your priority list babe

-the way ed gently strokes that cake topper before stuffing it in his jacket right above his heart like he used to do with the red silk bc stede's entire being eclipsed the silk when he became ed's whole heart. cinema

-i said it before and i'll say it again: izzy looks like a sad clown with his rudy giulliani lookin ass hair dye dripping down his face and the black panda rings around his eyes as a sad excuse for war paint

-when watching the first ep for the first time, i found myself becoming extremely uncomfortable and even anxious at times watching ed doing drugs and having a very public spiral that he takes out on the crew. massive props to taika and the writers for being able to make me genuinely a little terrified of Blackbeard in those scenes

-conathan o'neill. words cannot describe how enrapturing every single second of screentime you get is. every pixel of your performance is pure perfection. every tear that glimmers in your eye but refuses to fall is gloriously gut-wrenching. every laugh out of izzy's mouth is uniquely, ineffably uncomfortable in ways that should be futilely studied by science. also u look really hot when you're leaning on the rigging in the storm

-the swede shaking his head "no" at stede trying to warn him not to talk back to jackie when she steals their savings. he was trying to help his friends :(

-"i know that guy, we had breakfast together :D" "you'll be having a lot of breakfasts together" "oh okay :))" the swede my beloved

-buttons opening his mouth when it starts raining. buttons my beloved

-"im afraid your...your life is better without me" is SUCH an amazing line read from rhys, the way stede's voice hitches and you can hear the tears in his throat as he tries to voice his deepest fears is so incredibly moving which is why i got both the ick and medically diagnosed whiplash when he busts out that extraordinarily cringe ed voice to RESPOND TO HIMSELF. idk what's wrong with that man but it's not in ye olde DSM-5

-the fact that, once again, in stede's own imagination ed is not refuting stede's fears but is rather confirming them in the case of him talking to ed's wanted poster about how he's worried ed's life is better without stede in it and stede responding "could be...could be mate" in "ed's" voice is actually really desperately tragic and heartbreaking when you think about it ! :)

-"i know everything about you" i truly hate to say it but SOME of us, and im not saying who (me), are unfortunately extremely ricky-coded. it's giving "hi kevin" in spongebob

-"i, too, am a child of wealth" STOOOOPPPPPPPP I WAS ABSOLUTELY HOWLING AT THIS LINE IDK WHAT THE WRITERS ARE GETTING PAID BUT IT NEEDS TO BE ON PAR WITH WHATEVER RICHES RICKY WAS CLEARLY STRUGGLING WITH AS A CHILD VICTIM OF TOO MUCH MONEY

-someone smarter than me should do an analysis on how quickly stede's attitude towards ricky flipped once ricky told stede he was his hero and the gentleman pirate saved his life and how stede maybe saw a lot of his past self in ricky and is intimately aware of how the mundanity of living a life that's been prescribed to you from birth with expectations you could never live up to can drive you to the edge unless you choose to do something drastic to change your situation and how stede already feels like such a failure because of both the situation with his family/old life AND with ed/his new life that he took the opportunity to be the kind of gentle guide he could've used when he was starting out in the same situation ricky is before stede met ed and started to learn the ropes more. so if ur reading this please get on that thx <3

"my time with jackie has been the happiest of my life. her love has helped me locate parts of myself i didn't even know existed" (his prostate) "and reclaim others that i had long missed" (his teeth and nails)

-"but...i owe you a life debt and i am bound to honor it" something something mary telling stede "we made a contract in front of god and i am bound to honor that" something something stede being told by multiple people he cares about that the only reason they're dealing with him is because of societal convention

-i was gonna start this post off with "sorry" but i actually will not be apologizing for the unabated foaming-at-the-mouth level of hedonistic intoxication i experience every time i look at ed in his warpaint. if you have any issues with this that's between u and god buddy

-"i have...love for you, edward" actually made me gasp so hard i choked

-"i heard that you think the vibe here on the ship is poisonous" ed said VIBE CHECK and then took izzy's leg

-fang whimpering is actually illegal

-ed asking blackbeard about the vibes on the ship was such an incredibly well done performance from taika because i was genuinely so uncomfortable watching that go down i almost had to look away

-frenchie shaking his head "no" at izzy after izzy yells at ed to stop with his insane blackbeard monologue about the vibes on the ship is such a tiny moment but speaks VOLUMES about how trauma-bonded that crew has become under the kraken's rule. frenchie doesn't want to see izzy get even more hurt than he already does on a daily basis but i think he also knows it's already too late

-god the way ed just casually turns away and shoots izzy the second he hears the first "st" syllable of stede's name is so chilling

>>>side note: does ed look away because he can't watch himself actually hurt izzy THAT badly? he later turns his back to izzy in the hopes izzy will shoot him and when he doesn't, ed leaves before izzy shoots himself

-izzy's resigned inhale and small smile before starting to say "your feelings for stede bonnet" is so unbelievably heartbreaking because he knows. he knows he's about to get majorly fucked up for what he's about to say but he's tired of everyone walking on delicate shards of glass around ed

-the fucking joke of "how are you so good at this" because he's literally doing the swedish massage. credit goes to my friend shane for realizing this right away when it would've taken me 20 rewatches to come close to getting it

-"I can't believe how well this is going" black pete my beloved

-"this is where you went wrong with the whole gentleman pirate thing. details like this are important to build a brand" she's an influencer

-"i cant believe you guys robbed jackie. wow. so bad" the swede my beloved

-wee john covering his nose as jackie says she's about to get more noses for her nose jar

-"aint you that soup bitch" "im the money bitch" well im gay and i want them both to step on me

-"it's okay sexy dutchman"

-ed crying on the bow of the ship is sooooooooooo insane to me like i keep getting reminded of the fact that he's literally been crying every single night for MONTHS over stede

-"never going back to land. we're gonna sail, rob, and raise hell forever and ever without end" "sounds like a plan" frenchie's face as he realizes he's probably gonna spend the rest of his life on that ship may have actually caused heart damage

-HI THE TRANSITION FROM ED SAYING "FUCK YOU STEDE BONNET" AND LOOKING AT THE MOON TO STEDE LOOKING AT THE SAME MOON AND SAYING "GOODNIGHT ED TEACH" SHOULD EITHER BE GIVEN AN OSCAR OR CODIFIED AS A VIOLATION OF THE GENEVA CONVENTION I JUST DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE YET

#ofmd #our flag means death #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #edward teach #stede bonnet

[harocat]

Tagged by @heyyo-heyyo

3 ships you like (people I love together, canon or otherwise)

Dongfang Qingcang/Xiao Lanhua (Love Between Fairy and Devil)

Hua Cheng/Xie Lian (TGCF)

Yuuri Katsuki/Victor Nikiforov (Yuri on Ice)

First ship ever: I'm not ever sure how to answer this, because I'm certain there's ships that I supported as a kid, but I can't really recall feeling strongly about them. They'd probably be like... Disney movies or something from a book I read, but I'm just like /shrug I don't remember. So, Zelgadis Greywords and Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune from the nineties anime, The Slayers. They're the first thing I was into fandom for, ship wise. And they're still one of my all time favorite ships.

Last song you heard It was Joji's Glimpse of Us. I looked up the lyrics for someone in a GC.

Favorite childhood book(s)

My favorite book as a grade schooler was The Dolphins and Me by Don C Reed. It was about a guy that worked at Marineland in the 70s/80s, and his interactions and relationships with the dolphins that lived there. I read it a lot, and it made me cry each time. It wasn't the great American novel or something, but for child me it meant a lot. Somewhere I have a signed copy of it.

Currently reading

JWQS, still. I'm so slow.

I'm also terrible about buying books and not reading them, so I have several on my shelf I'm mid-reading, but I feel like it would be dishonest to list them here because by mid-reading it's 'I read the first chapters five years ago and might get back to it.'

Currently watching

Cdramas: White Cat Legend, Love and Redemption. I'm kind of watching A Journey to Love, but it's been slow going. It's really good, and I like it a lot, but for some reason I'm just not hooked. I want to finish it for my princess Yang Ying though.

Anime: The Apothecary Diaries, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. Also watching Spy x Family season two, but very slowly. I like to just pop on an episode when I'm in a sour mood because it always cheers me up.

Not really watching any western shows ATM. I'll be back on my Doctor Who shit in May though.

Currently consuming: I had a little strawberry pie pastry for breakfast.

Currently craving: Food? Super basic, but I really want chipotle even though I had it YESTERDAY. For something to watch? I want another fun xianxia. There's so many in the pipelines that I hope are great. What I want to see most (outside of Eternal Faith which will never happen), is Lost You Forever S2 though.

For the ultimate thing I want every single day of my life? Ice Adolescence. :(

Tagging: @eldritch-bisexual, @circumference-pie, @sassybluee, @2014federalbudget, @glasscasse, @zelinxia, @quadsuki, @starrygazingpie, @xiaohuayaos, @takemetogusu

#meme #heyyo heyyo

[yellowlaboratory]

Hi!! What are your season 3 thoughts?? And most importantly, what are your Jiara related season 3 thoughts? :D

alksjdfhlaskdfj i have. so many thoughts. i've never ever written something short so uhhhhh.....stick with me, lmao.

first, non-jiara thoughts:

cleope was SO cute!!! i wanted to wait for the writing to convince me on them as a ship because I really wanted something more than "these two aren't with any one so lets put them together" for cleo and pope and I've been completely convinced. They both bring out a different side to each other and the way Pope opens his family and his home to her is just alkdjfhlksajdfhlkajsdhf it's unbearably sweet. i love her interactions with the heywards and i love how instantly she fits in. the scene when he leaves her in his room and she does a tiny dance and then falls back on his bed and says "thanks, pope"..... yeah i think i was cosigning on that ship as soon as I saw that asdklfjhaskdfl. and the scene in 3x06 where she stops him from shooting rafe and he cries in her arms.... oh my god. it single handedly saved that episode for me. AND THEIR KISS???? oh my god.

i also LOVED Cleo's friendship with JJ. When they are on a mission together, they are right there with each other. and, speaking of friendships, I loved that we got more JJ & John B, best friends since third grade content. the fact that they physically started fighting... idk, I think it just made them feel even more like brothers to me.

i also just really loved some of the (for lack of a better term) girlboss moments this season. there are SO many moments that i was loudly cheering for my girls. Cleo having the only brain cell like 180% of the time when Kiara is kidnapped. Kiara betraying rafe and stealing that boat (i was fully cheering ala kiara during the cliff jump scene like that is my GIRL) (also madison bailey the woman that you ARE the way she never even a little bit played into the r*ara of it all. any time Rafe looked or spoke to or was in the general vicinity of Kiara, she looked SO uncomfortable and I love that for me). and I really REALLY loved Sarah manipulating Topper lmao "you're such a giver" "it's just how i was raised" KLAJDHLAKSJDH

and, actually, I think the inculsion of topper in the heist was super funny and exactly the type of shit i want to see from him (if wheezie had been there to give him shit, it would have basically been any fic i've ever written with topper in it). when topper is being used purely for comedy, he's kind of a genius character - Austin North can deliver those bat shit Topper lines really well, and the rest of the characters (particularly Kiara) react SO well to him. he's so easy to make fun of!!! but then.... having Sarah go back to topper again was uhhhh not it. I think they should have kept the s2 or the s3 stopper storyline in, but not both. sarah going back to something that reminds her of a time when her life was easier while shit is absolutely hitting the fan and she has nothing else is like, very much in character, and that's what happened both times. the fact that they didn't show her growing through that in this season, but instead regressing..... idk, i'm excited to see a Sarah with more growth. also, canon comedic topper is dead to me forever after burning down the chateau so, i guess that's a loss on both fronts (i can't talk anymore about the chateau burning down but i have a lot of feelings about it).

i really hated big john. i'm so sorry, but looking back, John B should have left that man in the fucking bell tower. I think the amount of screentime he took is my biggest gripe of the season (i did a scrub of the show for just jiara scenes after my first watch and the amount of times i had to scroll by that man.... my god). and not only did he take up a shit ton of screentime, he kept John B away from the pogues - both physically and emotionally - for most of the season (the lack of goofy happy pogues moments is my second biggest gripe with the season). If you've read pltc, you know that I had a lot of thoughts about Big John and his relationship with the pogues but...... when he died (actually, this time), it was only dry eyes here lmao. I feel bad for John B, obviously, but everything (and i mean EVERYTHING) Big John did this season was so shitty for John B, I can only say that i think John B is better off without him.

i think the thing that has me the most conflicted is the 18 month time jump. narratively, it makes so much sense - and logistically, aging up the characters as the cast ages makes a lot of sense. i don't love that we'll miss alot of jiara and cleope but I'm coming around to the thought of it all by opening ao3 and waiting for those time jump fics to pour in. @ josh pate if season 4 opens with JJ slamming Kie against a wall as they're making out i'll forgive literally everything, i'm so easy to please.

i guess this is the perfect transition to the jiara of it all. the first few episodes literally bodied me. every interaction on Poguelandia bodied me - the way they were living their poguelandia/surf trip dream, the "just like we talked about", the angsty silent conversations they were having when they saw the plane. kiara getting kidnapped hit - I think the way JJ was so focused on getting her back was so perfect, the dock hug was actual literal perfection. I am a Hug Girl first and foremost and oh my GOD?

the first almost kiss floored me. i did not expect it. the transition from their dumbass little jokes to almost kissing.......... i'm gonna die. i literally fell off my couch. I think Pope being the one to break it up was inevitable, as was their conversation. idk how i feel about it, i know pope was always going to have opinions on jiara and i'm glad it wasn't super salty but.... i'm gonna need to rewatch it a few times i think.

episode 4 absolutely ended me. those conversations and the way Kiara knows JJ and the way JJ was imploding.... absolutely insane. the framing of that episode (like the actual cinematography not the writing lmao) was not my favorite, but the content was SO good. it was everything i wanted I was losing my mind. JJ telling Kiara she's a kook HURT. Kiara knowing that he's lashing out cause he's scared made me yodel. the talk in the chateau's yard about truces immediately followed by another almost almost kiss made me want to scream into a pillow. 10s all around.

I also love Heist Jiara. I loved seeing JJ at the carrera's house for the conversation about the cross, and the way he's a little bit like a caged animal around Mike is perfect!!! Him self destructing by stealing the money clip is just literally JJ 101. Jiara bike ride to Kilby Girl is now my entire personality!!!!!!!! also the fight about the money clip - that's not really about the money clip at all - followed immediately by JJ almost dying and Kiara being like "don't you ever do that again" is just aksldjfhkasjdfhlkjasdhlfkjasd i could YODEL.

the gate fight absolutely took me by suprise. the "i love you dude" was not what i was expecting AT ALL. JJ's buffering reaction and the way he's trying to downplay it was 10298/10. the hurt in kiara's face made me want to cry, and then John B fucking everything up feels... well, a little inevitable. I also love that even in their angstiest, jiara is still together, and in episode 8, they are sitting on the couch and kiara's playing the ukuele LIKE. they are best friends. they are so important to each other. nothing is ever going to change that. I also love love love the part where he's like "i'll tell you on the plane." idk it makes me feel buzzy.

episode 9 is a literal fucking feast. the feral jj, the way he KNOWS something is up when she doesn't show up, the way he drops everything and then ends up in kahoots with Barricuda Mike to get her back. "I kind of got a date" ????!?!?!?!??!!!!! then the whole thing about Marley the cat (josh I KNOW you are on the ao3 tag just drop me the username please) and Kiara immediately knowing it was him as soon as she heard "blond". the "me?". the KISS. the giggly happy in love couple that they are!!!!! i do wish the kiss had better lighting for my giffer friends but i know we're gonna get the brightest kiss in the world in s4 to make up for it (pates make it happen!!!). and i think my favorite scene of the entire season is them being so happy and giggly on the plane and the high five into a handhold alkdjsfhlkasjdfhlksadf.

episode 10 is obviously a drop off lmao. it sucks to leave the season on that note but we did get the "it's an adventure baby" and little background moments. I'm happy the pates didn't write themselves into a corner too much this season, and in a lot of ways I'm really glad that jiara is open ended because that means there's a lower chance of unnessecary bullshit being thrown our way really early on into s4. i would have liked a more definitive ep 10 moment but ultimately, espeically since we know we have s4, i'm not concerned in the slightest about it.

so, overall, i think there were parts of the season that felt slightly choppy (personally, I'm of the belief that they filmed a lot more than we saw), i think the first half was generally stronger than the second half, and I think i'm really, really fucking glad we have s4 confirmed so I don't have to stress about it even a little & we'll get to filming sooner. my sanity is hanging on by it's fingernails but it is in fact hanging on.

at the end of the day, i had the time of my life watching it and i had some really great people to share it with and I'll always be so unendingly grateful for that!!!!

#outer banks #obx #obx spoilers #obx s3 spoilers #jiara #my thoughts are all over the place (CLEARLY) #this is just my general brain rot if you have specific questions i might have half way intelligible answers #i'm sure i'll have more thoughts and I'll probably change my opinion on some things with more time #but here we are!!!

[jellie-the-aqua-puma]

Hi...if you don't mind me asking, who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

Hi! Thanks for your ask! This is a good question, and this is my first ask so don’t apologize! Currently my mains are

Dazai/Chuuya aka Soukoku from BSD, I really like their dynamic, just the familiarity they had when they came on screen for the first time together. I think Bungou is really well execute though, so S2 showing that they still can come together and pretty much treat each other the same way / exasperation with no heat? And then the light novels are soo helpful too! I really think they’re sweet for each other, and I just think that’s neat! Plus there’s so much to unpack with their relationship! Yeah Chuuya wasn’t happy when Dazai left, but did he really resent him for it? Did he take it personally? What are they going to do now? All they do whenever they’re together is their best to protect each other.

Gojo Satoru / Geto Suguru from Jujutsu Kaisen, the tragedy! Oh man! It took me a bit to get on board with this, but I’m in for life now. It was the “My six eyes tell me your Geto but my soul knows otherwise.” I haven’t looked back. Gojo so shamelessly admitted that and Geto fighting back? They actually remind me a lot of Soukoku, with the obvious being Gojo = Dazai and Geto = Chuuya, but also Gojo was the one who got left just like Chuuya. So much went wrong for these two when it didn’t have to! If Geto had just took the time to explain, if he didn’t stubbornly try to rationalize his mistake, if Gojo had not taken Geto’s words at face value, if he’d’ve pushed a little more. I really love the impact they had in each other. Geto is the reason Gojo pushes for a better future for young sorcerers (does not seem like it’s going that well) and Gojo was the reason Geto wanted to make the world a better place for sorcerers.

Sun Jing / Qiu Tong from Tamen De Gushi (Their Story), a Chinese manhua. The story is just so cute, innocent, and straight forward. No screwing around, misunderstandings, annoying drama, etc.

Galo / Lio from Promare - this movie was so good! These two are really cute! I’m gonna say they’re semi-canon …

Hua Cheng / Xie Lian Heaven Official’s Blessing. Tragic characters when separated but together work towards their best future! Love it.

Cheng Xiaoshi / Lu Guan from Link Click I watched this on a whim and was so impressed by the characters and story! Im super interested to see where their relationship will take them, especially after what’s been revealed in S2, which I’m still reeling from! I am eagerly waiting for season 3!

I’m curious about yours now! What would you say yours are?

Honorable Mentions in no particular order below the cut

Yeong-sin and Seo-bi from Kingdom (kdrama) even though they don’t interact much, them being the only two survivors of the zombie epidemic in Jiyulheon is really what sets them a part for me although anytime they’re around others they act like they don’t know each oher.

TodoDeku was super cute in a very innocent kind of way. I liked that Todoroki was the first person who wasn’t Izuku’s friend who to saw his potential and see him as competition. I haven’t followed My Hero since S4 tho.

Yoruichi / Soi Fon Bleach; I felt Soi Fon’s devastation, to be joined at the hip and devoted and then abandoned and left behind. Yoruichi is merciless, she didn’t gaf lol.

Speed / Trixie sealed in by the 2008 Speed Racer live actions. They were crazy in the anime.

Astrid / Hiccup from the HTTYD film franchise, what a power couple.

Nancy / Edward from Enchanted, they are wasted by Disney but they’re oh so cute!

Aurora / Phillip from Sleeping Beauty, they are also wasted by Disney.

Goku/Chichi Dragon Ball, Chichi is wasted by Akira.

Steve / Bucky too, from Captain America, the way Steve was constantly ready to raise hell for Bucky got me. I pretend anything Phase 3 and after didn’t happen.

#asks #fav romantic ships #fav ships #from all years of my life #satosugu #soukoku #galolio #promare #bsd #bungou stray dogs #their story #tamen de gushi #link click #shiguang daili ren #shiguan #ships #heaven official's blessing #hualian

[edoro]

What do you think of "Watching and Dreaming"?

oooh thank you for asking! took me a bit to get to it but today i am MEDICATED and MOSTLY FINISHED WITH CLEANING so let's see what i can shake out of the ol' brainpan

gonna put this under a cut because it's probably going to get long, but overall: i liked it! i think it wrapped everything up pretty well, did not leave any major plot points unaddressed, and i found the timeskip epilogue to be sweet and hopeful but not saccharine or cloying.

in more detail:

seeing the three episodes we got for season 3 makes me wish so badly that we'd gotten the full run of the show that the crew wanted. i've seen word from the last post-hoot that they found out the show was canceled right before the mid-s2 hiatus, which tracks with the overall pacing and direction of the back half of s2, and it's just a tragedy. i think they did a really good job with what they had, considering the insanely compressed runtime they were given to work with.

i'm a little disappointed that the other kids didn't get more screentime in the final episode. it makes sense but i wish we had gotten more of them and their interactions with each other outside of Luz - and their interactions with Camila, too.

i honestly really loved the whole thing with the Collector. i know a lot of people don't for various reasons, but, Shrug Emoji. some of the criticisms of his whole arc really don't make sense to me - i feel like the people who are mad that they did turn out to be a misguided kid who didn't understand the gravity of what they were doing or how it affected others for various reasons (such as: being a child, having been isolated for centuries with only Philip for company, being immortal and having incredible reality-warping powers) and changed their tune when it was explained to them just, uh... were not really paying attention? lmao?

like it was pretty obvious from his first appearance that he was a child or at least very childlike, and we can easily infer from those scenes that he's been held captive and manipulated by Philip under the guise of friendship and 'letting him free to play', so everything else follows pretty naturally from that.

i liked how it was Luz, with her own childhood experience of death and grief, who recognized what was going on here and sought to explain it to them. she's always been an empathetic person who tries to see the best in others and give them the benefit of the doubt. sometimes, like with Philip, this comes back to bite her, but most of the time it's good and helpful.

i really like how we had someone just outright tell her "lmao no" to her whole "but am i JUST AS BAD as Philip???" thing. like honey, no, you have made some clumsy mistakes while meaning well, and the thing you're the most guilty about is literally just 'helping a guy who manipulated and lied to you without realizing he was manipulating and lying to you', which is not even your fault, because HE LIED TO YOU. Philip has spent centuries carefully engineering his way into being able to commit genocide. these two things are not the same.

speaking of Philip: i also know a lot of people have been upset with his ending. honestly, i'm not! i think that it tracks very well with the kind of person he's always been - a stubborn, manipulative liar who sees himself as a victim and blames everyone else around him for the tragedies that he's experienced, many of which he's directly personally caused, and who has been given chance after chance to change his mind, change his behavior, change his beliefs, and simply refuses to.

like... some people are just assholes! i don't think that the fact that he ended up lying, manipulating, treating humans as supreme, and trying to commit witch genocide to the very bitter end means that he was like, Born Evil, i think it means that he was once a sweet kid who loved his brother who grew into a cruel, hateful, manipulative man who only saw certain people as Fully Persons and therefore deserving of existence, and felt like he had the authority to decide who is or is not a person.

and honestly like... The Owl House is a children's cartoon. it's rated Y7. it is for children and part of its purpose IS to teach children things, and i actually think that "sometimes, people will hurt you, and they'll lie and say they're doing it for your own good or for the greater good, or they'll have a sympathetic reason for doing it, but that doesn't actually matter because they keep hurting you and you do not owe them infinite chances to keep doing that" is a really good lesson to teach children.

Philip's story is a tragedy and the tragedy is that he easily COULD have done literally any other thing, but he refused to. he had chances! he refused to take them! he had centuries to go, "wait, am i the baddie?" and he did not. he murdered Caleb himself and then blamed witches for that. instead of treating the grimwalkers like family, he treated them like disposable toys to take his anger at Caleb out on. he lied, manipulated, killed, stole, and hurt countless people because he felt like they deserved it because of his own unhappiness.

some people are like this! it happens! i have met them and personally been harmed by them in ways that are going to impact me for the rest of my life and have, if not exactly ruined my life, made it a hell of a lot harder than it would have been otherwise.

so for me, seeing that the ultimate resolution of Philip's story is that he refused to change, he refused to admit any fault, he kept lying and manipulating and trying to hurt people, and eventually everyone he tried to hurt and lie to turned on him and got rid of him so he couldn't keep hurting them is very satisfying.

The Owl House is a show about how people have the capability to change, but the flip side of that is that it means they have to choose to do so, and some people won't. so what do you do then? what happens when someone is hateful, cruel, and dangerous, and won't stop trying to exterminate an entire race of people because he blames them for his own self-inflicted problems? what do you owe someone like that? how many chances should you give them? how often should you let them have the opportunity to hurt you or others again?

i think the fact that he went out so pathetically is also very fitting. to the very end he wouldn't own up to anything. he just kept trying to lie and manipulate. and like many people who act this way, when his manipulation didn't work, he dropped the mask and got mad.

so yeah! i liked that aspect of it, and i feel like a lot of the criticisms are honestly just... expecting Philip to have played a very different role in the story than imo he was set up to play. he was the contrast to people like Alador or Hunter or Amity or the Collector. he was the example of what happens when someone REFUSES to change and uses any chance you give them as a foothold to do more damage. so the ending where it's just, "sometimes you have to do what you can to protect yourself from people like that" is imo quite narratively cohesive, and i think that it also fits into the overall theme of "your character is determined by your actions." Philip COULD HAVE ended differently, but he didn't, because of his own actions.

let's see... i feel very (seesawing hand motion) about the scene with Luz and Papa Titan. overall i think i like it.

i like the idea that Luz found everything through her own ingenuity and Philip didn't because he didn't treat the Isles as worth studying!

but that being said, i think there's something quite powerful about the idea of the land itself as a being with some limited level of agency, able to open itself and its resources up to someone who approaches it with respect and able to reject someone who comes in to rapaciously plunder it in order to kill those who live on it, ESPECIALLY given the fact that Philip is, literally, a white Puritan.

like that's definitely also a very meaningful narrative to me!

i don't really talk about this a whole lot here, for various reasons, but half of my family is native (Osage, specifically.) i'm not connected to that side of my family or that aspect of my own heritage for Complicated Reasons including abuse and the ongoing effects of white supremacy and colonial violence causing those members of my family themselves to be disconnected from their heritage in a way that meant that i was, basically, raised as a white person who is visually Ethnically Ambiguous depending on how familiar the people looking at me are with what mixed native people look like.

however, as someone who has perhaps a more personal connection than some others in the fandom might to the idea of "white man from a colonizer culture comes into a land foreign to him, views them all as backwards evil savages who must be purged for the safety of the good white Christians, proceeds to plunder and misuse their resources for his own gains, destroys their connection to their own history and culture and installs himself as a figurehead leading them into death" as like, a narrative, i don't think that the idea that the Titan was watching what happened and subtly nudging or influencing events to the degree that he was able to (which was ultimately a very, very small one) is like... meaningless.

and i don't think that what he said to Luz negates any of the messaging of the series. he didn't say, "you were special All Along, so you deserve my powers." he said, "you're the one who's here right now, and you seem good enough."

like... she proved herself, by her actions, to be an open and caring person who wants to do good, and specifically cares deeply for the Isles and the people on them, to the point where she is willing to sacrifice herself for them. and she's the one who is here, right now, in this moment. and she is not a perfect person, but she's Good Enough.

i actually really like that! she's here and she's good enough. she's the one in a position to do something about it and she seems okay. i don't think that it does retroactively make her into a "chosen one", because she didn't get it through her birthright or anything, she was given it because she ended up there (because she sacrificed herself to save the Collector) and she had previously shown herself to be someone the Titan thought would use it well.

so i liked that! i think that, like with "you actually do not have to keep giving someone chances to hurt you when they are a shitty liar, even if they're also sad", "you're here and you're good enough" is a pretty good lesson!

what else, what else... loved the whole bit with Philip possessing Raine and them fighting him off. loved the sequence of the two of them duking it out in the throne room and the fact that Philip just BIT them - little brother behavior for sure. Raine is a stone-cold fucking badass.

one little detail i liked a lot is the bit where they're stuck in the goop in the throne room basically waiting to die, and Eda comes in - i specifically really love how the crew got the look of soft, fuzzy, unfocused confusion in their eyes because they don't have their glasses and can't see. there's a particular way that people who need glasses to see often look when they don't have them, and they got it really well, and i just really liked that detail!

the final fight was indeed Cool As Fuck. i love how anime TOH is.

i liked the epilogue! it was very sweet. i like that it showed how people grew and changed and repaired the Isles, while not completely erasing the damage that was done. i also think it did a good job of wrapping stuff up while still leaving a lot open - it did not, imo, fall into the "jobs and babies forever" trap of something like, say, the Harry Potter epilogue, but it showed us how things went and gave us a lot of room to imagine where they'll go from there.

also love everyone's new designs. Good For All Of Them. Amity got so fucking gay and Gus is so HANDSOME now!

also of course i was ecstatic over the Huntlow lmao - i can't believe i used to dislike it! i love how often she just kind of casually and fondly manhandles him. my friend Sharo said something to the effect of, "i like how the scene where they're sliding and he stumbles and she catches him shows that it's been so long since he had to do child soldier shit that his hot jock gf is now way stronger and more athletic and nimble than him" and i haven't been normal about it since! he's SOFT now!!

so, overall, i feel positively about it! there are a lot of small threads that got dropped, no doubt due to the series being canceled, but i think they wrapped everything up well, and i feel like everything that happened actually was pretty thematically on point. i am satisfied with it! i wish we'd gotten more, but i enjoy what we did get.

#the owl house #asks #meta

[trutrustories]

STUDY IN LOKI ROMANCE

Part 5: Science/Fiction

Since we're only a few days away from the last episode, I decided to COUNT DOWN everything we´ve got so far ( that can be interpreted very easily as romantic ) and discuss what the actual fuck is going on with second season. Because even though I shipped lokius practically from S1E2, I absolutely did NOT expect this kind of development. (Not that I´m complaining)

Warning: This is gonna be LONG post, lots of screenshots, lots of SPOILERS, lot of "oh-my-god-they-so-cute" language, and little bit of meta.

I originally thought that this post would be everything at once, but since I have just too many screenshots this time around, I´ll have to split it. so every post will be one episode. Color coding means:

IIIIIIIIII = anything, that coud potentialy be just acting choice.

IIIIIIIIII = everything else (tzn.: whatever was written, and/or carefully prepared by filmmakers. )

side note: I already wrote, about how amazing it is, that Mobius is unable to fight but fights anyway and how beautifuly, and ridiculously brave he is HERE. But this is about Loki/Mobius interactions, so I´ll try my best not to talk about THAT. (Even when I´m really happy, that s2 continues with this formula and Mobius is still his completely defenseless while aggressively brave self. I love him, btw.)

EPISODE 1 HERE

EPISODE 2 HERE

EPISODE 3 HERE

EPISODE 4 HERE

38) Loki looking for Mobius in PIE ROOM Hey... this is starting to be suspicious. is this room actual Heart of the TVA, that we didn´t know about ??? Why does everyone accidentally end up here???

39) Loki Time slipping to the theater room (where he had his first long, table converstation with Mobius.)

I´m gonna cry 😭

40) Mobius/Don casually informing Loki, he´s a SINGLE dad and telling him his entire work schedule (not that it´s important for anything, but Mobius is sooo damn handsome in that blue west!!! ) Also Loki staring at him through the window ?! And then being so distracted by him, that it took him interestigly long time, before he realized / accepted that Mobius doesn´t remember him (AGAIN). And he should have know this right away, because he already talked to Casey/Frank.

41) Loki time slipping to Mobius again (right when he started to be hopefull and Happy, that O. B. will be able to help him.

42) Loki glow up - or Loki fixing himself up, to look sexy not threatening fo Mobius/Don. I mean... this is just straight out of romantic movie, I´m sorry. Interesting acting choice there🤣

43) Loki being very nervous while talking to Mobius/Don.

Mobius: "You live around here, or did you follow me home? 😉" Loki: "Oh... no... hahahaha 😅 ... No no. I was... 😳I was actually on my way to the 👉👆👇☝️uh. And... 😨 And I happend to see you, so I... I... I 🫣 just thought I´d just come and say that I´m sorry that I... I... 🥵couldn´t... stick around back there. I was... um... 🤯 I was in a bit of a time crunch. 😅😅😅"

Said God of Mischief.

I´m sorry, but he´s acting here like stuttering schoolgirl with a crush. What exactly are you trying to accomplish, Tom ??? Anyway... I love it xD

44) Mobius dropping everything and forgeting about his two mischievous sons so he can give Loki full attention

45) Wanna buy my wife´s jetski? - oh by the way, she´s long gone, and worst thing about it is the fact, that one of these beauties doesn´t have a rider.

would you wanna ride it with me? let´s jump up on these bad boys

46) "A beautiful union of form and function"

The fact, that Loki remembers that line from S01E02 and that he echoes it back at Mobius, who doesn´t remember him... Like... WHAT? This thing is romantic as fuck. also finaly someone, who will gladly listen to Mobius braindumping about jetskis!!!! YES PLEASE. He deserves it! 💚 they litteraly made for each other!

47) Loki gently helping Mobius/Don through the time door. - while O. B. is struggling with heavy prototype of tempad...

48) "You saved my life, when I first arrived. You saw something in me, that I hadn´t seen in myself."

Can you believe he said that??? Because I don´t. I´m still processing 😭 Also, see? He IS his friend... but O. B. is not. He WILL be (eccept O. B. knows Mobius much longer xDD ) I´m ok 49) "I want my friends back. I don´t want to be alone."

This scene is honestly so tragic. Sylvie helps him realize his true motivations and he looks so desprete. TVA: place, that he should hate is home now. Where he belong. And that´s why he cared so much and tried so hard to save that place. And thing he wants the most are his friends. Their company. (And if it wasn´t obvious, it means primarily Mobius. The man, he called friend several times this season) It´s him, who Loki doesn´t want to lose in the first place.

Loki looks so fucking sad here! I can´t! 50) "It was more about what I wanted."

Not only he says it while we are watching Mobius, but let´s take in the fact, that he says it at all! Like... come on!!! Can´t he be just happy? As soon as he starts thinking that his actions are selfish, Loki will actualy choose what he thinks is better for Mobius and tries to let him go...

The character development in this show is just unbelievable

And finaly: 51) "It´s not about where, when or why. It´s about WHO."

... said Loki, after very, very, VERY long look at Mobius. --------------- Anyway. That´s the check-list. In total, I counted 51 Lokius moment, but if anyone caught something I didn´t, feel free to correct me! the more, the better! 😁 It´s a hella lot of Lokius content. especially since I didn´t expected, like... not even third of it. So yeah. Last part will be kind of a conclusion. I will try to look at possibilities, what could all this mean. What could be the actual intent of writers and filmakers etc. And, simply put it, asking: WHAT THE FUCK 😳

#lokius #loki #loki spoiler #loki s2 spoilers #loki season 2 #mobius #mobius m mobius