#I was dreading rewatching Episode 7 but by the time I got to it I knew I couldn’t skip | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kalena-henden · 5 days

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Lee Je Hoon's Chief Detective 1958 starts today. Can't wait to watch! I enjoyed him in Taxi Driver and really want to watch through his filmography eventually.

Lovely Runner is knocking my socks off! Byeon Wook Seok and Kim Hye Yoon are killing both the comedy and the drama. Wook Seok is the cutest loser in love! The mystery and unexpected twists are fun and interesting. I hope this quality storytelling continues. I'm on the edge of my seat.

I only have 3 episodes left of Love Me Love My Voice which has been wonderful and heartwarming. I love the main romance but the friendships and secondary romances have been given ample time to shine as well. I'm always here a good found family. I really like how the dramatic readings and song perfomances have been carefully woven into the story to further the character development. Definitely recommend.

Now we come to our debrief on The Smile Has Left Your Eyes. Whoa, what a rollercoaster. The first half was interesting with many characters' selfish and dark intentions mixed with a little mystery were set up in contrast to our optimistic, self-sacrificing female lead. However, the second half drowned in major events happening and then being dismissed as if they never happened, multiple secret keepers refusing to tell the secret multiple times an episodes even when asked point blank when the answers could stop so many bad things from happening, and the existential dread I felt about what the big reveal was going to be only for it to completely dismissed. (FYI I found out what I thought was going to be the big reveal IS the actual reveal in the darker Japanese version it's based on.) After episode 14, I wasn't sure I could continue watching the show. But after a night of uneasy sleep, I decided to finish it the next morning on double speed to get through it. I did watch the last 10 minutes at regular speed. While there were some well done things about their relationship in the second half, it couldn't save the show for me even though I went in knowing this was not an HEA. Overall, I was just left feeling angry and exhausted. As a Seo In Guk fan, this was a show I had long wanted to see, just to find out what my opinion on it would be. I'm sad that the SIG fanmeet has been post-poned, hopefully I will be able to make the next date. But this means I feel okay to stop my SIG show binging so I will not be watching Hello Monster anytime soon. I'm actually impressed with how much of SIG's filmography I've already seen (7 shows as a ML, 4 shows as a cameo, and 1 movie). I'm pretty sure it's more than I've seen any other kdrama actor or actress.

After a bad experience at the new dentist yesterday, where the hygienist manhandled my teeth and they tried to upsell me on services, I was in need of a comfort rewatch. I've been thinking alot about Lee Jun Young lately and decided to break out the first thing I ever saw him in, Imitation. I was only going to watch a few favorite parts from an episode or two and ended up binging my favorite parts of most of the series. lol I really hope his upcoming Cinderella romcom with Pyo Ye Jin is going to be good.

I slowly picked Vigilante back up again this week and was excited to see Lee Joon Hyuk's character finally emerge to add a boost of energy and chaos to the story.

Now that I've got some time and the second half of the series has finally dropped, I will continue watching Chae Jong Hyeop's Eye Love You.

#chief detective 1958 #lovely runner #love me love my voice #the smile has left your eyes #imitation #eye love you #kdrama #kalena watches tv #kalena watches kdramas #tv #tv list #kalenapost

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starry-mist · 2 months

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General mid-s6 thoughts (because I haven’t had time to actually rewatch 609 yet to do a full post yet):

I love that the show is fun to watch again. I’m actually looking forward to it rather than dreading whatever bullshit they were pulling in the early part of the season.

I’m back from my attempt at being a casual fan (hah, we all knew I would fail) to full-on obsessed. I like it here.

With a little more context now, it seems that this season is very much about Charlie, which I initially disliked, but at this point I can kind of envision where they’re going with it. While the show has always been about the characters’ relationships with each other, there’s a real focus this season on how he’s grown as a character as well as how he copes with new challenges but also resolves some lingering issues, and maybe let’s go of some old baggage (like his conflict with his dad.)

I’m still not 100% convinced there will be entirely smooth sailing on the Charah front. It’s really hard to say given it’s this fucking show (affectionate,) they could go either way. There’s a chance they just continue to be strong and supportive of each other, and I love that for them. I’m just still hanging onto the parallel of Sarah being in school with Julia leaving Charlie to go back to school. I’d be fine with temporary conflict, by the way. Because regardless of if her studies become an issue in her relationship with Charlie (and again, that could go either way, it could just be that added profiler aspect for the team like that one press release said, or it could shake things up a little bit) I do foresee them working out. They’ve always been endgame, it’s just a matter of how they get there.

And in terms of the ending for Charah: I predict a season 7 renewal (there have already been hints,) so I feel like there’s a possibility that they “officially” move in together (excuse me while I roll my eyes at the idea of them not technically living together yet after it was heavily implied in s5) or there’s a proposal. I’m trying to keep my hopes super low so I’ll settle for another on-screen kiss or “I love you.”

Also, this is usually the past of the season where they start dropping more intense episodes, which I think we’re getting a hint of with the (spoiler) upcoming Rex whump and Rex disappearance back to back. I’m dying to know what led them back to filming in Hamilton too. The fact that there’s been the tiniest hint of continuity and mention of Trina has me curious. Not that she’d be specifically based there as CSIS (I honestly don’t know how CSIS works) but it’s where my mind goes when I think of reasons for them to have filmed there again. (My other theory is that Sarah’s sister is getting married there and someone gets murdered. My brain is a very strange place.)

Crap, this got long. I should be channeling this energy into fic.

#hudson & rex #starry speculates #season 6

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addictedtostorytelling · 8 months

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i’ve been rewatching csi from the beginning (because i’ve never been able to make it past season 9 without grissom) and i’m finally up to the end of season 7… i have like 3 episodes left and i’m SAD. this team dynamic is so special to me and i feel this slow crawl of devastation that i’m (again) witnessing the end of what has been for 7 seasons. soon sara won’t be her usually cute and passionate self (in love too) that we get see in season 7, and she’ll leave, and then warrick is going to die, and grissom will leave… and nothing will ever be the same on this show. i don’t know how to get over it. how did you do it? how do i move on? how do i mourn this team dynamic that i’ve loved for so long and get used to new variations of the team? god, i wish grissom came back for a proper full ep earlier than the freaking series finale and the new show. i’m just… not sure how to enjoy without them all 😭

hi, anon!

yours is a very heartfelt question, and, unfortunately, i am probably the wrong person to answer it, because i never really "got over" the changes to the show post-s7, either.

not gonna lie to you: i have only watched the s10-s15 era of the show once through in its entirety.

the s8 and s9 angst i can deal with in order to get to the happy gsr ending in episode 09x10 "one to go." however, i hate all later seasons of the show beyond that point with all the salt that is in me, not only because of the cast turnover but also because the writing and production values of the show changed so much as to make the series (and the remaining characters) unrecognizable.

most of the time, i just straight-up ignore the fact that those seasons exist, preferring to imagine my own canon-divergent au version of the show (starting from the end of s7) instead.

i really do not engage with them unless someone sends me an ask.

that so, i can't exactly tell you how to learn to accept the new team or get comfortable in that altered narrative landscape. i never did, on either count.

instead, my advice is this: keep in mind you're not obligated to finish watching csi if doing so isn't enjoyable to you. you fell in love with a particular group of characters, story universe, and cast dynamic, and if those things went away or ship of theseus'd themselves into a production that is fundamentally different from the one you fell in love with in every way save name, you don't have to stick around anymore.

remember: you're watching this show as a hobby, not a job.

the #1 rule of fandom is to follow your bliss, so if you're not naturally motivated to finish the series—and especially if the thought of doing so is actively causing you dread—then you don't have to force the issue.

give yourself permission to say, "for me, the series ends with episode 08x01 'dead doll' or episode 09x10 'one to go' (or wherever you want to draw your line in the sand)" and then walk away.

if you need closure, write your own au version of what happens after that point or else find some fanfic author whose vision aligns with your own. keep living blissfully in your s1-s7 happy place with the original team graveyard, where grissom is the boss and sara stays in vegas and warrick doesn't die and they all keep solving cases together until retirement.

and then don't sweat it.

you're not being a "bad fan" or letting anyone down, and there's still plenty of material in the early seasons for you to engage with.

now.

if you absolutely feel you must finish the show (for whatever reason), i guess one thing i might suggest is to engage with work from fans who genuinely enjoy the later seasons. i know there are some folks in this fandom who adore the new characters and team graveyard version 2.0. they write meta and fic and make gifsets about it, and they have a total blast doing so. hanging around their blogs might help you to find things to appreciate.

another thing you might do is give yourself permission to "cherry-pick." watch just to see what happens. if there's stuff you like, go ahead and incorporate it into your conception of the show. the rest, discard. as i said above, you're not obligated to enjoy the show in a certain way and especially not "across the board." so if you like the fact sara has mother-in-law drama but hate the fact she gets divorced? then keep the first thing and toss out the second. if canon makes a stupid-ass decision, you can elect to ignore it.

and regardless of whether you ultimately decide to finish out your watch-through or not, don't forget: the beginning of the story—i.e., those seven golden seasons you so love—will always be there, and you can return to them as often as you want. the beauty of a story is that it exists in perpetuity. grissom, catherine, warrick, nick, sara, and greg will all still be there waiting for you, and you can continue to enjoy their dynamics however you best prefer them.

good luck, anon! if you choose to continue your watch, i hope you enjoy yourself. if not, then i hope you have fun mentally setting up shop in the early seasons.

i certainly do!

thanks for the question! please feel welcome to send another any time.

#answered #anon #asks: csi #let's talk shop #csiverse #later seasons

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thousand-winters · 4 months

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For the toh asks, 3, 6, 7, 12!!

Hey there 💕

3. Favorite episode? Why? Ramble as much as you'd like.

Man, this one's really hard because TOH has SUCH good episodes, but I'm going to have to go with what I believe is ultimately the popular answer and say Hollow Mind.

It's just so well done, it's been said again and again but the way they make the reveal of past foreshadowing (Belos being Philip Wittebane, Hunter being a grimwalker) is SO good. Even if you knew or strongly suspected, the way they do it makes it so the impact is perfect, both on the plot going forward and the emotional impact it has on the characters as well (like even if Luz doesn't immediately crumble like Hunter does, you can tell it gets to her and it starts building up overtime until it gets to her being full of guilt and straight up suicidal which... uh oh).

The way they make use of established lore with the mindscape, the foreshadowing and more lore we get for the future (wooo for Wittebanes lore but rip for Flapjack) is just so damn cool. Even while filled with dread while watching, the episode is just so engaging to watch that you can get pretty much focused on it during rewatches as well.

Plus, when it comes to more self-indulgent feelings, Hunter finally getting out from the castle and away from Belos + the papa wold Dadrius moment are just too good for me not to enjoy it. Oh! And on that note, Hunter straight up having a panic attack when they got out of the mindscape also was 10/10 for me, because I'm just not used to media addressing how traumatizing some situations can be for the characters, ngl, I was SO happy to see it and even happier when it continued in Labyrinth Runners, as weird as it sounds.

6. A character you didn't expect to love? What made you start liking them?

Not in a dislike sense at all, but definitely Darius lmao.

I vaguely remember seeing him for the first time and thinking "oh, he's so fun, he has such a cool design as well, and his voice is pretty, it's a shame he's a villain. Anyway-" and just continuing being invested in the Raeda disaster happening right there.

Truly I also found his abomination transformation the coolest thing I've ever seen, but in my mind it was like "we're surely not seeing much of him, oh, well" (which is sadly true, but not in the way I thought), so with such an "unimportant" character, there was no way for me to get invested or love him, right?

WRONG. Dadrius attack.

Listen. Listen. I liked him as a character but not so much as a person, I suppose, though again I never hated him because there was just so little of him for that to happen. But then Any Sport in a Storm happened and watching him doing the Head Chop™️ to Hunter was like "god, I hope this doesn't awaken anything in me".

I think from that moment I started toying with the possibility of him adopting Hunter because I was desperate so it was half joking, half serious and as such, I started thinking more about him as well, which eventually ended up with me and my thousand headcanons and theories about him, his backstory and such. As it happens when you're a Darius fan, it's rough out here.

7. Has the show ever made you cry? What scene(s)?

I cry. so much.

So TOH absolutely got to me. I think the first scene that got to me was the one that gets to everyone, Eda thanking Luz for being in her life and telling her goodbye before transforming into the Owl Beast.

And then you know, Season 2 is life ruining /lh.

So I cried in Separate Tides in the same part Luz wants to cry lmao, I cried in Eda's Requiem, I cried in Reaching Out, I cried in O Titan, I cried in King's Tide.

Shoutout to me crying also at Hunter talking about being unable to trust himself in Labyrinth Runners, and I still can't watch Keeping Up A-fear-ances without crying, that one's hitting a little too close to home for comfort, frankly lmao.

I think the rest is also very predictable, Thanks to Them when Flapjack died, For the Future during Camila and Luz's conversation and Watching and Dreaming when Luz dies and pretty much the whole scene with the Owl Trio fighting together, plus the ending. Like I said, I cry a lot.

12. What do you consider the most memorable scene? Why?

Another hard one.

Objectively speaking, I feel like there are two super memorable scenes: The repetition of Luz's speech about "I'm the good witch!" through the show and the way it gets recontextualized each time, from it being just kinda silly and about her using it as escapism a little bit, to her using it to reclaim her belonging to the two worlds she chose for herself and her identity as part of them with all the people she loves.

I would call that one probably the most memorable one. I think the other that everyone remembers, which is why I would say it's memorable as well, is Eda telling Luz the whole thing about how everyone was to be chosen, but if one just waited for that, they'd die waiting, that you have to choose yourself. Even more memorable since it came back during Watching and Dreaming.

Personally, definitely less sweet and less overall plot important, but a scene that haunts me forever and ever is the palisman souls in Belos' Mind finally reaching Luz and Hunter and the reveal that they're palisman souls in the first place: It's so damn chilling when they start talking with the whole "danger! get away from him! run!". Just... holy shit. Okay, that makes me one to cry too, we have established I'm a crybaby ajsfjsdg

I'm just... the amount of compassion for them to be suffering like that and to go "this happened to us, he killed us, please, get away, we don't want him to kill you too, we don't want you to suffer too", especially considering that Hunter had accidentally contributed in some of those deaths. I'm gonna go cry some more, actually, bye asfhsdg

Thanks for the questions 💗

From this ask meme

#the owl house #toh #ask games

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gravyhoney · 5 months

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Alright, if we're confessing, I have a few things to say.

As much as I like Morro as a character, I do not want to see him come back outside of a small cameo ever. Fan works are great, but I do not want him to be around in canon again. Mostly because I'm afraid we'll have a situation similar to Harumi in Crystalized. I was so hyped for her to return, and the story they told with her in that season is not one I'm fond of.

I find season 7 to be fine. This may be due to the fact that I watched it in Spanish, not English, so any off-sounding dialogue was not as apparent to me. The middle really drags (the snake villains are far to repetitive), but I liked Acronix and Krux as villains. Also, that season gave us Dareth and Ronin interacting, which was a fantastic choice. And Wu having a crisis where he realizes that not asking for help has endangered and isolated himself from the others was neat (even if it wasn't the best executed).

I don't think this is a hot take, but I hate the Overlord so much. He's so boring. I hope he never shows up again. Get him out of here. Why has he come back three times?

I also would prefer to watch season 3 over season 2. Rebooted is not a good season, but it is delightfully entertaining. What is happening at any point? How was that only eight episodes? I find season two to be a bit boring and anticlimactic, so I tend to skip it during rewatches.

Finally, I do not like Hunted as much as other people do. I still think it's a good season, but the time in the First Realm could have been shortened. It got to the point where I dreaded when the screen time would shift over to the realm because I didn't care as much as I cared about the rebellion plotline.

WOW that’s a lot. Let me break this up nicely.

1. Yeah, that’s real. I feel like when they try and bring back characters previously established as dead, it feels cheap and it’s never well done. I’m on the Morro stays dead team.

2. I can’t say much about this one, season 7 was extremely boring to me. Sorry.

3. He suffers from Cant Stay Dead disease. It was interesting the first time, but the next two times he came back….refer to first point.

4. I love season three. They just did shit. Silly.

5. YEAH. THE PRT ABKUT DREADING THE FIRST REALM POV?? YEAH. I cared soooo much more about what was happening in the rebellion, I could not for the life of me focus on the first realm plot. Whyyyy was it so boring.

All in all, you can come in.

#ninjago #lego ninjago #mason posts #mason talks

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measuringbliss · 1 year

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Thanks @dance2xrevolution <3

I always love to see you around.

favorite time of year: Halloween actually! It's fun to see the decoration and stuff, watch tons of horror movies, dress up, etc. I also love summer nights (when not trying to sleep), and when it's very sunny but there's also wind so the sky is beautiful but the wind helps tame the heat.

comfort food: fajitas, fried chicken, risotto, curry, soup... if I love it, it's comforting!

favorite dessert: concorde chocolate cake, île flottante, chocolate mousse

things you collect: at one point I was collecting the Umineko manga collection because I was in my Umineko era, but there were 21 omnibusses at 25-30 euros the omnibus if you were lucky. eventually decided it was much more handy (and cheaper) to have them digitally instead.

See the issue?

If you're curious, my physical collection comprises of the first two Episodes, Legend of the Golden Witch and Turn of the Golden Witch. Then digitally (through Kobo), I've got the third Episode (Banquet, vol. 5&6), Vol. 10 (first vol. of Episode 5, End), the sixth Episode (Dawn, vol. 13-15) and the eight and final Episode (Twilight, vol. 19-21). My reasoning was that I wanted to go chronological, but I was already not fond of Banquet (though with distance I can appreciate its chaotic approach), then I think Alliance mostly sucks. End is great but I never re-read it, Dawn is great too, Requiem (Episode 7) was perfect when I read it in VN but I never felt the need to read the manga, and Twilight is a good Episode and most importantly, the manga version actually adds stuff for the better!

So I've got 13/21 volumes.

I also collected a few Spider-Man comic books. I'm not a big collector in general but I *would* have an entire room dedicated to Virtue's Last Reward if I could and wanted to.

Hi baby

favorite drinks: Cherry Coke, Milk + Strawberry Syrup

favorite musician/band: CAPSULE (Japanese electro) is regularly something I come back to, but nowadays I'm much less fixated on specific bands. I had a Jamiroquai phase but I was so into it that nowadays I pretty much can't stand it.

Now if we're talking *composers*, I'd say Masafumi Takada and Shinji Hosoe are mainstays.

last song listened to: Owner of a Lonely Heart by Yes

last movie watched: A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge! Very gay, enjoyed it much more than the first one.

last series watched: I recently finished She-Hulk, absolutely loved it. I'm also rewatching Glee.

Also this wasn't asked but video games are an important component of my life so I very recently finished Metroid Dread and loved its challenge. Also going through Picross S, it's great but literally lead me to stay up all night hahaha

currently watching: DS9 (less than a season per year lmao), Merli: Sapere Aude (love triangles, bisexual protagonist, philosophy...), Spider-Man 1994 (almost finished with S1 and very impressed), Brideshead Revisited (I think I stalled it).

current obsession: Glee, in a way. Bears. Buffy still? Kind of. I mean I just bought a magazine about it.

dream place to visit: Nothing! I'm pretty content with where I went. I think I realized that no place will ever be as charming as you could dream of. I'm very happy with where I am right now, where I was last year, and I don't feel the place to go anywhere specific.

places you wanna go back to: Austria, where I was last year. I miss my city very dearly. I also enjoy the south of France in small doses. I'd like to go back to Saint Emilion because it's very charming.

something you want: nothing again! I feel pretty content in an achievable category of things. I don't think I let myself want anything I can't have.

but also I really want Adderall (or Ritalin, whatever).

project working on: Another fantranslation (ugh), the Glee Rewatch project (link on my pinned masterpost!), maybe a fanfic, maybe video essays... mostly I just finished an exhausting week so I'm. sleeping. or trying to.

I'm tagging anyone who sees this post and wants to participate!

#asks #not an ask but it's similar enough #umineko #virtue's last reward #i'm absolutely willing to send drm-free versions of the Umineko ebooks I have

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solo-23 · 3 years

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I'd debated about whether or not to post this because it's definitely a rant and there is definitely a lot of negativity, but I need to vent after last night's episode (with some leftover issues from earlier this season, too). If Betty is your favorite and you don't like to read anything negative about her, you will not like this post.

1. The way the voicemail has been blown completely out of proportion by the writers, reviewers, and some shippers is ridiculous. We keep hearing about how it was terrible, emotionally abusive, toxic, and something that Jughead definitely needed to apologize for, but nothing he said was actually out of line. There is absolutely nothing in that voicemail that Betty should have been surprised about, let alone treating it like it somehow turns her into the victim in the fall of Bughead.

It's not surprising that Jughead has now apologized twice for the voicemail, even if he doesn't actually remember all of it, because he knows that it hurt Betty. He can also probably guess what he said because he knows what he feels and how it can be exaggerated when he's feeling depressed or under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Generally if you actually admit what you're thinking or feeling when you know it would hurt someone, you feel bad about it. It doesn't matter if it's true or not, or if you're under the influence. A good person apologizes if they know they hurt someone. Jughead is a good person.

Just a note here, I've seen other people saying that Betty's actions while high should be excused just like people have said Jughead's voicemail should be excused because he was under the influence. Being under the influence DOES NOT excuse the voicemail.

The fact that Betty cheated on Jughead, did continue to sneak around with Archie while debating whether or not she wanted to "officially" pursue him, hid the whole affair until Jughead actually caught on and she had to make up a direct lie to his face or confess, never actually explained anything to Jughead (things like she was the one who stopped the affair, she wanted to stay with Jughead, etc.) even after he asked if they could talk about it, stood him up at Pop's a year later, and then stood him up again at the book release party justify Jughead's voicemail. And he has apologized for it twice.

2. That is why it was so intensely frustrating for Betty to just brush off his apology (again) and then turn the conversation to her, but without actually apologizing for anything. When Jughead mentioned not really being able to remember the voicemail, she could have brought up what bothered her in it so (a) he would know and (b) they could actually discuss the issues, which could have led into Betty actually explaining what happened with the cheating, including how the affair ended, and she could have apologized for that. It still wouldn't have been fully satisfying because Betty never apologizes first for her actions, but it would've been better than nothing. She also could have apologized for standing him up, although at least she explained why she didn't make it to the book release party.

3. However, she still didn't admit to or apologize for giving away Jughead's manuscript. The entire reason Jughead relapsed into drinking and almost plagiarized Cora is because Betty gave Jessica his manuscript. No, Betty does not get credit for "saving" Jughead because she was present when he got a phone call from Samm and admitted that he wasn't the author. She's the reason he was in that position in the first place. Yes, she had been drugged. Yes, Tabitha was present and didn't stop her. No, neither of those things excuse it. It also doesn't excuse her from sharing the voicemail with Tabitha and Jessica.

Why not? She and Tabitha were still shown as functional when all of this happened. Jessica admitted that she drugged them to try to get the manuscript. They were both capable of thinking and arguing. Betty chose to give the manuscript to Jessica. It wasn't until afterward that Betty and Tabitha started being really impacted by the drugs. Jughead's manuscript wasn't Betty's (or Tabitha's) to give away and doing so completely screwed Jughead over.

There are some questions here--did he switch over to his typewriter and that's why there was no backup? did he forget to save a copy on his laptop? did his laptop crash or get lost? who knows, but in the story it doesn't matter. There was one copy and Betty gave it away, placing Jughead in the position of losing his agent or plagiarizing another author.

Also, for playing the voicemail, Jessica had just brought the drugged fries to the table. No one is shown as having felt the effects of the drugs until Tabitha made a comment about being warm after the voicemail is over. Betty had been reluctant to help from the beginning, before Tabitha mentioned the "don't be a Betty" line, and made fairly rude comments about Jughead throughout the episode. I don't think she needs to apologize to Jughead for sharing it, but I also thought that playing the victim and having some people blame it on "being high" was ridiculous.

4. You cannot convince me that Betty cares about Jughead in the slightest when he was telling her he was an alcoholic and he's trying to get better and he's clearly drinking alcohol right in front of her and her response is "I'm an addict, too. I'm addicted to serial killers." She's struggling, yes, and it's good that she's opening up, but if she cared about Jughead at all an appropriate response here would be "So, why are you drinking?" or "are you okay?" Show some sort of concern for someone who is relapsing in front of your face. Jughead does it for Betty when he suggests she should take a break, even though he's in a moral quandary caused by Betty, depressed, and drunk.

Also, no, chasing serial killers is not an addiction in the same way as drugs or alcohol and it's insulting to say they're the same. Chasing serial killers could be described as a compulsion for Betty, or a hyperfixation, but it's not the same. It's difficult, but you can choose to not follow a compulsion without experiencing the often severe physical side effects experienced by actual addicts. I'm glad Betty recognized that she has a problem, but no, that is not an addiction.

5. The entire conversation is extremely awkward. It's clear that it isn't what Jughead had in mind, but his life that he had just been starting to get back together fell apart. He sank to new (or at least different) lows. Betty seemed like she wanted to leave as soon as she got there (understandable given how awkward it was, even secondhand) and disappeared once Jughead was distracted by a phone call. It's understandable, but disappointing. The part that was really frustrating, though, was that after talking to Jughead about how unhealthy her serial killer obsession is and how she's worried about her mom, she still goes out. Alice was passed out on the couch, which Betty paused to acknowledge. That should have been a turning point for Betty and it just wasn't. Screw these writers.

6. I loved that Tabitha and Jughead had mutual apologies, discussed their issues, and genuinely seemed to care about each other. I also loved that Jughead still cares and worries about Betty (frustrating as it is when it seems unreciprocated) because it's so true to Jughead's character.

7. It is absolutely fine and understandable if Betty has moved on from Jughead. She seemed to believe that if he found out about the cheating in their senior year, it would be the end of their relationship. She started shutting him out and trying to move on the next day.

However, as a Jughead fan, it's intensely annoying to see him still struggling with the lack of closure and continuing to have feelings for Betty after all of that. I would have preferred to see either both of them move on, then rediscover each other later (or not, depending on where the show is going), or have Betty be the one who still clearly has feelings for Jughead and have her regret blowing up the relationship.

8. Overall, I hate a lot of what the writers have done this season. I don't particularly like any of the backstories for the characters during the time jump, I don't like each character following a separate plot line(s), the lack of interaction between characters, and how disjointed everything feels.

The mothman plot was interesting, but seems destined for a disappointing end. There have been a lot of missed opportunities to bring storylines together (Jughead went missing while Archie was looking for escaped prisoners, he could have found Jughead; Jughead hitchhiked with a random trucker, even without the trucker attacking him he could have seen clues or found Polly; Sweet Pea or Fangs could have seen Betty playing hooker and organized an intervention instead of having the weird cult plot line; I'm sure there's more). Maybe it'll be better with a binge watch, but I'm having trouble maintaining interest in the final three episodes, let alone rewatching this mess of a season.

BONUS: I was relieved that the Bughead talk did not go with my worst case scenario. Based on the possible B/A return, I was a little bit worried that Jughead would apologize for the voicemail and remember what he said, then talk about how he always knew Betty had feelings for Archie. Betty, who said she'd been "wanting this since high school," would then nod along and say she was sorry for hurting him, but acknowledge those feelings. Then Jughead would ask why they never acted on those feelings after the breakup, Betty would talk about the FWB, and Jughead would go full B/A cheerleader and tell her to give it a chance (like the Pacey and Joey chat about Dawson at Mitch's funeral in Dawson's Creek). I was dreading that possibility and I'm so glad the show didn't go there. I'm sorry if I've given anyone nightmares.

#anti betty cooper #rd fandom negativity #riverdale writers negativity #anti barchie

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deborahdeshoftim5779 · 3 years

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BBC Merlin 4x05: His Father’s Son

Here's a round-up of my main observations from BBC Merlin's "His Father's Son" (4x05).

1- MERLIN AS A KNIGHT

I have to admit that Merlin as a sorcerer and trusted adviser appeals to me the most, but I did write a lengthy post analysing how Arthur had turned Merlin into an excellent fighter. This refutes claims that Merlin gave more to Arthur than he received in return.

At the beginning of 4x05, we see Merlin selected to play a new role: that of knight. How did this come about? Arthur Pendragon is best known for his skills as a warrior, but he deserves more credit for his military tactics. These destroy the popular yet false idea that he is unintelligent. More on the latter in a forthcoming post.

One of Arthur’s favourite tactics is using decoys. Previous examples of him using decoys include: The Castle of Fyrien (3x07), when Arthur used Merlin as a decoy to entrap Cenred’s soldiers; Aithusa (4x04), when Arthur used himself as a decoy to get Sir Percival to safety; Arthur’s Bane Part 2 (5x02), when Arthur uses Merlin as a decoy to enrage the slave traders before they escape-- by far my favourite example.

All things considered, I don’t think it takes long for Arthur to choose Merlin. Furthermore, this decision may have taken place before they reached their selected location, as Agravaine later mentions a previous attack by Caerleon on the border. This choice demonstrates that Arthur has higher confidence in Merlin's abilities than he does of in his knights-- else he would have chosen them. We must conclude that Merlin is Arthur's best fighter, though at first glance, we wonder why an unarmed man follows trained knights into battle.

Merlin is sharp, fast, has high stamina, and is incredibly resourceful. Most of all, however, he is incredibly brave. In fact, when rewatching 1x02, I was surprised to see Arthur acknowledge that Merlin was "braver than you look." This despite Arthur’s frustration that Merlin did not try hard enough during practice ("Come on, Merlin: I've got a tournament to win!").

What’s more, in that same episode, Merlin complains about his first day, but later on, we see his fascination wth the ongoing tournament. Then he admitted to Gaius that working for Arthur (in the context of said tournament) "isn't totally horrible all the time." It took one day for him to change his opinion!

Sure, Merlin would continue to treat the fighting as pointless violence, and Arthur as having nothing more in his head than a desire to knock "the seven bells" out of other people (3x04). However, even in 1x02, when he applauds Arthur's fighting, his actions tell a different story. We associate this habit of liking something whilst pretending otherwise to Arthur, yet Merlin has it as well.

As I have said before, Merlin and Arthur have profound differences, yet are profoundly alike.

2- MERLIN AS A SERVANT

It comes as no surprise that Merlin would return to serving after the beginning of 4x05. However, what that change represents sets the tone for this entire episode: Arthur dismissing Merlin's counsel repeatedly in favour of listening to his uncle.

When Arthur says, "so please, stick to what you do know," you have to wonder whether Merlin remembered being entrusted with the role of knight. Now, Arthur puts him back in his place.

Here's another example: "My conscience is clean, which is more than I can say for my room, so just... do your job, will you?" Yet just yesterday, that job involved Merlin risking his life against enemy forces by dressing as a knight.

By the way, you can tell that Arthur doesn’t believe his own excuses, because he keeps using the passive voice to justify killing Caerleon: “...a show of strength was necessary… an example had to be made… My conscience is clean…”

Merlin’s face after Arthur claims he doesn’t need anyone is self-explanatory.

3- NEW THOUGHTS ON ANNIS

Is Queen Annis a good person? Actually, no.

First of all, she knows and approves of her husband invading foreign kingdoms to plunder their wealth. Such invasions naturally cost not only the lives of Arthur's men, but her own, too.

Furthermore, despite accepting Arthur's offer of a fight by single combat, she is prepared to cheat by enlisting Morgana's power. Perhaps if Arthur had died, too, she would have felt some remorse. Yet she still takes a monumental risk with Arthur's life in blatant violation of the knight's code. One has to wonder about her reaction had Camelot plotted against her armies in the same way.

Then we have Annis calmly ordering Merlin’s execution without giving him a chance to explain himself. The lack of emotion in her voice suggests she has done this before.

Speaking of cruelty, Annis’ champion seems to enjoy inflicting pain on his enemies, yet the Queen claims that he “served my husband well.” I dread to think what she means by “served”.

I will also note that Queen Annis disdains magic, referring to Morgana as “witch”. As I have said before, Uther did not begin prejudice against magic; sorcerers were disliked and feared elsewhere, too, including by those who disliked Uther. Many sorcerers caused this prejudice by engaging in manipulative, violent, and wicked deeds.

Examples include High Priestesses using Fomorrohs to enslave people’s minds (4x06); Cornelius Sigan using his power to change day into night and acquire vast wealth (2x01); sorcerers using special blades to murder people (3x04), and so on.

None of this takes away from Annis’ complexity, nor does it undermine her immense humility when she accepts defeat and withdraws from Camelot. After all, much of Annis' rage and desire for vengeance stems from intense grief over Caerleon's death, so we can assume her marriage was a happy one.

Forgiving the man who destroyed her domestic happiness (as well as leaving her people without a king) shows tremendous nobility on Annis’ part. I think Arthur sees that, for he is always humble and respectful before her.

4- LONG LIVE THE KING

Few people respect Arthur more than Merlin. So when he doesn’t join in with cries of “Long live the king!”, you know something is wrong.

5- CONTROL YOUR FEAR

Episode 4x03 has a hilarious scene where a drunk Arthur claims he isn’t even a little bit scared, because, “I’m a warrior. You learn to control your fear.” Then Arthur walks smack bang into a pillar. Never fails to make me laugh. Minus the drunkenness, Arthur was telling the truth about controlling his fear.

You can see this at least twice in this episode: first, when he sees how many men Annis has brought against Camelot, and secondly, when he sees the size of Annis’ giant. In both cases, Arthur harnesses his fear into determination, which is another sign of a great warrior.

Next up, we have a fascinating scene where Arthur watches his men joking by the fire. It's a great way of showing Arthur’s care for these men, as well as his guilt that impending war will end their lives. In a sense, Arthur has to control his fear yet again.

6- TRUST IN MERLIN

After the above scene, Gwaine asks Merlin if Arthur is all right, and the fact that Merlin can describe Arthur's feelings without even questioning the King once again shows the unique nature of their friendship. Merlin sees Arthur's expression, and he just knows. And Gwaine knows that, hence why he does not question the King himself.

Listen to the silence after Merlin's response. Nobody questions Merlin's judgement: they just reflect. Given the way Arthur has repeatedly dismissed Merlin's advance in favour of his uncle, I think he could have learned something from his own knights.

I wonder whether the knights would ask Merlin something about Arthur in this way, whenever the king was absent. In ancient kingdoms, kings had advisers, and in order to earn the monarch's favour, you spoke to the latter first. Did Merlin ever play that role for the knights?

7- MERLIN’S IDIOCY

Now, I have a problem with Merlin telling Arthur that 1)- he would have taken any other option but to face war with Annis, and 2)- his decision to kill Caerleon “was made in the best interests of Camelot.”

Sorry, but it wasn’t. Merlin knows that. I understand that he has to rally Arthur’s spirits so that they can win against Annis, but I am glad that Arthur knows full well he has done wrong. Both Merlin and many fans do not give Arthur enough credit for recognising his own errors.

However, even these foolishly optimistic statements pale in comparison to Merlin's reckless and self-righteous interference when Arthur negotiates with Queen Annis. I burst out laughing when he trips and falls headlong into the tent, a metaphor for his impetuousness.

Merlin eavesdrops outside Annis’ tent, gets caught (so he didn't conceal himself), and then has the audacity to say, “Sorry about this!” to Arthur! Not only that, he got angry over being called a “simple-minded fool”, when he couldn’t even walk in a straight line to follow the king, got himself caught and almost killed by enemy soldiers, and made Arthur look as though he were double-crossing Annis!

I completely agree with Arthur’s anger: “Oh, I was being kind, believe me: you almost got me killed in there!” Correct. Merlin simply could not trust that Arthur knew what he was doing, and decided to interfere. Instead of apologising for getting Arthur into trouble, Merlin remains on the defensive, claiming without evidence that Arthur was “doing a pretty good job of that yourself!”

This is untrue. Arthur surrendered himself to Annis’ men. The most injury he received was a slap. He asked a favour. That isn’t risking your life. In fact, Arthur was trying to save lives, and if Merlin had been listening properly (or just stayed in bed), he would have seen that. Only after Merlin’s sudden entrance did Arthur face serious danger from Annis.

Now, Merlin’s explanation for this is, “I’m your friend! I was looking out for you.” I don’t doubt it. But once again, Arthur is right: “I appreciate that in your very confused way, you’re only trying to help, but please: don’t do it again.”

Condescending? Of course. But this time it was Merlin who provoked him into this anger.

8- MORGANA

Despite all her power, Morgana still has to defer to non-magical kings and queens. After all, she requires their military assistance to take over Camelot.

You can also see how Queen Annis detects Morgana’s hatred, greed, self-righteousness, hypocrisy, and bloodlust. In one glance, Queen Annis begins questioning the wisdom of working with a sorceress she does not trust, not least on account of Morgana being a sorceress.

In fact, Arthur’s prowess as a warrior impresses her more: “You have as much to lose as I if Arthur wins…” Fascinating scene.

9- THANK YOU, OLD FRIEND

It’s ironic that arguably the best scene in 4x05 begins by showcasing Arthur’s cynicism. No guesses why Arthur did not tell Merlin about breaking off his relationship with Gwen earlier. That speaks volumes. If he had told Merlin, I think they would have had an argument similar to that of 4x11.

Only when Arthur realises that he may die does he ask Merlin to pass his ring onto Gwen with an apology. You can see the guilt etched onto his face as he refuses to make eye contact. Interestingly, Merlin does not ask any further questions.

Arthur’s entrusting Merlin to look after Gwen in the event of his death says a lot. For example, that ring is technically royal property, yet Arthur gives it to a servant for safe-keeping, rather than his next-of-kin, Agravaine. Despite claiming to need his uncle’s advice, Arthur will not trust Agravaine with such duties. Has Arthur made a medieval will or testament? Obviously, I have no idea, however, this episode already shows Arthur’s reliance on Merlin to deal with family matters.

Another interesting aspect to this scene is Merlin’s silence after Arthur makes an indisputable point. This dispels any idea that Merlin’s advice was always correct. On several occasions, Merlin had to defer to Arthur’s judgement, because he saw the truth and wisdom behind it. “I don’t know what will happen. But for the first time since I became king, I know in my heart I’ve made the right decision.”

Got to love Arthur’s half-amused, “You’re not about to start crying on me, are you?” He expects Merlin to be either in good spirits or confident, because that is how he, too, remains confident. Arthur is an optimist, yet Merlin becomes a pessimist, so the king must pull Merlin together with light and yet serious teasing.

Needless to say, Arthur calling Merlin “old friend” implies that they have been friends for a long time. So why do some fans still think that Arthur had trouble admitting that Merlin was his friend? Also, the word “old” in this context can imply reliability, constancy. Arthur chose that word to describe Merlin’s value, as well as the length of their friendship.

The great thing about Arthur is that while he makes some serious errors, when he does repent, he does so well. Not only does Arthur graciously thank Merlin for his concern, but he makes it clear to Agravaine that he relies on Merlin’s judgement prior to entering battle. This supports my earlier statement that Merlin is Arthur’s best fighter, as well as right-hand man; Arthur does not leave for the fight until Merlin has confirmed his readiness.

On top of this, Arthur later admits that he might be a cabbage head. “I should have listened to you, Merlin. Just this once, I think you were right-- even if you are the worst servant in the five kingdoms!”

By implication, Agravaine is wrong. Arthur won’t say that, of course, but we saw Merlin’s sound advice competing with Agravaine’s lies for this entire episode. We can only conclude that regardless of what he says, Arthur trusts Merlin more than members of his own family.

And this is a theme which will continue and grow for the remainder of Season 4.

FURTHER POINTS:

Merlin’s fighting skills

Paradoxes of Arthur and Merlin’s friendship

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strawberryspeachy · 3 years

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S4e10 is the first time i want to actually rewatch an entire episode of handmaids tale.... ok wait second time - was it the new “ofglen” who blew up that important building with all the commanders inside and the handmaids outside - that ending was great

But omg

First off elizabeths moss’s acting!!! Ive gotten too used to that same dreadful look shes been making for the past couple seasons that... the wide range of facial expressions really surprised me and it just!! Wow

the suspence the whole episode. Nothing EVER goes right in this show. I knew what i wanted to see but i fully expected fred and serena to go free and happy. That back and forth feeling was super engaging

I loved that even though there was that tension between june and moira before, moira jumped right back to trying to fight and doing all the screaming and ranting for june - someones gotta do it and june was too mentally exausted

K like im still confused why everyone can go in and out of the waterford prison so easily and was like.... dooooo they want june to kill him?!?!? Why are you leaving her alone???

And i was so excited like yesssss shes gonna kill himmm - well first i thought she was gonna go to serena and kill her baby

But when she was walking around that room... like a cat pretending not to notice the mouse in the room - we just know june too well to think she wasnt at least planningggg something

Also fred is fucking DISGUSTINGGGGG as usual. Lying during his ... conference like WHY are you just gonna beleive this psycho at face value?!

Oh and serena thinking shes got all the power back.

Omg the two of them. I cant

And fred really being such a fucking disgusting person to think ANY part of june enjoyed his torture. She is so strong dude - i could never sit there not knowing if my plan will work and playing nice. I thought she was gonna break that glass and stab him

And like. Ok. Lukes not the worst but also - his whole - just get over it!!! Attitude.... even if she cant get him on the wall why are you reprimanding her and trying to pretend she can just get over that trauma with some food. Absolutr lack of empathy.

But june saying hes gonna be on the wall... i was so giddy!!

And i rewatched that smile she made when larence told her she hanst lost her touch- well she could barely contain her smile throughout that entire negotiation. And i loved watching larence put on a show like ‘ah we rlly miss waterford! My brother!!’

Gah and just. Also... i kinda thought june was gonna kill mark when she was outside his building. Men in this show. She went through 7 years of hell and you told her youd help and fucked her over and then throw an entire dramatic tempertantrum when she calmly sits on a bench near your house.... lol wow..i mean uncomfortable but have some prespective

And i wanna say the like demand straight to - oh im sorry. Didnt mean to he a cunt - i meant please? Act june did, its not overacting but knowing june it is so it was funny af

The suspence watching fred get ready to go.., i was literally chanting for the plane to be to gilead but it was so much better! Watchint him get arrested all shocked. “Im a man! I have rights” all the fucking ew... open the door back up and slap him

I just thought he was gonna get sent back and wed watch the commanders all hang him. But it to be lawrence - again with his ‘oh? Is there anything i can do to stop this? No? Ok bye fred!’

And i mean i knew we were in for a treat with nick taking him but i was NOT EXPECTING JUNE to just POP OUT of the trees!!! Fucking perfect. A literal horror movie just for fred

Also why did he keep calling nick son.... like... no one likes you???? Do you really think you can regain power just saying words like this???

And this is e first time i fucking LOVED seeing june in a red coattt and her faceeee like last episode when she turned from calm to screaming - it wad so good and so intense and such good acting and that heartbeat music got me

But hereeeee i cant even desribe the combination or rage and calmness pouring out. Not to be a weeb but thats the first time i think ive ever seen a live action representation of how i imagine anime cool characters to act

That power play of nick and june making out in front of fred loool - i dont care about the ships but that was perfect

“This is sick” - whats sick is how you never run out of things to do and say that make me feel sick...

I loved how june told him to choose - i feel like jt was a call back to his lawyer saying that she CHOSE to be a handmaid. Like theres not good option here

Does anyone think she actually would have shot him dead IF he did choose the gun - part of me wants an alterantive ending where he chose that just so i could watch june either tell him ‘no thats too easy’ or like shoot him in the foot so he cant even run right before being like

Oops i missed and chasing him down anyway

I hate horror movies but watching them all chase him down UGHHH IVE NEVER FELT SO MUCH GLEEE - k not never but ya know

OMG ALMOST FORGOT that sceneee with june and emily talking at the table about how june wants him to be scared to death. And fucking luke - with his judgements turning and looking. I feelll like.... emily helped june decide to do this. Because after getting to the end of the episode it seemed more like they were planning in plain sight in thay scene

I havent rewarched the show. So maybe im remembering incorrectly but it does feel like this fits because - wasnt emily kind of what inspired june to actively start rebelling when she drove the car around and ran one of the guards over

Anddddd the songggg from the 1st? Or 2nd??? Season. The ending right? I just remember that the last time we heard that song was when june first started a quiet resistance against gilead and all the handmaids were together in it. So it brought back those feelings of like ‘FINALLY its happening!!’ And it fit soooo perfectlyyy

When the girls first ran up to fred i thought they were gonna surround him and reinact that “shame” thing they used to be forced to do. I mean i guess they did without actually saying it cause they definitely killed him the way gilead forced the handmaids to kill people in the first season

And it was wonderful to watch! Thank you handmaids tale for making me feel like a psychotic sadist for enjoying that ENTIRE scene. I was giggling like i was watching a disney movie

Gonna ignore that part where june picks up the baby covered in blood - ew

I wanted to seeeeee serena get the finger - more so - i wanted to watch tha family come in and get her and be like - hey guess what your coming back to gilead!!! And see it end with serena as a fucking handmaid - GIVING BIRTH TO THE BABY BETWEEN (i forget the one who visited hers name) LEGS!

But fuck seeing fred on a wall with the “dont let the bastards grind you down” from the the very beginningggg - it felt sooo goodddd

And i just needed to squeal over this episode some more! I watched it hours ago. But i kinda wanna rewatch it rnn

#the handmaid's tale #elizabeth moss

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ciggylungz · 4 years

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Summer Bummer

y/n x harry pairing

summary- y/n and Harry are part of a cast of a reality show called ‘summer bummer’ that’s a uk version of the jersey shore and things are chaotic

(hoping if it’s received well it can become a series, tbh I’ve been rewatching jersey shore and I stan snooki and pauly’s friendship)

2.8k words

The first thing that Y/n was hit with when she walked into the large mansion was booze, a giant whiff of it as she entered the doors trying not to react too much since the cameras were already following her around and she didn’t want to risk any horrid screenshots on twitter when the episode aired.

“woah, swear I could get wasted just smelling this place…” she giggled to herself as she made her way to the kitchen where she heard people who she assumed were her new roommates chatting.

“Oi! Hey love! Welcome.” The first person to welcome her was a tall tanned guy with a pretty strong posh-ish accent, big muscles and obvious over grooming, he seemed a bit full of himself just by how he looked. Y/n internally laughed as the guy hugged her calling him a ‘wanker’ in her brain.

“Hi! I’m Y/n, what’s your name?”

“Tommy, here I’ll take your bags. Take a load off sweetheart, everyone’s cool don’t look so nervous.”

Y/n was in physical pain from how badly she wanted to roll her eyes at this kids cocky and terribly flirty aggression, he wasn’t her type at-fucking-all. He looked like a guy who would cat call her when she’s out buying groceries, a hard pass on that one.

But- she managed to hold back and focus her energy on the other people all mingling in the kitchen. She counted 7, seemed like 4 girls- herself included- and 3 guys which means there was one person left to show up since she was told by producers ahead of time there were 8 cast members in total.

She introduced herself to her fellow cast mates who she learned were named Mandy, Kaitlyn, Selena, Ryan, Casey and of course the dreaded Tommy who was now looming over her again, topping off her basically full cup of vodka and red bull without asking her, and giving her a wink that made her want to vomit from cringing so hard.

Finally, the door opened again revealing the final person, who had all eyes on him as he closed the door behind him and set his luggage down, giving everyone a smile and making his way over.

Y/n let herself slyly size the man up. He looked to be about 22, long hair with a nice body to it with some curls, green eyes, dimples- he was cute. Plus he was at least a foot taller than her which was always a plus, she has always had a thing for tall guys.

The man greeted everyone, introducing himself as ‘Harry’ and Y/n smiled as he ducked down to hug her and politely kiss her on the cheek as he greeted her, asking for her name making polite conversation with everyone while they tried their best to ignore the-what seemed to be- millions of cameras surrounding them. The crew had left the house for the time being but the house was covered in cameras in pretty much every corner, on every wall- even outside.

It was a bit unnerving to the girl, she wasn’t used to being on camera and she was a bit worried about if she looked alright. She was one of the youngest in the house, freshly 19- a year over legal drinking age in England and when she saw the ad for casting of a summer reality show, she thought ‘fuck it, im young and hot and I wanna get wasted. If someone wants to pay me to do it, all the better!’ and she took the risk, auditioning and thankfully getting her spot on the new show.

It was around 8 in the evening when everyone sat down for their first dinner together, opting to make a simple meal of pasta and some nice finger foods as well since they were going out to a club tonight and the last thing she wanted was to get sloppy drunk her first night and puke all over herself in front of her new roommates. She wanted to at least have a chance to make a good impression.

They all seemed to get along great, besides Tommy who was still creeping on Y/n trying to flirt and being a total tool even when she was just trying to enjoy her dinner, making conversation with everyone. She of course gave him nothing in return making it pretty obvious she wasn’t interested and seeing as this kid was such a cocky little bastard he seemed to get butthurt over her cold shoulder. He was used to getting any girl he wanted back home, since ‘apparently there they have no taste or standards’ is what she thought to herself as she finished off her food and helped the rest of the group wash up the dishes leaving the pouting man child to sulk at the table while everyone else ignored him.

“alright guys, I think we should all chill for a while then start getting ready to go to Headliners and we should leave at like 12 since clubs usually busiest from 1-5am and I’m not trying to have a lame night. Sound like a plan?” Selena cupped her hands around her mouth as she spoke to everyone making sure they all could hear her, getting approval from everyone before smiling and making her way to her room.

Y/n was sitting on her bedroom floor using the full-length mirror to do her hair and makeup as she sat in her robe, her dress and heels already picked out and laid on her twin sized bed. All the girls were chatting among themselves as they groomed themselves and glammed themselves up. They were fucking hot and they knew it, making sure to highlight their beauty with the clothes that would probably burst into flames if they were worn in a church and heels as high as they could handle.

The girls went into a frenzy rushing around when they heard Ryan yell up the stairs that they were leaving in 30 minutes, all of them scrambling to get the skin tight dresses onto their bodies making sure they sprayed themselves with some deodorant and perfume since they fully planned to fool around tonight and BO from dancing your ass off in a club isn’t exactly an aphrodisiac.

All of the guys heads turned towards the stairs as the girls rushed down them, their heels loud on the wooden steps making it sound like a heard of elephants was rushing through the house but they didn’t care.

“Christ…look fucking good girls.” Casey smiled at them as he looked each one from head to toe, licking over his lips a bit as he took them in. They looked like sin personified and what’s better than that?

“Right?” Selena laughed and turned towards Y/n and Kait “Kait looks fucking hot and Y/n looks so fucking good I’m questioning if I’m bisexual now” Selena was their hype woman, even on the first day of meeting she was ready with a mouthful of compliment word vomit to spew into their ears.

Everyone laughed at her comment, Y/n smiling and smacking her roomates ass as she walked towards the door , “Sel, if I don’t find a cute guy tonight you can bring me home instead” Y/n giggled a bit as she watched all the guys eyes blow up wide at the comment, getting a few ‘can I watch’ comments from some of them which just got them an eye roll and groan from the girls.

Everyone piled into the cabs that were waiting for them, all excited and already a little buzzed from the pre-gaming they did before and during dinner anxious to get to the club, all of them just wanting to dance and enjoy their first night of summer. And of course, get absolutely trashed,

And so the team of young adults did just that. They made a b-line to the bar as soon as they got let in all taking a round of shots together before moving to the dance floor sipping the cups of liquor they held in their hands as they grinded and danced on whoever was near them.

Y/n was pretty wasted as she stumbled towards her group of roommates again, making a grossed out noise when she saw Kaitlyn kissing Tommy, hearing a laugh from next to her as she turned to see Harry. “poor girl, I guess being drunk does make people seem more attractive.” He commented while eyeing the younger girl getting a slight disgusted shiver from her as she thought about the guy. “he’s such a tool, I almost wanna stop her. He’s a total wanker, wouldn’t leave me alone and then pouted like a child when I wouldn’t flirt back at him. He’s got no chance, doesn’t matter how many of these I’ve had. I promise you that one.” She held her now empty cup in the air as she said it, giggling like crazy at her own words getting a lazy drunk smile from the man who joined her in the laughter.

He went to the bar with her to get both of them another refill on their drinks of choice, Y/n’s being a screwdriver and his being a rum and coke. They were both pretty wasted, but they were having fun and that’s what it was all about, plus she was almost chest to chest with the hottest guy she’s seen in a long time, in the middle of the club as they both are crammed into a corner trying to talk to each other a bit.

“Where you from love?” Harry asked her as he took another swig of his drink, looking down at the girl that he swears he’s torn between scooping her up like a baby and cuddling like a teddy bear and fucking her hard against the wall till she’s begging him to stop. She’s adorable, yet she’s just so goddamn sexy.

“Up in North London, how about you?”

“originally Holmes Chapel but live in Central London now.” He gave a smile to the girl and she returned it

“ahh London, maybe if I decide I like ya’ enough we can meet up after summer since we’re not too far from each other.” She offered with a playful poke to his stomach getting a smirk in return as he leaned down a bit to be a little closer to the girls face

“maybe we can, cmon wanna dance with me?” he held his hand out to the girl who took it, following him into the sea of people all grinding against each other to the blaring music, and Y/n wasted no time in doing the same.

Her back was to his chest as she danced on him, her heels putting her at perfect level for her ass to grind right on his crotch. They were like horny kids dirty dancing on each other, Y/n was having the fun she came here for and well, Harry was too.

When Y/n spun around in his arms she was pushed chest to chest with him by another couple who were dancing, nudging into her a bit seeing as the floor was packed with people. Harry of course took the opportunity to smoothly wrap his arm around her waist leaning down to look into her dilated pupils giving her a smirk that she gave right back to him before he leaned down to talk in her ear

“you got no idea how badly I wanna fuck your brains out right now darlin’, but I’m a gentlemen. Can’t do anything like that with a drunk girl, at least till I talk to the sober version about it first.” Harry talked in a deep voice right into her ear getting a shutter from her as her body tingled at the tone. When he pulled back he was met with a adorable pout on her pretty lips letting out a chuckle himself at her rather dramatic expression.

“that’s not fairrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, you’re so hot! And you wanna fuck me but now you’re being a tease!” she gave him her best puppy dog eyes but he just shook his head with a smile tugging on his lips, he was firm on his rule. He never wanted to hurt a girl, well unless they liked it but right now Y/n was in no state to truly decide that. Her body was swaying from how wasted she was, and he could tell by the slow speech she wouldn’t pass a basic sobriety test let alone be able to fully consent to having sex with him.

“Not tonight, maybe next time sweetheart.”

“Can we at least kiss? Snuggle?” she tugged on the collar of his shirt a little giving him her best pouty face and he couldn’t help but smile down at her giving her a nod.

“I’ll go for snuggles and kisses, but that’s all for tonight little girl.” He pointed his finger in her face jokingly scolding her getting a gentle bite on the tip of that finger before she pulled him down to kiss her.

It was 25 past 4 in the morning when the group of housemates stumbled their way out of the club, all completely wasted and some even having a plus one this cab ride, and Harry didn’t mind one bit as Y/n held onto him like a little lost puppy keeping a hold on his shirt sleeve the entire way home stealing kisses from him every so often.

“I’m taking the extra room tonight guys, me and my girl need some privacy.” Casey managed to slur out as the random girl-who was equally as wasted as him- tugged him towards the extra bedroom with the only full sized bed in it. Everyone besides Harry was completely fine hooking up with randoms while completely wasted, but he didn’t wanna do that to Y/n and he knew it would be wrong of him when she’s a bit drunker than he is. She was a smiley mess as she held onto the wall for support looking back at Harry who kept his hand on her lower back to keep her from falling.

“Both my roommates are getting dick right now and yours is in the guest room, and what am I getting? No penis, not even a little bit! How rude mister Harry!” she put her hands on her hips and he laughed

“ ‘m sorry, can’t offer my services up when you couldn’t even remember how to spell your own name back in the taxi love. I promised snuggles and kisses as a compromise though, did I not?” he tilted his head a bit and looked down at her raising an eyebrow as he reminded her, which didn’t help her libido since first he called her ‘little girl’ and now he’s being all stern, the guy was killing her here!

“yea yea, both my roommates are in there though, who do you share a room with?”

“just Casey, so it’ll just be us in there its only a two bed one, Ryan and Tommy share the other one.”

“Yuck, I feel bad for whatever girl Tommy is about to bang. I can tell by his attitude he has a small dick and he finishes first. I bet he even has cooties!”

She was a babbling mess as he walked her down the hall to his room, sitting her on his twin bed that’s against the farthest wall right under the window.

“He probably does have cooties, here put these on I’m gonna go take a leak and change myself.”

The older man handed Y/n one of his shirts and a pair of his boxer before grabbing his own change of clothes, helping her tug her heels off before he left her to change while he relieved himself and got ready for bed himself.

When he came back she was putting her hair into a messy bun, mumbling to herself about how bad the knots are gonna be tomorrow.

“bed time, ironically the suns about to come up but lets pretend it’s still night time.” His voice was deep and slow from his sleepiness and the booze as he spoke, getting her to scoot over so she’s on the inside of the bed, back against the pillow he had leaning against the wall so she’s more comfortable and he slid in next to her laying on his side to give her the last few kisses of the night, nibbling on her bottom lip a bit before pulling away laying on his back letting her tuck herself into his side.

‘yea’- he thinks- ‘this summers gonna be fun’

#harry styles fluff #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles angst #harry styles au #harry styles writing #harry styles series #harry styles fanfic #harry styles blurb #harry styles concep #harry styles smut #older!harry #younger!yn

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lizacstuff · 3 years

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SCK episode 46 asks!

Hi folks, below the read more you'll find a smattering of asks about this week's episode as well as a few spoilers for 47.

Good asks this week:

(under the cut)

Anonymous asked: this may be superficial of me, but why are they dressing Serkan in such ugly tops? they finally brought Eda's hair back but now this

BWAH! You're not wrong. You know what I'm wondering, if they've put him in some of those outfits because they are showing his suburban dad side? It's kind of a subtle nod to him embracing father hood and a different way of life? He's now all about running around the yard after his daughter and not about what he looks like when he's being SERKAN BOLAT, FAMOUS BUSINESS MAN and WORLD'S BEST ARCHITECT.

Also, Eda's hair, thank goodness they let that go once the flashbacks were over and we didn't need something to distinguish between then and now! Those curly bangs were not it.

Anonymous asked: They built up the Edser chemistry soooooo well throughout the episode... for that ending? Who decided to cut it there?! The scene was BEAUTIFUL I’m actually upset lol. are not we going to see any more? I’m not asking for a sex scene, I wanted to see THE moment they decided to get back together (the tattoo line doesn’t do it for me) - a few words, tears as they embrace, him walking through the door as she closes it, one passionate kiss, something! But it doesn’t feel like a cliffhanger that continues next week. I’ll be so underwhelmed when they cut to the morning after and we have to infer that they got back together overnight *sigh* if they were allowed 1 kiss only, id rather it have been here instead of ep 2

We do deserve to see how they reconcile, that should be one of the biggest moments of the season after 7 episodes of build up to it.

90% of final scenes in this show have continued uninterrupted the next week. To me there's no reason to think the next episode won't pick up right where this one left off. Crossing fingers!

Anonymous asked: It just hit me that Serkan is the “Kiraz” for Kemal - but Kemal actually missed his child’s whole 35 years 😬 this is an interesting turn of events. Also that line Serkan said about how fathers should love their child’s mother and how he didn’t have that with his own parents....but his real dad does love Aydan, more than she deserves haha.

Oh so true! Kemal really does love his mother more than she deserves! How he puts up with her, I don't know.

The parallel between Serkan/Kemal and Kiraz/Serkan is strong and I hope it gives Serkan some perspective when he starts grappling with this knowledge. I'm sure it's going to be very disconcerting for him, because while he expected to never see his father again, Alptekin is still his father. He's still the man who raised him and formed him into the man he is. Serkan still runs the company he founded and bears his name.

I don't expect any of that to change, but hopefully he can forge a separate relationship with Kemal that might fill some emotional holes that he has and bring him some peace.

None of that even contemplates how Kemal will feel, thankfully Aydan didn't willfully hide the truth from him. How awful to realize you lost 35 years.

We aren't there yet, but I wonder at what age with Kiraz learn the truth, that her dad is not an astronaut, that her parents went through hell with with cancer and plane crashes, and that her father didn't know of her existence until right before they met?

Just something to think about.

Anonymous asked: i'm so happy for hanker, don't get me wrong, and i'm also so happy we get "together" edser for so many episodes until the end, but i'm already tired of the constant "hanker improvising" comments i know i will be seeing. not that they don't improvise in some scenes, but i just know that every romantic edser scene is gonna be analyzed to hell bc ppl want to look for hanker in them. like there's no possible way that ayse, the writer ppl hate the most, could write any romantic scenes.. nope no way!

Yes, this is one of my pet peeves, I can't stand the "Edser left the chat" and all the "that's Hanker, not Edser" type conversation. it's so invasive and most of all disrespectful to not only the writers, but Hande and Kerem and all the work they pour into bringing Eda and Serkan to life.

One of the things in fandom that sets my teeth on edge is when folks take some interpretation of the character by the actor and then decide because it wasn't "scripted" (pro tip the vast majority of physical movements the actors make are "unscripted") that it must just be the actors themselves and have nothing to do with the characters. What an embarrassing and naïve assertion. Actors literal job is to take what's on the page and then translate that. So, no, OF COURSE, every look and touch is not scripted. The actors interpret how their characters would think and feel, and what they would do in given moments and then do those things.

Eda is not touching Serkan's arm just because Hande can't hold herself back from touching Kerem. Puh-lease, they are professionals. Grow up.

However, having said all that, I do think there was one scene that seemed to be very improvised this episode. The bean scene in the grocery store did feel like them just eFFing around. LOL.

andhewonherheart asked: @andhewonherheart: SCK promo department is best and worst all at the same time, cause giving away the last (cliffhanger) scene in fragman is just cruel. But based on the next week’s fragman thing happens that we we think happens *wink*

Hee! So true. The thing I'm grateful for is that in season 2 not one fragman has made me dread the episode, I think there was at least one fragman an episode from 29-37 that was hella upsetting.

As far as I'm concerned these fragmans are doing there job, making me want to watch.

I am really excited for Serkan planning how he's going to ask Eda to marry him, I wonder what Kiraz's reaction is going to be. So far she's been their very own cupid!

Anonymous asked: I didn't find it surprising that Serkan removed his tattoo as soon as Eda left. His logic is always out of sight out of mind though it doesn't work. He did the same when he broke up with her when he found out about the death of her parents. He removed all of her belongings. But their memories are too strong and enough for him to continue to remember her.

Truth! Will he ever learn that it's never going to work? He'll never be able to erase Eda, she has left an indelible mark on his soul. Let's hope he's never faced with that situation again! From here on out, he and Eda are together, a unit, and will live a long life together and in love.

Anyone have any guesses where Eda's tattoo is? Will we find out or will it remain between the characters.

Anonymous asked: I've seen some people say that Edser are getting married now way too fast and to that I just have to laugh lol. First there were complaints we don't have happy Edser and now when we do, of course there's something else. These two have had a rollercoaster of a year when they first met and a five year separation.. they've been through the dating phase, the engaged phase.. of course they'll head straight to the altar! It's not like Eda's plane proposal and that first wedding wasn't rushed either!

I'm on team head straight to the alter! No more waiting. They've had terrible luck, so they just need to tie the knot and make sure there are no easy outs.

As for people who think it's too fast, they don't even know the storyline yet, I swear there are folks who complain just because that's their personality and they're never satisfied.

Anonymous asked: From some of the spoilers of BTS pics, and the fragman we got, I was just reflecting on this season and Turk romcom dizis in general and I just wanted to say how LUCKY we are to see Edser married (again, from spoilers) and with a kid on screen for more than just 10 minute at the end of the finale. Like, it is really rare and as much as people have nitpicked on this season in general, I feel like watching these last episodes have been such a breeze after the last arc of S1.

Oh agreed, I think these episodes have been very enjoyable. The writers are giving me exactly what I want from this show. Comedy, UST, romance with a little light angst thrown in now and again. I would rewatch this season a dozen times before even thinking about watching anything from the 30s.

We are very lucky that we've got to see them as parents, and actually forming their family. We've gotten so much domestic goodness so far and we still have a ways to go. I'm very appreciative of this season and that Ayse came back, got rid of the constant ridiculous melodrama for melodrama's-sake and is telling a very human story about family and love persevering.

Anonymous asked: the last scene gave me chills for some reason. you could actually see eda fighting her head and her heart and deciding to take the step (metaphorically and physically!) towards him for good. i wanna SUE whoever decided to end it the ep there though.. it was actually cruel. also looking at the next frag.. it makes my heart soft that in the flashbacks we see serkan pushing off their wedding bc of his fears and now he can't propose and get married fast enough.. can't believe we're really getting it

I know, it's almost surreal at this point. Since we're near the end we know it's for real and won't be ruined by psychos or awful family members or terminal illness. I just hope that they give us an emotional scene when they get married, whether its just them or the whole cast is there as guests, after everything they've (we've) been through we need to see them both feeling that moment and reveling in it.

FYI - I'm out of town next weekend, so I may be slower than usual in replying to asks and in posting gifs of 47, but I'll get to it all eventually!

#Sen Çal Kapımı #Sen Cal Kapimi #Edser #sckask #sck episode discussion #edser discussion #asklizac jmo personal life #singles anonym

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darkpoisonouslove · 3 years

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Ranking the Winx Club Finales

I recently finished my rewatch (and first watch of a season and a half) of Winx Club and wrote out my thoughts on all of it. However, to send off a year that was in experience a lot like watching this series - meaning, generally frustrating and downright disappointing whenever I got excited over a thing with a few highlights that actually stuck the landing - and to get out any remaining feelings over the series, I have decided to rank the finales from least to most favorite. I just have a lot of rage to spare over season 8′s finale and needed an excuse to do so. Plus, I am being thematic here goddammit! Here we go:

8. Season 8

Yeah, I really spoiled that already. To sum it up:

But let me elaborate. Like I already said, this finale enraged the living fuck out of me. I just cannot comprehend whatever possessed them to write a finale so, so... excruciatingly devastating... to a season that started out with a lot of promise and had some extremely solid decisions (except for the art style, which is just NOT IT). This finale is an absolute disaster in every way. First, there is a new plot point introduced mere minutes before the finale and it is never tied into the overall narrative of the season which doesn’t do it any favors, especially after the two halves of the season already have trouble connecting together into one overarching story. The reason they brought in the creatures from the Dark Dimension was to distract Valtor while Winx make their attempt at stealing the stars which could have very well been a role filled by Arken confronting Valtor in an opportunity to clear up all the muddy details around their partnership and bring together the two halves of the season. The Winx’ plan had potential that was completely wasted by their own interruption instead of seeing each girl (provided Layla was playing Icy, Stella - Darcy and Musa/Tecna - Stormy) doing her best to pretend to be the Trix she’s posing as to give the Trix the due role they should have had in this finale. Instead, we get an Icy that is a complete opposite of the character we’ve known her to be for seven seasons all for the sake of a wish she doesn’t even get fulfilled despite her decision to help. Her motivation is a direct contradiction to the original plan of the Trix and disrespects her character from all previous instances of her being on the show for absolutely no reason as she is left with nothing in the end and the whole backstory they invented for her out of nowhere and couldn’t fit in any way with anything previously known about her was in vain because it was never resolved. Winx essentially manage to defeat Valtor once they wish for their own power-up and are gifted powers they haven’t really earned only to be pronounced great heroes who even get their own constellation in the sky. Come again? There was no narrative tension in this episode, no big climax to resolve what is supposedly the biggest threat in the universe at the moment, and no actual emotional conclusion to the season. It can’t even be called a messy wrap when so many threads were left hanging in there. A true disaster on every front.

7. Season 6

Even if you count both 6x25 and 6x26 as the finale of season 6, the structure is still lacking big time. Acheron who is the main drive of the entire season is defeated before the end of 6x25 and the Trix who are the other main villains were also more or less neutralized at that point to leave absolutely no stakes for the last episode so they had to pull some bullshit to fill it. The Winx are useless for the entire episode, including Bloom whose battle with the Trix is an absolute joke. Like, they can’t even think of syncing their attacks so that she can’t protect herself from all three of them with her ridiculously small shield and Bloom couldn’t even bother to actually buy herself enough time to leave the Legendarium. The only saving grace of that fight is the little emotional moment it causes for Bloom but that was also not really set up at any point of the season so it was just out of the blue. Selina changing her affiliations permanently even after the imminent threat for her life was neutralized made about as much sense as her turning evil in the first place and the fact that they needed her to lock the Legendarium made everything 1000% shittier because of how convenient it was that she just decided to turn good again without any justification for her course of actions. That coupled with the lack of consequences for any of her actions (she nearly killed Flora for heaven’s sake and no one even brought that up?) plus the dreadful info dump monologue they gave her just brought the whole thing down. The wrap-up of the season was also underwhelming after they had an entire episode that was mainly free of villains in order to close the other storylines... but, of course, there were no other storylines. Pretty disastrous.

6. Season 7

Just like in season 6, Winx were pretty useless here as they really didn’t do all that much for the plot. Luckily, the fact that the Trix were brought in allowed for the villains to have a battle that was more intriguing and provided some action as for a finale. The other key elements of the season (fairy animals, Trix, wild magic, Kalshara and Brafilius and the time travel) were actually woven together pretty well to make for a pretty satisfying finish to a season that really lacked any solid plot. The mini worlds and the Tynix transformation did not have use in the last episode but that wasn’t too catastrophic. There was actually a pretty emotional moment between the fairy animals and Winx that would have been even better if their relationships had been better developed throughout the season... You’d really think that since fairy animals were the main point of the season and there was no solid plot to account for, they would have taken the time to pay attention to Winx bonding with their fairy animals but nah. I am still impressed with how touching their goodbye was given the fact that they didn’t really have all that much time to actually become close so bonus points for that. The very last scene is a little generic but what else to expect from a season that has sung all its songs already (thank god that there were no musical numbers in this because I have a feeling it would have been even worse)?

5. Season 5

Season 5 could at least pat itself on the back for dealing with the main villain of the season even if there were a couple iffy things about the whole deal. I’m taking away consistency points for a) the fact that the Throne was supposed to be activated with the seals from the Pillars of the Infinite Ocean, yet suddenly stealing a random Sirenix would do, b) Tritannus being defeated by simply having his trident taken away even though he literally grew in body mass implying that the power of the Emperor’s Throne had seeped inside of him (also confirmed by Mystery of the Abyss) and c) the mutants inexplicably turning back into people once Tritannus lost his powers even though they never turned back during his times of relapsing back into a human thanks to running out of pollution. His defeat was just ridiculously easy and Bloom got to do it even though Layla was the one with the personal connection to Tritannus and the one most directly impacted by his actions as her family fell prey to him. Instead of getting to shine in a season that focused heavily not just on her home world but on the environment from which her powers come, she got benched in favor of Bloom getting to do everything again with only mild assist from Layla’s cousin. They should have kept it in the family and left Layla and Nereus deal with Tritannus. The Trix were blasted out of the narrative extremely conveniently and the rest of Winx were saved twice by the mutants just turning their back on them instead of destroying them right then and there and then being turned back into their original form as well. There wasn’t the usual teamwork of the whole Winx unit which I am still salty about despite being sick of all the time they reached for convergence in that season. Theredor fighting alongside Winx (different from his own daughter) was a nice touch but the king and queen of Andros coming off as so helpless (and apparently the only people in the castle unless you admit that everyone else drowned) was frustrating. Where was the Andros army? We only got Tressa, Roy, four of Winx and a handful of mermaids. Is that the whole population of the Heart of All Oceans? Additionally, the finale left no time for any emotional resolution of the season’s events, especially considering the big deal that Daphne’s revival was. Instead they opted for a musical number at the end. Not the best form.

4. Season 3

Season 3 had a finale and then another finale. Granted, better than season 6 that had a finale and then filler but there was not a lot of glory to the ending of a story with such a strong opening and emotional moments that send you bursting into tears. The spell of the four elements was pretty decent in its first appearance in 3x25 but the way Valtor lost it all was a real let down after the climatic confrontations between him and the Winx girls throughout the rest of the season. His return was more or less a desperate last attempt at personal revenge against Winx as his goal was mostly out of reach at this point. The spell of the elements was brought down in both its use to create clones of Winx’ boyfriends and in its power as it was much easier to undo in its reappearance. The saving graces of this season’s finale are the couple emotional moments sprinkled through both 3x25 and 3x26. Bloom’s willingness to sacrifice herself for her friends and the world was the thread that the finale hangs on as she is mostly the one resolving the whole conflict which was a bit dissatisfying after the emotional damage Valtor inflicted on all of them directly or indirectly. There is a few moments left to recover from the emotional intensity of their battles against Valtor but nothing that really addresses the seriousness of the trauma they had to survive because of him. The Trix didn’t even get to have a last stand of their own in either of the last two episodes despite the position in which they started the season but that was more or less unnecessary anyway since we’d already seen they can’t hold their ground against Enchantix Winx even with a boost from Valtor. Overall, the finale is pretty weak, especially as a follow-up of the dynamic and strong experiences that the season put them all through. It was the first finale that was confined to a single episode (or rather two separate battles spanning over an episode to end the season) and there wasn’t enough tension building in the confined storyline an episode told.

3. Season 4

The season 4 finale is overall a solid conclusion that delivers both a final battle with the Wizards and enough time left to address all the other storylines left unfinished. The final battle was pretty short but there was enough intensity in the previous couple episodes to have covered the action demand that the season had already set up and it also provided the opportunity to have Winx come back together as a team after Layla split up. Not only that, but Nebula and Roxy also get to play their part while the Wizards make their last desperate attempt to regain the upper hand. It’s pretty climatic for something that length that also left about 15 minutes of the episode still to fill. Everything that had to do with the closure of the Earth fairies storyline was emotional beyond belief and gave more depth to all of them and Layla’s decision to join them. Winx had to face all of the separate responsibilities they have on their shoulders and find a way to balance them all so that they can pursue their dreams. There was a plethora of emotional moments and a deserved spotlight shined on Layla’s situation and how she’s dealing with it, plus the others’ feelings. It was a really touching finale and also an inspiring one to see Winx stand behind their dreams while still balancing their responsibilities. It seemed to achieve the initial goal of the season to have them adapting to the adult life they were shifting into.

2. Season 2

I’m gonna be honest, I had a very hard time deciding whether this would be number one or two because the season 2 finale had a lot more character moments that were very moving. It really corresponds to the season since it was more character driven than the first one and the finale suited that. However, ultimately I decided that it would take silver because of a couple minor things that bring it down. To get that out of the way, the second portal to Realix that led Winx there was imo a copout that destroyed pretty much all of the tension that the entire season spent building around the search for the Codex. It just felt so wrong for there to be another way to enter that dimension and to me it was a big disappointment. Especially since the key to activating the copy of the Codex was the color riddle that was a ridiculous panicked attempt on the writers’ part to show that Stella isn’t useless and has what to give the team but it only made her look worse in my eyes. Also, minor gripe for the fact that there wasn’t that much of a final battle since everything ended with a single convergence. Of course, there were several battles across the episode between different sides that made for good action and tension and there was magic involved in more ways than simply the convergence in order to defeat Darkar but it was still a bit of a letdown to never truly see him put his everything in battle. And the fact that Griffin and Faragonda held him off for as long as they did on their own actually hurt his credibility as a threat as well. But hey, on the plus side, remember when the teachers actually helped and did not leave the fate of the whole universe in the hands of 16-year-olds? Good times! The MegaTrix and her? their? battle with Darkar was epic. 20/10 on that concept alone, plus it really brought a great feeling of vindication after the number Darkar did on them and felt so satisfying even if they were also part of the villain team of the season. They were portrayed as three-dimensional and weren’t cast out of the narrative without care just because they were villains and that was actually probably the most solid moment that the Trix have ever had on the show (just minor gripe for the fact that they were supposed to be trapped in Realix when the dimension was sealed forever but they were later somehow brought out of there which was never explained). Sky’s speech to Bloom was actually a pretty emotional moment and the payoff from it felt earned and allowed for Bloom’s victory against the darkness to feel natural and in place. It was probably one of their best moments as a couple. Plus, the cute little interactions that we got during the celebration party to send off the season on its merry way made for a great finale. (And a shoutout to the Musa x Riven scenes both in 2x25 and 2x26 because that was some good shit and some cute shit and it was exactly what we deserved).

1. Season 1

Season 1 reigns supreme with its finale. There is just no other finale that can rise to the level of the first one that was built for about one third of the season so that the last episode could dive right into the action without wasting time on setup. This is also the only place where we truly and fully get to see each of the Winx and the Trix (well, minus Layla who hasn’t been introduced yet) showcase their powers but especially Bloom and Icy. It is the longest battle we have seen and it builds a lot of tension on top of what was already there to leave you on the edge of your seat. The exploration of magic in this episode makes it so iconic and such a great watch even on the 300th time. There isn’t really much more to say than simply “It is epic”. What makes it even better though is the fact that there is enough time left in the episode to wrap up everything else and not in a rushed way. The battleground is extended to the locations that have already suffered the previous battles to show the full extension of the action and to setup the wrap-up that comes at the end. They even find the time to let some of the minor characters have distinct and touching moments as well and thus expand the universe of Winx further than just the main characters. Speaking off, they all get their moments, too, and the Specialists aren’t left out of that (you will never catch me not fangirling over Sky and Riven fighting back to back). The finale also doesn’t forget about the overarching story about Bloom’s origin which is commendable considering the constant lack of consistency the show suffers. This is really the only finale that isn’t lacking in any of the departments and manages to provide a truly fascinating story that keeps you entertained and in suspense while at the same time does not discard the emotional payoff or the logical continuation of events. It just excels in every way.

Well, this is my analysis on the finales of Winx Club. What started out as a bitch fest actually left on on a positive and uplifting note to make for a great ending to a harsh year. Let’s see what beginnings 2021 will bring! ;)

#winx club #winx club meta #winx meta #winx analysis #analysis #winx club season 1 #winx club season 2 #winx club season 3 #winx club season 4 #winx club season 5 #winx club season 6 #winx club season 7 #winx club season 8

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sobriquett · 3 years

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Dear Trick or Treat Author

Dear Trick or Treat Author,

[WIP: 23:50 BST 19/09/21]

What a wonderful time of year! (Or is that Yuletime? Nearly there too!)

Hello! I am very easily pleased so please take this as a starting point if you need some ideas but otherwise write what makes you happy! I know horror tropes/genre are in my dislikes but if you want to write a scary trick, you do that, yes please! Just play within the canonical world (werewolves in Milton-Northern, vampires at Thornfield, ghosts at the White House) and I'll be a happy reader (but please still stay aware from my gore-related DNWs!).

My normal ramble about what I enjoy in fic isn't really relevant to a 300+ word exchange but you can find it in past letters, click the letter tag.

That said, things missing from my main signup include these:

Loves: exploration of power imbalances Likes: epistolary

My fandoms are in alphabetical order (ish), so here we go!

1. 16th Century CE RPF

Anne Boleyn Anne of Cleves Catherine of Aragon Catherine Parr Elizabeth I of England Henry VIII of England Margaret Pole Countess of Salisbury Robert Dudley 1st Earl of Leicester Thomas Seymour (1508 – 1549)

I've been on a bit of a Philippa Gregory kick this summer reading the Cousins' War series out of order. I'd love more stories about these figures – with some of them (Henry VIII in particular!) it's pretty easy to lean into the trick side of things, but there's treat potential too. Add more characters if you want; I've been reading histories and historical novels on this period for many, many years so if you drop in Maria de Salinas or Stephen Fisher or Kat Ashley or Thomas Cromwell or anyone I'm up for that, but I am also a laidback reader and this is a low-stress exchange, don't tie yourself in knots over accuracy. (Although I would, and I'd definitely recommend Ruth Goodman's How to be a Tudor if you haven't read it, even if you're not normally a non-fiction reader.)

What if [any utterly disastrous thing] didn't happen, or perhaps was somehow worse? Did Elizabeth and Dudley actually have some happiness in a romance, however brief? How did Anne of Cleves feel to retire as the King's beloved sister? What was Margaret Pole thinking on the morning of her execution? Is Henry VIII haunted by the ghosts of some of those he killed: friends and lovers and family? Did anything actually happen between Elizabeth I and Thomas Seymour (There's historical room for a secret pregnancy in the country…)

2. Downton Abbey

Mary Crawley Edith Crawley Sybil Crawley Matthew Crawley Tom Branson Robert Crawley Cora Crawley Violet Crawley Isobel Crawley Lavinia Swire Anna Bates Evelyn Napier Freda Dudley Ward Marigold Crawley George Crawley Ship: Tom Branson/Sybil Crawley

This is like my TV comfort blanket. I rewatched it this year and I am interested in just about every main character except, oddly, Thomas – who is the favourite fic character of most writers! Give me a missing moment, a look at the future, a glance at the past, a look from the outside – whatever. Any point in, before or after canon is cool with me, except I tend to skim a lot of S4 (ugh, that rape storyline, please don’t use that).

Do ghosts walk the halls of Downton Abbey? What is life like in Ireland for Tom and Sybil? Do any of the characters ever feel a moment of true despair? What if Matthew had died in the war? What does the future hold for these characters? How did Robert, Cora and Violet get on in the 1890s? What was Carson like with Mary/Edith/Sybil as children? Does it parallel his relationship with their children?

3. The Good Place

Eleanor Shellstrop Chidi Anagonye Tahani Al-Jamil Jason Mendoza Michael Janet

This is another show I can watch over and over and over. I think Chidi's my favourite but it's hard to be sure. I can tell you I absolutely sobbed during the S3 finale and I was a wreck for the S4 finale. Tug my heartstrings, make me laugh, make me cry, I don't care! I've studied philosophy and despised it so I'll take or leave what you include on that score, I just love the characters. Please include any or all other characters you'd like, but I definitely ship Eleanor/Chidi over Chidi/Simone! Although I'll take angst in that direction too! I don't know, I feel like a kid in a candy store writing this letter: hyper and having trouble deciding between all the possible wonders!

Existential dread? Moments from their human lives? Moments from the good place? Please tell me more about the time knife. Does Michael return to the good place when he dies? Does he reunite with Janet and/or Tahani?

4. Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre Edward Rochester Adele Varens Ship: Jane Eyre/Edward Rochester

This is my favourite classic novel, I reread it every couple of years, most recently in 2020 for Yuletide. My reading of it changes each time, and I increasingly believe that Rochester is more bad guy than good guy and that Jane Eyre lies as a narrator and is as prejudiced and superior as those she crititcises for the same qualities. But I still love her, and that she says she got a happy ending.

Is Rochester more of a villain? How? How does Adele find school, either the one Rochester sends her to, or the one Jane moves her to? Post-canon happiness? Post-canon unhappiness? A scene from the engagement? A missing moment between the non-wedding and Jane running away? What if the wedding wasn't interrupted? (Full disclosure: I'm writing this too.) Canon divergence for, well, anything? Is Adele separated from Sophie? How does that go, how does she manage?

5. Memoirs of a Geisha

Nitta Sayuri Mameha Nobu Toshikazu Ship: Nitta Sayuri/Nobu Toshikazu Ship: Mameha/Matsunaga Tsuneyoshi | The Baron

6. North and South

Margaret Hale John Thornton Hannah Thornton Bessy Higgins Ship: Margaret Hale/John Thornton

7. Stardew Valley

Female Player Sebastian Shane Harvey Robin Elliott Leah Marlon Ship: Shane/Female Player Ship: Sebastian/Female Player Ship: Lewis/Marnie

Do Sebastian and the farmer go on any more bike rides? How did Lewis and Marnie’s relationship start? Are they ever found out? Why does Lewis want to keep it secret? Why is he such an arsehole to Marnie? Tales of the purple shorts. Tell me more about Harvey’s nerdy hobbies or fear of heights? What happened with Robin and Sebastian’s dad? The horrors of the mines, or the skull cavern? Is Leah frightened by the things that go bump in the night near her home? Is Elliott? Some angst or h/c around a wounded farmer, being found/nursed? Or how about some angst/horror in which... they’re not? Fics about the war with the Gotoro Empire?

8. Star Trek: Voyager

Kathryn Janeway Chakotay Tuvok Kes Seven of Nine Naomi Wildman

I’ve been a J/C shipper since before I knew shipping was a thing (as a kid, I had all the two-parters, S5&6, and Resolutions on video. Pre-internet, how did I even know which episode Resolutions one? Shippy magic instinct, I guess?) So apart from that ship, or canonical relationships, I would prefer genfic please. I also don’t mind the other Voyager characters so they’re welcome to make an appearance, but these are the ones that interest me.

9. The West Wing

CJ Cregg Josh Lyman Sam Seaborn Abbey Bartlet Charlie Young Donna Moss Jed Bartlet Leo McGarry Toby Ziegler Zoey Bartlet

Happy writing!

Sobriquett

#dear author letter #16th century rpf #downton abbey #the good place #jane eyre #memoirs of a geisha #north and south #stardew valley #star trek voyager #the west wing #trick or treat exchange

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bqstqnbruin · 4 years

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Four times you knew it wasn’t forever + one time you thought it might be

Wow a long title to distract me from the fact that my college graduation is on Saturday and I’m missing cords and medals that the school is being annoying about sending to me.

But this is that TK or Josty fic I was talking about - it had to be Tyson. But I might be working on a longer TK fic ?? Who knows, certainly not me. But I hope you like this!

__________________________________________

Countdown to moving: 30 days

“That guy has been checking you out all night, but not in a creepy way.” You turn around to see a man with a mop of curls sitting on his head, a boyish grin, and even with clothes on, you could tell he had a killer body. “Why don’t you go talk to him? At least get a free drink out of it.” You were spending the night out with some of your friends from work. It had been ages since you all went out, and after a particularly hard week for everyone, it made sense to go blow off steam that night. Come May, four of you were being transferred to Atlanta, three were being transferred to Quebec, one was being transferred to Anaheim, and everyone else was staying at the Denver office. You were being transferred to Atlanta, almost 1500 miles from your friends, family, the life you built, everything. And no one had a say. Everyone had to uproot their lives in a month to start over somewhere else. What was the harm of a one night stand with someone who was incredibly attractive?

“So was it your plan to just sit over here and stare at me all night, or were you actually going to come talk to me?” you say to the mystery man, shocked at yourself for being so bold, but hiding it anyway.

From the looks of it, he was shocked, too, but the shock in his face turned into a smile, before extending his hand, “I’m Tyson. If I have to admit, I was just trying to figure out what I would say to you to get you to keep talking to me.”

“Well how about to start with getting me another beer and then I’ll see if you’re interesting enough,” you flirt with him, impressed with yourself that you’ve actually managed to be this bold for this long. Something about knowing it wasn’t forever made you not care about being afraid like you normally would be when it came to guys. He got up and came back in what was record time with another beer in his hand for you. The two of you spent the entire night flirting, talking, getting to know each other: he played for the Colorado Avalanche. Of course, he was a professional athlete. That body of his was too amazing not to belong to an athlete.

“You’re so lucky you get to travel the country! I have lived in Colorado my entire life, and I have never seen any part of the country outside of this time zone,” you tell, him, laughing over what was the third drink he had gotten you that night.

“You’ve never traveled before other than up and down this time zone?” he says, in shock.

“Well, I’ve been out of the time zone, like I went to Cancun and I’ve traveled around Ireland for a school trip, but I have never seen any of the other states outside of this time zone. But that’ll all change in a couple months.” You take a sip of your beer. You stop for a minute; you’re only going to know the four people that are moving to Atlanta with you. All of them have significant others or families moving with them, so you’re the only one moving by themselves to a city completely unknown to you. You feel your expression drop from the pure joy that you had been missing all week to that sadness and confusion that was brought on by the announcement from your boss.

“Hey,” Tyson says, taking your hand in his, “Are you alright?”

“Uh, yeah. We just got some news at work today that a bunch of us are being transferred without much say and guess who’s going to Atlanta.”

“At least you’ll finally be able to get out of this time zone, eh?” he says, giving a small chuckle. He can tell you’re upset; it’s written all over your face that this is something that’s bothering you.

You laugh, looking at him, giving him a genuine smile. Something about him made you feel better about the impending move, “Yeah. It only took twenty-something years.”

“Hey,” he says, getting up from the bar, “why don’t we go somewhere else?”

“Like where?”

“What about back to my place?”

“I’d like that,” you tell him, setting your last empty beer down on the bar counter.

You didn’t care where this went. It wouldn’t be forever. It couldn’t be.

Countdown to moving: 15 days

Saturday mornings for you had become sitting in the coffee shop and reading a book, people watching, and enjoying the one coffee you bought yourself each week. It was a great way to relax from the normal shit the week had thrown at you. This week’s shit was finally finding an apartment that you could afford, scheduling a moving company to go cross country, and doing all the normal moving shit that you dreaded doing. Packing was the hardest part; your life and memories were in Colorado, now everything was being shifted to Atlanta. But what could you do besides sit in the coffee shop for one of the last times and just read Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky.

You had gotten so lost in your book that you didn’t even notice the person standing in front of you, calling your name, “Y/N?”

You look up to see him. Tyson. “Tyson,” you say, closing your book and standing up to give him a hug. The last time you had seen have was when you went back to his place and hooked up with him. You never thought anything of it; you snuck out of his place before he could wake up. You figured you would never see him again, so why even wait to stay around? Your walk of shame would be better if it was earlier so less people would see you walking home in the clothes and makeup you were still wearing from the night before.

“How, uh, how have you been?” he asks, sitting down with you.

“Good,” you lie, but who cares, “stressed with the move but who wouldn’t be?”

You spend what felt like an hour talking to him before you asked, “Do you want to go grab lunch somewhere? I know this great place down the street and I’m craving some of their quesadillas.”

“On one condition,” he reaches into his pocket, handing you his phone, “I need some way to keep in touch with you. It’s like, what, fate, that we met at some random coffee shop?”

“Fate isn’t real,” you tell him, his face dropping, “It’s just a coincidence. I’ll still give you my number and my insta, how about that?” you put both into his phone as you leave the coffee shop to go get lunch, “Besides, I’m leaving in like two weeks, remember?” Even if you wanted this to turn into something, what good would that do? You would be crushed when you had to leave, and it’s not like he comes to Atlanta all the time to play. Lunch would be it. This would probably be the last time you saw him, sitting down across from him at the cafe.

“Yeah, I know. And that’s too bad. That night was,” he sighs, looking down at the food the waiter set in from of you, “That night was better than most of the nights I’ve had. And that includes the nights after we win a hard game.”

“That night was pretty great.”

III

Countdown to moving: 7 days

Tyson had been texting you nonstop. And you were responding nonstop. Basically you’re lucky that you have unlimited texting and data because you would have blown the entire plan on the first day of having his number if not. He was a great friend to have if you were to go back to Colorado. But that’s all he could be, was a friend.

What are you up to tonight? Pops up on your phone from Tyson.

I was just planning on watching a movie or something in my bed. Not really up for anything else. You might have hooked up a few times since that night at the coffee shop. You were really just friends with benefits.

Mind if I come watch? I just was in the mood for company.

I don’t know Tys...

I’ll bring food and my pajamas!

You can’t help but smile, even though you really just wanted to watch a movie. Fine. See you soon.

You stay in bed finishing the episode of The Fosters you had started before Tyson texted you when there was a knock at your door. You answer it to see some of what you expect; Tyson with a box of pizza and a pint of your favorite Ben and Jerry’s ice cream to store in your freezer until you were ready for it. What you weren’t expecting was the pajamas; an oversized Avs t-shirt and boxers.

“Please tell me you didn’t go out in public like that,” you say, trying not to burst out laughing. Walking around in just boxers was all sorts of illegal, right?

“No, I have pants in my car outside.” He walks in, you shutting the door behind him as you lead him to the kitchen to put away the ice cream.

“So you’re telling me that whatever time you leave you’re going to have to leave in just your boxers?”

“I never said I thought this through,” he admits, opening the pizza. “Uh, plates, or are we going barbaric.”

“Barbaric, I don’t want to have to do dishes,” you say through the mouthful of pizza you had taken as soon as he opened the box.

“I knew you were my kind of girl,” he smiles through a bite of pizza. You feel yourself blushing, looking down at the pizza. If you were staying here, this could be something great. You knew it could be. No, stop thinking like that. This couldn’t be a forever thing, even if you wanted it to. Atlanta was almost 1500 miles from Denver. You could not have a relationship that had you that far apart. “So what movie are we watching?” he asks, snapping you out of the trance you sent yourself in.

“I was thinking we either keep watching the show I’ve been watching or that Ted Bundy movie with Zac Efron.”

“What show?” he picks up the box of pizza, walking away. He’s only been to your apartment once before but already seemed to know his way around. He was probably going to your room to set up camp.

“The Fosters. I haven’t watched it since it came out when I was in high school, so I figured why not rewatch it now?” he gets on your bed with the greasy pizza box, “Hey, no! That is not going in my bed! You’re going on the floor for that!” you laugh as you grab him off your bed, nearly sending the rest of the pizza right onto your carpet.

“Ok, fine, don’t hurt the pizza!” He plops down on the floor, leaning against your bed, you doing the same with your laptop. “What’s The Fosters?”

“A show that wrecks me emotionally because of how much I care about the issues it talks about.”

“We’re watching Ted Bundy. I’m not dealing with that tonight,” he laughs as you pull up the movie. You lean back against the bed, another slice on pizza in hand, finding yourself fitting perfectly against Tyson’s body as he puts his arm around you, your head on his shoulder.

“Hey, Tys?” you say about half through the movie.

“Yeah?”

“Why did you want to come over tonight? Don’t you have practice in the morning?”

“Uh, yeah. But you’re leaving in a week and I wanted to spend time with you.”

“Really?” you look up at him.

“Yeah. That night at the bar was amazing, like I’ve said. When I woke up the next morning and you were gone, I was actually upset, and I’ve never been upset over a one night stand leaving before I could say goodbye before. Then I saw you at the coffee shop and I was honestly staring at you for a good twenty minutes before I decided to go talk to you.”

“Why that long?”

“Because I figured if you didn’t want to see me in that morning, why would you want to see me that day?”

Hearing the pain in his voice was heartbreaking. You couldn’t get attached to this boy.

“I did want to see you, but with the whole moving this, which as you can see packing my bedroom is going great,” you start, gesturing to the completely unpacked room and unmade boxes, “This isn’t something that is going to last forever. It’s too hard when I want to be with you but I know I can’t.”

Countdown to moving: 2 days

“I can’t believe I have to finish packing everything by tomorrow,” you say over the plate of pasta the waitress had set in front of you five minutes before, still untouched by you out of stress. Tyson had wanted to take you out for dinner before you left, one last goodbye before you would only be able to see each other over Facetime or on social media.

“We could go back to your place and finish once you actually eat something!” He reaches across the table and takes your fork, stabbing a piece of past and trying to shove it towards your mouth, that same boyish grin from the night you met on his face.

“Stop that you child!” you try to not be too loud, you know, being in a restaurant and all, as you take the fork from his hand, eating the food he was forcing you to have anyway. “Happy?” you say with a smile, looking down at the still full plate that you know he would have to finish before you got to go home and pack.

“Kind of.”

“Why only kind of? Look! I’m eating!” you say as you put more of the pasta on your fork.

“Because you’re leaving in two days. Tonight we pack and then I’m leaving on a roadie so I won’t even get to see you off.” He’s smiling at you as he says this, but you know he’s hurt. You can see it in his eyes that he’s genuinely upset that you were leaving, the random girl he met at a bar a month ago.

“I know,” you say, trying not to start crying, “I’m sad about that, too. But even when we first met, you knew I was going to be moving.”

“Yeah, but, there was something about you. I still think it was fate that I saw you that day.” He shrugs, eating more of his chicken, the grin returning to his face.

“Fate doesn’t exist,” you tell him again. If fate did, then you wouldn’t have met him with a month left in Colorado. You would have had the right mind to fight your boss and have him keep you at the Denver office instead of moving you to Atlanta. If fate did exist, then this would have lasted forever. “I’m just glad I got to meet you before I had to move.”

+ One

Countdown since moving: six months

“You’ve got to be kidding me. I just moved here!” you say to your boss, frustrated and to not overreact in front of her.

“I’m sorry, but corporate asked us to transfer people from our office to other branches in the country, which I know that’s why you came here in the first place, but they wanted you to transfer as part of this.”

“Where am I going?” you groan. If you have to move, the company will at least pay for it like the did last time.

“Denver.”

“So you’re saying that I’m moving back home after I was told to move here six months ago?” you bark at your boss. As soon as you realize what came out of your mouth, your eyes go wide, “I’m sorry. It’s just, you have to understand how this is frustrating right?”

“Yes, I know. But they specifically asked for you to go to Denver.”

You had two weeks to pack up the life you had tried to establish in six months. At least it wasn’t hard since you were so lazy that not everything was unpacked last time. You were even lucky enough to be back in the same apartment building that you had moved from, just a few floors up.

As soon as you get settled into your apartment, you hear a knock at your door. Not expecting anyone, you go to the door just praying it wasn’t some serial killer.

“Tyson.” He’s standing there, hands in his pocket, bouncing on his toes like he was nervous, “What are you - how did you know I was back?”

“You have your location on the Snap Map available. I saw you were back at your old apartment instead of Atlanta and, I don’t know. I got in my car and started driving.”

“And you ended up here?”

“And I ended up here. But what I need to know is why you’re here?”

“I got transferred back to Denver.”

He looks at you, still standing in the doorway as you step back to try to motion to him to come in. Before you can ask him to come in or anything else for that matter, his lips yours, pressing his body against yours. Your lips move with his, his tongue swiping your bottom lip, a smile growing on your face as you melt into him.

“So does this mean we can try for forever?” he asks when he finally pulls away, his forehead pressed against yours.

“We can try for forever,” you tell him, pushing the door shut behind him, pulling him towards your bedroom. Maybe fate does it exist?

#tyson jost #tyson jost imagines #colorado avalanche #colorado avalanche imagine #avalanche #avalanche imagine #nhl #nhl imagines #hockey #hockey imagines

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nonbinaryhatboxghost · 3 years

Text

Okay, today has been a quiet Saturday morning so far, I have some time, and I like lists. So here is my random (personal) ranking of Star Trek series and movies, out of what I’ve seen, which is everything but seasons 5-7 of Voyager, all of Enterprise, and all of Picard. I’m only counting shows with three or more seasons because it’s easier. But let the record show that I love Lower Decks so far and The Animated Series is actually a blast.

SPOILERS THROUGHOUT

Series Ranking

The Original Series - As influential of a show as it is, I constantly forget how much damn fun the original Trek is. There is an almost Community-like variance in tone and genre throughout the show. And I’m a sucker for a future that embraces primary colors. It is the Trek show I revisit the most so far, and it remains my favorite.

Deep Space Nine - This one comes close, though. It starts out as a solid spinoff with very well-defined characters, and then becomes a big, sprawling epic that had my eyes welling up by the end. It feels more like a sequel to The Original Series than The Next Generation did to me. It dealt with subject matter both different and darker than was expected for the time. It had characters at odds with each other. Religion was explored in a way that balanced brutal honesty with genuine respect. War and the various traumas it induces were acknowledged. And it had “Take Me Out to the Holosuite”. I only finished this one recently but I look forward to watching it again.

Discovery - I was rooting for this show to be good even as it went through so much behind-the-scenes drama during its first two seasons. Even with all of that going on, the show became a fascinating watch as you saw it change from its arguably-too-dark beginnings as a prequel, to the almost Doctor Who-like second season with its joyful embracing of classic Trek, and finally to its current iteration that at long last gives us a Trek show that’s not bound by prequel limitations. Michael Burnham is such a great character and getting to see her arc alone makes this one of my favorite Trek stories. The queer/nonbinary representation also warms my heart.

Voyager - I’m just starting the fifth season, but the show has settled into an interesting groove with its characters. And Voyager’s characters are so damn good that they counterbalance a lot of the show’s early problems. It takes a while for Voyager to realize that the Kazon do not work very well as villains. But once the show realizes that, it begins an upward trajectory in quality that reminds me of Deep Space Nine after it began doing Dominion plots. And Seven of Nine’s effect on the crew dynamic lives up to the hype. Any scene between her and Janeway demonstrates such a unique relationship between captain and crewmate that an episode plot can be meh and still worth it for a scene with those two. Also, Janeway is the best captain character. No other Trek show (that I’ve seen so far) comes close to showing us the weight of leadership like Voyager, and Mulgrew constantly brings it.

The Next Generation - This is my first Trek show. It’s the one that my dad watched. There are several standout episodes to me, but I find myself less drawn to revisiting TNG than the other Trek shows because ultimately it took me too long to understand and care about its cast of characters. If you were to ask me to describe any character from any other Trek show, I would be able to. Ask me to describe a TNG character and I would likely fail to give any good adjectives for any character besides Data and Worf. As iconic as the show is, and as great as it became, it doesn’t have the same pull on me as other Trek shows. But it was the template for the spinoffs that followed, and the portrayal of Picard’s trauma post-Borg assimilation earns its reputation as an all-timer for me.

Movie Ranking

VI: The Undiscovered Country - I’m surprised this one isn’t talked about as much as other Trek movies. It’s a very frank depiction of prejudices and learning to deal with them. It has one of the best Kirk/Spock scenes ever. Christopher Plummer as a Klingon. The ORIGINAL cast credits sign-off (yes, Avengers: Endgame borrowed from this). A score that carefully balances menace with eventual hope. A fun whodunit structure. I could go on and on. It’s just so damn great, and so far the only successful send-off to a Trek crew in any of the movies.

II: The Wrath of Khan - It’s a classic for a reason. I’ve probably rewatched this more than any other Trek movie. You got your great villain, your classic crew beginning to deal with their mortality, an all-timer death scene, a kickass early James Horner score. What more could you want?

The Motion Picture - This is an interesting one. When I first watched it as a teen, I hated it. I agreed with every critique of it being thinly plotted and having an excessive runtime. When I revisited it in my 20s, it became a favorite. It’s Star Trek’s exploration of existential dread, and the struggle to find agency and identity within that dread. It has possibly Jerry Goldsmith’s greatest score. It is the best that the Enterprise has ever looked. This movie envelopes you with eerie and epic imagery, culminating in a finale with interesting philosophical ramifications and a well-earned return to optimism from its crew. This one is criminally underrated.

First Contact - This one is just rock solid all around. The best-ever TNG villains, further exploration of Picard’s trauma from Borg assimilation, Alfre Woodard, Alice Krige, fun action, the genesis of the Federation. It has the best balance of darkness and fun out of all of the Trek movies. It also has a character actually say the words “star trek” in a way that never ceases to make me smile. I don’t know if it’s a good line, but it’s funny regardless.

Beyond - Like The Motion Picture, I initially disliked this upon first viewing. I was still in the middle of watching The Original Series and was in the wrong mindset for this mashup of TOS and Fast & Furious. But it’s one of the most underrated Treks because it’s a perfect balance of the more kinetic action found in the 2010s with a very well-done breakdown of the inherent point and value of Star Trek: learning to be better and move beyond fighting the same battles among ourselves.

IV: The Voyage Home - This one is such a satisfying culmination of the crew’s arc starting in The Wrath of Khan that the joy of the 1980s material is almost just a bonus to me. Nimoy does a good job of keeping things light without disregarding stakes. He gets the best portrayal of the crew’s camaraderie in this and The Search for Spock. And Spock’s reaction to the concept of “exact change” always makes me laugh.

III: The Search for Spock - I revisited this one recently and it held up better than I expected. Seeing the weight of Spock’s death on Kirk in the beginning hits hard. Christopher Lloyd as the Klingon villain is casually one of the best Trek movie villains. And seeing the crew uniting over trying to bring back Spock gives us some of the best on-screen moments of this cast.

Star Trek - One of the reasons I love Beyond so much is that it retroactively makes this one better. I was crazy for this movie when it came out. I was in high school, Star Trek in general was something I was only really aware of because of my dad. But this is the thing that got me into Trek. And as mixed of a bag as it now plays to me, ‘09 Star Trek being a gateway for me to general Trek, combined with the perfect casting of the crew, the excellent Giacchino score, and the emotion of the opening sequence, thankfully makes this one still a blast to revisit.

Nemesis - I have only seen this twice, and both of those times without having seen TNG in its entirety. This was also the very first Trek movie I ever saw. Nostalgia is a factor for why this is higher than the others on the list. Curiosity is another, as I was unaware of Tom Hardy when I watched this, and have no idea what my opinion will be on rewatch. But what I always remembered of this movie was its ending, which even to a novice like myself when I first saw it had an impact.

Generations - There are quite a few great scenes that Stewart gets in this movie. Malcolm McDowell is also great in it. But the whole plot feels too forced for me to get actually swept up in it. And as fun as it is to see Shatner and Stewart share the screen... it ultimately has no impact and leads to a strangely lame death for Kirk.

Insurrection - The idea of Enterprise going rogue against the Federation for forcibly relocating a population for a natural resource is such a good concept... which makes the goofiness and half-baked writing of this entry all the more confusing. All the elements are there, but it feels like the tone was forced to be lighter than the material warranted. It’s frustrating because Frakes’ directing chops that he showed off on First Contact are still visible here. But for whatever reason, this one just falls apart.

Into Darkness - This one is low on the list mainly because it represents almost all the negative traits of the modern blockbuster to me. Darkness without depth, franchise callbacks without substance, and no character development/change by the end. Another reason why Beyond works better as a sequel to ‘09 Star Trek than this one is that Into Darkness feels more like it’s trying to make Star Trek a bigger movie franchise rather than develop this iteration of the Enterprise crew. Nothing and no one is changed by the end of this story.

V: The Final Frontier - It is the most difficult Trek movie to sit through, and yet I can’t call it a disaster. For all of its misfirings on the comedy front (dancing Uhura, for instance), the camping material with Kirk, Spock and McCoy is genuinely great. The premise of its villain being on a quest to find God is ultimately a misfire, but it leads to a very engagingly ridiculous climax centered around the question “What does God need with a starship?” There are far too many undeveloped ideas in this one, but that scene is worth seeing this movie for. At least, now that we know it didn’t kill the franchise, as so many apparently feared when this came out.

#star trek #kyle rants

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