#just solid all arounders which is true of any of his movies to me they're genuinely SO satisfying

[mobius-m-mobius]

Bottle Rocket anon reporting in 🫡

First off I very much appreciate your note about Bob’s big brother in fact being Owen’s big brother—I did think Future Man had a curiously outsized role in the behind the scenes. Granted, that behind the scenes’ whole vibe was ‘we emailed everyone involved, professionally shot three who turned up, and stuck in the self-filmed rambles mailed in by a smattering of others’, so I sort thought maybe his screen time was a matter of ‘well, he did in fact show up’—although itbf his being Owen’s brother doesn’t strictly discount that theory 😆 (Also my other favorite bit of that video was the very opening clip where Wes is talking about how people tend to respond strongly to his films, whether positively or negatively, and the cameraman goes, ‘well, that tells you something!’ and Wes replies with such earnest befuddlement, and a tinge of hope like this cameraman just might reveal the secret of it all to him: “Yes, but what?”

I haven’t properly sat down for another film yet, but I’ve been putting on the Night at the Museum films in the background. I have seen them before when I was pretty young—in fact it’s about the only thing I’d seen Owen Wilson in for more than a cameo pre-Loki. Between having watched the NatM movies at an age when I only vaguely distinguished between actors and characters, and the association being reinforced by Owen’s habitual cowboy hat, for a long time Owen Wilson and that excitable little man were basically synonymous in my mind.

So going back to it now was, silly though it may be, the first time I watched it going ‘oh hey—that actor right there is acting! :D’ And sure it’s no Mobius or Dignan for complexity, but it’s good acting, too! Genuinely I think it’s one of the best performances in the series when it comes to capturing the sort of cartoon-y tone of all the museum-pieces while also giving the feeling that that’s a whole person right there. And he also, once again, a completely different physicality to Mobius or Dignan. I adore the choice to play his physicality in such a way that it sometimes feels like his body just isn’t big enough to contain or express the size of his emotions.

I also didn’t realize I’d never watched the third film until I started it, which was a nice surprise. And I knew about the whole handholding bit with Jedediah and Octavius, but not the context. It has such clearly defined beats of: Oct: “We should hold hands.” Jed: “For what reason 👀” Oct: "No reason! Unrelated, I am in fact gay.” Jed: “Hell yeah, hand holding time.” (With an added dash of sweetness in that it’s become a well-defined character trait that Jed is ready to deploy his dying speech at any time, but once it’s been established as on the table he goes, ‘I’d rather just be close to you, actually). Anyway, to me at any rate it plays as ‘close to canon as we could get away with in a big budget 2014 kids movie’, and I do appreciate it.

Hi again Bottle Rocket anon, always a pleasure!! 😊🚀💖

Oh I'm positive you're right about Andrew getting such a big role in the bts documentary just because he showed up regardless of being Owen's brother lmao, but they did luck out considering of everyone involved from an acting perspective he was the most likely one to actually give them decent talking points regarding the process leading up to filming, set vibes, and more insight on Owen and Wes than Owen and Wes themselves actually wanted to 😂

Definitely feel you too about not finding time to sit for another movie as I'm just the same and when I do manage enough free time to start one it's still not even enough to finish in a single sitting 😅 You're not the first who's mentioned NatM being the main association with Owen pre-Loki which is completely understandable, I hadn't seen any of the movies until after Loki S1 and would've been way happier having grown up with an excitable mini cowboy at the forefront of my mind, lol.

Love that you brought up his physicality and setting the vibe because one major thing that's constantly delighted me about Owen is how he naturally adjusts to not only the tone of a film but the other actors in a scene better than anyone I've seen before and I think people really underestimate how valuable that is?? It's easy to think "oh well that's just what acting is" but actually pulling it off across such a huge range of genres the way that he does is really rare and like you mentioned in NatM it's extremely noticeable that he makes Jed feel real in a very exaggerated premise which also stands out massively in his cameos where I always find myself wishing whatever movie took place during the ten minutes he showed up in is the full movie I was actually watching because he's such a breath of fresh air.

Also constantly get caught up in the way he carries himself because that's such a huge element to the personality of his characters! In comparison to how Dignan approaches people in a unexpectedly blunt way that leaves them wanting more and Mobius intrigues in such a genuine manner that catches everyone off guard, for all Jed's teasing he's direct enough that Octavius knows where he stands but not so much so that there isn't room for the big dramatic moments they both enjoy before settling right back at his side. It's not only nice to see they did get as close to canon as likely was possible in such a big budget kids movie but that we all at least have a lasting ship of Owen's with a happy ending to console ourselves with after the Loki finale! Small victories and all that, haha

#honestly the natm movies are peak watching for any moment whether they be main focus or background or pure comfort #just solid all arounders which is true of any of his movies to me they're genuinely SO satisfying #on my last work trip there was a back to back natm/meet the parents marathon airing and god help me i watched every minute #no regrets 😭😂 #as always appreciate your messages so much and love hearing that owen continues being such a nice surprise!! #thank you so much for the ask and sending lots of love your way to have a great week and some upcoming free time 🥰💖 #ask

[constant-and-immovable]

Please tell me your serious thoughts on the Peter Pan crocodile!!

OH BOY. Alright. Okay. Hmmm

So there's a whole lot that I really can't disclose onto what I'm doing with it in The Novel because it plays a significant role in the prequel or sequel I'll tell my publisher I'm willing to write when they inevitably demand another installment, HOWEVER for the function of it as it exists within the story itself....

if I was directing a film or movie of it, I would want to keep it within semi-plausible parameters, but not make it a prehistoric croc.

It's a solid choice! To go with a living fossil like Sarcosuchus or Deinosuchus, because it's "real," but honestly...it's somehow less plausible than one that has simply managed to get to a fuck-off-big size.

Because yeah! I wouldn't want to be ANYWHERE near this thing!!! But I also don't think a kid chucking a hand in the water is going to be enough to bait one this size unless there's already blood/gore/bodies in the water that he's snapping at. True, this is not a story where logic prevails (hi, the acids in the guts of even a modern croc tend to destroy metals: jewelry, pieces of traps, animal tags, etc have all been found in them but VERY damaged/worn down. A clock is nothing, forget how you would hear it tick, it's just. anyway), however I'm not personally a fan of the "Somehow This Dinosaur Survived" genre of beasties, not when there are more things in heaven and in the earth.

SO.

Beyond the clock and the size, there is ...really nothing abnormal about it. The crocodile exhibits pretty standard behavior for a saltwater crocodile, the largest modern species (12-16ft is most common but some absolute monsters have measured in at nearly 20ft, and stories are everywhere about a mythic 25 ft)

If you grew up in the 1990s, you probably remember this guy wrangling them for tracking purposes. You can also see here what I was saying earlier: yes, they have an INSANE bite force, but their jaws aren't that tough otherwise--some rope, even around a big guy, is plenty to make the teeth less a concern. Then you just have to worry about their tails: solid muscle, which can propel them out of water like so:

Maybe he would have some more sympathy for the captain, given that he's also missing his right arm. If you've ever seen pictures of salties before, you've probably seen this one, or other pictures of him. This here is Brutus. He was, as of this image, estimated to be over 60 years old (!!!) and one of the largest living wild crocs. He's thought to have lost his arm to a bull shark when he was younger.

Bull sharks and salties do semi-frequently prey on each other: they both cross territories, though the sharks are primarily oceanic, and satlies (despite their names) are more common in rivers and brackish water. The reason they're called salties is that unlike most crocs, they CAN survive in saltwater. Again, we have a check in the box for old Tick-Tock, given that it seems to go inland on the island with some frequency.

If you've never seen a croc come out of the water before, it's Unnerving as hell. Watch any doc on the Nile, and you've seen a Nile croc (we'll get back to these) seemingly come out of nowhere and chomp onto a gazelle, but with salties it's somehow worse. The water just goes...still when they're gone. Like they were never there to start with.

Going off the book/play, a saltwater crocodile seems to be the most obvious, but again, we're running into size limitations. Reptiles never stop growing, and they certainly don't age the same way a mammal would, but they still do seem to have a lifespan under 100, and rarely break that 20ft limitation (with males typically getting larger than females of similar ages). It wouldn't be genetic impossibility to have one that had something going on in its DNA that made it BIG, at least not as unlikely as seeing a survivor from millions of years ago.

Plus, I do not care for the fact that the croc in the 2023 version seemed to eat anything that moved. It kind of defeats the purpose that this thing is after Hook specifically. And guess what? That's not impossible.

My only thing is...salties are my favorite, they're not related to dinosaurs but you look at this thing and the awe...

Look at him. He's a fucking dinosaur. The croc in the play/book/a film adaptation should, much like the ship, make you immediatley go "CROCODILE!" ...sleek, dangerous, fast, green, with fang like teeth. My brain always makes a crocodile green, and they're really not. None of them are. American alligators, the ones most prevalent in zoos when I was growing up in the US, are more often dark grey or even black looking in the water.

So that brings me back to this guy:

(that's a fish in its mouth, this individual is of a sane size)

The Nile crocodile. Confirmed man-eaters as well (I don't think I mentioned that, but salties are known man-eaters, there are some gnarly, tragic stories out there to complete with the grosses of shark attacks. Do not recommend research in this area), they're more known for this than their salty cousins. How much more well known?

Well. This guy is the responsible for more human deaths than we can even keep track of due to the remote locales they live. While I hate the idea of any wild animal being held up as villain, it's bonkers to me that we fear sharks as society rather than crocs since...Niles alone take down hundreds of people per year, instead of the 5-25 by all shark species combined.

True, they're freshwater beasties, but they can live in MILDLY brackish water. Its not something an animal can readily adapt to within its own life, but give a few generations to the ones that are currently invasive in Florida may eventually be able to cross to the Caribbean Islands.

They also have, and you can kind of see this in the skull structure, even weaker muscles for opening the jaws than salties.

You can put your hands around this thing's jaws (DO NOT. RECOMMEND.) and hold them shut.

More points in his box: Nile crocs had a uniquely nasty reputation in England following the Battle of the Nile in 1798, where crocs came rushing towards the violence and were picking off drowning and injured soldiers and eating bodies as they hit the water.

It was such a horrific sight that Nelson was presented with a gift sword that had one of the coolest design I've ever seen, though wildly impractical:

fabulous. look at that smile.

Anyway, the Nile Crocodile was the 'Jaws' of the mental menagerie of the Victorians. Barrie would have, when picturing a crocodile, very likely have been imagining one of these simply from how they became the stand-in for crocodilia in public consciousness.

Now it does lose some points not just for the saltwater issues, but because they only hit get around 15 ft, and Barrie's monster was big enough to eat a man whole even with some difficulty. In his notes for a silent film, he intended this be be shown on camera and it was frankly more traumatic than the 2003 film ending, of a mere snap of the jaws.

Side note: the 2003 crocodile is still under 30 ft, as is the 1953 one, it's just the skull/mouth proportions that make them seem MUCH bigger. Just like with sharks, the jaws of even a 20ft individual are going to be a LOT smaller than most people imagine.

The 2003 one works well enough, despite not seeing it very much (I have a WHOLE other essay on that--most of the set/props of the film we only get in small glimpses, giving it a dream/memory like quality where you fill in the blanks of a lot of what you think you're seeing. the croc included) but I kind of hate it's cartoony face:

Genuinely, what the fuck is this thing even supposed to be. I appreciate that it looks almost demonic, an exaggeration of a crocodile--just as the ship was an exaggeration of a pirate ship, everything on the 2003 Neverland was taken to story-book extremes, making it seem all the more like a dream/tied to the imaginations of the kids.

MEANWHILE...Their concept art was better; this thing at least looks more like a croc than...whatever that thing was.

And of course the 1953 one is goofy, the entire movie was...well. Cartoony. The SyFy crocodiles fail to really drive home the scariest part of them, that they're intelligent enough to stalk an individual to the death, same as the 2023 one did: despite the whole "no one is safe from this thing" element that should raise the stakes, its just...not the same. [Though I HAVE seen an adaptation where the crocodile was after everyone but Peter and his friends, since it was HIS PET...the whole adaptation kept trying to keep the show from being too scary but ended up being one of the most disturbing Peters I'd ever seen].

All in all, despite the fact that I firmly believe a monster-sized Nile was the original vision, I'd be going with a salty, but the first time we see it, it would be covered in a slick of algae or weeds, giving it the green look everyone always pictures/draws/designs:

this isn't Brutus, but the guy on the left has a damaged right paw too--it's actually a fairly common sight on larger crocs, to see missing paws/damaged limbs from their various encounters with other predators, trespassing crocs, or boats/traps.

I had also put some thought into the possibility of a Cuban crocodile, American crocodile, and the Orinoco crocodile--the last of which may have once had expanded territory into the Caribbean, and historically had sailors claiming to see 20ft ones, although they typically measure smaller (and lighter) than salties today, under 15 ft.

Still, all this is irrelevant because peak character design for Tick Tock has already been reached:

I still haven't seen the movie, and I don't give a damn that this stupid thing was designed to sell toys, I have one that lives on my work desk and my evidence for why he's the superior Tick Tock is simply that he is the Bestest Boy.

(concept art by Sona Sargsyan, I didn't see a credit anywhere for the concept art/promo image of the 2003 one)

Look at him. If this thing gave me those eyes and asked for a snack I'd start cutting off pieces of the captain myself. I mean not really, that's a bit bloody but you get the idea.

#peter pan #annie writes things #long post

[councilman-horsemeat]

The Greatest Star Trek Characters, Ranked

I was recently reading a few articles ranking the various Star Trek characters and got really infuriated. I started punching my solid wood table until my fists were blooded and filled with splinter. Kirk, Spock, Picard- who gives a shit? There was no flavor, no spice to these lists. After taking a long walk and eating some meal, I decided I oughta make my own. Here it goes; In no particular order, so they're not actually ranked at all.

Sylvia Tilly Star Trek: Discovery is full of people whose lives have sucked, in a way which reflects their outlook on life. Some are hardened, some burdened, some both. Sylvia Tilly offers a delightful contrast to these characters. I’m not through the first season of Discovery yet, but I hope she and Michael Burnham become best friends forever.

Mobar (Fake Tuvok) Part of a criminal group that travels the Delta quadrant scamming various strangers through various schemes. Mobar and his friend Dala ended up acting as Tuvok and Janeway, fooling hapless aliens into joining the “Federation”, which meant little more than handing over their starships or cargo. Mobar ended up getting WAY into character, oftentimes chastising his fellow criminals for not adhering to Starfleet protocols. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to make him not a criminal, and in the end he went down like a chump. RIP to a legend. I don’t think he died but whatever.

Dax (Jadzia, Ezri and Curzon/Odo) Jadzia Dax, our first true look into what trill really are. The fusion of Jadzia and Dax created a woman with wisdom far beyond her years, enough to make her approach life in a very confident, laid-back way. This, along with her highly analytical mind and charm, would have made her a perfect ship’s captain. Gone too soon.

On the other hand, I really liked Ezri Dax too. I’m conflicted, because seeing what it’s like for an unprepared, naive trill to be joined (despite never training to) was really interesting, and I even wish we got more than just the one season with her- but I also wish Jadzia could have been around for the finale.

When they were temporarily joined in a trill ritual, Curzon brought a certain down-in-the-dirt, slob attitude to the usually uptight Odo. I really liked him. He could have been less of a pervert.

Bearded Geordi LaForge Beautiful. Majestic. Just a touch of rogueish charm. Too bad he only had it for two episodes and like some movies or whatever.

Mirror Sarek I understand WHY he has a goatee. They needed to make him visually distinct from normal Sarek and it’s an homage to mirror Spock from way back when. The problem is that the homage only works if you didn’t already think mirror Spock’s goatee is funny as hell. They also call him the prophet for some reason. All in all a weird guy, which means I like him.

Neelix He brought a genuine heart of gold to the crew of the voyager when they needed it the most. A rock, a true friend and a shoulder to lean on. His friendship with Tuvok allowed him to occasionally bring out a different side of the indomitable vulcan. I also liked that his eye color randomly changed with no in-show explanation.

T’pring Spock’s almost-wife T’pring probably has the quickest turnaround from “WTF why is she so needlessly brutal” to “she’s a genius and she’s so logical” of any Star Trek character. She will always have my respect.

Sela It’s just really funny to me that she had all that buildup on top of already being the return of a written-off main character’s actor. And then like, nothing happened.

Kai Winn Opaka There’s something so incredibly about Louise Fletcher’s performance as Kai Winn in the later seasons that I sometimes have a hard time putting into words. She just captures the self-righteous, holier-than-thou, but also absolutely desparate character in such a captivating way- while also maintaining this underlying confidence and power.

“Klingon Chef” Deep Space Nine’s resident Klingon chef/opera singer showed a side of Klingon culture we don’t often see - the civilian side. He truly made the most of his few appearances, and I will always love him for it.

Seven of Nine (Possessed) Maybe it’s because of Seven’s usually stoic, reserved demeanour, but seeing Jeri Ryan take on the exaggerated personalities of a Klingon warrior, a Ferengi DaiMon, and the EMH of the USS Voyager amongst others, was one hell of a lot of fun. Enough fun to end up on this list! Unfortunately, not enough for that Oscar nom. Next time!

Dr. Michael Dingo Dingo’s brief stint as nurse aboard the Enterprise-D established him as little more than a grumpy old man, but he really shone after his promotion to main cast member and CMO of the USS Pioneer. His usual snarky personality being torn down upon meeting his long-believed-to-be-dead wife went down as one of my favorite moments in all of Star Trek. His refusal to poison the crew on behalf of his madly sick captain gave me goosebumps.

Lwaxana Troi She started out as no more than “Deanna Troi’s Annoying Mom” but evolved into so much more across her many appearances. Absolutely wonderfully played by Majel Barrett, the writers explore many facets of sorrow, motherhood, and what it means to grow old. I also believe that she should have ended up with Odo instead of Nerys, but whatev.

Falow The leader of the Wadi, a gamma quadrant species that value various types of games above all else. He and his entourage visit Deep Space Nine and end up throwing the main cast INTO a highly-advanced video game where they think they’ll actually die, but it’s actually just a game. What I like most is that he truly looks like the Most Advanced Gamer. If I was a highly advanced space-gamer this is what I would want to look like.

Riker Picard’s number one actually features on a lot of these lists. They usually list his loyalty or how cool he is or whatever. I’m mostly interested in his absolutely off-the-charts adventurous spirit. He was the first starfleet officer to serve aboard a klingon ship and was GLAD to eat gagh. When he learned that a trill symbiont needed a new host he practically jumped at the chance, despite the fact that no human had ever hosted a trill symbiont before. And he had absolutely no shame in wearing his slutty outfit in ‘Angel One’. There’s many similarities between Riker and Kirk, but Kirk would never have worn it so proudly.

Horny/drunk-ish Picard Patrick Stewart’s performance as a pseudo-drunk and very horny Jean-Luc Picard in The Naked Now has seared itself into my mind forever. It’s like he’s screaming, but also whispering, and sort of putting on an accent? Deciding just how to portray the usually stoic captain so completely out of his element must have been quite the challenge, and Patrick Stewart ended up making some very inspired choices.

Alyssa Ogawa She may not have done much more than help out in medbay every now and then, but the conversations between her and Crusher were the first to show that the main crew actually DO have friends outside the “inner circle”. Does that truly earn her a spot on a list of the greatest Star Trek characters of all time? Probably not but I don’t really care and neither should you.

Grand Nagus Zek Every time he got more screentime I remembered how much I loved his dumbass voice. His shrill bleating is hilarious, and every time he shows up I can’t wait to find out what his latest scheme is. His behavior towards women is regrettable, but that’s true for a lot of Star Trek men and unlike most of them, Zek actually sort-of changes.

Ishka And who is Zek without Rom and Quark’s moogie Ishka? Despite the usual underestimatable Ferengi personality traits, I genuinely believe Ishka could have one of the highest power levels in all of Star Trek canon. Women not even having the right to wear clothes has been a part of Ferengi culture for centuries and she managed to turn it around COMPLETELY in a handful of years. If she put her mind to it, I genuinely believe she could have brokered peace between the Cardassians and Bajorans, and that’s on the prophets.

Jae Yeah, I got a bit of a crush on this frankly random Enterprise-D crewmember. I think she’s friends with Picard? She sat next to him at a poetry reading once. I’m not sure if she even had any speaking lines.

#Star Trek #Deep Space Nine #Voyager #TNG #VOY #DS9 #iprixtwt

[kydrogendragon]

I saw the writing ask, if you're doing it: 13 or 30

Took me forever to find the post again! My Tumblr did not want to show it to me, lol

13. Rate your worldbuilding skills from 1 to 10.

Hmm . . . I thought on this one for a bit. See, on one hand, there are some authors and writers out there that deserve a true 10 (or higher) that come to mind, like Tolkien with the expansive universe and such he had created. And those seem very "Heavy In Worldbuilding" type stories. But worldbuilding still comes into play for stories set in our normal world as we know it too, of course, not just fantasy settings 😅

So after pondering worldbuilding in general for probably far too long, I'm thinking I'll go to a solid 5. I feel like I'm decent at world building and considering different aspects of the world my stories take place in and how that might affect things, but I know I've a lot of room for improvement in that regard. There's been many cases where people would comment or theorize on different things and how it might affect the story that I hadn't ever even thought of! So, probably at my current skill level, pretty average, I think.

30. Describe a fic that almost happened, but then it didn't

Oh gods, so many. Of which, many are in WIP status because I'll feel bad if I day they're abandoned 🤣 But let's see, what's a good one that I don't think I'll get around to writing . . .

I really wanted to try writing a classic fake-dating, only one bed trope filled fic with Dreamling. Very Hallmark Movie-esque with Hob not wanting to deal with his family and grandparents and everyone asking when he's "going to bring someone home again" and "you deserve to have another chance at happiness" and "Elle would want you to try again" and "I don't want to see you all alone, it's not good for you." And Hob's just . . . Done with it all. He's not sure he can handle another holiday filled with those comments, so when his Ma calls, confirming when he's coming down for Christmas and asks if it's just him, he lies and says no. It's not. He's bringing his partner.

And then freaks out once he hangs up and realizes what he's done.

I had the thought of him meeting Dream on the way there. Both of them waiting at the train station to get out into the countryside. The trains running late. Snow's coming down pretty quickly. Dream's miserable and Hob overhears his argument over the phone with someone (Desire? Death? Night?) before growling out that "he would have a better holiday keeled over in a ditch on the side of the road than if he spent a single minute within any of your company." And aggressively (as aggressive as one can with a smartphone) hangs up. He starts gathering his items, looking ready to head back to London when Hob speaks before his brain can tell him it's a terrible plan.

He asks Dream—without even knowing the man's name—to come spend the holidays with him. Says there's gonna be good food, a cozy fireplace, a cute cat, and that no one should have to spend the season alone, even if their family sucks.

Dream, fresh off his most recent failure of a relationship with Thessaly, feeling more depressed than his usual baseline, and a tad more comfortable than he should with the idea that this man could very well be a serial killer, agrees. He shouldn't. Death's voice rings in his head, telling him this is how true crime podcasts start, this is how horror movies start. But he finds he can't even bring himself to care.

They talk a bit over the train ride, small things. Hob does most of the talking. Then Hob brings up the fact that he may have told his Ma he was bringing a date.

Dream bristles at that, they get into a quietly heated argument on the train but the fight soon leaves him. Perhaps this is the only way someone could "love" him: faked for their sake. Untrue. A lie. But it's better than nothing.

So to that, he also agrees. Hob's shocked through this whole thing and feeling guilty about basically conning this man into being his "boyfriend". But then, in classic rom-com fashion, they start to truly fall in love, though convinced the other isn't. There's probably a good portion of arguments and rubbing each other the wrong way, of course. And intentional embarrassment of each other too.

But it's when Christmas morning comes around and the whole family is having fun and laughing and watching each other open gifts that one of Hob's little cousins hands him a small, flat package with his name in fancy script. He blinks, confused as he sees the "From" field filled in with Dream's name.

"I thought we said we weren't giving each other anything?" Hob asks, brow quirked upward, wondering when the hell this man even had time to get him a gift. (Then a spark of fear, wondering what the hell is in this package. Especially after their fight the night before.)

Dream says nothing, of course, just silently watches with an intensity Hob's begun to grow fond of, hands curled around a warm mug of hot cocoa, still clad in the set of matching PJ'S Hob's mother had bought them both.

Hob peels back the shiny red wrapping paper to find a single sheet of thicker paper. On it, a wonderfully sketched and rendered image of Hob's very own face rests. He's smiling, wrapped up with the beanie and scarf combination he'd worn on their outing to the tree farm earlier. It takes his breath away.

"Turn it over," Dream commands quietly, the sound of joyous laughter and activity nearly drowns his deep voice out.

On the back is that same, neat script. There's a letter addressed to him. His eyes barely get through the first sentence before he tears up.

"I have grown far fonder of you this past week than would be advisable, but as I have found throughout my life, the heart rarely cares for such matters of the mind. You aggravate me, Hob Gadling. You, with your overly cheerful morning greetings and terrible singing. You, with your propensity for listening to the same three Christmas songs on repeat and a ludacris appetite for sweets. You, who would visit the Queen of England in nothing more than coderoy trousers and a secondhand sweater vest. There are countless reasons I should only feel disdain for you. Had we met in any other fashion, I doubt we would have ever wished to speak with one another again.

And yet . . . And yet, I find myself smiling when I hear your voice above the falling water in the bathroom. And yet I find myself humming along to the words to Deck the Halls, a song I had never known the lyrics to before this year. And yet I find myself enjoying the warmth and comfort one finds wrapped in your arms, pressed against those very sweater vests.

You confuse me, Hob Gadling. You are the antithesis of everything I have ever sought in others, but perhaps that is why I now find myself falling for you. You who understand me at a level I find terrifying. You who is unafraid to push me when I need pushing, to guard me when the world is more than I can handle.

I believe I am falling in love with you, Hob. And that terrifies me. But, perhaps, you have started to feel the same?"

Hob, of course, all but falls into Dream's lap and kisses the man, earning a whooping holler from his brother. Be he doesn't care. Because he has Dream, something he thought impossible.

Writing Ask Game

#ky asks #writing game #dreamling #fics that might not ever happen but maybe! #maybe that'll be this year's holiday fic :p

[writing-is-a-martial-art]

Okay now I'm gonna need you to tell me stuff about broken blessings - not the stuff that makes it into a wip intro! - just incidental stuff. Tell me about Weed the cuddlebug and especially about Sleepy, my namesake. There's also an Owl? Hello???

HI HI HI :D

This has been in my inbox for a little bit I wanted to put things together nicely-

I won't go into too much plot detail because I suspect this is going to be long anyway but what you need to know about Broken Blessings is that it's /almost/ am anthology of short stories, with story arcs being connected into one narrative while every character does bring their own styles and genre into the story, and parts where they interact are a combination of those styles - I'm having lots of format fun here, but all of this is to preface the wild tone jumps that introducing Weed, Sleepy and Agent Owl are going to be.

Agent Owl and Agent Falcon are a duo, a team, partners, legally married for undercover reasons in romantic love and haven't figured out what to call it yet, but hey, they're very autistic and having fun looking for aliens together.

Their story tone is extremely cartoony, they work for a purposefully vague Secret Agency for whom they are Secret Agents but in the same manner as play-pretend cowboys are related to actual real-life cowboys. They wear sunglasses and neat suits and talk in a dry fotmalistic way and never change their facial expression from neutral and due to a series of hijinks and wild coincidences they have never ever caught a real life alien despite being surrounded by supernatural at all times. Eventually they end up in a polyamorous relationship with a vaguely malevolent god (Dusty), which doesn't keep them from doing their jobs because hey, the agency didn't say anything about deities, it's extraterrestrials they have to be weary of. Agent Owl and Agent Falcon are similar in dress and expression but they have different appearances and personalities - Agent Falcon is slightly shorter, thin and white, and Agent Owl is slightly taller, plump and Black. Agent Falcon has a special interest in lizards and is good at pretending like she knows what she's doing, while Agent Owl has a special interest in languages and romantic comedy movies and is more booksmart. Agent Owl is also the more gentle of the two, kind of a gentle giant type. They have been working together for years and are very good at taking care of each other - Owl knows sign language which helps Falcon because although she can make out spoken language with her hearing aids it's taxing for her, and Agent Falcon can spot signs of Owl being overwhelmed and uncomfortable when no one else can on account of her not emoting visibly. They are very good at the partner thing however I have to stress how very, very bad they are at the special agents thing. I love them so much. They can healthily communicate their way out of any interpersonal difficulty and meanwhile a saucer would successfully land nearby to ask them for directions and fly off without them being none the wiser.

Sleepy is somewhat a Sleeping Beauty situation gone wrong - someone placed a curse on him on account of his father getting into a supernatural being's bad graces when he was young, however the curse went slightly wrong both because it's old and starting to grow thin and a few of the elements of it going wrong, like Sleepy transing his gender. His narration style is somewhat fairytale-esque which I love for him because he's the exact opposite of s typical fairytale princess in so many ways. His curse ended, a solid 50 years after it was placed, not on account of any true love intervention but because the person that placed it just. Died of old age. So now he's out of time, trying to re-adjust to life 50 years into the future, stuck with such side effects as being super sleepy all the time, insomnia, roses sometimes growing around him in his sleep, and chronic pain from the leg he broke badly in his dream that was never actually broken in real life - and that's the most important thing, his dreams. For all 50 years of being in his magic sleep he had a continuous vivid dream in which he was in a magic Kingdom, got to fight kings, save dragons, settle down and have a quiet family life all the way into his old age. And then he woke up, 25 again, and apparently all of that was a dream and now he has to do all of this life things all over again. He's understandably pretty done with all of this but he's distracting himself by taking care of a bookstore and a bunch of rambunctious traumatized teens. He's generally pretty chill and even-tempered but he's so so tired all of the time.

Weed, aka Sage Gallagher (he/they) (Weed is sort of his true secret name which is what some magic families with fair folk blood do, also what Crow calls him) needs cuddles Always. He was sort of forced into head of the family position at age 20 when Crow ran away from home and they had to act tough and play at being a scary ethereal Fae Lord but honestly they just want to not have to talk to many humans and grow mushrooms and maybe be a mycologist. They also feel very alone on account of their parents being missing and Crow having ran away from their not pleasant at all grandparents Without Taking Him so he's so glad he has Eddie at least. Eddie loves him quite unconditionally, they've been together since childhood and now officially Eddie is Lord Gallagher's bodyguard and unofficially he's their boyfriend and supplier of cuddles and the one person keeping the wet cat of a mushroom summoner relativity sane. Eddie has mild fire powers which makes him very, very good at warm cuddles. I haven't pinned down their narration style quite yet but it's a fun mix of noir and high fantasy. Yes all of these characters interacting and their narration styles mixing gives me life I am putting little guys in situations,

This had gotten super long so thank you for reading all of that! Have some pecrews:

Sleepy:

Agent Falcon and agent Owl:

Weed (left) and Eddie (right):

#sleepy <3 #oleg's writing rambles #wip: broken blessings #oc: sleepy #oc: agent owl #oc: agent falcon #oc: eddie #oc: weed (sage)

[glorified-red]

Red I wanna hear your rant about Damian having more rizz than anyone in DC. I need to hear it for science please! ❤️

Welp, here it goes

(CW: discussing Ace!/Aro! Damian)

Damian was introduced as a preteen in the comics and even the movies. He had no need to be forming romantic connects at that age and he had no interest in it.

Which brings me to the main contender for this rant:

Damian has no interest in romantic connects right now because of how he was raised.

That and he's fucking 12, 14 at best. He doesn't need a relationship right now. What he needs is to find himself first. If he can't figure out who he is, how can have an emotional connection to someone?

The entire Robin (2021) run was centered around Damian struggling to figure out who he is aside from his father and grandfather. If he's not a demon or a detective then who tf is he?? He's being told everything he knew growing up was wrong or mean so he's having to completely rewire his brain to fit into the new standard with the Batfam.

This is definitely not the time for relationships.

He has platonic connects with people who help him step into who he is because those friends are there as a solid ground for him to lean on as he's evolving and growing.

Preteens and teens go through so many transformations during their formative years and Damian has all of this on top of that? I'm surprised he isn't imploding with how much the world around him has shifted on its axis.

So when fanon comes in and puts Damian into romantic relationships it feels clunky and under developed because Damian still doesn't know who he is. That's why fanon works where Damian is properly aged up and found himself work the best with romantic interests, that why I write the fics that I do.

Because Damian cannot and will not develop romantic attraction until he unlearns all the toxicity Ra's imposed onto him.

Damian was raised to view vulnerability and emotions as a weakness, so of fucking course he's gonna struggle romantically. But once he unlearns all of that??? He'll grow into the charisma he's learned from those around him and pursue romantic interest when the time comes.

This is also why Ace! or Aro! Damian Headcanons are so interesting to me. Because they're not wrong and they have plenty of evidence to back it up. I'm just curious as to why we give Damian of all people that label.

He's a preteen. Barely a teenager. He's incredibly traumatized and views no need for romantic partnerships because of imposed beliefs and a lack of stable sense of self. He's also never been in a position to properly develop attraction of any capacity because of his childhood.

And again, he's a minor, he shouldn't be in a position where sex is a thing anyway. But when people label him it makes it seem like all Aces have to be traumatized into their label or feel absolutely nothing towards emotional connections when that's not true at all. Aces can also be in romantic relationships, they can enjoy romantic relationships.

They can partake in sex and enjoy sex. My issue with labeling Damian as AroAce is because fanon likes to believe Aces only come in one flavor: sex repulsed and no attraction.

When that's not the case??? At all???

If Damian is aged up and still falls into the Ace category I fucking love that shit because it's developed and nuanced. But because he's a minor, there's a huge gray area because duh, he shouldn't be having sex anyway and duh, he's so busy figuring himself out that he doesn't have time for romance.

But once he's grown? And matured? Then we can start to deep dive into the Ace Headcanons properly. And then we can start to see where he falls on the spectrum---and sometimes where he falls can change and shift! Because people's labels aren't constant.

Id like to see more content like that in fanon instead of taking the one Minor and dubbing him Ace. I'd like to see a sex-favorable Dick Grayson because I've talked about that on my blog. Even Jason.

But since I only ever see it with Damian, it leaves me curious as to why.

#fixed #yes i know minors can be ace #im aware #but with damian its hard to decipher if hes ace or still unlearning toxcitiy #so once hes unlearned all that and hes still ace? that shits cool and nuanced #but we have to recognize that damian had a lot to unlearn #because then we fall into the hole of Aces just being traumatized or needing to be #when thats not the case at all #asks

[wordstrings]

Message answering time!

—

@unluckiestwrench asked:

Ever think of starting a Discord for the TFB community?

I haven't, mostly because Discord isn't something I've had a lot of experience with. I know a number of others have started various tickling-related servers, but I haven't sought any of them out or know if they're still running. (I'm happy to share info if anyone knows of any!) I do have Discord, though – you can find me at strings#9017.

—

Anonymous asked:

😊 how are you doing today? - 🦋

I'm doing very nicely, thank you! And I was doing nicely back when you asked, too (like eight weeks ago). Just haven't been prioritizing Tumblr for a bit. I've been trying to make progress through my watchlist backlog, which has included a lot of Lucifer, Critical Role, and Star Trek.

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Anonymous asked:

Hey strings, you should do more art!! You're really really talented and you should draw more on your blog outside of tickletober!! I know I'd heart each one because oh my God your art is just so cute and flustering-💜

Thank you! I had fun doing all the Tickletober pieces (masterlist here). Art makes the rounds so much more easily than fic; the top note-grabbers in that batch easily outperformed my typical note count by 10x. I do have some stray ideas floating around for other artwork, though writing is still where my passion lies so don't expect me to stop anytime soon. :)

(All my drawings are filed under #strings does art.)

—

Anonymous asked:

would you make tickling pictures on an animated movie?

Animation is beyond my current skills, I'm afraid!

—

Anonymous asked:

Your t artwork is incredible!!! I love the waist/fingers post

Thanks! I think the one you're referring to is this death-spot piece? I love it, too. :)

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Anonymous asked:

I don't know if you've got anything like this before but. Female or genderfluid gabriel × male to female trans Sam. Maybe as a Victorian AU or an AU where one of them is a ghost that haunts the other's house that other folks have warned to be haunted.

Interesting premise! I support genderfluid angels and trans!Sam. :) This doesn't quite spark my muse, but I'll keep it filed among my prompts!

—

(Now we're getting into the really old stuff, sent months and months ago, sorry!)

Anonymous asked:

here I am sitting in class trying to do my work when the the image pops into my brain - stoic, season 4 Cas being tickled to the ground by both Dean and Sam and then just laying there, giggling adorably because wow that was fun. now I can't focus on anything but that

Yeeeeessss! (Hope you eventually got your classwork done!)

—

Anonymous asked:

imagine dean getting hit by a spell that makes him get hit with ticklish shocks every 3 minutes and he KNOWS they're coming but he can't do anything to stop them

Get that boy with anticipation! Bonus points for having someone to hold onto and bury his giggles in. ;)

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@lex-the-mockingbird asked:

Am I the only one with a solid craving for ticklish Dean headcanons? And just- Destiel Headcanons because oh my god they're just so precious and amazing💜

They are, aren't they! Many headcanons to be had over at the #headcanons tag. :)

—

Anonymous asked:

OKAY BUT Dean helping Cas put sunscreen on his back and Cas giggling because his back is so ticklish and Dean KNOWS it

I don't make the rules but this is true.

...okay, I do make my own rules. And I'd still declare this true.

—

waywardpenguinunknown asked:

I know that people love 'lee Misha/Cas a lot, but 'ler Misha/Cas has me feeling some type of way Just the smirks and hums and teasing grins, not to mention the fact that Cas has like a /crazy/ amount of power, you wouldn't be getting out anytime soon;) So yes, I do love 'lee Misha or Cas, but they can be my 'ler anyday(or Jensens/Dean's;)) Just some thoughts for you (P.s, is there gonna be a part 4 to wordless interruptions?💯👌🏼)

Holy moly, I found this musty message languishing at the bottom of my inbox from 2016. Yikes. The asker has since deactivated their blog, even. 😬 I don't know if you're still stalking around here under a different pseudonym but I promise I wasn't ignoring you on purpose! I agree with you wholeheartedly, here.

Wordless Interruptions (#series: wordless interruptions) topped out at three parts, but there's been lots of #ler!Cas since then in a bunch of other work, mine and others!

—

This concludes our regularly-scheduled inbox purge.

#ask #you people are too kind #anonymous #unluckiestwrench #lex.the.mockingbird #purpleheart!anon #butterfly!anon #waywardpenguinunknown #prompt

[lizacstuff]

I'm sure others will ask this but what are you thoughts on the episode of SCK?? I love your in-depth analysis lol. I personally loved it!!! Also can I just say that the edser/hanker chemistry is off the charts lol. If this was the first episode I watched ever, without subtitles, their scenes would be a giant neon sign that says "THESE CHARACTERS ARE MADLY IN LOVE!!!". Eda was beyond cute/in love/adorable in this episode with serkan, girl has got it bad and I wish she didn't have her stupid grandmother and these insecurities in the way ahhh. I really love the Ayfer/Aydan duo, they're fun when they're together and Ayfer wasn't annoying like the last few EPs. Also, Balca can go choke lol, I'm so glad Serkan didn't fall for her trap for him to stay over!! He was like nah come to the party (my girl is waiting!!!). Was serkan about to tell Eda that he had to stop by her house? He seemed really nervous. ANYWAYS, I love EdSer and am going to go watch their scenes 1000x before next week 😭🥰

Thank you! I love Edser too!!!!  Like you, I enjoyed this episode, though it was despite some of the narrative issues (that I posted about here.) There were good, meaty Edser scenes, which is why I watch this show. Once again I'll start with the non-Eda/Serkan thoughts and then get to the feelsy stuff at the end.

Babaanne's introduction did not disappoint. The actress has the right energy for the role. I guess we now know why Eda has been adamant about cutting her out of her life, Babaanne is next level controlling and vindictive. We'll have to see how she develops and what her endgame motives are. Does she want her revenge more than she wants her granddaughter and daughter in her life? Or does she think if she wins and arranges everything including an advantageous marriage for Eda, Eda will eventually go along and decide it's awesome and reconciliation will come about that way? *evil laugh* She doesn’t know her granddaughter at all if she thinks that’s a possibility. 

(more under the cut)

I enjoyed her non-Balca scenes, especially when she was going toe-to-toe with Eda. That scene in Serkan's old upstairs office was intense, both actresses really brought it and kudos to Eda staying true to her defiant character. No one pushes her around. Prepare yourselves to see her waver a bit, I'm sure it's quite jarring to see your loved one in jail and know that he's there because of you, but she'll get to the point of fighting beside him. I have no doubt.

It was nice to see Ayfer protecting Aydan and Seyfi, it made for some great comedy and it was a good change after all of Ayfer's annoying, unrelenting negativity in general and about the Bolats. We'll see what happens between the two now that they appear to be vying for Chef Alexander's attention. Nesilhan just cracks me up when she's portraying Aydan play acting, the stilted voice she takes on is always hilarious to me, like when Ayfer was introducing "Aisun" to Serkan.  As we move forward, though, I want to see some badass Aydan. She  was introduced to us as a force of nature, so I hope we see that woman, a woman who will go to the mat for her son and Eda, emerge at some point. No hiding from Babaanne long term. Everyone needs to gear up to fight!

Peril and Engin got married! Their scene at home was really well done and gave me a bit better insight into them and why they might work. The only thing I was disappointed about here was that Serkan was not their witness. He counts them as some of his only friends and they didn't call him? Come on, show!  They could have easily structured the ep to have him get the call while there was chaos at his loft that morning and it would have been the perfect excuse for him to grab Eda and head to the wedding leaving the moms and Babaane to Chef Alexander.  It wouldn't have changed anything about the episode because Eda still could have gone to do her thing after the wedding and everything else would have been the same, except it all would have had a bit more heart. Missed opportunity there. 

I've decided that Ferit is a catch. At the beginning of the show he was just so naïve, that he seemed foolish, but he's really turned into a sweet, upstanding man. You hold on to him, Ceren. The irony in his relationship with Serkan is just outstanding to me, because ALL of this started because Serkan was willing to upend his own life (and Selin, Ferit and Eda's) will the sole goal of keeping Ferit out of his business, and now here we are 24 episodes later, Selin is long gone, Eda is the love of his life, and Ferit has turned into a solid, trust-worthy business partner and friend who is putting Babaanne in her place on the first day. Love to see it. 

Balca, that snake just gets more unhinged as we go along. Good GAWD. WTF is wrong with her? Her eventual comeuppance better be big. I'm really to the point that I can't enjoy any scene that she's in, it's just too maddening, because neither Serkan nor Eda are taking her seriously enough. Which I realize they don't know what we know, but dang I hope Serkan is finally connecting the dots because her behavior is not normal. As Eda says, who gives a gift like that to their boss? Who calls their new boss instead of the police when there's an intruder in the house?  By now he should be able to figure out she's manipulating him.  

Also how was she not daunted when she called and Eda was there?  What did she think would happen when he came to get the gift when he had Eda to get home to? On top of everything else she's shameless and delusional.  As for the gift, that was creepy AF. Did she seriously think that her boss, who she's known a week, would be romanced by that?  Or any man for that matter? Did Selin give her the impression he was so arrogant that this would be the perfect thing for him? As much as I want less of her on screen, I would like to know the thought process behind that embarrassing monstrosity. Because it was not a savvy move. But the good news is that no one was more creeped out by it than Serkan Bolat. It seemed to really unsettle him, which it should. It was nice to see Eda getting over her jealousy, perhaps that came with her decision to try and move forward. Before she was in this state of flux, deep-down wanting Serkan to be hers, but not being able to admit that and feeling an outside threat during that confusion. 

I saw some criticism of Eda because she was openly mocking and dismissive of Balca. However, while I agree her behavior was a tad immature at times... Balca was totally asking for it.  She's been at the company for mere days and her weird, manipulative, obsessive behavior is totally inappropriate. Also if she didn't take a hint from Eda opening mocking her, Eda picking out her gift from Serkan, Serkan deferring queries about his NYE plans to Eda, Eda being at his house when Balca called, I think we can safely say that Balca in unaffected by any of Eda's behavior, thus Eda isn't hurting anyone. While Balca is over here, claws out, trying to start a war. Balca is the villain here, not Eda for recognizing and making fun of it.

Despite the emotional inconsistencies between Eda and Serkan in this episode, during one scene they were hot, the next, one or the other was cold without rhyme or reason, there were many great conversations. I really enjoyed their conference room scenes in particular. Serkan confident and calming her down, Eda being enraged by Babaanne, but listening to him and letting him calm her down. 

His little Eda Bolat coffee cup gag was priceless, he did succeed in both diverting her and flirting with her in one suave move. Also a nice bit of foreshadowing there, which there was a lot of this episode. Not just this and the bouquet catch, but also every single one of their domestic scenes. 

As I said in this post, the rewrite, or whatever happened this episode, did cause some pretty big emotional inconsistencies from scene to scene. I know most people loved the scenes when Eda went to find Serkan, but it was a little whiplashy for me.  We go from Serkan being calm and collected and happily flirting with her about being Eda Bolat at the office, to a short time later him being moody and standoffish with her at his house? It's understandable that he would be upset at her suggestion that she leave the company, but I would think the man that broke her heart for her own good, would understand why she might think of  leaving in order to get rid of someone who is threatening him! 

It just felt like a weird time for him to hit his threshold with her, especially since this was when they were supposed to be heading to Paris (huge writing fail that there was no "Oh I guess we have to postpone Paris" throwaway line).  However, perhaps that was accelerated for him in the face of a real threat?  Like if it was just another day he's fine with her waffling and their little contract game, but he feels in his bones that this is go time and he needs to find out if she's ready for what's coming?  (Look at me finding reasons for the inconsistencies as I answer this ask, lmao).

Then the shaving scene was interesting. She starts by saying "Leaving was a dumb idea, I'm still here, I'll be by your side," which YAY and seems to me to be a huge step forward for her.... but then he doesn't feel it. Why exactly, didn't he feel it?  So then she transitions to the biggest head scratcher of the episode for me, and I really hope it's a translation fail. She basically references the movie they saw and says,  "If I could erase all memories of you, I would." Um... what? Is she really saying to him she wishes they never met? I sure hope there was some modifier in there, like "bad" memories only or something. It seemed way harsh and inconsistent with their feelings for one another. However, once he starts talking about being a machine before meeting her and his heart being too heavy without her, the dialogue is pretty great. He really bares his soul and she reciprocates with intimacy.  The second half of this scene is absolutely lovely. 

The visit to Aydan's house was interesting.  At some point I'm gonna need Aydan and especially Ayfer to step up when it comes to Babaanne.  Ayfer ran scared the whole episode and it's just not fair of her to leave the burden on Eda. Hopefully, she'll get there. There was a reason Babaanne told Eda not to tell Ayfer about the threats, and threatened harm to Serkan and family if she did so. I'm guessing Ayfer may be better equipped to deal with her mother than was suggested in this episode. The conversation about Eda running from her grandmother as a child and losing the bracelet was very affecting and well done, and thankfully Serkan was out of his sulky mood and in full-on supportive boyfriend mode. Phew, good to have you back, Serkan.

That throne Babaanne brought in was something else. Worth a good laugh. However, I feel like it highlights a few cracks we've already started to see in Babaanne's scary façade. First, there's the one I just talked about, with Babaanne not wanting Ayfer to know what she's up to, so we now know who might be successful in opposing her or might know things that could shut her down.. her daughter. Then this ridiculous throne move had to be her way of unsettling everyone, but as we see that fails with Serkan. He's pretty unflappable when it comes to her nonsense antics. 

Then Babaanne singles out Balca as her ally, which on one hand, it was astute of her to figure out who was the outsider, ripe for the picking, but she straight up choose the wack job, who let's face it, is not going to be all that competent of a foot soldier for her, because she has no allies and she's not in anyone's confidence. Plus she made that critical error with the present being so off-putting to Serkan. Balca might be able to cause problems, but she can’t get Serkan to transfer his affection for Eda onto her, so her usefulness here is limited. Babanne needed to try and fool someone like Melo, Ferit or Leyla. Prey on the nice ones who might try to be accommodating just so everyone gets along. 

Anyway, I loved the Edser scenes in the office, he brought her lemon water! My heart.  And I loved the meeting with the inner circle. Serkan has a plan! Of course our boy does, he wouldn't be Serkan Bolat if he didn't. It's always fun to see how much they all trust him to lead them through these tough times. He will once again emerge victorious. It just may take some time on this one

Note Blaca wasn't invited to that meeting, someone already can sense she can't be trusted. In the meeting later with Babaanne, I loved how Eda was sitting next to Serkan at the head of the table, totally squared off against her grandmother. That blocking was not by accident. It showed them facing her. On the same side. Together. United. That's what we call foreshadowing and that's how they're ultimately going to defeat her. Together. 

It's interesting to me that earlier in the day when Eda tells him maybe she should leave the company he gets upset, but when she shows up at his house and straight up says they can't be together, he's completely calm and is his normal confident self, talking her into staying the night with his usual ease. I'm thinking her manic rambling about him getting tired of her and her grandmother separating them was just too obvious of an emotional spiral after an exhausting day (that lasted 47 years and multiple wardrobe changes) so he didn't take any of it to heart.

As for the reason she needed a place to stay, WTF is Ayfer doing letting Babaanne stay in their home??  Kick her out for the love of God. I don't mind, since it gave us this fabulous sleepover, but come on woman, at one time you were strong enough to remove your niece from her which could not have been easy, where is your backbone now? Find it. Fast. 

LOVED LOVED LOVED every second of domestic Edser. How cute are they? Serkan wheeling her dinosaur suitcase was so adorable. And how cute is it that he bought hot chocolate for her? And THEN, THEN when they went to look at the stars? My heart melted clean out of my chest when he said, "I'm already looking at the most beautiful star."  Remember in 13 when he asked her, "How are you real?" and she basically told him to be careful or she'd get spoiled and expect that kind of romance all the time? Well apparently the romantic robot has an endless capacity to generate heart-stopping one-liners so she really needn't have worried. 

Eda's phone call with the girls was another whiplash moment for me. So wait... all episode her trepidation has been around her grandmother interfering or Serkan getting tired of her, but now she's back to wondering if he can change? Ne? And she isn't articulating what she wants him to change, or talking to him about change at all, only asking her friends if they think it's possible?? The change thing made perfect sense to me in eps 20-22, because she was coming off of his lie that broke her heart, but now I can't figure out what she wants from him. I think this is another casualty of whatever writing changes happened in this episode. I really hope the writers pull it together and figure out what the character's headspace is and stick with it. It's one thing to yo-yo from episode to episode, but to yo-yo scene to scene is too much. 

I know that they're trying to create suspense for whether she would meet him to ring in the New Year, and start fresh, but there are much more elegant ways to do this than constant retread conversations that don't make sense in context with the scenes that came before. Honestly, this episode had a LOT of wonderful scenes and humor and heartfelt moments, but it also felt like a franken-episode,  like if different writers were assigned different scenes and then they assembled the episode without going back to smooth out the tone and emotions.

That leads us to Serkan discovering Eda in the bath. What do we think was going through his mind there? lmao. He looked exceptionally pleased and he did the jokey flirty thing, taking a mental picture, but then when she comes downstairs in her jammies, he has gone into stone-cold work robot mode. I suppose the best I can guess is that he knew she was confused, he knew he had convinced her to stay under the guise it would be platonic and the "last time." 

He's always been a gentleman with her. So perhaps he felt compelled, for her sake, to keep it in that place, but seeing her in the bath send him into overdrive and the only thing he could do is throw himself into work to make sure the situation didn't go any further before she was fully ready? That's my best attempt at explaining it.  Still she was flirting hardcore with him when she came downstairs, it feels like that was the moment he's been waiting for since episode 19, and he let it sail by.  Ah well, at some point soon both their engines will be revving at the same time and we’ll finally get to the sexy times. 

The next morning was 100% adorable. Serkan Bolat serving breakfast in bed. I swoon!  What a sweetheart, because I'm pretty certain that Serkan does NOT like crumbs in his bed so this was a big gesture. And you could see how much she appreciated it, despite teasing him about the portion size. Eda, that breakfast would have been just fine by me, but if the girl has a big appetite, so be it.

Also, Edacim, it would be a lot easier to buy your "confusion" if you hadn't brought him a heartfelt gift that would have taken a good while, like weeks, to procure and then sketched in it for him!!!!  She had to have been planning that for some time.  Anyway, a very sweet gift and one of those moments where actions speak louder than words. We all want to hear Eda say the words "I Love You," but she just said it very loudly here in the form of this gift. Even if she wasn't fully aware she was saying it. It's obvious where her heart is, she just has to give herself permission to follow it.

This ep also brought the funny when half the cast of characters barged in on Edser’s little love nest. Good for both Eda and Serkan for refusing to be a part of the subterfuge for Babaanne. I'm hopeful we're going into a secret relationship/engagement storyline, but at this point I like that neither were cowing to her. Eda is an adult and it's nobody's business but her own where she stays the night! 

It cracks me up that Eda and Serkan were discombobulated by the intrusion, had the silent #married conversation, and headed upstairs together. Mostly because they are the two in the dark, what are they going to figure out by going upstairs alone? What they really needed was to talk to any of the other people to find out what in the hell was happening. Not that I blame them for wanting to escape that scene together. However, what was beautiful was their connection in these scenes. They were functioning as partners, as each other's person, as the one each turns to when they need support (or escape).  And that's really saying something since they were in a room full of the people they're both closest too.

Finally, I'm glad they spoiled the final scene in the fragman, because I would have been too stressed watching Balca's psychotic efforts in keeping Serkan away from the party, and Eda, if I hadn't known he would make it.  As it was, it  was too much to watch. They've done absolutely nothing to make her even a little sympathetic. I feel zero empathy for her, I don't understand why she's willing to take these risks. No man is worth it, girl! Especially not a man you just decided you wanted because of his initials!  The character needs to serve her purpose and go. Soon.

As for Serkan making it in time, THANK GOODNESS. I don't think Eda could have handled being stood up again. Even taking her call was a mistake. That's why we have voicemail, Serkan. And clearly he should have called the police on his way. I sincerely hope that he finds out the break-in was a fake and that's what makes him realize what level of crazy he's dealing with. I assume, because he didn't know what else to do, he left Balca in his home and that's what he wanted to tell Eda right before the police arrived. I shudder to think what damage she might do there alone. Installing a hidden mic or camera for Babaanne? Going through his things? Planting more items. Ew. If that spec is right the place will need to be fumigated.  

Serkan's gift was, of course, perfection. Talk about love in gift form, and did you notice that one of the charms was an "E" and one was an "S"? A sweet, heart-felt detail and a nice little nod to which initials really matter on this show.  Interestingly, after a full episode of inner turmoil, once Serkan arrived, Eda seemed to be all-in. She was bubbly and happy to see him and definitely acting like he was her date. And then the hug! Finally! They've obviously been physically close in recent post-break up episodes, for example elevator, pottery, dancing, skating, but what a relief to finally have this pure, intentional display of affection from her to him. Also a cheek kiss! This show, I swear it makes me grateful for the most chaste of moments.

As I said in another ask, I think the, "Will you be my girlfriend?" was in Serkan's head. We didn't see him say it, she didn't respond and the audio was hollow like it was a thought or memory or dream. However, what I can't answer is why we heard that. Why put it in there? We know he wants them to get back together, so that line doesn't inform the audience of anything they don't already know. So maybe proposal foreshadowing?  On the other hand, there is the line earlier in the episode that was voice over added after the fact (when Edser are in the small conf room and Serkan says he’s going home) so maybe they added the audio after the scene for some reason? I don’t know with this episode anything is possible. 

Then, of course, Babaanne ruins their moment with her evil plan. Next episode will she be sitting on her throne stroking a hairless cat Because it feel like Babaanne may like a bit of evil aura to surround her. Anyway, next stop... jail! I'm honestly excited to see how the next ep plays out. We're going to go through some things, so prepare your soul, but I honestly think we may end the ep in a better place. (new cliffhanger notwithstanding) We shall see. 

#Edser #sen cal kapimi #Sen Çal Kapımı #sckask #sck 1x24 #sck episode discussion #edser discussion #asklizac #Anonymous

[nadziejastar]

It's sad that they're trying to make Lea and Isa's duo into a trio by adding Skuld because Skuld is so underdeveloped that she barely counts as a character. All she does is hang out with Ephemer and neglect her friendship with Player. Maybe if she actually did things I'd be able to muster up some excitement over the idea of her becoming friends with my two favorite characters, but with the current situation she could be replaced with a cardboard cutout and no one would notice any difference.

Yes, thank you! This is a huge reason KH3 was such a letdown for me. I’ve heard people say that fans just got themselves too hyped up and their expectations were unrealistic. Nope, that’s not the case with me nor do I think that was the reason for most of the disappointment within the fandom. I wasn’t even overly hyped. KH3 just didn’t accomplish what it was supposed to. But more than anything, the characters were NOT treated with respect. That was my biggest disappointment.

Before KH3 came out, I was actually excited about KH4 and beyond because of the fact that we now have a pretty large group of main characters and they have so much potential. We wouldn’t have to focus on just Sora, Donald, and Goofy anymore. There are so many characters to develop and they all have solid personalities. We have the Destiny Island trio, the Wayfinder trio, the Disney Castle crew, and Lea and Isa. 

I have an attachment to all of them based on all the previous games and all the years they’ve been developed. I wanted to see them interact with each other once Xehanort was defeated and everyone was rescued. Not get dumped in favor of new characters. Of all the characters Lea and Isa could form a relationship with, Skuld is the WORST choice. There are sooo many more interesting characters to focus on. Lea and Isa could grow close to Sora, Riku, Kairi, Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Donald, Goofy, or Mickey! Yet, they’re getting shoved aside for Union X characters that you need to play a mobile game to be familiar with. Skuld wasn’t even included in the Back Cover movie. Even if you played all the KH remasters, you still won’t know who she is!

I’ve actually seen all the cutscenes for Union X and I agree with you wholeheartedly. The characters were inoffensive, but they all had the personality of a wet paper bag. Nomura said Kingdom Hearts X, as it was originally called, was not supposed to have a heavy focus on story. Nothing I saw gave me the impression that characters like Skuld or Ephemer were meant to be anything more than mobile game characters. They were there for the player’s avatar to interact with, to give him/her a voice, since he/she is silent. But they are ancient history and should have perished during the Keyblade War. 

Ehpemer comes from the world ephemeral, meaning “lasting a very short time”. The three Norns are the Goddesses of fate in Norse mythology and are described as deciding the fates of people. Their names are Urd “What Once Was” (Old Norse “Urðr”), Verdandi “What Is Coming into Being” (Old Norse “Verðandi”) and Skuld “What Shall Be” (Old Norse “Skuld”).

My point is that these characters seem more suited as background characters. They are part of the mythology and history of the Keyblade War. They are not on par with the established characters and are not suitable to be the new protagonists. Now they are being teased as the main focus for the upcoming plot arc. I think this was a big mistake on Nomura’s part. Hardly anyone is going to be excited for them. I’m certainly not. I feel like there is very little to look forward to anymore.

You’re right. Skuld has no personality. And to add insult to injury, since she’s Subject X now, Lea and Isa had everything stripped from them in order to prop her up. Skuld isn’t interesting enough to be introduced on her own, so she has to ride on the coattails of Lea and Isa and the human experimentation subplot. This is such bullshit. New characters should NOT come at the expense of old ones. Lea needed a sad backstory as a test subject, and he needed his friendship with Isa to be properly developed so his fight at the Keyblade Graveyard felt emotionally engaging (which it didn’t).

Isa needed to be Subject X to redeem him. Saïx didn’t have much of a “personality”. This was the whole point. He was never likable the way Axel was. He was rude, condescending, cold, and vicious. According to Axel, he showed no human emotion besides sneers and snide remarks. But he was Norted, for crying out loud! Saïx was not meant to be one of the protagonists. Isa was!! They threw away two amazing characters for this flat underdeveloped Union X one. Very foolish and shortsighted. it’s definitely gonna bite them in the ass.

Lea and Isa were always meant to be a duo. For some fans, it seems like only trios are valid, but that’s not true. SRK are Sky, Land, Sea. TAV are Earth, Water, Wind. Well, Lea and Isa are Sun and Moon—complementary opposites. I’ve heard people say that Skuld would be “Stars”. Well, I think Terra, Aqua, and Ven were meant to be the stars. Skuld is redundant and not needed to “complete” Lea and Isa. 

Even in canon, she is a stranger to them. They spoke to her a few times in the shadows and couldn’t even see her face. She had amnesia. They literally knew nothing about her and weren’t sure if she even existed after a while, yet now their whole backstory revolves around her. She doesn’t complement them at all or make them more interesting. She detracts from them.

On the other hand, Isa definitely complemented Lea and made him a more interesting character. That’s why I liked him. He provided Lea with someone to humanize him and to give him a poignant backstory. He gave Lea a goal while becoming a Keyblade wielder. And Isa’s chemistry with Lea was adorable. Isa was sarcastic and brought out a different side of Lea than Roxas and Xion did. They also had an actual history together. They went to school together, ate ice cream, and also played with a dog. Probably played fetch with the frisbee (aww).

Lea was closer to Isa than anyone else—period. I was much, MUCH more excited to see Lea and Isa’s past and their friendship get developed than the potential relationship they have with Skuld get teased. No, I’m not excited for them to be a trio and I’m not excited for Skuld to get in the way of Lea and Isa’s friendship and make it all about her. She seemed like she fit in better with Ephemer anyways. Also, I think Lea and Isa have waaaaay more personality than Skuld. They are both colorful characters with a lot of charm. She can’t hold a candle to them.

Leo Traits

Leo is the fifth sign of the zodiac and has the Sun as its ruling celestial body. Bold, intelligent, warm, and courageous, Leo star sign is a natural leader of the Zodiac. Leo is an adventurer, seeking to balance an intense life of social obligations and travel with plenty of downtime to relax and luxuriate. 

A Leo is a typical outgoing and jovial kind of person. He has a big friend circle and likes to boss around. Appreciation and admiration are the two important things for getting close to a lion’s heart. He likes to be flattered and pampered.

Skuld just doesn’t fit in with Lea and Isa’s theme. They are Sun/Moon opposites. She’s a third wheel. In KH2, Axel didn’t have a lot of development. He was clever and cocky, but we didn’t know a lot about him, especially as a human. When they decided to flesh him out, they definitely decided to make him a typical Sun personality. I thought Lea was surprisingly cheery and positive.

Caring

At their best, the courageous Leo is strong, and has an amazing, protective attitude towards their friends. They care very deeply for those close to them.

He cares very much for his friends.

Optimistic

Leo is an optimist who is able to see the silver lining to life. They are optimists who are always able to find the positive side of any situation, and they prefer to revel in the good than dwell over the bad.

Even though Axel could be quite pessimistic, Lea was a natural optimist.

Kind

They are always willing to help out a loved one in need, and they will go to great lengths to make sure that those they care about most are happy. Leos have a compassionate heart, and they tend to be extremely kind and generous creatures.

He was always willing to help stray puppies.

Loyal

If there’s one thing that you can say about Leo with certainty, it’s that they are some of the most loyal people that you will ever meet. Leo is the bravest sign in the Zodiac, often doing whatever they are required to do despite being scared or in danger.

He is amazingly loyal. He always wanted to bring his friends back, no matter what. Even when he thought Isa tried to kill him.

Straightforwardness

Mincing words is not in the nature of a Leo. They speak their mind and like to express their thoughts clearly. Frankness is therefore, one of the biggest strengths of Leos. It is because of their straightforwardness that they are able to confront opinions and thoughts, they do not approve of, directly. This is also one of the reasons why they get things done fast.

He is very straightforward. He lied a lot to Roxas and kept secrets, but that wasn’t who he really was.

Faithful Partners and Good Friends

Leos are romantic and passionate lovers. They are faithful partners and exhibit extreme sensitivity  while in a relationship. This is also the reason why they are vulnerable to getting hurt. Thus, Leos need to find someone whom they can trust before they shower their love and kindness on that person. 

One of the special traits found in Leos is helping friends in need. Lending emotional support to friends in difficult times is a rare quality found in these people. It enables them to make lifelong friends. Behind all the aggression, ego and other domineering personality traits of a Leo lies a sensitive heart which cares for the dear ones. Leos take pride in protecting their close ones and would do so with all the energy and wit they possess. It is observed that the bossy exterior of Leos often eclipses their sensitive nature.

He is a wonderful friend, but has a deeper side, more sensitive side. All very accurate. 

Arrogance

At times, their dominance and confidence can be seen more like arrogance and conceit. Leo individuals ooze with confidence. They think that if they are the first to arrive at some conclusion, then they are right.

Lea was arrogant in a playful way. Like when he challenged Ventus to a fight. Axel was like that, too.

Inflexibility

They’re inflexible for other people, but they’re also inflexible for themselves. When they’ve made a commitment to something, they’re going to stick with it, regardless of how much they hate it.

Basically, Lea did whatever he wanted. Even Saïx said this about him.

Laziness

Though full of ambition and enthusiasm, Leo has to admit to a lazy streak and, given the opportunity, will take the easy way out, especially when a situation offers little fun or glory.

He likes to have fun.

Pride

This sign is represented by a lion, and as such, Leos are born with all of the pride and glory of the maned creature.

Oh yes, he is very proud.

Domineering

Leos have a hard time learning when to stop ruling and start listening. For this reason, Leos are extremely domineering and tend to overpower those around them.

Lea was the accelerator and Isa was the brake. Lea never listened to Isa, though.

Impatience

Impatience is one of the negative traits exhibited by a Leo. This trait of Leos get reflected in their habit to get things done fast. Impatience may lead to development of anxiety and restlessness in these individuals.

Axel never liked waiting around.

Jealousy

Leos may exhibit a possessive nature. This trait is closely related to the jealousy they exhibit. In fact, they are jealous because of their possessive nature.

Saïx was very jealous. But Lea probably had a side like that as well. He would not like it if Isa alienated him.

Cancer Traits

Cancer, the fourth sun sign of the Zodiac, has water as its element, is feminine, and is ruled by the Moon. This sign is represented by crabs, and similar to their nature, these people can be the sweetest and most sympathetic people at one moment, and turn into the most cranky and irritable ones the next.

Even though Isa was an NPC, he was not just “Lea’s friend”. He was certainly far more deserving of character development than ANY Union X character, that’s for sure. Isa seemed like he was more of a feminine archetype. Therefore, he is unlike any other male character in the series. I thought he was very refreshing and unique. He brought something new to the table. Also, based on the way Saïx acted, Isa was not just a cardboard cutout, either. He had interesting flaws to provide him with depth. Evidence suggests he was a typical Moon personality.

Moody

Cancer individuals are also known to have a moody attitude, especially whenever they are jealous. Normally protective and courageous, Cancer signed people could become very brooding and moody if they feel that their emotional needs are not being met. Cancer is all about needing emotional security and trust in a relationship, like all of us of course. But they take it to another level.

If a Cancer feels as though he can’t trust you or if he’s just an insecure guy in general, then his possessive and jealous side is going to come out in a major way. He’ll make snide comments about what you’re wearing and ask you questions about what you’re doing and who you’re with that can rival the time of being a teenager under your parents’ roof.

Man, dos this sound like Saïx or what? He was insanely jealous. While I think Saïx was a totally different personality from Isa, I still think he reflected much of Isa’s personality in him, due to having his memories and captured heart. In the novel, when Roxas was upset he pushed the wrong button, Axel said he knew what it felt like to have something be wrong and not know the reason. Based on the way Saïx acted, Isa sounded very emotionally needy towards Lea. I definitely think he’d be jealous if Lea didn’t spend enough time with him. He might be passive aggressive about it, too.

Unpredictable

Cancer, being a water sign, is very emotional and sensitive. They are very touchy, and can get hurt at the slightest provocation. It is this sensitivity, which makes them hide in their own shell, away from the world, to protect themselves from getting hurt. When they retreat into this shell, and refuse to talk to anybody, people may find them to be moody and unpredictable.

It doesn’t take much for them to go from friendly and outgoing, to totally introverted as a way of protecting themselves. And it can prove quite confusing and unpredictable to the people in their lives. Cancer needs a strong partner who can deal with his various sides and complexity. You never know what will trigger his moods and his evasiveness and his habit of being indirect makes you question if you ever really knew him.

Saïx could also be surprisingly moody and oversensitive once he began to awaken a heart. Axel had no idea why he suddenly started berating Xion and calling her a failure all the time. He wouls walk on eggshells to avoid upsetting him. It was probably easy to push the wrong buttons with Isa and he might not tell Lea what was bothering him right away. In the novel, Axel tried to get Saïx to open up to him by putting his hand on his shoulder, but Saïx brushed it away. This upset Axel and made him think how different things were between them. This said a lot about their relationship as humans. Lea had to put effort to get Isa to open up, but Isa was receptive to it.

Negative

Cancer people are ruled by the Moon, which is ever-changing, and thus they can have moods that can grow dark and darker. It’s common for people with this zodiac sign to struggle with low self-esteem and hold a lifelong grudge against someone. They are someone who sees the glass as half empty rather than half full.

Another trait being their lack of trust in people, they tend to have a negative outlook of life. They become prone to depression, and are unable to enjoy life. They can get hurt at the drop of a hat, and rarely express their resentment and anger.

I think this was why Isa felt like a burden on Lea and was down on himself a lot. Isa needed Lea to be the upbeat optimist for him. Isa was probably snarky and nitpicky with Lea, but in a more playful way. He was the brake, while Lea was the accelerator. This is also a dynamic unique to Lea and Isa. Axel had to be the mature and responsible mentor figure with Roxas and Xion. But with Isa, he was more playful and mischievous. Isa would scold Lea, but Lea never would listen.

Clingy

Cancer is a sign of fertile imagination and deep emotional needs. Cancer individuals are sometimes over-imaginative, which can get them in trouble. They will obsess over the situation until they have all of their answers.

Cancerians are very possessive about their relationships. They can be very clingy, and try to hold on to relationships, even after they have ended it. In relationships, they give much more and expect very little in return. Being emotional and sensitive, they are very easily influenced by their loved ones.

Yep. This is exactly how I think Isa was with Lea. Isa was very attached and gave his whole heart to Lea.

Suspicious

The empathetic crab is inclined to protect themselves. They only trust when they feel safe within relationships, often resorting to their inner world when they do not feel trustful or safe. He needs his moods and anxieties to be understood and if they’re not then he will retreat to his shell and come back out when he feels safe.

Definitely sounds like Isa. He was shy and couldn’t open up to just anybody.

Cancer Traits

Cancer star sign, the fourth sign of the zodiac is all about home. They are a nurturing and maternal sign. These people love their home and family more than anything else in this world. Cancerians are blessed with strong intuitive and psychic powers that help them judge people well. These people tend to be hard on the outside and soft inside. But they also have a tougher side to their personality.

So, Saïx exhibited all of the typical Cancer flaws. So, it stands to reason that Isa would also exhibit Cancer’s positive attributes, too.

Intuitive

Cancerians are known to be psychic, and can almost guess things before they actually happen. This comes from their highly developed observational powers. They can truly understand human behavior, and rarely forget things. All these make them highly intuitive and psychic.

This is a side of Isa we definitely never saw in Saïx. His scar is on his third eye chakra, which is the center of psychic awareness. It’s why he couldn’t see Xion or understand why Axel acted the way he did. It’s sad actually. A big part of his personality was shut down.

Kind

Emotional strength and intuition will always define Cancer’s top strengths and traits. This is emotional, but kind-hearted and compassionate personality type that makes for an outstanding friend.

I’m sure Isa was very kind and a wonderful friend, which is why Axel was so desperate to have a “best friend” to fill the void.

Emotive

Cancers are known for their traits like loyalty, their emotional depth, and their parenting instincts. Cancer individuals are emotional and intense; they are also extremely intuitive and compassionate. People belonging to this zodiac sign are highly emotional. Just like the crab that represents them, they are hard from outside, but very soft and mushy from within.

Isa scolded Lea a lot, but only because he cared. He was compassionate and selfless, like the Moon Rabbit. If there’s anything KH3 got right about Isa, it’s that he’d try to comfort an imprisoned girl and want to help her.

Faithful

Cancer is the most concerned with a secure and faithful relationship. Cancer individual loves home and family and is not happy unless they have deep emotional ties. Cancer is usually very nurturing and tends to take good care of everyone they care about.

Isa was serious when he said he’d never forget Lea. I definitely think Isa was the one who first gave Lea the WINNER stick, too.

Loving

Cancer individuals are very loving and caring. As the most sensitive sign of the zodiac, a Cancer does everything with love in mind and in the heart. Because of this, they are the most tender lovers.

Yes, I do think Lea and Isa were envisioned as a couple. Isa loved Lea. His Bunnymoon weapon has a rocket being launched by a heart. Lea also loved Isa, and this is why Axel was so depressed whenever he thought about how different Saïx was compared to Isa. Axel desperately missed feeling loved by someone. They had an extraordinarily interesting relationship. I don’t think Skuld adds anything except getting in the way and watering down their bond.

#kh #leaisa #kh lea #kh isa

[tnbc-thoughtsandheadcanons]

Why Literally all TNBC fans DESPISE this damn theory

I kid you not, this theory annoys me so much whenever I see this floating around. It's one of the most biggest Burton theories out there, and it just doesn't die off. I keep seeing it again and again and I keep hearing people agreeing with it even though there's little to no proof provided when this photo is shared.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE TNBC theories and ideas, but this one's proof/support is only based on "what ifs?" and not actual, concrete evidence. There is very little to none that can be found in The Nightmare Before Christmas especially. There's a follow-up rumor that Tim Burton himself denied/debunked this theory, but I have yet to see any sources.(If you guys have it, please show me!)

The first issue that comes with this theory would be the dates of the movies. As they're provided in this image, The Nightmare Before Christmas came first(1993), Corpse Bride came second(2005), and Frankenweenie came last(2012). The reason these dates matter is because the original material often does not source its future references. TNBC was made before Corpse Bride(and I'd say some of CB's elements come from TNBC), so it obviously isn't going to refer to that movie nor Frankenweenie. It was made first, and there was absolutely no intention to make references to CB or FW because those two films didn't exist yet. Therefore, any "proof" that comes from The Nightmare Before Christmas referring to CB and FW are pulled from thin air because they’re more than likely inspirations and not intentions.

Common sense, people.

The second issue: the names. While the main characters of The Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie share the same first name, they don't share their last ones. Victor Frankenstein isn't the same person as Victor van Dort. And Jack Skellington is a completely different name. And, obviously, Zero, Sparky, and Scraps are all different names, too. Not to mention that one's a skeleton, one resembles Frankenstein's Monster, and the other one is a ghost. Why would they be the same characters if they don't share the same name?

When Emily died in Corpse Bride, her name didn't change, and Scraps still clearly held the same one as he did while he was still alive. The corpses who visited their families in the Land of the Living were also the same people. So when Victor dies, his name wouldn't even be changed to anything else. This rules out the whole “Victor becomes Jack Skellington after he dies” topic.

Annndd...third: the settings. While Frankenweenie's time setting isn't established, the suburban style of homes suggests that it takes place in an early modern period. Corpse Bride is set in the Victorian era, which went from 1837 to 1901(more than likely before Frankenweenie, judging by the attires and customs of the two movies). The Nightmare Before Christmas is a different world entirely that deviates from the human's world, like CB and FW's. It would be impossible to have Victor, a child in Frankenweenie, suddenly turn into an adult like in The Corpse Bride. That itself knocks the whole time correlation out of wack. It just isn't possible.

The only thing I can really connect from these three characters is that they have the same body structure. Victor's chest is circled like Jack's, and goes down to a thin frame. Victor Frankenstein is skinny and has the same facial type as Victor van Dort’s. But those are only visible similarities; they are all clearly three different characters.

You can't convince me that these movies are connected without using the "What if"s as evidence. As you can see, I based mine on what is already established in the movies and/or information about them. The only thing that I can't back up right now is Burton's quote debunking this theory. I'm hoping that it's true, because I've seen a false quote of "his" spreading around whenever this blasted image is posted...

Yeah, people are entitled to believe this and have fun with this theory, but as for me? I absolutely hate it. None of the evidence for it is solid, and the people who usually agree with it are ones who haven't watched the film closely and just go with it because the Victors and Jack look the same. I know a big portion of fellow TNBC fans who despise this theory as well. I'm definitely on that bandwagon.

#if you guys have anymore proof from frankenweenie please let me know #i'm not a big fan of it i actually found it quite boring to watch #the corpse bride #frankenweenie #the nightmare before christmas #corpse bride #nightmare before christmas #tnbc #discussions #theories #mine #jack skellington #victor frankenstein #victor van dort #scraps #zero #sparky #tim burton #burton #burton theory #jack #victor #disney #fan theory

[thegirlwholied]

So I've been reading your posts about Rebel Rising and the inconsistencies are driving me crazy. I just can't see her having been adopted by a family and her NEVER thinking about them after they're killed. And of course they had to give her a love interest. I literally can't imagine her having romantic feelings for anyone before Cassian, or even having an emotional connection to anyone until she meets the R1 squad. Does she actually fall in ~Love~ or is it just a passing attraction?

Very Telling here is that I didn’t even mention that Jyn’s Temporary Found Family dies… but you immediately Knew It To Be True.

And it is.

Here’s the rub with Jyn never thinking about them after they’re killed, though-

RebelRising!Jyn thinks about them again. Plenty.

Novelization!Jyn doesn’t, and we’re fully in her head, but she maybe wouldn’t have reason to.

Movie!Jyn, our only insight into her thoughts is the acting, the dialogue and how it’s delivered, and how of course we then take it. There’s more backstory-room.

But STILL there’s inconsistencies, which I’d describe as:

RR!Jyn’s characterization doesn’t feel in line with movie!Jyn and comes closer to directly contrasting Novelization!Jyn.

Small but specific example of what I mean:

RR!Jyn has a “bit of luck” in that the stormtroopers inspecting her mistake her kyber crystal necklace for a bit of glass.

Novelization!Jyn ‘managed to keep’ her necklace, smuggled into the prison when she should have ‘been worried about weapons or a comlink.’

Movie!Jyn has the necklace; we don’t know why; either works but the two are pretty incompatible as presented, both Factually and Characterization-Wise.

More overall example:

RR!Jyn, while she of course has her canon combat skill set, avoids fights whenever possible, after Saw leaves her. She never starts one.

Movie!Jyn, on a covert mission, when somebody just bumps into her:

…That is not the face of someone who is not looking for trouble, but okay. It’s not… factually incompatible.

Novelization!Jyn, chapter 1, as we’re introduced to Jyn on Wobani and who she is as an adult: considers rising a second time ‘solely to irritate’ her cellmate (who is threatening to kill her), but decides against it only because “If she was going to pick a fight, better be awake enough to enjoy it”.

“It’s not a problem if you don’t look up” - Novelization!Jyn explicitly says this just to hurt Saw. Felicity’s acting suggests the same in the movie- and maybe partly that she’s trying to convince herself, but her heart’s not in it.

RebelRising!Jyn legit comes to believe this and stews a lot about the Rebels drawing the Empire down on people who might otherwise be left alone…

The Inevitable YA Love Interest is honestly the least of things I took issue with, my friend. But let me break it down for you, so as to answer your actual question, under the cut:

We make it 213 pages - over half the book! - without a love interest.

This was refreshing, and I say this as someone fond of a strong flavor of romance in my plot (Empire Strikes Back style, say, or Raiders of the Lost Arc - childhood favorites that probably set the tone of Things I Like).  

Attraction was largely not even on Jyn’s radar. She was busy, being Saw’s surrogate daughter, training to trying to be included on missions - not that she ever gets sent on many, for the ‘best soldier in his cadre’ - working on her forging skills (the development of Jyn’s forging skills was my favorite part of the book by far)…

But this is YA, a YA book fully intended to be a bestseller and have all the bestselling YA things, so I was waiting for it.

Every single newly introduced character near Jyn’s age, I considered like I was playing mental Clue.

-Could it be young Rebel group leader Reece Tallent with his YA-romance-ready name and blue eyes?

-Could it be one of the Partisans Jyn asks after in the novelization, who all show up here?

(Note: the YA-sounding scene referenced in one line of the novelization, Codo trying to kiss her and then not speaking to her when she refused, is Not In This Novel.)

-Could it be the Imperial Lieutenant Colonel with the perfectly chiseled face Jyn “felt inexplicably drawn to” and is struck that he doesn’t say the “Empire was already wonderful, just that it had the potential to be”?

(Note again: I thought he might be the novel’s central villain when he again shows up on a news report, now missing an eye. No, this is just a character introduction that goes absolutely nowhere but is just kind of episodic.)

-Could it be the young man Jyn grabs to get off a planet under bombardment, since she’s got the forged clearance codes to get by and he says “I work transport; I can fly anything”?

…Who immediately opens a potentially interesting Rogue One esque dialogue by saying, racked with guilt, “We could have saved someone other than ourselves”?

(A Note of Nope: …don’t get your hopes up on this dynamic. They might scrape through near-certain death together but Jyn never even learns his name.)

I was pretty pumped by Jyn’s first post-Saw team-up. She gets a temporary job with a woman freighter pilot who ships for the ‘little guys’, family-run mining companies, not corporate or goverment…

…But winds up just moving into this woman’s house where she immediately meets her son, the first character all book described as:

“a boy about Jyn’s age.”

Anddddddd before I even made it to the next line, I knew, we have a winner.

His name is Hadder Ponta, and he’s fine.

And yes, I’m sure he’s “fine” as in “hot”, though the writing’s solid enough we don’t need that kind of direct descriptor, we get, “same dark brown skin with red undertones that [his mother] had, and the same black hair, though his was cropped to chin length”; later we get that Jyn’s attracted to him because it’s “very distracting” when he runs his fingers through his hair and the “silky locks fluttered around his ears. He needed a haircut…”

But I mean “fine” in the general sense. He’s just a boy, who really likes Jyn.

…I mean, his mom brought home a cute mysterious girl and put her in their house one wall away from him, and then just the two of them hang out while his mom’s off-planet doing her job; if other people their age are around we never meet them, so…

The most interesting thing about him is probably his dead sister, and I don’t mean that in a mean way -

Tanith Ponta, the real Tanith Ponta, died because she had bloodburn, a new!canon disease that impacts pilots, and actually, she overdosed on the addictive treatment for it. This is… a lot of interesting information, for a plotline that is otherwise irrelevant, but, tangent, odds in favor that bloodburn is what  killed Shara Bey? I’m not aware of any other diseases existing in the Star Wars universe likely to carry off a young fit pilot when her son is six.

The purpose for this is that Hadder’s mom is afraid it runs in their family and won’t let him fly, though he and Jyn secretly take out a shuttle together.

in other words his main personality characteristics are

wants to be a pilot but parental figure won’t let him

thinks being a Rebel sounds like a good idea but has no concept of the fight/gray areas

just wants to get away and see the universe

admires strong women

… wait why does that sound famili-

…I’m actually fine with this, but the execution of the concept was a little lackluster.

Book-wise, it wound up being not quite I was Here For - I was hoping for some more of the ‘disorderly conduct’ and ‘escaping custody’ and ‘creating a public nuisance’ promised by her charges in the Rebel Dossier (I still thought that would be coming, but uh, yeah, that never happens)…

But here we get about 100 pages of Jyn trying to live a settled life in a nice place for ~ a year with these nice people who remind her what the word family means again, obviously both the Empire and Rebels show up and there is crossfire and the Inevitable again happens…

But, while Hadder’s kind of boring, he’s fine, and I *can* see Jyn going for someone naive and genuinely caring at this point in her life, and part of me is like, whew, okay, it’s nice to see Jyn grab ANYTHING nice for herself, especially for her strongly implied first time and when Rebel Rising is drilling home that her life is A Series of Unfortunate Events.

The word ‘love’ is never thrown around, except once, by Hadder: he goes “Copy that, love” and I mentally go… “wait my default America reading accent may have been a mistake here”. The word “forever” is, in Jyn’s thoughts, and I was pretty bummed we never get older her reflecting back more cynically on how likely that would have been, even if he lived…

But no we don’t get that, and this becomes her big losing hope/’maw in her heart’ event/feels she doesn’t deserve good things and then the remaining 100 pages of the novel have so many Imperial collaboration issues, still seeming sixteen when she’s supposed to be her movie-age now, that I barely had a groan to spare for Hadder being something of a Lost Lenore.

But yeah he is, so it teeters pretty close to “L” on that scale you were asking about- but still, for me, fell pretty evenly in between “Could’ve Been Worse” and “Could Have Been Better”.

The big question, for me, which pushes it more one way:

Is that line I’d seen circulating Tumblr before I read Rebel Rising - of Cassian seeming “familiar” but she can’t place it- meant to imply, as we’re finishing the book, that he reminds her of Hadder?

(Hadder does have a “We need to do something” line at one point, she sees something “steely and fierce” in his dark eyes that Jyn thinks would make him a hero in the Rebellion, he’s the only character I can think of getting a laugh out of people… this is not a book with much in the way of humor…)

…so while that’s thankfully left open, there really isn’t much in the way of other in-book contenders she might be thinking of, that is a solid “probably” on intent there.

In summary of my whole long explanation: believe me when I tell you, even though there are some really good scenes in this book and aspects I like a lot… when I say Mistakes Were Made, Jyn’s teenage love interest and how important or not he remains to her, not even registering on my scale of frustrations. 

#jyn erso #star wars #rogue one #rebel rising #rebelcaptain #look there is absolutely no blame for the author here and I'll probably check out her other books #but WHERE WAS THE STORY TEAM ON THIS #aren't there supposed to be a whole team of people maintaining canon consistency #isn't that one of the reasons they got rid of the EU #Imperial collaborator Jyn Erso okay sure #that's... #sure #situation normal #I'm fine #I'm fine here now thank you #how are you? #who decided this is canon #what's your operating number #(just saying i'm really glad i checked this one out of the library rather than buying) #(i still drove ONE TOWN over to get it during my lunch break on May 4) #(and i've been so busy i have not let myself read an Actual Book since... well probably since the Rogue One Novel) #(so this was a combination fulfilling-my-curiosity and treat to myself of reading over writing) #(whoops) #(...no blame may not be 100% accurate because I just don't understand how we could have watched the same movie.) #(but mostly I blame the oversight)