#the entire time i’ve been joking like ‘ha ha but what if i rewatched it all again’

[forestofmemories]

taking my time rewatching jn bc once i finish that (plus mezapoke) there’ll be nothing left for me to watch, pokeani-wise……. UNLESS

#i decided i was going to rewatch the entire anime in like. 2021 i think? #i remember it was for the 25th anniv of the franchise (the games tho not the anime) #that’s over two years and a half watching pokeani #granted i did go weeks and even a month w/o watching a single ep bc. well. it’s over a thousand episodes #i needed a break every now and then #but i did watch every single special ep. movie. pikachu short. winter special. literally everything i could find #it’s going to be so weird once i finish #the entire time i’ve been joking like ‘ha ha but what if i rewatched it all again’ #and i *was* joking but i’m starting to seriously consider doing just that lmao #life w/o pokeani just. feels weird #i’m kinda in denial i don’t want it to end again for me ajdhsj #rewatches pokeani -> finishes -> rewatches pokeani again -> finishes -> rewatches pokeani again #there’s no way out #i’ll be 80 and still crying over/watching pokeani

[prince-kallisto]

Crowley’s Magical Aura in NRC

I’ve been rewatching Book 7 to refresh myself for theories, and something most intriguing caught my eye. When Meleanor is killed by the Knight of Dawn, Lilia and Baul automatically realize she’s dead because her magical power has disappeared. In this scene, they are all the way at Maleficia’s Black Scale Castle.

Now, I don’t have a good map of there distance between Wild Rose and Black Scale Castle, but that is a generous distance for magic power, isn’t it? Silver has to climb up an entire mountain, and yet Lilia and Baul could sense Meleanor’s magic from all the way from there (likely to due her storm). Perhaps sensing this magic is unique to Fae, or just powerful mages in general, but… then it made me think of Crowley.

Throughout the entire main game, there is very little mention of Crowley’s magical ability. Only small hints in the manga are shown, like him summoning a barrier to protect the students during Riddle’s Overblot. It’s only recently from Crowley’s SSR card and the Magic Assault Practice Event that we find out that he’s very, very powerful- and hasn’t shown a mere fraction of his ability yet. But again, no one comments on his magical aura/power.

In Crowley’s vignette, he gets mocked by some students saying that they’ve never seen him use magic and think him to be weak- someone they don’t have to be scared of. But Crowley’s Whip of Love binds all three of them, and their magic is useless against his whip. And to Crowley, this level of magic is “easier than breathing” (similar to a comment Malleus says). But yet again, his magic has never been commented on before- not even by the Lilia or Malleus who are fellow Fae (if sensing a Fae’s magical aura is only exclusive to Fae). Credit to Otome Ayui for translations 💖🐦‍⬛

But…then I started thinking: What if that isn’t the case at all? What if Crowley’s magical aura is SO powerful, that it covers the entirety of NRC?

In the Terror is Trending Halloween event, Lilia and the ghosts explain that seeing ghosts in Twisted Wonderland is extremely rare because they can only be seen by others in very specific conditions. It’s to the point that Lilia describes their forms being very unstable in the corporeal realm. However, NRC is one of the very few places IN THE WORLD where ghosts have completely stable forms. Why, it’s to the point that a majority of the school staff are ghosts, like the kitchen staff!

But it is then explained that NRC is “magically suffused,” the land practically bathed in magic. I was so curious about the choice for the word “suffuse” that I got out the dictionaries and even checked two fan translations! 🤣 But “suffuse” implies the magic is spread out/over the land, and Ekala translated it to being unusually high concentrations of magic. It’s even better that it’s Lilia of all characters saying this, as I feel he’d have a better knowledge of these things.

So…I am beginning to think that like Meleanor, Crowley’s magical power can be detected from far away. But his magic and NRC’s magic has become practically indistinguishable. He has essentially “suffused” everything inside NRC with magic, to the point that ghosts are perfectly stable, which means Crowley could hire ghosts all he wants. In the manga, Crowley even has the ability to call/summon the ghosts. And if HIS magic is what’s helping them stay in the corporeal realm at NRC, it makes so much sense if he can “summon” them because they’re already relying on his magic!

This is from an older theory of mine, and I am aware that at the time (and probably still is LMAO) it was considered a crack theory/joke. But I’m still holding on to the concept that the coffins/gates in NRC are floating because of Crowley’s magic, where also in the Halloween event it was mentioned that only the entirety of the Diasomnia dorm could keep their Halloween decorations floating because of their strong magical power. I’m also beginning to think that the portraits and even sketches of people can move/talk because of the sheer magical power in NRC, but that’s something to elaborate on later.

I’d additionally like to tie in Ray and I’s “Piece of my World” theory, where we think Crowley has Realm Dominance-related magic, a type of ancient magic we’ve only seen extremely powerful Fae like Malleus has. To me, it’s extremely relevant that each dorm is set in its own unique pocket dimensions, which is something we’ve never seen or even been mentioned outside of NRC before. Check that theory out for more elaboration! ^_^

But isn’t this a strange string of coincidences? That there’s all these mysterious occurrences at NRC that everyone takes for granted but can’t explain why these things are the way they are? What if no one has been able to detect Crowley’s magic because…the students are *living* in it 24/7? If Crowley has really created the pocket dimensions for the dorms, that even strengthens this idea! How can you distinguish his magic when it’s all around you, to the point that the very land is steeped in magic?

It could be that the entirety of Sage’s Island is one of those special lands that imbued with magic, like we see in Briar Land in Book 7. But we don’t see any ghosts outside of NRC (like in the Port Fest events) which makes me doubt this. I doubt that ghosts are prominent in RSA as well- but that’s not confirmed. The only other ghosts we’ve seen outside the school is in the Dwarf’s Mine, where there are magestones and nature faires- which implies the land has good magic for the ghosts to be visible from. Translation credits to GasMask 💖🐦‍⬛

Anyway, I digress. I have *a lot* I want to say about the NRC barrier specifically , but I thought of this when working on that theory which is coming soon (´∀｀*) I still feel concerned about the possibility of something happening to Crowley, because I feel any damage done to him would affect the entirety of NRC itself,,,

#twst theory #twisted wonderland #twst #dire crowley #twst dire crowley #kallistopost #twst crowley

[total-drama-brainrot]

Thoughts on Owen? I’ve been rewatching the og 3 seasons and seeing the change from finalist to gag character is weird

Owen is my Roman Empire.

He started off as an actual character in Island, which is a given since he was pre-determined to be a finalist from the get-go. Owen's always been a big personality of the series, with his (sometimes overbearing) friendliness and boisterous attitude, accompanied by his many many character flaws. But, at least in Island, he was realistically written- or as realistic as the show could do, given its parameters. He gets to have moments where he actually forms bonds and friendships with others on screen, and where his character flaws actually impact the challenge instead of being played off as jokes (like him luring in a bear with his hunting stories).

Owen's character traits were gradually reduced from being an optimistic and somewhat naïve, but otherwise standard teenage boy (of the time) to being a flanderisation of a golden retriever. In World Tour especially, he's rarely given any lines that don't somehow relate to his love of food, his flatulence or his fear of flying. For the span of an episode or two, he gets to focus on his feelings for Izzy (and he also gets some throwaway lines about his friendship with Noah and his trust-turned-distrust of Alejandro), but otherwise he's pretty self-contained as comedic relief.

He stops being a multi-faceted character and starts being a one-dimensional imitation of himself. And it's a shame, since Owen's one of the funniest characters to both watch and write for, so stripping him of a lot of his substance for the sake of delegating him to the role of background character, instead of just eliminating him early (since he didn't really have any use in World Tour outside of his aerophobia "plotline" and Izzy's elimination), seems like a waste of both his character potential and the potential of others.

And, one thing I noticed upon re-watching Island, even his voice becomes a sort-of mockery of what it started out as. No shade to Scott McCord, he does a fantastic job with his VA work- especially on Total Drama, where his characters are all distinctly different sounding. But really, go back and listen to Owen in early Island, and then listen to him in WT or RR- that's an entirely different cadence. He loses a lot of the scratchiness in his voice, and it raises a solid three or four semitones into something almost childish- once again playing into Owen's erosion from a fairly normal teenage boy into the caricature of naivety he eventually becomes.

We do get to see some of his original characterisation shine through in certain moments- there's a few lines he has in WT where Owen gets to be a little sassy or even somewhat confrontational, which is such a breath of fresh air from his usual airheaded happiness or aerophobia-fuelled terror. But he loses a lot of his season one charm with his delegation to the background; show me the Owen who's fun-loving, sure, but also a bit of a menace! Show me the Owen who's more than just the butt of a joke (pun intended)!

#in summary: owen very good 👍 needed LESS screen time to preserve his character #which could also apply to a lot of the other characters tbf #total drama #td owen #ophe rambling #replies

[obsessedelusional]

Oblivious

paring ✦ Bella Ramsey x fem!reader

summary ✦ Bella and you have been friends for a few years now. Didn’t take long for them to a form a crush on you. While visiting after not seeing you for a while, they decide it’s time to come clean about their feeling. Too afraid, they keep dropping hints. What happens when Bella finally finds the courage to tell you?

word count ✦ 2,000ish

authors note ✦ THANKS for all the love <33

masterlist

FEEDBACK AND REBLOGS APPRECIATED!!!

⊹ ꙳ ✦ ⁺ ‧ ⨯. ⁺ ✦ ⊹

“So who’s your celebrity crush then?” Bella asks her best friend of years, intentionally after talking openly about their celebrity crush. You share a striking resemblance too, hoping maybe this information would spark something in you. Your too oblivious to connect the dots.

“Hmm…. Right now?” You pause in a attempt to shuffle through all the random celebrities you’ve found attractive.

“Probably Kristen Stewart.” Bella is surprised by you answer.

“Kristen Stewart?” They ask, slack jawed.

“Yeah I rewatched all the twilight movies last week. I used to be team Edward but now I think I’m team Bella. It’s actually absurd that we let those men get away with everything they did.” You explain, going off on a tangent about Twilight. Bella half listens, trying to understand if you said Kristen because you might be gay or because you liked twilight.

“She has a whole ass fiancé, I’m shit out of luck.” You sigh dramatically before going back to your phone. Bella forces a laugh, more confused than when they started this conversation.

“But doesn’t matter, I got my own Bella.” You tease with a wink unknowingly adding to Bella’s distress.

“Edward was a creep, a whole ass stalker. Imagine if she woke up when Edward broke in to bedroom to watch her sleep. If my boyfriend did that shit, he’d get kicked to the curb so quick.” Bella groans out loud on accident causing you to look up from your phone.

“Okay I know you don’t like him but-“ You speak quickly interrupted.

“Yeah cause he’s a dick. Way worse than Edward Cullen ever was.”

“First of all, you’ve never seen twilight. Second of all, I don’t think you’ve ever liked anyone I’ve ever dated.” You respond, your tone sassy. Bella doesn’t respond only because she cannot pretend why she’s never liked your new boyfriends. Your “love” for them never lasted long, moving onto the next one with ease. They wished desperately you’d forget about the male population as a whole.

“It’s because I like you.” Bella says, not entirely registering the words as they come out.

“I like care about you, you deserve someone better.” Nice save, Bella thinks. Internally screaming to themself you deserve them.

“Aww I like care about you,” you respond sarcasm heavy on your voice, eyes on your phone. Bella rolls her eyes in response. That’s one thing Bella loved so badly about you, you were just as sarcastic and could always banter with you. More often than not they couldn’t keep up with your attitude.

Bella was in town for a few weeks, break between their filming. She had missed you so much the l last few months, promising her self she was gonna do something about it this time. When it’s time for the two of you to part, Bella steals on you hoodies.

“Where the fuck are you going with that?” You ask mostly joking, when you notice.

“I want it,” Bella argues. Not wanting to admit that she’s been stealing from you on the low. Just taking little things, now and then. Nothing you’d ever miss but it means everything to Bella. To have a piece of you while she’s off on her job related adventures. Sometimes even using your shirt as a pillow case when they really miss you.

—

Bella had a plan to tell you how they felt the next day. Before you spring going to a party’s with you. Bella was older than you, you just graduated high school. Still caught up in the high school bullshit. Thankfully they were visiting during your summer vacation before you headed off to university.

“These are for you.” Bella barley whispers, handing you the bouquet of flowers. Your favorite ones. After you sprung the party on them, they decided they’d just do it before. Maybe it would be enough to convince you to stay in with them instead.

“Thanks bestie,” you respond. Bestie? Bella groans internally, discouraged by your friendly pet name. Chickening out on their original plans, mentally throwing out the monologue they had planned for you.

“I saw them and thought of you.” Bella admits.

Once in Bella’s car, they purposefully play Jenny by Studio Killers. Signing along passionately, hoping maybe you’d hear the lyrics and they’d resonate with you. The songs about a girl having a crush on her best friend. You just nod along, never commenting on the subject of it. Bella doesn’t show it but they irritation is growing. Wanting nothing more than to spill their feelings for you, always coming up short when it’s time to do so.

—

“Do we really have to go?” Bella whines only to stop when you grab their hand and pull them closer to the door. Once at the door, you face Bella your back to the door.

“It’s just a little kickback, maybe 20 people tops. You’ll be okay! I’ll be by your side the whole time. I promise.” You reassure Bella and they let out a defeated sigh. A small laugh leaves your mouth bringing a smile to Bellas. The door swings open, some dude from your school attempting to leave. He pushes past the two of you, not saying a single word.

“Rude.” You mutter under you breath, leading Bella inside. Finding some of your friends, introducing them to Bella. Bella’s wondering what the fuck she’s doing here? Oh yeah because you asked and that’s all it took. They couldn’t say no especially when you start pouting, eyes staring directly into Bella’s.

“Sorry I really thought it’d be smaller.” You apologize to Bella some time later, the two of you sat in a group of friends and strangers. Bella doesn’t drink so you don’t either, watching everyone get drunk without the two of you.

“We should do something. Play a game.” Someone suggests, everyone agrees.

“We should play spin the bottle.” Some suggests, most people agree. You look over to Bella who’s shaking their head no.

“I think I’ll sit this one out.” Bella says, standing up going to sit out of the group. Still close enough to be part of the conversation but not in the immediate circle.

“You playing?” Some drunk dude asks you. You look over to Bella who just gives you a smile.

“I guess so.” You say, thinking it’ll be a funny story to tell someday.

“Fuck yeah,” he responds. You sit and wait as one of your friends finds a bottle lays in the center of the group all while explains the rules. A player spins the bottle, and must kiss the person to whom the bottle points when it stops spinning. You watch as people take turns, watching as people kiss. Most kisses only last a few seconds. It’s almost your turn, the girl before you spins the bottle. Landing on the boy next to you, she giggles before reaching over you to kiss him. Their kiss is more aggressive than the others, lasting much longer. People cheering them on as they continue.

“I don’t think I’m gonna live up to that performance.” You joke, as they pull away from each other. Nervously you spin the bottle, following it with your eyes as it spins in a circle. It lands on a girl, you barley know. Before you can say anything people are chanting for y’all to just do it.

“I mean if she’s down I’m down.” The girl shrugs her shoulders, looking at you for a response.

“Sure?” you say and for whatever reason it comes out as a question. She starts crawling towards you, when she’s only a few inches away from your face a voice interrupts the moment.

“What about your boyfriend?” It’s Bella speaking. She didn’t care about your boyfriend, using that as an excuse to make you not want to participate in this game anymore.

“What about him? Like you said he’s a dick.” You respond, looking back at the girl sat in front of you waiting for a kiss. Cheering resumes as you two get closer.

“Absolutely not.” Bella speaks over the loud noises, pulling you from the floor with a strength you didn’t know existed. Dragging you through the crowd, straight out the front door. Sounds of booing is all you can hear as you leave.

“What the fuck was that?” You ask, once Bella lets go of you hand. Bella paces back and forth, it’s obvious they want to say something but can’t get it out.

“You’re my best friend. I couldn’t let you do that.” Bella speaks, pacing coming to a stop to face you.

“Actually I don’t want to be your friend anymore.” Bella says, breaking your heart.

“All because I was going to kiss that girl?” You ask, arms crossed over your chest.

“Oh my fucking god. Do you listen like ever? How much more obvious do I have to be?” They ask, louder than before.

“What-“ Your cut off by Bella’s hands cupping your face in swift motion affectionately placing their lips on yours, you move your lips with theirs. Letting your arms fall to your sides. You’re the one to pull away, overwhelmed by all the feelings that came out in that moment.

“I understand if you’re mad at me. But I would of rather died than watch you have your first kiss with a woman not be me.” Bella says before you can fully process what just happened.

“I ruined our friendship.” They say, attempting to read your reaction but your speechless unable to comprehend.

“No you didn’t,” you respond.

“I want to ruin our friendship. I like you.” Bella speaks.

“I like you too.”

“No I like like like you.” Bella says, emphasizing on the last two likes.

“Do you listen like ever?” You ask, mocking their tone when they said that you moments ago.

“I like you.” You say again, emphasis on like. Bella’s eyes narrow on you, looking you in your eyes.

“So if I kissed you again? You wouldn’t stop?” They smirk.

“I don’t know, try me.” You tease, chewing on your lip. They do exactly that, pulling you into their embrace before kissing you for the second time.

—

After a heavy make out session, in the front lawn of that party you guys head back to Bella’s car. This time they open your door, something Bella has never done before. Stealing a kiss in the process then making their way to the drivers side. Once in there’s a silence between you two, sinking in what just happened. They make the drive home, no words are exchanged. Half way there, their hand rests on your thigh giving it a squeeze before going back to driving. You don’t even realize until it’s too late to turn back but Bella’s pulling into their apartment. This was not the original plan but plans change. Parking in their normal parking space.

“How long have you had feelings?” You ask as soon as the car shuts off.

“Oof,” they think out loud.

“Since forever basically.” They admit.

“Same.” You admit causing Bella’s jaw to drop.

“There’s absolutely no way that is possible.” Bella says, not believing you in the slightest.

“We met right before your career really started to take off. I didn’t think it was right to throw that on you while you were out there living your best life.” You explain.

“My best life would of been you by my side, I can’t believe we wasted so many years.” Bella sighs, frustrated.

“We’ll I guess we’re just gonna have to make up for lost time,” You smile, intertwining your fingers with theirs. Playing with the rings they always wore, something you loved about them.

“We better get started, only have two weeks and six days to make up for three years.” Bella grins before instructing you to get out of the car. You do so and Bella meets you outside of the passenger door. Pushing you softly into the side of the car, kissing you in the process. Hands waisting no time explore your body, taking you by surprise. You had never imagined Bella being so forward.

“Where’s this boldness coming from?” You ask when you pull away to breath.

“I wasn’t kidding when I said, we need to make up for all those lost years.” They grin, leading you towards their front door. Your excitement grows as they lead you toward their bedroom, ready to let Bella do whatever they want.

#bella ramsey x you #bella ramsey pov #bella ramsey fluff #bella ramsey #bella ramsey oneshot #bella ramsey x reader #bella ramsey imagine

[romancingromanoff]

What I Feel For You

Thena xf!reader

It’s 400 AD and the height of the Gupta Empire. Over 5,000 years have passed since you first gazed upon Thena and you haven’t stopped looking at her since.

A/N: This has been on my mind since I rewatched the film November and I’ve always felt that Eternals has been one of the more underrated movies of phase 4. Angelina Jolie is also brilliant as Thena obviously and since she’s bisexual in real life then her character has to be queer too. I don’t make the rules.

Word count: 2655

You supposed that stranger pairs had existed. As you gazed upon Sersi and Ikaris while they partook in their bonding ceremony, you couldn’t help but think about how different the two of them were. While Sersi was pure warmth that seemed to extend to every single person she met, Ikaris remained tactical and slightly removed from everything else that happened with the humans around them. But then you remembered how Sersi had softened him and the days of Babylon where he seemed to grow an entirely new perspective. He began learning the humans’ languages, became more involved in their development and culture, and allowed Sersi to lead him into something he would have otherwise left unfamiliar.

The problem was that you couldn’t change for Thena even though you longed to desperately. For her you would remake yourself from the dirt and clay you stood on, mold a new person with your own tears. Back in Babylon, she said that she didn’t come to Earth to cower behind walls, but that’s exactly what you did. On that day you had watched her fight deviants with cosmic weaponry and both the grace and strength of a thousand winds. You were behind the city walls, of course, for what else would you have been able to do?

Similar to Druig, your special ability was mostly psychological and didn’t serve much purpose on the battlefield. Communicating with animals had allowed you to assist the humans in their domestication but not much else when it came to fighting the deviants. In fact, you spent most of your time in the company of four-legged, scaly, or winged creatures and admiring your Thena from afar. 

A few decades ago, the two of you had shared a dance during the humans’ celebration of solstice that Druig and Phastos sneakily planned. You remembered feeling more alive than ever with her arms around that night. A stupid joke that you told her actually made her smile the biggest you had ever seen and suddenly you were about to confess all the feelings that had been kept hidden over the course of thousands of years. But then in an instant, the entire party erupted into a swarm of chaos when a band of horns sounded out the spotting of some lurking deviants. 

“Stay here, little one,” she had quickly told you before placing a brief kiss on your forehead and running off as a sword materialized into her hands. But you were certain that she had only been concerned about you as a friend would  and quickly convinced yourself that she wasn’t interested. 

And there was also Gilgamesh. Admittedly, there was a time earlier on into your mission that you wanted to resent him completely. He was strong, a natural protector, and capable of giving Thena that life of adventure you knew she longed for. The way that the two worked in sync when they fought was almost like an intricate dance you knew only two people with a deep personal connection could choreograph. You couldn’t help but covet what he had but being the giant teddy bear that he was it eventually softened you. Now, you tried to be happy for them both from the sidelines.

After the bonding ceremony you retreated to a nearby herd of elephants that you were growing pretty close with. You were languidly brushing the oldest female and leader of the herd when Ajak stumbled upon you.

“I’m sure these majestic creatures make wonderful company but a little bird told me that you’re avoiding someone in particular,” she approached you and the herd slowly. Ajak was always careful around animals and behaved much more respectfully than others like Kingo. Near Mount Erymanthos he had once tried to ride a giant wild boar on a dare from Sprite which had ended awfully for all parties involved. “Care to talk to old me about it?”

You knew that Ajak wasn’t a threat to the elephants so you silently directed them to let her through as you replied, “Birds are terrible gossips, you can’t trust them all the time.” That one made her chuckle a bit but then she became serious once again.

“Why don’t you talk to Thena? She cares about you, you know? We all do and just want to see you happy.”

“She doesn’t care about me the way that I care about her,” you sigh right before another elephant steals the brush from your hand and holds it up out of your reach with its trunk. “Hey, what the heck?”

“See? Even they know you’re being ridiculous. Why do you assume that she feels that way when you haven’t spoken about it?”

“Ajak, look at me,” you step back so that now all of the elephants tower over you like trees. Besides Sprite, you’re the shortest of the eternals and quite insecure about it. And while you weren’t bad looking by any means, Sersi and Makkari were certainly more beautiful than you were. You had always had an easier time blending into a crowd. “What can I give her that Gilgamesh can’t? She deserves someone like him who won’t hold her back. My life isn’t exciting and full of danger like hers. I would just bore her.”

That’s when Ajak gives you a stern, foreboding look and you know that you’ve upset her. “Careful there, I don’t want to hear you say things like that about yourself. You may not be a fighter like her but neither of you are just one single thing. You bring out a different side of her that no one else can and she has feelings for you too.”

That’s what makes your head shoot up at attention. “She... she told you that?” You can hardly believe what Ajak is telling you but suddenly your heart is bursting with hope. 

“Actually, Gilgamesh and I were just discussing it.” That is... surprising. “But Thena has her own insecurities and isn’t certain how to talk to you either.”

“Why... why is that? She’s Thena! She’s the most incredible person I’ve ever known. She isn’t scared of anything.”

Ajak simply shrugs but gives you a suggestive look. “Sometime our judgment becomes clouded when we’re in love. Maybe it’s something you should think about.” With a smile, she gracefully turns on her heels and begins walking away.

The elephant hands you your brush back but by now you’re too distracted to continue brushing them. There’s an idea forming in your head and you need their opinion on something.

-~-

A few days later when everything is set up, you’re going over the plan one last time with Gilgamesh while Thena is out training. 

“Do you think she’ll like it?” You’re certain that by now he must be sick of dealing with you but he simply laughs and gives you a nod.

“Relax, she’s going to love it! Just be yourself and she won’t be able to resist you.” You curse yourself for ever holding a grudge against Gilgamesh. He’s been nothing but sweet and supportive this entire time and you hope to someday repay him back. He pulls you into a warm hug before his eyes catch something and he becomes much quieter. “She’s right over there, good luck.”

When you turn to look at Thena, it’s like emerging from freezing cold waters and feeling the warmth of the sun on your face for the first time. Everything about her is mesmerizing and bright and it makes you feel like an entirely new being just discovering the wonders of the world. She looks at you with some understandable curiosity after seeing you and Gilgamesh innocently embrace and begins to walk towards you, her eyes never leaving yours. You’re determined not to break eye contact with her but a smile uncontrollably takes over your entire face until she’s only a few feet in front of you and finally speaks.

“Did I miss something?” She asks with a hint of playfulness in her tone and you quickly shake your head.

“No, you’re actually right on time,” this causes her to raise an eyebrow at you and you plead with yourself to stay strong. “I was hoping that you would join me for a ride, if you wanted to that is.”

Her surprised smile causes tingles to spread throughout your entire body. “I would be honored, sweet one, but what would we be riding?” You’re probably grinning like a child at this point but you just continue to stand there cheekily as the answer reveals itself. Out from the jungle, an elephant slowly saunters its way over towards the two of you and Thena’s eyes light up even more than usual. “She’s ethereal,” you hear her whisper before the elephant gives a reply.

“Her name is Aaloka and she says thank you,” you translate. “She also said she agrees with me.”

“Agrees with you on what?”

Be brave. “That you are very beautiful,” your words surprise her and a blush begins to cover her cheeks. It’s all so much to take in that you start to feel your heart race. The only other times it does that is when you’re fearful, but she’s the only one that makes it beat this way. It’s like it beats for her.

Aaloka kneels and Thena assists you on top first before gracefully leaping up behind you. You start to feel a bit overwhelmed by how high up you are with nothing to hold onto until she wraps your arms around your waist and instantly freeze. No one has ever held you like this before. Eventually, you allow yourself to relax your body and sink softly back into hers. It’s an unfamiliar feeling, but a welcome one.

“Are we just going to sit here or do you plan on taking me somewhere?” She asks playfully and it shakes you from your spell. 

“Um, yes! Let’s go!”

Aaloka already knows which path to follow and it doesn’t take as long as you had expected for you to arrive at the spring. In the close distance is a waterfall that reflects the vibrant pinks, yellows, and oranges of the sky all around you. Thena lets go of you, which leaves you feeling somewhat empty, and is the first to dismount before you awkwardly try to slide your way down. At the very last second, the elephant moves one of her feet so that you trip forward and lose your balance. Thena immediately catches you in her arms with a soft laugh and brushes away some of your hair that’s been slightly tussled. 

“Hey, that wasn’t very nice!” You scold the elephant which has no sense of guilt whatsoever. “She did that in purpose you know.” Thena chuckles once again with a look of amusement in her eyes.

“I think she knows that I like keeping you in my arms, sweet one,” Thena huskily breaths into your ear and it causes a gasp to escape from your mouth. Looking up into her giant hypnotizing orbs stops time itself. How did you become so lucky to be here with her? Doubt starts to settle in and you unconsciously cling to her harder.

“I just don’t know what I’ve done to deserve your affections. I’m not strong like you or fast like Makkari. Everyone on the team has a myth or a legend named after them except for me. Thena, they named a goddess and a city after you! But me? I’m nothing extraordinary.” The confession brings a frown on her face that instantly confuses you. What did you say that upset her? 

“Do you really not see how incredible you are? You’re the most amazing person I know.” Thena looks at you with such admiration that it’s almost impossible for you not to believe her words. “If they name something else after Kingo I think his ego might cause his head to explode. But you, my darling, are too quick to discredit yourself for all the good you have helped put into this world. Things you have done from the pureness of your own heart even if you were scared, unsure of how to show the humans and animals how they must work together. Respect each other.”

“It’s my job,” you brush it off with a shrug, unsure of what she’s getting at. Nothing that you’ve done could ever compare to when she saved an entire city full of people. “You deserve someone just as strong as you are. A fighter that can protect you.”

“You think I can’t protect myself?” She raises an eyebrow at you and you realize how stupid you must have sounded.

“No, that’s not what I meant! Of course you’re… I meant to say that I wouldn’t want to… because I’m not-“

All the air dissipates from your lungs when her hand comes to rest at your cheek. Softly laughing, she drops the fake act of frustration in order to soothe you.

“Shhh, I was only joking, my dear. For the record, I’m not interested in a partner that can spar with me or deals with all their problems like Ikaris by blasting through everything. I only want you. You’ve taught me that there’s so much more to life than fighting. That there can be different ways of looking at the world.”

It’s at that same moment that the universe seems to send you a message in the form of thousands of green lights which begin to float up towards the sky. The synchronous dancing of the fireflies wasn’t something you had planned and you find it difficult to resist the smile that grows on your face. Standing together in the glowing green light, it feels nothing short of a truly magical moment.

“Y/N,” Thena softly whispers and you are brought back to the face of the most beautiful woman in the world looking at you with so much warmth. “I would never lie to you. So please believe me when I say I have never loved anyone else the way I love you.”

You’re sure your own heart is glowing within your chest brighter than all the fireflies in the world.

“You… You love me?” All of a sudden it feels as if you might float away. As long as she goes with you you’d be fine.

“Yes, darling. I love you and I’d be honored to be yours.”

“I love you too!” You throw your arms around her neck while Thena giggles, instinctively pulling your bodies closer together.

“May I kiss you, little one?” She breaths in your ear, sending shivers of anticipation across every inch of your skin.

“Please do,” you answer with a smile before your lips finally meet.

Your kiss is exactly like all the wonderful things you love about Thena. She’s gentle yet passionate, pouring all of her desire for you into the kiss while still being incredibly soft and responsive. In all your years of living you’ve never kissed anyone before. You’ve secretly observed human couples of all types share countless kisses throughout history. You feel like you’ve been forced to sit through even more between Sersi and Ikaris in the past century alone. Every time you’ve wondered what It must be like to experience something so magical. With Thena, you’re certain you finally understand what all of the fuss was about.  Nothing else has ever felt so right.

The two of you eventually separate when you’re both startled by the sound of Aaloka triumphantly cheering. Thena pulls you closer to her as you laugh, smiling directly into the crook of her neck.

“What did she say?” Thena asks.

“Something along the lines of ‘It was about time already!’”

“Well I have been waiting to kiss you for only a few thousand years!”

Feeling bold, you reach up to take Thena’s face into your hands. “Maybe we should make up for the lost time?”

“Definitely,” she agrees before swooping down to bring your lips together once again.

#thena x reader #reader insert #eternals #thena #thena eternals #ajak #ajak eternals #sersi #sersi eternals #ikaris #ikaris eternals #marvel #marvel imagines #MCU #mcu phase four #eternals imagines

[theflyindutchwoman]

I’m watching 5x04 at the moment, and I’ve been paying closer attention to Tim (and Lucy) during the episode…

And the worry on this stupid man’s face the whole freakin time 😭 and he keeps looking at Lucy like he’s checking that she’s okay.

Like so far this whole episode, he’s just got this look on his face and he keeps making subtle glances in Lucy’s direction.

And I am so emo right now 😭

Eric really said “Rosalind episode? Bet. Watch me make Tim the ultimate Lucy protector without any words” 😂

I haven't rewatched that episode since it aired so I'm writing from memory (on a side note, I seriously need to start my s5 rewatch…).

But yes, those looks… *screaming internally* The worry, the pining… Like the one in the shop, where he subtly tries to check on how she's doing without drawing attention to her, knowing that she would probably hate that… Or the one they exchange when Lucy panics after Bailey asks her where Nolan is and Tim is right there to take over for her… 'Just be a friend. And if you need a cop, tag me in'… And, of course, the one when he is being lowered to the basement… That moment is just exquisite. The love, the longing, the fear… So much emotions… And I'm emo too now!

But for all those little moments, I still felt let down on the Chenford front in that episode. I get that this was rushed due to what was going on behind the scenes with the actress playing Rosalind… But I guess I wanted and needed more emotions, if that makes any sense? That storyline in regards to Lucy and Tim has always been so poignant and it didn't entirely deliver.

It probably didn't help that it happened right when they were stuck in that limbo. It's a tough act to balance his desire to be there for her with the awkwardness between them, the guilt… So I understand that Tim couldn't be as explicitly supportive and protective as before. Like when he gave her back her ring. Or when he was being the Fierce Protector at the prison. And in a way, it offered the perfect contrast to 5.01, in the sense that you could imagine how hard this must have been for them not to reach out to the other. For Lucy not to have anyone to ground her. For Tim not to be able to comfort her. And that's why I wished we saw more of that struggle. How adrift they probably felt. Those looks were great, but something was still missing. Like, I don't know, Tim about to grab Lucy's hand before stopping himself because he doesnt know if he can do this now… Same with Lucy… They share this history with Rosalind and I didn't think it was properly acknowledged.

And then, there's that last scene that kind of bothered me. The way Tim barely reacted to Lucy's turmoil and conflicted emotions at seeing Rosalind's dead body… I need to rewatch it to be certain, but I remember feeling a bit put out by it. I still can't believe that no one asked her how she was doing… The fact that this felt unfinished and rushed didn't help. (Though when I see what they did to Nolan and Bailey in that episode and how her trauma was not only brushed off, but turned into a joke one episode later, I'm actually happy with what we got lol).

#little talks (with bestie) #the rookie #chenford #lucy chen #tim bradford #So sorry for the late reply ♥️! #December and January have been kicking my butt

[thewillowtree3]

Avatar

I’ve been trying to think of why Avatar: The Last Airbender has been so popular for decades and I think I got it.

After watching the concert, which was AMAZING!! ;DDDD!! ❤️❤️❤️, I’ve literally been rewatching the series because I literally couldn’t watch anything else after the concert LOOL!! 🤣🤣 and I think I got it.

One of the reasons is because of the world building. You get to LIVE in its world, you get to breathe in it. You get to see its inhabitants, the daily lives of its people. Commoners, villagers, all everyday people. You get to see our heroes interact with them, be who they are as people.

The fact that the Gaang travel SOO much is also why we get to see soo much of this beautiful world. The characters get to travel SOO much. They see SOO many characters and people and different lifestyles. You get to see how many people live and breathe and that’s beautiful. You get to see SOOO many different places.

And also, you get to SEE these characters just be on their own, as people. In the beginning of the episodes, when the Gaang is just lazing around or having fun, they’re being people. They’re being people without the pressure of the plot. They’re being happy, sad, laughing, joking as people. When Aang plays in the water or when Sokka gets hit by something LOOL, it’s hella funny and it’s life. It’s natural, it’s exactly how we’d behave.

And also, the reason why the series is so lighthearted and happy is Aang. Aang is a happy-go-lucky, sweet, goofy kid who just wants to have fun a lot of the time lol. A huge character point of him is that he just wants to have fun all the time! He wants to ride elephant koi and go on the unagi and go slide down the Omashu delivery carts lol. But he plays SOO much. Even when they’re just resting or bending around, he’s playing. He’s making octopus monsters in the water and playing with Momo, and dancing. He’s just a goofball. And it’s so sweet because it reminds us that he’s just a kid. But I think it’s also cool because it reminds us of a simpler, happier time before the world was at war.

Without Aang, we wouldn’t have this fun, happy veneer. We wouldn’t have the shield that protects us from the world of the war. Without him, we’d have to face the consequences of the war in a much darker world. I think without him, the series would be a lot darker and it’d be harder to watch. I mean, when I was a kid, I forgot there was a war going on, I think because Aang was so happy all the time and the environment is so light and hopeful. If you take him away, you have to grapple even more with the very real consequences of the war.

And because the environment is safe-because Aang provides us a safe, warm environment to be light and happy in, and we get to travel to SOO many places, it really builds out the world building SOO well. We get to imagine ourselves in these places, get to wonder what it’s like to go to Kyoshi Island or the Misty Palms Oasis or Ember Island. We get to BE safe as we travel in these places.

And I think the plot lends itself to this environment too!! The entire plot is Aang fighting Fire Lord Ozai and learning the 4 elements. We know that from the very beginning. And so, we have room to breathe and have some fun adventures WHILE we get to that point. The audience all knows what’s coming, it’s in the back of our heads. So we have time for adventures. We have time for all those adventures and shenanigans. The important thing is, we KNOW it’s gonna be a journey, so we’re led on that as characters grow and develop.

We get to see them as characters separate from the story, as they struggle with their own ins-and-outs and their own needs and desires. We get to see them as living, breathing people, their arcs as they grow and develop. It’s because the story gives them breathing room to develop that they can develop AWAY from the story. Like in “The Runaway”, we get to see an insight into Katara’s motherly nature and how Toph really misses her parents. And that’s why we love and care about the story so much- because the CHARACTERS are so amazing and we care about the CHARACTERS.

A lot of other shows, we have to try to figure out the plot and what’s gonna happen and how they’re going to do it. So, plot is really necessary and you have to move it along. But in Avatar, you get room to breathe.

And the side characters! That’s also why the show is so beloved. Because the side characters are SOO funny. I keep seeing interviews of the Cabbage Guy and him being on panels and I keep thinking “that’s so cool and crazy.” Can u imagine, this one guy who has two lines of “MY CABBAGES!!” being THIS famous in the show? It’s INSANE!! LOOL!! But Avatar makes it work bc he’s fucking hilarious. Same with the Foaming Mouth Guy. Doesn’t even say a word but he’s HELLA FUNNY LOOL. And Chong! He plays “Secret Tunnel”- a song where the chorus is like 2 words, but ITS HELLLA FUNNY LOOL. The side characters are just so iconic.

When I think of Avatar, I feel so safe, warm, and happy. It’s because of Aang and the little spot of sunshine he provides, and the beautiful world we get to interact with. The Gaang is a little bubble of warmth that we get to live in amidst a much darker world, and it’s really beautiful we get to see that. :’)

#avatar #atla #girl #I structured this like an ESSAY LOOL #WHOO!! #my first Avatar analysis post!! ;DDDDD!!❤️❤️

[i-am-befuddled]

Ok honestly, I think “Oops” is the best Helluva Boss episode of season 2 thus far. The previous ones have struggled with tone switches and using too many vulgar jokes in the place of substance, but imo this episode knocked it out of the park. (Details below, long post warning)

Yes, there were sex jokes but that’s to be expected in HB, and I didn’t feel like they were out of place majority of the time. The tone balancing felt pretty good overall, and I loved seeing the different sides to each of the characters.

Fizz and Ozzie are somehow the cutest and most wholesome couple, and they were a great contrast to Stolis/Blitzø. I adored getting confirmation about Fizz and Blitzø’s backstory, and the added detail that Blitzø actually had a crush on him was cute and made it all the more heartbreaking. It also confirmed that he lost his mom in that fire too, but I find it interesting that he keeps this detail from Fizz. I think he’s still holding onto that guilt/doesn’t want to burden fizz with it, so that was really interesting character writing.

I’ve seen a couple complaints about the apparent “miscommunication trope” between them, but I somewhat disagree. Yes, miscommunications are always annoying in fiction, but they do happen irl. And given what we know about blitzø, communicating has never been his strong suit. It’s implied that their relationship was stressed leading up to the fire, due to some jealousy or insecurity, and given how severe both of their injuries were (and the emotional damage dealt), I think it makes sense that they wouldn’t investigate the miscommunication. Fizz did have every reason to cut blitzø out, even if he didn’t have the whole story. And blitzø was dealing with enough of his own trauma and guilt to let it fester. They both turned to bitterness and lashing out in anger, so I’m glad they had the opportunity to set the record straight (and that they’re not entirely on good terms yet, but can grow)

Also Fizz talking about his disability in a mostly positive light was really cool to see. He acknowledged how it was painful and took a lot of adjusting, but he’s happy with where he is today and has learned to live with it.

I’m also enjoying seeing blitzø reaching out to more people in his past. First Barbie and now fizz. I assume this has to do with Stolas getting hurt, but whether Blitzø is doing it consciously or not remains to be seen. Regardless, I think we might see a real turning point in his character soon.

Like I mentioned previously, I also loved seeing the different sides to each character. I liked seeing Ozzie interacting outside of a stage and as a business person, as well as how he acts around fizz. Seeing Stolas admitting to catching feelings and still wanting to be respectful was awesome, as well as seeing the side of him that’s not just a horny owl.

Also seeing that crimson and striker are still threats was helpful. While I was missing their motivation in the beginning, I realized that kidnapping Fizz and Blitzø wasn’t really their plan — it was happenstance that they took advantage of. Which feels in character.

Only minor complaints I have are that Fizz’s song went on for just a touch longer than I felt necessary, and some of the characters (Blitzø, crimson and striker) felt like they were just in Greed for the plot to happen, but that’s sometimes necessary for storytelling. I might find a couple other critiques upon rewatch, but my immediate takeaways were largely positive.

Overall, fantastic episode. The animation was stellar, as was a lot of the character work, and the voice acting was very good. I really hope that future episodes can take after this one.

#long post #helluva boss #fizzarolli #blitzø #Stolas

[blacktobackmesa]

i think i remember you saying the science team would rewatch the videos together( like the cast commentaries,) and i was curious to see if you would talk a bit about that? like… how they reacted to certain things and scenes, if or how they talked it out, stuff like that… i’ve been wanting to ask this for sooooo long but just now got the confidence to, i love this verse sooooo much !!! its been living rent free in my head ever since i first read the series… its the only way i can think of post-canon i love it so much… ok thats all i hope you have a good day !!!

First I gotta say Thank You and I'm making my first official rent payment for the real estate in here. It has always been the goal to inspire people to think about the team like this and I am SO grateful for every ask sent and conversation had. But YES let's talk about watching

Gordon gave the team the option to watch the VODs and edits on their own, but was convinced to make it a group activity by his friends. This ended up being to precursor to their regular movie nights-- everybody met up in Tommy's basement to watch the edits together over a couple days. (Nobody wanted the emotional whiplash of going into Act 3 unprepared.)

One of the key things that everyone has a reaction to is what fonts and text colors Gordon chose for them.

Benrey likes his text color well enough, but would have preferred purple. He also thinks his font could have been something way cooler. He also thinks it's weird that he and Forzen have the same font, and accuses Gordon of being lazy.

Tommy tells Gordon that he likes his font and color, but it's hard to tell how he really feels. He does say that while his favorite color is actually red, he knows that can be a bit harder to read against a dark background.

Bubby is insulted that he was given Times New Roman, legendary as a default font, but changes his tune when told it's actually Sylfaen. Entirely different! With this, he and Coomer are both satisfied with their captions. In fact, their fonts are in their favorite colors... sort of. Coomer actually prefers cyan, while Bubby likes green.

Gordon actually got Darnold's favorite color dead on. He's started using his typeface, Terminal Grotesque, on most documents and correspondence. He hasn't verbally acknowledged this, but Gordon's noticed. It makes him smile.

G-Man thinks his font is very practical. That's all he's said on the matter.

Other Notable Reactions

Bubby had completely forgotten that Gordon didn't believe him about his name. Upon being reminded, he went "Wait, hang on, hang on. What the fuck, Gordon? Who DOES that?" (Darnold felt validated by this.)

Coomer laughs uproariously at his own jokes and slips of the tongue.

"So Tommy. Benrey said you like mean people, do you... do you have any idea what he meant by that?" "Oh! Well, you know." He failed to elaborate.

The screen going black during the ambush came as a surprise to the team. Everyone remembers actually seeing the events play out, though in hindsight, Coomer questions his own memory. There's a lot about that whole stretch of time that he has questions about, but he knows they can't be answered.

Bubby goes out of his way to point out situations where he was playing a trick or just straight-up lying to his friends. Part of it is for full disclosure, part is to brag about what a funny guy he is.

Gordon is uncomfortable with clips where he is condescending to or impatient with the science team. Benrey tries to diffuse his anxieties by pointing them out directly and highlighting all of his insecurities. He's a great friend. He tries his best.

#hlvrai #gordon streamman #i wanna say more about this at some point #add some more stuff in reblogs

[luna-talks-stuff]

So I’ve been listening to Ai Higuchi’s ed song nonstop since I saw the Attack on Titan finale two days ago (I couldn’t see it the day it was released) and I’ve been crying all that time

Because that’s what happens when the series you grew up to adulthood with finally ends

10 years ago, when the first season had just finished airing, I watched it and loved it. Then I read the manga and loved it. I was 16 back then. Every month, since December 2013, I would wait for a new chapter. When it ended in April 2021, I had recently turned 24. Today, as I’m crying and coping with the end of the anime, I’m 26

There’s just so much about the finale, and the series as a whole, that I love and that I can talk about all the time. I didn’t originally put my thoughts about chapter 139 two years ago because I was part of the minority that liked it. Now that I feel somewhat vindicated, I think I can look back and say that it was a wonderful story, and many will agree

It’s not that happy, but it’s really hopeful. You just have to look in the little moments, like Armin told Zeke in the end

And I’m sure now that Yuki Kaji and Marina Inoue were born to play Eren and Armin. They both have memorable characters that I love, and I know they will both have amazing careers for many years to come, but in 80 years, when talking about them, Eren and Armin will be their eternal legacy

Yui Ishikawa’s legacy will probably be Violet Evergarden, but she was the perfect Mikasa. To me, Eren, Armin and Mikasa are among the best trios in anime and the best trios in all of fiction, their friendship is as precious as it is tragic

And speaking of tragic, Eren and Mikasa, they are the most tragic couple in anything I’ve ever seen in my life. The worst part is that they both loved each other, and Eren was aware of it, but never did anything about it, and I get sad thinking about it.

Also, the baby in the cliff? That was already sad but when I saw the news it broke me. Four years ago, Yuki Kaji, who I already said voices Eren, got married to another actress, Ayana Taketatsu. The baby in the cliff was voiced by Yuki and Ayana’s baby. It’s poetic and beautiful and tragic and everything I will associate with this story forever

My headcanons/theories that I will die with are that Armin and Annie got married, so did Gabi and Falco. Anything else is fair game. Who married who and how many children they had, I’m open to all kinds of interpretations, I just know that they all lived long happy lives like Eren wanted, and that they never had to fight in any wars ever again

The music, the voice acting, the animation and the expanded conversation between Eren and Armin made the finale from one I liked to one I absolutely adored, and I’m honored to have this story while growing up to adulthood

This story has been a part of me for 10 years of my life now. I still have lots of stories to love, but this one will always have a special place in my heart. I will remember every reaction I had, every theory, my awe with the anime openings, my excitement when I found out that Gabi and Falco would be voiced by the actors I wanted, Ayane Sakura and Natsuki Hanae. I will reread the manga, rewatch the anime, and make lots of bird jokes for many years to come

So thanks to the staff, both at Wit Studios and Mappa, to the voice cast, to the musicians, and to Hajime Isayama, who gave 12 years of his life and his entire heart to this story. I will always love it, forever

To the story that gave its heart to the bitter end, thanks and goodbye 💙💚🤍

#attack on titan #aot #shingeki no kyojin #snk final episode #snk final season #aot final episode #eren jeager #eren yeager #mikasa ackerman #armin arlert #eremika #ema trio #i’m not crying you’re crying #see you later

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

I was listening to some real people comedians (as in, local comedians whom I have met in real life, and can therefore not be considered to have in any way “made it” in comedy, because if they had then they would not be hanging out around me) talk the other day, and they were discussing the concept of “laughs per minute”, and whether it’s a bullshit way to judge comedy. Which I think it usually is, depending on the context. In a really short club set, it probably does matter a lot because you don’t have time to do more than that. In a Stewart Lee Edinburgh hour, he can go 35 minutes setting something up and everyone will just trust that the punchline at the end will be worth it.

Anyway, it got me thinking about the concept, and how I judge comedy in lots of different ways, and what has made me laugh the most – both in terms of most laughs per minute and hardest laughs overall – is not exactly the same as my favourite comedy shows ever. But anything that manages any kind of notable laughs per minute rating is impressive, because lots of shows I really like never clear that bar. If we define a “laugh” as something outwardly expressed and audible, more than just a smile and a nose exhale, then it doesn’t actually happen all that often. I’ll consider a show very successful if it gets me to do that just a few times across an hour.

So I’ve tried to think of what comedy shows have successfully gotten more than that, have made me properly laugh out loud really consistently for their entire runtime (whether that’s an hour or 15 minutes, though obviously it’s more impressive if they can sustain it for longer). If I’m thinking about this across my whole life, I have to take into account the fact that everything’s funnier when you’re a kid, you haven’t already seen every obvious joke so nothing is hack or overdone. I remember the shows I was into as a kid (ages 7 to 14 or so, I think) as the funniest things in the entire world, I used to watch every episode over and over and over. The main ones on rotation being Flying Circus, Blackadder, Fawlty Towers, Mr. Bean, Ripping Yarns, Yes Minister, M*A*S*H, and Cheers.

Now, at 33, I can understand why it’s annoying to have the parrot sketch memorized – because it’s been quoted so often than at this point repeating it is almost like, for example, trying to sell someone something that's long dead and nailed to a perch. At nine, I could recite every word in it, over and over for hours, and it never stopped being funny. As an adult, I’m still pretty sure Blackadder was a work of genius, but I don’t think I’ll ever again find anything as funny as I found Hugh Laurie’s acting power stance when I was eleven years old. I used to wake up at 5:30 AM to watch a few episodes of whatever show I was re-watching at the moment (my list of shows on rotation was heavily determined by what was in my parents’ DVD boxset collection), until I could mouth along to all the lines but they never got less funny.

I did re-watch every episode of all those British shows in 2020 (so everything but M*A*S*H and Cheers, though I’ve rewatched a few episodes of both those recently as well) to see how they held up, and while they didn’t make me cry with laughter the way I did as a kid, I still thought almost all of them were very good. And by “almost all of them”, I mean… look, I think Mr. Bean is just meant to be a kids’ show. I loved it when I first watched it, because that shit’s hilarious when you’re a kid. As an adult, it looked like a kid’s show with a few genuinely funny moments. The turkey on the head is still funny. Playing with the toy Daleks in the Christmas store is still funny. My family still watches the Christmas special every year on that holiday. The rest of it we can probably leave behind.

Anyway, the point is that you can’t count that because I was a kid. Then I think of my favourite comedy shows that I got into as a teenager. Major ones to come to mind are The Thick of It, 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, Community, Arrested Development, Flight of the Conchords, Freaks and Geeks. My favourite comedy shows of my twenties: Bojack Horseman, Veep, Archer, Brooklyn Nine Nine, The Good Place, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Portlandia, Broad City, Party Down, Bob’s Burgers. I supposed I should add a mention of my mixed and up-and-down longterm relationship with South Park.

I remember a lot of things I’ve loved about those shows besides pure laughs per minute – the characters, the ideas, the atmosphere. I’d go back to certain shows over and over just because I liked the way it made me feel to spend time in the world they created. But for pure, really hard, out-loud laughs? Looking at that list, I think the ones to get the most of those out of me were The Thick of It, Veep, 30 Rock, Arrested Development, and maybe when they were at their best, Portlandia, Archer, and Community could do it. But not all the time. There isn’t really that long a list of comedies that have consistently made me laugh really hard once I wasn’t a kid anymore.

Anyway, that isn’t actually what I was thinking about that made me decide to write this post. The conversation I heard from local comedians, about laughs per minute, made me think of what has done that to me in my thirties, the few years since COVID occurred and I decided to not do anything except British comedy. I have seen and heard and read so much comedy in the last few years, and I have really really loved quite a lot of it. So I was surprised when I realized that I think, if you judge it entirely by out-loud laughs per minute, there aren’t a huge number that come to mind as consistently providing a high rate of those.

In terms of full-length stand-up hours, I think there might still be no one who’s gotten more proper laughs per minute out of me than Rhod Gilbert. All four of his DVD shows are incredible – I think I’d say the first one (The Award Winning Mince Pie) is my favourite, though I might just have a soft spot for the first one I saw, when I first had my eyes opened to that captivating style.

I hesitate a little to comment on his health from the perspective of how much I love his comedy specials, because I don’t want to make something as serious as a person’s life or death about whether I’ll get to hear more comedy specials (I feel the same way about Mark Steel’s current situation – I did make a post a while ago in which I said he has to recover for the sake of Radio Four, but obviously, he has to recover for the sake of himself and his family, even his annoying son, I wish them all the best and it’s not about the comedy fans). But for everyone’s sake, mainly his, God am I ever glad he’s back and by all accounts okay. He’s said he was diagnosed with cancer the day after he recorded his latest special, and you can really tell in that video that he was being slowed down and struggled to match his usual frantic energy levels, but it was still brilliant.

Anyway, I think Rhod Gilbert still wins at laughs per minute from me in stand-up. Proper laughter. Laughing so hard I can’t breathe and have to pause the video so I don’t miss the next bit and end up with tears in my eyes and my throat and stomach hurt. I think Rhod Gilbert has done that to me the most. I’ve tried to think of whose stand-up material might do that to me the second most, and I’m slightly annoyed that I think the main two names that come to mind are Sam Campbell and Nish Kumar. Slightly annoyed because when I look at those two names alongside Rhod Gilbert… okay, is it possible that I might just like being shouted at?

I’m now trying to think of a non-shouty comic who’s done that to me. Kitson, obviously. I think my favourite stand-up hour ever is Daniel Kitson’s Where Once Was Wonder, which is fucking incredible for its ability to get every single aspect right. Brilliant on an emotional level, hitting multiple themes and topics that all have deep emotional resonance and saying original and significant things about them. Brilliant on an intellectual level – every time I listen to it I marvel at the number of layers in its structure, how its conceit of being full of contradictions is embedded in almost every line, how I catch more each time and he points lots of them out but throws even more away. And crucially, brilliant on a humour level. It is consistently, all the way through, hilarious. He probably never goes ten minutes without at least one bit that makes my whole body seize up from laughter until I can’t breathe right.

But honestly, most of the Kitson things that have gotten the highest laugh per minute out of me were not the intricately written shows. I wince at how much he would hate this, but probably, at laughs per minute from me, some of his 2007-2008 Graveyard Triple R radio shows beat some of his best proper stand-up shows. Same with some of his WIP/pre-WIP just messing around shows. There’s some audio footage of a 2007 Late ‘n’ Live night where Daniel Kitson and Andy Zaltzman do an incredibly stupid sketch that has put tears of laughter in my eyes. If you want to know what level of humour we're talking about, that sketch contains the line "That was three ladies booing my dick because it chose the wrong member of We Are Klang to fuck" (which it did, by the way, by which I mean Andy Zaltzman chose wrong while portraying the role of Daniel Kitson's penis, but not for the reasons that this Greg Davies-fancying website would expect, if you'd heard the Triple R shows with Steve Hall you'd understand. He then went on to choose the wrong member of Pappy's Fun Club, what does Andy Zaltzman know about the most attractive members of the most successful British fringe comedy sketch groups of 2007?). It's definitely not better than properly written Kitson shows, or Zaltzman shows, for that matter. But it might have made me laugh out loud more times.

I think It’s the Fireworks Talking is one of the best pieces of performance ever written, but recordings I’ve heard of that have probably made me laugh fewer times than a recording I’ve heard from the Melbourne Festival of when he finished performing It’s the Fireworks Talking and then went into a radio studio to talk shit with David and Claudia O’Doherty all night. Or than the Zaltzman/Kitson penis sketch, put together with everything else from that Late 'n' Live recording.

I know I’m not saying anything new here; I’m hardly the first person to point out that Daniel Kitson is absolutely fucking hilarious when he’s messing around with no script. Lots of people have pointed it out before me, and he has clearly heard those people point it out, as he’s often mentioned that it annoys him, and understandably so. What’s the point of working so hard on proper shows if people just like your unplanned stuff better?

But I don’t think I actually like that stuff better. I don’t think his radio shows are better than It’s the Fireworks Talking (I sort of don’t think penicillin is better than It’s the Fireworks Talking). And this is where I come back to the fact that laughs per minute are not the best way to judge a show (I’d like to clarify at this point that It’s the Fireworks Talking did have quite a high laughs per minute rate out of me, just not as high as Kitson and some O’Doherties getting weirdly competitive about indie music at 3 AM).

Anyway. I think Sam Campbell recently became the first person to make me laugh so hard that I had tears in my eyes, from hearing something that was performed in 2023. He did that with some of his recent stand-up. On Taskmaster he has, more than once, made me laugh loud enough to cause a cat to run across the room (I’m currently catsitting and one of the cats gets easily spooked by sudden noise, so whether I make her jump is a good gauge of whether something’s made me laugh out loud). But only his stand-up has actually made me cry.

I’ve been lucky enough to get to hear quite a bit of recent stand-up in the last couple of months. I’ve really liked a lot of it, but I’m now trying to think of how much of it has actually made me consistently laugh out loud, which is several steps beyond just being funny. I think the only people who’ve done that are Sam Campbell, Olga Koch, Nish Kumar, Greg Larsen, Sarah Keyworth, and Fern Brady. Which actually isn’t that short a list, but it’s a shorter list than the list of comedians I’ve enjoyed at all in the last couple of months.

Anyway, I didn’t start writing this post because of stand-up. I started writing this post because of a conversation I heard some comedians have the other day, but I started thinking of that conversation, and decided I wanted to write a post about that conversation, because I was re-watching some No More Jockeys today. And fucking hell, I have to say, this is supporting the theory that laughs per minute can come so much from unscripted shows that it could justifiably make comedians despair as they wonder what the point is of honing their craft. I’ve listened to a bunch of Tim Key’s properly written stuff in the last few days (went on a bit of a binge of his radio show and some of his old stand-up), absolutely loved it, it’s intelligent and funny and very well written stuff, but it still didn’t make me laugh out loud quite as hard as No More Jockeys does. Almost nothing makes me laugh out loud quite as hard as No More Jockeys does.

I tried to think of some non-stand-up thing that makes me laugh as hard/loud/often as No More Jockeys. The Bugle has managed it, at its best. I've only heard a few episodes of Pappy's Fun Club, but that's done it at times. Catsdown at its best has accomplished it.

The main thing I can think of that's done it really consistently is Taskmaster, but even that probably loses to NMJ at laughs per minute. It’s up there, though. Beats a lot of scripted sitcoms at it, including some really good scripted sitcoms. So from Taskmaster and No More Jockeys, you get the laughs, and the fun of getting emotionally invested in following a competitive game. Why are people still bothering to craft well written sitcom worlds?

This post has been massively disjointed, I think I've hit about six different topics since I've started, somehow including who's the most attractive member of Pappy's Fun Club. I finally have a weekend to myself and have decided I feel like writing things again, and it's started with this. I don't think there was any point to it. All I was really trying to say is I can't believe how fucking funny No More Jockeys is.

Mark Watson desperately, pleadingly trying to argue with Alex Horne about whether Donald Duck has been to prison – I'm sorry but I don't think Rowan Atkinson has done anything funnier than that in his entire life. He's done lots of things that are better than that. But not that can make me laugh harder than that while I'm over the age of 30.

[fantasyinvader]

So now that G-Witch is over (and I finally ordered a HG Aerial), is it a step up from Gundam IBO? I feel like G-Witch is the better show, but IBO is the more important one. I’ve been saying this since the first season, so much of G-Witch felt like it was done in response to IBO. IBO, on the other hand, felt like it was taking the hypocrisies of the Gundam franchise to their absolute limit.

The franchise wants to say “war is hell,” but also wants to market model kits of cool robots. We occasionally get bits on how war can mess kids up, but at the same time the franchise uses the war as a means to mature it’s protagonists. It usually wants to use a grey vs grey war setting, but at the same time the narrative wants us to support one side over the other. The enemy must be stopped, but it’s meant to be grey because the other side are just guys fighting for what they believe in and some of their commanders aren’t complete shitheads (though the upper echelons are another story). So while the “bad guys” are defeated, the good guys will talk about the need for “understanding” despite them having unstoppable killing machines. Violence is okay when the good guys do it, especially if they don’t kill the enemy pilots. It’s okay for the good guys to use illegal weapons, even if we condemn the enemy for using the same weapons. Worldbuilding fluff is often left out of the show, told in side-materials, despite how it could help us better understand the conflict (though that gets in the way of the narrative). And the whole not repeating the past thing is a joke considering we either base events on real wars or reuse the Universal Century timeline.

I mean, you can look at something like SEED and see how these things can be problematic. Old interviews with Fukuda have him saying things like he wanted to make it like super robot shows of the 70’s, the mold Gundam tried to break out of, or how things were done simply because they were cool. That got to a point where SEED was being deconstructed in crossover games and 00 was made with the intent, according to it’s director, to examine what happens when you fight to end fighting, something that was a major part of SEED’s morality later on (though Fukuda himself has dismissed this, saying that Kira fights during Destiny for a world where there will be conflict because that’s needed for people to grow and the Destiny plan would have eliminated conflict). Yet people believe SEED is emblematic of Gundam, and that 00 deconstructed the entire franchise in it’s first half.

IBO intentionally cranked the hypocrisy up to 11, made it’s main characters the villains in the eyes of history and punished them for their crimes while saying more people needed to question them (the creators backed this up0. It’s lost on a lot of people, but damn, that takes some balls. You really can’t go back to Gundam as normal afterwards, you need to be conscious of what messages you are sending out.

IBO sounded the alarm on what Gundam had become, G-Witch fought for the franchise’s soul. That's the way I see it.

Still would rather rewatch Witch though, because it doesn't drag like IBO did and the animation is way better.

[luna-rainbow]

Something that your lastest post w Matt Damon made me think about something. I’ve recently rewatched a bunch of Christopher Nolan’s movies, including the dark knight trilogy & it just…knocks me on my butt to look at how well those movies have aged, not just from a visual standpoint, but from a story too. Nolan’s is KNOWN for insisting on practical effects whenever possible (the man had an entire spinning hallway built for inception) & it SHOWS. It’s amazing to look at these movies that were made now over 10 years ago, & they’ve aged better than some of the movies marvel has released in the past 5 years. This isn’t even a dc vs marvel argument to me, but an artist vs corporation. Nolan is extremely serious about the art of filmmaking & you can see the love & devotion & meticulousness that goes into his films (again. The man took 10 years to make inception bc he wanted it to be done right) but with marvel you can just see & feel that the love is gone.

I love Nolan movies (although *clears throat* I wasn’t a huge fan of the Batman trilogy). His movies are constructed to be revisited. You know that quote about how a bad plot twist just makes you go “wtf” and a good plot twist will make everything fall into place? His movies are the latter.

I have to say it’s been a few years since I last watched his movies so my memory of them are a little vague, but there is genuine craft going on. Regardless of whether you like his intentional ambiguity or his style, you can tell he has a strong vision of the story he wants to tell and the message he wants to convey. Whether it’s The Prestige where competition for fame and recognition drive the main characters’ progressive deviation from ethics, or Inception where it asks what defines reality and whether that is important. His movies are also built so that the first time you watch it, the twist is unexpected (but still fits into the characterisation), but on each rewatch you discover more that fits into the puzzle.

The other thing about Nolan is the humanity of his stories. You can call it melodramatic (partly the reason I didn’t love the Batman trilogy) but he has a very classical appreciation of tragedy and pathos, whether that’s the tragedy of someone gifted being dragged to their downfall by their flaws (The Prestige and some of the Batman movies), or the tragedy of being unable to overcome forces beyond one’s control (Interstellar), or the tragedy of the loss of self and identity (Inception).

One of the problems with some of the newer franchises coming out of the MCU is this unwillingness or inability to engage with human tragedy. This isn't about making MCU glum and dreary like the Batman movies, but rather - one of the reasons why Pixar had such wide appeal is because at the heart of every Pixar movie, there is a human tragedy. It might be as small as gaining sentience and a sense of loneliness after being left on a planet for centuries as in Wall-E, or it could be as devastating as losing your lifelong beloved in Up. The rest of the movie is about moving forward and living with that tragedy until happiness comes around again.

Early MCU movies were like that. Each of the MCU heroes are burdened with immense tragedy (yes, even your blarfo), and the tragedy shapes their actions until they can make something heroic and good out of it. New MCU franchises tend to introduce tragedy on the fly, and then make a joke about it to tell you "they've gotten over it".

The problem with that approach is that tragedy is an inseparable part of human experience, and taking that dismissive attitude is how you quickly lose the emotional investment of your audience. Happiness isn't about ignoring the tragedies or the absence of any sadness. It's the idea that we, as humans, have the strength to adapt and carry ourselves through tragedy and find something better on the other side, and that's where the hope and inspiration comes from.

#asks #anti mcu #chris nolan

[sleepymoppet]

An ode to Laurance Zvahl

Notes: I’ve been rewatching some of the Aphmau RP content recently for nostalgia purposes. And currently it’s been the My Inner Demons Series, but I want to start with the first set of pixels I had a crush on.

Please keep in mind that these are all my own headcanons and may not be entirely accurate to the lore due to not watching all of the Aphmau RP series. There is honestly too many for me to catch up on. For example, with the MCD version I am imagining it as the time before he got a lot of trauma story stuff. 

Genre: Fluff and a little bit of angst

𝓛𝓪𝓾𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓩𝓿𝓪𝓱𝓵 𝓜𝓒𝓓

Very self sacrificing. He would die for someone he cares about without a second thought.

Tries to lighten the mood when things get rough or dark. Refers to joking or teasing others in order to get a small chuckle out of them.

A fantastic liar. Generally resorted to flirting as a way to cover up what he is truly feeling. He doesn’t want to let others see what he is feeling so easily in order to not worry them, and not show any weakness.

Laurance is very witty. He comes up with the best comebacks. It becomes difficult for him to lose a light hearted argument. 

Takes promises to his grave. He never forgets a single promise he makes. Which means he rarely makes a promise for he knows the weight it will have upon him.

Has become a very light sleeper due to his training to become a guard. Can be woken up simply by someone turning in their sleep too much.

Loves his family and is all around very big on the whole “blood is thicker than water” saying. Would often request a few days off to go visit his family in Meteli and just enjoy their company. 

Due to this he will consider those close to him like siblings.

Spoiled Ungrth, his Wyvern, a number of times with many treats. Such as spending hours taking care of his scales and wings after Ungrth had his armor on. 

When Laurance needs a breather, he’s frequently found sitting on a hill overlooking the ocean of Phoenix Drop. He doesn’t even know why but the sound of the waves lapping against the shore just soothes him. With the smell of the salt in the sea wisping past him aiding with his lull into relaxation.

Compares himself to others and often feels he is lesser due to this. In response he becomes much harder on himself when it comes to training or doing his duties in order to improve upon himself.

His old green scarf has grown worn and is a little torn, but he continues to keep it in his bedroom. He just doesn’t have the heart to ever get rid of it since Cadenza was the one who made it for him.

Writes a lot of letters. Some filled with love, others poetry, and even some full of what simply happened that day. It is similar to a journal for him in a way, but he often addresses them to someone he trusts deeply. Even if he never sends most of them. Some are addressed to his deceased adoptive father and he keeps them sealed in a box in a dresser drawer. 

𝓛𝓪𝓾𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓩𝓿𝓪𝓱𝓵 𝓜𝔂𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓮𝓮𝓽

Laurance is one of the best cooks out of everyone. He enjoys watching cooking shows and attempts to make some of the dishes himself. He is often referred to as a master chef in his house.

He has a bit of a short temper. He often has to remind himself to step away from a situation that is angering him. He takes his time to calm himself down before addressing the issue once again with a clearer mind.

Has most certainly cried over multiple Disney movies. His favorite, and the ones he’s cried the most frequently to, being the Fox and the Hound and  Up.

While he might have the looks, he doesn’t have the greatest sense of style. He prefers simple patterns, such as stripes, solid colors, or plaids paired with a nice pair of jeans. Cadenza, on numerous occasions, has chosen or made Laurance some clothes that would give his style a little bit more flare.

To accommodate Laurance’s attraction towards darker colors, Cadenza often gives him pieces that suit the Dark Academia aesthetic. Plenty of browns, blacks, grays, whites, dark greens, and dark blues. 

Is a sucker for a good novel. He has his own large book shelf in his room and must constantly be dragged away from book stores before he drops a large amount of money on new novels.

A very big John Green fan, one of his favorites is Looking for Alaska

He hid his love for literature and anime in high school. He wanted to keep up his appearance for the sake of his ego.

Currently he openly shares his interest of literature and anime to close friends, but doesn’t make it his whole personality.

Enjoys watching soccer as it reminds him of the time he used to play it during high school.

#Laurance Zvahl #Aphmau #MCD #Mystreet #Minecraft Diaries #Why am I posting this in 2022 #IDK #nostalgia #Aphmau Laurance #Headcanons

[philhoffman]

This week’s Monday Philm (delayed to Tuesday) is God’s Pocket (2014), dir. John Slattery. Watching a movie with a main character named Mickey that takes place partly in Florida the day I get back from a trip to Disney in Orlando... fate.

It’s been a while since I’ve revisited God’s Pocket but I decided to watch with John Slattery’s commentary tonight. It wasn’t that enlightening, mostly just technical talk about locations and casting smaller parts and deciding which takes to use, but I get that recording it was probably kind of awkward and sad in the aftermath’s of PSH’s death. Still, he spoke very highly of working with Phil as an actor and a fellow producer:

Another of Phil’s gifts was [working] technically. He could do everything he could do emotionally while knowing exactly where the camera was all the time. And then after the fact, he would know which take was the most effective take... He remembered every single take, which is surprising given how deeply into it he was while shooting it. He remembered everything.

Slattery also mentioned that God’s Pocket, which premiered at Sundance on January 17, 2014, was one of the first of Phil’s films that he’d watched with an audience in almost a decade—which Phil talked about at the festival as well.

I like this movie but I understand why some people don’t but I also think many of the critics are a bit too harsh. Slattery’s adapted screenplay is rough and feels all over the place at times, even after hearing him explain his writing and directing decisions. But for a quiet little independent film, I think it delivers. One of the best parts of rewatching PSH’s filmography is the opportunity to see who else stands out on repeat viewings—I was pretty laser-focused on Phil the first time (and sometimes a few times after that), but now I can appreciate a lot of the other performances in his films. John Turturro and Christina Hendricks are both so good here—especially what she communicates with so few lines.

You can feel the weight and worry in Phil’s performance as Mickey Scarpato. He’s never felt at home in this community and Leon’s death forces him to look around and confront it, how little control or happiness he has in his life, and decide whether or not to walk away. As a dark comedy, it almost reminds me of The Savages in that the humor is more based on the funny, strange things people really say and do rather than contrived laugh-out-loud jokes (aside from dragging a body around in a meat truck, I guess). Mickey does what must be done, but at times he can’t hide his exasperation—he just cannot believe this is his life. 

There’s one scene toward the end of the film, a simple shot of Phil’s face, that made me smile so much just because of how familiar it was—the cut of his brow, that sharp look in his eye, how his lip curled around his toothbrush. I love that face and the mind behind it and how comfortingly familiar he is to me now. Next week’s movie, A Most Wanted Man, will complete my second watch of Phil’s entire filmography, this time in chronological order. Not sure what I’ll do next but I am just. so glad and grateful to have Phil in my life in all the ways I do—as an artistic inspiration and mentor and comforting presence and more. And he is so so so cute <3

#also slattery said they had to use a double for the truck bc Phil didn't know how to drive stick shift... relatable king #monday philm #god's pocket #philip seymour hoffman #psh #* #they shot for about a month and it was 100 degrees for most of those days. you can tell. #mickey sleeping and waking up dazed and sweaty in a white tank top u r everything 2 me...

[shellxrls]

what started ur obsession with spiderman? Mine was the og movies tbh and then TASM like 😍

i love anything spiderman related omg yay.

so i’ve always been into marvel/superhero movies, i watched the toby maguire movies when i was rlly young (which i have very vague memories around) bc my parents loved them and then i watched the TASM movies when when they first came out (i remember convincing my parents to get the DVD’s and rewatching the first one so many times, it’ll always be my favourite). but at that point i wouldn’t say i was ‘obsessed’ yet, i just rlly enjoyed the movies as someone would normally appreciate media they liked.

but then a couple years ago (3-4) i rewatched the TASM movies and something just clicked inside me (idk if this makes sense??). following that rewatch i was rlly into spiderman. i consumed as much spiderman content as i cld, i got posters, i started buying merch and i read a lot of fanfic too 😭. so it rlly started with andrew garfield’s spidey and the TASM movies.

then when nwh was coming out, my hyperfixation peaked. i was obsessed (even that is an understatement, its more like my being was literally wholly consumed) with spiderman - to a level that it was a defining trait of mine, every single person in my life knew (family, friends, even teachers 😭) - and i wld always get spiderman related gifts and etc. that was the strongest my obsession has ever been and i think after that point was when i truly got involved in the fandoms too - i wasn’t just being interested in spiderman as a ‘hobby’, i guess.

i’ve always resonated with peter parker though, even though we’re very different irl (obviously) i feel like i truly understand him and the nuances of his character a lot. alongside that peter parker is just my exact type of men (im not joking. at all. i could not even tell you how many guys i dated/crushed on who were basically peter parker if he didn’t have powers).

regardless of peter though, i also rlly love most of the character in the mcu spiderman franchise. namely mj watson, i can definitely relate to her character and seeing her being adored and praised across the entire fandom even though she’s a very standoffish character at times rlly makes me happy - bc a lot of her less likeable traits i see in myself. AND last not definitely not least, spideychelle is my favourite ship in any media in all contexts. i love them together so much and i’ve read so many earth-shattering (im not even joking they changed my perception of love) spideychelle fics that it would be stupid not to include them in this.

#nonnie tysm for asking about this it’s my favourite thing in the whole world to talk ab!! #i hope i explained well though my brain sometimes shorts circuits bc it gets too excited over anything spiderman related 💀 #omg i’m just not releasing how long this is sorry 💀 #asks.ᐟ ⋆｡˚𖦹 #;anon #;misc #spiderman #peter parker