#ABOSLUTELY LOVED THIS SEASON

[rayllumoon]

I finally finished watching S6 oH MY GOSH.

That was SO GOOD. Definitely best season of the second arc! The Rayllum moments were to die for. 🥹💖 The pacing was really good. The story arcs were so good. Everything was SO GOOD. I am worried about the future of so many characters tho. So many potential death flags 😬 That extra quasar diamond is definitely going to be used.

[aaaaaaaaraaaaaraaa]

*writes 50 words of my essay*

*crawls on the ground as the lowest of God's vermin in incommunicable agony clawing at the flesh of my viscera for mercy upon this godforsaken predicament*

*writes another 50 words*

[jennagrinsoverml]

Any good fics featuring Marinette or Adrien akumatized?

There sure are! (And wow did I ever get a lot of asks for this!) Now, to be clear, I won't be reccing any Chat Blanc fics, since that's a category in and of itself (and as a result this list favours akumanette). But let's have some akumanette and akumadrien!

Confessions by @spuk-goodness

S04 Alternative beginning where Marinette shares her biggest secret with her partner and where 'We are a team' means 'I love you'.

Or the one where Hawk Moth notices that Marinette is a bit overwhelmed and decides to take advantage. A new akuma appears in Paris the very next day and Chat Noir has to fight by himself. Where could his Lady possibly be?

One-shot. Akumanette. This is a different take on akumanette than we usually see, which I loved. I absolutely think it makes sense for an akuma to target Marinette with how overwhelmed she is, especially in early season 4, and I love the way that it was handled here.

when you weren’t mine to lose by @bugsandchatons

Change is a scary thing, especially when it feels like nothing has stayed the same.

It’s been a year since Marinette became the Guardian of the Miracle Box - a year of struggling beneath a burden she never asked for, a weight that has her leaning on her partner more and more as the hours fly by, of letting him come to her, too, when he needs a soft place to land. A year of falling for the boy who takes on the world by her side with a smile made of sunlight, and fighting the growing urge to tell him what he means to her.

After all, they’ll have time enough for that when Paris is safe.

But when the unthinkable happens, Marinette learns the tragedy of loving someone quietly, and the lines she’ll cross to save him.

Multi-chapter. Akumanette (Akuma!Ladybug, really). This is what happens when Ladybug loses Chat Noir. It hurts in all the best ways and the writing is absolutely gorgeous and somehow we still get a happy ending!

Lovelace by @p-artsypants

Convinced that he's unlovable, Adrien is quickly thrown for a loop when Marinette confesses her love for him out of the blue. An akumatization and reveal later, he changes his mind about being unlovable.

One-shot. Akumadrien. I love when Gabriel is a horrible bastard and that results in Adrien being akumatized, and this fic is aboslutely perfect for that! It's also an original take on akumadrien, which I love.

Echoes of You by @kittinoir

In the day time, she’s Marinette - a normal girl, with a normal life. A normal girl, with a normal life. A normal girl, with…

Multi-chapter. Akumanette. Marinette gives up the miracle box and her memories, and Chat is frantic trying to figure out what happened to his Lady. (And the love square content, including a lot of Marichat, is fantastic!) Meanwhile, Chloe is trying to do better following the events of Miracle Queen.

A Different Approach by ShawnaCanon

Adrien finds out Ladybug's true identity. Since Cat Noir has been thoroughly friend-zoned, he figures maybe he can woo her as Adrien. But that means doing it without his mask. And that's scarier than any supervillain Hawk Moth could throw at him.

Multi-chapter. Akumadrien. It takes a while to get to the akumadrien, but I really enjoyed the journey. This poor boy is so romantically inept, but ultimately that's not what leads to his akumatization. This is a different take than we usually see and it's very much Adrien that is akumatized, rather than Chat (or any kind of Chat Blanc variation).

A Sound of Thunder by Tempomental

“Bye-bye, little… actually, that’s your line, isn’t it? Sorry.”

Ladybug stared at the man in front of her. Tall. Shaggy, but not unkempt blond hair. Oh yeah, and he was wearing a Ladybug costume.

“Who - who are you?”

“Oh, right, sorry.” He drew himself up to his full height and proudly announced, “My name is Adrien Agreste, and I’ve come from the future to rescue you!”

Multi-chapter. Akumadrien. In our time, Adrien and Marinette use their traditional miraculous. However, Adrien also comes back from the future to help out with the ladybug miraculous. It’s extremely intense and well written and every time I thought I had spotted a problem in the writing, it turned out to be a plot element but holy shit I thought I was going to die with how intense this is. If you like plot, you will absolutely LOVE this fic.

some truths are as loyal (as the shadows we lead) by @carpisuns

When Marinette wins a design contest hosted by Gabriel Agreste, it seems like a dream come true. Until everything goes wrong. (A Marichat akumanette fic)

Multi-chapter. Akumanette. This was actually the first akumanette fic I ever read and it gave me a bit of a taste for it! @carpisuns is an amazing writer, and I always enjoy everything she gifts us. This is no exception! My favourite part of this was seeing just how much it took to break Marinette, as well as Gabriel being The Worst.

too little, too late. by @madibug

“Ladybug.” Chat’s voice cuts in like molten steel. It’s a tone that Ladybug hasn’t heard him use with her before and so it surprises her into turning to him and - It feels like smacking into a wall. Chat is no more than a foot away from her but when their eyes meet, it hits her just how much distance has grown between them. Her heart hiccups out of rhythm, as hearts often do when something feels… wrong.

Multi-chapter. Akumanette. I really enjoyed this one, especially all of the different plans and how the crew adapted. This is @madibug's answer to the Ladybug version of Chat Blanc, and it's really creepy and interesting!

fleeting. by @agnes-writes

e·phem·er·al (/əˈfem(ə)rəl/), adj. - lasting for a very short time. But no matter how fleeting Ephemeral's powers may make things, the damage has already been done. And Ladybug pays the price. OR: A drabble based on what I want to happen in Episode 100: Ephemeral.

One-shot. Akumadrien. I really enjoyed this alternate imagining of Ephmeral! It was written before the episode aired, so it's not entirely consistent, but it's still really interesting and well done.

And, for a bit of a self-rec, The Closest Thing to Love features akumanette, if you're interested in fake dating and PRPR 😊

[paperbackribs]

Wiggly-Worm Wednesday Tuesday

Tagged by the aboslutely lovely @queenie-ofthe-void

My worms this week are one thing I'm just tossing around and one fic I'm pouring my soul into.

I'm always pouring my soul into Cooper Boy but my Brain Worm is...

The Brain Worm

Steve is an omega hiding as an alpha. His mother and father are alphas and his body initially looked like the study type; but even if it hadn't, which it didn't, his parents helped to put him on blockers and steer him towards the school curriculum that would have him developing an alpha body.

Enter and exit the Upside Down of Season 4 and then we check back in afterwards with not only an alive alpha Eddie but a thriving friendship between Alpha Eddie and (Alpha) Steve.

And the two enjoy each other's company - they fucking love hanging out with each other and are tipping over to more. But Steve won't let his secret be exposed. He allows him and Eddie to fool around. But only with the lights out and only rubbing up against each other... and this brain worm only includes the beginning where Eddie is suspicious and Steve is desperate.

Tagging for funsies and no stress: @tartarusknight @wynnyfryd @hellion-child

[anulithots]

OK OK SO I WAS WATCHING LINK CLICK SEASON ONE AND I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS

THIS SHOW. IS SO GOOD FIRST OF ALL

THE SUSPENSE AND DRAMA

I WAS WATCHING THE SHANSHAN AND DONG YI EPISODE AND MY HEART WAS BEATING LOUDER THAN THE MUSIC AAAAAAAAAA

i have a theory i dont know if its true but i wanna ask if it gets addressed later on in the series

is lu guang human???

most characters have normal eyes, but he has a slit?? i dont know if its with every character but this frame stood out to me the most as compared to this shot of cheng xiaoshi

(you can somehow see normal pupils here)

do they ever address how the two got their abilities (or if lg is not human)??? because this show is devouring my brain

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa i love link click so much <33333 it really makes you think

YOU WERE WATCHING LINK CLICK !!!???!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA *excited stimming*

YES REAL IT'S SO GOOD AND SUSPENSEFUL AND THE CHARACTERS AND THE PACING AND EVERYTHING IS ABOSLUTELY TOP NOTCH

I have seen this theory going around. The slit eyes might be for his 'cat-like design' (there's canonical animal things for the trio), or they could be hints that Lu Guang isn't human. Or somethign else. This is link click.

Honestly questions about Lu Guang get answered in this plot twist at the end of season two (like... the last five minutes) that then leaves you with more questions

Season three is coming out soon at that SHOULD POSSIBLY be the 'Lu Guang answers' season.

It may as well be that Lu Guang isn't human, but after season two I think it's... not likely? I think they are going for something else. But still a plausible theory /pos

They don't address it as of now and season three SHOULD be the one with answers? (at least that's what people are saying.)

(I honestly didn't pay that 'plot hole' any attention becuase I thought they were using soft worldbuilding for the magic here. That being said any plot hole in link click means something else and they do everything really well. It's link click and it's wonderous and aklfjsakdl I"M SO EXCTIED)

DLKJFDSLKFDS YES YES *stares at my essays* much thinking! /pos I do like link click as a hyperfixation a lot because it didn't overpower everything in my head like JJK did. It's so nice yet actually fun to think about it and rewatch it and make dolls for it... so like yes this is for me very much a hyperfixation but at the same time it isn't to the painful degree that JJK was.

Like I rate it in my brain with the little prince and the girl from the other side even though the vibes are different there.

err. rant sorry.

THANK YOU FOR THE ASK! also here if you ever want to ramble about link click!

[clemswinecorner-socials]

Proud [1: y/n’s posts]

The faceclaim and y/n inspo is Renee Rapp- and let's pretend France is still on the calendar in 2023 :)

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New York City

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yourusername nyc night 3! i cant believe i get to do this a couple more nights next week 🫶🏼🫶🏼

posted august 17th, 2022

randomfan omg i cant believe i saw you live oliviarodrigo you were incredible!!

yourusername bye i could never be you

musicfan uh the guy ? 🤨🤨🤨 actingfan seeing you sing world burn makes me wish i could see you as regina again lizziemckintosh what a performance

yourusername purple just for you x

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yourusername abu dhabi afters (thanks for having me on the pod folks) tagged marcusarmstrong, clementnovalak, screamingmeals

posted november 26th, 2022

marcusarmstrong thanks for lending us your studio jamesharveyblair im surprised we kept the beeps to the minimum

yourusername same

screamingmealsfan omg what. a crossover i never expected yet absolutely need. yourfan the chemistry between all of them!! this friendship is so unexpected but so good omg clementnovalak 't was good fun having you on👌🏼

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London

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yourusername back to my roots (profesionally at least), regina on west end baby!!

posted march 13th, 2023

actingfan omgomgomgomgomgomg marcusarmstrong happy for you mate! enjoy your time there

yourusername thank you marcus <3

yourbestie so deserved💓💓💓 clementnovalak are you going to talk with an accent all the time now?

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yourusername full album friday the 22nd <3 ft. the pic that almost made it (swipe for the inspo for half the album)

posted april 10, 2023

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France

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yourusername what a weekend, so proud of you. you got him the most special win <3

posted august 7th, 2023

clementnovalak thank you for the support. thank you for being there. throughout the entire season. i love you most

yourusername i love you, so proud of you

callum_ilott 💙🤍❤️ felipedrugovich what a drive, aboslutely deserved this win

yourusername that he did

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[popculturebuffet]

Sam and Max Beyond Time and Space Retrospective: Night of the Raving Dead

Happy halloween all you happy freelance police. I"m jake and my Sam and Max Beyond Time and Space retrospective continues as Sam and Max fight a guy who sucks just in time for spooky season.

Chapter 3 gives us a fun spooky good time as we have zombies, frankenstines and vampires as our dynamic duo have to beat a club hopping german vampire before his army of the undead conquer the world. So a normal tuesday really. Can our heroes save the world.. again? Will we have to see a lot of pierced vampire nipples? Is Lincoln still the worst Short answer, of course, just look at the article image, and i'm still in cringing agony so.. can confirm. Long answer is under the cut!

Night of the Raving Dead begins In Media Res and milks it for all it's worth: Sam and Max are in a soul sucking machine, at the mercy of Jurgen, a european vampire who never wears a shirt but does gladly show off his pierced nipples. Still better than bebops. Firm 6/10.

At any rate pierced nips aren't the issue as the threat here is your old fashioned spike wall style trap I know just the man for the job but sadly he's was a bit busy with his own spiked wall issues

So instead we flash back to the start of this tale.

And to my delight our heroes continue to pile up junk in their office. Sam has now added a holy urn and is still high priest seperation of chruch and state kneels before god emperor priest president Max!

Our heroes have a bit of infestation though in their office there's something all too familiar

These are not greasy teen zombies or greasy gnomes or even the dreaded Crombie, but European Zombies! So it's up to us to talk to everyone and find out why. In an intresting reversal this time it's Bosco whose closed, while Sybil's reopened her place, because we psychologically tortured him into disappearing.

Sybil meanwhile is looking for love in all the wrong places as after her relationship with Abe Ended she's restarted her dating service.. but just for her. After the obvious sex work joke because this is the 2000's, Sybil is basically screening dates... and is currnetly screening a moleman.

But after he failed we're left with Harry Moleman. Whose back for some reason. Gotta reuse those models I guess. He has aboslutely no shot and Sybil is being just polite. He also has a choclate heart we'll need later and a fear of zombie's we'll exploit later

Moving over to Stinky's her latest special is a gooey cake/chekov's gun, while her latest item we can grab is a sunlamp bulb since even she has no idea why it's there, but the plot does. The plot sees all.

Anyway abe's also there.. .and still the worst as he blames Sybil for the breakup, is stalking her and won't shut up

Yeah I liked Abe at first.. but in a record TWO episodes he's gone from endearing into the hall

It's a shame too as I really DID like abe in season one and the first episode of this but this gag, ESPECIALLY wiith how the sybil plot concludes, really dosen't work.

Thankfully we move on to our boys the C.O.P.S. who have decided to captalize on this to sell internet to zombies, via online trial discs. For those too young to know what those are

For now though we can't get any of those future coasters, but we do found out poor bluster has some brain damage which was also funnier at the time. We do find out the source of the ZOmbies: the zombie factory in Stuttgard, Germany. And to my shock Stuttgart is a real place. I would've asked my german friend , but she needs sleep and isn't awake till midnight like moi.... am I a vampire? ... no. No I love garlic bread too much to make that sacrifice. Then again It'd also make it easier to meet Matt Berry.. dammit this is a dillema.

While I mull this over we move on to Stuttgard. I didn't ask said friend, @galaxysupernaturalstuff because again, asleep.. and because I forgot earlier. Though I probably DON'T need an actual german to tell me "yeah Stuttgart isn't a small villiage with a giant castle in the middle of it. "They thankfully don't do too many german stereotypes about the country as a whole, the only gags they do being the fairly innocent beerstein and the fact Midtown Cowboys is big there. It's done more in a tounge in cheek way than anything genuinely offensive.

Turns out the Zombie Factory is both your standard spooky hammer horror style monster castle.. and a club, and to get in we need to get past the bouncer, good old superball.

Yeah like the Bosco scremaing thing this is a runner nad a truly great one. Also unlike that one it's both nonseical and you can't get punched for it. He's working for Jurgen, our big bad, because his doors are rich fine mahogany.. and he needs SOMETHING to do after the divorce. He was married. I'd.. genuinely forgot that.

To get past him we once again have to do something that's likely to get me sent to hell for playing this game: take a brain from a fresh corpse

Then we throw it to a gargoyle which suprisingly ISN'T alive, nor voiced by keith david despite it being night, allowing us to cut the line.

It's inside we get a ZOMBIE DISCO BITCHES. We meet our arc villian and the mastermind behind this half baked scheme, Jurgen. Jurgern.. is a deliglight: he's basically every 20 something trying to seem cool by clubing distilled into a vampire and given a german accent and nipple rings. And he is glorious. The fact his plan is just "Conquer teh world with zombies" jah helps. our heroes just try to go for the head.. but Jurgen can teleport so we need to take the source of his powers: his...

And it's fun too as each one is simply hitting him with his vampire weakensses.. and the how, as usual is fun and redicuous. That being said actually solving these puzzles.. is a lot. I ended up hitting a dead end: I figured given the tropes at play that the key was to trigger some type of hidden entrance to get up to the balcony to replace the bulbs in the spotlight with the sunlamp. And it is.. btu the how is INCREDIBLY overcomplicated. While the writing couldn't be stronger this chapter and where your supposed to go MOSTLY straight foward, the actual puzzles are often overcomplicated. The ones in the Zombie Factory itself rely HEAVILY on a dj soundboard , which you have to put the right words from one of jurgen's poems into, without it being clear which words in the poem are a clue. Also solving the spotlight DOSEN'T fix the problem and you still have two other things to do to him, only one of which is pretty easy to figure out since after Jurgen mentions he's a huge midtown cowboys fangboy, a new area unlocked announcment shows up. As it did with the COPS when this castle unlocked. Both a great gag and a nice bit of gameplay magic to make this easier.

So yeah.. I used a guide for most of this. This is one of the trickier ones gameplay wise and if you don't adventure game often or have a lot of patience

It can be maddening. There's also another "pick a random dialouge option fo ra song" puzzle like last season, which just.. isn't fun. Picking various options is only funny if there's multiple jokes, like the cooking without looking segment from last game. Basically asking "PICK RANDOM DIALOUGE FOR US FEASANT" isn't fun it's just keeping me from having fun with the part of the game I actually like.

So with that we an shine a little sunlight on Jurgen's life, causing him to freak out and loose a little respect of his fanbase. Like any influencer in embyro, just one stab to his rep isn't going to do it but it's a start. Next it's time to return to Midtown Cowboys! Their probably hiding a cow. Midtown Cowboys have been saved from cancelation baby! See back then Networks actually.. payed attention to things like audience numbers or dvd and digital sales instead of guarding the numbers like a cave troll so they can cancel whatever they want whenever they want. Gee I wonder why the actor's strike has taken 105 days with that kind of job security.

As it turns out Midtown Cowboys is HUGE in germany, with WARP having converted to just shooting Midtown Cowboys and spinoffs. Hey at least they beat Disney+ to the punch with that model. Turns out the statoin lady's been TRYING to get our heroes back in they've just been busy and such.. and max also deleted her messages because he be like that.

We also reunite with my boy Mr. Featherly, who legally changed his name from Philo Pennyworth. While he DID go back to theater even he can't resist the siren call of "buy your own private island fortress" money. Max naturally signed away those rights without thinking. They lost 4 executives that day..so you know it's not all bad.

We can still use the broadcast to our advntage though, stashing some garlic cigarettes from outside the castle in Featherly's bag as a prop. What follows.. is comedy gold. While we sadly don't get a cookin without lookin sequel, I wanted to use baboon hearts, what we do get is just as funny as we get a very special episode, the kind sitcoms used to do to tackle the heavy issues instead of just weaving them in if it fits the tone.

The cowboys hold an interviention for mr. featherly, who finds out they were indeed hiding a cow but he has his own cow.. a smoking addiction. Even Bessie is disapointed. It then quickly turns into an add for smoking and why it's totally rad and you should all do it as their sponsor.. is garlic clove cigarettes. It's so fucked and I love it. IT's a simple idea i'm genuinely suprised I haven't seen elsewhere and genius.

So with that we just have one last thing to destroy this man's career: we need a man of the faith to bless some water bottles we got at the club. But since Shelby isn't around, we'll have to make do with max, dunking the water bottles in his sacred urn while he gives us the sacred rites

The problem is as seen with the cigs, while Jurgen is many things, a hipster, a scene kid, a goth, a tool, a vampire, a mild german sterotype, a dracula, an emo, a direct to video sequel to Dracula 2000, a nipple piercing sorta guy, european, german, big dicked, bad at poetry, a plagarist, a mad scientest, an outer god... he is not dumb enough to let people carry in his weaknesses. Dumb enough to keep some of them in his private lab as we'll see, but still not dumb enough to let vampire hunters right in.

So to get it past we have to have max drink the holy water. You'd think this would mean max would get set on fire, another vampire weakness but it just give shim a halo. I guess his own religion can't cast him into the firey depths.

It's a once again limited time thing.. though I don't get WHY in this case. I get having it wear off to show it has to be used IN the castle.. but why does it wear off on the dance floor.

Anyways to beat jurgen we have to out out emo him with lyrics about darkness, no parents, continued darkness, and of course

We DO basically win, but normally jurgen would copy us. I know because I did this puzzle before knowing the solution. He drinks max. Thankfully his drinking Holy Water makes him need to go potty. You know if I had a nickle for every time we had to defeat one of our foes by making him need to go to the bathroom i'd have three nickels.. which isn't a lot but it's weird it happened thrice.

So we follow Jurgen to his lair but given we've only done three puzzle's we're not done yet, two act structure and all as SAM AND MAX ENGAGE IN THE MOST THRILLING BATTLE OF THEIR CAREERS... bringing them to the trap.. which thanks to Sam being busy recapping, works and swallows our heroes souls. Jurgen goes.. somewhere, leaving us in his study. We find some useful junk, including a stake, and a monster.

This is Jurgen's Monster, who like his master I dearly love, a poetic beast whose mad you brought him to life as he's so lonely. Can relate dude, can, relate.

Helping him win a date with Sybil is our main quest from her eon out as she has a soul mater, a weird horrifying eldrich device she dosen't know how to use, so her finding her soul mate means we can have it. Which is good because Sam and Max's souls don't want to go back after how their bodies have misused them, waiting to go to the next life. To put a stop to our souls going to hell a few chapters early we need that soul mater.

What follows is a LOT of stuff since we don't have just 7 days to make jurgen a mannnnnnnnnnnn. We can't get him pink and quite clean but we CAN get him a brain via our old friend Flint Paper and the Zombie of Abe LIncon. Yeah turns out Abe was buried in Stuttgart and thus we meet the real abe whose loyal to his dead wife and actually likeable. Sadly he's brutalyl murdered because Flint Paper is on the warpath. He wants to kill us because "THey'd rather be dead than undead!" Sam and Max don't remember making him promise that and thus use another hidden passage to knock him out and get the brain.

Next we need a proper hand. Thankfully the zombie from the intro stole jessie james hand, which is now alive and holding up girl stinky. To get it we need to trick it and this puzzle is clever: the hand hops every time it shoots. So we simply have to make it get all the way to girl stinky, then put his attention her so it goes the other way.. straight into the goey cake. We got our HANNNDDD BACCCKKKK.

We now need to give him some heart. This one's a tad overcomplicated, even by this chapter's standards: first we need to play the cops game for this chapter, distrubing internet demo disks paperboy style. This game is tricky, but unlike the difficulty in this chapter, it's a fair kind once you figure it out. You have to move your car to be in the right position to hit the zombies with a disk. It's still hard, but it's the fun kind of hard

With that we have a big anetna we can bolt cutter off the car and use to power up Jurgen's alchemy machine.

To get our final body part though we need to play the dating game against featherly and harry moleman

Harry is just hopeless and Featherly is pretentious: LIncoln's brain is the only thing Sybil liked about him, and the hand has jurgen spell out I love sybil. Awwwwww. We just need a heart of gold as the ones we have are a clock and plants that make us into mr. van dresen. I mean .. you'd think playing a good rendention of lesbian segull would woo her but I guess it's not her thing.

No we need a heart. Luckily Harry takes his time answering a question and has a choclate heart, and even more luckily this time ruining his life dosen't feel bad as he's tried to murder us, sybil and really had ZERO chance before shouting at us.

With that we can be in it to win it, using the science and the alchemy to give us a gold heart and winning Sybils. Unfourtnatley the game then makes a pretty bleh error in judgment, as Sybil realizes she still wants abe and.. runs off to apologize to the bastard

Yeah this joke is all kinds of messed up. I get her going back IS the joke, that he's bad for her.. but it just comes off stupid, and mildly sexist as it feeds into the old "oh women like jerks" sterotypes instead of "abusive relationships happen". I mean it's a lot to ask sam and max to be realistic, so i'm fine with that but it's not a lot to ask them to actually be funny if their going to do something this annoying.

So on that sour note the climax. We get our souls back and fight jurgen, who has a plan.. of.. some sort. Anyways we can't stake him because we're too slow, so we toss the soul mater to jurgen's monster pull the lever kronk and swap bodies, using his to finally put this chapter to it's eternal rest... but not before flint comes in and tragically jurgen's monster dies.

I'm.. still not over it but i've been asured he returns somehow. And there's no time to punch flint for this as it turns out the reason he dived in guns a blazing to see us earlier is that he needs our help: bosco isn't just missing... he's NOWHERE ON EARTH

Night of the Raving dead is one of my faviorite chapters writing wise, with lots of clever jokes, an all timer villian and tons of my faviorite characters.. and abe. The abe stuff drags it down slightly, but everything else is so good this is easily my second faviorite chapter of the games thus far behind Save the World's The Mafia, the Mole and the Meatball.

It still suffers from some of this games overarching issues: the puzzles are more obtuse, the writing can be a bit mean spirited, and I don't have a third thing. Beyond Time and Space thus far isn't BAD, and has legs up on it's predecessor with gorgeous environments, but it still feels a bit of a step back from the previous one. It's got a bigger budget.. but it's just not as fun as the later chapters of save the world. It's not a bad game, the writing is as sharp as ever and most of your terrible actions are too over the top to not be funny, but it dosen't have quite the charm the first one did.

Next Time: I .. genuinely dont' know. The descrption for this one is more vauge. the only thing I know for sure is we'll finally meet THEM

Thanks for reading

[fbfh]

I just stumbled across your Ricky Bowen fic and I love it!! Any chance you’ll ever continue it or write more for him?

YES. yes I most certainly will. I make absolutely no promises in terms of time but you can sign up for my tag list for ricky bowen and rocks at your window so when I do write something you'll be notified!!

Until then let me tide you over for some Ricky content. Dating Ricky is a flex in and of itself, but the biggest flex is how down bad he is for you. this little golden retriever rescue dog boy loves you so goddamn much. to quote the evil Lorelai from welcome to pollyworld 1:02:15, you have Ricky Bowen wrapped so tightly around your little finger he'd believe the world is flat if you said so. The thing is he's already going to be an instant theatre heartthrob, you just need to know that going into it. He's not only decent at singing and acting and even dancing, but he's also tall and cute and charismatic and actually really good at singing acting and dancing??????? there is a negative 45 BILLION percent chance that everyone WONT have a crush on him. yk how people in the pjo/hoo fandom are like "yeah everyone either had a crush on percy or jason. literally everyone. it's a rite of passage." Same for Ricky. there's also a 99.9% chance he's totally unaware of it. If people know that you're dating publicly, get ready to have some real haters. about 1/3 of the cast will actually be able to be friends with you, 1/3 will act neutral outwardly and silently pine for him, praying every night that you break up so they can just have one fucking chance with him, and the last 1/3 will actively loathe you. they'll gossip about you and PRAY you get worse roles. you don't because you're amazing, but congradulations, you now have haters lol. Oh my god and if Ricky ever gets wind that people are treating you like that even in secret?????? Messy season 1!Ricky will reenter the chat with no hesitation. He is not afraid to drag ALL the drama off stage if it means defending you. he is a gorgeous talented force to be reconed with. Even if getting revenge just means making out with you in somewhat secluded backstage areas that he knows people will see "by accident", he's more than happy to do it. He will also aboslutely have a kiss for good luck tradition before every show and dress rehearsal with you.

[arcturusmsc]

So i’ve become obsessed with Transformers. so it’s time to info dump (Part 1)

Starting with Prime since it was the first show i’ve watched (and so far have only watched season 1, as Netflix only has the 1st seasons of all the shows i’ve watched i’ll just bullet point these: Bulkhead: Absolutely love him, giant metal himbo with a heart of gold, and Miko makes for a FANTASTIC foil to his personality, i love the chemistry he has with Wheeljack Bumblebee: I love the sort of protective big bro energy he has towards Raf... absolutely love the fact he was ready to go absolutely fucking feral at the send of season 1 Optimus: I mean he’s optimus prime hes kind of exactly what i expected but i also kind of wish they gave him a bit more personality beyond: I am the leader of the autobots and follow my orders... Ratchet: This old bucket of bolts is somehow both the voice of reason, and in one episode, absolutely batshit crazy (when he tests the unstable synthetic energon, i love the duality and it makes me wish i could see what Ratchet was genuinely like in his hayday, no synthen required. Arcee: Honestly.... maybe my favorite aside Bulkhead. she’s got baggage but she doesn’t actually let it impact her actions, she’s impulsive, but her heart is always in the right place and honestly i love that for her... I still think she should have absolutely WRECKED Starscream’s shit though. Now for the human characters Miko: Aboslute icon, we have a winner, metal enthusiast, spunky, super aggressive. she makes for a great troublemaker but she shows so much compassion and concern for bulkhead when he almost loses his memory. just... like... honestly iconic Jack: A very solid “protagonist” (im not sure if he’s technically the protagonist in prime? deuteragonist(?) but he pairs really well with Arcee... and honestly... i feel like he should have gotten a bit more screentime in season 1 talking with the other bots. i know they’re all paired for a reason. but Jack seems to just blend in well with all of them Raf: Brains of the human team and we love him for it... i just wish he got more time to shine

[sa7abnews]

Lights, camera, action! Cannes Film Festival 2022

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/06/lights-camera-action-cannes-film-festival-2022/

Lights, camera, action! Cannes Film Festival 2022

It's that time of year again. Cannes is back! What images does Cannes conjure for you? Whether you have images of the red carpet staircase or the film premières, award ceremonies like the Palme d'Or (read a brief history of the award) or a version of the Cannes festival brought to life in the hilarious season two finale of Dix pour cent / Call My Agent! (…Juliette Binoche performs every scene to perfection) this is the festival that brings cinema to the fore. Perhaps instead you can imagine the jury for the prize? This year's jury includes: Vincent Lindon, president of the Feature Films Jury and his jurors, Noomi Rapace, Jeff Nichols, Jasmine Trinca, Joachim Trier, Deepika Padukone, Ladj Ly, Rebecca Hall and Asghar Farhadi.

This year's film festival also awarded an honorary prize of the Palme d'Or to Forest Whittaker. For more on the Special Screenings and other events day-by-day, the festival website has all the details.

The 2022 festival opened with talk of zombies, war and a certain Top Gun film star… as well as whole host of amazing actors celebrating everything cinema.

Outside of the festival perhaps you prefer Cannes the classic resort of the Côte d'Azur? The glamorous hotels, shops and cars certainly give Cannes the glitz that this area is renowned for. For the rest of the year you can explore Cannes and enjoy the relaxing calm of the small islands off the coast. Those moments where the buzz has become too much, escape to the Îles de Lérins for aboslute calm and beauty. Only a short ferry ride away… aaaaannnddd breathe. Now that's a tonic for tinseltown times this month.

But first there's a glimpse of the stars on the red staircase…oh and that new film premiere…and those screenings.. and that beach party… looks like it's time for Cannes! I think it's time for a walk along the Croisette.

Cannes – the French Film Festival and a classic moment on the calendar. If you like film star spotting this is the time! Whether on the beach or the famous red staircase, the world of cinema is here in Cannes.

The Film Festival It's cinema, the movies, film, a festival like no other…but it's always just called Cannes.

For the full programme of events and more about the festival, check out their website with daily updates. For more you can watch in France (or perhaps via VPN) on france.tv

If you can't be there and you'd prefer some glamorous fashion escapism, then check out the red carpet looks in Vogue.

This year's festival celebrates Indian cinema and so there's a whole lot of gorgeousness going on!

Official Selection

You can explore every film selected officially for the festival here.

There is also Web TV with film trailers and much more.

Whatever you love about Cannes, the festival or the town, there's plenty to love and explore. Have you been star-spotting? Have you seen the photocalls for new release films?

If you'd like to join in even more and chat about your favourite places across France, why not sign up to the France Where You Are newsletter which goes out every month to curious, passionate France-lovers just like you, all over the world? Join us to enjoy more about France, direct to your inbox. Sign up here.

You can tell me your favourite France stories and favourite places by emailing hello at francewhereyouare dot com or find me on social media and send me a message. If you love everything French and France then you're in the right place! Don't miss a blog post or the latest podcast news, sign up for the monthly newsletter and enjoy everything you love about France, Where You Are.

Disclosure: Some product links may contain affiliate links, which cost you nothing but help to support the blog and podcast. Thank you for your support and reading today's Postcard.

[bloom-agreste-cheng]

Oh ho ho, G you know I have things I’m gonna wanna say about this ;)

I don’t know if i like the fact that my girls got redesigned again so quickly and so often in the last few years. here are just a few thoughts I have on this. Obviously, I am aware that I am not the target audience but as a nostalgic fan, this hurts me just a little bit. But of course who knows, I might actually enjoy the reboot and defend it when it comes out. SO remind me to update my thoughts when it does come out. I had thoughts about this when I first saw this picture but I never fully vocalized them until right now.

I was never a fan of Winx going 3D. It might have just been because the writing got so terrible with season 5 and 6, and that’s what comes up when i put Winx and 3D together. But I will give this reboot the benefit of the doubt and just wait until the show comes out. I just really hope they have an overarching story and a pan to develop the girls and improve on what lacked in the 2005 version.

Tecna ABOSLUTELY SLAYS. I have to say I love her design. She just looks flawless. but I think this is partly because even in 2005, she’d wear this look. Her hair looks so cute, it still works on her. And the prosthetic arm? I don’t know if I’m seeing that right but I agree with OP.

Stella giving Sharpay Evans vibes? Possible. I can see it. I can definitely see how these girls would appeal and relate to a more modern and younger audience who grew up with constant internet, TikTok, YouTube beauty gurus and all of that online world. I am hoping for a deep character for miss Stells because she deserves it. We saw her grow in the first incarnation, I wanna see some depth here too and not hate her just for her looks. I’d like to like her is what I’m saying because I do not like what I am seeing here. Also, why is she in pink? Where is the green, the orange, the yellow?

besides her pigtails being lower, I think I love her. seriously, her fashion sense was my favourite amongst the girls. Musa is the GOAt and I really can’t wait to see her sing and rock out. Also… I never thought to think about her new Magic Winx until right now. Also does it feel like we got new actors for this cast? Like if we did an Actor AU, this would be a new cast.

Flora is so cute too. I’m getting repetitive but the more I look at them, the more I like them. I love the green and the pink in her look. Her dress has these soft yellow and purple spots of colour that I think is so cute. it’s giving a bohemian look to her and I think i love it. She might be my new favourite Winx in this reboot. Also, glad her hair has not changed. I love that Flora’s hair is the one constant in all of her incarnations and transformations; those beautiful iconic bangs have never left… besides that one time for Bloomix.

Ughhhh… WHere is the blue and the yellow? Why is she once again predominantly pink? I know girls like pink, hell I love pink, but can they not shove that color down our throats with all 6 Winx? I’m getting tired of the pink washing. I love her skirt though. She feels like a different Bloom than the one I grew up with. Sure that’s normal during a redesign but, she feels like she wouldn’t be the same and that make me slightly sad. Of course Bloom has not quite been herself for a while now so I guess my Bloom left before Nick… RIP. Once again, I acknowledge I am a twenty something young adult who isn’t the target demographic.

Aisha slays. I hope they treat her well in this reboot and not constantly give her heartbreak like Rainbow has since season 2. I can’t wait to see what her new fairy form. I miss her old hairstyle. I thought it was unique.

Why is Bloom fighting Ogron? Isn’t he a season 4 fairy hunter? These girls are getting their asses whooped if they fight the hunters as they currently are. Unless we give them a big magical downgrade. Also this is just the scene between Mega Icy and Believix Bloom in Magical adventure when they fought in Havram with their magical dragons.

I really hope we get some explanations and a trailer soon. Am I the only one who wants the trix to appear? I just can’t wait to see what comes of it and I hope it does well. It has a lot to measure up as a big brand. Oh well…. We shall see. Anything to add, @cyithrel

Final opinion on the latest winx s9 redesign

Aisha: she looks so beautiful! Love the hair and the facts that she looks a bit more mascular than the rest of the girls as that’s how i’ve always pictured her, not a fan of the multiple colors in the outfit

Bloom: she’s the same bloom as always but i despise the outfit sm, I’d preferred if they gave her jeans and a cropped top as a reference to her s1 outfit, i’ve always thought that one matched her personality better

Flora: i like the reference to her og civilian outfit but not a particular fan of it

Musa: she is sooo cute, they still need to work a lot on body diversity but this is a start, she gives me huge short girl energy, love the hairstyle, the outfit… could be better

Stella: she is the one that gives me the most mixed feelings, she looks cute, love the pigtails, the outfit is nice but there’s something about her overall vibe that just feels too generic for some reason, if you wouldnt have think she was the al cartoon version of sharpay evans

Tecna: 10/10, my favorite redesign so far, love the hairstyle, love the outfit, i’m not sure whether she’s actually wearing prosthesis or if that’s just a detail of the outfit but i would love it, i think it’s important to give representation to disabilities and there are many children with prosthesis who could finally feel seen and represented❤️

Now, why the frick are we getting to see Anagan this early?? If they make the wizards the main villain of season 1 i will be so upset because they’re literally the least interesting villains ever (season 7 doesn’t exist)… why rainbow why

[scouter-18]

Maul's history of losing to Padawan's with sassy attitudes would almost be sad if not for the Fact that Ahsoka and Obi Wan are AWSOME.

[golden-flute]

Dragon Prince continues to amaze me

Why hello there! I’ve been AWOL on Tumblr for a hot minute, but I finished season 4 of Dragon Prince at like 4:30 a.m. and now have to break down my thoughts or I’ll explode. Sorry if it ends up kind of long and disjointed. Buckle up, buttercup! Spoilers, obvs.

First, Soren and Claudia’s Confrontation Deep Dive

So this is what has taken up most of my brain’s bandwidth since I watched episode 7. Soren is one of my top favorite characters (others include Amaya, Gren, Runaan, and Bait), so I’m totally invested in his growth. Claudia is also very high up on my favorites list and her negative character arc is so amazing to watch. I’m a sucker for complex character stories where not everything ends up tied into a perfect package. This sounds a little sadistic, but I love watching characters struggle and fight for every morsel of happiness they can get their hands on, especially when their desires conflict with each other’s. Just like Soren and Claudia!

I suspect that this is not going to be the only confrontation these two have with each other throughout the remaining seasons. By the end of their conversation in episode 7 of season 4, nothing had really changed, and I think a part of that is due to how Soren approached Claudia. He painted everything in broad strokes, saying that understood how she felt because he had been on “the wrong side,” implying that Claudia was still on the wrong side and, by proxy, a bad person. But he also wanted to make it clear that change was possible. She could still be saved, in a way.

Soren was being aboslutely genuine and heartfelt. He clearly loves Claudia or he wouldn’t have tried to talk to her at all. And from our perspective, he’s absolutely right in his convictions! He’s basically telling Claudia what we, the audience, have been saying for the last three years. But, as we know, Soren is not exactly a “words guy,” and his desperate attempts to make her see things the way he does fall short. Claudia isn’t in the headspace yet where she’s ready for the sort of self-reflection that Soren had already undergone.

Claudia is an incredibly complex person with different motives and world views than her brother, even before they grew apart. Soren, I think, is more comfortable with seeing the world in black and white, and that’s how he explained himself and his thoughts to Claudia. But if/when he speaks with her again, he will have to get on her level and take all of her thoughts, feelings, and motivations into account without talking down to her from a pedestal of righteousness (which is how I think how Claudia would have perceived the episode 7 conversation to be). Only then will Claudia be able to listen and not feel as though he’s trying to take advantage of her, or making her choose sides--something she clearly has an aversion to.

Which brings me to my other thought: I think Soren is going to have another crisis of conscience before the end of the final season. Maybe not as big as the one he had in season 3, because I think that moment fundamentally swayed his morals. But we still have three seasons to go, and I don’t think all of it will be filled with an unchanging, flower-child Soren, beautiful as he is. That wouldn’t necessarily be interesting, and I don’t think Aaron Ehasz would let such a fantastic character off the hook that easily, lol. I’d honestly be fine if Soren stayed in his pure boy form, because he’s so fun to watch.

Buuuut where he’s at right now reminds me a lot of Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2, after he recovered from his illness. At that point, Zuko believed himself cured of any and all bad feelings ever, but it only took seeing Azula again to bring all the trauma back. I don’t think we’ll see as big of a change for Soren (after all, he’s already seen Viren--the primary source of his trauma--again), but there are still a lot of unresolved aspects of his life that need to be ironed out before he truly earns his peace. A big part of his future character changes will revolve around his relationships with Claudia and Viren.

All I really have to say at this point is that I’m so amazed and delighted by Soren as a character. At first, I sort of wrote him off as guy who filled the stereotypical, comical “dumb jock” role, but he’s so much more complex than that, and I really can’t wait to see how his story progresses, whether I’m right or wrong in my guesses.

Next, Soren and Viren

One of my main disappointments from season 4 was the lack of any sort of progression with Soren and Viren’s relationship. And I don’t mean that I expected them to resolve all their differences and decide to be bffs or anything. But... I didn’t expect to get... nothing. If the creators had kept the two separate for the entirety of the season, I would have honestly been fine with that. But they had them meet again, face-to-face, only to have no confrontation at all.

It felt really unsatisfying to go from the end of episode 7, where Soren had such a visceral reaction to learning about Viren’s resurrection, to the start of episode 9, where they’re just quietly walking side-by-side with no context for what happened in between those two moments. Did they talk? Did Soren shut down? Did Viren give him the silent treatment? Did Claudia keep them apart until they entered the Rex Igneous’s lair? We don’t know, all bets are off! And then afterward, Soren acted like it hadn’t happened. I just hope that they don’t just put any conversations in a comic or something, because I think it’s such an important part of Soren’s character. It would feel almost disrespectful to banish their relationship development to a different media format that not everyone may read/see.

I’m hoping this means the writers plan to have a little fun with the whole scenario in future seasons. Soren, Rayla, Callum, and possibly Ezran all have seen Viren alive now, which puts a huge target on Team Aaravos’ backs. Buuuuuut, if Viren kept mum during his and Soren’s reunion, there’s a chance Soren may think that Claudia was conjuring an illusory version, the way she did in season 3. Perhaps they may try to manipulate Soren into thinking it was an illusion to both put Team Ezran off their scent and diminish Soren’s reputation, just like when Viren threw Soren under the bus before about their murder-the-princes “misunderstanding.” At the very least, this sort of scenario would make for an interesting AU fanfic, lol.

I’m trying to keep myself open-minded about this particular issue. I think I feel a bit more rushed about it because I’m imagining the wait between seasons 3 and 4 and thinking of how long we’d have to wait to see anything more from father and son. But the creators have said in recent interviews that the three-year wait was an anomaly caused by the pandemic, and that they’ll be resuming a more regular schedule again. When I think about only having to wait 5-9 months for the next installment, my frustration about the lack of progress in this particular vein subsides a bit.

But still, it would have been nice to get a little more from those precious few Soren/Viren moments if they were going to bring them up at all this season.

Ezran’s Speech

I’m actually really surprised I haven’t seen more people talking about Ez’s speech in episode 3! But then again, after binging the entire season, so much had happened that I’d forgotten about it myself until I went back to watch a bit more carefully. But it was a really powerful moment.

Once again, I saw some ATLA parallels, but I figure if they’re deliberately putting them in anyway, I might as well call them out, lol. I got major Zuko vs. Azula Agni Kai vibes when watching Claudia and Ibis get into an absolutely gnarly fight while Corvus played the fantasy-cello. Something about string instruments playing over really bitter encounters really transforms the moment. It becomes sad rather than epic. Paired with Ezran’s speech about holding love and anger at the same time adds another layer to it as well.

The thing I found most interesting about Claudia and Ibis facing off is that these are two characters known for holding the prejudices that Ezran speaks about. In season 3, Ibis initially brushed Callum off for wanting to learn magic as a human. And even when Callum proved he knew the Sky Arcanum, Ibis told him to run. I think, given, time, he may have changed his tune, and perhaps he did. But from what we saw, he did carry some bias against humans. And then there’s Claudia, who hates so thoroughly that humans are looked down upon by elves and dragons. At first, I thought that might have been Aaravos’ influence on her, but as I re-watched a few key moments in previous seasons, I found a moment that she and Callum talk at the start of season 2, where she also voices similar opinions--that humans were born with nothing but that’s why Dark magic levels the playing field. I think Aaravos just fed that belief in her, but it already existed. Also the fact that Claudia is currently dating an elf! So, in a way, she is also holding her love and anger at the same time. I can imagine it gives her complicated feelings. Brings me back to Rayla calling Callum out for saying that she may be an elf, “but a good elf.”

To have these two particular characters who feel so strongly in their convictions fight while Ezran talks about old wounds just hit the mark. It was a really poignant, if not slightly heavy-handed moment. I don’t feel totally equipped or at rights to find the parallels in today’s world, but I felt them pretty hard during this scene. “Sobering” is a good word to describe it.

Other, less composed, out of order thoughts

Season 4 was very much a transitory season. It was setting up the final three seasons, so it’s understandable that we got more questions than answers this time around. I’m just glad we (hopefully) won’t have to wait another three years for the next season!

The animation was SUPER clean and beautiful this season! There were a few moments that really stood out to me, particularly in the way that Callum gesticulates. Tiny, subtle movements that they could easily leave out but don’t, such as him accidentally knocking his hand into the Tome of Translation when he asks Bait “now what?” Or rubs his face in frustration. Callum is just a jittery, hyper guy, and it’s especially noticeable when those quirks are suppressed by Aaravos’ possession of him. Callum is all about short, quick movements, but as Aaravos, he was slow, fluid, and confident. It was just the perfect amount of unsettling to watch and I loved it.

I love Zubeia so much. We’ve seen badass human moms, and a badass elf mom before, and now we can add badass dragon mom to the list. Honorable mention to the badass aunt!

Corvus is a musician, and I love it so much!

Terry has been adopted by the fandom and I am HERE. FOR. IT. Before the season came out, I saw exactly one (1) comment speculating that he was trans, and I’m so glad they confirmed it in the show! Especially since the comment pointed out that there’s very little representation for trans people who are actively in the transition process. I can’t speak for the trans community, but I feel like Terry could be much-welcomed representation in that regard.

I really love how pure Terry is. I feel like he sort of filled Soren’s vacant role in Claudia’s life as “her doof.” I’m willing to bet we’ll see a comic of Claudia’s travels in those two years, and their subsequent meeting. I’m curious how they found each other and discovered their attraction for one another.

Terry’s megane-shine picture in the credits gave me evil scientist vibes and I love it so much. His curiosity about creating mystery flubber out of Sir Sparklepuff’s chrysalis goo (a string of words as weird and random as the situation which prompted them) was really fun as well.

Viren is a lot of things, but he’s not transphobic. Yet another example of complex, layered characters. Even the “bad guys” can have decent qualities.

Trees to meet you is a thing, lol.

I’d never really shipped Soren with anyone before, but after watching his and Corvus’ interactions in episode 1, I would not be mad at their ship sailing if they felt so inclined. TBD.

More Gren and Amaya friendship! I love seeing those two together, they add years to my life.

Janai’s proposal actually made me cry, it was so cute. And their “two cakes” conversation was so tender and sweet.

The whole conflict between the Sunfire elves and humans in the camp could be an entirely other essay, but again, I don’t really feel equipped to write about it (also it’s like 1am now and my brain isn’t braining well enough to go in-depth about it). But I did notice the parallels with our own current societal problems, and appreciated that, in the end, the answer wasn’t to decide between right and wrong, but to find a way to learn and grow together. (But also that the offender had to show up for her actions and resolved to make things right--though it would have been nice to also see her apologize directly to the elf that she wronged and not just his leader).

Sir Sparklepuff is half creepy, half adorable, and half bizarre. And yes, I know that’s three halves. He gave me major Gollum vibes when he first crawled out of his chrysalis.

LIZARD IN A HAT.

I appreciated that Rex Igneous apologized to Zym when he realized he’d been talking shit about his late papa.

I also appreciated the dragon saber-rattling contest at the end. Again, Zubeia is awesome.

Soren spending half the season in floral pajamas was something I didn’t know I needed.

Also, Soren with the butterfly was pure and delightful. And also a great contrast to Viren and Claudia, who would have seen the butterfly as a means to gain magic. Soren saw the magic of its life, throwing him into sharp contrast with his family.

People have already spotted the parallels between How to Train Your Dragon and Soren befriending Squeaky, but I also KNOW in my heart that we’ll see fanart of Soren in the Chris Pratt Jurassic World pose, like he’s "taming” a bunch of widdle dragons/velociraptors, lol.

RIP Ibis. I talked shit about him a bit, but he really was a cool character.

I swing between being amused by the fart jokes and tired of them. Claudia’s season 1 “It wasn’t the hooooorse” still cracks me up to this day, but I may have to draw the line at “It smells SO good when he farts!”

Again, no Runaan, but RAYLA HAS THE COINS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

I really like that they kind of nerfed Viren in this season. He’s obviously recovering from actually being dead, and he’s also dealing with trauma over how he died. So few adults admit to having similar troubles, so it was neat to see an adult in a show display some vulnerability, even if he’s objectively an evil adult, haha.

I’ve seen some speculation about whether Rayla is actually fully Rayla or not. I’m kind of inclined to agree. Something about her is off. The best argument I saw for this hypothesis was someone pointing out that she argued NOT to defend Squeaky from the Earthblood elf guy, even when Soren was raring to jump in. Season 2 Rayla would have absolutely slapped the bejeezus out of season 4 Rayla for walking away from a dragon in need. Miss “It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s the right thing for ME to do” did not show up that night, and it’s... suspicious. Also the fact that she didn’t remember Ibis’s name? What changed? Signs point to Stella, with her... giant, unblinking eyes that give me Furby vibes, lol. Did she affect Rayla somehow? What happened to Rayla in those two years? She just showed up with no explanation. I think she is actually Rayla, at least physically, based on the fact that she also gave up chasing Viren and Claudia to save her parents and Runaan and also made a very heartfelt speech about how Runaan and Ethari were like fathers to her. That felt super genuine, so... I don’t know where the cutoff is for where the Rayla we know is and who we hung out with for most of season 4.

Soren recognizing the mirror and trying to offer Callum advice on his obsession with magic to avoid seeing him go the same way as Viren.

Also Soren suggesting to Claudia that the world might be better off without magic. I wonder if that’ll be foreshadowing for something?

I can’t believe this is so far down on my list, but Aaravos possessing Callum was SO intense! I actually gasped when Callum turned his head to show his blackened eyes. Aaravos knew exactly how to get to each of them, and I loved it. But then after Aaravos released Callum, it was KIND OF discussed a couple times, but it was just like they were talking about the weather or something. I don’t know... between this and dropping the ball on Soren’s reaction to Viren, this season kind of went wild when it came to following through on some of the most interesting talking points of the entire plot.

I’m surprised how little Aaravos showed up this season, especially since they rebranded it “Mystery of Aaravos.” At least we got a little of his sexy, sexy voice. Erik Dellums, you’ve done it again.

I’m SO excited to see what the creators have got planned for Callum. He was talking to Rayla about his concerns on whether he’s on a path to darkness. One thing I love about this series is that they also explore the concept of “too much of a good thing.” Like I said before, Soren is just too happy and pure for it to last three more seasons--I bet his beliefs will be challenged at some point and he’ll have to defend them. And I think Callum will face a similar challenge when it comes to his obsession with magic. I TOTALLY understand feeling like you can never do anything right and finding that one thing you’re good at and latching onto it. But then when it becomes your entire personality, you run the risk of narrowing your life path to just one, inevitable end. His greatest strength has also become his greatest weakness. I have a feeling that Callum will have to explore that concept a bit in later seasons, with the help of Aaravos, of course. I don’t think he’ll go Claudia-level darkness--he’s pretty self-aware of this potential danger--but I wonder if he’ll become a bit more morally gray as the series progresses. I’m here for it, if that’s the case! I love me some dark character development, after all.

God, how long is this list? I didn’t realize I had this much floating around in my head.

I adored the rock golems! Their designs were GORGEOUS! Did anyone else catch the Over the Garden Wall Easter Egg in the credits? My friends and I adore OtGW and try to watch it every year, and I got way too excited by that find, lol.

Zubeia and Soren’s friendship is so wholesome.

I wonder if we’ll ever see Soren and Claudia’s mom? IS SHE THE NEW URSA? ;P

I’m kind of glad that they backtracked on Callum and Rayla’s relationship. Watching two fifteen-year-olds admit their undying love for each other at the end of season 3 left me with kind of a bad taste in my mouth. That probably sounds a bit unfair, since I know there are plenty of high school sweethearts out there who become each other’s endgames, but... I guess it felt rushed. Season 1-3 covered the span of... what? A few weeks, maybe? A month, at most? In that time, Callum and Rayla went from mortal enemies, to strangers, to friends, to romantic interests. My guess is the writers did that so there would be some sort of closure in case they didn’t get renewed for more seasons, which is fine. But it always just felt off. So I’m glad that a) they backed off a bit this season and are working through a bump in their relationship, b) said relationship is still being worked on at the end of the season, and c) Rayla and Callum communicated their concerns with each other and respected each other’s boundaries. It makes it feel much more realistic and less cookie-cutter. And I’m glad they were renewed for all seven seasons so they don’t feel pressured to rush the relationship development again.

The Earthblood elf designs are so cool! I really love all the elf designs, but the Earthblood elves are really fun and different! Also Terry in activated Earthblood elf mode was so badass! More, more, more! ;P

YIP YIP!

Sad that we didn’t see a glowed-up Queen Anya!

Or Ellis and Ava. Or Lujanne. Didn’t she meet a human while she was on her prank war tangent?

I wonder how our favorite blind, narcoleptic ship captain, Villads-with-a-silent-D, is doing.

Congrats to the Associate Crow Lord on his promotion and his... um... excitement over rare Xadian birds, lol.

At the end of the day, Dragon Prince is a kids show, but I really appreciate that they don’t shy away from real-world issues. They offer a chance for us to view our world through the (more comfortable) lens of a fantasy world. We can see ourselves reflected in these characters, who are incredibly complex and three-dimensional. No one is fully good or fully evil, not Claudia or Viren, or Soren, Ez, or Zym. Maaaaybe Aaravos, lol. I love it when content geared towards kids recognizes that kids are a hell of a lot smarter than they’re given credit for and they don’t talk down to them or avoid covering more difficult subjects. It’s shows like this that will shape today’s kiddos in the same way that shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender shaped my generation.

Okay, I think I might actually be done.

If you’re still reading, you rock! What were some of your favorite part of Dragon Prince?

[showtoonzfan]

Hi again. You know, I often read different HB-critical blogs stating "Stolas and Blitz aren't in love, their relationship only have lust", and I just wanted to give a little bit of my perspective as an Aromantic.

I personally wouldn't mind if Blitz and Stolas had a queer-platonic or friends-with-benefits type of relationship (although I highly doubt that Viv could pull that off). But the thing is: you can't say their relationship build on "lust" or sexual attraction, when there's only one partner that feels this way. Yep. Not even once when I watched Blitz interacting with Stolas I thought "wow he surely is attracted to that owl dude" (at least until 2 episode of 2 season, but more on that later).

In the first season every time Blitz was forced to interact with Stolas I always read his expressions as "I'm really uncomfortable around this guy" or "ugh I guess I HAVE TO please him" (mostly referring to that one kiss that felt incredibly forced). An exception was maybe episode 7, where at the end of it Blitz was just straight up (rightfully so) pissed at him.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I honestly just can't recall writers giving us any clues that Blitz at least finds Stolas hot. Stolas is often blushes or comments how sexy Blitz is, but I just don't remember any passing remarks when Blitz says he likes Stolas. Hell, Blitz genuinely had more tension with Striker in that one scene, we've never seen anything like this between him and Stolas.

We see them in bed together in episode 5, but it gives us "I'm not repulsed being in bed with you" at best. Sure, Blitz is having sex with Stolas, but that was a part of their deal. It literally looks like he sleeps with him only to get the book, full stop, there's no attraction on Blitz's part.

And then there's the second season. In the first episode writers (probably trying to justify Stolas's previous creepy behavior) show us that Blitz initiated the whole thing first. However, when Stolas caught Blitz he immediately jumped into conclusion, that he's here to "ravish" him. Now, Blitz was trying to get the book and was already caught, so I see his logic as if why he would try to initiate sex with Stolas, if that's what Stolas's presumably wanted. Again, you can very well read this scene as Blitz taking advantage of Stolas with no other reason but to get the book. It's not helping the situation when he presumably also had sex with Stolas out of pity(?).

And now we're only left with our favorite retcon-aboslutely-everything episode. Where we finally see Blitz being turned on by Stolas. Which was... kinda OOC at this point? I don't remember Blitz ever reciprocating any of Stolas feelings, but now he does, apparently? Guess it's another case of "caught feelings off screen", huh? Anyway, that's surprisingly not a lot for a main ship. I simply wanted to illustrate my point, I just think that Stoliz not only has zero romantic chemistry between the characters, but I personally don't even see a mutual sexual attraction here either.

I agree with you! Everything you said is right, however the reason why I always say their relationship is stemmed from sex, is that at FIRST it was one sided yes, with Stolas lusting over him and Blitz just not wanting any part of it. Had the show mainly been like that, I wouldn’t have said so, however that was until episode 6 came along.

Due to the episode’s lazy storytelling, through Moxxie’s dialogue the show flat out tells us that despite Blitz pushing Stolas away, he craves intimacy, he craves what him and Stolas have. The chains in this scene (in my personal interpretation) tells us that he feels trapped in this deal that HE created, because he doesn’t like it, yet wants it at the same time. When we look at Stolas and Blitz’s relationship throughout the beginning of the show, despite Blitz being the one who has to screw Stolas every now and then to keep the book for his end of the bargain, Stolas is clearly the bottom in the relationship, the one who submerges to Blitz while Blitz takes control, and I think that’s something he craves, power. Like you said, the kiss was definitely forced, especially since episode 7 opened with Blitz once again wanting nothing to do with Stolas, but that only proved to me further on how he only enjoys himself for the needless sex. Even if it doesn’t make any sense on a writing standpoint as we’ve discussed, it still seems to be that way, especially with the recent episode showing Blitz fawning over Stolas and ENJOYING it. Regardless of the terrible writing, that’s why I personally think their relationship is stemmed from sex, because Stolas only sees Blitz as someone who can fulfill his needs and satisfy him in the way he likes it, and Blitz only sees Stolas as someone who praises him, gives him that power he wants and makes him feel good about himself. Just like you said, there’s nothing else there really, nothing in between, no chemistry, no buildup. Your points were very well made and I do agree with them, this is just my personal opinion on why I think they’re BOTH only stemmed to each other for sex.

[monstersqueen]

CAiL to TMA, episode 169 (s05e09) - Fire Escape

...you know, if ‘she burned jon’s hand’ is a valid enough reason to make a detour to go smite jude specifically, i don’t see why ‘martin’s jealous’ wouldn’t be enough to kill oliver when they happen upon his domain. martin might wonder about that actually. also, it is also close as a reasoning to ‘you were annoying and i didn’t like you so i hurt you’ and i’d like everyone to take two minutes to remember the last time someone hurt them because you were annoying. i mean i’m sure we’ve all internalized since then the ‘well i WAS annoying and TOO STUPID to get it so of course they HAD TO hurt me to make me stop. if they got some satisfaction out of it well!! it was well deserved to have to PUT UP with me‘ - jon certainly has. anyway

....i am so not okay with that statement but you know what. i’m more okay with it than with the asides development so. maybe i should try not to think about tma for one week. or two maybe/ might do me some good to wait a little before coming back.

[space-dragon-ace]

I absolutely do not support the idolising or supporting of charachters or people that do shit just for the lols or villains that only do shit but havent been through things or dont make good points or actually hurt innocent people.

I aboslutely think that people should discover themselfs and actually should investigate more into their opinion and not take words from others.

And i agree with villain who does shit until they actually find out that they dont just do shit for giggles but actually have hidden trauma, bc that just gives that amzing plottwist

BUT BUT listen alright i know why i love certain villains bc i can relate to them and bc their opinions are just so complicated that you start rooting for them. And when writing a villain i think its rlly exciting when writing a villain with a rlly complicated charachter and mind.

I usually adore villains who later on reveal their evilness and why they do shit more.

Same here, I have very little sympathy for people who support characters/people that do shit for the lols or just because they can. The only thing I'm willing to accept as an 'excuse' is if doing so would endanger their own life, but only because I understand not wanting to die. And those people are usually punished enough by the knowledge of what they allowed to happen... Or children, because children are young and easy to influence. I won't hate a child, let's say five years old, whose parents are homophobic bigots, for repeating the shit said by the parents. I just hope that that kid will grow up and start truly looking into things, instead of just thinking it was correct what was said without investigating or questioning. (Plottwists my love) I can relate a lot to villains because of the severe bullying and the issues I got from it. Seriously, my mind is not a pretty place sometimes, especially when I think what I want to do to my former bullies. But we all sometimes have these thoughts, about getting revenge on those who we feel did us wrong. We all can relate to that, and if the reason was 'logical' enough, we probably end up sympathizing with the villain. Toga is a good example for me here, since no one knew I was autistic when I was a kid, and a lot of the things that made me ME were weird, and I was often told to stop or change or or or. And if my parents weren't as loving and supporting as they are, I might be in a worse mental state. Also, villain who doesn't reveals they are the villain and why they do it until at least end of season one are best. Why spoil everything right away when you can make the Heroes grow on their journey to defeat you, only to throw them a curveball that forces them to overthink themself and their actions?