#Fans were F E D this episode

[chocolix76]

I'm thinking so hard about Lord Eclipse and the possibilities of what's going to happen next with Ruin. Seeing the title of today's episode genuinely had me scrambling around the house to finish my chores so I could watch the episode because I missed Lord Eclipse so much.

Honestly, today's episode has me wanting a bit more. In my opinion, he's one of the most interesting characters in the show and I would love to see him and his dimension fleshed out a bit more and I would especially like to see what Servant Sun's life was like and what happened to Lunar... There's just so much that the Lord Eclipse dimension is providing and I would love it to be explored more.

As for Ruin, I want to see what happens with him. Hopefully, Solar and Moon don't go through with this with the intent of harming Ruin or demanding answers from him. I want to see some reasoning. Maybe Ruin calmly speaking about why he brought Eclipse back if he did so to prove himself, or letting the mask slip and proving that Sun and Moon failed to cure him and he had been acting all along.

I really hope that he brought back Eclipse simply to prove himself because a large part of me really doesn't want to think that Ruin was pretending to be sweet this entire time

[tleeaves]

Folks going "WHAT they made a show about the Fallout franchise?? I've been hearing people say Bethesda messed it up, but I haven't watched it myself, so I'm going to trust the word of other people -- some of which also haven't finished watching it" is driving me insane.

Being a hard core fan of something obviously brings with it a lot of passionate feelings when adaptations come into play. Of course, there's going to be people going "but in 8 episodes of the first ever season they made, they didn't explore Theme C or D, didn't introduce factions E and F and G, and because the source company is notorious for its scams, we and everyone else who's a TRUE fan should hate it".

The Amazon Original series Fallout follows the videogame franchise of the same name. It is a labour of love and you can tell by the attention to detail, the writing, the sets, and YES THE THEMES ARGUE WITH THE WALL. It's clearly fan service. I mean, the very characterisation of Lucy is a deadringer for someone playing a Fallout game for the first time. She embodies the innocent player whose expectations drastically change in a game that breaks your heart over and over again. Of course, she's also the vessel through which we explore a lot of themes, but I'll get to that.

There're some folks arguing that the show retcons the games, and I gotta say... for a website practically built on fandom culture, why are we so violently against the idea of someone basing an adaptation on a franchise that so easily lends itself to new and interesting interpretations? But to be frank, a lot of what AO's Fallout is not that new. We have: naive Vault dweller, sexy traumatised ghoul that people who aren't cowards will thirst over, and pathetic guy from a militaristic faction. We also have: total atomic annihilation, and literally in-world references to the games' lore and worldbuilding constantly (the way I was shaking my sister over seeing Grognark the Barbarian, Sugar Bombs, Cram, Stimpaks, and bags of RadAway was ridiculous). Oh, and the Red Rocket?? Best pal Dogmeat? I'm definitely outing myself as specifically a Fallout 4 player, but that's not the point you should be taking away from this.

The details, the references, and the new characters -- this show is practically SCREAMING "hey look, we did this for the fans, we hope you love it as much as we do". Who cares that the characters are new, they still hold the essence of ones we used to know! And they're still interesting, so goddamn bloody interesting. Their arcs mean so much to the story, and they're told in a genuinely intriguing way. This isn't just any videogame adaptation, this was gold. This sits near Netflix's Arcane: League of Legends level in videogame adaptation. Both series create new plots out of familiar worlds.

Of course, those who've done the work have already figured out AO's Fallout is not a retcon anyway. But even if it was, that shouldn't take away from the fact that this show is actually good. Not even just good, it's great.

Were some references a little shoe-horned in to the themes by the end of the show, such as with "War never changes"? Yes, I thought so. But I love how even with a new plot and characters, they're actually still exploring the same themes and staying true to the games. I've seen folks argue otherwise, but I truly disagree. The way capitalism poisons our world, represented primarily through The American Dream and the atomic age of the 45-50s that promoted the nuclear family dynamic -- it's there. If you think it's glorifying it by leaning so heavily into in the adaptation, I feel like you're not seeing it from the right angle. It's like saying Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck glorifies the American Dream, when both this book and the Fallout franchise are criticisms of it. If you think about it, the post-apocalyptic world of Fallout is a graveyard to the American Dream. This criticism comes from the plots that are built into every Fallout story that I know of. The Vaults are literally constructed to be their own horror story just by their mere existence, what they stand for, what happens in each of them. The whole entire show is about the preservation of the wrong things leading to fucked up worlds and people. The missions of the Vaults are time and again proven to be fruitless, unethical, plain wrong. Lucy is our brainwashed character who believed in the veritable cult she lived in before she found out the truth.

So then consider the Brotherhood of Steel. I really don't think it exists in the story to glorify the military. We see just how much the Brotherhood has brainwashed people like Max (also, anything ominously named something like "the Brotherhood" should raise eyebrows). Personally, I don't like Max, but I am intrigued by his characterisation. I thought the end of his arc was rushed the way he "came good" basically, but [SPOILERS] having him embraced as a knight in the Brotherhood at the end against his will -- finally getting something he always wanted -- and him grimly accepting it from all that we can tell? Him having that destiny forced upon him now that he's swaying? After he defected? If his storyline is meant to be a tragedy, it wouldn't surprise me, because Fallout is rife with tragedies anyway. And a tragedy would also be a criticism of the military. That's what Max's entire arc is. It goes from the microcosm focusing on the cycle of bullying between soldiers to the macro-environment where Max is being forced to continue a cycle of violence against humanity he doesn't want to anymore because a world driven to extremes forces him to choose it to survive (not to mention what a cult and no family would do to his psyche). Let's not forget what the Brotherhood's rules are: humankind is supreme. Mutants, ghouls, synths, and robots are abominations to be hated and destroyed. If you can't draw the parallels to the real world, you need to retake history and literature classes. The Brotherhood is also about preserving the wrong things, like the Vaults (like the Enclave, really). They just came about through different method. The Enclave is capitalism and twisted greed in a world where money barely exists anymore. The Brotherhood is, well, fascism plain and simple.

Are these the only factions in the Fallout franchise? Hell no. But if you're mad about that -- that they're the main ones explored, apart from the NCR -- I think you're missing the point. These themes, these reminders, are highly relevant in the current climate. In fact, I almost think they always will be relevant unless we undergo drastic change. On the surface-level, Fallout seems like the American ideal complete with guns blazing that guys in their basements jerk off to. Under that surface, is a mind-fuck story about almost the entire opposite: it's a deconstruction of American ideals that are held so closely by some, and the way that key notion of freedom gets twisted, and you're shooting a guy in-game because it's more merciful than what the world had in store for him.

I mean, the ghoul's a fucking cowboy from the wild west character he used to play in Hollywood glam and his wife was one of the people who helped blow up America in the name of capitalism and "peace". There are so many layers of this to explore, I'd need several days to try and keep track and go through it all.

The Amazon Prime show is a testament to the Fallout franchise. The message, the themes? They were not messed up or muddled or anything of the sort, in my opinion.

As for Todd Howard, that Bethesda guy, I'm sure there's perfectly valid reasons to hate him. I mean, I've hated people for a lot less valid reasons, and that's valid. We all got our feelings. But the show is about more than just him. My advice is to keep that in mind when you're judging it.

[artificial-ascension]

Reading through the wolrds surely most accurate source, Death Note fan wiki, I have accumulated a list of Wammys kid letters that are confirmed in some source to have an individual associated:

A- First successor of L, dead by suicide, mentioned in Death Note: Another Note

B- Beyond Birthday, number two of the first known successors behind A and a main character of Death Note: Another Note

D- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film

E- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film

F- Appears in the opening of L: Change The World film on a massion for L, dies via helicopter attack*

G- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film

H- Sends L an email informing him of F's death in L: Change The World

I- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film

J- Appears in the game L: The Prologue To Death Note, the game is unavailable in English so little is know of them, presumably a Wammys kid based on name, a separate J appears in the second episode of Death Note: A New Generation, she is not out right stated to be a Wammys kid, but she is assumed to be

K- Antagonist of L: Change The World book and film

L- If you do not know who L is why are you here, also Linda is a child who appears briefly in the manga and is responsible for the drawings of Near and Mello (I belive that is only presumed but I may be wrong, I can not remember where it was said)

M- Mello, second successor of generation four and a main antagonist of Death Note's main series and Matt, unranked member of generation four appearing as Mello's comrade in both anime amd manga

N- Near, successor of L and number one of generation four, appears in half the places L dose

P- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film

Q- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film

R- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film, their letter is greyed out, presumably indicating they are dead**

T- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film, their letter is greyed out, presumably indicating they are dead

V- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film, their letter is greyed out, presumably indicating they are dead

X- Alluded to in Death Note: Another Note as helping in a detective war with L

Y- Alluded to in Death Note: Another Note as helping in a detective war with L

Z- Alluded to in Death Note: Another Note as helping in a detective war with L

Unused letters- C, O, S, T, U, W***, possibly J as both instances of the usage are for individuals only presumed to be successors

Letters with known duplicates- L and M, J(?)

------

Conclusion:

1. L: Change The World introduced a shit ton of Wammys lore for apparently shits and giggles.

2. Alot less dead Wammys kids than I expected. (Only 9/24, that's only over a third. Maybe 10/24 if you count Watari.)

3. I can understand not finding a U or V, but how the hell were there no genius orphans with S or C names??

4. It is impossible for a Death Note title to not have a : in it.

------

Notes:

I got this information from the fan wiki and my brain. If it is wrong I'd like to know. I'd also love to hear of any more orphans the fan wiki or I missed.

------

*I can verify that that happened. I remember it vividly. Only known Wammys kid to die from a helicopter.

**A greyed name implies death as B's name was also greyed out. However, this also implies L could readily email B whenever he wanted, which is extremely funny.

***W is often totoed as Watari's letter. However, I am not considering him a Wammys kid but this may mean some of the letters shown do not indicate successors but rather other Wammys higher ups.

[marionedde]

jacks insane alien rant stuff (invader zim edition) bc if I didn’t type it out and tell at least one person my head was going to explode

been trying to crack the code about how zim can be an adult (possibly a joke on vasquezs part) and a child (referred to as one in the description early on)

also foh with the ship defending shit. I don’t give a fuck about that I’m just autistic and this’ll keep me up at night

answer?

he’s an ALIEN.

he was a baby for two minutes. Irkens are fucked up

I’m still certain zim is physically a child (and prob mentally he acts like one) but age wise and by the speed at which their planet spins is technically sixteen in Irken years.

so he’s been alive for 160+ years but it’s possible considering how weird Irken growth his that he barely grew or even got older that entire time. another couple of giveaways is that he

a) sounds like a pre pubescent child and in the first episode we hear an Irken with a deeper voice who also appears to be taller. this figure, while partially hidden, looks similar to the tallest but obviously is not as high up as they are. The tallest have higher pitched voices than him but Yknow. Men can have high pitched voices. b) he (attempts) to flirt with tak, who at the time was only confirmed to be human and about 11 years old.

It’d be kind of weird if he was an adult.

c) zim acts sounds and Yknow, looks like a child through the entire series. Maybe you can just chalk this down to he’s short but from the pov of me who’s less than five feet and in high school, your face structure can be a dead giveaway about your age. Most people just don’t bother to look down long enough to see.

d) alright let’s talk biology. As we know humans start getting acne around 10-13 years old. now staring again, zim is an ALIEN and they definitely have different skin than humans do but the fact that zim can get acne and from the same source a human can might suggest a bit of a ballpark we can make.

e) “oh um zim is an invader though he’s probably an adult-“ do you see that planet? You think they wouldn’t use child soldiers for sweet, sweet conquest? Have you watched the show?

f) Jhonen Vasquez likes to fuck with the fans. I think we might be taking some statements a little too serious. Also leave the guy alone he made this beautiful show let’s stop harassing him so you can draw your weird yaoi stuff.

ok conclusion?

my main theory is that:

If you get taller you grow. Irkens could have a completely fucked up growth pattern that relies completely on growing. Who knows. Maybe some Irkens stay children forever (see child soldier note) and maybe some of them grow fast as fuck. this also supports the fact that the tallest went to class with zim but ended up in power. I assume at some point they grew taller, essentially got too old for school, were taken out and treated like royalty (thus explaining why they’re less serious than all the other Irken we’ve seen.)

of course I could be wrong. Whatever you headcanon is your opinion and it’d be unfair of me to push that on you. This is mostly for myself to get my thoughts out cuz I was going so insane I remember what tree bark tasted like (don’t ask.)

thank you for reading and remember to be respectful to other people s opinions. As long as they aren’t hurting someone they aren’t doing anything wrong.

[mrs-monaghan]

Kinda funny how all those years Jikook dressed alike, matching almost head to toe or in exactly the same outfit, this whole fandom wrote it off, even after RM asked them point blank if they were a couple. Then to hear when JK was watching Suchwita, ask why YM were wearing similar clothes, even tho their clothes really were nothing alike, but triggered him enough for a response, really made me laugh. I saw YM & TK shippers saying its cause he knows about YM. LMAO idiots, their clothes weren't couple clothes or matching, they were just too similar for JK's liking. Hey Suga, go try to peel off JM's leaf for him, with JK watching. I just wanna see something for research purposes. We always tease JK & Minimoni, but he also gets high key annoyed with Yoonmin, too.

Anoooooooooon why do you think JK reacted to Suchwita in the first place?? Yes JK is a Minimoni anti. That's been established. But he is also a major Yoonmin anti. Like big time and it's been going on for a long ass time. He he hee. JK is not a fan of Yoonmin moments which is why we don't talk about Yoonmin so shh

But also let's talk about Yoonmin shall we? Only because JK's dislike for their moments is underrated. No other reason 🤭🤭

Before we begin. Here is a compilation of Suga checking out the Jibooty. Tbf he does check out other members as well but....this is about Yoonmin. He hee

So! Off the top of my head exhibit A) this BBMA 2017 Live. JK did not take his eyes off Suga until he got off Jimin

First of all, there is ALOT happening on this live. Like alot. Which is why I'm not clipping the exact moment because you should absolutely watch this entire live. JK has a stronger reaction to RM being on Jimin but he also kept an eye when Suga did it 👆🏽

Exhibit B) Is my own personal theory. Remember in winter package when JK went with Yoonmin for beer tasting and gave up zip lining?

In what world would thrill seeker JK give up zip lining so he can go beer tasting? Now don't get me wrong, JK loves his liquor much like the rest of them. But still, it was kinda sus to me, alright? Could it have been satellite Jeon wanting to be with his man? Maybe. Still, knowing Jimin was gonna spend all day with Suga getting tipsy... idk. I can see JK wanting to be around for that 🤭🤭🤭

Exhibit C) incase someone missed Suga drooling during this

(Put your phone on landscape and u can zoom in and take a closer look🤭)

Exhibit D) do we really need to talk about Suga Vs Blood sweat and tears Jimin?? I'm sure we've all seen this.

Exhibit E) this segment. Jimin's letter said everyone should tell Suga they love him. Everyone did except one person..can u guess who? Even Hobi called him out. Asked JK "why didn't u say it?" 🤭🤭🤭

Exhibit F) should I include this? Coz I'm not seeing the difference here. Btwn this

And this

Moving on.

Exhibit G) (watch Jimin) Suga touches Jimin's ear and what's the first thing Jimin's does?

Also don't think JK and his grandpa clothes is not watching that through his periphery. Mans always aware of what Jimin is doing at all times.

Exhibit H) They're discussing Jimin's armpit. JK is smiling, quite big. Then Jimin asks Suga if his armpit is sexy. JK's smile is no longer anywhere to be seen 👀

Exhibit I) this was a favourite of mine. Ngl. Listen. People can deny till the cows come home. But JK reacted the way he did here for a reason. Memories 2021. JK looked away as soon as Suga touched Jimin's chin. Not before. Not after. As soon as Suga touched Jimin, JK looks away so fast I got worried about his neck there for a second. It happened. Anyone who said it didn't well... idk what to tell ya. JK has been looking away for years when something that he doesn't want to see, is happening. Especially after he got a hold of his possessiveness he started to just look away instead of acting on it. It is what it is ��🏽‍♀️

Last one but definitely not least is Exhibit J) this was a popular Jikook moment after this run episode aired. The thing is though... yes we gushed and we "awwed" because JK's ears moved as soon as Jimin started dancing. But you know who else's ear moved?? And he was the only one apart from JK that was affected by that 😏😏😏😏

I could do this all day guys. 😂😂

If JK is staring... so is Suga. If JK is checking out the Jibooty, so is Suga. And we have not even started on how Jimin is clearly Suga's favourite. Be it vocals, be it in general; always choosing him no matter what. And we haven't even talked about how Suga isn't big on skinship but with Jimin that doesn't seem to be a problem???

You guys think JK doesn't see what we see? Doesn't know what we know? Huh? How can he not? I mean, this was right infront of his salad 😂😂 kinda makes me wonder if he blocked Suga on purpose 🤭🤭

What I'm I saying? Even though we will never see Jimin reciprocate whatever this is, (Mans only has eyes for JK. Always has, always will) Yoonminers are the only shippers allowed to try to argue with Jikookers. Them and them only. And genuine Yoonminers. Not tkkrs who ship Yoonmin coz they wanna shove Jimin somewhere to keep him away from their ship.

Bonus: everyone is looking at Jin except Yoonkook. JK its okay, coz that's his man. But i'mma need Suga to get his shit together. Fr fr

[star-trek-legacy]

Star Trek Ask Game!! 1. Your favorite Star Trek Series? - Toss up between Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Picard (until Star Trek: Legacy gets greenlit) 2. Your favorite episode? - Remember Me, (TNG) 3. Your least favorite episode? -Measure of a Man (TNG) 4. Your favorite character?- I have two. Jack Crusher Picard (Picard) and Dr. Beverly Crusher (TNG & Picard) 5. Your least favorite character?- Dr. Pulaski (TNG) 6. Your dream job on the Enterprise?- Doctor in Sickbay 7. Favorite Alien Race?- Betazoids 8. When did you start watching Star Trek?- When I was a baby 9. Are you a “nepo baby”? (Have Trekkie/Trekker grandparents/parents/uncles/siblings)- Oh 100%. My entire family are Trekkies. My dad had me watching the OS when I was a baby. 10. Is there something that surprised you when you were watching Star Trek?- No. 11. Do you read Star Trek Fan Fiction? If so, where did you read them, what are your favorites and who wrote them?- Yes. I write it too. I have quite a few favorites on Ao3. 12. Do you have any songs that you associate with Star Trek Characters? - StarChild by Baby for Jack Crusher Picard. 13. Do you own any merch?- Not yet, but will when my gift from my friend arrives, a Star Trek: Picard Jack Crusher Funko. Eeeeeeeeeeeeee 14. Have you ever met another Trekkie/Trekker IRL?- I grew up with Trekkies, so yeah. lol. 15. What’s your favorite room on the Enterprise?- The Holodeck 16.Your favorite ship? - The Enterprise (D, E, F and G) 17. Favorite fashion look/uniform?- Deanna Troi always had such nice outfits. Beverly’s out of uniform outfits were pretty nice too. 18. Would you use a transporter to beam somewhere? - Yeah. 19. What piece of widely accepted canon/fanon is your favorite?- Canon would be that Jean-Luc and Beverly had a son. Fanon is something I wrote that’s started to be widely accepted in the fanfic community and written in other peoples stories.. 20. What do you think should have happened in Star Trek that didn’t happen? - Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher should have had a loving, long lasting passionate relationship, maybe even gotten married!  Now it's your turn. I'll look forward to your answers!! :D

[smokiedokie]

My brother called me to watch the next three episodes of IWTV with him and omgggg the JOY I feel at being able to experience this show again for the first time through him and hear his theories on where this is all leading… I’m so thrilled. He’s never watched the movie or read the books so he’s going into this totally blind. Some interesting ideas he has so far:

A) he’s so much more insightful than I was/am watching it. He’s picking up on SO MANY things that I didn’t pick up on until I rewatched (he’s even pointed out stuff I’ve never noticed— my favorite so far was in episode two where Daniel is served rabbit while Louis feasts upon the fox, symbolizing their predator/prey relationship — HOW THE FUCK DID I MISS THAT; AND HE GOT IT IMMEDIATELY. He also pointed out that in episode three at the poker game he calls all the white men by their names, no more “sirs” attached— AGAIN, HOW DID I MISS THAT??)

B) He thinks season one is going to end with Claudia’s death; he doesn’t know why or how but he thinks she’s going to die at the end of season one as the big cliffhanger and then season two will end with Louis killing Lestat (he’s thinking ahead to other seasons and how things will play out later!! His MIND!!) Which is so interesting bc as we know, it happens the other way around, but I love how close he’s getting without even realizing!!

C) He thinks Louis killed Lestat in the early 70’s and that’s what prompted him to seek out Daniel in the first place, as a way to justify his actions to someone and tell himself he was right. That’s why the modern Interview is more nuanced, Louis has more separation from the murder to understand where Lestat was coming from.

D) he thinks Louis WANTED to turn Daniel in the 70s and Daniel was against it (I brought up what we hear in the first episode where Daniel asks Louis for the Dark Gift and Louis rages at him, but my brother thinks that’s misconstrued somehow) and he’s reaching out again to set the record straight about his true feelings about Lestat and also breach that subject again

E) He REALLY likes the relationship between Louis and Daniel, he’s picked up on the importance of their relationship and expects it to develop well before I did. When I first watched the show I was a big fan of the movie, so I just assumed Daniel served only as the crux for Louis to tell his story to; I didn’t think the modern era stuff was all that important until we were well into the season because I assumed Daniel’s role in the show would be the same as it was in the movie: the audience sub-in. But my brother picked up on the nuance between the two immediately and honed in on it. He thinks they’re both of on a high-horse off and is waiting to see who will crack first.

F) He suspects NOTHING of Rashid, just thinks he’s a weird servant guy

[im-out-of-it]

part three of season 1, episode 13 continued

41. well, at least Lydia remembered hodge was the one who whacked her

42. “No way. we’ve known him our entire lives.”- well Izzy, never say never

43. well what would you know Izzy 😭

44. it’s one thing for hodge to be a traitor but for Maryse and Robert to be traitors is a stretch jace. I don’t agree with everything they do but they’re always focused on doing what the clave needs. if they’re doing anything enough, it’s having the clave’s best interests

45. my double standard I see often is the stuff Alec says or does vs jace. Alec outed his parents of being members of the circle and jace and Izzy thought that was crazy. Alec was messed up after and apparently was the bad person after his choices with meliorn. (not defending his actions) but when jace says “that’s what you said about hodge” about being traitors, no one bats an eye or defends them

46. look, I’m not Maryse’s or Roberts biggest fan but it’s a huge stretch to make. I get that jace is upset he let Valentine go and that hodge turned out to be playing them but why doesn’t anyone say anything vs when Alec did, suddenly he’s gone mad????? Alec had every right to be mad that he didn’t know about his family’s history and jace can be mad about Valentine but it’s the double standard for me

47. just because hodge ends up being a traitor, it does not mean that everyone they know is. literally jace was so hard on Alec this whole season and then when jace does similar shit, it’s okay????? because he’s been through a lot????? it irritates me that no one ever smacks the shit out of jace. Alec has had nothing but issues all season

a. he’s had to sort through feelings or feelings of friendship for jace

b. found out his parents were in the circle and never told him

c. had an arranged marriage

d. wasn’t sure if he should come out or not

e. taking the blame for every decision jace and clary made

f. all the shit he dealt with Jace and clary- watching jace fall in love with her while babysitting her and taking the blame and all the hurtful words Maryse and jace threw at him

g. Maryse practically disowning Alec for doing something for himself

48. like I could literally go on. Alec has had nothing but snide remarks and bullshit all season and this has only been a few days. it’s the fact that almost no one says anything to jace when he throws tantrums and all the fucked shit he does. and Alec does get better treatment later on. but I can’t stand the way Alec gets treated vs jace. he practically gets away with any type of behavior

49. side note- show jace is at least better than book jace. but he almost pays zero consequences for any decisions he makes and it’s like everyone is expected to drop everything to save him. literally goes off to join Valentine, a decision he made and almost everyone is like omg let’s save him!

50. honestly it’s easy to see why hodge does what he does. I love my lightwoods but he was basically banned to spend all his life in the institute while the lightwoods got off for probably doing worse 😬 it’s not very often I call out my fav family but I try to look at things from all pov possible. (punishment for Maryse and Robert tends to be incomplete though at this stage) but it’s understandable why hodge does what he does. Alec and Izzy thought they treated hodge like family but that’s not the way hodge felt about it

51. just because you think you treat someone well, it doesn’t mean it’s how they feel. look at alec and jace. alec does about everything for jace no questions asked cause wE’rE pArAbAtAi (ban this word please) and jace treats him like utter shit- and Jace doesn’t see anything wrong with his behavior. I mean, he’s toxic on a whole but he thinks he treats alec fine if I would guess. just like clary and Simon, as well as clary and Izzy. she does hurtful things to both but in her mind, she treats them well. these comparisons obviously aren’t all equal to each other- but point being, you never know what someone is going through and how their actions affect you. either because that person is a dick, shit at communicating, not paying attention, or some other reason. sorry for my rant!!!!!! (am I though?)

52. point being, so many treated Alec shitty in season one and I didn’t see much apologies or changed behavior towards Alec. MY BOY DID NOT DESERVE THAT

53. I haven’t noticed this in forever but apparently they have a Russian flag just hanging at the place Valentine is in???? На хую видеть 💀

54. Valentines actions will never make sense to me

55. “I hate downworlders but I’m going to inject my children with demon and angel blood so they can be the ultimate warriors” so you want them to be downworlders then? IM SORRY HIS ACTIONS DO NOT MAKE SENSE TO ME

56. “when I was trying to find my mom, I didn’t care about anything else”- clary. are we missing some development on clary because I don’t see it. like did she just magically change or something????? because she still seems pretty selfish to me. was she not the one two days ago that was trying to rummage around ragnors stuff when he had just died???? or having Simon have to go to Camille for the book of the white? like am I missing something lmao

57. Jace is like I already have this evil inside of me (we already knew you’re a dick, this isn’t news to us) and clary has to remind jace they’re related lmao

58. nothing like a good reminder that the girl you “love” is really your sister 💀 that’s some good old fashioned karma

59. why does jace have to be like stop thinking with your stele to Alec? so sue a man if he wants to see his boyfriend

60. how nice of Luke to use his wolves for his own agenda. not saying he can’t use them but he’s always telling them to do what HE WANTS but when it comes to keeping them safe, he’s like y’all are on your own bye

61. “the shadowhunters have no business interfering in the night children’s affairs”- tell clary off Raphael 🔥 I mean, they really don’t

62. Hodge: I was a prisoner. not agreeing with his choices but I understand in a way. I don’t agree with what he’s doing because putting the cup in valentines hands is asking for a war but I understand why he did it

63. BEAT HIS ASS HODGE! BEAT HIS ASS HODGE! BEAT HIS ASS HODGE! now y’all got me rooting for hodge lmao

64. why is jace’s facial expressions so weird?

65. it’s so extra lmao I don’t know if it’s because I can’t stand the character but it’s so cringe to me

66. “he’s a traitor, he deserves to pay.”- jace. at least when Alec was following claves orders, he wasn’t actively cutting off meliorns hand. (AGAIN NOT DEFENDING) and jace went out on his own

67. went from “Robert and Maryse raised me to my mother is Maryse to Robert and Maryse aren’t my parents” in short of 10 episodes. well, make up your mind jace. I get he’s going through a crisis or whatever but I can’t sympathize

68. I’m tired of seeing the “I’m going through something” trope so I can do or say whatever. like if you want to be a villain? wonderful! I could probably sympathize but when you go through that villain stage and you don’t adapt, grow, and use excuses. I’m not sorry but get out of here. and that’s all jace does. everyone is constantly fighting for him and saving his life and he’s like ahhhhhh I’m about to go do more reckless shit because I can

69. he’s just as bad as clary doing whatever he feels like while everyone else pays the consequences (mainly Alec)

70. RAPHAEL 🥰 (couldn’t find the gif but I love Raphael’s iconic lines)

71. Raphael and Camille are some of the characters I felt were also underutilized. I understand why they decided not to keep Camille around and Raphael at least gets his storylines but I wished to see more. I think the show could have turned things around and done more for the downworlders or featured them more. yes it’s called shadowhunters but show some growth for fucks sake

and Camille is super iconic and was in like four episodes

72. “Valentine really messed with his head. He went through a lot recently.”-alec. I guess he gets a pass?????

73. CAMILLE IS BACK

74. Simon: I beg your fucking pardon?

75. Camille: you’re such a predictable lot

76!!!!!!!!!! I’m going to forget that but part 4 coming soon!

I’m sorry this one was so long. Jace breathes and irritates me so I rant

[heartbranches]

Strange New World Spoilers

So. This was the musical episode.

Generally I'm not the biggest fan of musicals because I have worked in theatre for 20 years and I have two degrees in it. Musical theatre people are... a LOT.

But this was a delight.

a) "It's not bunnies" I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE BUFFY REFERENCE.

b) Ethan can sing, bless.

c) Babs cannot, bless.

d) Spock and Chapel's relationship, while it delighted me, reaches it's inevitable conclusion. Chapel is not in any space to give Spock what he wants from her, and sadly he will learn the wrong lessons. I wish we could have spent more time with it to make it feel more earned, but with streaming being the bitch-ass that it is, they have to cram it in where they can.

e) KLINGON BOYBAND.

f) I like how SNW does so much character development in tiny little moments, I've recently binged Discovery and Sam Kirk has more character development than any of the bridge crew does in three seasons. There's a joke about Spock engaging in diplomacy with the Klingons (alluding to his future as an ambassador with the Romulans) and he walks onto the bridge clearly tanked. That little tiny gag is brilliant character play, and way more than any of the bridge crew on Discovery gets, poor bastards. I didn't even learn their names until season 2.

g) I read that the people who wrote the songs were the singer-songwriters from Letters To Cleo, one of my favorite 90's bands. So no wonder they were catchy as hell.

h) KLINGON. BOYBAND.

[richardsphere]

Leverage Redemption Log: The Golf Job

Thats Golf with an O not a U. (so its not about BP) its also notably with an F not a D so its not about Hardison returning to learn a lesson on the importance of simplicity in the art of the con either. --- five-hundred and four nails. Thats a large and incredibly specific number of nails (wether hardware or keratin)

Migrant labour, phones and families held hostage. Well our mark at least knows talent when he sees it.

Welcome to America kid, where "upwards mobility" means a sherpa carrying a drunken white man up Mt Everest. --- HURLEY?! I mean i knew you were still around cause Parker mentioned you earlier but to see you is another story.

Breanna is at a coding-camp to get her skills improved. Ok so i know from the TVtropes page of the OG series that there was a korean spin-off, so im assuming that this is a reference to the Korean Spin-off.

But apparently Hurley went from "no longer doing crime" to "I swear im no longer doing crime unless im conned by a hot nun" to "fuck it, if I cant live a life of non-crime i'll at least have someone I trust decide which crimes im doing". --- Golfing trip. Harry loses his ball and stumbles across our Mark. Harry overhears the less-usefull half of the conversation (basically only knows about a "liquidity issue") and witnesses Bao get threatened.

Elliot is at this point so familiar with the whole "busman's holiday" thing that he no longer finds the irony funny anymore.

Ah im starting to realise whats happening. The halloween episode was a "girls night out" and this is the "boys night out" episode. But cause Hardison is only available as a special guest they had to bring in Hurley to avoid working a 2-man crew. Harry's first time having to do an actual B&E himself. Meanwhile elliot is doing his "pretend to be a creepy rich guy oggling the staff who arent paid enough to put up with it" con. (not a fan) Hurley is getting the money by rolling pockets as a server. --- And Harry needs to figure out a password. First two tries fail (both decent guesses) and he knows a third failure will lock him out so he tries Breanna, who is unfortunately unavailable for reasons of coding camp. Oh he's resorted to Social Engineering, taking a leaf out of Sophie's book. Lets see how it plays out for him.

And He's Done It! (Maybe "Imaloser" is a bit on the nose, but it fits the character of "disgruntled IT guy who is sick of these idiots not doing this right")

Something bad enough that Harry's old employers wouldnt be willing to keep it on their servers lest it damage them? Thats bad.

And Harry almost got compromised but quickly pulls the "this is my office" and stealthily distracts her while he removes the pictureframes. He's getting good at this. (but also, he was never bad at it. His first self-made heist was pretty well thought out with exception to the whole "insurance would've covered it" thing.)

little bit more social engineering and he's got access to the paper files (unfortunately he slips and gives himself slightly away, both with his rant on how lawyers are scum and the daughter thing. Yes Saphron has a child but its a baby, not remotely old enough to be someone she'd remind him of) --- Elliot getting confused on the various stupid con-names. (good gag.)

Sophie doing her part of the con in a cameo. (wonder if this is gonna be a repeat of the Girls Night Out Job and next episode lets us see why she's wearnig a moustache in a monastary, but i dont think so)

poor guy's gonna be on hold for hours isnt he... great dart-throw though. Impressive. --- I like Bao's little story about the Golf-club of the Lake. Hurley is trying to reach out but unfortunately, fear is still winning (cause hostages at the nail-salon) --- Harry is taking his understudy on an all-expenses spa-day. Oh she's calling him out earlier then expected (harry is not that good of an actor) but he reaches out and works her on their side.

Greenscreen Parker is rather uncanny valley.

So yeah, he's a human trafficker. --- And we're back to continuity-jokes (thin blue line and that one where he played baseball)

Repeat of Sophie's advice. Ah the magic words... god i hate those. Hurley reverse-engineers the secret to Elliots power: The more Chaos, the better the Elliot.

Little "chaotic Hurley" montage (the keys, thats just low) --- Operation Ultrakaren is a go! And Hurley is going into withdrawal,

Well Harry is definitly undeniably outed to his old company now. (i mean they already suspected, but now Saphron knows)

"shoulda yelled two". a solid 2/2. bows on everything, wrap-up at the theatre.

[opheliaintherushes]

I just read the plot synopsis for the Riverdale finale and people, the way the universe flashed before my eyes when I saw the words "eighty-six-year-old Betty" -

Really, but really, it's a shame that there were so many roads untaken a final season of Riverdale could have been -

a) our characters with their modern sensibilities and remembered minds forced to navigate the 50s where actions actually cause changes to fix the future (oh, sorry, isn't that what we were promised? ha, ha, ha...)

b) our characters sent back with their selves replaced with Archie comic stereotyped selves where they have to shake off those stereotyped selves throughout the season (oh, wait, we were promised that too...)

c) an actual true blue gleaming 50s Archie Comic adaptation, since the writers cannot handle any discussion of delicate topics or keep in their minds from episode to the next what repression, racism, homophobia, paranoia, or censorship mean (don't tell me 'love letter to the comic fans'; don't lie to my face; I grew up on Betty & Veronicas; let Reggie be a cad; let Veronica be mean; let Betty be pathetic; let Archie and Jughead talk!; the closest they got was "Tales in a Jugular Vein" and it was glorious and then they scolded us for enjoying it)

d) Sabrina accidentally completely breaks down the barrier from Greendale to Riverdale and we get full on zombies, vampires, and werewolves at last! (come on, the Vampire Diaries universe finally ended last year, it was time to fill the void)

e) The comet hits Riverdale and we stick around to see post-apocalyptic Riverdale, with Big Anthony and Bingo wandering the streets like Mad Max (I'm sure The 100 had some props lying around in a Vancouver warehouse)

f) We just finally throw up our hands and give David Ramsey the Green Lantern show he's teased in about seventeen different series already, which could be no worse than having to hear Toni saying, without a hint of irony, the words, "You completely captured the longing of being in a queer, interracial relationship in the 50s"

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

AAH promo time :)))

O P E NEXT EPISODE'S THE TARLOS KISS

AHHHHHHH :DDDD

AWWWWW 😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️ THEMMMMMM 🥰🥰🥰

y'all they love each other so much :'DDDDD

Iris

That better not be a problem xd

Why does it sound like a problem lol

Girl I trust you

Be careful with that trust XD

OPE thereee it is with those guys

Dang o.o all this in one episode???

I'm seeing like explosives and- well probably just more explosives honestly xD, and-

HOLY

DANG O.O

THAT BUS ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ

Okay Owen good thing you got away from those guys like. Literally immediately ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ

I mean I knew they were bad but now we're full on seeing it even if just for a second xdd

Anyhoo

Ahhh dang he's asking all of them for help 👀👀

Presumably lol unless they're doing a fake out with the audio but I think he is lol

At the very least he's warning them

HMM interesting 🤔🤔🤔. . .

All of that I mean

OPE there's the papers 👀👀 not that we knew already but I just mean newspapers are on it, for something xD

Wow, crazy

OKAY xdd dang

Next week's gonna be wild lol

So yeah! That isss the last of my last thoughts lol. I'm scared xD. Now it's time for the. . .

REVIEW

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THEY'RE BAAAACK THEY'RE FINALLY BAAACK MY BABEYS :'DDDDDDD

All of them :DDDD <3333

I love them so much 😭😭❤️❤️🥰🥰

Anyway, lol!

I loved this episode so much!! The rescues were cool, we got TARLOS :DD AAAH, lol, none of the storylines I was scared of dragged on too long (or, you know, the beginning of them anyway), and we got to see our wonderful 126 (and co) again :DDD. It was amazing :)). Now, onto some individual parts!

See not everyone has a plot each episode unlike tgd most of the time so this is easier but also harder lik

Marjan, Paul, Mateo, Nancy - I LOVE YOU GUYS 🥰🥰🥰🥰 SO MUCH :DDDDD!!! You are my babeys and my children and I love you <3. 'Nough said <3.

XD Just kidding lol. They were all hilarious as always - Nancy catching Tommy in her flirting, lol, that was amazing xD - and had some great scenes/bits of scenes together :)). The very beginning and the Sharknado bit are great examples just off the top of my head lol! And of course, they were great at their jobs :D 🥰🥰❤️.

Also, the three amigos being disgusted in the background after that fairground kiss and Nancy being disgusted in the foreground? Amazing, lol.

Now! Tommy :)). And this new guy! IIII already forgot his name lol. But AAAAHH!!! Meet cute much :DD?? Tommy was of course amazing and an icon this episode, and her and that new guy were so cute :D. Plus her panic and dread at the end was hilarious XD. I like him WAY better than Julius (why did I even bring that up so now I have to think about it augh 😭😭😭), so there's that right off the bat lol xD. He's already got that on his side - that he's NOT JULIUS XDD. Anyway, lol, it's gonna be hilarious, I think, and interesting to see where this goes 👀. Poor Tommy at the end there though, girl is s u f f e r i n g xDD.

Owen and Judd! Owen. Owennnn xD. MY GUY. How did nothing tip you off lol

See this is why you're the token straight xDD Judd was suspicious right away

Well I mean you're more token cishet white man but yk <3 XDD

Anyway lol, I think I will actually enjoy this storyline! Not that I necessarily thought I wouldn't, but I'm sure it will be angsty xD, plus I'm not always the biggest fan of Owen-centric things (though I'm not as much of a hater as some other people). Nonetheless, it looks like it'll an interesting and dramatic time, so I'm here for it :DD. Also Judd just laughing along for the ride lol xDD. Icon. But, though I say that, he was there for Owen the whole time as well :). That talk after the bar with the two of them was really sweet <33 🥰. They're besties, your honor :DD. Oh, and of course they also slayed at their jobs today :))).

And yeah, like I said lol: don't worry Owen - I'm sure you'll have plenty of dragons to slay soon xD.

Grace! Icon, amazing, love you girl 🥰🥰🥰🥰❤️❤️. Sometimes I just love seeing Grace's little "hold up" moments and confused faces at some of the 9-1-1 calls lol XDD. Anyway, she also was amazing at her job this episode, as always :DDD 🥰🥰🥰. Can't wait to see more of her :).

And now. The moment you've all been waiting for.

CARLOS

AND

TK

:DDDDDDDD!!!

Okay y'all it's Tarlos time 🥰🥰🥰

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Okay I'm good lol

:)))))

(no I'm not xdd)

Anyway! I love love love love LOVED them this episode 🥰🥰🥰🥰. They had so many great scenes 😭😭😭. I am a liiiittle but disappointed we didn't get a kiss, but eh, whatever :D. We got so much besides that lol, and I'm fine with that xD. Even if some of it was angst xdd. I mean, it's still a better start than last season LOL XDD.

that was pain xdd

Anyway lol xD. Oh, and of course I'll also be talking about Iris here in this section, but I'm not really considering her as getting her own, since she's not like one of the mains yk lol, I'll just be talking about her here xD. So, continuing on, y'all they are so adorable 😭😭😭. And even though it killed me, I love me some angst, so I'm doing great lol. I mean, it wasn't THAT bad so I probably would've just been like, gravely injured (nah I'd be dead lol) if I didn't love angst, but still XD.

Anyway y'all I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY PLAYED US LIKE THAT!!! We all (well so many people anyway) said that that was too obvious, and that Iris wouldn't come back, and then that she probably wasn't the secret/it wasn't about her but she helped lead them to it or something (I considered that anyway and I know some other people did), and they PROVED. US. WRONG. XDDD. I did consider several times that maybe they would do that, it would be just obvious and crazy enough to be likely, but I didn't want it to be this so I didn't think about it much xDD.

And I mean, don't get me wrong, I loved the scenes in this episode, and I'm sure I'll continue to love this plot, I just wish it was something a little more fancy. And also that Carlos hadn't been married before lol. But, it was for kind of okayyy reasons, and good reasons to keep it - although Carlos, no offense, not to hurt you lol, but if had checked in sooner you would've known she didn't need the insurance anymore sooner xdd. But! Hey, it's in the past lol. Anyway, not my first choice for a secret, but I think it's really interesting and it'll be a fun (if not very literally) plotline :D.

And also just- AAAHHHHH THEY'RE GETTING MARRIED 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😭😭❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰. Y'all I literally can't handle this 🥰🥰 :'DDD. It's t h e m 😍😍🥰. All the wedding planning stuff and what not - aGH, it's so cute :'DDD 😭😭🥰. I'm so excited and I love them so much :))).

I am still scared for this storyline though lol xD.

But nah, I know it'll all work out fine lol. And I know I said nah but it actually doesn't stop me from being scared XDD.

Oh and lastly WE GET THE KISS NEXT EPISODEEEEE AAAHHHHHH and also AHHHH THAT HOLDING SCENE 😭😭😭😭. Like where TK was holding Carlos's face (or like neck or smth idk I was busy freaking out xD) :'))). If I remember correctly it was also that "I love you" scene from the promo? I don't know, like I said I was busy freaking out lol, but I'm pretty sure it was :'DDDD 🥰🥰🥰. Amazing, I love them so much, I am not at all ready and also so ready for this season :DDD. Let's do this :'))).

Overall, I really loved this episode! I thought the rescues/calls were cool and interesting, I loved seeing everybody again, and the disaster was super cool and unique :DD. I'm so happy to have my babeys back 🥰🥰. All the group scenes were hilarious, the plots were interesting and set up more cool stuff for the future, and the tarlos content was top notch :'DD xD. I think Owen's will be the main drama, obviously, but I'm looking forward to seeing where Tommy's goes. And I'm super excited for TK and Carlos's :D. I think this episode was an amazing start to what's sure to be an awesome season!!

So yeah! Such a great episode, I'm so glad we're back. I'm interested to see where this all goes! This has been my review of. . .

9-1-1: Lone Star, Season 4, Episode 1: The New Hotness

It was amazing! I'm really excited for the next episode, and the season as a whole. I'll be back next week for my review of. . .

9-1-1: Lone Star, Season 4, Episode 2: New Hot Mess

See you then!

[glowyjellyfish]

…and I just finished Ducktales! Here are some semi-random notes on episodes roughly in order:

1. Okay, i’ll admit I am a little sick of kids’ shows always feeling obliged to stick a Real Santa in, but Ducktales did it perfectly. Super appreciate that they even made Santa a contemporary of Scrooge, because what could be more fitting or accurate?

2. The last Fenton episode was great, poor tiny anxious Huey. And Fenton was not faring much better but at least he had a girlfriend to show for it. Also, Mark Beaks acting like a stalker with a crush towards Gizmoduck, which is peak Beaks right there. And I loooove that Huey brought in Louie to lie for him, and didn’t even think to tell him about Fenton! Lol Dewey knew because he was right there when Gizmoduck debuted, Huey figured it out quickly when Gizmoduck was in front of him fighting crime, and Louie never even had a scene with Fenton or Gizmoduck until that moment did he? L O L.

3. I am still a little bit salty that the Talespin episode didn’t even mention Launchpad, but i get why now, it was all about following in the footsteps of the mentors and there really wasn’t room for Launchpad. I will just politely headcanon that Stunt Pilot Molly Cunningham is friendly rivals with Launchpad’s sister. And maybe that Della got home and promptly told Launchpad he is no longer the worst pilot she’s ever met.

4. I’m impressed how many flashbacks they crammed into The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck! And also, Poe! I don’t think even 1987 Ducktales ever gave us Person Poe. Aw how cool. I feel pretty bad for Magica with that story. Scrooge really was a bit of a dick to her, and I’m glad that’s the one he owned up and took responsibility for. As an Animorphs fan, you really do not want to accidentally lose a loved one in bird form. Birds have short short lives.

5. THE FINALE.

A. Definitely felt like we suddenly hit fast forward and had to cram a ton in at crazy speeds, but Ducktales pulled it off!

B. I cannot BELIEVE they crammed a gargoyles reference in there too, Frank Angones you madman. With the addition of Keith David this truly was the correct thing to watch after I finished Community s6. It was practically the same cast!

C. Impeccable division of teams, so that everybody went up against the appropriate villain, teams were logical, and banter was beautiful

D. DARKWING AND GIZMODUCK AND LAUNCHPAD. OMG. I still would like to have approximately twelve seasons worth of bantering between Darkwing and Gizmoduck, and Fenton and Drake, and all combinations in between. Launchpad is everybody’s sidekick, EXCEPT WHEN HE PUTS ON THE GIZMO SUIT AND GETS TO SHINE. AWWWW LAUNCHPAD.

E. Okay I’m going to ramble about Launchpad some more for just a minute here. First, Launchpad’s subconscious has been struggling to tell everyone this intel the whole time??? And without his double-o mission they would have been stuck at square one?!? HOORAY LAUNCHPAD HELPED! Also, who is the first character to say “isn’t family the greatest adventure of all?” or most of it at least, that’s right, Launchpad! He is the HEART and I love him and I am very proud of him.

F. Back to Fenton and Drake, I am now going to assume that both of my suggested scenarios happened. Fenton had a long day and said something like “ugh, don’t even talk to me about Gizmoduck!”, then Drake took that as his cue to start griping about Gizmoduck, and Fenton just awkwardly agreed to be polite at first, and Drake was like “haha, yes! He clearly hates Gizmoduck too! My new buddy!” Also, I find it hilarious that Darkwing refuses to consider the possibility that Fenton is Gizmoduck, possibly because he likes Fenton too much? Which is great. I loved the classic versions getting on each other’s nerves every which way in Tiff of the Titans, but this is an extremely lovable dynamic as well. Especially that Fenton got frustrated enough to try to just tell him. These guys are terrible at secret identities, and yet still Fenton somehow managed to have one from Drake, and from Louie. Somehow.

G. Hooray, I finally know the thing about Webby properly! And yes, there was a TON of foreshadowing and themes about nature vs nurture all over the place throughout this show, omg! Especially as other clones we have seen on the show were (usually?) exact duplicates, while there is no question that Webby is fully her own person, despite having clear streaks of Scrooge in her. Which, to be fair, also could have just come from growing up around him! I wish there was more time to get to know May and June, and I love the way Beakley just kinda… bluescreened and went off on her own over Webby.

H. Seeing Scrooge and Donald and Della together in action was glorious. Surely we saw it before, can’t remember, buuuuut still glorious.

I. also aaaaaaaa Huey’s woodchucking skills saving the day, the parallel with the villain coming together nicely

J. and all the kids getting to shine too!

Okay, I’m sure I forgot a ton of important stuff as I just sat down and started rambling. Now I can look at TVTropes and the whole rest of tumblr and AO3 and everything!

[valeriegirion]

i'm behind in watching snk season 4 because i don't like watching stuff with big gaps and breaks between episodes, but you're telling me that after waiting for sEasOn 4 PaRt 3 people were given a single 1h episode and were told to wait again till the end of this year f o r t h e a c t u a l e n d i n g? i swear i was making that joke like a year ago but i actually thought mappa has more dignity. guess i'm gonna add ANOTHER calendar note in NOVEMBER that snk is coming out. i have already a couple of those in my old calendars, and they're all about season 4. like i'm not hating the studio or animators who have a lot of work and need time to draw it, i understand it... to the degree. but it's too much of a stretch and it seems like they want to milk this franchise so much. i'm disappointed and surprised.

it's been already 3 years since season 4 is airing. they could have done so many things - divide it for a couple of seasons from the start, announce an official schedule of episodes, inform people that each release is not an actual ending yet. but they didn't and and i blame the studio for this - not the animators, but the studio run by corporate rats. my complaint is - they don't respect the fans. if they did, they wouldn't play this little game so many times. ✨ oh, season 4 is coming out - the last season ;) ouch, sorry, now wait for part two, real ending of the season :)) whoops, now it's part 3, i promise, the last one ;)) auch, sorry guys, i promise, this year it's gonna end, believe me ;P ✨ honestly, fuck them. during these 3 years i managed to read the whole manga, hate the ending, grieve, accept the ending, and already forget the ending and not care about it at all. i managed to give the ending a new chance with upcoming animated adaptation, but it's been stretched so much that i pretty much feel nothing about snk right now, and i'm still waiting for the feelings to be revived when i finally watch the whole season 4, but, well... not yet 🙃

i'm glad people are still enjoying this anime and they're very excited for a new release every time, and they praise the animators for a good work. but we should address the issues that does exist. the studio fucked up and gaslights the fans, that's not cool and it makes me feel bitter about this anime. i shouldn't feel bitter - i should feel excited and well informed.

[sorrelpaws]

what's your definitive rating of every episode? sorry if that's too demanding i really enjoy hearing your opinions on this show

omg i didn't know how much i needed to answer an ask like this. OKAY so this is what i’d rate the episodes if i had to be objective. s tier = perfect, a tier = very good, b tier = good, c tier = decent, d tier = not very good, but watchable, e tier = bad, and f tier = actually sucks

HOWEVER!!! i also want to talk about my subjective favorites and least favorites in a bit more detail >:]

favorites: pilot - this is kind of just a me thing, because i usually love the first episodes/pilots of shows. it's so fun to me, seeing where the characters start, and typically the love for first eps only grows the longer a series goes on. it is far from the best episode, but i think it's a pretty decent introduction to the characters and humor.

close rick-counters of the rick kind - i just love evil morty. i've explained before how i think he was really only intended to exist for this episode, especially considering how it ends with him disappearing into the crowd. the dialogue is again really funny, and it has one of my favorite jokes ever, even if it is kind of stupid (rick: hey, it’s a good thing that space outlet had labcoats and your favourite kind of shirt in stock, huh morty? morty: yeah, rick. i-i heard you the first time. you don’t have to keep saying it over and over and over.)

big trouble little sanchez - TINY RICK is so silly to me. that's it

rest and ricklaxation - oh my god it's just such a good episode. it might be my all time favorite. toxic r&m are such a fun idea, and they're executed pretty much perfectly in my opinion. once you get to that "reveal" (rick's irrational attachments) and you rewatch the episode, it's basically in your face how co-dependent rick is. literally the first thing toxic rick does is look for morty, he drags him along everywhere, he involves him in conversations constantly. he does it while being a huge fucking dick, of course, but i think his actions really highlight how irrational of an attachment morty really is to him. aaalso i love the detail of r&m's color palletes getting lighter/more saturated when they're no longer toxic. great episode

the ricklantis mixup - evil morty. but also, this episode does such a good job at balancing so many different storylines at once, while also giving us a closer look at the citadel and how it works. of course a lot of it is just implied through background details/characters, but even with a somewhat limited perspective, you get a pretty good idea of what life there is like. and of course evil morty. great as always

rickternal friendshine of the spotless mort - birdrick…………….. its just. so nice to see the amount of effort rick will put in for birdperson. visually it's also very cool, travelling from different sections of bp's brain is so neatly crafted, and the transitions are so seamless. this is like … a very strong contender for my all time favorite episode. i think part of the reason it feels so good is because the rest of s5 is kind of average at best, and this episode is like. Actually Great. not to say season 5 is bad, just kind of.. okay. but this episode knocks it out of the park. it keeps rick in character while also showing a very different side to him, and i think the lack of morty/the smiths/any kind of b-plot really helps, because all of your focus is directed on this single goal. birdrick is handled so so well. there's plenty of space to either go somewhere with rick's feelings for bp, or disregard them as a sort of "i had a crush on him when i was younger" kinda thing(even if that would be a super wuss move), or just do something else entirely. either way, this episode sets future possibilities up very well.

least favorites: raising gazorpazorp - in all honesty im not a huge fan of a lot of s1 episodes. they were definitely made for a 2012 audience. this is just some weird gender politics episode and its just… not very good. the dialogue is cringe, the gazorpazorps are very stereotypical women, "you will be sentenced to… silent treatment", ughh. the whole episode just makes me groan in annoyance at best.

vindicators 3 - this is just.. it just reeks of 2016(i hate episodes that date themselves). there's this one joke where the guy gets freaked out, says he's triggered, and flies into a fan and gets sliced, and i distinctly remember, the first time i watched that scene, thinking: “was this season made in like 2016?” . i hate it this episode sucks in my opinion. it's so cringy and obviously made to appeal to the exact audience that gave r&m its edgelord reputation. it's just a pointless gorefest filled with shitty jokes and a lame ending, and i'm surprised more people don't hate it as much as i do

the rickchurian mortydate - made rick soo stupidly overpowered. i think the first half of the episode is just.. fine, but i think with the second half it becomes painfully obvious that it got rushed. allegedly s3 was supposed to have 14(?) episodes in total, and that got cut for some reason. which is a shame, because i kind of imagine those extra 4 or so episodes could have helped make rick's progression into this op state feel at least… a bit more natural? if the fight with the president was even the original plan. i dont know. just kind of an anticlimactic ending

rickdependence spray - sperm episode bad. it's been so brutally picked apart that i don't think i have anything new to say here.

other comments:

i love rick's characterization in season one the most. i love this unhinged scientist who isn't all powerful but still very dangerously capable. s5 rick is probably a second favorite, with him being less of an asshole and also has his power levels slightly nerfed.

season 2 is probably my favorite as of right now.

the rickshank rickdemption kiindaa sucks. it's still a fun episode on it's own, but when taken into context, it kind of just erases s2e10. s2 finale had rick give up everything to protect his family, but s3e1 rick actually did it cuz um… he needed to destroy the galactic federation …? something which hadn't been hinted at as a goal of his. also the "smartest man in the universe" thing starts getting shoved in ur face, and i haateee that plotline #sorrynotsorry.

s4 is so painfully average that i just dont care about it, EXCEPT i hate that in this season, instead of rick being just the smartest, he's constantly referred to as a god, both by him and others.

s5 also suffers from being just.. fine for the most part.

[weakforarwen]

Merlin Week 2022 Day 3: Favorite Dynamic - Arthur/Gwen

I'm late, but this was the day I wanted to write for the most! There's this quote from an ask I read a while ago that stuck with me: "Let’s be clear: Arthur loved Guinevere more than anyone else.". They probably meant Arthur loved Gwen more than he loved any other person, but I find the sentence a bit ambiguous; it could also mean no one loved Gwen more than Arthur did. Both sentiments are true yet I think fans deny the later even more than the former. The full quote is actually: "While I adore Gwencelot, I also really like Arwen, and I think anyone who seeks to erase Gwen from her canon epic love story is a racist moron. Let’s be clear: Arthur loved Guinevere more than anyone else.". In this context, they could've meant Arthur's love for Gwen surpassed anyone else's, including Lancelot's (points for the racist moron bit). To me, this is a really important point: no one loved Gwen more than Arthur, not even Elyan - only Tom could compete. When we talk about Arwen, it's often about its narrative purpose, or Gwen's journey, or just how cute they were; I don't think we discuss how (not just how much) Arthur loved Gwen enough; no one loved her more.

This is not a Lancelot hate post, but I was thinking the other day that his feelings for Gwen are grossly overstated in the fandom. I don't know if some fans believe Lancelot was Gwen's first choice and that he loved Gwen more than Arthur, but I fear that's the case. About Gwen's feelings for Lancelot, I will quickly say: a) Lancelot left in 2.04 before she had to "chose" between Lancelot and Arthur; b) Arthur had told her they couldn't be together and Gwen had spent days in a dark cell certain she would die with only Lancelot as company; c) when Lancelot returned in 3.13 Gwen only smiled awkwardly; d) Lancelot was a knight for a year before dying so Gwen had plenty of time to rethink her relationship with Arthur, yet her last words to him were to keep Arthur safe; e) when shade!Lancelot came back, her old feelings did not; f) just because Morgana told shade!Lancelot he was Gwen's first love that didn't make it true; Morgana hadn't even known about Arthur and Gwen in season 2, that's how well she knew Gwen; g) Lancelot was Gwen's first (onscreen) requited crush, but her first love was either Merlin or Arthur (one was an unrequited crush, the other genuine, reciprocal love); h) I promise you this is an Arwen post, but, sadly, this fandom undermines Arthur and Gwen's relationship and would rather see her with anyone but Arthur (be it Lancelot, Merlin, Leon, or even evil Morgana), so I think this needed to be said.

On the other hand, Lancelot's love for Gwen was not some great epic love. Is it that easy to walk away from your epic love? How much can you love someone you knew for a week at best? Before his return in 3.13, Lancelot and Gwen knew each other for two episodes. He liked Gwen instantly when he met her, but didn't even say goodbye when he left. In 2.04, he was lost, working for Hengist, using his skills to fight for sport and entertain brutes. There was nothing noble about his actions; Lancelot chose to make a living the worst way possible, when he could've returned to Camelot or done normal manual labor instead. The issue with Lancelot is that his gentle manner and kind heart overshadowed some of his not so noble actions, such as lying to become a knight, fighting men for money, leaving without saying goodbye twice - and, worse, not having the courage to say goodbye to Gwen in person and having Merlin deliver his message after all they had gone through together, promising to protect Arthur and then leaving him to protect Merlin.

I understand all of Lancelot's choices but they show he wasn't just a perfect example of honor and nobility (and honestly he shouldn't be), that Arthur couldn't possibly compare to. Arthur would not have left Gwen without saying goodbye; he didn't abandon Gwen once (4.09 and 5.13 be damned) and instead was willing to give up everything he held dear for her. He would not have used his skills to entertain men like Hengist - he only broke the Knight's code to knight commoners. Arthur's wasn't perfect at all, and I don't care that Lancelot lied to become a knight or put Merlin first - I admire him for it - but my point is that Lancelot only seemed so perfect because he was in so few episodes and because his overall conduct overshadowed his flaws in the eyes of the audience - Lancelot failed Gwen when he left without checking she was alright after a traumatic event (Arthur visited Gwen after Tom died, checked in on her after 2.10, 3.10 and 4.08, arranged breakfast in bed and a picnic after 5.09, etc.), and would've "failed" her again by breaking his promise to Gwen for Merlin.

I didn't mean to make this Lancelot-centric, but I had to get it off my chest. Lancelot didn't nurture a deep, unconditional love for Gwen. In 2.04, she reminded him that he was good and he was willing to die to prove to himself he still had honor (what's more honorable than dying for a woman who believed in him?) Lancelot treasured Gwen's words and repeated them to Arthur in 3.13. He was a new man after 2.04 and began leading a proper life (probably why he stayed after being "rejected"). He was disappointed to find Gwen with Arthur and had probably dreamed of one day being with her, but carrying a torch for someone is not the same as loving them. Gwen was Lancelot's savior and ideal woman, but he only knew her for two episodes and couldn't have loved her. After 3.13, their one scene in 4.01 showed they were comfortable with each other and that Lancelot thought the world of Gwen, but didn't indicate closeness. To me, 4.01 and 4.02 made clear that while Lancelot had a soft spot for Gwen and treasured her, he didn't love her. He told Merlin he no longer had feelings for Gwen and that Arthur was the better man. It was Merlin he died for. I don't buy this "better man" bullshit - there are many good men and love doesn't work that way, but, in this case, I believe Arthur was a better man for Gwen. Lancelot may have liked her, but his feelings couldn't compare to Arthur's. How much time did Lancelot and Gwen spend together? How well did Lancelot know her? Love needs time, care, intimacy. You can't love someone from afar better or more than someone who's always there for them and is 100% devoted to them.

Now, I'll tell you why Arthur loved Gwen more than anyone, and why Gwen also loved Arthur more than anyone.

Arthur loved Gwen more than he loved Uther and Camelot, so that means he loved her more than anyone and anything. She was first in Arthur's heart and Uther and perhaps Camelot were 2nd (which came first?), while Merlin was maybe 3rd if we ignore he had once adored Morgana. We know Arthur loved Gwen more than he loved Uther and Camelot because he would've abandoned his duties to both for her in 3.10, married her against Uther and Agravaine's wishes (representing the opinion of most nobles and, objectively, Camelot's best interests), gave away lands for her ("Without her, they're worth nothing to me.") and sabotaged an alliance (men like Uther or Olaf could've waged war against Camelot for the insult of not marrying their beloved daughter and sending her packing like she had been lacking and they wanted a refund), and accepted he had released his father's spirit in 5.03 only after Uther nearly killed Gwen. For the record, Arthur also loved Gwen more than Merlin judging by his reactions when she was in danger (2.04, 4.08, 5.06) vs. when Merlin was (4.02, 4.06) - and for many other reasons.

Gwen also loved Arthur more than she loved anyone else, possibly including Elyan: she made Lancelot promise to keep Arthur safe knowing it could endanger him; when Merlin was missing in 4.06 she told Arthur to not look for him because it was dangerous; in 3.07, Elyan was taken hostage by Cenred yet initially Gwen didn't want to involve Arthur nor trade him for Elyan (I really wanna know how she planned to save Elyan with Arthur and Merlin's help). I'm not saying Gwen loved Arthur more than Elyan but it's impossible to say she loved Elyan more. It's partially down to bad writing, but she was much closer to Arthur - he meant "everything" to her and she was always asking him to be careful, not Elyan. Though Arthur was the reckless one, Elyan risked his life too but that didn't seem to bother Gwen as much (that we saw). In 3.13, when she and Leon found Arthur she launched herself into his arms and stayed close to Arthur, not Elyan. The writers definitely didn't care for Elyan, or Elyan and Gwen (they had so few scenes), but, nonetheless, it was clear Arthur was her person and she felt the closest to him.

No one loved Gwen more than Arthur. You can't judge how much someone cares by how emotional they are but no one was more upset than Arthur when Gwen went missing in 5.06 - or any other time, really. He insisted on looking for Gwen in 3.12 while Elyan left Camelot without finding her; also, Elyan knew Tom died but didn't visit Gwen, nor help her when she was banished - he abandoned Gwen in her hour of need. We should hate Arthur for his actions but at least he had been cheated on; Elyan's loyalty to Arthur after Gwen's banishment was impossible to comprehend (Arthur was still loyal to Uther after all he'd done but that was his father, not just his King). No one, not Elyan, not Lancelot, not Merlin, would've been as devastated by Gwen's hypothetical death as Arthur. There was not a thing Arthur would not have done for Gwen. He gave her everything he had - his full trust, unconditional love and devotion, his whole heart, his Kingdom - he had nothing left to give her other than time (his recklessness was naive and selfish; he had foolishly thought he was untouchable). Elyan didn't risk his knighthood for Gwen though Arthur risked his Kingship multiple times, and I've already discussed Lancelot; while Merlin cared the most for Gwen after Arthur and Elyan (better than Elyan, blame the writers), he didn't love her more than Arthur. Just compare their attitudes in 2.04 and 5.06, or Arthur's care for Gwen in 5.09 (but I admit Arthur was generally more dramatic than Merlin). I don't have much to say about Merlin, that boy was wonderful to Gwen and Arwen's biggest supporter. While he didn't help Gwen when she was banished, he saw her off and helped her later. Sadly, Arthur, Elyan, Merlin, and the knights were OOC in 4.09. Anyway, other ways in which Arthur was good to Gwen: he was always honest about his feelings and upfront about what she could expect from him (he told her they couldn't happen at first, apologized and explained about Vivian and discussed his engagement to Elena before proposing, briefly broke up with Gwen and explained why instead of leading her on); he rescued Elyan and helped him settle down in Camelot because she loved him; he always put her safety first, in 2.04, in 2.12 when he found her unconscious and put her on Morgana's bed, in 3.07 when he had Merlin check Gwen's house and organized a search party for her, in 3.10 when he told Merlin to give Gwen a message for him, in 3.12 when he wouldn't leave without finding Gwen and Uther, in 4.07 when he wouldn't rest without finding Gwen, in 3.13, 4.07 and 5.06 when all his knights escorted Gwen (unnecessarily in 3.13, I might add), all of 5.06 and 5.09; he respected and trusted Gwen (he wasn't jealous about Lancelot after 2.04 and didn't hold those events against her, he respected the distance she kept from him initially, he listened and let her explain herself after 4.09, he valued her advice the most); he also showed he cared through romantic gestures like picnics and flowers.

Lastly, this one is tricky... even to me it's hard to say Gwen loved Arthur more than Merlin. We know he was 110% devoted to Arthur and would've died for him; that was the entire show so it becomes difficult to provide arguments that Gwen loved Arthur more than Merlin. However, there is no evidence she didn't. With Merlin, I believe that his destiny was often conflated with his love for Arthur. He was entirely devoted to Arthur because Arthur was his reason for being. He fully believed he was nothing without Arthur and you can't compete with that, frankly, toxic mentality. We had a whole series of Merlin proving how far he would go for Arthur but we know Gwen would've done the same. Gwen risked Lancelot's life for Arthur's, told Arthur not to search for Merlin for Arthur, risked Sefa's life to help Arthur - would've risked anyone for Arthur (like Mordred in 5.05). Had Gwen known what Merlin did, she would've killed Mordred herself or else tried to make him an ally. Gwen risked her life in 3.13 and 4.10 to get to Arthur; she just didn't have Merlin's skills (and gender) to save him or accompany him. Instead, she took care of Uther for Arthur and did her best to give him good advice. I'm calling this one a tie between Merlin and Gwen.