#Go East ep 7

[lostinadrama]

𝐆𝐨 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 (2024)

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - We In A Slump, but help might be coming from a very strange source

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Sept 2024 Week 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 3 of 12 - I don’t have a lot to say except that the plot is somewhat predictable but the show is still very engaging. War is fantastic. I’m enjoying it a hell of a lot.

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) ep 10 of 12 - The second leads are getting better in this one. I understand where they are coming from, which makes their conflict so much more understandably painful, and honest to a friends2lovers trope. The main couple is kinda standard college relationship drama, but they are cuties.  

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 4 of 12 - How is Ohm so damn gorgeous? Meanwhile, babies’ first argument. And it’s sponge bath time. Q has got to be wondering if Min is as meticulous with all kinds of care and attention to detail all......the......time. Somebody here in the hellhole said something about this being "the most BL to ever BL." And I think they’re right. At least right now. Although, watch out, we got us a new contender from the east.

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 11 of 12 - I do love the continuation of the perversion, in a good way, of the punishment trope from last week's episode. Oh, has the show finally remembered its title? NO SINGING. 

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 7 of 10 - More kidnapping and an attack and now there’s a girl involved and somebody’s going to China and I don’t understand anything! And I don’t really care. Is this how the actual book originally went? Because it’s wild. Also TOO MANY of flashbacks. I guess they got a bit of a boyfriend era, and the claiming during the water fight was cute, but otherwise...... meh

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 2 of 15 - One shouldn’t make comparisons, of course, but all I can think about is how amazing Captain was as Noh in the original series. Thus this show is mostly just making me want to rewatch the original. It’d be an interesting twist to have Aim be queer instead of a damaged cool girl slut. Was the helmet hand letting go a foreshadow of the iconic bookstore hands letting go? Also, I gotta say for the second episode of a series there are already too many flashbacks. Why are they using filler when they have so much content crammed into so few (comparable) episodes for a series? It’s annoying. Stop it.

Live in Love (Sun Gaga) ep 4 of 5 - This show has some interesting, if heavy handed, things to say about shipping and trolling, but also predatory/proprietary female behavior. It’s fascinating to see it tackled head on, if handled in a profoundly clumsy manner. I’m not sure how I feel about it. That said, most of this episode was actually an advertisement for a resort in Phuket. 

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) ep 2 of 10 - I'm getting What's Wrong with Secretary Kim? vibes from this show. Only this is WAY more bullying. It’s very old-fashioned 90’s billionaire romance novel only gay. It’s never a good sign when I’m watching two boys kiss and I really want one of them to just bite the other ones lip off instead.

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 9 of 12 - No ep this week. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun grey) ep 8 of 10 - Gosh it’s so frikin adorable. Baby got sick. He has SUCH A CRUSH. And such a courageous little confession! Yay! Can’t wait for next week. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YouTube) ep 1 - sure, yes this is, in fact, just Ba Vinh doing his thing with pretty boys again. And yet...... There is a REASON this leapt into the standings guns blazing. So it’s high school set but it's stepbrothers trope. (My, aren’t we popular this year?) I know, but I NEVER get tired of this trope. We got us Bach (BV's sullen tsundere) and Dat (babygirl meets bully). It’s GREAT how the brothers' dynamic is entirely different at school than when they're at home. My ear isn’t trained for Vietnamese, but I think Dat is using different pronouns depending on his location (his personality entirely shifts when he’s at school). I’m not sold on the Bach character, although I always trust BV to serve in the end (at least we know the kisses will be good), but Dat is utterly in love, a touch spicy, and reasonably complex. The surrounding cast is good too, my favorite pretty boy is there playing top dog (woof), and one of the besties is out gay (YAY!). The plot of the show is...... well...... absent. Nothing happened. But if we are aiming for Love Sick slice of life style BL, I'm game. Subs are appropriately terrible and confusing. But I like it A FUCK TON so far, so I’m gonna keep it in rotation. Nice to have Vietnam back in play. What a shocker.

2024 has been a year of upsets.

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 3 of 10 eps - I weirdly enjoyed the farcical music and the utter absurdity of the court case. I also liked how it highlighted what a good team these two are. Frankly I don’t mind a bit of an antihero sleazy lawyer + conman, it's engaging. I’m getting wholesome out of Thailand. I don’t really need it from Japan at the moment. Also I don’t believe for one second our conman actually is serious about the relationship. Conmen gonna con. I'm reminded of the scorpion and the frog fable.

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) ep 8 of 12 - I love Orca so much. I do not love the autotuned version of Orca, but I knew what I was in for with this particular show, it's in the title after all. I did laugh a whole lot when Laing used kha. Hon, I don't think that word means what you think it means......

The On1y One (Taiwan Thurs Gaga) eps 11-12fin - I never thought I’d say this, but the pacing was off in the penultimate episode. Taiwan, and its chronic misuse of flashbacks strikes again. That said we eventually got a "lock in" trope and Wang being the biggest little flirt shit in the cafe OMG!!! Of course, you shouldn’t use a girl to torment your bf, but it was so well done, I can’t really complain. Meanwhile, teacher kisses. And now I understand exactly why they’re present in this narrative. Clever. Bummer of a burden on that ending though. I cannot see how they’ll manage to stick this landing. [That was ep 11]

AND NOW EP 12 - doomey doomey doom

Not the water bottle trope! Argh the teenage lust of it all. Just stop it. Wang is so smart he knows exactly how bad he has to be to leave the class. And his bf certainly knows that too. And......

......

So that was not an ending and I’m not happy about it and no one is surprised. Even I’m not surprised. I’m just disappointed. Even tho I suspected this was where we were headed I'm disappointed. That’s it. That’s all I got. How do I review something that was such a crushing let down?

Conclusion:

Based on a Mou Mou novel + the Your Name Engraved Herein team, this is old-school coming of age BL and it was bloody fantastic. Tsundere seme to beat all tsundere (smartest + tallest + bestest at everything but people) meets socially-ept cutie smart-ass uke. They're living together by end of ep 1 and start kissing by end of ep 2. A stellar tense slow burn stepbrothers trope that ate my life and than just belly-flopped the finale. What I'm left with is epic levels of disappointment and well...... at least nobody died? My standard "fatally flawed" rating for any BL is 4/10 so I guess that’s what I’m giving it. 

Before you ask me for the stats: Taiwan does not have a history of second seasons. I went ahead and ran the numbers and the odds are certainly not in our favor. I put the chances at 2%.

Yes, I contemplated a revenge rating of 2/10 but even I'm not that mean.

It's airing but...

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) ep 1 of 10 - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger). A man is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai being converted into a café. He sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, falls in love with one of them. Was substantially recast. I loved IFYLITA except the ending so I think I'll let this one run it's course you can tell me if it's work tracking down... if they managed to land it. I have my doubts.

In Case You Missed It

Falling For My Boss is vertical format (nash) short from Korean BL about a happy-go-unlucky man who keeps losing his flower shop business because of romantically misbehaving employees (apparently it's a thing). When his best employee brings in a new boy he's worried she's falling for him, but it turns out it's his own heart on the line. He a clueless softy and The Boy is a lost broken sweetheart, making this a gentle little snippet of a show. There's a baby linguistic negotiation, some hung slinging, awkward handholds, and everyone is very pretty. For me the absence of kisses and the vertical format were more annoying than the length, which felt fine but many viewers will find too short. I enjoyed the 30 minutes of cute. All of which makes this a solid 7/10 from me. It was originally only available on this one ap in very short form with ads so I wasn't gonna bother. Then some kind soul cut it together without ads and stuck it up for download. Say thank you.

Oddball recommendation next: This podcast episode touches on some stuff we see in Thai BL so I think it's worth listening to. Journalist Dominic Faulder on the Complex History Between Thailand & Myanmar

Happy of the End (Japan Gaga) - Completed its run. A boy is disowned for being gay, dumped by his boyfriend, and ends up in a dysfunctional co-dependant relationship with his would-be kidnapper. We were due for another messy JBL and it's exactly as expected. I do not like it at all and DNFed. Gossip round the hellhole is that was a solid decision.

Marriage Equality Law has officially been enacted in Thailand...

Yes the actual law. Goes into effect Jan 22, 2025

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Coming Oct 2024:

10/3 Fourever You (Thai iQIYI?) 16 eps - New directs Earth (UWMA, 12%) + Pond (Century of Love, 180 Degrees), Bas (Gen Y, 2 Moons) + Maxky (Why You… Y Me?) and other familiar faces like Bever. Sampler pack university BL from Wabi Sabi that looks like it's trying to be a gay Boys Over Flowers (4 older med students hot boys) and I'm not mad about it. Trailer Not sure who's distributing this but my guess is iQIYI since they had the last few from this house.

10/7 Every You Every Me (Thai Gaga) 10 eps - Jade and Chin have lived over a thousand lifetimes. In each one they somehow manage to fall in love with each other. (This pair, TopMick was piloted in a My Universe ep, that was one of the only ones I liked.)

10/10 Eccentric Romance (Korea ????) 12 eps - Silkwood’s 2nd Thai/Korean colab, that has been in production since 2022 which is a LONG time in the BL world. I'm worried but I like the concept: friends of 10 years who’ve been hiding feelings for each other enter the same university. Plus MURDER.

10/10 Gangster and His Boyfriend (Korea ????) 8 eps? - Kim Dong Bin (famous trainee & idol reality competitor, yeah that happens) stars as a fallen idol who unexpectedly becomes entangled in a gangster family. Discovers that his friend’s father is responsible for the murder of his entire family years ago. I don't know much about this one, neither does anyone else and I'm not sure where I got that release date so……

10/21 Love in the Big City (Korea ????) 8 eps - Adaptation of Booker-nominated famous coming of age novel of the same title by Park Sang-Young. Cynical yet fun loving student writer Young pinballs from home, to class, to Tinder matches. He and Jaehee, his female besie and roommate, frequent nearby bars where they push away their worries about life, love, and money with soju. As time passes Jaehee settles down and leaves Young to face his problems on his own. Young finding comfort in the arms of the series of men, including one whose handsomeness is matched by his coldness and another who might be the great love of his life. Not really BL. Stars Kim Go-eun (The King: Eternal Monarch), Noh Sang-hyun, and Nam Yoon Su (The King’s Affection). This already released as a movie and isn't very well regarded, this date is supposedly an international release as a series. I'm wary of it being BL.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

I got nothing, The On1y One drove me into a funk.

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.

[simply-whump]

The White Olive Tree (白色橄榄树) - Whump List

Whumpees : Li Zan played by Chen Zhe Yuan and Benjamin played by Wang Tian Chen

Synopsis : During an interview mission in the turbulent East Country, Liang City satellite TV's female reporter Song Ran encounters danger. Fortunately, she is rescued by Li Zan, a Chinese explosive engineer who volunteers in the East Country. Li Zan's gentleness and childlike heart deeply attract Song Ran. With the same ideals and compatible souls, a spark of love ignites between the two. However, a sudden bombing attack puts a halt to this budding relationship. (MDL)

Genres : Military, Romance

⚠️Trigger Warning for PTSD and heavy mental health topics⚠️

Warning! Possible spoilers below!

Li Zan

Ep 1-3 : None

Ep 4 : (39:20) Jumps out of a car, hits his back, manages to avoid an explosion but still seems affected

Ep 5 : (12:45) Lifting some heavy debris, shoulder bleeding — (18:35) Hand injured, bandaged

Ep 6 : None

Ep 7 : (05:15) Slight wound on his neck, concern for him, wound treated

Ep 8 : (35:30) In a dangerous situation, very near an explosion, concern for him, unconscious, wakes up coughing, exhausted

Ep 9-11 : None

Ep 12 : (05:00) Was heavily injured in an explosion (off screen), in the hospital, back full of injuries, hearing damaged, told it will be very difficult to make a full recovery, suffering from PTSD, concern for him, curling up on himself (very very unwell, even more psychologically than physically) — (24:30) Crying

Ep 13 : (06:35) Scar on his chest, ears ringing (ptsd) — (14:40) Ptsd triggered, ears ringing, flashback of him getting blasted by the explosion — (19:30) Ears ringing — (31:00) Crying

Ep 14 : (05:05) Ears ringing — (11:15) Ears ringing, stumbling, ptsd, collapses, finally decides to go see a psychiatrist — (19:35) Diagnosed with severe ptsd, anxiety and sleep disorder — (39:05) Ears ringing, remembering his dead friend

Ep 15 : (13:00) Ears ringing, remembering his dead friend, crying — (23:15) Ears ringing

Ep 16 : (26:30) Crying — (40:40) Crying

Ep 17 : None

Ep 18 : (29:15) Ears ringing, unwell (ptsd) — (30:50) Ptsd triggered during an exercise, remembering painful memories, blaming himself, crying, concern for him

Ep 19 : (11:45) Teary-eyed — (17:30) Having a nightmare, wakes up, sweating — (32:15) Teary-eyed, punched

Ep 20-21 : None

Ep 22 : (37:40) Practicing diffusing a bomb, ptsd, fails, sweating, remembering painful memories

Ep 23 : (19:50) Snaps momentarily, remembering painful memories, crying, blaming himself — (39:45) Learns a devastating news, crying

Ep 24 : (24:00) Wakes up from a nightmare, ptsd

Ep 25 : (18:30) Wakes up startled 

Ep 26 : None

Ep 27 : (11:20) Grabs a blade with his bare hand, bleeding — (21:14) Ptsd, breaks a glass with his bare hand, bleeding 

Ep 28-29 : None

Ep 30 : (25:00) On the battlefield, ears ringing, ptsd — (35:35) Slightly injured, concern for him

Ep 31 : (20:00) Crying — (24:05) Crying — (30:05) Injury treated

Ep 32 : None

Ep 33 : (20:15) Has to dismantle a bomb, ptsd, sweating, under intense pressure, concern for him, hands shaking, hugged, eyes red, crying — (34:40) Exhausted, sleeping in the car, looked after

Ep 34-35 : None — If you don’t wanna get too depressed, just stop at episode 35

Ep 36 : (02:55) Stabbed, concern for him, bleeding — (06:55) Pretends to be unconscious — (14:20) Shot, collapses, concern for him, his loved one gets stabbed in front of him, devastated, screaming, fighting, stabbed, captured — (27:30) Hanging by his wrist, bloody (was probably tortured), barely awake, rescued — (31:35) Shot while protecting someone, fails to escape — (34:46) Brought to the hospital, heavily injured, unconscious, bloody, concern for him — (35:55) CPR, oxygen mask, concern for him

Ep 37 : (03:40) Unconscious in a hospital bed, hand bandaged (lost two fingers), wakes up, very weak — (09:05) Doctor says he should be sent to a psychiatric hospital, his ptsd is too severe, pretending to be okay — (32:05) Ptsd triggered, concern for him, crying — (41:50) Bumped into, ptsd triggered

Ep 38 (⚠️TW for implicit suicide⚠️) : (01:50) Ptsd triggered, scared, completely out of it, concern for him — (06:40) Crying, afraid of hurting his loved one — (34:35) Crying — (Ending more or less open but it is implied that he might have killed himself)

Benjamin (He has a very nice bromance with another character, Sa Xin)

Ep 1-3 : None

Ep 4 : (29:40) Shot in the arm while protecting someone, bleeding

Ep 5 : (28:20) Arm injury treated

Ep 6-10 : None

Ep 11 : (29:05) Someone dies in his arms, crying

Ep 12-13 : None

Ep 14 : (05:55) Arm slightly injured, ignores it

Ep 15-20 : None

Ep 21 : (03:00) Head and arm bandaged — (07:35) Stitches about to be removed, pretending to be in pain

Ep 22-30 : None

Ep 31 : (05:20) Shot in the leg while protecting someone — (06:40) Leg treated, wincing in pain — (39:15) At the hospital 

Ep 32 : (01:55) In a wheelchair — (11:00) At the hospital

Ep 33 : (39:10) Hitting someone with his injured leg, wincing (semi-comical)

Ep 34-35 : None

Ep 36 : (32:25) Shot at while trying to save Li Zan, shot, bleeding — (33:00) In pain, sweating, driving, crashes the car, concern for him, on a stretcher, passes out — (37:55) Was too heavily injured, dying, wakes up, concern for him, dies (I was really attached to this character, even more than the main lead… I really wanted him to have his happy ending 😭)

Ep 37-38 : None

This isn't C-Drama... More like C-Trauma 😭😭😭😭

>> More Whump List

[mimir-mimir]

My brother and I rewatched the original run of Samurai Jack and I made a road map of all the places traveled Jack to on his journey. I've written all the explanations to where I placed the markers down below.

Season 1:

Ep 1: The Beginning - takes place in ancient Japan. I placed the marker in Kyoto because that was Japan's capital before Tokyo, but it could be anywhere in ancient Japan. From there, young Jack traveled across the Indian Ocean, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia to learn new skills.

Ep 2: The Samurai Called Jack - Jack arrives in the future in what I dubbed "Aku City". Since Jack fought Aku in Japan, I placed this new "Aku City" in place of Tokyo, Japan. Again, it could be anywhere, but I thought the bustling city was appropriate as a substitute for Tokyo.

Ep 3: The First Fight - Not marked on the map, because the dog mining canyon is too vague and didn't have any distinct land marks.

Ep 4: The Woolies and the Chritchellites - The Woolies are shown to be wearing kippot in their flashback, so I placed them in Isarel.

Ep 5: Jack in Space - Not marked on the map, because half of this takes place in space. And the woods were too vague to be any specific location.

Ep 6: The Warrior Woman - takes places in Saudi Arabia because of the marketplace and desert landscape, and all the musical references as well.

Ep 7: The Three Blind Archers - The army that attacks the three blind archers at the beginning of the episode are heavily based on Nordic Vikings, so I placed it in Norway.

Ep 8: Mad Jack - Not marked on the map, too vague.

Ep 9: Under the Sea - Jack goes to Atlantis, which is somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Ep 10: The Lava Monster - The lava monster is a Viking warrior trapped under a curse, connected by his longing to go to Valhalla, so it is another case of Viking mythology, which could be from Norway, Sweden, or Finland.

Ep 11: The Scotsman - Not marked on the map, because the Scotsman was also travelling in a vague landscape.

Ep 12: The Gangsters - The gangsters have Chicago accents.

Ep 13: Aku's Fairy Tales - Takes place in Aku City, but not marked on map because this episode is not about Jack.

Season 2:

Ep 1: Jack learns to Jump Good - Gorillas are most commonly found in Central Africa, specifically the Congo.

Ep 2: Jack's Tales - Not marked on the map, because it is three different stories that don't have any specific location.

Ep 3: The Smackback - The announcer for the tournament is very British, from his attire to his accent.

Ep 4: The Scotsman 2 - The Scotsman invites Jack to his home in Scotland to visit his family, and to save his wife. This episode was pretty self-explanatory.

Ep 5: The Ultra-Robots - Not marked on the map, because the scientists did not have any specific characters traits to draw from.

Ep 6: Jack Remembers the Past - Jack returns to the ruins of his home. Since I placed his home in Kyoto, I marked it as Kyoto.

Ep 7: The Monks - The cartoon idea of climbing a mountain to overcome a big challenge in life is usually associated with the tallest mountain in the world, Mount Everest which is located in Nepal.

Ep 8: The Farting Dragon - The village are all very ole-timey British stereotypes. Also, the dragon is a typical depiction of a European dragon.

Ep 9: Versus the five Hunters - The Hunters are summoned from another planet by Aku, but the episode takes place in a bustling city. And since Aku summoned them to the city himself, it is implied to be Aku City.

Ep 10: Demongo, the Soul Collector - The fight between jack and Demongo takes place in a large canyon, so I marked it as the Grand Canyon. It's possible that it's not, but there are not many known canyons and the place they seemed to fight in was pretty large.

Ep 11: Jack is Naked - This episode is a parody of Alice in Wonderland, which takes place in England. Also, the underground city is filled with English accents and jobs (like the cop looking like a stereotypical British police officer).

Ep 12: The Spartans - This episode is a parody of the War of 300, which took place in Greece.

Ep 13: Jack's Shoes - I originally had this placed in Aku City again, but my brother convinced me to place it in New York instead. The different cultures we see mixed and mingled is different than what we see in Aku City. And the Japan car shop is like an immigrant family making a new life, but still holding onto their tradition- which is much more like New York than Tokyo.

Season 3:

Ep 1: Chicken Jack - The bustling city mixed with the emphasis of different cultures (the Japanese food vendor, the Italian man, the gangsters), are more reminiscent of New York.

Ep 2: The Rave - The Innkeeper Jack spoke to at the beginning of the episode had an Italian accent and wore Italian clothing.

Ep 3: Couple on a Train - The assassins in this episode had heavy Texas accents.

Ep 4: The Zombies - Not marked on the map, since this episode takes place in a graveyard, which could be anywhere.

Ep 5: The Scarab - The episode opens with Jack reminiscing about his time in Egypt as a kid, as he explored the ruins. This episode also features Set's servants and the Egyptian God Horus.

Ep 6: The Traveling Creatures - Not marked on the map, the places jack traveled to were fantastical and not any real landmarks were shown.

Ep 7: The Annoying Creature - The dried cracked mud resembled Nevada's landscape.

Ep 8: The Swamp Wizard - Aku, disguised as a swamp wizard, puts on a Mexican accent to blend in?

Ep 9: The Haunted House - somewhere in Japan, as the house Jack travels to has ancient Japanese architecture, and the residents of the house were Japanese. Also, the spirit haunting the house could be called a yokai.

Ep 10: Jack travels and meets two monks that were taught the same Xiaolin moves as him long ago, so it is implied that Jack returned to the same palace where he first learned kung fu.

Ep 11+12: The Birth of Evil - Not marked on the map, because it is a flashback episode

Ep 13: The Labyrinth - Jack travels to the Egyptian pyramids in order to find a diamond that can help him return home.

Season 4:

Ep 1: Versus the Ninja - Jack helps a village of natives on the coast, who have stereotypical straw huts and tiki masks on the side.

Ep 2: Robo-samurai vs Mondo-bot - This episode didn't have any specific landmarks to reference, but the episode is a parody of Godzilla movies, so I placed it in Japan.

Ep 3: Samurai vs Samurai - The bar that Jack visits has a Japanese design, it is the middle of a bamboo forest, and one of the patrons of the bar is a geisha- a Japapnese female entertainer.

Ep 4: The Aku Infection - Jack is traveling through snowy mountains, one of the mountain researchers have a German accent. Also, the salamander monks have a specific Jewish accent, which is found in Germany.

Ep 5: The Princess and the Bounty Hunter - This episode takes place in a very snowy landscape, and this is the first time in the series we have had a Russian accent. It's possible that this episode could take place anywhere that is snowy (and the barbershop haircutter had an Italian accent), but the fact that this is the one and only time we had a Russian show up, I marked it in Russia.

Ep 6+7: The Scotsman Saves Jack - Jack has a new identity as Brent Worthington, he wears British clothing but speaks with a California/beach bum accent. Since Jack had to get those clothes from somewhere, and sirens are typically a European myth, I marked this episode in the UK.

Ep 8: The Flying Prince and Princess - Two members of an alien royalty are taken to Aku, where Jack was planning to ambush him. Wherever Aku is, I mark it as Aku City.

Ep 9: Jack vs Aku - Not marked on the map, because my brother convinced me it was too vague of a setting. My guess would have been Greece because of the ruins of pillars and large cement floors.

Ep 10: The Four Season of Death - Not marked on the map, because it is an anthology episode that doesn't taken place anywhere specific.

Ep 11: Tale of X-49 - the wiki said it's a parody of Blade Runner with some reference to John Wick. Blade Runner takes place in Los Angeles, so that's where I marked it.

Ep 12: Young Jack in Africa - not marked on the map, because it is a flashback episode

Ep 13: The Baby - The baby is found and returned to the peach grove by Jack. The most popular/biggest peach grove I could find was in Georgia, USA so???

[good-day-batey]

Absolutely going crazy about how Agatha All Along is about relationships with mothers (and honestly family, but I like it being mothers, can you tell I have mommy issues?).

With the Salem Seven, are the children of the ones that trialled and wanted to execute Agatha. Having grown resentful and vengeful of what Agatha did to their mothers, they have come after her, in her weakest she has been. Perhaps just like how their mothers and Evanora did to her daughter during her trial.

With Lorna Wu doing everything she can to protect Alice with this generational curse between women--daughters of her clan. Going on tours and tours to get her song-her spell to be heard because just as long as it is remembered, Alice will be protected. Which succeeded, and Alice died with her own terms in protecting her Coven.

With Agatha first and foremost being hated and seen as evil by her mother, and then being seen/rumored as this wicked witch (get it cause she's dressed up as the wicked witch of the east in ep 7 ha) who gave up her son for the book of the dammed, when in reality that can't be the case with all of the hints we've seen with her and Nicholas. And then seeing this boy-- this Teen who just broke into her house, broke her out of the Scarlet Witch spell, got to know him more and see him as a child to be protected once more, unlike perhaps do what she couldn't do with her own son. That she will to this kid who may have been the son of the woman who trapped her for 3 years, and basically "deceived" her all throughout the journey, but is nonetheless proud. Proud in seeing him take the opportunity to survive and grow up when he was supposed to die, as Billy Maximoff and even as William Kaplan

With Rio, who loves and is just as much of a mother to Nicholas, but is obligated to her job that she cannot abandon, making her do something that she doesn't want to someone she loves (both to Nicky and Agatha).

And to Billy, as a Maximoff and as a Kaplan. With Wanda, creating him and Tommy out of nothing but her powers and a desire for love and family, to her having to take everything she wants down and to her going through the multiverse to find her children only to find out that the twins of that universe already have a mother that is loving and isn't blindsided by the grief and the control of the darkhold that won't accept albit scared with what has she became . Too blinded by the grief and corruption, she didn't notice that her love presevered and saved the body this dying child. And with Rebecca Kaplan, despite basically grieving the death of her son because he can't see her boy in him anymore because of the amnesia (or literally with William dying and Billy taking over), she hasn't given up on this child. Having kept him safe in whichever way she can and in the process making Billy see her as her mother, giving the Kaplans more time with him rather than dying in William's bar mitzvah.

And lastly, with Lilia (I'll always love you), having the power and knowledge, she has basically been the mother of the coven. Always trying to save the people from the demise she has no control of seeing and failing to do, such as the curse of seeing divination just like in her first coven. She has accepted her fate of being a witch by having her final act saving her current coven, sacrificing herself, and loving to do so in the process. Such as a mother ready to sacrifice herself for those they love.

I have so much more yapping especially with Lilia and ep 7 (and Jen but we don't have her backstory yet so) but its honest to God 1:33 am in my place and i need to sleep 😴😴

[wanderingsimsfinds]

WanderingSims Fave CC - Traditional Asian Décor List

1 - simbalances - Ohara Koson Prints

2 - ziggy28 - Virtue Asian Character Paintings (TSR)

3 - WanderingSims - Japan Wall Art

4 - chuchuwitch - Asian Paintings

5 - baufive - Flock of Woodcuts

6 - BionicZombie - 4t3 Snowy Escape Paintings

7 - baufive - Japanese Woodcuts

8 - LCC - Chinese Scroll Claborate Style Painting

9 - Devirose - Japanese Ideograms 1 (TSR)

10 - Devirose - Japanese Ideograms 2 (TSR)

11 - Devirose - Japanese Prints Collection (TSR)

12 - Devirose - Japanese Print 1 (TSR)

13 - Devirose - Japanese Print 2 (TSR)

14 - Devirose - Japanese Print 3 (TSR)

15 - Devirose - Japanese Art Collection 2 (TSR)

16 - ziggy28 - Japanese Scenes (TSR)

17 - Devirose - Japanese Art Collection 3 (TSR)

18 - Devirose - Japanese Manuscript (TSR)

19 - ziggy28 - Large Asian Cats Scroll (TSR)

20 - linasometimes - Wisteria & Blossom Paintings (TSR)

21, 25, 33, 37 - you-lust - Vaguely Japanese Pt. 1 Set (Eastern Blossoms Scroll, Blades of Masamune Wall, Japanese Cantankerous Splatter Painting, Zen Bonsai)

22, 32 - Kilhian - Japanese Painting Birds & Sea

23 - ohymysims - Painting Katsushika Hokusai

24, 27, 39-40, 52, 61 - you-lust - Vaguely Chinese Pt. 2 Set (Huabanzhu Chinese Scroll, Yuxi Winter Blossoms Scroll, MTSims Chinese Burner, The Daruma Wishing Doll, Yuxi Bamboo Slip, Shoyou Shoji Screen)

26 - MurfeeL - Wall Scrolls w/Tassels

28, 41, 70 - MurfeeL - Birthday 2020 Dump (EA WA EP Vintage Chinese Ads Framed, AMR Fan Decor Redone, Lacquer Byobu Decor)

29 - Living Dead Girl - Benjamin Bedroom Artwork Asian (TSR)

30, 38, 51, 54, 63 - you-lust - Vaguely Chinese Pt. 1 Set (Yuxi Tokonoma Series Scroll, The Little Jug of Wishes, Yuxi Dragon Scroll, Yuxi Scroll Clutter, Yuxi Ixinqin Screen)

31 - RD - From The East Wall Art

34-35, 50 - you-lust - Vaguely Japanese Pt. 2 Set (Yuxi Haruyo Morita Painting, BBSL Hanging Kimono, WFS Teapot)

36, 65-67 - KerriganHouseDesigns - Hayashi Set (Wallpanel, Floor Lamp, Golden Branch, Screen)

42-43 - you-lust - Azaya Fortune Cat & Higanbana Kokeshi Doll

44 - Martassimsbook - 4t3 novvvas Desierto Bedroom Buddha

45 - MurfeeL - Yokai E-Hon Books as Decor

46-47 - Ritsuka - Fortunate Cat & Japanese Lucky Cat

48 - Ziva-Sims - SimpleStudio404 Japanese Box Recs

49 - MurfeeL - MTCakestore Chinese Books Stackable

53 - HydrangeaChainsaw - Antique Set Chinese Table Lamp

55 - HydrangeaChainsaw - Sakura Bonsai

56 - you-lust - lisen-nymphy Buddha

57 - NoirandDarkSims - Mitarsi Kitsune

58 - SimpleStudio404 - Japanese Misc Set Emongake Deco

59 - you-lust - simaddict99 Oriental Paper Parasol

60, 68, 71-72, 76-77, 81-82 - TheNumbersWoman - Going Asian Outdoor Garden Set (Pagoda, Rock Path 2, Rock Path 1, Fountain, Ying Yang Garden, Water Feature, Deco Bridge Large, Apris Rocks Ponds) (TSR)

62 - Devirose - Japan Rug 1 (TSR)

64 - Angela - Kanto Garden Gong (TSR)

69, 73-75 - MurfeeL - C2077 Dashi no Matsuri Set (Parade Square Table Light, Parade Square Ceiling Light, Parade Round Ceiling Light, Parade Oval Ceiling Light)

78 - SIMCredible! - Asian Nook Fountain (TSR)

79 - DOT - Yard Wire Pole Lantern Mesh (TSR)

80 - SIMCredible! - Momentum Bamboo (TSR)

[testyqwcde]

Crack non-crack theory on Sauron's masterplan (Siege of Eregion)

Although I really enjoy the show, I can't ignore its plot flaws and inconsistencies. That’s why I try to come up with reasonable explanations for some scenes that don’t sit well with me. I was a bit let down by the Season 1 finale, as I had hoped Sauron had a master plan in motion. I imagined we'd be shocked to learn that everything, including the creation of Mordor, was part of his grand design. The only thing I thought he hadn’t accounted for was meeting Galadriel, who he grew fascinated with and wanted on his side. Instead, Season 1’s Sauron appeared to be a sad goo with self esteem issues (albeit in a charming Halbrand form) flowing with the tides of fates. I had high hopes for Season 2.

The Battle for Eregion was touted as one of the most epic moments in TV history, but unfortunately, it fell short, mainly due to the numerous plot holes that the showrunners seemed to neglect. I really hope that in Season 3, they’ll dive deeper and provide some flashbacks or explanations to clarify what actually happened in Eregion. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m eager to see Sauron portrayed as a manipulative mastermind—a control freak who bends reality and messes with people’s minds. I’m a firm believer in the theory that Sauron was pulling the strings behind the battle from the very start.

Two armies at different locations.

EP 7 starts with Celebrimbor having his morning coffee. When the camera slowly moves, it features the mountain that will soon be destroyed, as well as the sunrise. The shot transitions to the battlefield where Elrond's army is set to arrive.

The sunrise subtly reveals that the main gates of Eregion overlook the east, where Khazad-dûm lies nestled in the high mountains, its snowy peaks visible to the right.

The camera then shifts to focus on Celebrimbor, standing with his back to the path where Elrond will soon arrive. Elrond's arrival from the north-east makes more sense rather than from the north-west where Lindon lies. The choice makes sense, given that Elrond asked for help in Moria before going to Eregion.

and we do see his army coming to fight for Eregion at the dawn. Why at the dawn? Because Celebrimbor told us earlier the candle didn't burn an inch through the whole day.

Elrond's army arrives, but instead of the orcs near the wall preparing for battle, they begin running to the left, away from Elrond’s forces. Why this sudden shift? It's likely they are rushing to face a different threat—an army arriving from the west. Could it be Sauron’s fake army? Illusion cast on orcs? The orcs closer to the wall, who can see what's happening in the West, might mistake the sound of the horn coming from that direction. As a result, the orc army could have been split into two parts.

The woods on the shot 'hides' the main gates, and the scene seems to overlook a more western part of the city, with the snowy peaks of the Misty Mountains rising behind the city.

The detailed breakdown of the scene location can be found in this excellent meta

https://www.tumblr.com/apoloadonisandnarcissus/771115060662861824/elrond-and-adar-in-opposite-sides-of-eregion-in

Another piece of evidence supporting this theory is the sunlight coming from the west, as it is almost dawn—directly opposite to the direction of the sunrise that Celebrimbor faced.

It seems that the battle and the parley took place at different locations.

Where is Gil-Galad??

When Elrond arrives, he glances at Gil-Galad, seeking a silent nod of approval before he begins the charge.

All of them set on galloping in Adar's direction. Nobody is left behind.

Do you spot Gil-Galad? He's wearing mostly golden, armor and the golden helmet while all the elves near Elrond are dressed in silver armor. I can't see him lol

Could it be that two armies are charging simultaneously: the real Elrond alongside Gil-Galad, and a fake Elrond without Gil-Galad? The scene is a blend of these two forces attacking, creating a disorienting effect for the viewer. As the horses gallop at full speed, the camera suddenly adopts an odd angle, making it seem as though we’re observing the action through distorted lenses. This shift in perspective disrupts the sense of reality, leaving the viewer with a feeling that something is off or unnatural.

Hmmmm. Did we something similar?

It could just be an artistic choice made by the directors, but who can say for sure? The next shot shows at least 500 soldiers halting a cavalry charge at full gallop, all because Elrond simply said "Stop!" The way they stop is so perfectly synchronized, it almost feels as if they're being controlled by the same mind. We get Elrond's reaction to Galadriel bleeding and Adar's greeting, but it's a strange decision not to include Gil-Galad in the scene, especially considering his role. Wouldn't it have made sense for him to at least give his approval for the parley?

So why is Gil-Galad absent from the illusionary army? Simply because he never directly faced Sauron or his dark magic. Unlike Elrond and Vorohil who were on paths that Sauron had manipulated, Gil-Galad was outside of his influence. Sauron couldn't craft an illusion to involve Gil-Galad because he lacked the personal connection to him. However, Sauron was able to distort the perceptions of Galadriel and Adar because he had gained their trust and understanding, allowing him to manipulate their reality more easily.

Where is Vorohil?

Vorohil is a member of Team Elrond, so it felt odd not seeing him charging into battle alongside Elrond. We get a glimpse of all the main characters before they launch their attack, except for Vorohil.

I tried my best to find Vorohil but could not, sorry.

I initially mistook this person for Vorohil, but upon closer look, I realized it's not him. Vorohil has a rounder face and shorter hair

Later, we find them both in Adar's tent.

(Love this analysis of the tent scene:

https://www.tumblr.com/apoloadonisandnarcissus/763974317300187136/megathread-all-clues-concerning-elrond-sauron?source=share)

So when they leave, they have a weird conversation about Durin who is coming to help. Vorohil is supposed to be attacking the orcs with Elrond, right? And when Elrond rejoined his army after returning from Moria, shouldn't he have shared the news that Durin would be helping? So why is Vorohil left in the dark?

Furthermore, why Elrond is so certain that Durin will come as he speaks to his people after Elrond left?

My answer to these questions is that because Vorohil isn't real—it's an illusion created by Sauron. And Elrond in this scene is Sauron.

The real Vorohil remains in Moria, preparing for an attack alongside Durin when the latter convinces dwarves to aid elves. This explains why he is missing in the attack and he knows that Durin has recalled his army—not just that the gate has been closed.

The reason this information was shared in Adar's camp is to ensure Adar would be aware and could prepare for a potential attack from the dwarves. This is why the real Vorohil was shot with arrows—because the orcs, anticipating a dwarven assault, had positioned archers in the east.

Sauron masterplan

Sauron is just standing and watching Crimby to finish the rings during the siege and when two of his enemies having a parley? Seriously?

Celebrimbor is chained, he wont escape. Sauron might be dealing with more important affairs on the battlefield while casting an illusion here.

He has been standing there for a few hours when he suddenly woke up as if he was performing his magic tricks

He knew exactly when Elrond will arrive because Galadriel shared this information with Adar. You can find out more in this great meta https://www.tumblr.com/fatcatlittlebox/765976187504934912?source=share

Here is like ' finally, you are here. Why took so long?'

He also knew that Durin will try to help therefore he is trying to stop him by blinding his father with greed and by awakening Balrog.

His primary goal was to prevent Adar from forming an alliance with the Elves, stop Durin from aiding them, and buy enough time to complete the rings.

I really hope Sauron is portrayed as the powerful, calculated force he is, rather than being depicted as a mere pawn of fate, swept along by luck: Balrog got mad at the moment when Durin was about to leave, Elrond got so unusually sassy refusing to make an alliance with Adar ( funny thing, Adar got the ring but gave it back to Gal later) and Glug coming straight to Sauron offering to serve him.

High hopes for Season 3.

[dangermousie]

Here is my subjective ranking of all the costume trailers iQIYI released (since I didn’t watch moderns or republican stuff they posted) note - not only is it subjective, it is just the trailers which often does not correlate with either quality of or my interest in the drama itself.

11 Go East - I am vvvv fond of Tan Jianci but this was the only trailer that bored me. It wasn’t bad, it just gave me NO hook of any kind. It’s a pity since this was one of the very few historical trailers (as opposed to wuxia, xianxia etc) and I love those. This said, trailers and dramas often don’t correlate so I hope the drama is good.

10 Reborn for Love - half this trailer is cutesy hijinks and I am just not wired for that. By the time the trailer was halfway over, I found myself thinking that if it wasn’t for leads, I’d not check it out. But the back half has blood and romance and I sat up and paid attention.

9 Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red Moon Pact - I wanted to be more excited for this than I was. I love the cast. But even in comparison with the trailers for the other two entries in the series it looks…generic. I don’t truly get the vibe or the story. It’s nice but doesn’t grab me.

8 Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Sword and Beloved - it’s gorgeous and intense and screams fantasy romance and Cheng Yi fighting and bleeding. Pay your taxes, everyone!

7 Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Love in Pavillion - the visuals, the vibe, the angsty love feel, the colors! That trailer was my fave out of Fox ones. I need this drama now!

6 Strange Tales of Liao Zhai 2 - I haven’t seen s1 and mysteries (even supernatural ones) aren’t my thing. But the visuals in that trailer are insane and I spy with my little eye Yang Xuwen as one of two mains and the man owns my heart for Eternal Brotherhood and he brings his young Hu Ge vibes here too!

5 Win or Die - this baby is apparently only 18 eps and is all war war war but it’s a Cao Dun drama so the visuals are eye popping. It’s just stunning to look at tbh and sometimes (a lot of times), I want a grim war epic.

4 The Legend of Rosy Clouds - this trailer just grabbed me for some reason - it really makes you want to watch these people. It’s not visually amazing compared to the rest but it’s just dragging me in. In fact, while this isn’t my favorite trailer, out of all the dramas they promoed, this is the one I want to actually watch the most. I used to love the anime so maybe that’s why?

3 Snowy Night: Timeless Love - all the snow and the longing and the battles and we all know we will see red blood on that pristine white soon enough.

2 Love of the Divine Tree - it’s very very pretty and has so much shipping and angst and I have a huge 17 hangover so seeing Deng Wei with similar vibes is sending me. Honestly, my fantasy romance junkie is thirsting.

1 Fangs of Fortune - if someone told me a trailer for a drama full of actors I don’t care for would be my favorite, I’d not have believed it but here we are. This is fantasy and visuals and hooking you done right. I need this NOW!

ETA; I forgot follow your heart OMG! That’s my most fave except for Fangs of Fortune!

ETA2: and A Moment But Forever - I would rank it just behind snowy love.

[usafphantom2]

EP-3E Aries II Spy Plane Has Flown Its Last Operational Mission

Current tensions in the Middle East prolonged the final deployment of the EP-3E Aries II intelligence-gathering aircraft.

Posted on Nov 7, 2024 3:41 PM EST

Another long-serving U.S. military aircraft has completed its final operational deployment, with the return of the U.S. Navy’s EP-3E Aries II surveillance platform from the 5th Fleet area of operations. The countdown to the spy plane’s final retirement is now on, which will see its vital intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) mission handed over fully to the MQ-4C Triton high-altitude, long-endurance drone.

VQ-1

Another long-serving U.S. military aircraft has completed its final operational deployment, with the return of the U.S. Navy’s EP-3E Aries II surveillance platform from the 5th Fleet area of operations. The countdown to the spy plane’s final retirement is now on, which will see its vital intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) mission handed over to the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane, the MQ-4C Triton high-altitude, long-endurance drone, and other assets, including ones in space.

The last EP-3E deployed on operations was Bureau Number, or BuNo 159893, which completed its final flight in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations on October 29. The aircraft then made a homecoming to its base at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, according to the Facebook account of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1 (VQ-1), the “World Watchers,” which posted photos of the event yesterday.

Ground crew welcome EP-3E BuNo 159893 on its return to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington. VQ-1/Facebook

The U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations covers approximately 2.5 million square miles of water and includes the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, as well as parts of the Indian Ocean. The area includes three highly strategic choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal, and the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen.

The tense security situation in the region at the moment saw the EP-3E’s final operational deployment extended.

240928-N-AC117-1132 (Sept. 28, 2024) A U.S. Navy EP-3E Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System (ARIES) II, assigned to the “World Watchers” of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1 (VQ-1), transits within the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operation.

EP-3E BuNo 159893 transits within the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operation, in a photo dated September 28, 2024. U.S. Navy Commander, Naval Air Forces

Originally, the U.S. Navy had scheduled VQ-1 to cease operations by September 30, 2024, ahead of the formal deactivation of the unit on March 31, 2025.

According to the VQ-1 Facebook account, the squadron was first ordered to delay the cessation of operations until October 8, 2024, after which it was required to continue its missions in the region until an undetermined date.

240928-N-AC117-1118 (Sept. 28, 2024) A U.S. Navy EP-3E Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System (ARIES) II, assigned to the “World Watchers” of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1 (VQ-1), prepares to take flight within the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operation.

EP-3E BuNo 159893 prepares to take flight within the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operation. U.S. Navy Commander, Naval Air Forces

Another VQ-1 EP-3E that had been deployed also recently returned to Whidbey Island, with photos of that aircraft’s homecoming posted by the unit on November 4. This was BuNo 161410 that had been operating from Souda Bay, on the Greek island of Crete, under U.S. Central Command.

For some time now, the Navy has been sending EP-3Es into retirement, delivering them to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, for storage.

As we reported last month, the most famous EP-3E of all — BuNo 156511, which was involved in a collision with a Chinese J-8 interceptor over Hainan Island in 2001 — has been moved from the AMARG boneyard to go on public display in the future at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.

The spy plane at the center of one of the most notorious post-Cold War Today air incidents, a U.S. Navy EP-3E Aries II, has arrived at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona, for future public display. The EP-3E’s journey to get to the museum has been a long one, starting with the dramatic collision with a Chinese fighter in the so-called Hainan Island incident in 2001.

EP-3E Aries II BuNo 156511 is towed to the Pima Air & Space Museum last month. Pima Air & Space Museum

Pima Air & Space Museum

Meanwhile, the end of the EP-3’s operational commitment after nearly six decades of service has been commemorated by the Navy. A press release from the service included recollections from EP-3E crew members, providing a rare glimpse into a highly secretive community, and one with a very sensitive mission.

“It’s amazing to think of the number of folks who have been part of the EP-3 heritage over the last 55 years,” said Lt. Cmdr. Justin “Gump” Roberts, the VQ-1 detachment officer-in-charge. “Success in this platform has solely been because of our hard-working maintenance team while on deck and our aircrew’s superior ISR while on station. It’s an honor to be part of a legacy that’s bigger than the sum of its parts.”

The aircraft commander at VQ-1, Lt. Bradford “Chad” Holcombe, added that he was “tremendously grateful” to be part of the EP-3E’s history.

“From my first day at VQ-1, it’s been obvious to see the pride each member has in the platform, the mission, and most importantly the effort it takes to execute wherever and whenever we’re asked,” he said. “Flying the last mission flight is a privilege.”

240928-N-AC117-1132 (Sept. 28, 2024) A U.S. Navy EP-3E Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System (ARIES) II, assigned to the “World Watchers” of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1 (VQ-1), transits within the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operation.

240928-N-AC117-1132 (Sept. 28, 2024) A U.S. Navy EP-3E Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System (ARIES) II, assigned to the “World Watchers” of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1 (VQ-1), transits within the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operation. Commander, Naval Air Forces

Finally, words were offered by Capt. Dennis “Rudy” Jensen, Commodore of Task Force 57:

“My father was a P-3 pilot during the Cold War, and I’ve flown the variants of the same aircraft since 2002. Few other airplanes are as ‘time-tested and mother approved’ as the P-3,” Jensen said. “Its longevity and ability to operate from remote locations in austere environments for over half a century is a testament to those who designed, built, maintained, and operated it. Much like the ever-changing platforms onboard the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, the mission systems inside the EP-3E have evolved over time. The ability to evolve has enabled the EP-3E to remain viable and effective through today.”

During its time in operational service, the EP-3E played a fairly covert role as a central intelligence-gathering asset within the Navy’s Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force (MPRF).

Derived from the P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft, the EP-3E was optimized for operations in the maritime/littoral domain. It was packed with equipment to gather real-time tactical signals intelligence (SIGINT), including intercepting communications and locating and classifying emitters, especially those related to hostile air defense systems.

The cabin of the preserved EP-3E BuNo 156511 as it appears now. Pima Air & Space Museum

A typical EP-3E comprised six flight crew and a reconnaissance crew of 18, who would be drawn from the Navy, Marines, and Air Force.

Data could be processed and analyzed onboard by the crew, then fused together with other critical information. The resulting ‘product,’ including full-motion video intelligence, could be provided in near real-time to fleet and theater commanders.

Overall, the EP-3E was able to provide commanders with specific indications and warnings, as well as build a better picture of the battlespace for situational awareness. Intelligence it gathered on air defense systems would be potentially vital for suppression of enemy air defenses and destruction of enemy air defenses, while other information would be used for anti-air warfare and anti-submarine warfare applications.

Successive upgrades ensured that the EP-3E remained a valuable asset and also added new capabilities. While it was primarily a SIGINT platform in the early years, it later became a ‘multi-intelligence reconnaissance aircraft,’ with new equipment that could hoover up a variety of electronic emissions including at long standoff range.

An EP-3E Orion aircraft, center, is followed by two EA-3B Skywarrior aircraft during flight operations near Gibraltar. The three aircraft are from Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 2 (VQ-2).

An EP-3E followed by two EA-3B Skywarriors during flight operations near Gibraltar, circa 1991. The three aircraft are from Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 2 (VQ-2). U.S. Department of Defense PH3 FRANKLIN P. CALL, USN

The EP-3E’s mission saw it operate in various high-threat areas throughout its career. As well as around the coasts of China — which led to the Hainan Island Incident — regular areas of interest included the Mediterranean Sea, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. In the process, intercepts by hostile or potentially hostile fighters were commonplace.

The video below shows an encounter between an EP-3E and a Russian Su-27 Flanker fighter jet over the Black Sea, in 2018. On that occasion, the Navy says the jet came within five feet of the surveillance aircraft, causing a mission abort, and return to base.

Replacing the EP-3E with the MQ-4C has been a gradual process. Tritons have been operating from forward deployment bases in Guam in the Pacific and Sigonella in the Mediterranean, for some time. Most recently, a third Triton deployment base was established in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, on October 1, allowing the EP-3E to stand down from its duties there.

A Navy MQ-4C Triton drone arrives at NAS Sigonella in Italy on March 30, 2024. U.S. Navy

Flying at a higher altitude and offering a longer endurance than the EP-3E, the MQ-4C offers some significant advantages. While a multi-mission platform, it’s the Triton’s so-called Multi-Intelligence (Multi-Int) configuration with additional electronic and signals intelligence capabilities that will take over from the EP-3E. Since it’s uncrewed, there is also no risk to the crew, something that EP-3E operators were exposed to on a fairly regular basis.

Despite this, in 2022 the Navy decided to dramatically reduce its total planned purchases of MQ-4Cs from 70 to 27. This came after increased questions about the drone’s survivability after one of the interim Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Demonstrator (BAMS-D) aircraft was shot down by Iran in 2019.

Some of the EP-3E’s missions will also be taken over by the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. The baseline Poseidon has a signals intelligence capability, allowing it to detect, geolocate, and classify emissions, including from radars and other air defense nodes, which is also now set to be upgraded. Some P-8s are configured to carry other intelligence-gathering payloads, such as the AN/APS-154 Advanced Airborne Sensor, as well. Boeing has internally funded the development of a modular multi-mission gondola-like pod for Poseidon, which is set to offer an additional way to relatively rapidly integrate sensors and other capabilities.

A U.S. Navy P-8A carrying the AN/APS-154 Advanced Airborne Sensor (AAS), a powerful and secretive radar system mounted in an elongated pontoon-like pod under the fuselage. cvvhrn

“The transition from the EP-3E to the P-8A Poseidon and MQ-4C Triton platforms has been carefully planned to avoid capability gaps,” the Navy says. “These platforms offer enhanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, with greater range, endurance, and the ability to operate in more complex environments.”

The Navy will also be able to leverage other emerging U.S. military ISR assets, including new spaced-based surveillance capabilities.

While the EP-3E’s time is now nearly up, there remain a handful of other Orion variants still in U.S. Navy service. These include P-3C, NP-3C, and NP-3D aircraft flown by Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 30 (VX-30) at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California, and by Scientific Development Squadron One (VXS-1) at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. Many of these are also in the process of being replaced.

While many secrets of the EP-3’s exploits are still to be revealed, there’s little doubt that this platform made an enormous contribution to gathering intelligence from hotspots around the globe during its long and eventful period of service.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

[movielosophy]

Go East ep 7 | I don't want to work.

[thethiefandtheairbender]

wolf king is an adaption of a book series in 2011 so it isnt really walmart dragon prince. it just has Awful, Terrible, No Good pacing

Oh yeah, not literally. (My friends and I did a bit of a deep dive to find out more about the creators / production history while watching; and both creators of The Dragon Prince recommended the series to fans 'cause friends of theirs worked on it.)

That said: point still stands that there are a lot of overlapping elements in Wolf King that I think TDP does better, even just comparing their season ones.

For ex, in Wolf King I felt like I never knew what the characters knew about the world. Drew not recognizing the creature attacking him in the first ep or what was happening to himself made me think he didn't know anything about werelords or that they were pretty Rare. But then later on with Whitley it's clear that he does know what werelords are, so... just not Ratlords for some reason, despite recognizing others?? Okay?? Meanwhile in TDP they put their lore world drop at the beginning to establish things (I wish WK had done the same rather than waiting an episode) and I always know what the main kids know: Callum and Ezran are humans who don't know a ton about Xadia besides basics (it has magic, it's in the east) and stories (elves drinking blood) and Rayla knows a little about magic (because she's Xadian) but not a ton because she's not a mage

Also Vankaskan is just... so one note? Like he's just an evil mage who serves the royal family and does unnecessarily shitty things (like the fruit) for No Reason beyond Being Evil, vs even in just S1 of The Dragon Prince it's made very clear that High Mage Viren genuinely loved the royal family/king in his own way, turns on them after feeling betrayed/discarded, and justifies doing terrible things through his own logical lens (i.e. telling his son to murder the boys/princes he grew up with because having a child king on the throne will be a sign of weakness)

Having magic and/or forbidden magic as well (it is very clear even in S1 tangibly why dark magic is Iffy, to say the least) vs necromancy in Wolf King being creepy and worrisome, sure, but...

IDK, it's like whenever a parent or character in s1 of Wolf King died (3 total I think?) I never cared / felt anything. And it's not like King Harrow or Runaan spend much time with their children; Harrow and Callum have literally two (2) scenes together, only one of which is a solo scene; and Runaan-Rayla have 3 before they're split up for the entire series... but TDP still gets you to care because they use the limited time they have (9 episodes) really really well!

Vega also felt like a less developed Finnegrin... both pirates with their own ends, both present a bit more gentlemen-ly but are deceptive and/or monsters underneath and while I appreciate they didn't want Vega to be an Antagonist™ the same way Finnegrin is (who tortures 3 of the main cast, chains them, and makes the main character decide which of his friends is going to get their hand cut off) I still got a Much better sense of who he was and how he operates in the two episodes we have him for because character relationship/characterization treated/written like a priority

For a quick example I'm gonna compare Soren and Hector:

Soren is in 8/9 episodes of TDP S1, and Hector is in 7/8. Both work for a more shadowy mage, have a younger sibling, etc. Hector, who is by far the best developed character in Wolf King, probably gets more screentime given that he ends up travelling with the main character Drew vs Soren being in B plots (sometimes only having 1-2 moments in an episode).

But in Soren's first episode (1x01) which also has to establish so much else for everyone/everything, we get a clear picture of him! He's a bit of a smug bastard towards Prince Callum, who he teaches swordfighting to; he's Claudia's big brother and is willing to tease her; despite being an ass to Callum about being the king's stepson, he's willing to help the kid with Callum's crush on Soren's sister; and he's harshly reprimanded by his father, Lord Viren.

I can therefore deduce that maybe the reason he's hard on Callum is because the king is a better father than his dad; he loves his sister and wants his own dad's approval; and, deep down, he cares about the princes like Callum. He's smug and proud and insensitive but has a kindness to him and genuinely wants to protect the royal family, who all seem like good people. Again, just from episode 1, and he's not even a main character at this point.

What do I know about Hector after all of season 1? Well... I know he's very loyal to Drew, though I don't really get why besides Drew is a wolf lord (even if I do enjoy their gay ass dynamic); I know he wants to be a mage but still cares about his birthright as a Boar Lord; I don't know how he thinks about magic in general or why he wants to be a mage besides... knowledge is power? Which is a vague ass statement, tbh, that also holds zero thematic weight.

Meanwhile TDP has a "knowledge motif" of knowing vs not knowing that starts quietly in the first few seasons but still with consistently, begins in earnest in S4 and then comes to dominate the rest of the show (+ bonus verbal and sometimes literal cannibalism motif).

like Wolf King's pacing is not good / way too rushed, but that bleeds over into everything feeling wonky or underdeveloped, hence reducing interesting characters and concepts to Walmart Versions of things TDP did better, consistently, tbh. Hence, Wolf King IS Walmart Dragon Prince — to me, at least.

[lostinadrama]

[mushiemellows]

Okay. Okay. In light of the opla news, here is genuinely how I think opla s2 is going to break down (I know everyone has made post like this and I probably have at some point in the past too, but this is my predictions.)

I genuinely don’t think they’re going to do Alabasta. They could do a speed run of enter the grand line to get there, but I don’t think they’ll do that, if the pace of s1 was an indicator. There’s a few reasons but tbh I think the biggest is politics? If I was a Netflix exec and someone asked me to approve a script RIGHT NOW politically, and the script was about resource exploitation in the Middle East, I would uhhh probably reject it. I honestly think they’re going to do Loguetown through Drum Kingdom and leave it there for the moment.

So it would go:

Ep1: Loguetown that uses the character moments to catch us up to speed, get the audience reacquainted with the straw hats, plus smoker, plus put buggy and Alvida back on the board. Smart money is on a barto cameo. If they take their time, really cycle through everyone, episode will prob end with Luffy on the stand. (Smoker gets the logo treatment since buggy already got one lol)

Ep2: escape Loguetown -> reverse mountain -> early laboon. Again, hindsight will add a lot to this, at minimum we’re getting another binks no sake Easter egg, if not a full blown human brook cameo. Episode ends somewhere about 2/3 of the way through them in the whale. I could see them padding this quite a bit, just knowing all we know now. (Laboon gets the logo? Maybe??? I could see them giving it to Roger or Crocus too)

Ep3: Leave Laboon-> a lot of vivi plot -> enter whiskey peak. Party sequence. Start of the night attacks, high tension, zoro fighting the town drawn out into a huge sequence. Like a big ass choreo moment. Probably ends on the “luffy vs zoro” cliffhanger. (Vivi gets the logo)

Ep4: if if if they’re smart, they’re going to have robin in whiskey peak early, not necessarily introduced with Higaram’s assassination attempt. This episode would be quite a lot of her. Rest of the whiskey peak fights, the full baroque works breakdown, the miss all Sunday intro, leaving town, AND her giving the Alabasta vs little garden deal. I think if they’re writing this the way I think they might, she’ll either follow them to little garden OR she’ll be at Drum Kingdom, just to keep her around a bit longer. Like really drive it in that she’s spying on them. (Robin gets the logo)

Ep 5+6: little garden. I don’t think they can do it in 45 minutes, I think they need both parts. (Big brain move with the logo treatments to have one be Dorry and one be Broggy). This is pretty straightforward, idk. Excited to see zoro cut his legs off. Here’s also the start of the crocodile breadcrumbs, but I can see them using Robin as the face of baroque works a little more to utilize the actress.

Ep 7+8: drum island. This way, they only have to animate chopper for 2 episodes, 7 will probably get the basics of the backstory, and 8 will have the rest of how hiriluk dies. We could possibly see some Blackbeard info here. I’m still team “detective pikachu” style chopper. End the season on the Sakura tree happy note, set up early Alabasta. (Chopper gets one logo, Hiriluk or Kureha gets the other) Wapol as the big bad sucks though which is why I can see them injecting either more BW, Smoker, or Blackbeard into Drum.

I think the is season is going to feel a lot like season 1 did, like they’ll have the quick pace of going to a bunch of places the first portion, then 2 longer stories. But I don’t think they’re actually doing Alabasta properly. Also, I think we’ll pull back from Buggy and Garp, but they’ll still have their moments.

I’m pretty firm that I don’t think they’ll ever get past skypeia (a fact that makes me sob for the loss of opla franky but it would be a MIRACLE if we ever even got to w7. But I could see them doing it if they distilled seasons 3 and 4 in a certain manner. I just don’t think it’s likely, knowing how many years this’ll all take at the pace Netflix makes shows. Can talk more about this if someone asks lol). I’d love to be surprised tho.

If they’re still in casting, plus accounting for the writing hiccup of the writers strike in preproduction, we’re probably looking at a late summer 2026 release? It’s a Loooooot of cg though, between Luffy, chopper, little garden, and drum kingdom.

[blackdigitalrose]

Fri - Healin' Good Pretty Cure - EP 19 -21

Try to be quick about it... doesn't always pan out.

EP 19

And this is what we open up to... I thought you said she was asleep and resting, won't be for long with that racket. (Also DBZ called)

It would have been a nice blind spot if the bad guys were aware of it and were able to exploit it but it was just by chance.

His taunting is fun and earned to.

And here I thought she was going to be a one off for a bit a join fully in a few eps time, like a sort of on/off helper when they were in a bind, she has literally come back from the dead to help o.O

EP 20

(○□○) Never mind then... this is quite the trippy introduction, at least they explained why she looked like the old Precure, with out being said Precure. (that's definitely going to lead to some misunderstandings)

Nodoka the voice of reason and that perfect middle ground once again.

XD hold up, that's not quite script here. It was actually a good Rate scene, shows she's maturing during all this, even though you don't hear much from her. The idea that she looks like her Mum's partner but doesn't want to heal the Earth, was making her sad and went to try and convince her to repurpose herself.

Yes and no... the transformation with Rate was actually quite cute but the colour, (everyone's heard this comment a thousand times) I am conflicted. Yes, purple, mysterious, regal, powerful, spiritual, magical, makes sense. However, made from the element wind, named Cure Earth...from my understanding, wind is represented by the colour green in the East, the element earth is yellow but the actual Earth is predominately green (and blue)... so why isn't she green?

Had a feeling this was coming after Maho, oh well he was fun while he was here. The other three need to pick up the slack.

This is a character full of contradictions, as if they couldn't decide which way they wanted to go with her and just said, sod it, let's do both and have left us with an awkward middle ground. After all she could still be earth themed as Grace is more nature themed but I suppose it doesn't seem as appealing or pretty for young girls I guess?

Cure Earth showed up in the outro but not the intro, that is still an improvement on before. Although, I liked the first outro more.

EP 21

See Maho, this is how you do it, introduce, then add! While choppy added scenes and just edited into backgrounds, Asumi/Earth is now in the intro but oddly not on the title card?

Calling her Rate's owner doesn't seem so farfetched but white lies seem part of the parcel as Precure, more often than not the first rule tends to be, no one else can know.

So, in a round about way the villain trio were working together, they pulled it off so effectively once, you'd think they would try more often.

Fountaine actually did the scan this week, it has been quite a while since some one other than Grace has done it, plus the addition of Rate to the transformation where she high fives the other fairies before the pose was fun.

Asumi isn't so bad at the mo, she's a blank slate, which can be interesting if done right. Not that different to the other series where it's just a baby who knows no better, just that it's an adult this time. We'll see what they will do with her, after all, skimming the ep titles, she's got about the next 7 eps as a focus, that's alot, the next ep that doesn't mention them in the title is ep 28 it seems.

There is always something to talk about in this one but I'm guessing this is our midseason boost, marginally early. One villain down, one new member and an evolution to the Byogen. Minor on the whole but we'll see what follows.

[folcanta]

okay. okay. rewatched GOAT Of All Time episode Operation Golden Rule of Love. first of all,

folken introduces the episode with a bit. a BIT! "to give it a name..." [TITLE CARD]

but it made me think about the preceding episodes. some notes

we don't see it unfortunately, but since hitomi/van/allen's moments in 17-18 put together a complete message to the viewer, we can sort of assume varie probably had a similar convo with Van as she did Hitomi (bc of his comment in ep 19 abt “bad things will happen if you look that upset” and trying to confess his feelings all of a sudden, in the same episode where hitomi doesn't want to do a reading and doesn't want to use her powers.)

"the dragon" is when van and hitomi are working together (when both parts of the atlantis machine are working together— escaflowne and the pendant) but specifically when escaflowne is In dragon form, because van only uses dragonform escaflowne to save other people, vs normalform escaflowne. that's the dragon dornkirk sees. (so dornkirk's big weird nightmare about a bajillion escaflownes taking over the world is a crazy guy's idea, no? and folken has to be like ".... uh huh........ No yeah totally my liege. anyway...")

reminding me of episode 7 where folken's cool link to van/interest in protecting him is referenced

Dilandau: Folken! I hate waiting.

Folken: I know roughly where the dragon is. You don't have to rush.

Dilandau: Why don't you capture the dragon now? Lord Dornkirk will appreciate that.

Van in ep 18 after they escape their cages in Zaibach seems to only kill the mechs— and only the mechs— by stabbing their energists, aka he’s not being super violent— seemingly going against what balgus told him, and possibly doing so because hitomi believes in him?

is the concept of having faith in others an Off-World idea that came from Hitomi’s grandma

Allen’s dad only figured it out as he was dying and realized he loved his wife enough to send his journal to her

so Varie and Balgus are so shitty to Van because THEY ARE!!! Hitomi is the ONLY person to offer a break in this cycle to him and vice versa. It comes from her because it’s off-world

but for Allen it comes from his dad lol… loser…

ok so i accept varie is a Bad Weird Mom. i am at peace with this, and the concept that the show is critiquing the pressure that parents/the past put on their children, passing the buck. i wish the brothers were able to acknowledge this in any way ): moving on tho

where did varie get the energist? this energist looks nothing like the others, so it must be atlantis-specific.

did she get it in the woods from a dragon

did she, after she thought folken was dead and needing a new plan, have to go to OR die in order to go to the mystic valley to retrieve the energist

wrt the above, did she have to be dead first in order to impart a truth too dangerous to utter in life?

wrt above: is it relevant that while balgus and van talk in the flashbacks in Memories of a Feather, she never talks to folken or van in the scenes where she is crying over their dad and folken? aside from her being a pretty lacklustre mother, can she not or is she not interested in imparting information to them in the fear it would send things off course? she saw at least up to her own marriage, but what else?

IS VARIE EVEN DEAD: the director said varie can be anywhere or anything at any time! is she dead as of van and hitomi seeing her in the mystic valley

partner pointed out that in east asian indigenous folklore (as well as some irish folklore) a celestial wife is an otherworldly being and always a curse

DID varie (and/or folken) see far enough into the future to know that van Needed to interact with hitomi on earth in order To get escaflowne? because

we know without hitomi's interference, van would've died

the ability to pilot escaflowne is part of being king of fanelia, but, during the bit with the Ispano, we're told technically anyone can pilot escaflowne, anyone can form a blood pact with it.

(we see goau with escaflowne before he meets varie. who put escaflowne into the rock?)

although van retrieved the energist, if fanelia had never been attacked, escaflowne could've hung out in the rock for however long, right? that was the thing that made him go get escaflowne?

which would mean the burning of fanelia was a "requirement" to produce escaflowne. we know that folken thinks dilandau is constantly being too excessive/senseless in his carnage, so he probably thought just showing up at the door would've been enough.

[gorgeousmanfounddeadinacroptop]

tsou ep4 running commentary

-ms nurse please do not fangirl lada is gonna kill someone maybe herself

-ridiculous outfit to wear to a hospital

-an entire flight for one person oh shes an alcoholic

-is engfah ...wing womaning?

-shes on shot like 8 and hes nursing a cocktail

-hes like "just finish your 15 shots its fine" is it?????

-i wish i lived in gl landia where straight looking girls flirted with other straight looking girls as a straight looking girl even tho i like mascs so

-she picked up that twink like he was a potato queen we love you psuzie

-she wants that cookie baddddd

-no tongue still and the shoulder bite was a little awkward 7/10

-the arm grab and slipping of the dress strap was hot tho

-so she slept in dangly earrings her hair and make up from last night are in tact... sure

-is that a bite mark on earn???

-youre not drunk you have no excuse to put her on the table and kiss her silly

-picking her up was hot

-she just... left

-(thought i lost this but here it is whew)

-eng was wingwomaning

-i hope she gets a hot bottom to strap

-ratee is really stupid how did she get this job

-the poor baristas why are they having to-- oh theyre into it

-i cant tell if ratee is genuinely stupid or putting it on

-craziest lunch of all time

-engfah is my new favorite character sorry

-ohhh catfight

-she looks like a wet cat

-i know what my problem with the clothes are ... they look like theyre from the boutiques in the middle east that i absolutely despise im sure its the same type of clothes

-between earn and engfah lada is going to be put in an early grave

-oh?

-you are not slick pmor

-noooo dont end

-ohhh next ep is gonna go crazy

we love you toxic lesbians