#I literally watched the magic reveal scene first lol

[adhd-merlin]

I miss relaxing in my bathtub while watching a new episode of merlin. wish I could go back to a time when I hadn't watched this show yet (january 2023)

[eyecan02]

A Psychological Affair Analysis: A Detail I Noticed from the Church Scene

When Beetlejuice reveals his marriage deal with Lydia, Rory turns to Lydia and asks, "Lydia, what's going on?" And you just know what Rory and all the influencers are thinking in that moment- that they're watching some scandalous affair unfold in front of them. The detail I noticed is right after Rory asks his question.

Instead of looking at Rory or answering his question, Lydia LOOKS at Beetlejuice. There obviously wasn't an affair of a phsyical kind, but you would think she would care more about proving to her fiancee that she's been faithful to him. Yet, her focus is on Beetlejuice in this moment.

Beetlejuice only fuels the "affair" idea by saying "Awkward." lol He's just gaslighting Lydia in this scene. He could've been like "Well, we weren't hooking up but I definitely am stealing your fiancee if you haven't picked up on that yet."

Everything Tim does is always intentional, and even if it's not romantic (yet), he purposely had Lydia looking at Beetlejuice who is currently standing at the altar (theres symbolism here), where she should be standing. And we got the line from Lydia where she said Dr. Glickman had told her that she wouldn't be able to move forward in her relationship until she tackles the "one thing that's been holding her back."

She then immediately starts telling Rory about her experience with Beetlejuice. So Beetlejuice has literally been standing between them and the altar for a while now. At least "psychologically", Beetlejuice IS the "other man".

Especially if you take into account Rory thinking the Therapy Room Scene was a dream. Before he said the BJ chant, he was talking to Lydia about BJ being a "construct" because all he understood from Lydia's story is "some guy tried to force me to marry him" so he likely understood it as "Oh, she used to date some weird guy named Beetlejuice who tried to force her into marriage."

Once they're in the Therapy Room Scene, if you look at it from Rory's point of view, he sees Beetlejuice and Lydia being familiar with each other, Beetlejuice magically have Lydia get pregnant and give birth to a baby that looks just like him (Beetlejuice throws Rory a quick smile to make sure he's watching this) and sees the baby instinctively crawling toward its "mother".

"Spill your guts"= Rory worrying about his lies being exposed.

"Figment of your imagination"= Rory scared that his "figment" will manifest into something real where another man will marry Lydia and have her have his baby and beat him to the cash and life style he wanted before he has a chance to trick Lydia into going through with the ceremony.

Lydia has been running from her fear of marriage, but did not hesitate to toss her upcoming nuptials aside to marry Beetlejuice. And I'll mention it again- she looks BJ's way. For help? Most likely. Because how does one explain to their fiancee that she's moments from marrying the "one thing that's been holding her back" from marriage.

The "one thing that's been holding her back" is also the one person that was able to help "push her forward" by helping her save her daughter and saved her from a gold digging boyfriend. As a result, she quit her show "to start living" and to find herself again.

A person wouldn't really be able to consider a second marriage before they find themselves first. It's funny because she was late to her wedding with Rory but was "on time" for her wedding with Beetlejuice. Third time's the charm. Beetlebabes is fated.

[readerwithsalt]

Does anyone think the concept of tsats would have been better if instead of going to save bob or whatever the book was just set in camp the whole time. Like maybe during those six months Jason had been alive and our favorite characters were still at camp.

Like since Riordan pretty much agreed to it for fanservice and bc people wanted him to, it would’ve been WAY more interesting and satisfying to watch how Nico lives within the camp now. What friends he’s made on his own outside of Wills cabin. What he likes to do now at camp, like training other kids with weird techniques that no one’s ever really seen, him making strange looking clay sculptures in arts and craft, therapy sessions with Dionysus etc…

We could’ve read about those things Jason had wanted to do with him at the end of BOO, like eating together in the palivion, sleepovers with that creepy Zeus statue in Jason’s cabin watching their every move, playing capture the flag and for the first time ever people see Hades symbol appear across the fabric when Nico gets it to the top of the hill (instead of Athena or ares).

We could’ve seen the Stoll brothers remembering him from TTC when they’d tried to get him into poker and now they keep trying to keep him to do a bunch of illegal stuff and pranks on the other cabins because he can be the ‘getaway driver’ and shadowtravel them away. We could’ve seen Clovis helping Nico with some of Nicos dream magic he displayed in BOO and helping Nico navigate even some of his worst recurring nightmares.

We could’ve had Hazel visiting and having adorable sibling moments. We could’ve had the hunters visiting and Nico being kinda distraught about Reyna joining them but they talk about it and patch that up. Also with there being four big three kids at the camp at one time (Nico, Hazel, Percy, & Jason) camp half blood FINALLY wins a game against the hunters for the first time lol. With Hazel and Nico being the ones to get the hunters flag lol.

We could’ve had a scene of Nico babysitting baby chuck and being strangely very good with babies and his gentle and sweet side coming out and it makes some of the campers see him differently.

The progression of Solangelo could’ve been wayy smoother as well. With Will nonchalantly revealing being open about his bisexuality, and Nico realizing how many other kids were out in camp as well and finally gaining his own confidence by seeing kids his own age being themselves.

We could’ve had Will thinking Nicos darkness is cute in a way and it’s revealed embarrassingly by Kayla that all Wills past crushes have always been, like, hella goth.

We could’ve had scenes with Nico helping Will with gory injuries and Nico being delighted at the many colors wounds can take on (flashback to little Nico talking about Percy’s wound in ttc “ooh, it’s green!” Nico said with delight.’) and Will thinking it’s cute how Nico keeps commenting on the fluids leaking out of someone’s dismembered leg and the patient in question just screaming in pain while Will makes heart eyes.

We could’ve had a scene where Percy and Nico talk about Nico having that crush on him and Percy always forgetting about him and calling on his help but never truly appreciating it and they make up satisfyingly for once. (But Percy’s still a bit miffed about how much better Nico’s friendship with Jason is than with him lol)

We could’ve had another chariot race but this time with Nico and Hazel in one and everyone thinks they look terrifying. BECAUSE THEY DO.

Like, honestly we didn’t need this kind of book about the most lethal place in their universe but then have it practically only talk about couples therapy and how to like the person you’ve literally been dating for a year…. 🙄😒

Like sometimes less is more if you know what I mean.

[its-short-for-jackalope]

Some Of My Favorite Cool Staging Choices in NPMD: a ramble, by me!

(is "staging" the right term? idk I wasn't a theater kid)

this will contain spoilers, which you can probably guess since it will be tagged as such.

When we see Richie getting attacked in the cold open, he's facing the audience; when it happens again (haha whoops) he's facing away from the audience & we get to see his attacker. idk man I just think the change in perspective is rad lol

Richie and Ruth taking the stage first for "High School Is Killing Me" because they're the ones who... y'know. (rip 💀)

when that first curtain thing lifts and reveals the rest of the stage 👌🏻

when Steph is trying to get Pete to help her cheat on the test the spotlight on them also lights up Grace before she butts in and gets them in trouble (foreLIGHTENing eh? eh?)

the rotating nerd huddle in "Literal Monster" brings me so much joy like Yes, put those nerds on a giant Lazy Susan and watch 'em go

the nerds sneaking along in the background when Max is singing

the bit with Miss Tessberger (sp?) leaving and returning to the stage from the opposite side

just everything about Pete & Steph's phone call. everything.

the stage going almost completely dark at the end of "Cool As I Think I Am" is fucking epic ok it's such a cool transition. also Max's "I bring light to darkness" and the lighting changes for that. they're both so cool

the bathtub prop. it just looks like it was fun to make. :)

when Steph is talking to Ruth & Richie and then she just turns and they're sneaking into the bathroom. it's like a movie transition in my brain. (also Mariah's little jump like she's trying to look into a stall is adorable)

NERDY PRUDES GOING TO THE WAYLON (sp?) PLACE MY BELOVED 💙 1. walking around the orchestra pit is cool & it's a fun, slightly-more-distanced throwback to when they walk thru the audience in TGWDLM & BF; 2. cool blue lighting + silhouettes, need I say more; 3. the tattered background descending as they walk is fucking magical

it's technically not part of the show at all but i have to give a shoutout to the person near the camera who goes "oh? oh?" when Pete & Steph exchange their cute lil looks in the Waylon House 😂

Richie moving behind the tattered curtains with the camera. also I know it isn't visible but the knowledge that the skele'on costume glows in the dark gives me life. (and Steph giving Ruth a thumbs-up when she's scaring Max??? adorable)

did they blur the npmd logo and put it over Max as he's dying? i fuckin love it no joke

that row of lights onstage just silently clicking off before Max shows up to get Richie 💀💀💀 and then they slowly come back RED

wHEN THE REST OF THE CAST LINES UP TO SILENTLY STAND WITNESS FOR RICHIE'S DEATH 💀💀💀💀💀

the pauses in Jeff's announcement to let everybody groan after their name is called (Joey's "ouhh noo" gets me every time)

I haven't really mentioned choreography because idk how to talk about dancing but... "Hatchet Town" my beloved <3 (all of the choreography in the show is so fun & cool)

BBQ monologues!! the stage is a stage! (whoa, is this tgwdlm???) Love the brief single spotlight on Ruth when she goes on, and bonus points for the red, white, & blue lighting bc barbecues are intrinsically linked to the 4th of July in my brain (🇺🇲🔥)

when Grace is talking to Detective Shapiro I love how gray the stage goes, especially after how colorful the BBQ monologue was, like ugh <3 it makes it feel more serious and important like shit's about to get real (it is)

Officer Bailey (I think that's his name? i do not trust my ears) just angrily moving the chairs after Grace steals his gun and escapes custody 😂

obligatory Beanies Paulkins & HCB scene 2.0 mention <3

Pete sweetie you were just at a football game how did you mix it up with baseball you fuckin nerd (affectionate)

The Chair Mishap™ (I'm not sure but I think all 3 of them broke there, to varying degrees)

Max chasing Solomon off the stage is fun, loved that. (oh shit if he gets you next make it thr... four. you'll be four. or five, technically...? are we still counting Max? this point got derailed.)

the squad car! the lights up top, the brake lights, and also I love when the car turns and everybody just leans to the side (SiS is my favorite for this). also Max just nyooming by as Shapiro takes off is hilarious.

HOLDING COURT WITH THE VOID!!! the increasing whispers, the lighting, the LORDS APPEARING, holy SHIT

the white lights & fog during the slow-mo bullet scene idk it just makes it for me

the homecoming disco ball and the different spotlights are great :D

the group pose at the end of "Best of Me"

the colored lights & Lords laughing at the beginning of "Dirty Dudes" 🤩

okay! that's everything that caught my eye on my fourth watch, lol. obviously there are many many many more awesome little details and funny bits but I wanted to focus more on the set & staging type stuff. it's really cool and interesting to me, especially after Black Friday's glorious secret Wiggly.

if you read all of this I hope you had fun!!

if you didn't have fun, feel free to keep that fact to yourself! 👉🏻👉🏻

[clarajohnson]

the magicians s2e7

STOP IGNORING ME STOP IGNORING ME YOU PUSSY !!!!!!

you will know exactly what i'm going to say i'm going to say it until she goes away. i love you niffin alice.

one of these dummies is gonna call the brain police and you've got priors!

Evil Things Inside of Me That Used to Be Alice

SOOO fucking interesting, their conversation on "boxing her up" because alice is right! he IS trapping her! the first time i watched this show i was truly TRULY so angry at him for this. when he says "or you could be quiet and you could let me try and solve this" like my god the man never lets anything go! it's so unhealthy and like NOW i don't blame him because he's my best friend but the first time around i could only think of it as selfish and sinister and controlling.

the world's foremost expert on all things me... an all timer quote. god what a quotable scene!

i'm not bloodthirsty i just wanna be free :-( sorry but she's so hot if she was bloodthirsty i'd still do what she wanted

julia's hair is so nice in this scene

i love you korean knife magicians i really love you so much sometimes this show really just charms me

BANK HEIST !!!!!!!!! one of my favorite moments in this show

GOOD BECAUSE I DON'T margo marry me

sometimes i think about how many plots are running in any given scene/episode/season of this show and i swear i could pass out like who remembered ember shitting in the wellspring except tick pickwick did !!!!!

also love the magic-seeing lenses in this show that's always been charming to me. same with the mann reveal but i like the little lenses more.

when they kill off the haxenpaxen it feels to me like they were like okay we can't keep track of all this. which must have been a difficult decision for the magicians showrunners.

that poor girl is ~fucked!~

yeah to circle back to the one million concurrent plots i like that q's plot for the time being is "liberate the being of pure chaotic energy that looks like my girlfriend which is trapped in the tattoo on my back" in the grand scheme of things here it's kind of a minor issue lol

raise your hand if she's the reason that you fucking exploded in this life!

my best friend in the world does crazy shit and doesn't listen to me and like he probably means jules but unfortunately it's true of literally every character on this show

q is a remarkably good friend very attentive very concerned

help us rob a bank oh my god yes

love the anthropomorphic books also. fun throughline.

kady and penny have crazy fucking chemistry CRAZY chemistry

THERE'S OUR LITTLE KING. oh my god ohhhhh my god

margo's hair is sooo so so good.

aw i love that eliot didn't know margo had robbed a bank. it's so obviously a device so she can walk them through the security procedures because he would absolutely know that within like a month of them knowing each other but it's so cute.

ohhhh margo's little two-piece outfit. i'm not gonna look it up but i'm pretty sure this was from 2016 and i know this simply because i wore a two-piece dress to my high school winter formal. it was a dark fucking time.

yeah pass i like air >:-(

kady could've had her own show there's so much going on with her. and you know what? i'm not ashamed to say it. underutilized in fic.

alice had the bedroom of a precocious seven-year-old daughter of a single mother in a 2009 dramedy. where the wild things are ass bedroom.

return of the best bitches !!!!!!

brakebills must have some CRAZY fucking wards you ever think about it?

"oh nut up it's just a finger"

penny and kady grow up as though q did not get that finger in an orifice he was perfectly fine with

margo is so excited to coordinate a bank heist she is the number one girl in the world

remarkably extraordinarily fake bees i have to admire it

q and his FUCKING inability to take a sweater off

penny not touching the floor stresses me out SO badly. toe on the floor. (penny voice) god damn it.

love the security guards in love

the wrecking ball is a weapon of peace :'-)

(cuntiest voice in the world) oh well, rest in peace penny

i understand his reasoning for not telling anyone about niffin alice in his head but if i was q i would've been immediately telling everyone like that's not the shit you keep inside

"i've always been good at math" i would never believe that

q's saddest little "oh no :-o" this heist has everything !!!!

once again i feel like horomancy only becomes a big tricky thing later in the series because jules invents a time machine within like an afternoon. maybe two days.

ohhhh the fucking dokkaebi stress me out

first of all el taking a fatal injury for q :-( second of all KADY FUCKING DECKING THE BATTLE MAGICIAN !!!!! third of all q struggling to leave even the golem oh this gentle little guy who is in love with eliot waugh

somebody find out how they did julia's lashes i'm jealous

[douwatahima]

Oooookay. So I finished my seventh watch through of season 2 yesterday and I finally feel equipped to give my personal ranking of all 18 OFMD episodes. No one asked for this but here it is lol. Also I gave them all a score out of ten and tiered them all by said score because I'm very normal. LET'S GO.

6/10 - These Are Kinda Meh

18. 1x02: A Damned Man - To me, this is the most forgettable episode of the whole show. I mean, it's not awful or anything (it's still OFMD), but I have literally nothing to say about it. It's just kinda there.

17. 2x06: Calypso's Birthday - There's things in this episode I like (everything with Ned Lowe is good imo), but the whole party sequence, which takes up about half the episode, feels so empty to me. At first it didn't bother me that much, but then Samba revealed what the original plan was and knowing that at one point this episode had a plot has made the incredible lack of one we got soooo much more noticeable.

16. 1x03: The Gentleman Pirate - Introduction of Spanish Jackie, Magic Man, Ed and Stede meeting for the first time, there's definitely good stuff here. However, it gets sooooooooo much better than this.

7/10 - Good and Fun, Just Not My Fave

15. 2x07: Man on Fire - There is so much in this episode I like. Ed and Stede having breakfast in bed makes me feel insane. Stede and Zheng fighting ruled so hard. FRENCHIE SCHEMEING WITH THE CREW!!! The biggest thing is that there's so much in this episode that nothing really gets room to breathe. With like…five more minutes this episode could've been peak.

14. 1x06: The Art of Fuckery - This falls under the category of "episodes that are good, but there are others I like way more". The bathtub scene is of course peak, but in a season with some really incredible stuff this episode doesn't particularly stick out to me.

13. 2x04: Fun and Games - Same as the previous episode. I love the whole "Seabird" sequence, Ed and Stede's little heart to heart, and of course Anne and Mary's everything, but there are so many more episodes I love way more.

8/10 - I'm Incredibly Fond of These

12. 1x07: This is Happening - Fun fact I originally had this in the last category but then I remembered the co-captains scene and I knew I had to bump it up lmao. There's soooo much peak OFMD in here. The snake scene! Lucius calling Ed out!!! The previously mentioned co-captains scene!!!!! The only reason this isn't higher is because around my…fifteenth rewatch I found myself kinda getting bored with the Jim's nana subplot (sorry Jim).

11. 1x01: Pilot - OHHHHH I AM SO FOND OF THE PILOT. There's definitely some clunkiness in this episode imo (it is the first one after all), but the feeling I get when I boot up this episode is unparalleled. Frenchie starts singing and my heart soars. Also the entire "High on a Rocky Ledge" sequence is beautiful even all these months later.

10. 1x08: We Gull Way Back - 90% of my love for this episode is that I find Will Arnett very funny. This episode also gave us "The Chain" sequence including the foot touch heard around the world. ALSO ROOM PEOPLE!!! I love this one.

09. 2x01: Impossible Birds - The biggest fault of this episode is that it premiered alongside two of the best episodes of OFMD ever and this one slightly pales in comparison. That being said, it's a very strong season opener. Also, I am personally obsessed with the "Strawberry Letter 23" sequence. AND THE CAKE TOPPERS I CAN'T BELIEVE I ALMOST FORGOT THE CAKE TOPPERS!!!!!

08. 1x04: Discomfort in a Married State - I AM SOOOOOO FOND OF THIS ONE. The way the first half of the episode parallels Ed/Izzy and Stede/Mary only to spend the second half juxtaposing those two relationships against Ed/Stede? Masterful. The way Ed and Stede's relationship develops so naturally? Beautiful. THE LIGHTHOUSE SCENE? INCREDIBLE. WHAT AN EPISODE!

9/10 - I'm Genuinely Mad These Didn't Make Top 5

07. 2x05: The Curse of the Seafaring Life - The way this episode had me giggling and kicking my feet in real life after I first saw it. There's nothing not to like here. Ed and Fang fishing, Lucius and Pete getting engaged, THE SUIT…all incredible. Not to mention we got "you wear fine things well" version 2.0 with the best kiss in the whole show!

06. 1x05: The Best Revenge is Dressing Well - I love everything about this one. Ed and Stede at the fancy party, Lucius kicking Izzy's ass with the power of polyamory, Frenchie and Olu scamming racists…when I think of quintessential OFMD, this is the episode I think of. And of course the original version of "you wear fine things well" lives within my very soul.

10/10 - I Feel Mentally Ill About These Ones

05. 2x02: Red Flags - To start off, I really liked getting Lucius back and his whole subplot with Stede was really really great. Now that that point's out of the way HOLY SHIT EVERYTHING WITH ED IN THIS EPISODE WHAT THE FUCK. THE SCENE BETWEEN ED AND IZZY IS LITERALLY GOD TIER. ED PAINTED THE BRIDE TO LOOK LIKE HIMSELF AND I STILL HAVEN'T RECOVERED. "RUN FROM ME"? LIKE...IN GENERAL??? CRAZY. AND THEN ED SAYING "FINALLY" WHEN HE GETS THE CREW TO KILL HIM? INSANE. THEY WERE INSANE FOR THIS.

04. 1x09: Act of Grace - I mean, listen. I've talked about this a lot but it bears repeating. Staying up until 2am to watch this episode when it premiered and seeing Ed and Stede ACTUALLY KISS changed me as a person. I am different because I experienced that. Not to mention the rest of this episode is peak. Ed calling for the act of grace, the crew voting Olu as captain, the entire "Perfect Day" sequence, just incredible all around.

03. 2x08: Mermen - God this show can do a good finale. I will never stop being bowled over by how much I love this one. The "Moscow" scene? Sexy as hell. Ed and Stede reuniting and Ed telling Stede he loves him? I've watched it three thousand times. THE LETTER? THEY WROTE THEIR NAMES ON EACH OTHER IN PERMANENT INK!!! Also, even though it's highly controversial to say, I thought Izzy's death scene was very very good. Not to mention the entire last few minutes set to "The Times They Are A-Changin'" makes me feel so incredibly soft. I love OFMD soooooo much.

02. 2x03: The Innkeeper - Listen. If this whole episode sucked but it still included the mermaid scene I would still have it this high. That being said, this whole episode is sooooo incredibly good. The opening sequence with Zheng manipulating the rival captain is so well done. Ed in the gravy basket is crazy from beginning to end. Stede plotting to get the crew to safety is peak Stede and I love it. And somehow, after all of that, the episode also ends with one of the most incredible sequences I have ever seen. Watching a man who thought he was fundamentally unlovable get brought back to life because of how much he's loved while "This Woman's Work" plays in the background will follow me forever. Just…some of the most beautiful shit ever put to film.

1000/10 - THE GOAT NO OTHER NEED APPLY

01. 1x10: Wherever You Go, There You Are - I AM SO SERIOUS WHEN I SAY THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE EPISODES OF TELEVISION OF ALL TIME. The way Ed and Stede's plots through this episode are juxtaposed against each other makes me feel feral. The way that Stede is so out of place and closed off from his family while Ed is actively healing and bonding with the crew ONLY FOR THESE TWO PLOTS TO FLIP WHEN THEY EACH TALK TO THE PERSON WHO REPRESENTED A NONFUNCTIONING RELATIONSHIP TO THEM ALL THE WAY BACK IN EPISODE FOUR! THE WAY MARY AND STEDE GETTING TO TALK AND BE HONEST AND LET EACH OTHER GO ALLOWS STEDE TO FINALLY GROW AND BE HAPPY WHILE IZZY HANGING ON TO THAT TOXIC RELATIONSHIP WITH ALL OF HIS MIGHT AND NOT LETTING ED GROW AND CHANGE WITHOUT HIM FORCES ED BACK INTO THE PITS OF DESPAIR!!! The entire "Avalanche" sequence breaks my heart in the absolute best way and seeing Ed do all this terrible shit with no more spark left in his usually super expressive eyes hurts so good! And then, of course, there's my favourite part of all. Seeing Stede, a man who has been so lost and unmoored, row out into the ocean looking more settled than we've ever seen him while Mary says he's now free and that freedom coming completely from Stede realizing he's in love with another man is something that feels so personally assuring to me I can't even fully express it. The entire "Miles from Nowhere" sequence is incredible to me (and to this day that song is thee OFMD needle drop in my opinion) but that part especially is my favourite thing this show has ever given me hands down. Thank you David Jenkins for my life.

[jjackfrost]

genuinely no better feeling than deciding to read something on a whim, only for it to completely alter your brain chemistry in ways you are unprepared for. i finished otnwas in 4 days because i literally couldn’t put it down i was severely suffering from just-one-more-chapter syndrome (and honestly how could i not with those cliffhangers) and have been re-reading my favorite parts over and over the past month. i can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful my experience has been, i love it so so so so much. i really felt like i time-travelled too because the way the hours were whizzing so quickly… what do you mean i was reading for 15 hours straight ??????

i’ve been stewing on how to properly convey the feelings i had for this story, only because it felt so much bigger than me that i struggled to find the words. otnwas has made a permanent home in my heart. thank you for bringing back the whimsy and magic i felt at 13 when i first watched these movies and fell in love with its characters.

the heartwarming brotherly relationship of jack and jamie, the slay of the century that was your majesty the snow queen, the rtte references!!, blizzard of 68 angst (how dare u..) the comedy, the chemistry, the MAGIC, the lore, the sweet and gradual romance between hiccup and jack (the slowest burn in history i was crying and shaking and ripping my hair out at the reveal) - seriously the rollercoaster of emotions i went through !!!!!!!!! giggling, kicking my legs, screaming, throwing up like the whole works ,, just unmatched.. i’m a mess i’ll be spending the rest of my days searching for the high that i had when i read this for the first time i’m so serious....

an enormous thank you for writing and sharing it with the world (and also for bringing me back into the hijack community) i’ll end this with my favorite quote ever from otnwas, though i have many but this is my top:

“it makes me wonder what time really is. if it’s linear, or if each moment exists in its own present… because then maybe a part of us will always be here… and this moment won’t ever end. even when we’ve moved on, i’ll know that there is still a jack and hiccup somewhere in the universe, existing just like this forever.”

wishing you lovely days ahead :)🌷🤍🌟❄🌙

MAN THANK YOU SO MUCH this was so nice to read 🥹🥹🥹 15 hours straight is actually kinda crazy, are you okay?

im glad theres so much in there you enjoyed (maybe especially snow, since i always feel a bit self conscious about including oc’s in fics. yet it keeps happening lol) and like ive said, ive been enjoying reading your posts about the fic 😆 the most fulfilling thing is to see it being talked about without me being part of the conversation haha

ALSO so happy you enjoyed that part specifically, because it is also one of my favorite scenes :’)

[laylanatorseventeen]

Finally watched Crawl!! Spoilers, if anyone cares

Ok, thoughts. Before I watched this movie I saw a gifset about Crawl, the big climactic scene where Haley 'outswims' an alligator. And left disparaging tags. So we will address that first!

One: there is not a snowball's chance in Hell that she could outswim an alligator. Even had she NOT been bitten on the arm, shoulder, and leg (which should have broken bones), and even had she NOT been physically exhausted from her ordeal, and even if she had NOT been swimming in debris filled, hurricane tossed water, there is still no way she could have outswum the gator. Even in the movie you could see the gator close the distance of her head start in SECONDS. SHE SHOULD HAVE DIED. especially since we literally saw the gator tip the fucking boat earlier to eat the looters!!! Girl you should be dead!!

(also this scene was in my head as soon as the movie started and when her competitive swim scene ended I said to my brother, to whom I had complained about the incredulity, "SHE DIDN'T EVEN WIN AGAINST THE HUMAN!!!" like I admire her grit and her determination but girl should be dead)

Also I asserted that these alligators would have no reason to attack these folks so vigorously, seeing as usually a gator would not expend the effort on such feisty prey: I amend my statement. Near the end of the movie it is revealed the gators have been nesting in the crawl space of the house, which has been abandoned for a while. That would explain their aggression lmao.

I also foolishly told my brother that I thought that if a gator were to magically appear in our house I thought I could probably defeat, or at least restrain it. This was while I still had the illusion that gators were much smaller than they are. Because when the movie showed the gator for the first time I was like "THAT'S A BIG ASS GATOR IT LOOKS LIKE THE SIZE OF A CROCODILE" to which my brother googled and was like "no that's not actually a crazy size for a gator" and I was reminded of Brutus the Crocodile

And I was like OH YEAH CROCODILES ARE JUST SO ABSOLUTELY FUCKOFF BIG THAT ALLIGATORS LOOK SMALL and I was like "yeah no longer quite so confident"

Also don't know so much about hurricanes but while the flooding was impressive I imagine the wind of a category 4 hurricane would look. Much more violent than what we saw in the movie

But all in all I liked the movie. Though of course I feel bad for the gators. From the gators' perspective this is a home invasion movie. Some bitch came into their baby's room and stabbed them with a screwdriver! Lol.

All this because the dad decided to board up vents during a hurricane that brought the water to roof level. Smh. Florida men.

[biglisbonnews]

Jonah Hill and Lauren London's 'You People' Kiss Was CGI According to Co-Star Netflix's current number-one movie is You People, starring Lauren London and Jonah Hill. The film tells of the love story between a white, Jewish podcaster and a Black, Muslim fashion designer overcoming their differences and familial tension. However, the Kenya Barris-directed film hasn't escaped without its fair share of criticism of the storyline and tropes. Looks like there's also a strange fake kiss involved too.In a recent episode of his Brilliant Idiots podcast alongside co-host Charlemagne Tha God, You People co-star Andrew Schulz dropped the bomb that London and Hill didn't lock lips in the movie's penultimate wedding scene. Schulz assumed the movie would cut to another shot. Instead, movie magic sealed their marriage by morphing their faces together. "It's CGI. Swear to god." @moviefiles Andrew Schulz reveals Jonah Hill and Lauren London didn't kiss in You People and CGI was used at one point 👀 😂 #andrewschulz #charlamagnethagod #youpeople #youpeoplenetflix #netflix #jonahhill #laurenlondon #cgi #fakekiss #fake #comdey #lol #screammovie #foryou #foryoupage #fyp And if you watched the film and think that the two shouldn't have gotten married in the first place, you're far from the first. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar published last week, London revealed she was apprehensive to take on the role when approached by Blackish director Kenya Barris. Related | Jonah Hill Will Stop Promoting Future Films for His Mental Health"'Why would these two people really like each other?' We have to showcase a real connection," London said. "They're from two totally different worlds, and if you see them, you would never think that they would meet or hang out, whatever the case is." However, that also drove her to say yes.So why did they fake a kiss if London and Hill were invested in the film and had obvious on-screen chemistry? Some people suspect she did it out of respect to her late husband Nipsey Hussle who passed in 2019. However, London kissed co-star Michael B. Jordan in the 2021 film Without Remorse, filmed after Hussle's death.Other people have wondered why she took the role if she couldn't smooch Hill. \u201cLike literally what was the point of Lauren London accepting a role in a RomCom but refusing to KISS your castmate? CGI kissing is CRAZY.\u201d — \ud835\udcae\ud835\udcbe\ud835\udc52. (@\ud835\udcae\ud835\udcbe\ud835\udc52.) 1675611366 While some people respected that she was able to pay homage to her late husband and get a nice bag without having to do anything she was uncomfortable with.“I think my fave thing about You People is just knowing Lauren London got her bag. She’s the least experienced actor in this movie and got Nip’s music in, character-wise was very much herself & gave like 2 PG kisses. I respect her.” \u201cI think my fave thing about You People is just knowing Lauren London got her bag. She\u2019s the least experienced actor in this movie and got Nip\u2019s music in, character-wise was very much herself & gave like 2 PG kisses. I respect her.\u201d — shabeeblebop (@shabeeblebop) 1675061207 For what it's worth, there's a lot of other people who would be down to kiss Jonah Hill, for a movie role or not.Photo courtesy of Netflix https://www.papermag.com/you-people-kiss-2659388902.html

[notebookqueenofnarnia]

Omg I’m so glad someone responded to my post because it’s my favorite thing to point out the collective flawed logic of these criticisms:

Percy has 0 agency: actually my boy got up and threw hands with Nancy Bobofit without even trying. Actually my boy told Grover to stay away from him after the betrayal at Yancy. Actually my boy refused the quest until he knew he could personally benefit from it. Actually my boy decided to seek glory only when he realized it might help him escape bullies. Actually my boy fought a whole Minotaur, when he didn’t have to. He could have run. He chose to throw hands for his mom. There is literally no greater agency than that. Please see a dictionary if you are still confused as to what agency is. Some decisions are out of his hands but seriously this boy has buckets of agency.

Percy calling Luke his friend. You forget Grover is also there, but yeah let’s focus on Luke. Luke who took Percy under his wing. We only glimpsed Percy’s younger years on screen, but he changed schools many times because of “incidents.” Being the new kid is never easy…being the new kid who was rumored to have or the new kid who hallucinates or imagines robot rhinos on the street? Not to mention Percy is never afraid to stand up for the kids who are bullied which does not make him popular with the popular/powerful/bullies at school. (See Nancy Bobofit for example). But Luke sticks with Percy. Luke stays with him, shows him kindness and support, even after Clarisse bullies him. Luke actually stands up to Clarisse for Percy. I would bet my last drachma That no one has ever done that for Percy before. So yeah. It’s the bare minimum maybe, but when you’ve had NOTHING, the bare minimum feels like everything. For the first time in his life, however brief, however fleeting, Percy feels accepted and feels he has friends. And that’s the point of his speech. For the first time, he immediately feels welcomed somewhere, feels he fits in. He literally talks about this in the books-talks about how he loves being apart of the whole Hermes cabin-before he’s isolated again by Poseidon’s claiming.

As I mentioned in my original post, it is a series. There will be more episodes. I am quite sure sword play and discussions of learning sword play will come up at some point. It might be a little different from the books, including the timing as you say, but that is just something that happens whenever anything goes from book to screen. Could they have done more montages to suggest time passing? Sure. But it would have made Annabeth’s scenes and the big reveal a little less impactful. Also, when going from book to screen, some things have to be translated. Compared to other films, Percy’s month at camp would be plenty of time to master sword fighting. (I’m thinking especially of Star Wars lol) These few days make the stakes very obvious and high for viewers of all ages. And if you really take that much issue with the logic of how long Percy has been at camp…. I worry how you handled the concept of Greek gods and magic powers to begin with

You don’t have to like the show. You don’t have to watch the show. But if you think the show is “objectively” bad, I would suggest you do some self reflection. Unconscious bias is another a definition you could look up. Maybe you have something against blonds?

My favorite thing about the criticism for the Percy Jackson series so far is that it’s split into three categories:

1. People who don’t actually remember the books (“that never happened!” yes it did. try spark notes.)

2. People who can’t comprehend there are more episodes (“they forgot this detail that comes later in the book!!!!” sweetie it’s called a series)

3. People who have absolutely zero reading comprehension skills (“it wasn’t like that in the books!!!“ I promise you it was)

[walks-the-ages]

I absolutely love all the Quantum Leap blogs I follow because the complete and utter radio silence on the 2022 reboot really speaks volumes considering how much speculation was on my dash before it aired.

As someone who finally remembered it's existence and watched the whole season*, I can genuinely tell all original Quantum Leap fans:

Do not bother watching this show

It literally exists to try and make a profit off the nostalgia of the title alone, because it is shallower than a drop of water in the desert and they're trying to make up for their lack of interesting Leaps by filling the runtime with office drama in the present day that no one cares about and doesn't mean anything.

They're telling us all these things about Ben that mean absolutely nothing because it doesn't change anything, he already Leaped, and no I don't particularly care about why, even after the little "cliffhanger reveal" in Episode 8.

I was watching this show because I care about Sam Beckett and Al Calavicci.

Al was summarily killed off in the first or second episode by having them mention he'd passed away a few years ago, and while you could be generous and say it's because they didn't want anyone that wasn't Dean Stockwell playing Al.... You don't have to have a character on-screen to have them exist in your story.

Al could have been a character whose just always left the room to go attend one of his grandkids pride events.

He could be on the other end of an important phone call.

He could be the random old guy that sneaks in at night and talks with Ziggy but they've never been able to catch him because he always knows how to disable all their security measures and Ziggy refuses to tell them.

(They're secretly plotting to actually get Sam and Ben back while everyone else is just caught up in their conspiracy theories, Janis helps by sending them all on a wild goose chase so Ziggy has actual time to put her processing power to work)

But yeah. Al's been killed off for literally no reason except for bad writing, his daughter is an antagonist for no reason except bad writing, and I genuinely do not care about literally any of these characters because so far they haven't done anything memorable. Ben gets kudos for actually helping people but that's negated a bunch by him being extremely shallow of a character AND the mouthpiece for "you must forgive your abusers!!!!!" The writers are using this show to preach.

Oh and did I mention everyone promptly forgot that Sam Beckett exists and that Ben was trying to find him? So much so that when he runs into another Leaper who warns him to stop following because it's dangerous, literally every single character jumps to the conclusion that it's ... Janis. Al's Antagonist Daughter, threatening Ben, instead of the obvious conclusion of

Hello???? It's literally Sam fucking Beckett trying to warn Ben he should be focused on getting home, back to his life, instead of continuing to try and find Sam?? That Sam's trying to save him from getting trapped in the Leaps like he was??? And the show unironically took it as a threat from some unknown villain instead, and wholly expects the audience to take that conclusion at face value?

Like. Yeah, don't watch Quantum Leap 2022 if you loved the original, if you want to know what happened to Sam and Al.

Al's been summarily killed off, his wife Beth has existed for maybe 3 scenes, and his daughter is randomly an antagonist who drugs her own mother into unconsciousness to show how evil she is lol.

Sam Beckett exists as a footnote and is summarily forgotten by all the new characters.

Ziggy doesn't exist and is now just a generic computer they call "it" (instead of she/her OR he/him) and is not a character at all

Oh, and Ian Wright the nonbinary character everyone was hyping up? Just exists to be the shallow, quirky, quipping one-liner joke-maker of the episode, wearing cat ears at work, making jokes about magic mushrooms and somehow generating views for the show because apparently Mason Alexander has a cult following of people who literally just follow their work and refer to them on a first name basis and...

... I've just blocked all those people already from the tag because it's genuinely creepy how deeply these people are in a parasocial relationship with the actor. Like genuinely looking for RPF things and obsessing over them and referring to them only by their first name and just.... No. Hell no.

But yeah, the funny thing is if you go into the Quantum Leap 2022 tag and block all the Mason Park stalkers the content of the tag is just reduced by like 90%

So uh. That tells you a lot about how little substance Quantum Leap 2022 has. Most of the posts are from me and my twin liveblogging it lol.

-----update:

* I guess they're splitting the season into 2 parts because the IMBD says the next episode is in January 2023 with more episodes after that for a total of 18 episodes in the first season but uh. Too fucking bad for them I'm not wasting my time on this bag of hot air. I'm sticking a pin in it and going back to my little original show rewrite and post canon fun/angst.

[dragonnguard]

I know I always love reading everyone’s first thoughts with no filter after a season, so here are mine!

EPISODE 2

Claudia maybe don’t take your newly exhausted dad up the entire spire?

Pls Zym not eating his veggies with Ibis was adorable

I LOVE THE DRAGON LAIR OH MY HECK ITS SO MAGICAL CAN I LIVE THERE, the happiness is 🥺

Viren is like kill me now i DoNt want to hang out with my daughter and her bf any more after all the fart jokes

HEIGHTS SHOULD FEAR YOU 😏

Pls Terry 🥺🥺🥺🥺

@hoothalcyon GET YOUR GAY during the whole janaya scene

Stella you are evil don’t take that cube

Noooooo his face looks so sad when he sees rayla 😭

EPISODE 3

Pain and love I’m our hearts at the same time 🥺😭 ezzzzzz (out here giving a full therapy session haha)

The overlay of Ezran talking about pain and love when terry kills and the implications of doing and undoing happening at the same time was so good

EPISODE 4

Bait being so excited like he was going to get food from Barius 🥺🥺🥺

FLEXIO (love you Soren)

I’m so angry about the human putting out the flame. Interesting Native American parallels

EPISODE 5

MMMMM CALLUM - strong mind, strong heart, fascination with magic. gotta love more dark Callum foreshadowing

I dunno how I feel about rayla being gone two years and finding nothing. Why did it take her so long to come back. I hope they answer this when her and Callum finally talk. I guess it plays in well to the whole “she needs to figure this out” because she is literally isolating herself for no good reason and hurting herself and others in the process. (Ah ha ha actually this mirrors my own life in some trauma responses in ways that are way too telling)

DRAGANG 🥺

Lol Soren is the court jester according to Zubeia (one of my fave quips)

I would die for the gate guardians

EPISODE 6

Love the parallels between ezran and janai in choosing peace and doing things differently than history

EPISODE 7

HELLO HAI THEY ARE GOING TO KILL JANAI?

Oh no Soren is alone

Soren is going to lose his shit when he sees Viren is alive

SOREN IS SO CUTE - PJs under armor

Geesh is one of the siblings going to die eventually? I feel like it may be setting this up

YIP YIP of course they had to do that

OMG rayla are you high why are you doing cartwheels

Wow they went straight angst. No messing around. Rayla kill me if i mess up

I legit thought Callum was about to fling himself into the lava

EPISODE 8

OMG pls Is ez going to give Rex igneous jelly tarts 🥺🥺🥺🥺

EPISODE 9

IM GOING TO DIE PLS. I can’t watch. This is how rayla is going to be in danger 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

THEY DID NOT

IM SCREAMING

we did get a coin reveal

I could not control myself after this point haha

Terry is the GOAT tho

Also for fun, here’s my bingo card before and after based on what kinda happened and didn’t!

[booasaur]

YES! I cannot stop rewatching ep 6 of WoT either! I think it’s the best thing I’ve seen all year. There’s so much potential with moiraine/siuan and this ep told us so much with relatively few scenes/lines but still worked to absolutely suckerpunch me in the feels. Tbh no matter what happens going forward I will be obsessed w this episode and rewriting my own canon if it goes the way of the books instead lol.

I genuinely have not stopped thinking about it since it dropped (I mean, clearly even before that--and my tags CAME TRUE).

My friend and I written whole books' worth of discussion by this point, alternating being just being giddy as hell while screaming in all caps and analyzing it, the choices made, what it did so well, why we liked it so much, how it compares to other media and f/f and fantasy depictions.

It just did so many things so well, the casting, the writing, the acting, the five eps before that had Moiraine the cool, opaque, badass protagonist who came to life around Siuan and revealed her humanity and motivations (this article puts it so well), but even more than that, like...

The very arc itself was this incredibly romantic yearning love story, the stuff of literally fics, what we've had to read ourselves into subtext relationships over the years and would probably consider too self-indulgent if we ourselves were ever to write it, how deep and mutual and transformative it is. Like the other day I talked about FTWD and Netflix Away's Lu/Mei ships, right, the oddly soulmate depictions for those genres, and this has the fantasy world license to go even deeper, be so poetic and magical and sincere, and it DID, every detail and choice, from their first meeting to Moiraine preparing giddily (for her) to go see Siuan and even a little impatient at Lan delaying it, and then the fondness and banter and meeting of equals, the OPENNESS, the emotions that were suddenly so on the surface, the eye contact, the laughs, the little touches, the kiss on the temple, the oath, Siuan the only one watching an exiled Moiraine walk away.

It's every facet, the idea, the effort, and the execution. I really have been quite suckerpunched, lol, as you said. And lol, the way of the books? I don't even want to think about that possibility at the moment! We're just going to have to pressure them into endgame. :)

[savingthrcw]

-I'm just going to say that I'm at the very beginning and I completely understand Eloise, because honestly, imagine feeling like your only and best friend since childhood has been keeping SO MUCH from you, not just Lady W. but her own feelings for your brother? Which is why she looked so heartbroken instead of straight up mad now (and in my threads before this ep she was straight up mad-hurt because she already expressed the pain before). I relate because my bond with my friends are as strong as a bond can be and it destroys me to lose one, whenever it happens in life

And I'm glad that Pen agreed Colin should know the truth (but to me it's not about the fact that she can't be loved by him if he doesn't know her, it's about him being allowed to consent properly since he has no idea of who she truly is)

-Anthony is just. gone. completely all over Kate. I love him with all my heart for this. I need Kate to be more enthusiastic too because yes I know she's calm because happy but I miss the spitfire from season 2? THEY ARE SO HAPPY I'M SO HAPPY FOR THEM, took Anthony 2 seconds to go back into big brother who has to know everything though

-LOVING Hyacinth and her screentime already

-Eloise spiraling because of Penelope and boring Cressida tho. and OOOHHHH the Lord Greer arranged marriage LITERALLY following my plots of having her parents be absolutely horrible and pick a really old man. This is the beginning of any shippy threads for her in my blog btw, with her running from this

-I adore how Benedict and Anthony were giving SWEET advice to Colin like ?? go tell her???? the nice things you just said??

-I swear I'll ship Benedi.ct with anyone except the woman she's with right now

-oh my god Portia and Pen. My heart is breaking for Pen already. I do think Portia has her best interest at heart, but in such a shitty execution. Also Penelope is stupidly gorgeous.

-Colin fighting for her oh my goood PENELOPE HAS TO GO TELL HIM THE TRUTH NOW. CALMLY. BEFORE HE FINDS OUT. NOW.

-Also Colin legit worrying that Penelope's sad face is because maybe she doesn't like their new home and then trying to take care of her like 'is this because we are alone' he's so ??

-I still wonder how comfortable the actresses are with the near constant nudity in this show though I won't lie. I know men are naked too but uh it's a pity I cannot enjoy these scenes the way I know people do, I just want to fast forward to the plot lol I do always where this fixation for 'this will hurt, I can't help it, but only the first time' like guys. I understand if you want them to be operating on the information it's reasonable to have and think it MUST hurt the first time, but then they'd also should know it doesn't magically stop hurting the next ones unless you prepare a LOT and she's super relaxed that fast? yes that's all I have to say but also I'm sorry I'M SORRY I know they were caught in the moment of water, but Pen going as far as risking pregnancy before even telling him who she really is, knowing damn well he'd have a right to say 'no I don't want this anymore' was a weird choice. It will also make the reveal itself worse, I think, for a romantic guy like Colin who is giving his heart again after being almost tricked by Marina who 100% intended to tell him her baby was his, hence the hurry?

-Francesca chatting so much oh my god I love it, if they follow the book it's going to break my heart

-Eloise sitting alone watching out of the window is me after every deep friendship breakup, she really did enter her depression era huh I can't believe they finally let her interact with Kate!

-PENELOPE WAS GONNA SAY BUT GIRL SAY IT LONG BEFORE THEN?? DAMN IT. I want for her to say it and for Colin to need a minute and then ask reasonable questions, her reasons behind the issues against her family, and then they can properly get together with no more secrets

-5000pounds reward… Cressida should claim that book-style but also at the same time, given that Lady W. was a lot more 'mean' in the show she'd risk her life for sure? and reputation, it would be all gone for her so maybe not??

-I love that Colin isn't immediately aggressive to Eloise tho. Because of the whole 'you knew we were at odds and you still went behind my back' which okay, I can see siblings fighting over this.

-Poor Eloise, even now I can see her as a kid wanting to be a knight and being told she couldn't even take sword lessons like her brothers, people really do underestimated how limited she is considering how free she wants to be. And being left "alone" while everyone else finds love, the show!Theo thing must hurt een more.

-Cressida's future husband, they truly picked a ridiculously horrible guy to reflect just how bad HER parents are, I feel like even Portia would be against this by the end of their talk. I will totally incorporate this horror into anyone who wants to write a rescue for her.

-Portia: and here's my son to be I felt Colin's soul just depart for a second

-Lady Danbury staring at her brother with murder in her eyes because he's clearly too close to Violet is insane i love it

-ooohhhhhh FRANCESCA trying to make Lord Kilmarting have a conversation an d it's so awkward and I love them with all my heart, Anthony is baffled by this, I can feel it, especially because Francesca seems thrilled by it

-it's such a strange place to be in, this show, because I can truly relate to each character, I love Pen and I want her to be happy, and I am absolutely on Eloise's side that I'd KILL a woman for trying to get with my brother without telling him she's basically a criminal

-so interested in Cressida being framed constantly alone after Eloise basically ignored her drama

-anthony screams at charades is the most ic thing in the world. LILACS

-please can we keep Lord Kilmartin

-I LOVE that like when I write her despite me being canon divergent and all, Cressida would be willing to never marry instead of marrying someone thrice her age both in the show AND my blog

-I wonder if Pen literally passed out because her clothes are tight because as far as I know a panic attack won't drop you, unless, of course, there are other circumstances like it's super hot outside or you are having trouble breathing for other reasons?

Okay watching 3x05, spoilers and no i won't live-comment EVERY episode, just this one because I had the time. also I cannot hate MORE that all the episodes are out at the same time because I'd like to PAUSE and watch slowly but force binging is the only way to avoid spoilers

[bria-doublen-a]

Throne of Glass

Non Spoiler Section

So this was kind of my first real introduction to fantasy. Besides Cassandra Clare, I've never read much magic realism and epic fantasy. I've always had a hard time getting into it. But as I get older, the more I'm willing to expand my horizons. Which can explain why I'm jumping on the Sarah J. Maas bandwagon so late.

This book welcomes both fantasy veterans and newbies, like myself! You'll find the world building is not overbearing and difficult to understand unlike some others I've read. Also another great accessory I found was a small glossary in the back. A pet peeve of mine is not knowing how to pronounce the names of people and places and Sarah caters to us by letting us see the pronunciations so we don't feel as completely clueless as we might feel about our characters.

Speaking of, let's talk about our protagonists! I always thought that the tough-as-nails female protagonist was overdone and pandering, but I never expected to feel so much love and empathy for Celaena Sardothien. Maas's characters are relatable and genuine, despite watching them interact in a world we know little about. I loved watching the characters speak to each other and I absolutely adored the romance. Every scene feels natural and authentic to their respective personalities.

The only complaint I had, although it's a minor thing, was that some of the chapters seemed extremely short? In the beginning, it sort of reminded me of drabble. Drabble isn't the worst style, it's just not one of my favorites. I prefer to delve into a scene and get lost in the world and shortening the experience can make it difficult for me to make an investment.

All in all, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars!

Spoiler Section

Okay, so I don't typically like to read the synopsis on the back of books because I find that sometimes they're too revealing and I like to be completely surprised. I usually figure out what's next on my TBR based on character traits/arcs and theme. All this to say, that when I discovered that the other contestants started dropping dead, my stomach dropped. Even though I knew Celaena would make it (basic plot armor and knowing there are eight books in the series with her face on the cover), I felt the tension the entire way through! And when we found those Wyrdmarks under her bed for the first time…*shudders* I was terrified.

And Dorian! Ugh, swoon. I'm literally in love with every single ounce of this man. I don't know, something about those Daddy issues just does something to me lol. No, but really, the way that Dorian saw Celaena for who she was, not what she was made him so likeable. And the fact that he could see that long before Chaol ever could shows what kind of person he is and the man he is becoming.

I realize that this opinion is different from most readers. I find that the majority of the fanbase is head over heels for Chaol. Perhaps my thoughts will change throughout the series, but as of right now, I'm Team Dorian. Even though they broke up at the end, it had nothing to do with Dorian's character and everything to do with Celaena needing to find herself. She's never been free a day in her life and she wished to truly experience that. I can't blame her for that decision even though it literally broke me.

I'm so eager to read more. I went and bought the second book before I was even halfway through this one. What do you think guys? Should I bite the bullet and just buy all eight of them now? 'Cause I'm seriously considering it.

[thosch3i]

Hi hi! So the lost tombs and chronology all super confuse me. So tlt2 ended on a cliffhanger that was not resolved by tlt3 which is ultimate note, but now there is another tlt3 that I am guessing is made by the same studio as tlt2 (but not UN) that actually follows tlt2? And it has the same WPZ as tlt2 (but sadly different WX, ZQL though I’m sure these guys are great). You seem to know what you’re talking about so I’m hoping you can help!

UN also ended on a cliff hanger so I’m wondering if they’ll get a sequel from their studio that comes before tomb of the sea.

ahhh hello anon! yes ahaha the dmbj dramas are certainly very confusing--because they keep switching the screenwriters/entire production team between dramas. huanrui did tlt1 (2015), tlt2 (2019), and the sequel to tlt2 (2021). they're also technically the production company for un (2020), but linghe did like all the directing/casting/writing so its significantly different in tone and quality from the other dramas huanrui produced. npss (dmbj author) did sha hai (2018) and tltr (2020), with sha hai being in collab with linghe, so you can see lots of parallels with un and shared cast. (gonna add that i dont know much about the m9 because that’s not what im personally interested in, so i’m only going by stories with wu xie & the iron triangle.)

unfortunately, the dramas pretty have no continuity as a result of all the weird shit and multiple studios doing different dramas and messy stuff going on behind the scenes. the author's production company currently has all the rights back for filming future dramas, which is......imo, a good thing for book fans who love the author but a 😬 thing for book fans who like the original story more than what the author is now doing with it. I'll uh avoid saying too much opinion stuff though so no more on that 😅

that aside! yes 云顶天宫 “explore with the note” part 2......is the direct sequel to tlt2 and done by the same studio. unfortunately the writers are different and im not sure how much of the production team is the same either. idk how much you know about the novels so brief summary here--for the chinese version, the main story has 9 parts split among 8 books (though the official eng tls have each part being a different book) with some important content being as follows:

official eng title “cavern of blood zombies” (first time wx goes into a tomb, first t3j meeting)

official eng title “angry sea, hidden sands” (xisha seabed tomb, introduce a-ning)

official eng title “bronze tree of death” (bronze tree in qinling, wx & lao yang solo adventure)

official eng title “palace of doom” (heavenly palace on the clouds, introduce bronze gate)

official eng title “deadly desert winds” (golmud, introduce hei xiazi, desert, rainforest, tamutuo)

official eng title “graveyard of a queen” (the rest of that arc, wu sanxing & xie lianhuan reveal, jade meteorite, amnesiac xiaoge and escape, sanshu vanishes for good--also i think the official eng tl covers a couple chapters of the beginning of the next part too)

阴山古楼 (searching for xiaoge’s memories in banai, miluotuo cave, i think introduction of wu erbai)

邛笼石影 (auction/hotel iron triangle fight, introduce xiao hua & xiuxiu, wx & xh on the mountains alone while pz & xg go with granny huo)

finale (rescue from zhang family mansion, changbai mountain goodbye, 10 years promise)

after the main story are the main sequels:

zang hai hua (tibetan sea flower; unfinished & abandoned) covers wu xie a few years after xiaoge has entered the gate, searching to understand xiaoge’s past

sha hai (tomb of the sea; unfinished & abandoned) covers wu xie’s plan to wipe out the wang family, after zhh

chongqi (reunion: the sound of the providence) covers wu xie’s lung disease and how he recovers from that, set after they pick up xiaoge again from the bronze gate. thunder city and everything.

灯海寻尸&万山极夜 (still updating on wechat) don’t worry about this one since it’s still a WIP lol

btw between sha hai and chongqi there’s also ten years later (a short story) that covers how wu xie and pangzi pick up xiaoge from the bronze gate and take him home

the dramas Do Not Connect To Each Other At All, which the exception of tlt2 & tlt2 pt2 somewhat, but they go in this order:

盗墓笔记 / the lost tomb 1 (2015): covers part 1 but with major OCs and filler, and includes the auction scene from part 8 for some reason, so introduces xiao hua early.

怒海潜沙&秦岭神树 / the lost tomb 2 (2019) technically “explore with the note”: covers parts 2 & 3 but with major OCs and filler, introduces xiao hua & xiuxiu (and hei xiazi briefly) early. last couple episodes also cover the beginning of part 4. not a direct sequel to tlt1 despite being done by the same studio.

云顶天宫 / heavenly palace on the clouds (2021) technically also “explore with the note”: covers part 4 with major OCs and filler (and the same changes carrying over from tlt2). some episodes are identical to the last couple episodes of tlt2. works as a direct sequel only if you ignore the last couple episodes of tlt2 that take place in the snowy mountains. (those episodes of tlt2 were filmed after this drama was filmed, and im still not sure why they dragged the wu xie and xiaoge from tlt2 back to changbai mountain to film those episodes.)

终极笔记 / ultimate note (2020): covers parts 5-8 with minor OCs and minimal filler, also introduces xiao hua & xiuxiu early. the only adaptation that resembles its source material most of the time.

沙海 / tomb of the sea (2018): covers the second sequel with major OCs and filler. includes some bits from zhh and the short story “three days of silence”.

重���之极海听雷 / the lost tomb reboot (2020): covers third sequel with major OCs and filler.

in addition there is the prequel series mystic nine (2016) and side movies for the dramas that the author produced. there is also a single standalone movie--time raiders (2016) that is....well it’s. very strange. it’s fully subbed on youtube if you’re interested?

the best way to watch the dramas is to assume each one is its own self-contained AU set along different points of the dmbj timeline because even the dramas the author himself worked on don’t have continuity LOL (and with the exception of ultimate note & sha hai most of the time, also assume most characters are pretty OOC from the novels).

i uh regret to inform you though, that ultimate note will not be getting a sequel unless the author magically decides to not care about making money anymore and sells the rights to film the finale to linghe or something ^^;;;; it’s....unfortunate bc un is the most highly-rated dmbj adaptation on douban by A Lot, but it’s an adaptation that the author had literally nothing to do with whatsoever.

more information on some of the side movies/stage plays/manhua/donghua here.

summaries of the main novel stories (currently through zhh) here.

edited mtl (some of which has apparently been looked over by native cn speakers) of the novels following where official eng tls end here. (there are many scattered extras as well.)

you can get the official eng tl books/ebooks on amazon or elsewhere(?), but if you have problems purchasing them or like you just dont wanna support amazon or something, dm me off anon. (also i dont want to be mean but frankly the official tls are kinda bad too ^^;;;)

a rough timeline (spoilers galore) for the dmbj novels here. (fair warning im not 100% sure how accurate all of this is--they put three days of silence as 1991 but looking at the info in zhh, it seems like it should have been before the 1950s...but it’s more than fine as a general overview.)

anyway i hope that was helpful in some way? dmbj is a Very Confusing thing to get into ahahaha, one of my twitter mutuals has made a few carrds if you think they might be helpful: book, dramas (slightly out of date bc it says heavenly palace hasn’t aired yet), ultimate note (got its own carrd by virtue of being the only adaptation aside from sha hai sometimes that most og book fans acknowledge lol ^^;;;)

also anon if anything wasn’t clear or if you had more questions feel free to ask again sorry ahahaha im kinda tired rn @.@