#I love ray episodes he is always so cool in them

[n1ghteeea]

Honestly I find it completely understandable why the guys are so infatuated with Ray in this episode bc if my best friend did all that in like 30 minutes looking like the coolest human being ever and then waved to me like “hiii 😊” I would have killed myself on spot

[phantasmicfish]

Long ranty list of stuff that majorly Sucked in s4 of tua:

- number one thing I loathe is the convenient way tua got their powers back. We get this brief vignette of them without their powers in episode 1, and then by the end of the episode they conveniently find the marigold and *voila* have powers. Where were the stakes? The consequences? Show me TUA struggling to adjust to powerless life. Five annoyed that he has to use the stairs to climb a four story building. Diego failing to chop expertly w knives. Luther struggling to open jars idk give me something. Don’t just do a six year time skip and ignore the mundane!

- Adding onto ^ that I feel like it would make more sense to me if we saw TUA without their powers for maybe 3 eps in s4, and they go through a mini Journey to get them back. Instead it’s like the entire hook of the s3 finale is immediately resolved in episode 1, it annoys me to no end

- Five working for the CIA I sorta get… cuz it’s sorta what he did with The Commission. So now unmoored and powerless he’d probably go back to that lifestyle. But Five, paranoid violent genius in the room Five, not noticing the completely obvious umbrella tattoo on his boss’ wrist?

- Jennifer being introduced, immediately shrugging off the fact that her entire town was murdered/a Truman Show sham, and joining Ben with basically zero questions

- Jennifer getting no character arc beyond she was born in a squid and she loves Ben

- Getting zero recognition that Reginald is an alien. Like. Hello?? You just found out your pos father is AN ALIEN! Are the siblings seriously not going to talk about this

- Also what year is s4 set in. Why do they always dial rotary phones but mention cryptocurrency? What is this universe where everybody knows Reginald and he’s colloquially referred to as “the elite?” Are Reginald and Abigail the… President and Vice President? King and Queen? Just some people who started a massive corporation and got rich?

- No mention of Grace is criminal. It would have made waaaaay more sense if the lady who played Abigail was actually played by Grace. And it would add some heart to Reginald as a character too. Otherwise, instead of secretly loving Grace his alien wife, Grace is just some woman who was alive in the 60s and Reginald made a replica robot mom of her in 2019. For some reason. Idk I feel like the puzzle pieces were all laid out and for some reason TUA writers did not assemble them

- No mention of Pogo or Ray is also incredibly disappointing. Allison betrayed her siblings in order to be with Claire AND with Ray in one universe, but he’s not even in s4. Why even included him in the end of s3 then

- Okay maybe I’m pulling a blank but who tf is Quinn? Why does he know Klaus? Why does he hate Klaus so much?

- Why does Claire know Klaus is immortal? Why is all of sudden cool w her mom having eye glowy powers? You have no questions about that Claire huh…

- It also made sense to me that Lila and Diego would hate domestic life… and to me it seemed like even introducing their kids (not one, but three) was sort of silly. We only really saw Grace at the birthday party and then it seemed like Lila and Diego would forget and then remember the kids existed at weird parts

- Five and Lila giving up searching for a way out of the subway stations six years in seemed sus. Yes, take a break/eat strawberries but why would you stop searching for a way back? You’re supposed to be the best agents in the commission so like… where did that grit/determination go

- Ben dying and being mutated with zero understanding of what was happening to him… just sucked

[danceofthephilos]

SK8 Cast Image Colors, and the Super Sentai Roots of Character Color Coding

Unlike my post about hanakotoba, where only a few examples can be confirmed to be intentionally meaningful choices, image colors are an aspect of SK8's visual symbolism that has been explicitly assigned by the creators to each of the eight main cast members. From design elements to official art and merchandise (such as the art and the Infinity Week logo above) to shots in the show itself, these image colors are a consistent aspect of the series' visual language, and colors, like flowers, have meanings and associations that can provide interesting insight into why these colors were chosen for these characters. Color-coded casts are also strongly historically rooted in the super sentai subgenre of tokusatsu series, a genre that has had massive impact on Japanese pop culture, especially battle anime like SK8, in part, is, so I'll also examine the archetypes associated with their colors in super sentai (and, in Adam's case, another important piece of anime history.)

As color associations can vary by culture, I made sure to use Japanese sources - I mainly started with the dictionary on TC Color Therapy for basic color meanings but frequently checked other sources. My primary source on colors in super sentai is a paper on color theory in tokusatsu by Misako Takahashi, along with fan wikis such as Pixiv Dictionary and other Japanese blogs analyzing the subject. I also supplemented with quotes from SK8's staff when relevant.

All the image colors come from the official character guide included in volume 4 of the Blu-rays.

Reki Kyan - Yellow

Despite his red hair, Reki's image color is yellow, the color of the signature hoodie he always wears at S. Yellow is associated with brightness, cheerfulness, fun and excitement - all things that Reki embodies at his best, and are very important parts of his character arc and what he represents to the people around him. In Utsumi's instructions to colorist Yukari Gotou, as shown in SK8 Design Works, she requested Reki's design have "so many bright and colorful primary colors it's tiring" in order to draw the eye, fitting of a bright and energetic protagonist. Yellow is a common color for team members in sentai anime, being the third most common after red and blue and appearing in the majority of series, and are often bright and cheerful "life of the party" type characters as well. This is a trend dating back to Himitsu Sentai Gorenger, the very first long-running super sentai series (beginning in 1975,) whose color coding has persisted for decades. Kirenger, the yellow member in Gorenger, was even a big eater with a signature favorite food (a trait more commonly attributed to Langa, but Reki's love for ramen and all things salty - even toothpaste - is a recurring bit in SK8 as well) and a big family.

In Takahashi's paper, she quotes another academic, Asako Yoshida's, analysis of another core aspect of yellow sentai characters, where she describes them as "an intelligent type who gathers information and forms strategies before taking action", and "rather than fighting on the front, they're a tactician who uses their wits and comes up with strategies," traits that Reki also shows frequently, especially in his biggest triumph in episode 11.

Like many of the image colors, it's also used in the show (both in the opening - highlighting his yellow-orange eyes - and in episode 11.)

~

Langa Hasegawa - Blue

Langa's image color is blue, selected along with white from the beginning to fit his snow theme. Blue is associated with positive meanings like calmness and intelligence, but also more negative ones like coldness, sadness and loneliness, fitting of both Langa's calm exterior and the grief that's central to his storyline. Blue sentai members are classically considered "cool" characters, an association that remains strong even as actual characters of that type have grown somewhat rarer over time, with newer series sometimes deliberately subverting expectations. Like yellow, the association of blue with the cool member of a team also dates back to Gorenger, with Aorenger (the blue member) being a cool, stoic character who came from a snowy region. Takahashi quotes Yoshida's description of blue heroes as "the calm, composed and cool second in command type," a character who "doesn't worry about what's in front of him, never seems to get worked up and deals with things calmly," which certainly describes the impression Langa gives off at first - and belies what SK8's producer Kyoko Uryuu described (when comparing him to a petit gâteau) as his "surprisingly passionate" interior.

Like with Reki, Langa's color is shown off in the opening and in the show itself - notably as his "aura" when he's in the Zone with Adam.

~

Miya Chinen - Light Green

Miya's image color is light green, usually shown as a yellowish lime green. I'll get to green as a whole for Kojiro, but yellow-green specifically is associated with youthfulness, beginnings and hope, as it's the color of newly budding plants - and it can also be associated with immaturity, all meanings fitting of a very young character like Miya. While his costume is meant to be an in-universe game character, his bright green hood could also be seen as vaguely evoking Link from the Legend of Zelda series.

Green sentai characters have more varied archetypes, but were historically often the youngest member of the team, while more recently it's been a trend for them to be the oldest member of the team - fitting for the youngest and oldest members of the six characters making up SK8's main "team." The idea of a green member being the youngest also dates back to Gorenger, with Midorenger (the green member) being an innocent younger boy compared to the rest of the team, who was treated like a "mascot" of sorts and even shared Miya's affinity for animals. It's also become a trend for green characters to have close relationships with the yellow members, and to be in conflict with the red members.

Like with most of the other characters, Miya's color is highlighted in the opening.

~

Hiromi Higa - Purple

Hiromi's image color is purple, the color of his lipstick and the inside of his cape. Purple is associated with mystery, rarity, luxury and nobility, and in Japan in particular it's frequently associated with horror (from urban legends like the purple mirror to the common use of purple miasma to show disgusting/horrific food in anime.) Purple sentai members are incredibly rare, and at the time of Takahashi's paper the few that existed were usually mentor figures, but several since have been "dark heroes" or antiheroes - as "Shadow-sama" (fitting of the link to nobility) calls himself, as the self-proclaimed Antihero of the S community. With how he becomes a close friend (and even somewhat of a mentor) to the boys despite his very antagonistic first appearance, he certainly fits the "enemy-turned-ally" archetype, and while he's not actually the much older mentor early purple members were, Reki constantly calling him "old man" does evoke that trope too.

His color appears in the opening as well as featuring heavily in his S costume.

~

Kaoru Sakurayashiki - Pink

True to his surname and aesthetic, Kaoru's image color is pink, the color of cherry blossoms. Pink is associated with beauty, grace, luxury and love. Just like in the west, it's considered a very feminine color - also shown in the fact that pink sentai members are almost exclusively women, and typically particularly feminine and glamorous when on teams with other female members. This is a case where Cherry is in large part a departure from the classic color coding just because of his gender; SK8's colorist, Yukari Gotou, even expressed in Skater's Backstage that she was a bit worried about having a male character with pink hair, but Utsumi described him as a "pink ninja" from the get-go in her coloring notes.

And even Kaoru isn't completely immune to hitting the sentai archetypes either, with his noted beauty and a concern for his looks that Kojiro mocks as effeminate in the series; the contrast between the feminine characteristics he has and his masculine voice and personality are a core part of how his character was designed. He even has a surprising connection with Momorenger (Gorenger's pink member, and only woman) in his affinity for kicks. (As of 2022, there's also finally been a male character properly featuring as the pink member in a sentai series in Avataro Sentai Donbrothers.)

Of course, on top of featuring so heavily in his design, Cherry's color is also used in the opening.

~

Kojiro Nanjo - Green

Rather than Miya's light green, Kojiro's image color is a regular green. Green is associated with calmness, stability, growth and nature, fitting for a very calming and stable mentor character who just "goes with his feelings" like Kojiro - but like light green, it can also signify immaturity, which also suits a character who proudly proclaims to be a "kid" when he's on vacation. Where Miya fits the "youngest member" trope for green sentai members, Kojiro fits the "oldest member" trope, and he also fits the recently trendy close relationship with yellow and conflict with red. In Takahashi's paper, she quotes Yoshida describing green characters as a whole as "a caring type who's always concerned if things are peaceful" (also fitting of Miya, who's always the most concerned for Reki and Langa,) "a soothing person who makes you feel warm and comforted just by being next to them" and as someone who "loves their friends, and 'being together with everyone' is important to them," and in Utsumi's color notes in SK8 Design Works, she described Kojiro as "A calming, mature green. Comforting."

And like with the others, on top of being his hair color, Kojiro's color is also shown in the opening.

~

Ainosuke Shindo - Red

Naturally for the "Matador of Love", Adam's image color is red, a color associated with love, passion and excitement, but also danger and anger, covering both sides of the duality of Adam's connection with love and romance and his violent skating. Utsumi's color notes in SK8 Design Works describe it as "the color of love and blood", and described Adam himself as "a guy who stole a main character's color" - fitting of the fact that in sentai series (and many anime influenced by them,) the red member is almost always the main protagonist and leader. (And perhaps a cheeky reference to Reki, though it seems Adam's color was decided on much earlier on.) Between red and blue being tied for their inclusion in sentai series and yellow in a close second place, the three primary colors form a core trio of characters in sentai series that's also reflected by Reki, Langa and Adam as the three most central characters in SK8.

While many works follow Gorenger's lead with the red protagonist being a hot-headed, passionate natural leader (a role that Adam does command at S as a whole, at least at first,) it's covered such a wide spectrum of protagonists over the course of the genre's history that red's biggest association is simply "being the main character," superseding a single specific character archetype. To momentarily dip into the history of anime itself rather than tokusatsu's influence, I'd be remiss not to mention that thanks to the influence of Mobile Suit Gundam (a franchise that both writer Okouchi and character designer Chiba have history with and mentioned in interviews on Febri as inspiring their interest in anime) it does have a memetic association with speed (and rival characters,) as Gundam's frequently-imitated masked antagonist Char Aznable's custom red mecha is notoriously "three times faster" than any other. (Adam's voice actor, Takehito Koyasu, has even played two "Char Clones" himself.)

As with the other characters, Adam's color appears in the opening but it also surrounds him frequently in the show even from his first appearance, including a red glowing aura to mirror Langa's blue when they're in the Zone (even in the finale when the red is gone from his costume.)

~

Tadashi Kikuchi - Gray

(Tadashi never got an official Twitter icon like the other characters, so I used a different piece of merch.)

Lastly, Tadashi's image color is gray, which is mostly known for being... a bit of a non-color, though it can be associated with gloom, ambiguity or uneasiness. It's mostly seen as a color that blends in and doesn't stand out by itself, which was the purpose behind Tadashi's color scheme, as Utsumi described in her notes as wanting his coloring to "make the main character stand out", given that he was designed from the beginning to appear alongside Adam, who has the "main character's color." Gray is an incredibly rare theme color in sentai series, to the point that there aren't specific character archetypes either; in 2014, at the time of Takahashi's paper, the only gray character she noted was a literal ghost. Even Tadashi's image color is alienated from the other skaters'...

While there are comparatively few (and less obvious) examples of Tadashi's image color appearing in the show, his last emotional scene with Ainosuke takes place in an almost entirely gray room.

It'll be interesting to see how these associations might continue to be used in the future.

[shantyofme]

So I was just rewatching RTTE and I think I found my favorite episode, and it’s definitely Sandbusted.

Everything about this episode is great. I love the uncommon duos that are shown, like Hiccup and Snotlout, and Fishlegs and Astrid.

Like how you can tell Snotlout really wants to help Hiccup with his gift for Astrid and just likes annoying Hiccup, and how Fishlegs is acting as Astrid’s wingman.

The twins as usual are great, with Tuffnut having the trigger word “tears” and Ruff comforting him 🥹. Also the twins helping Astrid with their great fashion sense, amazing.

All the hiccstrid too 😍. Hiccup tells her that she’s the greatest gift he could ever have like what??!! They’re so cute and for what. And when Astrid was trying to avoid Hiccup, that was kind of funny. When she said Stormfly was just excited to see Johan Stormfly looked at her like “bitch what??”

Or when Astrid is frantically looking for Hiccup and even lashes out at the twins because she’s so worried. But she does apologize, she learned from an earlier episode not to be too harsh on them, even though Tuff’s comment about Hiccups leg was a little out of pocket.

Even the new dragon in this episode was great. I personally really like the Sandbuster, it’s glass thing is really cool, and it’s model is really interesting too, I really like how it looks.

Oh! And when Hiccup and Snotlout disappear, Hookfang freaks out and starts digging in the sand cus he’s worried 🥹, he’s the cutest (he’s my favorite dragon in the whole franchise so ima little biased)

But my all time favorite part about this episode is Snotlout’s obvious character growth. From HTTYD 1 and Rob/DoB and even a little from the first few seasons of RTTE, Snotlout has grown and matured a lot throughout the series. But you can really tell just how much he’s grown to respect Hiccup as a leader and care/value him as a friend in this episode. He really tries to help Hiccup “fix” his gift for Astrid, even though Hiccups gift is already perfect❤️, still, the necklace idea was great. And he tells Amus they weren’t leaving without Hiccup, when in earlier shows, he definitely would of got out of there to save himself. And how he just trusts Hiccup can get them out of there instead of fighting him on it and saying he should be in charge. You can still see arrogant and obnoxious Snotlout was still there, now he’s just mature enough to realize his own strengths and Hiccups strengths. And he knew that he probably wouldn’t be too much help in this situation by coming up with a plan. I don’t know if any that made sense but I tried. I’m not good with words 🥲

I still love how Hiccup and Snotlout kept their sassy and head butting relationship though! The little comments through out this episode really made appreciate this duo more.

Snotlout: Aaargh!! I hate being confused!

Hiccup: Really? I figured you’d be used to it by now.

Snotlout: Heard that-

Snotlout: Oowww! You break this stuff it’s really sharp owowowow-

Hiccup: Then don’t break it

Snotlout: A little late for that- but thank you☺️

Snotlout: I don’t know just do what he says, he’s always right so there’s really no point.

Hiccup: What was that Snotlout?

Snotlout: You’re like a ray of light. Lighting my way. Super shiny! Never mind.

Hiccup: yeah yeah, uh huh…

Those are some of my favorite moments, but yah all in all this episode is by far my favorite. I will definitely be talking more about this series in the future so be prepared.

[fakedhearts]

Predictions/Things I’d like to happen in S4 of TUA

• In every season, there’s a main villain, such as the apocalypse in S1, the Commission in S2, and the Sparrows in S3. It’s kinda obvious that Reggie is the villain in this upcoming season, but I’m curious if Abigail(Reginald’s wife) will be a big deal. Like, will she be as bad as Reggie or a sweeter version?

• Like I said above, there are different villains, but there are also different locations. The Academy in S1, Elliott’s house in S2, and Hotel Obsidian in S3. My guess is that the main location will be an apartment. Like, I know that sounds basic and obvious, but in every season, the main location is always a homelike place. (Mansion, House, Hotel, Apartment?) It doesn’t seem super far off, and it could maybe be one of the Brellies apartment.

• Their powers!!!!! I’m so curious about their powers and stuff. So, at the end of S4, we see that the universe is reset(I think???) and so are their bodies. They have no tattoos, powers, and Luther’s body isn’t that of an ape anymore. I think that they’ll maybe find their powers somehow. Maybe there will be a fight, or Reginald has their powers with him? Idrk.

• Ever since I first watched the show, I’ve been super curious about the 43 children with powers. Like, we’ve seen 14 of them (The Umbrellas and Sparrows) but that still leaves 29 of them. It’d be so cool if they involved them. Like, maybe they get important in the timeline bc the Hargreeves seek them out for help? We don’t know if other super powered people are there, but it’d be really interesting if there was.

• I’ve seen a fee people on here say that there is a 6 year time jump in S4, and if it is true, how will they explain what happened to everyone? Will Luther be looking for Sloane all the time? How has he adapted to have a regular body? Diego and Lila’s kid will be born and 6 years old and they’ll be together(I hope, I love them so much). Allison has Ray and Claire, but how will she react to this? We know that she was an actor/celebrity, so maybe she’ll be in the spotlight. I have ZERO clue what Klaus will be doing. He’s so unpredictable, he started a CULT in S2, for gods sake. I’m genuine curious what Five will be doing bc he’s an actual genius. I feel like he’ll have gone to some bigwig college and will be actually successful in life. I’ve seen some sources say that the Ben we saw at the end of S3 was Sparrow Ben, and I love that idea. Sparrow Ben is such an asshole, but he’s so hilarious I can’t be mad at him. I feel like he’ll try and live a normal life, but it’d be hard since well…he’s Ben. I NEED Viktor to lead a nice life, poor boy. I think everyone collectively agrees that we need Viktor to play violin this season without blowing the moon up.

• That paragraph was… a lot, but here’s the final one. It is official that S4 will have only 6 episodes, which is so sad, but that just means that things will happen quicker. I really hope that we’ll have longer episodes. Regularly, the TUA episodes are 40-45 minutes long, but I’d love if we could get episodes that are an hour or more long.

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Ep. 8 "Bad Territory" Review

This episode was honestly the fluff I needed after last week's tense and crazy two parter. There was the usual action and excitement, but I loved the amount of fluff we got. Omega is forever our little ray of sunshine. I feel a bad feeling that it's going to get much darker after this week so I'll take any fluff I can get.

As always, spoilers below

It was really cool to see Fennec again and it makes senes that out of all the bounty hunters, the boys would choose to seek her out. She was originally after Omega, but she's not needlessly cruel like Cad Bane. If Omega's life were truly in danger, I don't think Fennec would want to see her get hurt. Cad Bane wouldn't give a second thought about it. Speaking of the ending, I definitely think she was talking to Ventress or someone like Quinlan. After all, Ventress is a Force-wielder and could be connected to whatever Hemlock is doing.

Overall, I really liked the interactions between her, Hunter, and Wrecker. Their banter was great and the joke about the Batch being straight up broke had me cackling. Like yes, these 5 guys with a kid are clearly enjoying Space Greece or whatever the fandom calls it. They're not gonna be looking for jobs right now. I also enjoyed seeing the boys use their skills like Wrecker's demolitions knowledge again. It's been so, so long since we've seen the boys go on a classic mission. That's not a bad thing either to have an "adventure of the week" style episode. It was cool to see them back in action (you know, non lethally).

The environment looked great, Wrecker and Hunter throwing hands with gators was pretty epic, and the final fight with the other bounty hunter (?) was exciting. I'll admit, the antagonist's design was cool and it allowed from some fun fight choreography.

Shoutout to the Phee cameo btw! Love seeing her as always. I think she'll be back after the Pabu invasion or she'll be back in time for that event to happen. Crosshair not knowing who she or Fennec was though was pretty funny. He's missed so much. (Also, this is the first time we hear him call Echo by his name fun fact).

Of course, Crosshair and Omega were the standouts because their dynamic is just that good. They're finally getting Crosshair's hand addressed! And I'm so glad Hunter stepped up to make sure it got looked at. Hunter loves Crosshair despite the past and he will look out for him. As many of us thought already, Crosshair's tremors are psychosomatic. We don't what happened on Tantiss (aside from some vague details), but whatever it was, it was bad; real bad. Crosshair is afraid of talking about it because it hurts. His reactions to even thinking about it were heartbreaking.

My theory is that Hemlock did something that broke a part of his identity. Maybe the identity erasure almost worked. Maybe he had Crosshair kill someone during a trial session to see if the reconditioning worked. Whatever it was, it traumatized Crosshair (on top of everything else he went through). For Crosshair to move forward, he's going to have to confront his trauma. He'll need to accept what happened to him and learn that it doesn't define who he is now.

Omega is so gentle and patient with him; I absolutely love it. She doesn't push him nor does she just leave him to get trapped in his mind. Instead, she tries to teach him coping mechanisms. The way he trusts her is so good too. Crosshair doesn't know what to do, but here is sister whom he loves. She's never left his side since they were imprisoned together and she was the only one who really advocated for him back in season 1. This girl loves him and he loves her. The scene where she holds his hand because it won't stop trembling genuinely means so much to me. It's such a small gesture that means so much. I really do appreciate that the writers are taking their time to show Crosshair going through the healing process. His hand doesn't get magically fixed because he escaped Tantiss nor because he redeemed himself. He achieved that. Now, he needs to finish the rest of his journey. AZI even mentions that it could be permanent. Real life mental health issues don't disappear in one night nor do they go away permanently. It comes and goes and that's what Crosshair will have to do. He'll have to cope with his trauma and hopefully the tremor will steady over time.

Many have pointed it out, but I would love to see a scene with him and Echo. Echo understands Crosshair's plight as he too was held captive and subjected to horrific experiments. I hope we get a scene between them where Echo comforts him. It would be a nice moment between two characters who often don't interact much.

Aside from that, the animation and music were great as always. That last scene of Cross and Omega meditating while Pabu's sun begins to set is truly gorgeous and it might be my favorite landscape shot of the show. It's also reminiscent of Hunter and Crosshair together on Barton IV. I am truly so happy to see Crosshair finding peace and happiness after so long. I honestly never thought we'd see him like this. But now, we do. (Side note: he looks so much smaller and vulnerable without his backpack or shoulder pads).

Anyways, I could go on and on about Crosshair. But I'll save that for another post. Can't wait for next week and hopefully we'll see Ventress!

[somegrumpynerd]

Okay so. Little introduction course to (all I know about) TMNT

There are a few characters which show up in most iterations, that being the four turtle brothers:

Leonardo, he's usually the most disciplined, usually the leader (usually is a word you will see often just because every version has their own way of portraying these characters) One thing that stays the same is that he may not show it but he is a huge dork

Raphael, he's the more hot headed of all of them, resorts to punching before anything else. (There's a lot to all these characters but these are the attributes they are most often reduced to.)

Michelangelo or Mikeyyyyy, he's the fun guy. He's a joker and he's the ray of sunshine in the group

Donatello or Donnie, he's the smarts of the group, huge nerd. He's a scientist though in which field depends a lot on the iteration

They were transformed from normal turtles to mutant anthropomorphic turtles through a green goop. Most often created by a company called TCRI and sometimes called mutagen.

After that you have Splinter, their father and or ninja master. That's the most I can say about him just because he changes so much from iteration to iteration. (From best dad to huge gaslighting bitch) He is also!! In some instances he's a man named Hamato Yoshi who was turned into a rat by the mutagen and in others he was a rat to begin with.

Other recurring characters are the two humans, April O'Neil and Casey Jones, who are sidekicks and friends of the turtles, with April being generally helpful (her attitude changes a lot so that's all I can say that overlaps in all the versions) and Casey being reckless.

And then, you have the two most common enemies which are the Shredder, he leads the army of the foot and is the main antagonist for most of the turtles, as well as sometimes being an old friend turned enemy of Hamato Yoshi.

The other is the Kraang who are an evil Alien race who want to take over earth, most of the time they are the creators of the mutagen that changed the turtles and Splinter.

Now for the different iterations:

*You have the og TV series in 1987 (WAS THAT THE BITE OF- no. It wasn't) Which I don't know much about because I couldn't get past the first episode, it's generally sillier and goofier than the others. Art style wise it's... old....

*Then came the 2003 TV series, the artstyle is old but not unbearable you learn to love it, their donnie and mikey are delightfully snarky, their raph is trying his best despite his anger issues and their leo is very disciplined, self sacrificial and A FUCKING EMO. HE GETS LIKE HALF A SEASON ALL TO HIMSELF FUCKING MOPING BC HE FEELS GUILTY ABOUT 'ALMOST GETTING HIS BROTHERS KILLED' WHEN THERE WAS LITERALLY NO OTHER OPTION AND HE DIDN'T EVEN TELL THEM HE JUST GOT HARSH AND SHITTY AND GET THIS MAN OFF MY SCREEN I WANT TO SEE DONNIE.

*Cough cough* sorry. Don't know what that was. The series often prioritizes Leo. Their Splinter is an awesome dad who was the pet rat of Hamato Yoshi. They also have very cool lore about the Kraang, where the Kraang is the evil half of species and the good ones are called Utrom and the turtles work with them. Also their shredder lasts like four seasons and dies three times but not actually. He's fucking unkillable.

*Next was the 2012 TV series and we have got a 3D animated show on our hands! (This was the one I watched when it came on TV as a kid so it's one of my favorites despite the.... Questionable writing....) It's a lot darker and grittier than any of the others, even the palette is desaturated. Their Leo is again, self sacrificial, kind of forced into the position of the leader by Splinter (who is stricter than most. He cares for his turtle children but he has some questionable actions throughout the series), their raph is much the same as always, aggressive, he has trouble managing his anger and often questions Leo's place as leader of the Team. Their mikey is fun and he skateboards, he's got big youngest sibling energy. Their Donnie is lovely. Nothing wrong with him. At all. Well okay he's a big creep and like a total incel towards April but likeeeee he's funnnn. He does mechanics but you see him do chemistry a lot in the series. I also love this series's Casey just because he's a reckless teen hockey player and he likes to annoy Donnie. It's got some episodes that border on horror those being Parasitica and Attack of the Squirrelenoids which are just traumatizing. This series references and uses a lot of elements from a lot of different iterations and it's kind of like pulling every aspect from other iterations together into one

*In 2014 and 2016 Micheal Bay released two movies that were CGI and had megan Fox in the as April, they're fun, feel good movies, pretty funny. But like. They're Micheal Bay movies it was never gonna be revolutionary. Despite the fact that they called red eared sliders which are semi aquatic and very very recognizable 'box turtles' and that they made Casey who's one of the most anti-establishment characters in he series a cop. It's not horrible.

*Then in 2018 Rise of The Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles came out (Rottmnt) and it took every established Idea that was followed in the previous iterations and flipped it over its head. A breath of fresh air that was much needed as most of the established concepts had been pushed as far as they could go. Their Leo's an arrogant dumbass, their Raph is the leader and he's a softie that still operates on punch first think later, their Mikey is artistic, sassy and fun and their Donnie is a super genius with an ego the size of his autism. It's great. Their Casey works for the foot. They were created by a completely new character called Baron Draxum using 'Empyrean' and the DNA of a action Movie actor called Lou Jitsu who's power move included yelling 'hot soup' who's actually just the fucking rat too. It's crazy on all sides packed into hilarious 11 minute episodes that we got a season and a half of instead of the SEVEN SEAONS WE WERE PROMISED!!!!!! BECAUSE THE FUCK ASS UGLY TOYS THEY MADE DIDN'T SELL. I'm mad. Anyway they got a movie in 2020 which was like 200% more serious and gut wrenching. It's on Netflix.

You said you asked!! So!! You got the infodump... Forgive me for the length of this.. ^^;

^Me furiously taking notes as I read this trying to memorise it lol

I didn't realise there were so many tmnt series!! I think I've only ever heard of the old 80s one and the new one that everybody on here likes :o That's so wild that there's so much variation too, like even in one character's personality or backstory

Thank you for the crash course in turtles!! This was fun to read :D Once I'm home from work tomorrow I need to look up turtles now lol

[adracat]

GWitch 23 thoughts

Sorry for the wait on this, I had to rewatch a few times to really drink in everything that was going on. I didn't have the best knee-jerk reaction initially ( I enjoyed it ofc but was a bit ambivalent about some things) and wanted to give it a fair shake.

First up, seeing Suletta zip around like the ace pilot she is was quite rewarding and fun! Now all those auto-pilot rumors can be laid to rest. However, the circumstances weren't the best and it broke my heart she was gasping for air the entire time. I had no doubt she'd live but it's still miserable to witness that

Ah Lauda. Your tomfoolery knows no bounds. We knew this was coming after the last ep, but it's still a bit frustrating. On a technical narrative level, it works since we're seeing two sets of siblings confront their simmering tension with one another. On a personal level, I wasn't very amused. I first saw this at 4 in the morning and had no patience for Lauda lmao. But rewatching it a few times gave me a deeper appreciation for what's going on. He's really intent on scapegoating Mio for everything wrong in his life. Fitting for her role as the Rose Bride and Lauda's demonized witch

This little aside from Chuchu is so suspicious tbh. Considering Mio's failure at piloting, this seems to imply either she does not have a permet implant of any sort or a flat intolerance. I have a sneaking suspicion it'll become a factor in the next episode.

Mio staring wistfully at Cool-san/etc memento of Suletta will always grab me by the throat. Girl wants to wife up Suletta so bad. And really, who could blame her?

Schwarzette is so pretty and cool. Unfairly so. Like, why did you make that thing so unique and cool? For dipstick Lauda?? Who is that pink permet for and why does it look like Utena??? ANSWER ME OKOUCHI

That's nice of Delling to rise from his sickbed to try and negotiate with the SAL. Unfortunately, this would be for naught because they're here to purge and replace. Not make nice. It was the thought that counts, I suppose.

Speaking of, the debut of a solar ray blindsided me. I mean, yeah it's Gundam, but I kinda thought we were skipping the big death ray lmao. After sitting on it, I think I know where it's headed. Totally on brand for SAL too in hindsight. They like to act removed, but they're just as entrenched as Benerit in the skeevy corpo politics. Allying with Ochs and now Peil cements it

Check the link above to see my Utena related thoughts on this moment btw. It might be the highlight of the episode beyond the Prospera confrontation. Stunned they finally stopped playing coy and seemingly confirm Notrette is indeed a GUND entity residing in pseudo hell, and likely a GWitch newtype like Eri

This was very sweet and I enjoy it more on a rewatch but I also understand why I and so many people had a gut-deep aversion to this subplot. The issue is entirely investment based imo, and tbh I just don't care that much about the Jeturk family dynamics. At best, I don't mind them. Guel is a bro but Lauda is SO exhausting on multiple levels. His misogyny and gross negligence of Petra in favor of revenge doesn't help.

If something came of this other than Lauda/Guel sibling closure, I'd consider it fulfilling. But if you lack investment in the conflict, it's going to feel limp or frustrating in comparison to the siblings you want to see. So while I appreciate the parallel with Suletta/Eri and the continuing subtext of witch coded Mio, that's it for me. But hey, it serves a purpose. A tragic cycle was broken after all, thanks to love and MVP Felsi!

The one big gripe I have after consideration is this man's continued existence. Kenanji doesn't deserve to play buddy buddy with the cast. He's a dirty space cop who bullies children and murdered Nadim, now he's joking with 5lan? The hell. I get the theme of the show is forgiveness and not perpetuating the cycle of revenge but... really? KENANJI gets to be happy but Norea/Sophie don't? Sigh

It was so dirty of Eri to use Suletta's love for Mio against her. She knows Suletta would panic over their mother possibly 'gaining two'. It's crafty and unrepentant, but Suletta holds fast. Her faith in Mio is greater than her idle fears

Mio scolding Prospera over her favoritism was great. We love a fiancé willing to take a stand against her shit in-laws. Speaking of, looks like Mio has fully embraced becoming a Mercury one day. 'All of us will be family' YEAH YOU WILL so suck it up Prospera. The holidays are gonna be so awkward

Btw love Mio was shouting at her while having an emotional breakthrough deciphering her mother's QZ riddle. This moment was excellent and easily superceded my minor gripes. UGH when will you reveal Notrette's whole deal GWitch? We're waiting

Such a bittersweet moment. We know from the Blessing and Cradle Planet that Eri loves her sister but it may not have been until this moment that Suletta understands her feelings. Now, I don't think she's 'dead' tbh. Or deader anyway. I suspect it's a false flag to hook you until the finale. It would be quite anti-climactic if she passed without a proper goodbye. I'm still holding out on a Tempest end where Prospera voluntarily sets her free.

The next Sunday will be our last. Hard to believe tbh. Feels like just yesterday we set out on this spectacular journey. Que sera sera! I'll see y'all in the finale~

[justthewayuare]

The treatment of sluts

I’m not the first person to write about this topic and I don’t want to dive in here deep into societal problems with slutshaming. But I think about it a lot - there is an interesting approach within the show to this.

I talk about how both characters in the show and the audience treat so-called sluts of the show. Yes, it’s about Boston and Top. But also about Sand and Ray. Because it’s quite clear that all four of them have - or had before by the point we’re now - an active sex life. With Boston, Top and Sand it was spoken out loud, with Ray wasn’t but come on. Like he is horny as fuck.

And the way he just casually raised the car roof here without stopping a make out session - I don’t believe for a second he never did it before.

But Ray also spends a huge amount of his life being blackout drunk so maybe his sex life is not that intense at this point. The other three? 100%

But the approach towards Sand (and Ray) is very different than towards Boston and Top. And it’s partially because of car scene, of course, but not only about that. Top and Boston both constantly judged for their sex life in the show and out of it. And I think characters view on those who actively engaged in casual hookups speaks volumes. It happens in all of the main dynamics but differently.

Friend group. So the whole Boston-Mew drama about feeling superior to the other cause of having/not having sex is amazing. Those two are very dramatic about it. Boston going crazy about Mew’s virginity while Mew being arrogant ass towards Boston’s sex life is just everything. I love it.

Like really, Mew, honey, there is nothing wrong with sleeping around. It’s not something that needs correction. He’s fine.

Cheum said nobody would be happy in a relationship with Boston. And why?

That’s her reason. While so many real reasons exist for her it’s just Boston being a slut. And it’s just interesting to me for two reasons:

1. Boston didn’t say anything about relationship. Not everyone wants a relationship.

2. Monogamy is not the only option, you know? Some couples are great without being inclusive and it’s fine.

We never see anyone talks on Ray about it and, well, Ray is a depressive addict and that’s what should worry people around him more, rightfully so. Ray is also the only one in that friend group who never speaks about others sex life.

Top and Mew. Mew is really getting paranoid by the episode 5. Every time he sees a man looking at Top he gets nervous.

And yes, Top slept with Boston, but Mew seems (at least for me) unaware of that. He’s fine when Top and Boston are near each other, but any random guy passing by Top? Even when Top doesn’t interact with them or even looks back at them.

And Mew really tries his best to be cool about Top’s past.

But he just can’t. It’s always present in their relationship. He can’t get over it to the point he decides to have sex with Top.

And maybe it’s not all about that and he also in love with him and blablabla but the reasoning is “I’m afraid he’ll get bored” and this is all about Top and sex and the role sex played in his life.

And while Mew doesn’t want to judge Top he usually judges people like Top, and of course he can’t separate it. He is not okay with the past Top has. He doesn’t trust him because of that past. So the audience doesn’t too (and also because we know Top fucked Boston obviously).

Boston and Nick. Nick is in a way the same as Mew. While he doesn’t seem to judge people for having sex life, he does it with Boston. He is obsessed with him being with someone else (read as: Top).

Just a reminder, he bugged Boston’s car just because he saw photos with Top. Just in case. While they agreed on being fwb and Boston never lied about having other partners.

And when Boston told him about someone else blackmailing him over sex tape, how Nick responded?

Yep. And while it was meant as a tease, it wasn’t. Nothing is ever a reason to record someone without consent (as that guy did. And Nick did. And Boston did). But Nick says it as this is justified because he really doesn’t like that Boston is a slut. And, well, the audience doesn’t like it too (besides all the other reasons of course).

Sand and Ray. I give it to them, in that particular case they are doing great. Not in a one point of the story not Sand or Ray had issues with other’s past sex life. They don’t even seem to care about it.

The one time Ray asked if Sand is fine with casual hookups he did it for a reason to, well, know if Sand will be into having sex with him. So when Sand said yes Ray was actually pleased with this answer.

And while their situationship progresses into something and Sand sees Ray with a girl, he’s not nervous or jealous. He teases Ray a little and a bit possessive but he is totally chill about it.

I had so much hope we’ll get a threesome with those two at some point of the story, but yeah. Second time they let a gorgeous girl walk away without even noticing. They are simping for each other so badly it’s pathetic. And adorable. I love them. No threesome for them I guess.

And when the fight at the end of episode happens Boston brings up twice that he thinks Ray and Mew had sex. As that has to make Sand feel even worse. But the thing is, Sand is heartbroken not because Ray potentially had sex with someone, even his close friend. I really don’t think Sand would care about it. Sand is heartbroken because Ray loves someone else.

So those two are only ones who don’t judge anyone, including each other, for having an active sex life (being sluts). And this is quite healthy approach (look at me, using word healthy to describe that one thing about OF, I don’t believe myself) to life and relationships. Any sort of relationship, including friendships, romance or people you don’t know but so ready to judge. And while them not judging each other, why the audience would?

I don’t know if the show does it on purpose or not. I do think it does with Boston and Top. But with Sand and Ray? I doubt it. It more looks like those to have enough other shit to worry about both within their relationship and outside of it. I know it’ll develop but by episode 5 characters biggest problems looks something like this:

1. Mew’s biggest problem is his relationship with Top and sex. And Boston.

2. Top’s biggest problem is maybe insomnia but also his relationship with Mew and sex. And Boston.

3. Boston’s biggest problem is Top and Mew and their relationship.

4. Nick’s biggest problem is his relationship with Boston and sex and Boston.

5. Ray’s biggest problem is depression and addiction and inability to love or being loved.

6. Sand’s biggest problem is his financial situation, debts collectors and working his ass off 24/7.

So maybe yes, those two just don’t have enough screen time to worry about sex too. And while I do think we will learn more about other characters, by that point we’ve seen almost half of the show. And the initial idea of who they are already formed. It can develop, but it won’t change.

And the approach to Boston and Top being sluts won’t change either. Whatever they do the “slut” part will be seen as their flaw, something they have to overcome (it is not). While Sand and Ray get a free pass on that.

The thing is, both Top and Boston do have flaws and things to overcome. But their sex life is not a part of it. Them having a lot of sex partners doesn’t mean they can’t be in relationship, or even monogamous, if that what they (or at least Top) want to. And if they doesn’t - nothing is wrong with it. It’s like trying to change something that’s not even broken on the first place, you know?

[n1ghteeea]

Allaboutrgb here, I’ve got Cabinet of Calamari in the mind so I might as well pick that for my ask subject.

Any thoughts on Egon carrying a hair pin around? Or why Ray might be able to pick a lock? (Unclear if he actually can or not.)

And not really a question but I wonder what the keys on Peter’s key ring go to, the firehouse I assume but what else. 🤔

Never wanna leave Winston out so we should marvel at how flexible he is, he had to really contort to escape those swords.

Ty for the ask!!

Egon carrying a hairpin is ridiculous, I remember my first thought was that his stupid hairstyle requires them to hold, but I think he might just have everything on him at all times, because he randomly has matches in some episode too. Maybe his motto is “you must always come prepared!!”

Picking locks seems to be a common ability for them, bc Peter does it in “You Can’t Take It With You,” Winston does it in some later season ep (and says his dad taught him) and guess Ray can do it too!! Maybe he learned it as a kid in school, I imagine smalltown boys don’t have much to do with their free time, so they try absolutely everything for fun.

And yeah, Peter’s keys are comical, the only thing I can come up with is that they are from different rooms of the Firehouse, though it doesn’t seem like they close them that often, if at all, so who knows! He’s a weird guy!! Maybe it’s all the same key and he has like 20 backups in case he loses it!!

And oh man, love that scene, Egon finds it hilarious but it’s actually very impressive!! Winston is so cool - both strong AND flexible, like what can’t you do??

[thewayuarent]

Can I hear your thoughts about Sand/Boeing potentially getting together? I’m so so scared they would do it and also I don’t understand why Sand would fall for it? Seems very out of character for him

Hello, thanks for asking. I didn’t have that much thoughts about it cause I’m still thinking about everything happened in ep 10, but I’ll try my best.

The first thing is: while I’m totally competent in separating actors from characters, that’s definitely my weak spot. I need my First and Mond scene, I’m not joking. I don’t care how, when or where, I’m eat this ship up and be happy. So I’m not totally objective with this one.

Honestly, I don’t think that what worries people - I may be wrong with you, anon, then I’m sorry - is SandBoeing getting back together. I think what worries people is the possibility of Sand having sex with someone who is not Ray. And my question is: why? Now let’s talk about possible scenarios I can come up with.

Scenario 1: SandRay are on a bad terms when Boeing makes his move. If that’s the case, than Sand can totally fall into this shit. It’s questionable for me why he would chose his ex who left him for other guy, but we don’t know how SandBoeing were as a couple and maybe Sand has still some feelings left and in a moment of weakness and with right words (and Boeing is very good with his words) he can fall for it without thinking twice. They’ll have sex, Sand will decide it was a mistake, they’ll move on, it’s all cool.

Scenario 2: SandRay are together as a monogamous couple and totally happy. Than this scene will last like for 15 seconds: Sand will be like “No thanks bro, I have my rich hot mentally unstable man and it’s the whole package, 10/10, don’t need you”. And than I’ll get my FirstMond in a flashback.

Scenario 3: SandRay are in a good terms but still playing their stupid game of “We’re friends who constantly have sex and totally in love with each other but we’re not in a relationship”. Sounds like them tbh. In this scenario, why is it out of character for Sand to sleep with Boeing? It’s not like he promised Ray anything and it’s not like Sand has that “purity culture” mentality to start with. He is young sexually active guy who is very much into casual sex, it was clear since the beginning. It may be something about him having enough self-respect to sleep with his ex, but like, he’s not always good with self-respect thing when feelings are on a picture.

Boeing says in preview something like “I know you’re seeing someone” - but I, for example, didn’t know that. I know that Sand and Ray are in love with each other and have sex with each other, and says cheesy stuff like “I’ll be addicted to you for the rest of my life full-time” but nothing implies that they are boyfriends. Or that they are exclusive. Nothing in this show implies they are exclusive to be clear.

We know they have sex constantly since episode 2, but we don’t know if they have sex with other people. We just assume that cause for most people monogamy is way more comfortable.

We know Ray doesn’t like to see Sand with other people, but it’s less about sex and more about fear that Sand will move on from him. It’s about “I want to be you first choice”, it’s about “I want you to be always with me”, not about “You can’t fuck other people sometimes”. We know that Sand was jealous of RayMew thing, but not because of sex, but because of Ray loving someone else. Top and Mew have this monogamy problem, Nick had this problem with Boston, but Sand and Ray never were about that. Their relationship conflicts are not based of just sleeping with someone else, not once.

So them being monogamous is an assumption based on the idea of one true way of romantic love. But it’s not like that. Them sleeping with other people doesn’t make their love to each other lesser. It’s not about that at all.

And we all know Sand and Boeing whatever it’s gonna be is not about them being in a relationship again. They won’t, it’s no time for that in two episodes. So the worst case scenario is that they will have sex. And what’s that scary about it? Sand won’t betray Ray doing that based on any scenario except second one (and again if that’s the case than no SandBoeing). Ray may be hurt seeing Sand moving on - not having sex with someone, but choosing someone else to love - and it’ll be painful for him, I get it, but we all know Sand won’t move on from him for long. They can’t leave each other alone, they will get back together.

Even if show won’t go for endgame (but I think it will), they’ll end up being alone, not with someone else, there is no chance gmm will risk that much. So, Boeing is an obstacle, nothing more than that.

I don’t know if any of that make you feel better, but that’s my view on the situation. I don’t personally care about the sex stuff that much, but I understand it can be frustrating for a lot of people. And there is nothing to do with that, only try to get over our personal biases. But we don’t know what’s gonna happen and how it will be introduced, so my point is just not to worry about it that much and wait for next episode to see.

[thebvbbletea]

Only friends is hands down for me the best gmmtv bl this year. Not only they're not going the typical romcom bl route like 'enemies to lovers', 'always bickering but one person secretly like the other one', 'going on a vacation together', 'stuck up in the same bedroom', etc etc. They're not afraid to be different, they're not afraid to try something new. Every single episode is intense and make us curious about how the story gonna develop next week. There's no single boring episode. And all of the guest appearance is shocking but also make sense at the same time.

Talking about how special OF, one of the reason why they're so stand out is because of their characters. Every single character are so well written, they have their own flaw and their up and down moment. They're messy and f*cked up, one time you love them, but another time you hate them, all of them are complicated but that's what makes them so relatable at the same time. Not only the 7 main characters, but even the side character like Boeing (oh gosh I love how pathetic he is), April, Plug, Yo, Atom, Gap, Dan, literally all of them stand out in their own way.

We started by liking Mew, Ray, Nick, Sand, Chuem and despise Top and Boston (I still hate Boston anyway lmao), but ended up loving Top and sometimes Boston. There's also a time when we hate Mew, Ray, Nick, Sand, Chuem and liking Top and Boston.

There's a time when we questioning their decision, there's a time when we feeling bad about their life, there's a time when we worried about them. Everyone is so multi-dimension, complicated and so well written. And of course it couldn't be done without amazing actor and actress.

Force, Book, First, Khaotung, Neo, Mark, Lookjun and all of the side cast is doing a great job. In my opinion, Book and Khaotung are truly nailed their performance. I really love how versatile Book is, how different he is not only from his character in another series but also how different he potray Mew in the beginning and Mew in the end of the series (maybe it'a because Mew is my favorite character, I already make a different post about how great his character is).

And we can't deny how Khaotung is a phenomenal actor. Every single character that he played is match perfectly to him. And it's also applied to Ray. His life is messy and his mental is not stable, but Khaotung could deliver all of his emotion perfectly.

First has his own charm. Sand is charismatic, cool, the calmest character and I think First is the perfect choice to play Sand. And ofc, he and Khaotung has undeniable chemistry. Sand and Ray's relationship is the most intense one, and we've drawn so much to their romance because of it. First and Khaotung's acting match each other perfectly.

I love how Force could potraying Top as someone who's fierce but also soft at the same time. He is strong but also vulnerable at the same time. And we can't deny how great his chemistry with Book, from Enchante to A Boss and A Babe to Only Friends. All of their chemisty is great and I love how sweet their lovey dovey moments are.

And I'm so so so proud of Neo. Boston is different from himself and his usual character and Boston is definitely one of the most difficult character to play. He's carefree, doesn't care of other people except himself, and I think Neo's acting is slowly develop each time he appear in a series.

Nick is the first Mark's main role. But just how he stole viewers' heart with Tiwson in MSP, Nick also stole viewers' attention. Nick is the 'hopeful romantic' and the most insecure character. Just like Neo, Nick is so different from Mark in real life and I LOVE how Mark could potray Nick perfectly. And even though, I could never imagine before how he and Neo being paired up (I mean like it's the most absurd combination at first lmaoo) but suprisingly they have a great chemistry.

And lastly Lookjun, the only female main role. But, even though Chuem is the only female main character, she still stand out and not outshadowed by other characters, But I still hate gmm for not make her appear more. There's so much we haven't see about her character. AND OH MY GOD, I LOVE HER AND NONNIE'S DYNAMIC (gmm, I begging you can we have their own gl series next year?)

AND I LOVE THE ENDING SO MUCH. Even though there's something that could done better, but I love how realistic the ending is. Every single main characters develop into a better person (Yes, even Boston. I mean at least he apologize to Mew). Not every friendship will last forever and you entitled for your own trauma. So Mew's decision to not want continue being Boston's friends anymore is valid. And I love how Nick choose himself over other person.

In conclusion, Only Friends is one of the best gmmtv's work. They deserve all the hype from the very first trailer. AND I'm not joking when I said I don't need season 2, I think the ending is already enough (even though I'm sooo seated for side story, maybe about Boeing please? Or Boston's life in New York? lmaoo). We need more adult messy story like this, 3 Will Be Free or even like Friend Zone. So gmm, maybe Only Friends gl version for next year, please?

[bird-inacage]

Frankly speaking I have a completely different take on Sands behaviour at the end of ep 11. While it's true that Sand is a kind person it's stated repeatedly in the show that Sand always chooses to set up boundaries (with harsh words and actions of ignoring contact attempts) if Ray has done some shit. Sand is only not able to maintain the boundaries if one is persistent and knocks on it repeatedly. That's why Ray went feral and choose confrontation by inviting Boeing over so that Sand has to be clear even at the risk of loosing Sand if he states that he is still hung up on Boeing. Ray was hurt because over the evening Sand has spoken only two weak sarcastic sentences to Boeing and in the end offers him friendship. In Rays logic how can Sand do this if he bluntly denied Ray friendship at the beginning of ep 8. At that time Sand closed of, they weren't a thing when Ray started to attempt to date Mew. But Boeing dumped Sand which in Sands eyes should be seen as a bigger hurtful action than what Ray did and despite that Sand still wants to be friends with Boeing. I assume Ray thinks that Sands lingering feelings for Boeing is still so strong that he is way more lenient towards Boeing than he was to Ray and that's what he cannot accept and got him fuming hence the invitation. Ray was ready to burn all the bridges equal to his outburst in ep 6, he is just not as loud and screaming because this time he is sober.

Hello Anon,

No worries, it's completely fine if you do. It's always interesting to me to hear how other people have interpreted the scenes.

Firstly, I agree that Sand does try to set boundaries but often struggles to maintain them. Boundary-setting in relationships is almost always fuelled by emotion. Because of that, Sand tends to fail because he's empathetic. He doesn't like hurting people, no matter how detrimental the consequences may be on him in return.

In my opinion Ray is refreshingly sober in this scene. I don't see his choice to invite Boeing home as being feral, impulsive or an attempt to burn bridges like he did in Episode 6. Rather, I think Ray does so with a game plan in mind, in order to seize control from Boeing pulling all the strings. He wants to test Boeing on his terms and on his turf. I also don't think that by doing so, Ray is accepting the risk of losing Sand by forcing him to choose between them. Ray's entire arc in Episode 10 and 11 focused on him realising just how much Sand means to him and how much Sand's done for him. He literally says he can't live without him. So Ray's not prepared to lose Sand at all. Especially not now. Regardless of whether Sand still has any residual feelings for Boeing or not - Ray is going to fight for him, not surrender.

Secondly, if we're trying to deem whose actions were more hurtful (towards Sand) between Ray and Boeing, and whether that justifies Sand's reactions, it's not as simple as just comparing the two. Boeing and Ray are very different people. Ray is brash, confrontational and brutally honest. Whereas Boeing seems cool, considered, and deceptive. How Sand approaches each person will vastly differ. The way he handles Ray is coloured by previous experience. Having been hurt before by Boeing, Sand will be more defensive to being hurt once again. If Sand's behaviour with Boeing appears more 'lenient', this doesn't necessarily mean he's still in love with him, or that he loves Ray any less.

(I wouldn't take Sand's comment of offering Boeing friendship too seriously. That very much felt like Sand's way of being polite).

There's a huge difference between loving someone and being in love with someone. Ray himself has said, "But Mew is important to me. It's not easy for me to get over him." If it turns out that Sand is also struggling to do the same with Boeing - Ray's not going to be very happy about it, but I'd like to think that he of all people should understand what that's like.

To me, Ray's anger is largely because he can detect that Boeing has sinister intentions, intentions that exploit Sand's good nature. And Sand appears unable to deter Boeing completely on his own, whether that's because of their history, or for other reasons we are yet to see. This is where Ray feels it necessary to intercede in order to protect both Sand and their relationship.

---birdie

[nelson-riddle-me-this]

COLUMBO THOUGHTS:

s1e2 "Death Lends A Hand"

Okay so kinda big deal bc I'd skipped this episode in my dedicated series watch I started last year! Not on purpose, but the way I was watching e1 & 2 of season 1 were lumped into one big video file and so I forgot it existed. So really delightful to return to early Columbo and with an episode that was new to me!!

SPOILERS BELOW (for this episode and the other 2 Culp appearances)

As far as performances from series favorite Robert Culp this might be my fave of his! Like he's always exceptionally good at being mean and stern and being annoyed with Columbo, but something about the intensity of this feels different.

With how methodical and premeditated Culp's other two murders are, this one being a 'crime of passion'/manslaughter surprised me. Also THE SLOW-MO GLASS BREAKING AND HER FALLING!!! Like it's visually so cool. And very novel. The overlay shot where we see what Culp does after killing her, but as two different reflections in his glasses on an unmoving face - is very cool. It goes on a bit long, but it's very cool and I expect would be especially novel for audiences in 1971.

The score is by 4-time early Columbo composer Gil Mellé. It's got the spooky quasi-aleatoric spacey murder music thing, and a definite jazz flavor. Both me and the jazzer friend I watched it with were a bit thrown by the sudden capital juh-Jazz that starts when Culp gets into his car after killing this poor woman. Not that *J*azz is inappropriate for that moment, but something about that specific cue undermined the shock and weight of the sequence before. Maybe that's what they wanted, but I doubt it. I hear the blu-ray set that's out has versions of these episodes without music. It'd be a fun project to rescore some of these and fix some of those things that bother me.

Loved the detail of Culp knowing the name of one of his P.I.'s kids - just the sort of detail that helps a story feel 'lived-in'. I was shocked by Columbo playing up the astrology and palm-reading stuff LOL. The show depicts that sort of thing from time to time, but I don't remember Columbo himself hyping it outside of this. Of course it's part of the act to lower their guard, to make them think he's a fool, and as an excuse to get what he's really after (in this case examining the killer's hand and ring).

Ray Milland is fun to see, though part of me thinks he's not quite right in the role. He's not especially sympathetic somehow, which is maybe why they brought him back as a killer in "The Greenhouse Jungle". Some really great comic moments - Columbo complimenting Culp as being a 'man of purpose and intent' and immediately walking into a _closet_ is HILARIOUS. Lots of fun moments too with him snuffing out the golf instructor our victim had an affair with. I also thought it was hilarious that the golf instructor kinda lamely admits that he's not even really good at golf, pulling in women is the only thing he's decent at. Which like wouldn't be so bad if we felt he was a thoroughly charming person. But like it reads less as 'local rich women can't get enough of this studly golf instructor' and 'well I'm not really interested in the golf anyway, and at least he's not my husband - so I guess it's exciting enough. I can tell my bookclub friends I slept with my golf instructor and then I'll be cool.'...

The 'gotchya' is effective and satisfying. The mechanics of it are a bit paint-by-numbers. But this was so early in the run, it probably wouldn't have seemed so if I'd watched it in order. Still, the 'trick the killer into searching for evidence and catch them in the act of that' is worn. But also there's only so many ways for this all to play out!

Good episode, good early Columbo. Also shoutout to the victim cuz how she confronts Culp at his beach house is SOOO SATISFYING!!

[mythica0]

So I was messing around with the Headcanon generator with Fop anw Characters + OC’s and took screenshots of my favorites (either cause they make so much sense, I think are really neat, or are hilarious.) here they are and some thoughts on them below the cut(quotes are the HC’s. Non quotes are relating thoughts) different characters have different amounts of HC’s both because some of them had more that I liked pop up and also I’m obsessed with some more than others lol.

-“If Hazel likes someone, she will give them a pretty rock” considering she is obsessed with rocks, this is just facts. She would also probably yap about the rocks origins and other stuff.

-“Dev is a very good singer” I love this idea. That Dev is great at singing and loves to do so when alone but is super embarrassed about it around other people. (Maybe because his dad told him that it was annoying and to stop. So now he sees it as forbidden) so he absolutely will not preform for an audience.

-“if the source media were a musical, Dev would be the one asking why everyone’s singing” considering the above, I find this amusing. Especially due to my OC fan episode where Emma wishes that life was a musical. I can just see dev all confused like ‘why in the world is everyone singing???’

-“Dev believes in ghosts and insists on trying to summon one at every sleepover.” I thought this one funny cause this literally happened in canon.

-“Winn uses the word ‘like’ as a comma” considering their cool-guy(gender neutral) persona, it makes sense that they would use like a lot.

-“Winn tells dad jokes” Idk why but I like this idea. Winn telling dad jokes and Hazel laughing and Jazz groaning. I just thought it was neat :3

-“Jazz is a great artist” in addition to music I think that Jazz would like to draw as well. Especially abstract art and patterns.

-“Jazz is afraid to close their eyes in the shower” Considering her being a fraidy-cat was a whole plot point, I thought this was amusing.

-“Cosmo tells dad jokes” He’s a father. And A very silly guy. Obviously he tells dad jokes.

-“Wanda has a very low alcohol tolerance.” I think it would be funny if Cosmo and Wanda were at some fairy gathering and Wanda had like 1/4 of a beer and is all drunk and Cosmo has to make sure she’s okay.

-“Peri is the gay cousin” idk if he’s anyone’s cousin cause I never saw the og series but this man is not straight

-“peri was dropped out of a window as a child” again, never saw the og series but I know he was dropped multiple times so this might as well be canon

-“peri is smart but also very stupid” he gets it from his mom <3.

-“Peri can’t sit in a chair properly.” This twink does NOT sit in chairs like a normal person. He be laying across the chair in the wildest way you can think of

-“Peri is a horrible liar” my boy caNOT lie. It is immediately obvious whenever he tries. He gets all nervous and stutters abunch. And won’t make eye contact.

-“Ray has a diary that they write in with glittery gel pen” CANON CAUSE I SAID SO. It’s all good things. She writes about her day and how she or someone else she saw improved the world or someone’s day. She writes Everytime she made someone smile, every kind act she witnessed, every cute animal she fawned over. If you read her diary you’re gonna be flooded with the overwhelming positivity that is her mind.

-“Ray sings in the shower” She loves to sing cause music is a way to spread joy. She would absolutely be singing pop songs and positive vibes songs only. I’m thinking trolls songs and MLP songs about friendship, love and happiness.

-“Ray is not allowed to drink energy drinks.” Do you KNOW how energetic this woman is 24/7? If she had an energy drink she would probably explode. Sometimes she’ll see Yar drinking one and be like ‘hey can I have some,looks like it tastes good!’ And Yar holds it away from her and says ‘absolutely not’

-“Ray always has half a watermelon on them” her favorite fruit is watermelon, and she likes to share! So she just keeps half a watermelon on her at all times.

-“Ray doesn’t know how to say ‘no’” as I’ve said before, MASSIVE people pleaser. She refuses to say no to someone no matter how much work she has to do or how many favors she’s already committed herself to. And the thing is, she is genuinely happy to do it anyway. She isn’t like stressed out and feels like garbage but says yes anyway because she feels bad, she just loves helping people. Both Yar and Cosmo/Wanda have to look after her and make sure she doesn’t take on too much and destroy her body.

-“if Ray was presented with an intergalactic portal, they would enter it without question.” She’s a big fan of adventure and so much of an optimist, that the idea that something might go wrong or that there’s something bad on the other side doesn’t even cross her mind. She just sees something fun to do.

-“Ray is constantly singing for no reason” She likes to sing joyful tunes of what she’s doing. She’s the type to wake up and sing a designated good morning song to the whole neighborhood. She starts her day by opening her window and loudly singing ‘good morning~~’ to everyone around.

-“Ray tells dad jokes” She loves to make people happy and laugh, and loves humour and all things relating to joy, so of course she tells dad jokes at every opportunity. She’s always ecstatic when someone actually laughs at her dumb jokes. (Especially Yar. She secretly finds them hilarious) also, because we’ve already established that Winn and Cosmo also tell dad jokes, the three of them would have friendly dad-joke competitions where they tell eachother their best dad jokes and try to see who has the best one.

-“Ray knocks people over by hugging them” Once again, CANON. Especially when Yar comes to visit. She will absolutely tackle you into a hug anytime you show up. As long as you’re comfortable with touch, that is

-“Yar sleeps in until noon” This gal is SLEEPY. She’s the opposite of Ray, so instead of being full of energy, she lacks it almost entirely.

-“Yar forgets to eat sometimes” as a chronically depressed Anti-fairy, she will often times forgo eating and just rot in bed. If she’s having a bad episode Ray will come and check on her and make sure she eats and drinks enough water.

-“Yar bites their nails” It’s a habit that she has. Especially when she’s nervous or particularly upset.

-“Yar has chronic nightmares” Again, Ray and Yar are opposites. Ray’s head is full of nothing but sunshine and rainbows, even in sleep, whereas Yar’d head is full of sorrow, Trauma and Fear, resulting in nightmares every single night. (And yet she still prefers being asleep over being awake) most of her nightmares are more sad than scary, however.

-“Emma sings in the shower” again, based on me, so obviously she sings in the shower. She listens to a wide variety of music.

-“Emma doesn’t own a single pair of matching socks.” She finds that mismatching is more fun. Also she doesn’t care about fashion or what other people think of her, so she makes it obvious

-“Emma cries while watching Disney movies” Very emotional, this one. Cries at every Disney movie, whether it be sad or happy tears.

-“Emma tells dad jokes” We’ve been over this with the other three. She’s a fan of dad jokes, more specifically puns. Because again- based on me. She doesn’t usually partake in the dad joke battles, purely because she would rather be the judge.

-“Emma is constantly singing for no reason.” Once again, based on me, so there’s that. There’s also the fact that she literally wished for life to be a musical for a day.

-“Emma is a theatre kid” Speaking of which- big fan of musicals! Especially animated ones. She loves to act and is very dramatic. Very much a drama queen.

————————-

And that’s all I got! Hope you enjoyyeeeeeedd

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 80

Wait ... who is this? Are you being SUPERVISED at last, Samuel? Oh ... ah, I see ... yeah, this is gonna be a good one, clearly. XD Lie indeed! Yeah ... oh, THAT'S true? You really should be ashamed, Riegel ...

But seriously, that was one of his best skits to date ...

Sam (to Laura): "How come YOU get two?" Ashley: "Cuz she's the Merch Queen!" Laura (bright and innocent): "I had nothing to do with it."

So, final test, then ... where's this gonna go? And who will be the impostors in this game of ...

AMONG US?!!!

Aaaaaaaaaaah, it's decided BY CARD?!!! This is indeed a recipe for disaster. They're ALREADY all getting so worked up while Matt is clearly LOVING IT ...

One at a time now ... FURTHER panic ... glorious ... LOL

BATTLEMAP!!! Cue more clunky Sam plugs for Wizzkids!

Travis already thinks Marisha questioning Matt's mechanics is a sign she's a doppleganger trying to throw everybody off ...

And ROLL INITIATIVE?!!! Oh ... oh, that is interesting ...

Orym starts and Laura IMMEDIATELY starts probing at him ...

Matt: "This trust exercise is already going GREAT!!!"

At least Fearne seems to be Fearne, apparently ... XD

Liam: "Plant pubes." Matt instantly gives him a SCATHING look ...

Aaaaah! Angry bramble attack! Crap! Fearne, no! Hurt AND restrained!

Taliesin, as always, is already thinking FIVE MOVES AHEAD ... meanwhile Ashton to the rescue. And he Rages!

Some crazy quantum Barbarian craziness ensues! Taliesin loves it, he never gets to use Time. And now he has A PLAN ...

Laudna: "I love you, no matter WHAT form you're in." Imogen: "I feel SO SURE you're a doppleganger now."

Imogen Misty Steps to a specific tree, starts searching under it ... CRAP Investigation roll, Laura ...

FCG goes and heals Fearne ... Laura: "You wouldn't heal anybody yet!" Meanwhile he searches for signs of magic ... you're IN THE FEYWILD, SAMUEL!!!

Illusory vines? Hmmmm ...

Still wolfed out, Chetney clicks his Boots of Haste and immediately damn near runs himself into another angry bramble patch, barely dodges it ... oh, he runs RIGHT INTO a patch of purple flowers that spray him with FUCKING ACID!!! And then again JUST escapes another briar patch ...

Pate cannot tell Laudna if she's the real Laudna ... okay then ...

Sam: "What you looking for, Travis?" Travis: "Sweat?" Ashley: "All you're gonna find is conditioner." Laura: "He's SUCH AN ASSHOLE!!!"

Laudna has FOUND the thingie! Already ... impressive ...

Orym tries to get a true clue out of Fearne, but she can't remember. Orym: "I ... still think it's you!"

Ashley: "Is it my turn?" Matt: "Just about." Liam: "You have NEVER been this enthusiastic to go before."

Scorching Ray? Go Fearne ... torch those brambles! Ah, crap ... and now she's created a burning obstacle ... yeah ... Fearne: "Yeah, um ... I didn't really think that through."

Ashton is clearly gonna do something RECKLESS ... Hyper Rage? Whoa ... I HAVE TO see what THIS does ... Nat20? Nice ... he grabs a branch and BOOKS IT for the pool ...

Earthwalk? Cool ... and that's it ... oh, invisible barrier? Hmmmm ... ah! More purple flowers! Crap! Acid ... and the branches lose hit points TOO?!!! Shit! So close to going SO BAD ...

Imogen hops onto the wall and casts Detect Thoughts ... a LOUD STATICKY BUZZ?!!! Yeah, saw that coming ... uses a Sorcery point to get that slot back ... then she asks Fearne if she's real ...

Ashley has to TEXT IF SHE'S A DOPPLEGANGER to Matt and then he's going to ROLL FOR HER?!!! Bloody hell ...

FCG goes towards them now ... now he's looking for creatures ... hmmm ... oh, I see, he casts Speak With Animals. Asks the critters what's safe to interact with.

Oh, that is CREEPY ... Liam: "How does a squirrel know the word 'dubious'?"

And now he's being shadowed by a load of Lovecraftian squirrels ...

Grim Psychometry! Okay ... will THAT work in this? Chetney tries it ... good roll ... ah, a history lesson ... is there ANY actual point to that?

Matt, what are you doing? Some freaky little Fey thing is coming RIGHT AT Laudna! Going for her branch! Ah ... Ashton to the rescue! Crap, they didn't work ... and it's gone, along with her branch! Balls ...

Laudna sends Pate after it ... Laudna Spiderclimbs up and goes after it too ... get him, Pate! She channels Shocking Grasp through him go fet the thing ... ah, but it will also kill the branch! Oof ... what to do, then?

Pate is now WRESTLING with this thing while they wait for Chetney ... meanwhile Laudna does another Wither and Bloom ...

Orym jumps through the flames to go after it too ... shoots a vine to grab the branch! Also asks Laudna a personal question ... close enough! Hmmm ...

Just a regular owl ... oh NO!!! NO IT REALLY IS NOT A REGULAR OWL!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

Oh, so IS FCG actually made of metal right now? Can't tell. THAT was a pointless exercise, clearly.

Ashton goes to try and rescue FCG from the Owl Thing ... another Hyper Rage, jumps and attacks the thing with the hammer ... Reckless! 24 to hit ... 19 points of damage! Okay, Letters is loose again! Meanwhile Ashton runs right past a bramble and just dodges it in time, gives it a swat on the way ...

Imogen casts Fly on herself and goes at the Owl Thing, casts Shocking Grasp on it! ZAP!!! Oh, and she just ANNIHILATES it ...

FCG casts Owl's Wisdom on himself, asks Fearne if he can trust her ... again, it's inconclusive ... hmmmmm ...

Chetney tries to get to the first Thing, claws at it ... go feral on it, Wolfman! Oh ... that's just messy ... then he goes and swipes at a random tree ... and that was ALSO pointless ...

Spiderclimb, Laudna! Yeah ... more Wither and Bloom ... then she sends Pate to see if FCG is squishy ...

Oh gods ... Pate: "Geronimo!" He dive-bombs Letters ... who just DODGES ... yup ...

Orym goes rummaging with his RIDICULOUS perception ... and BARELY avoids disturbing another wasp's nest ... eep ...

Fearne casts Speak With Plants ... Matt goes crazy with his miming and voice work now with the plants ... oh, they're just TRAUMATISED seeing their "friends" burning ...

And now she's been attacked by brambles again ... oh dear ... well THAT didn't work ...

Ashton comes back and attacks the bramble patch after making sure it's really her ... and she's free. Okay then ... now he takes a swing at the arch and just DESTROYS the ruin. Hmmmm ...

Imogen uses a Sorcery point to supercharge her Inflict Wounds ... oh, Nat20! Okay ... bye bye plants ... and she has a branch! Nice.

FCG asks Imogen to drop the twig if she trusts him ... hmmmm ... oh, this is getting complicated now ... calm down, people!

Liam: "Did some ex high-school boyfriend just get a random text saying 'They're onto me'?"

And now FCG is being grappled by brambles ... oh, is he bleeding? Hmmmm ...

Chetney climbs the tree ... wait, some of the tree ISN'T REAL? What the eff? Oh, there's a hidden hole ... oh, A BRANCH!!! Yeah ... now he tries a reckless jump to the next platform ... Nice! Yeah ...

Laudna sends Pate after FCG ... she looks through his eyes ... Nat20 ... Whispers! More plugs from Sam! So IS HE bleeding?

She stays put and stays on guard now ...

Orym just up and dodges mor brambles, lands next to Chetney, asks if he really is his dad. XD

Fearne holds Hold Person while waiting by the pool ...

Leaving FCG trapped, Ashton goes past another patch to reach Fearne, and his Rage ends. Hmmmm ... then does a long range nerve check on Orym ... oh, more texting ... no way to know ... and now Ashton's holding an attack too ...

Imogen comes down to the pool, close to Orym, and holds her action ...

FCG takes more damage staying where he is, casts Divination to see if Orym is one of the dopplegangers ... the Changebringer answers ... oh, and Sam gets a Whispers too! Hmmmm ...

Ashley sneezes and SAM tells her to stop it! LOL

Chetney does a smell check on Orym ... more Whispers! Dear gods ... he takes the branch out of the Bag of Holding ...

Laudna unleashes her Hound of Ill Omen ... oh boy ... sends ot between Orym and Imogen ... oh boy again ... and now SHE'S holding her action too ... Infestation? Hmmm ... potential bee chaos if things go bad, then ...

Count of three then ...

Orym uses the Monocle of True Essence ... oh, that's actually really smart! Go for it, wee man! He casts Detect Magic through it ... Insight Check with Advantage, then ... 22! Okay ... more Whispers! Blimey ... he pulls out the branch again ...

Fearne drops Hold Person ... now she's playing peacemaker ...

Ashton goes to rescue FCG while burning a Rage ... takes a swing at the brambles ... oh yes, that's it ... crash! POW! And Letters is free ...

FCG casts Cure Wounds on himself, then rolls round to the group.

Okay ... moment of truth?

Laudna puts away her bees ... everybody puts their branches in at once ... oh, there we go. And ... oh, so that's it? So what happened, then?

Oh, so they're all back in the Ligament Manor! Okay then ... oh, it was all a dream? Crazy ... and now to BREAK!!!

Well yeah, they did learn a bunch from that ...

Back to Nzna Morri being super creepy ... and FCG and Fearne really did get hurt. Hmmmm ...

Ashton has a revelation. None of it is news, though ... just a wake-up call ... hmmmm ... I mean they are all a hot mess ...

Oh, so they're, like, naturally unassuming because they're underwhelming? Is that the idea? Not sure what to make of that.

Oh, drinks! Yay! Peepers ... not so much ...

Trust. Trust is good.

Again with Fearne taking the Shard ... oh, so they're rethinking this, then? And now it's gotten a bit smutty ... hmmm ...

Wait ... are they gonna do this NOW?!!! No ... short rest? Might be wise ...

Oh yeah, give her the fancy fire ring.

Ah, so this new stick thing increases spell abilities? Cool. That could be very helpful.

Oh, so we are doing this. Hmmmm ... go outside? Up to the garden, then. Okay ... everybody follows her up ...

Yeah, this ain't gonna go wrong or anything, is it? Fuck ...

Right ... preparations, then ... Enhance Ability? Bear's Endurance? Oh, that sounds helpful ...

Ooh, Bompers? Hello, weird beasty ... and Sweetpea! Yay ... and Doctor Nesbitt ...

Fearne pops Mister out too ... okay ...

FCG performs a Sympathetic Binding on her too ... also Orym gives her the Potion of Heroism? Okay then ... AND a Death Ward? Wow ... that's probably gonna do it, then ...

Laudna gets as far away from Chetney as she can, then Imogen just hugs her and shields her so she won't get compelled by Delilah to go for the Shard ...

So fucking nervous right now ...

And now the Shard is out ... here we go ...

Not now, Delilah! Oh shit ... Laudna has to make a Wisdom Save ... oh thank fuck ...

It's starting! Oh shit ... yup, the burning damage starts already ... hmmm ... yeah, this sounds uncomfortable ... ouch ... another 12 points ... argh ...

Yeah, it's ALREADY getting hairy ... lucky the Concentration Saves are good ... oh ... is this actually going more smoothly than it did with Ashton? It's still painful and hairy though ... znd now Ashton's giving up some of HIS health to her ...

Oh yes, it really DOES look like it's working ... but it's STILL hurting even so ...

And now apparently this us turning into a metaphor for birth trauma ... I mean OF COURSE it is ...

Apparently now her heart is turning into an actual genuine STAR ... I mean that is SO COOL even if it is terrifying ...

Wait ... are they being spied on? Crap ...

Holy fuck she is just going full on fucking Phoenix Force right now, ain't she? This is getting pretty awesome ...

Whoa ... weird vision? Hmmm ... is that a potential problem?

Yes! Keep up with the healing magic, FCG! Wait, if he does that again he's gonna go BERSERK?!!! Fuck ... oh, and it's actually happening ...

Oh thank fuck ... Nice save, guys!

FCG: "I'll fucking kill you!" Aaaaaaaaaaah!

Wait ... is Fearne becoming tuned into the Elemental Plane of Fire? Fascinating ...

Fearne is now reaching her Ultimate Form and it is MAGNIFICENT ...

Whoa ... that is VERY CLOSE to her bottom.ing out on health, though ... oh yes, Laudna, nice save! Wither and Bloom on the garden, then ...

Oooh ... Balrog Fearne, intriguing image ...

Last round? Okay then ... last chance to help her, guys ...

Oh shit, those poor bastards trapped in the garden, that is just ... unfortunate ... O.O

Fearne is now getting a visitation from some kind of elemental god thing? Hmmmm ... snd she's being ACCEPTED AS AN EQUAL? Wow ...

She BARELY squeaks through with what health she has ... and looks like THAT is the final burst, then ... EVERYBODY takes damage from that one ...

Oh okay then ... looks like that might be it, then ...

ASHLEY GETS A CARD!!! WHAT DOES IT SAY?!!! TELL US!!!

She's alive, and she's TRANSFORMED ... dhe looks INCREDIBLE ...

And now FCG is LOOSE ... Orym tries to ward him off ... oh, this is getting messy ...

For the love of the gods please just QUIT with this shit, guys ... and now he's attacking Orym ... bloody hell ... with the saw? Crap ...

Oh thank fuck ... he's back ...

So Fearne is HOT but she doesn't hurt to touch ... that is pretty cool. And she's still very flammable ... fascinating.

Wait ... this is, like, a specific FORM she can assume? Oh, that's do cool ... Fearne Calloway, eldritch magic girl!

Awwww ... yeah, Mister just LOVES this ...

That's a good point ... what FOES this mean for Ashton's Shard? They try it out ... oh wow, it actually WORKS, Ashton's new power reactivates ... oh yeah, these two are just two halves if a whole, clearly ...

And now Ashton's having the exact same kind of trip as Fearne did, but for Earth instead of Fire. Znd now he's found HIS Ultimate Form too ...

OH MY GOD suddenly HE is whole too ... AND HE GETS HIS OWN CARD!!! AWESOME!!!

Oh, so he can MERGE with stone now? That is pretty sweet ...

Can Fearne do cool stuff too, now?

They go downstairs to check out what they can do ... and now I can almost SENSE Matt preparing to wind down the episode ...

YES!!! HE IS!!! I knew it ... that is indeed it for tonight ... okay ...

Well, I definitely look forward to seeing what THIS is gonna lead to ... I guess we'll find out next week.

Indeed, IS IT Thursday yet?