#I was going to wait to post this until I was caught up but ep. 142 is close enough

[definitelynotshouting]

your half of the ransom

inspired by this post and scar's tweets about secret life :] i speedran this just in time for the first eps of the new season to drop!! as always likes and reblogs and especially comments in the tags are appreciated❤️ enjoy!!

Scar wakes to a field of sunflowers.

The sun itself is a swollen yolk bleeding gold at its edges when he blinks, cascading down from the horizon to melt over the earth with indiscriminate fervor. It dips the petals of each field-flower in honey, honing their silhouettes to supple knife-points— even the soil beneath him, packed firm from countless nights of sleep, has burnished to a fine, patinated bronze. In the amber of its rays stray pebbles transmute to pyrite, the subtle scrabble of roots to filigree, and caught in the open mouth of such gaudy resplendence, Scar digs an elbow into the dirt and hauls himself, reluctant, back to his own unsteady feet.

Even at full height the sunflowers still tower, blocking all signs of hearth and home. But the sun (popped, bleeding, all gored-out gold in the upturned belly of the sky) remains his guide— Scar picks his legs up in a faltering stumble to follow it before catching rough fingers against the stalk of a nearby sunflower. He flinches; this early, it's too easy to perceive each stalk as part of a swarm, a yellowed panoptic presence bearing down on the world-weary muscles of his shoulders.

Their seeds will need harvesting soon. Scar hums, a match-strike against unyielding silence, and casts his gaze back to the sun above to orient himself in the direction of his base.

Until they're ready, he has nowhere else to be.

Trader Scar's is too-empty for so comely a morning, a hollowed-out shell long rebuilt and bristling with more wares than he has those to sell them to. But it's a familiar charade— Scar slips into the back with a single sunflower clenched tight in his palm, bruising the petals and scratching against the insides of his fingers. He changes in rapid, efficient motions; last night's poncho is discarded over a nearby chest in exchange for a brighter one, yellow wool lovingly dyed; his hair is released from its tie, combed through, then braided again; the soft leather shoes he'd worn underneath the stars are left to clump by the doorway in favour of far-keener diamond. Worn in but undamaged, the crystal chimes without dents or scratches— there's nothing left to fight here, anymore.

When Scar steps back out to the front, a ghost is waiting patiently for him at the counter.

Or— the ghost of a ghost, if he's being generous. The outline of a shadow, the flicker of a distant mirage. "Oh," Scar says, and the word scrapes like rust from the well of his throat. He'd recognize those wings anywhere. "Well, hello there, Grian."

Grian's filmy outline says nothing. They never do, when the shades appear for a rare visit. The barrier between living and dead remains a clear divide, a gorge through which Scar cannot pass— all that's left between them now are the soft, faded echoes of what was, and what it could have been.

Still, in the year he's spent here, that's never deterred him from a potential sale. Scar props a hip up against the counter, eyeing the flickering shadow and mustering up his best imitation of an enthusiastic smile. "So what brings you out here to my neck of the woods? Looking for something to buy? Some fine goods to trade, perhaps? Man, I don't think I've seen you around in a dog's age. How about some catching up?"

The back of his neck prickles, electric; Grian's shade is a stygian blot in his vision, a fuzz of static that extends its presence from floor to ceiling. His ghost keeps his silence.

Scar tugs his smile wider, flashing two rows of bright, gleaming teeth in Grian's direction until the strain threatens to choke him. "No? Not even a little bone for ol' Scar? Well, tell you what, don't you go standing on su— se— oh, ceremony! Come in, come in! You make yourself at home, you know how I just love a visitor— how about I make us a drink to share and you tell me where in the world you've been, mister."

He doesn't bother waiting for a non-existent reply; instead, Scar swoops down to snag his fingers against the cupboard he'd installed within the counter months ago, fumbling with the latch before throwing its doors wide open with a gust of musty air. Inside, an eclectic mix of quite high-quality wares and some of Scar's own humble belongings tangle, speckled with cobwebs and the first faint stirrings of freshly disturbed dust.

Scar purses his lips, eyeing each item in turn. A nautilus shell here, a few scraps of wood there, some glass bottles, the handle of a ladle he'd cracked over six months back.... Squinting, he thrusts his hand deep into the mess, sweeping the items aside and shuffling new ones into view until— there!

Toward the back lies a dented iron kettle, brittle with disuse. Scar snaps forward, straining out his arm until the tips of two fingers meet the edge of its dusty wooden handle. With a grunt, he flicks it closer, wincing at the shrill scrape of iron on wood as it inches toward him.

SCAR.

It is not a voice. No mere voice can resonate a single word like that in his chest, trembling in his bones and drumming out from the chambers of his very heart. Like a ripple on the still surface of a lake, it rattles through him, scattering each thought to the far corners of his mind and stripping him raw, flaying open his ribs to splay beneath the scorching sun. The yelp that bubbles up to his lips flies past them unbidden, rocketing out with such force that he jolts, and rams his skull straight into the overhanging lip of the counter.

White-on-red sparks, a cherry-hot bolt of fire centered on his crown. "OW! Oh, oh my gosh, I-I— Grian?"

None of the shades haunting him and this server have spoken. They've never spoken. They've never— so why now, when he's made his peace with that—

Scar wets his lips, tongue dry as desert bone, and drags the kettle out of the cupboard with one quick yank. Clutching it to his chest, he rises back up on shaky feet, holding it up as if to ward off an incoming attack. Some shield; its hollow interior reverberates with a screech when he raps his knuckles against it. "Now— now hang on, mister, you can't just— you— oh my gosh, I-I think you just made my heart stop there for a second." A bracing breath. Two. "Y-You can't just shock a man in his own home like that! You...."

Scar trails off. The misty impression hovering on the other side of the counter remains impassive, impersonal— this is not the Grian he knows.

The Grian he knew.

Deep within the static writhe of his shade, the after-image burn of greyed-out eyes begin to squirm to the surface. Scar flicks his gaze back to the kettle with instinctive, long-honed deference, staring hard into the distorted lines of his own reflection.

YOU WON. Once again the words rip something vital in him, boil up through his veins to tear themselves, wet and coppery, on the limp meat of his tongue. Scar risks a peek up, lump hanging heavy in his throat; each syllable comes out as a squeak, threatening to crack the smooth silver of his voice.

"I— yep, I sure did! I sure did, and— thank you very much, for noticing! I, uh, I still don't know how I did that, what with— oh, you know how it is, with, with the, uh, the— friends situation, how that all panned out. Y'know, actually, I wonder if that's wh—"

The eyes blink at him, asynchronous and blank. Hollow. In the heartbeat it takes for them to train back on his own, a soul-wrenching wave of gooseflesh ripples up over Scar's arms.

He whirls himself away so fast his vision spins. "So, uh— tea! You like tea, right Grian?" Without ceremony Scar scrambles to the other side of the room, forcing the counter still between them, every nerve in his body winding tighter, tighter, kinetic energy in a bottle. "How about, um, a—" he rifles through a new cabinet, clumsy with frenzy— "oh, shoot, now where did I put that— I've got some, uh, some dandelion root! Hand roasted by yours truly, of course. Not that anyone else could do it now, but— oh, oh, and look at the lavender, now that's just delicious, you've gotta try it, G, I know you'll just absolutely love it."

Silence. Scar's hand pauses, braced tight on the handle of the cabinet.

"Grian," he says, slow, quiet. Lets the words drift up, shining soap bubbles, to pop against the ceiling. "Why— what are you doing here?"

To his credit, Grian is direct. IT'S TIME.

Without permission, Scar's fingers tighten around the handle of the cabinet. "It's— what? Wait, wait—" He blinks. Does not turn around. "Time for what?"

Silence.

Scar licks his lips, worrying at the split still stinging at the right hand corner. "Time for what, Grian?"

The distinct pall of burning ozone scalds through the air. Tentatively, Scar shoots a glance back down into the kettle, peering at the distinct smudge still smearing the wall behind him. No eyes in its reflection; some of the tension riding in his shoulders loosens, slackens his tendons and begins to uncurl his fingers from the cabinet knob.

Without warning, a wash of ice wisps forward to numb the small of his back. COME HOME, Grian says simply. The words echo in the gap beneath his sternum, drag themselves up each vertebrae in his spine, and Scar freezes stiff, solid.

"This is home," Scar says, blank.

NO.

Some hot ember, banked countless months ago, sparks back to life in the pit of his stomach. "It is," he says, more firmly this time. "It's— that's it. You said it yourself: I won. And I did it fair and square, I'll say. I followed every rule, every task to the— to the nth degree, and... and now I, um." He falters. Grits his teeth until the molars ache. "I get to live with it."

But a sudden chill that has nothing to do with the shade behind him abruptly slips beneath his skin. Hesitantly, still clutching the kettle in one hand like a lifeline, Scar says belatedly: "... Right?"

Despite the sun nearing midday, the temperature around him plummets. NOT ANYMORE.

"Oh," Scar says. The metal surface of the kettles creaks as his second hand joins the first, digging nails into rust and grime. "I— again?"

YES.

"... And what if I don't want to do it again."

He does not phrase it as a question. They both know his answer.

Scar sucks in a sharp shock of air anyway, rattling the kettle against his chest and daubing a blotch of dust over the soft wool of his poncho. "Is—" he bites his lip— "will everyone... be there?"

YES.

Ah. Scar's eyes slip shut of their own accord; behind them, dozens of veins brim over, webs of blood welling up and spilling to slake a thirst so abyssal it could drink and drink for years without satiation.

"... Will you be there?"

For one long, nightmare-eternity, Grian does not reply. Then, a knife between his ribs: YES.

With slow, halting steps, Scar turns. "Okay," he breathes, and drags a hand over his eyes to cloak them both in darkness, and sags back until his skull knocks against the cabinet door with a dull, tender thunk. Each exhale emerges as a series of shaky puffs, damming up his lungs and swallowing all the air in his esophagus. Scar shudders, scrapes his bitten-down nails against iron, and breathes with the roiling of his gut. "... Okay."

When he opens his eyes again, Grian's ghost has vanished.

The spot it occupied is still frigid when he waves a trembling hand through it; Scar inhales, exhales, inhales again. Rinse and repeat, the perfect cycle, the mantra against extraneous thought. Then, solemn and deliberate, he holds the kettle out in front of him, trailing one wandering finger over its dents and bruises, tracing the paths between the known and the new.

"Guess I'll see you there," he tells it, and lifts its grubby handle up in absent toast.

High above, the bleeding sun strikes noon at last. Scar does not harvest the sunflowers.

[rabbitechoes]

a bit of a light week, probably missed some stuff because i've been very busy, but there were still some rlly interesting songs that caught my attention! here are my thoughts on them!! if u care ... which i know u do!!! :D click here for last week's post!!

also feel free to follow me on rate your music and twitter <3

"Screamland" - Father John Misty

◇ released: Sept. 17, 2024 ◇ featured on Mahahmashana (not yet released) ◇ genres: singer-songwriter, art pop, indietronica

In the span of a few hours, Father John Misty released this new single and announced a new album. Alongside the announcement, Bandcamp announced that they were hosting an advanced listening party of the new record which I gleefully attended. I'm so glad I did. This new record is fantastic. He plays around with the Wall of Sound production style and his instrumentation and writing is as ambitious as ever. This track in particular, "Screamland," was a massive highlight. These songs are living and breathing, it's like you can feel the ideas as they come to Mr. Tillman. Brimming with brilliance. I can't wait to dive into this record again. For those that missed the listening party the album is out there if you look hard enough wait until it officially drops in November!

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"First Time" - Greg Mendez

◇ released: Sept. 17, 2024 ◇ featured on First Time / Alone (not yet released) ◇ genres: singer-songwriter, indietronica

I had never heard Greg Mendez's music prior to this new single, leading up to his debut on the Dead Oceans label. This is a very cute, somber cut that's very pleasant on the ears. Can't say it leaves the biggest impression, but it whets the appetite just fine in the lead-up to this EP. If you're on the lookout for a minimalist song to fit one of your yearning sessions, look no further!

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"God Gets You Back" - Mogwai

◇ released: Sept. 17, 2024 ◇ genres: progressive electronic, art rock, post-rock

This new track from Mogwai is a pretty decent progressive electronic track that's easy to get drawn into. There's some big, looming synths here and some lyrics penned by Barry Burns's daughter. I have to admit I'm not the biggest Mogwai fan. This is one of the only tracks I've heard from them outside of the Mogwai Young Team album, but I'm impressed! Not sure where this ranks among their discography on the whole, but I really enjoyed this song. It's just got so much energy to it. Definitely need to listen to more of their stuff at some point.

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"Psycho Killer (Acoustic Version) [feat. Arthur Russell] [2024 Remaster]" - Talking Heads

◇ released: Sept. 17, 2024 ◇ featured on Talking Heads: 77 (Super Deluxe Edition) [2024 Remaster] (not yet released) ◇ genres: folk rock, post-punk, art punk

The Talking Heads are gearing up for a "super deluxe" reissue of their debut record, Talking Heads: 77. As a treat alongside the announcement, they shared this acoustic version of their classic song "Psycho Killer" featuring renowned multi-faceted composer and cellist Arthur Russell. This is a cool rarity. It features early verses not present in the studio version and the band's energy is palpable - as it usually was. Russell's contributions are also pretty neat, adding some more fire to it all. If you're a fan of The Heads or Arthur Russell, definitely give this a go.

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"NEW! Christianity" - The Armed

◇ released: Sept. 17, 2024 ◇ featured on Everlasting Gaze (not yet released) ◇ genres: post-hardcore, noise pop, noise rock

Abrasive post-hardcore band The Armed are returning with a new EP, Everlasting Gaze. Acting as the final piece of their previous record, which I regretfully haven't listened to yet, it seems the band had more to add to that project. I can't speak on the quality of that album, but this track is pretty stellar. A weird mix of insane noise rock and dreamy verses - with the occasional screamed vocals. This song rules hard. Definitely gonna be listening to this new EP when it drops, but before then I need to catch up on their previous record that slipped under my radar.

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"Bird W/O Nest" - Alice Longyu Gao feat. Danny Brown

◇ released: Sept. 18, 2024 ◇ featured on Assembling Symbols Into My Own Poetry (not yet released) ◇ genres: art rock, indie rock, pop rap

Alice Longyu Gao has released another single leading up to her upcoming EP, this one being an art rock-y track featuring Danny Brown. I like it! It's a little clunky in places and I wish Gao's verses had some more edge to them, but they sound nice. Brown's feature was unexpected, but it's very hard for him to put in a bad performance. This is a cool little song regardless! I'm curious to hear how all of these singles come together on the EP, but we shall see soon enough!

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"Do You Realize??" - Willie Nelson

◇ released: Sept. 19, 2024 ◇ featured on Last Leaf On The Tree (not yet released) ◇ genres: country, americana

Coincidentally, the same week I see The Flaming Lips live on Weezer's Voyage to the Blue Planet tour, country legend Willie Nelson releases a cover of their song "Do You Realize??" This is a fine cover, it removes the psychedelic tones of the original in favor of rustic and soothing Americana. His voice is aged, not like a fine wine, but it's charming nonetheless. The backing vocalist is adding some much needed touches to it all. Is this cover necessary? Not really. Is it pleasant? Yeah, sure! If you like the original or Nelson's brand of old-timey country balladeering, give this a listen!

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"S P E Y S I D E" - Bon Iver

◇ released: Sept. 20, 2024 ◇ featured on SABLE, (not yet released) ◇ genres: indie folk, singer-songwriter, chamber folk

Bon Iver have returned with their most stripped-down song in years. Justin Vernon has reached back into his indie folk bag to the delight of many, myself included. For those not attuned to the band's last few records of off-kilter electronica blending with Vernon's cryptic prose, "S P E Y S I D E" is sure to excite. However, for those I have lovingly deemed the "sickos," of which I am one, this is a bit of a letdown. I still really enjoy the song, but I loved what Vernon and crew have been doing with all the weird sounds. Still, I'm excited to hear what SABLE, will sound like. I've never been disappointed by a Bon Iver project, even i,i which was wrongly overlooked by many, so I'm excited no matter what. Here's hoping the strange electronic stuff will return in some fashion!

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[bengiyo]

Laws of Attraction Ep 8 (Finale) Stray Thoughts

Last week, we met the best character in the entire show: Nawin. He is gay, unhinged, violent, and so sexy he doesn't wear shirts or underwear in pink suits. He is Chan's ex, and sheltered Chan and Tin. Meanwhile, Thantai is stupid and is posting boyfriend vids on IG while on the run. We also learned that his mom died giving birth to him. Nawin's house in an architectural nightmare. Tin broke the bed after being left there handcuffed by Chan so he can try to blackmail Thatthep. Let's finish this.

Rose is getting ready for whatever they have planned while Maya streams nearby. This has me thinking about criminals who get caught because of their wives' YouTube channels.

Nawin was mooning over Chan until Tin reminded him that he was dumped and now they're in a boxing ring. Amazing.

Nawin, you were the best character. Thank you for your brief time with us.

Okay, the Tin-Thee team up was fun.

They are live streaming this meeting on Maya's channel. Incredible. Perfect show.

Thatthep pulled out that smartphone flashlight so fast.

Chan, are you really worried about Nawin hitting Tin right now?

Now I know I did not spend seven weeks with this show to watch a gay bleed out in his lover's arms.

Oh good. Armed lesbians are here.

Chan is the only smart person in an action drama ever. He was wearing a bulletproof vest, even though he still took a shot to the arm.

Thantai escaping the plane because he was so annoying is exactly on brand. You were so right @ginnymoonbeam.

Love that Chan did all this to guarantee Thatthep's downfall.

Of course Chan is an annoying patient.

Galaxia is back and she's still teasing Tin!

With the genre constraints around sex, I like that the show continues to tease that the couples of this show are having a great time with each other.

Okay, I'm a bougie TV person. If you are seeing me, please don't ever leave a sticky note on any of my TVs.

I'm glad that this show is going for marriage equality as well. A lot of folks who will never watch other BL are probably going to watch this. It's a big deal.

Chan is so gay. I love him.

Yes, I have also watched lesbians tackle gays when they announced their wedding date.

I love Nawin. "If you hurt him I'll hurt you! Wait! Yes! Hurt him so he and I can get back together!" Best character ever.

This show is great. Thatthep threatens Chan one more time and the next scene is him being murdered in prison, the news report downplaying it, and then a smash cut to the wedding photos.

Man, I still don't feel for Thantai much.

I'm missing my grandmothers again.

Of course Chan's chest is out at this wedding.

Nawin is so upset about their wedding that he had to put a shirt on.

Oh lord we got another biter.

I do love Silvy's voice.

Okay, I cried at seeing Tonkhao's dolls getting their own seat. I'm so glad this show never forgot about her or used her death as a joke.

Jam and Film, and all of their friends, had so much fun making this.

Maya and Rose got married, too!!!

Chan wasn't disbarred, and is back to being dramatic for cameras!

Look at Tin having reasonable expectations of Chan.

Final Verdict: 9, Highly Recommended. This was so much fun. I thoroughly enjoyed One31 making another lakorn. With Jam and Film as romantic leads. Every week I got to cackle at the unhinged gay antics of this show and got to enjoy some great performances along the way. Go into this with the right genre expectations and you'll have a blast.

[what-is-love-babey-dont-hurt-me]

if you don't mind me asking, what did you mean when you said "star warriors have a supernatural influence hinted"? i've watched the show twice (granted, i skipped a few eps both times) and i've never quite caught anything like that. maybe i'm misunderstanding, but the other stuff you mentioned is (much to my pleasure!) very popular theory/fanon and it really piqued my interest when you mentioned something i didn't quite recognize.

okay so I took so long to answer this because i really didnt feel like rewatching any of the anime. So the compromise is just me going over a few episodes of note, rather than combing through the whole anime. There is a few things that i definitely have not talked about in this post.

And for reference, I'm mainly using the new Operation HNK sub, not the old sub, nor the dub version, as my main point of reference--bar one notable exception!

So! Star Warriors are strongly hinted to be something with supernatural influence rather than warriors with a simple title.

What exactly do I mean by "something with supernatural influence"? There aren't any better words to really describe it with, as the anime itself is incredibly vague. The general idea is that Star Warrior is something inherent to a person, and that there are some things in the anime about them that can't exactly be explained without calling them "supernatural" to an extent.

The explanation that I see for what exactly a Star Warrior is outside of it being a supernatural thing, is that it is some sort of military rank (usually for the GSA) that is earned. With the possibility of Star Warrior being a earned rank in mind, I will occasionally compare some things against it.

I'm beginning with Ep. 1, with a simple observation.

There are several things that cement the fact that Kirby is a star warrior well before his time reaching Popstar. So, it was not Meta Knight who have him the title.

By a glance, both Meta Knight and the NME Salesman were able to recognize that Kirby was a "genuine star warrior", although Kirby has no symbolism or memorabilia with him that would suggest an affiliation with the army.

Additionally, this is just personal, but I genuinely find it difficult to believe that Kirby would have been granted some sort of military rank. If Star Warrior IS a rank, then it would be a high one because NME is so interested in targeting them specifically (to be covered). ESPECIALLY because he wasn't even supposed to be awake for another 200 years, Kirby can barely speak or focus yet, and because he knew no sword technique until Meta Knight taught him in Ep. 3.

Kabu also refers to Kirby as a warrior that exceeds spacetime, though that could possibly be chalked up to the stasis he was in.

Additionally, On two separate occasions when Meta Knight is looking at Kirby (once in the first ep and another in the 3rd) there seems to be some weird… Connection? Sense? Out of body experience? I'm hesitant to call this any definite proof however because the scene is vague and this has literally ZERO explanation. It could be a supernatural connection between star warriors, or simply Meta Knight Being Weird And Explaining Nothing.

In the racing episodes, there are two notable things

Again, this is no definite proof, but it is INTERESTING with the implications. If Star Warrior's have their own cradles, this heavily suggests that being a Star Warrior is something a person is born with, rather than something that happens later in life. And again, i find it genuinely hard to believe that the GSA would rank infants with that high of a title.

ALSO there is one episode where Meta Knight says that he has been waiting for a "new generation of Star Warriors" or something like that but i do NOT want to find that so. source: trust me bro.

In the second half of this special, there is a scene where Meta Knight has Kirby's brakes cut, Kirby's ship is out of control, and he sleeps. His ship is crashing and he is ASLEEP. However. Before he crashes, he wakes up and uh. Just knows how to pilot his spaceship. Literally, just knows how to do it like an instinct.

Kirby seems just as confused as Tokori about how he got the skip to fly, although Meta Knight seems like he knew this would happen. This is a Star Warrior thing, according to him.

And this isn't any copy ability, either. He just woke up knowing how to fly his spaceship. Furthermore, it seems like Star Warriors mastering control of spaceships is something notable enough that 1. NME is not surprised it happened, like it just happens every Tuesday and 2.Important enough for the Salesman to report to Nightmare.

Also, there is the matter of Kabu. Kabu is a multi-planetary being who is undeniably supernatural, being omnipresent to some degree and being able to fix Warp Stars and give people visions, etc... And Kabu is allied with Star Warrior's specifically, and acts like a hospital to them, as well as a protector, but for nobody else.

Do you get what I mean when I say it is heavily implied now?

And uh. there was one thing that I purposefully left out until now.

In the new version of the sub, Kabu says that there were multiple demon beasts who rebelled against Nightmare, and it is assumed that these rebels are Star Warriors.

I am hesitant to use this as the gatcha card, so I checked out the old sub AND the dub to see what is changed in this scene.

DUB: Said only one creation rebelled and it may or may not be Kirby, though kinda dodgy.

OLD SUB: Said only one creation rebelled and its strongly implied to be Meta Knight rather than Kirby

I have a transcript for all three versions of this specific scene, so you can read and decide for yourself.

THE IDEA OF ALL THE STAR WARRIORS BEING MONSTERS IS SO FUN BUT IT IS INCONSISTENT SO DO WITH IT WHAT YOU WILL. There is one thing I want to bring up though in relation to this.

Dakonyo talks like there are demon beasts who looked like Kirby specifically. And there is at least five other orbs in the anime who COULD have once been demon beasts. So. do with this what you will.

Overall, there's just too many instances for me to brush off and i think everything kinda adds up to make the explanation of "star warrior is a ranked title" seem unplausible.

TLDR: HEAVILY IMPLIED Star Warriors are kinda supernatural.

Also fun fact that I found out while searching for screenshots! Garlude (at least in the new sub) is never referred to as a Star Warrior, but rather a Galaxy Soldier!

[feuqueerfire]

4Minutes Ep 1 - 4 Live Blogging

I’m in Chicago and hanging out with friends but also, I’m awake while the others are sleeping/busy. So maybe I’ll start watching this hmmm. Ideally I’d binge/watch each episode in one go, then go through archives and posts for that episode, then move on to next episode but the rest of the week once I get home is also going to be chaotic, so I don’t think I can watch the episodes with my full attention then either. I wanna be caught up for Friday’s episode, so here we go on my ipad. I saw a bunch of stuff for the first two eps and some stuff for the third ep; most of it was Fuaiz character with Bas or Jjay so I kinda don’t know what’s going on with our main couple except Bible’s character sees visions (including having sex w the other guy).

Ep 1 (Aug 11/12)

Great? in the hospital and dying. Tyme wandering around while shot and dying

beautiful shots

Korn works in his father’s company and has been given a new position… Investment but also referred to as “the secret operation” by his dad when he can’t hear

oh Great is gonna take over Korn’s old transportation overseeing stuff soon

Are Great and Korn cousins?

Great hit a woman while speeding in his car?!?!

hit and run?!?$?$?!!!!!

I heard some people say that none of the characters are good but I didn’t expect our main character Great to quite be this bad

ohhhh his first vision four minutes into the future, that was cool

the hospital setting does remind me of Triage - another Sammon creation. like the never saying free in the ER thing

oh Tyme is still a student? i mean med students get to be older toward the end of their studies. but he’s a doctor already i thought

the secret operation investment banking is online gambling done by a bunch of people on computers

who is that woman at the gambling place?

[Linguistics] Phi, nai between Korn and Tonkla

everybody was awake and around by the time I got to Korn-Tonkla on the couch… will pick it back up when I’m alone again heh

Korn gives money to Tonkla (though Tonkla still works)

very explicit sex scene that goes on for a little too long for me, so I started skipping toward the end. but not bad yknow it’s just that i find it awkward looking at so much nakedness. my friends are on the other side of the room, so I’m also not fully chill

Also the “can you fuck me raw?” was indeed crazy. I think there’s supposed to be a “does it hurt?” but i missed that one probably bc i skipped some parts

Great and Korn are brothers. I thought Great was that aunts son but is the dad’s son actually

Great telling Korn about his future vision lol how would he believe you

ohhh okay the reason Korn called Great’s mother aunt is because he has a different mother but same father. I finally understand lol

Tyme and his grandma. also he will become a surgeon soon but isn’t one yet

going up the elevator is okay but going down is not

Bible giving flowers to a patient in a hospital reminds me of Vegas giving Porsche a flower basket

I wonder what the future vision’s purpose was this second time

so true, this is a BL where the main characters must meet. Almost forgot lol

heh visions of him making out w Tyme

hmm when the woman had a heart attack and was stuck going through her life so far again, she could see 4 minutes into the future. Is Great in that hospital bed at the start and is seeing 4m into the future for the past

Interesting first episode, lots of things happened and my interest is piqued. What’s up with the woman who ran in front of the car and her mysterious son that’s Great’s age? How are the characters’ paths gonna cross? What’s the 4 minutes thing even? exciting. Well shot and the sex scene going so far startled me even though I kinda knew about it. Gotta wait until Tuesday to watch eps 2 and 3 rip.

Ep 2 (Aug 13)

murderrrrr

kinda looks like Fuaiz face and the cigarette hmmm. I wonder if he’s killing his brother bc ik that happens from spoilers or if it’s a future thing

oh, son committed suicie. wonder if it has anything to do with the gambling

Title is so annoying and not in a fun morally gray way. he's just ewwwwww without anything interesting about him. Similar to the same actor playing Top in DFF actually

ofc and Great's just chilling with this weirdo kidnapper agh

Great literally just originally watched his weirdo friend beat someone to death with a rock wtf...

stupid... Tyme literally fixing his hair and clothes and flexing him arms to go check up on Great lmfao

Tyme practically flirting while Great experiences visions of them having sex

I wonder what about Great intrigues Tyme so much

oh, Title died? This is a field by the river where Great left Tyme right but he'd only hit Tyme once with a rock. I didn't realize he was the one who was Tonkla's brother who apparently died but whew, that's good, I don't wanna see his face bruh

Title is Tonkla's nong? that's wild

Why don't they show the brother's face? Is it not Title?

aghhhh ofc it wasn't Title, a misdirection. no wonder they've not showed his face at all. but did that mans die at the same place Title brought Dome to kill?

damn, Great is not good at fighting at all lol but that tracks

now where did Tyme come from?

The calculations going on in Tyme's head during this conversation with Great lol

everything is so 11:00 related

Did she crash the sites?

oof, Korn fucked up and was a reason a hacker could do this

yaas okay the het sex is way less explicit but still exciting. should've shown more kneeling from Korn imo

yaas one side of the couple cheating (though I'd guess that Korn actually with the woman/is expected to be with the woman/does this often and Tonkla is actually his side piece sugar baby) and another side being set up for the cheating later on (Win coming to see Tonkla)

hmm who is she working for and giving the information to? It looked like Tyme for a second but I doubt that doctor's involved in this. so idk. but that would actually make sense why Tyme was so interested in Great, especially after seeing his name (surname)

Ep 3 (Aug 13)

Last episode before I have to wait just like the rest of them :') Just 4.5 weeks or so until the finale though.

Two murders in a similar way... So somebody killed Tonkla's brother and Tonkla killed them with the stone similarly

We've moved on from 11:00 to 11:01 last ep and it's showing up plenty this ep. There were some theories that Great has until 11:04 in the current timeline where he's in the hospital bed to change the stuff in his past, which could be interesting

seeing 11:01 when it's actually 9:30 ahh. real time vs past

"Can you forgive me, Great?" visions hmm

Great smiling so much around Tyme hehe

[Linguistics] Going from Doctor -> P'Tyme

hanging out and doing claw machines, cute

aw poor lonely rich kid Great. but okay so is his dad his bio dad or his stepdad?

oh, almost kiss already?!

nooo she got captured at the gambling den. did she send that info to Tyme?

damn, the case got transferred to the corrupt chief

"Deep down everybody knows who did it" omg?

"I shouldn't do this. you must still be grieving" cut to them making out shirts off and progressing lol

Tonkla's so funny, asking Korn before and now Win to fuck him raw

skipped through this sex scene too ngl like it's too explicit for me T.T

Tonkla got off and is no longer into the kissing lol and also interesting how in Eo 1 he was all about pleasing Korn and being like oh i don’t need to finish while I don’t even know if Win came (Tonkla did though! jizz on his damn chest omg)

ah, Win saying Tonkla can call him anytime for whatever reason, a sharp contrast to how he still hasn't been able to reach Korn

okay, so this happened in Great-Dome-Title's school and year because the girl who commented about the dead guy was in their class. but nobody is currently dead in their class... so is this indeed in the future like some people were theorizing? like Tonkla's storyline and Great's storyline aren't happening simultaneously?

11:02 already

ohhhh I'd seen the gifs of Tyme taking off his mask but was so confused. I get it now. yeah it was Tyme that Nan was sending all the gambling evidence to.

but why are him and Nan doing so many scary things by themselves, no backup, no nothing oof

I'd seen the 2 timelines theory but I wasn't sure if that would actually work because Korn and Great were at that dinner with their parents at the same time. And I thought it was after Great started seeing the future and Korn got assigned to the new thing, which we had mentioned to Tonkla.

I wonder why Great had seen the 4 minutes future this episode? Usually it's a significant event, especially ones where he made a cowardly choice, but that time, his heart started hurting and he dropped his drink?

Ep 4 (Aug 16)

I just happened to be working from home today so I can start watching during my lunch hehe and not have to wait ~6.5 hours until its release

oh, Tonkla matches the DNA of fingerprints on the rock?

Dr. Den just giving away where Tyme is to Great while Tyme's in the middle of surgery lol c'mon

move in with Tonkla?! girl you're a side piece of the side piece, you can't move into Tonkla's place that's likely running on Korn's money

no way Tonkla actually brought Win home lmfao I thought the promo pic for this ep was Tonkla and Korn in bed, when's that gonna happen. and Tonkla is trying to get it on with Win again, I like the tension when he's dragging his finger over Win's clothed chest

...and Korn arrives right then lol

Win having to hide without his pants is killing me lmfaoo

agh, Korn not backing off of Tonkla until the 4th time he pushes him off with a lot more force D: he submits to the woman + the other higher-ups in the business, so he comes to throw his weight around with Tonkla

that's crazy, Win didn't even put on his pants this whole time lmfaooo

Tonkla's switch up in personality between Korn and Win and the way he has Win under his control is crazy. it's mostly because how much he loves/gives a fuck about Korn vs Win ig

oh, Korn and Tonkla are ~4-5 years apart since I'm guessing Tonkla's a freshman and Korn is a senior in this flashback. I thought they were a decade apart at first lol

oh yeah, Tonkla's parents are dead so his nong can't be Title.

did Tonkla's nong kill the cat?

also is this the black cat Tonkla saw in ep 1 or 2 that was eerie? ig because it's supposed to be dead.

ah, the start of Tonkla and Korn falling in love. their start is so much more romantic than I expected, like their first time seems so romantic, a stark contrast to how Korn was pressuring Tonkla today

"I love you" from Tonkla already?

oh, his parents were still alive back then and probably his dad killed the cat.

omg? Korn saying he'll tell everybody that Tonkla's his bf once he takes over the company?

oof, sad Win in the bed while Tonkla's sitting and thinking about how he met and fell in love with Korn but I mean you now know that Tonkla's with somebody and are still having sex and sleeping in the bed.

Ah, the brain can survive w/o oxygen for 4 minutes. Thus the fandom theory that Great's going through the last 4 minutes of his life right now in that hospital bed and making different choices and such, hopefully to change the future

oh, she saw Great in that room?

Den really is so endearing somehow

the cut to Nan being slapped startled me fr

ok at least Great deleted the msg from Korn's history bc I was like lol what if he doesn't

omg the guy actually killed Nan in the other timeline, that's crazy

lol in what world would Tyme not get shot on sight? They're already grabbing at and pointing guns toward Great, the son of their boss + that guy shot Nan through the head in the other timeline, Tyme should've been dead by now but it's okay ig. lol they're even letting Tyme just walk away and go, that's wild

lmfao please Great high on adrenaline rn after the rescue. hopefully some thoughts about how shitty his family is will come into head soon

[Linguistics] "Not yet": 'yang' ยัง at 47:38 at Great is smiling. anytime I hear this I'm reminded of Pete are you satisfied and Vegas from his chair, grinning wide, saying ยัง after having tortured Pete in the basement. similar ยัง with a wide smile from Bible but different emotions and vibes lol. pretty much every time I hear ยัง I'm reminded of Vegas, so it's funny that it's a different Bible character this time

Tyme and Great first kiss hehe and they're so cute

they talk and giggle so cutely as they're taking their clothes off ahhhh

so Dome is Tonkla's nong fr? but how does it make any sense? because Tonkla's nong died - Korn was thinking about Tonkla telling him to get out while he met Great which was in the present

ohhh okay two different timelines not in the future sense but in the sense of parallel universes where Tonkla's in the original timeline still but Great's actions have saved Dome but in... a different timeline. and they kinda merge... kinda don't....

heh, I'm so glad I got to watch this ep right after it aired but now I've gotta wait for a week + some few hours because I'll be at work on Friday next week :<

Some progress on the TymeGreat front but it feels a bit strange how shallow? it seems because they've hardly spent time with each other and know nearly nothing about each other but Great is betraying his brother for Tyme and risking his life etc. Maybe because he has the visions of the two of them together and so is trying to speed up the romance? it just feels like their relationship is unearned/lacking which is a stark contrast to how in-depth and complex they're getting with Tonkla's relationships. So is the TymeGreat thing on purpose?

I'm curious how they'll deal with the 2 timelines stuff because the butterfly effect is kind of happening but not really???? The merging of two timelines where Tonkla is in the original one and Great is in the redo one but they bleed into each other (or rather maybe the redo is bleeding into the original one?)

Also I was wondering if the cold opens are from the future but it seems not, right? So does Win know right know that Tonkla is a murder suspect as he sleeps with him after finding out he already has someone and Tonkla's cheating with him? Win grow a backbone and stand for something. Letting himself be used as a side piece by a murder suspect, girl.

Thoroughly enjoying this, need the next episode right now.

[simslegacy5083]

NSB (Straud Legacy) Gen 9 Ep 101: The Afterglow

Luigi broke out in a huge grin as soon as Noemi put on the ring. He was getting married! He was also going to be a father…

Finally, something shifted inside him. Staring at the girl he loved, her stomach heavy and round with the weight of the child they had made together, he was suddenly sure that it was all going to work out just fine.

Maybe he wouldn’t live up to the memory of his papa, but together he knew that he and Noemi could handle any obstacle life threw in their path.

He rose and snuggled in close to his fiancée, gently caressing the soft curve of her belly. His son stretched and shifted under his hands, almost like he was making sure he was part of the hug. Luigi laughed and murmured “I think he likes me already” as they relaxed and treasured the moment.

They stood there a long while, both finally in sync and ready for their little family to grow beyond just the two of them.

When their loving snuggle prompted other kinds of loving urges, they were pleased to discover that their ancestors had prepared for that as well.

A deluxe air mattress had been setup in a vine covered gazebo near the pond, and its freshly made-up sheets beckoned them to celebrate their engagement in the best traditional Love Day style.

With her potion working to cover the needs of one and a half sims, the exertion and afterglow finally caught up to Noemi, who slipped off to sleep during the post-woohoo cuddles. Luigi, still going strong, gave her a gentle kiss and slipped out of bed to do some studying and explore.

When Noemi awoke early in the morning, well rested but ravenous, Luigi lead her deeper into the cave. He’d found a spot where the reflections and rocks provided convenient lighting and seating for study and setup his portable bar to make them a mocktail to go with the leftover pastries.

By the time they settled with their drinks, Noemi was satisfied with her finals prep and looking beyond graduation. “Seeing Cheyenne reminded me of all the dreams I had as a little girl of raising my own horses. They didn’t fit into my studies or apartment, but if our next stop is a beach…”

Luigi’s eyes lit up at the thought of helping his love fulfill a lifelong wish. “I’m sure we can find a place with enough space for a horse in Sulani! With both of our savings combined we can get a place on the shore with room for our tiny man and a hoofed companion to take you both for rides.”

They happily chatted about beachside stables and other future plans until they realized they needed to get moving so as not to be late for class.

Noemi gave her boy a huge hug and kiss “Thank you for an amazing Love Day. You’re going to have one heck of a time topping this next year!”

He gave a rueful grin as he replied: “There’s no way I’m ever going to top this – I’d have been lost without our families coming together to make it a proposal worthy of you.” She smiled at that “Well I guess I’ll just have to treasure the memory forever then.”

As he watched Noemi head out the exit towards where her mom was waiting with the carriage to take them back to the park, Luigi reflected on what an amazing Love Day it had been and how incredibly lucky he was to have found someone like Noemi to share his life with.

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[dribs-and-drabbles]

PSA (in case anyone cares) user dribs-and-drabbles is now watching Only Friends!

I repeat, user dribs-and-drabbles is now watching Only Friends.

Ep 1 down and my initial observations are as thus:

Mew must be protected at all costs (and his glasses)

Neo and Mark are blowing the others away (NOT like that, although I wouldn't be surprised if it happens eventually)

Mew has the milkshake that's bringing all the boys to the yard (both Ray and Top obviously want him but does Boston want him too? Also, is it just a 'forbidden fruit' thing, where they probably only want him because he's inexperienced and waiting for the right one/time...?)

Pran's Singapore bedsheets are going to get desecrated at some point, right?

And will a different GMM actor cameo in every ep for Neo to sleep with?

I think that's all I've got for now. I won't be looking into the tag until I'm all caught up but you're welcome to direct me to any ep 1 posts or comment on this...but no spoilers for future eps please!

[letoilepourpre]

New King AU basics

this is basically an introduction to the New King AU, since you all enjoyed the premise! It has some personal headcanons included, but for now I'll just make the basis settled so you all can accompany whatever I post about it from now on!

Basics:

In this AU, the soul jam doesn't make cookies immortal, just makes them live wayy longer than an average cookie, and the ancients got old. Cacao was the last one to give up on his jam but, eventually, passed it to Caramel Arrow.

The main plot evolves around Caramel, but Raisin, Choco and Royalberry also get soul jams. Still haven't decided on stuff for the Golden Cheese Kingdom though, I'll wait for when ep 18 is out ASKSMMR

This AU has my personal HC where the soul jam changes its holder's physics. I think you already noticed Caramel's horns already but yeah she gets more dragon-like traits and abilities, Raisin gets crow/angel like features (a mix of Vanilla's angelic appearance and her own touch) and Royal's dragon features are more evident (him being a hollytaya child in this AU. They divorced but eventually get back but it's a whooole story that I might explore later). Choco's appearance is never consistent as Dark Enchantress' soul jam is corrupted, but it's always something to do with shadows.

There are some changes in the kingdoms! I might go in depth with it as the AU expands.

Cacao Kingdom:

Cacao gives the throne to Caramel after the Affogato incident happened, as he doesn't believe he's capable of ruling over a kingdom anymore, that he should've passed the soul jam through before all of that and that he knows that the kingdom will be fine in Caramel's hands. (He already didn't feel too confident in the start of the og story I just kinda focused on it 🤷🏽.

Also Cacao didn't randomly tried to kill Choco in the middle of the story he just felt bad for being the reason for his son to have joined the dark side all because of their fight long ago, another reason for him to pass his throne and jam to somebody he trusts.

Affogato didn't manage to run away, instead getting caught by the Beast Tamers and jailed until Caramel was crowned and decided what to do with him. She makes him join the Beast Tamers as punishment (knows he doesn't like getting dirty)

A lot of cookies didn't like that decision but Carrow has Principals™ and wouldn't kill anyone who was defenseless (now that Affogato didn't have followers, weapons or venom or whatever). She acknowledged that at the same time as she still hates his guts.

Vanilla Kingdom:

Pure Vanilla passes his jam to Black Raisin after she saved everyone's asses in the end of ep 12. They rebuilder the kingdom and then she got the jam. Kinda became the leader of the kingdom since she doesn't like a title like "queen", feels too abundant and she doesn't like it.

Umm nothing changes much rlly. Everything's fine until the odyssey stuff happens (I'm still getting into it)

Hollyberry Kingdom:

Hollyberry being gone was the last straw for Pitaya, who took the kingdom for themself to try and get her attention (misses their wife). A princess contest was made to settle the next heir after Royalberry just to be sure, as the soul jam was kept a secret from Pitaya so they didn't use it to get Holly's attention too. For that, Royal didn't have the power (or courage) to confront Pitaya using it, and even ordered the royal guards to not mess with Pitaya, even Wildberry (look at what divorce leads to /silly).

Like in the story, Princess invades the context and wins it, giving Royal courage to use the shield with the soul jam and fight confront Pitaya with Princess in the only way Pitaya would listen: in a fight. Hollyberry eventually joins in too, her role is very similar to the one she has in the og story, except she was thereby get the soul jam back but decides to let Royal stay with it.

Cookies of Darkness:

Choco got White Lily's/Dark Enchantress' soul jam as he's the most powerful (combat-wise) of the cookies of darkness. Even if upset about not being chosen to be its holder, Pomegranate stills obeys her master and keeps controlling Choco with his blade (now powered by the soul jam) to get to her goals.

After ep 14 Choco doesn't give up on the sword, as Pomegranate stops him before he does. He still thinks about running away for a while though, but since Pomegranate has even more power over him because of both the cursed sword and the corrupted soul jam he still has to find out how to make his body stable without Pomegranate's help.

He eventually does, taking the soul jam and Poison Mushroom with him. He still struggles with how corrupted his body became, but finally the voices are gone and he can focus on himself. He only took Poison Mushroom because he felt bad leaving a child behind (and mayyybe he got attached. They reminded him a liiittle bit of Caramel from when he first started training her)

[linc-karo-27]

I've read many people's speculation that hawk will betray tim by outing him deliberately, but if he did, would tim bw able to join the military? bc there are photos of him in the uniform, and synopsis for ep 5 I think implies he makes a life changing decision. I haven't read the book, but I don't mind any spoilers.

Hey Anon! (first one to this account since I rejoined tumblr back in 2021) - right this is where we need to consult the book (and spoilers for Ep1 and 2). SPOILER FOR THE SHOWTIME DESCRIPTIONS/TRAILER.

Sorry this is kinda long but its like the last half of the book. Its messy.

TLDR; According to Showtime we have to wait for it (if it happens) until the last episode.

In the book, a lot of the 1950s happen in a different order. Mary is Hawks Faux GF for longer and Tim running off to the army happens around the time Lucy comes into the picture (there four "sections" in the book, and we have the army life in section 3/4).

The show has already played around with the timeline a bit with a major event of the book that has not happened yet: The Lie Detector Test. This happens about 2-3 months into T&H's relationship. By the looks of it its in episode 4 (and now it could be the reason Tim enlists. If he is not around, he can't get them caught). Then the roadtrip; then Lucy comes along; then Tim enlists; the last few months of him and Hawk; Tim leaves.

right: this is a summary of the book events re: army and onwards to the end of the book.

The night Tim Enlists its after a fight with Hawk over some petty thing (his birthday). This is after someone (whose not present in the show but actions have been merged basically into Hawk and Marcus) phones Tim to snitch on McCarthy and winds Tim up to the point he basically is a mess. When he's in the army Hawk courts Lucy; marries her and gets her pregnant. So when he returns its near the end of Lucy's pregnancy (two years later). He goes to Paris in this time as well (Hawk messes with his enlistment to get him away from any fighting).

During the time he is still in the US he sees Mary a fair bit (and her dad) and she is the one who tells him about Hawk and the wedding, which upsets him so much it basically makes him start to starve himself ("fasting for 36 hours") and into full religious zealotry. Basically most of the time in the army he's kinda depressed imo. Its not a very nice part of the book and i hope the showrunners edited it to make him less.... idk unhappy?

When he returns in 1957 (he leaves in 1955) hawk has found them a secret house (owned by Mary's ex, a brewer called Paul but that isn't important) which is abandoned and falling apart. They move their meet ups to this house and Tim falls basically into worshipping Hawk. At the same time, a job helping the refugees fleeing the Hungarian Revolution comes up and Hawk gets him the job (its basically something he becomes fixated on in the army) and the eve of them about to give it to Tim (and his kid born) Hawk imagines Tim's life post this when Tim mentions he will finally have the money to own his own house (he is living in another character's loft and that character has basically become more fleshed out as Marcus in the show) so after Hawk leaves him for the night he goes to the M Unit and tells them Tim has "security considerations". Tim looses the job (but isnt investigated) and he flees DC; and never sees Hawk again (there's more to the ending told via Mary in the epilogue that is basically Tim has a breakdown and is sent to a place that is basically a mental hospital by his sister and just moves on with his life.

this paragraph from the book summaries this easily (Hawk's reason for dibbing him in)

IN THE SHOW

So Showtime is hinting that Episode 5 ends on Tim being in the army but Episode 6 opens in 1968. So in the show its likely 4 Tim enlists; 5 is his time in the army (so not much of him maybe on screen, but the other 2 stories play out) , ending on him going back to DC OR 5 he enlists and it ends on that. We then have the 1960s and 1970s episodes, with Showtime telling us Episode 8 is 1957 and 1986 (like how the others have gone but a timeskip in the 1950s maybe)

Episode 8 (ignoring the 1986 stuff because rn I have no idea how we are doing that last episode stuff) is the messing with Hawk in the abandon house, but Hawk dibs him in over something (basically close to the book), he leaves and the 1950s end on that.

So yeah......... Hawk being a dick in the 1950s is likely saved until the last episode. Added with the "life changing" of the 1980s (which imo is Tim wanting him and Marcus/Frankie to not be present for those last days and tells Hawk to give him up because he isn't the best person). It would also make sense why every review seems to say ep6 feels weird - its been set up to mirror the 1980s: there is something we the audience don't know that is making everything awkward.

[trashworldblog]

puppet history theory time!! whats gonna happen this friday???

okokokokok there some stuff to unpack here

(disclaimer! i will be posting about this ep and the finale right after i watch it right when it comes out!! so please avoid my blog until you have seen the most recent episode)

so next week is a BIG episode, i honestly was expecting the finale to be The Big Episode but its possible that both of these episodes are Thicc with lore. Makes sense, theres alot of elements to the story that needs to be wrapped up (minus whatever cliff hanger that shane will leave us hanging until s6).

I thought that we would have to wait for the finale to see this scene, but since the disclaimer, i think we'll be seeing shane in ryans chair on friday! super excited to see what deal/meeting he's having with the devil. Ive heard of a ton of good theories (if you want to read my whole breakdown of the photo look here). now that i know that it has to fit with what we know now, im assuming its Executive Producer Shane Madej™ having a serious talk with the devil. I think the hologram is going to fail, revealing the devil to be somewhat responsible. The details to How he's responsible (or if we're gonna get a nod to demon shane) are pretty unclear, which is exciting!!

my main ideas are

1) shane made a deal with the devil in order to keep the show running. He may be a demon, but it will be subtlely implied for the people who Know™

2) shane just learned that the professor was never really here and is kinda pissed that he has to deal with this bullshit. he has to finish this show and deal with the logistics of having the devil on your payroll. In this one i imagine Executive Producer Shane Madej isnt super attached or passionate about the show and is there just to get his job done (funny becuase obviously irl shane is very passionate about puppet history :) )

I think ryan's fate isnt looking very good so far. Its good that he clearly knows that something is up, but he isn't sure what it is, and seems to be getting involved. He's tried to buy the genie lamp, he's been testing and pushing "the professor" at every turn and continues to get weird and Not Correct vibes from "the professor". i think all this meddling will probably get him caught or hurt. I think theres two ways ryans fate can go he either

1) is caught red handed or off guard by "the professor" (or whoever is behind "the professor") and is hurt in some way. being turned into a puppet, meat suit, or to be eaten are my top 3 picks. If i had to choose, meat suit ryan being controlled by a puppet who doesnt know/remember how human bodies are controlled would be really funny. hijinks, office shenanigans, everyones confused faces, 10/10

2) ryan actually figures it out!! (yay beef boy!) I just can't stop thinking of this line from the professors funeral song. I know shane is always foreshadowing stuff so it Feels like that but, it could be nothing.

In this theory I'm imagining ryan finally pulls back the curtain on the hologram live on puppet history and the person behind the hologram is left exposed and suprized, making it so ryan (and the crew) can put a stop to the hologram. Ryan has been building up his courage to touch "the professor" or the box and its possible that he'll finally get fed up enough that he just does it. After that they might jump to Executive Producer Shane Madej meeting with the devil.

Now, I know its sad, but we have to talk about it.

What will be the fate of our favorite dino family?

Well...

I would love to think that that star that just keeps getting brighter is anything other then a meteor that is going to kill all the dinosaurs.

unfortunately,, this lines up so we can assume,,, this is what killed the dinosaurs. (sorry!)

and if we look closer at this photo, you can see a t-rex and a pterodactyl next to the adorable lil hat and glasses. :(

does this mean i think the dino professor is dead?

no.

He has the knowledge of his past, and he has his satchel. He probably stayed as long as he could, left his hat and glasses behind, and faked his death so he would be off the genies radar for a while. Then he time traveled to current times and has been sneaking around the puppet history and watcher set trying to stop the genie/devil.

The biggest piece of evidence for this is in episode one where theres some noises in the background while "the professor" is on stage teaching and ryan asks

"yo is this place haunted?"

I think the noise they heard is from the dino professor moving around trying to piece together what to do next. It would be best for the dino professor to do all that moving while "the professor" is busy teaching, so that he's less likely to be caught.

WHATS IN THE BOOXXXXXX

I know it has to be important. It has to. Im on board for the dino professor to be in the box. Im not as confident in my theory about the box, but! thats ok!

my thoughts are, if the dino professor is going around the set loudly in ep1, i would expect that to continue to happen more and more throughout the season. However, that has not been happening. So I think the dino professor made it to the puppet history set, made too much noise, escaped to watcher HQ where he was caught by "The professor" and was locked into the box.

Episode 2 started with ryan pointing out the chains on the box. At first i thought the box would progressively get more and more locks and chains, but it didnt. Making me feel like putting the dino professor in the box wasnt part of the plan, but "the professor" added a lock and chain and thought "that'll do".

I think in episode 1 the box was powered on jelly beans, coveted cups, and whatever other magical professor stuff was lying around. After "the professor" caught the dino professor, he needed a place to hold him. Why not this box? i got a lock and chains, that should hold him in the box! And from then on, the dino professor has been stuck in there. All those glitches? might be the dino professor trying to escape the box so he can save and forgive his favorite beef boy.

(a fun idea supporting this is the end song that is usually the backup vocals and instrumentals has been replaced by what sounds like the song playing in another room, possibly becuase the real professor is in the box, barely able to hear what is happening on stage? credit goes to the wonderful max for figuring this theory out with me, truly genius level thinking going on there)

I think i can see either see

1) the dino professor saving beef boy by cutting off the power in the box, leaving the person in charge (probably the devil, maybe the genie) exposed. this either happens live durring puppet history, or the professor escapes the box, and saves ryan from being killed/puppetified just at the last minute. The jist is, the professor saves ryan.

2) or.. ryan breaks the box or touches "the professor" exposing the hologram, and saving the dino professor from being stuck in the box. aka, beef boy saves the professor.

I can see this whole arc taking place over one or two episodes. If the dino professor is saved before the finale, the finale might be a reunion and celebration of the real professor finally coming back and teaching again. and ryan will be relieved when he doesnt win.

ANYWAYS thats my theories!! ill be sure to update yall after the episode on friday! im so excited to see if this is the path shane decides to go down. i feel like theres so many cool ways this shows lore can go and this is just a few of them. knowing shane, its gonna be crazy and entertaining the whole way through.

Super excited!

[oswlld]

oswlld's monthly wrap up: march

note: i am trying something a bit different this year, so bear with me as i figure out how i want to format this. i wanted to spend more time sharing what i consume, beyond what i rb, and put my thoughts in one place. these posts are okay to rb

--

When We Cease to Understand the World, Benjamín Labatut [started 02/24, finished 03/14] What an outstanding example of blurring the lines between fiction and reality. I am content in never knowing what’s real and imaginary in the lives of these people. May we never forget that for every new idea challenged, there is a real person with real emotions and motivations behind it. 4.25⭐️ in storygraph. — No Stopping Us Now: A History of Older Women in America, Gail Collins [started 03/03, finished 03/30] This book makes some strong points, but comes off weak in its execution. By having it be told decade by decade, it becomes hard to follow along when so many names and events are being tossed around. Without a firm thread tying all the themes together, the achievements ended up feeling lackluster when it should leave you feeling a sense of pride and hopefulness. 3.25⭐️ in storygraph (I rounded up, but it feels more like a 3.15)

23.5 Degrees, GMMTV [started: 03/08, ongoing] What a breath of fresh air!! With my busy schedule, I managed to catch the first two eps and I’ve loved every minute of it. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, while still keeping a tight grip on its sense of identity. The series soaks up every aspect of its space theme like a sponge. Content specifically made for me, tysm! As much as I have tried refraining from consuming more high school settings, I couldn’t help but be enamored by what I have seen so far. I have paused this series for now, but hopefully I’ll be caught up before the end of April. I should be able to watch it live on Fridays in May. Until then, I will miss them dearly! — Always a Witch, Netflix [started 03/28, in progress] At this time, I have only seen episodes 1-5. So far, it’s a very straight-forward series. I am restraining myself from calling it predictable, because there are one or two things that really turns some tropes/themes on its head. But all-in-all, I am still waiting for this show to grab me. For a show that checks all the boxes that really makes a core jessi show, a series with time travel, magical realism, and found family, it has yet to completely sweep me away. Time really got away from me this month, but I will finish this series sometime in the next two weeks. We shall see if the latter half gets better.

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) [watched 03/15 thru 03/18] I have seen this live and did see the original film in theaters last year, so this experience was more of a rewatch. This time around, my parents wanted to watch some of it with me so we made a whole evening of it on 3/15 so that was really neat. I will be traveling a lot in April and will be taking an audio copy of this to keep me entertained. — Oscar Nomination Season [started 02/17, ended 03/24] All of my initial reactions of what I managed to cover this Oscar season is in this post. Some of the strongest categories I have had the pleasure of covering this year were the Best Documentary (feature), Best Production Design, Best Live Action Short, Best Documentary (short), and Best Animated Film. I have several more films to tackle later this year, but my overall impression this Oscar season was just alright. One or two films have hit an extremely high note for me, but no worst of the worst.

BEYONCÉ, Beyoncé [relistening] During the pandemic, I really got into waching YT reaction channels reacting to full albums. One of my favorites is HTHaze and he is only beginning his listening journey through Beyoncé’s discography (yes, for the first time!) His reaction to Beyoncé’s self-titled made me want to relisten to it in full for the first time in years. I tend to only revisit a few songs through the years, but I do love going back to albums after time has past to recontextualize everything all over again. I’ve had my longtime faves from my 20’s but in my mid-30’s, the songs that hit harder now are: Pretty Hurts, Haunted, and Jealous. — Bewitched, Laufey [first time listening] The same YT channel got me to listen to this album. I am guilty in having my first listen be through his video first before diving into her album properly. With that said, the brain rot went FULL ROT. I love LOVE her compositions. Having learned from her Tiny Desk that getting a grand piano influenced the way she wrote her songs makes the whole conception so much grander. Her voice is soooo, it’s SOOOOO !!!!!!! I read a comment somewhere that her dream is to rejuvenate jazz the same way Taylor Swift did with country for a younger generation and that really spoke to me. I truly believe she is heading in the right direction in achieving that. My favorite run of songs goes from: Haunted, Must Be Love, While You Were Sleeping, Lovesick, California and Me, Nocturne (Interlude), and Promise. Those seven songs in that succession is so GOOD, ahH! — Once the Musical [relistening] Every spring, I fall into a Once spiral and it just gets deeper and deeper. This time though, I only tackled the core faves on YT rather than committing to the full audio (w/ Arthur Darvill and Joanna Christie). Although Arthur Darvill’s Leave will forever solidify his Guy as my Guy, Declan Bennett is The Guy of Guys for me. My mandatory relistening experience always goes: Arthur’s Leave, Arthur’s Say It To Me Now, Declan’s Say It To Me Now, Declan’s When Your Mind’s Made Up, Zrinka's If You Want Me, Once’s Spotify Jam Session. And it would all be on a loop lol. — Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé [first time listening] This is still fresh in my mind, having only listened to it in its entirety once through. My first impression is that it’s one of her most cohesive albums to date. Having had the first taste of what she would eventually achieve all the way back with Lemonade and The Gift, Cowboy Carter feels like a natural progression in her discography. I don’t have a top songs list to provide at this time, as I would need more time with the album. Fav songs come with time. Although, I did listen to 16 CARRIAGES when it was released several weeks ago and I knew then it would be a spectacular album. What a phenomenal single to lead a phenomenal homecoming.

Where’d You Go Bernadette, written by Maria Semple and narrated by Kathleen Wilhoite [started 03/22, finished 03/29] I… I didn’t like this. And that’s alright. Even if I didn’t like the premise or the characters, I did enjoy the format of the narrative and the narrator (especially her singing!!). But in the end, this was just not meant for me.

—

As it is still March when I am writing this, I wanted to endcap Women’s Month with a special shoutout to two women in my life that have been working with me to improve my overall well-being: Wendy (personal trainer) and Sofia (life coach). I am in a better headspace because of the work and trust they have in me to build a life I want. I cannot wait to see what I am capable of this time next year.

[soph-the-podcast-nerd]

(Reposting so I can link it in my pinned post)

well it looks like a couple people are are interested in podcast recommendations so:

im going to recommend Leaving Corvat first because i haven’t seen anyone talk about it and it deserves more hype.

podcasts.apple.com

I’m not really that great at describing shows so heres a description from the website:

“Sleeper lived in the same town all his life, and worked the same brain dead job at the same fast food place. Until today. Today, he leaves Corvat. But the farther he travels, the more bizarre the world around him becomes.”

Sleeper encounters lots of eerie people and places as well as mysteries as he travels farther from Corvat. I caught up a while ago and am waiting for the next season, but i remember liking the suspense, soundscaping, and the plot a lot. Each episode is so interesting and well written, I highly recommend it! Seriously you guys I am not doing this show justice especially the plot please go listen and tell me what you think about it!!!!

go check it out yall. Heres the trailer

[werewolfbneimitzvah]

Just realized that having deleted my first blog (i did this years ago) means I'll never get back my liveblogs of the last season of House as it was coming out. (I don't remember when i got fully caught up and was watching episodes as they came out but i think it was a bit before the end of season 7?) Man remember when they ended that one episode with House just staring at Wilson's test results that were basically whether he was going to die or not and Wilson was asking him what they said and they just ended that episode there. And we had to wait 2 whole days until the preview of the next episode that they posted on Wednesdays (new eps came out Mondays) to find out for sure that Wilson was gonna die (bc they talked about it in the preview).

[genlossneg]

ok. i didnt mind genloss, it was ranboos first massive project, theyre only 19 and a streamer, ok. but oh my god would it kill to take an improv class. the first 2 episodes felt like an snl skit. especially when it was branded as original and then was just some sort of frankenstein of different horror tropes from ranboos favourite horror media, that just reminded me of snl stealing joel havers skit lmao.

there were so much issues with it and i feel like i wouldnt mind as much if it was branded as a horror comedy a few months before the show, not 3 days before the show. a few months before and the weeks leading up to may 24th, it was branded as "you arent ready for this. this is groundbreaking, nothing will ever be the same after this show. this is serious." etc and then i think it was like 3 days before may 24th there was that fucking showfall media psa that just felt like ranboo saying "oh btw its a comedy" without warning it caught me so off gaurd lmao.

then he streamed after that sfm psa released and, if i remember right, people were asking about it being a horror comedy in chat and ranboo was like "well yeah obviously did u think id make a project 100% serious? no lol" (dont quote me on that though its been a while) now theyre saying gen 0 and gen 2 are going to be completely horror now, but i dont think thats true bc they also said gen 1 was mostly horror and none of it is

speaking of, the advertising was just lies lol. the whole "little to no filler :D" thing. it wasnt like ranboo didnt expect the improv to last that long bc the expected runtimes (from their tumblr post on may 23rd i think) were sometimes longer than the actual ones. 1st ep was meant to be 1-2 hours, it was 1 and a half, so that much filler and standing around going "what the hell man" was PLANNED. they just lied about no filler to make people excited. just be funny and i wont mind the filler. i like sneegs humour in his streams but here he was just bickering with ranboo. same with ranboo to charlie, charlie was the only one making actual jokes so when ranboo and sneeg were alone it was just "wait so why didnt you just-" "well idk i thought u woul-" "well why would i-" and when i tell you it drained my soul.

ive been a massive ranboo fan for about a year (im recovering dw), and after the game theory episode i got really hyperfixated on genloss (up until the sfm keynote thing i think). i was hyped for it back when T_1 was the only thing released for genloss, and followed it all the way up to the streams. i watched them live and my face was just like 😐 I WAS SO DISSAPPOINTED LMAOOO

the box being 18k pissed me off so much bc an experienced filmmaker/writer/director could make something so much better than genloss with just that 18k. i aspire to make my own live action thing one day, and like, hearing them go "oh yeah the box was 18k and jermas face prosthetics were 10k teehee🤪🤪" was just. AAAAA. and the thing is, like the prosthetics were funny, but spending TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS as a BIT from jerma going "what if i took off the mask and it just doesnt look like me lol" then framing urself as jesus christ and a victim. i am so mad.

idk how to feel about ranboo anymore, i used to watch like every 2nd stream for a while but then the whole "GUYS BUY MY MERCH also racism bad MERCH!!!!! BUY!!!!" thing made me rethink lol. the racist and misogynistic undertones in genloss made me so uncomfy, and while im not poc so i cant speak on that, i have enough sense to know that having the only poc in the entire show play evil rats is so tone deaf.

and niki!! i was worried when the teasers were coming out bc every single person shown in it was a white guy (and a white enby), so i was kind of happier when niki showed up, but then she died within the hour to "commentate on misogyny in media". ranboo thought that he was commentating on misogyny by contributing to it. did they think this through at all. i would have LOVED if they did something special with niki and something powerful, but all that happened was she showed up, cried, then died and now ranboo fans are going "ranboo was so real for this!!!". ik niki had control over her characters writing but im sure ranboo was the one who decided when certain characters died and stuff.

also i hate to say this but the mask flashing to signify if he was in control or not was EXACTLY like a thing in the undertale fanfic (sfw im not weird) i wrote when i was 12 💀💀the characters eyes would flash when they were under control bc edgy. it was so weird watching genloss with that in the back of my mind 💀💀💀💀

in conlusion, genloss had so many flaws and so much easy fixes that it just feels so sososososososo rushed. another year in the oven wouldve been ok i think.

woah this is long im so sorry i do not think only type oops

- the i feel like i should label what kind of anon i am lmao anon

sorry before i get to anything else the undertale bit caught me so off guard omg.

anyways.

it wasnt like ranboo didnt expect the improv to last that long bc the expected runtimes (from their tumblr post on may 23rd i think) were sometimes longer than the actual ones. 1st ep was meant to be 1-2 hours, it was 1 and a half, so that much filler and standing around going "what the hell man" was PLANNED.

this!! the way the second stream just.. dragged was so rough.

the poc/women diversity discussion is something we had on the blog a bit ago as im sure you've seen so i don't have a ton to add but. yeah there were certainly choices that got made there.

very much enjoying all the essays getting dropped in here (even if i feel like my responses are weak sometimes lmao)

[looosey]

Amari's Rap Journey #2: Class Listening Party

Imagine this. It's the day after classes ended, and you wake up at 12 again, and look up around you at the messy-ass room that's been left after a 48 hour work grind. You do two loads of laundry, take a shower, and cook yourself a breakfast, all while watching the time because at 3 p.m... At 3 p.m. is the class listening party.

MIT Building 4 Room 237. You enter the lecture hall at 3:15 and most of the other kids are sitting sporadically in the first five rows. Scoot up! You think, and you sit next to your friend Z in row 2. Scoot up someone says, and I sit in the first row next to Tagoe, a DJ whose energy I'm a fan of [1]. Everyone is in the first two rows now, including Dee-1 from Harvard and two HASS professors that are close to Lupe, and we're waiting for Lupe to walk in and the listening party to start.

Yo... You needed to be there, it was soooo crazy. We started listening to EP after EP, and these people are actually sooo talented. Some industry level sounds, some quirky conceit albums about physics and history, some conceptual ones about being on one long drive or one continuous loop, and one fun Rico Nasty sounding track that was so fye we had to play it three times and mosh.

When we played mine, I was a lot more confident because I'd already played it in front of iHouse before. I hope to never forget the responses of my fellow rappers in the room though.

They were caught by surprise by the trap record for Show Me The Money, Dee-1 looked at me and asked: that's you? They found G-DRAGON funny, and Ally even recognized it was about G-DRAGON before the chorus hit (that's more than I could ask for). Suffolk county water dropped, and Lupe shouted me out after that some of those bars were written behind bars and Ally said she had been hoping to listen to them again. So both of them responded positively, and I'd shouted them out in the beginning of the track. Nomadic Seoul of course was a little quieter until the beginning of verse 2, which I knew was going to get a stronger response. They really liked the bar:

"Now I know better there's more to life than work, in fact life don't work less there's more to life than work."

And the bars before and after. Lupe said the bars were hard. In general I'd been a little scared about being TOO personal in a freakin, class project, but I'm glad I did what I wanted to. Monk said she liked it too, when I saw her in the hallway.

All in all, I really appreciated them all for hyping the EP up, I think I was dapped up more in those 8 minutes than I been in like 8 years. And Dee-1 even bowed at me after, bruh, like I'm such a fan of his Jay, 50, and Weezy track [2]. I can't. He did leave right after, but still??? I'm complete.

Some of the kids didn't want to show their EP's off, but I know know know that showing up was so important to me. That's a value that was always important but really instilled in me by Lupe and this class.

After my UROP meeting I ran into Ally and we went to his office to get feedback right after. I love Ally, I'm a fan [3]. For advice, I asked him to teach us how we should improve in the next three months. The advice I'll record in another post, but it was detailed and I'm so grateful for it. I appreciate Lupe as a teacher so much and after our dinner tomorrow, the class is really ending. It's been amazing!! Now, to take his class next year or not...

Footnotes (inspired by @tumblasha):

[1] Tagoe's Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/jonathan-tagoe-548571918

[2] the track is so good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1IGfv8zSgw

[3] Ally Minju's spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3jZQxUxjnQ753paNQHHuUk?si=EK-A6vkPSKOmB9s6wOqZ7g

[sosweetly]

I’ve been trying so hard not to catch up on WBN because the idea of actually having to wait a whole week for new episodes is physically painful to me, but I just finished the Children’s Adventure recap, which means I only have ep 4 of the main feed episodes left before I’m caught up 😫

Does this mean I’m going to continue on and listen to episode 4 and just deal with having to wait? Of course not. It’s going to sit in my queue until the next Fireside chat drops while I distract myself with NADDPOD (which I am a full three years behind on and will blissfully probably never catch up to) so that I continue to have a minimum one episode buffer at all times because I’m definitely totally normal and not neurodiverse at all why would you even say that???

ps - I posted this on Twitter already, but the fandom name for WBN should absolutely be Lesser Goats of the Goat Hoard