#Mr. Queen reunited its so cute

[bubblegeon]

How can Team Kokdu run without me? Geez.

[shima-draws]

Can you explain SPM to me like I'm 5?

Literally the only thing I actually know about the game is Mr L, Dimentio and Mimi's (I think it's Mimi?) transformation that scarred every child for life.

LOL sure thing! I will try to keep it as short and simple as possible

-Game starts out with Count Bleck (main antagonist) kidnapping Peach, Luigi and Bowser

-Count Bleck forces Peach and Bowser to get married in order to fulfill a prophecy written in the Dark Prognosticus (evil book that is said to grant wishes) and their union creates the Chaos Heart

-Chaos Heart opens a void in the sky that will eventually devour all worlds. The void steadily continues to grow larger throughout the game

-Mario winds up in Flipside (a town between dimensions) and meets Merlon, a wizard, and Tippi, a butterfly pixl (basically, sort of like a fairy) with amnesia that Merlon rescued

-Merlon reveals that Mario is a hero written within the pages of the Light Prognosticus (written to counteract the Dark one) who is destined to save the world by bringing together 8 Pure Hearts to counteract the Chaos Heart

-Tippi is assigned to Mario to act as his guide

-As Mario travels to his first world to gain a Pure Heart, we take a peek into Castle Bleck to find out more about him and his minions:

O'Chunks, a beefy man who's all brawn and no brain, Dimentio, a mischievous magician who has control over dimensions, Mimi, a shapeshifter obsessed with rubees and cute things, and Nastasia, Count Bleck's loyal assistant who has powers of brainwashing (and who also has a thing for him 😳)

-Peach manages to escape Castle Bleck right before she gets brainwashed (we later find out that Dimentio was the one who rescued her), and reunites with Mario

-Merlon tells them both that the Light Prognosticus predicts the union of four heroes who will save the world

-Mario and Peach reunite with Bowser (who had also been ejected from Castle Bleck), who turns out to be the third hero

-Luigi, still in Castle Bleck, is unfortunately not as lucky as Peach and is brainwashed into becoming a new minion working for Bleck, calling himself Mr. L (who Mario fails to recognize even tho it's SUPER obvious? Lmao). Apparently the world’s destruction OR salvation literally hinges on which side Luigi happens to be on (and this is written in both Prognosticus’), so the villains got to him first

-As the story progresses we start to find out more about Bleck and his reasons for ending all worlds. Apparently he'd fallen in love with a human girl, but since he was forbidden to be with her, his father had erased her from all existence, leaving Bleck heartbroken and bitter

-Tippi starts to regain her memories, and we slowly start to find out that she was the human who Bleck was in love with :')

-6 worlds in, Mario and co. arrive in a world that is very close to being consumed by the void. Unfortunately they aren't able to get to the Pure Heart before the void swallows everything there in its entirety

-Going back, the entire world is just white nothingness, and when they find the Pure Heart they realize its lost all its power

-Dimentio corners Mr. L and deadass traps him in a box and blows him up, ending his game. Luigi fucking DIES bro

-Dimentio then goes after Mario and co. next, blowing them up just like Mr. L and sending them all to the Underwhere (basically the Underworld)

-Mario and co. make their way through the Underwhere, reunite with Luigi (who has no memory of being Mr. L, and is revealed to be the final fourth hero) and get Queen Jaydes (queen of the underworld) to revive the dead Pure Heart. Jaydes sends them back to Flipside

-After getting all 8 Pure Hearts, the heroes head straight for Castle Bleck to confront him

-When they encounter Dimentio he reveals he'd been on their side the entire time, manipulating things behind the scenes in order to help them defeat Bleck

-Tippi and Bleck reunite at last...but Bleck tells her it's too late to stop the void from destroying everything. Mario defeats him in battle

-Dimentio shows up and tries to finish Bleck off, but Nastasia takes the blast. Dimentio then reveals he'd been waiting for a chance to steal the Chaos Heart and use it for his own ambitions

-Dimentio snatches Luigi and fuses him and the Chaos Heart together to become Super Dimentio, the real final boss of the game >:)

-Tippi and Bleck's power of Everlasting Love™ counteract the Chaos Heart's power, and they save the day! However the void still continues to grow, so the two of them use the Pure Hearts to destroy the void once and for all. They disappear after this, never to be seen again, but it's implied they are living happily together in another world 🥺

And that's how the game ends!

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL

March 2021 Part 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. 

This is a LONG ONE, it’s been A WEEK everyone. 

Ongoing Series - Thai

Lovely Writer Ep 5 - a little slow this week, but at least Gene finally flirted back, and very cute flirting it was, too. Also we got Aey’s motivation, background, and love interest. Thank goodness for that. 

Brothers Ep 8 - still pants, what can I say? Clearly I am a BL masochist. Very embarrassing for everyone concerned. 

1000 Stars Ep 9 - the conflict over Tian’s father was REALLY well done. The plot of this drama is excellent, the leads are great together, and yes I totally cried. What, you didn’t? 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Word of Honor (China) Ep 16-18 - big battle fighty fighty stabby stabby. Ep 17 switches to “this drama isn’t big enough for two chaotic-neutral godlings!” So what do they do? Drink together and bicker... A LOT. Then in Ep 18 we all get the dubious joy of really freaky puppets. (I HATE puppets.) Also how is China letting this be so SO VERY VERY GAY?  Also, I wanna walk through the forest wearing a smanshy purple robe and waving a big fuck-off white fan around simply because I’m a pretentious fuss monger. And frankly, I feel like this is an achievable life goal for me. 

We Best Love 2 (Taiwan) Ep 4 - not gonna lie, this is looking to be one of my top 3 BLs of 2021. It’s SO GOOD. Big bonus to this ep for treating stalker behavior like the mental illness it is and not as some dumb representation of enduring love. 

The Most Peaceful Place is My Place (Vietnam) Ep 1 - finally dropped (find it under NƠI BÌNH YÊN NHẤT LÀ VỀ BÊN EM on O2′s channel). It’s got actors already comfortable with BL and looks pretty good so far. An angry tsundere uke reunited with his ex, a stoic chef, giving us lots of snap, crackle, and pop out the gate. 

Dear Uranus (Taiwan GL) Ep 2 - I want to love it, but it is just moving too fast. There’s not enough character dev and then they’re throwing flashbacks in? It feels like a treatment rather than a show, and a rushed treatment at that. Bummer. 

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 2 (AKA Ep 3-4) - let the cheesy popcorn continue! Idiot remains an idiot; ingenue remains an ice queen; nice gay guy remains nice and gay; obsessive stalker brother is getting ever more whackadoddle. Of course these last two have the best chemistry. (It’s caregiver codependency and the salvation trope. We got us a Leo/Fiat situation going on.​) Plus lots of classic BL tropes because OF COURSE there are lots of tropes. 

Occasionally, I am tempted to argue that shows like H4 or Cherry Magic or Ossan’s Love aren’t technically BL because of the office setting and age of the protags - but then they all behave like high school students anyway, so *shrug* 

Stand Alones

Cute little Taiwanese micro BL Friend or Lover dropped, about bisexual realization within a friendship group. Normally these are too short for me, but this one did pretty good with its 15 minutes of charm, plus it’s abad boy + shy softy pairing. 

Breaking News - Thai BL

Fish Upon the Sky released its actual trailer. The upside-down kiss is gone, which makes everyone sad, and it seems far less rivals to lovers than the first iteration, which makes ME sad. But it still looks good and a more classic BL than GMMTV has given us in a while. New trailer focused more on the makeover trope and they’ve upped Mix’s role (the object of everyone’s affection) now that he’s proved himself. (Or they are using him more to carry the trailer since he has a fan base form 1k*). Starts April 9 on GMMTV in 1K*’s time slot, probably with a 10 ep run. 

2gether the movie is apparently coming April 22 to Thai theaters. F4 Thailand must be having issues or GMMTV just wants to milk the BrightWin cash cow. It’s rumored to be a combination of 2gehter + Still 2gether with some extra scenes and ending. Also, one assumes a lot will be cut out, if it’s movie length.

Call It What You Want released its updated trailer. If anything, it looks more scary than before. What are we in for? April 9th. 

Nitiman got a release date, May 7 on One31. 

I Told Sunset About You 2 got an updated release date of May 27 on LineTV. 

Second Chance the series is coming to LineTV on March 29. I don’t know much about this one. Tons of familiar faces (mostly TharnType side dishes) and some nice looking new talent but a dearth of eng subs. I think it may take on Brothers’ time slot. Line did eng subs for Brothers so maybe they will do 2nd Chance too? 

Close Friend the series is coming April 22. This is a combination of 6 couples with 6 story arcs as music videos (maybe)? It’s an epic fan service with familiar faces like OhmFluke (UWMA), MaxNat (LBC also in Y-Destiny), YoonLay (YYY also in Y-Destiny), KimCop (GenY), and JaFirst (TT2).

Y-Destiny starts March 30, and has starting dropping couple’s trailers. I’m still suspicious given the director but it seems like there is plot (or plots) and a theme. Looks to be a series of 7 single ep vignettes (amended, see comments, might be 2 eps each for 14 eps total), different couple each time, some with supernatural elements, all with decent chemistry and acting chops. 

Sun MaxNat’s tutor/student arc

Mon jaded rich kid meets poor innocent  

Tues sports romance enemies to lovers 

Weds the messy realistic actual dating one 

Thurs hot ghost boyfriend (sad) 

Fri YoonLayPerth coping with loss and finding new love (sad). This one will all rest on Lay's acting so we know it’s in safe hands. Our boy is going to KILL it. 

Sat time-slip memory loss reunion romance 

I’m thinking we can’t expect any of these to end happy or be classic BL. They’re gonna be more slice of life-ish. 

Gossip - BL Outside of Thailand 

Scholar Ryu’s Wedding Ceremony AKA Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (Korean historical BL) got a legit teaser (eng sub here). @curriculumvtae​ reports that it’s releasing April 15th on WeTV (Philippines & Thailand) and Idol Romance (South Korea), while Will of Thai Bl says it’ll be on Viki too. It’s a short run of 8 ep built on a fake relationship trope (arranged marriage variant):

Ryu Ho Seon’s (Kang In Soo from You Wish) arranged marriage turns out to be with his expected bride’s brother, Choi Ki Wan (Lee Se Jin from Mr Heart). Ryu tries to undo the marriage, but his ill mother opposes this saying the scandal would be too much. Meanwhile, Kim Tae Hyeong (Jang Eui Soo from Where Your Eyes Linger), a senior at Ryu’s school, comes to congratulate him and falls in love with Choi. Then one day, the original bride disappears.

Okay it seems a bit twisty turny for ONLY 8 EPS, but oh my goodness how excited are we? Our first intentional historical BL out of Korea!

We already knew Hong Kong was doing a remake of Japan’s Ossan’s Love under the same name (not my favorite Japanese BL but so very popular) but it’s now reported to be coming to Viu in June. Who knows how the CFA will take it. Depends on whether Hong Kong bows before the NO GAY KISSES regs or if they are going to use this as a political nose thumb... things could get cray with this puppy (the original has several kisses and s shower scene). Are we back in Addicted territory only with added comedy and civil unrest?

Speaking of Japan, Absolute BL (AKA Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai vs Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko) dropped sooner than anyone thought, March 27. But being Japanese who knows how/when/if we get subs. Protag finds himself trapped in a world of BL, but being straight he fights against any hot guy that draws near, but the whole world (literally) is conspiring against him. It’s a parody adapted from a yoai.

What with Absolute BL from Japan plus Lovely Writer and Call it What You Want from Thailand, is 2021 the year of BL being ultra self referential? Sure feels like it.

In Case You Missed It

Faded a gay micro film from Taiwan from 2017 deals with parental acceptance and serves up a ton of BL tropes (piggyback, forehead kiss, etc). I’m pretty sure this was a propaganda piece for legalization of gay marriage, and it’s an interesting nugget of BL history as a result. Yes, it ends happy. It’s cute. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed a day later than actual air date for accessibility reasons.

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

Man there’s a lot going on right now! Spring has sprung... I suppose. 

P.S. I cannot believe I missed Absolute BL as a blog name. Numbnuts = me. 

[anestheticrage]

Be me: Japanese honor student🎓, 15, with half a brain and even less of a plan. Hunting bitches by day and witches by night. Livin that dank only child✌️ life while mom n dad yeet all over the globe, leavin me plenty of time to forget not to make 2 lunches for myself #quirky 😜

no time for socialization or basic electronics skills ???📱??? when your best friends are an alien demon rabbit🐰👽 and the inexplicable Hole ™ in your brain. lmao, btw did i mention im ✨M✨A✨G✨I���C✨A✨L✨

dreamin bout my 2D waifus again when familiar pink haired cancer patient dances through my brain passin out fliers: Kamihama Meguca Dating Service: Sponsored by Cult of the Magius. 250 stones per session 🤔

seems legit, Mr. Moneybags. wasn't spending my unwieldy sack of gemstones on anything else anyway. lets pull 💎💎💎

first up we have Redhead Radagast and her plethora of plants. 🌿☺️🦎

anndd, nearly dies immediately. 

well not off to a great start but i guess shes pretty cute at lea- oh FUCK its her girlfriend, Tsundere Poseidon😒🔱💦, and their exasperated, straight and single Sword Mom 😔🗡️🔥. fml gonna have to save up for the next pull. might as well play a few rounds with what i got tho. 

get in some good girl talk about things like school, color coded hair styles, body count, permanent soul damage, and our personal demon pacts. ya know, the usual 😚 . realize my dark backstory seems to be missing, so the girls take me to Ketchup Queen Sappho 🍅🥧 (wtf?) to molest my glowy egg stone. whatevs, more action than ive had since Kuroe 🖤 got added to the story anyway

the gang agrees it's time to hunt down the cutest rabbit pimp 🕶️🐇💵 in the city. >> say 🎵mukyuuu🎵 one more time and ill hug you so hard my backstory will pop right out, you adorable fluffy bastard. plz be my new best friend 💕

Form brand new friendship pact with Kyubae, and remember that my lil Sis 🐥 was always the best wingman for pickin up magic chicks, and kept her side of the room so spotless i forgot she existed. whoops 乁༼☯‿☯✿༽ㄏ Maybe if I find her i can stop paying these exorbitant pull fees.📵💎

speaking of which: hot damn this week's featured bachelorette is a 19 year old model and magical detective🔎 with massive levels of PTSD and self loathing 🥵💙💦 more likely to stab you or dramatically jump off a rooftoop than utter a single positive comment. wow, maybe i really COULD find true love…

... if i had MORE THAN A 1% FUCKING DRAW CHANCE. 😡 smh

hard to make much progress finding sis or winning the broken heart of a hard boiled detective amidst the never ending lover's quarrel of the Trident Vine Lesbians. 💔 Sword Mom tells them if they don't behave a monster will take them away. LOL classic mom 🤣

>>>HOLY FUCK IT DID

declare all-out war on urban legends, starting with staircases ⚔️ to reunite the dysfunctional trio, and hope that I net a way better lineup with the next 10x pull. at least sad sleuth lady came to help out. they say combat is the best way to bond wi-   and there she goes off the rooftop again 🙄 fml

alright that got way off track, we need a fresh start, away from all the loli drama. how bout a little B&E🔓🔨🤷🏻‍♀️ at the local house of worship to clear my head. ahh nothing like the unanswered prayers of the masses to get you in the mood for another wasted pull, and the 🔥 MIGHTIEST 🔥 headache you could ask for with a side of Double Cooked Pork 🐖🍜 (meh 5/10🧾)

venture forth into the spiritual unknown with your new human flamethrower🔥🌻🧡 and ask your favorite private eye to please, for the love of Eve, trade Meguca accounts with me~~~ Head through the eastern spirit portal to meet up with hologram propaganda sis and detective crush's evil ex, who joined a dating-app cult (#fuck) and also turned into the moon?🌕?(that's rough buddy)

get ambushed by Acid Horse on Wheels 🌈🐴 and vomit up my soul so hard that its time for a crossover episode. T U R F F F   W A R R R *que operatic harmonies* 💛 Blondie with the hair drills and enough attitude and guns to fill up a noble phantasm tries to ban my account permanently, but PI heartthrob denies her admin privileges. aww babe i didn't know you cared. 😭♥️

get kidnapped by my new true love and go back to her place 😏  defs enough empty rooms to house five emotionally traumatized girls and at least two ghosts hehehe👻 XD 💚🃏💜🎸 decide to form the anti-gossip brigade and recruit my blazing sunflower after getting ambushed by the witch living in my fruit loops🥣

❌outvoted 2:1 that cults are bad. mf. fiinneee one last pull to round out the team and then I'll delete the app. cmonnn Karin 🎃~

OH HELL YEAH TWO FOR ONE.

Always wanted a daughter 💜🔨🐄 with a penchant for pissing off the local Martial Arts & Books Club and drinking suspicious liquids offered by total strangers. Well if it's good enough for her AND the sexy mayadere with enough game to seduce a mermaid, might as well get in on that myself. 

#curseddrank 🤢 0/24 would not recommend to a friend, 'cept maybe Ria

win alot of cash 🤑, blow up a fountain, meet the pied piper²🎶🖕, moon cult, monochrome feathers, something about liberation✊🏻; adopt temper tantrum cow girl. aces 💜🥩

Next up!!! skydiving with DJ Hammer! Jump to apparently-not-certain death after suicidal A.I. 💚💾🗼 tells you to rescue her hostage before they run out of Radiohead albums and have to move on to Thom Yorke's solo discography. save the invisible shield kitten 💚👑😿 from happiness and get chased through the internet by the sexiest homicidal Paint Pallette 💚🎨😈 since Caravaggio. (apparently green is the color of the digital apocalypse. i’m deleting Kako from my friend's list)

that’s it, fuck this app. 250 stones 💎 per-life-threatening-experience is more than i’m willing to deal with 😓 don’t wanna mess with the perfect nuclear family anyway. we've already got: 

✔️the two emotionally traumatized moms with memory and commitment issues

✔️the adhd daughter with anger management problems and a giant hammer

✔️the psychologically abused scizophrenic cat

✔️and the eccentric aunt with crippling anxiety

#squadgoals

now that were done hoarding bitches, its time to hunt the witches. and the bitches makin the witches. btw did i mention the witches ARE the bitches! AND WERE ALL GOING TO DIE!? 📽️⁉️💀 wait fuck lets back up a second

This is Nemo📕 and Token🧪 and they have all the answers but prefer if you only ask vague questions in exchange for vague responses so they can fill in the rest by discussing their superior intellect 🧠 at length. not to mention they built that dating app, so of course everyone in my harem decides to be a FUCKING. TRAITOR.🤬

cept waifu prime ofc 🥰💙. [PTSD > brainwashing] 'yOu CaN bE tHe LeAdEr NoW'. i have been from the very beginning you traumatized Hinedere nightmare. maybe if you weren't so caught up collecting surrogate daughters you would've noticed IM👏THE👏ONLY👏 ONE👏PROGRESSING👏THE FUCKING👏PLOT✨

rescue the rest of dysfunctional found-family™ from selves before my adorable firebender burns down Disnihama🎡🔥😱 during her weekly anxiety attack. (love the makeover T B H) 

CHAPTER 8: Magical Girl Massacre🩸🗡️

   - everyone has like, the shittiest day ever

   - the new Pope really needs to be extradited from the church

   - make friends with a really pretty tree 🌺🌲✨

i swear, if i don't finish this god damn story in time to get that free pull im gonna beat the shit out of every mirror i find in that giant mansion that i haven't even had any time to even mention yet. 🖕🏚️ let alone EVERYTHING happening with the prequel [fuck you, I'm the star] girls 💗💜💙💛❤️️ and their multidimensional melodrama. We don't need that many repetitive af episodes to emphasize that Homo-ra is a shitty person. we've all seen Rebellion. 🙄

NO, I DONT CARE IF YOU WANT SAPPHO'S BACKSTORY, I ONLY HAVE 79 STONES LEFT AND IF YACHAN FINDS OUT I HAVEN'T DELETED THE APP YET IM GONNA HAVE TO GO SLEEP IN WITH SANA 😭💎💸😠

uhhhggggg where were we… Topple a cult and burn down Hotel Denoument only to realize that Sis was fused with the dating app servers this entire madokafuckin time (told ya she was the best wingman 😊). 

Dilemma: Sis =🥚, Triumvirate of Trouble want 🐣. What do? vote now:

Help Hatch - IIIIIII

Not Do That - IIIII

What The Actual Fuck Is Going On - IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Lets just fight everyone until something good happens.

🔥🔫🔥🗡️🔥😱🔥🌆🔥😱🔥🛡️🔥💣🔥

Kill (???) the artist-in-chief of the italian reindeer murder police after teaching her the true meaning of Christmas 🎄 hatch 🐣lil Sis and realize she WAS your wingman all along🐰 MUKYUUUU! we're just gonna ignore how much trouble it would have saved if you'd just mentioned that. "yOu DiDnT aSk..." 

FUCK YOU SPACE BITCH. ONCE AN INCUBATOR ALWAYS AN INCUBATOR 🖕🐇🔪

anywho, somewhere along the lines we of course summoned the Antichrist ⚙️ because why not raise the stakes to max and still not kill off a single character. Madofuckinkami, can we PLEASE wrap this up. 😩💤

feathers (not the culty kind, tfm) rain from the sky, and the power of friendship and not having the Urobutcher 🔪🩸as a lead writer saves our peacefully sectioned off alternate reality 😇

TL:DR fuck cults, real life waifus DO exist, don't sell your soul to space rabbits, or your stones to megacorporations. Enjoy arc 2 on the JP server with your shitty translation patch you filthy fuckin weebs 

Yours Truly, 

- Thirsty Weeb Eroha 💗💎😘 

[synnefo-nefeli]

I’m a die hard Clerith shipper since 1997, you can’t change my mind but the one thing I won’t tolerate in FFVII aside from shipping wars, is anyone shitting on Tifa.

Don’t. You can like Clerith without hating Tifa. You can find other reasons to not to like Tifa as character, that isn’t “I don’t like her because she gets in the way of my ship”

Personally, Tifa isn’t one of my top tier FF characters, but I am not going to ignore how much of a badass and important person Tifa is to Cloud’s story.

People cite Aerith’s death and burial as the most important moment of FFVII, and yes it’s heartbreaking and an iconic scene. But you know what’s also an important scene?

Tifa in the lifestream with Cloud setting his memories straight. Tifa who up until this moment unbeknownst to the player, is aware that Cloud as he’s presented himself thus far *isnt* the Cloud he thinks he is. She’s been patiently going along with Cloud’s story trying to figure out *what happened* to him/ how he appeared in Midgar boasting of being a SOLDIER while clearly suffering from Mako poisoning/how will she ultimately break this story to him.

Think how hard it was for her to watch Cloud have ptsd episodes and not know how to ground him other than to say “it’s okay. Pull yourself together, let’s keep moving”, because she doesn’t know how or why Cloud is suffering.

But then they fall into the Lifestream together and Tifa helps Cloud sift through the memories warped and altered by the poisoning and Cloud’s severe PTSD.

Only Tifa could help Cloud here- she’s the only one on the Team who has known Cloud since they were young/understands Cloud’s motivations for wanting to become stronger in joining SOLDIER.

This part of the game is beautiful and emotional, and very ahead of it’s time in its portrayal and meta-discussion of PTSD; Cloud isn’t magically healed and back to normal, he never will be, be he’s reclaimed his identity enough that he can begin to heal. I’m replaying the original atm and the moment still holds and I’m hoping that the remake nails this moment. It’s as important and impactful to Cloud as a character as Aerith’s death.

Speaking of Aerith.  Aerith and Tifa become friends from the jump.  Aerith is so respectful of Tifa that twice she makes sure that she isn’t encroaching on Cloud and Tifa’s relationship. She asks Cloud if Tifa is his girlfriend, she reassures Tifa in Don Cornero’s Mansion that she’s not there to steal Cloud from her.  

And yeah, Aerith isn’t trying to steal Cloud or anything - she helped a cute buff guy recover from a fall, asked him for an escort because this time the Turks brought backup to capture her, and got swept up in the ensuing events.  

Hell, Aerith is ride or die for Tifa BEFORE THEY EVEN FORMALLY MEET EACH OTHER. Aerith sees Tifa being carted off to Wall Market and her “some bad shit’s about to happen to this woman if we don’t move NOW” senses go off.  

Cloud’s like “oh let me take you home first and I’ll get my teammates...” and Aerith’s like “YOU NAIVE FOOL? DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO CUTE GIRLS IN WALL MARKET? (tbh, considering how naive Cloud can be, I am going with ‘nope’.) WE GOTTA GO! QUICK GET INTO THIS SEXY DRESS BECAUSE MR. SOLDIER YOU’RE NOT COMING UP WITH A BETTER PLAN WE CAN WORK WITH!!” Aerith drives the entire plan to get into the Don’s mansion. She negotiates the dress, the wig, the makeup, EVERYTHING, to make sure that Cloud can pass as a women to come into the Mansion with her.  

Heck, Aerith was going to go into the mansion HERSELF to get Tifa when the guard was like “No dudes allowed.” The only reason they went looking for dresses in Cloud’s size, was because Cloud got all “No, I can’t let you go in there a lone if it’s as bad as you think it is”, (as if he hadn’t just spent the last day with this woman watching her completely kick ass in battle). So Aerith was like, “Fine, you wanna come with me? Get in the Silk Dress, Cloud” with the same energy as Shinji’s Dad.

And when Aerith gets captured, Tifa was like “WE GOTTA GO AND SAVE HER FROM SHINRA!” as well as protecting Aerith through the whole ShinRa office building mission when the groups had to split up.  So yeah, these two queens love and respect each other from the get-go, they put Cloud in his place, tease the shit out of him and Barret, probably had hair-braiding trains at camp, and support the hell out of each other . 

Also, as we see from the rest of FFVII and in AC, Tifa is devastated by her friend’s death and continues to grieve with Cloud.  Tifa is emotionally intelligent enough to see that Cloud’s grief and guilt over Aerith’s death is killing him, but also respects his need for space.  However, when she finds that he has Geostigma and has staying away from everyone so he can just waste away and die as some sort of penance for not being able to save Aerith and zack, she get’s PISSED at him. Tifa is instrumental in bringing Cloud back (again) to his senses.  Making him see, that he doesn’t only belong to himself, he belongs to their family, just as much as they belong to him. The love and fierce protection Cloud has for his family?  They have that for him and believe he’s more than worthy of that love. Tifa takes none of Cloud’s mopey and self-loathing bs, and sets him straight.

So if you think Tifa is only there for fan-service, an annoying bitch who is there to be jealous of Aerith, is there just to make a love triangle so SE can pander to fans on both sides, you clearly

a) didn’t play the games b) missed one of the best female relationships and examples of women supporting women in gaming c) missed how equally important both Aerith and Tifa are to Cloud in their own ways

IMO I see her and Cloud as platonic soulmates- kinda like Black Widow and Hawkeye- they have history, they have shared trauma from their childhoods and in the destruction of Nibelheim, they know what it’s like to grow up in a poor country town that’s been exploited by Shinra on so many levels from the natural resources to it’s culture of military indoctrination and idealization.

Yes, there was an innocent first love, but after certain events, to me- it’s moved beyond romantic attraction between them. They’re always going to be important to each other and in each other's lives.  

Their innocent first love to me, mirrors Zack and Aerith’s, but Aerith moved on and fell in love with Cloud. Yes, Cloud reminded her of Zack, she probably wanted to remain close to Cloud to get closure on what exactly happened to him. 

People often forget, Aerith *knows* Zack’s died and returned to the Lifestream in the way that she knew her adoptive mother’s husband had died before word reached them. When she has her awkward moment in Gongaga it’s not because she’s now realizing that he’s dead, she’s now realizing that these are Zack’s parents and they still don’t know what became of their son. Zack was scrambled into Cloud’s memories due to trauma and because Zack was someone Cloud looked up and was his ideal, combined with the fact that Zack was the only person talking to Cloud for 9 months as Zack carried his catatonic self back to Midgar. But Cloud didn’t *become* Zack, only Zack’s plans of becoming a mercenary and being a former SOLDIER were impressed upon him. If Cloud actually became Zack he would have been chipper, this energetic “I’m a hero!” all around good-guy hero Zack made himself out to be. The Cloud we first meet...isn’t- yes he thinks he’s a former SOLDIER turned merc, but he’s sardonic, arrogant, and too much of “tough guy/lone wolf”...he’s more like his child-like self who was made to feel like an outsider and wants to showoff how much cooler and stronger he’s become.  He didn’t find Aerith because Zack was some how possessing him.  Aerith and Cloud meeting was destiny, and their subsequent relationship is independent of their past histories with Zack. And if Aerith is interested in Cloud because she reminds him of Zack - well...the woman is allowed to have a type.

I digress.

Cloud was in love with Tifa in that - “hey! notice me! If I go off an become this awesome guy, I’ll be worthy of your attention” sort of way, that teens get.  He was a lonely kid, often bullied by the other children in the village (Tifa included), and probably didn’t know *why* he wanted Tifa’s attention- it was most likely Tifa had the most social capital among the kids. And despite her hot/cold treatment of him,Cloud who was desperate to prove himself, figured that if he somehow “won” Tifa’s attention, it would “show them”.  I am not saying that Cloud was using Tifa or didn’t care about her- he does love her. He blamed himself for not being strong enough to save her when she tried climb Mt. Nibel.  But you can’t ignore that his thirst to prove himself wasn’t wrapped up in his crush.  It’s your typical “become a hero, get the girl” idealization.  Cloud was 14 when he left Nibelheim for Shinra’s military. He was a child, just like Tifa, with a naive idea about how the world worked- and the world slapped them both in the face, HARD.  Relationships mature and change over time. Outside forces can and will shift your dynamics in how your relate to the people you love.  Sometimes your first crush, becomes one of your very best friends (happened to me personally so maybe this informs my take on Cloud and Tifa) because when you’re young you don’t understand that loving someone, outside of your nuclear family, isn’t only constrained to romance. This is what I believe happened to them. Cloud and Tifa had the quintessential school yard crush, and when they were reunited years later in Midgar, they still care deeply for each other in a different way than they did when they were 14 and 13.

But those are MY feelings, it’s how I play the game’s attraction mechanics; I am afforded to shape Cloud’s relationships as I, the gamer, see fit. I understand why Cloti shippers ship Cloud and Tifa, and they’re just as valid as Clerith, Zarith, Clack, etc.. but I’m a sucker for M/F platonic soulmates because there needs to be MORE of that in media. I rather Cloud and Tifa be platonic soul mates, co-parenting Marlene and Denzel with Barret, than Cloud “settling for Tifa because Aerith died”. which that explanation for Cloud x Tifa, often used by Clerith shippers, just undermines who Tifa is as a character and her’s and Cloud’s relationship.

But anyway, even though I don’t ship them and Tifa is not my #1 girl for VII, she is a vital character. She’s not there for fan-service.  She’s not there exclusively for a love triangle and to cause tension between Aerith and Cloud.  Tifa is VITAL to Cloud’s story, to the story of VII, to the planet of Gaia. You wouldn’t have VII’s core story without Tifa. And I will go to the mat for her just as hard as Aerith did when she saw Tifa in the cart bound for Wall Market.

So again: you may not ship her with Cloud, or she may not be your fave in VII, but in this house we forever respect the badass queen whose name is Tifa Lockhart

[quietpagan]

Captain Marvel

Was marvelous

- the opening logo was completely dedicated to Stan Lee, which I thought was very classy

- the flashbacks were handled very, very well

- Carol you probably wouldn’t get punched in the face so often if you just fucking tied back your hair. It’s long enough. You can use a clip if you want. Just. Fucking tie. Back. Your HAIR.

- the fight scenes were NOT long and convoluted and I liked that she got hit and hurt and wasn’t just some invulnerable god. She got punched in the face and kicked in the gut the whole time.

- I really should have pegged the Kree as the bad guys and the Skrull as the good guys from the start, I mean

- Yon-Rogg was like ‘we gave you that power, we can take it away’

- and the Skrull were sifting through Carol’s memories, yeah, but they were actually very calm and polite about it

- Carol’s powers were fucking awesome

- loving Talos’s accent

- landing on Earth in the middle of fucking Blockbuster, so you know what the timeframe is

- two Skrull guys shapeshift into the same surfer girl and are like, well one of us is gonna have to change

- Nick Fury encountering aliens for the first time

- can we appreciate Samuel L. Jackson’s acting for a second here

- young and carefree Nick Fury is a delight, making jokes and one-liners

- he and Coulson are just cruising along and then Fury gets a phone call and it’s Coulson on the phone

- ‘Yeah I’m still at Blockbuster with the evidence, like, where tf did everybody go?’

- the Skrull shapeshifting ability is terrifying

- Fury and Carol hit it off right away; the interrogation scene is fantastic. Best buddy cop duo EVER

- ‘Smile for me, lady!’ “Nah, I’m gonna steal your motorbike instead”

- they didn’t gloss over the catcalling and the sexism in the military and in her childhood

- THE CAT. FURY GOES NUTS OVER THIS ADORABLE CAT. HES IN THE MIDDLE OF A MISSION WITH FUCKING ALIENS AND NICK GODDAMN FURY STOPS TO COO OVER A CAT.

- “What does your momma call you?” “Fury.” “What do your friends call you?” “Fury.” “What do your future kids call you?” “FURY.”

- the Skrull are terrified of the cat

- I really appreciate that literally nothing in this movie was sexualized in any way, shape, or form

- Carol and Rambeau are GIRL POWER 

- Literally don’t talk about a man once

- Totally were raising Rambeau’s daughter together

- I actually got a whole fuckload of ace vibes from this, like, there was no romantic subplot or even suggestion. Everybody just felt like really tight friends, which was INCREDIBLY REFRESHING.

- if you’re NOT going on a dangerous space mission to help alien refugees with an amnesiac with god powers and the buddy cop who’s eating all your food, then exactly WHAT kind of example ARE you setting for your daughter?

- Fury is literally just horking down all the food and sweet tea he can get at Rambeau’s place

- Talos is actually super cute

- so apparently the cat has a POCKET DIMENSION INSIDE OF IT and just swallows down the fucking Tesseract with it’s mouth tentacles. No wonder the Skrull were terrified of it.

- also ate a couple of Kree dudes, nbd

- Kree AI queen having fun with 90′s music

- Minn-Erva is super hot

- Talos reuniting with his family is the Best Thing. I could feel the love.

- nice healthy dose of the dangers of propaganda and  ‘history is written by the victors’ because the ‘bad guys’ are actually war refugees who just want to find a home to settle down in 

- Carol’s powers are BADASS AS FUCK

- She defeats the Supreme Intelligence with GIRL POWER

- Super intense and beautiful scene. We got flashbacks of her falling and failing at everything WHILE MEN LAUGHED AT HER AND TOLD HER SHE WASN’T GOOD ENOUGH, and the she PICKS HERSELF UP AND REFUSES TO GIVE UP

- like Wonder Woman was awesome girl power because she grew up around exclusively women and knew that she was always a boss, but Carol grew up with a lot of jackass boys and men laughing at her and telling her that she wasn’t good enough and she had to learn to get back up again and keep going and become a boss while powering through adversity

- same for Rambeau, who did it as a black woman and single mother. BOSS ASS LADY

- I appreciate the complete lack of inadvertent sexist comments from Fury. Carol and Rambeau are badass women and he doesn’t even blink. 

- so Yon-Rogg knows he can’t beat her and is like, alright, let’s settle this with a nice bout of fisticuffs and she just fucking shoots him in the chest

- ‘just a human’ which means I get the fuck back up when I’m knocked down, BITCH

- PUNCH a GRANDMA in the FACE

- Destroying A Kree Warship And Its Fleet, As One Does

- Literal one-woman army

- Nick Fury literally sings Mr. Postman and it’s the best scene in the movie

- “I don’t have to prove myself to you” BITCH PREACH

- I can’t get over how much fun Samuel L. Jackson was having with this movie. Young Nick Fury is a fucking delight.

- THE FUCKING ALIEN CAT SCRATCHES HIS EYE.  FUry has only one eye because a fucking cat scratched it out

- AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

- and then he has the cat in his office and it just pukes up the fucking TESSERACT OUT ON HIS DESK, LIKE. HERE! I BROUGHT YOU A FUCKING TRANSDIMENSIONAL POWER SOURCE.

[callistawolf]

my thoughts on Arrow 6x21

WOOOOOOOOO finally a good ep. Let’s go! 

Kasnia… what the heck is Dig doing in Kasnia? Other than kicking all kinds of ass.

Oh. He’s grabbing a dude. And I can’t see his face but I BET YOU ANYTHING IT’S HUMAN TARGET.

Love the pushy press calling out “Mr Queen! Mrs Queen!” cuz yes.

Why is this rent-a-cop trying to sound like Diaz. Dude. No. 

Curtis has FOMO cuz he wasn’t SUBPOENAED?  Oh gimme a break.

I like seeing Dinah and Rene showing some contrition though. It’s about time. Or rather... right on time. I knew they’d push it to the end. 

Seeing Quentin like this is bittersweet. I’m gonna miss him but not gonna miss his stupid daughter storyline.

Poor Felicity looks so stressed out. Asking William if he’s okay… augh she’s such a good mom.

“How could everything go wrong so quickly for him?” cuz it’s Arrow, Jean, keep up. They live to torture this guy. Also: it’s May.

Noooo not Dr. Schwartz!!! DAMMIT. I like her!

Look at Dig, perjuring himself on the stand. SNIFF. I’m so proud.

WELP, Dinah just outed herself.

If… Siren didn’t want to testify that Oliver was the Green Arrow then she wouldn’t have said she would do it? Why is this a problem? WHY DOES NOTHING WITH HER MAKE SENSE.

Oooh a Raisa and Felicity scene! I HAVE YEARNED FOR THIS. Also… Raisa knows he’s the Green Arrow because of course she does.

OH MAN. Bringing in Zoe is just LOW. I actually feel bad for Rene.

Yeah. Diaz should die. I just decided, right this minute. Something painful. And humiliating.

YAS DIG. Push him again! Ugh, these cops sound like uneducated morons. If I was a cop, I’d be offended. 

I’m glad Oliver told his lawyer the truth. She shouldn’t be blindsided with that. She’s a good person.

Oliver’s reason for not outing himself actually... makes a lot of sense. I get now why he doesn’t want to do it. Which makes me fear that he might have to. 😬

Oliver not wanting Felicity to go on the stand, to risk her, is so cute. But so is her insistence that she has to in order to save him. 

I love one smart badass woman. Expert Witness! 

Oooh bringing up spousal privilege … nice one. But she takes this moment to profess her love which gets a soft smile from Oliver. Bless.

The pic from Russia! DAMMIT SUSAN. LOL Even now she’s a pain in the ass.

Wow that’s some great timing HumanTarget!Tommy! He looks so good in that suit. 👅💦

The corruption is so complete that they are actually gonna arrest a man who is legally dead. LOLOLOL. 

I know its not him but I just enjoy seeing Tommy so much. He’s so SASSY. Wait... no... CMON PUT THE MASK BACK ON. Aww. 

I miss Tommy already.

OLICITY SCENE. I love how Felicity knew it was Chance without Oliver having told her. But AWW at Oliver being shook that it was Tommy’s face.

So the whole Chance thing didn’t work anyhow. LAME. I hate Diaz.

Oliver telling Felicity he’s got a plan for her and William is just HURTING ME SO BADLY.

You know, kill Diaz and this whole thing goes away so lets do that, okay? I’m a big fan of killing him. I’m very open to methods.

Blah blah blah Siren blah blah blah. 🙄 I’m ready for her to leave the show. Again. Is it time yet?

Just for the record, Siren didn’t change her mind cuz she loves Oliver or anything those nutbars would have you believe. She did it for her not!Dad. I like it.

Of course, Quentin is totally gonna die for it, but whatevs. RIP, Lance.

Poor William. He’s so worried. But Oliver is being such a good dad and helping prepare him. “You are strong like me.” GOD THIS IS SO SAD. I hate Diaz.

HE’S GONNA CRY. IM NOT OKAY.

Jury’s back. That’s quick. Shit shit shit shit. What are Rene and John doing??

Shit. Guilty. Wait. What? Reasonable doubt? Judgement notwithstanding the verdict? WHAT.

FREE TO GO. HUGS ALL AROUND.

OH YES. CHANCE! HUMAN TARGET!JUDGE. I LOVE THIS GUY NOW.

Oh god I’m scared for Rene. I’m scared for everyone. HIDE, MY BABIES.

OLIVER! YAS. Aww… hug and make up guys. Orrrrrr handshake will do. I NEEDED THIS SCENE. HE APOLOGIZED. YAS. OMG. It’s my birthday. This is so good.

I don’t feel sorry for this judge. Not remotely. You go dirty, you get what you deserve.

About time she uses her cry on him. LORD ALMIGHTY. It’s been 84 years.

Ah shit. Sonic dampener. I knew it wouldn’t be that easy. Ah well. C’mon Diaz, CHOKE HER. KILL HER. LOL.

Oh man, next week is gonna fuck my shit up.

Okay... let me clarify something about NTA and how I feel about that whole thing right now... NTA was never gonna be the same level as OTA for me. Even before this mess. I’m okay with that. I don’t care what other fans think, what the writers think, what the actors think... They can all think and do what they want, but I’m good with my opinion that OTA is on top, bar none. After the mess? NTA slipped seriously in my esteem but... that’s hardly surprising. But I also wasn’t interested in turning myself inside out over it. I didn’t care “what I thought the writers wanted me to think”, because I was secure with what I actually thought. My opinion is solid. 

I knew we were headed towards some apologies and conciliatory behavior from NTA at the end of the season. Soon as we knew about this episode and who was taking part, I was expecting... pretty much exactly what I saw. So it doesn’t make sense to me to get upset about something I knew was going to happen. Do I forgive NTA and Rene? Eh. I mean, I’m willing to consider that apology good and move forward. Just like Oliver, because I take my cues from him. I don’t expect the teams to reunite officially this season but it will happen eventually. And I’m just not interested in spending a lot of time being upset about it. It’s not a battle I’m interested in fighting. You guys can decide where you fall on the whole argument just like I have. Just hold onto your opinion and don’t let anyone talk you out of it. If you wanna keep hating NTA and Rene? Do it. If you’re ready to accept the apology and move on, then do that. It’s all gravy baby. 

NOW. Next week look SOLID. 🔥

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 2X01 - Broken

It’s good to be back! Who’s ready for Season 2?

It should be TWO-bular!

...Did you miss the puns?

I missed the puns.

Anyway, under the cut is where you oughta be to hear my thoughts, both cute and seriously! (Going all out here! You get puns AND a rhyme! I spoil you all!)

Press Release Reality and myth begin to merge as the fairytale characters awaken from Evil Queen Regina’s broken curse and remember who they were. But to their dismay, they aren’t transported back to fairytale land. To make matters worse, Rumplestiltskin - aka Mr. Gold - in an effort to gain the upper hand in his power struggle with Regina, has introduced magic into the town. In fairytales magic has its place, but in our world it can have unfathomable consequences. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale land, Prince Phillip awakens his sleeping beauty, Aurora, but discovers that he and his traveling companion, Mulan, will soon have to face a deadly foe. General Thoughts - Characters/Stories/Themes and Their Effectiveness Past The past segment here does an interesting job answering the question of what happened to the Enchanted Forest. Aurora’s a great focal point because just like her, we’re being introduced to the remains of the land with answers only slowly being revealed. At the same time, it’s not for lack of trying on Aurora’s part. She’s quite no-nonsense and inquisitive, but still romantic and trusting enough to believe Phillip as he continues to lie to her.

Additionally, there’s a great deal of tension created between all three mains. Between Aurora and Phillip, there’s the lie about the Wraith’s mark. Between Aurora and Mulan, there’s the threat of romances with Phillip. And between Phillip and Mulan, there’s the fact that they’re both lying to Aurora about everything, the fact that Mulan’s not particularly warm to someone who seems to be characterized as such, and the fact that Phillip’s also lying to her, too. The way that it all comes to a head is just perfect and it leaves everyone in a really interesting for future episodes. It was also cool to see that this was the immediate future following the events of the present segment, a fun way of playing with time and a component for a fantastic twist! Present This episode does a marvelous job exploring exactly what one would want to see after the curse breaks. We get to see happiness through reunions, and on a large scale. At the same time, we get to see the chaos that would be expected too. Mary Margaret and Blue’s reunion (As small as it was) illustrated this best for me. There was that glee in the action of them holding hands, but panic upon the discussion of magic. Additionally, there’s a great buildup to Emma’s source of pain as well, and it’s contrasted so well against Snow and Charming’s enthusiasm. Emma’s character is not forgotten and her pain from the past is still present and valid, making her inability to connect with her parents so sympathetic and heartbreaking. This is a large part of the heart of the story, especially this season!

It’s also great how this story intertwines so well with Rumple and Belle’s. And let’s talk about their story, because it’s fantastic! Rumple having Belle back doesn’t just up and solve his problems. He’s still who he is and he even lies to her and actually gets consequences for it. Granted, they’re temporary consequences (I personally would’ve kept them apart for another episod at least), but at least Rumple is given a sting for what he did and Belle is very clearly framed in the right for her feelings and actions in response to the lie, so I don’t have that many complaints. All Encompassing I was thinking of a grand theme for this episode, and I think Mulan put it best: “Love is sacrifice.” Throughout the different dynamics on display in”Broken,” this was the most prevalent. Now, of course, it’s prevalent in the past, as Phillip’s love for both Aurora and Mulan has him sacrifice himself to the Wraith. But it’s also littered through the present like purple magic smoke. Snow and Charming’s love for Emma came at the cost of potentially sacrificing their relationship with her. Emma’s love for Henry came at the cost of her sacrificing both her hatred for Regina and her being in the same realm as him. Belle’s love for Rumple came with the sacrifice of her anger towards his lie. Those are just a couple of them, but you get my point. It was a well delivered theme that worked with our cast of characters and gave way for the stories they’re going to have going forward! Insights - Stream of Consciousness -The first time I saw this opening, I actually thought I found the wrong show because it was so different than anything we had seen from OUaT so far. Now, it’s so cool for precisely that reason! It’s a jarring turn (A new protagonist and setting and the return of the pop music) that still has tiny elements of the show (The horse and the well-dress rider that gives a vague fantasy vibe). Even the way it’s shot is something that’s more real than the different angles we got in Storybrooke. It just makes the moment when we see both something fantastical from Storybrooke all the more striking. -I forgot how no-nonsense Aurora could be! While still romantic, she’s very questioning and has a nice bit of snark to her. -I love the way magic just hovers in the air, like a harmless sandstorm. It’s hazy and mystical and just a touch threatening because of those that have magic, but there’s a calmness to it too that makes it so lovely to look at. -Those reunions are positively heartwarming! It feels so beautifully earned and everyone is so well connected! It was a great idea to start here as a buildup to the reunion with Emma. -And speaking of, I’ve got to give all the credit in the world to Josh and Ginny. Their reaction to seeing Emma for the first time uncursed is beautiful. Just like in the finale, Snow and Charming get so speechless, ironically showing the emphasis of the moment. And Jen too! Emma’s reaction to this is pretty fitting -- not running at the moment, but this is a lot to take in. The two sets of performances create a stunning contrast with each other to make a reunion so distinct. -Robert Carlyle’s face! Rumple is out for BLOOD! -Also, I just realized that we haven’t seen Regina, and given the last frame of her from Season 1, that is fantastic buildup! -I have...opinions on the whole “no killing under any circumstances” policy, but right now’s not the best time to write that out. -That said, I LOVE Henry’s reaction to the mob invading Regina’s house. It puts Henry’s behavior and expectations towards Regina in Season 1 in context and affirms that for as much as he wants the curse to be undone and for her to lose, he does love her. -The buildup to Regina’s lack of magic is stunning and hilarious! Everyone in the crowd pull off their anger and fear so well and Lana’s put all the ham in to make this such a fantastic moment! -Whale is just the fucking worst! -THANK YOU SNOW!!!! FUCK! YES! THAT WAS THE WAY TO HANDLE REGINA! LOCKING HER UP IS A GOOD IDEA! Seriously, as I said before, while I feel like “no killing under any circumstances” isn’t an ideal way of conducting things for someone who committed harm and could intend more of it, there do need to be consequences for that behavior and Snow went about making a good decision about how to enforce those consequences. I feel like if the Wraith hadn’t taken Emma and Mary Margaret away and Regina hadn’t got her magic back, she would’ve also suggested a trial. -Did Emma change jackets between being at Regina and the sheriff’s station? -Rumple’s “OH” face at the jail cell is so beautiful! XD -My headcanon is that Wraiths have pool parties in the River of Lost Souls during their down time! XD -Did RUMPLE get a haircut and I just didn’t notice? His hair looked so long in the station compared to now! -How do non-Dark Ones summon Wraiths? Apart from the one that invaded Aurora’s land, Mulan has at least heard of them before. -I only realized now how much the writers pull that “I’m dying, but I can’t let my beloved know” trope. I don’t mind it (It’s romantic, tragic, and usually has an interesting bit of lore and character interaction because of it), but when I think about it, wow, there’s a staggering amount of those instances! -”You’re going to have to be more specific.” Given all that he’s done in the last 12-24 hours, that is quite the legitimate question! -Rumple, I get that Emma broke the curse, saved Henry, and reunited with her parents, but you know damn well what you did! Like, leave a note or something! Emma thought her kid was dead and you above all others should empathize! And kudos to Emma for just not buying it for a second! -I’m stuck between finding the Wraith cool as hell and fake as hell, but I’m going to lead towards the former! -Holy crap! Snow’s pulling a pre-Gina Linetti Gina Linetti with that lighter and can! When did I start loving Snow so much because holy crap, I like Snow! -Awww! There’s some cute Regal Believer when Regina asked if Henry really asked her to protect her! -Okay, so I may be the last person in the world who cares about plot holes, but how did Aurora sacrifice herself when she was cursed? -Josh had some glorious acting when it came to the post-portal anger with Regina? You can see every beat of sweat and hear the snarl in his voice! It was equal parts sad and scary -Henry asking Regina to stay away from him and everyone was also the right call. I swear I love Regina, but Henry’s decision both has a level of him giving Regina due consequences and a level of childish pettiness because his presence (As far as he knows at this moment) won’t affect her progress. -I didn’t think until now about how tragic it is that David and Henry, two people who never lived in the loft, now are, but without either of the two usual inhabits. How much are you willing to bet that they spent the day during the reunions imagining settling down in the loft with Emma and Snow, just the four of them together and happy! It makes the bleakness of those first few moments in the loft, such an iconic and bright setting in the last season so sad. -I also feel like I like David a lot more this season! He’s a lot more determined and given emotional provisions, and by that I mean, the emotions that he has are more well founded. Arcs - How are These Storylines Progressing? We’re mostly back to just the introductions of conflicts here: Emma accepting her parents - This is set up to be Emma’s internal conflict throughout the episode and I’d argue the season if not also the next one too. There are multiple facets to it. First, Emma’s collecting her bearings with the giant revelation, and second, she’s working through an underlying bitterness at her parents for leaving her alone throughout those twenty eight years. Emma and Snow stuck in the EF - This one just kind of explains itself! Storybrooke working to get them back - See above. Regina’s Redemption - A line from my favorite critic, Moviebob that he said quite recently in regards to the protagonists of “The Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise got me thinking as to the nature of redemption for the villains of the show as a whole. It basically amounts to the titular characters and others who redeem themselves do so “through their commitment to each other and a higher cause.” And I think that’s why I’d say that Regina’s redemption starts here. While probably more true for when she first adopted Henry, one can definitely say that their dynamic grew a little skewed both before and during Season 1. So I’d say that this is the rebirth of Regina’s commitment to both Henry and doing better as a person by bringing back Emma and Snow, and thus the true start to her redemption.  Favorite Dynamic Emma and Snow - While I was tempted to put Charming in here too, Snow is the driving force behind this dynamic as she is the more active in her demands. In addition to being a dynamic that plays with the theme of “love is sacrifice” (In two respects with them, actually), as I mentioned before, they have a great contrast. Mary Margaret’s passion for meeting her daughter is so wonderfully enthusiastic while Emma’s is...not. What I love is how not only do both women get time to discuss those feelings, but how both of their contrasting feelings are portrayed by the story and the conflicting character as completely valid. While everyone wants Emma to have that same joy as her parents, she doesn’t, and while admittedly a touch selfish (Though I’d also argue understandably so), there’s an understanding that this isn’t just something that she’s going to process right away. Writer Adam and Eddy are of course in charge here, and I think they delivered on exactly what they needed to! Exiting the curse was a big step and doing so would require things that an audience needed to see, both good and bad, across both realms and they did a great job of that. On top of that, the mixing of all three storylines is some of the best that I’ve ever seen of the series. It all feels so seamless and natural how they intersect. Rating Golden Apple (10/10 with an * for superb quality). This episode would’ve been good enough had we just seen the reunions and consequences of the actions in the Season 1 finale. However, we got more than just that. We got new characters, a new story, perfect character conflicts that exist so well with who we have and what they mean to each other, a twinge of lore, and some mysteries to be solved throughout the season! Everyone gets something to do and a “shining” moment (Whether it be an action of heroism or villainy), and it just meshes together really well. It’s just a well put together episode and deserves the appropriate acclaim! Flip My Ship - Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness” Sleeping Warrior - We definitely get some of that enemies to lovers stuff here, and I always enjoy that! There’s a great chemistry between Jamie Chung and Sarah Bolger have some nice chemistry and their characters have that nice defensiveness that ends up making the moment where they do come together at Phillip’s “grave” very sweet. ()()()()()()()

Wow! This was a great way to start the season off! Full disclosure: Since I binged Season 2 and 3 during my initial watch of the series and only rewatched a handful of episodes from it, I never really took much of a magnifying glass to the individual episodes, nor did I really form opinions on some of the characters, so seeing this episode rock as hard as it did made me so happy!!!

Thank you for reading and thanks to the fine folks @watchingfairytales for putting this project together! Next time, get hyped, because out of many come one-- oh excuse me-- two. See you then!

Season 2 Tally (10/220)

Writer Tally for Season 2: Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis: (10/60) Tags: ouat, once upon a time, watching fairytales, ouat episode code, ouat rewatch, jenna watches ouat, ships mentioned

Operation Rewatch Archives

[tangledforlife]

***MAJOR SPOILERS FOR TANGLED S1 Finale***( you have been warned)

Ok so this took so long because I just took down my thoughts during the entire thing (which meant I paused it a LOT lol) Sooo without further ado…thoughts:

-omg Eugene still calls her princess casually I literally cannot its too much my heart can’t take it

-AHHH EUGENE SAYS HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RAPUNZEL (I wanted him to do it during the movie soooo bad and he never did-it’s always bothered me!)

-I know she’s upset but like…Rapunzel’s sarcastic and angry outbursts are like…v hot in a badass way? Anyone?

-his hands over her eyes so gently 😭 it’s perfect and all I can ask for in my otp

-the freaking run-around her

-“come on, socks? She doesn’t even wear shoes, people!”

-UMMMM BELLE’S DRESS??? 😆

-the braid girls!!! ❤️❤️❤️…no rocks don’t hurt my BABIES

-OMG Cas WAS found out!!!!

-aaaand side note-Eugene never fails to look incredibly sexy wherever he poses, EVEN by hay bales-

-NO CAS NOOOO not the convent!!!!

-oh god what’s Varian up to now???

-THAT BADASS WALK I LOVE IT MY TEAM THATS MY TEAM

-Um pascals little walk noises are the cutest things ever

-casually throws automaton out several story window

-shortys back!

-Rapunzel asserting herself and standing up to her dad is everything I could have asked for she’s grown so much and she’s so strong 😭☀️

-nooooo don’t lock her up again!!! 😢 how could you do this to this precious girl, she needs to shine and you keep blocking out the light dad!

-that look out the window- I can’t-

-ANDDDDD tower life part two guys guess kicking down the old tower wasn’t enough lol

-GO EUGENE GO

-THATS MY HANDSOME BOY STANDING UP FOR HIS SUNSHINE

-MRS QUEENS BACK

-missed you mom! It’s been too many episodes!!!

-ugh I just love her

-he must be one tired king if he hadn’t slept in 18 years lol (no emma stop this is not a time to joke)

-YAS go Ariana for understanding exactly why Fred has this need to protect her so much but also for knowing what’s right

-uncle Monty?

-“OH SUGAR” I just died that outburst made my life

-WAHHHHHHH im crying EUGENE IS (slightly) IN CAS’s PICTURE WE’VE COME SO FAR GUYS

-she holds the picture so lovingly noooo she needs a hug guys

-I’m not crying you’re crying

-SHE PETS OWL GOODBYE NOOOO

“The last thing I was I ever expected was for YOU to be the one to disappoint ME” welp 😢

-❤️set yourself free girl ❤️

-(forever singing along)

-GUYS I JUST REALIZED SHE SAYS “A ROLE YOU NEVER CHOSE” AS SHE REPLAYS SENDING OFF EUGENE IN QUEEN FOR A DAY TO WHAT SHE THINKS COULD BE HIS DEATH I CANT I CANNOT TOO MANY FEELS

-AHHH THE BIRD MURAL IS SO BEAUTIFUL

-YES PASCAL

-“Keep looking fly boy” lol get it? Fly? 😂😂

-I love rebel Cass sooo much like YES GIRL YOU COME INTO YOUR OWN TOO ITS NOT JUST FOR RAPUNZEL GIRL ITS EVERYONE. TIME IS UP. LET OUR DAUGHTERS FULFILL THEIR DESTINIES.

-LANCE!!!!!!!

-Yes he’s part of the plan❤️

-Here’s to hoping this is the next step in him being more part of the core group 😊

(LOL ITS ALREADY LIKE 10 of 1am and I’m only 15:55 in because I’ve been pausing it so much to write my thoughts)

-“Well stan said it…so.” The SASS lol

-Pascal as the alert yellow light omg anything he could possibly do is just more adorable than you could imagine

-Well that’s a way to get up there to her window lol

-EUGENE EVERY SECOND OF YOUR LIFE IS NOT A PHOTOSHOOT HOW DO YOU DO IT -His sadboy aesthetic posing there just melts me

-Okkkk, so guess we’re just gonna wreck the whole castle now???

-OMG REUNITED ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ -That breathless way he says “hey blondie” (and isn’t about to be stabbed this time) just absolutely slays me

“IVE COME TO RESCUE YOU FROM A TOWER…AGAIN” I stg the writers you’re killing me ITS ALL TOO PERFECT

-SHE PUTS HER ARM AROUND HIS WAIST TO JUMPPPPP

-scaling down the tower, nice nice

-LANCE’S “ I took one for the team” please please PLEASE be joining their team permanently

-Oh my gosh oh my gosh what’s going on now

-“He has vilified me” yeah ok Varian keep telling yourself that

-Crap it’s already taken the outskirts of the kingdom? Are the people safe? Like what’s gonna happen to the families in the villages close-by???

-Eugene finding Rapunzel in the fog and pulling her close is goals that is all

-THEY DONT EVEN TALK HE JUST HOLDS HER

-protective Eugene is my favorite thing like ever I just have to say it’s all I want in life

-Oh my god what is THIS?

-OH nNO CAPTAINN

-“SIT TIGHT SOLDIER I GOT THIS”

-Captains hidden smile 😭

-OH MY goD the beast is poor bby RUDIGER

-ugh the way Rapunzel says Varian and looks like an angry goddess is just sooo good I love my warrior princess

-she’s such a smart badass leader calling the shots now

-Oh oh oh no what do you mean corona will pay? No Varian stop becoming more evil!!!

-OMG OMG SECRET TIME

-ok lol so the fandom basically guessed all of that haha

-Ohhhhh that moment was so special and I’m so glad they made up “Our kingdom” cries

-Lmao shorty is not even remotely close to Rapunzel’s size how does he continually pass as her

-Omg him singing wind in my hair ahahahhaa

-Oh gosh oh gosh! This is it! The face off!

-Holy crap a that’s a ton of automatons

-NOOO not pascal he’s been through enough this season!

-AGHHHH I KNEW IT IT WOULD BE LIFE THREATENING TO USE HER HAIR (Omg the sass is so real with Varian)

-No

-NO not the queen Varian you SAVAGE

-Oh NO SHES LOSING STRENGTH

-YES ARIANA YOU CATCH THAT SWORD

-AHHHH NO VARIAN NOT LIKE THIS

SCREAMS

-Rapunzel your hair your hair use it!

-OH SHIT SHE CAN CONTROL THE SPIKES

NOW SHES GOTTA LEARN HOW TO HARNESS THE POWER

-Awww “We have got to start finding better ways to spend your birthdays” ❤️❤️❤️ soo cute

-((Omg I literally can’t believe we didn’t find out Quirin’s fate in this finale I really thought we would!))

-Ahhhhhhh she’s finally gonna leave and see the world omg omg what does this mean I’m so EXCITED FOR HER !!! And she’s going with Eugene of course but I just squealed so loud!!!

-OH MY GOD SOMEONE HAS A BLADE STRONG ENOUGH TO CUT THE ROCKS AHHHHHH

WOAH THAT WAS SOOOOOO GOOD!!

(Update it’s now 2:24am eastern time and im wayyy to riled up to go to bed now! Ahhh)

I know this is super long haha but it was just to get out my reactions and thoughts so thanks if you got all the way through haha

TL/DR; You absolutely have to watch this show, this season and this finale if you have not yet! It’s literally soooo good and absolutely lives up to the hype! Help us get the word out about this awesome amazing show!

[omniversalobservations]

Back to Next Saturday (1985)

A preview of NBC's Saturday morning lineup in 1985, in which Blair (Facts of Life) reads Rudy (Cosby Show) to sleep and Rudy dreams that she's trapped in the "Dream Zone" and, accompanied by other characters from Saturday morning shows, must get back.

Steve Alterman ... Ash Casey Ellison ... Allen Anderson Ami Foster ... Margaux Kramer Soleil Moon Frye ... Punky Brewster Dan Gilvezan ... Spider-Man Cherie Johnson ... Cherie Johnson Keshia Knight Pulliam ... Rudy Huxtable Mr. T ... Mr. T Gabriela Nelson ... Carla Robbie Rist ... Whiz Bryan Scott ... Kidd Video Frank Welker ... Glomer Lisa Whelchel ... Blair Warner

Source: IMDB

After she falls asleep, Keisha is soon visited by an animated flying cat-bear thing that calls himself “Glomer,” who uses some of his “magic dust” (giant ironic **wink**) to transport her to the Dream Zone, a treacherous land of shadowy caves, trap doors, falling rocks, lakes of fire, and most horrifyingly, random televisions turned to Alvin and the Chipmunks. Glomer stars in the animated version of Punky Brewster, because every animated version of a TV show in the 80s required some sort of enchanted animal so that they didn’t simply repeat the plots of the original source material. He (it?) attempts to transport Keisha to the cartoon world, but accidently brings our favorite tiny hobo clown and her pals to the Dream Zone instead.

The kids immediately determine that they must follow a series of clues in order to find a mysterious queen who will return them to their respective worlds. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it doesn’t have to–this gossamer thread of a plot exists solely to get the kids (and the audience) from one cartoon preview to the next, watching clips that were so hastily thrown together that the soundtrack doesn’t always sync up with the film. First, they see a preview for The Snorks, a “clamtastic adventure” about underwater creatures with what look like drinking straws emerging from the tops of their heads. Based on a fifteen second clip, Punky’s buddy Allen announces “I’ll be watching The Snorks for sure!”

Equally inspired by The Goonies, released three months earlier, much of the show just features the kids wandering around in the spooky Dream Zone, occasionally acting as though they’re scared. As cute and cuddly as all of these child actors are, it appears that their direction was limited to “Play it louder…no, LOUDER.” Soleil Moon Frye and Keisha Knight Pulliam, in particular, shout all their lines like they’re attempting to speak to an elderly relative at a crowded Thanksgiving table. A plastic skeleton hanging from a ceiling terrifies them, but they’re not at all fazed to see Smurfette speaking to them from a television, or Alvin from Alvin and the Chipmunks reminding them to watch his show, but neglecting to tell them how to get out of the Dream Zone.

They also have no issue with an adult emerging from a hidden passageway while dressed in a bear suit, something that would certainly cause Yr. Correspondent’s bowels to evacuate. This would be Cubbi, the lead character of Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears, a show that has pretty much the same plot as The Smurfs, except here they’re bears who harvest “gummiberries” instead. The catchy theme song of Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears was performed by a former lead singer for Toto, and that is literally the only thing interesting about this cartoon, which somehow aired for an implausible six years.

Glomer, a creature that, like Mr. Cool in Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, exists mostly to make life difficult for its human counterparts, then zaps the cast of Kidd Video, a show I forgot existed until the moment it was mentioned on the program, into the Dream Zone. Kidd Video was NBC’s touchingly clumsy attempt at rescuing adolescent audiences from the clutches of MTV, featuring a “hip” teen rock group stuck in an alternate universe called “The Flipside,” who would distract potential enemies by showing them the hottest new music videos. This lily-white bunch of kids “often break danced to relax,” and were evidently quite popular in Israel, according to Wikipedia.

Popular in Israel or not, they don’t prove to be much help to Punky and the kids. It takes Spider-Man, and eventually the then-ubiquitous Mr. T (who proclaims “I pity the fool who tries to keep my friends from NBC Saturday morning!”) to get them out of one bind after another, including having to jump over a pool of lava. Meanwhile, little Keisha, who, for unknown reasons, has wandered off from the rest of the group, takes the opportunity to break into song. This makes Lisa Whelchel appear again, this time as the Queen of the Dream Zone, dressed like Glinda the Good Witch, and with her hair even bigger than before. They duet for a couple moments before they’re reunited with the other kids, and then the whole casts performs a song about the importance of Keisha returning home in time to see her favorite Saturday morning cartoons, as opposed to, oh, I don’t know, go to school or see her parents.

“Will I ever see my friends again?” little Keisha asks. “Of course!” answers Queen Lisa. “All you have to do is turn on your television!” It must be pointed out that “Your friends live in the television” is a strange message to send to children, and I say that having been a child who watched so much television that my eyes might as well have been rendered into two tiny test patterns.

Keisha returns safely to her own world, in her bed, with Lisa back to being just the regular babysitter with hair that only requires half a case of Aqua Net to hold it up, as opposed to the whole thing. Things seem normal, but–doh ho ho!–there’s Glomer again, babbling in that familiar Frank Welkerese, reminding the audience not to forget to watch their favorite shows on NBC Saturday morning, as if this wasn’t what the entire past twenty-five minutes was about in the first place.

Source: Tune in Tonight!

(images via YouTube)

[stilljumpingback]

(via Black Sails Episode 305 - XXIII)

FRAGMENTED THOUGHTS

Our last hallucination.    Anyone have thoughts on why this time, Flint’s lips don’t move but we hear his voice?

Flint is still preoccupied with death, but Miranda attempts to dissuade him with two tactics:  1) he is close to achieving something great, and 2) he is not alone.

Miranda:  James, you resented me because we were so close, and I threw it all away.  If you join me now, what if I resented you for the same reason? James:  What would I be throwing away? Miranda:  You can’t see it yet, can you?  You are not alone.

It is so rewarding to hear Mr. Scott say, “Give us the room.”  Finally the man is given the deference that his power has always deserved.  SUPER kudos to Flint for recognizing that Mr. Scott is even more impressive than he’d realized, and he’d already given Mr. Scott a lot of praise.

“I wonder if ever a war so loudly anticipated ended so quietly” is such a beautiful line.

Despite saying he was all out of lies in the last episode, Flint steals a tiny knife and reveals his backup plan should his conversation with the Queen go badly – he’ll hold her hostage so that his crew can escape, despite knowing he cannot survive that scenario.  When Silver points out that the plan is suicidal, Flint’s look is all, “I know, that’s why I chose it.”

Eleanor is back in Nassau!!  And I adore her forcing Hornigold to report to her.

“I suppose I should have seen this, that somehow your grip on this place would be too strong to be denied by a king, his laws, or even your death.”

When told the governor’s mansion is “home to a smuggler, den to opium fiends, salon to a pirate king,” Woodes Rogers jokes, “Suppose I’ll fit right in.”  #jokes, or is Rogers hinting at something darker?

Max and Eleanor reunite, and I am so thrilled to be watching a show in which two powerful women arguing about their influence and legitimacy!  I love even more that their posturing fades away as they question how deeply they’ve betrayed each other and the answer turns out to be NOT AT ALL.  Forever crying!!

Eleanor appeals to Max’s desire for safety, but when she doesn’t bite, Eleanor says, “He can make life very difficult for you.”  Hmmm, civilization doesn’t seem so healthy if it only exists thanks to threats of punishment.  Not to mention that Rogers knows Max is important enough that he needs her blessing of the governing council, but she cannot be a part of it (because she’s a woman/not white).  Not making a great case for the preferability of English rule!

But Max knows her worth, even if no one else does.  I LOVE HER.

“I own title to more of the street than you ever did.  I earn as much legitimate income as you ever did.  I have no enemies and strong friends.  I am the one they all come to here to make peace between them when no one else can.”

Mr. and Mrs. Scott are so cute!!  “Do you trust me to make this decision?”  “Of course I do.”  He knows she’s the one with all the power, and I’m forever dying from strong men admiring stronger women.

Billy’s “uh DUH” expression when Silver points out that he’s awfully eager to be rid of Flint, lol.  These two constantly circling Flint and missing each other in the process is super fascinating.  I would love someone else to parse their relationships with the captain and each other throughout the entirety of the series.

Max bribes Woodes Rogers with her share of the Urca gold, hidden from Spain because of its new form as black pearls etc.  Only it turns out Mrs. Hudson is a spy for Spain and they know about the double dealing!!  (How great is it that this show refuses to let women be anything other than complex and amazing??)

Eleanor didn’t tell Woodes Rogers about her relationship with Max, huh?  Sex with a pirate is one thing, but sex with another woman?  Civilization couldn’t stomach that.

Silver doesn’t want Flint to die!!  I realize that this is an incredibly low bar to clear, but, um.  It’s so sweet??

“I understand the allure of ensuring that no one will ever think you the villain you fear you are.  What a waste, it seems to me, knowing it doesn’t have to be this way, knowing the man who talked me into giving a shit about this crew, why, he could talk those people out there into anything.  If he wanted to.”

I know that Silver is calling back to his 205 realization that Flint doesn’t want to be a villain, but I think he also now understands this from his own experience.  Based on how ashamed he was to tell Flint of his betrayal re: the Urca gold, I think he’s afraid he’d be a villain to the crew if they found out.  Extra sad, knowing his eventual role in Treasure Island.

Silver knows Flint, and this is EXACTLY what he needs to hear to leave the knife (Plan B) behind and trust fully in his ability to sell a dream to someone by giving SUCH A GOOD SPEECH.

“Let us assume that I can offer you something better.  You have hidden in this place for a lifetime, hidden from the harsh realities that lie beyond this veil that you have constructed here, but the moment that that shot entered his belly, that veil began to unravel.  Sooner or later, you are going to have to confront these realities, chief among them being that England takes whatever, whenever, however it wants:  lives, loves, labor, spirits, homes.  It has taken them from me. I imagine that it has taken it from you.  And when that veil drops altogether, they will come for more.”

Revolutionary Flint is SUCH A GOOD FLINT.

This is just, FULL FLINT.  A culmination of his pursuit of freedom from oppression (now extended to more people), his rage (now turned into righteous fervor), and his military prowess (now turned against an empire).  He wants to bring it all down, and I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.

Woodes Rogers and Eleanor kiss for half a second before being interrupted.  Even though Rogers realizes he can’t accept Max’s bribe, problems are complicated because Spain knows there’s another portion missing!

Cut to:  Jack, Anne, and an enormous treasure chest.  Jack goes back to Nassau because he won’t give up his name.  He knows it’s dumb, but he cares.  She knows it’s dumb, but she loves him.  He kisses her on the hat, and it’s so cute, but SERIOUSLY.  People should listen to Anne!!  “We did it.  We beat the fucking game.  Walk another half mile, we get in that boat, and we win.”

The Walrus crew is let out of their cages, and we see Flint putting on his captain’s coat because symbolism is delicious.

Silver:  I’m going to admit something to you.  Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I didn’t think there was a chance in hell that was actually going to work. Flint:  Me neither.  Thank you…for opening that door.

They are SO CUTE, and it’s clear that Miranda’s words about James not being alone refer to Silver, but Flint is all, “Now we go find Charles Vane,” because that is his City Sacking Buddy.

[filosofablogger]

Welcome to Monday, friends.  You’ll be pleased to know that Jolly is back … (he’s still under the weather and not quite himself, but don’t tell him I said so) and determined to show up today to help start your week out on the right foot.

So, grab a treat and a cuppa something and let’s go in search of the fun and funny, shall we?

  A fool and his money …

So you think you cannot afford a nice vacation this year?  Think again!  For as little as $19.99, you can have a marvelous vacation at Disney World, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, or even Hawaii! Or, at least, you can make your friends think you did.

The company is called Fake A Vacation  and, according to their website …

Can’t make a vacation or vacations are expensive. How about “Fake Vacation”. Now you can fake a vacation and don’t have to be an expert. No messing around with pictures, photo-editing, learning or worrying about perfection, leave that on us. The professionals in the industry for it.

Get your vacation pictures delivered in your inbox and get ready to brag to your friends on where you went. We take care of everything from providing pictures to educating you about the destination. Excited!!

Do you know more than 33% of men say they faked a vacation and the number of millennial doing it is  56%. Vacations are expensive and almost always over budget. So next time when you can’t make a vacation, fake a vacation.

They advertise on such notable venues as Fox ‘News’, Daily Mail, New York Post, and Mashable, so they must be a straight-up business, right?  Sheesh … have people really got nothing better to do with their money?  Remember that expression … “A fool and his money are soon parted”?  Seems there are companies like this one looking to assist in that parting.

When in Idaho …

Back in 2012, the Idaho Potato Commission commissioned a giant potato sculpture to mark its 75th anniversary.  For the past seven years, the potato has toured the nation promoting … potatoes.  Well, the day came that the commission decided they needed a new potato, but what to do with the old one?  I mean, one doesn’t just throw away a perfectly good potato, right?And so was born the Big Idaho Potato Hotel.  Now, I think that calling it a ‘hotel’ is a bit of a stretch, for it only accommodates one person or couple at a time, but so be it.  The structure is 28 feet long, 12 feet wide and 11-1/2 feet tall, weighs six tons, and the bathroom is in a nearby detached silo.

The Big Idaho Potato Hotel has now been outfitted with insulation, a wood floor, electricity, running water, heating and air conditioning. The room is furnished with a queen-sized bed, two chairs and an antler chandelier. The hotel is listed on Airbnb for $200 per night and reservations begin in late May.

  Here’s one you don’t hear every day …

A man named Dion Calloway is an experienced skydiver and last weekend he and some friends went for a dive out in Sonoma County, California.  As he was falling, a gust of wind caught him in just the wrong way and … his leg flew off!  Did I mention that Dion wears a prosthetic leg?

When he landed, he and his friends went in search of the $15,000 appendage, but with no luck. On Monday morning, employees at the Cloverdale Lumber Yard arrived to work and were scratching their heads, puzzled by the sight of a prosthetic leg in the yard.  They called the Sheriff’s department who did some investigating and found that Mr. Calloway had reported his leg missing to airport staff the previous day.  Happily, the man and his leg were soon reunited.

But the ultimate irony is that Dion lost his natural leg a few years ago in a skydiving accident!  Personally, by now I would have decided to keep my feet … er, foot … on the ground, but Dion says he will fashion a tether to ensure it doesn’t happen again, and will soon be right back up in the air!  My hat is off to him!

And what would Jolly Monday be without a cute animal video.  Jolly picked this one out himself.

And now it’s time for you to go work or something, and leave me to my chores, for it is Monday and as you can see, the house is in sore need of some attention today.  Please share your smiles with others today, for they are even more valuable when shared.  Keep safe and have a wonderful week!  Love ‘n hugs from Filosofa and Jolly!

Jolly is Back … Sort of … Welcome to Monday, friends.  You'll be pleased to know that Jolly is back ... (he's still under the weather and not quite himself, but don't tell him I said so)