#Summer binge watching

[silverdrws]

protective dark haired powerful beings

and their hot headed friend(?) who have mommy and daddy issues

[godbirdart]

today is the first day in a very very long time that i woke up on one of my scheduled days off and didn't feel the Work Panic set in and it's... very surreal. things are quiet. i feel like i could actually read the books i bought months ago or work on the personal projects that got sidelined last year.

not going to elaborate more beyond "working a bit too much overtime and now a year's gone by somehow" but wow,,, maybe i will do an activity for me today ?? the possibilities ...

[charlottedabookworm]

turns out i'm doing this i guess

pjo/epic fic snippet below the cut

"Lady of the palace, sorry to ask this, but-"

"What did you just call me?"

Percy blinks. His brow furrows. "Lady of the palace?" He asks more than says and he was- he's trying to be more polite but he doesn't know where that had come from.

This place is a spa, not a palace, so why-?

C.C. looks at him, her head tilted in a way that looks so very familiar.

(Just like everything else here. Why is everything on this quest so familiar? Why is his heart racing and his palms sweaty and-)

"Who, me?" C.C. says very slowly.

Yes, you? he wants to say.

But she continues. "All I did was reveal their true forms."

What? Percy thinks. "You turned them into pigs," Percy says, his mouth moving before he can think.

What?

He blinks.

His stomach rolls, like he's hung over an edge, ready for freefall. Like he's standing on the deck of a ship, battered by a storm that rages with a fury he's never seen before.

The world is brighter. Like he's just remembered to take off sunglasses he isn't wearing.

"Kírkē?"

The goddess stares at him, paling, and there is pity in her eyes. It should make him angry; he's always hated being pitied.

It doesn't.

"Odysseus," she whispers.

[madelyn-cline]

okay so fuck outer banks

[party-lemon]

love when fictional men are nice and happy but, more importantly, when they're sad and pathetic

[clowningcrows]

would it be toxic of me to admit that i found a shirt at the thrift store that's nearly identical to dexter morgan's long sleeve green one and i bought it immediately

[uhbasicallyjustmilex]

i have been very miserable ill in bed for the last few days and i just wanted to pop on here briefly to thank the lovely, lovely humans who’ve left me such kind and wonderful comments on four walls today - i truly can’t tell you how much they’ve cheered me up 🥹🫶

[rubywolf0201]

Guys, I’m so normal about this hot mess of a man. I don’t care what critics say about this show, but I really just love him so very much!! 💙❤️

[charlesemersonwinchesteriii]

[theyilinglaozus]

I mentioned this briefly over on MDL yesterday, but since I'm back from my theatre trip I figured I'd say a little something about the Shōgun finale here too.

I've seen quite the divide in how people felt about the ending; some hated it whilst others, myself included, loved it.

I think one of the things that some people feel disappointed by is the fact we never got to see the battle of Sekigahara that the show was building up to. Yet the truth is that Shōgun was never going to show it, because in terms of the story the viewer didn't need to see the battle to know the outcome.

The story was always about Toranaga and the journey he takes towards becoming Shōgun. He is a master strategist, and has been playing the game of war from the very start, just silently and through methods of politics rather than by the sword. He uses every person to his advantage, moving them like pieces on a board for his endgame, even those who he is closest to. Sure, there are moments he likely doesn't account for - the death of his son and the appearance of Blackthorne, for instance - but like any strategist of his level he either adapts them into his plans, or finds a way to use the moment in his advantage. That's what strategists do.

We don't need to see the battle of Sekigahara, because by the end of the show Toranaga has already won. This is what he tries to tell Yabushige before his death. Toranaga's explanation here reminds me to the moment he's talking to his son, with this quote:

'Why is it that only those who have never fought in battle are so eager to be in one?'

War is inevitable, but Toranaga is trying to minimize the number of those who have to die because of it. After all, his goal is for a peaceful era for Japan.

Mariko's death was the final act of Crimson Sky. Her death shakes the foundations enough to cause action to happen, because her death should not have been allowed to happen. Ishido knows this, which is why he sends his ronin to capture, not kill. Mariko's death, while tragic, is the final nail that sparks change. Ochiba, mourning the death of her childhood friend, decides to tell Toranaga in secret not to send the Heir's army to aid Ishido in battle, meaning that without his banner Ishido's war is no longer a lawful one.

While Mariko's death is a tragic one, it is not a meaningless one. It does not feel cheap, and the finale episode allows the viewers to mourn with those who knew and loved or respected her. I thought this was quite beautifully done, as even though she wasn't present in the episode, her spirit was still there, so she was still very much there. Some of the cinematography beautifully alluded to this, especially in moments like when Blackthorne and Fuji are sitting together in silence, yet there's one seat left -- Mariko's. Blackthorne even says then, 'no translator', because once Mariko had been a bridge of communication and understanding between them.

Another thing which I see a lot of confusion upon is Blackthrone's flash-forward scenes -- did he ever return to England? The answer, in my opinion, is told in the finale episode too. No, he didn't. Toranaga tells Yabushige that Blackthorne will never leave Japan, and in the scenes with an older Blackthorne, we see he's holding Mariko's cross. Yet he drops it into the water, showing that he lets it go. The episode title is 'a dream of a dream', and that's what Blackthorne's flash-forwards are: dreams. Another life, another path - but not this one.

The characters of Shōgun are based on real-life people in history -- it's actually really fascinating, and I've been learning more and more about their real-life counterparts whilst following this gem of a show. If you're interested in learning more, look up names like Tokugawa Ieyasu, Miura Anjin (William Adams) and Hosokawa Gracia (Akechi Tama).

All in all, Shōgun to me leaned more into the political intrique side of war, which for some people will be fascinating, and for others, not so much. But this show has so many layers and so much hidden within it, I can see it being one that's analysed for years to come.

[reallyhailey]

I should have done a peach girl theme for my blog bc it’s summer :( but now that summers almost over idk what to do.

[erodingsinner]

It's just me and the shows I binge watch to keep myself from feeling anything against the world

[humbuns]

i had friends recommend me anime/manga because they thought it fit my style so if anyone has anything to suggest, pls drop it here!!

[soldotpng]

imogen temult the sorceress ever

[gins-potter]

i feel like s2 never really resolved ari's struggle with how he wanted to be perceived online, they resolve the more personal aspect of it (somewhat) of his concerns that he's boring, but i feel like they never really decided how he would brand himself online.

and i've been thinking about it and i can kind of him deciding to chronicle his journey with anxiety/mental health struggles. him wanting other young athletes to know they aren't alone, tips and strategies that work for him, explaining how to navigate being on medication in a high-performance environment.

i can see it being a little messy at times, sometimes he's not open enough, sometimes he's too open and struggles with the inherent vulnerability of what he's posting. but he realises he's proud of the legacy he's leaving the first time another young athlete (maybe another surfer, maybe not) reaches out and tells him how he's inspired them to keep going when they thought their career might be over before it had even started.

[nnnn99999]

Since summer night is ending soon, I decided that this is the perfect time to start watching mafia the series. Because I can't not have a constant injection of jd content in my life. I mean I could totally rewatch simm or ha, but since I am almost done watching a solo Dunk show, I kinda want to watch a solo Joong show now. I decided not to binge it so that I have something to keep me busy for a while. Life is stressful and I need something good to look forward to everyday. Anyway, this show is really good. Yes, I only watched ep 1. Yes, I am very confident that the whole series is good after watching only one ep. Because my do I have THOUGHTS!!!

First of all why oh why is this series so obscure? I doubt I would have known of its existence had I not been so jd obsessed. Or is it that the style of this show does not suit everyone? I'm just confused because I think it's great.

The cast so far seems to be great. I am so intrigued by everyone and how their characters are going to play out. They are so interesting. And all of them are so different, which makes the dynamics between them so much fun to watch. Particularly, I am very interested to see how the AnnaIntenso dynamics is going to play out. I love frenemies. Also I can already tell the characters have a lot of depth to them.

I love the style of this show. It is a mafia show, but it gives me more of a western + fantasy vibes. The opening scene was a fight between two mafia gangs, but because of the music and the way it was shot and edited, it felt more like an epic fantasy war. But it also gives me anime vibes for some reason. Anyway, I am loving the overall vibes so far.

Also I have to mention the choice of weapons for the main cast. It is interesting. This mafia show is giving me a sword, daggers(I have no idea what Intenso's weapon is actually called so I'm settling for daggers even though I clearly know those are not daggers. I don't want to accidentally spoil myself by researching so yeah) and a red gun. Awesome.

Fun fact about me nobody asked for: I am a huge fan of One Piece. I have a very strong emotional attachment to it. I will not even start on how much I love it and why. My overflowing love for One Piece is relevant because one of my favorite characters is Zoro. And Sven from this show reminds me of Zoro. It's not just because Sven is a swordsman, their fighting styles are very very different after all. It's because Sven is the cold, calm, loyal, strong protector like Zoro. If Sven turns out to be an idiot too, I will probably scream and terrify anyone who is unfortunate enough to be in the same house as me.

Moving on, the story seems really interesting so far. I have literally no idea where this is going to go since I jumped into this without knowing a single thing about it, apart from the fact that Joong is in it. But I am seated and ready for whatever this show decides to give me.

This next section is going to be me gushing over Joong basically.

So obviously I knew Joong is a really good actor. But I didn't know he was this good. The highlight of this ep, and maybe even the whole series, was Beam crying after finding out about his father's death. It was not the teardrops falling silently kind of crying I have seen Joong do before. No, it was the gut wrenching screaming ugly crying to the point you start to throw up because your world has fallen apart right in front of you. It was such a good scene. I felt every bit of Beam's pain and loss. I had no idea Joong could do that. Actually the scene at his father's funeral was done so well too. Joong was crying here too, but the feeling was completely different. Also I love that when Sven came to the funeral, Nut was the one who noticed and recognized him. Beam however was so distraught that he didn't notice Sven at all. Even the part where Beam gets lost in Baifern is so good. Like you can really tell that he is completely enraptured by her. Also the part where Beam looks at Baifern before getting into his father's car in front of the pub. So so good.

To summarize, Joong is a wonderful actor and I love him. This show is great.

Thanks to @airenyah for helping me find this show because if I was not going through your tags, I probably wouldn't have found out about the existence of this show until much later.