#Yes i am on episode three. of the rewatch. of a show i finished 2 days ago. what of it

[youssefguedira]

do you ever just

[mpchev]

Update on fanbinding dissertation: binding the dissertation itself!

After many days and nights of writing and wrangling footnotes and proofreading (where I couldn't convince my laptop that yes, I meant textualisation, not sexualisation), 'twas time to bind the beasts! In three copies, no less! Which I approached with way too much confidence from my one fanbind experience, and came with many fun little surprises due to the format guidelines I had to follow 🤡

This is going to be a long one, so here's my happy unfocused mug to confirm that it all ends well:

First pickle: The typesetting. I absolutely loved typesetting fanfic, but the dissertation had to be A4 (way less fun, boo-hoo), one-sided, with every page numbered. Did you know that LibreOffice won't let you add blank pages and only number the non-blank ones, without skipping numbers? In order to print signatures I could fold into one-sided pages, only numbered on the right-hand pages, I ended up switching to landscape orientation and including the equivalent of a blank page in the left margin.

Second pickle: The imposing, which I couldn't figure out using the amazing bookbinder with my weird landscape 2-page layout. I finally gave in and rearranged all the pages manually, which looked like p. 1 on the recto / p. 10 on the verso, then p2/p9, p3/p8, p4/p7, p5/p8, p6/p7. And because there was no way I was paying print-in-colour prices for all of this, I further split the manually imposed pages into two files, one for the greyscale printer (cheaper) and one for the colour printer (highway robbery). Still came up to ~£70, just for printing.

Very glad I went in chunks of 10 for the signatures, it made both the math and the folding using sheets from two different piles much easier, highly recommend (if for some absurd reason you also want to bind one-sided numbered pages in folded signatures).

Third pickle: Linear time. Had planned on having so much time to print and bind this thing, but kept writing and rewriting and proofing and oops! It was due in less than 24 hours and it was still not out of the laptop. So.

22/09/24, 6pm: Got to the library, started printing.

6.45pm: Found another printer where all the paper was the same shade of white, started printing again 🤦���♂️ (kept the the misprints to use as scrap paper when glueing)

7.30pm: Started folding the 150 sheets of paper (3 x 100-page dissertation, 2 pages per sheet). Went from the last episode of The Magnus Protocol, to an episode of Welcome to Night Vale, to deciding restart The Magnus Archive, which felt almost poetic.

9pm: Headed back home, trimmed the edges (with a borrowed guillotine), folded the endpapers, stabbed everything. Lack of pictures to be blamed on my inability to mess with linear time, and the eventual sleep deprivation.

10.30pm, I think? Started sewing the signatures together, again with Supernatural (which I started rewatching when I submitted my first dissertation assignment in mid-May, and finished 2 days after submitting the dissertation itself, again, such poetry).

2am, probably? Tipped the endpapers and glued cheesecloth over the spines. Somehow figured out where to set the three textblocks to dry (I don't have a press). Sadly gave up on sewing on (or glueing) headbands, because time.

3am-ish: Cut the missing cover pieces out of millboard (had already cut 4 of 6 covers, since I knew it had to be A4), measured the spines of the three textblocks and cut those as well.

???am: Did some math, because sure, that's the right time for that. Cut the bookcloth to size, glued the cover pieces on the bookcloth. Remarkably only messed up the measurements on one of them! That means one of the copies has a millimetre of millboard showing in the inside corners of the back cover, but not enough time/bookcloth/millboard to redo it, onward we go!

Way past dawn: Took a break for food while the covers somewhat dried. Cased the three textblocks in the three covers, with the endpapers bubbling, which took me by surprise since it was the same paper and same glue I had used for the fanbind without any problem. I'm now thinking that bigger book = more time needed to apply the glue = endpapers getting warped, but I was so exhausted by this point that who knows. Again, no time to redo it!

9.30am: Stacked the dissertations under the heavy reference books I used to write the dissertation. Toute est dans toute hein. Went to bed while they (mostly) dried.

2.30pm: Woken up by my neighbour's dj set. Eventually put all that hard work in a tote and walked to school to hand it in at 4.30pm.

Fourth and last pickle: The titling. Couldn't find paper long enough to do a half-dust jacket like I did last time. Had big cutout plans, ran out of time and couldn't finish testing those. Also had some thicker textured paper I thought of cutting and glueing to the cover as a title card, but it turned out too thin and was warping. Finally resigned myself to submitting it with a blank cover, but one of my teachers asked if I would mind adding the title on with metallic markers to make it easier to identify (one copy will eventually be on the shelf at the Institute), and I'm SO HAPPY with how it turned out. Metallic markers. Why didn't I think of that. (I did, however, think about dressing appropriately for the occasion.)

So, is it possible to print and bind 3 books in less than 24 hours? Yes! Am I glad I did it? Also yes, very satisfying, love being extra! Would I do it again? God no, I've been sleeping for two weeks and I still haven't recovered. Can't wait to start binding something else though, so I guess it wasn't that bad.

That's it! That's over! Aaaaaah! Now waiting for the grade and comments, and hopefully soon I'll be able to share the content as well.

I'll also try to post some more about the research/writing process itself, somewhere between the late nights reading international treaties on income tax and the early mornings spent figuring out how to apply for a phd next.

Thank you so much to everyone who followed along, this was way more fun than I ever could have hoped!

[waitmyturtles]

SUNDAY SHOW ROUND-UP!

Goddamn -- there are so many shows! The holiday season and many life obligations are preventing me from writing meta about most of these shows except for the big priorities (my Old GMMTV Challenge project and Last Twilight). So here's a quick round-up of what I'm thinking, feeling, etc., about the dramas I have going on.

1) CHERRY MAGIC THAILAND IS DELIGHTFUL AND FULFILLING TO MY SOUL AND LIFE

I've mentioned before! I'm a HUUUUUGE Cherry Magic Japan girlie. I am a major defender of the movie, AMA. When I joined Tumblr last year, besides Old Fashion Cupcake, Cherry Magic was....I think it was the first gigantic rabbithole I fell in. I love, unabashedly, everything about this franchise, and I think TayNew are carrying it splendidly so far. (Also, the original mangaka of the whole Cherry Magic franchise, Toyota Yuu, is 100% on board with the adaptation and is regularly tweeting about it, and just! COULD THAT BE MORE CUTE AND REASSURING FOR US CM GIRLIES, NO I DON'T THINK SO, BIG HAPPY SIGHS.)

So the original manga exists in the Cherry Magic Thailand universe, huh? I'm gonna admit my unreasonable optimism to say that I am not-so-secretly hoping for a Machida Keita/Akaso Eiji/Kurosawa/Adachi cameo -- but the manga existing in this universe jags that up a bit.

BUT! Toyokawa still exists in the universe... so does that mean that Kurosawa/Adachi do, too? I'M NOT GOING THERE, BUT I AM.

ANYWAY! I noted last month that I really appreciated seeing a lot of Japan in the Cherry Magic trailer -- "Karan-san," Karan speaking Japanese, "san juu," the fact that Toyokawa is still the company that all these guys are working for. But I also love the very overt Thai visuals -- the Buddha in Achi's apartment foreground, the offering to the monk (which replaces the onigiri guy in Cherry Magic Japan, lmao) -- I'm just, covering my mouth in happiness at noting that these details are very well-placed, and very intentional.

That's it, I enjoyed every last second of this first episode in total joy of seeing this Thai remix. With X Nuttapong behind this show -- yes, oh yes, I loved seeing literally the phrase "theory of love" in the subtitles, and good on him for going there a bit.

2) An Old GMMTV Challenge update! So, I interrupted the OGMMTVC to catch up with La Pluie, because I know LP will be on a lot of best-of-2023 lists later this month.

By episode 4 or so, I knew La Pluie had to, HAD TO, go on the OGMMTVC syllabus, so on it went. And I'm going to pause on writing about it out of chronology. I'm watching Secret Crush on You (2022) now, I'll do my watchlist thing, and I'll rewatch LP.

La Pluie was a motherfucking important show.

The subversion of the romance genre in Thai BL. I mean. Give me a mallet to crack the gigantic egg on that on. @lurkingshan's La Pluie meta round-up post has been a walking stick for me as I've stumbled to get my thoughts together around this show, and honestly, I'm not ready to write about it yet. I need to finish 2022's shows on the watchlist and get through some important 2023 rewatches to fully write about La Pluie in its context, and to understand how such an important show came about this year by way of the straightforward honesty it took in dismantling and rebuilding some very key expectations that we may have carried about romance in Thai BL before its airing.

If you haven't watched La Pluie yet, do it before this year is over. DO IT. IT'S INCREDIBLE AND SO MUCH.

3) Playboyy, episode 4: I have a lot of thoughts, and no time to write about this show, but episode 4 was really different than the first three. It was CAMPY AF, way melodramatic (wtf Zooey/Soong), but it also had many more nuggets of a plot than I had expected to see by way of Nont finally revealing himself to WAY more people than I had expected. I'm sticking with it with the expectation that Cheewin will know how to get himself out of this mess, BUT, one huge criticism -- the intimacy is getting harder to watch, because it's being lazily acted and filmed (..... you had y'alls' shorts on, Prom/Nont, ahem), and it's just a lot, and can we just, like, get more to the story, I'm gonna put that in the show's request box.

Clown theory: I think Prom knows more than he's letting on and is using Nont in some bad ways to get back at those other dudes for leaving Playboyy. But I'm trying to not get invested-invested because a) still sooooo many names to remember, GOD, and b) soooo many shows airing, my brain can't take it.

4) The Sign: I'm putting this guy on pause. I heard yesterday's episode was 90 minutes, and I can't commit to a weekend show that needs that kind of time commitment. I'm following y'all in the gifs. This is no knock on BillyBabe. I REALLY LIKE THEM TOGETHER. GO SAINT, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU. But I'll watch this when there's a lull in the midseasons.

5) What Did You Eat Yesterday?: WDYEY and Last Twilight are the best shows airing right now. When a show is so good, it doesn't need meta? That's WDYEY. Nishijima’s quiet “hai” to start the conversation with Kenji’s mom? Some of the best acting in all of BL.

The amazing @isaksbestpillow threw down some clutch background about this past Friday's episode that's WELL worth reading, about chosen family and what Kenji's family was offering to Shiro. Gorgeous, screaming, crying, etc.

That's all I got, happy Sunday, y'all! The OGMMTVC will come back with SCOY when I wrap it up, hopefully soon!

[quodekash]

this is my seventh post about two episodes. this is why it takes me so long to watch things.

anyway, continuing now

HIS LITTLE PONYTAIL SDHFSDHSH

wait omg

these are the clothes theyre wearing when they eat each others fingers in the trailer

theyre about to eat each others fingers

hell yes

please, please do

i will get down on hands and knees and beg if i have to

HSHDHSHSFDHS

OH HOW THE TURN TABLES, INNIT?

HELL TO THE FREAKING YES

AND THE SONG PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND???? BRO THE NOSTALGIA IM GETTING

im definitely rewatching bad buddy soon. ill bet that ill start rewatching it within the week

of course

you know, i think the one time they werent interrupted by pa (or korn, or some other person) was on the freaking rooftop

CHEEK KISS

CHEEK KISS

THE PARALLELSSSSSSSS

i could talk all day about parallels

holy hell

we're finally here

the end of our skyy 2

i am not even slightly emotionally prepared for this

ITS 9PM AND THEYRE ONLY JUST HAVING DINNER???

well, he did say on call with his mum that the play only just ended

but jeez i was not expecting it to be that late

yes. yes. YES.

BIRTHDAY SURPRISE, LETS GOOOOO

oh. it's not phu?

but it was timed so well??

phu has to be there

i love him so much

i missed him a lot

my dear precious...

uh

tUL TUL, I LOVE TUL AND I DEFINITELY DIDNT HAVE TO LOOK UP HIS NAME BECAUSE I FORGOT WHAT HIS NAME WAS

he wishes for his boyfriend to be there :(

and phu emerges from the cake

bro that one candle was having issues

it took four blows to get it out, and that fourth one was very extended

i think mix was trying really hard to not get spit all over the cake and to not ruin the shot, but internally he was like "F[beep] YOU, YOU STUPID F[beep]ING CANDLE, DIE, DIE, DIE, OH MY GOD JUST BLOW OUT ALREADY, HOLY SH[beep], I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU SO MUCH, OH MY GOD IM GOING TO K-"

that's how i think it would go if we could see into mix's mind when he was trying to blow out that fREAKING CANDLE

okay, so, is he hallucinating, or is phu actually there

maybe the candle was stalling for time cos tul and phu werent moving fast enough and they were like to the candles "QUICK, WE NEED A DISTRACTION SO THAT HE DOESNT NOTICE", and that one was like "i got this bro 🤝" and did the performance of its lifetime

oh wow im really freaking tired

i have fifteen minutes left. ill tackle them tomorrow.

its gonna take me three days to finish two episodes of a show, where each episode is only about an hour long, and if thats not the most in-character thing for me, idk what is

anyway, see you tomorrow for the end of the years, many many tears, goodbyes, and hopefully no flies (idk what that last bit was, i just wanted to make it rhyme)

[salvatoreren]

I finally watched AOT's last episode and frankly, I am not okay, I have been sobbing a river oh my fucking god.

Anyways, it was really good, as expected of MAPPA anyway, I was pretty much crying the whole episode actually.

I have complaints, mostly because of the not included anime, little things like not having the flashbacks of Armin of reading a book in the rain, the squirrels etc. etc. I would have love to see them in the market and the way to the boy who sought freedom, goodbye was not implemented, I WAS WAITING FOR THAT COME ON

The anime only scenes were good too, like Levi giving food to the refugees, falco and gabi, i wish we saw their outfits tho, they slayed with that one.

the way they played 13 no fuyu, im killing myself, ive been listening to that shit since 2022 which mind you was when i was active once more in aot, the fucking flashbacks my god, that was so tragic RAHHH

i also saw aot's op, EREN WITH A BOW? EREN WITH A BOW!!! MIND YOU I JUST FINISHED WATCHING THE HUNGER GAMES SO IMMEDIATELY IM LIKE YES YES IT'S GIVING KATNISS EVERDEEN, WITH WHAT HIM BEING HUMANITY'S HOPE, ESP WITH THE FIRE COMING OUT OF IT FORMING A BIRD

THE SAME BIRD WE SAW ON S4 ENDING 1, oh my god, the opening was really cool omg, it perfectly showcased eren's journey, what he went through, despite being absent in the final chapters, it still showed Eren was still the protagonist...Which isayama did not understand when he made 139

Yes, I am bitter still with the ending, no, I am not hearing anyone out and no, I am not going to pour my disappointments with it STILL, here because yeah.

It's such a shame that's the last and final time we'll ever see it, devastating tragedy omg.

ARMIN AND EREN'S FINAL INTERACTION, IM GLAD THEY MADE THEM HOLD HANDS, THANK YOU MAPPA, PLS THE WAY THEY'LL BE TOGETHER FOREVER AND WILL BE WAITING FOR EACH OTHER IN HELL, GAGGED, IM DEAD, MY ROMAN EMPIRE FOR REAL

Now that's out of the way.

It's been a long and fun ride, regardless, the final season has been going for what three years, i've been with this series for three years, it was fun really it was, this series took such a simplistic and cliched approach then twisted into something more complex and truly gutwrenching. 2020 was nothing without AOT, in my opinion, watching AOT broadened my media consumption, yanked me into the anime world and i already have so many fandoms i'm in.

2020 was a hard time too, i couldn't have done it without this bloody series, god, i remember aboarding the train hype, everything was everywhere, fics, art, videos, memes etc. All those I read influenced my writing style, all those theories made me think more critically, those memes and videos of it made me laugh. It's funny how a series like this one comforted me so much.

I remember being so traumatized by the first episode i'm like who the fuck would ever like this series with this much blood and that night i immediately searched for eren fics because i was like who is this boy i like him, i fucking dreamt of the beast titan, all those nights racing with my sister who could finish the series first, i literally woke up at 4 just to watch it before she could.

Fucking terrified which of my favorite characters were going to die next, literally sobbing over armin's death, god and the mindfuck with Marley and Eldians and Subjects of Ymir in the fray oh my god.

Can I just say, I wouldn't be who I was without AOT? Even with my cynical behavior, it's all because of it.

2021 who i never fail to reiterate and think fondly is good because of AOT as well, I figured wow, the final season is coming back, I should rewatch it again and so the hyperfixation began, i was sick too, almost dying too actually, dengue is dangerous and it was just a fond memory because i was watching aot and i acted like i never had watch these scenes in my life and despite feeling like dying i felt okay.

I was so batshit crazy when part 2 came out, that was the one that was actually peak AOT don't lie, I was literally screaming like i was giving birth OVER AN OPENING AND AN ENDING, i'll never forget any of it.

When I cried watching the whole episode, it really just occurred to me that this is really the end for AOT, i was only ever able to go through it because I have the anime and it what really kept the whole fandom alive, the anime's honestly the reason why it had this many fans as you can see.

And again the way it's heartwrenching for it to just be a simple series and then it's full blown war, jean and reiner holding out to each other, remembering how they used to be close and comrades then betrayals and war happened and it's all ruined.

The devastating realization of seeing the last few panels animated, watching the end flash through the screen, realizing there was nothing out of this now, no more next episodes, no more hype, it's gone and it's so devastating because how happy it made you, the way you'll never see these characters again, only in rewatches or art. But it's not the same.

I admit I don't feel as hyperfixated over it now, after getting burnt out of it last year, even good things go badly sadly and i was just here for eren now, but doesn't change the fact this series has nurtured my quarantine, i grew up with this series even if it was only recent, who changed the trajectory of my life and had me find my paths.

I'll never forget these characters who made my life, who brought life to the story, even if they were just moved by the plot now, i'll always have a soft spot for AOT, i will always love it, regardless how much i hate it, there will always be fondness within it.

It's kind of weird, really to see Levi who has done so much to the fandom just by existing and being drawn and animated now cease to exist? I suppose, looking at him feels weird like imagine comparing 2014 levi to 2023 levi now omg, that's where you really begin to realize how much time has passed and how much AOT has evolved AGAIN JKSDHJ

well, i'm still on eren's side, still hate what happened to him but i'll always love him, he is such an important character to me, i don't think i truly ever loved someone like him despite representing the total opposite of me, he just had that charm i suppose, his views are so hauntingly beautiful, idealistic, him representing hope, despite what he did, in the end he did what he could for himself and for his people IN MY HUMBLE ONION

eren yeager i'll always love you

i'm kinda scared what would happen to this fandom now, will it die now? Will it live? I doubt, I haven't even finished my eren fic and lol, either way i hope someone will still enjoy AOT, i hope still there will be new watchers.

This is long but this is just how I really feelt about AOT which I wholeheartedly do love and cherish with all the memories and the pain it gave.

Thank you Isayama for this world, for these characters, for these mindblowing revelations about war, life and freedom, for the heartaches and the joy.

Thank you WIT for raising AOT and truly breathing life to it, for garnering fans for it to be more appreciated.

Thank you MAPPA for continuing WIT's legacy, you are not the same but still delievered, thank you for carrying the final season and the fandom on your back, may you sleep well and have your deserved pay.

Thank you for the voice actors who breathed those memorable lines to be used in edits.

Thank you Linked Horizon for coming back, aot was iconic because of your openings.

Thank you AOT for everything.

[gothicbarbie]

MY TOP BL’S OF 2019 AND EARLIER

I decided to group all of the BL series I've watched from 2019 and prior together because there simply weren't enough. I decided just to go with 10 for this list cuz there were nowhere near enough series as there were for the other years. I love that BL series have really taken off and improved every single year! I just have so much fun watching them and I'm glad others feel the same.

1. TharnType [Thai] - Sexiest bl of all time? Possibly. At least in 2019 haha. A few others have risen to it's level now, but the first time I saw this it really blew me away. Yes, there are some major problematic elements in this series but imo mewgulfs chemistry and the drama more than makes up for it.

2. History 1-3 [Taiwan] - This is a fun series and definitely the best for Taiwan imo. I love that each series is so different from the others. My personal favorite is season 3, I loved both seasons that year. But I've found enjoyable things about all of them. I also love that Taiwan has a good mix of intimate scenes and moments but also longer episodes and different storylines. Just wish we had more from them.

3. Until We Meet Again [Thai] - This drama definitely has really slow and cheesey moments and I am not sure the supernatural storyline was for me but I still had a great time watching. The three pairings were all so different from one another. I like that it had a deeper storyline as well. Definitely memorable.

4. Love By Chance [Thai] - This is one of the "older" thai bl's but has such a unique flair to it and there's a very specific charm that drew me in. It was just well done and cute.

5. The Boy Next Door [Korean] - This was a series I just recently watched and it was very fun and cute. Can def. be seen as a "bromance" in parts but it still had romantic undertones. Not a lot of "intimate" moments here or anything and defintely more of a comedy but I liked how different it was and it was really easy to watch.

6. 3 Will Be Free [Thai] - The most "poly" bl series we've gotten yet. I loved the focus on all three of the mains and relationship between the three of them. I think the show could have gone a bit deeper with it, but I still loved watching this show and I liked the thriller sort of aspect to it, it was different.

7. Theory of Love [Thai] - For me this one started out really good and then got quite a bit draggy near the middle. When it switched POV'S I wasn't as into it and there was way too much crying and drama lmao. But, for a sort of trashy, classic, Thai bl series, it fits the bil.

8. Dark Blue and Moonlight [Thai] - This BL was a HOT MESS from start to finish. A bit odd and all over the place, yet somehow, I still really enjoyed watching it. It was kinda like a car crash you couldn't look away from lmao.

9. Kiss Me Series [Thai] - TBH I don't remember this series all that much and should prob. rewatch it at some point, but it's another fun classic thai bl series. I mostly skimmed it for TayNew tbh.

10. He’s Coming to Me [Thai] - Ghost storylines aren't really my thing but I did enjoy this series and I thought the chemistry between Singto and Ohm was sweet and the storyline was pretty unique.

Honorary Mentions:

Thai: Together With Me (Don't ermember much of this but gotta love MaxTul), WaterBoyy (My first "bl" experience with New+Earth wayyy back before I ever even knew what BL was), Sotus (Didn't enjoy this one as much as other people but it was okay.)

Taiwan: Red Balloon (Nice Taiwanese series, nothing super outstanding but decent.)

ANTI: ADDICTED. I cant tolerate the "love" this series gets... it depicts sexual assault in a romantic light. It's an absolute NO for me.

Also check out my other lists from 2022, 2021, and 2020! https://gothicbarbie.tumblr.com/post/705139242020618240/my-top-20-bl-series-of-2022 https://gothicbarbie.tumblr.com/post/705227666795741184/my-top-15-bl-series-of-2021 https://gothicbarbie.tumblr.com/post/705674738528354304/my-top-15-bls-of-2020

[lunatic-fandom-space]

Okay, I just finished rewatching the first season of Miraculous and I have some thoughts, but before that I need to complain

Why the fuck is the episode order Lika That? I initially set out to watch the episodes in production order rather than release order because I knew there was some funky stuff going on with the release order, only to find that the production order was also all fucked up ??? So I had to rely on someone on reddit who was kind enough to write down a chronological episode order for the first three seasons (and despite that, Origins ended up as the last two episodes of season 1 for some reason, although I am retroactively glad about that tbh, more on that later). Fortunately it looks like seasons 2 and 3 do just follow the production order so watching those will hopefully be easier

One of my main reasons I wanted to rewatch Miraculous and finish it is that I wanted to see if it was even a good kids show. Because while a lot of MLB fans and critics bring up good points about the missed potential of the show, it feels like a lot of them go about it from the perspective of adults or older teens who want to enjoy it as a piece of media that caters to them, rather than as the show for children it actually is (which isnt exclusive to this fandom, its just kinda a general tumblr thing but still). Its something that really bothers me about critiques of childrens media because yes, making something for a young audience isnt an excuse to make something bad, but you still need to apply different standards for kids media than you would for teen and adult media. What I mean by that is, just because a piece of media for children doesnt appeal to you, an adult, doesnt mean its bad, its just not for you.

So, Miraculous isnt well-written by the standards of media in general, but is it a good kids show? The first season, yes. Since Ive already watched seasons 2 and 3 and seen a lot of the spoilers for seasons 4 and 5, I know theres gonna be some problems and Im gonna run into some issues with my future critiques because it genuinely gets hard to tell what theyre even trying to do narratively and if theyre trying to appeal to the under 10 crowd like the first season or trying to become more mature and for tweens (10-12 year olds) as the series goes on, which are important things to consider when critiquing the show like this but Im gonna worry about that later

For now, yes, the first season is a good kids show.

The characters are pretty archetypical and Adrien is honestly pretty bland when hes not Cat Noir but theyre all ultimately pretty likable (or hatable in Chloe, Lila and to a lesser extend Kim's cases) and I like the diversity in Marinettes class, both in terms of ethnicity and in terms of bodytype. That being said, the designs of both the civilian characters and their akumatized versions are mediocre and personalityless at best and straightup awful at worst. For the akumatized villains I find it kinda weird that theres not really a consistent style to them. Some of them, like Stormy Weather, Lady Wi-Fi and Evillustrator, practically have the same color scheme, some of them, like Stormy Weather, Puppeteer and Reflecta, have the vibes of magical girl anime villains, some of them, like Timebreaker, Simon Says and Rogercop, seem like villains you'd find in a western comic book series etc. And it really doesnt feel like its because of the personality of the akumatized or because of their feelings when they got akumatized, it feels like its just kinda random every time and Im not a big fan of that. Marinettes Ladybug suit is really bland and I dont like how much emphasis it puts on her underage body especially since this a show claims to be empowering to young girls while Adriens Cat Noir suit looks fine i guess, just kinda generic for a black cat superhero. I dont think it'll ruin the experience for any kid watching the show but to me stuff like this is a pretty big display of carelessness, especially considering fashion is so important with Marinette wanting to be a designer and the main villain being a world renowed fashion designer.

The animation is pretty good for TV cgi though and I actually found the fight scenes very engaging and fun, I think kids who like action would really enjoy them

After watching seasons 2 and 3, I was honestly very surpised to see that Marinettes crush on Adrien and her awkwardsness around him was actually pretty cute and endearing initially. Like yeah, shes a bit of a weirdo about it but shes not like, a stalker and her awkwardness feel like an appropriate level of over the top-ness for an animated kids show and its definitely a far cry from the cringy, unecessarily slap-sticky shit I remembered, so that was nice. The writing in general was far less juvenile and trying-too-hard-to-be-funny, except for Hawk Moth. Now, theyre not trying too hard to make him funny, theyre actually trying to do the opposite, but hes just impossible to take seriously with his cringy lines every time he goes to akumatize someone. I think it would be better if the sequence of him sending the akuma out was silent, like we the potential victim get angry, cut to Hawk Moth smirking and doing his thing with the akuma in silence, then we see the victim get akumatized and talk to Hawk Moth except we dont hear him so its one-sided. But like with the character-design stuff, i dont think this will ruin the show for the kids but I do think making the main villain more mysterious and scary would be an improvement.

One of the big ways that the show fumbles imo are the lessons. Like, lets take Stormy Weather; the girl (I forgot her name sry) gets akumatized because she lost the vote to become weather girl and went on this huge rampage taking her anger out on everyone. From that description alone I would assume that the lesson of the episode would be about being a sore loser and how you cant always win in life so you shouldnt get so angry when you lose and that lesson would be taught by our Paragon of Goodness Ladybug, but its not. Ladybug doesnt talk to her about being a sore loser and has one of those 'say the moral outloud' kids media-moments, she just gets de-evilized and seems too exhausted to be angry anymore and thats how that ends. The actual lesson, the one that Marinette needs to learn, is how to say no to things and that its okay to accept help and not burden yourself with responsibility so much. And thats a good lesson but its so disconnected from the bulk of the episode in a way that it really shouldnt be

Im also suprised that a show with this premise doesnt have more conclusion-scenes where, after Ladybug saved the day, Marinette goes up to the akumatized person and tries to cheer them up. Like, a lot of the people who get akumatized are pretty much strangers to her so I get why she doesnt go up to those (although I still think she could spare some encouraging words for them in her Ladybug suit considering the experience they just went through), but a lot of them are her classmates and it would demonstrate why Marinette is a good Ladybug, whether shes transformed or not. As it stands, there are episodes where she is that Paragon Of Goodness that teaches other people lessons and episodes where shes just clumsy impulsive Marinette who needs to learn how to be more confident and responsible. That might be intentional, but because the villains and Marinette in civillian form are so disconnected, I dont think the dichotomy here works very well.

And the thing is, she actually does reach out the akuma victim as Marinette in Origins. Honestly, most of the issues I named arent present in Origins, with the exception of Hawk Moth being hard to take seriously; Adrien actually has an endearing personality when not Cat Noir and you understand why Marinette likes him so much, Marinette and her civillian persona feel less disconnected from the Ladybug stuff because she actually talks to Ivan and her learning to be more confident as a heroine helping her become more confident and assertive in her daily life is really good, even if the lessons of "talk honestly about your feelings" and "be more confident and have faith in yourself" arent directly connected either (although still arguably more than the two lessons in Stormy Weather)

Origins as a whole is a far better episode than any other season 1 episode and really feels likethe set-up for a far better and more interesting show. I really think the main thing holding this entire season back is the fact that its episodic and we didnt get to see Marinette and Adrien develop as heroes or anything else, we just kinda smashcut to their 'default' dynamics and while we can ultimately guess how those dynamics ended up developing from Origins onwards, we really shouldnt have to guess, we shouldve seen it because it wouldve been fun and interesting and the show would be much better.

Considering the fact that they jump straight into serialization with season 2 and european cartoons having continuity is pretty common, I have no idea why they would start out episodic like this when all it does is drag the series down. My best guess is that they were trying to imitate popular american cartoons at the time, which usually started with the first season being entirely episodic and then having a big season finale that changes the status quo in some major way before it continues in a more serialized format. But why they did it doesnt really matter, all that matters is that the show is worse for it, although definitely not bad or unsalvagable. This is a very solid start for what couldve been a great show, but just kinda ended up being pretty bad instead

Thats it, thanks for reading

[writers-ex]

🦦 in the house, how’s everyone doing?

ohoho anons taller than you get hugs I hear?

Prepare yourself to face me with your arms open hannie >:)

Kidding, this goes out to everyone that sees this. It’s all love here, I had a tough week myself screwing myself over with university applications. I also look too intimidating irl for anyone to be touchy with me except for my dog but best believe I’ll hand out hugs if I’m asked to, or may get touchy with others when I’m drunk.

Hannie, any book recs? Any genre would do, I’d like to see what you enjoy reading. Movie/show recs would do too :D (open to all anons too)

I’d love to insert a picture of my goldfish here but I’d have to reveal myself as I can’t post it while on anon. Maybe I’d do it one day when I have the confidence to. I also just applied to the top university in my country in hopes to get into the supposedly strong sociology department, crossing my fingers I get in considering I topped my school 🐸 . I’m also trying to pick up a new language, and have some volunteering at soup kitchens planned, excited to volunteer w my friends.

Here’s a short little digestible playlist for you to show you that you’re appreciated, greatly so. (Yes, you, hannie.)

You’ve honestly only been the only tumblr author I’ve been comfy enough with to interact with

Jakob- Next to Me

Matt Maltese- Everyone Adores You ( at least I do)

Sir Chloe- Walk You Home

Crumb- Ghostride

The Strokes- Call it Fate, Call it Karma

I don’t know what the weathers like, so bring an extra jacket out if it’s cold, wear sunscreen, drink enough water, get your dietary fiber, and don’t drink too much cold drinks. I’ll always take time to look at your updates, so will many of us, so if you need someone to lean on, we’re here 🥳

Go have the best week ahead

you're welcome to answer 🦦 here in the comments or in the ask box bc they're very cool B) and i'll murder anyone who says otherwise <3 and yes free hugs to anyone taller than 5", 4'9 below gets headpats hehe

i felt that- school has been just brain dead like…i'm too tired to type this out T^T and BET you probably look like a cinnamon roll, 100/10 would hug you if we met IRL

BOOK RECS READ THE WHOLE UNIVERSE OF LEIGH BARDUGO SO GOOD, also i love the selection series by kiera cass my girl it was my comfort books in high school, might you be interested in the whole percy jackson series bc i read everything in over month…ish

and as for shows/movies…. currently here are my top you must watch or leave my blog shows <3 -the untamed found on youtube (i have reseen this series over eight time completed and the special episodes and manhwa….i might rewatch it tonight lol) -bbc sherlock idk where to see this (i have memorized the line of every episode minus s4 and…this show was my middle school angst dreams i love it plz see) -OMG THE ENTIRE TOMB RAIDING SERIES WITH WUXIE AND THE IRON TRIANGLE YES OMG PLEASE WATCH THIS I KNOW ITS LONG BUT OMG I WILL LITERALLY MARRY ANYONE THAT HAS SEEN OR KNOWS WHAT THIS IS TT I LOVE THIS SO FLIPPING MUCH NEXT TO THE UNTAMED ASJFLKJDKJKDSJFLKADJLKFJDL (i HIGHLY recommend the ultimate note and sound of providence both on youtube, OR WATCH THE TIME RAIDERS MOVIE i will explain everything u're confused abt) -secret crush on you youtube bish (let me tell u if you can make it past the first three epsiodes you will be GREATLY surprised… just saying) OR my school president also on youtube (it made me want to go back to high school so flipping cute) -the castle in the sky studio ghilibi movie (i've seen it four times and love the entire thing, so comforting and unique <3) -big hero6 or cars 2 (they made my childhood like 10x better idk) -THE LAST OF US BROOOOOOOOOOOOOO (i am DEAD this show is CRAZY, i am terrified of zombies and cried for three days straight when i saw the first 15 minutes of the train to busan and have never finished it sincee BUT the amount of zombies lessens per epsiode and it focuses on the characters…just don't watch at night if you're a chicken like me) -animes…i loved kuroko no baske (a basketball anime that motivated me to play every single day in highschool…by myself bc no one wanted to play outside with me not even the guys that played in the court next door offered to let me join in bc i was a girl BISH FIGHT ME-) OR the promised neverland but the manga not s2…we don't talk abt that…

oooh i love goldfish if you feel comfortable you can dm the photo or send it on asks and i'll save the photo and upload it to the blog tagging your anon handle <3 i hope you get into the uni of your choice, that's a cool career path i wish you the best and hit me up if you need dental advice XD i'm trying to learn italian and ASL and that so wonderful you volunteer with your friends sends you a high five through my screen

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW THANK U I FEEL SO HONORED TT nah thank YOU for lighting up my ask box, not just you but ALL of you thank you soooo soo sooo sooo sooo soooo sooo soo MUCH <3 it means the world to me and beyond bc you take some time in your day to read or send an ask bows politely i hope to keep your thoughts safe and judgement free plus put a smile on your face if i'm able, each and every one of you deserves it

i loved the last playlist you told me abt this monster school and i vibe to it sm i made a spotify playlist for when any anons sends in an ask so i will gladly add these to it thank you :3

yeah its so hot here…i will drink water and love cold drinks so… haha ^-^);; back to you, please get sufficient rest or at least go to sleep at midnight NO LATER >:l, stretch b4 doing any activites, GO LOOK UP AT THE CLOUDS seriously my whole camera roll is of clouds bc they're so pretty, always carry a bandaid just in case, wash your hands for 20 seconds, and buy that thing you wanted this month <3 awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww thank you i will update you guys if anything but i'm just pooped rn T-T

wishing you the best week ever >3<

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

Ranking the DCLA WLW ships

Many people prefer canon, and I get that. But there's one thing that non-canon ships give me and that is the comfort that they are exactly what they are. Especially the WLW ships. I never assume they will be canon, but I can love them all I want either way <3

I will not take every single dcla wlw ship, cause with all the girl characters there's so many combinations you can do. I will only take the ones I've seen, or recognized myself.

1. Franletta

Obviously. How can I not? I've not been crowned the biggest Franletta shipper in the fandom for nothing! They give me the softness no one else does. The way they always depend on each other, the way they care for each other SO MUCH <33 GAH they're adorable

2. Jam

I'm taking my two biggest from each show here. When I started watching SL, everyone expected me to just like the three biggest ships. NO ONE told me about Jim and Yam. HOW COULD YOU NOT tell me about Jim and Yam?! Smh you're sleeping on them (/hj, /lh)

But yeah, I think a part of what drove me with loving them so much was that no one else talked about them. Yes, people agreed they were girlfriends, but no one was as vocal. I am currently also the only one who even has written fics with them tagged romantically - something I did after I discovered after finishing season 1, I was really surprised how no one had written about them? So I took it in my own hands and wrote some.

Jam are my little chaos children, they're jin and yang and they're everything to me.

3. Luty

The year was 2021 and I had been starting to rewatch Violetta after getting D+. With my newly love for Franletta, I also thought about the others. I thought to myself "Hey! Maybe Naty stays with Ludmila, not because she's afraid to say no, but because she actually likes her? Maybe she even has a crush on her?"

Cut to when I rewatched S3, which had not been out until april of 2021 in the Nordic countries. I just. Fell for them. OH how I fell for them.

They make me insane honestly.

4. Natila

In season 3, something I really noticed was that the REAL love triangle was between Naty, Camila and Ludmila. And Naty and Camila DATED. They DATED in s3. OH MY GOD HOW THEY DATED. THEY FUCKING KISSED OFF SCREEN!!!!!!!!!! LIKE I AM STILL MIND BLOWN OVER THAT. WHEN I SAW IT I JUST WENT INSANE.

5. Ambilia

THE GOTH GIRLFRIENDS honestly they're everything. They're insane. It's them against the world. They'll go from the ashes and into the fire. They're a power couple.

6. Lumbar

"But but but but-" I hear you go. Yes, yes, yes, I know. These two gave a fucking crisis in s3. But I fell for them SO HARD in season 1 it was a wound that never got away. Season 1 FED me with them, S2 also fed me a lot, and then in season 3 I just went around with a "🥲". At least, they ended up being very close in one way <3

7. Cadmila

Love the enemies to lovers. I don't feel as strongly about them as the other two in the "unholy trinity", I sometimes feel like Cadmila is the female version of Dieleon (but not with everything). But it's also how Ludmila just plays with Cami's hair, always sits close to her and how Camila is like "get tf away from me" but highkey interested in what Ludmila is doing.

8. Mora/Ana

They moved in together?? This was a whole storyline and tbh I am fully convinced the writers actually wanted them to be a couple, it's not just my imagination.

9. Jadangie

Alright, you made me fall for them! Thanks, tumblr! <3 They're very cute.

10. Jackie/Angie

They would never date in canon but GOD are they exes. They're bickering exes, look at them. First episode of s2, you can't deny they've met before and something went down and now they pretend they don't know each other. The ANGST.

11. Celeste/Trish

When watching Bia, I was like "I really feel a straight vibe from every character" and all of you, and I mean ALL OF YOU, went "But what about Celeste?". I was confused because I was at the ep where Celeste told her therapist that she had a crush on a boy so I was like ???????????????????

But then the SECOND I saw s2, I had a 180 spin and went "OH OK SHE'S A LESBIAN" and her obsession with Trish was really like. !!!!!!! WOW. And when she met Trish irl and just scratched her neck I just. Yeah. Yeah I got it.

12. Lunina

Ok, I really do like them as just friends, but if they were more I also wouldn't complain. I just like to joke a little about them, but I am not as serious about it as I am with ships above on the list.

13. Jazmin/Delfi

Every now and then I think to myself "they should kiss" lmao.

14. Francesca/Ana

Most random thing. I got this because I felt like Ana legit tried to seduce Fran for a while. Like that Ser Mejor duet????? What

15. Violetta/Lara

I don't think they have a lot of chemistry, but I get it. Also Violetta totally got a bi awakening from seeing Lara sing like I-

16. Ludletta

I really get it. I really get after I myself fell for Lumbar. Like, you have 2 seasons of freedom. It's hard to just... stop?? After that? Also Si es por amor is the gayest music video in Violetta, it's just how it is. But I've personally never shipped them. I love their canon relationship.

I do get where you're coming from, though.

17. Jim/Luna

This is the one wlw ship where I don't really get it. But I've seen it around. And during my SL rewatch I've tried to see it, but I don't see much. I think it's whenever they're alone together they sort of have a matching vibe and that's what appeals to people? I don't know.

I know for a fact I've probably forgot someone, but that's how it always is. I actually almost forgot some here and had to re-rank my list. There's still plenty of wlw ships <3

[kali-writes-meta]

Anime Reviews

I have a backlog of anime that I haven't reviewed, so here's a quick rundown.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Complete

Mushi-shi, Gonkutsuou, and Violet Evergarden -- The gold standards. Great stories, wonderful characters, excellent music and amazing art. Up there with Back's The Man Who Planted Trees as some of the most beautiful examples of animation ever made. On my short list of things I rewatch to cheer myself up. Now, when is Mushi-shi Season 2 getting put on disc?

Fruits Basket - I find myself nicknaming anime based on Golden Age movies. This is "Pollyanna Meets the Magnificent Ambersons". An exemplary portrayal of mental health problems and dysfunctional families.

The Wind Rises - both a beautiful bio-pic and a meditation on the intersections of art, war, and commerce.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ongoing

Ascendance of a Bookworm - engaging characters in an engrossing story whose complexities unfold in a natural progression. Started a little slow, but rewards patience.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Complete

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood - This story really got off on the wrong foot in terms of bad story decisions and poor art. Eventually develops into the compelling story it should have been from the start, but the first few episodes are inexcusable.

Stein's Gate - another one that starts slow but rewards patience.

Death Note - This show has an intricate, compelling, almost constantly surprising plot -- and that's all. In order to enhance the shine of the plot, the characters are either repellent or boring, while the art and music are deliberately dull -- which works in context but limits the rewatchability. It's worth seeing once for the plot, twice for the details you missed the first time around, but no more than that. I can't help contrasting it with Gonkutsuou, which managed to combine an intricate and compelling plot with engaging characters and stellar art and music. Unlike Gonkutsuou, the universal feeling of my family at the end of Death Note was relief that it was finally finished.

Cowboy Bebop - an experimental show that needed to be made to improve the field, but uneven in quality except for the outstanding music.

My Roommate is a Cat - nice plot and characters, clever conceit with the joint POV, my terrier loved the plastic bottle trick, but the whole thing comes off as a bit too neoliberal. The main character's decision to become a hermit is treated solely as a bizarre and negative personal decision that hurts his family. Excuse me, but doesn't that phenomenon have roots in wide-spread social conditions? Some problems really do extend beyond someone's head.

Mirai - imaginative family study.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ongoing

Dr. Stone - Great first season, lackluster second season.

My Next Life as a Villainess - also had a great first season and a lackluster second season. Thrilled as I am to see a good screwball comedy I came away with the impression that maybe the audience didn't understand the genre.

⭐⭐⭐

Sweetness and Lightning - lovely slice of life that's a bit lacking in character development.

Somali and the Forest Spirit - a beautifully decorated cake only three-quarter baked. Why couldn't the story have been as good as the art?

Orange - I admire the writer's commitment to making a story where all the characters were bland. I admire my commitment to finishing it.

Mary and the Witch's Flower -- Nice but dated children's fantasy. Did we really need a revival of the "put everything back where you found it" genre? I don't think so.

👎Dropped After Four Episodes

Re:Zero Starting Over in Another World - Subaru is just way too annoying and immature. Yes, "jerk learns lesson" is one of the oldest tropes around, but not this jerk, not this time.

The Promised Neverland - Beautiful art, compelling plot, likeable characters, but as high as the bar is set, this story is either going to engage in some serious hand-waving or get very bloody. I don't see how they can thread this needle. And then there's the racism, serving as the icing this cake doesn't need.

🚫 Dropped After One Episode

Kagome Love is War - "Oh yeah, I remember people like this from high school, the ones smart enough to be the kings and queens of the box, but not smart enough to think outside the box. They were an irritating nuisance. I suppose it would be fun to laugh at them." And so it was -- for about 15 minutes. Then they got too irritating.

The Flying Witch - it's lovely, but it's hard to believe that someone would be taught to wield such power but not be taught how to be more responsible.

One Punch Man - a show that needed to be made, that I am so glad was made, that hopefully will benefit the entire industry from it's biting takedown of overused tropes, but not a show I found enjoyable to watch.

[panharmonium]

omg—so have you finished your teen wolf watch-through yet or is it still in progress alongside the naruto watching?

no spoilers at all in what i’m about to say, but i literally just watched teen wolf for the first time a couple months ago and i love your merlin meta, so the serendipity of you watching teen wolf right now is like ✨yes✨

anyway, i would love to hear your thoughts on s5&s6 bc basically everyone i know (who has seen the show) told me to just stop watching after s3 but i ended up finishing the whole thing anyway bc i grew too attached to many of the characters 😂 if you’re comfortable chatting in dms, i would be totally down to talk more detail there—but also i would be excited to see any teen wolf posts from you, if you feel inclined to make any, bc like i said, you always have such a wonderful way of talking through things and sharing your perspective on stuff and i always love reading your metas but also most of the people i’ve been talking to about teen wolf watched it so long ago (and only the first few seasons of the show besides) that it’s just not the same 😂

—forever-rewatching-merlin

(i always sign these things as my merlin sideblog bc that’s where most people know me from, sorry if that’s weird) 🤣

*waves a big hello to you* HI!

Teen Wolf is still in progress alongside Naruto, but I'm getting closer to the end - we've got four episodes left in Season 5 (part 2), and then we're moving on to Season 6!

Everyone who told you to stop watching after Season 3 was probably right, or at least that's the impression I'm getting so far - I obviously haven't seen S6 yet, and I'm happy to be going into it not knowing anything about it, but I haven't enjoyed S4 and S5 the way I wish I could have, and that makes me doubtful about whether S6 can course-correct in a way that satisfies me. But hope springs eternal - I always go into new seasons optimistically; I was really enjoying the first couple episodes of S5 before it started to lose me, so I'll start S6 with the same open-mindedness.

My Teen Wolf watch actually started a looong time ago - I started watching back in 2015 (never as it was airing, though; I always just watched it on DVD) and got hooked partway through S1. I watched the first three seasons all in a row and was totally in love with it, but the very end of 3B (*cough*allison*cough*) made me so angry that I stopped watching for like two and a half years. Then I came back and watched S4...and it was so terrible that I stopped watching again for another three years. And now...I am finally finishing. XD

There is a LOT of Teen Wolf on my blog; it was my main fannish interest for years even when I wasn't actively watching new episodes, and it's still what I consider one of my "big" fandoms, despite the fact that I've been running around in Merlin and Naruto-land lately. My general Teen Wolf tag is (predictably) "teen wolf", and then I also use "pan watches teen wolf" for thoughts about episodes I'm in the process of watching (currently working on one of those posts right now).

There will likely be many more Teen Wolf posts here as I work my way through the end of S5 and all of S6, and I'd be totally happy to talk about it anytime! I do find it a lot easier to reply to asks or reblog conversation threads back and forth than use the tumblr messaging function - I don't have a problem with dms or anything like that, it's just that the messaging window is SO tiny and I have a much easier time with longer-form/asynchronous communication (things like Discord servers give me hives, and I have similar trouble with texting, so. I guess I am just Old. XD )

[beauty-and-passion]

My True Identity: foreshadowing and cruel irony

I promised this analysis long ago. I promised I would have finally started the rewatch.

And here I am. After all this time, it's finally rewatch time.

Before proceeding with this, let me clarify a couple points:

These analyses won't have a clear schedule. As you know, some episodes take a lot of time, while others are much simpler and/or shorter. I will just post every time I finish an analysis.

Not all episodes might be worth an analysis. Some might be fused into one post, others might be completely ignored. That doesn’t mean they’re useless, but only that I personally have nothing to say about them.

For now, I don't plan to talk about episodes I talked about, like DWIT and POF. But who knows, maybe there will be something else to add, when I'll come back to them? Still, for now don't expect anything new for these two episodes.

These are all my personal thoughts, so I could be completely wrong about everything. If you disagree/agree/want to add something, please feel free to do it.

As always, I might talk about all sorts of themes, so read at your own risk.

And now, let's begin.

_______________________________

An unclear plan

When he looked back at the first episode of what would've become Sanders Sides, Thomas himself admitted he had no clear plan about what he wanted to do. Would he film just a bunch of vlogs with these characters taken from his Vines? Would he do silly, funny sketches and talk about some random theme every time? He had no idea.

And this episode shows it: it really looks more like a simple, light-hearted vlog with funny characters, rather than what it would've become.

And this is probably what makes it a very intriguing start. Looking at it in retrospect, you can find a lot of stuff. You can see a lot of cruel irony, considering what these characters are saying and who is saying what. You can see a lot of points that will actually be discussed throughout the series. And you can even notice a lot of foreshadowing.

_______________________________

The main point of Sanders Sides

[Thomas]: Do I really know myself as well as I should? (...)  I need to have a sit-down with myself, figure myself out, and maybe come to a better understanding that we all could learn from! Let’s do this!

This first episode might not take the future developments of the series into consideration, but the main point was still here.

Thomas doesn't know himself well enough. There's a lot he has to figure out. He needs to talk with himself and learn more.

Considering who are the last two sides Thomas learned about, this is just adorable. Look at this young Thomas, so cute and naive, thinking: "Oh yes, I will learn more about myself and it will all be fun and games! :DDD". So adorable, he has no idea what the future has in store for him.

This also connects to another point I mentioned in my analysis about the Dark Sides: before starting the series, Thomas didn't know his sides well enough. And we can see it in the way they interact between them and with Thomas.

For example, this part:

[Morality]: And no matter what, no one knows you better than yourself. Am I right, Tony? [Thomas]: Not my name. [Morality]: Then what is it?

I know it was a joke, but it was also a confirmation. Not even his own heart knows him well. Thomas never truly spoke with his sides - and they never truly spoke between them. They've always played a role - the teacher, the prince, the dad. Now they can start knowing each other.

_______________________________

Possible foreshadowing about Roman's arc

[Thomas]: Like, okay, relationships (...) where do I stand in those regards? [Princey]: I have a pretty ideal vision of love... There's someone out there for me... One true love... [Logic]: But you tend to overthink things, rule out possibilities with logic, dream up obstacles with each new connection you make... [Thomas]: And that when the anxiety kicks in. Maybe that’s why I haven’t found a person for me yet.

Oh boy, I can feel the last episodes and Asides looming over me.

Let's analyze each part of this conversation:

1) Thomas (and Roman) has a pretty ideal vision of love. One true love waiting for him. And now, guess what? Thomas is in love with Nico. And we all remember how Roman welcomed the idea of this new love in their lives.

[Roman]: I so... SO badly want this. I- I'm desperate for it...

And also how amazed he was, when they came back home:

[Roman]: A POET! To top it all off, he's a poet!

Considering the above premises, would it be so difficult for Roman to start idealizing this relationship with Nico? To consider Nico the “one true love” he talked about? To put him on a pedestal and, at the same time, search inside him all the characteristics the one true love should have?

This could lead to a very interesting possibility: Thomas putting Nico under the pressure of being his perfect man, to have all those characteristics his dreamy, romantic side wants to see. All while considering him incredibly perfect to the point of becoming inhuman.

All of this could end up only one way: scaring Nico. Maybe to the point of driving him away from Thomas.

2) Thomas overthinks, “rule out possibilities with logic” and dreams up obstacles. Could this also be a possible foreshadowing?

At the end of FWSA, when Thomas asked if they were ready for this relationship, Virgil stopped smiling, all while the camera slowly zoomed on him. The message was clear: Virgil isn’t ready for a change yet.

So we have Roman, who sees Nico as the perfect, ideal man of his dreams. And we have Virgil, afraid of changes, overthinker by nature and prone to self-deprecation.

The ingredients are all here: it is very possible that Thomas/Roman will put Nico on a pedestal and, the moment Nico is scared by Roman's adoration, Virgil starts to freak out and to talk bad about himself, because why someone so perfect and dreamy like Nico would ever love someone like Thomas?

This could potentially lead to a heated confrontation between Virgil and Roman that could be the metaphorical last nail on the coffin: Roman is already hurt because Patton sided with Janus. Nico drifting away from Thomas and Virgil's self-deprecation might convince him that yes, Thomas is truly bad and unworthy of love like Virgil says. He himself is bad and unworthy because he's not the perfect Creativity he should be.

And this can be a great starting point for his character arc.

  _______________________________

OH THE IRONY part 1: no one learned anything (yet)

[Morality]: But that’s okay. The important thing to keep in mind is nobody’s perfect. Everyone comes with their own flaws. [Thomas]: Including me. [Princey]: Yes, someone will accept us, flaws and all. Until that day, I shall learn to love... myself. 

Oh hey, look: the end of POF and Roman who still hasn't learnt nothing.

Jokes aside, I love how Patton is the one who says that everybody has flaws, but he excludes Thomas. It's Thomas himself who says he has flaws as well.

Doesn't that remind you of anything? Like this moment in SvS?

[Patton]: Well... Nobody's perfect... Except for Thomas! He loves his friends!

Patton saw Thomas as perfect and pure from the start. I love this, because it's very subtle and you don't notice it - until the events of SvS and POF.

But while Patton is finally learning (after almost 30 episodes) that Thomas isn't perfect, Roman is still very far from his goal of loving himself.

That's probably why he needs a romance this much: by focusing on someone else, he can easily ignore how much he doesn't like himself and his flaws.

And hey, I can even guess the name of these "flaws" he doesn't like so much.

_______________________________

These words are not foreshadowing at all

[Logic]: Um... Are we bringing up flaws now? Because if so, get ready to take a lot of notes. [Thomas]: Oh, uh... [Logic]: -continuing- Okay, you ready? Here we go. You procrastinate A LOT. [Morality]: You can be a bit selfish with your food and your other belongings... [Princey]: You’re definitely not the most adventurous person... [Thomas]: Okay, maybe this was a bad idea if I'm supposed to be learning to love myself. [Logic]: Ah, but remember, everyone has flaws.

Let's not forget that Thomas still had no clear plan, while filming this episode. This was supposed to be just a vlog.

But look at how the universe made these characters say these things. Look at dear sweet Patton, bringing up Thomas’ selfishness. How cute, he really has no idea what episodes are waiting for him.

And Roman brings up Thomas’ fear of changes. Awww, how cute, he has NO IDEA of the guy that will become his worst nightmare and his bestie at the same time <3

_______________________________

OH THE IRONY part 2: just look who's talking

[Morality]: Well, it’s important to be nice to ourselves and cut ourselves some slack every once in a while... [Princey]: Wouldn’t want to be our own villain, would we?

LOOK WHO’S TALKING.

Just look at the absolute irony of Mr. Selflessness talking about the importance of being nice to ourselves. Mr. Thomas-Should-Be-A-Martyr saying that cutting us some slack is good.

All while Mr. I-Thought-I-Was-Your-Hero tells us that we don’t want to be our own villain, right? Right?

_______________________________

Three fundamental questions

[Princey]: Well, what do you wish to look for in a relationship? What are you hoping to gain from having another person in your life? [Thomas]: Um... I don’t know. Someone who’s a nice compliment to me... someone who wants a long stable relationship... someone who indulges in the same sense of humor, and um... someone who can binge-watch cartoons with me.

This might be considered another foreshadowing of Thomas and Nico's relationship - maybe even the solution of the drama that will take place, after Roman and Virgil's fight we suggested before. The best solution: not putting Nico on a pedestal and seeing him as the perfect man, but appreciating him for who he is, for the normal guy he is - a guy Thomas loves and nothing else.

[Logic]: With everything you've learned, what do you wish to do with your education? [Thomas]: Ooh... I am not sure... I’d love to figure out ways to help the environment. Science was always my strong point and I love chemistry.

As I said multiple times, I think Thomas' decision to leave chemical engineering and become an actor will play a huge role in Logan's arc. And this question slighty hints at this.

At this point in time, Thomas still wants to use his education in a fruitful way. He still wants to use science, it's still his main goal. Doing silly videos is just an addition. "A good start", as he said:

[Thomas]: I think just being able to put out silly light-hearted content into the world is kind of a good start. It makes me really happy to do that. [Logic]: Well there you go. A good foundation.

And that's how Logan considers it as well: just a foundation. Not something that will take a huge part of Thomas' life. These videos are just a start.

This explains his reactions in the following episodes, especially how much he insisted on Thomas having a real job: after all, these videos are not something serious. Why focusing so much on them?

This could potentially be the starting point of Logan's increasing frustration and the reason of his final snap in season 3, that would also start his character arc.

But Patton’s question is what really surprises me:

[Morality]: What positive impacts do you inevitably hope to bring to this world?

Not only this screams POF, but it shows something for the first time: that Patton is silly, but he’s also clever. He’s not a complete idiot. He likes to be silly, he IS silly, but this question proves he's a lot more mature than he seems.

And if you think this is just a one-time thing, don't worry, we'll see it again in the future.

Is this a foreshadowing of my next analysis? Well, the episode was all foreshadowing, why can't I foreshadow something as well? ;)

( Support me on Ko-fi )

_______________________________

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[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 01

(Masterpost) (Next Episode)

Warning: This is **FULL **of spoilers, not just for this episode but for the entire series. If you haven’t finished all 50 episodes, please don’t read it! 

Intro: 2020 continues to be much much too much while also being incredibly boring, and Im done with Shen Wei’s Lewks, so now I’m doing a deep meta dive into the Untamed. Let’s roll! 

Prologue: The Battle of Mordor

The Demise of our Protagonist

Unlike some other shows I won’t name, The Untamed kills its suicidal queer protagonist immediately, rather than waiting four seasons, so we know what we're in for. 

This is Wei Wuxian, who is about to yeet himself off of a cliff. He is having a bad day. 

Note: if mouth blood bothers you...C-Drama might not be your thing. 

Reasons for mouth blood: a sampler

Anyway...cliff time

Note: if (fictional) suicide bothers you...C-Drama might not be your thing. 

To be fair there are hardly any suicides in The Untamed. No more than ...five? As long as you don’t count the entire population of the Wen Corporate Headquarters in Yiling or those wall bandits in Qinghe or Madame Yu or all those Wens who supposedly threw themselves into the mud puddle or that Mo guy who broke his own neck. Plus watching Wei Wuxian’s cliff drop several more times from multiple angles. So, you know. Hardly Any Suicides. 

This is Lan Wangji, who is about to have his first losing encounter with physics. He is having a bad day.

In fact, if it is possible to have a worse day than the guy who is currently falling to his death, Lan Wangji is having that.

This is Jiang Cheng, who is feeling extra stabby from this camera angle. He is having a bad day.

Camera operator: why you gotta take it out on me? 

(Much, much more after the cut!)

The Amulet Situation

This is the Stygian Tiger Amulet. Yes, by all means, (Netflix) subtitles, let's use a 12-dollar word, “Stygian,” that every English speaker who is not a Shelley/Byron shipper will have to look up. Let’s not use a normal word like "deathly" or "corrupt" or you know... "Yin" which is clearly what they are saying on screen.

Why does this tiger amulet look like a chameleon crossed with a remora? Wei Wuxian can paint photorealistic bunnies on a flimsy lantern while sitting in a field having distracting teenage lust, but two months of meditating with super magic gets him a tiger that looks like a chameleon. And don’t try telling me this is a traditional-Chinese-art vibe because this jade tiger from frickin 1000 BCE is way more tigerish than Wei Wuxian’s attempt. 

Try harder next time, Wei Wuxian.

This is thousands of cultivators having a battle.  What do you mean, it looks like about 40-60 dudes?

 Any time someone in The Untamed refers to a number of people, it is like when you do your high school play and look off into the wings at nothing and say “Hark, A Ship Approaches!” and everyone’s parents nod indulgently.

Jin Clan Mountain Hunt:

*viewership nods indulgently*

This is Captain Blowhard, over on the right, courtesy name Clan Leader Yao. His job is to talk smack about Wei Wuxian and stick up for whoever is the biggest asshole in any given scene.  

He represents mainstream cultivation-world values so here he is shanking one of his allies to take the deadly amulet of evilness.

The Present Day

Spilling All That Yiling Laozu Tea

Down at the Exposition Tea Shop, the Lan juniors are chilling and listening to Tea Dude tell the story of Yiling Laozu. 

How did they get permission to take this field trip? “Principal Qiran, we want to go downtown to hang out with the local rabble and learn about your favorite person, Wei Wuxian.”

Waiting in the wings is the man with a fan and a plan, Nie Huaisan(g), who is paying tall loot to get these stories told.  

...Why? Is Mo Xuanyu having tea here and listening? Or is Wei Wuxian being summoned back by hearing all this smack being talked about him? *Shrug.*

Gank Your Soul

Drunk flag guy out here talking about spirits. Wikipedia tells me that In one school of Daoist thought, a human being has a collection of physical souls (魄 pò) and ethereal souls (魂 hún). Drunk flag guy is saying “hún ” at the moment. 

The many types of souls don’t translate well into English, where spiritual vocabulary has always been shackled connected to Christian beliefs, and is too limited for this context. So when the subtitles have conversations like “Is it a soul eater? No, no, it’s a spirit taker!” just roll with it. (Speaking of hún, if you have any interest in linguistics, do yourself a favor and go read all the wonderful meta @hunxi-guilai​)

The spirit-carrying flag looks a lot like Raava and Vaatu from Korra which...probably doesn’t mean anything.

The Demise of our Trill Host

Suicide #2 happens about 8 minutes in. 

Mo Xuanyu is that hippie roommate with the annoying wind chimes and bead curtains and blood spatter.

He is super mad at his terrible family and also at Jin Guangyao, who sent him home to his terrible family. I wonder if Fan Man Nie Huaisang influenced Jiggy’s decision-making there. Mo Xuanyu’s choice to die for revenge might be excessive, given how easy it actually is to murder the Mo family.

Being Alive Is Fine I Guess As Long As I Get To Fuck WIth People

Wei Wuxian starts his new life by splashing a little water on his face, which instantly makes his hair go from this

to this. 

He looks at his reflection and wishes he was dead, which--mood--but he gets over it as soon as he finds someone whose day he can fuck up.

And he is ALL in on being crazy. 

OP wishes she had the Wei Wuxian kind of crazy instead of the kind she actually has. 

Meanwhile, this is the sane Mo cousin:

This asshole is wearing one of the best fabrics in the whole show, incidentally. Asshole.

My favorite bit of Wei-Mo craziness is when Wei Wuxian does a meaningless 360 all the way around this dude before ducking in the opposite direction, which is like when I make 4 right turns around a whole block to avoid making a single left across traffic.

Perhaps I Do Miss One Thing In This Life

Wei Wuxian has pining thoughts about Lan Wangji, so he plays WangXian on a fucking blade of grass well enough for Sizhui to recognize it from his dad's guqin jams. 

Wei Wuxian is a better flautist than even Inspector Gadget BeatBoxing Flute Guy (Google it).

Our Many Many Spirit Lure Flags have Lured A Spirit, Oh Shit

Lan Clan has a Plan and Wei Wuxian is a Fan

Having one single lure flag stuck in Wen Ning’s torso caused spirits to basically eat him alive, so to catch one evil spirit, 6 disciples holding flags on the roof plus 8 more flags on the ground seems like a good amount. Wei Wuxian is like “yep, a single one of these will lure every spirit for five miles, carry on, younglings.”

Baxia Does the Heavy Lifting

Wei Wuxian is supposed to kill four people because of this curse situation, and in the course of the series they all die, and he kills exactly zero of them. The curse on Wei Wuxian’s arm should be called the scorekeeper curse. 

Baxia’s spirit pinballs around the Mo clan, rapidly killing three people on Mo Xuanyu’s list plus a couple extras for good measure.  Who's a good blade? Baxia is! Yess you are! Yes you are!

This here is the exact point in the show where your friend, who has listened to you squee about The Untamed for three months and finally agreed to watch it with you, will say “what the fuck am I watching?” and try to get up off the couch. Tackle them! 

This also the point where we all realize that the prosthetic and practical effects in this show were probably not made by the people who made the clothing, because the quality is...variable. The white eyeballs are pretty good, but the glove of death is ridiculous.

Camera operator: why you gotta take it out on me?

While Baxia goes to town on the Mo clan, the Lan Clan babies...watch? And tie up the various victims after they are already goners. 

Narrator: Her son is dead.

Meanwhile, 

Wei Wuxian, you motherfucker. You’ve been alive for like 7 hours and you’re already building a new zombie army. No wonder you don’t want them to call Lan Wangji.

Hanguang-Jun Cut It Up One Time

Lan Wangji shows up and very slowly kicks zombie ass with his guqin. If you are used to Hong Kong action speeds, you will find The Untamed very peaceful.

 All of the baby Lans fan squee up at Lan Wangji like he's the cultivation world's David Bowie and...they're not wrong. Jesus Fuck, he’s charismatic.

Lan Wangji is soft boi when he discovers this murderous sword full of dead-bastard energy, because it reminds him of his true love.

Like the talk about souls, the conversations about the nature of the murderous entity really don’t survive translation into English.

Servant: it’s a ghost! 

WWX: it’s not a ghost, it’s a spirit

Babies: It’s a spirit

LWJ: it’s not a spirit, it’s a [...] ghost

Our Protagonist gets the FOH

Wei Wuxian is soft boi when he sees Lan Wangji, but not so soft that he considers actually, like, sticking around. 

Wei Wuxian is also clueless boi, noting Lan Wangji’s white clothing and thinking, as in the past, that he looks like he’s dressed in mourning. The term he uses is 戴孝, which google tells me means the type of outfit worn by Jiang Yanli after Wen Ning rips her husband’s heart out someone who is in mourning. 

Actually, Wei Wuxian, you dumbass, he is in actual mourning, actually, for you. Dumbass. He probably packed away all of his blue outer robes 16 years ago and only takes them out occasionally to reminisce about that nice date you had on your mountain of corpses. 

On his way out the door Wei Wuxian manages to find a red ribbon for his beautiful hair, so things are looking up. 

Where to go next...hey I know, how about that one haunted mountain with the killer statue, you know, the one that all my executed friends and child came from? That’ll be fun and a great way to put the past behind me!

Episode 02 Restless Rewatch is here!

[thisbuildinghasfeelings]

I posted 4,676 times in 2022

That's 4,654 more posts than 2021!

301 posts created (6%)

4,375 posts reblogged (94%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@maxbegone

@first-kanaphan

@actuallysara

@iboatedhere

@bubblesandroses8

I tagged 3,987 of my posts in 2022

Only 15% of my posts had no tags

#911 lone star - 2,136 posts

#tarlos - 565 posts

#tk strand - 377 posts

#schitt's creek - 315 posts

#😭😭😭 - 270 posts

#ronen rubinstein - 249 posts

#911 lone star spoilers - 236 posts

#rafael silva - 235 posts

#carlos reyes - 220 posts

#🥺🥺🥺 - 189 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i think my favorite thing about the ep is how even when they’re going through it the love they have for each other is palpable every second

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Just thinking about married TK and Carlos with their wedding rings and the way I'm going to become unhinged every time I catch a glimpse of one of them in any scene.

57 notes - Posted July 26, 2022

#4

58 notes - Posted November 2, 2022

#3

"Tyler, can I say yes now" is playing on a loop in my brain. It's been three days, but this is where I am.

68 notes - Posted May 19, 2022

#2

I got to 2x04 last night in my Lone Star rewatch, and all I can think about now is my overwhelming need for some Carlos backstory. I NEED to know more about his past and his family. I really want some information about his past relationships, what growing up was like for him, more about his extended family, and really anything and everything Carlos-related. I'm especially fascinated with his relationship with his parents. There's clearly so much love there, and we see his parents lovingly supporting him in the show. I love Gabriel and Andrea so much, but I really want to know how they got to the point where Carlos felt like he had to hide important parts of his life from them to not "rub their noses in it." Did they change over the years or were they just really bad at communicating? And I also want to see Carlos's feelings on this now, particularly as he gets ready to marry the love of his life with complete love and support from his parents, something I have to imagine Carlos didn't think he would get to have for much of his life. We are perfectly positioned to get some (or all) of this in season 4, so I really hope the show delivers!!

71 notes - Posted July 20, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I just finished up the ice storm arc in my Lone Star rewatch. As a result, I've been thinking a lot about the breakup and wondering what was going through TK's and Carlos' minds during that time.

Obviously, TK was the one who walked out, but you know he broke his own heart along with Carlos' when he did it. I imagine that TK probably regretted his actions fairly quickly. At least a part of him must have wanted to fix things, but I could see him being afraid of being rejected by Carlos if he tried. TK "blew it up" because things seemed so perfect and then his insecurities came creeping in, triggered by the reminder of his past mistakes in the form of his bad credit. (Also a reminder of how his past mistakes can still hurt him in the present, and perhaps even affect Carlos so maybe Carlos would be better off without him.) Because of this, I can see the fear of Carlos outright rejecting him being enough to stop him from trying to reach out, even when he must have inevitably realized that he did the wrong thing in walking out.

When I previously watched these episodes, I got the impression that Carlos had initially tried to reach out to TK because Carlos references in 2x02 TK not wanting to talk to him until he's in the ICU. ("Typical TK. First time that he wants to talk to me in months and, of course, it's because he's in the ICU.") I took that to mean that Carlos tried to talk to TK but TK wouldn't respond. But maybe Carlos didn't reach out. In previous seasons, Carlos never really chases TK. He's there when TK is ready, but he lets TK come to him. I could see Carlos doing that again, only this time, TK never comes back. Just thinking about Carlos sitting alone in the loft he bought for the two of them, waiting for TK to come back so they can make up, but he doesn't, so Carlos eventually just tells himself that it's over and he has to accept that..."you have to know when a thing is over." 😭

And if Carlos never reached out to TK (or even if he initially reached out and then gave up when he didn't get a response), I could definitely see TK misreading that and feeling like he was sure to be rejected if he tried to reach out to Carlos. I could see TK feeling like, as horrible as things were in the moment, it would be just too much to bear for the love of his life to tell him to get out if he tried to go make up. So he just didn't go and the longer they went without speaking, the harder it would be for either of them to make the first move.

Anyway, just torturing myself by writing angsty missing moment fanfiction in my mind instead of getting work done. Typical Monday afternoon.

137 notes - Posted August 23, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[pop-punklouis]

speaking on strangers things; i am happy hop is alive, but they way the wrote him surviving was too obvious of plot armor. oh he just jump onto the lower level, no major injuries or burns??? Like there was always another level below the machine, in the season 3 finale you literally see like 4 of the bad guys in hazzmat suits on that lower level be turned to dust. Also it would been more interesting to see him stuck in the upside down instead. But i did enoy that plotline over all, specially the prison breakout, betrayal, and monster fighting. The hawkings crew had the strongest arc, but i did genuinely enjoy all of them. the Bullyying though...... that was fcking extreme man and hard to watch ngl. Like who on earth bullies someone for grieving their dead father 😭 the skating rink...... like i dont condone violence but like somebody had to put her down. Also the van and dinner scene right after that were so fcking funny to me. also least favorite character this season is that one dude thats basically the archice andrews of hawkings. i know they want me to find him cute, but he just bothers me ksjdhfhdh. Also i liked vecna as a villian more when we didnt know who he actually was, like idk i just like itd be better if he originated from the upside down, but i do see why the connected it the way they did. My adhd brain doesnt mind the 294848 different plots tbh and long episodes, but i do hope the last two episodes is everybody coming together and staying together for more than that one group scene they have every season. Also i know its likely someone will die, i just hope none of the kids, i cant handle that, srry to the adults but yeah... anways i rewatched the first three season after finishing the 4th and season 2 remains my favorite

i agree. i think it would've been more interesting to have him stuck in the upside down, but I'm not sure how good the CGI would've been able to hold up having him there practically the entire time. but his plot was one of the more interesting, in my opinion! i liked it a lot, and as I've said previously, i still think the prison break where he fights the demagorgen is one of the best scenes in the whole season.

the bullying was SUPER extreme like it made me hate angela with a burning passion of course lmao and i did not feel bad one bit when she finally got knocked in the face with the skate but the dramatic reaction from the cops? it was almost funny because it felt so absurd to me after everyone saw what was happening to her on that rink. like talk shit you get hit sorry :/

NOT ARCHIE ANDREWS pls its so real. every time he was on screen (that poor actor... his line deliveries were so bad) my mom and i cracked up lmao

and yes?? i was way more intrigued with vecna as a character when i assumed he was just another monster. not a great villain, in my opinion, as his presence did not rock me the same way the demagorgen, the demadogs, and the mind flayer did in seasons past, but he was alright. him being a human who morphed into this demon/monster hybrid that... preys on teens regrets and trauma or some shit is so dumb I'm sorry like what's the point. i wanted more also i wanted a better monster design he kinda just looks like a similar design to Predator

people keep speculating that steve might die, but unless joe keery wants to leave the show and pursue other opportunities, i don't see that happening. the blowback from fans would be unreal, so i think it might be a main character that isn't as present (like jonathan jesus he doesn't even exist here anymore tbh) but i don't think it will be one that's TOO beloved just for the shock factor idk

i actually was planning on going back and watching the first three seasons as well! season 2 will always reign supreme in my mind, but I haven't watched the seasons back since I did the very first time so it will be cool to watch it all over again knowing where the story is in S4

[sweaterkittensahoy]

We finished Ted Lasso Season 1 tonight. I know everything that happens on the show but not in the order it happens. Which means that Mr. SK has now been spoiled for two major storylines in season two (the actual story of Ted’s father and how if affected him and Beard’s abusive relationship that is waved off in that “it couldn’t happen to him” way that can happen when it’s female on male violence especially [because women are much more likely to use emotional and mental abuse rather than physical]) because I couldn’t hold it in. 

I have managed to hold back on the Nate reveal. Which, holy shit, if you thought Nate coming out of nowhere in his fuckery was rushed or badly written? Go back. Rewatch. I am 100% ready to forgive his letter of roasting to the team before their Everton match in season 1. It’s set up as a loving roast of everyone on the team in the way that--especially men--talk to one another to help them lower their stress and build up their readiness to win.

“Well, Gayle, you know what happens with Nate, so you’re biased against him.”

I assure you I have been hissing against men being toxic towards women (he called Rebecca a “shrew” on a knee-jerk reaction to her simply walking into the fucking locker room when she’d been at the curse-breaking in the previous episode) long before Nate the Not-Great showed up on scene with his baby face and supposedly forgivable fuckery. 

Do I want to see Nate get his accountability and forgiveness arc? Yes. Because ACCOUNTABILITY is a major part of that. But right now? Nate can eat shit.

To end on a happy note--in true fashion to the show--the fact that Ted 1) knows Trent has a daughter and 2) the daughter is about to turn 3, and 3) made her cookies, is just a missing scene from episode 1.3. Because Trent def mentioned he did a little looking up on Ted and found pics of him and his son on the field at Witchita State and then found, when Ted told some very cute story about Henry, telling a story about his daughter without thinking.

And then Ted said, “Oh, hey, how old is she? What’s her name? She got a favorite cookie--biscuit. Biscuit.”

And Trent realized he was powerless to stay quiet because Ted is so clearly honest and real. So, he says her name and her fave biscuit, and he also says, “And she’ll be three on ---” and he rolls his eyes at himself and thinks he got tricked until that moment in the restaurant when Ted says, “You’re real good at it,” speaking of Trent’s writing and Trent realizes that this guy he thought was just a useless hayseed had actually READ HIS WORK.

Anyway. I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS.