#also ending of the episode was pretty good...loved the knife scene

[wintersangels69]

[butterflydm]

wot rewatch (book spoilers edition): 2x5

Not only is this one going to have spoilers for all the aired episodes plus any teasers (including the trailer for episode 6), it will also have book spoilers through book 14: A Memory of Light.

An interesting change from the books is Suroth calling Loial a slave -- in the books, the Ogier of the elite guard are very specifically not enslaved (I wonder if they got as badly jacked up by the Longing as the ones in the Westlands but their 'solution' ended up involving the Empress and the Crystal Throne somehow?). Since this exception is never explained in the books, I don't have any issue with it being changed.

2. I also think we are getting some really good set-up here for a potential fracture in the Seanchan once we get deeper into the series -- a fulfillment of the narrative promise that Jordan set up in books 2-9 but then backed away from once we hit Crossroads of Twilight & Knife of Dreams. I'm hopeful that we're actually going to get the Seanchan civil war that the books never gave us but that they desperately needed in order for Mat's characterization to make any damn sense in CoT & KoD.

3. The idea that Ishamael is being something akin to Suroth's Truthspeaker makes a lot of sense (I think only the Imperial family has Truthspeakers in the books? but it makes sense to expand them outward).

4. That Fain plays the game so well with Turak here can serve as a hint that he's playing the subservience game with Ishamael as well (who killed the Fade? in other words).

5. The saa in Lanfear's eyes! I love that we're getting a super-charged look at the True Power this early on. I definitely approve of the change of the Forsaken getting brought back with the True Power rather than being put in new bodies -- that can work in a book, but in a show, you want to keep your actors. Especially when they're so good!

6. The Elyas scene does feel like Elyas is essentially doing triple-duty this season: he's himself (Wolfbrother lore dump); he's Hurin (sniffer who leads them after Fain); he's Noam (completely detached from his previous human life).

7. I do like how Elyas feels... somewhat amoral (not immoral!) -- he cares about his fellow wolves (including Perrin) and only his fellow wolves. Obviously, part of the reason that's there is so that viewers will wonder if Ishamael (the Father of Lies) was telling the truth about Perrin becoming closer to the Shadow the closer he gets to the wolves but that's... a good thing, I think, for Perrin's narrative arc. It gives him a grounded reason to try to avoid embracing the wolves. The show has done a really good job in giving characters believable motivations for their behavior.

Show: has Elyas diss every human that Perrin cares about because he's trying to tell Perrin that he belongs with the wolves and not the humans.

Some Book Readers: Ah-ha! Laila wasn't his pack? Darkfriend!

It was just so clear to me, in watching the episode, that Elyas mentioning Perrin's wife was the last straw that made Perrin push him away. It was not meant as a Darkfriend hint of any kind! Elyas did not know Laila as a person! He does not care about Laila as a person! It's pretty clear that he only cares about Perrin (because he's a fellow Wolfbrother). That's why he only saved Perrin from the caravan; that's why he led Perrin eastward instead of west. He has zero interest in putting himself in danger to help humans; he does not identity with humans.

8. Ooo, I wonder if we're going to see Perrin's wolf name visualized at some point by the wolves -- Young Bull with his axe that is also his horns, strong and protective. Again, the show has done such a good job in showing us the Perrin that I think Jordan wanted us to see but that he didn't quite manage -- pretty much every show-only reactor sees Perrin as genuinely considerate and empathetic and believes that he has a good heart and wouldn't leave people to suffer.

9. Brilliant choice to have Aviendha introduced here and be part of Perrin's storyline. I do really like how Elayne, Aviendha, and Min have all been part of another main character's plotline before anything implied romantic between them and Rand happens. Hopefully, the show does the same thing with Tuon in the season when she gets introduced. I'm going to guess that (rather than going along with Perrin because of Faile) Bain and Chiad are going to help Aviendha meet her toh towards Perrin once she's told that she needs to become a Wise One apprentice and Bain and Chiad will travel with him to the Two Rivers. I suspect that Gaul will be introduced next season as well.

10. I also really like the way they set up Dain and Perrin's future dynamic here as well -- Dain realizes that Perrin is from the Two Rivers, so that gives him a reason to go there after he (mistakenly?) thinks that Perrin has killed his father. I do wonder whether or not Fain will go to the Two Rivers at all. It's kinda... crowded over there, since we know that Slayer was cast (I think). There isn't, imo, any real need for Fain to corrupt the Whitecloaks in the show -- I feel like they can corrupt themselves just fine. (I kinda feel that way about Elaida too) -- and it might be good to tie Fain back into Rand and/or Mat's plotlines.

11. The Seanchan and the Whitecloaks both have a 'evil but not the evil of the Dark One' situation going on, and we kinda get that here, with the (new) innkeeper being even more unhappy with being occupied by Whitecloaks than by the Seanchan. I actually like that they have the new innkeeper here selfishly being okay with the Seanchan -- the issue that I had with various plotlines in CoT & KoD wasn't "it's unrealistic for anyone to be collaborators with the slavers", of course some/many people are selfish enough that it doesn't matter to them that some people get enslaved as long as it isn't them; it was an issue with specific characters turning collaborator without there being anywhere near enough work in the characterization or narrative to justify it. That was the issue that I had.

Especially since this same conversation does illustrate how selfish this man's PoV is, if you pay attention to the dialogue. The old innkeeper's granddaughter was kidnapped by the Seanchan -- SHE would not agree with him that they're totally chill if you only just swear the oaths.

12. Seeing Lady Suroth like this, 'dressed down', as it were, gave me quite a start. She looks almost naked without the super-long nails and the helmet and with me being able to see that she has no eyebrows. Like, it gives her a big 'pathetic and vulnerable' vibe even though she's been just as awful as she was in her introduction.

And it makes me wonder... are people who are sympathetic to Tuon in Crossroads of Twilight and Knife of Dreams also more likely to be good at visualization when they read? Because, personally, I don't see pictures in my head when I read books. I think it's part of the reason why I can so easily accept adaptations in the first place -- there's no prior image that I need to override. I had no firm mental image of how 'Rand' or 'Nynaeve' or anyone looked in the books, so the actors can easily become that person for me. It's all just... words in my head for me. The most that I ever visualize is something akin to black and white abstract sketches.

How this relates to Tuon: one of the deeply frustrating things about CoT+ Mat to me is how he behaves like Tuon is 'not like the other Seanchan' even though her behavior on the page is just as rancid and terrible as any other Blood. But, in her descriptions in CoT & KoD, she doesn't visually resemble other Seanchan anymore -- her hair is growing out, she's in Westlands clothing instead of Seanchan High Blood clothing. But as someone who doesn't visualize characters and scenes when I'm reading a book, the clothes that a character is wearing has little to no impact on my perception of them as a character.

Is it different if you do/can visualize how differently Tuon looks when she's traveling with Mat vs how she looked when she was embedded in the Seanchan power structure? Because it really does genuinely confuse me when I see people repeat what Mat says about her being different from the other Seanchan because her behavior is just... identical to all the other Seanchan Blood from what I've seen in the books -- intensely political and manipulative; firmly supports and believes in slavery; gets off on torture and abuses her slaves even while believing that she's the bestest and kindest slave owner in the world; thinks of herself as inherently better because she's Of The Blood, etc. I remember when Mat places her in the same 'better than other nobles' category as Talmanes in KoD, my brain just bluescreened because he's consistently been shown on the page that she's still just as awful as the others (the chapter where she literally collars and tortures three of his allies is certainly never anything I'm forgetting, even if Mat 'goldfish' Cauthon forgot about it five minutes after it happened). But, yeah, if you visualize characters and scenes when reading books, do those visuals have an impact on how you think of the characters?

(on a character level, I understand why Mat would lie to himself about Tuon if he genuinely believes himself to be trapped in a marriage with her -- the issue with that is two-fold though: a. with Mat's other lies to himself, we are given outside context with other PoVs and behavior from other characters to see that he's lying while in CoT and KoD, we're pretty firmly locked into Mat's warped perspective, and b. Jordan did a shit job of showing why Mat gave up so quickly and just believed that he's doomed to be married to Tuon without him making ANY attempts at fighting the prophecy)

13. Looking forward to the future... I do suspect that we'll still get Semirhage trying to shape and mold Tuon (unless we don't get enough seasons), but I think in the end (exploring @sixth-light's idea about having a split Seanchan Empire instead of having the Sharans), we may end up with Suroth in charge of one half of the Seanchan (who will fight for the Shadow) and one half led by Tuon (who will fight for the Light) and that we will, hopefully, be getting a Tuon who actually has to confront what being a sul'dam means and that the Seanchan will fracture on the issue of slavery (which would make their American accents even more apt) instead of the Westlands characters becoming friends and lovers with gleefully cruel slavers. Having Tuon's 'stubbornness' and pushback against Semirhage actually lead to her questioning the established order would be so much more powerful than her stubbornness being used as an excuse for her dodging and avoiding any character growth for the entire time that she hangs around.

14. I hope that Aviendha's amusement here over Perrin's protectiveness is perhaps going to be more of the vibe we get with Rand & the Maidens once that relationship gets going. Rand really doesn't have the same reasons (so far) to be as unreasoningly overprotective of them as he is in the books, since the Two Rivers in the show aren't Weird about women in danger the way that the books are. It's very much a Perrin hangup because of his wife and we've seen it develop over time. And if Rand feels some protectiveness, I'd like it to be tied more towards him feeling like he doesn't want to lose any of his newfound family.

15. It feels clear that Moiraine is absolutely still bound by the Three Oaths. She obviously WANTS to lie in the scene where she's introducing Rand to Anvaere and Barthanes, but she isn't able to. It's played very much the same way as when she was caught in the Oath last season (one of the funniest moments in S1 is when she wants to tell the Two Rivers' kids that she trusts them now but she absolutely doesn't trust them and can't say the words).

16. So, who in this scene is a Darkfriend. I suspect that Barthanes is and I suspect that Anvaere is not. Anvaere's information session with Moiraine last episode completely destroyed the Shadow's plans for Rand -- it could be the Shadow tripping over itself but I suspect it's just that Anvaere is what she seems to be -- a very political but non-Shadow-aligned person.

17. I wonder if the end of the next episode is going to timeskip us the few weeks to the wedding (thus making it so that Egwene spends several weeks in 'training') -- or maybe we'll timeskip between episodes 6&7. From the preview, it looks like we're going to spend some serious time showing how horrible and dehumanizing the damane 'training' is. What they might do is show us the initial beginning of it -- and then we jump forward and see how things are after several weeks? The mention of the wedding just feels... potentially significant, since it's not from the books. This would give Perrin time to travel to Falme with Aviendha; Mat and Min would have time to get to Cairhien; Elayne and Nynaeve would have time to bond; and Siuan would also have time to get to Cairhien, since we know she goes there at some point. And it might mean that, along with Egwene getting her 'training' from Renna, we might also get Rand getting some training from Logain and potentially Lan as well.

18. I love Verin kickstarting the Black Ajah Hunt so much. I already talked about this a lot in my earlier post about Darkfriends, so I won't get into it here but: fantastic choice. It does imply to me that we don't really need the Wondergirls to go back to the Tower next season to get their Black Ajah Hunting instructions, since there's already a Hunt started by full Sisters. Which I would be fine with -- they literally spend less than a week in the White Tower in book 3. They dip in for Egwene & Elayne's tests, to get more instructions from Siuan, and then dip out again. I feel like the show could easily have them decide to hunt the Black Ajah of their own accord (Nynaeve in particular has a reason to want to go after Liandrin).

19. I do not think that Sheriam knows that Verin is 'Black Ajah' or that Liandrin is (more genuinely) Black Ajah. She and Liandrin were at odds too much earlier in the season over Nynaeve imo. Joiya, otoh, I think might know that Liandrin is also Black Ajah, because she immediately backed Liandrin up in the big group discussion.

20. "We respect the One Power so much that we don't believe that anyone should wield it by accident of birth". I've seen other people (reactors on youtube) wondering if this conversation means that the Seanchan already know that sul'dam are learners, since they talk about training the sul'dam for years and them earning the right to use the One Power, but this line in particular makes me feel like they don't know. Because sul'dam are only sul'dam because of an 'accident of birth' as well. I'm sure that we'll find out, because the realization of the sul'dam secret was a pretty huge moment with Egwene in the books (even if Min & Nynaeve appeared to have completely forgotten the information when they were spending time with Rand later in the series) so it will definitely stand out if it gets played differently and Renna doesn't get that horror of realizing that she, too, is marath'damane.

21. I've also seen people wonder why the damane & sul'dam didn't catch on that Liandrin was channeling to wake the girls and free Nynaeve, but she was channeling that entire time (to hold open the Waygate) so her tiny weave would have been masked by the larger one.

22. Aviendha's attitude towards obligation and honor is going to be such an interesting contrast to how weighed down Rand is by his obligations. Looking forward to them getting some good scenes together in s3.

23. I hope Egwene gets to hit Renna over the head in this version too. And collar her to the wall. I can already tell that this is going to be painful and intense. I did notice that a lot of show-only reactors have NOT picked up on how terrifying and awful the damane slavery is yet, but I feel like the show is going to make it very clear in the next episode. (I don't know how you can look at Egwene in pain here and not already understand but... next week should make things crystal clear).

The preview did show us how... earnest (ugh) Renna is going to be in her 'training' of Egwene. The way she called the damane kennels "your new home" and the (horrifying) sincerity in her voice.

I'm actually wondering if Egwene is going to be freed in episode 7, before Rand gets to Falme, since Perrin and Aviendha are headed in the direction of Falme and it's Perrin who is attached to the Ingtar and Horn storylines and not Rand (who didn't even find out that the Horn is a thing that exists until 2x3). Because Rand isn't actually involved in her rescue in the books iirc -- that was Elayne and Egwene (with Min tagging along). He spots her and seeing her is why he refuses to leave, but since he's going there for his own purposes unrelated to the Horn in this version (I assume), then he doesn't need that extra push to stay. From the preview for episode 6, it kinda sounds like Loial & co are going to try to help her be freed but I'm not sure if it'll work that soon.

Expecting next episode to be extremely rough, emotionally.

Additional spoilers/speculation based on imdb listings (which may not be entirely accurate):

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.

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The actress who played Maigan in S1 is listed as being in the next three episodes (6, 7, 8). She was planning to go west to investigate the rumors. She has not been seen in the White Tower this season. The actress who is playing Ryma is only listed for episodes 5 & 6. Renna is listed for all the remaining episodes; Seta is listed for the final two episodes. That just all seems like interesting information to me, though again, imdb.

Complete side note, episode 7 is the episode that Hayley Mills is listed for. I wonder if she's the Queen of Cairhien that Barthanes is marrying.

[crushedcoffeecups]

my genuine thoughts on the amazing digital circus episode two because someone has to hear all these thoughts and it sure aint gonna be my friends anytime soon:

the pacing felt off - not sure why, but if i had to guess i think it would be due to how much info and exposition was crammed into the first episode, with very little in the second episode made it feel weird. i literally got halfway through and went 'how am i halfway when nothing has happened?'

like the whole scene when they were arriving at the candy kingdom (i dont remember what it was called currently) felt a bit too long, like they dragged it out a little to fill time (or to show of the animation and design, and if so, valid)

i think the pilot also had more visual comedy aspects to do with 3D animation which i really appreciated. they did keep some in the second episode but less so

Jax definitely came off a whole lot meaner this time, but after revisiting the pilot he's basically the same level of mean just without the comedy or charm. im assuming that they're doing this to keep it in the audience's mind that Jax is an asshole so when he does some cruel shit later on it doesn't seem like such a 180

on that note, this episode also just felt a lot less funny. it might be that it purely wasn't my kind of humour, but i thought the pilot had a fair few good bits and the second episodes comedy just didnt really hit with me

i think also there are specific moments that felt they were building suspense/tension for either comedic or dramatic reasons just for nothing to happen, which felt disappointing. best example would be Kinger throwing the lifesaver (what did he throw?) the second time, going to check on the rope, for nothing to happen. felt like a set-up with no pay-off

and a similar point, and it could just be an emphasis on how old and immortal these characters are so they're used to this shit, but none of them react strongly! to anything! Jax is thrown over the side of the truck with no reaction, the knifes everywhere don't illicit a strong response, Ragatha watches herself get IMPALED IN THE CHEST? and they fall from a cliff and dont even scream. no reaction to anything. it just felt weird.

HOWEVER, it is not all bad. Caine and Bubble are still great (i think a large part of why i did not find this episode as funny is likely coz these two had very limited screen time)

i loved the little gators designs, and the plot line of existential crisis followed by acceptance and then just being smite by god

character development on Pomni felt sweet, great symbolism in one short little moment

i'm real interested to see more of Zooble, and a bit more into Jax's development (i saw his expressions at the end, dont think i didnt)

i think the characters mostly stayed the same (besides Jax and Pomni of course) so im excited for exploring them more in the future!

the possibility of the gators returning is very interesting

the designs of the locations were all very pretty

i did still like this episode, although i enjoyed the pilot i lot more. i'm excited to see where this series goes! and massive kudos to doing this independently, regardless of how this series ends up ill always have respect to the creators for not going to a big boss company to produce it

also dont get me wrong i definitely love this series and i love jax i can criticise and love things simultaneously

[davycoquette]

OC Facts Tag Game

Thank you for tagging me, @sableglass; you're a real one! 🤠

Rules: Make a list of fun facts about your OCs. Like a headcanon list if you will. Except it’s canon.

This worked out well last time, so: if you see this, TAG, YOU'RE IT! Otherwise I would literally tag every mutual I have, because if you write original characters, I want to eat up information about them. I love it. Please tag me if you do this so I can bask in your gremlins' glorious luminescence.

SHILOH tw; drugs/pills/addiction & animal death mention

Terrified of dogs. Demonstrates by breaking out into a cold sweat or climbing all over the nearest person to escape. The size of the pup has little to no bearing on the intensity of his reaction.

Vegan. He's not squeamish about offing his fellow humans, but a childhood of ringin' chicken necks for supper has forever turned him off eating animals. He also believes the consumption of dairy is inherently anti-feminist.

Believes he excels in the martial arts... but doesn't. He's a wily knife-fighter and all, but all that other fanciness is pure delusion.

Yogi. He's been at this Yoga business since he was about eighteen; he's pretty bendy. He believes it's his meditative practices that have made him so impervious to experiencing physical pain, but is often harshly reminded of the truth when deprived of the hydros he pops like candy for any length of time.

RUCK tw; personality disorder mention

A redneck king. Out of the whole deranged Rucker brood, this one's the prodigal heir to the milk stool throne. Some Ruckers (like his younger brother) are glad to avoid it; others, like his same-age cousin, Billy, covet the position of he who seems to be the whole family's Golden Child.

Husky baritone. Damn if his singin' voice ain't pleasant! He's a six-string picker on top of it; music is his primary but underutilized talent.

Borderline. Almost certainly has borderline personality disorder.

Good intentions pave this self-saboteur's rocky road to hell. He's done some fucked up things (such as murder & multiple bank robberies in the cowboy verse, or bowling for HS kids in his hotrod in the 90s verse), but always in the spirit of self-sacrifice and helping those he cares about. At the end of the day, he's a very simple man - and in a perfect world, he'd live a wholesome life with his wife and their two kids.

LOU

Recurring weirdo. He's appeared in a few posted excerpts. Lou indirectly connects several of my characters; perhaps due to his convenient knack for dealing drugs and their knack for consuming them.

TV star. In modern verses, Loik appeared on an episode of a paranormal docuseries to discuss the time he was abducted by a race of sexy alien babes. He fully believes an alien lifeform was oviposited inside him and will one day burst free.

Handler. Despite his penchant for colorful Hawaiian shirts and being Chill AF™, Lou is dangerous. His paunchy physique belies how strong and quick he is, though he seldom resorts to throwin' hands. He'd rather call the shots from behind the scenes, utilizing strays scraped off the streets to rake in his fortunes in blood money.

Therapist. Lou's the best bud you ever had, 'til he forsakes you. The man is willing to listen to your woes, and tends to give kickass advice. Many 'customers' really stop by to unload and get his perspective.

Father of the year. Lou has a stepson and a biological daughter and serves as a deadbeat father figure to both of them.

Coulda shoulda woulda. Showed great athletic promise back in his hockey days, but he'd rather chill, man.

[currentlylivingonaprayer]

pit babe ep 12, my thoughts

Damn, they really went: okay kenta, this is going to be your episode and by that we mean, a shit tone of trauma, just for you!

PLEASE, SOMEBODY SAVE MY BOY 😭

He deserves so much (Kim) better.

Then here we have more family feels. I don't even know how they can work so many different things in one episode.

All I can tell you is, how happy I am about seeing Kim more on my screen.

Now for the fashion:

They really said: we might have a big problem, speak: a dead boyfriend and a dad that is selling children, but at least we look good fighting against him.

I mean; guys there's people dying.

Now for the things that bothered me:

First of all this scene:

Like, what happened?!

Also, the same in the scene where Reval reveals he is Babes father. It jumps between him having his hands in his pockets and just standing there.

The charliebabe reunion at the end felt quite rushed too. It took me a good second before I even realized he was there.

I hope the reunion goes as in the novel.

But otherwise I absolutely loved this ep.

Also: "What a pretty knife you have there kenta. Can you lend me that for a second and leave me and your daddy alone, there's something private I want to talk about." 🤗

I still have so much more, but I'll shut up for now.

Sorry for the long post and see y'all next Friday.

[what-gs-watching]

“Everything you do, you’re doing for someone you care about.”

Fun fact, kiddos - it’s now been just over a year since I was fired and that is absolutely wild to me. It doesn’t feel like that long, and it feels infinitely longer. I honestly wasn’t sure I was going to get through it for a while there, but I’m pretty thankful for where I ended up. It turns out, workplace trauma is a real thing even if I feel stupid saying it, and it’s weird and thrilling to finally be in a situation where I feel seen and supported. 

And I have to say, I appreciate that I’ve had this little corner to rage through all of those inconvenient and gross and upsetting feelings, while content has kept my spirits up (or appropriately down). The internet can be a wonderful place. 

And so is this season of Only Murders In the Building. It can be hard for a show to maintain quality the longer it goes on sometimes, but honestly OMITB is only getting BETTER. My sister was texting to say this might be the best season yet, and she might be right. 

DISCUSS.

Episode 2: Gates of Heaven

GANG. Steve Martin is fucking incredible. This episode was soooo good. After discovering Sazz’s remains in the incinerator, Charles is still covered in her ashes and it’s heartbreaking to see him shaking and panicking about trying to wash ‘her’ off - the entire scene of him in the bathroom trying to wash it into a bowl so he can pour the water into a mason jar and let it evaporate - jesus. It was ridiculous but like, how else do you react to that? I can’t imagine. 

And then the crew has to figure out what to do, deciding to capitalize on having some time before the police arrive, because NYC’s 911 line has an incredibly long wait.

So Charles and Mabel go to investigate the tenants of the Arconia’s west tower, who apparently are all lowly renters (GASP! The horror) since they’re convinced the shot must have come from across the courtyard. They insist that Charles stay in his apartment, he was clearly the target, and so he waits and he frets and he’s on hold and of course he’s seeing visions of Sazz. Just like Mabel had with Tim Kono. But it’s more devastating, more satisfying this time, because we’d seen some of their friendship and I love that they delve into it even further. 

Having Sazz do the voiceover on this episode really was perfection. 

And how good was the surprise visitor Charles gets while he’s hiding out in the apartment? It makes me think that Sazz’s killer got in to drag her body to the incinerator through the tunnels. “A mix of parkour and psychosexual manipulation” is up there on the list of best quotes of the series, for sure.

Meanwhile, the Westies are WEIRD and Mabel and Oliver end up playing a card game with them called “Oh Hell” which the internet tells me is actually a real thing and apparently they also hang a pig leg in the bathroom that they chop at with a knife? It’s all very suspicious.

But the most important part of the episode is when Charles describes working with Sazz, how he’d do his scene up until the most dangerous part and they’d yell “CUT” and Sazz would say “tap in” and finish the stunt. She took every single hit for him.

Also, the scene where Charles describes Sazz helping him make friends on the set of Brazzos? Jesus. “You took care of me in every way a person could take care of someone.” My heart, y’all. 

Eventually, once the police have come and gone (I love that Detective Williams shows up and is exasperated with them as always - “shut the fuckin’ fuck up”) they luminol the floor and discover that with her last bit of strength, Sazz scrawled “tap in”. She absolutely knew what was going to happen. How effing devastating.

Episode 3: Two For the Road

Obviously I’m going to say I loved this episode because of my frankly unhealthy love of Zach Galifaniakis. I can’t stop, I won’t stop - detective Williams and I have that in common. She shows up at the beginning to feed the gang information since the FBI has taken over the case, and when she sees Zach walk into the apartment she loses her mind, and I’ve never felt so seen - “scrumptious fuckable baklava” indeed. 

Of course Mabel is upset their movie doppelgangers have shown up by Oliver is over the moon, he wants to convince Zach to get into his character, so they decide to split up with their actors to investigate.

Y’all, Eva Longoria is obnoxious immediately. Like, absolutely the worst. Talking about “her Mabel”. But I just finished rewatching Schitt’s Creek so I really enjoyed Eugene Levy being SO into Charles. It’s adorable. He’s convinced Charles is some deep, fearless savant. 

Eugene and Charles trying to get the Westie with the eye patch to remove it because they are wanting to see if he has a bruise from a potential gun kickback, is pure awkward comedy gold. They’re “yes and”-ing each other. Hilarious.

Eva and Mabel end up at Christmas-all-the-time guy’s apartment and Kumail Nanjiani plays it really well. Kid really is fit. And Eva is still the worst, but I love that it turns out that he actually hates Christmas, but keeps up the charade because his most successful fitness video was Christmas-themed and he’s now he’s trapped because social media is a fucking disease (she says, writing a blog entry she’ll post to complete strangers).

OBVIOUSLY though,  my favorite part of the entire thing though is the fucking montage of Zach and Oliver learning Oliver’s character. Zach playing the flute and their matching shoes  and their creepy ass smiles and running with shopping bags and the little kick at the end. Holy hell, he’s beautiful. 

But he’s also a dick, he pretends he’s invested in Oliver only to talk shit behind his back. He’d told his agent he wanted to play deep, psychosexual dramatic characters and he thinks Oliver is just a pure fluffy narcissist. Howard’s speech in defense of him is sweet and also depressing as hell but it turns Zach around, at least. “You’re this technicolor cockroach refuses to die. I HATE you, but I love you.” 

Funnily enough, at the end of the day, Eugene realizes Charles isn’t complex, he’s just a chicken shit. How the turn tables. 

They do end up with some clues though - a picture of the Westies with one person’s faced scratched out, the ‘tinsel’ they found in the sniper’s nest isn’t tinsel at all, and after Mabel decides she’s going to squat in the empty apartment/crime scene in the West Tower, they get a warning from a stranger on the ham radio they’d stolen and monitored. Shit’s coming together…

Episode 4: The Stunt Man

I think y’all know what my favorite part of this episode was, but we’ll get there in a second because right away we’re back to Charles seeing visions of Sazz. This time he’s dreaming she’s wandering through a forest and he’s trying to catch up with her. I really appreciate that he isn’t discounting what he’s going through, he immediately gets up and sets to work creating a murder board especially for her, and he includes what he says to her in the dream, she’s trying to get to “paradise”. Charles does not seem like the type to lean into his mind running away like this, but he’s doing it for her. 

It’s the emotional stakes that are making this season so satisfying, for sure. 

While Charles is doing that, we find out that Oliver is down a social media rabbit hole because he’s worried about his relationship with Loretta and he found a picture of her posted with a mystery dude hugging her so he does what any insane teen would do, and he creates a finsta. Which is hilarious. And even more hilarious because he’s doing his internet stalking on the world’s largest ipad. The back and forth about his brightness setting was absolutely hilarious. 

But social media leads them to a bar Sazz had been at the day she died, and here is where we get to my favorite part. It’s a stunt man bar because that’s totally a thing, and who do they stumble upon while trying and failing to get any information? Ben Glenroy’s stunt double!!!!!!

AKA, Paul Rudd with a weird Irish accent and a missing tooth. Fucking amazing. What an incredible way to utilize him. I just can’t. His attempts at impressing them with his stunt double moves is so ridiculously silly. What a charming little weirdo. 

Turns out Sazz was there to see a chiropractor because she was in consistent pain from all her years as Charles’ double, she’d told the doctor that she was retiring because of a relationship she was in - she said she was tired of giving more than she got, but she didn’t know how to get away. Obviously, Charles thinks she was talking about him but could that be a red herring, y’all? 

Charles’s guilt drives him to ‘tap in’, and he volunteers to lay in state for Sazz’s funeral at the stunt man bar because they said “no body, no funeral”, and it’s really sweet. He gets pelted with breakaway bottles and the entire affair devolves into a brawl because Ben Glenroy’s double somehow ended up with a real bottle and while Charles is passed out from the blow, he remembers that that Sazz had a life dream to open a trampoline park for kids so she could teach them how to fall. 

Oh, and Mabel discovers that the Westies are probably not a cult, and are just participating in a rent-control scheme - Professor Dudenoff had rented all of the apartments on the floor, and he lets them sublet from them because they are just straight up weirdos. He sends them ham and they pay him $200 a month (???! holy shit), and they tell Mabel all of this because they’re gonna cut her in, as long as she keeps it out of the podcast - she’s the right kind of weirdo for them, apparently. 

So I guess that makes sense, but there’s got to be other shit going on, right? There has to be. And clearly there is, because when the gang heads out to the site of Sazz’s never-built trampoline park, they stumble upon the producer of their movie, who immediately proceeds to point a GUN at them. What the eff? 

Here’s my thing about shows like this: I never really want to try and figure out what’s going on. The ride is the best part. And so far, OMITB is delivering like only it can. What a gift.

[lynsstrange]

It’s funny you had some issues with the tension in episode 3, because all of the interactions with Medusa felt like a horror movie to me! It made me so tense lol. And I don’t mean this in a confrontational or “I’m right you’re wrong” way, I just love how everyone can experience media differently.

Oh yeah, definitely. That was one of my favorite parts of the episode. I’m just not a fan of how that scene ended, particularly. There wasn’t much of a fight like in the book, and the show made it look like she was relatively easy to kill. Same thing with the furies, the bus scene more specifically. The entire scene in the book is chaotic, with Percy hijacking the bus, and it crashing into a forest. All three Grover, Percy, and Annabeth have to fight for their lives and just make it out of the bus after killing all three furies. The entire scene there’s also a raging storm, and it ends with the bus getting struck by a massive bolt of lightning of Zeus’s wrath.

In the show, that would have been a perfect scene to finally show stakes, and also showcase the true danger they are in due to the war between the gods (in the book it’s storming constantly, and odd natural occurrences are happening everywhere, creating a feeling of ominousness that the show is also missing.) But instead the scene is a total of like two minutes, with Percy, Annabeth, and Grover kind of just standing around trying to figure out what to do as a fury veeeeery slowly advances towards them in the aisle. Then Annabeth throws her knife at the fury, they hop out of a broken window, and that’s that. I like overall how Medusa’s part was done, like you said. I felt Rick did a really good job of expanding Percy and Annabeth’s characters during that while also keeping a fair amount of tension, but I should maybe rephrase to say that it more feels like there’s no stakes in the monsters they have to face, so far. Save the Minotaur, they’ve gotten away pretty easy each time.

Bc I know I’ve been rambling: tdlr; I’ve really liked the show so far but hope to see a really engaging action scene soon that has more stakes, and is a true challenge for the trio to face. Ik they might be saving that for Percy’s face off with Ares, so we’ll see.

[lilyginnyblackv2]

Buddy Daddies - Episode 12 - SPOILERS!! - Ryo’s Death

I won’t be using any images here, since the death is so brutal (but extremely well done and satisfying), and I also refer to him by his first name because I had a teacher with the last name Ogino, and I adored her, so I can’t use that last name to talk about this guy, lol.

Anyway, his death scene was so well done! Others have pointed out that his death was poetic irony, since he got stabbed in the throat, he couldn’t speak his last words in full, and he couldn’t write them down either.

But, I want to talk about his unfinished last words and what those say about him: “You can die leaving nothing behind, just like he--”

He said those words to Rei. The “he” is ambiguous here, he could be talking about Kazuki, under the presumption that he will kill him (that isn’t out of character for Ryo) or he could be talking about Satoru or he could be talking about both (being left open to interpretation to the audience). Regardless of who he is talking about here, the one who died leaving nothing was Ryo.

Kazuki survives and will be leaving behind Miri, as will Rei.

While Satoru’s last words were left behind with Rei. Words of love.

Ryo’s last words are talking about death, because death and killing was his world. 

Seeing the booklet with all of Ryo’s victim’s last words burning up was rather cathartic in a way. Similar to Ryo’s death itself. He was basically a serial killer who used the hitman business to get his targets. His victim’s last words were his trophies and he kept them in his booklet, to relive those moments and deaths. That’s what serial killers do.

So, in a way, by the booklet burning up and those last words being lost, all of those victims can finally rest in peace (whether all of them deserve that or not, is another question and topic for another day). 

I also rather liked how Kazuki was the one to ultimately bring him down. Rei’s push dealt the final blow, but that knife hit to the neck seemed pretty fatal in and of itself. That’s fitting and what I had figured would happen. The fact that Kazuki’s avengement is more so for Misaki than Yuzuko, since he doesn’t know that Ryo took part in Yuzuko’s death, is also interesting in a way. 

Kazuki may have had issues with Misaki, due to him being weary of her and wanting best for Miri, but in the end he also wanted to do right by her too. 

Also, the music throughout the series in general has been fantastic, but especially so during the shoot out scene in this episode! So good!

[intertexts]

OK OK SINCE U ARE PRETTY FAR INTO PD NOW. I NEED TO ASK. DO U HAVE A FAVORITE CHARACTER. do u have a favorite moment. whos backstory are u the most interested in seeing. what are u excited to learn about the world . I AM PUTTING UR BRAIN UNDER A MICROSCOPE AND DISSECTING IT IVE GOTTA KNOW. what villains are u most afraid of. write me an essay on ur feelings about mark winters. etc etc etc etc WHATEVER U WANNA TALK ABT RN im standing in the middle of a field like a scarecrow and just SCREAMING at the sky

OHHHHHH MAN DUDE LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO CHOOSE A FAVORITE OF ANYONE. FUCKK. GOD.

ok putting all of this under a cut because its so fucking long???

ok ok ok. lets see. they r all so so so good it's impossible 2 choose but also iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii really fucking like dakota dude..... i like him so much. so much. i will admit. i am a massive fucking fan of a character who stays silly. massive fucking fan of the emotional king dedede hammer that comes down when the silly guy drops the silliness. i love it when characters literally r incapable of processing their emotions. gebuinely i don't know what he put in that guy but it is cartoonish the way my neurons light up at him its not quite akechi from p5 levels of FUCKKK YEAH THIS GUY MY FUCKED UP LITTLE GUY!! but it is Getting Close!!!

whose backstory.... fuck. okay. Most interested in wiwi's backstory. of course. i AM really interested in vyncent's whole deal but i feel like his fucked up knife that possesses him (?????????) is slightly more of a specific thing than backstory. and i DO wanna know howww the jrpg protag isekai'd here but also like. consider... wiwi. also i wanna know if im right & ashe/ashes fucked up demon grimoire r responsible for his mom's death. ALSO I WANNA KNOW WHY MARK'S A LIZARD GUY.

FAVORITE MOMENTS SO FAR.... i LOVED the spirit world shit it was all so cinematic it was so lovely. usually im dogshit at like, visualizing descriptions in my head? but all of that was very much oh, yeah for sure, ive seen this cartoon! i know whats happening! that whole episode went hard as fuck. can't believe we got vyncent with a gun ashe going holy shit why am i fucking doing this imgonnadie william having a horrifying crisis over eating a fucking soul & dakota getting murked in one episode. & mal is just. on just. such a different level such a different world from Anything else they've experienced. its so good.

also i still really love the winding-down end of that amalgam island ep (5?) where they r exhausted & coming off so many huge emotions & stress & stuff & tide arrives.... that's really the scene that fucking hooked me i think. going ohhh yeah theyre just fucking kids and everyone at this table Knows theyre kids in a world where people will just fucking kill you. like,, yeah, it WOULD be fucked up if you were seventeen and ran into an island full of horrifying human and animal experimentation & abuse!! and theyre not playing it as a motw adventure where its just sillygoofy? ok. ok!! maybe these guys know where theyre taking it. like i can count on one hand maybe the amount of times ive been like "yeah im sure whatever the creators do will be good they've always done good & thoughtful work. i don't have to continually be delegating brain space to how im dissatisfied with this story." so i guess. i just like the show a lot!!

what am i most interested in about the world... ohhh man i love cape worldbuilding it's maybe like one of my favorite things. so i guess i'm interested in All of It?? in an overall probably-wont-be-answered-because-its-not-that-genre way i'd love 2 know what religion looks like in a world where JESUS IS A TRADEMARKED SUPERHERO & kids can come back from the dead. id love 2 know more ab the dynamic btwn politics & the cape world here thats always interesting? i really enjoy the approach they took 2 the kid heroes in the beginning, as in: these guys are literally still students they are not Supposed to be doing big hero shit. theyre not supposed to be doing teen titans or x-men shit & it is in fact a massive massive fuckup on their guardian's part when they Are in those positions. i'm a big fan of that i like it a lot more than the alternative. (unless yr like in a world like parahumans where there Is a narrative & in-universe reason why child & teen cape teams exist)

what villains am i most afraid of....... ok i kind of feel like being afraid of mal is like, being afraid of hurricanes or something. like sure i can be nervous about him but i can't fucking do anything if he's coming this way. so it's better i think to not think about it until it comes up & then pray. so i guess i AM really concerned about the overlord stuff. i dont know where it's gonna go but i know it'll be nowhere good & i know it'll end up getting people hurt. so.!!!!!!

[sarnai4]

A Quest

I hereby propose a quest for all Dagur fans. It begins with watching every episode of Rob/Dob and then RTTE. During this time, you pay an unhealthy amount of attention to every Dagur scene, probably memorizing a few too many lines along the way that you will inevitably think throughout daily life, thinking them only so that no one gives you weird looks.

Next, once all canon material is consumed, you look up his voice actor, David Faustino, and watch Married...With Children. Doing so will let you know how little Dagur would actually sound in the fanfics when he is a child. You will also have a very happy moment since the Bud Bundy character has a scene with knife early on and you'll only be able to imagine him in Viking attire and with red hair since this is clearly Dagur in real life form.

The Faustino exploration doesn't end there because phase 3 involves thinking about what Dagur would do in real life, including what music he would enjoy. After listening to David's "I Told Ya," you'll be able to hear Dagur rapping which is just as odd yet fun as it sounds.

You're getting closer to the end of your journey, so you begin reading and writing Dagur fanfics that explore his psyche and relationships. You probably also begin making some posts here on Tumblr to bring more love his way. Yes, you're overthinking just about everything you've ever seen or heard that involves him, but this can be practice for writing essays and creating debates backed with evidence.

Afterwards, you begin making fanart that is surprisingly more difficult to do than expected, but the time is worth it. Even if trying to figure out how to draw him in different stages of his life make you a little deranged too, the finished result still makes you pretty happy.

The last step...finding a Dagur in your life. Probably don't do this since I didn't specify good or bad and the latter would be very dangerous. If you can find a good one, well done. I'm both happy for and jealous of you. I'm stuck at phase 5, so please share your secrets.

[sepyana]

Noir 2001 Ep. 1-10 Thoughts

I really love her France Shirt dhshbd

I figured stopping at Chloe's introduction would be the best idea. From what I know this should be when the main plot picks up.

First, the bad:

The first episode was really jarring to watch. The cuts were awkward, the music was too loud at parts and certain scenes dragged out for too long. Maybe this is just me, but I didn't realize the music was coming from the watch until the end of the episode, which made things really confusing.

From then onwards isn't like this. Maybe I just got used to it, but the cuts didn't feel jarring and the flow between scenes was smooth enough.

There is a lot of reused animation, which is fine for the most part. It's not as elegant about it as shows like Utena but it's not a big deal.

What annoys me is sometimes the plot will screech to a halt to show you a falshback you have already seen before. Personally, I'm fine if a conversation is just one still frame or made of reused animation. The flashbacks and the occasional training is clearly there for budget reasons and nothing else. That's why it takes me out of the story sometimes.

Kirika and Mireille don't have much going on. They are pretty bland which makes it hard to care for them. The "I will kill you when this is over." thing is the most interesting bit. There is still plenty of time to develop them so I'm not that bothered about it.

The show feels rather empty at times, if that's the word. It feels like onthing is happening. For example: the information we get about the main mystery is not enough to make any conclusions or draw connections, so whenever a new development happens I can only think "Oh, we learned this now". We don't learn anything about what our protagonists are like either. The quiet moments are great for that, but I still feel like I know nothing about them.

I don't mind the censorship but it can be really funny sometimes. Kirika will get hit but her arm will look completely fine, making it impossible to tell how bad she was hurt until she reacts.

When I started episode 7 I genuinely though I skipped an episode. They don't make it even slightly obvious that a time skip happened.

This one is really stupid: I can't seperate Mireille from Misato in my mind. I'm sure Noir fans are annoyed by the comparison by this point but I'm really trying guys (ﾉД`)

Okay,, we can get to the good stuff now:

The atmosphere is great. The backgeound art is lovely and complements the animation well. They definitely achieved the aesthetic they were going for.

The soundtrack is pretty nice. Again, adds to the atmosphere.

Kirika especially can be super clever, making the fights fun to watch (only about 50% of the time though)

The composition of the shots draw your eye to the focus well. It's a good way to make shots interesting with a small budget.

It's fantastically homosexual, while also not being about romance at all. All the notable characters are women. That might add to the yuri vibes I guess.

I liked Silvana. She is one of the few side characters that have anything going on. Her relationship to Mireille is intriguing to me, they have met only once. But it's clear their one interaction has left a big inpression on not only Mireille but also her, especially since they were kids at the time. Her pulling out a knife and cutting the crown off of Mireille when she says she is scared tells us everything we need to know about her.

There is also something to be said about the crowns. Mireille's innocence being destroyed by Silvana. It's important to Silvana that she has control, removing the crown she gave to Mireille is a way fot her to feel superior, I guess. Even at a small age.

Mireille is still scared in their final confrontation, but she fights anyway.

I am very interested in Chloe because clearly, the two maidens who gover death are suppose to be Kirika and Mireille. However, she is insist she is Noir. I imagine things will go south when she realises that's not the case. (I doubt it's the case). The woman we see is most likely using her and Chloe is dependent on her validation. That's what I am guessing.

[jtl07]

ooooohh! 11, 12, 20, 21 for cooking with my (dead) mom please!

goeyyyyyy! oh gosh now i'm back to giggling because cooking with my (dead) mom will forever make me giggle (though i'm now seeing a bazillion typos??? y'all have been too kind in overlooking those wow)

11. Was there a scene that you hadn't originally planned to include? Why did you decide to fit it in?

not really, actually, all the scenes that are there were pretty much sketched in from the start. a lot of the details came late though - like Ava's prepping technique lol.

i will say that i went back and forth on whether or not to include the blooper-y sequence there at the end. i was worried that it would ruin the flow, but i decided to include it because 1) i love blooper reels and i wish we had more of them just everywhere, 2) it made me laugh and so much of this fic was about just making myself laugh lol, 3) it felt in line with the "homage to YT cooking videos" idea because it showed some of what kinda went into making them. i really like how it turned out tbh

12. Was there a scene you wished you could have included? Why didn't it fit in?

ohshit so actually i had this one episode planned out where it starts off with Ava's mom introducing a dish saying that it'll "make anyone fall in love with you" and Ava of course grins as she eyes something - or someone - off-screen: "That sounds like quite a promise, mom"

and they make the thing and it turns out great and the ending would have been Ava and Bea eating said dish, like, leaning on the counter or something and Ava, not quite looking at Bea, joking but also a tinge of yearning: “So was my mom right? Did it make you fall in love with me?”

and Bea just kinda stops and looks at Ava, something heartsick in her expression as she puts down her bowl - reaches out to still Ava’s hand on her spoon; twines their hands together. Bea, quiet: "don't you know?" Ava: "what?" Bea: "Ava. how can it make me fall in love with you when I already am?" and they lean in and the video cuts just before they kiss lololol

i cut it because i felt like it threw off the flow - this would have been before the pão de deus episode and i really wanted that episode to be like, the pinnacle of Bea's dedication, and idk, it felt ... less of the vibe i wanted, having them already "together" before then. plus it felt too direct, as in, i wanted it to be a little more about their actions and interactions with Ava's mom.

also i couldn't for the life of me figure out a dish that could fit lol

20. What is something you wish more people noticed about this fic?

hm maybe the blooper-y ending? also i always giggle at the "you're probably wondering how I got here" (I wrote the opening pretty early on and when i got to this line i was like, okay you gotta f-ing write this fic jt). also that deepfrying is scary shit?!

oh and i didn't expect anyone to notice this, but Elena's name. i was stressed af thinking of a name for Ava's mom and finally settled on Elena because i saw a meaning on some site as "light of the sun" and since Ava's portrayed a lot as the sun, i thought it fitting because without Elena's light, i doubt Ava would have been as bright as she is, yknow?

21. What is something you didn't expect people to notice or gravitate towards in this fic?

everything??? gosh y'all are freaking eagle-eyed, nothing gets passed y'all! like the aprons and Ava's knife roar were all supposed to be just small things but gosh folks really liked it lol

also something i didn't consciously write was the parallel of young Ava jumping into her mother's arms and current Ava launching herself into Bea's arms (i'm thinking in particular of @willowedhepatica's wonderful comment which had me literally yelling at my computer, at my own fic, written by me lolol)

and in general, i've been floored by the response - i knew it was a good idea going into it, but didn't expect for it to touch the chord that it has. some comments have literally brought me to my knees because of the grief and i just, gosh, i'm amazed that a) folks took a chance on this and b) found connection in it. ohno so many feels rn

thank you for playing!! happy to expand or clarify anything!

[feuqueerfire]

23.5 Eps 9 - 12 Live Blogging

well... I started watching an on-air show after a long time (February 2023 Never Let Me Go, I'm not counting Our Skyy 2) and I really just binged the first 8 episodes and fell off lol. Interestingly, I also had to binge the last 4 eps of NLMG because I stopped keeping up weekly after ep 8 (though I did watch eps 4 - 8 on a weekly basis before that).

Anyway, I wasn't feeling a Need to come back to this show because I found the resolution to Ongsa-Earth underwhelming and the reaction I've seen to these last few episodes has also been middling, so hmm idk. I'm also just not in the mood for high school shows right now (I Will Knock You is also on-hold rip), so it feels a bit unfair to this show to watch it when I'm not in the mood but what can you do? I don't want to leave it hanging even after the show ends.

Ep 9: When The Earth Tilts (May 22/23)

9-1

aughhh I really don't know if I should make myself just watch this or not because they're being cute but I just... kinda don't care. I'm indeed in the mood for something more dramatic but I also think I'm just apathetic toward them the way I became toward Akk and Ayan as soon as The Eclipse finished airing and also to Palm and Nueng toward the end of the show (although I loveeee Palm and Nueng now after some time has passed, so maybe that'll be the case here too?)

the introduction of the exchange program

Oh, dad and Ongsa just moved to Bangkok and they're getting to live as a full family, so I guess Alpha and mom lived here before

Aw, Aylin interacting with them and forcing her mouth to do smiles to try to fit in/communicate with human family

I... watched 10 mins the whole day, rip

am I being unnecessarily harsh on this show or does the conversation not seem... natural between Onsga and Sun like it's just a bike riding scene and it should be fine but why am I just like... this isn't how people talk.

at first I was like nooo Ayling shouldn't need to put on makeup to fit in the way she was trying at lunch with Alpha and Ongsa but it's cute if she wants to do it herself before meeting with Luna heh

khun faen hehe

pls not the two pairs competing

9-2

aw, Teacher Nida and Bambam helping an insecure Alpha

9-3

chef Alpha omg

no more P'Ton flirting, we have progressed past the need for P'Ton flirting

Aylin basically pieing his face was so deserved, idc that Ton helped Ongsa and Sun or whatever, he's annoying

oh nooo my poor overwhelmed Aylin

9-4

1 year scholarship to America

and now the guilt of Alpha telling Sun to not leave Ongsa, oh no

is this their first I love you? I can't remember

ahhhh the towel scene + kisses

lol I know how the scene ends because of spoilers but I would've lost my damn mind while waiting if I didn't know lol

I wasn't really into it at the start of this ep but I liked it again by the end!

I didn't mind Luna asking Aylin to socialize more with her family because it's a fairly small step since she already spends time with them and I think it'd be good for Aylin to push herself a bit out of her comfort zone and realize the benefits of maintaining relationships but the stuff at the end was too much, like why must Aylin sit at the table for lunch with a bunch of Luna's friends when she already struggles with people? I hope Luna thinks it through more next ep and apologizes but I'm nervous that that won't be the case based on some fan reactions, though idk if that was to ep 9 or ep 10.

Ep 10: (May 23/24)

10-1

plss Alpha with the knife truly is so funny

ah, Sun's out to her parents + they know Ongsa's her gf but Ongsa didn't know they knew everything

...not keeping secrets

and vaguely hypothetically asking about distance and time

10-2

secrets plaguing Aylin and Sun

oh, Sun's telling Ongsa. and she hasn't even taken the test yet and doesn't know if they'll make it. honestly a pretty good time to get Ongsa, no misunderstandings or really much secrecy yet

10-3

Teacher Bambam and Nida lmfaooo Bambam reading all the tarot cards correctly but not picking up on them being about HER!!

I feel like we've been finally learning more about Sun these past 2 eps through this scholarship and her desire for it

DON'T GIVE UP SCHOLARSHIP AND EXCHANGE PROGRAM AND NEW EXCITING EXPERIENCE FOR THIS RANDOM HIGH SCHOOL RELATIONSHIP

not even TESTING for the scholarship?!?! girl pls

I went to bed and was supposed to watch the last part before going to sleep but I didn't feel like watching Sun out Ongsa (maybe? based on a bit of the Next Part teaser at the end) so I'm here the next morning

10-4

my Aylin !!! :(

but also like... is it that big of a reveal that Aylin was bullied? feels like More should've been said or explored here?

I'm gonna smack Ton

the teachers confession!! hehe

Ongsa's right to tell Sun to pursue her exchange program dreams

okay Sun's outing of Aylin was accidental and I'll give it a pass because she's a teenager who has grown up in a very accepting home and they're all out at school, so she didn't think before mentioning the 3rd wheeling thing

but she should realize that Ongsa's trying to steer the conversation away and back off

instead of confronting Ongsa and outing her in front of her parents and wtf is "so you're never gonna tell them about me?" why is 'never' coming up here? you've barely been dating bruh and haven't discussed anything. like she could've been upset at Ongsa for keeping her a secret without feeling the need to declare it in front of her parents when Ongsa doesn't want to come out

and then just Leaving and riding away on P'Sunny after doing all that?!?!?

I've seen that Ongsa's the one who has to apologize to Sun apparently and I don't want to watch that at all.

Ep 11: (May 24)

11-1

indeed you should've been mad at finding out Ongsa's Earth, would've made more sense than here.

NO MORE TON, ENOUGH

11-2

do I care about Tin and Mawin? I cared more earlier on in the show but now idk

why is there so much Ton, he and Charoen better not end up together like she literally does not like that man

I don't really get the 'you don't understand me at all' thing tbh

11-3

parental acceptance

another series mention of worrying about disappointing the parents

the thing is I just feel like coming out isn't only about "you worry too much about what others think" like that's not the same category as Ongsa not telling anybody about Sun and her dating because Sun's popular while she's not. It has more to do with possible pushback and violence from her own family where she didn't feel safe enough to come out. and i just don't like that coming out and being publicly with a girl is treated as the same thing as 'caring too much about other people'

and like make your home and environment a very explicitly queer-accepting space so that your daughter isn't so afraid of coming out to you and doesn't know what reaction to expect wtf

11-4

losing my entire mind at the Luna/Aylin scene, they're soooo cute, I'm soooo giddy hehehehehehe

Sun's parents at least telling her to not change for the one she loves

and Sun says sorry too

long-distance incoming, i'm guessing we'll get some time skip next ep

So close to the finale, finally

Ongsa sending Sun Hundreds of texts and going to her home at night is why. at least Sun called her out on the texts + acting unhinged publicly about the sun, but why have her go to Sun's house at night while Sun's explicitly ignoring her and knock and text and stuff. at least Alpha was taking her away but still. I'll overlook it (kinda how I still was so into PaiSky in Love In The Sky despite Pai's endless SIMs and calling) but it's been noted.

Ep 12: Promise Me... Sun (May 24)

It's a shame that my feeling is glad that I'm almost done rather than being sad about reaching the end.

12-1

Aylin, I freaking love youuuuuu, cutieeeeeee

12-2

terrible cook Ongsa, so true, same girl

12-3

the merch alien hat

at least we're not getting Ton with Cheroen

12-4

Grade 11... were they in grade 10 before?

the separation being in the literal last part is later than I expected

Aylin putting the Luna love note in her mouth hehehe

Nida/Bambam plssss lmfaoo

no! Ton and Charoen are not in love, leave her aloneeeeeeeeee

Aylin is such a trickster when it comes to getting kisses hehehehehehhe

no more glasses for Ongsa, I saw this on a Tumblr post and was like ?! >:(

reunited

Overall:

GMMTV's first GL and MilkLove's first full GL; I was super excited, especially after having watched MilkLove in Bad Buddy and the Magic of Zero special, which is why I started watching this on-air (thought I'd start it even earlier than ep 8 but didn't because of exams). So it's a shame that I feel so... nothing about the show, especially the main couple; I think Aylin/Luna is my fave ship in here. I think I also just wasn't much in the mood for a silly high school romance series right now, which isn't the show's fault but contributed to why I didn't feel the pull to continue watching the show. When I did watch it, it could get pretty cute though, I giggled/gushed a few times, especially about Luna and Aylin. The teachers' storyline was cute too, though barely there. Aylin was the MVP for sure.

Rating: 6/10

[butterflydm]

wot on prime rewatch: 1x4 - the dragon reborn

spoilers through the end of season one of the wheel of time. I will do a reblog of this soon after I post it, with additional book-related spoilers. 

1. I love many of cold opens (#7 & #8 are very high up there for me, of course, and I am quite fond of #6 as well), but this one is also particularly fantastic. Seeing a hint of Ghealdan under siege by Logain! Seeing him win the King over to his side with compassion. But first we get to see his power and we can contrast it against what we saw Moiraine using during the battle on episode one. Big difference in what we see is that Logain doesn’t wave his hands around to channel. He twitches his fingers at times, but we don’t see the big, showy arm movements that we saw from Moiraine in 1x1 or that we will see from the Aes Sedai later in the episode. Much more subtle movements. Accurate to the books but also just a great illustration here of the difference between the formalized weaves that are taught by the White Tower vs the raw “making it up as we go along” stuff that Logain has been needing to do. I do think they do a good job making this opening scene feel chaotic and like a battle without actually having very many characters on-screen for very long at any point. This is the very end of the battle, after all the possibilities have been exhausted.

2. And we get another (somewhat different) look at the madness and how it presents in Logain (I actually loved seeing the white threads get coated over with the corruption but I look forward to how they might be reworking the weaves for S2 as well - I was genuinely baffled by arguments that I saw about how they shouldn’t try to improve any of the vfx if they get a chance, for continuity reasons, which I don’t understand at all; tv shows generally try to refine & improve on things like this as they go along). I wonder if the fact that his voices are created by tendrils of the corruption is meant as a hint that he’s ‘not as far gone’ as the man at the start of the show, who saw a fully realized companion. The voices, here, are urging Logain to violence and paranoia (connecting it back to the corruption and the Dark One) and he has to fight through that to access his desire to be a savior and not a monster. I feel like it does a good job setting up that conflict for... ah, male channelers who believe they are the Dragon Reborn.

3. This episode, in general, is just so full of helpful foreshadowing and laying down elements for the future, as well as just being a great experience. In general, I feel like the show has been doing a good job of building up the world for the audiences without being too heavy-handed with the exposition.

4. “What does a crown mean to the Dragon Reborn?” I love how full this episode is about conversations about what it means to be the Dragon Reborn; what the Dragon Reborn’s goals would be, what their purpose is. And Álvaro Morte does an amazing job giving Logain a cool but commanding presence, and making him feel sympathetic and complex. This is really the episode that I would point to in how we’re likely to see Rand’s own struggles and growing corruption/madness treatment in the future, and I think it bodes well. And the little headtilt that Logain does when he/we start to first hear one of the voices that speaks to him -- I love that we see this from the King of Ghealdan’s perspective first, and just see that subtle movement from Logain that shows he’s listening to two different voices here -- a real one and one created by the madness -- before we see things from his perspective and actually see the... corruption spirits? Not certain what to call them.

5. Love the moment of struggle, where Logain turns the knife on the King but then makes him drop it. And, instead of killing him, he heals him and then releases him, drops down to his knees in front of him and offers him a place with him instead. Side note: I like the design of the Ghealdan dagger. It’s pretty. But, yes, Logain says that he plans to ‘bind’ the world together instead of breaking it again.

6. After the credits, we go to Nynaeve up on a rise, studying the Aes Sedai camp. We learn SO MUCH about the Aes Sedai in this episode and I love it. Each of the Ajahs present gets to lay out their philosophy, essentially, and since we already have named Blue, Red, and Green Sisters, we can probably guess that those Ajahs will be particularly important for us going forward. The overview of the camp itself tells us so much -- Red and Greens are split into two camps that sit side-by-side and they are not mixed together. We see the Green Ajah Sisters mingling with their Warders, while the Red Sisters stay in their female-only groupings. I love the variety in the different Sisters that we see, though I’m not going to try to guess which countries they’re all supposed to hail from in the Westlands. But we do see both sides essentially in the ‘uniform’ of wearing their Ajah’s colors, with the Red Sisters almost in the same shade of red, while there is more variety in the shades among the Green Sisters.

7. Speaking of the Green Sisters, that’s the camp that Moiraine was taken to for healing, and we meet Kerene here. And this scene is also set up to contrast us against the healing later in the episode -- Kerene’s healing of Moiraine left a scar, but when Nynaeve busts out at the end of the episode, she does a massive AOE heal that doesn’t leave any scars behind and she barely seems winded. Nynaeve is supposed to be the most powerful Aes Sedai potential in hundreds of years (as we hear later in the season) and this episode does a good job showing that to us imo.

8. And now Moiraine gets the rundown on the new false Dragon. We learn that “thousands” of true believers are following him. Of the Sisters in the camp, only three of them (Kerene, Alanna, and Liandrin) are strong enough to shield him from touching the Power, and two of them are guarding him at all times. Liandrin says that because he was planning on marching on the Tower, that they don’t need a trial in order to “mete out the proper punishment”, and Kerene immediately pushes back on the idea, saying that they have been ordered to take him to the Tower for the Amrylin to judge his fate. The viewers already know that Liandrin has been taking some of her Sisters and going off to perform extrajudicial gentling on other male channelers.

9. Moiraine volunteers to take over part of the shielding, which is a nice way of just sliding in there that her power level is equivalent to these three Sisters in here rather than the rest of the Sisters out in the camps. She takes over Liandrin’s position in the shielding. And the shielding here does look exactly like what ~the Man at the Eye~ does to her at the end of the season, so I’m still on Team Shielding.

10. Warder bonding! Lan and Stepin do some training together and Lan gets caught up on the Tower gossip - “more problems; fewer Aes Sedai to handle them” - discreetly finds out that ‘the Amrylin Seat’ is doing well and confirms that the Tower still believes that she’s ‘not fond’ of Moiraine. Stepin comments on Nyaneve’s addition to Lan’s traveling group, and Lan says, “She’s not a traveling companion; she’s barely company.” lol. Stepin sees Kerene approach and goes off to hang out with her. 

11. Once Stepin and Kerene are alone, they gossip about Moiraine and Lan. This is our first hint in the show that Moiraine and Lan are not typical Aes Sedai. “Even if we had something in common, I’d never know it. It’s hard having a conversation with someone who won’t say anything.” I really love that we get to see different types of relationships between Aes Sedai and Warders in the show. It feels like, even just in season one, the Warders as a whole were given so much more depth than they ever got in the books, and I am here for it. Stepin is also here to share his concerns with Kerene that Liandrin might manage to talk the others into gentling Logain without a trial, and that there are rumors out there that the Reds have been doing just that with other (non-famous) male channelers. Kerene doesn’t believe that it’s really been happening: “Even Liandrin won’t cross the Amrylin Seat”. But I really love how... comfortable and lived-in this relationship between Kerene and Stepin feels.

12. Swapping over to Perrin and Egwene’s storyline, as the Tuatha’an prepare to set out for the day. Perrin says that he doesn’t trust them and Egwene reassures him (with a touch to the arm) that if either of them decides to leave, then they will both leave, “no questions”. Aram comes over to let them know that the caravan is heading east to Tar Valon which... hmmm. I have some Thoughts about that in the spoiler reblog. Ah, Aram also confirms that I was right that Egwene and Perrin had wandered onto the Caralain Plains. Perrin pokes at why Aram & the others are willing to trust them -- they could be bandits! Aram is basically, “lol, you are two young people starving and alone. why would we think you are bandits?” Aram (like Thom) pegs them as villagers from the Mountains of Mist and he is SO amused when Egwene lies and says they’re from Whitebridge. Aram is so charming here. I love this actor. Infectious smile, for sure (tho Perrin, The Most Heterosexual Character in Wheel of Time, is unaffected, of course). I also love the symbolism here of how Perrin has already taken off the blanket he was offered by the Tuatha’an, while Egwene is still wearing hers. Egwene is so good at blending and assimilating into any culture that she lands in. And Egwene DOES wait for Perrin to nod before she heads over to join the caravan; much like we’ve seen Mat and Rand wait for each other’s buy-in before actually moving to do something on their journey, Egwene waits for Perrin’s buy-in here.

13. Speaking of Mat and Rand, we now join their journey with Thom. They’ve all got horses again; thanks, Thom! Mat’s horse is NOT HAPPY to have him riding her, but Rand is more concerned about whether or not Thom is trustworthy. This episode basically gives both Mat and Rand similar symptoms, but Mat’s are a bit more obvious and overt (especially to Thom) -- Mat’s horse is being skittish, but Rand here lodges the same suspicion against Thom that he had against Moiraine at the end of episode one -- gosh, isn’t it convenient that this person happened to show up right before horrible trouble started and positioned themselves as our escape from the trouble? (Rand does not yet know he’s ta’veren, after all).

14. I really do wish we had another road trip episode. I like what we got, but another full episode with Thom would have been fantastic. Ugh, Amazon, give them 10 episodes for season 3!!!! They deserve it.

15. Interesting to me how Rand now characterizes what Thom did last episode as him stealing “our money” and not “Mat’s money”. Mat is now the one who has more experience with Thom, so he does argue that Thom is trustworthy specifically but approves of Rand’s suspicion of randoms in general. Rand and Mat basically bond over shared paranoia here. But this is also just a nice moment where Rand and Mat are talking very frankly and earnestly with each other about the situation that they’re in, and another good place where you can really feel that they’re friends with history behind them - Mat is able to make Rand smile here, even though Rand is fretting over whether or not they can trust Thom. But this also shows us that a pattern is potentially beginning to be established -- Rand has a hard time trusting strangers who show up to save him out of nowhere. First Moiraine, now Thom. I wonder if that pattern of mistrust will show up again in S2.

16. Back to the Aes Sedai plotline, we get to have a conversation between Moiraine and Alanna as they guard Logain! Very exciting. We confirm that women don’t see men’s weaves; we confirm that it’s difficult for the two of them to maintain the shield on him.

17. “When I chose Green, I thought it was so heroic. The Battle Ajah. Warriors trained to defend humanity from the Dark One at the Last Battle. But I never thought I’d see it myself.”  - Moiraine points out that there have been false Dragons before, and Alanna counters that Logain is stronger than anything she’s seen before. “It’s just another sign. The end of this Age is here.” And Alanna also worries over what will happen to the world if the Dragon is meant to be fighting with them at the Last Battle but the Red Sisters have gentled him and taken him out of the picture. And I do wonder if there’s a moment here where Moiraine considers the idea of hinting a bit of the truth that she knows to Alanna (but then Logain attempts to break out, and the moment is lost). Side note: I am personally absolutely FINE with the show getting rid of the background detail that dogs hate Aes Sedai.

18. Nynaeve is still up on the rise, watching the rest of the camp. She’s trying to eat her lunch, when she gets interrupted by Liandrin trying to make nice with her. Nynaeve just Does Not want to engage but, since she is being forced to, she immediately takes charge of the conversation and says that she wants Liandrin to answer HER questions, starting with how long she’s known Moiraine.

19. In Mat & Rand’s storyline, they are stopping near a farm, and Thom suggests sneaking into a barn for some rest. Rand’s mistrust has eased somewhat, because he suggests simply asking instead, while Mat fights with his horse, who is not even wanting to follow him anymore. The local farmer shows up, bow in hand, the challenge why three strangers are on his farm. Thom tries to talk his way out of things, and we see him notice that Mat has his hand on his dagger (Thom has already seen Mat flourish the dagger at him, after all -- I’m not sure Rand is even aware that Mat has it at all yet?). Again, after letting Thom attempt to be the face of the group, Rand steps in once it’s clear that he needs help, just like he did with Mat and Dana last episode. I’m going to keep an eye on that as well -- Rand tries to allow his traveling companions to take the lead, and steps up to be the leader if they fail, essentially, is the pattern than appears to be forming here. There’s an interesting musical cue that happens right before Rand steps up to take control of the conversation. I’ll try to keep an ear out to see if I hear it in other places where Rand might be influencing people by being ta’veren.

20. This is also another place where we get the pattern of “farmer man has a weapon that he doesn’t enjoy wielding” as he says “I never liked this thing much” - I feel like I can pair this with Tam hiding away his blade from his days as a soldier. He could also easily say “I never liked this thing much”, I expect. They DO get permission to sleep in the barn after mucking out the stables.

21. Haha, Liandrin’s description of the Blue Ajah really does crack me up: “They’re nothing more than little spies who exaggerate their own importance.” Someone is bitter about the Amrylin being raised from the Blue Ajah imo lol. And we get to hear Liandrin set out the Red Ajah’s public philosophy - if Greens are meant to be soldiers for the Last Battle, the Reds are the policing-arm of the White Tower: “We protect the world from people who would misuse the One Power. Even other Aes Sedai.” lol, the second Lan shows up, Liandrin is OUT of there. She doesn’t want man-cooties, even if the man can’t channel. I do love her boots, though. That coin-like row down the front. Like it. Liandrin tells Nynaeve “The Red tent is open to all women; please feel free to join us for dinner,” which tips her hand a bit imo. I doubt Nynaeve failed to notice the choice of words. Liandrin is also wearing pants here which, again, I’m very excited and happy about.

22. I love that we can see Nynaeve’s yellow skirt here underneath her coat. The Yellow Ajah is actually the one other one that we’ve seen visually represented on screen at this point (though I don’t believe their purpose was stated) -- it was a Yellow Sister who was burned by the Whitecloaks in the episode 2 opener. Yellow with a coating of Green on top is a perfect description of Nynaeve, imo, and I love getting to see that expressed visually in the costuming.

23. As soon as Liandrin is gone, Nynaeve reveals that she was not taken in by her attempts to play nice -- “That woman is a snake. Is the White Tower full of women like her?” Lan tries to pitch to Nynaeve why this detour was necessary -- it will be quicker and easier to travel in a group and the resources of the White Tower will make any further searching for the others much easier. He also invites her to the Warders’ fire on the Green side of the camp - “If you promise not to shove anyone into it.” lol. Her little eyebrow raise after he says that is delightful. And it’s clear that she vibes a lot more with Lan’s directness than Liandrin’s fake attempts to get into her good graces.

24. Perrin tries to figure out if the Tuatha’an have seen the others and finds out about the Way of the Leaf, forswearing violence. “We run if we can; endure if we cannot”. The show did another good job here of tying the Way of the Leaf into the belief in the Wheel of Time -- which makes the Way of the Leaf instead make a lot more emotional sense. Ilya does a very good job cold-reading Perrin’s reactions here to lead her into having a better sense of what his internal struggle is.

25. Rand and Mat muck out the stables while Thom drinks. Mat is struggling and needs a break from mucking out (to go throw up black ooze). Rand doesn’t take Mat skipping out on the chores the same way that he did in the last episode -- it’s clear that his worry has now overtaken his frustration when it comes to whatever is happening with Mat. Thom also appears concerned. The black ooze is very much like what we saw in Shadar Logoth. Mat has an encounter with another aged-down daughter here, the daughter of the farmers, and Mat is able to pull himself together enough to be very sweet and soft with her, thinking of his own sisters back at home and worrying about them.

26. Rand tries to convince Thom (and himself) that Mat picked up a bug in Breen’s Spring and he’s just a little sick. And now we get the conversation between Thom and Rand about Thom’s nephew Owyn, and I love it to pieces. Hearing this personal loss from Thom shows another side of the tragedy of being a male channeler in the Third Age -- we hear how it made Owyn into a different person, snappish and paranoid and “sour”, but how being gentled straight-up made him suicidal. Being a male channeler in the Third Age is absolutely a lose-lose proposition. You will go mad (and potentially kill everyone you love) or you will get stripped of your power and lose the will to live. And those are your only choices. That’s awful! Very good conversation here, and I love how it’s laced both with worry for Mat but also Rand is relating to himself and worrying/wondering. And Thom basically says here exactly why Rand isn’t confessing his fears over himself to Mat (or even himself). But the stressor here about keeping Mat away from Aes Sedai, and especially Red Ajah Sisters, being delivered to Rand like this, compounds what Dana said in the previous episode, adding to the don’t trust Aes Sedai drumbeat. I am very very curious about how that will continue to progress in S2.

27. Alanna has taken her own break now and it’s Moiraine and Kerene who are watching Logain. Silently.

28. Fun times out at the Warder fire! Stepin is teasing Lan, and Nynaeve fits right in when she also straight-out teases him. Nynaeve watches as some of the Warders split off to join their Aes Sedai at a gesture, and Nynaeve (who has been having a LOT of fun with the Warders and I hope we get more of her choosing to spend time with them in S2) essentially asks them why they serve the Aes Sedai. “We don’t,” she’s told. “No bond is closer than that of an Aes Sedai and her Warder. Not husbands and wives. Not parents and children. You know what Aes Sedai means in the Old Tongue? Servants of all. It is they who serve the world.” Getting a Warder’s eye view of WHY they would choose to become a Warder is such a useful and good thing here. I feel like we can add “Warders” to the groups of people that the show does a better job exploring, along with Tuatha’an and Darkfriends. In all cases, by grounding them in the reality of the world. We hear WHY a Darkfriend might choose the Shadow for reasons other than Being Evil; we hear WHY the Tuatha’an philosophy of peace is based in their spiritual understanding of the Wheel of Time and reincarnation; we hear WHY Warders would choose this life, to support this group of women, and the reasoning behind it. If the Aes Sedai are servants of the world, “then what does that make you?” Nynaeve asks. And Lan is the one answers - “proud”.

29. Alanna drops by to pick up her two Warders and a needle drops for Nynaeve, realizing that there’s a threesome going on over there. And I do wonder if she currently is believing that Lan and Moiraine have a romantic/sexual aspect to their relationship as well. I do like this little drop here of polyamory existing in the world of WoT already. Poly relationships & representation are SO rare in... any kind of TV show, really.

30. Back in Moiraine and Lan’s tent, they are NOT having sex but instead having a conversation, because they are platonic life partners. This is a great conversation. Lan points out that Logain is too old to be the one, but Moiraine is worrying. She’s even wondering if her main point about thinking it had to be one of the Two Rivers’ folk because of the Trollocs might be off because she’s not sure if the Dark One has any idea who the Dragon Reborn is either. I love seeing them as a team here, with Moiraine saying, “Your losses are mine and mine are ours.” And Lan saying that Moiraine gets emotional when he drinks, is something that I appreciate for Secret Spoiler Reasons, lol.

31. Egwene is dancing with the Tuatha’an while Perrin watches from the sidelines. She asks him about the song and gets the story out of Aram about how their people are searching for the Song that will bring harmony to the world, a song that was lost in the Breaking. Egwene tries to bring some hope & optimism back into Aram’s view of his own people here.

32. Meanwhile, Perrin is working on fixing some wagon wheels and has a private conversation with Ila. The show does a good job of grounding people in their experiences and how those experiences interact with the culture they’ve grown up with and the cultures that they encounter. I do really enjoy this conversation between Perrin and Ila, where she tells Perrin about the loss of her daughter. “What greater revenge against violence than peace? What greater revenge against death than life?” I really love the intimate one-on-one conversations that the show has given us so much. I think Rafe has said that he continued to fight for those one-on-one scenes in S2 as well, which is definitely a good thing.

33. Egwene and Aram have a private conversation, where Egwene is feeling melancholy over being seperated from Rand. She’s certain she would know if he were dead. We also get more hints of Aram’s unhappiness with his people and I think it’s implied that he’s not quite twenty, because that’s the age that he would be expected to go out and experience the world.

34. Meanwhile, in Rand and Mat’s storyline, he’s obsessing over Egwene because she’s all he can think about... oh, wait, no, he actually isn’t, because that’s just a thing that the internet decided to believe about his character with no evidence. He’s actually worrying over Mat, who is right there and obviously not doing well. He reassures Mat here, “I’m here. You know that, right? No matter what happens, I’m here.” (amazingly enough, this is NOT the moment that made me ship them!)

35. Then we are in Rand’s dreams. I kinda hope we continue to get to see Rand’s dreams in the future, fingers crossed. I think we will. Anyone, in this dream we have: Perrin, hammering on his wife’s dead body; Mat wandering by with the camera focusing on his right hand covered in blood; and Egwene getting snatched by Ishamael. The nightmare wakes Rand up and Thom is there to reassure him, but Rand immediately notices that Mat is missing. They run into the farmhouse and see people lying dead and Mat standing there in the center of the room.

36. I will note, at this point, Rand and Thom have zero reason to think that something other than Mat killed these people, not until Mat lifts the dagger and calls out the Fade hiding in the shadows, but Thom was 100% going to bundle Mat out of there anyway. Anyway, Mat does call out the Fade and Thom attacks it/distracts it while Rand grabs Mat and pulls him out of the house. So this is the first time Rand’s seen the dagger, I think. We get to see some hint bits of Thom’s fighting skills and then Mat sees that the little girl from earlier has been murdered as well, and the two of them are done, with the protector Birgitte doll left behind.

37. The next day, in the Aes Sedai camp, Nynaeve notices Lan going off into the woods by himself and follows after. She sees Lan performing a private ceremony for himself, but he soon spots her. He’s more than willing to share with her the details of the prayer, a prayer for the lost of Malkier. In exchange, Nynaeve shares her own private prayer/ceremony for the lost with him - an Old Tongue prayer that she doesn’t understand, but the last thing that her parents said to her. And Lan is able to give her a piece of her parents back by translating the words for her. “We shall go into the land, so our children can always hold us and won’t be alone.” They share a moment of connection, where Nynaeve says that Lan is more than she’d assumed he was.

38. Kerene confronts Liandrin about her trying to talk all their fellow Aes Sedai into extrajudicially gentling Logain. With Kerene, Liandrin makes the argument that Logain is too strong to try to haul across the country, but Kerene does not budge. “The law applies just as much to us as it does to him.” And Kerene also kinda confirms that the Reds are the cop Ajah: “And you, a Red, should be reminding me of that, not the other way around.” So we have soldiers, cops, and spies so far, out in the world.

39. Logain’s army arrives to free him. Love what we get to see here of Alanna & the Green Ajah and their Warders in the fight. Very good start. At this point, Logain breaks out... my question... did Liandrin help at all? She suggested the idea of Logain breaking loose, as they would then have the ‘right’ to kill him, which Kerene rejected. But, yeah, love seeing the Warders protecting their Aes Sedai in this battle and the way they work together. We also see Nynaeve’s relative helplessness and how much she hates it (she does get in a couple of good stabbings tho).

40. Moiraine sneaking in to see Logain here is a great scene. Feeling his power against her shield has made her doubt herself, and so she needs to establish for herself that he is NOT the Dragon. He tells her that he hears “a thousand Dragons who have preceded me”. “They are teaching me to do better this time. Isn’t this why the Wheel turns out spirits out again and again? To learn?” Moiraine tells him that the Wheel doesn’t want anything (viewing it more as a force of nature, I think). Moiraine has heard enough to decide that he is definitely not the Dragon and that the true Dragon will be much more powerful than he is. Kerene and Liandrin recover at this point and attempt to reshield Logain, but one of his attempts to break free almost kills Liandrin and Moiraine, and Kerene deflects the weapon, leading to her own death instead. In the battle outside, we see Stepin’s reaction to feeling Kerene’s death.

41. Lan, Nynaeve, and Stepin race towards the cave with Logain, while Alanna & the rest hold off the army. We see that the King of Ghealdan died in the assult. When Stepin races in and sees Kerene, he makes an attempt to kill Logain, which causes Stepin’s axes to shatter, and the majority of the people in the cave start bleeding out from their wounds. Nynaeve heals everyone (with her main focus on Lan) and her power is very impressive to everyone (including Logain). And then Liandrin links with the other sisters and gentles Logain (Nynaeve is a witness to this but not involved). It’s a really epic ending, which definitely was so mindblowing for me in first viewing and I still really really love it.

[ofswordsandsorcery]

My thoughts on SHADOW & BONE S2

SHADOW AND BONE SEASON 2 SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

GRISHA VERSE SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

!!!!SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT!!!!

I wrote this while watching, so it's really chaotic

Also, I haven't read any of the books in a while, so forgive me for not remembering how to correctly write the names and probably forgetting stuff :D

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED CLICK OFF THERE ARE SPOILERS HERE

Episode 1

A privateer actually, it's an important distinction

Take your fuckin shoes off the bed

TAMAR AND TOLYA FUCKING ICONIC

Episode 2

THE BOOK, IT'S LIVES OF SAITS, OH SAINTS IS IT BEAUTIFUL

"you live in a single moment I live in a thousand"

You're old as shit we get it

Nina Zenik is a fucking menace and I am SO living for it

Also, we love a queen that eats <3

Oh oh Nikolai trying to steal Mal's girlfriend i see

Tamar and Alina interaction ahsjsjsjsj

The bonding over being shu han???

Awww, i loveee themm

You are FANCY CARGO

I'M DYING

Wylan and Nikolai working together would be the end of the world as we know it

HE SAID THE LINE

HE SAID IMPROBABLE

I- I CAN'T OMGGG

I thought the girl working for Aleksander was Zoya for a sec and i was SO confused

Aww, Wylan he's beyond thrilled, he just doesn't show it love

FUTURE HUBBYYS

Jes getting his fucking hat before leaving is everything

Episode 3

Soaaring flyyyyinnn

Nikolai is one hell of an inventor

Jes and Wylan on a missionnn *in a singing voice*

Nina giving Kaz contra >>>

Ajsjyjsjsjs Prince Nikolai reveal i am jsksksjsj AN ICON, truly

You lying bastard

Whack

Even more iconic

David and Genyaaaaa

I love David

I'm still so incredibly mad

On an unrelated note: Lewis Tan is one fine man

A casting decision I actually love

Side eye to Nikolai

(sorry paddy, nothing against you, you are doing a wonderful job just really not how I imagined Nikolai to look at ALL)

Nadja meets Tamar

Brb, I'm going to turn in to a useless queer

Also, I love Aldrick

ZOYALINA ZOYALINA ZOYALINA

Fuck allies, you need a wife

I am so living for Wylan begrudgingly agreeing with Jes

Wylans horrified stare at the piano playing omg and the little flinch

"He's really good" lol

Jes is so falling in love with Wylan over his piano playing skills

That LOOK

YOU KNOW WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT THAT IS SO CUTE I'M CRYING

Uhhh, kaz inej fight lol

Let me bandage it for you even tho i am deadly afraid of touching skin

Ahhh, communication

Omg the subtle shaking? The fear in his eyes? Well done.

What's your telll?

The cane the limp, know ones ever smart enough to look for the real one????

It's not what you think??

Nina is like yeah, take your bullshitting elsewhere

Ahaaa

I LOVE seeing that friendship develop.

Shit at first dates lmao

Love you Nina

Kaz fighting scene omg

Badass.

Crow club takeover? What?

Y'all I wasn't prepared for this

So much is happening at once, help

Eww he licked the knife? Bah

Go Inej, get his ass..

THE HAIR FLIP

INEJ INEJ INEJ INEJ INEJJJJJ

BABES YOU'RE FUCKING BADASS

Wow the prayer

So much emotionnnn

Ajhsjsjsj

Vladim, what are you doing love

General Kirigan what the actual fuck

That.. Is your mom

The horror on David's face

I feel the same way tho

I HaVe a PrOPosAL

Shut up Nikolai, you're gonna get punched again and you're face is actually to pretty for that...

STOP IT. They're holding hands

I repeat THEY ARE HOLDING HANDS

This is a fucking emotional roller-coaster

I'm not going anywhere - walks away

Thanks Jes, for saying what i thought

Jesper you little fuck

Don't betray Wylan like that?

Wylan talking about how Alby isn't responsible for who his father is

Van Eck im FUCKING LOOKING AT YOU

Oh Mathias my poor boy <3 he seriously needs a hug...

What's your price? Nuh uh

Episode 4

Vasily you idiot

TAMARR <3

Razrusha'ya

Ruined? I AM NOT RUINED I AM RUINATION

Baghra the wise im cackling

I KINDA LIKE YOUR FACE?

Jes you can't just drop that casually and then move one as if fucking nothing happend????

No mourners no funerals and it's almost all of my babies

Nadjas impressed look at Tamar and her axes has me SOBBING

TOLYA WITH HIS BOOOK

LOVE

That was a long time ago

Yeah oops

Make him kneel make him kneel make him kneel omg

That whole scene is so fucking good i had to actually rewatch it multiple times before i could move on

Tolya and Tamar supremacy <3

Not The POETRYYY

Tamar and Tolya meeting the crows??? Holy shit

This has taken so many twists and turns and loopings what

You could... Come with me??

Wylans lil shrug???? I'm actually crying

Kit's acting in the confession scene? SPECTACULAR the glances, the lil eye roll before be gathers the full courage, the little waver in his voice when he does confess??

A WYLAN KISS? WHAT I DID NOT EXPECT THAT AT ALL

HELP

HELP

HELPPPPP

Maybe you need a reminder?? The laughs the giggles I'm going to spontaneously combust

Wtf kaz

I worry about you?

I can't have a weak link in my crew?

You're a bloody idiot, is what you are

Nina should kock some sense into that head of yours after what you just said you moron

I think Rollins knocked it outa ya

And king he shall be

Just not yet oops

Unhinged Genya? hell yes!!!!

Ahhh, Baghra, you sly fucker

Not Adrik

Not him

Please not him

Jesper, Inej and Nina solidarity

Jes loves the gossip so much ahahahah

Episode 5

Genya not wanting David to see her because she's afraid of what he'll think hurts my heart

Genyalina hug supremacy

Baghra said sobatchka

I'm crying. This is not the time but omh

YOU DON'T NEED FIXING

Damn right she doesn't.

Tolya looking at the bowl of food is literally me

NINA AND TOLYA BONDING OVER FOOD

NOT WHAT I THOUGHT I'D GET BUT NOW I NEED MORE, OH LORD

I'm not here for you whoops

Oh Jes, you said the wrong thing baby

Bhez Ju? It looks INCREDIBLE!!!

Tolya being like wtf is going on with you and wylan is gold

I know metal

David i love you

The gentle forehead press

What did you do to him

Tolya giving relationship advice to jesper avout wylan I'm going to cry

Nvm I'm actually already crying

Nina trying to talk to Kaz about tea had me laughing so hard

Tolya snacking all the time, we love it

Zoya honestly

Tolyas comment about soldiers, i love that

Episode 6

MAMA

I'm laughing so hard

Poor Mal

He doesn't deserve any of this

The thief is so beautiful

And she's so badass

SHE'S DOING A GRISHA VERSION OF BLOODBENDING??? THAT IS GENIUS

Lol she's giving it to Jesper

I think she knows he's a special one

Love her so much

Another Wesper kiss??? Also, Tolya's knowing face lmao

Mathias = slab of fur and i will not refer to him as anything else ever again

Episode 7

Why on earth is everyone losing their hands?

This is ridiculous

Let me introduce you to Inej - Badass of the Barrel

Uh oh is right you witch

The crows join, it's over you idiots

Not the cane, that's a sacrilege what you just did.

Sibling reunion I'm sobbing over that hug

Um, Mal u okay hun?

Episode 8

Not kaz giving his cane away what is happening???

My Man

MY MAN

MY MAN

Kaz and Tolya bonding over Poetry? Of all things? love it

Ah ah ah is that an upward lip tug i see Kaz?

Jes... Why did you ruin the moment like that?

There's six of you you morons

Just don't know it yet lovelies

Have i said i don't like Genya's eye thing? It just looks so cheap

He wants an investment lol

Kaz you fuking idiot

You actually have to say it you know

Oof, the I want- I want you

Gives me the same vibes as i love, i love, i love you

How many fucking flying ships do they have?

Nah wtf is this Inej & Tolya shit

What's with the suggestive camera angles, stop that

Actually, i like the sturmhond look on Mal

Inej on the boat taking over slaver ships

So many things i didn't think I'd see this season omg

Ketterdam what kinda fucked up, out of proportion moon do you have???

Ugh not the apparat

Fuck off already, i didn't miss you at ALL

For a man of faith...

Love you for that, sobachka

Finally a better eye patch

Zoya you actually could lol

Are we going to get a triumvirate sitch with Alina?

Omgg yesss

You finally gonna go to Fjerda huh

I AM SO LIVING FOR THE DRESSES

EXCEPT ZOYAS... WHERE'S THE SIGNATURE BLUE SILVER?

Not that it doesn't look good just...

Talk about show stopping, am i right

Well, that's a way to end the show

Additional things I LOVED

- The show name at the beginning of every episode

- The different languages >>>>

- everything Tolya does

-Patrick Gibson as Nikolai, the longer I watched the better it got

What I did NOT like:

- lots of things actually but I have decided for myself that from here I'll just see the show as something different from the books and cherish it for what it is

-David and Genya having literally five seconds before he died? WTF? David was supposed to be here longer :/

-that they put SO MUCH into this season? like so much is happening at once and then they introduce additional stuff??? Felt a little rushed to me... Like were kinda already at the point of King of Scars but at the same time the SOC plotline is so ripped apart? I am confused...

[a-mag-a-day]

MAG 14

I love how the voice changes drastically the moment the statement starts. You immediately know what kind of a person Lee Rentoul was. Also, isn't that the sweary guy, right?

"I need to not lose any more bits of me." - I love this writing style. This, giving us a tiny bit of information without context that piques our interest.

" I was going to have to think outside the box a bit." - HA! xD Sorry, I know this probably wasn't intended as pun at all, but I just laughed.

"they weren’t paintings, they were jigsaw puzzles, each completed and framed." / "in front of Angela was another jigsaw, half-finished" / "but it wasn’t exactly going to kill Noriega, was it?" - It was, right? That was her whole deal. With every piece falling into place the victim loses a body part.

Wow, that music at 8:33 ("When she asked if I wanted Paul Noriega dead, I nearly choked.") is totally different from the usual way music is handled. This one comes in pretty quick and gets loud immediately instead of slowly creeping-in that makes you totally miss when it started.

"I’d borrowed his lighter. It was a battered old Zippo" - Well, Zippos are never a good thing in this podcast, are they?

Yay Salesa! Didn't memorize his name on my first listen, but on my second round of course.

"I plunged the knife into him once, twice, three times" - Uh, I like the music reinforcing the energy here.

God, Jon is such an ass in the post-statement section! "tasteless joke about loose tongues" and of course "I sent Martin to look into this ‘Angela’ character – not that I want him to get chopped up, of course, but someone had to" followed by "Useless ass". You're being a stupid ass here and I hated you on my first listen!

My general section at the end this time: I love the concept of this statement. The box with the body part he will lose. The wound immediately healed. The gore is not the priority in this kind of body horror. It's the loss. I wonder if that one scene in Looper (2012) was the inspiration for this statement. Also, great ending of this episode with the hundreds of boxes which were left in Rentoul's flat.

Swear count! 1 arse, 2 asshole, 3 crap and 3 ass (one of them came from Jon himself)

It is the sweary statement! Beholding censored it for its listeners 😌