#also lowkey annoyed that i am the kind of person that gets invested in cast showmances but.

[catty-words]

Have you watched the table read? I would love to know your opinion :)

i did! when they announced it, i told myself i wasn’t gonna watch it, i was gonna wait until july. but, being the content gremlin i am, of course i cannot sit idly by when something as enticing as a table read is dangled in front of my face. (i also donated a little bit, too! yay, supporting the global community!)

anyway, putting my numerous and effusive thoughts under a cut to avoid spoiling those who are not gremlins:

- the sneak peek inside my brain since last night would look something like this: john mcenroe is back-enroe 💃 john mcenroe is back-enroe 💃 john mCENROE IS BACK-ENROE 💃

- the fact that it’s called “...been a player” - i don’t even know how to name the emotion it invoked in me but it pressed some huge, I LOVE THIS SHOW button in my heart that’s for sure

- seeing devi in her tie-dye hoodie and ben in his polka dot collared shirt as the first shot of season two will kill me dead, even with all this time i have to prepare

- speaking of being killed dead, the fact that we know the camera will linger on ben smiling privately to himself after devi climbs out of the car is like. AHH! i already wanna see it gifed a hundred times

- and because i am truly this love triangle’s bitch, i’m also already fluttery over the fact that paxton waited for devi and over the narration about paxton’s ramble - “he never uses this many words. i mean, we’re talking about a guy who regularly texts back the letter ‘k’.” or something like that (johN MCENROE IS BACK-ENROE)

- super interested to learn that we’re not dropping the move to india plot as i kind of imagined we would in the wake of malibu + my assumed inclination on the part of the writers to not separate devi from our established cast of characters. i wonder if they’re going to ‘will-they-won’t-they’ the move as one of the overarching season arcs.

- if they do, i’m already all clenched up over the possibility that nalini’s potential love interest could sway her toward staying in the states i do not want that i do not want that one bit

- anyway, i see never have i ever’s knack for inelegant product placement is alive and well

- the moment where devi tells kamala it’s tragic that no one will know what a big nerd she is because she’s hot and kamala earnestly thanks her is exactly the kind of sister energy i’ve wanted from THEM thank you season two

- very interested in the storyline being set up for fabiola because one of the things i love most about her is her complete ignorance of and disinterest in pop culture, so seeing how fabiola might navigate eve being very much immersed in gay pop culture as part of her identity when eve is fab’s gateway to this community and how she’ll choose to present herself as a lesbian is like. everything i didn’t know i wanted as a follow up to her coming out.

- (the fact that eleanor knows killing eve and is crushing on villainelle is like. confirmed, she is not straight and fabiola/eleanor will riiiise)

- also very interested in and approving of the choice to have fabiola and eleanor reject ben as a worthy potential love interest for devi outright. a) because that’s a totally valid pov for them to have as people protective of devi and b) makes me giddy for the potential of ben having to put in the effort to win them over. ALSO the way devi seemed disappointed no one was making the case for team ben has me all up in my d/b feels so.

- gkbsljgn devi arguing that ben driving her to malibu was romantic and fab countering that her dad makes that drive every day for work...i love this show i love it so much

- SPEAKING OF FUN, SILLY MOMENTS THAT MAKE ME GIDDY BEN ASKING DEVI IS SHE’S GONNA KILL HIM THEY’RE STUPID AND I LOVE THEM

- love having the confirmation that ben and shira were sexually active together, do not love the way ben chose to communicate that fact dfkjg

- the private jet line made me laugh out loud, i regret to admit. i don’t want to find ben being obnoxious about his wealth charming but gosh dang it, the writing demands it.

- THEY’RE SITTING ON HIS BED, THEY KISS

- okay, but on the flip side of that excitement is the way the title sets up that devi is going to get in too deep with both guys and they’re both going to end up hurt. the whisper of that plot is already hurting MY feelings.

- ooh, and speaking of setups, the narration making a point to mention that paxton transferred schools to sherman oaks and to name where from...aneesa is absolutely an old pal from that school

- in summation: GIMME

[oflgtfol]

kung fu panda is truly dreamworks’ best franchise. yes, even over httyd

while the first two httyd movies were phenomenal, the last one was, well. i mean. perhaps it was also phenomenal on a writing level, i couldn’t tell you, because frankly the whole experience was so upsetting lol. you get invested in hiccup and toothless’s friendship, only for the rug to be ripped right out from under you. and the fact that the instigating moment was Heterosexuality of all things is just salt in the wound

kung fu panda, however, is another franchise that deals heavily with family and friendship, yet it does not emotionally punish you for getting invested in these relationships. the third movie was also not as good as the first two, but it was not as good due to superficial reasons. i’d rather have a weaker villain drag the movie down than literally never be able to watch the movie again due to how actually upsetting it is. lol

i just cannot believe how httyd 1 and 2 were all about hiccup and toothless being the bestest of friends against all odds. they fought to stay together even when everyone and everything was against them................... only for the franchise to end with them separating, and like, never seeing each other again except for some random ass occasion years later. like what was the point of the other movies then? all that, for what? toothless to leave for some random ass Girl Dragon? it’s literally the most upsetting thing ever

like i can understand that the whole, dragons and humans don’t belong together, storyline was built up from the very first movie. it was a long time coming. but i just can’t believe that the conclusion would be “ok so let’s just go fuck off to our own world and live entirely separate and never see each other again despite the immense love between us” rather than like, “fuck you. we will MAKE this work no matter the odds against us” like what had happened in the first and second movies...?

kung fu panda, however, also had friend and family relationships set up from the very first movie, and they were never cast aside, but rather continually built up and always served a core function of each movie. the central themes were carried through naturally and consistently and never did they let the audience down emotionally like that...... the first movie introduced the idea that po is the only one of his kind in this area, the second movie explained that it’s because he lost his bio family due to genocide, the third movie then had him reconnect with the remaining members of his community. it wasn’t that like, the second movie showed the panda genocide, and then the third movie was just like, oh well fuck the other pandas then. like it was the natural progression that po would reconnect with his community, the story didn’t take that away from him. nor did it take everything he had already established away from him either, like yes he’s meeting and befriending all these new people, but his core relationships are still important to him, and it’s actually the B plot of the movie how his adoptive father doesnt want to be left behind and the conclusion is that he wasn’t, and that he no less important to po just bc he’s not po’s bio dad. the conclusion to the franchise was emotionally rewarding because it followed everything that had been set up earlier in the previous movies

like imagine if we saw kfp 1 and 2 and saw how important ping is for po and then the third movie was just like, oh lol he isn’t po’s real dad so fuck ping. and po went off to live with li shan as his Only Father? imagine how unsatisfying and upsetting that would be. but no! instead the movie says that po now has TWO dads, and they are both just as important to him

i get that plot-wise these two situations (toothless leaving vs ping raising po) have nothing in common but im comparing them in terms of the narrative set up and emotional reward (or lack thereof) at the end

IDK like yes i love httyd as much as the next person but im lowkey so sick of ppl acting like kfp is less than httyd all because it seems silly at the surface level...... but kung fu panda is genuinely so good and so few people acknowledge that and it’s especially annoying considering that i legit cannot even ever rewatch httyd 3 meanwhile kfp 3, while it has its flaws, is a much more enjoyable experience.... like i am SICK OF IT..... APPRECIATE KUNG FU PANDA OR ELSE!!!

and i can’t deny that i am probably hurt by the ending of httyd more so than the average person.. like, not to bring my aromanticism into a random conversation, but like. i really appreciate both these franchises specifically because of their emphasis on friends and family as opposed to romance. which is why the ending of httyd feels like such a betrayal... toothless and hiccup were ENEMIES TO FRIENDS, platonic SOULMATES, they were the baddest bitches out there, and then toothless just LEAVES bc of some random ass girl?!?!?! you do a lil mating dance and are suddenly ready to leave your bestest friend?!?!?! it’s literally so upsetting LMFAOOOOOO........ kung fu panda never did me dirty like that and its exploration of friends and family is so so good in a way that i wish more media would.......

[rosewaterbaptism]

REIGN

REIGN STAN RIGHTS!

the first character i ever fell in love with: Mary!

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: My appreciation for Lola definitely went down after she slept with Francis tbh that was not chill

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: My friend peer pressured me into shipping Mash for like 0.2 seconds but I’m a true Frary stan at heart

my ultimate favourite character™: Mary 💘💘

prettiest character: I always thought Lola was SO pretty and I wanted to look like her… but tbh every character is pretty they have a very pretty cast.

my most hated character: I HATED Henry towards the end of his life especially

my OTP: Mary/Francis! Obvi ☺️

my NOTP: There are a LOT of ships that I’m not overly fond of but I’m gonna say Mary/Bash because I lived through the Frary v. Mash shipping wars of the early Reign days. I am a veteran. And I have earned the right to unapologetically say Frary rights.

favourite episode: Omg it’s so hard for me to choose a favourite but if pressed.. S1E3: Kissed

saddest death: I’m still mentally scarred over Francis dying

favourite season: DEFINITELY S1 and especially the first half of S1

least favourite season: Hmm hard to say… maybe 3?

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: I genuinely can’t think of one

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: CATHERINE I fucking LOVE her and all her batshit antics!! We stan a queen!!!! 

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: Like I can feel myself getting annoying by answering “Mary” all the time but I genuinely cannot understate how much Mary meant to me when I was watching that show… she was the perfect combination of both soft and strong, she made very difficult decisions with her heart and conscience as her guide, she was an amazing ruler in a time that didn’t respect women’s authority… and beyond all that, she was a young girl, she had fun with her friends and fell in love and was silly and spirited and I related so damn much to her!!! To see a woman who, on one hand, has like the weight of an entire nation on her shoulders, and on the other hand, is Just Like Me™️ was SO influential for me growing up. I really looked up to Mary, she was my role model!! She was who I wanted to be when I grow up!! And I know all of that sounds really Lame to say but idc, Mary meant the world to me and she definitely deserved better than everything she was put through.

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: Also cannot think of any

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: Cleith definitely. 

Also ty for being the only person to send me an ask!! ❤️❤️

[survivorpacificislandallstars]

Ep. 1 - “Have I ever seen anything that messy? Yes” - Madison (Pt. 1)

WOW ITS GOOD TO BE BACK!!!!!!!!!1 Although my tribe has some yikes people (Brandon) but I think me & stevie are good, me & Andrew should be good and Kevin seems nice! AND BILLY!!! I don't know why I always forget him yikes

DEAR GOD DAMN DIARY AND FRIGGING CASTING BUTTHOLES WTF WITH SOME OF THESE THOUGH ok like I get most of these casting decisions like don’t get me wrong, 32 is crazy and all and I’m happy to be back but SERIOUSLY COME ON, first of all Jose is the farthest thing from an all star and doesn’t have ANY, ANY WHATSOEVER RIGHT IN BEING HERE, he fell into the win because of another person’s temper tantrum, and this go around, I don’t care if it’s going to get me a low placement, I will destroy that non-star NEXT well this is the only other thing here you COULD LITERALLY PUT BILLY ANYWHERE AND YOURE LIKE OH HEY ANYWHERE, LIKE SWAP OUT LILY FOR BILLY FOR LILY TBH, cause yes he’s a staple of PI don’t get me wrong, but to say he should be defined as POTS, yeah no, thats more of a thrown together last minute cause people wanted to play the game for themselves instead of him, and him not liking it ruined it by his tantrums, did he deserve ing hurt, no, but did he deserve to be called POTS in Kanto, HELL TO THE NAW so in conclusion of my hate speech Swap Lily out of the season, put Billy in her place, Bring Liana in as the IZu POTS, and remove Jose from the season and replace him with Ricky, cause Ricky is a true finalist all-star compared to that flop ironically coming from the king of flop-stars like damn

So, PI all stars is finally here and I am ready to die. Seriously though I love this starting tribe, I am Wet for Whetu (said every single person in their first confession) But idk why the hosts put us all on a tribe together but I am so good here. I have Drew, Jay and Dan, like we are probably the four best challenge competitors in PI like were not going to lose. Also I got Ash who I love and Madison who is also good. But like it leave Van and Isaac sort of on the outs in my books which is kind of sad cause they both are great, but we won’t likely have to go to tribal on this stating tribe unless its a double one so hopefully they can stay and we can make good bonds with them. I am so excited, this beginning could not have went better for me. I am ready for all stars!

I can't believe I'm on a tribe with daddy Andrew. Anyway so um. This is happening. Yay, I guess. I'm ready for my life to get massacred by the apocalypse that is All-Stars. Nothing really has happened so I'm just gonna talk about people: Andrew: yes!!!! iconic and hoping we work together Lily: i??? love lily???? i don't know why but just l?? she seems very nice idk brandon: he's been pretty talkative and i liked that he tried to get the tribe bonding or w/e going on but i personally tried not to participate in that too much bc I didn't want to annoy people but? he's nice okay for the others...they're all cool everyone here is cool i'm just too lazy to keep writing they're nice they're just not much special. A lot of people know a lot of people which is a given in all stars but it's just kinda formidably scary bc I hardly know that many people in comparison but I'm hoping before our first tribal I'll get past that barrier (bike)

So lowkey, I have to go look at all those cast assessments, because I legit don't even know everyone who is cast LOL. I need to sharpen up my skills as a player here. So far, I like my tribe, which is a strange thing for me. I've got Jose, who I think likes me, so I can use that to my advantage. I LOVE Sam, and we've both been waiting to play a game together again, so hopefully that works in our favour. I don't know Nick, so I gotta work my magic with him, and see what I can do to bring him over to my side. Ashley, she's a coolio, someone I need to speak to more for sure! Then there's Karen... where it's like https://media2.giphy.com/media/KZw668D6xlXI4/200.gif#8 but also https://media3.giphy.com/media/FSfTrflUJJanu/200.gif#12 The thing is, I don't HATE Karen, but I don't like her either if that makes sense. She's someone who is so invested, that I can't have her around for too long, and it's like we have some underlying rivalry going. Which I don't really like. So, we'll see how this plays out for me!!! I'm hoping for the best!! <3

My tribe seems iconic, they're all super nice so far!! The only person I know is Jose, seeing Charlotte on the other tribe wasn't so great because we weren't on great terms the first time we played yikes. But on the other hand I'm really happy to be with Samantha, we got along in Niue and were pretty close and she made it all the way to the end, but I got screwed by that swap, so I'm hoping there's something there. I'm gonna try my best to keep the target off of Jose since he's a winner and hopefully we can start winning some challenges :- ). There's no ugly rats yet, but everybody has a dark side.

So I get that everyone thinks Katie is gunna be really good at this challenge and stuff but like we kinda just threw her into it without asking if she wanted to do it! And I don't know what "flag making challenges are all politics" actually means... Like I've never had an issue where people just pick their friends flags but okay... So I don't know if that means she doesn't want to but like frankly does she ever do anything? I know she's queen of old school tumblr survivor and stuff but I've never seen her do anything in games ever! It'd be awesome if she did because I'm sure she's a great player like damn I wanna see it in action! I really hope she does actually make the flag though because she's probably our best option

So night 1 was reasonably tame, its a good tribe so far, i’m liking them a lot. Anyways I got some theory’s about shit thats about to happen. See I get this theme of revisiting twists from past seasons and when I see this challenge from daydream, lights start going off in my head. I remember this challenge, I was here for this challenge, I did not submit for this challenge. All i know is that the winners from this challenge all god idols…. hmm interesting…. and this twist that we have to decide who did the most on our tribe…… let’s say i got some theories. So I share my theory with drew and we have a plan, because I can’t make flags for shit and well Drew can do them better than me. So we are going to put him in charge of the flag making and get him the reward so that he can share it with me. Sounds foolproof. So far so good, cant wait for it to blow up :)

god I’m so good at fag challenges

I cannot believe we have to go to tribal. I really really hope it's not me, I'm being so careful. I'm probably just paranoid but I feel like someone is gonna find out about me. How could they know??? Like there's no reason for them to suspect. I'm aligned with Mitch and Steffen but in separate terms. If someone suggested voting off jordan that would be perfect!!!

So like this week kinda sucked. That flag was hideous tbh and I tried to hint that to Drew as nicely as possible, but alas. I wish I could have been more of a part of the challenge and fuck Chris for thinking we didn't try to help conceptualize things for the flag as a group. Anywho, I have strong relationships with Jay, Jordan, and Madison so I'm hoping to exploit that as much as possible to keep me safe. I feel a much closer bond with Van this season than Niue so I definitely want to keep them around. I've played literally 75 games with Ash and she still doesn't talk to me, bye girl. Drew seems nice and I know he's good at challenges (that aren't flag making like the fuck???) so I want to keep him around too. Isaac? Cancelled. He's a surprisingly strong player so I'm thinking he'll be first boot. Or at least that's what Jordan wants. I'm gonna let Jordan be the ring leader for a bit until the target on his back swells like his ego and he gets voted out. Until next time, peace and love, Dan 

OH GOSHHHHH why am I doing this again after N*ue So, here I am again! Someone out there considers me an All-Star and that’s pretty good to hear for my ego. I ruined Niue so hopefully I can do my best to not ruin two seasons in a row. So, before I start talking to my tribe because I just got back to my room (thank geesus that the semester is almost over) I’ll talk about some other people that I know from other tribes. Ashley: Was in Niue, but I never met her. Jay: Also in Niue, and from what I heard from my ol’ buddy Ned when we started working together in Niue, that Jay’s vote out was a mess. Charlotte: Also from Niue, never met her. Kevin: <3 <3 <3 I LOVE KEVIN SO MUCH. We were in Niue and I never wanted to vote out that nugget though he revealed in Niue Ponderosa that he wanted me out after flipping on old Miti RIP but tbh that’s a fair reason. I trust him pretty well and as long as I don’t screw him over, I don’t think I have to worry about him coming after me if we ever meet in the game. For now. Karen: I’m aware she exists because of main season VL’s. Apparently an icon. Nicky: !!! A PURE HUMAN SOUL. Nicky is one of the best people ever and I wish that he won Niue. If I can’t win All-Stars then I want Nicky to. Stevie: HIYA STEVIE. We played in Aeolian back in the day and we were on opposing sides most of the game and then I idol’d him out oop. I know it’s a side season and stuff but if we end up running in to each other hopefully there’s no bad blood there. Regardless of anything though I love Stevie as a person <3 Steffen: HIYA STEFFEN. We also played in Aeolian back in the day and we were on opposing sides most of the game and well uhh there’s a lot that happened. Steffen is honestly one of the best people ever and I’m rooting for his success in FvF5 because he deserves it.  But as far as being in a game together uhhhh. I know what he’s capable of and he knows what I’m capable of so I’m pretty dang sure that I’ll be a target of his if we run into each other. So, uh….TO BE CONTINUED BECAUSE IDK HOW THIS WILL GO. But I still love you Steffen <3 Samantha B: Uh Sam’s a wonderful person but uh she kinda backstabbed me and Ned in Niue so um idk if I’ll even attempt to work with her in this game tbh. I don’t know what else to say. SO MANY NIUE PEOPLE HERE Billy: One of the Niue observers! He was pretty funny in the tribe chats in Niue and he seems like a nice guy. So, onto the main event! My first impressions of my own tribemates. Jay: We both played in Niue but from what I understand his vote was messy AF so we never met in the game. We bonded over our mutual love of John Coffey and we talked about Niue a little bit. I apologized for voting out Kait lmao which probably isn’t good for my game but at the same time I really am (even though I don’t regret going with Ned because it was a fun time). ANYWAY yes I like Jay and I’d love to work with him. Jordan Pines: You literally can’t spend more than a day in any VL without noticing Jordan Pines. Outside of the Aeolian cast (and the few people I remember from Spain lmao) Jordan was the first person that I remembered in the community. He’s hilarious and apparently the devil, but I’ll give him a shot just to be able to say that I did. We had a quick conversation about stuff and he seems nice enough.  Side Note: I have a good friend named Jordin with an “I” and not an “a” so I’m going to probably make this mistake all season. Like I had to go back and fix it twice so hopefully I don’t fuck Jordan’s name up too much Drew: I LOVE DREW omg. We bonded over books and we both read Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld and that was like a SKJDLFSJKDLFKSJ moment for me because it was the last book I read and I LOVED IT SO MUCH OMG. I love this dude so much. Issac: We talked about being in main seasons a little bit, but really that’s about it. He wasn’t around all that much because he had a rough week. Madison: We keep missing each other to actually talk oops but hopefully we can talk some more soon Ash: A massive sweetheart. <3 I like Ash a lot and wouldn’t mind working with them. Dan: Then we got DAN, who I was in Niue with! Who was, well, on the opposite side of me pretty much most of the game. Voted out my friends. Voted out me. But I still voted for him to win Niue and I think that he’s a great guy! <3 So, I half expected us to not win this first immunity challenge when each and every person on the tribe says that they’re not great at creative challenges. That’s life though! We didn’t end up winning of course and now we’re off to tribal council tonight. Which sucks because I honestly like everyone on the tribe. So, with that, I finally got online this morning and the first person to give me a plan about the vote is our very own Jordin Pines! He suggested Issac which out of everyone, is the person I’d probably want to see go the most honestly. I know he said he had a tough week which sucks but we gotta vote someone out. I’ll see where everyone else is at and hopefully the vote can go that smoothly. I don’t care to make another screaming “WAIT NO THINGS ARE BAD” confessional later because this one already has been long enough oops

so I really wish we won, i think that flag was very good the fact that it didn't win means these judges are biased whatever i  pmed people hoping i am not the vote so we'll see i guess