#and i was really enjoying the s&b storyline too

[munadyke]

hmmmm!

[tmnt-tychou]

Leonardo

Alright! Here we go! SO many good Leos out there. A reminder, this is just my opinion. If yours is different, we can still be friends and I absolutely do not mind hearing about your thoughts on why you would move any turtles to different tiers. A Tier: 2003: He is the most Leonardo Leonardo who has ever Leonardoed. Honor Boy has a great character arc. Always trying to be a good son/brother/team leader. 10/10

90's movie Leo: I mean, come on, that first movie. He fights for his family, he learns, he teaches, he leads. *chef kiss*

Bayverse Leo: Okay, I am so biased with this one. I love his dumb ass. But he's a good Leo. He tries his best to take care of his family. And when he makes a mistake, he learns and grows and becomes a better leader.

Rise Leo: A lot of Leo purists will say he is Not Leo. But I beg to differ. He's a fucking dork who thinks much too highly of himself. That's all Leo's. Only this one didn't get daddy's attention and discipline. Left to his own devices without Splinter putting responsibility on his shoulders, he's just a typical, goofy teenage boy. And he's hell of a lot of fun.

Mutant Mayhem Leo: I like this Leo. Stressed out, nervous, daddy's boy, trying to do his best while they eek into the world of adults. Just a Leo stepping into becoming a true Leo.

B Tier:

80's cartoon Leo: He has a very strong start at the beginning of the show. But in the later seasons, he gets stressed out and whiny, played for comedy. Just watch the first five episodes. He is choice.

IDW Leo: I haven't read all of IDW's run, but I really enjoyed the Foot Leo storyline. Solid Leo.

2012 Leo: I love him so much. He was my favorite turtle from this show. Even when the writing got weird, he was still a joy to watch. He gets B Tier purely for casting Seth Green and making me listen to his god-awful voice acting. Batman crossover movie Leo: Solid Leo. No character arc, but he was there being Leo. C Tier: 2007 Leo: Oooh, I'm going to get hate for this one. A lot of people like him. He could have made it up to a higher tier if he learned something by the end of the movie, but I don't think he did. Blatantly favorited to go travel the world, returns a hypocrite, getting after Raph for being a vigilante when HE had been a vigilante. As Raphael said, he is smug, he is the golden child. And he learns nothing by the end of the movie.

D Tier:

Next Mutation Leo: Half himbo, half asshole, all dumbass.

[keira-draws]

do you know where would be a good place to start? :33

Omg I hope ur ready for a semi-long response, LOL! Most of the Army of Darkness comics don't really connect to each other; kinda similar to the movies, there isn't a whole lot of consistency /lh That being said, it makes it a little less intense to break into these comics! Versus like superhero comics where you have to keep up with 80+ characters storylines haha

(Although Ash has been in the Marvel comics universe canonically...he may or may not have had a hand in starting the Marvel Zombies universe...) Starting off:

Ash and the Army of Darkness #6-8

I LOVE these ones so much! I haven't read the full comic, but the writing in it is fantastic, and the art for these issues are by my favorite AOD artist! Basic plot summary: Sheila is possessed by a deadite, Ash has to save her, and the comic dives into some of Ash's childhood, showing that he's been dealing with Evil since he was a kid. VERY good!

Army of Darkness: Ash Gets Hitched

This one is my absolute favorite AOD comic! This is a direct continuation from Ash and the Army of Darkness. Basic plot is Ash stays in 1300 A.D., and is getting ready to marry Sheila before Ash accidentally summons like the first Deadite ever (dude who was used to make the necronomicon). The art in it is so so fun, and definitely has an "evil dead" type of feel to it! They manage to capture Ash being goofy and corny, without A. making it cringey, and B. making him seem like a dude-bro badass. He's just a goofy guy and I loveeee it. Plus a little cameo from a certain someone, that I won't spoil <3 Note: this one is pretty g*ry and has some definite body horror, so fair warning.

BUT LOOK HOW CUTE THEY LOOK AGH <3 Next up:

Ash Vs. The Army Of Darkness

This one is also very fun, kind of a random plotline, Ash has to save a high school from deadites, but! Very very fun art, and it takes place directly after Army of Darkness! So, you can kinda imagine AOD happening, the two comics above happening, and then this one. But, again, consistency is for losers /j Plus!! Ted Raimi as Ash's S-Mart boss, PLUS he has a three stooges mug as homage to Sam, Bruce, and Rob being inspired by them for Evil Dead. This one also has Ash pretty in-character, which is dope <3

This last one is...debatable on its decency LMAO

Vampirella/Army Of Darkness

Now, there are some really fun parts of this comic! I don't know much about Ella, but she seems pretty cool in this. There's also some really funny gags, and genuinely some of my favorite art of all AOD comics in this book! That being said, Ash is pretty out of character and a little too "womanizing" shall we put it. But story is altogether fun, and again art is fire.

LIKE OMGGGG HE'S SO CUTE IN THIS COMIC I WANT TO PUNCH HIM /POS Also! All of these are free to read with a Comixology membership on Amazon Prime. My suggestion: start a 30 day free trial, cancel, and read through these guys within the month for free of charge :)) THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS ASK THOUGH I LOVE TALKING ABT ASH AND COMICS AND FUN STUFF <3333 i hope you find something you enjoy, and pls lemme know if you do!!!

[brokebegginerartist]

I have a whole ass storyline featuring these two, spawned from that very okayish movie.

Also a spoiler review:

The sequel was pretty okay. I had a good time watching it. Obv it's very technically impressive and the way that the water ways is very good™️. The designs in general were very neat. Super pleasing from a guy who likes designs. I prefer looking at the human vehicles over the creatures but yknow, sucker for lower sci-fi stuff.

From what I remember of the first movie (which is almost next to none), I think I enjoyed the characters here a lot more. Super Memorable Main Character Jake Sully wasn't at all too interesting here. All he's really got is:

a) guerrilla leader, which the movie skips out a whole lot of potential in the prologue like seriously there was so much they could've done with that but they just didn't

And b) kinda strict father figure. Like I mean, it's something, for sure. But he never really does anything that a father figure wouldn't reasonably do. There was this bit in the beginning were his sons, uh. Noatok and Middle Child, mess up really bad and got a number of folks killed, but Jakesully kinda ignores that and berates Middle Child that he nearly got his brother killed. And his punishment for nearly screwing up a military mission? He's grounded. Around two thirds of what made this dynamic interesting was abandoned when the family bounced. Honestly though I can understand why his character takes a bit of a backseat as the film now has to devote screentime to his kids, which is more of an excuse than the previous film had.

Neytiri has largely the same issues too. I didn't really think of her as anything more than Scary Mom and Spicy Wife, but I don't rlly know what else they could've done with her.

That being said, I liked the kids a whole lot more even if the only ones who had an arc were Middle Child, Kiri, and Spider. Which is. More than ¾s. Anyways they were just kind of fun to be around even if I was getting a little tired of the discrimination aspect, though I understand why that exists. I'm especially happy with what they did with Kiri. Having that dynamic with Grace and Eywa was an amazing concept and I'm very interested to see what they do with it in the next one. I'm personally hoping we see Grace back in her Avatar.

Quaritch, compared to the last movie from what I remember, was way more interesting here than in the last movie (which is more than I can say for his squad. They weren't even particularly harder to kill than any of the human mercs. While the blue was flashy and cool, I'm disappointed with the lost potential here, even if it was only for better action scenes). It's good to see him with an attitude that isn't Military Man. He's also the main reason Spider exists, in and out of universe. At the beginning of the movie I was like "why does this kid exist besides the self inserts for young men" but during his scenes with Quaritch, I'm glad he does. I'm really into the esthetic of the military gear on the wyverns. Mega, Mega cool. Which is another thing.

I'm kind of disappointed with the treatment of the humans here. Very nearly none of them have any sympathetic qualities whatsoever. Even the ex-humans on the Naavi side were basically entirely useless. They only existed to paint a target on the Seal Naavi, telling Jakesully that, yknow, Kiri having seizures underwater could be bad (also it's very convenient that Naavi don't have the instinct to inhale when they suffocate like humans do. Very odd tbh) and to also claim that Kiris visions were caused by brain problems, which, while possible, they have actual, measurable proof that Eywa and her effects on the environment exist (I mean for fecks sake one of thems an Avatar too. Literally just stick him into a tree or some crap. I'm pretty sure they have recordings of Grace confirming this, no?). I sincerely hope this is improved in the next one, like Jesus this is a thing that took me out of the film for a bit

There's also this feeling that this whole conflict is really black and white, as in all the humans are bad guys and all the blue peeps are good guys. I'm no supremacist, and I understand that they're gonna do something with the concept with the introduction of the fire nation, but at least give us at least something to suggest that this conflict isn't that simple, like something more tangible than bullies for the blue side and, y’know, any sign at all that the humans are worried about the future of their people on the sky side.

Something besides all that, that I wish they did, was lean into the mixed esthetic like they did with Quaritch's wyverns. Something I think would've been cool for Jakesully's character. How, although he loves his wife and family and wants to separate himself from the worst parts of his heritage, he still mourns the things he lost. Even Especially if it was only the little things, like beer with friends or the general esthetics of Night City. Another thing that could've made the vibes more mixed. Like the weird coms gear that the Avatars use. I'd like some signs that both humans and Naavi have something to learn from each other, like some technical skills and even just an interest in cultural studies (if Eywa wasn't a force that solves damn well near all their problems and if they had a more open mind on anything that wasn't Eywa, although I could understand why they wouldn't considering the circumstances), and maybe, besides the incredible biology studies, a little bit of culture exchange on the humans side (if they weren't both desperate and assholes and led by a megacorp)

And besides that, some nitpicks

JakeSully's decision to leave when Avatars are targeting his family. Dumb, dumb on multiple levels. 1, You're like the only competent guerrilla leader of these people and you're leaving them high and dry. 2, You're leaving the hallelujah mountains, your most strongly defensible position, as on top of the general hostility of the entire planet, it has electro magnetic shenanigans that make the human instruments malfunction. And 3, if you decide to settle with anyone else, you'll be putting their community into danger by association because you cannot tell me you thought they were just gonna leave you alone if you disappeared from radar for a bit.

Everyone besides the kids lack of concern for Spider. JakeSully takes his family and bounces when he hears he's been captured (altho tbh what was he gonna do besides not leave, massive dumbdumb), and Neytiri takes him for hostage. She was emotional and they had Kiri, but still like wtf both of you. Butthole moves, you guys that was fucked

Why are the whales sapient? They don't seem to have admin privileges like the Naavi (or hands with which to create). What tf is the plan here Eywa

The mosasaur looking thing abandons the chase of a large fish out in open water, in favour of a much skinnier and more inconvenient Middle Child

The sea mercs plans rely nearly entirely on the whales refusal to retaliate in any meaningful way. I don't remember how much damage Middle Childs buddy did in his flashback, but his bros had all been killed. What was the difference between then and now? Where are all the high explosives that you dudes obviously need on standby?

The Sea Naavi dissappear in the middle of the climactic battle

Despite all that tho movie was pretty and I had fun, hoping the next one is better :)

[rietveldbrothers]

the problem w/ SAB s2

i finished the season about 30 minutes ago, so here are some thoughts

Heavy Heavy Heavy Spoilers under the Cut for all 8 episodes of Shadow and Bone season 2 as well as TGT, SOC and KOS duology. 

I’ll be honest. I think if I take my feelings on the source material out of the question, I really enjoyed the season. I know my friend and my sister who haven’t read the books really liked it. So theres that for one. I’ve said a handful of times that I dont mind if they change plot points as long as the bones stay true, and that remains true, the problem is, that they DID change the bones. for TGT:

To be honest, I was really alright with pretty much all of the changes up until the aftermath of the darkling/the folds defeat. Look. I know a lot of people want Alina to keep her powers at the end of TGT, its one of the most common complaints I see, and to be completely transparent, I too thought that when I first read the book when I was much younger than I am now. But I KNOW and I think you do too deep down, that she has to in order for the book to say what it is meaning to say. The entire lesson of the grisha trilogy is that power corrupts. Is that if you go against the laws of nature, if you push the boundaries of what is natural, of that power, that there will be consequences. And we see that to a point in the show right, we see that the darkling faces consequences for his use of merzost, and we see right at the end that Alina’s power has been corrupted presumably by her own use of merzost to bring Mal back. But this doesn’t quite work right. Because the whole point, is that Alina gave up her power knowingly, that she chose it because even though she loved her power, she loved Mal more. And she RECOGNIZED the path that pursing that power was leading her down, and she didn’t want that. So she accepted the consequences willingly, and took Mal and they led a happy peaceful life. so her a) not losing her power, b) sending mal away to be sturmhond (we’ll get there in a minute) and c) staying with Nikolai, just totally goes against what the story Bardugo was trying to tell was.

So WHY did they make these changes? I think so they could have more seasons. So that they could do KOS and include Alina (and Mal). By replacing David(rip)’s role in the triumvirate with Alina, they allow her to be present in the KOS plot. So I suspect (or maybe I just deeply hope) we will see Alina lose her power and fake her death (with Mal) within the area of the plot that should have been held by David. But again, this doesn’t really work right? Because David, being the one to work w/ Nikolai on his inventions is directly impacting the plot, and David’s death, after he and Genya are married, has a different impact both on her and on the audience. and on ZOYA, whos whole Garden scene is much less meaningful if the death she’s just endured is a fake one (presumably in this case Alina). Now I realize they’re probably goign totally off book now, but Nikolai and David’s inventions were integral to that plot, and Zoya’s garden is a big big big part of the BONES of the KOS duology. So… what now. I dont know.

Mal going off to work as Sturmhond just feels lazy in a way. They needed to keep Alina active in the plot for future seasons, and couldn’t rationalize him staying if he wasn’t with her (which is BS but I digress) and it also gives them an easy way to connect the two sides of the story by having Inej on the ship with him.

Which brings me to the THE CROWS

I went into it not expecting much from the crows storyline. I really didn’t. And until the very last moments I was starting to think that they weren’t going to do the jurda parem/ice court saga at all. But they clearly are. So. Here are my overall thoughts:

Not sure what the hells,they’re going to do since they used most of the plot points from CK in this. I mean, the whole takedown of Pekka, and the plague, and even a knock off slat fight and a knock off kanej bathroom scene. I mean really, the two best scenes in the entire GRISHAVERSE and they ruin them like that??? uhg. AND INEJ LEFT!!! Like the ice court heist requires her… and the OG jesper is a fabrikator reveal is so good, and now we have established relationship wesper? and I just dont know how any of that is gonna make any sense at all, and it just seems like they took all the best parts of SOC/CK and just… ruined them. Which, whatever, like I said, I didn’t have super high hopes, but its just they’ve now worked their way through most of the character arcs (particularly for Kaz and Inej) for the crows during that duology so like what now, ya know? I dunno.

Also pretty disappointing to see Inej without her own ship. But, I digress. I thought the whole shadow killing sword side plot was a bit contrived, and unncessary, could have spent that time building up Tamadia better, or dropping more hints about Zoyalai. Or… about a million and one other things.

I thought that by far the best part of the season was Nikolai. He was, far more than anyone else, the most true to his book character and character arc. I thought Paddy did an excellent job. He was the highlight for me 100%.

[danglovely]

Kim Possible Episode Tiers: The B-Tier

Don't overthink it. These are all pretty good episodes.

Pain King vs. Cleopatra: The introduction of Monique! I have a weird affection for this episode because I can distinctly remember watching it when it was released (and then playing the stupid flash game associated with it). One-off villain and meh plot makes it okay.

Number One: It's funny to know that Will was introduced as Ron's romantic rival. Obviously the show is much better for them not pursuing that storyline. This episode successfully introduces Duff and has one of my favorite lines of the series.

The Truth Hurts: The half-episodes are about laughs. I don't think this one does amazing at it (apart from the initial Drakken/Shego confrontation), but it's sort of a fun high concept episode that probably would have benefitted from a full length expansion.

The Big Job: The Jr. and Shego relationship is actually pretty fun and could have used a few more episodes. This one is highlighted by how good the fight while trying to park in San Francisco is.

Ron the Man: The introduction of the Pandimensional Vortex Inducer and Dementor is a bit of a drag, mostly because I'm not sure how poigniant this episode is anymore by analyzing Ron's masculinity. It may be dated, but there's a lot of good here (including Shego asking Drakken how many men he can handle in a fight).

Mentor of Our Discontent: I have previously expressed my love for Lucre, but this episode detracts from that. I want to describe it as "diluted" because there's too much stuff going on.

Downhill: I think this is a really solid episode and maybe the only one where the high school plotline outshines the spy plotline. I don't have any particular fondness for DNAmy as a villain, but the theme of recognizing your parents as actual people does hit true for me.

Sink or Swim: Good episode and the first instance of "Ron is actually valuable." MORE RON AND TARA.

Naked Genius: I think this marks the point where Shego's respect for Drakken begins to deteriorate. It's a good high concept episode and I love that Ron is successful at making some fashion of doomsday device.

October 31st: It's a solid episode, almost in spite of the "Kim lies to everyone" plot.

Job Unfair: Honestly, this might deserve to be higher. All of Shego and Drakken's weather machine manual talk is brilliant and Janitor Joe is a really likeable character. It's a real success at merging the A and B plots.

The Golden Years: Kim's nanna successfully completes the dance of going from annoying to awesome. It's also refreshing to see Drakken be such a proponent for the aged community. I also like the hint at his business sense from running the ice cream truck.

Motor Ed: Successful introduction of two good characters. It's a legitimately compelling problem that Kim doesn't know how to speak to someone that's paralyzed!

Showdown at the Crooked D: I enjoy that Shego takes interest in Drakken's high school bitterness. I could listen to Ron and Joss forever . . . it would be nicer if Joss liked Ron better.

Triple S: It's a very fun expansion of Senior's backstory.

Big Bother: I really enjoy the seemingly main story about Monkey Fist taking place in the background. I'm less into Kim being jealous of Yori and Ron hating his little sister.

The Cupid Effect: I am ignoring the real world implications of the existence of a "love ray." It's a fun Senior plot and I liked Ron giving Wade romantic advice (like, the dude landed Kim . . . he's doing something right).

Ill-Suited: I have nothing to say outside of Dementor attempting to convince Kim and Ron by wearing a house dress.

Grudge Match: There's a lot going on here with Zita, Larry, etc. It's just a decent episode.

Gorilla Fist: I think this is the first episode meant to make you realize that Kim is actually in on Ron. If I talked about it more, I could probably get sentimental enough to bump it up a few tiers (also the Monkey Fist/DNAmy plot line is hilarious).

All the News: Ron makes Kim suffer in high school and AdrenaLynn isn't the best villain. Should I have had this lower?

[lostmyremembrall]

congratulations on 1K! you definitely deserve it! I absolutely adore your characterization for tom, and am always so excited whenever you post!

I would love to join the event if it's still going on! could i request the diadem (👑)? my name’s jennifer, im a slytherin, and i grew up with tom at wools orphanage. im physically affectionate, love to read and explore, and i like to joke around, lightly flirt with, and tease people. i normally keep most people at arms length though, so its rare for me to become close to anyone. when i truly care for someone though, i love to spoil them and spend time with them. i normally seem unapproachable, but im actually pretty friendly. im sure that after enough time has passed, id have fallen for tom, but i don't think he'd be interested, so im sure id bottle it up inside of me.

sorry if thats too detailed! i got carried away thinking about it! would it be possible to do tom riddle era (1930's - 1940's)?

once again, thank you for the fun event, and i hope you enjoy writing for our lord and savior tom riddle as much as we all enjoy reading your stories! 💚

👑𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐠𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬

𝓙𝓮𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓯𝓮𝓻

A/N: Thank you so much for your request! As I was writing this, I kept thinking how perfect of a pair you and Tom would make! But alas, you've asked for a diadem so I'll stick to your storyline of unrequited love.

I am sorry this took so long, and I appreciate your patience! I'm also sorry that this got rly long. I feel like it ended up being more like a fanfic rather than an HC. If you're not happy with it, or feel like this character isn't really you (especially the decision you make to forgive Tom at the end), feel free to DM and I'll redo it!

𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝐽𝑜𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 1𝐾 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡! Now closed

𝐎𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬

You were born the same year as Tom. With Tom's birthday being the last day of the year, you are always older than him, a fact Tom's not particularly fond of.

It took a long time for Tom to come around, but he had plenty of time to observe you and understand you as a person before approaching you for an alliance.

Needless to say, surviving an orphanage in the 1920s brought you and Tom close.

You two had to stick together in these hard times if it meant surviving your childhood. The malnutrition. Cholera. Tuberculosis. The flu. There were plenty of opportunities for either of you to die.

When the two of you were being scolded by Mrs. Cole, you two would hold hands together in solidarity.

Even with your eyes turned to the floor, you knew Tom was next to you, going through the same thing. And that was comfort enough for the two of you.

That meant if either had a chance to steal some food from the local vendors, you were sharing it.

One time, Tom managed to steal a candy bar called 'Milky Way' from America.

As malnourished children, the two of you ate that up in minutes.

It's one of your fond memories, hiding in the alleyway after school as the two lick your fingers clean.

Tom knew you were loyal, a trait he most appreciated about you. He knew that whatever he did to other orphans, you weren't going to rat on the Matron.

Tom displayed his magic first, and of course, he showed it to you and you only.

When you displayed your magic, he was disappointed at first, that he wasn't the special one.

But, as soon as he realised that his magic was superior to yours (and everyone's, the nerve of him), he grew to appreciate that he can share this with his closest friend.

--

It felt like winning the lottery when you both got the visit from Dumbledore.

The world was your oyster, free to explore and take to your content with Tom.

Visiting Diagon Alley together, and shopping for Hogwarts as you two experienced everything new, is also one of your cherished memories.

A sense of solidarity brought you two even closer, to challenge and learn about the new world together. You two were literally inseparable.

A lot of your time is spent with Tom, exploring the wizarding world, whether through books or in real life.

After spending your first night in the Slytherin dorm, you and Tom met up to discuss. You both agreed that, in order to survive this pureblood frenzied house, it would be wise not to disclose about the muggle orphanage you two grew up in.

𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬

You are an excellent student, always learning and reading.

Professors do notice your teasing remarks in class when someone embarrasses themselves. But, some professors enjoy your comments and are more lenient than others as long as it's not too disruptive.

You're quite good at Care for Magical Creatures.

After having to take care of some creatures during class, some of these beasts really grew on you.

You spoil them by stealing some food from the kitchen or the Great Hall, giving them a taste of "real food" as you say.

In the later years, when you and Tom stopped sneaking into the kitchen, this comforted you and replicated the endearing memories of sharing food with Tom.

Being the high-achieving Slytherin that you are with the actual ability and interest in classes, you easily make it to prefect.

Dumbledore is somewhat cautious of you, suspecting that you might be enabling Tom.

𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

You may be intimidating at first, but you end up being quite popular as people figure out that you're friendly and kind, unlike some of the Slytherins.

Your jokes and teases are funny, and everyone knows it's always a fun time when you're involved.

Others may think they know you quite well.

But, you know that they don't know the real you. You wouldn't call them your close friends.

Really, the only person that would fit that category is Tom, who's practically known you for your entire life.

With your fun, flirty nature and teases, some people turn bright red, not used to the direct advances. And they love that. They love your attention and tease.

Needless to say, you get quite a few letters from secret admirers.

(𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝) 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐨𝐦

The first few years felt just like before with Tom, just in a different environment.

Sneaking out of the dorm at night to explore the castle.

Stealing some late-night dessert from the kitchen to eat on top of the Astronomy Tower, enjoying the sugar that is definitely a luxury back home.

Sneaking into the Forbidden Forest. Exploring Hogsmeade.

Only Tom got your special attention. You would spoil him with your time and love and gifts.

Tom was the same. He truly cared for you and you only, and he expressed his appreciation for you in a similar way.

Before you go to sleep, you'd find a small box, hidden underneath your pillow.

However Tom got into the girl's dorm will remain a mystery.

Sometimes, they're notes detailing the earnest feelings he couldn't confide to anyone else. His anxiety. His fears. His joy.

Oftentimes, they're expensive jewellery, maybe purchased, maybe stolen.

"The prettiest jewellery for the prettiest girl I know"

The note would say in a childish attempt at being suave.

But, starting 4th year, things began to feel different. He's grown tall. His intellectual eyes always looking straight ahead. His sharp cheekbones and jawlines signalling his approaching adulthood.

You began to feel a flutter in your heart every time he caught your eyes in class.

--

At the same time, you noticed a change in Tom as well. You couldn't quite place it, but it felt like he was growing out of your reach.

Like you weren't just two kids that goof around anymore.

Some would say that's only natural as children begin to recognise the changes and differences between the genders. But, you felt like there was something more than just that.

He would spend hours in the library, researching something.

It no longer seemed like having fun exploring with you was the priority for Tom, as he focused on his studies and his achievements.

His talents were unheard of, and you felt the bitterness that he was going to places you cannot follow.

He would still hang out with you, though it was no longer just you he hung out with. Abraxas Malfoy, Lestrange, Avery, and a few other Slytherins began taking up Tom's time.

It seemed like they were meeting late at night without you. When you inquired Tom about it, he merely chuckled,

He'd lift your chin up with his fingers with a smirk

"Wouldn't want to join some vulgar conversation of teenage boys, do you?"

You'd freeze under his teasing gaze. Who wouldn't?

Taking your silence as a cue for agreement, Tom would run his thumb over your cheeks.

"Now, smile - for me."

Countless times you've thought about telling him, writing to him about how you felt about him.

But, you'd see his large shoulders, hunched over the table as he focused on assignments or creating new spells

And every time, you'd end up swallowing the words, knowing Tom had his mind set on things greater than romance.

--

It's in the late 5th year when you begin to worry about Tom's mental health.

One night, he comes bursting into your room. Agitated, he is pacing back and forth in front of you.

He knows your loyalty, so he knew he could only come to you to open up about the murder he's just committed.

It finally dawns on you what had been distancing you from Tom this whole time.

It was his hidden obsession with his family line, the Dark Arts, his rage and vengeance: all of the things Tom had kept from you this whole time.

You place a comforting hand on his trembling cheeks as he looks up to you with teary eyes, almost pleading silently, as if begging for your forgiveness. Your acceptance.

As you look into his eyes, his face line still retaining a bit of that youthful innocence, you'd wonder 'where it all went wrong.'

Where did your Tom go? That endearing boy who would steal candy bars for you. That kind, protective boy who would gift you jewellery, calling you his 'one and only.'

You seriously pondered, whether you recognised the Tom in front of you. Whether you were ready to forgive him.

But still, you couldn't get the image of his kind smile out of your mind. The way he used to smile before it all went to shit.

His soft lips curved in a similar way, still. His eyes still shimmered innocently, still.

In the end, you made him promise not to delve into Dark Arts again. It ends here.

And that he'll come to you whenever his rage and vengeance overtook him.

Tom flashed the most beautiful smile up at you. A tear pouring out in relief.

He took your hands and hastily pressed his lips to it, causing you to feel a clenching pang in your heart.

"I promise, Jennifer," he said with a smile. "I won't let you down."

We all know that Tom wouldn't keep his promise.

[chibivesicle]

I must say I enjoy your long trigun critiques and episode breakdowns, but I gotta interject that the statement about Stampede "-since we really don’t get that feeling that Vash sees all life as sacred." is objectively wrong. I watch frequent reaction videos from a variety of anime fans who've never seen the OG show. They immediately pick up on the abnormal amount of mercy Vash displays towards literally EVERYONE, no matter what they do. Saving Jeneora Rock despite their betrayal, immediately trying to save the nebraska's the second their life is in danger, then physically getting in between father nebraska trying to kill E.G. the Mine. How he says to Meryl's face that being known as a coward and his own personal pride aren't worth anyone dying. First time trigun fans are picking up on these facts, and already starting to theorize why he acts this way, how does it tie in to the small slice of his backstory we've been shown so far, which I'm sure will get elaborated eventually. You can like the campy 90's hero staring at the camera proclaiming "LOVE & PEACE!" because I do too! But it's also abundently clear he doesn't have to do that in Stampede, that aspect of his timeless persona is still making itself known even to people who are totally unfamiliar with Vash the Stampede as a character.

Hello there,

Sorry for the slow reply, I had hoped to get to it during the week but work was very busy and I had to kick this to the weekend. Having time to mull over your comments, I agree that the very over the top Vash in the '98 anime and early on in the manga really set the tone for how he behaves. And with that being our only version of Vash until Stampede - it does take a lot of effort to go past a reactive point that Vash seems overly passive. I see this version of Vash and immediately react that he's too passive b/c he isn't being very forward. Previous Vash, well he in part made it a big deal in part by being distracting to de-escalate situations. I feel there was real logic to that approach, but it required him to be incredibly assertive.

It may not be the reply that you are looking for, but I think I would have a better feel for Stampede Vash if the story had more time to breathe and more time for character development. Honestly, my biggest sticking point with this series is the pacing and the rapid storyline. We don't need filler but this does not allow for the characters to have any room to breathe nor is it set up for a character arc or growth.

You are correct that Stampede Vash does demonstrate his philosophy through his actions and that he does not want to cause harm, but compared to many other elements of the storytelling - and this is where I'm going to highlight this is how I feel about it, just me - I think they are being too subtle with Vash. That's totally my own opinion, but since I'm seeing him as too subtle in his actions it makes it harder for him to stand out above the chaos. Knives was brutal in episode three and the contrast with everyone else being quite brutal makes it hard to be subtle. It also does dive into the epic levels of Vash guilt from the get go, but I feel something is missing. I think it in part, it goes back to the lack of character internal thoughts/dialogue in this show. If Vash had a thought of "Okay, this man is dangerous, I need to move to x location." Or even if we got other characters thoughts about his behaviors. It really wouldn't hurt the overall story. I don't want 100% epic internal dialogue, but sometimes, good internal thoughts go a long way for the viewers. Especially, if the character is trying to play it cool or keep it professional. We only saw chatty diversion Vash in episode one and that was it.

I think the other aspect is the choice for Vash to be set up as a more subtle character for his actions, while most other characters are what I'd call overly aggressive or assertive. And that does create a contrast of Vash being different from them it, again, to me feels out of sync with the rest of the storytelling. Perhaps, my critiques will change if I give the series more time to slosh around in my brain. I've known the original Trigun for over twenty years and I've watched it at different points in my life so I can say I see it in very different lights. The most recent watch had me liking Meryl even more as an older professional and understanding why her character was pretty darn awesome in the original anime. In a way it is unfair to compare a form of media that I've know for over two decades with something new . . . but it is also the nature of the beast.

My biggest fear with this version and the brutally fast pace is when we finally get the flashback to Vash and Rem and whatever equivalent to her, "My ticket had a blank/empty/unknown destination." speech, it won't give us enough information for us to understand where Vash is coming from. Hopefully, they don't do that, but I'm not holding my breath here.

I think one of the other things is that even when a form of media gets really dark, humor injected into it helps step things back. I've briefly referred back to the live action series Black Sails, mainly as I used it to compare with the meh ending of the manga Golden Kamuy. But it in a way has a dark undertone throughout all four seasons and lots of things are very bad, but it still has small amounts of humor which are timed just right that you never feel like it has pulled you into the abyss or also how the characters know they are likely fucked, but a self-aware snarky remark goes to show that yeah, they know their situation is ironic or will invite trouble. This is something that I wish Stampede would do - I get the vibe that Studio Orange wants it to be 'serious' but even in real world serious situations, someone is gonna crack a dumb joke and people are gonna laugh - 'cause what else are you gonna do? Even the Trigun Maximum manga had hella dark and depressing scenes but Wolfwood is there being a ham - 'cause what else are you gonna do when you got shit options?

This sort of veered off course, but yeah. The struggle to see Trigun Stampede without a lot of baggage is difficult.

[mlobsters]

supernatural s13e17 the thing (w. davy perez)

i'm just hoping for a middling episode at this point. if i had to point to one plot thing that opened the door to so much of the nonsense of later seasons, it's the whole men of letters concept. like a neverending excuse to make up new magic, monsters, good guys, bad guys. i like that it gave them a home, but i really don't enjoy that set. it's so sterile and meh. wish they had a crusty weird house packed with shit, like bobby's place. anyway. long held irritation over mol. and the british men of letters storyline is like all those things i hate x1000. i see how they're kind of working ketch like crowley, what side is he working for, loyal to himself in the end, etc. but i just can't give a flying fuck about ketch because of the infuriating b!mol arc. and mark sheppard had years to work into that role and for them to develop it. meh!

tentacle monster coming through the nexus with the beautiful young flapper lady is chained to the table...... ok....

also where did those randos get archangel grace in the 20s

dean, come collect your man, he's drooling on the books again.

by collect, i did not mean put "kick me" sticky notes on him -_-

well that little research montage sequence was cute. is the "jinkies" thing to tease sam about velma kissing him? or just general acknowledgement that the scooby episode did actually happen -_-

spn s13e17 key to chapterhouse / hannibal s3e6 reunited in the uffizi / the magicians s3e5 key to fillory clock door

so two things that jumped out at me about this scene. first, it just had a little more atmosphere and pretty for pretty's sake with the crumbled leaves falling through the shaft of light - which all kind of hit the magicians buttons for me. and secondly, the music... (this is a lennertz episode) it has brief shades of bloodfest (the music used in That Scene in hannibal s2e13 mizumono and kind of became will and hannibal's big emotion music) which automatically makes the spn music hit all sorts of emotional buttons that it didn't earn. now i think they've used that sound before, but combined with the scene and the atmosphere which is so often lacking in the later seasons, it really hit for me. (totally cried just getting that small clip from hannibal with the music, think bryan fuller said something about this piece of music resonates at the frequency of his tear ducts)

i have posted a lot about the musical score in hannibal - here's my masterpost :S ok one more thing about that piece, an essay by kate schau talking about brian reitzell's score in hannibal:

In a 2014 interview with Vulture, Reitzell describes it as “musically, probably the crown jewel of the whole season.” While most of Reitzell’s work for the score is predominantly sparse and percussive, “Bloodfest” adopts a more tonal, texturally dense approach. As a nod to The Silence of the Lambs’ association of Bach’s Goldberg Variations with Hannibal the Cannibal’s violent impulses, “Bloodfest” takes its well-known opening aria and slows it down by a factor of twenty; here it also undergoes pervasive electronic distortion. The resulting work is beautiful, haunting, and utterly essential to the atmosphere of the scene. The syrupy-slow melody of the aria gives it the trancelike quality of meditation, but none of the objectivity; like a premonition of heartbreak, it seems to operate in a temporally detached space of reminiscence where emotion is both immediate and far away.

i often bemoan the show that could have been with a different composer at the helm, but will add to the list if they could have kept the look and feel dark gritty messy aesthetics of the early seasons. so much of the later seasons is just too bright, too saturated, too sterile. sucks the vibes right out. it's sad.

um ok. asmodeus is juicin with archangel grace.

i mean just. we're really going with hentai tentacles

i don't care how many times they do it, i love it every time. never gets old

ok. tentacle monster is a god, sure

SAM Dean. OPHELIA If she fed on him, he would be here.

SAM So what, then? MARCO It’s like we said, if she’s not feeding, she’s breeding.

so ketch is gonna bring gabriel to the boys, how convenient

sigh ok. better than a woman in possibly-sexual-peril i guess

DEAN Oh my God. That's tragic. It's like a Hallmark movie. But with tentacles.

good one, dean-o

YOKOTH I like you, Dean. You’re strong. And I enjoy looking at your face.

it's a good face, can't argue with that

SAM So, that’s why we came. I mean we--we--we--need the Seal to get our family back. DEAN If it could take us somewhere other than, uh, tentacle porn land -- not that there’s anything wrong with that.

being that sam outed your "animated japanese erotica" hobby to jody in 12x06, we know, dean. we know

(this is my periodic attempt to remember where cas is and failing. why)

KETCH Was working for. But when he finds out that I stole his prize milk cow, well, I imagine he will hunt me to the ends of the earth. So...this is the only safe place I know. SAM What? Do you think you’re gonna just move in? KETCH Dibs on the top bunk? SAM No. DEAN (speaking at the same time as Sam) Deal. SAM What? DEAN I don’t know what the hell’s going on here. But if this helps us get Mom back, helps us get Jack back, then...sure. Whatever you want.

okie dokie. also convenient taking the moral quandary of extracting more of gabriel's grace for the spell, ketch just had it bottled up from asmodeus's stash

SAM Fine? So you want Ketch to go and not me? DEAN I don’t care if he dies. Hell, I’m kinda rooting for it. SAM Still, you can’t -- DEAN No, I have to. It takes something that’s been over there to open up the right door, so that’s either you or me. So I’m gonna go. And if something happens to me, if -- if-- if time runs out, then I need you to come and save me, and save Mom, and save whoever else, okay? SAM It’s safer if we go together. DEAN Oh, there’s no such thing as safer over there. You know that. I know you don’t like this, okay? I don’t expect you to. This is the way it’s gonna be.

sammy gettin a little jealous there. railroading sam on a decision like this feels like poking the bear. poking that giant little brother you don't get to make decisions for me bear. but i do at least appreciate that dean actually explains that a) he would worry about sam dying, unlike ketch and b) that sam can come save him if it goes sideways if they're not both there. script had dean saying please. guess they decided no please was necessary

sam looking sad/resigned, dean looking determined, gabriel suffering in the background

i asked for middling, i think that mostly qualified

[macgyvertape]

Shadow & Bone s2 thoughts

S1 of shadow and bone was a surprise favorite show; I’ve rewatched it a lot as something to watch when I’m cooking or wanted something familiar and comfortable.

After last season I tried reading the books; I didn’t finish Seige and Storm because I kept negatively comparing book Alina, Mal, and Darkling to their show versions. I did like the Six of Crows series but have no interest in the other books. So I’ve got a vague idea on the plot points unlike when I watched s1 

Oh I really like the map to cgi city transitions, and the wanted posters as establishing shots for storyline transitions

Sturmhond meeting the Crows like this, this is so much more fun than the book intro of him

I don’t remember seeing Jasper’s gun misfire in s1 or see gifsets of him fixing it.

Tolya and Tamar get a cool intro camera pan and theyre both really hot

Huh Darkling intro very different than the book, honestly he comes off as someone who spent a bit too much time alone by himself than menacing

How come in pirate clothes Sturmhond becomes the most baby faced of the cast

Love Alina’s stag antler embroidery dress, I’d love to wear a dress with that kind of neckline

Having one of Kaz’s plans go wrong and it not be something he accounts for, really ups the tension and makes Pekka Rollins a threat, and he’s actually more threatening than the Darkling. Wolf mask guy is just a creep, the costume kinda felt out of place

I expected the flying ship look more aerodynamic and either there’s a lot more flying ships or the show really glossed over them being repaired after being totaled because it needed characters to move around in ways they didn’t in the book

“Who do you want standing in that door when the lion gets hungry” then cut to a taxidermied lion. Lmao fun transition

This is one of the shows where I find basically all of the main cast attractive, very much including Inej in a knife fight

“All that matters is we know what’s real” with a political engagement, damn this is so much better than the YA jealousy drama of the books

OFMD AND S&B, edgy dude after his love abandons him starts cutting off the digits of the people who drove the breakup 

Rip to Matthias because the show didn’t seem to know what to do with him, I enjoy his plotline much more than s1 but its because he has such low screentime

The costume budget and workmanship is so good this show as it covers so many different styles and cultural influences

Bloody beaten up Kaz threatening as he gets his long awaited revenge is fucking incredible top moment of the season, especially because for Pekka “but for me, it was a Tuesday” he just couldn’t remember 

Genya’s really going through it this season and characters mistreating her is a more understandable and relatable evil than vague war crimes. “I should be your greatest shame!” and “ask me how I did it” she gets some great moments

Mal’s capture then causal return felt like an awkward plot point, like it shows up here because maybe it happened in the book

Huh for a major season 1 character and a global Big Bad threat the Darkling really isn’t getting much material this season, he just sits around and broods in a dark room while his underlings who wear lots of eyeshadow (to show they’re evil) do things. Like early on in the season he seemed sick but then he isn’t, then he just gives up all his action items about Grisha revolution to chase after Alina

Actually very curious about how much screentime Kaz’s dead brother gets vs the Darkling lmao

I didn’t realize at the height difference between Kaz and Inej until she hallucinated them almost hooking up. Eps 4-8 I watched playing a drinking game of take a drink for every romantic moment

The show really contrasted The Disciple and Neyar have such a good relationship compared to whatever the fuck toxic parent child relationship of Baghra and Aleksander 

Great that the Darkling and Mal can interact and bonus its in some weird fucked up way (dead peoples bones), there isn’t enough of that in fandom or canon 

The final battle has basically no tactics just people running around for cool dramatic timing, especially the Crows fighting in the frontlines

Darkling died in this show like he lived in s2, anti-climatically standing around downbad for Alina

Tbh there’s a lot of sex that could be done with gloves and clothes on 

Lmao where is Feydor he didn’t appear at all

Things I didn’t expect: David being killed off early RIP, Alina not losing her powers and faking her death to live with Mal but instead this weird non emotional breakup, and Zoya to not get more character backstory

Think it's interesting the contrast of the bee highlighted by the camera during the Darkling’s funeral as a subtle hint to the Elizaveta plotline vs the last few minutes throwing in: Jurda Parem, Nikolai’s shadow monster infection, a future war with Fjerda, Alina using shadows, all as continuation bait if it gets another season 

Verdict: enjoyable season 2, I’m so glad this season got about 15 minutes more per episode so it could cover the full Grisha trilogy in case it gets the infamous netflix s2 cancel. Still a favorite show because its  the perfect mix of drama, romance, and just enough writing cracks for fun AUs. The show covered a lot in the 8 hours with a fast moving plot that I watched over 2 days, so I’m very curious how my opinion of plot points will change with distance and reading others perspectives 

[gcrtys]

a review of new tales from the borderlands

so, new tales from the borderlands was ... something! i was really excited going into it, and i can say it was moderately enjoyable. it was not worth $40-50 at all, esp. with the preorder which included three skins in all grey!! woohoo!! that was super cool!!!

anyway,

style

in comparison to the original tales from the borderlands, the game shines in some aspects. the mocapping is wonderfully done. a lot of people are saying its awkward and weird, and at some times, it definitely can be. its not an entirely perfect system but it shows a good amount of emotion. with the funding of telltale’s tftbl, it was clear where they were lacking. odd cuts, janky animations, etc.

gameplay

the gameplay of new tales is definitely more polished. there were a few things that were odd and not well done and some segments were definitely dragged out a lot more than they shouldve been. i wish there were more interactable events in the world b/c i did enjoy exploring. vaultlanders was a unique addition, though overall felt very lacking and didnt make sense in terms of the storyline. it couldve done without it, and im 99% sure this was only added for replay value (collectables?)

they brought in some other new things i didnt necessarily enjoy. the entire system that was created for rating the group dynamic also did not care in terms of the game. i had about two scenarios where it did.

i didnt even know what was changing my group dynamic or how characters felt about one another. i didnt even know if they were on good terms by the ending of the game -- it wasnt made clear by gameplay. my only indication were a few popups stating “fran doesnt respect octavio” (yeah, i wouldnt either) and it was annoying. lou13 has an entire point in the beginning of the game stating teamwork would make the process easier to survive, and yet this didnt reflect one in the entire game. not where i saw, at least.

charm

holy. fuck. they bombed hard with the music choices. one of the BIG big aspects of tales, what made it shine, was the introduction and intros. they were well done, crisp, perfectly timed. its difficult for me to pick a favourite intro from any episode of tales because theyre all so well done -- from a stylish crash onto pandora to “busy earning” by jungle, to the somber crash onto pandora to “retrograde” by james blake. it was clear every song in tales was carefully chosen and the intros were framed around them.

whereas in new tales, its... weird. the introductions to the episodes are odd, weirdly timed and dont expand upon much. it felt like they were trying too hard to mimic the bonding the tales team went through -- but that was natural in comparison to this. even then, there wasnt a single introduction i enjoyed. episode 5′s introduction was the best out of the bunch but even then, the music choice was odd and it felt like there was nothing happening. it wasnt worth watching. whereas in tales, it would hook you and keep you there the entire time.

the name cards are also very oddly timed. a lot of them dont appear when theyre supposed to. typically in borderlands, we get a line or two before a character’s name is revealed. i found multiple times, either name cards did not appear for characters that would be reoccurring, or would just be flat out poorly timed. it didnt feel like borderlands, which is known for the flash of the cards and the catchy one-liners to accompany them.

writing

so... its definitely an improvement from borderlands 3. some would disagree and say its a difficult storyline to follow, which, i understand

i think episodes 2-3 were quite literally worthless and provided nothing. i dont think i even remember what happened in those episodes. the ones that really captured me, were the last two. its where the spirit of the game (quite literally) came out to reveal itself. i didnt expect myself to get emotional but episode four did make me cry, and then immediately sober up in confusion when it jumped to a retro 90s fighting style game with fran.

some of the jokes dont hit quite right and a lot of episode four is... odd. between the std’s joke, the spiderant, so on... it felt unnecessary. the running gag of lou13 “data sharing” (aka having sex) was uncomfortable to watch.

and there were a lot of inconsistencies with the writing, as is usual with the borderlands universe, but:

- anu creates a device to replicate siren technology, which is disregarded after episode 1 and never brought back up again

- octavio’s idiocy goes beyond being an idiot and quite literally just having no brain for the sake of “humour”, which just comes off as frustrating

- characters just stand out in open hallways and get shot and die. its seen as emotional and heartbreaking in game, and incredibly stupid as the player of said game. why the hell did stapleface die from a gunshot to the shoulder? why couldnt anu heal her? who knows, there is absolutely no explanation for it

- when the characters are going on a gameshow and stopped by a bouncer, he says “all contestants are accounted for” and then when you get into the area, there is literally. a single person. and its not a sake of others going before said person -- they literally begin the gameshow, starting with that person, a moment later.

- rhys calls anu to ask her help to stop tediore from opening the vault, and then, never follows up. literally. he is not seen from again for like five chapters or something ridiculous and when he does return, its for a completely separate reason and its never brought up again.

- the writers seemed to have either never played the original tales, or did not care enough to stay true to rhys’ character in general. he’s power-hungry, an asshole, and the type of superior he wouldve hated. the writers chose to ignore every single line of rhys discussing how atlas could be different from the other corporations and went with “actually, theyre ALL bad” which like, yeah, i get it. capitalism, boo. but when it doesnt match up with the characters behaviour its... very irritating.

while there was definitely some of sassy rhys in there ("you’ll be hearing from me, specifically my tears” is one of my personal favourites), it didnt make up for the rest of how they butchered his character. also, i see them hinting at sasha’s return and i DO NOT like it. stay away from her.

they also decided to make athena the ceo of hyperion-- how or why that happened, i have no idea, and frankly at this point i dont want to find out.

characters

the cast is... certainly a cast. but delete lou13.

i really liked anu and i resonated with her. although a little irritating at times, i could appreciate her as a character. it was a real breath of fresh air in comparison to the other borderlands characters we typically receive. octavio was... octavio. i did enjoy fran, but the consistent horniess was overdone after about the second episode.

a lot of the side characters that were introduced just, dont get brought back in. youre introduced to a big group of characters in the first episode by octavio, and then you barely see any of them for the rest of the game. (justice for diamond danielle) its a waste and once again, one of the biggest complaints i have about borderlands games is wasted potential. from bl3′s clay, to athena (who actually makes a reappearance, after the audience reminded the writers she existed), katagawa jr, aurelia, rose, gladstone, and so on...

now we have an additional cast of characters we’re most likely never going to see again, who were introduced as important to one of our protagonists and then never expanded upon. (the fact we saw a literal talking gun more than any of his closest friends was weird)

anyway, going back to my first point, im sorry but i hated lou13. his entire existence was unnecessary. a robot filled with existential dread, oh boy, i wonder where we’ve seen that one before! this isnt familiar and not well done at all.

where loaderbot in the original tales shines, lou13 fails in every. single. category. from personality, to likability, to personal sacrifices for our protagonists... its all lackluster, disappointing, and i could not care less about this character.

anyway, we’re never going to see about 99% of those introduction characters again and while its annoying, im fine with it if it means more room for other, already established characters who deserve some more time in the spotlight.

going back-- we finally saw katagawa senior! they copied katagawa jr’s model entirely, and put a beard on him. fantastic, great work everyone. take a day off, you guys deserve it. mustve been really difficult to come up with that one, especially considering the art we see for him in the next episode is literally not the same man.

overall

if you go into this expecting tales from the borderlands, you’ll be disappointed.

if you go into this expecting good writing, you’ll be disappointed.

if you go into this expecting a few laughs, you might get some! it depends on your humour! i thought badass superfan was hilarious and there were a few bits i genuinely enjoyed. a lot of the humour was enjoyable to me, but after all, this is all matter of opinion. if youre not a fan of reoccurring jokes or bits that drag on for a little bit too long, planned awkward laughter, tension, etc. this might not be your style of humour.

if you go into this wanting good characters to grow attachments to... play tales from the borderlands.

5/10 just want troy baker back plz ty.

[shesmyplusone]

oh boy.

So, I've watched all of S&B season two in less than a day. And let me tell you...I'm very disappointed!

As a show, there were things I liked. I'll start with some of those-

the acting: Really good! I really took to all of the new actors- especially Nikolai and Wylan, who have always been two of my favorites. Strong seasons from Daisy Heard, Jessie was great as always, and really came around on Nina's actor too.

Costumes: I enjoyed about 90% of them (not Zoya's dress at the end of the season. but that's a whole other can of worms). Jesper looked great!

The Darkling: He was shown to be as pathetic and sad as he's always been. Him dreaming about Alina and her stabbing him was wonderful. Happy Genya and Zoya helped put him in the ground, at least for now.

Zoya/Nina: I was actively really upset when Zoya wasn't sending Nina off on her mission before season 1. Their dynamic means so much to me and the narrative, but I had assumed we were going to have to sacrifice Zoya's SoC storyline to allow her to build her S&B storyline! But we weren't! They got to interact. I wish it had focused more on Nina leaving in the middle of the war, and what it was like for her to come back, but there were just too many different characters and moving pieces to get in depth focus on that, and I understand that.

Jesper!: He was great. he's always great. Zero notes! Loved him a Wylan having a past. It made up for the other Crows reallyyy going through it with their love interests.

And the bad things:

As an adaption: Really rough. Like I understand the desire to get through both S&S and R&R. but they completely butchered my favorite book in the trilogy (maybe the whole series!) to do it. They took the Apparat out entirely. They lost most of the Sun Summoner cultists and Alina granting her power to them on the Fold. Nikolai did not become the monster and spend half of the season chasing the crew around. No firebird hunt! Alina lost her little trip with her friends, lost the comradery that came from traveling up and down Ravaka with Mal, David, Genya, Zoya, Nadia, the twins, and Adrik. No Oncat at all!!!! Alina never thought she had more to lose because she never realized she even had it!!!!!!!

They rushed her into wanting to save Ravaka, pulled her away from the girl who wanted peace to herself and to help children like she was.

I understand they didn't want to lose Jessie, Archie, and Ben at the same time. (Debatable about Ben. but that's for later). The set up and destroyed so much of the story for the hope they might get a season 3 (with Netflix's trackrecord, i'm not hopeful).

But man. they lost so much of what i loved about the trilogy. I know most folks don't love it. even going through the tag I can see most people are mostly here for the crows. Where was the huge awful civil war!!! one battle!!! with a rip-off Zoya (bangs and all). And a different squaller got to do lightning before Zoya!!! I'm grumpy.

and there is a slim chance that we get a season 3 that ends with Mal and Alina on their little farm. but man, i don't want to take that bet. What a waste!

Matthais: i love the boy, but man, ever single one his scenes at hellgate were like pulling teeth for me. insane he had a whole arc to himself while zoya was shoved whereever the writers needed her to be.

Nikolai's Monster: So happy they snuck it at the last second. But man, it should have happened earlier. My favorite R&R Zoyalai scene is not the ones with Alina, but when Nikolai turns back into a man and Zoya catches him falling out of the sky, a scene that is paralleled in RoW. I get it, yet again, that the viewers barely knew Nikolai, so turning him into the monster halfway through the season was silly, but they could have done it in episode 7 and i think it could have worked.

DAVID!!!!: Are you kidding me!!!!! I know he could alive, as there was no body, but we already went through this one. GENYA already goes through this once. this happened solely so the triumvirate could be Alina, Zoya, and Genya. But when Zoya said the world I literally burst into tears. It's supposed to be David :( Alina's "oh we don't need the orders anymore" is supposed to come from Zoya figuring out in KoS/RoW that the lines are not so neatly drawn. David has to help Nikolai with his inventions!!!! Like!!!! Who's going to chain up the monster!!!

Mal: he should not have fucking left. that speech he gave about being happier on the ship with Strumhund is NOT his story. it's Nikolai's. He would never leave Alina!!!!

Zoyalai: I'll just get to it. It feels like the writers were baiting me specifically. "Let's let Nikolai interact with literally ever other character in the universe. but Zoya!" And at the end, when i thought we might get something with Alina telling Inej to tell him where Zoya was. Nothing! (Well, Elivabeta's Bee was a nice touch) but! not a single conversation! Alina's going "comfort him" while he's king. She's still in charge of the second army, while Zoya's just "in charge of training". They're still engaged!!!! I literally thought she was stopping the engagement when she gave the emerald back. but nope!

i have no faith there will a season three, and honestly. not sure i want one. what a mess. if these showrunners had wanted a crows show so badly, they should have just fucking done one. the trilogy is not perfect, but had a solid, good storyline with characters with arcs and purposes and and it's really hard to see how they redeem that.

[tangerinecherrygal]

Small S&B S2 rant for my two followers or; SOC and S&B shouldn't have been combined (opinion)

Hi, this is my opinion and if anyone here enjoyed both seasons then I'm so happy for you. There are things that I enjoy that my friends don't and them pointing that out isn't a personal attack on me. Different strokes for different folks :)

Ok, first, since season 1 I hated that they combined both series. The story between Alina and the crows was completely different and felt disjointed.

I do wanna say I have read the first S&B book and I don't think I'm finishing the series because, i didn't like the way it was written. I also couldn't finish season 2 for some of the reasons I'm going to list now. However, I'm still able to critique how the show felt and it felt messy.

The relationships: (Season 1 mostly)

The relationships between everybody but Mal and Alina felt very forced and sudden. Like when she kissed the Darkling I was like, you've talked for a total of 45 minutes??? and it feels like those were their only interactions. In the book it was also like that but I feel like if they just focused on the s&b storyline then the writers could rectify this.

Also the 15 minutes of Nina and Matthias and then they're in love?? Even if this is a backstory that isn't in the books they could explore it in a different show. That storyline was so interesting and could've easily been a show by itself. The same for the rest of the crows.

Kaz and Inej's interactions mostly involved Jesper (who I loved). So I didn't really feel the chemistry with them. Buuut... the friendship between them felt very real and was so fun to watch. These actors are so charming and suited the characters I think.

The pacing (Both):

Because they combined the storylines they couldn't explore the relationships much like I said before. Also, they couldn't show much development, especially Alina developing her powers. In the books they explained why she was so weak but didn't in the show. I think it was a nice point. (The analytical part of me wants to say it's a good allegory for how suppressing parts of yourself can wear you down. Since this is a YA series I feel like it still has life lessons so that's how I took it). They could have given us more time with Mal and Alina's friendship too, instead of those flashbacks. Alina getting 'over' Mal also felt like it came out of nowhere.

In season 2 it's even worse. Already in the first episode it felt like we had no time to settle into the new situation. Of course, it's going to be fast paced bc they're on the run. I'm talking about how it feels like I'm watching a a playlist of under 5 minute s&b then soc videos. I saw someone say that they were trying to combine all 6 other books. In the 8 episode slots that stupid Netflix gave them??? Ok guys.

Things they should have changed: When Alina got mad at Mal for not responding. It makes their friendship seem less authentic. Yes, I know she's quite young and scared (me too), but she's also able to be a bit rational. It's unbelievable that she wouldn't consider there may also be some other reason that he hasn't responded even if it's for a moment. If she maybe thought that he might not have been able to respond or if he was outside of the base camp and he couldn't get the letters yet. Then she could realize that she can't rely on him so much and needs to support herself. This would also make her confidence later feel more reasonable because it feels like she's working on it for herself.

More time with the Darkling in the first half. In the books I was annoyed that she went from being terrified of him to trusting him implicitly without much reason. Maybe if he was more involved with giving her advice then she might feel like she would be able to trust him.

Genya's hair. I can't deal with bad tv wigs, I think since I started being more interested in drag. This is a more petty thing but in the words of drag queen, Katya: If you have a fantasy show you're adapting for the screen, you can pull it together. If there is a fantasy world that you're adapting, [you've] got to say one thing, "this world is not real." This is not Ken Burns, we can take a little bit of liberty. We can do a low light, do a bang, we can experiment with some texture, we can make it whatever we want. Just make it look good. People get hung up on the good part. Like they could have at least given her some side swept bangs to hide the hairline. That was so twisted and evil I think. My girl was done so dirty.

This is more of a question. Why isn't Alina's surname Starkova?

The dialogue: What the hell? The downgrade between the writing from the previous season to this one. I'm not going back to watch and find exactly what I mean. But some of the dialogue felt so unedited and cringey. They are capable of snark and one-liners, they proved that in the first season. I think it was Nikolai that was the worst so far and the actor was working hard to make those lines work.

Finally, I hate you Netflix: (impromptu netflix rant)

I understand that most of the problems I mentioned could be fixed if they had more time. They could have a better chance of making the combined stories work. The other option is to keep the eight episodes and just adapt s&b.

The 8-10 episode format can't work for everything. GOT could do it but it takes a lot to pull that off for a fantasy show and not every production can do that with the constraints.

Also netflix clutches it's purse tight when it comes to non Stranger Things related content. $28m? For a FANTASY SHOW of a hugely successful book series? That's less than a single ST episode. Netflix open your purse girl, we know you have the money.

It's obvious they crammed a bunch of stuff into this season so if netflix cancels it, then they could have appealed to all the fans and wrapped it up. At the expense of quality :/. If netflix wouldn't cancel all their shows after one or two seasons, then i believe this wouldn't have happened. Idk how they expect to make legendary shows if they won't take that risk and let the fanbase gradually grow. That's how GOT, the office and breaking bad etc became so iconic.

I liked season one and thought it had a lot of potential. I was so disappointed that i didn't like this season.

[something-tofightfor]

In the beginning of this year I added shadow and bone to my watchlist because I never watched the first season. I tend to like fantasy type things so I figured I’d like it but honestly I’m over it. Maybe bc BB is in it and I’m over that phase of my life! I know my parents watched the first season so I’ve seen bits of it in passing. How was the first season in your opinion? Id watch but like I said I’m somewhat over it and I’m rewatching twd which to me is way more worth it!

I watched the first season when it came out just because I always like to have a basis for the comments I make and the things I say about media. I don't think it's fair to form an opinion on something like a TV show or movie unless you've actually seen it because unless you watch through it, you only know what you see in trailers or promo - and what other people say.

And as we've seen previously, promo stuff can be VERY misleading.

With that being said.... the second season somehow looks worse than the first. The acting for the most part is worse. The VFX are lackluster. The sets and costumes look cheap.

Ben Barnes was a very strong presence in the first season, and through the first three episodes of season 2, he's just been... kind of there.

The story feels very rushed and like they're glossing over a ton (they combined 2 books + plot points from like 3 others into this season) for the sake of setting up Six of Crows, but like ... this season is a mess. I would not be surprised to hear that not only was S&B canceled, but so was the spinoff.

They apparently got a larger budget this season, but so far, I'm not seeing where they put it to use.

I will say that there are certain elements of the show that I'm enjoying - I really like the Kaz/Inej storyline, I LOVE Matthias and Nina, and I'm cautiously intrigued by Sturmhond and where all that goes. The Twins are interesting, but they feel almost like an afterthought just to get the Shu Han plot into the story. Genya was a very big miss for me in season 1, but I really like Daisy in S2.

I do not CARE about Mal and Alina. I do not CARE what happens to Kirigan. I'm entirely bored by Jesper's super slo-mo shots whenever he does anything. Zoya is ... there. I find it difficult to care about her, even though I know she's a huge part of the later books.

Everything is just overexaggerated, and I know it's made for YA audiences, but this season FEELS much more childish than the first one did, and it's disappointing.

But to answer your question - you know what a big Ben fan *I* was, and even his presence can't save this mess. I feel sorry for the fans of the books, because there was a lot of potential with the cast, but Netflix didn't do anything with it.

I stopped watching TWD in 2016, and am much happier for it.

I got so bored with the show and the constant introduction of new characters and the replayed storylines and Rick's stupid face. If you're enjoying that, just stick with it - you'll be much more satisfied. That show toward the end felt like such a caricature of itself, too - the first two or three seasons were incredible and then it just wasn't.

[greenbergsays]

Thank you for all your reblogs for Shadow and Bone S2, they really made my day when I saw them on my dash. I haven't had time to watch it yet but I can't wait for it. Thank you for the hype, I hope you enjoyed it <3

I had an absolute shit day on Friday and S&B was the only bright spot.

I only really watch for the Crows (I’ve never been a fan of the S&B books or storyline, but Ben Barnes makes it bearable) and they were 100% worth the watch. I hope you think so, too!

[belle-keys]

Ignore this if you don’t want to hear any Netflix S&B-related negativity…

Anyway, so I’ll be really surprised if Shadow & Bone actually gets renewed for a Season 3 this year. Idk.

Considering that they’re combining S&S and R&R into this one season, I have a hard time believing that the show will gain enough traction for a Crows-only season, or for King of Scars to be adapted? I mean, once the big R&R showdown happens, I’m not 100% sure if viewers will be deeply into the storyline anymore?

I also heard a very sketchy rumor that Patrick Gibson will be playing Sturmhond... and not necessarily Nikolai. Like, I have no idea whether this is true and they’re actually cutting the Lantsov storyline or what, but that’s even more reason to wonder if they’ll be able to really sell Nikolai as a character. Anyways, I think that’s just a theory/ rumor and nothing actually that’s confirmed so, take that with several grains of salt. I only saw some tweets and reddit theories about it and nothing more.

Plus according to this metric, this metric, and this metric, Shadow & Bone wasn’t even in the top 10 Netflix shows of 2021 and that was the big long-awaited debut! and in the middle of the damn pandemic! when fantasy and romance were doing extremely well (as they allowed for escapism and nostalgia in a time of social isolation). So again, it’s easy to see why, in a post-quarantine world where most of us aren’t under lockdown anymore, I’ll be shocked if season 2 manages to "outdo" season 1. Like idk, I’ll just be really surprised (pleasantly; I have fun at parties too) if this show ends up having longevity. People want subversive and meta, but S&B feels like it should have been made in 2013 and while I enjoyed it, just, critically speaking, I don't know what Netflix who is notorious for chopping shows will do. Unless it gets a miracle season 2 and seriously pops off unsuspectingly and ends up huge and major successful, like, I suppose it could go that way too.