#and of course the whole overarching amazing plot

[tgshydestan]

life has become so much better after blocking everyone who doesnt like the glass scientists. like genuinely. like whenever somebody even says something mildly bad about my special interest my entire day is ruined /srs like even if theyre just like “i dont really like tgs but i respect it if you do <33” with all the love and sincerity in the world it makes me feel more emotion than i felt upon receiving the news my grandma died. so ive just started blocking everyone who doesnt like it and my quality of life has gone up so much

[ganondoodle]

I probably still wouldn’t have been a big fan of the game, but I don’t think I would have been NEARLY as upset about TotK if BotW didn’t seem like it was so obviously setting up plot points for a sequel. Like, you’re very clearly MEANT to wonder what malice is, and how Ganon became the Calamity instead of just the Demon King. Fi is awake again, where are they going either that? What’s the deal with the Triforce-shaped symbol on Zelda’s hand? There were a LOT of other things like that, and many of them had to do with overarching lore for the series.

I get it if they want to reboot the series, but “BotW 2” was the single worst game you could have done that with. It could have been an amazing conclusion to the original continuity.

EXACTLY, you, you get it

botw felt like the introduction to a vast world with secrets and hints to things that were planned to become a bigger thing- a big giant game as a big giant set up, and then ... like totk likes to do alot, it lacks a pay off, and that is something it even does within itself, cosntantly, set up and no pay off, or set up and the most boring and uninspired pay off you can really not even call that, from the bigger things like the whole dragon thing being hammered into your head as irreversible and then it IS reversible.. out of nowhere without you having to do fuck all, the whole thing with the ancient hero beign a big mystery with lots of interesting ideas attached and then its some weird ass dog creature that doesnt resemble any other race with, of course, sonau armor, bc there nothing that isnt sonau in that game, even finding the old treasure maps you can find that then lead to amiibo stuff from botw id call that

botw wasnt that great with rewards either but exploring the world and wondering about those, surely intentionally, placed mysterious and intriguing designs and places did alot for making it so interesting to think about, totk fumbles it all and even the new stuff doesnt even come close to that environmental storytelling botw was so great at, sonau ruins? ha they look entirely different than in botw actually, bc those were built by hylians you see, the actual sonau stuff is in prime condition considering the time thats passed and its all the same blank blocky blocks that serve no purpose but to be a place for you to find a thing or exchange some currency- the most you can think about it is ... that the sonau hollowed out the entire underground of hyrule, every inch of the map, ... which is WEIRD and doesnt exactly make them look that good but ... thats all there is

at least with the shiekah it made somewaht more sense and it felt much less .. invasive? and you didnt have anyone from that time to talk to, other than dead monks whos only purpose is to give you their last piece of their own spirit, but in totk ... raurus ghost and mineru too are both just there to talk to but DONT tell you shit but vague hints that were already clear, the sky islands used to be on the ground? oh you dont say, you see them there in the stupid memories! and dont get to know how they got up there and theres nothing that can clue you in to that, its just sonau magic yet again i guess

dont even get me started on the whole malice/miasma thing, it made so much SENSE that there was a source of it, someone that has keep kept in a horrible place just between life and death for thousands of years trying to break free by their hate and anger manifesting to such a degree its literally spilling out and building creppy eyeballs, mouths and ribcage like structures like they are trying to rebuild themsleves outside of their awful prison no one knows about is so damn compelling, but no, actually, the guy trapped there was the msot evilest evar, was sealed bc him evil and no other motive, and the previously mentioned stuff is pretty much utterly unceonnected, and his magic beign miasma with red instead of pink and no creepy body parts was the true version of it, that pink one was its own thing heehooo SHUT UP argh

it doesnt help that really, i dont feel like the sonau were set up either, they were a tiny part in botw, really only serving to make the world seem more ancient and more full of history, having ruins from a past civilization there you know nothing about and cant find out more is so good, its compelling and sad and makes the world feel more real, just shoving them into everything, being the center of attention all of thes udden and not even the architecure fitting feels so ... forced, i really truly believe the og sonau werent meant to be more than that, but in their fear of the game being too similarly looking like botw they took the sonau to replace the shiekah with them- imo the shiekah were the ones set up to be deeper explored in botw, with their whole misstreatment by the royal family in the past, monk miz kyoshia reacting the same way a yiga commander would was deliberate and brings up even more interesting ideas, the comments about where the mysterious energy the ancient shiekah used to power everything being concentrated in certain regions?? thats a big ass set up, the fact that the center of what is signaling everything to reactivate being below hyrule castle? the fact the whole arena thing was BUILT INTO THE CASTLE or it on top of it is so??? cool??? and sso damn intriguing, we are scratching the surface of their history- but then no, actually, the sonau are the cool new shit those other ones just uh ... disappear, also the sonau did everythign the shiekah did but even better wayy before them haha

its like they didnt want to tackle the more complicated stuff with the shiekah, their relationship to the royal family and how the yiga ... have a point and a good reason- so they replaced them with entirely new purely goodest good guys that did the same stuff before them with none of the history attached :))

this is why im so insistent on it not really being a sequel, thers no follow up on anything that was set up, NOTHING, and no, a couple having a kid now or whatever isnt a follow up on an interesting set up, how hard is it to understand that-

.... listen to me rambling, you probably know all that already nhjdfkbnkd

(i know i always bring up the shiekah but ... they were so central in botw, while also not taking up every single corner- unlike some other ones >_____>, with so much interesting stuff to connect and think about, i cared about them so much i felt kicked down the stairs by their treatment in totk)

[thesupernaturalhouse]

Okay.....I love hazbin hotel, don't get me wrong

......but I think exploding kittens did the plot of hell being overpopulated and stuff a lot better

It has better explanations and worldbuilding for the plot as well. It's an amazing show, and I think everyone should watch it, spoilers beneath

Basically god is slacking off because he thinks humans have basically lost all hope, and the executives send him to earth in a cats body to help him reconnect with his creation

He does this by going to answer a human family's pray, which the mom made while drunk but anythign that starts with 'dear god' counts as a pray

Beelzabub, Satan's daughter who is revealed to be half human down the line and current ceo of hell, is sent up to earth in a cats body because she needs to learn how to be evil and what not

There's a whole lot of shenanigans, teens go to heck which is hell juvi, bee and god cat go to her cousins wedding, they get romantic and I called it form episode 1 that they were gonna be romantically evolved, 1 for me! Bee is revealed to be half human, etc etc

Anyways, the overarching plot, which is hinted out throughout the series, is that hell and heavn are planning a merge behind god and bees backs because heaven has too little souls while hell has too many, and it's messing everything up

A god game is held because bee and god fight over the ceo title, and, of course, it comes down to them competing against each other which is awkward for the both of them

Even mroe awkward when bee mentions 'sick' symptoms to Greta whoooo points out point blank that shes pregnant

And, wedding party, their god cats.

God cat does win, the last round was thst their human/mortal game partners needed to compete against eachother (said partners are twins but it's in good sibling fun for them)

And it's revealed that the board actually want to get rid of humans for good, because they realized that they are the problem and that they need to start fresh, and despite Greta and God cat giving speeches they fire him, make bee the ceo and tell ehr to do what God cat couldn't

She pretends to but instead fires them, aka, fire torching them with fire breath! And then tos revealed dishes pregnant, someone survives long enough to push the doomsday button, God cat has to go and stop a meteor, and bee has about 900 kittens

I assume season 2 will be about rounding up the little chaos kittens and fixing heaven and hell

Each episode is 25-27 minutes long, and the season only has 9 episodes, and it's on Netflix

And compared to hazbin hotel I think hey executed the plot of hell being overcrowded and god/angles being absent a lot better

Obviously, their two different shows are going for two different things, but for this specific plotline, I think that exploding kittens executed it a lot better then hazbin hotel

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk/rant, please go watch the show

[starlightseraph]

doctor who series/season review that no one asked for!

overall this series was an 7/10 for me. the plots were mostly good, the characters were lovely. the dialogue was occasion corny, but this is doctor who we’re taking about.

- the special was alright, not great but still enjoyable.

- “space babies” was weird as hell, but not terrible.

- “the devil’s chord” was good, funny, and with a compelling villain. i think it might’ve been resolved a bit too easily, but still, i really liked it.

- “boom” was great, i have like two very minor quibbles with the pacing but they’re so tiny that it’s easy to ignore.

- “73 yards” was amazing, but i do feel like they set up a lot of plot threads that never came to much later in the series.

- “dot and bubble” was also amazing, very well done.

- “rogue” was great, basically the only issue i had with it was that one line. you know the one i’m taking about. i need rogue to come back, he and the doctor have amazing chemistry. as someone who’s not a fan, the incessant bridgerton references were mildly annoying, but i know that many of my fellow gen z people love it, so i’ll give ruby a pass for that.

- “the legend of ruby sunday” was so good, i was incredibly excited to see how all the overarching mysteries throughout the season would connect. it was probably because that episode was so good that “the empire of death” was so disappointing. the pacing was off, the resolution was odd, and so much was left unexplained (assuming, of course, that there isn’t some larger, longer-running conspiracy that we have yet to see the full picture of, but that seems unlikely atm, except for more involvement of mrs flood).

i only have one issue with the series as a whole, which was that we didn’t see much relationship development. i guess there wasn’t time because this series was so short, but i go crazy for doctor-companion bonding. scenes where they’re just sitting around, talking about life and the universe and everything are my favourites. i recently rewatched “the impossible planet” and “the satan pit”, and the doctor/rose dynamic is wonderful when they just talk. the six month time gap from the special to the first episode is probably when the doctor and ruby got to know each other, and i would have loved to see it.

[kitkatt0430]

do you have a favorite season or episode of Leverage? i love seeing you post about this show :)

Leverage is one of those shows that it's so hard to pic favorites because it's all so incredibly, satisfyingly good.

The first season is probably the worst which is still putting it head and shoulders over the best season of so many other shows that I love. It was hurt by being aired out of order, which thankfully the other seasons didn't suffer from, but it has so many little details in there that become running gags throughout the series. Plan M, Hardison dies. Let's steal an <X>. Parker stabbing a guy with a fork. Hardison's stories about his Nana. Eliot's very specific catchphrase. Sophie's struggle with being an actress vs being a grifter. Alice White. Hurley. Sterling. Old Nate.

I think the Pilot and the two-part finale are my favorites from that season though it is a very close call with basically every other episode.

The Pilot of course gives us the crew and becomes incredibly important to understand the motivations of the final villain of S4. So, so much is established in this episode. The heist at the start, the mini-con at the hospital, and the main con to get their revenge. The walk-away where they all fail to walk away.

And then the two part finale. Nate's ex wife shows up and everyone basically falls in love with Maggie because she's awesome. Sterling truly establishing the Sterling always wins rule with his second win. Nate being able to punch - in the face - the guy who turned down the insurance claim for the medical procedure that might have saved Nate's dying son. Sophie trying to have her cake and eat it too, only to ultimately chose the team over herself. Old Nate becoming the Leverage mascot (to real Nate's chagrin).

Season 2 is probably my second least favorite because I think Sophie leaving the team is somewhat... mishandled? Overall they handled the actress needing time off while pregnant well, but she leaves the team to find herself but is upset that Nate gives her that space and encourages the team to do so as well? Like, yeah, he needs to be better at asking for help and it's his big failing this season but he's very much trying to respect what Sophie asked for and given shit about it. But this is quite possibly the only overarching storyline the show fumbled which is sooooo impressive. (Glances at the Flash and it's many fumbled storylines.)

The first episode of this season is hands down favorite. The team gets back together. Parker as a lock picking nun. The Team taking over Nate's apartment (and then refusing to leave for three seasons). The fact that this episode sets up the series finale. Because it does. The whole reason Nate decides to give in and rejoin the team for more than just this one job at the end? Is because this is where he realizes what really happened behind the scenes of the 2007-08 financial crisis, which leads directly to the target of The Long Goodbye Job.

(holy shit is this show amazing at callbacks and maintaining continuity)

I also really love the Two Live Crew Job for introducing Chaos and The Lost Heir Job for bringing in Tara for the rest of the season (only complaint is we barely get any more of her after this season). Though if I were to pick a second favorite episode of the season it'd be The Bottle Job because I love them saving the bar together and it has the first hints of Jimmy Ford being revealed (explaining further why Nate is the way he is).

I think Season 3 and 4 tie for me as second favorite seasons. S3 has the plot with the Italian and finally stops using Nate's personal failings as the driving impetus of the season finale. Eliot being so very ashamed of the man he used to be is incredibly touching (someone hug this man) and makes it all the more impressive what kind of man he's become now.

I love The Inside Job for putting Parker front and center. Introducing the man who raised her, but also failed her in a way that makes Nate quite likely want to punch Archie in the face. The show never outright calls Parker autistic, but she is. She so clearly is. And it's very plain to see that was factored into the set design for where Parker lives. It was part of Archie's reasoning for keeping her separate from his family - though he can say 'she wouldn't fit in' all he wants, the truth is clear in how he says it. But despite how he failed her, the episode is about showing that Parker does have a family now. The Leverage Crew. And they love her because she is the way she is. Because if she were any different, she wouldn't be their Parker. And they are willing to fight for her and trust her and follow her lead.

I love any episode where Hardison gets to be artsy, so The Scheherazade Job is beloved. How dare he be so talented? So, so, so multi-talented.

The Studio Job gives us Eliot's softer side and Christian Kane's wonderful country singing voice.

The Three Card Monte Job introducing Jimmy Ford in the flesh and giving us the wonderfully fucked up relationship he has with Nate. They love each other but they're too much alike to get ever get along. Each one has a very different code of ethics that clash irreconcilably.

The Rashoman Job is just incredibly well played, with the actors in the flashbacks being slowly updated as it's revealed this person or that person was actually one of the Leverage Crew pre-show. Sophie's accent in the flashbacks getting increasingly incomprehensible until she's basically speaking what the wingdings fonts look like when you try to type normally with them.

The King George Job giving more artsy Hardison who hacks history and probably needs a nap. Sophie's complicated backstory and her realization that cons where she thought no one really got hurt may have actually gotten people hurt after all - a character story beat that Leverage Redemption picked up for her and continued beautifully.

The San Lorenzo Job is absolutely stunning. Sophie shines here (and yet again does not know how to keep out of sight at her own funeral) absolutely stunningly as she builds herself up as a sort of Princess Diana/Evita type before her "assassination" that helps seal the deal of their election theft scheme.

Season 4 tying itself so neatly back to the job that started it all when it turns out the rich dude trying to manipulate them is working with Dubenich. It's impressive how well they pull off the reveal. But he's not the only big call back to Season One we get here. Parker's Alice White persona and the friend she made - Peggy - come back. Hurley comes back.

The Van Gogh Job is the best, best, best of the season. It doesn't pull any punches in saying "hey, this romance we're doing between a white girl and a black man? that used to be illegal. It is in living memory that these relationships could get black men lynched by racists with little to no repercussions. And talented black men would have their achievements handed to white men because 'that's the way it was.'" It puts the main actors into the roles of characters in the past just to make sure it hits hard because we know these faces. We're emotionally attached to them. Holy shit this episode.

The Hot Potato Job where the problem kid of the school field trip Nate and Parker hijack just needed people to treat him like a person, not a problem, to behave well. The way he bonds with Hardison and helps them smuggle the potato out at the end? I love this kid, I want to learn he's working for Leverage International one day.

The Carnival Job where the mark's kid is kidnapped and they burn their con because a child's life is more important. Eliot fighting concussed and with his eyes shut because he will be damned if he fails to save this little girl.

The Grave Danger Job managing to be the best 'buried alive' plot I have ever seen on a tv show (and it is a staple plot of tv shows from the 90s/early 2000s). They steal a police car and an ambulance for the sirens. It gets series with Parker calling Hardison 'Alec' and being at the most emotional we've seen her all show.

The Office Job being done in the style of The Office (and then the mockumentary follow up in the behind the scenes featurettes) is just priceless.

The Girls Night Out/The Boys Night Out Jobs being so perfect in how they intertwine over the course of the same night.

The Radio Job showing us just how much Jimmy Ford loves his son.

The Last Dam Job giving us "my son would be ashamed of me for killing someone. My father? My father would buy me an ice cream." Dubenich ultimately destroying himself while Nate walks away.

Season 5 is my favorite season, though. It's the culmination of where the show was heading from the start. Parker has grown so much from the first season that she's able to run her own con - something Sophie and Hardison have both attempted and failed - and with the rest of the team out of town to boot. Parker and Hardison clearly got the brew pub as a gift for Eliot, while realizing he'd never accept if they don't reverse psychology him into it. Sophie buying the theater and finally discovering her talent for directing as well as overcoming the blocks that kept her from bringing her prodigious acting talent to the stage floor. Nate achieving the goal that's driven him since the start of Season Two.

I love the French Connection Job for giving us more Chef Eliot. His relationship with food is lovely and this is my favorite exploration of it. Parker finally learning to appreciate beauty in art because of how she grows to understand how Eliot connects with cooking and learns to appreciate the artistry that goes into food.

The Gimme a K Job hits home personally for me - one of my sister's best friends (who was also the older sister of one of my best friends) was a cheerleader who hit her head in a cheer stunt gone wrong where the spotter messed up. It took a very, very long time for her to truly recover from that concussion (and thus why I know tv shows are bullshit for having people just walk that off) and knowing her injuries might have been less severe if cheerleading safety were taken more seriously...

The DB Cooper Job being another excellent episode built around Flashbacks staring the main cast in different roles. Agent McSweeten has to know something is up with the Leverage Crew, but he clearly respects and admires all of them. Especially Parker.

The Broken Wing Job giving us Parker on her own putting together a temporary crew from the wait staff and pulling off a con all on her own, while injured. (The whole reason why she wasn't with the team, in fact.) And it's so damn impressive of her.

The Rundown Job being as close to confirmed Eliot/Parker/Hardison as we're going to get outside of word of god (which we have!!!!) and it's beautiful to watch them work together without Nate and Sophie. It's also foreshadowing for them working together when Nate and Sophie retire.

Similarly, The Frame Up Job gives us how far Nate and Sophie have come as a couple and is as close to Nate/Sophie/Sterling as we'll probably ever get. (No word of god on this one, just me being overwhelmed by Nate and Sterling's impressive divorced-couple vibes. They're more divorced than Nate and Maggie, who are actually divorced.)

The White Rabbit Job where they almost push too far with their gaslighting routine but Parker is able to save the day by connecting to their mark in a way she didn't know how to when the show began. Her character development is such a highlight of she series so the repeated payoffs in this season are just... golden.

Every single thing about The Long Goodbye Job. Once again, all the callbacks to previous seasons. Eliot/Parker/Hardison being heavily hinted at again. Sterling letting Nate go because Nate was right, no matter what the law says. Parker inheriting the lead of the team from Nate. Sophie performing on stage the same play from the pilot, but being excellent at it this time. The episode's whole plot - again, cannot stress this enough - being a callback/having been foreshadowed by the season 2 premiere.

As you can tell, I love this show. It's beautiful and incredible and I was so, so relieved when Leverage Redemption premiered and I could instantly see that they'd done the impossible all over again. They'd recaptured the magic of the original show.

[manicpixieyandere]

A Show For The Witches!!!

Agatha All Along

OH MY GOD WE REALLY CAN'T BELIEVE IT?! Agatha All Along, a show that actually honors IRL witchcraft while still maintaining its Hollywoodness in good faith that also is for the girls and gays???

Still cannot believe Marvel actually followed through and didn't shy away from showing any intimacy between Agatha and Rio??? Not to mention Billy also has a same sex kiss! (Thought we'd love to have seen Agatha and Rio in the cottage raising Nicky, it also makes sense narratively what they did with Nicky).

Like yes obviously the witches have unrealistic flashy powers, but they still do tarot and magic with intent. It was fucking awesome and obvious they did their research! In an interview Kathryn Hahn even said she talked to a real witch. There always needs to be something to be able translate something into the medium. Film and TV is a visual medium and thus you need spectacle. The MCU has done this before with having Marc and Steven from Moon Knight talking in reflections. Dissociative disorders don't usually work like that, but it works well for television and it was clear they did their research in all the other aspects.

Honestly the MCU has gotten better with representation and we couldn't be happier. Hawkeye and Echo showed physical disabilities, Moon Knight was about neurodivergence, and there are many more heroes who aren't white (ex: Black Panther, Shang-Chi) and aren't all men (The Marvels). Probably many more we are forgetting at the moment. Hell things are so good it'd be a bit too long to mention them all!

And that isn't to say representation is what makes the show good. You can have a diverse cast and still a shit show. But Agatha All Along was actually GOOD! What was the difference? It was structured like a TV show. All the Marvel shows so far have felt like split up movies with an overarching plot. It works sure, but it doesn't feel like TV and can be a bit much to take in. But Agatha All Along uses its format to its advantage, having each trial be an episode is so simple and yet genius. It feels fresh in the new landscape of movie budget limited series. Not to mention the show used its motif of "The Witches Road" to create the whole story. Every twist and turn goes back to that song and yet it was still surprising and exciting. It's a lesson on how even seemingly simple ideas can be the best. Not everything must be grand.

The best episodes were 7 and 9. 7 was very creative with how time was out of order from Lilia's perspective. Lilia's death was also a perfect moment for her character and it was quite beautiful to watch. The creators also said all the characters (besides Agatha probably) will stay dead. That's a decision we can respect. The MCU can sometimes feel low stakes with all the resurrection. Episode 9 was also amazing! The way the story comes full circle, the heart of it being Nicky brings many tears to the eyes.

We just wish we saw a bit more of the Agatha / Rio moments. Not everything needs to be shown on screen of course, but a bit more would have been nice. Even just Rio watching from the distance as Agatha kills each coven. But still, top tier stuff!

Honestly sorry to Moon Knight, but I think this is our new favorite of the Marvel shows so far! We had fallen out of love with the MCU over the years, only tuning into the ones we really cared about, but this restored our hope in the series. Hopefully Agatha will come back like she does in the comics and then is with Rio for the rest of eternity because lord knows Death needs it. She's a bratty bottom at heart.

[bathsaltsmcgee]

My thoughts on HH and some other stuff, too

Wow, y'all. Just... just Wow.

Okay, first off, I just wanted to say that I am absolutely blown away by the sheer amount and scope of all the attention that I've gotten this past week or so regarding my story BtM. I was truly not expecting that, and for my readership to explode exponentially since the last time I posted, it's amazing to me the number of followers I've gained, the people who've stopped by to say hello, the messages, the comments, the subscriptions and favorites, the everything else, and I just wanted to say thank you.

Reading everyone's reactions and seeing them get so excited and hyped up about something that I truly care about really makes writing worth it.

So, I'm thrilled that everyone's having so much fun. :D I know I am!

Anyway, I've had a couple people reach out to me, requesting my thoughts regarding the first season of Hazbin Hotel, and I thought to myself, 'Oh, why not?'

So, here we are.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed it. The animation was crisp and pretty to look at, the songs were absolute bops, as was the background soundtrack, the overarching narrative was interesting, and the characters, barring a few notable exceptions here and there- *cough* icky moth man who needs squished flat with a metal cleat and the world's first grandiose malignant narcissist- were quite enjoyable.

They were all well written, of course, but, good Lord, some of them were just truly heinous people.

I think, out of that of all of the new characters to which we were introduced in the series that didn't hold speaking roles in the pilot, I think my favorite was a tie between Rosie and Emily. Rosie was exactly who I hoped she'd be, Dolly Levi with a dash of Mary Poppins- she even gave out her business card to that one cannibal lady like Dolly did all the time in 'Hello Dolly'- and Emily was such an adorable little bean. We need more of both those ladies in the future.

The biggest surprise out of the whole show for me, though, was finding out that the hotel actually worked. I genuinely was not expecting that, and I suspect that the exercises that Charlie was making everyone do didn't really do that much, but the situations in which the characters found themselves and how they chose to react to those situations because of their experiences at the hotel were what really clinched it in the end.

I'm very proud of Pen, though. Good for you, man. Goin' out like a champ and getting into Heaven by total accident. Well done.

Mind you, I did have a few gripes here and there, such as the rushed nature of the pacing, but I doubt that I'm alone in that particular camp. The pacing of the overarching narrative was a bit rushed for my taste, and when I'm watching a show, I would prefer not to feel at the end of it like I was in the middle of a caffeine bender.

If I'm going to do that, I'll drink two pots of coffee, follow it up with a latte, and see where it goes from there.

It was almost like deciding to make soup, but not adding any water to the condensed can, so it ended up way too thick and not nearly as smooth as it could've been, had the water been included.

Had they taken the same amount of plot and spread it out over twelve episodes, instead of just eight, it would've been a bit more evenly balanced, and we might have gotten more character moments and interactions to really sell the growing bonds between the main cast, which would've made the other narrative points that much more powerful, such as Pen's noble sacrifice.

However, the number of episodes was probably down to studio constraints and the bigwigs decision to keep the series compressed because money, so I won't hold that against the production team.

That's just business. It happens. No big deal.

So, all in all, it was a fun little romp. Alastor is still my favorite character, because he's just so interesting and multifaceted, and by the end of the season, I had far more questions about him than I did answers.

This is a good thing, though.

I'd be disappointed if he were too easy a character to read.

There's a lot going on there with him, and his morality is too grey and muddled with far too many unknown factors to make a definitive take on him just yet. I still think that my initial understanding of him is on the right track, such as his MO, but I am curious to see where this goes in the official narrative.

So, yes, I will be staying tuned for the next season.

However... just curious here.

Are we really going to have to wait another two years for the next season?!

Because I heard a rumor circulating that that was the case, and I'm kind of hoping that's not accurate.

[pinheadbella]

I have a project involving the TDI reboot in the works BUT I will have to go on a liiiittle rant about season 2 first. So SPOILERS BELOW

Season 2 has really great character dynamics and challenges that make me want to like it more than season 1. Bowie and Raj being officially boyfriends. MK and Julia being an evil alliance. Ripper and Axel softening each other up. And the challenges finally aren’t just slightly different obstacle courses/races.

The problem I have is how…disjointed everything feels.

The slide challenge felt weird without Scary Girl. If she wanted to try to be normal (and fail), then she should’ve been around to see the death trap that was the four point slide. And you know she would’ve gone crazy when Damien went tumbling down.

Chase being stuck to Emma during the sap challenge would’ve been funny. Emma didn’t really do much in the sap challenge besides some slapstick with animals. So literally sticking her with her ex when she genuinely doesn’t want to give him another chance would’ve been cool.

Speaking of Emma, why was there literally no acknowledgement of her and Bowie being friends this season? Never interacted. Please you can’t do this to me I wanted closure or them to be besties again or SOMETHING

Millie would have been insane in the bridge challenge. She would’ve fallen back into her judgmental ways to figure out how everyone would answer. And maybe, just maybe, that would get people that Bowie isn’t the only evil person involved in that notebook strategy. I mean, Millie wrote that thing. Wanted to make that into a book. And compound this with Millie shoving Damien down that slide. You got a player who wants to win but goes about it in the wrong way. She’s not malicious, mind you. She just doesn’t realize that what she says or does is wrong until someone calls her out.

Caleb and Priya is a genuinely cute couple. And Caleb being a genuinely nice guy only to be framed as a Justin or Alejandro because of a misunderstanding is a neat twist. But I don’t like how the others get sidelined when Prileb becomes the focus. And when all they say about each other during the team phase is either “we’re a great alliance” or “he’s so amazing,” I kinda wanted them to hook up sooner instead of yknow HALFWAY INTO THE SEASON I mean Ripper and Axel hooked up early-

-which is a perfect transition to Ripaxel. I like how Ripper is less mean because of his crush on Axel. I like how Axel went into the game wanting the be nice. I like how sweet it was for Ripper to write a poem for Axel after finding out she loves poetry. And I actually cheered when they kissed. But then they kept kissing. And kissing. And just making out or flirting whenever they were on screen. I don’t like that that’s what their relationship became. I thought we were gonna get some more serious heart-to-heart stuff that ties back to what Ripper hinted at back in season 1. That his family sucks. And maybe Axel could sympathize with that since she’s too busy training to really connect with people. But nooooo literally throw out all their personality and backstory that’s the way to write them off.

Rapid fire for the characters that I don’t have much to say GO

Nichelle: I think it’s fitting how she quit cause she puts her career over the show. Although it could be handled better so her whole “I don’t need you, Hollywood” thing isn’t shoved down our throats

Damien: I wish he was less of a scaredy cat and more of a nerd and a straightman like he was last season. After leaving last season as a hero, you think he’d be a bit more confident at the start.

Zee: He’s at his best when he’s silly and wanting to be friends with everyone. He’s at his worst when he’s saying things he definitely shouldn’t.

And the thing that I thought was going to be the overarching plot. The cheating arc. I really thought the hockey bros were gonna struggle with this. That Chris causally dropping that he’s okay with cheating would break them or make them call foul. But nope. Now those guys are there to be silly. They are entertaining and I still love them. But I fear that they’re gonna get out of the game without leaving much of a mark on the rest of the cast. And let’s not forget the active cheaters. Ripper only cheated in one challenge. But he wasn’t in on the first two cheating schemes. Why did he want to help all of a sudden? And why not make Axel, who was upset about the cheating, be upset at her new bf for helping? Bowie got the most punishment and all we get is a confessional from Julia saying how she gaslit him out of the game? I ain’t buying it. He could’ve gotten more time to actually play fair, prove himself, and come up short. But an even earlier merge didn’t help. Speaking of. Julia and MK. I liked the initiative they took to keep winning. I liked how both of them like messing with people to get what they want. But uuuuuggghh. They really are getting away with it, huh? Just got a beat down and now they’re free of charge. And at this rate, I see one of them making finale and ultimately losing there cause oooOOooooo villains never win Total Drama. So predictable…

…so what if there was a different way to connect all these pieces together? What if I rearranged the challenge order and the elimination order to give everyone their proper amounts of growth? What if some arcs from the original season 2 get tweaked so that every character can contribute in a meaningful way? What if Priya and Julia aren’t the main good and bad guys again? What if some unresolved matters from last season are brought back? And most importantly, what if everyone treated this season like the “grudge match of the century” that Chris said it would be?

I want relationships tested

I want more morally gray moments

I want new allies to join forces and old ones to falter

I want players to go in thinking they know what they’re doing only for someone to screw everything up and make them rethink their life choices

Most importantly…

…I want to write Total Drama Island: Hard Reboot

A season with all the challenges and interactions I loved in season 2. But with different people taking charge. Different power dynamics. A fight for control over the game that’s so intense that you won’t know who the main hero or main villain is anymore. Which’ll make the journey to the finale all the more fun.

So be on the lookout for updates! I’ll be starting school back up soon so this may take me a while ^^’ But I got a whole google doc full of bullet points so it’s gotta become a cohesive story eventually, right?

[laulink]

Just finished watching Hirogaru Sky Precure and I think it's the most solid series of the franchise so far. It didn't feel like there were a lot of purely filler episodes, unlike in some previous series where you could pretty easily skip 5 eps and not miss anything in regards to character or plot development, the overarching story itself is better paced and less redundant than some older series, and there were a lot of cool things done regarding the characters :

- first adult Cure ! We've already had "older sister" types in the series, but they were all still in high school and therefore still had similar problems and arcs to the other, younger Cures, so it was nice to have someone who is a bit older in the group because Ageha truly brings a new perspective and different dynamics to it : she has her life figured out, no familial conflict regarding her future, she often plays the role of the gentle hand guiding the kids in figuring things out regarding their own dreams and relationships, and even when she wasn't a Cure yet, she helped by providing technical support, information, strategies, protecting Elle-chan... A real adult !

- first boy Cure ! Not only was it nice to see a boy join the group, it was even nicer that he wasn't treated any differently from the others, be it by the group or the supporting characters. No one, in the series or all stars movie, pointed out that he is the first male Cure, which I appreciate because yes, the lore of Precure never stated that only girls could be Cures, but when you see big companies patting themselves on the back for including gender or racial diversity in their productions and making a big deal of it in the production itself, not just in articles, by having characters point out how unusual and amazing this is, I am happy to see that Toei Animation goes all the way with the message it sends ("boys can be Cures too and there's nothing weird about that") instead of making remarks about how unusual it is and therefore undercutting the message. I also love that they made the biggest recurring Precure fan of the series a fanboy, who specifically loves Cure Wing the most (before his beloved teacher becomes Cure Butterfly right before his eyes). A little boy is a fan of and wants to be like the male Cure : representation matters !

- the pairs : of course there are some clearly defined and favoured pairs in the team, as is often the case in Precure, but, where most series with a larger group tend to keep these characters in those specific pairs, to the point of rarely showing meaningful interactions or dynamics outside of those pairs, Hirogaru lets multiple pairs coexist at the same time, with very specific dynamics : Sora makes a pair with Mashiro (the lovers), but also with Tsubasa (the himbos, because seriously, look at their scenes together) and has a recurring gag with Ageha (the hugs, which is even included in the movie) while Ageha, who is Tsubasa's partner, is also Mashiro's childhood friend. And Elle ! In Hugtto Precure, Hugtan had a relationship with everyone, and I believe there even were some special traits to most of those relationships, but Elle takes it to a whole other level : Sora and Mashiro are clearly her main caretakers (without that impacting or taking away from Elle's relationship with her parents btw) with Sora being a bit more strict and stern, like her father, while Mashiro is softer and more willing to let things slide, the archetypical image of a mother, but Ageha is clearly the one who understands Elle the best and most often knows how to cheer her up when something is wrong, and Tsubasa is her sworn knight, who Elle tries her best to reconnect with when she starts to feel like Tsubasa is getting more distant. The different pairs also have a specific dynamic as Precures : whereas Sora often feels like she depends a lot on Mashiro and is ready to accept her help and be her friend as soon as she meets her while Mashiro often struggles with feeling like she isn't good enough, Sky is initially opposed to the idea of Prism fighting because she's worried for her safety while Prism knows and will show Sky that she is a dependable partner who is her equal and can fight by her side. Similarly, while Tsubasa often follows Sora in her antics or has overall similar reactions to new or surprising things, Wing is less hot-headed than Sky and has more than once pushed her out of harm's way when she charged headfirst into it. Ageha wants to do everything by herself and Tsubasa has trouble making her rely on him, but Butterfly and Wing's partners power up is the mixing colour palette that lets Ageha support everyone by powering them up while she apparently can't power herself up with it. Mashiro has never tried to hold Elle back from doing new things, but Prism tries to protect Majesty in a fight to the point of putting herself in danger. Sora has always protected Elle, but as soon as Majesty showed up, she and Sky got in sync acting as the team's powerhouses, often giving ennemies a double punch. It's just beautiful to see so many different and nuanced dynamics !

- the future : while Ageha and Sora know what they want for their future, things are more tricky for Tsubasa and Mashiro and I appreciate that the writers didn't take the easy options there. Tsubasa can't fly with his wings and has already studied aerodynamics and planes for a year when we officially meet him, so it would have been easy to simply make him decide to be a pilot, but they didn't take the easy path and made him realise that, now that his first dream had been achieved, he had developed a taste for knowledge and would become a sage. Similarly, Mashiro is gentle, wants to make people happy and is good at cooking and baking, so making her decide to be a cook would have been easy, but they went the picture book author way instead to give her more depth. I particularly like this because it reflects the reality of people being good at or having an interest in multiple things and career choices being about more than just taking what one is good at and finding a job making use of that.

Of course, the series isn't perfect : some bits are rushed, others feel a little out of place, some dynamics are less explored than others, Dark Sky deserved a whole episode instead of the two minutes of screentime she got, but overall, I maintain this is the best structured, best constructed, most solid Cure series I've seen thus far and I hope the quality stays at this level or keeps improving going forward because it's nice to see a franchise this big being treated as more than a money bank and getting increasingly better instead of degrading over time.

[witch-of-bears]

In retrospect, "The Limo" feels both like a good and a disappointing episode

It's good on its own. It's disappointing when you look at it in the bigger picture.

Something that was set up at the beginning of the series (both in the show and in some author's posts) was that Panda was NOT a great person and as such he didn't deserve a girlfriend "at least not yet". He's selfish, his obsession with romance and girls is unhealthy and sometimes creepy, he initially doesn't consider others feelings when he can gain something for himself. Through all the series, he wasn't in his best behavior with Lucy, so to me it's honestly a good thing he didn't end up with her, because he didn't deserve it. And the conclusion of their story in "The Limo" has also the potential to teach that it doesn't matter how much time and how desperately you've pined over someone, you're not entitled to them and they can make their own choiches. Sounds cool, right?

The problem is that Panda barely develops though the show.

He was supposed to learn how to become a better person but he was just... Stuck to repeat the same lesson. Panda acts selfish -> bad things happen -> "oh I shouldn't have done that!" -> he's forgiven and everyone is happy -> he still acts selfish and inconsiderate next time.

At the end of "The Limo" Panda should have finally gained a healthier approach to girls and romance. I'm not saying he should have got a girlfriend (to be honest I was really worried that the wbb movie would have paired him with a random girl just because it was the last occasion, glad they didn't do it) but at least, I think, they should have showed that he learned something from his experiences.

Yet in "Bros City", a bunch of episodes later, he's doing the same stuff: he crushes hard for a stranger, he feels entitled to her (does the whole "I saw her first" and "you stole her from me" to Tom), he acts uncomfortable around them and sabotages Tom's chance. He learnt nothing. So... What was the point of Lucy's character and story then?

WBB has amazing episodes on its own, but they kinda fall flat when you look at the series in its entirety, because some characters arcs just go nowhere or get resetted and I mostly have this problem with Panda (I know the series was cancelled, but with four seasons there was enough room for that).

((ok, I have big problems with how Nom Nom was handled too but he's kinda his own peculiar case lol))

Someone could say that a slice of life show doesn't need continuity and characters development, but I don't fully agree with that. We got amazing modern slice of life cartoons with well done character development and well... Of course when you don't have a real plot, the characters and their interactions are the heart and whole body of the series, what would shine the most, so /of course/ it will eventually be frustrating to watch them being stucked with doing the same things over and over... And I mean... If wbb was really meant to be a show to watch with no expectation because the universe just resets at the end of every episode... then that would have been fine, sure. But they clearly tried to set up lot of small overarching subplots and developments so, what's the excuse?

I adore this show to bits but I'm not gonna lie to myself and say there aren't some flaws and wasted potential there and there (let's be honest, discussing what you love is usually more exciting than focusing on crappy stuff lol)

Anyway stan T-Pain

[welcometothejianghu]

I can't actually recommend Psych-Hunter, as it's not, strictly speaking, what you'd call good. It has, however, made us laugh out loud several times, and a lot of the visuals are really clever, and it's got to know what it's doing with how gay it's making those main boys (to say nothing of the police captain and that little cop who totally has a crush on him). It's weird and it's fun, and if you're looking for a thing to watch, you could do a lot worse!

NOTE: The preceding paragraph was written before I watched the last episode.

Look, this show is a hot mess. Let me break it down:

The good: some amazing visuals; excellent costuming (like, even when it's ugly, it's still good?); delightfully batshit worldbuilding decisions; fun short-arc mysteries; hella gay bromance; delicious boy tears; incredibly endearing secondary cast; great Psychonauts-esque plot device; some gorgeous mindscapes done with (mostly) practical effects; did I mention those two boys are real gay for one another?

The bad: little to no narrative cohesion; terribly bad pacing; high body count, especially of ladies; a couple inexplicable heel turns; when the CG is there, it's not great; plenty of unintentional comedy; most overarching mysteries remain completely unsolved.

The ugly: het romance that swings between just plain boring and outright skeevy; absolutely no grasp of the female lead's character; and of course, all the shit it pulls in the last episode.

...But obviously I found the whole mess still pretty compelling despite the flaws, considering I've just written like 1500 words of a Tumblr post that barely anybody else is ever going to read about it! So, uh, maybe that's an endorsement? I can't tell anymore.

Most of those words are beneath the cut, starting with the vaguely spoilery thoughts -- the ones you can read without spoiling yourself for the whole show. I'll mark when the big ones are coming up.

The good and the bad are, I think, somewhat self-explanatory. I want to talk about the ugly a bit, though.

The first two are actually two halves of the same problem. As a character, as she is written, Yuan Muqing sucks. Her entire personality is "whatever we need The Girl to be doing in this scene." She swings from Strong Independent Woman to Damsel In Distress to Spunky Female Police Officer to Spoiled Rich Schoolgirl to Giggling Love Interest with no sense that there should be any consistency between these states. Every detail of her life disappears the second it's not immediately relevant to the plot. She is a selection of two-dimensional objects chosen on a scene-by-scene basis to compliment whatever else is going on around her. I guess you could excuse this by [insert spoilers for the last episode here], but for that to work, the show would have to give off any sense that it understood her characterization was bad in the first place.

Whatever they could have done with the het romance was pretty doomed to fail from the start by having her be so badly written. (There are a few very cute moments they have later on, when they write her like an actual person, but it's too little too late.) She and Jiang Shuo already have little to no actual chemistry together, and the majority of their relationship is artificial overreaction-and-miscommunication conflict. And as though that weren't bad enough, the show keeps making it skeevy by making her so young. She's a high school student who has a very little-girl room, complete with dolls she talks to and petulantly punishes when she has tantrums. Many of her hairstyles and outfits also run young. Nobody gets a canonical age, but she's clearly a teen while both boys seem well into their twenties. The age gap does the relationship no favors.

Worse, the romance largely nukes her relationship to Qin Yiheng. When the show starts, they at least interact with one another, even if it looks like the show's going to get a "girl can't decide which boy she likes!" dynamic going with the main trio. Very quickly, though, she needs to be only The Love Interest for Jiang Shuo, meaning that she barely talks to Qin Yiheng for the whole rest of the show. Even when all three are onscreen together, those two might as well each be invisible to the other. They're not really a triangle -- they're a hinge, and the non-Jiang-Shuo points don't touch.

All that being said, there is such potential in her, and like 95% of that potential comes from the fact that the girl is obviously insane. Beyond even her canonical delusions, That Girl Ain't Right. Everything she does is so much better if you imagine there's a full-on roomba with knives simmering just beneath her bippy, ponytailed surface. She has to be Generalissimo Daddy's good little girl, when deep down she wants to do violence. That's great.

Some of the early promo materials I've seen make mention of how she's supposed to be the muscle of the operation. I wish they'd been far more consistent about that! She should absolutely be the party tank, bounding away from danger with a boy under each arm. All of the "oh no, Muqing got kidnapped/held hostage/threatened!" beats should have been responded to with a shrug.

But of course, it doesn't matter, because...

****MAJOR SPOILERS START HERE****

...it's not real.

Nearly none of it is real. There are two real people in the show, and everyone else is imaginary. Everything Jiang Shuo feels about her is completely one-sided, because she doesn't exist.

I am not categorically opposed to the final plot twist. I actually think, thematically, it makes a fair amount of sense, given how many other dreamscapes and mind-dives we've seen. What I'm opposed to is having it drop in the final episode, when there's no time to deal emotionally with any of it. If you wanted to pull that Inception shit, you should've done it at least halfway through the series. Give poor Jiang Shuo multiple episodes to deal with the truths that a) everyone he loves (minus one person) is a figment of his imagination, b) he is ultimately the one responsible for the horrors he has created, and c) he will have to decide in the end whether to live in the delusion or to destroy it by leaving. Let him wrestle with what he knows vs. what he feels. Give him plenty of time to deal with his guilt about what he's done to Qin'er. That would be delicious. That's not what we got.

Also, you've got to telegraph it, like, at all. As it is, I wondered for a while there whether something weird/bad happened, the real last episode got destroyed, and they had to hastily film an alternate ending. I am all but certain, on reflection, this is not what happened. There are just enough clues planted earlier that, yeah, I'm pretty sure this was the end they meant all along.

Which was such a bad decision. You know all those mysteries you were interested in, the ones driving the plot? Congratulations! You're never going to know! And it's not because the show got canceled or otherwise truncated -- no, it's because the show decided to tell you outright that those mysteries were never meant to be solved. It's a riddle that never had an answer in the first place.

I said at the time that the end feels exactly like an anime that got too far ahead of the manga, ran out of source material, and had to cobble together an ending that wouldn't spoil the manga's eventual logical conclusion. That's not quite what happened, but it's exactly the vibe.

(Not to get too spoilery of other properties here, but yeah, you realize this was the same guy who made Sand Sea, and that actually makes a lot of sense. Speaking of things that ran out the source material...)

My instinct is to tell people not to watch the last episode, to just stop at the end of 35 and make up your own stories about what comes next, but ... you kind of have to see it to believe it. It's worth it for the sheer audacity that would consider this a good ending.

I've seen plenty of people on various sites saying they loved the ending while clamoring in the same breath for a second season. No, friends, you're having the same reaction I did -- you know a twist like that should not be a last-minute drop. It's not a setup for anything; it's what happens when you can't stick the landing, so you throw out a bunch of impressive-sounding nonsense while pretending that was what you'd meant to do all along. A second season wouldn't solve the mysteries, because the show has declared that not only won't they be solved, they weren't even mysteries in the first place. They were fancy shiny meaningless things that made the plot go, and you were stupid for being invested in them.

And by "mysteries" here, I mean the actual things that are being held up as mysterious and in need of a solution, like Liu Zhi's identity and the Yin River treasures and what happened to Papa Qin. I don't mean the things like wtf is going on with Moustache Dad and his weird semi-k*kistan flag -- because those are just fun bits of magical realism worldbuilding. Clearly this is all operating in some urban fantasy next-world-over scenario, where we're in, uhhh, Zhanghai, Zhina. It's real-world enough that we still have the British and the Japanese, but fake enough that whatever was going on with that hypnotism clock and the lake monster skeleton? Totally normal.

I guess that's part of what I find so frustrating, that it made such an interesting world to play around in ... and then took the cop-out "it was all a dream!" explanation. All the trauma and deaths you felt sad about? Irrelevant. All the friends in danger? Who cares! All the stakes you thought mattered? Meaningless. What, you want new stakes to care about? Well, we'd love to, but the last episode's ending. Bye!

Anyway! Frustrating but compelling! I have now burned so many more brain cells on this show than it deserves, and I will probably continue burning more for fanfic purposes. If you made it this far into this nonsense -- both the show and this post -- I salute you.

[1d1195]

WHY IS HE LIKE THAT OMG THAT IS TORTURE😭 A girl can only have so much patience! Yes! That line about the Faks was everything! So subtle yet so perfect! Truly did not expect them to go to the hospital like that but it’s so them lol

Men are whiny! But yeah essentially i know what you mean lol 

I'm SO glad meeting up with your high school friend went well! And I hope the one you met up with Monday night went just as well!! Of course I will be sending the best vibes for you bestie when you're with your family because we all know family stuff is so 😭 BUT YES GET THOSE DEALS!! And I think Target has a 20% thing for teachers and students for this week! Is there any book(s) you're excited to read?

We saw the movie “I USed To Be Funny” and “Sam” was the main character so she wasn’t 100% perfect BUT it really makes sense for the plot! It’s not an easy watch since it deals with sensitive topics but it’s not horrible lol Overall she wasn’t a horrible character lol I can only imagine having such shit representation of Sam/Samantha’s! It must be so tiring lol I cannot lie I have disliked Sam/Samanth’s in shows before and irl lol Like I love trash reality tv so Jersey Shore is one of my faves and there's a girl named Sam on there and ngl Im a hater lol

Anyways!! MOST PART TWO OMG SAM 😭 I was so hoping( me being delusional) that they would make up before they started college but alas I was wrong lol But once again I LOVE it for the plot! Idk where to start bestie because it was so good! I loved how long it was and it truly did NOT feel like it was too much! Loved getting to know some backstory for both of their characters! Knowing how both of them were so SAD and hollow without each other was just so hard to read only because it’s just so heartbreaking to see two soul mates being apart 😭 Especially that part with the two little kids like you were breaking ME! But them both saying that they are TAKEN?!😭 hello?!? Now that is so heartbreaking but kinda heartwarming at the same since they truly own each other's hearts😭 also loved that the MC has Addie! She truly needed her! And Carter is so sweet omg! But now…. dare I say I was so annoyed that yet again Lauren was even remotely near harry! And my man is seriously going out his way to see her?! Like i know he’s reaching because he wants to somewhat be close with the MC BUT IF HE ONLY KNEW THAT LAUREN PLANTED THAT EVIL SEED😭I truly wonder if he ever will find out lol BUT OMG I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHY IS HE BACK IN TOWN??? HOW DOES SHE FEEL SEEING HARRY AGAIN??! Many questions lol but you did so amazing Sam! It was so perfect! 

Sending all the love Sam! Hope the week is going so smoothly! Love you lots!-💜

Okay side note i forgot to mention that piece jump… bestie your mind is just amazing! Truly like that alone could is already so GOOD literal chills!!

----

I saw a post that said having a bf is like having a dumb son 💀 I'm just going to leave that there to resonate with everyone 😭 WE FINISHED THE SEASON THOUGH 🎉 I'm def not a S3 fan but I get what they were trying to do. It was a cool season but I feel like overall the pieces didn't perfectly fit together like in a overarching storyline. My bf and I discussed how many seasons we think it's going to be. I'm very much a proponent of don't ruin a show by doing more just because so I'm hoping that tbh it should only be 4. I think that would wrap up things nicely. But he thinks it'll be 5 (which I COULD let slide) or even 6 (which honestly I'll riot). I can't watch Carmy be a dumbass for three more seasons. So intriguing either way though. Very curious to see where it leads!

I had a great time with my friend on Monday as well! Still lowkey dreading the family stuff but trying to be positive. Gotta pack for a long weekend to stay with them. i feel like i bring my whole wardrobe when I visit in the summer because the weather is so unpredictable and I sweat through 20 outfits a day.

YES Target Circle is there for teachers between now and Aug 24. So I have to fill up my cart strategically and figure out what I need. Which means I need to go to my classroom and set stuff up so I can see what I need.

BOOKS. Lord, like all 20 I keep buying. I just got Kate Quinn's new novel. I'm fairly certain I've mentioned her 1000 times on here so I'm VERY excited to dive in on that. I also have The Lioness of Boston and tbh no idea what it's about but I'm a big fan of Boston. I was actually just thinking I have to update the book rec list I have because I thought of like three more books that I LOVED so much but I've let others borrowed them and I haven't gotten them back to look at on my shelf so I FORGOT completely. But I'm also looking to read this never ending pile I've accumulated. Even though I'm doing much better than I was at the beginning of the month I can't really get my brain to read still. But I'm supplementing by binging TV and writing hehehe

Hmm! I will probs give it a watch when it comes out on a streaming service hehehe. In def piqued my interest! Sammi on the Jersey Shore was throughout the first couple years of when I was in high school so it wasn't enjoyable 😭

Sad and hollow is a great way to describe them! I might steal that! Very glad it didn't feel too long! Like it wasn't dragging. I feel like sometimes i just add stuff that pops into my head and I never know if it's really going to enhance what I'm getting at (my bf reminded me of that for chapters in the personal writing workshop he's been giving me that there is no such thing as filler chapters 🙄) But anyway! You know I love to write about little kids and thought it would be a fun little analogy hehehe She did need Addie! And Carter! I almost didn't give her anybody and was just going to make her alone AF. But I changed my mind, I wanted her to have somebody. Harry's got a whole team with their friend group so she needed someone! Everyone who's been reading HATES Lauren so you're not alone. I just like to be dramatic. I hope he figures out she's a bitch 😅👀 Very glad you liked the Jump part too! I was a bit nervous about it being extra or whatever so I'm glad it was nice 😅😅

I think part 3 will answer all your questions! 💕�� thank you so much for reading as always 💕 Hope you have a great rest of your week and a fun weekend planned!

xoxo

[anaesthesia-why]

actually I think i will keep the ship stuff I've reblogged but I just came to my senses and realised, that, as I'm very much like Laios in the social aspect, I also get really like obsessed with people who I consider friends, and overshare and bug them a lot (I've been trying to control it to some degree though) and you can say that is like "platonic crushes(?)" as I've seen someone call this, but yeah literally with no romantic aspect. And still, I'm different from this particular fictional character as he doesn't mind touches and skin contact and I do so I don't initiate it almost ever, for example, but laishuro/laishiro from Laios's part/pov is just the same thing I do (obsessing over friends), and it, I am sure, is written as platonic. The same can be said about Marcille's feelings towards Falin (only later it grows to be the whole party, not just Falin, and still to a lesser degree than Falin). And really almost the same can be said about labru from Kabru's part/pov but obsessing over someone bc of wanting to be friends, not already being friends.

Like yeah literally every relationship in the series is platonic except for Toshiro's feelings towards Falin. Which, I also think, while Toshiro was amazed that he found someone who he could relate to and who cared for him (as a friend or just a fellow party member as Falin is just kind like that to the people in her circle) he ultimately convinced himself that was a crush because he took some of his emotions as a sign of crush, so he thought of his feelings like that. This, of course, IS the effect/product of the kind of society he grew up in.

I may be misenterpreting the series, but to me, one of the main themes in dunmeshi is about the platonic (including familial love here for the sake of simplicity) aspects of human relationships and how different people show their care and receive that care (bc the miscommunication and assumtions were kinda major plot points, no?).

Or really my incoherent ramblings caused by even further sleep deprivarion than before are worthless bc how can platonic relationships not be the overarching theme in all of the character-centered media and I'm just. Stating the obvious?

hmmm thinking about laishuro. Still have to finish manga but! I think once shuro understands falin is not in fact a completely naive pure girl and laios is not a bad guy. He couls actually fall in love with laios.

But then where does kabru fall into this....

I'll have to think

[sxfik]

let's talk about episode 16 and why it confirms solhwi endgame

back to masterlist

a/n: as always, this is just my opinion and what i interpreted from episode 16! some of this might be a stretch (or wishful thinking lol) but ya know, feel free to start discussions etc.

just through my time scrolling here on tumblr and on twitter, i've seen many viewers be disappointed with the last episode and it's lack of confirmation for solhwi (and also like understandably so, we'd all love to see a more "firm" confirmation). but i genuinely think that this whole episode was a confirmation of their feelings for each other, that there was something there.

the most important thing to remember about this show is that it is not a romance. the main plot is centered around the mystery but also these students learning how to navigate the law and trying to show the different sides of the law (ways the law can be used to help vs. ways the law can be used to harm). we, of course, also get to explore the relationships of the group with their family, their professors and with each other. so overall, i think we can all agree that we weren't going to get an "explicit" confirmation of their feelings for each other.

i think one of the things law school does really well as a show is that it doesn't give a "perfect" ending to every story. for example, in many shows, we see every plot line resolve in the show with no open endings and in general, it ends up all resolving with in the span of two episodes. but with episode 16, especially the ending scenes, we see that not everything is resolved. we don't get an answer for every single mystery, such as seung-jae's story line or the full extent of professor seo and assemblyman koi's relationship. what we do get instead is a "set-up" to show or hint at how the relationship might develop in the future. this also applies to the relationships within the story: for example, we don't really get a full ending for kang sol B's issues with her family. rather, we see that they are going to therapy and working it out together. we don't get a true ending to the court case with ji ho's dad. even with kang dan and her story, we don't get to see a "full" resolution to it, but we do get a hint/a sense that everything is on track to be resolved. many people might argue that this is a sign of bad writing but i disagree. i believe that this is realistic writing, because the issues that are faced by the students in the show is not resolvable in one year and neither are their relationships.

with that in mind, i would apply the same logic to solhwi. like i said, i didn't think we'd get a kiss scene or anything similar to that in their 1L year. through this season, we are tracking joon hwi and sol A's relationship as it grows from classmates to acquaintances to friends to in like to in love (especially for han joon hwi). if you go through and rewatch the show, you can see that as the episodes go on, we see han joon hwi and sol's relationship develop into something that is based on trust, care, appreciation and communication.

i've seen many people say that we've over hyped their relationship in the last couple episodes but i don't believe that's true. i believe that the show is trying to display that both of them are falling for each other, they're both seeing each other in a "new light." for joon hwi, that moment came much quicker; like i said in this post, joon hwi is realizing the extent of his feelings towards her when he says that he owes her. and this last episode proves it! this whole episode we see the camera focus on han joon hwi's reactions and his love for sol, except he's actually aware of himself. earlier, the reactions came out without him realizing or being aware that he's in love with her. but this episode? he is aware of his feelings for her. throughout this episode we watch as his admiration for her grows louder and louder, from smirks and soft smiles at her to appreciation for her knowledge and talents. we see the hint of defensiveness cross his face when ji ho insults kang sol (which by the way definetly felt more like ji ho was taunting joon hwi that he was actually insulting kang sol). even sol B knows when she asks to start but he makes her wait for sol A.

and in the end, we see that sol is realizing her feelings too. i believe for her, the change came through ye-seul's trial. some part of her always loved his company and his friendship but after the trial, and their friends teasing their jealousy, i think sol definitely took more note of joon hwi. i think it's evident in their 1L year in this episode, the looks of appreciation she gives him, the way her eyes seem to always land on him in the end. and ESPECIALLY the courtroom scene where sol and joon hwi were practicing her argument, we can see her feel the tension and his presence as he grows closer to her, we can see her getting flustered and nervous around him in a the way you would with someone who's position is your life is graduating from friends to a crush. the beginnings of this episode definitely show that solhwi is starting to full on fall for each other.

THEN during their 3L year, we can see how they're full blown gone for each other. i genuinely think that at this point, they are in a relationship with each other and here is why.

one: the moment sol sees joon hwi walk by, she calls out his name asking him what he's up to. then when he responds "i want to wind down" she follows him. when they get out of the elevator, she says "you said you wanted to wind down?" and he lets out a teasing laugh at that. i definetly think that she was talking about/expecting something completely different when he said he wanted to wind down, because as he explains that he wants to wind down by "watching the trial," you can watch the gears turning in her head before answering "right, i should wind down too" in an embarrassed way, with joon hwi teasingly smiling at her (obviously he knows where her mind went to). and then after stretching, sol makes her classic "you're so annoying/you're so frustrating" face at him.

two: as kang sol and joon hwi provides counsel to the old man, we see joon hwi once again watch kang sol but the expression on his face this time, is a lot different to the expressions that we've had previously. before, the reactions and expressions were more distant, more "in admiration" and in amazement (about her and his feelings for her). but in his reactions this time around, we see it's more firm, it's more confident. it's a completely different expression of love than what we've seen before. it's a lot more similar to one that a boyfriend or a husband gives their significant other than the expression a boy gives to his crush. it's a lot less amazement and enamorment and more content, proud expression.

(honestly it's kinda hard to describe how different the expressions are in words, but if you watch the moment around 1:00:00, you'll see what i mean)

here's the thing: the concepts and issues that law school is showing us are not resolvable issues in one year, and they are not "easily" resolvable issues either. that is what this show has been trying to show us: that the law is complex and it's application in the real world is even more complicated. so it would not make sense for this show to wrap everything up in a neat bow and present it to us in the final episode. moreover, solhwi has forged a friendship through the pressures of law school as well as the overarching mystery and plot of the show. this season was centered around watching them develop a relationship together and this show hints and shows that solhwi are soulmates, their relationship will not be an epic love story where there are grand gestures or confessions of love. it is a gradual change from friend to lovers, while having independent development and maintaining their own goals in life. the very ending, we see them reach their goals as lawyer and prosecutor but they still come together. if they were to have a confession scene in the very end of the show i believe that it would have been too rushed without enough development on both sides. i think that law school ended in the best way for both characters without reversing or skipping their development while leaving room and hinting at the possibilities for the future.

[absolutepokemontrash]

The Demon Bros Play DND!

Who’s ready for some Stupid Headcanons?

So, the Satanic Panic of the 1980s claimed that the tabletop RPG known as Dungeons and Dragons had the power to turn your children into satanists and devil worshippers. So of course, the brothers have totally played DND after hearing about all the human world nonsense.

Lucifer the Back-up Back-up DM

He’s too busy to play this game dammit, stop inviting him! What do you mean both Satan and Simeon can’t DM the one-shot? Ugh... fine.

Despite all his UUUUUUUUGGGGHHH, Lucifer is a damn good storyteller, prepare to be immersed as hell.

Also, sorry guys, he’s a rule whore. If something’s against the rules, YOU AREN’T DOING IT.

He’s also a complete sadist who will randomly get everyone to roll perception checks for NO REASON.

Lucifer has definitely stood up and slammed his hands on the table while giving a description for extra effect, Mammon screamed and nearly fell out of his seat which REALLY ruined the mood.

“Everyone, we’re rescheduling, I’m too busy.”

He’s been a player a few times, and he’s NOT good at it. All his characters end up being really generic and boring. He’s better at being the world and everything in it, not the dummy wandering around it.

Human/fighter lookin’ motherfucker

In conclusion, he’s a good DM, but he’s probably too busy to play.

Over-Powered Self Insert (Mammon)

This game is for nerds! He’s not playin’, Levi!

Fine, his character is great and amazin’ and is also him. MC! What do these numbers mean-

Mammon’s the type of player to make his character a self insert and not take it too seriously, then get really REALLY attached as the campaign progresses.

He’s the type not to make a backstory for his character either, so go wild DM MCs!

He also both purposefully and accidentally metagames a whole bunch. Like dude, YOU know this, YOUR CHARACTER DOES NOT.

Shit he forgot his dice, can he borrow some?

“Okay MC, that’s five points of piercing damage.” “I RUN OVER AND HEAL THEM! I’LL SAVE YA MC!”

Mammon goes out of his way to save MC’s character long before it would make sense in-character to do so.

“Well, as your first man it’s my duty to save your character! You’ll probably be a blubberin’ mess if I didn’t...”

He’s not the best role player, but he’s also not the worst at it either. He tends to break character when things get too serious and he doesn’t know what to do.

Notes who? He came in here with one sheet of printer paper and it’s for doodling only.

He and Asmodeus start the tavern brawls. No question about that.

Theft is very common, he’s stealing from everyone, including but not limited to: the party, the royal guards, the dead enemies, the giant fuck-you dragon that Satan dropped in there to deter Mammon from stealing...

“I’m gonna steal that crown from the dragon.” “Roll stealth.” “Nat 20 BITCHES.” “Fuck you.”

If his character dies, may the Demon King have mercy on his greedy little soul because he’s going to mope about it for a damn long time.

Over-Powered Self Insert Again (Leviathan)

His character totally isn’t a self insert, shut up! He just looks and acts like an idealized version of himself!

He’s the one with twenty pages of character info and backstory AND the amazing commissioned art.

Levi has about 40 sets of expensive blue dice that he claims gives him the best rolls but an average session with him usually leads to roughly 10 crit fails.

While his luck with dice isn’t that good, he’s the player who will get as much out of their turn as possible, AKA break out the calculators and notes we’re doing some math.

His turn goes on for at least ten minutes because of all the shit he’s doing. When you finally think it’s over he goes “I still have my movement!”

Takes notes like a madman, every bit of lore and character info is being written down, meaning it’s a headache for everyone involved if there’s a continuity error because Levi WILL point it out.

“So you all head to the east, the great Valley of-” “Hang on, valley? In the second session you said there was a mountainous area to the east.” “Levi, shut up.”

Levi is the self appointed “guys come on let’s get back on track!” player, and whoever’s DMing is grateful to have him.

Levi is kind of the opposite of Mammon in terms of character seriousness, at first he’s taking everything super seriously and then as the campaign goes on he slowly loosens up and has some fun.

Out of curiosity one day he searches up a magical girl DND class and he’s ALL OVER IT. PLEASE LET HIM BE A MAGICAL GIRL NEXT CAMPAIGN-

Damn good at roleplaying, he’s carrying the entire in-character discussion until everyone else gets into it.

The Done With Your Bullshit DM (Satan)

So, this is the game that’s supposedly summoning him all the time despite the fact that he hadn’t been up to the human world since the 50s... what the fuck is everyone on up there?

It was the 80s, probably a lot of drugs.

When Satan DMs, you can only break the rules if it enhances the story... or if it fucks with Lucifer’s really boring character.

He will fudge dice rolls every once and a while, he also gets very attached to the characters everyone has made so he doesn’t want to perma-kill any of them unless they roll a DND quadruple natural 1 sin or something.

As attached as he gets, he isn’t above completely raging, killing everyone’s characters, and ending the session if everyone’s being annoying.

Don’t worry, your characters will be safe and sound next session once everything calms down... just don’t mention how Satan burned your character sheet right in front of you. It’s your fault if you didn’t make a second copy of your character sheet!

He’s pretty decent when it comes to improv when a player stumbles into something he didn’t plan out, but that’s not going to stop him from getting a little annoyed.

Though, if you somehow manage to get to the big bad too soon... yeah sorry, he’s got a way more dramatic fight scene planned, your player’s getting conveniently blasted out of there.

As a player, Satan is pretty decent at the game overall, but he tends to be a little aggressive if there’s an overarching mystery to be solved.

He needs to understand what’s going on! He doesn’t care if it upends the plot or it’s too early to find out! He needs to know!

His character is actually distinct and different from himself, Satan thinks it’s more interesting that way. All the books he’s read have made him a pretty awesome role player!

Satan’s notebook both as a DM and a player is filled to the brim, no detail is too insignificant to be put on the page.

Satan doesn’t fear dungeon puzzles... dungeon puzzles fear Satan.

“Are you all stupid?! This puzzle is so easy a four year old could solve it!”

I ROLL TO SEDUCE- (Asmodeus)

At first he didn’t want to play, he doesn’t play these kinds of games, sweetie. He’s too pretty.

When he’s finally convinced he puts a decent amount of effort into his character, but leaves the backstory pretty open.

Asmo would probably be the bard... right? No. He’s the warlock with the magic sugar daddy patron, and the warlock patron is spoken to as such.

“Hey baby... how’ve you been? Have I been good~?” “...”

Huh! Who woulda thought that all the bedroom roleplaying would transfer so well to DND!

Simeon is the only DM that doesn’t immediately shut this down, so Asmo will be extra inclined to play if Mr. Nice Shoulders is DMing.

When he gets really into it he buys a bunch of sparkly and very pretty dice, they bring him good luck in every roll!

Asmo has a fictional harem, no question about it. It gets to the point where Satan, Lucifer, and Simeon stop describing NPCs as attractive.

He’s rolling to seduce either way, he’s turned many an antagonist into a lover. To be fair, Asmo’s horniness has gotten everyone out of a lot of jail cells... so they can’t complain.

His notes consist of really random comments about the plot and the other players. It’s also COATED with doodles.

‘Wow, this character is such an asshole, I hope Belphie kills them.’ ‘Shit.’ ‘MC looks so cute when they play their character!!!!!!!! :D’

Poor bab forgets the rules a lot... it’s just too much to remember, okay?! How was he supposed to know that he ran out of spell slots an hour ago?!

Please help him, MC...

*Dice Cronch* (Beel)

Homeboy has been given edible dice, no question. He has also eaten the non-edible dice...

Beel goes to Satan for help with making his character, and he ends up really loving the character! :D

Problem is, he’s not that good at roleplaying... D:

“Can my character eat that person?” “Beel, no- you know what? Let me check what you’d need to roll to do that.”

I’ll save you MC part 2 electric boogaloo, but when it comes to Beel, the entire party is getting protected, no matter how little it makes sense in-character.

While Beel does take notes, a lot of them don’t end up being very important for later events. For example, he’ll jot down stuff about the layout in one room, but it turns out he didn’t take notes for the room that was actually going to be used for a boss fight.

He’s always nice to the NPCs, shame Belphie doesn’t show them the same courtesy.

Murder Hobo (Belphie)

Chaotic evil.

“Belphie, your character’s alignment is neutral good, remember?” “Fuck that, this guy’s annoying me.”

If Belphie doesn’t like an NPC, it’s up to the rest of the party to stop him from derailing the campaign and killing them.

He has space themed dice because cow-man likes space and thought they were pretty.

Notes? NOTES? You think Belphegor, the Avatar of SLOTH, takes notes? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-

He’s drooling all over the notebook... ew. Someone wake him up and tell him it’s his turn.

He puts about 35% effort forth to make a halfway decent character, and approximately 4% effort to actually roleplay.

Belphie sleeps through important plot details so he’s almost always really confused. He’ll turn to MC and ask them to explain what he missed before not learning his lesson and going back to sleep.

Wake him up for the dungeon puzzles though, he and Satan love those.

“Okay, we can’t see what’s in the room because none of the conscious party members have dark vision?” “Nope, what do you do?” “...I shove Mammon inside and shut the door.” “WHAT?!”

Bonus! The Best DM (Simeon)

Our favourite angel has homebrewed this entire campaign and boy fricken howdy are these players going to enjoy it.

Simeon fudges the dice rolls to avoid anything too irreversibly bad happening, buuuuuuut he’s still a total asshole who does the random perception rolls to keep everyone on their toes.

Everyone gets a character arc god dammit, even if they don’t have a backstory, one will be provided!

He’s got a map, he’s got miniatures, he’s got dice and backup dice for the backup dice, he’s got DM notes for days!

Simeon could be a voice actor with the amount of character voices he can do, no one ever gets confused with who’s talking.

Did someone just uncover a massive bit of plot that was meant to be found out later? Good job! No harm done! Simeon’s DM improv is second to none, and the plot will adjust accordingly!

[gaykey]

hii! i watched the finale today and i liked it overall but there's a few things i really disliked so i was wondering if you had any criticisms as well.

for me, there should be consequences for thua outing them (especially since he then had his little speech about the importance of having an accepting community). also, while i do like wat, putting your friend's real life emotional breakdown in your short film without his permission is also messed up.

there were a few other things but these are the main icks for me. i have very mixed feelings about this show because i realllly loved akk and ayan's storyline but didn't care for / disliked almost everything else 😔 maybe if it was longer and the plot was more developed...

hello helloooo.

i'm still very much in my fragile past show depression state, and i'm genuinely mourning this show, because it has meant a lot to me over the last couple months. definitely on my ult list, as i knew it would be by about episode 3.

i definitely do have criticisms though

both of the things you mentioned

thua outing akk & ayan was so brushed under the rug, it very much annoyed me. even if there weren't consequences for him, it would have been nice if he had apologised to them. that whole scene still feels off, and i find it hard to believe that akk, ayan and even wat & kan, would be okay with him straight away.

yep, wat using that in his film was.....pretty insensitive. i knew he'd probably use the footage, but, i though he'd edit out that end part, but nope. wat decided to keep in the part where his best friend is having a very real, and very traumatic emotional breakdown, to use in his short film. it was icky, and akk didn't even seem fully comfortable with it in the end.

another thing that no one seems to be talking about, is how ayan outed their relationship to akk's parents, without even asking or discussing it with akk first? that rubbed me the wrong way completely. it was not his place to do that at all. yes, akk's parents are very accepting and loving, but that does not give ayan the all-clear to tell them something that should come from their son. also, akk wasn't ready for them to know!

it worked out fine of course, but i didn't like that he did that.

there are a few other things along the way that i haven't liked much, little plot holes, or bad pacing, or slight ooc moments, but genuinely, the good in the eclipse faaaaaaaaaar outweighs the bad in my opinion. and yes, i think another two episodes would have made it even better. the last few felt a bit rushed.

but, this show overall, was amazing i think. the overarching message and themes explored in this show, are not something i've seen tackled in a bl all at once before, and in such a mature way.

dealing with issues of grief, self-acceptance, depression, systemic abuse and oppression, the right to protest and speak out, healing together, learning to love after tragedy, accepting differences ect ect. like, it really covered a lot, and in a way that really hit home.

and the acting. oh my god, these boys have done absolute wonders for this show, they've been so amazing. first and khaotung pulled out all the stops this time, and really showed just how talented they are.

they absolutely carried the show.

i was excited to watch the upcoming show moonlight chicken anyway, because of eatthmix, but now i cannot WAIT just to get a snippet of firstkhao too. they have such amazing chemistry, and work so well together, it's addictive honestly.

i really hope they become even more popular of the back of the eclipse, because they deserve it. they've worked so hard, and really embodied akk & ayan, who you can tell, mean so so much to them.

so, yes, it was flawed - of course it was, i have yet to watch a bl that isn't in some way - i really do think that it was one if the beat we've got this year, because of all the themes it explored, and the acting, and the way you can tell that everyone involved really felt passionately about it.