#and one of my favorite characters appears at the cliffhanger

[mimi-cee-genshin]

AHHHHHHHHH!!!! IT'S EPISODE THREE!!!!!!!!

[flower-boi16]

Why Oops Is a DISASTER

So...Oops. I have ranted about this episode a few times before, and most of y'all would know that this along with Western Energy are my two least favorite episodes of the show. But those were just unstructured rants about the episode. I think it's time for me to give a full analysis on why this episode FAILS in every single way, from the plot to the characters to EVERYTHING. And here, I'm going to analyze why.

1. Miscellaneous Issues

First, let's start with some miscellaneous problems I have with the episode that can't be put into an individual section. First there's the recurring problem of tonal issues that season 2 has where serious scenes are interrupted by unfunny sex jokes as usual with this season.

Then there is the fact that Stolas...is completely fine in this episode, when in the last episode he was in the hospital and the show made a REALLY big deal out of it, but now he is just completely fine? What was the point of making such a big deal out of Stolas being injured and possibly DYING and having a massive cliffhanger when it's not even going to matter anyway?

It simply just shows how big cliffhangers in this show don't matter, Stolas and Blitz's conflict in Ozzie's? Gets ignored and then resolved with a text message. Stolas getting injured and possibly dying? Nope, he's fine the next time he makes an appearance. Why should I care about big cliffhangers in your show if they aren't going to matter anyway? What was the point of that cliff hanger in Western Energy if it was just going to be resolved two episodes later?

But now it's time to get into the REAL meat of this episode's issues and oh boy...there are so, so, SO many of them.

2. The Plot

So...the episode's plot...it's a mess. There is no other episode in this show with THIS many plot holes I can think of. I am just going to name each plot hole in this episode by the order that they appear in, K? K.

We might as well pick up where we left off, that being; HOW DID STOLAS GET OUT OF THE HOSPITAL??? How was he SOMEHOW able to recover so quickly? Can blue bloods recover quicker than normal demons??? That would be a solid explanation if that was what the show gave us...but no! Also why is Stolas going to ASMODEUS of all people for advice? And why is Ozzie acting all friendly to Stolas now??? Did the writers just FORGET the last interaction they had was Ozzie MOCKING Stolas???

Then there's the fact that blitz just. Conveniently had a knife in his shoe even though we NEVER seen him use it before, which he could conveniently use to cut the ropes which he for some reason didn't use earlier??? Like you could say it's because Blitz wanted to fuck with Fizz but there's literally no reason for him to DO that! Why didn't he use the knife earlier???

Then there's the fact that NONE of the villains apparently heard all the chaos that was happening during Blitz's whole plan to kill all the minions. Why didn't they think to check up on what was going on?? Like??? Oh ya, then during Fizz's music number Blitz drops a METAL BLOWTORCH and it makes a loud clanking sound that none of the villains hear for some reason?? Why did not hear it? Why didn't they turn to see what that sound was???

Oh ya, and Blitz makes a hole into the building and after Fizz flings them out of there it crumbles??? For some reason??? How does putting one hole into a building suddenly make the whole thing COLLAPSE??? Then after Fizz and Blitz fling themselves out of the warehouse, which they are a LONG DISTANCE FROM, Striker just suddenly catches up to them that quickly?? HUH??? How was he able to catch up to them that quickly when they were VERY far from the warehouse (that CRUMBLED) in only like, 15 seconds??? Also why doesn't Striker have any injuries from being in a building that COLLAPSED??? Striker should not just have a few bruises, he should at least have a broken arm or something at best or be DEAD at worst.

So as you can probably tell, Oop's plot is a MESS. There are so many things that don't make sense about it that make the plot completely and utterly BROKEN. And no, don't tell me that these are just "nitpicks", because they aren't. A plot hole no matter how big or small is a plot hole, and when there are too many of them they begin to add up. So now that we've gone over the mess that is the plot of this episode, let's get into the next problem with oops...

3. The Pacing

This section is going to be shorter than the others but it's still an issue, pacing in this episode is...bad. It's WAY too damn fast and everything in the episode feels very rushed. I'll talk about this later but the resolution to Blitz and Fizz's friendship feels incredibly rushed due to the episode's bad pacing; not to mention the reveal just being 20 fucking seconds too. Nothing in this episode is allowed to breathe, everything happens so fast it feels like the episode was written on cocaine.

The pacing especially affects Blitz and Fizz's conflict in this episode but again I'll talk about that in a later section. Now, all of these issues would be enough to make this episode a 3-4/10 but...there are more problems, two more major issues that make me truly dislike this episode, and what makes this episode a 2/10 boarding on a 1.

4. The Cage Scene

Sigh....the stupid cage scene. Y'all know why I hate this scene, and I already talked about it in my Stolitz post so I'll just get to the point; this scene is basically the show trying to gaslight Blitz for not loving Stolas. We're supposed to believe that Stolas did all of these nice things for Blitz but like, not only is it TOLD to us rather than shown, it's also a retcon; none of what Blitz says about Stolas doing these nice things lines up with Stolas's behavior in Season 1, so it's a contradiction and a retcon.

And the show paints Blitz as in the wrong for not loving Stolas (again, talked about Blitz's demonization in my Stolitz post), because "Stolas genuinely loved Blitz and Blitz just hates him for being a prince!", even though that does not change the fact that it's a retcon AND that even if Stolas does care for Blitz and does some nice things for him, that DOES NOT automatically make his treatment of Blitz good. Stolas is still an abuser, yet the show once again coddles him for his mistakes and portrays him as an UwU soft boy who just loves Blitz, and like I already said in another post, anybody who dislikes Stolas or is upset by his actions is demonized by the narrative. I already went over this scene multiple times so I don't really need to go over it again, but this and a later issue I'm going to talk about is one of the main things that truly makes this episode a 2/10 and one of the biggest problems in it.

So now, let's get into my last issue with this mess of an episode...

5. Blitz and Fizz's Friendship

So Oops was advertised as an episode that would explore Blitz and Fizz's friendship and their trauma. This was one of the many interesting plotlines that season 1 left for season 2, so the writers surely couldn't fuck this up, right?.....right?

As you can probably guess, they did, and they did it SUPER badly. There was so much interesting potential for this storyline...that the episode didn't even touch on. That's my first issue with Blitz and Fizz's friendship here; the episode never really explores it that much. We don't get to learn what their childhood was like together nor do we ever even see any memories of them as best friends, none of that.

Their friendship feels so underexplored and underdeveloped that it makes the reveal of what happened have little impact. Speaking of that reveal; it's...so underwhelming and rushed. It's just a 20-second reveal of what happened that gets randomly dropped out of nowhere. This reveal has little impact because not only does it last for only 20 seconds, the lack of buildup to this reveal combined with the pacing and tonal issues make it so underwhelming.

There's no build-up here, it just comes out of nowhere and the audience is barely given much time to process it at all. It lacks any actual impact to it at all. Ya see what I mean when I say this episode's pacing issues harm it severely? Then there's the rushed forgiveness, where Fizz just forgives Blitz for the trauma he gave him and getting his limbs burnt off. He literally tells Ozzie to give Blitz the crystal cuz he "earned it", implying that he has forgiven him.

This just felt so rushed, it would have been more believable if Fizz hadn't forgiven Blitz but decided to give him a second chance if he really wanted to make amends with him so badly. It would have been more interesting and well-written than Fizz instantly forgiving him.

So ya, in conclusion; Fizz and Blitz's friendship was done very poorly in this episode. It's not only unexplored but the resolution to their conflict is rushed and underwhelming. I think I've gone on enough so I'll end this here.

6. Conclusion

So ya, that's why Oops sucks. It's easily tied with Western Energy as the two worst episodes of the show. They are both complete disasters on every single level, and I think I may talk about Western Energy one day. So ya...bye

[kiwinatorwaffles]

I found This is About a Stuffed Bird bc of you and its one of my favorite fics ever. Do you by chance have more suggestions?

hermitcraft/mcyt fic recs? :0 let's go!!

i get a lot of my fic recs from other friends since i don't really go out and search on my own all too much for this fandom. but there are lots of great works out here! i will be listing out some of my favorites :3 mostly hc but a couple general mcyt ones that i think are an excellent read no matter what. all of the fics i'm listing will be genfic without ships!

also i just realized a lot of my bookmarks are grian-centric which is funny i guess because i am admittedly quite picky about content of my other favorites and grian just tends to have the most content in the fanbase. hope that'll be alright

(i hope some of my friends and mutuals don't mind me tagging them for their works)

hermitcraft longfics:

the last days of the free angel of carrows by @theminecraftbee - loved stuffed bird? here's another great longfic by second! this one is about joe and cleo in an urban fantasy mystery setting. again, second writes our beloved hermits into an captivating au!

leaping and hopping on a moonshadow by @lunarblazes - a fantasy au by luna my beloved! pearl suddenly gains magical powers and goes on a quest to find her long-lost friend grian who might know what's happening to her. she meets a lot of familiar faces along the way!

Recall by @redwinterroses - hey, i was the artist for this one! :D mumbo goes missing, so grian and scar search for him. they find that grumbot has been up to some... things along the way. the fic isn't finished but i think the chapters red put out is worth a read if you don't mind leaving off on a cliffhanger because it really is super interesting

dramaturgy by wormcity - a universe where gem and pearl join in a season 7 that was never finished. mumbo became the mayor, but the turf war went so very wrong afterwards. admittedly i have not finished reading this yet because ummm short on time xD but it's super interesting with a lot of layers of drama(turgy hahaha)!

hermitcraft short fics/oneshots:

for trying. by @autistic-evil-xisuma - a stuffed bird universe oneshot of x and xisuma during their lab days. great if you want to be sad over the doomed brothers again :D

the wheels on the bus by sparxwrites - a hilarious post-s8 oneshot about grian being a little shit towards the watchers. one of the first fics i've read from this fandom and i still love it

a body is an object by ruffboi - grian is a mimic, and pearl's arrival in s8 shakes him up. she hasn't seen him in a while and is quite upset to learn that the grian she knew died a long time ago. a great read for familial connections and conflict of friendships!

Goatman and the Rift by TheDepressedCanary - doc's eldritch powers start acting up when the rift appears. what shenanigans will ensue?

other mcyt fics/crossovers:

late at night, when the stars don't look quite right by @lunarblazes - an excellent empires s1 and hermitcraft crossover longfic, where grian lands into the server and is discovered by pearl! very great worldbuilding and relationships, i especially love the dynamic between gri and pearl and pearl and gem :D

every new discovery is just a reminder by amaranthinecanicular - grian begins pulling alternate versions of the hermits from the life series into the server. he does save a lot of them, but at what cost? it does end on a cliffhanger but this is genuinely one of the most captivating oneshots i've ever read... argghhh

The Fair and the Brave and the Good by @slashmagpie - an afterlife smp longfic centered around the shelby, scott, and sausage. i have never watched afterlife smp before in my LIFE and this is still one of my favorite pieces of literature ever. the characters and worldbuilding is impeccable and perfect if you like something dark with themes of hope and renewal.

Two Can Keep a Secret (If One of Them is Red) by anonymous secretmcblog - a 3L oneshot! ren suspects grian has stockholm syndrome with his pact to stay with scar, but his expectations are wrong. a truly excellent read and one of them first fics i've read! i still go back to reread it from time to time

dog at the door by fluffy_papaya & iamsolarflare - a longfic where doc and ren take a trip on a van on their way to s8. ren, however, is not quite himself, and doc has to learn to befriend the red king.

devil town is colder in the summertime by @bananasofthorns - a oneshot from a 100hsmp/life series d&d au! team BEST ventures into a cursed evil fucked up forest. uh oh.

Interview with the Aftermath by @ranchersrevenge (wanderlasts) - the last life contestants are invited for an interview. the responses vary greatly.

stars, smoke, and stolen car keys by wormcity - a 100hsmp modern au oneshot where grian, scar, and joel go on a hike. it doesn't go quite as they expected.

the beehive state by amaranthinecanicular - a dsmp oneshot after wilbur moves to utah. tommy visits him, and the two reconnect. i have to say i stopped following dsmp a long time ago but this fic made me BAWL. i don't even think you need to know any of the characters that well to really enjoy just how amazing the writing itself is

Can't Go Back (This Time) by @duckmumbo (musicaltvbooks) - soup group goes end raiding and accientally finds themselves in afterlife smp. nothing goes wrong, surely! also admittedly i havent finished reading this either but roy i swear i will. this is a great read nevertheless and the soup group dynamic is impeccable!

TommyInnit's unbeatable method of avoiding sudden death by eneliii - on the train of dsmp fics, this is the superhero au longfic that inspired my own hc superhero au, vdhau. it's a lot of funny shenanigans with tommy and his friends. the fic does take a dark turn at the end, but that can be skipped entirely (as said by eneli herself) if you just want the wholesome aspects.

if you don't mind a little self promo, here are some of my fics!

it takes two to play (the game of mutual secrecy) - the aforementioned hermitcraft hero au. this installment is centered around xisuma and evil x as brothers resolving their issues through hero work and solving the mystery of welsknight's disappearance :D there are other works that are set in the same universe if you're interested for more!

how to form the ultimate besties dynamic: an unreliable tutorial by hypnotizd - a oneshot! hypno is a warlock who goes treasure hunting under the sea. he meets a guardian who later becomes his unlikely friend.

smoke and mirrors, the hunt perseveres - grian's arrival in empires s2 unwittingly brings the watchers' suspicions with him. cue jimmy freaking out and a lot of shenanigans.

ballad of etho’s lab - my newest installment! a oneshot about etho's storied life as the redstone god.

i'm also currently working on the sequel to the game of mutual secrecy and a new (well not exactly new since i made concept art for it) au called private detective gem tasey! these will likely be released sometime late january or february. have fun with these fic recs! i haven't been reading as much lately but i hope ill be able to find more if anyone else asks in the future. cheers!

edit: the fics are out! here they are!

hiding in plain sight (the meaning of trust) - sequel to the hermitcraft hero au! it follows an escaped lab rat trying to acquaint themselves with human society while avoiding suspicion and making friends with familiar faces from tgms ;D

private detective gem tasey: a rotten mystery in london - a hermitcraft detective au where gem gets hired for a case that spirals completely into drama and politics!

[vinelark]

Hi I feel like you always have the best batfam fic recs, so I was wondering if you have any recs for any Dick and Tim bonding fics (especially fics that deal with the fallout of Dick giving Robin to Dami)?

hi! so glad you like the recs, i'm always happy to give them 🥰  every time a friend expresses even a passing interest in one of my fav characters i have to stop myself from like, creating a fic rec spreadsheet on the spot.

that said, i got stumped by the second part of this one. i was like oh yes definitely, i totally have read fics for that, and then…could not dig any up from my brain or my bookmarks. i feel like there's a fic on the tip of my tongue, but in the meanwhile, if anyone has any tim & dick red robin reconciliation recs (holy tongue twister, batman) i too would love to see them!

and here are some tim & dick recs in general:

🎄 only you will have stars that can laugh by silverwhittlingknife

set early in tim’s tenure as robin; dick realizes tim is about to be alone on christmas, and they end up spending the holiday together. i love how tentative both dick and tim are about this for different (and at times similar) reasons, and how heartwarming and cozy it ends up being. lots of reflection on family in all its forms and a really good tim & dick dynamic.

�� I’d Fly Far Away From Here by Sohotthateveryonedied

in a somewhat similar vein, a oneshot set during tim’s robin era in which tim hitchhikes to blüdhaven after a fight with his dad. dick and tim are two people who technically aren’t brothers yet by law but already are at heart, which doesn’t make it any easier to navigate conversations about tim’s home life or either of their relationship with bruce. (they make it work, though.)

🩹 Not So Large But Definitely In Charge by dottie_dc

tim and dick get tossed into an alternate gotham where there’s no batman or justice league, but find their way to bruce and alfred anyway. this has great tim-under-pressure pov, and the amount that he and dick care about each other even through their arguments is palpable. there’s also a fantastic (and at times gut-wrenching) sequel by JackHawksmoor focusing more on dick & the bruce of this different world. (cw for: past major character death aka alternate universe dick grayson)

🤖 Very Pleasing to My Optical Sensors by waffleelrond

another early robin!tim fic, in which tim gets injured and dick steps in to translate bruce's bruceness about it. it's tentative and sweet and a little silly, and a great bite-sized fic to read when you want to see the two of them just starting out as brothers.

🌌 To an Athlete Dying Young series by SonoSvegliato

at a glance from the summaries this appears like a tim & jason + tim & bruce series (and it is!), but the tim & dick scenes land it on this list for sure. i'm a broken record here with the early-robin!tim & dick recs but man i love them here; in the second fic there's a sequence where dick is teaching tim how to grapple across rooftops that sticks in my mind as one of my top favorite bonding moments for them. (heads up that the series currently ends on a cliffhanger—it's not finished yet!)

🦉 the once and future robin by AstraEllis

and as proof that i can in fact rec something other than early-robin!tim, here's an au where instead of becoming batman's robin tim ends up adopting a talon!dick grayson from another universe as his older brother. and becoming his robin. and then finding his way to the batfamily. i'm fascinated by the tim and alternate-universe-talon!dick relationship in this, and the questions of identity/personhood that it tackles by virtue of the story it is telling. plus, talon!dick's connection to robin as a concept despite the alternate universe aspect is really sweet.

also circling back to red robin reconciliation, i do have these two longfics open in my many tabs to read/finish; both tackle the post-rr era and the dick & tim of it all in their larger plots, so i'll toss in Extant by Kgraces and The Return by lurkinglurkerwholurks to check out too!

[thatseventiesbitch]

That ‘90s Show Part 3 - My Thoughts

Real life was real life’in this week 😅, so I’m just now able to share my thoughts re: the newest That ‘90s Show episodes.

Overall, another wonderful installment! The actors have definitely settled into their characters, and I’m invested in their storylines and relationships (beyond just Eric, Donna, and Leia). Reception to part 3 so far seems very positive. I’m going to remain hopeful it will get another season!

More thoughts beneath the cut:

It’s sort of stream of consciousness rambling, lol.

-Leia, my love. The wrestling storyline in episode 1 was funny. I loved seeing Leia’s persuasive, edgy side come out when she secured the autograph, much like back in the pilot when she got the tap from Mama. She’s really come into her own as a character this season.

-So much appreciation for the Doug Funnie and Porkchop cameos! 😆 As a child of the ‘90s, Doug was one of my favorite cartoons! And Red and Kitty’s Beanie Babies plot was… strange, lol, but funny. And it was nice to see them in cahoots. I knew Beanie Babies were going to make an appearance at some point, because they’re such a quintessentially ’90s thing. Remember how they gave away mini ones at McDonald’s for a while, and people went nuts? It was a strange time.

-Okay, the scene at the kitchen table with Red, Kitty, Leia and Donna after she broke the shower head genuinely had me cackling. And Donna gets another gold star mom award for the way she talked to Leia about it afterwards. I love how good of a mom she is. Hits me right in my feels. 🥹

-Jay and Leia… okay, probably an unpopular opinion but I just feel so lukewarm about them! 🤷🏼‍♀️ I don’t dislike them, I don’t ship them, they’re fine, I just don’t feel emotionally connected to them. Their first time didn’t elicit any big feelings or emotions from me. Their cliffhanger at the end - meh, I don’t really care if they stay together or break up. I remain more interested in seeing Leia explore other relationships - with Gwen or Nate, for instance - but she didn’t have many storylines apart from those with Jay or her family this time. Maybe it was foreshadowing to have Leia admit she expects to have a life long love like her parents do, and her friends reminding her that’s not realistic at all…

-Betsy! She reminds me of Brooke a bit and also Laurie, but mostly feels like her own character. Her relationship with Nate also reminds me of Kelso/Brooke’s relationship and Kelso/Laurie’s, in turns. She is much smarter than him but seems bemused and oddly charmed by the simple Nate, ala Brooke. And she’s manipulative, dominant, and sex-positive, ala Laurie. The scene where Nate tried to break up with her and she said no (😂) literally mirrors the Kelso and Laurie one from T70S. I definitely believed her as a Kelso, but you can tell she has intelligence her brother does not (thanks, Brooke) and seems serious about college/school in addition to having sex. A good mix of her parents, overall, and I enjoyed seeing her interactions with Jay and all the Kelso family lore we learned about this season!

-Kelso family lore: Jay and Betsy’s quibble - “Dad stayed with MY mom!” shows some underlying resentment/competition between the siblings, and also reveals that Kelso and Jackie took a 3 year break at some point (which we already kind of knew, due to their multiple remarriages) during which Kelso went back to Brooke (unclear)? Jay’s line about the time the entire Kelso family went to therapy for 20 minutes and the therapist told them they’re all afraid to love themselves was interesting, too.

-Okay, it was actually very sweet how Kitty found Isaac for Ozzie. I’ve enjoyed his arc this season: his heartbreak over Etienne, finding a queer community, his horror over being the last virgin *lol*, and now his blossoming relationship with Isaac. He seems more confident about himself and his sexuality than ever before. And his dry sense of humor always makes me laugh.

-We got to meet Gwen’s dad! I enjoyed him, his backstory, and his interactions with both Sherri and Gwen. Hoping we might see him again. Also, this shuts down the ‘Hyde is Gwen’s dad’ theories for good.

-The Jay and (Not So) Silent Bob schtick is so-so to me, but I did laugh at how they were following ‘their kids’ Ozzie and Isaac at the movies 😂.

-We got some good Eric nuggets! Starting with Eric and Donna being the same height in their wedding pictures - which I would cut my pinky finger off to see, btw. He lands his dream job working with George Lucas on Skywalker Ranch (I looked it up, and yes it’s a real place) and writing a book about the new Star Wars movies. Gets him out of the picture more permanently, but still leaves the door open for him to visit/return for a holiday episode or something. Loved Donna’s conversation with him on the phone, and imagining her helping him get settled out in California and visiting. And then Kitty’s comment about Donna drooling on his chest when they sleep - 🥹. My favorite detail yet.

-(Did anybody else think of the scene in T70S where Eric and Donna were discussing going to premarital counseling and Donna said they’d learn things about each other, like for instance what if one day she gets a high paying job in California - will he move? And then Eric is like ‘Whoa, why can’t I be the one to get the high paying job?’)

-Oh my god, I loved the ending sequence of them all in the car, dressed like the T70S characters and imitating the opening credits. Loved, loved, LOVED. When Leia put her hands on the dashboard like Donna, I think my shipper heart exploded. 🥰

-Donna and Bob’s moment on the car was very sweet (as was Bob reminiscing over Midge - this feels like confirmation that she’s passed away in-universe). I also thought it was poignant how Donna realizes (and values) both Eric and Leia’s happiness and doesn’t want to take that away, yet feels lost herself and is thus having difficulty making this decision. And then ultimately, she decides to just go back and forth between her two favorite people. 🥰

-The Clueless fantasy!!!!! Yes. So much yes. (I really enjoyed all of the ‘90s references this season)

-Wow. Sherri really is a Laurie clone (*cough* replacement *cough*). The fact that she’s done it with everyone - including the judge at Kitty’s court hearing. She’s earnest and often well meaning, but trips over her words and her relationships. Red and Kitty have so much to teach her. It’s a very parental relationship. Really makes you think about what could have been…

-This season made me such a NikNate shipper. I was kind of starting to come around to them after part 2, but their arc at the end where Nate believes in her musical talent and sells his van to buy back her guitar really got me. Nate is really winning me over, in general. #OTP: You’ll Always Be My Baby

-Ooh, that cliffhanger! Will Donna let Leia stay in Point Place now? Will she have to go to Our Lady Of Perpetual Sorrow? Will Leia forgive Jay for stealing her grandma’s keys? Stay tuned to find out! 😁

[skylie-spiderlillis]

A Sun Spider collage I made because I haven't seen a lot of posts about her and she's one of my favorites spider character and my current hyper fixation.

I love her so much. I screamed when she appeared in the movie.

I'm pretty sure everyone looked at me weirdly in the theater 😂 I screamed with excitement the whole movie.

Can you blame me?!

Tiny spoilers for atsv?

I'm furious about that cliffhanger!

And I'm sorry Miles but your drama was too long, I barely got to see Hobie! At least the next movie will explore more of him.

And that's it, I won't spoil any more.

Go see the movie if you haven't watched it yet!

[supersaiyanjedi14]

STAR WARS REBELS APPRECIATION WEEK Day 4: Favorite Season

For once, we have an easy answer.

Continuing from a colossal cliffhanger at the end of Season 2, this season saw the Ghost crew tested in new ways across the board as the Rebellion grew into a stronger and more unified front against the Empire. At the same time, the threat of the Empire took on a whole new dimension with the introduction and re-canonization of the iconic Grand Admiral Thrawn, while the shadow of Darth Maul loomed over everything.

While I can't say that every episode of Season 3 was amazing, none of them were bad in any way, and the best of this season hit it out of the park. Even the weaker episodes like Iron Squadron latter paid off down the road. And again, this season had some of my all-time favorite episodes of the whole show. Trials of the Darksaber, Through Imperial Eyes, Steps into Shadow, Twin Suns, and a phenomenal nail-biting finale in Zero Hour. I could gush about these for hours.

But probably what I love the most about this season is the character development, as we see almost every main character grow and change over the course of these episodes. We see Ezra and Kanan recovering from the events of Malachor, the former struggling with the dark side while the latter regaining his confidence following his blinding (again, reinforcing how important their relationship with each other is). Hera's family history comes back in force with Hera's Heroes, reuniting with her father and setting her up to be the spearhead against Thrawn in Season 4 and the Ahsoka show. Speaking of family drama, Sabine's character goes through some tremendous growth with the Mandalorian subplot, with developments that turned her from a character I liked into one of my absolute favorites. Zeb and Chopper may not have had super important stories to themselves, but they were still especially fun this season, with Double Agent Droid being one of the murderbot's finest hours. The villains also had plenty of moments to shine. Kallus's redemption was a major highlight of the season, Thrawn's triumphant return couldn't have been better, and Maul's story that had been going on since his resurrection comes to a close in a way that I found incredibly satisfying.

To close out my thoughts here, the best way I can describe the overarching character work in Season 3 is that it is a perfect echo of what Obi-Wan warned about in his recording to the survivors of Order 66. "We will each be challenged- our trust, our faith, our friendships, but we must persevere, and in time, a new hope will emerge." it is therefore only appropriate that the season that saw our heroes persevering through these exact challenges concluded (almost) with an appearance of the man himself, an old hermit in the desert watching over that new hope.

If any season of this show encapsulates Star Wars Rebels, this is it.

[sunny-porridge]

Listen, I think I spent a good two months drifting in and out of the fandom, accumulating a shameful pile of subscription updates and unread recommendations. But hey, that’s not what you’re here for. Behold, the

fics that revived my Linked Universe energy in November

Crystal Symphony - by @starwolfie

This was exactly what I needed to remind me why I started participating in this fandom. It’s sweet, and it’s fun, and it builds on a dynamic between Hyrule and Sky that just feels so natural and also fresh. 

The boys are fine: as much as my lovely, sweet friend Mel likes to torture them, this one is pure fluff, but with the depth and attention to detail that makes it a wonderful piece to read over and over.

--

Year of the Rabbit - by @blindbrilliance

Be honest, was I the only person in the world that hadn’t read this fic?

Year of the Rabbit starts with a crack premise (one some friends and I call “Pinkie AU”): what if it was Legend who accompanied Wild during Breath of the Wild, instead of Twilight? 

It starts out with a very humorous tone, but with a lot of heart, giving little glimpses into Legend and Wild’s depth and the true weight of their fates. What surprised me the most was how it slowly turns into a unique re-telling of Breath of the Wild with a far more serious tone, exploring a fresh take on Wild’s Hyrule, his relationship with his people, his past, and the destiny he has to grow into.

Fair warning: the latest published chapter ends in a huge cliffhanger! If you’re like me, though, this is merely an opportunity to spin this fic like food in a microwave and think about every possible outcome.

--

Korgu Chide’s Favorite Hero - by @wolfsong6913

A new challenge has appeared in everyone’s favorite isolated island that steals all your clothes. And sure, the Sheikah monks committed to helping a hero in the future, but who’s to say they can’t look to the past for inspiration?

The heroes find themselves in one of Wild’s most polarizing shrines, and we get to explore Wind’s ingenious mind as the stakes grow higher and higher, culminating with a lovely tie-in with the world we explore in Tears of the Kingdom.

And yes, everyone needs to be naked. Well, almost naked.

--

NSFW Zone !!

hand in hand - by anonymous

This moody, sulky piece is filled with familiar –but unique– headcanons, characters that feel both impossibly larger than life and simultaneously intimately relatable, and an atmospheric setting that sells the scene.

It’s provocative, it’s desperate, it’s sweet and spicy and rich, an intimate encounter between two unlikely lovers who suddenly feel safe enough with each other to just unravel.

Enjoy!

[jedi-qui-gon]

The Acolyte cancelation and fanfiction

At first, I thought it was just a cruel rumor, but it appears to be true. The Acolyte is canceled which really upsets me. I mean, what were they thinking?! The story is not even finished, it ended on a cliffhanger. Plus, the show wasn't given a chance to grow and possibly improve with a second season.

I really enjoyed the show. I am not ashamed to admit this - it's one of my favorite Star Wars live action shows.

It was set in the High Republic era, a nice fresh look into the Star Wars universe, and an interesting look at the Jedi Order (this is coming from a huge Jedi fan), and had a diverse cast.

The show does have its flaws - I felt there were too few episodes, the episodes were too short, that Yord and Jecki died too early (it'd be better if it happened in the last episode of the season and we had more time with the characters before then), and there's some minor nitpicks but didn't affect the overall quality.

The show brought my third favorite character in Star Wars - Jedi Sol.

I was excited to see what would happen next. Maybe we'd have more Jedi and the Dark Siders/Sith world building, would have been cool!

But no, it's been canceled. And worse, the toxic part of the fandom is celebrating the cancellation of The Acolyte, mocking the fans of the show upset over the news, sending hateful comments to Amandla Stenberg and more than likely others who worked on the show, and just giving us sane Star Wars fans a bad name.

Star Wars is for everyone. I feel The Acolyte tried to show that.

Though not all is lost. We can continue and expand on the story of The Acolyte and its characters through fanfiction, fanart, fan comics, and other fan projects. And The Acolyte feels like some prime fanfic fuel, especially for those (like me) that love the High Republic era.

I am a fanfic writer myself, and I have quite a few fanfic ideas in The Acolyte.

I think all of us who wanted to see Season 2 needs a hug from Jedi Knight Sol.

[ponchusjbonchus]

i finished hazbin hotel so here is my master collection of all my silly notes

episode 1  

- treat angel dust better and give him actual lines and it’ll be better

- why do the background demons have more variety than the main cast 

- opening number is good 

- when will jesus appear 

- cannibal town is where i wanna live 

- i should keep a swear counter for this 

- charlie is the best character 

- adam shaving down a chicken bone in one bite is really funny 

- i like adam his voice actor is doing really good 

-  all the voice actors are really good. except keith david poor guy

- angel dust sexually harassing husk is not funny

- if adam is a human who sins then why is he in charge of the angel exterminators 

- nifftys commercial bit is funny

- alastors monocle  is on  his mouth in some shots and it’s funny 

- i like the foreshadowing of alastor hating tv 

- lutes design. heart emoji 

- adams song goes hard as fuck. very likeable villain 

- “fuck you i do what i want” contract made me giggle 

- i feel like all the main characters except for charlie and alastor are really one note and it bugs me 

- katie killjoy is still awesome 

- the cliffhanger is really intriguing and i will watch more

final score 8/10 despite the bad dialogue for angel 

episode 2 

intro song is good but the visuals are boring 

what is this cat. who

why is the animation worse in this episode 

paused to read valentino’s texts and the way he sways from calling angel a bitch to calling him babe and being like “don’t be like this” that is like.yeah that’s accurate 

foreshadowing is good 

JESUS APPEARED (sir pentious)

“trust us with your money” 😭

not really resonating with any characters. vox has the best character design so far though 

velvette is really entertaining 

valentino’s voice actor is good and his jokes are somehow better than angels. still a horrible person and i hope he gets exterminated

vox is really interesting and the thing his voice does is cool . i REALLLY wanna like this guy but so far i like adam better 

second time seven years has been mentioned . what happened 

WHILE HE HID IN RADIO WE PIVOTED TO VIDEO NOW HIS MEDIUM IS GETTING BLOODY RARE 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️vivienne be damned but the girl can write a song 

alastor fucking with vox after seeing him for seemingly no reason is really funny and in character . though funny it doesn’t really fit into the episode that smoothly 

hell being shaped like a pentagram is creative (side note when i looked up the name for it cuz i couldn’t remember the third result was “what is the star thing called”)

alastors angry demon design looks better than his regular design 

i love sir pentious so much he’s so cute

pentious and charlie are my favorites so far. i know pentious is a double agent but knowing him from the pilot/what we’ve seen in this episode i feel like he’s gonna be dumped by the vees cuz he’s a pathetic wet slop of a man 

the crackhead play joke is really funny 

angel dusts jealousy came out of.Nowhere. like i know charlie was saying like “hey you aren’t really a real resident” and he was mad about the game but it felt more like “ugh i can’t stand these people” not “ugh i wish i could be redeemed and people cared about me.” it was hinted at just not very well 

angel being lovebombed is portrayed.Fine.ly   like it’s realistic but not outstanding . it would mean more if valentino wasn’t making lighthearted jokes about how he kills and manipulates his workers 

pentious’ tail is randomly shrinking and growing 

the camera work in the fight scene is Awful 

pentious :-( 

first time in a while i have heard a show say you should kill yourself NOW 

imagine pentious immediately goes to heaven after the song /silly

final score 8/10 only because of pentious. overall episode is 7/10

episode 3 

pentious still being peak right off the bat. he gets the funniest jokes

alastor still isn’t very funny 

angel dust isn’t funny booooooo boooooooooo

vaggie centric episode? i think? idk i don’t like vaggie she’s kinda boring 

niffty is less funny than she was in previous episodes. she feels more remnant of internet “dark humor” from the time the pilot released 

okay i ended up watching the rest of this one during gym class so i didn’t have my notes. overall this episode was really good except for velvette kinda sucking . 7/10 

episode 4 

this isn’t the poison episode is it.

animation is noticeably worse

vaggies plain ass delivery of the “angel. what the fuck” line made me laugh

i thought the cold open of angel getting r worded would be a way of showing that his life is really fucked up.though it was just a joke bit which i was not expecting

pentious cowering in fear at pornography 

i really like charlie. kk said that she was one note and .i kinda agree but i still love her 

this one demon has a better design then the entire main cast 

angels real name is anthony 😭

okay the dressing room scene . the fear in angels voice through all of it is so jarring and it keeps you invested in the scene and Val being so fuckinh disgusting and evil . how do people like this guy at all. this scene is so creepy not just cuz of val being abusive but because of how horrified Angel is and the moment he asks the bare minimum of val not hurting charlie his life is put on the line. i feel like this was treated with the weight it deserves and it clearly paints val as a villain. unfortunately it’s tainted by the fact that the writers are aroused by this shit but they do a good job of hiding it i guess. maybe this will change 

it bothers me so much that angels head keeps randomly changing in size cuz all the animation is freehand

poison. im gonna be careful and respectful on how i go about talking about this . i actually really like this song and sequence but it’s brought down so bad and made so beyond creepy and horrifying to know that the writers are into this. i like the constant parallel of angel being his porn actor persona who loves sex and his abused reality where he wants to be free. and the scene where he’s dancing in front of a screen with the foxes intercut with his assault is really uncomfortable yeah but i like how it shows that he’s turning his own abuse and exploitation into entertainment . and the line “it’s so hard to resist another gulp!” or however it goes has a nice double meaning . it’s like “ughhh i love sex how could i resist it” but also “i want to resist but im so deep into this that i can’t” . i am not a sexual assault survivor so i don’t feel properly equipped to go into depth about the representation of angels ongoing abuse but from a PURELYcinematic standpoint as someone with a passion for this stuff i feel like this song did well, but again it’s made so much worse and creepier knowing the writers who made this 

the spots under angels eyes are more eyes??.huh

sorry for the lack of notes i am just. genuinely invested in this 

BEST SONG 💥💥💥yeah maybe i knew all the words to this song before i ever watched th show what are you gonna do about it

ohhi don’t really. like the message of that song actually 🙁 it has been established that angel dusts pervertedness and desperation for drugs is not who he really is nor who he likes to be but husk telling him “hey it’s okay to be like that” and angel immediately coming around to it just feels.ehhh…..it feels like he’s taking one step forward and two steps back . i get that the message was supposed to be “embrace the bad parts of yourself! it’s okay to be a loser!” but in the context of the episode it doesn’t fit. good song in a vacuum

iiiidont really know how to feel about this. the episode was great up until loser baby which,is a song that i really like but it kinda does kill the whole episode imo. 5.5/10 unfortunate 

episode 5 

halfway through the series who cheered

adam mention. win (adam and pentious are my favorites )

i hate niffty im sorry 💔 she was better in the pilot

dude. lucifer is so fucking funny right off the bat i love this guy 

is this guy autistic he feels autistic i like him

lucifer is peak character oh my god

why is??? alastor trying to fight lucifer for charlies dad figure??? i don’t understand this guy he just does shit

this is the character norm called out for being a jewish stereotype. and god i can see it jesus 

i love and hate mimzy. she’s ehh

okay nevermind i do kinda get alastors jealousy

i cannot express how good a character lucifer is. he is the funniest part of this show so far by a LOOOONG shot 

pentious does not know what a siege is apparently. honestly fitting 

mimzy served zero purpose dawg i hope this was just an intro and she comes back at some point 

baby charlie ❤️ 

meaning-wise more than anything is the best song we’ve gotten thus far. through the episode i didnt rlly understand lucifer i just thought he was funny but now i get it! and i love it 

this episode was okay. alastor and mimzy take up way too much screen time for barely anything to happen but lucifer was an awesome character and i love him a lot . unfortunately he can’t save this episode though 6/10

episode 5

this yuri tastes like chicken salad but not the good kind 

i despise cherri 

praying that pentious has a role in this one 

white man jumpscare THATS SUPPOSED RO HE SAINY BETER

the seraphims look sick as hell

emmy and charlie have more chemistry than charlie and vaggie im losing it 

why do the angels look exactly like the demons 

saint peter is .Stupid?????

ADAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ADAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!JOY

charlie should be in heaven. she doesn’t deserve being in hell

vaggie backstory! hooray this is actually sick as hell 

how did charlie not know that vaggie was a fallen angel if she saw her in uniform ?? wouldn’t she recognize that “hey that’s the outfit angels wear” 

adam is a bitch and i love him so much 

karen joke (awful)

websters dictionary joke (not as awful)

adam struggling to think of words so he writes them down,,,,god i love him so much i know he’s a bad guy and a bad person and a bad. he’s just bad all around but i don’t care i love him so dearly he’s my favorite character i think 

niffty is better in this episode 

WATERBOARDINH 😭😭

emily i love 

“fuck yes!!!” oug or character 

i want pentious to get into heaven. please 

angel being a good father 

the delivery of “hey……….i see the club has a sex room…………” is fucking hilarious and i laughed out loud 

i have laughed more at this episode than i have the entire series pentious is so funny 

valentino. gross

angel standing up to valentino is really nice 

why doesn’t emily have a nose 

why are we having a deep song with emily as soon as we meet her???? i mean it’s technically not her song or sera’s but like. we JUST met them it doesn’t rlly make sense for them to have this big number 

yeah it’s really bothering me that emily has this big number. we barely know these people and they’re treating it like we’ve known her forever WHO IS THIS GIRL

if hell is forever then heaven must be a lie 💥💥

I CANT THID RUCKING FACE 

i hate this episode a lot more the writing is worse 

okay. the writing is noticeably worse than the rest of the series in this episode the pacing is completely fucked. at least we get some adam content and vaggie lore but vaggie isn’t rlly a character i enjoy. however the humor is peak in this episode and pentious really carries it with his running bit. he can’t save much of the episode sadly. 4.5/10 

episode 7

the more i watch the intro i really don’t like it . it’s so boring 

pentious petting keykey 

i dont like alastor  bad character bad character whenever he’s on screen i want to kick something 

cannibal town ‼️‼️

awwwwwi love rosie. she’s like mimzy but better and more likeable 

i wanna make a cannibal oc. if i were in this version of hell i would wanna be a cannibal. this whole area makes me happy 

rosie didn’t swear ONCE in her opening scene im so proud of the writers 

i really like carmilla’s design and her stupid nsr hands 

if helluva boss is in the same universe as this one then why don’t they go through extermination ??? or is that like. an au

rosie is so cute i love her so much. 

susan is such an underwhelming name that’s so funny 

this episode is much better 

i know that this show doesn’t have the best writing but it’s honestly just a fun watch

out for love is the best number we’ve had so far 

carmilla walks around in steel ballet shoes all the time i gotta respect the woman 

rosie’s first swear came 2/3rds into the episode. new record 

i relate to charlie 

I LOVE ROSIE.SO MUCH uuhg$hd,s

charlie’s song is really nice 

the cannibals are the best part of the show. easily 

SHE GOT SUSAN 🔥🔥

vaggie getting her wings back . i love 

this is easily the best episode so far. both musical numbers were great and vaggie and charlie being apart and their stories being intercut only for them to come together at the end was amazing. cannibal town is absolutely amazing and perfect and there was a noticeably less amount of swearing. 9/10, praying that  the finale is this good too 

episode 8 (finale)

is this technically just a part 2 to episode 7 

PENTIOUS DRESSED LIKE A GENERAL.AW

i love vox he’s so goofy . i wish he appeared more 

charlie’s message is really nice i love her a lot but it was kinda ruined by niffty

cherri makes everything worse 

angel dust’s development is nice 

pentious being forced into a hetero love with cherri,,,blehh this is the most aroace guy ive ever seen 

mini more than anything reprise with charlie and vaggie is really sweet . 

ADAM 💥💥💥SICK ASS NEW OUTFIT BRO 

adam is still the best character in this show. “chill lute fuck” i adore alex brightman 

the battle outfits are cool 

alastor finally doing something helpful 

gyat DAMN adam. awooga 

vox’s stupid dance 

alastor saying nuh uh to the person trying to murder him is funny

i don’t want to kin adam but i Do. i Do he’s Awesome

while it interrupts the action vox watching and cheering as alastor nearly dies is super funny 

okay Actually dies then

i am enjoying this so much 

SIR PENTIOUS CLUTCH 💥💥

adam is the best character in the whole fuckinh show him oneshotting pentious is hilarious . i know he goes to heaven and doesn’t rlly die i think 

what happened to the angels fighting with reckless abandon??vaggie is getting her shit rocked

GET FUCKED LUTE

ewww adam is a white guy.ew put the mask back on 

lucifer and adam interaction this is just peak

why aren’t the angels going after the rest of hell once they realize that they’re screwed 

adam without the mask is fugly

HE .HE DIES ??WHAY YHE FUCK

the hotel:(

“the ultimate sacrifice” i love pentious a lot but HE DIDNT DO SHIT BRO 😭

i choose to believe that lilith divorced lucifer because lucifer was a gay man and she was a lesbian

why is cherri a main character now i dony. ew

alastor is alive ! boo

bro thinks he’s jack skeleton 

husk being mad when he sees that alastor is alive is funny 

WHAT THE FUCK 

VOX GET A JOB. STAY AWAY FROM HIM

sir pentious gets into heaven :) thaht makes me happy 

season finale! this was a phenomenal episode to end of a good series, though ill be real i don’t know if having a second season is a good idea. most if not all of the conflicts are resolved among the main cast. ending it off with pentious getting into heaven is amazing though. episode is a 9/10 it was funny and engaging and really fun all around.

overall score for the series is a 7.5/10 i really enjoyed it 

[capyvan]

A very unnecessary and long post on why "Mortal Kombat: Legacy" has my favorite version of Sub-Zero Bi-Han.

(English isn't my first language so I'm sorry if i repeat myself a lot)

I've been planning on starting to make posts about this show since there is SO much to say, and I feel like it's not appreciated enough.

No. It is not perfect MK media, but it does embark on some very awesome concepts and ideas I've taken myself for AUs so I feel the need to spread the word.

That's why before you read this I recommend you check out the show itself! Is free on YouTube to watch, though I should warn y'all it ends on a cliffhanger that makes me wanna cry knowing it was canceled but i say it's still worth the watch.

For today’s post, i wanna talk about a character that while isn't one of my personal favorites, it surely has become one in this show.

Also i wouldn't call this a serious character analysis this is just me rambling about a dead man 😭.

. . .

For starters, Sub-Zero Bi-Han was never a character that caught my attention. My first introduction to him was MK1 and I'll be honest. 

It is my least favorite version of him atm, so I was relieved to see that he had been done better justice in the older sagas of the franchise… sort of.

I thought "MK: Mythologies Sub-Zero" was gonna be the only version of him I would be invested in, but then I decided to start watching "MK Legacy" and my perspective changed completely. 

I will be more so specifically talking about episodes 7-8 of season 2 since that's where we look at his lore more in depth, but season 1 is absolutely worth mentioning. 

Then after summarizing those, I'll give some closing thoughts.

. . .

In episodes 7-8 of season 1, we get introduced to Hanzo’s backstory and how he became Scorpion (my favorite version of it as a HUGE Hanzo fan.) 

I adored watching this interpretation of Harumi and Satoshi (called Jubei here) and how they interacted with Hanzo, and as always, the tragedy of it all. But this is still about Bi-Han.

Getting tricked into leaving his village earlier than expected, Hanzo encounters “Bi-Han” on his way to the Kumamoto Castle. You can already imagine what happened to his family and clan while he was away. 

After defeating “Bi-Han”, Hanzo runs back to his village only to find that everyone had been slaughtered (this scene actually almost made me start crying.) 

Before he even gets time to process the death of his wife and son, he is backstabbed (quite literally) by “Bi-Han”. 

It is revealed, like usual, that this entire time it was Quan Chi disguised as Bi-Han and was also helped by Shang Tsung to perform this attack on the Shirai Ryu. He quickly converts Hanzo into the vengeful specter he is so he will participate in the Mortal Kombat tournament and in exchange, he will be able to get his “revenge”. 

Now none of this is really news. Yes there are changes there and then but what if i told you this is a lot more tragic than you think?

Not only did Hanzo lose his family and clan, he died thinking he was betrayed by his childhood friend, who had sworn to agree to peace between their clans. 

That's what finally leads us to season 2 ^_^ 

. . .

In season 2, they take a very interesting spin on the Sub-Zero and Scorpion rivalry. Like I mentioned earlier, Hanzo and Bi-Han were actually childhood friends.

They would meet up at the hayfield outside their villages to play and train together, which I believe might be one of my favorite takes on their relationship. I think making them childhood friends makes their relationship a lot more deeper and interesting than it is presented in the games. 

While they sparred however, Kuai Liang appears and tries warning his brother of their father and his guys coming over to stop them but Bi-Han doesn't listen, which ends up with both him and Hanzo getting in trouble whenever the Shirai Ryu member's father shows up as well. 

As Hanzo is taken by his respective father, Bi-Han’s reminds him of the rivalry between the Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu. 

“Why do you keep playing with that boy?”

“Because he is my friend.”

“He is not your friend.”

“But why?”

“His clan aren't to be trusted.”

“But why?”

“It's the way it's been since before your grandfather was born.”

Bi-Han still doesn't understand it, but his father dismisses him. 

They nailed the childlike curiosity and confusion in this. Maybe it's just because I love these types of tropes, but it was a delight to see just tiny Bi-Han and Hanzo be friends and play together despite their differences. 

20 years later, we get reintroduced to Hanzo, taking a walk with Harumi and Jubei.

Jubei separates from his parents as he runs deeper into the road, and ends up encountering Kuai Liang and two of his goons, who hold him captive as Hanzo has to intervene to help his son. 

Kuai Liang talks about how Hanzo and his family are intruding in Lin Kuei territory, so Hanzo argues that the road is neutral, decreed by the shogun.

Hanzo then threatens to tell Bi-Han about this intrusion which leads to a confrontation between the two. 

It ends up with something I found EXTREMELY unexpected, that being the death of Kuai Liang.

Now I can't say I like this version of him at all, but it is interesting seeing a version of Kuai that not only doesn't survive, but also seems egotistical and ambitious. As kind of lame as his death was imo I still thought he was.. something. They had to sacrifice him for the better Bi-Han. Fly high 🕊🕊🕊

Later on, Hanzo and Bi-Han reunite at the same place they played as children to settle things about Kuai’s death.

Bi-Han believes Hanzo when he tells him he wasn't the aggressor in the situation and grieves about how Kuai Liang had always felt underappreciated. He still apologizes on his behalf, and he and Hanzo agree to never have the clans clash with each other again as they shake hands like good friends do!

Tweaking trying not to mention Bihanzo this entire time tbh. But point is:

There is something extremely charming about this version of Bi-Han and Hanzo trying to settle the differences between their clans. It makes what comes next so much worse, but also a lot more fascinating like how the Hell did they not make this canon in any of the games. 

But yeah at this point you know this won't have a happy ending.

Next scene shows us Bi-Han being awakened from bed, being given the horrible news. 

Hanzo, his family and clan, were all gone. Brutally murdered by his men. 

He snaps, and I just have to share the dialogue in this because it drives me insane.

“Hanzo and I had a truce. This was to be a new era. An end to the senseless violence. Then why do I wake from my bed to find you, who I entrusted my men to-.. Hanzo? His whole family? His entire clan? Slaughtered. He who I had promised to end this violence.”

This alone says a LOT about Bi-Han's character. 

He never wanted this to keep going. He just wanted to have peace between the clans, to have an alliance with his friend who had trusted him. His friend who is now gone. He didn't wanna walk into his father’s footsteps and this makes Quan Chi even more of a fucking asshole than in the games and DAMN IM ALL HERE FOR IT.

As he is about to go off, he is interrupted by a mystic of the Lin Kuei, offering to show him the truth of what had happened. 

In between this they throw a flashback of Hanzo to remind us that he died thinking Bi-Han killed his family just to add salt on the wound i guessssss. 

We then cut back to the mystic and Bi-Han, who shows him what truly happened and the participation of Quan Chi and Shang Tsung. 

Having Bi-Han find out who Quan Chi is from the beginning is another interesting idea from this series (not counting mythologies here) and I like the fact Bi-Han mainly joined the tournament to make amends with his old friend. 

But I also sit down and think about how horrific it must have been for him, seeing Hanzo being stabbed and told lies by someone pretending to be him. Just seeing his dead friend and family must have sent shivers down his spine (no pun intended).

In the end, it cuts back to the present, the fight between Sub-Zero and Scorpion. 

The fight ends as you would expect, Hanzo wins and murders Bi-Han, finally getting “revenge”. But if everything that I've told you so far doesn't make his death tragic enough, then maybe his last words will. 

“No- Hanzo! I gave no such order! You’ve been deceived! Please Hanzo don't do this-”

Gets decapitated without a chance.

. . .

Now to explain why i dig this verison of Bi-Han so fucking much.

I believe that MK Legacy gave so much more to his relationship with Hanzo, as well as actually making me feel awful for his death.

A pretty recurring theme in the MK franchise is to have Bi-Han Sub-Zero be quickly killed off and replaced by Kuai Liang, just to later turn into Noob Saibot. So not only was it refreshing to see something different that actually made me upset he was unfairly killed, it was also nice to see a “what if”.

What if he and Hanzo were childhood friends? How much would that change their rivalry in the games?

What if Kuai Liang had just died or never turned into Sub-Zero so early? How different would events turn out if Bi-Han had only time to shine longer?

What if he did find out about Quan Chi impersonating him early? Would he also go on a quest to hunt him down scorpion style for slandering his honor? Or would he care at all?

While this series answers these questions (in a way) they have so much goddamn potential to be a plotline in an actual mortal kombat game LIKE IT'S INSANE. 

I personally have the belief that MK1 could have even improved by borrowing some of these concepts. 

Have Hanzo be their childhood friend instead of Harumi. I would have loved to see a rivalry like this between Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu in the new era, but guess NRS just loves crushing everyone’s dreams (I refuse to blame Lulu for this.) 

Overall, all these new concepts and the way they were delivered is why this is my favorite version of Bi-Han ever created.

It makes Noob Saibot a lot more tragic than he already was, and it lets me explore who Bi-Han was as Sub-Zero before that transformation. 

PLEAAAAAASE someone has to see the vision (and the Bihanzo one too if interested wink wink) (i also like Kuaihanzo btw) 

[eelfuneral]

After dealing with my emotions surrounding the season finale and looking at the situation from an objective point of view, I have a very strong suspicion that we have not seen the last of Tech. From both a marketing and storytelling standpoint, it makes the most sense to have this be a misdirection. This post runs a bit long, so I am going to elaborate under the cut.

First off, let’s talk marketing. Star Wars is a huge, merchandise-driven franchise, and The Bad Batch is an extremely successful part of it. It is so successful, in fact, that it remained relevant and popular while the Mandalorian, an absolute juggernaut of a show, was airing! I have also heard, anecdotally, that Disneyland has a hard time keeping Bad Batch merch in stock because it is so damn popular. Tech himself is a fan favorite and major money maker, and D/LF knows this. He is such a fan-favorite that he was frequently featured as the focal point for social media marketing for season 2, and his adorable armor is practically designed to make action figures of him sell. My point is, it wouldn’t make financial sense to kill a main character that sells so much merchandise off so early in the run of a series. Bear in mind that we are only on the second season of the show!

So why bother with leaving the audience on a cliffhanger where Tech appears dead? Two words come to mind: social media. Having a fan favorite’s fate be left up in the air is a great way to generate debate and discussion across social media platforms and keep your show trending for a long time. Trending topics have more eyes on them and often spark the curiosity of people who did not know about them before. Contemporary show runners know that a social media presence is yet another way to advertise a show, and TBB’s has been heavily marketed via social media anyways.

Having Tech’s death be a fake-out also makes sense plot-wise. First off, we didn’t see a body, and television shows often do this when they want to hint that a character may not actually be dead. This is especially true in Star Wars, where characters have survived immolation, explosions, and being cut in half. Big, main character deaths in Star Wars don’t tend to happen until the very end, and we are not quite there yet. We also don’t see much of Tech’s fall, meaning that he could have gotten dislodged from the tram car by an obstacle like a tree or fallen into water.

Second, Hemlock, a character who has been established as a dishonest manipulator of clones, was the one to break the news of Tech’s “death” by giving Hunter Tech’s goggles. As many others have established, Tech’s goggles are the most delicate part of his kit and they have an intact strap. They also sit underneath his helmet, so they would likely have to have been physically removed via human intervention. Hemlock would also see Tech, an enhanced clone, as an irresistible test subject, and Hemlock having Tech gives the writers an easy way to get into the facility where Omega and Crosshair are being kept. If I were a writer who wanted to have one of my super-soldier characters get captured and later help other characters break out of a laboratory with him, then I would go with the genius hacker/engineer.

Having Tech survive would also give us a nice parallel to the first two episodes of season 2. Tech fell and sustained a serious injury from being crushed by a box in a way that could foreshadow his current predicament. A big deal was also made about having a seriously injured Tech rescue Omega, so having a similar thing happen with higher stakes in season 3 would be a nice callback, and Star Wars LOVES callbacks.

Finally, Tech appearing to be dead, seeing the horrors of the Empire’s experiments, and returning to his family would bring additional emotional weight and character development. Losing Tech and then having him come back and tell them about what is happening to other clones just might be the push that Wrecker and Hunter need to join Echo and Rex in their fight against the Empire. Since we are in the very middle of the story, the stakes will have to be raised even further to get to the climax in the final season, and having The Bad Batch actively fight the Empire would be a good way to build up to that. Additionally, this kind of a plot would further reinforce how close this little family is by showing how lost they are without each other and how intense their emotions are when reunited, and that would make whatever happens to them at the very end (happy, sad, or bittersweet) that much more poignant.

And about those tweets from the Kiner Brothers: don’t take them as confirmation of anything. The score is one of the last things that gets added to television shows, so it is very unlikely that they have seen season 3. They also would not tell us over Twitter if they knew Tech’s fate, because they likely would have had to have signed an NDA and The Mouse is infamously paranoid about leaking spoilers. They also reiterated that they are not in the writers’ room in a recent Q&A.

[third-arch]

My Trafalgar Law HC’s!! pt.4🥳🥳

This one’s longer and is kinda inspired by some people around me, but most of these I could honestly see for him!!

He doesn’t work at a hospital. He owns a private clinic. If he did, he’d work in the ER. He’d have a scribe. He’d either be very grumpy or very patient to work with.

He doesn’t read Homestuck/doesn’t really like it but if he absolutely had to choose his favorite human would be Dave Strider. I literally have no clue what his favorite troll would be, but I’m guessing maybe like Aradia or Karkat.

His favorite Nintendo series is Star Fox.

He’s more of a Vinesauce guy than a Jerma guy.

If you asked him what the three most recent songs he’s listened to are, he’d probably say:

Madhouse-Matt Maltese

Everyone Here Hates You-Courtney Barnett

Climbing Up The Walls-Radiohead

How they appeared on his playlist or if he even liked them is up to you.

He’s not a Taylor Swift fan, but I could see State of Grace, Red, Sparks Fly, Mine, All Too Well (10 min version) and Love Story being his favorite songs. (I literally can’t explain this one LOL)

He doesn’t mind Lofi.

This one is actually inspired by an old friend of mine, but he doesn’t really watch anime. He watches a lot of analysis videos on YouTube and if it’s interesting enough, he’ll watch it. This was the case for Cardcaptor Sakura, Fruits Basket, and Ergo Proxy.

He’s seen Phoebe Bridgers in concert with Nami. She also introduced him to Mitski.

Radiohead is probably his favorite artist. He also likes Paramore and Mitski

(Note: Before, I thought it was FATM, but a lot of my HC's and fanfic content heavily revolve around Radiohead. So, there's that. He probably still really likes FATM though. Same for Evanescence.)

He loves Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding, and stuff like Half Life, Silent Hill, Portal, Overwatch and GMOD.

He likes watching Luffy play Skyrim and would probably be better than him if he played it.

He cried playing Shadow of the Colossus, Deemo, and Yomawari. He’s also cried playing some other games.

He went through an Undertale phase. He also cried playing it. He’d also be the person to spoil the whole route system, and would get annoyed if you don’t do “the good route”.

He really likes Batman. He prefers DC.

His favorite channel is Adult Swim.

If you show him Star Wars I-III he’ll make really funny jokes the entire time. He also really likes Chewbacca, Luke, and Obi Wan. And if you gift him a lightsaber you might find him on the deck late at night doing lightsaber tricks.

He LOVES Pikmin.

He sucks at MarioKart.

He’s really good at Smash Bros but he’ll silently rage quit if he’s doing bad or loses. His main is Cloud.

His favorite Pokémon is Lucario, but he also likes Bulbasaur. His favorite element is electric, so he also likes Espeon and Umbreon.

He does not participate in Secret Santa at the clinic.

This one’s kinda obvious but his favorite AOT character is Levi.

His favorite Demon Slayer characters are Rengoku and Nezuko. He bawled when Rengoku died.

His favorite BTS member is Jungkook.

When Pokémon Go was big, he used to drive Luffy, Chopper, and Nami around. Them and Kid and Killer would be fighting for Poke stops all the time, and leech (MaxMoeFoe reference) off their lures. Things would get so heated LOL

If you ask him to watch a Kdrama with you he’d hate it at first but then get really into it. He'd get so upset at any cliffhangers.

This one’s also obvious but he hates the color pink.

He doesn’t play Minecraft. And he probably wouldn’t in the foreseeable future.

[atzfilm]

hey bee!! i finished reading project omen yesterday night and have come two years late to the party to pick your brains for lore and give you a somewhat hysterical review because my gOSH it was incredible (i also read the kraken and ch_i san and your writing is so chefs kiss UGH)

firstly i'm literally in awe that you produced over 40k of AWESOMENESS the whole thing was so good shdfuhhaidu like the feels and the details and yunho and gi being matching koi and yeosang highkey seducing people and HWA best believe i was crying at that bit

every single bit of the worldbuilding and the characters u gave the atz members you ate sO HARD

you actually ripped my heart in two because. the best friends to lovers and then joong's angsty confession of how he's afraid and him falling to his knees in front of reader?? reader seeing the same anguish in his eyes when he saw hwa again?? I WEPT

also wooyoung's wings are literally amazing. him cradling her with them almost unconsciously when they come out and them coming out when he came I WAS SCREECHING OMG

and the thing about how joong doesn't understand human idioms, he's literally so cute, like the bit where reader is like 'only god knows' and he's like 'yes i do know, anyways - '

ERM AND JOONG'S DOUBLE DICK I UH UM (it was perfect. the way he's like a reptile so he has a reptile dick. perfect. delicious. also his biting reflex when he comes. even more perfect. plus him being cold blooded too.)

ok so time for me to pursue the lore: i'm assuming gonggi is jongho because he's mentioned to be the youngest, so what is he god over - i know gonggi is that game with the rock things, is it something related to that?

does san exist in this universe?

also, i know they have their human forms but joong is mentioned to have green hair and woo to have orange, can they change the appearance of their human form's hair to be natural colours or is it just like that?

FINALLY, THE CLIFFHANGER AT THE END??? bro i'm going to cry thank you so much for blessing tumblr with your writing brb i'm going to think about this for the next 9-10 working years

hiii!! no worries about coming two years late, it took me a few weeks to answer your ask so we’re even asdbfjasdnf. first!! thank you sosososo much for enjoying project omen and my other stories! it makes me happy that it’s still being read even after all of this time <3.

AHHH the part with hwa, i think i actually teared up a bit writing that part ;; i get emotional thinking about it AND THANK YOU!! it’s crazy because i did not expect to write So Much of it.. let alone 40k i’m not sure i’ll ever be able to do that again omg

THANK YOUUUU

best friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes ;; i love it soso much and i’m a sucker for the angst and the struggling feelings UGHHH i love it so BAD

PLEASE!!! that’s one of my favorite things about his character, i love him being very clueless when it comes to idioms that the reader mentions </3

little to say about this point SADJNKFASNDF if you read any of my other fics it’s definitely a trademark !!

gonggi is jongho!! his “power” or ruling is air!

honestly and i know people may hate me,, san does exist but i truly forgot to mention him in the fic … I KNOW. i reread it later on and i was like no way did i forget to add san in here… DKFMS

they can change their appearance! i don’t quite remember and it’s been a while since i read it myself, but i’m pretty sure it only changes when they go back to their true form? since wooyoung hasn’t changed in a while, his hair is brown in the beginning but slowly goes back to orange once he lets his “true” form out.

THANK YOUU!! i’m so happy you enjoyed it as much as you did :<

[just-emerald-star]

DCS4 EPISODE 1 THOUGHTS (SPOILERS BELOW)

Derek & Trevor holding hands awwwwwwwwwwwwwww

They're diving deeper into their survivor-inspired bag despite being at a carnival & I'm here for it.

Anastasia & Marissa bonding right out the gate???? Oh I love them.

"I'm all about giving good head" - Benji Hattori, Nov. 30th, 2024

Diego is adorable being afraid of the rollercoaster & holding on to Spencer.

Diego...immediately down bad with his stares at Spencer??? Nature is healing & it's gay af.

Zaid my strong sexy husband being all cute & shit

Non-binary being explained in an indie cartoon like this is such a treat. I'm glad DC, despite it's issues, manages to provide solid queer rep per each season. And does so unapologetically.

Natalia calling Emily "mother" is very camp, very gay & very iconic. I love her.

The shelter challenge was a good kickoff. And then the roller-coaster challenge was a nice introduction to the vibes of the season, which is abandoned carnival.

Spencer immediately taking the role of smart boi who knows everything, only to be outsmarted & clocked by Jade was lovely.

And it led to Spencer & Jade starting an alliance too?? Eating down, I fear.

Lynda is already on her bullshit. Let's goooooo

Amelie is the first contestant I'm mixed on this season. Congrats sis. You go girlboss!

ALESSIO NOT YOU KILLING WILDLIFE FOR THE SAKE OF ART IMMEDIATELY LMFAO. I knew I'd love you lmfao

Ted?? Showing ass?? On Day one??? Ay yo????

Richard's little joke towards Logan was interesting, mostly cuz the latter was clearly put off by it. Logan...wanna share with the class what's going on? You uhhhhh...like rainbows???

Ted?? Getting puked on?? By Diego?? LMFAO??

Love the teams. I'll eventually remember them once the season has more eps lol

The small twist at the end & then ending things with a good 'ol cliffhanger was such a nice closer to this opening episode

Thank god no one left this episode. I wanna really settle in with this cast before they start dropping like flies.

My Tier List (Post-Episode 1)

Overall, this was a solid first episode! Easily my favorite one from the series. Enjoyed the confessionals ft. some extra scenes from the characters outside the game. I'm glad we're getting to know everyone & establish some dynamics right out the gate. And it's all without wasting a minute.

I will say I'm interested in how the hell this season plans on having 26 EPISODES. That's a tall order for a season with just 18 contestants. I hope they just consider 21 eps like All-Stars cuz how the hell will they fill up all that time?? Also the 10 day release window means eps will basically drop in the middle of the week on any given day?? I think they should just stick to Saturdays. Keeps things consistent. But I digress.

Other than that, I'm really excited to see what happens next. And especially interested in whatever the twist appears to be.

EPISODE 1: 9/10

[fatuismooches]

Helloowww! How you doing? I hope the things are going well 🤗

Childe was the reason why i got into genshin and he will always be my #1. However, ever since Sumeru, Dottore has been CLAWING his throne and oh man, things are tight here. At this point, i must admit that these two are my favorites yet Dottie has been taking up the spotlight for some time. I have yet another scenario for him!

⚠️SPOILERS FOR ACT 2 FONTAINE AQ⚠️

Neuvillette has confirmed that Childe will have to spend some time in Fortress of Meropide, Fontaine's jail, until the full truth is revealed. I heard we should get the Fortress up for exploration in 4.1, so i really hope we go and visit the boy! However....... What if it was Dottore in his place?

It's difficult to imagine how things would play out if he stood trial in Opera Epiclese (forgive me, i have 2 braincells left and the only information they can process is how wholesome Harbingers + Tsaritsa family is, there is no more space left to discuss the progress of court trial). So let's take a more "comfortable" setting for scenario. Young Dottie, Akademiya days, youthful Reader as his assistant and a slightly fucked up experiment....... Just slightly. A minor slip up here and there, and whoops, the entire Akademiya knows. Sages are not happy but the circumstances are not yet clear, so Zandik is stuffed into jail cell until Matra decides his fate.

Reader doesn't sleep on things. Their bestie roommate has been isolated from the rest of the world and stuffed into some dirty dungeon Celestia knows where under the city. Unacceptable! So they pack their things up and head for a visit.

Zandik is genuinely surprised to see a Matra soldier approach the bars of his cell and tell him he has a visitor. All of a sudden, his one and only assistant appears from behind their backs, with the most charming smile he's ever seen (and this smile in particular gives him an impression that the things are a little fishy here...).

Reader is not allowed to enter the cell and the guard remains close, making sure the regulations of jail are followed thoroughly. Zandik and his assistant, despite the bars separating them, speak to one another like close friends. Reader has brought a whole basket of treats for him! A whole loaf of bread, Zaytun peaches, a glass of Padisarah pudding and even a box of bite-sized samosas. Young future-Harbinger scolds the Reader that they waste their time and energy by cooking so much food and bothering to bring it all for him. Jail provides enough food for survival, even if its tasteless (Reader knows that Zandik is really happy even if he appears to be angry, his blush-tainted cheeks can't lie 🤭)

All of a sudden, the guard nearby yawns and... falls to the ground?! And the Reader doesn't even flinch??? and keeps smilling like nothing happened??? And all of the sudden they grab the loaf of bread, tier it in half and pull the lock pick from inside??? And start to pick the lock on his cell's door???

Zandik has never been this confused.

Reader explains that they sprinkled some hallucinogenic mushroom powder in guard's coffee while fella was busy with some documents but effects ended up knocking him out. Works either way, so it doesn't matter! Matra did investigate the basket Reader brought along and even their clothing, but found nothing suspicious, so they managed to invade the jail with ease. Zandik is quite impressed that his assistant went through all the trouble to get him out of this hole and makes a mental note to thank them later.

Now it's time for the 2nd part of the plan: escaping the jail and deciding further course of action. Matra will surely track them down again if they stay in Sumeru, so it's about time to pack what's most important.

(This is super messy but i tried my best 😂 I will leave it with cliffhanger because oh boi this ask is hella long already whoopsie 😅)

- 🐺

HI 🐺 ANON!! I'm doing fine, what about you? ❤️ And I'm with you there, Childe was originally my favorite character too, i was SO obsessed with him 😭 Unfortunately his place has been toppled and Dottore and Scara have took his spot 💔 I hope you can be stronger than me 🐺 anon 😭🙏 !!

I too hope we can visit Childe. I really hope he isn't dropped of screentime 😭 At least Arlie will fill that void. And if Dottore ever appeared to stand trial... it would be all a part of his plan. He wouldn't be unnerved or worried in the slightest lol, not even taking it seriously while everyone else is fighting for their lives. He's always 20 steps ahead of everyone 🤷‍♀️ You two would be clowning everyone in the courtroom tbh 🤭

Anyway... I find this scenario so funny because it probably DID happen... considering what happened with Sohreh and all *cough cough* bro was probably locked up for a bit eventually. Did he care? No, not really. Just annoyed that he has to waste time in this cell when he could be doing far more useful things. Did you care? Yes, because it was boring without him. So of course you have a backup plan made specially for just-in-case situations like this! You couldn't leave your beloved down there... he totally missed you, right? (He does think it's rather boring down here... but missing you? How preposterous! He's lying to himself.)

I can just imagine the "wtf is actually wrong with you" look the Matra gave you when you appeared with a whole meal for someone like fucking ZANDIK. If you don't have a reputation of your own, you're probably getting questioned if you're being coerced into doing this 💀 The guards are just more confused because Zandik starts scolding you the second he sees you... are you alright? How does this relationship even work in the first place... (They don't think his red cheeks are from blushing... instead of irritation) BRO my favorite part is reader hiding a lock pick in the bread so it wouldn't be found during a body check... the way i would have never thought of that 😭 They are truly worthy of being the one and only Dottore's assistant!

He really didn't expect to have gotten out of here so quickly, sure, he probably could have gotten out of here himself eventually, or just waited to be released. Zandik supposes he underestimated your capabilities a bit... but he won't do that again in the future. Though you'll still be hard-pressed to squeeze a 'thank you' out of this guy, he's still very... you know. But he does appreciate it! There are not many people willing to break the law for him. Lastly... the moral of the story is that underestimating the lover of Il Dottore will land you a fate worse than what you think.