#and tbf if i was gonna guess at why she's as popular as she is I'd say it's that. it's sustainable and marketable and well planned.

[thedreadvampy]

I GENUINELY wish I understood the appeal of Taylor Swift I really really do. many of my friends do. but it's just. I don't think a single one of her songs has ever landed above 'ok' or 'nostalgically cheesy' for me and every time I think that I feel so incredibly like I'm trying to be snobby but I'm not? it's not about not liking pop or not liking the cool thing I love pop I love cheese I just also like music that has some...I guess energy and danceability or specific and meaningful rage and I have found nothing to hook into in anything she's made. Antihero nearly works for me. Blank Space works conceptually but not in practise. but other than that the last thing she made that did anything for me even as a throwaway pop song was. god it actually might be We Are Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together or 22 which at least are catchy but I can't say ever made it to my playlists.

I want to get it, I genuinely do. I have listened to most of her releases at least once because I keep thinking if I try hard enough something will open up for me but nah however hard I try it's just extremely mid. like yes that certainly is music. I can immediately recognise it as Taylor Swift, it's not like it's utterly generic, but it absolutely just registers to me as background music. I want so much to understand what it is about her that makes her the biggest person in music for like 15 years now.

(I could say the same about Beyoncé who if anything lands worse for me. Break My Soul owns, but other than that I have landed everything I've heard of hers since like 2008 firmly in the Do Not Relisten pile it just lands like a ton of loose sand for me. and this is not mentioning the actual crime against music that was Jolene bc I don't think that worked for most people tbf. and again it's not that I don't like pop or r&b or rap cause that's like. between those genres about a third of the music I listen to. but her work is just so unengaging to me personally and I don't know why and I wish I got it)

[brainrot-yumm]

my final boost of this (lie) cause I'm pretty dang confident in my pickings. Now I just need to name them all. And then figure out all the ones I missed.

as a result of this, these are the main relationships in there, in order of the listing, judged by how weird they are:

Twilight x Fluttershy = not the most popular of mane six pairings but given how well jmart goes I can see it

Rarity x Rainbow = again, not the most popular of pairings ever. In MLP canon I think they'd be horrible for each other but I suppose that's why it would work in MAG canon (since it's friendzone all the way home)

Sunset x Twilight = lmao why did you think I made sunset Georgie. I made the actual popular pairing exes. On purpose.

Sunset x Applejack = ?????? Very much one of the weirder ones. I don't. See it? I guess opposites attract but also sometimes very similar people attract too

Trixie x Starlight = the only two that I don't feel match up with their MAG equivalents at all but I just had to do it because I like toxic yuri

Lightning Dust + Starlight (+ means nonromantic) = Bitch is gonna get equalized lmao

Daring Do x Sunburst = Ima be real I've never seen Sunburst's runtime ever so I don't know how weird it'd be, but I'm 100% certain no one's ever thought of that ship before so

Diamond Tiara + Daring Do = deeply interesting I think. TBF Diamond Tiara is gonna be a very redeemed character in the MAG au, but I suspect she'd still be quite a bit annoying and pompous. I don't know the kind of patience Daring Do would have, but it's probably not that much.

Cheese Sandwich + Daring Do = on second thought if Daring managed to survive a superficially close bond with performance-mode Weird Al I think she'd have enough patience to take care of Diamond Tiara

Cadence x Shining Armor = WHY DO YOU THINK I MADE SHINING PETER. DUH.

Celestia + Twilight = Canon Twilight was already Celestia's special little boy. Nothing has changed besides Celestia's moral standing.

Cadence + Twilight = EXTREMELY awkward for the first year. Gets easier when Twilight notices that Cadence seems to forget they know each other.

Shining + Fluttershy = VERY funny. Even funnier if Flutter doesn't even know he's Twilight's brother until, like, the scottish safehouse. then they can joke about how he didn't seem to really approve of Twi's gf.

Shining + Twilight = OOF is there gonna be some serious fucking angst. What she does to him is gonna SUCK for her

Celestia + Luna = I'm honestly really disappointed that the Dark had such little runtime in canon MAG. Like that was such a big thing in season 1, the equality of closed eye vs. open eye. I'll give Luna more runtime for sure she deserves it

Luna + Cozy Glow = I've never seen Cozy act either but I do agree in general that throwing a kid into Hell is weird. Having said that. I think it'd be a real interesting dynamic for revenge-oriented Luna to deal with the antichrist.

Jordan as Zephyr Breeze - just a little intermission, I actually was giggling kicking my feet when I picked this, because it means that eventually Fluttershy is gonna witness her girlfriend turning her brother into an ant monster avatar. Top tier dramatics.

Discord + Twilight = oh man would that be fun to animate. Would there still be the lotioning or would it be a more MLP centered spa routine? Questions questions

Adagio + Twilight = kinda slay right?

Pinkie + Fluttershy = honestly based

Ditzy Doo + Twilight = very silly. You get why Twi wouldn't wanna kill her

Tempest Shadow x Aria Blaze = another ship I'm 100% certain has never been seen before. The real question is who would be Tempest's Barnabas?

Sombra + Gilda = UNBELIEVABLY funny. Hello brash lady in canon. Your father is Sombra now.

Tirek + Gilda = Because why have one season ending antagonist as a father figure when you can have two?

I should also figure would who would be the people in the dreams

so to tally up the ramblings so far:

And I just feel the need to emphasize that I'm crossovering all the characters based on personality, not relationships. Which means there are gonna be some weird as hell dynamics going on. That's where the spice comes in, you understand.

.

Jon - Twilight Sparkle - Twila "Twi" Sims

Martin - Fluttershy - Flora Blackwood

Sasha - Rarity - Rachel James

NotSasha - Sweetie Belle - "Rachel James"

Tim - Rainbow Dash - Ramona "Rain" Stoker

Danny - Scootaloo - Lucy "Scoot" Stoker

Melanie - Applejack - Adelaide King

Georgie - Sunset Shimmer - Sasha (listen it'd be funny) Barker

Basira - Trixie Lulamoon - Tohfa Hussain

Daisy - Starlight Glimmer - Aurora "Starry" Tonner

Gertrude - Daring Do - Delilah Robinson

Jurgen - Sunburst - Siegurd Leitner

Rosie - Coco Pommel - Colette "Coco" Zampano

Smirke - Zecora

Dekker - Sweetie Drops

Mikaele - DJ Pon-3

Gerry - Diamond Tiara

Mary - Spoiled Rich

.

Elias - Cadence - Cecilia Bouchard

Jonah - Celestia - Clara Magnus

Peter - Shining Armor

Maxwell - Luna

Callum - Cozy Glow

Jane - Chrysalis

John Amherst - Flash Sentry (it'd be funny)

Jordan - Zephyr Breeze

Michael - Cheese Sandwich

Helen - Pinkie Pie

Angela - Lyra Heartstrings

Tom Haan - Grand Pear

Nikola - Discord

Breekon & Hope - Flim & Flam

Sarah Baldwin - Applebloom

Jane Doe - Sugar Belle

Max Mustermann - Party Favor

Doctor David - Double Diamond

Annabelle - Adagio Dazzle

Simon Fairchild - Sonata Dusk

Mike Crew - Lightning Dust

Oliver - Ditzy Doo

Agatha - Tempest Shadow

Jude - Aria Blaze

Jared - Snips & Snails (I got an idea)

Robert Montauk - Sombra (now who would be funniest to be his kid)

Julia - Gilda

Trevor - Tirek (going from one super evil dad to another lol)

.

??? - Tirek

??? - most of the rest of the mane 6's families

??? - silver spoon

??? - Babs seed

??? - cheerilee

??? - moondancer (potential lonely)

??? - Twist

??? - Suri Polomare

??? Sapphire Shores

Wonderbolts?

Tree Hugger

I really wanna use Big Mac but like. Where would I put him. Who would he be.

.

Also Twilight greys out through the first few seasons, but when she reawakens it's all gonna turn into her iconic hair streaks

Is my hyperfixation obvious yet

[thegirlwhotalksabouteveryth-blog]

But I’m a cheerleader 1999

Yooooo~ I havn’t touched this blog since like 2013 lmaooo but then I am back again cuz I thought y not. I think im gonna make this blog more film based but lets see if im successful lollll

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So im starting with a cute comedy But I’m a cheerleader (1999) cuz i am writing an essay on it and there are more that I can say so Im putting it here. This romance comedy wasn’t really popular in America back when it was produced until recently I think but like i didn’t really get that cause this film is super cute (go watch it if u havent). Though I get why it could be not popular at the time for a couple of reasons:

its about LGBT community

we all know that the LGBT community isn’t very accepted in the society even now in certain places with certain individuals so its no shock that this film that talks about a lesbian couple would not have a success in the past

though because it is more popular now, u could say the film has been rediscovered 

if we use film terms, then you could say that this film could be analysed with radical film theory which is a rather more aggressive theory that aims to reconstruct the society values and heteronormative which is great but then at the time of context, it might be a little too aggressive I imagine but im not an expert on 1999 america so i could be wrong. This also brings to the next point tho

The use of colour

The colours in the film is dramatic and bold and intense. it uses pink and blue which makes sense cause girls and boys but then the pink and blue they choose is hideous and its so bright and neon. It is not a great thing to see, its hard on the eyes. This could be off putting to people because no one wants to see hot pink everywhere flashing in their eyes but then as i said this relates to the radical queer theory and that means that its not supposed to be comfortable. The whole point of the centre is that its uncomfortable, it shouldn’t be the case and that is why the environment is sickening. But then to be fair, it is quite hard to focus when all u see is bright pink lmaoo. 

True Directions (the rehab centre) is hideous, uses really sharp colours even the teal in neutral areas, like its suppose to be calm but then its so bright you just can’t with it. Anyways, it contrasts with larry and lloyds house later in the film. They were comfortable with their sexuality and they take kids in, and generally are nice people and their environment is nice and comfortable and thats what its suppose to be!!! 

Though this also contrast with megan (the protagonist) home, her house is so dull, its all brown and mush, its relatively ok but then i wouldn’t really call it homey tbf 

The way they suggest homosexuality and heterosexuality could be taught

I mean it is a rehab centre so it makes sense but then this concept is just so wrong. I mean is this really the case??

And like the things they use to accuse megan lol

ok first of all tofu is freaking amazing, the mother said it with such disgust like whyy its perfectly normal and its amazing

the picture on the locker, well fair enough, but like y would anyone put naked men or women in their locker??? like y tf even??? maybe its just me idk

her boyfriend was like you don’t even like kissing me but like the way he kisses looks so disgusting omg and like have he ever thought about maybe she is just not into him like was that not an option???

Music

this is actually pretty fun, like most of the music in the film is cheerful af like one way it could be seen as like cheerful and energetic and in another way it could be seen as mocking which I tend to agree with more because one the theory and two its just a vibe you know

Not gonna lie tho the songs are pretty good and they are so fun

but the way the music turns suspenseful when Megan thinks about girls lmaoo idk what makes it lowkey funny but it does

the sound kinda turns ominous when megan was thinking about girls when kissing her boyfriend in the beginning and properly could allude to dangerous the thoughts could be or whatever but it does makes it quite funny

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anyways, im pretty sure thats all i wanted to say. But I���m a cheerleader is an amazing film in a lot of ways and its also chill enough to just watch it normally so its all good and go watch it if you haven’t!!! 

Idk what to say but follow for more i guess heheh

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #771: Burgers Date Night (Super Smash Bros Ultimate)

7:34 p.m. at Big Bang Burgers.......

Kyoko: (Giggles Softly While Sitting Next to Her Girlfriend and Boyfriend Together on a One Sided Table) I still can't believe you actually wore a tuxedo on our date night, Pitto-Kins~

Misako: (Starts Snickering) Yeah. (Playfully Pulls Dark Pit's Cheek Next to Her) Were you planning on wooing us for the rest of the night, babe?~

Dark Pit: (Scoffs While Rolling his Eyes) You wish. I'm only wearing this cause mom told me that I should look presentable in these type of occasions....

Kyoko: Was it your goddess mom that told you that or your witch mom?

Dark Pit: Both of them.....But speaking of which, why exactly didn't you guys wanna go to your school prom tonight? Not that I mind spending the night here eating out or anything, but isn't attending prom suppose to be more important or something?

Misako: (Simply Shrugs) Nah. We just never really been interested in going to that kind of stuff.

Kyoko: Yeah. (Slumps Her Head Down on the Table) It also doesn't help the fact that stupid Hasebe and Mami are attending there too. One of them probably already won Prom Queen as we speak....

Misako: (Starts Rolling her Eyes in Annoyance) Or both of them at the same time.....

Dark Pit: You really don't like those girls, do you?

Misako: Not in a million years. They've been a pain in our asses since kindergarten.

Kyoko: Always thinking they're so much better than us in every way.....

Dark Pit: ('Tch') Please. There's no way those stuck up twerps are better than either of you girls.

Misako: Tell that everyone else in our classes.....

Dark Pit: Well, your classmates obviously have piss-poor taste. You guys are a lot more amazing than anyone gives you credit for. Or at least....(Starts Blushing a Little) I....think you're both amazing.....

Kyoko: (Heart Begins to Melt in Pure Happiness as She Hugs Dark Pit on her Side) Your such a sweetheart, Pitto-Kins~

Misako: (Hugs Dark Pit and Kyoko on Her Side) Yeah. Not to mention a handsome cutie too~ (Gives Dark Pit a Kiss on the Cheek)

Dark Pit: (Blush Turns Brightly Red as He Starts Bashfully Looking Away) W-Whatever.... Can we just order something already?

Kyoko: Ooh! (Excitedly Points at a Picture of a Giant Looking Burger on Front of Her Menu) We can totally do the Big Bang Burger challenge together!

Misako: (Raised an Eyebrow in a Bit of Confusion) "The Big Bang..." what now?

Kyoko: The Big Bang Burger challenge! It's this really cool challenge everyone been talking about in school. We'll be King and and Queens in this establishment if we can beat!

Misako: King and queens, huh? (Turns to Dark Pit) What do you say, DP? Wanna give this challenge a go?

Dark Pit: (Simply Shrugs) Eh. I'm down. Might not gonna be that much of a challenge any-

Few Minutes Later......

The trio widened their eyes in horror at how big and wide the Big Bang Burger in front of them, really is.

Strength..... Courage.....Wit..... Endurance.....All these skills and more are cruial to completing THE BIG BANG BURGER CHALLENGE!!!

Kyoko: I-I-Is this really that big of a burger?.....

Waiter: (Smiles Brightly) Yep! Biggest one we've made so far. We here at Big Bang Burgers would like to wish you lovely couple the best of luck. (Walks Away) You are gonna need it....

'Door Close'

Misako: ...................This is a mistake.

Dark Pit: I'd say we get the hell up out of here before anyone noticed.

Misako: Agreed. (Was About to Leave Out of Her Table With Dark Pit Until....)

Kyoko: (Stops her Girlfriend and Boyfriend While Pouting at Them) Guys!! We can't leave here yet! We have to do the challenge!

Dark Pit: (Turns Back to Kyoko) Kyoko, have you SEEN how big this fucking shit is!?

Misako: There's no way we can finish that!

Kyoko: ('Sigh') Look, I know this burger is big, scary, and could probably give us a menacing looking glare if it has eyes, but if we're able to beat mean girls, jocks, and thugs into submission, then I'm sure we can handle a measly big burger, am I right?

Misako: (Takes her Girlfriend Words into Consideration Before Sighing in Defeat) Our adorably dense girlfriend is right?

Kyoko: Hey!!!

Misako: (Turns to Dark Pit While Ignoring Kyoko Altogether) We can't back out of this challenge now. Not without fight.

Dark Pit: ('Sighs in Defeat') Damnit, you're right. (Turns Back Towards the Burger Along With his Girlfriends) on the count of four: we eat this motherfucker like hell. In a one....in a two....in a one, two three, four-

Twenty Minutes Later.....

Dark Pit/Kyoko/Misako: (Groans Miserably and Slumped Their Heads Down onto the Table While Being Completely Full in the Process) 'Ughhhhhhhhh'

Kyoko: My tummy can't take anymore.....

Misako: Tell me about it.....I don't wanna see another damn burger for as long as I live......

Dark Pit: (Turns Back to the Waiter Standing in Front of their Table) Please tell that we were AT LEAST this close of the beating the challenge......

Waiter: Can't say that you have I'm afraid. (Smiles Brightly) But you're efforts this evening was spot on to say the at least.

Misako: (Starts Rolling her Eyes Again) Spare me the enlightenment crap already....

Kyoko: (Rest her Head onto One Side of Dark Pit's Shoulder) So....full......

Dark Pit: (Gently Rubs Kyoko's Head) Who would be this crazy enough to finish a challenge like that.

Waiter: Well, if you must know....(Shows the Trio a Taken Photo of the BBB Challenge's Hall of Fame on his Tablet)

Kyoko: (Amazed by the Picture in Question) Woah.......

Misako: Hey, wait. (Points at the Frame Up Top of a Very Familiar Face) DP, is that your older brother at the top.

Dark Pit: (Takes a Look at What Misako is Pointing at Before Groaning in Annoyance) ('Ugh') Should've fucking known.....

.........................................................

Dark Pit: Hey.

Ren: Hey there, champ. How your little date goin' along?

Dark Pit: Exhausting. We tried that stupid Big Bang Burger Challenge and failed miserably.

Ren: Lol really?

Dark Pit: Yeah. REALLY!

Dark Pit: Pain.jpg

Ren: Wow. You guys looked pitiful lol.

Dark Pit: No shit Sherlock.

Dark Pit: Word has it that you were known as the King of the place.....

Dark Pit: Is that true?

Ren: I...... don't know what you're talking about I'm afraid.

Dark Pit: The Champion.jpg

Ren: That obviously could've been someone else in that frame.

Dark Pit: You're really gonna start lying to me right now, Joker boy?

Dark Pit: I thought your Queen specifically told you not to take the challenge anymore....

Ren: She did!

Ren: I just...Think that could've been anyone in that picture, ya know?

Dark Pit: I'm five seconds away from texting her right now, man.

Ren: Okay! Okay! Fine! You win! I did take that challenge last year! Back when Banjo and I went to their grand opening

Ren: I wanted to impressed him. So I.... decided to take on the challenge.

Ren: Still surprised I completed it TBF....

Dark Pit: Interesting.....

Ren: Please don't tell Makoto about this.

Ren: Graduation is coming in a couple of days. And the last thing I want for her right now to be worried about my health.

Dark Pit: That depends really....

Dark Pit: It'll cost ya.

Ren: Fiiiine..... I'll give you ten bucks.

Dark Pit: Give me Twenty and you got yourself a deal.

Ren: Don'tcha think you're pushing it there, Pitto-Kins?

Dark Pit: Oh look. Makoto's name is already showing up on my contact list

Ren: Alright! Alright! Twenty dollars! Take it or leave it!

Dark Pit: You got yourself a deal, Joker boy.

.....................................................

Eventually Outside of the Burger Joint............

Dark Pit: (Walking Next to his Two Girlfriends on the Sidewalk) Sorry this date isn't as glamorous as some prom night...

Kyoko: Are you kidding? (Happily Rest her Head on One Side of DP's Shoulder While Hugging one of his Arms) This was the best date night ever~

Misako: (Rest her Head on the Other Side of DP's Shoulder While Hugging his Other Arm) I agree. We rather spend the whole night with our sweetheart of an angel than attend some dumb-

'Limousine Horm'

Without warning, a white luxurious limousine suddenly coming next to the sidewalk with none other than Hasebe & Mami standing on the sunroof with smug looks on each of their faces.

Hasebe: Well, what do we have here? A bunch of peasants walking alone on the sidewalk.

Mami: Like, guess who won Prom Queen this year?~

Misako: (Starts Rolling her Eyes in Annoyance) Both of you?

Hasebe/Mami: Both of us!~

Kyoko: Go figure.....

Mami: Like, who would've thought being ridiculously popular and obviously better than you two losers could give us both the title?~

Hasebe: I know, right?~ What a crazy world!~ By the by....(Points at Dark Pit) Who's the angel freak in the middle?

Dark Pit: (Eyes Widened in Anger) The fuck did you just called m-

Misako: (Gently Squeezes Dark Pit's Arn to Calm Him Down) His name is Dark Pit. (Smiles Softly at the Angel) Our boyfriend.

Kyoko: (Happily Snuggles her Head Onto her Side of Dark Pit's Shoulder) Whom we love very much~ (Gives DP a Kiss on the Cheek)

Dark Pit: (Smiles a Little While Blushing)

Hasebe: ('Ugh') Of course you two would date s weirdo like him.

Dark Pit: Takes one to know one, bitches. (Gives the Middle Finger at the Duo)

Misako: ('Heh') Yeah. (Gives Hasebe and Mami The Middle Finger as Well) Up yours, assholes.

Kyoko: (Giggles Softly at What is Going On Right Now)

Mami: ('Ugh') Whatever. We were like, leaving anyways.

Hasebe: Takes us away, Limo Driver!

And with that, the limousine begins to drive off. Leaving the couple behind.

Dark Pit: ('Sigh') I think I'm starting to see why you guys hate them so much....

Misako: Told ya they're bitches. (Turns to Dark Pit) You okay, babe?

Dark Pit: Yeah. I'm already over it. (Turns to Misako and Kyoko With a Small Smile) Mostly cause I got you two with me. Thanks.

Misako: (Smiles Back at DP) Oh please. You don't need to thank us for that.

Kyoko: (Smiles Brightly) Yeah, Pitto-Kins. We got your back no matter what!~

Dark Pit: Yeah. I know. You guys wanna spend the rest of the night back at my place?

Misako: Lead the way, handsome~ (Starts Walking Back to the Living with Her Boyfriend and Girlfriend With Her)

Kyoko: (Want Back to Resting her Head on Dark Pit's Shoulder While Walking) Can you give us lot of cuddles once we get there?~

Misako: Yeah. I second that request~

Dark Pit: Anything you desire, your highnesses~

@keyenuta

@caleb13frede

@cyber-wildcat

@albion-93

@ma-lemons

@miki-13

@princekirijo

@chompycroc

[inthedusksynria]

until-lune respondeu seu post “@until-lune I’m 99% convinced that Micaiah will be...”A couple of things that I want to say. • If we...

@until-lune

Hello! Again i am using this one form of reply bc its easier for format! If you prefer i change for reply format it let me know!. Putting under read more bc this got long, but i had lots of fun doing it!. I am answering all your replies here!

M!Corrin-wise -  I dont think Omega Yato will be his weapon, because the refined version of his OG version (normal M!Corrin in the red pool) already has it. While his art has his normal weapon, his sprite has Omega Yato.

Dawn Yato is definitely a possibility tho! although it would be very odd to give it to him and not make its Twin/Mirror Weapon Dusk Yato to CQ!themed!L!F!Corrin.(but hey its IS)

(something i am so salty off bc i love Dawn and Dusk Yatos ;-; they are so pretty and match so well their promotions... and games... heck!! they both have their route-represent Legendary weapons features incorpored on them and just *clenches fist at the emotional moments*)

Also, A re-colored dragon alt is also a possibility, since L!F!Corn did that.

I dont think skipping the Staff is a certainty because IS has made weird choices before. Leif has an Bow which is a weird choice for him, but, like Corrin, he has a A Rank in bows in his promoted class, and like Corrin he is an “unpopular” Lord. Chrom and Lucina have Bows, when they also had Lances as options by promotion class.

I dont think popularity certainly incentivizes diversity in weapon usage. because we have had a lot of Weird choices from IS of making a popular character have the same weapon across multiple alts. -> 3H lords, Ike, Eirika and Ephraim had all a repeat of their OG weapons and are far more or just as popular as Micaiah; and even weirder L!F!Corrin, who by CYL and Nintendo magazine poll is more popular then M!Corrin,  has the same weapon type than her fallen version (and still lacks a red alt for her emblem AND had an iconic red weapon associated with her promotion of DarkBlood/Nohr Noble (Dusk Yato)). Also fun fact, F!Corrin counterpart to M!Corrin Staff Rank is a Tome Rank. So it would also be possible for her to have had an red tome alt.

conclusion regarding weapons: IS pretty much spins a Wheel and decides what to do. I think its pretty much a case of...whatever the executives woke up on that day wanting.

(that, of course, doesnt make theorizing what weapon they will have  any less fun xD)

Honestly the only reason why I am certain it is Micaiah is irrational/a F2P technique. In  that if it is not her, it will destroy my will to summon and thus allow me to spend less XD. I have seen people doing it and boy does it works wonders when you arent right.

Going by that (my theory it is Micaiah) I find it unlikely to be Colorless (and thus Staff or colorless tome) only because the other spreads are just That Good^tm.

One of the methods that people used to guess which color the new Leg/Mythic will be is to see which color has a busted spread of colors. And it has been right ever since Edelgard

(The reason for so is that IS seems to have realized that by debutting the hero on a so-so spread, it made people wait for their rerun in order to get them, Bramimond being an example in that his spread was awful (L!Grima) and his rerun spread was godsmacking good (Mila)... pun not intended)

The colorless this time is rather...i wouldnt say weak, because Eir usability is REALLy good and Duma has a nice niche of wrecking people plans(cackles in my AR matches). However, they are fairly outdated in comparation with the other color spreads. So, in the event this leg hero is Micaiah (or Elincia, or Byleth) i dont think they would be colorless because of that.

Oh! Regarding the CYL theory, since the legendaries were introduced in the second year of FEH, I dont consider much broken, since i merely think its always /A/ winner instead of the 1st of each year. Since shuffling of legendaries is possible, (those times when IS changed the calendar lineup), should the Byleths win CYL(which is fairly likely). it would be easy to put them on the next GW. And I also think it will be a theory that will be broken absolutely next year, since I doubt Marianne and Gatekeeper would be viable L!Heroes. I agree with you that is a weak pattern that is likely to be broken.

Counterpoint to Wind F!Byleth ->  Blessings not always end up being the element that is most associated with the Character in the main game. Highly Water themed (and midly Fire themed;) Corrin ended up as Wind; Julia, who has Minor blood of fire and was called “Genealogy’s Fire Emblem sword” was Earth; Eliwood, wielding the fire themed Durandal, was Wind. (tbf this is also a counterpoint to Wind Micaiah, since she has more association with Light and maybe Fire(?) than Wind)

Regarding 3H launching with 3H, besides Edelgard, Claude also debuted with no 3H legendary accompanying him. Annete was there, but other than that, no other 3H unit or legendary was on the banner. In fact, the pattern i do see with 3H legendaries is that their first re-run matches with a release of a Mythic in their color spread. (Edelgard -> Hel ; Dimitri -> Seiros).

I want to highlight that i am not saying it wont happen, but that I lean more towards they keeping a space between 3H legendaries release, in order to long term profits, and to not cause burn-out of 3H content. (or at least decrease people complaining about it; They seem to have learned their lesson with the Fates and Tellius spams.)

Finally,I do think that it is possible for Micaiah to be a Staff and for other characters to be released in this month/banner, mostly it is the premises i chose to apply to this theorizing lead me in a contrary direction xD. You show some good points! (I would love a Dawn Yato Corn and a Staff Micaiah ;-;...)

Extra Tangent: I have absolutely no idea what IS(executives) considers the character is associated with Silver Snow like...

For one side, Seteth makes lip service saying the route lord is Rhea; Rhea presents the choice mirror to Edelgard’s in the route split; the ending cutscene focuses on Rhea character development/closure, but, at the same time, she is Sir Not Appearing for 75% of the route and the rest of the time she is benched.

For another side, Byleth was made to be the lord to Edelgard emperor’s and her rival; has several cutscenes showcasing that; is the “lord” of the route in role sense, but, on the other hand, its more associated with Fire (fire emblem).

Honestly at this point i just dont know what FEH is going to do with them. I think IS is going to make one of Byleth Wind as you said and the other Fire, but which one, i have no idea. I could see too an argument for Ground(since i think at the lack of an Light element for Light element character-focused they pick ground sometimes) too, but yeah. 

I cant believe the true plot twist of GW is gonna be Rhea being the wind legendary breaking all of our theories xD (/j, but can you imagine how funny it would be?)

[bvnditbulie]

Hey. How are you?

How do you feel about Seungeun being on that girls planet show? I think it’s called.

I was looking forward to a comeback announcement and then this happened so we def won’t be getting a comeback anytime soon I think.

Which is so sad cause I feel like if they keep going instead of having long breaks in between comebacks they could really really gain more fans and such, cause they are so good.

i’m alright, nonnie. hope you’re doing well!

this turned out rly long so i’ve split it up into sections to try to make it an easier read. if you’re only gonna read one section, make it the bulies to-do list! and if anyone reads it all ily 💖

initial thoughts and mnh’s statement

i wasn’t at all happy when i found out, of course. i’m the same as you: i kept thinking a comeback was coming. like when they got a reality show, and then again more recently when yiyeon, simyeong, and jungwoo all changed their hair… and then they give us this instead. i wonder why all the hair changes at once though if they’re not having a comeback… maybe they’re planning to promote as four for a while? though you’d think that would come after the survival ended, and they’d either start promoting without her if seungeun made it into the debut group, or finally come back as ot5 if she didn’t… i don’t know, who knows what mnh is planning.

here’s their statement for anyone who didn’t see it, but it’s pretty fucking vague:

(aw, they apologized. i feel so much better now /s.)

i also totally agree with you there: the girls are sooo funny and talented, they have such good songs and choreo and chemi, and if only more people knew about them, i’m sure they would stan. :/ mnh could’ve at the very least let them release some digital singles in all this time… chungha’s releasing new music all the time; it’s really not fair. i also think they could take advantage of chungha’s clout and the girls' friendship a bit more: release a collab between them ffs! but alas, if mnh isn’t gonna promote the girls well, i guess us bulies will just have to do it ourselves 🙄

hopes and concerns

apparently it’ll be a temporary group, but 2.5 years is still a really long time. so my hope is for seungeun to make it as far into the competition as she can without making it into the debut group, or at least for her to be a fan favorite and give bvndit the exposure they need. bc if she gets eliminated right away, what was the point of all this, no one will have heard of them still and who knows what mnh will do with them. but ofc i don’t want to see her separated from bvndit and promoting with some other group for longer than bvndit themselves have been around. so, yeah. that’s the ideal very specific scenario i’m hoping for, lol.

i’m already worried she’s not gonna get the screen time she deserves and be eliminated early on though, bc after the o.o.o performance came out, firstly: she was only given one closeup (while some girls got several), and didn’t get to be one of the ending fairies, of which there were like 12. and secondly: all the comments under the video were either about yujin or bahiyyih. so ofc buls will be supporting her, but there’s not very many of us, and i even saw at least one person say they wouldn’t vote for her bc they want bvndit to have an ot5 comeback. but if girls planet doesn’t give the girls more exposure, what do you think will happen when seungeun gets eliminated? i don’t know, and i don’t rly want to find out… so since she’s not a popular pick going into the show, we can only hope that mnet gives her an adequate amount of screen time. bc i know everyone will fall for her if given the chance.

bulies to-do list!

so anyway, as always i am nowhere near concise, and i applaud and apologize to anyone who actually read all of this alsdkf. i’m more determined than ever to promote bvndit well through my gifs, so in addition to giffing all of seungeun’s girls planet 999 stuff, i’m also trying to showcase bvndit’s humor, visuals, connection to chungha, etc. anything that might get people interested in, or at least remembering them.

i definitely think we should vote for seungeun on girls planet, at least at first. because otherwise, i don’t know if she’ll get far enough to make any kind of impact on bvndit’s career.

while we��re at the mercy of mnet and mnh, all we can really do is vote for seungeun, make comments under the girls planet videos she’s in supporting her and giving ppl the timestamp(s) of her screen time, just promoting her anywhere and everywhere we can. also be sure to send me your favorite bvndit moments and i’ll gif them to try to make more people fall for our girls. 🤧

(here are some examples of the comments i've left so far. as you can see, they don't have many likes, but tbf i wasn't exactly early to the vids. we should definitely try to comment right after upload if we can! and honestly don't be afraid to spam bc we're up against a wave of people making comment after comment for the other contestants... if you want to add your own comments for seungeun, go here and here.)

mnh keeps squandering their potential and our girls deserve so much better, so let’s do all we can for them! you guys can always come to me if you have any more questions, concerns, or if you just want to commiserate lol. fighting bulies~! 💞

[scribblesandsnark]

“Days Gone Bye” (TWD 1.1)

There’s so much about “Days Gone Bye” that is well done – not least because it operates primarily on silence and visuals rather than the preachy dialogue that takes over down the road. (Yes, season 2, I’m looking at you.) That said, not gonna lie, it took me bloody ages to figure out where the opening scene falls in Rick’s post-hospital, pre-Atlanta adventures. (And when I say ages, what I really mean is it took me about six or eight times watching the episode. Ye gods.)

I feel like Rick might have lucked out in the apocalypse. He’s a cop, so there’s obviously a uniform to wear as he waltzes off into the unknown. What would you opt to put on if you were in his shoes and didn’t have a uniform to default to? (Personally, I’ve realised I have a serious lack of practical apocalypse shoes on hand. Although I’m inclined to think that my high heels would come in handy for breaking dead limbs and stomping in undead brains, so there’s that to consider.)

Burnt out and/or flipped cars are popular for set design in post-apo/dystopian TV and films, as are buildings with blasted out/shattered windows, but until fairly recently I’d always viewed them as sort of abstract decorations without really registering how they might get that way. Indeed, in earlier drafts I spent some time snarking about how the zompocalypse must infect people’s driving abilities (a terrifying thought considering the actual driving ability of your average non-zompocalypse-affected person) and, to quote myself,

Given the amount of fire damaged/cars upturned/miscellaneous damage inflicted on cars, you’d think that fcking flamethrowers and grenades and rocket launchers were being wielded by random Georgian citizens as they frolicked through the streets escaping the dead.

But this year [2020], between the port explosion in Beiruit, which flipped cars with the force of the blast and turned high rises into ghouls with hundreds of gaping mouths, and the fires in California, leaving burnt-out hulks in their wake, it’s really come home to me how easy and careless that kind of destruction can be – and how swiftly it can come to be seen as a norm. No flamethrowers or grenades necessary.

Even the empty streets and the silence we’re greeted with in this opening scene, as Rick drives down a barren street and walks through an abandoned campsite, now has more resonance since the 2020 lockdowns brought that apocalyptic empty street into reality. I don’t think I’d ever really thought to walk down the middle of a street before, because, you know, traffic – and yet for a time, when there were no cars on the road and people were hidden away in their homes, that became a new normal. There was a freedom in knowing you could walk in the middle of the road with almost no risk, because all normal rules had been suspended indefinitely. Why stick to the sidewalk when you know a car’s unlikely to drive through?

I guess apocalyptic fiction only ever seems apocalyptic and unimaginable until the real world catches up.

There are a lot of things I could say about this opening scene, aside from the great visceral pleasure of getting absorbed by the camera work, feeling one with Rick as we witness the destruction, the abandonment, the death… There’s a stillness that I wish we saw more of in the later episodes. The introduction of the little walker girl sets up Rick’s hope and his despair in a wonderful way. Having the first appearance and first death of a walker be a little girl in her jammies really shows us just how much the world has been turned on its head – Rick’s a police officer, whose job is to help people (ideally, at any rate), and the realisation that in this new world the only way to help is to kill those he used to protect sets up a(n albeit inconsistent) through-line for the rest of the series.

So yeah, I could wax lyrical about the excellent beginning of “Days Gone Bye” – but because I’m a snarky arsehole, I’m going to talk about the dead. And I’m going to do so with the caveat that while I’ve read some of the behind-the-scenes commentary etc., I am not actually a Walking Deadhead, and consequently do not have at my fingertips the reasons why certain production decisions were made.

There’s an oddity in the first…two seasons? when it comes to cars and the dead, in that there are a startling number of people who seem to have just…died, while in the driver’s seat of their cars. We see two clear examples in the opening scene, as Rick passes between two cars, facing opposite directions, each with their own definitely dead driver slumped at the wheel. This appears, rather more egregiously, in the traffic snarl at the start of season 2, but for the moment we’ll stick with season 1. The camera’s shown us an abandoned camp, any number of cars that seem to have become part of stationary living. Yet we’ve got two dead people behind the wheel, in cars facing opposite directions. Now, I’m not disputing that people could die at the wheel. As the show later goes on to show us, you can get chomped, die, and resurrect within minutes. The problem is in the fact that a proportionally ridiculous number of people seem to die at the wheel. I suppose the logical conclusion is that said individuals stupidly had their windows down and their arms out, got chomped, and sent away the rest of the car’s occupants or anyone else in the vicinity, and then opted to just hang out in the car until death – at which point zombrain kicks in and any attempt to use a door handle is moot. (See, e.g., the number of zoms hanging out in closed cars.) Combine that with people more likely than this show’s putative heroes to shoot someone who’s been infected in the head before they turn and simply move on… Eh. I suppose it’s plausible. It’s just not very realistic. (Not least because oh my god, there are undead people, roll up your fucking window you fucking idiot. I know it’s hot in Georgia but roll those windows up, babe. You might sweat, but at least a stealth zom won’t use your hand for a snack. Gah.)

…not going to comment on the inconsistent zombehaviour in which a smolzom stops to pick up her teddy (see, later, other zoms climbing ladders, scaling fences, and using rocks to bash through windows – and in one instance, tugging her zip hoodie back up over her arm). Instead, my issue is with smolzom’s slippers. How has she not lost those by now??

(Total aside, but I’ve been bingeing L&O:SVU lately, and boy howdy do a lot of TWD people pop up like daisies there. Daryl, Shane, Noah, Dale, Beth, Lori, Amy, Tyreese, Lizzie, Liza (tbf from FTWD)…)

The fries that Rick and Shane are eating just look sad and wimpy and not worthy of eating. Do better, cops. (Do better, fries.) Really, it’s almost a surprise they’re not nomming doughnuts and coffee. There’s no doubt that the two are meant to be close, though; you have to be close to dab your fry in your partner’s ketchup (oh no, Lori).

Jon Bernthal is a good actor. I just wish they hadn’t given him a character who was so all over the place. (I’ll delve more into this in later episodes.) The first scene he appears in, after the opening credits, clearly sets him up as a chauvinistic dick, in contrast to pauvre Rick, whose relationship with his wife is suffering – and, critically, this is not because of Rick, but because of Lori. Her first introduction as a character is as a woman at odds with her husband – and the fact that her husband is in law enforcement really should not be glossed over here, not given America’s contentious relationship with LEOs. (We’ll get back to Rick and Shane eventually.) It’s no secret that spouses of people in law enforcement, or in the military, often struggle because their partners are always absent. I’m not trying to apply blame, here; law enforcement and military positions require a lot, and there is absolutely a high degree of trauma that can result due to the kind of work in which they engage. That said, the way Lori is set up as the antagonist from the get-go is just…distasteful. Rick is presented as reasonable, as wanting to try to make things right, as trying to do what Lori wants and yet always being the bad guy. The sad thing is that Lori is no one’s favourite character, and yet the character never had a chance. She was fucked over long before she actually turned up on screen, ensuring that our perspective of her is negative from the start.  In a show that takes years to establish strong women, Lori stands out as a particularly egregious example of a woman, wife, and mother who realistically could have been a positive representation of a woman that instead was turned into a caricature everyone loves to hate. (We’ll get to Andrea eventually, I promise.)

I think perhaps, most egregiously, the fact that Rick says something like “It’s like she’s pissed at me and I don’t know why” sets up Lori as being irrational and Rick as being patient and anxious to fix things without knowing why. Lori is fucked in terms of character development from before she ever  appears on screen and never has the opportunity to claw back some of that lost ground. Rick literally labels her as cruel – and cruel in front of their son, to boot. Who doesn’t view a person cruel to their child as a villain? Gah. Lori was absolutely fucked by merit of being Rick’s wife.  And it’s really a shame, because every so often Sarah Wayne Callies absolutely kills it (no pun intended, but leading up to Lori’s death is perhaps the character’s best scene).

Of course, too, the whole convo between Shane and Rick sets up Shane as a “fuck me, women, man” – and yeah, absolutely, this attitude ends up extrapolated to his behaviour towards people in general. Yes, it bonds our two good ol’ boy policemen as lads who love each other and try to jive each other into better moods but are sensitive enough to listen to actual emotional shit… But ultimately it establishes Shane as a dick and Rick as a victim. Shane’s absolute disdain for women’s emotion/women talking about their emotions is in some ways bizarre when you look at his future relationship with Lori – and yet at the same time, that disdain echoes through all of anything he does with Lori, with Carl, and with Rick in future.

Okay, so, let’s move on to the fuckfest in which Rick gets shot. (Twice, Lord help me. These fuckers are alarmingly inept.)

Pro: they fling out the spikey “stop the bad guy” chains.

Con: …well, at least one dude doesn’t know about the safety, so that’s … not ideal. (His death: not surprising.)

Pro: Rick can apparently drive backwards with skill. I can’t even back around a corner.

Con: Leon is a fucking moron.

Pro: Rick and Shane disposed of their hats??

Con: what happens to the Black cop? Why is he the only one we don’t know the fate of? (See TWD’s treatment of Black actors in general…)

Pro: the car does not flip in their general direction.

Con: pretty much everything else in this scene.

I dunno about the average viewer, but I feel like the two apparently competent cops – Shane and Rick – should each be assigned to one of the shitty cops, rather than riding together, because really, do you want cops rolling in to save you when they clearly don’t know the first thing about gun operation? (Yes, as any number of viewers have pointed out, there’s no safety on the gun that Leon is holding, but the fundamental point is to articulate how much of a fuck-up he is as a cop. If you’re out in the field and don’t know how your piece works, should you even be out there? Don’t they give cops gun training? You’d hope so…yikes. Although I guess it does sort of set up the absolute nightmare of season 2’s gun control plot line. (Oh god, season 2. Help.))

Am I the only one amused by the name Leon Basset? He’s a cat and a dog at once!

It takes Rick and Shane and co. an embarrassingly long time to put down the baddies – one of whom manages to hit a cop in a spot not covered by his vest, after having been flipped violently upside down in a car crash. Seriously, the fact these dudes are able to crawl out of the car and start merrily firing away, much less actually hit someone, is fucking insane. Have they trained in post-car crash shooting? I have to conclude they have, because otherwise the fact they have better aim than the multiple cops shooting at them is absurd. (Also hilarious: bad dude #1 crawls out of the completely totalled, upside-down car with, like, a scratch on his cheek. Until bad dude #2 takes a shotgun blast the chest, he appears to have lucked out with almost zero wounds from the crash. Are we sure *they* aren’t actually already dead??) And really, Rick’s an idiot in this scene – his fellow cops are intelligently hanging out by the cop cars, using them for cover, while Rick displays a high degree of absolute idiocy in waltzing straight out into the open; it’s made even worse by the fact that he’s brandishing his cute little Colt Python revolver while at least two of the cops behind him are wielding shotguns.

Bad copping, Rick. Cop better, please.

There are several shots right before Rick gets shot the first time where the camera angle makes it appear that Shane has his shotgun pointed straight at Rick, including the actual frame where he *does* get shot in the vest – when he’s shot in the side closer to Shane than the unnamed assailant. Now, this is probably due to bad blocking, although you’d think Rick would know better than to walk directly between the baddies and his fellow cops when there’s active gunfire, since it makes him a liability (seriously, I doubt the efficacy of the cop training programme in whatever bit of Georgia this is), but with the benefit of hindsight you could also see it as foreshadowing the eventual deterioration of Rick and Shane’s relationship. Think about the scene in “Wildfire,” the penultimate episode of the season, when Shane and Rick are in the woods doing a sweep, and Shane sights down that shotgun at Rick walking through the trees ahead of him for a long moment before Dale turns up. In that later episode (and moving on increasingly through all of Season 2), Shane wants Rick out of the way, but it takes a very long time in terms of screen hours to actually get around to making his final move. Ironically, it’s only ever here in the opening episode, following Shane appearing to be aiming through Rick’s back at the assailants, that Shane ever successfully gets Rick out of the way. Unintentionally, of course, but there is nevertheless an odd parallelism created here due to blocking and weapon of choice.

Dammit, Shane.

You know, on thinking it over, I’m surprised that this police force functions at all. Yes, the dispatcher only noted two individuals in the car, but if I’ve learned anything from watching procedurals it’s that before stopping to chat about anything you clear every possible place an unknown assailant could be hiding. I’d think that would especially be the case for a car chase, because how accurately can you see inside a speeding car? (That’s a legitimate question; I have no idea.) And actually, entirely aside from the possible existence of a third assailant, if you shoot someone with a gun, surely the follow-up after they’ve gone down is to immediately approach, ensure any weapons are out of arms’ reach, ascertain if the individual is dead, and if not, call immediately for medical attention. I know the baddies took several shots to the chest, but come on. They also emerged almost entirely unscathed from a totalled car, so clearly they’re already marked as practically unkillable. And yeah, following procedure wouldn’t have allowed Rick to get dramatically shot for real after the first fake-out, but they could easily have had him get dramatically and unexpectedly shot by the third dude when following procedure and checking to see the other two were dead. Most of the dialogue could have been retained as well. But oh well. I guess the show sets up the failure of authority figures to function effectively from the very start; not following procedure proves to be useful to Rick, considering his future actions as leader of the Merry Undead crew.

Further proof these cops don’t know how to cop: literally no one notices the third dude crawl out of the car, not even to go “hey!” Dude literally has enough time to crawl out on his hands and knees, stand up, point a gun, and actually hit his target before anyone (aka Shane) so much as notices his existence. There are at least three other cop cars in the vicinity – the other car that arrived with Rick and Shane (the “wait what’s a safety” cop and his partner) and the two cars that were chasing the criminals in the first place (four more dudes) – and yet apparently no one noticed a third guy standing up with a gun in his hand. And yeah, I’ll cut some of them a bit of a break on the theory that they probably couldn’t see the guy until he stood up because of the car in the way, but with seven people standing, *someone* should have seen him. Given Shane’s angle when he shoots, the two cops behind him definitely should have noticed something. The fact that someone only shouts to move in after Rick gets shot is just…shoddy copping. Seriously, this is the kind of stupidity that leads you to wish characters would just die. I’m sure someone would miss these people, but the world isn’t likely to notice they’ve gone. (Also, Shane blowing away the third dude on the first shot is pretty much the only time any of these professionals have actually hit their target immediately. Glad to know the safety of the Merry Undead crew is in the hands of people with worse aim than people flung around in a totalled car. Hurray!)

I’ve decided that after Shane goes with Rick to hospital in the ambulance, the rest of the terrible cops get eaten by the reanimated baddie crew. It’s what they deserve, really.

Moving right along…

Rick has a frigging massive hospital room. Either he or Lori is secretly a drug runner, or else the local cops have some pretty sweet health insurance. Lucky for Rick; if he’d been in a shared room or on one of those corridors with multiple beds separated by curtains, he’d have been walker munchies asap. Unforeseen side-effects of the zompocalypse: healthcare edition.

I…am not going to deal with the time issues of Rick being in hospital and then waking up to a hellscape. Suspension of belief, yeah?

I think the weirdest thing in the cut from Shane with the flowers to Rick waking up on the bed is the silence. The background beep of the machines has vanished, telling us the power’s gone off; the off-screen background hospital noise – heard most notably in the undiscernible PA behind Shane talking – has also vanished. Rick’s harsh breathing under Shane’s words also vanishes when the shot does, though I’m not sure if that’s meant to suggest Rick is better, worse, or otherwise. The scene doesn’t show it, but it sounds vaguely like a ventilator is functioning when Shane’s in the room, which would suggest Rick’s still hooked up to breathing support following surgery; if that’s the case, Rick was taken off the ventilator to breathe on his own at some point after that, since he wakes up only with oxygen to his nose. The shift from all that background noise to absolute silence is incredibly effective, because though we can’t register it visually, and may not consciously notice the shift in audible sounds, it nevertheless conveys to the viewer that something has changed before Rick even opens his mouth.

Horrifying thought, though, being stuck in hospital in Georgia without aircon. (I’d melt. Not just in hospital, but in general. Heat and humidity are not my friends.) Frankly, I’m surprised Rick manages to get any words out of his mouth given he’s probably a wee bit on the thirsty side; my mouth goes a bit dry and I might as well be trying to talk through a damn desert for all the words I manage.

It’s kind of amusing that there’s a lingering shot of the clock on the wall. Yeah, it adds to Rick’s confusion and disorientation because dammit, he can’t even tell what time it is – and what is the world without timekeeping?? – but what are the odds it happened to run out of battery in time to inconvenience the last man standing in the zompocalypse? “Oh no! I’ve missed the end of the world! Ah well, better late than never.”

Helpful that Rick woke up during the day – can you imagine how disorienting it would have been to wake up in pitch dark with zero sound? Anyone who lives in a vaguely urban or suburban area is almost entirely unaccustomed to the dominance of both anymore; when I moved back to suburbia after living in a sort of downtown-y bit of an offshoot of the nearest city, I had serious issues for months because at night everything was so quiet and so dark, especially during the period when the house next door was unoccupied. Seriously creepy. (Although I’ve also seen raccoons, deer, and a coyote as well as the ubiquitous squirrels and birds and neighbourhood cats, so that’s exciting. Actually, weirdly, there’s a surprising dearth of animals, to say nothing of pets, floating around in the apocalypse. We see dogs occasionally as time goes on, running about the streets of Atlanta, eating the dead, getting eaten when times are desperate; deer pop up every now and then, and crows alight ominously all over the place, but…where are all the dead goldfish? The cats??)

Does Rick just have a super special water faucet in his private bathroom, or are the utilities still working? (Nice to immediately have a way to quench his thirst. It also apparently gives him super strength, since he doesn’t keel over again despite the probable weeks he’s been flopped out in bed not using his muscles.) Alexandria has running water, but if I recall correctly it was also designed as self-sustaining. Hospitals usually have generators, since if the power cuts for whatever reason (earthquake, hurricane, T-rex attack) you want to make sure a bunch of people don’t cut out as well as a result, but as far as I’m aware that…doesn’t affect the water systems? (I am definitely not a water engineer. Are there water engineers?) And since he later goes down stairs to get out of the hospital, is there really a system still functioning that pumps water up several stories when the electricity appears to be dead? Convenient water is convenient.

Obviously there must be a generator or some kind of power still functioning, since there are some lights on in the hall, complete with requisite horror-themed buzzing and flickering. (Help, I’m having flashbacks of my mother’s kitchen.) Useful, in any case, since otherwise Ricky boy would be tripping over the debris in the hall before he got to the nurse’s station. (I guess we’ll put his continued unclothed state down to disorientation, but if I looked out my door and saw that much of a hallway disaster, I think I’d find some shoes first. Yikes.)

The clock at the nurse’s station has also stopped. These are battery-run, guys, they don’t go off when the power does. Speaking of electronics, though – it’s 2010, right? Why doesn’t the nurse’s station have any computers? I mean, I got my first laptop in 2006 and I think we always had a family computer when I was growing up, so it’s not like this predates the computer era. Actually, that’s a point – in all of the places that the Merry Undead crew break into/crash at, I’m struggling to think of instances of computers, laptops, mobile phones, etc. Rick has an mp3 player at the start of season 4, when he’s in his farming phase, and Olivia in…season 6? still carries her long-dead mobile around, but aside from the CDC and actual hospital-related machinery, there’s a startling lack of technology. I dunno, it just seems odd. Like the lack of feral cats.

I know Rick wants to illuminate the situation (hah), but his first thought is RUMMAGE THROUGH SHIT TO FIND MATCHES. Like, seriously, open a drawer or something, there’s probably a flashlight in there somewhere? I suppose we couldn’t spend too much time on finding lighting resources, though, considering that would delay the DRAMATIC DISCOVERY of Rick’s first dead person.

On which point – what are the walker rules for nomming a corpse, and what are the rules for reanimation? If the only way to actually put down a walker is through the brain, why isn’t our eviscerated lady corpse in the hospital undead? Her head appears entirely intact, although we might be missing a wound on the far side. (Although jeez, given how many facial bites and tears we see throughout this series, including the little girl at the beginning of this episode, how has no one snacked on her delicious face??) A single bite will kill and turn you, and some people do manage to get an initial chomp and then remain unconsumed before turning, like Sophia and the little girl at the start of the episode. But is there a maximum limit of flesh that can be consumed before a person is thoroughly dead and won’t reanimate? A severed head sans body will reanimate, as we see later with Hershel and the Whisperers’ victims, so it seems like percentage of bodily consumption can’t factor in. Certainly bike lady later in this episode is missing her entire lower half without it having affected her walkerdom eternity. Yet we have people like hospital lady corpse and T-Dog in season 3 who get more or less entirely consumed without reanimating. And that’s without even talking about all of the dead who appear to have croaked in their cars without becoming undead despite the lack of a head wound. So where’s the boundary?

At least some of this we can probably attribute to early days inconsistencies, since most shows don’t dive in with all of the rules for new worlds and supernatural creatures laid out and set in stone, but the amount of consumption has always bothered me. From the other side, too, actually, because walkers appear to be wholly driven by a single purpose: consume. So when a walker has a nice juicy item in front of them with plenty of flesh left on it, why would they leave it behind to drift off after something else? Walkers are later shown to be drawn by light, by sound, by smell (operating on the suspension of disbelief that undead would retain any of the senses of sight, hearing, or smell, but never mind), but since the underlying drive remains to consume, why would light, sound, or smell be sufficient to draw them away from a meal directly in front of them? I could see it if, for instance, a corpse were being devoured by a whole bunch of walkers and so those who couldn’t easily get to the body went “welp fuck it, Imma go follow that gunshot I just heard,” or if a body has pretty well been picked to the bones, since then there’s not anything left to consume and the drive would push on to the next. But there are plenty of times over the course of the series when walkers abandon a perfectly delicious human with plenty of meat left on the bones in order to go chase something else. I’m not saying walkers are meant to be intelligent hunters or anything, since as Jenner shows us there’s just some sad little sparkles at the brainstem that are still operating, but if you boil it down to the most basic drive, walkers are driven to consume, and it makes little sense that they’d abandon something consumable in front of them that’s a sure thing to chase something else (I could see maybe abandoning an animal to chase a human, like dropping the pigs’ feet to chase after sirloin). But to leave something not completely eaten… Unless they get full? The human stomach can only contain so much at one time, so maybe there’s a default survival code that overrides the consumption drive to stop a walker eating if continuing to do so would explode the stomach. Although that doesn’t really make much sense, either, since any number of walkers are wandering around with their innards more or less exploded without it being a problem. Hmm. No real answers, there, other than that overriding logic of THE PLOT. I guess the only thing I can say with some confidence is that at least part of the walker digestive system seems to still operate, because when Rick and Daryl gut a walker to make sure it hadn’t eaten Sophia, not only is the woodchuck turned from fur and flesh into nasty black goo, the skull of the woodchuck has also been stripped clean. (Then again, I have difficulty envisioning how a walker manages to swallow an entire woodchuck skull, but that’s neither here nor there. Who’s up for woodchuck chilli??)

Anyway, back to Rick and his terrifying exploration of his new world of doom.

I have to laugh when I look at this disaster of a hospital. Did someone, in the last throes of the world ending, just take medical records and fling them everywhere? When is there ever that much paper floating around loose in a medical facility? Ye gods, Rick could learn confidential patient information! Nooooooo…

Ahem.

Like the episode’s opening scene of Rick working his way through the abandoned streets, silence is used to great effect from the time Rick wakes up through to his encounter with Morgan and Duane. The audience takes in everything along with Rick, unfettered by exposition. The silence, the dark, the emptiness, the dead – it all unfolds through Rick’s shocked and bewildered eyes. I mean, what would you do if you wandered down the hall and suddenly discovered a mostly devoured corpse? (I’d probably hurl. Ew.) Alas that so much of the series later gets bogged down by humans who never shut up. (Yes, Rick, I do mean you.)

Of course, in order to do that, the episode also, to quote CinemaSins, conveniently conveniences a bunch of its walkers. Where are they? Where they can’t hurt Rick before he knows what to do. Which is…kind of ridiculous. Logic be damned! I mean, if there’s one thing this show has been consistent about, it’s the inconsistency of its walkers.

Wait.

Man, I would not want to be walking across that floor barefoot. Ew. And ouch.

I’d be a terrible candidate for the apocalypse. I’m afraid of the dark.

I do like the background details of all the blood spattered on the walls. It’s more quiet filling in the blanks of what happened when Rick was in his coma – all that lovely show, don’t tell that later gets left by the wayside. BUT HE’S WALKING BAREFOOT THROUGH GLASS OH MY GOD PLEASE STOP AND FIND SOME SHOES AAAHHHHHHH.

PUT ON SOME DAMN SHOES.

DON’T DEAD OPEN INSIDE.

The fact that the doors are bound with a chain AND with a slat of wood just makes me laugh. I don’t think that wood’s going to do much if the chain breaks.

That’s a shockingly good manicure for a dead person. She might be stuck in a locked room for eternity but at least her nails look fab.

I know Rick is freaked out by the groaning and dead lady manicure and chained up door and blood all over the place, but charging into a pitch-black stairwell armed only with a fold of matches seems really stupid. This is perhaps the most egregious instance in this episode of convenient walker placement. The fact that Rick not only makes it down the stairs and outside without tripping and smashing his pretty face is one thing, but it’s really stunning that there are no walkers who got trapped between the stairwell doors. I guess maybe that was the military exit route so they cleared as they went (and…took the bodies with them, as well)? Then again, I’d rather rappel out a window using bedsheets than make my way through an endless stairwell of night, so…

I’m going to be *extremely* nitpicky here and wonder why Rick hasn’t noticed the smell. Between lady chewy and the not insubstantial blood puddle he walks by, you’d think there’d be at least a whiff of the smell of decomp, especially if the power and thus the aircon are out and humidity reigns supreme. Blood is a biological hazard, and it…is definitely not odourless, especially after it’s been sitting around for days. Rick does grimace when he first goes into the stairwell, implying he’s caught a whiff of the dead, but he doesn’t encounter anything going down the stairs that seems likely to have caused it (maybe the dead laid out that he encounters outside?). Scent’s an ongoing problem with this show, though; it crops up when it’s a useful narrative point, like smearing yourself with guts to escape detection or realising there’s an ocean of the dead nearby, but otherwise, not so much. Okay, yeah, maybe I can buy that after a while of living in close proximity you’d acclimate – humans are stunningly resilient – but given how quickly humans tend to get tetchy when in forced contact with disgusting smells, are you really telling me that Rick just…doesn’t notice? Or is his own “I’ve been in a coma for an indeterminate period of time” smell so bad that it overpowers the death smell? Yikes.

That said, the moments of tension when Rick’s match goes out and he’s left alone breathing in the dark of the stairwell are lovely. It carries the audience along with Rick’s fear and anxiety and confusion, knowing he knows something is hinky without actually knowing what’s happened and what’s going on, while as a viewer conversant with the horror genre you keep expecting something to happen, to lurch up out of the dark. That nothing does actually is a delightful defiance of expectations. And after a silence and darkness punctuated only by the dim, narrow light of a match and Rick’s harsh breathing, the overwhelming brightness of the outdoors combined with the sawing of the cicadas almost begs you to retreat back into the contained, comparative safety of the stairs rather than venturing out into the huge unknown of the world outside the hospital and its endless supply of the dead.

Shame that the hospital’s flickeringly dodgy power doesn’t include the EXIT sign. Aren’t those supposed to work even if nothing else does? Maybe it was crashed with whatever took out the clocks. (Hah.)

Every barefoot step Rick continues to take hurts. Like, there’s all kinds of shit on the ground, and I’m not just talking bits of wire and other stabby pieces of metal. There’s blood and guts – do you really want to be squishing that between your toes?? Also, I’ve let it go this far, but Rick is wearing his hospital gown backwards, and if he’s been in a coma he…really shouldn’t be wearing boxers (and should have been hooked up to a catheter, but I think watching Rick rip that out instead of pulling the IV from his hand might have been a bit too traumatising for the average viewer). So out here in the open air, with all the wrapped rows of the dead, we get our first obvious sign of decomp in the number of flies buzzing around, and some of the limbs look like they might be mottling from decomp (kind of hard to tell, though). I know I said I wasn’t going to get into the time problems, but I promise I’ll try to keep it to this paragraph. The fact that the hospital and town are both almost entirely deserted, as we’ll go on to see, certainly suggests a decent amount of time has passed, since it takes time for that many people to up and leave somewhere. (I’m really surprised that in this show they only ever seem to encounter major traffic pile-ups on freeways or similar; if the people in my town were trying to skedaddle, we’d all get stuck on the road outside my neighbourhood. Hell, until they put in roundabouts it backed up horrendously just for getting to the schools in the morning! You’re telling me everyone was able to get out of their neighbourhoods to get to the freeway in the first place? Bullshit.) The state of the dead half-lady Rick runs into outside also seems to support that, since she’s pretty decomposed (though weirdly looks more mummified than not, which is odd considering Georgia’s on the humid rather than the dry end of the heat spectrum). On the other hand, though, the state of decomp of the lady in the hospital hallway and the corpses outside the hospital point to not much time having passed; they’re still juicy, if you like. As the following episodes will go on to show via characters’ minimal clothing and copious amounts of sweat, Georgia is hot and humid, and I hate to tell you this, guys, but if you keel over in a climate like that, you decompose quickly. You bloat up and your skin slides right off, and it’s all extremely disgusting. But here there’s a stunning amount of intact left on these corpses considering, again, it’s Georgia. (Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor, so my observations might not be medically valid. Then again, the very idea that dead people are wandering around eating people is … also not medically valid.) In any case, Rick should be walking through a soupy mess of liquefying human tissue seeping through the sheets wrapped around the dead (yum. One more reason to acquire footwear, mate). The bodies piled in the truck should be sliding over each other as decomposing human makes the sheets slippery. I suppose that’s a major flaw in zombie construction in this particular zompocalypse; it forgot to take account of actual decomposition in the specified climate. (The smell also ought to be enough to pretty well bowl Rick over, but again, everyone apparently has the opposite of super smell in this series, so we’ll let it slide). Of course, if corpses actually decayed like normal, they’d be rid of most of the zombies in no time.

There’s a weirdly small amount of damage that’s been done to this hospital, from what little we’re shown. The hospital scene in “TS-19” suggests that bombing of the hospital, or nearby, has commenced, but all we see is a relatively small chunk of building missing, rather oddly in the middle of a wall, a downed ambulance sign, and then a bit more horizontal damage behind the military encampment when Rick gets up the hill. You’d think they’d have kept bombing, not least to eradicate the piles of corpses, but unfortunately we never really get to see much of the early days and the military reaction; we get snippets about bombing Atlanta and see Shane and Lori watch as Atlanta’s struck, and when Daryl and Carol stalk Grady Memorial there’s at least one shot of the city where it’s clearly suffered aerial bombardment. But there’s really not a lot of engagement with the drastic measures taken to try to control the situation, just the idea that those existed. Fear the Walking Dead, from my understanding, doesn’t really do much to deal with this either, despite ostensibly aiming to initially tackle the very period of time that The Walking Dead skipped over. So that’s a shame.

The military encampment is odd. Surely you’d only bail on things like helicopters and Humvees if you absolutely had to, since otherwise they seem to me like the first thing you’d hop into as an escape route (and certainly in season 3, the Governor indicates that military playthings are highly prized). Sure, maybe your random joe couldn’t commandeer a helo, but surely joe schmo could yoink a Humvee. I mean, if I were fleeing a hospital and there were a whole military encampment hanging out in the back yard that no one was minding, I’d be inclined to hijack something and zoom away. Operation Save the Toes! If a herd had passed through, surely we’d see more damage to what remains (for instance, would that nice tent still be standing?). Points, though, for framing of Rick against the broken military might that both visually and metaphorically shows us how small he is. Okay, so I have to ask: how far away from hospital did Rick and his family live? Because he appears to walk for quite a while – with a bullet wound that’s still healing! – and their house looks like it’s firmly in a nice suburban neighbourhood. So did he walk several miles to dead half-lady and steal her bike, or did he literally just walk down the street? Maybe the unhappiness in the soles of his feet is just being overwhelmed by, well, everything. All I can say is that I ran away from home barefoot around age 8 or 9 and ended up with such bruised and blistered feet – after maybe twenty minutes of walking total – that I couldn’t go to school for several days because I couldn’t walk. And I wasn’t even recovering from a gunshot wound!

(Also, can we talk about that hospital wristlet. That sucker should have waaay more info on it. Really, if nothing else I think we can conclude that the hospital Rick was admitted to post-shooting spent all their money on giant rooms and then forgot about actually hospitalling. Do we blame that on Georgia, America, or bad TV writing?)

CORAAAL!!

Further proof of the rapid adaptation of the human species: Rick spots the bike and goes AH YES MINE, sort of clocking the half of a lady ten feet away without really being fussed; maybe an hour (?) into his re-entry into this waking nightmare of a world, he’s already become so numbed to dead bodies hanging about that it barely registers until she moves. And, mind you, while he’s seen plenty of dead people, and seen undead fingers poking through the crack between doors, this is the first undead person he’s actually seen. His reaction to just…flee is very much in line with his general “holy fuck okay moving on” attitude that we’ve seen thus far; each thing is weirder and worse than the last, layering up the horror as a surreal reality that’s made even more bizarre by the utter lack of any living people to ground him. While his collapse and “is this real?” moment at the Grimes household is, I think, a bit misplaced, it’s also really understandable because everything he’s seen is so far out of the normal realm of expectation that the only logical reaction is to question reality. He’s almost certainly both dehydrated and undernourished, on top of which he’s been utilising muscles that haven’t been used in some time; probably the most unrealistic aspect of his first hours after waking up is that he actually manages to get out of hospital and home so easily, rather than keeling over somewhere in the street and becoming Walker O’s (part of a balanced breakfast!). Although I feel like I would have hit the “wake up” whacking yourself in the head point long before getting home and realising my family wasn’t there. I think I’d be more likely to believe I’d walk through the door and my family would be out than to believe that all of the dead or the moving dead were real. Obviously the latter for Rick makes the fact his family isn’t home that much more surreal and distressing, because thus far he appears to have awoken to a world where there are no living people aside from himself, thus leading to the conclusion that if there are only the dead and himself, Lori and Carl must be dead – but I think I’d crack before getting to that point. (Though I sometimes wake up in the morning and literally can’t tell reality from what happened in my dreams, so who am I to judge?)

Weirdly as well, there’s very little in the Grimes household that tells me anything about any of the family. I know Lori and Carly frolicked off with Shane super fast when everything went to hell and took pictures and photo albums, but this house (as excellent as it is) looks very much like a set. There’s nothing really personal. It’s weird. Who are the Grimes, even? It reminds me of my ex-boyfriend’s flat. No pictures, no posters, no books (!!), nothing on the walls, no trinkets or files or any personal touches at all (please don’t be a serial killer eek). No wonder Carl settles into the apocalypse quickly and Lori has no personality other than being a disaster. They had practically no pre-pocalypse life other than “I’m Rick’s child” and “I’m Rick’s bitchy wife.”

As Rick walks back out of his empty house, you can see that the letterbox appears to be full of envelopes. Do you suppose Lori wrote a bunch of letters to people on the off-chance they’d get picked up after she and Carl left town with Shane, or do you think the post carried on even after everything else collapsed? (Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds… Nor zombies either, apparently. Now I really want a series of shorts following a postman as she strives to deliver every letter she can (well, not the bills, obvs) even as the world continues to collapse around her head.)

Okay, so if you get home and discover your family is not there, and everything is topsy turvy and haywire and omg what the hell is even happening – who just goes and plonks outside to think? Surely you’d think “hmm, okay, maybe I should check the neighbours”?

Are overhead fans on the porch a southern thing? I can’t imagine having one here in the Pacific Northwest.

Can we talk again about how absurdly lucky Rick is when it comes to the existence of walkers in this town? The only ones in the hospital are literally chained behind doors with an explicit warning to piss off. The only one he encounters on his journey from hospital to home has no legs, and thus poses minimal threat to a man able to walk (or cycle, as the case may be). The first mobile walker he sees is in the distance and hasn’t noticed him yet, and before he has a chance to shout out and put himself in danger, Morgan and Duane ex machina themselves into position to not only take out the walker but also provide medical support. (I guess Rick’s just been running on…adrenaline? And yes, I know Rick also takes a shovel to the face – we’ll ignore the fact that there’s no apparent lasting damage from a shovel to the face, good grief – but that’s a far cry from the fate of having his flesh ripped from his bones before he even knew what walkers were. Boy, would that suck.) A whole bevy of walkers turn up that evening, ostensibly because Morgan had fired a gun, but then they all vanish by morning aside from a single walker still skulking around for the convenience of whacking practice. (I wonder what would have happened if the single walker still hanging around had been Morgan’s wife. Somehow I doubt he’d have been as willing for Rick to practise his new world survival skills on her.) Quite aside from his dubious hospital survival, Rick Grimes should be dead. I really wish this could be attributed to his cop training (but we know that shit is dubious as fuck), but unfortunately he’s just a dude wandering aimlessly who gets super lucky. Sigh.

(I can’t be the only one who looks at the walker Rick sees and thinks he must be either a mortician or a goth kid. That much black? When it’s apparently warm enough in Georgia that Rick is totally fine in your not-standard-issue hospital gown and boxers? Also, thanks camera for keeping the walker blurred out so we can’t tell he’s dead (did you save on makeup?), but in retrospect it kind of makes you wonder if Rick has eye problems. Now there’s a real problem in the apocalypse.)

Two things about Duane’s first appearance. First, he was inches away from Rick; how did he get enough room to swing a shovel? Second, wtf is Duane doing shrieking for his dad? He’s been living in this world for at least a month and his mum’s a zom: he has to know that walkers are drawn to noise, yet he’s yelping out like a wounded dog here. Apocalypse better, kiddo.

Rather hilariously, it’s when Rick sees Morgan casually shoot the walker through the head that he starts to panic. OMG HE KILLED A DUDE. I feel like with everything Rick’s seen so far he ought not to jump so quickly to the assumption that Morgan killed another living dude. Then again, he did just get whacked in the face with a shovel and should probably have a concussion, so…

Convenient that Rick passes out when Morgan threatens to kill him if he doesn’t answer, since given his current state I’m not sure he could have done coherently. Note to self: when faced with difficult or awkward questions, keel over. It’ll give you time to think.

The first conversation Rick and Morgan have when Rick first wakes up tied to the bed raises far too many questions related to how long Rick’s been in hospital and how bad his wound is. I…am not going to spend much time on this, because it’s a never-ending chase with no real answers. This is the scene that rips us out of the glorious silent exploration of Rick’s new apocalyptic world and thrusts us into exposition, which at least in this case has a reason given Rick’s total ignorance of the current state of the world – but it’s still exposition.

Anyway, briefly – didn’t Rick get hit from behind, under the armpit? Shouldn’t Morgan have had to change two dressings? But there’s only one, and moreover, Rick’s original bandaging didn’t come close to covering where the original gunshot entry wound was. Magical moving bullets! Mystery wounds! Exposition! Hurray!

Ugh, reasons never to work on The Walking Dead: you have to film in Georgia, and it’s hot and disgusting and everyone sweats, even at night. Blech. Thanks but no.

Morgan’s stupid use of the gun to kill the walker provides helpful exposition, but his reason for why he did it – “it all happened so fast, I didn’t think” – doesn’t make much sense. It was one walker, with no others anywhere in the apparent vicinity, and while his son had potentially whacked down another walker, there wasn’t exactly an urgent need to use the gun. And while I’m not sure that Rick would be able to articulate the idea that what Morgan killed was something other than a living human being, the fact that he’s so insistent that it must have been a man speaks to his desperation to cling to anything resembling normalcy, while unfortunately ignoring his experience since waking up in the hospital. What do you do when you don’t have the vocabulary to articulate what you’ve seen?

As an aside, Rick chained up to the headboard wearing his boxers and hospital gown kiiinda looks like he’s ready for someone’s doctor dom fantasy playtime fetish. Good thing Morgan’s not into that, right?

There’s something deliciously hilarious about Morgan warning/threatening Rick with his tiny little knife when the backdrop is such delightfully mundane floral pillowcases. Laura Ashley does not approve!!!

Why couldn’t Morgan have found Rick a snuggie? Or, I don’t know, slippers? Or socks? Or an actual bathrobe? He’s stuck with blankie chic.

I do love that shot though.

Sidebar, your honour, I have a digression to indulge.

Morgan’s “friend, you need glasses” is kind of hilarious given that now they’re into the apocalypse, sucks to be you if you have non-perfect sight or any medical problems requiring medication or other intervention. There’s a surprising lack of your average American with lots of health problems on TWD, perhaps in part as commentary that many of those individuals would have stood no chance against the relentless people-eating horde. While the introduction of Connie offers a welcome insight into how someone with a disability is able to survive in an apocalyptic situation, the show on the whole oddly glosses over that whole issue. America is not a healthy country (we weren’t pre-Covid and we’re certainly not doing well lately). Nearly half of Americans take prescription drugs, according to a survey from the National Center Health Statistics. Some of these are vital, in that without them the person would die sooner rather than later; others treat conditions that won’t kill you immediately if untreated, but will kill you eventually or will cause significant problems as time goes on; and still others treat conditions that, while usually debilitating, you can usually survive and be at least vaguely functional. Some medications can be substituted by herbal remedies (digitalis, marshmallow root), but many can’t. I have chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, and deal with chronic pain and migraines; I take daily meds to counter both pain and migraine, as well as an assortment of supplements (and hayfever tablets, oh god) that I *can* function without, but which to do so would seriously suck. Where are these people in the apocalypse? There are so many people with disabilities or on medication who would be able to keep functioning as potentially beneficial partners in the post-apo world. Where are they? And where are the characters grappling with the choice of whether to sacrifice themselves or let their family and friends deal with an ongoing and worsening condition? The only times we really encounter that sort of thing are Milton’s test subject Michael Coleman, who ultimately dies of prostate cancer, the vatos’ little senior citizen safe haven, and Lilly and Tara’s father, all of whom are elderly. We only ever get a little blip of each of those instances, as well, in what appear to be relatively comfortable and secure locations, so we really don’t get a sense of how their frailties or differing abilities play into the survival of those around them. Hershel’s worst health problem was the leg amputated post-walker bite, and that ultimately was irrelevant to how he lived and died. I might be missing someone – I probably am – but it’s an oddity, one that I suppose arises out of both a narrative need – the elderly and disabled and sick are often viewed as less capable and thus less interesting except as an emotional zinger – and a practical in-world need that wants to focus on the strongest and most active rather than devoting time to people who’ve not only had to adapt emotionally but also physically and psychologically. I’ve got a main character in a post-apo situation who’s not only hauling herself through cities and forests with a bad lower back and weak hip and reliance on a cane but who also is unquestionably the leader of her group, because while her disability is not ideal in this post-civilised world, it doesn’t negate her value. The apocalypse doesn’t eradicate every non-fit, medicated adult, and leaving them out or using them as plot conveniences isn’t ideal. To get back to Morgan’s glasses comment – a quick google search suggests that around 61 percent of the population is reported to wear reading or visual aids at least occasionally. This probably isn’t nearly as many once you wipe out the need for reading glasses among the older population (and, you know, people in their 30s like me… *sob*), but nevertheless there’s a significant portion of the population who can’t see very well without glasses (and let me tell you, good luck getting contacts during the apocalypse). My sister is pretty well blind as a bat without glasses and has been since she was in middle school. Imagine how differently things might have played out if Carl’s vision had been super shitty.

Sidebar complete.

I like the all-male hand-holding over the meal prayer. There’s something sweet about it, a clinging to old habits even in chaos.

It’s interesting that Morgan asks Rick if he even knows what’s going on, because by this point it must be at least a month into apocalypse (per Morgan’s line later in the episode that the gas mains have been down a month or so) – what are the odds you’d run into a random person so utterly clueless a whole month in? I guess maybe the hospital gown, boxers, and bare feet clued him in.

I’ve been thinking this all episode: Rick’s beard is beautifully trimmed for a dude who’s been in a coma.

Rick’s response to Morgan’s “yep, the undead, they’ll try to eat you” line is so blasé it’s funny. Like he’s just so overwhelmed by everything of the day that zombie cannibals or whatever are hardly worth getting fussed over. He jumps right from sort of reacting “oh dead people” to going “so they’re out there? Okey-day then”. Meanwhile, Morgan’s cool air comment about drawing zoms never occurs again, and there’s such a time gap between the firing of the gun and the walkers skulking around outside the house that it’s odd they’re still hanging around. Actually, you see this too at the end of season 2, when the herd of walkers wanders out of Atlanta and eventually ends up on Hershel’s farm – they turn when they hear the gunshot, but how good are their powers of perception? Like, they’re attracted to sound – fine, whatever, I can buy that, fine – but a gunshot, for instance, is a single instance of noise that then dies away. If you’re not in the immediate vicinity, as a walker, how do you continue knowing where to go? The show suggests that when zoms are drawn by noise it’s like a magnet, pulling them in unerringly to the source of the sound, but how do they continue to know which is the right direction for ages after the sound has ceased? It’s not like they have a compass or GPS.

Aww, we’re still early enough in the apocalypse that car alarms still work.

Morgan’s wife makes me sad in a lot of ways. Obviously she’s undead and roaming around looking for her next snack and her son and husband love and miss her and find her undead state to be traumatic, but it’s not that specifically so much as the consequences down the line. Morgan and Duane stayed in the same house where Mama Morgan died, meaning they’re regularly within eyeshot, thus inflicting pain and anguish, or suffering the threat thereof, long after her actual death. (Yes, of course, they had a secure and safe base in the house and didn’t want to move, but still.) Morgan couldn’t kill his wife when she dies, the first time around (although that makes me wonder at what point she was booted outside, considering she died in the house; did they chuck her dead body out the front door before she turned, or wait until she was ambulatory and forcibly eject her?). This – I guess you could call it weakness – proves tragic. When Rick gives him a rifle, he sets out deliberately to kill her and still can’t. And then, because Morgan repeatedly failed to put her down, she ultimately causes the death of Duane – and Morgan takes the blame, flipping into a state of madness that operates until he meets the cheesemaker. (I’ll come back to Morgan in later posts. I have *thoughts* about him as both killer and pacifist.)

How do you grieve loss or try to move on if you can’t actually lay the dead to rest? It’s a question that I don’t think gets explored enough in the show, because most of the time everyone is so concerned with pressing on and surviving that grieving is set aside. I’m not going to go into this here, because there’s ample opportunity to do so in later episodes without needing to jump seasons ahead.

Early days: walkers attempting to work doorknobs are a thing, rather than just pawing at the door.

Man, I miss having a bat. I have a wok and a kitchen knife to protect against the undead these days…and assorted high heels, should it come to that. (Oh god the humanity. My shoes would be ruined!!)

There’s something adorable about Rick wearing a damn headshield mask as he waltzes out the door in the morning with his wooden baseball bat and WHITE T-SHIRT to whack the undead dude on the front walk to death. Where did the headshield mask come from? Did the Drakes just happen to have one in the back closet in case of a pandemic? (*sad hollow 2020 laughter*) In any case, it’s a laughable contrast with rest of the show; by the end of the season, no one gives a shit about facial protection or protecting the skin. Potential backsplatter? Eh, give it here, I bathe in zomgoo for the health benefits daily.

Lori appears to keep a glass jar of pinecones on a shelf. She also apparently took framed photos from the wall in addition to the photo albums. At least one photo album makes an appearance in this season, but unless Morgan repurposed the empty frames for defensive purposes, there’s no indication ever of what Lori did with those framed photos. (Sadly, the photo album is lost when they flee Hershel’s farm. One assumes, anyway, since Carl later gets hold of a single photo for Judith because there are no others.)

Atlanta as a safe haven/refugee centre is…well, it’s a plot point to get Rick where he needs to go. Realistically, you don’t want to go into an urban centre when there’s a pandemic. In America, Covid is now hitting rural areas with force, but pretty much all of the early outbreaks and spread were in urban areas. And that’s without the added complication of the dead getting back up again! Cities obviously have more resources, but… I dunno. Although, to be fair, unlike Covid or the flu or the common head cold, zombieism appears only to transmit through bites (since we don’t yet know that everyone is infected!), like rabies, rather than being so contagious that if someone breathes on you, you’re sick. But even then – even accepting that people think that it’s passed solely through bites and not any other way – being bitten doesn’t necessarily mean instant death (Carl is perhaps the most obvious example of this, I think, but Jim and Deanna both also survive for a time after being chomped), so you could conceivably be bitten in a non-obvious area (your side, for instance), waltz into a populated area with only minor symptoms or hop on a plane and then be released into the population of another country, only to then actually die and start to nom people. Eh.

How many sets of keys do the Grimeses have??

I’d suck in the apocalypse because without showers I’d be so sad.

Ah, bonding is always best when undertaken half-naked and wrapped in a pristine white towel.

Duane is adorable. Why couldn’t we get a show following Duane and his sass?

This episode is almost entirely about following Rick in his discovery and acceptance of this new, batshit life, but in some ways I wish we’d got a snippet of flashback with Morgan and Duane and Lady Morgan. It wouldn’t really have fit into the episode, but I can dream.

Rick showers and puts his uniform on rather than civvies. The implication here is that the uniform retains a certain power – protect and serve – so anyone living who sees him would know that here’s a person whose job is to help. Contrasts sharply with the police officer in the second episode of Fear the Walking Dead who’s stockpiling water and clearly has already shifted over to an every-man-for-himself mindset. In light of America’s current epidemic of problematic police officers, it’s interesting to contemplate differences had TWD first aired in 2020. Or had it aired, for instance, in the Pacific Northwest or Northeast, which generally tend to have a more left-skewing and police-condemning attitude.

I mentioned guns briefly earlier, but seasons 1 and 2 have this cute “must respect guns” thread underlying any use of a firearm. Here Duane wants to learn to shoot, but both Morgan and Rick make sure to emphasise that he has to respect the weapon – “Yeah, it’s not a toy, son, when you pull the trigger you gotta mean it.” Season 2 has Shane (and Andrea) flouncing about articulating THOUGHTS about gun ownership and use and training. After that? Welp, fuck it. You get a gun! And you get a gun! And you get a gun! To be clear, I do think if you’re going to handle a gun you should know how to do so properly and safely, but in the context of the Walking Dead it’s an early seasons thing that’s totally dropped by season 3 as the zompocalypse marches on and nobody got time for that shit anymore. (I’ll get around to discussing the shooting practice in season 2 later…)

I don’t know if it’s just the camera angles, but when Rick remarks that a lot of the armoury is gone, it seems like a massive understatement – from what we see, almost all of the guns are gone. Which might be a prop issue (although given the number of guns floating around on this show you wouldn’t think that would be a problem), but does sort of make season 3’s trip to the ol’ hometown with Michonne and Carl kind of funny given that all the guns are gone if there were never really any left to begin with. (And, thinking about it, when Rick is trying to justify going back into Atlanta to get Merle, he comments that he cleaned out the armoury, which makes it even odder that Rick decides to go back for weapons against the Governor et al.

“Conserve your ammo. It goes faster than you think, especially at target practice.” Unless you’re in season 2 on Hershel’s farm, in which case everyone has so much ammo that they’ll never run out.

I know Rick is still in early days of understanding the apocalypse, but it’s still sweet, and ridiculous, that he gives Morgan a radio with the expectation they’d continue chatting and catch up with each other. It also highlights Morgan’s downfall: the unwillingness to get involved in others’ business. He could go with Rick and probably be safer, not least because there’s two grown men to protect one boy, but he instead waits – ostensibly to up his and Duane’s shooting proficiency, but ultimately we see that it’s very much about the unfinished business with his wife.

As an aside, it seems the police station was useful for (1) hot showers and (2) guns and ammo. I’ve never been in a police station, but weirdly I’d have thought they’d have supplies stashed away. Rick and co. didn’t even have a gander at what might be there. But again, early days, I suppose!

RIP Leon Basset.

I love how Morgan hammers the shit out of the wood he’s using to barricade the door. I guess the zoms are conveniently faffing about elsewhere. Especially funny given that he then goes upstairs to snipe walkers, none of whom seem to have noticed the hammering. Are hammers just soundproof??

Christ Morgan’s wife is beautiful.

There’s something…poignant about Rick tracking down the first living dead person he ever knew in order to put her to rest. It’s the same kind of early apocalypse care that we see in “Guts,” when he stops to look through the walker’s wallet so they know the life of the undead man they’ve killed. His sorrow and tendency towards mercy are both here clearly indicated and provide a sharp contrast with the man he becomes. The mercy and drive to do what’s right is what results in him feeling he has to go back to Atlanta to get Merle, what makes him so adamant that they don’t kill the living and should strive to go where there might be a cure, what drives him to hop off the road and go after Sophia and to keep optimistically searching for her. There’s a sweet innocence there that still exists because he came to the zompocalypse after the fact and still retains a strong need to do what’s right that time living in zombieland will beat out of him. The parallelism in this section of the episode, which switches between Rick and Morgan’s actions after leaving the police station, also highlights the difference between having to kill someone you love vs. killing someone you don’t know (or, rather, have no personal attachment to; Rick kills Leon Basset with few qualms, but also frames it as mercy).

Rural Georgia looks hot. And sticky. Thank God my sister didn’t end up moving to the south.

Are the cracks in the windshield and the dirty appearance of the glass supposed to be the result of the apocalypse, or just their police department being a bit short on funds? (Also, it’s Rick’s face in a cracked mirror! Premonitions of mad Rick??) At least Rick’s got his windows rolled up like a sensible person.

Initial observations of Camp Outside Atlanta:

Dale is wearing glasses that I *think* never appear again.

Amy is carrying an armful of kind of hilariously long twigs.

WHY IS AMY WEARING WHITE TROUSERS IN THE APOCALYPSE THIS IS A TERRIBLE DECISION.

Who on earth is on watch on the RV? From a distance it looks, frame-wise, like either Shane or Daryl, but Shane makes his appearance to the side and Daryl is off on a hunt, so who’s this? Actually, in general, it’s kind of amusing that there’s a whole slew of other people in this camp (mostly older/heavier people, based on visibility) that are just sort of vaguely there until the walker attack. It’s actually a shame, really that they didn’t do anything other than plonk some irrelevant extras in the background; it means that when they all die, it means pretty much nothing as a viewer. (I’ll come back to this.)

Shane has great hair. Shame he shaves it off later…

It’s difficult to see when you’ve watched the episode multiple times, but we don’t know what either Lori or Carl look like before they appear in the quarry group receiving Rick’s radio call – we only actually realise who they are when Rick flips down his visor. And, actually, despite what I said above, Lori’s first appearance is not that bad. She observes that there are others – Shane sort of dismisses it with “oh well we knew that.” And then she says that they ought to put up warning signs on Highway 85 to warn people away from the city. Which is smart. Yes, it’s potentially dangerous, but as we’ll go on to learn, they’ve sent people to Atlanta with no previous problem, on top of which the road into town is absolutely empty – Glenn’s exit from Atlanta on the same road Rick rode in on tells us that the road Lori is talking about here is the same road Glenn and Rick have been in and out on. And this is the first time that Shane puts forward an argument that’s just plain wrong. He says they’ve had no time. Okay, fair enough – but they have a group of five literally in Atlanta as they speak. And based on Glenn’s exit path on the way back to the quarry, that group of five followed the same route in. Setting aside the question of why the hell their scavenging team apparently couldn’t stop along the road to place a “Stay Away, Walkers Ahead” sign, Shane’s argument is that they can’t spare the time to place the sign, because it’s “a luxury we can’t afford.” This makes no sense. As we’ll go on to see, this isn’t the first time someone from their group has gone into Atlanta (although it turns out that Glenn, their “go to town” man, has previously only gone himself, without anyone else). Everyone else up by the quarry is basically just fucking around doing nothing. The fact of the matter is that putting up a sign to warn people away from the city isn’t a luxury, but rather a helpful, logical, and overwhelmingly safe thing to do. Shane’s objection comes, in the first instance, from a man reluctant to relinquish control; it’s clear that Shane is viewed as a decision maker with practical knowledge the other survivors lack, and as a result of that knowledge is viewed as a leader. It’s an important if subtle moment in which Shane is established as the leader of the camp, a position that he then unwillingly gets shoved out of when Rick turns up. It is interesting, though, that here Lori is gung-ho about leaving their mountain and going down to put up a sign, while she later adamantly vetoes her husband going back to Atlanta. Shane’s argument is that no one goes anywhere alone, but given later events, it seems that Shane’s objection is not that someone wants to go warn people away from Atlanta, or that they want to risk Atlanta itself, as much as it is his desire to not let Lori be in danger. And Lori’s frustration at Shane’s decree is obvious – and yet she relents and gives in once kisses are to be had. Shane following Lori to verbally whack her for even thinking of putting herself in danger just points up Shane’s chauvinism. NOT LEAST BECAUSE, OH MY GOD, HE CALLS HER GIRL. SHE’S A WOMAN, YOU TWAT. If the argument had been made that Lori shouldn’t go because she has a son, and she shouldn’t risk him being an orphan – that I could understand. But Carl is so side-lined here that he’s really just a reason to make Shane and Lori stop kissing. Sigh.

God I wish Lori would have socked Shane in the eye. He does have nice hair, though.

Also, those are some *really* nice giant tents. Although my best friend’s adventures have made clear to me that I have unrealistically small expectations about tents.

I’m a little concerned about the condition of the windows of Rick’s cop car. They’re…disgusting. The driver’s side front and back windows look equally awful – I guess it’s good the apocalypse happened, because good luck seeing traffic out those windows. His windshield doesn’t look much better. Is over-enthusiastic pollen a thing in Georgia??

So, about the dead couple whose farm Rick encounters/steals a horse from. They’re both dead, woe, sadness, etc. What I’m fascinated about is that dude took the time to shoot his wife, and then decided to write a message IN HER BLOOD on the damn wall. I mean, okay, you wanted absolution for killing your wife and being about to kill yourself. But you kill your wife and then use her blood to write on the wall??

Signs that Rick is still in early days acceptance: he doesn’t enter the house with two clearly dead people (and thus likely no walkers) and then has a sit on a bench, throws up, and then goes in search of alternative transportation.

…that poor horse.

Is horse-taming a southern thing? I feel like I’d be terrified enough of the giant heavy horse to…not approach it.

Iconic shot!

It’s stunning that Rick has encountered zero walkers aside from the little girl. Works with the need for the story to move along, but is silly in terms of later walker distribution (ignoring season 2, which is its own special disaster).

Is everything flat in Georgia? Legitimate question. The extent of my knowledge of Georgia is a flight transfer through Atlanta. (Atlanta airport employees are all super nice, though.)

There’s something about the two zomdudes hanging out on a bus that cracks me up. How do walkers decide to just park it somewhere? “Ah yes, I recognise this bus, I’ve taken it to work every day for ten years. Definitely the best place to spend eternity.” It’s also odd but entertaining that the two dudes on the bus are repeatedly seen once Rick is in the horde and then in the tank. Why these two? Yeah, they’re the first Atlanta walkers he passed by, but they’re not exactly presented as special or important enough to appear repeatedly. Rick pops out of the top of the tank and whacks the one across the face, and the other skulks around the base of the tank and makes eye contact.

One of the weirdest and most uncomfortable moments in this episode, for me, is the two crows nomming the dead military officer. Caw caw! There’s a mild horror at the thought of ever being carrion. Though I guess everyone is just food for something else…

I can forgive Rick for a number of odd decisions based on the fact that he’s really only been awake for, what, two days? Maybe three? He’s still adapting to the new world, learning its rules, etc. But he rides a damn horse into a major city and is just generally not concerned. He comments to the horse when they pass the bus with the two walkers that it’s no big deal, they can outrun them – and yet somehow doesn’t think ahead about the existence of the dead in a major city. I guess it can sort of be attributed to the fact that he’s encountered remarkably few dead, plus in his brain Atlanta and its refugee centres are the answer to everything. He just hasn’t actually thought about it.

And, again, I’m stunned at the amount of abandoned military equipment. I guess the moral of the story is “don’t trust the military, don’t trust the government, they can do fuckall to help you.”

So Rick sees a helicopter. When he meets the others after Glenn rescued him, they ridicule the idea that helicopters still exist. Which brings up two instances. Firstly, beginning of season 3, when Andrea and Michonne witness a helicopter crash with military dudes who’ve got others attached to them. Secondly, the helicopter that rescues Rick and has apparently set up Rick Grimes’s future films. I just wish I knew where this particular helicopter was from and where it was going.

For a cop, even one with minimal experience with the world as it is now, Rick is an idiot. He lunges forward as stupidly as he went forward alone in his confrontation with the idiot car guys. Surely you should be thinking ahead? He’s in relatively unknown territory in a relatively new world. I’m not saying he should have anticipated a horde of dead people, but you’d think he’d exercise as least some caution, especially when his nearby décor indicates that the damn military was swamped with the enemy, such that they fucked off elsewhere. But maybe it’s just me.

Ooh, look, an extra drinking water.

I like that the makeup artists decay the walkers more each season. Season 1, most of them are sort of “hai I’m a regular human, I just have some dramatic injuries and some zombie eyes.” They look like people who are mostly dead but haven’t started to decompose. (I’d never be hired as a walker – the longer the show goes, the more they need skinny people so the makeup and prosthetics aren’t so obvious…and I am not skinny.)

That poor horse…

Yet again, Rick seriously lucks out. We see him multiple times with “omg dead people” face, with walkers just sort of lurking/dancing in place because they can’t lunge in or he’d be dead. And then there’s conveniently a tank above him. I’ve never been able to decide whether Rick going “Lori, Carl, I’m sorry” and then putting his gun to his head is a genuine “Oh no, I’m about to die” or if he’d realised the hatch was above him and so it was a “welp if I die, I love you.”

Men have huge feet. Yeek.

It’s stunning how long Rick’s in the tank with a zombot before said zombot wakes up and attempts a menacing growl. Not least because Rick’s so overwhelmed at having been upwardly mobile that he completely fails to take in his surroundings. (Although, as we’ve seen, Rick has never been great at checking his surroundings. Dude should be walkerbait by now.)

Oh no, a walker. Haaalp.

I do appreciate that Rick suffered auditory pain from firing a gun in an enclosed metal space. I also find it funny that one of the buszoms comes into his eyesight, like for some reason he's important.

“Hey, you. Dumbass.” Glenn is fucking amazing and iconic. I wish he'd been the main of this show. No offense to Andrew Lincoln, of course, but Steven Yeun is great, and Glenn's development from a kid into an adult is just lovely.

Anywho, that marks the end of "Days Gone Bye." Good in so many ways, eh in so many others. What's not to love?

love  em

[jade-soulbear]

Tw// vent (just loneliness and stuff)

I was on the verge of tears earlier today (by which I mean late yesterday, body clock is messed up) I'm coming to the realization that I probably won't be able to hang out with anyone anymore over easter and I haven't been able to before, which means I wasted my chances before I get really stressed in exams. It's annoying me because I had a great day today, I was with Anna earlier today and we had so much fun, we went on a long walked, hung out in the shopping centre and got ice cream and it was great, I'm just upset that I'm probably not even gonna be able to hang out with her for forever because she's so damn popular (she deserves it tbf) and always hanging out with other people.

I know I'm being paranoid because she's always giving me compliments and being nice to me but I still find it hard to believe that I'm her best friend, or that I'll stay her best friend because I rarely see her anymore and she's hanging out with certain people more and I just don't see what I have to offer.

As for my other friends, OF will be gone for the rest of the break and MC just won't talk to me (they rarely text anyone). What annoys me is that i saw them hanging out with FW on a day I asked if they wanted to hang out, and if they already made plans thats cool, but I don't know why they won't even send a text to say they can't make it so I'm not left unsure if they are gonna change their mind last second, because that is what they always do, if they don't just ghost me entirely with no explanation. I understand they are struggling mentally but it gets on my nerves because they text some people to make plans and everything and the most I'd ever ask for is a "I can't, sorry" and it just bugs me so much.

Ive also realized that I'm always the one asking if people want to hang out, and no one ever asks me. It's frustrating, I don't know if they don't like me or maybe they're just not thinking about me or whatever. Idk.

I guess it was more than just the not being able to hang out during Easter thing that got me teared up, I've just been really paranoid and worried over relationships and it's so confusing, thanks for listening.

[hotdadlicense]

salty ask list 4, 7, 9, 14 and 17 (XYZ is lawsuit) for 9-1-1- tv show?

4. do you have a notp in your fandom? are they a popular otp?

no! so far i'm vibin pretty much everything that's going on which is NICE.

7. Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?

NO. though, tbf, i have NOT finished yet and therefore also, have not done a rewatch. and that's usually where i form my more Concrete opinions.

9. most disliked character(s)? why?

okay i don't necessarily dislike any characters so far?? some character sometimes do Things and i'm like hmmmm what the fuck. maybe Don't. but overall i'm having fun and not like, actively tuning out when certain characters come on screen. which is RARE.

if i had to pick ONE, like just pick ONE that i'm slightly SLIGHTLY less endeared with currently? uh eddie. idk WHY okay i literally can't think of why. just something in the past season or so has made me be like hmmmmmmm. but also i love him. but i could love him more, y'know.

14. unpopular opinion about your fandom?

i actually haven't ventured out to any 911 blogs! which is surprising. everything i see about 911 comes from the same like 4 people that i follow that post it so i'm not up to date on the Fandom Drama and Discourse and honestly. it's so nice. love that.

17. instead of [lawsuit mess] happening, I would have made [answer] happen…

kasjhfjkasdhkj okay i am SO sorry about ur hatred of that whole plot line. like i hated it too but like. only simply becos i HATE Family Divided. Found Family Fighting. but honestly due to the fact that i know jackshit about lawsuits and lawyers and court etc etc?? the technical details about all of it barely even made an impact on me askjfksakhd i'm SORRY!

okay i haven't really done a Deep Dive on the Emotional Spectrum of what buck was ~going through~ for that entire debacle but like. there was the earthquake then there was the truck on his leg and he was off work and he was feeling like actual shit and he wasn't! allowed! to work! to be with his family! and they all kept turning him away! like yes, it was for his own good becos, injured, but like. it's BUCK! kids got abandonment issues and family trauma and is the type of person that NEEDS attention and reassurance and like. physical shows of affection. then there was the tsunami and losing christopher and then there was the blood clots at his welcome back party and he was turned away again???? i think there was some more hospital time? my memories getting hazy here but basically buck got kicked like. multiple times while he was already down.

and like the others were trying to show they cared by like. making him not work???? my memories of this specific part are NOT there becos with that plot i was like no lmao i'm not fucking watching until everyones reunited so if this is incorrect, forgive me, but everyone was like 'buck, no. u cant be here.' and buck was all 'bros i Need to be here. i NEED it.'

like they were all trying to SHOW each other how much they cared whilst also NOT LISTENING to each other. DECIDING things for each other instead of establishing some fucking open communication. so BUCK fucking sued them. which, okay drama king. and yes luc, he did it terribly. he did it in a way that no legal binding contract lawyer etc would work but. it's a drama show so that barely pinged my radar, i'm sorry, my dear.

SO BASICALLY all this to say that if EYE was in charge here and writing the story and laying down the ideas and storylines and character arcs, and we HAD to have buck sue them for like idk. the higher ups constant need to always divide The Family on Found Family Shows. then i GUESS we could keep MOST of it the same but instead, and luc omg ur absolutely gonna hate this, but instead!

instead of everyone kinda living in their own lanes and focusing on their own shit (which totally justified and fair btw! deal w ur shit, kids!) maybe if they all kinda looked around and were like 'oh damn. we're falling to bits here.' then MAYBE! if SOMEONE! from the firefam went knocking on bucks door to TALK to him.

and maybe if buck was all "actually, my lawyer said i'm to have no contact with anyone that i'm suing." cos he's such a law abiding citizen etc as we been knew. obviously.

okay THEN if said firefam member was like "oh, cool. they can forcibly remove me from the premise when they get here, then! any who! until then-" holds up some takeaway boxes, "dinner. can probably fit in an episode of [dumb cooking show here] as well. maybe Talk." and just barges in and settles on the couch.

and they TALK. and it's not deep and it does Not get to the root of the problem but it's a fucking START.

then two nights later, maybe a different firefam member shows up, same opening line at the door, and buck tries to get them to leave again, but like, he's barely putting up a fight. maybe the talk circles a little closer to The Issues this time.

maybe another firefam member a few nights later, but this time instead of trying to sort BUCKS Current Life State, they focus on said firefams Current Troubles. some give and some take.

maybe eddie DOES call buck to bail him out of jail. becos they've been in fucking CONTACT. maybe hen vents about her and karens current struggles and doesn't exactly ask, or listen, to bucks advice but like, it's good to TALK and she likes some perspective.

again, my memories of the other plotlines in these eps are HAZY at best and imdb is NOT helping me so disregard pretty much all of this if it DOESN'T make sense. but i just think it'd be neat if they fucking talked. if they sorted some shit out organically. i THINK i understand why buck jumped the gun and was like fuck it! let's sue! but i'd need a rewatch to like. have more concrete thoughts about it all.

BUT HONESTLY. if we could just get that shot of the lawyer telling buck what will happen if he goes thru with Suing them, including how he won't be able to have contact with anyone, and then we had a shot of buck showing up at bobby's. but instead of handing him the serve or what the fuck ever he did, instead! we got buck like, breaking down or something. like if suing was a close call but just didn't happen and instead buck like, took some time to THINK things through in the Big Picture way instead of the I'm Sick And Tired Of Always Being The One Fucking Suffering way and then we jump to the communicating and making up and there's no everyone vs buck, buck vs everyone thing??? that'd be just so much fucking better imo.

[anxiety-trademark]

The week in review:

Raw 10/19 NXT 10/21 NXT UK 10/22 Smackdown 10/23 Hell in a Cell 10/25

Raw:

I’m here to give Alexa credit once more for making me give a shit about the Fiend. I do like his entrance, especially without a live crowd.

What a visual... them standing together hand in hand.

I love that they kept the monitors set on the graphics for this segment. No offense to the audience, but seeing them would’ve ruined this.

Amazing transition from Fiend and Alexa to the next segment/match. Major points.

Still a vicious elimination to Lacey by Natalya.

I intend to take this title match as seriously as wwe has - not within a football field of giving a shit. I know how this entire angle ends anyway (preemptive welcome back, Queen) but let’s watch it through. See how this face turn worked out for Lana.

Asuka really is insanely fast, I’ll give her that.

Great rollup attempt by Lana (shades of Nattie/Alexa), great counter by Asuka into the Asuka Lock, and great job to Lana for grabbing the ropes. Points.

I’m sure this is all rehearsed, but Lana obviously puts in the work. Do I think she’ll ever be a singles champion? Absolutely not, but at least she isn’t complacent.

Is it the tables? Is that what led to Lana turning face?

This was good for Asuka. This was good booking. She didn’t look like a chump giving Lana offense, and she looked both strong and smart post-match. Solid.

By that logic, ShaNia owns NXT’s division as well. Just saying.

Really wish they’d nix the “Mandy” intro.

Stop I never wanna hear Peyton’s theme again, plz.

So they really never did explain why Peyton and Lacey became a thing? Mk. They seem like genuine friends, it’s just too bad they aren’t a compelling tag team in the ring. Would much rather watch Sexy Muscle Friends, ngl.

Hi I like Riott Squad and have no problems with them theoretically being in this match, but why the fuck are they still here lmao. Go to SD.

This better get longer than 10 mins, there are way too many women here for y’all to rob them of time.

It’s nice to see more women give a shit about tag team wrestling/becoming a cohesive unit.

Lacey just cuz you can do a moonsault off the apron, doesn’t mean you should. That was dicey. Fine, but dicey. There’s a reason Charlotte goes up to the top turnbuckle when she does it to the outside (not that I’m suggesting that incredibly high risk spot but I’m js)

Wish Lacey wasn’t so wooden. Wish she was more trusting and flexible like Charlotte.

I’d bet anything Mandy and Dana actually could suplex Nia. Let them try.

Good break up by Shayna. Protect Dana and Mandy’s finisher. Also that was a WICKED knee strike by Mandy.

Everyone’s gonna get a move in now huh. Le sigh.

NICE interrupt again by Shayna, girl with the good timing.

Fair ending. How long was that? 5 mins to the second lmao. Mk, wwe. Mk.

Welp Alexa is officially on Firefly funhouse. Good. Now we get to blur some lines and have a bit more fun with her character.

Highlight: Asuka looking like a dominant champ without squashing Lana

---

NXT:

Rhea Ripley #1 in nxt, these are the facts. She’s literally gone through them all. Throw her up to the MR, lesgo.

Watching her handle Charlotte and Piper is so impressive. Beast.

“Gone against Bianca Belair and Shayna Baszler,” so got squashed by Bianca and Shayna lmao. Hey, everyone’s got a role I guess. I remember when Alexa was enhancement talent that did a 450 splash and blew glitter all over the stage.

I don’t understand how Ember was wiped out after doing a mere roll off the ropes. It seems like a work since Jessi didn’t react and continued on as if she scored some offense (she didn’t) but that was a nasty landing on Ember’s lower back. Weird.

One count off an uppercut bahahaha

“You done messed up now,” Ember exclaims, after flipping off a fucking snapmare. I liked her better when she had no personality and just wrestled amazingly.

Is Ember a heel now? She’s acting like a heel. Why is she doing submissions? Why is she talking so much trash? Why is she so arrogant? Not a fan.

A springboard back elbow drop? Intriguing, Jessi. Intriguing. Points.

Jessi was too quick for Ember’s (now slow) setup into her codebreaker out of the corner. I’m gonna watch Charlotte vs Ember from 2019 after this, Ember was a lot quicker and cleaner - also cuz I miss Charlotte.

Yeahhh Ember used Jessi’s hair to pull her head back so she could do a crossface. She’s either a garbage babyface, or a heel.

Welp Dakota just turned babyface. Jeeze she be looking fine too. 10 points.

Dakota should be mad. She bumps like a motherfucker for every person she faces, and she made Ember’s botchy moves look amazing. Sucks she had such a stinker against Io, but there’s no way Ember should be rated higher than Dakota rn.

Interesting to note that Dakota came out on her own, as opposed to bringing - or even sending - Raquel.

Why does Xia have to win? Is there a kf contract that’s riding on her victory? Why is a random ass match against Kacy the biggest match of her career lol

Also this interviewer is gorgeous. Eyebrows on fleek, beautiful eyes and flawless hair.

*The Garganos prepare to Spin the Wheel* No.

Love Kacy’s speed. Always a joy to watch in the midcard.

Oh holy shit Kacy won, I did not see that coming. Where we going with this Xia stuff?

Xia gonna single handedly wreck both Kacy and Kayden?

WHY IS RAQUEL OUT HERE? What the fuck did Kacy and Kayden do to Raquel lmaooo

Commentator said Raquel sees Rhea Ripley in everyone she looks at. I say that’s the weakest explanation ever. Y’all just trying to find any reason to give her screen time, and this ain’t it.

“She’s sending a message to Ripley,” RHEA DON’T FUCKING CARE ABOUT THESE BITCHES. Also she’s like 3x the size of all of them lmao what?

“And next week? At Halloween? Havoc?” Girl stay backstage with your promos.

I don’t know wtf the wheel is, but I absolutely loved that segment with Io.

She’s such a special attraction to me. I miss her when she’s not on, and she’s so under saturated that I never get tired of seeing her. 

Highlight: Segment with Io

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NXT UK:

Man I really like Nina’s theme song.

After seeing last week’s fucking wrist lock marathon, this aggression is such a breath of fresh air. Not really much of a match, as it a brawl... but that’s perfectly fine lol.

Ahh Nina’s a runner? Interesting, I wouldn’t have guessed that.

Not a fan of Amale’s boots with her gear. Pressing stuff, I know.

Lol thought Nina was about to do a dis-arm-her. Man, I miss Becky.

Nina is a bit awkward with her transitions, I’m noticing.

Beautiful landing of the back body drop by Nina. Practically a swan dive.

Amale did such a lackadaisical pin attempt, and then could barely muster the strength to kick out of one. Ma’am isn’t the worst, but with as green as she is, she should be limited to 3 min sprints.

Seems to be a popular complaint I have with UK, they get gassed insanely easy. wwe needs to build a pc over there or something.

Final Act is a really weak finisher, but considering the speed, I will give points for the way Nina holds her opponent’s neck forward. We like to see performers protecting their partners from getting whiplash.

Love Nina’s voice. Love her whole shtick tbh.

She wants Piper? *sigh* okay. Should’ve just done a tournament to determine KLR’s next opponent, but whatever.

Highlight: Nina’s backstage interview

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Smackdown:

lmfao Bianca’s reaction to being slapped. Ahhhh she’s funny.

Jeeze fucking tossed Zelina across the ring.

oof that speed by Bianca after flipping out of the hurricanrana. Whew.

Bianca straight threw Zelina into the air just to punch her in the throat lmao.

So this match was literally just “watch [Bianca] shine now” aye rep those lyrics, girl.

Confession: sometimes I fangirl over Bayley’s demeanor. She got BDE and you know what? Good for her, good for her.

Points for the chair, Bayley.

“[Sasha is] an ungrateful brat” you know... kind of accurate.

Tbf Bayley, Sasha’s name kind of is bigger than your title, cuz she’s kept herself as an A+ superstar for like 4 years without holding gold. That deserves respect and recognition. That’s a woman keeping solely her name relevant without even being champion. Now in all fairness, I think all 4 of the horsewomen are up to that standing now, but let’s give credit where it’s due.

Sasha deserves to be champion in a meta sense, this is a fact, but man her character is so unlikeable. Like Bayley is a coward and an absolute tool but she still comes off as more genuine. A face turn for Bayley will be so easy. Not asking y’all to rush it wwe, but I’m just saying.

“Just give me the title back and we’ll talk about it,” Bayley says, as if she won’t grab that shit and bolt out of the arena.

Oh that was such a good set up to the spot with Bayley caught upright in the chair. I saw that screenshot months ago, but watching it be set up makes it so much better.

Ma’am I feel like being physically forced and coerced into signing a contract automatically makes it null and void, but hey this is your universe, what do I know.

Vicious - Bayley falling over with a fucking chair wrapped around her neck. Whew what a bump.

“Go help her Cole” LMFAO legit the last person in the company that would come to Bayley’s aid. Good line, Corey. That was a great promo and segment. Mega points.

Highlight: Go home segment for Bayley & Sasha

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Hell in a Cell:

Kind of a weak video package for this feud, ngl. They didn’t bother with the Raw women’s championship, didn’t bother with 2019, Raw 2016/2017, nxt... Closest we got were a couple 2 second clips/screenshots.

By definition, this feud has to be one of the biggest disappointments in recent memory. It had the potential to blow Becky/Charlotte out of the water, and didn’t even enter the same stratosphere. Shame. This is a perfectly fine feud in a vacuum... until you remember it’s fucking Sasha and Bayley. Okay I’ll stop beating a dead horse. 

If Sasha were a real babyface, she’d drop that awful Snoop remix.

Sasha looks amazing. Love the contrast of Sasha wearing white and Bayley wearing black. Gonna miss Bayley’s old gear though.

Love Bayley spray painting 1-0 on the chair, since we all obsessed over Sasha’s shitty record ahead of this match lmao.

This feud just never picked up that mountain of tension Becky and Charlotte had at Evolution I’M SORRY.

Why can’t everyone do a headscissors takedown as fast as Sasha can.

Such an innovative way of utilizing a table and the cell to deliver a meteora. POINTS FOR SASHA *applause*

So I like the concept of Sasha rolling under the table and pushing it up into Bayley, but the landing of the table near Sasha’s head made me uneasy. I like the concept of Sasha rotating her body on the apron before jumping straight into a meteora against the cell, but the way she landed against the LED was awkward. The ideas are there though.

Cool watching Sasha jump from the apron to scale the cell, then back to the apron, then jumping over Bayley onto the floor. She’s like a rabbit. I’m underselling this tbh, like 95% of the women in the company can’t do the things Sasha can do.

OOF at Bayley being dropkicked into the steps. What a landing.

At this point, I don’t even want to see a women’s hiac match unless Sasha’s in it, or at the very least has a hand in producing it. Ugh she’d be an amazing match producer, whew.

Ugly landing through the kendo stick onto the steps by Sasha. That’s a spot that would’ve received an audible gasp from a live crowd.

OOF a sunset flip powerbomb into the fucking cell. oof. rip Bayley.

OOF a sunset flip into the fucking chair. oof. rip Sasha.

Positive on Bayley’s botched kendo stick/tape spot: lends credence to how inexperienced Bayley is with handling weapons in kf, and Bayley did a great job vocally improvising - probably earned herself points backstage. A negative: what a disaster of a spot lmfao. Should’ve had it already created and ready to go beneath the ring, or used a broomstick/crutch for the spot instead. Having people handle tape mid match is stupid. Wasn’t Bayley’s fault, but the crowd would’ve shit all over that lesbireal.

If you’re a specified Sasha fan, you’ll probably deem this the greatest match of Sasha’s career, cuz my god did she look amazing in it (and she actually won) but if you’re not, I’ll tell you, they did not do a good job making Bayley shine at the end of her historic reign imo.

Sasha bout to have a breakdown. Good acting.

This match lacks cohesion. Very spotty, but most of the spots are fucking incredible, so it gets a pass.

I like the ladder on the chairs.

Sasha jumping off the set up ladder to do a meteora in the corner was nice. Sasha using a fucking Bayley to Belly onto the ladder was beautiful.

Sasha looking like she wants to cry. Man she’s amazing.

BEAUTIFUL counter out of the Bayley to Belly by Sasha; dropped Bayley into the chair to set up her Bank Statement inside the chair.

Mega points for that single chair being the center of their entire feud, as the rivalry began and ended with that chair. Bravo there.

That’s it, Bayley’s reign is finally over. This match’s review was hella long, but deservedly so. Extremely happy for Sasha. Took her 4 years on the MR giving people banger after banger before wwe trusted her with a legitimate title reign, but we’ve finally made it.

Highlight(s): Both sunset flips by Bayley & Sasha against the chair & cell, respectively

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*hiac blew everything else out of the water by default thanks to Bayley vs Sasha, but both Raw & SD were very enjoyable to me this week as well.