#and the rest of tdr did Not help with that.

[mamawasatesttube]

just remembered how megfitz made tim think about how bernard is so much better than all the other relationships he'd "settled for" and was once again briefly consumed by rage. meghan you apologize to zoanne wilkins right the fuck now

[markantonys]

thoughts on the people of falme cheering over learning that the dragon has been reborn

1) their city was just getting blown up and now it's not. they're happy about this.

2) their city had been occupied by the seanchan for weeks (months?) and now it's not. they're happy about this.

3) the average layperson may not even recognize the dragon symbol; maybe they're just thinking someone's putting on a nice fireworks show to celebrate the attack being over.

4) but assuming they do recognize it, this is not unlike the immediate reaction to rand declaring himself in the stone in TDR. all the onlookers kneel before him and take up chanting "the dragon has been reborn!" it's not a celebratory moment, exactly, but it's far from a fearful one. it's only in the little coda afterwards that mat tells us the news is being met with both awe and fright as it's being spread; in the immediate moment, "awe" is definitely the main emotion.

5) there is book precedent for rand being welcomed into a city for whom he did a good deed, rather than being met with hatred or fear (illian). maybe the people of falme, in this immediate post-battle moment, care less about the vague future notion of the last battle and more about the fact that whoever's up on that tower did them a solid by helping get rid of the seanchan and the whitecloaks.

6) elayne noted that the people of falme act like they've been seanchan all their lives. perhaps their cheering for the dragon reborn who's just conquered their conquerors is meant to show a Series Theme about how the average layperson doesn't care about who's in charge or about what's going on in the world at large as long as their own individual life isn't affected too badly.

7) in the books, the idea that the general populace is afraid of rand/the dragon reborn really doesn't emerge strongly until TSR, after he's been publicly out as the dragon for more than 5 seconds. no reason to assume the show will never get to this idea just because it hasn't yet. this series has 1 million Themes and not all of them can fit in the first 2 seasons of the show. since everybody was going to be split up for most of this season, they chose "the vulnerability of isolation vs. the strength of togtherness" as the Focal Theme for the season and the big moment of togetherness in the final scene is the conclusion of this Theme. (and this was all necessitated in part by barney's departure; rafe said that the changes to mat's story are what made them decide to double down on the isolation theme for season 2.)

8) simple storytelling and Making Emotionally Satisfying Television reasons. season 2 was a very heavy season of isolation, despair, and loss (and i saw more than one mid-season critic review & show-only comment begging for some light because things had been so painful for so long). thus, they wanted to end the season on a note of unity, hope, and triumph, to give the audience some much-needed positive catharsis. the final scene being everybody screaming in horror and recoiling in terror from rand would've been, you know, kind of a downer.

9) even if the people are celebrating, rand himself is CLEARLY not happy. rest assured that the show is aware of the "it sucks to be the chosen one" Theme and is not going to make being the dragon reborn any less of a burden for rand than it is in the books (just in case the whole thing where he spent the entire season hating himself and having nightmares about killing everyone he loves didn't already give you that impression).

plus, just like in TGH&TDR, this season rand's inner struggle was only about being a male channeler because he had no idea his dragon reborn duties weren't over until the last few episodes. only now that he has officially taken up the mantle of the dragon reborn will it be time for us to see how much being the chosen one weighs on him. so, just the same timing as it was in the books. (and frankly, i think season 1's emphasis on rand having concrete plans for a future in emond's field which he now has to abandon already sold this idea more than the first 2 or 3 books alone did; as a show-only for s1 i was so upset about rand not getting to be a stay-at-home cottagecore dad, my show-only mom was so upset about it, and i've seen plenty of other show-onlys being upset about it too.)

[iviarellereads]

Wheel of Time full series spoiler thoughts on TDR 20-24

A probably semi-regular weekly bonus to my reread blog, since sometimes you realize things on reread that just make you need to yell in a full spoiler space.

I feel like this first chapter puts Lanfear's dreamhopping with Perrin into perspective as something she really was doing with all of them, but I'm still chewing on the why of that angle of things.

I wonder if Lanfear knows more about Mat and his role in the prophecies. She's canny enough to have survived the whole damned series, she wouldn't get very far if she didn't know everything there was to know.

I'm still a little surprised, this read, at just how much Siuan demonstrates blatant distrust of Leane, and not remembering a single instance of Leane bringing it back up after the coup. "How many times did you send me out of the room when you were trying to deal with this alone? And how many times could I have helped save your ass? How many times have I ever let you down or done anything to imply I wasn't trustworthy?" All valid questions she could be asking!

I always do forget that little fragment Verin reads. She's so cheeky! Do you think she really does know what it means, that it was a test for Egwene? It is a bit odd that it names Ballsy as just another name for Ishy, but then seems to refer more to the Aiel than anything… though, I suppose in a smaller way Rand/the Dragon makes the whole world face a comparable test of faith. Lies are the foundations of the perception of safety, for a lot of folks. The idea that the Dragon betrayed and broke the world on purpose because he was a Darkfriend, for example, is one that a lot of countries and cultures have adopted in Randland.

And Verin's list… do you think that she included tidbits she only learned as a double agent, obscured in detail to make it plausible that they were in records somewhere, but wanting to help the girls as much as she could?

I do have to say, it's funny that RJ was still holding onto the ageless face with no Oaths here, in retrospect. That later he decided it would in fact be all too obvious that a woman hadn't taken the Oaths just a few years after her raising to the shawl. Then again, these are AU dreams, maybe we can pretend the rules are a little different wherever Egg went.

All the little hints, all over the story, that Sheriam is Black Ajah even so early on. Chef's kiss, incredible. And throwing suspicion at Elaida in the same breath almost when she's not even really a villain, just an antagonist who is in fact trying to fight for the same goals from a different angle and getting in our heroes' way.

"Thank you, Perrin, she thought, for showing me how to do that." How much she'll be thanking him for by the end!

"I do not believe you will ever be part of the White Tower, not in the way the rest of us are" well you're mostly right about that one Elaida, Egg definitely won't be part of the standard progression of things.

Alanna ;~; Oh jeez I love-hate how much the show has made me love her before I'm gonna have even more complex feelings no matter how they handle what she's been set up to do. (If you don't believe me, look back at her season 1 outfit, she's covered in chains, and that's the least and most obvious of the seeds planted.)

RJ had a lot to answer for with all the fetishy boob and spanking content, but just as much, it would be interesting to know how he thought Mat's memories and Old Tongue would shape up out of the "Old Blood" concept. Big "thanks I hate it how about there are enough genetic legacies in this setting making people special snowflake protagonists who fulfill prophecies and it's okay for not all your heroes to be from fancy backgrounds". Star Wars fell into the same trap in the sequel trilogy.

[butterflydm]

wheel of time s1e4: the dragon reborn

Intense! The tension is certainly not letting up. Definitely looking forward to rewatching this to appropriately digest it.

Okay, I’m definitely going to mention book spoilers below during this initial reaction:

Logain was fantastic. Really liked the actor and I hope he returns when Logain comes back into the story further down the road. He also was able to illustrate for the audience that the hand motions are not necessary for channeling; it’s just how the Aes Sedai go with things. I loved the visuals we got with the taint on the source, and the whispering. And getting some nice Dragon Reborn lore dropped through his plotline was fantastic. I also liked his talk about how he believes even in working with his enemies if they’re working towards the same goal (something like that); will be relevant for him later, for sure.

The main focus on this episode was definitely on the Moiraine-Lan-Nynaeve-Logain section of the story, but we did also get some good moments in the other two plotlines.

We missed Rand and Mat learning the gleeman ways from Thom, which is sad, but I’m glad we got the story about Olywn. And Thom believing that Mat is a potential channeler meant that he accidentally told that story to the person who it’s actually most helpful for (though it certainly won’t help improve Rand’s already shown feelings of distrust towards Aes Sedai!). Relatedly, Mat and Rand bonding over their mutual paranoia at the beginning of their plotline this episode was... kinda sweet in a very ‘oh dear’ kinda way. But Rand focusing his concern on the idea of Mat being the potential Dragon and looking out for him and potentially protecting Mat from the Aes Sedai is a very interesting way to go about this storyline and I like it! This was, imo, a great episode for Rand, in terms of him trying to set a tone of honesty and compassion.

The other half of Perrin’s conflict gets shown with the introduction of the Way of the Leaf, so his plotline has been set up clearly. But this got to be something of a rest episode for him and Egwene, without any real conflict, which was kinda a nice natural break from the tension going on in the other plots. And they’re probably going to stumble back into The Plot next episode, so they deserve a break.

Okay, back over the The Big Plot this episode. So much Aes Sedai info was dropped on us! Lan and Nynaeve bonded (not that kind of bonding!)! Nynaeve revealed her ability to channel in a way that was both epic and appropriate! Talk of the ‘rift’ between Moiraine and the Amyrlin seeded, lol. We also got poly relationship confirmation with Alanna and her Warders, which I will tuck away as a good sign for later developments in other plotlines down the road.

I liked seeing the One Power in action during the battle scenes. And the talk about how the DR will make Logain’s power look like nothing by comparison is very exciting.

Liandrin trying to make nice with Nynaeve but Nynaeve calling her out as a snake after she left: yes, perfect, so true.

I adored Lan and Nynaeve’s talks! Their second one especially was so good. Talking about their pasts together and letting each other in. <3 I also loved Lan and Moiraine’s talk and her concern that she might have been wrong about one of the Two Rivers’ kids being TDR and Lan reassuring her that the signs all point to it being one of the kids they collected.

[dangan-meme-palace]

You mentioned writing a fanfic with a selfinsert i think? Do you mind sharing more about it? Im curious to learn more.

Ah what I was talking abt yesterday abt working on my OCs was my Overlord OCs, something I've been really into as of late.

But here's a ramble about my DR self insert anyways because I finally have the plot down.

My DR SI is the Ultimate Media Critic who basically fucked up Season 52 at the last minute on purpose (for Rantaro's sake) and got everyone executed, including herself, but she was spared because the audience liked her for it, and so TDR shoved her in V3 with a new talent: The Ultimate Online Investigator.

Keeping old cast members– barring the MM– alive pisses fans off because that takes away time spent with the new cast for people they already know, so TDR tried to get her killed. Specifically Monokuma shoved her down the fucking stairs by the library (to make it look like a double murder and make the investigation harder) and was gonna play it off like she tripped.

She lived though, and got her old memories from the last game back. Just in time to discover the dead body of the person she was willing to sacrifice everything for. Great, everyone last season died for nothing and she's the one who killed them :')

She spends V3 secretly keeping an eye on Tsumugi under the guise of being sewing/cosplay/RP friends; becoming friends with (ugh) workout trio to keep herself relevant; making genuine friends with Miu, Kiibo and Gonta; and secretly helping Kokichi/keeping him company because she realizes how smart he is and is hoping that he'll be able to help her escape the killing games somehow because while she figured out that DR was a story, she wasn't smart enough to escape.

She also spends her time fucking with the audience with lowkey meta commentary that the rest of the V3 cast doesn't understand. She calls everyone characters, and when something happens she'll mention the plot, etc. The V3 cast thinks it's just a quirk of hers because she "RPs" with Tsumugi, but she's directly referring to how they're in a story of some sort and how there's an audience watching them.

She tries to blend in and secure her place within the V3 cast (because if she doesn't make herself neccessary to the plot TDR will try to kill her again) by using her talent as the Ultimate Media Critic to figure out what's going to happen ahead of time and either get involved with it or solve it (since when she got her old memories and talent back, she lost her new ones so she has to pretend to be an investigator when she's not in order to keep up her act.)

Her hunches usually end up being right since she IS the Ultimate Media Critic afterall, of course she would be able guess the plot of V3 when it's written so badly lol.

Chapter 5 she finally loses it and distances herself from everyone because she can't stand them and how they aren't even close to finding a way out of the game loop and not only that but they're ganging up on the only person who is efficiently working on escape (Kokichi.) Everyone is shocked when she calls Kaito and the rest of them idiots for trying to take on the Monokuma army because she's been playing the role of "Member of the Workout Squad" so well that they never knew she secretly hated them and their dumb antics. They think Kokichi is manipulating her lmao and they keep trying to "save" her from him.

An important thing to note is that in CH4 after Miu places poison next to Kokichi, she decides to swap the poison in Shuichi's lab with (sorta) harmless stuff like tranquilizers and the antidotes with the poison just in case someone tries to use the poison, either as their murder method or as a red herring like Miu did. This is how she screws up Chapter 5's murder and is able to turn that situation in her favor.

This leads to that and one mental breakdown later she's saved Kokichi from dying in the hanger by sacrificing Kaito and frames Maki for the crime. During the trial Monokuma tries to (correctly) blame her for the crime because TDR thinks that she's been feeding Kokichi information, which is explicitly in defiance of their unspoken agreement–

The terms and conditions of her continued survival are that she never tells anyone of her memories and that she always makes herself entertaining/improves the plot.

–So to get back at TDR and in a desperate bid to survive, she reveals her original talent and makes a big show of fucking things up and messing with people like she did in the last game. The audience is really happy with her because not only did she manufacture a star-crossed lovers scenario with two very beloved characters, but she also speaks directly to the audience during the trial. Where before she had only been making references that they might get, she is now directly calling for their participation (which coincidentally goes with this season's theme: Audience Participation.)

Since Monokuma was expecting her to die and not Maki, Maki ends up getting my OCs execution: Flame War.

During the final trial she goes on a rant about how V3 is the shittiest story she's ever seen as the Ultimate Media Critic (because shes been bottling it up to keep up her act) and then proceeds to detail exactly why that is, which kinda pisses off the cast because she's "inadvertently" insulting them by insulting their characterizations and the dead cast members too lol.

Story ends with her finally getting out of the game and having a happy ending.

All in all just imagine: What if Kokichi had gotten away with his plan in Chapter 4 and had been forced to play another game instead of dying and you'll basically have a pretty good idea of what my OC is about.

[marshunter06]

Do you have any fluffy TD headcanons?

Hi Anon, I’m so sorry to disappoint but I’m literally the worst when it comes to headcanons. Like yes I have my own thoughts but they usually lead to fics and they change depending on my mood/ what my muse is vibing with. That being said so that I don’t completely suck, I can give you some specifically based off my own verses/ current mindset (also idk if you’re looking for a certain type of headcanon, I need some direction, my brain is all over the place 24/7)

First is def Trentney, if you follow me you know I’m trash for them. So def a solid brotp otp too cause I’m weak idk if you know Oh Wonder, but that kinda vibe is what I envision for them cause they would totally make music together

I’m p obsessed with TDR verse smol duncney, childhood friends to lover trope? Loves it forgive me C but kinda like in canon verse I always think of them losing contact and finding their way back to each other, of course lots of fond memories to look back on and realizing they’re the best suited for each other after going out and discoverying themselves

I also really enjoy the idea that the whole cast ends up all cool with each other and regularly hang out and stuff, like they’re all part of this club from the awfulness that was TD

I know lots of people have ideas of what Duncan’s job should be and while I totally agree with them!... I also kinda really dig the idea that he’s involved with the arts, whether it be through words or some sort of canvas. Like at first it starts off as a thing he did to express his emotions and of course he would hide it, but then he gets the support from (really whoever you can think of, but in my mind of course Courtney) to share it with the world even though it was something hidden for only him to see— until he shared it with Courtney in my case, but really anyone you see him having a strong bond with. And they encouraged and cherish it so much that he’s just like maybe I am good enough to show it off (I also have an idea of Duncan getting involved with law enforcement too, but that’s a whole different thing)

I also really am into the idea that TD wasn’t real, like it was all fake, but it became real, again duncney being like a real thing cause you can only pretend for so long until you catch feelings. Like the way their eyes soften at each other sharing secret glances that communicate a thousand words even tho it’s only been like half a second. Wanting to protect each other from the media cause they just don’t know the struggles of acting, sharing their burdens with each other knowing they would understand. The moment of holy shit I think I actually like this person who’s been such a constant support and how did I not see they were there all along and it being reciprocated, like they were always meant to crash together (and yea I’m a sucker for a pinning Duncan who is the first to get that woah, this is it man, like Courtney’s his one and only, but waiting for her to figure it out too cause it’s not cool to force feelings and self project, but like dude she’s totally into you too just she’s a bit slower to accept it)

Trentney somehow ends up having to raise a kid together (this is a fic idea that idk if I’ll ever get to write, but I want to cause it would self indulgent as fuck) and they’re like the best parents even tho they didn’t choose this life. Like Trent had a relatively normal ish childhood, but Courtney definitely didn’t, so at first she’s afraid she’s messing up, but like Trent doesn’t know what he’s doing either. Yea there are a few bumps, but they go through it together and find that they make great partners, literally had they been on the same team during TD it would’ve been over for the rest of the contestants. Anyways the kids ends up fine and loves their weird family dynamic and wouldn’t change it for the world

Love the idea of everyone shipping my otp (or your otp), so like the entire cast gets together to help push them together but like it only makes things more difficult until finally the otp is like look we appreciate the effort but we got this. And everyone is like clearly not cause why aren’t you together already!!

Ok this got longer than intended and it’s not even that great, shows you what’s goes on in my head cause I’m just always scrambling. And yea most of my things are about duncney or Trentney but they’re my ships so I can’t help it, I write romance fics for a reason

[that-banana-headed-bovine]

Season 2 Shenanigans

AHEYYY sO I went on a giant Knight Rider binge the last few days, and I've FINALLY seen all of Season 2!!  Big thank you to @trust-doesnt-oxidize who watched with me and stayed up absurdly late because I wanted to see Garthe before I went to bed AIDBWJFNEM

I just wanted to post a quick reaction to all of the episodes, spoiler warning activated!

Goliath Parts 1 & 2

I LOVE MY DOOFY VILLAIN SON. K.I.T.T. is HILARIOUS, I love his dynamic with Goliath, as is evident by my handle oops- I hate how Season 2 starts with my son almost dying tho, almost had a heart attack tyvm! This is back before I knew anything about the direction of the rest of the series so I was legitimately in shock lmbo- Moustache Michael is a gem tho I love him. I SURE HOPE HE STAYS A DUMB VILLAIN WHO'S JUST REALLY SILLY TO WATCH. SURE HOPE THEY DON'T TAKE HIM TOO SERIOUSLY.

Brother's Keeper - Blind Spot

I- forgot that these episodes existed until I looked at the episode list for this, soooo...

I should really not be lazy and look up an episode summary and try to remember what I thought of these but the problem is that I am in fact going to be lazy because this post is already taking so long

Return to Cadiz

This episode is so,,, frustrating.  Not the plot or the format or anything like that, nono... I mean how they essentially introduced April.  Like, okay, I know that she has been here since the beginning of Season 2, but she hadn’t really said much up until now.  This was where we really got to know who she would be, and, uh... After this episode, I absolutely hated her.  Despised even.  She forces my son to go drive on the same ocean on the same beach where Karr DIED without any testing beforehand AND is chastising Michael in a flirtatious way.  The heCK is this woman?!  WHERE’S MY BONNIE???!!!  I was so mad at her you guys I.  But the thing is, I don’t hate April, not by a long shot.  In some ways, the rest of Season 2 does a better job giving her a character than all of Season 1 did for Bonnie!  I really enjoyed April and wish that both could have stayed.  BUT THIS EPISODE makes her SO HATEABLE and I just ugh.

also I tried to watch this a long time before I got to and after seeing the intro and not knowing the title of K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R. at that point in time, I thought Karr was gonna come back based on all the panoramic shots of the underwater and I am so sad that he didn’t so oops this episode gets my wrath a bit

K.I.T.T. the Cat

0/10 there are no cats.  False advertising.

Seriously tho this episode was a pretty run of the mill episode.  The best part of the episode was Kitt, because it always is, but seriously that guy with the hedges was amazing- I GOT THE GAG BY THE THIRD TIME IT HAPPENED BUT THE FIRST TIME HE GOT STUCK IN THE TREE OH MY GOSH I WAS DY I N G- Also the fact that Kitt messed him up again trying to apologize is so sad yet funny ahosihdfiohasdf

Custom K.I.T.T.

APRIL GET THAT STUPID DECAL OFF HIM OH MY G O S H-

Somehow her 2-d design ideas looked almost worse than the actual thing and I thought the actual thing looked like a that default sticker decal that you get on a Hotwheels car.  I’msorryI’mnottryingtoroastanyartistsIjust I why there’s so much potential with giving Kitt decals :(

Seriously I want to use my drawing software to draw fire on Kitt at some point because it could be done so cool and that ain’t it chief.  I’m probably not going to be too great at it either since I don’t do backgrounds nearly enough and fire would be a background element for the most part but I could at least alter the colors ; m ;  OR LIGHTNING OH MY GOSH AAA LIGHTNING WOULD BE SO COO L ON HIM-  anyway it needed so much more red- and it was so asymmetrical too aHHHH-

I.  I’m fine it’s fine I’m fine it’s fi-

I don’t even know why Kitt needed a decal anyway, the other cars didn’t have to have decals to be considered custom, surely his dash alone could have done it-

ANYWAY

This ep was so WEIRD at times oh my gosh.  What was that series of insults the two ladies spat at each other?  Like the one just complimented her eyeshadow aggressively and the other one accused her of wearing “training bras” or something like whAT EXCU S E ME What is this episode?!  Kitt was so upset about the decal too :[

Soul Survivor

OH MY GOSH IT’S CUTE IT’S SO CUTE YOU GUYS-

I was recalling @knight-rider-fan-2000‘s theory about this episode (plz go check them out btw aaaa), and after watching it I totally agree.  Michael was especially kind in this episode, and he seems to be overall a more supportive mentor for Kitt this season, starting with Soul Survivor and being pretty consistent throughout.  I love their new dynamic so much- There’s definitely still episodes and moments where he’s closer to Season 1 Michael, but Season 2 Michael is a far superior human being in my opinion.

KITT’S SO ADORABLE LIL TINY CPU OH MY G O S H YOU’RE TELLING ME OUR SON IS ACTUALLY T H A T SMALL AAAAA

Michael really is so sweet in this oh my gosh, that whole arc where Kitt is his partner no matter what and that the car isn’t what made Kitt-- AW!!!!  ADORABLE!  Kitt being so unsure that he repeatedly asks Michael how it feels to see the Knight 2000 without him in it or fusses about his limited functionality as Michael patiently reassures him again and again that he’s wanted just the way he is, I just- Feelings.

One thing that hit me as funny though is when Michael finds Kitt’s CPU in the garage and the trash can is just like PULSATING and then he like yells at it like “tAlK tO mE kItT” and Kitt’s jus sitting there as a box of colored lights like “...”

I can just imagine a cut scene where Kitt’s like, “Oh and by the way Michael, if I could have said something I would have done so LONG before you started asking me to.  Believe it or not, I don’t like being in a trash can.”

“You Dingaling.”

Also Michael and his whole “I’m an honest man you can trust me listen I’ll give you a small TV just like this one” and then he proceeded to not do that.  Hmm.

Anyway, yeah, it doesn’t get any cuter than this.  The only thing that would have been better is if Adrianne didn’t exist.  Good thing she’s gone now~!

Ring of Fire

THIS IS SO TRIPPY THIS EPISODE IS SO TRIPPY

I would say that I hate Michael trying to get Kitt to subject himself to testing if he can withstand insane levels of heat.  I would say that if April did not then walk in and karma the crap out of him.  Gosh I loved it.  How he immediately was like whAT NOOO YOU WOULDN’T MAKE SOMEONE DO THAT and Kitt’s just like :/

dang hypocrite, Michael my feelings towards you are so complicated sometimes

anyway

So. Many. Dogs.  I usually love seeing Kitt interact with dogs but this started to get unsettling, I can’t blame him for not loving 6 different dogs all swarming him at once whAT- Have they nothing better to do than to jump on my son.  What the heck language were those banjo players singing in?  Was it a language or was it just gibberish keyboard spam that accidentally made it to the final script AOSHDIAOHSD

This whole swamp setting is really unique to this episode, and part of me really does commend the chance they took by switching up settings.  It’s almost always a small town on desert roads.  The way this all happened though was??? What?

I think the scriptwriters forgot that Return to Cadiz exists because Kitt got so much water damage AHSIDHAOISDH- I know April said the system was damaged but surely it would have minimized this a little bit.  Also did literally anything change by the end of this episode?  We didn’t see the guy get arrested, did we?  And the girl decided to stay living out in the swamp forest thing.  The only thing is that she, like, conquered her fear or something?  Even though she still isn’t acting in that direction?

This episode didn’t actually d o anything did it LOL

alsowhatevenwasthatexplosion

It’s not a bad episode though, just really bizarre.

Knightmares

YOU KNOW WHAT I SAID ABOUT IT NOT GETTING ANY CUTER?

I WAS WRONG.

THIS EPISODE this episode THIS EPISODE.  TOP TWO MATERIAL?  MORE LIKELY THAN YOU THINK.  TDR will always be my fav until the end of time I’m pretty sure because I don’t think another episode will get me to ugly sob like that (aLTHOUGH I AM MEGA HYPE HERE BECAUSE I WATCHED KvK AND IT WAS GOOD ALSO BUT WE’LL GET TO TH A T LATER) but in terms of sheer adorable buddies happiness this is the winner by all accounts.  I really like how they portray Michael Long, and I genuinely think the arc here has an impact on the rest of the season in terms of how Michael treats Kitt.

I love how Michael had told Kitt a long time ago how they were partners, like how he used to have a partner when he was a police officer, and how now when Long is so confused about everything everyone is trying to tell him, Kitt chooses this specific word to help introduce himself, and everything feels a bit more grounded for Long.  I love how Long immediately revolts against the way Devon and April try to tell him he’s wrong about who he is currently, which is, despite good intentions, the opposite of what he needs.  I love how Kitt then swoops in behind him and decides to treat Michael Long like a WHOLE NEW PERSON, one who Kitt tries to get to know.  I love how Long recognizes just how hard Kitt is trying and genuinely opens up to him.  I love how he never reverts to being mean or rude to Kitt after he gets in the car the second time, NOT EVEN ONE sarcastic comment.  How he never calls him a computer again after Kitt asks him not to, how he compliments his new partner left and right, how despite having no clue who Knight is he really wants to be that person for Kitt, because Kitt seems sincere and pretty great.  I adore that bit where Kitt gently, lovingly lists traits good and bad about Knight and how Long can finally connect to this other version of himself.

“One more thing about Michael Knight.”

“What’s that?”

“I was extremely fond of him”

I love how Long starts saying “Good work, Kitt” after they complete parts of their mission and how Knight does not stop this for the rest of the season, even after he regains his memory.  I love so much about this and could frankly talk about it even more than this but this is a brief summary so.  So yeah, we’re moving on ;W;

Silent Knight

It’s funny so.  I didn’t realize that Knight Rider had done any Christmas specials.  I knew about the Halloween specials, but I didn’t realize the Christmas special existed.  And so I was laughing at how funnee I was while I was like “SILENT KNIGHT HOLY KNIGHT ALL IS COME-” and then that’s exactly what the pun was meant to be.  they done bamboozled me.

ANYWAY THIS MIGHT BE THE STRANGEST CHRISTMAS SPECIAL TO EVER EXIST EVER.

They kept mentioning the Christmas banquet thing to make it mildly related to the season but then it wasn’t, it really wasn’t, it all revolved around clowns.  There was.  There was a Santa I guess.  Albeit a bank robber Santa--

And the kid is juuust obnoxious at first, I love how Kitt absolutely hates him immediately for some reason even though Kitt usually doesn’t hate people unless they do something really bad, but it feels so deserved because the kid is a jeeerk.  Maybe it’s because the kid accused him of endangering human life and that Hurt?

Kid: Just let me drive and I’ll throw away this dumb clock thing

Michael: No

Kitt: YES

Michael: W H A T ?!

Kitt: YES

Michael: ugh whatever

I was kind of expecting Kitt to pull some sort of shenanigans while the kid was driving as payback for whatever he absolutely despised him for, but Kitt was actually just really sweet and gave him a bit of freedom until he started endangering himself and then helped him get back into control.  Very wholesome.

AND the end was CUTE though, like the boy who had previously been a jerk going over and patting Kitt and being just sincerely nice to him ;w; wholesome

A Knight in Shining Armor

Gosh I always forget what this episode is about because the title is so loosely related LOL

The dynamic with Michael and the girl of the week was actually really cute and chemistry was not entirely nonexistant, so that’s a nice change from some of these that come out of nowhere.  Her arc was actually pretty sweet, how she resented technology because she wanted to be loved and cared about, how she thought computers were incapable of doing that until she talked to Kitt...

And the cave was prebby.

But why couldn’t she understand that her DAD was in PRISON.

“Why didn’t he ever come to see me?” “Because he was in Jail.” “oh.  But why didn’t he call???”

Diamonds Aren't a Girl's Best Friend

SOMEONE

AHAHA

SOMEONE CALLED MICHAEL

AHAHA

BERNIE CALLED HIM A DINGALING. Speaking of Bernie, all I could think this whole episode was

White-Line Warriors

LONG-LEGGED PUNK-

Seriously idk what this season’s love affair with the baddies picking on Michael but I love it.

Honestly the twist of this episode was really interesting, I still don’t fully get how the baddies’ plan comes together though.  So the song plays on the radio and the police go to investigate the drag racers and the crims are IMMEDIATELY ready?  okay then.

Radio announcer Kitt tho.  That is blessed.

I want Radio Announcer Kitt.  Then again, I just want more Kitt in general so.

Race for Life

INHALE

Y’ALL ARE REAAALLY TRYING TO MAKE ME DETHRONE KNIGHTMARES AS THE CUTEST, AREN’T YOU?

Well ha, joke’s on you episode, you’re getting docked points for only giving Kitt and Becky two interactions.  And for making the donor obnoxious for most of the episode (although that end scene was pretty adorable).  So, okay, second cutest.

THE WAY KITT WAVED I-

HE IS SO CUTE

he is so cute.

Devon was really sweet this episode, not gonna lie.  I’m not sure if I’ve said it on this blog before, but I had strong dislike for Devon after Season 1.  I can explain that later if anyone wants, I’d be perfectly willing to compare the two seasons, but Season 2 Devon is pretty alright.  He doesn’t have much of a presence, but when he does, he’s kind.  I’m assuming he let Becky win at checkers, in which case uh, aW?!  Devon that’s cute.

KITT TRYING TO TEACH THE TEN YEAR OLD CHESS AHSIODHOAISD I LOVE YOU BUDDY

Also, I feel like this is the episode April really became her own character, separate from Cadiz.  She’d kind of just been a slightly perkier Bonnie, but now we get to see her family, her concerns... And April’s a pretty good character.

OH AND THE WHOLE “Kitt is family” ARC IS THE SWEETEST THING ASHDHAOSDohIAD

“Julio, meet Kitt.  He’s part of the family”

“Thank you, Michael.”

MY.  HEART.

Speed Demons

Okay so.  This is another one of those episodes where very little seemed to change by the end of the episode.  The guy who was actually in danger quit motorcycling anyway soooo...  The episode plot itself isn’t what I feel like talking about.

What was WITH that one announcer guy?  Were we meant to like him or not???  First he tries to Kick the Kitt and Kitt’s like :/ whatever

and then he comes back and they start to have like, a deep conversation, and he lovingly pats the hood before walking away.  And we’re like AWWW OKAY THIS GUY IS NOT TO BAD

AND THEN he asks Kitt to talk for someone and Kitt’s like “...” and the guy riots.  Why did Kitt not talk for him and why did the guy go so absolutely bonkers when he didn’t?  Were the cameras rolling and I just didn’t realize?  And then we kind of hate the guy again because he once again absolutely went ballistic at Kitt.  “That’s Showbiz.”

But then the dynamic with that coworker keeps coming up, and yeah, I guess she does seem a bit annoying.  But she also seems like a potential lady of the week and a potential protagonist.  So when she gets splashed with mud or whatever that was and the guys all like :D

What are we meant to be feeling?

Are we meant to feel bad for her or happy for him?

Because I just felt confused.

Goliath Returns 1 & 2

GOSH DARNIT ADRIANNE IS BACK

ALSO I-I-I I TAKE BACK EVERYTHING I SAID ABOUT YOU BEING A DOOFY AND STUPID VILLAIN JUST P L E A S E STOP ; M ;

SERIOUSLY WHEN DID GARTHE TURN FULL PSYCHOPATH-

THE FEELING I GOT REMINDED ME OF WATCHING THE SHERLOCK FINALE.  S H E R L O C K  F I N A L E.

Sigh, I should have known he’d gone off the deep end when he walked into a hot tub with jeans on.

I will forever be mad at some versions coughincludingtheoneIwaswatchingoncough for cutting out the fact that Kitt’s microchip was almost ENTIRELY WIPED/OVERWRITTEN AND PUT INTO GOLIATH.  Because uh, the way the show cut it up for TV, it seems like Kitt’s really in no danger other than being annoyed.  But no, literally everyone almost dies.  Fun times!

Seriously why did this convoluted garbage get a two-parter but Kitt vs. Karr didn’t?

This episode makes me sad.  Not just because Garthe tried, and almost succeeded, to take away everything we love in this show.  Not just because this episode strayed far enough from the typical formula for this to seem like some dystopian nightmare version of Knight Rider. Not just because freaking Adrianne is back.

I mean because I loved Garthe’s character, and this totally changed it.  I like that they went into Garthe’s trauma a bit more with this one, but unlike some villains in the Knight Rider canon (okay let’s not play games, UNLIKE KARR-), what he does is so dastardly, SO insaNE, that there is no way to argue that he might be justified.  No.  No.  Garthe, Adrianne, and Goliath are gone now, and that’s how it had to be.

OH ALSO GO O F F APRIL YES QUEEN I LOVE YOU- I honestly felt so bad for her when she turned around and broke down right after standing up to him, like dang, that hurts.  And Devon was sweet in this episode too ;w;

Okay but were they planning on making another episode of this?  Because that end scene was such an obvious teaser it’s not even funny.

“I hope we don’t run into those very much drowned people out in the streets again, Michael.  And I especially hope that they do not construct another semitrailer with the exact same scale and name as the previous one that was driven into the ocean.”

“Yes, I agree Kitt, this is also an anxiety that I possess despite the fact that they are very much definitely Deceased.  I sure hope that plot convenience does not interfere in the future.”

THANK GOODNESS THAT ADRIANNE IS GONE

wait what?  her actress is in another episode as another character who’s just as awful? wHYYYYYY

A Good Knight's Work

THAT BEAR NEEDS TO DIE. I am so glad Michael ejected the dumb thing at the end, Kitt deserved it. Especially after Michael essentially told him to temporarily kill himself. Michael's a cyberbully now ig. The arc with Kitt and the car salesman was cute. Apparently deactivation is considered programming now? Michael my mans you could have given Kitt any warning at all (I kind of take this back after one of the Season 3 episodes I’ve watched uHHHH this was a lot of warning compared to how Michael rolls in S3 what the heck is wrong with him). Cute episode overall tho I guess. ALSO I JUST NOW REALIZED "A GOOD KNIGHT'S WORK" IS A PUN BECAUSE KITT IS WILTON KNIGHT'S WORK AND I'M MAD AT MYSELF FOR NOT NOTICING IT SOONER-

Mouth of the Snake and that other garbage one that's title makes no sense

David might as well be a plank of wood. A plank of wood that yeets himself ten feet into the air whenever possible, but I digress. Does this count as superpowers? I just love how he offended Kitt 0.1 seconds after meeting him and then Michael proceeded to tell Kitt off for reacting. Love that soooo much. It's also hilarious to me how most of this episode has a similar structure to most Knight Rider episodes and then they randomly start reacreating the Most Dangerous Game--

Let it Be Me

Why isn't this the season finale?! I mean, I'm glad it's not, but why? This is way worse than White Bird like why- I feel like the Stevie episodes are kind of a controversy in this fandom? I loved the first one. This one's just, blegh it's okay. She and Michael still have pretty great chemistry WHEN THEY ARE SPEAKING IN REGULAR SPEECH. I do not like Stevie singing the same song with Michael 100 times. The duet at the end is kind of cute though, sue me I like corny things.

Stevie: I’m so sorry I shouldn’t have been with this one guy but ;m;

Michael: has been with approximately 100 women by now

Also Michael: How could you ;m;

Big Iron

This episode is kinda wild. Why does the guy manage to have a full out breakup with Lucy in less than one minute? Why is Michael a marriage counselor now? Why couldn't Kitt take the oxygen out of the cabin when Michael was definitely going to die if he didn't?  Since when does Turbo Boost use a ton of oxygen anyway?  Why does this man just immediately make up with his wife after finding out that she helped him? And most of all, WHY DIDN'T THAT BARTENDER LADY ACT THE LEAST BIT CONCERNED WHEN THEY ABSOLUTELY TORE UP THE PLACE??? Lmbo she's just like "Stop it guys :/"

It’s so bizarre that this is the season finale ahsdoifhasodf but go off I guess NBC

[bozojesus]

   so i finally watched 3 from h.ell and...

   i really liked it actually 

  i missed cutter terribly, of course, but not to the point where it ruined the movie. they do kind of rush through the segment about his execution at the beginning, but there’s a scene where otis & baby talk about him during the third act that was very sweet and actually made me tear up. it’s obvious that the characters haven’t forgotten him; he’s just a very painful subject and that’s understandable, considering how much he meant to them. otis in particular sounded ready to cry when talking about him. shocker, right?

   that said !! cutter very very clearly lives on through baby. i really loved how she was developed in this one and she stole every scene she was in. i thought sheri’s acting was solid throughout the movie - even when she was going really over-the-top during the first forty or so minutes, i still bought it, and while baby remains a terrible person, i thought 3FH humanized her a lot more than TDR did. most of her kills are pretty quick ( though she still relishes in them, of course ) rather than the drawn out sadism & mental torture from the first two movies. her emotional journey reminded me so strongly of her dad’s in the sense she has this aimlessness about her, like she no longer knows what to do with herself or what her place is or what she wants. she even goes so far as to question otis about why they even do what they do, which leads to otis questioning their lifestyle himself to some degree. maybe i’m reading into it wrong, or maybe other fans will read his reaction differently, but his response to baby almost seemed like one of resignation. death, violence & destruction is what they’re used to. it’s simply what they’re meant to do - what else is there for them? i’ve always believed that’s a thought that had already crossed cutter’s mind - that he is simply meant to destroy, so he might as well continue to destroy. it was interesting to see otis & baby starting to get to that point now that they’re older. kind of feels like everything’s coming full circle, in that sense.

   as for otis himself, it really seemed like he was just kind of ?? going through the motions. don’t get me wrong, he’s still a sick, thoroughly evil man, but he lacks a lot of the relish he used to have. this time around it felt more like he was following a routine than carrying out these horrendous deeds because he believed them to be his not-so-divine purpose ( or whatever the hell goes on in his head ). he still goes on his usual misanthropic rants, but does he actually believe them anymore, or is he just saying them because that’s what’s expected of him at this point? it’s hard to discern.

   ri.chard brake did a really nice job as foxy. he was appropriately gross & despicable when the movie called for it while still having a certain charm about him. there were moments where i shuddered at his behaviour; other times i found him very endearing and Almost Sweet ( you can definitely tell he was meant to be cutter’s replacement because that was essentially cutter’s role in the last one ). he isn’t as fleshed-out as he could’ve been, no, but for a last-minute addition to the cast? he’s totally fine. he isn’t grating at all. i liked him! i’d be really okay with seeing him again and while no one can replace cutter, i think foxy’s presence helps fill what would’ve been a very sad & lonely void. he and baby basically take turns acting as the comedy relief of the movie with the occasional sarcastic jab from otis. i thought it worked well.

   as for the other characters... sebastian was adorable. by far my favourite new addition to the squad. he played a huge role in the humanization of baby and it was so, so nice to see a character in this series who’s a genuinely kind person and not a total piece of shit. i really hope rob will write more characters like him in future movies because i think he underestimates how important it is to have them around in media like the firefly family series. they keep things from getting too bleak. warden harper’s wife judy was great, but really under-utilized. i thought the guard greta’s storyline had potential but it sadly didn’t go anywhere, which is a shame. warden harper himself is appropriately scummy, but i felt rob... could’ve went a little further with him? i felt he should’ve gone all-out and really made us hate the guy, if that was supposed to be his purpose. i feel like the home invasion scene should’ve been Earned. that was by far my least favourite sequence of the movie and it just dragged on and on and on. 

   i also would’ve liked rob to have explored the concept of sensationalized serial killers in the media more and why this is a bad thing. it seemed like the opening of the movie was setting that up, but like greta and harper’s arcs, it just... did not go anywhere. i was really hoping we’d see how fame impacted otis, baby & cutter, and how their sensationalization affected pop culture in general, since they’ve been in the public eye for over a decade... but nope. we have some scenes where baby maniacally gushes over her supposed stardom, otis grouching about how they have to be careful in the public eye and a pretty funny joke from foxy where he tries to insist he’s the most recognizable of the bunch, but that’s about it.

   and like... could we not have had at least some reactions from them to 80s pop culture? the movie didn’t have to revolve around that, but it’s like... these guys are so heavily ingrained in 70s aesthetic & they’ve been locked up for 10 years, pretty much shut off from the rest of the world. you’d think we’d at least get some quips from otis about how music has gone down the shitter or something like that, but nope! nothing like that either. i suppose that’s something that’s gonna have to be saved for future 3FH threads instead.

   the dialogue wasn’t awful but some of the callbacks were a little Too obvious for my taste. i liked the subtle ones, like where baby tells otis she has a “better idea” at the end when deciding what to do with aquarius and how otis is actually accepting her plan ( as opposed to otis’ “better idea” angering cutter in TDR ), and how otis tries to hype baby up with the “fucked up shit” line. but some of other stuff otis said? like the boogeyman shit at the beginning and the “murder factory” line when he’s killing harper? nah, that felt a bit forced and kind of uncreative on rob’s end. i think he could’ve done a bit better with that.

   overall, i thought the first forty minutes were a bit of a drag, but when the characters get to mexico things really kicked off and i found myself enjoying it and getting really into it. it’s definitely not TDR or Ho1KC, but it’s a fun ride in its own right. the one thing i do think it did better than TDR was - again - giving the characters some depth & dimension. we actually got to see emotional reactions from them & they’re given some quiet moments where they could just talk to each other and have fun outside of the disgusting torture shit ( which, thank god, this movie doesn’t linger on quite as much as the last one imo ). that’s something i felt like TDR lacked & i’m glad rob did that portion right this time around. 

   while it’s a flawed movie and the absence of my beloved clown is definitely felt, i really don’t think 3FH is this abysmal piece of shit that some people are making it out to be. i don’t think it’ll hold the same special place in my heart that the first two do, but i liked it. i’m very glad to have finally seen it and i’m hoping it’ll spark some new life into the fandom. you best believe i’ll be writing up cutter several 3FH verses in the future & am super eager to use this film as a basis of doing new stuff for him. 

[shinylitwick94]

Shinylitwick reads Wheel of Time - Book 14 -A Memory of Light

Warning:Contains spoilers for the whole series

So here we are - finally at the end!

Took me about 3 months to get through the whole series, although admittedly with a lot of skimming in some of the slower storylines.

All in all it’s been a great journey and I’ll do a whole series post too, but for now on to AMoL!

Hands down the best book in the series, although perhaps that is not so surprising - it’s what we want from a good finale, after all!

Compared to the rest of the series, even to the other Sanderson books, the pacing here was extremely fast.

It had to be, otherwise we’d probably have ended up with 15 books instead, but that means that unfortunately many of the smaller characters and storylines and even some of the bigger ones don’t really get closure at all.

The difference in style between Jordan and Sanderson is also pretty clear here -action is what Sanderson likes best and it’s what he does best and there’s plenty of it to go around. I suspect if Jordan had had the chance to write the last battle, there would have been more character interaction and less cool and inventive ways to kill Trollocs. And I don’t mean to criticise Sanderson here at all, I think he did splendidly, but they do have different strengths as writers.

I don’t always think epilogues are necessary, but I feel like this could have benefitted from one. I liked the ending scene itself pretty well, but I just wish we’d had a little more time for everyone else.

What takes up the bulk of this book isn’t Rand’s struggle against the dark one, but everyone else’s struggle against the armies of the shadow. Which, I think, makes perfect sense - deep down we all know how Rand’s clash with the Dark One will end. We know, because that’s the way stories work, that even if the hero somehow were to fail at the end, he’ll find a way to turn the tables.  So Rand was actually not as interesting to me in this book as he has been up until now.

Still, I was surprised he made it out of there alive - I wholly expected him to die for real.

Rand’s whole peace treaty thing also felt a little out of place to me. I think it’s totally justified, given Rand’s character, that he would try. I also think it won’t last 10 years, let alone 100.

So that whole conflict was a bit meh, because it was just...Rand sweetie I know you’re trying to do the right thing here, but it’s really really not going to survive your corpse.

The whole meeting was worth it for Moiraine’s entrance though.

As for the other stories, I loved Pevara and Androl to pieces and I’m super happy they made it through. I was a little disappointed he never got to confront Taim more directly, I was looking forward to that.

Lan was one of the other stand out characters in this book. He’s pretty one-note as a character overall, but this book brings out all of the best in a character like Lan and doesn’t stop until the end. Loved every scene with him!

I was a little surprised that none of Rand’s 3 girls died. I thought for sure Aviendha was going to die in that fight with Graendal. I think I would have liked it if one of them had died, probably Min or Aviendha, killing pregnant Elayne sounds too dark for this series, but it’s fine this way too.

I was really sad that we lost Siuan and Gareth Bryne, I really liked their relationship, but I suppose Siuan’s character’s purpose was pretty much gone the moment Egwene became Amyrlin.

And speaking of Egwene, that’s the death that probably hit me the hardest. She’s had such a long journey as a character and it was an incredible finale for her, but I really wanted the Two Rivers kids to get back together at the end.

Perrin’s story was more engaging than usual, however I still feel that Slayer is too obviously made to be Perrin’s villain and feels a little too dettached from the main storyline for me to fully connect. At least here there was the Black Tower at first and later protecting Rand too.

I kind of wanted Faile to die, not because I dislike her character, but because I think it would have been tragically ironic for Perrin to spend half the series worrying about Faile, only to fail at the end. Again, probably too dark for this series.

Mat was pretty great in this, as I’m sure everyone expected him to be. I don’t think anyone had any doubt that Mat would lead the armies of the Light ever since he got his memories. And of course he did splendidly at that.

There were still some incredibly irritating Mat moments, mainly whenever he was around Tuon. Mat on his own was mostly ok. What stuck out to me was him threatening to spank Egwene and Tuon. What.The.Fuck is it with this series and spanking? It just pulled me completely out of that scene (and it was such a great scene too!). It was stupid, absurd, out of place, infantilizing and just plain gross. Who in their right mind would say that at that stage?!

The Seanchan problem was left completely unresolved in this book, unfortunately. I found the way Rand agreed to Tuon and the way Mat fawned over her to be a little disgusting, to be completely honest. I’ve never been sold on Mat/Tuon, but I’d sort of grudgingly accepted I’d have to deal with it. To see Rand accept those terms, when he has been so much harsher with everyone else and went around changing the laws of every country he ruled just pissed me off.

I get it - end of the world, deal with the devil, etc, but Rand didn’t even seem to be all that upset about it.

I think I might have accepted his decision better if we actually got to see Rand struggle with it, instead of getting the whole scene form the point of view of Mat, who doesn’t give a shit.

I liked Demandred and from what I hear there’s a whole short story about him and the Sharans. I kind of wish that had made its way into the main books. This way the Sharans felt like they were coming completely out of nowhere, just so that the Light’s forces would need to get help from the Seanchan.

Nyneave didn’t get much to do here, as a side effect of being with Rand for the duel with the Dark One, but I still enjoyed what little we got of her.

All in all, it was a spectacular final book for this series and I’m very happy I stuck around long enough to read it all the way through!

Favorite scene(s): Lan and Demandred, Egwene’s flame of Tar Valon, Moiraine’s entry into the command tent, Androl’s lava gates, Rand’s final scene, Brigitte’s return, Olver blowing the horn, that refugee woman with Logain, many many other scenes

Least favorite scene(s): The part of the Mat-Tuon-Egwene scene I already mentioned, Rand and Tuon, some of the smaller battle scenes felt a little repetitive sometimes, 

Favorite character(s): Lan, Egwene, Androl, Pevara, Moiraine, Nyneave, Rand

Least favorite character(s):  Tuon, Taim (just disappointing...)

Book rankings so far: 1.MOL 2.TOM 3. TGS 4.LOC 5.TSR 6.TGH 7.TFOH 8.ACS 9.TDR 10.WH 11.KOD 12. TEOTW 13.TPOD 14.CoT

[trans-shuichisaihara]

“not everyone is going to hurt you." Saioumota please

so this is… vaguely saioumota? like the endgame plan is for them to get together but this is Before that soooooo

but i’ve been wanting to continue working on this series for a while so this was a good excuse to (this takes place a few weeks after this fic (24), so reading that first might help with some context, but long story short: fix-it ch5 au where they escape the school and are now in the “care” of TDR)

“This is starting to become a problem, Shuichi.”

Kaito’s words were met with a blank, confused stare. “What is?”

He gestured to the room, the bathroom filled with things belonging in a bedroom. Blankets, pillows, clothes, hell even food. “You’re basically livin’ in here; can’t you tell that’s not healthy?”

Shuichi drew back, looking like he was trying to hide in the blanket he had wrapped around his shoulders. “I just feel safer in here. I, I’m not in here all the time.”

“Harumaki says she hasn’t seen you since Tuesday. And I know you hate the therapist, but-”

“I’m sorry,” he interrupted, softly, “I’ll, I’ll talk to Harukawa-san later, I promise, but I have nothing to say to the staff here. I just want them to leave us alone.” He turned away, retreating into his makeshift bed to escape the conversation.

In the doorway, Ouma gave him an “I told you so” look. Though he’d been the one to bring up Shuichi’s behavior to Kaito, he vocalized having no intent of stopping it. Of course, that could be a lie; he was still hovering around, almost as if he was concerned.

He looked back, bracing himself for another attempt. “You know they’re not going to let us leave until we’re all better; that includes you.”

“They don’t care about our well-being,” Shuichi mumbled back, “They just want to know why- how we ruined their game.”

How. That was still the question on Kaito’s mind too, the answer known only by the one who wouldn’t share. He wanted so desperately to ask, to ask why he wrote such morbid things in his journal, but asking would be admitting to invading his privacy, betraying his trust. The guilt ate at him in the nights when Shuichi would cling to him as if he was his lifeline.

He shook off those thoughts. He needed to focus. “If they didn’t care, they’d’ve just thrown us back in.”

“The audience wouldn’t like that,” he sighed in response, “They celebrated our escape as a massive victory for ‘Hope’.” His words were laced with a venom that brought to mind eyes filled with hatred.

“Just give it up, Momota-chan. You’re not going to be able to talk sense into Saihara-chan.”

An anger boiled in his chest. “I won’t give up! Not until I make him see that not everyone is going to hurt us!”

Ouma narrowed his eyes, his lips curled up somewhere in between a sneer and a grimace. “And to him, that’s a lie.”

Kaito frowned. “A lie?”

“No.” Shuichi sat up straighter. “As I said, they don’t care about hurting us. But I’m not going to cooperate with the people behind the game that killed our friends and so many more.”

Ouma tilted his head, humming softly. “So, where did you learn about Team Danganronpa in the first place?”

He didn’t answer, looking away again. Ouma sighed in annoyance.

An epiphany hit him. Kaito’s breath caught, and he lowered himself down to sit beside his sidekick. “You’re afraid of something. Something other than them.”

Perhaps that was too assertive; Shuichi flinched, answering Kaito’s statement with a quick denial. Ouma finally pulled himself into the room fully, closing the door behind him.

He dropped his voice to hopefully be more soothing. He didn’t like scaring him. “C'mon Shuichi, how many times I gotta say it. Your problems are my problems. You can trust me; I won’t laugh.”

“I, I know that, but…” He paused, resting his chin on his knees. “I trust you, but I can’t, I can’t talk about it. It’s just a thought, it’s nothing real.” It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than Kaito, swallowing down the emotions that had risen to the surface. Maybe it was his own familiarity with the feeling than sudden detective-like perception that allowed him to notice it.

But if he wouldn’t talk, there was nothing that could be done. He couldn’t fight Shuichi’s battles for him, and he could only offer support to someone willing to accept it. He thought he was going to end up proud the first time Shuichi declined support, from the way things had been going, but now… Now, he just felt confused and hurt.

He glanced over to Ouma, almost hoping he would have something useful to say.

“Hm, wellllll, I dunno; they did a preeeeetty good job making us believe all that stuff in the Killing Game was real, so maybe you shouldn’t underestimate your own thoughts.” He pulled himself off the wall, walking over to plop himself down in-between the two of them. “But if you trust Momota-chan too much to tell him, maybe you can tell someone you don’t trust as much and he can pretend not to listen.” That was a unique way of putting it. Should he be insulted?

Shuichi shifted uneasily. “That’s… not the problem.”

“And I think you’re a bad liar, Saihara-chan, sooooo-”

Kaito rolled his eyes and cut him off by covering his mouth. “Ignore him. Just know I’m here if you want to talk, al- Ouma, you fucker!” He jerked his hand away at the slobbery sensation of spit being licked onto his hand.

The brat fucking giggled at his annoyance, maneuvering himself to drape across Shuichi’s feet. “You should’ve seen that coming, Momota-chan! But anywayyyy, my offer from earlier’s still open whenever you’re ready, Saihara-chan. But I guess we’ll continue to keep you company in this bathroom even if it’s kinda a dump.”

Shuichi swallowed. “You don’t, you don’t need to do that.”

“I’m not hearing a ‘no, please go away’ so I guess I’m staying!”

Kaito wiped his hand on his pants, leaning forward to roll Ouma away from them. “Don’t be annoying.” He had to say though, he liked this Ouma a lot more than the one that laughed gleefully as he submitted to the Killing Game to preserve his own life. The one that lashed out and terrorized them to cement the idea that he was the mastermind into their heads.

He was sure Shuichi felt the same, as he weakly objected to Kaito’s label of annoying. “It’s fine, Momota-kun, he’s not… He’s fine.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Kaito was thankful that Ouma knew how to shut up on occasion, because there was tons of things nagging at him that he wanted to think about. One of which that he wanted to address now. “Y’know, I wouldn’t, uh, I’d be fine if you wanted to call me ‘Kaito’ instead. Since, you know, I’m callin’ you ‘Shuichi’ and all…” He scratched the back of his head, trying to ignore the surprised look on his face.

“O-Okay, um, Kaito,” Shuichi quietly stuttered out, as if he was saying something wrong. On the ground in front of them, Ouma pouted.

“When do I get to be on a first name basis with my beloved Momo-chan and Saihara-chan?”

“What the hell’d you just call me?!”

“Ooooo, Momo-chan’s so scaryyyy, protect me!” He bounced to his feet, leaping across the room to grab one of the pillows to fling in Kaito’s direction. It hit his shoulder with little to no force, but that didn’t stop him from flinging it back with far more force than necessary.

On the sideline of their spontaneous pillow fight, Shuichi visibly relaxed, letting out a small chuckle.

Maybe they could chalk this up to a victory after all.

[that-banana-headed-bovine]

This is so interesting- Knight in Disgrace is my,,, possibly second least favorite, sometimes actual least favorite depending on the day, episode of this show, so I actively searched out this particular review and...

You're 100% right? I was so. Unyieldingly angry at this plot for being basically a speedrun of how to make Kitt go Freaking Insane that I didn't give much else the thought it deserved.

But really, I remember this episode. And that is so much more than I can say about most mid-season episodes that don't use recurring side characters, and only after one viewing, too. While I can't say I LIKE the episode any more upon realizing this, I can at least say that I begrudgingly respect it. The plot of it is, as you said, so much more interesting than most of what we've gotten throughout the show, and what it puts the characters through is so much that, had it been a two-part episode, I bet we would have gotten a lot to go off of character-wise.

The impact on Michael of going evil, even if only for pretend. The knowledge that he was breaking his friend's spirit bit by bit all for one mission. Was it even worth it?

Kitt grappling with where his loyalty lies, if he even has the choice to begin with? He follows along as far as he can, but even that has its limits... How will Michael fair in this terrible compound all by himself? Is Devon really dead?! It's so hard to get a reading through these walls, 'but surely he wouldn't--" But what if he did, what would Kitt do now? Being livid at first when the lie is revealed, but gradually settling into relief--even when given the perfect opportunity to give up this difficult life for something easier and worse, his pilot would never, just as he'd always thought it would be. Now he didn't have to just think, now he could KNOW. Also finding out that, should they be separated temporarily, he doesn't have to become a ball of nerves right away... Michael's more competent than he lets on, and he actually will seek out help when he needs it.

But that would be nice things, and as we all know, we can't have nice things.

I think the main issues with this episode, why I still hate it despite seeing its potential for growth, is twofold really.

Firstly, we needed a two-part episode. Not only would it give this very cool concept and shockingly character-driven narrative some room to breathe, but it likely would have been handled differently as well. It would have been able to take itself a bit more seriously, maybe not end in everyone laughing at Kitt's suffering and basically acting like he was stupid for ever believing them and Chin Up it wasn't That Bad ... yeah the petty frustration is just oozing here innit whoops

Secondly, and this is an issue with the structuring of everything really, but we're gonna do the simplest and most direct cure here, it really should have been in Season 1, or at least very early Season 2. That's because, imo, everyone had undergone the arcs that the writers had planned for them by the end of S2, with the possible exceptions of Stevie, Bonnie, and MAYBE Karr (idk if he was actually supposed to live past TDR originally) ...

As for the rest of the main cast?

Michael started the show being hesitant to trust Kitt fully, whether it was because of his past trauma with Tanya making it difficult to trust again or because he was not fully aware that Kitt was s person. Season 1 showed Michael fully learning to trust again, mostly through the Pilot, but not entirely. He showed signs of really starting to care, like at the end of "A Friendly Little Indecent Town" when he read Kitt the Bible even though Kitt could have probably done that himself if he'd scanned it. Quality time. In S2 tho, that's pushed to its absolute limit as Michael acts on, and openly acknowledges that, Kitt's just as real as anyone else.

Kitt's biggest struggle, conversely, is being seen as real. Not just by Michael, but by the world, and perhaps most importantly by himself. Season 1 has him exploring the world, understanding things more, but he's still not really taken seriously by his family. And he knows it. And sure, he gets annoyed by it at times, but he also seems to genuinely feel mostly the same way about himself. Season 2 quickly changes that, with Michael and (granted, to a lesser extent) Devon becoming more comfortable expressing that they care. But why should they? It takes a few episodes, but he seems to start seeing him, at the very least, as someone who deserves to be cared about beyond just his capabilities. He experiments with talking to people, taking his own crime-fighting initiatives on the side, asking questions without fear of being laughed at, etc. etc. etc.

Devon's arc is more subdued due to his far more limited role past S1 (unless s4 changes that), but there's still clear development. He starts referring to Michael and Kitt as a team, showing that he respects both equally, rather than speaking as if it's Michael's show and Kitt's just a useful spectator. He doesn't feel the need to talk down to or pressure them into doing the right thing, because now he KNOWS that they will make the right choices. This is especially clear in the Stevie episodes. In S1, he's supportive of Michael, but makes his stance abundantly clear... almost TOO clear. As if there's some unspoken threat, that if Michael makes the wrong call there will be some consequence... which is one of the things that makes me really not like Devon very much, but to take a charitable arc-based look at it, he feels he has to do this whether he wants to or not. He still thinks of Michael as an unintentional danger to himself and others due to his impulsiveness. By the next Stevie-centric episode, though, he's far more hands off. As in I can't fully recall if he was in the episode at all WHDBJF I'm sure he was but still. Definitely trusts them more.

Anyway, this big ole tangent is to say, S1-S2 completed full arcs for the main cast members, Bonnie excluded. In S3, though, they still need a story... so they walk back most of this progress. They don't take it back to pilot levels of bad, because then we would notice it, but they were seemingly hoping we wouldn't if it was closer to midway through the first season. Where nobody's overtly awful to each other on a regular basis...where they show undeniable closeness as a team, but haven't Quite settled into being family. They then basically redo the S2 arc (but imo somewhat worse, although I haven't seen Junkyard Dog yet sooo maybe not).

And finally we are back to the subject topic. Because of this reversal of established arcs, Knight in Disgrace doesn't feel like a case of characters growing throughout an episode. It feels like characters being regressed into their worst state just unceremoniously go back to normal--worse than normal, actually, by the standards set in S2. I think I might have loved this episode if it had been in either early S1 or early-ish S2 (prior to Knightmares and Soul Survivor). At that point, Michael could have semi-reasonably assumed that Kitt wouldn't care. That it would be an inconvenience, but not much else. Then he sees with his own two eyes Kitt getting more and more frantic throughout the episode, trying to keep his composure but clearly struggling Hard at the thought of losing his only friend, and Michael could have reflected. Even more so at the end, when the truth is revealed and Kitt still seems far from relieved. Just hurt, possibly even more than before, numb to it all. That could have explained his sudden tonal shift in later episodes, too. End the episode with a panning shot of Michael looking really... Pensive about the whole thing, then come back with episodes like Soul Survivor and Knightmares??? I mean are ya kidding I would have Cried

But hey, that's just an absurdly long ramble. A FILM ramble.

Knight Rider 3x08: "Knight in Disgrace"

I definitely don't remember this one from when I watched the show as a kid, because I'm pretty sure Michael turning bad and leading KITT into crime would have blown my mind.

As a an adult, I know very well that something like that wouldn't happen during a mid-season episode, so I can just sit back, enjoy the ride and wait for the twist.

And while I love that KITT will follow Michael anywhere, even into a life of crime, I did not appreciate that they left KITT out of the loop on the plan. I realize why they did it, with how deeply LaSalle had gotten into their computers, KITT could have been compromised as well.

But that doesn't mean that I have to like it, especially after the episodes earlier this season where KITT doesn't really get treated like a member of the team.

Overall, this was one of the best episodes so far. It's always a good sign when I'm so focused on the plot that I don't have time to ogle Michael.

Ratings (out of 5):

Cheese Level: 🧀 Cringe Level: 😬 Michael Knight Hotness: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Vehicular Shenanigans: 🚘🚘🚘🚘 Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

* my Knight Rider episode reviews

[tdrcharmschool4]

TDR Charm School 4 Final Exam - It's the Final Countdown

For the final exam, our students had to produce a mock audition filled with everything they’ve learned from the beginning of their time in Tumblr’s Drag Race Charm School 4, decked out in their fabulous Personalized Prom and Why You Gotta Be So Extra-curricular looks. Let’s see how they did!

Kushboo

Personalized Prom

Extracurricular Activity: Student Government

Letha: Hey Girl! So starting with the Prom look, I quite like it! The combo of the black/gold really goes well together, and the brown hair works with it as well. I will say the dress is a bit short and it should either be lengthened or shortened to have a silhouette that makes a bit more sense. The white heels throw off the outfit a bit as well. The styling of the hair could be neater but the height/volume is definitely there! I think if there was a little headpiece or gold crown or something it might add more interest to that area and tie it in with the outfit. On to the extra curricular look, I do very much get that feel from the top half of the outfit, including the hair (very Michelle Obama), and the skirt is a bit more out there which helps to make it less pedestrian in that regard. I think having maybe some signs or other props might have helped sell it more as well, as the journal is okay but not the most effective. For the lipsync, I think you had good presence and sold the song, but I wish you had connected more with the audience throughout through the lens. Performing on camera is a bit different than real life, in that looking into the lens is how you connect with people. You can deviate from that and emote/focus on other areas for a little bit, but you should always try to return to the lens. But the overlay and emoting is great! For the monologue I must admit I was a bit lost. I wasn't too familiar with Tennyson if I'm honest, but after reading up a bit on Ulysses this was a very interesting choice indeed. I think you could have sold it a bit more? Emoting frustration and discontent might have made it a bit more clear, in my opinion. Finally, the makeup! I think you really have improved throughout this cycle and it does show, but there are things that I think you could work on. One would be to make your lips more dimensional, with either outlining in a darker color, highlighting the center with a lighter color, or both. Same for the brows, the shape on the prom look is fun but a bit static, and the shape on the government look is very flat and not a shape that would be easy to emote through. I like the colors your picked on their own, but I'm not sure if they coordinate with your outfit choices, so keep that in mind for next time. Your lashes are looking better placed, now would be a good time to start practicing doing liner, either a really sharp wing of or a smoked out pencil. It really adds dimension and helps to restructure things. I think that just about wraps it up for me, so I'll leave you with saying how proud I am of your progress and can't wait to see what your Drag will evolve to after charm school!

Laveau: KUSH. This prom look is AMAZING. You look amazing! I love the entire package. The only thing I would have liked to see is more jewelry. May be a bracelet or a bigger necklace to give it a more elegant touch. I am enjoying this beehive on your head. It’s a bit messy, so going forward, be careful and pay attention to the little details as far as that is concerned. While your makeup has improved, you still have work to do, but don’t let that stop you from being proud of your progress so far. As for your student government look, I feel like you were going for the right idea but then you lost me with the skirt. It just feels like you either didn’t have a pencil skirt or just wanted to add an unconventional element to the look and it kind of takes away from the look as a whole. A better way to sell this concept would have been to incorporate more school supplies in the rest of the outfit. A fascinator made out of pencils or paper balls would have tied the look together a bit more. I really enjoyed your lip-sync! I appreciate the attitude and range of emotion throughout your performance. It was definitely fun to watch! Your monologue was well done. It was a bit hard to follow, but I do appreciate the concept. You have grown leaps and bounds in this competition. I am so proud of you and I can’t wait to see what you do in the future! <3

Sally: Hi Kushboo! I’m gonna talk about your outfits first, and then your audition reel. There are really intelligent attempts at work here, and I’m impressed with most elements, however there are some things to look out for next time. Both outfits seem to have flair about them that works super well, but technical issues seem to produce problems for me. Your prom look is stellar – the black and gold colour clash is really appealing, I get prom from this clearly and your character to me defines elegance so it wouldn’t be wrong to see Kushboo rock up to prom in eleganza like this. Remember to give us head to toe camera angles – these are close to head to toe, but I can’t see you feet until I watch your audition reel so I don’t know if you’re not wearing heels or not and if they correspond to your dress too – I don’t think they do correspond, but we’ll let it slide. Your exposure on the first picture with the light makes you look really heavenly but the second one diminishes details that I can see with the exposure. Your student government look is super cute; you look like you’re running for like Junior Councillor for the Head of a school, but the flair of having an unconventional skirt with resist propaganda on is a really smart touch. I wouldn’t have mind if your entire jacket had it too, or if the colours matched up better, i.e. writing with bright red / grey on black paper perhaps. Again, careful of your angles, I wanna see your shoes in your pictures next time and I don’t care if you’re wearing little biscuit heels or jelly flip flops!In your audition, it was quite long and I can see room for small technical touches here and there. For example, I’ve noticed you use fillers (um and erm) – with that you could cut out those and any pauses you too, that way your point comes across quicker and your train of thought is clearer through the edit. Remember to nail your runway in 15 seconds – it’s better to edit out your walk to your starting point rather than have it within your audition, and try to have your full body in the frame so that we can see the entirety of your costume move too.  All in all, you’ve excelled really well in your knowledge of yourself and progressing your drag character throughout charm school. I’m really proud to see your journey continue to this point. Great job! 

Toni: KUSHHHHHHHHHHHHHIm going to be doing this by segments so lets start with your outfits! I really love your prom look because I think based on what you've shown us it really does reflect your personal style. It's giving me Cinderllas stepsisters from into the woods and I really enjoy that. I think if there were a lot of stones added to the outfit as well as having the hair cleaned up a bit more and look more sleek it would be a perfect look In my opinion. The student government look I am really conflicted about. I get what you're trying to go for but I think if you wanted to do that you should have done all NONCON or all cloth just because theres a huge disconnect between the top and the bottom. I also think if you had done a suit or a jacket as well that would have been fierce. Your lipsync was SO GOOD I really enjoyed watching it and I think you kept it interesting through the whole thing so props on that. I would love to see you push the energy up thought to make it AMAZING. For your monologue the background noise was a large distraction but I do really enjoy what you produced, I think there were a few awkward pauses and I can't tell if you meant them to be there or if you were trying to remember lines but they need to be not there. I am so proud of everything you have done and how much you have grown <3

Dotte: I am absolutely LIVING for your prom look! I wish the other concept you had was better realized. A lot of the focal point is on the skirt and it doesn't really match the rest of the outfit. Ahhhhhh your lipsync was so cute though I feel like you've shown massive amounts of improvement there. Like we talked about, it's important to know what to do when there isn't any music playing and I'm glad to see you've figured that out. And I like this camera setting you have! It really allows for us to see your face really well! I'm so proud of you! Cycle 10 will be here sooner than you think and I can't wait to see what you do in the time between then and now!

Marcella: Ok Kushboo, this was a colossally long video, and it didn’t have to be. It’s important to plan your answers, and use things like jump cuts if you’re stalling a lot. That said, I think your responses were spot on for you and you have a good sense of self-perspective. I loved your prom look, and I felt your make-up for it was your best yet. Now for the lipsync – good choice, great job of articulating the unusual sounds in the song, and decent job of occupying the space and keeping it interesting. Between now and c10, I want you to work on your finesse. Your ideas and the aesthetic you’re going for are solid, but I want you to really focus in on details, and executing things as flawlessly as you possibly can, because honestly I think that is your biggest weakness as of now. I know you have it in you to polish up! Good luck for c10!

Harper: Whew, this was a long video! I think something that works for you is that you are very authentic and earnest, and that really comes through when you are speaking. I'd agree with some of the other judges that you could stand to edit out some of this (and film in horizontal next time, please), because while I think you did a fine job answering questions, it was a little dry in some spots. Try to be concise, personable, and minimize the sniffing! I liked your prom outfit, and I think it's very true to your aesthetic. I would like to see you wear a corset with a bit more structure to give you a smooth silhouette, and I will pass on to you the same critique that I'm sending to everyone tonight: LASHES. BIG ONES. I think you have a tendency to have really good ideas that just fall a little short on execution, and that's something you can really work towards in the future. I thought you did a nice job with the monologue and the lip sync, and this was overall a good final submission for you. Can't wait to see how you continue to progress, best of luck!

Luna

Personalized Prom

Extracurricular Activity: Athletics

Letha: Hey Luna! First off, well edited video. Everything is clear and labeled which certainly helps. On to the actual content, starting with the prom look. I love it from head to toe. The hair is very effortless but it works for me, the crown adds a nice touch of shine, and the black and red color scheme is gorgeous. I wish there were some nails though. For the makeup on the prom look, overall it's really good, love the red lip, my main critique would be to try for a harsher cheek contour, as the one you have now is very light and gets washed out easily when seen from a distance. For the sports look I really enjoy the boxing idea, and you really committed to it! The outfit and hair choices make sense. That being said, the end result is maybe a bit too totally masculine for me. I think if the shape was a bit more feminine with boobs/pads it might come across better. Also the flats make SENSE but I just think doing a black pump with a red leg warmer would be a bit more drag than a sneaker, ya know? The makeup here isn't bad either, a bit subtle though. The blood works but I think some more   Sfx makeup would have sold it a bit more. On to the performances! The monologue. Girl. Gretchen's Crack has a long and infamous tdr history for being quite overdone, so I was surprised to see it done again. That being said, it was okay, there have certainly been worse renditions of it. Now the lipsync is where you really shone, in my opinion. I was thoroughly entertained and you really pulled every stunt/trick out of the bag. The song was a classic and you had your words down, so props to you! I'm so proud of the work you've put into this cycle and can't wait to see where your drag takes you next!

Laveau: Luna! I see you are here to knock out the competition! One of the things I appreciate most about you and your drag is the attention to detail and how you package your content. I love the cohesive color scheme and how you tied everything together. I absolutely love your after school look. The oversized robe, the realistic blood, the attitude, but I feel like it lacks a certain drag flare. If you are to continue on to TDR C10, one thing that will set your submissions apart from the competition is adding a little bit of razzle dazzle (see: glitter/rhinestones/sparkles). I feel the same way about your personalized prom look. While it’s absolutely gorgeous and screams Luna, it leaves me wanting more. I feel like jewelry and/or rhinestones could have amplified this look to its full potential. Your monologue was HILARIOUS. Idk if you were going for an even more crazed/deranged version of Gretchen Weiners, but you nailed it. But girl…this lip-sync… IS HOW YOU LIPSYNC FOR THE CROWN! That is how you fill an instrumental break!!! There was never a dull moment and for that, I thank you. Overall, I think you have shown fantastic growth as a queen throughout charm school and I can’t wait to see what you do in the future! <3 Win, lose, or draw, you’re already a winner in my heart. <3 

Sally: Hello Luna! I am gonna start off by critiquing your outfits and then your audition. Your outfits overall were not what I was expecting coming from your amazing turnout for costuming week with these themes, I was a tad let down by some choices, but others brought it back up. You look adorable in your prom look, albeit looking a tad costume-y. Your styling is super cute and from head to toe the concept works well with your aesthetic. While your nose is looking pinched and proper, I’m losing definition around the cheeks – it’s probably just a personal thing for me, but if you could practice adding a flush of colour to the cheeks – a blush or a darker contour tone might bring out some definition there too.  For your athletic wear, I like some elements, and others just throw this off. Those shorts are hurting my soul so much, because of the cut of them, and I would’ve preferred you in an actual bra than compression bra, because I am losing proportions. When you get a concept like Athletics, it is hard to get out of the idea that you have to pertain to the standard – wearing tennis skirts for tennis, going for a realness factor. When you get an assignment, you should always question how you can make it draggier. Rhinestone your gloves, make your robe have a crazy train, little things like that can amplify your concepts, and surpass your progression from past weeks.Your audition was really well constructed, and I enjoyed watching it. Your runways were concise, quick and simple, You had your flow down to a T and you moved really elegantly. You have such a strong camera presence and I was really surprised that I could still hear you over your music in the monologue section (be mindful if your overlay music is loud, turn it down if you can!) All in all, you’ve really defined yourself as a strong competitor consistently, and even when you had your lows, you managed to improve on yourself for a comeback each week. Great job!!

Toni: I plan on doing this by segments so lets start with your outfits! I really love your boxing out fit! When you first suggested it to me I was worried ti wouldn't come off as drag but it really does. i think the hair choice was really smart and I love the look head to toe. Looking in on the makeup its clear how much you've grown in charm school, I think a few minor things could be adjusted like the placement/angle of your brows could be changed to look a bit lower and I really would have loved to seen the same red lipstick you used in your prom look but a bit smeared to add the "i've been fighting" feel to it. Onto the prom look I really love this on you!! It reads as fun and girly but still lowkey badasss. I think the only thing I would change at all about this look is adding a few black stones onto the bodice just to add a little something extra. YOUR LIPSYNC WAS AMAZING! I really enjoyed what you did because there wasn't really a moment where I was bored or distracted away from it because you kept every bit fresh and new. I think the air guitar into a slipt was honestly amazing, and I love that you paired your lipsync up with a look because it really helped to sell the performance. Now onto your monologue.... I hate this monologue (not because you did it but like as a piece) and every cycle someone does it and thinks it's a good piece but there are better pieces you could have picked IMO. That being said I think it was a really good rendition of the piece but I did find the music very distracting to the point where I was unable to focus on you so in the future please make sure the music sin't too loud. My favorite thing to come form your Q&A was how you talked about not wanting to win jsut for yourself but so that you can fight on cycle 10 for the chance to lead and help build the community because thats a huge factor in what judges look for on cycles when planning to crown someone is "how will they do in the leadership role". You did an amazing job and I am so proud of everything you have done over the past few weeks <3

Marcella: Your video felt like a real tdr audition to me. Sectioning each part off, having slides for your questions, these sorts of things might seem insignificant but, to me, they show that you’ve acquired a degree of polish during charm school that I appreciate very much. I enjoyed your monologue, and your lipsync was thoroughly entertaining! I loved the splits and the leg guitar, and the energy was just so right. Look-wise, your sports drag was very unexpected, but I do feel it could have been dragged up some more. It felt a bit ‘boy’, especially when you were moving around for the performance. I know the shoes were fitting, but girl don’t let me see flats again, k? Between now and c10, I want you to experiment. Especially make-up wise: try lighter make-up, try different eye shapes, polish up that nose contour. See what happens when you twist and turn the basic silhouette of Luna and adapt her to different ideas and scenarios. Best of luck for c10!

Harper: Overall, I think you had the strongest submission this week. I thought both of your looks were distinctly you and well put together, my only critiques were that the prom dress was a bit Halloween Store and the extracurricular could have been a bit more femme. I really recommend getting some fake chicken cutlet titties! It wouldn't have been much, but just a little bit of curve and some Rachel-Green-From-Friends-Nipples could really make it read just a bit more feminine. Overall, I think your makeup is strong, but I'd like to see you in big lashes and with a bit more contrast. There's nothing wrong with using stark black, it's just learning how to incorporate that black with appropriate shades and highlights for the full effect. I would like to see you choose a different monologue for the real audition because, in my opinion, this one was a bit played out, but you did a nice job with it. Overall, though, I think your lip sync was the highlight of your submission. The song and the look worked together, and the routine was perfect for your tough-girl character. I lived for it! I know there's a lot of pressure coming into a competition where you might be held to a higher standard because you are starting at a more advanced place, but I think you did a great job of trying new things and refining your skills. Looking forward to seeing what you pull out for your actual audition because if this is any indication it will be great!

Marina

Personalized Prom

Extracurricular Activity: Drama Club

Letha: Hey girl! So starting with the outfits, I think the theater one is very cute, and it being shorter helps you get away with the shape not being the most flattering. That being said, I do like it. The prom dress is okay, a bit pedestrian/run of the mill, but the hair and flower crown help to make it a bit less conventional. My makeup notes for both looks are similar. Lashes are a must, work on blending the shadow on the eyes so there isn't a stark line, clean up contour lines on the cheeks, and better overdraw/define on the lips. I really enjoy the liner shape on both though! For the monologue, I had to google what it was about and having done that, I would say that the lines don't quite match up to the monologue, but it's not bad, you were just quiet and not really emoting as much as I think you could have. For the lipsync, you had some definite choreography and I quite liked the performance. It was a bit hard to see your sync at some points, as the lighting wasn't the best, so watch out for that in the future. Overall you should be very proud of the work you've done here in Charm School, and I can't wait to see where your drag goes from here!

Laveau: Marina: Your prom look is stunning but it looks like you grabbed a wig and a dress, pout them on and called it a day. Your makeup has improved for sure, but still lacks a certain element of refinement for drag. I love your after school look. It’s giving me Columbia from Rocky and I liiiiive. Would have liked to see some jewelry, but the outfit itself is cute. Your lipsync was very entertaining. I loved the emotion and dancing throughout the performance. I just wish you would have filmed in landscape so we could have seen the full frame.  Your mologue was good as well, It was just pretty hard to hear you throughout it. You come so close to nailing it, but I feel like attention to detail is holding you back. You say that procrastination is holding you back, so now that you know that about yourself you’ve got to work hard to overcome that in order to succeed if you continue on with TDR. Make a list of things from head to toe/start to finish that you need to prepare for your submissions and systematically check them off the list in a timely manner. I see the potential in your drag, but it feels like you keep missing the mark. Congratulations on all of your growth this semester, and I can’t wait to see what you do in the future <3

Sally: Hey, Marina! I will talk about your outfits, then your audition reel second. Both of your outfit choices really reflect you as a person, and I applaud you for that, however some elements can be added to produce a full effect. Your prom look teeters on being a bog standard dress - I can kind of see this at a prom, but not really. I see this being more of a forest nymph than personalised prom. I would’ve preferred a longer cut on your dress, so maybe you could’ve added more length to it with an underskirt perhaps and added a few embellishments to really drag up the dress. The colour story is great - remember to take pictures of your feet within the shots too because I can’t see your heels in either of your shots in your submission and your audition with this concept, therefore I don’t even know if you’re wearing heels. Your drama club look is so fun and I love it honestly - really cute, playful, I get drama from it instantly. The colours pop and it’s exciting. I would’ve loved to see some sort of prop with this to sell it more, maybe one of those drama masks on a stick and you just throw it on your runway, might’ve excelled this more. Your audition is a kind of toss up. Remember to find your light, use a flashlight on a phone from far aback if need be, because some of your shots are really, really dark. You come across as quite shy, remember that you’re only talking to a camera and whoever’s on the other side wants to see you to the fullest, so when you film, remind yourself to be true to you to the fullest. Your runways are quite quick, take your time and make sure to film in an area that you can see your entire body clearly, your second runway seems to be a bit darker and a bit off-centre. All in all, you have improved a hell of a lot since the start of this competition, you’ve really proved to yourself that you can achieve a lot when you’re against all odds and I applaud your hard work. Great work!

Harper: I was getting serious Joan Cusack vibes from you this week and I can't put my finger on exactly what it is. You are so young and have so much potential, but I'm going to be real with you for a second: you've had excuses every single week and they are going to cost you opportunities. point blank. I know that's hard to hear, but it's something that I've had to learn as well as someone who also struggles with time management issues. Moving on, I thought both costumes suited you and the wigs you paired them with, but I would have liked to have seen more pizzazz with your prom look! It just came off a little flat when your extra curricular look was was so fun. Your makeup has definitely come a long way, and I think you have really gotten the hang of what shapes suit your face. I think the next steps moving forward for you are going to be to clean up your lines and add a lash. Please. Lashes will be what takes your look to the next level! As female drag queens, we have to work twice as hard to be taken seriously, and that means really owning the transformation: padding, contouring, cinching, wigs, and lashes because if any part of the "real girl" underneath peaks through people WILL call you out for it. It's not fair, it's frustrating, but it is what it is. I think the lip sync and monologue were both good choices for you aesthetically, but PLEASE film in landscape mode! It really does make a big difference. I think you have grown a tremendous amount through charm school, and I really hope you stick with it. Good luck!

Ophelia

Personalized Prom

Extracurricular Activity: Science Club

Letha: Girllll you know I love me some flowers so you had me with your prom look. I love the contrast of the stark (yet also muted) colors with the white. I think there could have been a bit more shape in the waist considering this length, but it's still very striking. I'm also not totally sure about the black shoes (I know shoes can be a bitch to find though, so forgiven). The makeup is great as an idea and I can see the direction it was taking, just work on cleaning up your lines to get that graphic style. I really do love this look though, the head piece is great. For the science look, it's honestly so fun. The shape is very much The Jetsons, and I love the transition of the appliqués from the outfit to the skin. I think a trim along the bottom of the dress would have helped clean up the lines, and I think maybe another color besides the white and purple would have added more interest, maybe a green? The hair is a bit of a nest but I think that was the intent so I can get behind that. The shapes on the makeup are interesting, but they just need to be defined/shaded/highlighted more to be believable and trick the eye. Also lashes are a must. For the monologue I was a bit lost, it seemed you were a bit stiff maybe? I'm not the most familiar with the material you pulled from, but it wasn't my favorite. The lipsync was great, as I expected, but check the overlay because it was off by quite a bit when you uploaded it. Still really good though! Overall, you have really outdone yourself, and looking back on week one you can see how far you've come. I'm so proud of you for that, and I hope you're proud of yourself as well! 

Laveau: Miss Waters….I was so in love with your prom look until I got to the shoes. That being said, it’s obvious how much work went into making this look and you did a fantastic job. I wish the dress gave you more of a shape but that could be fixed with either larger padding or by cinching the garment a bit more at the waist. Your science look is KILLER. I love the concept and how you sold it. You look like a science experiment gone RIGHT. The hair and makeup could use a bit of refinement, but I absolutely love your concepts and style of drag. Your monologue was a bit monotone, so I would, in the future, work on changing inflection so that you can show a bigger range of emotion in acting challenges. On to the lip-sync. I love that I could feel the passion in your lipsync. This is the range of emotion I’m talking about. Bring that to your acting. Congratulations on a wonderful semester and I can’t wait to see what you do in the future! <3 

Sally: Hey Ophelia! As per usual, I’m gonna give you my thoughts on the outfits and then your audition. Overall, your outfits are bold choices, but are a little rough around the edges. I’ll start by talking about your personalised prom, because it is extremely eye-catching. This is clearly Ophelia to the fullest and I’m seeing a strong aesthetic with what you enjoy in drag and how you produce your concepts in execution. It’s exciting, the colours you’ve chosen pop off the whites you’ve used in your scheme, and the clash of materials is exciting to look at. I would only say that the length of your gown doesn’t hit the floor, therefore exposes your black shoes. You could’ve added more fabric and flowers to the bottom, or even used socks and hot glued flowers onto the socks, putting them over your heels to make them correspond to your concept. For your science look, this is feeling a little bit rougher around the edges. I love that your silhouette is the shape of a science beaker and that your hair is frazzled like that of an experiment gone wrong, your purple scheme pops from the white again, and your choices in costume creation are so smart, but be careful with your makeup. I think a good example to look at for creative makeups like this for science is the partial face cover. Adrena Lin did this in Cycle 8 for the Pokepaint challenge using Muk, I think your normal face could’ve worked more than the scary-sludge lip you’ve done too.Your audition is super cute! Your camera presence is clearly strong, I feel like you know it’s a camera and not several people watching you on the other end which is a great attribute to have. You came across as quite awkward in your runway, make sure to just go with the flow when you walk, present yourself however you feel suited, and remember, take several takes if you have to! All in all, you’ve excelled into dragdom through this entire process and I’m really proud to see how well you’ve done throughout all of the weeks. Excellent work!

Toni: I'm going to be doing this by segments so lets start with your outfits! I think out fo the two the science one is my favorite. It has appliques and I am a slut for that, i love how the hair is styled and I think it's really fun but in a new way for you. I also want to point out the gloves because those are super cute. The makeup for that is really nice!! I would have just liked to see the eyes blended out so it was fading into the skin tone or if you had done like full black soot smokey eye to kinda match your hair. The prom look i really love too! the flowers are beautiful. I think it does lack a little shape but if you added a belt to it that could help the shape a lot. I also think if you had added a few stones among the flowers that just slightly catch the light that would have been cute too. The makeup for this one is the same as on the science one for me, just blend it a bit more so it doesn't look as harsh! onto your monologue it made almost no sense to me and I have literally no idea whats going on for it? I wish there was a bit of explanation in the video for it because I feel like it was kinda like a joke...that I just wasn't in on and for an audition or a show thats just...not good for the audience to not know whats going on. The lipsync was sadly off which i'm shocked to get from you because I know you know how to do that. Its hard to really judge the sync bc of that but I know you knew your words. I do wish there was an extra PUNCH of energy in this song. I think that would have really driven it home. I love that because of charm school you were able to find out more about your drag character and it's been so amazing to watch you grow these past few weeks!!! <3

Dotte: I wasn't expecting these looks from you at all! I love the ideas that you have going on here, but, as you said, attention to detail would be key here. One of my pet peeves is when someone's face is painted a color and their arms are bare. I'm not going to get into the lipsync missing it's sync but I'm really happy with the emotion you put into it. I hope you continue to experiment with different ways to lipsync and add complexity to your move-sets so it doesn't seem so "one-lineish." Hope you had fun on Charm School and thanks for playing!

Marcella: Ophelia, I was impressed with you this week. I felt you really pushed your costuming in particular, and both of your looks were super creative and pretty fierce. Your lipsync overlay was off :’[ but I could tell it was solid in spite of this. Great emotions as always, and good connection. I would love to have seen you inject a bit more drag flourish into your performance. You virtually HAVE to twirl when the beat kicks in, and I wish I’d seen you stomp and dance around a bit more. Your answers were very insightful and I definitely understand your drag character more from hearing you discuss your journey. To work on in the run-up to c10, I want you to think about exactly how Ophelia does everything. How does she sit, how does she dance, how does she interpret things? You’re onto a character, and I would love to see that character blossom and for you to fully embody her in every single aspect from head to toe. I wish you all the luck for c10!

Harper: I really liked the concept behind your looks, and I think both fit your character well. Something you touched on in your interview was the attention to detail, though, and I think that is definitely true for this week. I did not care for the fact that the body paint on your head and face didn't extend to your arms, and I feel as though you are relying on it again. It's fine to use the paint as a base, but the drag makeup should be good enough to stand on its own, and I feel that without the white it would not hold up. Take it a few steps further than what you are doing now, I know you are capable of it! I think that's also my critique for your lip sync. I'm going to hold you to a higher standard of the other girls because we share the lsfyl background, and mama... this overlay was very off. Don't be afraid to play with concepts for lip syncs in TDR like you did for LSFYL... most of the other girls are going into it doing really super basic lip syncs in dirty rooms and having a lsfyl background gives you a real opportunity to help yourself stand out in a positive way. I'm going to challenge you to think outside the box next time. I think the best part of this video is seeing how much more comfortable you are in front of the camera than you were when we met a few years ago. You seem so much more relaxed and personable and I'm really proud of you for that growth. Keep it up!

[tdrcycle09]

Rags To Riches Ball Part III: Regally Royal Couture

Our next category celebrates all those who have sat on the throne, decked out in drag inspired by kings and queens of the past! With this, our final 4 are also telling us why they should win to get their own crown and throne too! Let’s see what they’ve done!

Analyse Thropic

Lila: Analyse, you are breathtaking. You turn a silhouette that is arguably quite simplistic, intelligently select colour stories and fabrics to go with it, accessorize it extremely, and produce makeup and hair that you may not think goes with the outfit, and man, does it come together. This is such a fucking strong ass look, the concept is so right and I literally die from how Elizabethan it is in design. There are issues, like the lace could’ve came all the way down, and it could’ve had this Vera Wang look to it that would’ve made it more breaktaking, but that’s just me. Your makeup is absolutely stunning in this category and you should be extremely proud because this is a makeup that really made me audibly gasp when opening the link to the pictures. You’ve came such a long way from Charm School and it’s so amazing to see you create such powerful strides.You are truly a TDR success story - and the first queen to truly make me cry. Analyse, it has been such a remarkable journey with you in the past 5 months, and I am so proud to stand by while you go through from strength to strength in this competition, and see you tackle some of the most ambitious challenges in TDR herstory without complaining or being defeatist about anything really was a breath of fresh air. Your speech honestly refreshed my mind and really had me nodding my head, agreeing with your statements and you didn’t filibuster into the realm of repetition, nor did you make it all about yourself. You acknowledge your low points and defend yourself well over those points, and I honestly love a queen who can carry themselves like you can. Analyse, you’ve done amazing this cycle, and I really can’t wait to see what you do in the future, no matter the outcome.

Letha: Analyse Thropic, Miss Royal Tea. You picked a great color palette for this look, as the colors of gold and purple go with royalty while not necessarily borrowing from a specific monarch in particular. I love the ruffs as well as the belt, and from the waist up, I like the outfit, but I don't love the bottom half as much, the length of the gold skirt makes it a bit too business fish for my taste. The hair is a bit of a wash as far as styling goes, but the crown on top does help to make it more regal. Love the nails on gloves, they're the best kind of tacky. I like parts of the makeup, the lips and eyes are great, and the pearl forehead/eyebrows are also good, but the rest of the pearls on the face doesn't read as glamorous for me. Your winning speech was inspiring and you talking about your growth and journey throughout Charm School and Cycle 9 really illustrates how far you have come, and I can only hope that someone watching it becomes motivated to follow their own drag and begin a journey like yours. You should be very proud of your work, Analyse, because I know I am. 

Toni: I loved this look, I think its very well done and I think its clear who you are a queen based around this look. Just a few things thought: Your hair is really confusing looking at it, im not totally sure what its doing but I don’t like it. I also wish that the lining went all the way down to the floor because it would have made it very much ROYAL and I think it’s a bit missing. The speech was beautiful and well spoken. It was funny when it needed to be, serious and heartfelt when needed, and I think it really went over well and gave you a strong platform. 

Gluttoni:  What a beautiful queen you make Analyse! This look is quite stunning and I think my favorite reason why is because of your color palette you chose. The golden champagne color along with that royal deep purple is honestly such smart choice girl! I’m obsessed with the design of your crown and the amazing negative space of it. It’s honestly a gorgeous look but it’s lacking in some areas for me. The hair is definitely you signature color and great length but it need some serious styling in my eyes because it just looked too fried with this polished look. Also you lose me a bit with the underskirt length because it’s just a tad awkward with the sheer panel.  Good job regardless. Your speech was very well spoken and honestly you gave very solid points that really moved me. You should be proud my favorite skin cavity.

Avana Noir

Lila: UGH. This concept is so smart and I get your convention that you set out to achieve. Your hair is so good, literally love this hair on you and paired with this makeup, you LOOK SO DAMN BEAUTIFUL. The makeup is fucking stunning Avana - STUNNING.The colours are strong here, if your silhouette was more of a flair than a ball - shape, then I would’ve enjoyed this a lot more. But without that - I feel your concept is superb. I foresaw this being the route you took, your Mexican heritage should be a proud staple and the chance to express it like this, like I’m proud of you. You have such a great presence when you’re on camera, you have the ability to make me laugh, make me cry, and make me believe that you believe that you can win this. Your points in your speech came across really genuine, I feel such a strong connection to those who go through TDR in a way that you have - you seemed anxious at times, you undermined your work when nothing was really wrong with it, and now, you’ve overcame a sort of renaissance period where you are good enough and you are the one to watch - you’ve acknowledged some of your “mistakes” and you’ve managed to overcome them. Look where you stand. You are such a warm glow in a community that could be watching their Next Drag Superstar. One of the biggest points of TDR is growth - personal growth and growth in drag - and your potential is starting to shine brighter than you know it!

Letha: Avana Noir, or is it just Avana???? Either way, Queen. This look is really great and I love your thought process for it, making it regal but also about your heritage. The color scheme is great, but I do wish you had a strap to hold up the top and stop it from flopping, because otherwise it'd be perfect. The hair goes very well with the look, and the makeup is STUNNING, you really knocked that part out of the park. Your speech was entertaining and funny, as you always are, and you discussing your growth during your time here, as well as you finding your community here, is always so great to hear that someone has gotten that out of their cycle. Know that these friendships will last beyond this competition if you want them to, and that just because we may all live in separate places, we're all sisters and having a network of such fabulous and creative people is like nothing else on this Earth. I am so proud of you, Avana, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for you.

Toni: I love love love that you went in and made a whole fucking ball gown for this!!! Its rough around the edges but it’s totally amazing for a first try!! I think if you had slowed down and focused on making more ruffles and make sure the lace looked nice this would have been stellar!!! I also think that this could have helped with straps because right now it looks like its barely holding on to your chest. Your speech was so very very very you!!!! It was fun and light hearted but had the slight seriousness that I’ve come to appreciate from you ❤

Gluttoni:  Right in time for Cinco De Mayo, you give it to us with this beautiful Mexican queen look. I love that you pick something so close and meaningful to the person that you are. I love the mug and you really look like doll that you would get as a souvenir for visiting Mexico. Your speech was hilarious. I really got some good hardy laughs out of it and I’m so glad you are owning everything that you are and really bringing what you had along to the competition. Good luck henny.

Lexi Lamour

Lila: I like your Marie Antoinette a lot - The colour scheme is almost very Cinderella as Marie Antoinette, and truly the makeup is just such a standout. Your costuming is coming across for me, very halloweeny store at the bodice line, however with the flare out it’s extremely draggy and it balances out the Yin and Yang pretty much. Your hair is so good and I just think the powder blue is just so fucking beautiful for this scheme like wow. Another success story comes from culminating, well, success, in TDR. Your speech made me choke up a bit and I’m really glad you explained yourself in your reasoning for your personal situation. It sucks to be in such a tight spot and obviously knowing your passion and determination to win this, it must’ve been such a dire situation to be in. For me, you really hit home about some of your points - remember to relax on camera too - we’re only behind the screen and that lense isn’t an eye for the CIA to stare at you through! Touching on your success restored a lot of your achievements in this cycle and I think you should really be proud of what you’ve managed to achieve and succeed in through your journey in this cycle - the amount of friends you’ve made, the new challenges you’ll face afterward, and the support system that you can always turn to. Really, you’ve done such a great job this cycle, Lexi. Don’t forget about it.

Letha: Lexi Lamour, are you you gonna finish that cake or can the children have some? This look screams ROYAL and is so opulent, I am amazed. Even if you didn't make it, you sold the garment and it's so fabulous. I don't love the petticoat underneath, as it creates an odd shape underneath the skirt, but that would be my only crit for the gown. The hair is also incredible, and the makeup is honestly so beautiful, you look so soft and delicate, even if it isn't totally the typical Marie Antoinette style. Your speech was so heartfelt, and your drag journey is much longer than many of ours, with so many ups and downs, but the fact that you are still here is a testament to your strength and resolve to push through and commit to your drag, and I am so proud to see it. I am happy to have helped you through this cycle with my tough love, and I cannot wait to see what's next. 

Toni:I love love love love love adore love this rococo inspired outfit and I think you did a good job of styling it, I just wanted two things form this. It needed a different  hoop skirt, one that went more side ways like rococo gowns do, and I wanted you to be drenched in pearls. I love your speech so much because you really talk from the heart and its something from you that I haven’t seen before and I really enjoyed it and fell in love with you during it. that this

Gluttoni: I love anything referencing French lifestyle and culture so this look is quite the slam dunk for me. I love the soft pastel blue for this look and the hair up to the gay gods. This makeup is probably the best you’ve ever looked in my eyes and the styling was fantastic as well. Nothing bad I can say about this look. You gave us the cake and we got to eat it too. I couldn’t help but tear up during your speech because I heard all the passion and drive in your voice and it was very reminiscent of when I had to do my speech. I was literally boohooing while watching. I just want to you to know whatever comes of this. THIS NOT THE END OF YOU. You have so much more work and passion for the whole world to see. You have the platform, now what are you going to do with it?

Sugar Monroe

Lila: Because this is the finale and you are all battling for a crown, I’m going to be outright with this. I do not like this at all and I was expecting a lot more than this. If you are going to do a Marie Antoinette look, the hair needs to be sculpted up, there needs to be more accessories, and certainly, there needs to be more cohesion. Your makeup has the conventions of Marie, but more of a clown inspired rather than beauty inspired. I would’ve done a lot more white paint all the way down to your clavicle, and certainly tried to make the arms look a lot more white too. Your speech made me soooooo sad. As soon as I opened your speech, I didn’t expect you to give into your own negative thoughts so quickly. Even if you think of all those things - The argument that you didn’t expect to make it this far, the argument that you did this for yourself - you did this like every other person standing in those positions at the finale. You all have reasons for and reasons against winning this competition. Any person in this cast could’ve came to the finale, and you all have potential to win this thing. I say this in a critique so that people can see it - you beating yourself up isn’t going to change how you perceive yourself, nor how others see you too. If you can go through being low, being bottom 2, and still make it to the finale? You have as much right as anyone standing up there with you to plead your case. So Sugar, read this now: You are a great queen. You deserve to be here, and you should celebrate it. Good job in this competition, and good job in this finale.

Letha: Sugar, I have to admit that I'm not loving the look. Beyond the makeup, I don't get too much "royal" so much as "holo", which could work for say... a future queen? but it doesn't have that typical futuristic sleekness. The hair is pretty nondescript, and the makeup throws me a bit. It's very Marie Antoinette, but the contour meeting the cheek kind of muddies the shapes a bit for me. I like the lip/eye, though. All in all, it is a bit hodge-podge and not very cohesive for me. Moving on to your speech, there were some good parts, but you seemed to have felt very defeated. Your confidence didn't carry through the speech, but I want you to know that you and your drag are so valid, and that your growth here is so evident in these challenges. When we started together on Cycle 8, I had no idea we would end up here, but now that we have, I can only say how proud I am of you and how much I look forward to your future in drag. I love you, Sugar. 

Toni:I really loved your speech, I love how you talked about your personal growth and how you really showed us passion for who sugar was and your art, and proving yourself to others as well as yourself. The look is a bit of a let down im afraid. I think if you had done an updo for your hair it would have helped a lot. Maybe adding more stones or jewels, a crown, or even a septar, just something to show us your royalty because other than I’m not getting queen from any section of this. I think your makeup is interesting, I’m not sure if I like it or not. I think if you ahd softened the blue a bit it would have made it a lot better. very you!!!! 

Gluttoni: I feel like I got the vision of the parts of royalty you were trying to reference but I must admit I’m kind of lost with the whole picture of it all. The good parts like the beauuuuutiful holographic fabric seems dulled by the uneventful and plain juxtaposed top. I’m also obsessed withe shoes but it seems a tad too modern for the silhouette's sake.Something about the sullen clownish mug and flat hair really doesn’t spell out opulence and queen-like regalness in my eyes. Not to say any of this is at all bad because it not but I wish you would have though out more about the whole picture which is why this is hard because you can’t explain for yourself your thought process. Your speech was definitely the embodiment of your growth and testament of your hardships overcome by your triumphs. I know this isn’t the end of you journey and my hopes is the that really own your star quality.

[redsletterday]

-originally posted March 14, 2017-

WALA TAYONG PICTURE TOGETHER - the last picture is getting me O.C. It’s not aligned with the rest of the pictures.

#1 First post here on Tumblr and I have to giver credit where credit is due. You told me you like long letters. 

Jesca,

I’m warning you now: I am completely going to be honest about what I feel. After all, this is why I’m making a Tumblr account - but more on that on another post. This (and almost all of my future posts) will be a double-edged sword. I’ll definitely flatter you genuinely (as ironic as that may sound) but it may as well hurt your esteem. To spoil, it’ll be more of the former as the latter may not even mean to you that much anymore.

Nearly a quarter of a year left ‘til our friendship strikes 1 year young. I’m not the type to take notice of how long friendships last but in the time we’ve shared so far, we’ve filled each other with stories of bits, pieces, and occasionally big chunks of our experiences - mostly life’s shit - on both ends of the spectrum (good and bad). And I would hate to see this wonderful exchange to end. 

A typical Friday ROC play practice comes to an end in Mozu. I sit halfway on the couch by the long table. We weren’t that many; just some of the cast of Aminan sa Telengtan. Troy and a familiar face comes by to join. Troy sits opposite of me and the familiar face sits on my right. I learn her name as Jesca. Not that it was new; I already knew her name. I just was never sure of it. I’ve seen her months before, after all, the university is a small campus. Team Kerrots: a playfest group I was never really close to. Tried my best to fit in by the last few practice sessions with only a few close friends and the rest as either acquaintances or more familiar faces. One rehearsal night, a girl sits on a chair near the board where the cast would usually practice. If my memory serves me right, it was TDR so the cast was naturally warming up outside the TDR room. I knew her to be the Kim Luke’s girl. “Hey, she’s pretty”, I thought, looking at her in her white shirt and light blue jeans. Jesca’s her name, I think.  Jesca’s her name, I’m sure of it now, as Troy introduces me to her. She apparently has a hole in her heart which I thought was a metaphor for Luke breaking up with her. Joke’s on me, Troy meant it literally. What a great way to start knowing someone. No sarcasm intended. Honestly thought that this would be just a passing one-night friendship thing but who knows? I stayed friendly anyway. So I asked her about the breakup, with her permission of course. Got some typical young-relationship-that-ends-up-breaking-fast kind of answers which I didn’t really think would be useful to me until months later.  And months later, we apparently become close buds. Can’t give much detail into it, I actually don’t remember how, we just did (Pa’no nga ba?). I think it was just because I got to reconnect with friends after my breakup with Yela. Then again, I got closer to a lot of people anyway. Little did I know that the reconnection was albeit temporary. The ones I continued to become closer with are ones I did not expect, and that includes you. I’m thankful it included you, dang.

Soon enough, we chatted normally whenever we had to share something. Or nothing - which is really just you saying “ayoko naaaaa” but I still reply to you anyway. We hung out one day back in November (or was it early December?) in Megamall. Wanted to watch a movie but respected your decision to decline as it may have triggered your emotions for Luke. Few weeks later, we got to watch Saving Sally anyway.  What rings my memory the most when thinking about this day was the ice breaker game we played in Pinkberry. You brought out your cards and showed me some silly but fun game. Then you brought another set of cards, this time, flash cards, with questions that technically force you to talk about yourself. It was quite unfair, to be honest, since you already played this with Jan and Amiel, that when we played it, you knew exactly what you wanted to say. Nevertheless, I learned more about you: your brother’s stupidity, Luke’s stupidity, and just other stupidity. I didn’t even think I’d tell you about my secrets but I haven’t regretted doing so anyway. 

Speaking of Luke, I really don’t understand why you just cannot move on from him. Okay, maybe I do, but there’s nothing else we can do. Luke’s not going to move or do anything as much as he says, at least according to people, that he would soon talk to you. Let’s not hope on it and after all, you can always do something for yourself. Everyone’s been trying to help you, but do help yourself too. Don’t let your emotions be judged with what he’s not ever going to do. You know more than that. It’ll take time, I know. I’ll be there along the way, but please don’t let this last too long. Well, anyway, Luke’s the least of your problems for now, so I’ll put the emphasis on this problem aside. 

You’ve got your “situation” to deal with. Mind you, it is not something you have to deal with alone, okay? Surely, it’s hard opening up to people with the fear of just annoying them with your problems. Maybe the repetition of the issue with Luke gets people (in this case, maybe Jan specifically) off with you but Jan still talks to you anyway. If they get annoyed and stop talking to you because of it, then they never really were your friends in the first place. I get annoyed with it too to be frank. I just don’t see it as a reason for me to just leave. I’m here for you, your joys, and your sadness. Never solely for when you have a problem because you are never your problems. Nor will they ever define you. On the contrary, they better you. Only, if you let it. Only, if you let yourself. I believe in you.

Always, Your favorite color, Red

P.S. You’re the only other friend that has seen me cry (aside from my exes, Bianca and Yela). It surprises me that I still let out some tears even when you kept me company. I guess it goes to show that I can really trust you. Oh and by the way, you randomly sending me selfies really reminds me of how Yela used to do it. Not as often as you though. You don’t have to stop; I appreciate it anyway.

P.P.S I love you, Jesca! Not in that way. But not all love has to be romantic anyway. It just has to be true. And mine is true for you. Well, hopefully. It’s a constant  act. 

[dangan-meme-palace]

Do you find Saihara's characterization weird in chapter 6? Because I do :( He's become super confident, optimistic, and leader-like too fast, especially if you compare to ch5 and before...I understand that in the last chapter all protags get pumped up to end the killing game but...he's quoting Momota and he also developed a 'hunch' like him...even Harukawa says 'sometimes you're so much like Kaito' pls no I like Saihara the way he is, meaning, not like Momota :( but that's just my opinion! ^^

Shuichi's characterization is all over the place. It's not even like... "he's inconsistent because humans are inconsistent" or whatever, it's literally just that his personality changes whenever the narrative needs it to without anything but loose, barely-there excuses to try and justify why it happens.

Chapter 1:

No problems with believing in his detective work, he's actually quite shockingly confident in them for how much he downplays them.

His actual problem is not thinking his skills are where they should be according to professional standards, which is an accurate assessment if the rest of the game is anything to go by actually.

Calls Kaito a reckless idiot for doing something reckless and idiotic. This is the only time he does this.

Learns a lesson?? I guess?? The lesson was apparently supposed to be "don't be afraid to reach for the truth" but it came off more like "you shouldn't let everyone die just because you liked Kaede the most, picking favorites and having bias is bad because you have a duty to remain unbiased so everyone doesnt die"

Then everyone conveniently forgets that he was willing to let them die.

Chapter 1 was the best for his characterization except for the trial. I wish he had acted like this throughout the entire game.

Let him investigate. Dear god why doesn't the detective investigate, or even cast doubt?

Chapter 2:

Kaito is starting to become his Bro now. He's not super biased like in later chapters, but you can start to see it happening.

This is the chapter where he tells everyone not to let their biases get in the way of logic, which is funny considering what he's like in other chapters.

Big sad about Kaede, but a few of the characters (Ryoma, Tenko) comfort him so he's choosing to turn this tragedy into a growth moment. I guess it's kinda like what Chihiro did, except a girl had to die for it and he didn't get brained with a dumbbell at the end.

He's the nicest to everyone in this chapter. Don't worry, it won't last long :)

If he had kept the weird sort of optimism he had during this chapter plus the logical thinking instead of leaning into the angst he might've actually developed and Kaede's death might've been worth a damn.

Chapter 3

Maki gets the spotlight so there's not much to say except for the fact that he's gotten super awkward and is getting progressively dumber.

Honestly Maki is kind of right when she keeps calling him a dumbass for asking questions with very obvious answers.

Literally how the fuck did he ever solve infidelity cases when he can't even figure out shit that's this basic.

Smh.

Oh yeah, the odd hopefulness is gone now. It's buried next to my hope of him turning out to be an interesting character.

Put your hat back on if you're gonna angst again emo boy.

Investigation? Dont know her. I only know the Grind 💯 and hanging out with the Bros 😤👊

Chapter 4:

One of his worst chapters. I fucking hate this chapter.

Everyone patted him on the back before the trial and it felt shoehorned in. I'm not even sure why they did it honestly?

Kokichi = Evil

Kaito & Maki = Good

But dont worry guys, he's totally not biased or anything! (/s)

He's mega biased.

During the trial he has a lot of confidence, like the good kind he had back in Chapter 2. Especially when he lied and when he stood his ground against Kaito. He'll be punished by the narrative for going against Kaito, but for now I'll enjoy his limp-dicked rebellion.

Apparently he cares for Gonta except he never once talked to him during the main story and even insulted Gonta in his head during their FTEs. When did he start to care about Gonta? He didn't, but now he does I guess.

Chapter 5:

Another bad chapter. Hate this too

Officially graduated from Kaito's Bro to Kaito's Simp.

Also his confidence is entirely dependent on Kaito. When Kaito wants him to do something, he's sure Kaito's plan will work and gives him all of his support. If Kaito expresses displeasure, he's ashamed of himself and has no confidence. I-... y'know sometimes I genuinely worry about their dynamic.

Kokichi = Evil ×2 combo

No detective work or reasoning. Why would the gofer project want a cosplayer to go to space and preserve humanity? Or an ex murderer? Or an assassin? Or a detective? Are they going to be solving space crimes? Shuichi should have been so god damn suspicious- the MOST suspicious, even- but he's practically braindead at this point in the story.

Investigation skills, when will you return from the war?

Goes from suicidal to "uwu I'm a hopeful student of Hope's Peak Academy" way too quickly for someone with supposed confidence issues.

Seriously, how did he go from "the world has been destroyed and I cant fix it so I might as well die" to "yeah! we will definitely fix it! we dont know how yet, but we'll totally do it because we're Ultimates even though in Chapter 1 I didnt even think I deserved to be an Ultimate but shhhh" so quickly?

Kiibo and Shuichi kinda sounded like Kaede when they saw the Hope's Peak Flashback and it's so fucking weird because there's no justification for it

Chapter 6:

Literally what was this chapter

Why did it take Kiibo threatening to blow up the school to get him to investigate the mastermind again? 9 people have died since Chapter 1, but he acted as though he couldn't do anything about it. He even says he "can only help after people die", but Chapter 1 disproved that because he literally almost caught the mastermind without anyone dying so-

At least he investigated, I guess. It's sad that a detective investigating is considered a miracle, but here we are.

During the trial he's rapidly switching from hopeful to suicidal to hopeful again and it gives me so much whiplash, like god damn. Chill out a bit, buddy.

Much like the now-late Kaito, Shuichi tries to convince everyone to die with him to make some sort of stand against TDR. Somehow this worked and they also somehow didn't die and we aren't given justification for either.

The confidence came from the fact that the narrative needed him to be confident. That's it. There's literally no justification for this. There's no justification for anything, honestly.

What even was that ending, like what the fuck was that? None of their arcs got wrapped up at all...

So basically

Shuichi is confident but he's not but only when Kaito believes in him but he can stand against Kaito when he needs to and also he's not actually confident and Kaito needs to baby him. Shuichi is also not biased because he learned a lesson about that, unless your name is Kaito, Maki, or Kokichi, in which case he is incredibly biased to the point of putting the lives of other people on the line, but he wants everyone to survive because he learned a lesson about that. He's also incredibly dismissive of most of the cast in his head, to the point of being cold, but it should be noted that Shuichi really cares about his friends and is really nice and supportive of others. He's a big doormat except for when he doesn't want to be, unless it involves Kaito, because then he is always a sidekick except for when he isn't.

Hope that cleared things up! As you can see Shuichi is a very consistent character :) (/s)

-tech

[dangan-meme-palace]

This is absolutely my worst Danganronpa opinion, but if you want hot takes then I’ll give you one! Ougoku (Gonta x Ouma) is a good ship. Gonta tries to understand Kokichi and enjoys spending time with him. Kokichi cared about Gonta and felt horrible for what happened in chapter four. It isn’t perfect, but you can’t deny that they meant a lot to each other.

You’re not even wrong though…

I could get into what makes them good shipping material, but honestly the fact that you think this could be considered a bad opinion leaves a bad taste in my mouth so I’m going to lay out, in full detail, why the fandom’s misconceptions about Kokichi and Gonta’s dynamic are WRONG and why the anti-ou\goku sentiment that is so popular within the fandom is misinformed at best.

This is extremely long, just warning you now.

There are two main concerns that people have when discussing ou\goku. The first is the Insect Meet and Greet, and the second is the dreaded Chapter 4.

Getting right into it, the insect meet and greet was not a case of Gonta being manipulated and the reason Gonta was mad at Kokichi has been misidentified by the mass majority of the fandom. You see, people have this belief that Gonta was unaware that the insect meet and greet was about anything other than the cast meeting and greeting bugs. This is demonstrably false, because In CH2 during freetime, you can find Kokichi and Gonta hanging out at the fountain discussing and planning out the insect meet and greet. Notably, if you try to talk to Gonta to hang out, he says “Oh! Shuichi! You here to help Gonta think of way to get everyone to trade motives?” This proves he knew what was going to happen at the insect meet and greet and that he wanted it too.

So then- why was Gonta angry if he hadn’t been tricked? Well, he was tricked, just not in the way you thought. Kokichi did trick him... by saying he liked bugs. Yes, you read right, the reason Gonta was so mad was because Kokichi lied about liking bugs. It’s easy to forget, but Gonta gets really worked up about bugs, to the point that in CH1 Kaede had lied to Gonta abut liking bugs because she was so intimidated by his sudden intensity, so it would actually make sense for Gonta to get so vindictive about Kokichi not liking bugs. This is further solidified by the dialogue between Gonta and Kokichi having a distinct focus on the bugs rather than the plan, with Gonta’s punishment for Kokichi being spending time with the bugs. So, unless you’re going to get mad at Kokichi for doing the same (understandable) thing that Kaede did, the issue of Gonta being mad at Kokichi is settled. It’s not vile manipulation and betrayal, just a white lie that got caught.

So that’s all done and dusted, but now we need to talk about the elephant in the room: What happened in CH4 and how it affects their dynamic.

The biggest and most prominent reason people think this ship is toxic is, without a doubt, because they mistakenly believe Gonta was manipulated into dying for Kokichi in CH4. He wasn’t, and I can prove it to you, but first we need to discuss Kokichi’s plan and motivations.

In CH4, Kokichi truly believed that the outside world was an inhabitable apocalypse and that the killing game would keep going, and he believed this because he was manipulated (and possibly brainwashed) by Monokuma just like the rest of the cast was in CH5. Everyone in CH5, including the resident Ultimate Detective, believed that the end of the world had already happened, so how was Kokichi supposed to know any better? The scene TDR had made was just so realistic and heartbreaking that no one even second guessed it, and we know that Kokichi fell for it otherwise he would have revealed the hammers and bombs that Miu had made for the despair road to the cast and led the charge to escape.

However, even if things were hopeless, Kokichi wanted to at least spare the cast from feeling the same “despair that makes you want to die” that he did, since he had come across this information before anyone else- a whole chapter before the cast. If he could get everyone killed before they found out that there was no hope inside or outside the school, and before Monokuma made them all kill each other in vain for his amusement just to pull the rug out from under them and reveal that all the suffering they had been through to get back outside had been for nothing, then at least he could shorten their suffering from a the full duration of a killing game to a few minutes of execution. It was the lesser of two evils in a situation where there was no good. 

That was his reasoning, but how to do it...?

Well, Miu was trying to escape, and Kokichi knew that he was her chosen sacrifice. From there all Kokichi had to do was take advantage of her plan in order to start a trial, frame himself, and force Monokuma into mass executing the cast for voting wrong. This explains why Kokichi would go into the Virtual World despite knowing that Miu was planning to kill him, he needed to use her plan in order to fulfill his own.

There was one problem: Kokichi also knew that Miu was smart enough and apprehensive enough to prepare measures that would secure her success. In this virtual world that she, herself could edit, she tampered with Kokichi’s avatar settings and made it so he would become paralyzed if she touched him, effectively rendering him into a sitting duck. This means that it was absolutely necessary for Kokichi to have a partner, with Kokichi saying himself before the execution that he wished he could have done it alone. 

Now, in order to get a partner Kokichi would have to find someone who was willing to work with him... yeah Gonta is probably the only member of the cast who has ever willingly associated with Kokichi except for Miu, and Miu was too busy currently trying to kill him so he couldn’t ask her. Yet again, he didn’t have any other choice if he wanted to save the cast from suffering.

The way that Kokichi convinced Gonta was not by lying to him, but by showing him the same truth that he, himself knew. This is why Kokichi asked Monokuma to put “the secret of the outside world” (aka the vision of the apocalypse) inside the Virtual World. If Kokichi could show Gonta the same truth that he had seen, then Gonta would help him, and that’s exactly what Gonta did.

It is important to realize that while Kokichi and Gonta may seem like two very different people on the surface, something that unites the both of them is their compassion for the cast and the extent to which they would both go to protect the people around them. Gonta, who now after viewing the flashback light knew that they were being manipulated into killing each other in vain and that there was no longer hope for anyone to be happy, agreed with Kokichi’s plan to send off everyone before they learned the suicide-inducing truth. 

We know this to be true because at literally any point in time Gonta could have abandoned the plan or told someone else about the plan. You could see that Gonta was obviously upset about killing Miu, so why would he go through with it when he could have chosen not too? It’s not like Kokichi was holding him at gun point, and Gonta is not stupid enough (or stupid at all, really, just a bit behind when it comes to technology due to being raised in the woods) to kill someone just because Kokichi told him to- not without a very good reason... Say, a reason that is backed up with proof that comes directly from Monokuma? Proof that comes directly from his memories? 

If it had just been Kokichi’s beliefs, I honestly doubt Gonta would have been willing to murder Miu, but with this flashback light with seemingly irrefutable proof that everyone was suffering for no reason at all Gonta had no choice but to believe it just as much as Kokichi and the rest of the cast had.

We also know that Gonta agreed because when Monokuma put together Gonta’s Alter Ego, the Gonta before his memory was wiped, one of the first things Alter Ego Gonta did (after freaking out at the sight of another version of him lmao) was express concern about how the plan had went. Gonta wanted this plan to succeed too and was upset that it hadn’t. If Gonta hadn’t wanted the plan to succeed, he wouldn’t be upset that it failed, and if Gonta thought he was manipulated into this, he wouldn’t have claimed responsibility for his part in this plan. Gonta was not a victim of manipulation, he was a fully willing and informed accomplice to Kokichi. This is painfully obvious given the dialogue Alter Ego Gonta had with Kokichi before his execution.

I say again, Gonta was not tricked or forced into killing Miu. He did it of his own volition with full knowledge of Kokichi’s reasoning, the exact same knowledge that Kokichi had and believed, and what would happen should they succeed, in order to save the cast from suffering; something Kokichi and Gonta both held in common.

If anything, Gonta going along with the plan just proves how much faith he had in Kokichi and Kokichi’s plan- so much so that Gonta willingly murdered Miu to help bring his plans to life. He never would have done that it he thought for even a second that the plan would fail. 

It’s important to recognize that Kokichi had a lot of faith in Gonta as well. I don’t know if you figured this out already, but did you know that if Gonta had chosen not to go along with Kokichi’s plan, Kokichi would have died? Kokichi bet his life on the fact that Gonta would be willing to help him, and that’s saying something considering the whole cast villainized him at that point. Kokichi was still willing to bet his life (his life!) on Gonta listening to him despite that though, which I think is a testament to how much Kokichi really believed in Gonta’s character and their partnership given how easy it would be for Gonta to back out.

Additionally, during the very beginning of the Trial for Chapter 4, Kokichi asked Monokuma something like “What happens if the vote ends up in a tie?” and based on statements he would make after the trial is over, you can see that Kokichi was absolutely willing to die right alongside Gonta even if his plan had failed and that he had been the entire time, pleading to die with Gonta right before Gonta was taken away. 

In the time before Gonta is executed Kokichi also admits to:

Feeling suicidal

Wanting to die with Gonta because he felt guilty and 

Not wanting Gonta to have to be the blackened instead of him but having no other option due to the avatar settings.

I think that more than proves that Kokichi was extremely upset about everything that was going on and NOT, I repeat NOT, happy that Gonta was going to die right in front of him.

Finally, just because it makes my heart hurt to think about, I want to mention that before Gonta gets executed they share two little moments that I think are absolutely adorable.

Gonta tells the others to stop hating Kokichi and to get along, which causes Kokichi to be shocked for a second. No one in the entire killing game had ever defended Kokichi before that point. Ever. Kokichi was totally floored for a minute there lol. 

They also both tell each other to stop crying too anD AUGH MY HEART! FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In conclusion ou\goku fucking rocks and you would be stupid to think otherwise.