#and with his voiceover it was just CHEF'S KISS

[quackity1999]

pspspsp prophet do you have music u associate with Q ...

[ OOC: WOOHOO i have two c!quackity playlists already posted here!!

BUT ok if i had to choose like, top 5 or 6? ooohjkay folks im gunna put a cut since i'm yapping my HEAD off for this. major analysis loser moment below <3 ]

first off is life of the party by all time low. [ link ] "all these people are passed out / on the floor in my hotel room / i don't know half of them / but they all wanna know me" + "in a sea of strangers, i can’t find me anymore" + "when i'm out of my head / and i don't wanna face it / you said it's all for a reason / what the fuck is the reason now?" iiii mean. cmon. hello las nevadas quackity being bitter and self important and in such horrid denial yet losing himself in the process!!!!!

THE AAANTHEM of las nevadas as a country, how it feels and seems, is "one night in bangkok" from the musical chess. [ link. ] thamk yew.

i've got a multitude of reasons for this one, because both the lyrics and general vibe + ambience of the song is preeetty representative of what LN is like to experience. it's suave, exotic, it's sneaky, its ostentatious and flamboyant in nature, and run by someone with an emotionally detached standpoint.

the voiceover section ("thank god i'm only watching the game, controlling it / but the queens we use would not excite you / so, you better go back to your bars, your temples, .... your massage parlors") is just. 👌👌 MMM its got that cocky dryness quackity tends to have.

not only that, THE CHORUSES??? "you'll find a god in every golden cloister / a little flesh, a little history / i can feel an angel sliding up to me" + "one night in bangkok makes the hard man humble / not much between despair and ecstasy / one night in bangkok and the tough guys tumble / can't be too careful with your company / i can feel the devil walking next to me"

its got paranoia, gods, power plays, ascending to a higher status, money = love, sexual implications, etc. ALL THOSE THEEMES!! along with the strutty bass and that sense of swirling desert pride in the beginning— u can practically hear the sand granules. but that switchup to a funkier beat is so tantalising. chefs fucking kiss its my fav LN song i have

(also a song for the makings / beginnings of LN sorta feel like this, but im not gunna focus too hard on it since its very niche and my explanation is bonkers /pos)

manburg era quackity is fascinating because he's a double sided coin. in my portrayal, quackity was both head over heels for schlatt and fought back as much as he could from his position, yet often saw schlatt in a 2D limited perspective. sure, he was Good at the game, but he certainly was not perfect like las nevadas quackity is. manburg q doesnt have LNQ's paranoia. he doesnt have that skill of seeing every possibility or outcome— he's apprehensive but is far more easily persuaded in favour of what people will think of him. he's cheeky and witty and hopeful, and pushes for a better nation while ALSO self-sabotaging that either via schlatt's hand or his own choices. for all that, there's a couple songs:

"money" by caroline rose (banger!). it's greed its hype its cunning and honest about sociopolitical approaches. you could argue this is even LNQ but i think its too playfully abrasive for it to properly fit. so its a manburg type beat for me

"they just don't know you" by little mix + "pink" by girli = the duo to represent quackity's ever mixed view of schlatt. pink is also such a lyrically accurate song it makes me INSANE. "thought i was your side bitch / secretly, you were my bitch / and baby, honestly / ate you for breakfast, with a cup of tea / yes, i was faking! i'm a double agent!" GIRL HELLO!!!!!!! cannibal q. <3

anyway quackity was stuck between over-agreeability and being forced into a subservient position where he did make actively harmful decisions and was willing to do as schlatt required out of his love for him, yet bit back at schlatt veeeery often whjch lead to their fights and mutually toxic behaviours. quackity also used schlatt as a way to climb the political ladder, which is a key aspect of his cunning abilities. q uses people!! always has, it only becomes impossible to ignore during LN

my ugly by cloudfodder: a way to depict how quackity viewed his own public identity during manburg. i mean. the lyrics spell it out preeetty well:

"what a lovely desire / to require the approval of strangers i know i'll never see / but nonetheless i will grind night and day like a cacophobic slave / 'til you're six leagues down bad for me" + "don't my looks just say: hey, i'm a winner at the game / ice up in my veins, skip my resume, irrelevant?" + "please forgive me my depression / just should've disguised the pain, plain with deception / made sure you never see / any ugly from me / i know the pain it can bring" ??????? HHFHEHFHRHRFH GOD

"pressure" by billy joel, mostly as a reference to even having a political position, both during manburg and new l'manburg. not all of the lyrics resonate but god THE BEAT DOES!!!!!

okay. theres my yappings. can you tell im very normal about cquackity and his development and annnd the variety of eras ans positions he was in and . And the relations and dynamics he had with peop.le and h,Yeah :) 👍👍👍👍👍👍 [ explodes ]

[mintjeru]

shoutout to genshin impact for being the only game w/ gaming!!

first of all. he sounds amazing in every single voiceover <3 gaming stans we stay winning

i cannot lie his "hey boss" in EN reminded me of hermes hades game and it's really really cute

also i might be hearing things in the intonation but it Sounded like his EN va said his name w/ the correct accents?? falling tone is natural for a declarative statement though so it might just be a coincidence ;u;

forever grateful that they included the raised cylinder platforms lion dancers use in performances in his attack animations

his roar. yeah.

this montage in time w/ the beats of the music <3

i am seriously considering buying a blackcliff slasher for him in the future if i have starglitter to spare

he deserves only the best

baby man chai spotted

i absolutely love how they incorporate the modern and the traditional w/ the digital mora coins/glowing lights on his outfit and the cultural/historical aspects of the lion dance (the same can be said of yun jin's opera cutscene using instruments like modern drums/guitar while maintaining a traditional opera singing style)

when he goes "are you hungry~?" does he know i'd say yes to anything he asks

i think they did a great job w/ the casting in all 4 voiceover languages bc they all have a similar endearing tone ^^ i can't decide which voiceover i want to use while playing him

his roar (it's more like an effort sfx) in CN voiceover. chefs kiss

he sounds very light in JP voiceover and his roar... it's adorable...

his "let's go" and roar (more like an "ahem!") in KR voiceover is so darn cute i am biting through steel beams as we speak

we've already established this but i'm so hyped for his release

[supernaturallyliterate]

PJO SEASON FINALE AHHHH

THOUGHTS. YES THOSE.

Spoilers. Duh. Book and show

Annabeth being there to witness the moment Luke tried to kill Percy is a FUCKING GAME CHANGER. To me, it says that Annabeth suspected Luke & made a plan to make both Percy and Luke think that she would be with Clarisse. When she intended to follow them and protect Percy if need be.

I’m not mad about it. It’s a big change. But it makes sense for her character. It will make her and Luke’s dynamic later in the series a little different. Maybe instead of Annabeth blindly wanting to believe that Luke is good and couldn’t possibly do evil things, it will be more nuanced. She knows he’s done horrible things. She’s seen it. But she still can’t help but remember who he used to be. She hesitates in key moments. Let’s him get away. He takes advantage of those moments and escapes. Not intentional on Annabeth’s part. She tries to be calculated. But her emotions get the better of her. I can see this working out quite nicely.

And it still allows her to be the one at the end, in heroes of Olympus, to be there, advocating for Luke. Telling Percy to give him the knife. OH THIS IS GONNA BE GOOD.

Okay but Walker Scobell is such a good fucking Percy Jackson

Leah Jeffry Savies is such. Good fucking Annabeth Chase.

And aryan is such a good fucking Grover Underwood.

Okay but the searchers license being a literal flower?? How are you gonna convince me that Grover wouldn’t anxiously eat it like he does tin cans??

OKAY BUT ALSO I ACCIDENTALLY STARTED REWATCHING EPISODE ONE instead of episode eight and LUKE DOES THE VOICEOVER. THE ICONIC SO YOURE A HALFBLOOD SPEECH. BUT CHANGED. AND OHHH ITS SO FUCKING GOOD. THE PARALLELS ARE PARALLELING

I am so so fucking glad that we got the sword fight training scenes. We really needed them. The scene shifts of Percy fighting Ares and Percy training with Luke are spot on. And it sets up the friendship and mentorship with Luke & Percy even more. Making the betrayal so much worse. It build up perfectly.

Gods I wish we had a longer season.

Again with things being directly told to Percy. “You’re a leader among the halfbloods now,” Chiron tells him.

The bead at the end of the season when he’s leaving camp

THE PACT THE TRIO MAKES

And the fact that next year, all FOUR of them will return to that spot. Percy, Annabeth, Grover… and Thalia.

Annabeth’s hairstyle in the final scene was supers cute

The scene of Percy seeing his mom after she returns from the Underworld WAS SO CUTE AND PRECIOUS AND THEN KRONOS FUCKED IT UP. I love it. Chefs kiss.

Clarrise looked so fucking badass in her pan shot with her arms crossed. Like yeah she totally could’ve fucked some shit up with the gods

I love the beach scene with Percy v. Ares and how confused Annabeth is about the helm situation cuz she wasn’t there lmao

I kinda liked that Ares got cocky and kicked his opponent, the SoN of the FuCKinG SeA GOD into the OCEAN. Percy rolled through that little puddle and I screamed OH ITS OVER FOR YOU.

Walker’s micro expressions are fucking ICONIC AND I CANT WAIT FOR THE SCREEN RECORDS

Your honor I love them. Yes this post has devolved. No I won’t stop.

I gasped when Alecto was there at Montauk instead of Sally. But yeah. She showed up. I just forgot.

I love how Percy has just started calling people out on their shit. “You were always after the helm, weren’t you?” And telling Zeus he’s a shitty dad

OKAY BUT POSEIDON SHOWING UP TO PROTECT PERCY. I GASPED. I LOVE THIS CHANGE SO MUCH. it shows so much more compassion and gentleness of Poseidon. Yes in the books we get some glimpses. But the show isn’t holding back his favoritism.

THE PERCABETH HUG PT TWO

okay but we were robbed of more Seaweed Brain and Wise Girl quips.

I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts later on. But overall. I AM SO HAPPY WITH THIS SERIES I JUST WISH IT HAD MORE EPISODES TO GIVE THE STORY THE TIME AND DEVELOPMENT IT DESERVES.

[thelediz]

Episode 12: Come out wherever you are

I’m watching Sonic Underground in search of inspiration to finish a fic I’ve been writing forever. It’s a sad state of affairs. See the recap of the first three episodes here, if you're interested!

The plot (for want of a better word): It’s debutante season! Sonia has been invited to her debutante, where she would normally have been presented to society. But it’s all a trap. Can Sonia attend her dream ball without losing everything in the process?

Heeeeey a Bartleby episode! Aleena’s voiceover is not impressed with Bartleby, and you shouldn’t be either.

Okay, before we get started, a quick explanation of what a debutante is and why it’s interesting. A debutante, which is something mostly only done in American and Latin countries these days, usually with a different name, was originally about introducing girls to society at large, and releasing them onto the marriage market. These days it’s more recognised as a coming of age thing, which is why many people think of it as a ‘Sweet 16’ and not what it actually is. In Sonic Underground, it’s about girls being introduced as part of adult society. I find it interesting because it’s building on the unspoken maths of the Mobodoon episode which means the triplets are either 12 or 16, AND Sonia is the only one acknowledged by society here. I absolutely low-key call this out in my fic by having only Sonia go by her actual name formally.

World building wise, I love it because again, it’s the kind of thing a real-world dictator would allow to still happen among the aristocrats. Now, in this case it’s obviously a trap, but the fact that the other aristocrats are just having a great party and don’t even blink until Sonia disrupts the whole thing is just… chef’s kiss, love it!

Sonia’s in love with Bartleby +1

So the boys find out about the debutante because Sonia’s acting distracted, and they don’t get it, as they wouldn’t, because debutantes are high society nonsense even in the real world. This is, however, treated like they’re just being stinky boys. To his credit, Sonic at least is supportive of his sister getting to play princess just this once, in his own way.

Woo, Cyrus! Proving he’s committed to Resistance spy work. We love him.

Robotnik’s growing brains. Cool. Cool, cool, cool, looking sideways at Gerald Robotnik. Putting the brain in a living body. Cool, creepy, slightly more weirded out by how fine the characters are with hearing about this. Cool, cool, cool, this is all very disturbing if we think about it too much.

Luckily, we’re not focussing on it, we’re focussing on the living ship’s mission.

Cyrus and Sonic niggling at each other, I love it.

And Cyrus has built a zombie tool, which takes over brains for control purposes. Cool, cool, cool, this is not a distressing plotpoint at all, let’s not think about how the Resistance is into brainwashing, okay…

Ahhh Sonia getting distracted on a mission daydreaming about the debutante… forcing Sonic to shift the plan to save her.

And then Sonia gets captured again, this time because Sleet and Dingo were prepared.

Side note, I do enjoy how Dingo often gets used as a spy and just how MUCH of his screentime is devoted to proving he spends hours just… hanging around as a sidecart or something, waiting for something to happen. He shouldn’t be a dingo, he should be some kind of venus fly trap or eel or something, because that’s what he actually is.

Sonic’s tense-grammar is terrible in Sonic Underground and it really annoys me because it’s not world building. If it was, it would be a Manic thing. It’s just a thing he does. It riles my grammar-nazi tendencies something chronic.

Yes I make too much of it in my fic.

Okay, Manic, if you knew Sonic was going to suck at talking to Sonia about what was going on, maybe you should’ve handled it? I know it’s because the writers only let you really get involved when it’s one of your episodes, but could you please show SOME proactivity?

Mind you, it means we get Sonic/Bartleby interactions, and you know I love me some bitchy banter, so bring it on.

Ah, I love Bartleby. He just wants his girl to be happy, and he’s trying to achieve it the only way he can… by being a lousy two-faced dandy. He sees right through Sonic’s nonsense to the soft heart beneath. It’s great.

And Robotnik sees right through Bartleby. But lets him get away with it because having a two-faced dandy on hand is legitimately so useful.

The song: Society Girl. Another Sonia lead, and Cindy Lauper is again given the side-eye.

But sadly, Sonia of course proves herself the best at everything, and so is the preferred pilot for the plan, which is on the same night as the debutante, of course. Forgive my rolled eyes.

And as I mentioned, and making up for last episode, all the aristocrats are appropriately scandalised that Sonia interrupts their party. Gimme that world building you terrible trashfire, you know it feeds me!

Aleena steps in (with power that looks remarkably similar to Sonic’s guitar) to let her daughter get away. Would’ve been nice if she got a dance, but at least she was introduced. It’s sweet, kind of.

Manic’s in drag… to steal stuff and distract the party goers. Interesting choice, but sure. He looks better this time. Maybe he’s just more girly!fem than sexy!fem?

Ah, Sonic’s also in drag to distract the SWATbots at the party. No comment on his looks this time, just a joke about how they all wore the same dress. Sure. Sonia, however, should not find that funny because that literally would have been distressing at a real debutante. But she’s only concerned with these things when it would be funny, so sure, stop overthinking the cheesy punchline.

And it all wraps up with… no comment, basically. Cool. Cool, cool, cool, still thinking about the brain thing, cool…

I gotta say, these two episodes together kind of feel like the writers’ room was given a brief to write a Sonia-focus episode about her having to choose between her cushy life and the resistance and then split into two rooms, and we got two scripts. It’s so weird. I don’t think they were supposed to air this close together.

The counters:

Sonic implying less than 100% American heterosexuality: 4

Sonia in love with Bartleby: 2/37

Sonia in love with someone who is not Bartleby: 1/37

Sonia’s got super strength: 3

Manic’s thieving Is A Problem: 2

Come back tomorrow if you're interested for more!

[liopleurodean]

Season 5, Episode 8: Changing Channels

Oh, we're just going right into it!

Just the end of the world!

Dean's faces 😂

Right. Reasearch

The look on his face 😂

Oh, I'm gonna LOVE this episode

Asdfghjkl I love everything about this

Backstory time

Is that Dr. Sexy?

So it is

Dean is enthralled

Yikes

Riiight

Yeah, I'd believe it

Probably not

Poor girl

Huh. Not what I was expecting

Dean.

That is such a weird question

Interesting

Nice, Dean

Tricksterrr

Ding ding ding!

...Sam?

Okay, I know that he has answers, but why would Sam think a Trickster would have the answers they need?

He'll find you

That'll be it

Suspicious

Those are some fat stakes

Man, I love the facial expressions here

Seriously?

Dean's face is giving me life

He's so excited

Everything about this is just *chef's kiss*

That's exactly what happened

Weird

Liar

THE SPARKLE MUSIC

And they say he isn't gay, but this scene exists

This is weird

I think that's just your cowboy fetish, Dean

That was weird

Of course!

Is that a reference to something?

Something like that

"survive?"

Whack

Play the part, I guess

Dean does not want to be there

I thought you liked this show, Dean?

Yikes

The music 💀

Better play the part, then

This is great

Yikes

Sam 💀

Whack

He is so uncomfortable

New show!

Ruby!

This is gonna be great

Yikes

Dean's face is easily the best part of this entire episode

Cas!

He called him a pretty-boy 💀

Whoaaaa

How did that work?

The way I'm CACKLING right now

THE HERPES COMMERCIAL

Dean's happy with this one

Thanks for the voiceover, Dean!

Rip Sam

Nice, Dean

She doesn't even have any clothes 😂

24 hours

Cas is back!

Cause it's an archangel!

It's okay, they're brothers

Yayyy

Ouch

Heaven, technically

Everyone is

I doubt that

Spooky

He took that personally

Dean, Supernatural is basically a procedural cop show in the first season

Kinda fig the music though

Getting major DiNozzo vibes

Oh, that's horrifying

It's really not

Not your Trickster

Huh

He's still playing the game

Aw, you do care

Uh oh

KITT!

THE KNIGHT RIDER THEME

AND THE FLASHING LIGHTS

He's an angel!

Oh boy

Swooshy swoosh

Really, Sam?

Wow

Yes and no

Stop lying

He can't

Nice, Dean

Facts

Hi Gabriel

He plays a role

God is "hands off"

Excuse you, he has a piehole

So you'd rather ditch them?

I kinda feel bad for him

Don't go there

Yikes

Convenient, isn't it?

Not quite

Nope

Heh

This is so meta

Sounds crispy

Hi Cas!

Not great

You kinda deserve it

You tell him, Dean!

Nice

I'm sure

[hrpayo01]

After re-reading and rewatching the whole series back to back as an adult, I actually appreciated the movies more than I have before (and I already loved them). I noticed the creative changes that they took and honestly, most were for the better.

What I wish they kept: Katniss and Peeta's picnic in CF. Peeta losing his leg. Katniss stroking Peeta's hair in Mockingjay. The real reason Gale was whipped (homie wasn't heroic, he just got caught)

Things they changed that I loved: Effie, Cato's speech before he died and how Katniss showed him mercy by killing him quickly, the revolution, Coin's speech at the end: "May your aim be as true as your heart is pure" (chills), explanation of what will happen to Katniss post Coin instead of the trial.

There are a few more, subtle changes/deletions that I agreed with so it look better visually but I truly enjoyed the portrayal of Katniss and Peeta in the films. I also liked the girlbossing of Katniss because, well, she was, and there were so few female leads at that time, at least ones that were done well.

They nerfed Peeta a bit, he had so many more lines, more appearances, but Josh's performance, his portrayal, the fact that he's the same height as Jennifer, how he was more innocent and charming than a smooth talker with one liners... I actually prefered that. I trusted movie Peeta so much more, if I'm being honest. I also like the subtle changes to Peeta's lines and the additional dialogues.

"I'll take the bow"

"That'a night lock Peeta, you scared me to death! Damn you" / "I'm sorry"

"If you would stop looking at me like I'm wounded, I could stop acting like it" was a much better version to me.

"What did he want?" / "To know all my secrets" / "Have to get in line". Cute.

Peeta's (added) speech to Katniss in Mockingjay, about how their lives were never theirs but she can change that by killing snow. That was powerful and sincere. Reinforces how good he is with words, how he was the only one who could get to her.

The added: "I'm not gonna lose you again" / "If I see you again, it will be a different world" and THAT HUG.

The hug when he returned to 12 and told Katniss he was sorry...

Honestly, they made up for it. Since Katniss was so skeptical and in denial in the books I can't help but take on some of her suspicion. In the movie, Peeta's kindness and innocence was clear as day.

Jennifer also did a fantastic job. She CARRIED the ship especially when people say that the director wanted Katniss to be more badass and even asexual. That they didn't want to focus on the romance. Jennifer really conveyed that "he fell first, she fell harder" acting. You could see the subtle difference in THG when Katniss was "acting" and when she's genuinely smitten. In CF you can see the shift in their relationship. Peeta hitting the forcefield was even better in the movie (the smile, the kiss, the trembling). The pearl scene was cuter and softer. The kiss at midnight was more convincing. The final scene in Catching Fire: "promised you would save him over me, you're a liar" was chef kiss.

The longing in Mockingjay, her face everytime she sees Peeta on screen. Their goodbye hug in Capitol. And how she looked at him in the epilogue. Jennifer's gazes conveys as close Katniss' inner dialogue about Peeta as she can without doing a voiceover. And her, looking at Peeta in meadow...

Idk, I just really loved the movie too. And I loved who Katniss and Peeta were in the movie. It was a faithful portrayal but it was also different enough that I could tell them apart. Double the fun.

everlark has been my number one literary ship since my tween years but it's insane to me that their movie version made me feel nothing. i can write novels about book everlark and then i can also see why movie only watchers don't see it for everlark. it's the girlbossing of katniss and reduction to peeta to just one of the love triangle guys that really did it to me.

[hadersgf]

Dearest Anna Viktorovna. Perhaps you loathe me or have long forgotten me. If that is the case, I shall accept it with humility and never bother you again. It was dishonourable of me to leave you alone that night, and even though it was for reasons beyond my control, I know it is unforgivable. I assure you, there wasn’t a single day, a single moment in the past five years when I didn’t think about you and didn’t wish to see you again. 

[mediocre-writerr]

who do you love [lexi howard]

lexi howard x reader

requested: Hiii! I just discovered your page while looking for Euphoria fics. I saw that you don’t have any Lexi Howard fics. Could I request a fic where Reader is partnered up with Cassie for a project or something and they meet Lexi and develops a crush on her, but Lexi is clueless and thinks reader has a thing for Cassie? Fluff please. Also your works are absolutely amazing!

a/n: italicized are rue's voiceover

*not my gif*

Lexi has always lived in the shadows of her sister. Every guy or girl she liked just never fell for her. They always fell for her sister. Cassie was the one in the spotlight and Lexi was just the background character.

You sat there with your earbuds in as your teacher went on and on about some project you guys had to do. But again, you weren't exactly listening.

Until he came over and ripped your earbuds out of your ear. You looked up at him with innocent eyes, "Ms. Y/L/N, you're partnered with Ms. Howard. Hopefully, she'll be able to fill you in since you weren't paying attention,"

You sent him a small smile before trudging your way over to Cassie. You heard a lot of things about her, but you didn't really care what everyone thought around here. Most of them were assholes anyway.

"So were you paying attention to anything he was saying?" you asked as you plopped down into the seat next to her.

"Not a word, but my friend Kat heard all of it. If you want you can come over tonight, we can start working on it, getting it over with," she offered and you nodded. 

“Sounds great,”

You see this was the start of a beautiful friendship for Y/N and Cassie. They became as thick as thieves. Everyone thought that Y/N and Cassie would eventually get together, but the entire time Cassie was just trying to get her newly found best friend to admit feelings for her sister. 

And those feelings started, cheesy to say, but at first sight.

You knocked on the Howard’s door, bouncing on the balls of your feet. You didn’t really know how to feel, Cassie was popular and well you? Not so much.

The door swung open and you swore your jaw dropped all the way to the floor. You were met with the younger Howard sister. She was beautiful. Her beautiful brown hair fit perfectly with her fair skin.

“You must be Y/N?” she says, snapping you out of your daze.

“Yeah, that’s me. Hi, Lexi, right?” you asked, stepping into the house as she held the door open.

“Yeah. Cassie went out with Maddy, but she texted me and said she’s on her way back. You can come in, you don’t have to wait outside like a dog,” she joked and you laughed together softly.

The two of you sat together on the couch. Your eyes gazed to the TV to see her watching Crazy Rich Asians. One of your favorite movies of all time. The screen was showing the montage of Rachel trying on all the different dresses for the wedding.

“This movie is a masterpiece,” you tell her.

She nods, “This is my first time watching it and I’m completely sold,” 

“Oh, you haven’t even gotten to the best part yet. The wedding scene is-” you put your fingers to your lips and kiss them, “Chef’s kiss!” 

“Hmm, I’ll have to take your word for it,” she said.

You continued watching as the wedding scene started. Lexi’s eyes were glued to the TV, but yours kept drifting towards Lexi. The way she watched intently as Kina Grannis started singing “Can’t Help Falling In Love”.

The scene ends and she looks at you, tears boarded at her eyes, “Why am I going to cry?” she laughed.

“Because it’s one of the most beautiful scenes in history,” you told her. 

The two of you just stared at each other. Her doe brown eyes were captivating and you couldn’t help your eyes from drifting down to her lips. There was a moment where you thought she did the same thing. 

The door bust open filled with laughter and Cassie and Maddy’s eyes landed on the two of you, “Hey Y/N, sorry I’m late. I see my sister was able to keep you company,”

“Oh yeah, Lexi was great. It was nice meeting you, I’ll see you around,” you told her. 

You see, my best friend Lexi developed a crush on Y/N right after that. But despite me and Jules telling her constantly that she felt the same way, Lexi still thought that you fell for her blonde sister and not her. 

“Cassie! I am not telling your sister that I like her. She does not feel the same way that I do. I am not going to risk my friendship that I’ve built with her and you,” you told her as the two of you laid on the bed in her bedroom.

She looked at you with her blue eyes like you were on drugs, “Are you kidding me right now? You sound like you just bought something from Fez. I’ve never seen my sister look at anyone the way she looks at you. You need to stop being a fucking coward and just tell her how you feel,”

“Okay, what if she does want to be my girlfriend? What if something bad happens? I lose the both of you and I can’t do that. I don’t want you to choose between me and your own sister,” you whispered.

Your heads were slightly tilted towards each other as you just stared at her, “I think you need to take advice from your favorite movie: you’re not playing to win, you’re playing to not lose. So play to win. Don’t think about the what if’s and even if things go south with my sister, I found a sister in you. You’re not gonna lose me either,” she said, “You’re one of my favorite people in the entire world, possibly my favorite, don’t tell Maddy that though. I love you so much Y/N,”

Little did the two of you know that Lexi was at the door way. She didn’t hear anything besides that you’re Cassie’s favorite person and that she loves you. 

“Awww someone loves me,” you nudge her shoulder, “But I’m for sure going to tell Maddy that I’m your favorite person. She’ll have a field day with that one,”

She pushed your face away from her, “You will not! I’ll just tell Lexi myself then,” 

You gasped, “You wouldn’t dare!” 

“Then you do it!” she exclaimed. 

Lexi avoided Y/N after that day. She also avoided Cassie. The two girls didn’t know why the brunette Howard was avoiding them. All they knew was that she avoided them every chance that she got.

It broke Y/N’s heart. She was finally ready to tell Lexi how she felt. And now, she wants nothing to do with her. No more movie nights. No more random ice cream days. But rather, Y/N going over to visit Cassie and being disappointed when their mom would answer the door and not Lexi.

You finally caught up to her as she was trying to sprint past you in the hallway. You grabbed her wrist and she looked back at you. The first time actually seeing those beautiful eyes of hers in weeks.

“What did I do? I understand if you don’t want to talk to me. I understand if you don’t want to be my friend, but please just tell me what I did. That’s the least I deserve,” you whispered, your voice breaking at the thought of losing one of your best friends. 

She shook her head, “Nothing, you didn’t do anything,” 

“I obviously did something, you’re not talking to me!” you exclaimed. 

Lexi broke free of your grasp, “You don’t need me Y/N. You have my sister. Cassie always wins. She’s always been in the spotlight. She always gets the guys and girls. Everyone I’ve ever liked, she went for them. And she always wins. I just thought for once that I mattered. That for once, the person I fell in love with chose me, but I guess I was wrong,” 

She stormed away and you were left with your mouth agape. Everything she said twirling in your brain. You immediately told Cassie all of it and your brain worked together to try and figure out a way to win her back. Until it all finally clicked.

You stood outside in the backyard of the Howard’s house. A slip n slide was in the path leading to you, switch on candles. You sat on the opposite side with a guitar in your hand. Luckily, you can play. 

Singing on the other hand, well let’s just hope it goes well.

“Cassie, I already said I don’t want to talk to you! You can’t bribe me with Bob Ross tutorials!” Lexi’s voice echoed as she closed the backyard door. 

She spotted you sitting there and she was immediately about to go inside when you yelled out to her, “Lexi please! Just let me explain, it’ll take maybe three or four minutes of your time,” 

Lexi walked down the slip n slide, but not before falling on her butt and sliding towards you. You let out a roar of a laugh as she finally reached down to you. She tried hard to fight off a laugh and a smile, but you could see it faintly. 

When you finally came down from your high she looked at you with raised eyebrows, “Well, I’m waiting,” 

You started playing the guitar. The melody you learned just hours before playing from the guitar. You took in a deep breath as you started singing the infamous song that got you to fall in love with her in the first place. 

“So, take my hand, take my whole life too. For, I can’t help falling in love with you. For, I can’t help falling in love with you,” you finish the song.

The two of you look at each other as you place your guitar down next to you, “You do matter to me, Lexi. More than you know. I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you, but ever since the first night I met you I’ve always been in love with you,” 

“Cassie actually told me that I need to play to win. And if I had to slip on my ass a thousands times trying to set up this low budget recreation of the wedding scene in Crazy Rich Asians, I would. I did it because I need to win your heart, because Lexi, you already have mine,” 

A small smile breaks out onto her face as she closes the distance between the two of you. She kissed you ever so softly as you tasted the sweet taste of her lips. 

“And you have mine,” 

[yourethecoolestpersonhere]

Obviously S2 opened with a banger of Fez's story and closed with Nate getting his shit rocked, chef's kiss if you ask me.

How would you like Euphoria S3 to open? How would you like the first episode to close out?

You sweet sweet angel. Thank you.

As some of you may or may not know, I’ve actually spent copious amount of time on this blog spouting pure insanity about this show. I’ve decided that I will create a YTCPH RANTS tag that keep a lot of my theories together.

But to start here are some ways I’d like to see season 3 episode 1 explore

Ash Voiceover “ He has a plan”

A Nate and Rue Showdown In Season 3

Time Jump Picks Up at Rues 20th

Fez goes to jail

Honestly I’m open to much of everything as long as it can be as good as season 2 episode 1 cause I mean aren’t we all just chasing that high again

[mister-brightside]

I finally, FINALLY finished season one of the sandman tv series and speaking as a fan of the comics I loved it so much. my long and winding thoughts (with minor spoilers) under the cut.

it was really refreshing to have so much trust in the creators. by the last few episodes I’d be like, I can’t wait for them to get to this scene, and then the scene happened, and it would be so good and so spicy.

for ages literally every comics fan (myself included) was saying that a good and faithful adaptation would be impossible. I was actually fully prepared to pass over the tv series cause there was no way they could pull it off, right? thank god some reviewer on reddit changed my mind, because I’m so delighted to be proven wrong for once. it’s honestly crazy impressive how well they took all these disjointed narratives and somehow made them tonally consistent but still kept the edges. I thought maybe they’d skip the more out of line stories, like the one with the cats or the massacre in the diner, but they really went there. in fact I reread some of the comics after the episodes and I was really surprised to find that they lifted quite a bit of dialogue word for word.

(I love how hob gadling’s story was basically retold verbatim EXCEPT they went out of their way to make the breakup a million times more angsty)

there were so many throwbacks and visual references to the comics which were really lovely and never felt forced. and speaking of visuals, the show is as good as you’re gonna get for a production this size. I was worried it was gonna be a CGI mess and, well, it does veer on that edge at times, but most of the cinematography and effects are truly gorgeous and in the end it’s the actors who keep me connected to the heart of the story.

when I first saw photos of morpheus I was like what the hell? they’re just making him look like Some Guy? but my god tom sturridge knocks it out of the park. he’s absolutely perfect. he sold me immediately. someone else said that when he’s imprisoned in the glass cage he moves almost like a creature and they’re dead on. he does a spectacular job of convincing me he’s not human.

so in the end I think the decision to humanise morpheus’s appearance was absolutely the right one. I always found his character in the comics to be a bit distant because yeah, at times he can be arrogant and self-righteous and somewhat terrifying since he’s so unreadable. and that doesn’t change in the transition to the screen but having tom as he is (with those sad, sad, pathetic, emo eyes) softens his edges a little, you know? he makes you feel for him a bit more.

and I’ve said this before but it’s like. I never really pictured a specific voice when reading the comics, but all of morpheus’s dialogue comes in these special black speech bubbles so you know he’s Different. and as soon as tom’s voiceover began in episode one it felt Right. almost like it had been buried in my subconscious for all these years. insane.

(I kind of want to watch more of tom’s roles but I literally can’t imagine him as anyone other than dream of the endless, like I’m afraid to even google him because it would probably break my brain to see him behaving like a normal human person)

the rest of the cast is fantastic as well. the highlights for me: gwendoline christie as lucifer – chef’s kiss. kirby baptiste-howell as death – for real though, if I met her when I died, I wouldn’t feel too bad about it. david thewlis adds a layer of nuance to john dee that somehow makes him quite sympathetic despite the complete lunacy. vanesu samunyai is very cute and likeable as rose and I hope the show sticks around long enough for her to make her return. likewise, lily travers is really sweet as barbie and I think she’d be a really good lead if her storyline ever comes around.

okay, time for the nitpicking. I do wish they’d cast someone older as lucien, he always had this exhausted ‘no one helps me in this house’ vibe that I just don’t get from vivienne acheampong. and I think boyd holbrook needed to be a little more maniacal as the corinthian. oh well, it’s not like we can have everything. and both actors do a great job as they are so I’m not gonna whine too much.

(if this was 2014 tumblr I probably would be seeing extremely, uh, controversial takes on the corinthian but I haven’t come across any yet thank god)

I’m really hoping the show gets more seasons because it’s doing a wonderful job of bringing all the stories to life. I hope enough casual viewers stick around because I know the lack of narrative structure will throw a lot of people off. in the comics, some characters turn up once and never again, some wander in and out, others leave the story only to show up again several volumes later. some stories last for only a chapter and others go on for ages. and the genre swings from urban fantasy to historical fiction to horror to straight up batshit insanity and everything in between.

but in the end that’s what makes the sandman one of my favourite comics ever. every time I read it I feel like I’ve experienced a big fever dream. and like a dream it promptly fades until I literally forget why I love it so much. then I reread it again and I’m like, oh yeah, that’s why.

so I don’t know how to say it better than this: the show FEELS like the sandman. and that’s all I can ask for.

[enigmaticxbee]

✖️✖️✖️ 9x19 The Truth

The one where... in the original finale Mulder and Scully end where they belong - on the run, but together in a motel room on a rainy night, talking about truth and belief and hope.

Best: My favorite kiss - I could watch it a million times (I have watched it a million times). Skinner awkwardly hovering in the background just takes it to the next level, chefs kiss, perfection!

I have such affection for this ending, with the two of them curled around each other on a motel bed while it pours outside, everything gone to hell but they have each other. I lived with this finale for 6 years before IWTB and I’m honestly still kind of mad at IWTB for taking this ending from me. It felt fitting and satisfying in a way that IWTB and especially the Revival do not. It’s tender and nostalgic and hopeful, burning the world of the show down but giving the characters that glimmer of a way forward - everything a finale should be.

Worst: This is not a good episode of television (who thought a clip-show recapping the show’s mytharc would make an interesting finale?? Oh right, CC) but... see above.

❌ Flashlights

✔️ Desert

❌ Slideshow

✔️ Autopsy

✔️ Evidence Disappears

✔️ Scully Misses It

❌ Mulder Ditch (Good call on bringing Scully on the run this time!)

❌ Sunflower Seeds

✔️ Voiceover: Everyone during the testimony clip show

✔️Catch Phrase: Mulder (TTIOT & IWTB) & Scully (IWTB)

✔️ Scully is a Medical Doctor

❌ Mulder is Spooky

❌ Scuuullllaaaaayy! Muullllderrrr! (They really should have gotten one final one in during the Anasazi ruin escape scene)

✔️ Dana

✔️ Inappropriate Touching (that I am here for) 🙌

✔️ Casual Scully

✔️ Casual Mulder

✔️ Trench Coats

❌ Bad Tie Watch

❌ Glasses Watch

✔️ Taking! It! Personally!: Mulder & Scully

50 States: New Mexico x4, Virginia x17 & DC x100 (44/50)

Investigate: Together & Apart

Solve Rate: 84%

❌ Bechdel Test: Only conversation between women was about men

MSR: 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

Goriness: 👽👽

Creepiness: 👽👽

Humor: 👽👽

Rewatch Thoughts:

William check-in: I see, so Scully had to give up William so that they couldn’t use him as proof in the finale. I see. 😑

Missing Mulder: He’s BACK!! 😭

So Mulder’s just wandering onto this military base with no disguise or anything? Great plan my dude.

Why is Mulder’s first thought on seeing Krycek “ghost” not “shapeshifting alien”? 🧐

Lotsa old faces showing up: Krycek! X! The Lone Gunmen! CSM...

Guard: What are you thinking? Mulder: About my son. About his mother. 😭

Mulder:... I failed in every respect. I deserve the harshest punishment for my crimes. The way he parrots this to his captors at the beginning but then repeats it to Scully at the end 🥺

Scully’s little “Hi” expression when she first sees Mulder and he’s not reacting 🥺

Mulder’s trying so hard to let them know this is all an act! Dana? Walter?!

Scully: Dammit Mulder! It’s not funny... He wouldn’t be Mulder if he wasn’t making jokes at very inappropriate times!

The kiss 😍 - the show has set the bar so low in terms of lighting that I don’t even care how dark it is 😂

The way he holds on to her hand over his heart the rest of the scene ❤️

On the one hand I appreciate that Skinner gave Mulder the heads up on William so that he had a little time to process it and could concentrate on being supportive to Scully when she tells him - because she’s so afraid that she’s failed him. She sent Mulder away to protect him and their son, and she couldn’t keep him safe on her own. On the other hard why the fuck didn’t we see that scene of Skinner telling Mulder???

Scully’s fingers caressing the nape of his neck, her long lingering kiss to his neck, her laugh when he tells he’s been looking for the truth - she looooves him

The way GA’s eyes shine with tears

Mulder giving Scully smoldering looks as she testifies - like yeah, you were assigned to spy on me 😘

Time to summarize the mytharc - CC’s last ditch attempt to claim it all made sense (before reversing course completely in the Revival 🙄)

“Love child” When’s the last time anyone seriously used that term? 😆

Scully: You say this is greater than us, and maybe it is, but this is us fighting this fight, Mulder, not you. It’s you and me. That’s what I’m fighting for, Mulder. You and me! You tell him Scully!

So a ghost was the only one who could find Marita Covarrubias? Sure.

I feel so bad for Skinner! He’s trying so hard even though Mulder isn’t helping him at all, and the whole trial is a sham.

That body was not killed by a fall - isn’t that enough to prove that this “murder” didn’t happen the way the military’s claiming 🤔

Scully: I found it. What’s going to get you off. Bow chicka bow wow...

Scully sitting on the couch waiting to hear that Mulder’s been sentenced to death 🥺

Jail break! Not a moment too soon.

They’re surprised when Kersh shows up, so he wasn’t part of the jail break crew. Did he just happen to be there to break Mulder out too? 😆

We never find out what happens to Gibson. Or Doggett! Let’s just ignore what happens to Reyes in the Revival.

Someone destroyed their office and took all the files, the X-Files are really over 😭

Gentle kiss on the cheek 🥺

Did Mulder even know the Lone Gunmen were dead before they showed up as ghosts?? (Maybe Skinner filled him in on that too, yikes, poor Skinner, delivering all the bummer news) I’m glad he got a last little moment with them though.

When we see the Anasazi ruins I always think about the bts footage of their water gun fight at the end of filming!

I think this was actually filmed in CA but I was planning a trip to see the real Anasazi ruins in New Mexico last year - trip was put on hold because of the pandemic alas, but someday!

We really didn’t need CSM in the finale. And I’m always going to be mad that he comes back in the Revival after we see his FACE explode!

Dec 22, 2012. So... In the world of the show this never happens. I can only assume CC thought he’d be able to do another movie in 2012 after IWTB. But the explanation in the Revival as far as I remember is just lalalala the OG mytharc was actually wrong lalalala 🤨

Or maybe you led Them right to Mulder and Scully, ever think about that Doggett and Reyes??

Rainy night at the motel: nostalgia alert!

Scully: You wouldn’t tell me. Not because you were afraid or broken... but because you didn’t want to accept defeat. Mulder: I was afraid of what knowing would do to you... I was afraid it would crush your spirit. Scully: Why would I accept defeat? Why would I accept it, if you won’t? Mulder, you say that you’ve failed but you only fail if you give up. And I know you - you can’t give up. It’s what I saw in you when we first met. It’s what made me follow you... why I’d do it all over again. I can understand why he thinks this might break her because of William, and what her state of mind must have been to think that was her only recourse. But the only times Scully has truly been crushed is when she thinks she’s lost Mulder, like in season 8 when he died or this past season. She told you Mulder! She’s fighting for the two of you. It would only break her if Mulder were to truly give up.

Scully kissing his thumb! The way they curl themselves around each other 🥺

Mulder: I want to believe that the dead are not lost to us. That they speak to us as part of something greater than us - greater than any alien force. And if you and I are powerless now, I want to believe that if we listen to what’s speaking, it can give us the power to save ourselves. Scully: Then we believe the same thing. Mulder: Maybe there’s hope. ❤️

Episode-Related Fanfic Recs:

a weatherman to know which way the wind blows by zauberer_sirin - These are not all the ways and whys and hows Mulder loves Scully, just some. In reverse. Mulder’s thoughts about Scully on the run post-The Truth and then moving backwards through the series. I’m emotional. Take me back to the start...

[ursbearhug]

I think I've mentioned my interest in voice acting once or twice. That's just so genuinely curious profession and art form.

Now, I'm not that gifted when it comes to voice modulating, modeling or whatnot. I'm good at mimicking; like, I can go significantly higher or lower, when mimickng someone avisto, but cannot do so otherwise. My range is also quite limited.

But it's not about me for once.

When voice acting changed for reasons it should change in it's entirety; here's what I mean.

In "Craig of the Creek" Craig at some point matures and so does his voice. I don't know how it is handled in English dub but in mine, he just gets new voice actor. His new actor is not great but at least he's *consistent*. When we have flashbacks or something; it's still his new voice actor, not the old one. You don't randomly jump back and forth.

Sometimes voice actors change or mature. That's normal. What matters to me is that you either have one or the other. If actor is unavailable, you either wait for him or edit him out of existence. Don't mix. It's horrible.

In League of Runterra, Kai'sa has different voice actor than in Leauge. That's annoying to *me* because I know both voice overs and one is done better than the other (no shade to voice actress but she's just inferior). Same applies to Taliyah (which actually causes psychic damage to me because LoL Taliyah is just *chef's kiss*).

Now, the thing that pisses me off the most and is most egregious. And painful. Elsword. When I started playing in circa 2009-2010, we complained about voice acting and wanted Korean voice over. Then the huge fucking Gameforge fuck up and our server was German dub for 6 months. Not a single quick fix. But then - the horror. After 6 months, important updates, new voice overs... New actors that sounds nothing like previous ones and are appaling quality. Seen more so in newer characters because sometimes they are quiter or louder, sometimes they speak intangible nonsense, they stutter or have some other voice defects - if not health wise, then technology wise. It's fucking horrible. Eventually, we got Korean voiceover in options. All is good.

I wanted to go on a memory lane yesterday (with my broken headphones because fuck me) and I wanted to rip my ears off. I cannot prove it in any way shape or form, but Rena has just striaght up 3 different actors. They didn't bother to change voice lines from previous actor from 9 years ago. Now that's just fucking pathetic. One character, 3 voices.

Original actor was always a-okay (at least for Rena), especially now with all the memories and need to reminiscent. But the other 3? (or her aging up if it is the same girl, which is not likely but still - quit ciggarets girl) Change your profession, you're bad at this and Zeus Almighty save us. Also, Gameforge could really get their subjects either better studio or better something, quality has no business being this bad.

I also know how hard translation can be (have y'all seen ancient greek?) but get yourself better people for translating shit too. I know some words like 'Burst' have no translation, or words like 'Force' have awkward translations, but it can be done - I promise.

Yes, this is me distracting myself from my problems because I know if I think about them for a second too long, I will straight up kill myself.

[midgelenny]

give me your hot take on what the best jane austen adaptation is ever and why it is the best 😎

ok so without question p&p 1995 is the best jane austen adaptation ever and that is the hill i will die on. literally the entire movie is iconic, and there was a point in my life when I could quote it probably nearly in its entirety. it’s a six hour getaway from life when you get to cancel all the rest of your plans for the day and openly yearn for peak-era colin firth and his smouldering eyes and his disheveled hair. the characterization is spot on, the pacing is excellent, the wit is spicy, and the romance is *chef’s kiss*. every scene with colin firth in it is iconic. honestly tho, i don’t think this is really a hot take, and as much as there is very healthy discussion of which p&p is best on this site, i think both are masterpieces for different reasons and the one that’s best really comes down to which one you grew up with or personal preference.

what i think IS a hot take, though, is a recent revelation I had about persuasion 1995, which i had never seen until about a month ago. i think it’s safe to say that we are all in desperate need of a really GOOD new persuasion adaptation (*little happy dance*), but having now seen both persuasions i think the 1995 is...actually better?! I really like rupert-penry jones, and the supporting cast is more solid in the 2007, and 2007 has The Aesthetic, but let’s be real, the success of a persuasion adaptation absolutely depends on getting the dynamic between anne and wentworth right, and in the 1995 they just really really get it right. I adore Persuasion because of the angsty pining, but there’s an additional layer to it. It’s not just the pining and wentworth’s resentment of having been rejected, but also that these are two people who once knew each other so so well, and still do, and can’t help but have that familiarity with each other, yet are constantly feeling forced to suppress it. And this is something that the 1995 just GETS! They don’t even need the annoying voiceovers of 2007 to do it! You see in their body language and their hints at former inside jokes and the way they slip into familiar conversation before stopping themselves-even in the silences it’s abundantly clear that these are two people who fundamentally understand each other and are constantly on the verge of wanting to indulge in that former familiarity. 2007 gets it to some extent, but in 1995 it’s more intangible yet deeply expressed

Also the 2007 entirely removes the ““loving when all hope is gone” speech from its context and that has always annoyed me to no end!! In the book that dialogue is not only a window into anne’s heart but also a major plot point!! Bc wentworth overhears!! And then writes the most romantic letter ever written as a live reaction to that conversation!! And in the 2007 they just throw it AWAY randomly in the middle of the movie as a side conversation with no effect on the movie plot and it makes me so ANGRY I-

Ok I will stop now I apparently have a lot of feelings 😳 thank you for the ask Anastasia!! 💕

[mantra4ia]

Debris 1x13 "Celestial Body": rewatch Reaction'd, questions and comments

So if all those people are experiencing emotional convergence, who are they converging from? Who's sending the emotional signal that the debris is channeling, or is it the debris manifesting it's "consciousness" in a way that we can understand it by way of human conduits?

Maddox is clearly trading debris pieces with Irina (perhaps the piece that he took out of storage off the books), and Irina is on the phone with presumably her handler/ boss to negotiate this trade. She gives him lateral (which I assume means latitudinal) readings and then he asks for longitudinal readings which we don't get to hear. They are: Lateral 105, 112, 115, 120, 113, 110, 109

What's the significance of these measures? Latitude goes from 0° to 90° from the equator, so that doesn't track unless the scene is cut wrong and they're meant to be longitudinal (E/W) readings, which go to 180° relative to the prime meridian. That would make more sense, because after Irina is done with the first set of readings, the unknown caller on the phone says "drop to level two for vertical" and latitudes are North/South.

If we're talking Western longitudes, notable landmarks include: Denver, Salt Lake City UT / Phoenix AZ / nearly Sedona AZ - aka where the telesphere went, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe/ Nevada border, Great Salt Lake, Alberta-Saskatchewan border, and the Utah-Arizona border.

Or perhaps they're not part of terrestrial measurement at all. The act of "lateral reading" could just mean verifying your sources/accuracy as you go, where as vertical reading is reading for content first to see if something is worth evaluating for sources.

However, if they are part of coordinates, then is the fragment that Maddox is trading with Irina a legitimate "mapmaker" piece like George previously said Influx was seeking? Ya know, when he lied to his daughter. Can a mapmaker piece track moving/animate debris akin to the telesphere? Are those black dust cloud beings George is running from made up of animate debris?

Bryan: After becoming a parent you're in a heightened emotional state, emotionally raw.

George: Higher highs, lower lows, the joy of having a child, the postpartum depression, and the fear of getting it wrong.

Me: Are we in a pensive, self-reflective mood, George? Are you practicing your pub trivia Bryan, delivering exposition, or are you speaking from personal character experience? Seriously, how would you know?!

John Noble as Otto, man why does he always make such a good villain?

What is with the cryptic vagueness when Maddox tells Irina, "You know I can't let you leave with that case right? I mean you know that. There's another door for you Irina, one that only you can go through." They seemed almost on good terms in a previous episode, like friends or something more in a past life "nice car, i almost left / no you didn't", he wouldn't kill her, would he? Or is it more like a code between them, a sort of "I'm being watched, take the back exit"?

Hey, so why is it that sometimes George's eye seems opaque and damaged from the debris implant, but then when he's talking to Finola after he distracts Bryan while being Debris whisperer, his eye seems fine? PS: I googled Tyrone Benskin just to see what he looks like when he's not playing George Jones and I didn't know he's a former member of Canadian Parliament. Don't trust the government, eh?

George: "You're such a compassionate person, you always have been. So much of your mother in you." That's the second time that Finola's mother has been mentioned in the series, back from the pilot. Is it a coincidence that the first piece of debris that chose to interact with Finola resonated her mom? More than just Finola's desire being reflected by the debris, but the debris emoting it's first impression of her as someone compassionate that it can trust?

It also raises my heckles that George repeats, almost word for word, something that Finola said in episode 3. "If we can't help people, we do not deserve this debris / if we don't use this debris on these people, we are not worthy to have it." Are father and daughter that ideologically similar, or has he been spying on her progress this whole time, or both?

George: "I took my life to allow myself a rebirth, I paid the price. I want you to know that not one day goes by that I don't think of you and your sister. I want you to know this." This coincides with my initial impression that George staged his death to get away from Orbital after he assessed how his research was being used/abused.

George: "You never wanted to go into the pool, I had to throw you in, and you kicked and screamed, but you always did better that way." Immabout to throw you George, just keep talking!!!! I'm sorry, this charicature of absentee father reminiscing about the good old days really ticks me off from personal experience.

Also, as a person with a disability, I am not particularly pleased with the use of Dario as a plot device instead of a thoughtful character with a backstory at this point in the show for 13 whole episodes now. Pretty pissed off actually, so they better do something phenomenal and pivotal with Christian Rose (Dario) in season 2 [maybe have his character interact with debris in a similar way to Caroline]. But that's another rant about ableism in screenwriting for another angry day....

George: "A telesphere was born yesterday. It came from a pocket dimension inside Orbital. I think it's birth may have triggered the debris." This is perhaps the one-ish episode that I find George remotely interesting and also infuriating, particularly because of the way he speaks, like he's finally taken off the guise of the old, well-meaning eccentric and turned into a sharp, cunning, and at times calculatingly ruthless individual. I find it peculiar that he says a telesphere is born. Makes me think that the debris is not just part of a spacecraft, but a hybrid of the beings piloting that craft.

I get tremendous satisfaction from Finola head-butting people. This should continue.

I'm not familiar with all of the work of JH Wyman to know if this is a running theme or an ongoing joke. But does he keep his writing staff in a constant state of starvation? Is that why pieces of debris are called "Nachos", and why Influx has "Beans" to shield them from debris side effects, and why Bryan is always eating junk food? Should I be worried about the writer's room and start sending them healthy snacks?!? Just give me an SOS in the credit roll.

Speaking of: is the "Bean" that Finola ingested a piece of debris? Similar to the pieces of debris that fused with Anson Ash? Will it impart some physical benefits to her moving forward?

"I won't lose you again...you belong with me." What are you talking about George Jones, you made the conscious decision to leave your family. You didn't lose Finola, she lost you. In this version of reality at least. Or (unscripted backstory) did Jones and his wife separate prior to her death / was Finola brought up mostly by her mother? That doesn't seem the case if she was buying her father birthday presents and took it upon herself to settle his affairs after his death.

Why do the Influx Operatives Otto and Anson have tattoos on their hands, but not Loeb? Is he like the low end of the totem pole FNG who hasn't earned his stripes, hence why Otto gives him s***: aka "Careful you cretin. All the finesse of a butcher."

What is the hierarchy of Influx anyway? Despite being an anti-government "for the people/ elevate the human consciousness" organization they do still seem to have a governing hierarchy and Otto and George seem to be on the same level, pretty high in rank / they talk with confidence to each other like they go back a while.

What is that weird thing that Otto does with his hands to Bryan's head? What are all the weird things Otto does, including his massacre at the petrol station? Ick.

Why is it that Leob and George are freaked out by the black smoke (debris particle?) man, but Anson and Otto aren't? They seem to see them(?), but don't overtly react.

Bryan: "It seems like we're entering some kind of new phase." Gee where have I heard that one before? Oh yeah, the story of "Blackwater grandfather" and the black wind that they're still teasing endlessly while refusing to tether it into some kind of world building lore. Agggghh!

Lololol, Bryan and Finola's dynamic even in the midst of a very serious episode makes me laugh. "Devon Reese / two e's? / Two e's!" "This one smells like baby diapers. Almost as bad as the tech section of the plane/ You mean your section of the plane. / Almost." That zinger 👍

Paraphrasing Bryan: "[recapping, recap, and did I mention recap]...something about George doesn't feel right." Personal pet peeve: I HATE IT when episodes have intentional explanatory lines like this to point out the fact that we as audience are privy to information that the main characters aren't. Not only does it make the main characters seem less intelligent, it breaks the fourth wall a little bit and gives the impression that the audience, which is ahead of the plot, is not as intelligent and needs a reminder that we're ahead. Lackadaisical writing drives me nuts!!! I can't outright say that it's "bad" dialogue, but it's not a choice I would make if I wanted uninterrupted viewer immersion.

Finola: "My instincts are good" Me: You are an emotionally intelligent decision maker with gaping personal blind spots.

George: You belong with me, your father.

Finola: My father died six months ago, and you are not him.

Me: Chef's kiss 👏👏👏

Otto: "It would never have worked out with that girl [Finola], not in any iteration." Definitely makes me lean towards the fan theory that the alt!Finola in (presumably) suspensia in Sedona Arizona got plucked from another reality.

Surprisingly, the ending credit roll has no voiceover as all the previous episodes of the season have. Disappointed that there's no potential teaser to a season 2 if the show gets renewed. But I find it curious that the extras who were demonstrating emotional convergence were credited as: chess board persons. Not sure if that's relevant, but I definitely feel like this show is playing games with me and my emotions.

[thescorpioracer]

Sen Çal Kapımı 1 - Episode Recap

To be honest, this series of posts is mostly going to be a fashion roast. But DISCLAIMER! I really do love this show and Turkish TV in general, it’s just my preferred mode of media analysis is to pick things apart. 😂And I need everyone to know that I am very pro-women, and believe people should be able to dress how they want and not be judged for it or be looked down upon for it. But oh my god this wardrobe department/costumer needs to be STOPPED. I also have zero credentials to be talking about fashion, but will that stop me?

I’m going to make these posts assuming you’ve watched the show, and just comment on whatever comes up. There will be spoilers. Let’s go!

We start off with a voiceover from Eda Yıldız, an A+ romcom trope. (It wasn’t until my rewatch that I remembered that Eda used to do VOs at random intervals, and I’m kind of glad she stopped tbh.) She is a strong woman who wants to get her education and become a landscape architect/designer. She was all set to do that until- dun dun dun! - Serkan Bolat destroyed everything. 

Check out that dart board of a man (and this is the only time we see that photo there). And these outfits are probably the most normal and reasonable clothes she wears in the show. She’s a beautiful young woman, who was a college student, and now works outdoors as a florist. 10/10 outfit. 

Of course that transitions us into an epic slomo of Serkan exiting his private jet. He of course begins to berate his assistant on the phone in a way a friend described as reminiscent of The Devil Wears Prada.

@teamnick​​‘s commentary back when she first started the show. 

Serkan returns to his office for the first time in 2 months after working on business deals in London. Chaos ensues: Miranda Priestly is baaaaaaack.

See... here we have some good fashion choices! We meet the girls for the first time, while they try to sneak off to their graduation without making Eda feel bad that she won’t be receiving her diploma. Melek “Melo” is dressed in a sweet dress with a bold, romantic color, which captures her personality perfectly. Ceren, the rich daughter from a family of lawyers, looks a bit more high-fashion. The dress is short but it has long sleeves and no cleavage so it works out to be chic and elegant. Fifi is unapologetically herself with her full-black, punk wardrobe. Eda is again dressed in a pretty, but casual outfit. Nicely put together for her lower-middle-class lifestyle and her job as a florist.

Enter: the plot device to get our protagonists together. Serkan’s face says it all.

We are then introduced to the main couple’s respective cars. Serkan has his 2020 BMW (though the show blocks out the copyrighted branding) while Eda’s beat up SUV is clearly unreliable. What’s that? Another plot device being introduced? I have no idea what you’re talking about.

Also, I just noticed this, but for someone as uptight as Serkan, I’m surprised at how fun his suit jacket lining is. If I’m not mistaken the pattern is of a bunch of rainbow fish. #Snazzy, but they seem out of character?

Plot highlights:

Eda learns she can come back to school and finish her final year, but she’s lost her scholarship and will have to pay. She can’t.

Serkan gives his talk at the graduation (?)-- Is his talk just for architecture students? If so, why are Ceren, Fifi, and Melo there? We’ll never know. I know, I know... it’s all for the ~plot~

Eda calls Serkan out in front of everyone for taking away the scholarship that she earned from his company, Art Life. He is confused but unrepentant. She refuses to tell him her name.

She tries to deface his car with lipstick after keying the side (we never hear about the damage to his car after that). He catches her and wants to call the police, so she impulsively handcuffs them together with the plot devices from Selin’s wedding invitation sitting on his passenger seat.

They then have to go to Serkan’s urgent business meeting with an out-of-town client. Eda drives while they’re handcuffed together. Bickering ensues.

What is this? Foreshadowing? Symbolism?? Eda’s last name “Yıldız” is the Turkish word for “star” so... file that away for later.

One of my favorite parts about watching Turkish dramas is the experience of trying to decipher the fan translations. Add to the fact that Turkish only has 1 pronoun *chef’s kiss* 

Eda refuses to take the elevator to the 15th floor (we’ll learn about her claustrophobia later). Serkan is equally as stubborn, saying she owes  him for screwing up his day. But he has met his match in Eda with regards to stubbornness. They take the stairs.

More highlights:

First instance of fake dating - they need to hide the handcuffs from his client so Eda pretends she’s his girlfriend and a fellow investor.

The girls track Eda’s phone to the hotel and try to find her by asking around the premises. 

Eda charms the client into selling his land to Serkan.

We learn that Serkan is allergic to strawberries and has a lot of health anxiety. He’s a very tightly wound person.

Serkan says “Mashallah,” translator hears 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

Engin brings way too many people to open the handcuffs and chaos ensues.

I feel like nothing can do justice to the comedy of 58:45 to 1:00:00 with Fifi using a bobby pin as a lock pick. The dramatic editing is 👌🏼

Leyla gets fired for somehow causing this drama??? And she is so happy to leave that stressful workplace omg, we don’t deserve her 🥺

Serkan and Eda go their separate ways, Eda prepared to never see her enemy again, but of course her phone and purse are still in his car so she has to go to his office at Art Life and confront him again.

Serkan has found out that Whoops, Art Life did cancel the study abroad scholarships to cut costs, but his CFO did it without telling him. And Serkan is pissed, but I think mainly about the fact that Eda did have some (SOME) grounds for yelling at him in public.

Leyla then explains the nonsensical reasoning behind her being fired-but-not-fired and still working. (Spoiler alert: she never goes anywhere and she is my favorite side character to this day).

Eda: “How can I piss Serkan off?” Leyla: “Find a mistake he’s made and he will fixate on it forever. But you won’t find anything.” Eda: “Hold my beer.”

Eda walks into Serkan’s office and his meeting. She gets her purse back and they fight about him not being willing to apologize for ruining her life and education. He refuses and says she owes him an apology for embarrassing him in public (no, dude).

He wants to give her back the scholarship and make it all go away but she rightly tells him that it won’t fix her broken pride from begging the company and her university for a second chance. But somehow her calling him a heartless “Robot” is what gets to him???? And he short-circuits. Eda walks out triumphant. 

~dRaMa!~

MEANWHILE

Melo, as well as being a perfume sales girl, also works as a flight attendant and wants Eda to cover her shift (we’ll get into how that doesn’t make sense in a minute) 

Eda says no, she’s going to meet her boyfriend, Cenk, who she hasn’t seen in months and has just returned from Italy.

Enter: Selin. Serkan’s ex who he dumped a while ago and is now engaged to the heir of a hotel empire. Serkan doesn’t like this. The two of them grew up together and are set to each inherit 50% of the holding company that Serkan’s father currently runs.

Right away Selin serves us with a gender reveal level color scheme.  Personally not a fan. They confirm that Serkan is coming to her engagement party tomorrow.

Meanwhile Eda  meets up with Cenk. Her outfit is still reasonable and cute for her character. He looks mildly like a hobo and doesn’t seem to have anything going for him (I know he’s a throwaway character but the two of them really don’t have anything in common).

This creeper keeps staring at them, but Cenk tries to explain it away and says he’s busy and can’t meet her again until the day after tomorrow. Eda is disappointed but accepts this. Creeper girl remains and remains a red flag to viewers, but apparently not to Eda.

Cut to later that evening, and of course our broody main man enjoys astronomy in his free time (???) idk what he’s charting and to what purpose but okay? 

Eda finds a mini first aid kit in her purse that Serkan put there before returning it. Queue montage of them treating their respective wrists for handcuff-related injuries. #couplegoals

Of course we also needed a sepia-toned flashback to earlier that day when the handcuffs contrived their faces to get too close together. #romance

Finallyyyyyyy it’s morning again and a new day.

Since Eda can’t see Cenk (good, he’s so boring), she agrees to fill in as a flight attendant for Melo, who’s side job is for a private plane company.

Now. This should not be a thing. Eda was in college to be a landscape architect and now works as a florist for her aunt... Where has she learned any relevant skills to work as a flight attendant?? Presumably nowhere. And I really don’t think a private plane company would be so easygoing about just having a random person fill in to cover for her friend? 

But does this show care about that? What do you think...

Also, instead of the standard white shirt, black skirt uniform requirements, the girls decide that this skimpy dress and heels is fine? Hmmm

Also lol @ Melo for assuming that the client who wants jasmine tea and fruit salad is probably a woman. And her telling Eda that the PRIVATE JET COMPANY would in fact have its own tea was very random and unnecessary. 

Back at the Bolat house compound, we meet the parents: Aydan and Alptekin. We’ll see them again later. Selin’s engagement party is today. 

Meanwhile Eda is just.... being a flight attendant, I guess??? And who could possibly be the passenger she has to take care of? Take a wild guess. Of course it’s Serkan Bolat.

And of course that tiny dress (THAT ALSO HAS A LEG SLIT?? WHY?? I really don’t need to see her vagina) looks very practical and professional... not! (Hande Erçel is a gorgeous human, and the dress looks good on her, don’t get me wrong. BUT THIS IS SITUATIONALLY INCORRECT ATTIRE). Also him just folding his vest and then social distancing from it... K? 😂

Eda panics and doesn’t want Serkan to see her and runs away back to her seat pod thing - Serkan takes issue with his fruit salad for ~plot reasons~ (EDIT: I’ve been informed that it’s because there was a strawberry in his fruit salad and since he’s allergic, of course it needed to be fixed. Why doesn’t the plane have a note of that??) and comes back to find this mystery flight attendant.

Eda is very stressed out about this encounter and is also starting to have a panic attack because, surprise, she’s also claustrophobic. 

After Serkan calms her down, they have a cute/civil conversation for the rest of the flight.

When they land, Eda realizes they’re on an island 2h45min away from Istanbul and she isn’t sure what to do with herself (How did she not already know where they were going, as the FLIGHT ATTENDANT??? So may red flags with this private jet company).

Serkan convinces Eda to come with him and she can hang out at the beach while he’s at Selin’s engagement party.

At the engagement party we finally meet Selin’s fiancé Ferit. He’s sweet and non-threatening and clearly insecure about Serkan being Selin’s ex.

This dress/skirt outfit Selin is wearing isn’t terrible, but it doesn’t scream rich socialite to me. Anything with feathers seems... a bit tacky/too showy? Like someone pretending to be rich? Idk, this outfit isn’t one I’m going to really take a stand on.

Does this engagement party warrant being a 2h45 min flight away? No. They try to explain it away as the couple wanting to have something small and private, even though they also invite the press?? But okay whatever, as long as Serkan and Eda cross paths again, I suppose.

Kaan Karadağ has been mentioned a couple times in passing, but now we finally meet our “villain.” Ferit’s friend, and Serkan & Selin’s childhood acquaintance, who has it out for Serkan bc he somehow bankrupted Kaan’s dad? Idk and I don’t really care but tl;dr they’re enemies. 

Another thing I love about Turkish dramas is the censoring. Like, they’ll allow alcohol to be on screen, but they won’t say the word and they’ll just blur out the bottle and any liquid that we’d assume is alcoholic 😂

In the evening, Serkan is tired and wants to leave and Ferit snidely jokes about how Serkan is too picky to have a fiancé of his own. Serkan flashes back to 1 entire day ago when he and Eda pretended to be dating at his business meeting, and says that actually he is engaged to someone and then peaces out.

Serkan finds Eda on the beach, and they are preparing to leave when a crowd of people (Selin, Ferit, and Kaan mainly), arrive to get a peek at Serkan’s new “fiancé.” Eda very reluctantly plays along (good thing she has that unnecessarily sexy “work” dress to help her look the part) and Serkan notices that for the first time ever, Selin is jealous of another woman. #drama

After they finally escape the crowd, Serkan makes an annoyed Eda an offer: Pretend to be his fiancé for the 2 months leading up to Selin’s wedding so he can get them to break up and prevent Ferit marrying into the company. In return, he will pay all the fees to help her complete her last year of studies in Italy.

Eda refuses, stating that she doesn’t want anything from him, and besides she has a boyfriend (Sure Jan; Cenk is such a joke). They have it out and then fly back to Istanbul. But of course the gossips at the engagement have spread the news of Serkan’s new woman so the paparazzi corner them at the airport when they land. 

So glad that we got to see this random mechanic find out the news (???)

They escape the cameras and Serkan takes her home, saying that Art Life has a press conference tomorrow, and she should come so he can save face and tell everyone that she was his assistant accompanying him for work to the party. Eda agrees. 

It should also be mentioned that Serkan still doesn’t know her name at this point?? She refused to tell him and Engin still hasn’t sent him the names of the scholarship candidates so it’s a bit miraculous that their relationship was at all believable.

The next day, Cenk wants to meet but Eda has to go to the press conference. The girls come too for whatever reason, and Melo is convinced that Cenk wants to propose. Eda just lets that fantasy take hold (why tho?), and Cenk shows up unexpectedly right before the press conference and takes Eda into the nearby hotel’s cafe so they can talk.

Eda seems ready for a proposal (they haven’t seen each other or really communicated in months??) but Cenk wants to break up. Eda is shocked (???) but then Cenk mentions that he has a new girlfriend from Italy that he adores, and oh by the way, it’s the creepy girl from the other night who also happens to be here right now?

Okay fine, I guess??? Cenk: “She’s doesn’t speak Turkish” Girlfriend: *clearly a Turkish actress*

Eda is upset that he brought his jealous girlfriend with him to break up with her and says something about how actually, she’s seeing Serkan Bolat now (maybe it’s just me being someone who doesn’t follow tabloids, but are business people really that popular in every day society where everyone knows who they are?). Cenk laughs at Eda, saying that everyone wants to be with Serkan Bolat, and that she’s bluffing.

Eda makes an impulsive decision, and walks away, over to where Serkan has started the press conference. And seals their fate as fake dating in the public eye.

Queue confetti. No really.

And there we have it. That’s the episode!

In all seriousness, it’s a pretty great pilot, especially for a romcom. It hits all the right beats, includes enough tropes, and tells us a lot about what we should expect in the episodes going forward. And no matter how much I make fun of it, I really do enjoy this show! It’s been such a nice distraction from Current Events. I’ve spent a lot of time watching these episodes just saying “oh my god” out loud to myself as I watch all of the cute/romantic gestures that give me a lot of second hand embarrassment (I forget that PDA makes me kinda uncomfortable 😂).

There wasn’t actually that much terrible fashion in this episode, which I didn’t notice until my rewatch. If I continue with this series of posts, I’m hoping they’ll end up being less plot-centric, and more about the situationally inappropriate outfits and strange subtitling choices. 

See you next time? 

[lemntri]

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