#anyway. i still have only seen 2 eps of season 2 but i am still regularly going insane over this show love and peace

[lionofstone]

listen i had read a lot of 911 fanfiction before i started the show so i know a lot of what’s to come and when Buck and Abby were talking and he goes “I’ve got your back, okay?” and she did not say one single thing my jaw actually dropped

[local-lamppost]

Initial thoughts cause it's 4am

Spoilers

First off, wow... it's really good. I've been saying that if season 2 is as good as season 1 Arcane would be my new favorite show and we are on track. Anyway, just gonna list stuff until I can process/rewatch a billion times

Mel lived! I was so certain that they would just kill her off, make that Ambessa's motive (give Jayce a reason to keep fighting the Undercity) but it's much more interesting keeping her involved in the narrative. Love her trying to bother understand and undermine her mother. Those Black Rose guys best not have hurt a hair on her perfect head.

Speaking of. What in the Utena are these Black Rose magic people? I love the look of their magic. I wonder how they can corrupt people. Is it a spell? Do they slip them something?

Love how the divide of Jayce and Viktor was done. Jayce betrayed Viktor's wishes of destroying the Hexcore. Last season, Viktor wanted to forget about using the core to save himself after Sky and begged Jayce to destroy it when the core wouldn't allow Viktor himself to do it. In Jayce's mind though, the core is the solution to Viktor's problems. He didn't know it killed Sky or that it can influence Viktor, but all Viktor can comprehend is that Jayce didn't trust him. Didn't keep his promise. And this is fresh off of Jayce's season 1 antics against the Undercity, so Viktor's faith in his partner was already shaken. Viktor's also comfortable in his mortality/death, even though he wants to prolong it like every other human, but Jayce can't fathom loosing Viktor-the man who saved his life and made his dreams reality.

(Side note: Am I a JayVik shipper? I never considered myself one, but after writing this...)

JINX HAS A KID! I love this choice. Give Jinx a kid so she is able to learn what Silco and Vi had to go through with her, that no matter how big or dangerous a scheme to take this child into account. The confrontation in ep 3 really showed what Jinx will have to consider now that this kid's decided to adopt her as an older sister or something. Especially nice detail of how Vi-who has always had to consider the kids in her life-immediately stops fighting and starts looking for ways to keep the kid safe.

I was wondering how Jinx would loose a finger and Caitlyn shooting it off to save Vi is just- The fact that the only way these two can show they care about Vi when it comes to each other is by hurting the other.

Sevika's new arm is fantastic. It's a peace offering from Jinx, but also a way for Jinx to feel better (it was something she could fix). The mechanics of it are really fun. It reminds me of Kite's weapon from HxH with how it didn't always work/give her what she wanted in the fight. I especially love the victory rockets and built in theme song.

Ambessa is so interesting. Between her character song to the introduction of just what she is fighting against, I am very intrigued. She reminds me of Cersei Lannister, except she loves her kids as more than just extensions of herself (as of what we've seen, but I think that'll stick). Her using Salo to establish herself-which also keeps Mel safe by distancing her-but also dropping him in order to prop up Cait at her first opportunity is such a clever move. She truly is the fox and the wolf, but she is above all a mama bear.

Not much to say about Heimerdinger or Ekko yet, but I am definitely curious to see what they do about the wild runes with Jayce. The three of them have a fun dynamic, what with Heimerdinger still being peeved about magic/being ousted, Ekko hating topside and having a new reason to do so with them poisoning his tree, and Jayce being recently seperated and divorced from both his partners.

Vi is an enforcer. I didn't know how they were gonna handle this, but they did it so well. Of course she wants to fix things for the people her sister hurt. She feels responsible. She can say she doesn't blame herself, but how true is that? Why else would she be wearing a badge if not for her guilt? She is desperate to do something right and being an enforcer seemed to be a way to make Cait happy, get her gauntlets (what she believes is necessary to make any kind of change), and be first in line in the hunt for Jinx. She says that her sister is dead, that Jinx is a desecration to Powder's memory, that they are not sisters but isn't it supposed to be 'nothing is going to change that'? How much of all this is just something Vi is telling herself to keep going? Cait is her motive right now, but after ep 3 I definitely see why she starts spiraling.

(2 Side note: Her new best friend/drinking buddy is such a real one. They have a bender in the gutter together and now he's following her into and out of the enforcers. I wonder if he knew Vander? In any case, he is a delight.)

Cait and Vi kissed... CAIT AND VI KISSED! Then NOTHING HAPPENED AFTER! NOTHING! No immediate break up, nope.

So Cait. I love Cait and I am hyped for her arc this season. I am ready to fight tooth and nail for her. I am a Caitlyn defender. So what she's being manipulated into leading a military state due to her grief/unresolved anger/guilt/Ambessa being better at this than her, she looks amazing in her cape. It balances.

Seriously though, the writing for Cait especially is so solid. She is desperate to hold herself and her family together, to protect her city. She still wants to protect the innocent, to heal the Undercity, but her anger at a select few of those she wants to help is clouding the greater image for her. Vi seems to be acting as her better half, the side that cares for the innocent-the protector. Ambessa is the agressor, encouraging Cait to take drastic military action against the Undercity as a whole. Vi's disillusionment with Cait is due to the fact that Cait desire to heal, not harm, is what caused her to fall for Cait to begin with. To see more than some privileged topside enforcer, but a woman who genuinely cared and was willing to abandon her peaceful naivety to learn for the greater good of strangers.

I'll also point out that they separate when Cait starts blaming Vi for them loosing Jinx. Before, everyone but Cait put responsibility on Vi, she was supposed to be the one to help lighten the load and absolve some of the guilt. Now Cait is becoming another one of those who slam the blame on Vi. She changed. Why does everyone around VI change?

Can't wait for the next batch of episodes.

[madsgotmadagain]

ok so I never really talked about TADC very much here but after episode 3 I think I'd like to talk about the episodes and my opinions on it and stuff so here we go

Amazing digital circus ep. 3!

SPOILER WARNING FOR EPISODE 3 OF TADC

ALSO LONG POST/RAMBLING WARNING

ok so I really liked this episode! Its probably my favorite of the episodes thus far and it was perfect timing for Halloween! Though I do think the episode where they work at a fast food place will end up being my favorite by the end of the season because come on, look at Jax

look at him and tell me you don't want this episode

Anyways, ep. 3 was great! I've been intrested in Zooble since ep. 1 and feel like until now there's been little to nothing about them in the show. Like, they're just sort of there and never really get screen time. So the little thearpy sessions between them and Caine were amazing.

Also, the reason Zooble's never on adventures definitely was intresting. For some reason Zooble having body dismorphia wasn't on my TADC bingo card but ngl I think I should've seen it coming. It's pretty perfect for them, considering A. This isn't their real body just the digital one created for them, and B. Their appearances thing being all the bits and parts that can be replaced and manhvered was made for this kind of internal conflict

Also, the things we learned about Caine intrigue me LOT. Like, the fact that nobody liking his adventures is enough to break his AI and in turn, the circus, if definitely somthing I'm keeping in mind. Like, this is definitely important information about Caine, both his character and his relation to the circus

But anyways, on to the real star and reason I'm making this post, KINGER!!! Because this man

This sad, silly old man is my favorite. Officially. I liked him a lot in ep. 1 and 2 bc he was so silly. But ep. 3 really made me fall in love with his character.

his backstory was devastating. I feel like we kinda already knew about Queenie and him before this, but the flashback still hurt in the most perfect way. Like, the way he only likes bugs nc SHE WAS AN ENTOMOLOGIST AND LOVES THEM ABDHJSJSHSHJ

Also his whole memory thing is devastating. Like, he only has like this one memory and he only gets it in the dark. He also acts so diffrent in the dark like yeah thats also so sad like he only gets to have his sanity and personality in the dark and only temporarily like omg. Plus he dosn't get to remember the talk with pomni 😭😭😭 (BTW dementia having father figure Kinger also wasn't on my ep. 3 bingo card but I love it).

Tbh the whole cellar scene broke me. Especially the part where they leave hand in hand holding their break like it was so beautifully done. This gave me actual chils like omg it's beautiful.

So yeah, ep. 3 was amazing! I really enjoyed it and can't wait for the next one! Now that we officially have 3 fully episodes i can say that even though I'm not OBSESSED obsessed with it, I still really do like TADC and am going to keep up with it.

Thank you for reading this far, I hope you have a good morning/day/night!

[vanmarkus]

I actually think Tommy not being in 7×07 and 7x08 makes a lot of sense considering just how on the fly the Buck/Tommy (and season seven as a whole lol) seemed to have come together, and Tim Minear needing a pause to see how it's received by the general public while also working writing the end of the season at the same time 💀 Also, I know Oliver mentioned wanting an on screen relationship similar to the one Carlos and TK share on Lone Star, and if I remember correctly, in that first season when they were still getting to know eachother Carlos was in every 3rd-ish episode with various degrees of importance?? Anyway, it seems like Oliver (and Lou, and hopefully Tim as well) want to carry o with this story line for now, and the reception to bi buck has been mostly positive so I have hope for more Tommy in season 8, if not sooner!!!

mhm yeah it's very much on the fly, we still haven't got a title for the last episode and based on the latest Tim interview, I'm pretty sure it's not even written yet, hell, we barely just got the titles for the previous eps and the way Oliver was talking about it — and also because we know they usually get stuff 2 days prior to shooting at most — I'd wager that the actors haven't even seen the script yet for ep 9, if it's even finished.

so yeah, the possibilities at this moment are endless and I'd honestly expect them to keep Tommy around during the finale, in the background if nothing else, because the general reception was good and as you said there are many other storylines we need to get to without "wasting time" on recurring roles/bringing up more drama by doing a breakup arc, but we shall see.

I def can't comment on the lone star of it all, but if Tommy would become a more serious LI for Buck, I'm sure we'd be seeing him around a bit more, but you know out of 6 eps this season, Karen was in only 3 (assuming she'll be in ep6) and she is literally married to a lead character and has consistently had major storylines throughout the show.

all in all, I have high hopes and am staying positive about it until being told otherwise. 💛

[gateau-au-earl]

kuroshitsuji s4e1/ED thoughts

ok yall now that it has been over 24 hrs and I've seen the ep over three times, I have THOUGHTS. mostly very positive, everything was beautful to look at and the 1:1 comparisons between the manga and the anime made me very happy as a veteran kuro fan that had to live through the mess of s1 and s2 plots (even tho they might have a sentimental place in my heart just because of nostalgia).

but i wanted to come on here and yap about the ending theme and how it encapsulates sebastian and ciel's complicated and very interesting relationship. idk abt yall but im a big fan of the op and ed this season!

first things first just to get this outta the way, I dont interpret them as a ship so please dont come in here with that interpretation 👁️ I'm serious .

that being said -

the ending theme is beautiful in both its animation and what it says about the butler and earl's relationship. I'm just gonna get the gushing outta the way first but it was aesthetically GORGEOUS in its animation. the way ciel fell so gracefully and the colors with SID's music is cinematic perfection. the change in animation style is very easy on the eyes as well! gg cloverworks animation team!

this has been marinating for a while, but what really gets me is the scene where ciel falls. he is falling into darkness, when it suddenly becomes lighter, with the sun illuminating the clouds. sebastian "saves" him and they fall together across this very pretty backdrop.

the demon might've caught him, but that doesn't prompt him to rescue ciel, to stop him from falling to his death.

sebas instead gently takes ciel's hand to guide him there. he gives ciel a false sense of security, of trust, catching the boy when he's at his darkest place, but instead of saving him, he drags him to down to his hell. he is deceiving ciel with a beautiful view and promises in their contract that will ultimately hurt ciel. its cruel and will only lead to pain for our earl.

sebas is a demon (obviously) who is leading ciel to his doom, but the path they take is twisted and tragic but strangely beautiful like the gorgeous sky in the ED.

ciel enjoys the power and omnipotence he has with sebastian, knowing full well the demon is leading him to his demise. he knows that this relationship will end him being sebastian's dinner. ciel knows he can't trust sebas, but does anyways because sebas is the only person who can't hurt him until he inevitably does.

the fall might result in an ugly death, but the view is pretty nice on the way down. the beautiful sky colored with deception, manipulation and misplaced trust.

yeah, sebastian will end up hurting ciel the most at the end, but the boy doesn't care at the moment. sebas is the only ""person"" who knows him with all the ugliness of his past, yet still protects him, serves him, and doesn't treat him like a helpless creature. so ciel is forced to place trust in a fundamentally untrustworthy creature knowing he is inches away from the demons bared fangs.

sebastian helps him survive his living hell now and get what he needs to get done, so he doesn't care what happens after. his descent to darkness becomes much more beautiful as a result.

shippers may have one interpretation (which I'm NOT a fan of...), but this is how I see it, and I think it makes this ending all the more impactful and tragic. but here I am, and I'm enthralled by the beauty and can't look away.

anyways, thanks for reading my brain dump, and looking forward to ep 2 folks!!! hope yall liked my micro analysis/semi organized gushing, and r enjoying this kuro renaissance as much as I am! here's a professor michaelis for reading this far

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

ALRIGHTY’S I KNOW ITS BEEN A HOT SEC I’VE BEEN GONE CAMPING AMONGST THE TREES AND THEN OPENED COMMISSIONS BUT NOW IT IS FINALLY TIME TO SIT DOWN FOR ANOTHER KNOX REACTS. WHATS UP ON THE MENU TONIGHT?

MONKIE KID SEASON 5 EPISODE 3

(spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen it)

Yeah alright, lets see what we got here title be TEMPLE OF THE GODDESS. Sounds cool sounds neat, is this gonna be Nuwa’s first appearance then? or like… i assumed she’d show up later ngl if at all, sets have a habit of adding characters that never show up sometimes— AHEM

.

ACTUALLY THIS FEELS A BIT SURREAL LIKE RIGHT THERE’S MONKIE KID EPS OUT THAT’S CRAZY HELPGLKMAF;LKSDF

Let’s see how I do after two weeks of semi-fresh slightly smokey tree air—

theme song my beloved, oh yes okay the three weeks did something i’m almost used to the animation difference i think it’s settled we’re good i can react primarily to the story now WHEEZELKGJASL;KDF

OHH OHH OKAY IT MIGHT JUST BE THE TWO WEEKS BUT SANDY SOUNDS A LOT MORE SANDY NOW, hang on lemme pull up ep 2 i’m curious

ah hm and nope nvm relistened again, its like… y’know if you’ve ever gone on like a sound music app thingie like garage band or something and you up the tenor and get rid of some of the base, Sandy’s voice sounds kinda off that way, he’s more nasally and not as rumbly? HEY I’M ABLE TO ARTICULATE NOW LETS GOOOOOO

Anyway tho back to react lesgolesgolesgo

Mk, my lad, you are indeed moving from one apocalypse to the next but if it’s all leading up to destiny then i’m sure it’ll be like PSYCH IT’S BEEN THIS ONE GUY PULLING THE STRINGS ALL ALONG— or something like that that’d be funny

Hm, I wonder if the five coloured stones have a name like the Samadhi fire does.

W O O F (ouch) yeah some of the movements still make me feel like i’m sitting in front of my grandparents TV watching treehouse or something :[ It’s kinda like… it’s not bad its just very much used for a specific type of show usually and monkie kid isn’t that type of show to me so it’s claaaashing so bad AHA I AM ABLE TO ARTICULATE! Whaddayaknow the three week break did wonders for me actually we’re loving this YEAAAAAA

Wukong rubbing his head where the circlet is while he talks is MMHM <3 Wowza!!

HM! Tang sounds muffled! Once again i gotta go back and reply to understand what’s being said THIS IS TRAGIC THIS IS A NEW EXPERIENCE FOR ME USUALLY MONKIE KID IS SO CRYSTAL CLEAR I HEAR WHAT’S BEING SAID RIGHT OFF THE BAT (only mis-hearing once in a blue moon) I do like how Pigsy is shaped in this frame <3

Sniffs. I was gonna say they are indeed reusing the samadhi rings plot line again of like, wow we gotta find this thing! but hey this time they don’t have a map! It’s different [winks at camera] LOL no tho fr it’s kinda interesting to see them using the same theme in different fonts. Like the goal is different, Samadhi fire was beat the lady bone demon and the stones is seal he heavens but it is a very similar plot to have so close to the other season. I mean there was a 1 season break in-between tho so PFF that’s probably good enough MOVING ON

Okay hmhm, Pigsy’s “what about the thing where” is super like muffled to me? And quiet, like they turned down the volume on his audio and then cranked it up immediately at the “WE DON’T KNOW WHERE THESE STONES ARE.” on second listen now that i know what’s gonna be said it’s not so bad, but it also just seems very kinda slurred together almost?? It feels like it was done in two separate takes and pasted together almost. I had to pause and be like huh!!! weird!! usually there’s a bit of a pause between Pigsy’s quiet and then loud bit to my memory, he’s done this kind of thing before but the audio volume is just so wildly different—might just be my version of the show tho!

Oof yeah, the music and audio of mk talking after it are wildly different volumes, and these are my good headphones WOUGH THIS IS BRUTAL

still chilling in the good vibes tho, fresh air does a load of good

Actually, fantastic plan mk, ask someone who knows, mind blowing for these guys, when have they ever— //j/jj

Is that how you say her name? NuWAH? I do it more of like a… NAHwah? maybe? ??? NeWAH HGLKJSDF

Mk and Mei getting hyped bless <3333

….tang bro you guys have walked through lava so many times by now I don’t see why you’re loosing your mind— GHL;AKSDJFSADF

they’ve cracked the code, if you want to distract Tang from doom spiraling just ask him to info dump and you’re good!! Still whatever with the visuals of that gag ngl but i do appreciate the verbal comedy

Okay, who do those highly stylish eyebrows belong too? Actually hello?? this might be my favourite frame in the show so far it looks so nice?? I LIKE A FRAME IN SEASON 5 LESGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

“There’s always a temple”

“Mhm, yeah, mhm”

Yeah its like all the voices lost their bass, their growl, their RUMBLE. Nah the Pigsy Mei moment was cute tho bless

Tang. You have. Been around the Samadhi fire. Yeah okay trauma fire, without getting literal ab—TANG YOU LITERALLY SAMADHI FIRE??? THAT’S LITERAL FIRE PLS HGLK;SFJA;OWIEFM AND FAR MORE DANGEROUS THAN REGULAR FIRE??? MY GOOD SIR??? Priorities—

AHAHAHA Darn right, I know Ashe likes their “LEGOOOO”’s, fantastic that is becoming part of my speech un-ironically thanks to them HGLASJDF You know what yeah this feels like Ashe’s writing “Sounds like Tang’s on board!” yeah hGLK;SJDFSD

SANDY’S VOICE ALMOST SOUNDED RIGHT THERE

GODS WE’RE SO CLOSE [clenches fist]

That little transition noise had a good base—

Wow speediy AHAHAHAHAHA STAIRS

YESSSSSSSSS

Okay, Okay mk’s little NNOOOooooooooo…. was pretty funny hGL;KJSFD;LJSADF Bro just yeah, nods nods that’s how stairs feel fr :pensive_emoji:

The music kinda drowns out what Sandy says for a second RAAAAA

ALPINE SANDYGNL;DKFMSADF

nice

Why do you need a hook the stairs are right there—

Oh pls make Tang climb don’t carry him pls make him climb plsplsplsplsplsplspls PLEASE MAKE HIM AND HIS WEAK ANKLES CLIMB I’M BEGGING YOU—

Oh

Oh yeah okay good call actually I take it back teleportation is actually a good ideaHGKL;ASJDFSDF

AS FUNNY AS TANG CLIMBING WOULD BE

.

I feel like tang’s old man back would snap under mei—

DID HE JUST UYEET THATLGKMD;LFKSD

oh he can slip it back

CHEATINGLKSDMFASLD;MF

Cant’ use magic or tracking

….. AND THEN USES HIS CLOUD GLKMDFA;OMFIWEF

CHOKINGL;KSDFMASDF

ONLY TAKES MK

I’m telling ya man Sun Wukong’s one and only priority is that kid

…. is mk and wukong ditching the rest of the crew gonna be a theme this season— HGLKJASD;FKASD

TANG N O

TANG

NO

LEAVE THE PIG MAN ALOOOOOONE

DARN RIGHT YOU AIN’T CARRYING HIM TANG HE’S HALF YOUR SIZE— (not to say that I don’t believe Pigsy is stronk and buff ask heck but STILL)

The way Wukong keeps touching the circlet is a neat detail ngl I’m STILL salty about how it went on but its FIINNEEEEE

MK

W H A T

BROTHER HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU CHEATED AT STUFF, TAKE ME BACK TO THE SKELETON KEY WHEN HE BYPASSED LEVELS IN VIDEO GAMES AND STOLE THINGS AND WENT ON A WILD CRAZY RUN WITH MEI?? I mean you could say character development BUT PLS WDYMMMMMMMM

Okay “LOOPHOLES BABY” is absolutely delightful and I will be quoting that for the rest of my life for no reason i just think he’s delightful

they almost made him squishy good effort wild brain ;-;7 i salute you

Ashe, I love your sense of humour—

“THIS PROVES NOTHING—“

Oh so the eyebrows are a BIRD ;-; ok i was like owaa new design? cool character? no :pensive_emoji: its a bird :pensive_emoji: that’s okay i’m sure the bird is lovely too ;-; TBF the bird probably would ave appeared anyways

Why is the bird growling HLGKJA;WOEFJSDF

Ooo fire blasts!

Isn’t shielding the fire using magic—?

….bro

CRACKS KNUCKLES

COOL YEAH IMPLICATIONS SINCE THAT WASN’T MAGIC EVEN IF IT HAD THE MAGIC SOUND EFFECT ITS JUST SWK USING HIS BODY TO SHEILD MK AND NOTHING ELSE YEAH I’M NORMAL AND FINE DON’T TOUCH ME

oooooo touchy wall, get pulled in, MK YOU’RE HOOOMEE <3 probably, I don’t know I assume Nuwa would be like wassup brrooo <333 since she’s the one who made him maybe its unclear still but we’ll worry about that when we get to it

Tilting my head. eh, no particular feelings over mk mimicking wukong ngl shrugs

Oooo Nuwa’s place looking a little worse for wear

Bro she’s legit a snake—

Just casually smashing things

Ooo OI TILTED ANGLE COUNTER GOING UP

Sniffs.

She made monkeys! :D Oh yeah and humans ig—

Oh come on don’t show me flying bark PLEAAASE I’M BEGGING YOU ON MY KNEES EVEN IF ITS TRACED DON’T SHOW IT TO MEEEEEE

Bro having flashes once again and going iTS NOTHIINNN DW ABOUT IIIIT

Okay big ol prophecy painting with the face scratched out that’s silly

HELPGKLMASFSAD

CLASSIC FINAL BOSS AESTHETIC HGL;KSDFMASDF

…..

Way to change the topic wukong

OH i kinda almost like how mk looks in that frame the “answers ain’t in this room” one its so close ;-;

Ig they both know who its supposed to be :T

Ahem okay so this is gonna be a prophesy destiny season alrighty cool cool cool

Sniffs. I feel like the coming down in a beam of light to people reaching up to him is probably misleading given the whole harbinger of chaos thing so maybe Mk’s like, how’s you say this… bam bam boom whack wowza rip the world ig :pensive_emoji:

WHO KNOWS

ANYWAY

Oh mk says “fair point” when monkey king says the final boss thing that’s funny OUGH I WISH I COULD HEAR AND PROCESS THIS IS KILLING ME A BIT

aw lets focus up ;-; i like him

STOMPY STOMPY

Bro those are traps—

MONKEY KINGS FACE GLKASMFSD

yeah

Mk’s steamrolling huh

BBQ’d 2.0

Indiana Jones’ing it MONKEY KING TAKING THE BR

SHUT UP HE LOOKS LIKE BURNT MARSHMALLOW WUKONG EVERYBODY SHUT UP TAHT’S MY DESIGN THAT’S MY BOY

bet you didn’t expect me to fixate on bbq’d wukong huh—

He’s just

on his cloud

MANYMANY DADS

HE SAID IT

HELPGLKMASFASDF

I’m hoping its dads and i’m not mishearing deaths hG;LKJSADF

MONKEY KING WITH STUFF STICKING OUT OF HIMGLMFLKSDF

Lava or axe’s nice

NOOO MK’S MCGUFFIN;SLDKFMA;OEFWN;AWENF;OAWG;KMFLASDMFS MCGUFFINS I’M CRYINGLKSDFMASDFS I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE ASHE YOU’RE FUNNY OKAYGLKMSFSD

Aw that’s cute

“three times actually” smug look at the camera

“first time was just the city don’t get cocky”

I’m liking a lot of the dialogue in this ep a lot more than the first two ngl feels more monkie kid but HEY ITS ASHE SO THAT MAKES SENSEG;LKSMDFSD

I love Wukong telling Mk this ngl

“look i don’t know how many times you gotta learn this—“

A lot monkey king

a lot more times— HGL;KASJDF

Seems like Mk’s getting worn down by the whole destiny thing and its probably gonna end up being something he doesn’t like or something

Monkey king: USE YOUR ABLITY TO MAKE CHOICES

Mk: :(

oUGH

OUGH

NAILING IT

ON MY HANDS AND KNEES THANK YOU ASHE FOR WRITING THE CHARACTERS I LOVE, THAT WAS PLAYING DUMB TO LIGHTEN THE MOOD DONE WELL WAILS

MAAAN

Sniffs okay okay

oooo STARS

FANCY

“I can sense it”

“What fr???”

that’s funny and also ominous

a lot of “i can feel it”’s going around here hLKG;JASDF

Bro fr i thought it’d be another map—

They’re goofy

Ohhhh OHH I get it, the bird is the

stone

yeah

that makes sense

stone bird

so all the stones are those creatures at the start

and merged together they’re that giant chimera freaky creature plus whatever snake guy lego set dude merged together

.

maybe

so stones together in fact busts stuff up fr?

AYO? WHY’S THE BIRD DOING A LADY BONE DEMON THING

OH THEY HOVERING NOW

Hi Nuwa

I’m sorry i never got to see flying bark animate you ;-;

OKAAAY I gotta process all that

So it’s definitely gonna be like a keep the universe from getting destroyed thing, but also probably a fake out of he’s meant to destroy it or something because PSYCH YOU THOGUHT WE WERE GONNA BE STRAIGHTFORWARD—or something like that final answer (its not my final answer i’ll come up with something better later maybe)

The phoenix sounds like somebody trying to sound Chinese

….

jurys still out on whether they succeeded or not

coughs

Mk sacrifice his existence?

Okay i do like the um… difference in responses from mk and wukong “—to save the world?” and Mk’s like D: and wukong’s like >:[ more like. feels like he’s going AHA YEHA NOT GONNA LET THAT HAPPEN BRO— conviction nuh-uh kinda vibe maybe

SIGHS

mEI STILL SOUNDS OFF TO ME I DON’T WANT HER TOO BUT RAAAAAAAAA Save me guys take me back to when i wouldn’t notice this ;-; make me into one of those people who everyone sounds the same to or something (pls don’t i like being able to decipher voices) MAAAN good voice acting still tho, good yell, well done

Circlet used to keep monkey king down so he can’t save mk real?

Dang they really spoiling the end of the season here—well if it actually goes like this, mk never got engulfed in fire like the lady bone demon claimed he would so this might not even happen lol

“Your hearts have been measured”

Swk: OKAY FIGHT TIME BECAUSE AIN’T NO WAY I PASSED THAT—

Swk do you need to sit down and talk about it buddy? :( ?

And poof gone==oh those are pretty big

HA

Trial after all

True true mentor stuff still stands

hmhm no thoughts!

WHY IS HIS MONKEY FORM ALL EVIL SMILEY

PIGSY YOU DID NOT CARRY HIM

PIGSY

P I G S Y

Mk: [another crisis]

Okay no fr respectfully someone needs to throw tang down the stairs GET OFF MY MAAAAN

Swk felt very silly goofy in this episode

It does kinda feel like he’s helping Mk avoid what he doesn’t want to think about now, which, is interesting!

DID TANG JUST TELL DADSY TO MUSH

TANG W H Y

I GET ITS FOR THE RUNNING GAG BUT W H YYYYYYY

This is p interesting tho, this episode definitely felt more like monkie kid to me, it’s still just MAN is it missing the heart and soul flying bark brought and I’m still having a lot of trouble processing the audio to an almost ridiculous degree of the amount of times i have to go back and replay and not to enjoy a line but to actually hear it regardless of how much i have my sound turned up so there’s still some OOF stuff but all in all the gags on this one were good and my three weeks away have helped me put enough distance between the animation and me that i can actually kinda watch it now!! LEGOOOO

Next reaction ep hopefully coming sometime this week so until then KNOX OUT BABYYYYY

[tlaragihai]

Okay so. I have seen some tlovm criticism about season 3 and I think I have enough words to say my opinion.

I think one of the flaws of this show, not only in season 3 but in general, is that the writers invent some cool and important thing, but don`t consider the tone and/or implications. And the whole scenes are ruined because of that.

Examples (that i can think of right now):

1) Remember the flashback in season 1 when Anders teaches Cass and Percy about the residuum? At the end there Anders is disappointed and hissing something like "No one appreciates me" and "Pray you never find reality knocking at your door" - right in front of Percy and Cassandra. Right in front of the children of the lord of these lands. Like, why. Like, we get it, they had to establish Anders's bitterness and betrayal.

Okay, but. Why. Does. He. Threaten. Them. Right. In. The. Face. They can just go to their parents and tell them the whole story! As a result, Anders looks like a caricature stupid villain who is so evil that he can't hold his tongue, and we the viewers are left to wonder how Anders still maintained his position after making such threats. And it has a very simple fix! Let him say this - with the closed door, where no one can hear him! Wow, smart, cool, we have a villain and no one of the characters suspects.

2) Kaylie reveal. Yes. Because, to me, the scene is too romantic. Kaylie seems interested, laughs, playfully suggests the ropes, the whole tone sounds like there is going to be a sexual scene.

Except she knows they are related. She has zero romantic interest in him, because she is here to give justice to her failed father. If she's just pretending in order to deceive him - okay, but they should have made it more clear from the start. And if they were showing her through POV of charmed oblivious Scanlan - they also should have made it more clear. Now the scene looks like she wants something bad - and okay, maybe she will rob him after sex? Maybe she'll use him in some other way? Anyway, the sexual thing is goi.... oh no, she's his daughter.

No. No. Tlovm writers, please. Why you are showing it like this.

3) And the whole last dialogue between Percy and Ripley. Would it be cool to show how much Percy has changed? Yes. Would it be cool to have him deceitfully killed by this very cold and merciless woman? Yes.

Then why, why, WHY the dialogue goes as it does??????

Percy knows her. He knows she is cruel and unstoppable. Damn, they hit us, the audience, for two seasons with an idea that Ripley is evil, evil, cruel, has no ethics, and doesn't want to change her ways in the slightest.

Then the fuck why he's talking to her like he does in the show? Okay, he wants redemption, he himself was saved, after all. Understandable. So WHY you are showing that "redemption moment" not as a last-second hesitation, not as a second of doubt that cost him his whole life, but as a FUCKING THOUGHT-OUT SPEECH???

Percival de Rolo would never ever believed her in any way. Hell, they themselves showed this in ep 2 when he pretends to cooperate but builds a fucking bomb instead!! Guys!!! Wake up, you've already established that he knows the danger and doesn't trust her!!!!

And at the defining fucking moment we have "i think your mind is brilliant you can do great things just change" something instead of "I forgive you, but I cannot let you live"

I am fucking sorry??????

That is the thing. She is too dangerous. Death is the only thing that can stop her - and Percy knows it and we the audience also know that. He kills her not because of his vengeance - he kills her because this is the only way to put this to an end. You want Percy who has forgiven? Percy who finally let his vengeance go? You just had to pull this out from the campaign! Okay, but seriously. Show me Percy who hesitates for just a second. Show me this tiny moment of doubt, when "I forgive" outweights "I can't let you go"

(And THEN she would kill him).

Instead we got a whole speech. As if Percy believes he could save her. Haha. And his death looks like a STUPID, NAIVE move because of that!

And! And!!! This all is happening after Whitestone. After the change they themselves brought into this adaptation and fucking ACKNOWLEDGED IN THE SAME GLINTSHORE EPISODE. Ripley destroyed Whitestone. His home. Twice. The city that the whole audience was rooting for for three seasons. They showed us how it was rebuilt. They showed us how much Whitestone means to Percy and Cass, to VM and their allies. It was truly a home. Seeing it destroyed was a tragedy. Percy was begging Vex "to end [Ripley] for good" because of what she has done. In episode 7 he tries to kill Anna for that and says something like "I want nothing to have with you after Whitestone".

And then. He gives her a redemption speech. I can't. I want him to acknowlegde mercy and second chances and everything - but saying this to a woman that doesn't show any remorse or desire to change falls flat. I just want the writers to consider not only their cool ideas, but other things and context they've created.

[jellicle-jedi]

Um…so something happened…(not bad just weird)

About a week ago I watched season 1 of Good Omens. I liked it! It was a good story and had enjoyable characters. I started season 2 yesterday. Idk why I delayed watching it, I had been slightly aware of the series through random fanarts but didn’t think I’d be interested. I was wrong. I am now a fan.

Anyway getting to my point and the weird thing. I’ve only been a fan/watcher of Good Omens for like two weeks…and it’s already becoming a slight issue. Like last night when I had a dream about Crowley and Aziraphale going on a date. (AHHH!)

To summarize the dream took place roughly around the start of season 2 (I’ve only seen ep 1-2). Crowley meets Aziraphale in a restaurant (Az also brought Gabriel…sorry Jim as a third wheel). They pair then continue to talk about a vague plan while Aziraphale comments on the restaurant’s in authentic pizza. But to be fair the restaurant only served personal sized pizza tart things…idk. Googling this is what I found…

It was random but shows my mind is already obsessing over this silly demon x angel show. I am doomed. It was a harmless dream about a demon and an angel having lunch but still…

(PS. Gabriel/Jim was just chilling happy to try food for the first time. Aziraphale even bought him a waffle, not even joking it was part of the dream)

[potterandpromises]

the LA plot for omitb has the trio in hollywood bc a movie is being made about them and based on the onset pic with their actor counterparts (they were wearing what the trio was wearing in the pilot ep), part of the movie theyre making is set during s1 which theo is an integral part of so most likely there might be a character based on him in the movie too. do you think they'd have theo in s4 in any capacity? id honestly be upset if theyd drop theo the way they dropped oscar

*Spoilers*

I am at least 95% certain Theo will be in at least one episode of season 4. Mostly because they wouldn't have brought him back in season 2, fleshed him out, then brought him back and fleshed him out again in season 3 if they didn't want him around for the long haul. They especially would not have had Mabel move in with him. In other words, the writers seem more invested in his character then they ever were in Oscar's or Lucy's.

The ≈5% is in case there was a scheduling conflict/other issue with James Caverly (which I think is unlikely, just based off of interviews and what I know of his career.) My understanding is that they wrote Oscar out at least in part because of a scheduling conflict, though I'm not actually sure. Or I could maybe see Theo skipping a season if they star-packed the cast so tightly they decided they didn't have time for him. But season 3 had a similar set up with a bunch of new faces and they still made time to have him come in, help out the with case, sweep Mabel off to his apartment and then peace out, so I'm expecting season 4 will likely be similar in that regard.

Side note: I don't think we'll get a Theo and Will story line this season, because of the aforementioned star-packing. Which is too bad! I'm predicting James Caverly and Ryan Broussard will be in another One Killer Question together where they'll talk about being brothers and I will have to silently scream about how we're deprived of seeing them together in the show. One day!

Anyway, as to whether Theo will get a doppelganger, I'm agnostic. He is an important character in season 1, but I don't know that the in-universe OMITB movie will end up getting made, and thus get to the point of the story where Theo would need to be cast/shown (wow, this is getting too meta, I don't know how to write that sentence.) The script leak I saw indicates that the counter-trio will be following our trio to New York, for research, I'd assume. In real life, many adaptations start pre-production and don't end up getting made, so we won't definitely be seeing that adaptation. It's also possible the plot will diverge significantly from the podcast, like the Brozzos reboot, and he won't even be a character. Though the clothing and method acting would suggest that's probably not the case, at least not at first. Again, I'm agnostic as to where that whole thing will end up.

I'm expecting lots of meta comments on Hollywood and writing. Like aging-up Mabel's character so there isn't such an age gap between her and the guys (because audiences "won't believe" their friendship otherwise? for romantic possibilities?) but still not casting an old women, because misogyny. If they do have a Theo in the movie, I wonder if they'll address disability erasure when it's seen as too difficult or not narratively interesting, or the issue of casting abled actors as disabled characters.

Also, and this is a side note to the side note: Selena was seen filming as Mabel in the courtyard while the wedding set was up, wearing a baby blue sweater and mini skirt similar to the one she worn in 2x07. Mabel only wears blue in (or directly before/after) episodes where she's with Theo. Climatically it's about matching his color scheme/apartment, emotionally it's about getting closer to him. Now, this could be a stretch. I've tried to think of ways it could be stretch, like it could be to match someone else's color scheme, I guess. But the pattern is real. So that might put your mind at ease a bit, too.

The too-long-didn't-read of it is that while I think we had real reasons to worry last season, the writers keep committing to keeping him around and Theo has multiple storylines set up for the future. So I wouldn't worry. As for an OMITB movie counterpart, I have no idea, but wouldn't hold my breath.

[pocima]

My seasonal music highlights: summer 2024 🏎️

Welcome back to another installment of my songs of the season list, yes this is WAY long overdue but I was busy pretty much all throughout August and September, but it’s never too late to talk about good music. You can check out this spring’s installment here 🕳️ one fave song per artist, no particular order, the mini review section is for songs I couldn’t find to say as much about but still adore, you know the drill. * = full album/EP to be discussed in the yearly favorite project recap.

💿 Thirsty - Tinashe (Quantum Baby*)

Tinashe is never not an interesting figure in experimental alternative R&B, and she never fails to come through with something fresh right on time. I have a lot of praise for her new album Quantum Baby, which most famously includes her hit single Nasty this spring, followed up by the 2-step influenced Getting No Sleep. I adored the added experimentation of the entire project, and Thirsty was the first new track to really catch me. The essential formula is the trap genre that she’s dabbled in previously in her discography unlike, say, the Jersey drill Cross That Line or the Oklou-coded Red Flags, but the execution makes Thirsty a personal all-time stand-out nevertheless. The crunchy fast-paced claps and hi-hats among the serene synths, and as always Tinashe’s divine voice and harmonies, form this satisfying, scrumptious contrast that I can listen to at any point in time. I adore this specific type of songs that mix the gritty with the sublime. Here, Tinashe alternates between showcasing her pleasing head voice and mid-high range, I especially love the melodies in the pre-chorus and the harmonies towards the mid-end of the song. And as I mentioned, her punctuality comes through when it comes to giving me the music I need, when I need it. It’s one wonderful “end of the summer” song that firmly stayed on rotation in September as well, I’ve mentioned this trait of Thirsty on my page previously, but the song feels like a warm rain with all its textures and bliss. Fresh, timeless and flawless simultaneously.

💿 VIP - Isabella Lovestory

Previously seen in the Amor Hardcore era, Isabella knows how to do a good, intricate, attention-grabbing rollout: From the single choices to the accompanying concepts and visuals, she really lets you know that she’s back and about to show what being a real multi-media artist looks like. After the Helter Skelter inspired, kind of dramatic and theatrical, even, neo-reggaeton IL2 lead single Botoxxx, came the West coast hip-hop influenced BANGER that is VIP. I’ve been on the VIP wagon since May 11, when she teased it on a live-stream, and coincidentally it was the only unreleased song I could properly screen record, and I was hooked right there and then. That didn’t stop me from breaking the YouTube Music loop button on June 7, the actual release date of the song. Firstly, one thing Chicken (VIP’s producer, Isabella’s long-time collaborator) is gonna do is turn a track into a complete earworm with synths alone. Once you hear that trap synth pattern, good luck getting that out of your head for a good couple of months at least, not like that’s something you’re gonna want to do anyway. Secondly, Isabella’s earthiness and showcase of confidence is in a different dimension specifically on this track of hers. The bars and delivery are extra sticky, and I quite gravitate towards her singing/rapping in a deeper voice. Overall, VIP was pretty much THE summer anthem for me as well as instantly topping my personal Isabella Lovestory song ranking, however I am looking forward to her outdoing herself once more on her next project. (Embedding the SoundCloud link because the song sounds differently mixed in the MV, however as mentioned I highly recommend giving Isabella’s MVs a watch.)

💿 Underground - f5ve (+ an incredibly niche girl group redemption arc)

My mutual @nayeonline (whose music reviews I highly recommend checking out btw if you haven’t) made this compass diagram of girl groups and their concepts, and while the compass pertained to girl groups, they asked me about J-pop girl groups that pulled off something cute-futuristic. In a way, if we stretch and reach, this was a manifestation of f5ve’s 2024 comeback(s) and rise to recognition. After the debated (and overhated imo because have we heard the Umru remix?) “pots and pans” trap debut Fire Truck under the name SG5 and a Sailor Moon concept, they rebranded as their current name alongside an “intergalactic agents” direction, and came back with Lettuce. The first comeback was cute but was on the line of losing me due to the… puzzling visuals (literal lettuce involved out of nowhere) and the song not being as interesting as it could be. After garnering more fans through relatable, “chronically online” social media humor, f5ve made their real grand entrance with the rollout of Underground. This is where the girl group concept talk comes in: the girls and their creative team finally got the precise formula to serve the perfect mix of glitzy, sweet, forward-looking and nostalgic — right in the middle of the compass.

Underground, produced by the group’s executive producer BloodPop and Count Baldor, puts down sonic roots in happy hardcore and Eurobeat, two genres I’m drawn to. The track subtly nods to fast-paced 2000s J-pop and Japanese rhythm games while bringing in sounds that the current microtrends haven’t caught up on into the pop game. It tells a story of a getaway from corporate life and workaholicism, into an underground alien club. (I described Cyberia by Meth Math in a similar way and both are happy hardcore… crumbs?) Recent “office siren” aesthetics, Japanese raves, parapara and dekotora are some of the sugar and spice for the flashy, well-defined music video and visuals. What I love about this overall release and f5ve’s current direction is the precision of everything. The vision truly has settled for the music, the sound design, the concepts, the promotion and everything that makes up the group’s artistic and commercial identity. The audio-visual world f5ve are trying to convey is crystal clear, which is a trait I absolutely yearn for and something that desperately needs to be achieved more in pop music. Underground is pointy and straight-forward, it’s a throbbing pop tune that presents itself as very much one, however not only is it done with such excellence that it becomes an advantage rather than “just another girl group pop song”, but also with where f5ve and the team behind them are heading right now, there will be room for versatility while their said identity and uniqueness remains fully in tact. These girls are on a roll and I can gladly say I’ve BEEN standing with them.

💿 Hot Mess - aespa

Get up, it’s K-pop cybergirls aespa serving EDM realness o’clock. After their debut album Armageddon, which contained some of aespa’s absolute peaks but unfortunately was underwhelming as a whole album, the girl group make their Japanese debut with a triple single (or double if we’re excluding Zoom Zoom which was previously released as the Beyblade ending theme). With Hot Mess, aespa drift from the density of Supernova and Armageddon, and return with a more poppy song and a more frisky theme while staying true to their origins. The track possesses the sharp trap foundation of Savage while introducing a sax (don’t let that throw you off like because it’s done in a way that fits really well), and it all forms something possibly 2000s/10s Vocaloid J-pop coded, especially with how textured but bright the production is. (I don’t think I need to mention the vocals because, come on, it’s aespa we’re talking and they’ve sung times more difficult stuff.)

As for the visuals, aespacore is versatile after all: it doesn’t only have to mean the metallics and the digital world, it can also be flipped into more luminant æ-emblems, pastel-colored 2000s editorial aesthetics and posing on a scanner à la the cover art for Electro World by Perfume. The music video plays around with many of the core elements and past scenes that aespa have had to offer, and it’s why I think it deserves a lot more appreciation. The Rocket Puncher, Xenoglossy, Armamenter and ED Hacker equipment take a more techy and down-to-earth form, while their users undergo magical girl transformations straight from beloved fantasy anime. This is a great choice for a Japanese debut especially, as well as the nostalgic sticker filters going on in the scenes for the second verse. Besides, Ningning now has a whole pink gas station to set on fire instead of Giselle’s house, and the girls are giants during the daytime with their heroine main character outfits, and the iconic flying Winter scene in Supernova gets a callback. All these self-callbacks are the most wholesome thing ever to me, it’s a such good nod to aespa themselves and their memorable past moments, while standing firm as a full-fledged music video on its own. It brings me an insane amount of joy, to me it’s literally dopamine in the form of a YouTube link.

Something I want to mention is how surreal it feels that aespa’s garbage fire record label is finally catching up with the value of consistency, giving us seasonal music instead of using the group as either unreciprocated piggy banks or shields during idiotic infighting. However, I am never a company devotee so I must also mention that aespa should’ve slowed down with the tours, and it’s unfortunate how said consistency came at the expense of the members’ health, due to the other side of the mismanagement coin. aespa we love you, SM you won’t get anywhere near the pearly gates.

💿 Blink Twice - Cecile Believe (Tender The Spark*)

One of my favorite things about keeping a closer eye on musical connections between artists, such as checking on artists’ producers, labels and collaboration circles, is frequently discovering new gems, and sometimes quickly getting into the artists I’ve been meaning to tap into. In this case, I’ve been severely missing out on Cecile Believe, who’s known for collaborating with SOPHIE (most of the vocals on Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides are by Cecile), Shygirl, Kero Kero Bonito, A. G. Cook, Namasenda and more. Back in late June, around Blink Twice’s release, Sega Bodega welcomed Cecile into his new record label ambient tweets and posted about Blink Twice, and while I was kind of late to the party, having only listened to the song in July, I was blown away by the vocals, the production, the sound design, the atmosphere and everything this track had to bring to the table. At first glance, the message is simple and effective: blink twice if you wanna escape from a loveless, hollow life, into the oblivion of company and euphoria. The song itself is almost like a hazy labyrinth, with the howling and pluck synths as well as the echoed and looped vocals. One thing about me, though, I adore motifs and details, and in this case, eyes and vision are the centerpiece, both physical and metaphorical. Blink, say it with your eyes, I’ll show you how I believe in you. Such a spot-on choice to accompany the misty, dusk-like worldview of the track: Cecile, indeed, shows us a gateway to her musical and inner world, and leads us into believing, by both expanding our vision, leaving us wanting more, and blurring it, leading us to getting lost in the world of Blink Twice.

💿 Junebug - Raveena feat. JPEGMAFIA (Where The Butterflies Go In The Rain*)

“Free therapy” is a colloquial phrase thrown around for music possibly more often than it should be, but in Raveena’s case, there should be academic studies on the healing powers of her mp3 files. In full seriousness. Her work, her songs, her projects go beyond warm hugs; Raveena gently caresses her listeners with her sugary voice, sincere lyricism, lulling melodies and contagious sweetness. What she does just heals my spirit, and shout-out to @timetravellingkitty for motivating me to experience that more and building up hype (at least on my dashboard) for a new chapter in her book. Junebug, the third single for the new era, currently remains my favorite off of the gorgeous new album. Maybe it’s just me being a sucker for a BEAT, but the drums and jazz organ immediately had my ears perked up. A key change, heartfelt vocals, beautiful storytelling are some strong suits of Raveena songs that reappear here as well. JPEGMAFIA’s verse not only fit the tone (which is, in all honesty, the bare minimum for features despite the mark being missed one too many times), but is also an addition to the story Raveena presents to us both with the lyrics and delivery. And let me mention the lyrics and the main theme again: it’s a romantic-melancholic tale of lovers that can only really last while the daytime is longer, as in the junebugs that will have to close themselves off when the sunset starts coming early. Wow, there really are musicians that will paint you a whole world using notes and lyrics and create it all on what’s most likely a casual Tuesday.

💿 Bubble Bath - AJ Tracey

This year, there were numerous high quality viral tracks with artists getting the recognition that they deserve, some of which include some all-time faves, but my personal nomination for “2024’s summer hit that got away” is undoubtedly Bubble Bath. AJ Tracey is a figure that the UK rap scene should be more thrilled to have, I’ve been a casual listener of his since hearing Wifey Riddim 4 on Shygirl’s Cover Mix for Mixmag (once again thank you Shygirl, because me getting into AJ AND Brutalismus 3000 through one DJ mix?). While I admittedly haven’t checked out his whole catalogue, from the recent stuff I’ve heard, he pulls off smooth laid-back flows (a quality you’ll appreciate if you’re anticipating more from Yuki Chiba) without leaving out the effort in his bars, sound and visuals (with all due disrespect, Central Cee and a good amount of other male rappers can catch it). This single by AJ, currently his most recent one in an ongoing immaculate single run, incorporates a music box synth into a catchy Afroswing base, and the verses and chorus are simply irresistible, replaying in my head to this day. With the intensity of a lot of the music I keep in my usual rotation (no shade whatsoever, I still LOVE my overloading music), the high-quality simplicity and casualness of this track adds to the variety of my tastes. “Bubble bath on the nail, she a Goyard girlie, she could short hair, bob it, or curly” specifically deserved a publicly acknowledged “one of the most fun lyrics of 2024” title.

Mini-reviews

🏁 survival dAnce - 4s4ki: Call it @pocima payola, call it bias, but you can never deny that 4s4ki never misses with her music and deserves her seasonal spot in these lists. Wonderful flip of a 90s J-pop classic by TRF with banging production. The music video is one of her best to date. Encapsulates the energy of the fandom really well, and by that I mean me and my oomfs that I converted into 4s4ki fanship really move like a cult. (She also teased this song in July that I STILL expeditiously need her to release. That honestly deserves a review of its own. In the meantime, stream her new EP Collective Obsession, which I will be reviewing as well 🫶🏻)

🏁 SCARYHOT - Taichu: Owing my Taichu discovery to @a-moth-to-the-light and @lilamala, she’s such a hit-making baddie and I quite dig her aesthetics. Her music has been on replay for my neoperreo-pilled soul, and the thumping house beat and confidence of this track was no exception. Oh, and another sick MV from the season (flash/strobe warning, view with discretion)

🏁 POPPER! - Akriila & Taichu: More neoperreo, more Taichu AND a new fave artist to keep an eye on. Honestly I loved Akriila’s entire epistolares album (another possible future review alert) and still struggle picking a favorite track off of it, but there’s something special about this type of noisy neo-reggaeton.

🏁 RED OUT - Kenshi Yonezu: One of the fathers of J-pop dropping a new album AND the lead single being the gritty electronic perfection I was craving more from him? I’ll take your entire stock, thank you. fogbound got its most worthy opponent yet.

🏁 Check - FLO: R&B princesses coming through as always and adding a Miami bass bop to their flawless discography. And remember how I was pleading for a debut album from them on my last entry? They heard me. So hyped for Access All Areas, out November 15 🙏🏻

🏁 Tartady - Ayau & A.boo: I have a soon-to-be-long post praising ALPHA sitting in my drafts, and if you’ve stuck around on my page this summer, you know I’m a huge enthusiast of their discography and the voices of their vocal line. A.boo on an R&B song was one of my wishes from the group, and I got that with his collab with the Kazakh alt pop delight Ayau. The music video being teased and not released is evil, though.

🏁 Senen Basqa - Madi Rymbaev & i: More exciting ALPHA features, this time with Aqzhol and his sweet higher range. As you can tell I’ve been needing more house in my life during the summer, which ALPHA’s group releases really showed out with, and now we get this piece leaning into garage too. It’s a yes from me.

🏁 GAME - echo: Hypertonic by TAN’s sister, and that’s already a huge compliment considering both are 2000s Japanese electropop inspired magnificence. I still can’t believe I discovered echo and this song on Instagram because the music promoted on there leans closer into being torturous, but this is a deeper cut with actual immense hit potential.

🏁 Bikini - Nick Léon & Erika de Casier: Firstly, can anything involving Nick Léon and/or Erika de Casier go wrong? The two are back at making magic after winter favorite Erika-Shygirl joint track Ex-Girlfriend (you can read the review on that in the winter installment of my music highlights), and now we get this Brazilian funk-dembow-trance sunset soundtrack.

🏁 Goodbye - Sumin & Slom: We’re SO back with the release of Miniseries 2, the entire project is a valley to lay in all day but this song especially does so much with its beautifully arranged minimalism.

🏁 Fugitivo Vol. 25 - Lua de Santana prod. Rico Rosa: Last but absolutely not least, Lua de Santana is a star. Rap, MCing, vocals AND it girl factor, she has and delivers all of these. It’s about time that such a talent will shake up the Brazilian funk scene.

I’m gonna be honest, I’m most likely missing a couple releases I was enjoying lots, but thank you so much for reading about my very late take on a 2024 summer playlist ❤️‍🔥 your own recommendations and feedback are encouraged

[ronweasleys-world]

chaotic, rambling mess of my Bridgerton thoughts:

My thoughts on Bridgerton season 3 part 2:

As someone who has not read any of the books, my thoughts are not influenced by them, so i can safely say that I did enjoy this season.

Firstly, I just wanna get my appreciation for Penelope out there, she's absolutely beautiful, and her tits are gorg. I have some criticisms, for instance, I hated how they slept separately the night they got married, like it is their wedding night and Colin is sleeping on the settee?? Did not like that, though I quite enjoy the reactions to her being Whistledown, in my opinion how they spoke about the damage Penelope actually did, and how it affected everyone around her. 

Whistledown is power, and it is amazing that Penelope was able to make something of herself. 

Eloise really redeemed herself, even though they could never make me hate her. Like I love Eloise, and i think she had the right to be angry, but her crying at the wedding was BEAUTIFUL. 

I did wish we got more Kate and Anthony, though Anthony was hilarious this season.

The lack of any substancial Benedict plot is quite aggravating, but i still love him. AND the threesome!! BISEXUAL BENEDICT, called it since season one!!! First Buck and now Benedict, i am happy. As soon as that Tilley? Said him and Paul for that get together, I KNEW IT!!

Speaking of queer bridgertons, Fran!! I gapsed when ‘Michael’ introduced herself, i only know very little of the books, but i am so happy. 

Speaking of Fran, the people against it, from what i have seen is pure homophobia. I get that people want book accurate, but from the beginning it has not been. And what I have seen of the books, i do not see whats so great about them?? Maybe it is because i cannot read straight books, the books booktok have been raving about or the little snippets i see are horrifying, why would people want to read about that??? Or find that attractive, maybe its cos i am not actually attracted to men, but ??? it is horrifying. Like Micheal is a coloniser, and tries to baby trap her??? Bloody Greggory kidnaps a women?? Benedict is apparently awful???

Anyway, i see people talking about her infertility issues, like she can not have them with John? Like this is not her actual season yet, and we can still have Fran struggling and loving her husband? And we have got to remember, that the rate in which Netflix is cancelling shows, that means more has to go on within the seasons to kinda move them along, we get 8 eps per season, seasons that take like 2 years to film. They have got to focus on other characters and plots, or otherwise we will not see them. 

The reaction she got from kissing John does not have to mean she does not love him, they love each other quietly, it was not this dramatic, bold and intense romance that we have seen, and they reference this. The reaction of the kiss, may be from Fran actually expecting more? We’ve seen from the others and with the way Violet speaks about love, that maybe Fran had these expectations, and maybe (as they love each other differently, or fell for each other differently) it just did not feel like this grand thing as other described it, that does not mean they do not love each other. Or, as we have seen, Fran does not like to be center of attention.

I love Cressida icl, i really felt for her and I loved her this season. Though part of me is struggling to understand why she is struggling to find a husband, that women is beautiful ( i know her personality could use some work, but we got it from her mother herself, she was raised to look out for herself).

This is not a organised post, literally writing what just popped into my head when it did!

[loustat-0]

While I admit I am biased because I love Loustat and Daniel/Armand first and foremost, I am trying not to be negative towards Loumand (which I don't like very much in the books) and appreciate its role in the story, but the Loumand shippers (the ones that have popped up since S1 anyway) are making it difficult and I find them exhausting. I feel like so much of the extreme Lestat hate and takes like Daniel is too old to be a love interest or become a vampire seem to be coming from that corner along with other things. I also can't believe they actually like book Armand considering the way they feel about Lestat. I can't believe they would like any of the characters to be honest.

Hi anon . First of all I need to say I'm not a TVC expert I watched the show first & then read some of the books selectively 😅so I hope what I answer makes sense . 💜

Okay so all of the book readers already know that all of the vampires are horrible in their own ways & that's because most of them have a horrible past both as a human & vampire . That of course doesn't justify what they later but that clarifies why they're acting the way they do .

And I think from Ep 5 it is right to hate Lestat but I don't understand the hate towards old Daniel he literally didn't do anything to Louis or Rashid / Armand except to get something true out of their stories like a real journalist . And I need to mention here that I myself am a Armandaniel & loustat shipper first & in heart just like you . 🥰 The hate on Old Daniel is not justifiable for the show viewers bc I myself can't find a reason to hate him YET😐

And as for people should hate Armand or Loumand as much as they hated Lestat & loustat , I think that can't be decided by the show viewers only 🤷🏻‍♀️ cause they haven't seen any bad side of Armand towards Louis , they haven't seen their relationship in Paris or after Paris . And they hope Louis & Claudia are finally free of their abuser. So I give them the right to want that because they have no idea & it's a journey for them & new discoveries for them . And not just about Loumand about loustat too because Louis canonly considered loving Lestat more in the second half of the book so if the show runners know what they're doing & consider to take a darker path as JACOB said in an interview then we will definitely see Loumand to the extent & also loustat to the extent. 😊

And for those people who know about Loumand & Armand of the books & still love & adore them together I think that is also fine BUT AS LONG AS THEY DON'T HATE LOUSTAT FOR THE SAME REASONS 🙄 . If they hate Lestat for the manipulation & lies & withholding information then they must hate Armand or Loumand for the same reasons . 😉 Or even Claudia Otherwise their reasons for hating Lestat & loustat isn't justifiable to me . 🤷🏻‍♀️

And I want to add I don't hate Armand I didn't like Loumand though . I love Armand & Daniel their relationship makes more sense to me than Loumand . Although I have to add Loumand as great friends in later books makes so much more sense. I think Louis & Armand can calmly talk together & talk sh*t behind Lestat's back all they want .😂 I think they need each other simply because the way we all need someone in our life when we're tired of our relationship & our family & sometimes ourselves . Armand is probably Louis's escape from anything intense & Louis is probably Armand's scale of what he does as much as Lestat hates that Armand accepts that from Louis I guess . 🙂

Over all I think we should respect each other's favorite ships without judgement towards the person who ships other ships . And I think Loumand was & is the necessity of the story individually or as I myself think Loumand is a means to loustat . So if you're worried about how S2 might not be your favorite season because of Loumand then I can offer you to just enjoy the ride because you'll find something else interesting to like about season 2 . But as a respect for the actors & to the hard work they did I will definitely support S2 because they all worked really hard & I think that wouldn't be really nice to them to stop watching S2 because I don't like Loumand in the book . Who knows I might come to like it on the show . 🤩

Let the tale seduce you . 😉❤️

[superwholockian93]

So I started season 2 of 911 Fox and have watched 7 ep so far:

Eddie is in this season! and holy shit it wasn't a fan edit where he puts on the shirt to that what a man song? in a slo-mo with Buck turning around to look at him

Why did Buck dislike him? I still don't get it. Anyway it barely lasted. That anger seemed so forced lol

I love Chim's storyline this season? Esp when he tells Hen why he wants to win the calendar thing and later with the ex-fiance thing

I love Athena and Bobby. Whenever they are on screen together, I'm like Parents :D

I miss Abby :(

The cheese is less so far and I love the eps?

I love that Athena is raising her kids with her best friend and they both have other people to enjoy their lives with

Is it a bit not funny that Buck and Eddie have (had?) love interests women with an ailing mother

I love Hen and Chim's friendship (dunno if I mentioned it in the last post)

Let's talk about Buddie (what is this name xD) that I had only ever seen in passing multiple times on the dashboard in the form of GIFs over the years (so pretty much everything about the show is unknown to me)

Buck, who loves kids, meets a single dad whom he dislikes at the beginning which is too shortlived and they get along

It's funny that in their initial 'bonding' moments, Eddie says something like 'I think you could have my back' and Buck is like 'you- you mine' or whatever and not too many ep later, Eddie tells his wife 'you didn't have my back' and she responds similarly like???

(Also that gym scene where Buck is trying to compete with Eddie was so embarrassing! The second hand embarrassment was hiiigh)

I have a poor memory so I am just blanking but like so much of it already is like Eddie needs someone who will help him take care of his son, Eddie has no one- and right after there is Buck silently? unasked helping out Eddie and that Buck is obviously that person like wth?

That scene where Christopher slides down the pole and Eddie and Buck are next to him and Buck's like very-dad potential is all I am saying

I was expecting for the show to take a while to get there for me to board the train when I actually started the show and instead wow

I still cannot get over how much of it is already like single dad is having a hard time raising son and then there is the new co-worker who is like 'I love kids :D' and I have watched a lot of shows and movies in many languages where it generally signals that is the real love interest

Season 1

[futuregws]

Update on my opinion on the bear, since I started a conversation about ships and the show itself I will make two separate posts for this, this one is about ships (I'm currently on ep 6 season 2 btw).

So basically my opinion is the same but stronger I guess, I don't get it, Syd and Marcus so far I HIGHLY doubt anything will happen he definitely has a crush on her but I'm not sure she likes him, but still I personally feel like they would work a lot better, still I don't personally ship them I just prefer them, about Syd and Carmy all I'm seeing is a friendship/partnership that people are trying too fucking hard to make it something else, I've seen their shippers throw literal tantrums when people rightfully bring up the fact that men and women being close does not equal a relationship or romantic feelings, they seem to like to use that against others a lot by also adding small little scenes to "prove their point" and what's even more ridiculous is how mad they get when people say that they only ship them as platonic soulmates, like am I obligated to ship Syd and Carmy romantically to be a fan of the show, bc if so let me know bc I will piss out I don't wanna deal with that behavior. Like there's this war between the people that think it's platonic and the people that think it's romantic and once again like in so many other fandoms they seem to have this superiority complex (some of them). But at the end of the day if you wanna ship them, go for it, but other people don't have to, and when you bring up scenes like his panic attack or the fridge scene and say shit like this:

Like no it won't become invalid.

It's as if your opinion/take on a scene is the only correct one therefore others need to see it the same way, it's absolutely insane, specially if you then go and see what the actors say about their characters and their "relationship" and it completely contradicts what the shippers are going for, like the whole, oh him calming down thinking about her during a panic attack is peak romance, thing gets completely crushed by all of this

Like dude this is what jeremy said:

And this is what Ayo said:

Soooo, maybe don't act like your opinion is above others when the actors would literally agree with the people calling them platonic, you know the ones that y'all like to call delusional and say that their opinion is invalid. Y'all like to make fun of this (which is very strange like what year did y'all get stuck on) but yeah men and women can be friends/best friends/coworkers hell whatever tf without romantic feelings, like do y'all fall in love with every single person you meet/all of your friends, are y'all okay?? No one is in denial no one's opinion is invalid here YOU ship them, doesn't mean it's romantic or that anyone else needs to see them as such or that they have to be.

Anyway I will give my opinion on the actual show in a minute (even though no I'm not finished yet lol)

[starseneyes]

Chenford REWIND - Lucy Chen / Tim Bradford - The Rookie - Season 2 Ep 2

"The Night General" AKA Somebody to Lean On

This one came in as a request, and it's one that I'm really excited to do. It's fun to take a look at post-Quarantine House Tim/Lucy in more detail, especially considering Tim and Lucy's movement in Episode 1 of the season via her standing up to him and his respect of her.

SPOILER ALERT: This episode and everything that came before it are fair game. If you wish to remain un-spoiled, please don't read anymore. I do try to write these as though I'm watching them for the first time without knowledge of the future.

Everyone squared away? Then we're ready to dive in.

"Chief Williams added another book to your Sergeant's Exam Reading List." "Split Second Leadership: Leading Men in the Line of Duty." "Men?" "It's from the 60's. How is this relevant to the 21st century policing?" "Ours is not to reason why, Officer Bradford. Read the book." "Yes sir."

At this point, only Tim knows why this is bad news for him. From the outside, it might look like he is being obstinate or lazy. But Tim is struggling.

My little brother has a learning disability. He's a genius with a learning disability. No, I'm not exaggerating.

My brother can't write or spell. He'll tell you an elaborate story with five-syllable words with perfect grammar, but the minute he tries to write it, it looks like a Kindergartner wrote it.

He had a teacher in college who insisted he was faking it and throwing his papers because he didn't have a written diagnosis from a doctor. He dropped out of school. He never finished.

My point? Learning disabilities can happen to anyone and it's easy to be quick-to-judge. No wonder people don't want to share. No wonder there's so much shame and stigma.

No wonder Tim didn't say anything. No wonder he honestly doesn't know... because, in his family, it would be seen as "less than", "not good enough", a "screw-up".

"If I have to suffer, so do you. So, you're going to read this out loud to me between calls. Only way I'm gonna get it memorized in time." "Or, I could drive and you could read it by yourself."

Admit it, Lucy. You're just looking for an excuse to drive! In all seriousness, it makes sense. But, again, it's easy to assume that Tim's pride in being the one to drive is getting in the way of him "taking this seriously".

"It's hard enough to listen to it without your editorializing."

Okay, I am totally with Tim on this one. Sometimes when we're reading to the kids, Matt will do this, and suddenly 10 minutes of calm reading has turned into 30 minutes of kids bouncing off the walls because they couldn't focus to finish the story straight through.

"You're gonna have to re-read all of this anyway to really memorize it." "No. I memorize best when I hear it." "Really?"

I love this shot. Lucy leaning over the book, tight on her face as she processes the information of how he processes.

My Middle is Autistic/ADHD with an auditory processing disorder and suspected reading processing disorder. Eldest is ADD or ADHD (final diagnosis later this month) and Littlest has her full testing for Autism/ADHD at the beginning of next month. I know a lot about people processing differently.

But as Lucy's wheels are turning, she realizes what might be going on with Tim. But how do you broach a subject like that with TO Era Tim?

Lucy's had fun poking at Tim with the parts of the book she likes (especially the value of every officer), but the whole reason she poked was because of Tim's apparent sense of superiority. Yes, she knows it's a veil, but it's still hard to poke through, at this point.

This is different.

"Why?" "Nothing."

Nothing is never nothing. I think I write this once every other Meta. On this show, nothing is never nothing.

"Boot!" "You might have a learning difference." "What?" "Technically, it's classified as a disability, but it really just means that you're wired to process information differently. In your case, through, through hearing, rather than reading." "I don't have a learning disability."

I remember the conversations with my husband for years.

I told him I suspected he was ADD (my mother, brother, step-father, and step-brother are all ADD/ADHD... the only reason we know I'm not is because my little brother wouldn't take his test without me and Mom taking it, too).

Matthew would shrug it off because he didn't have a "Disorder". But when he was 38, his mother let it slip to me that he was diagnosed at 8... and they never told him. They hid it. They didn't want the stigma.

So, he spent his entire life struggling and not understanding why. He got re-diagnosed at 38, and his first morning on medication, he let me sleep in. I woke to him lying next to me, tears in his eyes.

"The clouds are gone," he breathed into the space between us. And then I was crying, too.

He'd had these clouds his entire life and thought it was just how he was. He didn't know there was help. He didn't know his life could be better. All because his parents hid his diagnosis.

We put so much damn stigma on this stuff that humans are suffering unnecessarily for the sake of societal niceties. And for Tim, there's definitely stigma and shame associated with having a learning disability. It's how he was raised.

"A lot of people have them. I bet Isabel helped you in the Academy, read through the materials and stuff." "We're not talking about this."

Talk about wheels turning... we can see Tim's as he thinks about all the times he and Isabel sat up, her reading to him.

He thought it was the sweetest thing, and it became their thing. I bet she read him other things, too, like fiction books, or autobiographies on his favorite sports figures.

But thinking about Isabel (still a very fresh hurt) and the stigma of having a learning disability is too much for Tim.

Because growing up, any "difference" was called out as a failing. Yes, I know those of you in early S2 don't yet know all of Tim's backstory, so I am reaching forward a little on this one.

But, it's important to understand why Tim reacts so strongly and so swiftly.

Tim ends conversations before he can lose his cool. Losing control could lead him to become the person he hates most in the world, so he does everything to avoid it. But, he's been on edge all year.

Hell, for more than a year. Because ever since Isabel disappeared, he lost that one little piece of his life that made sense.

Then, this ball of sunshine came into his life, blinding him with goodness and light. He tried at first to temper it, but I fully believe that the longer he's in her glow, the more his eyes adjust, and the more he shifts to helping refine her rather than dim that glow.

"Watch your tone, Boot." "Oh, you don't get to call her 'Boot', Rex. You're retired. She's the police, now."

Boom, Baby!! Tim Bradford putting an asshole in his place will always be good television.

"Let's see your bail bonds license and the warrant on your jumper." "You let her talk to you like that?"

Bitch, you don't want to see how I'm gonna talk to you if you don't back off. Tim's not biting on the "camaraderie" angle, here.

As tough as Tim can be, as much of an absolute ass as he can be... he's a stickler for the rules.

"Look, the hole you're in has nothing to do with Lopez. But she's gonna pay the price when the commander's son goes belly-up halfway through training." "I told him it's not her fault." "Yeah, so tell him, again. Lopez bent over backwards for you. She protected your ass when any other TO would've sent you packing. You owe her your career." "I know."

Don't. Mess. With. People. Tim. Loves. Tim and Angela's friendship is one of my favorite relationships on the show. Tim just stood up for Lucy and here he is standing up for Angela.

Now, I'm not saying Tim loves Lucy, yet. We're a long way off from that, if these two get their act together. But, I think it's important to see his consistency.

Tim's Tests might make him seem unpredictable, but there's a reason and a rhythm for everything that he does. And when it comes to his friends—to the people he loves—he's always going to stick out his neck. Even if it means risking himself.

"Do you want me to read to you?" "No." "Come on."

Now that she knows he has a learning disability, she wants to help. Now that he thinks she thinks he has a learning disability, he wants to run.

Lucy is a gentle, kind, loving human. She wants to help. It's her default state. But accepting help goes against everything that was ever beaten into Tim.

It was fine when he was ordering her to read to him. But now that there's a stigma involved, he doesn't want it.

"You have to learn it." "I can do that on my own."

See? And Tim's not trying to be an asshole. He's trying to 'be a man', 'cowboy up', and 'do it on your own'. You know... all the bullshit men are too-often taught from boyhood.

He's shying away from Lucy's help because he's ashamed.

Alright, Future Rachel needs to tell you that Tim Bradford hasn't had an easy life. His childhood was less than ideal. His marriage seemed good until it wasn't.

Seeing the worst in himself is easy, but having others see him as weak in any way? He can't have that. He puts up all this bravado and these thick walls around his heart to protect himself.

Lucy just found another tiny crack in his defenses. And instead of letting her light in to help heal his hurts, he's afraid it will burn.

"Training for the rematch with Nico?"

Tim's blowing off steam. That fight was tougher than expected, and Tim's going to do everything he can to stay in top shape. But, he's also processing.

Lucy processes by talking things out. Tim processes with a punching bag and sweat pouring down his brow. The beautiful thing about people is how different we are, yet we find a way to coexist. We learn to speak one another's languages.

My husband's a BIG gift person. He loves to give and receive. I struggle with physical possessions because of how I grew up.

But I know that small gifts throughout the year help him remember I'm thinking of him (buying his favorite coffee... a latte from the local café). And he knows making me a chai latte at home, or holding me when I'm upset lets me know he's thinking of me.

We love one another. We just don't experience love the same way. Same is true for Tim and Lucy. We're in the phase of them learning how to speak one another's languages. This is crucial if they're ever going to be in a romantic relationship.

Tim greets her almost with a smile as he turns to face her.

"Here." "What's this?" "It is 'Split Second Leadership: Leading Men in the Line of Duty' the Audio book." "The book's out of print. There's no audio book." "Yeah, which is why I recorded one for you."

"Lucy Chen, will you marry me?" I mean, that's what he's supposed to say, right? That's what you would say, right?

Because, let's break this down for a second—she stayed up all night doing this. This morning when she asked him if he wanted her to read to him, she knew what his answer would be.

But then they had this stressful-ass day, and she had to wait for the file to finish rendering, which might've taken all day because audio files with any quality are a beast.

Look, I was a voice over artist for over 20 years. I only left the studio where I was a contract player because I couldn't afford a home studio and now live over an hour from the studio. So, I've done a lot of commercials, on-hold messages, and, yes, books.

The kids especially love my reading of "Elmo Visits the Dentist" that they can listen to on YouTube whenever they want. Why go into all this? I know how long it takes to read a book aloud at a pace that is easy for others to process.

Immediately after learning that her TO needed to listen to learn, she took the damn book home (because she was the one holding it the next morning) and she recorded herself reading it for him.

She likely got no sleep as she set it to render and upload into the device to hand to him while she got ready to leave for work.

I bet she even went home, grabbed the device, then ran back so she could give it to him.

This is a labor of love. No, she's not in-love with Tim. But she cares about him. And this ball of sunshine is radiating in his life more and more.

We are post Quarantine House. We are post Lucy calling Tim on the Isabel stuff she should have reported. We've established that they trust one another.

But this is next level. Six months into her training, and Lucy's already breaking through so many of Tim's walls.

"Uh, listen, I talked to Isabel and from what she said, it's clear you're a kinesthetic learner, which just means you need to listen while you're being active in order to absorb things."

Girlfriend just called up her future husband's ex like a boss. Again, she did this yesterday. Lucy wastes no time when it comes to Tim. Keep that in mind for the future...

"There's no shame in it. Really."

Watch his face. His jaw clench. His body relaxes as he sighs. His eyes soften. Because, all his life any sign of being "different" was weakness. Any sign of being "not good enough" was punishable by pummeling.

Isabel didn't realize he had a learning disability from what we can tell. She just knew that he'd ask her to read to him. My husband and I used to read to one another (pre-kids) and it was a tremendous act of love.

But Lucy put a name to it. And Tim's been spiraling out about it ever since. Because there's a stigma that comes with words like that, tragically.

"Honestly, it's probably why you excel at being a cop."

Tim absorbs her words. She doesn't think he's a freak. She doesn't think he's a project. She doesn't think he's broken. She thinks he's a good cop.

Her view of him hasn't changed because of his learning disability. This is so important.

My Middle has been Autistic his entire life, right? But we only got the official diagnosis when he was 5 because he stopped eating and was rapidly losing weight. A family member actually said "How can I be [related to] an Autistic child?" I said, "You've done a fine job the last 5 years."

Who he is didn't change with his diagnosis. But there are always people who recoil at it because of the stigma associated with it.

Tim was afraid Lucy would think of him differently... but she doesn't. She still sees Tim as the hard-ass, soft-hearted, semi-asshole she has to deal with every day for another six months.

And, strange as it sounds, that's the most reassuring thing Lucy could say to him.

"Thanks."

Lucy ducks her head in a nod as she leaves. It's so sweet. Lucy knows him well enough to understand this is difficult for him. She has a strong understanding of psychology, and a growing understanding of Tim Bradford.

Sticking around won't help him. Letting him get to work will help. She knows him well enough not to hover, and she knows better than to expect compliments from Tim at this phase.

Hell, that "Thanks" was unexpected and I'm surprised she was able to keep moving after she heard it instead of calling it out.

Maybe she just really needs the sleep after all she's done for him. She deserves it!

"Split Second Leadership by Curtis Philbrick, read by the best Rookie you've ever trained."

Tim can't help but smile at that. And it's a real smile. The kind the shows his teeth and reaches his eyes. The kind Lucy won't see, yet.

Lucy offered Tim a piece of herself when she handed over that audio recording. No, it's not romantic. But it is a gift, nonetheless. This was above and beyond anything required of her as a Rookie—she did it as a friend.

And Tim accepted the gift. I don't think we talk enough about this. Lucy sent him food one episode ago and he told her she "shouldn't have". But there's no fighting this gift.

Because the events of 2x01 were a big shift for these two that we don't talk enough about. Lucy making it to the halfway mark and doing well on her exam. Lucy calling Tim on his shit when he tried to distance himself from her by being extra assholery. Lucy going beast-mode chasing that fake cop.

And here we are in 2x02 and Tim who was humbled by Lucy one episode ago is now unintentionally wounded. Because he thinks she sees him as "less than". He thinks her opinion of him somehow lessened because he's been raised to see a "learning disability" as a bad thing.

When Lucy turns it around at the end and says it's his super power, that's powerful. She helped him see himself in a different way. The king of coming at something sideways has met his match. So, what could he say after a gift like that? He wouldn't reject it. He couldn't.

Because Lucy gave him the gift of a shift in perspective. And those readers who are from the future, like me, know he'll repay that gift in a huge way in that same room not too long from now.

They're not in love, yet. But they are on their way to friendship, and learning one another's love languages on the way. So if when they finally arrive at love, it'll be a deep love. It'll be a love that grows. It'll be a love that thrives.

Because true love often takes effort... but it's worth it.

Tim Pays it Forward

Look, Tim takes care of his people. We already know that. But I also like to think that Tim recognized something of himself in Rex thanks to Lucy's kindness.

Rex doesn't like asking for help. Neither does Tim. But if Tim isn't careful, he could end up like Rex.

Now, Rex likely didn't have a Lucy. But, he does have a Tim. And that's damn good, too.

As ever, thank you for reading. This one is one I'm super passionate about with my family history and the children I'm raising.

Now, I'm not going to pretend it's all peachy-keen. It can be really, really tough raising three neurodivergent children, and there are very bad days. But for Tim, his learning disability really can be a super power.

Also, oh, isn't it fun watching Tim and Lucy of Season 2 on their way? So much fun!

Hope your weekend's been lovely! Mine's been so quiet, it's lovely. Currently have three Littles in bed with me as we have a pajama/movie day. It's the little things!

See you on the next!

[oswlld]

oswlld's monthly wrap up: february

note: i am trying something a bit different this year, so bear with me as i figure out how i want to format this. i wanted to spend more time sharing what i consume, beyond what i rb, and put my thoughts in one place. these posts are okay to rb

--

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid [started 02/04, finished 02/13] I recall an article calling out TJR as one of many authors that are pro-israel and haven’t seen anything that disputes the claim. I don’t have much to contribute to the conversation anyways, so I’ll pass on leaving a review. — After Dark, Haruki Murakami [started 02/06, finished 02/21] What I admire about what Murakami accomplished with After Dark was achieving the right level of simplicity to bring out the tense undertones in the magical realism. I also really enjoyed being invited to float with the story, almost breaking a fourth wall and interacting with the spaces. 4⭐️ in storygraph. — When We Cease to Understand the World, Benjamín Labatut [started 02/24, still in prog] I am only about 50 pages in and I am already ill. Too early to form an opinion, thus I’ll offer a snippet of the book description: “A fictional examination of the lives of real-life scientists and thinkers whose discoveries resulted in moral consequences beyond their imagining. When We Cease to Understand the World is a book about the complicated links between scientific and mathematical discovery, madness, and destruction.” Feels very timely reading this at the same time as watching Three-Body and then Oppenheimer in the next week or so.

High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America, Netflix [started: 02/02, finished 02/07] WOW!! Wowowowowow. Wow. This needs to be a mandatory watch, even though we are at the end of Black History Month. It’s a well curated journey through the slave era to present day, from shores of Africa to all areas of the US. It’s so empowering and inspiring. Don’t wait until June or next year, please educate yourselves and open your heart to this show. — African Folktales Reimagined, Netflix [started 02/02, finished 02/08] I heard about this show through an article posted on Short of the Week last year and immediately put it on my watchlist. What a wonderful choice of directors for this series. Such strong visionaries and visuals. My favorites out of the six stories were Enmity Djinn and MaMlambo. MaMlambo still has a chokehold on me. MAJOR trigger warnings for this series is under the cut. — Three-Body, Viki (also avail on YT) [started 02/19, paused on 02/26] Trigger warnings for this series is also under the cut. With that said, I have a very personal connection with Three-Body Problem, both the novel and the physics problem, so taking this show on has been my entire world. When it comes to tackling my watchlist, shows that have a substantial number of eps/seasons gets split into chunks, so that I can tackle them over a number of months. For this series, I divided the 30-epsiode series into three ten-episode parts that will take me from February to June. I’ll post an official review when I finish over the summer, but for now I will say I very much enjoy having my brain turn into goo after every ep. What an explosive first outing. I will be resuming this show in April for eps 11-20, where I’ll be reunited with my beloved war criminal.

Over the Moon, Netflix [watched on 2/10, DNF] So unfortunate that I started this and could not finish. I hope to get back into it in May, so I can talk about how beautiful it is. Gotta do it for Glen Keane. — Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang, Netflix [watched on 2/11] I…. I think I am going to let this quote from the film speak for me: “In the 60’s, when American astronauts landed on the moon, that was really good news, even in China. But I was sad because I thought I would never make it to space myself. But later on, I realized that art could be my space-time tunnel connecting me to the universe. If there was an opportunity, I would like to make a ladder into the clouds. But the purpose of this ladder wouldn’t be for me to go to space, it would be to encourage a back-and-forth, a dialogue.” I MEANN!!!! Yes, I did go into this film already aware of some of his works but I didn’t really know a lot about him. What I admired most was his joy and child-like wonder when he’s interacting with his art. I loved witnessing him act like he’s 7 yrs old again, especially in that air balloon scene. There’s also a moment when he’s become complacent in his projects, settling on the bare minimum to get a job done. When the art of creating is stripped of the art, what is left of Cai is very clear to the viewer: he is frustrated, he feels suffocated, he’s used. Alternately, towards the end of the film, he brings it back with “Yes, a lot of artists do things that are too commercial. It lacks some compulsive and sincere emotion that should exist in all art. Collaborating with [unknown artists] will always remind me of the pleasure I felt and my original purpose for doing art.” (Fascinating to compare his turmoil with the govt whilst working with Netflix.) All in all, this film did a great job telling a story about the magic in enduring passion projects over time. In this case, his Sky Ladder being a fourth attempt at a impossibly large scale dream project. I feel like my thoughts are all over the place with this film, but I’m still finding new things that really speak to me as an artist. — Your Name Engraved Herein, Netflix [watched on 2/18] I thought I had this gifset on my blog but it turns out I may have just DM’d @forcebook about this and didn’t rb, but anyways I saw this and thought hey this has the potential to ruin me lemme put it on my watchlist. And now over a year later, I finally got around to it. Well… it’s exactly what I ordered, it definitely ruined me. I mean, when they come at me with “Maybe more people would understand me in hell. Make it easy for me and help me go to hell,” what else am I supposed to be but ruined. I want a sequel, I need their reset.

There are more to add to the movies category, due to Oscar season, but I’ll save them for a separate post, with all my thoughts on the films/shorts I was able to catch, for Oscar weekend.

Ella Sings Gershwin, Ella Fitzgerald with Ellis Larkins at the piano [first time listening] One hobby I picked up during the pandemic was growing my vinyl collection. I found this vinyl in 2022 with the intention of finding more from this era/genre. Not much movement since then, since vinyl purchases only happens once or twice a year. Suffice to say, I am so happy that the quality is still in tact and it makes me want to get back into vinyls soon. Current top 3: My One and Only (What Am I Gonna Do), But Not For Me, and Soon — Wicked [relistening] One thing you need to understand about me is that Wicked was my first musical hyperfixation. I used to spend summers on the train to the city to catch the raffle drawings and when my name was picked, it would be the best $25 well spent to be seated front row. And when I was not in the city, the CD would be on repeat in the car on my long drives going to and from home and college. My introduction to YT was watching all of the bootleg clips of every casting. All the Eden Espenozas and Stephanie J Blocks and Kerry Ellis’. All the Kendra Kassenbaums, Megan Hiltys, and Annaleigh Ashfords. And yes, all the Aaron Tveits don’t look at me. I’ve seen almost all facets of this show enough times to start frankenstein-ing together my version of Wicked. All this to say that my love for this show remained dormant for over a decade, until the movie trailer for part one came out. And then *SPLASH* I immediately jump in head first into a slime tutorial just like that. Long ago, I watched Kara Lindsay’s broadway vlogs without having seen her Galinda and now I can say I have seen the light, she’s just as immaculate as I imagined she’d be.

Welcome to Night Vale [recurring/catching up] I typically catch up on this podcast seasonally, since I find that this show is more enjoyable when I binge it. This time around, I have fallen more behind and needed to catch up on 11 episodes. My favorite eps: A Car Crash on Buellton Avenue (Ep 232), Sister Cities: Vermillion Falls (Ep 239), and He is Holding a Knife (Ep 240). I will admit that there was a period of time, maybe four or five years ago, when I dropped the show for reasons I cannot recall now but I am glad that I stuck around.

And now here are some tw to keep in mind:

AFRICAN FOLKTALES trigger warnings: domestic violence/abuse, child abuse, attempt(s) of suicide, drowning, and miscarriage.

THREE-BODY trigger warnings: The plot centers around solving the mystery behind scientists committing suicide on an international scale. Scenes ranging from allusions, thoughts of suicide, to moderate depictions of suicide.