#for me filler is: an episode that doesn't present something new

[artsyjedi]

uh... am i the only who felt this 12 episode seemed like a filler? like... idk, it missed something

[cocogum]

Season 5 worries me.

So recently, Tot explained to a Twitch streamer that the fifth season of Wakfu, a season that we desperately wanted ever since we learned it was coming, wouldn't turn out like we planned.

But first, if you understand French and want to see the snippet in question, then press here. (thanks @geographer746, for sharing the clip)

Here's what Tot said:

A need, for the record, is to tell the love story between two(?) monsters. That will be the main storyline for this season. They won't be our heroes, I should note, but I want to present some strong enough powerful characters who are not really beautiful, and try to make the people cry to a story where the characters do not look like them. I really went for some challenges a bit political and all but incredibly very human.

Apparently, and brace yourself for this, season 5 will explore the love story of two ugly monsters and the many challenges they will face. Tot specified that they won't be the heroes and won't look like we can relate to them, but feeling sympathy or even understanding may happen.

This summary alone doesn't bother me in the least because Tot did say that they wouldn't be the heroes of the finale. However, it made me question many things about what this season can hold.

But it also says a lot because we all expected something else entirely. We thought that season 5 would immediately continue with what happened after season 4, so it could be used as a good filler between season 4 and the Great Wave to explain some things that haven't been addressed or presented in the Great Wave yet.

Things like:

how the Sadida Kingdom reacted when they learned they had to share their lands with the eliatropes;

what happened after the wedding between Yugo and Amalia;

how did Yugo get used to his older body, and if he had any trouble controlling it after the adrenaline he just had from the Necrome war;

if Yugo communicates with his eliotrope children like the rest of Oropo's group besides Bouillon;

maybe we could see the unnamed male sadida and unnamed female eliatrope's relationship growing (the ones that got married in the Great Wave. I've explained it here);

or even just Yugo contemplating all the shit that he went through in such a short time.

Because Tot finally has the time to explore all those ideas now that he's been allowed to make 26 episodes. TWENTY. SIX. Do you remember when was the last time we had 26 episodes in a season?? BACK IN 2011.

Again, the problem with this future season isn't that we'll see these new characters being ugly monsters that we've never seen in Wakfu before. Because every season always welcomes new characters, it should be logical to think we'll see some new ones in this future season. The REAL problem is that I'm scared that that's all we'll see in this finale.

Granted, the clip where Tot summarizes the season was only a snippet, which means we've only scratched the surface of what this season has to offer.

But the thought still worries me nonetheless.

Wakfu, for many fans, has been here since their childhoods, and for people like me, it has been here for almost two decades now. Which is why I'm extremely worried that the finale of Wakfu will only be about new characters that have nothing to do with the Brotherhood we have come to know and love for many years.

The idea of ending it with two random people just doesn't sit right with me.

It's like saying you want to end a full nostalgic adventure with two ugly gobbowls falling in love 💀💀

What's worse in all of this is that we should have expected this coming. A few months ago, Tot released a tweet about a new character he would involve in the future, which was this dragon-looking warrior.

Here is the tweet in question 👇

The translation of the post is as follows:

Hello everyone, I'm in the middle of my writing period and as usual, I'm procrastinating between two lines (of text)... And one of the subjects of this procrastination is X, the most x social network on the internet. Even if it means spending time here, we might as well tell you some nice things rather than talking about the current shit. Right now, I'm seriously working on 3 projects that I can't wait to tell you about.

-Welsh & Shedar

- Wakfu Season 5

- Wakfu the great wave

I'm in the tough, in solitary mode, and these are really the best and worst times for me. As a wait, I present to you a future hero / protagonist of Krosmoz. I showed you a WIP sketch a few months ago, and the baby was done by the talented Vincent Nghiem. Enjoy.

At the time, we all thought this was going to be some minor character that was going to have a role in the fifth season, but knowing what we know now from the snippet, I'm guessing that this dragonic adventurer is probably one of the lovers Tot had mentioned (or maybe not since Tot tweeted that this character is a hero which was not what he said about the lovers. But then again, he could have changed that statement later on). THIS IS JUST A MERE SPECULATION AFTER ALL SO TAKE IT WITH A GRAINE OF SALT.

In addition, I recently saw a screenshot of Malec, one of Wakfu's directors, showing us the beginning of the fifth season's script. (thanks to @viridisgratia for providing the pic here) Below the first episode's title (which was hidden by a spoiler warning), it said version one.

This could mean two things:

either Tot is playing with some ideas and isn't really sure how to start the season or trying to find a way to improve the storyline;

he's just trying to figure out how he wants to start the show with the two monsters in mind.

Personally, I prefer the former.

I think he may be trying to discover things he wants to do when trying to test out what he likes and doesn't like. The story with the two monsters isn't going to be a story that he will eventually want, and maybe he will just ditch it because the character sheet that we saw in his tweet is just a character sheet at the end of the day. It doesn't mean it would be a fully canonized character. Maybe he's just playing with characters and seeing what fits and doesn't fit, but who knows? Perhaps I'm just being very optimistic or just very delusional, we'll see.

[moltensmusings]

Current fairy tail watch through update:

Time for me to ramble once more about my desire for proper shadowgear content and the general disappointment with how Mashima paces the series.

We're into Edolas now and I want to start by saying: manga wise I only started reading midway through the grand magic games when the animation halted. So I haven't read the edolas arc. But I am incredibly confused about what Gajeel was doing the whole arc since I'm well aware his Edolas counterpart doesn't make an appearance in the manga.

With that said, I'm only further and further leaning into the belief that team shadowgear, Juvia, and Gajeel needed more focus prior to Edolas specifically because I do not buy that Gajeel would be genuinely concerned enough about the guild to make me care about him saving them.

Within the canon of the show he has had 1 arc where he was their enemy, and 1 arc where he worked with them. We got some filler episodes showing him spending time with the guild but that is nowhere near enough time for the viewers to think he's especially attached to anyone. The core of edolas is good. The rush to save fairy tail makes sense for characters like Natsu, Lucy, and Happy. I can even buy wendy wanting to save everyone because she's incredibly empathetic.

But gajeel was literally ready to kill several of them not that long ago and has largely spent his time within the guild as a solo existence. Give me a reason to believe he'd care about someone in the guild. Show me his bond with Juvia that made her decide to ask him of all people to join fairy tail with her, show me him growing close to members of the guild enough to understand who he is intent on saving.

Beyond just this, I'm fully aware in the immediate aftermath of Edolas, we get tenrou. An S class exam where we're meant to believe everyone present is high enough power wise to warrant them being tested. Wendy who spent most of her first arc unconscious and has only had 1 arc in the guild to show any capability, juvia who similarly hasn't had any major focus in the narrative since battle of fairy tail, Levy who has had an abysmal about of screen time and is repeatedly stated to lead one of the weakest teams in the guild (which I hate but we're moving on), and cana who yes is powerful in her own right, but not in a way that makes me think she's S class material.

We could've spent time building up their powers, showing them in tense situations on their own without focus being redirected to team natsu, in general shaping them and their bonds to other guild mates but we go from main plot arc to main plot arc so quickly we don't get the chance.

And even beyond that, the main plot arcs we do get are in constant and fast motion so we never get to sit even with team natsu and the new characters they meet throughout them. The pain of watching fairy tail often results in looking at a series that can be so much fun, that has a core of something great, which ultimately never lives up to it's full potential and it's just as aggrevating as it is devastating.

[we-pay-for-everything]

Nancy Drew season 4, episode 9 review (spoilers!)

Okay, so... what the fuck did I just watch?

First of all, the way the episode started made me think I'd missed an episode. I assumed the writers knew this was going to be their last season from the start, but maybe they didn't and that's why they're speeding things up now? This season so far has been filled with filler episodes and plotlines no one gives a fuck about - like, I literally do not give a fuck about what any of them are doing. I just want Ace and Nancy to finally happen (though I want it less and less each day) and to know if Ryan gets killed off or not. This episode might be the worst one in the series. Is Ace even a part of their group right now?

Yeah, second thing, what the fuck have they done to Ace? Why did Ace only have a brief scene with George? First, he was excluded from Kate's death anniversary, and now he's being excluded from literally everything? No, nope, nuh uh, fuck that. Fuck Nancy and fuck the rest of them, and fuck the writers. Ace used to be Bess's platanchor but now he's the only one missing from her court hearing? He just texted her? Do the actors have beef with Ace's actor or something? They made up some bullshit excuse for his absence, but the only explanation that makes sense is that the actor couldn't be present in their scenes and they had to work around it? But Bess saying George was her best friend and had been for awhile, and to not tell Ace, was the cherry on top of the fucking cake. So, this is what happens when you want Ace and Nancy to be together? Nancy can't date the same guy for more than three episodes so Ace was sacrificed? He lost all his friends in the breakup, is that it? I imagine that his ghost storyline has something to do with the sin eater or whatever but...

What is even happening on the show? All the episodes run together, seemingly unrelated for the most part. There are a bunch of different loose storylines that are supposed to mean something but I don't know what. The show is truly going out like this, huh? At this point, good fucking riddance. I'm starting to regret Nace ever becoming a thing.

Thirdly, Nancy is trying something "new" - ie. going on a date with someone uncomplicated and communicating more. Right... Because Nancy doesn't usually go on dates - she fucks the guy first and then they break up or the guy dies. The going on dates part might be new, I guess. But communicating properly? Answering yes or no isn't deep communication. And she said Tristan always was honest and always said what he thinks. Ace literally can't lie to save his life and he's also an "uncomplicated" person. What the fuck are you on, Nancy? Ugh, I always feel like I'm slutshaming Nancy, but it's sooo boring watching her flirt with a guy only for them to break up as soon as they finally get together. We all know those love interests won't last. She never even falls in love with them or gets to know them well. It's so useless.

I'll say that the show did manage to surprise me with the sin eater is a person and apparently her love interest plot twist. If Nancy killed him then I'll be happy, if not, she's for sure going to date Tristan now. Let's hope he died so at least one bad storyline is put out of its misery.

I'm sorry, I don't have anything positive to say. I also hate to be this person but it's like they're trying to fit every social issue they can in this season and it's so sloppily done.

Edit: It hit me now that it was supposed to be ironic that Nancy called Tristan uncomplicated but he turned out to be the Sin Eater. Before that, however, Tristan's parents tried to kill Ryan, but she called him uncomplicated anyway? Excluding Nick, Ace, and Owen (he was a bit too old for her though), Nancy has terrible taste in men.

[wevelocityteampresents-blog]

Pokémon Pocket Monsters HG SS Volume 1 - Chapter 11

Clefairy goes to a city to buy a new TV.

I'm just going to go ahead and admit that this is a filler chapter in every sense of the word. Unlike the other chapters, where something exciting happens that fleshes out the characters and their world or allows them to reach a specific goal, nothing happens here except Clefairy getting upset and buying a TV he and the others will never use. How could someone who's always on the go benefit from dragging a TV around? Just save yourself the trouble and buy a pocket TV instead.

Now, there are some positives to this story that I like. It's nice to see a city or location that utilizes a specific Pokémon type. It reminds me of certain episodes of the anime where there are towns full of Trainers who obsess over one Pokémon. The Pokéathlon match Clefairy and Tyrogue were watching at the beginning of the chapter also does a good job of tying things back to the very start of the saga with a focus on the Pokéathlon.

With that said, this chapter still doesn't hold up to the ones that came before it. I'd say it'd be fine to add a bit of padding like this to keep the manga's pacing from becoming too quick. But in a 2 volume mini-series like this, you should probably add more excitement and surprises that keep the audience entertained for as long as the saga lasts.

That's why, this is my least favorite chapter in Pokémon Pocket Monsters HG SS.

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES

The city Clefairy and the others go to is a kind of location called an electric town.

Electric towns are places that host a variety of electronic stores. The biggest examples are the dozens of stores present in Akihabara. But electric towns aren't native to Japan. They're present in a lot of places around the world. I bet you've probably been to an electric city before, yourself.

[avatarcompanion]

I finally watched the netflix live action. Binged in a few days with a friend.

Overall verdict: it's good, of course doesn't surpass the original, but brought a few interesting new angles.

My main complaint is it's kind of dull, particularly in the beginning. Not so emotionally engaging, every character has been toned down in some way, they took out most of the cartoonish humor and heartwarming moments and just quirky shit that made Avatar special - obviously it's to "age it up" in the tone and themes, which is fine, but they need to replace it with some other kind of soul.

Visually, it's perfect in my opinion, they re-created the visuals of the show in live action in a way I found impressive - I feel like I am in the Avatar world, all of the casting is at least decent, however the direction and some of the writing didn't make me FEEL like I was watching Avatar.

This aspect did improve gradually through it's 8 episodes, making it more engaging to watch as we went along, with more emotional engagement and heartwarming moments that made me enjoy the cartoon series. Then again, I'm honestly not sure I would be hooked on this franchise just watching the first few episodes of the original cartoon - at least, I think most hardcore fans would admit their deeper engagement grew throughout the show.

In the end, I felt convinced I'm watching the same characters in the same world and an overall similar story, albeit an altered one with a different take. It's clearly a re-interpretation that doesn't pretend to be otherwise, and I rolled with that. No, I don't really mind some moments were "OOC" or off, because that's what it is - it's fanfiction, and I found it entertaining to be thrown off my expectations and see this AU version of the story and characters. They are allowed their own interpretation, as far as I'm concerned, and I can take it or leave, it doesn't move the cartoon 1 mm. I prefer it this way, so you can't let the characters from the live action inform the original, except if I want to.

I was happy when the live action veered off from an exact retelling of the cartoon, because when they re-created almost the same scenes, it was hard not to compare mentally with the cartoon and analyze for the "flaws" in recreating something that was already loved. In the end, I felt like I didn't have too, because they'd changed too much.

I was fine they cut-off some of the fillers and really childish elements, and instead included worldbuilding from Korra or the comics. I honestly I didn't really mind they put away some of the focus from the younger characters (Aang and Katara) to the older characters and including Azula, because they weren't really trying to pretend like that's not what they were doing. (Unlike the cartoon which presents as being all about Aang, and then let's Zuko take over lmao). I think in the end the series can find it's own balance, and some developments might go differently and a bit slower. Clearly Aang and Katara is still a main relationship, even if it's not as explicitly "the heart of the show" and probably some romantic undertones will develop more slowly, which I do not mind.

Probably the most interesting aspect was making a canonically consistent, yet completely different angle for the presentation of Azula, actually. I'll make a separate post on that.

One issue with the marketing is they sold the show as a pretty 1:1 re-telling of the cartoon, and it wasn't. Likely they wanted to distance themselves with the movie-that-won't-be-mentioned, and this is obviously much, much better than that. However, it's not the cartoon, it's not trying too hard to be, and that's kind of great.

So not perfect, but worth watching. It's Avatar, but it's completely it's own take on it, it lets new things come out and some stuff die. They want to do their own thing, and what they should improve is developing more soul of their own, not becoming more purist canon or whatever.

[watchinglikeafangirl]

What I think about Love in the air so far

So, first of all, before more messages reach me again, I want to make clear, I like this show. I enjoy each episode and even if it's not the best show out there, I just genuinely like a few things about the whole concept. However, it's not wrong of me to point out some of the low points and maybe problems this show has because after all, some scenes basically romaticize the real world which I always dislike in shows. Problems shouldn't be portrayed as something okay or something that just happens without consequences.

Since love in the air shifted to have its main focus on SkyPrapai last week, I decided it would be a good time to talk about this show in detail through pros and cons. And mainly because I'm still sick and extremely bored lmao

pros

What instantly appealed to me was, there is no homophobia. Not that this conflict annoys me or anything, it needs to be talked about and an outing is always, mostly a hard dicision. People often have the fear of losing one loved one in their lives but that's not always the case. There are many families and friends who accept "different" sexualities and watching a show without any angst or inner conflict is what I was waiting for and needed. I'm currently still recovering from a break-up, so love in the air gave me a fluffy show without angst. You don't have to think much about the story because it's really not complicated and nobody questions themselves.

Talking about questioning themselves, I actually like Rain's journey of taking responsibility and standing up for himself and working even harder to get his life in the right order. He doesn't act like a coward and hides from the stress which inspired me to work harder and not just blame the world which is why I'm gonna start a new job next week and am moving out in a month. Not that this show defines my life, far from it, but I binged it until late at night and it was somehow a small encouragement I needed to see/be told.

What I also like about the characters in love in the air is how they don't fulfill BL cliches because I'm so sick of this whole top/bottom shit. Mostly, it's not as defined in real life. It's pretty rare for a couple to have those looks with one being much shorter and slimmer than the other. Sure those couples exist but I hate the way shows present judged characters. The characters are immediatly judged based on their appearance together and their dynamic when they first meet that everything personal that follows is always influenced by that. Love in the air fulfills that appearence but the dialogue doesn't. Yes, Rain's car broke down and he asks for help but he doesn't stay inside his car like Payu told him to. He gets out into the pouring rain and holds the umbrella for Payu. It immediatly shows that Rain is his own person and not too shy. It defines the whole rest of the show because with pairings like DeanPharm I always felt uncomfortable because Pharm didn't seem to like recieving kisses or touches. RainPayu are thankfully not like this or I would have stopped watching.

In elaboration on this, it's not constantly Payu chasing after Rain. Rain is the one who kisses Payu. Then Payu chases after him but as soon as he realizes Rain has not sorted out his priorities yet he steps down. Then, they don't have much contact and Rain chases after Payu. Their dynamic changes and it's honestly a lot more entertaining to see this little "I waited but now you wait"-thing than watching the "top" constantly flustering the "bottom" by coming way too close.

cons

The first thing I noticed which is continuing to annoy me are the filler scenes. The very first scene with the trucks arriving goes on for seven minutes...why? It is unnecessary to keep it going for that long. It could have been cut to half its length easily and we still would have known what this is about. Same with those racing scenes... What annoyed me the most was the way they replayed long RainPayu scenes to fill in space in the SkyPrapai episode.

Next thing, I am very sure the actors are pretty good. I mean Noeul cried in one scene. They deliever. Same goes with Peat. I am still obsessed with the change of his micro expression when SkyPrapai were laying in bed and Sky looked annoyed first and then smiled half-sarcastically the next second. The actors are really not bad but since this is a show that relies on fanservice entirely, I fear we will never see them again after this era is over. Most actors who stopped the fanservice after the promotion interviews were never seen again by me. Fanservice is not the best for an acting career because there's a package coming with ther name and directors often cast them only with that package because without it they're kinda meaningless. I will hate seeing that happen, so I feel sorry for the actors already.

Okay, I have to talk about this because it really made me a bit angry. Not too much though because Mame wrote the novel...kind of what I expected which is why I'm surprised this show didn't turn out to be as toxic as TharnType. But to be honest, it's as plotless as don't say no. The thing is, RainPayu's love story is catchy. There are much worse examples out there and they support each other BUT it starts very wrong. Just like SkyPrapai, it starts out as assault which I just can't simply accept since it romanticizes rape as an act of service. Yes, Rain doesn't give in. He fights verbally but Payu still cages him in and then says "he's not in the mood anymore" after Rain fought with him. As if Rain is a puppy jumping when Payu says jump...biiiig red flag right there. Sky just didn't fight which makes all of this even more freaked out to me. But okay, this is just how Mame works and the love story resulting from this is still kind of cute.

This is basically why I'm in conflict with my morals. I can't call this good or endearing or romantic or whatever positive adjective but the love story is worth watching. But the show wants to justify this bad act and like...no? It just wants to make the audience feel kind of dangerous for finding something so disturbing cute. A dark secret you won't tell anyone about. At least that's what I felt like while watching TharnType season 1.

So yeah, those are my pros and cons about love in the air, nothing more to say. I'm gonna go cook some tea.

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" from The Owl House

Wow. They are really pushing it for that secret message, huh?

Anywho--Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons!

I think it goes without saying at this point that Season Two of The Owl House is setting itself up as a season without filler. Now, filler episodes aren't always bad. Yes, it hurts when a series turns away from the main plot for a week. But at best, they're utilized as a chance for the writers to play around with the characters and developing said characters without it relating to the overarching story. So, some people who see that consider it a bad thing that a series doesn't have that many filler episodes.

I like to call those people: F**king morons.

Don't get me wrong, I see where some of you are coming from. And I'd be willing to agree...if The Owl House was a plot-driven series. Which it's not. It is a character-driven series. Because for every plot thread and narrative that the show presents, they always relate to the characters and develop them further each time these threads get brought up. For example, look at "Knock Knock Knockin’ on Hooty's Door" (It pains me just to write that). Several narratives move forward, and it’s all done to make the characters grow. And to explain how requires going into spoilers. So keep that in mind as you continue reading.

Now, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

Hooty: Might as well start with the character that this episode is about.

To tell you the truth, I wasn't a huge fan when I found out we're getting a Hooty-centered episode. I've grown to love him over time, but he is a comedic character that's best used in small doses. Primarily due to how his voice is grating to me (My ears are still bleeding...). With that said, I do really love his contributions in "Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" (Seriously, there couldn't have been a less awkward title?). Hooty's antics when trying to help everyone are as hilarious as they are heartwarming. He deeply cares for his friends but just doesn't understand how his plans could do some unintended harm, which is pretty lovable if you ask me. We also get some surprisingly great insight into his character, as he feels insecure about basically being the comic relief who doesn't really do that much other than being funny. Rarely do you get that level of dimension from a comedic character, and it's even more uncommon for that to work out as well as it does here. It once again proves just how competent the writing is in this series to the point where we get an episode about Hooty, and it's funny and heartwarming instead of being annoying. And whoever is responsible for that, you're the best.

Lilith’s Letter to Hooty: I mean it when I say that I love how Lilith kept her word about her and Hooty becoming penpals. Their friendship was something I would have never expected to love, and I'm still shocked that it works so well, so seeing it continue like this just warms me to the bone. Plus, it is pretty sweet that Lilith's kind words are what inspired Hooty to do what he's done in this episode...meaning it's Lilith we should thank here--SON OF A WITCH! Even when she's gone, she's still working her way into my heart!

King going through Puberty: What?! KING IS EVOLVING!

(There, I made a Pokemon reference. Do I get my cookie now?)

Eda Keeping Herself Awake to Train Herself: I'm willing to bet a large sum of money that this has everything to with Raine getting captured last week. If Eda was still the most powerful witch in the Isles, she might have actually saved them. But she isn't, and now the love of her life is in the clutches of a tyrant planning something that could potentially be the end of everything. So I can understand Eda pushing herself to her limit to get back on top again, as I would probably do the same. It's not healthy in any way, and Eda would be doing more harm than good. But when it comes to the people you love, logic doesn't always win out in the end.

Luz Wanting to Make her Way into Amity’s Heart by Making the Echo Mouse Happy: ...That's it. I Just...I just love everything about it, ok?

This was also when I knew that I was wrong to doubt that there would be zero Lumity in this episode. I realize my follies now, and I humbly apologize.

Hooty Teaching King About Demons: This was so funny. So, so funny. Probably doesn't come as a surprise, especially since The Owl House proves itself as a comedy before, but the jokes have never hit as frequently and as hard as they did here. From Hooty getting offended by King's dance to him and Dana's insert wanting a "DNA sample," everything managed to successfully make me lose my s**t. It does come at the expense of King suffering, but I can stomach that much more than if it were Eda or Luz. And, as a bonus, we get lore about how demons work, added with another great joke of King getting in trouble with Hooty for saying he already knows this stuff. Humor isn't always the show's strong suit, but when it works, it f**king works.

King Wanting to Know What he Is: But despite how funny King's vignette was, we still get to see more of his character grow. We learn that he's frustrated now that there's this big question mark over his life now, feeling extra angry that his father "abandoned" him to leave such a present mystery. It shows the hidden resentment he has that Lilith inadvertently brought out, made even worse when King's father hasn't responded to the video yet. King hasn't really gotten that much development until "Echoes of the Past," so it's pretty cool that the writers haven't really slowed down on it. Especially when it leads to these great moments of King venting his frustrations.

King’s Shouting Powers: KING learned FUS RO DAH!

(And now that's a Pokemon reference AND a Skyrim reference. WHERE'S MY GOSH DANG COOKIE!?)

Eda’s Nightmare: If King's vignette hits you hard with the laughs, Eda's will absolutely hit you harder with the feels (never make me say "feels" unironically again). Knowing that Eda's life got thoroughly screwed over by the curse is something we could figure out on her own. But seeing just how much the curse ruined her life and tore apart relationships that mean the world to her really does a swell job at ripping apart the soul. What's even more tragic is, technically speaking, it's all sort of Eda's fault too. She kept hiding the curse, refusing to be a burden to others who would do all they could to help. If she had only been open and honest, things probably wouldn't have changed much, but they most likely would have been better than they are now.

Eda Attacked her Father as the Owl Beast: ...I don't know what I was expecting when "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances" hinted that there was some possible tension between Eda and her father...but it definitely wasn't this.

The fact that we see blood where his eye used to be doesn't make things any happier, either.

Raine Broke Up with Eda: Before we get into anything else, let's celebrate the fact that it's now confirmed that Eda and Raine really did use to date in the past. Because this show is just f**king phenomenal with its LGBTQA+ representation!

But, seriously, this is a fantastic reveal that goes far beyond just shipping...well, sort of. It shines a new light on Eda and Raine's interactions from last week, revealing that while they're not a couple anymore, they still very much love each other. It helps make their last interaction especially tragic, as they were both on the same page now and could very well be together again. Only for them to be forced apart for the second time in a way that's much worse than the first. And I frickin' adore that this series changes the impact of one episode one week later. Again, it shows just how competent these writers are, and kudos to them for making something so...perfect.

The Moon Person: WHO THE FU--Nope. Nope! We have more than enough mystery bulls**t to deal with through CreepyLuz and Philip Wittebane, so I am PUTTING YOU ON THE BACKBURNER FOR NOW!

(They're probably nothing more than a one-off character, anyway)

The Owl Beast and Eda are Connected: Through visuals alone, we, the audience, can clue into what the curse really means. The Owl Beast doesn't want to be a part of Eda as much as she doesn't want it to be a part of her. Whether they like it or not, and they very much don't, they're stuck together. The thing is, and this is what I love the most, they still decide to make the best of their situation rather than let it ruin their lives even more. This might be the best possible turn Eda's curse could have made. It'll still affect her, and there are probably more negatives than positives, but at least now, it's not the worst thing in the world. And I feel like that's all anyone can ask when in a position like her own.

Eda's “Pretty Dream”: I don't know what emotions are toiling inside me more with this moment. Awe and wonder over how beautiful Eda's dream is, or heartbreak over the implication that she has only had nightmares since getting cursed...I'm gonna say both. Yeah, it's definitely both.

Eda’s Harpie Form: Well, fan artists are gonna have a field day with this...especially the freaks.

(You know who you are. And you're weird!)

Luz Calling Amity a “Cotton-Candy Haired Goddess”: ...Have I ever mentioned how much I love this show?

Hooty Kidnapped Amity: ...Hooty, if your stupidity wasn't charming, I would be more than willing to call the authorities over how you kidnapped a girl in your version of a knapsack and locked her in the basement. For that is going to ring SO MANY alarm bells in people's heads.

Amity and Luz Stuck in a Tunnel of Love: *Smacks lips* Mmm. The adorable awkwardness of this moment is just *chef's kiss* magnifique!

Luz being afraid of getting made fun of:

Amity’s look of hope: I mean...just...f**king--LOOK AT HER:

That is the look of a girl who, while embarrassed as hell, still is ecstatic to learn for a brief moment, everything that she is hoping for has a high chance of being real. Who, in their right mind, wouldn't go "Aw!" at something so pure and innocent?!

Luz Destroying the Tunnel of Love: This is how to effectively utilize dramatic irony. The audience can understand why Luz is tearing the place apart because she explicitly states that she's afraid of Amity rejecting her in the end. They also know that's bogus, thus making it extra painful to watch Amity's heart break more and more with each second (which is perfectly represented through Amity's expressions). You feel bad for both of them, and even worse when you know that it can easily be prevented by the simple art of communication. That's what makes it great dramatic irony. Knowing the point of view of each character results in a scene that evokes emotions in two different ways.

Hooty’s Breakdown: This was...genuinely hard to watch. Not that it was badly written, far from it. It just...hurt seeing how destroyed Hooty was when he realized he failed the people he has such an admiration for. On the upside, a wholesome moment follows soon after as the Owl House gang tries to reassure Hooty that he's done a lot of good that night. It's a pure action that shows even though Hooty gets on their nerves all the time, they still care about him...damn it. I think I'm gonna cry.

Eda’s Advice for Luz: ...Eda...You're the best.

You found out that your surrogate daughter wants to ask a girl out, and not only were you quick to deliver the best possible advice ("Just go for it!"), but you also quickly reassure her that it doesn't need to be perfect.

And you know what? That's it. Eda is the best cartoon mom! She might not technically be Luz's mom, but I don't give a s**t because she is the best!

Luz and Amity Ask Each Other Out: Shh-sh-sh-sh...

Do you hear that?

...

...

...It's the sound of dozens of Lumity fans collectively losing their s**t...and I'm one of them.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO!

IT!

IS!

CANON!

AH-HAHAHAHAHA!

HOLY S**T! Holy s**t! Holy s**t...might just be the best way I could possibly describe this! Finally, after all the waiting, speculating, and praying, THESE TWO IDIOTS FINALLY GOT TOGETHER! AND IT WAS PERFECT! I mean, it was awkward as s**t, but that's what makes it perfect! You know why? You wanna--Hey! *snaps fingers*. You want to know why? It's because they're teenagers. Of f**king course, it's going to be awkward! This is their first relationship, so there will be a lot of missteps along the way. And that, in itself, brings me to the best (second best part?) thing about it happening in episode eight of the new seasons. Most endgame couples get together in the climax or even at the end of the series. But to have them get together this early on, means there will be quite a few episodes dedicated to showing them grow as a couple.

And better than that--EVEN F**KING BETTER THAN THAT--dozens of kids are going to see these two, a realistic depiction of young love that just so happens to involve two girls, and are going to learn once and for all that there is nothing wrong with being who they are. That fact alone is f**king incredible. Yes, it sucks that season three got cut short, and we'll have even less time with Luz and Amity, but knowing how many kids have felt seen today almost makes it worth it in the end.

And if I see one mother f**ker saying this was poorly paced, I might just hunt them down for SPORT...Sorry if that was an overreaction. I'M JUST SO HAPPY! Because they're happy! Look at them. Listen to them! It's so...GAH-HAHAHA!

“They’re adorable! And deserve all the happiness!”: You're darn right, Hooty! You're darn right.

King’s Father(?) Shows Up: What the--WHAT?! They're doing this now?! Here?! After everything else?

Oh, man. What could this mean? What dynamic changes will this cause in the main cast? How could the writers fit this in during the next two episodes? And what--

Hooty Eats the Letter: ...Pfffft--HAHAHAHA!

Oh, man...I should be mad, and I wouldn't blame others if they are...but that is too much of a brilliant f**k you that I can't help but appreciate it. Bravo writers. Bravo.

WHAT I DISLIKED

...Dislikes? Dislikes? You would honestly believe that after everything I witnessed in this episode, that I would have the gull to list anything wrong with it?!

HOW DARE YOU ASSUME THAT I WOULD BE SO CALLUS TO--Actually, I do kind of have an issue with the episode's title. It's just too much of an awkward mouthful for me to get behind. I understand that the writers wanted to sneak the K into the secret message, but were there really no other titles starting with K that they couldn't come up with?

But that's just a personal issue, and in no way do I think anybody else would feel the same way. Especially with how well-written everything else is anyway.

IN CONCLUSION

"Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" (title aside) is another A+ episode. It was hilarious, heart-wrenching, and downright adorable while keeping me entertained with every minute. I'm sure there are some issues I was willing to ignore due to how expertly written everything else was, but why bother looking for the chinks in the armor when I could just enjoy a perfect episode for being so...perfect! Some of you might be willing to disagree with me, but to that, I say: Don't knock it till you've tried it.

(Now, if you don't excuse me, I'm going to go lie down. It's...It's been a day.)

[badroyarts]

'1899' Just Doesn't Work: A Review

Dark (from the same creative duo) is one of my favorite shows ever. Ever. So I was very much looking forward to 1899. I didn't have any specific expectations other than a quality level at or exceeding Dark's. Unfortunately the new series left me totally disappointed.

Positives first: The production and performances of 1899 are pretty much flawless. The sets are dripping with atmosphere and as with Dark the music adds a lot to the show. Friese and bo Odar are really great at casting. Every character just -looks- exactly the way that character should. The put-upon, hard-working Polack, the haughty British mistress. The character's really stick in your mind, helped by the performances as I said. Also I really love the low-fi sci-fi technology.

My problems with 1899 are centered squarely on the writing side of things. 1899 very quickly establishes that the events we're seeing on the Kerberos are not real, or an experiment, or hologram, or something. The nature of the character's reality is thrown into question so early in the series that it precluded my investment in the characters. How do I get invested in yet another front-loaded backstory when I'm not even sure any of these people are 'real'? And beyond that we don't have a firm grasp of what's happening until the final episodes. So it results in crazy things just kind of happening without a feeling of consequence. Dark's central mysteries were so thoughtfully presented and resolved that I almost couldn't believe this was from the same creators.

Another issue for me was the language barrier factor. There are a lot of different languages on the Kerberos so barriers occur often. The problem in this series is that characters don't act the way anyone would when encountering a language barrier. They'll speak at length with no one in their company understanding them and the others just kind of listen as if they understand. Now, I'll grant that in language barrier situations you can sometimes glean meanings from context. And the show does that sometimes which is fine. But it gets hard to take seriously when characters monologue knowing they don't share a language. It busted my suspension of disbelief a few times.

I hate the term filler, I really do, but there were a good amount of scenes here that just felt completely superfluous. The worst one in my memory is when French Lady and Grumpy Pregger, supposedly searching for survivors, stop to monologue to each other (again with a one-way language barrier) about women's liberation and wearing pants?? Remember the viewer doesn't even know if these are actual people, or AIs, etc. but we're supposed to be invested in this? There was also the one goofy furnace worker who along with 90% of the ship jumped into the water. Great, what was the point?

I admit that the final twist of the series piqued my interest, but I have no investment because the season was so weak. This series put me in a bad mood, 4/10.

[cicaklah]

strange new worlds!!!

I watched the first seven episodes of strange new worlds and I'm here to TALK about them incoherently.

Look, after disco season 3 and picard season 2, I had basically had my heart broken twice. Make me love a show, make me bond with a crew, then fuck it all over with bad writing, poor decision making and shoddy showrunning.

Is it happening again??? oh, probably. But much as in 2017 when I was at rock bottom disco provided me with what I needed, in 2022 it did it again, just what I needed this time was some by the numbers star trek.

some of the perennial problems of modern trek are still present: characters have to have big secrets as well as tragic backstories. too many coincidences that just happen to tie into classic trek a little too evenly. However, a lot of that is excused: these are characters we know and they are connected.

I am very glad that this is it though, there isn't a big overriding mystery yet. Disco especially couldn't work out whether it wanted to be a show with a big mystery or lots of small mysteries and instead just piled mystery upon mystery until everyone was just suffocated.

I love the decisions that have been made: the gorn being the token scary baddies is a good choice. Fleshing out Spock and T'Pring's relationship is delicious, T'Pring is glorious. I'm waiting for her to ask Spock to fuck her like a human and how much that will bsod his brain to the point I will probably write it.

I ADORE Una and La'al. I didn't think I'd like La'al, mostly because I'm sick of everyone must be one degree of separation, but I love her so much. I love Una and Pike's relationship. I am BESOTTED with Chapel. Baby Uhura is adorable. Ortega is great. Hemmer is...you don't need me to spend ages talking about Andorians/Aenar because I read all those beta canon books (DRINK), just to say though I love him.

So far all seven episodes are great, probably the weakest was the pilot, though it was good. The commitment to self contained episodes and the old A/B plotting just is a reminder that the structure is a classic for a reason. Also, they did body swap!!! Body Swap and Enterprise Bingo! In one episode!

Quick reviews of each episode:

strange new worlds: pike's beard is awful, spock's body is incredible, light touch tie into disco, I miss Michael too, and a retconning of star trek history that would have been better coming before picard but that I'm still mildly annoyed about because it still doesn't really make sense to pretend that the diversion point between us and star trek is yet to happen but also not ugh just FINE BE THAT WAY.

children of the comet: could be mid-tier forgettable tng episode and I mean that as a compliment.

ghosts of illyria: echoes of tng episodes past collide with beta canon and two characters having secrets. genuinely loved this episode, una being illyrian is something I was annoyed was apparently changed but nah. Also discussing augments and eugenic war legacy oh my its like christmas.

memento mori: SO GOOD just so good. Ambushes! Gorns! Cat and mouse in space! Character development!!! Creepy shit!!! Hemmer!!! Creative uses for things!! Mind melds!!!

Spock Amok: BODY SWAP!!!!!!! ENTERPRISE BINGO!!!! Interesting diplomacy B plot! The solarsail ship! A definite great.

lift us where suffering can't reach: this is just an adaptation of 'those who walk away from omelas' but I am glad they did it, even if now the show is doomed to be sued by ursula k leguin for plagiarisms. but does her story have topless pike? no. so this episode is obviously the superior 'powered by a forsaken child' story.

the serene squall: shipbait and a great villain who overall sells a filler episode. good job. also: sybok!!!!!! the return of sarek: galaxy's worst dad maybe???

anyway this show is good I don't know why people aren't talking about it. also there's loads of kissing, absolutely loads of it. it didn't cure my depression but it did make me feel a bit better to lie in bed, watch star trek and eat crisps.

[myth-and-mischief]

How come you feel "Zarkon's early death" doesn't work?

The actual fight itself is very well done.  The fight, the ambiance, and the animation isright up there with the other great fights of the series.  I also don’t have a problem with and actuallyprefer that Lotor is the one that ultimately ends up defeating/killing Zarkon,since it has a much greater character impact. But I have a problem with the overall idea for several reasons.  This mainly relates to the fact that Voltronhas an overall problem of telling us facts/story points rather than showingthem, and that Zarkon’s death so early on in the season is not used to set upeven greater villain(s) and thus comes off as anticlimactic.  

Emperor Zarkon reminds me greatly of Emperor Frieza fromDragonball Z.  In fact, given Voltron’stendency to reference, they might have even been inspired by/trying to pull aFrieza with Zarkon.  Frieza also ends upultimately dying/being defeated very early on in a season.  However, this ends up working tremendously asa storyline because (1) Frieza’s position as emperor and terrifying power havebeen repeatedly established for what ends up being a good chunk of the originalDBZ run (aka prior to Majin Buu addition) (2) the time they took to establishhis power and (3) his defeat beautifully sets up a series of increasingly morepowerful and terrifying villains in DBZ afterwards. 

The Emperor’s Power:

Frieza ends up being the ultimate villain of the FriezaGroup of Sagas (heading to Namek up the original defeat of Frieza), which endsup being 71 episodes in the original run and 37 episodes in DBZ Kai (whichessentially got rid of filler/ things not in the manga).  As it turns out, from the beginning of Voltronto Zarkon’s death in S5E2 ends up being 39 episodes.  However most people grew up with the originalrun of DBZ, myself included, so I’ll be referring to the original 71 episoderun. I’d also include the special/movie “Bardock the Father of Goku” in thelineup, since it provides even more background of how Frieza is in power, and howwith literally one swish of a finger he wipes out an entire planet save for ahandful of survivors (sound familiar with Zarkon vs Altea?)

What DBZ ends up doing is working up to its villains.  The first is Raditz, who literally leads tothe main character’s death, and then ultimately Vegeta/Nappa, who end upkilling half/most of the main cast.  Wellguess what?  Those guys WORKED forFrieza.  The main characters then go upagainst Zarbon/Dodoria, then the Ginyu Force, which again are increasinglydifficult villains who merely WORK for Frieza. This does end up having an equivalent in Voltron in characters such asSendak, other commanders sent against the paladins, and the Robeasts.  

The differences are immediately apparent when we finally getto “the final boss”.  Entire episodes arededicated to fighting Frieza.  Multiple peoplefight Frieza personally.  Then they fightFrieza through several different transformation stages of his that onlyincrease in power before finally getting to his ultimate form and once againkilling off at least two major characters (Krillin, Vegeta).  This is finally overcome with the first maincharacter/Super Saiyan transformation of the series and then thinking we’veultimately killed Frieza.  We get tophysically see the reasons that Frieza is so feared and has held onto his positionas emperor.  

Zarkon, on the other hand and for the most part, we aremerely TOLD that he is powerful.  In theentirety of his 39 episode run as the ultimate villain, he is foughtpersonally/face to face only THREE times. This is:

·       Zarkon vs. the Red Lion/Keith, S1E11, which lastsroughly 7 minutes.  The actual length ofthe fight is even less because there are cutaways to Shiro vs. Haggar, as wellas rescuing Allura.  

·       Zarkon in his mech vs. Voltron, S2E13, whichlasts roughly 15 minutes.  The actuallength is even less since there are cutaways to Allura/Kolivan vs. Haggar/herdruids.

·       Huge wait to reach Mech/Suited Zarkon vs. Lotor,S5E2, which last roughly 10 minutes.  Andonce again the actual length is less due to cutaways of ½ paladins vs. Galra fleet,and the other ½ paladins rescuing Sam Holt.

An additional problem with the Zarkon fights aside from the firstis the question is how powerful is Zarkon all on his own.  Frieza (with the possible exception of whenhe returns in the Trunks Saga) is entirely under his own power and his power isonly enhanced by his personal transformations. Zarkon’s very first fight appears entirely under his own power.  But then there’s the second fight, andquestions of how much is it Zarkon’s power vs. Haggar/druids magic assisting/weakeningVoltron vs. his mech power assisting. The same happens with the final fight, how much is purely Zarkon vs. hisarmor vs. the quintessence he is absorbing.

Time:  

The 71 DBZ episodes in question, the original English dubrelease in the US ran from 9/20/1997 to 11/3/1999, or roughly 2 years and 2months.  This was also released in astandard viewing format/serialized television, aka of either daily or weeklyepisode releases.  Because you’re waitingfor a day or a week at a time to see what happens next, you keep that anticipationrunning.  

Voltron Season 1 was released in its entirety to Netflix onJune 2016.  Season 5, where Zarkon isdefeated, was released in its entirety to Netflix in March 2018.  That translates to roughly 1 year and 8months, which is already a shorter time span. The other problem that happens is that while yes you wait between seasons,you can marathon an entire season/the entire show in a matter of hours.  This is less of anticipation and moredrumming your thumbs waiting for the next season.  

Killing him off earlyin a season/Using his defeat to set up subsequent villains:

In the original DBZ release, there was a short season afterthe defeat of Frieza.  Granted the GarlicJr. Saga is technically filler, but it presents a new powerful villain.  But directly after that the main heroes findout that Frieza is still alive and coming directly to Earth.  I cannot tell you as a child how fuckingFRUSTRATING it was to have Frieza return as a villain because we had alreadyspent so fucking long with him as a villain.

But then FutureTrunks arrives and completely wipes him AND Frieza’s apparently even morepowerful father in almost an instant (4 episodes original, 2 episodes DBZ Kai).  It was so remarkable that it’s the entirereason Future Trunks started to become one of my top fav characters in thefirst place.  But then DBZ uses what Iconsider a brilliant story mechanic of using Frieza’s insta-death to set up thenext several villains.  The entire reasonFuture Trunks came back to the past was because there are two villains sopowerful that Trunks, who just insta-killed Frieza/King Cold, can’t defeatthem.  This then sets up Androids 19 and20, oh no opps those weren’t the (an)droids I was looking for.  But wait there they are Andriods 17 and 18and oh shit Android 16, who are all more powerful than 19/20.  But wait again here’s Cell, who starts outalready is more powerful then them because he can absorb power by killingpeople and is stronger than 17/18.  OhFUCK what do you mean Cell reaches his final form by absorbing 17 and 18???

Again, in short, killing off Frieza so early in a seasonworks beautifully because (1) its been thoroughly established how powerful heis and (2) his death is used as the starting point setting off severalsubsequent villains.  Zarkon’s death,however, fails on both fronts.  He hasessentially been poorly established in how powerful he is.  And his death ends up ultimately anticlimacticbecause its not used to do anything.  There’sa reason that ultimately defeating a villain is usually saved for a seasonfinale/end of a movie/end of a saga, or at least a mid-season/mid-saga finale, becausethat’s where it works best.  If you endup using it at a much earlier point you better have a damn good set-up orreason for doing so (which, again, Frieza’s works but Zarkon’s doesn’t)

What I think the writers should have done to make this workwas use Zarkon’s death to fully establish Sendak.  And they appear to somewhat start doing thisbefore shoehorning Lotor in as the villain for that season.  Sendak was personally chosen and traineddirectly by Zarkon, and the relationship essentially comes off as Zarkon usingSendak to replace Lotor.  We start to seethis in Haggar backing Sendak, Sendak fighting at the Kral Zera, and thenleading the Fires of Purification.  Butthen after S6E1, Sendak just fucks off the entire rest of the season, and we’releft with the poorly established/poorly executed/shoe-horned “Lotor was avillain all along!” finale.  Granted,Sendak returns as a rather terrifying villain in s7, but I feel its completelyundercut by s6.  

What I believe ultimately would have worked better is, postZarkon’s death and keeping closer to the canon we got, continuing to build upSendak as a villain until the s7 finale. Have him be motivated as getting revenge for Zarkon, or that he feelsthat only he is the proper/true successor to Zarkon.  Have him keep attacking the paladins/Lotor inincreasingly difficult/ insane manner (like the attack on Omega Shield), suchas killing people/planets just to get at the paladins/Lotor.  Needing more power or ships to fight Sendak couldhave also fed into the reason they go to Oriande, completing Sincline, andgetting into the quintessence field, which in canon feels rather disjointed withshaky motivations.  Then take Sendak allthe way up to the point of he is either directly the reason, or Haggar throughSendak, is the reason the Castleship is destroyed and the Lions are withoutpower.  Then, instead of killing them offlike fish in a barrel, he does something else to hurt them more:  letting them know he’s going to destroy Earth,and leave.  That in turn would make Sendakan even greater villain in s7.  

I also have an opposing idea of directly building Zarkon upproperly for a season then turning it over to Sendak the next season, but thatwould be an entire post in itself.  

[bearpillowmonster]

Finished Stranger Things S4. Finally.

I feel like the episodes have gotten longer and longer, they started out around an hour with a 50 minutes average then by season 3 crawled their way up to an hour and 20 but now we're talking like feature film length hour 40, I guess you can't really complain about content but I feel like it's a lot of filler. My sister is a big Stranger Things fan and she actually fell asleep during the whole Vecna reveal because it was taking so long. The last episode is 2 hours and 20 minutes, like, AVATAR IS 2:40!!!

The whole prison thing could've been done and taken care of half way through, they didn't have to spend the whole season on it, just to split up the characters, it feels like they just set that up to be a reward at the end but it was no big surprise, it wasn't really hiding anything and didn't really add anything either, definitely a side quest.

Speaking of splitting, because of the long runtimes, I'd often forget what was even going on with previous characters because they jump between them what seems like so frequently yet also seems like they focus on them forever, the pacing kind of got to me. This season isn't bad though, I just prefer the other three. I mean what I wanted from the future of Stranger Things was more superpower stuff and we got that, just not in the way I expected. I was kind of hoping for something more like S2 and expanding upon the ones that got out in the present rather than the past but it is what it is.

There were things that I liked but felt forever ago like the clock murder thing where they follow it into the woods...Basically everything we were getting at the beginning, I thought the Will and El brother sister thing was really fitting and cute but then Will...Will does nothing this season. I feel like he has nothing on his own, he's only there for Mike and when El gets picked on, he does NOTHING! I would've loved to see him stand up for her, I would've ate that sh** up!!!

You can tell the budget has been boosted, they have some new tricks for visuals this time around, I forgot I was even watching a series but it doesn't necessarily need to be flashy at this point. Season 3 would've been a good ending if they didn't have that post credits scene, I always thought that was stupid.

Now I'm going to get into a few spoilers having to do with the finale-

This whole season was basically a build-up. Which I'd be fine with, it seems like they're trying to make this last season the actual build up, promising Will relevancy, bringing everyone back together and having a consistent villain that they actually lost to but again, that runtime makes it feel just a little too much to be a build-up season. This was no Infinity War.

There were things that I felt like needed justified, like bring Hopper back that just didn't happen because we spent the whole season on bringing him back. It just feels like this was here to introduce problems and we just have to wait for the solutions.

They show El going into Max's mind and not seeing anything but she doesn't go in water or salt or any of that jazz, so did she just suddenly learn how? Or maybe I forgot a part where she did it previously? Also speaking of Max, what's the deal with that?

You're telling me that Vecna needed 4 victims, 4 places to make these sacrifices so they can converge but if Max isn't dead, how does that count as a kill? The only thing I can think of is if Max is now hosted by Vecna. I'm not quite sure what I think of Max dying because she was my favorite character in S3 and I like that they had the whole depression thing with Billy being gone but I don't think they need to kill her and the way she is now (blind, limbs broken and such) I'd like to see a character have all these disabilities and still prove to be a great character but I'm just not sure if it's Max.

[lightns881]

idk how this slipped past me but i just realized that the first chapter of elysium isnt in chronological order. obviously chapter 2 and 3 aren't since they detail george's time in prison all the way up until the breakout, but chapter 1 is a bit more subtle. when the chapter shifts into george's pov after bad and dt talk abt puffy and ranboo, i thought it was happening at the same. george and quackity were planning to break out just as dt was gonna investigate ranboo, BUT ITS NOT AND ITS SO COOL it kind of reminds me of breaking bad, where they include a scene from the future (out of context) at the very beginning of each episode, and eventually the plot leads up to that moment and you finally learn what's happening. it's kind of the same for this, bad and dream's convo is "the future" and everything else that's been written is supposed to be leading up to it. but now that qnfboo have finally broken out, these two storylines are abt to converge, and it's become "the present"

i hope that wasn't too difficult to understand but it was just something i noticed and thought was really cool! i always love it when writers include little flashforwards(?) to the future, and we the readers (or watchers) have to figure out how they got from point A to point B. also since the shift to the past in chapter 1 is so subtle, it's kind of deceiving. most would probably assume that's these two scenes are happening at the same time, therefore we wouldn't expect that ranboo would help qnf break out bc he's "currently" with puffy, while qnf are seemingly still executing an escape plan. i remember getting whiplash when quackity mentioned that ranboo was helping them break out bc i kept thinking "isnt he with puffy????? is this not happening at the same time?????" but then i realized that you were pulling a 'breaking-bad' and got super excited!!! it's definitely different from AL where everything was happening sequentially, but in this it's a bit more out of place, and I LOVE IT. so yea, bit of a tangent but i always love paying attention to details, even if they're a bit useless. idek if you did this on purpose but it made me happy nonetheless!

btw you mentioned before that dnf reunite at around 30k words into the book, and elysium is currently 29.3k words sooooooo... also something abt a bomb????? oh god what have they done

you got it right on point!!!

to go into further detail about why I chose to do that is basically, I already knew there would be two protagonist arcs leading the story: George and Dream. knowing that it would be essential to show George's time in Elysium to establish his conflict, I figured his section would be pretty long. at the same time, I didn't want to go on too long with one character and wait a few chapters in to introduce what the other is doing, so I chose to introduce Dream's conflict first and what would basically drive the reason that they would come back together: Ranboo.

thus, I chose to begin in the present with Dream and slightly in the present with George (though earlier than Dream's segment) because both scenes establish the external conflicts that essentially kickstart the story:

1) that Dream is going to California to investigate Ranboo and these new EMs and 2) that George is breaking out

later, there will be brief part of a chapter that recalls Dream's time and how he gets to where he is at the beginning of chapter 1 and after everyone is on the same page about their motives, current desire, misbelief and conflict, that is when they will cross paths and when the fun part will begin :))

and I estimated it would be 30k but now it's looking more like they'll meet around 50k or more because Dream's side still has to be established, I'm doing my best to make sure every scene I include has a reason to be there and doesn't feel redundant or like filler, meaning every scene must advance the plot and affect the characters inner conflict in some way, hopefully I've done that well enough, but like I said before, I don't have any help so the story isn't perfect, but I try to make it as good as it can be!

what a great catch you got there! I also really enjoy timeliness you put together and that make everything connect, it feels so satisfying to figure it out!!! :D

[kuronekonerochan]

Some call it filler...I call it too little. I was more than ready for a full episode of Woo Dois Hwan (yeah, the pun only works in PT, more ppl would have got it in Spanish, but I don't wanna, so it's Woo 2 Hwan).

As this drama progresses, the more evident the flaws pop up for me and slowly make it less enjoyable. There continues to be little on the way of arcs or character development that would make us care for the main/secondary cast, while they keep giving too much screentime to the most boring and repetitive "plotlines".

The randos doppelganger that are being replaced...we get it. I got it last week. You can show it only once drama for me to understand this is the villains' M.O. and I'll assume I should suspect the ppl infiltrated in the palace and any character of importance that might come up on future episodes of being a parallel world doppelganger loyal to the traitor prince. I don't need to be spoonfed every scene of every person the villain replaces. It's a waste of time that wrecks the pacing of the story.

The prime minister: oh god is she the textbook definition of how NOT to write a "powerful" female character. She is the Bechdel nightmare. I can't stomach another scene of her obsessing over the crown prince or talking about what she's wearing. Again, if they're going for crazy antagonist instead of the competent politician, a few scenes would be enough to establish her obsession. At this point most of her scenes are annoying filler.

And with that it takes screentime away from the other thousand characters that were supposed to give this drama the human element and make us care but that we barely know. BL fanfic press crown lady and doppelganger coffee counterpart, the Woo Do Hwans, the cops and lady Noh. This drama presents itself as an ensemble cast drama and then it forgets half its characters. They don't even relate to each other, let alone to the viewers. For example it would have been a nice touch to make coffee lady and eun seup an item, but very lowkey, just a passing comment and a background scene of the two. Something like that would tie into the whole parallel worlds thing and sort of predestination, and would be interesting for Yeong and BL Fanfic lady, who have just met. It's a pity that the drama doesn't allow for any of the characters to interact with each other, only one by one with the leads. It makes it hard to connect. I miss BL lady and Lady Noh together.

Besides taking screentime away from the secondary characters we were supposed to care about, the drama is also getting messier on the actual plot development part. They throw elements around and I can guess roughly where this is going, but the sloppy way they add new info to the story is so confusing and boring I honestly don't care much for it. And for a time/dimension-travel murder mystery to fail at being interesting is probably more difficult than keeping ppl curious with this premise but somehow I really lost interest in the whole investigation side of it.

On the plus side, I am still in the minority of really liking LMH's character. I like how self assured he is, how calm and level headed he is. He is arrogant bc that comes with being the king but he's not the typical rich kid. He is not mean, actually he is pretty considerate. He's a smart nerd but not overly obnoxious about it, since he doesn't put down others for not getting it. He has a huge sense of responsibility and a genuine interest in being the best leader he can be and he is not resentful in the least, but instead is at peace with his role despite the restricted lifestyle that comes with it. Idk but the fact that he is so calm and gentle instead of a manbaby with manpain and angsty temper tantrums we're supposed to excuse bc of his murdered father childhood trauma issues and entitled position...well it sits well with me.

TL/DR: This drama is getting more annoying and there are issues everywhere, but I'm hanging on purely on double WDH and Gentleman LMH crack.

Dying here!!!

The two WDH interactions were the highlight of the episode for me!

Honestly, I continue to truly enjoy this drama, though I appear to be in tumblr minority. Is it going to make me cry tears of blood and write reams of meta? Nope (though the whole concept of bad guy killing off important people in one world and replacing them with doppelgangers is fascinating and like something of a much darker, twistier show).

But it constantly puts me in a happy, good mood. I enjoy all these characters, I enjoy watching them and seeing what’s going on with them, and smiling and feeling warm.

The OTP also continues its sweetness. They don’t have mind-blowing chemistry but, once again - cute. Sometimes that is all I want, especially since the world seems to be spinning off its axis.

I mean, how could you not adore a drama that gives us this: