#here's to hoping that episode 7 is as much of a banger as episode 6

[absoluteinsanity-mdashton]

I know I'm a bit late on this but I managed to watch the episode when it came out so here's what I got right and what I got wrong:

-Truce between Tessa, J, N, V and Uzi to stop the absolute Solver. Doll just ditched the group for her own personal benefit lmao

- More Background info about Cabin Fever labs: I may have gotten that wrong since we never got to see the labs themselves which I assume is where the elevator leads to at the end of the episode.

- Who's controlling the Raptor Drones?: They're called Sentinels and aren't really controlled by anyone. They were just used as a last resort protocol to eliminate all Drones.

- More info about Nori: According to Alice (the Wendigo Drone), Nori left her and the other workers for dead after the core collapsed (which may have been caused by her).

-Sadly Thad didn't make an appearance other than the absolute Solver who took Cyn as a host (according to Tessa) possessing Uzi.

Some predictions for episode 6 before the actual premiere because I'm bored AF but Hyped as hell!!!

- Truce between Tessa, J and Doll and Uzi, N and V to stop the absolute solver

- More background info about Cabin Fever labs

- Who's controlling the Raptor Drones

- More info about Nori (like who really stabbed her)

- Maybe Cyn makes an appearance (or Thad)

Either way I'm hyped!!! See y'all tomorrow 👋

[chialeah]

TCR EPISODE 9

Fuck- this episode was so tense and heartbreaking but so so good! Definitely the toughest episode to watch so far. Masterclass in acting from all the cast involved! Major spoilers below!

1. With minimal dialogue from Danny this episode Tom brilliantly spoke through his eyes/body language to convey Danny’s inner thoughts/emotions. I truly was heartbroken watching Danny watch Candy betray him and stay loyal to Marlin. Also his face during the final scene! I truly couldn’t handle it.

2. The actress playing the DA is eating fr. I will definitely have to check out more of her work! Christopher Abbott has also been giving a wonderful performance these past few episodes. I’m such a big fan of his work and TCR has been a great addition. They truly are the backbone of the trial and have been doing a great job raising bigger issues/questions about Danny’s overall place.

3. Annabelle, Angelo, and Jerome taking the witness stand was a great addition. You could tell that they all were sort of empathetic to the internal struggles Danny has been dealing with(whether or not he deserved it in those specific situations). Jerome-I love you fr! I’ve loved his performances from these past two episodes and am grateful that he has been able to show a more gentle/vulnerable side to Danny and his alters.

4. Candy! I appreciate that the episode established that she was at the receiving end of abuse too. “Guilt or Grief, which one can you bear” is such a banger line and it was interesting to see how Candy reacted to it. I HATE that she did that to her own son but I get why she was so afraid. She wasn’t ready to lose everything so she decided push her own son further away by lying. Truly a shame fr! I hate Marlin so so so much! Appreciate the actor giving this role his all because he’s truly made Marlin such a despicable character lol. The look of heartbreak between Candy and Danny after she took the stand will haunt me.

5. The final scene! I had such a visceral reaction to this scene it was crazy! I knew that the binder clip was going to come back in a dangerous way. The look of solemn terror but also relief after Danny harms himself was so heartbreaking I legit started to sob. I do appreciate the show not showing the action of abuse or self harm but rather the characters reactions to it. I think this is a really smart way to emphasize the emotional/psychological toll it takes. I have a lot of questions about the outcome of Danny’s action in this scene but i guess we’ll find out more next week!

6. Spoilers!- From the set pictures and locations used during the filming of episode 10 it seems that whatever the outcome of the trial is Danny hopefully (eventually) gets sent to a mental facility upstate! Looks like some time has passed and Rya goes to visit Danny. He even has his scars from where he harmed himself! I’ll put some of the set pics below! This is truly saving me from having a full freak out about this episode lol.

Hopeful that we get to have some closure for Ari, Jonny, and the other alters in some capacity in the next episode. Hopefully Candy steps up in some way in the next episode as well. I also am looking forward for Danny’s defense (including Rya) to get a fucking win in the incoming parts of the trial. This show has truly done a great job giving example to the nuanced history mental illness has had within the social/judicial/political systems at play here in the U.S. Can’t believe we’re at the finale already! Looking forward to seeing these storylines get wrapped up. Great job all around! Bravo Tom!

My episode ranking so far:

9-8-7-6-3-5-4-2-1

[skiplo-wave]

Rank the Batman cape episodes

Episode 1- first episode and pretty much drops you right into Gotham. Batman is just starting everyone thinks he’s a myth. We get Oswalda, the penguin. Very much highlight of episode. Overall 9/10. Def want see Mama penguin in s2

Episode 2- we get introduced to clayface. Out the line up I say this was most forgettable for me. Like his design but can’t say much else. 3/10

Episode 3- Catwoman episode! One of my favorites. Seeing Selina and Bruce hit off. Then banter as Batman and Catwoman 💕💕 I say it was funniest episode too with Selina maid being sassy 10/10.

Episode 4- New rogue aka firebug an arsonist. Dark episode. Not only corruption of Gotham cops and city being what it is. Honestly this episode would fit perfectly in BTAS for dark themes. 7/10 only cause I hate they killed off firebug at end of episode :/ fuck Flass and Bullock all homies hate them

Episode 5- New harley debate episode. Love the take on Harley, Babs gets here time to shine. Another favorite episode of mine. 10/10 Harley def will be back s2

Episode 6- Pretty eh on this one. Ghost factor felt like saturday morning cartoon. The witch guy was neat but that's about it 2/10

Episode 7- Like got another Babs focus episode but Onomatopiea man was hugh let down. Bro didn't do shit but say sound effects >:/ What a waste. 2/10 only because like twist on hit be on Babs than Gordon.

Episode 8- Adore this episode. Batman saving kids always banger episode. And seeing the baby robins 🥺🥺. Natilia reminds me of Ace from justice league. another favorite 9/10 Bruce getting jumped by circus folks was pretty funny.

Episode 9- Harvey becoming two face. The acid thrown at him because he wasn't gonna cave for govenor dude was dark. Tbh not fan of two face design because his face borderlines messing with my trypophobia. 8/10

Episode 10- It's part 2 episode but prefer this one over 9. Harvey and Babs dynamic very neat. Tbh he reminds me of Telltale Harvey/Two face. Batman having a gun had me nervous, raw scene for sure. Bruce finally calling Alfred by his name 🥺🥺🥺 Lastly shot of Batman on building with lighting 🔥. And of course teaser of Joker. The batjokes and joker stan in me is ready 10/10

Series as a whole I say is a good 8.5/10. If you loved batman the animated series this good successor. New voice actor for Bruce and Batman did real good job. Can't wait see how new Joker voice will do ( he's got deep voice too) I hope see how show handle other rogues: Ivy, Mr.Freeze, Mad hatter, Scarecrow, etc. New rogues too!

I'm glad Warner bros decided to sell series than write it off. This show could fit well in toonami line up. It's been long time seeing guns in animated series for teens+

Highly recommend giving show a watch :D

[draconicsparkle]

Tips and Tricks for Writing Fanfiction by Yours Truly

Hello there, my fellow fandom enjoyers! I have come to pass on some wisdom.

Have you ever had an idea that came to your mind? One that you feel could be an amazing fanfiction? But perhaps you halt right there because you might be thinking you could never write it well enough. Well, I was very much in the same boat a few years ago, so I know how it is.

However, I believe you should still give it a go! And I have compiled a list of advice tidbits that have helped me. And perhaps, they can help you too!

I dunno what sparked this desire to make and post this, but I thought it might help someone out there! Well then, let’s begin!

1: First and foremost, congratulate yourself on coming up with an idea. That part can often be difficult and you have already jumped that incredible hurdle. And it’s important to keep in mind that you should be writing this for YOU. It’s a personal project for you and it does not matter how niche it is. It’s something fun! That’s super vital to remember, to have fun with this idea in your mind!

2: I recommend taking at least a week or two to jot down notes about your au. Write down the absolutes in your world and events you want to happen. Character traits or details, powers, settings, conflicts, banger lines, etc. These ideas can spring into being at literally any time, so be sure to write them down as soon as you can, as your memory might not recall these little things later down the line.

3: For stories, make sure you know where it will begin and where it will end. Smaller details can be changed later down the line as you see fit, but do try and know the end goal and what you want to accomplish. This can also be applied to fics that are more episodic in nature. What do you want to happen by the end? Once you have that squared away, then you can begin to build around that.

4: So here’s a tip to help save yourself from stressing too much. Don’t set deadlines or make promises about when the fic or chapter will be completed and posted. Motivation comes and goes and it’s often beyond your control. Some days you can write 1000 words, and some you will only manage a single sentence. That’s normal! Don’t force your brain to overwork and stress by wanting to adhere to a deadline. No stress should be involved for something you are doing for fun.

5: Do not pay attention to the word count. A fanfic is a fanfic, no matter what the length is. Don’t beat yourself down if the fic is short. Some people love a nice and short fic! What’s important is that you accomplished what you set out to do.

6: ALWAYS edit. You can do this with a beta reader or by waiting about a day and rereading your current draft. You would not believe how helpful this is. Mistakes are bound to happen. But don’t get discouraged! Even big name authors make mistakes on their works, so don’t worry if you find some in your first drafts. It’s totally fine and easily fixable!

And here are a few other bonus tidbits that might be helpful.

7: If you are choosing to begin a fanfiction with multiple chapters, I would suggest writing at least two chapters before posting. It helps you get a good feel on if you want to continue or have enough steam for it. There is no shame in deciding to put it aside if you don’t have enough energy to do it at that time!

8: I also highly recommend that you go and read books and other fanfictions. It actually helps a lot more than you realize. You unconsciously will begin to pick up on writing styles and see what does or doesn’t work. Perhaps you might also expand your vocabulary!

So yeah, that’s my advice that I’ve accumulated from writing fics by trial and error. I do really hope that you find it useful and helpful! Good luck on your works!

[heatwa-ves]

top 5 doctor who episodes

allowing myself to group 2 parters into one for this bc otherwise the entire list would be just the S9 finale. also it's 10 not 5 because I have too many opinions

1. face the raven/heaven sent/hell bent. to the surprise of no one it's the twelveclara episodes at my number one 💖 heaven sent the best timeloop episode ever. he spent four and a half BILLION years dying over and over and over for a chance at bringing clara back to life. and then he was gonna do to her what he did to donna but she reversed the polarity (doctorification of clara oswald. hello. can you hear me) and he lost his memory of her!!!!!! and the diner scene!!! references to impossible astronaut!!! "I think it's called Clara"!!!!!! Every single thing ever!!!!! claras third insane immortal lesbian situationship!!!! Rigsy!!!! It's the best written episodes ever I'll never recover

2. the empty child/the doctor dances she's got everything! christopher eccleston being excellent as always I miss him. dancing as a metaphor for bisexuality and polyamory! captain jack!! no monster!! just this once everyone lives!! a beautifully hopeful ending!! genuinely scary at times!! great minor characters!! rewatching this last november is what got me back into dw it's That Good

3. flatline CLARAAAA CLARA CLARA ITS A CLARA EPISODE. the doctor is her little purse dog. rigsy being great. scary ass monsters. clara being everything. this kickstarting my favorite plotline. beginning of claras doctorification. "goodness had nothing to do with it." clara lying to her boyfriend because she's fucking insane and still dedicated to maintaining her actively failing relationship with a guy she never loved. The ending scene. Clara.

4. mummy on the orient express twelveclaraisms 💖 this episode has everything the drama the intrigue the murder mystery the orient express IN SPACE! MAISIE!!!!! one of my fav side characters! such incredible lines "everything would be easier if we liked the people we're meant to like, but then there'd be no fairy tales" twelve getting clara to lie to maisie that she can be saved!!! more doctorification!!! THE I LOVE YOU SCENE. CLARA OSWALD. SHAKES YOU. god it's everything. have I mentioned Maisie. I love Maisie. claras hair and outfit

5. deep breath more twelveclaraisms idk what you expected from me. claras perfect outfits. the beginning of the best dynamic ever. peter capaldis first episode! a dinosaur! jenny and vastra!!! moral questions!! missys first appearance!! and of course the final scene!! the final scene of this episode is THE best twelveclara scene perhaps the best dw scene in general

6. world enough and time/the doctor falls I have never cried so much 👍👍👍👍👍 canonical selfcest which is not addressed enough that was insane. awesome premise the cybermen returning in tandem with the master to once again reflect their relationship with the doctor in a twisted version of humanity! Missy!!! Everything about missy!!! goodness without hope without witness without reward!! her death as the perfect scene that her whole arc has built up to!! everything about bill!!! at least she got a happy ending god bless immortal lesbianisms. I feel sick.

7. amys choice amy centric episode 💖💖💖💖💖 really really good what else can I say. It was one of the first dw episodes I watched several years ago and its still a banger. can we talk about how she killed herself rather than live in a world without rory. "this can't be reality because rory isn't here and if it is reality I don't want it" perfect episode no notes

8. the waters of mars it's so fucking good there's nothing else to say. really good standalone episode even if you've never seen any other dw.

9. silence in the library/forest of the dead beginning of the river arc!!! impeccable doctordonna chemistry as always they work so well together it's astounding. really compelling and interesting!!!!! it's so good!!!!! another one that's worth watching even if you haven't seen any other dw

10. the angels take manhattan okay listen. hear me out. it's objectively kind of bad because of the awful awful massacre of the angels lore BUT I will ignore that because every single amy and rory scene is pure perfection. another contender for best dw scene. the last scene with amy makes no sense because eleven and river were looking at the angel so it shouldn't have been able to move but ill ignore that because its sooooo good. I love amy I love rory. worst part of the episode is that she changes her name to amelia williams tho she would not fucking do that. it's rory pond not amy williams.

honourable mentions: smith & jones, utopia, every single episode in S4, the eleventh hour, vincent and the doctor, the girl who waited, the god complex, the lodger, listen, thin ice, oxygen, twice upon a time. ANYWAY!!!!

[formulaorange]

Winter 2023 Anime Review

This has got to be the longest season ever. I swear I stopped watching anime for a good few months and came back and the season's still going. I definitely cut down the amount of shows I watched this season since I burnt out but the upcoming Spring season should be a banger. My top 3 for this season: Buddy Daddies Sugar Apple Fairy Tail The Vampire Dies in No Time Season 2 Here's this seasons final reviews:

Giant Beasts of Ars - 12 Episodes Definitely one of the better anime originals I've seen in a while. This is a new sci-fi fantasy concept that felt a little reminiscent of Ghibli content. I was satisfied with the story but was a little disappointed they didn't end it off with 1 season. 8/10- Very Good

Trigun Stampede - 12 Episodes I honestly loved this. Studio Orange killed it with the 3d animations (they did Beastars) and the story is well rounded. I think the series is definitely underated and many people skipped it due to the animation style but it's 100% worth a watch. 8/10 - Very Good

Vinland Saga Season 2 - (Still airing - 12/24 Episodes) Who knew we'd see Facebook's farmville be animated in such detail. But honestly, the first half of this season is absolutely brutal. I know they're keeping it real and the slow pace makes the rest of the season stand out all that much more but damn. Doesn't pick up until episode 9 but somehow I still have high hopes for the rest of the season. (Side note - Mappa is killing it as usual with this take-over) 7/10 - Good

Blue Lock - Part 2 (Episodes 13-24) This is definitely still one of the best sports anime I've seen in the last few years. All the characters are unique and enjoyable to watch, the art style is solid and well executed and the story progresses at a decent rate. I honestly don't have many complaints about this series. (of course other than the usual butchering of english in the last 2 episodes) If you like sports anime, soccer or just want to watcha battle royal, this is one to check out. 8/10 - Very Good Endo and Kobayashi Live! - 12 Episodes This honestly didn't feel like a novel concept but I had a lot of fun. It's 2 romance stories in 1 but with all the fun of shitty otome game intervention animes. (I can't believe this is a genre now). Just overall wholesome fun. 7/10 - Good Revenger - 12 Episodes I really thought this series could've been better. While I did enjoy it to some extent, the story ended up feeling very superficial and didn't feel like it really went in depth on any of the characters and just floated along the surface story for the whole season. 5/10 - Average Tomo-Chan is a Girl - 13 Episodes I nearly stopped at the first episode. I'm still not 100% sold on the concept where this strong girl just wants to be seen as a romantic interest and a lot of the gender stuff was really on the edge but I think they managed to walk around it. The story did end up being cute without it stepping all over tomboys. Was fun to watch but not as good as the hype behind the manga. 6/10 - Fine Campfire Cooking in Another World with my Absurd Skill - 12 Episodes I really enjoyed the manga for this series and I was stoked that Mappa picked it up. I found that as long as you don't try to look for a serious story from this series it's a fun lighthearted watch. Definitely made me hungry while watching. 7/10 - Good The Eminence In Shadow - Second Half I think this show was actually pretty fun. Definitely more of a fantasy than isekai since it has nothing to do with his previous life. I had fun with Shadow's character but found that it got boring for a few episodes until the end. If it continues I'll likely still check it out. 7/10 - Good

The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague - 12 Episodes This was really cute and I liked the change of pace from other romance series where they're all workforce adults, like in Wotakoi. Still felt that it didn't really go anywhere. Enjoyed it but likely won't continue to watch if there's a second season. 6/10 - Fine

[goblinkuchen]

Doctor Who Series Review

For me, Jodie Whittaker's time as the Doctor was awful. They gave her the blandest episodes and didn't really carry through with anything they introduced to her character. I was so happy to hear Russell T Davies was back and I thought Ncuti Gatwa seemed a perfect fit for the Doctor, so my hope for the series were high. Did it live up to them?

WARNING: Doctor Who spoilers

Episode 1, Space Babies: This episode was... alright. The story was nothing to write home about but it definitely had some interesting parts, like finding out the Nanny was a real person. I found the idea they had to protect the Bogeyman, who they had previously stated had literally no other function than to scare the babies, really odd. Overall, for a first episode it left me a little worried this series was going to be a lot like Whittaker's

Episode 2, The Devil's Chord: I HATED this episode. It felt very much like they were desperate to really drive in how evil the Toymaker is and decided on making this. The musical theme feels forced and the writing never made me feel actually worried about anything. The song at the end was so bad it was unbearable. I cannot believe they landed the Jinxx Monsoon and gave her this.

Episode 3, Boom: This episode saved my sanity. The ideas of the ambulances was so interesting and the stakes were actually somewhat high, which I loved. I would have liked if they had explained how the Anglican Church merged with the Armed Forces or just focused on that factor a bit more as I was very intrigued by it.

Episode 4, 73 Yards: Best episode of Doctor Who in years. There was real creepiness, which I hadn't felt in so long. Using Welsh folklore made it even better. I will live and die by this episode.

Episode 5, Dot and Bubble: I probably would have enjoyed this episode more if it hadn't come after the bombshell of '73 Yards'. The whole idea of rich kids being sent to this alien planet and forgetting how to walk because they're so reliant on their bubble is amusing. I loved the ending.

Episode 6, Rogue: This episode was fine by my estimations. A lot of my friends went crazy for it because it had Jonathan Groff in it. It didn't really strike me as anything amazing, though I do think the Doctor and Rogue's plot line carried this.

Episode 7, The Legend of Ruby Sunday: This felt so old Doctor Who. I nearly screeched when the teleprompter got possessed, the 'harbinger' reveal was another delicious reveal. Really very fun.

Episode 8, Empire of Death: Honestly, what a let down. What do you mean Ruby's mum was just normal? They built this up all series, about Ruby being 'different', her mum seeming supernatural. Sutekh is throwing a hissy fit over not being able to see some teenage girl's face? This felt like a sloppy ending. Also, was expecting Ruby to last more than one series.

Overall, I think this series shows real promise for the future. It had some real bangers and I hope it only gets better from here.

[suworkbook]

Welcome to what might be the most critical event of 2020: Our countdown of the top 10 lesbian moments in Steven Universe Season 1. 

10. 

Take a trip down memory lane, back to when this liveblog was more sceptical and we were all still living in a society so we had things like manners and reason. The lesbians were only a distant dream, but for a brief moment Pearl and Amethyst made mad eyes at each other and threw each other around in the world’s most passive aggressive two-step to become one singular giant Aimee Mann, even though all they really wanted was a long nap. A golden age.

9. 

Greg steps up and gives us some of that old-school, self-made, independent woman energy with his absolute banger, Comet. As Greg’s rough, grainy vocals go crazy over shimmery power chords and a drummer that can only be thumping away like mad in Greg’s MIND, you could easily picture him frontlining for K’s Choice in 1998. Incredible lesbian representation.

8. 

Pearl gives us a really strong start to season onebee by immediately levelling up her lesbian energy and evolving into grimy mechanic Pearl who gets excited over Garnet bench pressing vans. The only thing we can say for certain is her next reincarnation is going to be wearing flannel and a trucker hat. 

7. 

Shout out to Sadie, who carries constant fight club energy with her. It’s very hot when a girl is ready to smash anything with a chair at any time, but it’s even hotter when they do it while wearing ripped jeans with stubbly legs. More Sadie beating people up in 2021.

6. 

Pearl really went above and beyond on lesbian duty this season, even going so far as to channel the spirit of the most sapphic 90s shoujo of them all. 

5. 

LIFE CHANGING MOMENT RIGHT HERE.

4. 

Pearl doing pretty much anything in Rose’s Scabbard. What was she doing? None of us can really say for sure, but it held a lot of DEEP MEANING and IMPORTANT METAPHOR for Pearl and that’s all that really matters. Pearl got afflicted by the world’s worst case of U-Haul syndrome by skipping straight into running away from home and joining a war for a giant space lady who hadn’t even held her hand yet, and it was probably AWESOME.

3. 

I mean just look at it.

2.

Amethyst literally dove into Garnet’s spread thighs, and this one still beat it out for pure lesbonic vibes.

1. 

I would name this whole episode if I could, including the parts where Jasper and Lapis hate fuse, Ruby’s entire existence, and the bit where Peridot slams her face into the floor hoping for the sweet release of being flung into space. This is the purest lesbian experience - chaotic, tired, surrounded by exploding machinery on fire and having NO TIME for ANYTHING except BEING A LESBIAN and KISSING YOUR GIRLFRIEND’S FACE. 

[onetimetwotimesthreetimess]

I binged all 3 season of lone star in a week. here are some of my thoughts.

I liked season 2 the best. the quality, storylines and character developments were so much better. season 3 was good too but it wasn't as exciting. I liked that we got more of tarlos tho.

tk and carlos are so good looking. i love s3 carlos with slightly longer har and glasses! i'm still processing him in those reading glasses! and tk is so pretty how can someone be so pretty?

the characters are genuinely likable. it happens a lot that while the actors are hot their characters are really annoying. i loved almost every character in the show. owen's character and storylines were pretty unexpected but also fun. his relationship w tk was beautiful and i'm glad that towards the end of s3 that they haven't spent much time together. I really did not expect to like judd and grace let alone root for them. but i did! they're definitely my favorite couple on the show.

i liked the catan gang. their friendship seemed genuine and i like that they hung out and played board games and had fun in general (i hate it when staying in is considered boring). i loved how invested they were in each other's lives and supported each other.

i liked most of the storylines. it became a little repetitive in s3 but it was still fun. the one storyline that i didn't like was the Julius one. i didn't like his vibe and i didn't like them together.

i loved gwen. she was so beautiful and her flashback episode after she passed away BROKE me. Carlos' dad also grew on me. i definitely did not expect his alliance w owen so it was well executed.

once again i liked tarlos. at first i didn't feel much beyond them looking cute but as we got to actually see them i loved that they were so expressive of their love even though they were not loud about it. i usually find the jealous storyline kinda cringey but in their case i liked how the cooper episode ended.

sorry for ranting. i just really liked it and can't think of anything else.

Hello cutie. Hi. 🌻

You were watching S2 like 2 nights ago and now you’ve finished S3. Respect to you>>>

1. S2 was a banger. For S4, I hope they have more thrilling calls too.

2. Whoever let Rafael Silva let out his curls lose needs to be paid in fucking billions. Not all heroes wear capes, and Rafael’s hairdresser deserves one asap.

3. 1000%. All the lonestar characters are very very likeable. I find Owen annoying at times tbh though. I’m not particularly a fan of alpha male characters sjksshsk. Tommy, Judd and Grace are faves.

4. Catan gang is the best found family ever.

5. OMFG I HATED JULIUS. I AM SORRY BUT BIG FUCKING NO. THAT IS YOUR DEAD BROTHER’S WIFE SIR.

6. Gwen’s death’s episode is my favorite. I think it was Ronen’s best work ever. And Lisa was amazing. I loved how raw and ugly that episode was and how it portrayed addiction.

7. Tarlos my beloved. TK proposing to Alex VS Carlos was a beautiful circle and I loved that. And the Cooper episode was great imo. I think it was much needed for Carlos to understand and let go off a little bit of that control.

P.S. never apologise for ranting about my favourite shows. They are the reason for my existence jsjsks so rant away babygirl.

[mashi-sims]

Ranking AHW's S5 Episodes

I know that ranting about how bad some of the episodes this season were isn’t going to change the fact that they were, in fact, bad, but I still wanted to do an overview of this season in my opinion, and I love ranking stuff, so here it goes:

Also, I should mention that, yes, this is Cooliver biased, although I did take other plotlines into consideration, but mostly Cooliver. Also, lol, I could only add 10 photos so the #13, #12 and #11 don't get one, also they don't deserve it.

Tier 1: I wish they could be un-written, please.

13. 5x12 How Oliver Got His Groove Back

I’ll start with my least favorite episode, and the one we all wish we could unsee. This is the episode where Oliver is feeling down because the girl WE, THE AUDIENCE, just realized he liked, doesn’t like him back (which is a whole other thing), so Katie gets him a date with this girl that’s never been introduced in the show before. Oliver doesn’t want to see her, but he still does, and then he realizes she’s nice, and just like that, he’s happy again. I feel like this plot would not have been that bad if it hadn’t been so out of character, unexplained, and utterly designed to be filler for the season. Worst episode from my perspective, wouldn’t watch it again, barely watched it the first time, ugh, next-

12. 5x11 The Guardian

Same thing with this one, very uneventful episode that talks nonsense, introduces the idea of Oliver liking Lindsay and thinking they’d been dating, but nobody knew about it! How convenient! And again, doesn’t progress into anything, and it just feels out of character, forced, and like they didn’t even try to hide that it was a filler episode. Wouldn’t watch it again, I don’t even think about it, I’ve erased it from my mind. The only reason why this episode is ahead of 5x12 is because of Kathryn and Anna-Kat, and JD trying to find his egg donor, other than that, still pretty ugh.

Tier 2: Did the writers really look at their script and think; “ah, well done”?!

11. 5x07 Under Pressure

I kinda enjoyed this episode even if it didn’t include any Cooliver. I liked Anna-Kat’s storyline about not feeling her popularity and sticking to Franklin, I really really love these two together! So cute! Also, Taylor helping Oliver relax and not stress out that much was nice, although not amazing. Katie and Greg’s double date that led to a city council rivalry, I don’t care for it. Overall, I don’t know if this was intended to be a filler episode, but it totally felt like one to me; a nice episode but not one I’d watch again.

10. 5x05 Kids These Days

Eh, pretty uneventful. Katie wants Franklin and Anna-Kat to be more edgy and to take more risks, ends up in completely nothing. Oliver wants Boosterin and he accidentally drugs Greg, also ends up doing nothing for the storyline. The only thing I liked about this episode was seeing how Cooper cared about Oliver and how Oliver said “Your boy is doing both”, the Cooliver content was still good; other than that, eh. Also, the strange order in episodes this season really threw me off.

9. 5x04 Homeschool Sweet Homeschool

Nice episode, but not one of the best. Mommy blog, Cooliver moves to the basement, Andre shows up and it’s all weird now, eh. I enjoyed this episode because of the Cooliver’s interactions more than anything, but it’s not the greatest in my opinion.

Tier 3: *Sits down on the couch with popcorn and a blanket*

8. 5x06 Mother’s Little Helper

I also enjoyed Cooliver this episode. Although their drinking arc was pretty pointless and, again, ended up being nothing!!, I liked seeing them together, and that shaking they gave each other was funny. This is the episode where Tami was introduced, and I really liked her from the beginning, although I do wish they would’ve given Katie’s original second breakfast club some sort of closure so I wouldn’t feel so guilty about liking Tami and JD, eventually.

7. 5x02 Psych

This episode always made me feel stupid because I never understood what was going on with Taylor, why she didn’t take her gap year, why she never told Katie and Greg that she had gotten in, or at least make something out of it, why she decided to go to another college or if Greg got her in just so she didn’t have to take a gap year, bUT THEN I realized they didn’t actually talk about it, so I’m not the stupid one, I think.

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this episode. I like Katie’s storyline of getting involved in other people’s lives after she sells her lasagna business (again, did they ever talk about that or am I stupid?)

This is the episode where we can see the change in Cooliver’s dynamic (a good thing), and the iconic line “stop bothering our boyfriends” saved my life. Having Taylor And Trip with Cooper and Oliver hanging out in the same frame is one of my favorite things and adds a few days to my life.

Franklin and Anna-Kat’s relationship also picks up in this season, and I really enjoy them in this episode. Also, Greg was very funny here, and I am grateful lol.

6. 5x08 Encourage, Discourage

I really liked how this was a Cooper-centered episode, really diving deep into his character instead of keeping him as a shallow side-character. By the way, how did Cooper get so much development and Oliver lost most of his? What was that? Anyway, Cooper saved this episode. I would’ve liked for Oliver to be a more supportive friend in this episode, but he was still there, at least.

Also, Cooper doesn’t think he’s too good for Oliver! Bless his heart.

5. 5x10 Getting Frank with The Ottos

I liked this episode very much! Again, Anna-Kat and Franklin melted my heart, but Oliver and Cooper squeezed it with Cooper’s realization of not wanting to go to Harvard, but Oliver eventually understanding and supporting him? Please, get married. Also, Oliver saying “We’re Cooliver”, and Trevor asking them if they were breaking up made my day. Could’ve been better and a bit more eventful, but it was good nonetheless.

4. 5x13 The Election

I really liked the finale, despite not having any Cooliver at all, the ending was pretty awesome, and I believe it really sets the tone for what could potentially be a great S6, that is if that’s actually happening AND if the writers stop it with the bullshit. Franklin and Anna-Kat getting engaged was very sweet, I adore them! Taylor and Trip getting really engaged was a bit cringe, but still adorable, and I love it! I just wish they had paid more attention to Oliver in this episode, but well, I guess his bang is not here yet and not every episode can be a banger. I hope that whatever comes next will be good enough that the wait will be worth it.

Tier 4: *Chef’s kiss, no pun intended*

3. 5x01 Graduation

Although this episode doesn’t really belong to this season, and it doesn’t share the same 〜vibe〜 with the rest of the episodes, since it has more of a S3-S4 energy, it’s still in S5 and I wanted to include it, too.

Not my favorite, but it’s one of the good ones imo. So much stuff happens in this episode that it almost feels cramped and overwhelming to me, with the graduation and the wedding, but I get that it was necessary to set the scene for S5 and close S4 even if it didn’t turn out the way they’d originally planned, and it came out fine considering the situation the producers were in, which can’t be said for every episode this season lol.

Taylor and Trip were adorable in this episode, Cooper was amazing, Oliver moping around was something I didn’t know I needed in my life, and Lonnie’s speech about not wanting his relationship with Greg to end, even if I never cared for his storyline, was really nice.

This episode made me think that S5 was headed toward amazing things, but not everything was good.

2. 5x09 The Heist

I love this episode because of Cooper’s development. Again, why couldn’t Oliver get that too? However, I did like how they made Oliver seem like he might’ve been a bit thirsty for his fellow Cooper over there, telling him multiple times that he’s good looking? Come on, tell us what you really mean.

Anyway, Cooliver really shone this episode, round of applause.

1. 5x03 Coupling

This episode is superior, bite me. I love everything about this episode, not only Cooliver. Katie and Greg trying to be supportive of their kids having sex with their boyfriends? Yes! Parallels between all four couples? Yes, please! Cooper and Oliver having their first married couple fight, Cooper feeling like he’s being replaced, but Oliver is doing it for the both of them and their future together? Yes! Masterpiece of an episode. I have no more to say.

Hands down, my favorite episode this season. Too bad mostly everything went downhill after that. I hope we do get a season 6 and that things pick up. This series deserves redemption, and Cooper and Oliver deserve to be happily in love together. Thank you.

[supergay-supergirl]

my official definitive supergirl half-season rankings (as of 2/17/22)

top 3 here, 4-12 under the cut

1. 3A

literally so good. banger after banger. kara depression episode, kara ptsd episode, kara religion and identity episode, high school episode... really everything about kara in general. sam arias my beloved. and the writing is just so good. putting it just barely above 4B because kara's character is exceptionally strong.

9/10 because they hadn't quite figured out lena's character yet

best episodes: 3x01 (girl of steel), 3x04 (the faithful), 3x06 (midvale), 3x09 (reign)

2. 4B

ALSO banger after banger!! every single episode starting with 4x13 (except for the flashback episode) absolutely slaps. the action is creative and dramatic. both manchester black and ben lockwood are such good characters and they contrast each other to discuss some really cool ideas. best dramatic twist to alex and kara. of course american dreamer my beloved. and lena's character really hit its peak in 4b, give this girl a break but also don't because it's amazing

9/10 because although the writing was great, I felt like they didn't quiiiite attain the emotional depth of previous seasons

best episodes: literally all of them. but perhaps 4x08 (bunker hill), 4x14 (stand and deliver), 4x19 (american dreamer), 4x21 and 4x22 (red dawn and the quest for peace)

3. 1A

1A absolutely slapped for similar reasons to 3A: kara hit these emotional points that are rarely hit on tv, and even if they are, they're not done as well. she doesn't get a superhero origin story, she gets an "unpacking the trauma from my real origin story" story and i'm here for it. red faced my beloved

8/10 because the villains and action are both boring as hell

best episodes: 1x06 (red faced), 1x07 (human for a day)

4. 4A

the writing is so good. the themes are so good. it honestly would not be ranked this high if the writing was worse but it's pitch perfect and I love it. my one comment which you're going to be seeing a lot of is that kara's character arc took a bit of a backseat starting in this season, which I think was a wasted opportunity.

8/10 because it's not exactly special but it's so so good

best episodes: 4x04 (ahimsa), 4x06 (call to action)

5. 5B

I am surprised that I like this as much as I do because I generally don't rank season 5 very high but !! yeah!! the themes were really strong and the emotions were great, especially for alex and lena. reality bytes my beloved. the finale was kind of not good but they get a little slack bc covid.

7/10 because I hated the plot actually. did not understand a single plot point of this entire season.

best episodes: 5x10 (the bottle episode), 5x15 (reality bytes), 5x16 (alex in wonderland)

6. 2B

ok 2B was kind of generic and I didn't really like rhea. but it also had a lot of great episodes like homecoming and exodus and alex! everything with alex and jeremiah was great. and then the second half of the finale alone brings this season up like 2 entire points. small world. mon-el. I cry

7/10 because sometimes it was annoying

best episodes: 2x13 (mr. and mrs. mxyzptlk), 2x14 (homecoming), 2x15 (exodus), 2x19 (alex)

7. 3B

season 3 really was the season of emotions wasn't it? sam arias my beloved x2, she had a lot of incredibly raw moments and was just amazing in general. and I loved all the stuff on argo city! my two complaints are that the writing wasn't quite as good and I also hated the plot. and the lighting. and the legion. imra why

7/10 because the plot gradually dissolved into chaos

best episodes: 2x16 (of two minds), 2x17 (trinity), 2x20 and 2x21 (dark side of the moon and not kansas)

8. 1B

very solid first season of supergirl. it just didn't quite hit for me. I didn't really like any of the characters except for kara james and cat. also the villains were boring. also non and indigo were extremely underwhelming big bads after astra. however blood bonds falling and the hope speech in better angels will give me chills forever.

6/10 because it was good I just didn't care

best episodes: 1x09 (blood bonds), 1x16 (falling), 1x18 (world's finest)

9. 6A

season 6 will always be a sore topic for me because it could have been so good if the writing was just better. each character went to depths they never had before, except for lena who gained emotional stability for the first time ever. I wish they had let those depths persist for more than an episode or two. I wish they had pulled out stronger themes. and I think a lot of these issues had to do with the fact that kara is the keystone of the show and she was barely there, which isn't their fault. however the writing was still meh and the filming itself felt weird, potentially because the tower is so teal?

6/10 because prom night and prom again were fantastic

best episodes: 6x03 (phantom menaces), 6x05 and 6x06 (prom night and prom again!)

10. 6B

once again I wish I could give this a higher ranking but it just... hhh... there was too much plot and too little character and the writing was kind of bad. they touched on something really interesting with kara but never lingered on it long enough to make as strong a point as they could have. nxyly was cool, lex was off-putting, seven totems is way too many and the tower was still a terrible color.

6/10 for blind spots and the nal sisters

best episodes: 6x08 (welcome back, kara!), 6x12 (blind spots), 6x13 (the gauntlet), 6x16 (nightmare in national city)

11. 2A

yeahhh it was fine I just didn't care. nothing was really happening with kara's character. mon-el was still in his annoying phase. I didn't really get the plot.

5/10 for one of the best coming out scenes I've ever witnessed

best episodes: 2x01 (the adventures of supergirl), 2x06 (changing)

12. 5A

mm I didn't like it... the plot was confusing and the writing wasn't that good. lena's character was great though. and confidence women was perfect.

4/10 because I was confused the whole time and not in a good way

best episodes: 5x01 (event horizon), 5x06 (confidence women)

[astro-break]

Thoughts on the 9th ep of Hypmic Rhyme Anima. Spoilers beware

Ep.1 | Ep.2 | Ep.3 | Ep.4 & 5 | Ep. 6 | Ep. 7 | Ep. 8

As I’m setting everything up, I’m rn buzzing w/ excitement bc wow I’m really excited to see what happens. Since we had a dual MTC and FP episode last time which ended with the announcement, I assume that we’ll have BB vs MTC or MTR vs FP. I hope that the anime can live up to the hype

Oh nice, they kept the same exterior of Chuuoku as the Manga and the games!

EYYYY THEY TOOK A MANGA SCENE AND ANIMATED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK YEAH! Shame they didn’t animate the part with Saburo and Jiro attempting to pull Ramuda away from Ichiro. That panel is hilarious [The Panel in Question]

A yes, Ramuda calling Jakurai “Jakurai no jiji” before turning around to be so bright and cheerful is just, hilarious I love it. They cut out the “shame, the old coot’s ears still works” part. The anime’s cutting out all the funny one liners aren’t they

The tension between the divisions were also really nicely crafted. I love how Jakurai had the change in tone when talking to Ichiro and Ramuda

localizing Hifumin to Hifumming is kinda interesting but also super cute. I also love how they really pushed for the fact that Hifumi is high energy and a bit hard to handle by making Ichiro sutter in surprise.

Ah oh no they cut out the part about Jiro calling Doppo a boomer lmao granted thats a translation liberty taken by Slugtranslationshypmic but its so funny!!

HERE COMES MTCCCCCCC!!!!

aw man, they cut out the fact that Rio and DIce know each other and how Jyuto and Doppo know each other too. Samatoki also doesn’t struggle much which is a bit of a disappointment but then again budget restricts so

I love it when Ramuda sticks out his tongue its so cute

They cut out a lot of great interarctions within the manga ugh. such a shame. There’s genuine bonds between the members of TDD who don’t have a grudge against each other and its such a shame that the Anime didn’t showcase this. Hopefully that will be explored later on but theres one panel in the manga that just shows the four of them existing peacefully with one another and that just. slaps so hard. can’t believe it was cut out

Im super disappointed that they cut out a lot of funny and witty one-liners from the manga. Those were the best part of the whole thing

Sez you? wtf lmaoooo thats hilarious. like i get the feeling they’re trying to get across but god thats hilarious

Love how the mics they’re holding have reverted to normal. No Hypnosis speaker subplot though.... wonder if they’ll change that later

they really had to give Ichijaku a 5 second boob shot huh

I think its interesting how the shots of the teams are telling of power dynamics and character. The leader is always in the center but BB are more evenly spread as if they’re equals, all facing forward to a same goal. MTC have their backs to each other, trusting each other to not only do their job but also protect each other. FP looks very fanservicy and that really plays well with the party vibes they have going on. Jakurai is the only leader whos not facing the viewer head on but from the side as is Hifumi and Doppo which implies that they’re either really dramatic or have a sense of mystery

Me slightly freaking out about the animation of TDD era Samatoki. but also he looks kinda off which ugh. poor dude, got hit by the bad animation bc apparently the staff there can’t draw slicked back hair Samatoki nicely

Actually the bad animation is kinda rampant here. Saburo’s been hit by the bad animation bug too

But apparently present day Samatoki is as hot as ever in his close ups so i guess they’re putting their money into making Samatoki looking sexy as hell which I can’t complain about

like damn, those eyelashes. The Hypmic team really said “hey Samatoki has the prettiest and longest eyelashes. Look at them” and those expressions oh my god those expressions

A bit fast paced actually. They aren’t giving very much time in between lines to make room for any breathing room. 

lol of course she pulls it out from her boobs. fanservice is strong here

wow they’re making it real clear who the real winners here are. 

Oh nice they’re keeping the rap abilities

aw damn it that sucks they didn’t show off Saburo and Jiro’s skills. I think Saburo could have easily blocked the group attack with his ability and Jiro could have at least knocked one person down. But its a shame that they have time constraints and can’t afford to draw the fight out longer

Boo the members droping like flies was no fun. But then again animation budget yeada yeada yea but i do wish that they had a little more flare with such a big event

Oh nice that was such a great twist!! I seriously thought for a second that BB would actually win! Even though I know how the whole thing plays out, I was fooled for a second into thinking that the Anime would go out and change the results to fit their agenda. But no! that was such a great way to pull off a dupe!!

Oh my god that was just. so good I was 100% ready to not like how the songs were but damn they pulled off a banger I don’t have too much to say about it but I found it very interesting how all of BB’s attacks are arcs of electricity with their trio of colors while MTC had a pretty big variety of attacks

[tinstol]

Even though I really didn’t like the direction the past four seasons have gone, I do still love supernatural. Yes it has some very low points in terms of quality, but I think we forget the high points. So I’m going to list some episodes that are absolute bangers

Season 1:

dead in the water, Home, Faith, Hell House, Devil’s trap

Season 2

In my time of dying, Simon Said, night shifter, tall tales, what is and what should never be, all hell breaks loose

Season 3

Bad day at black rock, a very supernatural Christmas, mystery spot, jus in bello, ghostfacers, no rest for the wicked

Season 4

Lazarus rising, in the beginning yellow fever, after school special, death takes a holiday, on the head of a pin, it’s a terrible life, the monster at the end of this book, the rapture, when the levee breaks, Lucifer rising

Season 5

The end, changing channels, the real ghostbusters, abandon all hope, the song remains the same, my bloody valentine, dark side of the moon, 99 problems, point of no return, hammer of the gods, two minutes to midnight, swan song

Season 6

Weekend at bobby’s, clap your hands if you believe, appointment in samarra, the French mistake, my heart will go on, the man who would be king, the man who knew too much

Season 7

Meet the new boss, defending your life, slash fiction, dearth’s door, time after time, the born again identity, party on Garth, the girl with the dungeons and dragons tattoo, reading is fundamental,

Season 8

We need to talk about Kevin, what’s up tiger mommy, southern comfort, a little slice of Kevin, hunteri heroici, larp and the real girl, as time goes by, freaks and geeks, pac man fever

Season 9

I think I’m gonna like it here, dog dean afternoon, holy terror, captives, #thinman, meta fiction, do you believe in miracles

Season 10

Fan fiction, the things we left behind, the hunter games, there’s no place like home, angel heart

Season 11

Baby, o brother where art thou, the devil in the details, don’t you forget about me, safe house, don’t call me shurley, all in the family, we happy few, alpha and omega

Season 12

Regarding dean

Season 13

Lost and found, the rising son, the bad place, wayward sisters, scoobynatural

Season 14

Moriah

Season 15

Our father who aren’t in heaven, the trap, the heroes journey

[poemistic]

top 10 mlp musical numbers

since I’ve been rewatching the childhood tv show, i was like ‘well why not?’ the songs I’ve chosen to rate are all from my mlp songs playlist on spotify, so it is already personally biased. when i watched mlp as a kid, most of my memories are from seasons 1 - 5 and maybe a little bit of season 6? (i really lost interest when starlight came into the picture as a “redeemed villain” like are you for real??) so a lot of these songs i have an attached childhood nostalgia to. if you think i missed any...no i didn’t ❤️ 

so before we get to the good part, we first got some honorable mentions (that are not in any particular order) 

the spectacle 

the smile song

ballad of the crystal ponies 

EQ cafeteria song 

in our town 

the magic inside

CHS rally song 

ACADECA 

life is a runway 

my past is not today 

you’ll play your part

awesome as i wanna be (after this are the songs I want to be in top ten but don’t make the cut ;-;) 

apples to the core 

glass of water 

unleash the magic (im really sad about this one its Good) 

raise this barn (THIS ONE WAS SO CLOSE TO BEING TOP TEN SO CLOSE)

----

omg those last two songs hurt to put on the honorable mentions. but now onto my top ten personal favorites! rated from least favorite to most. 

10.  What My Cutie Mark is Telling Me. (this song just scratches me right in my 9 yr old brain. I remember recording the episode this song was in and being so excited to see it. it was the season 3 finale. also rainbow dash, applejack, and rarity’s parts in this song Slapped period.) 

9. Flim Flam Brothers’ Super Speed Cider Squeezy 6000 (honestly 9 and 8 are tied but i like 8 just a liittttle bit better than this one. but like cmon.  the title? already fire. this song made me like capitalists HORSES for crying out loud. this one is a Bop and a half.) 

8. Hearts Strong as Horses (awkward title but the SNARES IN THIS SONG THO. this song gets me fucking pumped and not to mention this song is in the best cmc episode. just a really catchy upbeat tune. can’t go wrong.)  

7. Battle of the Bands (i have THREE DAZZLINGS SONGS IN A ROW for this. rainbow rocks really went off when making the dazzlings, adagio dazzle especially. All of their songs made onto the list because they’re just That Good. like Seriously. also me gay for adagio :P) 

6. Under Our Spell (ME BIG GAY FOR EVIL HYPNOTIZING WOMEN!!! the lyrics, the Vocals, the way you start to hypnotically sway unconsciously... its all so fantastic.)

5. Welcome to the Show (this song had me playing it on repeat and imaging that I was sunset singing along with twilight and the main six to defeat the dazzlings. i loved this song so much, so much serotonin. the dazzlings sound amazing and yea maybe the music in our hearts is a little cheesy but it still makes me pumped whenever i hear it 🥺RAINBOW ROCKS BEST EQ MOVIE)

4. Bats (im going to be totally honest here. Bats is objectively better than number three and will name you reasons why. Bats is those rare mlp duets where not only does it have really good dynamic exchanges between characters, but also drastic tonal changes with great visuals to go along with it.  Not to mention the duet is very confrontational, which you honestly can’t find much of in mlp. the song is definitely one of the best out there. Plus i also really love applejack’s angry singing voice. her yeehaw accent is just *chef’s kiss*) 

3. Babs Seed (the reason why bats is 4 and not 3 is well....it simply does not bop harder than babs seed. and babs seed is. A. BOP. this shit fucking BUMPS. SLAPS. HITS. A FUCKING BANGER. you put this on at a party i AM ON THE DANCE. FLOOR. PERIOD. just fucking listen to it alright. cause this is playing at my funeral.) 

2.  I’m The Friend You Need (listen this is song is soo good. you wanna know why? i didn’t watch the movie this song was in and it’s on my #2 spot in my Best Mlp Songs Ever list. Also just the trumpets, and how sleazy and slippery capper is and how his vocals exude that exact vibe. You never even meet characters like capper in mlp. everyone is either a friend or a villain who cackles with dramatic lightning in the back. capper is, refreshingly, neither. and the whole song in general just wants to make me samba or something i have no idea. just listen to the song!!) 

1. This Day Aria (i had to put this as number one. i had to. i am legally bound to do it. this song was the peak of the mlp fandom and my life. it was revolutionary. it changed fandom history. the season 2 finale was not advertised properly, but in a good way? they said nothing about the changelings and the queen At All. it was just “get ready for mlp’s season 2 finale! a canterlot wedding :D” and it lowered everyone’s expectations for it. and that was GREAT. when the twist happened it made EVERYONE FREAK OUT LIKE WHAATTTT!!! AND THE SONG?? UGHHH!!!! it was SO HYPE and the SCORE, THE VOCALS, THE DUET, THE SHOCK OF IT ALL!! disney was crying, they WISHED THEY HAD WHAT MLP HAD. This Day Aria has best villain song of mlp, as well as the best song of mlp Ever.) 

----

and thats the end! thank you for reading this far! i started this because i saw the most trashiest ‘best songs of mlp’ list in my entire life and Had to fix it. BITCH PUT LET THE RAINBOW REMIND YOU AS #1??? one of the boringest songs in mlp ever. sorry not sorry but if let the rainbow remind you is your favorite song, please get some taste. 

anyways these are all just my own personal opinions! and if you like mlp and wanna talk about it more don’t be shy to tell me your thoughts! although, don’t expect a lot of mlp content from me. i’m still hyper-fixating on hxh. hope you guys appreciated my thoughts on mlp’s best songs! :DD have a nice day! 

[secretradiobrooklyn]

Get In Moses Edition | 2.13.21

Secret Radio | 2.13.21 | Hear it here.

art by Paige, liner notes mostly by Evan, *means Paige

1. Chantal Goya - “Tu m’as trop menti”

From the movie “Masculin feminin,” a DVD we borrowed from Tim. This is the film where Godard was whispering the lines into a headset of the actor, so they were learning their lines literally as they were saying them. This is the opening song. Not particularly Valentine’s Day, in that it’s about lying too much… but still there’s a dissatisfaction that is undeniably a part of French romance.

2. Human League - “(Keep Feeling) Fascination”

Such a square song! But the keys hook is so immortally beautiful, with its crucial warble. The rest of the song is sweetly and innocently ‘80s. It reminds me of being in art class in high school, fully participating in the aesthetic crimes of the era. 

3. Marijata - “Break Through” - “Afro-Beat Airways”

Analog Africa is just now releasing a repress of this long sold-out collection. I’d listened to it before, but I guess that was before I knew about Marijata (thanks again, Jeffrey!) because it was a shock to discover a track by one of our very favorite Ghanaian discoveries. So far as I knew, Marijata only released one album of four songs — which is fantastic — and then eventually started backing a guy named Pat Thomas. Those records, unfortunately, are nowhere near as vital and fascinating as their own record. So finding this song was a welcome revelation! I should also say that, no surprise, the whole collection is a banger from front to back, and will definitely show up again on the show.

4. Philippe Katerine (avec Gérard Depardieu) - “Blond”

This strange guy is a kind of joker songwriter in French pop, as far as I can tell. This song is all about what one can get away with if one is blond. He’s a really fascinating character, a tiny bit like Beck maybe, in the sense that he seems to have made a successful career of taking unexpected directions. He’s also an actor, working with Claire Denis (!), Jonathan Demme and Gille Lellouche among many others. He was also in “Gainsbourg - A Heroic Life,” which is an excellent movie that we highly recommend. (We had no idea who he was when we saw it at the St. Louis Film Festival.) Also, he appears to be married to Gérard Depardieu’s daughter, which would seem to explain this particular guest star.

- The Texas Room - “Cielito Lindo” 

Several years ago, a producer in St. Louis put together the amazing album known as “The Texas Room,” which brought together immigrants from all over the world who currently lived in St. Louis. That meant Bosnians, Cameroonians, Mexicans, and native-born Americans… including Andy Garces, a fellow Paige went to high school with — His mom was Paige’s voice teacher as a matter of fact — who recorded this strange and excellent version of “Cielito Lindo.” The release party for the album was one of the greatest nights we spent in that or any city, dancing our faces off to all kinds of music. At one point the Bosnians got so excited they took over the room, shouting along and hoisting up their guy in the air. Basil Kincaid did the art for the album, and I think that’s the night we finally met. We have one of his collages on our studio wall right now — right over there!

5. The Modern Lovers - “I’m Straight” *

When we got the current SK van (circa 2015) we were super excited because we could finally bring out other musicians on the road and we could also have folks from other bands that we were out with jump in the van with us for a stretch. That February we were on tour with Jamaican Queens, and our friend Andy Kahn came out with us to play guitar. Not only is Andy a rad musician and great guy to be around, but he was an excellent road DJ. Somehow I made it to 30 without getting into The Modern Lovers (I know, crazy!) Andy has great taste and had a well appointed iPod so he was the official van DJ pretty much right away. He put on this record one day and I just lost it. The thing is, after that I was like “Play ‘Roadrunner’ again!” all the time. When I hear this record I still think of that tour. Andy in the back seat DJing, Ben and Erik jumping in the van to come with to Baltimore, graduating to “truck” in the Holland Tunnel queue, so much snow, host Bentley, “Go cats?”, Aaaaaahhhhh!

6. Frances Carroll & the Coquettes - “Coquette / When I Swing My Stick / Jitterbug Stomp”

I think we learned about this band last year, when Coquettes drummer Viola Smith died at 107 years old (in Costa Mesa, not Silverlake, Paige would like you to know — her bad). The video link below is highly recommended — the whole band swings hard, and the interaction between them and Frances Carroll is well worth the watch. They were considered a curiosity at the time, being an all-female band, and man they could play. Viola Smith in particular had an insanely long career, playing from the 1920s straight through into 2019! She played with Ella Fitzgerald and Chick Webb, and in the original Broadway production of “Cabaret.” Her particular innovation was having two toms at shoulder height, on either side of her head, which she would roll and ricochet shots off. Very cool style, never copied.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFDD_NxtKZ4

7. Pierre Sandwidi - “Boy Cuisinier”

Born Bad Records is one of the world’s coolest record labels, with a huge array of vintage discoveries as well as African albums as well as contemporary pop and noise bands. “Boy Cuisinier” is off Pierre Sandwidi’s album with them. It bears some definite relation to Francis Bebey but takes its own turns just as often. Sandwidi hails from Burkina Faso, known as the Upper Volta when he was growing up. We’re just now learning about him and his scene — I confess I didn’t even know Upper Volta was African; I thought it was Slavic — so I wouldn’t be surprised if some more Voltaic music shows up here soon.

8. Evan Sult avec Tracy Brubeck  - “The Cats Won’t Stay In”

Paige’s mom Tracy called while we were in the middle of the show, and they paused to have a conversation about, you know, whatever — the snowstorms, the neighbors, the news. She was on speakerphone so that we could all talk, and eventually I just started taking notes as fast as I could. This is the result. I find it fascinating. That’s Paige singing lead on the Marty Robbins tune.

9.  Kil Monnower Alimunna, Grup Hindustanbul - “Tadap Tadap” 

Years ago I saw the movie “Monsoon Wedding” by the director Mira Nair. It really stuck with me, particularly the gorgeous opening credits in maroon and orange and sky blue. I was trying to tell Paige about that sequence, so just in case we could catch a glimpse of those colors, we watched the trailer. This song is the soundtrack to the trailer. It’s really an amazing track — so Indian, of course, but with definite Western points of contact, like when it goes to the major chords unexpectedly in the post-chorus, which sounds practically American. And the final outro minute or so is full of delayed, reverbed vocals in a psychedelic style, til it reaches the strange and intoxicating sound that he makes with his voice as the song fades into the distance.

- Martial Solal “New York Herald Tribune” - “A bout de souffle” soundtrack 

10. Gillian Hills - “Tut Tut Tut Tut” 

Gillian Hills, probably more famous for “Zou Bisou Bisou.” This track is great, listen for those syrupy slides and harmonies. I just learned that she is English, and the music video for this song is definitely shot in Angleterre. Full of famous red phone booths (now famous little free libraries.) When we were doing this week’s show I asked Evan “Is this song too obvious?” He said no, it wasn’t too obvious. If you know why I’m asking, then you know. So is it? 

11. Jacques Dutronc “La Compapade”

We’ve been into Jacques Dutronc for many years now, because he’s a brilliant French songwriter and composer. But this one track has been a baffler for many years now. It shows up out of nowhere and sounds like… what? What the hell IS that? Is it African? It sounds African, but — is it? Is it just some strange lark on his part? Paige was apprehensive about playing it on the show, even though we both really enjoy it, because we couldn’t tell if it was somehow demeaning to someone. But eventually I argued that we don’t know what the hell most of the singers are saying in the songs we play, or which cultural taboos they’re transgressing, and the same is true in this case. If it is somehow offensive to anyone, I hope it’s clear that wasn’t our intention. But… I don’t know. I don’t think it is. I think it just comes from a cultural heritage and context that is French in a way Americans cannot understand or appreciate. In any case, it’s an amazing performance and recording!

12. K. Frimpong & His Cubanos Fiestas - Me Da A Ɔnnda”

Research into African rock and styles eventually brought us to K. Frimpong and His Cubanos Fiestas, which has turned out to be a satisfying step into the Ghanaian highlife/Cuban scene. I love the keyboard hooks in this one and the way the patterns just roll on and on with each other like a river, in no hurry but pulled forward by their own currents. He was also a visual artist — his art appeared on the cover of last episode’s Nyame Bekyere album. This was also the first time I’ve encountered the character “Ɔ” in the wild. I have zero idea how it is pronounced.

13. They Might Be Giants - “Birdhouse In Your Soul” 

“Not to put too fine a point on it / Say I’m the only bee on your bonnet / Make a little birdhouse in your soul.” I remember when I first realized that was a feeling I was feeling — hoping to build a birdhouse in the soul of another, to be inside one another in a little protected place. The rest of the song is a nerd-rock dream palace I love as much as any other nerd, but the chorus is where I discovered an emotion I hadn’t suspected was there when I first heard and fell for this song and this band in high school (thanks, Jeremy Peterson!). 

Paige adds: This song is blowing my mind. I don’t like writing lyrics, my ratio of melodies and harmonies to lyrics way out of whack. Evan brought this song back into our lives this week when Sleepy Kitty was asked what our favorite love songs are on a real radio show. We’ve been listening to it a bunch since Thursday and damn, these lyrics are good. It’s really reminding me that you can write about ANY.THING. Blue Canary in the freakin’ outlet by the light switch. Looking at the lighthouse picture. It’s a clinic. I learned something, and I can go home. 

On the original topic, I love thinking of this as a love song. If you hear a love song, it’s a love song. It’s a love song.

14. Sleepy Kitty - “Tu veux ou tu veux pas” *

I took two years of French in high school and missed out junior and senior year because of a scheduling lulu that made 3rd and 4th year French conflict with advanced painting which was the primary reason I was taking French in the first place. I’m still not over it. Years later, I’m at Electropolis (in my memory) and I hear this Brigitte Bardot song on Tim’s excellent sound system and I can understand…most?…some…of it! I fell in love with this song and with French again and started stumbling, scrabbling at it again. We started working up this cover. Thank you Suzie Gilb for helping with the pronunciation. We did a 7” of this song and it’s a rare SK track with me playing trombone on it. 

15. The Velvet Underground - “I Love You” *

I don’t really have much to say about this track except that it reminds me of flying to Germany because I got the 5 Disc set with all the extras on it a few days before leaving for a high school foreign exchange program. I was so happy to have those discs to absorb on the long flight, and come to think of it, it really inflected the whole trip.

16. Secret Song - “African Scream Contest”

The genesis of our love for African rock/funk/whatever (if for a moment we don’t count the profoundly influential “Graceland”) is the immortal collection “Legends of Benin,” put out by Analog Africa. As soon as we dug further for our favorites from that collection, we found “African Scream Contest” vols 1 and 2. I was drawn to the second one because it had a killer track by our hero Antoine Dougbé, but eventually spent as much time with the first volume. Both are absolutely fantastic. Part of what I love so much about them is learning how much of an impact James Brown and his band had on African music, which is super apparent throughout these collections and especially this track. The drums and the grunts and the hard stops and the horn blasts — it’s all there. 

One of the finest elements of these records is the hidden track at the end, tucked five or so minutes back from the last song. These are often some of the hottest tracks on the album, well worth the wait, and this mystery song is no exception. Unfortunately, though, that means we don’t know who made this track or what it’s called. Oh well — that only makes it cooler!

- Adrian from Brooklyn

17. The Beatles - “Dizzy Miss Lizzy”

We watched “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week” recently (totally worth a watch), and we were struck all over again by how insane their lives must have been at that time. Yes fame, yes sudden fortune, yes global supremacy, yes yes yes — the thing that I can’t get over is the shrieking, and how it wasn’t just present at their shows, it was EVERYWHERE THEY WENT, AT ALL TIMES ON ALL DAYS, EVERY SECOND THEY WERE OUTSIDE. How completely unsettling that must have been, to be the center of that howl, day after day, year after year. 

18. The Fall - “Sing! Harpy”

Dedicated to Adrian from Brooklyn and all those young women and men losing their minds over the Beatles so completely that all they could do was shriek, even at shows where the crowd’s sound completely obliterated the sound of the band they so desperately loved and came to hear. 

(This is also some of my favorite violin playing in any rock music, right up there with “Boys Keep Swinging” and The Ex’s “State of Shock.” I would LOVE to work with a violinist in this mode.)

19. T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo - “Gnon a Gnon Wa”

So intense! That constant chord strike throughout the song is a kind of high-note drone that we find ourselves drawn to. It kind of reminds me of the sound of a casino, where you walk in and all of the machines are chiming the same note, promising to just take your mind away and keep it safe until you need it again.

- Tommy Guerrero - “El Camino Negro” - “Road to Nowhere”

20. Black Dragons de Porto Novo - “Se Djro” What a slinky number! I love how spare the instrumentation is, but how much power is contained in that one guitar part. This is side A of a 7” put out on Albarika Store, the label that T.P. Orchestre called home for many albums. 

21. Helen Nkume and Her Young Timers - “Time” This is (so far) the closest we’ve gotten to reggae on WBFF. I know nothing about the band or the music other than their fantastic name and sound — oh, and the fact that she is known elsewhere as Prophetess Helen Nkume. She appears to be Nigerian, or anyway her record label is. I love the guitar hook on this song, it just sneaks in and steals the show.

22. Anne Sylvestre - “Les Gens Qui Doutent”

23. Parvati Khan - “Jimmi Jimmi Jimmi Aaja Aaja Aaja Re Mere” A lucky find! Someone in one of my Facebook groups posted a video from this album, so I took note and returned later to check it out. This is from an Indian movie called “I’m a Disco Dancer” that looks like a real kooky thrill. The actors appear to have only the vaguest sense of what “disco” might be — or what a guitar might be, for that matter. It kind of looks like someone saw a single photo of a disco night and extrapolated a whole movie from it. Nonetheless, Parvati Khan is entrancing in the song and in the video, and we HAVE to see this movie, with or without subtitles. The smoldering look alone really requires investigation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUdJQSUcK_Y

24. Nancy Sit - “Love Potion #9” * One thing I’ve always known about Evan is that he doesn’t like the song  “Love Potion #9.” When we stumbled across this, I thought it was awesome but I didn’t want to make Evan listen to a song he doesn’t like on Valentine’s Day! Evan says this song has little to do with “Love Potion #9” which makes me wonder, Evan, what’s the part you don’t like about “Love Potion #9”?

Evan adds: I honestly can’t remember what my issue with this song was. I swear, it was like… it was around the time of “Melt With You,” which I also found inexplicably irritating (and still do). I suspect now that there was an inept cover version that first steered me wrong… but luckily there’s a strange Chinese version to steer me right again! Oh life.

- Michel Legrand - “Solange’s Song (Instrumental)” - “The Young Ladies of Rocheforte”

25. The Velvet Underground - “I’ll Be Your Mirror” * This is the song that I said was the best love song of the western world on the real radio. I think it’s so beautiful and so adult. I don’t even know if I would have thought of this as love song a few years ago. When first got into the V.U. I thought it was a pretty song – a neat song, but I didn’t really know what it meant, what it could mean. What’s funny is when I think of this song, I have a Lou Reed version in my head – his voice, the harmonies. When I revisited the Max’s Kansas City live version (which as far as I know is the only one besides other more recent live versions and surely what I’m thinking of?) I realized that the version in my head is essentially that one but cleaned up, remastered, different EQ, and as far as I know entirely imagined.

Evan adds: (Paige has been playing this song recently around the apartment. I don’t even have to tell you how lovely it is.)

*p.s. If you want to hear the piece about musicians talking about favorite love songs on KWMU it’s here: https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2021-02-11/listen-love-songs-to-keep-you-warm-on-cold-winter-nights

Super fun getting to talk about this stuff and in such good company!

[the9thbestchojin]

Hello again I'm the 9th best chojin and since childhood I've been an absolutely massive fan of Pokémon ever since I watched Ash Ketchum journey across the land I also wanted to go on a Pokémon journey and one birth day my dad brought me into a GameStop and there it was on the Gameboy shelf a green game with a badass dragon the cover Pokémon emerald was my first game and since then I've played every gen but I've spent enough time on the intro so let me tell you about my favorite Pokémon from every gen 

Gen 1 Slowbro

So out of every mon from the original 151 why Slowbro why not charizard or nidoking well its simple I like his dopey smile...yep that's it sure alot of cool Pokémon exist but a good cute boi every now and then is all I need plus he has that cool ass shellder tail sure it doesn't really look like a shellder but if you squint step back 3 feet tilt your head and ignore the fact that the shellder on its tail was its own Pokémon seprate from shellder till it got cut part way through development and gamefreak were to lazy to redesign so its a shellder now it then yea it looks just like a shellder plus its got some damn good stats and the coveted psychic type that dominated gen 1 that make it worth the wait till the second to last gym in my opinion

Gen 2 Crobat

with the creation of gen 2 there was a bunch of evolutions and pre-evolutions for gen 1 added to the game and while some of these were done to add new types to old Pokémon like syther into scissor and onyix into steelix other Pokémon wee given new evos to make them better crobat is one of these Pokémon golbat isn't terrible but crobat is a whole other beast with a much better speed stat there isn't a hell of a lot out speeding him plus getting one is super easy even with zubats lowered encounter rate in gen 2 its not terribly hard to get one then you just gotta get him up to level 22 and then use the power of friendship to evolve him into crobat friendship evos are annoying most of the time but for crobat its worth it know some of you are probably wondering why crobat? he,s only pseudo gen 2 mon why not a pokemon introduced in gen 2 and id agree with you if only they let you use more then half the Johto dex before the post game

Gen 3 Sceptile

Now if you have the memory capacity to remember the intro then you know emerald was my first game and yes this is a case of this was my first Pokémon so I have an emotional attachment to it and every time I play trough Hoenn I always pick treecko even recently when I decided to play through oras again soft reset for an entire day so I could play through the game with a shiny treecko it may not be the best Pokémon ever but I still love it and no matter how many times I play through Hoenn ill always pick treecko 

Gen 4 Froslass

when new giving new evos to old Pokémon your kinda putting every new pokemon at a disadvantage since this a new thing for a Pokémon their already familiar unless you fuck up really hard and make lickylicky but thankfully gamefreak didn't fuck up giving my second favorite Hoenn mon a female exclusive evolution giving it 2 immunities in exchange for a new ghost type weakness by giving it the ghost typing and giving it a cool design based off a geisha and yuki onna makes this one mon that I don't mind waiting till the 7th badge to get

Gen 5 Darmanitan

This one was kinda hard tbh because despite the fandom consensus the unova dex has some bangers haxsaurus samurott braviary but out of the sizable chunk of Unova mons I like there's only one who can be my favorite and that has to be darmanitan he’s so cool having the origin of a Pokémon designer going to an end of year party and seeing a daruma doll burning in a fire and saying *imma a make a fucking Pokémon outta that* AND IT FUCKING WORKED! this bastard does two things be fast and hit shit and it does that like a fucking G also it has a zen mode and that's ok coulda been done better AND THEN IT WAS because with regional variants being a thing now they made darmanitan British and an ice type and made him hit shit harder because his zen mode doesn't make him a special attacker but all things considered I prefer original recipe Unovan darmanitan because I like its design more yep simple as that tho I cant like Galarian darmanitan does have a funky afro

Gen 6 Greninja

If you know my thoughts gen 6 you know its not positive but I cant deny its got a decent pokedex and whos the best Pokémon of this dex? its a cool frog ninja based off Jiraiya from the romance of the 3 kingdoms or if you're uncultured Naruto but unlike Naruto greninja doesn't run after some emo for 500 plus episodes but he does get a pseudo mega in the anime later the games and its a cool form imo he’s fast he’s strong got cool design with a cool origin and I don't need much else 

Gen 7 Minior

Now let me start with this I'm perfectly ok with minior not being a pre-evo for solrock and lunatone just because two Pokémon have the design origin doesn't mean they should be related maybe a tangential relation from pokedex entries but I don't think they should be part of the same line now with that out of the way let me tell you why minior is great first off its meteor form looks so cool it looks like a Pokémon that would be used by the goron from the legend of Zelda it its meteor form isnt al it has since its gimmick is that once it hits half health it *casts off* and takes off its shell and two things about this form 1 look at his lil face cute mans 2 look at his speed and attack boost dangerous mans all that plus its colour gimmick making it so I can get it in orange and how can I not love it

Gen 8 Perrserker

so here we are the most recent gen and I can say without a word of doubt gen 8 has one the most solid pokedexs in years I love most Pokémon and sorta just tolerate others but out of all these Pokémon I love perrserker the most ever since I ran into it as a Galarian meowth I was kinda shocked it looked like some thing that would shit in your shoes and take pride in it I had to catch it and after evolving it it keeps that same energy but now slightly taller perrserker is a great mon with a great hidden ability steely spirit which I lovingly call communist steel worker making it onto most of my galar teams what can I say I love this 3 foot tall Viking gremlin and altho gen 8 is still relatively new I can confidently say perrserker will say my favorite 

so that's it my favorite Pokémon of every generation I've loved Pokémon for the grand majority of my life and I hope to love it in the future and cant wait to see what Pokémon from gen 9 will join the ranks of my favorites in a few years time and with that thank you for reading and I hope to see you again in the future