#i feel like everyone ranks s4 last
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flythesail · 10 months ago
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S4 could have been better, particularly with nace and how they used Tristan. But they also managed to mess it up in a way that created a sandbox I can play in forever
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zabala0z · 2 months ago
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Hi, my name is Zabala0z and welcome back to “Local crazy girl listens to TMA s4”. You know me, I’m ur host, yada yada
MAG 142: Scrutiny
It is so crazy hearing Jon from another persons POV. Like damn there goes his humanity bit by bit. It does make me wonder cause he never mentioned this little incident in the tapes. Did he purposely leave it out? Or does he not remember this.
“Not nice being interrogated” I see what you did there 💀 Martins being a bit more mean. I support it
MAG 143: Heart of Darkness
I love having a clear timeline. Y’know I was never super scared of The Dark, it’s actually at the bottom of my ranking of “Which TMA entities would scare me the most” but after hearing about the ritual in such extensive detail…yeah no I get it. Also, yay Natalie! Still feel horribly bad for her. I really don’t like cults. (Too bad she’ll die 💀)
THATS WHY HE KIDNAPPED THAT BOY. To use him as a vessel. Which is crazy. I’m assuming the black fog coming out of Maxwells mouth was to like possess the boy, Callum- but that makes me think. Yeah, even though it didn’t get on Callum, it hit the other guy. The policeman. The one whose eyes went milky and died. Or I think he died. But what I’m thinking is that the possession was successful just with the wrong guy.
It sounds like Manuela is like the last person of the Peoples Church of the Divine Host. Also I love how Jon went, “man that’s beautiful. Anyways-“ and then the dark sun was extinguished. Or lit up? I don’t know but it’s funny anyways. Bye Manuela, you scared me.
MAG 144: Decrypted
Ah. The Extinction. Nice to hear a statement about it. I’ve been wondering if any of the previous statements were related to it, I might try to skim some.
Also nooo Martin ☹️ stop being an asshole. Anyways, bit scared on who this man Peter Lukas is bringing from out of the country. Is it one of his relatives? Nathaniel Lukas?
MAG 145: Infectious Doubts
Gertrude Robinson has all my respect. Genuinely, what a badass. “Maybe you choose a bad God” GET HIS ASS ‼️‼️ Honestly Arthur Nolan is like the most tolerable servant of The Desolation. Then he started talking about his tenants and I started feeling sick again but y’know maybe in another universe, him and Gertrude got drinks. Not as friends, just as weird coworkers or something.
The Web is so interesting. I’m so curious about it because it’s never attempted a ritual, and there’s not much on it. I wanna know Annabelle’s deal actually. Come on girl, you wear thrifted clothes, you can’t be that bad.
It’s so interesting to hear about the entities. Like Gertrude said, they probably don’t think at all but they do so much yet so little. Bitches. Also this proves my theory that all landlords are evil.
So happy Jack will be safe. Bro needs it. Literally everyone hates him and he’s just a dude 💀 I don’t feel any sympathy for Eugene. Hope he suffers more
Okay that’s all I got! Long post, sorry about that. I have a model UN thing over the weekend so my posts are gonna be as slow as ever sorry. Expect more fanart though
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simp999 · 5 months ago
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A New Home Ch. 42
Various! Splatoon Manga x Skilled! Isekai'd! Reader
Wc: 1k
Back to the Start Previous Next
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Aloha groggily woke up, only to notice he held you in his arms. His face flushed, and he attempted to sneakily scoot away from you. He sat up and stretched. He looked over at you, gazing at your peaceful sleeping expression. He smiled softly at the view, you were right conked out, holding his pink squid plush tightly in your arms. He could hear Army marching around, telling everyone to wake up, once he got to Aloha's door, he knocked and opened it, expecting him to be asleep. But the sight in front of him surprised him- Aloha was tucking you in, and raised his index to his lip in a shushing motion so that Army wouldn't wake you. Army furrowed his brows but obliged, continuing on to wake the others.
Soon, you awoke to a comfortable bed in a maximalist room. You recognised the pink squid plushie you held, and decided to hold onto it for comfort. You felt bad about intruding on the S4's space and overstaying your welcome. You lazily walked out of Aloha's room, trudging over to the living room, pink squid plushie in hand. You had noticed everyone but Army was there, and you tilted your head in confusion before hearing pots and pans banging from the kitchen. You shyly waved everyone good morning, sneaking away to the kitchen.
"Can I assist you with anything?"
You stood behind Army, offering to help at all, still feeling bad about 'taking advantage of them' (-you weren't, anxiety just sucked).
"Dear Great Zapfish, you nearly gave me a heart attack! You sure are stealthy.-" he praised(?).
"Aheh.. must be all that training..." You thought back on all those training sessions made to become stealthier.
"-Ah, yes- could you bring me that pancake mix over there, please?"
You let out an embarrassed chuckle, grabbing what he asked for and handing it to him. You assisted him in making a bunch of pancakes for everyone. You put down the plushie on a chair and patted it as if it were a resident before getting messy with other cooking materials. Army let you have the spoon with the batter on it, and lightly laughed at how you managed to be so messy with it.
He carefully wiped some excess batter from your cheek with a chuckle, pausing for a moment too long and smiling once he realised he was staring, dazed.
'It was very sweet of them to offer to help. Such a kind individual,' he thought. You're always worrying about everyone, making sure they're doing okay.
Maybe he could use someone like that to be around. To be around? Is that what he wanted? Or someone to be with? No, no. It's much too soon for that.
Everyone enjoyed the pancakes. You jokingly made tiny, bite-sized ones for yourself which the others thought was adorable. Army claimed it was perfect for making less of a mess while glaring at Aloha, who hummed in confusion, face full of syrup.
Rider told the group that he should get going, thanking Army and yourself for the food. You smiled and waved him goodbye. His glance towards you lasted longer than the others, as if he was quietly already missing you.
He left with a quick 'bye', heading out the door.
You helped Army clean up the leftover mess from breakfast.
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
The morning continued on with everyone playing video games for a short amount of time, before Army reminded the group that it was time to train, and they couldn't be caught slacking.
"But what about Sweets over 'ere?" Aloha questioned.
Army furrowed his brow, and you insisted that you could go do some Salmon Run or something in the meantime, but they objected.
"We're not jus' gonna kick you because we have some trainin' ta do."
"The teams would be uneven if I joined, though..."
You sat there awkwardly, waiting for someone to have an idea.
"Where do yooou rank compared to each of uuuus? You diiiid beat Emperooor, so probably above Skuuuull,"
You panicked a bit, they thought you were stronger than Skull? You're not too sure about that, they may be overestimating you...
"According to our past training sessions," Army tried to avoid mentioning your team so as to not sadden you, "You... dominated us. Until you trained us hard, that is. You are most definitely stronger than all of us."
"Then should we have the two weakest of us team up with em'?" Aloha asked, moreso just thinking aloud.
"No, I think that that team would still be too overwhelmingly powerful." Army intruded.
You tilted your head with an idea, "How about I team up with the strongest down to the weakest, battle after battle? Like, I team up with Skull first, then me and Mask, then Aloha, then Army?"
Skull nods, enjoying the idea.
"Suuuuure,"
"Sounds good!"
...
"Well, I suppose that could work, as we all get a chance to battle with you,"
Army seems a bit irritated, you're unsure as to why, but you guess it could be somehow due to the turn order.
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
The battles went well. Skull and yourself overpowered the opposing team easily, as expected of the top players. Mask's battle went fairly smoothly, he used a solo version of his sub-weapon hell, and you had decided to join in for fun, knocking down all your opponents. You both did equal parts inking and attacking. Aloha's battle was fun, you had focused on splatting the opponents while he mainly inked and dodged their attacks, constantly praising you. Army's battle was a bit tougher, as you didn't know how to follow his manual. But you were great with adapting to any situation, so basically- you carried.
They bickered as they left Deca Tower, Aloha walking with his hands behind his head,
"Only reason we lost to ya is 'cause we were tired, 'kay?"
"Shush, party animal. We won fair and square,"
"...Yeahhh... 'cause they carried youuu."
Army's face flushed orange, "They did not!"
"Did too~"
You laughed along to their antics, enjoying their playfulness.
But your smile fell when you remembered where you were supposed to be in the story.
Rider was being painfully sanitized right about now.
.
.
.
Next Part
June.23.24
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jjclopelover · 2 months ago
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OBX S4 SPOILERS AHEAD!!
so I'm typing this at 7 in the morning after watching part one of s4 and boy was it a buttload of s1 all over again.
and I mean that in a good way lol
first off, let's get jjpope out of the way...
jj said I love you to Pope 2-3 times which healed my soul and they had a bunch of good moments. but ofc with 3 canon ships in the way it's going to be hard to find stuff for the non-canon.
now to the canon ships...
THEY HAVE LEFT JOHN B AND SARAH ALONE! FINALLYYY!
my newlyweds are happy and committed. That's all I want for them.
Pope and Cleo, they are so cute and I want nothing but the best for them.
jiara was fine. their chemistry was WAYYYYY better in this half-a-season than in the last 3. Obviously, the bends scene was the writers' way of giving them screen time. happy to see my boy jj happy and kie is getting back to her s1 roots which I'm ecstatic to see.
now to the other stuff...
The story this season is really interesting.
I like all the callbacks to s1. I like that the pogues feel like a true friend group again. I LOVED the way they have done group splits so far. each pogue has been split off with every other pogue! Also, I love that you can tell the pogues are experienced now. They are getting away with some much stuff that would have taken all of s1. If this really is their last season and they keep up the pace...dare I say this might be a hell of a way to close things out.
Topper is such a loser. no character arc just a simp who's butthurt and is all bark no bite. Hoping for less of him pls and thank you.
Sofia...STAND TF UP!! everyone in this goddamn town is money hungry. either be with Rafe or betray him just stop going back and forth.
John B having flashbacks about his dad is sad but realistic and I hope he comes out with a healthier mindset.
R.I.P Terrence
I had the strongest feeling he wasn't dead since one of TV's biggest rules is "no body, no death" meaning if we didn't see him get killed then he's not dead. But now he is so I hope he rests in peace.
JJ spending all the money pissed me off. Kie is becoming less annoying by becoming her s1 self again. JJ is also going back to his s1 roots but only to get on my nerves all over again! Like I love JJ and his story is now one of my favs but if he keeps f-ing up he might move down in my rankings.
speaking of jj...why is everybody getting mad at John B when JJ does someone wrong. and when decisions need to be made all the pressure is on John B. I get that he is the so-called leader of the group but leave my man be!
Pope, please keep being the smart man you are. love it, keep it coming, no notes.
Cleo, I can't wait to see you get ur revenge arc. Just keep being the badass you are, no notes.
The JJSarah sibling storyline is still afoot! JJ now knows that his mom has passed and that Luke isn't his real father. But we still don't know who Sarah's mom is! They have been laying it on thick about family and being there for each other. Sarah was really intrigued by the Blackbeard research and seemed more distracted in some scenes than others. Plus Ward's favoritism to Sarah makes more sense if Sarah isn't his real child. Maybe he adopted the hidden second child from JJ's mother and raised her as his own. With JJ knowing his ancestry and now his real father maybe Chandler Groff will reveal to JJ that he had a twin sister that was taken before they found him and his dead mother so his dad doesn't even know who his missing sister is.
Maybe that's why Chandler Groff is getting his long-lost son into Blackbeard's treasure...to find his missing daughter.
This theory is so far-fetched but it's not impossible.
Rafe wanting to fix his family and reconcile with his sister has been a main point in the story as well and what is Rafe doing to "fix his family?" buying goat island which held the first piece of Blackbeard's treasure which is really JJ's treasure! JJ, Rafe, and Sarah are all connected just like that. Plus Chandler Groff looks a lot like Ward in some ways lol.
I was so scared for this season and though I'm not getting what I want ship wise the story has got me hooked.
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garebearandnan · 1 year ago
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‘Meet Your Match’ Challenge
SUMMARY: The new couples get settled in, but cracks are already starting to appear. The Islanders take part in a compatibility challenge called, ‘Meet your Match’. Day 10 in the Villa.
NOTE: This challenge is similar to Love Island TV show, S4 UK & S2 AU. The girls are tasked with ranking the boys from who they're most to least compatible by placing a heart-face emoji 😍 on the most compatible and a sad face on the least compatible. 😢
END NOTE: Special thanks to sparxaf for their insightful comments on Lottie and Ibrahim’s compatibility: "Okay, so Lottie took the most time for me to consider, but what I really looked at was whimsy. If there's anyone who would indulge in her new-age tea reading and stuff, I feel like it would be Rahim. Also, she likes a guy who is a little jealous, and Rahim has that on lock. He also likes a clingy girl. He likes a strong woman who takes charge of the relationship, but he also wants to know she's fully into him. He likes to spoil his partners and shower them with gifts, which I suspect Lottie has never experienced before since she dates lad types who hurt her. She's the type who'll take well to being spoiled."
Iain Stirling: It’s time for a challenge, and this one’s called ‘Meet Your Match.’ When our Islanders applied, they filled out detailed questionnaires. We have shamelessly stolen a load of confidential information from the  questionnaires for ‘The Compatibility Test’. (It's all the rage right now.) And ran it through a complex algorithm on the Love Island supercomputer. Nay, okay, we showed it to Andy the Intern. And he ranked the five boys with each girl in terms of compatibility. The girls will take turns trying to rank the boys in order of their compatibility. Marisol will play host as each girl tries to match the algorithm.
Marisol: Right, Priya, you’re up first.
Iain Stirling: They’ll place a love heart emoji on the boy she thinks is most compatible with them, and a sad face emoji on the least compatible boy. She will then arrange the rest of the boys.
Priya stood up and walked across the decking. She raised her sunglasses on the top of her head.
Priya: Rahim, you go first because we like to travel and we like the same food.
Priya places the love heart emoji on her partner, Ibrahim. 😍
Priya: Sorry, Gary, we just don’t work as a couple. She places the sad face emoji over Gary’s shoulders. 😢 Gary laughs.
The boys move around in the line. Her first attempt, most compatible to least compatible: Ibrahim, Noah, Lucas, Bobby, Gary.
Iain Stirling: When she gets a boy in the right position, he steps back. Each girl gets one point for every boy she gets in the right place.
Marisol: Gary is correct.
He stepped back.
Priya: Ibrahim, you need to move down one. (giggles)
Priya wanted to put Noah in her number one spot, but she panicked and thought it would be too good to be true, so she swapped him for Bobby at the last minute. “Bobby and Noah switch.”
Marisol: Ok, we’re locked in.
Her second attempt, most compatible to least compatible: Lucas, Ibrahim, Bobby, Noah, Gary
Marisol: Bobby is correct. So, step back.
Priya turned her head to gaze at Bobby, a grin flickering on her lips as she did so. Bobby smiles and steps back.
Marisol: Ibrahim is correct.
Beach Hut (BH) Priya: “I feel like I did okay. Ibrahim was in my top two.”
Priya: Ooh, all right. OK. Noah, you go up there.
Hope rolled her eyes, in annoyance. The estate agent puts Noah first, and Lucas gives him the love heart emoji. 😍
Hope mumbles, “What the fuck?”
Everyone looks at Hope in complete stillness. She stares off toward the pool for a brief moment while biting her lower lip. Bloody hell.
Oh, shit. Grace: Babe, it's OK. It’s just a challenge. They’re meant to test us and stir up shit.
BH Hope: “You don’t like seeing that, y’know. I know it’s a challenge but I can’t help it.”
Her third attempt, from most compatible to least compatible: Noah, Ibrahim, Bobby, Lucas, Gary.
Marisol: So, we've got Noah at number one and Ibrahim at number two. Bobby number three. Lucas number four. And Gary, number six.
A bright smile spreads across Priya’s face. An intake of breath from Hope as she seemed dumbfounded by the results. Noah is obviously taken aback, as evidenced by the awkward shifting of his weight on his feet.
Priya: Real matching.
Iain Stirling: Every time a girl needs to re-jig the order, she gets a mark. The girl with the least marks wins.
Priya’s eyes were bright, and she gave off an appearance that she was suppressing a giggle.
BH Hope: She rolls her eyes. “It’s just a bunch of algorithms. Numbers lie. Priya can have the piece of paper all she wants; she can’t do anything with it.”
BH Priya: “Hope wasn't very happy about that one. It was quite funny seeing her squirm a bit when Noah was my number one.”
Iain Stirling: After three attempts, Priya got the order right with Gary the least compatible and Noah the most. Marisol is up next.
Marisol puts her hands on her hips, looking the boys up and down.
Marisol: OK. So… Lucas, stay where you are.
BH Marisol: “I mean, he’s also bloody gorgeous. So…” She laughs.
Marisol: Ibrahim, I’m gonna pop you right down the end, just cos we’ve already learned you’re not my type.
She places the sad face emoji 😢 on Ibrahim.
Her first attempt, from most compatible to least compatible: Lucas, Noah, Gary, Bobby, and Ibrahim.
Bobby says to Marisol: “You didn’t even give me the full inspection. Maybe you think you’ve got me all figured out, but I’ve got a surprise or two up my sleeve.”
Grace: So, none are correct.
Marisol: None?
BH Bobby: “Don’t know why she was so surprised. The whole villa knows that Marisol doesn't really know what she wants. She's a bit all over the place with what she wants in a guy.”
Iain Stirling: Grab some popcorn, people; this could take some time.
Marisol: OK! Lucas and Noah swap. Bobby and Ibrahim swap.
Marisol: I think Gary can go at the bottom because we clearly don't get on as a couple.
She places the sad face emoji 😢 over his shoulders.
Marisol: Alright, Noah, you go up. Erm… Because we just… It’s super easy to chat to him.
Noah: I reckon so.
Her second attempt for most compatible to least: Noah, Bobby, Ibrahim, Lucas, Gary.
Grace: None correct.
Marisol: Bloody hell. This may come as a surprise to me and some of you, but… I’m gonna go Bobby first.
Gary: Oi! Bobby is moving it up.
Noah hands him the love heart emoji. 😍
Her third attempt from most to least: Bobby, Ibrahim, Lucas, Gary, Noah.
Grace: Noah is correct. You can step back.
BH Marisol: “I was so shit at that game. I'm literally guessing now.”
Marisol: Ooh, all right. OK. Gary you go up there.
Gary: Whoa! What?
Gary swaps with Bobby, and he places the love heart emoji on. 😍
Her third attempt from most to least: Gary, Lucas, Ibrahim, Bobby, Noah
Grace: Gary and Lucas. Please step back, because you are in the perfect position.
Gary looks at you, and then his eyes flick to Marisol. Gary thinking, This is awkward as fuck.
BH Grace: “No girl wants to see the boy she likes and the girl he used to be coupled up with have him rank as her most compatible.”
Marisol: Bobby and Ibrahim, swap.
Marisol’s order from most to least : Gary, Lucas, Bobby, Ibrahim, and Noah.
Grace: All correct. It took five attempts to get it right, so your most compatible was Gary. And your least compatible was Noah.
BH Marisol: "That was very interesting! I mean he's the type of guy I typically go for so I shouldn't really be surprised."
Marisol: That was a stitch-up.
Iain Stirling: It’s no ‘stitch-up. Andy, the Intern numbers were audited by Ben, the Intern. Lottie is up next.
Lottie strutted right up to the line of boys and smiled flirtatiously at Gary.
Grace (thinking): I think I’m going to be sick. At least Marisol seemed surprised that Gary was her most compatible.
Lottie: I’ll just get straight into it. Gary, stay put. You do my bloody head in.
You side-eyed Lottie in annoyance. For fuck's sake.
Gary mutters, under his breath: Oh, fuck.
Lottie: I’m not trying to cut your grass!
Lottie grinned at you, but you could sense the condescending tone behind it A collective inhale of breath as the Islanders take in what she means. You force a half-smile and chew your lip. Ugh. Dick move. Your gaze briefly drifted toward Gary as you sought to measure his reaction. Gary shifts uncomfortably.
BH Gary: “I couldn’t look Grace in the eyes when that happened. So I was just like… Fuck!”
You felt a tinge of annoyance burning in the back of your head. A crease appeared in the space between your brows, but the rest of your face remained calm. You wait at the edge of your seat for her to finish.
BH Lottie: “Grace probably wouldn’t be ecstatic that Gary was my first pick. It is what it is.” She smirks.
Lottie: Ok, sorry, Rahim. I’m going to go with Rahim last.
She places the sad face emoji 😢 on Ibrahim and moves the other boys around.
Lottie: Bobby second. Bobby’s a beautiful soul that I’m glad I met in the Villa, but not on paper is what I… envisioned myself.
Bobby: Oi! You have to meet me in the flesh, eh?
Her first attempt for most compatible to least compatible: Gary, Bobby, Noah, Lucas, Ibrahim.
Marisol: Bobby, you are right!
Lottie: Seriously?
Grace (thinking): I’m trying not to gloat. I knew Gary wouldn’t be her top one. She’s too over the top for him.
Marisol: That is your first attempt gone, hun. Please step back, Bobby.
Lottie: Rahim, number four. Lucas and Noah swap.
Ibrahim hands Lucas the sad face emoji. 😢The boys shift around. Second attempt most compatible to least: Noah, Bobby, Gary, Ibrahim, Lucas.
Marisol: So, Gary and Lucas are correct. Step back.
GIRLS: Ooh!
Lottie: Rahim and Noah swap. Oh wow.
She looks a little unsure. Ibrahim moves to the front of the line. Noah gives him the emoji. 😍
Marisol: All correct. So, we've got Bobby at number two. Gary number three. Noah number four. You're most compatible with Ibrahim. And your least compatible was Lucas.
BH Ibrahim: “I don’t know what computer you guys are using. I don’t know how it all works, but, for some reason, myself and Lottie are… seem to be compatible.”
BH Lottie: “Rahim was right up there, and I just don’t know about that one. Hm.”
Iain Stirling: After three attempts, Lottie got the order right  with Ibrahim in top and partner Bobby in second. Next to work at her lineup is Grace.
Grace (thinking): I’ve only got a few seconds to decide. I know it’s happened fast, but it’s really how I feel. 
“Right. Let’s do this.” You clear your throat and start. You glance seductively at Gary and bite your lip.He winks at you. “Okay. Gary, of course, your number one,” you say with a glistening wide smile as you place over his shoulders the love heart emoji. 😍 Gary gives you a wide, brilliant smile. “And the least… I’m so sorry Noah,” you said as she put the sad face emoji on him. 😢
BH Noah: He slaps the sad emoji face he’s holding in his hand. “Right down the bottom there. Pretty dismal effort by me, that round.”
You decide to put Bobby second.
Grace: He’s an amazing human being, and I’m really lucky to have him as a friend. 
Gary gives Bobby a high five. You put Ibrahim third, which meant Lucas was your second least compatible partner. The boys shift around.
Grace: It has to be that, then.
Your order from most compatible to least compatible is: Gary, Bobby, Ibrahim, Lucas, Noah.
Marisol: Ok, happy with that?
Grace: I think so.
Marisol reads out from the board your order of compatibility. “Number one, Gary.”
Gary: Alright!
He breaks out into a huge grin as Hope and Priya let out whoops. Lottie looks down at her feet like she doesn’t know what to say.
BOYS: Oh!
BH Grace: “Oh, my god, this is perfect. Eh! Like, it makes me feel so good and so, like, relaxed.”
Marisol: Number two… Bobby.
BOYS: Ooh!
Marisol: Number three… Ibrahim.
BOYS: Ah!
Marisol: Number four, Lucas. And number five, Noah.
You jump up and down, beaming. “Yay!” Your heart burst with happiness as you met Gary’s big smile.
BOYS: Whoop. Cheering and clapping.
Gary: Nailed it, babe.
BH Gary: "Yes, I'm really buzzing how the challenge went and to get to know Grace better in our couple."
BH Grace: “That was actually really fun and interesting. Like, I’m… pretty good on stuff like that, so I just knew who my top two would be, like easy.”
Iain Stirling: Grace has taken the lead after getting all of the boys in order in just one attempt. Last to pick is Hope.
Hope: I'll be gutted if we are least compatible. (She points to Noah.) That will play on my mind. Who knows what I’m letting myself in for… 
ALL: LAUGHTER
Hope: Noah, come to the front. I really hope this is right, you know.
Noah: So do I. 
Noah smiles shyly.
Hope: We have been getting on, haven't we, Noah?
Hope takes the love emoji off Gary and places it on Noah. 😍 She stands on her tiptoes and gives Noah a sweet kiss on the cheek.
Hope: This better be right. (She giggles.)
Hope’s first attempt from most compatible to least: Noah, Lucas, Gary, Bobby, Ibrahim.
Iain Stirling: As Marisol reveals if any of Hope’s rankings are correct, get ready for an ‘Ooh!’
Marisol: None correct.
Her mouth dropped open. Hope shook her head in disbelief.
ALL: Ooh!
Bobby: Told you something was coming. 
Hope furrowed her brow as she looked at him. Is he trying to wind me up?
Bobby: Just put Gary to the front, I think.
ALL: LAUGHTER
Hope cringed, but her smile stayed plastered on her face.
BH Hope: “No way. Like, no way.”
Hope: Noah, just move down one. Swap with Lucas. That surely must be right.
Noah: Cheers, man. (He handed Lucas the heart.)  😍 Ibrahim and Bobby swap. Gary to the bottom. No Bobby. 😢
Bobby: It was never gonna work with us H. sorry.
Hope’s second attempt, from most compatible to least compatible: Lucas, Noah, Ibrahim, Gary, Bobby.
BH Hope: “I just think Bobby is hilarious, but we’re complete opposites.”
Marisol: Happy?
Hope: I don’t know.
As Hope continued to ponder her ranking, she started to get more worried. There was an awkward silence.
Marisol: Lucas is correct. None of the others are.
Hope looks at Noah, grabs the side of her head, and moans. Her eyes flitted over toward Noah, gauging his reaction but he had his normal stoic expression plastered in place.
Hope: Ibrahim and Noah swap.
Ibrahim pats Noah on the back.
BH Noah: “I started in the Premier League in Hope's, and I went down in the conference very quickly.”
Bobby: Awe. Poor old Noah.
Hope: This is stressful. Maybe I want to sit this one out?
Hope turns to you, worry in her eyes.
Grace: You can do this, babe.
Hope: Okay… I can do this! Gary, you should swap with Bobby. 
Gary: Poor old me.
Hope bursts out laughing. A couple of people follow suit.
Hope: I feel really shit. (She sighs.) Noah, move down one again.
BH Bobby: “It was quite funny at first when I saw, like, Noah slipping down the line. But then I'm actually thinking, are they really compatible?”
Hope’s third attempt, from most compatible to least compatible: Lucas, Bobby, Noah, Ibrahim, Gary.
Marisol: Noah is correct. Gary is correct.
Hope: Drop me out? But Rahim is so different.
Lottie hid her laughter by covering her mouth, but her eyes sparkled over her hand as she chuckled.
Ibrahim: Oh! (He shifted awkwardly.)
BH Grace: “Hope was like, ‘What?’ And I think, sort of, everyone was like, ‘What?’”
Hope: Oh my days! This challenge is doing my head in! (She grabs her cheeks with both hands and shakes her head). That was Noah’s worst nightmare to happen as well.
ALL: LAUGHTER
Ibrahim pats Noah on the shoulders.
Marisol: So, we’ve got Ibrahim at number two. Noah number three. Bobby number four. And, Gary number five. All correct. That took four attempts. And you're most compatible is Lucas.
There is a moment of silence as you all digest the results. 
ALL: APPLAUSE
BH Noah: (He laughs.) “Start at the top, work my way down. You know. Just slid down casually.”
Noah: We are still compatible, Duck! Don't worry.
He smiled at her in a way that was reassuring.
BH Hope: “Surely, youse didn’t pay for that test? You’re joking.”  She is holding the love emoji face. 😍 “This is Noah. This is what should have gone around his neck. But didn’t.”
Hope gave Noah a flirty smile. "I will make it up to you later, babe." Hope giggles. Noah blushes.
BOYS: Woah!
Iain Stirling: With Hope scoring four points,  It leaves Grace in pole position.
Marisol: So, the winner is Grace, who did it in one attempt. Well done!
The other Islanders are cheering and clapping for you. Gary’s face breaks into a massive grin. You squeal happily and throw your arms around his neck and he wraps his big, muscly arms around your waist and squeezes you back.
Hope walks over to Noah. He pulls her in for a hug.
Hope: We’re totally compatible, babe.
Noah: I clearly don't like you, and you don't like me. 
They both laugh. She beams up at him, thinking: Why is he so perfect?
Hope: Aww.
BH Hope: “I think that the compatibility test is rigged. If they think we ain't compatible, they must be blind.”
Iain Stirling: Hope is stressing because, surprisingly, Noah was not ranked as her most compatible partner in the challenge. Andy, the intern, I've got one thing to say to you: top work, fella.
“Are you OK, babe?” You reach for Hope's hand and give it a squeeze. She squeezed back. Hope mumbled, “Hm…” 
“I was just looking over here, and you looked upset.”
“So that’s…” Hope tried to get words out of her mouth. “It is just shit, isn't it?”
“It's not as deep as you think. It was just a challenge. We don’t know what information they used,” you said trying to give Hope some reassurance.
Hope added, “No, no, I'm fine. I’m just…. if it is right, I'm interested, like, not even like, um… The boxes that we checked.”
BH Hope: “I guess this is a little test for me and Noah because things have been going well. Do you know what I mean? We will see what happens. Hopefully, he’s not upset. But it works both ways, doesn’t it?”
After the game winds down, everyone wanders off to do their own thing. The Islanders are having fun in the sun, but as ever, there are plenty of twists and turns in store. Over by the pool, Noah and Lucas are shirtless, testing the water.
Lucas states, “I think something nuts is going to go on tonight.”
Noah nodded in agreement. “It is going to be weird, the atmosphere after, innit?” Noah added, “This is a bit of a head spinner.”
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the-ninja-legacy-whip · 1 year ago
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can you rank the ninja suits pretty please
All right but I'm warning ya that *I* don't even remember all the names for them—
Destiny Robes/Airjitzu Suits (S6)- The All-Time love of my life. The perfectly distributed Black + Color combo. The winged symbols on the back. The sparkle accents. The front and center-ness of the animal symbols. Brilliant, darling, brilliant.
Core Outfits (Early!DR)- I looove these ones a LOT, especially in minifig form!! They're so colorful and vibrant, and they all follow the same uniform pattern while also highlighting everyone's individualities! Good stuff, good stuff, wish they were in the show just a bit more ;w;
Elemental Robes (S2)- Iconic AF, very clean design that has stood the test of time!
Deepstone Armor (S5)- I like these for the same reasons as Destiny + Elemental –> love me a good black + color combo, and the overall aesthetic is very clean and distinct!
Fugitive Suits (Crystalized)- These are sick! If we had these the whole time instead of the s11 suits I would've lost my mind these are cool aaaah–
Digi Suits (S12)- LOVE THESE!!! Perfectly fitting for the season, uniform yet unique to everyone, and used some very fun colors!!!
Hero Armor (S13)- All right, these were awesome for the short amount of time we got them. ...mainly for Cole's, but like, everyone was working what they had!
Movie Suits (The Movie)- These are a little more collectively disjointed than I usually like, but everyone's personality (theoretically) shines so well with these that I can't dock it snksnk
Island Robes (The Island)- I actually like these a lot! Makes me wish that the Jungle Suits were closer to what these were.
ZX Suits (S1/S2)- Iconic! So many fond memories <3
Tournament Robes (s4)- One of my favorites actually, though I do kind of wish they made them more individualized while sticking to a united theming. And then gave them to everyone in the tournament and not just the ninja :b
Stone Armor??? (S3)- These are pretty dope but I do not remember them outside of the last ep of S3 SO
Hunted Robes (S9)- Everyone being busted up in already cool outfits? Sign me up!
Resistance Robes (S8)- I like the spins they put on the movie gi, but in turn they all feel a little disjoined from one another. Individually they're great! As a collective, mweh.
Legacy Robes (S10)- I actually like these a lot, but they're not terribly memorable either
Merge Suits??? (DR)- Overall I like these (and the implied giant scarf thing around the necks) but they're kind of lacking a bit of pop. Plus the hoods are so smooth and it looks a lil strange snksnk
"Golden Armor" (Crystalized)- ...not everyone was meant to wear gold. Lloyd's fit is absolutely sick and is probably in the top three were it by itself, but it's very hit or miss when it comes to the others.
DX Suits (Pilots/S1)- Looove the little elemental dragons, but they a touch simplistic and not around long enough to make a lasting impression
Armor Robes??? (S11/Wildbrain Defaults)- I don't hate these but they don't stand out enough for me to really enjoy seeing them so very often either ahaha
Techno Robes (S3)- I love the individuality in these, but they're a bit busy and lack cohesion to me :d
Jungle Suits (S4)- I know these are fan favorite but they just never did it for me. I do have newfound appreciation for them, buuuut I like soooo many other suits more ahaha
Training Gi (Pilots/S1)- Classic! But very basic. Not their fault!
Fusion Armor??? (S7)- These have grown on me but I. Am Not. Fond of These. Lloyd and Nya's good, and Kai's if you squint, but the rest. I Cannot. Get Behind. AT ALL. (Jay looks like he's swimming in armor and Zane's is not easy on the eyes whatsoever snksnksn)
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onigiri-dorkk · 2 years ago
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I thinks its funny how nobody in the fandom had problems with Ian Dietrich seemingly crushing on Mikasa despite probably being older than her but are angry over the idea of Levi holding similar feelings (maybe because Levi is a popular character everyone wants to ship their fave with). When in-universe, nobody had a problem with Ian's crush except jealous Rico Brzenska; in fact Mike and Pixis behavior was seen as perverted instead.
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@chrissythisissforyou!!!! I've never seen this before!
THATS A FREAKING GOOD POINT AND OBSERVATION and this just proves that, like every other anime/manga, Isayama did not care about ages, power imbalances, etc. Now I am not saying AT ALL that it wasn't creepy that Pixis and them were intentionally entertaining this hidden attraction towards cadet trainee Mikasa who was 12-15, because it was (if we go by the numbers they were given... but they call her a woman) -- but I only use this as a clear example that no one's ages in AOT makes ANY SENSE whatsoever, nor is it important to the storyline.
We've got Mikasa/Eren/Armin, etc who look like young adults as trainees. We've got Levi who looks like he's in his 20's at the start. We've got freaking OLUO and Daz who look 60 the entire time lol
Which is why, as always, I head canon Mikasa and gang to be 18 when they enter the training as cadets; 21 by the time they join the Scouts and 25 in S4 leaning into their higher ranks, and at the end Mikasa + gang are 28. All of this feels right.
I think you're right though that a lot of people throw a fit about Levi's age not because they actually have issues with the age gap, but because it's an attempt (and I stress, attempt) to make him unshippable with no one else but their ship.
The fact that Eren x Levi is literally the most popular ship (honestly, sometimes overseas I think it is even more popular than Eremika) just proves that the whole age gap thing isn't a big deal. The only time anyone is ever up and arms about Levi's age is A) when their ship gets threatened and B) when their Rivamika incest claims are proven wrong and they go for age instead
The last and very least argument people have is the pOwEr iMbALaNcE but those people are liars LOOOL. Do y'all really care if a single captain falls in love with his single lieutenant? A lead agent who falls for her assistant? A manager who falls for their employee? LIKE??? THATS LITERALLY HOW A LOT OF COUPLES MEET IRL anyway this is digressing but BASICALLY once again, clearly even Isayama doesn't care about ages.
In fact, Isayama poking at the idea of all of Mikasa's male superiors being interested in her makes it more meaningful that Levi never showed that kind of interest in her or intention towards her -- not even a fascination of her skills that mirror his -- he only respected her from the beginning.
Thanks for sending this!! It now makes me wonder even more whether he considered the possibility of our OTP......... even a lil
Now that its canon that male Scouts and superiors all over were thirsting over Mikasa, I now head canon everyone getting jealous, nudging Levi when he gets her as his right-hand soldier in his squad. *wink*
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besidesitstoowarm · 10 months ago
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"The Waters of Mars" thoughts
hey y'all it's been a minute. i'm going to knuckle through the last few eps of the davies era before i leave the country. anyway this one was good
this feels like the clearest throughline so far from s4. the doctor is experiencing the same emotions as many a greek protagonist– he has been touched by fate and destiny so profoundly, so inarguably, that he lashes out powerlessly. some of this is a reaction to being alone, deeply alone, having lost all the friends he has made since the time war ended, but some of it is about HOW he lost them. he was destined to meet donna, travel with her, he was actually a pawn in HER destiny, her journey. "journey's end" that was HER journey, he was HER companion in a sense. for someone so accustomed to having the upper hand, especially someone like ten, i can imagine how bad that shook him
cause like, this is ten, you know? i remember nine's last story, i remember "a coward, any day." i remember how he chose suicide, not because it would destroy the daleks but bc it meant he didn't have to live to see them kill everyone. coward, absolutely. the time lord victorious is the polar opposite. time lord victorious is glorious, violent arrogance. what was the change? what happened in the meantime? a lot, but primarily, rose tyler. rose-badwolf forced the regeneration, ten absorbed some of her into him, and time lord victorious is PURE rose tyler. her audacity, her confidence, her arrogance, all wrapped up with a fragile doctor who has lost all and has suddenly realized there are no rules, no rulemakers
the doctor has always been the "teenage rebel" but that implies youth, obedience, an authority figure to defy. it implies a kind of harmless messiness. but that authority figure is gone, before the war he was a father and a grandfather and now he is neither, he is an orphan, he is a widower, he is the very last of the time lords and he is completely lost as a rebel in a universe that suddenly has given him nothing to rebel against
i'm not going to recap the episode. go watch it if you don't remember it, it's really good. a few points: "name, rank, and intention" "the doctor, doctor, and... fun" that's a good one. adelaide was born in 1999 which makes sense for this being 2059 but hello??? adelaide brooke is gen z?? it's 2024 is she on tik tok rn?? girl. so the doctor notes that they have the first flower to bloom on mars in 10,000 years, not sure if that's referencing anything. we get several ice warriors mentions tho, respect
this whole episode has kind of a "the thing" vibe, i like it. viral life form in the glacier, can't tell who's infected. wish this episode had a fucked up dog. uniquely this episode has ten trying to leave, repeatedly. it was pretty common in classic who for the doctor to land somewhere randomly and then go "hm. i don't care much for this. goodbye" and be thwarted, cause he was messy back then. nowadays tho he's not like that, this is unique, this is notable. he finally admits it's a fixed point, a thing i think means nothing except whatever any particular episode writer wants it to mean. which is fine, this is doctor who after all. he takes it back at the end, decides he's above the law bc there are no lawmakers anymore, but forgets that other people have agency. adelaide killing herself got a gasp from my bf
a bit of the "bad wolf" theme plays during the time lord victorious speech which proves my point imo. this is rose, this is rose's influence. she did this, she made him this way, and i don't think that's even a bad thing! in so many ways she made him better. but she also took this fragile war-torn survivor of genocide and made him angry, hard, fanatically right about everything. we also got a bit of "vale decem" at the end around adelaide's suicide cause like yeah this is very distinctly leading to his death
i know this has been extremely rambly but i truly think this episode (which is mostly "the impossible planet" meets "the thing" until the last 15 minutes) is deeply rich thematically and ties into threads i've been picking up on since "the parting of the ways" like ten's era has SO MUCH going on in it!! it's a commentary on nine, on rose, on the time war, on destiny, on classic who, on new who's forward direction. and it'll lead so elegantly into eleven's era, who lives in extreme opposition to having once been ten (as is pointed out directly in "day of the doctor") i think we lose the plot a bit after that. but that's quite a ways away in my recapping. anyway this story is really good and this era is so rich
also this episode was in memory of barry letts. pour one out
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beevean · 2 years ago
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How about a list of your favorite villains across media?
Wouldn't really know how to rank them but I can try :P
Eggman: funnily enough, it was Colors that made me realize "huh, he's actually a pretty good villain" lmao, so thanks Colors! Full of himself, iconic style, charismatic, he will destroy an ancient civilization site to take down his enemy and then build a circus in the same game (some of the games do a bang up job of displaying his personality without words!), proof that you can be both goofy and a serious threat.
Dahlia Hawthorne: absolutely my fave AA villain <3 she's petty and not even the final murderer, yet under her "cute girl who's secretly a bitch" façade lies an actual, scary demon, who doesn't even let death stop her from spreading her utter malice. Not even after Mia beautifully lays down how she's actually a miserable pathetic creature (which she is), does her creepy factor diminish.
Annie Wilkes: yeah an odd choice maybe, but Misery is one of my favorite books and Annie has so much presence and I was legit scared of her while reading. It's almost funny how she's essentially a parody of over-the-top entitled fans, and oh boy things did not get better since the '80s :)
Griffith: what can you say about this complex, tragic piece of shit? You can see him in many ways, you can blame him or forgive him depending on how much you believe in the effects of fate, he's mostly rememebered as "that asshole who raped Casca into insanity" but the arc he went through to get to that low point is only one of the many reasons the Golden Age arc is iconic. I like to see him as a stunted manchild who longed for human contact but his only way to get it was through control :)
Azula: nowadays I think she'd be treated more sympathetically due to her being a 14 yo girl raised by a monstruous dictator, but still, she starts off as a genuinely scary threat compared to the sympathetic Zuko, and her plan to take over the Earth Kingdom is actually clever ("don't flatter yourself, you were never even a player", fucking destroyed), but by the end of Book 3 you feel nothing but pity for the scared little girl with mommy issues she actually is.
Blue Diamond: she's always been my favorite of the Diamonds, and not just because she's beautiful :P she comes off as the "nice" Diamond, especially when juxtaposed to Yellow, and she has a soothing yet intimidating aura around her. But she's actually deeply selfish and callous, literally dragging everyone in her grief - her power immobilizes you with sheer sadness, it's almost scary - and she said she loved Pink a lot but she wasn't above abusing her. I find her fascinating. (I also like Yellow a lot for the opposite reasons: she has more redeeming qualities than one might think).
Beatrice Horseman: does she count? I'll count her. I hated her guts ever since S2E1, where she calls Bojack to outright tell him "you were born broken and there's nothing you can do about it", but then S4 comes around and man, does it recontexualize all the evil she did to Bojack. Not to the point of forgiving her (although Bojack's last moment of compassion gets me), but the entire situation, from her own childhood trauma to how she coped with it, is devastating, an excellent portrayal of the cycle of abuse.
Weil: at the cost of repeating myself, he's just a spiteful monster with zero redeeming qualities (dude manipulates two babies to do his evil bidding and it doesn't even scratch the surface), fully convinced that it's his own humanity who makes him such a monster, and you want him dead so badly
(shout out to Copy X, who is more minor than Weil but I like his concept a lot and I find him pathetic in a good way, super underrated and good thing he wasn't the real X turned evil)
Dracula: started off as a homage to horror movies, became a nearly Berserk-esque figure of a dark lord fated to die at the hands of his old friend's descendants and be brought back by humanity's darkest desires. You almost feel sorry for him and how he's nearly forced to be a monster... if it wasn't for his utter selfishness and petty spite against God that were there long before he became an avatar of Chaos.
Isaac: obviously :P minor villain that he is, he's an absolute delight, both an over the top petty asshole of a simp whose motivation is simply "make Hector suffer", and a tragic victim who did not deserve to see his whole life shatter in the span of a few minutes. Again, you'd feel very badly about him, and then you remember how he dangled Rosaly's head in front of Hector. Also Liam O'Brien <3
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ramblingaboutglee · 2 years ago
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I'm bored and ranking New Direction performances
Sectionals, Regionals and Nationals, all members. My personal taste only. This is going to cover song choice, performance, and general build-up and context. Worst to best. Also I ramble about why I like or dislike each. Because hi, if you’re new here, I ramble. 
S4 Sectionals - Gangnam Style - Ahahaha. No. Like, can we all just agree Glee should never do contemporary meme songs? (Especially when they never do Never Gonna Give You Up, like, that is the meme song and we were robbed of Santana going to the front of the class saying she wanted to perform, only to rickroll everyone. Thank you. Yes that's unrelated I just don't want to talk about this song) This should not have been one of Tina's biggest in-universe performances, for all kinds of reasons. Full props to Jenna for learning the whole song phonetically and performing it well, but. No this should never have happened. And then, what really earns this a place at the bottom, is the fall-out. Marley faints on stage because of her ED. Honestly, the first time I saw that, I was interested - EDs can be horrifying, and having it take a real toll on a lead character felt like a worthwhile storyline to do. It had felt like the show was being a bit flippant with the topic, but having it build to the New Rachel pass out mid-performance, with genuinely disturbing foreshadowing, and the New Directions losing sectionals for the first time as a result? That feels like it's going to good Glee-dramedy directions. Spoilers: it does not. NDs are back in the competition with minimal hassle, Marley's ED is cured via magic, and it's never brought up again. It didn't matter. So with a poorly handled Glee storyline on one hand, and Tina's character again being reduced to Asian on the other, yeah this is. Not a good one.
S5 Nationals - More Than A Feeling - America - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - Okay there's a lot about this episode that bugs me and I am going to take the opportunity to vent. This is when the S4 newbies were shoved to the sidelines, and the S1-3 characters still in the NDs took centre-stage for a last hurrah. It's also framed as a memorial to Finn, singing his favourite songs as a goodbye. Okay, screwing over the S4 cast rather than trying to make them better (which, after all, is the Glee staple - it's not like the OGs were everything they're known for after just one season, for the most part) that's a bad look for Glee, but given the show's switching gears to NY soon, fair enough I guess. They go out with a whimper rather than a last hurrah, which is dumb, but whatever. This is the last remains of the OG Glee Club putting on a memorial to Finn. And they lose. They don't even lose to Vocal Adrenaline, but to some randoms that never appear again. (And it's not even like VA are written out, they get mentioned in the next couple of episodes when Will's convinced to coach them). It's one of the most baffling decisions Glee ever makes. The New Directions losing, that's not inherently bad - it was where Glee began - but having the goodbye to the S4 cast and the last big performance in the spotlight for the characters that played second-string, their promised chance to showcase themselves, that gets no meaningful follow-up... Yeah, no. And even if we ignore all of that... these aren't good performances? Which is no slight on the singing, for the most part. Most of the best blocks in the show use solos, little things to help distinguish each number and add a sense of pacing to the performance - none of that's here. Instead, the songs just kind of blur together, not helped by the show's insistence on having Blaine, Tina, Artie and Sam all share spotlight-duty. One of the points I'm going to get into ranking my faves, is variation. Especially in S3, we got a Troubletones performance, a group performance, and then something that was much more of a solo. All that to be said, the songs were given a lot more to make them distinct. These, however, are all full-cast New Directions performances. Give Tina a solo, give Blaine and Sam some poppy song with dance back-up, have Artie lead the third. Do something to give each song some sense of identity, and have some better pacing. And have them win. For something that seems like it's trying to showcase the characters, it completely fails to play to their strengths. As it is, this is at the bottom of all the full performance sets for good reason. It's just bland. A last, storyline note - one of the things that does bug me with this episode is how much the NDs are focused on winning. Like, before they explicitly played up competition as friendly, rooting on their rivals. They completely lose that here, and it goes unremarked on. There was a time I thought they'd win the competition and the the NDs would dissolve because it had stopped being fun, but nope, it's just. There.
S2 Nationals - Pretending - Light Up The World - The one word I can think of to describe this performance, and frankly most of this episode, is 'pointless.' One of the flaws of S2 was that the singing competition often felt like a formality, rather than the big deal it was in S1. Gearing the whole finale around something that didn't seem to matter anymore, especially when it ultimately just ends on a repeat of S1's loss, feels ultimately meaningless. It doesn't actively aggravate me the way the above two sets do, it just bores me. The songs aren't bad, but I am grading on a curve when it comes to competition performances - these feel like typical Glee songs, while I expect the competitions to stand out more. If I'm judging a competition, part of the metric is how significant it feels. Here, it feels like something that happens because they couldn't get away with not showing it. The episode feels much more like it's about being in New York, than it does the Nationals performance. This isn't something built up to, this isn't a resolution, it's just something that happens. Like, I could be picky and criticise them coming to New York without their songs written, but that's just Glee. The bigger issue for me is that it's what the build-up is replaced with. It also doesn't help that this is the second competition to be centred on original songs, so it lacks that unique flourish, and as far as a realisation goes, it feels ultimately inferior, to me, to its predecessor. While before, the contents of the songs were built up to as continuations and summations of the show and characters, we very much lack that here. Ultimately, it feels insignificant - it’s set-up, where its only purpose is to make the next season’s nationals a big deal. In of itself, it lacks impact, in my opinion.  The songs are fine. Pretending is an okay number, a good Finn and Rachel duet and I can imagine shippers loving it, and it has some character potential. Light Up The World though just feels like a fairly generic song, not what an original song ought to be. For my taste, they lack energy, though I can't put my finger on why - it might be that they feel so consistently at more or less the same level of energy and intensity that there's too little contrast to make much stand out.  What we end up with is, ultimately, fine. But for a season finale, fine just isn't good enough.
S4 Regionals - Hall of Fame - I Love It - All or Nothing - The S4 cast deserved better. That's getting to be a theme. This episode has some issues. It's the S4 finale, heralding this storyline continuing into season 5 in a manner that undeniably feels a little overstretched. As a finale, Regionals are going to feel a little unsatisfying after two seasons of Nationals in a row. On top of that, the episode feels regeared at the last minute to serve as a goodbye to Heather Morris as Brittany. So it has issues going in. Acknowledging that it was in a bad place, though, doesn't make the problems go away. Marley has a fantastic voice, along with decent range. Jake is one of the best all-rounders the show's ever had, holding his own in both song and dance. And on top of that, season 4 genuinely, in my opinion, has some of the best choreography across the whole show - that's whether we're talking Jake's dance numbers, or something like Heartbreaker that turns into a full-on music video. Which brings us back to the comparison problem - these songs are fine, but a lot of the performances across the rest of the season took a step up, taking full advantage of New York for staging, so the competitions either needed to do the same, or they suffer. So they suffer. I think if it were in any other season, this would maybe be ranked higher, but surrounded by the general quality of S4 staging and choreography, the competition ends up less impressive than Jake having a solo in the classroom. It’s a similar issue to S2′s Nationals ultimately seeming like a downgrade from that season’s regionals.  Hall of Fame is a decent opener, a good atmosphere-builder, but I Love It suffers in my opinion - it's a song that's perpetually at the same level of intensity, so for a competition performance it feels like it stalls. The highlight honestly is just Sugar just doing her own thing in the background. All or Nothing is probably my favourite of the set - it showcases two of the strongest voices, but it feels like it's too little too late. This does double for Marley. Ostensibly, Marley feels guilty for them losing sectionals - her ED isn't her fault, but she deserved a triumphant moment to show herself coming out from that. The fact said triumph is a duet is fine, mitigates it a little, but it could still be solid. The number just ends up feeling too understated for its own good. Some of this likely is the episode's problems - I can imagine it was more Marley-focused before they needed to write in Britt's departure - but it still hurts the story. It's not uncommon for the big performances to cut away from the stage to show reactions of Will/a teacher, and sometimes parents or characters in the audience, people having some actual reaction to what happens on stage. This mostly lacks that. It robs the performance of context that would elevate it to more than, well, ordinary songs. They're good songs, and good performances, but if I'm ranking these as competition performances, it has to end up lower. But this is the last of the performances that are more milquetoast to me.
S3 Sectionals - Survivor/I Will Survive - - ABC - Control - Man in the Mirror - Yes I'm including the Troubletones fight me. (And honestly, yeah, for this particular ND set, the Troubletones should have won so they are giving this a little boost). It's a fun set-up. The NDs have a new set of rivals, as opposed to just the Warblers, led by Mercedes and Santana and Britt (and Sugar Motta just. Making facial expressions in the background). And then Rachel's suspended for the duration of the competition, so the New Directions lack all of their tried and tested powerhouses. It's something of a redo of the S2 sectionals (spoilers for later), but it's a good way to showcase the whole crew. Tina carries ABC, with decent choreography from Mike (We've seen him do fancier, but for a team number, it's good). Control belongs to Artie and Quinn doing the dialogue. And then Finn, Artie, Blaine, Puck and Sam bring it home. There's none of the usual stage-filling ballads that were something of a mainstay before this point, and it's a more low-key affair made by harmonies and timing and it's cosy more than powerful, but it helps exemplify the strength of the team. Also best costumes the New Directions ever get thank you. And then on the other side are the Troubletones. I've seen some people rank it as one of the best performances on the show, and while I wouldn't go that far, the transition from one song to the other is absolutely a spectacular moment that would be up there. For me, the choreography feels a little hectic at points, but there is still a lot of recommend it. Anchoring more is the context of the episode. We have the fantastic idea of all three show choirs being, to one degree or another, known - something Glee really does too little. Harmony begins with Buenos Aires, and then we go to the New Directions and Troubletones with their built-up rivalry. And then there are smaller ongoing story beats - Quinn's dynamic with Shelby comes to a head this episode, and the opening of 'Control' comes with perfect subtext, and it's something of a showcase for Mike in an admittedly very cliche plot. Still, it delivers on actual character for someone that was usually just a minor background character. These aren't my favourite performances, certainly, but it's a damn good set.
S2 Sectionals - I've Had The Time Of My Life - Valerie - This is where we really start to get to the good ones, for me.  So let's talk skill. I've seen too many takes that seem to view singing talent as some number from 0 to 10, someone being either good or bad, and I don't think that's true. Every genre of music takes a different skillset. You take someone like Finn - he inhabits old school rock songs, the She's Not Theres, Paradise by the Dashboard Lights (spoiler for later), while he's not as adept at some other genres. That happens, there's a reason singers are often known by genre. Rachel Berry is the best singer on the show. That's not because she's always the best pick for a song - Mercedes will give her a run for her money and often oust her on some - but because she's pretty damn good at almost anything she's given. Over the show's run, she goes from Barracuda to Celine Dion. What makes Rachel stand out is as much versatility as voice. So then we get Sectionals where Rachel doesn't lead, and rather we get Quinn and Sam in a soft, mellower melody, followed up by Santana in an upbeat dance number. And rather than be a set that plays up Rachel's absence, it perfectly depicts the strengths of the rest of the team. Quinn's voice is perfect for the number she has, and her dynamic with Sam is remarkably sweet, and then Santana follows it up with her first real time in the spotlight and her sheer stage presence is impressive, especially alongside Mike and Britt's energetic performance. One of the criticisms I had for songs lower down the list is that they don't feel like events. They felt obligatory, with little time spent making the competitions feel like they matter. S1 handled it the best, with the competitions being at the core of Will's arc, and Will being more central on the show - when the kids took over, and their drama obviously mattered more to them, competitions could begin to feel secondary. This episode might not totally fix that, but it does significantly more in making the event have a point - it shows that everyone in the New Directions has value, and gives the character reactions of the rest in the lead-up. These sectionals existed to showcase the unsung heroes of the New Directions, as it were, and wow did it succeed.
S2 Regionals - Get It Right - Loser Like Me - Original songs are a mixed bag. They're not going to be songs where you already know that people love them, and you're only going to have so much time to work on creating lyrics and instrumentation from scratch. On the other side, you get the ability to have them reflect the characters more than another artist's song ever could. Get It Right is phenomenal. I swear, you get Rachel to stand up and just belt out a ballad, and you've got me. Pair that with the original song making it feel more personal, and it's a gorgeous moment. Loser Like Me is less my thing - lyrics can be a bit clunky, and the put-on voices are clearly a genre-reference which is just distracting when it's an original song, but it's still a good, upbeat melody to round it out. Also, this marks the first time the New Directions actually start on the damn stage rather than at the back of the auditorium. I swear, it took them four tries, but they finally managed it. As alluded to before, original songs come with a lot of potential. In this case, the show delivers - Get It Right feels like Rachel pouring her heart out, and Loser Like Me is something on an encapsulation of one of the show's themes, building on from an ongoing dynamic. Plus the Warblers. Taking the time to build up a rival group was something S1 did with Vocal Adrenaline, to a limited degree, and it's surprising that it isn't done more frequently. Having Kurt on the rival team, too, makes for a good dynamic - it's the same thing I praised the Troubletones for. Everyone involved is a quality singer, and by the internal logic of the show there are competition winners on all sides. Bonus points for the only proper use of props the New Directions do.
S1 Regionals - Faithfully - Any Way You Want It / Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' - Don't Stop Believin' - Yeah. All about the build-up. Journey were part of the show since the first episode, and Don't Stop Believing closed out the pilot. It might be something of a cliche, but it is a good song, and never underestimate the strength of a good callback. The songs were all selected for a reason, bringing the show full circle in a way that never really happens again, and realistically never could. Faithfully is a slower, powerful build. Finn and Rachel enter, sing a number that fills the auditorium with just their two voices. Then, midway through, the curtain raises and all the New Directions suddenly join the number in a glorious moment. Then, from slow and powerful, it transitions to an energetic, upbeat mash-up so quickly it's almost dizzying. And then, rather than cutting away as S1 did, or ignoring it as S2 did, for the first time we see the full set of three as it rounds it out with DSB, the pilot callback. They're good songs. They go well together, and were arranged wonderfully. The only real criticism I can give is that it's still very much the Rachel and Finn show - though that's more forgivable in season one where most of the cast were less in-focus. Even then, a few get spotlights and moments in the latter two songs. And, yes, I like just seeing Will (at a competition for the first time) just kinda dancing along off-stage. They're cute cut-aways, and it really sells this as what the series has been working towards. And then you add Olivia Newton-John and Josh Groban in the audience and?? What the heck is Glee. This was a spectacular way to close out the season. A deliciously galling loss, a bittersweet kind of closure from Sue, and a medley that makes it clear that if Glee had ended here, it would have gone out on a high. Also, Quinn was minutes away from giving birth that whole performance so. I mean. Gotta respect it I guess. I'll be honest, I generally think a lot of the "Will Schuester is a terrible person," stuff can be overplayed by fandom, but. Okay yeah you have a point here WHY IS SHE ON STAGE
S3 Regionals - Fly/I Believe I Can Fly - Stronger - Here's To Us - The escalation. Fly is a more mellow number, which kicks into a high energy Stronger, building up to Here's To Us and that moment where Rachel holds the note while the instrumentation cuts out still gives me chills. It's a solid set of songs with a fantastic arrangement. And all of that in the episode On My Way, doing what Glee can do so well - juxtaposing the happy and the sad, using the bad to make the good matter. Undeniably, this episode begins as one of the most serious in Glee's run, certainly up to this point. And as a counterpoint, we end with a Regionals with the theme of 'inspiration,' going to a dark place and generally handling that plot well, but replying to it with the firm insistence that people are worth it and there's hope. It's a wonderful thematic conclusion to the episode, using tragedy to uplift. And if we're going to talk Stronger, we have to talk the Troubletones - I love that sense of the New Directions coming together over the seasons, and having that group-within-a-group is a great way to do that. It makes the episode feel earned, feel like a continuation. The same way as earlier episodes that offer more of a build in order to make the competition feel like a culmination, here we have the Troubletones getting a number from within the New Directions, showing the group willing to showcase all their talent. And we have Sebastian's development, on the side of the rivals, as a result of the events of the episode - the competition becomes a genuine celebration on all sides. Also Sugar Motta ignores her team when they win and runs over to hug a vampire. Which is adorable.
S1 Sectionals - Don't Rain On My Parade - You Can't Always Get What You Want - (Somebody To Love) - And here we are in the top three.  This may partly be fond memories talking, but this is a heck of a first performance. In a lot of ways, this is the episode that really got me into Glee. I liked some characters, some storylines etc before this point, and there had been good songs before this, but this was the episode where I was first genuinely wowed. And it's got a good build-up. Season 1 of Glee showed each character slowly come to the club, and find their place, and this allows them to all be spotlighted. The episodes begins with Mercedes knocking it out of the park, and Rachel in a bit of character development due to be forgotten about in half a season's time willingly stepping back to let Mercedes sing the ballad. As much as this is the first performance, it's treated as a story in its own right, not just a stepping stone to reach - the last minute hectic planning of the cast figuring out what they want to do, improvising their second number, and off-screen redo of Somebody to Love (the first song they ever sang as a full group), all kicked off by Rachel bursting into the auditorium with her by-now iconic Don't Rain. Like, we're all agreed that's the perfect song for Rachel right? I swear I was just cackling as soon as I heard the opening notes, just for how well it fits - something the show just goes in to prove again and again with the repeated acknowledgements of Funny Girl and use of similar beats. It feels like a finale. Which, honestly, was likely intended, it's hard to imagine a musical TV show being a long-runner, so they really pull out all the stops. So we get a pair of triumphant performances, juxtaposed with Will missing the performance because he took the blame for them an episode prior, and say what you will about Will but Matthew Morrison acts the hell out of him just in tears of pride while listening over the phone.  Honestly my only criticism is that it needed Somebody to Love because I'm a sucker for a Queen song.
S6 Nationals - Take Me To Church - Chandelier - Come Sail Away - This might be unpopular. Oh well. One of the strengths of the S6 cast, with how they were much more secondary as characters, was that they got to spend their time singing the genres they were best at - so given a spotlight like this, they nail it in a way few other performances do. And for good measure, there's that thread I keep talking about - how the performance feels like a culmination, from the blazers to the Warblers dancing, to Spencer's injury. The competition matters again. I didn't expect much, honestly. When the S4+5 competitions were all on the lacklustre side to me, and the S6 kids being more secondary as characters, I figured this would be the same, a season that peters out with a mediocre performance before Glee ends. Then Roderick walks out with confidence gained over the course of the season, and fills the stage with a ridiculously good voice, and gorgeous use of a translucent curtain for staging. My jaw was on the floor. The harmonies with Jane are downright heavenly. Then, onto Chandelier, we get fantastic choreography making full use of the more experienced Warblers to show off, Myron just kinda doing Myron stuff in the audience, and Madison getting a chance to show off her voice. And to top it off, Spencer who was injured in rehearsals, and likely unable to join in, appears via getting tied to an actual chandelier and swinging in overhead because why the heck not. Glee is a lot of things and subtle is not one of them. And we finish off with Come Sail Away. It begins quietly, doing the same trick with pacing that so many of my favourite performances do - the first song gets people into it, the second is upbeat and energetic, and here they take a breath to pause - with a wonderful double-act from Mason and Madison - before the song kicks into high gear after the almost reflective moment, and it's just pure celebration. All that paired with Rachel, Kurt and Will in the audience just beaming, and it's easily one of my favourite performances. If I was going to criticise, Jane deserved a number. She killed Tightrope in her debut and then got little else - technically she only really got one song less than the average for the S6 kids, but hey, she had a great voice and stage presence. So, let's talk about how the season built to this. My favourites will always be the performances that feel like culminations. S1 could handle this the easiest, though we saw shades of it elsewhere - but like S1, we got more focus on each of the Newest Directions as they joined, saw the show choir be built up piece by piece. And then the Warblers joined up, offering an extra piece to the performance, and bringing more developed choreography with them. Is it cheesy? Yes. Is it fun? Still yes. And just for the heck of it, the New Directions head out with Warbler-inspired blazers in McKinley red, and it's a good look. I don't always talk that much about costuming, unless it really stands out, but it does here. They bring a splash of colour without resorting to the stock suits and dresses that the more average costumes do. And speaking of the Warblers, the choreography feels like the elephant in the room. I see a lot of criticism of the dancing of the NDs, which is justified, but also unavoidable for meta reasons - the lead characters sing a heck of a lot of songs. That’s a lot of rehearsal time. The reason their rivals get better performances is because people that are only singing a few songs can rehearse them exclusively, rather than hurrying from one episode to the next. So having more minor characters, with such names as Super Gay Warbler, who can afford to dedicate time to just learning the moves, it really helps play up the feeling that this is the finale, and is one of the best performances the New Directions ever do.  It feels like the whole season built to this point. And then we have Vocal Adrenaline, under Sue, performing Hey Mickey (am genuinely amazed it took Glee so long to get to that song) and firing students out of cannons, and they're really just throwing everything at the wall. It's pure ridiculous cheesy fun, but backed up by a set of fantastic performances and arrangements. Which, I mean, it's Glee, what more do you want? 
S3 Nationals - Edge of Glory - It's All Coming Back To Me Now - Paradise By The Dashboard Light - I feel like this is a cliche first place but eh. Cliches exist for a reason. Just, wow. So let's talk about the build-up. Graduation is soon, this is the New Directions’ last chance to win, Rachel’s chance of getting into NYADA rides on her performance for Reasons... This is, in many ways, the last hurrah of the original cast. Jesse is back as a rival, coaching Vocal Adrenaline, who are led by Unique who’s already proven herself to be a spectacular performer. We get a little drama, overcome by Sue of all people helping the team. And it begins. The Troubletones take the stage with the aptly named Edge of Glory, serving both as a Gaga callback and a chance to showcase more members of the group, and you know by now how much I love having that piece of the performance set up. They set the scene, and we get to Rachel belting out Celine Dion like her life depends on it and it’s one of the best vocal performances in the entire show. Whoopi Goldberg shows up. With Rachel feeling a sense of hope, things feel resolved, and it closes out with a triumphant Paradise By The Dashboard Light - a song that suits Finn’s voice, and that the whole New Directions manage to nail. Even with their limited choreography, they do a lot with the contrasts of their costumes to stand out. It just builds and builds and it’s wonderful.  Each song is distinct, each helps build up the larger set, and each one is a fantastic number in its own right. And all of this in an episode that makes it feel like a culmination of everything. They have good rivals, good build-up in the episode proper,and a spectacular performance. I’ve criticised previous entries for feeling like they leaned on Rachel and Finn too much. I understand it in S1 by the nature of the show at that time. Season 3 in general avoids this, though - the first performance lacks Rachel completely, while the remaining dedicate one song to the Troubletones, showcasing the other performers. While the other two do lean much more on Rachel and Finn, Paradise is enough of a group number, and it feels earned to me by the context of the episode. Plus, all else aside, these are spectacular enough performances for it to be forgivable. Mind you, I do have to wonder if anyone read the lyrics of Paradise before picking it. It’s either a not-so-subtle bit of foreshadowing for later drama, or accidentally hilarious. (I like Rachel more than a lot of people seem to, but also building to someone singing to her “I’m praying for the end of time to hurry up and arrive, because if I've got to spend another minute with you I don’t think that I can really survive,” is. Um. I mean I get it, but still).
But anyway yes, that’s where I fall. This is admittedly partly down to my music taste, but hey. Feel free to tell me why I’m wrong! 
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judgeverse-backup · 1 year ago
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bagheerita​:
judgeverse​:
to be fair, I thought she did a pretty solid job BUT the bar is pretty low for SGU, out of necessity. I think it’s fair to expect women to be better at handling a lot of topics tbh – not necessarily that they’ll be better universally, but… there’s a certain sort of awareness that they’re likelier to have than male writers. I know there’s at least one other woman-written ep - I believe it’s the Camille and Greer one that’s somewhere down the line mid-s2. but overall, the writers room was notoriously light on women, and it shows
very true re: tok'ra as well. stargate liked to play fast and loose with basically all of these topics (also, it bothers me that we never got more exploration of consensual host and symbiote situations - there was untapped material there!) but I guess they think it’s different if you’re not IN the body… but also… everyone else still knows what happened :| it just feels very uncool, and yes, huge problems in SGU with insufficient examination of moral issues, especially for a show that seemed to pride itself on making the effort but kinda… didn’t?
I’m watching SGA for the first time right now!!! I’m pretty sure I watched todd’s first ep recently? (the one where kolya captures shepard, right?) so far feeling very positive about him but deeply disappointed to hear the show’s going to take that angle on him. one of my biggest impressions of atlantis is “more war crimes? REALLY?” so… I guess that’s just gonna keep getting worse, huh
I will admit I enjoyed some elements of the episode, mostly for rush murdering simeon via space dinosaur stampede (and scott making the effort to be kind to rush, but mostly also the space dinosaurs) but ginn and amanda were both DEEPLY WRONGED and it pisses me off. also, it’s going to get worse with amanda in 2x15 so be warned about that
Lmao murdering someone with a stampede is my favorite scene in The Jungle Book that they always leave out of every movie and I was literally thinking, If you give me this, I will forgive your many crimes… 🤣❤ I also loved Greer’s, “Can we BBQ it?” line, and just the hopeful yearning in his voice.
“More war crimes!!😃” Is very much the vibe of SGA, yes. That is Todd’s first episode! Sorry I thought you’d seen it so I’ll clarify: Todd is awesome in s4 through mid-s5, it’s not until late s5 where there’s a distinct lack of forward momentum as far as any development in his relationship with Atlantis that I personally find frustrating, but he has many awesome episodes before that.
lol, greer. god I love greer. he does get his bbq later (I think it’s The Hunt) and he damn well deserves it
I actually saw SGU BEFORE atlantis, I’ve watched all of SG1 and all of SGU exactly once lol (and for ironic reasons - I was concerned SGA would brainrot me, so opted for SGU first.... nope, so far nobody, but rush got me without any warning). slowly working my way through all of stargate one ep a day since last year. good times. so far SGA is, unfortunately, ranking 3 out of 3 in my favorites tier (sorry) but it kinda goes back and forth with SGU for the 2nd vs 3rd place, for what it’s worth. I really did like todd’s intro ep; I also am partial to michael, so i don’t know where they’re going with him, but I’m just a sucker for the “these are our bad guys... and then here’s one of them that’s Not Like The Others” trope (hello, ba’al). i’m a gullible sap for that type, in the worst way
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Fucking mood
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simp999 · 2 years ago
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A New Home Ch. 17
Various! Splatoon Manga x Skilled! Isekai'd! Reader
Wc: 1.8k
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It’s toe-to-toe, and the both of you are fighting for first place. This final lap decides the winner. You’re a second behind Mask for most of the third lap, and it’s not looking good on your end. You’re nearly done the race, but you managed to pick up an item. A green shell. Well, it’s not the worst. Now you just have to snipe him just right. You wait until the last second of the race, where it’s a straight stretch. You’ve got one chance.
‘Let go…now!’
You hear Mask cry out in shock, and the sound of the winning theme play.
“YES!” your arms shoot up, one hand still holding the controller. That was the closest you’ve ever been to an opponent. You usually managed to beat Leo, only giving him the win if you didn’t feel like going all out.
You give Mask a closed-eyed smile, and he squints his eyes at you and looks away in annoyance. It’s light-hearted though, you can only tell because you can barely see the way his cheeks move up under his mask. 
You put the controller down, content with how you played.
“Ya’ll want some drinks? I’m goin’ downstairs to grab some snacks.”
Aloha’s holding the door handle, ready to make his way into the party.
Mask wants an energy drink, Skull asks for soda, and Army goes on a short rant about how much sugar is in both of those drinks and how bad they are for them. Just about what you’d expect. You ask if you can get a bottle of inkling-safe water, and Aloha goes downstairs.
You get up from your seat, sitting back beside Skull. You’re about to pull out your phone to not make things weird, but after shuffling through his pockets, Skull silently offers you something.
It’s a lollipop.
You giggle at how serious he looks, and take it with a small ‘thanks’.
He nods, then waits a moment before explaining himself.
“...Not a lot of people can beat Mask. You’re pretty skilled, not only at ranked and turf, it seems.”
Right, back to that. Always back to how you battle. Army notices the slight annoyance written across your face that nobody else could have spotted. He must have done research on how to recognize emotions like that.
“Have you completed the volumes you checked out at the library?”
“The…carp. I forgot about those. I didn’t even end up going back to the library after hanging out at that cafe with Skull.”
“Yoooou hung out with Skuuull? Didn’t know you two were clooose.”
Mask seems irritated, but you can’t quite tell why. In the manga it was stated that the S4 don’t necessarily get along, they’re just there to be strong teammates, so maybe that’s what it is.
“Nah, it was pure coincidence. It was my first time meeting him.”
Skull nods to back up your statement by nodding in agreement. Aloha walks in and gives everyone their drinks and begins to chug his glass of punch. Mask turns towards the tv, away from the rest of the group, to lift up his gasmask and drink his energy drink.
“Yeah, they gave me their ice cream.”
Aloha quickly turns his head towards Skull,
“Who did? D’I miss somethin’? Have you two hung out before?”
You caught the way Army and Mask both turned their heads just as quickly as Aloha did. This is definitely getting out of hand. You sigh at Skull for being such an airhead, and try to clear things up, talking about what happened, leaving out the part where Aviator joined you guys.
“I dunnooo dude, seems kinda like a date to me~”
“ ‘Loha we literally just met.”
“I’m just buggin’! You guys ready to actually party now or what?”
Mask groans at that, but he knew it was inevitable. He must have made a deal with Aloha earlier or something. Army quickly scribbles something down in his manual, presumably finishing up. Skull sits up and makes his way toward the door. You follow along, taking a deep breath in and out, preparing yourself for the overwhelmingly loud music and bright lights.
You stick next to Aloha for the most part, and you can tell he’s a natural at parties. He looks like he’s right at home, the way he so smoothly dances through the crowd, and makes up short but fun conversations with the guests. You feel much more comfortable following behind him, not only because he’s the perfect party guy, but you also have some of the scariest players in Inkopolis following you around, giving anyone a glare if they seem like they’re about to approach you.
Army’s quickly caught on that you don’t enjoy talking about your battling skills, and what else is expected to be spoken about at a party only involving strong players?
Mask is struggling with the way he feels about you, all he knows is that he likes hanging out with you. Which is really weird for him, but he knows that you don’t treat him like this godly idol like some others do.
It’s also rare for people to treat Skull like a normal person, given that he’s the biggest and strongest S4 member. Usually, people tend to outright avoid him. Maybe it’s his resting mean face. He’s not really trying to separate the crowd, really, he’s just big. And scary. And might have a slight RBF.
Aloha isn’t trying to divert the crowd, it’s actually quite the opposite, people always crowding him and wanting to talk to him. But he makes sure to look back often, still worried about how you’re doing with all the people, and lights, and sounds, and heat- you get it. Parties can get really overwhelming, and he’s already seen how good you are in this place.
You make it to the main room again, and you’re quick to run off after spotting an inkling wearing glasses and spiky hair. You hug him right away, seeing Tasha and Leo standing right next to him.
“Where have you been? We couldn’t find you for the longest time!”
“I went upstairs to find somewhere to hide from the crowd, it’s all good now, sorry for making you worry!”
“I’m so sorry about separating from you, I know you don’t like people and this place must be terrible to be alone in for you!-”
You can tell Milo’s about to start ranting, as he does in his big brother mode, but thankfully Tasha sums it up for you.
“We can always leave anytime if you’re uncomfortable, you know.”
You’re glad you have such awesome teammates. You still felt bad about making them worry, though. You reassure them that you're alright.
"So you don't want to go home?"
"No, no, we can stay here and have fun if you guys are enjoying yourselves." You look over at Leo, who's stuffing his face with chips. 
"These your teammates? I underestimated them, but they seem like good people." Aloha jumps into the conversation, liking how well your teammates are treating you. It seems you trust each other, and that makes for a good, strong team. 
You see Leo in your peripheral view and see the way he just about dies at the sight of Aloha right in front of him. His idol? Right there?? This must feel like a dream come true to him. 
You snicker at him, and turn to Aloha.
"Looks like you have a big fan that wants to meet you, 'Loha." You say, gesturing behind him, at Leo.
He turns his head to greet his fan, and you smile, glad that you could make Leo's day.
You look over at Tasha, and see that standing next to her is Bamboo.
"Oh, hey! The yellow-green team's here?"
She nods, looking over at Tasha, then back to you,
"Everybody but our leader. We are a strong team, after all." 
"Speaking of Rider, we haven't seen him in a while." A voice that you can tell is usually quiet does its best to make itself heard over the crowd and music, and you turn your head to see Stealth. 
"Oh, hey, sweetheart! I'm sure he's doing alright, he's strong enough to protect himself if he gets into any trouble."
He looks away, still unused to how carefree you seem to be with him compared to others.
“I hope so…”
The rest of the S4, besides Aloha who was just finishing taking selfies with Leo, finally manage to shake off their fans. Mask comes and sort of hides behind you, Army comes to stand to your left side, and Skull to your right.
“Soooo, these are your teeeeamates?”
“Yup, this is the fam. Leo’s quite the gamer, so I think he might be a good opponent for you. We should host a Squid Racer tournament one day.”
The last part was lighthearted, not meant to be taken seriously, but it could be fun if you guys actually tried to set something up.
It was surprisingly quiet between the group, moreso than you would have expected, namely from Milo. Milo speechless? Not a sight you’d thought you’d ever see. But hey, these are their idols, you get it. Tasha, well, she doesn't talk much anyways, but she’s definitely staring at Skull in awe. You and your team are probably the only ones who can tell, because it probably seems like more of a scowl if any outsider were to see it. Skull’s looking back in curiosity, which looks more like a staring contest.
“Man, you guys are so quiet and boring! This isn’t the best time to chit-chat n hang out since it’s so loud and getting late, so how about we all meet up soon?”
You’re still iffy about getting too close to the main characters, but the rest of your team comes to silent agreement before you have the chance to say anything.
“Sure. We can have lunch together on Friday?”
Tasha sounded more stern than she had hoped, but she’s definitely more leader material when it comes to timings than you, so there’s no stopping her.
The S4 check and clear their schedules, and make time for lunch with your team.
You wave goodbye to the S4 and any other acquaintances that are looking at you, before turning towards the door. As soon as Leo gets away from Aloha, he immediately lets his body slump out of exhaustion. It seems he likes to push himself too far at times. Milo picks him up to give him a piggyback ride, and Tasha follows behind the group, to watch out for everyone.
Next part
May.12.23
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variousqueerthings · 2 years ago
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I am being promised a deconstruction of BJ (a literal one, his construction is being dissolved and he’s So not okay) and it is being handed to me!!!
So Operation Friendship, right? That was an episode that happened. It feels like it exists in tandem with Period of Adjustment in the long-simmering-boiling-over BJ saga (and right after that he went aaaalmost off the rails in No Sweat, and I am not convinced that after Hawkeye snapping at him that Peggy’s gonna leave him that nothing would have happened, that man is as taut as one of those ropes they use to tie up boats that can smash buildings if frayed too much -- BUT I digress, it was a fun-episode, and therefore it ended in fun + that all happened in the shower which was also... a choice... as we know about showers and MASH)
(also Hawkeye is SO invested in the Hunnicutt marriage, it’s not even funny anymore)
Operation Friendship
1. BJ’s insistence that Everything Is Fine
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2. Hawkeye’s insistence on playing nurse-maid, constantly staying by his bed, making suggestions for an ice pack, an insurance exam, etc. (and I have that post queued up that talks about how genders are constructed differently in the 4077th, ex. Doctor and Nurse, rather than Man and Woman, but also Caregiver and Care-needer, Protector and Protected, Senior Officer and Lower Ranking, everything that Klinger does, including “Just A Guy From Toledo” and “Maxine,” Daddy/Dad/Father and Mommy/Mom/Mother (not related to Man and Woman), Sir and Ma’am (also not related to Man and Woman), etcetcetc and they’re not necessarily as binary or rigid as they may be perceived here either!)
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3. Hawkeye’s caretaking of BJ is not the same as BJ’s caretaking of Hawkeye, and BJ doesn’t like it! He acquiesced to it back in Period of Adjustment because he was at his lowest and therefore couldn’t help it + he’d hit Hawkeye earlier and I’d HC that plays into it, but it’s far more often BJ-in-support-of-Hawkeye (whether it be a scheme and/or a mental state and/or physical support -- I mean protecting him from getting beaten up of course...)
that’s their Roles! Hawkeye is messing with the Order Of Things!
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4. Hawkeye’s territorialism???? His possessiveness?????????? 
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5. going back to BJ’s insistence that Everything Is Fine: I just wrote in a tag that BJ s4-7 seemed to (basically, simplifying here) frame him as “sure he has issues too but it’s a war, and maybe there’s some performativity to his Self, first really highlighted by the surprise that he’d be the mastermind of pranks when he’s just a good American boy, and then seen several times ex. in the mystery of his name, but ultimately he’s trucking”
and then s8 was like “what if BJ is just straight-up losing his mind and ability to place himself in the future and desperately clawing for that future (which looks too much like the past) and possibly knowing it can never be that way, and sometimes he just snaps I Guess!
Hawkeye Is supposed to be the frayed one. He’s got Issues, that’s what everyone knows. BJ is an amiable, getting-along-with-things, Father and Husband. He takes care of Hawkeye, not the other way around! Not like this!
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6. the ending of the episode once again forcing BJ to acknowledge a need for help in the face of literally being about to lose his hand. My guy. You can... ask for help sooner.... it’s...... it’s cool.......... (it isn’t)
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(his hand looks so bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
7. Also the ending of the episode having Hawkeye relinquish his need to take care of him, again because he could actually lose his hand!!! 
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What! Am! I Supposed! To! Make! Of! The! Metaphor?! Of it all???? The Symbolism???? The Dissolving Of Stability!????
8. BJ still taking the time to threaten the doctor when he’s talking Hawkeye down!
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9. the fact that they both laugh about how they could’ve just let BJ die in order to get the last laugh on the hand specialist guy. It’s morbid sure, but it’s not just that, it’s... idk. The only way they could talk about how fucking close that one was? Skirting around the Ways they both went about the whole thing? Deliberately restoring equilibrium with the most tasteless joke BJ could think of, testing the waters to make sure everything is fine again
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also the way they both gang up on the specialist... rewatching it, because I felt like he wasn’t that obnoxious, he was just stating that he has a speciality and would like to be respected for it, as well as literally having practised medicine for longer than either of them, while Hawkeye hovers over him and tries to find reasons to critique... and yeah, they were definitely coping by finding a scapegoat there, good thing he wasn’t sticking around for longer, they would have been such mean girls! But they needed that too in order to cope
TL;DR BJ and Hawkeye were so okay this whole episode, except for the fact that they were utterly unhinged about each other, about social (gender) roles, and about needing and giving help
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theowritesfiction · 2 years ago
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My great Buffy the Vampire Slayer watch adventure has come to an end! Last night I watched the s7 finale.
I'll start my series of posts reflecting back on this iconic show with my general thoughts on s7 and where it ranks among all the other seasons.
Season 7 is a very odd beast. I don't have any major gripes with the major big bad of the series finale, although I can understand people wanting something more epic and memorable, something that Buffy could have encountered and fought physically.
My big issue with s7 is the baffling absence of character arcs for all the major players, perhaps with the exception of Spike, but since that arc was all about undoing the terrible creative decision that was Seeing Red, this was not much of a consolation. Also, on many occasions, s7 betrays established character portrayals in a way that is difficult to understand and forgive. (some examples are, Dawn kicking Buffy out of their home, Buffy and Xander using chloroform on Dawn, Buffy's general coldness not mitigated by moments humanizing her, Buffy and Angel ridiculous smooching, everyone ganging up on Buffy in Empty Places, various backstabbing between the characters that felt very off putting so close to the end of the entire series, and more) Adding to the disappointment is the simple fact that as a viewer, I just wanted a beloved series to go out on a high note, and that just didn't happen here. There are too many baffling creative decisions and writing that feels ripped right out of ATS, contrived drama for shock value, to make this season feel good. Also, this season has made me reevaluate my previously least favorite seasons like 1 and 4. And I have to say that for all their flaws, s1 and s4 at least do justice to the characters. s1 does a very good job establishing their personalities. s4 has strong character arcs for all of the cast, regardless of my feelings towards Buffy and Riley.
Here then are my final season rankings, adjusted after watching s7:
s5 > s3 > s6 > s2 > s1 > s4 > s7
Season 5 for me is peak btvs. I don't think it's such a controversial opinion.
My next post will probably focus on the main characters, their arcs, s7 development - or lack of it, and my opinion of whether they should have survived the final battle.
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cowlovely · 2 years ago
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okay here it is! how lancelot du lac/that s4 plot could’ve been better:
morgana revives lancelot, who is mostly himself but with little pieces missing (doesn’t know merlin has magic, doesn’t remember their friendship much, etc)
he doesn’t really want to be doing morgana’s bidding, but he’s magically bound to her since she resurrected him, so he can’t really resist her
move the timeline of arthur and gwen’s relationship. instead of this being the night before they’re meant to get married, they’re still just going steady. arthur was planning to propose within the next few days
gwen still has doubts about their relationship, believing that it probably won’t last or that he’ll never propose to her because of their differences in rank
lancelot comes back to camelot, and she’s completely shocked. she’s uncomfortable about the fact that she still has feelings for him, and she still harbors a lot of guilt about his death—believing it to be her fault
she seeks him out alone to talk, and in an emotional moment full of doubt and guilt and about a hundred different other emotions, she kisses him
he wants to stop her (he’s still loyal to arthur and trying to resist morgana), but he also loves gwen and doesn’t want to hurt her by rejecting her
while kissing, arthur is brought to them by agravaine (who, ofc, was snooping), and he and lancelot fight (this scene would go down mostly like the one in the ep)
arthur brings lancelot in front of the court the next morning, but lancelot is magically compelled, unable to explain himself and expose morgana. but he also refuses to throw gwen under the bus, taking responsibility despite not really doing anything
since he confesses, arthur decides there is nothing he can do besides have him executed
he then dismisses everyone but gwen, and they have it out (again! similar to the scene in the episode but it has a lot more impact now imo) and he banishes her
morgana realizes that she’s accomplished what she wanted and doesn’t need lancelot anymore, so she has him killed (has him kill himself? idk)
arthur asks merlin to give him a proper burial, merlin does so and gets a couple moments with the real lance before he dies (similar to the show but i want them to like. actually talk for a sec)
then!! in the interim between this and the s4 finale, arthur learns that lancelot was enchanted. initially he’s relieved—lancelot was still the noble man he believed him to be—and overjoyed. he assumes at first that gwen must have been enchanted as well
when he discovers that she wasn’t, he then has to take the time to really grapple with it. to me, this makes his forgiveness of gwen SO much more powerful, and doesn’t frustrate the hell out of the audience by having it be that she literally didn’t do anything wrong and neither of them ever find out
there! arthur and gwen can reconcile, and still get married at the end of s4 :) and i can be at peace and not want to cry over lancelot constantly <3
frog and i were talking about what they should’ve done with the lancelot resurrection/gwen cheating plotline instead of what they did do and i wish i had written it down because it was SO good
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cinematicnomad · 2 years ago
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now that the buck hair rankings are done, can you explain why you ranked the way you did?
can do my grey, anonymous, little friend!
#9 season 4a yikes do i hate the fluffy, combed out, big hair that buck has by the end of the winter finale. it gives me very...pauly d late-00s jersey shore vibes. the start of s4a isn't too bad but it really gains volume in the last few eps and i find s4 ep7 to be particularly egregious.
#8 season 3b complete opposite direction, s3b is a little too short and tightly gelled. even after frantically trying to save eddie by digging with his bare hands in the pouring rain, buck's curls barely show up.
#7 season 2a honestly, it's not that bad! from this point on my opinion on buck's hair is more "well it's not as good as other seasons" than actively thinking "this is Not Good". there's no real hint of curly haired buck in s2a and it's still a little too styled for my taste, but the length is good.
#6 season 1 so this is the only ranking that i really wavered on—i almost put s1 in #5 because i do PERSONALLY like this look a lot, but like i said last weekend this hair definitely feels like a s1 hair & makeup team trying to figure out the actual aesthetic of their cast. by the end of s1 it looks more like classic buck, but it definitely feels like they're working through some things
#5 season 2b i feel like season 2b is when everyone was like "oh shit, oliver has curls???" because they start making an appearance around maddie's kidnapping. that hint of his curls is really what bumped this up ahead of season 1 because to me it feels like this is when they started to really get a handle on buck's aesthetic.
#4 season 3a not gonna lie, for the longest time i've said s3a was my favorite buck look and i really thought it would be higher on this list. but while making the list i realized it's mainly because they really lean into buck's curls during his unemployed-blood-clot-tsunami arc. and they're BEAUTIFUL but it only lasts 3 eps and as soon as he's in fire marshall buck mode that hair is tightly controlled. honestly, without those first 3 eps, s3a would be Much Lower on this list.
#3 season 5a if you haven't noticed, this ranking has basically dovetailed into "how curly are they letting buck's hair be??" and while this is not PEAK curl, buck's hair is definitely softer and less carefully styled as previous seasons.
#2 season 5b so many curls! but it doesn't get top billing because the sides are so closely shaved down—it's almost giving me s2 hair vibes, but with some added length at the top and much, much less hair product. i'm hoping they'll continue to let his hair thrive in this softer look for s6.
honorable mention, lone star 2.03 i'm gonna be honest, i was very generous with this gifset bc at the start and end of the episode buck has some strong s4a hair moments going on with the blow out look. but the helmet and the humidity and the dirt and the grime in the middle of the ep really helps to bring out his curls and it looks so good on him that i had to gif it all.
#1 season 4b it's no surprise once you realize that i love his curls to understand why buck's s4b look gets top billing for me. this is like they took the curls from the first 3eps of s3a and were like "what if we just embraced it??" and it WORKS. i feel like this is what i thought s3a was in my memory, but the reality of s4b is So Much Better and i am even more obsessed with it after making this gif series.
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