#i think it actually would've been really fun and interesting if they went with post crisis kara's origin for the show

[bisupergirl]

just saw someone say that cw supergirl stole the last name "danvers" from post crisis linda danvers and that cw kara should've been called linda lang instead..... i don't necessarily disagree with that last part but how about you read some real fucking literature before speaking on my princess:

[batsplat]

if you could change the outcome of any 3 motogp races (the outcome of the championship doesn’t change regardless tho) which ones would you chose?

one of those asks that immediately made me forget every single race I've watched in my life. it's a tough one, especially with the championship thing... I'm gonna add another criterion here and say nothing to do related to injury/death

so... I came up with one quite quickly, then got stuck, then came up with a second and got even more stuck. I'm quite reluctant to change any 'plot-relevant races' in the context of specific careers and rivalries, plus I'm ideologically opposed to stealing any win off a non-alien and giving it to an alien. which then kinda left me?? well. stuck. I don't like these picks but well maybe I'll come up with something better at some point

assen 2018: I simply could not come up with a third race so I'll just throw this one in. dovi + valentino really really should have gotten onto the podium in this race, those were extremely podium-worthy performances, it was such a deeply silly incident between the pair of them that took them out of podium contention. also it's still seen as a classic race and... I don't even begrudge the two beneficiaries for their podium, it's just one where the three best riders that day didn't end up on the podium and I would change that!! I don't even really care that much but also look I had a spot to fill. would've enjoyed the rancid podium vibes, it's what a race of that quality deserved

sepang 2018: just deeply annoying? like, I think it was a super impressive performance, the consistent lap times trick from a 78 year old was very neat, it was cute when jorge did unprompted valentino prop for metronome solidarity reasons, it's one of literally two premier class races where valentino crashed out of the lead so I don't even hold it against him. but... well, that one might have been building to a battle between marc and valentino, and it would've been fun to see that! not least because of location + relationship vibes in 2018. I'd change the result in preventing the crash, don't really care who wins after that point - hey, they can crash each other out if they want. I Just Wanted To See It

styria 2020: bit of a niche one but I remember being pissed off by this so I'm going with it - this should have been mir's win without the bloody red flag. now I'm very sorry that maverick was just having an abysmal time in austria, peace and love to him, I'd probably never step foot in the country again after the eight days he had in that country.... but still, his bike attempting to murder him did ruin what really should've been joan's first win. I'm very defensive of mir's win stats and I was supporting the title bid with zero wins agenda once that looked plausible, but now that he's just gotten stuck on one win for quite a few years... well, again, I do think it's kinda iconic but I'd also let him have two. and back then he wasn't even really looking like a title contender and was still going for his FIRST win.... I was feeling very sorry for him so. there

[mwagneto]

okay phew. my thoughts on watson episode 1. might put a readmore coz it'll probably get long. anyway um

so 💥 IN MY OPINION 💥 it was not good but it wasn't bad either it's the exact perfect mid i usually get with american episodic tv especially one trying to adapt something from england. not even a complaint btw i would've been shocked if it was good. i do think they needed a much stronger pilot but it was like... fine? like i had a good time with it overall and then sometimes i went HRHRGH WHAT. but anyway let's go category by category otherwise this'll be even more incoherent than it already is. so yeah cut incoming this is gonna be long as hell i was right

1) characters

watson: i elaborated on this topic in an earlier post but to sum it up, i think watson's personhood, by nature of being the pov character in the novels, revolves so strongly around holmes that it's an incredibly difficult task to define who he is without holmes, and especially to portray it. so far nothing this watson has said or done made me go "he wouldn't fucking say that" but at the same time nothing's made me go "he WOULD fucking say that" either. no actually him immediately jumping into a waterfall without any hesitation coz he saw holmes go in was extremely in character he would fucking do that. but like that just comes back to the whole issue of like, that's in character for him bc it's about holmes. but the rest? like who even is he? esp here where he can't even be defined by his position in his society or his era or his city because he's in modern day americatown instead of victorian england. so like overall i like the guy but as soon as the scene isn't about holmes he stops being watson and just becomes generic medical show leading man. i'm very curious to see if they can manage to make me feel like i really am watching dr john watson instead of just a random guy. but again outside of not really being watson i like him he seems fun

adam and stephens: i don't know why the showrunners would fuck themselves like this like why are you making your job so much harder by having 1 guy play 2 guys. edit ok apparently it's literally coz the showrunner wanted something challenging. well i hate it. also i don't think the twin thing works on any front it just makes me very uncomfortable to watch a guy trying his absolute hardest to pretend to be two separate people. it sucks. hopefully their plots will be interesting at least. calling it now there's gonna be a plot where they switch places

ingrid: i like her she's really hot imean interesting but her energy is so millenial i feel like she's gonna drop an umm that just happened! any second now. but that's not the character's or the actor's fault it's just a vibe i get

sasha: i had to look up her name on wikipedia icl but i only know the other people's names because every time a name was mentioned i rewound and paused and said OK THATS [insert name]. DONT FORGET. she just didnt get a proper namedrop ig. anyway i have 0 thoughts abt her other than her first line being about her accent which then proceeded to completely disappear in her 3rd line and then come and go as it pleased for the rest of the episode was really funny. the adoption thing is interesting tho let's see where they go with that

mary: mary-s (maries?) tend to be very strangely written bc every time they're included the writer wants to do a subversion of the generic irrelevant wife from the victorian era stories so she's usually a plot relevant badass which like. i don't think that's necessary. like you don't have to be doing all that. like i don't mind i'm usually neutral abt any given mary i just think it's annoying that they all default to that instead of doing literally anything interesting. so it's a relief that i actually like this mary coz even though she's still the usual plot relevant badass, it's not accompanied by her being watson's epic cool girlfriend she gets to be her own person. like as far as i can tell they're not gonna get back together #i ❤️ divorce. she's even bisexual!! sweep

shinwell: whyyyyy does he talk like that omg. please. also guy from the east end is a criminal duuuuude thats crazy however do they come up with these. sucks so bad. i'm gonna like him out of spite but he's such a bad character what are we doing

moriarty: what can i fucking say man. why is he here. also the acting was so bad??? like wh??? ???? why was it this bad. i guess you could blame the script but like, second takes exist yknow. you can do another one if the first take sucks. are you aware. anyway i hate it when moriarty is a big bad but we'll get into that in a later section... can't say much abt his character he was only in 1 scene. usually i'm a huge fan of colourblind casting but i don't get making him a poc if you're gonna make him the horrible evil mastermind but hey at least he's not a black woman killing orphans for money like in enola. still don't know why they did that. getting off topic anyway why did he also get hit with the yankify beam. does anyone remember england. sherlock holmes was there

2) the plot

the episode's plot: it was... fine? like it was stupid as hell but it's a medical drama so whatever. patient needs mouse bites to live. this vexes me. etc. i do think the whole today☝️ we're 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 NOT ❌ doctors ⚕️ we're 😎 detectives 🕵️ was kinda cringe but it's like the entire premise of the show so it's very much a megszoksz vagy megszöksz situation. how do you say that in english. my way or the highway. take it or leave it. you get what i mean

the overarching plot: i mean obviously this was one episode so i can't reflect on the entire thing but i CAN look at the setups and think about them. it's nice that a major part of this show seems to be watson coping with the absence of holmes. i think they should focus on it slightly more, like acd watson's life was essentially over and pointless post reichenbach and i don't think they fully emphasise the severity of that but we only have one episode so we'll see. i am very very annoyed that moriarty is a presence at all in this show and especially that they didn't even have enough faith either in the audience or their own material to wait a bit before revealing him. episode one bam he's there and he's immediately named. it sucks. we do not need him. hold my hand. look me in the eye. it's ok to write a holmes adaptation where moriarty doesn't keep coming back from the dead. it's ok to have a different villain. or just regular ass criminals that aren't masterminds. it's fine. it's ok. you can just have moran if you're desperate. in fact you SHOULD have moran we're literally post final problem pre empty house this is moran's main time in the spotlight. but whatever what's done is done. i just think what's done is dumb as hell

3) the technical stuff that reviewers love talking about to make themselves sound smarter

the dialogue: chief. it's not good. like it's not outstandingly bad but there were some lines that made me go 😬 and some of them are just. so bad. eugh. like i alluded to in ingrid's section, if a script feels like it could smoothly fit an mcu style quip without it feeling out of place, maybe reconsider the lines you're writing.

the lighting/colours: i actually really like this, i think it gives the show a very distinctive look. i do think it's weird how ambient all the lighting is in this hospital but it's a lot nicer than the horrible white and blue you'd normally get, plus as a serial surgery haver i would much prefer to have this to the inhumane buzzing leds. not to mention i'm eastern european so compared to our hospitals, this place is like a spaceship.

cinnamon topography: i just watched brilliant minds last week which had some of the most beautiful shots i have ever seen and easily the most beautiful shots i've ever seen in an episodic medical drama which is unfortunate for this show because it's also very competent in this field but my standards are all the way up. but yea overall the shots range from generic-good to pretty good so no complaints there. i really liked the shot of watson and mary talking with the garage pillar separating them, and the overhead shot of a board that says WE LIE in big red letters made me laugh really hard

4) miscellaneous

my cat just crawled into my lap while i was trying to spell meschallenios everyone shut up. ok she was there for an hour and then left so back to it

acd story references: i always think these are fun and very satisfying to clock, and by god there were a lot of them in just this one ep. my episode was like 240p so i couldn't really observe the background details (to be remedied once i get my paws on 1080p) but even then there was a ton of stuff to go duuude 🫵 at. the 1881 robot (year study in scarlet is set in) which was then immediately revealed to be called clyde (elementary turtle) was really funny like why are we referencemaxxing. like i mentioned in the john watson post, i hope they won't overly rely on them, but it was fun to pay a little extra attention to everything to see if there was a reference hidden anywhere

5) overall

my general faith in this is. very little. a lot of people have a lot of goodwill for this show, both because of elementary (which i haven't seen sorry) and because of morris chestnut (who i didn't know before this but i'm very much the kinda person who prefers to not even know the names of actors) but neither of those have any impact on my opinion or my trust in the show, nor do i think it should. even if elementary was my favourite show, i'd still expect watson to win me over just by itself. i'm also very worried about some comments the showrunner made, especially the one abt adler being holmes's lover (what?? 💀) none of which inspire confidence but again that's not part of the show either and if the show itself is good, i don't care what the showrunner thinks.

but is the show itself good? i mean, it's not bad and i never expected it to be good. i'm a huge fan of holmes adaptations and have seen way too many of them (pretty much every single one that's not unwatchably bad, and then some) so i'm always hyped when there's a new one. i don't hate this by any means, i'm glad it exists and it was a fun way to spend 2 hours watching something that's 40 minutes long and then an entire day writing a review of it.

like i said at the beginning of this unnecessarily long post, it's perfectly mid with some tentative swings in both positive and negative directions which is probably why i was able to write this much about it. if it was good i would've just said IT SLAPS YAYY YIPPIE and if it was bad i would've said "holy shit this is the worst thing i have ever seen" and that would've been it but instead here we are. hope you're glad you spent the past 7 hours reading this instead of war and peace. thank you for coming and hopefully my review of episode 2 will be a more managable size coz lowkey what the hell am i doing lol. goodbye

[trashcanwithsprinkles]

I, personally, would love to hear about all kinds of details and things that ended up being changed or adjusted from older fics. What were some ideas you had fun with?

oh god

-itysg: many of you might know this one already as it's in an a/n, but i originally entertained the idea of having ajax and zl adopt ruu thanks to some abyssal energy nonsense. i ended up ditching that route bc it would've had to have started when they go to tsurumi? but if you'll remember, ajax then was in no state to support a kid with the magnitudes of baggage that ruu would have at that point, so no.

-cyanide: i don't think there was anything major i ever changed abt cyanide, believe it or not, at least not that i can remember now. the more interesting part abt it is the fact that it got written at all, bc as i was developing wips and seeing which i would pick next, not only was cyanide not my main idea, it was also one in like. twelve. i have SO MANY zhongchi longfic wips. so many. some came up during cyanide and some during babysitting, but a good chunk all sprang up together with cyanide's original draft, so. i had sort of set it aside and was focusing on the True childe suffers fic, but ended up reaching a point there where like. i was kinda following canon. and unlike in the thomato fic that's similar to this wip, i couldn't wrap up childe's situation as swiftly as thoma's, so i started waiting for updates and then that sort of got the fic stuck in a cycle where i know damn well childe's plot in-game is going to be fucking wild and shit kept happening to him (hi inazuma, hi scarascratch, hi fontaine) and i added it to the wip and then i waited for more etc etc. idk. i picked up cyanide as i paused that one and sort of went 'huh ok this one is interesting' i still want to write a beta design childe fic at some point but who knows if i'll ever get around to it (that was the one). i also have a hanahaki wip but the thing is he bribes baizhu to take the flowers out like first scene and the actual plot is emotionless childe navigating all the bs that happens to him while zl tries to figure out when things went so wrong. there's also like two mafia wips that are just variants of each other. there's two mirroring timetravel wips bc i couldn't decide who i wanted to timetravel lmao. there's a different transmigration idea more along the lines of eoos (childe gets into the actual game no weird timeline shenanigans like in cyanide). that's not even the half of it this ship has an absolute chokehold on my writing brainworms.

-jadeite: to elaborate on the previous post which i assume inspired this ask, the first draft of jadeite actually didn't go too far. zl comes to in a hospital in the harbor bc czl had been about to go to a job interview for wangsheng, and as soon as he got to the door and said hi to hu tao a car veered off the street and nearly killed them. czl shoved hu tao out of the way and that's how he dies. originally in the hospital it was gonna be xiangling and xinyan w hu tao bc they came to check on her when shit happened, and they don't really explain much of anything to zl before leaving him. he spends the night in the hospital sort of figuring out how the TV works and going thru the same thought process as in actual jadeite. he gets discharged and is kinda out on his own for a bit (where childe sees him) before ht calls him for the parlor incident. childe isn't present for that in this draft. that's all the first chapter lmaooooo there wasn't all that much after that honestly. a bit of a second chapter and some plot points, but i hadn't thought about it too much (i was writing cyanide at that point). once i came back to it like towards the end of cyanide i sat down and thought through the actual plot and what i wanted to happen and started modifying the first draft into something else, and then i frogged that second draft and the first into what you guys actually got to read

-every good intention: i started writing this immediately after parade of providence and i think you can tell, esp compared to ysmms which was before kaveh's release and therefore before my descent into 'oh god why' territory around his characterization. even before his hangout in 3.7 i could already tell something was off, that final convo on the interdarshan event was like- he's on thin ice now. so i have to confess that i didn't plan to write a third chapter at all. didn't even plan to post it bc it was two chapters of nothing but angst and i figured most people wouldn't care to read it (or might even incur some attack from fandom youngsters). it was going to end with the to-do list and an ambiguous/open end on what happened to alhaitham. but then i couldn't get the brainworms out of my head and i ended up deciding to post it (partly because i was so baffled and disappointed in the fandom about their reaction to that last scene in the interdarshan), but in order to get people to read it, i added the third chapter and the happy ending. one of the bookmarks from someone says something like 'just read the first two chapters' and honestly yeah i never read the last chapter anymore. it was supposed to end at the second, the third is there entirely to appease and entice the to-be audience and going by how many read it compared to two vowels it feels like it actually worked LMAOOOO so yeah let me leave the confession booth now don't shoot me haikavetham shippers i was with you once 😂

[dead-lights]

trai-lore!

because ya know. trailers. with lore.

i'll see myself out

but! before i go - I went and compiled all of the Vampires trailers I could find! I wasn't familiar with all of the shorts and I'm not 100% sure I found them all. There are a lot of contradictions, but aside from the gameplay trailer they can mostly be stitched together.

Also, I recognize I'm trying to wring blood from a stone, reading into things that EA never intended, but ya know. That's the point of exploring lore!

this is mostly validated by werewolves - Lily's dialogue confirms that Caleb was turned by Miss Hell, and the 7 years unlucky mirror confirms that Vlad ambushed her while she was brushing her teeth.

It looks like the bar Miss Hell attacks Caleb in is supposed to be in Forgotten Hollow. There are plenty of reasons he could've been there, but to me that implies that Lilith turned first, and he was there because that's where she hangs out now.

It looks like you're supposed to be able to see the normie parts of Forgotten Hollow from that cliff with the bench, rather than just more of the mountain. There's definitely supposed to be more than just those 5 lots.

I'm not sure if the person behind Miss Hell in the bar is anyone specific? they feel slightly familiar but I might be thinking of Leila Illes from island living, which came out afterwards.

It's unclear how Caleb ended up in the bathroom or whether he asked to turn - the animation is the same either way. In game, I've had a lot of success with both bat-form bathroom ambushes and the good ol' "ask for woohoo and then cancel the order as soon as you're alone together" maneuver so either is plausible. To me, it looks like she's reenacting her transformation, with her as Vlad, so she would've wanted unwilling prey. I've generally thought that Caleb followed her into the bathroom thinking he was going to get laid, but with that in mind it does make sense that she would've just ambushed him when he got up to pee (poor humans and their bladders can't handle their nectar). @charsimsalot has a lot of interesting things to say about how being forcibly turned would have affected Miss Hell in this excellent post about the apartment they built for the rebellious vampires!

That bathroom door is on backwards. I checked - that door only has a sign on one side. Maybe they really wanted to hammer home the point that this is a bathroom? the sink and toilet do a pretty good job of that...

Caleb is not a daywalker in this trailer - since this seems to show him in his earlier days, that 100% checks out. It takes 15 skill points to become a daywalker, which... yikes.

note: I know the sims is very gay these days but do keep in mind that vampires was released January 2017. Gay marriage wasn't fully legalized in the US until June 2015. It was a big deal that Caleb suave kissed a guy in the trailer!

fun fact: the song used for this, deadly flo, seems to be either very cheap or free to license. It is used in a few episodes of the Baking Championship franchise. Y'all, that franchise got me back into baking and directly inspired GOBC. I lost my absolute shit when I heard it playing! There are also parts of Holiday Baking Championship that sound suspiciously like the sims 2 theme... I kinda wonder if there's a simmer in their sound department.

Not really that interesting - earlier versions of their outfits/vlad's dark form. Lilith cannot actually turn into a bat in-game.

vlad bloodvein can use "deprive needs" (must be a master vampire at minimum)

brandy can turn into a bat (should be a minor vampire at minimum)

based on the view outside Brandy's bedroom window, it looks like the virtuous vampires might live in an apartment in San Myshuno?

vlad uses supernatural speed to collect figurines

Not very interesting - just Brandy and Elle eating.

↓↓↓ WARNING - jumpscare below ↓↓↓

lmao what

this one doesn't even seem real, but as far as I can tell it was in fact released as a teaser for the full trailer.

This is the official trailer - it lines up reasonably well with other lore. Also the song is so fun.

Most notably: this trailer shows that Caleb is the one who turned Inna. No context is given. Other promotional material & the in-game paintings show that she was a thrall, potentially for hundreds of years before Caleb turned her.

The exterior of the house where Caleb turns Inna looks exactly like Wolfsbane Manor. However, Inna's bedroom doesn't match any room in the manor. It looks like there is a nearly identical house where Widowshild Townhouse currently is, so either Inna was in that house, or Wolfsbane Manor has since been remodeled. It would be kinda interesting if Caleb and Lilith decided to buy Inna's old house when they moved...

When Caleb turns into a bat, he's in the graveyard to the left of Vlad's house. Maybe he and Lilith lived with Vlad for a time? It kinda looks like Vlad had a lot of vampires filtering in and out of his place.

Elle real horny. I wonder what happened to that guy - he isn't a gallery vampire but he shows up in a lot of the paintings. As far as I'm aware Elle doesn't show up in any paintings.

This trailer is an absolute mess. It contradicts enough existing lore that it shouldn't be taken as any sort of canon, but it's a decent source of inspiration to fill in the gaps, and I pulled heavily from it when I was choosing powers for the gallery vampires.

Elle uses her mist form (I checked the animations) - she must be a grand master. She can use Command.

Markus Crow has supernatural speed - must be master+

Lilith is using a computer at the beginning of this, which feels weird because this is supposed to be at least 50 years ago. That said, technology doesn't advance in the sims, so, sure.

This makes it look like Vlad just broke into her house and turned her like he did with Miss Hell, but to me Lily makes it sound like Lilith was a more active participant: "I remember when my cousin, Lilith, first told me she'd met a fascinating man named Vlad. After that, she started spending a lot of time "training" with him. I thought she meant they were workout buddies. It wasn't until later that I found out she'd been lured to the dark arts."

Lilith's bed is a reward from the painter career - not sure if the implication is that she earned it herself?

I can't really see outside Lilith's windows, but it does kinda look like Forgotten Hollow? Which doesn't make a lot of sense to me - why would she and Caleb have to move to Forgotten Hollow if they already lived there? That said, that isn't Lilith. And that isn't Caleb. This was from when their names were Gina and Raylan.

Note that "Raylan" doesn't have the good vampire aspiration, and his traits are completely different. The others aren't quite the same as the gallery sims, but at least they still have the same names.

Looking out the window, it looks like the Virtuous Vampires are in Forgotten Hollow with everyone else. In one of the shorts, it looks like they live in a big city. I'm not sure which I like better!

Lilith is used as the example for supernatural strength. While she doesn't actually have that in-game, this is part of why I like to make her fitness 10 brute with vampiric might.

Elle continues to be real horny. Who is that guy? I like the implication that they had to go get it on as bats because Vlad was taking a nap and they couldn't fuck in his coffin :(

Bonus! While this isn't a trailer, exactly, it's a promotional blog post from Vlad's point of view and it is the best. Every last part of this makes me happy, from Caleb and Lilith ganging up on Vlad to Vlad referring to sparring matches as "epic duels" (or, in this particular case, what seems like a pretty good training sesh for Caleb).

Nothing about Lilith makes it seem like she doesn't feed on people except a) her household description and b) this post. That said, those two things about as primary as canon can get.

Vlad claims to own 100 gray coats

Vlad only fought Caleb. There could be so many reasons for that - was Caleb the one who made the challenge? Does Vlad not want to fight his offspring?

Vlad claims that the Encyclopedia Vampirica is mostly based on him. Make of that what you will.

Second bonus: Did you know that Vlad has a normie cousin??? There was a bit of promotional content for seasons involving the Climate family. This is that time they invited Vlad over for Harvestfest.

Please let me know if I missed anything! There's a lot of material out there, much of it no longer available on EA's site, so it's definitely possible there are things I didn't find.

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

Everytime i see that New Girl/Buddie gifset, i think about that post you made (or was it an answer to an anon? Idk) about straight pairings and years-long slowburns wayyy back when season 4 aired.

I'm pretty sure i told you this back then as well, but as someone who has been pretty firmly believing in Buddie endgame since Eddie begins, that post was so validating. We could never (and still can't) know exactly where this story is going, but to see that someone else recognized the pattern and believed that them telling Buck and Eddie's story like that was an actual possibility felt really great.

I'm such a sceptic by nature, but i actively chose to be an optimist this time and i just...can't believe this is our life now. Investing in that clown make-up was so worth it.

Ahaha that was a post I'd made, yeah. It was probably also an ask, too - I've talked about this quite a few times starting in the season three hiatus. The deal for Buddie was sealed, to me, when Eddie said there's nobody in this world that I trust with my son more than you. Because now to give either of them a love interest was to supplant Buck in Eddie's life as the co-parent and earn Eddie's trust with Chris more than Buck had, and would supplant Eddie and Chris as priorities in Buck's life - and the audience was going to have a very hard time accepting that.

Of course I wasn't 100% sure at that point but that was when I went from "okay yeah this is a fun ship but people have the shipper goggles on" to "...wait this actually is a possibility."

From that point we've seen the classic slow burn tropes that I haven't seen recently as we have, sadly, moved away from longer seasons and guaranteed renewals and once-a-week episodes into short, bingewatching, constantly-about-to-be-cancelled formats. I don't necessarily blame people for not recognizing. I certainly don't blame singed and exhausted queer shippers from being unsure. But I admit it is quite the vindication to see that I was right to compare Buddie to seasons-long slowburns that we've gotten with straight couples for decades.

I'm so glad that I could help validate your own feelings. I feel season three was truly the testing ground for Buddie and season four they went in fully prepared to make it canon, and have just been forcibly delayed since then. It's been a frustrating experience at times, and disheartening. We never would've gotten canon on FOX, we would've gotten canon in season four/five like originally planned if they'd been on ABC... etc.

So it warms me to know that with all the ups and downs you felt that my meta and observations could help support your own feelings and be a reassurance. That truly means a lot to me. I feel we're genuinely in the home stretch and it fills me with buoyancy. I'm all floating and giggling ha ha.

Investing in that clown makeup was SO worth it! *honks my big red nose*

[pomplalamoose]

DILF Luke headcanons / story draft pt. 4

🌿modern day AU🌿

A/N: you know, I actually have a collection of ideas and notes I keep wanting to integrate into my Dilf Luke posts and yet I completely ignored it AGAIN in order to go off the rails with something else (this has been going on for several posts) anywaysssss I hope you have fun, mwuah <33

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 5

• as it turns out Luke isn't as unaffected by the night you spent together as he unintentionally makes you believe 

• and how could he ever be?

• he might be able to pretend like nothing happened but inwardly has to deal with a lot of conflicting feelings

• first and foremost he's afraid he scared you away with his intense behavior and stern orders, his loud voice and the demand you stay with him

• after all you haven't been over to visit his child ever since, maybe you fear to be around him?

• he could never judge you for it either, you, who always are so gentle and timid around him

• he simply overdid it this time, overstepped a line and it's in your right to act accordingly

• thinking back on it now he's only able to shake his head at himself and at the way he treated you 

• in the heat of the moment it all seemed so strangely justified, every action he took only with your best interest and well being in mind

• but since a little time has passed he sees that a calmer, more conventional approach probably wouldn't have you avoiding him presently

• left to his own devices he's helplessly replaying how he dragged you into the bathroom and made you strip in front of him, even intervening by ripping off your clothes himself when you took too long for his liking 

• he completely disregarded how you might have felt in the moment, that quite possibly you did not want to undress in front of your best friend's father 

• let alone be undressed by him

• it would've been better to drive you home afterwards too, what went on in his mind to deny you?

• you are an adult, he doesn't own you, who did he think he was to forbid you from leaving?

• Luke doesn't know, of course, that the complete opposite is the case

• you very much wish for him to acknowledge his actions that night 

• and neither are you actively avoiding him, your friend is making you stay away for research purposes 

• "let him stew for a while", they said, "and we'll see how long it takes him to ask for your whereabouts again"

• your friend still isn't exactly thrilled about the situation, but it definitely piqued their interest 

• they want to know what's going on

• why is their father playing hot and cold with you?

• they are not amused he's towing you along like this, they really expected better from him

• meanwhile Luke is doing his best to deny that, if he'd listen closely to himself, he'd have to admit what else upsets him so badly 

• to him, even worse than his brashness is the secret knowledge that he enjoyed himself 

• very much 

• finally, he felt, could he rake control, do what needed to be done 

• and you followed him so nicely too, looking at him for guidance, never questioning, never contradicting anything he said

• your blind, even naive obedience touched him deeply

• he felt so needed

• oh and the way you looked at him; if he had a say you'd never be allowed to look at any other man ever again

• he wishes for your eyes to be only on him

• only for him

• but to confront all of this would also mean confessing to himself how he, in turn, looks at you

• how he thinks of you

• the feeling isn't unknown, nothing new, but still comes as a surprise after all this time

• so he's not ready yet to admit how much he wants you all to himself 

• and how could he?

• you're his child's best friend, it's not his place to swoop in and take you away

• he knows how much you mean to them

• and yet he can't help himself despite how ashamed he is 

• again and again he touches himself to the thought of you

• to all the things he could do to you and make you do in return 

• the thoughts come so easily and just won't stop, never leaving him alone 

• would you follow his orders as eagerly as you did so far?

• or would you take on a different approach, maybe turn into a little brat? 

• someone he'd need to teach a lesson to first?

• of course for that you'd need to learn how to be less shy in his vicinity first, could he make that work?

• mmh, he's not sure how he likes you better anyways 

• maybe you'd be open for a little game?

• though no matter in which direction his imagination takes him, always it returns to the picture you made on the floor in front of him, tears running over your soft cheeks, a pleading look in your eyes

• he could do without the tears, but, truth to be told, you are remarkably pretty when you cry 

• so they stay and all that changes are your surroundings

• he wants you to be comfortable of course, you're not supposed to shiver in the cold or sit on hard stone floor 

• you'd be much better off kneeling on a nice cushion in the living room, or on the plush carpet in his office 

• meanwhile his child is watching him like a hawk, intentionally not bringing you up in conversation even once 

• sooner or later he just HAS to do something, mention something, ask even the littlest of questions

• so their theory, at least 

• and they are right, they know their father well after all

• Luke folds after not even two weeks to comment on your prolonged absence from their house 

• he's so busy playing it cool he doesn't realize the way his kid can barely suppress a giggle 

• "and what did you say???", you immediately want to know when they tell you about it the next day

• "nothing", says your friend and laughs at your face "I want him going wild"

• a few days later he asks whether you fell ill after getting caught in the storm 

• like seriously, is everything okay?

• don't they want to go check on you, make sure nothing's wrong?

• are you struggling mentally again?

• did you guys have a falling out?

• are you on vacation?

• your friend keeps a successful poker face through it all, again and again telling him in a noncholant way how busy you are

• and why is he asking about you so much anyways?

• it's not like you're coming over to visit HIM...right?

• Luke retreats at that immediately and it takes him a while to come out of his shell again

• though only barely does he keep himself from grabbing and shaking the answers out of his child 

• "he's sooooo dramatic" your friend tells you "one could think he's a teenager with how he's acting"

• soon they start contemplating and scheming on what they could say about you to unsettle him a bit

• at this point you beg them to stop interfering, to stop putting themselves between the fronts like this 

• it's okay, you assure them, you can let their father go

• but they're not having it

• this isn't about playing matchmaker 

• you are their friend and they'll make sure you're getting treated right even if they have to go up against their dad for it 

• he's a grown man and he needs to start acting like it!

• your protests fall on deaf ears 

• "No, you listen to ME. I refuse to stand by and watch while my dad is playing hard to get. He's either going to tell you to your face he's not interested or, if that's the case, admit he feels drawn to you! He didn't have a problem with that all the many other times it happened."

• you can't deny they have a point and since they know him better than you do, what else is there left to say?

• the next you hear of them is when you receive a quick text with no context whatsoever 

• "listen I think I overdid it a little bit"

• you blankly blink at your phone, no idea what's going on, though you have the sinking feeling it's somehow related to their father 

• the next messages is just as unnerving but proves you right 

• "yeah uhhh sorry about that but he's coming to pick you up"

• "no way", is your immediate thought just before you get a call that makes you nearly drop your phone

• of course it's Luke, of course 

• where did he get your number?

• and what in the hell did your friend tell him?

• you pick up and before you can even finish saying hello he demands to know where you are

• judging by the sounds in the background he's already in the car and most definitely not in a good mood

• accordingly quick comes your answer and your heart unclenches with relief when his voice somewhat softens 

• "be a good girl and wait for me outside then"

• you're so caught off guard it takes you a while to pack your things and search for your jacket and when you step out into the cold he's already waiting for you, leaning against his car

• judging by the way he's dressed he's either coming straight from work or originally planned to go there before God knows what made him change his plans 

• he doesn't look amused and as your heart speeds up so do your steps 

• so eager to make up for the time lost, you nearly bumb into him as you struggle to come to a stop before him 

• if he's annoyed he doesn't show it and nevertheless opens the passenger side's door for you, waiting patiently for you to climb in 

• you're horribly embarrassed when you spot your reflection in the rearview mirror 

• your hair is tousled beyond repair, your cheeks a flaming red from running 

• desperately holding on to your bag like it's an anchor you watch as he slides in beside you 

• but instead of starting the motor and driving off, he turns to properly look at you, his right hand holding on to your head rest 

• you swear you can feel yourself shrinking into the seat as his eyes bore into yours 

• shyly you greet him 

• you don't know what else to do

• a brief smile flits across his face before it grows stern again 

• "who is it?"

• "just tell me and I'll take care of it"

• to say you're confused would be an understatement but as he continues, it slowly dawns on you 

• your friend made up a toxic relationship for you to be in 

• and their father is furious 

[loveislandthegame]

thoughts on todays volume ! apologies for being so late, the universe really put me through the wringer today (i’m all good now luvs)

dominic is super cute, he looks like a masc version of vida. i just want ruby tho (and his personality made it much easier to turn him down lol. i prefer sweetie pies & people who are divas in a fun way, a camp way. you get what i mean ?)

my initial thought with that MC having a nightmare scene was “FB should just pivot to single LI content à la Choices, if they’re gonna be too damn lazy to give every LI the same amount of effort as the one that’s clearly their favourite,“ but i actually wouldn’t want them to implement that. for one, FB wouldn’t even bother making their theoretical single LI gender customisable 😭

raunchy races was boring af. i know there’s only so much you can do with that challenge, but i’m sure there could be more interesting things than just repeating “the most *adjective* person kiss the most *adjective* person” ... anyways, i think MC did something with zac but i actually don’t remember what. then she kissed ruby for “the coolest girl must kiss the person they have the deepest connection with” (and FB is so unserious for having dominic act heartbroken over MC kissing ruby. not even being single can give wlw players a break from that *partner looks sad while watching you* shit 😭)

MC won MVP so she gets to write a (very pointless) letter, anna was lurking outside the beach hut and acting shady af so i already knew that she messed with the letter in some capacity

zac is very sweet, i love silly moments like this

kenzo finds a letter from the villa to MC (apparently the name is illegible but i'd be surprised if it wasn't from our partner lol) anyways, it’s revealed that anna added her letter to MC’s, which is an interesting choice 😭 if she really wanted to be a supervillain about it she could’ve just wrote a letter pretending to be MC, and then hid the one that we actually made (that’s what i thought was happening when kenzo got the bottle) i'm not complaining tho, i’m glad she didn’t do that because there’s already enough pointless drama going on

esme talks to MC about her relationship woes (why was this paywalled ??) unfortunately there’s no “Me” option, so i just told her that she should be with kenzo. i don’t think our choice will even matter but he is obviously the better option for her. i'll manifest that she comes to her senses

the speed dates were certainly dates 😭 kenzo completely ignored us, dom was weird, reid was a loser, and we barely had time to talk to zac because we got a text saying that the dates were over. also, this would've been a perfect opportunity for MC to have an actual date with ruby 🤦🏽 shout out to kenzo though, i also like trance music

once again, FB should’ve just made dom an ex if they’re gonna act like he’s our ex. based on what’s been revealed so far he just seems like somebody that became creepily obsessed with a woman he met at an architecture seminar…😭 i wish we got enemies-to-lovers from competent writers (for the sake of my own sanity i’m just gonna headcanon that they were close childhood friends, the job situation destroyed their friendship. some shit like that)

i told ruby i would share a bed with her, and then dominic pulls me for a chat and asks if we can share a bed ? your gorgeous big brown eyes won’t sway me bruv 😒

ruby pulls us for a chat, and she tells us about the time she went on a mystery holiday, she ended up in a rainforest in brazil. thank the stars she's not sticking with callum. i hope he gets dumped, but ruby’s partner could be the one that brings in the post-casa female LI (assuming that we even get one)

next up is a party, and a blindfolded kissing challenge. i don't know if dominic always kisses MC, or if it's just whoever you guess, but i chose him because it seemed like the kind of bullshit he would pull. for the girls' turn i paid gems to kiss zac because i didn’t want to kiss reid 😭

after that is some raunchy races movie night, i guess. snoozefest. our partner is definitely back in the villa, that's good for any OG LI girlies who were worried (even tho FB already did this fake dumping nonsense before)

MC shares a bed with ruby, and goes skinny dipping with her !

next volume is gonna be stick or twist, i am tired of this man !!!! mind you, every few volumes there's some sort of scene that's basically ruby asking MC if we still want to explore our connection (and in the last season, people who didn't get the gesture from lisbeth were locked out of her route) in other words : FB managed to have an 'i'll leave you alone if you don't want me" system for the girls, so why not the guys as well ?

overall, i’m not looking forward to stick or twist 😭 of course, we already know we have to twist. i just wonder if we’ll actually get to decide our partner. we probably won’t be able to choose kenzo, but we have had the chance to flirt with zac and reid. if all of the girls twist i feel like there's gonna be a situation where they’ll go before MC, choose their respective “past guy,” and leave MC (who has to twist) only being able to pick dominic. ughhhh

[period-of-nocturne]

Yeah so I read the Canary event and oh damn Nene.

I evaporate into thin air when she started talking about how the thing she was always confident about is in the end the thing she didn't improve on.

Simply because I'm one of those people who will disintigrate if they don't sing and I feel that too much. That's why I started an obsession over pjsk in the first place

Oh it makes me think of An too. Practically born with a naturally good singing voice and everyone around you complimenting you for it until some day when you hit a wall/people's interest goes to someone else and you just feel like you falling behind. I guess that's the An/Nene parallel.

But as a socially anxious and introvert I really feel Nene. And I'm really bluffed by how she bounced back because I would've just melt into a puddle of tears (I did actually. I melt into a puddle of tears at every pjsk event I read.) and crumbled into pieces and died that girl's resilience is amazing. Those kids resilience is amazing because they're all like this and it's almost unbelievable.

Looks like the right post to place that fun fact : When I download pjsk and had no clue what was going on I just stared at the characters in the loading screen, and when WxS appeared I pointed at Nene and Rui and said "This is me. This is also me."

Then I went to the main story menu and saw Nenerobo and got extremely confused but also decided she was the most me out of everyone. She had to be.

Then I read WxS main story. And I've only been proven right since. (Yes, even about Nenerobo. I am Nenerobo.)

Point is that I have a kin-radar and I love Nene Kusanagi. I don't talk about her much because I can't talk about her without mentioning myself but I love her and I will fight every Nene hater on earth and you shan't ever insult Nijiro Stories in front of me or I'll enter your name in the Death Note. And bite u.

[deltastra]

My Thoughts on Project Eden's Garden Chapter 1

Back in 2022, I was excited for the release of Project Eden's Garden prologue. And it didn't disappoint. Sadly I was too lazy to make a post at the time, haha. So here's a list of how much I liked the characters back when the prologue released:

^ For the record, just because I "dislike" the character, doesn't mean they're badly written. It's just a personal preference and it didn't change the way I viewed the story whatsoever. A disliked or hated character doesn't mean a bad character.

Anyway, 2 years later, chapter 1 has finally been released. It took me a few days but I finally finished it and I must say, I absolute loved it.

This post will be about my overall thoughts on what transpired in the chapter, my thoughts on the characters, and the story as a whole.

SUPER LONG POST INCOMING

SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 1 BELOW

We start off with a reminder of how much Damon fumbled 2 years ago lol. To be honest, I LOVED Damon for that rant at the end of the prologue. Was he mean? Yes. But it was so refreshing to see an asshole protag. I look forward to see how he develops.

After we see his room and check our surroundings. We were told by Cassidy to meet everyone in the dining hall. On our way there we can talk to Diana and I swear I love the conversations those two have. It's so much fun seeing someone has cheerful and kind as Diana deal with someone who is cold and logical as Damon.

Eventually we learn about the pharmacy and were even given a new update in our tozu tablets where we can learn more about eachother. Eva immediately told us to stop looking at them because it exposes our weaknesses and that's what Tozu was planning. I believed her right away because my impression of her during the prologue was that she'd be our 'Kirigiri', basically the cool-headed smart partner. I would've trusted her.

NOPE. TURNS OUT, THE ULTIMATE LIAR LIED ABOUT HER TALENT.

This was when I started seeing Eva for more than a 'Kirigiri' character. There was nothing wrong about her in the prologue, but she never clicked with me back then because everything about her felt 'on the nose'. I mean come on, "Ultimate Liar"???? That sounds so strange, but I liked the game so I didn't mind too much. With the reveal that she was actually a mathlete, I began opening up to her character more.

Like I genuinely started feeling for her character when everyone started making fun of her. You could feel the personality she built in the prologue shatter. And the more we learnt about her and why she lied about her talent, the more I began liking her and even relating to her a bit.

Anyway, we got freetime events and my first instinct was to run to Diana. I love her conversations with Damon and think they bounce off eachother well, even better than with Eva. I was excited to see more of that. And I'm glad I did.

I love how her free time event is just her teaching Damon to not be a jerk. Like, "Don't glare" for example. She also gives him praise where praise is due, such as him reaching out to her.

She is so good at talking to him that it's kind of adorable. I was interested in seeing if she can actually help Damon open up but that would also mean she would be most likely to die and I really didn't want that to happen so soon. Either way, she will definitely be my focus for FTE.

I wanted to talk to Grace and know more about her but it wasn't letting me because she locked herself in her room.

So I went to Eva instead. She was alone downstairs avoiding everyone and talking to her made me so sad. I understood her talent more and why she hid it.

Afterward we went for our private one-on-one with Tozu, forgot to mention but I find Damon to be very smart but also very stupid. Smart that he found a way to contact Tozu and discuss the blackmail he got of Wolfgang, but dumb in a sense that he is already under suspicion by everyone. If they found out he did this, everyone would suspect him more.

I love Tozu as a host and "mascot". He is so eccentric but also pretty scary when he needs to be. Like when he said "Go on. Leave first." at the end of their conversation. But to be honest, I felt as though this conversation was kind of useless...

Afterward we see that Grace and Wofgang are living together now because they switched roomies. Damon was too scared to sleep alone so he went to Kai's dorm. I was excited because I didn't really like Kai in the prologue, this was a chance to see him in a full chapter which can properly showcase his character to me. After that scene, I started liking Kai a little more but I was also suspicious of him because since Damon came late, Kai could tell the others and it would be terrible. Kai seems to have a habit of throwing Damon under the bus lol.

(Took me a while to combine those two screenshots to get the full image lol)

Afterwards, there was a cute scene with everyone doing laundry and it was nice seeing a more relaxed atmosphere. Damon and Kai chilling together, Ingrid singing (she has such a nice voice omg), and Grace yelling at Wolfgang because he doesn't know how to use a washing machine. Overall, a very wholesome scene.

We meet Eva and learn she has Desmond's blackmail. At first, I fully trusted her and why she told Damon. Desmond is a marksman, he has weapons. Meeting him personally to tell him something private abt him that he doesn't want people to know seems scary. Hence why I was so against Wolfgang's idea.

Eva's conversation with Damon was one of my favourite scenes in the game. It felt nice she noticed Damon's fruitless effort during the trial and how no one thanked him. She noticed that they are the only two against Wolfgang. As they talked, I thought about how I don't know if I could enjoy this scene as much as I do right now if Eva kept her "Ultimate Liar" persona. At this point, I was an Eva fan 100%. I might talk about her more one day in a post, but we'll see.

I felt like Damon finally made a friend. Well, the closest thing to one in a killing game at least. Eva had all the qualities that Damon could work with. A decent amount of trust and no naivety. They both are constantly on-guard.

Her reasoning to why she chose to be a 'Liar' was kind of reasonable, I was surprised. On paper, it sounds ridiculous to call yourself that in a killing game. But when taking Eva's whole character into perspective, everything falls into place perfectly. As Damon puts it, everything she did felt self-destructive. Little did I know how true this will be later.

When we make it to the dining hall, Wolfgang questions us on why we were late. Damon counters him. I like to believe Damon's open-willingness to argue with Wolfgang in front of everyone now is mostly due to learning more about Eva and having a sense of camaraderie with her. He doesn't feel alone for once, in terms of thinking.

Cassidy wants to hold a gaming tournament. It's sweet and I started opening up to her character cause of it. Wolfgang is unsure of attending and Diana said she would be "busy". I was scared. Why would Diana be busy and HOW could she be busy. She's been acting strange. It was making me think that she will die or be the first killer. The way she acted around Damon was a bit too suspicious. I wanted to do her freetime event again but she wasn't available, which made me more worried.

I did Eva's instead to learn more about her, I'll save my thoughts about it for another time. But the general reaction I had was "Yup. Someone tell 2022 me that he will become an Eva fan"

Other than Diana, I really wanted to know more about Desmond. So, I did his FTE next! He's lowkey a chill guy. I really hope he'll be our "bro" character but I feel like the signs are leaning towards Kai fulfilling that role. Unlike Wolfgang, Desmond's kindness doesn't feel calculated to me. He's just casual about everything. I liked how he claimed that Damon and him are similar and as to why he believes so, he even offered to debate with Damon. Overall, a neat conversation. I love Desmond in a sense that, he's just pleasant to be around. I hope to see more of his character shine in future chapters.

We meet Diana again and she seems to be back to normal, but the sinister music kicks in when she asks how we are. I was VERYYY concerned. I assumed someone had severe blackmail on her and thought she murdered someone. Before it felt sweet when she wanted to know more about Damon and Eva, but in this scenario, it was very suspicious. Tozu even said, "Tonight could be the night which changes your life forever." which implies that he saw someone get murdered.

After a funny scene with Damon and Kai sharing a bed. We wake up and head to the gaming tournament!

At the time, I was so happy to see Eva choosing to go to the tournament and even bonding with Cassidy over a niche game. I thought Eva no longer had to hide under a false talent in order to feel powerful. She could be herself. Man...

She goes on explaining that she used to eat lunch in the bathrooms which made me feel for her even more. Part of me disliked Damon for making a joke at her expense when she was being vulnerable, but I can't help but think that it is also his way of showing that he does not pity her and treats her like an equal (somewhat). Hell, Eva even laughed at the joke.

The tournament begins and I love how seriously Damon was taking it. I actually believe he was having fun. I love Damon because while he may be an ass, when he's focused on something, he gives it his all. This includes a silly gaming tournament too.

Then a blackout occured and I KNOW someone's getting killed. So time to lock in. And man...let's just say I am GLAD I never got spoiled because...

MY JAW DROPPED.

A million thoughts flowed through my brain. Was this a fake-out? Was this death merely shock factor? He was meant to be the rival and main obstacle to Damon and Eva, HOW?

I was looking forward to seeing trials with Damon and Wolfgang going head-to-head.

I was both shocked and worried about where the writing will go. Wolfgang had so much potential in the story.

But I also thought "let them cook". With the main guy who encouraged everyone that no one would resort to violence was killed. Ultimately, his death disproved everything he believed in. His death WILL kickstart the killing game for sure.

My prediction was that it was Diana who killed him.

I really hoped it wasn't Diana but she was too suspicious.

As we investigated, we had to convince Grace to let us in Wolfgang's room. Honestly this was when I started to actually dislike Grace because why on earth did she think this was a good idea. I guess she had a connection to Wolfgang, but it was still irritating how much she hindered the investigation. This situation did let me see more of Eloise and man, she can be pretty scary. I heard her FTE is no different, I should look it up sometime.

Then, we had around 20 minutes remaining for the investigation, so we had to rush. Even though there was no time limit for the player, I could still feel the tension. I desperately wanted to know Diana's testimony. She feels completely different, like all the light in her eyes is gone and for good reason. Just like the others, she looked up to Wolfgang and believed no one would kill eachother. I love how you can feel the stakes rising. This isn't like the prologue. Your life is on the line and there is no time to grieve. And with Damon and Eva leading the investigation, two people who struggle with emotions and were outcasted by Wolfgang, it gets harder.

This scene is kind of why I like Diana, some may find this type of behaviour annoying and naive, but to me it showcases how much she's willing to believe in people as opposed to Damon. It hurts that Diana is STILL trying to see the good in people. But without Wolfgang, no one wants to play nice or believe in eachother anymore. Hence Grace's declaration of anger towards the killer enjoying their death penalty and Mark's agreement. Although I was also thinking how much this scene would hurt if Diana was the killer.

You know it's funny. Back when I was younger and a huge DGR fan, i would watch the class trials and think, wow the MC and partner carries these. Damon kind of reflects that. He believes in his own talent THAT much and he has seen how the students participate in the trials. Damon isn't necessarily right about how he is the only one who can carry this trial, but he is right that without him, its very hard to believe that the class can solve the murder of Wolfgang.

I love Damon's internal monolgues because it shows the type of person he is. He can be bitter and arrogant, but he is not heartless.

Either way, the trial begins and Grace is IMMEDIATELY questioned by Eloise for good reason.

I liked Grace in the prologue because she's a very outspoken person who takes no nonsense. But throughout this trial, I was getting irritated with her attitude. I hope her character actually goes somewhere in later chapters because if it stays like this, I doubt I will like her as much as I did in the prologue.

We eventually reach the part where Cassidy asked the person with Wolfgang's blackmail to speak up and explain themselves if they're innocent and DAMON WAS SWEATING BULLETS. However, Eva had our backs and explained why that information would not be useful. I can see why Damon stayed silent, if someone like him spoke up, who knows how everyone will react. ESPECIALLY Grace.

Also an interesting thing I've noticed is that everyone seems to be genuinely helping and contributing to the class trial. No one is just needlessly making quips. Cassidy makes jokes time to time, but she still helps.

Then when the suspicion hit Diana, I WAS SCARED. I was genuinely believing that she was the one who killed Wolfgang. But...how? She doesn't seem like someone who can kill and I doubt the writers would make her suddenly evil. So I assumed she killed out of self-defence.

What I loved a lot as a Damon and Diana fan was how Damon was starting to feel sympathy towards Diana. DAMON of all people. I wish I remembered how to use Pathos bullets so I could see Damon speak from a more emotional perspective, it feels more fitting for his development in my opinion.

We learn that the reason why she was crying with guilt was not because she killed Wolfgang, it was because she watched him die and couldn't do anything.

I'm skimming through the events of the trial as this post is getting long.

With Diana's suspicion cleared, I had no idea who would kill Wolfgang at this point. I started assuming Wenona did it or maybe Ulysses. However, looking back at it, it seems Eva still suspected Diana. I was too blind to see why would she even after Damon cleared it up.

As the trial progressed and we learn that the suspect could be anyone in the tournament. I was trying to hard to think who it could possibly be. Everyone had the realistic reaction of freaking out and yelling their alibis. I thought so hard. Who could it be? Who's position can Damon not remember? And then it hit, and I still doubted myself...

Eva. Of course, she started defending herself. As she started claiming that Damon was saying nonsense and that he's the killer, I could feel the friendship between these two die. I wonder if there was truly any sense of friendship between them to begin with. I believe that Damon genuinely thought there was whether he would admit it or not.

I was worried that just like with Wolfgang, Eva being the killer so early seems like wasted potential. But no, its perfect. Because of her character throughout the chapter and what we learn about her. I'll save it for a future post. I want to talk about Eva more.

As Eva claimed that she only pretended to be friends with Damon, his internal monologue was heartbreaking. Eva's words SHOULDN'T matter to him. He's close to solving the murder. But sadly, they do affect him. He judged others for being too trusting, while he blindly followed Eva's words.

As Damon gave his speech about how he did respect Wolfgang and how he doesn't want to see bloodshed, Kai vouched for him which I LOVE. It shot Kai up on my list cause of that. I was afraid he would be the guy to always point fingers at Damon, but thankfully it wasn't the case.

Eva broke down and we see her true nature. And to no one's surprise, all of this could've been avoided if people didn't give her too much shit for being a mathlete. Of course it isn't that simple since Eva had issues before that. But I genuinely believe that Wolfgang shouldn't have put too much suspicion on Eva and Damon and make them outcasts, it came back to bite him as Eva was obsessed with proving herself.

Seeing her cry after her defeat was hard to watch. The character I thought would be the "Kirigiri" of this game is now standing here, sobbing, and about to be executed.

Her rant about Wolfgang and how they blindly followed him is something I somewhat agree with.

I agree with Diana as well and it solidied my love for Eva and Diana's character. Diana genuinely tried to keep her part of the group. SHE TRIED. Wolfgang was okay with just throwing them to the side. That's where I think Diana is better than Wolfgang. But Eva was too wrapped up in her hatred that she couldn't see that someone was genuinely helping her. A mindset that is understandable for someone who has been bullied and outcasted for all their life. This was out of Diana's control.

But Eva isn't wrong either. Could she really trust Diana's intentions? No, not when Diana would also believe Wolfgang's word, the same word of the man who treats her like an outcast.

We learn about the traitor's perk. And I know people say Tozu threatened her to take it, but I feel like saying that she was treatened and thats why she killed Wolfgang kind of goes against all that we were shown? We didn't properly learn of the traitor's perk and its consequences until AFTER her rant about everyone in the class and her life. The traitor perk's consequences seemed more of an after-thought to her. Eva is very complex and I love that.

As she pointed out their hypocrisy, Grace yelled at Tozu to get on with the execution. I know she's upset and I understand that. But I would be lying if I said she didn't fall down my list immensely after saying that. Tozu announces the execution and Eva cries. Her execution was..intense. I wanna go into it deeper one day but to keep it short for now, I love how the execution wasn't just themed after her talent. The execution felt like an insult towards her story as a whole. She will always be a mathlete. Now with both Wolfgang and Eva dead, the killing games will finally begin. There is no one to guide them. Unless..

I know this scene is cringe to some people, but this made me love Diana and feel confident regarding what they'll do with her character going forward. She will follow Wolfgang's footsteps, and who knows, maybe have a more 'healthy' version of leadership than Wolfgang's approach. She genuinely believes in everyone, even Eva. I love that. I feel like her character losing hope as the game progresses seems off. This was a nice speech of hers but she should've picked a better time. Because unfortunately, no one took her speech seriously.

Except for one.

At this point, it seems obvious that Diana act as Damon's foil for the upcoming trials. Damon, who relies on logic. Diana, who relies on emotion. I'm cautiously optimistic because I thought it would be Wolfgang when I finished the prologue but I was dead wrong. I cannot wait to see how both of these characters develop their rivalry throughout the trials.

-------

And thats a wrap! This post took me like 3 weeks to write cuz I've been busy lol.

This chapter was so good and I was at the edge of my seat! I'm so happy I never got spoiled!

It's amazing how in just one chapter, Eva became my absolute favourite. It feels like just yesterday I was sold on everyone's character in the prologue except for her. I thought she'd be the know-it-all, cool-headed partner. But the reveal of her true talent was a nice surprise! And her whole character was well-written and complex.

With how well the motive for murder was written in this chapter, I really hope the later chapters don't get too crazy. Like no 'despair disease' type of motive please. I hope the kills don't get too unrealistic as well, keeping them grounded helps maintain the atmosphere for this story in my opinion. As for the executions, I'd be amazed if they centered around the characters' journey instead of just their talent, like with Eva for example. It played on her insecurities.

Finally, it seems the main theme for this chapter was 'hypocrisy' as the title of the chapter suggests.

Damon, who thought everyone was naive for trusting eachother and especially Wolfgang, blindly trusted Eva.

Wolfgang, who believed no one would kill and that everyone should stick together, outcasted Damon and Eva and urged everyone to keep an eye on them just because of some rude remarks they made.

Eva, who claims no one cared for her and hates her, screwed over Damon and Diana who did care about her and had multiple opportunties to befriend people like Cassidy in the gaming tournament.

I'm sure theres more that I'm missing but this is all I got for now. Here is my updated tier list after Chapter 1:

Overall, fantastic chapter. I'm so excited for the next!!! Keep cooking Eden's Garden team! You're all doing great!!!! anyway sorry for the long yap session

[destinygoldenstar]

AnalyzGolden Ranks Every Disventure Camp Season 2 Character

I'm ranking every Season 2 character in Disventure Camp.

I've actually been hyped to do this one, believe it or not.

Even though I think I prefer the Season 1 Cast, the Season 2 Cast actually has a lot going for them. There's quite a few interesting contenders here.

This show is actually pretty decent at handling its characters and getting you a good taste of who they are and why they're here.

I don't want to sell Total Drama short, because obviously that's iconic, and its characters are iconic, but all that show needed to do was make its characters funny with their gimmicks and only a handful were dynamic and/or complex.

Here it's more focused on the arc and their situations instead of their comedy. I can see that being a double edge sword to some, because if characters aren't being funny you just get a ton of angst instead and then the show itself becomes less fun to watch...?

Like, I can see that.

But idk, I might have a kink for angst, so it doesn't bother me.

Keep in mind this entire ranking is just MY opinion based on how I viewed things. So... HOT TAKE ALERT(?????)

Idk, maybe I'm basic and all my faves are the fan faves. Idk.

There's no such thing as taking a tier list objectively.

This order ISN'T based off of elimination order. Because I have A LOT more to say about the Post Merge characters than the Pre Merge characters. So I wanted to space it out. So it's random.

So let's get into it!

Who are we starting with...?

CONNOR

?

...I mean, I did say this was random. But it still feels weird to start with this one.

Whatever. We're starting with the old man.

I think the biggest reaction I had towards Connor was his elimination.

"I'll leave voluntarily."

...

Why...? Why would you do that?

You could've all worked together to get Yul out.

I'm not mad. Just disappointed.

Oh who am I kidding? I'm pissed off.

And I hated it.

That episode was a double elimination. Which, yeah, I guess that needed to happen, but the way he just quit like that really gave me NO respect. And it told me that this was just a filler character and they had no plans for him.

YES I KNOW HE DID IT FOR RIYA'S SAFETY. I KNOW HE DIDN'T CARE ABOUT THE MILLION. I DON'T CARE. THEY COULD'VE WORKED WITH THE POLYCULE TO GET YUL OUT.

Outside of THAT, however, there really isn't a lot to say about Connor. His screen time is so minimal that if he wasn't associated with Riya, nobody would see him as a memorable character.

He just didn't really do anything aside from be Riya's friend, and give Oliver a job offer, which went nowhere cause he got back with Krystal in the same scene.

You only care about Connor because Riya cares about Connor.

I can't really say there's anything to HATE about him though.

He's a nice guy with very good intentions. He just wants to hang out with the kids and feel young again, and not come to terms of his age and his new role in life. That's wholesome and sweet. And I'm sure that relates to plenty of Gen X people.

But I'm not Gen X, so...

Idk, I think the biggest disappointment is how minimal his arc was and how minimal he was utilized. I like the idea of an older figure trying to fit in with the younger generation. But they don't really do anything with it.

I think there was, like, TWO SCENES in the FIRST episode and nowhere else, where Connor tried to bond with a Millennial character but didn't understand the gen's lifestyle.

Two scenes that also didn't go anywhere, cause this is the only time he ever interacts with those characters.

And then two conversations with Riya later, and he's cool with being a mentor now and he's come to terms with his age.

Two talks with one person does not equal a fully fleshed out satisfying character arc, bucko.

Idk, I think if Connor had more screen time, he would've worked for me better. But as is, he's just there as a support character.

I will say I do like his friendship with Riya though, even if that's all he ended up being here for. It was nice seeing Riya bonding with someone in a similar culture shock situation as her. And his perfume gift for her and his goodbye to her was genuinely really wholesome.

Again, you care about him because Riya cares about him, and he's basically all Riya has left now because everyone else hates her.

I saw a comment on my reactions about a ship name. Uh... I don't ship these two. I don't really like it because of the age gap. (29/50) I like them much better as friends.

I'll give him a C Tier.

Yes I'm putting these on my Season 1 Tier list as well. We're combining the two.

And the one I'm using has the All Stars variations. So I'll use those for All Stars too.

AIDEN

Okay, so I spoiled this one in a post already, so I'm just gonna start with the ranking.

I think Aiden is a solid B tier character.

I just realized EVERYONE whose name starts with A is in the B tier. Uh... wow. That's ironic.

I actually LOVE Aiden's character... CONCEPTUALLY.

A trans boy who altered his appearance to appeal to the show and get casted, and due to these things, isn't very confident in his identity.

THAT IS GREAT AND THAT MAKES ME ROOT FOR HIM.

I LOVE that Aiden is trans. 🏳️‍⚧️

Trans rep is so rare as is, so any trans rep that isn't a gross stereotype is a win in my book.

The scene where he comes out as trans is also very well done and very sweet. I liked it.

I also LOVE his character design.

The half and half black and white hair is very visually striking, and the addition of the black and white stripes on his sleeves adds to compliment it so your attention is on the top half of his body. And the red shirt is such a strong center piece. It also tells you about his character as someone who went hard and out there in the appearance department to appeal to others.

AMAZING character design. Really.

Aiden himself is also very likeable and sympathetic. I felt for him when he got used by James and I wanted to see him come to his own. He's also flawed, like, he has some anger issues and a grudge problem, but it's in a way that's endearing and never really annoyed me.

I feel like he and Jake would be great friends.

And most of this shines from me due to the voice acting.

The voice acting in this season... really is not that good. I don't think anyone is arguing in its favor aside from "It's an indie show, cut them some slack." And they do get better as the series goes on.

Aiden's VA is the one exception. From beginning to end, this guy is AMAZING voicing the character and making you invested in him and what he's feeling.

...and unfortunately that's where the positives end.

Yeah, as much as I like Aiden, I feel like more than any of these other B tiers, he is WASTED POTENTIAL.

And you KNOW I mean that, BECAUSE HE IS A FINALIST.

As much as I like his concept, they don't really DO anything with it.

That scene where he comes out as trans? That's in Episode ELEVEN.

...OF THIRTEEN.

There was ONE hint outside of that which alluded to him being trans prior to that.

In Episode 4, it's a confession challenge where they have to confess to harsh truths about themselves. Krystal asks which one of them had sex reassignment surgery, and nobody answers that question.

This question does not get brought up again until Aiden comes out and confirms that question was talking about him. Again, in Episode ELEVEN OF THIRTEEN.

At that point, the trans rep kinda just feels like lip service. They did the bare minimum to get this trans rep in.

Now, I'm not saying a character's queer identity should be the only thing about their character that matters. No. Not at all.

What I'm saying is that I wanted this to matter to Aiden's story more than it appears it does. Because of what his character is.

Using subtext, it's heavily implied that Aiden's lack of faith in his abilities comes from his trans identity and the fact that nobody found him interesting, attractive, or appealing. Especially not the show. So he altered himself to appeal to what other people wanted. (His appearance, I mean, not his sex.)

But he never talks about it outside of Episode 4 and that coming out scene. I would've personally have had the coming out scene two or three episodes earlier. Because at least then you could have a lot more healthy interactions with James.

Speaking of, because of that coming out scene being associated with James, as sweet as that scene is still, and the fact that the subject is minimal as is, tells me that Aiden's individual struggles and growth IS NOT what matters to the story.

Whether or not he'll smooch James is what matters.

Yeah... these two didn't work for me. I'm sorry.

You know why I found Aiden sympathetic? Because he had to be stuck with THIS MOTHERFUCKER the entire time.

I'll get to James later, but for now I'll just address the relationship.

I will say, they're not AS BAD as I made them out to be in my reactions. James DOES get better and DOES become a better person. And the scene where they make up is very well done. They have SOME good and sweet interactions. Even if I can count them all on my hand.

So I GET IT. I UNDERSTAND why you'd ship them. Because ON PAPER, this is a GREAT 'they hate each other until they love each other and grow from each other' story. It's just the execution that rubbed me off the wrong way.

Especially at the start of the show, James has some pretty predatory behavior towards Aiden and exploits him for internet views. (Like seriously was that supposed to be a plot twist? I figured out that was what he was doing from the first episode.) He does a lot of stuff that Aiden is uncomfortable with, lies to him to get him to do what he wants, and influences Aiden to do some very impulsive messed up things.

Combine that with James' hostility towards other people, and you have the bad outweighing the good in my head.

Which is a problem, because the finale has them as your HEROES, and them getting together is the happy ending. It's a problem if I am therefore routing AGAINST their relationship prior to that finale.

Again, James DOES get better, so it's NOT AS BAD AS IT COULD HAVE BEEN.

SIERRA AND CODY ARE TEN TIMES WORSE. And if you asked me to pick James/Aiden or Sierra/Cody, I would take James/Aiden in a heartbeat.

I just personally found the beginning behavior James had towards Aiden, lusting over this clearly uncomfortable and introverted trans boy, and exploiting him for Internet fame, very GROSS.

I UNDERSTAND THAT'S THE POINT. But, idk, I would've just preferred them mutually not liking each other at first and then growing to like each other and then becoming lovers. You didn't need this predatory stuff. Just have Riya be lying about James' exploits, idk.

I also found Episode 9 kinda gross for Aiden. (Though I feel like I should rewatch that Episode just because of my condition when I watched it.)

Karol returns and wants revenge on James and Aiden. James warns Aiden with proof to back up his claim. And what does Aiden do?

He puts a trap on Karol's sled to stop her from winning the race.

This causes Karol to crash her sled and end up in the hospital due to a broken leg.

And Aiden not only proceeds to continue to yell at Karol, AS SHE IS HURT ON THE GROUND, but James also PRAISES Aiden's actions as something to be proud of.

I'M SORRY, WHAT PART OF SENDING SOMEONE TO THE HOSPITAL IS THERE TO BE PROUD OF?

Yes I get Karol was gunning for you. STILL. What was wrong with just voting her out? You had the numbers!

Yes I know Aiden said he 'didn't mean to hurt Karol' when he did that. But, I'm sorry, you're sledding down a mountain without safety equipment. WHY DID YOU THINK THAT WOULDN'T HURT HER?

James ALSO does this. He does this towards Yul. (Even though I loved that one.)

So these two got not one, but TWO PEOPLE SENT TO THE HOSPITAL. AND THEY GET NO CONSEQUENCES.

Listen, murder is wrong, battery is wrong. Riya tries to kill Aiden. Karol kills everyone. But you know why I didn't take much problem with that? THESE CHARACTERS ARE VILLAINS.

BUT SURE, LET'S HAVE OUR HEROIC POWER COUPLE DO THE SAME THINGS, INSTANCES THAT ACTUALLY GET MEDICAL CONSEQUENCES FOR THOSE PEOPLE.

WHAT A GREAT LESSON. /s

This is part of Aiden's 'gaining confidence' arc by the way. He learns that murder is okay.

I guess murder and battery is bad only if you're a woman? It's okay if the boys do it?

WHAT A GREAT LESSON. /s

THAT'S NOT PROBLEMATIC AT ALL. /s

And that all leads to my biggest gripe with Aiden.

He is James' love interest. And that's the only thing that matters.

He has a relationship with TWO characters. Lake, and ESPECIALLY James.

His friendship with Lake is supposedly this tight bond, and I like it on paper, but it's so underbaked to give me that impression.

I think there was like, THREE SCENES TOTAL where these two talk. And only ONE of those scenes was them learning about each other.

Those other two scenes? It's a conversation about JAMES.

Idk, even if I count those two scenes, THREE TALKS DOES NOT EQUAL A STRONG FRIENDSHIP IN MY BOOK.

Aside from THAT, Aiden ONLY interacts with James. Any time he is NOT directly interacting with James, any other character he talks to is either a conversation about James and his feelings towards James, or meant to serve James in some way.

Again, there is ONE conversation with Lake where that's not the case. But that's it.

IT'S ALL ABOUT HOW HE FEELS ABOUT JAMES. THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS. THAT'S ALL YOU'RE TELLING ME.

I don't like it when a character is meant to be a love interest and that's all they serve to do.

Say what you will about Jake and Tom. They're messy and I don't deny that. BUT they are also strong characters on their own and can function on their own. AND they have relationships with characters that aren't each other. Tom is friends with Gabby. Jake WAS friends with Ellie. Tom and Jake both care for Miriam. Jake especially cares about Miriam. I got WAY MORE out of Jake and Miriam's bond than I did with Aiden and Lake's.

It also HURTS when in the finale, that's all Aiden serves to be in the end. To smooch James and help James win.

Aiden doesn't feel confident in himself to beat Riya, so he decides James should go do it instead. Meaning his so called arc about confidence meant nothing.

He doesn't even get to glide down the mountain. Like, I don't expect him to completely get over his fear of heights. But I felt like he could've sucked it up then and there at least.

Personally, I would've had James help Aiden win. I would've swapped the roles. Because then that not only showcased Aiden coming to his own to believe in himself and have that pay off, but it also sends a message and sacrifice for James that fame doesn't matter to him anymore. Then the 'money can't buy love' message to oppose Riya with HITS HARDER.

They can still share the money in the end. And with Rosa.

BUT NO. AIDEN NEEDS TO SERVE JAMES. HE CAN'T DO ANYTHING ON HIS OWN.

Sounds reasonable, right?

Well no. Not according to some of you.

I actually LOVE that you made this reply. I love seeing people disagree with me. It's fun. And you were respectful about it. Good for you!

(ANYONE can do this whenever you disagree with me btw. If you're respectful about it like this person is, then go right ahead and voice your take!)

All I will say is that I read it, and I SEE where you're coming from. But respectfully, I don't agree with it. For all the reasons I just said.

Like, no offense, but anyone could've told Lake to hit the canon to help James win, and the same results would've happened. That's not a very revolutionary Aiden action.

If you like this ship though, more power to you. Just because I don't like it doesn't mean it's a bad ship and it doesn't mean you shouldn't like it. James/Aiden shippers are really cool in my book!

I'll just be in my little corner holding Tom and Jake close. Even if I am the only one.

So yeah, I like Aiden, but I wish he was handled differently and I cared about his bond with James a lot more.

I hope he's in Season 3 and not on the same team as James. Then he can interact with other characters AND he can come to his own. I would like that!

MAGGY

Uuuuuuuuuhhhhh…. What’s there to say about her?

I actually don’t remember ANYTHING about her.

She is THAT much of a nothing character.

She’s shy.

She’s bullied for being a big girl.

She doesn’t have any arc or any development or any depth to her situation besides that.

And she loses to her bully.

She also does nothing in the episode she’s eliminated in.

I mean she punches Yul in the face. So just for that, I can’t say I dislike her.

She also is with Kai. But idk, that relationship is just “They crush, they hook.” End of story. No middle.

And then they run away in the woods to be freaky. Or whatever.

Sure. Whatever makes you happy.

C Tier. Nothing to say.

Unfortunately bottom of C tier because at least the rest of these guys contribute something to the plot.

Maggy contributes NOTHING.

But she punched Yul in the face and gave him a black eye. So I can’t hate her.

LAKE

When I was reacting to Season Two, I kept getting messages gushing about how good Lake is.

You all seem to really love this one.

Well… after watching Season Two for myself… I gotta say…

YEP. SHES AWESOME.

I am very much on your side with this one!

Like, this is easily the character with the most concrete dynamic character arc. Especially the one where it's the most solidly handled.

Like, I may LIKE a certain someone more, but I have to admit they kinda take a backseat in the middle of the sesaon.

Lake however? Every episode she's in, there's something that's progressing her story. As such, she stands out pretty quickly.

She was kind of a screen hog ngl XD

But I like her character, so it's okay.

Lake is a sweet teenage girl who is a major perfectionist. She is always studying, even during the summer ON REALITY TV, and she has an alarmingly strict diet.

But it's clear early on that one of this is from Lake's own free will. Her family is a bunch of control freaks who want her to be this prim and proper perfect person.

They set up several tutors for her to make essays and study, to the point where she has little to no free time for herself. They're homophobic. They forced a ton of eating disorders upon her. They even set up an ARRANGED MARRIAGE.

IN THE PRESENT DAY. AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE.

Yeah, no shock it's fucked up.

It was such a fucked up way to live that Lake straight up lost her natural hair. She wears wigs. And her parents chose what wig she would wear.

You'd think your child going bald from stress would set some alarm bells that you're a bad parent and you should lay off, but apparently not.

It's also clear from a handful of lines and from some facial expressions that Lake resents this lifestyle, but she really doesn't say anything or do anything about it because, well, she's a kid. She's been brainwashed to believe this was the best path for her when it's not.

I love her fight with Rosa in Episode 4 when Rosa calls out Lake's parents behavior of her. I love how Lake doesn't immediately pull her face turn to go against her parents and comes to their defense. She even says "Fuck this show, who cares?" At one point which was fun to hear from her.

Well, she doesn't say fuck. She's a good girl. But you know what I mean.

Lake should be allowed to swear.

Anyway, point is, I like how she doesn't immediately learn the lesson from the first time someone calls it out. She needs to figure that out for herself.

In a way, Episode 5's boring as all hell and needlessly hellish challenge was kinda smart. Especially if you consider what we've been told about Lake's homelife thus far, it does feel like a bit like it would send some flashbacks.

And let me tell you, I'VE BEEN THERE. I'VE BEEN THERE SO ANY TIMES.

I had a pretty horrible school life growing up. There was a lot of rules and pressure that didn't even need to be there, and kids and adults alike really got a kick out of it. And there were several times where I started crying from being unable to take it anymore.

So seeing Lake break down here and tell Krystal off was so heartbreaking but also so satisfying because it's Krystal.

And I like how despite expressing that hatred towards Krystal prior, she still takes the time to empathize with her and bond with her over their messed up families.

Lake isn't a bad apple. She's a genuinely good kid.

And her empathy here is rewarded by Krystal letting her stay and carve her own path.

And she does.

But you know what I love? Is that even though this is a 'good girl rebelling against her good girl status', it DOESN'T mean she becomes a more brash and defiant person. *Cough* COURTNEY.

She's still a very decent and nice person. She's just more independent.

I also like how she became an author. That's wonderful for her.

I also love her friendship with Rosa throughout the show. Like, I buy that she's besties with Rosa a lot more than I believe it with Aiden, I'm sorry. I loved watching them bond over Rosa's astronomy interest and writing and little things like that. I love seeing their friendship get challenged and resolved due to Lake's familial pressure. It also shows that Rosa CAN'T help everyone and they need to figure some things out themselves.

This is a really strong bond these two have, and it's very sweet to see unfold.

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about Lake having wigs. But I ended up really liking it.

I love the contrast from her straight proper and neat blonde hair at the start of the series, and then when she rebels, she switches to a more vibrant loud crimson red bob cut that of a punk.

The change actually says something about her character, and I really like that.

Do I think she should have won the season?

Uh... not really...?

Like, I love her, but I am perfectly okay with her not being a winner pick or even a finalist pick. Lake did not need to be a finalist for her story to hit. It doesn't matter to her if she won the money or not. What she wanted was her freedom. A chance to be herself. THAT'S her victory right there.

MONEY IS NOT THE ONLY VICTORY.

So girl WON.

I was just upset with the episode she was eliminated in, because SHE SHOULD HAVE WON THAT CHALLENGE. SHE WAS THE LAST ONE STANDING. IT WAS NOT FAIR.

Now that I'm thinking about it and talking about her, I'm putting her at the very top of S tier ahead of the other Season 1 characters on that tier.

CAUSE DAMN. THIS GIRL WAS AWESOME.

I can TOTALLY see what the hype with her was all about.

LIVE LAUGH LOVE LAKE INDEED!

KAI

I'm not gonna lie, this guy creeps me out.

"I find it calming to share a space with someone who emits such good energy. I can almost feel it in the air."

Okay you're a creep...

~~~

"I observed your good intentions with others, even though your vibrations feel somewhat turbulent."

I can't with this guy's voice and creepy implications, help.

"The universe said you should know."

"You should knooooooooowwwww. It will haunt you for the rest of your days, oooooooooooooooo."

Dude, you're a creep.

~~~

"I felt some pretty erratic vibes coming from you."

Erratic?!

I don't think you'd want to say that to someone. Maybe that's just me.

~~~

"No man, I don't do drugs... too much..."

WHAT THE HELL?!

THE FACT THAT YOU DO DRUGS AT ALL.

SO YEAH.

This guy comes in, he's getting up in people's businesses and making them feel exposed, AND HE SUPPOSEDLY DOES DRUGS.

WHO THE HELL IS THIS GUY?!

Like, this is by far the most 'WTF' character of this entire cast.

Just... WTF?!

And it doesn't even stop when he gets eliminated because then he goes to LIVE IN THE WOODS WITH A GIRL.

WTF?!

This man just creeps me out, and I cannot for the like of me take him seriously.

I'm also a bit disappointed that this plotline went nowhere.

Like, when they were showing where Kai and Maggy were after they were eliminated, I was expecting them to play a role in the finale, like using their zen powers to aid in the finale...

...but no.

Oh, I'm sorry, they DID, but they 'made Aiden happy'.

Cool... James totally wouldn't have apologized without you guys....

...yeah I'm saying that doesn't count.

This guy just creeps me out and I can't for the like of me take him seriously.

He also has THE WORST voice of the entire cast.

Like, I don't want to be too mean to the voice acting of this season. I get it. And they do get better as the show goes on. Especially the mic quality, cause in the first episode? GOOD LORD...

But Kai? He's just straight up hard to listen to. There's little to no emotion in anything he says, he has this very raspy voice so it's hard to understand what he's saying if you don't have subtitles on, the mic is especially bad with him, and the sleezy tone just makes some of his dialogue a whole lot creepier.

Every time this man speaks, my immersion of the scene gets dropped HARD.

Again, no hate to the VA. I get it.

What else...?

Oh yeah. There's one more thing.

This man DID do one AMAZING thing that now lives in my head rent free, and that I thank him for dearly.

And that is him, of course, READING YUL FOR FILTH.

"YES! YES I DO YOU MISERABLE PIECE OF SHIT!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH

GET HIM

"If you were a real man, you would realize how beautiful Maggy is! Her soul is so pure and her heart is so big that it would imitate the sun on a rainy day! But of course an idiot son of a bitchfucker could never notice it!"

😂👏

YEEEEEEESSS

"I'm sure you don't have any friends and your parents only sent you here to keep you entertained and get away from you for awhile! Sure now that you're not there, they're finally happy and I don't blame them! After all, all their son is, is just a piece of shit asshole motherfucker!"

YEEEEEESSSS

😂👏

GET. HIS. ASS.

GET HIS ASS DUDE.

READ THIS MAN FOR FILTH.

Like... DUDE. I RESPECT THE HELL OUT OF YOU FOR THAT.

You are C Tier, but you are an upper C Tier, which is a higher spot than you would have been otherwise.

Like... yeah this is in order. Better than Maggy? Yeah, because I feel something with him.

Better than Jensen? Yeah. Better than Derek? Yeah. Better than Will? Yeah. Better than Drew? Yeah.

I don't think he's better than Connor just because of Connor's friendship with Riya being so much more important to the story than whatever the hell Kai was doing.

Ninjago Kai is a much better character, but props to DC Kai for bringing justice where it belongs for that one scene.

ALLYSON

Btw, I know everyone calls her Ally in the show.

I call her Allyson personally, which is her full first name.

The reason why is a peeve I have with two characters in the same media having names that sound way too similar to each other.

And since these two casts do merge at one point, THIS DOES COUNT. Her name is way too close to Ellie, and I don't like that.

Same reason why I nicknamed Lill Lilly.

SO I AM CALLING HER ALLYSON, AND NO I AM NOT GOING TO HEAR CRITICISM ON THAT.

Anyway, now we can actually talk about Allyson.

Uh... she's there? I guess? I mean obviously she's there, she's a merge character.

I would say I like her though. She's really cute. I like her conceptually and that she's a gamer girl.

It's something I feel like the TDI Reboot WOULD do if they did do it.

The fact that she bonds with people through playing video games is really cute and solid characterization on what kind of person she is.

I like her off the wall way of solving problems.

She dances to stay awake. She makes a snowboard instead of a sled.

She's an outside the box thinker and she don't care what anyone thinks about her. It's really nice to have a character so sure of themselves like this.

I also really enjoy her bond with Tess. She starts off hesitant of the girl because of her crush on Hunter, but then grows to really care for Tess and help her out.

I think Allyson and Tess have better chemistry with each other than they do with Hunter, but that's just me.

(Tess/Allyson shipper?)

But I don't hate the choice to make it a polyamory instead. In fact I love the idea of a polyamory situation. You don't really see that rep anywhere.

So I DO like Allyson.

But... idk, she's kinda hard to talk about.

This is mostly because she's one of the more subtle and mundane characters compared to others. That's NOT a bad thing. But I grasp onto characters with a more emotional range a lot better.

Like, they really could have went all the way with her gamer girl concept and made her really geeky if they wanted.

But I can also kinda understand why they wouldn't want to do that, because then she would probably sound like a Gen Alpha brainrot YouTuber. And that would turn people off. So if that's the case, I would prefer her to be more normal.

That, and she also has the same issue Aiden has, and that her purpose in the story is to be a love interest for Hunter.

It's not as bad as Aiden's case, because again, she DOES have interactions with other characters that aren't Hunter. Tess especially. But Aiden is also a character with more emotional range, so that's why Allyson is lower than him despite that.

Allyson and Hunter are actually really cute. They're a nice pair and they have some cute chemistry.

And again, I really like how this love triangle ENDS, with it becoming a polyamory.

I was fully expecting this to end with Hunter choosing one of them. Expecting him to choose Allyson cause she was the one more open towards her feelings...? I guess...? That's what a lot of love triangle stories do.

UNLESS THEY'RE A HELLHOLE- *COUGH*

But NO. POLYAMORY REP. I LOVE IT.

But before that, it gets a bit dragged with the girls just waiting for Hunter to come clean about what he's feeling. And Allyson gets a bit paranoid in some parts, which would be annoying if it was exaggerated to be fair.

What I found awkward is that in Episode 9, where Allyson is eliminated, Hunter kisses her, and despite her admitting to wanting him romantically, she rejects the gesture and leaves him in the dust.

Like huh...? Girl, you wanted him this entire time. And when you get him you reject him?

I mean, I guess he DID say wait till the game was over, and she didn't want to hurt or betray Tess, so okay...

Another thing I found kinda off was her random tragic backstory she drops in Episode 7.

Her grandfather taught her everything she knows about gaming, and then he passed away three months ago prior to the show. She came to the show to escape that grief.

Cool...?

She and Jake would be besties.

But like, it came COMPLETELY OUT OF NOWHERE. There was NO sign she was grieving anyone's death. And she NEVER mentions or even HINTS at this before OR after this.

It just feels so random and so tacked on.

If the tragic backstory isn't going to affect the character in any way? Why even give them a tragic backstory, you know?

At least Jake's story about his grandma MATTERED to his character. We saw his grief with her. He told the audience a bit about his time with her and what she meant to him. It was a major playing factor in him bonding with Miriam. Which was VERY IMPORTANT for both of those characters.

It wasn't just a tacked on backstory for sympathy points, it played a key factor in the story's events.

With Allyson, it's just... there. Remove it, and nothing changes. We don't get any insight on her from this. It doesn't affect her relationship with Hunter or Tess at all.

I'd give Allyson a low B tier. Unfortunately kinda bordering C.

She's cute. I like her.

I would want to see her again, but just cause I think they could do more with her than what they did.

Flesh out that backstory more. Show off her gamer personality. Show off how that aids the people around her.

Do that, and she can go a lot higher.

KAROL

Oh boy, this one...

So, she's an Eva rip off.

She has anger issues. She gets eliminated in the sleep deprivation challenge. She comes back. And she gets eliminated the very next time she is able to be so.

So yeah, Eva rip off.

I rarely say that because this show is really good at making their own original characters. And similarities are really minimal so it's not very blatant.

Like, are you gonna say Gwen and Tess are the same character because they both wear all black? Come on now.

With Karol though? It's just really obvious.

I thought they were doing something with her in Episode 2 when they revealed she's an animal caretaker and she has a hard time bonding with people because of it. Which is a lot more than what Eva got already.

But then she gets used by James to be an elimination, and she spends the rest of her screen time bitching about James and Aiden.

Does James deserve it? Yes.

But she directs most of it towards AIDEN. Who let's be frank, was ALSO used.

It kinda gets a bit annoying. The only reason I wasn't totally against her was because again, JAMES deserves consequences.

She plays the serial killer and murders everybody to return to the game. Her first priority is to target James and Aiden out of revenge.

Cool! We have an antagonist!

But then she crashes her sled because of Aiden and she has to be medically evacuated. Before she could do anything.

...what was the point of bringing her back...?

I mean, okay, she DOES have a reason to come back. She's a player in Riya's character development and the advice she gives to her is very important to that storyline.

But, idk, SHE COULD'VE DONE SOMETHING ELSE.

So... yeah I don't think she was a good character. She's not horrible. The animal thing is pretty sweet. She's just kinda unpleasant.

OH SHIT... JAMES

James James James James James.

I mean, WHERE THE FUCK DO I EVEN BEGIN?!

THIS IS THE BEST CHARACTER, OBVIOUSLY.

DID YOU SEE WHAT HE DID TO YUL?

MAD RESPECT. MAD RESPECT.

DUDE JUST WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO POISON THAT BITCH TO GET HIM OUT OF MY SIGHT.

LOVE. NOTHING BUT LOVE.

Okay, now I rank him for real.

I went on a roller coaster of emotions regarding this character.

1-4, I didn't like him.

Episode 5, LOVED HIM CAUSE OF WHAT HE DID.

Episode 6-8, he was okay.

Then 9 onward I went right back to not liking him.

Some of you might then say it's very obvious where I'm placing him.

I didn't like that he won. I prefer Miriam's win. I would've preferred it if Aiden won. Or Rosa won. Or Riya won.

I don't like characters that have predatory behavior. I hate Sierra for this exact reason. The only time I don't mind it is if the character is a villain. But James isn't a villain. He ends up being our hero in the end.

So no sir, I don't like that he won a million bucks.

And I already expressed my distaste for James/Aiden's relationship.

So there. Low tier ranking. Right?

Well...

Actually, it's not that simple.

Out of everyone, this is the most "Where the hell do I rank this one?"

I do confess: I may have been too mean to this character.

Because everything I don't like about James is... kinda the point.

He's an unlikable hero. A jerk protagonist. He's supposed to start off the season sleezy and arrogant and dislikable. But as the season goes on, through trial and error and the power of love, he becomes humbled and develops into a much better person by the end. To the point where you DO root for him.

That IS his story. And I understand that now that I have watched the whole thing and processed it.

And upon reflection, you CAN see that arc very clearly.

The reason he poisons Yul is because he was targeting Aiden. Even if he doesn't want to admit then and there that was why he did it.

When he loses wifi in Episode 6 he becomes erratic, but by the end of the episode when he gets it back, he doesn't use it and instead spends time with Aiden.

Aiden asked him to confront him about schemes, and he actually obliges.

And of course, his apology in the finale.

THE ARC IS THERE. I SEE IT. I ABSOLUTELY SEE IT.

And honestly, I do RESPECT the arc and what James is supposed to be. IT'S A GOOD ARC. And they do show it in a pretty decent way.

It's just... idk, subjectively speaking, it's the execution that gets me.

He just does too much stuff that rubs ME off the wrong way, and thus it's hard for me to root for him at the end.

One, again, PREDATORY BEHAVIOR.

From the beginning, this man has his eyes set on Aiden and exploits him for Internet Fame. Even though he constantly says no. He keeps getting up in Aiden's business without his consent. And he keeps making lustful eyes at him.

Then he uses Aiden for a scheme to get rid of Karol. Something he DID NOT CONSENT TO. Aiden gets pissed and votes James in that Tribal Council.

But according to the show, Aiden is the one in the wrong because Aiden had a temper problem.

NO, AIDEN HAD EVERY RIGHT TO BE MAD.

I mean I GUESS James apologized. EXCEPT NOT REALLY...?

"No I'm just saying that to... apologize."

Oh?

"I don't regret having strategized in the game, but..."

Oh, no, he's not apologizing for shit. He's just making a scene.

That just told me that he had NO remorse for what he did to Karol.

And also, his apology there was about 'not including Aiden in his schemes'. One, he did, in Episode 2. Second, if he's talking about honesty here, WHAT IF AIDEN DOESN'T WANT TO SCHEME?

If Aiden ever said "NO. I don't want to do this." James is still gonna do it.

That's what that was telling me.

And then he straight up S/A's Aiden.

WHICH IS A BIG NO NO FOR ME.

And then he poisons Yul. Which, I LOVE THAT CAUSE THAT WAS YUL.

But IGNORING MY OPINION ON THE PERSON WHO GOT POISONED FOR A SECOND, it's pretty fucked of him to do.

You could've just, idk, swapped out the mushroom for breadcrumbs? Yul was going to be eliminated anyway. You didn't need to poison him to get him out of the picture.

What if Yul DIED from this? YOUR ASS WOULD BE IN JAIL.

Hell, your ass should be in jail for poisoning him ALONE.

But I guess it's fine because James gets no consequences for doing this.

Then he also sleeps with Aiden before he got consent to do that. And Aiden never really said in that scene it was fine. But compared to the others so far it's the least bad.

What does bother me is that we see that he posted a photo of Aiden in his sleep on the Internet later in the season. Which is messed up cause again, NO CONSENT. AIDEN NEVER SAID THAT WAS OKAY.

And then Karol comes back and she wants revenge on James and Aiden. And even though James DID ABSOLUTELY HURT HER, he is still portrayed in the episode as the good guy who did nothing wrong. And Karol is just 'overreacting.'

Which, SHE IS. I will give it that. BUT STILL. JAMES HURT HER IN THE FIRST PLACE. But NOT ONCE, does he EVER show remorse for that.

Instead when he tells Aiden and Aiden sabotages Karol and gets her hospitalized, JAMES PRAISES THIS.

DUDE. SHE'S IN THE HOSPITAL NOW. THIS ISN'T SOMETHING TO ENCOURAGE.

This man is responsible for not one, but TWO characters getting sent to the hospital!

Repeat what I said earlier:

Listen, murder is wrong, battery is wrong. Riya tries to kill Aiden. Karol kills everyone. But you know why I didn't take much problem with that? THESE CHARACTERS ARE VILLAINS.

BUT SURE, LET'S HAVE OUR HEROIC POWER COUPLE DO THE SAME THINGS, INSTANCES THAT ACTUALLY GET MEDICAL CONSEQUENCES FOR THOSE PEOPLE.

WHAT A GREAT LESSON. /s

This is part of Aiden's 'gaining confidence' arc by the way. He learns that murder is okay.

I guess murder and battery is bad only if you're a woman? It's okay if the boys do it?

WHAT A GREAT LESSON. /s

THAT'S NOT PROBLEMATIC AT ALL. /s

I'm just saying, I don't like that. I don't like that this is portrayed as okay.

If you REALLY wanted to have the finale parallels hit harder and see James as the good one in the end, then why are BOTH OF THEM attempted murderers?

Why is Riya seen as a bad guy for leaving someone hanging on a cliff, but James and Aiden get a pass for sending people to the hospital?

Every female character that dares oppose our beloved gay power couple is an enemy and a villain that needs to be put in their place, regardless of their reasonings. Is this season misogynistic? I think it's that...

Then he loses his temper over losing his phone, accuses Rosa of stealing it and attacks her, BEFORE HE HAD ANY PROOF SHE DID IT other than "Well she had a background".

If James had not exploded like that, Riya's plan would have failed and everything would have worked out fine.

But again James gets no consequences for this nor does anyone bring it up.

Then he shoves Aiden off a cliff.

...again, he gets a pass. Riya doesn't.

(Though I get the logic behind that one.)

And then it's revealed to everyone that despite gaining love and respect for Aiden, James is STILL using him for views.

(Before you say he stopped prior to Riya finding the phone: Riya says she saw a message pop up offering him money to take a photo with Aiden. You get those messages popping up the moment they're sent to you. So this implies James was still doing it.)

COOL. I LOVE THAT THE GOOD MOMENTS HAD ANOTHER GROSS FACTOR TO IT.

And James gets called out and cancelled for this. Yay-I mean oh no how sad...

This is the only times James EVER actually gets ANY sort of repercussions for what he does btw.

So he feels really bad about what he's done and he misses Aiden and nobody is routing for him, but all he cares about is making it up to Aiden.

Then, AT THE FINALE, we finally get his backstory about how he's an insecure guy who wanted fame to mean something. Cool. IT'S THE LAST EPISODE. THIS IS TOO LITTLE TOO LATE.

Then he wins a million dollars and gets his boyfriend back!

So like, the only consequence he got, he decided did not matter anymore. And since the people on the show routed for him again after his apology, what's stopping me from thinking he won some followers back too?

Yeah... it's a decent arc and all, but MAN THAT EXECUTION.

It was just SO HARD to like him when you factor in ALL OF THAT. IT'S JUST SO HARD.

But, here's the thing... James also has some good stuff to that as well. He's not the worst.

Despite my feelings towards the ship, there are some scenes where he NOT being predatory.

Helping Aiden with is fear of thunderstorms is sweet. The fact that he decides not to check his phone and hang out with Aiden is sweet and nice character growth. He keeps his promise to Aiden to be honest about schemes. I like the movie banter. And again, Aiden's trans coming out scene is very sweet because James approaches it well and respectfully. Which you don't expect from him.

And on top of that, after he loses his followers, I do find everything he does and says after that to be genuine. I do believe he feels guilty and regrets his actions prior.

And I do find his apology and confession to Aiden to be VERY GENUINE.

He's not likeable, but that's the point. He's supposed to be someone who grows to be someone better and sees that fame is not what matters.

Love is what matters. Staying true to yourself is what matters. Your life is what matters.

The Anti-Riya. Again. The parallels are there.

So, I DO see it.

I would've then had Riya win the money to bring that message home cause then she'd be alone and stuck in an identity that's not herself for the rest of her career and life, and James and Aiden run off happily ever after because money wouldn't buy their happiness-BUT WHATEVER. THAT'S MY OPINION.

YOU HAD A GREAT BUILD UP THERE. JUST SAYING. IT WAS RIGHT THERE.

So really, my biggest problem with James is that he ticks off boxes of things I don't like. Without those, he's actually a pretty solid character with a strong arc.

I... kinda DO want to see James come back. Shocking, I know.

But put him in Season Three, and have him NOT do those things, and BOOM, I might actually like him.

ALSO, he poisoned Yul.

ALSO, he lent money to Rosa. WHICH I RESPECT THE HELL OUT OF, SO MUCH. THAT IS THE ULTIMATE REDEMPTION RIGHT THERE.

So you know what? For those things, this is going to be a VERY SHOCKING ranking.

A low B tier.

He rubs me off the wrong way. But I respect the story they were going for, and there were SOME genuinely good things he did.

Now granted, that ranking is VERY generous. I might change that in the future. Just because this is, again, the most MIXED character for me. The most "WHERE THE HELL DO I PUT THIS CHARACTER?"

So are you happy? I didn't put him in a bad tier. I warmed up to him.

I still would've preferred a Riya win though.

SPEAKING OF, RIYA IS NEXT.

Uh...

IT'S NO SECRET I LOVE THIS WOMAN.

I supported her no matter what! I said "Hey, if you want to leave Aiden hanging off of a cliff, you do it girlie! I support women's wrongs!"

If Riya has 1,000,000 fans, I am one of them.

If Riya has 1,000 fans, I am one of them.

If Riya has 100 fans, I am one of them.

If Riya has 10 fans, I am one of them.

If Riya has 1 fan, I AM THAT ONE.

So... yeah, you know where she's going. I'm a bias bitch with this one. 👑

This is my queen right here.

She's an evil queen, but she's MY evil queen.

I mean Grett's also here. Screw it. We can have two evil queens.

THIS IS MY FAVORITE SEASON TWO CHARACTER BY THE WAY.

There's not gonna be any character from Season Two that goes above her.

I was just really fascinated with her the entire time watching the season. I pretty quickly gravitated towards her character.

At first it was just "This chick is hot." I admit XD

But like,

LOOK AT THIS DESIGN.

You got the curly dark ponytail, contrasted with the gold folded dress and the scarlet red jacket and sandals, two colors I LOVE.

(The hot colors are my favorite colors)

LIKE, THIS IS A SMASH FOR ME. THIS SPEAKS TO ME.

(I'm ace though. I just mean by looking fab 💅)

I immediately went "THIS IS A QUEEN RIGHT HERE" as a result. And then I supported everything she did.

There's also something else that made me absolutely obsessed over her.

For those who didn't see my Season 1 reactions, in Episode 10 of that season, Ellie found herself in a conflict where she needed to get out somebody from the Tom/Jake/Miriam alliance.

And then Tom tells her he found an immunity idol.

So I went "There you go. Steal the idol from Tom and you can nullify the votes in your favor."

But no. She doesn't do that. Instead she makes this very convoluted plan with Fiore and Alec to use Jake's PTSD against him to ruin his relationship with Tom.

Not only was the plan so convoluted, but it was also very disgusting.

And she kept insisting that it was only way she could have gotten what she wanted.

AND I WAS SCREAMING THE ENTIRE TIME FOR HER TO JUST STEAL THE IDOL.

And EVER SINCE THAT EPISODE, it has become a running gag on my blog whenever I post Disventure Camp, to go INSANE whenever an idol shows up.

So when Season Two comes around, RIYA JUST WENT AHEAD AND DID IT. SHE STOLE THE IDOL.

She PROVED to me that my argument was justified. Stealing the idol IS, INDEED, THE EASIEST SOLUTION TO EVERYONE'S PROBLEMS.

SLAY QUEEN👑

It also made perfect sense in the narrative as well. This plan was DIRTY, but it was genius to get herself to the finale.

It's the Final Five. Everyone is ganging on Hunter because he wins immunity all the time.

And if Hunter wins immunity again (which is what ends up happening), then who's out next? James and Aiden WON'T turn on each other, and everyone loves Rosa. So Riya would've been next.

And Rosa has an idol. So the plan was to steal Rosa's idol from under her nose, and frame Rosa for theft to get the others to turn on her. Then without the idol, Rosa takes the votes instead of Riya.

And even if they find out Riya did this? Doesn't matter. She has the idol. She can use it for herself and guarantee her spot in the finale.

IT WORKED. And I have to give credit to a great plan where credit is due.

Girl KNEW what she was doing.

The only reason she lost in the end was because of a canon malfunction.

BUT THERE'S UNIRONIC REASONS WHY I LIKE HER TOO, I SWEAR.

We associate her with being a villain character NOW, just because of where her story went.

If I was to compare her to any Total Drama character, it would be Julia.

Both of them are twist villains in their respective seasons, and became such after being fueled by fame and viewership and support for nasty behavior.

But wouldn't say they're the exact same character, because in Julia's case, her nice zen self was the act and her true self was her nasty self.

Whereas Riya it's actually the opposite.

Because in the beginning Riya is a genuinely sweet woman.

Her story is that she is an actress in India down on her luck because she can't get any roles in movies to keep herself afloat. Even before she came on the show, very few people like her and support her. It's implied she doesn't have a great relationship with her family, and she didn't have any friends even there.

So when she went to the west to try and aid her career, her depressing lonely life hit her like a truck from culture shock.

I kinda wish they did more with showing her culture shock, but what we did see of it was still good. And I bet any immigrants can relate to what she says.

What I found really interesting was that at the start of the season, Riya says that her policy is to stay true to herself to stay strong.

But then her being herself is the very root of her failures in her circumstance.

The acting industry is BRUTAL and DEMANDING. I know this from my schools. They only want the popular people who fit these criteria's and can fit the personas required correctly. If you go there and be yourself, you're not gonna get ANYTHING.

Trust me. I KNOW.

So I was suspicious of Riya's story from how her policy contradicts her means of success. AND I WAS RIGHT.

It's also how the show works. This and Total Drama. Reality TV is corrupting because what they look for is entertainment. If you're not entertaining, you're gonna get a bad edit and then people online know you, but won't like you. So you see people acting to make these characters to appeal to the masses and get not only their chance to shine but their shots to win. By any means necessary, that's how the cutthroat game works, and that's what the success there is. And i's very easy to lose sight of yourself and your identity.

It was one of the things and theming's I found so fascinating about Total Drama to begin with. So you can imagine it's a soft spot for me in this show, where it's straight up explicit that this is what they're going for.

Deep down, Riya is just a sweet girl with a dream to make it as an actress, but she feels so alienated to the world and people around her as is that she craves and what she NEEDS is companionship.

But nobody goes to talk to her. Hunter Allyson and Tess go to YUL of all people, and Kai is insane. So most of them just ignore her and she's at the bottom of her team.

Despite this, she meets Connor and learns they have some things in common, and they bond over their culture shock. She's one of the key players in helping Connor come to terms with his age, and as a result, he becomes a close friend of hers.

COOL! I HOPE HE DOESN'T GET ELIMINATED OR ANYTHING-

Op, he quit.

F for Riya for sure.

Connor leaves and he gives her a very expensive perfume as a birthday present. And Riya absolutely treasures it.

She values it because it came from Connor, obviously, but there are people around her without knowing the meaning making comments about his luxurious it is. So yeah, it was a very subtle detail I picked up on, and I have to applaud that writing choice to make the perfume be that significant.

She finds an advantage to help her get out of her spot on the bottom, switching two people. Taking Yul out (SLAY), and bringing in Rosa Maria. Who Riya takes the opportunity to gravitate towards as well to be her trusted friend and ally.

...to the point where she's kinda possessive over her.

Everything's great until the merge, where Lake comes back to the picture, and it's clear Rosa has more faith and trust in Lake than Riya.

It becomes evident when Rosa only reveals she found the immunity idol to them ONLY after Lake joins them.

Now, Rosa cares about Riya too, so it's not that. Riya's being paranoid.

But I kinda see Riya's POV here of feeling betrayed and like her bond with these girls isn't as strong as she thinks it is. And she becomes so paranoid of them abandoning her that she ends up doing it herself.

Which then leads to her starting to prioritize the game and her career over these friends, and in the process she ditches her morals and her sense of self.

It starts small, when she decides to not warn Rosa about the votes against Lake to get Lake out of the picture. For the reason being she wanted Rosa to herself.

Then Karol comes in and gives her some advice.

"We don't fit in this place. And although they may seem friendly, in the end we are not a priority for them. Sooner or later they will want to discard us."

Which cuts Riya deep because that's exactly what her circumstance is. That's how the game works.

The Green Team wanted to discard her at one point despite her not doing anything to deserve it. Connor left. And Rosa didn't trust her enough to let her in on her plans until someone else was in the picture.

And then she's here witnessing the boys getting Karol to the hospital, and they are PRAISED for it.

Of course that's gonna go in her head.

So is it any wonder she did what she did and completely ditched her sense of self, in favor of this ruthless, cunning, villainess character?

It was only THEN that Riya ACTUALLY got success.

And that's the saddest part about it. How she was enabled to become this by the show and the people around her. Fame became the priority.

And in the end, Rosa denounces their friendship entirely, and everyone else hates her. All she has is Connor, and even then, they're on the fence.

I wouldn't be surprised if she ruins that too.

I love not only how natural the build up was to this, but also the ambition to do this negative character arc.

It really hit a soft spot for me to get a character with this story and have it be as explicit as this. Really showing how this industry works and how people in this field get corrupted in one way or another.

I LOVE gushing over her villainy persona. I kinda made some gags out of it. BUT ALSO, I can't help but feel sorry for her. She learned the wrong lessons. She didn't have to do this to herself. At the end of the day, she isn't this demon from hell. She's a person. A misguided person.

It's also why I would have preferred it if Riya had won.

I KNOW SHE'S A VILLAIN. But hear me out. The build up was there! They could have done something REALLY ambitious here by having her WIN, but she LOSES what was actually important.

It would've been very unique and very interesting instead of the safe "The good guys win and the bad guys lose".

I genuinely want Riya to win this season.

I get she might be evil, but it's Total Drama so who cares look what show you're watching, BUT THAT WOULD BE SO POETIC AND BRILLIANT.

She came here as an outsider outcast with no social life and desperately wanted it. But because of the game and what her career needed to succeed, she had to ditch both that and her morality so she could find success.

SHE WINS AND SHE SLAYS, BUT SHE WON'T BE HAPPY. HER LIFE WILL BE MISERABLE AND AN ENDLESS CYCLE OF ACTING SHE CAN'T BREAK FROM.

I WANT RIYA TO WIN NOW. THAT WOULD BE SUCH A GREAT ENDING. TOTAL DRAMA WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

But sadly no. She loses and Connor forgives her.

So maybe there's hope for redemption in Season 3?

Probably. Probably not. Honestly, they could go either way.

And since Riya was a finalist in Season 2, obviously my ideal Riya win is out of the equation now. They're not gonna have anyone be a finalist twice.

But, honestly, depending on the arc, I could also see there being a good excuse for her to at least make it to merge of Season 3. Maybe even Final Five or Four. Whether as a redeemed woman who saw the light, or someone who doubles down and loses everything.

I'm gonna make a prediction post once I react to the Season 3 cast select. By prediction I mean elimination order.

When I predict an elimination order, it doesn't have much to do with my opinion on the character. If it was solely that, then look at that, Jake and Riya are my finalists. But obviously that's a no and that's not something that would happen. I need to be realistic on that front.

I don't know. I'm going off track now.

Point is, RIYA IS QUEEN. I STAN HER AND I LOVE HER.

ALRIGHT! WHO'S NEXT?😄

🙃

*Moves to the end of the row*

TESS! TESS IS NEXT!

Tess is great. I like Tess. She might be my favorite of the polycule.

Looking at her design alone and looking at her on paper, she just seems like a Gwen knock off.

And I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the original vision.

She’s a woman who dresses in all black, is antisocial towards people in the beginning, and is tied to romantic plotlines half the time because people have a kink for goth girls.

But I personally think because both of these characters stories go in wildly different directions, Tess can still be called her own character.

I already said I really enjoyed her friendship with Allyson. I forgot to say this before, but I also love how neither of them actively go to antagonize each other to win the guy. They're very mature about the situation, and it's really appreciative to see that in some characters.

Again, I think Tess has way more chemistry with Allyson than Hunter BUT THAT'S JUST ME.

I can definitely see why Tess and Hunter would bond with each other due to their shared lifestyles of never being able to connect with people.

Not because they want to be alone. Not because they’re lazy. But because they simply struggle in the world in the department.

In Tess’s case, it has to do with depression.

And yes, they explicitly say that.

So skip to 🖤 if you want to avoid the subject of depression.

Tess is an orphan. She has had nobody her entire life. No purpose, no peers, no nothing.

It got to a point where she had been diagnosed with depression and needed to take meds to prevent herself from being suicidal.

Hunter finds out this is what's going on with her, and he approaches her about it. And he is very respectful towards what is going on. He doesn't judge her. He just makes it clear he understands and wants to be by her side.

And since that point, Tess starts to open up a little more to Hunter and Allyson and form a bond with them. Even when she, at first, expects the worst in Allyson. She is proven wrong when Allyson helps her out of a panic attack.

It's clear that Tess's motivations didn't involve winning the million at all. She just wanted the experience. She just wanted to do something with her life and feel alive.

And in that sense, her victory is finally forming a bond with people that love and accept her for who she is. Even when it feels like there's no reason for them to do so.

I love her elimination for these reasons.

Tess eavesdrops on everyone else and learns they are planning to vote her off.

She COULD, if she wanted the million, try to scheme and prevent this from happening. IF SHE WANTED TO.

But as she approaches the unassuming Allyson and Hunter, what does she do?

"Guys, there's something I want to tell you."

"We are SCREWED. Nice knowing ya."

"I just want to say... thank you."

Oh? Awww...

"Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for insisting on reaching out to me, even though I'm a mess. I was horrible to you, and yet you treated me with kindness, patience, and love. I... I am very, very happy that I came to this camp. Despite many horrible things I've been through.... meeting you two has been on of the best things that's ever happened to me."

AWWWWWW. HONEY. OH MY GOSH...

I'm actually touched. SWEETHEART.

Tess... just quietly accepts her fate. Because she has decided what matters in that moment.

This wouldn't work for any other character. If it was any other character, I would have called BS, and that they could've absolutely done something to save themselves from winning.

But BECAUSE IT'S TESS, someone who got her win already, I'm glad they did it like this.

I have a loved one who goes through depression. And I myself am seeing a therapist. So in terms of how they handled the subject of depression itself...

I think it was pretty respectful all things considered. Again, I love how Hunter and Allyson approach it with her she has an episode. Said episode is very real for anyone going through it. Sometimes you just spiral into a sea of negative emotions and everything just feels hopeless and meaningless. It's very real.

I also LOVE that they NEVER treat this as a joke. That was one thing I was SCARED of when I saw the pills, but they took the subject with the seriousness it deserved.

And they NEVER spoke in any way that this a good thing to say or feel. They were merely just patient.

I really like that.

🖤

In terms of where I'd rank Tess...

I mean I think she's great. I'll put her in...

A Tier. Above Ellie? ...yeah, cause Ellie's stupidity REALLY bothered me.

I WISH they MORE with Tess's backstory.

That is the ONE reason why she is not in S Tier.

We know from ONE LINE that she is an orphan. That's it.

Other than that, we don't know how she got depressed, what her life was like to explain the depression, or anything.

Well, you can't EXPLAIN depression, so maybe that's not the right way to word it. But you know, knowing more about her past would've been nice to at least give audiences their own conclusions to draw.

I just feel like I SHOULD know MORE about Tess than I actually do.

Give her more backstory and she could be S Tier.

But I still love her. I also like that she's an artist. That's really cute.

HUNTER

HUNTER IS MY PICK FOR BEST BOY OF SEASON TWO.

...I'd give him B Tier.

Yeah... looking at this tier list and that statistic, I really didn't like the male characters in this season, huh?

Yeah, looking at the S Tier and the Stan Tier, only TWO boys in those tiers. WOW.

And neither of them are from Season Two.

Anyway, about Hunter.

It's kind of funny that the label he has is "The Player".

But uh... he's really not?

He just hangs out with other girls. That doesn't say anything about him being a romantic player. He's not trying to play with these girls emotions. Willingly, anyway.

He's more just an introverted guy trying way too hard to be social. Mostly because he doesn't get out a lot.

And it's actually kinda cute to see him try and fail to make social connections with these people. The card thing is really cute and awkward. And I love how oblivious he is towards romantic subtext.

I knew it was wrong, but I still kept reading Hunter as aromantic. He was giving me that energy.

I don't hate that it was wrong, I'm just saying.

Hunter is asexual. I'm not taking criticism.

He also has really good chemistry with the girls, and I buy he would struggle to figure out how to approach the subject of their relationship. Not because he's manipulative, but because he has a hard time sorting these things out.

CAN YOU SAY "AUTISTIC CODED"?

If I liked the other guys better, Hunter probably would be lower, but here we are.

He's just, a REALLY nice and genuine guy. He's never antagonistic towards anybody and is going out of his way to help them out and be respectful about what's going on.

This man KNEW a woman's depression meds were important to her, and he went out of his way to save some and keep them in a safe place in case anything bad happened to her bottle.

BLESS THIS MAN'S HEART FOR THAT ONE.

And even when he becomes target number one, it doesn't mean he's doing anything malicious. He's just a physical threat because he's constantly winning immunity.

EVERY TIME FOR BULLSHIT REASONS MIGHT I ADD.

Except the last time.

Episode 7, the ring holder said "Lol nope" to Lake.

Hunter didn't even win the Episode 8 challenge, Karol just shared immunity with him to stir the pot.

Episode 9, he loses his blindfold AND his partner going down the sled. BOTH OF WHICH were REQUIREMENTS. And yet he STILL got immunity.

It got RIDICULOUS. And kinda made it predictable that eventually they would HAVE to beat Hunter. Because if he bullshat is way to the finale and won, people would be LIVID.

Ngl, I kinda feel sorry for him that this became his circumstance in the merge XD

Dude did nothing wrong leave him alone.

But it's also because of the merge that Hunter isn't any higher unfortunately.

Once Tess is eliminated, Hunter kinda just becomes bland and I stopped caring about his plotline. I was just waiting for him to go home.

That and Hunter really isn't a character with a lot of emotional range, like I said. He has the same thing going for him that Allyson has. But at least Allyson had the gamer girl motif so she was a BIT more of a standout.

Oh and he allies with Yul at one point. WHICH IS A NO NO.

He says his reasoning is "If Yul is in the game, attention is on him and not me." BULLSHIT. HAVE YOU WATCHED SURVIVOR?

If you ally with a villain, and people realize they can't vote the person out, they're gonna decide to take out their allies. They have to if they want the villain out eventually. This is EXACTLY how you get a target on your back!

And that's exactly what happens. Once Yul is gone, Hunter has NO PLAN.

HE'S A FLOATER.

Anyway, mostly I'm just impressed that they made a love triangle that WASN'T completely annoying. In Total Drama that's a miracle. Nobody tried to kill each other and nobody was painted as a bad guy!

OH ROSA. SWEET ROSA!

GOD BLESS THIS WOMAN. OH MY GOD.

Listen, as we've established, I love the messy characters. I latch onto the messiness and unstable characters because they're so much more interesting to analyze.

But if everyone was messy, nobody would be, ya know?

Sometimes, you just need that one SUNSHINE in the cast. That one character that just handles everything thrown at them with a smile on their face and genuine kindness.

ROSA IS THAT CHARACTER.

Everyone else here has SOME sort of angst and trauma and drama going on. And it weighs them down. And while Rosa has trauma too, she handles it with her head held high.

And dammit, that's inspiring.

I previously called Rosa "The Paddington of this cast". And I still stand by that.

Not exactly the most dynamic, but they don't need to be. Their strength and their role in the story is to have their sunshine-filled goodness rub off the people around them to make the world a better place.

She very quickly stood out to me for being not only one of the nicest people ever, but one of the mot optimistic and happiest people ever.

IN A TOTAL DRAMA KNOCK OFF SHOW.

THAT'S IMPRESSIVE.

These settings are usually VERY mean spirited and sadistic and cruel. And yet despite that, she stays true to herself and doesn't let them wipe away her smile and positive outlook on the world.

Her story is also very interesting to me.

She's an extroverted Latina teenager from a not so safe neighborhood. There's a lot of scary messed up people where she's from. Despite this, she was a bit of a flirt with the boys that came and went in her life, all for happiness and satisfaction.

And then she got pregnant from that. And people did not take it the best way. Especially when it forced her to grow up fast. Teenage mother and all that. The lack of support and the fact that she had to become a thief to survive gave her every reason to look at the world negatively. But she still knew that wasn't the future she wanted for her daughter. So she held it together.

She came to the show to financially support her daughter and her future. And DAMMIT, I WAS ROUTING FOR HER TO WIN.

I thought she WAS gonna win for the longest time. She had everything going for her. A strong social game. She was physically capable. Nobody wanted to get rid of her for the longest time. If Riya didn't interfere, she probably would have won.

But she got money from James in the end, so you know what? Can I gaslight myself into thinking Rosa won?

Fuck it. ROSA WON.

It's a strong foundation that plays sense into all of her actions.

She's kind and social, and will give you a hug. But she also has a backbone and a bit of a no nonsense attitude. Especially towards bullshit like Yul existing and Riya's scandal towards her. Which the latter she had EVERY RIGHT to be pissed at, and I LOVE that she doesn't forgive Riya. That tells me Rosa isn't naive and knows when people can't be helped. And the former, GIRL WAS ABOUT TO THROW HANDS. AND SHE DID SO WITH A GODDAMN SERIAL KILLER.

HOW CAN YOU NOT STAN?

I also like how Rosa can't really FIX anyone's problems. She can give advice, but not everyone is gonna take it. Lake snaps at Rosa when she calls out her parents and they have a falling out. She straight up FAILS with Riya. Like, girl, why didn't you trust Riya enough to show her your idol sooner? After you knew Riya was weary about friendships. That said, I would still say Rosa was undeserving of what happened to her.

Oh, and she decides to betray her own alliance just because she felt bad for Hunter. Which is... girl, no. Hunter's not a bad guy so I get it, but GIRL. IT'S A GAME.

James still had to apologize on his own. Lake still had to find her independence on her own. Rosa's just there to be a light bulb. But I really like that for her.

She's also not above justice. She knows when to put her foot down and call someone out. Again, with Riya. And SHE was the one who suggested they sneak in Krystal's tent to steal Riya's perfume back.

I also love love LOVE that she's into astrology. That's a huge ME thing. But I LOVE THIS SO MUCH.

I love it when characters have hobbies like that.

I LOVE HER LIBRA NECKLACE, OH MY GOD.

I also, again, love Rosa's dynamic with Lake and how much of a mother figure she becomes for her. I also like how she stuck with Riya despite Riya being the outcast. It wasn't until Riya betrayed her that she ended that friendship entirely. Rightfully.

Is she a stan...?

Yeah.

THIS GIRL DESERVES THE WORLD DAMMIT!

She's a Paddington. That's all I'll say. She is a Paddington and a beacon of light in such a CRUEL, MISERABLE environment where there's so much deception and hate going around. And not only does she refuse to get pushed, but she also says that sweetheart. I SALUTE HER.

Sadly, I don't think she'll get to go far in Season 3 because she already has money from James. She might get some sort of conflict with Riya, but that's it. But you know, I would like to see that get fleshed out. I like to see a scenario where Rosa doesn't like a teammate and wants them to get eliminated. Rosa deserves that.

ALRIGHT, that's it with the contestants! Now we can move on to the hosts...

🙃

...oh wait, I did forget someone!

🙃

OLIVER

You remember Oliver, right? He competed.

Yeah I don't have much to say with this one. He was the first boot. His backstory is being a Gen Z employee. And he spends the rest of this season as Krystal's intern and getting abused.

Which, you know, I DID feel bad for him.

And he DOES serve a purpose to the story as someone who becomes very important to Krystal and her struggle to maintain her sanity. He's a light in her life. Despite the abuse, he doesn't lose faith in her and sees the best in her when no one else did.

It's nice. I like him. I'll give him a B tier. He served his purpose well.

I will say though, it was HIS FAULT that Aiden almost died. Dude is in charge of the safety equipment in this show! And he's been very good about that all season.

And then SUDDENLY he forgets to get anything set up in case someone falls off the FREAKING MOUNTAIN?!

OUT OF CHARACTER. BULLSHIT. CHEAP DRAMATIC EFFECT.

Who is this? Marcus?

Oh that's his name.

Uh... I actually have NOTHING to say. Why is this character even here? He doesn't do anything aside from be protective over the doll. Remove him and the season does not change-

-oh wait I just remembered the puppet.

She did kill everyone that one episode.

Just... WHAT THE HELL EVEN IS THIS THING?

IS IT A PUPPET? IS IT A CHILD? IS IT A DEMON FROM HELL???

I DON'T KNOW. But, idk, I kinda love not knowing in this case.

Top of C Tier just for the puppet.

KRYSTAL MCLEAN

Daughter of Chris McLean. Yes, THAT Chris McLean.

So, when it comes to this show, I don't really care about the hosts.

In Season 1 especially, their plotline just did absolutely nothing for me. And I didn't care about the duo's dynamic either. It was very boring.

Important, but boring.

KRYSTAL ON THE OTHER HAND.

Honestly, I actually DID dig her storyline.

She's certainly NOT Chris in terms of icon. But I really liked her.

I really liked her story about being a executive trying to do her job and get the show picked up to work, and dealing with childhood trauma and her way of being raised getting in the way of her actions and manic behavior.

Like, she was a bad person. And I don't deny that. Especially in the start of the season where she enslaves the campers in a challenge and tells somebody to throw their depression medication in a fire... it's disgusting. But it's also supposed to be.

But she wasn't very one dimensionally sadistic. She doesn't WANT to be that way. It was just due to how she was raised with her neglectful father being THAT MOTHERFUCKER, that she lashes out and lets those teachings take hold of her.

And it's not until she loses Oliver that she grows to realize she actually respects him as a person and she NEEDS him in her life. He put up with her when no one else did. Which is something that meant a lot to her. So she REALLY puts in the effort to be the best version of herself to keep him around, only to burn herself out because of how much of a culture shock it is for her.

Idk, I liked it, and I found it interesting. She was very interesting to me. Especially since she's tied to a lot of this show's lore.

So I'll give her an A Tier. She's the best host character.

*Groan*

This took me three days to make. But I can avoid it no longer.

It's Yul's turn.

Fuck this fucking piece of fucking shit from fucking hell...

I mean it's no secret I hate Yul. Right?

I think the reasons I hate him are pretty obvious as well.

Disventure Camp really likes fleshing out its characters and going beyond their stereotypes and roles. Making them far more human.

So isn't it great that we have a character that IS nothing but his stereotype?

And he's also one of the most COMICALLY UNLIKEBALE, SHALLOW, SADISTIC, OFFENSIVE BITCH BAGS I've ever met on a Total Drama season.

Like okay, he shows up, first thing that comes out of his mouth is a joke about a woman's menopause.

Then we find out he's here because he was cancelled in his country for SHOVING AN OLD LADY DOWN AN ESCALATOR.

Then he proceeds to bully Maggy cause she's a big girl. He continues to do this to the point where he costs his team the challenge just because he doesn't want anything to do with her.

And then he also tries to KILL AIDEN with a mushroom.

And then the entire time when people are calling him out on his crap, he proceeds to ignore all of it and insult everyone's race, gender, sexuality, body type, etc.

He was giving me Velma flashbacks if I'm being honest. (He's not as bad though cause at least we're supposed to not like it.)

He didn't NEED to be one of the most complex characters of the cast. But even the Total Drama characters that are meant to be their gimmicks and nothing else should at least have an entertaining gimmick.

So what's Yul's gimmick?

He's a biggot.

...where's the punch line?

Not only is that not funny, but it's also extremely problematic. For obvious reasons. And there's NO backstory to explain it either.

Like, you can be a villain and still not turn off half of your audience. Just saying.

OH WAIT, HE'S A VILLAIN. I'M SUPPOSED TO HATE HIM.

OKAY SO ALL MY PROBLEMS ARE NEGATED, RIGHT-?

NO.

Because as a villain, he's SHIT.

One, he's not even the main villain of the season. There is nothing about his character that serves any way to push the themes further. He has no impact on making Riya a villain at all.

Not that he needed to be, but this man wants to be Grett SO BAD. With NO understanding of what made Grett good.

Like, NEWS FLASH, HE DOESN'T DESERVE TO BE IN THE SAME ROOM AS GRETT.

He spends the entire game with his strategy being to be a biggot to EVERYONE, and rely on a four person alliance who stayed in that... BECAUSE.

Again, HE was the one who made the Green Team lose the kissing challenge.

You'd think a villain would WANT to win, right? He doesn't have any interesting strategy. He's just a douche for the sake of being a douche.

I mean, I guess he lies to Aiden to get a vote thrown...?

But that was James' idea, and that is BAD for Yul because then he gets in a tie with Maggy.

What if he lost that tiebreaker?

DON'T PUT YOURSELF IN A TIE LIKE THAT.

And then the only strategy he comes up with on his own is murder.

Great. I'm sure that won't backfire at all.

So no. Yul does not get points for being a villain. Especially if he's shit at the role.

Oh, and something else I find disgusting and really problematic about him:

Disventure Camp and Total Drama characters have labels. Something to establish their stereotype or something major about themselves.

Riya is the Bollywood Actress. James is the Influencer. Allyson is the Gamer Girl. Tess is the Asocial. Etc. Things like that.

Yul's label, the thing that defines him, is "The Korean Dancer".

...

His label includes his race.

See the problem?

There is absolutely NO redeeming qualities about this character WHATSOEVER.

It is my absolute HONOR to give this man the ONLY F TIER ON THIS LIST.

And the only way anyone is gonna join him is if Season 3 really REALLY REALLY fucks up their character.

FUCK YUL. FUCK THIS PIECE OF SHIT. I NEVER WANT TO SEE HIM AGAIN.

Okay, but I WILL say though: It is FUN to dunk on him.

He is one of those "So bad it's funny" characters.

Does shit to his ranking. But you know.

The DMs I've been getting talking about Yul have definitely made me like Yul more than I would have if I was just watching the show for yourself.

Like, some of your rewrite ideas for him? A+. I bet your fanfictions would make me like Yul a lot more than in canon.

So, I may hate the character and never want to see him in canon again, but I do love dissing him and bullying him.

When he was eliminated due to mushroom poisoning, I was laughing and cheering. It was hilarious.

And again, Kai roasting Yul lives in my head rent free.

Fuck Yul. Truly. FUCK. YUL.

And that’s my ranking! Let me know what all your thoughts are!

[narrativelysignificantturtleduck]

ok i know the sex ed post was ages ago but I saw it in your most liked tab and it got me thinking, particularly with zukka, that even though they had sex ed they wouldn't have had gay sex ed. zuko grew up with sailors + the royal family in homophobic fire nation, and sokka got probably taught by gran gran about having babies. so all i can think is that if they decided to take that step when older, they are gonna have no clue what to do. queue sokka very very awkwardly shuffling up to bato who he knows is in a relationship with his dad and saying can I ask a question. promise not to laugh at me. except bato is less amused and more mildly horrified that sokka has chosen him to answer these questions

oh my god yeah. like, i'm not sure gran-gran's sex ed would've been heteronormative - depends on what you think the southern water tribe's attitudes are - but there's a very strong possibility that sokka, as a sexist teenage boy who thought he was straight, may have been like GRAN-GRAN EWWW STOP LALALA I'M NOT LISTENING

like the convo went: here's how babies happen -> sometimes grown-ups do this without the intent to make babies -> people can also do it with people of the same physical sex -> sokka running away screaming

he now regrets that.

for zuko, i think he might have. um. hands-on experience. y'know. on the ferry. with jet. does that prepare him for being in an actual relationship? probably not.

i'm not sure either of them would want to ask for guidance tbh. both of them canonically have experience with women (azula saying "mai seems to be in a good mood lately" had an undertone to it, sokka and suki in "the southern raiders") and zuko has some experience with men, so they'd probably just assume it's fine. figure it out as they go. it can't be that hard, right?

that said the image of sokka asking bato for advice on having gay sex is SO funny. bato knew he was signing up to be a dad when he started dating hakoda but he didn't think he'd have to give The Talk. also he has to be really careful about what examples he uses since his current gay sex partner is sokka's dad. (i imagine bato had some other relationships, but they all ended bc they realized he'd never value them above hakoda.) also sokka is asking specifically because he wants to have sex with the fire lord and like bato knew they were dating but he's never gonna get over how weird his life is now. "my stepson is asking me advice on gay sex so he can fuck the fire lord". truly wild.

meanwhile zuko has started spending time at piandao's bc he needs a father figure since iroh fucked off to ba sing se (plus piandao knows fire nation politics & can help him navigate being the fire lord) so he walks in one day and is like "yeah i have a question. not about politics but uhh. personal stuff" and piandao's like "oh what is it" and zuko tells him and piandao is like "i'm so honored you're asking me" and goes to his library and finds him a guide to gay sex that got banned in the fire nation but piandao managed to find a copy (he has a lot of illegal gay lit) and hands it to him like. go have fun kiddo. i'm rooting for you guys.

the other possibility is that suki (who is still dating sokka, they have an open relationship) finds out they want to have sex and knowing the state of their sex ed decides that they need a Lesson. it's a very good lesson because kyoshi island has very good queer positive sex ed but sokka has some interesting feelings about his girlfriend teaching him how to have sex with his boyfriend. not bad feelings. just interesting

ANYWAYS this is a fun topic and thank you for the mental image of sokka asking bato about gay sex

[jdorian]

Hi I'm back having now watched the episode and oh my god it has been a very very long time since an episode of TV made me this emotional - i don't cry in general but this came very *very* close. Also no one I know is watching it so I hope it's fine that I'm just ranting in your inbox XD

I know you said it was good and emotional and yet it was even more than I expected?!? I think what is striking me so strongly about Brilliant Minds is that you can feel that everyone in the room just /cares/ so much about the characters and the stories they're telling? There's a tenderness underlying all of the character beats we've seen so far, from Oliver to the interns (Dana and her backstory especially comes to mind) and now to John Doe. Having that whole storyline expand over multiple episodes, building up anticipation, finallly meeting him (and oh the dialogues! Playing chess with Dana! Thanking Jacob! Aaaaah). I also really love and appreciate how they've addressed assisted dying, the ethical and emotional quandries that come with it, how your medical team might react to that... So so good. (On another note, I don't know if you're much of a podcast listener, but the very first Invisibilia episode deals with another Locked In syndrom patient - with a happier ending, though - and I couldn't stop thinking about it throughout the episode)

Honestly unsure how they're going to continue/top that in the following episodes, but I'm just so glad I'm along for the ride.

hiii, i'm glad you enjoyed it, i was trying hard not to give away just how mindblowingly good it was agxvgss

as you said, you can just tell that the creators and the writers and the actors and everyone cares a lot for the show, but they are also just there to have fun and it frees them up creatively, i mean i think that much is visible on the show and in the bts stuff they post!

but the show goes out of its way to humanise people with neurological and mental disorders instead of just magically fixing them up and sending them on their way, which is frankly so rare and even rarer to have it this well done. actually, i couldn't really bring up another example at all.

the way they broached the topic and the way they handled it was amazing. i mean... this person was locked in and he had someone who would've cared for him until the end of both their lives, doctors who cared about his wellbeing, his quality of life and him receiving help and love and they all cared enough to respect his wishes and let him die in a peaceful manner anyway, where he was surrounded by people who cared for him, who went out of their way to make it a genuinely good experience (as good as dying can be a good experience, anyway).

clearly my mind is blown, but all that and the way they shown the interactions between Roman and his boyfriend and the interns and Wolf and Carol and just... it was beautiful, painful and skillful storytelling.

it was everything i never knew i needed to see on television.

and i agree, i absolutely love how they just drop some info-nuggets and then let them be, until they expand on them in later episodes, be it the backstory of the interns or Wolf or any of the patients, they don't rush things that don't need to be rushed and get things done quickly to make a point when that serves the narrative better (the latter be more at play in the next episode, but no spoilers).

(also i don't know that podcast, but it does sound interesting for sure!)

in any case, i don't mind that you went long cuz so did i and this episode and this show certainly deserve the attention, so i think it speaks for itself how invested we both are agxvsgs

i'm glad you enjoyed it and thank you for sharing your thoughts with me <333

[batsplat]

Wait what's this about Casey, Marc and getting kicked out of honda

ah just a fun bit of old gossip. to clarify in case the phrasing in this post was confusing, we're talking about casey's role as a test rider with honda after his retirement, so 2013-15 (not casey's initial retirement from his honda ride, which was ofc entirely his own choice)

so! first of all! from the moment casey retired, everybody was going 'when will casey be back'. this wasn't based on anything casey was actually saying - it's just how people are about retirement announcements ig, the disbelief at how early casey retired, wanting to see him race again, refusing to believe he might actually properly be done. when the riders were asked about it in pressers, they usually gave very neutral 'sure that would be nice' responses. when casey was asked about it, he was generally pretty firm in going 'I'm not interested' and also 'stop asking'. but in 2015, dani made the decision to pause his season to get an operation for his recurring severe arm pump issues. he ended up missing three races, and inevitably people went, 'hey you know who would be fun to have back for a few races, you know who also happens to be familiar with the honda bike'

and this time casey WOULD have been up for it. except, according to him, SOMEONE didn't want him to race:

now fwiw, we have zero proof that this 'someone' was marc, although ofc that was something people speculated about at the time - the idea being that marc wouldn't have wanted to be undermined by casey outperforming him, especially in the context of a tricky start to the 2015 season. (funnily enough, the phrasing does echo the "somebody inside Yamaha didn't want me there" thing; a topic for another post but I'm pretty unconvinced valentino was involved in blocking casey's yamaha deal.) and... given this is the same interview where casey talks about his belief that marc forced him out of honda (which we'll get to)... I mean, he must have at least known it's a conclusion people would draw

marc was asked in pressers about casey racing as dani's replacement, and he basically stuck to 'it's not up to me'. some more casey quotes:

I like to think 'I would've won that' was one of casey's main takeaways from sepang 2015

anyway at the end of 2015, casey left honda to join ducati as a test rider. here is an excerpt from a piece about it at the time, saying marc had complained about casey's performance level as a test rider:

you'll note the HRC sources disagree with casey on how good casey's pace was; unfortunately we'll never really know either way. (in any case it's not particularly great form for sources to 'let slip' that your test rider's pace is poor, even if it was true, but there we are.) and ofc there's the assertion that marc felt 'threatened' by casey and/or didn't think casey's feedback was valuable. here's a screenshot of the piece from speedweek being referenced:

again, a lot of this is obviously hearsay. we don't really know how hard marc pushed to get rid of casey (if at all), and certainly not for what reasons - whether it was casey being too slow or the quality of his feedback or marc's ego or whatever else. we do know casey thinks marc wanted him out because marc felt threatened by him, as he's very helpfully said as much:

casey does make it clear he doesn't have any proof that marc (and his entourage) felt threatened by him, but, well. either way he did believe it. this story dropped in january 2016 btw, so at a time where press coverage of marc was not exactly at its friendliest anyway. marc hasn't really ever responded to these assertions afaik - but when casey ended up leaving ducati again at the end of 2018, he was pretty lukewarm about the idea of casey returning to honda:

here too there's nothing from marc's side to suggest any real antipathy, but of course we also don't know whether he's being honest about his reasons for preferring the distinctly unthreatening bradl. and finally, casey has more recently (aka start of this year, 2024) said that he left honda because they only listened to marc:

which is also obviously relevant now in the context of honda's long-term decline and marc's decision to leave (criticised in some quarters by those who feel marc is at least partly to blame for said decline)

anyway ofc this is all very he said she said, so who knows what really happened - but the fun bit is that nobody can quite agree! all a bit messy isn't it. it's very low stakes beef, kinda nice... but it does also fit in with casey's whole outlook towards the sport, where he often feels like he's being unfairly treated. and (this cannot be stressed enough) a lot of the time he was right, he was being unfairly treated, so it's absolutely possible some underhanded stuff was going on here too. believe what you will! who knows!

[adobe-outdesign]

i love your korbat review! i hope it’s ok to request a color instead of a pet. could you review some UC grey pets? thank you!

(Similar to the species reviews, I'll do an overview of the color as a whole followed by my top three picks, plus a bonus extra least favorite.)

I'm not sure which member of TNT decided that there should be a paint brush for giving your pet clinical depression, but hey, I'm not complaining. I love neutral palettes, and the colour itself is super distinct—it would've been easy for this to just be a recolour ala silver, but instead they really went the extra mile in making it unique and distinct.

The only drawback to grey is that it has always been one of the colours impacted the hardest from customization. The entire point of the colour was less the palettes themselves (which are primarily, shocker, gray, sometimes with pink accents) and more the gorgeous artwork, which was incredibly expressive and sometimes outright beautiful. By making all the grey pets fit a rigid pose for customization, the colour ends up just being a recolour that happens to make your pet slightly depressed, instead of the full-on misery fest it used to be before conversion.

That said, I will defend customized grey pets a little—they do work as a great neutral base for customization and can look quite pretty when dressed up correctly. (Of course I, someone who has a converted grey Kougra, may be slightly biased.) Otherwise, this colour is best suited for UCs.

Favorite Species:

Yurble: The converted version is fine; it's not overly sad looking by any means, but that makes it a good base for customization. However, the UC version is the star here. What a fantastic design—the unfurled, limp ears are just perfection, and the long mane and drooping face are just wonderfully miserable. I also really like the pink eyes, which stand out nicely against the grey. The grey itself also has good contrast, with the dark eye markings really making the eyes pop.

Kougra: While this isn't the most interesting grey pet out there, I really like the overall look of the Kougra. The converted version doesn't look all that sad, but I like the subtlety stressed vibe and, like the Yurble, this makes it great for pets of any personality.

(Also, the customized version removes female Kougra's half-lidded eyes, which is a massive improvement across the board.)

Meanwhile, the UC is outright adorable, sporting a sitting pose, floppy ears, and an upward-looking expression befitting of a dog in one of those donation commercials. Once again, the pink eyes draw attention to the face, and the contrast between the shades of grey is good. I do think the stripes could've been a little drippy-er to really get that sadness down, but still, a very nice looking pet overall.

Acara: I was debating between the Acara and the Ixi for this, because I like both, but I have to go with the Acara for two reasons. First, the customized version looks pretty good—I appreciate the addition of tears to help make it look that much sadder, seeing as the pose is gone. It's not as neutral as some grey pets, but if you want a converted grey pet that still looks a bit sad, this is a good pick. Also, the pink ears and paws look lovely.

And secondly, the UC has a really neat thing conceptually wherein the horns are draped forward over the head instead of behind it. That's such a simple but fun visual touch, and like the UC grey Yurble's ears, it really helps to convey a sense of misery via the actual pet design. I also really like how it's leaning forward and looking up, like it's too tired to stand correctly. Great stuff.

Least Favorite Species:

Chia: Gotta give this one to the Chia. Even if you ignore the fact that it was made post-customization, meaning that there's no UC version to compare, it's also just really boring even by converted UC standards. There's no nice pink accents (unless you count the tongue), the hair looks fine, even the expression just looks more bummed out than depressed. I could've easily seen the feet being pink or the hair being mussy, or some deep shadows around the eyes; something to convey, well, anything, really. It's an alright customization base, but nothing more.

[doodlegirl1998]

I remember reading a post somewhere on Tumblr, I don't remember the exact one, I know it involved how Uraraka's plot was handled and how it could've been handled better.

One part is saying that Twice should've been her villain since they both dealt in poverty, one had support while the other had nothing.

And I think that would've been way better than what we got. Because if Uraraka and Twice were to have more genuine interactions with each other, she probably would've seen some of herself in him and how she could've turned out if she didn't had her parents or her friend's support.

Twice also probably would've been touched that a hero had suffered something similar but is able to keep moving forward despite the hardships and not having as much.

So what do you think? You think it would've worked better than the stupid love triangle that's happening?

Hi @theloganator101 👋,

Yes!! Twice as Uraraka's villain would have worked so so much better narratively.

In fact, this will be an unpopular opinion, I feel like because of how Toga and Twice were set up by Hori, their roles in the narrative being switched would also work better if one of them had to die.

Hawks killing a minor (Toga is seventeen) would be harder to excuse and brush under the carpet for him. So more consequences.

Twice would feel extremely guilty because now his worst fear has happened and his best friend has died because he trusted the wrong person.

Twice having a big moment of going full villain in the final battle would be more impactful and jarring than Toga who was honestly a full villain before she joined the LOV. Since he would go from a kind, goofy guy led into villainy and crime through his circumstances, mental illness, poverty to someone consumed by the need for revenge (rather like Dabi.)

Speaking of Dabi, there was more of a friendship between him and Twice and him and Toga. So having Twice fighting Uraraka getting more distraught because he was thinking he lost another friend while fighting her would be more impactful.

Also his fight with Uraraka would be more focused on his grief, his circumstances (that are rather like Uraraka's sans support) - the parallels between them both would be interesting to explore. Uraraka would have an easier time empathising with him.

Hawks would not have a fun time - could imagine Twice sending a legion of Toga clones his way, and only calling off the attack when Uraraka gets through to him.

Plus we would see more Twice asking the honest questions to her like "How do you keep going?" "How do you stay so positive and strong? I admire you, dude." "I was so stupid I trusted the hero who went and killed Toga-chan. How do I know youre not like the guy that killed my buddy? Toga-chan just wanted a place to belong like me..." Uraraka I could see providing him with the answers, support he needed as well as helping him forgive himself for what happened.

Toga (other than her sweet moments with Twice) was set up as an unrepentant blood yandere. Her friends? Her family? No mention of them (no build up of a mysterious past like Dabi either.) She's also a mass murderer prior to joining the LOV - so that's harder to redeem than Twice who wasn't and to my memory only committed burglary.

In my opinion, the Toga/Uraraka fight as it played out in canon was a mess. Hori seemed to try to do too many things at once and failed to give any of them real depth in the process.

Not only that by he failed to explore Toga's vengeance for Twice in more depth by distracting it with the love triangle B.S.

Hori doesn't allow her to really go all out trying to kill Hawks like she could have with the clone army.

He failed to explore Toga's backstory properly (I.e did her parents actually hit her? Her kissing her friends wound better - what happened there? Did she actually just press her mouth to the wound and suck? We don't know but she's covered in blood.)

Uraraka just her 'bond' with Toga, calling her the "cutest" and saying she wants to talk about romance now is all SO forced. Whereas the parallels with Twice were all already there.

TLDR - Twice should have been Uraraka's villain instead.