#i'm interested but idk how this plot is going to last a full season. something unique has gotta happen soon

[nostalgic-shamefest]

Deadass though, let's play script doctor cause the patient is coding. How to fix the mess in our hands:

1. Probably best route. Bobby's coma dream.

Pretty self explanatory. Everyone is acting wildly out of character cause they're not themselves. They are Bobby's perceptions of them. Bobby who knows his wife will be impacted, but who -having only recently dealt with his intense suicidal tendencies- doesn't yet comprehend the level of impact his loss would have on the people in his life. He expects Chim to be angry at him for not consulting him on the choice, making the monologue about there being no other choice his own subconscious regrets and pondering. He expects Buck to be strong, just like he asked and not need him there, cause that's what he genuinely hopes for, for him. He knows Hen will cry but thinks she should embrace her role as captain in his place. He expects Eddie to be preoccupied with his own family drama and not really show up besides to mourn him, cause again he doesn't think he's all that important to the people that love him. And he obviously knows he'll devestate his wife. He expects her to throw herself into her work. He wishes and convinces himself his step kids move on immediately and just cry at his funeral momentarily, cause the thought of them suffering is unimaginable.

It's all tied up by the beautiful bow of the subplot being a memory of his. Bobby was there. Bobby remember losing that baby to the fire. Bobby is telling his wife this story to convince her to let go, in his own subconscious

In reality after he collapses he's immediately put on life support and Chim's blood gets drawn so they can remake the cure from his antibodies. Bobby wakes up to find the havoc his impending loss has caused to his loved ones. He entirely reconsiders how he views the importance of his life for the people around him

Positives: last episode makes the tiniest bit of sense/ Actual exploration of long term suicidality recovery process/ juicy chance to explore what actually happened to the characters during Bobby's coma, dare I say even next season.

Negatives: they're for sure not doing that at all. I'm convinced they don't have a fuck to spare for these characters anymore. Doubt they could pull something like that off.

2. Classic 911 fuckery, the resurrection

Fuck realism we're going beenado evil doppelganger up in this bitch. The disease actually only makes someone appear dead. Idk how the fuck he survived the freezer. Don't ask me. Plot hole alert. He wakes up buried next to his dead family. Memory loss could be very interesting here. He wakes up with very little recollection of his life at the place where he experienced his most severe trauma. He gets to rediscover who he is and what he did. Will he choose to go to LA again? Will he lead himself down another path completely. News of his empty grave send his poor window on a downward spiral since last episodes subplot makes her doubt her own gut and sanity.

Maybe she finds him next season. Maybe that's the cliffhanger. Or maybe she finds him and he doesn't recognise her. How will she convince him to come back to her after he's found out what he's done, without any memory of all his progress

Positives: juicy Bobby drama/ heavy angst/ maddie boston parallel type shit/

Negatives: heavy bobby nash character regression/ doesn't fix the bad out of character writing in the last episode/ they're not doing it at all they don't care they hate their audience I-

3. Classic 911 fuckery, electric boogaloo.

Lab rat Bobby

We're going full tin foil hat on this one. The disease makes you momentarily appear dead. He is being kept in a chemical coma by the lab scientists and is being experimented upon. Because he's the last living organism to have carried the virus. Something something big conspiracy. Heavily supported by the lack of corpse!Bobby (I'm so sorry for that) showing up. He eventually manages to wake up, breaks out and shows up on national television or something, forcing them to let him go. He signs an NDA and that that on that. It's another action lacked little nothing of a plot but then Bobby is back and we proceed with the show.

Positives: bobby's alive/ shaw trap ass plot

Negatives: shaw trap ass plot/ sucks ass kinda/ doesn't explain yesterday's horrible horrible writing choices/ basically this would have worked if last episode got retconed/ they're not doing it they don't care.

[zmediaoutlet]

i'm watching season 8 and i can't seem to figure out why sam wouldn't even attempt to look for dean.

would you say it's in character for sam after 8 years? trying to wrap my head around it and struggling.

hello hello anonymous friendo -- I answered a similar ask a while back (...two years ago) which I will cannibalize here.

I know the reason a lot of people want to reject it out of hand is that “Sam would have looked for Dean.” I get it; it’s tough that he didn’t. But there’s a difference between Sam should have looked and Sam necessarily must have, and the fact that he didn’t is so OOC we have to invent a full on AU for him. I mean, for one thing, the actual canon information as presented doesn’t contravene the idea that Sam did actually try but failed, and gave up* after failing. He was alone with a busted car, zero help (Bobby dead, angels not listening, demons not answering the phone, etc), and had no idea if Dean was dead or just winked from existence (because why would he assume that he went to Purgatory?). With zero leads and dead ends at every turn, it’s very easy to insert like a month of him failing and then he hits a dog – and then, because he feels intensely guilty, telling Dean that he didn’t really try, because his efforts were so paltry that he can’t even count them as trying. …but even that isn’t really that much of an argument. One thing that I find happens a lot with the Winchesters in fandom discussions, but especially with Sam, is like… not allowing them the dignity of their choices. Which – like, duh, they’re fictional characters, they’re written a certain way. But there’s a real tendency to leap to OOC claims or “the writers don’t know what they’re doing!!” whenever it’s something we wish the character wouldn’t have done because we don’t like it. But like… that’s not how characters work. Characters do shit I don’t like all the time; it doesn’t mean they didn’t do it, and that I shouldn’t try to fold even that disliked thing into my conception of who the character is. (Important caveat: there’s a great post by astolat that talks about the venn diagrams of audience belief and canonicity in texts with multiple writers that makes this more complicated. Still, I think that variability comes in small details as she mentions in that post, or indeed dumb little moments of Jensen improv in spn canon, rather than whole-ass plot arc decisions.) Sam stopped looking for/didn’t look for Dean when he disappeared. That’s interesting. Kinda sucks, and the show and Sam himself point out multiple times that it kinda sucks, but that doesn’t make it uninteresting or OOC, especially given the Sam we have who is nigh indomitable. The fact that it was his choice speaks to a Sam who’s really just… beaten down. And why wouldn’t he be? Slings and arrows from birth all the way to age 27 when he threw himself into the worse torture imaginable – then he got saved, hallegoddamnlujah, and he thought maybe he’d be there with Dean, living a life he could choose for once instead of one he’d been forced into by destiny – and then it was just another apocalypse, and enemies on all sides, and every friend and ally and hope just torn away, one by one. It’s a miracle he got to keep the car. I can see that Sam, in that last torn circumstance, just – going into hiding. He hits a dog and then inertia keeps him in one place, spinning his wheels. He meets a girl and she kinda sucks but she’s prickly and rude and not-samey enough to prod him back up into life, and at that point it’s been months and Dean’s gone and he thinks, if this is life I guess I can live it. He can’t go back to the shell of a life he loved with Dean and it’s just… too much. He’s always been very, very good at putting one foot in front of the other. (It’s why he manages to live after the finale.)

the @spn20rewatch is entering s7 today -- idk if this is a rewatch for you or a first time through, but it's worth really thinking about the circumstances of right then in canon. As fans we often cling to the part we thought was most compelling -- i.e. a Sam fan might think back to e.g. Mystery Spot or something and go, there's no WAY he wouldn't fix it and damn the consequences! -- but one of my favorite things about these guys is the ups and downs they go through, and Sam at the end of s7 is in a VERY PLUMMETING DOWNWARD spiral. At some point the people you love die. It's gonna happen. Most of us have to accept it as a matter of course; it's really interesting to me that Sam can accept it, too, even though he knows it could be otherwise.

[raayllum]

Soooo you don't think that shot of white-streak Callum in the trailer is a dream/vision/hallucination or something, right? We had something similar in the s6 trailer (Dark-magic Callum that ended up being a nightmare), and I'm really hoping it isn't something like that again. I have two logic thought-processes about this: 1) they wouldn't show something that big in the trailer, so it must not be a real occurrence and 2) they wouldn't bait us again, so dark-magic callum must be real

but idk

what do you think???

I've gone back and forth on it (more discussion of the shot itself here) and unless the cube itself can be corrupted, I lean towards that portion of it being a dream. However, I could see Callum's corrupted face and white hair being more real, as we've seen dark magic dream visions and reality collide in S5 with Viren, and his nightmare in 6x03 didn't have the white streak. More notably, if the whole thing is a "vision colliding with reality" for Callum's appearance, that does make sense to me. We know Aaravos can give visions (Janai in S5 and implicitly in S6 with her continuing nightmares) even to people who haven't done dark magic or aren't even mages.

His mouth in the scene does seem to match up with the "however dangerous," so I wouldn't be surprised if that line is happening concurrently with Callum looking at the cube.

The biggest indication that it's not quite reality is, of course, the cube itself, as we've only seen it take on that red dark magic symbol appearance in Callum's 2x08 dreams, although there it wasn't upside down. (Maybe it is now because he knows the promise of power is ultimately false and temporary?) I think it's worth noting, though, precisely what that version of the cube represents.

So is Callum having a dream or a vision — a glimpse of who / what he'll become, because he has full awareness of what this choice will do to him? The dark magic cube represented a predetermined destiny, symbolized by the path of being a dark mage ("I have followed a dark path" / "the path of fate is already chosen" / "what if I'm on a path of darkness?" / "and destined to play right into my hands"). The fact that Callum is holding it, considering it, and the fact that "however dangerous, however vile" is in the trailer at all? It seems like maybe he's accepting his 'destiny' and doing something he knows is dangerous/vile but worth it ("I would do anything for you") to him in the "In the name of love" show/arc.

While Idk if the trailer clip is reality or a mixture of both dreams and reality (it could be entirely Aaravos sending him a nightmare or something), I think the "however dangerous, however vile" + all the previous seasons set up from even s1 is clear that the "Callum does dark magic and gets corrupted/possessed again" is what the narrative legwork is currently pointing to. They can't really bail on it because every season of arc 2 has directly contributed to it (s6 allowing it to be wholly Callum's choice/agency because unlike in 5x08, he's not vulnerable to Aaravos regardless anymore) and because it's the last season of the arc, so it'd be strange to 1) push it to arc 3, and 2) not talk about sacrifice ("you told me to never sacrifice the greater good for one person, no matter who it is") in the "sacrifice is the theme of s7" season. Like Callum has to get corrupted so he can be possessed so Rayla can have the other half of the plot line in killing him or not (and she'll save him the way he saved her, so). Yeah.

That said if you're interested in more specifics, I'd recommend this meta I wrote about how S6 sets up Rayllum's S7 plotline(s) a few weeks after S6, cause like every part of the trailer was just another drop in the "yeah this is where we're going bucket", tbh.

[ineffable-human]

Season 2 Hot Take - We're Being Manipulated

Yes I know this is going to sound like a conspiracy theory, but is it really a conspiracy if its true? So, as someone who spent the last four years obsessing almost entirely about Gabriel's character and arc (do not get me started on him in S2) and not much else, I feel like I have a different approach to Aziraphale and his actions. I mean, I'm sorry but I just don't buy the fact that Aziraphale is so deeply traumatized that he would return to heaven just like that. I just don't.

Like, c'mon, season 1 Aziraphale, the utter bastard who straight up lied to God's (metaphorical) face, who got gut punched by some 'bad angels', who was sentenced to death, who tried to talk to God for help and got the run around, merged with season 2 Azirpahale who saw that heaven would just let kids die and not understand why it's bad (also please don't get me started on his 'you really were truly awuful' line, I cannot), who learned the that line between right and wrong is blured and that sometimes graverobbing can be good, who found out he could do magic the real, human way, would not just be like fuck yeah heaven is the good guys let's gooooo. I just don't buy it. And I want to trust that the writing in season 2 was purposeful and for a reason, because I want to trust that Neil Gaiman knows what he's doing (weird plot-device of the miracle block aside of course because idk how that could possibly be explained properly). And one of my friends pointed out to me that season 2 was/felt very influenced by the fandom. So what makes the most sense? That Neil Gaiman would just write some really weird and off-character stuff to match what the people want? Or that he would use the fandom's expectations to influence how they react to a situation and event in order to hide what's actually going on? I mean, look at all the information we're missing.

We don't know what Aziraphale's relationship was like with heaven between seasons (and I'm thinking he had to have some kind of relationship for the Bookshop to still be considered an protected embassy. Because let's face it, vindictive lil heaven isn't gonna keep a triator safe for no good reason).

We don't know the full conversation between Aziraphale and the Metatron (and the fact that Aziraphale's response after the whole Crowley as an angel thing is blocked off is the most interesting tidbit of all. We never actually find out what Aziraphale said, and we know he hadn't given Metatron a real answer before he went to talk to Crowley {yet the Metatron walks in after as if Aziraphale already said yes})

We don't know how and why it was so easy for Gabriel to sneak off after the trial. (Like, I know all the other angels are clueless, but the Metatron has clearly shown himself to have a strategic mind and, let's be honest, he would have seen something like that coming).

There's so much we don't know about, that's being hidden and held back, and we don't question it too much because it's easier to just fill in the blanks with our four years of headcanons and ideas.

And all the posts that Neil Gaiman interact with just further these ideas! I mean, let's face it, he's not gonna like this one because it's too close to the TRUTH (and also because he's busy and there's like a million posts a day but MAINLY BECAUSE OF THE TRUTH)

Aziraphale is a smart character, who knows that heaven is toxic. He's strong and stubborn, and I truely don't believe he's going to just slide right back into that abusive relationship without a Plan. Aziraphale doesn't want to go back to heaven because he knows they aren't really the good guys, but that's the argument he uses because that's the only one he knows how to use. It's his default setting. (and the Metatron is most definitely probably listening in on them so Aziraphale clearly can't say what he actually wants to say, which only contributes to their horrible communication skills).

Aziraphale doesn't need to learn that heaven is in bad shape. He already knows that. But what he didn't know was that he could fix it. He's spent 6,000 years seeing all the cracks in the foundation and not having the power to do anything about it. That's his whole arch in season 1; taking control and doing what he can to fix the wrongs he sees.

But even now the idea that he actually has the power or influence to make the changes he knows are needed is a foreign concept. And the Metatron offering him the job is kind of like Crowley offering him the food. Azirpahale didn't know he could want to actually change things. That he could be the one to put in a suggestion box. He's not going back to learn the hard truth, he's going back to change the hard truth before others have to suffer a similar fate.

Our ideas and expectations were shattered, but that's only because we were coming at it with those expectations. We let them cloud the real story and distract us from the TRUTH.

This whole entire season was a magic act of the highest form using fan-service and shotty writing (dear god please let it be on purpose) as smoke and mirrors. and we're falling for it.

(And while we're on the topic, may I just slip in as an added bonus, Crowley has only himself to blame for Aziraphale thinking him becoming an angel would be a good thing, because how can he expect to go around calling Aziraphale angel all the time and looking at him the way he does and NOT expect Aziraphale to just assume that Crowley thinks being an angel is the best thing since sliced bread????)

[dabuerre]

so for the past week or something ive been watching farscape!! and i love it. shocking i know haha

but no, genuinely, im suuper onboard. its kinda funny but the last two episodes hyped me up even more. makes me really happy that the whole crew just.. love moya, and her child that much :D that speech John gives Moya, so she leaves :( its so beatifull.

I love Zhaan now even more then i did before - the fact that they are descended from flora kinda blew my mind, but it makes perfect sense!!

i wanna see a full on redemption for Rygel. let him be emperor again, but better? i dont know if thats possible for his character, but frankly, anything is possible, if Crichton basically forgave Crais :D that mightve changed though, since he has now kidnapped the child.

D'argo might also be dead, probably not, but, i dont know yet! im gonna be starting season 2 soon.

oh and Aeryn :( super interesting character. i really wonder who her father is. im guessing that might become a big plot point eventually.

Fuck Scorpi for his usage of the chair, i wanna see him put there, although, he might be kinda resistant to it, so idk. he seems to be kinda telepathic?

John Crichton though is just there to suffer. and he just forgives!!! i love that about him. in "A Human Reaction" they literally recreate Earth for him, kill his friends, just to test him, and he is like.. yeah guys. peace! lets get a beer someday :D

and even Rygel!! like that man just oozes forgiveness haha.

if there is one thing i dont like, its how many women John like gets involved with :D like there is the tech girl, forgot her name, i still kinda hate Chiana for telling her that John loved her, when he obviously didnt at that point anymore, like genuinely, why did she do it, just for manipulation? i mean she is kinda like that i guess, a survivor? idk. but yeah her death was super like... kind of uhh.. freebie? not sure if thats the right word for it but yeah hehe.

and also he fucking kissed Chiana, although she kinda initiated it and he did pull away pretty quickly but yes still awkvard and uhh mee no likey.

anyways i love this show, i love my motley crew of "criminals", so im gonna go watch more, and eat my horribly burned popcorn. life is great

oh and, i love the intro?? like, the music is great, but just the line "I'm John Crichton, an astronaut, a radiation wave hit and I got shot through a wormhole" :D for some reason, it just makes me laugh.

hey, how did you get here?

oh, you know, a radiation wave hit and i got shot through a wormhole

[princess-of-the-corner]

I think Adrien always being on time, Akumas or not, is more indicative of the writers not wanting to do anything with him than it is of Marinette's character with her always being late

Realistically, who should have a harder time balancing their super and civilian lives timewise, the intended to be average girl from a middle class working family, or the teen model who's been well known since he was very young, is the son of a former film star and the fashion designer who's outfits he models, who's super busy and restricting schedule is constantly mentioned? Adrichat.

Except, of course, Adrichats super busy schedule, his controlling father, and the two fully grown and very competent adults who's literal jobs are 'get this kid to this place at this time and don't lose track of him' never actually matter when he needs to be Chat.

But hey, an actual story arc where something like, idk, Adrichat being stuck at an event for so long he completely misses an Akuma fight where Ladybug is barely able to scrape by without him happens long before episode 100, and Adrichat realizes 'oh, this is gonna happen again if I can't figure something out' and he spends a season going back and forth with his father until he finally manages to get Gabriel to drastically cut back on his modeling, which then opens Adrichat up to being involved in his own civilian plots that don't just involve Gabriel being a dick would be ... a fun and interesting use of the characters.

Let's point and laugh at Marinette being late bc she spent so long drooling at...an add of Adrien in his normal civilian outfit.

Bc that's better writing!

(i know we've all pointed out on this blog that Mari getting in good with a bunch of celebrities in the past year kinda defeats the point of her being a 'normal girl with a normal life' but the writers never address that, so I believe they do intend for Mari to be seen as a mostly average teen with a talent for fashion and a secret identity, so thats how I talked about her in this)

Oh yeah no like.

It's absolutely a thing where they should focus on both of them but they just don't.

Because yeah it's. Logically: Adrien /should/ be having far more trouble than Marinette if only because even his free time should be accounted for. While Mari has some genuine free time where she doesn't have anything planned and can do whatever she wants last minute and off schedule and just say to her parents 'hey I'm going to go out' and they're like 'okay cool be back by curfew', Adrien has to request hangouts 4-7 business days beforehand and is often told no because Gabriel is a controlling fuck.

And there's multiple potential stories with this!!

As above: Adrien is having trouble sneaking away to be Chat Noir. Either he ends up being unable to leave and Ladybug suffers for it, or he does leave and ends up missing/late/etc. for his other duties and he's punished for skipping out. Maybe even accidentally making his friends look bad because Gabriel thinks they're bad influences encouraging him to skip out. This forces Adrien to either figure out better ways to sneak off, or he manages to get Gabriel to relax his schedule to allow for 'more social life', or hell maybe we have a Gang of Secrets situation with The Gorilla as the confidant and he helps convince Gabriel that Adrien is where he's supposed to be.

OR! Or! Let Adrien lie. We've already had one or two instances where Adrien sneaks out/lies about where he is. Go full force on it. Sneak around Gabriel by pretending to be where he's supposed to be. Forge notes and gaslight Bustier into thinking his father pulled him out of class. Might be a little tricky since this is a kids show to teach good morals but 1.) HA! 2.) they have Adrien break these rules on occasion anyway and 3.) just have an exchange with Plagg where he suggests sneaking out again for fun social friend things, and Adrien goes 'no, that's wrong. I only break the rules because I have to be Chat Noir and save people! I'm not going to do it for fun!' This could even set up for the Lila plot as a narrative foil in someone who lies because they have to vs. someone who lies for fun and profit. Even hammering it home with Adrien feeling guild despite his situation.

Hell, you could even set up other plots like the Chloé stuff! Have the school staff not report Adrien's absences. Either because they think he'll be like Chloé and demand daddy fixes it, or even have Chloé cover for him by actually playing the card. Whether you see this as her using her abilities for good to help out a friend even though it's still 'wrong' she's trying, or any abuse of power is bad and therefore more proof she's a dick depends on the season.

Just. Could've done plenty with it.

[hughjidiot]

Thoughts on Season 2, Episode 1 of the Total Drama Island Reboot

So I still haven't seen season one of the reboot in full, only bits and pieces. (IDK what the hell is going on with the US release schedule.) But I've seen enough to get a feel for the plot and characters, and it seems really good. Now the second episode of season two has been leaked and I was able to watch it in full, so here are my thoughts. Spoilers below the cut, obviously.

So Priya is mentioned multiple times as being the season one winner, and to my knowledge Bowie's ending hasn't aired anywhere. Some are wondering if Bowie will even get an ending, but I think he will - alternate winners have been a thing in Total Drama since the beginning, and the finale of the season one was shot in a way that the winner can be interchangeable. So I'm pretty sure Bowie will get an ending where he canonically wins.

Not sure how long Priya, Milie and Bowie will stick around to be honest, since they already got a lot of screentime in season one. Pretty sure Bowie will stick around for a little bit to give us some Rajbow, but I'm not sure about Priya and Millie.

Speaking of Millie, she continues to be her socially awkward self. It's also a nice change of pace to see her genuinely trying at the challenge, even if she still isn't very good.

Caleb is an interesting one. He's obviously still bitter about being voted off first last time, and now he's determined to prove himself. Some have been predicting that he could evolve into a full on antagonist like Justin did in TDA, but I think it's still too early to tell one way or the other. If they go the antagonist route I at least hope he's better than Justin was, who was basically just Alejandro's buggy prototype.

Chase and Emma broke up offscreen, which I'm honestly glad for. I hope this doesn't lead to another "will they/won't they" that lasts for much of the season. In fact if I'm being honest I kind of hope Chase is an early boot and Emma finally moves on to someone who can actually treat her right. That'd be some good development on Emma's part.

Ripper... I'll be honest, he's one of my least favorite contestants of the new generation. He does fit his role of an obnoxious jerk, I'll give him that. But if I'm being honest I hope he's also an early boot because there are other characters far more deserving of screentime; particularly those that got eliminated instead of Ripper back in season one. Which leads me to...

Axel is one of the contestants I'm most excited to see in season two. She's the newest in the "abrasive tomboy" archetype after Eva and Jo. Eva never got any major character development and Jo always stayed a jerk with the occasional moment of kindness, so I was hoping Axel would be the one to break the trend and get some real character development. What we've seen so far with her saying she's trying to be nicer has me cautiously optimistic.

Speaking of character development, how about Nichelle? I and many others expected her to get training and become a stronger contestant, but I wasn't expecting to see evidence of that right off the bat in the first episode! She's another contestant I'll be watching closely.

Damien didn't do a whole lot, which kind of surprised me. Damien was at the top of my list for being a major character in season two, after he lost in season one right as he vowed to start taking the game seriously. But that can still happen; it's only episode one after all, and you can't frontload the first episode with every single plotline right away.

Seeing Julia and MK being on good terms and showing mutual respect was something I didn't see coming after how things went down between them in season one. But you know what, I'm here for an MK/Julia alliance arc. Also MK is my favorite character of the new generation and I look forward to seeing her schemes, especially after she talked about getting her hands on an intern uniform.

Wayne and Raj are wildcards to me, I honestly have no idea how long they'll last or what their specific plots will be. But like I said earlier with Bowie, I think at least he and Raj will stick around for at least a little while for Rajbow. It's genuinely one of the best written couples the show has given us.

Zee I don't picture getting very far. As much as I like Zee he already made it fairly far in season one, and not sure how much material they can get out of his whole "influencer" arc.

Last but not least, Lauren AKA Scary Girl. As a fan of her it hurt to see her voted off first, but I understand; there's other characters that are far more deserving of screentime, and Lauren is pretty one note. That being said, it's obvious we haven't seen the last of Lauren. I'm guessing she'll pull an Ezekiel and keep sneaking back onto to the show to disrupt things.

And that's everything. So far I'm really enjoying this new season and I'll be following it closely.

[jyushi-thoughts]

have you watch the Takoyaki Party? how do you like it? I'm kinda satisfied cause I'm surprised by the descriptions about Totoko's growth😊she's such a nice girl who loves fish as always☺️☺️

OOC: I have! Funny you send me this ask, I was just about to talk about it on my main! EXTREMELY LONG RAMBLE INCOMING!!

Ahh what a sweet little movie.. While the wacky shenanigans are my favorite part of this show, I always still love a slice of life "nothing happens" kind of plot. And it couldn't have come at a better time honestly. I've been feeling like Totoko a lot lately.

As a character, Totoko hasn't really been focused on in depth very often, but it's clear that she's always had a problem with comparing herself to others. She always wants to be better than everyone else, and feels self conscious about it. She's also always trying to force herself into feminine stereotypes that don't really fit her personality or interests. It's nice to see that explored a little more here, though it's osomatsu san so they won't get too deep into it of course.

She's anxious at the pressure to become a "real adult" like Nyaa and her brother Fighting Yowai are. Specifically the focus here seems to be on having children. I mean when you really think about it, that's the supposed "end goal" of being what society says is a "proper adult" yknow? Especially for women. She's clearly feeling kinda behind when she's seeing Nyaa chan be an independent single mother, and now with her brother coming home with his wife and new baby. Totoko is nowhere near ready to be independent like that.

Sooo it's easier to just forget about real life for a while and hang out with the Matsus! They're always the same, ever since they were kids! They're not "real adults" either, but they seem to be carefree and having lots of fun every day! So everyone in town who has to work so hard, they can just party with the matsus for as long as they can!

The matsus are sorta anxious about their lack of independence too, but that feeling kinda lessened ever since season 1. It seems like over time they accepted it to the point where they're PROUD to be NEETS now, or at least apathetic to it. So to them, they don't really understand why everyone else wants the sleepover to last forever. Time stands still for them anyway.

Plus either way, while they are pressured by society to be "proper adults", it's kinda different for them as cis men. Totoko's focus on having children is something that comes with very different social expectations and baggage. Pretty much all women are expected to be mothers someday, and it can feel incredibly stifling and stressful when you know that there's a time limit on that. A time limit on finding a partner and settling down, thats terrible! Plus then, even when that happens, the idealized version is never the reality. At the party, everyone is so happy. The old guys are full of energy, and Nyaa's toddler is behaving as a perfect cute angel. But in the split second flashbacks at the end, we can see the tedium of their day to day jobs, Matsuyo coping with aging, the struggles Nyaa goes through to raise her baby alone, ...Dayon's cat dies or something.. idk

So isn't it easier to forget about that reality and hang around with the matsus, who always go at their own pace? That's way more fun!

I've also been thinking too, on a more personal level. Gosh this show is 8 years old. ITS 8 YEARS OLD!!! ITS IN THE THIRD GRADE! What a nightmare the passage of time is. So yeah I've been feeling like Totoko. And I'm sentimental about this show! For whatever reason, my brain decided to fixate on it for all this time.

The matsus were kinda my ambassadors to adulthood really. I just graduated highschool and was starting my first semester of college when I first watched this show. And the feeling of "oh god we're supposed to be adults but we don't know what we're doing!!" that went from being funny to WAY TOO RELATABLE super quickly. And man, back then I certainly didn't think id still be feeling that way after 8 years. I'll probably be feeling it forever. Buuut reality still goes on and time is passing, and we're all older and Nyaa chan's baby is a toddler now. But the matsus are the same, and for a little while we can forget about reality and party with them for a little while~!

Even if the matsus are reeeeeeallly sick of it..

And that reminds me of another thing too. When the matsus were like sick and dying and begging for sleep when the whole town was forcing them to keep partying... That.. was meta commentary right? Like, I can't interpret that any other way. Like the show writers are just trying to tell us that they're BURNT OUT. Which, let's be fair, that's understandable I guess. (I mean not to ME because I feel like the matsus have infinite stories they could be used for but. anyway.) If that's true, and the writers are just begging to let the matsus finally go to sleep. I'm kinda fine with it! I genuinely think that this movie is a PERFECT series finale. It brushes on the anxiety of adulthood that the show is known for, it gives a spotlight to the beloved side characters, and it feels like a nice calm little summary of the whole thing. We had a fun party with these guys, and we can go back and play with them whenever we get tired of being adults for a while.

...so yea! I liked it! :3

And I'll be ready in 20-30 years when they reboot it as Osomatsu-Ojiisan where the brothers are all middle aged lmao

[besidesitstoowarm]

"The Pandorica Opens" thoughts

this story is so much fun. i think if i thought about it longer than twelve seconds it wouldn't make any sense but since when has that ever stopped the show. it's interesting how people talk about how amy is "too special" as if donna/s4 never happened bc the stakes in that finale were so much higher than this one imo. i admit i'm biased in favor of this story bc 1. river is here 2. matt smith kills every monologue they give him and 3. i wanna fuck a centurion

we don't do plot recaps of steven moffat episodes bc the pace is so breakneck that it would be prohibitively lengthy but as ever some standouts: churchill tries calling the tardis and when it doesn't go through, the tardis reroutes the call to river, the same way my vet clinic reroutes calls to the local emergency room after hours. river threatens blue varys to get a vortex manipulator "fresh off the wrist of a handsome time agent" jack harkness mention. river defaces the oldest cliff face in the universe and commits to a full cleopatra cosplay because "you wouldn't answer your phone" i love their shenanigans

amy loved the romans, amy loved the story of pandora's box. the pandorica is described as a fairy tale the same way "amy pond" sounds like the name of a girl in a fairy tale, i love when stories are about stories. river saying she hates good wizards in stories "bc they always turn out to be him" ooh whatatwist. i really love the doctor talking to amy about the holes that are left behind when things fall out of time, "if something can be remembered it can come back" it's obvious foreshadowing for the next ep but it's also a key part of the doctor's ethos. when something or someone is gone, it's never really gone because you still hold it in your memory. i think this is a key aspect of "last christmas" but i don't remember that story well enough to say for sure

cybermen, daleks, everybody hate me nobody care me. my bf said the cyberman head tentacling amy is the closest they've ever come to being threatening and i would agree if i hadn't seen "world enough and time" which of course he hasn't yet. the doctor gets to give a big ass speech yelling up to everybody about coming at him bro "let somebody else try first" i think this is at least the third speech like this in this season but idc i love all of them. matt smith does utterly slay those moments, like "one thing you never put in a trap" or "everyone who has died because of my mercy" or the entire end of "rings of akhaten" sorry to david tennant but you do not give what is needed there

so they all shove him in the pandorica bc the universe will explode bc of him, the cracks in everything are bc of the tardis exploding (which it does w river inside at the end), rory is actually an automaton who shoots amy after fighting to stay himself as long as possible. "idk miracle?" is the funniest possible explanation for how rory is here. i don't remember if they give it a real explanation but i do like that he's so fundamental to amy and her memory that the nestene consciousness had to include him

oh and vincent van gogh was here. there's a lot going on okay

[kmze]

Thoughts on 3x01-3x11, lol I WROTE SO MUCH but this season (especially this half) has so much happening it's kind of impossible to not have a lot of thoughts. This is also where the show starts to embrace being more comedic (like this show is really a dark comedy at it's heart) so that helps. More characters being involved in the supernatural business also helps and up-powering Tyler is great for the plot IMO. I don't think Klaus was as strong of a villian as Katherine was last season (he is so whiny in the first half) but he started to get a little more interesting after he came back, maybe he just needed his hybrid minions to become more interesting. More below, I even broke it up in episode order!

3x01

Isn’t Elena’s birthday in June? She said Ric spent half the summer on the couch but that would mean it’s gotta be late July early August, right? (don't know why I'm even trying to make sense of this show's timeline)

I forgot that A Drop in the Ocean was played during a montage and included Forwood sexy time! What a moment. When I first watched the show the Stefan and Elena scene at the end is when I actually started shipping Stelena, it was the first time I really felt like they truly loved each other (song helped too because WHAT A SONG I always sing-a-long). I didn't feel that same buzz this time though, but maybe too much time as passed (and that damn scene in 6x02 saying this was when Elena fell in love with Damon takes a lot away from my old feels). I'm getting such a buzz from Forwood though!

3x02

Elena’s getting on my damn nerves with this stupid rescue mission in the woods during a full moon… I don’t understand how Ric and Damon agreed. I fail to see any reason for this nonsense plan.

3x03

The moment in the 20s flashbacks when Stefan is looking at Rebekah while Klaus is talking to him and then he turns and looks at Klaus with the biggest heart eyes I have ever seen him use how am I supposed to not ship it? The way they keep using "brother" to hide the extremely heavy gay subtext too I S2G. If this show was made 10 years later on a better network with better writers that subtext would be straight-up text! Think Louis and Lestat on AMC's Interview with the Vampire. In that just world I would have gotten canon Klefaroline dammit!

3x04

Caroline is a much better person than I because she's protecting her Dad meanwhile I'm counting down the episodes until he drops dead.

Stefan is really off his game (happens when he's too emotional about something) I cannot believe he got out-manipulated by Rebekah one of the most easily manipulated characters on this show. Pathetic really.

As soon as Beremy started being cute the writers start fucking it up for Bonnie. Makes me madder watching it all over again and how much they never give Bonnie the devoted love interests like Caro and Elena. And I like Jeremy and Anna but I’m so annoyed at this whole storyline in how it’s treating Bonnie I can’t even enjoy it. GFY Julie.

3x05

Completely forgot Bill Forbes taught himself how to resist compulsion (IDK why too it's a big plot point oops) and I can't believe none of these idiots bothered to learn how. I like to believe Caroline did and there's a class at the Salvatore Boarding School that teaches it.

The gym buzzer countdown was a nice touch lol.

3x06

I like that Rebekah narrowed in on Caroline and was like “you, I want your life” because she sees the vision and the potential! In all seriousness though I wonder if Rebekah having an interest in Caroline is why the writers picked Caroline to be the love interest for Klaus (since it parallels with them and Stefan in the '20s). Things that make me go hmmm.

I'm with Ric and Caroline, every time I see or hear about Damon and Elena I was to scream "stop molesting her!" UGH! He is always invading her personal space and it annoys me! The part where Elena said Damon needed to use his charm to distract Rebekah and Ric said "better luck finding a dagger" and you see Caro in the background laughing was the best.

Kinda happy to get a break from Klaus for a few episodes, he's just so one-dimensional during this time period and frankly annoying.

3x06 made me laugh so much even though I'm not sure I was supposed to laugh as much as I did. I mean Ripper Stefan is never not funny (a jerk but a hilarious jerk) but the scene were Ripper Stefan and 1,000 year old Rebekah are sitting in Ric's HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY CLASS just kills me, like what even is this show. Also laughed at Tyler being a "d-bag" baby hybrid, and you knew he was sired as soon as he didn't want to help lock up Stefan. HA!

Um, how did Rebekah get into the Lockwood mansion?

3x07

How did Lexi make Stefan think he’d been bleeding out for years? Is that a vampire power they just never used again or is it a special ghost power? I don’t remember this ever happening again.

Caroline fighting the ghost-vamps in her ballet flats lol the cutest!

3x08

Elena dealt with Ripper Stefan for like an hour and was like "absolutely not, Damon you do it" LMFAO which reminded me of the gifset that made everyone mad.

The Defan convo in 3x08 about Stefan always saving Damon for the bajillionith time even without humanity reminds of the convo in Damon’s head in 8x10 a little. This is a good season for them if I remember correctly, obviously I always enjoy them more when their causes of contention aren’t solely about Elena.

Elena making the Beremy breakup about herself, she really does have a gift. Even Bonnie was like really?

Bonnie ignoring Jeremy and giving him a death glare 1000% BB you deserve better you brought his ass back to life and lost tons of witchy power doing so he deserves to feel like shit!

3x09

Oh this is the first time Tyler and Caroline get into it about not including each other in schemes. This is kind of always a cause of conflict in their relationship but it’s a good cause of conflict because it makes sense. Tyler has a pack mentality (werewolf/hybrid) whereas Caroline is more independently driven (vampire). Like Caro said so much supernatural boyfriend drama.

Elena stabbing Rebekah in the back with the dagger is one of her best moments (even if I RME at her “I care too much” moment after).

3x10

Elena giving Tyler shit for being sired to Klaus (something he has no control over) is pretty funny considering what happens to her next season... insert well-well-well-how-the-turntables.gif.

3x11

Stefan’s spin decapitation of one of Klaus’ hybrids in front of him is so extra, I love it.

The symbolism of Elena “crowning” Caroline is not lost on me. Neither is Klaus forcing his way into Caroline’s house through the doorway.

Yeah the Wickery bridge scene was rough, no one knows how to psychologically torture/traumatize people quite like Stefan does.

Lines that made me laugh:

Bonnie: You think you're bored? My dads family is like wet paint that never dries. (oh I’m saving that one!)

Stefan: You’re into Tyler now, huh? That’s kind of fickle. (He's the worst but the comedic timing is *chef's kiss*)

Stefan: We should all listen to Elena, right? I mean, her plans always work out so well, don't they? (I’m saying! Damon agreed too LMFAO)

[acertaincritic]

Episode 7:

I wasn't interested in the Sunfire plot at all but I still enjoyed this episode decently. It helped that we also had Ezran there.

I like the twist with the dragon in the end and how it ties back to Aaravos at last.

However, I don't remember it being foreshadowed - we only saw this elf was corrupted in this episode, right? Unless I missed something, which hey, might've happened, since I honestly blocked this Z plot in previous seasons in my mind lol.

However, this reinforces my conviction that the writers just... arbitrarily decided they need to have 7 seasons when they didn't have enough material for all of them. Or I'm guessing, one writer in particular decided that.

Now that we're near the endgame, things are finally moving just fine.

But before this, we had two filler seasons. They could've been combined into one without losing any substance.

Alternatively, they could've just been... Better written? Have Karim actually scheme for the sunseed while pretending to go along with the queen instead of trying to be king, failing, trying to use a moon assassin, failing, then just being handed the seed over? There could've been more of an arc for the queen - she only got a stub of one in this season, resolved within one episode. The dragon mom could've had an actual shadow corruption arc, where maybe the heroes would've had to pause their search and instead fight to subdue her so she could be healed. That could've been a season finale!

And so on.

I just think there were so many unused possibilities. My memory is far from perfect, but I remember shooting ideas how to rewrite those seasons so that they still finished in the same place. I'm all the more certain that it could've been done now. There's no rule in writing saying that you can only have exciting things and character arcs happen near the end. If anything, when having a multi-POV story that's divided into chunks, it's a good idea to move the center of gravity from one character to another. It would be fine to make Callum fans like me wait if we got some great arcs for other characters in the meantime. But it feels to me like those characters - Amaya, the Sun Queen - haven't been allowed to start being wrong or flawed enough to have a full season-long arc. Karim wasn't allowed to be threatening or look like he was winning enough, either.

Idk just go read The Stormlight Archive to see how it can done I guess.

Anyway, grumbling about the past aside, I'm quite happy now.

[spaceorphan18]

Not sure if this makes sense, but is there anything regarding Klaine that your opinion has significantly changed on since the show ended/you last analyzed the show?

It makes absolute sense, Nonny! And it's a great question!

It's interesting because I'm not sure that opinions have necessarily changed, but the context in which I have opinions has changed? Which - is a thought that probably doesn't make much sense but...

I've been thinking about it. My relationship with the show has gone through phases. When I first watched the show, I didn't think much of it, because I didn't like it all that much. And then falling in love with the characters and intaking everything, and I feel like during that time, especially since the show was still airing, you had gut reactions and instant feelings and you had to defend those feelings because other people would come at you and it was intense, etc, etc, etc.

And then after the wash of feels, getting into meta. And let me tell you, Nonny, doing deep analysis of a thing -- it fundamentally changes how you are with that thing. I feel as though I took Glee apart and put it back together again and looked at just about every angle and it kind of solidifies how you feel about it? And, that's not to say I'm not open to new takes or hearing new people talk about it -- but it is fascinating watching people get to the same conclusion on things you've had figured out ages ago.

I think if I were ever to go back and do meta again on the show, though, one thing I'd do is make sure I'm addressing a bigger context? I was so narrowly focused when I did the Kurt-meta, that I think I sometimes missed things. That it was important, sometimes, to branch out and talk about -- not just Blaine (Which I often did) but the Rachel or Santana or Mercedes or whatever, and I didn't dig in to the greater context sometimes as I should.

But anyway, I think I'm in a different stage now? I feel like when you have such an intense relationship with something, it kind of stays with you. Like, Glee feels like it's a part of me, a part of my make up. But there's very much a distance to it now. And I'm okay with that. I've made my peace with a lot of things. I've made my peace that the show was incredibly imperfect, but still very much had value. And it feels weird to watch new people play with the show in ways that are unfamiliar to me, but I've made my peace with that, too, and respect that just a new group of people are going to interact with it differently than those of us who went through fandom when it was on the air.

And, I know you were looking for more specific things tied to, say, plot points, I'm sorry I went down a self reflective, indulgent, rabbit hole.

I don't know that my opinions really have changed all that much in the past decade. I think the meta and fanfic have given me the ability to deal with the show's misgivings. I appreciate Season 4 and 6 more than I used to, and have cool, ever so slightly on Season 5. (Nothing you say will get me to like Season 3 more - it's still terrible.) I think overall, the show just was never as good as its potential.

But mean, admittedly, it's really been a long, long time since I've sat and just watched through it. It has to have been years since I sat and just watched through the show, and really outside of doing music meta for Season 1, I haven't really watched a full episode in a long, long time. I have seen clips of things here and there for fic purposes.

So, Idk -- I think I've needed some distance, to allow me to really enjoy other things. But I also think I'm in a place where I'm open to doing a rewatch and seeing how I feel about it.

Idk, Nonny, that's kind of where I'm at!

[furryprovocateur]

For the video gaymer ask meme: 1-8

platform of choice when gaming

not to be annoying but sony is the console manufacturer i prefer. in a perfect world sony would not be the best of the big three and would instead easily be the worst. but we live in a society that does not value men who. how does the full quote go idk it

2. top 5 games of all time

in ascending order: shin megami tensei: persona 3, sonic adventure 2: battle, fire emblem, phantasy star online: episode I and II plus, shin megami tensei: nocturne. the top 2 have been fairly set in stone for several years now, and the remaining 3 have fluctuated among the top 10 or so but this feels most correct. sad that the 6th place snub is FFXII 💔

3. favorite boss

NONE OF THEM!!!! #antiwork anyways i'm not sure what i would use as a criteria for this. i think i'm gonna go with the master from fallout because it really is just the most well done encounter in any RPG imo. if there's a "favorite final boss" question i'll kms because this would be my answer for that one.

4. favorite OST

here since i already answered this i'll just isolate some of my favorite tracks off the top of my head: "Dark Samus Boss Fight" - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, "Miller Ball Breakers" - Jet Set Radio, "Kopfsprung" - Ever17, "You Blow My Mind" - Street Fighter III: Third Strike, "This is True Love Makin'" - Capcom vs. SNK 2, "Distant Travels" - Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, "Climbing to the Top" - Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, "Hoist the Sword with Pride in the Heart" - Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City, "Their Own Brand of Justice" - Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City (yes it gets two entries. fatlus, remember), "Demon of Darkness" - Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, "Septentrione" - Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2, "Changing Seasons" - Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, "Lovely Gate 3" - Sonic Adventure 2, and, if you've actually read this entire list, we must end with the classic "NO MORE NO MORE HEROES" - No More Heroes.

5. most memorable game moment

any time i see this prompt on asks like this my mind immediately and distinctly goes to one of the plot twists of zero time dilemma, specifically one regarding D team. i won't say what it is, but all i will say is that it had me going "SHUT THE FUCK UP. . . NO FUCKING WAY" for like 5 mins straight. the ending of drv3 is also up there on the same level of memorable.

6. first game you ever played

probably the original super mario bros. on NES at a family member's house. it's much harder to delineate what was the first game i meaningfully played on my own. i'm tempted to say something like mario kart 64.

7. most recent game you've played

trying to catch a calm lilleep from the dreamworld in white 2. before that, i was mat duping in PSO all of yesterday. i had 5 characters to do mat plans for, including TP materials (i got them with action replay. idgaf if you call that cheating because not having access to an entire material offline is stupid. 🤪). i had to stop at like 11:30 last night due to getting tired, but i only have like 400ish mats left to do, which is pretty decent all things considered.

8. most anticipated upcoming game

is "none of them" an answer? jkjkjkjkjk i wouldn't say i'm actively anticipating anything but i guess by default metaphor re:fantazio because i pre-ordered it and know nothing about it. i'm more interested in seeing what the fuck it's gonna be than i would say anything else. metroid prime 4 seems like an easy candidate for hype so i'm staying cautious. i never really wanted the prime trilogy to get a sequel and would've rather they just do their own thing like they did with dread. oh well.

[slightlytoastedbagel]

ok uhhh 11/12 thoughts

episode 11 is fairly good. on its own. the concept of uika/hatsune spending an entire episode just on a stage works with what the show does with the acting segments of their performances. but when put into the context of there being 13 episodes in full and half of the main cast not getting any real development that isn't one scene stating their full backstory and treating it like that's all you need to understand a character (coughs umiri) I really wish this was either shortened or just. had the show been more episodes it probably would be ok but whatever. also uika being absent for most of the season, while effective in building to this episode, also falls flat again because it makes it feel like mutsumi/mortis and the stuff with mygo and everything up to this point was just. thrown out last minute. and mutsumi literally does not speak once in this episode when, just the episode prior, she and mortis supposedly fused (I'm not happy with that either btw). idk to me it feels like they couldn't figure out how to tie uika's storyline in with the rest of the plot so needed to cut her out until episode 11. which if you need to do that is a bit worrying.

I'm going into my thoughts on the 3/5 of the band that aren't getting anything these two episodes now because I sort of hinted at my frustrations. umiri and nyamu and mutsumi are probably the ones I find most interesting and they just. decided to throw them aside. umiri is the character we have the least on and I thought maybe. with how she was the one to push the band reuniting they were going to give her more but as I mentioned the only significant scene I can think of that she specifically has is telling nyamu her entire tragic backstory in a cafe for about a minute. which puts this episode into question because why can't we have this for umiri too??? speaking of nyamu she's also not safe from the barely having anything party because what the earlier episodes built up has become essentially. nothing now? she's an actor now. yup. also she's back in the band because mortis is there. I really like the stuff with nyamu and mortis could we get more of them please? oh wait. mutsumi is the one I feel most frustrated with because she's my fav and the episodes relating to her, aka most of this season, were really good and I loved what they did with the mygo and crychic stuff (I really like crychic) but to have everything end with a scene that happens in the middle of a song without any buildup or any mention of it afterwards is. ughhhhhhh.

(if they are intending to go into them more in the game I just want to say I think that's stupid. because they are assuming people who watch the anime will then want to play the game which. is the intent of the show but still and also do they not have other stories in mind for them? did they not think of anything else for 2/5s of their characters so had to put the one story they have in the game? this is something that mainly gripes me but with mygo and the sekai main stories they are standalone and feel like they give every character some care. you can enjoy mygo without the game stuff. the sekai main stories are introductions to the cast. I do not know nyamu and umiri in the same way I know the other three and I am not waiting for game events when they could have given us this in the anime that serves as an origin story) (going further into mygo comparisons the band reuniting here is not nearly half as satisfactory for anyone and I almost wish they never did. but they gotta be in the game so oh well)

uhhh anyway I like this episode on its own I just wish they handled it's. well handling. better. also I don't like That Bit but moving on.

I am. a bit mad that sakiko doesn't feel even a bit conflicted about learning the truth. she spent a year working to help her father and herself, cut herself off from all of her friends and when confronted with the person who is responsible for all of that she. barely reacts at all? this is the sakiko that will refuse to communicate normally with anyone and throws herself endlessly into worse situations for herself and now here she's not allowed to be even slightly angry with hatsune? she's just choosing to forget everything like it hasn't shaped who she was to this point? this is the last episode before the finale and the way they're wrapping up the conflict that has hung over everything for 25 episodes is the character at the centre of it all processing none of it. the entire story means nothing. they just threw everything away at the end. maybe they will address this down the line but again. this is not a satisfying conclusion to me. hatsune is right in this case. what has happened to sakiko is tragedy after tragedy and if things had been different with how sakiko treated soyo (you know. her friend and bandmate who she hurt and regretted hurting but still left in the dust) it would maybe make sense but here?? this is not the same character. she didn't even want to reform the band but now the narrative is acting like she does. she wanted crychic back. but now she is apparently only upset about hatsune not agreeing to go back to the band.

uhhhh that's really all from this episode. everything is just ok now? when it really shouldn't be?? and sakiko didn't want the band back before this so why did she do a 180??? and we're really not addressing anything about anyone else???? the letter to tomori was nice at least. even if I really don't think the entire episode makes sense. I guess I'm just disappointed more so. the supposed revolution to the entire story omits over half of the band and the two it focuses on took 12 episodes to reach the conclusion of "let's forget everything". I guess they couldn't get too dark within the game so have to make it suddenly happier in the final episode but seriously. what the fuck.

[zehecatl]

2024 media thread part FEBRUARY

1st February: Cult of the Lamb

decided to replay COTL, since i haven't played it since i 100% it at launch, and tbh, my feelings on it haven't really changed? as a game it's rather mid, and the main appeal is, hands down, everything surrounding the game aspect. the art, the lore, the setting. it is SO fucking appealing, and interesting, and there is SO MUCH you can do with it, as a fandom. but as a game, COTL is... lacking

the combat is mid. the cult management portion is shallow, if interesting, and there is SO MUCH here that could be fantastic, but just. falls short of it. like, do not get me wrong- i've now officially clocked 75 hours into this fucker, so it's not bad, but it just cannot compete with its contemporaries. its main draw truly is the fandom

also i did 100% it again, which i'm only saying because i feel like it needs repeating. do you know. how fucking ANNOYING. IT WAS TO GET THAT LAST LORE PIECE... CRIME

14th February: TMNT (2007)

rewatched TMNT with the fiance for the like, i think fourth time? and i know people generally don't care about this one, but MAN. it is my favourite iteration, and i will die on that fucking hill

the CGI isn't that good, but i think the Turtles look fantastic, and the fact that it sometimes looks like a PS2 game is like, part of the charm, at least for me

also, i think the story is WAY underappreciated. like, there is some GOOD fucking bones here, with the parallel between the Turtles and Yoatl, and ngl, i DO love the whole. immortal wants to die bit. like that's tasty shut the fuck UP

also, yes. the Raph vs Leo scene is ICONIC. it fucking goes HARD, and i love it so much. Raph's whole deal in this movie is engrained in my head, like that is my sad self-destructive BOY!!

anyway, i just love this movie a lot, and all TMNT fans should watch it. for me <3

14th February: Hazbin Hotel

honestly, Hazbin Hotel is just a fun show. there's stuff to criticize, absolutely, but at the end of the day, it's just such a fun little season to watch. the characters are interesting, the plot is good enough to keep you engaged, and the songs are like- such fucking bangers. like, what the hell. did anyone see that coming??

i do wish the season had more episodes, more time to flesh out the six months the season takes place over, but it's. what it is. the animation can be kind of stilted at times, likely due to puppets use, and the colours is- well it's a choice. but idk, i had a good time with it. it's still in my head, weeks later (because i forgot to write this LOL) and i think that's, if nothing else, a mark of something interesting

i'm very much looking forward to season 2

15th February: The Amazing Digital Circus

so i've seen TADC before, but i wanted to show the fiance, so rewatch, and oh my god. i forgot how good this pilot is???

like the humour! the animation! the CHARACTERS!! everything about this pilot is a fucking hit, like it perfectly nails what it's going for, and i am so looking forward to the full season, like it is going to burrow into my brain

16th February: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

i might still wish they had picked a different animation style, but MAN. Mutant Mayhem was just such a good movie. it perfectly executed what it set out to do, and it's definitely a very... teenage mutant ninja turtles iteration. and that's good! that's what they set out to do! and i think they nailed it

i feel like i had a lot more to say after watching it, but looking back.. it's just a really good movie? and yeah, the animation style is not my thing, but it's well done, it suits the movie, you get used to it- etc etc. so really what can i say, except i liked it a lot, and i'm looking forward to the spin-off series?

[archivehotties]

immaculate - 3.5/5

i decided i'm gonna do more in depth movie reviews here (let's see how long that lasts LMAO), i used to do longer reviews on my letterboxd but idk doesn't seem as fitting? i can insert other photo stuff here so i'd rather here then. also spoilers ahead fucking duh

i watched immaculate tonight! my thoughts before this movie were 1, i love sydney sweeney but for a hot minute right now i felt like she wasn't being taken seriously. euphoria was one of my favorite shows and i loved her in the first season, but since then it felt like people were overly sexualizing her and not taking her seriously as an actor which blows bc she's honestly talented! and can show real emotional depth!!! so i really wanted her to hone that into a full blown artsy kind of horror movie because, as i saw in the movie, she's very scream-queen worthy.

i will admit i am very biased to religious horror. is it because i was raised catholic Yes. is it because i like looking at the pretty gold colors because catholicism is really good at making things look badass Yes as well. have i rewatched wendigoon's long video explanation of dante's inferno over and over Yes absolutely. Regardless!!!! this is just a bias i need to address to the readers beforehand before any of u fucking yank my chain

i did not expect to be as into this movie as i thought i was gonna be, honest to god i went in thinking this was probably gonna be disappointing and sydney probably didn't get a good enough writer and it was gonna be as boring as idk the nun movie in the conjuring franchise. just jumpscares. the writing was honestly not that bad though, though i will say that sydney kind of fell off her mark sometimes. especially at the start it kind of didn't feel as authentic as i wanted, but maybe that's because it felt weird to hear her euphoria high american accent while she was surrounded by italian nuns and priests. some of the creepy elements felt kinda cheesy like oh wow the creepy patient says she can never leave womp womp. like find something more interesting to say.

cinematography soooo good. really liked it, also i am again biased to italy because i love italy and it's my dream vacation place. there were some shots that were framed sooo good like when she goes to confession, the ending scene in particular was really good. i really like the choice of it not being filmed from the usual third person pov and it being from the baby's (?) or just it being right below sydney and she is just yelling her fucking heart out with blood all over her face. so good. i was smiling and clapping good for u girl!!!!!!!!!!

i also liked that it was done in chapters so they went like per trimester of the baby, it was really fun to see in that way. i liked the themes, it didn't feel like a Fake church u know? again i compare it to the nun movie from the conjuring series where it's like ... it doesn't feel like they got dressed up in nun outfits. they're just ... nuns. doesn't feel like a set, which is good.

a concern again i had for this movie was that it was gonna be too jumpscare-y-- at some times it was, but honestly that's too be expected. i really liked the idea of her having to escape from the convent over and over again and just how creepy the other people in the church were, though i will admit the "we tried to make the next savior and i'm a mad scientist" bit was a little ... meh. i'd prefer if they leaned into that whole secret cult thing they had going on. or if it was a carrie/rosemary's baby moment where she was carrying the devil's baby.

another concern i had was, looping back to what i said about sydney, i had watched the trailer beforehand and i was scared it was gonna oversexualize her because soo many of the shots they chose were like centered around her body? which i mean makes sense now that i know the plot, but it didn't feel sexualized at all, which makes me happy :) sydney has lots of potential !

thematically and in cinematography sense, it reminded me a lot of the vvitch. just like eerie and creepy and dark. and the endings too were shot in similar ways. additionally i also like that she killed every one of the major leaders in the end, that was fun.

overall was it the best horror movie i've ever seen? no. definitely not. was it a fun watch yes! would i watch it again, sure. though i do look away when the gory bits happen, but that's normal with horror. i hope sydney sweeney does more horror, and i mean like a24 style. i'd love for her to be in a movie with mia goth or anya taylor joy or something.