#if the writers needed a boundaries ep

[lesbianapplejack]

Remembered that episode where twilight missed the north star show bc she had to be princess while her family got to have fun UGH

[poebrey]

gonna write a whole thing someday about how characters of color who clearly have a history of trauma or mental health issues aren’t given consideration or acknowledgement in the fandom imagination

[diazfox]

How do you imagine a more complex sexual awakening for Buck? Cause I also thought Buck's coming out went surprisingly smoothly. For one, I specifically missed how Buck never questioned if his strange conduct in that ep was only about Tommy and not at all about Eddie, and most importantly, no experiences of his have been addressed other than checking out a hot guy's ass

hey anon! i'm coming from a purely storytelling perspective, not pro/anti buddie/bucktommy so yall better not come for me!

i think this trajectory is very on brand for buck. a complex coming out arc is dearly reserved for eddie in my head, i always imagined buck's coming out to be pretty smooth and i think season 7 writers have done a really good job at that!

for all his acting before thinking tendencies, i think there's also a comfort zone buck has built around himself that he doesnt feel the need to step out of.

for starters, i definitely see comphet elements to buck. he stops at mere appreciation (checking out hot guys asses) because he doesnt feel the need to think too deeply about it given that he's very comfortable in his attraction to women already. he attributes these sorts of questionable moments to his strong allyship instead and prides (🏳️‍🌈?) himself in it. this would explain why he never dwells on moments of doubt because he set those criteria for himself and never revisited them because loving women was satisfying enough.

which is why i think spontaneity is the driving force for his sexual awakening rather than a surface level attraction. tommy kissing him is what allows him to see past his comfort zone and realise that he could expand his options if he wanted to. the eddie vs tommy conflict is never addressed in his head because tommy becomes instantaneously and willingly available and there's no need for him to think or look further.

speaking of, a second example of the comfort zone he has built is with eddie. in comparison to his past relationships and having to overcompensate for others' shortcomings, his relationship with eddie is perfect. he doesn't give room for any other interpretation or extrapolation of this friendship because for once he feels this mutual trust and security he never felt before with others, not even family. it's the fact that even when they do have a conflict, the writers made buck be the one to apologise for not caring enough. this further cements just how entrenched eddie is in their friendship, something buck has been guilty of doing in the past and getting hurt by repeatedly. hence buck doesnt give room for questionable moments to penetrate the platonic boundaries he's set for his and eddie's relationship and instead finds answers within the confines of friendship. he maps his confusion around eddie to guilt about lying to his best friend.

given these interpretations plus the fact that he's often the source of comedic relief, it's understandable why his coming out arc is less complex and more romcom-esque. this is especially important if they are planning a coming out arc for eddie as well, because his is going to be a trainwreck and they would want to cover different bases instead of repeating similar stories.

looking at recent directional choices though, i think there's still room to build complexity through bucktommy. especially since all of tommy's scenes since he's been established as a LI serve no other purpose than to further buck's bisexuality journey (building confidence, publicly coming out). there was no need for him to be written off the bachelor party if they wanted us to properly root for him. he wouldn't have disappointed buck for not dressing up and not being there for the search party, which are perfect opportunities to build an emotional connection between them. i'm especially intrigued by this knowing tim minear through lone star, because you can tell how much he values significant others being there for each other in the most random times (carlos literally follows tk everywhere he goes). if this direction keeps being intentionally pursued, their relationship might end with a purpose too, and perhaps this could turn buck's world upside down?

all i'm desperately hoping for is that this doesn't end in another person abandoning buck... because he's had enough. and I'VE had enough

[valhallavalkyrie9]

Can I get opinions from the HOTD fandom?

Ive been behind on the show for a bit and am finally watching season 1 ep 10. I knew Rhaenyra's miscarriage was going to happen before it did so I thought I was ready for it. The way the scene actually played out though, seems absolutely disgusting, exploitative, and unnecessary. Pure shock value. GOT absolutely pushed boundaries a lot but I generally (emphasis on that word) believe it knew when to pull its punches. This felt like the writers thinking they needed to upkeep GOT's reputation and therefore to them this was necessary. Yes GOT was shocking at times. Pushing Bran out of the tower was a shock. Violence like that towards children is not often seen, and especially not on TV at the time. But the push was enough. We didnt see the gore of the initial incident because it wasnt necessary. It feels like these writers would have shown the gore. Do you get what I'm trying to say? Anyways, thats the first things thats actually made me kinda mad at the writers.

I wanted people's opinions because since I hadnt seen the episode at release, I tried to stay out of discussions about the episodes as much as I could and idk what the general reaction was. I especially wanted to ask Tumblr cause the user base seems to lean more fem than most social medias.

[shadowuserannie]

Rating LEGO Friends: The Next Chapter ships

Rating LEGO Friends: The Next Chapter ships! If you ship any of these but I don't, that's perfectly okay! Everyone is entitled to their own opinions!

(but please. if you ship the illegal ones, then don't comment that you do. please.)

Warning: I have watched up to season 2 ep 6, but no further!

Autumn/Leo: nope, 100% best platonic besties, love their dynamic, -/10. I really love their in-show friendship and their moments are great, so a romance between them just feels wrong.

Paisley/Olly: 5/10, the chemistry and moments are there and it looks like the writers are building up to a romance, but I think the relationship would be unbalanced. The dynamic would also be kinda toxic, both of them need more character growth and development before they can have a healthy relationship. Like maybe when they're older and more mature?

Zac/Sky: 8/10, cute, love their dynamic and hope to see more moments in the future. What little crumbs so far are great, mainly because so far they're both easygoing and respectful people and I could see this relationship turning out well.

Olly/Leo: ehhhhh, don't think it'd work out well. Leo is similar to Paisley (in his difficulty in saying no, and standing up for himself but he's working on it and has come pretty far) and thus they'd have the same unbalanced dynamic, but they don't have anywhere close to Olly and Paisley's canon interactions nor years of friend history. Same thing as Olly/Paisley, needs more character growth first. I know a lot of people shipped them before the show came out, mainly because they were 'the obviously queer guy' and 'the feminine guy' or maybe just aesthetically, they look nice together to some people. 3/10.

Nova/Liann: 10/10, love it. Canon issues with their relationship are addressed, they have a comfortable dynamic and know each other well, they also have great moments together and I could see a romance happening cutely and naturally. Honestly my favourite ship.

Leo/Candi: DEAR GOD THIS IS SO TOXIC W H A T...NO SORRY NOT FOR ME

Leo/Aliya: 4/10. Leo and Aliya don't strike me as a relationship that would last long. Aliya has boundary issues (the Ley-La thing) and she's not good at noticing she's pushing Leo specifically (Over-Leveraged Leo) so some more character growth from both of them first. Then maybe I'll rate them higher.

Aliya/Autumn: 7/10, strikes me as besties but could also have a cool, sweet romance that could also happen naturally, if they get more 'romantic' moments together. Canon issues are addressed, and they have a good dynamic going for them.

Paisley/Zac: 5/10. They are very comfortable with each other, could see a romance happening but the platonic vibes are stronger. If they ever dated it'd likely end with both agreeing to stay best friends instead.

Nova/Aliya: Rivals to lovers, 3/10. Both have more character growth to get to before a healthy romantic relationship.

Paisley/Leo: cute, 7/10. Don't really have lots of canon interactions, but their personalities would mesh nicely and I could see a healthy, sweet romantic relationship. They're both cut from similar cloths, so they could be good for each other.

Zac/Aliya: DEAR GOD THEY ARE !COUSINS!

Leo/Niko: 6/10. Cute, same as Paisley/Zac, might date for a bit before agreeing to stay good friends. Leo would also 100% be Niko's realization that he's queer.

Liann/Paisley: cute, I love Liann and Paisley's moments in the very first episode and later on, Liann also gets more character development, so a romance between them would be nice. I feel like the eternal bestie vibes are slightly stronger, though, so 7/10.

Aliya/Paisley: okay but don't really see it happening. plus with Paisley and Leo being similar, a romance might not end well without further character moments OR maybe some solid canon moments. 4.5/10

Zac/Leo: platonic vibes are nice and strong, any romance would die off quickly and they'd stay good friends. The Over-Leveraged Leo ep is used as fuel for this ship by a lot of people, but to me the part where Zac just...approaches Leo and applauds his lovely situation then agrees to help, it feels more bestie than romantic to me. 2/10

Leo/Nova: would not work well in any world, they're just too different. -/10

So overall my personal ships: Liann/Nova, Zac/Sky. I'll wait for further canon.

AGAIN YOU CAN SHIP WHAT YOU WANT, THIS IS MY OWN OPINIONS.

[bengiyo]

Step By Step Ep 7 Stray Thoughts

Last time, Pat got to live his best gay life and got to try dating three different people. Unfortunately, one of them was just trying to recruit him for an MLM scheme. Jeng and Pat went on a cute furniture date with Jeng, and had two nice dinners with him. Put took his shot once more after seeing Pat set boundaries, and I wasn't keen on the use of the plushie as a coercion tactic.

Six months of maternity leave? My state would never.

I worry about Ae and Kannon working out.

Pat got back together with Put?? Ugh.

Interesting! Jaab is the first one to call out Jeng for getting too close to Pat, but he's actually wrong about who Pat is seeing.

Ope! Jeng figured out that Pat's with Put.

I'm gonna need Put to focus on his job so this goes well for Pat.

I'm not sure about cheese in ramen.

Oh, this is awkward as hell. Put is not engaged in this dinner at all, and then is blandly critical of it.

Seems like Put enjoys getting Pat to do things for him.

I like that Put's costar isn't a source of drama here, and that Pat just wants the acting to be good.

I like that Tee and friends continue to do meta storytelling about BL itself in their projects. We have a bunch of gay people all working to make a BL.

Feel like we're getting into some of the same places War of Y went with the overbearing manager here.

Mmm, I feel some kind of way about her worries that his skin will darken from being in the sun.

Poor Pat. Every time someone gets testy, they accuse him of being unprofessional because he's young.

Man is playing Jeng so well. You can feel him struggling with the appropriate way to comfort Pat versus how he'd like to comfort him.

I do love Jeng coming through and handing this manager her entire ass, but doing it politely.

Ope! Jeng isn't done! He all but told Put, "Don't screw this up for Pat."

Up Poompat is also very good at this. He and Ben have really good chemistry. You can feel why these two were drawn to each other, and also why they didn't work.

What is up with Jen and Jaab?

Jeng always has to comport himself before any interaction with Pat.

I love that they're doing karaoke of the Lovely Writer soundtrack.

Jeng is so smitten.

I guess they are going to be on the DL if Put isn't going to move to take care of Pat.

Chot ain't wrong! These men are swarming Pat!

Of course Chot knows, and is not going to be the source of drama for Put and Pat. He's about to join the ranks of Framboise.

Not entirely sure what happened with Jaab's feelings for Jen in the interval.

Oh boy. What a tense way to end the episode.

Seems like Put is going to call Jeng out next week.

So glad to have this show back in the rotation. The commentary was more subtle this week. I'm not entirely sure I caught what was happening with Jaab and Jen. Jeng continues to be a boss I'd like to have.

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch: season 3 recap

Season 3 overall was really strong, I think it's actually Voyager's peak, for me. We'd left behind the Kazon and the Vidians, and hadn't encountered the Borg yet, so without the recurring villians, there was a greater variety of stories being explored than any other season, which made it more fun and interesting. There's some real classics among this season's eps, and I feel like all the characters got some great moments, and showed nice growth over the course of the season.

Things I liked:

Voyager's first foray into two part episodes, which gave us an opportunity for more epic stories, which were very cool.

They finally let Tom just be a nice person, no more jerky dudebro nonsense! Just a sweet sunshine boy! I love him, your honor!!

They started to give Kes some more substantial things to do, let her grow up a little, and break up with Neelix, finally. I wish we'd have been able to see her do more and grow beyond this season.

They actually gave us the beginnings of a canon romance between Tom and B'Elanna, which was acknowleged, and developed over the rest of the series. Such a relief to not have to endure endless implying, and pining, only to have it be brushed aside whenever a romance of the week plot came along, like every other pairing in Star Trek up till that point.

Things I didn't like:

So many of Kes's plots still revolving around romances with men. I guess all the writers must have been into waif girls, because she was getting romantic stuff way too often, way more than the rest of the crew, and it was bordering on fetishizing her, tbh.

Forever disappointed that B'Elanna and Kes never actually had a scene together that wasn't with or about the Doctor. Sure, as an engineer and a nurse, the most frequent way for their paths to cross would be when the EMH needed repairs, but it would have been nice if they could have gone on an away mission together, or had a conversation in the mess hall, and talked about something besides him at least once in three whole damn years. They've given every other combination of characters at least one solo interaction, except the two of them, and they're 2 of only 3 women in the main crew. Would it really have been so hard to come up with even one scene of two women talking to eachother about something other than a man?

Neelix is still not respecting Tuvok's boundaries, despite treating Kes better, finally, and being less of a jerk in general.

Season 3 stats:

Crew compliment at start of season: 148 (it's still stated to be 148 at the end of the season, which is clearly incorrect after 5 crew died. Unless whoever came up with the first number was excluding non- crew crew, and hadn't been counting the Doctor, since he's a hologram, Naomi Wildman, since she's a baby, or Neelix and Kes, since they're not uniformed, ranked crew. But even then, 147 is the most it could be total on board at end of season.)

Crew members killed off: 5

Crewman Hogan, Crewman Lon Suder, unnamed Crewman (Basics pt. 2)

Ensign Martin (Warlord)

Ensign Kaplan (Unity)

Romantic subplots:

Kes and Harry win the romance derby with a grand total of 5 romantic subplots each this season, though Kes's were all main plots (let that poor girl rest, dudes!!), while Harry's were all minor subplots. The Doctor comes in second with 4.

Harry: 3 without kiss (Remember, Alter Ego, Before and After) 2 with kiss (Favorite Son)

B'Elanna: 1 without kiss (Vorik in Blood Fever), 2 with kiss (Tom in Blood Fever [ongoing from then on], Remember [sort of- she was reliving scenes from someone's else's life in Remember, so it wasn't really her, even though it was- Star Trek just be weird like that!])

Tom: 2 with kiss (Future's End, Blood Fever [ongoing from then on]), 1 without kiss (Before and After)

Kes: 1 with kiss (the hot alien guy in Darkling), 2 without (the Doctor being obsessed with her in Darkling, Tom in the alternate timeline in Before and After), sorta 1 with and 1 without?? (Warlord) [there were lots of attempts at seduction going on in this ep, but she's possessed at the time, so it's not really her when she kisses Tuvok, but it is her when the warlord guy tries to seduce her, but it's in her mind- it was weird, idk!]

Tuvok: sort of(?) 1 with kiss [when the Warlord guy tries to seduce him] (Warlord), 1 without kiss (Alter Ego)

The Doctor: sort of 2 with kiss [he kisses two holographic women at the luau] (Alter Ego) 2 without kiss (his holographic wife in Real Life, and Kes in Darkling [if you can call being obsessed with someone romantic...])

Chakotay: 1 without (Unity) [but we presume they kissed, since they obviously had sex. You knew her for three days dude, what about Kathryn, huh??]

Shuttles destroyed: 1 for sure, possibly 3 total?

1 (Unity) [dismantled by the ex-borg on the planet Chakotay crashes on]

1? (Future's End) [presumably destroyed, since it crashed in Arizona and they didn't mention it being recovered]

1? (Real Life) [tbh i don't remember if Tom's shuttle got destroyed by the subspace eddy, or if they beamed the whole shuttle out?? I'm too busy to go back and find out lol.]

Number of episodes I liked/disliked/mixed reaction:

Liked: 15

Disliked: 7

Mixed: 4

[blackbird-brewster]

Last season’s writing was silly but I like how they’re circling each other this season (so far). The car fight was interesting—though they definitely shouldn’t have unloaded with Tyler there lol—and them sort of making peace is cute. I wasn’t too into them last season because as much as I love Tara it seemed a little lacklustre on the writing end but this season has made me interested. I really need the writers to actually invest in them this season and let them organically fall into each other because the chemistry is there it just needs to be tended to lol

I really hope the writers invest in Tara/Rebecca too!!! Because last season SUCKED and so far, this season hasn't been great. There were already things that raised red flags in eps 1-2 of this season imo. (Hate the boundary bullshit being linked to Al-Anon 🙃). I agree the bickering in the car was at least SOMETHING, but doing it with Tyler there really makes Tara/Rebecca seem childish (which is how I felt they were written last season too) I feel like they're being portrayed as love-sick/bickering teenagers rather than women who are ages 40-50.

[gracethegriffin]

I blame all my frustrating on the writer and directors.

Day is growing day by day, he accept his blindness and learn to use the cane, but then ep11.4 happen, he decided to broke up with Mhok, no build up (up until the moment he heard the paper, they are so happy and honeymoon phase) no discussion. Just feel like a whole new person. And Mhok in the beginning of ep12 just scream stranger danger with me, he is not like that, where is caring and respect boundary character? Honestly he so OOC too.

I have no problem with Day see again, but shouldnt we also need a little story of mhok, how he handle his trauma and his life abroad? Shouldnt we get Day learn braille, how to use a cane and reading his book outloud while feeding the fishs and miss his Mhok?

Im just really frustrated with the ending. Like I said before, gonna pretend LT has only 10 eps

[thatgirl4815]

i guess they’re really going with the sand needs to learn to say no/get better boundaries angle with boeing? that’s what it seems like to me with this tweet from the writer https://x.com/vivienneacting/status/1715765092175040512?s=46&t=f3gxMlccjR3oQ5hW3qKitQ

That seems to be the case. I'm still conflicted about this plot point tbh. I understand that we have been shown this flaw of Sand's in the past with Ray, but I also think there's a difference in that Sand and Ray are now boyfriends, and Boeing is making very obvious advances on him that could threaten that. I also understand Sand having difficulty telling Boeing off or insisting that he leave him alone. There are a lot of emotions there that have built up over time that haven't just gone away (even if Boeing has been out of Sand's life for awhile).

Maybe it's the fact that I don't personally feel the weight of Sand's heartbreak or deep devotion to Boeing (in which case a flashback might've actually been nice this episode to portray that...maybe we'll get one in the finale). It just ends up feeling like a plot device to me at the moment rather than a reflection of Sand's flaws as a character that he needs to move past. But maybe I'm still speaking out of frustration alone and if I go back and watch the ep again my feelings will change. I need to stew over this for awhile.

If that tweet is anything to go by, it does seem like this will get resolved next episode though, so I'm happy about that. No matter what, it can't last too long given that we only have one ep left.

[sins-and-wins-with-vix]

Everything Right/Wrong with “Rebooted” E1: The Surge

Sooo it’s been awhile but we’re back! Disclaimers: Show owned by LEGO. This is not a professional review/critique - it’s mainly intended for comedy!

Make sure to reblog, comment, and like! And tell me your thoughts!

- This season is titled “Rebooted,” get it? Cuz the show got rebooted for this season after it was supposed to end? And also the season itself deals with technology? And also if you’re anything like me this season makes you wanna reboot yourself so you can forget chunks of it ever happeneD- ❌

- Not my favorite intro or remix, but I still gotta admit it’s pretty cool, even if I do miss the family photo-like style of the OG ✅

- In the original intro it was just Cole, but now it seems that everyone except for Lloyd has lost their smiling privileges ❌ (the pic below shows everyone with their masks up but it’s taken from a later ep)

- The longer you look at this image, the more awkward the poses get… Seriously, look at all of them for a good while and try to explain what they’re doing ❌

- I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… this show knows music! 2 seconds into the actual episode and this score is already giving me goosebumps ✅

- ^ There’s a lot to say about this photo so I’m just gonna break it down here:

- Jay rocking the pose ✅

- Zane tried ✅

- Kai leaning on Jay… and maybe struggling to balance while doing so? ✅

- Cole is giving Dareth a piggy-back ride and I think we all wish we were Dareth right now ✅

- And Lloyd is very confused as to where the camera is apparently ✅

- “Ninjago City soon became… New Ninjago City.” Creative. ❌

- Also it’s never actually referred to as “New Ninjago City” much after this season, or even in it tbh ❌

- “And it became the center for great technological advancements.” Most of which will exit and re-enter the plot at any given time that’s most convenient for the writers because who needs continuity? ❌

- At first I was gonna ask who tf sings in the shower like this (Kai was just making random, loud noises - no actual words, and it didn’t seem like humming) but while typing I realized that this actually seems more akin to vocal stimming so… neurodivergent Kai canon? ✅

- “Brad got an ultra remote from New Ninjago City and it’s controlling Mr. Zane!” HOW? ❌

- “Mr. Cole is the worst!” Child echoes most of the fandom this early in the show’s run ❌

- Kai’s pudding cup was sitting in his bag with no lid or covering whatsoever ❌

- Wait, the ninja don’t have powers anymore because they don’t have the blades, so how did Zane freeze Jay’s pudding cup? I get that he’s a nindroid, but he doesn’t use ice powers for anything else until later this season when they officially get their powers back ❌

- “Why is it that whenever I teach, I get the feeling that none of the boys are listening?” Oh, I know the answer to this one!⬇️

- “I saved you some pudding.” “What did we talk about?” “Oh, right, boundaries.” You probably have some questions right now, like, “did Jay and Nya break up?” And “Why did they break up?” And most importantly, “are we ever gonna get answers to these questions?” And the answer to that is: No. live and die in wonder ❌

- They get clearance for a field trip that they have to take the day of? You could argue that Borg was in a rush to get the techno blades to the ninja and wanted to take this opportunity while he still could, and Wu really wanted to do this field trip so Nya jumped at it as well, and to that I say… that’s actually a pretty good argument. Well done.

- “If you ask me, people should concern themselves with the lessons of the past - not waste their time on disposable fads of tomorrow…” Of all characters, why would Kai have this sentiment? Especially since they already established Cole as the “lame” one. I guess I wouldn’t say it’s entirely ooc, but it still makes it abundantly clear that they had no idea what they wanted to do with Kai this season ❌

- Wu instructs Nya to “get a move on,” which she does, and immediately drives down a steep mountain, while Wu stands, unsupported, in the front of the bus ❌

- But ya know what? Nya saw her chance to attempt murder and went with it, and I can respect that ✅

- “Wow… you leave town a short while and-“ everything becomes tinted in blue?

- This bit where everything tech-related doesn’t wanna work for Kai is even funnier when you consider that it’s technically all sentient and controlled by the Overlord ✅

- “Your hardware is outdated and your processor is slow and incompatible with ours.” Line is not followed by air horns ❌

- “Even now, he is working on a digiverse…” foreshadowing ✅

- “They have a perfect match console!” Why do I feel a part of my soul dying?

- “What’s perfect match?” Seriously, why do I have this gut feeling that something very very bad is about to happen… like I’m about to witness a moment that will forever go down as this show’s worst writing decision ever?

- “It finds your perfect partner with flawless results!” Wait…

- “Hello, Nya…” No…

- “You are an independent, self-confident young woman who refuses to be in a boy’s club…” please… please don’t do this

- ^ OH GOD F*CKING D*MMIT ❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌

- “I would’ve guessed ninja to sneak in the window… not take the elevator.” Apparently, Borg wanted the ninja to rob him ❌

- There’s no way Jay was this big a fan of Borg but didn’t know he had prosthetic legs ❌

- Most people have heard by now that the inclusion of Borg being disabled wasn’t really done for the sake of representing disabled people so much as it was for the convenience of the situation, but you’d think at least one of the writers would’ve said, “hey, maybe this statue we’re making of a character who can’t use their legs SHOULDN’T be STANDING normally on those two legs?” Could it really have been that hard to work the wheelchair into that statue design? Really? ❌

- “First you call us pedestrians and now we’re assailants?!” Jay finds these both equally insulting, which is not only hilarious, but also in-character since Crystalized showed us the only thing that offends the ninja more than being considered evil is being considered average ✅

- “Let the elevator have the techno-blades Kai! I think its made its point!” Jay has the backbone of a noodle, which we knew but still

- “Looks like we just quit our day jobs!” Don’t think I didn’t just see Cole’s mouth move with Kai’s voice ❌

- “Why don’t boys ever listen to me???” D*mmit, Nya do I need to bring the misogyny gif back out?

- “It’s not sharp. Why even call it a blade!?” Good question ❌

- Also, did you really need to test it out to see it wasn’t sharp? Couldn’t you have just, ya know, looked? ❌

- *glass cracks* “Oh snap.” ✅

- Why would breaking the window cause them all to immediately fly out of it? Before someone who actually understands physics comes into my comment section and explains how this works, I’m gonna cut you off and say I refuse to believe there’s an explanation that wouldn’t violate at least one health and safety protocol. OSHA: my scapegoat so I don’t have to learn how science works! ❌

- “You tried to give them the only thing that could defeat me and thought I wouldn’t notice?!” You DIDN’T notice - not until the ninja broke the statue - and tbh, you really should’ve. I get Overlord had to be cautious so as not to reveal himself too early on, but he literally watched Borg invite the ninja to his office, tell them it’s better if Lloyd wasn’t there, then send them off with a massive statue as a parting gift. Hell, Overlord has constant eyes on Borg, right? Did he not see him making new suits and shoving them, along with the blades, into the statue? ❌

- “A PROMISE ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH!” Admittedly, I have problems with Overlord this season, but I will NEVER insult his voice acting ✅

- I really can’t tell if Borg is screaming or laughing in this scene, which is probably the only reason it made it past the censors ❌

- “Cole, throw me!” “Excuse me?!?” “Throw me!” ✅

- I know it’s just the first episode, but I’m curious as to what they’re gonna do for new toys sets this wave- “The techno blade must’ve hacked the hover-copter’s system! Zane controls it!” Oh, there they are

- “*lying* I always said Mr. Cole was my favorite!” Accurate representation of middle schoolers… I’m counting that as a sin ❌

- “Anyone else feeling all tingly inside?” No!… maybe… ✅

- “I have given you new outfits to help block the facial recognition software.” They never actually do this. ❌

- “Robots vs. ninja? Dare I ask?” Someone mentioned awhile ago that Lloyd enters like a guest star on a sitcom and honestly they’re right ✅

- Also family hug! ✅

- “With a 4.2% chance of success, I’d say hope is slim.” “That’s why it’s called hope, Zane!” I actually have a lot to say about Zane’s arc this season, but for now I’m just gonna win this as foreshadowing and move on ✅

- “We will, but only when you’re safe!” “He wants these weapons, and for some reason, he also wants you. Remember, this was sensei’s plan. They can’t break him!” “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has yet to come. We need to worry about today!” “You said it, Zane!” “We will come back to New Ninjago City, and when we do, we’ll be ready!” I get Jay isn’t really depicted as the wise one, but was it really fair of the writers to take four inspirational, end-of-episode lines and only split them among 3 of 4 characters? Come on, give him a little credit! ❌

- ^ No. assembly line system. Could ever. F*cking. Function like this. ❌

Sentence: Ninjago Reboot….. (1/4)

[zippverschluss]

ep 9 notes

haven't checked the tag yet, need to sort through / document my thoughts first.

i'm a bit... disappointed, i guess? but i think that's owed to my expectations. after a week of collective theorizing i was (not so) secretly hoping for a sauruman VS gandalf style face off and so what we got felt a bit... pedestrian?

so i guess the gardener did hurt him after all, just not the 'shears-in-your-body' kind of inury? i honestly thought he'd stick to stalking.

speaking of which, i'll be disappointed if it's really garden dude using nayeon and not the other way round. nayeon being skilled in black magic and just using / playing men left and right to reach her own various ends and satisfy her needs would have elevated the character immensely. feels a bit disrespectful tbh.

speaking of disrespect, i suspected as much, but still... how can they have the mother not know? like honestly? how can her asshole husband tell the woman his son just broke up with about the illness but not his wife? i reeeaaally want hj to hex him... like, make him step on a lego everyday of his life. or have shampoo get into his eyes. something like that.

back in ep. 3 when sy saw hj in the dress and just last episode, we focused on his right hand. same happend during the proposal scene in ep. 5 and yesterday in the hospital with nayeon. i guess that holds significance?

were sy and ny ever intimate with each other?

i liked how they filmed the nightmare hj had.

also, how ambigious jg still feels. though i'm leaning towards ally who hasn't realized yet that he missed his shot. (also, does jg know the mayor is dirty? the mayor is dirty, right? playing footsie with the haum ceo? is that why he poached sy? to take on the mayor? and if he doesn't know, doesn't that just really undercut his character?)

did garden dude hit sy with some magic to make him black out? did that magic bring back his past memories? i thought he remembered when he woke up in the hospital.

but then i really don't understand the artistic decision process behind the scene in front of the hospital. that scene made (makes) me think i must be mistaken? how can he remember loving / killing her 300 years ago and the first thing he asks about is the in house messenger? (yeah, i know, he wanted her to go back on her word...) but even if he wanted to not let on, where were the longing / pining / loving eyes from last episode? the whole thing just felt very bland and weird.

also, poor rowoon. they obvs. didn't find hospital pants long enoug for him.

also, pls. don't push sick / hospitalized people. you don't know what tubes / needles they have sticking in or out of them. drama writers, find other ways to initiate physical touch. (just as lazy as drunk alley dude in ep 2).

i cared about ma and go for the first time. that scene was funny. i don't appreciate that once again show insinuates that a man is needed to keep a home in order, but since ma is freshly divorced it is plausible. for a moment i thought he was gonna choke her out or pass out himself. lol

also, re the hug, 'what kind of man asks that beforehand?'. the kind that respects boundaries and gives you the chance to say no? uncool ma, uncool show.

i guess no tentative friendships at work, but passive-aggressiveness?

loved the fireworks and the traditional music. was my favourite part of the episode. that slapped. wished they would have kept that music for the romantic scene.

there's still the option that him wholeheartedly embracing his feelings for hj brought upon the past memories. in which case that must be one long-ass hug. still, i'd prefer that scenario over the hospital-dream one. embracing his feelings because he remembers cheapens it a bit imo. its prob. the latter though seeing how he asked his mom about past lives.

his parents' bickering is getting on my nerves.

this episode felt really disjointed. i understand the cuts / edits were to not reveal too much, but at this point i'm just really annoyed by it.

for that reason bridge scene didn't have the impact it prob. should have had since i wasn't really sure what was going on?

spell scene too short, dress not as strange / pretty. but loved the music. also, what spell did she use? seduction?

i liked the child actors surprisingly much. i liked it even more that already as a child she had shaman capabilities.

i know tall people fall in love too, but man those hugs looked uncomfortable.

there's many other thoughts in my head but lastly: i guess only him remembers the past out of the two of them. i don't like that. at all. after 8 episodes it finally felt like they were on somewhat even footing when it came to knowledge about magic, spells, curses.... having only him remember once again means he knows more and is the proactive one, whereas she is only reacting and being driven by him. (but, if only him remembers, how can we as an audience see the things that only she can know? being brought to the shaman as a child? her premunition of the bloody hand?)

on that note, i hope the next kiss is initiated by hj. would be nice to see her express her desires / feelings. 3 kisses in and it's always him planting one on her. reciprocity is hot!! gimme gimme gimme!

[insidemymessymentalmind]

I swear the writers hated letting characters that have struggled actually be happy. The relationship up and downs between Mickey and Mia are quite something. Mickey of course struggling to open up about what happened with Delaney, finally doing it and then Heaton and Mia having a fling behind Mickey's back. Why? No disrespect to Heaton's actor, but if I had to choose between Heaton and Mickey it'd be Mickey every day of the week despite the obvious flaws. Rewatching it a second time properly it really is something and I really wished Mickey and Mia had been allowed to just be.

Jack's support through the whole plot line and him clearly wanting to see Mickey happy too was really sweet, even if he did overstep a boundary mentioning Mickey's ex fiancee. There are really so many other moments from this plot line I could ramble and make gifs of, but lets be honest, Mickey punching Heaton over the desk is just SUCH a satisfying gif it needed making.

Overall I guess I'm also glad that once it was done it was done. Mia left a few eps later, Heaton refused Mickey's resignation, and he wisely had Mickey keep an eye on Jack during 'The Prodigal Son' and 'Judgement Call' plots.

[gg-carboxylase]

Translation from @/Ninepinta on Twitter. He's one of the writers I'm pretty sure? Via Google translate:

I really like the moment when the characters talk naked before having sex. It has a very western feel to the series. The content here seems very human. The mood of this scene is nothing like EP one or four. It's satisfying and like you're revealing your feelings and really talking about them. Nervous, embarrassed, wanting to impress the person you love. 11:29 UTC+7 09 Sept 23

I really like the rhythm of telling this sex scene. Very charming and diplomatic Intention of arriving at the room Invite to have sex indirectly, make decisions, talk sweetly, get undressed, say I love you. My favorite point is kissing and then tripping. Really real Sex is not smooth and there are many complicated processes. The timing of this scene is told very beautifully. 11:32 UTC+7 09 Sept 23

And...

Listen.

Here's my issue with the TopMew scene. The very first scene we get with them is incredibly hot. It has the best kisses we've gotten from ForceBook. It's hands down one of the best scenes in BL, tbh.

They are very comfortable with each other in that space to be able to film that. It's beautifully shot. It captures Mew's inner conflict, his little stutter at the beginning when Top kisses him, etc.

I understand the motivation behind showing the scene in episode five. Yes, this is how Real Sex goes. My question is this — which do you want to show because this scene was super out of step with nearly everything else. We got a fade to black after a massively uninspired couch... Whatever.

I don't need the high heat of, NickBoston or TopBoston. FK are doing great in their scenes and they are all suggestion. I would love that for FB if they're not comfortable with more.

Another note — FB's kisses took a huge step back (which happened in ABaaB, too). I could break it down but they are very stiff in the lips. Look at JoongDunk and AouBoom in Hidden Agenda. Their kisses have outdone FB hands down and it annoys me. P'Tee knows how to deliver emotional encounters with heat. And however he directs his kisses is wizardry.

I'm just not sure what the sticking point is here is for FB. Is there a boundary issue? Direction doesn't catch the kissing? Do FB need so much time to recover that they jus can't do more? I would be fine with the just plain makeouts if these lads would just kiss. We know they can! They had some lovely kisses in previous series and previously in OF.

Sorry. I am just a very frustrated Kittens. Maybe it's just me? I want them to look as beautiful on screen as JD, EM, etc. They deserve it.

[monstrousproductions]

was gonna send you one of those "Send your favourite indie audio drama a secret confession of love this valentines" things that you reblogged about a bit ago but seems ive left it too late so the old fashioned way it is: MA is my favourite podcast and you are such an incredible writer and actor and probs my fave voice in podcasting and i am desperately sad that ive fallen behind on listening tho bright side having a whole bunch of eps waiting for me is also something to look forward to

hmm now how to make a public secret confession of love while also remembering youve at least once responded to amorous confessions with gentle reminders that youre an internet person on their professional podcast blog hmmm

Ohhhh lovely one!!! I know it's not quite Valentime yet (though it's only ten minutes to midnight when I'm writing this so good enough) but I'm cheating and looking at my nice thing early 💖

Thank you SO much, this means a lot! I really hope you can get some nice quiet time soon to relax and binge-listen to your heart's content. It's absolutely wild to me that MA could be someone's favourite podcast and it's really lovely to know that it just hits the spot for some people!

As for amorous confessions, I think you're a-OK with this one because it's very specifically about the podcast and my work on it so I don't feel funky about it haha I think the last one was nudging up against a "you, Hero, are a cute person" kind of thing (though iirc it didn't really cross any line, I just felt like it was a good opportunity to set a boundary) while this is much more "MA is good and you did good work on it" which needs no such gentle reminder!

[tropicalfreckles]

Finally started OMITB s3 (i'm behind y'all) spoilers ahead for each ep

Episode one and we have a nepo baby making out with his mom Oliver why are these people producing your show-

"he's gay so i can kiss him like that" it's still weird ma'am

also oh shit maryl streep

Oliver like "I'm your favorite right" lmao I love Mabel loves her favorite 2 old besties

LMAO HE'S ALIVE WHAT?

I still wanna know what's up with Mabel's aunt. I thought she was renovating for her where is she. Did her aunt give her her apartment. Is she dead?

Also Mabel missing her best friends :<

oh her aunt sold the apartment okay-

there we go dead ben lmao

Episode two!

Mabel freaking out about being almost 30 and not having her life together, OMITB don't come after my 31 year old ass-

Also y'all it's okay if you're still not sure what to do in life at 29 man 20s are just for stumbling around I'm going to be honest with you.

I also want Mable's outfit from the funeral please they always give Selena Gomez a great wardrobe

IS OLIVER HAVING A HEART ATTACK NO OLIVER (also mabel and charles in danger on the SECOND EPISODE)

"PTSD check, how we holding up?" "Okay, I already repressed it." "That's good."

Love Oliver's own subconscious using his friends to tell him to chill out and relax about the play and his take away was throwing himself into it to make it a musical.

Episode 3!

Charles enjoys getting insulted by Oliver jkdsfsdds (I guess the constant critiquing makes him act better)

Ma'am please stop kissing your son you're weird.

will mabel make a new friend this season, who knows (I also hope they bring back Theo very highkey cause I think he's funny and I like his actor) (tho I also heard he's not in s3 and if he isn't boo)

Oliver is kicking his own ass this season with his insecurity and narcissism.

I enjoyed the mood Meryl Streep set in the Nanny's song (I also liked kimber's background vocals)

I know omitb always has that one running gag I hate as much as I love this show but I wish this seasons wasn't weird nepo baby relationship kdsfsd

Episode 4! finally catching up

cinda continues to be an eccentric weirdo

"I take offense to that!" "That was my intention." Charles and Oliver continue having great banter lmao

charles mental breakdown black out WHY ARE HIS PANTS OFF

"I know I'm not mentally healthy, but that's okay-" Charles you are relatable but my man get therapy

I need to ask again do the writers to know how people around my age or younger act again

Mabel setting her boundaries good for her Annnnd I'm all caught up! Do I know who the villain is yet? probably not lmao but I got ideas