#it makes a bit of sense since way back in episode 2 he immediately thought of ivory as a prime suspect

[noven-warsh]

somebody in the comments section pointed out that bormethius has been spying on ivory throughout the house in episode 4...

[ineffable-suffering]

Why Aziraphale is an unreliable narrator

Part 1: The Story of Job

I'm absolutely not the first one to talk about this on here and I probably shan't be the last either. Alas, here's my take on why all of the minisodes in Season 2 should be enjoyed with great care – and taken with a grain of angelic salt.

I'm gonna split this into 3 parts, aka the three minisodes we are shown, since I tend to get a bit waffley in my posts and want to still be able to include all the little details. Once I've written them, I'll link Part 2 & Part 3 here as well!

Alright, let's get into it under the cut of doom.

Episode 2 opens with the Story of Job. Right off the bat, I noticed that it sort of looks like an old film playing. At first I didn't read that much into it, but once we see the cut-away to Aziraphale at the bookshop, currently reading that part of the Bible (presumably), I immediately thought: "Oh! It's because it's his memory. He's remembering how it went down and therefore it plays like a figurative film in his head."

This, I then came to realize, is a very crucial difference to all the flashbacks of S1, which were exclusively told and narrated by God. May her intensions be as ineffable as they are: She did tell us all of these stories from an objective outsider's point of view. Now, however, it's Aziraphale who's re-telling those stories to us from memory.

And if there's one thing that's for certain, it's that a memory is something entirely different to an objective narration of a story. Just think about how you yourself remember things. Especially things that happened years, maybe even decades (or, in an angel's case, millenia) ago. What is it, that you really remember? Can you know for sure, that a conversation was held with those exact words? Are you 100% certain that the clothes someone wore weren't different? Had it really been snowing or would that make very little sense given what you're remembering happened in May? And did it even happen in May? Or does that just happen to be your favourite month, the current weather, your preferred style of clothing and what it was that you would imagine someone would have said to you?

What I'm trying to say is: The further away it is that something happened, the more your brain has to fill in the gaps. This is why, for example, your parents will remember the family summer holiday entirely different when you ask them about it 20 years later.

"No, it was Sarah who puked on the car ride home!" "Nonsense, Sarah never puked as a child. Bobby had that gone-off pizza, he's the one that was sick the whole ride long!"

We've all been there. Bobby made it out alive. Don't buy gas station pizza.

Alright, back to the plot: Naturally, Aziraphale is not actually human, so it is a pure assumption on my part that the way his memory works is similar to ours. However, the whole topic of "memory" is actually quite a recurring one on Good Omens.

Crowley seems to have lost his in the Fall, yet somehow managed to get most of it back. Not all of it, though, he clearly has some major gaps ("You used to jump on me back, little monkey in the waistcoat!"). Beelzebub helps Gabriel store all his memories in their little fly container before they get wiped entirely too, by the Metatron and/or Saraqael. Crowley and Aziraphale (and possibly Jimbriel) perform a miracle together that makes everyone in Heaven and Hell forget who Garbiel is or what he looks like. And we know that the Book of Life apparently has the ability to completely erase someone from existence – ergo also erasing them from everyone's memory and making it is as though the person had never been in them at all.

So, clearly, angels and demons being able to remember, forget, reconstruct and, if you're the Metadork, wipe memories, is very much canon. Apart from that very last one, it does make them quite human-like in a way. We too can forget or (wrongfully and incompletely) reconstruct memories, due to things like trauma, illness or simply a lot of time having passed.

So, just like Crowley remembers going into battle but doesn't remember Furfur being there, or just like Jimbriel has entierly forgotten who he is but still remembers the tune and lyrics to Buddy Holly's song Everyday, and just like archangel Michael was miraculously made to forget Gabriel and yet says "Don't I know you?" when seeing him again – just like that, Aziraphale's memories of the story of Job, the story of wee Morag and the story of the magic show in 1941, might not actually be the whole truth.

So, time to look at where the furniture isn't.

Now, it could very well be that the costume designers of S2 thought: "Fuck it, let's go crazy" – but given that this show has a track record of meticulously making sure to stick to accurate and cohesive character design, doesn't it strike you as odd that Crowley would go from this look at the Flood in Mesopotamia, 3004 BC:

... to the (very iconic, don't get me wrong) Bildad the Shuhuite drip in 2500 BC:

... back to this at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in 33 AD:

I mean ... I mean– come on, that seems like a bit of a far stretch, even for someone as enthusiastically experimental with fashion as Crowley.

And it's not just that: Where did the sunglasses come from, all of a sudden? And why do they look like some sort of obscure, ancient optometrist's device? It's a known historical fact that the Romans were the ones to have invented sunglasses, somewhere around 50-ish AD. Which actually matches perfectly with when Crowley and Aziraphale meet again in Rome 8 years after the crucifixion (51 AD).

So, where do the weird spectacles come from, over 2000 years too early? Maybe from Aziraphale's brain filling in some gaps? Hasn't Crowley always worn those ridiculous sunglasses? Was it Rome? Or Golgotha? Wessex? Oh, blimey, what does it matter!

And it's not just Crowley: Aziraphale's own clothes, as well as the other angels', seem to be very different from the rather plain linen we see him wear before and after the story of Job.

They're laced with golden embroidery along the neckline and sleeves. The remind almost of the clothes angels are depicted wearing in biblical and historical drawings. Ornate and decadent. Not at all like we see Aziraphale in the other flashbacks of S1.

Even Bildad the Shuhite's hair within the minisode keeps changing, going from all pouffy and voluminous to rather deflated and straight-looking:

The costume department either had to fix up two seperate wigs or manually straighten out the volume of the one again to give it a more sleek look. I'm not a professional in this field, but if there's anything I've learned from watching hours of behind-the-scenes material of movies and shows, it's that very little about costume, character, prop and set design is purely coincidental.

You know what it could be, though? An accurate representation of how memories aren't linear, historically correct and objective representations of a certain event, but rather an ever-changing, jumbled mess of impressions, emotions and exaggerations.

More specifically: Aziraphale's impression, emotions and exaggerations.

Like "remembering" Crowley with sunglasses because he's been wearing them for so long.

Like "remembering" himself wearing more luxurious, angelic clothes because that's how he thinks of the difference between Heaven and Hell.

Like "remembering" the permit as a ridiculously long scroll that folded out over an entire valley.

Like "remembering" Job's children to be weirdly sassy in an almost Aziraphale-esque way (Enon: "Don't be silly!") for the fact that Job would have probably taught them to be more humble and obedient in the presence of a literal angel.

Like "remembering" eating an entire fucking Ox after having just one bite of it while Crowley watched him lustfully, sipping on his wine.

Like "remembering" Crowley calling him 'angel', despite them having barely known each other back then.

There's a reason why the flashbacks in S2 seem so much more alive, quirky and, at many points, confusing and all over the place. Because they're not objective stories being told by a third party. They're Aziraphale's. So much of his own thoughts and feelings at the time get projected onto them because that's simply how memory works!

It's subjective. It's unrealiable.

It's not that I'm calling Aziraphale a liar. He's no more a liar than your parents are, mixing up Sarah and Bobby. Or you, remembering snow instead of sunshine. Memories aren't lies. They can simply be faulty, focus on things that you thought were more important and leaving out or changing things that weren't, to you.

The real challenge in all of this, is trying to filter through Aziraphale's stories to see what it actually is they're telling us. Where it is that the furniture isn't. And I think in this case, that's 6 main things (eff you, God, I know you like sevens, but I don't care):

God and Satan (still) talk to each other We see that Aziraphale is quite surprised when Muriel mentions that the whole Job thing is God's bet with Satan. But clearly, despite having made him and the rest fall, God still converses with Her number one traitor about whether or not the humans simply love Her because she gives them nice things or because they truly believe in Her.

God and Satan (and Heaven and Hell) can and do collaborate with each other when they feel like it So much for choosing sides, huh? Truthfully, this is not the first time this is shown to us, but still. It's another piece of evidence on the growing pile.

Aziraphale understands the World and humans way better than any of the other angels "Well, you see ... Citis is 58 ..."

Aziraphale, despite having troubles voicing it, absolutely disagrees and even condemns God's plan of destroying Job's children (and goats and camels and––)

Aziraphale is willing to lie and thwart the will of God Also not the first time we're being shown this but again, piiiile of evidence.

Angels don't automatically Fall simply by doing the above To me, this is one of the most important take aways. It's already hinted in S1 as well that 'Falling' seems to have been a one time even back when the first war broke out in Heaven. And I actually believe that ever since then, no other angels have Fallen again. Aziraphale is the best example for this. He has gone against God's plan numerous times and even lied to her very face (voice?) about it. And yet, nothing ever happened to him. Why exactly that is the case remains a topic for another meta (that I might or might not be working on already, teehee).

Alright, that concludes this first look at the Job minisode! If there's anything I missed, feel free to share it with me. I'll try and add Part 2 (the story of wee Morag) and Part 3 (the magic show of 1941) soon.

Update: Part 2 and Part 3 have officially been written, you can find it them right here:

Part 2: The Story of wee Morag

Part 3: The Story of the Magic Show in 1941

Hugs and kisses, (God)!

[babacontainsmultitudes]

🤔 Admittedly I was a little disappointed by the reveal (but certainly not surprised the foreshadowing was heavy in this episode lol), but not actually against how Beth (and Will) seem to be playing with it thus far- which is to say that I do think it has a lot of potential, and I suspect there's more to what we're seeing).

;) Big ol' ramble below

Mostly the theory has turned me off until now (at least insofar as I've witnessed it transpire in the fandom at large) because it struck me as so painfully ironic to see Trudy, a 1950s housewife, struggle to exist under the system that she's in, fail to fit the mold assigned to her, and be denied her personhood very literally for it (this being ironic insofar as how it mimics how she would have been treated back then). This and because frankly I just think she's a lot less interesting if she's fully a robot LOL, but I'll hopefully get to that in a bit.

Not that the hints at her mechanical nature and the relevance of Tucker's background were lost on me; I can appreciate why those would contribute to a plausible, fun and I think still mostly harmless theory (now fact). However, minus one or two specific posts I've seen on the matter (namely a recent one suggesting that if Trudy is a robot Beth is probably taking inspiration from The Stepford Wives, :( sorry person who made that post I couldn't find it I wanted to credit yoouuu), I've seen the theory just about exclusively presented in a manner that, rather than explore the metaphorical and political significance of Trudy being partially or fully mechanical, at best disregards the parts of her narrative that are at their core about sexism (among other related things), and at worst negates them entirely (i.e. Trudy only thinking and acting how she does because she's a robot malfunctioning and not because the world itself is causing harm and she rightfully wants something more than the role she was forced into, Trudy not even having any real thoughts and feelings of her own, etc.). I just think it kind of sucks to shove all those important things about her aside and say "actually, there's no person suffering here, she's just a robot" and perhaps worse yet to imply that she does have thoughts and feelings but because they result in Weird™ behavior it must be a problem with her code and not at all relate to what women were subjugated to during this point in American history.

CONVERSELY I don't think Trudy being a robot (or at least partially one) at least from what Beth and Will have presented us thus far, inherently suffers from any of these issues? First and foremost because Trudy definitely appears to possess sentience, thoughts, and emotions of her own, matters which immediately complicate her degree of personhood and don't inherently box her behavior in as a bug in her programming rather than an issue with the world she's been put in, quite the opposite in fact! I think they have a very solid groundwork laid out here to make a strong statement with Trudy's narrative (and perhaps ask the question of what is really malfunctioning here), all the more so since [I pull out a Rebecca Swallows-style conspiracy board] I don't think she's entirely robotic in nature? Actually you should just read Mack's tags in this post cause he has great thoughts on the matter (of which those are just some of them), but if I can direct your attention to one thing in particular, it would be Beth's fact (I *believe* from episode 2) about Trudy never graduating high school because of her essay where she suggested that "perhaps women could one day domesticate themselves", a statement that could of course be interpreted a number of ways but ultimately threatened the patriarchal status quo enough (in suggesting women's independence) to cost Trudy her diploma. Taken on its own this fact appears to contradict the theory that Trudy has always been robotic in nature, because it doesn't really make sense that Trudy would have been set up to go through high school (or school at all really) when Tucker's intention was/is for her to be the perfect housewife. You may then suggest that Trudy's memories of this are fabricated and not actually her lived experiences, in which case firstly perhaps you should reread my earlier point on the robot theory being used to actively negate and otherwise disregard the portions of Trudy's narrative that pertain to sexism and feminism, and secondly it really doesn't make any sense to me that Tucker would implant those kind of memories into Trudy's brain? To be completely honest if she's been a robot from the very beginning (rather than someone who became a cyborg, which is what I'm trying to suggest here), then I don't see why Tucker would program her with actual sentience in the first place (suspending my disbelief here with regards to the possibility of programming sentience to begin with). It seems much more likely to me then that Trudy was not always a robot, and instead altered by Tucker to force her into a role of subordination and remedy her """imperfections""". This option is significantly more interesting to me one, because it implies that Trudy has actually lived a life up until the present, full of its own complexities and strife (and dreams, and real actual memories worth exploring, etc.), and hence is not by any means "just a robot", and second because it amplifies the hypothetical statement being made on the lives of the real living women of the era and how they were treated and seen as being "in need of fixing" for not conforming to gender roles or otherwise acting "out of line" with what was expected of them.

OKAY THIS GOT OUT OF HAND SO I'M CUTTING MYSELF OFF HERE but I wanted to my share my current thoughts what with this ending and where I'm at so hopefully that was at least interesting to whoever has chosen to read through this one okay thank you byyyyyyyyye~

[miyakazashi]

Thoughts about Bridon episode 1

These are just some random thoughts, so don't mind them if they sound outrageous, but I mean half of Link Click's current fandom theories sound outrageous or absolutely insane, am I right ?

1. Evil Qiao Ling ?

Hear me out, let me explain my thought process first, so I was at the post-credits scene of episode 1, where this happens...

Liu Xiao gets informed by an unknown person, that someone "Finally found it", and also claims that the "game" can finally start.

With this theory I'm assuming that "Finally found it", refers to Cheng Xiaoshi "finding the Bridon photo", and I know this looks obvious, but it could also be the timing playing with us, regardless, that's what I'm going with for this theory.

Then this scene comes into play in this little theory, where Qiao Ling basically gets Cheng Xiaoshi to look through that particular part of the shelf, where he then finds the photo, now I know she said "a black box" and not the shelf, but she left after Cheng Xiaoshi said that he hadn't seen it, immediately saying that he would look elsewhere (the place where the photo coincidentally is), it's extremely possible that Qiao Ling basically forced him to look there, then heard from outside the room that Cheng Xiaoshi had found it, then calls Liu Xiao and tells him, which leads to that whole thing Liu Xiao did in episode 2 to get Cheng Xiaoshi on his way to Bridon, which checks out with the whole "the game can start thing", with this particular version of this theory,yes,Qiao Ling would be evil,and would be apart of the antagonists in some way, however, after I had some time to think, another thought came to mind.

2. Li Tianchen was controlling Qiao Ling ?

Is there a chance that Li Tianchen was controlling Qiao Ling to get information for Liu Xiao, since in season 2, with him going through hell and back to get Liu Min's phone for Liu Xiao, I don't think it's a stretch to say that he started working for him that early on, since they had to have been contacting each other during the time they weren't able to meet.

So basically, Li Tianchen controls Qiao Ling, and gets Cheng Xiaoshi to see the Bridon photo, then tells Liu Xiao about it.

And though a bit unrelated to the theory, Li Tianchen being the unknown caller would also make sense because of another line Liu Xiao said, "Good work, leave the rest to me", or rather the original Chinese line, “辛苦了，接下來就交���我吧”, since after listening to the line for awhile, I somehow think he was actually saying “交給我們” instead of “交給我”, fellow Chinese speakers, feel free to correct me, but I'm pretty sure the 們 can be heard, it's really subtle though, so I'm not sure, this small difference would change the English translation of the line into, "Good work, leave the rest to us", and if we're assuming "us" means Liu Xiao and Vein, it absolutely checks out, since Li Tianchen would be the only one of the group not in and also not going to Bridon for this plan.

Another small theory I have, is about this line Vein said in episode 1

3. Who is "Vein" in Bridon Episode 1 ?

"This is your punishment for changing the past"

So I saw this video where someone pointed out that this line is extremely similar to that one line in season 1 said by a controlled Qiao Ling, and said to Cheng Xiaoshi, after Lu guang got stabbed.

"This is the punishment for your breach of the game rules"

But the person stops there and doesn't really say much about the similarity, but immediately I was thinking, what if, ok hear me out- what if, Li Tianchen was controlling Vein in Bridon Episode 1, it would not only explain the similar line, but it would also explain the fact that Vein seemed to be a bit over powered in episode 1.

Cause I remember there was a time in the fandom, where alot of people were questioning why it seemed like Vein wasn't really at his full power in the opening scene, like he wasn't even at his average power let alone full, some pointed out that Cheng Xiaoshi being able to even land a kick on him was a bit surprising and also the fact that he literally walked over (instead of sprinting) to retrieve his gun (could mean he actually got tired?), someone even pointed out that his expression after Lu guang shut the door to the dark room on him, was really unlike him, the conclusion was that people thought that Vein's fighting style looked really different and was kinda odd in Episode 1 as opposed to what we see in Episode 4 or Episode 6, which are definitely more..uhhh.. wild ???

This different fighting style also led to many thinking that the Vein we saw was Xia Fei disguised as Vein, but Actually what if it's old age finally catching up to post-Bridon, 28-year-old Vein

Ahem, what if it was just because Li Tianchen was controlling Vein, and was actually the one fighting Lu guang and Cheng Xiaoshi, obviously he'd be fighting with Vein's strength, which gave him the upper-hand for most of the fight, but without Vein's particular fighting style and strategies, he still wouldn't be able to utilize Vein's strength properly, causing us to see something off in the way "Vein" fights in episode 1.

Now as to whether or not Vein was aware that Li Tianchen would be controlling him, I'd think he'd be unaware, but actually it could go both ways, they could have planned it so that Li Tianchen would control him during the attack, though I can't think of a reason, and it could also be something Liu Xiao and Li Tianchen kept from Vein, meaning these three might have different goals as well, or maybe Liu Xiao's just weird like that, and is betraying Vein for absolutely no reason

Anyways, if your still here, thanks for listening to me yapping (yapping here late at night btw, I'm so tired, expect typos), and feel free to add to the theory too.

*And again as always, I apologize in advance if any of this is common sense in the fandom

[levihanskid]

‘Till the End of the Line: Bakugo Katsuki’s Twin AU chapter 2

Ch1 ao3 link wattpad link i'm sorry this took so long, vet school is killing me ;-; this chapter has been sitting in my drafts for so long but the latest episode made me finally do it

The following months have been extensive for both Katsuki and Mitsuko. They tried to be consistent with their morning runs, but there were times where one or both of them would sleep in. Mostly Mitsuko, which pissed her twin a lot. After school, they would spend an hour improving their physical condition and stamina, and another hour training with their quirks. All while trying to keep up with their studies and reviewing for the entrance exam.

Ten months had passed, and the twins are now walking towards the enormous gates of UA High School. They took the written exam a few weeks ago, which was easier than they expected. Today is the day that the twins are anticipating the most, the practical exam. Mitsuko felt a mix of emotions as she looked up the school’s crest on top of the gate. She’s nervous, but at the same time she’s excited and can’t wait to put her training to use.

As they entered the school grounds, a familiar curly green hair caught her eyes. “Hey look, it’s your bff,” she nudged her brother.

From a few feet away, Midoriya Izuku stood at the middle in deep thought. Probably freaking out on the inside.

“Out of the way Deku!” Katsuki yelled.

“Kacchan! Micchan!” Izuku called in surprise.

Mitsuko visibly cringed at the nickname he used to address her and eyed the boy. “I told you to stop calling me that.”

“Move it! Or I’ll kill you!” her brother spat, unaffected by the childish nickname.

The boy immediately stepped out of the way and stuttered. “G-good morning! Let’s uh— let’s do our best!”

The twins didn’t say anything back, but she gave him a small smile before continuing to walk to the building.

“Isn’t that Bakugo? From the Sludge Villain Incident?”

“Yeah. And that’s the girl from the video. They’re twins aren’t they?”

Mitsuko is used to people murmuring about them, given that her brother is a big show off. This isn’t the first time they had people talking about something that one of them did, so she chose to ignore the whispers and looked ahead.

Inside the auditorium, they were greeted by the Voice Hero, Present mic. Mitsuko sat next to her brother, as well as Izuku who chose to be seated next to them and is currently fan boying over the pro hero at the podium. Katsuki tried telling him to shut up, but the boy kept muttering to himself and Mitsuko had to lean away from his direction to avoid getting distracted.

“As the application says, you’ll be participating in a ten minute battle in a mock city. Get ready! After this, you will head to your assigned battle center.”

She looked at her examination card, and then glanced over her brother’s.

“In other words, they’re not letting friends work together, huh?”

“You’re right,” Izuku agreed, his eyes glued to the blonde boy’s card. “We have consecutive numbers, but different centers.”

“Don’t look, want to die?” Katsuki threatened. “Tch. Now I can’t crush you, damn it.”

His last words made the curly boy move away a bit and turn his attention back to the stage.

“Makes sense,” Mitsuko whispered, her focus still on her card which displayed a letter C while her brother got A. “The exam is meant to test our individual abilities. They wouldn’t want us to tag-team.”

Present Mic continued his presentation. He went on to inform them about the types of mock villains they will be facing and that each type represents 1, 2, and 3 points each. They were also told about the gimmick villain that they’re supposed to run away from since it’s just there to cause trouble and not give points.

She played with her fingers as she tried to listen, making sure she knows every detail.

“Stop fidgeting,” her brother snapped. “It’s annoying. Why are nervous anyway?”

“I don’t know. It’s a mix between excitement and anxiety. And this orientation is taking so long,” she replied, intertwining her fingers to keep them steady.

“You’re right. We’ve heard enough, I can’t wait to crush those bots. Think you can get a hundred points?” her twin asked, still looking ahead. Although it’s obvious that he’s also starting to get restless.

“A hundred might be impossible, considering the time limit, the competition, and the fact that we won’t have any idea where the villains would be.”

“I can make it possible,” he brother scoffed. “And I’ll make sure to get the first spot.”

“Is that a challenge?” she raised a brow. “Whoever gets less points have to do the other’s chores for two weeks, then.”

Katsuki grinned at the raised stake. “Deal. Let’s show these extras how it’s done.”

***

Mitsuko tried containing her loud heartbeats as she stood before the door where the exam is going to take place. After the orientation, they were directed to change out of their middle school uniforms and get on the bus that would take them to their respective battle centers. She had changed into a white racerback tank top and some sweat pants.

The format of the test is very fortunate for her, since her quirk can easily be utilized. She imagined how those with quirks that only works to people would do against robots.

“Let’s do our best!” she heard an excited voice. Mitsuko looked over her shoulder to see a girl with pink hair and pink skin talking to the people around her with no tinge of awkwardness. They locked eyes for a moment.

“Huh? Why do you look familiar?” the girl looked at her with a hint of recognition.

Before she could respond, the voice of the hero Present Mic echoed through the speakers.

“Start! What are waiting for? Real fights don’t have countdowns!”

Mitsuko didn’t waste any second and ran inside the training grounds, using her quirk to propel herself forward.

She saw a couple of number 1 and 2 robots straight ahead. Without any hesitation, she pointed her palms toward them and willed her quirk out. Her forearms glowed in bright white-yellow color. The light traveled onto her hands into her palms before blasting to the direction of the robots. They exploded with the contact, leaving electric sparks and smokes.

“Nice quirk ‘ya got there,” a voice from behind commented. Mitsuko whirled around and saw a boy approaching her. He’s got blonde hair and gray eyes, but what caught her attention (in a bad way) was the annoying smug face that he has.

She didn’t reply, so the boy continued. “Must be nice having a quirk so flashy, huh?”

He tapped her on the shoulder, and a look of recognition flashed across his face for a second, before being replaced with a smirk. “Weren’t you that girl from the video? Didn’t expect you to be here after all that shit talking to those heroes.”

The smirk was one thing, but his words made Mitsuko’s blood boil. Her red pupils dilated and her right eyebrow raised as she tried to stop herself from blinding the guy. She shouldn’t be distracted right now.

Another batch of robots showed up, and she thanked the heavens for giving her an excuse to walk away from where she’s currently standing.

“Sorry, but I don’t have time for a chitchat,” she said in a monotone voice, swatting the guy’s hand away from her shoulder.

She ran to destroy the robots, but before she could stretch her hands out, quick flashes of light reached and blasted them into pieces. No, those were not just lights, they look too much like hers.

She looked back to where the lights came from, confusion clearly visible from her face.

“Whoops! Sorry for stealing points from ‘ya, but I gotta do what I gotta do, don’t ‘ya think?” it was the same blonde guy, still wearing his irritating smirk. He turned on his heel and began walking away. “I’ll be having this flashy quirk for a while, better make use of it!”

Those words confused her even more. Did he just get her quirk?

She shook her head and put her focus back on the exam. Shit. Was he trying to stall me for some reason?

The exam just started, but she could’ve gotten more points if she wasn’t standing around having a one sided conversation with that guy. She can’t afford to waste more time.

She flew around the grounds looking for more targets, blasting her quirk backwards to levitate and propel herself faster. Taking down every robot she encounters along the way as quickly as she could.

She was at 23 points, if she counted correctly, when she reached the area where a lot of the kids are gathered. Present Mic’s voice echoed through the speakers again.

“We have reached the half time!! Five minutes left before the exam ends!!!”

She saw a bunch of robots with different points surrounding the students. More people means more robots to see them as targets. Just as she figured.

Mitsuko jumped over, smirking in satisfaction as she shot her quirk out at every single robot within her sight while using her flexibility and agility to maneuver herself.

The kids stared at her in awe. “What an awesome quirk she’s got.”

“Isn’t she the girl from that one video?”

“Hey! Leave some points for us!” one of them shouted out.

She continued gathering points, keeping herself airborne using her quirk and sometimes stepping on the robots to use them to keep her momentum. She kept going, faster and quicker, not letting the others steal points from her again.

By the time her feet touched the ground, all of the robots around the area were already blown into bits. Mitsuko wiped the sweat from her forehead and tightened her ponytail. She also noticed her arms glowing a bit. She must’ve used up the stored energy in her body since it’s currently absorbing sunlight again.

“You are so cool!! Those movements were amazing! You look like you could be a great dancer!” the same pink girl ran to her with enthusiasm. Mitsuko just noticed a pair of horns protruding out from her pink curly locks.

“I don’t dance,” she replied, looking around for more robots to destroy. She realized she lost count of her points after her exhibition earlier.

“Really? You should try! The way you’re moving while fighting is awesome!”

“I came here to be a hero, not a dancer,” Mitsuko cut the girls’ blabbering. “Sorry, but I really don’t have the time to–“

The ground shook, and a loud grumbling mechanical sound cut her last sentence. She looked up to see a huge robot approaching. It’s the zero point they were supposed to run away from.

Anyone with no balls would run away from that thing, all right. She thought to herself.

“Let’s go! That’s a no-pointer!” the pink girl pulled the back of her top.

Before they could take a step back however, the robot continued to stroll through the streets, destroying the buildings and causing debris to fall down.

Talk about keeping the damage to a minimum!

People began to scatter in a panic. Everyone was pushing trying to run away.

A huge piece of the building’s wall caught Mitsuko’s attention. It was plummeting into the direction of the students, specifically the pink girl. Mitsuko didn’t even realize that the girl started running off. The girl was looking over her left shoulder, seemingly trying to call Mitsuko to join the retreat. While the debris was coming from her right side, a complete blind spot.

She hasn’t trained much to target moving objects, not to mention fast ones. So she decided not to try and shoot it while it’s falling down.

Her next action was caused by the heat of the moment. It was a crazy idea, but she prayed it would work.

Mitsuko ran towards the girl faster than the rock. When she reached her, she pushed the girl out of the way and produced the strongest energy barrier she could muster. It was a move she’s been improving for the past year. It worked against her brother’s attacks, so she’s hoping that it’ll work against the huge piece of rock.

It did. Sort of.

She was able to stop the debris without her barrier faltering, but its weight and momentum was too heavy. She couldn’t free a hand to blast the rock into pieces. Now she’s stuck holding both her hands up to maintain the barrier.

She heard the pink girl grunt from behind her, and a spray of acid splashed onto the lower part of the rock causing it to move a little. In that given moment, Mitsuko quickly released her barrier and used her quirk again to make the rock explode.

The debris was casting a shadow over her so unlike before, her arms seemed to glow brighter. The rock blew up into pieces, but her body continued to glow a little as it absorbed sunlight to compensate for the energy she just lost.

Mitsuko turned around, panting as bits of sweat began forming on her forehead. She saw the girl trying to stand on her feet, but she couldn’t seem to put weight on her left foot.

“Can you run?” Mitsuko asked.

“No, I think I sprained my ankle from falling down earlier. Why’d you have to push me so hard anyway?!” the girl exclaimed.

“Huh!?” Mitsuko’s brows furrowed. “How is that my fault?! I just saved your ass!”

They didn’t have more time to argue, because the zero-point robot was nearing their position. As much as she hated it, Mitsuko took the girl’s arm over her shoulder and began moving. The people had thinned out, the other examinees must’ve managed to run off far from where they were.

Great. That just made their situation worse, because now the only targets the robot has was the two of them. And it’s currently aiming its enormous metal hand to swat them like little flies.

Despite trying to convince herself that UA wouldn’t allow anyone to get killed for an entrance exam, Mitsuko’s wracking nerves still got the best of her.

With gritted teeth, she let go of the girl’s arms, “Take cover!” she yelled and turned around to face the giant villain. She raised her arms, still glowing from the absorption, and waited for the perfect time to blast. But before that perfect time came, she felt a sudden smack behind her head.

Anger and confusion took over her as she tried to process what just happened. Mitsuko looked around with furrowed brows and saw a guy walking past her.

The annoying blonde kid from earlier stood in front of her and threw an energy blast towards the hands of the robot. Just like their first encounter, his blast looked so much like her quirk. The villain stopped, and the boy snickered before looking back at her. “I never planned to go after the gimmick, but I thought you needed saving,” he said in an arrogant voice which made Mitsuko’s mind ring in irritation.

“YOU FUCKING COPYCAT!” she began stomping towards him.

“Oh, you finally figured it out? You’re welcome, although that’s not a very nice nickna—“

“ARE YOU STUPID?! THAT ATTACK WAS SO WEAK IT WON’T EVEN MAKE A SCRATCH!”

There was a loud metallic creaking sound. Mitsuko looked up, the smokes are gone so she could clearly see how right she was. The robot is still standing, not even a dent could be seen in its huge hands that is now coming down to them faster than before.

She muttered a curse before running to the right side, leaving the other two frozen in their place. When she reached the right spot, she raised her arms once again and acted as fast as she could.

She willed her quirk out, this time much stronger and concentrated than before, making her entire arms glow instead of just her forearms. The light traveled through her hands and palms before shooting out, her legs almost giving up from the shot's recoil. It hit the robot’s elbow, just as she planned. Her attack was powerful enough to pierce through its armor and cut its forearm off, stopping it from hitting the other kids.

Panting, Mitsuko then just realized that she lost track of both the time and her points. She was about to run to gather more points when Present Mic’s voice echoed once again.

“TIME’S UP!”

“Dammit!”

[oli-ribbun-ver]

EP 4 RAMBLE PART 3 FINAL!!

(ft the other episodes! but mainly ep 4!)

okay actually i think this is more of a gangle ramble now but thats fine

part 1

part 2

CONTINUATION OF THE GANGLE PEOPLE-PLEASER PART OF THE RAMBLE FROM PART 2!

lets see... where did i leave off... RIGHT!!

There are a lot of parts in ALL episodes where she doesn't want to cause problems for people. Which is typically normal for everyone, HOWEVER. Her idea of 'causing problems' is her opening up to people about how she truly feels, or even voicing her feelings in general if they're about someone.

I've already gone over the Pomni conversation and the bit where she has a mini breakdown, and I said I'd include even more of the other episodes in this, so! Let's begin at Ep 1!

Let's talk about what I've observed in episode one.

YES THIS IS IMPORTANT.

Notice how it's emphasized she says it quietly? (I know it's for comedic effect, but EVERYTHING seems to be important for every character, like how the darkness from the bucket on Kinger's head in Ep 2 helped him remember something about Ragatha before immediately forgetting it and then the reason he only remembers things in the darkness is explained! Seems like a minor detail that means nothing, turns out to be HUGE.

She doesn't want to cause a problem. In this case, the 'problem' would be her fully interrupting the conversation because she's worried about her friend. In the mind of a people pleaser, even if it helps someone out, you feel a sense of pressure on you when mentioning someone needs help to others, because "What if I cause a problem or make them mad? I don't wanna do that!", those thoughts are pretty normal, ESPECIALLY for people-pleasers.

"Wait, what about Zooble?" Is said so quietly, you can barely hear it. She either doesn't want her voice to be heard, or she DOES but is too scared to say it more loudly because of some version of the thoughts I described.

not as important but I'd like to note how she literally says NOTHING. like. nothing. i just think its kinda funny but also she just. doesnt give her opinion at all? she wasnt even asked if she wanted to go with them to check on kaufmo they just dgaf about her 😭

ANYWAY

This is the only time she gives her opinion and its not even an opinion HELP

Also I'm trying to save space so I don't have to make a part 4 so shortly into this, since I know I'll have to make one anyway, but I wanna mention how she hides behind her broken mask to protect herself after he screams which kinda hits different now that we know more about her mask.

But anyway, I'll make a seperate little portion of this ramble for that!

I'd like to mention too, anytime she is shoved, has something mean said to her, or has her comedy mask broken, she doesn't complain or say anything about it except for maybe an "ow". I find that interesting, because I think the reason for this is that she doesn't want anyone worrying about her. AKA, she doesn't want to cause a 'problem'.

She wants to please. One does not please by being a 'problem', right? That's probably how she thinks, anyway.

When Jax tells her to do something she doesn't want to do, whether he pressured her like that or not, it wouldn't have made a difference, because she can't bring herself to say 'no.'

In my opinion, from what it sounds like when she says "I don't think we—" she probably would've ended up saying yes regardless. Hell, if he'd just followed it up with "do it," I don't see a world in which she wouldn't, although she'd probably be more hesitant.

also why does his back bend like that he looks like hes gonna become an old man any second now HELP 😭

Also, when Jax threatens her by saying "Do it, or I'll tell Ragatha about the figurine thing," I think that really does something to her.

Every time she's either built up the confidence to say no, or someone has tried to help her say no, she's kicked down in one way or another INSTANTLY.

Episode 4 did not help with that. I believe in the next few episodes, she will not be better about saying no. She might even be worse off, knowing Ragatha thinks her being happy is annoying.

People-pleasers are in different worlds. Being the type of people-pleaser Gangle is, it's an entirely different world from others. It carries a lot of what I can only describe as delusion to it.

If Pomni had not stepped up when Gangle thought she was alone after work hours, Gangle would have abstracted. I am a firm believer in that. She was breaking. Losing her mind.

Gangle tells herself to stop trying to achieve her dream while breaking down over the fact her efforts to achieve her dream might not be enough.

So let's go there, and get a

Closer look at Gangle's mental state.

(and why she's most likely the most unwell character)

Gangle is mentally ill. Everyone knows that already, but to what extent?

I'm not sure if we'll ever know.

But what we do know is this.

More likely than not, Gangle almost abstracted in Ep 4. And out of everyone who has EVER vented so far, Gangle has shared relatively nothing. Even after the Spudsy's adventure, what we've seen so far is her never mentioning her feelings except that she feels like she messed everything up.

Gangle doesn't know how to help herself. Zooble can make her feel better, but not for long, because Gangle doesn't think she can get better.

When she was about to vent to Pomni, she stopped as soon as she felt like her feelings were REALLY about to come loose, put her new happy mask back on, said she had no time to talk about her feelings, and fled.

What I think is that Gangle thinks everyone is more important than her, so when she FINALLY got to be important she was happy. Really, truly happy.

The worst thing you can do is make someone think they're not wanted or loved.

Something that makes me sad is that Gangle does not feel wanted or loved.

Gangle was almost gone in Episode 4.

We almost lost Gangle. Had Gangle abstracted, she'd die without ever feeling like people cared about her.

For all we know, she could be the first person to abstract after Kaufmo.

I personally believe that.

The end of Episode 4 was a su¡cide attempt. (is that word allowed? im not sure..l ill censor it anyway)

I saw someone say this in the comment section of either the episode itself or a reaction video, and I completely agree.

They say before people commit su¡cide, they have a sudden boost of joy. Everything will be over soon. Why not enjoy that fact?

I think it was a subconscious su¡cide, at the very least.

She was happy. For the first time without a happy mask to hide how she feels deep down, she was happy.

She had a sudden boost of happiness, and then stepped backwards into oncoming traffic. When someone experiences a near-death situation by their own hand, there's a moment of regret before they are gone. I've experienced it myself, and it is horrid. That feeling is one I will never be able to forget. Even if I never so much as blacked out, I felt faint, and I will NEVER forget that fear, that horror, dread, regret.

The shock. Wondering if it was truly me who did it.

And I think. That is what Gangle experienced.

And then, that feeling was brushed off by Caine, whether she knew he doesn't understand the feeling of wanting to disappear or not, she was quick to blame herself for it all. Both about her performance to Caine, and alone, to nobody but herself.

"I guess I just... cracked under the pressure I suppose."

And maybe, just maybe.

That crack will never heal.

Thank you for listening and reading my ramble, everyone!! I appreciate it more than you know!

Bye bye for now, friends! Have a lovely day!

[lediz-watches]

Oxventure

Because dammit, I need to smile today and no one makes me smile more than these people.

Oxventure is an amazing group of people that play tabletop roleplaying games on youtube and spotify. They are Chaotic Good in the best way possible.

And I think we all need more chaotic good in our lives today.

Okay, first off, I must show my colours: I have been watching their parent channel Outside Xbox almost since it began, and they are actually why I got a Youtube Premium account (Youtube, you owe these people more than 2/3rds of my subscription). They are my background noise. So obviously I'm biased, but this post is about the Oxventure channel and why I love it.

Lately, they've been marketing themselves as an actual play channel, technically rivalling Critical Role, but I don't like to think of them like that. To me, Oxventure is more storytelling improv that happens to use tabletop mechanics as a prop. And the reason that's an important distinction is because Oxventure is at its best when it's being silly.

So. Some background.

Oxventure is, in alphabetical order, Andy, Ellen, Jane, Johnny, Luke, and Mike, and a host of guests when they feel the need. It began as a one-off milestone celebration on Outside Xbox where everyone but Mike (he had a Car Thing) played Dungeons and Dragons--most of them for literally the first time--on camera. Since then, it has expanded into its own channel with six series of varying prominence and many one-shots.

If you want to see them at their most condensed and I would argue truest form, I recommend DnD but everyone is a Kobold.

Their shows can run the full gambit from silly (the kobold shows) to high adventure (Oxventure Blades in the Dark) to wholesome (Tea-Time Adventures) to absurd (DnD but it's Pokemon) to emotional body-slams (Oxventure Deadlands) to quietly creepy (Oxventure Wyrdwood). But at its core, whatever series you're watching, Oxventure is about friends gathering together to have fun as they make their way in a world that seems a bit insane.

The original game/series/what have you is The Oxventurers Guild, which remains my favourite. Their motto (seen in Latin above) is "Everyone Should Have Thought Of Everything", meaning that they have a habit of just diving into things without thinking and then being shocked Pikachus when the consequences arrive.

The characters (and world) are a mess, but the thing that was most wonderful is that the group were learning how to play DnD on screen. They screwed up the rules, they lost dice, they forgot about feats... a running gag is that Mike, playing a paladin, has only the loosest concept of his own abilities and will randomly read his character sheet to discover something that would have been useful last session. Meanwhile Ellen made arguably the most powerful character, with what should have been one of the most powerful spells, and yet was the first knocked out in their PVP session because of a few unlucky rolls.

Johnny is an amazing first-time DM, too, because they just... let the group play. They run with the rules until the rules stop being fun. And that's what makes Oxventure so enjoyable for me.

I remember trying to watch a few Actual Plays after the first episode of Oxventure, and I can remember the exact moment I checked out. It was when a player made a joke, and the DM gave her a very direct Look and firmly informed her that if she didn't immediately take it back, there would be mechanical consequences.

Compare and contrast Johnny, whose attempt to show the Oxventurers Actions Have Consequences nearly ended with a bunch of evil skeletons realising that actually, they didn't realise how hard it was to avoid evil consequences so maybe they should cut the players some slack and stop giving such horrible consequence - wait! No! Bad bosses no make skeletons behave!

(We love the Sixty Skeletons, Flaming Skull Foreman, and Skeleton Donkey) (don't ask) (it only kind of makes sense in context)

But that's not all on Johnny - a lot of it comes down to the beautiful muppets that are the original players, and specifically Andy, Jane, and Mike, who have been a chaotic force of good online since they joined together to form Outside Xbox in 2009.

These three, and by extension all of Oxventure, are a little silly, always snarky, incredibly good at what they do but always beset by terrible luck and worse technology. They are also incredibly well-meaning (and hilarious) even when they're actively trying to be horrible (unrelated to this post but PLEASE watch their Hitman videos for further proof of this). And that carries through to their characters, who can be card carrying evil and yet still care so deeply about their friends that you can't help but love them.

An example of their chaotic competence is in an episode of their latest series Wyrdwood. There was a short of Johnny and Producer Zack talking about how Wyrdwood is a very creepy series starring the human equivalent of the Muppets, which is so true, but I would like to draw attention to a specific moment to prove my point:

In this particular episode, Johnny has created a truly terrifying scenario: trapped in mist with music playing beyond their hearing, the team are being picked off one by one despite specific measures to the contrary, until the characters played by the Oxbox trio are alone in oppressive danger. Things look dire. They know they're in trouble and helpless. It's only a matter of time before they're all gone.

They promptly spend the next five minutes flailing, yelling at each other, completely ruin Johnny's nefarious trap, locate their friends, and set themselves up to win the whole day while seemingly focussed entirely on figuring out which of them should be blamed for screwing up.

Even Johnny doesn't seem to know whether to be offended their whole scary vibe was just destroyed or impressed by how effortless the trio made it look, and I feel like that's the correct response.

And I think that's what I love about this series, and these people. They give me a kind of... exasperated hope for all of us.

I have to admit, when I first heard about Wyrdwood and saw the art, I was worried, because I thought Oxventure were going serious. But then, only a few minutes into the first episode, Jane uttered the immortal words 'Luck Pervert' to describe Luke's newest character and I knew we'd be fine.

These people are silly. They tell silly stories.

But they are stories about love, and friendship, and trying even against impossible odds, and making tough choices, and growing as people. All while you and the world around you are a complete mess and everything seems insane. You can still be better, and make the world better, even if it seems like you're just making more of a mess right now.

You watch, and you cringe, and you sigh and call them all 'absolute muppets', and then you cheer as they come up with some insane plan that shouldn't work and yet always, somehow, without rhyme, reason, or explanation... works.

They are silly, and they are heartfelt, and I suspect I will binge-watch the entire channel all over again this Christmas break.

Because while the Oxventurers' motto may be "Everyone should have thought of everything", the fact is no one has. So just go with what you've got.

And it might work out okay.

[sparkanonymous]

The first episode of Season 3 came out on YouTube, so it's time for my annoying notes again!

⚠️ Spoilers for Dragons Rising S3 ⚠️

I hope the new episodes come out quickly for the English version. I'm very intrigued to see what happens.

Reminder: These are my initial reactions. I may be stupid or forgetful, especially since it's been a while since I've watched the first two seasons. If something I say is wrong or if it's clear I missed something, lemme know!

The Missing

I know Labo is just for the kids, to have like... a funny character to watch, but I do find him annoying here. Mostly because he makes the obvious reactions that are supposed to be made, and they try to make it seem more funny.

Whoa, Fugidove front and center on the screen?

I don't really know why Sora was so confident her baking was good. As far as I'm aware, she didn't really help with the baking, or at least didn't help make the filling. Did she just think, "Oh, that's easy! I can do that!" without checking if she actually could? Either way, she should've at least tasted the first pie she made and went from there instead of assuming it was good.

Ah, imagining your boyfriend but being rudely interrupted by your brother making an annoying noise. Peak sibling duo here.

I kind of wish that they would just skip the recap. This will be super annoying on rewatch because I tend to binge, and getting to the recap episode (being this first episode of the season) is gonna be a slog to get through again. Yeah, they're adding some new things here, but do I really need to be reminded that Arin's gone or the Jay's without his memories? That was a whole thing at the end of season 2 and the middle of season 1 respectively.

I do like that Cole got to spend a bit with Lloyd to comfort him. It's nice to see. Also, first mention of Geo and the Finders! I can't wait for them to be mentioned throughout the whole season.

Ooh, we get to see more Frak!

Did Mr. Frohicky's VA change?

The way Frak turns with the weight of his head is very interesting. I don't remember any of the Hypnobrai or species with longer necks doing that in previous seasons.

Aw, c'mon, Sora. Frak is really fun! I hope they become besties, too.

Great, more awkward cuts between different plotlines of the story. My favorite... (Personal taste seriously ruins watching experience.)

Of course Sora's pie tastes like rubber, being a sort of mechanic.

OH COME ON, Zane's first appearance of the season, and he just HAS to mention he's a nindroid. Zane knows what tastes good, so it doesn't matter if he has taste buds; he would know Sora's pies taste like ass. Also, he better express some sort of emotion, especially whenever Pixal comes back. That's his life partner!

Aw, Zane immediately thinking of Pixal and talking about how smart and attractive she is...

... Frak, is there something you'd like to tell Sora? Are they gonna be more than besties? Honestly? I can see it. But does every ninja have to be paired with another character? I kinda thought Sora would be single. Maybe Arin will be the single one?

Sora is so real for that. Like, an exploding pie is helping Zane figure out what happened to Arin. That makes no sense. But it is funny and adds to the dry humor with Sora's exasperation.

"-If you call that baking-" "Please stop talking." Sora being embarrassed and annoyed is probably the funniest thing so far. I love stuff like that.

Kai is insane lmao

Whoa, vengestone mention?

Frak, don't believe in someone called "Intelligent George".

Why isn't Zane trying to freeze the puppet?

Ooh, the pretty sword.

Frak is so silly <3

Magically appearing tracks. My favorite...

Lmao Nya pretending like she was just gonna ditch Kai and Wyldfyre.

Wow, they made those wanted posters pretty quickly, especially with all of the fire still set around the place.

How the hell were those two able to run after having their life practically sucked out of them?

Aight, I enjoyed seeing everybody, but Zane is kind of disappointing already and it's only the first episode. I was hoping they would stop treating him like that, but I guess the writers got too exhausted giving all the personality to Kai, Nya, Wyldfyre, Sora, and Frak. Lloyd was kind of sidelined, which I find a little weird, but I'm sure he'll get a lot more focus these coming episodes, especially whenever Arin shows up on screen again. I didn't see Jay, so I'm assuming he's more of a solo act than with any of the evil groups. Maybe he'll be added to Forbidden Five after one of the five gets shoved out, or he just joins and makes it the Forbidden Six. Otherwise, he kind of just looks like a fanboy, which would kind of be funny and show that Jay is really still somewhere in there. I am also disappointed that we barely got any Cole and nothing more than a mention of Geo and the Finders, but I kinda feel like they aren't gonna have much to do this season.

[spaceorphan18]

The Lady Whistledown Papers : 2x04 Victory (Part 2)

Welcome back, Gentle Readers, to The Lady Whistledown Papers, where I’m taking an in-depth look at Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton’s character arcs and romance within the show Bridgerton!

For previous issues, follow tag : The Lady Whistledown Papers

Alright, guys, we're getting into the return of Marina. For better or worse, let's do this!

Lady Crane

Colin is very serious in his carriage ride over to see Marina again. Is he nervous, anxious, unsure of what he's going to get once he's there? All of that - yes?

I love his tophat, though, notice in Season 3 they don't bring that back? Because they didn't want to ruin Colin's hair ;)

Also, is it just me or does the carriage almost look like the backseat of a car here?

I have no deep meta for this. I just wanted to get a better look at his outfit. Just going to throw out there that there was a recent-ish interview with the costume designer that stated the pastels were for a younger version of Colin, and that Season 3 he gets darker, solid colors to signify that he's grown up. Interesting, right?

It's always amusing to me when the level of detail put into things like costumes, props, acting choices, etc, etc, are more thought out than the writing. Because, I may adore this show, but I can't claim the writing is blowing anyone away.

Anyway, Colin does do a little tug on his coat and takes in a deep breath before heading inside - he's ready to face whatever is waiting for him. (And technically, nothing is waiting, since he's arriving unannounced.) Just another instance of how chaotic Colin can be.

Okay, I kind of love the Crane house. It's nice and bright and open and rather inviting. It also looks like the nicest warm day there.

Anyway, so Colin is a bit restless as he waits. When Marina finally arrives, he immediately forgets himself - and calls her Marina, and then Miss Thompson, and then finally Lady Crane before remembering to bow. (Now, the whole bowing thing is going to be phased out, but it's a nice touch here to show he's forgotten himself a bit.

And this is what I think is interesting -- Marina doesn't look unhappy to see him. In fact, she seems amused if nothing else. I don't think a visit from Colin is necessarily a problem. It's when he starts to get too clingy to a romanticized idea of what could have been that she gets annoyed. But I also think -- she and Colin wouldn't have made a good match, and she knows this. Colin's brand of uniqueness just isn't her cup of tea, and that's fine, but Colin has to recognize this.

I will say, he is enamored with her baby. So, it's the second time in two episodes that he's going to be cooing over a small child. I think he's going to be be just fine becoming a father at a young age.

He's also taken aback by the fact that she has twins, though not necessarily in a bad way. And he comes over to say hello to Oliver and comment on his -- wigglyness. Which is a kind of funny delivery. This whole sequence starts out in such a light manner. I can only imagine that Colin, himself, was probably a pretty wiggly child.

Interestingly, Marina is pretty chill about the whole thing. Colin is still acting rather nervous, but I have to hand it to Marina that she's handling all of it in stride. She informs Colin that Sir Philip is not around at the moment, since he is out studying flowers. Colin stumbles over an apology for not extending an invitation.

(Like, my dude - how scandalous would this have been? A young bachelor showing up at someone's house while the husband was away. Colin does what he wants and answers to no one, truly.)

Colin states that he just wanted to check in on her after everything that went down the previous year (season? time makes zero sense in this world). Marina does seem happy with her life (and her wiggly baby - she looks like she's about to break, if I'm being honest, but that's not a bad thing - I'm glad Marina looks happy). And she says she's happy to see Colin. He's delighted by this and joins her for tea.

I honestly love the moment he sits down and just says 'hello' to the baby. Idk why, it cracks me up every time. He may still be on his journey to discovering it, but one of Colin's purposes in life is fatherhood. It really is.

Tea Time

We cut away for some time, and come back to Colin and Marina enjoying some tea. And I kind of love some of the subtleties in this little moment. Colin is telling Marina about all the things he experienced in Greece. He's excited to tell her - because she's someone new who will listen, and not his family, who seems to be over his stories.

When Marina states that it sounds like a 'remarkable' journey, Colin makes the pun that it's remarkable in that he has plenty of 'remarks' about it. Which is... such a dad joke. (I mean, we're gonna get that olive pun in a moment, I didn't realize just how much they were pushing in on the geeky!dad vibes they're giving to Colin this season).

But then there's a very - youthful - moment, in which, Colin pulls himself back in, feeling like his excitement is too outlandish, and he plays with his teacup awkwardly. It's such a small moment, but a nice acting choice, as it shows Colin's discomfort for the situation he's in, and how young and inexperienced he is dealing with emotions and relationships. I mean, Colin is a very empathetic character, but not an experienced one, and the crossroads of the two is on display right here.

And then Marina assuages his discomfort by stating, soundly, that she likes his 'remarks'. And I do think she's sincere, that she probably did enjoy the moment away from being strictly a mother and a wife. But she is quick to thank him for stopping by and is kind of ready for him to go. She can entertain him for a few hours, but that's about all she can handle -- for whatever her reasons are.

When Colin stands - he does ask about Sir Philip. Colin hasn't really made his actual intentions for being there clear. I mean, he says he wants to check in on her. But what he's really looking for (in my opinion) is a sense of purpose. If Sir Philip is a dick, then maybe he can rescue her again -- and that romantic fantasy he's been entertaining since he met her can come into play. It's one part -- his hero complex, if he isn't saving someone, well than what use is he? And one part being caught up in romantic fantasy, which Colin has a tendency to do.

At that moment, however, Sir Philip does show up. And you know what? He's actually a delight. He's all smiles, and seems totally fine that his wife has a male suitor, and the minute Colin says 'Greece' he is all in wanting to hear more.

And of course -- we get one of Colin's most famous lines... 'I oiled my way in... that was an olive joke.' I love this ridiculous pun. I love the look Marina gives him like... dude, you are an awkward little bean, aren't you? And I love that not but a few episodes earlier, Penelope was grumpy because no one was appreciating her ridiculous plant puns.

Cause here's my thing... so many of these love stories happen, and I don't know that I fully understand them -- other than, two people are hot and want to bang. And when they actually show two people who are cut from the same cloth, that match each other's freaks, that make sense being in a relationship based on commonalities -- then I really appreciate that. Colin and Penelope don't need to be in the same scenes to get an understanding that the two of them very much have things in common, and undoubtedly appreciate, enjoy, and understand each other's personalities. It's one of the things that endears me to them so much.

Sir Philip doesn't seem to care about Colin's terrible taste in jokes, he's too busy geeking out over plants. Marina rolls her eyes, because my god, she does not care one bit about plants. But Colin definitely seems interested in hearing about the history of said plants in relation to Greece. He jumps on the chance to hang out with Sir Philip.

And this is where I say -- this universe does not have enough friendships. Like, Colin needs a friend. He's got Penelope - who is clearly his bff, but she's going to fill other roles, too. Sir Phillip seems like he could use a friend, as well. Both of them seem a little starved or actual attention and genuine interest. And I do find it kind of hilarious that Marina entertains him for, like, ten minutes but Sir Philip is going to have him over for hours.

How Colin doesn't wise up to the fact clearly, one of these two people he'd rather spend more time with, I don't know. I love him to death, but sometimes he's kinda dumb.

And... that's where I'm stopping for now! More with Penelope attempting society, as well as the end wrap up of Marina :)

[emotionallychargedtowel]

Revisiting To My Star: It's really hard to meet someone who's fun to be around (season 1, episodes 3 & 4)

Aaaaand my rewatch of To My Star continues with episodes 3 and 4 of season 1. (My post on episodes 1 and 2 is here.)

In these episodes, the relationship between Ji Woo and Seo Joon begins to develop as they get a little bit closer, but the changes are often pretty subtle. Ji Woo’s hostility gets just a little bit milder, and at one point, rather flirty. Seo Joon keeps trying to convince Ji Woo to get closer to him, but he also pushes back a little more. Ji Woo also begins to show a certain degree of protectiveness toward Seo Joon. 

I don't plan on most of these posts being as heavy on plot summary as this one. But since introductions are over but Seo Joon and Ji Woo haven't formed any sort of actual relationship yet at this point, I thought it would make sense to show step by step how they gradually start to establish some closeness.

Seo Joon’s anxiety attack

As I mentioned in my last post, Seo Joon’s anxiety attack, which began at the end of episode 2 and continued into the beginning of episode 3, is one inflection point. Seeing him in such a vulnerable moment really seems to affect Ji Woo, who immediately springs into action and starts to show his protective side. Maybe part of this shift is due to the fact that Ji Woo has often suspected Seo Joon of being fake with him. Seeing him in such an unguarded, emotionally raw state allays those fears at the same time as it brings out those protective feelings.

In the aftermath of the attack, there’s a different kind of interaction that leads to some degree of movement. Seo Joon asks Ji Woo to watch a movie with him, saying that he’ll be “stoned all night in my dream”* if he doesn’t take some time to mentally reset before he sleeps. He aims a positively lethal sad face at Ji Woo, with blinking eyes and a pooched-out lower lip. Ji Woo really tries to resist, but he can't bring himself to refuse.

The pimple

Then they have a funny, but still meaningful, moment. While watching the movie, Seo Joon suddenly notices something. The way he introduces the topic is rather telling: “Ji Woo, it’s perfect right now.” He’s referring to a pimple on Ji Woo’s neck, which he wants to pop.

He tries to frame this in terms of his inability to tolerate looking at certain things, including pimples, messy eyebrows, and "nose hairs that stick out." But his “perfect” comment, and other comments, seem to imply something different: that there’s something about pimple-popping that Seo Joon finds gratifying, and he doesn’t want to let this opportunity pass. 

When people get close enough to perform little grooming tasks for each other, those tasks can feel very intimate. When these tasks involve something that’s often considered distasteful, like acne, accepting this kind of attention from another person involves a kind of vulnerability that can make this kind of care feel even more intimate. Ji Woo and Seo Joon aren’t close enough yet for something like this. When Ji Woo refuses to let him pop his pimple, Seo Joon tells him to let him do it someday when they become closer. He’s willing to grant that they aren’t at that point yet, but he wants to get there. “That will never happen,” Ji Woo replies. Seo Joon reacts to this in an interesting way, chuckling to himself and smiling. It’s almost as if he takes the intensity of Ji Woo’s response as a kind of encouragement despite how hostile he sounded or how decisively negative his words were. 

The part-time job

Seo Joon also asks to work at the restaurant Ji Woo runs with Hyung Ki. He says he wants to do this because he’s bored, wants to learn a skill, and thinks being able to cook a good meal for someone is cool. It’s hard not to think some part of him is just interested in being around Ji Woo more. Not much happens in this department in these episodes, but there are a couple of notable moments. Ji Woo teaches Seo Joon some knife skills and Seo Joon gets absurdly excited about cutting a couple of slices of carrot. It’s goofy, albeit in a cute way, but it’s also a reminder that Seo Joon has missed out on a lot of experiences that other people take for granted. There’s also a point at which Seo Joon is startled by the large numbers of customers that suddenly show up and has to scramble to put on a mask to disguise himself. Ji Woo gloats about it, saying, “I told you it would get busy.” But it’s not what he says that’s interesting, it’s how he says it. Seo Joon turns to look at the entrance and Ji Woo sidles up behinds him and says it in a low voice close to his ear. For someone who’s ostensibly antagonizing Seo Joon, he sure is acting flirty. 

The park 

Seo Joon offers Ji Woo a ride home on his scooter after a shift, but he doesn’t take him home. Instead, he takes him to his “favorite place,” a park with basketball courts and a fountain. He says he likes it because “it’s pretty…and there aren’t many people.” They talk about things like whether Ji Woo has ever dated before—he says he has, but Seo Joon is dubious—and how they feel about their respective occupations—they both like what they do, but the work has become routine. Then Seo Joon makes a jokey but sort of ambiguous comment. After talking about their careers, he puts his hand on his heart and says in a phoney dramatic voice, “And…love. Love can become your everything, too.” Ji Woo looks away and shakes his head in annoyance, but he also seems embarrassed, and he can’t seem to help glancing back at Seo Joon. 

Seo Joon challenges Ji Woo to a game of basketball, saying he’ll take his word for it that he’s dated before if he wins. Then we get a basketball montage. In the hands of a lot of filmmakers, this would be one of the dullest parts of episode 4. But in Hwang Da Seul’s, it’s a serious highlight. Ji Woo and Seo Joon actually get out of their heads for a little while, and assumably Kim Kang Min and Son Woo Hyun did as well when they were filming the scene, because it feels incredibly natural and authentic. The camera follows their movements in an effortless way that doesn’t call attention to itself. There are some great closer shots that capture their facial expressions, particularly a downright incandescent smile of Ji Woo’s that he hides by turning away from Seo Joon. Naturally, Seo Joon gets very close to Ji Woo when he’s guarding him. In the end, Ji Woo wins and Seo Joon has to concede (for the moment, at least) that Ji Woo has been in a relationship before. The whole sequence is filmed and edited beautifully. 

People like you

After their game, they sit on some steps, drink what appears to be beer, look at the fountain, and gaze up at the sky. After a pause, Seo Joon tells Ji Woo, “I really like people like you. People who have their walls up. They seem really strong.” Ji Woo’s expression doesn’t give much away here, but he clearly listens closely, and stares at Seo Joon for a moment after he says this. 

Is Seo Joon really so naïve that he thinks having walls up necessarily means a person is strong? I doubt it's that simple. If the translation is basically accurate, he’s hedging a bit here by saying they “seem” that way. And he’s not talking about what sort of person is objectively superior, but rather, a type of person he likes.

Actually, I can think of three main ways to take this, and they may all be partially true.

he does believe it, at least in part.

this “liking” is a matter of who he’s drawn to (specifically, as a pursuer, he’s drawn to distancers), and/or

he’s fucking with Ji Woo a little bit, in that sneaky, passive-aggressive way of his. 

I'm going to drill down on each of these a bit, because I really think this is a significant line. It also gives me a chance to touch on some themes that are going to come up more as the series continues.

About option 1: 

The thing about “people who have their walls up” that makes them appear “strong” is their seeming self-sufficiency.  Seo Joon needs people, and he’s no good at making it seem like he doesn’t. When he pictures living with his walls up, it seems like it would require a degree of fortitude he doesn’t have. People who can manage this seem to have that fortitude. 

Whether he realizes it or not, Seo Joon sounds like a textbook pursuer here. Habitual pursuers are able to resist the temptation to seek out emotional intimacy with those who are important to them, but it isn’t easy. It doesn’t come naturally. They often only refrain from pursuing temporarily, such as when they’re engaging in reactive distance. They’re very aware of their need for intimacy, and it’s a hard need to ignore. In contrast, they’re used to ignoring their need for distance, space, and independence, so they tend not to notice that type of need in themselves much of the time. Seo Joon’s thing about “walls” is just another way of putting this. We tend to universalize our own experiences, so he might imagine that, basically, distancers are just pursuers who have an almost superhuman capacity for restraint. 

I still doubt that if you asked him, “Do you really think having their walls up necessarily means a person is strong?” he’d give you an unequivocal “yes.” But I wouldn’t be surprised if some part of him believes this to some extent. 

About option 2: 

This option emphasizes the part of Seo Joon’s statement about liking people with their walls up. He could be talking about the fact that he feels drawn to distancers. Maybe he finds himself seeking their approval in the form of engagement. It would make sense. Pursuing and distancing are mutually reinforcing. The more a pursuer pursues, the more a distancer distances, and vice versa. If Seo Joon generally responds to distancing by pursuing the other person more in this way, that desire to pursue could be experienced as being drawn to the person, or again, as liking them. 

Habitual distancers do tend to have a particular appeal for pursuers. On a certain level, pursuers get the sense that a distancer will hold all of their need for independence and fear of intimacy for them by doing a good job evading their pursuit. Distancers are the same way in reverse. They can sense that a pursuer will hold their need for intimacy for them, chasing after them so that they won’t have to seek out intimacy in order to meet their need for it.  

Of course, that’s not how people tend to think about these things consciously. These perceptions and thoughts typically take other forms. Let’s talk about this in terms of ways that Seo Joon might think about Ji Woo. He might see him as strong by virtue of having his walls up, and strength is always an attractive quality. Ji Woo’s distancing tendencies might also look like self-sufficiency, or make him seem confident. Ji Woo might seem mysterious because of his lack of availability. Getting Ji Woo to like him might seem to Seo Joon like it would be really validating; if he can even get someone like Ji Woo to like him, this logic goes, it would prove that he really is lovable, attractive, or just plain good enough in any number of areas. 

In a broader sense, Ji Woo may seem alluring because of the “charm of the unattainable,” the tendency of human beings to want what we can’t have, or might just barely be able to have. This would make particular sense for Seo Joon. He’s an attractive, charming, financially secure celebrity. I’m sure there’s no shortage of people interested in dating him. Someone who’s harder to get close to, like Ji Woo, could seem like quite a prize in comparison to his usual prospects. 

It could get dressed up in a lot of different ways in his mind, but it's likely that deep down, he's sensing that they have these complimentary ways of relating. Pursuers and distancers really do have a strong pull for one another.

About option 3: 

Seo Joon is pretty consistent about trying to get closer to Ji Woo, so it’s no wonder he’s generally nice to him. Most of the times he’s done things that bothered him so far in the story, it’s been due to a lack of consideration, or maybe coming on too strong, but not anything malicious. But occasionally, Seo Joon does take a dig at Ji Woo. He tends to be a little bit sneaky or passive-aggressive about it, but it happens. It makes sense that he has some pent-up resentment toward Ji Woo. After all, he has been pushing him away a lot, making him feel rejected, and he often says rude or insulting things in the process. 

I doubt this comment is primarily and consciously intended to be a jab at Ji Woo. But there may be a twist to it that comes from Seo Joon’s pent-up anger. He’s ostensibly complimenting him, but the idea of having one’s walls up has a pretty negative connotation. And of course, acting like you’re giving someone a compliment while saying something negative is a classic way to be passive-aggressive. 

The more I think about it, the more I really do think Seo Joon was going for all three of these things to at least some extent. 

“Let’s try to get along”

After the “people like you” exchange, some discussion of stars and satellites, and an update on Ji Woo’s pimple situation, Seo Joon says, “You know, it’s really hard to meet someone who’s fun to be around. Right? Let’s try to get along.” He offers Ji Woo his hand to shake, but he doesn’t take it. After a moment, Seo Joon asks, “You still don’t want to? Come on. Let’s try to get along.” Ji Woo still doesn’t shake his hand, so Seo Joon picks up his hand and places it in his own, then shakes it. “And you can speak casually,” he adds. 

Ji Woo finally speaks. “You seem to have a lot of friends already.” Seo Joon seems to be getting in another dig here when he replies, “I didn’t say we should be friends.” At first he smiles, but when he sees Ji Woo’s somewhat alarmed reaction to this, his smile fades and he says, “Well, people who get along are friends, so I guess you’re right.” He laughs and smiles, but Ji Woo just looks back at him. That comment shook him up a bit, and he's not just sailing past it.

As has happened so many times before, Seo Joon meets Ji Woo more than halfway. Ji Woo doesn’t verbally agree to get along or be friends, nor does he choose to shake Seo Joon’s hand. The fact that Seo Joon grabs his hand and shakes it, then acts as if this means something, is remarkable to say the least. Well, Ji Woo could have said no or pulled his hand away, and did neither. That’s the most you could say for this supposed agreement. Yet there is a shift around this point, so perhaps they both took it seriously. 

Seo Joon pulls the rug out from under Ji Woo with his “I didn’t say we should be friends” comment. It’s as if he has set aside his pride in the interest of gaining a closer relationship with Ji Woo but he can’t restrain himself from getting a little bit of revenge. It’s telling that he does it immediately following the moment when Ji Woo, despite expressing doubts about friendship with Seo Joon, also indirectly acknowledges the possibility, which is practically encouraging by Ji Woo standards. In other words, when Ji Woo stops distancing, Seo Joon ends up pushing him away a little. Like I said, it's telling.

After this exchange, the two of them head home on Seo Joon’s scooter as dreamy music plays. Despite some noticeable irregularities in their process, they seem to have bonded in an odd sort of way. 

A really weird person

We also get some new insight into Ji Woo’s relationship with his business partner Hyung Ki in these episodes. Evidence begins to pile up suggesting that Hyung Ki has feelings for Ji Woo, and not surprisingly, he's not happy that a cute celebrity is sleeping over at Ji Woo's place and invading their workplace.

In episode 3, before Seo Joon comes to the restaurant, Ji Woo cuts his hand while cleaning...something. It looks like some kind of seafood. (And in a move that will be significant later, he immediately puts his injured finger into his mouth.) Hyung Ki reacts rather strongly to this, rushing up to Ji Woo, asking him if he’s OK, and asking to see his hand. But Ji Woo responds that he’s fine, telling Hyung Ki to “get back to cooking” and refusing to let him touch him.  

Hyung Ki expresses a different kind of worry in episode 4, when Seo Joon is busy talking with Yoon Seul, Ji Woo's reporter friend. 

Hyung Ki: Are you OK?  Ji Woo: What do you mean?  Hyung Ki: Kang Seo Joon may turn out to be a really weird person.  Ji Woo: It [won't] matter if I [keep] my distance. 

At the end of Seo Joon’s first shift, Hyung Ki has a moment alone with Ji Woo again. “You two seem close already,” he tells him. Ji Woo dismisses this, saying, “It must look that way because he’s not shy around people.” But Hyung Ki doesn’t seem to find that comforting. He gives Ji Woo a long, lingering look as he walks away. He seems uncomfortable watching Ji Woo get onto Seo Joon’s scooter moments later. It probably doesn't help when Seo Joon jokingly says, “Kkondae, hold on tight," since he makes “kkondae” sound like a pet name, and by “hold on tight,” he means for Ji Woo to hold onto him tightly (in the customary way passengers hold onto riders of scooters and motorcycles). 

After they pull away, flashes that seem to come from a camera can be seen and Hyung Ki looks at his phone furtively. He’s clearly up to something—something we'll have to wait to find out about in the episodes that follow.

*I've always wondered about this "stoned all night in my dream" line. What does it mean? Does he dream about hitting a bong? Or is this more like the Blblical kind of getting stoned? Could it be something else entirely? I talked to @my-rose-tinted-glasses about this, and she found another subtitle translation in which Seo Joon talks about how if he goes right to bed after an anxiety attack, people "hurl stones at me all night." So, yeah. It's the Biblical kind of being stoned. And, uh, that's a pretty awful kind of recurring nightmare to have.

One last thing:

When Ji Woo goes outside to check things out after that guy broke the plant pot, after the guy has run off and he's finished talking to Yoon Seul, there's an odd shot of him going back inside. It's from far away, up the hill from the house, and there's a pair of legs in the foreground wearing green canvas shoes. This is going to come up later.

Thanks as always to my TMS sounding board, @my-rose-tinted-glasses, and thanks to @mostlyfate for creating some stellar gifs of this show for posterity.

[ringsreforged]

Season 2, Episode 6 - Nat's Rambles

Okay – SO – Paulina is still on holiday, and I’m obviously DYING OVER HERE (Natalie, in case you hadn’t guessed) so TUMBLR. I HAVE RETURNED.

Truly though, I don’t think I’ve done this since S4 of The 100 which probably aired 100 years ago at this point…what has this show done to me…

ANYWAY. My immediate thoughts on Season 2, Episode 6: WHERE IS HE???????

Paulina Voice: All opinions herein have nothing to do with me, so only judge Natalie for them.

Important Note: I have only watched once, in a haze of stress and emotion, so I reserve the right to delete all of this later if I change my mind on any of it.

Arondir – Hello! Nice to see you! Glad you’re joining us for the battle!

I did like the detail of confirming that not all the orcs are on board with Adar’s war, but I was mostly laughing that ‘running through the trees’ is how the show has reminded us a character exists for two weeks in a row.

Rhun – I think this was the first episode where I was like GO AWAY, RHUN, NOT NOW. Though, I want to stress that I am super excited to see the conclusion of this, probably in episode 8. The Dark Wizard, the Gaudrim, the fate of the Stoors (honestly, I’m assuming they’re all going to be massacred tbh…which…the optics…but we’ll worry about that later…). In today’s episode, it just felt a bit like ‘hey, these characters still exist.’

I did love the little snippet of Tom and the Stranger, though I felt like it could have just been included in their previous scenes. He is 1000% Gandalf, and I stand by my opinion that this isn’t supposed to be a twist or a surprise. It’s just the narrative telling the story. Destiny or friend is super intriguing to me. It’s very Luke and Yoda from Empire, but I do wonder if his destiny IS to choose his friend…and in so doing, THAT is how he finds his staff…

Nori talking with the Gund was very sweet, and her willingness to give herself up to protect everyone was super in character. Poppy and Merimac were cute (I pray to all the gods that THIS was the kiss Morfydd teased but I doubt it very much…), and Poppy wanting to fight for the Stranger made me pretty emotional. However, I have some bad news…

Guys…I think I’m adding Poppy to DEATH WATCH. And I HATE IT. BUT I CAN’T UNTHINK IT.

Moving on…

Numenor – This continues to be the choppiest of storylines this season, but I do think the broad elements are super on point. And, actually, where we end up makes the Eagle sequence make more sense in retrospect. Pharazon didn’t have things locked down, Miriel is very much still a player on the board, and Mr. Eyebrows is THE BIGGEST HYPOCRIT.

Then again, if you told me I’d see Halbrand in the Palantir I’d probably touch it too…

Ahem. Loved that detail by the way! Part of the reason I felt like Halbrand would be his Numenor form was the small scene he shared with Pharazon back in S1, while Galadriel was taking out the guards. A connection was formed then – perhaps his eyes even bored a hole – and if Halbrand rocks up as an enemy of the elves, that’ll only make him more appealing.

Everything with Miriel and Elendil was absolutely stunning. He was willing to give his life for her, she was willing to give hers for his. WHAT ABOUT MY HEART. Honestly, from the way Owen and Cynthia talked about this season, I felt like they weren’t going to get anything at all romance coded. But I’m just starting to think people in TV only see active kissing as romance, because HELLO?? THAT’S THE SCRIPT????? THAT IS ABSOLUTELY ROMANCE????

I’m very excited to watch the sequence with the sea worm again, and to really let it wash over me (heh), because I was starting to get time anxious at that point in the episode (my brain starts panicking ‘don’t end, don’t end.’ Honestly, my brain SUCKS). But it was incredible, the implications were wonderful, Elendil’s relief was beautiful, and so was Pharazon’s rage. Also, the whole sequence was UTTERLY STUNNING, WOW.

Note for the show overall, or maybe just for myself, though – PLEASE stop spoiling so much of the season through promotional material. My biggest gripe with this episode is that I felt like I’d already seen/put together 90% of it.

Anyway, I’ve left Earien until last because this was a MUCH better episode for her (though, not letting her have any reaction to Valandil’s death was CRIMINAL). To the point that I’m now reforging (heh) my thoughts on last week – who directed her to have such bratty energy last week? Weird.

Anyway, we saw much more of her conflict and fluidity in this episode. She isn’t Faithful, she believes the new order is the way to go, but she’s also struggling massively with it. Her desperate hug with her father broke my heart, I had instant tears in my eyes, but then I also cheered when she brought Miriel in! What a great surprise that was! I’m REALLY interested to see where she goes from here…I’m assuming in the finale? I was sure she was locked onto a super dark path, but she witnessed Miriel survive the Valar’s judgement…will that sway her back around?

I’m going to finish this section with something that’s maybe a bit controversial…Elendil sucks as Earien’s father!!! Now, I’m willing to put this on pacing/editing issues, because I don’t think the show really wants us to feel this way. But good god, man. HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH YOUR DAUGHTER. I really enjoyed their cell scene, but sweet lord baby jesus, these two needed a deep conversation in episode 3. Watching him turn to go when Miriel walked in, and just forget Earien was even there hurt me man…even though I enjoy the Miriel aspect VERY much…

Like, I know you’re mad at her, but you’re all she’s got left…and your pride might mean she watches you die…can you be a little kinder to her???

Dwarves being dwarves, AKA perfect – Flawless. No notes.

The initial sequence with the Durin’s and Annatar was PERFECT. Annatar being rejected (that Balrog glimpse was SO EVIL), and Baby Durin’s flicker of hope. But then the reveal that Daddy Durin is deep in the shit because he’s really just being greedy. My gooooodnesssssss. The show has done SUCH A GOOD JOB setting this up, because we know Daddy Durin isn’t this way! We feel Baby Durin’s pain!

Then Daddy Durin has his IT’S MINE moment with the ring and swats his son away. Anguish. And the anguish only anguished harder when we cut to Durin and Disa. Disa talking about her love for her father-in-law, and her own father, and then DURIN’S TEARS. UGH. UGH. UGH. I was weeping, honestly.

I feel like Durin being suss of the rings this early on is a pretty big change (don’t quote me on this) but I’m for it. Watching Disa turn back Narvi and the others (poor Narvi) was beautiful and then that I LOVE YOU. UGH. UGH. UGH. PERFECT, I SAY.

I doubt Disa has anymore bats to summon, though, so IDK how the heck they stop what’s coming next. Is Durin going to get drawn away by his desire to help Elrond, leaving Disa alone and vulnerable?

I REFUSE TO PUT DISA ON DEATH WATCH, SHOW. I REFUSE. DON’T YOU DARE.

Adar and Galadriel – I wish we’d gotten more, especially because they released a clip yesterday that I obviously couldn’t resist watching, but what we got was JUICY.

I felt that Adar knew Halbrand was Sauron back in the premiere, or at least suspected it. Getting that confirmation paints their scene with the talk of the wine, the tears, and the kneeling in such a different light. TASTY.

I’ve seen people question this, because why did Adar not try and kill him there and then? To my mind, that’s pretty straightforward. He killed him once and it didn’t stick. And last time he had the element of surprise. He knows that Sauron is powerful enough to get out of his chains/to not get caught by orcs, which means he’s here for a reason. If Adar tries to kill him, best case scenario Sauron is off the board for another few centuries, but he’ll likely take down some orcs with him on the way out. And for what? For him to just come back again?

I think Adar decided to play the long game. I think talk of Eregion and Galadriel let him know that something more was going on, and he was biding his time to act.

So, Sauron promised Adar children. Honestly, the Adar/Sauron/Galadriel dynamic that played across this episode was the stuff of my dreams. Adar is holding his own relationship with the fella up against hers, and there’s so much subtext for both dynamics. Was there romance between both? Was it solely manipulation for both? Is Adar what Galadriel might become if she succumbs?

Galadriel definitely wasn’t being entirely truthful with Adar when she mentioned that Sauron promised an army, because that was more what she thought she could get out of Halbrand. And yes, sure, Sauron might have nudged her that way. But Sauron’s true offer came later on the raft, after the army had been delivered. Adar even acknowledges that she’s not being truthful, that she needs to let go of her pride. I feel like we’ll see that play out over the last two episodes for sure…

The line that really stuck with me from a Hal&Gal perspective was Galadriel finishing Adar’s line about the world with Sauron being full of colour, and without him it’s a dull grey. It fits with how Galadriel has come across to me this season. Since Elrond shut her out, she hadn’t had anybody to open up to, and she’s certainly not being fully honest with herself yet. That dull grey speaks to how she’s mostly been…quite contained? The only moments where she’s truly come alive were with Nenya, and when she was fighting.

Later in the episode, she DOES put aside her pride. She calls Adar Uruk!!! She opens up and sees the possibility of an alliance. And I think this goes back to Sauron too. She’s had a taste of darkness and the temptation of it, she knows she’s not secure from succumbing, and so her perspective of Adar – who was once an elf – has massively shifted. However, when he asks if he and his children will be able to return to their home…we all know the answer to that.

I actually never stopped to consider that Adar would be the one manipulating/tricking Galadriel, which is silly in retrospect. Because this much better explains how she ends up in a cage facing the elves (sorry guys, I don’t think she’s bait for Sauron…she’s facing the wrong way…). I’m looking forward to watching this bit again, as I feel it was a bit rushed on first watch. I would have liked to see these two chat for a good two scenes more, honestly.

Adar is falling into the trap, which is pretty devastating, and Galadriel is the one seeing through it. Honestly, I really don’t know how things roll out in the finale. I flip from it making no sense for it to be a S1 rehash, to being sure she’ll defiantly resist, to being sure the show is setting her up to not be able to. I JUST DON’T KNOW. I wish I’d never seen those stupid leak spoilers…the promo makes me think they are real, but then we MUST be missing full context.

Adar is still on DEATH WATCH but like…a little bit less than before, honestly? Mostly because I don’t see how we have time to get ALL the confrontations into the last two episodes. When Adar goes out – and he will – he deserves the biggest death.

Random aside: I am pondering sharing something of a Haladriel ramble/rant but I’m also like…IDK if I want the hassle, so we’ll see.

Celebrimbor and Annatar

Oh, Brimby. My heart aches. The sequence with him forgetting Mirdania’s name was so heartbreaking and watching Annatar isolate him so completely was chilling. First, by taking away the other smiths, then with the illusion.

I actually don’t think I have a lot to say on this section, because it’s been rumbling along all season and we’re just about to reach the climax. Sauron is Sauron’ing his hardest in this episode.

I am now quite convinced that Mirdania is not Celebrian (I already didn’t really believe it, but it’s firmer now) and I do think she’ll die. I think she’ll either be killed by Sauron himself, or she’ll be caught in the crossfire of the siege, and as she dies she’ll make eye contact with him and he’ll just coldly leave her. I feel like there has to be some sort of climax to the whole…you look like Galadriel thing, but I’m not really sure what that could be?? I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of time next episode, so maybe that really was a one and done so the viewer understood he’s thinking about her…

Celebrimbor trying to snap on Annatar, and that flash of true rage in Annatar’s face…oh god, next week is going to be soul destroying. I honestly can’t wait and dread it at the same time. Celebrimbor has fought so hard but then comes the illusion, then comes the lure – more talk of the Valar, of his work, of Feanor and the Silmarils. CELEBRIMBOR. GET OUT, PLEASE. GET OUT.

Sauron was then absolutely buzzing at the end there, as war came, and I wonder if there are more twists to come or if things play out fairly straightforward from here. We know the elves will charge the orcs. Does that happen straight away? Is there any communication? Because it’s complicated, isn’t it? On one hand, let Adar and the orcs try to take our Sauron…but then, you know innocents are being killed. You have to save them, surely?

And that’s that, I think? PHEW.

I must say, it’s harder to get through this season being in fandom because I KNOW SO MUCH MORE and I WANT SO MUCH MORE and people STRESS ME OUT. But, at the same time, it feels nice to love something this hard again?

Let’s get episode 7 and [redacted] out of the way fast, though, yeah?

[p-receh]

EPISODE 1

preview arc

Spoiler alert as always.

.

.

.

.

.

A significant contrast of ambiance I noticed when watching Gentar arc was the TV version used a lighter tone than the comic counterpart. And ... did the area feel bigger and brighter here?

I like that this version started in space rather than on earth. If they wanted to convince the audience the season 2 events happened within two months, they really needed to show how tight it was.

Unlike Sori and Windara's arc, this time I have to read the comic AND watch the show back to back.

This show has only 4 episodes but I felt like I'm missing something in the first ep.

For instance...

How the heck did the final goal from utilize Daun's 3rd tier, "Rimba/Jungle", into Api's 3rd tier, "Nova"?

Even the comic didn't bring the name in Baraju's early arc. It was a suggestion from Hang Kasa, not an order by the other person(in this case: the Commander).

And the show didn't explain the reason behind the commander's brief about this and you expected us to easily grasp it??

The show's barely started and I'm like:

"Am I missing something from Windara???"

They may want to cut long expositions of who those were and immediately shortened into the main issue. Mixed some lines from Baraju's arc so they could quickly jump into action for the future tv show. That's also why the gang was in this cut to bridge the story between Gentar and Baraju.

Except, Papa Zola resigned from the main cast (along with Adu Du and Probe). This arc is officially his last appearance in the Boboiboy series. He will be focused more on his adventure with his family in the upcoming movie later this year.

Also, I think it's funny, but when Gopal told Oboi to use Fusion elementals other than Frostfire because of how frequent it was, I laughed at the irony when Supra was in the mix yet he didn't even bring it up. The comic version made more sense in context since it was the only fusion he always used before Gentar by the way😅

Anywho, the TV ver started the story where the gang had to split up due to an unexpected distress signal during their journey to the planet Volcania. After that, it thematically followed the same structure as the comic ver, issue 15.

I said this in my preview post, we got to see Gentar's introduction right from the get go, especially in the opening vid. Aside from the main gang, the elementals are replaced with Gentar(but still got some tiny bits of Gempa & Hali for the sake of fusion part).

Oh, not to mention this is the first transformation where Oboi's front bangs cut sideways. Which IMO, that cut was cool as heck! Man, I love his suit on the tv ver! So good ... 😘

And I love how exaggerated his entrance was. The spotlight, the speeches, the ambiance, and every surrounding supported him as if he were the self-proclaimed celebrity in the block. And I love he purposely dragged his power-ups longer than the comic ver. It. Was. That. Necessary.

(If you guys telling me that this is not Boboiboy and totally a new character, I will 100% believe in you)

Other props to the tv ver is his weapon. They want to show how big and important it is. Not just randomly pop-out. Thus, enter his magnetic powers to assemble all the scrapes into his iconic hammer.

To match the whole "lively" vibe of the theme, the animation took very high notes of Japanese anime style and geniously incorporated into their 3D renders.

At first I thought they would go spiderverse-esque but using this method is also perfect for this arc. Kinda reminds me of Snoopy's art style actually.

(and also ashamed of why Sonic Prime didn't do this method even though their flat animations had some potential wtf!!!! Yes I'm still salty over the 2nd and their final season other than the animation period)

Ehem.

Okay. Continue to the main antagonists themselves: the Probe x Jo robot hybrid and Adu Du introduction.

I appreciate the animators that still manage to make it as creepy as ... I'd say the FNAF / Poppy Playtime horror standard. Although kinda a bit downed with the lighter background setting.

(now, will my country censor the horror part? Gonna be a nuisance I'd tell ya🙂‍↕️)

Whooo man when Adu Du entered the frame, my eyes instantly widened. I still remembered my reaction to how much his character development changes in the comic. But God I'm still not prepared in tv ver! Especially in this shot!

Like, sir who are you and why you are so cool?!?!! 😳😳

Aaaaaand that's all for now, onto the 2nd episode!

[bunnakit]

my stand in ep 2 thoughts, feelings, etc.

alright i wanted to write this up nicely but it took me... two hours to get through the episode bc i kept stopping to write notes, so i'll do my best i guess.

weird thing about me is when i watch shows and write notes for these posts i always write the notes on napkins? i have like 5 different notebooks in arms reach at all times but i really like scribbling on a napkin for the true unhinged effect.

anyway blah blah reminder i'm just a silly dude on the internet, idk shit about dick, i just like to say shit, don't take me too seriously.

also please DO NOT leave novel spoilers in my reblogs, tags, or replies without some kind of warning label. please? it seems to happen with every show i write meta for and i LOVE that people get hyped but there's no way for me to avoid it when it's in my notifications like that.

some before the actual episode stuff; after learning last week that some of the kinnporsche people worked on this it really becomes apparent, especially in the style of the intro.

the music choices also seem a bit reminiscent of kinnporsche (and a little bit of not me) which i really enjoy. it feels kind of familiar and comforting.

immediately i loved how soft this episode started, the slight stubble on each of them, the way joe speaks so softly as if afraid to shatter their little bubble of peace, etc. i also love that the show doesn't skirt around the topic of sex and the fact that sometimes sex is awkward and clumsy, especially with a new partner and doubly so when it's your first queer partner.

and then the peace was shattered with ming kissing his back yet again. ouchies.

"will tong be at the set?" he's just not even trying to hide it. he basically said 'yeah ur great and all but tong????' but DAMN if poom isn't the absolute king of microexpressions.

at this point i can't really tell if tong is being a spoiled prince (derogatory) or if he's tired of acting in general? judgement withheld until a later date.

and then we jump into this actress being a parallel to ming and OOF OUCHIES MY ORGANS. she's a fan of tong but has to "settle" for joe - just like ming. and yet joe takes the time to be kind, to soothe her worries and put her at ease, because he has a heart of absolute gold. "it's her first movie but she was left to drown by the male lead." it's ming's first love and he has been left to drown in it.

mek's acting is really endearing. this is my first exposure to him (ive seen some of his social media and really like what he stands for as a person) and i'm instantly drawn to his performance. he also pulls off a great balance of adorable/sexy.

OOH THE SHOW SAID BISEXUAL OUT LOUD. A WIN FOR THE BI'S WE LOVE TO SEE IT.

i personally find ming's jealously hilarious. what a little caricature of toxicity.

anyway, it seems to me that if ming could get over his feelings and enjoy what he has in front of him he could be part of and enjoy a very sweet family, as it does seem tong IS giving him love, just not the exact flavor he craves.

the cut to joe's training made me laugh. little oat lore dump but my bio dad was actually a stunt man for movies (which is another part of why i was so excited for this show) and i can promise you nothing like this was part of it. what do i know, though, maybe things have changed since the early 2000s lol.

(no, they're probably not any movies you know, aside from maybe wild wild west [1999]. he mostly did westerns, historical docudramas, and historical fiction.)

ANYWAY AGAIN. with this little glimpse into ming's home life we get to see that he's very accustomed to doing what he wants and getting what he wants, which makes a lot of sense when applied to his almost obsessive behavior regarding tong - and now joe. i did absolutely LOVE linin and her sassy independence (minus the 'i can buy anything i need'.)

but... girl... did you just spray perfume in your mouth?

your actions are strange and unsettling. i like that in a woman.

ugh getting into ming venting his frustrations on joe's body. listen. liiiisten. while toxic without prior discussion... i'm into it. it may or may not be one of my favorite tropes in fanfic. toxic and unhealthy as fuck and i'm here for it.

AND THEN DAMN POOM THOSE NOISES. ACTING FOR YOUR LIFE BBY -- and the SNEEZE AT ORGASM LMAAAO oh i hope that's a running bit for some comedic relief.

because we then make a SHARP pivot into "then stop me" and there's so much potential for pain and self loathing there, for joe to think "i can't blame ming, i didn't stop any of it." i'm sat.

a little side bar, but i'm enjoying the fact that while there is discussion of topping and bottoming as a narrative device there really aren't any stereotypes here. i think on a surface level people would think "oh joe is the top" (pit babe style) and the show said no actually he isn't. love that for us.

"you can even move in haha jk" but the thing is, not jk, because joe would do that for ming - for anyone - bc that's the type of person he is.

[i had to stop and have a lil snack here]

hold up is this wut out drinking with them? OH SHIT IT IS. OKAY. it didn't give us much but at least it's a little connection to him finally. we knew joe knew him from his first life, just didn't really know how.

"i missed you" and when was the last time someone missed joe? not who he's replacing or the space he's filling, but HIM?

love ming's goofy ass locking the door and going inside just so he can make a dramatic ass appearance like he's 'the other woman' or some shit LMAO.

"what's in you to make me jealous?" quite possibly the worst dialogue tree choice ming could've picked.

[joe's emotional well being -45]

[everyone hated that]

"don't be so full of yourself" something joe has never been a day in his life. "you're just a stand-in." he knows. it's not something he ever forgets.

but after all that toxicity we have ming back home, seeking out joe's food for comfort, and we finally get to see him interact with his sister. i LOVE that she knows the importance of being a little silly as a treat, one of my biggest life mottos. we also get to see more of how ming is surrounded by love that he misses out on bc of his own wallowing and self sabotage.

oh, the homoeroticism of sparring with your bestie.

[everyone liked that]

oop- joe is wearing the shirt ming borrowed while sol is wearing a shirt with the word 'fantasy.' i'm good, i'm fine, gwenchana, gwenchana.

ough. sol with too many eyes on him and none of them sincere and joe with nothing but sincerity to offer but remains invisible. oof ouch.

enter ming with more religious imagery to match last week's cross scene. something something the sin of greed? confessing your sins? coveting - idk man, i don't have any religious trauma, my family let me just do my own thing.

but with ming knowing joe's true feeling every toxic thing he does is going to be 1000x more painful and i'm here for it. bring it you fucked up little guy.

"we can't mess with each other's privacy" don't mess with MY privacy. "you can't mess around with anyone else" emphasis on YOU, not we.

and then it's driven home what a romantic joe is, both with his workout heartbreak poetry and this little lady and the tramp noodle moment. this man, again much like pit babe, wants to be domesticated so bad.

and i know we all have hated on ming, that's the point, he's been a caricature of a toxic relationship spelled out in neon letters --

but when was the last time ming laughed with someone like this?

ok im exhausted, i'm falling into bed to read fanfic, but i'm absolutely in love with everything this is doing so far. i haven't written anything as in depth as this since last twilight (pre-betrayal) so it's really nice to feel insane again.

[disgracedaantt]

yellowjackets ep 4 thoughts and theories!

ooh boy what an episode that was huh? anyway i have some fresh off the press thoughts on what all that meant and where i think it could lead

MASSIVE spoiler warning for yellowjackets season 3 episode 4, be warned!!!

first off, us 12 ben fans are all hurting right now, so sad but not surprised. however, i don't think they'll kill him, hear me out! i think its going to be a sort of captive/slow kill situation since they've gone with the whole playing civilization with a mock court system. they've worked so hard to regain they're humanity that i can't see them being comfortable with condemning him to death, especially since the majority don't believe he did it, regardless of how they voted (looking at you gen, lottie, travis, and akilah wtf guys) but i think its going to end up with shauna killing him.

i think ultimately this'll be how shauna dethrones nat because that's clearly where the season is going. they literally said everyone was afraid of shauna in the adult timeline, and shauna pressured the vote to change, so i think her taste of power is going to spiral and violently at that. i think it will end up with nat being exiled in sort of a mockery of her defense of ben if that makes sense? like since she was fine with him being out there alone, she should be out there alone yanno? i also think it might be connected to what shauna did after they were rescued, maybe alienating nat or something along those lines? like i think nat will be the reason they get rescued and she's clearly back with the group at some point by the second winter so, shaunas opinion on her must've changed at some point i think? idk i'll come back and make a more coherent post after I've had some time to marinate in it because i do think somethings there!

also pretty sure it was either tai or the stalker who killed lottie. I've seen some people say it was shauna, callie, or walter, but i don't think so. for shauna i think its unlikely because i believe her statement about looking for the cat. she was so wrapped up in her own guilt and paranoia about misty that i don't see her seeking out lottie in her current state. i also don't think she'd do it because of the way it'd divide her and callie when callie inevitably finds out, because shauna cannot lie to save her fucking life. like seriously she caves immediately every time, especially to callie.

i also don't think it was callie because callie really did care for lottie i think. shes clearly desperate for connection, especially to her mom, and lottie provided that. i doubt her finding out the truth about what happened in the wilderness would push her to doing that. especially since im pretty sure lotties going to be one of the reasons shauna becomes leader (more on that in a bit). also callie is rly just not at commit murder with her own 2 hands point i think.

as for walter, i just dont think he'd risk hurting misty like that? like he clearly still wants in her life as seen by his text, and he knows just how smart misty is so i don't think he'd risk doing that (at least not personally) because shes clearly going to end up investigating it.

actually now that i think about it maybe a misty, walter, and shauna investigation team up will happen? that'd be cool.

anyway, tai, she's losing her mind. very obviously other tai is leading here. she was totally ready to murder that random guy. in fact i think he's probably still going to die. but anyway, maybe tai sought out lottie in person to get clarity on what she said the night nat died, and something implied that killing lottie was what the wilderness wanted. we have a whole hour missing, and i doubt it took all that long to set up the things for the date. personally, i don't think it was tai because the stalker is most likely, but she's still a reasonable suspect. especially considering the whole episode was literally lawyer and court themed, which is tai's whole deal so.

but, the stalker. we know lottie was going to apologize to someone. someone she needed to make a convincing apology too. and frankly i doubt it was to shauna considering how clear it was that shauna did NOT want to see her again. and shauna shipman/sadeki is rly fucking scary. anyway, lotties death would be a great way to introduce the stalker plot to the adult yellowjackets, since rly only callie knows anything about it (the mixtape). shauna only suspects and up until now she's believed it was misty. anyway, lotties death is probably going to get callie to reveal the mixtape, and boom connected stalker dots! also jackies little speech about what they did when they got back is probably foreshadowing this.

uhhhh more thoughts? jeff is awesome. love that guy wigging out about his bad karma when he's probably the least guilty of anything out of all of them at this point in time (not counting callie). like pal, your wife is just racking up that bad karma debt not you. the fact that he let shauna have her moment of "good karma" even tho he disagreed with it was very sweet. hope he lives ngl.

oh also back to what i mentioned earlier, teen lottie and shauna. very interesting power dynamic. i think its kinda interesting the lottie represents religion while shauna represents power, and in this case leadership. which is why i think lottie will help shauna take power cause historically government leaders need backing from the primary religious power to be successful. nat had that with lottie, but the winds have changed the way they blow, like quite literally lol.

uh yeah i will come back at a later time and expand on some of this because I'm very tired and this is a little nonsensical, but i hope at least some of this makes sense.

tl:dr, sad ben lost, shaunas prob gonna kill him, shaunas prob gonna become the new leader by this and exiling nat, lotties gonna back shauna, lottie was prob killed by tai or the stalker, jeff rules!

[akaikali]

TMAGP EP 22 REACTION (SPOILERS)

"So you just ran away" Lena sweetie my live what else was she meant to do (to be fair, Gwen didn't have to provoke ink5oul)

"Watching figure" yeah OK definitely some Eye creature of sorts I'm rly thinking it's like...The Beholding as a creature or an old archivist

THIS IS SO FUCKING FUNNY "presumably you didn't get any contact details from them?" "I guess it's slipped my mind as I was fleeing the SUPERNATURAL PSYCHOPATHS!" also Lena I don't think that you were gonna get any contact details regardless that bitch don't seem like they got a phone

Lena genuinely cares about her employees but also she hates paperwork (polar opposite of Elias)

Okay here's the thing right. I kind of get Gwen. She wasn't briefed on how to handle a situation like that, like what was she MEANT to do??? I would be pissed off if shit like that happened and no one gave me any warning (again, though, Gwen also has a tendency to naturally be a bit bitchy so that probably made it worse)

WAIT. HOLD ON MRS. KELLEY?? AM I READING INTO THINGS TOO MUCH OR. GUYS IS LENA MARRIED????

YO GUYS GRANDPA IS BACK

Oh shit okay so they are kind of recreating or continuing Newton's original experiments, seeing as they mentioned an experiment on Canis (which I believe means "dog"). It seems to have been expanded to apes (Hominidae), bunnies (Leoporidae), and old world monkeys (Cercopithecidae). And it seems this researcher is having strange side effects when it comes to his subjects.

"Herr Schmidt" I'm assuming this is German?

Hm, being told to use silver which again is like. Seeming to be a theme. I'm not sure but in the Newton episode, was there silver as well?

Okay for clarification, it seems like "Zeitgeist" is an invisible agent, force, or daemon dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history. Einthoven was a Dutch medical doctor and physiologist and he created the first ECG.

Woahhh hold on. So they're talking about severing a bundle of nerves to make it seem like two animals in one body because it messes with sense of self? This kind of makes me think a little of ink5ouls, the way they seemed scared sometimes of what they were becoming and then like. You know. Scary monster let's chase down Gwen and tattoo her against her will.

Hmm okay so this telegraph seems to be directly responding to the researcher's question, not the patient himself. Like it seems like it's Telegraph -> Herr Schmidt's reaction and not Herr Schmidt's thoughts -> Telegraph reaction.

OH. OK. HERR SCHMIDT IS DEAD NOW.

Damn Ursula is awesome she could immediately understand what was happening.

Oh boy. Oh this gonna be bad. Sam is going to find out that Alice was messing with his computer and Sam does NOT seem like the type to be chill with that.

Hm okay so the severing of the nerves might have worked? And perhaps it was like there were 2 people in Herr Schmidt's body? And from what I can tell, they want so badly to get out that they basically BURST out if his head in the deformity from the back of his head? It still doesn't answer WHAT or WHO these two voices are.

Also it makes sense that Augustus is giving something like this because like...pretty sure he's stuck in the computer, probably with jonmartin and they all want out.

Aw man :(((

OH BOY. "You're trying to control me. Again." I wonder if this is referencing their relationship and why they broke up. I can see it, I do think that Alice has a tendency to be controlling out of need to keep everyone around her safe which is pretty different, but I'm on Sam's side here. Taking away his ability to choose just...isn't great.

Yeahhhh Alice seems to have definitely been hoping to rekindle what they might have had but I think the issue seems that she hoped SAM had changed from before while the reason they broke up was because Sam couldn't be with Alice anymore since he felt like she was too controlling. And now that Sam seems to be having a genuine connection with Celia where he feels comfortable and happy, Alice seems jealous.

SHUT THE FUCK UP. OH MY GOD WHAT WHAT WHAT HOLY FUCK HIH WHAT AKDVAKDHWJT E

JONATHAN SIMS AND MARTIN BLACKWOOD????

HEY GUYS WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK HWIAHAOWVEBE RHAJDVAIBDKWBR E

I JUST SCREAMED "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD" WHAT YOU WHAT HUH WHAT

AND THE FACT THAT CELIA MENTIONED THEM BOTH SPECIFICALLY TOGETHER LIKE HELLO???? GUYS IM. WHAT.

I'm sorry shut up this is all I'm gonna be talking about for the next month what the HELL

[halliescomut]

Love Sea Ep 2 Watch Along

I am a couple days late because migraines suck, but I'm finally sitting down to watch ep 2. I'm gonna try to gives some first inpressions here, but we'll see how we go.

-Opening shot and I accidentally caught crew in the back of the boat. Hehe...whoops. Can't always catch that.

-When he says "what this man's sex taste like" does he mean literally or figuratively??? Like...I'm just not sure if it's wonky translation, or ???

-Okay, but the way Mut put's their legs together, but keeps their torso's apart....like touching, but not invading Rak's space....that's kinda hot.

-I do come from a seafood family, literally my maternal grandparents ran a seafood restaurant for over a decade, but I'm not a seafood person, so I kinda feel like the food stuff is going over my head.

-Like...I knew it was gonna happen, but I'm still blushing so hard. That eye contact is DANGEROUS.

-Peat's muscles!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!!!

-Literally Rak is so cranky that he hurt himself and cut off sexy time. His grumpy face.

I love Mook so much. I would die for her, she's so precious.

Are those generic baby shark bandaids??

I love how quickly Rak takes advantage of the loophole Mut presents him with. He immediately is like "you are correct, this is not my bed, let's bang!" (Also I fucking loved this line in the trailer. It's quippy, it's clever, Fort delivers it so well. Perfection.)

I mean...if your gonna engage in sexy time on the beach...oral would be your best option, so....

Jesus with the leg over the shoulder....goddamn.

Those hips are moving quite a lot Rak, be careful with Mut, you don't want to break him.

The mouth wipe.....I'm dying. I will say the timing was a bit fast there at the end, but like...legit portrayal of oral, and not just vaguely refering to it is new in Thai BL, so props for that. (Also it was one of my bingo squares. Yay me.)

I was predicting the whole "I'm inspired, we gotta go back to my room right now", but that did not stop it from being funny as hell.

Is Tongrak basically Mame's self-insert?? I just thought about this, bc they used the MMY logo for the fake website, probably just so they didn't have to bother with getting a non-copywritten one, or pay to use a real one, but like I just thought about this, since he's a writer who writes Y-Series, and part of what P'Vie does (I'm pretty sure) is make them into shows.... fascinating to consider.

We do see the cover for The Boy Next World, both the BN one and the orignal manga-style one...interesting.... As well as the cover for Love Director, which is one of the novels directly related to the LITA side of the Mame-verse....also interesting.

Rak's fake insta is hot. I tell you what, Mame shows got their issues, but costuming is pretty much always on point.

Okay so P'Vie is an actress...still involved with Rak's shows, but not the director I guess.

I really do get distract by how pretty Peat's eyes are.

Okay, Though he was just showering, but then I saw the motion... the blushing begins again. (Look I know I've written smut, and I watch BL, but I'm still Ace, so a lot of times my reaction is very Edwardian noble lady. I'm sorry!)

No, but I paused it to write that last sentence and the look on Rak's face!!!!

Rak is very bite-y. It suits his character, really. I Like it.

That was....very athletic.

I have thoughts about the sex scene. I'll save those for the 'Thoughts' post though.

I do think it's funny that Rak is so disturbed because the sex was good. That's funny.

Side note, I know this is an adult show, it includes a lot of adult themes, but somehow the Hallmark Movie-ness of Mame's shows makes it feel very weird when people cuss. Like, it feels odd for Rak to say Fuck there. It somehow just gives the vibe of 'see how grown-up we are with the cussing'. IDK if that makes sense, or if anyone else feels that way.

Mook's reaction to the forehead kiss is so cute, but P'Vie's got two episodes to get her act together, or I'm gonna start to dislike her.

I still don't remember the name of Mut's friend (I'm sorry) but I do think he's very funny. The actor is doing a very good job.

I know IRL, I would hate the entitledness/possessive-ness of Rak, but that was kind hot.

I love how amused Mut is by Rak. It's one of the things that feels like Fort peeking through tbh.

Oops...none of us did consider that a considerably long motorbike ride the day after some pretty vigorous back door sex may not be the best idea. But also, I feel like this is part of why prep/aftercare is important, and they (meaning BLs) should focus on it more. Like it's wouldn't fix everything, but it would help.

Oh, I really do like Mut's friend...who's name is Palm....I will try to remember.

I doubt this was Mame's intention, but I do appreciate the discussion of how franchised tourism can be harmful to local residents.

Sweet Mut so shy about taking genuine compliments. That's so cute.

Oh I'm familiar with that kind of manufactured flippancy when it comes to speaking about family ties that have been broken.... there be trauma there mateys.

God I have a lot of incomplete thoughts about this scene. I'm gonna have to rewatch and break it down later.

Oh, Rak is 100% a self-insert.

I do wonder when we're gonna get more info regarding that first thought about escaping though. It feels like Rak is trying to keep things surface level, but is accidentally revealing more than he intends.

I respect the attempt to get info out of Kom. I also respect Connor for not giving any.

I'm excited for the diving and underwater shots, but Rak--why the fuck are you wearing a small fortune in high-end designer jewelery for that?? like, leave that shit in your room dude.

Also, I've officially decided I love Palm and his doofus-energy. I will now protect him with my life.

God Bless Wetsuits! Amen!!

Sir what the fuck are you doing???? If this were a different couple I'd say Rak is well on his way to a spanking.

But also, this is so pretty,

Flashback!!! Yes, another bingo box, but also...why do drama parents always break up directly in front of their kids?

There's a metaphor happening about not diving alone and the flashbacks and reconciling his traumas in relation to love/trusting men (in a romantic way)....my brain is too stupid to make a cohesive explanation, but it's there.

I love the way Mut just looks at Rak... like it's fascinating how much Fort is able to portray with his gaze. I thought that during LITA, but it's confirmed here. Because, yes the longing/loving gaze is alive and well, but you can see the concern, the confusion, even the questioning that's happening. It's wild.

Well that's all for the episode. I'll probably rewatch tomorrow and thry to organize my thoughts into something vaguely cohesive, but no promises. Despite the very swift jump into the sex, we got a lot of insight today, into to both of them really.