#its literally repeated flashbacks new scene!!! ad. and repeat

[chilling-seavey]

Qui Totum Vult Totum Perdit (d.s.) - The Fight

A/N With Hope’s intense google doc analysis of trying to piece together Daniel and Avalon’s fight through his flashbacks, I figured I should give you the real thing!

“Your ignorance is fucking incredible, Daniel James!”

Her words were venomous, punctuated by the slam of the front door the moment we stepped back inside the house. I was still trying to put my wallet in my pocket after paying the taxi driver, showing exactly how quickly she decided to snap back at me after we already endured a terribly tense flight home. Yet, apparently a simple question of “are you okay” was completely disgusting of me to ask.

“You can’t just lose your temper like this every time you get a bit upset, Avalon! I’m just trying to talk to you.” I called as calmly as I could as I set my computer bag on the kitchen island.

She grabbed herself an empty glass from the cupboard and slammed the door shut before turning on the tap aggressively. Her brown eyes glared daggers in my direction over the rim of the glass as she raised it to her lips to take a sip and the diamond ring on her left hand caught the light of the late evening setting sun coming in through the window. Flickers of orange light writhed on the marble countertop between us and died when she lowered her hand out of the incoming rays.

There was a moment of silence as the beginnings of this obvious inevitable fight lingered between us.

“Trying to talk to me?” she repeated my words slowly as she stepped around the island, water glass held in both hands as if she was ready to interrogate me, “Well, gee, Daniel, that’s the first time in days you’ve even bothered.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I frowned.

“You spent most of our honeymoon with your laptop and your goddamn work rather than with me.”

I sighed, “Ava, come on, you know I had to-”

“No! You didn’t have to do anything! The only thing you had to do was relax for the first time in your goddamn life but that was too much to ask, wasn’t it? God…stupid me.” she shook her head in near disbelief, “I thought you might have actually given a shit about me once we got to Costa Rica but apparently, I was wrong.”

A rouge was rising on her sun-tanned cheeks, a clear indication of her true anger she felt, but her accusations weren’t making it easy for me to simply let her have this one. It was a fight we had before and were probably destined to again. It just came with the job.

“Give a shit about you? Avalon, you’re my fucking wife, of course I give a shit about you! You were the one complaining about wanting to leave the entire time. That doesn’t make the trip very fucking enjoyable.”

“You weren’t around me!” she yelled, tapping her hand against the cup in her hand so the sound of her ring against the glass punctuated each of her words. “What person wants to spend their honeymoon alone? Of course, I wanted to go home! I was basically there by myself and I was miserable!”

“I had to get some shit done! Jonah needed me to double check a few things while we were away. It’s not the end of the world and I’m sorry if you feel that way!”

I could see her visibly tense and she turned her head so she didn’t have to look at me, jabbing under her breath, “That’s always your excuse, isn’t it? ‘Always gotta get some shit done’. Well, I’m sick and tired of coming second to your work all the time.”

“Well what do you want me to do?! Do you not like having this house and a nice car and that huge fucking diamond on your finger? Well sorry to break it to you, honey, but without this job, you wouldn’t have any of that!”

“There you go again!” Avalon threw her hand up in my direction, “It’s not all about your fucking money, Daniel! I don’t care about that! I would even be perfectly happy living on the side of the fucking street with you because I love you! None of this other shit that you think is required for a happy and fulfilling life; because – news flash – it’s not!”

“Well it makes me pretty damn happy.”

“Oh really? Are you happy now? Huh? Does this make you fucking happy?”

“Yes! Because at least my house or my car doesn’t spew this fucking bullshit at me all the time!” I yelled back.

Avalon literally scoffed and took a step back, her voice lowered to a steady unimpressed drawl, “You’re a selfish prick, Daniel Seavey. I’m done trying to help you…you’re such a lost cause that…God…sometimes I wish I never married you.”

“Then why did you? If I make you so fucking miserable all the time! Are you that insecure that you’d rather be miserable with me than be alone? You can’t stand yourself either, can you?”

“Fuck you!”

“My brother always told me you were too fucking weak to be my wife…couldn’t handle the baggage that comes with the job.”

“Leave Christian out of this. He doesn’t know bull-fucking-shit about us and especially not about me. Neither of you know how hard it is!”

“It’s not hard, Avalon! You sit here and look pretty and I buy you sparkly things! It’s not fucking hard! You’re just being an obnoxious brat about everything, and you always have!”

“You invalidate my feelings all the time!” she yelled.

“You’re too goddamn sensitive! It’s not a big deal!” I shouted louder to top her.

“God, I fucking hate you!” she huffed. She turned to set the glass angrily on the kitchen counter but it fell and shattered on the kitchen floor between us, silencing our screaming match except for our heavy breaths and Avalon’s sniffled tears.

I sighed at the realization that the whole confrontation went on too far and I tried to reach for her, but she pulled her hand back and moved away from me, “Aves.”

“Don’t.” she snapped.

“Avalon, I’m sorry, I-”

“Sorry doesn’t fix everything.” she retorted sharply, yet I could hear the exhaustion in her voice. “I’m sleeping in the studio tonight.”

I swallowed thickly and nodded, glancing to the ground with a heavy heart, the pieces of broken glass shimmering in the kitchen light between us. She went to step around me but I instinctively reached out a hand to her to keep her back from accidently stepping on any broken glass, “Careful.”

“God, Daniel.” she huffed, “Please don’t.”

I didn’t make a move to stop her as she walked around me to storm across the living room and to the back door. She didn’t look back as she opened the sliding glass door and slipped out into the darkness that the falling night brought. I watched her disappear out of the house and into the backyard, her form fading from view like she had been a figment of my imagination the whole time, the cruelest most perfect kind of dream.

Oh, how I loved her. And I was so, so stupid.

I busied myself in her absence by bringing my laptop bag and our shared suitcase to the master bedroom and rested them against the wall just inside the door. I returned to the kitchen to clean up the broken glass and spilt water, glancing out the back door as if half expecting her to come back inside. I was met with darkness.

I squinted slightly to try and see the light from the backyard studio window but it was still pitch black. Odd. Usually you could see the light from the main house. I brushed it off that she simply went to bed early after such a fight and focussed on the broken glass. I had just crouched down to pick up the worst of it with a steady hand when the pling of the security camera peaked my attention. It rang steady from the monitor’s spot on the front counter and I headed over to it to check on the studio cameras, but the alarm was disarmed from the studio before I could reach it, sending the kitchen back into silence.

My phone buzzed in my pocket at that moment and I pulled it out to read the text from my older brother,

Did you get home okay?

I hesitated as I read his message, not particularly wanting to be honest with him and have to endure his confessions of his dislike of my new wife and her very personable opinions on my job. It was our private relationship and Christian seemed to like to weasel his nose into it sometimes. Ah, well. He meant well. Before I could decide if I wanted to answer him right away or not, I heard a faint scream from the backyard and my head shot up to look towards the sliding glass doors. I paused, expecting Avalon to come running in to ask me to kill a spider any moment now.

But there was nothing.

I pocketed my phone and walked briskly across the main floor of the house, broken glass forgotten, and slipped outside into the warm LA evening. The studio was only a few paces from the back porch and I jumped down the three steps and across the stone tiles to the door. I didn’t bother knocking before I went inside, the darkness that consumed me when I entered already adding more concern to my conscious, and I reached for the light switch blindly.

“Ava? I thought I heard you scream, are you-”

The scene that met my eyes with the flick of the switch had my breath stopping in my throat, my words falling into silence, and my heart dropping into my stomach. Avalon was laying over the rug across the small room, eyes staring blankly into the ceiling, and her throat slit until she was laying in a pool of her own blood.

“Aves.” I breathed shakily, taking a step towards her, then a second, “Avalon, honey…”

She wasn’t moving. I barely made it halfway across the studio but with my back to the door I had entered through, someone came up behind me and grabbed me, slapping their hand over my mouth and holding me down by an arm around my waist. I struggled and tried to get away but they had a good grip on me as they swiped my feet out from under me and took me to the ground. The sharp slam of my head hitting the side of the piano on the way down was the last sound in the room before I blacked out.

Detective Team: @jonahlovescoffee​ @randomlimelightxxx​ @stuffofseaveyy​ @hopinglimelight​ @tempus-ut-luceant​ @br4nd1s​ @xkelsev​ @hiya-its-amber​ @the-girl-who-cried-wolf​

[nuttyjellyfishlover]

One Piece Anime Wano Arc Episodes 890

One Piece Anime: Wano Arc, Episodes 890 This honestly is less going to be a review and more of a commentary as I watch through the anime's rendition of the Wano arc. I've honestly never really watched too much of the One Pieceanime, mostly just looking up the highlights of the arcs I read in the manga. I did watch the filler episodes and most of the movies, as I've talked about at length recently. And everyone tells me that the anime has some rather terrible pacing, particularly around the time of Dressrossa, which is apparently pretty padded out. But then I heard the absolute opposite for Wano, where the anime has received a new art-style and one hell of a fancy makeover. And I thought... hey, I'm on a One Piece kick this year, clearly, so yeah, I think I'm going to give this a shot.

The Wano arc, I think, is one that works a lot better because it has the reverse problem of a lot of One Piece arcs -- there are a lot of moments in Act One of the manga's version of the story that the writer clearly purposefully threw in a couple of off-screened moments that the anime could expand into full action scenes. I already know that Sanji versus Page One is fully animated in the anime, and scenes like Big Mom vs. Kaido or Zoro vs. Basil Hawkins are extended a lot more than the couple of panels we had in the manga. And Wano's got a lot of supporting characters, some of which actually get swept under the rug when I first read through the manga chapters weekly. So yeah, having bright colours and voices and music is going to make this a much more fun experience!

Anyway, here goes my collection of random notes and commentary. Be aware that there will be MANGA SPOILERS, as I will point out a couple of things here and there about stuff I notice that's foreshadowing or whatever:

* Marco's blue-and-yellow phoenix form looks so, so much more vibrant and pops out compared to anything else in the series in colour, huh? I think out of any other character, Marco is extra-memorable in animated format. * That said, basically half this episode is just a recap of the Paramount War. I mean, I haven't seen the Paramount War in full animated format, so it's nice to hear Whitebeard and Ace and Marco speak some of their more famous lines there. But on the other hand, it's also it's kind of one of the more-criticized parts of the One Piece anime that any time they could pad out an episode with scenes from a previously-produced episode, they will. * We actually get to see the Grudge/Payback War in the anime! I think this is less of a showcase of events that actually happened and more of a symbolic one, but hey, we get to see Blackbeard doing some sky-quakes and black holes and Marco turning phoenix. It just shows the Whitebeard division commanders getting sucked into a giant Dragon-Ball-esque spirit bomb Black Hole. Actually pretty neat! * Jozu has both arms in that vision. Whether it's an error or a spoiler or if he has a prosthetic a la Akainu in Film: Z, we'll see eventually.

* This episode also has a bit of a recap of the revelations about Wano from the Zou arc, but it's a lot shorter and feels a lot more relevant to the upcoming arc. * Brook actually expresses some interest on Vivi, apparently having heard of her from the others. I've always liked this from the filler episodes, of the newer Straw Hats slowly learning about prior adventures. Brook being Brook, of course, a panty joke was tossed in. * The Japanese-art style water waves look so pretty when animated! * The random octopus that makes Japanese kabuki theater (?) sounds is another thing that works so much better in the anime. I've always thought it felt a bit forced and random in the manga version. * The high-tempo music when the Sunny sails into the koi waves is very, very fun! * Ah, yes, the very first chapter of Wano in the manga shows off a bunch of carps jumping up a waterfall. You know, considering the whole legend that a carp that jumps over the waterfall transforms into a dragon... i.e., a fish that is also a dragon...

* The first one that's properly and almost fully drawn in the new Wano art style! And it looks gorgeous. * Also a new theme song! I've never paid that much attention to theme songs in anime, but I definitely like "One Dream One Wish" more than "We're the Super Powers". Shame that, as with most anime, the opening sort of spoils, like, half of the things that happens in the arc. * Speaking of great background music... the tempo of that opening instrumental that Komurasaki plays on shamisen is pretty catchy, especially with that octopus going iyooo~ in the background. It also makes for very fun background music for Zoro's rampage at the end of the episode. * Anime Wano is so freaking colourful. The rooftops, the kimonos, the hair... I think I remembered reading that Oda made it a point to subvert the fact that everyone in feudal Japan had black hair by explicitly doing the opposite -- black hair is the exception rather than the norm in Wano. Fun! * The frog on Usopp's hat is a real frog! I always thought it was just a hat! It's adorable! The wiki tells me it's called Gama Pyonnosuke. It's an adorable friend! Forget Carrot or Kin'emon or Yamato, Gama Pyonnosuke for next Straw Hat! * The biggest expansion here is that we actually follow Zoro around as he wanders around the city until he gets arrested by the corrupt magistrate. And Zoro actually bumps into the man-slayer and corrupt magistrate, actually explaining why he recognizes the specific scent of blood during the whole seppuku court. * And then we get around a minute of Zoro fighting the magistrate guards with the seppuku knife and good ol' fisticuffs, something that I didn't think I needed, but is certainly very fun to watch! * This new animation studio loves the angled zoom-in into eyes, and I highly approve. I think we had that like at least three times when Zoro decides to get dangerous.

* I never quite realized that if Luffy hadn't been interrupted by the octopus and washed up next to the Thousand Sunny, the poor ship would be literally left to its own devices. You'd think after losing Merry, the Straw Hats would be more careful with their ships... * Zoro gets to slash the magistrates up even more! It's a single Tatsu Maki, but god damn what a pretty Tatsu Maki. The shot of his feet kicking and breaking the wooden floor, the black aura around his blades, the way that the dragon aura appears behind him, the demonic red eyes as Zoro slams down from the sky, and the shots of the surrounding terrain being cut up into cubes... pretty awesome! * Luffy dodging the bullet from the random Beast Pirate goon with Observation Haki and the gomu-gomu-long-range-bitchslap has always been cool in the manga, and this episode makes it even cooler. Those glowing eyes! This is going to be the whole commentary, isn't it? Just me commenting on the scenes I find to be really cool? * Luffy's Conqueror Haki against the giant baboon is another very cool one. From the expression to the delivery of the line to the sound effect... Luffy's expression is actually pretty cool and borderline scary as he beats up the second goon. No wonder Tama went straight into "This is the I surrender pose!" * Also added in the anime is a vignette of Franky, Robin and Usopp seeing the news of Zorojuro becoming a wanted criminal. Again, not entirely necessary to know the story, but actually scenes that I don't mind being shown to us. Particularly that scene of Usopp utterly bullshitting an officer. * Luffy pets Komachiyo with his rubber arms. Komachiyo is a good boy. This is the most important scene.

* Did the manga show Luffy hiding the Sunny and letting it anchor in a cave? I don't remember it. I know that before the flashback and the raid we see the Sunny there, but it's nice to actually show Luffy not being so callous with the Sunny. * They got a pretty good voice actress for Tama that really makes her pretty adorable! So many times these kid guest star characters end up being annoying if they don't get a good voice, but between the voice-acting and the expressions, she's pretty fun! * Also, I think this is going to be something I repeat a couple of times, but both Tama and Tenguyama are so much more visually interesting with their full colour palettes. * Oh, right, Drake was the one that ransacked Tama's village. Wonder if that'll actually come up later on in the story... * Okay, thanks to the anime, it's really going to drill to me that it's pronounced 'Diez Drake' and not 'Eks Drake'. * I'm pretty sure everyone noticed it, but Ace learned to weave hats in Wano! That's how he became buddies with Oars Junior! I didn't notice it until just now!

* (Episode is the Cidre Guild filler arc that ties in to Stampede.) * What is Tenguyama waiting for? It's probably Oden or his retainers, but I don't think he's part of the samurai that was recruited by Kin'emon's group. Maybe he just missed the big recruitment drive, but that's weird. I wonder what role he's going to play in the arc... * There is a random metal guitar riff when Luffy sees the Nidai Kitetsu. And a glow of Observation Haki on Luffy's eyes. That's a small detail, but very cool! He also uses Observation when Hawkins arrives later on. I love the little trail of glowing red that streams out of his pupils when he activates it. * Tenguyama's sword has a very cool leaf-based handguard! Never noticed that. * Speaking of cool Observation Haki effects, Zoro's apparently activates when he senses sake. Appropriate! * I know it's me repeating this over and over, and we'll get so many cooler scenes later on, but Zoro casually launching that Phoenix Cannon to blow up the two random raptor-riders when he saves Tsuru? Such a simple scene but still so cool. Also very cool is the very brief slo-mo as Zoro re-angles the pathway of his slice when cutting down the second random goon. * Unlike most of the other things, I've always noticed that Basil Hawkins has a very cool Koma-deer mount. It looks even cooler in motion!

* This is perhaps one of the more extended scenes, since it features... fight scenes! In the manga, I think this lasted... maybe half a chapter? Less? A couple of page spreads? It's not just the Hawkins fight, either, Luffy's 'swordfighting' with Nidai Kitetsu also gets extended. Luffy's a bit more successful in using the sword to block and parry here. * Luffy's voice actor really makes the 'de gozaru' sound really funny. * I 100% missed Tsuru the first time I read through this chapter since we only see part of her in a single panel before her full-body debut after the Hawkins fight, and it's a lot less likely that you'll make that mistake in the anime. * Some 'elite' goons show up here, including a guy that uses his ponytail as a whip against Zoro, and a dude that makes fissures with a hammer that fights Luffy. Probably feels a bit more filler-y compared to the rest of the action scenes, but that's honestly nitpicking. * Zoro launching a Phoenix Cannon that slashes Hawkins's face is very cool. * Hawkins' little straw dolls gets an extended scene of it crawling out of his arm. It's so creepy, I love it. * Hawkins' giant straw demon StandBankaigets an very cool summoning animation and it's so creepy. The skies darkens and everything. Most importantly, it makes noises! Again, I love it.

* Luffy and Zoro vs. Hawkins! It's extended beyond just the simple 'dodge, then one-shot-slash' that it was in the manga. I really like Hawkins and his creepy-ass Straw Stand, so I am a huge fan of this. We get a couple of nice juxtaposition shots of Hawkins and the straw monster. Also Zoro goes shirtless in the fight. That's an important detail! * I really, really love how Zoro is having a gritted-teeth expression as he fights the giant straw demon; the straw demon is going gakakakakakakaka like a lunatic... then we cut to Hawkins who has a deadpan, bored expression as he swings his sword in the distance. * The animators really like to let the straw monster use the nails entwined to the tips of its fingers. That's fun! Zoro backhand-blocking the nails from hitting Luffy and Tama? That's cool! * Zoro does Ichi-Gorilla-Ni-Gorilla at one point, and totally slices and 'kills' Hawkins a bunch of times. * Also, speaking of pretty, glowing-eyes motion shots, Zoro using Nigiri: Toro Samon? Yeah. The cut itself is cool, but the zoom-in on Zoro's eyes as he does so? I'm sorry, I have a weakness for that kind of shot, it appears. * To extend the fight so that it's not just a single exchange of blows, Komachiyo gets knocked to the ground so that Zoro and the straw demon can actually fight for a bit. * Also shots I have a weakness to? DBZ-style 'aftermath of a powerful move'. This one isn't too over-the-top, but the slash extending into the sky and the shockwave rippling out from where Zoro slices the strawman thing is cool. * We actually see the scene of Okiku being harassed by Urashima in chronological order, and Urashima scares off a customer. Also, the implied scene of Zoro scaring off Urashima is actually shown here.

* This episode kind of extends the scenes in Tsuru's shop a bit more. Not the most exciting thing, but it does really help to build up Tama, Tsuru and Kiku. * ...wait, Tsuru's shop just displays the Kozuki crest very, very evidently on its door awning. If simply speaking the Kozuki name alone is a punishable crime, how did they get away with that? * Zoro trying to get Luffy to adopt a Wano-ized name is extra-funny in the anime! * Speaking of extended fight scenes, Batman gets to shoot alotmore arrows at Luffy and Zoro. It's kind of over-the-top on Batman's part, if we're being honest, even if Zoro and Luffy very easily dispatches of them.

* The anime does give Batman the ability to control his arrows via sonic waves or something, but he lasted for a much, much longer time than he really should have. * Batman fucking blocks Luffy's Busoshoku-empowered punch! He most definitely doesn't do it in the manga, and sure, knocking Luffy down with sonic waves? I buy that. Blocking Luffy and causing a small explosion in the air? ...I'm pretty sure just some random Gifter isn't supposed to be able to do that. Unless they're thinking of the other Batman? * They make the initial shot of Holdem answering the phone with the lion face pretty intimidating! * Holdem's lion beating their shared balls is still one of the weirdest jokes in the manga. * Some really nice face shots in this one, from Tama to Holdem to the lion to Luffy's group.

* A pretty obvious extended filler is Urashima bullying other sumo wrestlers. Urashima is kind of a dipshit, so it's not a particularly enjoyable filler for me. * Zoro gets to sumo-wrestle with one of Urashima's goons! This one, on the other hand, is pretty fun. We also get a little added bit where Zoro smirks after remembering Kiku's earlier insistence that she's a samurai, so it's less of a 'he doesn't give a shit' and more 'he wants to see what Kiku's skill is' or something.

* Luffy vs. Urashima is prolonged a bit in here, obviously. Not as entertaining as fighting Hawkins or even Batman, but okay, sure. Lots of grunting and growling in this one. Urashima cheats a bit more, Luffy has to use Armament Haki at one point... really don't think Urashima's someone that you should bother using hardening on, Luffy. * The kabuki-style delivery of "I'm going to be the king of pirates" is very well done. * Poor Tama! Holdem's a jackass. * We actually get to see Urashima crashing into Holdem's house, in yet another obvious 'hey, anime team, this is something for you to animate' scene from the manga. * Law gets an extended scene with seeing the sick Bepo, including a Room/Scan showcase and Bepo looking cute and Law being unable to keep being angry at him.

* The fight against the pirates and samurai in Bakura Town gets extended a fair bit in this episode. Luffy throws Nidai Kitetsu's scabbard around again, repeating the thing he did before. * This episode noticeably has a bunch of brief flashbacks to previous episodes. Anime episodes do this all the time to easily eat up like, ten or fifteen seconds of runtime. But I felt this one was particularly noticeable since it's to the previous episode which we already had a recap segment of before the episode begun. * Ball-de-boo!

* We get an adorable crayon drawing memory when Luffy remembers Zunisha one-shotting Jack's fleet. * Luffy and Zoro's synchronized neck-crick is pretty fun. Also fun is their super-speed when they simultaneously rescue Tama and steal the food barge. The question is, where is this super-speed when they were bamboozled by Batman and Gazelleman? * Unlike the anime, Holdem is able to turn his sword into a flaming segmented sword. It's like Zabimaru from Bleach, but on fire! * We get an extra scene of a random goon holding Kiku hostage and Zoro locking eyes with her and saying "I'm not going to help you", knowing full well she's pretending to be a damsel in distress. * Speed also gets to do something here! She gets to shoot Armament Haki'd arrows at Zoro and Kiku! In the manga she doesn't do anything while this is happening. * REDDO HAAAAAWK! * God damn that's a very satisfying Red Hawk. Such a pretty-looking one! This was the scene that a friend showed me that got me excited to sit down and watch the Wano arc in anime format. From Holdem shooting a lion's fire (how does that work?) and engulfing Luffy, to Tama's yelling, to the zoom-in to Luffy's angry eyes, to the orb of flame dissipating, the zoom-in to Luffy's angry face, the impact, the music... it's just Luffy beating up Holdem, who means jack-all in the grand scheme of things, but what a badass Red Hawk.

And I think that's a neat place to stop off, with the initial Hawkins-Urashima-Holdem opening prologue to Wano done with. I'm not sure how often I'll update this little watch-along series, but I certainly am enjoying myself!

[moviesandmania]

IT: Chapter Two will be released by Warner Bros. in the USA on Digital on November 19th 2019 and on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital combo (the one to get!), Blu-ray + DVD + Digital combo and Special Edition DVD on December 10th. Content options vary in other regions but they should be released around the same time.

Special features:

Audio commentary with director Andy Muschietti

Pennywise Lives Again!

This Meeting of the Losers Club Has Officially Begun

Finding the Deadlights

The Summers of IT: Chapter One, You’ll Float Too

The Summers of IT: Chapter Two, IT Ends

Here’s our previous coverage of the movie with stacks of reviews:

IT: Chapter Two is a 2019 American supernatural horror feature film directed by Andy Muschietti (Mama) from a screenplay Gary Dauberman (The Nun; Annabelle; Within; Wolves at the Door; et al), based on the novel by Stephen King. Seth Grahame-Smith and Barbara Muschietti produced.

Bill Skarsgård returns as Pennywise the clown, with Jessica Chastain (Crimson Peak; Mama) as adult Beverly, Bill Hader (The Skeleton Twins) as Richie, James McAvoy as Bill, James Ransone (Sinister; Sinister 2) as Eddie, Isaiah Mustafa (Shadowrunner: The Mortal Instruments) as Mike Hanlon, Andy Bean (Allegiant) as Stanley, Jay Ryan (Mary Kills People) as the adult Ben Hanscom.

Plot:

Twenty-seven years later, the members of the Loser’s Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back…

Reviews:

“The group dynamics of the (very good) cast propel the film as each Losers Club member faces down his or her personal demons. (Chastain especially gives the material a lift.) Taking each storyline at a time, all accompanied by flashbacks, gives each character some depth, even as the crowded film — at nearly three-hours long — verges on turning into a clown car.” Jake Coyle, Associated Press

“The whole film is going damn near overboard, for better and worse. It’s easy to admire Muschietti’s film for its excess and imagination. It’s easy to watch and enjoy it as a fright flick. It’s just harder to connect with the adult versions of these characters than it should be, and it’s harder to take this story seriously than it was before.” William Bibbiani, Bloody Disgusting

” …each scene begins relatively innocently before exploding into a waking nightmare that preys on the worst fears and repressed memories of each of the Losers. All good stuff, but more often than not, director Muschietti and the first-rate special effects team deliver gross-out visuals in favor of truly chilling and tense psychological terror. I mean, the Losers have to deal with a lot of arachnid-inspired imagery.” Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

“The devotion that Dauberman and Muschietti exhibit towards the Losers is palpable from start to finish, and despite some pitfalls in the film’s pacing, overall what they’ve managed to achieve with their collaborative efforts on IT Chapter Two is nothing short of monumental, and I think they’ve crafted something very special with these two films.” Heather Wixson, Daily Dead

“A psychologically merciless sequel, everything here is as it should be: deeper, scarier, funnier. Muschietti, in particular, has stepped up, skilfully guiding us through a rollicking funhouse. It is obscenely entertaining.” Alex Godfrey, Empire

” …even if Chapter One was example enough, there are no diminishing returns when it comes to shock value. Any time Pennywise feeds on life there is genuine sadness over the loss (the naivety and insecurities of his child victims contrasted with Bill Skarsgård’s master manipulator tendencies ensure it so), whether it’s a character we are attached to or someone newly introduced. ” Richard Kodjer, Flickering Myth

“The terror of Pennywise is best glimpsed fleetingly. See the clown too many times, and he becomes a familiar joke. But also letting the air out of things is Muschietti’s penchant for CGI scares, where practical effects would be far more effective. The movie’s many monstrosities – a crawling eyeball! a giant spider! an insect with the head of a human infant! – don’t inspire fear.” Barry Hertz, The Globe and Mail

” …Chapter Two seems to consist of an indefinite number of big, scary set pieces, featuring interchangeable snaggle-toothed creatures, or occasionally gigantic, fairground-sized monsters lurching grotesquely up out of nowhere. The scenes deliver reasonably efficient scares, but with the tension level repeatedly and disconcertingly reset afterwards to zero…” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

“Muschietti’s faithful adaptation, with all its creative and creepy set pieces, can’t justify that ass-numbing run time; especially not when the characters are just doing a lot of the same things they did in the first movie. They run into cobwebbed houses, stare down nightmarish visions and get tangled up with a clown that can morph into all kinds of silly, gigantic creatures. It’s all so easily forgettable.” Radheyan Simonpillai, Now Toronto

“Chapter Two is darker than the first, Bill’s attempt to deal with the guilt of losing his little brother by saving another ending in a brutal bit of bloodshed. Yet there are really only a couple of scary jolts, too many scary CGI puppets repeating themselves, too many effects beholden to Carpenter’s The Thing. McAvoy feels miscast here, perhaps a first for the actor.  Chastain, Ransone and Hader do a great job updating their childhood counterparts…” Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews

“Maybe it’s just that an evil clown terrorizing kids is intrinsically scarier than one going after adults. Or maybe it’s that the filmmakers, apparently believing this themselves, put the majority of their focus on a series of digitally created monstrosities. Whatever the case, It: Chapter Two, though ultimately satisfying, doesn’t get at the deep-seated creeps its predecessor did.” Michael Gingold, Rue Morgue

“IT: Chapter Two never really depicts the way dewy sentimentality can curdle into pain and regret or considers whether the other side of middle age offers a way of letting go of the past. Its monster only occasionally embodies the otherworldly fearfulness that leads the characters to speak of it in hushed tones. But at least Muschietti is trying for something epic and intimidating…” Keith Phipps, The Verge

” …when the filmmakers don’t force the story to fit into strict parameters and just let the story flow with these characters that we love, IT Chapter Two can be just as effective and emotional as the first film. For fans of the novel, you shouldn’t miss this because much of what we love about the book makes its way to the screen, even if it can’t completely hit every high point. IT Chapter Two is clunky, too long, and not as scary as it could have been, but when it hits, it really hits.” Alan Cerny, Vital Thrills

“Real trauma is given the same consideration as a literal funhouse of horrors, which cheapens what the characters and audience are put through.” Alan Silberman, Washington Post

“What stands out in It Chapter Two is not the clearly labored-over insect effects but that moment with Mrs Kersh and the scene of Pennywise as Beverly’s father — both reliant on actors rather than technical wizardry. The human eye can tell that there is not much in effects but effects themselves with a story like this about evil. But an actor like Gregson or Skarsgård can channel evil for us because they are human…” Dan Callahan, The Wrap

NB. Scroll further down past the trailers for YouTube reviews

The New Line Cinema production is obviously the sequel to the smash-hit horror movie IT (2017) which took a whopping $700,381,748 at the box office worldwide against a reported budget of $35 million.

Controversy:

As reported by 9news, some parents in Australia say that giant billboards of Pennywise’s face have been giving their young children nightmares.

“It just totally freaks them out,” Brisbane mother Kellie told the Australian news outlet, speaking about her kids’ reaction to the billboards. Her daughter Piper added: “I get really scared because it’s hard to go to bed when you have a scary picture in your mind. Before I go to bed, I have to check the whole room. And when I finally go to bed I will wake up after a nightmare.”

Another mother also told 9news that her child is terrified by the imagery. “Some people do enjoy going to horror movies and that’s fine and that’s their choice, and I understand that but we’re not choosing to see this poster,” said Jane, who issued a complaint with Ad Standards. The latter body has confirmed that the ads don’t break any of their rules. [Source: Bloody Disgusting]

Production:

Filming on IT: Chapter 2 officially began on June 20 in Toronto with a release date of September 6, 2019.

Background:

IT: Chapter Two clocks in at a whopping 169 minutes.

“A movie is very different when you’re writing the script and you’re building a story compared to what the final product is,” director Andy Muschietti told Digital Spy and other press.

“At the beginning, when you’re writing and building the beats of the story, everything that you put in there seems very essential to the story. However, when you have the movie finally edited and it’s 4 hours long, you realise that some of the events and some of the beats can be easily lifted but the essence of the story remains intact.

“You cannot deliver a 4-hour movie because people will start to feel uncomfortable – no matter what they see – but we ended up having a movie that is 2 hours and 45 minutes, and the pacing is very good. “Nobody who’s seen the movie has had any complaint.”

Cast and characters:

Jack Dylan Grazer … Young Eddie

James McAvoy … Bill Denbrough

Jessica Chastain … Beverly Marsh

Bill Skarsgård … Pennywise

Sophia Lillis … Young Beverly

Finn Wolfhard … Young Richie

Bill Hader … Richie Tozier

Jaeden Martell … Young Bill

Jay Ryan … Ben Hanscom

Kate Corbett … Dean’s Mom

Javier Botet

Xavier Dolan … Adrian Mellon

James Ransone … Eddie Kaspbrak

Owen Teague … Patrick Hockstetter

Jess Weixler … Audra Phillips

Jake Weary … John ‘Webby’ Garton

Nicholas Hamilton … Young Henry

Wyatt Oleff … Young Stanley

Isaiah Mustafa … Mike Hanlon

Jeremy Ray Taylor … Young Ben

Jackson Robert Scott … Georgie Denborough (rumored)

Teach Grant … Henry Bowers

Andy Bean … Stanley Uris

Chosen Jacobs … Young Mike

Stephen Bogaert … Mr. Marsh

Logan Thompson … Victor Criss

Taylor Frey … Don Hagarty

Ryan Kiera Armstrong … Victoria

Janet Porter … Richie’s Mother

Jake Sim … Belch Huggins

Amanda Zhou … Waitress

Kelly Van der Burg … Victoria’s Mom

Angela Thompson … Comedy Show Patron

Will Beinbrink … Tom Rogan

Ari Cohen … Rabbi Uris

Lyla Elliott … Dead Young Girl

Angelica Alejandro … Asian Waitress

Rob Ramsay … Meaner Nurse

Divan Meyer … Audience Member

Erik Junnola … Bully

Anthony Ulc … Joe The Butcher

Martavius Gayles … Paramedic

Connor Smith … Carny

Shannon Widdis … Cheerleader #1

John Connon … John Koontz

Elena Khan … Derry townsperson

Chris Jiggins … Paramedic

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Image credits: Brooke Palmer / Warner Bros. Entertainment

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IT: Chapter Two released on 4K Ultra-HD, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital soon – invite Pennywise into your home! IT: Chapter Two will be released by Warner Bros. in the USA on Digital on November 19th 2019 and on…

[mikami]

What do you think about Light's death in Drama Death Note ? Could you do a comparison with Light's death in anime/manga/movie ?

Light’s drama death is…. well, I can see what it is setting out to do, I just think its goals are boring and it accomplishes them pretty poorly, haha.

Rewatching all adaptations of Light’s death for this ask really made me appreciate once more why the manga death is so brilliant. The absolute raw-ness of Light begging for his life is something no adaptation has ever recreated or come even close to replicating in impact. The anime takes most of the same scene and then opts for sentimentality instead of raw pathetic emotion - it cuts Light begging and instead makes him run away and face his past self before dying relatively peacefully - it’s effective in an anime-typical sterile kind of way. A very conservative set-up for a death that is guaranteed to make people cry but that doesn’t offer anything especially new or bold. Good, but not nearly as good.

The movie meanwhile banks more on a tension aspect than a pity aspect overall. It lets Light laugh along with Ryuk for a bit, allowing both Light and the audience to believe Ryuk is helping and killing the Task Force before flipping this around. Then it dramatically drops Ryuk’s “no heaven nor hell” line in order to further raise plot-related dramatics. When Light dies, it’s in his fathers arms, but he’s still insisting he was right all along and it’s not too much of a tear-jerker.

The drama… Well, I am going a bit more in depth here since that’s the main medium you asked about. 

Where the manga’s focal point is Light’s raw humanity and fear of death, the anime’s is the solemn sadness of a life gone wrong and the movie’s is plot tension (and fatherhood)… the drama banks more on “the Death Note corrupts”.Which is… let’s be real, kind of lame a focal point.

The final scene in the drama is leaning pretty heavily on the scene structure from manga and anime but adapted to the drama’s more emotional and ‘relatable’ rendition of Light (drama!Light is the only one who doesn’t cite percentages when explaining why Kira is good because he’s gay and can’t do math). This Light starts unraveling and talking highly emotionally before he’s getting shot already - manga and anime Light don’t do that and movie Light gets shot pretty early on so comparing him is hard here.

This Light is also the only Light to not get killed by Ryuk.

Instead Mikami just sets him on fire WHILE TRYING TO HELP. Because setting the room on fire for a diversion is a great idea when the one person you’re trying to save has been shot in the legs and literally cannot leave right now.I know that this is irrelevant to the point but it’s honestly my favourite thing - drama Mikami kills both Light and L and it’s amazing. He’s so funny.

Anyway, this Light’s death is largely a drawn-out sequence of Light crawling over the floor trying to reach the Death Note - he repeats over and over that as long as he has the Death Note, he can’t be stopped and all will be fine. There’s no introspection, no acknowledgement that he’s definitely going to die, just a one-track mind obsession with the notebook that drags out for so long that I was genuinely getting bored watching him crawl around like that.You don’t NEED that much to drive the point home that having the notebook was a bad thing for Light. The drama just needlessly keeps pushing the whole ‘this notebook ruined his life!!’ thing and imo it gives very little emotional pay-off.

Light’s final plea is begging Ryuk to give him the eyes, which is… funny because the shinigami who is, rule-wise, in the position to give him the eyes here is not Ryuk but Rem. It is also funny because the eyes are literally useless to him in this situation and since he’s dying naturally either way, halfing his life would only cut it down to like… a few less seconds than before. Whoa.

I suppose this is supposed to show us how irrational he’s getting in his despair, but honestly? That was clear 5 minutes earlier already. Light’s death in the drama drags out and out and out without actually adding anything new or meaningfully closing Light’s character arc. Random flashbacks to better times that are spliced in between do little to give the empty dialogue more depth.

Combining this with the fact that the CGI fire he dies in looks absolutely ridiculous and not even remotely realistic, I think the impact of the scene falls flat completely. Kubota is doing a great job with acting, but that isn’t saving the bad script and the horrible special effects.

His death in the drama is the most unique take on his death technically, but it manages to just… not do anything that’s even remotely powerful or interesting.

[apricotcas]

A DEAN/CAS LOOK BACK AT SEASON 11

by charlee aka apricotcas

Hello, welcome, please take a seat, grab a donut. This first started out as me thinking “oh hey I could write down all the deancas moments from the show just to keep track of them all!” But then I started adding captions to each moment and well it turns out I sure had a whole lot to say. So I’m putting this out into the world in case maybe?? someone else would enjoy it in some way. And this turned out way longer than I expected so please strap in for some nonsense.

(Starting with season 11 for now because some of my favourite less-talked-about moments are from then and also *taps mic* because I feel like it.)

SEASON 11, EPISODE 1: OUT OF THE DARKNESS, INTO THE FIRE

~20:00 DEAN: “You don’t sound okay.” / DEAN: “Oh, really? You’re worried about me after everything --.”

Cas is under the attack dog spell, Dean’s stuck in a hospital trying to save a baby from rabid zombies. Cas calls, and when he finds out that the Mark of Cain has finally been destroyed, he looks like all his problems melt away and who in the world told him he could do that. Then Cas has to hang up abruptly, as if he doesn’t know that Dean already has a complex about this.

28:20 DEAN: “We can’t save Cas if we’re stuck in some hospital, okay?

This is self-explanatory but I just love how Sam and Dean are already dealing with two million things and Dean is still like “Cas’ voice sounded two octaves lower than usual and he hung up on me unexpectedly. This is a case for the FBI.”

SEASON 11, EPISODE 2: FORM AND VOID

8:40 DEAN: “Come on, Cas.”

Dean’s driving back from dropping off innocent Baby Amara and he gives Cas a call, but Cas can’t answer at the moment since the angels have him strung up like a piñata. Really upsetting stuff altogether.

26:50 CASTIEL (to Efram and Jonah): “I won’t give you Sam and Dean.”

I’m a sucker for this shit leave me alone.

~39:00 CASTIEL: “Help me.”

Sam and Dean get back to the bunker, which is a hot mess after the whole useless Styne family debacle. They hear a noise behind a giant pile of books and approach the threat with their guns drawn but surprise! It’s just Cas having a little lie down. Dean’s very taken aback, there’s dramatic music, the whole shebang.

SEASON 11, EPISODE 3: THE BAD SEED**

(**This entire episode is bad news bears and we’re not even going to TALK about who directed it.)

3:16 DEAN: “Sorry about those, Cas” / DEAN: “Cas, you alright there pal?”

Sam, Dean, and spell-affected Cas are in the war room, and Cas is in shackles since there’s a good chance he might hulk out. Dean’s sad because when he pictured Cas + handcuffs, this wasn’t exactly what he had in mind. (sorry.) Then, Cas gets all huffy and shaky and pained, which elicits concern from Dean. Please note the concerned glances. Thank you.

8:45 SAM: “... involving a crappy a crappy ‘78 Continental Mark V.” / CASTIEL: “You think it’s crappy?” / DEAN (reassuring): “Eye of the beholder.”

#TheContinentalDeservedBetter

9:30 DEAN: “Cas?!” [repeat like 14 times] / DEAN: “Let’s get him up.”

Cas is having a REAL rough time and collapses to the ground. Lots of touchy feelies on Dean’s part. There’s a tomato analogy. Sam and Dean hoist him back into his chair, and Dean wraps the blanket back around Cas’ shoulders. Hahahahahahahahahahaha.

27:30 SAM: “I can’t find Cas. He broke free. He’s gone.” / OUTER DEAN: “What?” / INNER DEAN: [kill bill sirens]

35:10 DEAN: “Don’t do this. Okay, this isn’t you it’s the spell. You can beat this!” / DEAN: “It’s gonna be okay buddy, alright.”

So Sam and Dean track Cas’ phone, and Dean ends up running into him as he’s choking out a girl who was just texting and walking and never asked for this. And Cas has literally been programmed to kill, but Dean’s able to break his trance and get him to stop - wow what a revelation, we’ve never seen anything like this before. THEN. Cas pummels Dean in the face a few times for good measure. But hallelujah, Rowena shows up in the nick of time and reverses the attack dog spell. Cas gets all growly again and writhes on the ground, so obviously Dean has to grab onto him and say his name a million times and hold his head in his hand???? And then Cas opens his eyes, Dean helps him sit up, and Dean’s fingers are stroking Cas’ hair and it honest to god looked like they were gonna make out. When I was watching this live I genuinely thought they were about to kiss each other on the mouths. Can you believe this shit.

(P.S. Please note how Sam has to literally look away and avert his virgin eyes during this part.)

37:15 CASTIEL: “Dean I .. there aren’t words.” / DEAN: “You’re right, there aren’t words, Cas, because there’s no need.” / CASTIEL: “Dean, I can fix that.” / DEAN: “No, no, no, no, it’s fine, Cas. Besides, I had it comin’.”

God this scene messes me up. Just the silent acknowledgement of the fight between them at the end of season 10 and their absolute respect and forgiveness for one another. This episode is hell.

SEASON 11, EPISODE 4: BABY

1:20 SAM: “Cas is gettin’ better so there’s that. Still wants to fix your, uh, -” / DEAN: “I’m fine. Fine. 100%.”

Just the implication that Cas has been insisting over and over to heal Dean’s injuries, to the point where Sam has noticed. And Dean says he has cabin fever which means it’s been a substantial amount of time since 11x03. Anyways. Anyways.

~3:00 DEAN: “Cas, you’ve got one job to do and that’s to heal, you understand?” / DEAN: “He just needs some time, y’know.”

Cool cool cool cool for sure for sure for sure for sure.

8:20 SAM: “You don’t .. ever want something more? [...] You don’t ever think about .. something? Not marriage, or, whatever, but .. something? You know, with a hunter? Somebody who understands the life?”

Not even getting into how fast Dean dismisses this, just, honestly, what an incriminating question, coming from Sam, who’s been around Dean longer than anyone else. Who wrote this line. I see you, Robbie. I just wanna talk.

18:25 DEAN: “I called Cas, told him to look into the lore.”

Damn right ya did.

21:54 DEAN: “Step away from the Netflix.” / CASTIEL: “Sorry.” / DEAN: “It’s okay, we’ve all had a binge.” // DEAN: “Alright Cas, you there?” / CASTIEL: “Of course, what’s going on?” / DEAN: “[..] I’m sending you a picture right now of its fangs.” ((wow I love modern romance.))

The best possible scene lacking Cas’ physical presence. The crème de la crème. Dean’s checking out the crime scene of the week when he’s summoned back to the Impala by Cas’ phone call. Also, okay, just quickly, Dean answers by saying “Cas, you okay?” and……. you two’ve literally been corresponding back and forth for the past two days about this case, so Dean should assume that that’s what Cas is calling to tell him about, but instead he goes HELLO CAS ARE YOU INJURED OR IN DISTRESS OF ANY KIND. I might be reading into this too much.

Dean and Cas commiserate over the downfalls of Netflix and talk lore for a bit until Mr. Deputy shows up and Dean leaves Cas on speaker in the car to talk to himself. How often does this shit happen. Was Cas just in a chatty mood that day or have there been other times where Cas just babbles on and Dean is cool to sit and listen and that’s an accepted thing between them. Ugh, frankly. Also Cas says “were-pire” and do you know how much Dean Winchester would have appreciated hearing this holy CHRIST. Then in a shocking turn of events, the deputy who is actually a monster tries to murder Dean’s face, and I’ll just count how many times Cas yells out Dean’s name in various degrees of concern - it’s 12 times. That’s the total. *kisses fingers* love this scene.

27:45 DEAN: “Alright, well, thanks Cas. Good work, way to come off the bench.” / CASTIEL: “What bench?”

Hello knock knock mr. clingy is calling again.

39:55 DEAN: “We’ll get Cas to fix you up.” / SAM: “Only if he fixes you up too.”

[takes long sip of whiskey] beautiful wholesome family moments.

SEASON 11, EPISODE 5: THIN LIZZIE

~3:30 DEAN (Re: the case): “So what do you want to do about Cas?”

Yes I do plan to include crumbs on this list.

SEASON 11, EPISODE 6: OUR LITTLE WORLD

3:15 DEAN (to Sam): “[Cas] has had a pretty rough go of it lately!” / DEAN (to Cas): “Well, you sound weird, okay. Bad weird. [...] I need you back in the game okay.”

*banging pots and pans together* I love this part to death - Sam is saying what we say every episode, that hey maybe Cas our angel friend would be helpful with this case - but Dean is like ??? this is preposterous Sam didn’t you see him punch me in the face?? would he have done that if he was feeling 100%????? He Needs Rest So Shut It. Sam wins this round though, and is able to make Dean stop mother henning and call up Cas, who’s at the bunker on a trash TV binge. Dean tries to make him feel better, distinguishes Cas’ exact mood over the phone which like, okay., and then tells him to try to get some fresh air and look for Metatron. Then he promptly hangs up before this scene can get any more domestic.

5:30 (there’s no new quotes it’s just Cas breathing heavy and looking sad)

Heeding Dean’s advice, Cas dons his coat and tries to leave the comfort of the bunker. But, he’s stopped in his tracks by some wild flashbacks, including from when he was beating up Dean in 11x03 AND when Dean had the mark and tore Cas to shreds a bit at the end of last season. WHAT do I make of this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cas is still haunted by what happened when Dean had the MOC and even though I’m sure he never once blamed Dean for that fight, it must mess you up a bit to have your closest companion™ slam your face into a table and smash you around the room!!!!! Not the sexy kind of smashing!!!!!!!!!!! AND Cas must feel so guilty for what he did to Dean under the attack dog spell ……….. saddest cinematic parallels that I never asked for thx so much.

37:45 DEAN: “ Look Cas, I’m as glad as anyone that Stella got her groove back,” / SAM: “Guys.. bigger fish to fry here.” (lol poor sam)

Really the only things to note here are the married bickering and the amount of time that Dean and Cas stare at each other at the end of this scene for no godly reason.

SEASON 11, EPISODE 10: THE DEVIL IN THE DETAILS

7:20 CASTIEL: “Dean. I came as soon as you called. Are you alright?” / CASTIEL: “Stick out your tongue.”

I’m eating as a type this so I won’t go into detail here but Dean’s on the side of the road and he ain’t feeling too hot, but thank the lord above, nurse Cas shows up and offers to stick his finger up Dean’s ass.

14:54 DEAN [to Cas’ voicemail] Hey Cas, I know you’re fightin’ the good fight right now but I need you at 3rd and Pine, Kenesaw, Nebraska. Cause, uh, I’m goin’ to Hell.”

I say “Here for!” you say “this!”

29:30 tfw your bud shows up in Hell with the words “I am coming” branded onto his chest.

31:50 - Sam’s getting his ass whooped by Lucifer in the cage, which sends Dean into a full-out sprint through the hallways of Hell. And ofc Cas follows since there’s no way he’s gonna make Dean endure Mark Pellegrino’s face without moral support.

32:40 - Lucifer poofs Dean and Cas into the cage, and I’m no mind reader but the two of them share a look and Dean for sure telepathically told Cas to go ham on this heaven reject. Dean ends up in a chokehold but Cas hurls himself right into Lucifer and gets him out of it which was A++. And then, unbeknownst to Sam and Dean, Cas makes a very hashtag controversial decision and turns this whole season around.

35:40 DEAN [to Casifer]: “You alright?” / DEAN: “Want me to give you a lift?”

Oh Dean Honey You Don’t Even Know. I can’t for sure if Dean is asking whether Cas is okay because he just got obliterated by the devil or because he might already sense that Cas is acting slightly off, but like, both. Both work. And y’all have a big storm comin.

SEASON 11, EPISODE 11: INTO THE MYSTIC

3:50 DEAN (to Sam): “Cas will be fine. He always is.”

[nervous laughter]

17:40 DEAN: “Cas?? What the hell are you doing, man? We don’t hear from you for days, you show up, you start wrecking the joint?” // CASIFER: “Dean, tell me everything.”

Dean and Sam are hunting banshees because of course they are, so Dean has to stop by the bunker to grab some required weapons. He hears suspicious noises and goes into fight mode, but relaxes when he finds it’s just his dear friend Cas trashing the place, which is a thing that Cas would definitely do there’s nothing weird about this. But really, Dean you bozo how many times have you seen Cas with his sleeves rolled up, how do you not realize something is up here.

25:15  DEAN: “Whatever it is - attraction, connection - I gotta tell you man, it scares me.” / CASIFER: “Hey, it scares me too.”

Of course one of the rare times that Dean actually opens up (about Amara, who he hasn’t even really talked about with Sam yet !!!), Cas is off in la la land. We Could’ve Had It All. Also I know this isn’t really Cas but the shoulder clutch and meaningful stares here were real nice okay. Also big lol at the fact that, solely based on Lucifer’s limited observations, this is how he thinks Cas would act around Dean. Sincere and reassuring and grabby. Cool it’s fine. It’s great.

27:30 DEAN [to Casifer]: “Listen, about what we talked about, let’s just keep that between you and me til we know more, okay?” / CASIFER: “Dean, that’s not..” / DEAN: “Cas, just… trust me.”

What kind of stealthy gay tomfoolery is this.

35:40 MILDRED (to Dean): “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years on the road, it’s when somebody’s pining for somebody else. Oh don’t try and hide it now. Follow your heart, remember!”

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? alright alright alright alright alright alright alright alright alright alright alright alright alright this isn’t EXPLICiTLY deancas but someone EXPLAIN the meaning behind this line i just need CLARITY

SEASON 11, EPISODE 14: THE VESSEL

7:40 DEAN (to Sam): “Yeah, but, we have something that James Cameron doesn’t have.”

Dean loves having a cool powerful time travelling angel friend ok.

10:35 DEAN: “Well if things get out of hand then Cas’ll just zap me right back!”

(for all the casifer scenes its obvs not actually dean/cas Content but you can see reactions from Dean’s side and the thought is still there and that’s all I ask for. anyways.) Sam entrusting Cas to keep Dean safe on their time travel voyage to find the Hand of God. Nice.

12:40 Dean calling out for Cas. Super nice.

30:55 Lucifer imitating how Cas says “Hello Dean” here, thanks cool I’m glad the whole supernatural universe knows about this character trait.

34:40 CASTIEL: “We need him [Lucifer].” / SAM: “No Cas, we don’t.” / CAS: “We need him … to save Dean.”

Cas broke through Lucifer’s hold on him in order to stop Sam from getting hurt (this is the furthest thing from a sastiel post, but, aw) and he explains to Sam that the main reason he isn’t casting Lucifer out at that moment is because they need him to go back and grab Dean. I can’t think about this for too long because I feel like my brain starts will start to sizzle away.

35:13 DELPHINE: “How fast is your ride out of here?” / DEAN: “Fast.”

Nice nice nice nice.

36:25 SAM: “Dean! That’s not Cas!” // INNER DEAN: [ben wyatt calzone voice] “my boyfriend……. betrayed me?”

The cat’s out of the bag, both brothers know that Cas has gone fishing for the moment, Dean’s face revolves between such things as shock and despair and bewilderment, I’ve called the police, they’re on their way, and everything is terrible.

(Side note - Bexy pointed out to me how Dean dramatically yells out NOO when Lucifer goes to activate the Hand of God. Which could be because Dean wanted to save it to use on Amara or because he didn’t want he or Sam to get hurt, OR it could’ve been because he just saw Delphine use it and explode into a ball of life and he didn’t want that to happen to Cas’ vessel. I’m going with the latter and I hope Bexy feels bad about what she’s done here on this day.)

38:30 SAM: “So…” / DEAN: “So…… Cas.” / SAM: “Yeah…. What do we do?” / DEAN: “What else? We hunt Lucifer, trap the bastard, and save Cas.” / SAM: “Like I said, Lucifer may be in control now but, Cas may not come back willingly. You know, he chose it.” / DEAN: “No. No, not possible.”

You cannot tell me Dean wasn’t this →  ← close to crying on that pier. Dean is sad, Sam keeps looking sadly at Dean, I’m sure the birds chirping in the background are also sad. And just the amount of certainty that Dean has that Cas would never leave him like this again. Just Pull The Trigger, Piglet.

SEASON 11, EPISODE 15: BEYOND THE MAT

2:40 SAM: “Don’t you think our plates are a little full? I mean, it’s bad out there Dean.” / DEAN: “Yeah, Sam, you think I don’t know that? We’ve done nothing but mainline lore for a week, okay, [...] and we’ve got jack on how to save Cas.” / SAM: “If he wants to be saved.” / DEAN: He does. Even if he doesn’t know it yet.” -overly prolonged pause-

*pours this big bottle of angst all over my naked body* DEAN STILL CAN’T ACCEPT THAT CAS SAID YES TO LUCIFER he really cannot comprehend this information because he doesn’t want to believe that Cas could ever have such a low opinion of himself. He’s had a week to process this and he’s only become more convinced that it can’t be real and Cas just needs his help. Sam I’m so sorry you have to deal with this emo man.

39:45 SAM: “Dean, you know what, he [dead wrestler dude] made a bad decision. Heh, we’ve been there.” / DEAN: “Yeah. Yeah, you, me, now Cas.” / SAM: “Dean, we’ll get him back. We will, we just gotta--” / DEAN: “Keep grindin. [...] We’re gonna save Cas, we’re gonna ice the devil, and we’re gonna shank the Darkness. And anyone who gets in our way. Well, God help em.”

Alright I really just want to talk to whomever directed this/was in charge of focusing in on Sam’s face, when he has such a look of empathy of understanding towards Dean. Dean was the one who insisted on taking this case to clear his head but it’s clear that this Lucifer business is still weighing on him. And Sam knows exactly what to say to reassure him. And saving Cas is on the same priority level as saving the literal world in Dean’s mind, apparently, because that’s reasonable.

SEASON 11, EPISODE 16: SAFE HOUSE

2:17 SAM (to Dean): “Alright, nothing on Amara, nothing on Cas…. keep your head up! We’re gonna win this, remember?”

Sam you’re doing amazing sweetie good pep talk.

11:00 DEAN: ”We can wrap this up quick, get back to hunting Amara …. Get Cas back!”

Big thumbs up emoji.

SEASON 11, EPISODE 17: RED MEAT

1:25 SAM: “It’s a case. Werewolves, looks like.” / DEAN: “Alright, well, we make a call and we put somebody on it.” / SAM: “Yeah, but -- (sam sighs in sam way) We’ll get him back.” / DEAN: “.... how?”

This MIGHT! it just MIGHT be my favourite moment of the season ok hear me out - Dean’s sitting around being mopey and uninterested in life and Sam immediately just goes I KNOW U WANT CAS BACK, like Sam went IN here, he’s got one of those stadium spotlights and he’s shining it right on Dean’s sad stormcloud of mushy man feelings. And Dean doesn’t even try to deny it, his question of “How?” is so defeated and he doesn’t even want to HUNT at this point good god. It’s fine it’s just that snakes have been manifesting in my house physically ever since I started typing this.

SEASON 11, EPISODE 18: HELL’S ANGEL

15:00 SAM: “The priority is to put the horn in Lucifer’s hands and set him loose on Amara.” / DEAN: “After we exorcise Lucifer out of Cas and put him into a new vessel.” / SAM: “What? Really?” / DEAN: “Yes, really, we’re not gonna send Lucifer into battle inside Cas. What if he doesn’t make it?” / SAM: “Dean, it’s a strong vessel. It’s held Cas for years, and we know what he’s been through! I’m guessing it can hold Lucifer.” / DEAN: “It? It’s not an ‘it,’ Sam, it’s Cas.” / SAM: “And Cas wanted to do this!” // SAM: “Dean, this is exactly how we screw ourselves. We make the- the heart choice, instead of the smart choice!” / DEAN: “Ohh, okay, thank you Dr. Phil. Cas is family!” / SAM: “Yes, and his choice deserves to be respected!” / DEAN: “Even if it kills him?”

Dean, basically: I see this plan of yours and I raise you this new plan which is 400% more complicated but has a better chance of keeping Cas alive. This is the plan now and I’m glad everyone agrees with it.

Furthermore,

25:10 DEAN:”Castiel, show yourself!”/ CASTIEL: “Dean? What are you doing? What’s- what’s going on?” / DEAN: “Cas, listen to me. We don’t have a whole lot of time, okay, you have got to--” // DEAN: “Cas, expel him! You gotta kick Lucifer out, you hear me?!”

Everybody stay calm everybody stay fucking calm. Okay okay okay okay. Let me just count again - 8 times, is how many times Dean yells out for Cas here. He, Sam, Crowley, and Rowena set up this trap to get Lucifer out of the way for a few moments and apparently everyone is just peachy with letting Dean take the reins on this one - and BOY does he not hold back. How his whole demeanor changes once Cas takes control of his vessel, and Dean just rushes forward and his voice gets all soft :) and maybe the worst of it all is when Dean is so frustrated that he YELLS out Cas’ name and Lucifer YELLS it right back and everyone involved with this episode reaches through my television screen and physically slaps me in the face. Cursed scene, 0/10 would recommend, I give it no stars and I’m calling my lawyer.

29:20 CASTIEL: “Wait that was Dean I saw a minute ago, wasn’t it?” / CROWLEY: “Yes!” / CASTIEL: “And he wants me to… expel Lucifer?” / CROWLEY: “Yes!” / CASTIEL: [chuckles] “Well… he may have a more objective view of this situation. Maybe I should.”

So Cas is in his mind palace disassociating (sherlock fans do not engage) and Crowley smoked on in there to try to fix this mess. And just, like, okay Cas you absolute walnut have you seen how Dean is out there practically painting the walls with his insecurities Do You Really Think He Is The One Thinking Rationally In This Instance???? These guys really are two peas in a pod since their brains turn to mush whenever the other is in trouble smfh.

30:40 SAM: “[Crowley’s] been gone a long time. I mean, what do you think is going on?” / DEAN: “I don’t know, maybe Cas isn’t willing to play ball. I mean, you said it yourself, he wanted this.” // DEAN: “C’mon, Cas, what the hell.”

Dean needs a stress ball a cold drink and maybe a massage all at once.

36:05 DEAN (once more with feeling): “Cas??”

It’s clear to everyone and their aunt Linda that Lucifer has full control of things at the moment, and now even Amara has joined the party, but Dean is like MAYBE IF I YELL OUT CAS’ NAME JUST ONE MORE TIME THAT’LL DO THE TRICK. OKAY HERE GOES I’M DOING IT. dean ……………………. sweet summer child it’s okay he’ll be back in T-minus 5 episodes.

37:25 SAM: “Listen, um… I know I came down on the side of wanting Cas to deal with Amara, so--” / DEAN: “Well that’s what he wanted though, right? Besides, didn’t we say that we were gonna swear off gettin’ in the way when one person makes a choice the other doesn’t agree with?” / SAM: “Yeah… um, yeah we did say that.” / DEAN: “So..” / SAM: “Okay. So, that’s our policy. DEAN: “Which.. Sounds damn good.” …….. “Well, let’s go find that idiot and bring him home.” (H-O-M-E!!)

Asdfedfhbjsdahbdfvbjhfjdb so I’ll admit it originally took me a bit to figure out what tf was happening here but FROM MY UNDERSTANDING Sam, Dean, and Cas have a lil pact to stop sabotaging each other’s wishes, even if they think the other party is being a dumbass. So Sam and Dean are clarifying this, it’s cool, it’s settled, and Dean just up and says “lol forget everything we have to go save this moron.” ?????? COOL let’s just throw the family code of ethics OUT the window along with my last ounce of sanity.

IN ADDITION, during this whole end-of-the-episode-sad-reflection time, the way that Sam pauses and sighs and looks over at Dean with a frowny face, before pretty much apologizing TO DEAN for not taking the long road to save Cas asap - it’s so…….. damning to me. Dean is still radiating sad boy vibes and everyone’s treating him like Cas’ keeper here. Not to say of course that Sam doesn’t value Cas immensely, but it’s just so CLEAR that Sam and Dean have different relationships with Cas and different extents of emotional attachment to him. Anyone who can’t see that can have my coupons for a free eye exam. They expire in June so chop chop.

SEASON 11, EPISODE 19: THE CHITTERS

2:45 SAM: “Dean, we’ll find Cas, okay, he’s stronger than he looks.” / DEAN: “You know, we gambled with Cas and now Amara has him.” / SAM: “For a reason! Which means he’s still alive!” / DEAN: “I’ve been with Amara. Her beef is with the big guys -- with God, with Lucifer. The small fries, even an angel like Cas, doesn’t even register. And it if meant hurting Lucifer, killing Cas would mean nothing to her.” // SAM: “We’ll catch a break on Cas! We have to, it’s karma!” / DEAN: “You know, karma’s been kicking us in the teeth lately.”

(to the tune of ‘Shots’ by LMFAO) angst! angst! angst angst angst! angst! angst! angst angst angst! angst! angst! angst angst angst! everybodayy!

-----brief intermission to step up on podium----- hi hello yes now we run into beautiful jesse and cesar wonderful guys amazing characters xoxo big fans keep it up guys. i’ve just GOTTA say that after this episode aired there were so many anti-cas/dc fans who said (and still say) that jesse and cesar are mirrors for sam and dean and, okay. i /do/ see how this could be people’s gut response since the two pairs are split up that way in the episode, but Something Just Doesn’t Add Up Here Linda. jesse literally lost his BROTHER who was a huge part of his life and who he would’ve done anything for, and now cesar hunts with him and supports him fully even though they disagree on things. hell, people have even compared jesse’s plaid with dean’s plaid, and cesar’s demeanor with cas’ demeanor, which may be a bit too meta but the jury will allow it. basically dean doesn’t have some other secret brother he would die for (not today, adam activists, just no), he and sam aren’t married, cas is dean’s closest companion other than sam, sam = matty, dean = jesse, cas = cesar. anyways not to get all fandom political but, 1-800-R-U-DUMB, that is all.

19:20 DEAN: “You guys fight just like brothers. Heh, almost as bad as us [he and Sam].” / CESAR: “Well… it’s more like an old married couple.” DEAN: [chuckles] “That’s…….. Oh! So….” / CESAR: “Yeah.” / DEAN: “Okay. That’s….. What’s it like settling down with a hunter?”

Dean. Dean. Why do you want to know this. Blink twice if you’re having a crisis. Dean. Hello.

37:15 DEAN: “I was thinkin, maybe they could give us a hand, with Amara…. y’know, with Cas.”

Dean ultimately doesn’t follow through with this since he doesn’t want to impede on the couple’s happy life, but this is all still very (｡◕‿◕｡).

SEASON 11, EPISODE 20: DON’T CALL ME SHURLEY

4:30 DEAN: “Tell me you’ve got something on Amara.” / SAM: “Uh, it’s a long shot but, clock’s ticking, right. Whatever Amara’s doing to Lucifer…” / DEAN: “Yeah, beatin’ on Cas in the meantime.”

Dean wants his bf back that’s the theme of the whole half of this season I have nothing else to say I’m just figuratively rocking back and forth while laughing.

26:20 METATRON: “But you’ve helped the Winchesters before.” / CHUCK-SLASH-GOD-??: “Helped them?! I’ve saved them! I’ve rebuilt Castiel more times than I can remember.”

So God has brought Cas back to life countless times in order to help Sam and Dean, and I’m guessing he means more than just the “he’ll patch up their wounds” sort of help. Wow that could be read as an innuendo I JUST MEAN THAT CAS IS FAMILY 4EVER AND ALWAYS and it’s SWEET AND NICE.

SEASON 11, EPISODE 21: ALL IN THE FAMILY*

*(the one where dean cries a lot)

8:55 - Okay I can’t remember if we ever got a solid answer on what in the world is happening here but it SEEMS like Amara is using the power of Cas’ heart to locate Dean???? Like really this wasn’t explained but all signs point to gay here, lads.

9:15 AMARA: “You should know this. Lucifer, [God’s] favorite, isn’t doing so well. Say nothing of the vessel, your friend Castiel.”

Add this to LIST of times that enemies have used Cas or Dean against each other for their own benefit because they know that it’s a surefire way to get through to them!!!!!!!!!!! Amara shows up in weird-vision-form to talk to Dean and she SHOWS him a vision of Cas looking utterly pitiful and Dean’s face is just doing so so so much. Full jaw clench and everything. Everything is awful and I won’t stand for it.

12:05 DEAN: “We’ve gotta find Lucifer before it’s too late.” / SAM: “Too late?” / DEAN: “Amara is… she’s in my head. Hey, I didn’t ask for it, okay. She just showed up. But she’s showing me visions of -- of Lucifer. And by Lucifer, I mean Cas, and he looks like crap, like she’s really doing a number on him.”

SEASON 11, EPISODE 22: WE HAPPY FEW

26:20 O HOLY CHUCK: “After that, it’s Lucifer’s turn. Physical attack, one on one.” / DEAN: “What about.. Cas?” / CASIFER: “Oh, don’t worry. Your pet’s safety is my highest concern. [gets a look from dean] “(rolls eyes) trust me, he’s on board.”

God has brought the whole brigade together to work out how to take down Amara, and of course, Dean “i haven’t voiced my concern for cas in at least five minutes and i’m sure you’re all missing the sound of my voice” Winchester has something to say about this.

27:00 GOD: “I can’t transfer the mark to you, Dean. Sam volunteered.” / DEAN (to Sam): “First Cas is making kamikaze side plans and now you??”

26:35 [Amara flings Casifer against a pillar and banishes Lucifer from Cas’ body.] AMARA: “Goodbye, nephew.” / DEAN, YELLING FROM ACROSS THE ROOM BUT IN A COOL WAY: “Cas!!!”

Good lord who aren’t in heaven in this season over yet I’m about to have an aneurysm.

SEASON 11, EPISODE 23: ALPHA AND OMEGA

0:00 CASTIEL: “Dean.” / DEAN: “Cas?” [[this is the good shit]] “Hey, is that you??” / CASTIEL: “Lucifer is gone. Amara ripped him from my body.”

My pro tip of the day is that the sneak peek version of this scene is way better than the final product ‘cause it doesn’t have weird ominous music in the background. Also it’s easier to access and rewatch over and over, not that I’ve ever done that once ever in my life. So if it’s something you can digest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0FoDhJFFoI. And I don’t even WANT to get into how Dean’s whole demeanor changes when he realizes Lucifer is finally gone after 84 years, or his little smile or the hand on Cas’ shoulder or how his voice gets all soft when he says “c’mon” and helps Cas up. I’m not getting into it.

1:30 [Dean draws his gun.] ROWENA: “So that was a gun in your pocket.” / CASTIEL: [substantial head tilt.] // CROWLEY: “Well, that was a complete and utter dog’s breakfast, wasn’t it?” / CASTIEL: “I didn’t know dogs had breakfast.” / DEAN: “Cas is back.”

6:00 DEAN: “You know what, this isn’t gonna be enough. I better make a [beer run]. No reason to die sober, huh. You want to?” / SAM: “No! I’ll stay here, find our plan B.” / DEAN: “Okay. Cas, come on.”

Me, rubbing my hands together with glee.

ALSO as Sonie pointed out, u very clearly had enough alcohol dean and im sure you had more stashed somewhere you little sneak. real smooth moves.

9:05 DEAN: “How you doing? You good? I mean, you know, the whole Lucifer thing.” / CASTIEL: “I was just… so stupid.” / DEAN: “No, no, no, it wasn’t stupid. You were right, you were right to let Lucifer ride shotgun. Me and Sam wouldn’t have done that.” / CASTIEL: “Well, it didn’t work.” / DEAN: “No, but it was our best shot. And you stepped up.” / CASTIEL: “I was just trying to help.” / DEAN: “Well, and you do help, Cas.” // DEAN: “But you’re always there, you know? You’re the best friend we’ve ever had. You’re our brother, Cas, I want you to know that.”

Yeah I just practically wrote out that entire scene of dialogue but HOW could I not. For literal weeks Dean was saying Cas was a moron for agreeing to this but once Cas is actually back he’s like “no bb that was a good move and you help us all the time, do you need a popsicle i’ll stop this car and get you a popsicle.” And any reassurance of Cas being part of the Winchester’s family and crucial in their lives gets five gold stars from me. Love me some healthy car conversations. Would watch again.

23:50 [Dean has just absorbed the big ball of exploding souls or whatever] CASTIEL: “Dean are you okay? How do you feel?”

Yes I will accept some concerned Cas for a change thank you for this gracious offer.

26:00 CASTIEL: “Dean..” / DEAN: “Cas. [TENDER EMBRACE] Okay. Okay. Alright.” / CASTIEL: “I could go with you.” / DEAN: “No, no, no. No, I’ve gotta do this alone. Listen, if -- when -- when this works, Sam, he’s gonna be a mess. So look out for him, okay. Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.” / CASTIEL: “Of course.”/ DEAN: [shoulder grab] “Thank you for everything.”

Everyone please grab an inhaler from the bowl and keep passing it around. I! Could! Go! With! You! Bitch!!!!! He doesn’t want Dean to die alone! Dean entrusts Cas with Sam’s care!! I’m the wicked witch of the west and I’m melted and on the floor, hoping the spn writers will stop stepping on me anytime soon.

36:00 CROWLEY: “He did it.” / ROWENA: “He bloody did it.” / CASTIEL: “And Dean?”

The sun has come back to life (i can’t believe this was a real plotline) which means Dean must’ve gone through with his sacrifice. Boy do I love ending things on a sad note, but I guess that sure is the norm with these two.

which brings me to --- the end ---

If you read this far thank you I love you and you can come pet my dog because her ears are really soft and I think it’s a good reward. This turned into way more of an actual Thing than I thought it would but it was probably cathartic somehow to let this all out somewhere. I don’t know how to wrap this up but this season fed us REAL good even if it had its ups and downs. Pls just remember that the moral of season 11 is that tptb can try to force some dean/female-villain-of-the-year nonsense but deancas will always come through and embarrass me and save the day. Thank you goodnight and amen.

Cross-posted on ao3 if thats more what floats your boat >> https://archiveofourown.org/works/14471232

I’m almost always on twitter at apricotcas pls come say hi and look at good animals and suffer with me every thursday at 8pm eastern standard time.

Lastly big thanks to ms. Bexy for keeping me company through this and also just for letting me yell my grievances at her when people are being dumb on the internet ♥♥ and also my lovely twitter friends who will probably see me bump this a lot im really sorry in advance guys youre the best though!!!!

[aion-rsa]

Cobra Kai Season 3: What to Expect

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains spoilers for Cobra Kai season 2.

It’s been a year and a half already since the Cobra Kai season 2 finale cliffhanger took the show literally over the edge. 

The climactic West Valley High School fight in “No Mercy” pushed Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) over that cliff – off a hallway balcony and onto a back-shattering staircase rail. It was a first-rate “long take” fight scene (what’s called a “one-er” in the film biz), the epitome of stunt cinematography because it is so technically challenging. The slightest mistake from anyone involved and everyone must start all over again. That season 2 finale fight was the best piece of fight choreography of the entire franchise, finally levelling up Cobra Kai to the martial arts showcase it always deserved to be. The challenge for season 3 is whether the show can top itself.

Cobra Kai has been a surprise hit from the very start, already triumphing against major challenges. Launched in 2018 as a tentpole show for YouTube Red, Cobra Kai appeared doomed after YouTube’s foray into a subscription-based premium access service model fell short of expectations. YouTube let go of all their original scripted shows not bound by contract. Even though the Cobra Kai season 2 premiere set a record for the platform, it seemed destined to end after two seasons all the same. That was until Netflix picked it up, restoring the series like Mr. Miyagi’s healing hands. The show has since become a breakout hit all over again on its new home.

Now season 3 is the first true Cobra Kai Netflix exclusive. After the “cruel summer” of 2020, Cobra Kai season 3 is set to arrive in January  and Den of Geek spoke to its stars about what it means for the beloved Karate Kid franchise.

Flashback to Karate Kid Part II

Netflix dropped its first Cobra Kai season 3 teaser last August, and ended it with a mysterious offscreen line “Are you sure about that?” Fans quickly surmised that the speaker was Chozen (Yuji Okumoto), the villain from The Karate Kid Part II. It wasn’t hard to guess. The teaser showed Daniel (Ralph Macchio) returning to Okinawa, and some press coverage revealed that season 3 had shot there, so who else would it be? The stabbing sai was another telltale giveaway because it was Chozen who brought traditional Okinawan weapons into the Karate Kid fray. 

The potential of Chozen’s inclusion in Cobrai Kai has enormous, and perhaps dangerous implications. While Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) beat up Daniel-san in some high school fights, Chozen and Daniel were full-on prepared to fight to the death. As Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) said just prior to their match, “Daniel-San, this not tournament. This for real.” Cobra Kai has been masterfully placing Easter eggs that hail back to the original ‘80s films throughout the series with cameos of many members of the original cast. Adding Kreese (Martin Kove) to the cast for season 2 was a game changer. Chozen was a perfect tease from Netflix because anyone who saw The Karate Kid Part II would hazard a guess that the conclusion of their death match did not restore Chozen’s honor.

When the official Season 3 trailer dropped in December, Netflix gave Chozen’s inclusion away. Not only did we see Chozen, but we also see Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita), Daniel’s second love interest from The Karate Kid Part II. Tomita just beamed down from playing the inscrutable Commander Oh on Star Trek: Picard. She’s been working steadily in television ever since her breakout role in The Karate Kid Part II. 

What’s more, there were a lot more merciless fight clips in that trailer. It was another well played lure for fans of both the original and the ongoing series. Great throwbacks, great humor and great drama are what makes Cobra Kai so engaging. And now that they’ve upped the ante in the fight choreography department, can they keep the momentum going? Will we see another death match between Daniel and Chozen? That stabbing sai landed so close to Daniel’s head and that’s a good way to put out an eye. 

Growing Challenges

“The challenge of season 3 is obviously cleaning up the mess that was created both on LaRusso’s watch and Johnny Lawrence’s watch,” says Ralph Macchio, who first began playing Daniel LaRusso in 1984. 

The “No Mercy” High School fight left every character horribly scarred, both physically and emotionally. In its wake, Amanda LaRusso (Courtney Henggeler), Daniel’s wife, told her family “No more Karate. It’s over,” prompting Daniel to take down Mr. Miyagi’s picture from the Miyagi-Do dojo wall. Carmen (Vanessa Rubio), Miguel’s mom and Johnny’s (William Zabka) love interest, told Johnny “I never want to see you again.” When Johnny goes to his Cobra Kai dojo, he is greeted by Kreese who repeats his meme-worthy line from the original The Karate Kid, “We have a visitor.” With both Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai dojos out of their hands, what’s left?

“The biggest challenge of season 3 was probably stepping out,” reveals Zabka. 

“What is Johnny going to be without the skin of Cobra Kai? But it was also kind of a rebirth because at the end of season 2, Kreese takes the Dojo. So who is Johnny without the Cobra Kai banner wrapped around him? That was a fun challenge.”

After all the tragedy that befell their teenage kids, can Johnny and Daniel finally bury the hatchet for the sake of their children? Macchio says they will try in season 3, but we’ll have to watch and see how that goes. 

“From a performing standpoint, there was an excitement to it because I knew script wise, I was going to step up to Johnny Lawrence and say, ‘Let’s put our differences aside and let’s go help this kid, your son, my student,’ and set off on that journey,” Maccho says. “Upfront in the season, these two rival characters have to coexist and work together, where so often in the previous two seasons, it wasn’t until late. We have a handful of scenes during the year in the season.”

However, there’s much more to Cobra Kai than Johnny and Daniel’s 30+ year feud. This is a Karate soap opera for the next generation. Teen drama was the heart of the original films, the story of Daniel-san’s coming of age. Now it’s about Johnny’s son Robby (Tanner Buchanan) and Daniel’s daughter Sam (Mary Mouser) and all their high school friends and rivals. It’s their turn to find themselves and they’ll have to do so in a much different world than that of Johnny’s and Daniel’s. 

“I’m excited for people to see it,” says Mouser. “In Season 3, it’s just recovery and growth, and learning from her own mistakes, learning from other’s mistakes, and trying her best to be the better next generation. I think that’s everybody’s goal all the time. We’re learning from our parents, we’re learning from the past, we’re learning from history, and we’re learning from each other. We’re doing our best to improve as people. So I hope Samantha continues on that path. Although, sometimes she falls off the wagon.”

What about Ali with an ‘I’?

Prior to the season 3 premiere, the possibility of the most requested cameo remains unknown. At the end of season 2, Johnny’s Facebook pinged the acceptance of his friend request to Ali Mills Schwarber (Elisabeth Shue). What a tease! Fans have been clamoring for the return of that Encino cheerleader who stole all our hearts so many years ago. 

Shue has been steadily working in TV and film since her breakout role in The Karate Kid. She was nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards for her gritty soul-baring performance in Leaving Las Vegas and was recently seen playing Madelyn Stillwell in The Boys. With the return of Chozen and Kumiko, might Ali make a cameo too? There’s no hint of her in the trailer. No spoilers here. You’ll just need to wax on, wax off, and tune in. 

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Cobra Kai season 3 premieres Jan. 1 on Netflix.

The post Cobra Kai Season 3: What to Expect appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[ameliette]

TCW Liveblogs: Walkabout Arc

ie. 7x05-7x08

oops no screenshots this time :p i got... lazy. or something

may 1st 7:30PM

ONTO NEW CONTENT [note: i rewatched s6 right before this one]

"if there is no path in front of you, create your own" nooooo

THIS EPISODE STARTS... oh wait no thats not ahsoka's theme. but its the force theme

"hey, why are you helping me?" "why wouldn't i? seemed like the right thing to do"

HELLLLLLL YEAHHHHH

o.O ahsoka's gloves still have the same shapes as when she was a jedi

"i heard stories [of the jedi] when i was a kid. guess they're not true"

HOLY SHIT

BC THIS IS NEW CANON

THAT'S IN DIRECT CONTRADICTION TO THE LEGENDS ROTS NOVEL

WHICH LITERALLY CONTAINS THE PHRASE "two jedi starfighters. only two. because the adults are wrong and their younglings are right. even though this is the twilight of the jedi, it has saved its best for last"

"my older brother taugth me" AHSOKA HOLY SHIT

THAT CAME SO NATURALLY

ADDING THAT [rots] QUOTE I ALMOST STARTED CRYING I AM NOT GOING TO BE OKAY TONIGHT IT SEEMS

oh nooo trace and rafa remind me of nate and sam now

"i can only take so many punches to my head and still be considered a pilot"

... holy shit this episode passed the bechdel test in the first minute WITH FLYING COLORS I JUST REALIZED

LOTHCATS

lol they keep reusing that mandalorian civilian male model

ahsoka's jumpsuit it 70s as fuck ant its really funny

oh ahsoka's belt is also probably repurposed from her old clothes. and i dont know whether i should say she repurposed it or its a modeling repurpose

rafa's shirt reminds me of something and i cant figure out what??

"you dont think you might be the trouble she needs to stay away from?" thaaat sounds gay

WOW

OH

MY

GOD

WRITERS

YOU

DID

NOT

JUST

REPEAT

THAT

FUCKING

SCENE

FCUK

IM EITHER DYING OUT OF FEELS OR DYING OUT OF LAUGHTER

"fly normal!" AND ONCE THE DISCUSSION IS OVER

THE SHOT SWITHCES TO THE BRIDGE

AND ITS YULAREN AND ANKIN

OK FINE TO THIS POINT

BUT THEN ANAKIN SAYS

"captain, what was in that transport"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

ITS 'ITS AN OLDER CODE BUT IT CHECKS OUT' ALL OVER AGAIN

I CANT WITH THESE WRITERS

AND THEY SENSE EACH OTHER DONT YOU TWO DARE

SDLNGSLKSFLNELNEDLKNE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

yularen: "should i send a detachemnt"

anakin: "no, its nothing"

JESUS FUCK

THEY DID THE WHOLE FUCKING THING

WHY ARE YOU ON KESSEL

"picking up medicine" suuuuuure

kessel???? thats not kessel

im... reasonably sure that's a reuse of another model

ok theyre not on kessel anymore

jesus fuck you three

it is kessel? thats weird i never thought kessel would.... and it didnt look like that in rebels and solo?

... thats why

one half of the planet is beautiful forests, the other is the wrecked mining area

rafa: "there's no slaves on an operation this large. the repiblic would shut it down." ahsoka: "yeah, you'd think so."

:< trace already lost her faith in jedi, why does rafa have any faith in the republic as a whole?

funny how ahsoka ends up as the problem solver all the time

hello wilhelm scream :D

ahsoka probably having nice flashbacks to escaping the jedi temple

helLO THERE BO-KATAN

THESRES MORE OF YOU!!!

oh that wasnt bokatan

but bokatans friend, and thats enough!!!

because the more of them included bokatan!!

[glancing at end credits]  .... URSA?????? WAS ONE OF THOSE NITE OWLS URSA WREN???

HOLY SHIT IT WAS

PLEASE SHOW CAN YOU SHOW HER FACE NEXT TIME

IM TERRIBLE AT VOICES I ONLY REALIZED THAT WHEN I SAW THE NAME URSA IN THE DANISH VOICE ACTOR LIST

ARE YOU KIDIDNG ME

THIS HAS FINNISH VOICE ACTOR LIST

IS DISNEY+ FUCKING OUT IN FINLAND ALREADY [note: it's not, but i sure like this confirmation of voice actors]

ahsoka: doesnt want to reveal shes a jedi

also ahsoka: meditates in plain SIGHT

[avengerstvshow]

Changes/Bonus Material

I decided to make a few changes and add some bonus material.

1. Throughout Season 1, the Hulk material builds as teasers and stingers.  I used a lot of deleted scenes to help to build suspense for the Hulk’s eventual reveal, using the perspective of those around Bruce without ever showing Bruce himself, to avoid dealing with the casting change.  My favorite addition was the stinger to S1E1, where we see Bruce in the arctic and his suicide attempt, along with brief glimpses of the pain and longing that have driven him there.  I also LOVE the deleted/extended scenes with General Ross; they’re beautifully written.  I think these scenes were deleted for fear of slowing the film down too much, but to me, allowing the characters to wax poetical about their world-views is so compelling that I just had to include them.

2. In S1E3, I cut the entire third act of Iron Man.  This was a very radical change, but I made it for a good reason.  Most origin stories pit the hero against a darker version of himself.  While this was very clear with Iron Monger in Iron Man 1, this trope was basically repeated with Whiplash in Iron Man 2.  Although the plot of Iron Man 2 was very crowded and did not give Whiplash his due, given how intertwined the plot lines were, and how the struggle to outsmart Whiplash is so instrumental in driving Tony to delve into his father’s past, I felt that it was more important to set him up as his first major villain.  My hope is that the confrontation with the terrorists will suffice as Iron Man’s first victory, given the series format.

3. In S1E5-6, I added a few deleted scenes.  After the Thor prologue as the teaser, I chose to begin the episode with the deleted scene of Thor & Loki talking before his coronation; I felt that it was important to establish the adult versions of these characters as brothers before the plot continued.  I also added the extended conversation between Loki & Frigga at Odin’s bedside, as well as Loki’s coronation.  The original ordering of the dialogue really seemed to flow much more smoothly, and to end it with the actual coronation moment gave Loki a bit more of a bridge from scheming brother to power-hungry tyrant.  The brief conflict in Tom Hiddleston’s performance is breathtaking.

4. In S1E7-9, I added a few Cap deleted scenes.  The first is his extended introduction to the present day.  While this scene was unfinished, and the final product isn’t perfect, I felt that the extended dialogue between Cap and Nick Fury was important, as this scene now takes place later in the series.  I also added the extended Cap sequences dealing with the present day, including much of his interactions with the waitress/saving her in the Battle of New York.  While these scenes slowed the pacing in the film, I personally felt that we could use the character development for Cap here; his struggle to adjust to modern life, while expounded upon in Winter Soldier, needed more time to really sit with the viewer, as this was the season finale.  I also loved how the waitress provided an everyman perspective and connection for the Avengers as a whole, with her “thank you” line at the end becoming a great payoff.

5. In S2E1-3, I used the brilliant “TDW: Hard Forged Edition” fan edit as my base for the Thor arc.  This edit includes masterfully integrated deleted scenes that really flesh out the characters and soften some of the edges around the writing.  A few of my favorite moments are Thor and Frigga’s brief interaction in the first act, and Thor and Jane’s interaction before her arrest in Episode 2.

However, I did add one moment myself.  This fan edit moved the prologue from the beginning of the film to Odin’s discussion of the dark elves with Thor and Jane in the library (Episode 1).  To drive home the theme of this season (dealing with demons), I reinserted an unused moment from the prologue.  After Thor reminds Odin that he was told that the Aether was destroyed, we see a quick flashback from Odin where his father says to bury it where no one will ever find it.  It’s really this decision from Thor’s grandfather that allows the Aether to reemerge during the Convergence in the first place, so I felt that it was important to clarify that moment as the original sin; Thor is now dealing with the consequences of that decision.

6. In S2E2, I added some Iron Man 3 deleted scenes involving EJ, the kid who bullies Harley.  I’m still going back and forth on this one.  I decided to include this scene for two reasons.  First, it directly compares Harley with Tony, facing their personal bullies.  Second, at the end of the extended sequence, Harley literally saves Tony’s life, giving more weight to their relationship and actual reason for Harley to say “I saved your life.”

7. In S2E3, I added in part of the alternate ending for Thor: The Dark World, found on the Infinity Saga Box Set bonus disc.  Originally, this ending included  scene with Odin on Earth and Thor taking his place as King of Asgard.  However, to keep with continuity, I selected the middle part of this scene: when Jane breaks up with Thor.  I added this conversation in for a couple of reasons.  First, the dialogue is quite good, given the journey they’ve been on in this film, and since we never got any kind of heart to heart between the couple in the theatrical cut, I felt it was needed to give their relationship arc some closure.  Second, I felt that it was important to set up Jane’s reasons for eventually actually breaking up with Thor, as it’s kind of shrugged off in Ragnarok.  Following this scene, I continued with the theatrical ending of Thor giving up the throne.  Even though it contradicts the conversation between Thor and Jane, in my head canon, Thor sees Jane’s reasons and at first, he agrees to go to Asgard.  However, when he is in front of his father, he realizes that being king isn’t who he is anymore.  He doesn’t know where his future will lead, but he chooses Jane in that moment.  To me, it seemed natural, and it adds layers to Thor’s journey at this point in the series.  The episode is then capped off with his implied return to Earth.

Also in this episode, I added the deleted scene where Maya Hansen sends the AIM data to Tony and is killed via the Extremis plant.  To be honest, I felt this scene should have been in the movie.  It gave more weight to Maya’s character arc and provided an ironic death; the very thing she worked so hard on took her life.

8. In S2E4-5, I used Bobson Dugnutt’s “WS: Defrosted Edition” as my base, adding in many of the deleted scenes from CA: Winter Soldier.  To me, these scenes fleshed out important moments for these characters that better set them up for the future.

9. In S2E6-7, I used several fan edits as sources in order to add in several deleted scenes from the film to slow down the frantic pacing and to better set up future plot points.  This includes Thor’s vision in the cave, to which I also made a subtle change to briefly include Thanos himself; this marks Thanos’ only appearance in Season 2 after the brief stinger in Season 1, and I felt it was important to establish him as a looming threat.  The power stone is also deleted from this moment, as it has not yet been introduced in the series.  I also added some moments for Bruce Banner’s vision before he goes on his rampage to tie him back to his origins in Season 1, and I cut most of Black Widow’s relationship moments with him, especially “the sun’s getting real low” stuff.  My goal was to make their relationship much more subtle and to distinguish it from Bruce’s relationship with Betty.

However, I did decide to include their interaction in the bedroom at Hawkeye’s farm.  I decided this scene was merited; in my head canon, Black Widow is shaken by her vision, so she reaches out to this other member of the team she’s slowly been connecting with in a moment of weakness/loneliness/desire.  I also really struggled because of the controversy around Black Widow’s “monster” line.  I eventually came to the conclusion that she’s referring to herself as a monster not because she can no longer have kids, but because she’s been mutilated so she can be a better killer.  To her, that’s monstrous.  While I do think the scene could have made that clearer, I really appreciated the sentiment she’s conveying here, so I chose to leave it in.  

One final change I made with BW/Hulk: I re-edited the BW rescue scene so there’s no longer a kiss/push to make Bruce transform into the Hulk.  I wanted to give Bruce as much control over his changing as possible so it was easier to track is growth since his origins and set his rage transformation from Scarlet Witch’s vision apart.  In the theatrical cut, it’s implied that BW broke trust with Bruce because she needed Hulk.  Now, Hulk decides to leave in the end because he can no longer trust Bruce; Bruce views Hulk as a monster and wants him out.  Hulk doesn’t trust Black Widow to accept him either, as she hates the monster within herself, so she’s just like Bruce.  In my head canon, when Hulk reaches out to touch Black Widow’s face on the screen, that’s Bruce, but then Hulk claims control, shuts off the screen, and sets out into space.

10. In S3E3, I added a brief deleted scene where Janet Van Dyne explains to Hank that the Quantum Realm was more complex than they imagined.  I added this because I have a feeling the Quantum Realm will continue to play a larger role in future MCU plans, so I wanted to set up its importance a bit better.

11. In S3E8, I added the alternate ending for Doctor Strange, also found on the Infinity Saga Box Set bonus disc.  Thanks to fan editor Bobson Dugnutt for his splendid reasoning in going with this ending.  Since this film is centered around Doctor Strange, it made perfect sense to me that the final scene should come full circle, playing on Doctor Strange’s love of music and his playful relationship with Wong.  To me, this is a much more character-centric ending.  I moved the the theatrical ending to S3E10 as a stinger scene to emphasize the importance of the time stone.

12. In S4E1-2, I restructured Captain Marvel just a bit so that the audience discovers more about Carol’s identity with her.  I moved most of her scenes pre-Earth to a brief flashback sequence.  I also added a deleted scene where Yon-Rogg talks to the Supreme Intelligence in his own image.  I felt that this was crucial to really SHOW, not TELL, how the Supreme Intelligence appears to the Kree.  It also really adds some much-needed depth to Yon-Rogg.

13. In S4E3-6, I pruned some of the jokes/gags in both Guardians 2 and Thor: Ragnarok, just to space out the laugh moments and allow the scenes to breathe a bit more.  I also had to edit around the “sun’s getting real low” gag, since I cut it in Season 2.

14. In S4E7, I chose to introduce the episode in the teaser with the Guardians’ perspective, when they first come upon the Asgardian shipwreck.  This was mainly because we have been following the Guardians more consistently than Thor since last seasons’ finale.

15. Finally, in S4E10, I chose to include a small portion of Black Widow’s alternate death scene, specifically, a small piece of dialogue at the beginning of their conversation.  Fact: this scene is one of many Endgame Deleted scenes that are exclusive to Disney Plus, so I had to use a number of methods to obtain HD footage.  Unfortunately, the audio isn’t amazing, but it’s the best I could get.  The reason I chose to use this opening bit of dialogue was because I felt it established very quickly the logic of Black Widow’s thinking.  I felt like the conversation would flow more naturally from intellectual reason to their love for each other.  

The reason I chose to stick with her theatrical death is because the creators chose to make that change, and I agree that maximum emotional impact is driving from character rather than plot.  I feel like even though the scene has its problems, it’s the closest we have to this beautifully tragic scene that Black Widow deserved.

[bughead-fic-request]

I would like to thank @leaalda for making these amazing banners.

This is an effort to spread the word about all fan fiction writers in our little fandom. If you would like to be featured or nominate a writer, please contact me. Please reblog this post if you can and check out some of @cooperjones2020 work!

1. First things first, if someone wanted to read your stories where can they find them.

I post all of them on AO3 as well as on tumblr @cooperjones2020 under the tag #mine and on my master list. (also fyi it’s a sideblog, so if you ever get a reply from @acitrusmoon, that’s also me!)

2. Tell us a little about yourself.

I’ve tipped the scale into second half of my 20’s. I’m currently doing my master’s in English lit, focusing on early modern drama and cultural studies. Canada is the third country I’ve lived in. I’ve been in four separate countries within a 24-hour timespan on two separate occasions. I prefer children’s toothbrushes to adult ones. I made my parents let me drop out of preschool when I was four because they wouldn’t give me orange juice.

3. What do you never leave home without?

Nothing. I leave with the absolute bare minimum I can get away with. So 99% of the time I have my phone, but even that’s not a sure thing. If I can stick a card or some cash in my bra so I don’t have to carry a purse or wallet, I’m doing it. If I do have a bag, I definitely have my giant reusable water bottle and a book with me.

4. Are you an early bird or a night owl?

Early bird. I’ve hit the level of adulthood where I wake up at like 6:30 sans alarm. And I have no excuse. I don’t have to be at work til 10.

5. If you could live in any fictional world which one would you choose and why?

I’ve been thinking about this question and I can’t come up with anything other than HP. I basically learned to read off those books and grew up alongside them. That fictional world is so embedded with my real one, it would be a disservice to pick something else.

6. Who is the most famous person you’ve ever met.

In general, I have no interest in meeting famous people, so I think the most famous person I’ve ever actually met was Roger Ebert at an ice cream shop in Michigan when I was 8. But I’ve been adjacent to famous people. I saw Josh Radnor in my college bookstore, I’ve emailed with John Green, and Chicago Fire used to film in my old apartment in Chicago before it became my apartment. They would still shut our street down to do external shots, and NBC paid my landlord not to gut the apartment when he rehabbed it, in case they needed to use it again.

Does Walk the Moon count as famous now? I’ve met Nick Petricca at parties (figure out what Josh Radnor, John Green, and Nick Petricca have in common, and you’ll learn something else about me).

7. What are some of your favorite movies/TV?

I’m the worst with “favorite” type questions because I change my mind all the time when my attention wanders. So TV shows I’ve loved a long time and will continue to rewatch ad infinitum: Gilmore Girls, Charmed, Boy Meets World. I don’t really re-watch movies, which is my general bar for loving something. I recently saw The Third Man and it blew my mind, so much so that it made it into chapter 5 of “Nobodies Nobody Knows.”

(but also I haven’t had consistent access to a television since 2006 because I went to boarding school for nerds, so I’m out of touch with a lot what’s been on unless I’ve been able to find it on the internet and binge watch it)

8. What are some of your favorite bands/musicians?

Again, I don’t know if I have anyone I would say is a favorite above all the music I like. I cycle through songs I get obsessed with for a week or two. The Spotify playlist I’m currently listening to on repeat includes Halsey, Imagine Dragons, Walk the Moon, Regina Spektor, Lorde, Cigarettes After Sex, Ed Sheeran, Adele, X Embassadors, and Sia. But it’s also my Bughead writing playlist. I’d really like to see Maren Morris in concert.

9. Favorite Books?

I could fill a library with my favorite books. The books that have been most foundational to me as a person were probably HP and the Anne of Green Gables series. The books/authors I loved enough to ship to Canada, which really just means I like rereading them, include Emily Dickinson, Raymond Carver, Louise Erdrich, Junot Diaz, Harper Lee, Milan Kundera, Diana Gabaldon, Deborah Harkness, and a little bit of Nora Roberts and Andrew Greeley for variety. But actually the hardest part of moving back to America will be having to round up all my books and get them to my new place of residence.

10. Favorite Food?

Soup. Which is really a non-answer because there’s infinite varieties.

11. Biggest pet peeve?

People who are passive aggressive and manipulative.

12. What did you want to be when you were little? What do you want to be now?

I went through an intense phase of wanting to be a flight attendant for a while. I was pretty sure I wanted to do a PhD, but the first year of my masters has taught me that I do not want to do that. So now, I have no idea. Something that involving writing and editing as part of its daily tasks. I did some freelancing for SparkNotes earlier this summer and they had a full-time opening that would have been perfect for me if it were a year from now. Before coming back to school, I worked for a tutoring company creating curriculum materials and overseeing/developing tutors.

13. What are your biggest fears? Do you have any strange fears?

The stereotypical things I’m afraid of are heights and clowns. I’m also afraid of bridges and really uncomfortable on escalators, though that’s gotten better. I’m a big believer in facing your fears, so one time I forced myself to do a high ropes course at a team-building retreat and I literally had a panic attack forty feet up in the air.

14. When you are on your deathbed what would be the one you’d regret not doing?

I think I’ll regret the times I’ve said no to things because I was afraid.

Okay… lets talk about your writing!

15. Which is your favorite of the fics you've written for the Bughead fandom?

The one I’m enjoying writing the most/is coming the easiest is ”Second City.” I also really love ”Marked” because it’s the one that got me into the fandom and because it challenged me to go out of my comfort zone.

16. Which was the hardest to write, in terms of plot?

“What’s Past is Prologue” because the plot structure is so weird, so I wind up feeling like I’m just hitting the same note over and over.

17. How do you come up with the ideas for you fic(s)? Do you people watch? Listen to music? Get inspired by TV/movies?

I haven’t written enough fics to have a developed answer to this. “Marked” and “WPIP” came about because of a conversation @jandjsalmon was having that I lurked on. “Second City” came about because I love post-break up/the characters are now in their 20s fics, and I was homesick (hence the setting). Also, with all the discourse around how healthy and communicative Betty and Jug are, I was wondering what would be a convincing enough circumstance to cause them to break up, and how would they find their way back to each other. As far as individual ideas within the fics themselves, I do, as mentioned, have a writing playlist, but I don’t listen to it while actually writing. Just while I’m doing things around the house or walking to school, which is when I brainstorm. I often have to stop walking and move out of the way so I can type ideas into the notes on my phone. A lot of times, I’ll just get a half a line or sentence that sounds nice and then I’ll have to figure out how to work it in later.

18. Idea that you always wanted to write but could never make work?

I haven’t been doing this long enough to be able to answer this question with any level of confidence. I don’t think there’s anything I’ve really wanted to write and been unable to, at least as far as fic goes. I have a lot of half-planned ideas for original stories that refuse to come out how I want them to.

19. Least favorite plot point/chapter/moment you’ve written?

The next chapter of WPIP because I don’t think it’s doing anything beyond serving as a vehicle to the chapter after it. But I recently had an idea of something to add to it which might help.

20. Favorite plot point/chapter/moment you’ve written?

I love chapter 5 of “Second City.” I’m genuinely happy about every scene in it, especially the flashback. I also really like the end of chapter 8, parts of chapter 10 and pretty much all of chapter 11. More than plot points/chapters, I tend to love little details or turns of phrase, like the crown scar from “Marked,” or Jughead in a “this is what a feminist looks like” t shirt, or lines like “It hurts. She knows it shouldn’t. She knows it makes sense. But it does. Because it sounds like ‘I don’t think about you’” from “Second City.”

21.Favorite character to write?

Betty because I overly identify with her. In “Second City,” I’ve found Alice and Veronica particularly easy to write in the little they’ve appeared thus far. Like, their voices have been very clear. But watch, I’ve probably just jinxed myself.

22. Favorite line or lines of dialogue that you've written?

I don’t know if I have a favorite, and I use too much dialogue to go back through it all. I try really hard to make it sound realistic. I’m particularly proud of the ending dialogue of chapter 9 of “Second City,” basically everything from after they go back into the spare bedroom.

Also, spoiler: “You harassed Sheriff Keller. You questioned FP. What’s next, Betty? Were you going to interrogate Jellybean?” Betty feels heat suffuse her face. “Oh, you thought I wouldn’t know about that, huh?”

“I did see JB,” she mumbles.

“Fuck, I knew she was lying.”

23. Best comment/review you’ve ever received?

I don’t want to call out anyone in particular because I love and appreciate every single one and I spend way too much time staring at my email waiting for comment notifications. I particularly enjoy when people point out a specific line or plot point that resonated with them, or when they say something rung particularly true to character. I also love when people will talk to me in the comments, because I reply to everyone and literary analysis is my jam.

24. How do you handle bad reviews or comments?

I’ve never had any! I’m not a big enough deal for that.

25. If you could change anything in any of your stories, what would it be?

I would have written more of “WPIP” before posting it because that was my first attempt at anything multi-chapter and I didn’t know what I was doing. I still don’t, but I’ve gotten slightly better at masking it.

26. What is your favorite story you’ve ever written? Any fandom?

Fandom-wise, I’ve only written for Bughead. “Second City”/the “Who Sings Heartache to Sleep” universe is (clearly) my favorite. I actually enjoy rereading old chapters, which is not a place I’ve been with my own writing in ages and ages.

27. What are you reading right now? Both fan fiction and general fiction?

I’m working on my master’s thesis proposal, so I’m doing a lot of reading about early modern theatre, seventeenth century midwifery manuals, and feminist theory. I’m also running a reading group on film noir, so I’ve read several of those this summer. I reread The Unbearable Lightness of Being for the sixth time, but it was for a student I tutor. I’m looking forward to reading a romance novel, probably Nora Roberts, when I visit my parents in a few weeks.

For fic, I’m subscribed to so so many and am behind on most of them. The ones I’ll drop everything to read as soon as I see the notification include anything by @lessoleilscouchants or @sylwrites, Summer Storm by @lazydaizies, Interbellum by @wolfofansbach, Serpent and the Swan by @jugandbettsdetectiveagency, Hearts in Velvet by @raptorlily, Carry On by @soulsofstarsliveinyourveins, Wicked Games by @ariquitecontrary, He Was Gone by @bettyluvsjuggie, What Fools These Mortals Be by @gellbellshead …gah, I know there are more. Those are ones that have either updated recently or that I’ve thought about recently for some reason or another.

28. Do you have an advice for writers that want to get into this fandom but might be scared?

Please please do it. I cannot emphasize enough how welcoming people are. I literally inserted myself in someone else’s conversation like a total creep and it’s the best thing I’ve done in months. I’ve never done anything like that before and definitely wouldn’t be able to in non-internet life. Think about if positions were reversed and you were the one already established in the fandom, how would you react to someone wanting to be your friend? You’d be pretty darn excited. That’s how I feel every day with all of you and I just want to spread the love.

And for writing specifically, and this is cliché advice but, you won’t get better unless you let other people read your work. And letting other people in and letting them be excited (because they will be) will make you so much more confident and motivated.

For real, though, while the last year of my life has been super rewarding personally and I’m happy, it’s also been one of the hardest and loneliest years of my life. And the hits just keep on coming. And you all have made the last month, at least, a lot easier.

[upslapmeal]

Opinion: Jane The Virgin it's losing it's charm. It let me down after episode 10 and I tried to keep watching but it's disappointing me so far. I just feel is not as funny and smart written as it was and it's just reusing storylines. And I'm still not used to the characters now after the 3-year jump, it feels so hurried.

Ok so I know the point of this ask game thing is just to say whether you agree or disagree but I have way too many thoughts about this to just leave it at that. So. In general I agree, at least to a point. And I’ve literally written over 1000 words as a reply so I’m putting it under a readmore bc….whoops…….

Right to start off, I know something everyone used to complain about the crime plots but that was something I really thought was missing at the start of S3. Those plots were usually good at providing drama that really contrasted with Jane’s life and I’d been looking forward to Michael finally going back to work so we’d get them back. Which obviously didn’t happen, and I know we have Dennis and they’re still part of the plot but it’s different from having one of the main characters directly involved. 

Something else that definitely hasn’t helped but isn’t necessarily the show’s fault is that we’ve lost side characters because the actors have become involved in other shows - specifically Luisa, Lina and Rose. This limits the interactions we can see, and means that when they’re on the show they don’t get any meaningful longer storylines because they won’t be around for long. This has been a specific problem for Luisa who seems to appear for an episode or two then get sent off to rehab. Rose was a great villain and that’s something else the show’s been lacking, especially since Mutter’s dead though she was never as compelling as Rose. 

I remember back in S1 wondering how long the show would last because it seemed unlikely that they would be able to keep generating such elevated plots and ridiculous twists, and I think that’s just part of the nature of the show unfortunately. In that during S1 (and S2 though less so) all the ~telenovela aspects were new and fresh, but they used up a whole bunch of tropes and plotlines, and also we’ve just got more used to it and better at predicting what will happen. That’s not to say repeated elements don’t always work - the Anezka twist at the end of ch39 completely caught me off guard despite the Roman/Aaron plot in S1. I had thought that Rafael finding out he wasn’t a Solano would be an opening for more telenovela plots, possibly involving the art theft and Italian orphanage, but instead it fed the more grounded emotional plots in that it made Raf want to turn over a new leaf. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and that’s not to say it won’t lead to those plots in the future, but considering that the show seems to be lagging a bit in its telenovela side it does feel like a bit of a missed opportunity. 

Which brings us to ch54, Michael’s death, and the time jump. Considering what I’ve said about plots running out it made sense that they needed to shake things up, and Jennie said Michael’s death was the mid-show equivalent to Jane’s insemination in that it was an event that completely turned Jane’s life upside down and changed what she’s imagined her future to be. And it certainly did that but I do think it also did several things that hurt the story. Firstly, it just added to the problem I talked about with the show losing characters and so losing different interactions and relationships to explore. Brett said after the end of S2 that he’d love Michael to have more scenes with Alba and see what the relationship is there, and personally that was a relationship it really hoped we’d get to see, especially after those vows. Losing characters hits harder when they’re part of the main cast. Then we also lost our main connection to the police side of all the telenovela crime drama. And as well as losing a telenovela aspect we also lost many more grounded potential storylines. What’s Michael’s role in bringing Mateo up as he gets older? How do they deal with the difference between Mateo, who’s constantly moving between parents, and JM’s potential future child(ren) who would live with them all the time? Would we get to see Rogelio take Michael, Rafael and Mateo out on an over-the-top Father’s Day bonding adventure? Idk, it just feels like there were so many more potential storylines to mine from that family.

Then there’s the issue of trying to use the death in the same way as the insemination. The problem comes from the fact that they gave the show very different things. The whole show sprung up from Jane’s insemination. The show would not exist without it and the whole show since then has been dealing with the consequences of this event. We got to see the very real and emotional effects, the difficulties it caused and how hard it could be, really letting Gina flex her acting muscles, but it was also a ridiculous telenovela event that could be used as a source of humour and ultimately ended up being one of the best things to happen to Jane. And the problem with using Michael’s death to similarly shake up her life is it only provides the first half of that, the difficult, emotional side. It’s not something that can be joked about or used for fun drama.

And so then we have the time jump. I absolutely understand why they decided to have the jump, if the show had gone straight into the period after his death it would have been too dark for the show, and the jump lets us see the long-term effects. Unfortunately though, they literally killed their protagonist’s husband after they were married for 7 months. They created a situation where the consequences are dark and difficult and heartbreaking. And so while I appreciate that we’re seeing Jane still affected by it after three years, we need to see more of this difficult stuff that the show made for itself. I’ve already rambled a lot about this here so I won’t get into that again but if the show’s going to use this death supposedly to be a mid-show insemination equivalent, it mustn’t shy away from the situation it’s made for itself. And I’m not saying the show isn’t showing Jane’s grief but I don’t think it’s changed enough or doing it in a way that justifies killing him in the first place.

In fact the biggest change to the show that’s come from Michael’s death is the time jump. And honestly, outside Jane’s story I do think it’s done the show good. It’s refreshed a lot of storylines and from a practical pov has made sure they have good kid actors instead of just hoping that Aiden (who played young Mateo) turned out to be a good actor. And you know what? I think the time jump would have been a great thing to happen to show without Michael dying. Because then you haven’t lost one of the pieces in the game, just rearranged them. Rather than carrying the weight of showing Jane moving out of deep grief, the flashbacks would help fill in the gaps better for more characters. Everyone would be in a new place and there wouldn’t be the weird rushed disconnect there is now where the show has gone from an incredibly traumatic event back to near-normality in the space of less than an episode. 

I know this all sounds really negative. I do appreciate how the show has decided to tell a story of coming back after having dealt with terrible grief and I don’t want to fully judge how good a job it’s done until the end of the season, and even without quite the same spark as the start it’s a fantastic show. I’ve tried to be as objective as possible with this and look at the show without thinking about personal opinions of characters etc (though I am incredibly bitter and sad about Michael’s death for non-storytelling reasons), and I think that the heightened and balanced nature of the show at the start has made a bit of a fall inevitable. But it’s done a damn good job of trying to keep as close to that place as possible, even if that has included missteps or repeated storylines. I’ve still loved every episode so far, not all as much as each other, but there is yet to be an episode I dislike. And so yes, it has lost a bit of its charm and it’s made decisions I’m disappointed in, but as a whole I still think it’s a clever and important show that I love. And long may that last.

[nana-talks]

bourne franchise, a review

basics the bourne identity (2002) - ★★★ the bourne supremacy (2004) - ★★★★⯩ the bourne ultimatum (2007) - ★★⯩ the bourne legacy (2012) - ★★★ jason bourne (2016) - ★★★

review: i was going to write individual reviews for each of the movies on the franchise, but not only was i too lazy, i also watched 4 out of 5 literally at 1am. so here i am, the day after to compile my thoughts.

overall, i think i give the franchise a 3.5 stars. it is a classic spy action franchise and i think a lot of the directing/writing was fundamental for the new age action movies. but it’s not great, per se.

i will be reviewing some aspects of the franchise with spoilers, so read with caution.

directing this was the weakest point for me. the first one is great, apart from how old it looks, which is comprehensive (it was released 18 years ago) and the sound design which is disgustingly bad. Paul Greengrass, however, comes to change things up and just forgets to turn down the shaky cam to a point where i was feeling legitimately sick while watching the movie. it gave me a migraine i’m still trying to wear off.

a lot of the stylistic choices of the zooms, transitions and action sequences were not only hurtful to the eyes, but plain out ugly - they look outdated even for the 2016 instalment of the series. and from the reviews i’ve read, people agree on this one.

writing i am overly critical on writing because it is what i enjoy most in a film. i don’t know much about directing or acting, but stories - that’s something i know. so i was engaged with the premise of the first movie, but was a bit thrown off with some of the choices in the later movies.

with the first one, i enjoyed how they set up Jason’s backstory with flashbacks and how they wrote his main romantic storyline with Marie. it felt like an integral part of the movie, it had the correct amount of stakes and overall, it was a good call. i’ll talk more on that in the next sections.

however, on the second one we have a deeper premise. with Marie’s death, Jason’s stakes are over the top and his reactions are aligned with his principles. most of the complaints i had with the first movie’s writing got better on the second one - the sound design was better, the general accents were better, he finally has some actual fights with people. overall it was a great addition.

it’s with the third movie that most of my problems started to show up. first of all, the plots of the second and third instalments only aligned in the second half of the third movie. it felt cheap, like they couldn’t come up with something for the third movie so they decided to go back to Russia and ignore the ending of the second movie for a little while, just until they managed to write more than an hour worth of content, then they can go back to scheduled programming. 

the third movie starts with the paralells that completely disregard Jason and his storyline. we have had Nicky in the first two movies of the series and she doesn’t do much - she’s just there, half the time, which is bad enough as it is. she’s a spy, for God’s sake. and now they’re trying to paint a romantic picture of her with Jason using the same scenes from Jason’s romantic storyline with Marie. literally recycling scenes - they are even shot similarly. it feels cheap, to me. they invoke Jason’s amnesia and PTSD with the “i loved you but you forgot about me” trope in the worst way possible. he even repeats the “please run, you can’t be close to me or you’ll be hurt” speech he gave Marie but the writers forget that Marie was just a normal person caught up in the wrong situation because she wanted a green card; Nicky is a trained agent of the CIA, she’s supposed to be able to look out for herself.

Nicky is also completely disregarded after she’s no longer with Jason. this happens several times during the franchise to the point where i feel like they never even wrote a storyline for her, they just went with it.

this is also the movie that started to get on my nerves with the inconsistency with character design. people that are supposed to be smart enough to have clearance on top state secrets make dumb mistakes to advance the plot. it feels like a cheap device used to advance a storyline and it’s just not believable. 

on the second movie, finally Jason’s abilities are put to the test, he gets to have real fights with high stakes with people on his caliber - and whenever he did make a mistake, you could see it was because he was struggling with his mental health issues. here we have people with high rankings in the CIA using their own passports in foreign countries and forgetting that their bank accounts would probably be surveilled? having fully empty floors in the buildings next to the CIA’s with access to their windows? the completely unsecured building in itself - just put papers in a safe and that’s enough, y’all! it’s cheap writing.

another thing that bothered me (but this isn’t a concept present only in Jason Bourne, it’s probably in every action movie possible) is the way they use foreign pain to advance their plots. riots and protests in third world countries are seen as a way to disguise Jason’s whereabouts with absolutely blatant disregard for the countries suffering. i wasn’t surprised but it still annoyed me.

i’ll completely skip the fourth movie, as i feel it should be treated separately from the Bourne trilogy. the fifth felt like an unnecessary ad-on, but some points were nice - mainly Jason’s principles’ consistency, which is one of my next points so i won’t dwell too much on it now. but overall, it felt like a money grab ad-on with no real substance, we had no stakes for the premise to be that enthralling. but the fight scenes were good, because once again, Jason was fighting someone on his caliber.

the bourne legacy (2012) this totally feels like a separate entity from the Bourne saga. not only because of the lack of Bourne in itself, but because the pace is different, the writing is different and the directing is also different. the shots were cool, specially in the snow, but not that cool to make me remember much else.

the writing, however, was interesting to say the least. the premise was incredible, probably my favorite one out of all. i think everything took a sharp turn for me with Oscar Isaac dying in the shed - it took me completely off guard and with that i kept interested in the rest of the plot. it was a bonus that the chase sequences (even though once more, in a foreign third world country) were better than i expected as well.

but how can a PhD graduate be so dumb? perhaps in 2012 we weren’t there yet with the whole “writing strong women” thing. (but then i think back to Marie and wonder who had the courage to write her in 2002 then). it just felt cheap to make this dumb ass character be the one to save the day when she took a gun in her hands and fired randomly to try and get away. how can a PhD graduate work for the CIA and not expect anything?

it was a great relief that Aaron’s character development was so well done, even if his motivation was quite lacklustre. so much so that i don’t hate this movie and i think it would be a pleasure to continue with this storyline, specially in a spin-off sort of way (perhaps to try and stop capitalizing on Bourne’s character to profit a movie that’s not about him)

favorite points here comes the part where i gush on and on about Jason Bourne & his relationship with Marie. but because they were objectively the best parts of the franchise, by miles on end.

firstly, their meeting made total sense to me and felt natural, something other spy movies and action movies forget to do with the romantic partner of the lead character. perhaps this is not understood the way it felt to me for american audiences, but the stakes she went to get a green card felt very reasonable to me. their relationship didn’t feel forced or rushed - much on the contrary, there were several moments in the first movie that i felt they could have happened sooner, but they didn’t. and that was a great choice.

because when they did, it felt real. to the point where their connection is still something i recall clearly even after 5 movies. to the point where Jason’s revenge felt reasonable (if not warranted).

apart from their relationship, with its nuance and care, i also truly enjoyed to see Jason’s development. he was by far the most thought out and fleshed out character in the whole franchise, of course, and it didn’t disappoint. his motivations were clear, his principles were sound and i didn’t question his actions not once because of it.

my favorite part was learning how much family meant to Jason. you can see a glimpse of this on the first movie, when he’s scared to go to sleep because Marie’s nephew and niece could be in possible danger. you can also see this when he fails his last mission when the man he’s about to murder wakes up with his daughter in his lap.

this is a motif that shows up once again with the way he reaches out to the loved ones of the people he’s killed, how he reaches out to Marie’s brother to let him know of what happened, how you can see he joined the Treadstone project on behalf of his father.

it all feels so convincing the part that hurts me the most is that he never got the chance to start a family with Marie. and perhaps if he had, maybe his stakes would have been higher. maybe it would have given more of an edge to the rest of the movies.

final points i started watching this series because my dad really likes them. i ended up really enjoying my time and will continue on my saga to watch famous series that shaped pop culture & give you my thoughts on them.

[horrible-monstrosity]

Punchy-liney episode seven: Clever writing is doing the same thing over and over again and explaining every little bit of it every single time.

Seriously, this is dumb.

So the entire point of the fucking time loop plot is you're supposed to be trying to fight fate, change the future, fight against inevitability, right?? So of course the fucking first thing you need to have is a furry little plot device showing up and telling you you can't change anything except what's arbitrarily allowed, which is... so far nothing, becaue the plot says so and the writers are too god-awful to actually write a scenario where the scenario itself has something working against the main character to make achieving their goal difficult, so we have to have a "because I said so" roadblock shoved in there. FUCK.

So it's just a bunch of Yuuta hanging around going "oy boy wow i sure do remember then this happeninged" and fucking doing nothing of value. Except, you know, doing the same shit we've already seen OVER AND OVER AGAIN!

Yoota gets all fucking upset over writing the stupid fucking pun in the stupid book because it means so muuuuuuuuch- no, it fucking doesn't, you only saw it briefly once just about an hour ago from your point of view and it's some dumb shit anyway. Just draw a bunch of dicks in it.

So this random apartment of grils and their fucking friendships is the most iipootaat thing in the universe? Why? Boy it sure would have been nice if these assholes had been, like, developed into interesting likeable characters during the first half of the show or something, right?? How the fuck's this supposed to stop the fucking meteor

So is the only reason the previous Yuutas have failed because they didn't follow the cat's orders well enough? Not because of any actual challenges but because following instructions is just too damn hard? What the *fuck*?

Yuuta tries to keep his ghost self from blowing up, goes into Ito's room... she immediately goes full retard, not even just over the panty shot but trying to take the door of its fucking hinges just because it wouldn't immediately open. What the fuck? Why are we supposed to like this psycho again? And then he gropes Juicey's juicy tiddies and that doesn't activate his power even though a fucking picture of lil babby pumpkin panties did because why Speaking of plot devices that make no damn sense, how does ghost-Yuuta's quantum ghost time-travel work when someone can see him? Or are we just going to ignore that plot hole because now-Yuuta saved ghost-Yuuta from blowing his top all of once? And why did he even bother to try and save ghost-him? He knows there's no point... unless the way the quantum bullshit works means he'd actually get the meteoric bad end his ghost self could just go back from, BUT IF THAT WAS THE CASE THEN HE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ON THE ROOF AT THE END OF EPISODE SIX... GUIGSUUESIUUUEUEEUUURRRRRRRRRFGGHFGGFFGFh

And then suddenly becoming Ubermensch Aryan why the fuck did they call it that anyway just fucking inexplicably changes the way your soul is attached to your body in some overly complicated way that's just explained to the audience in way too much dialogue, because the plot of this show was written without any mind to actual coherency and we have to explain how the one thing happened one way one time and another way the other time so we have to add in ad-hoc """explanations""" later on and pretend it's all really genius. Better yet with the body swap reveal coming up at some point they could have just handwaved this somehow for now and had it later turn out that event left Yuuta's soul (as well as Juice-tan and the other one) less well-attached to the body it's currently in than a normal person's. YOU KNOW, SOME MOTHER FUCKING FORESHADOWING.

Oh, actually just kidding. I paused the episode to write that and something dumb happened immediately after I hit play

"Don't you remember, that one time you switched bodies with a bunch of your closest friends you never saw again after that?" You'd think someone, anyone, would have fucking mentioned this before, or fucking alluded to it, or the mere fact of its factuality would have exerted some influence on the events that followed from it... but no, not really. Just, fucking... casually remember that one time something fucking extraordinary happened that has a huge impact on the plot that we haven't even mentioned up until now. Ha ha.

NO, DON'T FUCKING EXPLAIN THE FUCKING SIMPLE OBVIOUS THING THE MAIN CHARACTER JUST DEMONSTRATED HE FUCKING REMEMBERS ANYWAY LIKE IT'S ANYTHING FUCKING INTERESTING AT ALL WHILE MAKING IT SOUND ACTUALLY COMLPICATED. You know what fucking happened here? All that fucking happened is the writers made a fucking Excel spreadsheet, right, they filled in three fucking rows of the sheet with the kids' names, and then they fucking... rotated... the list... once........... HOW CAN THIS BE SO FUCKING BAD???? This isn't the slightest bit complicated aside from the overwrought bullshit surrounding and enabling it while obfuscating the gaping plot holes that exist in what the writers want to do... because, I don't know, they're too fucking hackish to rework their simplistic fucking immediate ideas to work with a coherent underpinning. The fucking reveal was these three kids who we know little to nothing about and have NO FUCKING REASON TO CARE ABOUT got their souls shuffled around in a fucking obvious fashion (because there's only three of them and there's only two ways it could have possibly come out), and that's... it. That's... really fucking boring as your ultimate plot reveal. This is not worth all the fucking convoluted fucking shit that was required to justify it.

Like, here, let me just make this immediately better: Juice-tan is wimpy girl in pink-haired girl's body, the other one is pink-haired girl in the one guy's body- yeah, we leave those alone- but the trick is, Yuuta isn't Pine (what the fuck sort of name is pine anyway by the way) but some random blank-slate or even non-human soul that got succed into the wimpy girl's body when the crash happened. And the first thing that soul saw was the newly minted Juice-tan, who was traumatised and amnesiac due to what just happened and thus didn't recognise this used to be her body, leaning over (him/her/zip/zoom) and going all "are you okay??"... and thus the first character trait Yuuta develops is being in love with this girl. And Pine is the cat or something. NOW FUCKING LOOK AT THIS SHIT. You just fucking develop the three kids as close-knit frienbs (though that would help no matter what the plot was), then you have this tragedy where the group can never get back together again, one of them's gone and another's a psycho villain, but despite this the remaining member finds new love in an unexpected place or something.

And yeah, it really just was a random fucking car accident that caused this, except the car also got struck by lightning! Why'd they all go Uber at that time anyway? Was the car they were taking an Uber service?

8: oh boy more same thign oh wow yuuta didn't even go into the apartment to find pantsu he just went in there for no fucking reason and H-A-P-P-E-N-E-D to find them wow such good much writing w o w

is the villain's fucking "you wouldn't unerstaaaaand" plot just a muh next stage of human evolution plot? fuckin seriously? this is some fucking baby shit. this is babby's first villainous motive. this show doesn't fucking deserve to be compared to Higurashi with this shit

oh look more fucking tragic robot girl flashbacks and she repeats the thing about making gril a superhero and a superhero organisation with only one member that we've already fucking heard but now it's sad tn: "punch" means "five" in hindu

Turns out Yuuta casually broke a man's limbs offscreen, because even men with vaginas randomly turn into fucking psychopaths when le cutey gril is in danger. Also breaking a man's limbs your damn self is okay but just two people dying who you don't even fucking know and who nobody you know likes is just sooooooooo baaaaaaaaaaddd And then they try to play up the cat as sooo evil for saying "two lives are less important than seven billion!!" when... Yuuta just broke a man's limbs with his own damn hands... jesus christ

epitoad 9: "why did you keep this to yourself all this time, Pine?" "lol idek" Juice-tan and Yuuta have an """emotional""" reconnection where he tells her something he knew all this fucking time and could have said whenthefuckever he felt like it but just didn't feel like it I guess so now yuuta can just try really hard not to instantly cum when he sees a panties and it just somehow works now. as if we needed this to make any less sense. yuuta goes and talks to a random bunch of leading physics-cists and they actually give him the time of day for whatever reason. all to know nuke bombs don't work in space. just look that shit up online  dumbass

... It's amazing how much more pathetic some of these scenes are from the "proper" angle. Yuuta in his dumbass superhero costume just creeping on the roof IN PLAIN FUCKING SIGHT OF EVERYONE IF THEY'D JUST HAPPENED TO LOOK UP, and when the time comes he doesn't even jump into action or anything, he just stands up. It's so fucking WEAK. But it's clebverrrr because we did the thing where we watched him watch himself do the thign n now he do the thign we watched him watched himself do right ?????

More of our beloved hero being psychopathic and literally torturing a man by breaking his fingers and interrogating him... jesus fuck.

epipoo 10: how the fuck did yuuta survive and get back to the apartment

So it turn out, everything in this show could have been fixed by just tearing that little bit of tech off the satelight dish so the server hack isn't intercepted... just tell the current ghost-yuuta to tear the damn thing off the satelite dish the day beforehand next time for fuck's sake... but noooooo, saving the world is just so fucking hard wow

no one cares about these fucking kids and their dumb pseudo-romances. guriko or whichever the fuc the brunette was was a whiny little bitch. She gets into a screaming-crying match with the other girl over some toy, sits there and screams about it, then when Pine notices she hurt herself (or the other girl hurt her) in the fight and tries to help, she screams at him and demands the other girl come back and help her instead. Holy shit.

"originally it was supposed to be-" You see how fucking boring this shit is? We know exactly how the three of them swapped bodies, but you have to have Mr. Creepy McFuckNuts tell us this shit all over again like it's something that's just sooo hard to grasp when it's... so fucking simple... and it's not even in a way that gives his, her, its or zgeir'z unique perspective on it (like "I'm supposed to be in your body, but instead I'm..."), it's just... the fucking list.

chiyoo throws yuuta who she just found out was her long-lost friend pine into a fucking statue and has the gall to cry about "muh precious frienb!!" over ito... I feel like I'm watching that Diverisy and Comics video about Kim and Kim again. That's what this feels like. meanwhile gurio goes through the five stage of anime angst in like an instant. "I have so much power! But... I'm so lonely..... :'(" "the guriko i love!!!!!" she cries over someone all we've seen of them recently is them being a whiny little bitch and then yuuta goes fucking insane and destroys his room. and then has a bunch of le emotional flashbacks over characters we don't care about who have been demonstrated to be violent and uncaring toward him. lol. this is so fucking dumb

AND THEN WE'RE ALL REVED UP TO DO THE EXACT. SAME. FUCKING. THING. FUCKING AGAIN. Just.. what the fuck is Yuuta actually supposed to *do* about any of this? If he just broke the robot girl's computer or took the interceptor thing off the satelite dish everything would be fine, but he's not allowed to do that because... reasons.......????? So what the fuck is he supposed to do? What *sequence of events* is supposed to lead to the probem being over when he's not allowed to just... fucking... solve the probem??

Well whatever it is, I'm sure it's convoluted, retarded and utterly nonsensical. Everyone responsible for this shitshow needs to be fucking euthanized, for the good of humanity.