#not all of them are rewatchable as an adult but quite a few actually are

[glitterfairy-21225]

I definitely prefer Team Rational bc it's so crazy to think that everything they were driven to do was caused by group think getting way out of hand, and the majority of what happened was actually preventable. But also, I feel like there are so many things that wouldn't make sense as coincidences, like Travis seeing the tree stump during his panic attack or Lottie seeing the sick deer before it was hunted. So I guess I want it to be mostly mass hysteria with a few supernatural elements (but like, a lot less than the characters seem.)

Shauna in both timelines lol. I've never seen a character quite like her. Her descent from a flawed but normal teenage girl into the deranged character we have is my favorite character arc of the entire show. She's full of contradictions. She loves Jackie. She hates Jackie. She's the most kind to Javi. She beat Lottie close to death. She's just a housewife. She's a murderer. She's the sidekick. She survived and Jackie didn't. She’s riddled with guilt. Everything is someone else’s fault.

I'm not even sure this counts, but when Lottie says "Let the darkness set us free" and the score starts playing. I also love the use of Seventeen in the season 2 premiere.

Would yall kill me if I said I love Jackieshauna and Travnat equally. I also love Adult Mistynat, and I'm excited to see Misty develop an obsession for Nat in the past, though I don't see as much chemistry between Sammi and Sophie as Christina and Juliette have.

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi. I think every scene in that episode is a banger. Everything from the reunion, the bear scene, the Jackieshauna fight, Simone finding Biscuit, the Lottie reveal. And those are just my favorite parts.

Natalie for sure. I think it’s such a fascinating turn for the character. Bc when we meet her in s1, she’s very much an outsider despite being very important to the group. But in s2, the viewer starts to realize that this is a good thing bc while Tai and Shauna are sceptics, Nat’s the only one actually trying to wake everyone up. And that’s why I love that she’s made leader at the end of s2, (there’s sm I could say about that scene, from Nat’s grin to Ben’s reaction, but I’ll stay focused). Bc if Nat is the AQ, then the Wilderness’ biggest challenger becomes its biggest symbol. And I think this change is going to be motivated by the acceptance and importance she feels (which she never felt before) from this position, but she’ll risk losing it in s3 bc she’s still holding onto her morals, and she’ll ultimately have to choose. This also makes the guilt Adult Natalie feels so much more tragic.

I’ve rewatched the Jackieshauna fight and Jackie’s death scene so many times. Sophie Nelisse is one of a kind. I also fucking love the bacchanal feast.

Unfortunately, I’m now a Hillary Swank is Melissa truther and I will be until proven wrong. I get so attached to the most random characters lol. I also like the theory that she’s actually Melissa sister though. I’ll take this a step further and say that I hope Shauna is confirmed sapphic and has a toxic, Jackie-centered fling with her (I’d prefer this storyline with Lottie but Melissa works too).

My friend didn’t get me a birthday present despite saying she would (and it was just gonna be chocolate), but instead she got her crush a really thoughtful present even though her birthday was a month later and she didn’t even like my friend back. And I thought about how to talk to her about this, but instead I decided to eat all the edibles my brother gifted me myself even though I said I would share them with her. So, all this to say Shauna. I also look like her a lot.

Um... I once threw up on my carpet bc I drank too much cherry juice during a rewatch. The stain's still here.

I guess that I like Walter. I mean, he's far from my favorite character but he's okay. I get that most of the hate stems from how many unnecessary male characters are in the adult timeline, plus him resolving the cop storyline for Shauna was... weird. But he was funny and I'm never gonna complain about two absolutely insane ppl matching each other's freak. Obviously, Mistynat is vastly superior but if she marries Walter or whatever, I'll be fine with it because I know their wedding's gonna be absolute chaos. Also, the Caligula musical number is enough to justify his existence to me.

No pressure tags! @javiimartinez @missmillicentalyssa @mantiswitch @imsososolesbian @antlerqeen @moonagedaydreamsofrhiannon @hellhouse-of-horrors @justme-andmyfandomfeels @heartz4shauna

Starting a Yellowjackets tag!

I want to get my mind off of things so: If you want, answer any or all of the questions below and tag 10 people (or however many you want) who also might want to share! I would love to see what you guys have to say!

1. Are you team Rational or Supernatural?

2. Who is your favorite teen timeline character? Favorite adult timeline character?

3. What is your favorite needledrop?

4. What is your favorite ship?

5. What is your favorite episode?

6. Who do you want the Antler Queen to be?

7. What is your favorite scene in the entire series?

8. A theory or prediction you have about Season 3?

9. Which character do you relate to the most, and why?

10. What is the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of Yellowjackets?

Bonus:

11. What’s your most controversial Yellowjackets take?

—

Here’s mine!

1. I am mostly Team Rational because I love the way this show depicts trauma but I also love seeing the supernatural side of things through the survivors’ eyes if that makes sense.

2. Natalie in the teen timeline because I love her compassion and softness underneath the front she puts on. Lottie in the adult timeline because I love her internal battle with herself and how afraid she is of her own mind. Misty is a close second in the adult timeline!

3. “Cornflake Girl” playing while Nat sees the mossy tree for the first time, Callie seeing the Adam Martin driver’s license in the barbecue, and Shauna eating Jackie’s ear. It just goes so perfectly with everything that’s going on (especially the elevated piano while Nat and Travis are scaling the mountain and the lyrics while Shauna takes the bite!)

4. LottieNat is my favorite ship I can’t help it Nat and Lottie are my favorite characters so having them together is a dream (TaiVan, JackieShauna, and TravNat are up there, too).

5. 1x09 “Doomcoming” is just amazing and captures everything I love about Yellowjackets. I love when they let the girls go batshit crazy, hoping we get more Doomcoming vibes in S3.

6. I want the Antler Queen to be Natalie because that would show a true descent for her in the Wilderness from being the most morally grounded one to the leader of the group at their most unhinged and primal. But honestly I think that Shauna might be the AQ after all…

7. I think the Jackie-eating scene is the best in the entire show. The “Climbing Up the Walls” song choice, the bacchanal feast flashes as a way of coping with the horror of what they’re doing, seeing them go fully feral for the first time, it’s such a well crafted scene.

8. I know this probably won’t happen but I’m just going to throw it out there that Cabin Daughter is alive and she will be revealed to have been Javi’s “friend”!

9. I relate to Shauna the most because I also admittedly have a bit of an obsessive/intense personality and I, too, internalize my emotions to a very unhealthy degree sometimes. I also grew up being in love with my childhood best friend who is very, very much like Jackie (and now we have been dating for 7 years!)

10. Mine is a mix of going to a Yellowjackets panel and sitting like 5 feet from the showrunners, doing everything in my power to score early screening tickets to Heretic and Companion, and pretending I was sick so I could go home early from work the day that the S3 trailer came out.

11. The male characters on this show get too much hate🫢 I like Travis, Jeff, Kevyn, and Walter (even though his introduction and storyline are rushed and forced). I don’t like them more than the female characters, but I like them nevertheless and appreciate their contributions to the plot.

No pressure tags! (I’m tagging 15 bc I feel like it) @before-it-felt-like-a-sin @baked-potatoes-rule @jackiesnats @deerest-deer @whodoesnataliehave @stilllsage @fairytwles @glitterfairy-21225 @lesbianforlottie @tr4vnat @lauraleetaylor @cassioo @natsboygirlfriend @soapyjackets @pinkkkkat @natgf123 +literally anyone else who wants to!

[allisonreader]

It's funny how big of an impact things we watch as we grow up leave.

Like I just read an article interviewing Alyson (last name not remembered) who played Lunnette the clown on The Big Comfy Couch.

My parents and I still quote things from the show. One line in particular.

"Who made this big mess!?"

Then we give blame to who did. Messy hair day, still referred to the person as Major Bedhead. We'll still even reference Molly the dolly.

The Big Comfy Couch is hardly the only thing that gets referenced.

There are still times when (though my brothers don't really know the show) that we reference Skinnamarink TV with Sharon Lois and Bram. Especially some of their songs. (Skinnamarink-y dinky do- I love you. I love you in the morning and in the afternoon. I love you in the evening and underneath the moon...)

Ants in the Pants is another one that still gets a reference at times and that show had some fun music on it. Songs that I still think about to this day.

I still think about Babar a lot, but we don't necessarily reference it, though I do like to pull out (moonmen never kid) at times. I also still think about Theodore the Tugboat and will go and listen to the theme song at times.

And of course there are the classics like Little Bear, Franklin, Arthur and others, but they're not ones that necessarily actually get directly referenced. Though I'm sure that there are many shows that I'm missing.

Anyways that's just my little musing on kid shows.

[chaseprice]

Me and Jen started Matt smith season of dw last night.

[chiibinomonodamon]

WHO WANTS TO HEAR ME RAMBLE ABOUT GAY FURRY DEMON SEX? XD

(damn, there's a sentence I never thought I'd say....)

Okay...so I see some Stolitz confusion and bashing online and I need to type up a defense here because I won't be able to sleep otherwise lol

I consider myself to be a Ship Critic and someone who takes shipping rather seriously.

What I mean by this is, I like to analyze and break down romantic relationships between fictional characters because it's just interesting to write for me. I especially take delight in friendly debating with opinions that I strongly do *not* agree with.

Let me start off by saying I am NOT a "this ship is awesome because gay furry sex lol" type of girl.

FAR from it. I'm generally more passionate about hetero ships between human characters (because I can relate to them more) among other reasons. So if you wanna dismiss my defense as "shallow fangirlism", you can forget about that lame excuse.

I fell in love with Hazbin Hotel when it was finally released in February and suffered waiting for each new two-parts per week. During that time, I decided to watch Helluva Boss as well, after a friend showed me a particularly soul-crushing clip (Moxxie's childhood trauma about his mother).

Yes, I like funny sex jokes as much as the next goofy adult but scenes like this, scenes that carry a very heavy emotional weight are what really get me in the end, even moreso when VERY little dialogue is exchanged. I knew I had to watch the entire episode run after seeing that the creators had a talent for this.

I saw people asking:

"How did Stolas go from using Blitz as a sex toy to being painfully in love with him?"

Oh I can tell you. I can tell you the EXACT moment this is revealed. But it's not spoon-fed to you; it's quite subtle actually and this is why lots of people miss it.

See, one of the strongest talents Vivenne has shown me is that she REALLY knows how to get her characters to communicate their feelings to the viewers JUST from their expressions and body language. These can be 'blink-and-miss-it' teeny little scenes and it may require a couple rewatches.

But since people demand time stamps for all information others post here, I'll rewatch a few scenes from S1 E7 'Ozzie's' as I'm typing this.

'Ozzie's' remains to be not just my favorite episode of HB...but probably my favorite episode of any adult-targeted animated show outside of Japan (aside from S2 E7's Mid-Season Special)

It has this huge reveal for both Blitzo and Stolas.

We'll first address Blitzo's irrational, stalkerish behavior of Moxxie and Millie.

He's obsessed with them. He finds both of them very attractive, fantasizes about threesomes with them and is constantly inserting himself into their personal lives.

Why?

Because they have everything that he badly badly wants for himself.

They have the perfect marriage and he is trying to live THROUGH them.

This was hilarious to me at the beginnning of the show but it's slowly revealed that it's one of the most tragic and depressing things I've ever seen. And it's scarily realistic too.

But you know this already so let's move on...

Blitzo follows the couple to Ozzie's but he can't get in without a date. So he calls up Stolas and yes, this is very low but he doesn't realize how much this means to Stolas (hell, I'm not sure even Stolas realizes it himself!) but the owl man is giddy with joy, he rushes over and they enter Ozzie's.

When Ozzie and Fizz mock Moxxie for being so sappy towards his wife, this strikes a chord with Blitzo (because they're his IDEAL relationship) and he speaks up to defend them.

NOW PAY CLOSE ATTENTION; THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART:

Fizz, still holding onto his past grudge turns on Blitzo to humilate him:

"Some nerve you got commenting on a relationship"

Time Stamp: 11:37

As Fizz says "-ship", Blitzo VERY QUICKLY makes eye contact with Stolas who has a look of panic on his face. Blitzo is seeking VALIDATION from Stolas in this sharp, subtle second of screentime, as if to ask

"Well, ARE we in one?"

And then what happens next...Stolas remains silent, Blitzo's ex joins in to announce how selfish Blitzo was in bed with her, tearing him down further. Stolas stands up like he's going to put a stop to it but then Ozzie notices him and interrogates him about sleeping with Blitzo.

Blitzo looks incredibly ashamed and guilty as Stolas blushes with similar feelings...and hides his face behind his menu; HIS BIGGEST MISTAKE IN THE SERIES SO FAR.

Time Stamp: 12:24

The look on Blitzo's face as he grits his teeth and darts his eyes away basically says

"Yeah, I should have known...boy am I an idiot for trusting him to stand up for me".

(look how SHOCKED he is...wow, this hurts fr ;_;)

This is a silent betrayal on Stolas's part. Afterall, his reputation is on the line, so if he were to defend Blitzo, it confirms they are in fact, dating. He chose his pride over Blitzo and Blitzo is crushed by this betrayal.

Moxxie finishes his song and kisses his wife tenderly. Stolas watches this and also wants to have an affectionate moment with Blitzo (who is rightfully glaring daggers at him) and tries to reach for his hand.

Blitzo rejects his touch and suggests they leave. As they do, Blitzo still looks furious and hurt. Stolas is now realizing how badly he screwed up with a "What have I done?" face (13:41)

He even looks disappointed with himself.

After Blitzo drops Stolas off, he thanks him and tries to smooth over the awkwardness with sweet talk but Blitzo just rolls his eyes in disgust and pulls on his face like "I don't want to hear this bullshit".

He responds coldly and curtly, "Yeah." Stolas makes more suggestions to spend time with him, which just makes him even angrier and he snaps

"I'm not fucking you tonight, okay!

I'm really just..." (14:28)

he pauses to wipe a tear because at this point he can barely hold it together (top notch voice acting and animation directing btw)

"...not in the mood, Stolas."

Stolas still tries to talk him into doing couple things unrelated to sex.

Blitzo's face switches back to anger and frustration because Stolas isn't getting the message so he goes for the blunt tactic;

"Stolas, don't act like what we have is anything but YOU wanting ME to fuck you, okay?"

(14:42)

"You make that really clear all the time."

(again his voice sounds like he's about to break down)

"But I-I just can't do it tonight, okay?"

(Finally meets his eye)

"...I'm sorry."

I believe this is code for "I'm sorry we're even in this situation and how your reputation got damaged. " Or, more painfully, "I'm sorry I'm such an embarrassment to you".

Stolas replies "Okay" and takes a deep breath to compose himself. They say goodnight and depart.

An important note here is that Stolas calls him "Blitzo" instead of "Blitzy" to show more respect.

As Blitzo zooms away coldly, Stolas looks up at the sky with tears in his eyes, surprised at how much it hurts.

He then sits down with his head in his hands in anguish...because he's getting that

"Oh...no. These feelings are real" epiphany.

And as if this wasn't enough angst, Blitzo collapses onto his couch at home, goes through the memories on his phone and starts sobbing.

I'm going to be real with you; this is the most heart-breaking shit I have ever seen in an adult show of this type. It's also the first time a show of this type got me to cry.

The last six minutes have revealed so much information without spoonfeeding it to the audience because the show RESPECTS its audience.

To recap:

*Blitzo takes Stolas on a first official date to use him

*Stolas is extremely happy about it

*Blitzo gets humilated and looks to Stolas for validation

*Stolas betrays him and breaks his heart

*Blitzo snaps that their relationship is nothing more than lust-driven sex

*Stolas realizes he's actually in love with Blitzo and it's a huge problem because (he believes) that it's unrequited.

*Blitzo breaks down because the ONE person whom he thought would protect him didn't do so.

So these two are convinced that neither one loves the other...while the irony is, it's quite the opposite.

Because if Blitzo REALLY didn't feel anything towards Stolas, he would not have gotten this emotional.

Yes, they are both lonely...but I really don't think that's all there is between them.

So..........we know WHEN they started falling...now the question is why;

I think the answer's quite simple; single-target affection.

It was mentioned in S2 that Stolas and Stella did sleep together ONE TIME...but Stolas didn't enjoy it at all. He is stuck with a wife who hates him so much that she put a HIT on him...and a daughter who thinks he's a loser. Blitzo is pretty much the one person in his life who is able to make him happy. That one small, bright spot. He enjoys the sex with him but he also simply enjoys his company, as shown in Ozzie's episode. He is thrilled to simply talk to him about his day...and do anything else that couples do. They're complete opposites. Stolas is an intellectual but naive and sheltered. Blitzo is poorly educated but cynical and street-smart. Opposites attract...though this is likely more from Stolas's POV than Blitzo's.

In other words, Stolas is into bad boys xD lmao

In Blitzo's case, Stolas is the only character who shows him physical affection which he desperately craves. He's pretty tsundere about it most of the time...but I think he actually does enjoy that attention...especially when he's always getting disrespected by Moxxie and Loona..and quite a lot of people around him. BUT he's too scared to get serious with anyone because of past trauma and he also believes that no one could possibly love him as a person. :(

Reasons I Think This Love is Real

Aside from what I pointed out in the Ozzie's episode...there's quite a lot of evidence, esp from Stolas's POV.

After he realizes he's in love, he goes to Asomodeous for an ALTERNATIVE method for Blitzo to use so they will no longer sleep together. He wants to set Blitzo free. Which means he DOES truly love him because love is about being generous to the other person. He COULD be totally selfish about it but he isn't.

Asomodeous mentions how against love potions he is and Stolas agrees. He thinks that's out of the question.

'Look My Way' music video. Lol I don't have to say anything more.

In S2 E6 OOPS

This exchange at 16:57

Fizz: Seems your taste has gotten more 'regal', lately?

Blitz: Yeah, well unlike you, I fuck who I want WHEN I want. I'm not gonna be tied down to some big blue-blood asshole.

Fizz: You coulda fooled me the way Prince was cozying up to you at Ozzie's.

Blitz (gets very defensive) HEY! Stolas only cares about have a rugged peasant raw-dog him into his mattress, okay!

It's nothing...(gets hesistant and looks away)...you know...

(Fizz gives him a 'bitch please' look xD)

"it's nothing else."

Fizz: Then why were you even there?

Blitz: OTHER very important reasons of course.

Fizz: Whatever. I don't actually care.

Blitz: Stolas is just a loud, thirsty BITCH!

(Fizz is rolling his eyes again)

Blitz: He loves feeling the thrill of getting dicked by the lower class.

It's a novelty to him.

Fizz: LITERALLY just said I don't care!

Blitz: And then he'll call me and try to see how my day was!

And he'll pretend to care about me and comment on my photos laugh at my jokes...

Fizz: (Smirking) OH! That's definitely your clue right there that it's all bullshit!

Blitz: I KNOW, RIGHT??

Fizz: (Making a 'What in idiot' expression, shaking his head)

Blitz: HE'S JUST A FAKE, PRIVELEDGED ASSHOLE...

Fizz: Sounds like you just hate him for being a prince!

No one (laughs) and I mean NO ONE pretends to care that much just for a cheap lay.

All right. IF ANYONE knows what real love is like, it's Fizzaroli...who is in a very HEALTHY relationship with Asomodeous. He recognizes the signs because he's IN that place. He sees it...and he's annoyed that Blitzo keeps denying it and brushing it off...yet clearly can NOT stop talking about Stolas (amusing irony)

To sum up (this freaking essay lol) 'Stolitz' ABSOLUTELY has the potential to be pure and true...these two just need to communicate...or Stolas has to PROVE to Blitzo that he's serious about his feelings in another way.

There is no doubt that this ship is 100% endgame and is a case of the 'Earn Your Happy Ending' Trope. I look forward to the rest of the journey. Ron is putting my feelings about Stolitz in a perfect phrase:

[stxrr-strxckk]

Something I noticed about I Saw the TV Glow that I haven't seen anybody mention yet

I saw this movie in theaters back in early may when it was released (Twice!), and it's been lingering in my head ever since then. Something I noticed on my second watch through: When Owen (and the audience) first see the Pink Opaque, we see Tara and Isabel in this sort of 90s nostalgia light, and I always thought they looked quite similar to Maddy and Owen. For example: Here is Owen and Isabel next to each other for reference.

While it's not entirely the same (Owen has softer features and is warmer toned, Isabel is more sharp and cool toned), they do look like they'd at least be related, cousins at least?

Same with Maddy and Tara, though not as much. (They looked more similar after Maddy's haircut, but I'm too lazy to change the photo)

But then, at the end when Owen is rewatching Pink Opaque? It's completely different. That nostalgic effect is gone and all of a sudden Tara is nowhere to be seen (Since Maddy left the world they were trapped in), and Isabel is completely different. Instead of being the confident, strong, WOC we see her as originally, she's just the same boring white protagonist of every little girl's show we grew up on.

And of course Owen is panicking, realizing that he lost his chance: He buried Isabel; she's dead underground, without her heart and instead of being who he truly is where he truly belongs, he's just... Owen. Stuck in suburbia, living the hell of being a queer kid growing up in the suburbs. Except now, he's an adult living a lie, knowing what he could have had is gone and he's stuck.

And another thing: I think the choice of the fun zone being where Owen works is deliberate. Sure, they could have kept him at the theater, but the theater shutting down is not only accurate (sad but true- please support your local movie theaters!) but shows how everyone is moving on from that experience of going to see a movie (and also from the joy of childhood and into adulthood while Owen is still stuck that awkward teenager!) in person- choosing streaming instead.

And we also notice this change in the Pink Opaque when Owen is watching it streaming. This is a reflection of how media felt more special growing up when it was in a physical form. Cds, vinyl, Dvds, casettes, film reels, even game cartridges, we've always had some physical object that bonds us to the worlds of creativity in which artists express themselves. And whether you've noticed or not, it's a special sort of feeling that just... Dies with streaming. Its like you own a piece of the media. Like saying: "This is mine, it's my personal piece of media that belongs to me and only me." and that's always made it feel special. Sure, there may be multiple copies, but this one belongs just to you. Not to mention the ritual of actually putting in cds, dvds, casettes into a player, or playing vinyl on a record player. There's this action you have to take to consume this media that's familiar and sort of gets you to anticipate what you're about to watch (much like Owen and Maddy's ritual of Maddy taping the show then leaving them around school for Owen to find) whereas now, you're just on a streaming service that lots of people own, and you're just mindlessly scrolling through hundreds of options.

Another thing: What do we see when Owen cuts his chest open in the final few minutes? TV static. Like when a tape finishes and you don't take it out of the player. His tape is over, Isabel is dead, and all that's left is the static of his fake life as he slowly rots in this husk. Now with streaming, you don't get that static. His connection with the Pink Opaque stems from his friendship with Maddy, the nostalgia of his favorite childhood show, and of course: his own queerness.

It's no secret this movie is about growing up queer and feeling like something is wrong. Like some part of you missing, the part that makes you normal. I've seen many reviews on IMDB that clearly missed the point, so I really want to spell it out here: THIS IS A MOVIE ABOUT QUEER PEOPLE FOR QUEER PEOPLE. And I've never seen a movie so perfectly encapsulate that feeling more than this one.

From my experience as a queer POC growing up with little to no representation I know this feeling all too well of seeing someone and realizing: "Wow, that's me." And projecting who I wanted to be onto that person. Even though they're not queer, they're not a poc, they're just a character. We try so hard to make them into who we want to be that the image of this character becomes so distorted you barely recognize them. Then, later revisiting that media to realize that a: you've become them, your true self, or b, in Owen's case: that you've buried that person alive and barely recognize yourself now.

It's really such a unique experience that I've never been able to put into words before. These scenes gave me such a visceral feeling and I almost cried in the theater. The scene of Owen in Isabel's dress is just the cherry on top. I myself am lucky enough to not need to transition and growing up I didn't feel as much dysphoria as my other trans friends, but this reminds me of a good friend of mine who used to dress in heels, makeup, skirts, and dresses to try and lessen the dysphoria she felt growing up in the wrong body.

I also love how the movie shows being queer in school.

Like how Maddy asks Owen if he likes girls or boys, and he replies with: "I think I like TV shows."

Avoiding the question because you either don't know the answer, or are so afraid you're gonna get bullied even more for being who you are.

Growing up, there weren't many queer kids in my school. So when we found each other, we stuck together. But for most of school, we were alone. No groups, not many friends, no space at the lunch table for us.

And seeing Owen, I just felt this connection to him almost immediately. Alone, not part of any group, until he finally finds Maddy. They don't have anything in common except the show, which is really the only reason they're friends, but it keeps them together, They're bonded.

For me, I see this as finding another queer kid in a mostly straight school. You may not have much in common, but that identity means you two will stick together, no matter what.

TLDR: I love isttvg, it makes me cry, everyone is gay and fuck imdb.

[helluvapurf]

*deep breathes* Sooo, those last couple mins from the latest "Full Moon" ep... lets talk about that🍵🍵

Welp, here it is folks... the ep that finally gave us that hyped up "Asmodeon crystal" exchange teased at in the S2 Pt. 2 trailer. And... hooooo boi, I have formed so. many. thoughts. upon rewatching that scene a few times. Some that are... kiiiinda on the rant-y spectrum the more I lingered on 'em, so how bout I share them here lmao

Fair warning in advance, this maaaaay not be particularly "nice" to Stolas in these rambling thoughts, so if anyone out there's a big Stolas(+itz) fan... yall might wanna skip reading ahead- lol .w.;;

*claps*

Okay, so to start things off on a (semi?) positive note, the animation & lighting here is quite beautiful to look at. The glittery curtains, the shine in Blitz's eyes throughout his shifting emotions, even the shots of that one broken chandelier (which I thiiink might've been the same one him & Stolas played under as kids?) was a neat bit of symbolism ngl.

Props to Brandon Rogers as well for his voice-performance on Blitz here cause... gawd did it hit me in the heart how much hurt you feel from his yelling ;-;💔

Curious to see more of the use of Blitz's new Asmodeon crystal in future adventures (esp from that one shot in the trailer w/ him using the portal effects against the DHORK crew), it looks cool~ ✨👍

....ummmm, ok I think that about covers my positives atm. Onto the problems I have with this exchange:

Stolas... okay, you were this close to actually doing a good job ending the Full Moon deal. Admitting to how "wrong" the transaction part of their dynamic was, allowing Blitz more "freedom" via-the crystal (that could also help avoid any legal issues that the Grimoire gave), even wishing him good luck with his I.M.P. business as the night drew to a close... ...buuuuut then Stolas just had to muddle everything up by his whole "even tho you don't have to be with me, I want you with me if you want it~🥺" ...which honestly came off selfish to me than anything else?? Like, dude... if you really ARE regretful of how long you let this deal go for, and truly DO want to let Blitz go... you CAN'T throw in such sappy, lovey-dovey words on top of that?? Otherwise, how can one blame Blitz for getting as confused & flustered as he was throughout that convo... you've basically just sent even more mixed-messages in the grand scheme of things, my dude-🤦‍♀️

"I have wanted you for SO long, the fact that you couldn't believe that I might have these feelings about you, that your first instinct is that its always about sex..." ...Ummmmm Stolas... did you seriously forget HOW this whole deal of yall's started?? 🤨 Waaaay back in the initial-series pilot, to the first official ep, and pretty much the majority of Season 1:

As far as I checked, Blitz wasn't the one who kept making everything about sex... that. was all. YOU. 😒Heck, literally one of the first things you told Blitz upon reuniting as adults in "The Circus", was that you expected he wanted to "ravish" you-

-so like, get outta here with the whole pushing-the-perv-responsibility-bs onto Blitz... you ain't helping your case >>

Finally... like, it was already getting bad enough by the point of Blitz begging & pleading out of fear he'd lose his livelihood without the book, AND not being allowed space to breathe after getting further pushed away (and thus, more pissed off-)... but THEN on top of all this, Stolas just haaaaad to throw in this lil gem: "Blitz... I think so very highly of you. I didn't realize you think so low of me..." ...Stolas, with all due respect... stfu with that lousy, last-minute uwu-ing self-pity party crap😑Just because you TRIED to show more attentive care & concern post-"Ozzie's", outside of the typical bedroom stuff... that ain't gonna prove shit if you're not gonna be consistent with it. Where was that "high opinion" of Blitz during the two of you getting stuck in the sitcom set during "Seeing Stars", when Blitz was having that panic attack performing live, where all you ended up doing was... just hitting on him/praising his bedroom skills again?? 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Like... couldn't you have just, I dunno... TRY to actually cheer him up/comfort him like an actual friend, would? Encourage him on his jokes, "just be yourself", promising another way out of there on his own merit... literally, anything could've worked fine and it wouldn't have come off so skeezy imho >>;;

...*sighs* so, yeah... thats basically what I had to get off my chest regarding the ending of "Full Moon". Honestly, had the writers actually committed to Stolas cutting off Blitz (even if harsh), giving the crystal with no strings, then going about their separate ways afterwards, I would've been totally fine with the scene tbh. But all this... odd lowkey-blaming of Blitz thrown in, the sappy words, and Stolas not once actually-apologizing during all this (Like, literally I checked and the only utterance of "sorry" seemed to come from Blitz's end before he got kicked out... for what, I dunno- 🤷‍♀️). Sorry for the length btw, but hopefully that about covers my thoughts on the matter-

[real-total-drama-takes]

Sighs so I’m sure a lot of people here saw that tweet that blew up about a TD movie “supposedly” being talked about by the production crew. I really don’t think this is going to happen and I wish everyone would shut up about it because a movie just doesn’t really work with TD’s format but what’s really pissing me off rn is how everyone is saying if this movie happens it’s for sure gonna be about gen 1. I into another fight with a genwunner about this and need to share some points I made:

So like, think about it: logistically, gen 1 coming back, at least not without pissing off some of the same fans who act like any TD content that doesn’t involve gen 1 isn’t feasible. First off, there’s the voice actors. Some of the gen 1 characters VAs no longer live in Canada and legally wouldn’t be allowed to be hired again to work with Fresh so they’d have to be replaced. Not to mention there’s several POC characters who have white VAs; you’re going to piss people off no matter what happens there (yes, I am on the side that POC characters shouldn’t be played by white VAs, but yeah there’s some people who very strongly disagree with that). Given how much genwunners whined about Chris’s VA change, I have no doubt they’d whine here too.

Second, a lot of genwunners complain that the reboot lacks the “edgy humor” of gen 1. The thing is, too much of the humor from gen 1 just wouldn’t fly today. I tried rewatching Action during the summer and literally could only get about 5 episodes in before quitting because of how disgusted I was by the constant misogynistic jokes. There’s definitely misogyny in the reboot too, but at least Chase and Ripper aren’t spewing it out literally every five fucking seconds like Duncan. There’s just so many jokes in gen 1 where the punchline is racism, homophobia or the characters being sexualized. That last one could be fixed if they visibly aged up the characters and stated that they’re all adults now, but given how many people have said the complaint that Owen wasn’t aged up for his reboot cameo is “ridiculous” I don’t think the genwunner crowd would be too fond of that idea. A highly profitable studio like WB isn’t going to approve a show with problematic humor without seriously watering it down before release because it’s 2024 and they know their studio releasing content like that marketed at children could get them labeled as problematic and lead to a drop in profits.

Speaking of which, a gen 1 movie probably wouldn’t do too well at the box office. Total drama is marketed at ages 8-16, the majority of whom were not alive during 2007-2010 when the first three seasons were airing. Given how successful the reboot was in both the US and UK, it’s safe to say that it’s very likely the reboot was popular with its target audience. When all the kids who watched the reboot hear about the movie, they’re gonna be really confused about why a total drama movie doesn’t have the total drama characters they’re familiar with in it. I know there’s plenty of people who grew up with gen 1 who are still active TD fans, but not a lot of adults care that much about shows they watched as kids and haven’t thought about in years. I’m an adult who loves cartoons (and there’s nothing wrong with that) but there’s def quite a few shows from my childhood that I haven’t thought about in a long time because I grew out of them and I certainly wouldn’t be opening my wallet to buy a movie ticket or streaming service subscription should I hear a movie was made about one of said shows. Again, there are plenty of people who grew up with the show who still care, but I don’t think the majority of the people who watched TD as kids who are well into their 20s now are gonna be all that excited about a movie. I could definitely be proven wrong on this one, don’t get me wrong, but still

As I said before I don’t think a TD movie is actually gonna happen and that tweet was just a rumor/misinformation, but if a TD movie does happen it needs to be about the reboot cast. It just doesn’t make sense for it to be about a cast that isn’t up to date with the standards of what is socially acceptable for children’s shows in the 2020s.

-🐈

[langernameohnebedeutung]

Thinking about writing a 14 year old girl who starts out bratty and grows and changes, but thinking about the best way to write her in a bratty manner without seeming like I'm bashing on teenage girls in general, any thoughts?

Oh, that's actually something I have quite a few thoughts about!

the shortest answer I can think of is to look at teenagers you know in real life and their behaviours - that's a good start to make that character authentic. A lot of people get age milestones wrong when writing kids (personally that's why I avoid writing kids) and especially with girls, it feels like a lot of authors can only write 'basically an over-sized toddler' and 'she only cares about boys and sex'. Now, teenagers are also tricky because they are all very different. I think learning about what actual 14yo do in their freetime, what interests them, what music they listen to, what jokes they make - or to maybe look at some of the things you did at that age - can be very helpful to avoid being too "how do you do, fellow kids!

Tbh, I always feel like the biggest issue with the way people write the 'bratty teenage girl' is that she's always there to be the 'reaction character'—because she's written by adults, and it reflects how adults feel dealing with teenagers, especially teenage girls. Usually, you have a main character, typically a middle-aged man, who is doing something, and the teenage girl character is standing on the sidelines, chewing gum and telling him he's boring or uncool or be like 'urgh, old people'. At the end of the story he wins her over and, in a heart-warming scene, she will say something like, '…actually, you're not that bad,' or '…okay, maybe you are pretty cool.' It mostly just feels like the adult author feeling insecure about their own age and whether they're still in touch with The Youth, and it's been done A Lot.

Then you often have teenagers as damsels to be saved—and the bratty factor often makes them more difficult to save. That's also a very common trope that often results in people hating on the character, even though, in my opinion, that's often unfair (and very often especially unfairly directed at female characters).

If you think of teenage girl characters who work really well, I think it's the ones that sincerely reflect the experience of being a teenage girl (or a teenager in general). Or whose experiences serve as a good allegory for those experiences. Think of your classic 'teenage detective' stories where the adults just. don't. listen. In those stories, 'bratty' is often a label assigned to the main characters BY adults who ignore them—we understand the context of why they are bratty. It makes perfect sense for them to be that way. Or think of your YA protagonists who stand a little outside society, who often try to do what is right but get very little recognition for it. Or think of all those shows featuring teenagers that have aged well and are still popular with adults—shows like Avatar or Kim Possible. They are usually stories that take the problems of teenagers and the world they face quite seriously - by placing them side by side with actually world-threatening events. While at the same time, the dismissive way adults treat teenagers is a giant threat to these worlds.

Now, obviously, these were shows specifically FOR kids—but I would argue that similar rules apply when writing a teenager in any other genre, especially if you want to avoid bashing them. Take their issues seriously. Explain why they are 'bratty.' Explore what it means to be 'bratty.'

For example, right now I'm rewatching Gotham (a show not for kids), and a major character is Selina Kyle, the young Catwoman, who is living on the streets as a homeless girl. She has a flippant, careless, often mocking demeanor and doesn't really let people in. A lot of people see her as a 'brat'—but because you see her in many situations, you understand what her life is like. You see how people treat her (she's frequently referred to as 'street trash'), and you understand perfectly why she acts that way.

When she does show that she cares about someone, when she lets people in, or when we find out, for example, that she takes care of other kids on the street or the stories she tells herself to feel better about her family, it’s not just to make some adult character feel better. In those moments, we actually learn something about her, build a meaningful connection with her, and see what makes HER tick. She is more than just the 'bratty teenager.'"

Obviously, it doesn't always have to be a giant tragic backstory. That really depends on the story you're telling. Personally, I would argue that even being a teenager (especially a girl!) in normal middle-class society comes with enough reasons to be a 'brat.' There you are, 13 years old, and old men are cat-calling you on the street. You're in your training bra while the beauty industry bombards you with insane beauty standards. Your parents are divorcing, and when you want to understand why, everyone talks to you in a baby voice. You get bullied in school, someone makes deepfakes of you and shares them on Snapchat, and when you try to explain that to the teacher, you can see their eyes glaze over because they don't have a clue what you're talking about.

One very common statement I hear about teenage girls is "they do it for the attention" - which, to a point, is true. Obviously, they want attention. Everyone wants attention to some degree. But notice how this is the same language often used to ignore and neglect the needs (especially medical needs) of adult women. Teenagers also often don't have the language to communicate the complex feelings and situations they are dealing with now. Being bratty or sulking or similar behaviours are they way of trying communicate their feelings. A good way to write a teenage girl like that is to explore her character and to be true to the motives and reasons why she is acting like this.

For example, I think a lot of teenagers are in a very alienated position in society. They're in a very difficult phase in their lives: They are growing into adult problems and adult feelings, adult routines. But those are still VERY big shoes for them to fill. It is overwhelming. This is also why they make convenient main-characters for these kinds of YA novels - because these are not yet integrated into society. They often have an outside perspective. They question the status quo. And this also appeals to teenage audiences because they are in the position where they start questioning the world around them, their family, school, gender, religion, politics.

Teenagers want to have an identity for themselves, make their own decisions, and explore who they are—but very often, the adults around them still treat them as kids, limiting them without even bothering to explain why. Much of the environment created for teenagers is out of touch with their interests—it's often condescending, lecturing, and not very empowering. Every time they have new hobbies - Pokemon Go, Fortnite, some new band, they are always mocked relentlessly by the same adults who don't even know how to entertain them. Some kids on youtube are eating tidepods and suddenly their entire generation is being blamed. The same messages are repeated over and over at teenagers and they're preached to in this way regardless of their own experiences or behaviour. If you are a teenager, no one cares about YOUR life, situations, or struggles—which, at this time, can be quite serious. You want to take charge of your own life, start captaining that ship—but very often, you stand by while some adult does it for you, telling you not to start smoking (it's dangerous!! Don't listen to your friends!!). (again, doesn't it make sense why teenagers see themselves in girls fighting dystopian governments?)

When kids become teenagers, their parents often stop being the most important go-to people in their lives—this is when their friends become their social bubble, and they share many things ONLY with them. So, the things adults often mock about teenagers (like 'But daaaaad, I reaaaally want to go out tonight!' or 'Muuuuum, I really need that One Direction tattoo!!') genuinely are that important to them. 'But everyone is going!!!' really is a valid reason in their eyes. And they often experience adults who not only don't understand but are extremely mocking toward them. Another reason why they might seem bratty to adults - when their behaviour might seem perfectly sensible to them.

Also, consider that when teenagers are portrayed as dumb or naive, that's usually the adult perspective on kids being less cynical and experienced than adults - and that's why they get angry when you say no to something or get bored and annoyed when you lecture them. They might genuinely believe that a new top or a trip to the clubs will help them win new friends, or that this boy might really like them if they do what he says. It seems real to them because they haven't lived through it yet. They have hope that these things will work, and they're a lot less worried about risks because they haven't seen things go wrong as often as adults have. (Just recently, I walked down a narrow street on a steep hill that I used to skate down at breakneck speed without any helmet or protection as a teen—where I could never have slowed down or avoided a car—and back then, it hadn't even occurred to me how dangerous it was. As an adult, I had a 'how am I still alive??' moment seeing that place.)

You know how we often say, 'Be nice to toddlers and babies, this really is their first time on a plane/in a car/in a supermarket'? The same applies to teenagers when it comes to things adults find childish. Wearing THAT outfit or going THERE really is that important to them. And do you know who they hang out with? Who some of their most important social contacts are? Other teenagers, who also think THAT is important. That romance book with its familiar tropes or those song lyrics we've heard a thousand times really are That Deep for them—because it’s new to them

They also don’t live within the same contexts as we do—they don’t have jobs, they go to school, and they don’t get money or immediate rewards for what they do. Is a teenager sulking during a trip or on holiday? Well, they worked just as hard at school this year as you did at work, but they don’t get a say in where the trip goes, most of the time. When they mow the lawn, they don’t really care what the garden looks like—because it doesn’t impact them. So of course they roll their eyes when you ask them to. They live in a world where they constantly do things without seeing any direct benefit, while the things they do find rewarding are often mocked or forbidden by adults

So yeah, one way to make a bratty teen sympathetic is to explore why she is bratty and to show her side of events.

Also: You can explore what makes her less bratty! Perhaps she's nostalgic for simpler times or she really loves animals or she moved and misses her old home or she is passionate about a hobby or music or drawing. These things might make her more approachable to people who also respect them and we see the personality beneath the brattiness.

And also you can explore what bratty means! There are many different flavours of "bratty teenagers". Some are already well-established tropes like the rich brat* or the goth kid. But the real challenge to making a bratty teenager likeable, imo, is to give them a distinctive personality and to make their bratty behaviour reflect real life motivations. In which way is she bratty? Does she disagree with everything you say? Perhaps there is a bigger thing she feels she's not listened to about. Is she reclusive? could be there are a lot of arguments happening around the house she wants to avoid. Does she have specific opinions and viewpoints she stands in at all times? Or is she contrarian on principle? Are there people she's particularly bratty towards? How does she act around her friends, teachers, strangers, neighbours, parents etc. I think the more you explore that the more she becomes a person and the more she becomes a person, the less it feels like you're bashing or mocking teenagers.

On the other hand, you could also write a character who really is a huge dick or even a villain. There's also many flavours of that - anything from the pissy older sibling to the mean girl bullying people in school to the Creepy Kid. (Think of characters like Joffrey from Game of Thrones, that's how far you can go with an evil brat villain even in adult story.) In these cases, I would also explore why they are who they are - even if the answers to this might be less sympathetic.

If you do that, you could also include other teenage characters with very different personalities to show that you are not making general statements about teenagers but that this is just one character you are describing. Or you could give her parents who act similarly. Or maybe it's a question of schooling - that's another popular trope for teenage villains, they might be a reflectin of a dysfunctional social environment like their school or the place they live.

*the thing about the rich brat trope: As someone who worked as a teacher at a boarding school for very wealthy kids, I often have issues with the very shallow depictions of this that basically boil down to "this kid gets everything they want so they suck". There are some very specific forms of neglect that are common among rich people and tbh, I think if you want to go in that direction, I would also look at what life this kid lives and WHAT they are lacking.

[starboysbrainrot]

I have never publicly said this but : Jet drowning Gaipan and Zuko burning down Kyoshi Island are

1) narrative parallels

2) are widely exaggerated by the fandom as actions taking place in a 100 years war and performed by two teenagers

because yes context does matter. and you CANNOT possibly think that these actions come even close to the atrocities of what the rough rhinos did to Jet’s village or what Ozai intended to do to the Earth Kingdom.

NO THIS IS NOT ME EXCUSING WHAT THEY DID. DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THIS.

all I’m saying is that context, intentions and knowing what is going on in a character’s head are actually important in that case for a better understanding of their actions.

let’s take a look at Jet. he’s an orphan boy, who grew up with this very idea that every thing that went wrong in his life was caused by the FN (which is true) and that the only way for him to survive is to fight the FN (which is, again, true). therefore, the logical conclusion to years of trauma, and impregnated ideas of vengeance and wrath is to loose touch with your sense of morality and ending up doing heinous things because he’s convinced that it is the right thing to do. the ONLY thing to do. to survive and to escape the war. what people like to forget is that Jet didn’t grow up like Sokka and Katara, who even though faced a terrible tragedy after their mother’s death, and had to live in a tribe that had been weakened by the FN, also lived in a sheltered place for most of their lives, with their Gran Gran and father’s love, with a community, a family. Jet grew up in constant solitude, hunger, pain, fear, death and had to become a parent to those around him. and that’s not me trying to compare them. but you cannot seriously think that they grew up in the same conditions. growing up like that you just CANNOT turn out fine. the absence of love and protection coming from an adult actually does that to a kid. as time passes he realises that he, as an orphan boy, has to do what has to be done in order to survive. the question of morality doesn’t even crosses his mind. because fear and anger are the only thing left for him to survive. and all of this leads to him drowning Gaipan, and committing this heinous crime. which well doesn’t really happen because everyone is safe ! everyone survived ! yes the village is destroyed but that’s material loss. that doesn’t come near the loss of actual people.

now for Zuko, his core character trait in season 1 is that he’s very short sighted. he only sees his goal, and never what’s in between that. this shortsightedness comes from years of obsession fuelled by extreme (FN) propaganda, indoctrination, trauma and anxiety in regards of what awaits Zuko if he never gets to catch the Avatar. like Jet, Zuko’s anger and fear brings what’s most ugly in him : his lack of regards for any collateral damage he might provoke while trying to reach his goal. which ultimately leads to Kyoshi Island burning down. however, they are a few things that need to be said here. he never steps a foot on Kyoshi Island with the intention of burning it. that’s actually where it diverges from Jet. Zuko is extremely short sighted and his only goal is to find Aang. nothing. else. which differentiates him from his sister especially. who wanders through the earth kingdom while yes chasing Aang but also never stopping (or at least trying) to expend the FN’s power in the EK. Kyoshi island burning down comes actually from him being shitty at managing his firebending (and his crew) in season 1. it’s quite literally collateral damage and most of the damage on Kyoshi Island actually comes from Zuko’s soldiers (who we never actually see receiving orders that would indicate Zuko wanting to burn the island. he only says “I want the Avatar” before splitting up, and go rewatch the scene if you don’t believe me). we do actually see Zuko shooting a few fireballs at Aang but we see only one of them actually hitting the cabins. so it would be logical to assume that it was Zuko’s crew, while fighting the Kyoshi Warriors that did it. after the gaang left, Katara even says “he would have destroyed the whole place” meaning it wasn’t destroyed. and then Aang eventually saves the village and Zuko and his crew leave.

what I’m trying to say with this is that I cannot keep seeing people actually demonising and adultifying Jet and Zuko’s actions (especially at the very beginning where both of them are clearly villains with the narrative intent of doing heinous things) with using these two specific scenes, where, ultimately, no one got hurt (except Sokka & Aang while fighting Jet and the Kyoshi Warriors while fighting Zuko).

this post isn’t me denying what they did. at the end of the day, Gaipan got destroyed and Kyoshi Island lost a lot of infrastructure and cabins. this post is me explaining why I’m tired of the over exaggerated claims in regards of these two characters.

the problem with this fandom is that people will talk about Jet and Zuko’s actions in episode 10 and episode 4 like they would talk about Long Feng’s actions or Ozai’s actions.

like, no, two indoctrinated traumatised teenage boys in a war cannot be held accountable in the same way that two adults (who funnily actually did kill people !) are held accountable. like, textually by LAW they cannot be held accountable in the same way. because of their age, because of the circumstances, the consequences, etc etc.

and what’s even more important is that both actually do their best to make amends. even though doing this after years of indoctrination is actually hard. jet dies while doing so and Zuko nearly dies at the hand of his father for doing so. (and that’s without even talking about his actions as a Firelord)

you can dislike Jet and Zuko as characters. but the hate these two get will always look ridiculous at the end of the day. because it’s either completely exaggerated or out of context or doesn’t apply to them because they actually did change. and did try to make amends.

again, this is not me saying that they weren’t villains at the beginning of the series. this is also not me saying that these actions are excusable or even remotely okay. no, it’s me begging the fandom to just use their brain for two fucking seconds. it’s me begging the fandom to just understand what the war and it’s consequences does to people, especially children. on all sides of the war. especially war children.

[strawberrylollipop26-blog-blog]

Movie/Show Round UP

I haven't done one of these in awhile. As always, my thoughts are short and to the point. I don't go in depth. I'm not a professional reviewer, just my thoughts.

Under the cut there are reviews for Fly Me to the Moon, Inside/Out 2, Despicable Me 4, A Quiet Place: Day One, Dune Part 2, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, The Fall Guy, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Civil War, Madame Web, Argylle, Abigail and The Bikeriders. TV shows: Legend of Fei and Halloween Baking Championship.

Fly Me to the Moon: I saw this movie during a three show day at the theater. It was the middle movie and the biggest question mark. Turns out, the whole 'did they or didn't they' land on the moon theory was actually interesting. While I have zero interest in a rewatch, definitely worth attempting for first time viewers.

Inside/Out 2: This movie was exactly the same as the first. There's nothing new here except for possibly children experiencing new emotions. As an adult, I was bored.

Despicable Me 4: Cute. This film added nothing.

A Quiet Place: Day One: I thought it was nicely done. Still, didn't knock my socks off like the first one. My spouse wanted to know exactly how people learned to be quiet. I tried to tell him that they showed it in the second movie. He wanted more of a show. He was also annoyed that we know nothing about the aliens and it's the third movie. Slight spoiler, I wish we didn't know something about a certain character because it would've made the ending decision so much more impactful.

Dune: Part 2: Well, he tried to warn them about what would happen. I like the action that happens even though it all folds into a pretty box.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire: I barely remember this movie. It was sort of reminiscent of the previous one. A typical unite to defeat the super evil blah blah blah.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: Disturbing T!k T0ks regarding the leads aside, this movie was enjoyable. Although, I had no idea a new movie series was starting. There were quite the few holes left so I'd see the second one.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die: I saw this before the previous one so I was quite confused in certain parts. All in all it was enjoyable. There are some funny moments. I've had the urge to watch again.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire: I haven't seen this in awhile. From what I remember there's a side character hero in here that's pretty funny. Pretty textbook, you know what's going to happen before it does.

The Fall Guy: I've heard people talking about this one and disliking it. I thought the whole purpose was to have an outrageous fun movie showing crazy stunts the doubles do. Is it the best movie? No, but if you like action it's worth a watch.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga: I'm an action girl. I highly valued the first Mad Max. This movie is obviously character based therefore slower to catch the stages of development (it's even told in chapters). I was bored. All the story shows in the normal character faced adversity, lived a hard life, finally goes for their revenge. Zero interest in a rewatch. I'll turn on the first one again.

Civil War: A weird movie full of numerous holes. A waste of my time.

Madame Web: I thought it was okay even though this movie was review bombed. There's nothing special about it, but it's not the worst movie that people complained about. Then again, to each their own.

Argylle: Another movie that was review bombed. I also guessed the likely story in this one. I think this movie suffers mostly from trying to be too many things. It goes for serious, yet wild and fun, yet logical. I think if the movie with the effects stayed 'out there' then people would've found it more enjoyable. Maybe.

Sidenote: My husband is always surprised that me (comedy hater) loves Rat Race and Joe Dirt. My response is always the same. Both movies are unapologetically insane. They don't take themselves seriously at all. I think Argylle should've done this as they had moments before deciding to become a serious spy movie.

The Bikeriders: First of all there's a narrator to this movie. Threw me off a bit at first, I normally don't watch those type of movies because i feel it leaves off clues. The movie's okay. Practically a drama in a bikerider setting. There isn't much mystery so another one that's easy to read.

Abigail: I enjoyed this movie until the ending. Not much I can say without spoiling.

Legend of Fei: I finally finished this show. Took me forever as it has good episodes, and others I cared less for (admittedly skipped scenes). Some characters were so annoying. Thankfully, Fei stopped passing out which was killing me. Xie Yun is my absolute fave. I might be biased, but all his scenes were so much fun except for the ones where he's sick :( . I've read reviews where people say they can watch this repeatedly, I'm not one of them. One and done. Sort of reminded me of WoH main storyline.

Sidenote: I love the one scene where he's reminiscing the past in his dreams and he no longer has money. The way this man kept opening up his pouch and dumping it over to make sure there were no coins. So relatable in my younger days.

Halloween Baking Championship: An era has come to an end or at least caught up in the seasons. I really like this cooking show. I hope people have some out of the box creations in the new year coming up.

[spurgie-cousin]

this is completely random and feel free to ignore but i was watching sister wives on tv (no idea what season it is, couldn't find it, but Janelle is separating from Kody so not too old) and they were talking about Christmas and Garrison was saying how he'd love to host in the future. and it just. made me so endlessly sad. Janelle is saying how he isn't as happy as he used to be and she's worried, and now in hindsight, it's just heartbreaking. not saying this to assign blame or start drama or whatever, i just had to tell someone how sad this made me.

I vaguely remember her saying that, usually I'll turn on old Sister Wives in the background while I work or something but I just can't bring myself to watch the last 2 seasons again because they make me sad. Both Gabe and Garrison remind me of my younger brother, and they actually feature both quite a lot in the last few years, since they were some of the handful of adult kids that still were ok with being filmed. So it's a hard rewatch 😕 I tried once and couldn't get past Christine giving Garrison a big hug and saying how happy she was to see him, I lost it lol.

From what I gathered, and I could be wrong, Garrison was struggling with bipolar disorder for most of his teen and adult years, but it got particularly hard for him in the last couple of years of his life. And that could definitely be due to some shifts in his family life, I just don't like it when people place all the blame on his parents (you're not doing that just other people) because I can't imagine how helpless Janelle or his siblings or even Kody felt seeing him struggle. it's a powerless feeling to see that and not know how best to help them, especially when they're an adult and so things like self medicate.

It's just like, one of the saddest things that can happen really and it makes me tear up without fail, so I know exactly what you mean.

[lightwise]

TBB S3 E10 Reaction

Life has been a bit busier the last few weeks so I am finally catching up on my episode reactions (I’m determined to do all of them this season!) And I apologize y’all, this episode made me very snarky apparently.

I’ll be honest. When this episode first came out I was nowhere near as surprised by it or horrified by it as reviewers seemed to be. Nothing about Palpatine hunting down force sensitive children as experiments and using Cad Bane to do it is a surprise, and the Vault feels so much like Andor. But even on a rewatch this episode holds up so well and honestly just starts to give a cold chill under the skin as the quiet horror of it sinks in.

- Cute kid. And the Batch nowhere to be seen. This is going to be a different episode isn’t it

- Oh no. He’s force sensitive 😫😫😫 hmmm how could that possibly go wrong

- This is giving Andor vibes 👀

- It’s always interesting seeing “regular people” in Star Wars and little markets and how they’re just trying to go about their daily lives.

- Don’t go around snitching people! Nothing good ever comes of it!!!

- Yeah this guy is worse than Timm from Andor. Wtf dude. You’re turning in a baby!!

- Also is it just me or typical Star Wars “houses” end up being pretty dark and depressing?

- Wait okay okay. So this is the CX chamber. Why can’t we see any of them yet 😩😩 what is this red fog? What are these weird conditioning pods? What kind of armor is on this datapad?? *trying to crawl inside my screen* I NEED ANSWERS JENNIFER!!

- “Do you trust me?” Ooooh why do I think that’s going to come back around

- But also, babygirl, I don’t think you actually know what you’re signing up for

- “I could be more useful” “you wish to be the new chief scientist Dr. Karr?” “I believe I’ve earned it.” Alright. This. This is interesting. This fully encapsulates the dynamic that these two have shared. Emerie knows that Hemlock only values things that are useful, and probably only sees her own value in the light of what she can contribute, due to how she was raised and the circumstances she has been trapped in. Hemlock’s tone of voice implies that he has never considered her as being the new chief scientist, and yet he acquiesces quite quickly, almost as though he’s just too busy to think about it and if it means things are brought back up to production standard then he’s fine with it. His utter disregard for Emerie as an actual human and someone with merit is disgusting though.

- But I get it, the man’s busy, he’s got a lot of evil shit he’s trying to do all at the same time 🙄

- So we have “the assets”, which is the area that Hemlock took Palpatine in the first episodes, where the orange containment pods are and the zillo beast is being kept. We still don’t know what those assets are. The Vault is something different.

- Well. Shit. It’s Andor and Narkina 5 for kids. Lovely 😳💀

- “There are few adults left with such characteristics” I WONDER IN THE NAME OF ONE EMPEROR PALPATINE WHY

- Okay so this entire exchange is awful. The kids are so cute! Hemlock is so cold. “Specimens. Assets” ughhh Emerie what are you getting yourself into!!

- Is this the first time we’ve heard the word glasses in Star Wars?

- Oh no. So THIS is why Cad Bane was brought back 🥺🥺

- The score in this episode is perfectly eerie

- Lol Todo is not good with kids huh 🤣

- That poor mama when she wakes up and finds her baby is gone

- I hope that dude has his entire life flash before his eyes as he’s trying to pick all of those credits up

- “My name’s Eva” 🥹🥹🥹 Emerie has no idea how to handle this 😂

- I still wanna know what’s happened with these commandos. No way a clone of Jango Fett is able to look a child in the eyes, call them a “specimen” and not have even an ounce of remorse as they stun them point blank.

- “Jax?” And Eva just points. The power in knowing someone’s name vs a dehumanizing number

- It’s also interesting that these kids are species that are red, blue, and green, and when they get Bayrn in, he’s white. RGB colors make up white light when put together.

- The little peeks of Emerie’s backstory we keep getting are so interesting. She was abandoned by Nala Se. She knows that these children don’t belong here, the same way that Omega told both her and Crosshair that they didn’t belong here either. Nala Se says that the Empire will hold these kids to control them. Emerie feels like she has no power to do anything differently. So much to unpack here.

- Why is Tarkin’s holo so large?

- Lol I honestly love getting to see the backbiting politics of how the Empire functions. It’s so bad and so funny

- Also love that Project Necromancer is so secret that even Tarkin doesn’t know what it is. He’s so nosy

- Okay why does he bring up the CX schematic again and why is it so different than the one we saw earlier??

- Whoa Cid was tortured???

- “The other operatives aren’t ready to join you in the field” why????

- We’re visiting a lot of space stations this season

- Man I wish Emerie had fudged this test

- Nooo let the poor baby go home 🥺

- Oh and now we’re putting kids in solitary confinement. Great.

- C’mon Emerie. Keep clicking that moral compass until it points north

- She kept the straw Lula. She’s giving it to Eva 😭. There’s hope for her yet

[leupagus]

Three-Legged Puppy Fics

List five of your least-popular fics, as well as when/why you wrote them.

Home to the Weary: Merlin, Gwen/Morgana, 2010.

I wrote this at the request of a friend who wanted, I think, something Gwen-centric. Because I was not a fan of the show I decided to focus on an AU in which Gwen backflipped out of that whole situation and founded her own sort of kingdom, only meeting the terrible trio years later. It was really fun and was the first time I'd ever tried writing a fic that hinted at a larger world going on around the characters, if that makes sense. This one's a little pretentious but you can definitely see my "style" as it were.

Treads on the Ground: Babylon (not the sci-fi show, the short-lived british cop show), Liz Garvey/Finn Kirkwood, 2022.

This was written during my Bertie Carvel phase where I'd watched "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" and was desperate for something, anything, that didn't have him wearing terrible prosthetics or playing a psycho. He still sort of plays a psycho in this show, but he looks super hot and angry all the time which is really all I needed. (Also bonus hilarity: Liz's boyfriend in this show is played by none other than James Lance, playing "louche asshole" to the absolute hilt.) Anyway I wrote this because I really wanted a fake dating AU for these two AND a "Finn is secretly in line to the throne" fic and this was the perfect way to combine these two. I'm still legitimately really proud of thsi fic.

The Bright Relief: 1776 musical, John Adams & Thomas Jefferson (and a little bit of / in there, if I'm honest), 2010.

I wrote this because my friends waldorph and screamlet and I were having the Summer of 1776 Feelings and we all wrote various (wonderful) crimes and misdemeanors in that fandom, mostly revolving all the ways in people who love John Adams make fun of him. That was a truly terrible summer but made a whole lot better by those two, and by William Daniels being the most John Adams to ever John Adams. (I actually rewatched the miniseries a few months ago and Paul Giamatti does a great job but that thing is SO DREARY. Although I will say Stephen Dillane first caught my eye in the role of TJeff, aka once again playing a guy who's down real bad for someone smarter than him (in this case both Abigail AND John). The scene where he first meets Abigail is just nonstop flirting, with John making faces in the background. It's great.)

Happy Tails To You (Until We Meet Again): SGA, Rodney McKay/John Sheppard, 2009.

Oh lordy — probably the worst fic I've ever written, but I can't quite bring myself to delete it. I've been on the periphery of fandom for most of my adult life (what up X-Files yahoo groups and Prodigy Star Trek RP rooms), but SGA was what made me start thinking of writing fic after a long period of only reading it. (Yes, there is college-era gus fic out there. No, I'm not posting it on AO3.) I never quite got a handle on Sheppard or McKay but I did enjoy writing this and the other SGA fic I wrote, but yeah this deserves its obscurity.

Honey Now I'm Not One To Complain: Dalgliesh, Adam Dalgliesh/Kate Miskin, 2022.

Another one of my "Bertie Carvel is extremely attractive when he's sad and/or a cop" flash-fandoms, although I wrote a pretty good primer on the first season that I think gives a good case for the show as a whole. I wanted to write that largely because the show is so resolutely grim and I prefer stories that are... not grim, so I gave myself the challenge of putting these guys into one of the classic tropes. I did toy with the fake dating/marriage trope but honestly I think this was funnier, and I would always rather commit to the bit.

Tagging uhhh let's see, @laiqualaurelote, @themardia, @sadcypress, @auntieclimactic, and @eyebrowofdoom, if they (or anyone else) wants to do this.

[puellaphantasia]

Oddity found this JCA meme on Deviantart, time to cringe like it's 2010. Elaborations on some of the questions under the cut

2). It would literally be easier to list the characters I don't like than my favorites, I do genuinely love most of the cast, they're all really fun and bounce off each other so well.

3). I appreciate that the Ice Crew has fans, but I just couldn't stand them, they were poor replacements for the Enforcers.

Oddity and I both are both of the opinion that the Ben-Shui monks are kinda creepy, not sure I can elaborate they just...ew

I don't remember liking Paco when I watched this as a kid, he didn't grow on me on a rewatch as an adult, and I'm not sure I'll learn to like him in my reboot fanfic- but my god I'm going to try.

Viper...I genuinely forgot she existed. Even when I did a second rewatch with Oddity there was a whole episode that I remembered seeing in my initial rewatch that I completely forgot Viper was in. I wish I liked her more than I do, but she's just really boring.

4) Again, it'd be much easier to list characters I don't like than ones I do. I would have put Tarakudo on the favorites list, because I remember really liking him as a kid, but when I did my rewatch he didn't hold up as well as I remembered so he didn't quite make it to the favorites list even though I still like him.

6) Seasons 2-4 are the whole reason to watch JCA, honestly. S1 was a good foundation, but it didn't really start to shine until s2, but even then, I have to admit the Demon Sorcerers arc got pretty reputative and the non plot episodes sort of dragged on. There's very few episodes outside of s5 I didn't like, so I wouldn't say skip 'em but I think they could have been interlaced in the Demon arc a little better

S3 gets a bad rep in the fandom, and I get the complaint of it just being the Talisman Hunt 2.0 but honestly the character interactions are at their best in this season, several of the Nobel animals themselves have such fun personalities. I wish that s3 had it's own Mcguffin to collect that I could buy replicas of on Etsy, but it's not a big complaint to me compared to just how fun s3 is

S4 had the best individual episodes. I think more could have been done with Tarakudo interacting with the other characters, he was a little passive until the final episode and that's why he didn't make the favorites list, but the new types of Shadow Khan, their powers and the different situations the masks created were some of the best scenarios in the whole series.

8) Mei Xing and a cast of other OCs will be appearing in my fanfic Jackie Chan Adventures ↺ -wink wink-

9) I didn't actually create Mei Xing to ship with Tso Lan, it's just something that ended up happening while I was planning out her part in the story. It's just really funny to me that after I decided this aspect I looked to see if there was other Tso Lan/OC pairings, and saw two others who were also named Mei- I swear this wasn't done on purpose.

10) Just for the record, I also considered drawing the scene where Daolon and Uncle froze each other while Big Jade was fighting the Ogre, that scene just sticks out to me as one of the funniest in the show because of how they were both that stupid. I love them. They need to kiss.

[befuddledcinnamonroll]

Love is Better the Second Time Around - final thoughts

If you've already seen some of the final takes going around for the finale of this show, I'm of much the same mind. It started really strong for me, but the last couple of episodes did get muddled.

As much as I would love longer Japanese BLs, typically I feel like they work quite well in their shorter formats - Perfect Propose and My Personal Weatherman both felt like complete and satisfying stories to me. But this one did seem to suffer from the lack of time.

Pros:

Loved the two leads. They were excellent and did so much with microexpressions and body language. And hella chemistry.

The assistant - he was a fun character, and I'm sorry we didn't get to see him turn his bitchiness on Sugimoto. His helping Miyata also made sense to me, because he cared about Iwanaga.

It was refreshing to have a show not treat sex as some sort of end game final reward, but rather a part of relationship building.

The acknowledgement that the two of them running away as teenagers probably wouldn't have worked in the long run, but they were in a better place now to be together as fully actualized adults. I enjoy stories where young people get together, but there's also a part of me that is very dubious about longevity - it's just a part of life experience and seeing how few people are able to maintain that kind of relationship long term, especially considering how in your 20s you are still learning & growing so much.

The ending song slaps.

Cons:

I do want to be careful here, because I feel like some of the things that didn't work for me had strong cultural elements. For example, the discussion with the mother at the end. As a Westerner, I would just be all "fuck you" and peace out with my love, but I know some of that is being from a more individualized and less deferential culture. But it just felt unstructured and I didn't quite see the point of it.

I feel like they tried to make Miyata take a lot of the blame for what went wrong as kids, and that just didn't work for me. He was less popular, less wealthy, and more isolated than Iwanaga, and we're supposed to blame him for thinking he was being made fun of?

The breakup just annoyed me.

Sugimoto. Having both him and the assistant be in love with Iwanaga was a bit much, and just didn't really make sense to me considering his actions. It would have made more sense if he was wanting to take over the family business and was trying to get Iwanaga out. And then he's supposed to be helping in the end? But why? It was too short a series to introduce a dynamic like that last minute.

I enjoyed it, but don't expect I'll rewatch this one.

[panelshowsource]

If you had to pick a top three favorite episodes of any panel shows EVER, which would you choose? One of mine would have to be Terry Wogan guest hosting old NMTB, which I am dying to watch again in my lifetime. Your old-NMTB-posting reminded me just how amazing and formative those old episodes were for me. Anyway, it got me thinking… I would love to hear yours!

as long as i'm allowed to answer this totally subjectively...! because the objectively most iconic panel show episodes are probably quite different to the ones i gravitate to especially for rewatching — and especially in this difficult recent climate 🫥

this choice is almost bizarre knowing me, a huge huge huge sean lock fan, but this episode of cats does countdown — without sean! and not even golden era, probably, whatever that is in my mind — is so ridiculous and chaotic and stupid that i've watched it about 1000 times. there's something very specific about the dynamic between jimmy, jon, roisin, and joe without sean; those four have been in quite a few episodes without sean and they're like actual children without an adult in the room: jon is goofier and completely lets go of the game, jimmy throws even more to roisin (we do not talk enough about what a fucking kick jimmy gets out of her), roisin and joe's insane sibling dynamic becomes next level. anyways—this episode, which includes rly funny mascots, glory hole, the fucking hoop game and joe eating an onion and jon eating peppers???, THE UNICORN, its sheer childishness just cracks me up every time :') (if we're gonna mention the golden age, 2.02 is very iconic — from rhod killin it and always arguing with jimmy to claude to nick x susie hahaha but i have sooooo many catsdown episodes i love love love)

i really love the episode of 8 out of 10 cats following jimmy's tax scandal. it's not one of my favourite panel shows in general, but the circumstances of the news and the discussion epitomised what the show was meant to be: panel show meets reality tv meets a comedy central roast. watching that live, as the news was running it so heavily that even the prime minister mentioned it, as the press and twitter were reacting to it... wild times. it holds up incredibly well — it's hilarious watching them rip him to shreds, because he deserves every word and they're having a ball doing it to him, and i really appreciate jon grounding the conversation in just how tax avoidance hurts their country and some of its hardest workers — a really interesting, engaging mix of comedy and anger and wit and disappointment and political commentary that is not only funny but strikingly relevant no matter how much time passes. like so, so many people who were so, so disappointed in jimmy, this was the foundation of his carrying the responsibility, shame, reflection, and growth that people wanted to see — and that he truly needed to. since then he's talked a lot about not only righting the wrong (in paying back what he owed in avoidance) but just how the system is so broken — and taking the least complicated, most honest road forward since.

now i want to pick 1000 different things this is why i don't make lists or rank things!!!!! while my instinct is to pick a big fat quiz, i'm actually gonna go top-level nostalgia and say this episode of buzzcocks when stephen fry was a guest. what can i say — simon, stephen, it was two intellectual, mildly bitchy homosexuals on a stacked panel including josie long, dominic cooper, and yet another skinny white rock man for simon to pretend he's not trying to flirt with. stephen saying "there is a history, in pop music, of recto-veginal insertion" and denouncing god, like, in the first 5 minutes? stephen doing the intros round?? did i mention history boys-era dominic cooper??? such a throwback!!! (not to cheat but this ep with josh groban & martin freeman is my runner up)

i want to apologise to big fat quiz, taskmaster, wilty... THE WHOLE HISTORY OF PANEL SHOWS... I WISH I COULD CHOOSE YOU ALL