#okay i’ll stop but all the og songs this season are really really good

[sparklyseblos]

nightmares come to life is SUCH A BOP, i’m obsessed with that song it’s so fun and catchy i’ll listen to it every other day as well as halloween i love it

[valenhell]

From the studio that brought you “I can’t find good Byler fics in the ao3 tag”, comes:

"The Definitive Byler fic rec list"

Literally no one asked for this but because I spent the majority of last year (...and 2019, and 2018...) reading byler fics and coping with life, I thought I’d make a list of some of my absolute favorites. 

The other day I was basically starving for some byler fics and the angel @magicalfairy provided me with some of her faves so I thought I’d do the same, because I love reading, and I love all of these fics and I appreciate their writers💗 And fic writers in general, come on!

- This is a mix of long works and one-shots/short stories. - Everything is mostly fluff with a tad of angst and a lot of internalized homophobia conflict.  - Every fic is completed, except for the ones I mention that they are not. - I try my best to lay out the stories in a way that I won’t spoil you the plot but also warning you of some stuff you might don’t like. Either way, all of these fics are correctly tagged by their respective authors/owners, so read at your own risk. For better understanding, in between brackets I denote Rating, Words and quantity of Chapters. - I feel like I should clarify, none of these are narrated in the singular first person. None of that “And I told him...”, no. 

Long fics

a dream always the same (T, 99k, 35 chapters) What happened in those few weeks between the Battle of Starcourt and the Byers leaving Hawkins. Literally a satisfying and very needed fill in of season three, with a good dose of Mike’s thoughts and conflict. Mike’s characterization is specially amazing in this one. The writing style is amazing and I know the author put everything into making it historically accurate, and it was really sweet. You probably read it, it’s by the amazing sevensided here on Tumblr🧡

Spring Break (T, 120k, 14/15 chapters) The slowburn of my dreams. Lots of internalized conflict and conflict with each other. Conflict within the Party (uhh kind of), conflict with Mike and Will. Byers family has moved and the kids are visiting! Chaos. Characterization is on point. Yeah, I know it’s unfinished, but the fourteenth chapter actually serves as a pretty nice ending. 

This is where it starts (M, 148.8k, 24 chapters) Aged up characters. The Party is in college and Will disappears again, but now it’s different. Mike knows he didn’t vanish from thin air, and the discovery he and the Party end up making is pretty insane. Mystery solving/fantasy/third dimension, throw in a bit of D&D and Mike realizing some shit, and you get this marvelous fic. It’s a breath of fresh air. The world building is definitely one of the elements that stands out the most, because it’s very nicely described, it sounds like a dream and it’s completely immersive. Absolute gem of a fic. 

there’s a Starman waiting in the sky (M, 30.6k, 8 chapters) Do I need to say anything? Will is out there living his best life and Mike realizes that wow, umm, maybe his best friend looks a bit too nice with that costume... and wait, is he getting horny? It’s actually really fun and sexy.

The Evening Speaks (T, 23k, 7 chapters) In where Mike is a late-night college radio host and Will is the art student that stays up till late to catch up with Wheeler on the Mic. They flirt through songs y’all, this one is really sweet. 

heads or tails? (E, 24k, 3 chapters) Aged up characters. I know most people don’t enjoy sex in fics and with specific characters but this one is insanely well written. It’s a slowburn that commits to the tension and with every word you are grasping and anticipating their next move. I think you can find the author here on Tumblr as yousaidyes🧡

The Man of Average (M, 56.7k, 5/? chapters) Aged up characters. No but you don’t understand, the writing here is absolute gourmet. The story is exciting as well, it’s super interesting. Weirdly enough, for being very aged up characters, they are well characterized but they don’t feel like teenagers. They are naturally Mike and Will. The author really captured Mike and Will’s essence. I know, it’s unfinished and it’s updated very rarely, but this is the typical fic you can’t believe someone just posted on the internet for free. I will say though, I think it’s definitely not for everyone. Read at your own risk.

Heartstrings (E, 82.8k, 24/? chapters) Aged up characters. By the same author of The Man of Average. A collection of memories, the road to Mike and Will’s happy ever after. And fucking hell!!!!! You’ll cry and get angry, you’ll cheer for them, then you’ll want to crash their faces together because god dammit you love each other!!! But yeah, same thing here. The writing and the way the story is laid out as a nonlinear narrative is brilliant. And I also think this is one of the best Will versions I’ve read. The author might as well be the og creator of this two characters tbh. You can find the author here as mylesimeblr🧡

Sinners behind the walls (T, 1.5k, 1/1) And because I can’t stop recommending this author, a little thing of Mike tormenting himself but also being too deeply committed to Will. 

The Red Envelope series (T/E, 167K, two completed works) Something happens that Will thought was impossible and from there, pure drama and romance. Anything by this author has the potential to become your absolute favorite fic, but this series in particular is amazing. I doubt that any of you haven’t read this, but it doesn’t hurt to put it in this list. I’m pretty sure the author is serendipitous-magic on Tumblr🧡

A New Fight series (T, 91k, two completed works, one WIP) And finally the Star Wars AU that we all needed. But this isn’t your typical “Mike is Han”, “Will is Leia” and “El is Luke”, it’s way more interesting than that, and the author has appropriated the Star Wars world like no other. I’ll admit I’m not a 100% fluent in SW lore but this is amazing to me either way. This author is also on Tumblr, tea-for-one-please🧡

- Yes, most of these are (if not all), in a way, canon compliant/canonverse/canon continuation into fanon. (In a way)

One-shots and short stories

Sundae for Two, Please (G, 4.8k) Steve being the supportive friend and older brother these kids collectively need. (not Jonathan erasure, we love him). Steve is very sweet himself, and this little cute thing through his POV is gorgeous. Yes, it’s byler.

Backstage (T, 10k, 2/2) Jonathan, you forgot to mention to Will how hot your new band’s guitarist is, dude. Now he’s hyperventilating and weirdly flirting with him in the corner. Background Stonathan because why not.

102 Peach Street (G, 3.8k) Established relationship, but not only that, they are married :’’))) PURE fluff. Extreme fluffiness. Diabetes. 

sweatshirts and bottled up feelings (T, 3.2k) Or, Mike thinks that the sweatshirt Will wears looks insanely good on him. And kitchens are for lovers. 

kiss it better (T, 16.3k) Basically one of the best character studies of a few precise moments of Mike and Will’s relationship and feelings. 

will wonders ever cease (T, 11.3k) #i ship will and happiness. Omfg what a beautiful piece of fanfic. Will centric, this kid really deserves all the good in the world.

The Calm After the Storm (T, 1.6k) Tooth rotting fluff, boyfriends in love. Boyfriends being lazy, cuddling, love words, kisses. Boys loving each other’s company... Basically, Mike and Will in their element. What more can you ask for?

neither of us ready to let go (T, 4.8k) That scene from season three, but a bit of a fix it. 

Still in love (G, 1k) Domestic, married life au fluff. Y’all, I’m a sucker for established Byler, even if I can’t find many fics with it. But this is very sweet. It takes place in 2020, but I don’t think there are any mentions of the COVID-19 crisis that I remember.

I Nver Find Out ‘Til I’m Head Over Heels (G, 12.5K) Classic 5+1 fic. If you haven’t read it, where have you been? This is your moment. In where Mike keeps inviting Will to the school dances and Will thinks it’s just a joke until he realizes it’s not. 

Before You’re Gone (T, 5.9k) Will is leaving Hawkins and Mike thinks this is a great moment for a confession. This one I discovered last friday, thank you friend @magicalfairy 💗

You’re weird Wheeler (M, 4.5k) Mike unintentionally starts a tradition of going to each other to talk about their sexual encounters just after they finish. Will keeps getting more explicit with the details he shares, and he makes his best friend interested. This one is really fun y’all.

Out-Of-Town Friends (N/R, 4.6K) It’s not rated. I haven’t re- read it but I’d say it would probably fall in a T rating. So cute!! Will has new friends and sneaks off every friday and the Party doesn’t know where he is going, so Mike decides to follow him and is surprised. 

Snowed Under (G, 1.3k) By the same author of The New Fight series. Mike is spending christmas by himself in college because a snowstorm hits Chicago and Nancy can’t drive to see him, but then he has a surprise visitor. Ahhh just a lil sweet holiday fic. Super cute. 

you love me anyway series (T, 7.1k, three completed works) Literally just the cutest thing ever. Established Byler. Will loves to take pictures and he loves taking pictures of Mike. It’s adorable. 

you wanna be friends forever (i can think of something better) (T, 9k) This one is so amazing. So. Amazing. From Will’s POV, my kid deserves the world and he gets it. 

okay not to be okay (T, 4.9k) Mike is a bit sad but then everything is okay. 

can’t hold out forever (G, 18.4k) Y’all!!!!! 5+1 sweetness. Mike has been falling in love since kindergarten. And it’s long af, you’ll enjoy it. 

even if it takes forever (G, 1.3k) College short AU, they miss each other, they love each other, they promise all to each other. It is sappy y’all.

clear as day (N/R, 18.4K, 4 chapters) It’s not rated, but I’d say it falls in the T category. Strangers to friends to lovers. And also, everyone is pretty gay; we have our dynamic trio Mike, Max and El as disaster lesbians (and gay). Will works at the library and he is also gay. Lucas and Dustin and Will are the best friends we needed. It’s very sweet and the Party is kind of formed here!

I went overboard with the one-shots, so you must have realized how much I love long one-shots and I favor them over long works lmao but they are all amazing!!! If it’s on this list, I probably read it at 2 am, sobbing in my bed. So. Hope you enjoy it☺️🧡

[theyaskedmeto]

what i think each og new direction member's social media presence would be like

basically i’ve been doing nothing all day and i’m way too addicted to social media and i started thinking about this so here we are. also i’m just gonna pretend social media was a big thing when they were at school (it obviously wasn’t but lets pretend this is set in like 2016 or smth)

rachel berry

lets be honest rachel would be so damn annoying on social media (not like that’s a surprise tho she’s annoying anyway)

she’d definitely use instagram the most

she’d post photos of her and finn holding hands and caption it like ‘My world, I love this boy 🔐❤️🌏✨’ and then deletes them all when they break up

EXCESSIVE use of emojis 

posts selfies and quote song lyrics in the caption

posts what she’s listening to on her stories (usually boradway) and feels very entitled because of it

posts singing videos 

santana and brit probably bully her in the comments of her posts lbr

honestly i can’t see her having any other forms of social media tbh, she just always uses instagram

auto caps stay ON at all times bc it’s ‘against the rules of basic grammar’

tries to talk in the nd groupchat but no one likes her or listens. like ‘What song should I do for a solo this week’ and then it starts a massive argument

finn hudson

one of those boys who just takes photos of The Scenery™ and no photos of him

maybe posts some photos of him and rachel when they’re together though

actually he probably does the same thing as rachel like ‘Can’t believe this girl is mine 😍💗’ and commenting ‘Love You ❤️’ on her posts but it just seems v high school

probably not very active but uses instagram the most

does a lot of those ask thingys on instagram like ‘send me an emoji and i’ll say what i think about you’ LMAO

i feel like he’s not very involved with it because he prefers video games more lol

uses ‘😂’ unironically

auto caps on and doesn’t even know having them off is a thing

noah puckerman

USES SNAPCHAT. nothing else. but he does have insta

has sent streaks to everyone he’s friends with on sc and will continue to until he’s like 25 

posts way too many mirror selfies with the flash on without his shirt off (ew) 

literally never talks in the nd groupchat

auto caps on - actually he probably Types Like This All The Time

has A Rule that if he’s talking to a girl he has to not reply for at least 2 hours but if it’s a guy then he has to reply asap (bros before hoes type vibe)

blaine anderson

i really don’t think he’d use it that much??? i feel like he’d get too overwhelmed ahdkjhdjs

WAIT APART FROM TUMBLR

he’s probably very involved with tumblr and is part of the star wars fandom/marvel fandom

his ao3 history is between him and his computer only

ppl wanna be his friend on tumblr because he’s just nice and kind 🥺

he’s probably quite popular on there - has a lot of followers

but he doesn’t really use any others - has an instagram but there’s no posts on there

maybe he tries to spread awareness on his insta stories???

hates snapchat with a passion 

uses :) :( <3 ;_; way too much (he’s on tumblr)

has auto caps off. like he’s a fanboy okay he’s on TUMBLR fgs. 

occasionally talks in the nd groupchat but is normally a bit intimidated by all the arguments it causes 

v open about his sexuality on his insta (has a 🌈in his bio🥺)

brittany pierce

she uses all of the main ones (insta and snapchat)

posts loads of photos of lord tubbington on there and adds loads of gifs on her stories

such!! a wholesome!!! insta page!!!!!

lots of mirror selfies with the flash on

bad spelling 😔

tries to do those story bingo things but gives up when she gets confused

also has another insta account to build her fondue for 2 channel 

auto caps OFF

uses all the pretty emojis way too much like ‘went to the park 🏞 it was so ✨💗 fun!!! 🌸🌈☀️ we had a good time 😍’

is the QUEEN of the nd groupchat along with santana. tbh her and santana would just use it as their place to talk about everything rather than private messages

santanna lopez

her whole instagram is just selfies

uses snapchat quite a lot but when she gets older she stops completely and deletes it ‘snapchat is for straight ppl’

cyberbullies rachel ajhfdsjhd

does ops on her story and is just brutally honest to everyone who asks 

auto caps stay on but sometimes she forces her keyboard to type all lowercase

NEVER uses emojis. not even :( or :) she just never uses them ever

has a tiktok addiction for when she gets sad about britt (especially s2 when britt isn’t with her)

kurt hummel

uses instagram to show off his outfits 

especially when he gets older and lives in ny!! 

there’d be such cute lil videos of him and blaine on his story like taking videos of his ootd and then blaine photobombing and then he zooms in on him and laughs ok i’ve thought about this too much

compliments all his besties on their photos like ‘So gorgeous 😍’

auto caps stay religiously ON but uses a lot of abbreviations like ‘btw and ily’ etc

in the early days of him and blaine being together, he’d be quite private about it but around the time just before he leaves for ny they get more public

only uses emojis for reactionary purposes eg. to compliment friends

posts photos of anything. honestly i want to see his insta it’d be so cute

has a private instagram for his close friends where he shitposts his whole life like ‘Dad’s taking us to get mcdonalds!!!!’ with blaine

sam evans

posts shirtless pics and all the girls thirst over him ajdhksjdk

uses insta more than snapchat but always sends streaks (maybe when he’s younger tho like around season 4 i don’t think he would be anymore)

also v wholesome though??? like i think he’d post pics of what flowers he got his mum for mothers day 

posts pics of mercedes on his story when they’re together 🥺

posts his favourite songs on his story

auto caps ON bc he doesn’t know having them off is a thing lol

uses 😂 unironically

mercedes jones

doesn’t post much on any social media platforms but is always liking everyone elses posts and complimenting her friends

posts more on her story than anything else

when she gets more confident in herself tho, she posts more (especially when she moves to new york)

occasional photos of sam when they’re dating with a lil love heart emoji on her story

lots of emojis but she uses them when necessary

auto caps on!!!

tina cohen-chang

THE SAME AS RACHEL WITH MIKE but like 10 times less annoying and people actually care

literally the cutest couple on instagram with the new directions group

uses the nd groupchat quite regularly bc people actually LISTEN to her there

has a cute lil gc with sam and blaine with some weird ass name

switches to auto caps off after she goes through her goth phase 

uses :) and :( and also a few pretty emojis eg. 💗☀️✨🌟💐🍬 to make her captions looks pretty

v quick replier

quinn fabray

this bitch has too many emotions for social media ok?

just watches tiktok to cheer herself up but it makes her more sad

has an instagram but never posts on there

if you wanna message her just text because she’ll never reply otherwise

disappears off the face of the earth during her skank phase. deletes her instagram and everything

auto caps on but it doesn’t even matter because she never even needs to use her keyboard 

(we’re talking s3 tho. in like s1 she’d have been into it to keep up her persona lol. her insta would’ve defo had over 1k followers)

mike chang

uses insta more than sc and posts photos of him and tina on his story 

fast replier - loyal king

fully ignores the nd groupchat because he avoids drama 😌✨

non caps because it ‘looks friendlier and not like you’re shouting’

will help you with your homework if you have any questions 

like ‘hey have you done this english homework?? i can’t find any good quotes that’ll help with the question’ and he’ll reply fast with a whole list bc he’s an academic KING

would love to post some dancing videos but gets too scared :(

artie abrams

has no social media and is rlly annoying bc its so hard to contact him

auto caps on. i mean like how would u know having them off was a thing if you don’t have any socials

fully punctuates every text

[borisbubbles]

ESC2021 Preshow: 20. Estonia

Uku Suviste - “The lucky one”

Semi 2, #02

Going through the motions of 2021′s shitty NF season, it was a given that the critical mass of the “2020 returnees” competing the selections in these would win them hands down. 

So given how much i DISLIKED the offensively boring abomination “What love is”, and how PAINFULLY inevitable Uku’s victory in a decent Eesti Laul (um spoiler for NF corner?) seemed to be, It’s actually a shock I ended up liking Uku? But I do, lol and I’m not apologizing, sorry boos. 

In fact, I was rooting for Uku to win EL as soon as I saw his performance in the semi. “The lucky one”, which suffered from Aggressive Autotune + Forgettable Melody (we need a name for this. I propose Roxen Syndrome?), is legit good live and harps back to the (admittedly better) “Pretty Little Liar”, and that’s good enough for me. 

Of course, I am aware of the obvious ~*SOULLESS HIMBOT FROM THE DREAM FACTORY*~ label attached to this this entry (written by Uku and something called “Sharon Vaughn” are we certain this person isn’t just Kontopoulos in drag?), don’t worry. I rank him twentieth, not seventh. 

Fortunately, Uku is a mandroid from the SAME sweatshop that gave us Lucie Jones a few years back - in other words omfg he’s barely functional. 😍 Droning robot turned incompetent DRAMA KING <333333 The amount of EFFORT that needs to be thrown in to keep a ~pretence of competence~ is the most tangible in the backing vocals, which trail Uku’s like a shadow and STILL his voicecracks come through at key intervals <3

😍😍😍😍😍

The pathos of Uku throwing in high votes he cannot sing and then his voice breaking over the strain each time, gets me, okay? He doesn’t need a crystal ball to show me, baby it’s clear that you don’t know him :SOB:.  So dramatic, so inept, so unintetionally comedic, so Uku <3 

In other news, this lockdown had better end soon because with each passing day I feel like I’m turning further into a cat lady. 

ps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYXNeYXUmEQ&loop=0  😍😍😍

NF Corner - Eesti Laul 2021

Finally a decent Eesti Laul, lol. I wish I could say it was good, but it had one of the weirdest semi split’s I’ve ever seen. EL’s first Semi was without exaggeration the WORST show in the entire season, and the second was a contender for the BEST one across all NFs???? I suppose EXTREME Evil and EXTREME Good balance each other out in blistering adequacy? 

Anyway, I’ll now proceed to ignore Koit and Egert and Karl Killing and Hans and all the other bad (non-Linna/non-Kéa) entries from semi 1, and proceed to an NF Corner composed ENTIRELY of semi 2 songs :-)

Jüri Pootsmann - “Magus Melanhoolia”

It was between Sissi and Jüri for the Token Superfinalist Contender slot on this list, and Jüri is infinitely more notable. Sorry, Sis ur time (to win Eesti Laul?) will come once you figure out to write good music :(

Anyway, what can I even say about Jüri because lmfao what a baffling entry. Registered BARITONE JÜRI POOTSMANN coming back with a an experimental lounge jazz song that is song almost entirely in falsetto. 😍 The camera angles <3 the fact that this already INCREDEBLY short song includes 10 seconds of Jüri standing on the stage looking bored <3 what a fucking baffling entry, I have no opinions, only exclamations of surprise. 

REDEL - “Tarttu”

I HAAAATED “Tarttu” on first listen. 😂😂😂😂 but seriously though, this is downright epic. The UNPLUGGED Meiekündimees MADNESS of it all, now condenced into a equally nonsensical song that is basically like “X is a wooden town but NONE OF THEM ARE AS WOODEN TOWNY AS TARTTU. *incoherent kazoo noises*” 😍😍😍 Once got the chorus stuck in my head at the zoo as I was watching the penguins getting fed and it was one of the most bizarre synesthesic experiences I’ve ever had lmfao <3

Gram-of-Fun - “Lost in a dance”

If you’re wondering what the sort of music I listen to Eurovision is like - this is it. INCREDIBLY good and addictive and EMOTIONALLY tangible 80s New Wave is my fucking jam, can we have entries like this in EVERY selection from here on out? WELL DONE Kristel... on composing this wonderful song, less so on the Kazka-esque vocals that caused it to tragically NQ in the semi. 🙄 Still, BRING THEM BACK (and restrict Kristel to a songwriter only role, plz.)

Gram-of-Fun were my fave, but because they NQ’d somebody else had to fill their shoes in the finale. I’ll now reveal who it was

Kadri Voorand - “Energy”

IT WAS HARD DECIDING BETWEEN SUURED TÜDRÜKUD AND KADRI THOUGH. But given that Charlotte Perelli is guaranteed to appear in Sweden’s NF corner (um is she? :counts on fingers: Clara, Evas, Dotter... ehh sure I’m committed now I guess), it would be best NOT to post Dagmar & Kaire as they fucking clown her lol <3 But their song WAS pretty antiquated schlager...

Kadri otoh... absolutely breaks all records for me by delivering a unicorn: an entertaining stripped-down piano ballad. For the most part because she has incredible emotional delivery that serves personality on a fucking pyrotechnical level, like onn-stop “Loudmouthed Oaf Energy” in the form of a introspective jazz ballad <3 Can you imagine Estonia actually picking this? They could have come left-handside. 

But will Uku do well? :o

Predicted Journey - Estonia

He won’t come top 10, if that’s what you mean by “well”.😂 If you mean “qualify for the Grand Final” then... potentially? Semi 2 is less of a crapshoot than the first semifinal however. At this stage, it’s pretty much “okay, so these twelve acts can qualify... but which ten will?”.

Fortunately for Uku, he is one of aforementionned twelve possible qualifiers. (the others are: san marino, czech rep, greece, moldova, iceland, serbia, albania, bulgaria, finland, switzerland and denmark). UNfortunately for Uku, he’s one of the candidates for the two NQ slots inside that group of twelve.

The problem with Estonia is that their entry is a televote-friendly ballad, stuck in a really televote-UNfriendly slot (#02), in a semi where the jury vote will very likely put them outside the top 10. If we add in a dark stage and Uku’s shaky vocals, they don’t look particularly secure. 

However, I also think Estonia can qualify relatively easily because “televote-friendly ballad” is a unique niche inside that semi; the other ballads (Switzerland is NOT a ballad), won’t be getting many votes and Uku’s appeal as a handsome man with a dramatic song will make him stand out in spite of his spot in the running order, as LONG AS his vocal delivery (or that of the prerecorded backing vocals) remains adequate enough. If not, he’ll be swiftly forgotten and NQ.

Another thing that can cause Uku to qualify is if at least two others of the twelve underwhelm (my money for that would be on Albania, Denmark, San Marino and/or Czech Rep), making Uku the lucky one as he’ll ascend in the ensuing powercreep.

At any rate, it’s really difficult to gauge how well Uku would do since I haven’t really thought about the other BL qualifiers’ odds enough. His televote should be strong enough to avoid bottom 3, I think, and I think it’s safe to say he won’t come top five. Between those values, pffffew, who can possibly tell? I’m not burning my fingers on that. 

Projected placements > Qualifier Tier: Borderline > Semifinal: 6th-14th (out of 17) > Grand Final: 17th-22nd (out of 26)

THE RANKING

01. 02. 03. 04. 05. 06. 07. 08. 09. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. ESTONIA - Uku Suviste - “The lucky one” 21. FINLAND - Blind Channel - “Dark side” 22. AZERBAIJAN - Efendi - “Mata Hari” 23. the NETHERLANDS - Jeangu Macrooy - “Birth of a new age” 24. CZECH REPUBLIC - Benny Christo - “Omaga” 25. DENMARK - Fyr og Flamme - “Øve os på hinanden” 26. SLOVENIA - Ana Soklič - “Amen” 27. SWITZERLAND - Gjon’s Tears - “Tout l’Univers” 28. ROMANIA - Roxen - “Amnesia” 29. SERBIA - Huricane - “Loco loco” 30. POLAND - Rafał - “The ride” 31. ISRAEL - Eden Alene - “Set me free” 32. GEORGIA - Tornike Kipiani - “You” 33. PORTUGAL - The Black Mamba - “Love is on my side” 34. SPAIN - Blas Cantó - “Voy a quedarme” 35. NORWAY - Tix - “Fallen Angel” 36. CYPRUS - Elena Tsagrinou - “El Diablo” 37. AUSTRIA - Vincent Bueno - “Amen” 38. NORTH MACEDONIA - Vasil - “Here I stand” 39. GERMANY - Jendrik - “I don’t feel hate”

[redheadscribe]

Winx Club Opinions and Hot Takes

So after my review of Fate:Winx Saga I feel I need to acknowledge that while I do love the cartoon, it too has it flaws but it is leagues better than Fate. Still here are few of my scattered thoughts.

The Trix got much needed character development in Season 8. Well, at least Icy did but still an improvement. We see The Trix being actual sisters in some of season eight and let me say that pre-season 8 they were almost like the Team Rocket of the Winx Club, except none of the development or charm and season 5-7 they were rather annoying. If they are going to keep giving The Trix the spotlight as the villain give them some much needed development.

Instead of Pop Pixie why didn't Rainbow do a spin-off show of Roxy and her time at Alfea while also giving some development to the Alfea students. Or why not have Roxy attend the school at Tir Nan Og? That way she could learn more about earth fairies and be closer to her family and spending time with her mother after being separated from her. This would have given her some time to shine on her own and becoming a more fully realized character.

What are the point of the Pixies, fairy animals, fairy pets, selkies? I mean they are cute but they really serve no purpose. I do like the pixies and all but they served no purpose to the plot at all.

The show is too black and white. There are the good guys which are the fairies and the specialist, and the bad guys which are the witches. The villains don't exactly have goood motivations. The Trix wanted to steal the Dragon Flame and take over the Magic World. Lord Darkar wants to take over the world(I think?). Valtor wants to be the most powerful wizard and take over the world. Tritanus wants to take over the infinite ocean, I don't even want to talk about Selina or random book wizard. Cheetah Chick and whatever her brother is want to create a army with magical fairy animals. Then they ran out of world conquering villains they had to bring Valtor back.

Can I also say that maybe Darkar should have been saved for a final villain. It is said that he is the master of the ancestral witches, Valtor and all that is evil, so he has all of the makings for a final villain. Like The Trix for season 1, maybe the ancestral witches for season two and the fortress that Darkar has can just be reworked for their hideout as they are biding their time to regain their strength then have the Trix be serving them. While the Winx stops the witches they retreat to report back to Darkar. Then we have Valtor and the Trix do not appear as Valtor will use his lackeys Chimera, Cassandra and others from the girls home planets to make it personal. Lastly will be Darkar as Valtor claims I am not the last or something along those lines. Then if we must can add the other villains or have Tritanus be a mini boss of sorts as he can be one of Valtor's servants and we can have him be a mini boss that Aisha has to defeat or something. Well that wen't longer than expected.

Side Note: It has been awhile since I watched the whole show so feel free to correct me if I missed anything.

Also the Specialist are really boring. They don't really serve any other purpose than to be the girls love interest. I mean in World of Winx they are hardly mention in that series and the show does not loose anything from it.

The antagonist are the supporting villains are nothing to write home about either. Diaspro was fine for at least the first three seasons but that is it. She should have been done afterwards or if they did they should've put her back on a path where she wants to make up for all of her horrible deeds. I never understood what was the deal with Chimera and Cassandra but I did like their looks, same with Diaspro. My point is, is that they are just mean for meanness sake and are just the stereotypical mean girls.

The only good thing about Sirenix is it's song and that is it. Sirenix just looks ugly with the Daphne's look being the exception.

Bloomix could've been called anything else. Maybe Neo-Enchantix as the girls loose their power and Faragonda sends them on a quests to show why they deserve to get their powers back. I do have to say that their designs were great though.

Rainbow made the mistake for calling Enchantix final fairy form. Seriously when you call it that just stick to it and I don't know repackaged the dolls for merchandising or something.

What was the point of charmix? No seriously that is something I am not understanding. All that happens is that they get a nice little broach and a pouch bag. And some don't even look good. The best one being Musa.

The romances are so boring too. I don't mind some of them but they are so dull.

Season 1-3 Bloom is not the same as season 5-7 Bloom. Season four was okay but you can definitely see where her development was going. Also they should've added more of Bloom showing her dark side before we were introduced to Dark Bloom.

Well that was a long ramble but it goes to show that no show whether it be live-action or animated is perfect. I love Winx, always will but this is the last I'll ever speak of this. Next I'll be tackling the Grishaverse starting with the Shadow and Bone book review, Six of Crows, and then King of Scars duology. Then lastly I'll talk about the TV show.

[neeterloveschenford]

RNM 3x01

Howdy partners! It's finally happened. Roswell New Mexico has come back from the war! Last night was super exciting. I agree with everyone that said it was like a brand new pilot episode. I have slowly but surely gotten more excited over the last year, ever since she who should not be named got the boot. And it looks like things can only go up from here.

If you're new to my blog, I try to do a review of each episode just giving my opinions and speculating on what's to come. It's a long read because I really dived into almost every aspect this time, so I'll put the rest under the cut.

So without further ado, let's dive right in!!!

Mopey Max is mopey.

I know he was reverting back to his old way of doing things in not telling Michael and Isobel about dying, but I have to believe that he did it to have good memories for himself as well as for his siblings. I don’t know. Maybe I’m being generous, but I’m willing to give him a little grace this season. It’s a new beginning, so maybe we’ll get some growth from him this season.

Not gonna lie, Heath is a hottie. I can see what Liz sees in him. He’s kinda like if Max and Kyle had a baby. I hate her boss though.

Love the pod squad hanging out together. They were very funny and very much like real siblings when they were in the mindscape. And Isobel digging on Michael about Alex was so good! Also, how has no one noticed that Max is shooting up acetone like heroine.?

I’m gonna surprise some folks, but I ain’t mad about Delmanes. I think Greg has chemistry with everyone and they established that Maria and Alex are still in contact (I’ll get to that in a minute.) So I don’t think he’s going to have a problem with them. Frankly, I think they are going to sweep the thing we all hate under the rug and never bring it up again. And I am a-okay with that! Y’all, I want to love Maria so badly! She was my absolute favorite character from the OG and if they have to forget about questionable things that we all know were a product of CAM self inserting, then I am ok with it. Besides, she’s cute and he’s cute and they can just be cute together. I also don’t think she was dragging Michael when they were talking. She made a comment about Michael’s bad boy demeanor. Something that he has been cultivating for over a decade now. And her saying that some things aren’t meant to be…… I mean are we going to argue that point or something? I could have told her that last season.

Also, I want to try some of Bert’s mead.

Kyliz!!! I love their friendship so much! Few people challenge Liz the way Kyle does. He treats her with so much respect, but doesn’t hesitate to call her out when she’s being stubborn. Go Team Liz!!!!!

Michael Guerin stopping to fix his hair before he welcomes Alex Manes back just about broke me y’all.😭😭😭😭😭😭 My sweet son! I love him so much!! And I am so proud of him. I think the old Michael would have walked right up and made some sarcastic comment. But this Michael is respecting Alex’s choices and being a real friend. I am truly sad we didn’t get any one-on-one Malex content, but I know that this is just setting us up for an amazing journey for our boys.

It was also gut-wrenching to see Alex stepping off that bus and being confronted with Jesse’s statue. But it was nice to see him smile when Forrest came to meet him. I am nowhere near a Forlex shipper, but it was good to see Alex happy for once. And Michael’s face when he saw them.😭😭😭😭😭😭My baby boy. I just want to hug him so badly!!

Kyle trying to help everyone was so wonderful to see. He’s the best person on that show. If only folks would listen to him!!! But I am intrigued by this vision.

Damn Tyler Blackburn is ripped! Good lord son. You are killing me!

So here’s where we come back to Maria. It’s kind of a throwaway line, but Alex checks his phone and says it’s his brother and Maria making sure he got in ok. (Followed by that super cringy did you get in ok line from Forrest.) (No wonder they weren’t exclusive after a year!) This shows me that Alex still considers Maria to be his best friend. There’s no flinch. No negative reaction. He just starts returning texts before Forrest starts revealing that he’s in Deep Sky.

Wyatt Long is such a douche.

HAHAHAHA!!!! Forrest is nothing more than a low-level henchman! I love it! And I can’t blame him for falling for Alex. Who could? But let me tell ya bud, keeping secrets like that is no way to ingratiate yourself to one Alex Manes. You could see the wheels turning in Alex’s head. How much does Deep Sky know? Is Michael in danger? What lengths will he have to go to to protect him? I’m finding Deep Sky to be quite fascinating.

Max’s brain manifesting Liz when her song comes on the radio was so sad. He loves her so much, but is just so bad at being a good partner. You know he just wants to see her one last time before he dies. And once again, bravo to everyone’s hero Dr. Kyle. He’s tired of Max keeping this a secret. I just love them together. They hate, yet respect each other. It makes for a very interesting dynamic.

I’m like Liz and Heath. They had fun shenanigans! I enjoy shenanigans. And of course she would leak their patent to keep it from becoming a wrinkle cream. Like a boss!

“It’s a cactus! There’s a flower on that testicle!” Wyatt, you are an idiot. But why would anyone think that tacking Linda on the end of Rosa would be all that they need to do to integrate Rosa back into society. She looks the same! At least give her a new hairdo. And Wyatt was right on the money when he pointed out she writes on her shoes just like she did before. They really shouldn’t have given up on the makeover from last year. She definitely needs a new style.

Michael’s speech about being happy the last year was so good. He was so happy to have his family back. So was Isobel. They are totally right to be angry with Max. He always makes the decisions and never asks them. Their heartbreak hearing that Max’s body was rejecting the heart just made me want to cry.

I also didn’t hate Michael’s interaction with Maria. It’s rough having to be friendly with an ex. But they did care very much for each other. It makes perfect sense that he would want to let her know about Max to keep her from trying to force more visions. And she would of course want to comfort him when he tells her. He’s losing his brother. I would react the same way if that were happening to any of my exes. Because that’s how normal people react. And there was nothing even remotely romantic about that scene. Her teasing him about Alex didn’t bother me because it was just an awkward attempt to get back to their previous banter-filled friendship. Will they ever get there? Who knows. (Well, I’m sure Chris does.)

KYBEL!!!!!!! I had forgotten how much I shipped them in s1. I am all for them getting together. I have had a big suspension that smelling rain was an indication of a cosmic connection. It’s been confirmed so far with Liz and Alex. And Kyle did say that Max smelled like rain last season. He just needs to get some alone time with Isobel when she doesn’t have on the undoubtedly expensive perfume that she wears. I just know he’s the one for her.

Max listening to Liz’s tape was so sad and beautiful.

Kylex! (Has anyone else noticed that all of the really great scenes featured Kyle?) He’s so great at being the voice of reason. And I love that they are friends. If anyone other than Michael can convince Alex to not join Deep Sky, it’s Kyle.

So here’s my theory on Wyatt. Of course he’s going to forget that he’s a racist piece of crap after being injected with Byterical(?). I think Rosa’s going to try to help him be a better person and maybe come to terms with Kate’s death. But I don’t think it’ll end well. They’ve already talked about how the mayor’s racist son is going to factor into things this season. I think he’s going to end up trying to re-corrupt Wyatt. Either he will succeed or Wyatt will end up sacrificing himself to save Rosa. It’s not ideal, but as long as there isn’t any kind of romance there, I can endure. (Also, that was Maria’s necklace not Rosa’s, dumbass Wyatt.)

I don’t trust Max’s one night stand. I know in the sneek peaks she’s shown to be a reporter, but I think she’s more than just that. Maybe it’s because I remember how horrible a character she played on Teen Wolf, but I just don’t trust her. She’s after something besides a story.

Sorry, Forrest. You messed up and let’s be honest. You never could compare to Michael. Alex’s reaction was so bittersweet. He trusted him. But he knows what he has to do now to protect the people he truly loves. And that’s exactly what he’s going to do. So buh-bye Forrest. It’s been real.

I think that the alien mask guys that attack Maria are going to be part of some kind of racist gang.

I’m veering away from thinking it’s Michael that’s going to die. Alex was pissed, not distraught.

Why does Jones look like he’s a bad yogi? The shirt and the rings? Aren’t you supposed to be naed in the pod? Did Michael and Isobel put those clothes on him? Howdy partner indeed!

So that’s my take this time around. It’s been a hell of a wait for this episode. But all in all I think it delivered!. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. I think we’re going to have a blast this year! Till next time1 my lovelies!!!!

[ober-affen-geil]

I like your meta abt consent in rnm, but i wonder how the scene when michael kisses maria for the first time fits into all that. He does it basically without permission and he says “i just needed some quiet”. Im not saying he didn’t get consent some way but i was wondering in what way you think he did.

Ah thank you anon! That’s a good question.

*Please know the answer I’m about to give is my opinion and if you saw this scene differently that’s a-okay and you can mosey on to the next post on your dash, no hard feelings. CW for discussion of consent.*

So um, the short answer is, in the moment he didn’t have explicit consent. The long answer is, he assumed consent based on body language and verbal interaction and took a chance. I’m gonna dig into the long answer as it applies strictly within canon here, but it should be noted with this scene in particular there are Other Forces at work and I will address that at the end.

So within canon, we actually see two other examples of “assumed consent” within the first season, with Michael and Alex at the museum and with Liz and Max on the outlook. (I did a Valentine’s Day set about it actually lol.) All three of these kisses were sprung on the person (Maria, Alex, and Max in each case) without explicit consent in the moment. The person doing the kissing (Michael and Liz) “assumed” based on recent experiences with each person that the kiss would be welcomed, and proceeded under that assumption.

What Michael’s done here with Maria is spent the whole day flirting with her. And she’s been flirting back, though she’s actually been flirting with him for longer imo. (See this, this, or this.) In the bar we see her initiating physical contact with him during the song (the chin touch and the hair grab) and while she’s bristly with him in the parking lot, she doesn’t outright blow him off. It’s more flirting banter.

So when Michael kisses her, it’s on the assumption that his interest, which he has not been subtle about, has been returned. Notice also that while he does grab her and pull her to him in order to kiss her, he’s not doing it in a way that actually prevents her from getting away from him. The only place he’s touching her is with his hands at her neck; he’s not pulling her body close to his and he’s not twisting his fingers in her hair or doing something with his hands that would stop her from moving back. It’s also a “chaste” kiss, he doesn’t attack her with tongue. 

When he lets her go, the only point of physical contact is a loose hand on her shoulder. Again, she has every opportunity to back away, slap him, yell, or otherwise inform him he assumed wrong. She kisses him instead, because he was not, in fact, wrong.

Now. That being said. I do believe that moment is a little out of character for Michael given the line you pointed out: “I just needed some quiet.” No, I don’t believe Michael “you’re no fun when you’re quiet” Guerin would kiss anyone to shut them up but especially not Maria DeLuca. This is where we have to look outside RNM canon for answers, because it wasn’t until I saw this gifset of the og Michael and Maria that it clicked: this is a callback.

In the original Roswell, their first kiss is when Michael springs one on Maria to “calm her down”. This is too similar to “I just needed some quiet” for me to ignore, so in my opinion the kiss and the questionable canon reason behind it was meant to be a shoutout to the original Michael and Maria relationship. This kiss is squinty because that one was, and tbh the og kiss is about what I would expect from a 90s teen drama. 

Does that make it ok? Not really, but there were enough straws to grasp at in canon here that I’ll allow it at the extreme “dubious” end of the consent scale. You or others may feel differently which is fine, but the basic answer to your question is he didn’t have overt permission to kiss Maria in that moment, he took a calculated risk. As was done two other times during the first season with two other people, which I honestly think is a pretty realistic depiction of how well-intended people act irl.

Hope this helped!

[sisoyyoalgunproblema]

SKAM ESPAÑA SEASON 1 EPISODE 1

Sooo.... Here we go! If you’re wondering what is this crazy girl doing writing these long ass posts about episodes of a TV show that aired a year ago... Well, I explained everything here, I also analysed the Trailer, I know that in the website it looks like the first clip, so if you’re wondering why it doesn’t match, that’s your answer.

This is gonna be full of spoilers for seasons 1 and 2 because it’s impossible for me to watch it and not add all of that baggage, sorry. I’m going to do this clip by clip because I think it’s the most organized way of going about it, although I also thought about doing character by character... If you think it’s better that way, let me know. I’m also going to compare it to the OG and the other remakes and, no, it’s not because I think Skam España is the “superior remake” or whatever people call it, it’s because they are so different in so many ways it’s difficult to compare. 

SKAM ESPAÑA SEASON 1 EPISODE 1 “LAS RARAS DEL INSTITUTO” “THE HIGH SCHOOL WEIRDOS”

CLIP 1 ➡ SUMMER AGAIN

So, after all of that, we get the first clip, with Jorge, Lucas and Eva hanging out on the stairs after a day at the swimming pool, I love that they tease each other, they feel like an amazing group of friends, none of them feels isolated until Eva and Jorge start kissing and Lucas just leaves because no one likes being the third weal.

I really like how they make Lucas feel part of the group, it’s not Eva and Jorge and Jorge and Lucas, it’s Lucas, Eva and Jorge, but Eva and Jorge have sex with each other.

I don’t have too much to say about this clip, it’s a nice introduction to their dynamic, with Jorge always trying to reason with Eva and to reassure her by saying that everything is gonna be OK wile teasing her and making her laugh and Eva being scared and allowing herself to believe Jorge.

CLIP 2  ➡ ALONE

In this clip we get the mandatory slow motion walk of the Ingrid character, Inés in this case, and she at least just looks at Eva, with so much superiority she’d make an elephant feel small, but she doesn’t insult her or show her the finger. What a good way to start the school year!

Here we meet the boy-squad. I love that we get introduced to them in the first season, they all have such a chaotic energy, laughing at Hugo’s bad luck and making plans for the next big party.

I really like how much they actually wanted Eva to go to the concert, and that, if you think about it, they probably got the tickets before her and Jorge started dating, so it’s not that they didn’t tell her but that they didn’t think about her that way, not yet.

I also really like how understanding Eva is about all of this, she doesn’t get mad, she just basically accepts it and encourages Jorge and the boys to go and have fun and not worry about her.

I feel so much for Eva here, it’s really relatable how out of it Eva seems, she knows these boys, they all know her, they like her, but she is not part of the group, she isolates herself and doesn’t participate in the conversation, she tries at the beginning, but she can’t help feeling that these are her boyfriend’s friends, not hers. I love how this clip ends with the boys being loud and blocking her form their little circle without realizing it and with her being quiet and accepting it.

CLIP 3 ➡ THE NEW GIRL

Here we get the introduction of faux-Noora, but it’s not what I love the most about this clip. We get so much information about Amira in the background, people whispering about her because she hasn’t worn the hijab ever before and they think it’s weird. I love that we get this bit of info and that we see what our hacker queen must go through every day.

About Lara I’ll only say how relatable this whole thing is, I have a friend who says that you have to choose carefully who you talk to on the first day of school because you’ll never talk to them again and to be weary of people who come and talk to you on the first day because they’re probably just looking for someone to explain them the dynamics before they find their real place within the school/work environment/whatever.

CLIP 4  ➡ FRIENDS

I love when Skam posts clips like this, just the character in their room, doing absolutely nothing. She is scrolling through Instagram and eating some crackers. Her mom tells her to get off the phone and that she’s going to work. Nothing else happens, Eva wonders if she should follow Lara on Instagram and she doesn’t.

CLIP 5  ➡ AND WHO IS HE?

¡Ay...Viri…! We meet her in this clip, when Lara still seems to be Noora and is being nice and asking Eva how to get to her next class. Viri comes so full of energy, with so many propositions and ideas, she just comes on too strong, bless her soul, she tries too hard to fit in and it shows. We see Cris for the first time here and I love how they state that Viri is new in school and doesn’t know anyone. This is a change from the OG that I didn’t understand until season 2.

And then in comes Alejandro. Can we all just stop a second to appreciate how corny all of this is? The fact that the second Eva says his name is Alejandro, Alejandro by Lady Gaga starts playing? How Lady Gaga says Alejandro the second Viri mouths Alejandro? Like, did they have the song playing on set so that she could nail the timing? How Alejandro looks right at the camera when the song ends? It’s all so amazingly corny and cheesy and right out of one of my daydreams about the moment I’ll meet the love of my life. It’s cringy and gold and I love it.

CLIP 6  ➡ YOU ARE A GRADE A ASSHOLE

I think on the 14th of September of 2018, if you listened closely, you could hear the screams of all the confused and angry fans. I remember how I felt after watching who I KNEW was the Nora equivalent hanging out with Inés, it was devastating, I didn’t know what was gonna happen next, little did I know that with Skam España it’s always better to expect the opposite to what you’re used to.

I love how, here, Eva goes to Inés and tries to apologise, doesn’t ask for things to go back to the way they were, just for forgiveness and admits that she’s made a mistake and is so sorry that she’s hurt her and that it wasn’t her intention to do so. I really like how BRUTAL Inés is. She’s so hurt and has a reason to be so, even though we don’t know what the reason is I think that here we realize so much more than in the OG that it’s Eva’s fault, both because she says so and because she is completely understanding of Inés behaviour.

But, poor baby, she basically just lost the only friend she had in school, then went and tried to fix things with an old friend and finally it all backfired and she’s left alone.

You know what I really like about Skam in general? How they make you understand why characters do what they do, so, even if you don’t agree with their actions, you can’t make them the bad guys of the story, because situations are never black and white. 

CLIP 7  ➡ All for you

Okay, let me just begin by saying that I love how they stablish the girl squad in the background even before we know they are the girl squad, like they are part of the high-school, we see them getting in and out of class, moving around.

Jorge is so sweet. That’s all I have to say, like, the way he notices that Eva is not OK? How he tries to get the truth out of her??? Just heart eyes everywhere, I honestly think he’s the sweetest Jonas of the bunch and Eva is probably up there for being the clingiest Eva, but I love her.

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

CLIP 8  ➡ End of the year trip!!!

Here we discover Eva’s love for pizza, I can relate. And I love that she’s not mad at Jorge for being out with his friends and, even though she is jealous she is not there, she understands the situation and still tells Jorge to have a good time and means it.

Also here is the first time we see something that’s become sort of a recurrent theme in Skam España, the “I post on Instagram pretending that everything is alright and that I’m having the time of my life when I’m dying inside”.

CLIP 9  ➡ Hungover

So this is a clip that changes with its second viewing, I was so sure Lucas was jealous at Eva because she was kissing Jorge and, don’t get me wrong, I still think that he’s jealous, but more at the fact that they can be out in public and kiss and no-one will bat an eye than at the fact that Eva is kissing the boy he likes.

Also, if you want a sign telling you that you need to get some friends ASAP, sitting alone on a Saturday watching your partner play football, or whatever they play, with their friends as you sit alone on the bleachers eating Cheetos should do the trick.

Oh, and I love Jorge, have I mentioned that? How supporting he is? The way he encourages her and tells her how amazing she is while teasing her and making her laugh is amazing, I’ve never had a relationship like this, but I’m pretty sure being with someone who’s self esteem is as low as Eva’s is right now must not be easy, but he does it with such an ease, he loves her so much he’ll support her through thick and thin and he’ll be by her side for whatever she may need as long as she wants him to.

Also, Eva not being mad that he forgot that they where supposed to hung out together is something I have conflicting feelings about because, OK, you shouldn’t put on a show and scream and all of that, but it was important to her and she doesn’t say anything because she’s afraid that she’ll lose him if she does, she should have made it clear that she was hurt and that it was okay, for this once, but that she hoped it never happened again because she was counting on spending the day with him and now her plans are ruined and that’s not OK.

So I think this clip shows how much Eva depends on Jorge, so much so that she won’t stand up for herself for fear of loosing him, and that’s sad, but also so fucking relatable. And I’m not blaming Jorge here for forgetting it, I’m sure that to him the “I’ll be all yours” comment was just not as important as it was to Eva, he should’ve remembered though, and Eva should’ve shown him he hurt her.

CLIP 10 & 11  ➡ Shitty meeting

That meeting was painful to watch, but can I just state how much I hated Viri during that first season and how much she’s changed and improved, like here she is: “I don’t get you and you don’t follow the society’s way of thinking or acting so you’re weird” and now she’s all: “I don’t get you and you don’t follow the society’s way of thinking or acting, but you’re my friend and I’m here for whatever you need”.

I also love the little hints they drop here and there about Amira and her hijab being a new thing, like how she says she’s planning on buying a burkini and Cris is all like WTF? But then Amira looks at her like saying, are you my friend or what? And Cris is all like, OF FUCKING COURSE AMIRIS FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER, so she ends up supporting her.

And Nora’s introduction, I think it’s amazing, and I was so FUCKING confused on my first viewing, like, girl, she’s literally called Nora so she MUST be Noora, but, then, who the fuck is Lara? Little did we know…

I’ve also noticed how much Amira’s changed, she’s so closed of and defensive in this episode, both clips, like she is not sure whether the girls will accept her or not, so she puts up this wall between them to guard herself and is brutally honest, maybe even cruel. Looking at this clip now feels so weird, because this is not the Amira I know now, the Amira I know is quiet, and loving and caring, and loves to talk about her religion and her culture, and is always ready to help her friends, or to fight for them… It really takes me back to what Skam really is about, loving one another and creating safe spaces where we can grow and become who we are meant to be free of prejudice.

Final thought on this clip, I really, really, really hate Cris’ make up here, like, girl, WE are supposed to be the clowns here, not you.

CLIP 12  ➡ The weirdos

So, Eva and Nora, I love their friendship, the way Nora picks up on the fact that Eva is NOT okay, and asks her if everything is alright a couple of times before she leaves???? Heart eyes everywhere.

Also I’m going to use this to address the criticism about Nora’s introduction, honestly, I don’t remember where I saw it, it was more than a year ago, but it basically said that it was the least gay out of all of them and I’m like, WTF???? People, aren’t you tired of being queer-batted? Because I am, I’m so over queer-batting, and that you’re asking for it is weird. Because, if they are not meant to be anything more than friends, I’m grateful that they don’t have any kind of interaction that could be considered as “gay” (although I don’t really know what a “gay” interaction actually is, I guess I would already have a girlfriend by now if I did, instead of sitting in a coffee shop writing very, very, very long Tumblr posts about things no-one really cares about).

In defence of anyone who likes Noreva, I get it, we are all starved for good wlw representation, and on the original the only thing remotely close we had to that was Noora and Eva’s friendship during the first season, but here we’ve got Cris and Joana, so having Eva and Nora be just best friends is totally fine by me.

The clip ends with a heartbroken Eva watching as Jorge laughs with Inés, I don’t know. I have nothing to say about it, other than the fact that I’m glad I’m no longer 16 and have better communicating skills and higher self seem than Eva, not that I did at 16, I was an absolute mess at 16, still am, in a different way.

Sooo... This took longer than I expected,  if I’ve said anything you don’t agree with, tell me and we’ll chat for a bit😘

[thesophiewhit]

On Writing My First Audio-Drama Podcast

A daring solo adventure with a big love for audio-drama (Welcome to NightVale. What’s the Frequency. The Enoch Saga. Raising the Dead (Again), The Byron Chronicles. Harlem Queen and more!) and absolutely zero idea how to work a proper editing program except for iMovie.

A recipe for disaster, you say? Or is it a daring adventure? 

I decided it was a little bit of both, mixed with a chaotic storm of utter, well, chaos. But, I went with it anyway. 

And what did I learn from producing? (Producing solo. Yes, that includes but is not limited to: writing the 200 pages for a first season, recording different voices like I’m Gollum, finding copyright free music, producing an original song cover even if I’ve never sang before, editing recaps, theme songs, setting up Twitter accounts, Instagram, YouTube channels. Email addresses. Websites. Blog tours.)

And on top of that, still waiting on getting approved by podcasting hosts? (Cries in impatience).

I have a little screensaver on my phone that says: write, finish things, keep writing from fave emo author Neil Gaiman. @neil-gaiman​ (the inside home screen says something about managing anxiety and is super sweet.)

So, I listened to virtual motivator Neil Gaiman and got to writing the audio drama. 

I am an indie producer who’s really new at this, so take my word with a whole lot of NaCl grains, but here goes...

AUDIO-DRAMA PODCAST TIPS FROM SOMEONE WHO’S STILL LEARNING THE ROPES

1. It is a non-universally acknowledged fact that a podcast episode goes for 20 minutes- 1 hour. My episodes hit the 20 minute mark. 9 Episodes = approximately 180+ minutes of footage. 

2. In script speak, a single page of a script runs for approximately 2 minutes of edited dialogue (leaving room for adding SFX and music). One episode for me (20 minutes), meant writing 10 pages of a very non-formatted script. (But it worked for me. What works for me might not work for you, vice-versa)

3. Music makes a podcast sound professional. I used FreeMusicArchive for a lot of my music. When I needed to produce an OG song for my season finale, I went with “House of New Orleans” and made it sound, you know, ghostly. It’s a horror podcast, it fit my theme

3.5. SFX also make your podcast sound so good. Yes, laugh at my for iMovie editing, but the SFX are free for use (iMovie encourages this). Aside from good dialogue, sound design really helps you build your world. (Outside of music, of course). Think of it like watching a movie. That sound of someone creeping along wooden floors in a horror movie, the background noise of traffic on a busy NYC street, even knocking on a door. These elements bring your audio-drama to life. I favored SoundBible and FreeSounds.

4. Speaking of themes! Pick a genre for your audio-drama. You can mix genres too, within general reason (this is for marketing purposes, you understand. And social media loves to limit how many characters you get to type. Twitter, I’m looking atcha). Comedic drama. Horror mystery. Romantic necromancy, whatever. Just find a branding theme and stay there. This will help you build a podcasting family! For example, I have a horror/paranormal podcast family. We’re tight knit. Lots of goth clothing.

5. Reach out to other podcasting peoples. You’re family, not dueling rivals. When I was starting out (heck, I’m still a pod-baby), I asked so many questions. I tweeted out into the void with my #PodernFamily #AudioDrama hashtags and asked about marketing yourself, sound design, podcast hosting etc.

6. Speaking of which, you’re going to need a HOST before you get your Podcast released onto iTunes, Google Play etc. I used Anchor, but I know others who used SoundCloud etc etc.

7. The host might automatically publish your show onto podcast providers (iTunes/Google Play etc), or you might need to manually submit your RSS feed. You can find it from your podcast host (Anchor you access settings, I believe), but this RSS is your ticket to distributing said podcast TO THE WORLD.

8. Set up a Ko-Fi or Patreon so you can have a lil nudge into buying equipment/funding your art. (Mine is https://www.ko-fi.com/sophiefae , what’s up? *winks*)

9. Make things. You’re the number one marketer on your team. Make trailers. Make graphics. Make a kickass cover for your audio-drama so people want to click on that badass-looking icon. I find this fun, some people might find this irritating. I’m just living my best life with PhotoShop even if I have no idea what I’m doing. What’s up?) 

10. Learn how to do sound design. Okay, I’ll admit, I’ve been using iMovie up until now because I’m a coward. But a very lovely podcasting community helped me learn how to use Audacity. We’re getting there, fellow new-programs-are-scary-and-have-demons learners. We’re getting there.

Edit together bloopers/ a highlight reel/ a behind-the-scenes interview, or a little season trailer to play before your episodes so people can just dive right into your drama of the audio.

My trailer for Grimm and Glitter, by the way: (sup *winks*)

Have any other tips for budding podcasters or audio drama makers? Leave them below! 

Social media for Grimm and Glitter Podcast if anybody’s curious...

Twitter: @GrimmGlitter @Fae_Sophie (like cheeky horror movie GIFs, me too)

Instagram @FirstAmongFae (fun if you’re into goth cosplay)

YouTube: Sophie Fae (trailers and episodes)

Website if you wanna listen to an audio-drama about goth and prep girlfriends battling demons together in a small beach town: 

https://firstamongfae.wixsite.com/grimm/grimm-glitter

Meet Grimm & Glitter- two superpowered teens who fight evil in an isolated beach town. Just don't look behind the red door...

In the middle of butt-nowhere called “Calamity Beach”, 16-year old Grim and 17-year old Glitter find a hole in the abandoned amusement park just outside the town. The tunnel leads to a locked red door that not even light can get through.  Things would all be fine and dandy (no questions asked) except for the strange noises seeping out of it.

That, and ever since going down there, Grim and Glitter suddenly gain mysterious powers. Grim can’t stop hearing people’s thoughts, and Glitter can see the ghosts of the dead.  

Can these two teenagers discover the secrets lying beneath Calamity Beach? Or will time run out before the summer ends?

[venus-says]

Aikatsu! Episodes 06-10

A bright smile to light up your day

I had a shitty day, and tomorrow promise to be just as a shitty so let's get some healing from idols.

WE SHARE THE SAME PROBLEM ICHIGO. Is very frustrating just writing up my name like a peasant in every contract or receipts, it makes me feel so boring and bland. But I never could come up with a design I feel good about. orz one of the reasons why I hate my name Thanks for kicking me in the balls, Johnny. OTL

The face of evil. 😂 Once again Aoi representing me. Gosh I love Ran. Hey nice to see they mention about brands and such, it was about time. (I hope we will start to see those soon, I'm getting tired of their school dresses)

also ICHIGO YOUR SIGN IS NO PRACTICAL AT ALL. The only time Johnny seems to make sense Ichigo just throws that through the window and says "I'm just gonna train", oh boy. 😅 Can't believe they're really doing the autograph session XD Okay I'm glad this episode wasn't just about getting a sign and that Ichigo learned that she also needs to care for her fans while doing it. Valuable lessons. NEW COORD, YAY! The song is still Idol Katsudou but I'm happy we're getting something different. Next is an episode about twitter, oh god XD

Okay what's the deal with making Nao see the girls training all the time? This makes him look like a creep. Ichigo, you need to stop Aoi, I think she's just a little obsessed. These cards came out of nowhere, what the fuck. Okay as much as there's things in this episode that I don't like I've gotta say this moment of Aoi and Ichigo just before Aoi's performance was really sweet. I almost cried. Man I love prism spiral. Another performance with no appeal 🤔 I wonder why. Uhhh I like this ending making it unclear of who sent the message. I'm pretty sure it was just Mizuki but still is nice to have this feel of mystery in the air. Okay next episode (and probably the last) before I go do the dishes from dinner.

Oh this is the episode about Hikari. You know I've always been curious about why is Hikari so popular. I've always seen her everywhere but she's just a side character so this always intrigued me, I hope I'll find the reason behind it now. Why is Ichigo recording a vlog? 😅 "Her singing is in another level" have you listened to the same songs as I did, Aoi? XD her voice sounds very weird to me 😅 Ran's story about how she got her first Spicy Ageha cards is so adorable, omg I wanna hug her.

PRECIOUS!!!!!! Idol Katsudou again...? 😅 Okay Hikari's voice here sounds more natural than in her cd. Ohhhhh first signs of Soleil coming together, I'm excited! So the episode ended and I still don't see anything special about Hikari. 😅 Do people like her just because she was the first non main character to get a CG performance? Or does she appears again later in a more relevant and likeable situation? Anyways, I managed to finish the cleaning faster that I expected so I think I'm good to do like yesterday and watch more two episodes. LESGOU.

Oh so this special audition is just like a normal school exam, I thought this was for a gig. XD I like how they make such a big deal of Premium Rare coords when nowadays idols are already debuting on PRs without we even seeing them in other coords of their brands. Damn this must be frustrating for the ogs. 😅 Anyway, I love how shy Ran actually is. 💜 Damn I just realized the A part of this episode ended before the 7 minutes mark. This is gonna be important huh? Oh is the Splash girls, I didn't knew they were part of the series since this early. Damn, Angely Sugar is old. Oh they actually got their PRs in this episode, I was expecting this to be in the next episode since, well, we've only seen them performing in branded coords once.

DAMN ICHIGO. Ok now I understand why climbing cliffs is so important in Aikatsu as a whole. Major RESPECT. Forget everything I was saying about them getting PRs even though we've only seen them in their brand coords just once. This was well deserved. Congratulations girls, specially to you Ichigo.

I'm glad someone actually touched in this subject. 😅 You did great girls! (Even though the trio appeal of season 1 is very weird, still kudos to y'all)

Okay let me watch the Otome episode and call it a day.

She really felt into the fountain because she was trying to touch the rainbow, oh boy 😅

They really wanna emphasize that Otome is a Pop idol, don't they? Watching this on April with a Christmas event being announced is very weird XD Otome's Pop'n Popcorn CM is freaking adorable, send help. Is Otome _really_ in love with Ran? XD well I can't blame her. OTOME IS PRECIOUS!!!!!!!

"KYUIN TO SOUL GA SHOUT SURU NO DESU" Isn't fun that Angel Snow is a song about winter and all but the stage is the most spring-like possible? Lol Okay this was very Orihime Ex Machina but I'm glad Otome's will have another chance, she's a cutie and she deserves it. u3u Okay I guess that's it for today. Tomorrow is the Christmas episode. I can't believe I'm saying this on April. LOL Anyway, see ya~

[skammovistarplus]

Culture and Translation - S01 E07 and SKAM+ Clip 3

I hope I get these done before season 2 starts dropping, that’s all I’ll say. 😂

CLIP 1: Foreshadowing

Es un poco rancio, ¿no? (“It’s not hip, no?”): Fucking Jorge and his untranslatable slang. Okay, so “rancio” literally means “rancid” — and a bunch of other things besides, but this is the meaning closest to the way Jorge uses it. Jorge means that the power of invisibility is overused, boring, the kind of thing someone totally out of touch would pick. Simply put, it’s not cool, and may not have ever been cool.

Es como el superpoder de los cotillas (“It’s like the gossips’ superpower”): “Cotilla” is both a busybody and someone who gossips a lot. Either way, they like being all up on your business.

I think it’s notable that this is all that remains from the og storyline where Jonas wants to meet Eva’s mom, but ultimately bails because he’s smoking weed at Ingrid’s. Eva simply puts Jorge’s request off and it’s never spoken of again.

Personally, I have to say that Eva sharing basically none of her life with her mom rang true to me. I spoke with one of the people who attended the research groups, who told me they were asked about how much or how little they share with their parents. She said most people agreed that teens spend time with their families, but they don’t talk to their parents about their lives all that much. As a teen, my parents were on a need-to-know basis when it came to who my friends were or who I was dating, much less at what point sex, booze and other drugs came into my life.

CLIP 2:  Diseased Pomeranian

Ay, que me mato (“Ah, I’m gonna die”): There’s a bit of a nuance to what Eva says. To die, in Spanish, is “morir”. “Matar” means to kill. Eva means she’s going to hurt herself getting off Jorge’s back and then die, so not quite the same as passing peacefully, lol.

Que me pica un huevo la nariz (“My nose is itching something terrible”): Indeed, Viri says that her nose is itching, but she uses “un huevo” as an intensifier. “Un huevo” would usually mean an egg, but in this register it means a testicle, heh. So her nose is itching in a testicley way.

Viri says in episode 8 that the girl that runs into Eva is a second year. At any rate, Alicia and Inés hung out over the summer with her.

We get a medium close-up of Alicia as the nameless second year passes by her. Alicia has noticed that the second year has herpes, as well. It’s a brief moment, but we can tell that Alicia puts two and two together, as well.

CLIP 3: In which ALEJANDRO tries to get a passing grade in Maths

This is an underrated moment, but I find it hilarious that Eva invokes the “not all men” defense. Especially since Inés preys  on Eva’s insecurity at the end of the clip.

No me jodas (“don´t fuck me over”): This is just one of those Spanish things that we’ll say over and over. I tried different translations through the course of the season, but I still haven’t settled on one that I think really hits the spot. “Don’t fuck me over” works, but it might come across as Eva’s feelings being hurt, rather than something we say… over and over, heh.

Please don’t miss Alejandro adjusting his junk. Lol he’s so douchey.

There’s a school desk in the bathroom. This is not an uncommon sight in Spanish high schools, but I don’t really have a good explanation for it. Like, it’s just a thing. I guess people will drag a desk over at recess, so they can more comfortably hang out in the bathrooms, and then nobody ever bothers dragging them back?

And, of course, this has been noted, but the graffiti on the wall is a pun. If you read it without the R in parenthesis, it says, “Woman, love yourself.” If you read it adding the R, it says, “Woman, arm yourself.”

Pues a la de mates le está saliendo uno (“the Maths hardass is developing a cold sore too”): What Cris actually says is, “So, the Maths [female pronoun] is developing one,” but for the sake of clarity, I rephrased it to remind the people watching that the girls see the Maths teacher as a toughie, and also, so what Cris is implying about Alejandro and the Maths teacher is more obvious.

I really love that Inés actually smells Jorge’s sweatshirt/hoodie (it’s not clear from dialogue which is it). That’s a power move in any culture.

CLIP 4: Corviches are so hot right now

Encaja todo, claro (“It makes sense, of course”): The closer translation is, “It all fits, of course.” I just wasn’t sure the meaning would be clear, especially when they’re all talking so fast.

Tío, ¿y si nos acoplamos a tus hermanos? (“Dude, and if we crash your brothers’ plans?”): First off, Amira is addressing Cris, but she uses “tío” and not “tía.” This is common and there’s nothing noteworthy about it, but I wanted to mention it in case people had noticed characters of any gender addressing female characters as “tío.” Second, Amira is using slang that would be literally translated to, “what if we dock up with your brothers?” The visual is adorable (to me anyway), but I went with a less literal phrasing that makes more sense in English. I also love that this is apparently something Cris and Amira have done enough that it’s what comes to Amira’s mind first as an alternate weekend idea.

Lol easy there with the age foreshadowing, show. Looking at Cris, Jorge and Lucas specifically.

Jorge says he wants to spin tecno (or techno, in English ). In Spain, tecno has become something of a catch-all term for all EDM genres, rather than the specific mid-80s genre. In hindsight, I’d use EDM instead of electronica.

In case you hadn’t looked corviches up yet, here is a recipe + pic in English.  They’re similar to hot pockets, but the dough is made with peanuts and plantains. Also, apparently, very successful with girls! I have not had them (yet!)

Cris notes that daylight savings time ends that weekend. She and the script writers are correct! She remembers because that gives them an extra hour of partying, but the social media updates stopped before 2 am. Who knows when Cris got back home, though!

At some point in this clip, Jorge and Lucas talk to each other among the general chatter. For once, Lucas’ voice doesn’t carry over the others like a powerful siren, so I was never able to make out what they said. Missed opportunities.

CLIP 5: As if millions of voices suddenly cried out in joy and were suddenly silenced

Debuti (“G shit”): This is one of the translations that I’m happiest about. Debuti sounds very Madrid-specific to me, and so I wanted something really specific and that would stick out. “Debuti” comes up a few times over the season, but it is always said by Eva. It’s Eva’s catchphrase.

I hope it came through in the subs, but while Eva is reading Jorge’s texts, the gang is having a ridiculously hard time trying to pronounce corviches, in the background. To be fair I’m biased because I’ve studied linguistics, but it doesn’t seem like a word a native Spanish speaker would have trouble with.

We first hear Alejandro’s voice as he comes in Nora’s house! Unless you watched the Aitana extra clip, of course. On that note, there’s no animosity whatsoever between the boy squad and Alejandro’s crew. They give each other friendly high fives, it’s all chill.

This party only came to be the day before. Imagine what Cris would’ve done with a few days heads up.

I wonder if Cris was looking to hook up with Lucas at this party, and, since he didn’t feel like being social, she hooked up with Hugo, instead. Seeing how hard a time she’s had shaking Hugo off, I think it would’ve gone better for her if Lucas had agreed to a dance.

And speaking of Lucas, you can kind of see the order in which some scenes were shot, by tracking Lucas’ actor’s cold sore. And yes, it is an actual cold sore and not make up for the show, lol. It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that. What amazing timing on the cold sore’s part to be at the scab stage during ALEJANDRO FERNANDO ROBERTO’s herpes week.

Pues muy bien (“Good for her”):  It’s not exactly what Alejandro says. What he says would be closer to, “Okay, very good.” But I think “Good for her” really gets across how little Alejandro cares about what Nora is saying, at this point of the confrontation.

¿Es que no te salían pelos en los huevos? (“You didn’t grow hair in your balls?”): Omg. It’s ON. ON. I am cringing so hard at this mistake in the subs.

CLIP 6: 🙃🙃🙃

I saw someone asking on twitter, so yes, those giant plastic cups are a thing here. They have different names depending on what part of Spain you’re from. In Madrid, they’re called “mini,” and they have a volume of 750 ml (or a little over three cups). They’re most often used for street drinking.

Eva drinks KNEBEP Vodka, which is sold at (you guessed it) Mercadona, for 4 euro per bottle. My liver is crying just thinking about it.

The first song that plays over this clip is Aitana’s Teléfono (Telephone). We remember Aitana from Cristian’s party!

CLIP 7: 🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃

Te he oído que estabas con Inés (“I could hear you were with Inés”): Literally, “I have heard you, that you were with Inés.”

Por eso he coincidido con Inés (“That’s why Inés was around”): Collins dictionary says that “coincidir” in the sense Jorge is using it would be translated as, “to happen to meet.” I.e. “That’s why I’ve happened to meet Inés.” But I didn’t like it, because Jorge was at Inés’ house. Of course Inés was around. He didn’t just happen to run into her somewhere random. Hope the translation worked!

Tranquila (“It’s okay”): We had something of a debate over the way to translate this. Jorge says “tranquila,” which is the female form of the adjective “calm.” TAJTA wanted to translate it as “calm down.” I didn’t agree, because in Spanish, that would be “tranquilízate.” Jorge is simply repeating “tranquila” to Eva as a means to soothe her, like you do with a crying person. So, rather than “calm down,” I suggested that Jorge repeat “It’s okay.”

Jorge does say “tranquilízate” over the credits, and in that instance we did translate it as “calm down.”

EXTRA CLIP 3: Hugo psyches himself out

This clip takes place between clip 4 and 5! It happens on Friday evening.

At the 00:21 mark, the camera focuses on a graffiti of a blue-skinned woman, with yellow text next to her. It says, “We are the witches you couldn’t kill.”

Pero si estoy más sudado que el rabo de Nadal (“I’m sweatier than Nadal’s wang though”): This is the exact translation, word for word. I just wanted to make clear I did not make anything up in that sentence. By the way, it took a bit to settle on wang among all the many words for a penis.

Nos alegramos porque un colega nuestro está a punto de mojar (“We’re happy because a buddy is gonna get his dick wet”): Dilan is not quite so explicit, he just says Hugo is going to “mojar,” literally, “to wet.” But, it just made me realize that “get his dick wet” is pretty much what “mojar” has meant all this time, and I just hadn’t really thought about it until I had to translate it for a teen show.

Concha de tu madre (“hurry up”): This is Latin American slang. I actually had to read up on usage, because it is most often used as an insult having to do with someone’s mother’s vagina. But I’m pretty sure that, in this context, Dilan only intends to hurry Hugo up. 😂

Social media:

I just want to have a minor breakdown about Eva actually referring to Lucas as her and Jorge’s son, lol.

Jorge has the Théophile Steinlen’s Le Chat Noir poster up in his room. As I mentioned in a previous post, Tomás Aguilera seems to be both a fan of cats and of French. The three videos of Jorge messing with his DJ system are among my very favorite Skam España social media content, because for once, they’re not a selfie.

It looks as though the shipname for Hugo/Cris is Crugo, to answer a question I posed when I posted the social media updates.

“Olé” finally makes an appearance on Skam España. I’ve decided to keep it as is, because some things would be a crime to translate. In case you’re not aware, “olé” is used to express approval and it’s commonly associated with flamenco music and bullfighting. However, it’s not just used in those two contexts. It can be used in any context. I often use it sarcastically, when someone has fucked up. 😋

[head-and-heart]

The 100 Highlights - “Acceptable Losses” (5x07)

Hey guys! 

I’m back to do my highlight recap of episode 5x07, “Acceptable Losses”, written by Jeff Vlaming. I am really happy to say that I enjoyed this episode a significant amount more than I did the previous one, and I’m really excited to dig into it with this post. 

If you would like to view my other highlight posts you can do so here. 

“She was shot, Marcus. Octavia Blake killed her - not me.” 

^ Okay so I want to start of this post by talking about this line from Abby because I honestly think its really important. The fact that Kane was sort of implying that Abby was responsible for that girls death was really rubbing me the wrong way because, like, yes: maybe, if Abby was well, she would have been able to save the girl. But you can’t get a drug addict to fix themselves just by asking them to. And you can’t expect them to be able to fix other people too. As much as Abby may want to stop, that’s not how it works. I don’t think anyone should be blaming Abby for the death of that girl. It shouldn’t have even been Abby’s responsibility to treat her, to be honest. Jackson is a doctor, too. And he’s in a way better condition to handle that kind of situation at the moment. Obviously they wanted Abby because they can use drugs to get her to do what they want, but it doesn’t seem right for Kane to put that guilt on Abby’s shoulders. 

It just reminded me so much of Abby saying to Raven in 4x03 that the radiation wasn’t killing that child - she was. It’s not true. Raven didn’t kill that girl, and Abby didn’t kill this one. It was Octavia. 

Also I know everyone’s having fun hating on Kabby this season but I must have missed the memo cause I don’t really know why y’all hate it so much

Anywayyyyy

Harper SPOKE

“Funny, that’s the same thing we said about getting back down to the ground. And then we found you.”

LISTEN. I don’t know why y’all were hating on Bellamy for “shooting Octavia down” in this scene. The way she was talking to him in this scene absolutely SCREAMED manipulation to me. I was so happy when he said this to her - like, we’ve been waiting for seasons for him to stand up to Octavia, and finally he is. It’s a lot better than him just sitting there in silence, taking whatever she was probably about to throw at him once she had his sympathy and compliance. 

Also, WHAT A DRAG. This writer has all the one-liners, damn. There was so much sass in this episode - I really enjoyed that aspect of it.

Okay, I REALLY love that they brought back Jasper’s suicide letter again in this episode. It was just SO important. So easily they forget about characters who have died on this show and what they meant to the people who are still alive, and I’m happy that that doesn’t seem to be the case with Jasper and Monty. Jasper’s presence in this episode felt like the callback this season needed - it helped me feel a lot more connected to the show, and to the characters. It was a well-needed reminder of the heart of this show and what it’s about.

Also, it is absolutely necessary to give ALL the kudos to Tree Adams for the work he has done this season (and especially in this episode). It’s crazy how much that man has managed to emote with his music. His presence on the crew of this show has served to elevate it in every single way. When I heard “The Awakening” being played over the scenes revolving Jasper ... it was A Lot fam. I think it is the most tragic and beautiful song that they have done on The 100 and it is also very deeply linked to Jasper as a character and everything that he went through. I love that, even though that song is from Season 3, they have continued to bring it back for both Season 4 and 5. It shows that they remember where they came from, and the journey that has brought us to this moment. 

It Just Means A Lot.

Actually, everything to do with Monty and Clarke in this episode was INCREDIBLE. Man, I really felt their dynamic. They connected so well and it just made me really emotional. They used to be such a team ... Before. It’s nice to see that they can click back into that place so quickly again. Them teaming up ... it almost felt like old times. 

“Monty, you can’t pick a lock with pruning sheers.” “Ye hath little faith.” 

Thanks to this post here I am now aware that this is exactly what Monty said to Jasper in 2x07 when they were trying to unlock another door and Now I’m Sad (and yet also really happy that they put so much care and detail into this episode?).

Monty was just amazing this episode - like damn he’s so smart. He’s such an undercover badass. We don’t appreciate him enough. 

I have to hand it to the writers with this one cause I really did NOT see that worm thing coming lmao. I was SO sure that we were about to get a cannibalism reveal and I’m pretty sure the writers are well-aware of that. They were having fun with us. 

But on another note, I’m actually really happy that they brought the worms into the story. Otherwise, 5x05 would have pretty much just been a filler episode with no real significance. But, in doing this, they’ve made it so that episode is even more relevant than we thought. AND WOW WHAT A FUCKING TERRIFYING WAY TO DO SO.

BELLAMY AND MONTY AND CLARKE HAVING A CHAT JUST LIKE OLD TIMES WOW I’M EMO

We can’t forget they were the OG murder trio of 2x16 i love three pals bonded through the blood of their enemies

“Be diplomatic.” “Get out.” “Real diplomatic.” I LOVE TWO (2) COMEDIANS WOW BELLARKE REALLY HAS ME SHOVED STRAIGHT UP THEIR ASS HUH

“Clarke, he was there when Pike shot her and killed 300 of her people.” I know everyone is really mad about this line but on rewatch I noticed that they changed this line from the script so that it puts the blame for the massacre on Pike’s shoulders rather than Bellamy’s and while I do think it was a bit of an awkward placement, I appreciate that they changed the line so it didn’t feel like such a punch in the face. 

Also, Clarke’s pause and then “I’ll go with him”? Peak comedy. I love a woman.

“When I was a kid, after the battle of San Francisco, I watched the evacuation on TV. Thousands of refugees being packed into aircraft carriers. I remember seeing soldiers pushing helicopters overboard just to make more room, and Diyoza was there. She was the one giving the orders. The machines were expendable, but the people weren’t. But up in space, when we reported that the miners were getting sick, Eligius saw it differently. Order Eleven came down: ‘Bring home the Hythylodium, leave the prisoners.’ Like they were garbage. Captain Stevens agreed and I didn’t.”

There’s something so compelling about the way Jordan Bolger delivers his lines. It reminds me of him talking to Clarke in 5x03 - I could listen to him talk about his backstory for hours. When he speaks he just has a way of captivating the audience. And also CHARMAINE DIYOZA WAS A MFING WAR HERO AND I WON’T HEAR ANYTHING ELSE. Damn, she continues to be the absolute best. 

“So you see, Diyoza’s not as bad as you think and I’m not as good as you hoped.” WHAT A FUCKING LINE.

I am living for Zeke’s character and his relationship with Raven is so intriguing. Jordan and Lindsey have such great chemistry.

“An honest spy is either incompetent or working an angle. Which are you?” CHARMAINE TRULY CAME FOR HER LIFE GOD SHE’S SO SAVAGE I LOVE A WOMAN

“Karina died because her doctor was too high to operate.” “Really? And here I thought it was the bullet.” THANK. YOU. 

The way Charmaine calls Kane out in this scene really just made me want to like, pump a fist or something, lmao. When he’s like “maybe it would be a good way to get rid of some of these ...” and she says, “What, Kane? Undesirables?” I. FELT. THAT. 

“Kind of like sending 100 juvenile delinquents to die on the ground. Or abandoning 300 prisoners on an asteroid?” You know, I really didn’t expect Charmaine - of all people - to bring back this old argument from Season 1 but I WAS SO HAPPY THAT SHE DID. Say what you will about Diyoza but she’s nothing if not loyal. She’s not here to abandon her troops and she’s not willing to discard any of them - just like she wasn’t willing to abandon any of those refugees. The fact that she’s so open to allowing defectors into the camp at all, that she is feeding them, giving them shelter, actually sitting down to have chats with them is just so ... uncharacteristic of a “villain”? And I love it. 

“Trust her? She’s a drug addict. ... Too soon?”

Literally me, every time Diyoza opens her mouth:

Got to take a short second to say again how interested I am to see how this whole Gaia/Madi plotline is going to play out, now that we know that she is actually here to keep her safe. It’s such an interesting dynamic, with her being so close to Octavia.

I know a lot of people are annoyed that the flame is still part of the show but honestly, I think it makes a lot of sense (considering Madi’s position as a nightblood) and plays a lot more interesting of a role now that the time of the Commander’s is supposedly over and their faith has been destroyed ... almost. In any case, I’m pretty sure that the flame will be gone for good by the end of this season because I think that whatever happens with Madi and Octavia’s reign and Wonkru is going to lead to its destruction, but in the meantime I really don’t mind it being part of the story.

I have to talk about the scene where Gaia shows her the flame because I LOVE how it was filmed. The music was so eery and fit the mood perfectly, and the fucking whispers??? We’ve never actually seen how a real, living nightblood reacts to the flame and I think it’s actually super cool that Madi can feel a bond to it - it was literally beckoning to her. It was giving me major Lord of the Rings vibes. 

And wow, Lola really killed that scene. You can clearly see the way her emotions are creating inner turmoil for her. She’s been hiding from the flame since birth and yet she also cannot deny the draw that she feels towards it (again, like Frodo with the ring). Lola has such a potential as a little actress - I’m really excited to see where she goes.

Side note but ... who’s going to tell these writers no one actually refers to their sibling as “big brother” just casually? 

“There are times in war where you have to do the wrong things for the right reasons.” And I’m sure this is exactly how Echo justified every single thing she did pre-Praimfaya too. I have to admit that I actually liked what they did with Echo this episode just because it shows that she still has areas that require growth. Her priorities and loyalties changed up on the Ark but she has yet to be truly tested. This is her test, to see how much those six years really changed her. If this episode is an indication, her instinct is still to fall back into old habits during times of war. I’m optimistic that what this means is we are going to get to see Echo have real development, on-screen, this season.

Monty reading Jasper’s letter ... I Am Not Okay. 

Again, loved all the callbacks to Jasper in this episode. It’s really interesting that his character arc has carried over from Season 3/4 and seems to have reinvented itself in Monty now. I’m hopeful that Monty isn’t going to go down the self-destructive path that Jasper went down, but that he might actually use Jasper’s memory to pave the path towards real change. We rarely get characters who want to end the fighting rather than continue it - I’m interested to see where Monty’s character arc goes as the season progresses.

“Jasper was smarter than all of us [...] If the war is the only way to have the last survivable land on Earth, then maybe we don’t deserve it.” He’s not wrong ...

Octavia throwing a skull at her mirror in rage ... I just have to laugh

“If we lose, [you helping Kane escape] will be why. How does that make you feel?” “Awful, and I’d do it again.”

LISTEN INDRA THIS SEASON IS EVERYTHING. She’s one of the few characters who is not afraid to call out Octavia on the way that she is leading. She can see so clearly through Blodreina’s bullshit and yet she loves Octavia despite it. That’s Strength.

“I miss him, too.” Lemme just go roll into my corner and CRY MY FUCKING EYES OUT because Bellamy and Jasper was one of my all time favourite dynamics and I miss it so much

“Make algae, not war. That’s cute.” IT IS FUCKING CUTE BELLAMY ALL RIGHT

“If the early batches don’t kill them like they nearly did us.” “That’s before I got the recipe right, and you know it.” I STAN

Seriously, though ... Monty is just SO (so) underrated. 

BELLAMY BLAKE HAS A FUCKING DIMPLE ON HIS RIGHT CHEEK AND I WAS NOT EVEN FUCKING AWARE OF THIS FACT BECAUSE IN ALL THE FOUR AND HALF SEASONS THAT CAME BEFORE THIS THE CAMERA HAS NEVER FOCUSED ON HIS SMILE LIKE THAT BEFORE SO YEAH I AM SALTY BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN ROBBED OF THIS CUTENESS GOOD NIGHT

“75% of your people are dying.” “Well, that’s good . . . For Octavia.” The casual way she delivers this line askqiakdksansks i stan a comedian

LISTEN. The reveal of Diyoza being pregnant LITERALLY made me gasp. Out loud. I literally jumped off of my couch and cheered. I am SO excited about this reveal. I didn’t think they were going to actually use the fact that that Ivana was pregnant during filming in the show because they had her taking tequila shots in 5x05 (*sigh*) but I’m really happy that they decided to. It just adds a whole extra layer to Charmaine. She’s not just a leader - she’s a mother. And I do wonder at how that might affect Abby’s and Charmaine’s dynamic, because that’s one thing they both have in common. 

Another reason I really liked that reveal was because I think Charmaine being pregnant gives her a higher chance of surviving this season. She still may die, but it’s a lot darker to kill off a character when they are carrying a baby inside of them than when they are not, and I know the CW has regulations on that kind of thing. 

That being said, Karina was heavily implied to have been pregnant and she still died ... Although they did cut out the lines that explicitly stated she was pregnant from the script so maybe her death was why?

Anyway, I’m really excited about this plotline.

Raven looking at a beaten up Shaw with tears in her eyes ... this is the angst I live for. Man, I could get invested in this relationship. Not to mention, Zeke becoming one of the prisoners is SUPER intriguing. His role within Eligius is what kept him conflicted before, but if Eligius has rejected him too now, who will he become? What will he do to help Raven and the others? Right now, I’m sure he wants nothing to do with her but I know that won’t last forever and I’m really excited to see what they do with his character.

I know that Madi beating Ethan in that fight was a TERRIBLE idea but I’m really excited about it. Madi has surprised me as a character (in a good way) because she has so much of her own agency outside of Clarke. I think the story of her struggling with her hero-worship and glorification of Octavia versus her love and loyalty to Clarke is super interesting. She may be fucking everything up but she’s doing it on her own terms, and that’s exciting, because Madi easily could have been written in as a plot device to cause conflict between Clarke and her friends as well as within the Grounder system. Instead, the writers have given her flaws and strengths in her own right. She is way more fleshed out as a character than I was expecting going into Season 5 and I think this story with her and Octavia will be really interesting. 

Also, I 100% predicted that Madi would be Octavia’s second in my spec masterpost months ago. In fact, a lot of my spec about Madi and Octavia has been taking shape pretty nicely so I’m really interested to see if the rest of my spec regarding that relationship follows through too ...

Clarke taking the radio and calling Diyoza just like she called Emerson in 2x16 ... damn. DAMN. Nice to see the return of “you may be the Chancellor, but I’m in charge”. She’s So Powerful.

BELLAMY AND CLARKE STARING DIRECTLY INTO EACH OTHER’S EYES DURING THE ENTIRE RADIO SCENE UNTIL BELLAMY COULDN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE AND TURNED AWAY AM I SENSING SOME TENSION HERE

But seriously, he knew exactly what she was going to see even before she said “That’s why we’re going to take her out.” Even after six years Bellamy can read her so well

I’ve been waiting all season for the turbulence I was promised and OH BOY AM I READY FOR THE ANGST

HAKELDAMA 2.0 HERE I COME

BOOM. Out.

That was a KILLER episode. It took me forever to get through this recap because there were so many aspects of the episode that I really, really enjoyed. It hit all the right emotional beats, the music was on point, and the plot was super intriguing. It really feels like the story is picking up and I am SO excited to watch 5x08.

It’s going to be harder for me to keep on top of these recaps for the rest of the season as I’m going to be very busy (and I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to watch most of the episodes live) but I’ll do my best to get them all done. I can’t promise that they will all be completed in a timely fashion (before the next episode airs), as I have been doing them thus far, but I’ll try to get them done when I can!

Thanks for reading!

[mingyaus]

entrepreneurs au | the flowers pt. 2

Inspired by this

U don’t have to, but u should read the flowers first bc this is set in that au

Ur a college student who frequents the block where the flower shop is located

(btw that block is owned by landlord seokjin and all the other bts boys have shops in that block).

Usually u just pass by after stopping by ur fave clothing/thrift shop owned by tae and joon, but one day ur like “I deserve a break fr studying, so imma look at some flowers.” Jungkook is off doin something else + it’s off season, so yoongs is the only one in the shop

He’s like “uh r u looking for anything in particular”

“nope just taking a break and looking at flowers”

“break fr what? U don’t look like u work here”

“nah I’m a college student”

”oo cooL. What u studying?”

“[insert major here]”

“at Local University that Focuses on Your Field of Study?”

“Yah”

“wow that’s such a cool school. I probs would’ve studied at plant focused school if such a thing existed”

“cuTe!”

“How’s school at Local University?”

“Just a lotta studying”

“aW that sucks, u wanna flower? Maybe it’ll motivate u”

“sure *blushies bc he’s being so nice*”

yoongs picks out that cute rose for u.

U: “how much is it?”

“On the house. Ik how rough college can b sometimes, then life hits and then ur doing work in some research lab that u hate–but enough abt me. I don’t wanna stress u w my probs”

“Aw no pls keep talking. It’s a nice distraction”

^then sugay just talks abt everything that happened in the og au

And you’re like “woW what a dude” but in ur head. Then you have to leave bc it’s gonna get dark soon, but then Namjoon happens

U see, u and Namjoon have a something something going on, aka joon is always flirting w u when u go to his shop, but it’s really weird cuz he never actually asks u out or do anything more than flirting so u don’t really know how he feels and whenever u try to initiate something w him he plays it off cool

Aka that one time u asked if he wanted to go to jimin’s bakery w u and he was like “uH nah. I gotta do some stuff w tae...for the shop, yes. Sorry, and I hope I’m not giving u the wrong impression bc I’m not looking for a relationship rn”

AND THEn the next time u come in the boi flirts w u again, so u just start flirting w him and y’all have this weird friendship where u flirt all the time

It’s like Garcia and Morgan in criminal minds

So yaH. Yoongs is walking u out of the shop, and joon is closing up his shop (sweeping the front, locking the doors type of stuff) AND HE SEES YOONGS HAND U A flower.

Joon literally yells across the parking lot (the flower shop and joon’s shop face each other) “HEy, y/n, r u cheating on me?!”

Yoongs is shaken cuz he rarely interacts w joon, and yoongs whispers a quick goodbaiiiii to u before running back into his shop

Suga may seem like an aggressive man bc of his cool rapping skills and savage words, but he’s really just a pacifist deep down inside

So joon finishes locking up his shop, and you’re just standing there a little shaken holding ur flower. Ur stressed abt school and now stressed bc rm has never flirted this aggressively before

Joon marches across the lot and yoongs is abt to flip his sign to the closed side when joon throws the flower shop door open, finds the same rose yoongs chose for you and slams it on the counter and is like “imma buy this, little boi”

And yoongs is just staring at joon w a slightly afraid but mostly judgy face and is like “ok it’ll b $****” (like I’m censoring the money amount bc yoongs likes to keep his prices private, something abt competition mixed w the patriot act. Sometimes idk what’s up w this guy)

And as yoongs is getting change, etc. he’s like “ya know one time I saw ur paperwork on seokjin’s desk and saw ur bday and I know ur younger than me, so b more respectful, boi.”

Rm isn’t letting up and keeps on a hard face “okay. Sure.”

Yoongs hands over the rose and joon mumbles “thanks hyung” before exiting the shop

You’ve been outside this whole time just standing there thinking abt how weird this is and considering ending ur odd friendship w joon bc wtf was that

And joon comes out and smirks and winks is like “take this flower instead. It’s better. I swear”

U: “Uh it’s the same flower”

Joon: “Shhhhhhhh, but it’s from me, ya boy, so it’s better.”

U: “Uh okay.”

So now you’re standing there holding one flower in both of ur hands, and the sun is at that annoying level where it keeps getting in ur eyes and ur the one facing the sun. Fortunately yoongs comes out a few awk secs later and his 5’ 8” tall head is big enough to block the sun.

thanks, GOD, for making this man’s head the right size and shape to cover up the sun at this exact moment in time

Yah Yoongi is basically the sun now

Yoongs *ignoring rm w his body language*: “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had a bf” 

U: “I don’t. That’s just joon, my friend”

Yoongs: “But u talk to him like he’s ur bf.”

U: “ yah it’s this whole confusing thing. Pls ignore joon.”

Sugay: *glares at joon* “stop harassing her”

Joon: *hands up and genuine oops covering mouth face* “shoot man, sorry Y/N, I didn’t mean to harass u”

Yu: “oh yeah that was harassment kinda, but I mean I reciprocated it so it kinda wasn’t really harassment, like it was consensual harassing, basically teasing, but thanks, Yoongs for enlightening me”

U: *looks at joon* “so r we buds or were u actually jealous?”

Joon: *scratches neck* “uh...yah we’re friends, but I enjoy being in this sarcastic not-relationship flirtationship w u”

Yoongs: “Well y’all can keep that up but imma ask Y/N out rn”

u: *jilted + school stressed + friendship stress + suitor stress, so tears slowly begin to form in ur eyes*

Yoongs and joon r broing out and making up for their weird fight earlier and r doing a bro hug when Yoongs sees u crying

Yoongs kinda just stops in the middle of the hug and stares at u, he’s kinda shocked.

Joon turns and looks at u and is like “Omg, r u crying”

Ur like “yah” and then u receive a nice big group hug fr the boys and then realize the rose thorns r piercing into ur palms and suddenly joon and Yoongs have ur blood on their backs and they’re like “oh shoot” and help u get inside yoongs’ shop where suga sanitizes ur hands and bandaids them up while joon is making some tea in the back

Yoongi is whispering “so when do u wanna go out?”

Ur still sniffling and can’t rlly talk and say something abt finals coming up soon

Sugay: “after finals?”

U: “yah. After finals”

“I’ll call u tho”

“Yes pls”

And joon comes out w some tea and then drives both of u (Jk usually drives Yoongs home bc yoongs shares a car w his roommate and jjk and myg r neighbors, live in the same apartment complex. So yah Yoongs took the bus to work)

Joon drives both of u home and u listen to some good soothing winky face bops (think u by primary or any dean-like song or zion t) on the way back and u and Yoongs r in the back seat holding hands and when u arrive at ur apartment rm is like “next time one of u sit in the front, I feel like an Uber driver”

U: “weren’t u actually an Uber driver once”

Rm: “actually I still am,but for the one time I’m actually not getting paid to drive I’d appreciate having someone shotgun.”

Yoongs: “oK I’ll move to the front”

Rm *smirks*: “thx bro”

And Yoongs opens the door to let u out and he walks u to ur dorm and he’s like “inch resting night “

U: “Yah”

Myg: “I’ll call u, ok? Don’t b too stressed” and he pulls the two roses fr behind his back and hands them to u “use these to remind u to chill, k?”

U: “K.”

U hug Yoongs then u say goodbye and u peek out ur window to see Yoongs get into Rm’s car but in the back seat and you can see Yoongs laughing fr inside and his smile is as bright as the sun and rm’s just sighing his face dull like the night sky

And they’re ur sun and moon, two nice dudes making ur life better than before.

Omg that’s a crap ending, I was Trying to b poetic but nah I’m not rlly

our masterlist

a(dmin ayeee)/n: lol the gif is rm checking out y/n and yoongi’s dms 5 weeks later. haH. btw this was originally written in an instagram dm conversation. tbh i prefer lyft. there’s a yoongi lyft driver au that should be written soon. 

[jonathanrook]

asdsdfj it’s been so long I forgot what I originally followed you for but how about some spop? do you have glimmadora or catradora music thoughts?

ASDFGHJKL ICONIC i love that for us

i made a catradora playlist way back in the first season but it. is bad it's so bad here it is anyway but oh boy don't say i didn't warn you.

i don't remake playlists ever really and this was one i made a graphic for so i don't want to amend it either BUT if i WERE to uhhh

"only the good die young" by billy joel is also on my lesbian reddie playlist asdfghjkl i have one (1) ship

"about you now" by the sugababes is very oldschool amv core but it also works like i'm right okay

i have "far too young to die" on the og playlist but if i HAD to at GUNPOINT put a panic! song i'd choose "nicotine" instead

"our deal" by best coast 100%

"clusterhug" by idkhbtfm

"robbers" by the 1975

"american beauty/american psycho" by fall out boy is a hard one how did i miss this the first time

"don't come home" by emma blackery is good angst fodder

also when i made my ship uquiz the lyrics that led to catradora were "jason, let me down easily now / so you can just keep on running / is this what i wanted from the start?" from "jason" by bonnie parker and "and while you sleep / i'll be scared / so by the time you wake / i'll be brave" from "i will" by mitski

but again if i had to pick a mitski song i'd probably go w "why didn't you stop me?"

glimmadora is honestly not really my thing at all but anything for you anon

i'd probably go w the classic Soft™ Sad™ Sapphic™ love songs for them so maybe

"sleepover" by hayley kiyoko

"ribs" by lorde

"sick of losing soulmates" by dodie

sorry this isn't as interesting lmao

[kihocrystal]

Winter 2018 Final Impressions

I’m a month late, as usual (whoops!), but here’s my final thoughts on the animes I watched this past season! 

The “reviews” will be in alphabetical order!

3-gatsu no Lion S2 - 9.0 / 10 (A)

This second season of 3-gatsu was great! It’s just… a really great drama show about fighting depression (& a bunch of other character storylines)!

First off... THE BULLYING ARC WAS REALLY GOOD

extremely complicated, emotionally complex… this arc brings all sorts of emotions & angles into the forefront

multiple perspectives too: Hina’s, Rei’s, the bullied girl’s, the bully’s, the teachers’, and Akari too!

The art style can pull off both thick-outlined / bright colored style and watercolor-esque style incredibly well

it really is beautiful how it can visually portray both light-hearted and emotionally intense scenes

This season continues to show how good it is at character development for characters both main & supporting!

We get to see Rei moving through the ranks as a shogi player

and also moving through the ranks of conquering his depression! He’s improved more than ever before!

We get to learn about the white-haired master player (Souya); I liked how he has his own quicks and challenges he has in his daily life

Along with the other head shogi guy (Yanagihara)! (& how he shoulders his legacy for his friends)

Even the last episode offered some perspective from the foster mom about Rei & her kids

this show is just… really good at making normally-hated characters sympathetic, hot damn

Aside from bullying arc, this season also showed Hina preparing for the transition to high school

The finale episode was nice and sweet, with Hina saying goodbye to Takahashi and even getting a haircut!

This continues to be one of the best drama anime in recent years! Not to mention SHAFT’s best show since Madoka Magica :3

Cardfight!! Vanguard G: Z - 7.5 - 8.0 / 10 (C+)

And so ends the G series of Cardfight Vanguard… this final season I’ll say though is kind of a mixed bag

The plot had interesting ideas and moments at times, but the execution and pacing left a bit to be desired

though I will say it was definitely better than last season (CFV G NEXT)

This season didn’t waste any time getting to the main plot, as Chrono has to face off against a Diffrider right away

the diffrider stuff is continued from last season, but for the most part, it’s a new plot kicking off!

The rollout of all the new Diffrider Apostles (& them showing their strength) definitely made them look like powerful foes

not to mention the Zeroth Dragons, which were also shown to be powerful and very risky to use

Also knowing that anyone in the main cast could end up being The Vessel added some intrigue as well

the reveal that Kazuma would be the vessel definitely was a well executed twist imo~

However the pacing in places felt a bit too fast for me… the Relics subplot felt like it wrapped up too quickly, for example

the final fight against Gyze also kinda felt rushed… Gyze didn’t even have any dying words after his defeat :/

As a final season specifically, I feel like it kinda pales in comparison to Stride Gate, unfortunately

The cast was also kinda hit and miss in terms of how well they were utilized in the plot

some of the apostles definitely had more screen time than others (gredora only got like… two episodes)

plus gastille (the supposed apostle leader) got beaten sooner than like 3 other ones???

some villains carry over from last season too, such as Noa (Chaos Breaker) and the red-head punk kid

I liked all the new villains this season, personality-wise! (Also Yukari Tamura in there is a plus)

also no Am and Luna this season, really…

the previously established OG cast were integrated fine, for the most part

including Aichi and Kai getting the kill against Chaos Breaker Dragon

but the final episodes kinda just shoe-horn in a bunch of cameos that just didn’t feel natural :/

it just felt like “OH SHIT, this is the last season actually! Quick, throw in a bunch of cameos!”

this also applies to G characters, which makes less utilized characters (like Am & Luna, as mentioned before) look out of place :(

Sure, I’m saying a bunch of negative stuff right now, but I REALLY LOVE THIS CAST… I JUST WANT THE BEST FOR THEM

It’s the main reason I love CFV G, after all~

This season was definitely an improvement over NEXT for sure! The plot was interesting, I just wish the conclusion was better

The final episode basically just felt like an OVA, really… aside from the last scene, it didn’t really feel like an epilogue at all

I guess it just bums me out bc the original series got a good epilogue episode, so I know they could do it here, too…

In any case, I’M GONNA MISS THIS CAST, BIG TIME ;A;

In any case, this was a decent season to end the G series with! Not the strongest, but not the weakest either.

I’m gonna look back on my time with CFV G fondly for sure, if for nothing else than the great ensemble cast :’)

It’s gonna be weird going back to the OG cast for sure… I arguably liked the G cast better than the OG one :’D

Osomatsu-san S2 - 8.0  / 10 (B)

The consensus among fans seems to be that this season wasn’t as good as the first season

As for me, I… probably agree with that (though I still enjoyed this season!)

As with most comedy anime, whether the jokes land is pretty subjective. I feel like I didn’t laugh as hard this season? IDK

There were more “seasonal/holiday”-based episodes this time around (i.e. summer, new year’s, etc.)

What stays the same though is that this show is at its best when featuring the main brothers themselves

Skits involving the side characters (like Iyami, Dayon, etc.) didn’t make me laugh much…

I will say though that I enjoyed the second half of the season more than the first half~

Enough about the negatives, let’s talk about this season’s memorable skits / episodes!

The premiere was really good, as it poked fun at the huge popularity the show unexpectedly got xD

plus a bunch of references that *aren’t* gonna get them removed from streaming sites this time!

Jyushimatsu getting an “apprentice” with a little kid was also pretty funny~

The Karamatsu taxi skit, the spooky inn, & all the characters being stuck on an island were also good skits!

Ep. 18 (Iyami, Alone in the Wind) was also a crowd favorite, since it brought the feels for a change :’)

The finale 2-parter pulled a bait-and-switch yet again!

Part 1 was actually pretty serious, but the actual finale just has them trying to break out of hell xD

OH YEAH, I still really like the live-action stuff they do during the ending sequences

the first half’s ED was my favorite (the stop-motion of the brothers riding in the car)

I don’t have much to say about comedies generally, but Osomatsu-san is still my favorite in recent years ^^

Even though this season didn’t hit as hard as S1, it still provided some fun laughs~

Pop Team Epic - 7.5 / 10 (C+)

What can I really say about this show? It kind of defies description ^^;

Ok, yeah, it’s a sketch comedy, but it’s a really… crazy and random sketch comedy

The jokes are hit and miss (and in my experience was a bit more… miss than hit)

I never really laughed out loud at this show either

but then again, the humor here is more “being confused at what’s going on, but going along with it anyway”

There’s also a lot of modern anime references, so you might not get those jokes if you don’t follow most recent anime

Each episode has a long skit in it, plus a bunch of bite-size skits

I personally preferred the short skits over the long ones

There were a couple song parodies which I enjoyed (including the Earth Wind & Fire parody)

Also, this series definitely benefits from having an English simuldub! Some skits I found funnier in English!

OH YEAH, the voice actors (in both languages) change every episode, with female and male VAs in each episode

that enhanced the enjoyability of the sketches too, since I liked hearing favorite VAs do silly dialogue and performances!

I wouldn’t say this ranks among my favorite anime comedies, but it’s definitely unlike any other I’ve seen! ^^;

Your mileage will *definitely* vary with this one, so give it a try and see if it’s for you!

The Ancient Magus’ Bride (Mahoutsukai no Yome) - 8.5 - 9 / 10 (A-)

This was a very enjoyable fantasy drama show! Some people feel this show was overhyped, but I still thought it was really good!

I really liked the cast overall, especially Chise

She has really good character development throughout the show! She really becomes more strong and confident!

Seeing the fantastical world through her eyes was interesting as well!

Especially since those mystical elements were also responsible for her terrible childhood…

Elias was also an interesting guy… he and Chise have an interesting relationship together

Their relationship definitely has aspects that are unhealthy, but they do grow closer to each other by the end

If people can’t get past the whole premise of “him buying Chise to be his bride” though, I totally understand ^^;

They help each other learn too, which I liked to see

The supporting cast was also enjoyable! Not much to say about them individually though

The dragon keeper was nice and we got to learn about Elias’ origins through him

The dragons in general were great! Especially the old one that turned into a tree :’)

He gives Chise some good sage advice, even after death :’)

Angelica, Silky, and Stella (among others, like the other anti-hero duo) were good support characters too~

I liked Stella’s role of “normal girl who learns of the supernatural’s existence”

Cartaphilus was an… okay villain, I guess (though his methods were quite creepy indeed, which added some intrigue)

Some character designs are a bit questionable though… like who approved the vampire’s design? ^^;

Another large appeal of this was the world building of the fantastical elements!

I liked seeing all the different types of locales & supernatural creatures, both good and bad

As a low-fantasy show, this show does a Dang Good Job with the fantasy!

Chise learning more about herself and gaining confidence through these experiences were a highlight as well

I enjoyed each story arc as well, even though most of them were more explorative and introspective

This show can be dang beautiful sometimes, through both its art/animation and its stories (Thanks, Studio WIT!)

Some were better than others, but they all deliver either a heartwarming (or a dark) story

Some favorites of mine were the dragon-based ones, and the vampire loving the old man

The finale was good too! It’s unknown whether this conclusion is anime-original or not, but it was definitely a good S1 ending~

If you love low-fantasy shows, this is definitely one to check out!

Violet Evergarden - 8.5 - 9.0 / 10 (A-)

Best *new* anime (that I watched) of this past season, hands down~

Though to be fair, I still need to watch A Place Farther than the Universe… and Yuru Camp… and After the Rain…

Going into this season, this show was hyped and back and somehow… a lot of people were *disappointed* with this show?

I think it had to do with expecting a different show than what we got; as for me, I knew it’d be an episodic drama the whole time :P

But yes, this show has a (mostly) episodic plot with an overarching character arc. If that’s too slow for you, then you probably won’t like this show.

In any case, back to the positives! The first one being how good this show looks visually… as expected from KyoAni~

there’s so much detail in the backgrounds and the character elements (especially the lighting on objects like Violet’s metal hands)

this aspect is one thing *everyone* agrees on regardless, so… yeah, this show’s really pretty!

The main star (and focus) of this show was Violet herself… you can really see how she changes for the better from beginning to end

You get to see how “robot-like” she was at the start of the show, but she slowly learns about dealing with emotions of others… and herself

This character arc is definitely the “main” plot of the show, along with her coming to terms with Gilbert’s death and her war killings

The episodic plots were good in their own right, too!

Ranging from Violet’s start as a Memoir Doll to the different clients she works with, they all teach her something along the way

These sometimes focus on the side characters working at the Doll Agency too, so we get to learn more about them as well

The one that comes to mind first is Iris’ episode, where she (messily) reconnects with a former lover

Not all of them get a full episode in the spotlight, but they do get some focus scenes from time to time

Violet’s clientele episodes were the most memorable out of this lot IMO

ESPECIALLY EPISODE 10… that was the BIGGEST feels trip

I knew exactly how the episode was going to end, but I still teared up at that ending!

The finale was action packed, but also was a beautiful way to show how far Violet has come

I know some people’s issue with this show is that “it doesn’t know what show it wants to be” re: the action stuff, but I was fine with it personally

in any case, it was a pretty good book-end for Violet’s development, since she finally understands (a least a little) what “I love you” means :’)

I understand certain people’s gripes with this show, but this really is a great little drama show that *will* deliver the feels~

P.S. I also watched Fate/Extra: Last Encore this season. It hasn’t technically ended yet, so I can’t give final impressions on it right now. However, my current score for it is a 7.5/10 (C+).

[thumper-darling]

all of the mythy asks??

by @wonderbreadwoman and @spidcrsman

GODS: Life

Zeus: What’s your name or nickname? Becca :’)

Hera: Where are you from? Michigan Homeslice 

Athena: How old are you? 17

Hephaestus: When is your birthday? Novermber 21st, I’m really out here being a shy ass scorpio

Aphrodite: What’s your relationship status? Too preoccupied with finding and bettering myself to be available 

Poseidon: What are your pronouns? Her/ She

Dionysus: Are you and extrovert or an introvert? Introverted extrovert?

Demeter: Do you have any pets? 1 good ole pup woofer 

Apollo: What kind of music are you into? Any kinda bop really

Artemis: What do you first notice about new people? Their eyes or their hair? Sometimes their shoes

Hades: What’s a big fear of yours? BEING ALONE HA

Ares: What’s a big pet peeve of yours? When people prevent you from doing something you’re trying to do. Example: When professors ask you to read a section from the book, but thEN CONTINUE TO TALK AND DISTRACT THE STUDENTS FROM ACTUALLY READING OR ABSORBING ANY INFORMATION ha

Hestia: Where do you consider home? My aesthetic and calming af bedroom 

CREATURES: Lasts

Pegasus: Last movie you watched? Spider-Man: Homecoming (for the 5th time) last night at 10 

Mermaid: Last tv show you finished? I recently re-watched Stranger Things and Season 2 of The Spectacular Spider-Man

Centaur: Last book you read? All the way through? Probably ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’

Siren: Last song you listened to? Sexual by NEIKED

Gorgon: Last thing you ate? A Jalapeno bagel with veggie cream cheese and a mini chocolate chip muffin

Cyclops: Last time you cried? Last night in the movie theater :’) 

Minotaur: Last time you were truly happy? This past weekend where I spent a bunch of time with Lulu

Sphynx: Last text you sent? “Eli doesn’t like anybody”

Chimera: Last call you made? I called my mom this morning because I literally thought I had rocks in my stomach 

Griffin: Last thing you did before going to sleep last night? Sat outside and looked at the stars and then listened to a podcast to help my fall asleep 

Nymph: Last dream you remember? Being at University and having these guys invite me over to their dorm to play Wii Golf ;)

Satyr: Last time you couldn’t stop laughing? Yesterday while re-watching the OG Spider-Man movies with Lulu. It was her first time watching, and the commentary was C O M E D Y  G O L D 

HEROES: Experiences

Heracles: Have you ever had a dream come true? Oh for sure, but in a deja vu sort of way 

Theseus: What is your worst regret? L O L 

Perseus: Have you ever been arrested? Nope, but I have been pulled over :’) 

Cadmus: Have you ever had your heart broken? Y E S but it’s okay, it was for the best

Achilles: Have you ever had to be hospitalized? I mean, not over night or anything too serious. But I was rushed to the hospital once, I got in an ambulance and everything. That was fun, I made so many friends that night.

Actaeon: Tell about a memory you wish to forget. I don’t want to forget anything. So many memories are important, even if they hurt. 

Bellerophon: Have you ever passed out? N O P E. I have gone into shock though 

Agamemnon: What is an achievement you’re proud of? Getting the female lead 2 shows in a row for my old high school theatre program.

Oedipus: Have you ever been in love? I think so

Jason: Have you ever travelled abroad? Where? No :(

Atlanta: Have you ever stood up for someone else? Uh. for sure. 

Hippolytus: Tell an experience you will never forget. A lot of the sleepovers with my old theatre friends. Even the drunken ones, I’ll never forget the warmth or the laughter. 

MAGICAL ITEMS: Favorites  

Trident: Who are your favorite people? @doctormelapples and my mom

Lightning Bolt: What are your top three favorite movies? Spider-Man (all of them), Hocus Pocus, and All Dogs Go To Heaven 

Sun Chariot: What is your favorite mythological creature? I really like fairies, I’m not sure if that mythological or supernatural? Oh well

Lyre: What are your top three favorite songs? If you want it by Relient K, Sunshine by POWERS, and Raincoat by Timeflies 

Caduceus: What is your favorite color? Red or light pink. 

Aegis: What is your favorite book or series? Book: Perks of Being a Wallflower/ Series: My Life as a White Trash Zombie 

Scythe: What is your favorite tv show? The Flash 

Bident: What is your favorite way to spend free time? being on Tumblr, writing, or reading 

Harpe: What are your top 3 favorite places? Big Apple Bagel, My bedroom, Lulu’s basement 

Cornucopia: What is your favorite place to eat? BIG APPLE BAGEL 

Winged Sandals: What is your favorite thing to do when you hangout with your friends? Just chat and live our lives in each other’s general vicinity

Golden Fleece: What is your favorite animal? I like me some foxes

PLACES: Goals and Wishes

Olympus: Describe your dream job. I’d like to master the arts of writing and film. I want to act and be successful with that, but I also would love to be known for writing books and films. I want to do it all tbh.

Tartarus: What’s a short term goal you hope to achieve? I’d like to be a student director for my old high school 

Underworld: Describe your dream vacation. Going to a state I’ve never been to and staying in an average hotel. I like to just exist in different places. I wouldn’t even have to do anything extravagant, just going to a waffle house in a different place would be exciting to me. 

Styx: How would you like your life to look like in 10 years? Oh god, I’d like to have a degree in film and writing (a dual degree is preferred) and be working in some sort of writing position in New York or LA. Maybe after 10 years I might even have something published. 

Athuna: If you could live anywhere in the world for the rest of your life, where would it be? New York City 

Sparta: Do you have a bucket list? If so, what’s on it? I don’t have long term bucket lists, I have summer bucket lists or spring break bucket lists. I like to take my accomplishments in small steps. 

Elysium: If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Telepathy?? LIKE? What else would I want? 

Ogygia: Describe your dream husband/wife/life partner? Someone who understands, and communicates. I hope they have freckles and like to sing horribly to really good music. Somebody warm, hopeful, and happy. I hope our relationship together is healthy and full of laughter. 

Troja: What is the craziest thing you wanna do before you die? Be in a movie 

The Labyrinth: Have you ever died and came back to life as a vampire? This one Tuesday back in April I did, yeah

Delphi: Are you currently doing anything to pursue your dreams? I’m working towards a degree and investing in helpful books to aid my journey.