#rewatching it makes me realize how like...weird and gross it is at times

[greyslates]

rewatching black butler for the nostalgia in 2023

[catsareexistence]

LPS 2012 and the gender-related episodes

I'm rewatching the lps 2012 show on Tubi and this whole boy vs girl stereotypes thing just makes the continuity of the show feel really weird to me, since on one hand the characters often reference past episodes, but on the other hand, usually whenever they make a gender-related episode, it feels like it throws things out the window. Like in one episode Russel is stressing about how clean everything needs to be and gets grossed out by some spit found on a toy, but then in one of the gender related episodes where the girls get stuck in the dumbwaiter, he seems completely fine with Vinnie burping out all of his spit-covered flies. Then with the other pets in general there are all times when they don't strictly follow their stereotyped genders behavior, since they are all characters with personality beyond their genders stereotypes. This is a long rant, but I guess that this just bugs me because often when these gender-specific episodes in this show have made me feel like they are just changing a majority of the characters entire personality. I feel like the episodes like that (Like "On the same page") would have made more sense and taught the kids the lesson better if instead of the pets starting the argument, a new pet came in and saw Russel hanging out with Penny Ling (I think that besides Russel, she is often (though not always) the least likely to cause some dangerous ruckus which would definitely relax them both) or saw Minka or Pepper hanging out with Vinnie and Sunil planning to cause some dangerous ruckus, and that pet started saying things like "boys aren't supposed to like this kind of stuff" or "girls shouldn't play with boys", eventually peer pressuring all the pets to split off into different gender-based groups (since this is a show for young kids, who would likely be faced with peer pressure relating to how they should act their gender at some point in their lives) , and then at the end they all realized how dumb it is to refuse to have certain friends, activities, and toys just because of some stupid gender rules that have never stopped them from enjoying their friends, activities, and toys before. Then when they all make up, either the pet could remain stuck in their ways, and looking longingly at the different gendered friend group enjoying each other as they enter their pet carrier and leave the room with their owner, or at the end the new pet realized how much they were missing out on by only having friends and toys associated with their gender, and at the end when Blythe comes in their all hanging out together and participating in an activity associated with both genders, like watching some action movie/show while giving each other a spa treatment or something. This is a very long rant, but it was just bugging me how their characters and personalities seem to change this much, and I just think that it could have proved the point in better ways that don't have to change the characters entirely.

I remember watching this in middle school, before I realized that I was a trans man and I remember really likeing Russel, and liked how both Russel and Sunil were still (usually) accepted for being both extremely anxious and guys.

[watchingspnagain]

Rewatching It’s a Terrible Life

Welcome to “Sam and Dean are Just Steps on the Bossman’s Ladder: A Supernatural Rewatch Blog” with Lor and Mace!

Up today, s4e17: It’s a Terrible Life

Dean Smith works a middle-management white-collar job at Sandover Bridge and Iron, and Sam Wesson is a grunt in the IT department there. Sam thinks something about this life is wrong, and when he runs into Dean he could swear they’ve met before. But Dean brushes him off until employees start dying real weird in the company. When Dean witnesses an IT tech stab himself in the throat during a panic attack over filling out a form incorrectly, he accepts that Sam might be on to something. The two work together to research the company and the deaths, eventually realizing the ghost of the company’s founder is compelling workers to kill themselves if they don’t give Sandover their all. Smith and Wesson dispatch the ghost (after finding some helpful tips online from the Ghostfacers), and eventually Dean’s boss reveals that he is actually Zachariah, an angel who arranged this little interlude for Dean to help him remember that he is and always will be a hunter at heart. Dean doesn’t take kindly to this interference from the angels and promises that one day he’ll stab Zachariah in his face.

Below is a log of our real-time reactions as we watched. Remember that there may be spoilers for any part of SPN’s 15-season run here. Note also that the nature of our conversation is adult and thus it may contain adult language and themes.

 [and we begin:]

Lor: bounces I love this one

Mace: 

it is a good one

he looks so ridiculous in that shirt and tie

Lor:

and I love that this show is like "ep 16: torture, hero almost killed by a demon who tortured him in hell for 30 years. ep 17: alternate universe shenanigans"

mmm. someone should maybe take him out of them

Mace: 

they like to mess with us

Lor:

yep

Mace: 

LOR.

Lor:

wot?

innocent

Mace: 

simmer down

Lor:

NEVER

Mace: 

omg this guy plays such a hilarious weirdo on Psych

Lor:

Zachariah?

Mace: 

yeah

Lor:

omg Dean Smith. you do not need to lose any weight. eat a cookie

kill a ghost

Mace: 

HA

Lor:

LOL Sam's face

Mace: 

SAM IN THAT POLO

Lor:

YES

even Dean Smith makes "no homo" jokes when no one else brought that up pets him go to therapy, baby

Mace: 

it’s crazy to me that Sam is uncomfortable in this fake life but Dean suspects nothing

YEP

Lor:

DID YOU TRY TURNING IT OFF AND THEN ON

yeah it is WEIRD

Mace: 

HAHAHA

Lor:

but it fits with his "I can fit in anywhere thing"

Mace: 

hm. I wonder if it’s more “I’m so unhappy in the life my daddy forced me into” thing

Lor:

oh definitely

Mace: 

my god he FITS in that shirt

Lor:

YAAAS

he should really stop being work buddies with this asshole

Mace: 

(omg I am seriously wearing almost EXACTLY that other dude’s outfit right now)

Lor:

HAAAAHAHAHAHA I LOVE IT

poor Sam doesn't fit in his cubicle

Mace: 

graphic t with ratty flannel over

Lor:

it is the BEST outfit

Mace: 

oh Sammy, sweets, I’ll nap with you

Lor:

MACE

simmer down

Mace: 

I love how he does NOT fit into that cubicle

Lor:

YES

Mace: 

Dean’s profile. just DAMN, son

Lor:

YAAAAAS

they made him extra pretty this ep and I love that they bothered

Mace: 

he cleans up super nice

Lor:

Dean, you know you have some vampire romance novels under your perfectly made bed

Mace: 

SNORK

“you overshare”

HAHAHA

Lor:

the tiny montages of the workplace mundanities

Mace: 

YEP

“I hope they spank me” this boy is naughty

Lor:

LOL

look, we've all been where he is. no evil ghost needed

Mace: 

HA

Lor:

EW

Mace: 

oh GROSS

SHOULDERS

Lor:

YAS

omg Dean's pretty pretty face. his LIPS

Mace: 

RIGHT?!

Lor:

omg Sam and Dean are both researching it and asking the same questions on their own. i love it

Mace: 

YES

“did you shave?!”

Lor:

lol

"the dash-Rs"

Mace: 

“hey, guy”

Lor:

omg his back in those suspenders

Mace: 

right?

omg EW

Lor:

RIGHT?

i always forget this one has some serious ew horror moments

poor Dean so shook

Mace: 

but not as shook as a normal person, which is kind of awesome

Lor:

the way his voice kinda fails on "neck"

YES

I love the way he just totally took charge with Ian (even though it didn't work)

Mace: 

why did he bring his bag?

yeah

Lor:

security laptop. it makes him feel safe

Mace: 

emotional support laptop

Lor:

YES

"NOT NATURAL"

Mace: 

HA

Lor:

"no that would be nuts" HAAAAAHHAHAHAHA poking fun at their own show history

Mace: 

SNORK

Lor:

"some skills I happen to have"

Mace: 

okay settle down, Taken

Lor:

I admire from afar

Mace: 

Dean’s arms in that shirt

Lor:

HEY. SETTLE DOWN

Mace: 

“right?!” BOYS

Lor:

"I am dying to check this out." "Right?" YES

Mace: 

SNORK! Look, I’m always like this. It’s weirder when you do it

Lor:

LOLOLOLOL

Fair enough

Mace: 

your desire to trot at any given moment is, like, lukewarm

Lor:

at best

Mace: 

which is, of course, completely cool - PUN INTENDED - I’m just saying that when you bump it up to hot-trotting, it’s just different

Lor:

LOLOLOL

I get it

Mace: 

whereas my trotting enthusiasm always runs at toasty, minimum

Lor:

except for the GIANT BOWL OF APPLES

eat a food, Dean, I beg you

Mace: 

HAHAHA

Lor:

LOL toasty trots

DON'T BE A SNOB DEAN SMITH

Mace: 

right?!

(also, their NAMES)

Lor:

your daddy raised you better'n that

Mace: 

did he, though?

I think you mean Bobby raised him better

Lor:

(YES I am kissing whoever decided to give them OTHER gun names platonically on the head)

Mace: 

(HA)

Lor:

Bobby is his dad in the universe, that's what I meant

Mace: 

omgomgomg

Lor:

HAAAAHAHAHAHA GHOSTFACERS

"instructional videos"

Mace: 

GHOSTFACERS

I forgot they were in here!

Lor:

THIS IS LIKE THE BEST JOKE that they learn how from them who they hate who learned it from them

I LOVE IT kicks feet in glee

Mace: 

YESYESYES

Lor:

nrrrrrf Dean's dumb buttondown tucked into his dumb dress slacks

Mace: 

YES

“yeah now sucks"

Lor:

his portfolio is in the sewer. poor rich baby

Mace: 

HA

Lor:

"useless douchebags the Winchesters"

"possibly all states"

Mace: 

HAHAHAHA

Lor:

and Dean's face at the idea of digging up bodies

Mace: 

YES

omg Dean hiding

Lor:

YES

oh man another super gross bit coming

Mace: 

UGH

“…what?” SAM

Lor:

YES

eeeeeeeeew

Mace: 

EWEWEWEW

poor Bean

Lor:

poor sammy

"take the stairs"

Mace: 

HAHAHA

Lor:

aw Dean's little swallow

Mace: 

YES

Lor:

"I have no idea"

Mace: 

oh boys

Lor:

hey! stop throwing my Dean around into things!

ooo the teamwork

Mace: 

YES

Lor:

I love that Sam immediately clocks that the way to help Dean is not to help him but to dispatch the ghost

Mace: 

YES

so smart

“that was amazing!”

Lor:

HE HAS A FIRST AID KIT IN HIS OFFICE

pets him

Mace: 

yeah

“how would we live?”

HEALTH INSURANCE

Lor:

"you don't wanna go fighting ghosts without any health insurance" I LOVE HIM

YES

Mace: 

I LOVE that Sam instinctively knows who he is

HE WENT TO STANFORD

Lor:

YES

RIGHT?!

And his family is Bobby, Ellen, and Jo

Mace: 

well, Bobby at least

“you don’t know me, pal” ooof

Lor:

"you should go" sigh

YAS SAM

Mace: 

YAS SAMMY DO IT

Lor:

GOD HIS ARMS

Mace: 

YES

he BENT the poker MY GOD

Lor:

YES

Dean, hold out for your own angel

Mace: 

HA

Lor:

gross

Mace: 

yeah

Lor:

THE WAY THE COLOR DROPS OUT

Mace: 

OMG YES

Lor:

"my GOD am I hungry"

Mace: 

HAHAHA YES

Lor:

trots in with a bag of cheeseburgers and fries and pie

Mace: 

HA

Lor:

"gross. no thank you"

Mace: 

“gross” HAHAHAHA

Lor:

lololol Dean

ass clowns in monkey suits

Mace: 

how did they not realize how he would respond to this?

Lor:

his idiolect! I cannot

RIGHT?

Cas coulda told them. No way they ran this by him

Mace: 

nope

daddy issues

he’s not wrong there

Lor:

"I will stab you in your face" AND HE DOES

Mace: 

HAHAHAHA

Lor:

his face journey after "fornicate with women" is something else

look, Dean, I'm here to tell you you can hunt and still have the lattes

Mace: 

HAHAHA YES

and fuck all of them for doing all this to Sammy too but not bothering to explain

Lor:

RIGHT?

Mace: 

and HE’S THE ONE WHO ACTUALLY PASSED THE STUPID TEST

Lor:

like Sam goes from "my brother is beat to hell in a hospital bed" to being mind fucked and then no one bothers to tell him what's up

RIGHT?

Mace: 

so mean. he needs comforting.

Lor:

I think we've talked before about how if they'd given Dean a life HE MIGHT ACTUALLY HAVE HAD, like running his own auto shop, restoring cars, with either Cassie or Cas, he would have STAYED THERE FOREVER

Mace: 

YEP

[kmze]

Finally decided to do a TVD rewatch now that the 'verse is complete. Since I know how everything ends I thought it would be interesting to see how I react with that knowledge. Curious if my feelings might change about characters, ships, storylines etc. (obviously I am fully aware there's going some bias).

Adding my thoughts after I complete the half-way mark of each season (there is simply too many episodes to do a recap of each one). I am talking to the void mostly here but feel free to leave comments, thoughts on my posts for those who still follow me or just find this post. However, I am not here to argue, I simply DO NOT CARE whatever you think is right totally, please leave me alone.

Recaps tagged with k rewatches tvd

S1 Episodes 1-11

I am loving the dark atmosphere of the first season, feeling so much nostalgia! Nice to go back in time to when vampires were scary on this show. That's not really criticism because every supernatural show goes through this. The big bad must always be upped as it goes on but it was nice when the stakes were lower and the mythos was being developed.

Damon makes me feel so uncomfortable so far... I know he was the 'villian' for most of the beginning of the season but his treatment of Vicki and Caroline is just so predatory and gross. Which brings me to...

WHY HAS NO ONE GIVEN CAROLINE A GOD DAMN VERVAIN NECKLACE ALREADY!!! Stefan and Elena both know Damon was using her (and they know damn well he hasn't stopped). Her Mom has the vervain to give her and just has not for no reason!! GET AWAY FROM HER ALREADY! I got so mad when Damon was compelling her AGAIN in the 10th episode. I'm so glad she outlives them all, justice for my baby!

I'm sorry but Stefan is so creepy and self-righteous in the beginning, I remembered this but did not remember how bad it was. Also he did not need to kill Vicki, that pissed me off. I don't think it did as much when I first watch this (mind you that was literally 14+ years ago) but just knowing how freely everyone neck-snaps around here it was bullshit. His one cool moment remains when he told Logan he can't walk in the sun. The manipulative way he used Elena’s adoption to get her to forgive him had me rolling my eyes (then of course she used it against Jenna to get out of trouble lol).

I can't remember who the other vampire is who turned Logan, I'm thinking its Pearl's henchman but yeah I don't remember that part. I also didn't remember the crystal so I like that some of this is like a 'mystery' again.

I did remember that I thought Tyler was such a dick in the first season and yeah confirmed. Though now I remembered his Dad was an abusive piece of shit. Still, fuck Tyler for now.

Alaric looks so different I don't hate him (yet).

I still hate Matt #bias

The progression of Bonnie realizing her powers has been well done, again nice to just see the simple magic again. (Stefan totally wanted to bang Sheila back in the day... maybe they did)

Jeremy just met Anna and I still love them, I wish they got more time. They were the only 'ship I like in this season when it first aired.

The Bonnie, Elena and Caroline friendship is nice but I am annoyed they haven't done more to protect Caro from Damon. Especially when she doesn't know what's going on and they do (though Bonnie only just got all the deets). This might be magnified by my love of Caroline I admit but I hate the prop-y way she's being used so far.

I kinda rolled my eyes at the whole Katherine/Damon/Stefan stuff before Elena knew they were vamps because OMG Stefan is 17(!!!) Does no one thinks it's weird he's like "it was a long time ago" A LONG TIME AGO LIKE WHEN YOU WERE 12?! They should have made him at least 20, just bothers me.

I liked that not every vampire had a daylight ring and it was more of a novelty. That is something that could have stuck more in the later seasons.

Lines that made me laugh:

Caroline: Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today. It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines. (Bonnie offers to help her) I guess we can put her in the back. (all right in front of Elena lmao oh Caroline never change)

Caroline: So, Elena...how long do you think this fight with Stefan's gonna last? Is it...like a permanent thing? (eyes on the prize baby! lol)

Stefan: (imitating Damon) Now that the secret society of vampire haters is off our back, I can go back to my routine of how can I destroy Stefan’s life this week. (never gets old!)

Damon: *shoots Logan with wooden bullets* Payback's a bitch, isn't it? (all in the delivery here lmao kudos to Ian)

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s3 ep 22: Real Life

Another Doctor episode that somehow didn't end up making me like him any better. While it was meant to humanize him, he didn't end up altering his backward attitudes much, and it was a huge downer at the end. It just made me sad, more than anything.

The Doctor creating a holographic family for himself in an attempt to be more human is an interesting idea, but despite living on a ship full of real people, he for some reason thinks that a family is some sort of 1950s 'Leave It To Beaver' nonsense. It seems far fetched for the Doctor to have even encountered the sort of 'Father Knows Best' attitudes he displays here, since they would be way out of step with the 24th century society Star Trek presents. Though the actors are very good, and the over-the-top sacchariness of the opening scene is funny, it makes the Doctor look very self-absorbed to design such a subservient adoring famliy for himself that lives only to praise him.

When he invites B'Elanna and Kes to meet his holo family, B'Elanna calls him out on his gross old timey attitudes, and offers to adjust the program to be more realistic. When she does, and the Doctor gets confronted with children that argue and cry, and a spouse who has her own life outside of him, the Doctor clings to his weird 1950s attitudes and attempts to rule over them by telling them what they are and aren't allowed to do, which obviously doesn't work. Though it's a valuable lesson for the Doctor to learn, it feels anachronistic that he would have these attitudes to begin with, especially the edict that his holo son isn't allowed to have anymore Klingon friends- um, wtf?! I could understand if he'd said, 'you're not allowed to see these friends, specifically, because of your behavior when you're with them', but 'no Klingon friends, Klingons are bad and violent!' is just... insanely racist. The Federation has been allies with the Klingons for a while at this point- that someone would program a medical hologram with such backward attitudes, and that Starfleet would give it a pass, is just plain bad. Idk why Voyager displayed such crappy attitudes toward Klingons when Next Gen and DS9 spent so much time and effort expanding Klingon culture and lore so well. (My suspicion: misogyny. Worf's Klingonness was always something wonderful and noble that everyone respected, whereas B'Elanna's Klingonness was often presented as an obstacle to be overcome. The message is very clear: it's cool for men to be Klingon, but for women it's 'too much'. Smells like sexism to me.)

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew is busy investigating a series of spacial anomalies in the hopes of harvesting some energy from them. In the middle of this, we have a cute scene in the mess hall where Tom catches B'Elanna reading a romance novel, and decides to read it too, so he'll know what she's into in the future. (Knowing Tom, he'd probably dress up and roleplay it with her- idk why Tom has so many haters, he's doing it right! If I met someone who'd read my silly escapist romance fiction so they could better act out my fantasies with me, I'd marry them on the spot!) They have a Bogie-and-Bacall-ish exchange of very obvious double entendres, but their cute flirty scene is interrupted by the appearance another spacial anomaly. Back on the bridge, they try to figure out how to get close enough to it to collect the energy without damaging Voyager.

Tom ends up taking a shuttle, and getting trapped in the eye of the anomaly, which has some gorgeous visual effects that look like a glowing sunset. It's one of the best cgi effects they've done. His shuttle is nearly destroyed on the way out, but Voyager gets him out with only minor injuries, which send him to sick bay. The Doctor gives him an angry lecture about his reckless thrill seeking, and Tom realizes that the Doctor is upset about something other than him. He admits to Tom that his holographic daughter suffered an injury playing Parises Squares, and is about to die. The Doctor shut down the program and plans not to go back ever again. Tom once again steps up with compassion and insight that he rarely gets credit for, and tells the Doctor that if he wants to truly understand what family means, he has to take the bad as well the good. He urges him not to give up on the program and end up stuck in that moment forever, but to face it, and say goodbye to his daughter, and find solace in grieving with his family, the same way the Voyager crew find strength and comfort in adversity together.

The Doctor goes back, and it's one of the most utterly heartbreaking death scenes you will ever see in any Star Trek episode. The child actress who plays his daughter does an absolutely amazing job portraying her fear and panic so convincingly, I cannot watch her without crying. The Doctor shows the most genuine concern and sensitive bedside manner he's ever displayed to anyone as he tells her that she's dying, and stays by her side. His wife and son come to be with her too, and the three of them are there together when she dies. It doesn't matter that they're holograms, it's an unbearably painful scene, wherein the Doctor learns an extremely hard lesson about what living a real life means. The episode ends on the three of them crying over her body, and it's just... a lot. It's so sad, and it's such an emotional wallop to end on that. This is one of those ones you really have to take a bit of time to emotionally recover from afterward.

The one thing that takes away from the ending is knowing the Doctor doesn't continue with his family program ever again after this. I get why they didn't, from a Doylist perspective- it would be a lot more work to add two more characters to give him the wife and son throughout the show, but it feels like a bit of a let down that the Doctor abandons it after fighting so hard to get through the worst of it. Still, it's an important character study piece for him. I'm just not sure I want to be that emotionally devastated for the sake of the Doctor's character development, which I actually feel kind of stagnated, and even went backwards, over the run of the show.

Tl;dr: This story was well acted and had some good things to say, but I feel like it didn't actually do enough to make the Doctor a better person to justify the emotional wallop it hits us with at the end. Well done, but a downer.

[hazbincalifornia]

Hazbin Episode 1 Liveblog

In order to avoid this post getting Way Too Long, I'm going to make one post for episode one, and one for episode two!

I will say, I'm kinda sad we don't have a 'proper' theme song/intro, just the little jingle :( I do get it, but ah well.

Oh my god the commercial is even better in full.

How the fuck did he get Charlie to keep the name if it was still him???

Al's so fucking offended they're making him use a camera he made it one giant middle finger. I love it.

The voices are definitely going to take a bit of adjustment. It's probably because I've rewatched the pilot a zillion times, though.

I like how Alastor didn't even look at Angel. "Never going to happen!"

Awww, Charlie's ringtone for her dad is cute.

I DO really love Keith David as Husk right away, he suits the role perfectly.

"I like being forced!" and I love you, you weird little gremlin. Hoping for some good CNC stuff with her now, tbh. She'd be fun for it.

The flat delivery of 'crack is expensive' made me wheeze out loud.

Aaaa and here we go, full animation for Happy Day!

Why... why is the 'shoving barbed wire in your hole' guy an imp. Is that, like, his job or something. Is he just an asshole?

Ooooo, that was VAGGIE singing the 'bloodthirsty and deranged?' line? More fodder for her being a fallen angel/exterminator.

'Helluva post' for the mail. Ha.

This just made me fully realize how much the cannibal colony probably considers the post-extermination like a feast day.

Awww, the music note background is a fun touch.

Something about the fact that the 'touch my parts!' guy is a completely shapeless slug-creature instead of just keeping the dick offscreen makes it funnier.

Oh, I love Adam. The fun kind of punchable prick.

The animation seems a bit... overacted? I've noticed it all along but with Vaggie in the scene where she talks about making a new commercial especially. It sort of felt like they wanted to match the pilot's very snappy energy but weren't quite sure how, so everybody makes kind of... aimless motioning instead of moving with purpose, if it makes sense? It feels more like 'moving body parts for the sake of moving things' over 'moving with intent'. It's sort of awkward and distracting. The shifting proportions don't really help, but I just know people are going to be Fucking Annoying about that when it's unfortunately part of the package of making a whole season at once by a regular animation studio.

Oh yeah, Blake's perfect for Angel, lmao. It was more of a change than I expected from the few lines we'd gotten since they sounded more like the original, but he's got the energy.

Charlie didn't know Adam ran the angel army? That seems like the kind of thing she should have known. I wonder if she was relatively sheltered growing up.

'Call me dickmaster' why do I get the feeling the Chaz fans will like him, lmfao.

Since I'm on Adam though, another little groan to myself about the lack of fat characters in the hellaverse that aren't either gross stereotypes or background characters. Adam falls into the misogynist type, (like, the 'redditor', you know the one, just sort of mixed with a sleazy rockstar) Mammon's literally Greed and a talentless abuser, the lady at the pound was gross/uncaring and ugly, and I still think the Nurse was the only one that really broke the pattern and I've seen approximately one piece of fanart or mention of her ever (despite her clearly-developed positive relationship with Barbie!) and it was porn. I'm allowed to bitch on this after people were so fucking annoying about how wanting Bee to be fat was wanting her to be a 'gross ugly blob' and then saying other people were being fatphobic for pointing out everybody's skinny. Somehow. Anyway.

Well, at least they got the vagina joke out of the way early.

I love how his deal isn't for anything that would genuinely screw Vaggie over, he's just pissed they want him to deal with TV.

The fact that the pilot's still 'soft canon' makes sense with how Angel just immediately starts admiring his new clothes without any surprise, since it's happened before. Also, Niffty with the Marilyn pose is cute.

Oh, I'm definitely going to like Lute. I still like my idea she used to be close to Vaggie but when Vaggie was cast down, she stuck tighter to the rules.

Adam's song is fun!

So season 1 takes place over the course of six months? Huh. I'm guessing we'll have some time skips if we only have eight episodes.

I wonder what the Heaven Embassy is for? I can't imagine it's only for meetings like that considering there's couches in the lobby and stuff. Can sinners communicate with loved ones in heaven or vice versa, maybe, just using the holograms?

Oh my god the Katie voice IS basically just Brandon's Bryce voice. Amazing.

Ohoooo? VERY curious who managed to pull off killing an exterminator, and 'can't let them catch on'... hmm.

[wolfblood-of-anubis]

something else to say about House of Anubis’ Season 3 + Touchstone of Ra

something i never liked about s3 was their choice to make Victor into a sinner. the thing about Victor is that while he’s greedy— he’s not evil. he does care about the well-being of the kids when it comes to life and death. he was afraid of Alfie dying in S1, afraid for all of them in S2 after Alfie was plunged into nothingness.

but then in S3B, when he’s made a sinner it’s just pure evil no-conscience Victor and it sucks. he’s not the same Victor we know— and i know that’s the whole point. im not gonna lie, seeing Patricia, Fabian, and Alfie become sinners was fun because it was like the longest running remaining Sibuna members got taken and now the two newbies are left. though again, i still liked it because S3 started with an Eddie and KT partnership and it ended that same way, with them together fighting as a duo.

but i would’ve been much happier if Victor hadn’t been taken as a sinner, make someone else like Benji or whoever instead.

why? lets gets into Touchstone of Ra real quick. the thing about that movie is that Victor— for the first time in HOA history is on Sibuna’s side. and not at the end, from like the middle of the movie. it makes it much more interesting because the dynamic changes, we could’ve seen Victor reacting to how they work and asking “These are the kids that pull one over on me time and time again?” as well as recognizing the potential in them, like Fabian with the hieroglyphs and everything.

instead, the movie is rushed and we get three newbies that are- in my opinion- seriously some of the laziest add-in’s of all time. the weird guy that’s kinda gross to add in that comedic effect, the smart asian girl, the vapid blonde with money and clothes. they really didn’t pull any brain muscles on them, huh?

i assume the whole point of them, and Eddie ‘initiating’ them as Sibuna recruits for the next year was their attempt at a possible sequel series somehow. and it clearly failed. but it’s still not even that fun, because a lot of the movie brings in these new kids while instead we could’ve had Jerome and Joy involved in the final mystery seeing as they were big parts of the first two. especially because we added in Mara at the last second. and then it’s just another new awkward dynamic trying to catch her up to speed as well as having Fabian be in a weird intellectual rivalry with her when she shows him up and i get it, Fabian’s used to being the brains of the operation and in comes the girl who beat him for valedictorian and she’s got a lot of answers so yeah, it’s a bit envious of him. could you blame him?

i resonate with Mara sometimes but rewatching the entire show, the girl keeps doing messed up stuff every season (well S2 isn’t terrible) but she messed with Mick during the goth girl phase, almost got a teacher fired because she was jealous, the entire Jerome revenge in S3 (while i sympathized with the first bits, the fake-love-Joy-thing was low for her) and then here you have the movie, she’s the newest member whom they never even fully indicted (even the babies get a quickie initiation ritual from Eddie).

so i guess this is to say that Mara got gradually worse (s2 didnt do much so she gets a pass there)

but oh yeah, the Victor thing. i would’ve MUCH preferred it if Victor had ended up helping Sibuna in idk mid-S3B. like he figured out that ritual went wrong, Robert’s evil, shit’s fucked. and he realizes what he’s planning on doing, releasing Ammut. so, he accidentally finds himself aligned with the kids. it would’ve been so nice to see

@frobisher-smythe @mask-of-anubis @yackers @sibxna @joymercerssecretgf @sibunaaanubis @incorrectsibunaquotes

[antialiasis]

Belated additional thoughts on Groundhog Day the musical

Yes hello you thought I had stopped but the other day I discovered there is now at least one full bootleg of Groundhog Day on YouTube that is (mostly) significantly higher-quality than the one I'd previously obtained, and I rewatched it and had even more disorganized thoughts on it. (Hi, if you're new here, see my Groundhog Day tag for the previous thoughts, which were many)

In Rita's first diary entry from day one, she brings up other stuff before she brings up Phil; he's the asshole she expected him to be, and ultimately basically an eye-roll-worthy footnote in her otherwise fun day. On day two, when Phil's been more noticeably erratic, she first brings up that she's been working with Phil Connors, because the simply strange way he's been acting has made him a slightly more noteworthy part of her day, compared to the first iteration.

On day one Phil goes "Think I'm gonna lose it altogether if one more person talks about the weather…" a few times, and is then interrupted by Mrs. Lancaster on "talks--" for the last one. On day two he just goes "Think I'm gonna lose it altogether if one more person talks," and stops there without being interrupted - he's just exasperated with any of these people talking to him, at all, especially if they're going to act like it's yesterday.

The sheer variety of different things they pull out to depict a car chase onstage is suuuuuuch a goddamn delight. Turntables, car exoskeleton in two halves around sitting actors, extras moving the halves around them to simulate up-and-down movement, miniatures, simulating motion through extras moving miniature backgrounds, overhead miniatures… The sheer inventiveness of it is just nuts. Throw all of the awards at Matthew Warchus please.

The choreography of Philandering where Phil kind of dances along to everything, moves in time with the music, eggs on the groundhog and then makes a little thing of artfully dodging the swinging sun, etc., is just so fun. Prior to that he's never in sync with the townspeople for all the celebrations at all, resolutely out of step with them; here he still sticks out but he is playing a fluid part in it all, because he's (for the moment) actually enjoying it all and knows the moves and is seamlessly a part of it.

I love how many bits in the "One Day" sequence imply other iterations we don't see. Like how Phil makes a weird point of going "I love kids!" during the snowball fight, which Rita agrees with - we don't see it but we know that previously he said something about how he can't stand the little bastards and got a negative reaction.

Phil is getting so desperate on the last iteration of the Rita date. Part of the reason it's so creepy is he's just unable to even make any of it sound convincing anymore because his mental state has been deteriorating and he's absolutely clinging to the idea that he must be able to win this and get anything he wants. (The powerlessness of realizing and finally accepting that he just can't, despite everything, sort of triggers the depressive spiral.)

The choreography at the end of One Day as Phil starts spiralling, pulling his coat tighter, seeming out of sync again and scared and vulnerable and then undressing and flinching away from the people and just crawling back into his bed, oof.

"That's it for me live from Punxsutawney" has just a liiiittle extra emphasis on live that is definitely intentional.

Phil is uncomfortable and moves away from Rita when she's trying to comfort him by putting her arm around him on the bench after he confesses what's going on. This is definitely because of all the times that he painstakingly tried to manipulate affection out of her - some part feeling like he's somehow accidentally doing that again when he wasn't even trying to and doesn't even want that right now (and probably feels at least a bit gross about it), some part kneejerk conditioned expectation that that Always Goes Horribly Wrong and he should stay away.

Phil holds his jacket up in front of his face so Fred and Debbie won't recognize him during "If I Had My Time Again", really enjoy that detail. Usually he kind of likes them to recognize him, says thanks for watching at least - he probably gets a little ego boost out of it, and he's willing to go through the motions of it even when he isn't feeling it. But right now he just doesn't want the attention and is exhausted by everything and just does not want to deal with that. A little later in the choreography they do recognize him and he still signs autographs and smiles briefly (and forcedly) for the photo, clearly running on autopilot.

For the whole first half of the "If I Had My Time Again" choreography he's kind of trying to not enjoy himself, giving back all the festival food he's given, etc. He takes off the pendant he's given after escaping from the crowd, like he's done on previous days, but that's when Rita goes "I'd sample all the samples, look at things from different angles," and he actually puts it back on and has a sip of the coffee. And then begins to tell her about where he went skinny-dipping in a frozen-over pond and learned to drive an 18-wheeler through a store window, warming up slightly into having fun, a little bit (that one post suggesting he's putting a positive spin on some of his suicide attempts there is very plausible and I love it).

The way the tilt-a-whirl bit just ends up in Phil staring at Rita in wonder as she's having the time of her life. It's so hard for him to remember that having fun like that at something so simple is even a thing you can do. (He could have seen that in the townspeople, of course, but he hasn't been thinking of them as people and their joy has just been annoying.)

"You always have a really good day, except for when I mess it up for you." There's a little pause before he says this, like he's just realizing it.

"You know, this is the, uh… This is the best day that I can remember?" has this uncertain tone to it, like he half thinks that just sounds really pathetic.

I love how purely platonic that one day is. Romance and sex are the furthest thing from Phil's mind, he actively rejects physical contact, they just hang out and do some kinda fun things and make jokes and that's the first time they just actually connect as human beings and that's what sparks a little bit of joy for him again. And then what's the first thing he does the next morning? Trying to connect with other people as human beings too, shed his jerkass habits and just actually treat them as people.

He has a little chuckle at echoing the popsicle line without actually calling attention to it or anything there on the first day post-"If I Had My Time Again", in a way that makes it seem fond, and that's just cute.

After taking a picture with Fred and Debbie he tells them to have fun today! No catchphrases or thanks for watching this time, just hey, I hope you enjoy your day. How lovely.

"I was talking to Buster and he thinks we can get the best shot right about here." So he was actually talking to people in town, getting their opinions! Like they matter! And wants Larry's opinion, too!

Phil making a note of Jensen's name, wanting to remember it, after bringing him into the hospital. Just that little "Jensen." says so much.

During "Philanthropy" he gets Mrs. Lancaster into the snowball fight with the kids and she loves it oh my god

In general, I was prepared to maybe enjoy it less than when I was originally hyperfixating on it and notice the flaws more or feel more ambivalent overall, but instead I just found myself being re-delighted with most everything about it. The way it's staged and directed is so clever and I love Andy Karl's Phil Connors so much, what a precisely Me(tm) character. I didn't even mention how much I enjoy all of his body language. Or the quality pained grunt after Rita slaps him at the end of the date sequence.

please watch this musical I love it so much

[thelaughingmerman]

Ok after a rewatch (and now that I've cried again lmao bYE that second to last episode kills me bro) Assassination Classroom makes me so mad because like. Aside from some story things, not going in depth enough here and there, etc. Like aside from those it WOULD be an absolutely fantastic watch that I'd readily recommend to everyone.

However the perverted jokes knock it down several pegs. It's so par for the course in the shonen Manga I've read so I mean. I guess at this point I almost expect it from Manga. And maybe it's a cultural divide thing idfk but it's not funny it's never funny aaaaaagh. I mean it's still a good watch if you CAN ignore that prevalent detail. Because there is good.

I will say of the normal things I'd critique:

1) There are a lot of characters and most of them don't really get a time to shine. I understand the point and emphasis of Nagisas character but I feel it sort of hinders things. And at the same time it wouldn't be the same without them. It's a weird situation, I do wish he didn't narrate though.

2) In the anime Koro Senseis backstory (a years worth of friendship) takes the course of 30 minutes or less. You have to fill in the gaps yourself but in the whole Aguri. Really doesn't get a lot of screen time which makes it hard to take things as genuine? But that's probably just a me problem idk. (At the least no one ever mentions her being gone in the anime so it's like? I know they only had her for 2 weeks but still).

3) Nagisas mom gets off with a slap on the wrist like she didn't straight up physically abuse her son on screen but ok

4) wait another gross thing I really don't like the hahaha nagisa looks like a girl jokes. Like even after the people who do it realize it bothers him so much because of his mom's abuse (she wanted a girl and lives vicariously through him) still pick on him about it even when they said they'd cool it

5) while I like that the story has a beginning middle and end and I don't want a good story to overstay its welcome it's still a whole year we could have focused on some other characters too I'm sorry I'm focusing on that but they talk about how they're all family and it's about the whole class working together but you really don't know most of them by the end of it it's such a shame

6) she has her moments here and there but I don't care for irana and I especially don't like her and kurasama together there's no chemistry at all what was that

[the-cat-chat]

October 8, 2022

Poltergeist (1982)

A family whose suburban home is haunted by evil forces must come together to rescue their youngest daughter after the apparitions take her captive.

JayBell: I’ve missed out on a lot of classic horror movies, so I figured it was time to cross some off my list.

All in all, this movie was much funnier than it was scary, but that could be due to its PG rating. Also, I can’t deny the outdated special effects do undermine the scares. But there were some gross and gruesome imagery. If I was watching this as a kid, I can imagine that there would be moments that gave me nightmares.

Spielberg generally does a nice job showing family dynamics, and I felt that in this movie. The parents were exceptionally weird (the dad’s in-bed Daffy Duck impression/mom trying to flush a dead bird down the toilet??), but at least they were weird and happy together.

The plot is the epitome of the phrase, “well that escalated quickly.” The ghosts go from playful chair movers to creepy child abductors SO fast. Honestly, I felt really bad for the girl. “Go into the light, no don’t go into the light, you have to go into the light, never go into the light.” It was giving me a complex, so I don’t know how a five year old managed to follow any directions at all.

I love the small psychic lady they called into help them rescue Cindy Lou or Cindy Anne or Carol Anne or whatever her name was (I’m bad at remembering character names). She really added some personality to the movie. On the other hand, I thought the teenage sister’s character was basically pointless. Like she’s there in the beginning to help out a little, freaks out and stays at a friend’s house for the majority of the movie, and then just randomly shows up at the end.

I’m glad I got around to watching this one. I had a lot of fun, even if I doubt I’ll be rewatching it any time soon.

Rating: 6.5/10 cats 🐈

Anzie: Sooooooo…… I never had the desire to watch this movie- first I always mixed it up with The Exorcist, and second I thought it was really scary. Ummmm so it’s not- it’s actually a comedy. From the second I watched the mock-up documentary/ news / interview trailer I was hooked. And maybe 40 years ago it was terrifying, but today not so much.

The story is really good and interesting and the spooks are peppered in so carefully. Is it the t.v. that melts the American brain, scary tree, the clown doll that’s a total creep, or something more sinister? You’ll just have to wait and see and spend the whole movie guessing. Well guessing, or you can make fun of all the 80s stuff like I did. Seriously is a poltergeist scary than brown carpet??????? The seizure warning should also not be taken lightly at all, I had to look away so many times and I get it it’s spoooky but still. The cast really performed and the acting was great, totally adding to the mix of fear, absurdity, and overall story of the film.

I’m ashamed to put in writing that the dad was kinda hot until I realized it was the dad from The Propsal- not one of my finer moments. The movie too was scary in unexpected ways- like the situation with one of the paranormal investigators. BARF. And the whole swimming pool situation. But the ending more than makes up for it and I was actually crying at some points because I was laughing from the lines and just the pure chaotic energy of it all. There are so many little details that make the dynamic realistic, but funny, but also creepy even if not in the way we expect to be scared today with all the new gadgets and gizmos of film making.

Rating: 6/10 Poltergeists 👻👻👻

[poorlittleyaoyao]

My mission to rewatch the entirety of CQL over the long weekend has commenced! For blocking purposes, the tag is gonna be the same as what it was the first time through: “masala necromancy wizard hour.”

Episode 3:

-Really more of a carry-over from the second episode, but I like how the show isn’t just unclear about how much time passes between Cloud Recesses Summer Camp and WWX’s resurrection, but overtly obfuscating. The title card definitely read SIXTEEN YEARS AGO as the Yunmeng flashback trio pulled into Caiyi Town, but people have repeatedly said that WWX died sixteen years ago. Time, like geography, is an illusion.

-I could not STAND Jin Zixuan when I first watched the show last year. Now that I know what his arc is... I still don’t like him. I’m sorry, fandom, but he’s boring! He’s so boring! I’d honestly like him more if he were overtly bratty; a haughtier version of Jin Ling or, better yet, a male version of Pooja from K3G would be FANTASTIC, but as it is, I just cannot care about this cardboard cutout.

-I also don’t buy that Yanli is attracted to him? She looks uncomfortable to the point of nausea. If I, an aroace, find a character’s response to their love interest personally relatable, that’s... not a great sign. (Jiang Yanli 🤝 Sophia Cracroft 🤝 Rani Mukherjee’s character in KANK, my poor beloveds)

-That said, I appreciate how they lay the groundwork fro JZX turning it around by having him be halfway courteous to JYL and JYL only.

-I choose to believe that the Lan sect absoutely knows who everyone is when they show up, but the “you must have a ticket” thing was put there as a test of responsibility. Alternately, the guard guy hates his job and wants to fuck with people.

-I love bb Jiang Cheng stepping forward to try and do diplomatic interactions every time they encounter other members of the nobility. He’s doing his best!

-I also love!!! That JC notices when JYL is distressed! And tries to reassure her!

- “A-Cheng, you know that A-Xian always takes things seriously when they’re important.” ohhhhh nooooo he’s gonna internalize this and rationalize that WWX must not consider him important later, isn’t he D:

-I like the change to have WWX break a ward to enter Cloud Recesses rather than just climb over a fence. It establishes him as dangerous! No wonder Hall Monitor Lan Wangji is immediately on high alert. Breaking through the wards isn’t allowed? NO SHIT, HANGUANG-JUN. IT ALSO SHOULDN’T BE EASILY DONE!

-omg I just realized that WWX has literally no idea where the Jiang contingent is staying? What was he gonna do if LWJ didn’t intercept him, knock on every door until he found them?

-AERiagehhgkssr I FORGOT THAT WANGJI INTERRUPTS HIS BROTHER AND UNCLE FROM INVESTIGATING THEIR ZOMBIE AUTOPSY SO THEY CAN GIVE WWX DETENTION.

-Xichen is just so DELIGHTED by this diversion, though. It’s cute.

-"The puppets are totally alive and TOTALLY NOT ZOMBIES” creates so many weird plot problems re: Wen Ning and the Yi City crew, but I don’t hate it elsewhere. The description makes me think of the guys who’ve had their souls sucked out by Tuunbaq in The Terror. “All I can bring to mind is the example of a diary with all the entries removed. It’s still a book, yes. But blank pages now.“

-”Wangji, doesn’t he have some real skills? :)” “>:(! >:(! >:(!”

-OH MY GOD XUE YANG IS THIS EARLY?

-OH MY GOD HIM GETTING CHOKED OUT BY WEN RUOHAN IS HIS INTRODUCTION?

-Does Xue Yang as a Wen attache with a connection to the Yin Iron’s creation throw a wrench in a lot of plot elements? Yes. Do I like it anyway? Also yes. Firstly, it establishes that Wen Ruohan has a habit of giving jobs to maladjusted vengeance teens. Secondly, the Wen siblings and Xue Yang definitely interacted and that is HILARIOUS. Please consider Xue Yang following Wen Qing around pestering her to tell him weird gross medical facts. Please consider Xue Yang teaching an appreciative Wen Ning how to curse better. Bless.

[jadoue1999]

Peter Maximoff’s complicated relationship with Star Wars

Summary: Peter didn't like Star Wars. But not because they were bad movies, no. It's because they somehow were very similar to his own life, and they also showed him what might have been, had his twin lived long enough. This is the story of Peter Maximoff, told through the many similarities between the original trilogy and his own life.

*All Star Wars quotes are in italics*

Peter doesn’t like Star Wars

Don’t get him wrong, the movies are great. The first movie had come out when he was 22 years old, and he had found it amazing. He had never seen anything like it before and had sneaked into the movie theater to rewatch it with his twin several times.

‘I need your help, Luke.’

It was almost ironic how his life resembled some parts of the movie. Both he and Wendy had some characteristics of Luke and Leia. He was the goofball, the one who had been recruited to break someone out of an impenetrable prison. Hell, Charles could be Obi-Wan, the old wizard with strange mind control powers (though he didn’t have them at the time), Hank was Chewbacca, the fierce beast who was loyal to his family, and then the claw guy, Logan, was Han Solo. The dark-haired man with a don’t-mess-with-me attitude that would shoot you down without hesitation. That made him Luke, the farm boy that was raised isolated, unaware of the true danger. Only difference was that Erik wasn’t Leia, no he was Vader. Wendy was Leia, the fierce, loud mouthed, badass princess that didn’t let anyone boss her around.

They had loved the first movie, but then tragedy struck. His twin’s powers were always unpredictable, always on the verge of lashing out. He had tried to help as much as he could, but just a few months after their 23rd birthday, it was too much for Wendy to bear. She lost control and died, taking half a block with her. Peter did his best to carry on, but their lost connection was all he could feel. The aching emptiness that had always been occupied by his twin sister. It took awhile, but he did eventually go see the second Star Wars. It was... a bittersweet experience to say the least.

Seeing the big bad Vader being related to Luke really did a number on him. All he could think about was the fact that he too was related to a literal terrorist. Someone who had hurt hundred of people and would probably not hesitate to hurt him as well. And then it was revealed that Luke and Leia shared a connection, where they could hear each other and feel each other, and it just overwhelmed him. Minus the kissing (ew, that was gross, why did they even include that?!) Luke and Leia’s relationship reminded him of his and Wendy’s.

That’s why he wasn’t surprised when they were revealed to be twins in the next movie.

Actually, he had been surprised, but more about the fact that his grief took over for a moment. Seeing Leia try to reason with Luke, telling him that nothing good would come out of chasing Vader, their father... that was a conversation that had really happened after their mom told them who exactly was Magneto. Peter had decided to chase Erik down the moment he had resurfaced.

‘I won't fail - I'm not afraid.’

‘Oh, you will be. You will be.’

His mom had warned him about Magneto, how nothing good came out of chasing ghosts, but he had to try. A confrontation with the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Cloud city The mansion was full of people, and the place was exploding. He saved them all (minus one), of course, because that’s what he did. Why be a speedster if you can’t save people from catastrophe?

‘Luke, don't - it's a trap!’

Yeah, it had been a trap, alright. But unlike Luke, he hadn’t had Leia to warn him. So, the carbon freezing chamber knock out gun had worked. That’s how he ended up captured by the government and woke up in a weird green room. The others, he could understand why they were taken, they seemed to know the man holding them, but why him? Peter was of no interest to them. Unless they knew he was related to Magneto and planned to use him as a bargaining chip, but it seemed unlikely.

Then, they were freed and, on their way to confront En Sabah Nur, or as Hank had described him, the blue god. He had told Raven about his relationship with Erik, and she promised him that she would make sure she would tell him.

‘There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you.’

The cold, cold eyes of Magneto were staring at him with something that seemed almost like interest. “And you?”

‘I am your father.’

It was right there, a perfect opportunity served on a silver platter. An opportunity to make Erik realize he wasn’t alone, that he had more family. Perhaps he’d turn back to the light side if he knew. “I’m your-“

But it was Wendy who was the brave one, she was the chosen one. She never would have hesitated. And he wasn’t his sister. “I’m here for my family too.”

It was all sad and tragic because his life was just like that. He could feel Raven’s eyes on him, she couldn’t understand why he hadn’t told him, but she couldn’t know about Wendy. It was his own painful secret.

With how similar his life was to Luke’s he wasn’t sure why he was even surprised when he got his hand cut off leg broken. Then, there he was, trying to hold on to consciousness as shock settled into his body.

‘Hear me! Leia!’

Oh, how he wished Wendy were here. She would have destroyed them. Peter would have done anything for his twin to answer, like Leia did with Luke. But she was dead, there was no one to answer him. Just the cobwebs of their broken connection and the burning pain of his leg. He didn’t really care what happened next, he was all too focused on getting his message to his long-lost sister. He didn’t really believe in a higher power, of some all-powerful entity that somehow watched over everyone. He did, however, believe in Wendy, his strong, beautiful, powerful sister.

‘I would have preferred her too’

The blue God’s voice resonated in his head, catching him off guard. No one had ever reached in his mind like that, Wendy only could because of their connection.

‘If you will not turn to the dark side, then perhaps she will.’

Would his father have tried recruiting Wendy for his brotherhood? Yeah, definitely. She would have been the true last hope. A daughter to be proud about. One with abilities beyond anything anyone had ever seen. One that truly would have saved everyone, hell, she would have prevented the mansion from exploding and never would have been captured in the first place. The blue god looked at him with disdain in his eyes and Peter knew it didn’t mean anything good. He tried to crawl away, but in his current position, that did absolutely nothing.

‘It is pointless to resist, my son.’

En Sabah Nur grabbed him by the hair and tugged, holding him painfully upright and vulnerable. He’d always hated staying still, he was always too full of energy, always eager to chase after the next distraction.

Peter looked up at his father, trying to see if he would do anything, but he saw nothing but indifference. Magneto didn’t care about him. He was an insignificant mutant, a face amongst a thousand others. Soon to be counted amongst the hundred of corpses that Erik had seen in his life.

‘Now, young Skywalker...you will die.’

The god pulled his head back sharply, exposing his throat. “End him.”

One of his horsemen was approaching him with a sharp sword. Peter was slightly thankful that it wasn’t his dad that was chosen to be his executioner. His powers had kicked in, trying to give him an opportunity to escape. But it only made his imminent doom even worse.

Then, he didn’t die, and the hope of seeing his twin again was brushed aside for another near-death situation. As it turned out, Raven was a great person when the son of her friend was in danger.

En Sabah Nur let him go too quickly to focus on the blue mutant. He gasped and writhed as he fell to the ground as electricity pain coursed through his body. The blue god didn’t care about him, he continued calling for Charles, calling for his true target.

‘Father! Help me!’

He should cry out like Luke did, there was no way Magneto would act if he didn’t. Then again, he didn’t have a clue who he was. It was doubtful he remembered him from the Pentagon, it had been nearly 10 years and Erik had had a whole other family since. He was just the nameless idiot that got a big head and tried to take on a god and got defeated like a loser.

In the end, they were all fine, just a little shaken. Erik gave him a weird look, either he pitied him, or he was wondering what he had wanted to tell him. But Peter was on the verge of passing out, there was no way he could hold a conversation at the moment. They came back to the mansion and Peter decided to stay, maybe getting out of his isolation wouldn’t be so bad.

So, even if his life was similar to Star Wars, in its turns and tragedy, it wasn’t even close to how the trilogy ended. The scruffy Han never came back, Obi-wan wasn’t next to a redeemed Anakin (he just left all together) and Leia wasn’t at his side anymore. A happy ending wasn’t something that happened in real life. Everything he wanted resolved wasn’t wrapped neatly into a bow. He still had his loads of daddy issues caused by a father who didn’t know was a father and Wendy, his amazing long gone twin still wasn’t at his side. Peter figured that some good would eventually come to him, it couldn’t be all bad, right?

‘This is our most desperate hour.’

He had faith in that, so, when he was woken up by a burning sensation in his chest, he did his best to understand. The pain was so familiar, it was grief. But not his grief, no, this came from the connection he shared with his twin.

“Wanda?” he called out. Using her real name because she was calling to him. Because she needed him. Because she was somewhere all alone.

“I had a brother, his name was… Pietro.”

It was painful for her to talk about him, so he made sure to let her know through their bond that he was there for her, she just had to reach out. Wanda was confused to feel him, but her scarlet magic soon opened a portal. It might be a trap, there was no way to be certain, but Peter trusted his sister. He took and deep breath and ran into the portal without hesitation. She was alone and she was suffering, it was his job as her twin to help her.

‘Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.’

[popculturebuffet]

The Owl House: Enchanting Grom Fright: Happy Valentine’s Gays

Happy Valentine’s Day owl ladies, gentleman and non-binary folks! It’s time to finish off this holiday in proper style with a LONG overdue review of enchanting Grom Fright and even longer overdue coverage of the Owl House.  The Owl House was one of the best debuts of last year if not THE best, only in contention because Close Enough also started last year and looks to surpass regular show in terms of quality. But with stunning animation, tons of representation, and colossal worldbuilding. And given how i’m on record for thinking Star Vs went so far down the tubes they bumped into where Cthulu is sleeping, it’s nice to have another magic based show that seems to be on the right track: carefully building i’ts world, supporting cast and for today’s topic main romance. It also rather than just obliquely hint one character was bi and the other pan, actually goes out of it’s way to have a bisexual protaginst with a gay love intrest. As my good friend @jess-the-vampire has brought up quite a bit, star had plnety of options. .but no willingness to actually campaign for any queer rep, the way Gravity Falls head Alex Hirsch tried to, he still gets credit for trying, and Owl House creator Dana Terrace gets full credit for. 

Terrace got her start working on Gravity Falls in line production before working her way up to directing for ducktales, being instrumental in how Webby was animated and how she moves and acts, and being the director for several classic season one episodes including “Woo-Hoo!”, “The Spear of Selene” , “Day of the Only Child!” which was one of my faviorites from season 1 and “The Beagle Birthday Massacre!”. And while I can’t 100% confirm she’s the only part responsible for starting Weblena, given she was director on an episode where a lot of the romantic subtext was in the visuals, she certainly helped so thank you Dana. Thank you a lot. Their adorable. Point is she’s a talented lady and wasn’t satisfied with directing, so she pitched her own show, combining tons of ides and stuff including of all things, Pokemon Red. I checked the article wikipedia had sourced, it was one of her happy childhood memories as it was one of the last things her dad gave her. Awwwwwww. That’s as sweet as it is painful. She’s also currently dating Alex Hirsch, something I was entirely unaware of but find also adorable. Point is i’m glad I looked into her as she’s a very nice person, and very much my kind of weirdo and i’m happy for her sucess and her singuarly weird show that sprung from that sucess. 

Now that part of it’s out of the way the episode itself was an uphill battle as you’d expect. As anyone familiar with this blog is aware, but just in case your new, you tend to hear me bitching about Disney’s handling of queer represntation a LOT

For the most part Disney’s pretty bad at it: There was the string of “FIRST GAY CHARACTER IN AN X” they had going for a while.. that consisted of a character I dind’t realize was gay, a kiss I didn’t see, and a talk with a character who I honestly wouldn’t of been looking for had disney not patted themselves on the back with some giant sized hands because htey saved some pym particles for that occasion. Ducktales was unable to have Penumbra come out as gay more clearly because I don’t know Ducks can’t be day.. but they can be IMPLIED to be gay or pansexual as hard as the crew possibly can so they win anyway. Pixar was able to have a gay lead character for one of it’s sparks shorts out and even focused on him coming out of the closet and it’s very good and something I WILL give Pixar credit for... but not Disney Plus who go out of their way to not mention the lead being gay.. despite the fact the short opens with a gay space cat riding a gay space dog out of a rainbow and then it being revaled our lead is in a relationship not long into the short. My point is the idiots who won’t watch this for having gay characters are just going to turn it off, who cares what they think, why are you like this Disney. They need to do better, and be better and i’m getting tired of this shit.

That being said... this episode is a step in the right directoin as despite having to get past one obstructive asshole, not her words but damn if it isn’t the truth, as the rest of hte execs were fine with having a gay character, Terrace fought hard for it and WON, having a clearly gay character, and a clear road to a gay romace as the lead one, all because she wanted some representation in her works. So to honor this, I present this review in honor of love, effort and saying screw you to not having represntation because money. Join me under the cut and allt hat. 

We open in the owl house, in the owl house, duck dodge push and shove, it’s how we show our love in the.. you get the point. Luz is learning yet another Rune, this time plant runes.. and already something I love about the series pops up: the fact Luz’s rise in skill is gradual but noticable. Each spell noticably improves in potency with time,  going from simple lights to shaping them into simple constructs, and learning to control or time her spells and glpyhs so they launch she she says so, with each one getting more powerful the more she learns. And on top of that osmething I just noticed on rewatch of this episode is her tecnique in finding them evolved, something I dind’t notice the first time because I hadn’t fully caught up and checked this one out to see if Disney would actually let them go through with it.. and they did. Point is her first spell is found by accident, her second by realizing how her magic works fundemntally, both require skilled deduction and on the fly thinking and casting, so she’s already pretty skilled.. but now sh’es ACTIVELY seeking out a new spell here for the first time. She knows how she gets them, she knows each school is tied to a form, and she likely got the plant from williow since that’s her thing and she’s a saint. A demon but also a saint. They can have those too. It’s what I assume relicor is. 

I miss that goblin demon bat man. Point is it shows an evolution in Luz’s thinking: while it’s a subtle thing she took a more proactive approach this time even if it took a lot of practice.. and it pay soff as by the time of her next rune, while it’s once again sorta handed to her she has less time to learn it, almost none, and finds it singed onto a ball.. and learns it effortlessly to the point where by the next episode it’s a crucial plot point. IT’s subtle but clever character progression, and stuff I really enjoy, showing our hero going from a bit inept but not helpless or incomptient.. to a force to be reckconed with and far more clever and strategic than yo’ud expect given her sometimes reckless and almost always happy go lucky attitude. 

Luz worries teaching King about the internet was a bad idea because he gets excited about a literal cat fight which .. yeah... it was a bad idea but not because of that.. but because next he finds someone saying the earth is flat and she wisely yanks it away. It’s.. very sad that the absolutley maddening and easily debunked flat earth theory is still RELATIVLEY more sane than the stuff we’ve had pop up during the trump era and the cornoavirus pandemic. 

But one of the main conlficts of the episode pops up as Luz’s mom messages her and Luz can’t bring herself to tell her anything and just sends a thumbs up.  I do think this episode helps even things from the pilot a bit as it was a bit lopsided: While I got that Camillia was genuinely struggling with how to deal with Luz, and was offered an out and had to take it... the fact she sees NO problem with the normalcy camp, which comes off intentioanlly or not a sa parallel to conversion camps or camps to make autistic kids “Normal”. And as someone whose both bisexual and autistic, I naturally relate to luz way more as someone whose intrests sometimes just don’t quite fit with everyone else, and who dosen’t get how bad some of their actions were.  THat’s why this episode feels like a necessary course correction: Luz is shown to genuinely love her mama and feel guilty.. but we see camilia genuinlely loves and supports her daughter a bit more. While it was clear from the pilot this shows it more, with her genuinely just wanting to know her daughter’s okay and checking up on her, and giving me the feeling that possible consequences or no if something bad WAS happening or she didn’t hear from her for a long time, she would’ve drove up there to get her. It feels like the writers realized the implications they accidently created and wanted to fix it, though I can’t say for certain. But if so good on you for course correcting, not every show does that. 

But King encourages her, telling her she’s doing the right thing by lying and to “trust the demon on your shoulder”. Keep this in mind for later, but that joke is great on it’s own. But soon i’ts time for school and Hooty.. barfs out Luz’s books for her. 

I haven’t been this disturbed since.. (Looks at the clock) About 2 maybe three hours ago when I watched a man have, if apparently shorter than the oriiginal cut as I wanted to see everyone else’s reactions dammit, sex with hiis car which was possesed by the mad ghost of his dead wife. Because that’s the kind of stuff i’m into when i’m not reviewing stuff. And before that Tinky.. just everything about tinky. 

I do not have enough time to get into TInky here or why he exestially horrifies me. Or why Jeff blim is a living god. I will save that for a proper review if I have the time tomorrow. Point is I saw a lot today and that still tops it. Willow and Gus are likewise grossed out and want to leave. 

Cut to school where Luz wonders what’s with all the decorations.. that remind me of this honestly

And frankly given the whole state of the boiling isles it REALLY wouldn’t surprise me if the decorations were indeed well cooked faces. But i’ts Grom time, which means elaborate gromposals (Some Dude asks Skara out with a beating heart and an elaborate medical proposal.. which.. points for effort. And for using an actual heart. Couldn’t get one for mine. ), dancing and someone being chosen for Grom Queen. WHich Willow hints isn’t as nice as that sounds. Before we can get into that though Amity bumps into them and gets into a tizzy before meekly greeting “Luz.. and Co”. which.. not going to lie.. is my faviorite gag of the season. Just htw way she adds them and just the way Willow and Guz both smile widely at it as if to say “That’s us!”. Amity drops a note and snatches it back. This will be important later, you all know why, point is Amity becomes Grom Queen.. and is heavily depressed with Luz following her to find out why.  At the gym.. she does indeed ifnd out why: Turns out Grom is not some mutation of an earthname but is based around a horrifying entity lurking beneath the isles, Gromethious the Fear Bringer, who emerges from his slumber once a year and must be fought back and brings out his target’s greatest fears. Just like groundhog day only with less time loops and rodent abuse. Amity is scared of hers, and i’ll obviously get into this more later, and Luz simply suggests asking bump to opt out and Amity appricates the support. Awwww. 

Luz heads home and we find out Eda is chaperoning and King is mcing. Eda is also rocking a suit. Just damn girl, damn. But Luz considers taking her place.. and gets laughed at, with Eda assuming she’ll have to save her and King just being kind of a dick. I mean he’s a loveable thoroughly cuddly dick but he’s still a dick... just more like a stuffed plushie of one.  So basically exactly like Tinky. Look I mention him more than once in this review he dosen’t put me in the bastard box. It’s a great system.  Naturally this makes Luz more determined than ever to prove herself and she finds Amity in the night, with Amity having been unable to get out of it.. and Bumps a resonable guy, he just wants a substitute and no one wants the job.. except Luz who galdly volunteers and insists ntohing scares her before the giant spider on the back of her head proves otherwise. Because of course it does, spiders are fucking terrifying. Kill then all.. except the pokemon ones. Galvaltula are sweethearts. As are Ariadoses. Sweethearts who can elctorcute or poison you but still. 

So the next way Luz begins preparing.. and by that I mean it’s time for training. Sadly we don’t get an episode of Luz and Amity getting trapped in an 80′s fashion montage... I mean yes Rise of the TMNT also did that plot the same year, but we had two diffrent plots about someone getting trapped in an eldtrich sitcom and a THIRD this year, all entertaingly unique. Though we do get Luz pulling out an otter suit that’s adorable and she sadly still hasn’t worn yet. “This one says i’m an otter, with a dark side”. She also got thrown out of a school dance for.. wearing an otter suit. Okay the other things we saw in the pilot were understandable but htis is just.. baffling. Who cares what you wear to a dance as long as it isn’t horribly racist of nothing at all. 

Damn you flanders and your glorious ass. Point is Amity shows up and threatens hooty’s life because.. he’s hooty. The fact he isn’t dead already is a testiment to how badass he is and how much money he’d cost Eda to replace. Owl Tubes don’t come out of a stygian hole in the unvierse every day you know. That’s only every three years. It’s basic styigan owl tube science. 

But Amity wants her to be ready and that she’ll have to face her greatest fear.. and cue hooty popping up, poking amity in the face and asking if she wants to know her greatest fear. Really he can clearly hear everything in the house given he heard that, so he heard the death threat he just chose to ignore it. That.. was a mistake. And by mistake I mean we get a hilarious cut to the outside of the house as Luz tries to stop her love intrest from murdering her second mom’s tube monster. The result is some bandages and an eyepatch. To be fair that last one was just flaring up from a  previous beating. 

For this solem task of training, Amity has brought in her local disaster bisexuals.. aka her twin siblgins Eldric and Elmyra, whose greatest fears are dying alone and being stuck with Eldric. Both understandable. They conjur luz’s greatest fears which are.. some of the funniest shit I heard all year.. and also very relatable. Human souls in cat bodies, which is genuinely terrifying good job Luz, Jerks on the internet who mansplain things, relatable, and soy milk. 

But Amity knows this is just the openign act. it needs to be something deeper.. so while Luz dosen’t realize it’s probably her mom issues she brings up her issues with her other mom: that Eda dosen’t think she can do this. Hence we get a giant eda putting Luz in a babychair. Before we can unpack how wrong that sentence sounded, Eda comes out, and marvels at how hot giant her is. But she’s quickly distracted from sex with a giant version of herself, which is not an easy feat, by the relization “Wait Luz is going to fight grom isn’t she.. fuck i’m going to have to save her”, though Luz holds firm on doing it to prove she’s fine and dosen’t need to be saved constantly. it’s a good conflict. Eda IS right that Luz is not ready for this alone, that she’s overcompensating and that Eda would, in normal circumstances be the one to rescue her. As we’ll see it’s not her who does it but still, were this any other foe she probably would be. But Luz’s motivations are equally understandable: She wants to help her friend not have to do this and she wants to prove she can do it. She just wants her mentor, the only person in her life up to meeting her that GNEUINELY supported her in magic to respect her. To have faith in her and actually see how far she’s come. And given how her own mother writes off her dreams, if not unrealistically, and before this she had no friends or support system to speak of outside her mom, it’s easy to see why this is so improtant to Luz: she just wants to make the one person in her life whose ever support her actually think it was worth it when in truth Eda already thinks it does and just dosen’t want her to die. 

She’s just not good with talking to her or not condescending to her as her own ego is stacked sky high, probably because the whole curse thing meant Eda was an outcast by default and the system wants to either chain her to one form of magic and one only or shackle her to them as a hired goon. Her ego, while justified, is also a defense mechanism: a way to shield herself from the fact almost no one cares about her and one of the few people who DOES, dosen’t care what she wants or needs. Once the curse happened she lost just about everything and had to rebuild and thus build up walls around herself and kept everyone else at arms length till Luz changed her for the better. It’s just a tragic clash of two wills both with similar problems but both unwilling to talk about them. 

But with time up, our heroes need to get to the diggity dance. So they indeed do and we get some fun sight gags, Willow makes corsages,  that one girl with the cresent head somehow ended up with Mathomule and is not happy, as anyone who ends up with him should. And it’s time for Luz to face her destiny.. in a tux with a tutu because of course, and Amity likes it because also of course. 

IT’s time to rumble, with King getting nervous due to eda’s prodding about mcing since his co-mc gus is really good at it, and introducing our champion.

No wait sorry he’s still trapped in Mojoworld. no it’s still Luz who shows off a seasons worth of skill by easily dispatching the first few fears and saying to grom let’s finish it.. before grom puts a tentacle on her head. 

It’s to downlaod her fear.. which is Camillia. Granted we could all see it coming but still Luz obviously can’t fight her own mother or her own overwhelming guilt.. her mom did hurt her.. but she gets why and just loves her and wants her to be proud but dosen’t know what to do: tell her the trutha nd possibly loose a happy and fufilling life or wait until it all blows up. It’s a painful choice. So luz and king end up running. King runs first because he can’t handle it and Gus talks him back into the groove while Luz runs away because she can’t fight her own mom, understandable, and Gus encourages king to lead the crowd which he does. Amity and Eda follow Luz. 

So Luz is backed down, facing down a monster tha’ts going to go on to everyone else next if she fails... and Eda prepares to interfere.. but it’s AMITY who faces her fear and dives in. And we find out just what her fear was as grom turns into a humanoid shape and rips the letter in half.. it was a grom invitation. Though conviently the who it’s adressed to was ripped out. 

And yeah not going to save this one: It’s Luz. You know it I know it I didn’t even hide it in the intro. Even before the reveal in a bit it was obvious. But it also makes perfect sense. I’ve avoided talking about her character arc up to this point because I was waiting for now. Amity’s growth is the third major arc of the season behind Luz’s slow learning of magic and eventually induction into hexside and eda’s curse, which I lump in with Lilith chasing her since both were mildly entertwined and then entirely are once the reveal hits in the finale. When we meet her she’s an outright bully.. but we slowly see there’s more there. That she’s not really HAPPY or content, is contstantly under pressure by her family name, is outright bullied by her own siblings who don’t understand her. So Luz coming in, seemingly only being intrested in magic because i’ts neat.. understandably bothers her. She’s not a great person, bullying her old best friend because tha’ts what’s expected and being close with outright bullies because of that.. but it’s through Luz she starts to grow, realizing Luz is genuinely nice and genuinely sorry for any trouble she caused Amity, and evne then both cases were causaed by Amity’s own dickishness and outside forces, so it’s easy to see why she defrosts faster. Her siblings realize they’ve genuinely hurt her, and actually try to be good siblings from then on and help her, and slowly Amity learns to truth luz, trust in her, and accept her... and thus accept her feelings for her. There are gradual hints she’s growing attracted to her.. but her walls had to come down first, and it wouldn’t of worked from the outset. The show cleverly has the two build a genuine friendship, two opposities who work well together, so when feelings do happen it feels natural. It’s not “I’m in love with this person because I have to because you can’t be friends with someone your attracted to” bullshit or anything like that, cough star vs cough, it’s just well built catching feelings. I’ts how this kind of thing SHOULD go: niether went in intending for this to happen.. it’s just happening. 

And Amity’s reluctance is painfully understandable, as Luz is the ONLY friend and support she has. Sure she and willow are patching things up, but WIllow would understandably choose luz over her and she’s terrified of loosing the one good thing in her life. Of course Luz would either say yes, and probably will some day, or let her down gently, she’s nice.. but it’s also understandable to be afraid that someone won’t take the reveal well. I’ve been there trust me, it’s easier when you let it out even if you get rejected, but I get it being hard to let out because you don’t want to loose a friend. I did not, and niether would she, but I can see why she wouldn’t want ot take the plunge. At least not yet. We’ll see this summer hopefully. 

But we do get a shiptastic, gorgeously aniamted scene of the two dancing an fightin gin perfect synch, combinging luz’s new use of plant magic with amity’s mastery of abominations resulting in the two utterly decimating grom, likely in part because with two fast moving targets he can’t get a lock on and likely nees more fear and mass to attack multiple targets at once. Or just more tendrils. it’s a quick, beautful sequence that’s utterly glorious, being framed as romantic as any hetero scene of the type and rightfully so. A triumph and well deserving of this praise. 

Our heros have won, get crowns, and King gets praise. All is well.. except Luz drops the crown once she gets home because she feels like she failed and feels lost about her mom.. though at least king gets it “I’m king and queen, best of both things!”. You tell em sister. 

So we end with Luz genuinely responding to her mom, with some montage stuff as we see Gus and Willow poke a fear blob, willow fears bugs, understandable and Gus fears clowns... 

Also understandable. Though I didn’t put up a bug picture because

And Amity looks out folornly into the night. Camilla responds to Luz.. and mentions letters.. which while Luz brushes those off.. we see someone sent them. And by someone I probably mean king since we now know only eda and him had acess to the portal, and given he was actively encouraging her to lie.. yeah i’m supscious. But we’ll see next season. For now this episode is fan fucking tastic, showing off tons of character development, being representative and sweet as all hell.. and being really funny. Tons of great gags in this one including the turtle guy from an earlier episode being forced to be adisco ball.  This is easily the series best so far and if you haven’t checked it out, please do it’s fantastic as is this show. Check both out. Until the next rainbow i’ts been a pleasure. Tommorow more disney shenanigans this time with pete. And also more of this possibly we’ll see what I get done. 

Goodnight everybody!

[blee-bleep]

Though I disagree vehemently about your take I'm also very curious of your arguments for why you think Akko is such a bad character?

Anon, you have no idea what you just fucking asked of me. Time for a review! This is going to be hella’ long. 

Vanilla Character that insists that she has personality

So the one thing I’m going to start off with is; The Relatable/Vanilla Protagonist Syndrome. This is the syndrome that is used for most main characters in order to have a clean-slate character that is basically the audience in order to promote the world-building in the series by having them absolutely no clue of what is the world around them. That is what Akko exactly is, and that is what Trigger abuses her out of. 

Little Witch Academia is an anime that focuses solely on world-building, so much so that they’re willing to pile over their characters in order to show what magic can do. 

(And apparently for Trigger, world-building also means learning who the author of a 200-yo Twilight spinoff book is and who was Holbrooke’s dad)

But the point is, the anime is a pile of boring trash fire that focuses on world-building, even from its original exposition of the OVA. It uses the pattern of ‘theme/problem of the week’ in half of the series with arcs going nowhere for a while and suddenly rushes an epiphany in the last few episodes. *cough ep 15*

The point with world-building serialization is that it needs a way to be promoted, and what way for it to promote is to get Akko to fuck around with it. As her job as the protag, that’s exactly what she does for more than half of the series. She’s like a stretchy character that is carried by the plot with gross insistence from the show that she has character (which is being stubborn and clumsy that is written off as ‘passionate’).

What’s worse is Trigger has all these ideas yet none of them are polished to its fullest (like the political divide between witches and modern government) or is overlapped by some bullshit to add because Japan. (seriously, a hunting-themed episode with cool lore, and yet a third of the episode is all about robots and building it? What the fuck?)

See, that’s why I think Akko is a horribly written character, not her character itself (if that were the case then I would’ve ditched the show the first episode) but because how she’s executed with it for the show. She’s constantly pulled by different bullshit the show comes up and makes her pull the answers the episode needs out of thin fucking air just because the writers said ‘fuck you’ to development and that they need to end the problem at some point right?

If characters can’t be tied correctly to the worldbuilding then there’s a chance that the character themselves would break, because it just can’t often work with what you’ve already placed in the previous episodes you’ve set up in the first place. Arcs overlap with each other and LWA doesn’t do shit for that until it needs a banging climax. 

Akko is constantly renewed and she learns nothing from what she learned (or at least hints of it), except for the metamorphosis bullshit and Shiny Rod. Which brings me to my next point on why Akko is such a horrible character.

Shiny Rod is a Leech

This thing is basically the plot device that Akko is so tied to. If there’s ever an episode where it solely focuses on Akko herself, it’s often related to either Shiny Rod or Chariot du Nord, which is the shittiest way to limit a character with so much exposition with everything the series has thrown at her. The only other way the series doesn’t do this to her is Diana in episode 12, but it isn’t even focused on her, it’s focused on the cabbage and her Draco Malfoy syndrome.

Anyways, were an episode be connected to Akko in some way, it’s always limiting to her duty as the holder of the Shiny Rod and the occasional situation from Chariot. Not from her friends, who she clearly relates to and has more history with, but with the Shiny Rod and Chariot.

The series lazily signs this as Akko’s resolution to her character by the last episode (FUCK THAT) and does nothing else with her relationship with other characters outside of Diana and Chariot. Honestly, you’d expect that after going through Sucy’s mind and visiting Lotte’s hometown, she would’ve grown as a better character and more than being a two-dimensional ‘chosen-one’ character who only gets an episode if it focuses on the plot-device that pulled her in the magical world in the first place. 

But no, Trigger is still insisting pies, weird shops, and other boring stuff needs to be shown for the series to make it interesting, and dumps the idea to the next. An arc is never properly made for all the shit they let Akko go through because the series is so fast-paced in the wrong places. And when it does focus on what is important (more important than finding about Nightfall’s author), it’s usually done spontaneously thus eliminating the suppose suspense that the single important thing is supposed to do *I HATE EPISODE 15 WHAT THE FUCK*

The point is, Akko is just a ‘believing heart’. A holder of Shiny Rod, who managed to get under Chariot without her knowing. It’s like she’s Midoriya (My Hero Academia) but much watered down and if you take that away from her, she has nothing, when out of all the stuff she could’ve had.

What LWA’s writers hadn’t realized is that what they actually wrote for Akko is what could’ve been her focus but Trigger insists for the world-building theme is that Akko’s arc should only come in the climax and the filler episodes are for her friends because you know, it won’t be more interesting that way and now they have a main protagonist that’s actually interesting beyond their design and suppose-personality. 

Thus I’m next to my last bullshit:

Akko, the Wasted Potential™

I recently rewatched Citrus lately, and though the show is much narrow than LWA’s world of magic, I realized what actually makes it better than it in ways that the latter fails. And it’s their protagonist.

I know you guys will trash about Yuzu being a simp and all, and I absolutely agree with that, but what makes Yuzu better than Akko is not because she’s more down-to-earth, but she has a three-dimensional mindset, a mindset which is the very thing kept away from Akko. 

While Yuzu may not have been pushed into a world of magic by the neck and gets dragged by the plot as violently as Akko (and the two very different themes of the two shows of course), but if you pull those away, their passion are nearly built the same. What differs them both is that Yuzu actually acts out what she needs to do and builds a steady relationship with the other characters around her, even if it’s very subtle and small. (Like, Harumin being her wicked hot sidekick? God yes, top-tier Gyaru)

Akko, on the other hand, literally goes into one of her best friend’s mind in a poison-induced coma and gets shoved into her other best friend’s culture by visiting her hometown. You might think she’d grow from that and realize what it takes to be a better character, right? WRONG.

Of course, Trigger uses these things as filler episodes and nothing more. It doesn’t reflect on Akko’s character because she’s not allowed to think like it should. Though the show would insist she has personality, it does the opposite when Akko’s only character is only used as ‘believing heart’ for the Shiny Rod and nothing much else, because the only times when they do get her a new attitude is dropped off right after.

It would’ve been cool if they dropped the world-building theme for a bit and focus on how they should make the characters much more interesting than having their personalities as the root problems of episodes. 

When I first watched LWA, I had so much more expectation for the characters themselves, especially Amanda O’Neill after her introduction in episode 3. But came episode 5 and then she… didn’t really matter that much despite being in half of the episode. And she didn’t have another one not until 11 episodes later. Imagine making and hyping up such a unique character and barely giving her screentime of three episodes! That’s one of the grossest things you can do in baiting lesbians, Trigger! 

And it doesn’t stop at Amanda; it applies to almost every other character. Chariot is the pink-print disappointment of a hyped character that didn’t have enough time. She’s a plot-device character that everyone was anticipating but she’s barely given the after of a shitty episode 14 (that has another completely different problem altogether). Episode 15 was literally the worst you could’ve done to make a twist because a) the development leading to that revelation was undercooked, and especially shitty because the show basically used Croix as a plot device, b) it’s done nearly towards the end of the series so the timing for her hype was weirdly placed, and c) Chariot’s personality from that episode is being used repeatedly just to let Akko become a sitting duck. 

So yeah, Trigger was so focused on the concept of world-building and making magic look as interesting as possible that the idea that maybe the characters would flat-out look bleak was not in their cone of vision. Akko was fundamentally a boring protagonist because she keeps getting pulled apart and has not ingrained anything in that, and to rub salt into the wound, she becomes so used to it that when Croix set her up with the Wagandea trap, Chariot has to intervene and at the cost of her flight powers, which does not help their characters one bit.

Akko is a shitty protagonist Trigger shredded apart just for their sake of world-building and she has learned nothing from what the show has thrown at her because the writers didn’t think she needed it, because, in the first place, it’s not about her. It’s about the Shiny Rod and completing Chariot’s story (which is half-assed in its own way). Lord knows how they botched her to the point she’s blank. She’s nothing more than a ‘believing heart’ and if Trigger just keeps there, that’s forever what she is. And that, in itself, is why I think Akko is a horrible character.

[angelhummel]

could you rank the degrassi next class characters?

gladly!! also sorry in advance if you love any of the characters im about to shit on lol

20. Frankie Hollingsworth. Almost had her second to last but. No. Klu Klux Fran?? The ZOO?? I can't even talk about her she's just so damn annoying and racist and omg. And she was being pushed as the new Main Girl which made everything all the more offensive and unbearable

19. Esme Song. Sorry but I do not think she had a single redeeming trait. She had nothing she stood for, no actual character beyond being an antagonist to every single other person on the show. Like she thinks Shay is stupid for being embarrassed about getting her period on her boyfriend's pants, and yet she calls Yael disgusting for having armpit hair?? So what's the truth? And people are like "well she's mentally ill" to excuse all she does. Well Maya is mentally ill and Esme makes fun of her too. So who's side are we on? Like I would've liked to see her get help and develop but we didn't get that so.

18. Hunter Hollingsworth. Terrorist. Not even interesting enough to be an actual school shooter. Just a waste of a character. Sexist, violent, had a plot about wanting to play video games at school. I'm so bored. Only not at the bottom bc I feel like he wasn't in my face as much

17 & 16. Baaz Nahir & Vijay Maraj. Thing 1 and Thing 2 to the would be school shooter. Clowns. They were a terrible group and I cringed any time they had a plot together. Annoying together, useless on their own. Hard pass

15. Yael Baron. The final member of the above group. Was mostly boring and annoying and especially dumb for being romantically interested in Hunter. Only gets bonus points for their coming out as nonbinary plot. After their makeover I was literally crying

14. Jonah Haak. Mostly disliked him for being in a relationship with Frankie. Like I'm sure they were only a year or two apart but he felt so much older than her. It was gross. And mostly he's just really blah. The attempt at a straight edge character at that point was. Hilarious. at least.

13. Winston Chu. Seemed harmless at first but idk all the boys were shifted high into clown mode when this show hit netflix. The incident with the geisha and Japanese soldier costumes? Defending Zoe against Esme? Then later telling Goldi maybe she should take her hijab off to cause less of a fuss? Bruh.

12. Saad Al'Maliki. Honestly I felt like he was the one with the most braincells most of the time. Probably pissed me off the least. But he was also in the least amount of episodes and didn't make much of an impression on me. Was mostly just boring. But I'll take boring over everything that came before

11. Lola Pacini. Degrassi has a knack for introducing the worst and most obnoxious characters and then eventually making you love them. Lola was not quite that. I hated her for the longest time but it decreased a bit near the end. I got emotional when she had her abortion. And when she gave Yael their makeover. And when she reached out to Saad and convinced him not to leave. I feel like I could've grown to like her more if the show went on, but again... Oh also I hate her and Miles together sorry

10. Grace Cardinal. Ugh Grace is confusing to me. I wasn't the biggest fan of her story with Zoe. I mean sure you're allowed to hook up with someone and then realize "oh that's not for me" but it was handled so awkwardly. Like she slept with Zoe just to be like "damn i hate when everyone thinks i'm a lesbian :/" like why. Idk she was fine but I'm not over the moon about her

9. Goldi Nahir. Ugh okay I feel like they didn't know what to do with her. Like she had the plotline about if she should take off her hijab or not. And she had to teach the poor whities about racism. That was about it? She was adorable and sweet and a bright spot in the show but ugh she deserved better than what she was surrounded with lol

8. Shay Powers. Again, it's not her fault she's stuck in a show written by 70 year old white people. But the black girl is completely oblivious to the racism of her friend? She has to ask her dad if a racist thing is really racist? She's never experienced racism? Ok Degrassi. They treat all their black girls like shit and I feel like I just stan them out of spite bc of that lol. But she's cool and a nice person and she's into sports so she's at least doing stuff

7. Rasha Zuabi. Another generally nice and cool character that I have positive feelings for. Also she was gay so yay. Loved her story with Zoe. I think there was just one moment where I was like "wtf are you doing" but compared to everyone else it's not a big deal

6. Zig Novak. I have to admit that all my enjoyment of his character comes from before Next Class. He was such a sweetie and then he left and came back acting dumb as hell. That was not my boy in Next Class. But ahhh he's still my boy sorry I love him <3

5. Deon "Tiny" Bell. Basically the same as Zig above. But I feel like he maybe had a few less moments of being an asshole? Also his promposal for Shay was cute <3 Wait didn't he also date Lola? Wasn't a fan of that either.

4. Zoe Rivas. She was the one dressed up as a geisha lol (: Oh boy Next Class was something else. Umm it was nice to see her process of accepting herself as a lesbian. I feel like it took forever tho. Which is understandable irl but this is a tv show lol. I didn't enjoy her sucking Zig off in the woods. Not fun. But her relationship with Rasha was one of my fave things about NC

3. Tristan Milligan. The amount of hate Tristan gets is faaaar too much. He's one of my favorites of the whole show honestly. I think he's funny and dramatic and a great addition to the show. But he gets knocked down bc I can't remember anything he did in Next Class other than BEING IN A FUCKING COMA FOR A WHOLE SEASON. He's already Owen's brother, he's suffered enough. But I love his relationship with Miles. And him helping Zoe accept herself

2. Miles Hollingsworth. Yes another character I wasn't fond of at first. Hated his relationship with Zoe and thought he was just boring. Truthfully I think I only became interested when he started dating Tristan lol. Plus omg with his family?? It's a miracle he got out at all. He went through so much bullshit and he was especially going through it in Next Class. He was kind of a hot mess but also I just care a lot about him. He deserves the world <3

1. Maya Matlin. Is Maya really my fave?? I guess so! Yet another character I wasn't fond of at first. Which is insane bc we just got to the part in our rewatch where she first shows up and I'm like !!! baby girl!! So precious!!! And I wanted to cry thinking of what she's about to go through. I feel like her character is treated with some of the most respect and care. Her motivations and mental health decline all make sense storywise. I just care a lot about her and got super emotional watching everything in her story, especially the later parts in NC

Wow this is a lot!! But I hope you enjoyed my ranking and explanations lol. Also like. Everyone was racist. Everyone was mentally ill. That was the whole show. It was a hot mess and truth be told I am not a fan. Even the characters I love, they were acting weird here. Like I said about Zig and Tiny and their character regression. And I think it was the same for like Tristan and Zoe and plenty of others too. Everyone was off, idk how to explain it. But that's my ranking for the hot mess that was Next Class!!

Thank you for the ask, ily <3

[voldiebuns]

Horror Movie a Day 2020

The past couple of years I’ve done a challenge of trying to watch a horror movie a day through the month of October. Last year didn’t go well since I was so busy travelling, so I’m hoping for better this time around!

Under the cut you'll find my list of watched movies, plus rating and some thoughts about them. I’ll also be posting every day at my film twitter. Lemme know if you have any suggestions for what I should watch this month!

Hereditary (2018) | ★★★☆☆ This movie was... not at all what I was expecting from trailers and such. The devil worshiping angle was definitely a surprise, which I didn't entirely mind, but the first and second halves of the movie felt very disjointed from one another because of it. There were some good moments, but all in all, not entirely sure I liked the movie.

Parasite (2019) | ★★★★☆ More a thriller than horror, but I make the rules! I enjoyed this one a lot for the sense of tension it achieves even when not a whole lot of “action” was going on until close to the end. And of course how well it depicts class differences and how deeply affecting poverty is. Very good.

Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959) | ★★☆☆☆ Granted, this is over 60 years old now, but it’s still very bad. And not even in a particularly fun way. It’s honestly pretty boring and not scary at all... But at least it was short!

Piranha (1972) | ★☆☆☆☆ So 70s it hurts lol And also so boring it hurts. I spent most of the movie wondering when something was actually going to happen. But the real thing I wonder now is why this was in my sharks, piranhas, and monsters movie pack because there’s approximately two seconds of actual piranhas in this and they’re not even really attacking anyone?? I think they may have included the wrong Piranha because the picture on the cover is... not this movie lol

Them! (1954) | ★★☆☆☆ I actually thought it seemed pretty well made for the time, but it was definitely very slow. Interesting as a reflection of US nuclear fears, which I don’t think gets seen as much in movies, though!

Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (2009) | ★★☆☆☆ This is... so bad. I’m pretty sure their budget had to be like $5 and half a gig of stock footage, but even aside from the godawful CGI, the cinematography is almost unbelievably awful and the acting is often cringeworthy. It also wasn’t particularly fun? But the romance was actually kind of cute.

Mega Piranha (2010) | ★☆☆☆☆ I honestly can’t even count the ways this was a terrible movie lol And still, not even in a particularly fun way! More cringe than cheese, which was really just disappointing.

Beneath Loch Ness (2001) | ★★★☆☆ This was actually really not bad. The graphics were incredibly 2001, but it came off as very heartfelt and the characters and their relationships felt real in a way they tend not to in these kinds of movies. I enjoyed it!

30,000 Leagues Under the Sea (2007) | ★★☆☆☆ Not really a horror movie, but in a pack with my other sea creature horror movies so it'll do. Production value was terrible and the plot was sketchy, but it had some interesting bits. Overall a pretty hearty meh for this one.

Tremors (1990) | ★★★★☆ First rewatch of the year! It's been years, though, and I needed a refresher before watching the rest. This movie is basically the floor is lava with killer worms and I love it lol A really fun movie!

Tremors II: Aftershocks (1996) | ★★★☆☆ Earl without Val was not quite so much fun, but they did some cool things with the graboids. Plus many more explosions! Biggest complaint is the puppets and CGI didn't always mesh well.

Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001) | ★★★☆☆ Wish they'd stop ruining things with worse and worse CGI lol This one got a bit goofy even compared to the others, but it was overall still fun!

Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004) | ★★★★☆ This one was really fun! I loved that they went back to the beginning of the town, especially since it was easy to see how it became Perfection in the end. I think it's the best one, tied with the original.

Tremors 5: Bloodlines (2015) | ★★★☆☆ The cinematography on this one was sometimes very weird. And the Jurassic Park homages went a bit past "homage" at point imo. But still a pretty fun watch.

Poltergeist (1982) | ★★★★☆ I think I'd seen this before, but I really couldn't remember. Either way, it holds up pretty well! Very engaging and creepy weird, with some good gross moments too.

Sleepy Hollow (1999) | ★★★★☆ Very enjoyable! Tim Burton's style meshed very well with the story, and of course the cast was full of wonderful actors. Unfortunate that Depp stars in it, but what can you do?

Underworld (2003) | ★★★★☆ Not horror exactly, but definitely adjacent enough. Great aesthetic and very enjoyable (re)watch! Also I super appreciated the soundtrack lol

Lake Placid (1999) | ★★★★☆ After I started watching, I realize I think I've seen this before. Still enjoyed it! The characters are definitely the draw more than the croc, though. Would have liked to see a bit more of it

Ghost Town (2009) | ★★☆☆☆ Holy bad acting and shaky cam Batman! Terrible movie with the barest hint of an interesting one beneath, but I think my biggest complaint is there was a Wiccan ritual being done... in the 1800s lol

The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976) | ★★★☆☆ There were really no horror elements in this to speak of, which I found a bit disappointing, and I also didn't feel like it had a very satisfactory ending. But I did enjoy the movie for the most part. I guess I just wanted more.

The Witches (1990) | ★★★☆☆ Mostly just pretty goofy, but a fun watch and it felt very seasonal. Anjelica Huston was, of course, the best part! Though I'm always happy to see Jim Henson puppetry as well.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) | ★★★★☆ This was uh dated in several ways that make it a bit of an uncomfortable watch. But I really did enjoy it! The Clarice/Hannibal dynamic was even better than I'd been expecting.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) | ★★★☆☆ Wow, that was something else lol Something absolutely ridiculous and incredibly weird, but also very fun! I really enjoyed the main three characters and the music too.

Insidious (2010) | ★★★★☆ Such a good sense of tension in this! A lot of that was thanks to the music tbh, but I do think James Wan just has a really good feel for horror. Also, a very good ending, I'm definitely excited to see 2!

Malevolent (2018) | ★★★☆☆ A fairly enjoyable movie, but it just felt a little lacking and it seemed like the end came up really quickly. To be honest it wasn't quite what I was expecting. I wish there would have been a bit more with the ghosts.

The Conjuring (2013) | ★★★★☆ A rewatch since it's been a few years since I watched it. Very enjoyable movie with good music, great tension, and some actually good jump scares. The Annabelle stuff seems disconnected to the rest, though, I wish that had been more tied in.

Annabelle (2014) | ★★★☆☆ This movie dragged quite a bit and I feel like things could have been compressed quite a bit and it would have been better. The cult connection also could have been explored a lot more imo, because it felt a bit slapped

The Last House on the Left (2009) | ★★☆☆☆ Way too much sexualized violence for my tastes tbh, but I liked the concept and the cast was very good. I think I'll try the original sometime and see how it compares.

The Amityville Horror (2005) | ★★★☆☆ I feel like I may have seen this before? Not really worth the rewatch lol Like this movie is fine I guess, it just felt a bit empty and was overall unsatisfying to me.

The Crazies (2010) | ★★★★★ I was a little iffy going into this bc I thought it might be zombie-esque, and it was, but I really enjoyed it! I liked what they did with the government satellite especially.

Midsommar (2019) | ★★★★★ I was expecting this to be good since I’d heard good things about it, and it so was! The sense of strangeness and building tension was excellent. And it was just such a beautiful movie tbh.