#s1 continues to be god tier

[lovewritteninthestrands]

i might be biased, but i’m listening to the audiobook of flashbangs and frag grenades (written by @calchexxis and recorded by sam gabriel) and taking a shot every time i think “cal did this better than arcane s2” (i am dead on the floor of liver failure by the time i get to let there be light).

check this fic out if you’re a lightcannon fan (honestly, if you are, this fic is required reading). check this fic out if you didn’t feel satisfied by arcane s2, but are interested in a continuation of the themes and stellar writing of s1. check this fic out if you like long and dense fics. check this fic out if youre looking for god-tier worldbuilding and narrative. it is over half a million words of some of the best writing i’ve ever seen grace ao3.

also, the audiobook reading by sam gabriel is absolutely fantastic. she is a phenomenal queer voice actor, and she is working diligently to get all of the chapters recorded. if you’re interested, you should donate to the project ko-fi here.

link to both the fic and the audiobook files are down below. go read, right now. seriously, this fic is something special.

love you so much cal, and thank you for bringing this incredible piece of fiction to life.

[sunflowerchester]

As someone who stopped watching Supernatural because I couldn’t stomach the way Sam was treated by the show and loud portions of the fanbase, it’s been really lovely to listen to your podcast. It’s been so nice to listen to others who really understand him and the story, it reminds me of how much I love Sam and the early seasons. Thanks so much for doing this!

I cannot begin to tell you how much this message, and honestly all other messages/comments, have meant to us. We love Supernatural and Sam so much and this podcast is genuinely a love letter to Sam, to Jared's hard work, but especially to fans like us who needed a space where Sam was discussed and appreciated in the ways we know he deserves!

Tomorrow we're recording the final episode of S1 but I'm already so excited to continue to S2. We have a lot of little goodies planned for our listeners to go along with the next season, which we'll probably start recording in the fall.

We're trying to put some Patreon tiers together that will provide early releases, extra content, listener write-in discussions, a Sam-fan-centric community, and much more! For now the Retrospective email is posted on our IG: samgirlretrospectivepod@gmail.com. If you have feedback, questions, or just thoughts on current pod episodes, feel free to reach out. Just put in the subject line what you're reaching out about. We may use them on later email bonus write-in episodes or possibly even at the beginning of some S1 episodes yet to be posted!

As long as you guys want to hear our takes, we'll be giving them. God knows there is an endless amount of content to work through with Supernatural! We cannot thank you and anyone who listens enough for letting us share the podcast with you!

Love,

-Audree, @peanutbutterandbananasandwichs, @agelade, @geekinthejeep, & @themegalosaurus 💕

[cerastes]

Hey, would you recommend nabbing Gnosis or nah?

For context, I'm a Day 1 Player with 289 total Operators. Mainly just missing Gnosis, Archetto, Swire Alter and Ejya Alter.

I'm like 5 certificates away from affording him in Gold Cert shop, just trying to balance the scales on to use them for him or continue to hoard the monthly headhunters like a dragon sitting a top their funny little gold.

Hey, dope icon first of all.

Yes, but I need to elaborate on that yes a little: I'm very biased in favor of Supporters, and specifically I like Gnosis a lot, both as a character (fail INTJ garbage guy) and as a gameplay element.

So, why is this a Yes with an asterisk? It depends on how you go about your gameplay, really. Specialists and Supporters, or as I call them, "Also Specialists", are the classes that most heavily fall into "some players may not even use them". They are powerful, but generally require more than activating Thorns S3 twice and calling yourself the strongest Doctor in the landship.

Now, Gnosis himself: Is he powerful? Very much so! His Freezing crowd control and how easily he can inflict it, in addition to the immense Fragile he inflicts on Frozen enemies, his Hexer range, and the ability to knock low altitude hovering enemies with Freeze make him a valuable unit is a ton of different situations. In SSS, if you stack ASPD on him, he permafreezes (and thus, permafragiles) his target. In IS, he synergizes with a baffling about of items, with S1 and S2 being Spinach skills, benefiting from every CC buffing item besides the new Levitate items (so, he benefits from extended duration and Arts dmg during Frozen very easily), and in general gameplay, Hexer range is very good, and can enable incredibly solid killboxes with S2 and S3.

His obvious weakness is Freeze-immune enemies. He's not completely useless, because he can still land Cold on them if they are not Cold immune, but still, that's where his weakness lays. Still, even in those cases, it's important to note that he's still very good at dealing with every other enemy in the map, since bosses don't come alone in a vacuum. For example, the Trees of Rot enemies, the ones that become stronger the more enemies you kill before they bloom? When those start getting out of control due to engaging them late, Gnosis is god tier at handling them with constant Freezing and Fragile. Again, Supporters are Also Specialists, and when they are in their zone, they perform.

The trick to Gnosis is that, for single priority targets, you want to activate uncharged S2 right after he uses an autoattack. That way, that enemy will be frozen for 4 seconds (at S2M3) on a charge of 6 seconds. That makes that particular enemy actionable for (approximately) 2 seconds and then on Fragile Timeout for 4 seconds before repeating. That's very powerful! If you have many enemies in range, you let the skill overcharge and Freeze everyone, making a nice, nice Fragile killbox for Fia, Horn, Firewhistle, Dusk, Mostima, Omertosa S3, you name it. Please keep in mind that enemies Frozen in Gnosis E2 range receive 50%(!!!) Fragile, 60% with Module and no Potentials! That's a lot of Fragile!

So, if you're going to use him? Yes, he's a stupidly powerful support unit. If his gameplay or inclusion to your general playstyle doesn't spark light in your heart? You should continue cosplaying Reed and sitting nice and cute on your golden hoard. I personally use him a lot, as people that come to my Arknights streams can attest to!

*As an extra: Enemies with Cold have -30 ASPD, and enemies that are Frozen have -15 RES.

[imminent-danger-came]

Hello friend. At first, I thought it was a joke that there's a Lego show that people love. I've seen you post about it a lot so I figure it's just one of those things that maybe a couple people really really love otherwise, whatever. But I just sat that clip of that characters death and it made me realize I know nothing about anything ever lol. What is the Lego show about? What do you love about it? I'm just super curious

Well. Okay. My embarrassment aside, I totally get it—it is a lego show, but it's my lego show and I'll gladly tell you about it!

(my apologies this got a little long)

*inhales cigarette* I remember starting to watch lmk (Lego Monkie Kid) and not expecting anything except some very pretty animation—it's just legos, right? And then it completely blindsided me. Then I did some digging and realized it's a modern retelling of Journey to the West (jttw—one of the great classic chinese novels), and that half of the whole reason this show exists is to retell a familiar tale to the modern age. That's how the show opens, and that's how s3 ends.

And, at the risk of sounding a little deranged, I'm going to say that the show being legos is thematically relevant. It legitimately adds to part of the story they're trying to tell—and the story Lego Monkie Kid is trying to tell is legitimately very solid. It's super good. They completely blew me out of the water with season 4.

So. The first special and s1 isn't anything too unique on a first watch through. The characters are charming and the show is very pretty, but it's nothing I'd write home about (though, 1x09 is very good—in my opinion—and 1x10, the season finale, builds plenty of intrigue).

But here's the thing: legitimately so much is set up in s1 and you don't even realize it, and it's STILL being re-contextualized well into s4.

So, then the s2 special happens right after s1, and it's like, alright! The plot seems to be going somewhere! We get introduced to a few more antagonists and the status quo from s1 is already somewhat disrupted. But then the last half of s2 comes around. And they're all bangers. 2x05 Minor Scale is GREAT. 2x06 is pure game motif. 2x07 gives us backstory and continues the main protags negative character arc. 2x08 is one of my favorites in the whole show. By this point you realize how consistent the character writing is if you've been paying attention. 2x09 is the beginning of the end. 2x10 ends the season on quite the cliff hanger, and it's like. HOLY SHIT. WHAT IS THIS ABSOLUTE GEM OF A SHOW.

s3 is lovely, and the end of the s3 special has one of my favorite scenes in anything. s4 is so ridiculously good. Lmk honestly has what I would consider to be god tier pacing. They have 10 minutes to achieve their goal, and by GOD are they going to do exactly that.

But like, what do I love about the show specifically?

The animation. The characters. The themes. I kid you not a major theme in s4 of the show is the fact that every single thing you do leads to pain. Being the hero or the villain, it doesn't matter—you cause suffering and destruction with every step you take. You hurt the people you care about. No, seriously. I'm not kidding. THAT'S one of the main focuses of s4, and oh boy is it a wild ride. You get used to legos crying. I am unironically expecting s5 of this show to be a tragedy.

I can not recommend it enough!

(If it's your thing that is! I TOTALLY get not being able to look past the legos, and the fast pacing isn't for everyone.)

Anyways, here's a bonus gif of Mei to end off!

[toastywatchesstevenuniverse]

S1 E48

Story for Steven

He looks like Bowser from the 1993 Super Mario Bros. Movie.

That or he looks like Drew Gooden after going through a villain arc.

Anyways Pearl was being one salty ass lesbian this episode. I love her.

Also idk why they laughed Pearl literally CAN sing, has sung before in this show, & she has a voice that is fucking beyond God tier. My girl can SING & I think that everyone should be supportive of her damnit. Don't mock my precious gay blob of anxiety. She deserves nothing but love & praise. She has talent & her voice is fire. I will be writing a very stern letter to CN Studios about this. I know this episode aired like a decade ago-

(And typing that out made me fully realize 2013 was 10 fucking years ago & now my 22 year old ass feels like an aging fossil & I hate that. I don't like the fact that I am growing old & I cannot stop the inevitable continuing force of time. I wanna go back please I hate being an adult it sucks this sucks I want to get off this ride GET ME OUTTA HERE AAAAAAA-)

-& CN as a company probably won't give a shit about my letter. However my counterargument to that is this:

You're gay & your butt smells.

Anyways Pearl is a talented singer & tbh if Rose rlly chose Greg over Pearl then it's her loss because like-

Bro are you serious you had the most amazing woman right there. She was in love with you.

Don't get me wrong I love a daddy type too. I see the appeal in Greg. I don't think she was crazy for choosing him. But choosing him when you could have chosen PEARL? That I do think is insane.

Like Pearl is Pearl. Greg is not Pearl-Tier partner material in the slightest from what I have seen so far. SMH Rose you really missed the best thing of all time. But this was what led to Steven so probably was a good call. But like if I was in that position I wouldn't hesitate to hold Pearl's hand that's all I'm saying.

Look, I just want to see Pearl happy & flourishing. Please let my girl smile. I just want to see her do well. Let my girl win.

Anyways good episode. Also Greg's song at the beginning was a banger ngl. I do love a good 80s type beat. Tubular.

[perhaps-in-anotherdream]

I apologize for asking, but I felt curious after seeing your tweet about the new main story update and you are the only person that I know keeping tabs on main story. Are all of the new chapters update lately has been disappointing?

I just finished S1 and was contemplating whether to proceed with S2. However, if it means the story will revolve around a repetitive cycle of the MLs, ESPECIALLY Victor sacrificing themselves, I'm not sure if it's worth continuing... Thank you for answering.

there’s no need to apologize haha. first and foremost, i don’t wish to discourage anyone, so please go ahead and explore the story at your own pace b/c we all have our preferences, and you might end up with completely different impressions than me. and regarding the newest release of CH 49-52, as i mentioned in my tweets, i still need to sit down and read “read” before making final verdicts on the update haha~ 🏳️

secondly, i do feel it’s worth mentioning, with the things currently happening in my real life and gaining clearer and newer perspective of my preferences might have been affecting the way i’m interacting with my fictions to some extent LOL. however, i’ll say this: in essence, Lovepro main story is all about the men exhausting themselves to uphold their 初心 (whether white/gray) and the writers throwing their characters into new and deeper pitfalls (whether it’s a disease/ moral dilemma/ or just pure angst LOL)— and then you have Li Zeyan, who is almost always put at the pointy edge of the knife each time at the climax. 

so, it happens the first time, you’re ripping your shirt, screaming, and wailing at the top of your lungs. the second, third, fourth time, you’re repeating those reactions + staring into space in the middle of the night. but after that, it’s just a transition from “okay, what’s next?” to “meh, well that exists” you know? i still remember how i bawled over the main story even last year around this time, but now i’m just numb lol, despite the stakes being so much higher. it’s difficult to be excited about something when you know it’s just another way of selling you the same story in different wrappings and milking off the loyal consumers. but regarding the writing teams, among the 5 men, 2 of them have god-tier writing teams, and they are consistent in that tier. the other 3 men have decent to well-rounded tier writing teams, and they are consistent in that tier. so i’ll give Paper this; they’ve won with their writers and the writers are doing their best within the scope they’re given, with some slip-ups once in a while, which is not unexpected. i am still very appreciative of that, but what i have issues with is the story telling direction, the repetitive cycles, making bigger messes than before to get out of the current one and resulting in an even bigger mess, dragging something that was “extraordinary” to “eh, well it is what it is” just to keep the story running. 

while i’m aware it’s just wishful thinking when we are about to celebrate the 6th anniv. soon LOL and Lovepro main story is on the story-driven side and is more or less mindful of the 端水 treatment, but i do strongly feel that the story could have been so much more exciting if it was a little more character-driven, where we wouldn’t just leave the characters hanging and do a hasty conclusion just b/c the allocated chapter time is over, but actually invest in taking apart each segment of the characters and give ourselves the time to get deeper into the roots. no, don’t just shove more problems at my face on top of the already piled up unsolved and undealt ones i have just b/c you need something “new”— and i’m afraid this is where my patience with the main story is alarmingly wearing thin :>

—

[unproduciblesmackdown]

billions sure seemed to settle on the people with Less Power who have in-universe supporting roles to the more powerful players ultimately doing better than the central men do (and not quoting hitler & raring to launch nuclear attacks as much, so nice job) & deserving to walk away, but where then it's like okay & so what about the people with less power than Them who had supporting roles to Them. so the pyramid scheme here crumbles as each more burdened tier may fall alway, is the extension. & billions is like oh no no it isn't. because the people in a lower tier than These [better than the central men] parties have less power b/c that's what they Deserve, of course. then you can turn to all the instances of billions, with the central men it knows are shit & refuse to change, having those central men express "other people have less power than me b/c that's what they Deserve, of course," and billions like "oh god. sickos. not true, & we're freeing those people these guys wrongly think are inferior" like okay and whoosh lightning fast swap that [central men / their support network] juxtaposition with [that support network / the Lower Ranking people who work with Them] and nope billions is just going "no yeah This power imbalance is objective & righteous. the Winners deserve to do whatever they want" like you do see how it falls apart (they do not, presumably)

and that as always the pyramid scheme is also a sierpiński triangle b/c you look at any point & zoom in & as always when [well a hierarchy is objective] is thee way, as soon as you have multiple people in a situation there must be an establishing of the hierarchy in that situation. and there we go in the finale where it's like the [s1 yay axe wags wendy sooo cool even if i guess don't let people die] continues and like taylor in s2 did get in in time with enough thought & with enough intention that the character be in Juxtaposition with everything s1ly, and they belong to the adequately deserving group of characters in the end and certainly with Any effort at giving them some focus, but they cannot disrupt their Deservingness by disrupting the Deserved Hierarchy and i.e. Not deferring to wags, wendy, axe. taylor & sacker (& philip) team would've had this wrapped up in two to four episodes; instead we have way too much focus on wags & wendy not doing anything except getting in the way, or being sooo cool, & at least taylor interacting w/axe was more characterful material for taylor, but they don't even really get to criticize anyone for getting in the way or being sooo cool terrible now or prior, like, okay look just ask axe why he's not being as totally epic as you know he truly is, and don't be helming this shit that's always Actually been most relevant to this once-newcomer character who was written to inherently contrast with all the s1 epicness, wonder why that relevance is. step aside and let our hero wendy through please while we all kneel & clap & think about our inferiority to her

then just bonus mentions like that i guess rian was supposed to also be contrasting but she just turns out yet another bog standard axe cap bully who happens to so totally be a woman, we remind you, yet different from bonnie in that she also is less overtly aggressive, despite this she's So deserving but not so much that they ever made room for something besides [if you removed her from the series it'd be so easy to make it so that pretty much nothing changes] despite that she was supposed to be like, relevant. even better we have our beloved ben kim who billions cared to have in every episode (if some eps cut post production?) and who was here in s1 but to first illustrate like where my 50something fellas at these damn young whippersnappers think they're sooo smart but NO only axe. which is why he deserves to be epic boss boy. and later on it's like well yes he's lower tier than these other characters but it's because he's Too nice. to truly become a winner you simply need to Believe you are one & act accordingly confident (i.e. it's still Deserved, his fault, he needs to step up & stop acting Like he belongs in loserdom) and we like get any material for him here & there & eventually tuk (zoom in on Multiple People, tuk is lower tier than ben, presumably billions considers that once again this is indeed Deserved) and in the end well he's still here, hooray, still so Unstrategic and An Pussy so we all see that, though we may pity him, his lower tier status is still brought upon himself, and hey also we need people to fill in the ranks for epic boss boy again so come stand over here okay thanks byeee

[mego42]

best of brio hitlist: 1x06

Alrighty here I am back on my bullshit with 1x06 aka A View from the Top. The top of what you may ask? I really can’t remember, s1 has basically all blurred together into a sea of excellent eyeliner and Rio in a hoodie. Guys, did you know at one point Mick had a jacket that fit? I nearly fell off of my couch. What do you think happened to it? 

Let me open this with a serious question: who in the writers room was traumatized by a doctor bc this show has a consistently unkind view of people with medical degrees 

Like obvs yes the lady doc in s3 was lying for justice and puppies and to save Rio from making rash decisions in a fit of dramatics (lol good luck lady that is a fruitless endeavor) or whatever but still, yikes

Anyway lmao @ Beth being like your budget is $1 do what you can to save my trash husband from his trash cancer

Where did that energy go it was so great

Petition for the Hills to do one musical number every other episode 

I’d say every episode but you know they’re just gonna take it from Rio’s screen time 

Such a sartorial mixed bag this scene, on the one hand you have Beth’s hat (awful, work awfully, in total competition with the scarf, not a good look) but on the other you have Annie’s jacket (adorable, I want to bury my face in her hood and never come out)

I CANNOT BELIEVE WE GOT HOODIE RIO 3 EPS IN A ROW

AND NOW WITH A BEANIE??????

I say it again, s1 is god tier

HI MICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did not realize that Rio licking his lips is in reaction to Beth talking about how much money the girls have been turning around for him

He is so horny for money

They were made for each other tbh

Shout out to Ruby’s hysterically unsurprised face when Beth swerves and asks for more money instead of quitting that is the face of someone who has been on this ride for Way Too Long

Ruby: in hindsight we should’ve never let Beth talk I see that now

GO BIG OR GO HOME RIGHT what a nerd I love her

Ruby: I am actually going to commit murder here and now

“Brought that mama van with you?” Why is this so hot I don’t understand nothing about it should be sexual least of all minivans

The way Beth straightens up and gives that perky little I did good!!!!!! nod is so fucking cute I want to punch myself in the face

YOU CANT JUST SERVE A BITCH A MINI MUFFIN AND ASK HER TO JOIN YOU IN A LIFE OF CRIME

A CLASSIC!!!!!!!!!!

Cut to Ruby serving a bitch a mini muffin, I really do love this show

HI TYLER!!!!!!!!!

Okay now there’s like, a preteen girl Boland child??!!! Where are these children coming from?????? Where do they go????????

I’m going to say something potentially controversial: I’m deeply unmoved by and largely uninterested in the whole thing with Annie and Boomer’s racist grandma 

Tyler: you can just call corporate right???? It’s not like this is a poorly thought through farce of a pyramid scheme with holes big enough to drive a bus through right?????????

It has been driving me bonkers since the first time I watched this ep trying to figure out who Christine Hendricks looks like in the brunette wig someone please put me out of my misery and tell me

Hey!!! Did you know I fucking hate Dean??????? 

I have mixed feelings on the sit down/that’s exactly what happened thing like on the one hand I love watching Beth effortlessly play Dean, but on the other the knowledge that the breathy baby doll voice she uses does it for him makes my skin crawl

I violently do not like when the Hills have conflict so I am electing to ignore it entirely

I missed everything that happened during the Boomer scene(s) because I was looking at Schitt’s Creek gifsets and I stand by my choices

I find the girls sitting on the swings weirdly endearing and I also really adore the framing of that shot

Seriously do not understand why they did away with everyone dragging Dean it was such a great feature

‘CUZ YOU DELIVERED

GOD!!!!! I LOVE!!!!!!! THE SMILES!!!!!!!!!!!

Rio: (✿◕ ﺮ ◕)

Beth: (◠‿◠✿)

Mick, Ruby and Annie: right???? in front?????? of our salad????????

My ultimate gg kink is, to no one’s surprise least of all my own, Beth surprising and impressing Rio and Rio instantly getting a boner over it

I would like to formally request they bring back this dynamic in some way shape or form specifically as a present to me bc I deserve it

In Beth and Ruby’s defense, the flip my game speech makes minimal sense, there were several poorly supported leaps

Shout out to Annie’s blazer and side boob, it is my all time fav Annie look

hey look my icon

Stan smelling the cash and goofing around with Ruby: 😍

Knowing Ruby’s still lying and it’s all gonna fall apart: 😥

I don’t think I properly realized until right now, as I’m nearly blinded by my tears of mirth over Dean saying “he’s never going to mess with you again, not on my watch” how much I love the dress Beth is wearing

This has been a very fashionable ep for the Marks sisters, Beth’s hat aside

The it was a choice speech would slap so much harder if Beth finished it off by stabbing Dean in the eye with a pair of scissors instead of dumping a bunch of money all over him

Takeaway from this episode: honestly it’s no wonder Beth is so bad at being a crime lord she had a horrible teacher that speech was truly insensible 

[still-a-morosexual-help]

The canon dynamic between MC & the brothers (+ other characters) is great because instead of a "just some guy" human getting freaked out by the otherness of their supernatural companions, it's them being completely nonplussed while said supernatural companions are increasingly freaked out by how fucking weird this human is

Mammon said he could be killed or whatever by Lucifer and comeback after some million years and MC didn't even blink a fucking eye. They didn't even comment on it? Just continued to antagonise him until he did what they wanted? And this was in S1 before they were even friends, they'd probably known each other for a week at most

Meanwhile the increasing distress at MC's 'guess this is my life now/guess I'll just die' attitude is hilarious

The number of times one of the brothers have had to jump in during main story and event canon to say some variation of 'how are you okay with this!?' , 'don't just lay there and accept your death!' and just purely; 'NO!' is God tier

Anyway if Mammon's hair wasn't fully white it would have been by the end of season 1

[wantedtourist]

s5 first thoughts

SILVERUSSO NATION WE WERE FED we finally feasted like we deserved uggshshhh so much to say about them it should be it’s own post

CHOZEN. no words. absolute golden. s-tier.

I’m proud to announce that I single-handedly manifested Chozen/Kumiko aka Choziko NO CUZ ITS REALLY CANON NOW AND I WAS RIGHT ON THE MONEY WITH MY HEADCANON MONTHS AGO re: Chozen’s feelings of guilt and about not being good enough for her???? not in a million years did I actually think it would happen I’m so!!!!

MIKE BARNES. no cuz Mike hijacking the limo and the ensuing roadside hijinks is the funniest and most entertaining thing Cobra Kai has ever done. everything they did with Mike this season was A++++ and they need to bring him back or I riot

JESSICA ANDREWS MY LOVE. am devastated she did not have a scene with Daniel (or Mike!) but I know she’ll be back now that she and Daniel are canonically family and oh my god I can’t believe that’s a sentence I just said about a thing that is true, ditto choziko, scream/

ROBBY AND DANIEL. I cried in ONE (1) scene and one scene only, Robby and Daniel talking in Miyagi’s room. and by cry I mean I straight up bawled. I waited for this for so long and I wish we got more Daniel/Robby moments but I’ll treasure this one forever.

MY KIDS. did I think the writers did Robby dirty with that half-assed reconciliation arc? yes. but listen, my joy at seeing Robby finally being happy and seeing Robby and Miguel as friends outweighs my contempt at the writing for how it all got to that point so what I can say. on the flip side, not enough Sam and Tory. but I love what we did get of them together. also this means (or should mean) that they will have their arc next season, and it’ll get proper focus since the Miguel and Robby arc has been resolved and is out of the way. anyway, looking forward to Robby and Miguel clumsily trying to get them to get along next season. should ensure a lot of Miguel/Robby and samtory content :’). ANTHONY. love that lil twerp, always have! I finally got Sam/Anthony content. PROTECT THE EGG. or was it “protect the bird”??? um whatever it was adorable!! both times! bye feeling emo about Anthony being the baby/baby brother of all of Miyagi do, ugh, it’s just too cute

LOUIE. I have unapologetically and unironically loved this idiot since s1. please continue to give us all the Anouie content

overall! plenty of things I didn’t care for or didn’t like (die, Mexico arc and Mexico yellow filter, die), as always, but for once the stuff I enjoyed outweighed the stuff I didn’t enjoy

and I mean listen as a Daniel fan I’m feeling pretty satisfied right now. finally this show put some respect on his name. finally we return to the roots of the Karate Kid universe. I’ve been saying it all along, the problem with Cobra Kai until this season has been that it has forgotten or ignored that the whole POINT of this universe is that all big strong karate men want Daniel Larusso in one way or another. but it has finally arrived at that central truth by surrounding Daniel with all his former karate nemeses and demonstrating that he still has the effortless eternal karate twink powers to overturn or change their lives just by being himself and to drive them to obsession with him and thats what I call cinema

[urdearestmom]

alright y'all I've recovered enough from vol 2 that I can now articulate my thoughts somewhat. here we go! I really want season 5 immediately but unfortunately cannot have that :( I will say that I think Stranger Things' episode Nines are just,,,, amazing. nothing so far has come close to my love for s2e9 except for s4e9. I think they're tied

ngl I was mildly concerned they were going to attempt some kind of redemption with Brenner so I was pleasantly excited when he continued to be as evil as he ever was :) El finally standing up to him and realizing she's not the monster, he is, was AMAZING and I loved how she just said bye and walked away. left him to die on his own as he deserved! Owens is still a shady guy but he's always on the gang's side (I'm just curious what happened to him? like did Sullivan have him killed? arrested? will we see him next season? I'm nearly certain we'll see Sullivan again because I don't think that subplot will be so easily resolved)

as for the rest of it, Eddie's death panned out pretty much exactly how I thought it would so I never let myself get too attached to him. what got me was Dustin's reaction! Gaten did so amazingly in that scene wow. Jason also died which was great for me because he was just insane at that point and while I kinda felt for him he was also annoying. sorry not sorry

Jopper finally getting together was lovely. I've never been overly invested in them bc they are so canon in my mind that I never doubted it would happen but it was great nonetheless. Hopper reuniting with El had me smiling so hard at the end bc for a sec I genuinely thought it was Sullivan coming to kidnap El and that was how the season would end and then it was just good ol' Hop :) El having a family like she deserves is my favourite thing!! Hopper and Mike also hugging caught me off guard bc I didn't think they'd do it but they did and I hope that leads to them having a better relationship!

now El getting picked up in the desert and blowing up that helicopter? TOP. TIER. I had my arms up cheering "HERE COME THE PIZZA BOYS!!!!!!!" and when you could see Mike getting out of the van being the first one to run to her, all in slow motion, my god. I was speechless. their whole reunion was gorgeous. El's disbelief, the forehead touch: chefs kiss. El hugging Will like that? best. I live for El having a family. El's brothers ftw

Mike's long-awaited monologue: WHAT. I was shaking and on the edge of my seat the whole scene. It will absolutely live in my head rent free for the rest of all time. I can barely even process it. He really said he's loved her since the moment he saw her I can't believe it. It's what I've been waiting for since I was 16 years old and it still feels surreal that he really told her all of that in words. Mike Wheeler, King of Not Talking About Any Of His Feelings Ever, really said all of that. Wow. Finn knocked that completely out of the park

Lastly, Max's death? HOLY SHIT. That one tore me up I was sobbing and yelling at my tv. I really love Max and didn't want her to die even though I had a feeling something else was still going to happen to her. THE FACT THAT THEY USED THE SONG FROM FINDING WILL'S BODY IN S1- JAIL FOR 1000 YEARS. Her dying in Lucas' arms and his reaction really got me. Both Caleb and Sadie did phenomenal work this season and made me love Lumax a lot more than I did before. Lumax OUTSOLD!!!! Max's little drawing and the fact that they won't get to go on their date and the way Lucas was sitting in the hospital with his beat up face reading her a book... I'm in shambles

El being there watching it happen while no one knew she was there was also heartbreaking

Mildly concerning that El couldn't find Max's mind in the void though, even if she is in a coma. El can find and even vaguely communicate with Terry who is in a vegetative state, so I'm not sure what I think will happen with Max next season. Guess we'll have to wait and see!

That ending too. Vecna's not dead obviously and Hawkins is... yikes. The cliffhanger makes it seem like season 5 will pick up where 4 leaves off and I am very excited to have a resolution!

This isn't even all I could say but I don't want this post to get super long so I'm just touching on the stuff that stuck with me

[perkynurples]

Bestie, I (tumblr vet, fanfic connoisseur, autistic) started reading Aftercare Wednesday night, and I just got caught up. Let me just say, OHHHH MY FUCKINFG GODDDD. Best OFMD fic I've ever read. The writing is the typa shit that challenges NOVELS I've read. And the fuckin PLOT??? FORGET ABOUT IT. The fact that we can read the story, not only through the intricate and layered perspectives of Stede and Ed, but also through the various crew members and many outsiders? GENIUS. The way you write the growth, honesty, and sheer healthiness of Ed and Stede's relationship? GOD TIER. I AM TAKEN BACK BY THIS FIC. This is my new season 2-3 now. PLEASE KEEP UP PUTTING YOUR MAGIC INTO THE FIC IT IS MY LIFEBLOOD. <3 <3

MY FRIEND thank you so much!!! We are SO close to the finish line it's wild to me, and yet I find myself going back and rereading chunks of the story to get In The Mood. Writing their relationship as healthy as possible kind of happened on its own, I didn't anticipate it but all of a sudden they were just Communicating.

Plus it really just initially happened because I needed to patch that hole that s1 left in my heart, so I'm glad it's served as a good continuation fo you as well. Thank you for this AMAZING message, it's so cool to know the story still has this much support <3

[sunsetcurve]

so s2 of saved by the bell really was a serve from start to finish huh…like i binged the whole thing at like 4 am last night so i know there’s shit i’m forgetting but some highlights that i legitimately cannot get over (spoilers):

• i was honestly very skeptical when they first started talking about the pandemic, but they managed to build a lot of the major themes of the season around it without making it feel too contrived. like i loved how the whole thing was about like, coming back together as a community and rebuilding spirit and stuff, and the whole speech at the end about how there’s no such thing as wasted time resonated so much

• devante’s entire character arc this season was genuinely one of my favorite parts of the show. his relationship with nadia was so cute and they actually had such important conversations as a part of it particularly with the class and race issues…and then devante’s whole career thing with the fair and then turning down the music opportunity…god i loved the line about how people told him the only way he was getting out was with a microphone or a football and i just love how much of his character is knowing who he is despite everyone trying to tell him who to be and the fact that he just never lets go of that!! best character energy!!!! also his growing love for bayside…seeing him so happy this season…the continuation of his amazing friendship with lexi….chef’s kiss!!!!

• BI AISHA BI AISHA BI AISHA!!!!! i’m so so happy this was a plot point this season and also approached so well, also i was SO happy seeing ariela barer as chloe because they are amazing in everything and chloe was suchhh a fun character. i was honestly disappointed last season when aisha didn’t get with jamie but i really liked the way they concluded things there (though i would really love more aisha/jamie friendship) and honestly it was so fun seeing aisha come in to who she is. also the whole arc of her absolutely decimating the racist asshole spanish teacher…that’s my fucking baby!!!!! i love her!!!!

• speaking of jamie he and lexi were so cute this season. like, the fact that they were able to grow so much both individually and as a couple was honestly impressive and they just complemented each other so well. i really like how they made it clear that things didn’t just happen and weren’t always natural, but both of them worked to make their relationship better and also be better people and i just…i love them okay

• also. the humor this season?? literally top tier. i genuinely laughed out loud multiple times, and i love that sbtb can include pop culture references that actually seem natural and funny. also i think one of my favorite lines in the entire season was “did you hear that the bakery’s having a sale today?” “no, on what?” “on HOT CROSS BUNS” *blows terribly into the recorder* i am still laughing over this

• i also just am never able to get over how the show like…really seamlessly integrates conversations about issues that feel really forced and unnatural in other sitcoms and shows like this. like somehow it manages to tackle so many convos across the board and not pull any of its punches while still keeping the heart of it and making people redeemable and being hilarious i love it so much

• mac morris…ugh still one of the funniest characters alive, still delivering every second, and the GROWTH!! the way he’s consistently shown to be so smart and so capable when he puts his mind to things…the way a core theme of his character is how he really just needs someone to believe in him and trust him enough to give him a chance (AND IT WAS DAISY!!)…the way this season addressed the fact that he feels like he constantly has these expectations to live by but he’s genuinely trying to be a better person and work at being more empathetic and less selfish…the way he’s come so far since s1………ugh 😫. i’m so proud.

• speaking of proud my daughter my heart the light of my life daisy did so much this season i am so proud of herself. absolutely love love love how a big part of the season was how like…she didn’t want to do the spirit competition at first because there were bigger issues but then she realized how important it was to the student body and how that fits into the big theme of her character of like…getting caught up in the big picture when focusing on her friends and the people she loves is what she really needs…i love that she got that this season…god i hated seeing her hurt but the way she came back from it and the heart that she put into it was so wonderful…my girl just spent the whole damn season showing up everyone around her i love her so damn much

• and maisy stans…maisy stans we ATE!!! we ATE this season!!!!!!!!!!! i had a feeling they’d start slowburning maisy but i did not expect real life confirmation that mac is head over heels in love with her…i did not expect “only for you” and him saying she changed him and him just wanting to spend time with her and her telling him she was impressed and smiling at him like That™️ and “i only date guys who win the spirit competition” MAISY STANS HOW ARE WE FEELING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i was screaming from beginning to end let’s be real i was expecting hints but i was not expecting to be FED LIKE THIS!!!!!!! we truly won this season i am thriving my skin is clear my crops are watered maisy is soon to be canon life is so fucking good

anyway i went into this season thinking it would be decent i did not think it would blow my expectations out of the water i did not think it would serve so hard but i am so so thrilled by everything that happened i love this show so damn much anyway s3 where you at 😩🙏🏾

[nickmillerscaulk]

Good Girls 4x08 Soundtrack Review

Disappeared for a minute this week, but I’m back (for now) to shout at you all about what we heard in 4x08!! Let’s blame this ep’s emotional whiplash for delaying this review, cool?

Songs that made me feel things?

No ~feelings~ feelings which... honestly thank god?? Considering how Rio’s betrayed/hurt/shocked/sad face at the picnic bench caused me serious emotional D E S T R U C T I O N that I’ve yet to fully recover from.

Montage check! A wasted or taken soundtrack opportunity?

STRIP. CLUB. MON. TAGE.

An absolute award-winning (by me—I awarded it) *FRENCH RAP* banger by Laylow called ‘MEGATRON’ that was basically the epitome of what I consider a perfect Good Girls soundtrack choice.

Bop/banger status?

THERE’S NOTHING I LOVE MORE FROM GOOD GIRLS THAN A BOP/BANGER PAIRED WITH A MONTAGE. NOTHING. ‘MEGATRON’ WAS A TOP TIER CHOICE AND NOW I WANT TO CRIME PROPOSE TO JONATHAN LEAHY???? DOES THAT EVEN MAKE SENSE? WHO KNOWS, I AM OVERWHELMED.

Any memorable songs?

M E G A T R O N  straight into my veins babyyyyyyy

Fave song from the episode?

*downs a shot with Ruby and gets up on the Sweet P’s stage with Beth and Annie*

(guess)

Least fave song from the episode?

Ok so like... there were other songs in 4x08, but Laylow saved the goddamn day and tbh that’s all that matters to me!

(If I HAD to pick, it’d be ‘He Lives Alone’ by Dory Previn bc 70s music simply doesn’t jive with me or gg, for that matter, and I’m not sure it added anything to Gene’s confession montage.)

How did the music fit with the episode’s ~vibe~?

Like I said in my lil intro... 4x08 left me with some emotional whiplash. When the ep ended, I was like THAT WAS SO GREAT but then all of the heavy Rio backstory stuff came rushing back and it all made me DEEPLY sad for a few days?? So I guess... I also had mixed feelings about the song choices/vibes.

Still digging Rio’s bar vibes (‘The Sun Will Open Its Core’ by Sleep Party People) and Sweet P’s literal bass-induced vibes (day or night, Sweet P’s always be bangin’). The final scene’s song/vibe (’Yakuza Park’ by Surf City)  reminded me a TINY bit of ‘Kimono Hill’—something about it felt both optimistic/troubled. As for the 70s stuff... JL continues to lose me, tbh. 

OH but get this: I loved the custom score work in this ep too. Like when Beth’s in the hot tub and disassociating? Magic. The arrest scene? Poor choices were made, but I appreciate how the pulsating score picked up in tandem with the tension/heartbreak. 

Wishlist/Manifest-The-Songs-You-Want List

Hmm honestly kind of stumped about what I want from the soundtrack at this point. More memorable song choices for episodes as a whole?? Dare I say ‘surprise me’??

Overall ranking:     MEGA (wink) into only one song this week/10

Episode Track Listing:

The Sun Will Open Its Core - Sleep Party People MEGATRON - Laylow Yakuza Park - Surf City He Lives Alone - Dory Previn The Inventor’s Dream - McDonald and Giles

(Those last two songs aren’t available to stream anywhere, but JL wrote a brief twitter thread about them, and it’s p cool even though I will forever disagree with the 70s song choices!)

...

(good girls s4 playlist)

(nmc’s gg s1-s4 faves playlist)

(previously on nmc’s gg soundtrack review: 4x07)

[ancientwisdomsalvageyard]

The Ancient Wisdom Salvage Yard - Episode 35

Join Ryan Loyd, Sorcerer Tal, and your Friendly Neighborhood Nightgaunt as we devour a mouthwatering smorgasbord of Occult topics...and some not-so-Occult topics! The impetus of our meeting this night was to compare and contrast the Linking Sigil and S1 Sigil, which we did at length and the discussion moved on from there.

In response to some questions from Ryan, Sorcerer Tal talked about the nature of the Horde and about his interactions with it, also covering the Nothing and the Roadhouse. More about these topics can be found in Episode 30, if you’d like a more extensive overview.

We talked about the effects of child-rearing on Occult studies and one’s personal magickal practice, which ended up leading to a discussion about the nature of archetypal entities such as the Grim Reaper, as well as the give-and-take between humans and their gods. This lead to further conversation and personal experiences with various spirits.

An anecdote from Ryan about an outlandish dream from his childhood sparked an examination of animal lore involving behavior and symbolism. At this point, all three of us were fairly sleep-deprived and getting a little loopy and the discussion moved into how to annoy various kinds of animals. Sorcerer Tal gave his tips on how to irritate a goose and Ryan spun a tale about how he had once inadvertently enraged an octopus.

We ended the night with a discussion concerning the Occult in politics (focusing on the Trump administration) and the pitfalls one encounters when attempting to influence politics with magick.

Before the discussion, I told the story of what's been going on at Casa del Nightgaunt these last few months. I am now doing this podcast full-time, with plans to greatly expand its scope, now that I have the time, but I need your help to bring this vision into existence. While the Ancient Wisdom Salvage Yard will always be free, there is now an associated Patreon where supporters can get early access to (much more frequent) shows, access to exclusive content and our new Discord server, Salvage Yard swag, discounts at SalvagedWisdom.com, and first look at all the new stuff that's on the way! Our initial goal (to cover the costs of producing the Ancient Wisdom Salvage Yard and help keep the lights on at Casa del Nightgaunt) is 500 Patrons. You can become a Patron for less than the cost of a fast food value meal or a fancy coffee from one of those trendy caffeinemongers! Please take a look and select a membership tier that's comfortable for you over at the Salvage League. Thanks so VERY much for your support!

Also, if you find the Ancient Wisdom Salvage Yard Podcast, valuable, interesting, or entertaining, please share this (or any other) episode on social media. Tell your friends. Tell your co-workers. Tell the clerk at the corner gas station. Take a look at SalvagedWisdom.com and see if anything there speaks to you. ALL proceeds go to help keep The Ancient Wisdom Salvage Yard Podcast afloat. Thank you, everyone, for your continuing enthusiasm and support! Nightgaunt loves you.

See what we uncovered at the Ancient Wisdom Salvage Yard...

[teamfadedblue]

I'm so glad you are back! I hope everyone in the team finds stability soon. I wanted to ask what you thought of the end of steven universe, the movie and future, especially the diamonds' development

Firstly, thank you so much for the kind words, mate <3. Rest assured, my partners are safe and doing well overall.

So I preeeeetty much knew this one was coming so, let’s answer this in chunks, shall we?

First, the movie. Overall? I really enjoyed it. ‘Twas a fun romp, had some really god tier songs. And Spinel was both fun and charming. The conceit of basing a Gem off a 20s cartoon character, both in a general design way and in a “out-of-date cartoon that never evolved“ metatextual storytelling way. And in an action scene sense, her fighting primarily with shapeshifting is fun and different from the usual assortment of weapons we see Gems using.

That said, I do have two quibbles with it, albeit only one can be held against the movie.

First is the ending. To put it bluntly, Spinel needed therapy at the end of the movie, not to be the Diamonds’ replacement goldfish for Pink. While it is true that Spinel is far from the only character who needs therapy in SU, because her arc was condensed into a single movie it can feel a lot more noticeable that she probably still needs some help. Help that the Diamonds (or really any Gem besides maybe the CGs) aren’t equip to give her.

And the second.... well it was (and still is to an extent) somewhat aggravating that Spinel was almost immediately embraced by the fandom, while Bismuth, a character who has basically the same core backstory as Spinel (was betrayed and “put away” by Rose/Pink) was met with a lot of scorn when she first appeared.

And while I am of course not saying that if you like Spinel you have to like Bismuth an equal amount or if you don’t like Bismuth than you’re “problematic” or whatever, I do think it’s worth examining and asking why a character who is very obviously coded as a black woman was met with a lot of backlash and cold shoulders while a character with no immediate racial coding (that I know of), only the aesthetics of old-timey cartoons, was met with almost universal love and support by the fandom despite both of them having the same core narrative and backstory.

But okay, overall both of those are listed under the category of ‘Things That Don’t Ruin The Movie’. The SU movie was fun and enjoyable story. Not the best way to cap off the series, but luckily it wasn’t the end of the series.

So, Future. Not gonna lie, not gonna sugar coat it. Future was..... fucking amazing.

Future went in really the only direction the series had left at this point; narrowing in and focusing in on Steven’s lingering trauma. And goddamn they did not pull any punches. And these ranged from the obvious points like “yeah, Steven continuing to base his identity around a constant need to keep other safe and happy isn’t going to result in a healthy state of mind” to points I never even saw coming like “hey remember all those funny slapstick moments in S1? Yeah, those fractured Steven’s literal skeleton.” And the ‘final boss’ of the series being a physical manifestation of his self hatred and guilt? That’s just- *chef kiss* perfect, perfect storytelling. SU ended, but it ended with the Crew leaving everything on the field and the results speak for themselves.

All this resulted in a season (Series, I guess? But let’s be honest, Future is really just the last season of SU) that was about as dark as the Crew could get while still maintaining the same general ‘feel’ of SU that we’ve experienced since Gem Glow. And while some didn’t care for the darker tone of Future, which I can understand, I think it was a pretty prefect end for the series. It got dark, but it ended on a happy, forward looking note, which is exactly as I would have wanted it.

And, finally.... The Diamonds.

First the positive. As there is more and more space between myself and ‘A Single Pale Rose’ I find myself softening and being more understanding towards Rose/Pink. She has messed up, multiple times, but she never really had the support ‘growing up’ that would impart those kind of emotional maturity lessons, so when things got hairy, she ran. Whether it’s from her fellow Diamonds, Spinel, Bismuth, her life as a Diamond, or her mounting sense of guilt and ennui. And that left its marks on other people, the people that were closest to her.

But as I said, she didn’t really have the emotional tools to handle these situations in a healthy manner. And while that by no means washes her hands of those actions (don’t worry, Rose will have to deal with the fallout of her actions in the fic) it’s also hard to treat her in exactly the same way you would someone who’s had an emotionally healthy and sound upbringing.

Rose is, as Rose has always been. Complicated, and she’s going to be represented as such in the fic.

And okay. The other Diamonds.

To just get it out in the open right now, 2 year hiatus has not done much to warm myself towards the Diamonds. I still feel the same about them, only now it’s made worse because they had a very poor redemption arc.

It has since come out that the Diamond Days arc was forced to be rushed due to to Cartoon Network constantly jerking the Crews chain and leaving them hanging on whether they were going to get more episodes. That is very shitty of CN and I have no small amount of ire towards them for, once again, not realizing the quality of show they have. But... the show we have is the show we have, and that’s all I can really judge.

And even if it was done perfectly, Diamondemption would always be a hard sell for me. As has been said on this blog before, the Diamonds are sympathetic characters, that is true, but they’re also horrible dictators who feel sad for themselves, but show no remorse or second thought in the Gems they oppress and torment. And the fact that the Diamonds never really had to answer to those oppressed, aside from some light admonishment from Steven is... very unfortunate and easily the weakest of SU, by far.

It’s ultimately a very good thing Future was the end of SU rather than Change Your Mind, because otherwise that would have been a very sour note to end on.