#s3 did have a cool aesthetic

[fruitbythefoot7]

here have some art from a month ago

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep8 Musings - The Ep8 Script (Pt1)

Thanks to slitwrstsavior sharing the script and @memorian for digitizing it! <3

Imma have to do this in chunks, cuz of Tumblr's 30-pic limit.

SHADE.

AMC. I'm finna smack y'all. I NEED those alternate outtakes! 😭🙏

😳 JACOOOOOOB! 😱

SIR ANDERSONNNNNNNNN~!!!!

You ain't have to commit to the bit like THAT! They said suck the BLOOD DROP on the FLOOR, not the effing ROCKS themselves! XD Your improvs are IMMACULATELY UNHINGED! 😍

This is VERY cool & interesting!

HH's OCD mirrors Lou's mad ravings during his PTSD unhinged Revenge Plot, but it's also really cool that he was from vinatge Hollywood, contemporaneous with Louis' film noir aesthetic in 2x7, AND HH's association with aviation, and Lou's dream learning to fly (a plane)--perhaps in honor of Claudia mad that Les wouldn't teach her to fly (with the Cloud Gift? 😭💔) NO ONE EFFING TOUCH ME!

Ahhhhhh~! They're his triggers; AND his reset-buttons. U_U

He was finna KIIIIIIILLLLLL Lestat, IKR!? XD

I love how the use of ellipses can stand for either interruptions (Louis shushing him) or deliberate pauses (Armand actively tryna think of a lie).

Rolin's goofy arse. XD He really meant it when he said he wanted Dan's music to come in clutch.

Can't help but notice that it's SILENT during this part though. The "tense" film noir music only starts AFTER Louis' finished speaking. Which I think was a better choice. Let Louis' words sink in--HIS voice is the only one that should matter. THEN let the music come in. 👌

I EFFING KNEW THAT WAS HER ASHES OMG!? That ain't LIPSTICK!

I'm STILL MAD we didn't effing SEE the ear/jaw. But thank you for the movie nod from Akasha's BAMF exit.

Ahhh, that answers my question about if Louis was still using the Fire Gift from halfway across Paris--that is AWESOME, wow!

[EDIT] Forgot to add this in, cuz AMC!Lou's officially OP:

EXCUSE YOU!? Since when did Santiago know Armand's birthname!?

So either: Armand told Santiago his backstory, OR Santiago stole it from his mind (highly unlikely), OR he eavesdropped Loumand. SNAKE!

There's a typo--it should say "They are there to...." Which they took out anyway, and good riddance; Lou immediately cuts him off, cuz ain't nobody tryna hear your effing excuses, a-hole.

I DO wanna hear what he would've said though--pour some more Kool-aid down everyone's throats whydontcha!? "I knew the wisdom of the Great Laws," as if! I NEED to know what REALLY went down with the coven in S3--Imma make a separate post, cuz I have so many questions, that this Ep8 script unfortunately is NOT answering.

SUFFER, bish.

Imma cut off right here, and make a separate post.

[t0ast-ghost]

S3 EP21 (The Cloud Minders) oookay I genuinely don’t know what to think of that title

Anyway:

- OMG Kirk actually records his diaries on the bridge that’s so funny

- The chair swivelled so hard when Kirk got out of it that he had to go back to steady it with his hand

- The got roped into this one… (you see cause there’s a rope. It’s funny I promise)

- hi Margaret, I see you’re back (referring to the fact that Margaret Armen wrote this one)

- KICK !

- “I have never before met a Vulcan, sir.” “Nor I a work of art, madam.” I’d melt personally

- I have a feeling the disrupters have very reasonable demands

- WHAT THE FUCK THAT GUY JUST JUMPED

- Kirk sleeping while Spock internally monologues contemplates. Relationship goals.

- OKAY but the back of Droxine’s dress is so fucking cool. Peacock aesthetic.

- OKAY but like this other lady’s dress tho. The deeper blue. (Self note: draw Spock and McCoy in the dresses)

- ICKY ICK NO KIRK NO

- “You only take a mate once every seven years.” Yeah but he’s married to the doctor and captain aboard the ship

- Droxine wants him so bad goddamn

- “Extreme feminine beauty… is always… disturbing… madam.” “Spock!” As soon as Kirk calls him he’s outta there.

- Vanna is in the right here. Droxine is awful.

- This is such a good episode omg

- it’s showing how rich people delude themselves and justify having lower classes by reducing people to functions and workers.

- FLASHING LIVHTS HOLY HELL (careful showing this to your photosensitive friends)

- Is Kirk going to get put in the torture machine this episode? (Edit: no)

- Spock, Droxine is a rich idiot who is very used to justifying her actions with self inflicted ignorance, DO NOT PERSUE HER

- RAHHH WE LOVE VANNA

- hiii McCoy hiiiiiiiii

- no fuck off mccoy fuck off doesn’t matter if they’re slightly intellectually ‘inferior’ they still deserve rights and they’re still obviously intelligent life

- oh okay the gas is causing slight brain damage but still. The disrupters are in the right. And they’re gonna help them, yay!

- The Advisor said “erect” lol

- Kirk, obviously the Advisor knows that in order to stay in power he needs the Troglytes to stay confused, disorganized, and separate from their part of society… he’s doing this ON PURPOSE

- Kirk, go down there and punch the Advisor, please

- “Captain, if you are apprehended deliberately violating the High Advisor’s orders, he will be within his rights to have you executed if he chooses.” “If you’re about to suggest that you contact Vanna, the answer is negative, Spock. That goes for you too, Bones.” Bones so readily goes to suggest himself but is immediately shut down. Kirk knows their bullshit

- “Hours can be centuries, just as words can be lies.” That goes so hard wtf

- So why doesn’t Kirk beam out of there with her and directly to the caves? Well there wasn’t any trouble anyway but whatever

- LMAO the mask is so silly omg omg

- What the fuck. With his bare hands? (Edit: I’m talking about mining rocks. Promise.)

- Why did he cause a cave in? Omg he’s an idiot.

- Kirk is so done with these idiots. He’s just gonna put them in a cave and let the gasses get them

- Kirk’s not doing well… McCoy and Spock are very worried about him

- HE KICKED ONE OF THE MORTAE OUT OF HIS HANDS

- Kirk’s ass I really like Kirk’s fighting style, lots of kicks and a little bit of whacking

- “I don’t like filters or even masks. I like the word ‘protector’ much better.” Did some Trekkie’s call masks this during the pandemic?

- KIRK DO NOT KISS HER

(He doesn’t but the vibes were terrible)

Masterpost

Teleplay by Margaret Armen

Story by David Gerrold & Oliver Crawford

[princess-of-the-corner]

Saym recall that Princess Scream Akuma & premise i mentioned? Some idle thoughts, for summary:

S3, Adrien & Mari get together, Chloe leaves Paris for a bit to seethe until she is rational enough to not instantly lose Adrien's friendship.

Then Chat Blanc blows up the god damn moon. Anyone who survived the blast zone & fall out is fleeing, Chloe is going to Paris to find the Miraculous and fix this mess.

She gets there, Chat (if he sees her) is oscillating wildly between, "Hey buddy!" to "You hurt my love I kill you!" to "Kill me Queen Bee kill me!"

She finds Sass who has a way out but there will be after effects, Chloe agrees & so he wraps himself around her wrist like a bracelet and bites down, activating his powers on only Chloe.

Cue her coming to like a week after Dark Cupid. passing out in class cos Sass is semi fused to her & she's now semi starved cos of his energy cost.

For reference she can transform but she cannot use Second Chance, but does still have like, instinctive premonition. Sass is likely comatose till she can get his other half, but she doesn't know that or where to go, they were in a hurry.

Anyway, this is a long form way of saying she starts picking up some snakey, snakey traits.

Her favorite food besides Sushi is now boiled eggs, she cuts them open with her long nails and swallows them whole.

Her canines are getting long and seem to extent when she's pissed off, and her tongue habitually flicks out to taste the air.

She eventually gets those double lidded snake eyes which she actually thinks is kind of neat as she doesn't need to blink and can avoid dust in the eyes. Also they turn gold like Sass's.

She very much gets a "Did that bitch just hiss at me!?" reaction from someone when pissed off.

She is unsure if she's just gonna become him or stop, so when she notices she is kinda freaking out.

The only two people who notice this early on are Sabrina, cos she spend a lot of time around Chloe who is confused & wondering if its even her.

& the other is Juleka, who is like just silently praying, "Get longer fangs, be venomous, oh please develop scales, I am loving this aesthetic."

Ended up making my own episode timeline for this, building it around how familiar the cast seemed with each other & the Akuma situation in early episodes. How long before Chloe got isolated from the class, the structure of kid then parent or visa versa episode (Mylene & Mime for example) and what felt like it made sense thematically, structurally, ETC. While still trying to keep the original lists in mind.

Juleka PLEASE cool it for five seconds lmao

But also yeah this? Oh boy!

[sa2-astral]

I have sooooo many ideas for a hypothetical new skillset for ashe in s3. Like

ive been cooking like crazy n rambling to my friends. Like the only thing they could do is give ashe cool tech stuff. He'd either be the guy in the chair or have cool tech like cantrip. I think story wise it makes since for her to be the guy in the chair but playing wise if yakko did return i feel like thatd get boring after a while, like if he was staying in the show longterm eventually the whole guy in the chair setup would probably get very limiting roleplay wise

so i just. Went crazy thinking about cool tech stuff they'd have

-big mechanical arm. mechanical equivalent of the big demon arm bcuz it was cool

-short distance teleport to easily withdraw from combat / switch between inperson and guy in the chair. professor cross already had the temporary long term teleport machine im sure he could figure out something like this especially given williams literal dimension crossing new ability they can research that a bit im sure they could figure it out

-more guy in the chair abilities. he has hologram panels and does cool stuff hehehe

-bonus! With the hc of her using mobility aids i thought of a super cool way to like. Build them into the tech. so i was doing forearm crutches before but like what if it was like those mechanical spider legs some characters have they just attach to the wall and hover there you know. so its kinda like that but more like a crutch without the hand usage so they can still mess with the panels n do things whatever they need to do. its like an extra mechanical limb that specifically is like strong enough to support her without putting too much stress on his body if that makes sense ? and then they move it around with a controller. Like. Like gaming.

Its literally just motion controls. and then the buttons are for like controlling slash messing with all the panels n things whatever he can do mechanic wise with that. as well as just movement. idk does that make sense. But i am so normal about the idea of it literally just being gaming its literally gaming its just motion controls and i love that LMAO

-another bonus. this ones more self indulgent but as you may know. i am the #1 water fairy enthusiast so i say. that post i made of will finding water fairy in spirit world and giving them back to ashe is canon and so water fairy helps ashe in combat too :)

-ice spears, can do stuff with water a bit, and ice, maybe they can make like a sorta fog slash mist like a rlly cold mist like with the ice ability ? maybe steam?? Idk the fog aesthetic with ashe is so cool

-ashe still has his heelies she has great movement. bonus heelies can switch to ice skates to skate on ice water fairy creates >:)

-maybe water fairy can make like an ice spear but an ice SCYTHE??? or some other cool ice weapon for ashe to use

-also ashe has wings! Idk if they would or wouldnt be able to fly but if they could then thats a whole nother thing she can do thats movement based >:))

[beevean]

Multiple questions for you.

What were your thoughts on the Netflix castlevania show when you first discovered it?

How did you feel about the show when watching through each episode?

When did you realize the show was hopeless and would have zero redeeming qualities?

What are your overall thoughts on Netflix castlevania now?

1) I actually heard about it as it was airing - I vaguely remember posts related to Dracula and Lisa, or gifsets of the "I'm killing my boy" scene before I started playing the games. Needless to say, I heard nothing but good things, posts about how it was a great adaptation. I tried watching the first episode before getting into the games, but I got only confused and bored because of the CHURCH BAD scenes that had little to do with the plot lol. When I asked @spinningbuster98 (the friend who urged me to play the games) if it was worth watching it, his response was more or less "ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh", before sharing part of his grievances. At the time, I only vaguely understood the issues. After playing SoTN, CV3 and CoD, let's just say that everything became crystal clear.

The actual show turned out to be a much more unpleasant experience than simply "they fucked up the lore and the characters" could have prepared me for.

2) I actually have chronicled my first experience here :) as you can tell, while my criticism was not as well worded as I would phrase it today, it's proof that I only had a tolerable time in S1, and then things progressively got worse. Here's my second rewatch, if you're curious.

3) No doubt, S3 was my breaking point. S1 was mediocre but tolerable, S2 was boring and sluggish, but S3 was just a mean-spirited waste of time with a terrible, immature message and needlessly sadistic torture porn this side of an edgy fanfic. By the end I was so sick to my stomach, I really didn't want to watch S4, and to this day there are some episodes (mostly the ones focused on the Trepha plot) that I simply skipped because I just want it to be done.

4) That it's bad :P it's a bad adaptation, because it was obviously written by someone who only read the wiki and supervised by fans blinded by their own ego, people who didn't get the spirit of the original series and wrote a shallow Berserk ripoff with only the vague aesthetic of Castlevania: just the writing of the characters is appalling in how everyone was reversed for no reason, almost on purpose. And it's a bad story in itself, because it's rife with shocking writing mistakes, such as an over reliance on telling, glacial pacing, condescending hand holding to push you to think in a certain direction, long pretentious speeches to simulate depth, ridiculous amount of swearing (and even bland swearing) that doesn't fit the characters, dropped plot points, rushed plot lines, immense favoritism towards certain characters combined with the humiliation of others, a lack of focus in the last two seasons, and a general... mean mentality, that I can only describe as a combination of snobbish intellectualism, British imperialism, and victim blaming.

Aside from the cool fight scenes and the old-time fans who are so starved for CV content they'd eat dirt, I genuinely will never understand what people like about this show.

[lollytea]

in a hypothetical toh/Peter pan au (bc the parallels are interesting to explore) The Collector is probably the closest equivalent to Peter (eternal child who's repressed all their troubles in the name of Fun and Whimsy and has an ambivalent approach to morality) (though keep in mind I'm not a scholar and it's been a while since I last interacted with a pan adaptation. You're the more knowledgeable one here feel free to correct me)

And then Wendy's closest equivalent as the viewpoint character who learns the main lesson about growing up and moving on and while not losing the part of yourself that made childhood seem so wonderful would probably have to be Luz (though obviously if we're going for this lineup then the peter/Wendy dynamic would have to be decidedly not romantic. Probably lean more into the "mother" thing from the book or Luz and Collie's like. Babysitter and baby dynamic)

Though again I'm very interested in what you, Lollytea, local Peter Pan scholar and toh enthusiast has to say and whether or not I'm off the mark on these ideas. P.S I feel very seen w/ u obsessing about an early 1900s western children's Isekai (/j) bc I did the exact same thing w/ the wizard of oz.

Okay okay okay okay okay okay this is a huntlow AU for my little huntlow brain but I decided to develop the universe a little and give some info on where all the main characters currently are and what they're doing.

Yes absolutely the Collector is this universe's version of Peter. The island adores them for mysterious reasons and their mood and temperment has complete control over the elements. All his whims and dreams and fantasies become a reality here so the place is very chaotic. I'm imagining that the island has the same starry sparkly aesthetic as the BL in S3.

The Collector is heaps of fun and the Lost Boys love hanging out with him and going on adventures. However....he's also prone to tantrums and his tantrums can have devastating consequences so.....none of them are really his true friends either. They're afraid of him, they tiptoe around him, they try to keep him happy.

His only real friend is King, a Neverbeast whose species is as ancient as the Island itself. King has a depthless cavern of power that he just....hasn't really developed yet. He might be a few centuries old but he ages similarly to the Collector. Just a pair of babies. Boys will be boys.

Luz is the most recent Lost Boy in a whole village of Lost Boys. You know how they had that epic village in Hook (1991) Yeah that shit was so cool, I'm giving them one of those. Anyway Luz's reasons for taking the Collector's offer are very similar to her reasons for choosing to stay in the BL. Fantasy as a form of escapism, struggling with the conventional education system and also grief and her mom trying to get her help that she doesn't want. It lands her here.

Amity is a girl who used to be frequently visited by a fairy named Willow when they were both little kids. However, Willow's friendship influenced Amity's overzealous imagination. She was drawing pictures of and writing about fairies and the stories her friend told her about Neverland and this got her in trouble with her parents. Cracking under the threat of more severe punishment, Amity got into a huge fight with Willow, ending in her declaring "I don't believe in fairies!" before slamming her window shut. This is the most cutting thing you could possibly say to a fairy.

Now, years later, Amity is residing in the world she tried so hard to forget about all those years ago. You see, she was at the age where her parents were preparing to send her off to finishing school and were having discussions about future arranged marriages. But Amity is not ready for that just yet. She wants to be a teacher!! She wants to be an inventor!!! So she runs away to Neverland where she can live out her dreams for a while until she's ready to return home.

She's currently running a "school" for the Lost Boys and is affectionately referred to as "Miss Amity", while also tinkering in her spare time. She feels very comforted by the order and control she has over her life now.

It's Luz's arrival that throws it all into disarray. Luz doesn't agree with Amity's style of teaching and though she doesn't deliberately try to interfere, a lot of Lost Boys do end up gravitating towards her, preferring her strange anecdotes and insane hyperfixation infodumps to Amity's lessons. This ends up putting the two of them at odds.

Gus is a Lost Boy....with a gift!!! The Collector was initially drawn to Gus because of their fascination with his primative human "Magic" tricks. Cards, coins behind the ear, cute silly stuff like that. He chose to go to Neverland because the stress of his Dad's high expectations was getting to him and he wanted a bit of a break (a case of miscommunication between father and son).

However, after being spirited away, Gus became Neverland's official Magician, knighted by the Collector himself. And by that I mean the Collector went "Haha I like you. I wonder what you could do if you had real magic!" and then proceeded to snap their fingers and gave Gus powers beyond his comprehension. Like waaaaay too much power. Gus is currently struggling to control his new magic and it tends to come out in uncontrollable bursts and its actually more of a curse than a gift. But he's pretty optimistic about his ability to eventually master it. And also the Collector refuses to change him back so....[shrug]

Willow and Gus? Besties. They're kinda like Peter and Tink in that Willow's favourite place to chill is atop Gus' shoulder or in his pocket.

She does not tell Gus about her secret romantic rendezvous with a certain pirate because that pirate tried to kidnap her once and Gus is very protective of his best friend.

Eda is.....a lot.

Okay. Originally a rebellious but insanely intelligent human girl, Eda and her sister were preparing to take on the world together. They were both aiming to attend the same university on a scholarship, but due to circumstances, the opportunity was only available to one of them. Eda's sister Lilith, panicking about all her dreams being ruined, wound up doing something she'd regret.

She snitched. She told a representative of their dream school of one of the delinquent acts Eda committed. Things quickly got out of hand. One person told another, things getting warped and exaggerated and other people who knew Eda personally began chiming in with their opinions of her. Some things were true. Others were not. But the most hurtful thing is that everybody was willing to believe all of it, because that just seemed to be the person Eda was. All of a sudden, it felt like the whole world had turned on her.

Life became very difficult Eda, she felt isolated and detested. She felt like a monster. This resulted in her running away to Neverland, but she carried her outcast feelings with her. She continued to stew in her own self loathing but that had terrible consequences.

Neverland is unpredictable. Its wishy washy. Its very attuned to imagination and dreams. Because Eda felt so strongly about being a monster, she gradually became a monster.

The Owl Beast is like the Crocodile to Belos' Captain Hook. She sees him as a reflection of the way she was treated back home, while he views her as everything vile and disturbing about this wretched island. Plus when he looks in her eyes, she reminds him of somebody he used to know. Somebody he hates with his whole heart and soul. He needs her dead. She needs him dead.

A huge part of Luz's goal in this AU is uncovering the mystery of the Owl Beast and eventually bonding with her and maybe even helping her return to her human form.

Anyway so yeah thats what's poppin on the island if anybody was interested. We can have our fun with this stuff, incorporate it however we want. I'm very focused on huntlow being silly tho. It's fun to me.

[dogcodedcatboy]

HI CRICKET!! you said “literally anything” and I’m taking it literally okay?/lh

I’m having unprecedented levels of brainrot abt a movie i watched MONTHS ago!! Why does this keep happening to me!! I’ll watch something and be like, “oh that was cool, sure hope it doesn’t alter my brain chemistry!” And it doesn’t! For awhile.

And then it DOES. Out of nowhere 😭😭😭

Anyways.. I’m guessing not and I’m not even sure you fuck with horror movies but have you ever watched “Late Night With The Devil?” Soooo fun/fucked up i loooove it/gen

THE SAME THING happened to me with succession omg. i made it thru 2 seasons having a Normal tv watching experience and then something went wrong when i saw s3 roman....the brain rot started spreading...

its kinda nice when it sneaks up on u tho!! i kinda like the idea of ur current favorite thing sneaking up on you / being something you didnt expect to like so much ^^

OH DO I FUCK WITH HORROR MOVIES... im actually abt to impulsively buy tickets 2 a 10pm showing of The Substance (idk if youve heard abt that one yet but WOOF everyones saying its fucked). i did like late night with the devil!!! always weak for the 70s halloween aesthetic . i thought it was a rlly cool premise and even though it didnt Scare Me it was a good watch!!!

[cygninae]

You said you like Stranger Things in one of your asks, who's your favourite character? Also which character do you personally most relate to and which character do you find the most interesting and/or complex (and please feel free to elaborate in great detail!)

Hello, thank you for the ask! This is such a hard question but I'll try to answer to the best of my ability.

If I had to choose, my favourite character is probably Nancy. I mean, she's just really cool. I love how she's evolved over the seasons and how it reflects on her physical character design (hair, costume, etc). I love how she interacts with the people around her because it is so interesting. For example, in the fight she has with Jonathan in S3, she is trying to show him the misogyny she's been facing and is getting extremely frustrated at him for not seeing it, but at the same time she is blind to the classism he's facing and his difficulties with his poverty. She didn't have ill intentions, she just felt so so strongly that she became sort of tunnel-visioned. I love her passion, how she sees everything around her with a need for justice, how everything is worth her time because she wants to know things. I LOVE that her career goal is a journalist because I could truly see her thriving in that when she finds a niche. I can't wait for her to leave Hawkins and go to university and find herself because she has this potential, this spark that makes her so unique from the other characters to me. Whenever she's on screen it's HER scene, you know.

Funnily enough, the character I would say I relate most to is Jonathan. Or kind of a mix between him and Nancy. He also has this immense passion, like Nancy, but his is like a precise volt of energy into his photography and he hides this passion beneath a dark exterior that he hopes will ward people off. I may be a terrible photographer, but I relate to the concentration of all of your fervency into this one part of life that gives you a sense of being needed. Jonathan needs to feel needed. We can see that in how he's falling off the rails in S4, because his brother doesn't really need him anymore - Will is growing up, Nancy is busy in a whole other state, El has Will and Joyce - and Jonathan is lost without being needed by these people, so he turns to weed for an escape because it stops him thinking. (BIG FUCKING RELATE).

I fucking love Jonathan. I need him to catch a break because he's been through so much. Anyway, I'm not sure what else I can say about him, because there is SO much. I could make another post about Jonathan if anyone would be interested - I could make it far more organised than this.

You also asked who I found most fascinating, but I suppose I've sort of covered that, so I'll just ramble on a bit about some pairings I like? (You invited this I'm afraid.)

As one may guess I absolutely love Jonathan and Nancy. I don't think their relationship is the healthiest but that doesn't stop me being obsessed with everything about their pairing and the aesthetic of it. I think daily about that scene of them lining up their scars. What they want through was unique to them and they found themselves in each other when the trauma made them feel alone. They wound themselves together because all of their pain was reflected in eachother - and while that's not a great reason to start dating, I truly think they fell in love with eachother as they did this, and I can't blame them for wanting to find the slightest bit of comfort after what they went through. I love how dark and twisted the reason for their love is. I love how softly they hold eachother despite it. I love how they talk about the other when they're not there, how despite all of the darkness in their lives, they're eachother's anchor to the real world. I love how their career goals line up, the journalist and the photojournalist, and I love how Nancy brings Jonathan's passion out of him and let's him show it in front of her without being afraid of being judged, and he let's her follow her dreams, her thirst for knowledge, even if it means him losing the one girl who makes his life worth living. He's willing to leave her life if it means she can live it fully.

Anyway, some other dynamics I like are Will and Mike - romantically, Lucas and Max - romantically and Will and El - sibling dynamic. I really do hope Mike and Will can get together in the final season, because I think it would draw the show to this really nice close. Yes, the freak can have his true love. He can be loved because he is a freak, he is different - they're both different, but with eachother they're Kings of the world. Society's expectations don't matter when they have eachother.

With Max and Lucas, they are just so sweet. Lucas might not fully understand Max's depression and grief, but he wants to understand it. Something about that complete devotion, even when Max isn't being herself, just pulls at my heart. I really want an unconditional love like that. Max might've thought that Lucas was changing, that he wouldn't care about her after becoming popular - but then he's there, when she's almost died because of Vecna, and he's telling her I'm here, i'm here, I'm here, and he's holding her so tight that she can feel that he won't let anything happen to her. They are just like... soulmates. Seriously. They fit together like puzzle pieces and they NEED eachother. I really, really hope Max is cognitive in S5 because I need her and Lucas to just talk to eachother and hold hands and be teenagers in love despite the world falling apart around them. Yeah.

Sorry if I didn't make much sense, once again i wrote this all with no structure and just spoke my mind so it may seem disjointed. Hope I answered your question though and made it a bearable enough read.

[silent-king]

Redesigning some stuff from season 3

Made these a bit ago, because some of the designs bother me.

space is like one of the coolest aesthetics ever and i feel like the canon designs would fit better in season 2 actually. Considering the fact that S3 takes place in the past, the whole Astronaut theme clashes with the rest of the Gormiti, who are all literally made of their element, making them feel somewhat primal. The fact that the Heralds only got one suit but recolored is kinda sad aswell. (And another thing that bothers me is the fact that they took Orions skirt away, despite having a really good design opportunity. A ROCKET SKIRT! Like, they gave Hurricane airplane gloves. Why not Rocket skirt?)

the main issue i had was Trityons face. The body was actually kinda cool, being made of water and all (also they didn't need to give him hips like that. But they did. And i'm grateful for it.) His tentacle arm didn't bother me too much, but i was doing a redesign, so crab arm :)

And gave him a thick braid, because yes.

Ikors there aswell of course, being his fabolous self.

Even so, the new Hyperbeast designs, Sol and Eklos kinda make up for the um... other stuff. (Except for Orion's skirt, i'll never forgive.)

[spiritsncrystals]

Thomas Arclight, Jim Crocodile Cook.

Oh boy double whammy but sure I can do both lol

[WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THEM]

IV is a piece of shit at times but that's kinda what makes him so enjoyable seeing him make such unhinged faces though I do understand why he's like that lol

Jim on the other hand god I like a lot about

His personality, his dynamics with the others even his bursts of English but especially his bond with Karen/Shirley it's so sweet especially when you learn his backstory and how he literally lost a functioning eye to save Karen from a poachers trap they're such good friends

[WHAT I DISLIKE ABOUT THEM]

It's hard to say I actively dislike much about either

Like sure Thomas is a two faced asshole but he's an enjoyable one. I guess you could say I dislike the fact he couldn't be honest with Shark about what had been done until they duel in the WDC since he actively says "I didn't mean for that fire to happen to your sister that part was on tron" but I'd say it's got something to do with his ego and that he kinda enjoys antagonising Shark at the moment of introduction

Jim you could fault for not having the foresight to not leave judai alone in 136 right after sho runs off but in both his and O'brien's defence that boy had been way too reckless and not staying put anyways when he'd SPECIFICALLY been told "don't go rushing on ahead" so I'd rather not because A they did come back for him and B it's not like they knew he was going to become Haou.

I could also say this is less something I dislike about him and more just a "I wish" but the fact that he's not in S4 does sting a bit when he was such a central character in S3 like you have Saiou, Johan and O'brien coming back in that season and he's the only one truly missing minus Misawa. I think it was more something to do with his VA exiting the scene but still if we had gotten an expanded S4 It would've been cool to see him again

[WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THEIR APPEARANCE]

Definitely the colour scheme for IV it's hard to imagine him in any other pallette, but definitely his scar, too, considering how recognisable it is kinda a shame they didn't give Rio any too but hey that's what the fans are for

Jim's I enjoy a lot for the Australian cowboy aesthetic but his face I really enjoy what with the hat and the bandaged eye to eventually reveal that he has a stone in the socket honestly seeing the eye of orichalcum revealed for the first time really was cool.

[SUB OR DUB NAME PREFERENCE]

I'm pretty flexible when it comes to Thomas's aliases IV n Quattro but I tend to use IV a little more

Jim there's no difference unless we're talking the manga but they're fundamentally different people in terms of personality anyways

[FAVOURITE CARD]

Would Gimmick Puppet Machina Fantasix be cheating in IV's case since it's a recent thing and it was never in the anime but I have a fascination with the cards that look like their archetypes user (Bujins too but they're different) bc I find it Like a funny display of the person's ego but the fact that he has one that looks like his public face and one that shows his freaky side is just really amusing to me because it just means his fanservice ego goes two ways (you could also see it as him viewing himself as a puppet on strings too)

Jim's would be Fossil Knight Skull Convoy especially with how it actually gets used as transportation in Dark World

It's just a really cool design

[OTP(s)]

Gonna be real I don't really ship IV with anyone as much as I get the appeal of Hellshark I don't really view them in that light

Jim on the other hand I adore Orichalcumshipping (Jim x O'brien) they're the ones really looking out for the gang and it really shows the Haou arc especially really proved how good their dynamic is

Fossil (Jim x Kenzan) is also another good one

I would say even Cowboy, Savior and Tomorrow are great options too

[NOTP's]

Wouldn't say I have any exactly for either but I understand why something Like IV x Rio can be kinda off for people

[FAVOURITE SCENE/LEAST FAVOURITE SCENE]

It's hard to say with IV because most moments he's on screen are great but I like the scene right after he's beaten by Shark in the WDC where he's finally being vulnerable to not just Shark but Yuma Astral and Kotori behind the charming front and the freakyness and anguish is a middle child genuinely expressing that he wishes for his father to go back to being the one he once knew

Jim I could honestly say the entirety of his duel against Haou it's so good. He may of lost (along with his life) but you can really tell how earnestly he was trying to save a friend from his darkness

Least favourite scenes

If I had to select one I guess it would be the reveal that he's the one Shark was facing back then when he was disqualified from that tournament for cheating more so because it gives us a reason to hate him as much as Shark did

Jim's case I'd say that one scene in 114

Its less because of him and more just my issues with the whole life for a life going on in that duel and the fact that Asuka needed saving in the first place like cmon ygo don't have the woman nearly drown dangit but I am glad he saved her from drowning regardless

[Fuck marry or kill]

Yeah I could kill IV lmao throw him in a ditch lol

I'd rather just be Jim and Karen's friend though

[celticbotanart]

You guys really liked the "Ecclectic Halloween" post I did a while ago, so I want to go for another round!!

For those who didn't see the previous post - music is my biggest hyperfixation, and I love making thematic playlists and play with them by adding little rules and such. My "Ecclectic Halloween" playlist currently has over 150 tracks, and all of them are there according to the following little rules I've stablished:

The song MUST include anything supernatural, spooky, bizarre, "murder/serial killer", classic creature and so on - if it's instrumental, which is the case of many tracks in this list, it has to have all of these but in VibesTM

The song can be of ANY genre; is it metal? Prog? Disco? Electronic? Soundtrack? COOL, ALL ARE WELCOME!

I'm still including less widely known / "cliche Halloween songs", and this time I decided to feature songs that are soundtracks (from movies, games, animes, books even!); most of them are instrumental, or feature a heavy use of choir, and/or vocals that are prevalent but doesn't really mean anything (bear with me, you'll see what I mean, lol)

LET'S GET STARTED, part deux!!

1- Only Murders In The Building - Creatures of the Night

Starting off with this banger from the latest season of "Only Murders in the Building"! The original context is that Oliver Putnam, one of the main characters who's a theater producer/director, decides to put on a musical play as one of the main subplots of this season; the show actually presented a couple of full, real songs, and they are all REALLY Broadway-like, campy, and epic (fucking Meryl Streep sings two of them???? It's REALLY good!). The musical's plot is that this woman was murdered in a mysterious lighthouse, and a private Investigator and a Constable comes in to investigate it. The main suspects are the Nanny and... the baby triplets of the deceased woman??? Lol This song is SUPER fun, weird and extra, with that little touch of mystery - it's the "opening act" of the show, and it's the Investigator arriving at the lighthouse, singing with the whole ensemble cast, it's SO cool! I'm including here the actual scene where they perform it, so you can see it! (Spoilers for the last episode of s3, I guess?)

In this eerie old lighthousе thrashed by the tide Live triplets whose mother suspiciously died And suspects uncanny, a constable, a nanny Do they all have secrets to hide?

2- Genshin Impact - Die Mittsommernacht-Fantasie

This one is VERY "mischievous trick or treat" vibes! Very, very fun and colorful, with that little touch of mystery, too! This was definitely one of the best battle themes in Genshin Impact, and it was featured exclusively in a time-limited event last year?? Such a tragedy this good of a song was used only then!

The domain this song appears is themed after the character Amy "Fischl", who roleplays all the time as "Fischl, the Prinzessin der Verteilung"; the domain itself was a huge castle, with big fairytale vibes going on. Fischl is a very dramatic, mischievous character, and this theme really reflects that, in the most fun way! The song has INTENSE baroque influences with the harpsichord as main instrument, and even features a classic/ spanish guitar!

3- Cuphead, The Delicious Last Course - The Finishing Touch

To those unfamiliar, Cuphead is a game that mimics the entire aesthetics, artstyle and music from 1920's cartoons. It's honestly one of the best ideas I've seen, and this one is a song from the DLC released a while ago. It's very spooky, and of course in that 20s cartoon sort of way.

I personally love the super eerie atmosphere, the flute, piano and the strings combo creating all the tension!

4- Young Sherlock Holmes - The Ceremony / Waxing of Elizabeth ("Rametep Theme")

These are technically two songs, but some good soul mashed them together into one cohesive piece, because they both really, REALLY slap hard with the dramatic chorus and Carmina Burana-esque energy! This was featured in the movie "Young Sherlock Holmes", in a scene where a crazy-ass cult is having their gathering, and preparing to mummify this girl.

I have to say the soundtrack is actually better than the scene itself, lol. It has a really impressive crescendo and use of orchestral metals, I have goosebumps every time I listen to it, hnnng <3

5- Ori and the Will of the Wisps - Mora, the Spider

Easily one of the most intense boss fights I've ever played - and the theme really reflects that fear and tension. Mora is a giant spider hidden in the deep, buried shadows of the forest that you, as Ori (a light/forest spirit) has to defeat. It really is a "dark vs light" sort of fight, and the this theme really goes fucking hard. It also has strong horror music elements used in movies of the genre - like the violin pizzicato at the beginning, and its use throughout the piece, giving that "classic horror" feeling to it.

Note how when the choir kicks in around the minute 2:15 - they are chanting "MO-RA! MO-RA!" in such a terrifying way! And then, around 4:50, it really shows how Ori's determination and hope prevails, when their leitmotif starts playing!

6- Yuki Kajiura - Ship of Fools

If you follow me for a while, you know already that Yuki is literally one of my all-time favorite composers ever, so OF COURSE I had to include her here!! She is an OST composer for animes and games, and this was the first song of her I've ever heard - it plays on the very first scene of the "Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles" anime. Yuki is well-known for her dreamy, haunting style and this piece is a huge example of it!

She mixes in electronic, rock/metal, classic and folk genres, and layered vocals (mostly done by singers hired for her projects). This one is also an example of her using the "kajiurago", or "kajiura language" - it doesn't mean anything, it's just vocalizing that sounds like words. They are one of her trademarks, and one of her elements that really gives the etheral, haunting atmosphere in her works!

This song really goes hard into the "mysterious, dangerous witch" territory, and I fucking love it! <3

7- Yuki Kajiura - The Main Theme of Petit Cossette

Another one from my favorite girl - this one is soundtrack to a very obscure anime called "Le Portrait de Petit Cossette" - it's essentially the story of a girl's ghost (Cossette) trapped in an artifact (I think it's a goblet?? It's been over 15 years since I saw it, lol), and this guy who falls in love with her. It's a very weird, dark and atmospheric animation.

This one track here really translates that energy, and I honestly HIGHLY recommend the rest of this OST - it's VERY VERY GOOD, and mostly all tracks have that dark, eerie, gothic vibe too.

Here we can see once more the use of "kajiurago", and another trait of Yuki's work that I fucking love - the intricate solos!! In this case, a violin solo, which is also very prevalent in most of her work.

8- Mary Fahl - Exiles (The Wolves of Midwinter)

Another Anne Rice-inspired! "Exiles" was composed by Mary Fahl as an actual official song for the audiobook version of "The Wolves of Midwinter". I don't know about the book's plot because I haven't read it, but this song is SO atmospheric, and it's very werewolf-y. I personally LOVE Mary's deep voice, and how I can almost see the wolves running in the wintery forest.

When the hunger comes and I lose control Hold me in the darkness, bless my tarnished soul I will run beside you, we'll leave the past behind We'll hide inside the ages beneath the sands of time

9- Karliene - Become the Beast

Technically, the only one of the playlist that isn't a soundtrack - not offcially, anyway, hehe. This is a song that Karliene wrote inspired by Hannibal, the tv show; I haven't seen Hannibal, but I'm OBSESSED about this one, because yeah, it can be about Hannibal, but I like how she's a bit vague about it, so it can also be about werewolves, or any other dark supernatural creature, like vampires.

Her voice is incredible, and I love how "minimalistic" this song is, featuring pretty much only a violin, piano and cello as insstruments. The pizzicato sound comes in again to give that unsettling, classic horror vibe, at the same time her layered vocals + the piano and cello really softens the whole thing, which in my opinion, makes the song so eerie and menacing - even more with the lyrics!

So look in the mirror and tell me, who do you see? Is it still you? Or is it me? Become the beast, we don't have to hide Do I terrify you or do you feel alive? Do you feel the hunger? Does it howl inside? Does it terrify you? Or do you feel alive?

10- Wolfwalkers - Howls the Wolf (Moll's Song - Wolf Run Free)

And closing the "werewolf trilogy" here at the end of the playlist with another favorite of mine - and ending with wholesome vibes! This is a song that plays in the credits of the animated movie "Wolfwalkers" - IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THAT MOVIE YET, AND YOU LOVE ANIMATION, YOU MUST. LIKE FOR REAL. ITS SO GOOD. And the entire soundtrack, written by Kíla and Bruno Coulais, fucking slaps - it's mostly all traditional folk Irish music and instruments, and so full of life!

Wolfwalkers here are people who turn into wolves when they fall asleep - their sleeping body remains behind, as their soul takes a tangible form of a wolf. It's pretty rad!!

And this song, it's Moll, the wolfwalker mother, probably singing this "lullaby" to her daughter, the wolfwalker Mébh (and one of the main protagonists, the red haired little girl in the art above!).

Maria Doyle Kennedy is the one voicing Moll and singing this song, she has such a pretty, soothing voice! I love this song so much, and with the context of the movie, it makes me teary-eyed almost every time I listen to it kjdfhkjdf, ahhhh <3

The wolf will leap from child asleep The wolf will run 'til rising sun The wolf will guide you in your dreams Run free! Wolf, wolf, howls the wolf Wolf, wolf, run free!

Hope you also like this second part!! And it's really cool to see your suggestions in the tags, too <3

[slashfuhrer]

So I binged two seasons of ofmd in a day

and while it makes the impression of being all over the place while simultaneously obviously being rigorously calculated and I'm sure I'll find lots of things I dislike (for one, wtf was the whole gravy basket thing??!) upon a rewatch, I have to say that this was the perfect distraction for my crippling anxiety of the past few days

Disjointed first impressions about things that I loved:

Loving all the kickass women (and the fact that they're not in sexualized clothing and have different age groups represented and a knife-wielding nun yes please??!!). Also the Widow Bonnet kicks ass metaphorically (for the most part) and that's also just hearts toppingly cool /sounds of feminist jubilation/

Wee John cosplaying Calypso in amazing Ursula makeup and Izzy sporting a similar vibe 🔥🔥 yaass (and just a general fucking around with gender roles is something I always strongly support)

The Revenge aesthetic - the library, the tub, the lavender soap, the auxiliary wardrobe, the four flags, etc. ❤️

How Ed allows Pop-Pop the fisherman to kick his ass 'cause he knows that's kinda justified

How the crew are totally cool with Pete and Lucius hooking up and then with the same for Ed and Stede

The morning scene with breakfast in bed??!! I almost died of the cuteness in that, and how Izzy opens the door on Ed and Stede and is really obviously happy that they finally did it ❤️

Buttons, no matter all the weird stuff that he's about ❤️ hope we'll get some of him in S3, bird-shaped or not

[shrinkthisviolet]

Character ask game: Frost and Hartley Rathaway (aka grown up Harry Potter to me lol)

Nah, Hartley's nothing like Harry. Maybe in the comics, but def not in the show. He acts more like a grown-up Malfoy (esp with his rich background)...tho ofc his relationship with his parents isn't at all like Malfoy's. But I digress

Frost

How I feel about this character: Lukewarm. I liked her in s3 as a villain, but I never liked how they tried to make her a hero without so much as an apology to Iris. I don’t hate her, she has her moments, but...ehh. I’ve never understood how she’s such a fan favorite, especially over Iris—her powers are really cool and as I said, she definitely has her funny/sweet moments, but still

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Lisa Snart

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Caitlin, Cisco, and Ralph! Also if she’d actually apologized to Iris ever, then Iris would be here too 💞

My unpopular opinion about this character: tbh I’ve never much liked Frost as her own character? I preferred when KF was just Caitlin

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: If they were gonna make her a separate person from Caitlin, the first thing they should've done is have her apologize to Iris (and Cecile, both directly, because why tf did Caitlin apologize to Joe for what she did to Cecile?? And with no mention of Iris, moreover??). There should’ve been tension there for a while...and then the bachelorette episode could’ve been the resolution of that tension (with no petty digs from Frost to Iris because seriously wtf?? The nerve and audacity?? You assisted in her attempted murder last year, you have no right to needle her like that!)

Hartley Rathaway

How I feel about this character: I have a love-hate relationship with him 😂 his snark is entertaining in s1 but ehh I still didn’t really like him...but in s2, he's very sweet and piques my interest. Then I was mad that they made him mean again post-Crisis for no reason, but...he had a cool aesthetic (unfortunately, he still insulted/devalued Cisco 💀 also unfortunately, the show proved how much they didn’t care about his sexuality by giving him a sexy-lamp boyfriend with no personality). And I liked him in s9—it felt like they finally settled into how to write him well, and even Roderick, poor guy, finally got some personality. Just a smidge, though

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Roderick, sometimes Cisco (the s2 version of Hartley). Also I'm intrigued by the Singhaway ship (comics canon) 👀 ofc the show destroyed that possibility by having Singh be married from s1 onwards, but if they'd kept him single...👀

My non-romantic OTP for this character: His sister, Jerrie (comics canon) 💞 also Cisco (I don't ship them all the time 😂). ALSO Wally and Linda (comics canon)

My unpopular opinion about this character: Him insulting Cisco isn’t funny or cute and never was ✋ and any Hartmon fic (romantic or platonic) needs to start off with an apology for that (either one directly stated or implied)

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I wish he’d gotten to keep his s2 characterization (without reconciling with his terrible parents), and that he’d gotten to be more present in the show and met/befriended Wally and Linda. The post-Crisis retcon never happened in my mind idc

character ask game!

[legionofpotatoes]

extremely bad faith mandalorian takes, do not engage please i cannot stop hysterically laughing at this season and thus am incapable of level-headed discourse. these are just words I want to write down to see if they look as unbelievable as they sound in my head

my favorite telltale sign of the embarrassing s3 story optics is their like. genuinely hilarious ostrich-neck-in-the-sand rehash of past story arcs down to the aesthetic fucking beats. that's the shit sandwich that really gets me in this whole stank buffet. It is astonishing. Like there was genuinely nothing else they could come up with as to not upset the status quo of their fickle, marketable story limbo, and so they, and I cannot stress this part enough, ignored established character progression beats and just did them again. they just did them again. from the top, using shockingly similar payoffs, right in front of our own eyes. and I just sat there and ate it!!

din has to re-love his toxic death cult after clearly progressing away from their value systems cause he's cooler with that helmet always on. gotta keep the limbo going. his main north star, set up as his way out of said cult, gets recruited into it instead, completely defanging the possibility of interrogating the entire bedrock of trauma and insecurity that kept uncomfortably clashing with his expressions of love and humanity in the past. now they're all one big happy gel of a Cool Dude With Gun and Kid. gotta keep the limbo going.

at some point he also has to re-learn his droid prejudices to then re-unlearn them again, a couple of times even, for no discernible thematic reason other than to make him act like an ass to some type of botched working class allegories (??? the fuck is going on with droids this season in general??). gotta keep the limbo going.

grogu, meanwhile, has to re-earn a mandalorian piece of armor to re-reinforce his allegiance (and here I was thinking the rond would be a pulpy setup for some shot-dead-fake-out but how can chekov's anything exist in this mangled mess), cause mandalorian culture is a live service videogame of tiered ranks now, so the potential upgrades are conveniently endless. gotta keep the limbo going. speaking of their culture, he also, hilariously, has to then be re-adopted by din to re-reveal their paternal bond and re-dramatize their love. cause he's not a foundling anymore, see; he's an apprentice now! the words are different. that makes the emotional meaning reset also. I know this from film school. audiences have no object permanence, right? they're all fish? we're writing this show for fucking fish, right? like in the aquariums? gotta keep the limbo going.

and they just keep doing this. they will dress it all up with technicalities and loud Plot Noise but it is all emotionally the same exact shit that has already happened and it is making me feel insane. same exact payoffs for backpedaled setups that were already, for all storytelling purposes, finished and done away with. it is comical. they're telling nothing. non-stories and recursive sisyphean plotlines that reset primitive character arcs every five episodes like it's the most unmoored bermuda triangle-ass time loop in space. you cannot even really twist it into some type of harmless expression in lieu of episodic TV, or even something more campy, cause like. it does have a rapidly progressing plotline about big and overarching stuff, stuff that is holistic, linear, and goal-oriented, like retaking homeworlds and reforging their broken nation and fighting mr gideon man. it's not a weekly detective romp with B plots galore, not anymore at least. but the characters somehow start and end in the same spots they always were. like the big ole smoking fucking gun that that is.

it feels like the most clear-cut example of plot moving forward - at breakneck speed sometimes - while characters progress either backwards or just. like. sideways and then back again?? almost like dropping a teabag into an empty mug and calling it a beverage. I see the pretty taste-making ingredient sitting sadly at the bottom there, but where's the substance? what is this all for? to wank it to how cool mandalorians look when they fly? I mean they can be pretty cool, no argument there. but some of them could be cooler if they felt things deeply and that changed them, fundamentally. you know, how A-to-B storytelling does sometimes.

and I am achingly aware that I am aging out of this show's target audience, I know that. but the death by comparison within the same bloody show's adjacent seasons is just as harrowing. what happened. it just worked too good is what. a corporation responsible for telling a myth will never allow it to finish if it suddenly starts hemorrhaging this much money. grogu and din can't progress, even aesthetically, past their season 1 selves, no matter how much that same season's story was setting them up to. cause inscrutable sad dad and cute doll baby combo. we'll either throw away those story hooks or keep resetting them. keep the limbo going.

groundhog day-ass show. it's hysterical. I can't be normal about how mask-off blatant this all is now.

and to follow this up to andor of all things. really clinches it, you know. no notes. just no notes, disney. tens across the board

[vetinarivimesy]

Gargh I genuinely wish I liked this show more - I like the returning characters, I loved all the intriguing hints of new lore stuff, aesthetically it looked fantastic... The casting was mostly perfection. I could even (mostly) put aside my increasing annoyance at post-Lucas-Star War's increasingly negative stance on the jedi that seems to be influenced by the fans who were adults when the Prequels/90s films came out who insist that those films were all about how the jedi were evil actually, when... No seriously those films were aimed at 12 year olds how did the very basic genocide is bad actually message fly over their heads so collectively?

​But ye gods I really felt the whole, Filoni's been working on 20 minute episodes his whole career with this one. 

I think the thing that properly tipped me over from, I'm enjoying this show, but it's frequently frustrating, because I am unfortunately a fan with opinions... into no, this thing is just frustrating as the finale rolled to its extremely predictable end that he'd not so much done an Empire ending, as promised, yet again, to answer the questions he'd been posing throughout next time... Only next time is hardly guaranteed, as sadly epitomised by the waste of Ray Stephenson's rather intriguing character - let alone the way both Claudia Black and Wes Chatham were essentially one step above being glorified extras.

Eh I liked Mando S3 and even BoBF I adored Andor and Kenobi - I'm hardly impartial. I even quite like Ahsoka for what it was, rather than allowing my sheer annoyance at what it wasn't get me too enraged at all the George Lucas never implied that moments with his worldbuilding - stated very publicly to be the opposite to Filoni's takes several times.

I loved the new galaxy, the Purrgils, getting to see the Rebels gang again, most of the Baylan and Shin stuff and Claudia Black getting to be a terrifying Nightmother, the Kintsugi troopers, and the extremely blatant Stargate type worldbuilding can I copy your homework stuff. Even Huyang in live action, as frustrating as the constant jedi-negging by proxy was... Ezra was perfect. Love the little crab people and seeing Chopper, as toned down for live action as he was.

But Filoni, Dave, Hat-Man, please, if you're going to do glacial and epic mysteries that end on an Empire style cliffhanger at least give us some reassurance that you have a plan and know how all the plot-threads are going to go? And that your worldbuilding is in fact internally consistent actually and not just based on vibes with some degree of yeah this does have coherence... The occassional utterly incoherent aside, for you to go oh yeah, the New Republic are all fucking terrible actually, as bad as the space nazis actually, moments were not reassuring. And in the hands of a different writer I'd have been fascinated by the Sabine getting the force stuff... But I really sincerely do not trust you with this.

You keep leaving extremely important character and worldbuilding moments off-screen, not even summed up, just stated in a sentence then rapidly glossed over. With excruciating lengths of time given to portentious dialogue and incoherent ramblings about how the jedi deserved their own genocide actually.

No? Too much to ask? One and a half plot-threads proved too much to keep spinning..?

Of which, admittedly James SA Corey/David Abraham/Ty Franck you are not you could barely keep one plot thread going coherently let alone the half-dozen or so they kept spinning all the way through.

Actually, no, you know what. Fuck it. This has annoyed me enough that I am going to go off and watch Wes Chatham not be utterly wasted in a glorified extra role, in a sci-fi series featuring mysterious rings and huge conspiracy theories by corporate and fascistic government powers alike fuelled by greed and capriciousness but above all about humanity overcoming.

At least that one doesn't flanderise its own characters and worldbuilding for the rule of cool, and the at times seemingly glacial (but not actually) very deliberately paced plot actually serves a purpose that comes together into something spectacular.

Its that or Farscape to wash the bad taste out. But that's another property heavy on the evil space fascists who never quite seem to get an in-universe comeuppance.