#so far Raj seems to be winning

[sewermageboy]

Twirling my hair kicking my feet every time Raj thanks me for gifting them a cup of coffee (that I bought 2 seconds ago from their coffee stand)

[ethicaltreatmentofcowplants]

Asylum Challenge: Days One & Two

For the first two days, the Watcher mostly used the gameplay to beef up the one means she's using to organize the townies: clubs. There are two: a chore/self care club and a socialisation club. By the end of Day Two, we had eight members in them all and had redeemed points to give them a 'friendly' vibe.

The first of Lilac's four aspirations that she has to complete, according to the rules, is Painter Extraordinaire. Here's her progress after Day One.

Level One: III at Easel

✅ Paint for 5 Hours ❌ Start 3 Paintings While Inspired (2/3)

With such a motley crew as this, clashes were inevitable - and an occult combustion spontaneously occurred.

I regret to inform you that Vlad, with his nighttime strength perks, won the rematch after dinner, so for now they are tied.

Some friendly interactions also bloomed, with Lilac, Ted and fellow foodie L. appreciating maxed out chef Raj Rasoya's tasty dinner, and Lilac even sharing her joke about a sage, a corrupt mayor and a wanted criminal who one day walked into an asylum.

"We've heard this one before," said L.

Meredith and Jacques also joined them. So far everyone seems to like Meredith, possibly because of her GOOD trait, and even Jacques has been somewhat behaving himself.

After dinner it was reading, cleaning, napping and shower time via the house/self care club rules. MEAN L. Faba and EVIL Ted naturally hit it off, with Meredith electing to leave them to bond about... likely nothing good for the rest of us.

What was Raj doing lurking in the garden? Well, at that point there was only one toilet, so likely he was making use of the party bush.

The too-bright hallway lighting showing off his melanin-deficient charms to the fullest, Vlad attempted to win over Meredith, but where his EVIL trait didn't dissuade her, his uncontrolled hissing and spitting did the rest. Better luck another day, Vladdy.

And then as the witching hour struck, the Watcher realised that there was one Sim whose needs she wouldn't have to monitor too closely...

I truly have no idea why there were so few pictures from Day Two - maybe I had been struggling with the lighting and finally conceding defeat (three days so far have been played, so by Day Four it should be better :x). Meredith was on cooking duty, so the Sims got good eats for the second day in a row... including Vlad who joined in spite of that trait that makes him sick when he eats food.

Both he and the party bushes were later ruing his choice.

Level Two: Fine Artist

✅ Reach Painting Level 4 ✅ Sell 3 Paintings to Collectors or the Art Gallery ❌ Complete 3 Emotional Paintings (1/3)

Lilac painted enough to reach Level 2 of her aspiration, and even earned a stan in the process, who turned out to be Eleanor Sullivan. Haven't you darkened our doors enough by calling my teenaged Sims who don't even have children?

Fortunately L. was around to deal with the nuisance.

Upon setting this up, I'm realising just how ungainly it is to switch between the game and Paint 3D in order to take multiple screencaps, so hopefully C becomes more instinctual (also screencaps keep things in chronological order). More happens in Day Three, I promise.

[animationadventures]

Total Drama time!

I loved the pole standing challenge. It reminded me of the Awake-a-thon challenge back in season one, where character interactions were the focus over action.

Bowie and Millie were the highlights this time. Bowie found the phone he had chucked into the lake at MK's elimination, and dropped out of the challenge so he could possibly gain information he could use for moving forward. It led to him seeing a cute Raj confessional, and finding out about Millie's notebook, which he seems to have a plan for.

For Millie, we see her finally changing her mind about writing her book after Priya's delirious prodding about why she's really on the show even though she gives up so easily on challenges. Millie just doesn't understand her generation, and feels like an outcast as a result; she thought by documenting stuff she could figure it out and realized that writing all the negative things about her castmates could be hurtful. As an introvert who doesn't understand some of the stupid things people do, I totally understand where she's coming from.

Chase and Emma seemed to reach a boiling point. As it turns out, Chase has done a lot more unhinged stuff than just cutting the brakes on Emma's car. As Julia aptly phrased it, he gets worse the more he opens his mouth. To make matters worse, they get back together at the end of the episode because Emma thought he was sacrificing himself to knock out the other campers so she could win, but he was really just going after the pizza.

Not upset about Chase leaving. It was time for him to go, and he bailed out of the challenge for the pizza. I think so far he's had the happiest elimination out of everyone; he got back together with his ex-girlfriend and got to keep the pizza so he could eat it.

Please watch the Total Drama reboot on Cartoon Network as many times as you can. Also stream it on Max as many times as you can too. This is the only way we can convince executives that we want a third season with this cast.

[itsprjc]

Well, Season 2 of TDI Reloaded (TDI Rematch) has had its first four episodes out for about a week. I figured I’d share my thoughts about what we’ve gotten so far:

-The challenges are a little more fun than in Season 1. They have a good amount of variety and the often led to really fun moments between the characters. From the Skunks clogging the toilet slide, to basically all the Rat Faces being carried by Caleb, and of course the AB questions challenge. My girlfriend and I straight up paused the episode each question to try and guess the answers. (We got over half of them right.) As for my personal ranks on the challenges:

-Taking it to the Rim Reaper (Ep. 2): Memorable concept, without going too overboard with it. Also, I’m a bit of a simpleton sucker for the pratfalls.

-Choosin’ for a Bruisin’ (Ep. 4): Great challenge for both character insights and just playing along with it during a first-time viewing.

-You Poor Saps (Ep. 3): I technically prefer Ep.1’s challenge, but this one led to so many gold character moments.

-The Pink Painter Strikes Again (Ep.1): Solid start. Simple challenge, nothing too crazy.

-Animation is pretty much on the same level as Season 1. The facial expressions are GOLD! I’d argue some parts feel more dynamic than Season 1, like the slide moments in Episode 2, but overall, no complaints.

-The characters feel like they never left:

-Priya: I kinda get why she’d fall hard for Caleb, as keep in mind, she’s been stuck with this training with hardly any friends. This also explaining why she instantly jumped to befriending Millie when it seemed they got along. It’s clear that she does value the friendship as she was the only one to give Millie a chance after Episode 2. She also did work as an effective leader in the same episode, instantly taking advantage of the challenge’s slide order rule. Overall, I’m okay with Priya.

-Bowie: I dig his plot. Bowie made it clear at the end of Season 1 that he’s willing to bend the rules…and it’s clear that he probably cares about Raj more. Since people are more weary of him after the finale, it makes sense to have his conflict be more about whether he’d play dirty again. Also, this joker in Episode 4! As a captain (assuming those roles are official) I feel Priya’s more effective, though.

Millie: It’s clear she had alot more learning to do about being a good friend. (I still say both her and Damien could have taken the two-point slide together if they were both weary on the third.) Though her elimination was pretty anticlimactic, unfortunately. I do prefer her in Season 1, but I’m not against the plot they gave her.

Julia & MK: I’m putting them both together because they’re basically a package deal this time around. Overall, live their dynamic. It was a sudden jump from animosity to friendship, but that’s just because they know game when they see it. They have so much fun just being underhanded together, and it’s honestly a refreshing take on villain alliances. While I’d say MK is the breakout of the two, since she’s the brains of the whole alliance, Julia’s dialogue is so on point that it hurts. My hopes is that MK does succeed in backstabbing Julia, but she doesn’t even get mad. She just respects a player and roots for her to win…underhandedly, of course.

Emma: Compared to Millie…honestly not that mixed. I’m glad she cut the chord with Chase early and she got him booted in a clever way. The one thing that’s kinda backwards is how she ends up being a poor judge of character in Episode 4 when she basically red Chase like a book in Episode 2. But then again, I guess that’s just chalked down to being used to his sorry butt the most?

Chase: Everybody (including me) called that he’d be an early boot…and he was. I’m perfectly content with that, as it’s clear that character development was never the end-goal with Chase. And the moment he left, the Skunk Butts became the de facto best team. Props on his ballsy attempt to outrun the balloons in challenge 1, though.

Zee: All I wanted from Zee in Season 2 is for him to still be Zee…Good news, Zee is still Zee. I honestly got worried the “soda influencer” plot would be a cheap and easy way to make him an early boot…and they make him Papa Zee instead. I love this lanky boy.

Ripper: My one complaint on Ripper is that he feels like he’s really not there that much. In Episode 2, he disappears for a good while until the mid-end. And he doesn’t really get to interact with his new team that much. The only real time he interacts with the other skunks is when he asks about how to approach Axel. Let’s talk about Ripaxel…I honestly really wanna see what they do with it! It is a little sudden how it starts, but in its defense, so was Rajbow. Their interactions in Episode 3 were fun to watch, and that POEM. Hey, fanfic writers…Raj and Ripper having a poetry battle…think about it. Despite him disappearing sometimes, what we do get from him is enjoyable. Here’s to more!

Wayne and Raj: My boys are untouched! The one blessing is that they NEVER went for some stupid jealousy plot! (Wayne cares too much for Raj for petty stuff like that.) And they are arguably goofier than in Season 1. (Shoutouts to them wanting burgers after seeing the slides and the “Cyclone-Spin Cycle”) It is funny how many people (again, including me) wanted to see their mischievous side more, but instead the boys are even bigger boy scouts with their understandable disgust at cheating. While I still think one leaving earlier is more likely, I really, REALLY hope that they stick for a little. Imagine them against Julia and MK for at least an episode or two! And while I still would love a Damien VS. MK finale, Wayne or Raj VS. MK works great! Fair and honest player against a crafty cheater. It would be gold!

Damien: I’m really holding out for him since he’s pretty much jogging in place a bit. Sure, he wants to take more risks, but it’s not to a great extent. Then again, the season’s only gotten started. I just hope his crafty side comes out more later. He’s not too afraid anymore, so now he needs to push his brains to the forefront.

Scary Girl: I dig the “Lauren” design. Unfortunately, the “normal” bit wasn’t really used all that much, as she barely had a presence in Episode 1. She had some small scenes, but nothing outstanding until she got herself eliminated. Though given how she was enjoyable, but pretty one-note last season, I feel she works well as a first-boot. Will she return to stalk everyone? Who knows. Probably.

Nichelle: I dig her more confident attitude. Part of me wishes we saw her gaining that confidence DURING the season, rather than all that development being off-screen, though. It makes sense for her to train beforehand, but I would have just as easily liked her having a bit of fire in her and then training throughout the season. As she is, I like how she’s so done with her old Hollywood life. Hopefully she does interact with Damien more, as they seem to have a friendship growing.

Axel: Besides MK, Axel was the biggest relief of the S1 pre-mergers. She’s still hostile and hardcore, but I find her showings of care towards the team being well-needed additions. Examples being her helping Damien back to camp after the four-point slide, and her warning her team to be cautious about getting stuck with the sap. I already said my piece on Ripaxel, so my personal hope is that there is a survival or stealth challenge where the two have to work together. (Ala Hide and Be Sneaky, Eat, Puke, and be Wary, or Hurl and Go Seek if you wanna count the “zombie” thing.)

Caleb: Caleb was simple, and he still kinda is. I like how paranoid he was in Episode 1, but overall he’s just a more effective Justin. I do prefer him over Justin, as he can be a massive asset to the team, as shown in Episode 3. Like Zee, I’m fine with him as is, and can only wait and see what he does in later episodes. Will his alliance become genuine romance or just a tool for Caleb to outlast Priya? Probably the ladder, as he doesn’t seem to show any romantic interest in her that feels genuine.

And that’s Total Drama Island Rematch so far. Tomorrow should be the debuts of Episodes 5 and 6, so here’s to a great season. I was honestly shocked at how much I loved this cast, and how refreshing it felt seeing the show after a seven (eight if you ignore Ridonculous) year hiatus. I will be making sure to watch the series again when it comes to MAX in seventy years. As for whether or not I wanna see the Gen 4 cast again…I’ll probably be content with them stopping their run after Season 2. Reloaded and Rematch work as just two halves of a nice little package, and I really don’t want them to risk having this lovable cast go through what Gen 1 did. If we do get a new season, I’d be fine with them having a new cast. Fans will probably like them as much as they do with Gen 4.

[hughjidiot]

Thoughts on Season 2, Episode 1 of the Total Drama Island Reboot

So I still haven't seen season one of the reboot in full, only bits and pieces. (IDK what the hell is going on with the US release schedule.) But I've seen enough to get a feel for the plot and characters, and it seems really good. Now the second episode of season two has been leaked and I was able to watch it in full, so here are my thoughts. Spoilers below the cut, obviously.

So Priya is mentioned multiple times as being the season one winner, and to my knowledge Bowie's ending hasn't aired anywhere. Some are wondering if Bowie will even get an ending, but I think he will - alternate winners have been a thing in Total Drama since the beginning, and the finale of the season one was shot in a way that the winner can be interchangeable. So I'm pretty sure Bowie will get an ending where he canonically wins.

Not sure how long Priya, Milie and Bowie will stick around to be honest, since they already got a lot of screentime in season one. Pretty sure Bowie will stick around for a little bit to give us some Rajbow, but I'm not sure about Priya and Millie.

Speaking of Millie, she continues to be her socially awkward self. It's also a nice change of pace to see her genuinely trying at the challenge, even if she still isn't very good.

Caleb is an interesting one. He's obviously still bitter about being voted off first last time, and now he's determined to prove himself. Some have been predicting that he could evolve into a full on antagonist like Justin did in TDA, but I think it's still too early to tell one way or the other. If they go the antagonist route I at least hope he's better than Justin was, who was basically just Alejandro's buggy prototype.

Chase and Emma broke up offscreen, which I'm honestly glad for. I hope this doesn't lead to another "will they/won't they" that lasts for much of the season. In fact if I'm being honest I kind of hope Chase is an early boot and Emma finally moves on to someone who can actually treat her right. That'd be some good development on Emma's part.

Ripper... I'll be honest, he's one of my least favorite contestants of the new generation. He does fit his role of an obnoxious jerk, I'll give him that. But if I'm being honest I hope he's also an early boot because there are other characters far more deserving of screentime; particularly those that got eliminated instead of Ripper back in season one. Which leads me to...

Axel is one of the contestants I'm most excited to see in season two. She's the newest in the "abrasive tomboy" archetype after Eva and Jo. Eva never got any major character development and Jo always stayed a jerk with the occasional moment of kindness, so I was hoping Axel would be the one to break the trend and get some real character development. What we've seen so far with her saying she's trying to be nicer has me cautiously optimistic.

Speaking of character development, how about Nichelle? I and many others expected her to get training and become a stronger contestant, but I wasn't expecting to see evidence of that right off the bat in the first episode! She's another contestant I'll be watching closely.

Damien didn't do a whole lot, which kind of surprised me. Damien was at the top of my list for being a major character in season two, after he lost in season one right as he vowed to start taking the game seriously. But that can still happen; it's only episode one after all, and you can't frontload the first episode with every single plotline right away.

Seeing Julia and MK being on good terms and showing mutual respect was something I didn't see coming after how things went down between them in season one. But you know what, I'm here for an MK/Julia alliance arc. Also MK is my favorite character of the new generation and I look forward to seeing her schemes, especially after she talked about getting her hands on an intern uniform.

Wayne and Raj are wildcards to me, I honestly have no idea how long they'll last or what their specific plots will be. But like I said earlier with Bowie, I think at least he and Raj will stick around for at least a little while for Rajbow. It's genuinely one of the best written couples the show has given us.

Zee I don't picture getting very far. As much as I like Zee he already made it fairly far in season one, and not sure how much material they can get out of his whole "influencer" arc.

Last but not least, Lauren AKA Scary Girl. As a fan of her it hurt to see her voted off first, but I understand; there's other characters that are far more deserving of screentime, and Lauren is pretty one note. That being said, it's obvious we haven't seen the last of Lauren. I'm guessing she'll pull an Ezekiel and keep sneaking back onto to the show to disrupt things.

And that's everything. So far I'm really enjoying this new season and I'll be following it closely.

[everysongieverwrote]

Under the Bridge flying under the radar because Hulu just had Shogun is so unfortunate. Not that Shogun doesn’t deserve all the attention and appreciation it’s getting. (It’s literally is the best thing on TV since the earlier seasons of Game of Thrones). However a smaller show with smaller budget is so easy to get sidelined come award season. Especially considering how both of them are limited series and will be competing in the same categories.

But yeah hats off to the performance of every single actor. Even though at times I felt like Roy, Scott, Manjit, and Kelly come off like caricatures, they reign it back in pretty quick. My favorite performances so far have been the portrayals of Suman, Raj, and Warren. Their performances feel so grounded and seasoned. And such great work by the teens who did Jo, Dusty, and Reena too. It’s so refreshing to watch actual kids play kids.

And what can I say about Lily and Riley that hasn’t been said already. I genuinely believe they’re two of our finest actors in the show business right now. The way they light up the screen is so magical to watch. And it doesn’t even feel like the directors have to do anything special when they’re performing. They’re both just really good and steal every scene they’re in. So lucky that we get to witness their greatness together.

I'm gonna be honest here, I haven't watch Shogun yet (it's on my watchlist tho) but I've kept up with the Emmy talk and from what I've gathered, a lot of people have decided that when it comes to limited series, Shogun is the clear winner as best series and RDJ might win for best performance (and I get it the guy just won an Oscar). Many don't think that shows like Under The Bridge and We Were The Lucky Ones (Hulu's most recent limited series) are gonna get nominated, but that Lily Gladstone will get nominated for an Emmy. That's all just speculation, of course. But I can see where they're coming from. It's also kinda funny that the two Hulu shows that are being a little sidelined deal with kinda similar themes but who am I to judge?

Obviously, this is also a kind of "side-effect" from the strikes. The shows could've been released with more space between them (UTB seems like the perfect fall/winter show, doesn't it?) But many productions were stopped or delayed during the strikes and now everyone has a bunch of shows ready to go and an Emmy deadline getting nearer and nearer everyday. Maybe if Hulu wasn't trying to get all their Emmy qualifying shows out before May 31st, the show would have gotten a bigger chance to truly shine. But hey, both the show and Lily already got nominated for a Gotham Award, so there's hope for the Emmys, at least.

I know I've praised the show a lot (and it totally deserves it) but the show is, of course, not perfect. No show ever is. Take the latest episode for example, the character arcs and storyline were great, and the acting was absolutely amazing but there were too many cuts and some of them were kind of awkward and a little... brutal. Some of the acting is a little cringe at times, which might be intentional in the actor's case (it might be with Kelly, she has to come off a certain way, so I don't blame Izzy G for some of her acting choices) or it might be that some of the actors have difficulty saying the lines and acting the way is necessary for their characters. It might be the writing or the directing, while an actor can make or break a scene, so can the writing and directing choices. And some of the lines and angles are a little bit awkward, ngl. But all in all, the show is great and it truly deserves more attention but I know that this kind of show is not everyone's cup of tea and I'm glad it has so far only attracted the people who have a true interest in it.

Lily and Riley are absolutely amazing, both separate and together. I'm slowly turning into their fan, I truly want to see more of their work... but later, of course. Right now they're Cam and Becca for me and I like it that way. I realize that was a long rant and I'm sorry but I truly have a lot of things to say about this show.

[foxdoesshit]

I think I’m feeling actual dread over next Monday. they cannot fuck up these episodes I’m so terrified of them fucking up some of the current plot lines. like

I’ve seen the episode titles for ep 5, and it’s an ice episode and if they get rid of raj or Wayne pre merge I will riot. and then there’s the possibility of mk getting medically evacuated. WHICH. FUCK. NO. if they get rid of mk pre merge, there’s no villain this season. caleb doesn’t seem evil and Julia is obviously not making it far. AND IF THE DOUBLE ELIM THIS SEASON IS RAJ AND WAYNE, AGAIN. I WILL KILL. raj especially needs this development. I’d prefer both but. if they’re getting one out pre merge. Wayne’s who I hope they get rid of. I want raj to win so bad. whenever I get into a td season there’s a specific group of characters I like. rn it’s the remainder of team skunk butt. I do not give a shit about any of the plots on the rat faces besides Axel. Nichelle is boring as hell rn, and the Caleb alliance plot is. SO. annoying. they fucked up getting rid of Millie and Emma so early because I wanted to see them develop. but no. they have to be eliminated for priya. fuck that. okay rant over.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Did you finish the S2 of the Total Drama Reboot (all the eps are out already) ? I did and while the season started strong the ending flopped badly imo.

Incoming spoilers (and long rant) if you haven't watched it yet:

The winner is not it I'm sorry. Wayne is a cool character but he had zero stand outs moments to justify his win. They tried to recreate Owen's win in Island but at least Owen was really strong in some challenges (including destroying the main villain Heather in the final 3 challenge). Wayne literally flopped hard in almost all of the challenges this season and then got hard carried by his best friend's boyfriend in the final 3 for his win. Also I don't understand how he got so many enthusiastic supporters when Raj and Bowie were the only characters he interacted with from that group, especially cause he didn't even need them as Bowie literally did almost all the work for him by himself.

Julia dominated this season but it felt hollow, she quite literally had no opposition left after she got Bowie booted off. Imagine if Heather got booted in the middle point of World Tour and Alejandro just freely dominated his way into a final 3 with the likes of DJ and Cody (which he somehow would've still lost just to have one of the good guys win). That's pretty much how I felt about the final 3 from this season. Mkulia (and their cheating conflict with Bowraj) did carry the first half, so I'm gonna give them that.

Priyaleb literally got turned into a Skave 2.0 with their flip floppity mess drama just without the "Keith" plot point at the end to bomb out their relationship completely. They turned Priya into a Courtney knock-off who's more obsessed with revenge and winning (even tho she already won a season) than her own boyfriend. She even seems to despise Caleb's personality and is only in love with the idea of having a hot boyfriend (just like Courtney seemed in love with the thrill of being with a bad boy than Duncan himself and we know how that relationship ended up). Honestly if they bring up this couple for another season they're def gonna have a huge messy break up, I just don't see them lasting with the way they've been portrayed in these last S2 eps.

Ngl but I actually enjoyed Ripaxel, even tho they were just the gross comedic relief side couple. Surprisingly Ripper treated Axel like a Queen (unlike Caleb who just kept embarrassing his girl over and over on international tv) and Axel stopped abusing him completely after they started dating, so they're unironically one of the healthiest TDI couples so far. And even tho they're the horny couple at least Ripper really does seem to have genuine feelings for her unlike Priya for Caleb.

And I really hated the Hockey Bros flanderization this season. Last season they were dumb himbos but they were still very competent in the team challenges, heck arguably the best overall from their team. But this season they literally got turned into man children who probably wouldn't be able to cross the street without Bowie around to take them by their hands. Which literally didn't make sense at all when this season was supposed to focus more on them than the last one.

They really had Millie go crazy in that one ep and almost kill Damien just to win a challenge, but honestly I kinda dig that. Her team was so boring that they needed at least one (secretly) unhinged member.

Bowie was clearly weaker as a character this season but he still served. Scary Girl was technically in only 2 episodes and you know she still SERVED. I didn't really care about the other characters this season tbf.

So overall it might still not be the worst season (I mean All Stars and Pahkitew still exist) but season 1 of the Reboot was def superior imo. While I'm not opposed to at least some of this cast coming back in a future season I really hope they create a new cast beforehand if they get the greenlight for new seasons cause they're already exhausting all the plotlines for this one and some of them already started to become flanderized. At the very least they should add new characters and change the location to shake things up if they still want to go ahead with this cast.

So Yes, I did finish Season 2

And much like season 1 I found it mid. I think Season 1 ended stronger, but started pretty weak. While Season 2 was the reverse

I did think it had a promising start, I even liked how Priya and Kaleb were set up for the drama. But after the reveal it kind of... fizzled out. Like they could have milked the drama more and Priya had a right to want revenge but Priya was never such a super angry revenge person before and it felt weird.

They turned Caleb into a complete idiot after they resolved the arc. He was smart, just not game show savvy. That was his thing.

I wouldnt call it anywhere CLOSE to the atrocity that was Skave. But it was a lot less fun. At least Priya calmed down at the end.

But the moment the season went down hill for me was when Damien got eliminated.

I really felt they were setting him up for something good in the character arc department but they didnt. I knew he was doomed the moment he found the immunity idol but it would have been a nice inversion to have HIM use it.

And lets be real, I didnt care about the final 3 at all, I knew Julia wasnt going to win because lets face it she is basically Diet Heather.

They even did something to her hair like Heather.

As for Wayne winning. I didnt care, it was going to be him or Caleb.

Season 2 could have used more Scary Girl. Every scene she was in was gold.

I also appreciated the tasteful cameos of Owen. MacArthur and the Tennis pros.

It wasnt anything awful, but i did find it fizzled out in the later half.

[drivingsideways]

On watching Pathaan

I don't want to talk about the film itself, which was a shock to my system- it's been several decades since I watched a Bollywood "masala" film, so I'd evidently missed the part where they've apparently forgotten almost entirely how to make those. The Bollywood masala films I grew up with weren't clever or technically fabulous or intellectually satisfying (though a few were all of those); that wasn't what you went to the theatre for. You went to feel twenty different emotions in the space of two hours and forty five minutes, and come out (literally) sweaty and fulfilled, with a earworm that wouldn't leave you for a month. Pathaan ostensibly belongs to that category of films except that it's not: it's a film that seems afraid of emotions, big or small; of dialogues with multi syllable words; of silences, of empty spaces; in the end it's a film that resists both thought and feeling, and provides only simulacrums of both.

And yet?

This entirely made-by-subcommittee exercise in soullessness is rescued by one fact: that it has Shahrukh Khan. You cannot, physically, make a movie without feeling once it has Shahrukh in it. You can try (and boy, does Sidharth Anand try ) but if you want to see how one man's personality entirely WARPS a narrative, just consider this: "Pathaan" never gets a "real" name onscreen. He's not Raj, Rahul or Kabir. He's just Pathaan: a man adopted by an entire village in Afghanistan; and adopted here, in his "homeland" as well; at this point in his career, everyone knows that Shahrukh is of Pathaan ancestry himself, so the movie is literally just calling him what someone probably once called his grandfather or great grandfather.

See: if this had been an Akshay or Ajay or even Salman movie, it would have been nothing but crass misogyny and militant nationalistic jingoism start to finish and it doesn't entirely escape either of those things even now; but the moment you have Shahrukh and those eyes of his which feel everything, and show everything, you just can't make that film. You'd be laughed out of the room. The movie had to literally acknowledge this when it has a character say of "Pathaan": the others are calculated, methodical, but Pathaan? He thinks with his heart.

Yeah, baby. That's blorbocore, ok?

You can't think your way to Shahrukh, you can't reason your way to him; you have to feel him. It's a binary state: you either do, or you don't. It has been that way since he burst into national consciousness with Fauji (1989) , big nosed and pimply-skinned; and it's that way now, when he's fifty seven and got six pack abs and smooth skin in post.

You have to look into his eyes and see the truth there: (love conquers everything)

Every tiny bit of truth gleaming gold in the muddy riverbed that is Pathaan comes not from the elements of the film itself, but from who Shahrukh Khan is, to us, in this moment of our history; who he has been to us in the last three decades; the man who made grannies and children laugh and cry; who set the standards that women of my generation would judge men against; our sona, our kintsugi, in a country that always seems to be on the verge of an irreparable fracture, and somehow, so far, hasn't given up. We shouldn't exist, yet here we are. We don't know where we'll be tomorrow, but that's for tomorrow.

I know there are many reasons for Pathaan's success, but one of them, surely ,is this: that we wanted him to win. Nobody in public life in the last three decades has embodied our ridiculous, laughable dreams and our spectacular failures as he has; he was-and is- our guy, hamara, the one who said watch me , I'm going to do the impossible, and it's going to be fun. And we did. I know people are watching Pathaan for all sorts of reasons, but one of them is surely this: that we loved him in the way we love ourselves, that we missed him in the way we miss ourselves; that when the chips were down, we came out to see this ageing superstar reinvent himself, do the impossible once more; that when we walked into that theatre, we were saying, go on, shona, do your thing, we're watching you, we're still here.

[thefandomenchantress]

So I finally watched the new season (and four episodes of season two) of Total Drama, and I actually ended up liking it! Well, except for all the gross-out humor, but I’ve hated that aspect since the original series, so that’s not much of a surprise. Here, take some random thoughts:

I didn’t think I would like the character designs after seeing them floating around on my fyp a few times and my brain was like ‘old=good, new=bad’ and missed the old characters. But only an episode in I actually really started to like them and now I love basically every character design. Particularly Priya, Millie, Axel, and MK’s. They just make my brain happy for some reason.

Speaking of MK, I love her so much. She’s so cool and i hope either her or Axel wins season two, even though I don’t think that’s all too likely.

Speaking of MK again, I’m hard-core shipping her and Julia, please let them be girlfriends or at least have more awesome moments together I love them.

As previously mentioned, I hope Axel wins and therefore I like her a lot. She probably has my favorite character design, and she’s so badass. I wonder if the producers saw how Shawn was basically the only generally well-received character from Pahkitew besides Jasmine and so they brought back his zombie thing (and he’s an Easter egg during Axel’s intro). Since Shawn won Pahkitew, I doubt they’d let another Zombie-obsessed teen win the million, but hopefully I’m wrong.

The Axel and Ripper ship was…Unexpected, but I’m a huge multishipper who will ship basically anything as long as it’s not, like, incest or a ginormous age gap or something. So of course I think it’s pretty cute. It kinda came out of nowhere and I wish they would’ve shown Ripper realizing he likes Axel instead of him just suddenly stating that he does, but oh well.

Wayne constantly calling Raj ‘Raj-y’ all the time was such a cute dialog quirk to show how the two of them are close friends. Plus, Wayne being aggressively supportive of Raj coming out was my favorite thing ever.

Oh and Bowie and Raj’s relationship was adorable, obviously. That one moment where Raj says (talking about Bowie, paraphrased) ‘Yeah, he looks good…I MEAN he’s doing good! That’s what I said.’ Was so cute I loved it.

Julia secretly being evil wasn’t really too much of a twist for me, but it didn’t bother me that it was treated as one, since after an episode or two it’s just accepted that she’s pure evil, and she just gets worse and worse and honestly I can respect that.

I always thought All-Stars and especially Revenge of the Island felt rushed, or at least could’ve majorly benefited from having more episodes like the first three seasons, but strangely enough I think the pacing felt pretty good in this season’s 13 episodes. It felt like every character was actually explored properly but still had potential stored for the second season.

Speaking of potential, Caleb got voted out first in season one and so far I like what they’re doing with him in season two. He’s like Justin but less over-the-top and he actually seems pretty likable. I love how it’s not completely clear if Caleb knows if Priya has a crush on him or not, and while you’re inclined to assume he does and he’s just using her thanks to Alejandro and Justin’s legacy, he never says ‘oh, Priya’s into me and is easy to manipulate so I’m going to form an Alliance with her”. So I’m excited to see what happens with him.

Chase and Emma are a train wreck of a couple and I’m so glad season two started with them hating each other and ended with the two of them hating each other before they got voted off. I’m kinda sad to see Emma go so soon, though. Realistically, I think Priya would’ve gone home that challenge, since she made Emma pick the wrong answer during the challenge, but the writers need her around for the plot so Emma is voted off instead.

I think the writers didn’t know what to do with Chase and Emma now that they hate each other forever, so they just had them leave early and that’s kinda sad.

I was a little worried I wouldn’t like Bowie but after I made it through the first few episodes I quickly realized I actually really like him! He’s a ruthless player, but not over-the-top evil and I think that’s cool.

Scary Girl (Lauren) reminds me way too much of Veronika Grebenshikova oh my god. They have a similar fashion sense and personality. I really hope Scary Girl follows through on her threat to come back and make people pay or whatever, that would be very fun to watch. Also her efforts to become normal for a whole year only for people to vote her off for being creepy is weirdly very sad to me. She tried so hard to fit in and failed. But she did say she hid in their closets and stalked them, (was that true or was she kidding?), so I guess it makes sense everyone freaked out.

Chef is so…nice this season? I don’t know, but he seems a lot more caring for the campers. I’m not complaining, we kinda need someone to balance out Chris’s insanity.

I…Think that’s all? I might add more later, but for now that’s all I can think of.

[t-d-w-t]

So I decided to do a theory for each cast member.

(This is just for fun!!)

Priya: she looks like she would be good with teamwork and leadership (based on her clothes). If people were arguing she would try to calmly meditate the situation, but then she would raise her voice and everyone would just stop what they were doing and stare at her. Also she would correct people (even Chris) on anything and that would annoy everyone (and I mean everyone). She would make it also to the quarter finals but get eliminated during quarter finals.

Millie: mom friend of the group. She would try to get everyone (on her team) to get along but she’ll probably only be on good terms with one or two of them. She won’t make it too far but a couple of ppl will be sad to see her go (on both teams).

Ripper: seems creative to me. Nice and friendly. Would go around the same time as Millie. One of Millie’s friends/alliance member (maybe). Would try to seem tough so ppl wouldn’t send them home. But will get caught in a trap set by either axel or Bowie.

Damien: would try to date/flirt with nichelle, Julia, or, Caleb. Friendly to everyone but a little bit more friendlier to three mentioned above. Competitive but won’t resort to cheating (towards the end maybe). Opened minded and would maybe get along well with Bowie because of fashion.

Axel: she will be portrayed as a villain. She’ll do whatever it takes to get her team to win. A lot of people will not like her and some might even hate her. But she will make a secret alliance with Bowie (because they will have similar personalities). She’ll have both the physical strength and a master manipulator. She either make it to the final two or get eliminated because of some discrepancy.

Chase: a nice guy. I’ll feel like he’ll try to end up with priya or emma. Clumsy but nice.

Zee: Too nice for their own good. Will probably be in an alliance with Millie. Everyone will like them tho. I also feel like they’ll be crafty (not the manipulative kind). They will be a big help when the teams need to create something

Scary girl: honestly a wild card. Idk what to make of her

Caleb: dreamboat. Won’t say many lines. I think Bowie and him will have something going on ;) he will be an easy distraction for the other team (show off his good looks). May be eliminated little before the quarter finals

Nichelle: (already posted this but I wanna add this here) would make it finale simply because people didn’t see her as threat. Like they were preoccupied with someone else that they needed to get rid of first and then they realize that Nichelle is left.

Julia: would try to be manipulative but will end up getting manipulated. Likes either Wayne or raj. Idk why but u feel like she would be good at knitting, like whenever she gets anxious, she pulls out some knitting needles out of thin air and starts knitting.

Bowie: Master manipulator. Will make a secret alliance with axel. When they are arriving at the island, they’ll make a strong impression (like Heather in season 1). Will judge everyone’s fashion sense.

Wayne and Raj: hate to say this but I’ll think they be the lovable jocks. But as the season progresses one of them is gonna fall in love with either Nichelle or Julia. And the other is gonna tell the other to focus on the game.

Emma: the beginning she’ll be nice to everyone (so they don’t get voted off) but somewhere towards the middle/end she’ll just loose her mind and become desperate to win. Turing her back on everyone and for it’s every man for themselves

Mk: Helpful. Very good at building challenges. Too nice for their own good. Voted off but a good sport about it

(I made this thread BEFORE the reboot came out, I haven’t seen it yet because it’s not available where I am, but I hope u enjoy and remember this is all got fun!)

[quackle]

With how the season is going so far, who would you want to be in the final three??

s2 '23 spoilers under cut!!!

please please please please PLEASE can we get a raj/damien/mk final three PLEASE........ reasons are as follows:

raj- you can't tell me he's not giving protagonist this season, especially after bowie's elimination. i just think the parallels of him being in the final three, where he's the no cheating, plays fair kinda dude, would work really well when you examine it next to bowie from last season, who was kinda cut throat with his whole anti-prillie scheme (i'm always a supporter of parallels). i think it would be really cool if he actually won and showed that you don't need to play all mean and unfair to win the game.

damien- i'm one of his biggest fans and i just simply think he should win a million bucks tbh🧍🏾‍♀️ it's damien time! let him conquer! give him a bigger plot PLEASE...... he's got the brains and it seems like in this season, he's (doing his best at) conquering his fears of, well, everything (my G.A.D son... let's cheer for him yall). i've been saying since last seasom i don't ever wanna see him at the dock of shame this season and i'm still so serious about that lol.

mk: i desperately want her to betray julia at some point (bonus points if it happens where julia will get 4th place... again). mk is definitely an antagonist, but i want her to be the mainnnnn antagonist. she works well when you put her against raj in particular and i think that is so neat (hashtag the parallels!!!) also im just simply a big mk fan sooooooo! here's to hoping she finds that immunity statue!

[yogurtverse]

My prediction for the new season

Hello. A while back I made a prediction on the elimination of the new cast on the assumption that the original promo photos revealed the full teams. But now that the mipcom posters revealed the teams I think I'll guess who's getting eliminated

16: Julia

Nothing about Julia really sticks out to me. My honest guess is she'll be a valley girl and get voted out first for screwing up

15: Wayne

Wayne seems to be the leader of his hockey team back home and I can imagine him trying to apply those skills to the game but doing poorly. I can also see Nichelle seeing him as a threat seeing as him and Raj could get someone else on their side for an easy alliance and be the first person she eliminates

14: Ripper

I think Ripper is an online name and that he'll be an avid internet user of some kind. I could see him also butting heads or being the Ezekiel of the season with some outdated world views which gets him eliminated (maybe being a stand in for Ben Shapiro fans or something? IDK hope not) but I see him butting heads with other members of the team and being the first person kicked off it

13: Millie

I see Millie as being a headstrong team mom leader type, but I also see her butting heads with Axel who would also want to claim leadership of the team. Eventually, Axel wins and forms an alliance (maybe with Chase or Damien) and Millie gets voted off

12: Emma

I think Emma will be the ditzy Lindsay type of the season. Maybe she'll work with Nichelle similar to Lindsay and Heather, but my current guess is that Nichelle will team up with Caleb and use his popularity to influence votes, with Emma being deemed unnecessary and voted off

11: Raj

I just don't see him getting to the merge without Wayne. Maybe he'll try to fill his shoes but not get that far before his elimination

10: Zee

Might be biased as a lot of people see him as a first boot, but he's my favourite design so far so I want him to make it. However, I think he'll be eliminated just before the merge as a liability to his team

9: Priya

I could see Priya being a more plain character like Sky or Zoey to bounce off the more animated members of the cast. But for now I think that role will go to chase while she gets eliminated by Axel's alliance

Merge (Damien, Axel, Chase, Scary Girl, Caleb, Nichelle, Bowie and MK remain)

8: Caleb

I think the first thing to be established in the merge is a rivalry between Axel and Nichelles alliances. I could see MK joining the other teams decision to vote off one of them out of fear the alliance gets too strong later. Eventually Axel's alliance chooses Caleb for his strength and charisma, but not before him and Bowie get together.

7: Axel

Nichelle uses the same paranoia tactic that worked on getting Caleb eliminated by Axel on her. Members outside of the alliance are convinced to vote her off to ensure she doesn't get too strong later

6: Scary Girl

I think Scary Girl will get eliminated in a sudden death elimination, or an Izzy-esque situation where everyone is just fed up with her antics. I still believe my theory that she's trans, and will come away from the experience with her new name and identity and walk away happy

5: Damien

I think once Axel gets eliminated, Damien will spend the rest of the season trying to get Nichelle and Bowie eliminated, going to almost concerning lengths to do so. I could see him getting eliminated in a sudden death challenge or Nichelle and Bowie getting either Chase or MK to vote him off

4 and 3: Bowie and Nichelle

With this being a 16 member cast and a 13 episode run, a double elimination has to happen eventually, and it'll end with a team up of Bowie and Nichelle Vs Chase and MK. At the end of the challenge, Bowie will throw the challenge for both of them, resulting in Nichelle losing her chance at the million

2: Chase

The de facto main character with the most focus this season. I think he'll be the amputee character and make it to the finale determined to prove those who doubted him wrong, but lose in the finale to...

1: MK

I think MK will end up winning the season. I see her being a relaxed slacker type who can think outside the box and provide creative solutions when she needs to. She would also have the WT Cody effect where she'd make it far simply by merging and then not having much of an involvement with any drama.

So that was my prediction for the new season. Please let me know your ideas for who you think is winning or losing

[vehicleservices]

Top 10 Places To Visit In Jaisalmer

Jaisalmar is really a treasure trove for the tourists. Here colorful turbans, decorated camels, tuk-tuks, magnificent forts & palaces enchants the kaleidoscope beauty of Rajasthan. Further the graceful Ghumar is another grateful Jaisalmar things to do. Titled “Golden City” Jaisalmar is really on of the fascinating destination situated in the lap of Thar deserts, Where row of magnificent forts and palaces beckons from the sand dunes and oasis. You can enjoy the beauty of Jaisalmar sightseeing by booking a cab through CabBazar.

Top 10 Places To Visit In Jaisalmer

1.Jaisalmer Fort

Amid the Thar desert of Rajasthan, a massive yellow sandstone structure beckoning from the far of town will catches the tourists sight. This magnificent building was constructed by the Bhati Rajpur ruler Rao Jaisal in the 12 century. Since than Jaisalmer Fort gives the testimony of the excellence of great Rajasthani Architecture.

Rest atop of the the Trikuta Hills, Jaisalmar forts look like a straight extension from That desert. In this gigantic fortification you will find a elaborately carved Raj Mahal, several havelis, impressive gateways and beautiful temples. Also the architectural supremacy of the fort like the wonderfully carved windows, doors and walls tells the rich heritage that the build hold.

Tourists will fascinates with the magical moments of sunsets when the whole fort seems ablaze as it reflects the light form the setting sun. This makes this fort to profoundly known as “Sonar Quila” and win the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site.

2. Sam Sand Dunes

Sam Sand Dunes of the Thar is definitely a enchanting site for tourists. They offers a thrilling experience of the vast expanse of golden sands, pristine under the azure desert sky, that offers the perfect backdrop for thrilling camel safaris and mesmerizing sunset views.

Jaisalmer places to visit

Beyond the enchanting dunes, you will get a dive in the rich cultural heritage of Rajasthan. Where the vibrant Rajasthani music, dance, and delectable cuisine that encaptivate the senses with is adorable experiences. Here tourists will have well furnished resort's and camps to stay. Also a enchanting experience of Camel safari's and Jeep Safari's also awaits for your visit.

3. Gadi Sagar Lake

If you looking for a perfect picturesque tourist site in Jaisalmar. So don't worry Gadi Sagar Lake is best suited for you. In the serene vicinity and cool surroundings of lake making it one of the best places to see in Jaisalmer.

This beautiful lake is constructed by the Maharaja of Jaisalmer, Majarwal Gadsi Singh in 1400 AD. As a water conservation tank on the rugged territory of Thar, but some get puzzle to think it is an oasis. Now it is also becomes a popular place for picnic spot for the locals.

As you reaches the lake, a massive carved yellow stone archway known as Tilon-ki-Pol welcomes you. It also offers the specular views of the Sonar Quila that's golden beauty leave them in wonder.

4. Patwon Ki Haveli

Tourists will get puzzled with the giant structure of the heritage Havelies that they find in the narrow lane of the Jaisalmer. One of the famous among them is the Patwon Ki Haveli. It is among the fairy-tale architecture of the town that the dream about while thinking for trip.

As you stroll the vibrant street of the Jaisalmer, several beautiful architecture of the town definitely fascinates you. This 19th century Haveli constructed by the wealthy trader, Guman Chand Patwa. Now it is titled as one of the largest Havelies in the architectural heaven of Rajasthan. Visiting the Havelies will let you the life of royalty that the history of Rajasthan still holds.

5. Jain Temples

If you want to taste the spiritual bounty of Jaisalmer so don't worry. You will have chance to explore the Jain Temples that were constructed between 12th and 15th century. These Jain Temples in the Jaisalmer Fort are the beat enchanting architecture situated in the splendid complex of Fort.

6. Vyas Chhatri

Another wonderful place in Jaisalmer sightseeing is the Vyas Chhatri. Looking graceful in the shine shower of sun, Vyas Chhatri offers tourists a great photographic spot that is full of natural sceneries and peaceful surroundings with great architectural excellence.

7. Tanot Mata Temple

Nestled in the heart of Jaisalmar, Tanot Mata Temple is one of the most visited religious destination of the town. Dedicated to Goddess Hinglaj Mata, it is established in 847 AD and the present build of the temple is build by Bhati Rajput King Tanu Rao. If you love to hear magical stories of you grandparents so this temples also added one in your list.

8. Akal Wood Fossil Park

One of the great site that tourists can sea near Jaisalmer is Akal Wood Fossil Park. It is one of the must-visit place for history and nature lovers. In the wonder vast vicinity of the park visitors get the glimpse of the evaluation of earth and its wildlife.

9. Nathmal Ki Haveli

If you looking something fusion of architecture amid the desert, so Nathmal Ki Haveli is one of those places to see in Jaisalmer. This grand building of late 19th century offers the glimpse of beautiful fusion of Islamic and Rajputana styles.

10. Desert Culture Centre and Museum

Apart from buzzing streets, fascinating forts and havelies, you will also find the charm of historical significance of Jaisalmer in the very museum that found here. One of the best among them is Desert Culture Centre and Museum.

[hughjidiot]

Total Drama Level Up Chapter Seven Behind-the-Scenes

Here's the behind-the-scenes for chapter seven, first chapter of the merge and where a lot of major developments happened.

So this was the first chapter where I confirmed that Lauren was crushing on Zee. In hindsight, it does seem like kind of a quick turnaround of developing a crush after roughly three days of her really getting to know him, but that's a natural consequence of these thirteen-episode seasons.

I must've rewritten the scene where Lauren explains to MK and Julia why she likes Zee about five times. I didn't want Lauren to come off as too lovey-dovey and potentially OOC, so I made the focus on how Lauren is attracted to Zee's creativity (making up stories about losing his leg to entertain others) and how Zee's chill nature makes him understanding of the people around him, even someone like Lauren. Once I settled on those factors, everything just sort of fell into place.

Equally important was to start to have Zee catch on that something was up with Lauren, which turned out to be the perfect set-up for their encounter during the challenge.

As for the challenge itself, the original plan was to have the players going through a huge temple navigating rooms filled with obstacles to collect coins to earn points. However I only wrote two scenes before I realized something like that would be way too slow-paced. So I adjusted the challenge to be a race through an obstacle course instead.

The whole thing with whoever finishes the challenge last being instantly eliminated was something I had planned from the very beginning of the fic, since I didn't wanna invent a convoluted way to have a double elimination. *cough*seasontwo*cough*

On that note, Millie being the one to be instantly eliminated at Lauren's hands was something I also had planned right from the start. I didn't want Millie to go too far in my fic since she'd already made the final three once before, but I also wanted to write about her making it farther along than she did in season two and doing so without Priya there to hold her hand. So I compromised and chose the middle right at the merge to finally eliminate her.

Fun fact: I had initially planned to eliminate Nichelle this chapter and Bowie in chapter six. The original plan was to have the Screaming Hedgehogs lose the music challenge, Millie make a deal with Bowie for them, Emma and Damien to vote out Axel, only to backstab him and vote with Axel to send Bowie home instead. However, when writing chapter six I came up with the idea to have Millie try to form a super alliance between her/Damien/Nichelle and Bowie/Raj/Emma after the merge, and I decided Millie wouldn't be short-sighted enough to kneecap her own alliance. So I decided to have MK and Julia do it instead, using self-sabotage to have the Turtles of Terror lose so they and Lauren could vote off Nichelle, killing the Super Alliance before it could even begin.

The initial reason I had Nichelle be the one eliminated right after the merge was to do what I thought season two should have done: have Nichelle's team keep her around because her skills help them win challenges, only to have her be eliminated after the merge when those same skills mark her as a potential threat. But it just didn't work out that way. It also means that within this story's universe, Nichelle is the only contestant from the reboot to never reach the merge.

[boosmidnighthour]

Do you plan on implementing any other ships into your rewrite? I figured rajbow would stay, and you mentioned hinting at ripaxel. Do you also plan on keeping rajbow's 'wait til after the season' date thing or will you sprinkle in some scenes with the two like season 2?

Thank you for the questions!

Minor spoilers for season 2 below.

As far as other ships go, I don't think so? I won't be putting any MKulia stuff into the first season; they didn't really seem to like each other until after they saw what the other could do through the show (between seasons 1 and 2). The Caleb x Priya pairing wouldn't be foreshadowed because of Caleb's early elimination and Priya's focus on winning the game (so that she can show her parents she's ready for med school).

Yes, I will be keeping the "wait 'til after the season" part for Rajbow. I don't consider Total Drama (as a show) to be a good dating environment. Plus, both of them are shown to be competitive, so to have a distraction like a serious romantic relationship could get them eliminated more quickly. Also, I think it was mostly implied that Raj and Bowie's little moments were kept secret from most of the cast, minus Wayne and Emma since they were both friends with the involved parties (maybe I'm making that up in my head, I don't know). If they got together publicly, then the other campers would see them as an alliance (as most seasons of Total Drama tend to point out) and could still get them more quickly eliminated. So, waiting until after the season to have an actual date seems like the best option in my mind.

I might sprinkle in another moment or two between Rajbow before Raj's inevitable elimination, though, just because I think that their developing relationship was kind of ignored for the majority of challenges. Although, I'll have to rewatch Total Drama Island (2007) again to see how they handled the romantic relationships during the challenges there.