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#sorry rewatching early seasons again I’m. ill. I’m ill
legokingfisher · 4 months
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How must Misako have felt when she realized that the best chance she had of keeping her family together was to tear them further apart first?
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comma-souptra · 3 months
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BBC Merlin 10th rewatch thoughts compilation:
(this is also my first full rewatch since I was literally 18 so prefrontal cortex is notably more developed or whatever)
This is SO long and rambled because it’s for me and putting my thoughts down on my blog! But feel free to peruse bc I am just crying sobbing putting words down. Thoughts under the cut for spoilers <3
-fuck this show fr
-starting off strong with Angel Coulby you are the most beautiful woman and the most perfect Guinevere possible
-something interesting is how much more the lack of communication drove me bonkers this time around, like please just explain everything in detail to each other we could solve so many problems
-Merlin also seems like so much more of an ill-moraled character this go around? Like he is truly so morally grey and his logic for “should I do this” is deeply just “does it in any potential way benefit Arthur/the fuckass prophecy”
-TO THE POINT THAT he’s literally like Magic’s #1 Hater for five straight seasons AND can’t see that he is actively making the prophecy unfold every single time
-Gwen/Morgana gfs my angels I’m so sorry this happened to you
-Morgana should have had a friend so badly like one friend (not Morgause) would have saved her
-same exact sentiment for Mordred
-Merlin/Arthur and Merlin/Gwaine literally no comments
-actually this show invented polyamory and throuples would have saved many of you
-ON THE TOPIC Lancelot so badly is both Arthur and Merlin’s queer awakening in my heart. I do think Merlin likely already knew (Will) but I think his relationship to Lancelot made queer relationships seem feasible in some form
-I do not think Arthur knew at all and that’s why he looks so damn confused every time he interacts with Lancelot
-Lancelot is around for SO much less than I ever remember too he really is just stepping in to be pretty and complicate the narrative and then leave again
-Arthur needs glasses so severely I fear because I can excuse a lot of the missing magic moments but I watched Merlin lock eyes with him and use magic during that S5 dice game you can’t explain that one away
-Gwaine my beloved! Proof that a fictional man can be both a butch lesbian to the women in his life and a pansexual man to everyone else
-Morgana and Morgause…. This script is fruity as hell can we be for real. Both actresses said “yeah we played it a little queer” I fear the BBC was not brave enough to give Morgana an evil fucked up gf and went the Kill la Kill route
-I think by Elyan’s death all the knights fully must know that the ambiguous secret Merlin seems to have is in fact his magic and they are just choosing not to say anything out of respect for him (“he’s tell us when he’s ready”)
-EXCEPT: Leon doesn’t know. I do however think Leon just thinks Merlin is gay.
-Gwaine absolutely knows there’s literally no way around that one
-Gwen I feel also had an inkling that Merlin had magic, which I feel is supported by her and Gaius’ conversation in S5E13, I do also think she thinks he’s gay
-I also do think Merlin is gay
-I forgot how much of a through-line the joke that Merlin crossdresses is, it comes up at least three times
-tangentially related, the early friendship between Morgana and Merlin… I mourn u every day! The friends they could’ve been and how happy he was when he thought she knew he had magic (S1? When she thinks he has a crush on Gwen)
-also I forgot how much angst Merlin had about magic towards Gaius, several (justified) comments about how Gaius doesn’t understand what he’s going through
-also so so interesting is that I feel like in so many Magic Revealed fics, we write Arthur responding with shock & confusion & anger (which all rock big fan), but in the finale, once he understands that Merlin is so for serious a sorcerer, he’s just so scared of him?? Which was crazy I don’t think that has sunk in before how scared he looks
-and then they start to get over it and we get the reminiscing about their fight from the first day they met where Merlin confesses to using magic and we get the devastating exchange “you cheated” “you looked like you were going to kill me!” “I should have”
-damn major nostalgia vibe killer from Arthur, DEVASTATING on this rewatch
-also S5E12 when Gwaine and Merlin and traveling through the valley of the fallen kings and get jumped by bandits and Merlin gets cornered and HOLLERS for Gwaine thank you BBC that one lives rent free in my head always
-fuck this dragon for real also because Merlin DOES kind of fail like none of the shit they planned for happened, they got pieces but so much more COULDVE worked out without this fuckass dragon whispering in Merlin’s ear every day Kilgharrah it’s on sight dude
-finally maybe the most sickening parallel I have to offer is S4E13 when Isolde is dying and she and Tristan are reminiscing on the plans they had that are obviously not going to happen anymore and she says “hold me”
-which obviously is striking a significant chord with Arthur as it spurs him to reconcile with Gwen (thank god everyone cheered)
-(also why was the full breadth of her enchantment never discussed back to miscommunication please she didn’t cheat on him like that justice for Gwen’s rep I’m sick)
-BUT ALSO! A season later in S5E13 we get Merlin and a dying Arthur with Merlin trying to explain that they have so much to do so Arthur can’t die, and Arthur says “just hold me”
-I will lose it every time about this one… watching half of a couple die and mourn the chance to live a life together and then mirroring that at your own death with the man you are unexplainably close and connected to
-also the “I’m going to say something I’ve never said to you before… thank you” had such a queer set up that even my parents thought it was going to be an “I love you” when we watched the show for the first time together in like 2014 so… it’s the Spanish supernatural finale dub in my heart
-I think that’s enough I’m just sick to my STOMACH over this show once again, obviously it’s a BBC show from 2009 so it’s not without criticism but it’s genuinely my favorite TV show I’ve ever seen without competition. There is a deeply clear allegory for queerness that has drawn in and continues to draw in queer fans constantly and keep the viewership active. I also just love so badly how campy and classic it is, it’s one of the few pieces of media I have in DVD because I fear so badly to lose it. BBC Merlin I love u what a brilliant and silly and devastating tv show from 2009
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opalsiren · 3 years
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roasting the season three wedding outfits
during my ranking of every dress that rikki wears on h2o i had an epiphany: everyone at sam and don’s wedding in season three looks like crap. i would even go so far as to say that sam was the only person to look good at her own wedding. this post will mostly consist of me being petty and pointing fingers at the costume design team for squandering the opportunity to style their mains for a wedding, offering alternatives to the, ahem, choices that were made when dressing cleo, rikki, and bella. i tried to keep my selections consistent with early 2010s fashion while also in keeping with the personal style of each girl
again credit to the homies at h2o wiki for sourcing many of the below images. as always click for better views since tumblr hates its userbase. let the roast begin! we’re starting with...
cleo’s salmon dress
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cleo’s fit is not the worst offender in this category by any means. however given how drop dead gorgeous phoebe tonkin is, it’s a pity that she pissed off the costume team enough sometime prior to this episode that they chose to enact revenge on by putting her in this… whatever this is. lewis’s lovestruck expression as she walks down the stairs never fails to amuse me during rewatches. the dress is ill-fitting, sitting way too low on the bust, shapeless, and poorly styled in general; what is up with the hairdo which is more mako mermaids than mature, sophisticated young adult? seriously, no eighteen year old would be caught dead with their hair styled in such a distinctly juvenile fashion. this critique also extends to the dress itself which suits teenage kim more than her elder sister. i’m not saying that cleo should have shown more skin or worn six inch heels, but something a little more grown up wouldn’t have gone amiss. i’m not mad at the salmon pink against cleo’s colouring, but the costume team have long since established greens and purples as cleo’s soul colours. this is not to say that she shouldn’t be allowed to wear any other colour. still i would have killed to see her in some jewel tones like either one of these choices:
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coral pink monstrosity aside, cleo would slay in something like the purple dress with lace and ruffle detailing pictured above. it plays into her penchant for 70s boho and would absolutely suit the beachy vibe of the wedding. a simple updo and strategic accessories would really elevate the look (plus it comes in teal green too if that’s more your thing!). alternatively she would also rock this peacock green, grecian-inspired number. it suits the understated simplicity of cleo’s style, and would play up her pretty green eyes too. next!
rikki’s royal blue dress
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i won’t spend a ton of time on this one since i thoroughly eviscerated it back in my ranking all of rikki’s dresses post. the tl;dr is that the colour and shape are unflattering, and even season three rikki would absolutely refuse to wear a dress with a giant bow on the front. i offered some edgier seafoam green alternatives for rikki in the aforementioned post, but our girl has a number of absolutely iconic red dresses throughout the series so i thought i’d style her in something similar this time ‘round:
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above left is an obvious callback to season one’s red dress; the ruffle feature at the bodice is almost an inverse of the detailing at the hem of its predecessor. the dress isn’t too overly ostentatious, but the traffic-stopping red just screams rikki. my other choice, a hi-lo one-shoulder dress with, you guessed it, ruffle detailing, is also inspired by the iconic season one red dress. it has just enough edge to be rikki-approved but is still feminine and elegant. last and possibly least is...
bella’s black and white dress
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i once said that rikki’s blue dress was my villain origin story. at the time i was joking, but this might actually be true of bella’s dress. bella, baby, i’m so sorry they did you like this. there is just… nothing redeeming about this look whatsoever, from the weird earrings and weirder bangle to the skirt which belongs on a toddler’s dress to the pattern that belongs on that of a much older woman. while the others look quite juvenile, bella’s look is simultaneously giving immaturity AND fifty-year-old art teacher who shops exclusively at desigual. why is it so difficult to style teenagers in an age-appropriate fashion? also, wearing a white dress to another woman’s wedding is nothing short of sacrilege, even if said said dress isn’t fully white. i will say that the fit is slightly better than rikki and cleo’s dresses. still this entire look is a letdown given that bella wears some of the best dresses in h2o canon. she’s my least fave mermaid but girl does rule in the style stakes. furthermore, indiana evans is such a beauty that she could pull off almost anything, but this just ain’t it, chief. my picks are:
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bella wears a number of blue dresses in the series, and the aqua blue dress above is nothing short of striking. she loves a strapless moment and the silhouette is pretty too. however it’s mostly the colour that sells me on this dress for bella. aquamarine would match her eyes and crystal necklace, as well as complement her complexion beautifully. my other selection is a chiffon maxi dress in bright coral orange, a colour that we don’t see bella in much of but which would suit her perfectly nonetheless. it’s both beach wedding- and age-appropriate too!
what did you think of my selections? did you like how the girls were styled at the wedding, or would you have made better life choices? should we have gotten a cutesy shopping montage? is sam roberts the one saving grace of season three? does cleo deserve a hug for putting together her dad’s entire wedding in her final year of school while the love of her life is strongly considering fucking off to america? sound off in the notes!
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loveyougoodbi · 3 years
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Tag 9 people to learn more about their interests!
@mscalifornication thank you for tagging me <333
MUSIC
fav genre? pop, rock, pop rock, classic rock, punk rock, pop punk, some hip hop, but ill listen to anything really (except what serbian new age “singers” are doing rn i stay as far away from that as possible)
fav artist? Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson
fav song? rn id say Vent’anni by Maneskin
most listened song recently? Vent’anni i think..
song currently stuck in your head? Good 4 u by Olivia Rodrigo
5 fav lyrics?
All the lonely shadow dances From the cradle to the grave It's a solo song And it's only for the brave - Only The Brave - Louis Tomlinson
Tie a noose around your mind, loose enough to breathe fine and tie it To a tree, tell it, "You belong to me This ain't a noose, this is a leash And I have news for you, you must obey me"- Holding On To You - Twenty One Pilots.
You booked the night train for a reason So you could sit there in this hurt - Champagne Problems - Taylor Swift
I am my mother's child, I'll love you 'til my breathing stops I'll love you 'til you call the cops on me - Writer in the dark - Lorde
We're sleeping on our problems like we'll solve them in our dreams We wake up early morning and they're still under the sheets - Too Young, Louis Tomlinson
radio or your own playlist IT DEPENDS IM SORRY IM NOT CHOOSING I DO BOTH | solo artists or bands | pop or indie | loud or silent volume I slow or fast songs | music video or lyrics video | speakers or headset | riding a bus in silence or while listening to music | driving in silence or with radio on
This was so difficult it depends on my mood on half of those
BOOKS
fav book genre? angsty fan fic lol.. but yeah i like classics, sci fi and thrillers
fav writer? Jane Austen, but ive been the most fascinated by Dostoyevski so i can’t not mention him,
fav book? Pride & Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Veronica decides to die.
fav book series? Most of what ive read is for kids but my fav is His Dark Materials for sure!
comfort book? recently My Policeman before that Pride & Prejudice
perfect book to read on a rainy day? I don’t really reread books unless its pride and Prejudice lol
fav characters? Raskolnikov
5 quotes from your fav book that you know by heart? Are you testing my knowledge on p&p right now? Let’s see I’m curious how much i know too..
In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings can’t be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently i admire and love you.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in a possession of fortune must be in want of a wife.
I do have compassion for your nerves, they are my old friends.
Your mother will not see you again if you don’t marry Mr Collins and i will not see you again if you do.
and of course: She’s tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me.
hardcover or paperback | buy or rent | standalone novels or book series | ebook or physical copy | reading at night or during the day | reading at home or in nature | listening to music while reading or reading in silence | reading in order or reading the ending first | reliable or unreliable narrator  | realism or fantasy | one or multiple POVS | judging by the covers or by the summary | rereading or reading just once
TV AND MOVIES
fav tv/movie genre? comedy, thriller, crime, drama
fav movie? Bohemian Rhapsody
comfort movie? Bohemian Rhapsody
movie you watch every year? idk ..
fav tv show? Mr Robot
comfort tv show? Schitts creek for sure. And sometimes the good place but mostly Schitts creek
most rewatched tv show? schitt’s creekand Brooklyn nine nine (technically its friends just bc its constantly on tv)
ultimate otp? Destiel forever
5 fav characters? Tommy Shelby, Dean Winchester, Eleanor Shellstrop, Nairobi, Jesse
tv shows or movies | short seasons (8-13 episodes) or full seasons (22 episodes or more) | one episode a week or binging |one season or multiple seasons | one part or saga | half hour or one hour long episodes | subtitles on or off | rewatching or watching just once | downloads or watches online
All in all im very indecisive
I’m tagging @mamaharry, @nauticalfools, @hometothecanyonmoon, @sunshineandhazza, @halosanchor, @shevinyl, @harryandlouisarehappilystrong, @tanktop-lou, @foreverfanficaddict
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spacedikut · 3 years
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hi spacey! It’s been a really long time but I started watching cm again and I found your account again and fell in love with your writing again as if I never left (take a shot every time I say again lmao). I just had a quick question! When you write for the characters, do you picture them from any specific season? I’m sorry if that makes literally no sense lol but I was curious. Thank you for helping me to fall back in love with this series and the characters!
thank you so much for reading and liking my writing :(( welcome back i hope you’re enjoying your rewatch <3
honestly the season i picture depends on what im writing about!! if im writing pining love with lots of nervous flutters i tend to imagine early seasons? but if i get the vibe of a more confident spencer then it’s later seasons!!
it also depends on who im thinking of at the time like sometimes ill be on a real long haired spencer kick so i write about him…does that make any sense
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Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi Volume 6 Chapter 2- The Village Hidden in Hyakumemomiji** Part 1
T/N: OK Kakuriyo Fam-fans, how are you all doing? Did the last chapter surprise you? Anyways, I wasn't surprised, Odanna-sama always takes Aoi out on a food trip date (dang it, when's my turn lololol even I am tired of eating just white rice at times T_T) so yeah, I guess autumn fruits sound good.
Anways, I sorta started doing a speed run of this chapter because I got too-excited with the date, and I tried letting out this translation as fast as I can, and hopefully by the end of the chapter you'll see why I wanted to speed run this mofo lololol
As always, I mostly didn’t translate a lot of the names of the ayakashi/youkai, as well as the proper nouns because uhm... They’re basically nouns. It’s like how some translated manga are done. Plus it irks me sometimes when everything just gets transliterated, it kills off the vibe. But that’s just me. Links to references at the end of the post.
Also if you like this translation, you can share the link, reblog, but for pete’s sake DO NOT REPOST ELSEWHERE. I worked hard to finish this thing, it’s not like I just Google-translated this whole sh**..
If you need refreshers on what happened, @kakuriyo-translations​ already had the previous translations. I’ll place a tiny index in this post somewhere, to make that easy. I’m just contributing to this fandom. Also, as previously mentioned in my other post, the 2 seasons of the anime cover volumes 1-5, so if you need a review just rewatch them all. Volume 6 starts here.
P27 "A date with Odanna-sama, huh..." Yesterday's rice cooking events felt like a daze, and I felt that fairly it hasn't sunk in yet, and waking up early just made me realize it. The lovely chirping of the little birds just annoyingly grated my ears. The distinct skin-chilling coldness of autumn is also piercing my body. Incidentally, I'm also a bit nervous. "It's.... It's not a big deal, it's not unusual that I'm going on a date with Odanna-sama. Yeah." We went to Youto and ate offal hotpot, we ate chicken tempura in Gintengai, and in the port of the Southern lands we ate donburi with pickled toppings... No matter how many times Odanna-sama and I went out, why am I nervous after all this time? This is weird. Could it be that I'm going down with an illness? Firstly, I opened the shutters of the veranda, to breathe in the early morning air... "Aoi! Let's go now!" P28 "What the.. It's early! Odanna-sama you're early!" The busy bee that uneasily goes here and there and everywhere and has no free time Odanna-sama has already come here. It seemed that he cut across the inner garden towards the veranda. If so, he must have beavered to get here with incredible flexibility. But I'm still wearing my pajamas! "Speaking of, Odanna-sama.. Are you going out looking like that?" Odanna-sama changed his appearance into a younger one, like what he looked liked before, as a fish monger, and his kimono wasn't spectacular, he just looked like a commoner. "That was fast. The face I usually have in Tenjin-ya is too recognizable. What's more, Aoi is the only one that found me out, now this date isn't fun anymore." "I... I'm sure..." Although, if it's through this appearance I felt a bit nervous too. At any rate, this handsome Odanna-sama may be handsome, but the nobleman aura isn't here. Even Orio-ya's Young Mistress Nene only said that he looked reliable-ish. "But Odanna-sama, in spite of this, even this is way too early for Ayakashi! I haven't even prepared anything yet." "I'll wait for you here while you get ready." "You're not busy? Odanna-sama has some free time?" P29 "It's because it's been a very long time since I had a whole day free. Even though Byakuya has been nagging me to get some break already, I just feel that I mustn't. I may have worked too much during the matter with Orio-ya. That dude Raijuu. It seemed that he used some people from the capitol. One way or another, it smells like that all over." "Smells like that.. All over?" What does that mean? The matter in Orio-ya, the circumstance that accompanied the Southern lands, the ceremony that no one spoke of and secretly kept in the back-burner. The sea that lies in between Tokoyo and Kakuriyo wherein every 100 years an Ayakashi called Umibouzu arrives, a peculiar Ayakashi that is received and welcomed. In that ceremony, Raijuu made a disturbance and I got hindered, but borrowing everyone's strength and cooking the Sea Jewel Appetizers while bearing all that, we were able to entertain and serve the Umibouzu. I know that Odanna-sama worked hard for me, but there were many things that I don't know, could there be more things hidden? That Raijuu, I wonder if he's doing anything else right now? "Hey, Aoi, don't go absent-mindedly prepare when getting ready. Would you want to go out in your sleepwear?" When he said that, him egging me on, I went inside the room to prep up... "No, but what should I wear?" In front of me is the kimono that Odanna-sama gave me, but it's too elegant and it won't fit fruit picking. P30 There's also the blue kimono that I used back in Orio-ya, but it's too summery. "Hm?" I opened the wooden cabinet, and I became aware that there was a kimono that I haven't seen before. It was solidly very autumn, a deep red kimono, and a soft mustard yellow obi. It was laid on top of it. It looks of good quality, but it looks light and simple to wear, it's going to be easy to move in it. "Please use this on your date with Odanna-sama. Matsu, Take, Ume." The letter on it... It's the three Nopperabou sisters usual business! "I'm thankful but.. why is there a feeling of eagerness?" I closed the sliding doors of the veranda and changed clothes. From beyond the sliding doors's side, I could hear Odanna-sama chatting with the palm-top Kappa Chibi, who just came back from taking a morning bath. "Ah.. Ogre-shaaan is heeeere" "Isn't taking a bath in autumn chilly, Chibi?" "Ish not really that coooold. In Utsushiyo, the raging wavesh were mush coldeeeer. Ish eashier in heeere." "Aren't you strong... That can only be expected from Aoi's disciple..." "Yeahhh but my beak ishhh chattering... Ish very very coooold..." P31 "Come here. The ogre-fire will warm you up." It seemed that the seemingly calm and composed but eventually got cold Chibi was warmed up by Odanna-sama's ogre-fire. Somewhat somehow, after changing clothes I attached the flower bud kanzashi in my hair. "The petals have opened up considerably now..." I talked to the petals. Gah, I don't know if talking to the petals is a good thing... My impatience doesn't wane, with regards to the flower has blooming. I wanted to see the flowers open up into a round wheel, but the petals will scatter if it does. "Aoi-shaaaan! I am hungryyyy..." Chibi flungs the sliding door open and enters the room. And speaking of, I haven't made breakfast yet. "Say, Odanna-sama, you want to eat breakfast? We have a lot of cold rice left, we can make some onigiri. We can eat while we're walking." "Aoi's hand-rolled meals? Yes, that sounds good." I have just finished changing clothes, but I already wore my apron and went to the kitchen and made onigiri. I mixed the plum and Hijiki seaweed into the onigiri, and packed a lot of the salmon flakes into the onigiri wrapped in nori. There were also eggs left, so I made them into rolled omelette. P32 There's no dashi, no onions, just plain omelette. I added salt and sugar, and some mayonnaise as a faint flavoring. I cut cucumbers and pickled daikon and skewered them with toothpicks, and added these to the sides. The simple onigiri bento box is now done. I wanted to make some with more variety, but I can't make Odanna-sama wait. Today we're going with "simple is best." I stuffed everything in a box, wrapped it in cloth and brought it out with me. "I'm sorry Odanna-sama. Did you wait long?" Odanna-sama was lying down in the veranda and smoking his pipe, while listening to Chibi's stories about playing in the pond. It was about a crawfish, then about a pond skater. Whatever it was about, it's fine. "Nooo, it's not bad to wait for the new wife as she readies herself. Teehee." "Then what are you so happy about?" Odanna-sama stood up, said "Alright, let's go!" and held out his hand. I bewilderedly took his hand, and got supported as I wore my geta sandals. Along with the kimono I'm still not used to, I felt anxious of tumbling down. "Ahhh... Aoi-shaaan and Ogre-shaaaan, where are you goiiiiing? Take me along tooooo." "Well, that sounded miserly..." Even though he was always playing alone, Chibi always wants to be taken along. P33 "When you want to come with, you can come, Chibi. You'll be eating your favorite grapes." "Grapeshhh..." Chibi jumped from the veranda and onto my back. I realized that he was climbing my back as he went "Heave, ho, heave ho." "Say, Odanna-sama, are we going in the airship again?" "Ah, yes. But this time, we're not boarding one with the Tenjin-ya's crest because we'll be hiding, so we'll use the smaller ships. This time the fruit orchard Hyakumeyama, which lies in the connecting lands of the north and northeast will be our destination. The place has farms and is quiet, and you can go pick and harvest fruits at ease and in all diligence." In a bit as we went off, Odanna-sama brought me to the place where the ship was set in anchor. In that place, the Young Master Ginji-san and the Chief Accountant Byakuya-san were there, and it seems that they were going to see us off. Byakuya is a Hakutaku Ayakashi, and is Tenjin-ya's REAL Second Leader. On one hand where he's holding a fan, looked like he was tapping it on the other hand, and he seems to be in a bad mood. "Odanna-sama, don't go too far for your rest and relaxation at nightfall, it's quite perilous. That dummy Raijuu seems to be somehow releasing his stench from the capitol. Do you understand?" "Byakuya, don't be nervous. I know and I'm already serious about it." "If so, then that's nice. You too, Aoi-kun." P34 "Y.. Yes!" I unconsciously replied to Byakuya when he called my name, and it flew out of my head. "Yugao's income this month is very good, and for that I salute you. Nonetheless, you must not lose focus, try to learn to understand that when you go out, then come back here. Keep in mind that, and while at it, don't trouble Odanna-sama." "Y.. Yes!" I unconsciously bowed. It's better to listen to Byakuya-san's words. "Hey hey Byakuya. It's a rare rest and relaxation day. Don't make Aoi think about work." "Oh, don't worry Odanna-sama. I was just telling her what I intend to do." "Oh, I see." Odanna-sama looked at the clear autumn sky. "Aoi-san, be careful outside, whatever you will be doing. Odanna-sama, leave Tenjin-ya's care to me in your stead." Ginji-san was grinning and side-smiling. He seems to be his usual and formal self. "Ginji, please take care of business. Byakuya, if there's anything contact me." "Yes, I know, Odanna-sama." P35 Ginji-san and Byakuya-san, the two higher-ups in the management team bowed their heads deeply, and as we boarded the airships they sent us off. As the airship was rising into the clear sky, we bathed in the afternoon sunlight on the ship's wooden deck. The sunlight was warm, despite the cold breeze. It was a really good atmosphere. "Ahhh. Odanna-sama, the weather's good. It's great that it's clear." "Yes. That said, let's eat breakfast, Aoi." "That was hasty, Odanna-sama..." Sitting on the ship's deck's benches, we immediately opened the onigiri bento boxes. While in that great mood, the arranged onigiri tastes good. This was yesterday's scattered rice, and yet adding salt in this onigiri changed its taste. More than anything, eating this outside was a good idea. "The omelette is also good. It's simple, but it suits the onigiri." "You think so? A lot of various things are always added and used, but this time I only added a few seasonings. Because the cassowary's egg is wonderful, the onigiri which has a lot of stuff is already good. But because I added mayonnaise to the egg as a subtle flavor, just adding salt makes it mellow, doesn't it?" I was talking about a lot of things, and Odanna-sama was just enjoying his food and smiling. "Teehee. Surely it's because it's  hand made by Aoi. It's warm and feels like home." That Odanna-sama that day, he was very friendly and easy to talk to. P36 That person's impression has definitely changed. No, he did not change, he was probably like that as an ogre since the very beginning. I only noticed that he was such, whenever we met, and talked about heavy things. "But really, I thought that it was better if I made more in variety..." Also, instantly,because the opportunities are rare, I thought that if I'm going to do it, I should concentrate on making various bento kinds. Basically, for Odanna-sama I haven't made any food by hand. No, when it comes to those times, I have made more for the other employees than for Odanna-sama. "Don't worry about it. Just do what you usually cook. In those times, aren't the food that you didn't think about much also taste good? It's because in 10 minutes, they’re already delicious." "The food that I.. didn't think much about?" Probably because lately, the food and drinks that I served were continuously served everyday. Before coming to Kakuriyo, Grandpa and I only cooked for ourselves, home-cooked meals. When I came here, it changed because I served food for the Ayakashi. Even though I felt nervous here and there, my skills improved as I kept doing it, and in that time I was able to learn how to cook freely. Because of that, I was able to feed myself and my family.. "Aoi-shaaan, cucumber..." "Oh, sorry Chibi, here you go.." P37 I handed him over the sliced cucumber and pickles stuck on the toothpicks. Then Chibi held those in both hands, and like in a daze started munching and crunching on them. Even though I was nervous early in the morning, I felt comfortable and carefree right now. The evidences are because of me bringing the onigiri and the bento boxes without thinking much.
"Welcome, Tenjin-ya's Odanna-sama. Yugao's Aoi-dono." The smiling face of the owner who greeted us at the entrance of the fruit orchard looks familiar. Once, previously, we met at Gintengai... Could it be.. It's Rokusuke-san, the Rokurokubi. Even in Yugao, we use the fruits from Rokusuke-san's business Mizumakinouen. "Hello, Rokusuke-san." "Aoi-dono, thank you very much for always patronizing our Mizumakinouen's fruits." "Rokusuke-dono, thank you for taking care of us. I am just a commoner today, because we are doing these in secret. You don't have to be so humble." "I understand, Odanna-sama. Today we're only open for half a day, so I think there will be less visitors. Uhm.. Oh, you can see the momiji autumn leaves on the side of the mountain over there." Rokusuke-san stretched his neck towards the mountain to check, and as he moved towards a tree trunk he showed to us the place. P38 "Alright then, please come this way." We finally went inside the fruit orchard. The first portion of the fruit orchard that we went into, was the grape vineyard. "Woooow!" A canopy above our heads hanging like ivy, these drooping, purple grapes look like drops of water seemingly about to burst. They look so fresh, the colors make them look like jewels. The viney canopy allows the autumn sunlight to pierce through, and the gentle air space is filled with a mysterious life force. "This is awesome, Odanna-sama! The grapes are just so impecable!" "The size of each of these grapes are Kakuriyo's biggest and sweetest, the variety is called Daishisui. Lately, Rokusuke-san says that this seedless variety has been selling very well in the market." "For sure.. In Utsushiyo too, I've seen some seedless grapes, I wonder if the skin in these ones are edible too." "The skin isn't edible. But they're easy to peel. Let's go pick some." "Really, they look like Concord grapes, I was thinking of making some grape tarts, I wonder if they're suitable..." The grapes with seeds are really good when used, but how can these seedless grapes be said to be easier to eat, as well as easier to be used for cooking?** T/N. Yeah, I mean, the seedy ones get easier made into jams due to having more pectin, so I agree with you Aoi, I don't know any other use for seedless grapes other than turning them into raisins. The seedy grapes are, in my opinion tastier, juicer, and have more uses. But that's just my opinion lol P39 The grape's main tree is not that tall, and I could easily have fun gathering them. The farm's assistants gave me scissors, and I started to trim the bunches off the trees. These were profoundly heavy, and I was having so much fun gathering them. Store-bought grapes had nothing on these ones. After picking a lot of grapes, I couldn't resist eating one. I was shocked. "Uwahhh! It's very sweet! Odanna-sama, the grapes are very sweet, they're so delicious!" "You tried them right away?" Immediately after I ate one, the fruit's peel was a tad hard-textured, but the grape just burst in my mouth and the juice's rich taste surprised me, it wasn't that sour but the sweetness levels were high. These grapes were picked at ambient temperature, but the taste and texture were still straight up enjoyable. This is a really good product. "Aoi-shaaaan, I want to slurp some grapesh tooooo." "OK, I'll get it." Chibi got hold of a bunch of grapes and hung on one. He went with a grape, and deftly using his beak started peeling off one portion of it, before slurping up and sucking on the juice and munching on it. Chibi holding onto a grape is somehow cute. P40 "Next up are apples. We're going to go buy some to bring home as give-aways for everyone back in Tenjin-ya." "Apples, huh. There are many preservation methods for them, they store up for long time, and many varieties of recipes can be made with them. I want to buy lots for myself too." Hauling the baskets that Rokusuke-san entrusted to us, we went further away to pick some apples. The apple orchards were further inside the premises, away from the grape orchards. The trees were a bit taller than Odanna-sama. All around the trees’ silhouettes, these bore a lot of fruits. "Uwah, they're really very red!" Those apples look so lovely and so tasty. The red color was so deep, and I love the smooth, round shape. Those hanging on the tree look so gorgeous, but I couldn't help but be very interested as to how these will taste. I trimmed one off with scissors, scrubbed the freshy-picked apple's skin and wiped it, and bit into it with haste. While chewing it, the juice's sweetness and sourness spread across my mouth as well as it's strong fragrance. The fruit was crisp and made crunching sounds, as the liquid lightly pulls away. Truly, this were what's called apples. "Are they sweet, Aoi?" "Yes! The insides are sweet, there's hints of sourness, but the flavor is very deep. For sure, this are of Mizumakinouen's best quality. Oh, Odanna-sama, those apples look like they're of a different variety, let's go there, let's go over there!" P41 "Calm down, Aoi..." Odanna-sama accompanied me going here and there. There were so many varieties of apples in the orchard, each one's taste and sweetness were a bit different, and we ended up trying everything. "Hey look, Odanna-sama. Up there on the mountain a bit, there are also more apple trees!" I discovered that on that different place, the were other growing apple trees. Just about all of the trees in the orchard were basically grown in a detached and open portion of a plateau, but  when the adjoined mountain is climbed up a little, trees with seemingly fresh apples can be seen. The pink mixed with the saturated red color makes those apples shine brightly. "That's a variety of mountain apples." "Is that different from normal apples?" "Mountain apples are a bit more sour, and the fruits are hard. Up until now, those fruits are entirely inedible, but just sometime ago, Mizumakinouen has started to sell liquor made out of mountain apples. It's still an unknown product but previously, Rokusuke-san brought a bottle to Tenjin-ya, and we tasted some out yesterday. Ginji and I tried it out as we welcomed some guests." "Speaking of that, both of you were tipsy yesterday..." P42 "It's not exactly that much, but it's easy to get drunk." "Whh-at?" Mountain apple liquor. I'm interested but... I have not so good memories about liquors. Sometime ago, I had a very bad experience with the Tengu's secret sake. That has traumatized me until now, and I have never drank and liquor from then on. "Ahaha, your face stiffened. For sure, after drinking that liquor and getting drunk, you'll feel it for two days after drinking, and the next day when you wake up your mood will be better.. On the night before this rest day I drank just one cup, and I felt like my health got better. Mizumakinouen's brand-new product is something that you'll buy again and again." "Odanna-sama, you don't just merely "drink and try it out." "Ginji also likes it, I'll buy some for him as a souvenir." Just saying that, Odanna-sama just floods with elegance. I went up to where the mountain apples were, just to check. The fruits were larger than I thought. I tried biting on it, it was more sour than sweet, and the flesh was harder. "This isn't just for liquors, this can also be used for jams too." When this is boiled down with sugar, the sourness won't easily disappear, and that's a good thing. Even though the small basket on my back was already full, I tossed the mountain apples into the large basket on Odanna-sama's back. P43 Nevertheless... "Odanna-sama, the commoner's look you have now, you really come off as a plebeian. You really look good with that apple basket, you know." "You're starting to tell me that about me looking like a commoner, Aoi?" Even though I said, that, Odanna-sama seems to be ecstatic. "Let's leave this orchard in a bit. Our baskets are already full." "Ehhh? Let's stay for ten more minutes..." In a corner of the fruit orchard, it seems like there's a small hut that has a fire and is making some jam, and Odanna-sama and I started heading over there. Inside Odanna-sama's basket, in front of me, Chibi was scampering about and I could see Chibi playing with some apples. While inside the large pile of apples, he seems to be playing inside a maze. "Chibi, don't play with the apples too much." "OK, I geeet it. I'm a very shmart Ayakashiiiiii, I won't treat theeeshe appleshhh harshhhlyyyy." However, while Chibi was squirming about, an apple rolled and fell off the basket. "Awww, I made one faaallll ouuuuuut." Chibi popped his face out of the basket, and seemingly unashamed of his wreckless behavior stared at the falling apple, while I chased the apple in a panic. P44 That red apple, I was going to use that for jam. I don't want to waste even one! "What the..." The apple instantly vanished. I didn't notice that there was a large hole hidden by the grass, in front of the place where the apple rolled off to. My geta got stuck and snagged back by a tree root, and I fell head-first into the hole were the apple fell off before! "Gyaaaaahhhhhh---" "Aoi?!!" The apples on my back all rolled down and got scattered. This emergency seemed comical but without a doubt is devastating. Everywhere I bumped into hurts. "Aoi-- Aoi--!" "Ohhhh daaarn, thisshh ishhh baaaaad..." As Odanna-sama was calling my name out, it started to sound farther and farther away because of Chibi's insensitive words. Roll.. Roll.. All of the apples loaded in my back started rolling out easily like a conveyor belt as I looked on. P45 "Owwww" On the place where I landed, I was surrounded by a precipice inside the mountain, and all around was a wide place that was full of fluffy fallen leaves. The top of the hole was high, and above the gaps in between the trees, I could only see a bit of the sky. I went and looked around my surroundings, but I couldn't find the hole that I fell from. "Ohh, a red dragonfly!" But in that place, in all of that stillness, there were momiji, fallen autumn leaves. There was a small spring, where the fallen leaves were floating and coloring the water with. Countless red dragonflies were darting over the spring. Red, orange, brown, yellow. Heavily piled and packed and stacked on top of one another in many layers, the fallen leaves superbly look like a carpet. It looked somewhat like a lovely, autumn forest. Looking at these momiji, I consciously remembered an old memory related to grandpa. "Wai.... Odanna-sama... Odanna-sama, ODANNA-SAMA!!!" This is not a time to be a dummy. I loudly called for Odanna-sama, but my voice only echoes and rebounds back into the precipice's walls. It seemed that Odanna-sama is already far away. "Don't tell me.. I've gotten lost in the fruit orchard..." No matter how frequently I got lost in Kakuriyo, I always didn't feel like I was in distress, didn't I...? P46 "Gah, I shouldn't think too much of this..." For the time being, I'll just wait for help to arrive, while I pick up all of the scattered apples around me. All of the apples were fine. Even if some got bruised, there's no problem with eating them. But then that time, I felt like there were scratching sounds behind me, and I was shocked when I turned my head around. "Wh... Who are you?" From inside the forest, with masks that were as red as apples, and bodies each covered in a straw raincoat, a crowd appeared. They surrounded me, and it seemed like they're coming in from everywhere. "It's a human... A human girl.." Whispering in hushed voices, they signalled each other through the eye holes in their masks. Because the wall of the precipice was behind me, I couldn't move at all. "Wh..What is this.. Wait a minute..." The dubious beings started moving smoothly towards me. Could it be that, they're going to feed on me? But within the populace wearing a straw raincoat, a strange branch was pulled out, and they lighted it up, and towards me wafted a smoke that smelled bittersweet, it was an unfamiliar smell. P47 In a moment before I realized it, I have lost consciousness.
I had a dream. It was an old memory, with momiji and apples. In reality, back then I went with grandpa once, to his old residence. I was still an lementary school student then, and for sure it was autumn. I was sure that grandpa visited the Buddhist altar of his deceased mother, we went to this large residence in the outskirts of Tokyo, and I accompanied him. It has been a long time since he visited their family home, and he probably felt a lot of nostalgia. That home reminded me particularly of autumn season, and it seemed that grandpa had so much deep-seated emotions. "Ah, I see.. When autumn comes, this home seemingly turns into an AKIAKANE." "Grandpa, what's an akiakane?" "That's a red dragonfly, Aoi." It seemed like grandpa cut himself off from whoever was living in that home. He particularly didn't mention the place he came from, and it seems that through this I couldn't get to know him better. After a very long time, for such a reason he had no choice but to meet with his mother. P48 However, if I was going to meet my great-grandma, I couldn't instantly do it when she was still alive. Even when that person died, grandpa didn't come to her funeral, and even after that he couldn't bring it upon himself to visit even secretly. The house that we went to was the first and last time that I did, but to be honest, from how I remembered it, it was a really large residence.** Grandpa was such a monk... "I apologize, I had no way to find out, you were already at the verge of death. As expected, the role of head of the household was difficult..." "Nay, mother's death.. Seemed to be from my curse. I am truly sorry about that. You were killed by someone who didn't want to die... A strong person..." "Being someone like the lady of the house, even at your time of death, Shirou made you worry. Let us hurry now to her Buddhist shrine**." A man in the prime of his life, grandpa brought himself into the house's inner room, and in front of us we saw an imposing Buddhist shrine. A curse...? Grandpa's words were spoken in a low and hushed voice, and that time I thought that what I was continuously listening to was mysterious. But then I remembered something, it seemed that there was a deep meaning to it. T/N: At this point, it's easy to see why Shirou was living as a reckless man, he was probably raised in a stiff household, mostly because he was a member of the main family, with his mother as the house head. So he had to conduct his manners most of the time, probably. He loosened up when he got a chance to get away from the house. He was also probably bailed out a lot, which is why he at times becomes happy-go-lucky, or leaves others to clean up his messes. Think of a chaebol's son (son of a rich person lol) being bailed out a lot, and ends up not being able to clean up his messes. Buddhist shrines are tiny cabinet-like altars that contain the photo of the deceased, and they're usually opened up on death anniversaries or new years or whenever there's a day of the dead celebration something, like hungry ghost fest or something. Offerings can be placed in front of the cabinet, along with candles and incense sticks. Again, as this implies that Shirou came from a prominent family, his mother's shrine altar is probably huge AF. P49 "Aoi, come meet your great-grandmother. Mother, this is my granddaughter, Aoi." In front of the large Buddhist shrine, I was introduced to the dead. So many apples with a lovely color were offered, and as a child that left a strong impression on me. The incense stick's fragrance, within the swaying smoke rising up... The red color that was projected looked lovely. I didn't understand how to pay respects to someone that I didn't know. But the blurred vision of grandpa's side profile, up until now I didn't see it, it was a person who was suffering in loneliness... I could only remember it now. "Aoi, wait here for a bit..." After that, grandpa talked to two of his male relatives, and on the tatami floor of the residence, I waited for him. There was a garden connected to the veranda, and red dragonflies were flying in and out, dartingly through the window. I wondered why I was there alone...As I was sitting on the veranda, looking at the evening sky's madder red color, I started to ponder. Everywhere I go my heart always feels wrenched as I always felt that I was an outsider, but staying here in this residence, it didn't feel bad. It's easy for this old house to draw in Ayakashi, but I couldn't feel anything evil. Being guarded somehow, I could remember that place had a sense of calm and peace. P50 I didn't think that there would be anyone visiting or encroaching the confines of that place. "Are you.. A human?" Suddenly, there was someone at the gate. Before I realized it, a young boy was standing beside me. The boy seemed to have orange hair**, I thought that he was a humanoid Ayakashi, and my body stiffened. He's not a human-ish Ayakashi... At best, he is a lower-grade elementary school student. A child. But as I stared at the child in front of me, looking deeper at his essence, his eyes were not those of a child's. "I'm... A human too." I answered with a low voice, and as that child's face remained the same, he nodded over a serving tray that he was carrying. Sliced apples were arranged on a glass plate, and there was a glass of milk on the tray too. "Mommy told me to bring these to you." I humbly took these, and the kid frettedly ran away as if he was escaping. At that moment, he really did acted somewhat like a child. While running, what seemed like a mother's scolding voice called out "Akane, stop running!" T/N: It's not an ayakashi, it's zappy boi Zenitsu wahahaha I have zero regrets and yeah I know Zappy boi had brown hair before getting struck by lightning. But seriously, it seemed that based on the stuff here, Shirou's family can see Ayakashi, as Zappy boi Akane and Aoi can see them, like he did. Honestly, the color-name puns are just too much lololol P51 That kid, his name was Akane. It was the sky's color, and was the name of the red dragonflies. The skin of the sliced apples were made into bunnies** and they looked cute, and I could feel the love of the mother living in that house. Could the child also have eaten this everyday, I wonder. Using the fork beside the apples, I stuck this on the apples and ate them from behind. "Oh, they're sweet." Also, they were cold. These were cooled inside the refrigerator, and the coldness felt good on my throat. Somehow, while drinking the milk and eating the apples, it became a memory I longed for. A child. Yes, a child who had no idea how autumn feels like. I couldn't have it anymore. But whenever I see apples and momiji, I remember that meeting that only happened once.
Boom, boom..... When I woke up, within that pitch blackness was an old banquet hall inside a grotto. T/N: Bunny apples are fun to make and fun to eat, try them out. I think I saw some in Kaicho wa Maid-sama once, but that was ages ago lol P52 A large alter was built, a while ago, in front of me. All around it were countless food offerings. Countless candle flames were lit, flowers and fruits and a pig's head**, deer horns and other stuff were arranged there as offerings too. "Wh... What is this?" In front of me, the drummers were also dancing, they seem to be holding and continuing a ceremony, and these were the mysterious Ayakashi with monkey masks. "Miko-sama" "You have awakened." They were all whispering in a low voice. Miko-sama? "Uhm... Are you.. worshipping me?" Having no idea what was happening, I asked them in a courageous voice. But the gathered Ayakashi that were wearing a straw raincoat and monkey masks, why did they all went "yes, milady, yes milady" and turned around? "Human girl, you are the Kaku-zaru** village's priestess." "You shall save us from calamity..." These Ayakashi called Kaku-zaru, for a while have been worshipping me. I don't feel anymore danger, but this situation has gone nuts. T/N: They got hold of Inosuke's boar head lolol I still have zero regrets Nihongo fun fact, when forming compound words, the first syllable of the second word gets a tenten, which looks like a quotation mark. For example, the word HIDARIGAWA (left side) is made up of 2 words: hidari=left, and kawa=side, and because the syllable KA becomes GA when you add a tenten, KAWA becomes GAWA. Another example, the word for three thousand, SANZEN, is made up of san=three and sen=thousand, but because SA becomes ZA when you add a tenten, SEN becomes ZEN. Which is why I made it KAKUZARU here, there's no furigana in the text so I just assumed that this rule works. I could have just made it into Kakuriyo Monkey but then where's the fun in that lol. I'll probably put shit like this here, so that by the end of however much chapters my body can upload here, we've all learned some tiny Nihongo bits. I'ma gonna drag you all with me bwahahahahaahaa! P53 "Uhm.. I came from a fruit orchard along a mountain. I would want to go back now..." The monkey masks suddenly stared up. The masks had a strong impact on me, and I unconsciously gulped. This has a different atmosphere, compared to when I'm with the usual Ayakashi I have met. In a way, this unexplored region seemed to house a tribe. "You're a Miko." "No, I'm not a Miko, because I'm just a human." I flatly refused them, but they started to gather as they were whispering. "Miko-sama, with our offerings, we are requesting of you. This is our sacrifice..." "Uhm.. Sacrifice?" After saying that, is seemed that they didn't listen. Nevertheless, when they pulled out a rope I was shocked, they were pulling along a handsome, black-haired guy with a long piece of rope... "What the... They tied up Odanna-sama like a slave!" In front of me, surely without a doubt, they have brought along Tenjin-ya's Odanna-sama, the younger version. That appearance doesn't give off his aura of being Tenjin-ya's master, after all, they don't know who it was. B-b-b-b-but, isn't that disrespectful? If the people in Tenjin-ya saw this they'll bring upon a wrath of a sea of fire! P54 Speaking of Odanna-sama, he was restlessly looking around, and once when he found me on the bluish altar, he smiled at me childishly. As expected from someone so composed. It's better to be cheerful. "Miko-sama, we found this person loitering around outside the village." "Please have your way with this sacrifice. We can boil, then roast, then eat him." No no no, a human girl can't eat Ayakashi! "Then quickly untie him! That person is a distinctly emiment man!" "Yes, milady--" While the Kaku-zaru were being told what to do, they unfastened Odanna-sama's ropes. "Hmmmmph. Could it be that when you saw me tied up, you were surprised?" "You don't have a face that looked surprised. Might you have been enjoying yourself? Speaking of, how did you got captured so easily?" "I was looking for you, and I ended up in the Kaku-zaru's village. I thought it was easier to get caught as an adult in order to get in. As a result, I got here. When I met you here, everything went OK." "So it's OK to meet Odanna-sama here.." When the Kaku-zaru saw Odanna-sama and I, they started to talk in hushed voices. They were an eerie bunch. Why on earth did they bring me here, what do they plan to do? "Oh dear..." P55 Odanna-sama hit his hand on his waist, and it transformed as he dispelled it. Normally, people would be surprised and exclaim "It's Tenjin-ya's master!", but, here, the Kaku-zaru  only shook their heads questioningly. What the.. They only kept silent and didn't say anything, so Odanna-sama only cleared his throat with an "ahem". "Aoi, this place is the heart of Hyakumeyama. I knew that inside this mountain, there is a hidden village of the Kaku-zaru, but this is the first time I've taken a visit. At any rate, the Kaku-zaru's village is in the territory of the Northern Lands." "Whaaaa-t. So.. We're already in the Northern Lands?" "Now that you mentioned it, yes. But the North-eastern lands were supposed to have a boundary..." Upon hearing loud drumming sounds again, Odanna-sama stared at the ceremony that the Kaku-zaru were performing in front of the large altar. "These Kaku-zaru were from an old era, wherein they were taken here by a Miko, a human priestess, which is now forbidden. Each time a human girl comes here, she becomes a replacement for the Miko, and she becomes worshipped by them." "So in this case, I was kidnapped to become worshipped here?" "But, well, this curiosity is rather odd. No matter how many human girls they worship, if it's against their will, being taken here feels like a punishment. But for this, I wonder what their probable reasons were for moving and leaving the village..." At the same time, the drumming sounds suddenly stopped. The door of the old tomb opened, and an old Kaku-zaru came in. P56 "The respectable elder... Has come!" That person has the longest straw raincoat in the bunch, and somewhat wears a necklace made out of bones, as well as having a mask of an old sleepy monkey. While walking with a cane, he was supported by a Kaku-zaru who was near the offerings, and sat in front of the altar where I was. "Miko-sama, we are the humble descendants in this village. For today, we beseech you." Everyone went "Yes, milady--", and bowed deeply once again. What the heck is going on.. "Uhm.. Respectable elder? What is all this For a while now, you've been saying stuff about worshipping, why on earth is that?" "Brigands from the far north has come to our village, and has looted and plundered." "Bandits?" Odanna-sama and I looked at each other's faces. He suddenly seemed to remember something instantly, and he placed his hand on his chin as he narrowed his eyes. "Bandits came from the far north.. Could it be that, they're the Ozuma gang?" "Odanna-sama, you know of them?" "Yes. They came from the Great Glacial Mountain Range of the Far North, and I've heard stories that in nearly every mountain here and there they were wreaking havoc and violence. But unexpectedly, you're asking for help from the North-eastern lands connected to the mountain of Hyakumeyama?" Aa a Hachiyo of the North-eastern lands, might he have not noticed of their situation? His facial expression suddenly became grave. P57 "Say, what on earth did the bandits do to this village?" After I tried asking, each of the Kaku-zaru started groaning in low voices. It was a bone-chilling sound and it pierced through my body. "We already have become the Ozuma-gang's minions." "Hm, in what way?" "The Ozuma-gang are bandits composed of about 20 individuals that move around. Each one has a jurisdiction over one mountain, as well as a minion that goes in each of the mountains, and like the other mountains we have become under one group that only keeps on increasing." The respectable elder has started to retell the story emotionally. "The day when those brigands came to this village,they broke through everything and pillaged, they violently wounded our villagers. We have no means or ways to retaliate so we just surrendered, and we became under the control of those thugs. After that, those brigands started to enter this village's stronghold, and every night they celebrated in our banquet hall. They just ate all of the village's food in reckless abandon, drank our liquor dry, and became even more violent when drunk. Half of the food we were saving in this village has already been eaten. At this rate we will not even last until winter." "Oh, I see. To summarize, you have been deeply troubled by it." Because of that, they have explained why they have abducted me, and why they were asking help from the gods. "Miko-sama. Please, we beg of you, save us---" The other Kaku-zaru who were also bowing down and worshipping me, also beseeched and prayed. Even though they show signs of just imitating what they think what a god must do, the surrounding atmosphere of desperation made me want to help them, but regarding that, I am just a normal human girl who has no means to easily resolve the issue. P58 "Respectable elder, have you gotten in touch with the Hachiyo of the North?" From here, Odanna-sama asked the question with a commanding voice. The respectable elder raised his face, stared unblinkingly at Odanna-sama's majestic pose. "Oh my.. You, are you not Tenjin-ya's Master?" "Indeed, I am. Finally, you have taken notice of me." "This is a bit too bad, isn't it, Odanna-sama?" After having his fun hiding, then finally being found out, Odanna-sama's face got a bit bored and sullen. But the respectable elder took off his mask, and bowed his head deeply. His monkey face seemed to have remained the same, but there were deeply-etched wrinkles on it, which definitely showed his very old age. The other Kaku-zaru didn't seem to be fazed with Odanna-sama. This was as otherworldy, remotely and as detached to the outside world as it can get. "Please give us your permission, Odanna-sama!" "Oh, do not worry, it's fine. However, the North's Hachiyo.. Can he not do it?" "Yes. We have not received any help from the North's Hachiyo. That is out of the question right now, as the Hachiyo has turned a blind eye on the arrival and movements of the brigands." P59 "I knew it..." "What, how can you say that, Odanna-sama?" I couldn't follow how the conversations flowed. During such times, when called for, a Hachiyo doesn't comply with the wishes of the people of the land? It seems to be like that here, in the Northern Lands. While placing his hand on his jaw, Odanna-sama explained to me the situation. "Apparently, the Northern Lands have a problem in their hands. The other name for this land is called "The Land of Glaciers", and is Kakuriyo's largest land area, and in this land there is a historical giant ice castle. But because the nature of this place is harshly cold, it is undoubtedly the most difficult to live alongside that harshness. The current Hachiyo holds a strong influence as a distinguished Ayakashi, and has been able to create stability within the boundaries of the Northern Lands.. But after countless years, that Hachiyo has succumbed to an illness." Really-- Prior to this, the Southern lands were deeply concerned with handling a unique problem, but even here in the Northern lands they also had problems. "Well,now that the entirety of the land is in chaos, from now on we must strike back at the bandits that have been having their ways in expanding their territories in the mountains here and there. But the Ozuma-gang.. They're an especially powerful bunch. Nonetheless, since I came from the North-eastern Lands which I have control over, I think we can apply some mugwort and moxybust them out." Odanna-sama said all of those standing tall and with a suave look. As if holding on to those words, the Kaku-zaru's elder who was previously losing hope suddenly, and with fire opened his eyes. "We cannot call upon the North's Hachiyo anymore. But can we impose upon the master of Tenjin-ya, along with the Miko-sama? P60 Please, for the sake of our village, make those bandits leave us!" "Ohh. But you kidnapped my new wife who fell inside a hole, isn't that request a bit selfish? And what's more, you also restrained my hands." It's not like that, that was pretty much my own fault, and it's why Odanna-sama's behavior was incomprehensible. "It's a rare chance that we got to enjoy apple-picking, but you have interrupted our date, Aoi and I. If Aoi hated me because of what I did, what then? Hm?" "Odanna-sama, right now you're being too selfish and holding grudges. Moreover, at this point I can't hate you..." "Really, Aoi? If that's the case, do you like me?" "Nah, I don't know." I replied a considerably appropriate answer to Odanna-sama, who was brimming with expectations. With such a frank answer, Odanna-sama felt dejected and with a disheartened look hunched his back and sat alongside the already sitting Kaku-zaru. Well, that was indeed depressing... "Well then, where is the Ozuma-gang right now?" Odanna-sama continued the conversation with a blank face. "They were in a nearby mountain territory yesterday, and tonight they announced that they will be coming here, to eat and feast in the banquet hall." P61 I caught a glimpse of Odanna-sama agreeing and nodding. "Aoi, what do you think we must do?" "Ehh? Me?" Him seeking for my opinion was very unusual. I thought for a bit, and answered in all honesty. "These people, I think it's a pity that the food they have now won't last until after winter.." "Hahaha, as expected of you, you were worried more about their food. Even though my companion was kidnapped to be worshipped, you were still the same, your nature of involving yourself with Ayakashi and their food still came out." "Even if I fell and rolled down a hole and everywhere hurts, I don't think I'm in any other kind of danger." "What the.. You got hurt?! Let me look at you to see if you got bruised--" "Odanna-sama, this isn't the time to talk like that--" This time my words were taken as a harsh reply by Odanna-sama, and despite the conversation getting derailed due to inappropriateness, I returned it to its original traction. Seeing the situation as such, the Kaku-zaru seemed to be perplexed. "Ahem, Well, I am also a Hachiryo. This may be the Northern Lands' problem, but I wouldn't know if the bandits may have brazenly invaded the North-eastern Lands. As such, repelling them from here is my job. I have a deep consideration of Aoi's heart, but I can lend you my hand." P62 "Ohhhhhh.." Hearing Odanna-sama's words, everyone seemed to have more hope, and they raised their voices with relief. "A normal ogre would always back out and retreat, but now you have become Kakuriyo's dark hero!" "My soon-to-be wife wouldn't like that." "You've said that already, why are saying that again?" "There are two chairs for two people on that altar, it somehow vaguely seems to be for a king and queen." "Well, that seems to be a fun situation, isn't it Odanna-sama?" Odanna-sama's reception may have been weird and without familiarity, but I think they were sincere. But... "Alright then. Since you said so, Aoi go back to Tenjin-ya." "Whaaat?" All of a sudden, Odanna-sama commanded me to return! Even though he said "I have consideration for Aoi”! "Wh-- Why? I wanted to help in any way too--" "That's out of the question. Those bandits are armed, and a despicable bunch. Having a human girl's body, you'll be in danger, and that is terrifying--" "So that being the case, Odanna-sama is not in danger?" "What's that? Are you.. Worrying for me?" P63 As Odanna-sama was peeking at my face, his face immediately showed a naughty smile. "I'm an ogre. I am different from the weak Aoi. This time your cooking skills can't resolve it." "Th... That I can understand.." Surely, I wonder if I can't get any stronger. Until now it was different, and I wondered if there's a possibility that I can fight with arms? But.. "But, I was thinking of helping up with the cooking back at the banquet hall..." "Again, when it comes to that you're still planning to cook..." Odanna-sama looked at me with a puzzled look, and I prepared myself. "But.. Ah, I see, there's more, if we add sleeping drugs to their food, when they get sleepy won't it be easier to beat them?" "What?" Hearing a mediocre yet dangerous suggestion, Odanna-sama got startled. Even the Kaku-zaru got shocked and couldn't move. As expected, the tactic was such a cliche. 'What the.. What is this atmosphere? I know it's too common. It's a joke." "No, it was so you, Aoi. I guess, you being Shirou's granddaughter, you thought of that." "You guess?" P64 "No, Aoi you had suffered and fought in so many battlefields that you have become resourcefull all around, that's a housewife!" "What the.. You don't have to follow me around against your own will, Odanna-sama--" I realized that this was much like Grandpa's style, and I saw that I have come so far. "However, this isn't exactly classical, so I don't think that it's diabolical. Yes. The mountain apples that we picked, and when we use the Hyakumeyama momiji branch, we can probably make it good." Despite my cliched suggestion, Odanna-sama seemed to have openly agreed to it. He tapped on my shoulder with his hand, and his face turned into an evil ogre. "Aoi, you can definitely depend on your special skills."
End of Chapter 2, Volume 6. Previous - Chapter 1    Next - Chapter 3
Volume 1 Translations by Kakuriyo-translations
Prologue               Chapter 1             Chapter 2       Chapter 3        Chapter 4
I translated Volume 1  Chapter 5 here
References:
Wonderful site for the youkai references
Other stuff I used to do this: Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (you can buy here, I’m not sponsored btw). I was about to buy the older edition but then the newer one came out 2013 so I bought that instead. Worth buying since I was able to find nearly all of the words I needed just by stroke pattern alone.
Merriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary (the red-covered 1996 version is apparently out of print right now). This is what I have been using for a very long time, I bought it when I was still a fetus (yes I am old so what lol), and after so many years, when compared to newer editions, I still prefer this one since its entirety is Japanese-English, the English to Japanese gloss are just 16 pages tops, so you get more Japanese words for your buck. But that’s just my opinion, maybe other people prefer the Jap-En x En-Jap IDEK.
Basic online dictionary, Jisho. Knowledge of verb conjugations  and other words are necessary since not all have entries.
If you can read Japanese, you can buy the whole set in Amazon Japan, they’re shipping worldwide now, I think.
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Hey, i binged the first 14 episodes of Supernatural just last week and enjoyed it so far. But have struggled to hype myself up to finish the series. I found out the last episodes are coming out in October and think it would be cool to catch up by then so i can watch the last ones as soon as they come out. Could you give a (as spoiler free as possible?) list of what about the show make it great to you overall? Things to look forward to, cool plot development, favorite characters, whichever...
hi, anon! 
i don’t know, anon, when i first heard i have these nightmares--and sometimes they come true in early s1 and as long as I’m there nothing bad’s gonna happen to you at the end of 1.14  back in the day, i was pretty hyped af to find out what happened next. but to be fair, 2006 was a different era altogether and some vaguely defined potential Special Ability that doesn’t even work unless Certain People are involved isn’t too exciting when every show these days with two pennies to scrape together for a VFX budget has its characters move things with their mind while shooting blue lightning out their ass.
sorry, i digress. i don’t really know how to sell this unwieldy chimera of a show to you--or if i even should--but let me give it the old college try:
1. for such a long-running show, spn has a tiny list of dramatis personae. on one hand, this means that it can feel intimate and its emotional beats deeply resonant, with long and complicated character arcs and interpersonal dynamics; but on the other hand, if you don’t find them interesting or they’re just, you know, actively annoying, you’re fucked, because there are only ever three or four main characters at any point on the show and two of them never. change. 
1.5. spn has also demonstrated--inadvertently perhaps--that having fewer characters to divide fannish devotion means more stans per character and more friction between these large groups of character stans. somewhere along the way the terms samgirl and deangirl have come to symbolise more than just a mere preference for one character over the other; it’s become a fandom shorthand for personality much in the way of astrological signs or MBTI types: utterly meaningless, but people insist on defining their identity that way anyway. 
(i say this not just as a card-carrying samgirl, but a bitter samgirl).
2. it’s also quite claustrophobic at times. sam and dean are ostensibly driving all around small-town america, but what we usually see is One Possibly Canadian Town indistinguishable from the other. as i mentioned before, the characters are few and spn rarely attempts to relate to current events or make any kind of subtle/meaningful social or political commentary (tho others may disagree with me on this). but this also means that the stories that it deals with have a timeless quality to them: family and trauma and existential angst and the Power of Love and the ways all of them can fuck you up. spn is at its absolute best when it’s dealing with stories on a deeply personal level, sometimes literally burrowing into their characters’ heads and having the entire universe mirror the dynamics of its central relationship. 
2.5. this can be a liiiitle hard to reconcile with how the show keeps raising its stakes with every season, but again, when spn is really on its game, it keeps finding new and creative ways to explore the personal with the universal, and when it’s not, you have supposedly cosmic entities reduced to the most boring metaphor imaginable for modern-day capitalist culture.
3. there’s something that spn does that i love which is turn really absurd premises into a thin veneer over a dark abyss of existential trauma which is something it doesn’t do nearly enough in the latter seasons, which is a great pity.
4. a quick rundown of the seasons:
1 - looks pretty and ends very strongly but also suffers from a case of early 00s uninspired-genre-television-itis
2 - Now This Is Where Things Get Interesting; sets up themes that are explored repeatedly for the next 13 years; please look out for ava wilson, an actual Queen
3 - a reminder that this show has been around long enough to actually have a season that was truncated by the 08 writers’ strike; plus, it contains my favourite episode of the whole show and possibly my favourite episode of television ever
4 - A MAGNIFICENT SEASON that gets better with every rewatch. the closest to flawless this show has ever gotten
5 - contains a number of the show’s best and most iconic episodes, but also sets up a lot of the show’s more... problematic motifs
6 - a HUGELY underrated season depicting some of the most delightfully creative explorations of the aftermath of deep and unusual trauma that i’ve seen, dark and thorny and uncomfortable but so goddamned sharp
7 - kind of gave up on itself halfway through; the last time this show ever took any risks/bold choices with respect to its world-building
8 - you know how these days even the most hotshot, rebellious, high-spirited, come-out-of-nowhere-with-nothing-but-heart-and-ill-advised-amounts-of-courage hero is revealed to have actually descended from some important Hero Bloodline and whoops did you think even fiction was going to indulge in the fantasy that just anybody could change the world? yeah.
9 - should’ve been this show’s turning point, except it turned a whole 360 degrees. still has some really iconic episodes, tho.
10 - eh. skippable after the first few episodes.
11 - the point where i stopped watching regularly. still horrifying but more bleak and despairing than jump-scare-and-gore
12 - this season is a black hole for me. for the life of me i can’t remember what happened in s12 - did it exist? or did spn just skip that number like some hotels skip a floor number entirely? huh.
13 + 14 - Listen It’s A Very Competitive Market And The Only Strong Thing Going For Us Is Our Large And Devoted Fandom So Let’s Obliterate The Fourth Wall Altogether And Go Full Meta, Who Gives A Shit? it’s spn back to being absurd to cover up a pit of howling, abyssal horror, and frankly it’s delightful.
5. the fandom, man. i’ve been spoiled rotten. there is nothing that can’t be found in spn fandom, no matter how brilliant or terrible or eye-searingly horrifying, and this is something i’ve chased in other fandoms with no success. 
In conclusion:  watch it if you like, it can be a cool show. But That’s Just My Opinion, Bro.
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from outside looking in
An introspection into isolation, finding yourself and finding your people.
Or essentially, a stream of consciousness about Arthur's life leading up to the events of the season 5 trailer.
Warnings: internalised homophobia, general angst
Word count: 2.4k
Ao3 version
Yes, I wrote an Arthur fic because why the fuck not
For as long as he could remember, Arthur had felt like an outsider. When he was little, he used to play with his action figures alone on the playground, launching them off the swings or scrambling up trees and slides to pretend he was way up high in outer space, simply looking down at the rest of the world. He read comics and books and kept to himself for the most part. As he grew up, his classmates laughed at him for his 'toys' and 'picture books', on one occasion going so far as to flush one of his comics down a toilet. He knew there was something about him that generally kept others away from him, knew he didn't quite act or feel like the rest of them.
Like an alien sent right from one of his stories.
When Arthur first met Basile, however, it was the first time he felt like he belonged.
They met when they were 10 years old, when Basile transferred to his school after moving to the area. Arthur remembered the day vividly. It was the first day back at school and his dad had dropped him off on his way to work early, so he was one of the only kids that had arrived yet. He had been sitting alone at his new desk, flicking through his Hawkeye comic, idly glancing at the other kids chatting at another table when the door to the classroom unceremoniously burst open. With a tiny, high pitch yelp, somebody stumbled into the room, nearly taking out another desk on their descent to the floor. Arthur put his comic down as he watched the newcomer, who had wild curly black hair, getting awkwardly to his feet.
The now familiar bright grin immediately met Arthur from across the room. Dressed in an ill fitting Star Wars t-shirt and sporting a too-big orange backpack, the new boy immediately started walking over to Arthur, ignoring the jeers of the other classmates. He stopped in front of Arthur's desk and held out a marker-covered hand, grinning. "Hi! I'm Basile! But you can call me Baz! I like your comic, too. Can I sit here?" the boy babbled away, already sitting down in the seat opposite Arthur.
Arthur had nodded, his own wide grin melting over his face. "Thanks! I like your shirt!" he exclaimed, pointing at the other boy's t-shirt.
And from then on, Arthur had one other person in his life to keep him company.
For a while, Arthur tried to ignore most of the other people around him. He had Baz, so why should he care about everyone else? Why should he worry about the rest when he was playing video games or watching movies or discussing comic books with his best friend? It was easy to brush away the comments about his glasses or his comics if he just focused on the person that actually liked him. Baz was virtually the only person he cared about and he cared enough for the rest of the planet.
But as he got older, the retorts became harder and harder to let go. The name calling turned from "Four eyes" to whatever slurs they could come up with, chasing him down with jeers and taunts he had no choice but to listen to. Flushing his comics or throwing his action figures turned into pushing him into the lockers or throwing things at him.
It is almost impossible to ignore what stares you right in the face, after all.
The question of "am I gay?" swirled around Arthur's mind for years. Whenever he caught himself looking at Baz for too long or caring a bit too much about a male character, the smallest of voices wondered somewhere in the back of his head whether it was true. Was he gay? Or did everyone else look at their friends the way Arthur did with Baz?
His browsing history was meticulously deleted, all of his secrets hidden away in the depths of the internet where no one else would ever find them. He never lingered long on websites, always sure to keep safer tabs open should someone come into his room without warning. He only ever searched up the burning question or scrolled through the endless chat rooms in the dead of night, looking for the answers in the depth of internet forums and 12 question quizzes. He felt like he was on some quest to find an answer that he was simply keeping from himself, never fully allowing himself the truth.
Soon enough, Arthur couldn't handle it anymore. He hated himself when he caught himself daydreaming about his close friend, cursed himself for being a 'pervert'. He wasn't gay, surely. He'd had crushes on girls, after all. That meant he was straight, right?
Instead of acting on anything or letting himself even look at Baz, Arthur hid away. He spent his lunch periods in the school library, avoiding his friend in the halls in favour of keeping his nose tucked into the latest comic books. He took the long way to and from school to avoid walking the same way as Basile, ducking through side streets and crossing the street with abandon. Whenever Baz tried to talk to him, he shrugged him off, insisting he was busy with school work. His heart raced every time he saw the dark curls at the other end of the hall going to class, dread overflowing his body like a broken tap, shoving him into the corner of the hallway to avoid being seen by his friend.
It is agony to avoid the unavoidable magnetic pull of longing.
"Arthur? Can we talk?"
It had been in the middle of November, the wind unusually violent and unforgiving, rattling the windows of the small cafeteria. Arthur was sitting at one of the big circular tables by himself, poking half heartedly at his lunch, feeling light years away from the rest of the tables in the room. When he looked up to his name, his heart dropped as he made eye contact with a pair of familiar, sad brown eyes standing over him. Arthur had never seen Baz looking so forlorn, like a kicked puppy, clutching his green lunch bag with an iron grip.
Before he could dismiss him, Baz dropped into the seat next to him, dropping his lunch onto the table and pulling out his food. "Baz, what are you—" he had started, glancing over at the sandwich in an attempt to avoid looking up into those damn eyes.
"You're avoiding me," Basile blurted, "Why? I thought we were friends." Arthur glanced up finally, feeling his face flush at the look Baz was giving him. His eyebrows were knitted together and his bottom lip trembled in a frown like Arthur had never seen.
"We are friends," he insisted, "And I'm not avoiding you. I've just been busy."
"You won't even look at me anymore," Baz whined, taking a bite of his sandwich. "I know I'm not the smartest–everyone always reminds me–but I can tell you've been avoiding me for weeks. Just tell me why and I'll leave you alone for good."
But Arthur couldn't tell Basile why he had been avoiding him. He could barely admit to himself just why he felt the need to avoid the only person who had ever made him feel less alone. Deep down, he knew exactly why he forced himself to look away, forced himself to stay away.
But despite this, Basile was his best friend. Neither of them had any other friends besides each other and in his pathetic self-isolation to avoid his own feelings which were staring right at him, Arthur had ultimately abandoned Baz. Baz, who had treated him with nothing but kindness since the day he literally fell right into Arthur's life. Baz, who liked the same things as him and let him talk about his silly fantasies and hobbies. Baz, who never ever judged him for anything at all.
"I'm sorry," Arthur had said that day, swallowing back tears and forcing himself to look into those bright brown eyes he loved yet hurt him so much. "I-I can't explain why, but I'm sorry for avoiding you. You of all people don't deserve that."
No matter what, Arthur knew he couldn't just leave Basile just because he couldn't handle his own feelings. And so, he stopped avoiding Baz. He let them go back to normal, going over to each other's houses to play video games or rewatch movies, bickering about their favourite characters over lunch. He talked to Basile about the pretty girls in their school and let Basile plot out his futures with them, pretending he didn't think it was futile. He vowed to never let his emotions get the best of him. He prioritised their friendship over whether or not he did in fact have a crush on Baz. They had more important things to worry about like going to Lycée in a few months and going to a new school again. It did not matter if he thought Basile's eyes looked nice the way they seemed to glow in the sunlight or his desire to touch his hair or hug him. What mattered was that Baz was still his friend, despite him acting like a dick for weeks.
When they went off to Lycée together, picking different classes from each other, of course their dynamic changed slightly. That had been expected. They no longer shared as many classes together or had time to just play video games together. Basile talked and talked and talked about the hot girls in the years above or the girls he was crushing on for weeks, hardly seeming to notice that Arthur never contributed more than advice and support. They both made friends in other classes, spending more time with them than each other.
Slowly, as Arthur got more used to his new school and new people everywhere, he started to feel better about himself. Sure, he was still a bit of a nobody, mostly drifting from group to group, never quite a part of things. But he still had Basile and he liked his classes enough to get by.
One night, buried beneath his bedsheets, Arthur stumbled upon an article which changed his entire life. Hunched over his laptop, scrolling through the billionth website that night, his jaw dropped. His heart hammered against his chest, blood rushing past his ears and a gasp falling from his lips as he read.
Bisexuality is the sexual or romantic attraction to both men and women or to two or more genders.
With this newfound knowledge, Arthur continued to keep it private. He held the word deep inside his chest, locked away for safekeeping, only to be released in the darkest of nights. He whispered it to himself in the mirror, muffled by the rushing water of the sink, shrouded by the midnight stars twinkling above. He saw blue and purple and pink in everything, in every sunrise and sunset, in every rainbow and article, allowing himself only the smallest of glances. He kept the word safe from the rest of the world, blanketing it and boxing it away with the rest of his old yet sacred possessions.
Even as he kept his secret to himself, he slowly, gradually learned to accept himself. He wasn't wrong for how he felt. He allowed himself to be closer, to reach out and touch, to tease and to smile. He no longer held back as much, caving into his near constant desire to touch. And Baz didn't seem to mind, so what was the harm?
In their second year of lycée, he and Basile befriended Lucas and Yann. He sat next to Lucas in a few of his classes, sharing jokes about their teachers or whispering about the homework. Yann was also a delight, teaching him to skateboard and always lending a helping hand.
Arthur even befriended Alexia, whom he was forced to sit next to in Biology. She was a whirlwind with colourful hair and a friendly smile, making jokes left and right, sending his heart out the window. She was caring and energetic, far more intelligent than he was and beautiful.
Of course, Arthur couldn't stay away from his sexuality forever. When his close friend Lucas came out as gay and suddenly he had a new pansexual friend from the year above, Eliott, it was unavoidable to think about. Alexia talked about being bi often as well, making his whole face flush violently every time. Sexuality and attraction were common topics of conversation in their friend group these days.
When Alexia kissed him on the dance floor at Daphné's party, Arthur felt his entire body erupt at every nerve ending, a force so powerful he could taste static. It was the softest and the shortest of kisses, but it felt like belonging. Arthur could barely believe his luck, holding on tighter to her like he would lose her if he wasn't careful. For weeks afterwards, through flirting and teasing, Arthur fell harder and harder for her, finally getting the guts to kiss her again at Imane's party. And she had kissed him right back.
With Alexia, Arthur no longer felt the need to hide or to repress. He could be open and honest with her, knowing she wouldn't judge him. He no longer felt constantly on edge because of the potential disaster of Baz finding out about his feelings or of the potential reaction of their friends, seeing how they had reacted to Lucas and Eliott. Alexia was special and she liked him for who he was and Arthur could only thank the universe every time he had the luck to even be in her presence.
And now, as he was dancing the night away, preparing to count down to yet another year, yet another decade, Arthur looked around the crowded room. He looked at his gorgeous girlfriend Alexia as she danced with Daphné and Imane and he looked at Lucas and Eliott so captivated and entangled together. He looked at Yann and Emma jumping around as they talked and he turned to Baz as he moved closer. They danced together briefly, smiling, closer than his younger self would ever have imagined.
He looked through the blinding white strobe lights and the flood of blue, grinning around at his friends. He thought back to his entire life and as he looked around the room, he felt a lot less like an outsider than before.
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MAY PICKS!
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WELCOME BACK TO ANOTHER MONTH OF TV/MOVIE WATCHING! 
Does it feel like it was just April or that it can’t even be May and yet it is coming to an end? I get it. Quarantine is doing weird things to my head and I can’t believe how far in the year it’s been. Looking back on my picks for this month I noticed that I have seemed to escape the world through historical period shows or movies. But that isn’t the entire bulk of the month (just half of it). Without further ado, here we go!
As always..spoilers....
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THE HALF OF IT
This Netflix original movie was an early watch for me during this month and it came at the right time. I was looking for a movie, rather than a TV show, and something that was contemporary and not overly serious (although, there are serious themes in this film). As it repeatedly says, “it’s not a romance” yet it has that YA/teen romance feel. (Yes, I used YA/teen in the same description.) I really loved the Elle Chu and Paul Munsky friendship. While watching the trailer, I could tell this film would be highlighting a healthy friendship as its focal point and how your other half doesn’t have to be a romantic soulmate. A lot of times, these kinds of stories can seem very repetitive, but with the new plot of Elle and Paul in love with the same girl we encounter a new kind of obstacle. I think the resolution was pretty solid for both plot lines and I liked the train scene at the end. Certain shots felt long at times. There were lots of pauses, which I didn’t 100% like. Also, the awkwardness could feel pretty cringey. Overall, it is definitely worth the watch. I liked it and would watch it again. Paul might be one of my heartthrobs of 2020. I’m always a sucker for a sweet jock with a heart of gold. 
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THE OFFICE LADIES
Yes, I know I’m late to the show as this podcast started last year, but better late than never and what better time than quarantine. Plus, I don’t have to wait each week for a new episode (even though know I’m catching up, so eventually...) At first, I was worried when I would have time because of not spending as much time in the car for commuting, but I found it’s really soothing to listen to as I’m cleaning. It feels like I’m in the room with Angela and Jenna and we’re all BFFs. I love how they’re best friends in real life and how close they are. They give the trivia you really can only get from two people who were on the show. They also have several guest stars from actors on the show to writers, directors and producers. One of my most recent listens had Creed Bratton in the studio with them and they talked about the Halloween episode. It was great. Listening to their podcast is really making me want to rewatch the series for the 100th time. As an uber fan, I already get all of their references, but with the new Easter eggs I can’t wait to go back and see them.   
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STAR WARS RISE OF SKYWALKER
Not just in honor of May the 4th, but to finish up the Star Wars watch through that I was taking with my sister. I hadn’t seen it yet and while not a die heart fan, I still wanted to see the conclusion. I liked the Force Awakens a lot, but felt eh about Last Jedi. In ways this one kind of felt like a stand alone. It had a different vibe compared to the previous two. After watching I heard there was a different director for all three movies, so that makes sense-I guess. (It’s weird they wouldn’t have kept at least one to do two of them.) It also had a kind of fan fiction feel. SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! Bringing Palpatine back reminded me of Lord Voldemort having a kid in Cursed Child. BACK FROM SPOILERS! I’m happy that Rey’s parentage/lineage was revealed because it was such a major point in this series. I loved the Rey/Finn/Poe relationship. It was great to see them in the same story line and reminded me of the original three: Luke/Han/Leia. Leia :( It was so sad, but I always knew it had to happen, due to Carrie Fischer. It didn’t make it any easier to watch. MORE SPOILERSSSSS! I knew Kylo would turn back. It was nice to see that his mom was able to spark that. I did like his fight scene. I just didn’t love the connection him and Rey have/had. LOVED the ending. I’m cool with her taking the Skywalker name and the suns shot with the force them at the end had me screaming. 
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OPHELIA
From one Daisy Ridley film to another. This movie just recently got added to my list when I was channel surfing. I vaguely remembered it being advertised, but it felt like a while ago. I’m a sucker for a re-telling, so I was immediately intrigued to watch it. This film was adapted from a novel by the same name. It follows Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and gives her more of a story and character development. If you are familiar with the original, you know that Ophelia is only briefly mentioned and her character’s motives are really driven by her love for Hamlet. Even her famous death scene is very ambiguous. When this film begins, a voice-over narration by Ridley immediately brings us to her death scene and tells the audience “that there is more to the story than we think we know.” I really loved the twist and re-invention of this story through her point of view. I think Daisy Ridley was fantastic in the role. I haven’t seen her in a lot of other things, so it was great to see her here in a completely different role from Star Wars. The re-telling is very creative and very feminist. You get to see how Hamlet and Ophelia meet and then see him off to school. With this addition you can really get behind this relationship and see the mutual attraction and feelings between them. When relating back to the original, I like how they cut out scenes that Ophelia was not physically apart of and instead rely the events that happened. (Specifically with Polonius’ death.) I also enjoyed the new perspective of scenes. You really can tell that Ophelia is not mad, but it is the mask she must put on to survive. The ‘get thee to a nunnery’ scene takes on a whole different meaning now. There’s also a lot echoes to other Shakespearean plays and tropes which were fun to explore. Whether you’re a Shakespeare/Hamlet fan or not, I would definitely check this one out if you’re a fan of the time period, re-tellings or a strong female lead.   
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MEDICI THE MAGNIFICENT SEASON 3
I literally just finished this show this afternoon and I couldn’t wait to write about it. (Sorry if this post is pretty long, but that just shows you that you need to watch it.) I was very excited for the third and final season of Medici because I enjoyed season 2, so much. While this one might have taken me a little longer to watch, it was still a good time and I’m sad it’s over. 
Watching this season I was super impressed by Daniel Sharman’s acting. He has great range as he goes from a young Lorenzo in season 2 to an adult and father and then an elderly man. I think he was convincing throughout each stage and I’m happy they kept the same actor. His make-up to help him age looked a lot more natural, compared to Richard Madden’s, in my opinion. I feel on shows like this it’s often hard seeing a jump in time (it helps with seeing the kids grow up), so when Lorenzo starts to get sick/age I at first, was like whoa, but then it was further explained (by inheriting his father’s illness, etc.) 
Compared to season 2, I definitely liked the previous more. I not only enjoyed watching the more idealistic Lorenzo, but also plot-wise. In season 2 the Pazzi are the main antagonist/objective. Here in season 3 there were several obstacles/antagonists: The Pope, Riario, and Savonarola. Every time we thought there was a moment of peace...nope. Now, I get this is based on history and we need drama so you can only change so much, but I missed the Medici being at the top and being respected. I also know we covered A LOT of time. (I guess that shows you how connected I felt with them and the show.) 
All of the history Easter Eggs were cool. Obviously, the Renaissance was extremely relevant, but it was cool seeing the big names like Botticelli (especially with his painting at the end, which I recognized), Da Vinci, and Michelangelo. I can’t get over how many of these famous painters were recognized by the Medici family. It just shows you how important and influential they were. Also, when Nico revealed his last name as Machiavelli. JAW DROP! This show has continually brought me back to researching (and mainly using Wikipedia). The writing at the end was accurate to what I found. Wish we had another season with the legacy to see it continue. I’m surprised I got teary eyed at the end. 
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WORLD ON FIRE
It may be listed last once again, this month, but it is definitely not least. The show may have finished its season a few weeks ago, but I still have two episodes left on my DVR. The last one I watched was when they were in Dunkirk and that was an intense time. I knew it was going to be, but it still didn’t prepare me. In this episode, we see many characters FINALLY meet up and join each other’s plot lines. I think that was one of my favorite parts of the episode/series. Some already knew each other, while others were meeting for the first time. While I am excited to see how it all turns out, I’m also not ready to say good-bye. Right now, I saw a potential for a season 2, but not sure if that was a fan made article or not. I’m hoping all of my favorite characters survive and get what can be considered a happier ending than what they are currently experiencing. I also hope we don’t end on too much of a cliffhanger. Either way, I’m happy I checked this show out. 
RE-WATCHING
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iZOMBIE
Currently I’m in the beginning of the second season. Sometime last month I felt the pull to start re-watching this show. It’s one that I have tried once or twice to watch again from the beginning, but now that it’s been finished for almost a year, it felt like time. It was a great decision, although right now there’s some character plots that are frustrating me and that I forgot about. But there’s some great brains that Liv has experienced and it was great seeing Lowell again (for as short-lived as it was). I’m excited to continue re-watching. 
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I DIDN’T DO IT
The re-watch for I Didn’t Do It basically began when it hit Disney Plus a few months ago. I just recently made it to season 2, which I remember enjoying more than season 1. One reason for this was because they get rid of the flashback format for each episode. I’m really early on, like episode 4, so I still have many more to go. Once I finish it I don’t know if I’ll explore a new Disney Plus show or watch another that I’ve seen before. 
I also have a few things on DVR that I’m still finishing up. I haven’t watched the finale of Batwoman yet and I know it’s going to be weird now that Ruby Rose has left the show. I just finished the Flash and felt blah about the whole season, so I’m unsure if I’ll watch next season. But I am enjoying Stargirl. You can find my thoughts on the first episode here. I’m excited to see the rest of the season. 
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beingstacey · 6 years
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Send me a show/fandom and ill answer: Jane the Virgin
Top 5 favourite characters: Rogelio,Michael, Jane, Petra, The narratorOther characters you like: Alba,Xiomara, Ellie and Anna, MateoLeast favourite character: Roseor MagdaOtps:Jane/Michael Notps:Jane/RafFavourite friendship:Michael/Rogelio Jane/PetraFavourite family:The VillanuevaFavourite episode: Eitherthe pilot, the one with the BEST. KISS. EVER. Snow kiss or Jane and Michael’swedding.Favourite season/book/movie:Season 1Favourite quote: WhenJane said: ‘I bet you did, I bet you did the right thing.’ to Michael, becauseI thought it was so impressive that she had that much faith in him and eventhough she didn’t know the details she trusted his decisions.Moment that made youfangirl/boy the hardest: The snow kisses, when theirhearts glow … all the romance-y stuff.When it really disappointedyou: Season 3b and Season 4, I feellike the show lost its way and doesn’t know what it wants to be anymore.Saddest moment:Michael’s death.Most well done characterdeath: When Santos died on thetelenovela and Jane used Alba’s line ‘You are my flesh and blood. There is nothing you could do that is unforgivable to me.’Favourite guest star: Maybe when BrunoMars sang at the wedding?Favourite cast member: JamieCavilleCharacter you wish was stillalive: Well … I was gonna say Michaelbut … One thing you hope reallyhappens: That the final season recapturessome of the magic of the early magic.Most shocking twist:Back in the day, I think that Rose was Sin Rostro. I like how they gave usenough info for us to work it out just before, like JUST before. Petra having atwin, the reveal was great.When did you startwatching/reading: I was SO excited for this showbefore it aired (even before the first trailer), I was worried that it wouldn’tlive up to my super high expectations. But the pilot was even better than Ithought. Trope you wish they wouldstop using: Love triangles.One thing this show/book/filmdoes better than others: Magical realism.Funniest moments: Allthe moments when Rogelio is angry about something silly.Couple you would like to see:I would like to see Alba in loveand loved and happy.Actor/Actress you want tojoin the cast: No one stands out.Most boring plotline: I’msorry, but most of Rafael’s stories but only because nothing really comes ofthem, I think that it’s unfair he never really grows or changes. He circlesaround the same issues and problems.Best flashback/flashfoward ifany: The show does this really well,I love all the flashbacks of the family and what it was like for them growingup or at different stages of their motherhood. Most layered character: Ifeel like most of the characters are really layered and real and full.Scariest moment:The waiting between seasons 2 and 3 to see if Michael would live.Grossest moment: Arethere gross moments?Best looking male:Rogelio – he’s told us himself many times.Best looking female:PetraWho you’re crushing on (ifany): Nope, sorry.Most beautiful scene(scenery/shot wise): I like the beach scenes and thecosiness of the house – everything is lovely with the sunny weather.Unansweredquestion/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: Ididn’t like the time jump and didn’t feel like it was handled that well and Idon’t really understand the point of it given recent plot developments.At what point did you fall inlove with this show/book: The first trailer andthen super in love with the pilot. (I rewatched the first two seasons earlierthis year and I re fell in love with the pilot all over again, it was such agreat start to the show).
Thank you, Elizabeth
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careyourself · 4 years
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I Kinda Don't Care Humor T Shirt
But this is new business and you don’t know what you agree to when you what you’re actually giving is where you’re agreeing with you that none of these kids are reading and that you realize and occasionally you sign a I Kinda Don't Care Humor T Shirt contract and you didn’t read it you hold up in court that you didn’t know what I’m saying is that these are predatory practices and we have to educate people on how bad it actually is because people are just you say okay click my friend does it all do it I don’t care if you are so are I still yeah okay him the episode Blake a few years ago that the human centipede so were stopped about whether you agreed to it you interested a few servers are read to the brine joke is that they keep taking these signing contracts without reading them and ask them to all kinds of firstborn child kind of stuff a dream to become part of the human centipede so when I have the next world war based around tick tock right all yeah but I also think maybe PlayStation and Xbox might do a World War II. So Wiseman is point Scalia is word of her death sent shockwaves around the handle that well resident was speaking at a campaign rally in Minnesota touting the importance of judicial nominations is quicker on his feet and Biden that’s one thing I’ll give him he’s quicker on his feet wet with software and Biden’s are of Ginsberg’s passing even as a supporter shouted the new the next president will get 1 to 3 or four Supreme Court justices I do want to bring up that when school Leah died it was right before Obama was about to leave office right before the election the trunk got elected in and they were Republicans were like a Obama leave that appointment up to the next parade it was over six months before right and this is left to us before and Mitch McConnell was in charge and to use 237 or something to 47 was a well over 200 days prior to Obama leaving and Mitch McConnell wouldn’t even hold a hearing for Obama and now Mitch McConnell’s like when you try to cram someone that were less than halfway last night. And is hereand I clothingand present also present very well before the emails that she is on practicaland wonderful people you entertain United Nations I do indeed yes I have trained back to my previous statement I do recall it comes to continental title to send you a call the conversation again I do yes verified other can read it back to me please now actually give them okay Tuesday January the rarest rock she had a different perspective than the restand I think that we found a sadand thinking that we perhaps would wanted to see me for anywhere so we all get a grant which was like aand wonder what we know I cannot purpose for lying aboutand it is strange that that’s less than like it is a little once again nominated that putting Ferdinandand boss lady in their ruling of the bus a particular with the bus baby is a genius exploration of the evils of late capitalism as told through a baby in a coma Verizon how monies dreaming all that it’s a really trippy psychedelic blades like Smith has been seen since what you areas are the outand writing right here at work her job to rewatch minivan forced us to watchand and in light of that they clearly do you look at meand a lot of people think even stronger one human being so which is really funny great foundand had Legoand Batmanand that’s literally the reason lightingand the word Lego man then there like now it’s dumb that he did not shameand are literally just look at the time because those are two of the better animated movies exiting the government was but they are my favorite Batman movies really think I 2012and the screeners for dark night right I was shocked because I looked backand forth read the entire synopsis they managed to write up a whole synopsis without once mentioning the word nowhere to be found on the beach I think I’lland the cover was Bruce Wayne climbing like the wall is no those of a no it’s just Christian mailand in the rain heard like down from like the bar idea that it was just like the colostomy bag Academy voter anymore the impression that there really is then again looking at Wolverine on the Lorraine in combating now should wonder woman need help from for me personally I the superhero film how you compare superhero film to the drama what account if you can’t be beautiful to selectionand even
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THIS WEEK WAS DEATHLY KAMALI HARRIS CLOSELY TAKING THE I Kinda Don't Care Humor T Shirt POSITION OF VP FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND THEN THE FIRST ARTICLE IS WIKILEAKS POST UTTERED IN 37 DOCUMENTS ON KAMALI HARRIS HOURS AFTER SHE WAS NAMED JOE BIDEN’S RUNNING MATE THEN WE HAVE THIS IS REALLY BIG DOWN THE LEGAL. Tupac is amazing is very good I just didn’t like the Snoop Dogg character I thought that was sad I didn’t look or feel like Snoop Dogg certain things get the feeling off but I it was I a good movie it’s good to check it out I think it’s impossible to contact his whole life two hours so that poor young saluteand Gigi Mayo did a good job may not did a good joband off course Grady did a good job rabies my guy as he did a great job he played a perfectly but yeah man I go’s latest hours yeah I was a great topic know how would now like you might not like it tell you right back has they would wanted to go to he would probably wanted to go deeper into his life but I think I think you should go see the movie event because I cannot get support things like this in the culture anyways okay so in the end this is good I’m not telling you anything bad it wasn’t a bad movie is a good movie I would tell you it was trash out was actually I was satisfied when I leftand you know you don’t see that movie at this as I was satisfied I got paid my money saw that movie actually bought three tickets are a why why didn’t know what I wanted to go side by three different ticket so I ended up spending 21 see the movie way it’s good I got to go see it that way in Michigan in early dealing I went at 10 AM yet definitely also lucky organized you can be happy sought that because it’s two hours of gray filmmaking okay there might be a few characters that didn’t play detect the characters we know in real life like Snoop Dogg that’s okay your stoveand enjoy the movie hundred percent pay they show every a showing of illness too much they just don’t going total depth of the do you go in the just theater now I didn’t I went to ANSI I know Johnson had here in Atlanta check that out there’s also a Cindy bistro but I went to ANSI the reclining seats not taking part wouldn’t go see JGI now I mean you know I think there needs to be another Tupac I think there needs to be a longer Tupac moving his his life he can’t I still can’t believe he was only 25and did all the things he didn’t like this guy like let’s bring up the staff to say it I how many movies is Tupacand I think he was in seven movies he was an 11 movies 11 movies how many how did the any reported 12345677 now moansand then 7 pounds while he was aliveand then after his death wine 234 5678 910 like her 11 hours after his death I think even more than maybe 12 that’s crazy because think about it most people can’t do that their whole life he didn’t like years that’s crazy as first argument 119 91 Tupac Now that’s crazy man so he he was really like active active like six years that’s it six years man that’s crazy man in a day show everything him even wanting to kinda get off death row that the way he died way that a problem with some crib members right before he died think they can show everything generally leads to much outmanned so as for everyone to play now appreciate you broke appreciationand salute Yogi Banks was good to Tupac was pretty amazing brought me to do all that in such a short amount of time that’s crazy we that’s think about that Mandy that no one is ever to be like pot hate it when people compare themselves to talk like even Wyattand Lucci dropped something today saying something pot did know you near Pac Man you can’t be out for two yearsand compare yourself to talk I’m sorry man I’m sorry if you a betting thugand attend movies if you been an 11 moviesand you haven’t done seven now moans within five years get I hearand also had deftly watch the movie the least two hours two hoursand 20 minutes is pretty long but doesn’t feel that long cuts like you going through that timeline talks deftly the greatest just product the jaded JPEGand said her character was a bunch of lies they put in what the movie guys okay there was they had to establish that jaded taking Tupac had a special relationship that was deeper than just being friends it was a soul sold their souls matched rightand I was the only way they can kinda show that in a short amount of time so they had to show interaction with him in jail that was really deep in the content they had to embellish a little bit go totally crazy with itand show jaded Tupac in effect seen Ernie think that she even said their relationship was deeper than sex they never had sex it was deeper than sex because they it was a mental bondand you know she said you only get one of those friendships your whole life nowand I you know that they did for the movie I don’t think a hand biotics aren’t always exactly on a percent okay but you know annulment JT never was going to leave death row JT yes he was actually Wendy day who was friends with talk he was leaving death row he just couldn’t get off because they worry that he would have to get lawyers everything to he was in the process of doing honestly the last three months he was trying to get his paperwork right to get off the death row but you don’t just tell himand walk away like Dr Dre did it savage life but he had moneyand he started a labeland Dr Dre produced his own shared everything so he didn’t need anybody Tupac had to doand difficult awake is the way he he was on pal from death row it they were buying a house everything he was too tightand it was it would take him a few months to on ravel from death row on my arm to come out soon is joking to Jordan for retro shop tomorrow okay cool I think the movie was asked it was just it was good Okay I’m not I’ll think so afraid of the movie was okay it wasn’t trash it was good I think it was good I thinkand encourage everybody to go see it it wasn’t the best bioticand fiber seen think the strata Compton was fucking go feeling to it is that it was missing that feeling but still get why is your character she played a big role in cycles of yet they missed out a few people but in the mist at the scene where he spent on the infamous stingray spent on the the I reportersand 40 guy I heard about 40 got was pop today are I hope he pulls through nine John Singleton has a real spooky shit going onand I I think it would be good if he he was turning it too deep with it was it better than the movie the movie was more cinematic than this was I can’t say it was better though they were about equal now peace mode staffand how they betray the relationship between pocketand his mother that was dealt those were the two strongest characters meand I’m right just talk about the movieand I will talk about tomorrow to if you guys but I it ways that those were the two strongest characters man they showed how strong the bond was between his mother how his mother was there form after she got cleanand he had some successand got her cleanand everythingand she was more clearheadedand help was there for Pokand warned him about certain things going on in that your target on his back as he was a black leader evaluate it was definitely was it’s definitely were seeing Jason was definitely worsening is get Richard tried die trying a better movie better yes it is because think about it. You know interaction ever had because you couldn’t speak at all thank you everybody else took offense to everyone who came as something they would take a look at say anything back so they would just say everything is going to say my face would just tell also’s argument was that your Film I get out there that think they are right baseball garden I did bring you it is betterand has been so interested is a friend of my body get out there the antibody is in a hospital make their case advantage of them in any way you possibly can move on to our first story here todayand is according to the high reporter scares me that actually deadline high reporter broke a story about a lot of yesterday deadline is not about the new villainand wonder woman to is none other than Sheena played by Kristen Wade apparently paycheckand has had her eye on wake for a while now to play this roleand it looks to be confirmed so that she is going to be going up against wonder woman in the sequel to this massive wonder woman they came out last year the new movie comes on November 1 2000 19th J Washington in any way on the panel knows a little something about Sheena is get a VU what does this mean for wonder woman to you no more you know what for first was one of one woman’s biggest adversaries which is cool use granted they didn’t do in the first movie you burned her out from World War Iand had going forward for two Christian week is interesting casting choice as we been seeing a lot lately with comedic actorsand actresses black I said this on twitter if we can get great Elizabeth Banks is repulsing granted the movie the powerand the heart of the story the cake they did on Rita was nice the way she looked at the different look the vision of a Christian week plan is now will she be as serious or comedic is the question you know now also the story of cheetah is a British archaeologist who goes in Africa they had an opportunity to make this potentially a black British woman there’s a lot of things you do great don’t have to change the cultureand the nationality of the character but you done about bunch of things Christian week is a good choice I believe black will have to see you know when you quit yesterday about the rhetoric also compares it was an interesting one at a very early going on to policy your readerand are in the phase where you will reader processing the I actually like our industry in a limitedand I know the old school reader pulseand everybody was hoping to see in Greenwich have to change things sometimes so using the way they get Elizabeth with this one the Krispy Kreme things a little too much I limit like the look is what I was talking about we can expect her to look as bad as she didand who is a Christian we can look like an incredibly soft terrifyingand look like everything that nightmares are because I know that person that scale afterand I had decided not to go sleep that night like this character sheet in general it is likely because of the complaint getting a lot of Power Rangersand about Elizabeth is reader repulsive she was doing her job if your job was to be in the 90s show Power Rangers seem to fit in with the time when the new movie was trying to do so how’s the character like cheetah who from the fanart for whatever is you are looking to come up with seems a little more outlandish than what we got in wonder woman the first movie I was I get a job with the town because this is the first outlandish character to get that’s a human who transformsand something else with justice league you halfstep more that’s in our worldly creature is in itself with complementingand get everything that’s naturally in Atlanta so we understand that this is gonna be something new to see the DCU you know that to be the interest of our behind again we dealt with psychological sale a question when dating Ghostbustersand other films but this has to be something different will have a comedic element potentially Casio serious will see Harry immediately relocatedand seeing like comedians turn into the deep illness rolesand I rooted for everyone in the marketing point of vampire only those crazy if I were to do a rather like the movie didn’t work as well rises to be in one hour photo resigning like this could work out I think it did think Connex can test it to a darker side of their personality getting Kristen Wade is going to be able to do you I have made during especially the just need your initial impression is lie regarding the morning moreand more I read the other where twins are rolling over she’s going to be a good work can know that she is a good idea if Peterson is really talking on the show where it’s like you feel about one wayand in the next week you feel the same exact way did you get this newsand then have an initial reactionand has that changed all sense you heard about this yesterday plates at the words were not including the reference got into because I first heard the confidenceand Christian way to be able to take her time fender from the community of economic theory generally by tradition works much better than tomato doctors trying to go however my question really affect the talent of what wonder woman he was going to be because if they are bringing Christian right are they planning to make it more the sort of lighthearted comedic type of film compared to the first one where there very negligible humor so much of the few moments of levity but it’s not going the route of life like they do in the NICU movie maxed out when they are trying to may be asking rather than actually having Kristen be super hard core cannot write most of the last few got from wonder woman were were very genuine think the reason for that is because she was allegedly try to find her way in the man’s world so to speak because she went out of her boss Dennis Garethand her interactions the chemistry Chris finds where we got most of the yacht if you will get a movie like Ghostbusters obviously that’s more spoof the then I think you get to see if you wanted so here’s the big question you are left to get over to the panel as a fan person wayand that they can be won over to her performance the one I wanted is under just a little bit of pressure yet again because the first time a woman came outand had to rescue us from this dark gray toneand it succeededand then you have justice leagueand now very divisive movie again so whatever man does with my CAN have a more serious darker tone seems once again is directing it what do we need wonder woman to have in order to make Kristen Wade fit into this balance because as we saw with justice league trying to shift the entire town of DC name from Zach Siders darker version to Joss Wheaton’s line or humorous version the China ship Nike seven Apple man James one says dark black James wants a what you expect I think it’s the balance you’re gonna have a humorist element with one woman like you said in the first you have those humorous moments when you tap into that a little more Diana plays around that we seem that she jokes moreand now she’s more accurate to the world again if this present day is his will to but it doesn’t matter I think I will have a lot more humorand Patty Jenkins also ceased exercising more than anything else so that’s what I would single phase it is Kathy Parsley I can send out the rest of the DCU yelled at everyone with your director changes with your your hiringsand firings of executives with your cash comingand going like the movie I want to make I guess Kristen Wade is a cheetah going to do it I can do I want right now how skinny my confidenceand she sort of envisioned Christian right brain itselfand the one she essentially is writing the role for Christianand the only present quite depressing right was Christianand I think that will be sort of tailored to Christian relaxing make this work a lot more holisticallyand cohesively been made in micro barring a comedic actress integral where really wasn’t for you See Other related 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renlyisright · 4 years
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Season 8 Episode 1 - A Hearty Welcome, A Hearthy Farewell
I may have done a goofy. The first seasons I DVR’d as they came to the Finnish public TV. Then I upgraded to DVD’s, and now I bought the last season on Blu-ray. The problem being that I have no way of getting screenshots from them, as my computer doesn’t have a Blu-ray-player. And I’m not going to get one just for this, streaming is the future and so on.
But if I take a screenshot from an earlier season and just CGI it to look like this latest season everything should be fine, right?
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That’s what I thought. Let’s start.
Oh, a new opening. Super cool. With only three places of importance to show, it can spend its time showing lots of details and fresher events in the sun things. Rings. Whatever they are.
The thing showing the rebirth of the dragons shows also the comet. Back when it showed up in the sky, everyone had different explanations to what it meant. Apparently at the point in history where this model is made, its connection to the dragons has won out. It makes sense, nobody cares about Stannis becoming the Lord’s Champion anymore. If he had won, then maybe, but he didn’t.
The season starts with a kid running in a forest. I have absolutely no idea how much time has passed since the beginning, but this kid must have been a toddler, if not even that, when King Robert came to Winterfell.
Now it’s a different time. A different queen. Daenerys Targaryen, first of her name etc etc, rides North with her armies and dragons.
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There’s a lot of allusions back to the first episodes. The elders have fallen and now the young generation have grown into their roles. I have started to rewatch the show from the beginning while I exercise, and some things in those early episodes are just painful to see. Littlefinger did his absolute best to get Ned killed so he could make his moves on Catelyn. Earlier I said that without Littlefinger the war may have been averted, but the cat of Jaime and Cersei was already out of the bag and Jon Arryn would have soon told Robert, and that man would have been furious.
Oh, and Cersei saying “We have another wolf” makes me stop feeling any way sorry about her. Well, there wasn’t much sorry left anyway, she has been busy digging her own hole, but come on.
She is not taking abandonment well. Her entire family (not including unseen cousins and other kin) has either betrayed her or died. Now she plans to add the rest of the first group to the second. After letting Jaime go, she thinks again and now sends an assassin after him.
An assassín, which is Bronn. Out of all possibilities. Of course, she feels like that’s a poetic way to do it, but really. If he feels like the dragon lady is more likely to win, whoops, suddenly a desertion happens. Cersei may have planned this like “If he deserts, then I have found another weak point and can just send another assassin to take care of him too”, but Cersei hasn’t been that good in actual political intrigue. If she can’t just murder her way out or can’t bribe someone to do it for her there’s not much else in her playbook.
Oh, and time to breasts: 20:57. As this is the last season, here’s a fancy graph:
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I have no idea if there’s any correlation with anything else that can be seen here and what it can mean. Remove the seventh season and it’s symmetrical, that’s about it. I don’t even remember why I started to mention them. It’s a graph. I have several in my Master’s thesis, too. They seem to be something you have to have.
I really like Daenerys’ white dress with red fabric under it. Looks warm and fancy.
Sansa has called all banners to Winterfell. They are making their stand there, with everyone in one place, leaving as few people to be picked out by the dead as possible so there’s not another Hardhome. The dead get more soldiers with every win, and they don’t need to worry about supplies or logistics. Good thinking, but the people of the Last Hearth, the closest settlement to the Eastwatch, haven’t arrived yet. Oops.
Well, they’ll arrive. Oh, they will. But if the Dead have intel (do they? Once again, how much do the Walkers plan?) what they should do is just siege Winterfell and continue killing everything they find in the North. The dead don’t need food, and they don’t catch illnesses. They can just wait. It’s the living who have a deadline to a battle, or they don’t have enough food to feed their army, as Sansa points out.
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The Golden Company arrives at King's Landing, with a new character, Strickland, commanding them. Not Daario, but that was a bit crack theory, as he already commands the Second Sons. Maybe he’ll cross later, with Yara’s fleet, perhaps. There’s so little time left that I doubt we’ll see Essos again outside of a possible ending montage. So if Faabio Naharis wants to be seen (and likely killed), he has to get himself over here.
The Company didn’t bring elephants. Not suitable for long sea voyages, they say. That’s a disappointment, but I understand them not wanting to risk it. Cersei, being Cersei, doesn’t. She wants those elephants. Well, I want them too, so for once me and Cersei are on the same side.
Euron gets to share a bed with a queen. That achievement done, is he more likely now to just skip it if the situation gets bad for Cersei? I’d say not. He’s always been ready to skip it, and he seems like a person who wants more when he gets some.
Yara is rescued by Theon, very quickly. Euron is still in the Red Keep and so can’t confront them. So their eventual confrontation is delayed. I’m as sure about it happening as I’m of anything in this show (which, let’s be fair, is not much). But if there’s a fleet battle before the end, who else could there be but the only ones who still own fleets? Salladhor Saan?
Yara leaves for the Iron Islands, she plans to retake them while Euron is busy. And Theon wants to go to the North to try to pay back for his crimes. Commendable, let’s hope that the dead wait until he gets there.
This episode is full of scenes telling of how much characters have grown during their years of adventuring. Theon now respects the upbringing he had with the Starks and seeks redemption, nobody underestimates Sansa anymore, and Arya respects and protects her. Jon has the loyalty of the North and the Free folk. The dragons, having grown the most during the story, are full grown and can be ridden by people other than Daenerys. (And then we have Cersei, who has learnt nothing, except perhaps how to be a mini version of Tywin, and that playbook doesn’t work anymore).
Flying a dragon bareheaded in winter seems like a great way to freeze your ears off.
“Lord Glover wishes us good fortune, but he’s staying in Deepwood Motte with his men”. I’m not at all surprised. Not at all. As being wrong runs in that family, this was expected. I wouldn’t be surprised if Lord Glover still comes to Winterfell, but he’ll likely walk.
Sam didn’t hear about his family yet, but now he does, and from the executioner herself. It’s a one-two-blow, and really upsets Sam. There’s this super cool new queen who Jon loves and who has come to rescue everyone, and whose followers say they follow her out of love, and also she has executed your brother and father. Sure they walked into it themselves, especially Randall who decided that he can betray Olenna, but he will put a line to Cersei. Grrr. Still, it’s not any easier to Sam. Hopefully Daenerys learns something about this.
And then there’s Bran, who has spent the episode watching everyone. That’s why he’s also in this post at several points looking at you. He knows what you did.
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Now he talks Sam into telling Jon about his mother. Sam does it right near Ned Stark’s tomb. “The next time we meet, we’ll talk of your mother.” 
At this point Sam thinks that Jon should be the king, because he would be much better at it than Daenerys. But, once again, they have the Night King to worry about, can they allow themselves to worry about this now? Jon just had a talk with Sansa that any of this doesn’t matter as long as the Dead are marching.
Speaking of the Dead, Tormund and Beric did survive the break of the Wall, and have arrived to the Last Hearth with the other survivors of the Eastwatch. And it’s dark. Super dark. Welcome to the winter. It’s summer on this side of the screen and so I can’t see a thing.
They find trails of fighting, but no bodies, which tells immediately which side won. Beric finally flames his sword so I can see, and they find Edd. Is it Lord Commander Edd now? And does it matter at all? They find the Umber boy, dead, in the middle of an art installation. So the Walkers a) can figure out who is the leader, and b) are sadistic enough to leave messages like this. It’s not a trap, as one dead who is stuck to the Wall isn’t much of a trap. It’s for morale, so the Walkers do understand things like that.
Edd is confident that they can get to Winterfell before the Dead. Something this optimistic coming from Mr. “We are all going to die”, I take as a certainty.
The whole world comes to Winterfell. It’s the place to be now. One hooded character arrives among refugees. It’s Jaime, here to seek redemption in the apocalypse as well. He can start with the familiar-looking person looking at him from a wheelchair.
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Good luck. But this person is able to watch your whole life, to see if you deserve a chance or not. Hope for the best.
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planetoban · 7 years
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Savin’s Answers from Twitter, Part 2!
Here’s the second batch of questions that Savin has answered on Twitter! Again, tweets are in order from most to least recent, and answers are not 100% true/canon since things may change during production.
Here’s the link to part 1!
Also: If you’re going to ask Savin something, please be respectful and appropriate. He’s a person just like you and me.
@fantasyfox101: another question why is Maya such an emotional anchor for don Wei? I mean he may love his wife but he should still love his [cont] daughter enough to take comfort in her company. He shouldn't have abandoned her, he should have devoted his time to raising her
@EiffelSavin: Eva reminded Don too much of Maya and of his own feeling of guilt
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@AshBashS_: Ever thought about setting up a type of Kickstarter or patreon? I know those who love the series would like to help out any way they can.
@EiffelSavin: That's certainly an option for a bluray release, a pilot or some early development.
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@Tem32016: what is the release date for the Ōban Star-Racers sequel?
@EiffelSavin: If it was only up to me that would be tomorrow but money, money, looking for money - this is always the long part...
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@Fantasticgirlto: I'm curious is don Wei wealthy, and when u said Maya's family looked down on him do they still do?
@EiffelSavin: yes: DW's wealthy, yet that's not enough in some circles
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@Fantasticgirlto: so I'm just going to go and ask this is don Wei only a racing manager or is he also the owner of his own corporation [cont] because truthfully what Don's do is a racing manager or business owner seems to be blurred along the lines in the show
@EiffelSavin: F1 Teams create their own cars using parts from different manufacturers. Same here. WeiRace is a racing team with its homemade "star-racers"
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@Fantasticgirlto: I just have three questions that are actually driving me crazy 1. What exactly is Wei racing what do they actually do, I know [cont] it's just nvolved in racing I know don Wei is the owner but what exactly is it? Is it a company, a racing team, a sponsor for [cont] races what exactly does Don Wei's business do? 2. Is Eva don wei's biological daughter? 3. [this question didn’t get answered]
@EiffelSavin: Wei Race is Don Wei's racing team. Eva is DW & Maya's biological daughter.
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@fantasyfox101: ok three questions why was don Wei upset with Maya in episode 15s flashback? Question two why didn't Eva get along with any of [cont] the students of her school, she seems like such a nice girl, what exactly made her so unlikable? Third what qualities of Don [cont] made Maya fall in love with Don Wei since she's very pretty and I'm assuming she was rich she could have had anyone
@EiffelSavin: Lots of questions... Don & Maya shared a same passion. Molly being a tomboy didn't fit in and some students - not all - resented her for that
@fantasyfox101: So because Maya loved racing don and Maya where able to fall in love.
@EiffelSavin: Yes, that was the starting point.
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@storiesshapeus: sorry to ask but why did u make Make Maya more pretty than Eva her daughter and more attractive than Don Wei, also why is her [cont] racing uniform a mini-dress. rewatching Oban I noticed Maya seems a lot like fanservice, so why'd u make Eva's mother the most [cont] attractive character?
@EiffelSavin: Maya's an intelligent & confident woman. She may dress a little sexy but that's just her taste -  not trying to show off just being herself.
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@Lo_rambles: just wondering, is there anything the fans can do to support the development of the second season?
@EiffelSavin: Good point. The answer is nothing right now but we might need your help later to show potential partners the strengh of Oban's fanbase ,☺
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@lbigreyhound: Also, I was rewatching the original! How long did the Great Race of Oban last? With all those teams competing it felt like it took months
@EiffelSavin: More like a couple of weeks. On Alwas there was 98 teams but most got quickly eliminated after the 5 first rounds.
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@fantasyfox101: if no human can reconnect with magic does it mean Jordan won't be able to control his avatar powers or is there exceptions [cont] with the circumstances or individual, and will there be a consequence to Jordan becoming the avatar for the galaxy?
@EiffelSavin: The Avatar powers are channeled through a choosen individual by the Creators regardless of that individual's origin
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@fictionjustis: It just got to me that Maya's parents may still be alive and where filled with contempt for Don Wei instead of resenting him
@EiffelSavin: I'm not sure we'll have a chance to go deeper into that plotline but who knows  😉
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@fantasyfox101: in Oban Star racers Humans show alarming similarities to the Crogs is this to show that humans would have been the Next crogs [cont] or that any species given the right circumstances and opportunities would have been the same as the crogs
@EiffelSavin: I didn't want to have good humans vs bad crogs. All species in the show have good sides & bad sides. It's much richer & realistic that way.
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@fictionjustis: It's actually sad that Eva was abandoned also if you think about it makes don wei a little less sympathetic
@EiffelSavin: Don Wei starts off has very unsympathetic. But his relation ship with Eva totaly changes by the end
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@fictionjustis: sorry to ask again but it got to me, to ask you why does Maya's family resent don Wei?
@EiffelSavin: Belonging to a lower class - a simple "self made man" - taking their prised daughter down the dangerous path of racing.
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@fantasyfox101: Is it possible that if a human has enough respect for the forces of nature like a nourasian does is it possible for that human [cont] to be able to harness magic or does it attribute to the whole species
@EiffelSavin: Humans knew once, a very long time ago, but they have fared too far away from nature now to be able to reconnect with magic
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(note: I can’t tell whether this is in response to someone’s question because Savin didn’t @ anyone)
@EiffelSavin: I think it really started with Canaletto causing Maya's crash. At that time he "scanned" potential future Oban contestants background... [cont] And found a perfect candidate for his evil plan in sweet innocent Eva.
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@lbigreyhound: Any chance the series will be re-released on blu-ray or on iTunes or something?
@EiffelSavin: Yes. We're working on it.
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@Mendinso: Out of curiosity, do you think you guys will make the Japanese audio available legally? I've seen the series in Japanese in not... so legal> [cont] methods and always wanted to purchase the Japanese version down the road. Any plans for that?
@EiffelSavin: We're hoping to get the japanese dub as well but unlike French & English dubs we don't control these rights at present.
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@CCharmanderK: Does all the precompositing material still exist? Would it be possible to do an HD recomposite of the series later down the line?
@EiffelSavin: Recomposite would be very costly and should not be necessary  The masters are already in HD. [cont] We plan to use these hd masters for a future bluray release.
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@fictionjustis: It just got to me but if maya hadn't died in the racetrack but was killed by any other means in a way Don couldn't blame [cont] himself like for example an illness would Don Wei still have abandoned Eva in his grief after Maya's death [cont] and if it was the other way around like Don Wei was the one who died and Maya had lived would Eva still have had a miserable [cont] childhood or Would Maya have reacted to grief in another way?
@EiffelSavin: It would have been different but don't forget Canaletto had been pulling the strings all along...
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@lbigreyhound: Are there any plans for DW, Rick, Stan, Koji, and Jordan to return in the possible sequel? It would be interesting to see them!
@EiffelSavin: Some characters would return, others who have already played their part wouldn't
@rebelle_g: So,Rick won't be the spin off/sequel? Reading your answear made me think that he already played his part...too bad!I really liked him
@EiffelSavin: Rick would deserve a whole series just for himself but we have to take steps one at a time 😉
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@RedVioletPanda: do the number of "ears" on a Crog have some kind of meaning? Like status or maturity?
@EiffelSavin: I'll leave it open to interpretation for now. Could be age. Could be several Crog subspecies with slightly different local characteristics
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@fictionjustis: We've never heard  much about  Maya's Origin before, is there any chance we will learn about it in the sequel, or spinoff?
@EiffelSavin: I can't gatantee the plot will allow it but it would certainly be nice to learn more about maya
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@fictionjustis: I'm curious you once replied that the avatar is the protector of the galaxy, does that mean there are other avatars in the Oban [cont] universe? If so does that mean there are other creators in there
@EiffelSavin: Smart remark. There might well be other mysterious and powerful people out there... 😉
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- @nyan_lazos: now that jordan is the avatar can he travel anywhere in the world with his powers and visit earth and Eva or is he Stuck in Oban?
@EiffelSavin: He should be able to travel but things might not be so simple in the sequel... 😉
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@fictionjustis: besides aikka and jordan did eva ever attract anyone
@EiffelSavin: She was to tough, and too young before
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@fictionjustis: did Maya love Don as much as he loved her
@EiffelSavin: Yes!
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@RedVioletPanda: will we be seeing/learning anything of Nourasia in the sequel?
@EiffelSavin: Yes. In the sequel as well as in the spinoff
@Lo_rambles: "As well as"? o.O
@EiffelSavin: Don't know which we'll be able to produce - or if any at that stage - but we'd learn more on Nourasia in both the planned sequel & spinoff. [cont] We're working on both but as always financing will decide what we can do in the end...
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@fictionjustis: will aikka and eva be major characters in the sequel and will the sequel give more attention to aikka and eva's relationship?
@EiffelSavin: That could be the case... 😇
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@Altaxiis: Just wondering what the plot would be. My only thought is some interplanetary cup , since next Avatar is only after 10,000 years.
@EiffelSavin: We're aiming at something more unusual than that 😉
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@GabrielAubry2: How does the Earth Coalition deal with aliens talking about the Great Race of Oban?
@EiffelSavin: They've blocked what they could and call the rare information that does get through "groundless conspiracy theories"
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Skam Tag
So I am watching this video, a video I’ve definitely watched even if just in part in the past. I feel down the isak and even rabbit hole again, which makes me watch to rewatch skam, and potentially give one of the remakes a try (I’m skeptical, but more open then dec 2018 when I finished og skam).
Anyways, I wanted to follow along, and see if my answers change at all between now and when I rewatch the series (as if I’m not mistaken, I’ve only seen each season one time, despite really enjoying the show)
Favorite Character: Isak
Season 3 is without a questionable doubt my favorite, it was the reason I started to watch the show, like many others. I do wonder though if my answer had been the same if I started the show from season 1 with no spoilers? I feel like Isak would still be up there, he’s very soft and sweet, but he still enjoys himself, he’s intelligent, (and asks for help? am I pulling that out of my back pocket), he’s open to evolving as a character and acknowledges his mistakes or ignorance. 
Looking back on #skam tag, Noora was one of my favorites upon the first watch, which kinda surprises me, but more so because Noora’s season was confusing and I still don’t know if I understand what happened. (so my confusion has more to do with the plot than the character)
Favorite Ship: Isak x Even 
It’s hard to put into words why something is your favorite, but there was obviously a reason why the pictures of these two characters made me interested to watch the show. 
To get the obvious out of the way: It’s a gay young couple, it’s first love. Something you don’t find as often in the media. While it is more prevalent in this century, this specific development of THEIR relationship is hard to find. As someone who now identifies as bisexual (but also does not care about labels for the most part) I wonder if this is why I was interested in this storyline, and why gay storylines have stood out to me. But again it’s not quite that (tangent time), I remember sophomore year of college there were girls in one of my classes that were really into boys love, and I didn’t understand why someone who was straight (From my knowledge) would be so into boys love, which made me question if it was being fetishized. But as they explained it, one of the girls said, it was because there is not the power dynamic as there automatically is in a heterosexual or heterosexual presenting couple. There was probably more that she said but that’s what I remember....
The script, the acting, is pure, it feels what I would imagine a first love would be. Even is patient with Isak and his coming out. The element of Even having a partner and Isak jealously is a complex storyline that adds to the build-up of them eventually becoming a couple. Going back to what my college classmate said, you can see that they are very similar, Even has a slightly more dominating role, but not overly so.... they compliment each other really well, and it feels and looks realistic.
When I was searching Isak and Even videos on youtube yesterday, I ran into the kiss cam video which I hadn’t seen before, and one of the comments (or rather, many of the comments) said that this was more tongue action than we saw all s3. But there is something pure about the fac that Tarjei is younger and Henrik is older, so in theory, Henrik would be more experienced... anyways. 
Anyways, they’re cute and pure, one perk of the series ending 5 seasons early is we don’t see them break up. Or go through a new major hardship.
My second favorite would have to be Magnus and Vilde they’re cute.
Favorite Scene:
This one is more difficult for me to answer since I have only seen each season once and it has been over a year since I saw season 4 from what I remember these were my highlights: the ending scene of the series when everyone is together, isak coming out to Jonas, and the parallel universe scene. 
Favorite Music Scene:
Lol I defs don’t remember anything...
Favorite Cast Member: Lisa Teige
Again, I don’t know. I never followed the actors too much/sometimes the language barrier is too much effort. But I will say Lisa Teige from her vibe. 
Favorite Friendship: Eva and Noora
 I talk a lot about Isak and Even here but the girl squad without the boys is nice.
Who would I want to date: Isak or Eva
I think 2016 me would have said Noora (and probably Isak). But I think I am too similar to Noora, and Eva is more of the energy I would want going into a relationship. She is more relaxed and adventurous. While Noora can be more serious at times, which is great but I think would be appreciated more as a friend.
Favorite thing about the show: Authenticity.
Like my original post from 2016, when I first started skam, I enjoy the show because it feels real, it feels less like a television show and more like you're actually looking into the lives of these characters. Down to things as simple as not covering up their makeup, and having longer transitions between scenes even if it’s not really exciting, but it can at time intensify the emotion of the scene, same go with the lack of music at times - which is a testament to the script and the acting, to be able to captivate an audience without the makeup, scenery, or drama. 
(I wish I watched it live when it came out so I could appreciate the social media associated with the show, but 1) I don’t know the language (probs could found a twitter for that) 2) would’ve been so much easier in high school (minus the later depression killing my grades)
Season 4 main:
This tag is obviously pretty old because I’ve seen Sana as the season 4 main. If they hadn’t canceled I would have liked Vilde to be season 5 main.
Then in no particular order it would be nice to get these characters to have a main: Jonas, Even, Eskild, Chris Berg (girl), and Magnus (this would mean that Mahdi wouldn’t get a season but I mean, who wouldn’t want an Eskild season)
In this hypothetical land, there would be themes on parents, mental illness, weight?, academics?/future plans, and maybe someone who is struggling with drugs. Like obviously I love seeing the relationship side of the seasons (I say as if I actually liked Noora’s season, she got the worst ship of them all, no thanks, but she is a BA character so it kind of evens out), but if the show would really succeed they would have needed to continue to push topics (aka my topics were rudimentary as it is) (I keep going back and forth between tenses I am oh so sorry)
I think this is where Sana’s season really shined (While she is not my favorite character she had my season favorite season, she had a complex character, and we were able to have a good look at many aspects of her life and her thought process around such things.
With that said here is my ranking of the 4 seasons of skam:
1) Isak 2) Sana 3) Eva 4) Noora. 
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spotlightsaga · 7 years
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Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews… Drag Race (S09E05) Reality Stars: The Musical Airdate: April 21, 2017 @vh1 @wowreport Ratings: 0.693 Million :: 0.3 18-49 Demo Share Score: 5.5/10 @logotv
**********SPOILERS BELOW**********
So I’m guessing they’ll be rethinking that Cheerleading Challenge next season… Cuz uhh… I’m not into seeing a frontrunner going home because of an injury for a useless challenge. Somewhere along the way, I lost a heartfelt review for Untucked E2, and I just haven’t revisited due to a full schedule and general frustration. I’m regretting it and I think it’s high time I suck it up, rewatch, rewrite, and get on with it… You just can’t have Drag Race without Untucked, and I’m noticing more and more that these episodes mean less and less without that beautiful, stripped down version of Untucked really giving me a glimpse into who these contestants are and where they’re coming from. I hear Aja is giving Untucked the business… I need to see that. Lord knows, this producer pushed makeup-time ‘grill-and-drill’ psychology sessions feel very much the opposite of 'candid’. Plus, like I’ve said, I’m 200+ pound bearded ex-athlete with a thick, stocky frame, what the fuck is an eating disorder… And why would anyone want to be anything other than a thick piece of meat, male or female? Don’t get me wrong, I get that anorexia and bulimia are serious mental illnesses and caused by an improper sense of proportion and value… And I never want to diminish other people’s real-life afflictions, I have my own… But Sasha, if random people in the street are you telling you to 'Phone Home’… It’s time to get a 'new hobby’… And honestly, its always hard for me to truly believe an overdramatic drag queen, tho Valentina seemed much more honest and sincere in delivery when discussing her issues. Then again, Valentina is raw as fuck and her little 10-Month stint in drag (which is also hard for me to believe) doesn’t mean anything when you’re jam packed with that 'It Factor’ that millions of people in LA are willing to go 'Neon Demon’ for in a snap of a finger.
At least Alexis Michelle finally made an impression on me, because up until this point I wasn’t sure which queen Alexis actually was. These massive personalities seem to just drown each other out on a claustrophobic main competition show and I feel like I’m missing a huge part of the story here. Why VH1 and Logo refuse to show the Untucked series, I’ll never know… Unless this is all a ruse to get more subscriptions to YouTube Red… But upon with their recent issues with LGBTQ filtering, I highly doubt it.
I’m still having a lot of mixed feelings about S9 of Drag Race… It’s nice to see Alexis finally show us why she’s here (even tho that runway happened, wtf right?!), and Shea coming into her own is amazing, deservedly so… But when an episode ends on a contestant that deserves to be there being forcefully eliminated, and then two queens who probably deserved to be in a double elimination end up getting a free pass because of it… Well it’s just a bummer. Sure, Farrah Moan makes a pretty girl (a boy not so much), but she’s just like the city she claims… All lit up and full of emptiness. Sorry, Vegas, but you suck, and you know it. Cynthia embarrassed me and literally proved that bringing her back means absolutely nothing except hearing the words 'Cucu’ inserted in at least 10,000 phrases… While both of them lip sync to some random 'flavor of the week’ pop star who came to judge Drag Queens in a onesie that she borrowed straight from closet of one of the members WWE’s New Day. I’m not a radio man (are you surprised?). I’ve heard the name Megan Trainor, but I don’t know her music and I couldn’t care less what she does and will do, especially after she showed up in Drag Race in that outfit.
Let’s not forget that Nina Bo'Nina Brown serves up Mary J Blige (and that’s a fact 😜) realness on the runway, then they break her down on stage after Todrick relays how she acted a fool during the rehearsal for the challenge (snitch), exploit her weakness, then slam her over the head with a bat with Shea’s face on it. I have seen way too much reality tv to not be able to call it when producers are pushing judges to say certain things to get a reaction from someone who’s having a mini-break down. I like Nina. I hate that she has this massive insecurity… Or as Ru put it 'paranoia’. But obviously now that Eureka is out and Trinity has no one to quip about, they need a pair to fill the 'rivals’ gap… But it’s almost too painful to watch. Whatever is going on on Nina’s head is more than just 'rivals’, and my sensitive 'empathy radar’ is literally ticking off the fucking charts. I really *need* Nina to get it together, put whatever disenchanting issues she has with another strong, talented persons of color achieving greatness and slay the Shay. Don’t get me wrong, I love Shay… She was clearly the winner and one of the main reasons that what sounds like a really negative review actually got higher marks than you might think. I liked Shay from the beginning, pegged her for the dark horse of the competition, mainly because I thought her makeup was a little too 'signature’… But obviously she could be more than that. Bitch is BAD!
This dark tone that underlines this review is definitely caused directly by Eureka’s dismissal… Which I understand, but I’m pissed Eureka was out in a position where his physical limits were tested so early on in the competition. This is not 'RuPaul’s American Ninja’ or an updated Drag-Adult version of Nickelodeon’s 'Guts’. So Ru, speak up next time the human beings you’re supposed to be lifting up and protecting are put in a position where they could get torn ACLS or concussions. I guess one more quip where I refer to that challenge and episode as the 'NFL of Drag wouldn’t hurt. I know this review is a bit salty, that’s why I tried to pack a humorous punch to sit along side it. My ass is heading over to round out my YouTube Red free trial and catch up on Untucked, because I need to be liking all of these contestants much more than I am right now.
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THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Gets A Sad Backstory In Episodes 71-77
  It's time again for the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! It's me, Carolyn Burke, and I'll be your host this week as we continue watching all 220 episodes of the original Naruto. Last week, we covered episodes 64-70, and we continue this week with episodes 71-77. Let's get started!
  This batch gave us a lot of tragic backstory as we got a closer look at Gaara's sad origins and the possible reasons for some of his odd behaviors. Quite an emotional turn after all the fighting we saw last week. Of course, there were still plenty of scuffles to go around. We also got to see the Third Hokage in epic action and had tons of fun with a bugs versus puppets showdown. 
  Let's find out what the Crunchyroll Features team thought of this week's episodes!
    So, the obvious elephant in the room is Gaara. He's ... not OK. But it struck me that he's very much suffering from mental illness, probably depression/PTSD and possibly some kind of personality disorder, from a very young age. He even reaches out for help, acknowledging his lack of understanding of pain and empathy, only to have that backfire greatly. How do you feel about Gaara's villainy before and after this backstory revelation?
Paul: Although I feel pity for Gaara's horrific, abusive upbringing, I think the metaphors of his mistreatment break down a bit when you realize that the everyday citizens of Sand Village (as compared to the assassins sent by Gaara's father) have legitimate reasons to fear him. As a child, Gaara can't control his powers and when distressed he injures and kills people at random because he can't distinguish friend from foe. I feel sorry for Gaara, but if I lived in Sand Village I would also stay the hell away from him for my own safety and the safety of my family.
  Joseph: I dig Gaara's backstory, and while I agree the people of the Sand Village had good reason to fear him, it doesn't delegitimize it. If anything it makes it slightly more tragic.
  Danni: Yeah I don't quite gel with the mental illness reading either for the same reasons as Paul. I was however very impressed by his backstory. I had already guessed that he'd had a caretaker try to assassinate him a while ago, but it was still very heartbreaking to watch it play out.
  Kara: I mean, what happened very much affected him, and unsurprisingly so. If the last words of my one friend in the world were "Everyone hates you including me," I'd be messed up, too. I don't know how (or if) I'd class his reaction mental illness-wise, though. But yeah, it's a double-edged thing. I don't think people were wrong to fear him, but it sure did suck. I also think it's kind of neat how they peppered in things like him talking to the sand during his fight with Sasuke... which before was just weird, and now is something else entirely.
  Jared: Like the others have said, it kind of goes both ways. The regular people of the Sand Village had enough reason to fear him since he could get out of control with his powers. That being said, Gaara was surrounded by some exceptionally crappy people. Which makes the whole reveal of why he's become who he is today make more sense as no one was willing to offer him any help. I certainly feel more for his character than when he was initially introduced as the murder death kill kid.
  David: Gaara's story is basically "what if Naruto didn't have Iruka and also the Hokage wanted him dead," so I think it's ultimately more about the negative consequences of children left neglected and abused instead of mental illness. Still very tragic though.
  Noelle: It's tragic, but it's a dual thing—unlike Naruto who can't touch the nine-tails at all, Gaara's powers are constantly active and he has no control over them. He is legitimately dangerous and people fear him for a reason. That being said, that nobody, not even his own family, has attempted to reach out to him genuinely makes my heart hurt a lot.
    Similarly, what did you think about Naruto's realization about how close he could have come to following in Gaara's footsteps? I genuinely appreciate Naruto's ability to look on the bright side of everything and persevere in the face of terrible adversity.
Paul: I appreciate the parallels and I hope that this story-line eventually leads to Gaara's redemption, but I do wish Naruto didn't take so long to find his courage. Sakura defended Sasuke without hesitation armed with nothing but a kunai, after all.
  Joseph: I'm with Paul on this one. I like where they're going with the connection between the two, but at this point, Naruto needs to start acting more impulsively in these life or death situations. This batch of episodes has already been not-Naruto-centric enough as it is!
  Danni: I love it. Naruto's ability to relate to his enemies might be the most endearing thing about him to me. The conflict between him and Gaara is actually reminding me a lot of a recurring lesson in Mob Psycho 100 about how much our lives are shaped by those around us, so those blessed with good companions should be thankful for them and try to reach out to those without.
  Kara: Naruto's a lot better than I am. I've been in a few "there but for the grace of God" situations myself, where I can see someone else has the same baggage as me but lacked the support system I had to survive the situation intact. I think we've all been there, just not with demon foxes and sand moms, you know? I've gotta admire Naruto for counting his blessings positively instead of just sitting there going, "Yikes."
  Jared: As Danni said, it's real interesting seeing this play out with how Mob Psycho 100 is doing something very similar. I like that Naruto is able to recognize this and get why Gaara is the way he is since he just as easily could have turned out the same. It totally works with who he is. Although it was kind of funny seeing clips from the first few episodes and thinking "oh those episodes don't seem like they were that far back", except it was 70+ episodes ago.
  David: I've said it before, but things like this really do a lot of work in selling Naruto's slow growth toward being a believable leader figure, making his ultimate goal of becoming the Hokage thematically fitting instead of just kind of nebulous. I always seem to like it when it comes up.
  Noelle: I love the parallels, because it does ring true. Both of them internalized their pain in a different way, but what would have happened if Iruka wasn't around? People tend to give back to the world what the world gives them, and if Naruto didn't have a positive mindset or a support system, he definitely would've ended up way worse.
  Do you agree with Gaara's assessment that Sasuke is hard, cold, and hate-filled? He's pretty angsty, but I'd have to go with no, myself.
Paul: I think Gaara's correct in his assessment. Sasuke is driven by revenge and he's often contemptuous of others and overwhelmed by self-loathing, which are traits that I hope he will eventually leave behind. It's really just a matter of degree. If Sasuke's a six on the "hard, cold, and hate-filled" scale, then Gaara's an eleven.
  Joseph: Gaara nailed it. I haven't seen much from Sasuke in these early episodes to indicate otherwise.
  Danni: Oh, absolutely. He's changed bit by bit being around Sakura and Naruto, but he's still clearly driven by the desire to kill Itachi. I'm anxious to find out what downfall he suffers as a result, and I'm most disappointed by Kakashi, who seems to be encouraging it.
  Kara: I can't really say Gaara's wrong. A few of our protagonists, starting with Naruto, have sort of back-burnered (but not abandoned) their specific goals in favor of learning and practicing their "Way of the Ninja"—which is a theme I love whenever it comes up. Sasuke is still stuck in his Season 1 Episode 1 motivation while others are growing and maturing. He's good at what he does, but I feel like that one-track mind is gonna get him in trouble.
  Jared: I wouldn't say he's necessarily as fueled by it as Gaara is where it's basically his entire existence of living, but Sasuke can get up there with his desire for revenge. Again, I think it works because we see just how much of a parallel he has with Gaara, without the two of them being identical. Sasuke's been helped by being paired with Naruto and Sakura, but it hasn't necessarily quelled his intentions either.
  David: Gaara is right but I'm not sure he really understands why. Sasuke is like an inverse Gaara—where Gaara lashes out against the world in its entirety, Sasuke is so filled with anger toward one person that he is numb to the rest of the world. As said it keeps him from really growing as a person, and from even recognizing that there are people who care about him at all. His assessment is ultimately on-point to me.
  Noelle: I'd say Gaara is pretty spot-on. While Sasuke has come some ways in finding comrades, his entire motivation for being is still revenge. That eats away at you, whether you like it or not.
  Let's lighten up the mood, shall we? We previously mentioned, almost unanimously, how awesome the bug jutsu is. What did you all think about the bug fight scenes and how effective they are as trackers?
  Paul: I was honestly expecting something a little flashier from Ino's Chakra-devouring insect ninjutsu, but maybe it just appears a bit tame when compared to the visual lunacy of Kankuro's freaky puppet antics.
  Joseph: I really enjoyed this fight, but that's a no-brainer because it had two things I love to watch: puppets and bugs. Pitting the two against one another is MUAH. I don't know that it's a totally awesome jutsu, but I like how creative Kishimoto gets with its implementation.
  Danni: I never said it was awesome, only that it was powerful. I cannot stand bugs. The most terrifying thing that could ever happen to me is being swarmed by bugs. They are a near unstoppable jutsu because their existence is so terrifying.
  Kara: One of my favorite things about Naruto is everyone's creativity. They learn these basic tactics and have their own styles, but it all comes down to adapting to your opponent and surroundings. I also like a fight where the zinger comes at the end: We've been focused on what's going on in front of us, meanwhile, something was planted waaaaay earlier and is just now becoming relevant. Puppet vs. bug is not a fight I thought I'd enjoy, but I admit to being wrong.
  Jared: Getting devoured by bugs is like nightmare fuel for me, although that whole fight was coming up with clever ways to utilize them without it just being here's a swarm. I actually thought what was most interesting about that fight was the respect Kankuro and Shino give each other near the end where they're just impressed with the other's technique.
  David: In the grand scheme of things it wasn't really an all-time highlight, but I certainly did appreciate getting a more traditional "weird tactics Naruto fight" out of this batch of otherwise huge-power battles.
  Noelle: Action-wise, it isn't the greatest, but can an insect lover like me ever say no to this kind of stuff? Of course not. I had a blast.
      Good segue here, I've been noticing a lot of interesting directorial decisions. I particularly liked the shot of the bugs crawling out of Shino's jacket and up his face. Any moments like this for you all?
  Paul: I don't know if it counts as a directorial flourish, but I really enjoyed the torturous look of the Soul-Sealing Jutsu that the Third Hokage breaks out for his fight with Gaara. I also liked how Monkey King Enma in staff form would change not just length but also width and thickness during the fight scenes, which feels more authentic to his Journey to the West roots. That must have been a real challenge for the animators.
  Joseph: The fight between Orochimaru and the Third Hokage was absolutely overflowing with top-notch directorial decisions. One shot that really stood out to me is simple at a glance, but I loved the angle chosen when the resurrected Hokages step toward the third and walk over their own coffins. Some really stylish visuals in the first three or so episodes here.
  Danni: A decision that stuck out the most to me was keeping everything in the Third Hokage's perspective once the darkness jutsu had been activated. From the moment it was activated to the moment it was released we didn't see a single moment of that fight from outside his perspective.
  Kara: A little thing I loved. In Gaara's flashback, when his whole situation fell apart and he realized he'd been lied to by the one person he cared about. The whole "glass shattering" motif is a common one for moments like this, yeah, but in Gaara's case it was reminiscent of when his Sand Armor shatters—that last little layer of protected he has.
  Jared: The utilization of cinematic bars on Gaara seeing himself and his mom turn to sand was an interesting touch that I can't tell if it was more to make it seem more serious or set itself apart from the flashback. I also dug in Naruto's remembrance when he tries to look at his reflection and sees Gaara staring back, but headbutts what he's looking at and it returns to him with a shattered mirror and blood trickling down his face.
  David: The animation in the first episode of this batch is so loose and fluid, really a joy to watch. I was very glad they finally gave a lavishly animated fight scene to a character that isn't Sasuke.
  Noelle: As others have said, the Orochimaru vs Third Hokage fight really had some massively good animation direction. It's the first time we see something where we know how much power is involved, and that nails it.
    And just in general, what were your highs and lows week?
  Paul: The high point for me was the fight between the Third Hokage and the zombie resurrections of the First Hokage and the Second Hokage. The special effects animators really pulled out all of the stops there, and all of the elemental magic was especially impressive for something created within the constraints of TV animation. My low point was Naruto falling prey to Gaara's intimidation for so long; I like Naruto better when he takes bold, confident, heroic action, even if that means he ends up boasting or biting off more than he can chew.
  Joseph: My high point was also the Hokage battle. The animation is through the roof here, and it was just a creative and exciting battle all around, befitting of its subject matter. Low point would be Gaara's transformation. It may look cool on the page when Kishimoto draws it but it looks really bad in the show, with his Boglin-lookin' ass.
  Danni: The high point for me was definitely the Third Hokage's fight. The animation was fluid without being overly flashy. I enjoy flashy animation, but I really loved the simple fluidity of that fight. My low point would also have to be Gaara's transformation. Its full form looks alright, but the partial form just looks a bit goofy.
  Kara: Agreeing with all of the above. The Hokage battle is so cool. For a while, we never really saw the Third Hokage as anything but the dude in charge who sometimes hands down uncomfortable news, but he is the Hokage. And one thing I've learned from anime and action movies is old dudes get old for a reason; I figured he was no slouch even now. And yeah, to echo everyone else, I could not take Gaara's transformation seriously. I need to check out the manga and see how it looked there.
  Jared: The Hokage battle was real rad, especially getting to see the upper echelon of techniques and jutsu that we haven't seen before. I also enjoyed how they were able to give everything that was happening a good amount of time by switching back and forth between the Hokage battle, the hunt and eventual fight with Gaara, and what's happening in Leaf Village. It was a lot. Low point was as with everyone else, Gaara's transformed state. Hopefully, it looks more intimidating in the manga and not like a flesh blob as he does here.
  David: Adding one to the pile of appreciation for the Hokage Rumble. Low point is on the other end of the episodes, the kaiju battle between Gaara and Naruto. Everything just looks and feels so silly, and at the same time the scale of everything has escalated so quickly (literally and figuratively I guess). It's just jarring really.
  Noelle: Third Hokage vs Orochimaru and the zombie Hokages were just so good. I didn't enjoy it as much in the manga, surprisingly, but here it was stellar. Inversely, I really liked Gaara's slow monstrous transformation in the manga, but in the anime ... it looks cheesy, I'll say that.
    COUNTERS:
"I'm gonna be Hokage!" count: 0 (23 total) Bowls of ramen consumed: 1 bowl (30 bowls, 3 cups total) Shadow Clones created: 16 (274 total)
  And that's it for this week, folks! Feel free welcome to join us for this rewatch, any time. Especially if you haven't already watched the original Naruto!
  Here's our upcoming schedule:
-Next week, on APRIL 5th CAYLA COATS takes the reigns for EPISODES 78-84 as we meet a mysterious new stranger.
-Then, on APRIL 12th NOELLE OGAWA will take a turn at the wheel for EPISODES 85-91.
-On APRIL 19th NICOLE MEJIAS will walk us through the legendary Sannin battle in EPISODES 92-98.
  Thank you for joining us for the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! Have a great weekend, and we'll see you all next time!
  Have a question for next week's batch of Episodes 78-84? Drop it in the comments and you might find your answer in next week's installment!
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  Carolyn also writes for Bunny Ears and Cracked. Follow her on Instagram or Twitter.
Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!
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