#spoilers but I’m on like ep 23 now so I think I just miss him more

[potato-lord-but-not]

is arthur or john more pookie bear

John’s definitely more pookie bbg but Arthur is probably my fav despite being less pookie

[gravitysaint]

okay okay okay, i’m on my premium bullshit today. take a seat and grab a coffee because this is gonna be a long one

i have a theory for the Magnus Protocol, and I am so not normal about it that I need to rant. Spoilers ahead for literally any part of the show from ep. 1 to ep. 23

Okay so, with this latest case, i think the supernatural shenanigans of Protocol have less to do with the Fears and more to do with self-image and identity

A bunch of cases have been about this—I won’t go on about all of them, just a few that i think either really point towards this or that i think can be seen as decently convincing when looked at another way.

The most obvious ones, to me, are Episodes 2, 16, and 23.

In 2, ‘Making Adjustments,’ the artist is literally reshaping herself to fit with her image of her “ideal self.” She’s pushing the “her” she wants to be out into the real world. It doesn’t escape my notice that Ink5oul is involved—don’t worry, I have words about them later.

In 16, ‘Anti-Social,’ Madam E (another Ink5oul victim/canvas) becomes wrapped up in her online identity and image—comments physically affect them, and when those turn into a stream of hate… well, it breaks her heart.

In 23, ‘A New You,’ I barely feel like I need to explain. The whole case is Alesis pursuing and following through with a means to become her ideal self. She goes through the entire process willingly and with the express intent to become the person she wishes she could be.

As for the ones that will need some more explaining, I’m mainly thinking of 10 and 13.

‘Saturday Night’ reveals everyone’s favourite children’s mascot/government hitman, Mr. Bonzo, and gives some background on him. Mr. Bonzo was a gag character in Nigel’s late night show. Not only did someone in a Bonzo costume do some murdering, but… Bonzo himself took over Nigel’s show and ‘imprisonment’ in the comedy dungeon due to his popularity. Perhaps this sort of thing got to Nigel, and he saw his life—because the show did seem to be his life’s work—being taken over by the mascot, and then saw that same mascot with blood on his hands. Perhaps Nigel made a monster out of Bonzo in his head, and that monster was made manifest… somehow. Or maybe some kid who loved and idolised Bonzo saw the murders and felt like a monster themselves, spiralling until they became Bonzo a la Episode 23, then attached themselves to Nigel because, well… Nigel and Bonzo were always together.

‘Futures’ is a bit simpler, I think. Darrien wanted to be rich again. He saw himself as “one of the elite,” as evidenced by his attitude and the company he kept when his experience started. His desire and ideal of richness lead to him throwing himself into worse and worse situations for more and more money… until, i think, he realised he needed to stop. He realised that his life had just turned into destroying himself for money, and he was ready to stop that… so he stopped seeing himself as “someone doing whatever it takes to get rich” and instead saw himself as “someone destroying themselves.” And the money stopped, just like that.

Now, for Ink5oul and alchemy. Every Magnus Institute case (the ones from their records/research, anyways), has mentioned the terms “subject,” “agent,” and “catalyst.”

These terms are pretty generic, but we pretty much know the Institute was deep in alchemy, and alchemy is, in essence, the art/science of transformations.

Transformations based on self-image and identity, perhaps.

The subject is what changes (Madam E, Daria, Alesis). The catalyst is what starts/actualises/accelerates the change (Ink5oul’s tattoos, Alesis’s “piece”). The agent is what sets things in motion to change in the first place (Ink5oul is the current main example of this).

This is already really long and I’m basically just rambling at this point, so I’ll stop. This could be the most surface-level take or a complete swing and a miss, but I like thinking about things like this, so oh well

[theteasetwrites]

Well I just watched episode 23. Here are my thoughts. 🥲

Spoilers for TWD season 11 episode 23. Don’t read if you haven’t watched it because some shit goes down.

Love that they’re all heading for commonwealth to fuck shit up

Ok I am actually pissed tf off about Daryl letting Judith come with them. Daryl she’s like 11 years old. Idc how “tough” she is, she should not be allowed to fight in a literal warzone where there are automatic rifles being shot at your people. I absolutely HATE how they’ve written Daryl to allow that. They’re making him make such a stupid ass decision that I feel like he would never make (another OOC moment because the writers don’t know Daryl as a character anymore). Daryl makes stupid decisions sometimes, but this is beyond stupid. Daryl, I know you would be a better parent than that and yet they’ve written you like you have the common sense of a potato

Also Judith begging to go with them all the time is so annoying to me like girl you are a literal child know your place read the room and stop trying to be an adult it’s just annoying at this point we get it your parents were Rick and Michonne pls shut up about it🙄

Hi when am I supposed to start caring about Annie or her and Negan’s stupid unborn baby I think I missed the memo

NOT LYDIA. NOT LYDIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. I gasped. When I tell you I sat up in my bed at 3am and GASPED. I love Lydia so much. But at least it was just her arm and Aaron was with her and helped amputate, but still. Also when Aaron said “you are so loved Lydia” 🥹 I love this man so much you don’t understand he is actually the best character right next to Daryl don’t @ me I’m right also I cared more about Lydia than I did Judith in this ep 🫣

I hope Elijah and Jerry make it in the herd, but tbh I am not going to get my hopes up because they are both fair game at this point unfortunately 😔 who is going to take care of Jerry’s 20 kids

I love that Mercer is helping them out now! He really is a great character I think. It’s just so frustrating that he got snitched on but you know what they say about snitches

Ezekiel pls you don’t have to be nice to Negan it’s ok (I love him for that tho, we stan a bigger person) also if they kill Ezekiel I will stab someone anyway

I really really hope Rosita finds her baby. I wonder why Coco wasn’t at Alexandria like the other kids??

Connie is so sweet to that guy idk his name but you know. That guy. Too bad he DIES

Oh yeah and Judith gets shot. Um so I am not a big Judith fan at all so like obviously I am slightly sad but also… I mostly just care about how Daryl is going to deal with it because he is totally going to blame himself (as he should bc WHAT DID YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN BESTIE 😭). Daryl has lost so many people and he always blames himself for it and idk it just really bothers me that they’re doing this to him AGAIN like let my man have ONE DAY where someone’s death isn’t indirectly his fault and/or affects him greatly. We don’t even know if Judith is gonna die but yeah it’s not looking good. I mean they’re not going to get great medical care in the middle of a full-blown war AND a walker attack (with the advanced updated DLC version of walkers thrown in too)

I honestly don’t care that much if Judith dies but I also don’t want Daryl to have to deal with that because DAMN he is going to be devastated he has lost so much man it’s really not fair. I think he has suffered more than any character on this show and I don’t think it is controversial to say that because just considering the sheer amount of shit he has dealt with and seen is insane. I would say he is going to need therapy after this but apocalypse 😔

But also Daryl you dumb bitch lol ofc this was going to happen you should have never let a CHILD into a WARZONE you big himbo

I’d still give him a blowjob tho he’s gonna need one after this

Anyway

Also Pamela suck the fattest cock you are such an asshole I hate you and I can’t wait to watch you die I hope Daryl kills you too 😘

Ok that’s all I think?? Idk this episode was a whirlwind. I am scared for the next one (esp since Daryl is laying on the ground?!?! HELP)

[purplehanfu]

KinnPorsche: Episode 14, Part I

notes: Spoilers! The finale was extra long, so the recap is in two parts. Ep 13 /// TOC /// Ep 14 Part II

In this episode: a trip down memory lane, Tankhun gets an A+ in arts and crafts, Miss Erika holding it down for the ladies and Uncle Gun doesn’t know how to dress for the occasion. This might be a good time to renovate bodyguard HQ.

same energy

Timecoded Review

1:43 Porsche appears to be having a series of flashbacks- and let me say that it was very nice of Vegas to drop him off; most people don't need a ride to their traumatic childhood memories.  

Porsche sees himself as a child drawing with his mother on the swing outside of his house.

6:18 Porsche heads inside the house and sees his childhood self hiding in a cabinet near the kitchen.  Adult Porsche climbs in the cabinet himself and has another flashback- this time witnessing the murder of his father.

9:20 Porsche comes out of his fugue state and Dad explains what happened: Porsche's father didn't want to be involved with the family business, Dad and Uncle Gun (of the minor family) tried to persuade him, then Uncle Gun got mad and shot him. Porsche's mother was so distressed she eventually killed herself with pills. Oh and Uncle Bitcoin was sent by Dad to watch the kids.

11:07 Dad has heart attack, falling back against the piano keyboard as he clutches his chest which is very extra of him.

12:00 The boys sit in a row, waiting to hear news of Dad. The news arrives and it isn't good.

14:31 Uncle Gun hears the news, and it sounds like a promotion! The minor family seems to think Dad was poisoned.

16:31 Bodyguard-in-Chief confirms with Kinn that Dad’s cause of death was poison.

18:40 Oh boy, an executive committee board meeting! The branches of the crime family try to force a vote of no confidence, but Kinn very confidently shoots and kills any dissenters. Now that's leadership! See you all at the teambuilding retreat next quarter!

22:25 The minor family shows up at the main family's compound.

23:25 Bang bang bang bang bang! so much shooting. 

I cannot believe Uncle Gun wore yachting clothes to a shoot-out: polo shirt, shorts, deck shoes and his jaunty scarf. 

Bodyguard-in-chief goes out like a total badass- he calls upstairs to warn the others and then takes out a cig and smokes his last.

He was only two weeks from retirement!

26:29 Vegas and the minor family make it upstairs and pour out of the elevator, guns blazing. 

Kinn also arrives with a fresh supply of bodyguards.

27:47 Porsche shows up!

28:10 Erika the gun lady is here with a pistol in each hand. Right on, woman!

29:00 Porsche: "I'm not on the main family's side, and I'm not on the minor family's side" 

They John Woo twirl and then Porsche takes a moment to grope Kinn.

30:00 The fight moves to the parking garage. Just when it seems Vegas has the upper hand a bedazzled radio controlled car rolls up- Arm and Tankhun to the rescue! As Kinn and Porsche run away hand in hand, more RC trucks outfitted with various weaponry assist them.

32:56 Here comes Miss Erika with an Uzi in one hand and a lit flare in the other. I would love to see a show about this lady and how she came into the organization. You know she must have a great backstory.

33:20 Nooooooo why are we cutting to Chay. He is sitting on Yok's good loveseat with a head full of hair dye. He isn't even wearing a ratty t-shirt and he didn't even saran wrap his head. Do you even know how to home dye?! YE GODS HE PUT HIS HEADPHONES ON OVER HAIR DYE! Unacceptable! The headphones block out the noise of the huge fight behind him between Kim and some minor family thugs. Chay is oblivious as always.

36:00 Uncle Gun shoots Erika, then goes into Porsche-ception Part II, retelling the death of Porsche's parents from his perspective. In Uncle Gun's version, Dad shot Porsche's father and mother.

Ep 13 /// TOC /// Ep 14 Part II

[chalkrevelations]

Episode 35 of Word of Honor, and I AM NOT OK. I think we all know how this is going to go, so we may as well get to it.

(Spoilers. Keep scrolling and come back later, if you want to watch it unspoiled.)

I dunno, maybe don’t expect any deep analysis in this one? I’m really just a mess of feelings, because THAT MOTHERFUCKING MOTHERFUCKER. You’re right, Wen Kexing, that it should have been a longer, more painful death. I forgive you, though, because I wanted to snap his neck, as some poetic justice. GOD, I could see it coming, as soon as Mo Huaiyang reached out and put both of his hands on Cao Weining’s jaw. As soon as his fingers touched Cao Weining’s face, there was a voice in my head, shrieking, “get him OFF of him, don’t let him touch him, he’s going to …” And what makes it even worse, if that’s possible, is that he had Cao Weining in such emotional distress before it happened. But, can we take just a minute and go back to this, the theme threaded through the show, this word of honor, embodied in these two men, Zhou Zishu and Cao Weining, reflections of each other, both of whom are now in the position of dying for the person they love, reflections of each other: I won’t fail you. And Cao Weining pleads this case to his shifu, kneeling in the sand and the dust and the barren rock of the Ghost Valley, where multiple women who have been failed, over and over, have sought refuge. Where a girl who was raised in all this could have had the chance to escape it, if Wen Kexing hadn’t turned out to be tragically, prophetically correct when he told her humans and ghosts can’t mix. In any kinder magical universe, fucking flowers would have sprung up around Cao Weining as he knelt in front of his asshole shifu and renewed the vow that he’d already made, multiple times, to the woman he loved, where he stood by it, even unto death, where he met his end in the Valley of Ghosts, in the land of the dead where his wife apparently wasn’t allowed to leave and he wouldn’t leave her behind. And then she follows him into death, just as he vowed he would follow her. In her own way, the way she knows how, she follows him into death. I suppose those bracelets from Wu Xi from the previous ep are supposed to be some comfort, particularly since we actually saw them closed around both wrists, and they echo, again, the vow Cao Weining already made to Gu Xiang, to be reincarnated with her, but right now, they are some cold comfort. This is not the pairing I expected to be torn apart over, when I started watching this show.

I have to give them props - especially, again, Zhou Ye - because I had about a minute and a half of grief, and then I, right along with A-Xiang, was consumed by rage that wanted nothing more than to see Mo Huaiyang die slowly and painfully. And then even as my heart was pushing for this, I kept remembering WKX’s conversation with Chengling in the last ep about the three Ghosts in the cold pool, and the philosophical conversation at the tip of Ye Baiyi’s sword in Ep 27 re: retributive vs. restorative justice, and the shift in WKX from wanting to burn down the world to being satisfied with exposing Zhao Jing, and how proud his shixiong was of WKX for not just stabbing Zhao Jing in the face right there in front of everyone, and the effect all of that must have had on Chengling. And then on the other other hand, even as all of this was going through my head, I wanted Mo Huaiyang flayed alive. His death scene was hella gratifying, I’m not gonna lie – this was the kind of catharsis I didn’t get from the interminable fight scene with Zhao Jing, and I’m trying to convince myself it was the pacing, and the fight choreography, not just the sated bloodlust that made the difference. But I felt that sneer on Gong Jun’s face, he was great in that scene, although I suppose it’s not great for WKX’s soul, to be back where we came in, in Ep 1, with the signature Ghost Valley Master choking move in the signature Ghost Valley Master blood-red robes. It sure did feel good, though, and I suppose that’s the seductive appeal of backsliding on your ethics.

I also was pretty impressed that as much as they’ve built up the zhiji relationship between WKX and ZZS, all of it disappeared for WKX in the face of his meimei’s death – as soon as he cradled his dying little girl in his lap, no, as soon as he saw her down on the ground, he was blind to anything else. I really appreciated it, that this little girl who WKX saved and was saved by mattered so much to him that nothing else mattered, to the point that as he’s getting ready to die, he tells her to wait for him because he’ll be there with her in just a minute, he’s on his way to her, without a single apparent thought for anything or anyone else he’ll be leaving behind. It gave their relationship so much weight - a weight that helped make both of them such complex characters, I think. During her death scene, I couldn’t help thinking about the last time we saw A-Xiang this wracked with emotion as they talked, the fear and pain in Ep 23, when she was curled up protecting all the tenderest, most vulnerable places, speaking not only for herself, but for all the things Wen Kexing couldn’t yet say and show, at that point, and now to see them both sobbing and curled into each other just about killed me, particularly when this episode was the realization of all the worst fears of that episode.

Also, yes, all the super-manipulative flashbacks scenes of Cao Weining and then Gu Xiang and then Cao Weining/Gu Xiang absolutely worked on me, along with both of A-Xiang’s goodbyes to WKX – including the one when ZZS apparently used the Drunk-Like-A-Dream on him and A-Xiang telling him she was OK and with her parents was the thing WKX wanted most in the world - and I spent a good part of the episode a snotty mess. I don’t know, did anything else actually happen in this episode?

Oh, yeah, the truth about the (lack of) Seven Nails came out, and while it was an appropriately emotional scene, although only about a minute long and lacking WKX’s reaction, boo show, it also was buried under a mountain of trauma that had already happened.

Other things that also happened:

Not precisely an other thing, but maybe tangential - I remember thinking, wondering - with a detached part of my brain that wasn’t shrieking a danger alarm, as I sat there watching Mo Huaiyang’s hands on Cao Weining’s face, KNOWING what was going to happen at any minute, and helpless to stop it – I remember wondering if this was some kind of commentary on religious (or other) fanaticism, on compulsions so strong that you’ll literally and figuratively sacrifice your own children in the most horrifying ways and think you’re righteous for doing it, and that reaction was only strengthened by Mo Huaiyang’s language to WKX that he needed to “cleanse” his sect. Wen Kexing wasn’t wrong when he said that evil doesn’t just reside in the Ghost Valley. Also, we’re told later in the ep that Mo Weixu is still missing – is that Cao Weining’s da-shixiong? Oh my god, Wikipedia tells me he’s Mo Huaiyang’s son. Wasn’t it implied then, that Mo Huaiyang killed him, too, along with Fan Shishu?

Oh, wow. So, when Liu Qianqiao said “Loser Boyfriend? I don’t know him.” she literally didn’t remember him. So, Water of Lethe, then? My dude was not expecting that, particularly after he just saved her. Well, I guess you’re dying together after all, you and your girlfriend and her girlfriend. (Rocks fall, everybody dies. That felt a bit meh.)

Finally, nope, we’re done, Xie’er. I mentioned at some point earlier that I had a hard limit, and that was hurting A-Xiang, and indirect responsibility COUNTS, with your little deal with Mo Huaiyang, and not even a double-cross gets you out of this, so you are dead to me. (I did like your moment over Beauty Ghost’s death, though. Are you having a little, tiny, digging-a-grave-with-a-sword moment? Y’all have been a little weird about each other since you met.)

[wecryoverduckshere]

I’m like literally sobbing the finale is so good I’m about to watch it again and I just finished it.

💖Spoilers💖

DAD!!! (It was even better that I thought it would be I don’t know if I’ll ever get back from this)

It is a very long ep so I don’t know if I can give all my thoughts but I can put a few!!

1. Funzo’s has some creepy animatronics. Also Blue Sebastian the crab

2. Gyro and Boyd are going to kill me with cuteness

3. Manny has no right to be so amazing (jk yea he does)

4. Lena helps her sis win with magic (poor Dewey 🤣)

5. I love Jane

6. Scroogey really is good and ha your words in Last Crash of the Sunchaser can’t hurt me anymore (not really that episode breaks me every time he says “You are not family”)

7. WHO WOULDNT SHOW UP TO WEBBYS PARTY!?!?

8. Gladstone is makin bank$$$

9. Glad to see Della is also bad at ski ball 🤣🤣

10. Daisy is good and Donald loves her imma cry

11. Della almost kills Daisy about two seconds after she was praising her 🤣🤣

12. Feathry you dummy shut yo dang mouth (I also love Feathry)

13. Feathry saying “just the two of you” makes me think of the song “just the two of us and now I can’t get it out of my head.

14.awe awkward family drama (at this point I was basically sobbing over two things, the show is over and Donald deserves his time but awe Della just got him back)

15.Good lord I’m only like a minute into the episode I need to calm down (maybe I’ll just “Dew” a few different posts) ha I’m hilarious clearly

16. Yes Fenton we been knew. Also we love drake and Lp being supportive friends. Also Lp was scarily close

17. “Absentee avenger” Gizmoduck. Gotta write the full name

18. Lp really wanted the cake

19. “Aweee I missed your Scroogian alliterations.” How does Tennent say all them words?!?

20. MORE PEPPER. She’s so perfect. Even if she is technically a bad guy. Love that she’s main crew.

21. Jose and Panchito are perfect they should be in every show made from here on out because I said so

22. “No maniacal laughter”

23. Gizmo calling DW “Wingy” made me cry during the table read and then again in the ep

24. I’m sorry this is really long but I’m still going (I’ll try to condense my thoughts)

25. Petty Della cracks me up for some reason

26. Me too Lp, or maybe I just need to work out more

27. Dad Donald has a large space in my heart

28. Lena’s very cool magic powers are cooler than Gyro (I’m sorry I love Gyro) also for a mad scientist he’s really not up to the technology 🤣

29. I thought May and June were Webby clones a while ago but I didn’t even think about what Webby was. Plot twist bout made me cry. Who am I kidding I was already crying

30. Awe Beakly really does just want to keep Webby safe

31. Even if that includes some lies

32. It’s the finale of Ottoman Empire too. I’m crying about two shows for some reason.

33. Lp draws good boxes

34. Evil scientist Gyro

35. Huey almost dies from Beakly’s death stare after he calls her Bentina

36. Scrooge has a long history of beakly being mad at him and that makes me laugh

37. TEAM SCIENCE FAMILY

38. I paused and looked at that board for so long. Did Webby steal that locket picture of Goldie from Scrooge? Who are the people Webby thought were her parents? Lena was very ready to fight when June was cutting the strings.

39. Della opens up and made me cry more. “Daisy’s my adventure” also made me cry. And “is it 1996” cracked me up

40. HE GOT THE ORIGINAL DONALD OUTFIT. (And Della calls him cheap😂😂)

41. Webby is still a very bad liar

42. Awe Webby is so trusting and I love her.

43. Scrooge sprang for a new tea bag just to get answers and then gets knocked out. He’s got a lot going on in like a day.

44. Beakly loves her house plant

45. Did Beakly find out Webby was Scrooge’s after she saved her or did she just know the basics?

I’m only about 20 minutes in so I’m gonna stop here for now because this is probably super boring but I like putting my random thoughts down so there. I hope this was at least a little interesting. I’m gonna make another post of some drawings later (maybe) that I did while waiting to be able to watch the finale. And maybe tomorrow I’ll do another part of this and just do it in groups. idk though it depends. 💖💖

[lizacstuff]

Hello, Liza! I hope you are doing well. Passing by because I (and everyone else I think) would like to know your thoughts about episode 25. I watch this show trying my best to avoid spoilers but today somehow I ended up seeing everything. Twitter was and still is mad about the episode and I thought I was going to have the same reaction as them. Surprise, surprise, I didn't which left me speechless. I feel like you might have the same reaction as me so I would love to know your thoughts! xo

Hello! I have a lot of asks and rather than flooding my dash, I think I’ll put them all in one place, so this is going to get very long.  I have mixed feelings. I didn’t hate it, but it was a hard episode to watch.

I wish I had seen the reaction before I watched, then I would have adjusted my expectations. The whole time I was waiting for a twist at the end that didn’t come. Partly because of my own speculation, but partly because I’d watch the live with Hande and Kerem and from the translations, Kerem said there was a shock at the end and called the ending beautiful. Never trust Kerem! LMAO. Not because he would ever intentionally mislead, but boyfriend never remembers anything that happens in any episode. Though he was right about the shock, just not about it being beautiful. (Prince be crazy!) Anyway I kept hoping for the twist of them working together and fooling everyone and it didn’t come. 

So I was disappointed at the end, but with adjusted expectations the episode, taken for what it is, is actually decent and I can definitely get onboard with Eda sacrificing everything to save him. That’s very romantic and they did a great job of setting up how devastated she was and how serious the threat is from Babaanne. Eda did not crumble in the face of a couple of idle threats. No, every moment that Eda waited to break up with him, Babaanne introduced some very real and catastrophic consequence to Serkan or his family. Shit got real and Eda was pushed into a no-win corner and needed to act fast. I’ll talk about that more, but first, I’ll mention a couple of thoughts about the writing and the new writers:

(more under the cut)

Good

Structure - The structure of the episode was a lot better than last week.  Scenes actually made sense one after the other, the emotions of the characters were consistent and it all flowed. 

Plot - I’m not necessarily praising what happened in the episode, more that there was one. And it’s one that will not be forgotten in the next episode and it feels like this plot could sustain a number of episodes which his necessary if the show is to continue.

Characterizations  - The characters felt true to what we’ve watched the last 20+ episodes. As I said above, work went into showing us both Eda and Serkan’s mindset and how that led to the ultimate outcome. It’s impressive that they put together one of the most heartbreaking breakup scenes I’ve seen, and the characters weren’t actually even together. 

Not-so-good

Proposal dream - I’m not a big fan of fooling the audience like this, and I’m really not a big fan of putting it in a teaser or promo. That is a bait and switch, and I think it’s a cheap trick for the production company to have featured it in the fragman. Badly done.  In next week’s fragman we see Serkan “punching” the Prince, I fear that is not real, possibly Serkan’s fantasy, and I’m really hoping that “fake scenes” are not going to be the go-to for these new writers. We’ve already spent 50+ hours with Eda and Serkan, we don’t need to see imaginary things, we need real scenes. No fake outs at this juncture. 

Humor and ‘sparkle’ - I think this is what’s going to be missing from the new writer’s scripts. They tried really hard with the game night at the newlywed’s house and Chef Alexander love triangle, (Team Aydan all the way, Ayfer can fuck off. If she doesn’t care about her niece’s happiness, then she shouldn’t get any herself) but it just didn’t get there comedy wise. Ayse really had a way of pulling together very funny scenarios and making everything sparkle, and I’ll miss that. 

Lack of Edser - This is their show, they are the ONLY reason most people watch. You can’t build a plot that separates them. When Serkan broke up with Eda they were able to build a scenario where they were still thrown together all of the time, and kept finding excuses to be with the other. Their screen time didn’t suffer that much. I’m not sure this scenario will allow the same with him being at risk if Babaanne spots them together.  However, for this episode I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt as @jan31​ brought up to me, Kerem and Hande were very busy last week with rehearsals and then shooting The Voice, so that might have contributed to why there was so much focus on the other characters this ep, they needed to release the leads for other commitments. 

hawaiigirl84 said: So I'm on a SCK Facebook group looking at a lot of irate fans. If you haven't seen the episode yet, I think you're going to have to gird your loins for this one.

@hawaiigirl84 Haha. I wish I’d seen this ask so I could have adjusted expectations. I went on twitter last night and then backed away slowly. Lots of dramatic rending of garments and gnashing of teeth.  You know the fan reaction is bad when both the producer Asena and Nesliyan (Aydan) tweeted out reassurances about the journey to love and then this morning the production company twitter account released video of Eda kissing Serkan in the jail. Trying to feed the fans who were out for blood, I’d guess. 

Anonymous said: Okay so the latest episode of SCK had to be the show creating a very low point for Eda & Serkan in order to build them back up, right? My thought after the episode ended was that things honestly could not get worse. That episode was just disappointing. While I get why Eda did what she did I still absolutely hated it and was pissed the writers could not come up with something better. And how heartbreaking was it to realize the proposal scene was a dream 😭. And now they released a clip showing Eda did kiss Serkan in the jail cell but they decided to cut it out? I get that the show has to create drama but the promotion of the episode as being super romantic was certainly a gut punch. The fragman has me hopefully that Eda & Serkan might finally work together to bring down Grandma or at least Eda will let him in on her plan. I will say even though that episode hurt the actors were absolutely killing it.

Are we the same person?? I think I went through all of these thoughts/emotions since watching, lmao.  

And 100% they are taking Eda and Serkan to their low point before building them back up. Also, think about it, after this they will both have a much better understanding of one another. Eda will understand how he could have made the decision to breakup rather than confide in her, and Serkan will understand why doing what he did hurt her so much and why it wasn’t easy for her to get over it. They’ll both have experienced the situation from all sides.  Ultimately, this will make them stronger.

Honestly, Eda has a LOT better reason to do what she’s doing than Serkan did. As I said above, Evil!Granny is not playing. She is deadly serious and seems to be capable of anything. In the course of 48 hours she had manufactured charges against Serkan that were serious and landed him in jail, she caused him to lose the tender they’d won which would have huge ripple affects for the business, and she was able to set up Alptekin and get him thrown in jail. At this point I could see her ordering a hit! Eda needed to call her off and get her to stop or who the heck knows would have happened to Serkan, Aydan and the business in the next 24 hours. Eda needed to move fast and she needed to be convincing. 

Right now I think Eda is just buying time, so Serkan is safe while she tries to fight her grandmother.  No way she’s rolling over. Not Eda. I’m still very hopeful that Serkan will figure out what she’s up to sooner rather than later and they will start to work together. 

Also, YES, to the performances. The actors were stellar. Hande and Kerem both brought it. I physically felt their pain.

Anonymous said: I'm completely convinced that the writers' room for this last episode wrote it without any knowledge of ep 24 except for the fact that it ended with Serkan getting arrested on NYE. Like I still wouldn't like it, but if we had gone from ep 23 to ep 25, it would make more sense. But not after ep 24. Did Ayse just say "fuck it" while writing that episode and gave the fans everything she could knowing full well what the other writers' plans were? Talk about some severe whiplash.

I don’t know what the background is on the writer change, but I don’t think this is fair.  I got whiplash from the fragman (proposal) to the episode, but not from ep 24 to this one. When watching ep 24 didn’t you think it was just a matter of time before the other shoe dropped? I thought that it was obvious that a dark cloud was gathering, just as Eda was willing to start fresh with him. Babaanne directly threatened Serkan several times to Eda. She told Eda she would destroy Serkan if she found they were together.  Episode 24 was Eda being defiant and letting herself be with Serkan and this episode was the consequences of that.  

There are things to criticize, but I completely disagree with you that this is one.

Anonymous said: I think Eda didn't say ily at that time because she must have already thought about maybe accepting what her grandmother had asked for. It would have been weird if she told him I love you and then broke up with him right afterwards. It wasn't the right time, I think the writers are saving it for a big confession like in episode 11. At least for now we could hear her say it in her dream.

Agreed on the timing, and you’re right about the dream. While I am annoyed they put it in the trailer, in the narrative it did serve to tell us exactly where Eda’s head is at in regards to their relationship.  She loves Serkan, she wants to marry Serkan.  So we know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that none of her actions are because of any lingering “confusion,” right now she is acting out of pure love for him. That’s beautiful. (maybe that’s what Kerem meant by the ending being beautiful, lmao) 

Anonymous said: Eda really breaking him by called what they had a mistake and threwing him the parents death in his face like it was his fault, he doesn’t deserve all this. At least im happy serkan walked away first! although he loves her with all his being, he's fed up with Eda behaviour... if she really wants him, she has to fight for him.

Oh boy. 

You understand that Eda didn’t mean anything she said, right?  That the only way for her to convince Serkan she was serious was to bring out the big guns, and that she only did it to save him?

Yes, that was hard to watch. My heart absolutely breaks for Serkan. Actually, it breaks for both of them.  But it’s supposed to, they are in love, and Babaanne is tearing them apart. Did you watch Eda all episode? She was devastated the entire time. That’s one of the reasons this ep was hard to watch. It’s hard to see a beloved character be at that low of a point for 2 straight hours.  

This storyline will be easier for you to watch if you reframe this from applauding Serkan for being “fed up” at Eda, to Eda loving him so much that she is going to do whatever is necessary to save him.  She sacrificed and now she’s going to risk it all fighting Babaanne, and all of it is for LOVE. 

Anonymous said: The ending is so ridiculous, and let's not even talk about the fragman of the next episode I really don't know if I want to continue watching

Okay, you’ve just hit my pet peeve. DO NOT come into my inbox with flounce threats. I don’t care if you watch or not. If you’re done, fine, move on, no need to announce it on anon or add it to any of my posts. Because why even talk about something you’re not going to watch? If you’re not serious, but just saying that cause you’re throwing a temper tantrum and think that you can bring about change that way or think you’re making a point by threatening to withhold your support, I’m not going to validate you. You’re being manipulative and all you’re doing is trying to make other people feel bad.  Anyone else who does this will be blocked.  

Anonymous said:  The new writers are really destroying the series. Eda blamed serkan for not telling her the truth and now she did exactly the same. They're ruining eda's character by doing that. Eda wouldn’t have ever, nor left herself be defeated like this by babaanne, nor used the words she did with Serkan, it was beyond mean, and unnecessary for this plot, im so upset

Dude, pull yourself together. It’s not that bad. The new writers are definitely evolving the series, if feels like it’s going to be more plot driven, than situational, but I think that had to happen if they were going to continue making episodes. Maybe you believe they should just end it, and that’s a fine opinion to have, but if it’s to continue, and I personally want it to, there needs to be a plot, there needs to be a big obstacle and this is what these writers’ have chosen.   

Out of all the thing they could have done, it’s actually a good direction to go. Once again, they’ve chosen to separate them, not because one betrayed the other. Not because of some third-party love interest. Not because one is uncertain about their feelings. Not because one of them made a bad choice that hurt the other. They’re separated because of something that happened when they were children, something completely out of their control.  And Eda made the decision she did, because she loves him more than anything. 

For drama in a romantic story its about as good as you can hope for. Because despite your knee-jerk, overly emotional take, the reality is there is nothing here that taints either character or their love for one another. 

They are NOT ruining Eda’s character.  Eda was pushed into a corner and she made a hasty decision to save the man she loves. Babaanne was watching her constantly, she was having her followed. Eda did what was necessary to get Serkan out of jail and then to stop Babaanne’s relentless, and successful, attacks against him.  She said what she said, because that’s the only thing that would have convinced him she was for real. Anything else he wouldn’t have believed, and if he didn’t believe it then Babaanne wouldn’t have stopped. Also, Eda hasn’t let herself be defeated. She did what she needed to do, so she can keep Serkan safe while she fights. This is just one battle, Babaanne won’t win the war. 

They’ll get to the point when they’re fighting her together, but we’re getting this part first. The part that will give both of them greater insight into the other, and the perspective they both need to truly understand how each felt during the first break up. And it will give us angst and longing and pining and jealousy and all sorts of things. 

Also, curious, why is it okay for Serkan to break her heart because he was afraid of her reaction to the truth of the past, but it’s not okay for Eda to break his heart to save him from huge and real threats to his safety, livelihood, freedom and family?

Anonymous said: I am so sad for serkan he doesn't deserve this. Eda ended up abandoning him like everyone else who comes into his life. The worst thing about it is that he knew it was going to happen and he was afraid it would happen and it did happen 😭

It’s definitely gut-wrenching. Serkan doesn’t deserve this, but neither did Eda. And Eda didn’t abandon him because she wanted to, she did it because very bad things were happening and she had to act quickly.

However, think about what you just said: he knew it was going to happen. It’s also not like the consequences of going against Babaanne are unknown to him.  He knows he was thrown in jail, he knows his dad is in jail, he knows there were serious threats to his business. So what that means is that it won’t take Serkan long to figure out that Babaanne is behind everything and Eda is 100% acting out of love for him.  

He will just need to shake off the sting of her words, and the haze of heartbreak and he’ll see that she did it for him. 

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Uchitama 7 - 8 | Eizouken 8 - 9 | ID: INVADED 8 - 11 | Iruma-kun 22 - 23 (FINAL) | BnHA 82 - 83

Uchitama 7

Lemme guess…this is the ve-Yep.

The name of this segment is Ottamake. The ke means fur/hair, but it does seem like it’s referring to Tama otherwise.

For some reason, Bull’s really into cats…

LOL, you can see the cat food right there is a real brand. I dunno how they got away with that.

Hmm, this show has something to say about idol business…and it does it better than some of the human idol shows! That says something.

It even comments on the “graduation” system. Whaddaya know.

Welp, I never thought an anime could pull off this with a commentary on gender presentation, to boot. (It’s not as pervasive as Stars Align’s, but it’s still one of the better ones. I guess I shouldn’t expect it as a norm though.) I thought Kai was a dude though and so Bull’s interactions came off to me as massively gay. I’ve been thinking, maybe he’s pan? Can dogs be pansexual???

Why do I get the feeling Kai is going to be introduced into 3-chome? Update: Doesn’t happen.

This song sounds very idol-like.

Uchitama 8

Aww…I feel like we’re going to learn Nora’s backstory soon. I think it’s going to be real sad.

…Yup, there goes my kokoro. Smol Nora is cute~!

Genki can mean “healthy” as well as “energetic” – the latter is why it’s translated as “spunky”.

Why do I get the feeling Nora’s owner died…?

Oh, smol Nora has a bandaid on his leg.

Let me ask the essential furry question – they hav human ears and animal ears. Which of those sets of ears do they hear with?

Yuuki Kaji does a good job as Nora.

This song’s so sad, it almost got me crying…  

Eizouken 8

This anime is like something from Studio Trigger!

The magic of Eizouken is that you get sucked into the anime they make and never look back.

Tomodachi vs. nakama, I think it is.

Id: Invaded 8

Lately, I’ve been thinking about practical cosplay (everyday wear that also doubles as a cosplay outfit). So basically, I’ve been thinking about Sakaido and El-Melloi II’s outfits a lot, since they’re rather practical while still looking cool. All I’m missing for El-Melloi’s outfit with the red jacket is a black button-up shirt, for El-Melloi’s outfit with the black jacket I’m missing a red scarf and I’m missing a brown button-up shirt for Sakaido’s (although the yellow scarf I got today to get one step closer to two of those isn’t the right mustard colour, it’s more of a lighter yellow).

Also, I noticed it’s (according to the katakana) meant to be “Id: Invaded”, but heck, it’s been ID: Invaded for so long for me, I don’t care either way.

Kiki was born in Fukui.

I always thought Mister Fixer sounded sad and now I think I know why…the bit I remember the most (the line that goes “Mister Fixer” and the bit around it) sounds like the singer is lamenting their life. Now that I see the visuals again after a few weeks (I’d get fatigued if I watched all that Fate/ and still managed to keep up with simulcasts, so I’ve been taking the simulcasts in a few eps at one time), Mister Fixer does quite sound like a crime drama song, but not as much as Thought I Knew (from Stand My Heroes).

I’ve seen images of Anaido and Sakaido in the same well for a few weeks now, so this cooperation bit is no surprise at all.

I believe Fukuda is asking why Narihisago is a –san to her even though they’ve worked together a while.

The words “data profile” are in one corner of the titlecard.

Does Anaido remember who he is in the ID Well? I presume not, but it’s hard to tell since we haven’t had as much time with him as we have Sakaido (not to mention I’ve been regularly filling my head with Fate/ and other things as well lately…so it’s hard to remember).

It’s interesting. Fukuda has the same piercings as Anaido (and even a ring on one pointer finger that matches them!), so he must’ve tried experimenting with…more legal holes, to put it one way…before getting his most iconic one.

Kaeru’s nails are chipped. Hmm.

In #Brake-Broken, which I read the first chapter of earlier (there’s a sample on the Young Ace website), Sakaido notices he doesn’t have a phone with him to call anyone or a licence (because in that manga, he wakes up in a car). It’s likely this will work the same way and Anaido won’t have any possessions on him, aside from the clothes on his back, accessories and the item that was stolen from his wrist/s.

Rings on both fingers…so I should be talking about them in plural. Update: I like how Anaido’s off-the-wall thought processes break up the inherent seriousness of Sakaido’s deductions and utilitarian way of doing things.

Anaido, you grimdark f***er. Update: For trying to eat a dead girl.

Okay, so for the sake of my practical cosplay, I knew I’d need this episode. Sakaido wears a long-sleeve brown shirt with some kind of shirt under that (either brown or black), plus a mustard-coloured scarf. (Note El-Melloi II wears a black shirt under his black button-up shirt, so I went with black as well.) In Brake Broken, I also noticed he wears dark socks (or that could be the leggings) and runners with a lightning bolt on them (I had to make do with generic black runners with a white stripe on the bottom), plus the iconic brown shorts over those (with a triangle pattern)…Why does Sakaido have a scarf anyway, versus Anaido and Miyo who don’t? As much as I like scarves, especially where colder weather is involved, getting a specific colour scarf was a bit of a headache to be honest, since I took 3 trips before deciding on the one I was going to buy (and even then, someone got it before me! The scarf I have now was my 2nd choice). Update: The shorts, leggings and undershirt are black, but I don’t know if Sakaido is wearing any socks or if they’re black too.

Just to note what Anaido has as well (although a coat like that, with the red detailing and flaps, would be hard to find…), he has a blue coat, suspenders, a white button-up top, a string tie (had to google what that was called, although its name is pretty obvious now that I know), black pants (which kinda look like leggings, but they’re not) and leather boots.

Now Sakaido can go into the loony bin…he’s talking to Kaeru.

Is Anaido going in circles? Sakaido caught up real fast…

Um, hey, protip: When stuck in quicksand, try to “float” on it. If you move, you’ll sink into it more. I don’t know how I know that, but I did stick it into my mind for times like this.

Notably, Anaido is about a head taller than Sakaido. Either Sakaido is unnaturally short and Anaido is average…or Anaido is just tall in that way some men are.

Did the bird get to this dude…?

There appears to be a man with a bun facing Hondomachi in the ED, although you can’t tell who it is from silhouette alone…Maybe he hasn’t appeared in the show yet. (Can’t be Matsuoka though. Might be the old guy who’s the head of Kura, actually.)

Update: Is the dead guy Momoki…?

Id: Invaded 9

It’s the familiar ceiling scene from Evangelion! (Okay, I’m kidding, but it’s a similar deal.)

I think the rules of Fate/ are “do it all, until you can no longer do it” (i.e. Everything is the same, until it’s different). It seems it’s the same here too.

Huh? Momoki?

“It doesn’t seem friendly.” – Yeah, and people die whe they are killed…in murder mysteries like this, usually speaking.

I noticed Narihisago’s tie is the same colour as his Sakaido jacket, if not the shirt under that.

Where did the Challenger’s clothes go after he took them off??? Hyperspace??? He wasn’t shown tossing them.

So Kaeru was Asukai all along, huh?

“Look at this.”

“It makes me think about him.” Subbers, that’s two mistakes in less than 1 minute…

I saw a fanart where Narihisago had his arm broken. I didn’t know why, but now I do. Also, TV Tropes is bad if you want to avoid spoilers…I know that already, but I go there anyway sometimes...

“It makes me wanna puke.”

Iruma-kun 22

The anime’s final episode is next week…but there’s already a season 2 in store for next year, so hopefully I survive the coronavirus and sort out all my issues this year in time for it.

Dat OP though. I’ve grown used to it and it’s actually endeared itself to me…which is odd, since I didn’t think I’d like it at first.

Demdol = akudol. Obviously, from “demon”.

Was that…Clara’s mother???  Kuromu’s older bro doesn’t look too bad, either.

Ohmygosh, this is fabulousssssssssss (and hilarious)! I’ve been waiting for this moment for many episodes, as you can tell if you’ve been following along, and I finally got the payoff!

Clara ends her sentence with –akuma (devil), hence the translation is matching it the same way.

Oh my gosh, Ryouhei Kimura (Azz-kun) sucks at being feminine, but that’s exactly what the role requires for this!

If you just pretend Azz-kun isn’t dressed in such an outlandish outfit, he looks really good…! Ayumu Murase does a pretty good falsetto, although you can tell there’s one point where Kimura’s voice gets really manly-sounding for a lady.

“Little imp” – Koakuma.  

Oh! The Keroli family is all cute.

Ooh, Kuromu’s nails are blue. Never noticed that before.

Eizouken 9

Chojugiga are ancient pictures normally depicting animals. As for sepak takraw…

I wonder if Eizouken will tackle the Manabi Line one day…?

That’s a parallel for Comiket, LOL.

“A colossus that no one can see!” – Gridman, is that you?

When did Kanamori meet Asakusa again…?

Kanamori with a bun is cool.

“There is nothing fun about social media!” – Well, social media is fun for me because it’s where I escape reality, but sometimes you gotta be like Kanamori and use it for publicity’s sake.

LOL, the username for the Eizouken is @eizoukenn.

I just realised Mizusaki’s hairstyle is irregular…it’s much longer on on side than the other.

“Mizusaki bump” – I think this references the Colbert bump. (TV Tropes link)

Kanamori – she with the word “gold”…or “money”…in her name – struggles with maths? Wow, that was something to hear. (I guess it’s kinda like me and IT (cybersecurity) – I suck at it because I suck at modulos…or division in short…and even though I can be found on my computer a lot, that’s why I don’t pursue it any longer. I was decent at accounting, but man, I’d be bored out of my brain if you made me do business IT and I have zero skills in games and multimedia.)

“Was it thuggery?” – What’s thuggery? That word sounds funny.

Did you see how Asakusa fell off the tank?

I did CR’s Eizouken quiz sometime in the past and it gave me Asakusa. That’s true, basically. I like thinking up ideas and how cool they are, but because I can’t stop from elaborating on them, they get out of hand and that’s why I have a tonne of dropped projects. (Then again, with how freely I can imagine motion, I could’ve gotten Mizusaki too.) Update: Tried again and I actually did get Mizusaki…whaddaya know.

Id: Invaded 10

People have been comparing this to Minority Report…now I see why.

I almost feel like this is a discussion of euthanasia and suicide as much as it is memory and the consciousness.

Ohh…she remembers! Hondomachi!

You can’t see Muku’s face! Ohh, scary!

Aww, the music really sold this montage. By the way, that sign didn’t say “entrance ceremony”, it said nyuugaku omedetou, “Congratulations on your entry [into school]”.

It…this singer almost sounds like Bruno Mars, but that would be basically impossible, no?

Oh my gosh…when the song swelled, I absolutely cried. That’s rare, man – that’s rare.

BnHA 82

I think the leftmost figure might be Miruko, the rabbit lady. I’ve never read anything about her outside of wiki pages ad other small spoilers, but I roughly know what she looks like.

What does Gentle mean by “Anglaise”? Surely it wouldn’t refer to cream…(crème anglaise)

LOL, Disneyland parades…

Whew…that was dangerous. I almost agreed with Mineta there (to get the festival over and done with).

I swear Midoriya gets together with All Might, just like this, at the end or start of a climactic arc. He did it in the last season of BnHA, remember?

BnHA 83

Hmm…It’s interesting that the author likes to point out who has and hasn’t met Eri. Then again, it’s good for consistency.

LOL, Amajiki my boy…you’re so relatable.

Hmm…amidst the coronavirus concerns…this cancellation business seems quite timely.

Oh! It’s a drone.

For some reason, I thought Sero was drinking vegetable juice…? Eh, no matter. They have vegetable juice in Japan – I remember seeing some on my trip.

Hmm? Gentle is like a phantom thief, I just realised. Mostly harmless, but bound to cause a big stir if he gets his way.

What is Gentle’s Quirk, anyway…?

Work Son…LOL(…?)

Who bets their moustache on this stuff, anyway…? (LOL)

Iruma 23 (FINAL)

I don’t get to see Iruma become evil this season…but he will next season! That visual I’ve been seeing by the original mangaka confirms it!

Marathon - the demon puns are back.

Demonicon =Oricon chart.

Demon Star Platinum…was that…a Jojo’s reference?! *scare chord*

Oh! Maguro (tuna).

Azz-kun being afraid of fish? That’s news to me.

Okay, subbers. Whose idea was it to translate Iruma’s words as “My feels…”…?

There’s a post-credits segment. Keep watching.

Yay! Evil Iruma-kun!...In spring 2021. (I’ve never once been so excited for a character to turn evil than this! I also like how evil Iruma said it’s the “buttcrack” of dawn…but that’s just my immature side showing.)

Id: Invaded 11

“…being taken for a ride!” – Well, you’re in a car, so you’re getting a ride nonetheless. (LOL) I hadn’t heard of the term “being taken for a ride” until…what? 2016, I think? When I was still doing language anaylsis.

Sakaido used Headbutt! It’s…kind of effective? (Writing up these pseudo-Pokémon battles is fun. I should write more.)

“…put a drill to your head…”

“The victims of John Walker’s serial killers…”

I noticed Hondomachi is touching the side of her head which had the hole in it…if I remembered it right.

Is it “the Kura”? Or just Kura?

August 15th is a popular date for anime, huh? It’s in the middle of summer. (Refers to Kagerou Project.)

That ‘who knew you needed to lose something to be complete’ thing…I think I get it, but for some reason I only ever seem to get that feeling when it’s me trying to read asexuality into things (since that’s how I learnt to interpret asexuality), so…yeah, way to go, me.

Wait…Togo visited Momoki’s bedroom?!

Yep, so I was right about that being the side with Hondomachi’s hole.

[darksideofthemamon]

Thoughts on YJ:Outsiders Ep.23 “Terminus” (one word to humanity: LUCK.)

Some thoughts on the latest episode. Contains spoilers so be warned if you haven’t seen it yet 

Things I liked: 

1. Good Lord, how can Nightwing’s fever dream sequence make my heart swell and break at the same time?? 

Whenever I re-watch old clips of season 1, I get overwhelmed by nostalgia and a feeling of lost childhood innocence, especially when I compare the Team to how they are now. They were so happy back then... and this sequence nailed that sentiment in with its use of old gags and a fun fighting game-like battle

2. Superboy and Brion’s character development

I absolutely love how Superboy went from being the most hot-headed and troubled in the team to being so mature and reasonable. I love how level-headed and wise he is when he mentors Brion, and I love how Brion himself changed from an angry exiled prince to a budding leader throughout the season. 

3. SuperMartian’s relationship problems (and M’gann’s morality) 

Ho boy I love how they brought up Conner and M’gann’s past relationship issues. I like how even though they’re okay now, they still brought up that once upon a time, M’gann tried to use her powers for immoral reasons (even against those she loved), and is continuing to make morally questionable decisions (albeit for what is arguably the greater good). I really like how they had Conner say that even though he forgave her for what she tried to do to him, he hasn’t yet forgotten that she was once willing to mess with her boyfriend’s mind. 

4. FRY THEIR BRAINS!

DANG did Kaldur really just ask M’gann to mindcrush everyone??? I’m living for it! I love the call-backs to the previous season, especially in how they bring up the consequences of lying to your teammates. It’s a real moral struggle within the team and I am living for it. 

And once more, I love Conner as a morality chain. Everyone’s talking about how the mindcrushing affects people, but only Conner brings up how it affects M’gann's soul. 

Things I didn’t really like:

1. I feel they wasted an opportunity to show us more of Jeff and Virgil’s relationship :( 

At the start of the season, Jeff kinda quits as Virgil’s mentor (”I’m sorry Virgil... maybe you can find a new mentor. Someone less.. damaged.”), and now they show Virgil keeping his former mentor company. Virgil buys him a hotdog, they fistbump, and that’s all we see. I mean, it’s a nice touch that they showed Virgil comforting his mentor, but I just feel like if they can show Barbara and Bruce discussing the situation, can’t we also see that from Jeff and Virgil? 

Jeff went through a lot this season, it’s true, but I guess now that I think about it, I also realize Virgil got dropped by his traumatized mentor, got duped along with the rest of the Outsiders, and now his mentor finds out that he was manipulated by Batman Inc AND his lover. There just seems to be a lot to talk about. It was a great opportunity to expound not just on their relationship, but, well, also on Virgil as a character this season. How’s he coping with all this? What’s he thinking? How does he feel about both himself and his mentor getting duped? Does he even know? What did Jeff tell him? I’d like to know. 

Well, here’s to hoping we get to see it in a later episode! 

Neutral:

1. Thirteen being missing from the Team. 

I don’t know, it just felt a bit off to me. Like, what’s she doing in the Tower with Zatanna? What are they training for? Is it going to be addressed? ‘Cus like, I feel we barely got to see Traci this season so it feels kinda weird that they’d justify her absence now. Will it be mentioned in a later episode (or possibly in the tie-in comics if ever)? 

2. Is the Judas Contract storyline over? 

I’m just wondering if Terra is still gonna pull a big betrayal, or if her being the mole for The Light (to ensure that the Team doesn’t lose to Apokolips) is the most treacherous it gets. 

Anyway, that’s all! 

One word to humanity: LUCK. 

Shit’s going down with a chunk of the League and the Team under the control of Granny Goodness, and everyone’s gonna need it (especially the non-metas)! 

Overall, I’d still say I enjoyed this episode! Really, my only gripe is on Jeff and Virgil. I mean, you could always say that they don’t need words to communicate, and Virgil spending some quiet time with his mentor is all the interaction they need but, I don’t know.. still feels like a wasted opportunity to me. (and again, it’d be real neat if we could see more of them in the episodes to come). What do you guys think?  

[class-wom]

Legion Chapter 24 “Morning After”-Thoughts – SPOILERS!!!

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 SPOILER TERRITORY

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Okay, as I mentioned in a previous tag from a previous reblog, where Shakespearean tragedy analogies/comparisons are concerned, this is looking less and less like Romeo and Juliet (doomed star-crossed lovers, but hey, at least their folks kissed and made up at their funerals, so to speak!) or Hamlet (huge “pile o’ bods,” including the struggling title character, but hey, at least he finally avenged Daddy’s death and left Horatio behind to tell the tale!) and more like MacBeth.  And frankly, that’s really hard for me to take, because I hate MacBeth!!!  (That being said, yeah, Lenny is now officially a classic Lady MacBeth figure.  Out damned spot indeed!)  And it seems rather ironic to me now that the body count we thought was “a thing” by the end of the Pilot -- dead Lenny, dead Clark -- really is a thing now.  (...or is it?!?  Duh-duh-DUHHHHHHHH!!!)

On the bright side (yes, I’m determined to find one -- LOL!), good and/or bad, there was a lot that happened in this ep that imo needed to happen if we’re going to reach a halfway-decent conclusion for better or worse.  And let’s not make the decision there just yet, though we’re kind of left in a position to anticipate the latter imo.

Clark’s fate? love him or hate him, yeah, he had to go imo, because to me he was a vengeful fly in the ointment who only back-burnered his David-grudge from Chapters 9 to 19 due to lack of sufficient evidence of David being a threat (a terribly useful tool in Farouk’s “bag o’ tricks;” please let us remember how casually Farouk literally flicked him off in the closing scenes of Chapter 18!), and consequently only succeeded in his relentless pursuit and obsession in making a bad situation ten times worse and more complicated in the long run.  I’ve mentioned before that Daniel’s lines in Chapter 20 made the consequences of Clark’s one-track mind perfectly clear, which brings me to Daniel’s fate:  Yeah, this is definitely one to file under “Okay, if you want me to badmouth David, I’ll go with this one; what he did to Daniel was (borrowing from Clueless) way harsh and completely unnecessary and cruel.”  Funny that it happened before he took down Clark, who again did have to be removed if any headway is to be made in any direction imo.  But maybe that’s part of the point being made here:  Okay, fine, go ahead and hate David for savagely taking down Daniel’s mental capacity as collateral damage, if you like.  But in the end, what put him in the line of fire in the first place?  His love for and loyalty to the obsessed (”focused”) Clark.  So could it be possible that, consciously or otherwise, Clark was so focused on taking down David by whatever means necessary that he was willing to put his partner at risk in the process? and doesn’t that make him as bad as David, allowing his obsessions to distract him from and ruin what he holds dear?  Not an excuse, mind, but just a thought.  It’s just that there are so many more of David at this point that it’s easier to spot in his case! LOL!

Which leads me to the next batch of things that happened that needed to imo:  The long-overdue Sydvid talk and Syd’s discovery of David’s alters.  Now regarding the former, this brings me to a tiresome sore point in light of the Chapter 23 gulag scene, namely the “one step forward/two steps back”-type of scenario where David has a much-needed confrontation that reveals his deep-seated pains and struggles beneath his dark persona, but GOTCHA! -- the whole thing turned out to be a trick, and David’s back to his guarded ruthless self as a result.  Still, hopelessly optimistic viewer that I am, I’d like to think some much-needed seeds were planted during the talk:  Even if Syd was deliberately attempting to lull David into letting his guard down (via SK’s Chapter 21 cringe-worthy promise to “teach you to lie so well that he’ll thank you as you stab him in the back”) by saying everything he wanted (and imo needed) to hear.  (Yeah, since David made a point of mentioning how he used to trust her, we’ll see how well he trusts her in future after that stunt!!! 🙄)  I’d like to think that, whatever state she may be in at this point (there’s the possibility that she may not take a literal physical form, but hey, after the whole Lenny S1-S2 Saga, who knows with this show?), she’ll know a lot better than to trust Farouk from now on.  (David was right about that when he said she shouldn’t have trusted him!!!)  I like the fact that she at least admitted that she had been jealous!!!  So at least she came out and stated the obvious; I was pleased about that!

And now that it’s happened, I can go ahead and say it:  Yes, the Sydvid Body Swap, Syd-trick or otherwise, needed to happen, because Syd needed to see what was/is driving David and making him behave the way he has been all this time.  I was shocked as to how quickly it transpired:  I wasn’t expecting it for a few more eps, tbh, and yeah, I was kind of hoping it would end a little more optimistically, with Syd and the Davids eventually talking things over, but depending on wherever Syd is mentally now (in David’s mind? somewhere in the stratosphere? I know that the next ep, which I may miss altogether but follow up on via summaries in the name of continuity, will follow her on the astral plane, so idk, maybe she’s just in a deep coma right now physically), maybe it could still happen with three eps to go? 

Also, on a side note, I liked watching DS’s “Syd-as-David” drag RK’s weakly protesting “David-as-Syd” down the halls muttering, “It’s okay, David! I gotcha!”  Took me awhile to figure out wtf Syd was up to and what she was really trying to pull during the discussion, complete with her tipping her hand about Switch’s whereabouts; I concur with a tweet I read dismissing it as a stupid plan on the part of Syd, quite frankly, thereby minimizing sympathy somewhat imo for her current position.  But I still enjoyed watching that post-swap part for some reason; acting-wise, that had to be a challenge for both DS and RK, so props there!  (And okay, yeah, Syd using David’s powers to blast his knife-wielding followers?  On the one hand, I feel sorry for them, but on the other, I concede with reluctance that it was kind of cool, if for no other reason that I no longer have to listen to them call him “Daddy”!  ROTFL!  Not sure what annoys me more, their calling him “Daddy” or Farouk calling him “My son” or “My baby.”  Let’s put it at a photo finish, shall we?  LOL!)

Okay, on to the Lenny Shocker -- and to me, it was a shocker!  Yet there was a huge dropped ball in this scene that annoyed me:  As Lenny was calling David out on his narcissism, why the heck didn’t he point out that the only reason he was keeping her around and/or she had a body in the first place -- a body destroyed by Syd, accidentally or otherwise, using David’s body and powers, I might add!!! -- was because Farouk destroyed the only tangible family, adopted or otherwise, in order to grant her request for a physical body and freedom?  He would have certainly had grounds to do so, Heaven only knows!  Okay, fine -- not saying that Hawley & Co. had to call up Katie Asleton to get her to film new scenes; a few flashbacks and/or at least the name-drop of Amy would have been good enough for me.  But I’ll give NH credit:  There may have been a case in which he did write such a line in this scene for David, and heck, maybe it was even filmed, only to be cut at the request of the FX execs who argued that it would cause the ep to run too long to ironically run that Twizzlers ad during the commercial breaks.  (Anyone else catch that in the “Lenny Swan Song”-ep with regard to a sponsor choice? that couldn’t have been a coincidence! LOL!)  Perhaps the best part of the scene (at least imo), David shedding visible and genuine tears as Lenny slowly bleeds to death, was supposed to indicate this, that the closest thing he had nearby to remind him of a true family was slipping away from him.  Interesting ref during the Sydvid talk that he later describes this as “abandonment” and equates it with his parents.  I guess that’ll work for now, but I would have liked to at least hear the Amy-ref, since it’s safe to call that moment the turning point in S2, David’s realization of Lenny’s true identity.  JMO.

And while the World Wide Web is crying “There’s no doubt about it, David truly is a villain now!” can we just take a look at Farouk in this ep once and for all and say “Yeah, okay, whatever, but that doesn’t mean that Farouk is good by default!”?  (I know, I know -- two wrongs don’t make a right, as I keep saying, but again, Farouk’s old enough to have a better idea of what he’s doing, and apparently for all his coolness, even he in the end underestimates his competition!) Puppet master, master Chess player (oooh, a Xavier/Magneto ref! LOL!), etc., etc. -- we definitely see Farouk as nothing more than a master manipulator.  Yet he’s not completely successful in his control over D3, and since the D3/Summerland gang has changed so dramatically and frustratingly over the course of this show to the point where I’m not even sure I can root for the Loudermilks anymore (Kerry’s excitement about going to space was kind of fun, though!), I’m not sure whether to be pleased or disappointed in this turn of events and the inevitable parting of the ways.  (Or at least I would hope so; perhaps he’ll use Syd’s apparent condition to his advantage, idk.)  Frankly, I’m coming more and more to the conclusion that there is going to be no true winner at curtain’s end no matter how you slice it; at best, perhaps some parties will come away with a bittersweet sense of closure, and that’ll be about it.

Regarding Farouk’s underestimation of his control over the situation, I liked Switch’s suddenly popping up to help David, but if she’s incarcerated in a hibernation chamber, how the heck did she manage to snap out of it so quickly?  That had a rather deus ex machina-feel to it imo.  I may have missed something, idk; quite possible with this type of a show.  LOL!

And as often happens, I guess I had a little more to say the morning after than I thought I did! 😂

[emypony]

Every number, lol

ily lmfao

gdi lina

((now i gotta open my own goddamn tumblr to find it smh))

i’ll do edits throughout bcs i go on other questions and i legit like, answer them and go back and add stuff

1. first anime you ever watched

tbh i can’t freaking remember?? Though it might’ve been something on animax. I don’t count pokemon rly bcs i rarely watched it. I think watched thoroughly…???

Frick. Deltora Quest (??) ((god I just remembered I need to hype that too crap)) but I’ll be proud to say front to back as a really long anime is going to be Inazuma Eleven. God I was so trash for it. Saw a few eps on Disney and decided “i want to see this but without this crappy romanian dub thx”

I can’t remember any other anime I watched but amongst the first ones were: Shugo Chara, Princess Tutu (I NEED TO DRAW THIS AS WELL AUGH LINA WHAT’VE U DONE) uhhhhhhhh, Kaleido Star? Zero no Tsukaima (VERY BAD ANIME TO START WATCHING WHEN UR LIKE 13) and other trash stuff like Oran Highschool Host club, Toradora (I didn’t watch the last ep gg me), Brother’s Conflict (another harem AND I DIDN’T WATCH THE LAST EP EITHER GG OMG) and this is all I can remember great…

EDIT: UNDERRATED ELEMENTAL GELADE LIKE DID ANYBODY EVEN HEAR ABT IT like AAAA

look at me i can’t even do one question without rambling this is gonna be long asf

EDIT:::: Shaman King was the first. Used to air dubbed on some non cartoon channel over here and I got hooked.

2. first anime crush

Shun from Bakugan. I’m trash. (yes this was after I found out that it was originally japanese. I think i wanted to watch the jap dub but i couldn’t find it anywhere and i couldn’t take Dan having Naruto’s voice either thx)

Then i discovered Spectra (aka the Brother of that girl from the 2nd season) and i cried bcs how could I choose

3. favorite anime character

Tsurugi Kyousuke and you know it girl

TSUNA FROM KHR (in his more serious form)

ALSO GOKUDERA ^^^^

4. least favorite anime character

fricc. uHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…(inazuma eleven makes everybody lovable I mean…)

5. list all anime you have ever watched (do non finished one count too thx)

NOTE: The ones with * means I didn’t finish them.

I DID THIS IN QUESTION 1 THANKS BUT LET ME ADD SOME

Mob Psycho 100

Shokugeki no Souma**  (in prcess of watching)

Oban Star Racers

Sword Art Online

SMILE PRECURE - it’s so clichee but I love it

Kaichou wa Maid-Sama

K-ON!*

Fruits Basket!!!

Sukitte Ii na yo

edit: Noucome

Dog Days!* (i can’t even what is this anime)

Kamisama Hajimemashita* (THERE’S LIKE A 2ND/3RD SEASON I NEVER KNEW ABUOT)

//screams

SHAMAN KIIIIIIING

DNANGEL AHHHHHHHHH

Beyblade (newer series tho)*

To Love-Ru* (wasn’t my thing but i saw a bit of it)

more Pretty Cure series which I can’t remember tbh

SUGAR SUGAR RUNE //CRYING

Gugure! Kokkuri-san*

6. popular anime you didn’t like

NOTE: I DIDN’T ACTUALLY WATCH MOST OF THESE BUT THE HYPE OVER THEM JUST KILLED IT FOR ME

Vampire…s-something with Vampire? With the Subaru and stuff. 

EDIT::: DIABOLIK LOVERS

LIKE ONLY 1 GUY WAS CUTE AND HAD REASONABLE REASONS BEHIND HIS AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, THE REST WERE JUST F*CKED UP PSYCHOS THANKS

Naruto (I mean first seasons are nice and all but like, it becomes confusing)

One Piece, Fairy Tail, YURI ON ICE , HETALIA ((MISS ME WITH THAT SH*T THX)), Death Note, Attack on Titan, Tokyo Ghoul, Clannad, Boku no Hero Academia, Dragon Ball Z (and what have you), Kuroko no Basket, Haikyuu, Free!, Bleach, Inuyasha, YuGiOh (i’ve seen a bit but meh..), Mirai Nikki, 

//inhales Sailor Moon

idk just not for me, though maybe I should give it a chance??

7. anime you are currently watching

I guess Shokugeki no Souma since I’ve yet to finish s3

But I’m still in IEGO hell rn, rewatching it for the lolzies

8. anime character you are most like

Tenma, ofc. 

9. favorite anime child

uHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Tenma. ;;w;; he’s so precious and doubts himself and I think he’s great  ahhh 

Konoha. She loves animals and she’s kinda cute ouo

idk if there’s more i am really not recent anime trash sorry

10. favorite anime animal sidekick

Kili who’s Jasmine’s(?) -idk if that was her name in the jap version too- crow

I frkin love crows holy danm

Sasuke is such a cute dog save me

11. anime you didn’t expect to like but did

Inazuma Eleven (I don’t even like soccer) , Princess Tutu (I don’t like ballet and it was old af so I literally put it off for watching Shugo Chara), uhhhh idunno anymore

12. anime that should get more attention from others

PRINCESS TUTU I CAN’T STFU ABOUT THIS

Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

INAZUMA ELEVEN ALSO!!!

13. funniest anime you have watched

the one anime with the guy who had to make decisions or else

Noucome? (wikipedia: short for My Mental Choices are Completely Interfering with my School Romantic Comedy) Yeah that’s the one.

Shokugeki no Souma

14. saddest anime you have ever watched

PRINCESS TUTU (screw me, right?)

15. anime you never get sick of watching

INAZUMA ELEVEN THX

16. 10 best animes you have watched

oH COME ON

Inazuma Eleven

Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Princess Tutu

Bakugan

Deltora Quest

Sugar Sugar Rune

Noucome

Shokugeki No Souma

Shaman King

i don’t know another one save me

17. biggest anime crush

TSURUGI KYOUSUKE

18.10 worst anime you have watched

how can I even- 

19. favorite anime ships

kYOUTEN

YuuiChi ( ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ;)))))) furiously winks)

RanMasa

Ibuki x Shindou ((idk the name of this together lmao))

i don’t have anything more tbh x’D

20. least favorite anime ships

ShinKyou (I’m sorry but how?)

Fakir x Rue (Princess tutu. But like y these 2 srsly they hate each other)

21. anime that made you cry, when

Inazuma Eleven, not sure when but it did. I’m p sure it did

UHHHHHHHHHHHHH

fricc. Princess Tutu defs at the end

22. age you started watching anime/person who introduced you to it.

idk how the hecc I found it but i think i was like 11/12?

23. unpopular character you love

YUUICHI

I mean c’mon we only see him a few times like give the poor guy some love

SARU!!!

24. popular character you hate

Fudou

Idk just… :^) not ma’ thing

25. anime you would recommend to someone who hates anime

i can’t?? my anime choices are literally trash

26. manga you have read all the ways through

i…didn’t read mangas xD

((yes you’re free to kill me now :^))

(((TBH THERE IS ONE. And that’s Nana to Kaoru I think..but it’s nsfw sorta but it was nice as well? like you don’t see that often)))

27. anime you plan to watch in the future

uhhhh crap good question. I had some lists somewhere but idk

28. most upsetting moment in anime, why

WHEN KAZEMARU LEFT THE TEAM LIKE AAAAAAAA MY BOY

When Shun from bakugan cut his hair but damn he was still hot

THE CUTE BOY FROM DELTORA QUEST WHO WAS SUCH A CINNAMON BUN TURNED OUT TO BE SOME MONSTER FREAK LIKE HOW DARE YOU

29. anime that deserves another season

PRINCESS TUTU

DELTORA QUEST (THERE WERE 3 BOOKS BUT THEY ONLY MADE ONE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA)

OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB

FRUITS BASKET AAAAAAAAH

i can’t think of more

30. one anime conclusion you would change

((SPOILERS))

Princess Tutu: MAKE AHIRU GODDAMN HUMAN SERIOUSLY I WANT TO SEE MY SHIP SAIL AUGHHJKFGBG

I FREAKING HOPE I DIDN’T MISS ANY AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[dorianpavus]

hi katie! i've seen looots of ppl talk abt critical role and i reeeally wanted to start watching it but i have no idea how it works. AT ALL. and i know there are LOTS of eps out there and do i have to start from the 1st one or is it something like season 1, season 2, etc? please guide me i'm really looost aaaaa thank u

omg omg!!! hi i’m so excited for you i love critical role so much!!!! :’)

so yes, there are currently like 96 episodes out… and most of them are 3-5 hours long. holy shit. it’s definitely a commitment, but super worth it imo (i love my family…. they are my family… so pure…. so positive). plus, you can watch it kind of like a podcast and just listen to it if you like, since so much of it takes place verbally. 

(though i actually prefer to watch it cause i love seeing their faces and their cute interactions and reactions and acting and just… ya know. to each their own :3)

BUT OKAY

there aren’t actually seasons!! i know on the critical role wiki they list episodes as in “chapters”, but it’s mostly just a fan construct to help group and organize the episodes. the game itself isn’t actually designed in Chapters/Seasons/Whatever, not exactly… 

THAT SAID there are a lot of story arcs and plotlines!!! that have clear beginnings and ends, and those are really helpful in dividing up and discussing the show. (usually the “chapters” of which ppl speak – they just take the story arcs and roughly group them together into “chapters”, though i think that tends to lump episodes together that don’t always belong together ya know)

in any case you don’t necessarily have to start from episode 1 – i mean, the cast members even played together for 2 entire years before ever starting to stream their games on twitch, so EVERYONE who watches the show is still kind of getting thrown into the middle of their journey. plus tons of fans start watching from like…. any given episode, and most of them turn out okay. :P

however, episode 1 is designed intentionally for people who are new (duh). it starts the Very First Arc of critical role, it introduces all the characters (for the first 20ish? episodes they have a little character-introduction video they play at the start of the episodes and during breaks that helps you familiarize yourself with the characters and their brief backstory & info).

i’m only on episode 66 myself (OUT OF 90 SOMETHING) but that’s partially because i’m determined to watch them in order…  because i love them and don’t want to miss out on anything. even though i’ve been watching for over a year, lmao. i mean, i’ve had a lot going on in my life!! ya know!!! (ok… but really i’ve been watching so much lately so i feel like i’m gonna catch up pretty soon lol).

ANYWAY

i can break down some of the arcs for you and give you some recommendations on where/when you might wanna jump in and why, without giving away spoilers! 

dun dun DUN

ARC 1 - KRAGHAMMER (ep 1-16ish) - so the first arc of critical role is designed intentionally to introduce viewers to both Vox Machina (the party) and dungeons and dragons. it’s a very traditional dungeon crawl where the party was tasked with rescuing an npc from a dungeon, so… story-wise, the plot isn’t the most interesting, and there’s a pretty fair amount of combat. but it’s vox machina! and you get to fall in love with them from the first time!! this is also most of the time you’re going to get to see Tiberius, a dragonborn sorcerer played by Orion Acaba. orion leaves the show around ep 27 i think, (which… to be perfectly honest i was really happy about because i kinda disliked him as a player… ahem… but other people LOVED tibs and orion so that really depends :P). all that to say, if you want to get tiberius content, if you want to truly get the whole Critical Role experience, if you want to get familiar with the group as they play and fall in love with their fans for the first time as you fall in love with them for the first time, arc 1 is the way to go. i do think it’s the most boring arc by far, and because the show was just starting out the production quality is by far the worst, but i still loved it, so. :P

MINI ARC - VASSELHEIM (ep 17-23, ***NOT*** including ep 22) - this is where critical role really starts to hit its stride. the players are more comfortable on screen, everyone relaxes, the story is funny and it’s kind of an In Between mini arc – the events of Arc 1 have finished, but the next arc hasn’t really started yet. you could call these “filler episodes” but they’re some of my FAVORITES, more lighthearted and goofy and fun as the party sort of takes a breather from the intensity of their previous arc. this also features the Slayer’s Take episodes, a series of 4 episodes that SPLITS THE PARTY!!!! and features guest characters for the first time, including my beloved Zahra (i’m lov!!!! her!!!!!!) played by mary elizabeth mcglynn. also featuring felicia day, wil wheaton, and will friedle. honestly these episodes are… fun. i love them so so much.

STANDALONE - EP 22 - keyleth-centric episode - episode 22 isn’t included in that above mini arc; it’s kind of a one-standing episode that features a moment in keyleth’s overarching character development and plot. it wasn’t my favorite episode, but it features some cool elements and if you like keyleth you’ll def wanna watch it.

ARC 2 - PERCY’S ARC - (EP 24-36) - yehhh boi!!! PERCY’S ARC. THINGS ARE REALLY HEATIN UP FOR VOX MACHINA. okay, some of my favorite episodes happen in percy’s arc, and you get a LOT of no mercy percy. there’s intrigue and danger and delish combat and just like… what more could you ask for? the stakes have really raised for vox machina in arc 2. i love it, and my personal recommendation would be to not skip this one. :P

ARC 3 - (ep 37/38, REALLY starts ep 39 and goes way past where i’m at right now so i haven’t even finished it yet) – so the first two episodes of this arc start of really slowly (eps 37 & 38); they’re setting up for the shit that’s about to go down, which pretty much starts in ep 39. this is sort of the BIG BIG BIG arc that spans like 30+ episodes. i mean, don’t get me wrong – there are a billion smaller arcs within this arc alone, but i’m grouping it together because… it’s a big overarching plot unlike anything we’ve seen before in critical role.  i mean, the majority of episodes of critical role have been about this arc, haha. even if you skip everything else (… though i don’t think you should :^)…), you’ll probably still want to watch from here on out. some episodes are better than others (my god, the Planning episodes…. rip) but like… this is sort of Modern Critical Role™.

ALTERNATIVES - of course, you could really skip that arc. you could jump right in right now to ep 96 if you want and just watch from here on out, as you slowly go back to watch older episodes (even though that gives away so many delightful spoilers and plot twists, it is efficient). or you could watch from wherever that big arc ends, which is probably around like ep 90 or something (i don’t know!!! i’m not there!!! i know it’s roughly around that point haha). wherever you want to start watching is up to you. critical role is a commitment. but since you did ask me my opinion, i’d say either start from arc 1 (even though it’s a little more boring/combat-oriented than the other arcs because it’s The Introduction, it’s really nice to have that background and not be missing out on great moments and episodes and stuff), OR skip the first arc and start with the MINI ARC beginning on ep 17. it’s gonna be a little less cohesive for you, and the cast doesn’t focus on explaining their background/what’s going on quite as much for you, but the stories being told are just kinda more fun, haha. OR start with percy’s arc. but i’d recommend not just starting on Arc 3 (aka The Big One) because you’d be missing out on a lot of fun and history and the important moments won’t mean as much to you because you won’t be attached to the characters and their world.

tl;dr either start from the beginning (which is what i did and i don’t regret it), or start from the mini arc or arc 2. or do whatever you want. :P

GOD I KNOW I WROTE SO MUCH 

I’M SORRY

just… i wanted to be…. helpful. lol. ahem. ANYWAY 

I HOPE THIS HELPED

even though i wrote a book D:

i hope you really enjoy critical role friend!!!! and thanks for asking!!! and calling me by name cause i melted!!!! :3

[chalkrevelations]

Word of Honor, Episode 30. STILL A LOT. This one got long.

(Spoilers. Scroll away and come back later, if you need to.)

Yeah, so, A-Xiang and I are crying again. At least they’re good, cathartic tears, this time? Poor Cao Weining – he continues trying to make sense of all this (It’s all a misunderstanding, right? My good friend Wen Kexing was framed, right? He can’t possibly be the terrifying master of the Ghost Valley, and you can’t possibly be his henchwoman, right?), but nothing he knew is true anymore. Nothing except his faith in A-Xiang. I know you’re good, he tells her. I won’t fail you. And they do make this explicit here, with him saying, “I made a promise I will never fail you in my life, not even once.” I’m flailing on the couch, at this point. Come here, my little cinnamon roll, and let me squeeze the stuffing out of you. And oh. Oh. It just hit me that a girl who was raised by the Department of the Unfaithful (as well as WKX) has found a man who will vow this to her and mean it. Also, I don’t know if this is the closest we’re going to get to this theme made explicit with Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing, but Cao Weining and Gu Xiang continue to act as proxy here for the m/m couple that has to be more circumspect. (Also, I would compare the way this promise, spoken out loud, bookends this ep – Cao Weining’s heart once again offered here, at the beginning, and the undertones of betrayal in Xie Wang’s words to Zhao Jing at the end, but we’ll get to Xie’er in a bit.)

Digging into our continuing parallels, I said a bit back - Ep 26? sometime before Wen Kexing’s identity had the ultimate reveal in the confrontation with Ye Baiyi, at least - that Zhou Zishu was beyond “you don’t fail me and I won’t fail you” into “even if you do fail me, I won’t fail you.” That’s where Cao Weining is now, knowing (finally) what A-Xiang’s been hiding from him, as ZZS knew about the Ghost Valley even before it was actually spoken out loud. Even if A-Xiang is there to infiltrate his sect, even if she’s helped cause all this death, Cao Weining will follow her into death and reincarnate with her to stay with her and protect her forever. (Ugh. My heart. Cao-dage, how are you like this?) Last ep, watching WKX’s frantic efforts to save Han Ying, I think there was some callback to the Four Sages of Anji, but I also pointed to what I saw as a callback to the paired conversations in Eps 22/23, when Cao Weining tells A-Xiang to be more careful because he knows she’ll feel bad if she kills an innocent accidentally, and ZZS tells WKX he’s trying to protect him from more sins on his hands. This ep, there’s a literal flashback to that Cao Weining/Gu Xiang conversation in Ep 22. I also want to go back to the interminable infodump in the Longyuan Cabinet cave in Eps 19/20, where - similar to Cao Weining finally learning and accepting who A-Xiang is in this ep - Zhou Zishu has finally put together all (well, most) of the pieces, and he makes it clear that he knows (at least part of) who WKX is by calling him “Zhen Yan” to his face. The color palettes for the two couples match in these scenes – slightly more saturated and intense for the older couple, but lavender for WKX and A-Xiang, blue for ZSS and Cao Weining; we also have an enthusiastic hug that’s met by a hesitant response. Although roles are reversed in the hug – A-Xiang hugging Cao Weining, ZZS hugging WKX - the way they shot Cao Weining’s response in this ep, hesitant hands finally going around A-Xiang’s back, is almost exactly the same framing and movements as WKX’s response to ZZS’s hug in Ep 20 (7:37 in Ep 20, 9:00 in Ep 30). I’m just sayin’.

Also, I might or might not have rewound three times to watch Cao Weining wipe the tears off A-Xiang’s face and her responding radiant smile. You can’t prove anything.

The other big parallel I see in this ep is a return to the ZZS/Prince Jin and Xie Wang/Zhao Jing relationships. Everyone is telling their creepy gaslighting mentor/parent figures to fuck off in this episode, apparently. (We even (kind of) get to see WKX do this, seeing the scene of him in the aftermath of killing the past master of Ghost Valley in flashback as A-Xiang tells her tale to Cao Weining). I have to think it’s not just coincidence that the ZZS/Prince Jin and Xie’er/Awful Yifu confrontations play out in the same ep. Not to mention the fact that both happen in the middle of a big fk’n mess, lit. and fig., that ZZS and Xie’er have made of not just their physical surroundings, but their Awful Prince’s/Yifu’s plans.

So, first off, we cut to Bad-Touch Prince Jin. I knew it, you creepster (and ZZS knew it too!). And yet, I still cannot believe you. You kidnap him, try to kill everyone in Four Seasons Manor for the second time around, burn his house, plan to get him drunk and take advantage of him, lit. and fig., and now you’re fondling his sword? Eurgh. There’s definitely an air of “bathe him, dress him, and bring him to my chambers” with ZZS at the beginning of this scene, even if we’re actually in the throne room and not any bedchamber (not that I don’t also enjoy the leather bracers-updo-evil collar look on ZZS, so I’ll give Prince Jin points for good taste, at least). Prince Jin pulls out the poor yifu prince card, because it’s lonely being in charge, you know. And now, we’re back to how could you leave me. Aaaaand then, he blows off Han Ying (Han Ying!), the last sort-of vestige of ZZS’s Four Seasons shidi, and oh, boy. You done fk’ed up now.

So, I love how clearly done with all this ZZS is, from the first minute we see him this ep. I keep hearing this role was a departure from Zhang Zhehan’s norm, and while I plan to check out some of his earlier work, I’m honestly glad I got to see him first in this. I hope it opens up some more doors for him. I keep being struck at various moments by his physicality as Zhou Zishu, which has a weight behind it that just … ah. I keep failing to put it into words, but it gives a substance to the character that makes ZZS feel real, and it’s not particularly in his big action fighting scenes that it keeps hitting me, like you might expect when it’s something about the way he moves and carries himself. I started turning this over in my head last week, when I talked about how I felt that shout at WKX in the wake of the fight with Ye Baiyi in Ep 27, moreso than any of the other various shouty characters we’ve met in the show, even when their yelling is louder and more sustained. There was something visceral about ZZH’s performance in that moment. It reminded me of an earlier scene when Wen Kexing’s been drunk under the table by Ye Baiyi but insists that he’s fine, just fine, and Zhou Zishu, who’s trying to make him go to bed, makes a feint at him and then hits him on the shoulder. (Hold on … I just went and found it, it’s at 37:19 in Ep 17.) Not just the hit, but particularly the feint preceding it struck me the same way Ep 27’s shout did. It’s something that maybe comes through strongest when ZZH is doing leashed anger, where the character’s raw emotion is simultaneously supposed to be controlled but leaking through – that contrast seems to showcase what I’m talking about. Or maybe not just anger, but any really strong emotion, because I got it in this ep, among other places, from the little lip tremble as ZZS drinks some of the wine before he pours one out for his dead homies, as well as from the way he works his jaw to get himself back under control after bringing up all his dead shidi. Also the tiny lip quirk and deliberate breathing while Prince Jin disparages Han Ying. (Not the snarl when he’s faced off with Prince Jin holding his sword blade right before the cheesy cut to close-up split-screen, though. That one didn’t hit right, unfortunately.) ANYWAY, this whole throne room scene with Prince Jin is basically porn for me, with ZZS simmering the entire time until he finally breaks and everything explodes. God, the only thing it’s missing is actual tears.

Cut from the scene of ZZS literally striking back at Prince Jin to what’s going to be – at least it looks like – Xie Wang’s breaking point. Xie’er and his henchwomen seem genuinely surprised that Awful Yifu is the one who shows up as reinforcement for the Gentle Wind Sword Sect, and I’m still trying to untangle all the various strings of this web. I don’t know if I’ve missed some things, or not put something together properly – I feel like Cao Weining, all “Slow down, I can’t keep up!” Anyway, we get a very public repudiation of Xie’er by his Awful Yifu, which is interesting because nobody is supposed to know they’re connected in the first place, right? Yet, clearly Mo Huaiyang does, and no one in his sect – all of them standing around in the subsequent cave scene - seem to react with any kind of shock to the info that Zhao Jing is Xie’er’s yifu. Aren’t we supposed to be hiding this from everyone? So that not only the jianghu but Prince Jin doesn’t know it (yet)? Anyway, as well as getting slapped, Xie’er gets a couple of places with good little maniacal laughs in. Given the apparent surprise at Awful Yifu’s appearance, I’m assuming this was something Xie Wang really didn’t expect, and this public repudiation is the breaking point? Or that Awful Yifu hid this alliance from him? Not that this attack on the Gentle Wind Sword Sect was part of a deliberate long-game to fuck over his Awful Yifu by fucking up this alliance? Anyway, Xie’er has learned his lesson about his Awful Yifu – or at least he says he has - so maybe there will be some deliberate fuckery of Awful Yifu going forward from here? Have you learned your lesson, little gambler? Finally?

I do have to warn you, Xie Wang: Do not touch A-Xiang. This is a hard limit. You will be dead to me.

Scattered other things:

Duan Pengju, omg, this asshole. I love how he just gets dismissed from the throne room like a lackey once he’s delivered the guy Prince Jin actually wants. I love how ZZS says, out loud, with everyone in the throne room to hear it, why would I leave this loser in charge of anyone I cared about? I looooove how utterly dismissive of him ZZS is even as ZZS is literally being tortured by him. ZZS’s mockery and whole air of how he’s just ever so bored with all this torture is delightful. However, I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE ENDING THE EPISODE THERE, SHOW. I’m going to have to wait until at least Thursday to find out what happens??? (This is d/t work schedule, which is 12-hour shifts on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, leaving no time to watch as the next eps upload, if I want to sleep).

I don’t know if this is deliberate, but when we cut to sleeping Wen Kexing near the beginning of the ep … we’ve just seen him in his very red robes as Ghost Valley master in A-Xiang’s flashbacks, and I notice that what he’s wearing now – it’s not the pinkie pink of the robe he wore to match the winter plum blossom forest, but it’s not blood red, either. It’s muted, something in-between, kind of salmon colored.

Bwahaha, dying at our two little foodies in the cave being the first ones to say “Hey, somebody’s cooking something!” Also, A-Xiang, my clever girl. You know to avoid letting Xie Wang or Zhao Jing (or Liu Qianqiao?) see you. What are you putting together in your head and coming up with about this tangled web of alliances? Also, I see you call Cao-dage over to your hiding spot. Are the two of you still there to hear the conversation between Zhao Jing and Mo Huaiyang, and how Mo Huaiyang and Zhao Jing are working together with the Scorpions and the Ghost Valley?

Last but not least, no intention to leave Jin Palace alive, ZZS? I seem to recall you telling your boyfriend, the terrifying master of the Ghost Valley, that there would be time for him to rescue you once he woke up from his nap. Is it possible you were lying so he wouldn’t feel bad? Mn. Possible. But I also remember the way you yelled at WKX over his plan to get himself killed and leave you alone, and I remember the fact that you won’t fail him, and I have to wonder if your plan really was to die, or if you’re bluffing when you say that to Prince Jin.

[gleeandshame]

Love Victor 2x09 Semi-liveblogging

Penultimate ep... getting in the homestretch, I think? Sports metaphors, never done it

Spoilers below obvi

Honestly never took a mental health day in school

Idk if I was more stable then or it was just easier to ignore in HS

That Isabel impression

huh, tachin, sounds interesting. I really need to check out more food places, I live in a decent size city

Why is everything restaurant I google that's even close to that general region of origin like two dollar signs :'(

I'll try this place next to this other place though, eventually

Rahim, horrible internet search game

surely these kids have better literacy than that

Lol, dates running into each other

Well Victor is not on a date, just playing hookey ? Hokey .. hookie ... how spell Hooky. hooky.

He'll figure out Rahim is good for him though

Well, Rahim does have a certain voice, back on the "finally" telling his parents

"Happy holidays, I just love pistachios"

I've only had a pedicure once? I am so ticklish

Rahim has a boy or

Oh no, please don't hook up with older men, like yeah sex positive blah blah, but y'all are kids

oh that's better, a high schooler, if he's telling the truth

DO not meet up in a private location the first time.

I think maybe they won't vibe? Idk I'm still thinking Rahim and Victor are gonna be a thing

OH no, this guy is gonna say Rahim is too gay gay

I don't see Rahim toning it down in his texts?

White gay boys sure have the audacity don't they

I mean i met like 3 out of 4 online dating ppl didn't look exactly how i expected so fair.

Rahim isn't even like wearing flamboyant clothes

boy must have just been se.xting? Like how does his personality not come up

*knife emoji* at this white boy, just... walking away? you already skipped school and came to a cafe? geez

Hmm a break and separation parallel

I do miss that gay bar scene from Love Simon now

Victor f*cking smiling the whole time while complimenting Rahim

I see you

I have not been to a gay bar yet, my dad mentioned a popular one when we passed by once, thanks awkward but supportive dad?

RIP to lesbian bars, none really exist anymore

Someone definitely had a Misty outfit whether intentional or not

"types" that a long convo

every girl is attractive

but girls I'm attracted to? that's different, hmmm. I do have a super specific type from my "first love" and my rebound who looked just like her. LOL

My current crush is just you know... sort of generic cute girl, looks wise, no offense

Very into her kindness and personality though

Yeah, Benji likes Victor back, but you shouldn't settle for availability

that's what I'm kinda wondering with my crush... if she just likes me because I like her. Lol, hate gay struggles

bi lighting for these gay men (I know it's just clubs and action movies and cyber punk but)

Oh... is... he gonna be his first kiss right now?

I didn't have my first kiss still 23, almost 24.

A gay show isn't a gay show without a musical number

Pose and Broken Hearts Gallery are two other things I watched recently with singing

Rahim what the hell, you sound like a professional

what the heck

Justin Bieber christian song, LOOOOl

Lol, did they get singing doubles or, maybe just Super Produced

There are the heart eyes... kiss after this song, wanna bet $20

Did she track his phone?

JK i didn't bet any of you, I'm keeping my 20. I was joking...

OKay Isa, i tear up a little

Aw, more specific wording :')

"I said outside of gay bars"

OH, when you drop off a friend and it feels like a date but it's a not-date and you don't know what to do, Relatable

they fluttered their eyelashes at each other, I Can Not

Lol, not talking One Day, relatable to my Almost GF

can victor, mia, lake, and felix, have like a good time again at the wedding tho... maybe not...

breaks need to be more than a day

heck a day is normal in busy life

Mmm, yeah, that's fine, also "Fall" by SG Lewis is good, moody. Yes.

Only the finale left, AHhhh

[drink-n-watch]

I’ve come to realize that last week I was feeling this show out. I mean that’s to be expected as it was the first episode after all. That’s what you do in a first episode, you feel things out. It had a few nice technical elements in it’s favour (colours, backgrounds, voices) and it manage to do a couple of unexpected things so I was pretty happy.

I’ve since come to realize that my expectations for the series were fairly low. Not abysmal but basically, I just wanted a show that didn’t annoy me and I could pass a pleasant if uneventful 23 minutes or so with. I wasn’t looking for exceptional characters and deep developments or any type of captivating storytelling. Maybe that’s why this second episode of Woodpecker Detective’s Office left me with the impression that it did.

So what is it with historical Japanese settings and the almost constant presence of prostitutes. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against it at all but in Rakugo and even the cutesy and innocent We Rent Tsukumogami, there is a very prominent inclusion of prostitutes. What I’m saying is that classical Japan looked like a real fun place and I’m sort of sorry I missed my chance for a visit.

I haven’t even gotten into the episode at all. I guess I just betrayed my priorities. Oh well…

Let me say it right now, I really loved this episode of Woodpecker Detective’s Office. I loved it because I would never have imagined that this is what a second episode of this show would be like. I honestly wouldn’t have dreamt up an episode like this at all, but even if I had, I would have placed way later in the series. It piqued my interest in all sorts of ways. I also suspect that it is not going to be for everyone and a lot of viewers that were already on the fence after episode 1 will consider this a good place to stop. Not me though, I’m sold!

SPOILERS HUGE SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN EPISODE 2 YOU MIGHT WANT TO TAKE A LOOK FOR YOURSELVES BEFORE READING THIS!!!

First of all the episode opens with police informing Kyosuke that he is the prime suspect in a murder that happened the previous eve. What’s more, his accuser seems to be Ishikawa. Then it flashes back to the previous day. Just like last week, where the episode started by informing us that the lead character is long dead, this week also starts on death and a hook. It’s interesting to place your cliffhangers at the beginning of the episode. I like it.

Ok, let me set out the mystery we are dealing with today and why I thought it was delightfully genre defying. The set up is that experienced and slightly devil-may-care Ishikawa has decided to drag his friend Kyosuke down to the red light district to give him a chance to experience some carnal pleasures and because he thought it would be a laugh. Kyosuke is pretty petrified at the thought but goes along because he’s a bit of a doormat. At the brother, it turns out they are the two only customers for the evening and they each get a girl and a room one next to the other. Ishi evesdrops and overhears bits of the conversation. It seems to be going well but suddenly some type of dispute breaks out. Moments later, the lady is dead with a knife in her neck. Ishi swears that when he stopped hearing noise, he decided to sneak a peak in their room and saw Kyosuke sitting by the body. Meanwhile the other says he left before that with a very much alive lady and didn’t see Ishi at all, however he does mention a stranger.

The manager having stepped out for a bit, is sticking by her testimony that they were the only two customers on the books.

I should say the mystery isn’t resolved yet. That’s probably going to be next week.

So what did I like so much about it. Obviously it’s this mystery guy, it’s not like we’re going to stick either one of the two leading characters in jail for the rest of the series. Si although the mystery is well constructed and had me saying what exactly is going on here more than a few times, there are no real stakes or suspense about the outcome. That’s not what marked this episode as special to me.

The non linear structure of the narrative, with a few 12 hour time jumps and flash backs throughout the episode kept everything moving. And the sequences where each man recounts his own memories and mixes in his own theory about what happened added a layer of two different unreliable narrators to booth making this fairly simple and straightforward story suddenly very complicated indeed. Instead of a picturesque Slice of Life with some light mystery elements, where the viewers could happily idle along and get some mild satisfaction out of solving simple puzzles, the writers seem to be purposefully obstructing the whole picture at the risk of frustrating those that were seeking the experience I described. Or delighting me…

I was convinced that episode 1 was a bit of a bang. That the series started with a murder to give us a feel for the possibilities but would now take a step back and maybe have the fellows help a neighbour girl find her lost dog or something. No, it escalated considerable with another murder, much more visceral this time and directly involving the main cast. Are we going to have mass killings, human trafficking and large scale Yakuza operations every single episode by the time we’re half way through the season? Cause that sounds kinda cool.

However, at least for me, the biggest subversion was in the characters’ reactions. Anime is fairly strong on the friendship can win over anything trope. Moreover, characters are for the most part unbelievably righteous to the point that it sort of skews the perception of some fans. These two however, turned on each without a second thought!

Ishikawa didn’t hesitate to blame Kyosuke. He never doubted what he saw, in dim light and having drunk quite a bit. He didn’t think to himself that his dear friend would never be capable of such a heinous act. He never even tried to confront Kyosuke to get to the bottom of it. He went straight to the cops without a word to his friend and then refused to even entertain Kyosuke’s theory about a mysterious stranger also being present that night. It’s almost like he wanted his friend to be guilty.

As for Kyosuke, it did take him a bit longer to succumb to pressure but after being so blatantly accused, he also dropped the stranger angle and directly turn the accusation on Ishikawa, even claiming that the prostitute told him the he was “not who Kyosuke thought him to be” insinuating something dark and foreboding! Was he lying about the stranger? Did he accuse Ishikawa as a means of lashing out or for petty revenge. I’m not sure what the punishment for murder at the time was but I doubt it’s a small fine or anything. That’s a pretty awful thing to knowingly do to someone even if he did start it. After all, Ishikawa may truly believe what he saw, while Kyosuke is just accusing out of assumption.

So both are definitely unreliable and what’s more they are untrustworthy. They will gladly and quickly betray even their closest friend. Now there a rare characterization in anime. These aren’t some troll side characters or anti villains or something. These are our heroes. And they are both very compromised.

I’m having too much fun with this, aren’t I? Like I said, I know it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but boy did I have fun. It really spruced up my Monday night.

Just as I was giggling to myself because I apparently get giddy at the idea of watching slightly jerky characters having somewhat grimy adventures. I just used the term “adventure” to describe murder. That can’t be good… Woodpecker Detective’s Office had one last hilarious twist for me. As Kyosuke was being led away by police, a confident tall man in western clothes and a smaller delicate author with pale hair and traditional Japanese clothing announced that they were detectives and would take the case on! Did we just throw in some soft 4th wall break parody in this grim murder story? Ahhh yeah!

I had fun with episode 2. I hope we get some more of this calibre. Are any of you enjoying the show? Are some of you disturbed that I call murder and “adventure”? I wouldn’t blame you.

amazing!

  Woodpecker Detective’s Office Ep.2 – Red Light I've come to realize that last week I was feeling this show out. I mean that's to be expected as it was the first episode after all.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Demon Slayer 21 - 24 | Given 7 - 11 (FINAL) | Astra 9 - 12 (FINAL) | Fruits Basket 20 - 24 | Dr Stone 8 - 11 | Cop Craft 8 - 10 (not including recap ep.)

Demon Slayer 21

Ooh, butterfly titlecard.

Well…at least we know Muzan…wasn’t always Muzan Jackson.

Can demons go to hell…?

Aw, seeing Rui become human again (at least in his head) was pretty cute.

Shinobu is off her rocker!!! (a continuation of a comment I made in the collab post for last ep.)

“…don’t forget about the other one!” – The other…what, exactly…?

This girl…is Kanao, isn’t it…? She’s the “other one”!

I was almost hoping Shinobu’s shoe blade would stab the crow…it ruined a perfectly good buch of Giyu reaction faces…

Ukogi! You came back to me!

Why can’t the girls wear trousers too…? (someone grumbles “Because that’s not in accordance with the times in the Taisho Era) I don’t care, let girls wear pants! This is not Strike Witches! Update: Shinobu wears pants, actually…*people collectively facepalm*

Kakushi means “hidden/to hide”. It makes a lot of sense, to be honest.

Given 7

I like the ambient sounds in this show.

If Akihiko learnt you thought something was wrong with him, he’d beat you up. Stat.

Haruki and Akihiko: masters of reading the room. (When they’re counted as a pair, that is.)

I just realised Akihiko is daling with Mafuyu because of Yayoi…Yayoi is what Kasai could be and Ugetsu/Akihiko is what Ritsuka/Mafuyu could be.

Dr Stone 8

Note Jasper says “baka musume” – he still acknowledges Kohaku is his daughter even after disowning her.

“We’re neither gods nor geniuses,” says Senku, a genius…hmm.

Suika has such a cute voice that it’s easy to guess her gender…*hint hint*

Was it “kitto” (certainly) or “Kinro” Ginro said in his sleep…?

I think the eyecatch might be iron sand (some form of it, at least).

Fruits Basket 20

(no notes here, sorry!)

Cop Craft 8

What was that black thing that appeared before the plane broke apart…?

Ohhhhhhh…kay. That was not something I signed up for…

Isn’t there some kind of magic Tilarna can use to get back into her body?

I find it ironic that Seven Miles (a place name, I presume) is 3 miles away…

Given 8

I never skip the OP…so I guess it helps that I found Marutsuke and Kizuato on Spotify. (<-Here you go.)

Indirect kiss…!

I’m reminded of what Boueibu said about umbrella colour being a reflection of your personality when I see Mafuyu with a disposable umbrella.

“Hiiragi Kashima wants to be forgiven” sounds like a LN title.

(I had some notes here, but I forgot them…such is the life of watching on phone but writing the notes down later.)

Demon Slayer 22

I LOLled when Tanjiro asked what a Hashira was…(does he know what it is…? Should we know at this point what it is, or did spoilers ruin it for me?)

Wisteria pattern!

LOL, I like Mist Hashira already!

Only Shinobu has a hiragana first name (out of the Hashiras)…hmm.

Shi-Shinazugawa…? Isn’t that the surname of angry-for-the-sake-of-angry mohawk guy from Final Selection…?

Tanjiro uses his head…once again. (That joke never gets old! What do you mean, you don’t like it…?)

Hashiras’ jackets say korosu (to kill) while ordinary slayers get horobosu (to destroy) and Kakushis’ jackets say, well, kakushi (to hide).

“I wonder if the sky is blue.” – Is this person (master of the mansion)…blind…?

The bandage-head Hashira who says “flamboyant” all the time…he reminds me of Senku…(in a bad way.)

I wonder if Giyu will be punished…? A few comments this episode have suggested such an outcome.

“…devours humans…”

Rengoku (flame Hashira)…I think I once saw him being referred to as “Blaziken Head” by someone on the ‘net…LOL.

How does the Master know this…? The Kasugai crows, right?

I just realised the love Hashira has a skirt…

Poor Giyu has his head turned away…he’s too embarrassed to even blush.

Fruits Basket 21

I noticed the fanclub only ever calls Hana “wave girl”…

I love how the narrator, a middle-aged man, has to voice the thoughts of a teenage girl.

Fruits Basket 22

(no notes, sorry!)

Dr Stone 9

H & N, huh…?

Astra 9

So…what is the sphere…?

Luca’s real dad vs. Quitterie’s mom = art vs. science, LOL.

…I almost cried when everyone started crying…

Uh…random question I didn’t think about when it was revealed, but should Luca invest in a bra…?

You can see Gruppies and waves on the wall while Kanata and Luca talk…and shrooms...and coral…

Wait, so these guys are all…aliens? Polina is the only one from Earth…? What about the sphere???

Cop Craft 9

Why did the intro get moved to the middle of the episode…? Also, I’ve noticed there’s a special episode next week…it means there really was a budget and/or scheduling stuff-up along the way somewhere, just like you can suspect with an anime that moves as terribly as this one.

There’s a strange dent in Kei’s leg…specifically, on his kneecap…

Astra 10

Guardian Enzo said no one’s mentioned the Astra crew never said they were from Earth before…now I’m noticing it too.

W-WHAT?! I was right????? (see this post for why I suspected Charce to be the culprit)

Demon Slayer 23

3 episodes until the end, huh…?

Why does Sanemi taunting Nezuko remind me of a sexual encounter…? (with the “You know you want it” etc.)…Uh, bad news, guys. Sanemi is 21 and Nezuko is 14, so no shipping unless you don’t mind 7 year age gaps and an underage girl, all in the one ship.

Mist Hashira? Using rocks to flick at the esteemed guest (Tanjiro)? Hmm, he ain’t quite my type after all…

This Kakushi that keeps punching Tanjiro seems to be a woman…or just a guy with very long eyelashes. Update: Nope, definitely a woman. The Kakushi dynamic almost reminds me of Jessie and James from Pokémon…

Heyyyyyyy! Don’t underestimate a girl!!!!!!!!!!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh nope. Nope. Nope. I was hoping we wouldn’t hear about how Zenitsu’s hands were the size of a KFC spork, but…eeeeeeeeeesh…

I never thought I’d be so happy to have Inosuke silenced by spider daddy…well, here we are.

“…I’ll become an old guy and die.” – Wow…even I don’t think of that stuff…

I wonder if Muzan had anything to do with why the Master’s head looks the way it is?

Dr Stone 10

(no notes, sorry!)

Given 9

I wonder if Akihiko ever liked Yayoi in the first place…

I noticed Ritsuka says “atarashii hito” which is translated to “someone else”…the English suggests more intimacy than the Japanese…hmm.

Mafuyu, my boy…! (I bet you could call all of The Seasons “my boys” now.)

I love how Take acts as Haruki’s straight man.

I was wondering why the ANN review was referring to Given as “Wonderwall” – that’s the name of the next episode.

Fruits Basket 23

“What are you doing?”

Astra 11

Only one ‘til the end…oh wow, where did the time go??? (Also, ep. 12’s title of “Friend-Ship” is terrible…a terrible pun…)

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuude, I saw the Seira = Aries thing right away…it’s exactly the same as what breaks Juuni Taisen for people…

Wait, but couldn’t Charce, as the king’s clone, becom the heir to the throne instead…?

Oh, that…that joke’s absolutely terrible…! *shakes head* Did you know I was holding my hand over my mouth for basically that entire climactic scene?  I think summer might have a fighting chance in the end-of-year rankings for once!

Demon Slayer 24

I love how Tanjiro is “that headbutting kid” now.

There are cute little butterflies on the title card.

It’s good to see the return of Murata…and those transition faces.

Considering spiders are pretty gross if you think about it, both sides have a point…

Murata’s a more fun character than I thought a bit guy would be…in fact, that might explain why we learn his name, as opposed to being a nobody (like the female Slayer on the mountain that got killed by Spider Mama).

“I think we’re a lot better now.” – Aside from Zenitsu’s hands, that is…*makes disgusted face and thinks of KFC sporks*

Sleeping Ukogi is totes adorbs…*face beams with happiness*

Uhhhhhhhh…I reallllllllly dunno what to feel about Zenitsu’s love of girls. He’s no playboy, that’s for sure. Unfortunately (?), I do agree with Zenitsu on how Inosuke deals with girls though.

Zenitsu’s an M, I tell you! An MMMMMMM!

Wow, someone put real effort…into Zenitsu playing tag with a girl…sad life.

“A girl was able to do that to something that hard?!” – Nyeh-heh-heh-heh…call me dirty-minded, but…because this is blowing into a gourd we’re talking about, it sounds funny out of context.

Lemme guess…Aoi is this blue grumpy one. That’s why I dropped Divine Gate (since characters matched their colour schemes too well). Update: No, this blue one was talking when she mentioned Aoi, so Aoi is one of the three mini butterfly girls, I think. Update 2: No, the sentence was punctuated funny: “You’ll be up against myself, Aoi and Kanao there.” Turns out Aoi really is blue grumpy girl, because the sentence is missing a comma after “Aoi”.

“Please forgive me.” – Hey, Moya, you were right. Plus, that random Haganezuka appearance was funny – that’s been the first time in a while that I’ve laughed at Demon Slayer properly.

Apparently Shinobu and Tanjiro on the roof is a meme now. Now I see why.

“…with their instincts laid totally bare.” – I feel like slayers and demons aren’t so different, because even thought both fight for survival, slayers fight for revenge (in a sense, bloodlust) and demons for actual bloodlust.

“I feel like I can rest easy now.” – Sounds like an early death flag to me! (I may be an anime-only watcher at this point, but I encountered some spoilers that showed me Shinobu’s fate. Be mindful of that if it seems like I’m accurately predicting the future.)

Shinobu and Tanjiro…hmm, what a combo.

I love how the Zenitsu and Inosuke in the background react to crimes they’re being accused of in the foreground.

Cop Craft 10

Emails, emails…can’t anyone talk in person these days? (As much as I love emails, I gotta critique that.)

Hey wait. I thought their AI wasn’t so good…

Kei’s birthday is the 18th of June 1993…? Wow, I didn’t know he was 26.

New what now??? This really is straight outta Compton, if you know what I mean…

The march about aliens here reminds me of the climate strike the other day.

Given 10

Smol Ritsuka…

This show is hilarious when it needs to be. I’m really gonna miss it.

“Kedama” means hairball. “Tama” is a cat’s name, as implied here.

“Mafuyu” has “winter” in it to make a set of 4 seasons though…

Oh, so that’s why they’re – and this show is - “Given”.

Fruits Basket 24

Did Tohru vomit…or was she just catching her breath…?

“…when you are.”

Was this “monstrous Kyo” scene halfway through the manga or at the end? I don’t remember anymore…

Astra 12 (FINAL)

Hmm…I heard about gaman (“tolerance”, “persistence”…or maybe “working through hardship”…?) being a concept in the past few years and I think it’s very much embodied in the streotypical Japanese man…or just Kanata. Who knows?

So…what language are Kanata and co. really speaking? It seems like English, based on the spaceport screens (I rewatched ep. 1 today, I should know), but they’re speaking in Japanese for the sake of the fact it’s anime, right? Update: I also noticed quit a bit of the spaceport advertising is for Lucy Lum, while there is special attention paid to Aries’s eyes in ep. 1.

This is what they mean when they say “history is written by the victors”. To build from that, my idea is that the hegemonic idea becomes the truth, i.e. majority rules wins the ability to write history itself (e.g. patriarchal values, able-bodied people’s values etc. write history, not the minorities).

Aries may have eidetic memory, but she sucks at names. That’s consistent with ep. 1 too.

Oh, right! Kanata’s right arm is his dominant one!...I never knew such fond memories could be made of a single character’s appendage…who knew.

LOL, Charce brought out his sparkly face again.

Ooh, older!Ulgar is hot! Me likey!!!

Ooh, Funi’s star ornament. Ulgar still has one!

I swore that was Quitterie…turned out it was Funi. Oh well, Astra lied to me again. (I’m fine with that.)

You can even see Luca’s femininity for once…!

Ooh, red tulips = true love, white tulips = forgiveness/worthiness. Normally tulips represent “perfect love”. Perfect for Kanata and Aries, don’tcha think?

I was wondering why Kanata had a new black hand. (Maybe it was a glove or something.) Nope, it’s a prosthetic.

I don’t actually know how to say that joke about being a right-hand man in Japanese, despite hearing it from the show twice (I went back and tried to listen again). Somebody tell me, please!

I noticed one of the people in the cast list had an exclamation mark next to their name…well, that was funny for a second.

The one unrecognisable song was Astra-gou no Bouken (Adventure of the Spaceship Astra).

Well, that was a wild ride. I’m definitely sad that it’s over, but remember what they say in the show itself – look forward, not back. See you next time!

Given 11 (FINAL)

Come to think of it, if you interpret Kizuato one way, it means “Traces of Scars”, but this song’s title is in katakana so you can’t tell…

This is like a marriage proposal…

I’ve noticed something – ever since I started engaging with BL and yaoi in earnest, I’ve realised there’s this fear of “not being masculine” enough by both members of the couple. That’s probably what Ritsuka is going through with the box.

What did Ritsuka even bump into on his way out, though…?

Oh, science curriculum, huh? Me, I’m a student of the humanities, so I wouldn’t know about that feel…I was always average at English anyway after essays started coming in…

Oh, we’re back at Harusame. Didn’t think we would be.

I love how Mafuyu’s handle for the band is “Kedama”…the name of his dog.

Update: Turns out the SNS account for Given (band), as well as Mafuyu and Ritsuka, are real...on Twitter. I’d assume Haruki and Akihiko join them for the movie...?

Dr Stone 11

Ooh, lyrics! Finally!

I almost expected Chrome to go, “What’s soap?” – he’s never seen it before, remember?

Note Kaseki means “fossil” in Japanese and contains the kanji for “stone” in it.

Ginro just yelled the Weekly Shonen Jump motto…coincidence? I think not!

Team Shiny Spear Tips Forever complicates things for the crew.