#that could’ve have been more than 2 years and in my opinion was probably like a year

[kittykatninja321]

To me, this is what Jason went through.

I cannot imagine the horror of being a fifteen year old that basically looked like an eleven year old just to experience all puberty has to offer in mere months to catch up with his age without the stunted growth crap.

Can you imagine? You want to go back to your father and be with him and you're not even the same kid but a hulking figure turning into an adult too fast and soon for you.

The growing pains the constantly having to buy new clothes

[romance-club-daily]

Why do many find the HS universe disappointing? I LIKE IT (no shade to those who don’t like it). Astrea’s broken heart being a part of the universe is mind-blowing! It adds such depth and complexity to the characters. Like, they could’ve kept the spoiler after Diamond Rush (which I’m patiently waiting on, lol)

I look at it as an exciting evolution of the story. It opens up new possibilities for character development and plot twists that we might not have anticipated. It feels like the author(s) is inviting us to explore a more expansive universe, where the stakes are higher and the stories can take unexpected turns. I’m excited to see where this journey leads us next!

I wish I could agree with you anon, but I can't, not for now (at least).

Ranting incoming! Sorry in advance! I have some points and you can feel free to disagree with me too.

Everything you brought up as an argument could work precisely because Astrea's Broken Heart (ABH) is not from the same universe as Heaven's Secret (HS).

I'm not against stories that are set in the same universe, given the post on the connections between contemporary and mundane stories that I pointed out a few days ago (7 Brothers, Garden of Eden, The One, Vying for Versailles and Elite Tag). I think these are easier because the lore is grounded in reality, nothing supernatural or anything like that. The connection between Chasing You (CY) and HS doesn't bother me either, precisely because CY is a story with completely different themes, the HS plot wouldn't directly affect the CY plot (they all die in the 1st apocalypse?. Probably. Nobody cares because that's not what the story is about). And honestly, it seemed more like an easter egg than something really thought out.

But ABH deals with precisely the same theme as HS (the same mythology in this case), except that before we learnt about the joining of universes, the way this theme was being dealt with was different from what we had seen in HS and was, in my opinion, a breath of fresh air compared to HS. The way the hierarchies were beginning to be dealt with, the interaction of the then angels with the Father, the characters' relationship with the subject and so on. New things (and better in my opinion).

But as soon as you say that this story takes place in a universe of an already established story (which already has 2 stories, 3 in fact), things start to go wrong. Because in order to subjugate a story to a universe, things start to become limited at certain points. There are things you can't do, and if the aim is to keep the universe cohesive in the writing, adding lore here and there like the issue of angels in Heaven's Secret Requiem (HSR) is valid and doesn't affect the story, but what about Mikael being the Father's right hand (because they call him Father), Raphael being that important to Him, but in the HS universe there's no mention of them, or the treatment isn't even the same?

The Beast also seems to be an important figure in ABH, a supreme evil. But putting it in HS is going to be what? Because we know that evil is the Shepamalum, the first Satan presented in HS1 was a minion and honestly, hell looked more like a corporation with a CEO taking part every quarter of a year? Is the beast going to be Satan #546465? Will it be antichrist #7894646? Or will it be Shepamalum? Or demon Larry who made a revolution calling for better working conditions and decided to sacrifice some people as a form of rebellion?

Jokes aside, I can't see how a story that's just starting its second season suddenly (because I don't know to what extent this was planned inside, but as an audience we only know about it now - another problem) has to subjugate itself to an existing universe with its most important hierarchies and lores that have already been established. The number of plot holes is going to increase a lot.

Which brings us to the point of how this was passed on to the public. How do you announce something important like that after the second season of a story, already established, and via Facebook of all places???????? Like?

I have theories. Firstly, the two stories were released on the same day. HSR as a direct spin-off. nice. ABH as something completely new, interesting, unusual. ok. Announcing two spin-offs of the same book, on the same day, would be insane and the accusations of capitalising on every drop of HS's popularity would be off the charts (we've only had that with the HSR part, but it would probably be worse). But doing it afterwards, the way it's being done, isn't much better, the backlash is there and I think it's fair.

They probably waited to see if the book was going to be a success on its own, so that they could talk about it and people wouldn't get too outraged (from the reactions it didn't do much good). They could have done this much more organically. This month's update would finally introduce us to the agency's superiors, and what better way to announce that a story is part of an existing universe than by mentioning existing characters! They could take advantage of this and introduce already known characters, or just mention them by name. It would be much more organic and we would see the connection in the story, not in a random Facebook advert.

Another point is that it could be that they didn't want to create a story of similar mythologies that rival each other. HS has its own fanbase, ABH is also creating its own, the way it's constructed is different, and I think the latter is better. Then, to avoid problems, they put everything in the same universe and that was that. But I don't really believe that because Alice herself (HS) is Elena's (ABH) editor in the story. Which leads me to wonder, was this planned from the start or did they see the potential later and change their minds in the middle of the first season? How serious is this for them to announce it on Facebook and not in the story itself? They had to have the guts to admit it on launch day, why hide it?

So as not to be too long-winded, and to summarise my opinion, I don't think it's an advantage for ABH because it limits the development of the lore too much, since what is going to be dealt with already exists in a certain way, the plot and the development of the plot worry me within this universe. On the other hand, it's advantageous for HS because the popularity of ABH joins it. I don't like the decision at first, I'm going to continue treating them as separate things. I really hope that they have a plan up their sleeve that is spectacular, that things work out and no story is harmed in the process, because ABH has become one of my favourite books. And I must emphasise that I also don't like the way they're trying to squeeze every last drop out of HS, the way it's been done has its ups and downs, HSR was a good decision, HS2 not so much. As well as having other stories that deserve continuation and an exploration of the universe (such as Moonborn with the werewolf and vampire clans, Sails in the Fog with other pirates, Heart of Trespia with the unexplored lands beyond the sea…).

I guess, that's what I think about it. And sorry for the long text again!

[ryuto12]

“What’s more important than here?”

Aight, RWBY Beyond just dropped two seperate episodes but here’s but my take on the bit we got about Tai.

Now I’m entirely of the opinion that the Crown is either super fucking annoying to find in Vale, hiding in a hole in Patch, or somewhere out in Menagerie and that’s why there’s so many Grimm out there.

We saw in V8 Tai was still in Patch, not in greater Vale so either

1. With Beacon being inactive and Pharos being in central Vale which is likely still a Grimm hotspot, Signal is the only combat school in all of Vale. Tai himself is a pretty powerful Huntsmen with him being STRQ and considering that Yang is one of two people to hit Salem and still be living he’s a pretty great teacher.

2. He did end up in Vale after the broadcast and is defending the Crown/trying to clear out Vale.

3. He’s on some important task no one knows about, because Ozma still likes his secrets

I do believe Tai wants to be in Vacuo, he wants to see the daughters he likely thought were dead. Keep in mind it’s also been almost three years since Tai even saw Ruby after she ran away. Last he knew Yang was looking for her, he may or may not have received Ruby’s letter, and then he gets the cutoff broadcast.

Then he likely got the news they were never coming home.

It’s impossible to believe that he’s also just unreachable, Raven has that man on GPS at all times. Something is keeping him where he is, something more important to the mission of saving the world than seeing his newly alive kids.

4. I’m also not willing to rule out that he’s the one who entered the Ever After, because this motherfucker looks too much like Jaune or could just be seen as Yang with short hair from far away. Least likely theory I’ve ever had with my one piece of evidence being that Tai literally has his Emblem tattooed on his body showing how sure of who he is. But Somewhat has no clue who Tai is so I’m just leaving all possibilities open no matter how unlikely.

5. Im also not able to leave out that Salem could’ve had Tai kidnapped. Either by herself for her own agenda of some sort or by Tyrian who is consistently ready to mess up Qrow’s life.

6. My other idea is that yeah, he’s on his way to Vacuo. After The Fall lets us know it’s a few weeks trip on foot from Beacon to Shade, and RWBY+J don’t seem to have gotten back more than maybe four-two weeks earlier. Unlikely because Raven probably went to him to be like “yo (y)our kid(s) are alive” and if he wanted to go back he would have

All in all, I’m for the idea that Tai is the dragon protecting the treasure, the treasure likely being the Crown no matter where’s it at. He wants to be with his daughters, with Qrow and trying to save the world with his family. (Tho I don’t imagine he’s keen on doing so with Raven four feet away he’ll make do) But despite wanting to be with those he loves he’s being kept away for the greater good of the world because keeping Remnant safe is much more important than his personal feelings

[kiroonsmoon]

I know there's a lot of people refusing to play the renegade route in rejuvenation. Sorry if you answered this already but I'd love to know where you stand on this. Have you played renegade? If so what are you most looking forward to about it?

Oughhhhhahhhh Renegade (BEGINS FOAMING AT THE MOUTH) /neg. My thoughts on it are very mixed so to say. But yes I’ve played it, I like doing oc runs so I did my mono dragon run for Lucifer on it.

Renegade has most of my favorite scenes ever in Rejvu but simultaneously is my least favorite part of the game and is like, the worst mix of my criticisms of the game. Which is why I generally prefer Paragon to Renegade despite paragon having a less gripping story/events to me as of 13.5.

Basically if I could summarize it: I love the story and it has WONDERFUL, heartbreaking scenes but it also shares that with the most whiplash inducing humor and scenes possible as well. Which results in severe tonal issues that heavily damages my enjoyment of the route.

I’m going to be putting my more detailed thoughts under cut. All my positives and negatives towards it. I’m putting it undercut because of 1) spoilers and 2) speaking from personal experience I know it’s unpleasant to see some bashing and criticizing something you love dearly. And I don’t want to subject people to that if they do not want to see that. My criticisms point largely to a specific character I know people are major fans of and love dearly. I don’t want to subject people to unpleasant things like that.

Again all of this is subjective and my opinion. You aren’t bad for liking something I don’t like.

Still here? Good great! First things first let’s start with some positives. Because despite everything I do like this route.

The fights were fun! I had a great time with the battles (expect with Spacea/Timepa but this isn’t an issue on the devs it’s just Mono Dragon is NOT good for that fight).

The scenes when the game takes itself seriously are fucking phenomenal. Adrest’s death and then the failed world with the host and M2 are a phenomenal beginning to renegade in my eyes. And Zumi’s art like always fucking rocks. The failed world really sets up the tone well for renegade. Which M2 finally snapping and attempting to murder the only person she’s been stuck for years. Fantastic beginning to a route about destroying the world.

And Karma Beast Talon….oh karma beast Talon. It’s my favoritest fucking boss battle and segment of the entire game. Everything down to the story, music, setting and Talon’s character mixes into one of the best written arcs in rejvuenation ever. Talon’s arc was way better than I could’ve ever expect and the best of his character is shown in his karma beast route. Just seeing his desperation and pain at learning his best friend died, his mother is on death’s door, he was never anything but a puppet that leads him to becoming a monster of his own despair and that on top of the art in music. Chef’s kiss, I love it so much.

I also loved the Ren chase (hell I made fanart of this moment), M2 getting called the fuck out and Venam + Amber battle and Amber’s death…oughhh all good fucking scenes.

However, all these things are torn down by one thing, the humor. Even more specifically M2.

M2..M2, gosh, she’s a fucking lot. I honestly still don’t know how to feel about her. The only thing I’m 100% certain on and don’t have any mixed thoughts on his her design. Her design fucking rocks, probably my most favorite design of all the Melia’s.

M2 is easily the worst part of renegade and the game for me. She’s very poorly written to me. Which is unfortunate. I like her concept I really do. However the problem is I couldn’t really truly understand and appreciate her concept until I sat down and truly thought on renegades story while removing all the silly stuff from my brain.

Basically: M2 is completely shot down by the humor she brings and it negatively affects her and the story as a whole.

Now I’m not saying renegade has to be 100% serious and grimdark. That’s just not realistic and I would just have issues with it the other way instead. However the humor it shows is not for renegade. The humor of renegade (and M2…) is very lol xd and sudden and random. It’s very very very jarring. Especially for such a dark and grim route. Renegade’s humor would be better placed in paragon. Rejvu’s humor is already hit or miss and renegade’s humor is nearly all miss.

Now humor in renegade can work, hell it’s even required. Stories can’t be all dark, you need a breather in there. However, balance of the humor is very important and Rejvu’s renegade route does a really piss poor job of it. Some jokes can work though! The fucking bait and switch with the item during the Ren chase seen is probably my favorite joke it all of Rejvu honestly. It uses the expected actions of the player and turns it on their head. It even works in a character sense! M2 is smart, she’s been taking notes on you and uses what she knows on you against you. It makes for a great joke and prank, I couldn’t even be angry that all my pokemon had 1 hp! It was a fantastic humorous moment that made me go “you son of a bitch” and crack a smile. I also think M2 calling Kanon an incel is a joke that works as well. However I do have problems with that as well, but that doesn’t relate to the humor, I’ll get into that later.

Renegade would’ve benefited from more humor like that. Not the clones, which made me more and more annoyed as time went on. The clones should’ve been left in Ren’s Chase as NPCs that act as obstacles and that’s it. Not the random beef M2 had gotten with random unimportant NPCs offscreen, which just made me more annoyed with her (and not the fun kind of annoyed). The kinda annoyed where I wanted to bash her head into the wall.

However the biggest offender of them all is Guilty or Nah. I’m going to be blunt. Guilty or Nah is not needed and brings absolutely no substance to the story and actively damages it. I hate it. You are actively chasing down someone WHO YOU PLAN ON ERASING FROM THE ENITRE UNIVERSE. And when you finally catch up to them, guess what happens! The most completely unnecessary and tonal whipping lashing gameshow thing I have ever seen in a piece of media. ITS NOT GOOD. IT SUCKS IN LITERALLY EVERY WAY POSSIBLE FROM A NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE. It needs to be cut from the story completely. The most important part of the chases are the emotions and perspectives of the victims. Karrina’s, Ren’s and The Hag’s deaths/near death would’ve been so much better and impactful if Guilty or Nah was completely axed. Look at me in the eyes and tell me if Talon (+ Florin in one route) suddenly got a Guilty or Nah before being erased it would do anything for the scene and their arcs. If like anyone has any reasons I would genuinely love to hear it because I cannot see any reason for Guilty or Nah’s existence.

Anyways now that’s out of the way, less negative thoughts more kinda musing I had. M2 to me is a very….nostalgic character. She comes from an older version of Rejvu, which again cool in concept. However it also alienates newer Rejvu fans like me who weren’t around for the older versions. This is definitely compounded by me play renegade first but even if you played paragon first and know every version is canon…a newer rejvuenation player will not have the context of what M2 is talking about in regards to her version. I was completely unaware Ren and Kanon used to be major fucking assholes until my Rejvu veteran friends told me. Basically, a veteran will have a different reaction and feel for m2 than a newer player, with newer players not having all the context unless they ask friends or go looking around. Which they may not have or do.

Anyways yeah! My renegade thoughts. This got way more longer than I meant it too but I have a lot of thoughts on renegade as a whole. It could be so great but it’s extremely brought down by its humor and alienates a lot of people who don’t like the humor it has (cough like me cough).

[milburnandnyman]

DON’T BULLSHIT ME - the analysis

Why I think there’s no fucking way Joy wouldn’t be Jakob’s and why I’m almost betting they had to write Mikael out and that’s why we got that bullshit, lacking-in-context story:

1. Jean can be a silly woman, but she is not dumb. I cannot imagine a sex therapist who wouldn’t be highly aware of these things and also as someone who has already been pregnant once in her life, to miscalculate things so horridly as in not to know who the father of her child is.

2. Jean was very outspoken about protection, there is a scene from S2 where she is attending the SexEd class at Otis’ school and she tells the students “remember, it is always your right to say no” as in response to a case where someone insists on not using protection.

3. According to these words and the fact that she is a sex therapist with a previously quite sexually active lifestyle, I am 100% sure she has always used protection, no exception.

4. Yes, Jean slept with both Jakob and Dan on that very same day which is evocative, but as previously mentioned, I am sure she’s used a condom, both with Dan and Jakob, because even if she and Jakob liked one another, I don’t think you just tell a person that you’ve had a vasectomy when you’re about to have sex with them for the first time and even if, they were still strangers, I don’t think that’d convince her not to use it, at least in terms of STD’s etc. I think it’s highly unlikely she got pregnant on that day by either of them.

5. Despite Jean kissing Remi, there was no one else in terms of sex after her and Jakob started dating. She was exclusive with Jakob.

6. I believe as Jean and Jakob became exclusive and things got serious, I think that’s when Jakob probably mentioned his vasectomy to Jean. It’s no secret that a lot of couples prefer to have sex without a condom, so the fact that they were a serious couple and that the vasectomy should theoretically keep them “safe” (haha), was probably enough of a reason to go au naturelle.

7. A lot of women actually get pregnant despite the man having had the vasectomy. You can find a ton of such stories, also, the doctor herself had said to Jean “stranger things have happened”. Yes, condoms can break, but if you’ve been cream-pied by your bf god knows how many times, despite the vasectomy, that’s a lot of shots. Pun intended.

8. While the timeline is not thoroughly explained, according to the story, S1 begins at the start of the school year and S2 is supposed to be around spring term. Jean gives birth on October 25th in S3, which is post-summer break. Jean is not due for 8 weeks at the time, so her due date should be sometime in December, meaning, Jean got pregnant sometime in March or early spring. (I think S1 and S2 contain some more dates to confirm this, a bill at Maeve’s trailer and some other stuff that kinda support bits of the timeframe.)

9. I highly doubt that the first season stretched from September and all the way up to the next spring, I think S2 actually started during the spring term and there was a time jump, so I personally think the sex with Dan was too far away for him to even be considered the father (of course, they can imply whatever they want, but according to logic - again, seems unlikely).

10. I think the time jump could have had Jean and Jakob dating in secret anywhere from a month to a couple of months, now, while we cannot be 100% sure of this, I still think a certain amount of time had passed in between.

11. Jean says she found out she was pregnant “quite late on”, but has also stated “I really didn’t know what I was going to do”, probably implying she still had the time to decide, this means she wasn’t pregnant for longer than 12 weeks. It is usually up until the 12th week mark where you have the time to decide to terminate the pregnancy. In my opinion, she must have found out somewhere in between 8-10 weeks, considering she called it “late”.

12. She had already broken up with Jakob when she found out, it could’ve been merely days or a good week after that, maybe more, but who knows, it does however give us about an extra week into the pregnancy and we can consider that when assuming how long they could’ve been a couple for beforehand.

13. The moment Jean found out, she was obviously surprised “but that’s impossible” and right away blurts out “but he’s had a vasectomy”. She right away thought of Jakob and has even expressed her surprise, due to his vasectomy, but it didn’t make her question if the baby might be someone else’s. Again, the doctor confirmed getting pregnant that way is not that unlikely.

14. Since Jean had already broken up with Jakob at the time and he had made it clear, that he doesn’t want to reconcile, Jean was quite free to decide about her pregnancy. If she ever doubted that the baby wasn’t Jakob’s, I see absolutely no reason why she would feel forced to keep it and turn her life upside down. I think Jean knowingly kept that baby, because she knew it was her and Jakob’s and there was the inevitable emotional attachment to it, so it would probably be hard for her to terminate the pregnancy and she even says it later on how one of the reasons was that “it just seemed fated”.

15. During the entire S3 there are too many lines that support Jean’s indeed very sure and convinced of Jakob being the father: Otis’ “mom, you have to tell him” - I’m pretty sure you don’t lie to your own son about who the father is, “you’ve impregnated me”, “I’m 48 and he’s had a vasectomy” so confirming in front of a therapist, that even to her it seemed impossible, yet, still, it happened, then the way she remained so sure when Jakob was beginning to grow doubtful “don’t be ridiculous”, agreeing to that DNA test without even a glimpse of a doubt and being completely shocked by the results later on. All of these to me are not behaviors of someone who “a part of me always knew she wasn’t his”, but quite the contrary.

16. The fact that Jean, despite loving Jakob, couldn’t even go back to confront him and has, for example, only decided to make it known that she “wanted to try again” later on at the therapist’s, just goes to show how vulnerable she felt after the heartbreak, so no wonder she waited a couple of months before even gathering the courage to tell Jakob, she was probably terrified and upon doing it, she actually tried to play it cool at first like “I only want you to be involved if it’s something that you would like”. So, I don’t think she’d go into it lightly and lie about it if she had any doubts about the paternity, just to use Jakob. Even the therapist asked her if she decided to keep the baby, because she still wanted to be with Jakob, to which she replied “absolutely not” and I really think that she’d probably rather just ghost him forever if she knew the baby wasn’t his as opposed to trapping him into being the father. Jean is the kind of person who really prefers to run away from her feelings at times like these.

If you actually managed to read the entire thing, thank you, you are a champ.

Yes, I know this fucking analysis won’t change S4 and they have made their choice, all I’m trying to say is, that I am suspicious of this all and I really think there was something about not being able to cast Mikael Persbrandt, that have made them change the story last minute, because it just felt so loose and if this was actually intended all this time, then all of these things from before simply don’t make sense. It puts their entire arc to question.

All of these are also the reason why I always believed that the DNA thing was just something to play with them some more and have never doubted Jakob being Joy’s father, not even for a moment.

[cosmic-pheonix]

Feeling bored and unmotivated in posting stuff (and probably in a need for some interaction with fellow moots/followers). Saw a post on Twitter on everyone sharing their cartoon crushes. (In case you missed it!)

I decided to be brave and share my fictional crushes! 😖🫡 Feel free to either agree or roast me! (Civically of course!) I'd love to see others fictional crushes and gush over them as well! So don't be shy in sharing them under the replies!

So to first start off...

Him💜

The 1st pic and GIF of him always does something to me (My god...)

Yami Yugi/Atem (Yu-Gi-Oh! DM/DSOD) | Main Crush - My first anime fictional crush 💜✨🌟 (and still is to this day! And has been recently the cause for all those self ship/self insert reblog posts on my other blog, as embarrassing as it sounds....) This man has inadvertently popped back into my brain all of sudden and slowly got me back to hyper fixating on YGO, (in the year of our lord saviour 2024), specifically for him 💜! There's really a plethora of reasons why I enjoy and appreciate him as a character (ie his personality, aura, kindness, complexity and flaws as a character, his voice - both in English and Japanese 😳 etc. - if anyone's interested maybe I might make a seperate post about it and share my headcanons for him perhaps)

2. Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh! DM/DSOD) - Do I really need to say anything? 🤷🏾‍♀️ Same reasons applied as Yami/Atem really! The guy’s iconic, what can I say?

3. Dartz (Yu-Gi-Oh! DM) - Unpopular opinion/hot take but I think he’s pretty underrated as a villain (fuck him for making Yami Yugi cry + manipulating him and everyone else - Affectionately?? Just so my words don’t get twisted out of context, I’m appreciating him as a villain/character here, so don’t get it twisted). Is the story a hit or a miss or is it necessary? Can’t really say for sure, sorry🤷🏾‍♀️.

It’s been a long time I watched YGO, so go easy on me and take it with a grain of salt. All I will say honestly, is that I really like his design, him as a character (I think there’s a lot of missed potential that could’ve been explored more) and his voice (English preferably, Wayne Grayson’s performance as Dartz really did it for me! No hate towards the Japanese VA/Dub, just a preference towards his eng voice)

4. Pantalone (Genshin Impact) - Okay, so here’s the thing with him…If I happen to come across a guy with this much drip, charm and mysterious aura, with glasses to boot than I’m already sold! I haven’t played much Genshin in a long time, so I’m not sure what role he plays into the story. (I’d love to hear your thoughts and theories, though no spoilers please! 😊)

I’ve only seen snippets of clips and fanart of him and the fatui from here and there, but I hope he’s playable in the near future.

If Arlecchino (Father - MORE LIKE DADD-), can become playable in the future, then so can he (among other fatui members, aside from Childe).

5. Boothill (Honkai Star Rail) - I don't know about you guys, but ever since he's been leaked (and now recently added to the game have seen his character trailer - the way he just sauves and moonwalked like the smooth criminal he is did it for me!) I just adore him - Design, personality, voice everything! I love me a spunky, sassy rootin tootin space ranger cowboy that loves to cause havoc and chaos! (and serves cun-) I just think he’s neat! (Also is it just me or does his theme song in the character trailer sounded something you would hear in a freakin Ford Truck Commercial, his theme screams pure “America. Freedom, F yeah!” Vibes. PLEASE TELL ME I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT THINKS THIS?! I JUST FIND IT FUNNY TO ME)

6. Miguel O'Hara (Across The Spiderverse) - Haven’t seen the movie yet (dw I plan to watch it but PLEASE NO SPOILERS!) but this man is everywhere and I don’t blame you! I’ve seen fanart/edits of him (especially ones whenever they show his fangs 😳👀) and honestly it’s on me because I been rewatching ColeyDoesThings video on him and it immediately got me back to start watching the spider verse movies (it’s on my to do list) So thanks Coley! (You should go check out her YouTube videos on everything fandom related, it’s great!)

UPDATE: Got another honourable mention! ✨⭐️

7. Lycaon (Zenless Zone Zero) - I’ve recently started playing ZZZ and so far it’s pretty fun! I’ve seen so many clips and fanart of this dude it’s not even funny. He’s pretty cool and got a nice design and voice. And that’s all I’m gonna say. I think this video on Twitter should speak for itself:

[poppyandzena]

This is a comment I intended to post on Z/P’s most recent video, but they’re locking down their comments now to manual approval, and my comment would’ve been censored anyway. Consider this my refutation of the points in their video:

Four points.

Spawn is a 24 year old adult. What they choose to do with the money their biological mother left them is THEIR business. Maybe you think they were blowing it on frivolous things, but it’s not your place to dictate how they should spend their money. Nevermind the fact that you charged them rent already.

When Spawn left your household, they were  5’1” and 80lbs. This piece of info was somehow missing from your video (unless it’ll be in part 2, which I’m skeptical of). At best you were negligent of your child’s health. At worst, you were actively starving them.

The way you point out how Spawn’s roommate has a “prestigious job” and how it would be a real shame if KiwiFarms went after them is absolutely disgusting. How is that specific detail relevant at all? The roommate has nothing to do with this fiasco. You’re all but prompting the KF mob with personally identifiable info to go after Spawn and their roommate. I don’t know how the hell you thought this made y’all look good.

You say that you consulted 3 lawyers, and that they say you have a credible case of defamation against Spawn, one which you will bring to them if they don’t stop talking about you. I call bullshit on this for two reasons. This feels like an attempt to intimidate Spawn into silence more than anything (Spawn deleting their blog speaks to that). First off, if you’re going to sue for damages related to losing your job, remember that you’re the one who made the decision to pick your social media presence over your job. That was on you, you could’ve kept your job (unless there’s something you’re not telling us). Second, I sincerely doubt you have the funds to keep a lawyer on retainer and to bring this lawsuit to fruition. Not to be mean, but let’s keep it real, by your own admission y’all weren’t exactly big ballers before, and now your household doesn’t have an income (unless Zena has a well paying job I’m not aware of). Looking online reveals that the average defamation lawsuit costs $20,000 - $50,000. Considering the sprinklings of info you’ve dispensed about your finances over the years I’ve been watching your channel, I doubt you have that kind of cheese to throw around. And even if you do manage to find enough standing to successfully sue your child (which just *screams* loving parent), what exactly do you hope to win? Spawn is probably financially destitute. What, you want the last $13k of that trust fund money? Come on, be real. See, this is why I don’t think y’all actually reached out to a lawyer, because any lawyer worth their salt would tell you this isn’t a case worth pursuing. Any damages you can extract from a disabled 24-year old wouldn’t even come close to covering the legal fees. It won’t get you your job back either; you willingly chose to leave, and if you felt coerced, you’d go after your employer for wrongful termination. This is an unserious legal threat in my opinion; you’re afraid that Spawn will keep singing like a canary so you want them to keep quiet.

👏

[delicatesoundofthunderr]

Lock-up ~ Chapter 3

{Charles Leclerc x Reader}

chapter 2^

•••

I woke up the next day to something unexpected. The video with Max went viral as expected, but for the wrong reasons.

The editor of the video didn't cut out the talk I had with Max while eating the dish, and everyone was going crazy over it. One account in particular stood out.

@F1.drama

Oh my god the talk Y/N had with Max... you can genuinely tell she likes him!! I think they're more than friends yall...

Also look at this from Spain!! You can't tell me they aren't in love!!!

@luv.y/nn: Wait I kinda see it...

@iheartf1: Let's talk about Charles tho. What Y/N said was true...

-> @F1.drama: okayy but like. Y/N is overreacting cuz she's mean to him too...

-> @iheartf1: with good reason.

@chloe.gal: You're onto something... The hands on the helmet!!

The person thought I was overreacting with Charles, but most of all... People thought Max and I were dating?? He's like a brother to me...

I immediately called my manager, pissed. She was expecting me.

" Listen Y/N, this could be great. It would put all the focus on you and Max, and probably gain us some sponsors." Jill proposed.

" Um, I'm not-" I start.

" Don't worry, we wouldn't publish anything official. Just let you and Max do the acting. This way everyone is more attracted to it since it's so secretive. You don't lose anything acting a bit flirty with Verstappen, Y/N. Consider it quickly..." my manager reasoned.

She's not totally wrong. The cameras would be on us at all time. Great advertising to people who don't even watch F1. We would be a power couple...

" Fine."

" Perfect! Max has already been informed, and he said he'd do it only if you agreed." Jill said happily.

" Alright then." I was still unsure about this whole thing.

•••

Present - Italian Grand Prix

" Welcome back to Monza, ladies and gents! Our starting grid consists of... Max Verstappen followed by Charlesc Leclerc, then it's Y/N L/N in third and George Russell in fourth. Next is..." the commentator finished the grid.

" Let's view a replay from this morning's interviews..." the other said.

Past - This morning, Italian GP interviews

" I heard Mercedes have made some admirable changes to their cars. Russell is right behind you. Scared?" The woman questioned.

" They were also supposed to have admirable changes in quali, and that didn't stop me from passing them both. I'm not worried." you answer.

The woman smiled, and another man asked a question.

" Now, Y/N, rumours are you're dating Max! Any comments?" he excitedly asked.

" None." you say, smiling to add fuel to the fire.

All the reporters suddenly bombarded you with questions, so you quickly left while giggling without looking back.

It was Charles' turn to answer some questions from the media.

" So Charles, there seems to be only friction between you and Y/N since the start of the year. She seems to be confused as to why she's the only one you're tense with, even though you have other enemies." A snobby reporter asked.

" I have my reasons, and so does she. Let's keep it private and talk about racing instead." He answered impatiently.

" What about Max and Y/N's relationship, what do you think about that?" another reporter shouted.

Charles jaw clenched ever so slightly.

" I think it will only bring them disadvantages on track, and tension off-track. Stupid move from their part," Charles annoyingly admits.

" That is your opinion about relationships off-track?" someone yelled out.

Charles hesitates for a moment.

" Absolutely. We are all friends to a certain extent, but bring love into this and it's over. It'll end badly, mark my words. Now if anyone has a question about the car, please?" Charles desperately said.

Present- Italian Grand Prix

" Ouch... Charles Leclerc, forever a heartbreaker it seems! Let's see how this all unfolds as the cars are placed on the grid." the announcer concludes.

Y/N POV

This is my time to fucking shine. Two respected drivers in front, my race to win.

The lights are off, and I have a remarkable start that leads me to already fighting Leclerc at the first corner.

He's a remarkable defender, and unfortunately so am I. My defence often outshines my offence. Still, I know how to overtake well and I'm starting to see a habit that Leclerc has. He's often directly on the apex, meaning I still have place to overtake him without losing speed.

I try overtaking him after a few laps that I used to close the gap between the both of us, and it almost succeeds. There's a chicane coming, and I know that's when I need to do it. The job would be done afterwards, not many were able to overtake me.

The chicane comes quickly, but sure enough when we come out of it I'm in front of him.

Even through all the noise, I hear the crowd cheer for me. I'm half Italian, after all.

Stroll crashes later on in the race, meaning the safety car was deployed. This was my chance to pass Max in front. I needed to have the quickest reaction time.

I hear Chris tell me it's the last lap before the safety car leaves, and I prepare myself.

Max and I react almost instantly. I have the upper hand and now we're wheel to wheel going into the second corner, and third, and fourth... And finally, at the fifth turn, I speed through the same chicane I overtook Leclerc in and I am now leading the race. The crowd roars.

•••

max and y/n fake dating era 🫢

will this end well?

hope yall enjoyed 💞

[clovermunson]

here’s a tamer one:

gimme all your unpopular stranger things opinions, pretty please!!

sav, bestie you know i love being controversial (sometimes) and i know that some of these may get me tumblr-cancelled or cause a fandom riot because most of them will be about billy (and by extension, max), but that’s not my problem.

billy and max genuinely cared about each other. i know, some of you are gonna look at that and say “how the fuck is that true??” but trust me. it is. both of them were forced into a shitty situation, and often took things out on each other because they were both misguided and trying to navigate things on their own. neil and susan obviously favored max, often neglecting billy and making him grow up on his own and way too fast. he was handling full-fledged adult responsibilities by the time he was sixteen, and he shouldn’t have been. now while i think susan may have tried to evenly delegate her attention to both kids, neil completely prohibited that under some false pretense such as “billy needs to grow up” or “he doesn’t need a mother anymore”. any time max screwed up, billy was left to deal with it instead of neil and susan handling it themselves, like parents should, not older siblings (though i believe had it not been for neil, susan would’ve taken care of max herself— i have some very complicated opinions on susan, but that’s another story). every time billy acted out in violence, it was a defense and survival mechanism for him; and he probably did it quite often to protect max because he cared for her, and for the fact that if he didn’t, he’d face neil’s wrath for the nth time (i.e.: the fight at byers’ home with steve— which, in billy’s defense, was totally justified from his point of view). anyway, max and billy cared about each other in their own weird little way.

more on the topic of billy, he wasn’t racist and he didn’t target or dislike lucas simply because he was black. that’s just a bullshit reason that 98% of the fandom uses to justify why they hate billy because they couldn’t read context clues and use some critical thinking skills. he disliked lucas because he witnessed lucas and max arguing in the school parking lot, and lucas was upsetting max— and billy knew that it would be his ass if neil found out about it.

i think the whole “girlboss” angle they’re trying to do with nancy kinda sucks and it’s ruining her character. she was definitely a stronger character in season 2 than any other season.

the series started with will, and it should end with will. i said what i said.

max stabbing billy with a needle and syringe with no idea what was in it is not the girlboss moment y’all think it is. what was in that syringe could’ve killed him for all anyone knew.

the sauna scene was genuinely billy begging for max to help him because he didn’t know what was going on, until it wasn’t, and max knew that was billy and not the mindflayer.

speaking of the whole mindflayer thing, y’all can’t tell me that max didn’t genuinely care about billy when she said “i really hope it’s not you” in reference to the party suspecting that billy was the host.

oh and in season two when billy’s “threatening” to run over the boys?? y’all are delusional for thinking he really would lmao he’s an older brother and older brothers mess with their sisters like that. and he’s a seventeen year old with a cool, fast car. there’s no way he was gonna willingly get himself a vehicular homicide charge in a bumfuck town in indiana. y’all are dumb as shit for thinking he would. and did y’all notice when max grabbed the wheel and made the car swerve to avoid hitting them? billy could’ve easily gone against her force and kept the car on course, but he didn’t.

stancy shippers are essentially romanticizing a toxic relationship between two people who very clearly want different things for themselves and could never actually work, from a logical and realistic viewpoint.

on that note, stancy should not happen in season five. or ever again for that matter. fight me about it.

karen wheeler’s actions in season three can’t be justified. i’m not even gonna argue on this one with anyone because y’all know what happened. sure she chose her family in the end, but she was really about to go hook up with a freshly-18 year old man while being in her 40s…absolutely not, ma’am. don’t even get me started on the other pool-lurking moms.

it’s game night, send one of these!

[phinena]

~ Introduction to 𝘗𝘏𝘐𝘕𝘌𝘕𝘈 ~

You’re probably here because I directed you to this post to learn more about me. Or this post popped up on your timeline or something else

You may call me Phinena (Seraphinena). Obviously not my real name. I am here to discuss my thoughts and opinions on shifting and other spiritual aspects of life.

At the time I am writing this, I have yet to shift to my DR. I know how discouraging that sounds; however, I’m not here to make you believe in me just because I have successfully shifted or not. I am here to make you learn things I wish I could’ve learned.

I’ve learned more about shifting in the past month than I have in the years I have been trying to shift. I want to prevent that from happening to others, if I can. LOA (Law of Assumption) and lucid dreaming is my strong suit. Stuff I have been working on for the past months that have grown stronger every day.

Now before I begin, I have 3 rules to my account that you need to understand before you follow me.

1. I do not want to hear your negativity.

This rule is for the people who can’t help but say “I can’t shift,” or “I don’t think I’ll ever shift.” Nah uh. Don’t bring that onto my account. Point blank period. I understand if you put “I’m having trouble grasping the concept of me being able to shift.” But nothing else more negative than that.

On top of that, I do not accept any negativity towards others or myself. Keep your racism, sexism, homophobia, etc to yourself, but you should actually talk to a therapist if you actually have a problem with others existence.

2. Do not think I will be like others

That means I will answer things differently. My opinions stem from my beliefs. I will not think the same thing as all other universal shifters. That does not mean my word is law. I will share things of my DRs or my opinions that I feel comfortable with sharing. If you do not agree with my opinion, you may kindly exit.

3. Do not bring your Shifttok drama, morals, rules, etc, to my page.

I do not want to know what person has lied about shifting, or thinks shifting isn’t real, or for some reason thinks only certain people can shift. I do not care about your moral codes. I do not care if you consider things wrong or right. This isn’t about you. Shifting is a universal law. Read that again. Because I promise you, you either 100% know what I mean, or you don’t know at all.

This is about life outside the 3D world. Seeing things you’d never see. Knowing stuff you never thought you could know. If you have questions, I may know those answers. But I promise I will not sugarcoat what I say. Live in the moment. Remember that these are your last moments in this life. Do not waste it telling yourself you can’t shift.

I will be creating a master list of all of my post once I get further into posting.

A red flag 🚩about me, I am not going to be a consistent poster. Do not expect me to be on here everyday or posting every day. I only post when and if I feel like it. I literally wrote this post 8 days ago and I’m just now posting it. Most of my posts are scheduled post because I just can’t.

Feel free to ask questions, I am going to answer them to best of my ability.

Take care of yourself

🪐Phinena

[dulcewrites]

Hi, I want to know your opinion on or what you think it would happened to Alicent children in the very impossible case and that the dance didn’t happened; let’s say the greens let Rhaenyra be crowned; like there’s is not that many options of what she can do with her siblings, and let’s be honest I don’t think she would have been a good queen she never learned how to rule and there is no way her rule would be easy having a bastard as heir (but that’s another subject ‘cause I know that if Jace ever came near the throne Daemon would have started the Dance)

I hace think of three options: 1) She let them live and remain as princes and princess as well a Alicent being dowager queen, maybe just send them to Dragonstone or Oldtown.

2) Daemon convinces her of getting rid of them (principal Aegon, Aemond and Daeron as well a Jaehaerys and Maelor), because at least according to the book he hated his nephews for pushing him down the line. Show Rhaenys probably would support this, a mean she lied to her saying the Greens were coming for her children when none of them except for Otto mentioned.

3) Somebody on her council, maybe Corlys (he is probably the only smart head on her side) or and elder or even Ser Harrold convince that if she doesn’t want to harm them but also not have her legitimacy questioned by the lords, just send the to the Wall and returned Alicent, Helaena and her babies to Oldtown or Dragonstone,

Honestly Rhaenyra doesn’t seems to care or like her little siblings and at least in the show she could’ve been conflicted because of Alicent (even when their are her siblings and she probably watch the since babies)

But what do you think, ether based on the show, book or both.

P.d: Sorry to ramble hear but I don’t really know how to make my post on Tumblr appear aside from my blog 😛😝

Hi, and rambling is fine and always welcomed here 🫶🏽. Warning you - long answer incoming lol

So, right off the bat, I think book Rhaenyra would feel little remorse merking her brothers. People dunk on book Alicent for beefing with a child, but book Rhaenyra also wasn’t happy with her younger brothers especially by the time the dance came around (and she has a one sided beef with a 16 year old girl later on but that’s beside the point). Even before the dance she didn’t like them. We also get actual lines saying Daemon also didn’t like his nephews because they pushed him down in the succession. Daemon very clearly writes a ‘son for a son’ to Rhaenyra then b&c happens, essentially ruining Helaena’s life for good. How much culpability people want to put on Rhaenyra is their prerogative, but if she had no problem with that happening to Helaena of all people. I don’t think she’d feel bad murdering her brothers, especially if she thought they actively stood in her way. Also book Rhaenyra set a precedent for harming those in her way. Having vaemond killed, being ok with viserys taking the tongues of those who dared questioned her kid’s parentage etc. She had no real connection to them. She said she would ‘spare’ them then when she realized Aegon was fine with being king, she switched on a dime. That affection was contingent on them bending the knee to her. Honestly, even if they swore fealty to her, I think the ‘peace’ would have been short lived on both sides.

Book Rhaenyra "My half brothers would be more to his taste” Targaryen was not checking for anyone like that. She was rude asf 😭. Someone smarter than her could hopefully say it’s not a good look to kill your siblings as your first action as queen lmao. But Rhaenyra clearly didnt care how she came off as long as she was in power. Like most monarchs.

Now what show Rhaenyra would do is a bit more complex imo

It’s quite hard to theorize bc while I still think much like the book, Rhaenyra has little genuine affection towards her siblings, I don’t think the choice to kill them would be easy for her. Mainly bc her feelings for Alicent. That being said, she has shown she is willing to throw her brothers under the bus. Specifically if it means protecting her kids.

I side eye the ‘show Rhaenyra would never have her siblings killed’ crowd. She might feel actual remorse or it would take some real convincing, but I don’t think that option is completely off the table for her. She knows how much her father favors her and she continues to twist that knife against her younger siblings. I think much of the paranoia we are going to see from Rhaenyra in the show not only comes from obviously losing her kids, but also from the two people who ‘protected’ her (daemon and viserys. I’m using this very losely bc they suck and saying this from her pov) essentially leaving her high and dry. Viserys shielded her from a lot of criticism and repercussions others would normally face. That paranoia/feeling alone, much like how Alicent’s manifested in show, could lead her to assuming her children will be killed. She would maybe try to get ahead of that.

Realistically, I can see show Rhaenyra sending terms the way Alicent did for her. Saying if they swear to her, they can go free. Now daemon is a whole different beast. Who knows - he couldve went behind her back and did something to the targtowers. Or she could have other advisors telling her to think of her kids/grandkids. Because even if there is no war between them, who is to say older Jaehaerys and Maelor won’t come to get what they think they are owned against Rhaenyra or even jace and baela’s hypothetically kids.

show rhaenyra would have pushed for peace, much like Alicent did, but I think Rhaenyra is surrounded by more forceful people. Daemon, corlys, rhaenys. On the other hand, we see Alicent take notice of Otto’s plotting and make moves to counteract that. It’s why I’ll never get the Alicent has no agency convo. The only reason Rhaenyra receives terms in the first place is bc of Alicent. If the roles were reversed, idk how that would have went. Otto lets this happen after Alicent agrees that Aegon will assume his authority. Plus I think Aegon craves his mother’s love/approval far more than daemon does Rhaenyra’s. Daemon doesn’t listen to Rhaenyra. The likelihood of Aegon listening to Alicent is higher

So, who knows how it would’ve panned out in the show. It’s very up in the air tbh.

Side note: It’s funny you mentioned the rhaenys line. I still do not get why she said that to Rhaenyra. All Alicent told rhaenys is that siding with Rhaenyra has done nothing for her family. True. And that without Meleys/velaryon support, Rhaenyra would maybe would NEGOTIATE. Also true. Alicent literally said she didn’t want war. What about Alicent’s tear filled pathetic brown eyes gave ‘omg can’t wait to kill Rhaenyra and them fuckass kids 🤪’ vibes to Rhaenys. Alicent says she wants peace, rhaenys snaps on her. Rhaenyra says she wants peace, and rhaenys is like ‘I think you killed my son but so true queen 😍’.

She has weird beef with Alicent for *checks notes* living a patriarchal society as a child bride and not ‘fighting back’ enough???

[lumpsbumpsandwhumps]

To add to when he knocks her out- Natalie slammed a wooden bat over his back and kicked him while he was curled up on the floor. Again, as you said- he killed a girl for much much less. Meanwhile, he kicks at Natalie and (tries to) knock her out more like she’s a disobedient child, like putting a kid in time out.

There were so, so many parts where The Other could’ve killed Natalie and didn’t that I really can’t even keep track of all of them.

I am in shock that no one else seems to see this. HOW ARE WE THE ONLY ONES????

Honestly, I see his infatuation with Natalie as more fatherly than romantic. It feels like his actions are more paternal (patting your kids head, punishing them with a timeout when they act out, etc) and I interpreted his fist clenching as protective fatherly love. That soft moment when he hugs his kid absolutely melted my heart too.

(Or maybe he was debating her a mother to his kid, you know, various opinions)

How it feels to be speaking about any slasher horror movie to anyone

I also can't get over that he genuinely spends the whole night chasing after one (1) little college girl. He could have had the bodies piled sky high with so many drunks running around and easily discarding them as extra props in houses, especially when he was wearing a scare actor outfit. But no, he started to, then got all smitten with a girl and capped his kill count of the night at like 5 people. Dork.

I can see the fatherly/parental hot take, too! I mean, man's is probably somewhere in his mid-late 30's given that his kid is old enough to be left alone at home, whereas Nat can't be older than 21 (since she says she's been flaky for 2 years due to moving to college, but she can still drink at a public venue). The obsession he has for her is plain as day regardless, which I think makes it more fun that his intentions are all the more ambiguous >:3c

OKAY YOU SAY ABOUT THE MOTHER THING but that was honestly one of my little late night thoughts, too...like, that minivan could have easily stowed Nat's body in the back if she had been knocked out like he intended. What a twist it would have been if when his daughter asks him if he brought her home something, he gets to show her the brand new mommy he found for her, and he's going to make sure this one is here to stay after she wakes up.

[just-orbiting-you]

“if jikook invited the members out or a member happened to be in the area and they had dinner together, i really wouldn’t be so peeved”

“tae said directly, “why am i being left out?” im SORRY? they’re allowed to do things without you??” ^ these two points you mentioned i just totally agree with. This is exactly it!!

And it’s also why sometimes i think V worked the cameras more than any other member, and if he can see a way to insert himself that will also look good in the eyes of the fans/tkkrs he will 🙄 that’s my opinion. Just like all the lives he did in 2023/24 just to mention Jungkooks name. If he just wanted to hang out with Jikook, he could’ve done that any time - WHICH THEN he mentions at the restaurant saying “I shouldn’t have come, we do this anyway without the cameras” - ok then why did you come?? To insert yourself to a planned shoot for a Jikook series with 2 days notice?? It’s clear the staff had to scramble a bit, it’s just inconsiderate. This wasn’t totally, at the end of the day, just a friends private trip. It was a show with at least some planning and lots of organisation and it just seems selfish to me. It’s showing of his character.

Just can’t see someone like Hobi doing something like that, for example. Imo he would come for a visit or a meal, like you said and then just go because he would recognise this is their own ‘thing’ — don’t overstay your welcome, even if they’d be happy to see you!

just to make one more point - we won’t know how much jikook saw eachother over the ch2 break, but for a time Jungkook clearly was struggling. The car convo isn’t necessarily gospel truth as to how much they saw eachother. We just Don’t know. It could’ve been more about quality time over quantity. Anyway, the point is, I feel Jimin pushed forward with this show as a way to 1) make up for lost time 2) make it up to JK if like he said, JK kept looking for Jimin regardless and Jimin didn’t (as much 😂) it’s a trip to spend quality time together (btw tho it sucks so much Jimin go sick), they were together for days and we’ve only seen like 1hr each of it, and “rekindle” their relationship, whatever that may be, before they then have to go into the military and could be apart for each other for 18 whole months, as they didn’t know they were accepted to the buddy system yet. So for any member to insert themselves into that, regardless of how much the members knew, is a bit off.

exactly anon.

It was a show with at least some planning and lots of organisation and it just seems selfish to me. It’s showing of his character.

and i see people in the tags saying we shouldn’t be upset because clearly jikook didn’t have a problem with it. regardless of whether they were okay with it, this to me is a classic exhibition of his character which i am oddly continuing to find issue with. and that’s my opinion. we are allowed to have our opinions on the members actions, as long as you’re not attacking them for what they did and taking it to them directly. this situation is honestly just a stating of fact.

maybe in combination with how marketing was handled i’m just a little more salty, but damn. like you said, tae overstayed his welcome in my opinion, especially if he was going to come out with comments like “i shouldn’t have come here.” can you at least be grateful of the people who welcomed you with open arms and probably had to pull some strings to make sure you were accommodated for?

im just very glad that jikook had the opportunity to do this show and seemingly see each other more in the second half of the year as opposed to the first half. i’m glad they were able to come back together and that’s what matters. and to your final point, there’s a problem with tae’s awareness that i think probably didn’t even think about why they’re doing this show or what it would mean to join. he’s very haphazard to his detriment. it’s just not a good look for him.

[married-2-the-music]

K-pop Discography Deep Dives: BTS (Part ONE)

A Disclaimer: I was planning, when I first started Tumblr, to be a lurker, but then I began an office job and needed something to listen to to keep myself occupied. And then, I started going through entire K-pop groups’ repertoires, album by album, and jotting down my thoughts. And then, I stumbled into K-pop tumblr and decided, you know what, there’s at least four people on this hell site who would read in depth rants about these discographies and at least five who wouldn’t read it and then get mad because it’s kind of our job as K-pop fans. My lukewarm takes should be taken with an entire silo of salt and the knowledge that this is completely for fun and occupying my very bored, very neurodivergent brain. All this to say, for the love of god, I’m a sleep-deprived student and I don’t have time for internet hate, so don’t kill me. With that being said, enjoy!

So, my credentials: I’ve got nothing this time, folks. I’m not an Army; I’m too casual to even be a casual fan. I like most of what I’ve heard, based on friend recommendations, but I have no idea how representative of their work the songs I’ve heard are. I know the group members’ names, but barely anything about them, although I’m always open to learning more. The reason I wanted to do this deep dive is because I’ve been a k-pop fan for almost five years now and I’ve heard every opinion between “BTS is the second coming of Christ” and “BTS is responsible for the collapse of society,” and I want to make up my own mind, free of influence.

Since BTS has over 200 songs, I’m also doing short supplementals each week, both to give myself and you guys a break and to look at groups / soloists with discographies too short to need a full week (because this is gonna be a dissertation and I’ll have to separate it into two parts). So, grab your lightstick, get some ice cream, steal a fluffy dog, and settle in folks. Let’s do this.

BTS, as you probably know, is short for Bangtan Sonyeondan, or Bulletproof Boy Scouts, and debuted in 2013 (they just had their tenth debut anniversary) and they have seven members: Jimin, Namjoon (RM), Taehyung (V), Jin, Yoongi (SUGA), Jungkook, and Hoseok (J-hope).

First things first, I love a good intro, and the loudspeaker is funny; 2 cool 4 skool is not what I was expecting. I’m not the biggest fan of “I’m too cool for you” hip-hop personally, but I can respect We Are Bulletproof (p.2) for the fact that the message doesn’t feel empty. I believe what they’re selling, even if I don’t want to buy it. To be honest, I’m a singer, and I listen to artists to hear their singing voices, because I know that they can sing beautifully.

On the album I’m much more a fan of Like, although I prefer the slow mix from their later work. The rest of the first album gave me a bit of whiplash to be honest, but I can appreciate how unique it is, both in k-pop and music as a whole. The skits are very odd, but they did make me feel like I know more about the members than I would about an average k-pop group from their album; I can see why so many people became fans early on.

On O! R U L8 2?, N.O. immediately caught my attention with the interesting instrumental and the sing-talk and singing combo. I did enjoy it more than We Are Bulletproof, because of the melody, but I liked it, didn’t love it. (I could’ve done without the growling). Most of the b-sides aren’t for me, but I do want to talk about Coffee and Paldongangsan.

I did like Coffee (especially the harmonizing on the Baby~~ part of the chorus) but I really didn’t like the rap verses. I don’t have anything against them being there in theory; raps can be done in a quiet, calm way (like in “Child” by Mark from NCT), but it’s not happening here and they feel very out of place. It’s all well and good to rap excellently, but you need to have some variety or else everything threatens to feel the same.

But, my hidden gem from this album is definitely Paldongangsan. Look, one of my majors is linguistics, so it’s no surprise I went wild at this song. It’s about the different dialects of Korean (which originate from different places there) and the stereotypes associated with each one, and it ends with Namjoon yelling at the rest of them to stop ragging on each other for their dialects and be accepting because it’s all the same language anyway. It was actually the first BTS song I heard, about two years ago (barring Dynamite, of course), because an Army friend of mine recommended it to me. I’ve never heard a song like it before (or since for that matter) and it’s remained on my Top 25 K-pop songs playlist ever since.

Anyway, digression over, and onto the next album, Skool Luv Affair. Boy In Luv is definitely a turning point in their discography, with its drive and rock elements. I wish it was more melodic, as I always do, but it grew on me after a couple more listens and it's my favorite of the title tracks so far. Hidden gems for this album are Just One Day and especially Outro: Propose (which I wish wasn’t so short, because I thought it was pretty good.)

With Dark & Wild we turn another corner. Danger intrigued me from the first part’s guitar riff and interesting instrumental. Although I was a bit wary, the set-up of the pre-chorus, pay-off of the chorus, and earworm of the post-chorus reassured me. It’s the first single from this deep dive that I’ve liked on 1st listen. (The “don’t get me confused” is stuck in my head now.)

War Of Hormone arrives with a record scratch and a bombast of horns. And arrives is the right word: it makes its presence known. I really enjoyed this one, and I even replayed it a few times. At its best moments, it mixes very different parts together without feeling like whiplash and becomes anthemic. I especially love the contrast between Namjoon’s scratchier, lower voice and Jungkook’s higher notes, and of course, harmonizing, my one true love. It’s a bit of a dumb song but they don’t take it too seriously and I appreciate that they aren’t afraid to laugh.

This album was also a turning point for me when it came to my enjoyment of their work; I didn’t really dislike any song on it and the better balance of rapping, sing-talk, and singing made me less reactionary towards the raps that were there. There’s more variety in the raps themselves too: sometimes they’re upbeat, sometimes they’re pensive, sometimes they’re angry, but they don’t all sound like they’re trying to kill me through my earbuds. Improvement! Also, showing some vulnerability helps balance the more boastful songs that are there, so I disliked those less too.

Yes, I’m fully aware that their rapping is technically very good, I just don’t always enjoy it. I appreciate songs like Hip Hop Phile and their meanings, but appreciation still can’t make you like something that you don’t like. As for what I did like, my hidden gems for this album were Let Me Know (which finally lets them sing and be open with their feelings), Could You Turn Off Your Cellphone (harmonizing again), and Look Here (very odd but I enjoy the horns).

I Need U is surprisingly calm in its intro and is very much poppier than the last few title tracks have been, with more of an anguished edge than a youthful “I’m cooler than you” edge, which I appreciated. I liked this one. It’s much better at balancing the harmonizing with rap and the instrumental (which is very interesting, by the way) than the previous songs, and I can see how it sets them on the path after that leads to their more melancholy and contemplative title tracks further down the line.

Run works as a good foil; it’s pretty upbeat, which does make sense given that it’s (somewhat) a love song. I love the way the chorus surges forward and even though it’s poppier than the others, it doesn’t feel like they’ve lost their identity. It still feels like a BTS song, basically. It’ll probably be making an appearance on my gym playlist, which is never a bad thing.

As a side note, I love that so many of their songs embrace the idea of full pre-choruses, choruses, and post-choruses, because it makes each track feel more intentional and lived in, not like they’re trying to fill space on an album or have empty space. In the k-pop songs that are on my top 25 (of which two are BTS), this holds true for the vast majority of them.

Dope is a song that, like War Of Hormone, feels like it arrives, not begins, with its “Ladies and gentlemen”, and I love the build-up that it has leading to the chorus. But…it just doesn’t have enough payoff to that build-up for me, with an empty, shouty chorus and more lyrics about how great they are. I know a lot of people love it, but it has too many of my pet peeves to get past. Sorry, guys.

In the same vein, I should like Fire. I love an explosion of a chorus and I adore a song about burning down the system as much as the next witch. I love the lyrics, and I think that pre-choruses are good and the bridge especially is great. But I don’t like this song. At all. It comes dangerously close to grating one too many times for me, and embraces all of the worst aspects of their early material with none of the charm that had me chuckling with, not at, the first few albums. I’ve mentioned many times how much I hate an anti-drop and this song does absolutely nothing to change my mind. I expect the cursing to the heavens to come in in about 3…2…1…

Save Me is the last single from the album, and the most similar to the BTS songs I’ve heard before: ethereal, wispy, ruminating, and with a soft electronic background. I do like this one, although I wish the last chorus had more of an end (like I was a bit confused when the next song started) and I wish the main rap was a bit calmer to fit with the rest of the song. It’s at its best when it allows their voices to just be and meld with each other.

I have one main hidden gem for this album, which is Butterfly. It’s no surprise that I love this one with how insane I am about harmonizing and vulnerability, but I really do love it. I feel like this should’ve been a single instead of Save Me, to be honest. All of the main gripes I have with it are remedied here: the chorus is fuller, the ending feels earned, and the raps are just calmer enough that they don’t stick out like a sore thumb. I also appreciated Taehyung’s voice more than I have in the past, and I’m glad for him in the chorus.

Also, speaking of vulnerability, I also, somewhat surprisingly, like the intro of the Most Beautiful Moment In Life, although I didn’t plan to on first listen. I appreciate that this song doesn’t try to paint them as above the world or better than anyone, but embraces the genuine emotion that they’re so good at conveying. It’s such a raw expression of exhaustion that I felt sympathy even before I looked up the words, which is pretty damn powerful.

And….breathe. Would it surprise you to learn that we’re only in mid 2016? Yeah, yeah, me too, kid. This is where Part 1 ends, I do my Supplemental for the week tomorrow (a boy group who I highly doubt you’ve heard of), and we all go touch some grass and eat some Doritos. K? K.

I’ll see you next week, for both Part 2 of this odyssey and a girl group supplemental!

[no1frogfan]

Endings and beginnings, part 3

Tsukishima Kei x gn reader

Chapter word count: ~2k

Chapter tags & warnings: alcohol (mixing drinks), angst, talking about having children, heavy emotional content, divorce, emotional abuse (not by Tsukishima or reader), gaslighting (not by Tsukishima or reader)

Note: Tumblr very much did NOT want me to upload this I guess because it’s taken me now SIX tries. Gods of tagging please stop eating my post

Series masterlist < part 2 | part 4 (wip) >

3. June

Business is slower than usual considering it’s a Friday night. The night is young though, not quite 5pm, plenty of time to organize the glasses and syrups and check the stock of mixers and garnishes ahead of the crowd.

Just in case, you decide to cut an extra container of lime wedges. Last weekend, everyone and their mothers wanted the cucumber melon gin spritz, and by the end of the night you’d run out of limes to garnish the glasses and the lemons you’d used as backup. It’s funny how popular the drink was considering you had to sell your boss on the idea. He was convinced that yubari melon would make the drink too sweet and mask the flavor of the cucumber. Trust me, you’d assured him. After testing a dozen different mixes, you finally hit upon the perfect one. If only you could’ve bottled the look on his face when he first tried it.

You cut into another lime, slicing off the top and bottom before neatly dividing it into wedges and tossing it into the container.

You cut into another.

And another, almost nicking yourself.

And another, because you’re thinking about him again.

Things have felt off between you since Sakusa’s party. You’ve met up with him and Yamaguchi a few times, but he’s been…distant. And even more so over text. Maybe Yamaguchi’s presence at the party lulled you into thinking Tsukishima still felt as comfortable around you as you did around him, comfortable enough to open up to both of you about his feelings, even if it meant yelling at you at first. And without Yamaguchi around — undoubtedly the one who’d kept in better touch over the years — you were merely an acquaintance.

Yamaguchi insisted you shouldn’t read into it, though it was difficult not to. “Tsukki probably just doesn’t want to burden you,” he said. But that’s just it. It meant you were no longer a person he could rely on.

When the three of you first met in middle school, you couldn’t understand why a sweet, bubbly person like Yamaguchi could be friends with an arrogant, sarcastic jerk like Tsukishima. You’d defended him against Tsukishima at first, not believing him when he laughingly informed you that he didn’t need defending. But at some point, over months and months, your opinion of Tsukishima shifted. Maybe you started to notice the near-imperceptible fondness and appreciation he had for Yamaguchi, and the way he supported Yamaguchi in quiet ways, even if he could never bring himself to say his feelings out loud.

Or maybe it was when he started to let you in too, letting you borrow his books, and sending you songs he thought you might like or new artists he came across.

That’s probably what fueled your crush on him, the feeling that you were special to him, in the way that close friends are and maybe hopefully a little bit more.

His words lost their bite over time, and by your second year of high school, Tsukishima seemed a totally different person — still snarky, sure, but more cheek than venom. Quick to tease, but also quick to console you whenever you were actually upset, making you laugh with some choice words about your ex or a bag of your favorite candy which was “coincidentally” in his backpack. The three of you were basically together 24/7, even during practice when you could always be found studying on the sidelines, often with their favorite snacks at hand.

That’s the year when Yamaguchi finally told you about what happened between Kei and his brother — the game that changed him so abruptly into the sullen boy you’d first met. Yamaguchi had constantly insisted that Tsukishima used to be gentler, but you never believed him until then. It was only afterward that you truly understood how hard Tsukishima worked on himself, to put himself out there, to take risks, and be a better person to those around him.

“He doesn’t think he’s good enough at volleyball to make an effort, and he doesn’t think he’s likeable enough to have friends,” Yamaguchi had observed once, surprising you with his teenage perceptiveness. Considering Tsukishima’s breakthroughs in volleyball in those short years, and how often you and Yamaguchi were accosted by classmates eager to date him, you were both convinced it’d only be a matter of time before he’d get overconfident and you’d have to knock him down a few pegs.

But, that’s not actually how self-esteem works.

You know that now.

Over the past few months, Yamaguchi filled you in just a little — maybe because he himself felt guilty for not realizing and intervening sooner — slowly revealing interactions he’d witnessed between Natsumi and Tsukishima that were painfully illuminating. The way Natsumi would condescend to Tsukishima behind closed doors, shout at him, goad him, and ultimately flip it on him, accusing him of being stupid, manipulative, and vindictive. Doing favors for him and then holding them over his head. Blatantly flirting with other people, then ridiculing him for feeling jealous. A million and one behaviors that were sickeningly familiar to you.

You know now that self-esteem can erode quickly, especially a newborn confidence as fragile and wobbly as Tsukishima’s. And to be treated like less than nothing for so long by someone so close to him… well, you suppose it’s not surprising that he’s hesitant to let you in again.

You don’t realize you’re just staring at an empty cutting board until something moves in the corner of your eye.

Looking up, you see Yamaguchi waving at you from the end of the bar. You hurriedly wipe your hands on the towel hanging from your waist. “Hey! What are you doing here?”

“About time you noticed,” he grins, “Since you always come to one of our neighborhoods to hang out, Tsukki and I decided to make the trek out to you for once!”

You hold out a drink menu which he immediately waves off. “I feel like whiskey tonight.”

“Whiskey, hmm?” You turn to take stock of your bar, pulling out a clean single malt along with some smoky lapsang souchong syrup you’ve been dying to experiment with.

“How’s Yachi doing? And your kitten?”

“Yachi’s doing great! The kitten is too, but I think he likes her more than me,” he laughs, “though I can’t blame him.”

You pour some of the syrup and two shots of whiskey into the shaker over ice, eyeballing the amount. “Does he have a name yet?”

“Not yet! We’re going to wait and see what his personality is like first.” You taste it and crinkle your nose.

“And how’s Makoto-kun?” Yamaguchi follows.

You hesitate, brain simultaneously attempting to decipher what’s missing from the drink and answer the question delicately. “He’s fine.” Your eyes land on the house-made umeshu and you pour some in. “We had an argument.” You taste it again — a little sweet, a little tart.

“Oh. Do you want to talk about it?”

You squeeze in some lemon and give the drink a brief shake before straining it over ice with a grimace. “He wants kids as soon as possible.”

“Ah. And you don’t.”

“…I honestly don’t know if I want them at all. But if I did, it wouldn’t be any time soon.” You shrug. “We talked about this early on, but I don’t think he realized how much he wanted kids until all our friends started having them.”

You garnish the glass with a twist of lemon peel and slide it over. Yamaguchi takes a sip, eyes widening and snapping up to meet yours.

“Glad you like it.” You smile, happy to change the topic.

“Who wants kids?” Tsukishima appears next to Yamaguchi. Of course he overhears that part.

“Makoto.”

“Ah.” Thankfully, he doesn’t press you any further. Instead, he scans the drink menu. “Which of these red wines should I get?”

“Are you sure you want one of those?” You laugh.

His face immediately drops into a sneer. “Sorry I don't know what all of these are. Some of us have other jobs.”

“I'm sorry, I shouldn’t have teased you,” you hurry to apologize, “I wasn't implying that you should be familiar with those wines. It's just…I noticed that you always order red wine when we go out but you never seem to enjoy it. The reds we have here are great, and I’m happy to recommend one for you, but I was hoping I could convince you to try something else?”

“Do it, Tsukki! This drink is amazing and all I said was that I wanted whiskey!”

Tsukishima nods reluctantly.

“Coming right up!” You try to remember what Tsukishima drank the last few times you went out together. The first meet-up was at a wine and tapas place near the museum and he’d ordered a cabernet. You thought it tasted fine, but he really had to push himself through it, so when he went to order another glass, you’d suggested a pinot noir, a lighter, fruitier red that might be more to his liking. He did seem to like it better, but still didn’t appear to love it, all the while insisting he did.

At the time, you’d chalked it up to him having an off day.

Something similar happened the second time though. He’d ordered a black coffee, but could barely bring himself to drink it.

Then again, you don’t want to push him too far out of his comfort zone, so maybe…

You scan through the bottles in the refrigerator — “Here we go, try this” — and pull out a bottle of dry rosé. Not too sweet, not too floral, crisp and easy to drink. You pour him a mouthful to try.

He takes the glass skeptically, the corners of his lips pulling down just a fraction. “No offense, but—”

“Just try it,” you urge, “and if you don’t like it, I’ll find you something else.”

“…Fine.” He tosses it back in one smooth motion, head tilting back, emphasizing the single bob of his adam’s apple. He sets the glass back down on the bar. “That’s surprisingly good.”

You give him a smug grin as you fill the glass.

“Don’t get cocky, it’s probably a fluke,” he scolds, reaching over the bar to pinch your cheek harshly.

You reach up to swat his hand away only to accidentally knock over the wine bottle. “SHIT!” You scramble to right the bottle. Luckily, it was only half full so not much spills out.

You quickly wipe the bar down with your towel as Tsukishima laughs, a real one, deep and resonant, that rings out from his chest.

“Remind me why I’m friends with you again?” You glare at him as heat rushes up your neck. He’s laughing at you, they both are, but the fact that you’re also in on the joke makes you feel a sense of relief, like the tension has finally dissipated and you’re floating.

“Ok, ok it's not that funny,” Yamaguchi giggles to Tsukishima as much as himself.

A few customers make their way in and you walk over to serve them before returning to refill Tsukishima’s wine and making Yamaguchi a second drink. Before you finish, another three customers enter one behind the other. 6pm now, prime time for the after-work crowd. Within 45 minutes, you’re absolutely swamped with drink orders. It doesn’t help that the other bartender on shift is late today.

“We’re gonna go get dinner!” Yamaguchi informs you when you finally get a second to check up on them.

“Oh, ok! Thanks so much for coming!” You wave, and seeing them reach for their wallets you quickly add, “Don’t worry, it’s on me tonight. You can owe me a drink next time!”

“Oh, here. I almost forgot.” Tsukishima pulls a big square envelope out of his bag and hands it over.

You accept it with confusion, eyes widening as you pull out a record. “Where did you get this?!”

He shrugs. “Co-worker.”

“But I’ve been looking for this vinyl everywhere!”

“I know. You told me the other day.”

“Well…uh, thank you,” you mumble in disbelief. That floating feeling returns, and you recognize it now.

It’s not just relief.

Fuck, you wish it was just relief.

[couldthisbetrue]

Let’s Talk About...

I've never been so... Undecided about my feelings for a tv show 😂... I've been going back and forth between 'I liked it' and 'I didn't like it' for the past 2 - 3 weeks, until I realised that actually what I was feeling was underwhelmed.

  Ever since I started writing this review/thought post I’ve tried so hard to justify/explain away the shortcomings in Şahmaran to myself (that’s how much I wanted to like the show 😂) unfortunately me being me, I couldn’t ignore them no matter how hard I tried.

   I had/have been looking forward to Şahmaran since before we even had a solid storyline (since the only name attached to the tv show was Serenay's. I kid you not, it has been (at the very least) a year. So you can guess just how high my expectations for Şahmaran were (and they only got higher and higher as time went on with further news about casting/storyline etc).

On the surface it had everything to make it really good - a strong cast, main leads that looked like they would be  🔥 together and a strong, interesting storyline to match everything else it had going for it. Unfortunately, Şahmaran was also let down by all of the things I just mentioned. How so? Well, let me count the ways...

(Apologies in advance for the length of this post 🤣...)

  The cast/characters

  Probably one of the first things I learned about the show (after the fact that it would be about a shape-shifting snake) was about who was going to be part of it.

   I cannot explain my level of excitement on seeing Serenay back on tv after (what was it,) eight years or so? And that too in a show with such a unique premise? I was all like

As if that wasn't enough, Netflix announced that Burak Deniz had been cast as Maran. Call me superficial but two gorgeous people on-screen together, more importantly two that we hadn't seen paired together before? Sign me up! I was looking forward to seeing how the both of them would play off each other on the show.

   They're both brilliant actors so when I saw how their potential was being wasted on Şahmaran I was heartbroken. Oh don't get me wrong, the chemistry and the s**ual tension was there and it was 🔥 BUT I feel like their (non-intimate) scenes together were lacking the emotional depth that would've taken them to a whole other level, as it was though their scenes felt a little empty to me but I think that that had more to do with the depth/emotion missing from the storyline rather than anything else (because I’ve seen both Burak and Serenay (separately) in other shows and trust me, they have no problem bringing it).

  The supporting cast… First of all, let me just say I think it's a real shame that more people aren't talking about the supporting cast and their performance(s) in the show; from  Mustafa Uğurlu to Mahir Günşiray, Şahmaran is full of actors and characters that aren't getting the credit they deserve (in my opinion), Mustafa Uğurlu and Mahir Günşiray are legends of Turkish tv and it shows in their performances, the finesse with which Mustafa Uğurlu played Davut was brilliant, even when I didn't want to keep watching/fast-forwarded my way through episodes (because it was DRAGGING on) I kept watching and would even stop fast-forwarding on his scenes, Şahsu's grandfather's pain was almost palpable thanks to the way that Mustafa Uğurlu portrayed the character. And Mahir Günşiray as the slightly eccentric father but also with an air of seriousness (someone who’s used to being revered and respected) about him? I LOVED IT. Only he could've pulled off that character the way that he did I think.

  I can't talk about supporting characters and not mention the characters of Medine and her husband. On the face of it, I was left thinking (at least at first), 'What was the need for these two characters?' but once I finished watching it and went over my thoughts about the show, I realised that actually theirs was one of the most (quietly) beautiful relationships on the show, even with the lack of screen time they were given. I'm looking forward to seeing where their storyline ends up in Season 2.

   Mert Ramazan Demir - The first time I watched anything featuring him was Yalı Çapkını and I'm glad to see that they didn't change his character in Şahmaran to completely match that of his character Ferit in Yalı Çapkını (with how popular the character of Ferit has become with audiences, I actually thought they might) I liked seeing this more serious side of him, yaay for not type-casting! 

I make this next point specifically because of the 'The only reason Mert Ramazan Demir was included in promotional interviews/marketing for Şahmaran was because Netflix wanted to capitalise on Yalı Çapkını's success’ comments floating around, and as much as it pains me to say this - after actually seeing the show - I have to say I agree. As much as I’m all for Mert Ramazan living his best life (and getting ALL the success), going off the storyline, it would have made more sense for them to have Mustafa Uğurlu (Şahsu's grandfather) in the promo pics rather than Mert Ramazan Demir. I mean the guy’s even mentioned in the description for the show:

"When Şahsu goes to Adana for a lecture, it’s the perfect chance to face her estranged grandfather."

That seems like a pretty important character – and one that should be featured in promo photoshoots with the main characters – don't you think?

   In all honesty? I think all of the supporting characters I've mentioned and those of Bike, Diba and Hare (Maran’s sisters) are what made the unwatchable/boring parts of the show watchable. We need more of them all in Season two please writers.

   The Storyline

  I think that 95% of the problems with Şahmaran (or that Şahmaran had) could have been avoided/would not have been present if the script/storyline had been stronger than it was.

   Let me start off with pacing, you can have the best script/storyline in the world but if the pacing is off? It can spoil everything - and that's what happened in the case of Şahmaran - except Şahmaran, unfortunately didn't have the best script/storyline to begin with, but more on that later.

  Getting back to pacing, it was REALLY slow (at least for me). In a show about shape-shifter snakes, I expected a much faster pace than the one we got. Some viewers have said "Oh well, slow-burn relationship between Şahsu and Maran = the reason for the show’s slow pacing" but that argument doesn't work because you can have the best slow-burn relationship without it (the slow pacing) leaking in to the rest of the show.

   I tried to justify/explain away the pacing issues saying that maybe the reason for the slow-pacing was because they were really going for/playing in to the sleepy, rural, town feel for where Şahsu's grandfather lives hence the deliberate slowness, and okay let's say that's the reason why but then by that same logic shouldn't it have picked up once Şahsu got there? (Because her inadvertently shaking things up was the entire premise of the show) but nope it stayed the same. And again, I think that was because there wasn't enough substance in the overall storyline (so they dragged out whatever they could and ended up affecting the overall pacing of the show).

   There was no sense of urgency in scenes that felt (and were being acted) like they should have had it but that was just one of the many areas where the storyline was lacking to be honest. The majority of each episode felt like a filler episode/full of filler content with maybe one or two scenes (in each episode) that actually took the story just a teeny bit forward each time.

  The issue with pacing could have all been fixed (I think) if only the writers had looked towards the myth/folklore that the tv show was based on for help with more story ideas for their script. I mean you had/have a plethora of (different countries) takes on the legend of Şahmaran to pick and choose bits from, so why not pull from those? Actually, even if they didn't do that, from what I've heard, if they took more inspiration just from the Turkish version of the myth they would have had plenty to make the show REALLY good/something to talk about instead of this bland (for want of a better word) version that we were given.

The tv show was apparently based on this book which maybe explains the constant anti-climactic feel of the episodes and ultimately of the show itself (because sometimes what looks good on the page doesn’t translate well to screen due to time constraints etc) saying that though, I haven't read the book so I can’t speak to how true of an adaptation the tv show actually is of the book, but if following the book is the reason for the problems in the storyline then the responsibility was on the directors, producers and writers of the show and whoever else was in charge of taking the book to screen to make sure that what we saw was both as accurate as possible (to it’s source material) whilst also keeping it exciting enough to keep viewers interested.

I mean as a reader myself, I feel that readers and fans (of any book that is adapted for the screen) don’t want to see a word for word or scene-to-scene adaptation of every single thing exactly the way it was in the book otherwise they would’ve just re-read the book itself right?

  I talked (earlier) a little about how there was no emotional depth to any of Şahsu and Maran's interactions (aside from the intimate scenes) and I think that has more to do with the writers opting for the tell instead show angle when it came to their scenes together. There's a lot of talk about how hard Maran finds it to stay away from Şahsu especially seeing as they're destined to be together etc etc you get the picture but that's all it was - talk. I would have liked to see that struggle translated on to the screen, like-wise show me Şahsu struggling with her attraction to Maran and with the strange goings on in the town instead of just telling me about it.

  It's a shame really, there was so much potential there (if only the writers had been able to get a good balance between the storyline and the mythology it was based on) but it was all wasted and in turn, I feel like Burak and Serenay's talent was wasted too, they didn't get to show the full scope of their acting, and if I'm being completely honest, ended up coming off almost emotionless and cardboard-like in their performances at times (I've seen them both in other shows before and they were really good, so I don’t really know what went wrong here except maybe it was nervouseness or something, stemming from them not having worked together before? Or having to do intimate scenes together without having gotten (the time) to know or get comfortable with each other beforehand?)

   I've gotta say though the emotion really came through for me in the scene between Şahsu and Maran just before the season finished (not the one right at the end but the one just before it where Maran is asking Şahsu to listen to him, for those of you who have watched Şahmaran - and for those of you who haven't, I tried to be as little spoiler-y as possible 😉)

  Something smells Twilight-esque

  According to an entertainment website, the author of the book that Şahmaran was adapted from has previously said (apparently) that she took inspiration from Twilight when writing it (as her children were fans of it). I read about that before I started the show so I knew there may be some similarities to it, I wasn't prepared for just how much some scenes would remind me of Twilight though...

These three scenes stood out to me specifically:

  1) That scene of Maran joining his family at the town festival and them all walking in slowly together - it was very reminiscent of this one from Twilight.

   2)  The Maran - Şahsu - Cihan of it all was very similar to Edward, Bella and Jacob's love triangle, actually the love angle less so, but the animosity that Cihan has for Maran (I'm trying to be as un-spoilery as possible but 😕) definitely gave me Jacob and Edward vibes - especially when you factor in that Mert Ramazan Demir looks a lot like Taylor Lautner/Jacob from certain angles (at least to me and I’ve only noticed it in Şahmaran so far and only during certain scenes). I don't know if the casting directors cast the character of Cihan/Mert Ramazan with that in mind but

3) Maran's siblings' abilities matching those of Nikki Reed and Ashley Green's characters' from Twilight - this one was pointed out by someone else, it's been a LONG time since I watched Twilight so I can't really say for certain if they do or not.

  Overall thoughts

   There will be a Season two apparently (they finished filming it a couple of months ago) so maybe the bulk of the story/mythology is reserved for that season and this one was meant to serve as more of an introduction to the characters/mythology of Şahmaran? I don’t know, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Also, I think I have an idea of who will be playing the lady on the marble (again trying to be as less spoiler-y as I can be but

at not being able to/not wanting to spoil it) and its gonna get GOOD and twist-y next season! (at least it will if I'm right in what I'm thinking for the storyline ahead).

  Before I finish up this post, a special mention to the colour scheme used in the show and the almost spooky-like ambience/atmosphere they managed to create - that (and that kind of feel) was what I wanted more of in the show itself, it was all spot on, I really liked it. Oh and I hope we get to see more of Maran's sisters - with their own storyline's (independent of Şahsu and Maran's) in the next season.

I will (hopefully) be watching season two because despite everything I still see potential there and I want to see where the writers go with it (especially seeing as how season one finished). Here’s hoping the next season makes up for what season one lacked.

NOTE: Although inspiration has (apparently) been taken for the show from Twilight, Şahmaran is not intended/recommended for a younger audience due to scenes of a sexual nature