#that's the review of someone who only watched 2 episodes (so no spoilers please)

[braceletofteeth]

Pros of watching Playboyy The Series: never boring

Cons of watching Playboyy The Series: huh? what? who? [uninteligible english] where? why? [untranslated japanese] HUH??? when? how? [inappropriate cute outro] WHAT!!!111!!!1!!!

[galactic-rhea]

WDYM Anakin is Luke and Leia's dad

I dunno if this post will reach the Star Wars fandom but I hope it does because I'm sure you all will get a good laugh at me.

As of recent I have developed a good hiperfixation for Star Wars, the thing is I knew nothing. NOTHING about Star Wars besides the fact it had aliens and...a war...in space? And funny swords. And main character is Luke or something, I spent over 20 years ignoring anything about Star Wars and somehow missing most references out there.

And recently, literally less than a month ago I saw a gif and said to my partner "oh this guy this guy looks cool, this gif looks nice" and he said "Oh well, he's a good character." And it all developed into me watching Clone Wars, the animated series you know and...and I was kinda blown away, on my opinion the show IS GREAT. And I love every character and their interactions, I love how much they focus on side characters, and they all seem very well written. I got hiperfixated really fast and saw Anakin and I was like "Omg, babygirl. He's a blorbo now."

And because of the show, this was super unexpected, but somehow I also got, really got, into the ship with Padmé because omg, cool woman. Literal happy squeaky noises of someone who was in a bad state and needed some good ol' distraction and comfort.

Now, like I said I knew nothing about Star Wars as a whole. And I still haven't watched the movies, besides the ocassional gif?

So imagine my shock, my surprise, my...bewilderment when I realized.

"Wait a minute, LUKE IS ANAKIN'S SON?! HOLY-"

Ladies, gentleman, and others, I think I came very late to this party and I don't even know how it took me so long.

Not only that, but because of this sudden love for the series, I went to my friends circle like "BESTIE, GUESS WHAT, I HAVE A NEW BLROBO AND A NEW FAV SHIP AND EEEP"

And my friends are like "omg that's amazing, what is it?"

I tell them, and of course they all know these characters and they all react like they know this very bad secret fact and I got told several times already "Please, don't watch the episodes 2 and 3 alone, it will hurt."

I feel like blissfully walking among rainbows and blue skies while everyone else know that my future is doomed. Somehow.

(Uncomfortable silence)

Not only that, but then I spent a whole deal of time thinking "Where the heck I have seen these guys" cus there was some fmailiarity I couldn't just point out and then one day I woke up, brushed my teeth and of all sudden I realized and it was such a shock.

Do you know how SURREAL is to get very into a character, and into a ship, and then realize they're the same from that super widespread meme that has been around for who knows how much time?

I swear I thought that meme was from some old medieval fantasy movies or something.

But alas, Star Wars now is EVERYWHERE. People do references to Star Wars ALL THE TIME and it's just now I'm catching them.

I got spoilers. From a meme. In a youtube review that had nothing to do with Star Wars hah. Everything is a spoiler, the world is an apparent spoiler. Now I'm here, trying to avoid spoilers from something everyone seems to know, even my family knows. It's so surreal and I wouldn't have it any other way 😂

Anyways, if you read until here, know that a wild ride still waits me, cuz I'm only starting Season 3 of Clone Wars and I don't plan to watch the movies until I finish the series.

And yes, I made this blog just to ramble freely about SW and draw stuff because it sparked my inspiration after a long art block.

Have this doodle I drew after watching the two first episodes, my offering for you reaching this far.

Note: Wouldn't Anakin and Padmé's ship name be Animé? Cuz that's hilarious.

[thecountesstribe]

House of The Dragon 2x8 Spoilers and Review.

This is gonna be a rant but I'm still putting a spoiler warning cause some people were waiting for the entire season to drop before they watched. I was spoiled during the week and I'm mad as hell about it. Yes we all know it's fuck book canon atp but at least make sure the story flows and make actual sense.

The finale was mid. I felt like there were a lot of things missing and it was kinda confirmed. We're gonna have to wait 2 long years and knowing season 3 is about to just be the assassinations of characters because season 2 didn't really do anything, nothing moved story wise except the death of Jaehaerys, the sowing of the dragons seeds and the death of one of the realest women in Westeros. It was just glorified fanfiction and most definitely not the good kind.

I'm begging Ryan and Sara to please read or at least have someone else read the source material before they get back in that writers room.

Lucerys, Visenya and Jaehaerys deaths were supposed to haunt the narrative for the entirety of the season, how they could fumble it so bad that it just feels like a drop of water on your hands while washing it is beyond me. Blood and Cheese felt insignificant as fuck considering it was also a major event that led to the destruction and death of one of the most prominent houses in Westeros, majority of the Targaryen's lineage and the death of most of the dragons. I should've known when they started promoting the 2nd season as Alicent vs Rhaenyra instead of Rhaenyra vs Aegon II, y'know the usurper, that it was gonna be some bullshit. The other major events in the second season, Rhaenys' death also felt brushed aside. This is why the show needs to be at least 12-14 episodes. Abolish the 8-10 episodes shit.

I'm gonna get hate for this but could they please let this Rhaenicent relationship go! For the love of everything that is holy, let it go. Season 1 focused on them, fine. Season 2 you gave them a reunion, crazy but okay. There was literally no reason for a second reunion. Sure the scenes were beautiful, shout-out to the actors but let it go. The plot already felt cheapened when they chalked up the dance to one big misunderstanding. Which is crazy considering, Otto and the small council literally had this entire plan set in motion since Rhaenyra was named heir and even a little before. I need Ryan to understand that sometimes friendships just end. Sometimes your friends cross the lines one too many times and you just need to let them go. Alicent overstepped and crossed the lines with Rhaenyra it was downright disrespectful for Rhaenyra to even be in her presence at all tbh. This is the same woman who made her life a living hell, raised her children to be vile, hateful, spiteful little shits towards their own sister and her children, embarrassed her and tormented her in court, started and participated in the rumors and smear campaign about Rhaenyra's character and children, essentially ran her out of her own home, lied about the death of her father and the news didn't come from her or the council immediately but after and that's only because they were holding her former mil hostage and she got away. Alicent knew Viserys was addled and delirious and out of his mind when he was rambling about the conqueror's dream (she didn't know about the prophecy but still), so nothing he said was supposed to be taken seriously and just because he said “Aegon” she decided to be spiteful/hateful and usurp the throne knowing it would've hurt Rhaenyra. I don't know why people gloss over this fact either. Aegon said it himself, his father had years to name him heir and he remained steadfast to Rhaenyra's claim. Aemond said it again this season, the small council and his mother plotted to usurp the throne. What more was there to talk about? The only talking that should've been happening is Rhaenyra signing her and the council's execution warrants for treason. This all started because Rhaenyra omitted the truth about who took her virginity btw. She didn't lie, she never slept with Daemon in that brothel. Not to mention that Alicent son also killed her child!! Let it go!

I'm gonna reiterate this point but we didn't need to spend all that time with Daemon in Harrenhal and his hallucinations. That should've taken 3 episodes top and then they could've had him work on his relationships with his family instead. Especially his daughters. The only thing I liked coming out of the Daemon hallucinations is the prophecy. DAENERYS STORMBORN TARGARYEN IS THE “PRINCE” WHO WAS FUCKIN PROMISED!! NOT THAT BUM JON SNOW. Fuckin finally. We could lay the discourse to rest. GRRM could've posted it on a billboard for the entire world to see and it still would've had the select few that will insist on Jon being the one who the prophecy was talking about. The events in the show and the book supported this btw so I don't even know what the argument was about but let's lay it to rest now. Although show wise it doesn't fuckin matter either way because D&D fucked the last seasons but book lore wise this is what GRRM intended or intends. Still waiting on the next book! The term “prince” was gender neutral. And everybody celebrates. Daemon swearing allegiance to his Queen, as he fuckin should. Raising the army in her name as he should. He's got voices in his head now apparently. Also he has a new friend in Alys, good for him.

Aemond did what he was supposed to do this season. He's still an unhinged psychopath, absolutely no one is surprised. No complaints on my end. I need him to keep his grubby hands to himself though. Helaena gave him his death notice and rubbed in the fact that nobody gave a damn about him in the end, she did that for me.

Criston even though I hate to admit it, same thing. He's still a woman hating piece of shit though and I want him dead immediately. We didn't need all those alicole sex scenes though. We got it, they were fuckin, kudos.

Larys and the small council did what was also expected.

Aegon is still fried. Now he's apparently heading to Essos. He wants to usurp the moniker “Realm's delight” too and to that I say absolutely tf not. That is reserved for pretty women only. Aegon has officially been castrated!! That was for all the women in the realm. It's what he deserved. I don't believe for one second that Sunfyre is dead. I think that'll be a swerve.

I wished we focused on Helaena more though. Her grief was explored a little more than Rhaenyra's but it was also brushed aside. Why? That would've been important to her characterization. Also why did they have Helaena astral project into Daemon's dream? She was so cool as well, like that man didn't have a hand in the death of her son.... You can't make this shit up. The scene was essentially “you killed my kid cool but since you're so good at killing could you get my brother next?” I'm convinced they are doing this shit on purpose. Why do they keep making the female characters in the show this peace seeking, docile beings when they were just as and even more chaotic than their male counterparts (with reason might I add). The men just do the most unhinged shit for glory and in the name of war sake and the women gotta be the peacekeepers even though they're the most wronged.

Alicent's character didn't deserve half the screentime she got because if you cut her scenes in half the majority of them contributed nothing to the moving along of the plot. Absolutely nothing. We already had limited time as is.

Baela and Rhaena I am so sorry you have incompetent people telling your side of the story. Sure they got more lines this season and that's a stretch but they're lacking characterization as well. Ryan and Sara scrapped the Nettles plot, okay (that was fuckin stupid). Nettles had a major role to play. Gave her story to Rhaena in the last two episodes and we still didn't even see her claim Sheepstealer. It's up in the air. Also one of the princesses of the Realm managed to escape and you mean to tell me nobody is looking for her? She just fucked off and that's it. Yeah okay. Also I hated how they wrote her relationship with Jeyne. She was so kind to her in the books and Rhaena actually had a story in the books when she went to stay with her. Sure she would've been living her princess core era life but it's what she deserves. It would've helped flesh out her character as well, led to her hatching Morning and her life after the dance.

Baela lost the majority of her characterization as well even though she's inherently more fleshed out than Rhaena. Baela was chaotic as hell in the books. They swapped her personality in a sort of way with Jace, although he does have a temper (and rightfully so. They did kill his little brother and sister and he seems like the only one who cares) but Baela is supposed to be more unhinged than him. We only caught a few glimpses of her book personality and that's it. Again why are they writing the female characters as these docile, peace seeking beings? They also completely brushed aside their grief concerning their brother/betrothed, sister, mother and grandmother. I'm tired. We kinda got something for Baela in her grief but it was the bare minimum and it was barely mentioned again. Rhaenys was a parent to those girls (more than Daemon at least) and she got a fuck all remembrance. We totally should've gotten even better Jace and Baela's relationship development. We got her being more of his support system though they were each other's. Baela's feelings weren't explored more besides her hating her dad. Unless they're planning to explore it more in season 3 but well y'know 💔. Her telling Jace to stop pouting though and him insisting he's not even though he totally was🤣🤣😭😭. She gathered him and rightfully so. Also their unspoken conversation during the dinner scene with the dragonseeds. Peak wife and husband behavior. I hope we don't have to mourn for what could've been more than we will already be doing.

Rhaenyra character this season was all over the place. They only stick to what her character was from season 1 in episode one and then after that it was like she did a 180. She was destroyed by the grief of her son, daughter and father. They completely forgot that and had her doing the stupidest stuff. She had one of her biggest supporters die as well and it was just cast aside. Development wise we got to see her more open. I'll give them that. They also brushed aside her grief. It felt like Lucerys didn't matter to her in some instances. I have a feeling they're gonna go down the “mad Targaryen” role for her as well. If a woman has to be in power then she has to go crazy. That's what that cult Rhaenyra vibes is giving. I'm not tripping, you guys see it too right? I touched on the second reunion between her and Alicent but her whacking her this last episode was satisfying. I don't trust Alicent's plan and Rhaenyra knows and hopefully she sticks to it. She knows that she has to kill Aegon now. A son for a son. This is who I wanted to see this season. It's like she got back her personality traits in the last episode. She still needs to work on her standing as queen. She had that bum Ulf disrespecting her at the table and she needed to have his tongue expeditiously. Mysaria and her are doomed yuri confirmed. Mysaria has her ear but is only telling her what she wants to hear and that is going to be her downfall. I still can't figure out her angle though but we'll see in season 3. She inadvertently hurt Jace again when she chose Addam to go to Harrenhal. It's like one step forward and then 3 steps back with them. I'm hurt knowing the possible outcome of this situation. Daemon and her reunion were good. I like how she didn't fall back into his arms. Stand on business and continue to stand on business Rhaenyra.

Corlys grief was brushed aside. He didn't really do anything this season besides deny his sons, lie to his wife in his last moments and try to make his legitimate granddaughter heir after laughing off the idea of making his other legitimate granddaughter heir. His ship is finally fixed though. “The Queen Who Never Was ” is the new name of it. I had tears in my eyes, I could admit it. I'm not ashamed. Everything that he's doing now he's doing it for Rhaenys. 😭😭😭😭😭😭 Why did he wait so freaking long to honor her properly though 💔. There is no denying he loved his wife, he just could've loved her better. I'm glad Alyn dragged his ass for being a deadbeat though. Gave his ass a reality check he so richly deserved. He hurt those boys and he deserved to know. Imagine your father could've made your life easier but he decided to be a coward while favoring his other children, a tongue lashing would've been the least he got, I would've fought him. They're on to meet the triarchy though.

Jacaerys character was developed stellar this season. He didn't have plenty of screentime and he was mugging down for most of it but the rage, the grief, the despair was all palpable. He lost a part of his soul in Lucerys and it was there for everybody to see. He didn't get anything to do until the later half but when he got to go he did. I said it before and I'll say it again I love his and Baela's relationship. Him resting his hand in her lap after her scolding and her gently massaging it. Yeah those are real lovers. His beef with Ulf is so personal to me. Like yes threaten that uncouth vermin some more. Really reminded me of his fathers there. It's crazy though how Addam and Jace parallel each other though. Two of the best boys in Westeros that deserve the absolute world. Fate was unkind to them both as well.💔

Shout-out Simon Strong. One of my favorite characters this season along with lil Oscar. I love how he didn't let that traitorous snake Alfred slide. He let his queen know immediately. I love a loyal diva.

Tyland and the triarchy were funny though. Who would've thought I could've shown a Lannister besides Cersei love?!

I'm wrapping up this rant cause it's already so long-winded. The show is only slated for 4 seasons though btw. LMFAO.

Until next time folks. Take care of yourselves in the meantime.

Until season 3 folks.

[beautifulsnake2162020]

Rambling Fan Review of the donghua Heaven Official's Blessing (English dub)

I just need to ramble for a bit after finishing the entire series (PLEASE TELL ME THERE IS A SEASON 3!).

Quick Quick review version: I LOVE IT even if I didn't read the novels yet. Highly recommended.

Quick review version: Why is this so underrated?! Would me fangirling about it make Season 3 to arrive faster? I GET THE HYPE NOW!

Actual review/rambling:

So just to be clear on a few things so that everyone is on the same page:

I deliberately chose the English dub once I saw it was an option because my brain needs to rest from all my academic readings and it was too tired to read the subtitles;

There is nothing professional about this review - it's just me writing all my feelings after crying on the closing montage of season 2. Considering that I was emotionally crying on the closing montage of Season 1, I don't know why I'm surprised at myself for doing the same on the Season 2 montage;

I read some spoilers from the wikia pages because I want to know if Hualian gets a happy ending or if I have to write one for them;

I am horny for James Cheek's Hua Cheng voice;

Having said that I am so impressed with his vocal chemistry with Howard Wang's Xie Lian. When I read the novels (when life finally allows me to do so), their voices will be the voices in my head for Hua Cheng and Xie Lian;

I watched some of Kictor's videos on TGCF , specifically this video but I stopped at around the 12 minute mark since I was confused at first midway on the first episode on who was supposed to be Xie Lian's love interest. I initially thought it was going to be a love triangle with Xie Lian being fought over. I was impatient and I needed to know just the background details. I can confidently say that I think this video helped me in clarifying some things and I think the emotional reveals still work;

I am very aware that there were certain scenes that needs to be changed because of China's censorship laws and that the novels have more leeway;

A part of my brain is already making outlines for fanfiction for Hualian; and

The most important point - It is okay to disagree with me. This is just my opinion on what touched me the most while watching the story unfold.

Okay now to the fangirl rambling:

As I type this to the youtube loop of Red Supreme by Hu Xia I've got a lot of positively emotional feelings.

I LOVE how their love story unfolds. How they save each other and they complement each other so well.

I especially love how the story within itself shows why Hualian loves each other even though they may not expressly say it but it is so obvious from their actions to each other and their internal monologue that we are given every now and then.

Season 1 is about showing that Hua Cheng's reason for existing is his love for Xie Lian.

Season 2 is about showing why Hua Cheng's feelings are from genuine love for Xie Lian.

If anything their love story teaches an important lesson: Hope doesn't have to be perfect to be effective.

At the start of Season 1, everyone in Heaven has given up hope on Xie Lian being nothing more than a waste of space who has the audacity to ascend three times and it seems like everyone except Ling Wen who after informing him of his debt because of the damage his latest ascension caused was able to help him get a task to quickly get more credit to pay off the debt (to be honest I still don't really understand the currency of Heaven but maybe that's kinda the point that the story is trying to make in that in a place supposedly of paradise this should be ridiculous. Mortals believing themselves reaching heaven will grant them freedom only to be subjected to the current system in place). And it is this little piece of hope that leads him to Hua Cheng who is the very proof that he has managed to greatly affect someone by giving them hope when they wanted to give up. Xie Lian may think later on that he might have said something ridiculous but to Hua Cheng who wanted to commit suicide, his very existence is the hope he needed to change his perspective on life and it is because of Xie Lian telling him to make him the purpose of Hua Cheng's life that Hua Cheng finally got to live. Even if now he is a ghost, from the brief time he actually truly lived life, that experience showed him what are the things that matters the most. And him achieving greatness in the form of being one of if not the most dangerous calamity that Heaven had to face. So much so that he has killed 33 Gods and has gained a reputation of being someone who is essentially the God killer. He did all of this because Xie Lian saw him in a time when no one wanted to see Hua Cheng, much more help him. This is mirrored in Ban Yue who kept the hope that Xie Lian gave her when he shared with her his dream of saving the world. Something he is later embarrassed about but it was enough for her to do her best to change things, even when it involved the massacre within the city walls. And once again this is shown in Lang Qianqiu to whom Xie Lian was a mentor to (I forgot the word they used for mentor but you get what I mean), when he taught him that it is not the royal family but the people that makes a nation thrive and this lead to Qianqiu leading a peaceful reign and united the nations of Xianle and accomplishing what several others had hoped for.

And this is where these relationships begin to act as a foil to show why the Hualian relationship works.

Ban Yue was misguided and did not have enough experience to trust in herself to know the difference between right and wrong and the subtly gray area in between. While influenced by Pei Jr, she also isn't wrong for saying that she also had some responsibility. But she thinks that the beatings she took in her afterlife is her penance for what she did on that day. It was self-destructive because while she may not say it out loud a part of her feels like she deserves to be treated badly after what she has done. And it was only after they saved her - that she begins to start moving on.

When Xie Lian started to become a God that was hated, he was also self-destructive and feeling like maybe he did deserve it. It was during this time that Hua Cheng still in his mortal lifetime declared that he will never forget Xie Lian. While this may or may not have influenced Xie Lian into moving on from any past mistakes, we do know that he may have not confronted any negative feelings enough that he still has a mental breakdown when the truth is revealed to Lang Qiangqiu. And so Hua Cheng provided Xie Lian that space and person to not be alone while confronting these feelings and thoughts all the while also reassuring Xie Lian that he is not a bad person for what he has done.

Speaking of being viewed as a bad person, we also come to the flaw of Lang Qiangqiu's perspective on Xie Lian. Both Lang Qiangqiu and Hue Cheng admired Xie Lian for saving them and wanted to be like their savior. But there is a difference: Lang Qiangqiu despite having more interactions with Xie Lian as his student, grew up idolizing him so much that he did not notice that the image he made of Xie Lian in his head is either a savior who could do no wrong or the traitor who killed his family and all of their lessons and experiences together were lies so that Xie Lian could kill his entire family. This simplistic reduction of Xie Lian which had carried out even in Lang Qiangqiu's life as a martial God, is not the true Xie Lian who was somewhere in between. Seeing him as nothing more than a savior prevents him from thinking of the times when Xie Lian was the killer rather than the savior. And seeing him as nothing more than a traitor would make him blind in the things that Xie Lian was genuinely trying to teach him to make him better than generations before.

Meanwhile Hue Cheng only had a few but significant interactions with Xie Lian that doesn't simply reduce Xie Lian as either one or the other. He knows enough to know that Xie Lian is altruistic and would do anything that would make the world better. Whether that was disrupting a procession in his honor to save a bandaged child from being killed from a fall or what seems to be the massacre of the Yong An royal family with only the heir remaining, he knows Xie Lian has enough reason to do the things that he did, though he may not know all the facts of the story. And to talk with the God he loved when said God was feeling hopeless and was in despair because people now hate him and are destroying his temples made Hue Cheng realize that even Gods feels remorse, upset, tired, and hopeless. I think this is the moment that Hue Cheng truly becomes devoted to Xie Lian. I forgot who in the Hualian tumblr community said it but I have to agree that this very human moment of Xie Lian being in despair is the catalyst in Hue Cheng's life to be the person whom the God he loves could turn to when he needs support from someone. And what better support could a God have than the most devoted follower that would become the most dangerous and notorious Ghost King among the four calamities. Him being a ghost is also the very thing that ensures Xie Lian continues to exist. These two interactions he has had was enough to not paint a simple picture of Xie Lian in Hue Cheng's mind which allowed him more than Lang Qiangqiu more contemplation on Hue Cheng's part on who the actual Xie Lian is while also allowing room to get to know him more.

Add this to how he is disgusted by how Heaven is for allowing Xie Lian to be taken for granted and which made him realize that beneath the beautiful veneer it is still a system which seems to hinder rather than actually help both Gods and mortals alike - being the most powerful and dangerous Ghost to warrant being a threat to Heaven truly was the best option for Hue Cheng.

And I know this has already been said but it is beautiful that even now in the early stages of their relationship both of them wants to be there for each other. Xie Lian was always there in some form or another for Hue Cheng and Hue Cheng is always there for Xie Lian no matter what disguise or form he takes. They both complement each other's weaknesses. Xie Lian tends to overthink and sometimes doesn't allow himself to truly feel because of his religious sect. Hue Cheng while also calculating tends to take action more because of either efficiency or boredom. Xie Lian apologizing to Hue Cheng for giving him half-truths and thinking about the damages he caused while Hue Cheng apologizes for wounding Xie Lian was so beautiful in that they both love each other to think they deserve retribution from the other when it is so obvious they want their relationship to be repaired.

Hue Cheng is the one being that Xie Lian could truly be himself with and Xie Lian is the one being that keeps Hue Cheng living even though he himself is no longer mortal. And that is such a beautiful love story.

[the-elric-brothers]

Mod Post And Rules

The general idea of this blog is that I’ll roleplay the Elric brothers from Fullmetal Alchemist! If Edward types something, it’ll be in red. For Alphonse, it’s blue.

Here’s how it works. Before you type your question or message in the ask box, first tell me where in which series you are if you haven’t finished it, like this:

(Brotherhood, episode 46)

Hey, Alphonse! [ask continued here]

Another example:

(fma ‘03, episode 37)

one thing i’ve always wanted to know, Ed, is… [ask continues]

I’ll make sure to go back and review that episode so that I don’t say anything to spoil what lies ahead for you. Make sure to enter the last episode you watched, not the one you’ll watch next. If you don’t enter anything in parentheses, I’ll assume you’ve seen all of it and you may receive spoilers. If you don’t include series specifications, I’ll assume it’s Brotherhood. For full length film asks, just type the name of the film. Please note that the Conquerers of Shamballa film is a sequel of sorts to ‘03, so if you ask for that film’s timeline, I’m going to assume you’ve seen ‘03 in it’s entirety. I can’t write for it otherwise.

If you want, like I did in the examples, you can specify who you want to respond to you, or who the question is directed at. If you don’t want to, that’s fine! Your response will still come from a brother, you just won’t know which one. :)

Rules and tags below the cut! <3

Here’s all of the FMA content I’ve engaged with and will write for:

• Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)

• Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (2009)

• Fullmetal Alchemist: Conquerers of Shamballa (2005)

• All three Fullmetal Alchemist live action films

Media I have not engaged with yet or cannot write for, for other reasons:

• The FMA manga

• The special episodes or shorts

• Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star Of Milos (2011)

Blog and ask rules/notes:

• SFW asks and interaction only - violence is fine though, of course. The world of FMA is basically built around violence.

• I’ve given instructions and tags so that you can avoid spoilers, so I can’t take responsibility or hate for spoiling things.

• It’s hard for me to read text with typing quirks and baby talk, so I ask that you please don’t use those. I’m very sorry.

• You may send in asks as another canonical character, but not the brothers. Please remember to keep these in line with the SFW rule as you would any other ask.

Tagging system:

#fma - FMA ‘03 series asks

#fmab - FMA Brotherhood asks

#fma cos - Conquerers of Shamballa asks

#fma live 1 - FMA first live action film asks*

#fma live 2 - FMA second live action film asks*

#fma live 3 - FMA third live action film asks*

#from edward - asks answered by Edward

#from alphonse - asks answered by Alphonse

#from mod - anything from me, not in roleplay character

#fanfiction - any fanfiction about FMA, either from me or someone else

*please note that the live action films build on each other, so asks placed in the second film will contain spoilers for the first film as well, and same with the third film: spoilers for all three films. There’s really no way to avoid this. The only reason they’re tagged separately is so that if you haven’t seen one of the films, you can avoid that film’s tag and view the one(s) before it.

[gellavonhamster]

monthly media recap: august 2023

read:

The Song of Roland - I wouldn't have picked it up if I didn't chance upon a neat old copy for free. It's, uh, educational? And the translation into Russian is quite beautiful

Angélique and the Demon, Angélique and the Ghosts, Angélique in Québec by Anne Golon - still reading this series and honestly can't wait to finish it - not because I don't like the books, but because the translation gets progressively worse with each volume. Someone please tell these people there's a difference between a wolverine and a lynx, or between a guinea pig and a porpoise (I know the latter two are called almost the same in Russian, but context, man. Context. Guinea pigs don't frolic in the waves). Story-wise, however, I am still having a great time

+ currently reading the next Angélique book and Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater (the sequel to Half a Soul I read last month)

watched:

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) - honestly, I watched it because: 1) I wanted to check out the show but thought I won't understand anything without the movie; 2) Salma Hayek pretty. I didn't expect to enjoy it because it's written by Tarantino and I really, really don't vibe with Tarantino, but enjoy it I did. The hostage-taking part was actually unsettling and the vampire-fighting part was fun; the family dynamics were also good. Again, Salma Hayek pretty, which also helps

From Dusk till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999) - empty, skippable

From Dusk till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter (1999) - now that's better, if only for the period setting. Ara Celi has perfect looks for a sweet kind girl tragically turned into a monster. I think the moral here is that if you're physically abusive to your kid, then your kid is better off being a vampire, what do you mean I'm misinterpreting?

From Dusk till Dawn: The Series (s1-3, 2014-2016) - as you could probably tell from the amount of gifsets I keep reblogging, I loved this one. Mythology, westerns, reluctant teamwork, family feels, hot people fighting and drinking blood - what's not to love? (Actually, that one character death is not to love, and the last episode is hella rushed, but what can you do). It actually isn't necessary to watch the film to understand it, but the knowledge of it makes it very interesting to compare the two and notice the cameos from the actors who were in the film. S3 kind of reminded me of Teen Wolf, which isn't much of a compliment, but this show overall had the same ambience as a lot of stuff I watched as a teen/in my early 20s (understandable, being made in that exact period), so that was nice.

Oak Thorn & The Old Rose of Love (2022) - this is like 20 minutes long but deserves to be on the list, because it's the story of Merlin and Nimue made by the director of The Green Knight, and it's beautiful

The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023) - it's good! Not "wow, incredible" good, but good, and I'm glad it is, because it's such a powerful and underrated chapter of Dracula. A slightly more detailed review with spoilers here

Woe Is No Big Deal / Раз, два — горе не беда! (1988) - rewatched this gem and dying to know if Leigh Bardugo has seen it, because this satirical fairytale/Cold War allegory was doing ~tsarpunk~ long before her

Wild Nights with Emily (2018) - that's right, there's more than one comedy about Emily Dickinson. This one's based on a play and feels like a play, which took some time getting used to, but in the end I enjoyed it

[which-hospital]

Aftershock (06/01/24)

I submitted my final essay for last semester a couple days ago and I finally feel free. If anyone has been paying attention to my real life notes at the start of posts, you’ll have noticed that I’ve been stressing about but not writing my essays for over a month now. Things are suddenly so peaceful. I have learnt nothing about not procrastinating. 

This was supposed to be a normal episode review for last week but devolved into all my Casualty thoughts from the past couple days so like, spoilers for this week and next week at the end and a bit of rambling in the middle. I’m at a weird place with Casualty right now because we’re inching towards me just ignoring canon and pretending that what should’ve happened is happening instead. 

Part 1 - Episode Thoughts:

Goodbye Ryan. Who can say why they gave you and told us your backstory? As he’s leaving he tells them not to forget him and it’s like……..this is Casualty?? The moment you walk out that door, you were never here in the first place. I don’t feel incredibly caught up about him leaving, he was problematic but he was free and I suppose I have to give him that. 

Hello Ngozi. Basically all opposites here: I can’t wait to learn more about her, I will never forget her, I love her, she is perfect and can do no wrong. No thoughts, head empty, just Ngozi. She’s so !!!!! <3 She seems lovely, I’ve been missing ‘lovely from their intro’ characters. I think she has more experience than the others which is interesting too. 

Charlie is a lot more interesting right now than he has been in the whole time I’ve ever watched Casualty. I thought it was because I’ve been watching series 1 (special interest fuel but not as distracting as rewatching recent episodes so I can do other stuff while it’s on) and he’s more interesting in that because they had to actually write a character and couldn’t get away with just dragging him on screen and going “it’s Charlie bros, like if you agree”. But his scene with Ryan was as boring as ever so I think it’s just the influence of Stevie. 

[On the largely unrelated note of old Casualty: it’s super interesting how many of the current plot points and stuff that’s happening in A History of Violence also happened in series 1. Early Casualty has the issue of staff being attacked but no one wants the police around and I’m wondering if this current storyline will be as overtly anti-police as series 1 was. Also, spoilers for this week but the paramedics feel like the new measures haven’t considered them at all, and series 1 Casualty has an episode where the paramedics aren’t included in a meeting and one of them (PLAYED BY ROBERT PUGH AKA GETHIN) feels like the paramedics aren’t being treated like the rest of the staff.]

Faith Stuff™. I am still not interested, please end this Mr BBC. 

Part 2 - Mostly Episode Relevant Teddy Thoughts:

Objectively: It was an episode. He got with Jodie, which probably isn’t that out there. It sure happened.

Subjectively, the good: “Cutting me out of it like that, it shows what she thinks of me” is a great line for exactly what I think is the real issue Teddy has with Jan right now. The wedding is off and Paige acknowledged the issues in their relationship, which is about time. Teddy and Paige were cute in that episode where Teddy is stressing about asking her out but probably doomed from the start. The problems I think they both bring to a relationship aren’t incredibly compatible problems, it was only a matter of time before things started to implode (IF SAH WAS THERE, THOUGH…). I really, really liked how surprised Teddy seems to be that Paige isn’t happy that he only asked her to marry him because Gethin told him to. Yeah, he would be surprised. So many things in his life, if you really think about it, come back to his family (“it’s why I became a paramedic”) to the point that I do think he wouldn't get why it would weird someone out. I also liked that Paige and Sah really don't get how he’s feeling at all, I think what he’s feeling is very specific and different than typical grief and it’s not their fault they can’t really figure out what’s up there because I don’t think he knows either.

Subjectively, the bad: but I didn’t like that ~Jodie understands it~ or whatever. Why? Because her mum died? Well Casualty, I regret to inform you of your own writing, but so did Paige’s mum. Not even as a backstory thing, as a plot thing. I won’t ever be happy about this because I’m ride or die for Sah/Teddy/Paige now, they’re the only thing that could make me happy. Even with just Sah/Teddy it’s like, I wouldn’t actually want them together despite how much I talk about them. They’re my two bros chilling in an ambulance, five feet apart because they have unresolved issues. The Sah and Teddy scene was a let down but whatever (thinly veiled annoyance). Generally, as I said before, it feels like this episode brushed past some interesting ideas but just failed to go there and didn’t let any of the ideas it established sit before having Teddy cheat on Paige (I’m counting it as cheating cause I can). 

Subjectively, the overanalysis: firstly, there’s pacing problems. I think the fact that they didn’t spend enough time developing Teddy’s feelings really didn’t help his part of this episode. One episode exploring Teddy’s feelings about it all, developing that a little, looking into what’s going on underneath and how no one really understands it. Let it rest a bit. Another one for the impact on his relationships, he (ugh) gets with Jodie. I still wouldn’t love it but I think it would feel better developed. Secondly, I just think they underuse the best parts of Teddy to focus on the dramatic parts. They have him do things that aren’t theoretically OOC but are just the most extreme thing he could do and it’s a waste. And they focus on this romance storyline (which they already ruined the moment they decided not to make it a polyamory storyline) that just isn’t that interesting as much as it is dramatic. The most interesting thing about Teddy right now is Jan. With most characters, to say that the most interesting thing about them is a different character would be insulting, but I mean it as a massive compliment to how well written their relationship is and how well they integrated Teddy into Jan’s character, considering he definitely wasn’t part of their original plan for her. I’m sure they will do an episode about Teddy and Jan, because if they don’t that is terrible writing, but I wish this one had given us more on his feelings towards her and about his family than it did. That’s what’s interesting. There’s so many angles to come at this from, there’s so many potential layers to their relationship. But no, they have to have uninteresting romance. If an autistic person with a special interest on a character is bored by the portrayal of that character, that isn’t a great sign. He is very interesting to me but not for reasons canon cares to consider. 

Part 3 - Spoiler Thoughts:

I want to be excited about this week's episode but I’m not sure after last week. I am excited for a Sah and Teddy interaction of actual substance, though. Very excited. That will make or break the episode for me. Will skip straight to it when I watch.

TEDDY INSISTS THAT HE DOESN’T WANT SAH TO LEAVE. MY BELOVEDS.

Lots of paramedic stuff which is good, Jan’s back which is good. Always questioned the use of Sah’s top surgery as a plot device, especially when they used it to create tension between them and Paige (??????), but I am kinda like noooooo about them having Teddy be dismissive about it. Yes, it is just my take on his character that this is an important thing about him, and Yes, he is gonna apologise. But they can’t blame me for caring about Teddy consistently being there for Sah on this when they’ve made so many other characters be vaguely or explicitly transphobic to them and only had Teddy be consistently on their side. YOU CAN’T BLAME ME FOR CARING ABOUT THAT. Teddy in my head would never and he’s the real one now. 

Do I think Sah is gonna leave? Maybe. I’ve been expecting them to leave during this miniseries for a couple reasons, even though that means we have a lot of characters leaving in a few months, but I thought it would happen later on. And two exits in two weeks is a lot. If they leave it’s like, I will absolutely miss them but it feels kinda like the writers don’t know what to do with them anymore anyway. Sah in my head lives on with Teddy in my head. 

Next week’s episode will have Max and Dylan stuff AND an acknowledgement of Donna?? I am kinda excited to see that, even if it will bring back my annoyance at how they wrote Donna’s exit.

Anyway, I’m back to being able to think about Casualty all the time without it having a direct effect on my real life obligations so expect more posts and faster replies for at least a month.

Can you tell I’ve been watching Succession?

[nagichi-boop]

So I finished Sonic Frontiers...

For me, it took about 30 hours to complete the game, which is above average I believe, but I'm also not the best at video games. I completed every aspect of the game - everything from catching all the fish to completing all the missions on every level - and played the entire game on Hard Mode without switching once.

I've never really written a video game 'review' before, but I have a lot of thoughts about this game, so I figured I'd write them all down while I have things fresh in my mind.

Please note that there will be spoilers under some of these headings, but I have marked where in the post I begin talking about them, so if you're just looking for a non-spoiler review (perhaps because you wish to purchase the game), don't scroll passed that point.

Overview

I know generally these are put at the end of reviews, but I'm putting mine here in case people are reading this to decide whether to buy the game so they don't have to scroll through the spoiler sections.

If you're a fan of Sonic, I'd definitely recommend this game. You could watch the cutscenes on YouTube if that's more accessible to you, but personally I'd suggest playing it yourself to make the most of being able to experience the open world aspect of the game. If you're unsure, you can always do what I did and wait for it to go on sale.

The game plays smoothly for the most part, has wonderful visuals and beautiful music. The character voices are hit and miss to me, which I'll explain in more depth briefly. The combat and navigation can be off, but I'll also elaborate on that later.

The story is a lot more sombre than other Sonic games, but I personally enjoy this sort of story. By the end of the game, I genuinely wanted to cry. Personally I found the story to be quite confusing at times, but I'm not sure if that's just me. There are some weak points to the story, but I personally found they didn't damper my overall enjoyment of the game. I'm very curious to see if/how the story will be elaborated on in the updates.

Gameplay

Most of the gameplay to me makes sense. I do feel that the game isn't always the best at explaining the controls, even despite the constant training simulation pop ups. In stage 1-2. there's a section towards the end of the level where you have to swap between rails, but from memory the game doesn't explain how exactly to do this, at least not at that point in the game. I know I'm not the only one who got confused by this - Arin from the Game Grumps struggled with this part of the level when he played this level in the first episode of his gameplay. Rail swapping is a lot easier once you understand that you need to use the dodge buttons to switch, but it was definitely confusing at first without that direction.

I also found that they didn't really explain how to defeat the bosses. It took me forever to beat the first boss, which was in part my fault for not going in with enough rings. Even despite that, I found it frustrating that I kept getting blasted back without making much of a dent in the boss's health., It was only until I watched a video on YouTube that I realised I was supposed to parry the attacks and the boss was much easier once I understood that.

The levels themselves also baffled me. I understand if later levels become harder, but I found that wasn't the case at all, and based on Google searching, I'm not the other one who struggled with certain levels. In particular, 1-2 and 3-6 come to mind. To an extent, I can excuse 3-6 being difficult (though it was so difficult for me personally as someone wishing to 100% the game that I ended up looking up a speedrun, which led me to discovering the air dash exploit and using it in order to achieve S rank). But the fact that the second level of the game is so difficult confuses me. If you are not concerned with 100% completing the game, this may be less of an issue, but I spent around 45 minutes replaying the level over and over in order to try and achieve S rank because the time constraint was so unforgiving. It made me very nervous about the rest of the game, but was thankfully relieved to find that the rest of the levels (excluding 3-6) were a walk in the park comparatively.

The open world aspect of the game worked well in my opinion for the most part. I enjoyed dashing around, completing the challenges and being jump scared every time a guardian appeared out of nowhere. One thing that did frustrate me is that because the maps are littered with rails and dash pads, you frequently end up in a platforming sequence you didn't want to be in, and some of these sent you far in a direction away from where you perhaps intended to go. The most frustrating of these were the '2D' platforming sequences because unlike the others, you couldn't really cancel out of these and were stuck following a path you didn't want to.

The momentum for the most part was fine too. I did find that on the final island I was struggling with some of the platforming sequences as my speed was quite high by that point, but it wasn't so intense that the sequences became impossible.

The rest of the this post will contain spoilers - please stop reading if you wish to avoid them

As I mentioned before, I played the game on hard mode, so I had to do both final boss fights. The boss battle against Supreme was honestly underwhelming to me, but I'm not sure how much of that was to do with the fact I was fully upgraded (I had max strength, defence, speed and ring capacity, so I entered the battle with 999 rings). Comparatively, the following battle with The End was hell for me. I was remarkably disappointed to discover that the final boss was just a bullet hell space invaders fight, especially because this format had only been used in the game for the mystery challenges. For games like Undertale, this makes more sense because that is the entire game, but it felt very out of place for a Sonic game final boss. I also just found this boss hard because I had a really hard time following everything that was happening on the screen, especially towards the end of the fight. Thankfully the hit boxes for the bullets are very forgiving, but overall I wouldn't say it was a particularly enjoyable final boss.

Audio

This won't be a very big section, but I wanted to talk quickly about the music and voice acting.

I think that the music on the islands is absolutely gorgeous. Perhaps not what you'd expect from a Sonic game, but I really like the calm but melancholy feel to the music, especially given the context of the game. The boss battle music was also amazing, though I found the music for the final boss(es) underwhelming in comparison.

I think the biggest complaint I see about the voice acting is Sonic's now deeper voice. I personally think that Sonic's normal voice is better, but I did find that I got used to Sonic's deeper voice and it wasn't too bizarre after hearing it for a while. Amy's voice, however, seemed very flat to me. Usually Amy's voice is very full of life, but in this game it just felt too dry. I'm not sure if I am the only one who feels this way, but I expected her to be a lot more animated, especially given how enthusiastic she was supposed to be about helping the Koco.

My biggest complaint with the music would probably be in the end game. The music for the final boss fights felt very subdued despite it being such a high-stakes fight, especially the music for The End. The other boss battle songs were very high energy, so it felt odd that the final boss battle tracks weren't. I also found that it was very difficult to pay attention to the dialogue for The End boss fight. Not only was there a lot happening on screen, but the music was pretty loud and so I found I didn't really pay attention to what the voice was saying.

Story

I found the story very good. I really liked the darker tone of the game - it was dark enough to give a sense of urgency to fix things, but not so dark that it wore you out. This is likely due to Sonic's optimism throughout the game, which did sometimes come off as a bit inappropriate for the situation, but I only really found this to be the case in one specific instance, which I will touch on shortly.

I found it nice that every island gave each character a one to one exploration of their feelings and goals. I do wonder what they plan to do with this though - whether we will be able to play as these characters in an update or a new game. It was also nice to see Sonic be supportive of his friends. He struck a nice balance between playful teasing and sincere pride in his friends.

I feel like a have a decent grasp on the story, but I'll admit that some of it got confusing, especially towards the end. I didn't fully grasp what the voice was meant to be. I understand it was a threat that the Ancients locked in Cyber Space to protect themselves. But what is the Supreme? It attacked the Ancients in a flashback, but Sage used it in the final fight and Sonic spoke to it like it was the Ancients, telling them to fight back against the voice. Did the voice hijack the Evangelion- sorry, the titan in that flashback fight? Anyways, enough of my stupidity.

I really liked the story with Sage. I will admit I found it comedic that she kept telling Sonic to leave the island, that terrible things would happen, but equally she refused to elaborate on any of it. At times it felt vague for the sake of being vague, but I definitely found it more funny than annoying. Her and Eggman's relationship is honestly the most wholesome thing ever and I want to see more of them. I almost cried at the end, especially because the credits gut punched me with a song from her perspective. To me, the relationship somewhat parallels that of Shadow and Maria. One gave their life to save the other.

I know Eggman won't ever become a good guy, but the Shadow stan in me desperately hopes that at some point, there is some acknowledgement between Eggman and Shadow about losing someone they considered family, though given that the post credit suggests Sage is alive, I doubt this. On the topic of Eggman and Shadow, I am also kind of desperate for Shadow to discover Eggman's feelings on Maria, either by finding the Egg Memo or by Eggman speaking it aloud, but I recognise that the Egg Memos are likely just easter egg collectibles. Still, I somewhat hope that the idea of Eggman's jealousy over Maria is explored some day.

Anyways, enough of my rambles on Shadow.

I feel like the weakest point of the story is the part just before the end. The whole game builds on this tension over Sonic taking on too much cyber energy, to the point he becomes immobile. In the actual game, this conflict is resolved quickly and in a way that didn't fully make sense to me. Sonic's friends - Amy, Knuckles and Tails - simply form a ring of friendship around him, seemingly absorb into his body somehow, and he regains consciousness, completely freed of the influence of the cyber corruption. It takes less than five minutes for this huge point of drama to be resolved, and then Sonic immediately returns to his chipper self. It just feels very weirdly paced to me, especially since after this, you spend time exploring the island and having casual conversations with Sage about the Ancients. It feels remarkably relaxed.

I think this could've been resolved in a more creative and impactful way, Perhaps you have a sequence where you play as the other characters, doing puzzles or levels where you collect items to save Sonic (maybe his own memory tokens?), maybe even in replacement of Sage's. Or you could have an internal battle within Sonic where he fights the cyber corruption, perhaps having points in the fight where you feel the presence of your friends like they're fighting by your side. If this happened just before the final fight, it would also help to continue this feeling of urgency that makes sense given the scenario as opposed to having such an intense moment just to immediately run around an island finding collectibles again. I think it also sucks because after hearing some of the unused audio clips, I feel like this moment could have had a lot more drama and impact than it actually did (e.g. Sonic forgetting who he is).

One small, final point that isn't directly story related, but I find the little comments Sonic makes when exploring the environments nice. I didn't get to hear most of them in my gameplay, but it's nice that Sonic thinks about his friends so much. Personally I liked how many references to team dark there were. It's nice knowing that Sonic views them in such a positive light (apart from maybe Shadow), though it does make me a little sad knowing that they've not been a proper team in the games for ages (especially since making Shadow the way he is). And it's especially cool to hear references to characters like Tangle, who aren't in any of the main series games.

Summary

I know it probably sounds like I hate this game given all my critiques of it, but I actually really enjoyed this game and it's one of the more fun games I've played in a long time. It's important to remember that you're allowed to have some issues with the things you enjoy. (For example, I find some of the canon portrayals of Shadow to be terrible, but he is still my favourite character.) I think Sonic Frontiers overall is amazing and I am glad I took the time to complete it fully. My issues with the game are far outweighed by my enjoyment of it.

I think if anyone ever asked me if they should play it, I'd recommend they do. It's an incredible step up for Sonic games and I am curious and excited to see what's next in store for Sonic and his friends.

Thanks for reading!

[daniraevys]

I posted 36 times in 2022

That's 36 more posts than 2021!

36 posts created (100%)

0 posts reblogged (0%)

I tagged 36 of my posts in 2022

#mcu - 18 posts

#marvel - 17 posts

#ao3 - 8 posts

#fanfiction - 8 posts

#disney plus - 7 posts

#star wars - 7 posts

#fanfic - 7 posts

#peter parker - 6 posts

#spiderman - 6 posts

#archive of our own - 6 posts

Longest Tag: 96 characters

#bruce and tony just gravitate towards each other as if it is the most natural thing in the world

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

She-Hulk Ep 8 Ending:

What do you mean the episode ended with She-Hulk being seen as a monster in a disastrous gala? !

Nah it ended with Matt's walk of shame.

See the full post

147 notes - Posted October 8, 2022

#4

Eternals has way too many ships, but only one matters to me!

Me: Watches Eternals movie 3 months late on Disney+

Surprise: Somehow manages to avoid spoilers!!!(Probably cuz never read the comics, nor watched the movie clips)

Watches all the new characters: faints

Spends 2hrs organizing thoughts on movie and recollects everything.

Goes to YT: Watches Breakdowns and explanations of the movie(instead of doing homework)

Mentally organizes all the ships in the movie and decides favourites:

Sprite x Ikaris : NO!!

Sersi x Ikaris : Meh

Thena x Eros : Interesting😏, needs more time

Sersi x Dane Whitman : Interesting

Thena x Gilgamesh : Heartbreaking, please give them a happy ending😥

Phastos x Ben Stoss : Perfection, they deserve to be happy together

Druig x Makkari : OTP! Perfection! Incredible! Amazing! Eternal pairing! Unstoppable! 

See the full post

158 notes - Posted January 14, 2022

#3

Why is Martin Freeman so damn shippable?!

Three of my OTPs are just him with other people.

See the full post

224 notes - Posted October 16, 2022

#2

Me: Watches She-Hulk Episode 1

Everyone: Talks about anger issues and sexism, Badass Jennifer Walters, Bad CGI, Steve Rogers Fuc--

Me: Bruce and Tony. Tony and Bruce. Bruce and Tony. Tony and Bruce. Bruce and Tony.......(on loop)

...

Bonus: Those damn initials!

They remind me too much of romance movies where people carve their initials to showcase their undying love.

324 notes - Posted August 21, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Science BFFs

Bruce Banner and Tony Stark have such beautiful friendship and I'm just tearing up everytime I see Bruce being sad about Tony in She-Hulk Ep 1.

From the moment they meet they finish each other sentences whether it be about science theories or just quips.

Tony (to Bruce when they first meet): Finally someone who speaks English.

See the full post

374 notes - Posted August 20, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[chaoticbooklesbian]

I posted 18,550 times in 2022

100 posts created (1%)

18,450 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@lokidokeyartichoki

@marinecorvid

@dirtypuzzle

@dingdongyouarewrong

@last-level-in-druid

I tagged 1,198 of my posts in 2022

#pedanticblah - 134 posts

#headless - 10 posts

#anyway - 9 posts

#dylan's clothing adventures - 7 posts

#sharon air spoilers - 6 posts

#new video is up! - 6 posts

#please watch headless - 6 posts

#new video! - 5 posts

#autumn dahlias spoilers - 5 posts

#twists & turns spoilers - 5 posts

Longest Tag: 124 characters

#😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I sent 5 gifts in 2022

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Mina: I hate not being able to talk openly with Jonathan, I don't like us having to keep secrets from each other :( Also Mina: OK, time to keep my dream that was so eerily similar to Lucy's account of Dracula a secret from everyone, including Jonathan! :)

28 notes - Posted October 2, 2022

#4

Just finished watching The Midnight Club, and it feels like there was at least one episode missing off of the end. What was up with the old ghost couple? What was Stanton's actual deal? Who was Stanton talking to on the phone? I don't usually end a Mike Flanagan show with these kinds of questions, and I feel like there was another episode that just wasn't uploaded for some unfathomable reason.

55 notes - Posted October 28, 2022

#3

My brain: Sew Dress Me: I have never sewn A Clothing before, that can only go poorly Brain: Sew Dress For Renaissance Faire Me: You want me to sew my First Ever Garment SPECIFICALLY to wear to a VERY PUBLIC PLACE????? Brain: Sew Pirate Shirt To Go Under Dress Me: I think you're missing the point here, none of this is-- Brain: YOU SHALL NOT SLEEP UNTIL YOU PLAN TO SEW PIRATE SHIRT AND DRESS Me: ...turns out it was me who was missing the point here, I'll get right on that, please stop Brain: Sew Dress

72 notes - Posted July 2, 2022

#2

I made a playlist of the full Headless series (with Unsolved Babesteries, the spinoff featuring Brom's Babes) in order, for ease of bingeing, because everyone should watch it!

151 notes - Posted November 3, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Serious question, can someone teach me how to find clothes? The plus size stuff in department stores fits me in a way that can kindly be described as "awkward", Lane Bryant only sells clothes that the eye slides over and the brain forgets immediately, and Torrid's stuff is all made of tissue paper. I've been dressing the same since high school and I'm so bored of everything I own. I hate all my "business casual" stuff, it's all from Lane Bryant and leaves no impression whatsoever. I want to feel good in clothes and I don't know how to find clothes I'd feel good in. My mom only ever taught me to dress the Lane Bryant way, so people forget or ignore that I'm fat, but that's made my wardrobe so boring and forgettable that I feel boring and forgettable. Can someone please help me?

356 notes - Posted July 3, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[aylinaliens]

EXACTLYYY omg you get it bestie 😭 I totally agree with everything you said. Like EAW was not a show that needed to be melodramatic I’m still extremely confused why it became this way but someone said the director had already written 8 episodes before moon ji won stepped in so I am here wondering if that’s why its this messy? But even so, don’t people review the scripts? What went down for the show to go completely haywire and fall victim to conventional drama tropes :/ you definitely should finish hospital playlist btw!! It’s a perfect show no unnecessary drama we get wholesome interactions and we get a realistic look into the lives of doctors. Idk why I assumed EAW would be like that too I guess the first half of the show really raised everyone’s expectations and then just stomped on them 😭 I really don’t know how any of the issues are gonna be resolved in 2 episodes and I KNOW they won’t I can think of like only 5 kdramas with a perfect or satisfactory ending and I’ve watched hundreds. I’m so sad I love the characters so much and like you said the characters aren’t the problems it’s the poor writing 😭

AGAIN I’M SO SORRY FOR REPLYING DAYS LATER i did not process anything. i really needed 4-5 business days for my brain to start working again iejcjsjckd

that makes sense about the writing it does feel so distinctly different!! 😭 did they…idk all communicate during the writing process? did they sit down and actually lay out the path they want EAW to take?? idk??? they jumped into melodramatic makjang territory SUPER fast without warning. even the sad angsty moments of the earlier season weren’t overly dramatic. they were realistical. these final two episodes…idk at this point i’m the type of person who has no problem dropping if a drama goes a certain way chejjxd a drama can’t end or have a bad ending IF you never watch it 😌

okay i’ll give hospital playlist another go!! i watched it vicariously through everyone on here when it was airing so i know spoilers BUT that makes me more excited because i know where things are headed.

OOF that had me thinking what dramas i’ve watched that was truly satisfy. happy ending? plenty? actually satisfying where things are tied up and we get to see more than just two minutes at the end of the characters being happy…not that much 😬

the writing is the real problem not the characters! it really REALLY is please writernim please drama gods give us a win. don’t hurt us okay not more than you already have

[alpona]

KR Geats episode 6 live blog:

Note: I've been writing these review-ish silly reaction thingies since the 1st episode, but haven't posted them here on Tumblr. But decided to do them from now on, starting with last week's episode. Originally written on the same day episode 6 aired, live while watching.

*Spoiler alert of course*

Anyway.

- The dessert looks delicious.

- Ace searching online info, so that's what mary ojisan used to do... Well, let's observe Ace-kun's phone for more clues! Simple black cover, Full network full battery, is that telegram?... Nah not much to see.

- hey wait, tell me you finished the dessert before going, Neon-chan! The Food!!

- team swap time, Mary cheated of course, but the draw cards have rider symbol embossed? That's an easy way for cheating, anyone can do it if they try!

- punkjack.. nah, Halloween-chan, the nickname Mary ojisan gave matches perfectly with my silly nickname sense lol

- Ace returned boost buckle to keiwa, good, but let's see how Keiwa ends up NOT using it this time. 🤣

- hmm btw, Ace not only mentored Neon, he's also mentoring (-ish something) Keiwa as well, in his own way. And probably Buffa too.

- oh, so they told Keiwa the trick of this round?

- 'better inconvenience myself than let others suffer' - Ah, I've been around many Keiwas in life... No no, this isn't the time for real deep talk! You saw nothing!

- Stolen. Ah, I'm starting to wonder if this show is actually the tale of "100 times I found you, 100 times I lost you" love story of Tycoon and boost buckle 😑🤣

- nice transition to Buffa flashback. Oh I mean Azuma-kun.

And more detail of the backstory!

- Ah, so other riders stole zombie buckle from his friend. The friend was a rider with...Blue core? Someone with better eyes please tell me what rider it was.

And Geats more likely didn't have a part in it after all, he's the one rider Azuma clearly saw there, and he's more like, venting his anger at Ace.

- Crying Keiwa is a mood! Everyone, let's save this as our wallpaper.

- heh, look at Ace-kun smiling like a proud father.

- there's quite a few seaside scenes this episode, it's a nice location.

- Woaah! The clock-up/ mannequin challenge action scene looks so cool!

- ohoho, Buffa switched partners at the last moment, that is not a strategy I could think of! Nice!

- So clearly Azuma-kun sees reflections of his dead friend in Keiwa, and he's a tsundere who eneded up helping Keiwa. His hatred for Ace will also disappear eventually.

If things are simple that is. Who knows what a 'world restart' would end up doing.

- yes Keiwa-kun, ask the important questions! So disqualified riders just return to their regular lives... Hmm ok but I'd believe it when I see proof.

Final round so close! Probably in 2 episodes we'll get to it.

Oh, I'm so engrossed in the story n mysteries that I didn't even bother with the fact that it's a competition, we can root for characters to win...? Well, this isn't something I do in general these days anyway, I only 'root for' a good story, no matter which character does what.

But well, are you guys rooting for anyone?

(will be happy to discuss the plot n hundreds of questions!)

[damnredthing]

Let’s get ready to ramble – SNW S1E02

This post – naturally – contains spoilers. If you haven’t seen the episode yet and do not want to read spoilers, please do not read any further.

This is not an episode review but rather just a bunch of ramblings which I’ve tried to at least sort a little bit into categories.

Season 1 – Episode 2 – Children of the Comet

Pike’s inner demons - continued

So, Pike knows the names of all cadets he will rescue? I suppose this means that we only got a glimpse of his whole vision in Discovery. Pike also said in episode one that he experienced every agonizing moment of it. As someone in SNP chat pointed out, Spock said the crystals cause a temporal displacement, meaning Pike didn’t just have a vision, he was actually there and experienced every moment of it.

I gasped when I saw the pictures of the kids who will one day become the cadets (not to mention the clearance level Starfleet Captains obviously get to access files of normal citizens so easily!). I wasn’t expecting to see such younglings in the files, but it makes sense of course. In about 10 years they will be around 18’ish and in the middle of their education at the academy. Pike’s dedication to give himself and to fulfill his prophecy gets so much more substance now. His mind constantly circles around these kids who all have a future ahead of them. How can he not sacrifice himself for them?

But then comes Una who raises some very interesting questions.

What if the vision just meant to tell him the cadets are in danger and he only has to find a way to rescue them all, including himself? What if his fate is what he makes it? I think that got Pike thinking.

Actually, if he knows exactly when and where this is going to happen, and he even knows the names of all cadets, wouldn’t it be easy as cake to prevent it all from happening? Just call off the mission. Or use another ship. But of course Pike also remembers what Tenavik told him, that his fate is inescapable. He’s probably thinking that if he tries to trick his fate, it’ll come around as a boomerang and hit him otherwise (and the cadets probably, too).

However, I begin to wonder whether the writers might even consider a retcon. Pike is such a lovable character. He is literally Captain Teddy Bear, everyone just wants to hug him and nobody wishes him any serious harm. The show is also meant to be positive and optimistic. How can you hold that up, especially when the show one day (after 10 or so seasons 😋) is going to reach its grand finale? If they really gonna retcon his fate, then this would only work by creating a new timeline.

IMO they should stick with canon though and let Pike go through it all, as much as it pains to know what will happen to him. We do know he will have a life after the accident, and maybe that is what the writers were trying to hint with Una saying what she said. Pike has only seen what will happen to him to the point where he ends up in the wheelchair, he hasn’t seen what will happen after that. I still hope the show will go even further than just the handover to Kirk and we’ll be shown some of Pike’s life on Talos IV and from there on, a new continuation is possible without even retconning his fate. The Menagerie is the last canonical information we got about Pike. We do not know what happens after he spent some time on Talos IV.

I have seen other takes on this topic, but to me the Menagerie is not a happy end for Pike and Vina, it’s just a compromise. He will be able to live in an illusion together with Vina, but he will be aware of that all the time. He will know that the Talosians will take care of them, but also watch them all the time. Will they be really free? Being confined on Talos IV also means both will remain exiled from their homeworld, their families, everyone they love and care for.

I also do not understand why the doctors in the 23rd century prolonged Pike’s suffering by giving him an artificial heart, UNLESS this was just the first step of many for his recovery. I have said it before in an earlier post. Pike would have died if not for the artificial heart, surely there must have been more surgeries planned (we know what they were capable of considering how Airiam was aided), but then Spock got in their way. Who says they cannot aide Pike later on in whichever way that might be? This is sci-fi after all! So do your sci-fi thing and be creative!

.

Wishlist - yay or nay

Reference is made to this post:

Different tones in different episodes – Kinda yay. The tone of the episode didn’t differ much from episode 1. But I like the fact that even though it is a Pike centered show, the writers do not shy away from focusing on other characters. The A-Plot was clearly about Uhura and I loved that. This is a return to an ensemble cast approach which provides so much more story potential. But I also liked how Pike’s inner fight wasn’t that much of a focus this time (even though it gave me much to think about once the episode was over!). It was still a topic, but much more subtle (except of course when they talked about it). If we’d see Pike having his hallucinations in every episode, it would get old fast. I do not have experience with PTSD, but with depressions. I think how Pike’s mental issues are displayed in the show are very realistic and not over the top.

.

Randoms

How awesome was that crew dinner scene? That very much lightened up the episode from the get go. Pike is such a chill Captain, I think he’s the kind of guy who plays the hierarchy card only as a last resort. For the most part he sees his crew as equals. And OMG, I swear to god I tried to stay off the thirst hours, but how frickin broad are his shoulders, please?

I wish I had only 1/10th of Anson’s discipline regarding his workout, I wouldn’t look like a wet sack of potatoes. 🥺

BTW I also have a theory about Pike’s hair. I simply think the crew prefers a lower level of gravity simulation on the Enterprise. 😇

How can the crew watch the comet on the screen from afar when they are literally positioned right in front of it?

So, what was the purpose of the space egg, other than opening up?

I love that the alien shepherd was not the evil guy. He was protective of the comet and only tried to prevent the Enterprise from causing it any harm. He never went over the top with his attacks. He only went as far as needed. Even after the Enterprise landed a hit on his weapon systems, he did not retaliate after regrouping. Both ships were facing each other for a while without firing before Pike ordered Ortegas to position the Enterprise in front of the comet. All the while he was always open to negotiations and as it turned out in the end, he was very satisfied that he could teach a new species what wonders the M’hanit is capable of. His mission is first and foremost to protect the M’hanit, but his second mission is to spread the word and share the wonder. I absolutely love this!

In continuation to my previous point, I also love how Pike in the end showed just how humble he is. I am sure with other captains this situation might have escalated quickly. But Pike kept his cool and used his greatest superpower, his crew, to find a solution. When all was said and done and the shepherd lectured him, he genuinely accepted that the shepherd was right all along. The result was that both sides could part in peace and with respect for each other. This is the Star Trek way. I have to admit I had a tiny tear escaping my eye when I saw it the first time.

Celia has such an amazing voice. Too bad we only got to hear them humming a melody. I sure hope we gonna hear them singing one day. I am sure it’ll blow us all away.

Also how funny that La’an is such a no-nonsense character that she flat out refused to hum the melody.

I had a little bit of a struggle with how Uhura was treated as the newbie at first. Sure I get the point that the crew wanted to test her. But some of that was borderline. At some moments it felt a bit like bullying. Like when Hemmer and Spock slam her down for calling Hemmer impaired (which was a mistake on her side, but for which she apologized). Luckily, she looked right through them and called them out for it. Only when she left both Hemmer and Spock admitted they like her, but why not letting her know? I also thought the entire away team was harsh with Uhura in the cave. They were all like oh it’s your first mission? So what? We all had our first missions. Grow up, do your job and do it right. Why so harsh? IMO Star Trek is all about seeing younglings blossom and find their way and greatness. Is it so hard to help a newbie on their first steps?

Anson’s ability to communicate just with his facial expressions never ceases to impress me. It’s an ability that might help him in um… other possible projects to come in which he… lets say… might not have many lines. 😇 *coughs* But yeah, when he talked with the shepherd, his expressions changed so often that you could have understood what was going on without a single word being spoken. He went from

angry

to astounded

to WTF?

to ready to explode

to desperate

to pleading.

I felt truly entertained. That man is just golden, I never wanna miss him again!

I get the feeling that Sam Kirk’s purpose in the show is to be the punching bag. It would be a funny running gag if whenever he’s in an episode, he ends up unconscious laying on the floor just as how William Shatner played Sam as corpse in Operation Anihilate.

Did Pike flirt with Sam in the ready room? Are the writers doing this on purpose? I mean, as writers they surely know about fanfiction, right? That’s how ships are born! Fanfic writers, please do your thing!

And another ship that was probably born is Pikuna, or am I the only one seeing it?

.

Remarkable Quotes

Pike: So, I have my phaser out, and sure enough, down the street, there's the Nausicaan we're after, running away, no pants on.

Pike: I move after him, only I trip flat on my face. I shout, "Freeze!" But the Nausicaan keeps running.

Pike: I try to stand up, but my feet are caught on something, and then I realize... I've tripped on his pants.

Pike: So, anyway, after my lieutenant pulls me aside and says, "Maybe Security isn't the best fit for you, Ensign."

.

Pike: Sometimes, Mr. Spock, things go so badly you just have to laugh.

.

Pike: We've got a planet to save before breakfast.

.

Pike: I love this job.

.

Pike: I'm starting to like the mustache.

Sam Kirk: Maybe you should try one for yourself.

Uhura: 😳 .

Pike: You wanted to learn to speak alien languages... go where the aliens are.

.

Spock: I am more than capable of managing any pain you can induce.

Chapel: *chuckling* Mr. Spock. Now you're just toying with me.

Spock: That was not my intention.

Chapel: I've noticed.

Uhura: 🙄

.

Uhura: I'm... standing on the surface of a comet. .

Uhura: Uh, Lieutenant, I don't think that's a good idea.

Sam Kirk: Yahtzee.

Spock: 🤨

Sam Kirk: It's an old Earth game.

Spock: I am familiar with Yahtzee, Lieutenant, but I am reading a dangerous buildup of energy. Please step away from the egg.

Sam Kirk: *gets zapped by standing murderous space egg and lands on his ass unconscious*

.

Uhura: Uh, maybe we don't touch anything else. Just a suggestion. .

Shepherd: M'hanit is one of the ancient arbiters of life.

Pike: Okay? 🤨

Shepherd: If you tamper with it again, we will not hesitate to destroy you.

Pike: 😠

.

Uhura: Someone match my pitch.

La’an: Oh... no help here. I'll break the thing. .

La’an: We're definitely getting closer to resolving the whole genius or "about to get us killed" conundrum.

Uhura: So the right time for genius. .

Spock: We have less than one hour before the comet will impact Persephone III.

Uhura: You do a lot of reminding people of deadlines, sir.

Pike: She does have a point, Spock. .

Pike: Ortegas, you know how you used to brag you were going to be the best pilot ever to graduate the Academy?

Ortegas: 😳

Pike: Word gets around.

Ortegas: What's your point, sir?

Pike: Time to prove it, Lieutenant. .

Ortegas: Initiating evasive pattern Ortegas-gamma-one.

Pike: Evasive pattern Ortegas...? 🤨 .

Una: It's moving. The sublimation is nudging the comet off course.

Pike: And for the record, we're not actually touching it.

Uhura: But where's Lieutenant Spock?

Spock: *laughing*

Pike: Spock? Is everything okay?

Spock: Fine, Captain. Sometimes things go so badly, you just have to laugh. .

Una: What if you got that message so you could save those kids and that's it?

Una: What if you don't have to ruin your life, too?

Una: How do you know you can't make a different choice? One that saves all of you?

Una: What if your fate is what you make it?

Pike: 🤔

[illuminatedquill]

Nevertheless, The Finale (Review)

(We could have had this. We could have had it. God, this hurts to write.) 

Crash landing. 

That’s what comes to mind as I watched the final scene in episode 10 of Nevertheless. We’re here. We made it. 

But not for the better. At some point, the engines burst into flame, the wings fell off, the pilots jumped out and we, the viewers, were forced to put our heads between our knees and endure the worst kdrama ending I have ever seen with my own two eyes in recent history. 

If you’re reading this and haven’t seen the finale yet, I am warning you now: SPOILERS AHEAD. 

For the last time, let’s get into it. 

This is immensely painful to write. I don’t know what happened in the writers room between episode 9 and episode 10, because, how we came to this ending makes no sense. None at all. I spoke at length about it another post a couple days ago regarding the spoilers photos that were leaked; the writers, after having established so much growth in episode 9 for Na Bi, surely weren’t going to just throw it all out the window for episode 10, right? 

Yet, here we are. That’s exactly what happened. 

First off, I want to talk about the visual elements in this episode: it sucked. Normally, Nevertheless cinematography is top tier and always praise worthy and, here, it felt off to me. I wasn’t drawn is as I usually was. Also the pacing dragged for the first thirty minutes as we see Na Bi and Jae Eon deal with aftermath of their “breakup”. It’s not until almost halfway through the episode that it finally picks up with the destruction of her sculpture. 

Jae Eon finds out and vows to help her rebuild it and then leave her alone afterwards. He makes a comment on how she’s at her prettiest when working on her art. Once it’s finished, he leaves her alone, as promised. 

Okay. Good. So far, so good. 

And then, we hit the café scene with Do Hyeok. And my stomach dropped. All that nice, comfortable, affectionate energy that was building between them vanished. Na Bi speaks about her sculpture and how her assistants really helped her (speaking clearly about Jae Eon). 

And I knew. I knew how it was going to end. And so did Do Hyeok. He doesn’t know that Jae Eon is one of her assistants, but I think he guesses by the way Na Bi talks. Na Bi thinks the whole experience was terrible but from the way she talks about it, Do Hyeok points out “maybe you were actually enjoying it the whole time.” Seeing his cheerful smile drop was just crushing. 

Oh, Do Hyeok. They did you so bad in this episode. 

(And WTF do you mean she was actually enjoying it the whole time, writers?! She was freaking miserable for FIVE WHOLE EPISODES. What toxic BS is this? Sweet Jesus, I wanted to punch something so bad.) 

And my outrage at how off the chemistry was between Na Bi and Do Hyeok; it was just so wrong. It felt so forced. 

And then hits just kept on coming. Na Bi brings out the butterfly pendant and puts it on. God, please, no. 

And then. Do Hyeok returns for his second confession scene. And, hoo boy, what Na Bi said made me almost have a stroke: 

Do Hyeok: “Do you still like Jae Eon?” 

Na Bi: “Yes, I think I do. I know he’s not someone who will make me happy. But, I was really happy with the moments I spent with you, Do Hyeok.” 

What. 

What. 

What. 

Na Bi knows that Jae Eon will not make her happy. She was really happy with the moments she spent with Do Hyeok. But she still chooses Jae Eon. 

Does not compute. 

No tears from Na Bi and Do Hyeok as they say goodbye to each other. A simple thank you from Do Hyeok and he walks out, flowers in hand. 

Your childhood best friend who has been loving you unconditionally just confessed and you can’t even muster some tears as you part ways. Like I said, something is wrong here. Seriously wrong. 

(I had to pause the episode and go for a walk around the house to clear my head when I saw this. Like, writers, how the hell does that make sense!)

Na Bi even admits in her confession to Jae Eon that she hates him. But then proceeds to ask him out. 

And that’s it. They go on a date, wearing their respective colors (gag me, please), and that’s it. 

Or, is it? 

Because this show is always good with details. And I noticed something interesting at the end, when they’re walking along, holding hands. 

Na Bi and Jae Eon walk by a restaurant and Na Bi spots Do Hyeok sitting inside. He’s clearly talking to someone, but we don’t see who. 

And, interestingly, Na Bi’s hand almost slips out of Jae Eon’s. There’s a curious expression on her face as she cranes her neck to see who Do Hyeok is speaking with. It’s just a brief moment before Jae Eon pulls her away to continue their walk, and she resumes her hand holding. 

So. There’s that. A potential set up for a second season. I don’t know, don’t ask; nothing’s been confirmed. We’ll see. 

I have to say something - this episode was utter BS. Something weird was going on behind the scenes here, and I can prove it. 

If you watched the preview, like I did, you might have been mistaken in the belief that Na Bi and Do Hyeok were clearly endgame. Why? 

Because she accepted his flowers. The preview shows her walking inside the art gallery holding them, resulting in the lovely photos of them smiling brightly at each other in the above screenshots (the first two). But in the actual episode itself, Na Bi doesn’t accept the flowers and we don’t see the scenes I just talked about. It just cuts straight to her reunion with Jae Eon. 

Do you see what I’m getting at? This isn’t some conspiracy theory. What was shown in the preview and what was shown in the actual episode was completely different. 

They changed the ending. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Do Hyeok and Na Bi were going to be the endgame, and someone forced them to change it to Jae Eon and Na Bi instead. Perhaps for a setup for Season 2 or someone important really, really wanted Song Kang to get the girl this time. 

If it’s setup for season 2, especially coupled with the last scene that suggests that Na Bi’s and Jae Eon’s relationship isn’t going to last (and it’s not, especially if the Fanfic writers have anything to say about it), I’m all for it. Because that means Na Bi and Do Hyeok are endgame. I’ll suffer through another ten episodes if it means that, long as the same cast and team return. 

If not, then, this is the ending. And it’s terrible. 

I know it hurts. But, I just want to remind everyone that this is just one chapter in Na Bi’s life and nothing between her and Jae Eon are guaranteed to last. I wrote a post some weeks ago how, if they really wanted to make these two endgame, then the writers needed to do the work. Show the characters working through their issues to become healthier, happier people and convince me that they could be a solid couple in the long run. 

None of that happened in this episode. Or any of the other episodes proceeding it. Na Bi and Jae Eon spent five episodes just staring at each other and not talking, and then suddenly, a last minute redemption. If there is not going to be a second season, then this is the cheapest, most cop out ending for a kdrama ever. And it really hurts because they really set a high standard for themselves.

Nevertheless promoted itself as a hyper realistic show that wanted to be different from any other kdrama and instead ended up with the most cliche, disappointing finale I have seen in recent memory. What a failure. There needs to be a second season to redeem this dumpster fire of an ending. 

Well, that’s all for now. I’m going to watching some other stuff to cleanse this from my memory. 

I have two more posts planned for this show and then I’m out for good or until they announce a second season. First post - as promised, my character analysis for our “heroine” Yu Na Bi. I wanted to wait until the series finished to really get a take on her character and, well, I don’t think I’m going to be nice. 

And the second post will be an overall review/analysis for the entire drama. All of it; the themes, the acting, the direction, the music, the plot, the writing; the good, the bad, the ugly. 

My condolences to everyone who stuck it through from beginning to end. I’m really sorry you wasted your time. 

As always, I welcome any discussion. Reply here or message me! I always love to hear your thoughts. 

Until next time, everyone. 

[youngjusticeslut]

I'd like your brutality honest review on Catwoman: Hunted, please. I went into the movie with low expectations and I was for the most part disappointed😅 I ended up not see why does this movie exist lol I wanted to like it so bad. And I liked a few things. But overall I don't think it's a good movie :/ It didn't feel like something Greg would write either. At least not one of his best works.

As promised: my brutally honest review of Catwoman: Hunted.

My usual disclaimer: If you loved this movie, kudos to you. I went in with high expectations and only minimal knowledge of Batwoman and Catwoman lore (as they're the two leads, give or take), so if I get anything wrong or miss anything from the comics end, feel free to correct me.

I was really excited for this movie. I love anime, it's an entertaining duo, the voice cast looked incredible, Jade is in it, and Greg is writing it: what's not to love? Well, uh, spoiler alert... aside from the fact that Jade is in it and the voice cast is indeed incredible, a whole lot. Full rant and minor spoilers beneath the cut:

There are very few good things I have to say about this movie. On the whole, I found it was presented from an overwhelmingly male gaze, at times sexist, and at others, completely boring. The plot was uninteresting and felt like it dragged on, the dialogue flipflopped so hard between cheesy and dripping with sexual implications that I felt very turned off, the animation was mediocre, and let's not even discuss that scene between Kate and Selina.

The one thing that I felt was justifiably great was the voice cast and their acting abilities. Elizabeth Gillies crushed it as Selina Kyle. Her sultry, whimsical tone felt perfect for the role. Stephanie Beatriz was nice as Batwoman too, but it was essentially the same voice she used for her character (Rosa Diaz) in B99 so it wasn't anything really out of her wheelhouse. Together, the two had great chemistry and their performances (imo) were fun. Kelly Hu absolutely crushed it as Cheshire but that's no surprise. Honestly, I thought she did a better job here than she did in Phantoms. Her voice captured the more light and musical tone that she had in Seasons 1 and 2.

The writing.... yeah, I don't know how Greg got away with this one. This was not one of his better works. I maintain that when Greg writes an episode, it either turns out really, really good (ie Quiet Conversations) or really, really bad (Early Warning). The dialogue was super cheesy, and while I chuckled once or twice, it felt very childish and uninspired. Even Cheshire's quips didn't entertain me, and as someone who enjoys literally every second she's on screen, that's saying something. I don't know why they went with such a boring plot, when the Sochi mission (which took place right before the events of this movie, and is also shown in the opening sequence) is far, far more interesting and holds way more weight for Selina's character. I also maintain that Greg needs a better sounding board for writing women, especially when it comes to LGBTQ+ inclusion. The scene between Selina and Kate felt so tropey and bordering on queerbait that it felt hard to watch, especially considering the amount that the preview images depicting this scene was promoted.

I love anime, and I love the style, but for this movie, it genuinely felt like it had a laughably small budget. The dubbing was frequently off, and the action scenes, while good, often felt like they were injected with a dose of Novocain. The entire movie felt really hazy, and slow, because it takes so long to get anywhere.

I can't speak much to the characterization, especially as I don't read the comics, but I personally felt like Selina's only trait in this movie was being hypersexual. I have nothing against pro-sex characters, at all. But when nearly every line of hers felt like in innuendo, it got old, fast. Additionally, I also question using Barbara Minerva (Cheetah) as the head of Leviathan and having her be behind the Sochi human trafficking operation. As an abuse survivor, that feels... wrong? Why would she do that? I know it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

Anyway, bottom line is, I wouldn't necessarily recommend anyone watch this movie, but I won't tell you not to watch it. It's a good movie to throw on while it's raining and watch it just to say that you did. If anything, the fight between Catwoman and Cheshire is nice. Watch this movie if you want, go nuts. It gets a 5/10 from me.